#also it is a real big part of skies in particular so its fresh in the dome

[noficbyhalves]

Fun thing that happened at work today, since my job is a comedy of errors atm so I'm being paid comical amounts of money to do precisely fuckall

I'm sitting there working my way through a book of logic puzzles, as you do. And one if them opens their first clue with (no I am not joking I kind of wish I was):

Vega is part of the constellation Lyra

Motherfucker don't you mock me rn

[kookiebunnii]

d4u || a-tier healthcare

aug. 2018. finally moved back in today. i needed to get something for classes this year, but jungkook’s gone and hurt himself again. i swear the boy barely functions when he stays up all night playing overwatch. if he keeps this up, well, he better like hello kitty band-aids. 

pairing: best friend!jungkook x reader

genre: slice of life

word count: 1.4k

warnings: brief mentions of blood (like .2 seconds worth)

Most people you knew absolutely dreaded when school started. As soon as August and September roll around like a couple of snickering troublemakers, your fellow collegians would weep knowing that classes and exams were about to insert themselves into their schedules. It meant that summer, and all the freedom and laughter associated with it, was coming to an end. Instead of enjoying the bright sunshine and baby blue skies every day, the scenery was being replaced with drab grey walls and chairs that felt uncomfortable no matter how you sat.

Surprisingly enough, it didn’t really bother you all that much. You had spent summer working full-time at a relative’s restaurant as a waitress, meaning that you never got the chance to really take a vacation. The three months you were blessed with passed by like a blur. They were filled with placating tipsy adults or bawling infants, carrying as many plates as you could in your arms without spilling mystery sauce all over yourself, and bringing yourself to smile consistently on an 8-hour shift. It was far from an ideal summer, to say the least. In fact, you were relieved that classes were starting. Now, you could work and learn about concepts you were actually interested in. Besides, it also meant that you would get to move back into your apartment near university, which you shared with Jungkook. The boy loved traveling and spent most of his time jumping from one destination to another, filming small videos for G.C.F. You could count on one hand the amount of times you spent physically with him over the break, and as much as it pained you to admit—you missed watching him embarrass himself on the daily.

Late August was still warm, teetering curiously between summer and the beginning of autumn. You had just finished moving back into your place, feeling refreshed with a shower after the long trip. Deciding to head out and do some stationary shopping before preparing dinner, you pulled on your favorite shoes. It wasn’t like you needed anything in particular, since you’d keep the same 3-subject notebook from last year-- but the store you loved always had the cutest animal-shaped post-its. Surely it couldn’t hurt to find some (FaveAnimal) ones for this quarter, just to start off on the right foot.

Humming to yourself, you bounded down the stairs of your complex while double-checking your pockets for all your personal items. As you walked at a leisurely pace, you began wondering what Jungkook could be doing at this hour. You saw that his things were already back in his room, meaning that he was back for school as well. Maybe you’d make some pasta for the two of you when you get back, since he always liked when you cooked for him.

“Y/N!”

Hearing your name causes you to look up, realizing that the familiar saying really was true: speak (or in this case ‘think’) of the Devil and he shall appear.

“Guk?” you ask, observing the way he’s slightly favoring his left side as he walks towards you, “You good?”

You can see him wince as he approaches, but still trying hard to brush the pain off with a silly grin, “Not exactly.”

Pulling at his wrist, you realize that the skin on the side of his hand is broken and bloody. There’s dirt and bits of granite adhering to his skin, streaks of dried blood all over. You stay silent as you look down to observe his knee, seeing that his jeans are ripped with red stains that definitely weren’t part of any fashion statement. He had hurt his knee as well.

“Did you fall?” you guess, letting go of his arm to look him in the eyes questioningly.

“I bought a penny board over the summer since my classes are sorta far from each other this quarter. Guess I need more practice,” he shrugs nonchalantly before walking in the direction of your apartment, waving you away.

Frowning as you watch his back retreat where you came, you realize that by being the stupid worrywart you are, you only had one real choice in this scenario.

Sorry cute stationary, mommy’s gonna have to reschedule.

Sprinting to catch up with him, you silently walk beside him as the two of you head back inside the apartment. Even though he struggles up the stairs a little, you don’t hold him up or anything like that. You know that he hates when people treat him like a kid, so you’ve grown accustomed to accepting his stubbornness. Unless he’s literally on death’s door or asks for your help, you let him be responsible for himself.

Leaning his new penny board against the doorway, he enters the apartment with a sigh before heading to the bathroom to clean his wounds. Clicking your tongue like a disapproving mother, you head to the kitchen to look for the first-aid kit. After a couple of mishaps involving the kitchen knife and your clumsy fingers, you learned that that was the best place to keep it.

Pulling out some bandages, rubbing alcohol wipes, and anti-scarring cream, you follow him into the bathroom.

From the faucet, water runs over his hand as he gently brushes blood and dirt away from the injury. You can tell it hurts by the way his jaw is tight, and a small part of you feels bad to see him in any sort of pain…even if that pain is probably due to him trying out a trick he saw on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or something.

“Give me.”

You grab his hand and turn off the faucet. Patting his hand dry with his towel hanging from the side, you look at it closely to make sure the opening in his skin is relatively clean. Satisfied, you open up an alcohol swab and smile widely, “This is gonna hurt a lot!”

“Why am I not surprised that you seem to be happy saying that? Whatever…just hurry up” he looks at you blankly, but you can still feel his arm tense at your words.

You start with a quick and heavy swipe, and to his credit, he doesn’t even flinch. You follow up with more gentle administrations before tossing the wipe into the trash. The anti-scarring scream is cooling, so he’ll probably enjoy it a bit more.

After finishing up his hand, you let it go and catch his round, brown eyes staring at you. You stare back for two seconds before sticking your tongue out and causing him to laugh.

“Alright string bean, show me those kneecaps,” you roll up your sleeves to show that you mean business.

“On the first date? Damn,” he whistles before starting to unbutton his jeans.

“Alright I guess you’ll be handling your knee yourself.”

Closing the door behind you, you can literally feel the amusement radiating from him in waves through the wood. It was a wonder to you that he could be so casual and teasing with you, but once he sees a pretty female within a 10-mile radius, he’d act like a frightened rabbit. After all these years with him, he probably didn’t even see you as a woman. It didn’t particularly bother you, since you were just as friendly with him as he was with you. He’s seen you walk around the house with bed hair and dark circles, so you never felt the need to be cautious or nervous around him. The two of you cared for each other in a comfortable, relaxed way.

As you pull out tomatoes and fresh herbs from the fridge, you hear Jungkook leaving the bathroom. He fills up his favorite Overwatch mug with some water and takes loud gulps as you begin cutting your ingredients and boiling a large pot of water over the stove for the spaghetti.

“Pasta?”

You make a noise of affirmation. He gives the top of your head a few gentle pats which you understood as him thanking you for everything. You stop in mid-chop to pat his hand atop your head in response to let him know that it wasn’t a big deal at all. The beginnings of his special bunny smile start creeping in, and you resist the urge to tickle him to hide your own embarrassment. Just as you open your mouth to say something, he messes up your hair and runs into his room before you can get a punch in.

You wonder if he’s actually 21 this year or 11.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

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[sinnohborn-trainer-evan]

My Experiences in Unova #2

Picking up where I left off, I had met so many good people in Unova that I've managed to make long-lasting connections with, each person was a very unique case, especially the Gym Leaders who are all part of the badge challenge across the region. There's Iris, an up-and-coming dragon master champion who's ascended past Drayden's gym as a leader to greater heights. There's also Skyla, who runs the airport section of Mistralton City, very energetic and passionate about the skies! Heck her hanger bay is even the gym! We also have Clay, a miner and sheriff of Driftveil! All about raking in the big bucks, keeping order in Unova, and especially enjoying a hearty battle or two at the Pokémon World Tournament (also my new favorite place).

But of them all, easily the most curious person I've ever met, was the man that Robin was looking for all across Kalos and Unova, a tall, bright green-haired individual by the name of one single letter, N!

I've met Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and Champions who all have some kind of unusual and eccentric style about them, But N had a completely different air about him. He seemed to both belong with the people, but had more of a wild side. His hair was as green as fresh spring grass, eyes as clear and blue as the surface of a lake, he just had an all-natural sorta vibe. It really made me wonder, "just who is this guy?" However it would all become clear, just as why Robin had been so adamant about introducing me to N. And the best way I can really describe him, is that he's charismatic, his heart is bigger than gold, and he's super eco-friendly. If you're a Pokéfan, I don't suggest you challenge your love for Pokémon to him, because N already has you beat the moment you see him with his trusted Zorua!

However even based on all that I've said about him in a quick personality summary, that does not tell you his full story, as it goes much deeper. You would have to get to know him yourself to fully understand the kind of person he is. He has the gift of being able to listen deeply into the hearts of Pokémon to truly understand what they say, and that blows me away. I thought I understood my Pokémon well enough, but it seems there's so much I still have to learn about how to understand Pokémon! Maybe I'll ask him to teach me someday...

Briefly touching on the topic of places and attractions, there's a lot to cover, so many that I can fill a whole book with what are my favorite places in Unova to go to and why I love them, with that said, I'll talk about two particular places that gave me the best first impression of the region. I guess there's no better place to start with than where I first came to when I first set foot onto Unova's ground, at Castelia City.

It's both a ship dock and a densely populated metropolitan city, with tall buildings lining the avenues of the massive location, reaching up into the skies! It is also the home of my most favorite dessert treat, as well as my Pokémons' favorite, the Castelia Cone. It is delicious and refreshing, and has a really unique kind of vanilla flavor, complimented with a nice creamy kind of frozen milk, which its textile taste is only able to be captured by real Miltank milk, no additives!

One more place I want to mention is the lively Nimbasa City, which is just across the desert rough of Route 4 from Castelia City.

Y'know the old sayings about work and play? While Castelia was all about business, Nimbasa is all about fun! It's one of the biggest amusement parks ever, with stadiums that host different sports on a weekday pattern, a musical where Pokémon can dress in different cool and adorable accessories and dance on stage, to the Battle Subway I mentioned earlier, Elesa's catwalk gym and hover car ride, and a ferris wheel attraction that's popular with families and couples! My favorite places have to be the Battle Subway and the hover cars, they're both fun to ride, and one of them is full of engaging battles that keep me on the edge of my seat! I've been made aware that Robin and N tend to frequent the ferris wheel... sounds as though they might have some history together regarding that, not that I'm one to pry into someone's personal affairs.

There's still a lot I want to cover, but that will have to wait for now, so I leave you with what I have here!

