#Rasta is friend shaped

[yourfaveisfriendshaped]

Rasta Beast from Everhood is friend shaped!!

Rasta Beast is friend-shaped!

[redheadgleek]

End of Year: Fiber Arts

I knit four scarves this year, to go with the three I had made last winter and gave them to my college girlfriends. That makes a total of 12 scarves I’ve made in the last three years and I finally used up all of my Rasta yarn!

I made my first shirt! It’s a linen/cotton blend that was somewhat rough to knit, but definitely softened as I went along. I made a decision early on to not do shaping around the bust, and that was a mistake, as it’s a little more boxy of a drape than what I like. I also had to go back and reinforce the neckline because it was giving Flashdance vibes.

I learned how to crochet and made my mom a kerchief for Christmas. I like crochet because it’s only one loop of yarn you’re dealing with at a time, but finding the beginning of a round is so complicated, I basically did the whole thing three times.

I went to Thailand and learned how to do back strap loom weaving from some of the Tribal women. I’m pretty proud of what I managed to accomplish in just three hours!

I tried out spindle spinning, but I haven’t had enough time to devote to it – it’s really challenging pulling out the fibers just right to get the right tension and circumference.

My dolls from last year are still languishing. I was trying to design a little suit coat and haven’t gotten the proportions right and now it’s been long enough, I don’t know where the mistakes are, so I’m probably going to have to start over. I’ve also been trying to knit a pair of “glittens” (I don’t like the fingers on the pattern, so it’s a fingerless glove with a flap), but I’m struggling with the thumb and just discovered that I’m off on my count, so I had to go back several rows.

This was also the year that I discovered a knitting community and have been spending my spare Thursday afternoons at my local yarn store knitting with others. And I reconnected with a couple of friends: my next door neighbor and another friend from the old MoFem days both knit and spin, so they came over several evenings to “stitch and bitch.”

[sierrawitch]

Celtic Customs: Hair

by autumn sierra

I’d like to share a bit about the significance of hair in Celtic culture, specifically how it pertains to myself. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a folk practice, just a general custom. (This isn’t an article just a general post based on a prompt.)

In ancient times, the Celts (be they Irish or Scottish or Pictish, maybe Welsh) were very well known for their grooming and cleanliness. They were the ones that inspired the use of soap for the Romans and Anglo-saxons. With this, there was an incredible amount of importance placed on one’s hair.

Many Celts carried ivory or wooden combs to maintain their hair, preventing mats, and washed it regularly. They developed intricate braids along with normal three strand plaits in order to keep their hair long and healthy. Later on, it became popular for men to cut their hair into a bowl shape in the front and short in the back��the “glib”—but for the longest time in history, they were most known for their long, well kept hair.

It’s an ongoing debate whether the Celts incorporated the use of locs in their customs. In some cases, I would argue that yes, locs were present due to lack of resources among the lower class. However, it wasn’t the standard as many Irish and Scottish peoples regularly bathed and groomed themselves. Some may have also received “fairy locs”: matted and woven sections of hair made by the mischievous sídhe.

(This is not cause for the accusation of cultural appropriation, as there are many types of hair patterns from 1a-4C, and such ideas didn’t even exist in early centuries. Those with curly, kinky, or coily textures are more likely to have naturally occurring locs which can be maintained through what we now know as crocheting, and twisting, etc. Certain curl patterns are not exclusive to the African, Baye Fall, Rasta, and other communities considered black. For these reasons, locs—not necessarily “dreads”, since there is cultural significance there—have also been worn by Indigenous American (and possibly Inuit) peoples, Aztecs, Minoans, the Polish, Indigenous Australians, Tibetans, and Indians throughout history.)

Long hair is said to be a representation of spiritual growth, connection to the self and the natural world. The head was considered the vessel in which the soul resides in ancient times, specifically in Celtic lore. This is evidence for why warriors would take the heads of their enemies in battle, as a symbol of victory over another’s soul. (Quite brutal, indeed.)

My hair is also an insanely important part of my identity, and I’ve adopted similar practices of maintenance as my Scottish and Irish ancestors. I’m now recognized by family, friends, and coworkers for my hair’s length, vibrancy and shine. I’ve also realized some symbolism of plaits, the three strands representing the body, mind, and spirit. It’s great to meditate on the interconnectivity of these while braiding. I usually braid it like this, or keep it twisted into a bun or hair pin to keep it from matting in the breeze. Somehow, it seems the wind has become more enticed with tangling my hair as of late. Maybe the sídhe found their way to me only to tangle my hair!

[teslacoils-and-hubris]

What the shit is everhood

(Info dump pls?)

Gladly! ^w^

so everhood is a game that I would say is very similar to undertale, from the pixel art style to the humour to the general uhh theme? i guess is the word? Where you play as a wooden puppet named red on a quest to get your arm back from gold pig. The battle mechanic is a rhythm based system where you have to jump around and over beats the enemies through at you. The music is absolutely fucking fantastic and i actually bought the soundtrack i like it so much lol

a couple battles get absolutely insane with the visuals too, to the point im not even totally sure i can do a description justice? you can check out this video if you're curious, theres really no spoilers in this battle but it shows what im talking about. these battles are where the photosensitivity warning really comes in though, so be cautious if that effects you

I can't go too deep into the plot without getting into spoiler territory, so i'll put that under the cut for anyone who's curious, but here's what I can say! You go around collecting clues to find gold pig and get your arm back, and along the way you get to meet all the wonderful characters that populate Everhood. Like Rasta beast, Noseferatchu the sneezing vampire, Flan and Muck, the dancing mushrooms, a vampire who's name always changes. You really get to know and love these characters while also learning that maybe everything isn't as it seems in Everhood. Maybe, actually nothing is what it seems. Maybe you're the only one willing to do something about. But..... are you willing?

oh also kermit is there and I think he might be god? Also you can kill him and it impacts literally nothing

Full plot summary under the cut. I highly recommend you play the game without spoilers, but if you're like me and you Need to know what happens before you play then go wild. I'll only be talking about the intended good ending though, since I haven't gotten around to playing the secret endings yet- oh also mild spoilers for undertale i guess if youre worried about that in 2023

so when I say its similar to undertale in themes, its sort of. in a reverse sense. In undertale the good ending is the pacifist route. By saving the monsters you help them escape the underground and better their situation. It is mercy, the direct functional opposite of killing, that saves you. There is no mercy kill because using mercy ends the fight period.

Well in Everhood, the good ending requires you to kill everyone.

Your arm was taken from you because you've done this before, wiped out countless lives, friends even. And now you must finish the job. Its hard and sad and it sucks but it has to be you because no one else is going to. It falls on you to go back to these spots you've been through already, these happy cheerful locations, and hunt down everyone you've come to know over the course of the game.

so why do you need to kill everyone? and how on earth is it similar to undertale at all? well, Everhood isn't just the title of the game or the location it takes place, its the state every single character in the game is stuck in.

in the distant past, humanity found a way to reach another world, one they called Everhood. And in this world, no one could ever die. Some people chose to stay in this world, which lost connection to the human world for some reason i dont remember rn, and in doing so slowly lost their humanity. They lived for eons and eons and eons, changing their shape and loosing themselves in the process. You discover at one point that the Green Mage, a chaotic character whom I love, has been keeping track of the years everyone has spent in Everhood, every year a tally on the wall of their secret playroom. It takes three hours to get to the end of this hallway, to give you an idea of scale here. three real time hours.

Your character, Red, is a vessel for the literal human player behind the screen to free the inhabitants of Everhood from eternity. They aren't really happy. They can't be. They've been stuck for so long, and even though they beg and plead for you not to kill them you have to. Its the only way for them to be happy and move on from Everhood. And don't get me wrong you CAN choose not to go through with it. You have to actively fight back after this reveal to kill anyone. I haven't played through this way, so I can't speak on it.

The ending is sort of ambiguous, in which Pink (the person pretending to be Red and letting you the player control them) goes to an afterlife after killing everyone and gets to see them one last time, and they're happy. They forgive you. One by one you talk to them and they thank you for freeing them, apologize for fighting you, and move on happily to whatever comes after death. I choose to interpret it literally, but there's something to be said about the idea it's all in Pink's head. I don't think it was meant to be taken that way, but its one way to look at it.

The game sort of looses people with this being the good ending. But I think it's a beautiful metaphor. Sometimes you keep doing things that hurt you only because you're used to it. Maybe you don't even realize how its hurting you, its better than the alternative right? For the longest time I kept my bedroom blinds perpetually closed because the bright sunlight gave me headaches. I didn't realize just how depressed it was making me to be in near constant darkness like that. It was only after I bought a plant on a whim that I realized how much happier I was letting in the sunlight. You get so used to bad habits and awful jobs and clothes you hate because they're familiar. And doesn't it just seem easier? To take non-action and let everyone keep living and having fun in Everhood? Green Mage hosts DnD every week (or whatever counts as a week after you've lived for eternity), go play with the mushrooms in the forest, doesn't that sound lovely? You don't have to kill anyone, just keep living on exactly as you were! You have friends here Red! It hurts too much to kill them! they don't want to die! why not just give up? How could anything good come from the pain of change?

[theoldhempfarmer]

Writing about Cannabis: Denial, Anger, Depression & Acceptance

Dateline: 7-24-24

The heat has broken here in Middle Tennessee and we finally have received a much needed rain. A tannish, brown color had started to creep into a lot of vegetation and crops were starting to show the signs of stress, so the precipitation was timely. This morning as is customary, Organic Coffee and Edibles with Tennessee homegrown extract are being consumed, while pursuing the masochistic endeavor that is writing about Cannabis. You see I’ve been compelled to grow, travel and write about Cannabis for about 40 years now. I’ve always written but nothing has been as interesting or compelling as the subject of Cannabis but that is starting to change. As Cannabis becomes more like any other business the more boring Cannabis becomes. Marketing, spread sheets and compliancy reports just aren’t that exciting. To make it more mind numbing, contemporary Cannabis seems to be stuck in a holding pattern of regulatory Hell, while waiting for the Feds and the states to get their act together. It’s hard to make any bold Cannabis decisions or head in new direction, when you don’t know the rules of the road. One thing I can assure you, is that the World of Cannabis was way more exciting (substitute illegal) and romantic, 40 years ago.

In the 1980’s, a few pivotal things occurred that shaped the face of contemporary Cannabis. The biggest sea change was transitioning from seeded Cannabis buds to Sinsemilla. In the 1960’s and into 1970’s, Commercial Marijuana was dominated by mass produced seeded Cannabis coming primarily from Mexico and to a lesser degree Jamaica on the East Coast. In the late 70’s another Cannabis player came on the scene and shook up everything, Columbia. The gold and red thumb sized buds from South America with names like Punta Roja, Limon Verde and Santa Marta Gold were more expensive but this buddage was several notches above Commercial Mexican, in both bouquet and strength. Which put pressure on the Cartels in Mexico and the Rastas in Jamaica to raise the quality of their Cannabis or lose their customers. Another thing Columbian Cannabis showed was that people were willing to pay more money for higher quality Cannabis. At the same time, the folks that were growing “Homegrown” started realizing that if you grew out those Commercial Mexican seeds and didn’t let those Females get fertilized, it was some of the finest Cannabis, they had ever seen and smoked. At first Sinsemilla (seedless) marijuana was only stash, buds that were shared only with friends and family. Gradually as more domestic Cannabis growers started culling Males a domestic market for Sinsemilla developed and soon people that were complaining about paying $35 dollars for an ounce of Santa Marta Gold were paying $150 an ounce for lime green buds that smelled fantastic and got you high, real high. The other thing that happened in Cannabis during the 1980’s was the introduction of Cannabis Indica. Suddenly because there was a market for domestic high quality Sinsemilla and increasing pressure from DEA Helicopters for the first time Commercial Cannabis started being grown inside under lights. Almost all Cannabis Sativa wants to grow to 9 foot tall or more and take 10 weeks or more to fully mature. So when Cannabis Indica arrived in North America, it was welcomed with open arms. Outdoor growers appreciated the fact that their Cannabis crops matured quicker, in late August or September while pure Cannabis Sativa females matured late October or early November. Less time in the field, the less time for the authorities and “Rippers” to find your Cannabis crop. The indoor growers immediately adopted Cannabis Indica because it was shorter and matured under “12 & 12” in 8 weeks instead 10 or 11 weeks like the pure Cannabis Sativa. Because of being more “user” friendly, everyone started crossing their Cannabis Sativa cultivars with any Cannabis Indica they could find. It was also during this period that high THC seed companies that were producing hybrid Cannabis cultivars started to emerge in the Netherlands and to a lesser degree in Canada. (That’s why in 2024, it is almost impossible to find a pure land race Cannabis Sativa or Indica.) The present day model of indoor Cannabis grows is almost entirely based on technology, methods and genetics that started in the 1980’s. Yes, the grow lights are more efficient and multi-spectrum and the watering and feeding of Cannabis plants are more nuanced but if a Cannabis grower from the late 1980’s, woke up in a grow room in 2024, they would immediately feel at home. Is The Old Hemp Farmer guilty of waxing nostalgic about the 1980’s being a very exciting time in Cannabis? Yes, that’s what writers do. Hopefully someone that is starting to write about Cannabis in 2024 will have something to romanticize about in forty years but I seriously doubt it. Anyway as always, Hemp Dawgs and Hemp Puppies keep one eye on the weather and the other eye on the market.

Visit our Tennessee homegrown web site to try our great products: https://www.tnhomegrown.com

The Wife's web site: https://www.theoldhempfarmerswife.com

Our Podcast - Full Contact Cannabis: https://fullcontactcannabis.podbean.com

[naldthal-thetraders]

[forestfairy72-blog1]

Like Breathing

[Ao3]

A Fresh Start

Annabeth could barely think over the music. The reggae baseline was pounding at what most would consider an inappropriate volume for a small café. The bored-looking barista clearly did not fit into this category. She had picked the venue for Piper’s benefit. A quick google search for vegan-friendly coffee shops had led her here, to the Cerulean Café, even though Piper was veggie rather than vegan. It was a not what she had expected; faux-rustic or pretentious, instead it had a cute homey feel. Every table had a few mis-matched chairs around it, differing materials but in the same colour story which her inner designer approved of. Annabeth’s table was next to the window, looking out onto a window box full of brightly coloured plants.

The barista glared at her from behind the counter, clearly annoyed that she was yet to order despite having been sat at her table for nearly fifteen minutes. It probably didn’t help that she had cleared some dirty plates off the table so she could sit down since there hadn’t been a vacant table. His gaze caused her face to heat up slightly. Annabeth rationalised that the shop managers hadn’t used the space effectively, if she had been the one designing the layout there could be another three tables, none of which would be blocking the fire exit, unlike the current set up.

Impatiently, Annabeth ran her fingers through her hair. Piper was always late. She didn’t know why she expected today to be any different. Just like that Piper appeared at the door, a whirlwind of denim, feathers and bags. She scanned the room the look for Annabeth and rushed over as soon as she spotted her.

“Ahhhhhh! So good to see you!” Piper squeezed as if to make up for four months of missed hugs. Annabeth beamed as she hugged back, her frustration dissipating more with every second she was back with her friend.

“Right back atcha McLean. Can I get you a coffee?” “Don’t worry about it.” Piper began to rifle through her many bags for her wallet. “Nah, I insist. It’s the least I can do.” Annabeth’s smile faltered for just a moment but luckily Piper didn’t notice. “Bullshit.” Piper scoffed, “But I will treat you next time.” “Flat white with 2 sugars?” Annabeth asked. “A woman after my own heart!” Piper fake swooned.

Annabeth approached the counter with the cheeriest grin she could muster, ready to face the scowling Rasta hat wearing barista. The guy clocked her and instantly plastered his own smile on. “Hi there! Can I get a flat white and an Americano please?” She asked, struck by how easily the guy switched into customer service mode. Maybe he was just happy that she was actually buying something. The café was pretty full still, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have anything to do. “Absolutely! Can I interest you in anything else? One of our home-baked cakes perhaps?” “Ooh… What would you recommend?” “Well, I’m partial to the banana bread.” “Sounds great! I’ll take one of those and a lemon drizzle please.” Annabeth handed over the money and turned to look back at her friend. Piper was casually scrolling through her phone while she was waiting. Every once in a while she would click on something of laugh quietly to herself. Her friend’s presence made Annabeth feel lighter already. She thanked the barista as he placed her many dishes on to a tray and then carried them over to the table. “You are a jewel, thanks.” Piper smiled as she unloaded her coffee from the tray. Annabeth halved the two cakes and swapped over plates so they each had a part of both treats. “How cute is this place? I can’t believe I have never come here before! Loving the blue theme.” She indicated to the cups, saucers and plates which were also mismatched all in similar shades of blue.

“Yeah, it’s really adorable. Kind of reminds me of that place we went to in Soho when you came to visit me at school.”

“Yes! Oh my god that place did the best pancakes! Do you think it’s too late for me to order pancakes?”

Annabeth just laughed at her friend and agreed it was too late for pancakes. The pair began some small talk as they ate and drank – how Annabeth’s journey had been, how things were going with Piper’s PR internship, how Jason was adjusting to his sister Thalia going on the road.

“It was so sweet of Thalia to let me stay in her room while she is on tour. I really appreciate it.”

“Babe, you know she would’ve killed me and Jason both had we not done everything we could to get you here.”

Annabeth could believe it. She had met Thalia nearly fifteen years ago at summer camp and the pair had somehow managed to remain friends after all this time. They were sisters in all but blood, that curtesy extending to Jason, Thalia’s younger brother. In the years since becoming Piper’s boyfriend that had only doubled down. When Annabeth had first called Thalia to say there had been a… change in her living situation… she had to all but beg her friend not to cancel the rest of her band’s tour dates and come back east.

“Well I just don’t want to seem ungrateful. Having somewhere to stay was the first big step. The next of course is finding a job. Do you know of anything going?”

“What kind of thing are you looking for? Are you thinking of going for something design-y like an internship or…?”

“No. I need something that is going to pay bills. I cannot afford an internship right now.” Well that was certainly part of the reason. Piper noticed Annabeth twitch slightly at the mention of design.

“I mean I saw a sign in the window here saying they are looking for a barista/waitress. What about that?” Piper walked over to the notice board and returned with the flyer. “It says to ask for Grover at the desk. You could be a waitress!” Annabeth paused for a moment while she pondered this. She knew very well how to put on a customer service persona from her time in retail helping to fund her school experience.

“I mean the worst thing they can do is say no. I’ll go ask the guy up there.” Annabeth rose from her seat, drank the final gulp of her coffee and approached the rather grumpy looking man at the till.

“Hi, may I speak to Grover please?” She smiled as brightly as she could as she said it. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror lining the wall behind him, realised that she looked a bit demonic so tried to tone it down.

“You are already.” Grover tensed up at this. “Is everything okay with your food and coffee?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Annabeth rushed. “I was wanting to ask for an application.” He physically relaxed at her response, gave her a big grin and pulled out a form from behind the till. Clearly he had expected to have an ‘I want to speak to the manager’ conversation.

“There you go, the boss mentioned there have been a couple of applicants so interviews will be Friday. It’s pretty straightforward – if you think you have any experience which is going to be particularly helpful make sure you make it stand out. Good luck!” Grover smiled, Annabeth returned to her table, feeling ever so slightly guilty for thinking of the guy as grumpy when he had been incredibly pleasant. She shot Piper a thumbs up as she headed back to the table.

The pair of them grabbed their things and left the café, thanking Grover as they left.

-    -    -

The walk to the apartment did not take long, though it would have been much shorter had they not each been pulling a large suitcase topped with Piper's many bags, filled with flyers for some event she was promoting through work. While it was a pain in the neck in the short term, Annabeth couldn’t help but feel conflicted. She was getting a fresh start, but it was sad to think that her whole life was neatly packed into these two cases.

Dalinver Bay was a small coastal town about an hour outside of Manhattan. Ideally Annabeth would have wanted to go west and join Thalia, but she would only have been a distraction. Escaping her woes by partying across California sounded much too self-destructive and she was pretty sure she maxed out her quota for self-destructive behaviours this decade. Besides it was incredibly kind for Piper to let her stay

“Well here we are!” Piper sang, pulling out her set of keys and opening the front door.

“Damn. You are living large Piper!” Annabeth exclaimed as she pulled he case into the large foyer.

“You say that every time you come here.”

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause it is still true every time I come here!”

Annabeth was no stranger to money. She had attended private school, her mother was a regular in the Upper East Side social circle but there was money and then there was money. It was Piper’s turn to blush now. She didn’t like to advertise it but as the child of one of Hollywood’s most sought after action stars and the head of a fashion empire she was obviously very well off.

The apartment was three bedroomed, each being en suite, and had several other rooms spread across two floors including a guest bathroom, kitchen, lounge, gaming room and a room nicknamed the library which was full of books ranging from rare classics to summer reading fodder. The whole interior had a chic, minimalist vibe and had obviously been decorated by someone who had created many a show home. But there were still flavours of Thalia and Piper throughout the house, be it Piper’s artifacts from her father’s side or rock memorabilia Thalia had scattered around the place, including the band’s debut album’s platinum record hanging in the foyer so it would be the first thing any guest would see.

Between the two of them they took two trips to hoist the heavy suitcases up the spiral staircase to Thalia’s room. After having plonked it on the floor they headed into the lounge. There was an L shaped sofa and a love seat both facing the large tv mounted on the wall. Each of the sank down onto the black leather sofa and let out a sigh. The lifting had been heavier than expected.

“So…” Piper began then paused. “Do you want to watch tv?”

“Sure.” They stuck on some mind numbing trash and sat curled up on the sofa for a long time. The silence between them was a comfortable one but Annabeth couldn’t help but think that hadn’t been the question Piper wanted to ask. She was waiting for the full story. Things must have seemed so good when Piper had visited back in February. SO why had Annabeth had called hysterically crying three days ago? Why she was taking a leave of absence from school? Why she did pale at every mention of her family? Why she had left… everything?

But she couldn’t answer.

Not yet.

So instead she snuggled in closer to her friend and before she knew it she dozed off. Ot was the best sleep she’d had in a year.

-   -    -

By the time Friday had rolled around Annabeth had applied for seven waitressing jobs, three cleaning positions, four admin assistant posts, and even one of those advertisement jobs where you have to throw a massive plaque around telling customers where to go to buy over priced sports equipment. But hey, beggers can't be choosers. As she walked the now familiar route from Thalia's to the Cerulean Cafe her heart was jack hammering. She had been in two days ago to drop off her application and make use of their complementary wifi to send off her many applications. The walk should only have been twenty minutes but she had to stop every so often and take in a deep breath to calm herself down. It wasn't her first job interview. Annabeth had been employed every summer since she was sixteen. Bsck then however she had always had a safety net. Now she had to rely on herself. Asking for help from her friends would be mortifying, especially after everything they were already doing for her and hell would freeze over before she turned to either of her parents for help.  

She was stood outside the door. All that was left to do was go in, get through the interview telling as few lies as possible and get out. She pushed the door and stepped inside, feeling the calm atmosphere of the room wash over her. It was amazing seeing the difference between the place first thing in the morning when it was empty as opposed to the bustling experience she had shared with Piper.

"Hello?" She called out when she realised the room was completely empty. "Is someone there?" "Miss Ramírez-Arellano?" Came a woman's voice from the kitchen area. How her heart beat faster. She regretted it the second she had handed in the application. But what else was a girl to do? She didn't want to risk being tracked down so she couldn't use her own name. Reyna was going to be on tour with Thalia for the next two months anyway so what she didn't know couldn't hurt her. Now that she was faced with the repercussions of such an obvious lie she realised just how stupid she had been. First of all, she was white. Secondly -

"Yes." Annabeth finally called back before her thoughts could derail her. She had made the bed, now she had to lie in it. The woman came round to shake her hand. Annabeth would have placed her in her late forties, but something about her kind smile made her appear younger. If it weren't for the grey streaks in her otherwise brown hair she could pass for younger still.