(Also shoutout to @dark-mage-robin for being a good friend and partner in all these adventures we make up together, it's always more fun with he's with me to bring our stories together!)

[runswith]

Travel notes: Italy (Rome). Entry 7 - March 4, 2003

Today: the first occasion of blue, cloudless skies since last Thursday. Impossible to tell from my hotel room 'cause the ancient wooden shutters outside the window are locked closed. The alleyway outside (actually a step or two above an alleyway -- more like a narrow, cobblestone passageway, clean and lovely) is deep in shadow during the morning hours, providing no weather clues apart from rain/no rain. It's only when I step out the building's front door that I get the picture, and this morning's picture is a fine one, w/ fresh, cool air. I got out early enough that no tourists were about, only locals on their way to work, beginning the day's activities.

My current squat is located near the Trevi Fountain, a major tourist collection point that is to a fountain what Niagara Falls is to a place where water drops from somewhere high to somewhere lower. A mammoth grotto kind of thing, really, an enormous pool into which water falls by way of a sprawling, grandiose expanse of statuary and fake rocks, located at an intersection of narrow pedestrian ways deep within a tangle of winding backstreets. The sound of the water falling echoes off the surrounding buildings in a way that multiplies it to pleasing effect. I can see why it attracts so many out-of-towners: it's fun and, considering where it is, an example of charming, entrancing incongruity. (Did I actually write that? "Charming, entrancing incongruity"? Someone stop me, before I kill again.) Plus, the pool is actually laid out in front of a huge white building, and the statuary and fake porcelain rocks all kind of morph out of the building's front facade, which looks much more intriguing than I suspect it sounds.

Something I love about Rome: fountains. They're everywhere. And not just the big honkin' buggers with loads of water cascading down over heroic statues -- little ones also, tucked unobtrusively away on back streets or on busy corners. Teensy things, more like fonts, really -- small spigots from which a quiet, modest stream of water falls into basins of no more than a bucket's capacity and often far less, often overflowing to the sidewalk. Possibly channeling a natural spring into a lovely urban detail.

But I blather.

I skipped breakfast at the hotel this a.m. Yesterday morning's turned out to be a debacle -- the dining room is a cramped, microscopic space into which nine or so tables have been crammed, making it uncomfortable and nearly impossible to move around. Not a place that produced much happiness for diners or staff. I went out walking instead, stopping in at a neighborhood joint for a cup of morning espresso that went down in friendly fashion.

My body's had it with this trip, I think, w/ its many miles of roaming about every blessed day. Eating experiences that can vary drastically from meal to meal, from the sublime to the ridiculous (last night's dinner had both). This morning as I dragged myself out of bed it let me know clearly that it's ready to go home.

So. Yesterday's field trip: the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.

The Metro, nearly packed to capacity, reminded me all over again how much I love studying people and, in particular, people's faces. They're beautiful things, faces -- living, organic canvases on which the inner life gets aired out in delicate, complicated ways. Bodies are great, too, don't get me wrong (yowza!), but faces are a whole other thing. And the Metro or a crowded bus is a prime location for taking them in. Something which has to be done carefully, of course, since it can easily get intrusive. (What's that old George Carlin line about elevator rides? Something like, "Nothing to do but not look at the other guy.")

There were a few 20-something couples on the train yesterday a.m., all in a romantic mood. Standing close, arms around each other, kissing softly, talking quietly, occasionally closing their eyes and kissing deeply. Something I've gotten used to seeing in Madrid -- open, easy demonstrations of love, affection. (Make love, not war, etc.) Other people talked quietly or endured their morning ride, eyes closed, still waking up.

Got out at la estacion Colosseo, as I passed through the exit turnstiles a guy dressed in a Roman Centurion costume, complete with fake sword, crossed in front of me toward a newsstand, running into someone he knew, a person in business dress. They stopped, shook hands, exchanged loud, smiling greetings, conversed for a while. (Later, I saw more of his kind, standing in groups of two and three, calling out to tourists "Take your peecture weeth us!")

And outside, under a low, gray sky, the Colosseum loomed. Off to the right lay the Forum, I headed in that direction, up a long slope via an old, old, old cobblestone path. The Forum and the Palatine Hill turn out to cover many acres of land, a major spread of ancient real estate planted in the middle of the contemporary city. The hill provides quieter, more contemplative wandering, at times through gardens, complete with orange and lemon trees and groups of school kids from all over running around like puppies. Other sections are more wide open, strewn with ruins -- walls and foundations of buildings, bits of columns and statuary. All up on a bluff from which one can see modern Rome spread out on other hills, the sound of traffic coming and going on the wind.

And yesterday came with plenty of wind. In fact, it felt like a sudden return of winter. Cold, gray, somber, at times hostile. People walked around with collars up and coats zipped. The expanses of grass and clover between the ruins up on the hill were sprinkled with tiny flowers, blossoms of white, yellow, pink shivering in the chilly breeze.

At one point, I heard the sound of voices raised, turned to see a 30ish French couple having an argument. He threw an umbrella to the ground, she kicked it. He turned away, pulled out a guidebook, retreated into it. She picked up the umbrella. He wandered off out of view, she followed.

Shortly thereafter, a more placid group of French women passed -- two 30-somethings, two in their young 20s -- one of them reading aloud from a guidebook, her voice sounding like music in the cold air.

The other part of the Forum is down in a natural basin that covers quite a bit of land, an area crowded with the remains of large-scale structures -- temples, baths, a shell or two of what were enormous buildings, feats of engineering all. Alive, yesterday, with large groups of high-school age kids from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, guided by patient, good-humored older folks.

And the Colosseum. Not what I'd expected. Yes, the main structure remains what I'd seen in countless images. Inside, though -- not the clean, wide expanse of sand I'd pictured. The circular lower level is filled with the remains of a network of structures, above which there was apparently a surface at the level of first ring of seats in which the blood-spilling took place.

Scaffolding now provides what arena-level surface there now is -- a wide passage cutting across the middle of the arena, extremely cool to cross, with a large deck area at one end. I found that if I devoted much thought to the original use of the structure I didn't enjoy being there very much. If I simply enjoyed being present in the  moment -- the sun breaking through the clouds, people from all over the world in generally happy attendance -- I liked being there. I found stairs, headed up to the structure's top level, walked around there at a leisurely pace, discovering a short flight of steps that the original builders had thoughtfully provided for 21st century sunbathing. Parked my bum there, pulled out a copy of El País I'd picked up earlier and relaxed for a while, languages from all over the map drifting in the sunlit air around me.

One exceptional sight that presented itself to me: two 30ish German males in virtually identical black corduroy, vaguely cowboy-style suits -- matching black flared pants, black matching coats, vests, neckties, w/ white shirts and big, shiny buttons. Each wore a black cowboy hat, one of shiny leather, the other suede. Both wore thick-soled black shoes. They stood at the deck end of the arena-level scaffolding, leaning on the railing, studying the complicated network of structures on the ground floor, talking the entire time.

This world of ours: just one big kick in the ass.

[emeraldnebula]

Thoughts on the comic book industry, Part 6

I've been touching on this on and off during this prolonged rant about the state of the comic book industry, but there's no way to continue this rant without going into detail on this point. It's at least half the reason the industry is in such ruin, and it's a big reason why the major publishers are so unwilling to get with the times and get their acts together.

Over the past 3 decades, the major publishers have cultivated a core audience of regressive, close-minded, selfish fanbrats who (a) are in lockstep with the tastes and preferences of the Big 2, (b) are resistant to any kind of beneficial change, and (c) are ready and willing to excommunicate anyone who, shall we say, "isn't of the body." Essentially, what little remains of the readership is a twisted hybrid of Landru from Star Trek and the Buddy Bears from Garfield. (Although I suppose another Star Trek villain, Gorgan, applies as well – "Our purity of purpose cannot be contaminated by those who disagree.") All the awful stereotypes associated with geek culture? These are the people on whom those stereotypes are based.

If you think the Big 2 don't give a shit about the integrity of their characters, or about the quality of the stories, or about the legacies they're supposed to be caretaking...well, neither does their core audience of choice. The tiny minority they cater to may make a lot of noise about preserving the "history" of the characters, but they define that history purely by their pet incarnations and dismiss everything outside of that. For DC, the "history" its target audience wants preserved is the 1986-2011 period (or, for what's left of the Superman fandom, 1986-1999 only), with a burning, outspoken contempt of anything that doesn't bear at least a surface similiarity to it. Hence "Rebirth," despite being a creative and sales failure, being praised to the skies on social media. For Marvel, what's left of its audience doesn't give a damn about the company's history at all; they just accept whatever's thrown their way. There's a reason why the term "Marvel Zombies" existed long before the comic of the same name. That same willful ignorance and disregard of the history and legacy of the Big 2 even extends to the creators they choose to lionize or condemn. If it's a creative team or a specific era the fandom has decreed holy writ, they can get away with anything they want and the worst aspects of that era will be whitewashed or made excuses for. But if its creative teams or eras the fandom doesn't approve of? Everything about it, no matter how innocuous or even based in the franchise's existing history, will be excoriated as an abomination. Everything the remaining fandom upholds or tears down has nothing to do with the actual history of the industry and everything to do with their personal tastes.

(By the by, this also extends to comic book adaptations as well. Whoever the fandom chooses to rally behind can do no wrong regardless of how destructive and ruinous their ideas are, while filmmakers the fandom chooses to hate can't win no matter how respectful they try to be.)

It also doesn't help that the target readership of the major publishers also shares the same nihilistic, meanspirited attitude so prevalent in most comic book stories now. It's not uncommon for the remaining fandom to justify malicious event-gimmicks with comments like "Why should the heroes' lives be nothing but rainbows all the time?" (This was an actual defense for Cry for Justice/Rise of Arsenal, I kid you not.) Characters behaving horribly, like Lois Lane being emotionally abusive or Batman being willing to betray and assault the people closest to him (his physical attacking of Alfred in All-Star Batman in particular) gets praised as being "badass," "cool," "strong and empowering," etc. Hell, even Spider-Man openly admitting that he was making his deal with Mephisto for purely selfish reasons – that he didn't want to honor Aunt May's wishes to die peacefully because he didn't want to feel guilty about his mistakes leading to her death – was praised as heroic and noble even though he explicitly stated his intentions on-panel. And look at the SJW characters Marvel's been pushing for years. Many of them are hostile and unlikable people, and yet the readership will defend them by accusing naysayers of sexism, racism, and any other politically-charged insult they can think of. In a lot of ways, what passes for comics from the Big 2 these days is, in essence, glorified Mary Sue fiction, with the creators and the remaining fandom glorifying themselves and their pet choices.