"I'm Sally Jackson. Walcome to the Cerulean Café!" She gestured to the room around them. It was obviously in the midst of being set up for the day since she had been asked to come in before the place officially opened for the interview to take place. "Shall we take a seat?" Annabeth nodded and followed her to a table near the kitchen so Sally could keep an ear out for the timer to tell her the scones were ready.

“So, I saw on your application that you have worked in customer service. Did you have waitressing experience through this post Miss Ramírez-Arellano?” Sally Jackson asked Annabeth. It was a simple question so Annabeth should have been able to answer with the simple obvious answer but the name game was already throwing her.

“Not really, but I am a fast learner Mrs Jackson.” Annabeth smiled. “I have been practising at home and can carry three plates at once. I am dyslexic so I know that I’m going to have to learn the menu by heart which I can happily do, I have a great memory-“ Annabeth felt her cheeks redden. Now she was bumbling like an idiot, plus she was pretty sure she was sweating through her shirt.

“That’s okay, the thing I care about most is that you are friendly and welcoming to the customers. Please call me Sally, rather than Mrs Jackson. Also, can I call you Reyna? I am not fond of too much formality, if you can’t tell by the place” Sally laughed and Annabeth nodded. “We change the specials every day but the rest of the menu is seasonal, so it only changes once in a while. How comfortable are you with technology? The till is basically an iPad – my son set it up because I’m useless at that kind of thing. He is also dyslexic so it is on a pink background.”

“I can work with that! The black on pink helps everything stay in the right place.”

“That’s what he says!” Sally sighed slightly and continued reading down the application form sat between them. “So, what is it that has taken you out to the Bay?”

“I- uh” The real answer would be too long and painful. Annabeth had expected to be asked it but not quite so soon. She still hadn’t really figured it out yet herself so was surprised when the words started flooding out. “I’m uh, taking a little break from my studies” that was true “to pursue a love of surfing!” That was not. “Yeah, I just can’t get enough of the waves! So I uh, thought a place like this would be ideal…” Annabeth trailed off and suddenly felt compelled to look anywhere in the room but at Sally Jackson’s face.

The woman pursed her lips and looked Annabeth up and down, considering her carefully.

“Okay.” She straightened up a little and locked on to Annabeth’s eyes. “I am going to ask you five questions. I want you to answer them honestly, and the job is yours. After that I won’t ask any more. Are we clear?”

Annabeth felt her heartrate quicken, her nerves coming back all at once. “Yes.”

“What is your name?”

“Rey-“

“I said honestly.” Sally’s face did not change at all. “I don’t care what we put on your name badge, and I’m sure you’ve got your reasons for giving a fake name but if we are going to work together, I need honesty.”

“It’s Annabeth, Annabeth Chase.”

“Okay Annabeth. Whatever you are running from - is it drugs? If it is drugs here is where our conversation ends I'm afraid.”

“God no!” Annabeth spluttered. “I can assure you I have no interest in drugs.”

“Good. Will whatever it is keep you from being able to work?”

“Not at all.”

“Is it going to impact my business or my family?”

“No.”

“Can you start Monday?”

Annabeth stared at her, trying to work out if Sally was joking or not. “Yes.”

“Perfect” She clapped her hands together. “Grover is going to be delighted, he’s been desperate for some more wait staff to keep things going smoothly. Come on and I’ll give you the tour.”

“That’s it? You don’t want to know anything else?”

“That’s it.” Sally smiled softly. “This café was built on trust. I trust my employees and they trust me. If I were to force you to tell me every decision or experience that has led you here, you would never trust me and we wouldn’t be able to work together. The most important thing to us here at Cerulean Café is family – we are all one big family. The job is yours if you want it. Under the condition that you never lie to me again.”

“I promise, Sally.” They were three simple words, but the weight Annabeth put behind them felt like a vow, one that she would not break.

“So, come on then.” She rose to her feet and Annabeth followed suit.

The tour was very straightforward. She had already seen the shop floor which Sally now explained the fairly straightforward numbering system for. Annabeth remembered it as if the room was split into quarters and then there was a circle inside of each. Sally informed her that there was no table thirteenfor some superstitious reasons which she managed to not laugh at. Annabeth felt a bit bad for criticising the lay out of the café as Sally explained how it had been arranged for optimal ease for disabled patrons, inspired by her favourite regular who Annabeth was bound to meet soon.

“I’m really looking forward to Monday now!” Sally beamed. “But just a piece of advice. We have a few regulars who are the nosy type. Whatever story you decide you want to tell you better get it straight before you start because they will be asking questions.”

“Okay.” Annabeth nodded.

“And there is no way you are getting around trying to pass yourself off as Reyna Ramírez-Arellano – I’m assuming you are staying with her? She is known in the area so that just wouldn’t go un-noted. Besides, are you going to remember that when we are slammed with customers and you are being called for? It needs to be something a bit closer to home.”

A light bulb went off in Annabeth’s head. The name her step-brothers had called her before they could say her name.

“Abby. Please put it as Abby on the rota.”

“You got it Abby.” Sally added her to the bottom of her shift rota board and walked her to the door. “I need to finish getting set up for opening. You’ll have some training to do on the job, but Grover will get that sorted out for you and you’ll meet most of the team on your first shift. Remember blue top, black bottoms and hair up. See you Monday!”

“Monday!” Annabeth echoed and stepped out of the café and onto the bright street.

She whipped out her phone and began texting Piper to share the good news. She got a job! Things finally were beginning to resemble a fresh start.

[antipathiczora]

What your favorite Commander colors say about you:

Mono-White: You haven’t had friends since 1999.

Mono-Blue: You play the min-maxed wizard in your Dungeons and Dragons group.

Mono-Black: You’re probably into BDSM or something.

Mono-Red: You listen to Eurobeat while you play Mario Kart.

Mono-Green: You’re an animal rights activist. You have definitely thought about fucking a tree.

Azorius: You haven’t had friends since 1999 and also you regularly get shoved into lockers.

Dimir: You’ve carefully built and maintained the extensive profile of an edgy Sonic the Hedgehog OC without telling anyone.

Izzet: Your taste in music consists of nothing but songs from the 1980′s and experimental theremin tracks.

Simic: Your favorite movie is The Shape of Water and everyone knows why.

Boros: You were one of the people who signed that petition to put the Robocop statue in Detroit.

Orzhov: You are very good at pretending to be rich on Tinder in order to get laid.

Selesnya: You own twenty Rasta hats and can tell the difference between each one at a glance alone. You have attended Burning Man every year since the 60′s.

Golgari: You regularly cook and eat roadkill.

Gruul: Your first fandom was Shrek.

Rakdos: hurt me daddy

Naya: You are obsessed with The Land Before Time.

Bant: Every inch of your living space has been power washed repeatedly and plated with three layers of chrome.

Esper: It is your goal in life to build the ultimate sex robot.

Grixis: You’re a dentist.

Jund: You’re a regular customer of Bad Dragon or equivalent.

Mardu: You have a framed pin-up poster of Genghis Khan hanging on your wall.

Jeskai: You like to astral project regularly.

Sultai: You call snakes ‘danger noodles’ whether they’re venomous or not.

Abzan: You have some kind of fetish for shrinking/growing. Mostly growing.

Temur: But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked...

Witch-Maw: You’re the asshole at the table who plays Atraxa.

Ink-Treader: You bless the rains down in Africa.

Dune-Brood: You hate sand. It’s all grainy, and it gets everywhere.

Glint-Eye: You ship the partner commanders together.

Yore-Tiller: You’ve written hot, steaming Tezerret/Ral Zarek fanfiction.

Five-Color: You don’t exist.

[seabreeze2022]

Bahamas cruise 2022, Part 1. Bimini.

Nancy and I bought a Catalina 350 (35’) monohull sloop sailboat with the intention of sailing around the Bahamas each spring. A good friend from childhood, Bill Cullen, coached us on which boat to buy. I also crewed for him on a 10 day boat delivery the previous December from Ft. Meyers to Georgetown Exuma. Even though we were on a schedule he was able to point out several places to stop and check out. We kept the name Sea Breeze that the previous owner had. It was in great shape and ready to cruise the Bahamas but I still spent months tweaking it for the trip. We added two large solar panels that made the trip a success. This was in the days of CoVid 19 hysteria. We had to have a negative CoVid test within 3 days of arrival. Not easily done in a sailboat that has to work out weather issues. So when traveling to Bahamas you can get a 3 month permit or a 6 month permit. Insurance wise we have to be out of the Bahamas by June 1. So this defines the best 3 months in the Bahamas as March, April and May. Not to cold. Most of the fronts don’t make it that far south in March.

After picking a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. We took our rapid test in Key Largo in the morning of March 9th. Then started working on the documentation to enter the Bahamas, Click 2 Clear. That was a pain, we barely made the falling tide to get out of our harbor. Motored to the lee of Tavernier Key. It was close to dark but I needed to scrape the barnacles pff of the bottom. By that point we just spent the evening behind Tavernier Key.

Setting an alarm for 0300 we got some sleep. Our crossing to Bimini was un dramatic. Always nicer when the sun comes up. We reached Bimini around 1600 with an easy entrance thru the channel. The channel always moves and the channel markers are usually wrong. We pulled into Brown’s Marina where I have stayed before. Turns out we were weathered in for close to a week.

This Capt. Ansel Saunders, “The Bonefish Legend”. I was able to spend a half hour talking with him. He invited me into his house where he autographed a book for me. Extremely interesting man. Built flats skiffs and guided. Has the record for the largest Bonefish caught in the Bahamas. Capt. Saunders is well known for taking Martin Luther King out to the mangrove creeks to do some deep thinking. MLK wrote his United Nations speech while boating with Ansel. Capt. Saunders spent about 30 days being denied lunch at the Big Game Fishing club in the 60’s. Until they relented and served him. Can you believe that a black man in the Bahamas was not allowed to eat in a restaurant.

This is “Rasta”, I met him at the beginning of the year. He is a dock master Brown’s Marina. Here Nancy is giving him some home baked bread. All male Bahamians have nick names. He is originally from Nassau, but has lived on Bimini for the majority of his adult life.

This Ebbe’s Conch shack in Alice Town, north Bimini. The conch are kept alive in a pen behind the cook. He reaches in with a hook and pulls out the conch for ceviche. This is about a 15 minute walk from Brown’s.

Inside of Ebbe’s Conch shack, great place for a beer. But we usually eat outside on the deck. This whole shack is on pilings over the water. When you use the facilities, you can watch the fish through the openings between the dock boards.

Unique find a triple headed coconut palm.

A wrecked ship on the south west iron shore.

Sunrise at Brown’s Marina. After being weathered in for a week we finally sailed out, using the Gulf Stream current we headed around the north end of the island with two buddy boats and headed east across the bank. Sunset came as we passed Makie Shoal. Then we all anchored off the route hiding behind North West Shoal.

Nancy at the helm on “the Bank”, sailing east. Motored most of the day.

To be continued……

S/V Sea Breeze, North Bimini, Bahamas

[architectnews]

Bardem Speakeasy Bar, Helsinki

Speakeasy Bar, Helsinki Commercial Interior Project, Finnish Leisure Architecture, Images

Bardem Speakeasy Bar in Helsinki

3 Oct 2020

Bardem Speakeasy Bar

Architects: Fyra Ltd

Location: Helsinki, Finland

The Bardem cocktail bar quickly became a new place to go for friends of cultivated bar culture in the heart of Helsinki. The independent interior concept is the work of the renowned local design studio Fyra, and its modern interpretation is based on the principle of a Speakeasy Bar. Fyra plays with the combination of old and new in a stylistically confident manner and focuses on a large, central bar in the deliberately discreetly lit, atmospherically mysterious room. Ceramic tiles of the Craft series of Agrob Buchtal skilfully complement this relaxed flair and convince with an impressive visual depth as well as a lively play of colours.

The cocktail bar Bardem is situated in a first-class location in Helsinki. Many office buildings, but also shops have settled there and offered the varied potential for appealing gastronomy concepts. The idea of Hans Välimäki and Arto Rastas, who already run the tapas restaurant Penélope just a stone’s throw away, was to create a trendy and modern place for all night owls. At the same time, however, they also wanted to appeal to the classic after-work crowd, who come to ring at the end of the working day in a relaxed atmosphere. They entrusted the Fyra office with the implementation, which was honoured as “Interior Architecture Agency of the Year 2020” by the Finnish Association of Interior Designers.

From the sales area to the hotspot for cultivated bar culture For the studio Fyra, the challenge was to transform a two-storey former sales area into a bar concept which literally captivates the guests, but at the same time also offers an opportunity to retreat from the hectic pace of everyday life.

They decided to centre the room around a large bar and make it the heart of the entire interior concept. Especially the curves of the bar, which were covered with wooden panels with a light, honey-coloured finish, catch the eye. Perfectly arranged spirits, together with stylish, painting-like wall decorations, complement the generous bar counter.

Speakeasy Bar: dimmed light and dark colours The mysterious appeal of a Speakeasy Bar is enhanced by the subdued, atmospheric lighting and the dark colours of the interior. A curtain-like navy-blue background in a velvet look exudes a touch of classic theatre charm, while deeply upholstered furniture invites guests to sink in and relax. The interior combines old and new in a natural way, curtains and recycled furniture (newly upholstered) lend the room softness and intimacy. The subdued lighting also offers protection from prying eyes and gives the guests the peace to relax.

Ceramic tiles play an important part A special highlight on the wall was created by Fyra with the help of ceramic tiles, which were produced by long-time firing in a classic tunnel kiln. The studio used the tiles in different colours and played especially with the exquisite high-gloss glazes. “The tiles play an important part in our interior concept, as they bring life to the dark, dimly lit room”, explains Laura Järvinen, the interior designer in charge of the project. “The high-gloss surface perfectly harmonizes with the soft shapes and materials we used in this bar. We also arranged the tiles in several horizontal rows and used a colour gradient to create a perfect visual link between floor and ceiling.”

Craft: natural, archaic look The ceramic tile series Craft of Agrob Buchtal used here is a collection which, in combination with firing temperature and open flames, produces particularly bright and intensive colours. High-gloss glazes also enable an impressive visual depth and a lively play of colours.

Today, ceramic tiles are mainly produced horizontally by fast firing and in roller-type kilns. Craft, on the other hand, is produced standing upright by long-time firing in a classic tunnel kiln. There, the natural play of the fire creates a natural, archaic look and thus enables results with a unique character.

Craft is available in different variants and colours. Fyra chose the colours mid-grey, olive-green flamed and benit-blue. The centrally inserted strip tiles with wave profile (also olive-green) give the wall a rhythmic three-dimensional structure and create different visual effects, depending on the incidence of light. Well-balanced, the upholstery of the bench, the wall lamps and the folds of the multi-layered curtain hanging above it adapt the texture of the strip tile format. The result is a new, stylish yet casual cocktail bar and a unique, harmonious “total work of art”.

Bardem Speakeasy Bar in Helsinki – Building Information

Architects: Fyra Ltd., Helsinki, Finland

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Project completion date: 2019

About Fyra Fyra (in English “four”) was founded in 2010 and one of the leading interior design offices in Finland.

Photographer: Riikka Kantinkoski

Speakeasy Bar, Helsinki images information received 031020

Location: Viikinmäki, Helsinki, Finland

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[jeremiekroubodagnini]

TOOTS HIBBERT: THE JAMAICAN RAY CHARLES?

The first time I met Toots, it was during my teen years… At that time, I didn’t meet him in the flesh, but through music. I had been offered a reggae compilation audio cassette and one track particularly hit me: “Louie Louie.” I remember I said to myself: “Wow! Who is this Jamaican Ray Charles?” Then, 20 years later, I had the opportunity to meet him in Jamaica, in the Reggae Sumfest taking place each year in mid-July in Montego Bay. It was in summer 2005 to be precise and I had been ushered backstage thanks to my pal Matthew J. Smith. It was a great moment! Great feeling! Toots had just performed a sensational show in front of his audience, it was something like 1 or 2 am, so he was probably very exhausted, but he still took time to have a small chat with me about his reason for living: REGGAE MUSIC. The following year, while on tour, I had the opportunity to meet him again in France, in Reims (my hometown) as he was just passing through. This time, I met him at the Holiday Inn Hotel, right downtown. It was on 26th June and it’s Edouard Dombret, a friend of mine then working for Mediacom Tour Reggae Booking Agency, who organized the meeting with Toots in his suite. Again, we had a small talk about reggae and the music business in general, and before I left, he gave me his number (not 54-46, but his mobile number!) and told me to call him whenever I would come to Jamaica. He said that he would invite me for lunch or something. That proposition couldn’t have come at a better time since I was precisely supposed to go to Jamaica for a research trip by the end of that same year… In December 2006, being in Jamaica for a week or so, I did call him to set up an interview. He remembered me very well and told me to join him at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston where he was just chilling out. I then asked Robert Alexandre (a Haitian-born bredda living in Jamaica for more than 20 years) to come along with me and there we went! Toots offered us a very warm welcome in the former colonial mansion built in 1924 on 10 acres of land by Mr. Harold Alexander as a wedding gift to his wife. Toots of course kept his word and invited us for lunch. But before that, we had a drink at the bar; as a matter of fact, more than a mere drink I should say as we drank a bottle of red wine as an aperitif (laughs)! Actually, we drank so much wine that day that when came the time of the interview, I wasn’t in a great shape to conduct it properly (laughs). Nevermind! We had a fantastic time, a good laugh, and that’s what matters. Toots was definitely an epicurean and liked drinking delicious wines and eating lovely food, let alone weed or women! I’ll remember him as such. Later on, we met a couple of other times, including on 7th May 2009 when he shared the Zenith stage in Paris with Rootz Underground and Alpha Blondy. It was a fantastic show organized by Mediacom. On that day we had a talk backstage with Kiddus I about ecology. A very interesting talk I remember!

Toots was definitely an epicurean and liked drinking delicious wines and eating lovely food, let alone weed or women! I’ll remember him as such.

Toots and Kiddus I backstage at the Zenith (Paris).  7 May 2009. 

The following interview was conducted on 2nd December 2006 with Toots at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica

Toots, how did you become a singer, an artist?

I found out that I have the talent to sing because I used to sing in the Church. People told me I can sing. I used to sing in the Church with my parents. So, I came to Kingston from a Parish called Clarendon. I was born in the countryside of Clarendon, then I wanted to be a real singer so I came to Kingston. I tried and tried and tried… and then I got tunes to sing. Then with Coxsone, Coxsone’s Downbeat, he died now. When we started to sing, we didn’t get no money, we just wanted to sing. So, it was a good thing to do, you know!

Your voice is incredible and one could say that you were influenced by soul, gospel…

Yeah, because I have gospel in my voice and people told me that all my songs that I sing are gospel, because I sing conscious words in my songs. So, the conscious words mean gospel.

What bands did you listen to when you started your career?

Ray Charles, James Brown, Otis Redding etc., very great people! But Ray Charles is one of the bests. But I also sing with Willy Nelson, Ben Harper, Aretha Franklin, No Doubt etc... a lot of people.

Toots performing at the Summfest (Montego Bay). July 2005. 

Professor Matthew J. Smith & Toots, backstage at the Sumfest. July 2005. 

Toots perfoming a sensational show in front of a crazy audience (see below) at the Sumfest. July 2005.

You went through the different eras of Jamaican music: ska, rocksteady, reggae. Can you tell me briefly a few words about these different eras?

Well…when I came to Kingston, I met Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and some other great singers in Jamaica. Before I started, they were singing. Derrick Harriott, he used to be with a group called the Jiving Juniors, Derrick Harriott is a great singer too. When I came from the country, I saw them singing. So, there are my heroes including Bob Marley, Alton Ellis, Desmond Dekker etc. Jimmy Cliff is my tutor. I love Jimmy. I love everybody and that’s why I’m here today because loving people, giving them your heart is a good thing! So, I always love people and they are my heroes from Jamaica. Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, all of the Wailers, Ziggy Marley, all of Bob’s kids, Junior Gong etc. all of those guys are my heroes, young heroes.

“Do The Reggay” is credited to be the first reggae song.

Yeah, that is the inventor of the word “reggae” and Toots and the Maytals came out with this word, telling people that our music that we’re playing in Jamaica from that time until today is called reggae. I recorded a song called “Do The Reggay” but in those time we had a little slang in Jamaica in which the boys call the girls “streggae” when they look quite dress and everything. So may be the word “reggae” comes from “streggae.” It’s just a glamour and I don’t know where it comes from but I was the one who found wordy to say our music “Do The Reggay” is called reggae. Doing a song called “Do The Reggay,” people told me it’s also in the world Guinness Book of Records, in novels, in some great books in Jamaica also; you can see that the Maytals are the ones who invented the word “reggae.” So, it’s a good story.

  Jamaica seems not to understand that reggae is one of the leading music in the world (...)  everybody knows that reggae music is a music that tells the story, that give you cultural understanding. It’s no nursery rhyme, it’s not about cursing, it’s nothing that is out of order, it’s cultural, biblical, logical music.

It seems today that reggae roots is more popular in Europe than in Jamaica itself. Why according to you?

I believe that the youth of today want to research enough like what the French have done, the English have done it, and Americans have done it, all over the world, research. Now the Trinidadian doing it, but Jamaica seems not to understand that reggae is one of the leading music in the world. They should put themselves together, write good songs and know that reggae music is reggae music and people adore reggae. I want Jamaicans start to research on it just like the French do and foreign people do. Just research on it and you’ll know that I’m the inventor of the word “reggae” and reggae is coming from way down. But there was a time when just Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and myself, we put reggae upon the top. From then, we don’t release any reggae. Bob died; we don’t release reggae regularly, a lot of dancehall coming in to do things. But when people ask me “can you release some real reggae music?” I say “Yes, I’m going to do it.” So, they know, foreigners know, the tourists know, everybody knows that reggae music is a music that tells the story, that give you cultural understanding. It’s no nursery rhyme, it’s not about cursing, it’s nothing that is out of order, it’s cultural, biblical, logical music. And the word has to be “click!” So, what they do now, what they write, it’s not really reggae. They are doing other things. They could talk bad words in it; they could argument and talk about crazy things. So that’s not reggae, that’s more like streggae.

Toots at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston. 2 December 2006. 

Toots and I drinking some good wine at the bar (Terra Nova Hotel). 2 December 2006.

My bredda Robert Alexandre & Toots at the bar (Terra Nova Hotel). 2 December 2006.

Toots and I enjoying a good meal (Terra Nova Hotel). 2 December 2006. 

What about Rastafari? Are you a Rasta?

I’m a Rasta who does the right things. You don’t have to have long hair to be a Rasta. The word “Rasta” means people who do the right things. They love people the way they love themselves and treat people the way they treat themselves. And to principal, Rasta is not my name, but if you do good things, people say you’re a Rasta because Rasta is God’s name. So, we just believe that… we just say we’re Rasta but Rasta is one of God’s names, his last name Rastafari. People who use Rastafari should be the rightest ones, prophets, sons of God. So, don’t look at me like … I will tell you that: “I’m not Rasta, I’m not doing…” I do things that God would do, Jah would do, the Almighty. I don’t want to praise no other God or get away from the Almighty, the God who created you and everybody on earth. I don’t want to praise no other God. So, I’m a different kind of Rasta.

And who’s Haile Selassie for you?

He’s a God in himself but not a God for me.

Just a few words about your last album!