And as a result of this, many characters who were once noble and honorable are turned into absolute jerks, characters who once had depths and layers are reduced to one-dimensional cutouts with no real personality or soul, and characters with a history of being unlikable get exalted and showcased at the expense of all else. And what's left of the fandom wants it this way, because it feeds their own sense of superiority and allows them to project themselves onto the characters. If you dare to point out that certain characters have been stripped of their humanity and nobility and are just one-note, shallow husks, the remaining fandom will assert that such characters are "cool" and "deep," and that you're just an idiot or a fan of another character who doesn't know any better. If you point out that certain female characters are consistently portrayed as selfish, entitled, and cruel for no good reason, you'll be accused of misogyny and "not being able to handle strong women." And so on. To point out flaws and failings in the fandom's golden calves of choice is tantamount to personally insulting the fandom itself. Which is the same mindset DC and Marvel have when faced with criticism.

There's also an insane, utterly baffling refusal to even consider even moderate, reasonable updates and/or changes to certain properties, whether it's long-overdue costume upgrades, shedding outdated tropes or settings, or even replacing old creative teams who've overstayed their welcome with fresh blood. Over and over again, you'll hear "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" as a catch-all excuse to never change anything at all, no matter how necessary those changes are or if the old creative teams are completely out of anything resembling fresh ideas. In some cases, the industry's target audience will point to said old creators' past successes (if any) as an excuse to never replace them with new talent. And if the fandom decides they won't accept any new talent, there's no excuse they won't use to dismiss or demonize said new talent. Back in the early 2000s, for example, Ed McGuinness, Doug Mahnke, Mike Wieringo, and other creators working at DC were repeatedly bashed for being "too manga" for the fans' liking. Never mind that Mahnke's work doesn't look anything like manga, never mind that Wieringo had previously worked at DC during the '90s on high-profile books, and never mind that McGuinness owed his style more to American animation. They were replacing old, worn-out talent that the fandom didn't want to let go of, therefore "too manga" was seen as a valid excuse to hate their work. Even artists like the late Darwyn Cooke and Eric Powell have been bashed for being "too cartoony" or "too childish," despite it being well-known that cartoony art styles are much harder to pull off because you can't hide behind a lot of detail.

The refusal to accept anything but old, stale creators on the same properties ad nauseum often extends to a refusal to even consider artists drawing anything but the same damn thing over and over again. With Superman, you still have, decades after the fact, people wanting nothing but Curt Swan or Curt Swan imitators drawing the books, never mind that the franchise visually stagnated during the Bronze Age as a result. With creators like Darryl Banks, Scott McDaniel, Mark Bagley, and – before his career-ending stroke – Norm Breyfogle, fans don't want them drawing anything but their "signature" characters, and are actively hostile to even the suggestion that those artists could or should draw anything else. Speaking from personal experience, I've found that 90% of the time artists love drawing something other than their usual fare. But talk about this with the comic book fandom that exists now, and they treat it as an insult to the artists and an unnecessary risk because "you're making them draw things they have no affinity for." The idea of comic book artists being versatile and able to draw any kind of subject matter doesn't even occur to them at all, and they treat it as an affront if you even suggest it. Again, all they want is stale, stagnant comfort food, even if it conflicts with what the artists themselves would want to do.

Then again, that same inability to look beyond their personal tastes is reflected in their willful ignorance of the history of comic books, and even of the nature of comic storytelling. Over and over again, you see the existing fandom claiming to love and protect the "history" of the Big 2, but that history begins and ends with their pet incarnations. How often have you seen DC's pre-1986 history trashed and mocked on both fan forums and comic-centric blogs? A lot. There's very little love, if any, for anything published before Crisis on Infinite Earths. And a lot of times, the fandom will parrot outright lies – be they fan-made or even pimped by the publishers themselves – as absolute historical fact despite what was actually published in the past. (Batman's pre-Frank Miller history and Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson's roles in Spider-Man immediately come to mind as examples of such.) Even worse, sometimes the fandom will pimp their pet creators as being more deserving of creator credit than the characters' actual creators, or even advocate abolishing creator credits altogether if they decide they don't like either the original creators or the creators' estates. As for the willful ignorance of how comic storytelling works, here's a very worrying example: Marvel artist Greg Land is notorious for copy-pasting his old work and tracing/swiping from other sources, including porn and other artists' work. This habit has cost him friends and creative partners over the years. And yet, when his fans came to his defense, not only were his habits excused and defended, but some even made the assertion that Land isn't responsible for telling a story; he's just there to draw pretty pictures and that artists aren't there to tell stories in the first place.

This is a direct violation of what comics are: writing and art coming together to tell a story visually. In many cases, creators write and draw their own work. Visual storytelling is what comics are all about. But because an artist the fandom decided to champion was outed as a hack, some of his defenders decided that the rules of comic storytelling didn't exist, much less apply to said artist.

This should worry anyone who actually does love comics as a medium, because this is the audience the industry has been cultivating over the last 26-32 years. A tiny, whiny minority readership that doesn't have any real love or knowledge of the medium or the characters therein, that only wants the same tired old shit no matter how stale or outdated it is, that mimics the tastes and attitudes of the creators responsible, and is insanely devoted to either no change whatsoever regardless of merit or to extreme and destructive changes by their pet creators. I mean, really, is there any difference between legendary social media bully Michael "ManoftheAtom" Sacal screaming and yelling at anyone who doesn't share his "Iron Age only or else" mentality and creators like Mark Waid and Joe Quesada insulting and bullying anyone who doesn't share their distorted, selfish personal interpretations of their pet eras? Is there any real difference between fans incapable of accepting even minor and harmless updates and creators like Mike Manley going "Fuck your [insert character]!" on Facebook in regards to anything but his pet interpretations of said characters? (Ironically, Manley famously called fans unwilling to accept anything but Frank Miller's Batman "babymen." Apparently he's not capable of heeding his own advice.) Is there any real difference between fans who don't even understand how comic storytelling works at all and editors like Tom Brevoort who defend hack artists by pointing to sales (such as they are) and if their tracing and swiping "looks good"? Is there any difference at all between fans who spout bad SJW/far-left jargon and comic book pros who do likewise? And is there any difference between fanbrats who spew bile toward cosplayers and comic book pros who do the same damn thing? The answer is no. What remains of the comic book fandom is nothing but an echo chamber for the industry and its sycophants. No room for anything other than the chosen dogma, no room for anything resembling growth, change, evolution, or even just new ideas in general.

Making matters worse is that like any echo chamber, there's a huge amount of infighting when it comes to how pure of a fan you are and how devoted you are to the chosen dogma. Let's be honest; comic book fans don't just hate anyone not already in the clique, but they can't even play nice with each other. Male fans will tear each other apart for even slight differences of opinion, and female fans will tear each other apart for the same reason or even for daring to depart from the far-left/feminist/SJW bent of websites like Girl Wonder.org, The Mary Sue, and the Dreamwidth version of Scans Daily. (By contrast, the original Livejournal version of Scans Daily was a far more tolerant and welcoming community than what replaced it.) And when male and female fans collide for whatever reason...forget it. Their agendas are too polar opposite for them to ever have any common ground (the feminist/SJW fans crying sexism over anything that even slightly evokes female sexuality and hardcore male fans whining endlessly about anything that isn't fanservice sleaze). There's a reason why comic book fandom has a such a negative image attached to it. It's so insular, so arrogant, so unwilling to bend from its sense of self-entitlement that there isn't any place for new fans, or even older fans who are far more moderate and willing to accept change as necessary. Nobody's going to want to be part of an industry and/or fan community that tries to dictate what you can't or can't like, what you can or can't think, or how you can or can't treat anyone not already in the existing clique.

Don't ever expect these guys to show any self-awareness if or when it's pointed out that their attitudes are not only strangling the life out of comics, but also giving comic book fandom a deservedly terrible reputation. Any time this lunatic fringe gets called out on its bullshit, they repeatedly, without fail, justify their behavior by calling it "passion." They see themselves as the true believers, the chosen ones to whom the industry truly belongs and thus anything they say and do is A-OK. No, I'm sorry, but that's not how any of this works. Being utter jerks to anyone not already in their clique is not "passion." Being insanely hateful and willfully ignorant while congratulating each other for being "scholars and gentlemen" is not "passion." Demanding and encouraging creative and artistic stagnation is not "passion." Bullying each other over perceived fandom purity is not "passion." And when they make it clear over and over again that their regard for the medium begins and ends purely with their personal tastes, that's not "passion," either. It's just plain being a selfish ass. These people have just as much love for comics as the major publishers do...little to none. It's all about self-aggrandizement for them, and they're too wrapped up in themselves to realize it.

Which is going to bring us to the next issue that needs to be broached, an issue that could and likely will spell the death of the comic book industry as we know it.

[resonanteye]

via http://resonanteye.net/horror-movie-list-2020-edition/

Horror Movie list: 2020 edition

We’ve seen so much real-world horror this year that it’s hard to top it. But in the spirit of all previous Halloween lists, I’m going to go ahead with this anyway.

TOP THIRTEEN!

In no particular order, the 13 movies you should be watching this week.

attack the block: a classic, 10/10

snowpiercer: uprising of the underclass. 9/10

people under the stairs: BELONGS IN 2020. 9/10

society: a better documentary than They Live. 9/10

contagion: it drags a little, but have you gotten your hydroxychloroquine forsythia yet? 9/10

us: class uprising, metaphorically. 9/10

green room: racism, cults, punk rock culture, innawoods. 10/10

the crazies: the kind of year it’s been. we didn’t realize our neighbors were this fucked up. 10/10

the thing (even the sequel is good) every year, all the time, we’re gonna find out who’s the thing. 10/10

children of men: how we’ve reacted isn’t much better. 10/10

invasion of the body snatchers: you can’t tell if people are assholes or not, until now. now you can tell. 9/10

the dead zone: we need this. we needed this a while ago. 8/10 (points deducted for effects)

dead snow: We all wish we had snowmobiles and axes these days. 10/10

The rest of the movies aren’t listed in order of best/worst, just as I remember them. Themes listed and my short thoughts, and a 1-10 scale for my personal enjoyment. There’s been a lot of shitty horror made since my previous lists (see here, here and here) (and a list of horror passing various analytical tests, HERE)

click through for the big list.

movies since the last list

Don’t be Afraid of the Dark: it’s about a little kid. Monster movie. Haunted house horror. 5/10 creepy little guys

Resolution/the Endless: endless is the perfect sequel. Existential horror. Time travels. Cults. 10/10

Autopsy of Jane Doe: medical, family issues, witches, existential dread about death, reminiscent of return of the living dead, slow burn, revenge, a new favorite. 10/10

 Kingdom: yes it’s a series. It’s the only horror series I’ve been able to sit through. Zombie/plague, politics, battle scenes. Science. 9/10 perfectly done

 Spectral: Army guys. Dimensional horror. Fight scenes. Folklore. 6/10 not bad, fighting gets tired after a while.