It’s called the True Love album. It was an album that won the Grammy in 2004. It was a great thing to put together with all these foreign people to sing my songs. What came out of it was a Grammy. It’s a long story but it was a good thing to put together. We wanted to let people know that reggae music can be there and everywhere and find where good music is. Reggae can be there with R&B, rock etc. So that’s why I did this album, to let people know that reggae music is not just local, but international, to make it more international, that’s why I did this, you know!

Walk good Toots, as we say in Jamaica, and keep your joie de vivre over there. Nuff Respect mi brethren!

Toots at the Zenith (Paris) after the show. 7 May 2009. 

JKD.

Photos 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Copyright JKD.

Photos 2, 3, 4, 5. Copyright Matthew J. Smith. 

[soulcooljay]

This is how I’m walking into the next day, next chapter, next phase, next year, and the rest of my life. I hope and pray that whatever situation I enter into, there’s a smile on my face and my light follows me. I want to thank every single individual that called, texted, showed up or messaged me and wished me a happy birthday. To Krystany, Vince, Bern, Reggie, Fesa, Kwame, Carol, Latice, Applejac, Mom Wahsee, Marcia, Candace B, Nneka, Godbabby Crystal, Jean, TO, Kristina, Darryl, Dubble D, Kay Kay, Lil D Greene, Dwight, JB Sr., Grandma T, M Hayes, Stef, J Dorsey, Nat Jones, Dique, Charmaine, Khalid, Steph Lee, Charlette, Big Ron, Eric Polk, Jaime Jaim, Michelle, My Jodine, Tiff Rogers, C Dent, EmDee, Chevonna, my lil sis Lisa, Alicia, Shauna, Jae, Lakia, Ralph Forrest, Angie T, Tan, Aisha, TK, Dorian, Renee Renee, Eb Wortham, Heaven Sent, Mr. Sutton, Tiff White, Salah, Rasta Roots, my Akili, Boom Ziza, Jenny G ❤️, Dina Florez, Camille, Ramon, Atiya, Danielle, Tish, Angie Shuttlesworth, Anisa, Tyesha, Sharon, Jenny Walker and my Alisande. You didn’t have to make an effort to wish me anything, but I am immensely grateful that you choose to do so. I am not here unless Lena Bing sacrificed everything to raise me, Bishop Robert Evans Jr. takes time to shape me, and the family and friends around me that embraced and nurtured me. My hope every day is that I am in debt to no one, and every life I’ve touched feels they’ve gotten just as much if not more from me than they given. Thank you. Born in ‘78, thankful I’ve made this far, and I hope my best years are ahead and that I can smile like this for many years to come. #happybirthday #41 #thankGod #imjustgettingstarted (at Decatur, Georgia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4vVbvyB38-/?igshid=7crd1qqdbxtv

[thespacebetweenus2017kenya]

The Strength of a Lion

I found myself at the Intercultural Center in Accra. It is a market infused with the Ghanaian culture; full of different scents, patterned fabrics, and unique wooden crafts. My friend, TJ, has worked their for the past 5 years as an artist and musician. We met last year at the same market. TJ's main passion is teaching tourists how to play the drum. The two of us sat in a small stall on Wednesday (5/10) creating rhythmic beats while locals carved wood outside. Upon our initial reunion, I noticed TJ wearing a beaded necklace that took the shape of a lion. It complimented his style of brightly patterned clothing and head full of Rastas--both of which matched his friendly and outgoing personality. After meaningful conversation followed by a walk around the market, he handed me his necklace and said, "May you have the strength of a lion." 

Every day I walk from the convent to the school; which is just a short walk down a hill. As I do so, the swinging of a machete captures my attention. First I hear the cutting sweeps of grass as the machete creates a two beat melody. This invites my eyes to the worker who is drenched in sweat from the task. It takes a whole week to cut a small patch of land. Progress is slow but the strength of the worker is unparalleled even with the knowledge that the grass will grow again. Similarly, I hear a steady beat from the kitchen. It beckons me to see what is happening. Ama, one of the cooks, is hunched over a bowl grinding cassava with a pistle. The pounding motion covers her in sweat as she prepares a meal for the community. Progress is slow but her mental and physical strength is unparalleled even with the knowledge that she will have to cook another meal tomorrow. These people have the strength of a lion. 

My return trip to Ghana taught me more about the personal stories of a strong and bold community of women, the Sisters of the Holy Cross. On Monday morning (5/8), I sat at the breakfast table with Sister Esther and Sister Maggie. The two of them recalled living through a famine that struck Ghana in the 1980's. They explained the importance of agriculture in Ghana as we listened to the rain fall outside. 

Sister Maggie is the very first Holy Cross Sister in Ghana. Her short stature is coupled with her jubilant presence. People gravitate towards her. Just this week, I witnessed a 5 year old cry because he didn't get to dance with Maggie during class. This resulted in a full on dance off to soothe his tears with the class joining in with claps and cheers. Maggie's spirit and deep voice reverberate through a room while her wisdom permeates your heart. 

Sister Esther followed Maggie as the second Holy Cross Sister in Ghana. She has an undeniable spunk but peaceful presence. She was the very first contact I had with Ghana almost two years ago and, therefore, she will always hold a special place in my heart. 

 These women are pioneers who paved the way to expanding a global community. It is a powerful experience to be sitting with them...women who dare to dream; women who rely on faith. These women have the strength of a lion. 

On Tuesday (5/9), I sat on the floor of a KG2 class. The six year olds sat next to me and each flexed their muscles to show me their strength. What they might not realize is that they don't have to flex their arms to show me their strength because I see it in their eyes. 

 At one point this week, I sat next to Patience (6 years old) during class. I had been eager to talk to her one on one since arriving. When I finally got the chance, I showed her pictures of us together from last year. She giggled to herself and said, "I remember." Since that exchange, every time I see her, she runs up to me with a hug. I look down and see the top of her head at my knees as she embraces me. This memory will forever give me strength.

Selasie (6 years old) jumped into my arms during snack time. I sat down and held him as he ate his biscuits. Between each bite, he pressed his face against mine and kissed me on each cheek. In this moment, I kept thinking: I am so lucky to receive this much love. This memory will forever give me strength. 

I will admit that not all reunions have been easy. I return as a woman with privilege and I recognize that coming back a second time highlights that privilege. Outside of the convent, this leads to conversations and questions about money and gifts. My gift is my time and yet sometimes I wish I could offer more as people plea for help. We live in a materialistic world where wealth defines success. I am frustrated by this reality. The greatest gift a person can give is the gift of self. How has our world led people to believe that a greater gift is money? While hard, these conversations give me strength as I learn to advocate for myself in an expansive world with disparities and differences in culture. 

"May you have the strength of a lion." I don't know if I have that strength yet and I'm not sure that I want it. I want the strength of the machete worker and Ama; the strength of Maggie and Esther; the strength of Patience and Selasie. Witnessing their strength helps me develop my own. That strength surpasses a lion. I carry the carved lion necklace with me as I leave Ghana. To me, it is a symbol of hope and a reminder of the people who have inspired me with their strength. 

I write this after I have officially said my goodbyes to the Sisters and children. Saying goodbye to 5 and 6 year olds who do not understand that you won't be in school on Monday is hard. My heart, however, is filled with love. 

As the Sisters and I exchanged hugs screaming “I love you” while the car pulled away for the airport, I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging and purpose. I cherish this community and carry their spirit with me to Kenya. My flight departs in 30 minutes and rumor has it, it's cooler in Kenya. I'm ready to embrace the breeze (and maybe see a real lion).

[c64]

The Ultimate C64 Games List Have you ever wondered about the amazing Commodore 64 game list? Yes, we have too - there were loads of them. Problem is that is was a while ago now. This list was compiled to jog the memories:

Operation Wolf

roger frames buys budjiit games

fox fightsback

ace & ace II combo

bubble bobble

tantric mouse wars

home office

salsa con artist

commando ninjas

world flee

blood sparse

ruby of thermogington

jettison railway

ice band

spiderman vs magoo

caravan madness

hulk vs hogan

hunk attack

jet set billy

monkey tennis

score me

addis abbaba karate international +

balloon wars

cloud paste

live at budokan

boris yeltsin vodka challenge

banjo time constructor

emelyn hughes ‘super’ soccer

opium fright

shoot em up penelope

lagoon of carabon harbungo

open heart burglary

frost bandage

diamonds are for women

car spike wheel burst adventure

crazy communists

square man runs up ladder III

treasure island kittens

barrell falls down IV

spoke damage

princess kidnapped 8

undercarriage catastrophe

reminder PRO

Jazz North

Pub Golf

Avalon - Land of the Rust

SimPub

Pregnant Gymnastics

Womb Cook-up

Animal Olympics

NASA Pinball Fantasy

Jed saves christmas

Horace goes Knifing

Time Orifice

Axe-wielding Comedians

Karate Blister

Ornament Erector

Building Smoke Out

Q Bert the Revenge

Trellis Abundance

Titchmarsh v Oddie - Greenkeeper Challenge 88

Co-op Warriors

Sand Veterans

Grass feathers

Morose Wind

Scube Whackey

Escape from Liverpool

Puppy Smoker The Outburst

Roll yer Own Challenge

Hackney Masterblaster

Connect One

Purple Chins

Cotton Developer

Haircut Zest Fair

Trophy Masser

Race Kings Alive

Hazel Irvine’s Whirlwind Badminton

Jazz Rasta VI

Jensen Buttons Nipple Dash

Maze Bomber 909

Speed Chess

Curling Avenger

Rope Twisting Example

Scourge of Daxus

Roy Castle’s Record Breakers

Organ Flexology

Cliff Richard’s Ambiguous Soccer

Revenge of the Feminists

Wax cluedo

Tennis Trumpeteer II

Maximise the Point

Sheep Monopoly

Weight Gain Olympics

Travel Guise

Roger Mellie’s Ice Darts

The Legend of Les Dawson

Blanket Snitch

Tales of the Underformed

Grave Digger 6

Onion Pro 2

Moon Ship

Turbo Trousers

Turbo Walking

Welcome back to the Island of Penny Farthing

Breathing Challenge

Run for President [Ukraine Edition]

F1 Parcel

Awning Inventor

Cello Beat

Super Accelerator Fridge

Crazy Ambulance

Burst Kidney Mopup

Save China

Chemistry Ninja Teacher

Boat Painter Design

Dogs of Fury

Furry Dog*

Beyond the Forbidden Biscuit

The Handlebars of Hashani

Bird Mother

Audio Frenzy Piano Lessons

Short’s Lair

Chun King Farm Life

Jimmy White Teaches Typing

Cif Blaster

Defenders of the Fish

Sandal Behaviour

Alien Food

Thatcher goes to School

Bob Dillons Boxing Farce

Gorbachev plays Chicken

Wayne Gretsky’s Ice Wallet Charity Challenge

Armalyte III - Springburn

Popcorn Death

Vast Salt EU

Virtual Drudgery

Chain of Accordions

Runner Cities

Yellow Bist

Lost Sandals

Train Slow

Sherlock Holmes in The Year 2047

Lost and Profound: Darkness Shop

Dust Police

Borrowed Money

Internet Maze

Slipstream Cowboys

Guns of Dryness

Alpha Scabs

Crusty The Friendly Chimp

Rice Inflator (Super Pack)

Archie McPherson’s Weetabix Head

Denis Law’s Accent Challenge

Dougie Donnelly Dune of Hair

Graeme Souness Must Be Barking

Boon - The Game

Taggart Teens

Emmerdale Goes to Pitlochry

Coping with Eastenders for the under 5’s

Death in the Family Joke

Coloured Fights

Outdoor Darts

Wrist Truffle

White Water Snooker

Sea Quest Powder Seeker

Copious Spandex Run

Mr Motivators’ Taxi Challenge

Breakup

Flapjack

David Dimbleby's Amazon Adventure 12

Frost on Sunday

TV:AM The Early Years

Moira Stuart’s Music Creator

Upside Down Ice Cream Revolt

Vat of Galt Toys

Fist of Fireflies

Tunnel Browner

Stocking Ladder Bless

Lingerie Tycoon

Up & Down with Freddy Mercury

Guitar Slayer

Drum Shake Friends

Wacky Traffic Lights

Oreo Frisbee Games

Hedgehog Relax

Roofer

SimWoman

Bent Angler

Super Horses

Fishing for Tims

Ketamine Kraziness

Shout Appeal

Daz Crime Alert

Tension Ramble

Monitor Crossbones

Stookey Chase

Cardinal Hippos

Marigold Mincers IV

Shane Ritchie’s Up For Everest

War Kind

Question Slime

Bishop Sailor

Grudge Chess

Shoplifter 6

Bed trapper

Saloon Swingers 5

Yells of Tallmouth

Athletic Trombones

Wheel Smicer

Trends of Fashion-hope

Wacky Prostate

Bag A Cow

Pronunciation Fun

with Jackie bird

Landlord Dodge

Stuart Tipney’s Bread Throw Out

Date Checker

Gary Glitter’s Subliminal Message

Frozen Bibs of Babylon

Bricklaying Challenge

Wall Tidy

Reverse a Unicycle

SimCleaner

Pick Pocket Champion 1983

Glorified Yungs

Hungry Hungry Hernias

Marble vest

Ship To Shore

What’s My Rake

View My Braces

Burp: Deluxes

Romeo and Juliet Bravo

North vs South 2 : west vs East

Corner of Flatland

Spherical Eye Bless

Under the Oceans of Armpit Forest

Outrun Birmingham (Spaghetti Junction Edition)

Sweat like a bahookey

SimBarber

Developer Roundabout: Salt Lake Boredom Factor

Wig Breathe

Telecoms Tycoon

SimBeggar

Window Sparkler

Martian Crotchet

Bin Race: Baghdad to Bucks

Limpet Picker 4

Bout of Gout

Fist of Starfish Cave

Revenge of The Ponchoed Ponces

Peruvian Mountain Rally

Pyramid Scheme

Wheelchair Rollers

Disabled Relay

Plastic Bellamy

Escape From The Care Home

Quest Far There

Sigmund Freud’s Phallic Challenge

Location Location Location

Tombola

Pharmaceutical Births

Fun Run

Telethon

The Shat Cat Strikes Back

Poo Displease

Oxymoron - School Clown Dress

Nuns on The Run

Rub a Dug

SimWork

Girl Demander

Tiny Fire Use

Spell Cracker

VirtuaBus

Horse and Cabbage

Hippyhunt

Bug Wrestler

Elmer Fudd’s Bugle Fun

Sesame Street for Mute

Vaccine Madness

Sing-a-long-outhouse

Virgin Wedding

Carry Me Right

Existential Spam

Professor Caressor

Blind Spot

Dowary 4

Backwards Todel

SimFolkSinger

Austrian Summer Fun

Think Game

SimShirt

Mum’s Gone To Iceland

SimShoes

Dad Ravage

VirtuaBurp

Record Deal Blunderer

Vinyl Earth

Pork Love

Candid Carrots

Testament of God

Jasper Carrot’s Comedy Puke

Slug Slugger

fISHMONGER 8

Javelin Jackson

Action Babes 7

Deniable Door Whizz

What’s My Remainder

Shave Me Doris

Ferrari Shaving Adventure

SuperToboggan

Fire Ski

Trowel Turmoil

Soap Detector

SimPigeon

Permit Chief

VirtuaCurtain

Wander Beyonder - Galaxy of Hands

Foot Small

Failed Janine Nurse Player

Bonnie Langford’s Dive of DEath

Cheesy Cheeks 9

Teryaki Throw Throw

Organised Library

Chrome Crunch

Defeat The Dragon XII

Sleeve Beast

Snorkel of Skeleton Mask

Bilge Crusader

Derivative Nonsense

Chip Shop Challenge

Fallopian Tube Gatherer

Short Sharp Shock

Public Pool 2

The Remorse of King Tooth Prize

Mobile Shop Catch

Dentist Revival

Pizzaboy

Return of the Shoulder

Attack of the Maharajah

Farm Variety

Ring Sting VI

Pokey Barracus O

Pyromania [Schools Edition]

Canteen Calamity

Scratch My Scurvy

A Team of Guys

Commercial Insertion

Alien Bold

Walk to Run

Talk Show Live

Wacaday

Tickle Me Hazel

Get to Doctor Green Helmet Arrival

Kirsty Gallacher’s Pony Tail

Bube Tube

Stu’s News

Finger By Jove

SPinach Wars

TrolleyDash IV

Coco Bianco

Can Lift Channel 4: The Game

Spider and Kite

Really Big, Really Small Advent of Tetrapak

Drainblock: Plumber Hero Chronicles

Clammy Elbow

Rinse, Spin and Wash-o-matic

Virtual Carving

Aqua Fridge 4

Milk Charge: None Today Edition

Dose of Lactose

Fruit for Fuel

SEGA Gums

World Cup Baking

Trauma Recentness

Void of Linda

Calculate My Room

Slow Slow Slow, Now Fast

Myrtle’s Spongy Threat

Round the Town: Hull

KLIX Vending Machine Panic

Suitable Suit

Trinidad vs Tobago

Coma Dream Alert

Lose Your Tail

Sudden Trump

Castle of Rugs

Dreadful Quincy

Murder You Write

Salt n Pepa: My First Lyrics

Ferry to the Island of Bins

Up to Maximum

Thanks Goth: Black It Out Decision for Survival

Thorax and King: Temple of 10 Thumbs

Shave or Swim

Spar - Double Time Price Wars

Wooden Office

Windbush: the Quest for Haribo

Thing Commander

Gusset Sweeper II

Military Cocktails: An Interactive Guide

Spillers Winalot

Gus Hiddink: Ladies-Man

Spinal Injury 4

Dungrudder

Dungrudder II

Alan Titchmarsh’s International Samba Karaoke

Gluehead 2 - Back to the Bag

Dogwrestler

Virtual Biscuit Pro Edition

Future Boots

Horace gets an enema

Goth v Ned - The Reckoning

Roy Hudd’s hut folding 3

fondant wheelbarrow challenge

squat thrusting in high denmark with Mr. T

git that skateboard oot ma bed

2 fast and furious - the angry diet

skeptics ranch 4

whippet trigger

cod’s extreme bass fishing

Meatloaf’s leotard attack

smashing gantry with len ganley

cornish nuisance III

janitor pleaser

janitor pleaser II

janitor pleaser III

interactive janitor pleaser 3D

sing-a-long-a-jim-diamond

belgian ring stretch 4

heather mills dance off

sulk or bulk

extreme rabbit riding 9

tony roper’s pope trophy

ship shape and bristol fashion (twin pack)

dan hipgrave’s hip grave

catarrh hero 2

Joseph Holt’s cow safari

barking cats 3

Debbie Gebbie

Rally through Tesco

Piano Catcher

Harold Bishop’s Hutch Touching Compendium

Cardboard Harbour

Guess What’s in the Baxterbox

Extreme Welsh Dentistry

10 Disciples Tickly Bits [denmark edition]

Zebra Dancing 2

Tractor Painting 3

Cindy Crawford’s Virtual Cooperage Pro

Anderson Shelter Designer International

Ambulance Neglecting

Pigeon Surprise!

Chilly B’s Cartography Masterclass

Paralympic Legends 1985

Angry Sue’s Penthouse Disaster

SimFlorist

Amazing Mace

Grimsby Love-In

Trilby Mechanic

Karl Lewis’s 6 Meter Dash Pro

Smoker 8

Collateral Ramage

Horse Drawn Prawn

Firebomb Kirkcudbright

Space Huff

Star Wars: Jedi High Street

Ooft Ooft 2

Flyhunter

Nadeem the Hamster

Bucky Bash II

Schnitzel Wars

Derrick Organ’s Calamity Chinfest

Malky Malky II: The Chib

Venison Crayola

Peter Shilton’s Saucey Canary

French Letter of the Law

Penguin Squeezing

Sodastream Challenge

Arthur C Clarke’s Mysteries of Dunfermline

Skin Complaint 2

Felicity Kendal’s Migratory Kennel

Thigh Trouble III

VirtuaWendy

Pebbledash Apprentice

Thrush Reduction School

Alan Randy Tanner Shows You How

Sim 9 O’clock News

Adult Colostomy

Ray Mears’ Survival Chimney

Brunch Arranger

Pro Pencil Throw

The Continuing Adventures of Nice ‘n’ Soapy

Lunchy Munchy

SimKettle

VirtuaCarpet

Snack bar etiquette

arm harm 4

saucy haulage 9

swimming with trousers on

Thora The Exploder

High Jinks on Highway

Wrist Exposure

Looking After God’s Neck 6

Frog Polishing

Harrison Ford Harrassment

Shampooing Buffalo with Betty Murchie

Unravelling Scobie’s Quotient

Alistair’s Wheels

High Speed Loaf Assembly - Knead For Speed 2

Detolionia - A World of Disinfectant

Coal Punishment

Table with Bilston Glen

Who Is Douglas Bader?

Sharpen Your Trowel with Baden Powell

Bambi Leg Stabilisation

Pimp My Sideboard

Crematorium Capers

The Burning Coupon

Fireplace Customiser featuring Annette Benning

Force 8 Golfing Atrocity Pro-Am

Trout Swiping (Mexican Edition)

Village Idiot Racing 2

Fridge Racer 4

Parrot Force 7

Amish Disease Aversion

Pro-Am Celebrity Road Kill 3

Major James Hewitt’s Blew It Game

Advanced German For Industrial Foundries with Keith Chegwin

I’m A Celebrity, Shave My Arms 8

Mortar Mixing With Fiona Bruce

Self Harm with Hartley’s Jam Jam, Arm, Harm, Barn (Farm Edition)

Deadly Riddles with Bo Diddley, Nicolas Ridley, Ken Dodd, Dodi al Fayed and the Cast of Grease

Not Poodles but Pot Noodles 2

Shed Holder vs. Vijay Singh Sing-a-long a Hitler Hillman Hunter 2

Hearing Aid

Beige Chevette 5

Ian Botham’s County Balls

PramFace: The Revenge

Nebulous Nockers

Hot Knifin’

Anton Rogan’s Potato Scone

Monotonous Madness

Sally Magnuson’s Nicotine Buzz

Doncaster Moose Pulling

Beer Goggle Challenge- Ultimate Edition

Pebble Mill - The Platform Game

Davro Goes West

Jelly Fish Juggling with Jilly Cooper

Ballroom Thighs - A Game For All The Family

Dog Plop Monopoly

Frank Tibbs’ Unanimous Cave  

Tripping Over Thimbles 4

Pebble Mill Pebble Dash

Humourous Toilet Noises 3

Carry On Corduroy 5

Drain Savage 2

Radio 4 Hoar Sampler

Binman Challenge

Boris Becker’s Jazz Complaint

Callcentre Supervisor Pro

Timpsons Manager 1986

Volcano Cheese

The Lemon Vampires of Dudley

Pablo Balloon’s Hernia Diagnosis

Virtua Social Carer

Eric Gluttony

Trouser Press Sabbatical

Alarm! Run! Knit!

Whitly Bay Mesh Collector

Martini Hinge Challenge

Vole Puncher 3

Tropical Slavery 3

Slattery Battery Chat

The Ambivolent Miner’s Chin Problem

Dog Warmer 9

Piano Stroker 2

Brian Hater

Brian Massacre

The Eyes of Salamine

Wingnut

Ruthless Removal of Wind

Egg Rugby 5

International Spine Swapping

Grand Prix - Live from Borehamwood

Farmed Nicaraguan Debris - Collector’s Edition

Spongy Marmite

Fun N Games in Chernobyl with Cheryl Baker

Fun N Games in Chernobyl II without Cheryl Baker

Semi-Pro Badger Excuses 5

Face Biter III

Eric Clapton’s Dead Shoes

Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot Ike

Kate Stits

Dawn French’s Fantasy Football

Giant Priority

Extendable Alien Hairdriers

A Masterclass with Ruud Hullit

Greggs Tycoon

Nail Filing with Stefan Edberg

SimLibrarian

Aardvark Juggling

Any Swedgers?