 Await Further Instructions: Racism. Family gatherings. Holidays. Just how people would behave. 9/10

The Boy: Dolls. Ghoooooooosts. Creepy family relationships. House horror. no kids! 8/10

Demonic: ghost hunters, paranormal, twist ending, police presence. well acted! 7/10

Sinister 2: like most sequels, not good. about kids of course. Bad folklore references. 2/10

The Stranger (2014): about a kid. mom was a vampire apparently… viral plagues, body horror. small town living. 9/10

Bliss: Artists and art culture. Great characters. Party. 8/10

He Never Dies: not a bad role for Rollins. immortality, violence, paranoia, revenge of a sort. 7/10

Monster Party: serial killers, family dynamics, surprising facts about rehab. 6/10

We Go On: some plot holes here… existential horror. afterlife, ghosts, stalking. 7/10

House of the Devil: slow burn. predictable ending. rape, demons, cult. filmed beautifully but so what? 4/10

Spring: folklore, relationships, body horror. INCREDIBLE. 9/10

Terrified: plot holes. ghosts/existential horror, dimensions. effects are great. 8/10

Cruising: serial killer, homophobia, cop content, sexual violence. a classic, acted perfectly, directed perfectly. 9/10

The Silence: plot holes SO MANY PLOT HOLES. great creatures. monster movie/apocalyptic. 5/10

Starfish: indie music vinyl collection part-anime monster movie. I know that SOUNDS good but… every instance of “it was all a dream” removed one point. confusing plot, nice monster. SO SLOW. 3/10

We are Still Here: vintage feeling. haunted house/rotten small town. family problems. cold weather. 7/10

Malevolent: pretty decent for a “ghost hunters” movie. 6/10

Beyond the Black Rainbow: cults, mad science. If you liked “the invitation” you might like this. 5/10

Spiral: this one scared me. With the way the world is now I felt real fear watching this. Building dread. homophobia, xenophobia, cults. 8/10

Color out of Space: Nicholas Cage falls in love with a meteor and it’s nothing like the Lovecraft story. Just watch Lovecraft Country instead (unless you want to watch a comedy, it IS Cage, after all. and it got 3 extra points for casting Chong) 3/10

The Fields: about a kid. but also about how creepy the rural areas of PA can be. great setting, great plot. 9/10

Southbound: an anthology, which isn’t as coherent as I wished it was. some sections are worth the watch. 6/10

Void: cults, medical and body horror, and interdimensional mad science. 8/10

Under the Skin: strange aliens, with strange goals. rape, of course, because the main character’s a “woman”. 6/10

Get Out: Holy shit rich white people scare me. 9/10

Antiviral: medical and body horror, doppelgangers, and paranoia. 8/10

Mayhem: Every workplace should be unionized. infection, medical horror, violence with office supplies. 10/10

digging up the marrow

Eli: you’ve seen this movie before, but you won’t know it until the end of the movie. I’m not sure I like that. it’s also about a kid. medical horror, demons, ghosts. 4/10

in the tall grass: Time travel/elder gods and of course the King fear of Native sacred ground. well made. 8/10

it comes at night: paranoia, disease and isolation all wrapped up neatly in a good mystery story. 7/10

they look like people: Paranoia, so much paranoia. 9/10

Baskin: demons and deals. 6/10

Ma: just an incredible revenge story. teenagers, but not about teenagers. Great cast and slow build of dread throughout. 9/10

Midsommar: revenge movie with a cult to help it along. slow, and pretty. overrated. 6/10

XX: anthology that’s a 50/50 hit. rated slightly higher because the hits are really, really worth it. 6/10

Train to Busan: zombies aren’t as tired out as a genre as you’d think. yeah, it’s about a kid. ugh. 7/10

The Golem: antisemitism, colonial times, women fixing shit. yes, it’s about a kid. fuck sake 7/10

Thirst: Catholic vampire romance horror. What more is there? medical horror too. 7/10

Into the Forest: I understand that there’s two women as main characters during a power outage apocalypse so there’s got to be rape, but still. 4/10

Tales of Halloween: gives trick r treat a run for its money. ADRIENNE BARBEAU. 7/10

Platform: seems more relevant now than last year. Very violent; plot holes or three. Great acting. 6/10

The Vampire’s Assistant: I’m not usually a horror-comedy fan, but this movie had it all. spiders too. 8/10

Don’t Kill It: fresh premise, good plot. demons, possession, and paranoia. 8/10

Cold Skin: everything the Lighthouse SHOULD have been. Colonizer/Native metaphors. monster movie, with a twist. Antarctic isolation horror. 9/10

Hereditary: overrated, but not bad. family issues, cults, motherhood. yes it’s about a kid/teenager. 6/10

Demon: addresses the leftover horror of genocide, family issues, weddings, and being a stranger in a strange land. 8/10

Patchwork: technically a horror comedy which I usually dislike. Still, it was done well- callbacks to reanimator! no rape scenes, which is amazing for a film with 3 women leads. 8/10

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: unsatisfying ending, but excellent throughout. classic, straightforward vampire story, in a fresh setting. 8/10

  older movies I strongly suggest

rare exports: Santa? not a good thing. 9/10

the stuff: addiction, consumer culture. 7/10

return of the living dead parts 1,2 and 3: 10/10, 8/10, 9/10

the relic: science gone wrong due to egos. 8/10

pioughkeepsie tapes: serial killer culture done as a fake true-crime documentary. 10/10 if you watch a lot of those, 7/10 if you don’t get those references

the diabolical: ghosts or time travel or some kind of dimension warps? 9/10

the ruins: when the locals tell you to fuck off, fuck off. this is a killer plant movie. 9/10

the girl next door: pure American sociopathy. rape, torture, and the “good old days” 9/10

splice: mad science and monsters. rape and rape-adjacent scenes, of course, since women are lead characters. 7/10

grave encounters: 10/10 of you watch ghost bro shows. 6/10 if you don’t

dog soldiers: possibly the perfect werewolf movie. 10/10

dead birds: possibly the perfect Civil War movie. 10/10

body bags: anthology. hits and misses. 6/10

dead alive: the perfect zombie romance movie. Nothing has ever come close. 10/10

vamp: it has Grace Jones. 9/10

altered: the best alien movie ever made. 10/10

final destination: the grim reaper is rube goldberg. 7/10

Pan’s labrynth: the horrors of fascism. but about a kid. 9/10

freaks: the original, the classic unity revenge story. 10/10

candyman: city horror, a rarity. real bees. 10/10

freaked: horror comedy. 6/10

the mist: the best ending. 10/10

the taking of Deborah Logan: medical horror plus some supernatural stuff. 9/10

it follows: disease is on everyone’s mind right now. pretentious, but excellent concept and plot. 8/10

Ganja and Hess: classic vampires. 10/10

the girl with all the gifts: how to make a zombie movie worth watching after all these decades. no humor at all. perfect. except it’s about a kid. 9/10

the horde: what it might actually be like if there were zombies. no information, no help. 9/10

mama: finally, a stepmom/adopted mom that’s GOOD. but it’s about kids. 6/10

the fly: sexy body horror and mad science. 8/10

flatliners: mad science, death, ghosts. 7/10

slither: I take it back. THIS is the best alien movie ever made. 11/10

dark skies: a decent alien movie, but it’s about a kid. 7/10

critters: we’ve come for the crites. 6/10

trick r treat: still an 8/10

fright night: the original. 9/10

troll hunter: government agencies have to handle monsters somehow. 10/10

the host: a better monster movie than so, so many. 9/10

pighunt: we’re all in it together 10/10

Willard: rats, cats, and a weirdo’s revenge 9/10

cold fish: serial killer culture 8/10

night watch/day watch fantasy horror with every creature you can imagine and the cops that watch them. good vs evil without any gods in the way. 10/10

Ravenous (NOT 2017): the original, not the recent one. colonizers gonna pay. amazing soundtrack. 9/10

the shrine: final girl gets what she deserves. 8/10

American werewolf in London: damn good effects for the time, jumps right into the action. 9/10

the pact: ghosts, serial killers, family issues, haunted houses. 9/10

the woman: revenge, sociopaths, the horror behind the mask of the upper class. rape, but… 10/10

reanimator: Jeffrey Combs is the only mad scientist. Rape-y stuff, but no rape. body horror and zombies, a classic. 10/10

blade: the first Blade movie changed the vampire genre. 9/10

the descent: claustrophobic, women in battle, monster movie. paranoia and perception. 10/10

the strain (series): this and kingdom are the only series I’ll recommend in horror right now. 9/10 until the last season. that’s a 6/10

pighunt: we’re all in it together. 10/10

the burrowers: colonizers and monsters, and who can tell the difference. 10/10

Additional list may come during the year, I’ll try to keep adding more.

[onimiman]

Retrospective: The Eon Productions James Bond Movies (1962-2015)

alAs of this post, I have completed my viewing of all 24 of Eon Productions’ James Bond movies, which, as the title of this post points out, started in 1962 and has had its most recent film in 2015. Granted, I should point out that this hasn’t exactly been an active process of mine; in fact, I haven’t rewatched any of the Daniel Craig movies for this, but those entries are fairly fresh in my mind nevertheless. As well, there are other entries in this franchise that I haven’t seen in years, and I’ll point those out as I get to them in this retrospective. One may argue that, perhaps, my opinions of those movies could have changed, but regardless, I’m confident that I’d probably still feel about them now as I did not that long ago. I should also point out that I won’t rank any of them in any particular order; I just want to talk about them in the order that these films were released and there will be no major spoilers as I go through this list. So, without further ado, let’s begin with:

1. Dr. No (1962): The very first James Bond movie is a very quaint, simple film that, by today’s standards, would be rather dull for today’s audiences who live in an era of OTT action scenes in films presented by the likes of Marvel and other giant media conglomerations. That isn’t to criticize such films for things like that (or at least not most films like that), but that’s beside the point. I saw this movie back in 2015 as a sort of preparation for my viewing of that year’s Spectre, the last film I’ll get to on that list, and I thought that Dr. No  was serviceable but nothing particularly memorable in terms of story. Sean Connery as James Bond is very much a man’s man who, while having some sensibilities that wouldn’t be very agreeable to modern audiences today, is still surprisingly charming for someone who’s so aloof when he’s not on a job. In terms of plot, it’s really more of a mystery that we, the audience, watch and learn alongside Bond, and, again, while lacking any memorable action scenes, it’s a decent enough flick, but not one I’d rush to rewatch.