Civil Engineering Attack Force

Bible Edit III

Cactus Comparing with Terry Waite

Gunther’s Tasty Leather

Health Challenge

Catastrophe Pants

Superhero Draughts

SimJanitor 8: Smooth Moperator

Breath Club

Biting and Chewing

The Goose 3

Armadale

Sangsters 2

Extreme Chinese

Ned Poultry Farmer

Diabolical Gran Odour 6

Camp Action Man

Topless Skateboard Nun 2

Solving Simultaneous Equations Under Water (Bridlington Edition)

Hake Take with Less Than Jake (Celebrity Edition)

The Paul Anka Diaries

Makeover : Wallpapering Your Face 5

Blackhead Removal with Scaffolding Poles 8

High School Musical Shoot Out

Bad Air Hockey (Rotten Egg Edition)

Failed Airport Terrorism Attempt 2

International Banana Terrorist 3

Conventional Bra Wearing

Terrapin 2

split pea glee

gaseous monkey

Cheddarfest revival

moonfaced lung toucher 4

attack of the angry jam ballast

relentless margarine 3

buttergutter

clutter game

wasp wing clasp assembly

futurismysticalismism presented by Kenny Leveritt

pork chop aftermath

strict rector workings 5

detected vim spillage 2

simCOLOSTOMY

Gale Force

Pike Gardening

Ribble Valley Larvae Attraction

Marmite Spite

Sarah Brightman’s Secret Pro-Am Celebrity Tench Cremation

High Speed Paralympic Disasters 5

Savoury Tights 4

Advanced Scone Vandalism with Ruth Maddock

Workplace Victimisation Art 2

Egg Poaching with Prince Charles

Varnishing with Confidence Iggy Pop versus Eggy Pope (Slovenian Edition)

Sloth Pinching with Ewan McGregor

Shoot Deirdre Off Coronation Street As Many Times As You Like

Polished Ginger Bison Falling Over 3

Lego Smashing

Snorting-A-Surgically-Removed-Spaghetti Line Back Through Your Nose Championships with Keith Floyd

Slippery Cats Finger Sizery

Vernacular Spectacular - Regional Heats - Norway Vs Newcastle

Register Maniacs 4

Disabled Horse Fury 5

Turtle Hurlers

Des Lynam’s Mum

Horse v Dolphin: Requiem

rentokil bill 2

rat boy 9

cardboard harbour 9

vote for a wine side dish

Ministry of Justice: Writing the Constitution Sim Local Councilor

Puggy Paradise

Pan-London Kid Chase

Pirates on the Pond

Junior Project Manager III

Decide to Read Again

Nokia vs Motorola: Find the Phone Charger

Feed the Kids Coal (Bono Demo)

Tom Clancy’s Splintered Bell

Jellied babies

Shave the Llama

Jew Harp Hero (Harp not included)

Mum Trashers 4

SimSTD

ActuaMince

Square Peg Round Hole Challenge

Blockman vs DragonThing

Menopausal Madness

Ringbinder II

Equine Manouevers

The Mysteries of Michael Elphick’s Port in a Storm

Haberdasherie Heat

LGV STD

Half a Cider And You’re Laughing

Humourless Hags Return to Castle Frottage

Hungry Hungarian Housewives

Fake Tan Dylan

Super Who Did That Thunder in Tannadice

Swollen River Wheelchair Uh-Oh

Ruby Murray’s Curry from Anything

How Clean is your Mouth

Cilit Bangers

Why’s Dad in the Furnace: HD

R Kelly’s Gotham City

Gerard Kelly’s Diet City

Kendal Misery

Buff Women Crush

Supermarket Nuts

Dry Off - You’re Wet Too!

Xenophobic Elderly Home

Easy Rider: Trikes and Quads

Rise Up and Get Back To Bedford

Alan Sugar’s Finger Fiasco

Private Investigator: Carbon Footprints

Snakes on a Phone

Phone a Snake

Snakephone

Phoney Snake

Children In Need: One Can Survive

The Canterbury Compendium Featuring: Sinister Minister

The Godies ft. Hymn Brooke Taylor

Virtual Nun

Cheeses Of Nazareth

Nun Surfing: Birds of Pray

Dogs drink wine

nacho panic

ostrich borstal

bombscare in sacred cities of spain

spiral binding awards

biro spinning awards

spiro binning awards

Thora Hird’s Extreme Stairlift

Gammy Dodger 2

Hell Monger 5

Tag Nutter 8

simClaw

Mayonnaise Babies 2

Kissing With Incontinence

Dances With Wolverines

Come Dancing 3D

Dumb Dating 4D

Interactive Pylon Climbing

Fundamental Dish Cloth Equations

Haulage Wars 1 - Norbert Dentressangle vs. Eddie Stobbart

Haulage Wars 2 - David Heeps vs. C. Hinds Potato Merchants

White Van Driver Fashion Show

Greasy Dinosaurs Almanac

Terrible Tearing Sounds

Baste The Family

B&Q BBQ Standoff

May’s Rotary Chuckling

Spontaneous Fury

Induced Tap Dancing with Andy May

Your Lip’s Burst 2

Attack of the 40 foot Gingerbread Postman

The Dalgleish Index Escalator

Arthur Askey’s Crop Spraying

Alsatian Alien

Cow Painter 5

Impossible Cornering Technique with Ayrton Senna

Ann Frank 3D

Chop: Stand: Force: Interactive Cumnock Gala Day with Obie Trice

Dougie Donnelly’s Battenberg Cake Jumper Confusion Game

Mince Rinsing with Peter Alice

Wife Swab 3

Knife Swap 4

Gnome Drool Collecting for Beginners

Anger Manager IV

Uncle Tony’s Special Cupboard

Spilt Milk

Virtual RAC Guy Challenge

Michael Ballack’s Ludo Madness

Archie McPherson’s Apron of Chance

Gulls of Fury

Monty Don’s Embroidery Masterclass

Spammy the Dog

Rumbelows

Windows C64 edition

Mr. Minit’s Key Cutting Japes

Saved By The Bell End 3

Asp The Family - Snakecharmer Edition

Snoop Doggy Dog’s Dance Studio Workout

Taming The Shrew with Lena Zavaroni

VirtuaConkers

Sectarian Dolphin 4

Fly Phishing by J.R. “Hacker” Hartley

The Goth Temple of Gloom

The Hannible Lectures

simBiscuit (bourbon special)

Evostick Party

Bri-Nylon Guy 3

Skinflat Survival

Eaglesham Startrek

Bees In The Loft

Sandra Sandra

Justin and Colin’s Guide To Deep Sea Pipe Welding

Wayne Rooney Loony Toon Room for Kids

Pheasant Milkfloat Run

Late Ex in Latex 6

Dick Advocaat’s guide to coctkail mixing

To The Manor Braun

Tandoori Roti 3

Murder She Roti

Silence of The Prams

Emlyn Hugh’s Omelette Challenge

Josh Wink’s Tiddleywinks

Elvanfoot Butterfly Massacre

Carstairs

Monster Metros

Fuzzy-Felt Masterclass with Yuri Gagarin

Predator Paint

Eel Chair Regatta

Big Pants Comedy Skydiving

Bang! Bang! Bang! Oops…

Swindlin’ Yokels with Roman Abramovich

Outrun Bolton

Tony Blair’s Prole Crusher

Heather The Weather’s Fishnet Frenzy

Nick Drake’s Morose Warblings

Ape Attack!: Wishaw

Patrick Moore’s Tedium Personified

Chicken Gun

Barry Robson’s Beguiling Napper

C5 Grand Prix

Roll Me A Fat One and Get They Dishes Done

Brahim Hemdani’s Unremarkable Competence

Virtual Soup of the Day

The Rancid Horns of Leith

Super-Monday-Banana-Death

Ask Me A Graham

Undercarriage Return

Steve Ovette’s Erratic Frog

Tennis Stuart

Bomb Acrobat

SimAlcoholic

Girth Alarm 3

Alan Hanson’s Amatuer Granny Revival

Pickpocket Pro

Chinchilla Wrestling

Crouching Greyhound Hidden Danger

Poodle Judo with Judith Chalmers

Hedge Availability

Overwhelmed Whelk Farmer 2

Cupboard of Lentils 7

Sloth Borstal 2

Pro-Am Prawn Wrestling

Custard, Mustard and Other Rhyming Condiments

Cat Litter Lego

Jimmy Nail’s Book Corner

Navigating Cumbernauld Whilst Aggrevated

Hanah Barbera’s Meat Collective

Tensile Strengthometer

Betty Boothroyd’s Hooverathon

AfroClam

Attack of The Four Lipped Maneater

The Wizard’s Sleeve

J-Lo’s Bum Shelf Warm

Salad Dressing with Trinny and the Bigger One

Keith Floyd’s Damp Side of the Moon

Soviet TicTacs: Taste of War

World Cup Eczema

Mum vs Dad: Grab a Plate

Upside of Death VI

Ulti-Mugger: Wallet and Watch, Ta

Soft and Gentle 3: Roll On

MC Hammer’s World of Pantaloons

Restore Pet Cemetary

Audible Charm: Legend of the Gentle Trump

That’s Not My FInger!

Zoo of ham-fed Gibbons

Wake Up! You’re Not Dead Yet

Wake Up! I’m Limbless and There’s a Fire

Drifting Away: Grandad’s Final Slumber Party

Pyjamas.. At School?

Neil Buchanan’s Antler Attack

Cash In the Attic, Now In My Attic

Get Pregnant 5 - Civilised Scamming

Soda Stream: Hunt for the Gas Canister

Soda Stream II: But It Says Cola Flavoured!?

Invest in Me, I’m a Maniac

London Tube Track Scraper

Armitage Shanks

Virtual Log

Death Row Buckaroo

Labour Backbench Cage Fighting

Floaty The Finless Waterbeast

Vauxhall Advert Creator

Dragged 150 Yards: Bradford Joyride

Old Spice: She’s Yours

Unicycling for Pensioners

Unmentionable Chalky Taste 6

Island Pancake Mixing with Seb Blatter

Filthy Ventriloquist Stories

Eddie Vedder’s World Of Shreddies

Camp Ramp

Tobogganing with Wogan

Annie Mack’s Caramac Slacks

Irene Maiden 10

Sausage Jockey 3

Cured Ham and Other Medical Miracles

Mud Wrestling with Thora Hird

Sim Haulage

Sim Heelage

Sim Cabbage

Sim Charles Babbage

Sim Gym

Liquor & Poker - Rude Casino Edition

Pass The Dutchy of Cornwall From The Left Hand Side

High Heel Teeterage 3

Esther Rantzen’s Root Vegetable and Tuber Hilarity Fest

Nun Paintball 4

Arm Wrestling Dentist 9

Julie Andrew’s Liver Salts 3

Sanitary Owl Radio 4

Bus in a Leotard

World’s Strongest Nan

Hector Sylvester’s Turquoise Noise

Ambulance Chaser 2

Foam Party at The Foam Centre

Press and Mend

Touch the Hutch

Mastic Badger

Surname Challenge ft. Yvonne Goolagong vs. Peter Oosterhouse

Mast Blast Bomb Scare 3

Going Through At The Back 3

Pinball Lizard 5

Dancing With Oxygen

The Dimbleby Conundrum

Virtua Council Gritter

Rampant Carpark

Icarus Manifold’s Welsh Poster Collection

Religious Gardening with Moses and his Hoses

Air Rifle Chooser with Bishop Desmond’s .22

Ballet Dancing with Bishop Desmond’s TuTu

Slurry Avoidance ft. Alvin Stardust

Celebrity Quinine

Abatoir Jubilee Beef

Geek Orthodox

Fudge Assembly

Relax, Prance, Peel

Paul Ince’s “What’s in the Fridge?”

Super Kennel Admin

Attack, Sleep, Trapeze!