2. From Russia with Love (1963): I saw this movie almost immediately after I watched Dr. No, also in preparation for Spectre, and I can say that it’s certainly a lot more of a memorable film than Dr. No, especially when it comes to its boat chase toward the end. The plot is also a lot more interesting than that of Dr. No, as it very much touches upon the Cold War intrigue that was present during this time period. It was also interesting to see how Bond would work with a Russian agent, even if it would have a very predictable dynamic (what with that agent being an attractive female, a type of person that Bond would be well-known for bedding). If you’re looking for a simple film with more of an action-packed tone, I’d say this would do it.

3. Goldfinger (1964): This was the Bond movie I started out this quest for, and I was sadly disappointed with this one, as this is widely considered by many film critics to be one of the best, if not the best, Bond movie to date, and it certainly has some iconic moments, such as the exchange between Bond and Goldfinger respectively: “You expect me to talk, Goldfinger?” “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.” and “My name is Pussy Galore.” Bond: “I must be dreaming.” As well, this is the first Bond movie to feature the stylistic intro credits that would follow the rest of the Bond films afterward. But unfortunately, the reason that I was disappointed with this one was because, as Cinema Sins pointed out in their video for this movie, for a secret agent, Bond doesn’t really have much agency in this film; for much of this movie, he’s really more of a “decent prisoner of war” to quote Cinema Sins. For anyone who’s seen this movie, you’ll know what I mean; for much of the film, Bond is really the titular antagonist’s prisoner who’s just trying to do what he can to subvert the captivity, which isn’t nearly as interesting as I’m making it sound. Also, one can easily point out the plot holes when one watches it; again, no spoilers, but when it comes to a scene involving several gangsters, one wonders why Goldfinger doesn’t just kill them off to begin with. I shouldn’t say I regretted watching it; again, Connery still holds up as aloof yet cool Bond, even if this is probably one of the more disgusting moments in 007′s career when it comes to seducing Pussy Galore. I would only recommend watching this one just to see what all the fuss is about, what with critics praising this movie out the wazooh, but other than that, I don’t find it bothersome to say you can skip this one.

4. Thunderball (1965): A better entry than Goldfinger, imo, but still one that I couldn’t particularly enjoy, and I can tell you why: this movie’s underwater scenes. Whenever this movie had scenes that went underwater, I groaned inside; imo, this was not a good time in cinematic history to shoot scenes underwater, especially if you’re shooting action sequences here where, even when there are two small armies of people that are even in distinct uniforms, it’s very confusing to follow. Otherwise, I feel like this was a solid entry in the Bond franchise, and I appreciated the SPECTRE intrigue had returned to provide a more solid foundation of providing villains to hatch schemes for Bond to counteract and foil. It’s not as enjoyable as From Russia with Love, but I still say, you could give this a watch.

5. You Only Live Twice (1967): A suitable entry in the franchise that is heightened further by the revelation of the head of SPECTRE, which is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. However, I felt that Donald Pleasance’s portrayal of Blofeld, as brief as it was, was surprisingly dull, especially for a villain that is as iconic as this character. Other than that, this film is stronger than all four movies for its inclusion of martial arts, courtesy of the Japanese in this film, which lends a lot more impact to the action scenes. In terms of plot, this film is certainly the most outlandish at that point in the franchise, with Blofeld really going for the fences this time when he gets outer space involved. The story is still enjoyable, even if it has flaws like killing off a Bond girl and then immediately replacing her with a different woman with no real effect in the plot or in Bond’s character; that certainly was a head-scratcher. I recommend this entry to be watched.

6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969): If you hate the Woman in the Fridge trope, you’ll lose your shit over this one within the span of seconds before the film’s end credits roll. But, if you’re willing to look past that, or at least prepare yourself for it, you might find yourself at probably the most enjoyable entry in 60s era of James Bond (unless you think otherwise with Goldfinger). Of all six movies from this decade, this would probably be the one to satisfy modern audiences the most with its OTT action scenes, particularly whenever Bond is skiing down a snowy mountain while being chased by Blofeld’s bad guys. And speaking of Bond and Blofeld, this entry marks the only time that George Lazenby played Bond, and at first, I liked him, but upon further reflection, he’s admittedly quite wooden and dull to watch compared to Connery; hell, Lazenby is more entertaining to watch whenever he’s playing the meek genealogist that Bond is posing as. In contrast, however, Telly Savalas delivers a much more entertaining depiction of Blofeld than Donald Pleasance, with a dry wit that still conveys a sense of menace and over-the-topness, for lack of a better term, as a villain. The plot is typical Bond at this point, but with its extended running time running at nearly 2 and a half hours, it certainly gets some much needed fleshing-out, especially when it comes to its action scenes. I whole-heartedly recommend this one, just watch out for the Fridging at the end.

7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971): For Connery’s last official appearance as Bond (and that’s not counting his last actual appearance as Bond in 1983′s Never Say Never Again, which I haven’t watched for this retrospective since that isn’t an official Eon Productions Bond movie), it appears, on the surface, to be an enjoyable and typical Bond movie, yet, for some reason, it did feel a little dull and kind of a disappointment as a sendoff for Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who, in this movie, is played by Charles Gray. Gray is easily the most forgettable Blofeld of all three of the 60s/70s Blofelds, and the schemes he has in this movie, which involves impersonating a rich eccentric mogul, pales in comparison to his previous two plots (and that’s not counting where he’s just a background villain like in From Russia with Love or Thunderball). Easily the best part of this movie is the pre-title sequence where Bond is being more brutal than usual in his quest to find Blofeld, and I appreciated that, even though the events of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is never outright mentioned, the events of that movie still carried through and deeply affected Bond to the point that he is this vengeful character. Unfortunately, after the opening credits rolled, Bond is back to his usual Connery self, and I found it to be less interesting to watch for the rest of the movie; it also makes me wonder why he doesn’t revert to the mode he had in the pre-title sequence when he finds out that Blofeld is alive. Still, I’d recommend watching this movie if only for the Blofeld wrap-up, even if it wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been.

8. Live and Let Die (1973): Roger Moore’s debut as 007 is a dull one when looked at on paper, with a plot that is fairly lackluster compared to the SPECTRE/Blofeld plots of the 60s and in a dull, forgettable villain in Yaphet Kotto’s Mr. Big (and, yes, it’s the guy who played Parker in Alien for all you sci-fi fans out there). However, in terms of execution, it’s honestly one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen; if you want a laugh, just look at how Mr. Big dies at the end. I wouldn’t recommend this movie in full, but if you want, go onto YouTube and watch how Mr. Big dies at the end and this film’s extended boat chase; it’s one of the most OTT things ever, and it was these moments that made me grin in between the moments of boredom this movie did provide. And as for Moore, he certainly has a rather dry and honestly, well, I hate to be repetitive but, dull performance as a stereotypical British gentleman that is in stark contrast to the roguish man’s man that Connery was. Still, I didn’t hate watching him, as he does have his moments in this movie and the movies that follow. 

9. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974): Easily, Christopher Lee as the titular man with the golden gun is the best thing in this movie; honestly, I kinda wished he played James Bond instead of Roger Moore, as Lee has a lot of charisma and personality in his performance. Even when he’s playing a bad guy that’s now a dark wizard or a Sith Lord, he seems like the kind of guy I wouldn’t mind spending half an hour at a pub with. Aside from that, this movie was just boring, the story was forgettable, and there isn’t much else I can say about this one. Needless to say, you can skip this one, and just find a compilation of all the scenes that Christopher Lee is in.

10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977): I skipped this one for the retrospective, as I’d already seen it a few years ago, and I still have as decent of a memory for this one as I do for most of the other films on this list, and I can say this: this is probably Roger Moore’s best entry in the Bond franchise, which is something that I can agree on with the critics, but at the same time, this is probably Moore at his grossest, as his sexist claims about women are probably the most eye-rolling I’ve seen in this entire franchise. It’s actually more interesting to watch this movie as a reflection of mainstream beliefs about feminism at this decade. The story is a lot more interesting than the previous two entries, though, and with some decent, 70s action scenes to boot. The henchman Jaws is easily the most memorable Bond henchman I’ve seen in a long time, which is saying something since I don’t even remember the name of this film’s main villain! Other than that, if you can’t handle how misogynist this movie in particular gets, skip it; otherwise; you might have a fun, if disposable, time.

11. Moonraker (1979): Of all the James Bond movies in this entire franchise, this one is easily the most ridiculous, yet I’d be lying if I didn’t think this was fun because of its ridiculousness. I said before that, in You Only Live Twice, Blofeld had a plan that involved space, but that was actually subtle compared to the plot of this film’s main villain. The biggest weakness, however, is that it follows way too many beats from The Spy Who Loved Me, but I’ll admit, it’s not as cringey as that film’s misogyny. I’d say give this a watch because of this movie’s ridiculousness, and it has one of my favorite closing lines in this series: in response to someone asking what is Bond doing as a whole bunch of people are watching on a monitor him have zero-gee sex with the leading Bond girl of the flick, the character of Q says, “I think he’s attempting reentry, sir.” LOL.

12. For Your Eyes Only (1981): Now that we’re into the 80s, this Bond film decides to ground itself back to a more realistic, if more forgettable, plot. I’ll admit, the film’s action scenes make up for the story that I can’t even remember what happened, and I do appreciate the nod to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in the film’s pre-title sequence; hell, I thought that was the best part of the whole film, with Blofeld even coming back (even if he’s not referred to by name in this movie, as there had been legal issues about Blofeld and SPECTRE being in Bond movies at this time). However, I thought that Blofeld still deserved a better sendoff than that (but it was still better than Diamonds Are Forever). Not much else to say about this one except that, now, Moore is starting to show his age, and I think this could have been an appropriate movie for him to end his stint as Bond on; you can watch it, but it’ll be forgettable.

13. Octopussy (1983): If you think I’m joking about this movie’s title, just confirm it for yourself: you have the Internet, after all. Also, you can confirm for yourself that this is the entry where James Bond dresses up as a literal fucking clown to try to save people from a bond exploding; I can tell ya, Roger Moore’s audition for Pennywise the Dancing Clown was terrible, and it came at a time before Stephen King’s It was even released (although King was in the process of writing the book at the time, so...). Oh, and this was also the movie where, early on, Bond swings on some vines like Shia LaBeouf in Indiana Jones 4 and yells like Tarzan to boot. Again, if you think I’m making any of this up, just look it up; you won’t be disappointed. But aside from these OTT things - the name of the leading titular Bond girl (or how she got that name to begin with), Bond swinging like Tarzan/Shia and dressing up as a clown - this movie was pretty dull, and it shows that Moore is running out of steam as Bond.

14. A View to a Kill (1985): How the fuck do you get Christopher Walken as the main bad guy of your film and still turn in a movie that’s even duller than the last one? I mean, granted, Octopussy had some silly shit in it, but still, I wish that, for his final tenure as Bond, Roger Moore could have done something genuinely memorable and grand as Bond. But instead, as he neared his 60s at this point, it was clear that the filmmakers were fucking idiots to think that they could have a man this old continue to be part of action scenes that he had no business in being part of. And the story and plot? Snooze. Honestly, I got more entertainment from this movie just by singing the Full House theme song whenever it showed the Golden Gate Bridge in this movie. The only decent action scene I liked from this was one that involved a fire and an elevator, but beyond that, (makes a fart noise). Just watch For Your Eyes Only and pretend that’s Moore’s last movie as Bond (or Octopussy if you want a few laughs).

15. The Living Daylights (1987): Now this was the invigoration that James Bond needed, and Timothy Dalton was just the guy to do it. And I can honestly say, with this and the following entry, Timothy Dalton is my favorite James Bond; he manages to get a balance between Moore’s suave sophistication (but without the perpetual, and increasing, dullness that was still in Moore’s performances) and the dark brooding tones that Daniel Craig would bring to the franchise nearly twenty years later. With an action-packed story and plot to aid Dalton’s performance, this Bond movie was a clear sign that 007 was finally entering the modern age of action movies, with more dynamic and exciting action scenes that had been scene before, even if the plots were still nevertheless stock in terms of subject matter, with this being a Cold War-related plot. This entry I recommend very much.

16. License to Kill (1989): This may very well contend itself to be my favorite James Bond movie ever, and it was this entry that cemented Dalton as my favorite Bond to boot. The darkness in Dalton’s performance is turned up to an 11 with appropriate results that match the story and plot, and it was definitely fresh in terms of execution and action scenes. The villain in this? I kinda wish Franz Sanchez was more of a recurring villain in Bond’s life than Blofeld was. If I had any negatives, it’s that the lead Bond girl of this could not act to save her life; anytime she opened her mouth, I cringed and thought, “Oh, honey, no; you need to go back to acting school right away.” Still, in spite of that flaw, this entry I recommend highly.

17. GoldenEye (1995): I saw this about a year or two ago, and boyhowdie is this a solid action flick, and a better invigoration to the Bond franchise than even The Living Daylights. Pierce Brosnan, in his debut as Bond here, may be my second favorite Bond, as he has a charisma that Moore was trying to go for but ultimately lacked, but he is hampered by the fact that he wasn’t nearly as dark as Dalton. The plot is very standard Bond, but with its action scenes and with a personal stake that’s rivaled by License to Kill, GoldenEye ends up being a very fun movie with some memorable villains, namely in Xenia Onatopp, played by Famke Janssen (Jean Grey from the X-Men movies), who plays a character I would have written in my fanfics: a psychotic sadomasochist who gets her sexual thrills by crushing men’s chests with her strong leg and killing people in general. Just for this character alone, I would have recommended this movie, but the rest of the film is strong enough that even one who hasn’t seen any of the previous Bond films could easily enjoy this one, too. 

18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997): I had seen this one as a child, but I didn’t have a good memory of it; so I decided to rewatch it a few nights ago, and I can say that it’s not nearly as interesting or entertaining as GoldenEye, but it’s still fun to watch nevertheless. Brosnan is still decent as Bond, and Jonathan Pryce delivers a performance that would have turned a forgettable villain like Elliott Carver into something a little bit more interesting to watch. Michelle Yeoh is also a serviceable Bond girl and gets extra points for actually being a competent-enough hero in her own right (I say competent enough because there are times when she does need Bond to save her ass in this). It’s good for about one or two watches, but no more.

19. The World is Not Enough (1999): This one, like the previous two Bond films, had some decent action set pieces, but unlike GoldenEye or even Tomorrow Never Dies, they didn’t feel as well-executed as in those films. Brosnan is starting to be a little dull as 007 at this point, and Denise Richards as Bond girl Christmas Jones was just flat and unconvincing. The villains of the film sounded interesting in theory, but I think more could have been done with them in execution, especially when you have Robert Carlyle, the guy who played the psychotic and memorable Begbie in Trainspotting just three years before, playing one of those villains. As it was, I thought Carlyle was only mildly menacing when I honestly think he could have delivered a hell of a performance had he been given better direction. I would say you can skip this one.

20. Die Another Day (2002): In short, just watch Film Brain’s review of this movie on YouTube; he’ll give you an indepth look at why this film is shlocky garbage. However, in spite of being shlocky garbage, I still felt more entertained than I did with The World is Not Enough, and at least Brosnan, though dulled out as Bond at this point, gave a more interesting film to go out on than Roger Moore did. And at least it was the Brosnan Bond film that I paid the most attention to as a kid, so that’s something. I don’t wanna say anymore about this movie other than that you can skip it and it’s good that the franchise rebooted after this entry, but I do wish John Cleese returned as Q afterward.

21. Casino Royale (2006): I didn’t much care for this movie when I first saw it as a kid, but upon rewatching it in 2014 in preparation for Spectre, I found that there was a lot to appreciate from this movie. Although the movie has a rather unconventional story for a Bond movie, it was still intriguing, and its action scenes are some of the best I’ve seen since GoldenEye (especially since this and GoldenEye were both directed by Martin Campbell). I like Daniel Craig enough as Bond, but I do definitely have a problem with him as 007: he has none of the personality that any of his predecessors did, not even boring-ass Roger Moore, because even Moore had times where he could be cheeky. I know this movie was supposed to be a dark, gritty take on Bond, but I do wish that Craig could deliver a little bit more personality and memorability in his performance. Still, I’d be lying if I myself wasn’t drawn to his steely edge as a character, and it’s that element that saves him from being worse than Moore; it’s especially helpful when he’s getting tortured by his testicles by Mads Mikkelsen (yes, Galen Erso himself) as the memorable, if not entirely intimidating, Le Chiffre in one scene that is legitimately haunting, and is easily the best part of the whole film by far. Give this a watch: it’s worth your time.

22. Quantum of Solace (2008): I had also watched this movie in preparation for Spectre, and I can say that this was Daniel Craig’s weakest entry as Bond by far. The plot and story go almost as OTT as Die Another Day and it’s baffling to see that after seeing such a gritty, realistic take on James Bond with Casino Royale. It’s bizarre that these two movies exist in the same continuity when you compare their action sequences, and it definitely shows its weaknesses that were the result of the mid-2000s writers’ strike that had occurred at this time. I understand that the studio and filmmakers had to get this film out on time if they wanted to hold onto the film rights for 007, and I guess I could understand that this was the best they could do with what little time they had, but still, I can’t exactly excuse something that I could compare to Die Another Day. I have some reluctance to say skip it because it’s not entirely irredeemable; as OTT as the action scenes can be, there are some I do like, and Craig does the best he can with the relatively limited material he has, so I think it’s worth watching this movie if only for that.

23. Skyfall (2012): This was the first Bond film I saw in the theater, and I had seen this one more than any other Bond film to date, as this was on TV multiple times in 2013, and with one exception that pertained to school matters, I had no problem rewatching this movie. If there were any contenders for my favorite Bond film to compete with against License to Kill or GoldenEye, it would be this movie, and this was a film I didn’t much care for when I saw it in the theater. However, the more I watched it, the more I enjoyed it; to me, this was probably the best structured Bond film I’ve seen in terms of plot, character development, and story. Daniel Craig really shines as a dark brooding Bond that manages to get some quips in here and there, the action scenes are really nice, Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva is a fun mix of Heath Ledger’s Joker and his Anton Chigurh in this movie, and Judi Dench delivers a satisfying sendoff performance as M. it also fascinates me that, in a way, the villain wins by the end of this movie, and it was something that I had to roll around in my head for a bit before I came to terms with how surprisingly smart it was. This is one I definitely recommend, and as a solo Bond film (and as a movie in general), you could watch this all by itself and be plenty satisfied.

24. Spectre (2015): So what do I think of this entry? I don’t hate it like many others who loved Skyfall did, but I do think that this movie had the weakest action scenes out of all of Craig’s Bond films, but I never rewatched this since the theater, which was only once. And in terms of story, I was definitely reminded of Austin Powers in Goldmember, which is something I shouldn’t think of considering that the Austin Powers movies are parodies of the James Bond franchise. Still, I did enjoy various elements of this movie, such as Dave Bautista’s henchman character, Christoph Waltz was fun for playing his version of Blofeld in this film, and I do like how the supporting characters from Skyfall got in on the action in this one. Still, I wouldn’t want this entry to be Daniel Craig’s final entry in the franchise, and thankfully, it isn’t, given that there’s a new one coming out in 2019. Hopefully, if that’s to be Craig’s final role as Bond, let’s hope he can make it more satisfying than this. Still, do I recommend Spectre? It’s a decent enough action flick, but as a followup to Skyfall, I think the filmmakers could have done better; nevertheless, I do recommend it for one watch, and afterwards, you’ll have no problem forgetting it but have no regrets watching it.         

@blue-mint-winter

[nortexnord]

Breaking the Glass

It happened while I was hanging clothes—a careless sleeve flung at the right angle and the wrong speed. As the picture crashed to the floor I had a resigned, German kind of thought: at least it’s not a mirror. And really, it was fine. I’d never liked that frame, anyway—just the thing inside of it. “Why,” he had asked me earlier in the week, hand in my hair, “do you have a picture of a heart on your side table?”