Verify My Post

Saral Ping’s Finch Adjuster

Intermediate Curve Basting

Combustable Constable 5

Fancy Cheese 3

Hazel Butters 2

Lloyd Cole’s Motion Commotion

Vermin Descriptor 2

Tray Balance in Ballantray

Fluid Choppery with Glen Blantyre

Predatory Tory Trap

Inflatable Vatican

Marzipan Tarzan

That’s Barry, Eh?

Marmite Termite

Octogenerian Hair Piece 5

Caustic Frog 3

Fridge Racer

Flouride Jockey

Algae Mechanic

The Baghdad Irritation

Crazy Meerkat Forklift Racing

Zak Marvel’s Gaseous Print Revival

Easter Toolbox

Winkle Picker II

Virtua Morrisons

Face Camp

Holy Moly - the unluckiest Mole in the Field

Kays - Catalogue of Errors

Wunder-Hat

Look Out! Too Late.

Pleasant Pheasant

Mike Tyson’s Rapid Wrestling

Reservoir Logs

An Audience With Kirk Broadfoot

Salami Origami

Who’s in the Pot?

Deep-Sea Monopoly

Frank Lampard’s Mousetrap Masterclass

Aztec Leg

Kitchen Thespian

Scaffolding Terror

Somalian Pirates

Take Guernsey

Treacle or Turnip?

Olympic Jail

Sweat on Me and I’ll Vomit

Dubious Quality Controller 5

Quiff Aligner

Re-pot That Geranium, You Fool

Soft Furnishing Spectacular

Dad! You’re My Brother!

Peter Kincaid. Now you Try

12lbs of Something

Vosene - The Forgotten Chemical

Viv Lumsden’s Pit of Terror

Halfords: Den Of Incompetence

Rubber Stamp Misery

The Beechgrove Garden Presents: High Tedium

Monks On A Bus

Gordon The Gopher’s Amsterdam Exploits

Imaginary Futures: President Trump

Tetrapak! 

DIY Watercolor: Pylons of Tyneside

Paradise Lumbago

Post Office Manager: Bungled or Burgled

Crass Bandicoot 

Chequered Flag F1 Racist Challenge

Err, That’s Not Shampoo

BANG! Search For The Dirt, Limescale & Rust

These are all available to buy on Ebay, apart from 619 which they actually forgot to produce. 

[rhettsooo]

Tuesday January 10th, 2017 - Amed to Gili Air We woke bright and early to catch a fast boat/ferry to Gili Air. In passing Gili Truwangun, we saw so many tourists getting on and off boats it made us proud of our decision. And when I say 'tourists' think of fat America or Jersey Shore preps. Or if you can't imagine either if those, know that they brought rolling suitcases to an island entirely of sand and seemed surprised that they had to carry their bags. On Gili Air, there are no cars. It takes about  75min to wall around the island and about 30 to walk end to end. With that being said, electric motorcycles and horse carriages are the primary mode of transport. We opted to wall the 20min from the ferry terminal to Begadang Backpackers Hostel on the other side of the island. It was likely the best hostel I've been too-- better than Melbourne Discovery! The reasons why: their outdoor pool was the shape of a mushroom, they had lots of shaded and non shaded lounge areas with plugs, fans, bean bags, the works... And they had outdoor showers, air conditioned rooms, games like life size Connect4 and volleyball, a night light to every bed, and an electrical plug to every bed. OH, and they sold beer and fresh fruit smoithies; everything a backpacker would ever need. So, in short, it was awesome. Oh, AND, the location couldn't be better. It was across from a bar called Space Bar, which is owned by Ham, a new friend I made through Masia's referral. The beach and dive shop was 5 minutes walk. (Although the beach is beautiful, you can only safely swim out about 15 feet due to dangerous fish/sea amenities in the shallow water). I could go on for days, but the short of it is that the location was perfect. We arrived before check-in, so bought a litre of beer and did a walk with a new German friend who we met in Amed also taking the boat and staying at the hostel. On our walk, a slew of vendors were making bracelet and necklaces from stones and beads. Two necklaces caught me eye: a short one made of lava rock and a long one with a Buddha at the end. Waywan, the gentleman making them, said he could me a custom necklace for me. One with lava rock and Buddha and the perfect length! We chilled, watched him make it, and revelled in the awesomeness of the moment. We also, passed Pura Vida, a reggae restaurant and home to the Gili Dub Club, a recommendation from Masia also, and after chatting with the bar keep, I learned of a show happening later on. Boom: plans for the night. We carried on and found a restaurant with huts on the beach, so we called it home for a few hours while enjoying some cheap cocktails. It was something straight from the movies. Turquoise water. Beverages in a thatched-roof, bamboo hut. In the shade blocked from the heat reclining on pillows. Like I said, straight outta the movies. I took my snorkel out (I had a new tendency of carrying it with me for moments like this) and ventured out since I could see a group of snorkelers about a 100 metres out. This trip is what gave me the awareness of the bottom contents I mentioned earlier. Yes, it was beautiful sand for a little bit, but then it turned to slimey sea grass. I had the foresight to not touching that ground as I floated/swam on the surface, which is only about 3 feet. During this float I would see jelly fish and the black pokey things with the long spikes. This is how I new that diving boots and suit are required, so I swam back to shore. After doing nothing for awhile, we went to check in and have a nap. Well, more of a lay down. Waking up in time for dinner, Yassie and I went back to Pura Vida for the show. They had set up bean bags on the beach maybe 5 feet from the water which crashed against the wall of the restaurant, in addition the the normal seating. The 5 piece band set the perfect mood: easy going, Rasta vibes for major chillaxing. We enjoyed the best pizza we had in awhile and the freshest seafood pasta. I lasted until about 10pm before we started to nod away. On a side note, while we were watching the band the power kept going out. At first I didn't realize what had happened, but then the singer said it happens all the time, and without a doubt, the power went back on after maybe 5 minutes of darkness. It was so funny! It ended up happening 3 or 4 more times during the show! I called it there and headed back for bed. 

[tashyrasvoice]

Volcanic Baths, Chip & Dale, Sky Rides, and Swinging in the Caribbean

By now, you have already read (and some responded) to last week's Tashyra Talks Tuesdays' email entitled, 'One-Stop Shop'. If you haven't, click here. :-)

Today is another Tuesday – as in Tashyra Talks Tuesdays – the day I get to engage and interact with you...my network of believers, achievers, partners, supporters, clients, friends, and foes (yup – they here too, LOL).

But, as you can imagine, my messages to you are written a short time before you receive them. They are written with careful intent and purpose. To be honest, my creative juices normally flow best when its closer to a specific deadline – odd I know, but they seem to flow freely during crunch time.

I sit and type this message on the back of the cruise ship, returning from a seven day voyage across the Eastern Caribbean. I am lounging on the second deck from the top as the sun begins to set to the West of me. I’m on my way back to San Juan, to then fly back to Philadelphia. So, you’re getting this on Tuesday, but my thoughts are with you today (Saturday, August 31, 2019).

During my Caribbean adventure, I scratched a few things off my bucket list – ones that weren’t on the list before setting sail last week. There were several firsts...

Volcanic baths in St. Lucia.

Swinging like a child in the Caribbean Sea in St. Maarten.

Picking exotic fruits from trees and eating them, right then and there in St. Lucia.

Visiting an island plantation and making cocoa – with a donkey staring at me in St. Lucia.

Climbing and sunbathing this melanin on a giant tube in the middle of the Sea in Barbados.

Riding a sky lift to Paradise Cove over a mountain in the South side of St. Thomas.

Climbing the wall of defense created to protect the Spanish from the Dutch in San Juan.

Allowing Chip & Dale to crawl on me while eating their miniature fruit in St. Kitts.

My son, Daevon – unbeknownst to him – has new brothers from St. Kitts...Chip & Dale. I’m sure he won’t mind seeing that they live thousands of miles away with their father – an attractive, chocolate rasta' from the quaint island of St. Kitts, who literally cares for them like they’re his children. They were instantly drawn to me – as you’ll see in the photo below – although Chip threw his apple into my Louis Vuitton bag when he was done with it. I started to tell his father to pass me some coins for his child’s mess, but it started to sound too much like a real-life child-support/baby daddy type situation. LOL

While I sailed the Eastern Caribbean for 7 days and 7 nights, Daevon was in Los Angeles doing his music business thing, and Tyrone traveled the Eastern Caribbean as well – with a s visit to islands such as Turks & Caicos. Coincidence, huh? Promise you it wasn’t planned nor did we sail on the same cruise ship. For me, it was six islands in seven days in the following order:

Puerto Rico

St. Thomas

St. Maarten

St. Kitts

St. Lucia

Barbados

My brother and I talked as I sat on my new favorite beach in Barbados. He mentioned something to me that I, too, thought about and marveled over during my Mother’s Day cruise to the Bahamas a few months ago. When he looked out over the ocean’s deep and came to a point where he could no longer visually separate the ocean from the sky, Tyrone told me that he thought about the book of Genesis when creation was being formed and God commanded HIS OWN presence to take shape in the Earth, and separate the sky above from the sky below. He, God, literally occupied a space of nothing until it was time to create, and occupy the nothing that then created something, that ONLY He could.

I stood on the balcony of my cabin and looked into the night sky and saw nothing but darkness. Literal darkness. Stars scattered intentionally across the sky and water hitting the side of the cruise ship below creating the only sound to echo in the night sky. The perfect time for something else to be created. This time, in my mind, heart, body and soul. In those moments of nothing, God deposited from eternity into time new strategies, plans, and communications that were already designed for me. He delivered them from eternity into time.

Back to my brief conversation with my brother while I was in Barbados, and he back in Philadelphia...

Tyrone  then says: “Is it weird that I want to travel more to see more of God?”

WEIRD??!?!?!?! Good God from Zion!! NO! That was one of the most profound questions I’ve heard someone say in quite some time. I was in awe...wowed at his words, but even more so in awe because as I travel over the seas and into other countries, experiencing things I’ve never seen, I think about the perfection of God...the perfection that IS God...the perfection that is His creation.  Its nearly impossible (in my mind) to NOT believe in the Creator of all things.

There are a couple of things I want you to note from my message/email to you to you this week:

1) (Re)read Genesis. Like many books in the Bible, when we research we conduct in other disciplines, we will find that reading or researching one thing will lead to you reading or researching something else in relation to your original quest which will open your eyes to something else more profound.

A couple of things to take note and understand:

I want you to understand what was, and what came to be - from eternity to creation.

I want you to understand that there was literally NOTHING...darkness before there was light...that there was a space God Himself occupied in the stillness of NOTHING before creating what we now call our home.

I want to encourage you to have an open mind, eyes of understanding, and ears of interpretation so that you can observe something in this commonly known text that you’ve never absorbed in times past.

I want you to know that the best time to create SOMETHING is when you have NOTHING.

Its in the darkest of nights when creation is best possible. Whether you’re overlooking the water from a cruise ship, pacing a darkened house at midnight, or occupying a space of stillness. You have the power to audibly call into existence that which you desire to see.

Second thing is….

2) In order to experience the more of God – travel outside of your state of monotony and routine. Stretch yourself beyond your borders of comfort. Travel. See the world. See more of yourself through the lens of God.

If you must go alone. GO.

If you must go afraid. GO.

If you must go without. GO.

GO.

There are many ways to experience the wonders of God right where you are. So, I say to you that “traveling” can be taken into a context beyond your passport stamp or border crossing.

Travel outside of your normal way of thinking.

Travel to the super market in the next town instead of the town that you’re in.

Travel outside of what’s comfortable, and face conflict that will catapult you.

Travel to the side of life that will push you beyond your SELF-IMPOSED limitations.

TRAVEL….HERE ...and you and I will talk about how I can be of support to your business, women’s ministry, church, business, or...to YOU.

TRAVEL beyond a place of familiarity and understand the jewels that lie right in front of you.

TRAVEL the distance to do something different.

TRAVEL......

... HERE. Let's take this next TRIP together!

XOXO -