We were entwined and blanketed on the L of the couch, languid after dinner and a bottle of wine. I was warm and feeling particularly comfortable and cared for. I craned my head to see the object in question, an image of an anatomically correct heart in a warm, true red. It had been there nearly since I moved in, but I’d never given much thought to its why.   “I guess I just liked it,” I said. “I like that it’s scientifically accurate. I think I like it more than the symbolic version. You know, the—” here, I drew two lobes in the air before us, joining them in a downward-pointing V. “Okay,” he said in that way that suggests he’s waiting for more information. “And I guess I like diagrams in general,” I mused. “I like the idea of being able to identify and understand all of something’s working parts, know their names, know how they relate to one another. And I’m interested in what the heart represents. You know—feelings.” I suppose I found the heart more or less by feel. I hadn’t been looking for anything in particular when I passed by the canal market that day. Given that I was laden with a backpack full of groceries I’m surprised I stopped at the table of prints at all. Flipping through the plastic-covered A4 exemplars, the heart caught my eye. I plucked it from the masses, gave the proprietor my euros, and took it home in a stripey paper bag. It turned out to be the perfect fit for a frame I’d scrounged off the sidewalk earlier in the week, so I popped it in, plunked it on the table by the window, and ceased to consider it. For sixteen months it had simply been there, standing sentimental sentinel in the corner of my living room. That is, until Wednesday evening when I knocked it down. But at 8:30 Wednesday morning I’d been at the train station, stuffing a love letter into the hand of the man from the couch and kissing him a quick goodbye. I turned on my heel as soon as he boarded the train—I never like to linger over these things—and looked back only once as I strode away. One look per six weeks of gone, I told myself, is surely luxury enough. I strode to the train. I strode to work. I strode home. I felt fine. The first contrary twinge came later, when I was on my knees, jiggling stalwart pieces of glass from the picture frame’s corners and tossing them away with the more willing defectors. I set the heart back upright on the side table, giving in to an entirely too literary, liberal-arts-college thought that made me gag just to have it. It’s a good day for a heart to break. It was then that I noticed that the heart, free of its protective casing, had a new feature around the right atrium—or, rather, it had fewer old ones. When I was tending to the purply calathea plant, also stationed on the side table, a drop of water must have fallen onto the floor, then soaked into the heart where it fell. The water had blurred the fine vertical lines that had lent the heart its shape. I felt sad for a moment. Whether or not I’d owned it, I’d felt sad that morning, too. I like to insulate my heart from outside forces. This, unlike my capers with errant sleeves, is no accident. Most things that we humans do are in order to ensure our own safety. In a time when running from toothy predators isn’t quite so pressing, we do protection in different ways. We do smart things like open retirement funds, splurge on decent orthotics that make us feel like our granddads, get dental cleanings semi-regularly, start sleeping more, go to yoga, take vitamins, and wait grudgingly ’til green to cross the street. We might choose not to go sky-diving or get on that shoddily repaired jet ski because we are, we realize, mortal. And then there are the less well-adjusted ways we keep our inner selves safe: like going on lots of first dates but never saying yes to a second, or finding reasons not to go on first ones at all. We scare ourselves out of being real with people who might be really good, because working towards real with someone good presents a kind of mortal terror often easier to avoid than face. Encasing ourselves in practicalities and emotional prophylaxes so that the world can’t get in keeps us safe. And isn’t that why we put art in frames, too? They can be decorative, it’s true, but the frame’s first office is to keep what’s inside away from an outside world in which there are no guarantees against careless onlookers, rough fingers, cats’ claws, rain. The world is big and strange and full of opportunities to go crashing to the ground. By the end of Wednesday, I’d let slip hearts both literal and figurative, attempts at safety be damned. Alone on the L of the couch, I sat curled with a cup of tea. I considered that it would be a while before I would have such close couch company as before. I considered that I might never have it again. And then I considered the heart, newly propped in its wonted place on the side table. From a distance, the water splotch wasn’t noticeable at all. Up close, it just looked more interesting. It’s still science, it’s still art—just a little less perfect with a little more story. It wasn’t a mirror that shattered Wednesday evening—no seven years’ or six weeks’ bad luck—and whatever significance my inner literary, liberal-arts self would like to impose upon an event, the heart itself isn’t broken. What’s gone is the brittle, invisible layer separating it from being affected by the world, from rough fingers and rain. Now, there is more available texture, and more opportunity for tender, inquisitive touch. Who knows what good that might do, or what fresh havoc it might wreak? I don’t. I can’t. And I suspect that’s the point of having a heart in the first place: that organ that, legendarily, helps us feel—not plan or protect or think—things through.

I love a good diagram. I like to understand all of a thing’s parts and call it by its proper name. But I know that, sometimes, what’s more important than exacting sketches and nomenclature is the way that something feels. Happily, I’ve got a whole, working heart to lead me in the right direction.

[veganvagabond88]

Good Morning Vietnam

Hanoi

As we drove to Hanoi from the airport we instantly knew we would love it. A main highway takes you to the city aligned with stunning green rice paddy fields. As you enter the city the carnage begins. It had a very similar feel to Nepal, without the dust, but still the constant beeping and horrendous driving. It was fun if not a bit terrifying at times, we arrived quite late so we found some dinner and had a wander around the busy streets before going back to our hotel.

As nice as the staff was the room was damp and had mould so we couldn't stay here another night, id developed another chest infection so I’ve had to find a better place to stay. Since Nepal I haven't been 100% and keep getting sick. I think the constant travelling from place to place definitely takes its till on the immune system. People seem to think that travelling is easy and its all fun and sitting on a beach all day relaxing, but the hard reality is that its difficult and exhausting at times, spending hours on a crappy bus/train, turning up somewhere with no where to stay etc, isn't exactly my idea of fun but I am grateful that I have the opportunity to travel, sometimes taking a bad cheap bus/train is necessary to reach a location of beauty, which in the end is worth the sleepless night and cockroach infested train cabin, haha.

There is so much to do in Hanoi, I could easily spend a week or two here. If you don't like a busy city though id suggest just spending a couple of nights. After a while you get used to the beeping and crossing the death trap roads.

Crazy roads

Definitely see some sights here!

Random barber shop!

I visited the women's museum which was great. If you are interested in History then this is the place to go. The museum is split into 3 floors, women in family, women in history, and women in fashion. It is located on one of the most ancient streets of the city amongst French style buildings, big hotels and embassies. The place itself is quite contemporary and houses some of the most important and cultural information artefacts from Vietnam women's history. My favourite part was probably women in history, this documents the struggle, but also important role that the Vietnamese woman had on the country during the war especially.

Beautiful photos of Vietnamese women

The centre of the museum was pretty cool

One of the most interesting stories is that of Dang Thuay Tram, she was a north Vietnamese army doctor who fought the Americans during the Vietnam war and died defending her hospital from US attack. She is known as the Anne Frank of Vietnam, after documenting her life as an army doctor through a diary which has since sold thousands of copies and become a phenomenon. I am going to read the full book now after learning about her.

The rest of this section is full of stories documenting other brave Vietnamese women, its a little hard to digest at times as you get a real sense of what these women went through and realise that when you've had a shitty day you really had nothing to complain about, compared to the women who fought and sacrificed their lives.

Really cool propaganda art 

Its not all doom and gloom though, the museum is also a celebration of women throughout the country displaying beautiful jewellery, clothing's, including the many different dresses/outfits from the many provinces of Vietnam, which shows the different culture and heritage.

So many different dresses, all hand made and beautiful 

The cost of this was 30,000 dong as well as another 30,000 for an audio guide which I thought was a must, it was very insightful and clear. I spent a good 2 hours in the museum before making my way to a nearby cafe where I sat and digested all of the information I had just learnt, of course some of it made me sad but I also felt great admiration for the countries women and walked away feeling like Id gained a lot and learned the truth and realised how lucky I am.

Another must to do is the Hanoi Prison, now this is quite a deep and moving place. The Hoa Lo prison was used by French colonists for political prisoners then later on by the North Vietnamese for the POWs, during this time it was rather aptly known as the “Hanoi Hilton” by the POWs.

The prison was demolished in the 1990s however the original gatehouse remains as the museum

Hoa Lo can be translated to “fiery furnace” or even “hells hole” it really was a place of hell.

weird feeling being behind these bars :-/

Around the grounds of the prison parts of the tunnels which were used as an escape route are on display, can only imagine how claustrophobic this must of been!

The prison was built by the French when Vietnam was still part of the French Indochina. The prison was called “Maison Centrale” meaning Central House.

From the late 1800’s to 1954 it held up to 8000 people with the inmates held in terrible sub human conditions, where the prisoners were subjected to torture and eventually execution. Some were even kept in one cell chained down for up to a year, eating and going to the toilet on the same spot before finally being executed.

This was so eerie and surreal, the wax work models show how the inmates were held down in these awful conditions, it started to make me feel a bit sick thinking about it, i was keen to leave by then.

The prison documents the history from the French era right to when it was used to have US troops during the Vietnam war. Some were captured and held for up to 7 years, before the war ended they were released between the late 70’s early 80’s.

The museum still displays the original guillotine room with all original equipment as well as the different quarters men and women Vietnamese political prisoners.

Displays in the interrogation room show the propaganda used showing that the Americans were treated well and not harmed and even cite the nickname “Hanoi Hilton” to “prove” that inmates found the prison to be like a hotel.

Propaganda includes photos of the US POWs playing chess, pool, gardening, raising chickens and receiving large amounts of fresh food. However the claims of the prison are contested by the US prisoners published memoirs which identify the rooms as the site of acts of torture.

I have mixed feelings about it, no one will ever know the real truth except for the prisoners themselves. It serves as a good reminder of the past and an appreciation lesson of how privileged we are now.

How to get there:

We walked, its only a 10 minute walk from the old quarter. I recommend downloading the app “mapsme” its been brilliant and works offline (that being said its sometimes got confused and we've ended up somewhere completely different)

Cost:

As of February 2017 it cost only 20,000 dong which is less than a dollar! Well worth it, apparently the museum is closed on Mondays but check before you go.

We spent a few days in Hanoi, exploring the local markets and enjoying walks around the lovely Hoan Kiem Lake, the lake is a main focal point of Hanoi aligned with cafes and street vendors. It is the best at the weekends when the roads around the lake are restricted so that families can play around the lake. So much is going on here, street performers, markets, games, people exercising. Brides have their professional photographs done here which was lovely to see. Also note its a selfie stick haven so id recommend going at less busy times to avoid the masses of selfie hungry tourists. It gets a bit annoying at times but also quite entertaining.

I sat on a bench with a coffee one day and was approached by a local Vietnamese young man who wanted to practice his English, he was a doctor and spent his weekends down at the lake to speak to tourists so he could improve his English. I thought this was great, he was really nice and taught me some Vietnamese and even walked me to the women's museum and told me some facts about the city which I otherwise wouldn't of known. After this I actually noticed quite a lot of local youngsters speaking to westerners, I think practising like the man I met was. In fact one evening we were sat by the lake when a small boy came up to us and started asking lots of questions and wanted his photo taken with us, he was with his mother and little brother. He was super cute and a very smart inquisitive boy, its awesome that they do this to improve their English.

We found some amazing places to eat which did vegan food, in particular Minh Chay vegan restaurant which is located near the Catholic Church.

The gothic style church was stunning at night, was nice to see a church actually after being in Asia for so long now.

We ate there a few times, I really recommend the salads, burgers and vegan cheese pizza. It was AMAZING!. We also tried the pumpkin flan which was so tasty. Our hotel “The Ritz Boutique” was only a few doors down to here. We loved staying here and the host Thuy was so helpful and kind to us. We stayed in a dorm which was one of the most comfortable clean dorms I’ve ever stayed in, plus for the first night we had it to ourselves, i slept like a baby that night :)

Vegan Pizza, Tempura and Salad!

Amazing Flan!

Thuy was great and helped us organise a trip to Cat Ba Halong Bay. We got a VIP bus and boat then a coach on the other side, this took around 3-4 hours. It was a pretty good journey I really recommend paying a bit extra, I think it cost us $18 each for a better bus, it was definitely worth it, we spoke to some people who got the cheaper option and said it was pretty bad. The tour operator for this was “Good morning Cat Ba”

Unfortunately we missed the good weather in Cat Ba, we were met by overcast skies and a kind of eerie feel about it, it was pretty lifeless really however we were told by a local that we were in the low season, so maybe that's why.

It was a bit like going back in time, the views out to sea were pretty amazing though but the island itself felt a bit tired and lacking modernisation, in a way I kind of liked it, it had a retro Southend feel about it haha.

We booked a one day boat tour to visit Halong Bay. This was beautiful, it is known for its emerald green waters and thousands of tall limestone island topped with rain forests. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and is a very popular destination for tourists.

First stop was to a stunning spot where you could jump off the boat and swim to a little island. It was way too cold plus I had a cough and cold so I decided to stay on the boat and had a coffee while Ben jumped in and explored the little island.

We took the boat out to the islands where we stopped to do kayaking around the coves and caves, it was like something out of Jurassic Park, a picture just couldn't capture its beauty. I can only imagine how nice it would have been if we had good weather. Nether the less it was lovely to kayak around for an hour or so. Unfortunately the destruction of man is evident here where non recyclable plastic, cans and polystyrene litters the waters. It really is sad to see. Hopefully some sort of clean up will happen and fines imposed for littering as it really is destroying the planet.

Other than that I tried to look past the bad parts and enjoy the day. After kayaking we got back on the boat and enjoyed a freshly cooked meal of tofu, greens, spring rolls and rice, it was so good.

We then made our way to monkey island, my friend had “warned” me about this. The monkeys are very naughty here and are known to steal peoples food/beer and even attacking tourists so I was a bit apprehensive as we stepped onto the island.

Beautiful monkeys but also cheeky, after all they are wild so you never know how they are going to react, these two seemed ok and are used to tourists but they did get a bit fiesty at times! i kept my distance :p

I was a bit disappointed we only saw 2 monkeys which were hanging around the (overpriced) bar/shop that you get dropped off at. We took some photos and witnessed one of them stealing a bag of nuts from an unsuspecting tourist, this made me laugh.

We then made our way up to the well known viewpoint (stepping over rubbish along the way). We actually stopped as we neared the top and came back down as it was packed with people so it was too crowded going up the narrow path. We could still see the amazing panoramic views from many points up the hill though.

Quite upsetting to see this :(

We hung around on the island for an hour or so taking photos, before getting back onto the boat and making our way back to Cat Ba.

Muay Thai pose :p

There is lots to do in Cat Ba, trekking, caving, kayaking, boat tours etc. we explored some of the beaches which were stunning and surprisingly empty as well. For our last day we rented a scooter and visited the Cat Ba National Park.

I even had a go riding the scooter! 

This was a bit weird, the place looked deserted, you can tell it must have been a busy tourist place at some point, I’m not sure if we were there in an off peak season maybe but it just seemed so run down which was sad. We trekked up to the top view point which has fantastic views so that made it worthwhile. On the way back down we bypassed the busy restaurant and had a coffee at a little shack run by a local couple. It was nice to give back and help them out a bit, even if it was just a coffee.

Dilapidated french buildings in the grounds of the National Park.

We did get back to the main town and had a yummy late lunch of vegetable spring rolls and a Vietnamese Pho before catching the bus, ferry and another bus back to Hanoi.

We visited the vegan restaurant one last time, amazing salad and vegan cheese lasagne. I was sad to be leaving Hanoi as I really love it, but it was time to move on. Our hotel host Thuay booked us a sleeper train to Danang where we then took a taxi to the city Hoi An.

The sleeper train cost $45 but it does take 16 hours so I guess its worth it. The train wasn't exactly clean and we shared our 4 bed cabin with a French couple plus a few cockroaches and god knows what else, haha. Oh well it got us from A to B so that's the main thing.

Its nice to wake up on the train which passes through the gorgeous Vietnam countryside, it was raining a bit but it was beautiful still.

Danang

We arrived in Danang around lunch time and walked around for an hour or so trying to find some food or at least a good coffee. However this didn't happen, quickly we learnt that Danang didn't have much to offer for tourists, so deflated and tired we walked back to the station, picked up some crisps and a water and got a taxi to Hoi An. This ended up costing around $5 each, but I’m pretty sure you can get a shared mini bus when you get off the train (although as no trains were arriving when we went back this wasn't possible)

Hoi An

We arrived in Hoi An later that afternoon and found somewhere to stay, the “Hoi An Villa” (it wasn't a villa haha) but it was nice and came with free breakfast – the usual bread and eggs! Bore! I ended up buying some peanut butter and jam though so that's been useful for me as I don't eat eggs. Got to love p&j on toast (well a warm baguette) loving the Vietnamese coffee though!.

We spent a few days here, its pretty expensive though, the best way to see Hoi An is by bicycle, we rented these for the day and took a ride to An Bang Beach which takes you through rice paddy fields which was gorgeous. The beach was lovely but it was a bit overcast and cold. We had a paddle then went for a delicious ice coffee and coconut treat before riding back just before the sunset. The light is awesome here, its perfect for taking photos.

This is the part of Vietnam that I love, the countryside and simple life that the Vietnamese people lead is so lovely.

Hard at work!

An Bang Beach

We met up with Molly, Jon and Mario again which was nice, they are travelling a little ahead of us but we keep catching up to them which has been fun.

Night time around the streets of Hoi An, really pretty!

Hoi An is pretty touristy just walking around and exploring things such as the Japanese Bridge which is in the ancient town is awesome. They try and charge you to walk over but we managed to by pass this and found another way through the back streets. (backpacking 101 ha-ha)

met some cute pooches taking the back roads :)

The town is also famous for its tailor shops, you cant walk down a street without finding one, or better yet being hassled to come in and buy something. We found a lovely shop though and I picked out a navy maxi dress and playsuit which the lady altered to fit me perfect. This only cost around £22 for both items. Ben also got a couple of lairy shirts very cheap. Lots of people actually come here to purposely get suits and dresses made for weddings, combining it with stag and hen do’s which I think is a great idea. Id definitely recommend this as its so cheap and the clothes/fabric are lovely.

Food

We found an awesome vegan restaurant called Minh Hien we ate here a couple of nights running before discovering the restaurant across the road called “number 43” which also had a great veggie friendly menu. The Cao Lau was amazing and we also had the veggie set menu which only cost a few quid/person. It really is worth it and both restaurants were always busy which is a good sign.

Cao Lau , super tasty!

After a few days here we moved on and booked a sleeper bus to Nha Trang, this was pretty awful but I’ve come to realise that nothing is easy and straight forward in Asia.

Cosy! :-/

Everyone got on the bus but was made to go to the back as all of the seats near the front were “reserved”… They wasn't it was just the bus driver being awkward as usual. The ride wasn't too bad and was better than the last sleeper bus, we had a loo break and then a dinner break at around 11pm! Had some veggie noodles which were pretty much plain noodles with a few greens on top but it was OK, we got back on the bus and managed to sleep a little bit.

Nha Trang

We arrived in Nha Trang around 5:30am and got scammed, the driver said a guy from our hotel was here to pick us up on bikes, the guy even had a card with the name of the hotel on so we said how much and they said it was free and that they were from the hotel. After a 5 minute journey we got off and they demanded money from us (a lot more than what a bike taxi should be so we argued with them and they turned a bit violent. Eventually we just gave them 50,000dong and walked away with them shouting abuse at us. Arriving at a hostel so early is a bit annoying as you cant check in but the staff were friendly and let us catch some sleep in a free dorm for a few hours until our double room was ready.

The next few days we walked around a lot and explored the city, we quickly came to realise that it was pretty much run by Russians, it was quite weird even all the menus were in Russian and we had to ask for English. The beach part is pretty nice and the weather was starting to warm up a bit, however we were pretty run down so didn't really do much here. Its expensive to so we decided to save the money until we went somewhere else. 

Fresh coconut on the beach ;)

A few friends have actually visited Vinpearl and said its awesome, its like Vietnam's version of Disneyland however we decided not to do this as it was quite pricey. Apart from that Nha Trang is a resort town so for backpackers I wouldn't recommend staying here no more than a few days. There are trips out to diving sites but I wanted to save diving for when I get to Thailand. Tip if you want a real healthy smoothie head to “Core” its a juice bar similar “Boost” that you get in England/Oz. They also do amazing dark rye veggie wraps!.

Green smoothie at “core”

Dalat

Next stop was to Dalat this is a city in Southern Vietnam's central highlands and is centred around a huge lake, surrounded by pine forests, lakes and waterfalls. It was developed by the French in the early 1900’s which is evident from the colonial heritage that remains.

There are plenty of trips you can take but we decided to rent a scooter and explore for ourselves. We rode out to the Pongour waterfalls which are the best and biggest ones there. Its around 50km from Dalat city but its well worth it as they are not as touristy which was nice, we stopped on the way for a sugar cane juice which was super cheap, fresh and delicious.

I cant remember how much we paid for entry but it was cheap however they do charge a bit for parking which I thought was a bit cheeky. After a little bit of a walk you are met by the huge waterfalls which are pretty stunning, the views from the top are beautiful to. Many people pick to do this rather than the Elephant waterfalls which are closer to the city centre.

The other attraction we did was the cable car, this takes you 2.5km across the pine forests of Dalat which is pretty impressive, you can see for miles around, farmland, greenhouses, lakes and distant mountains. The cable car runs from Robin Hill to Truc Lam Pagoda and Tuyen Lake. The Pagoda was amazing and is surrounded by beautiful gardens of flowers and temples. Its definitely worth a visit.

Top Tip: The Truc Lam Monastery is open daily from 06:00-18:00 but the cable car station closes at 17:00.

Take something suitable to wear (cover your arms and legs) if you want to go inside the temples.

Apart from that there is plenty to do, Dalat is full of the usual tourist stuff, markets, a lot of coffee shops and clothes shops. As well as this you can do many hikes and it is also famed for its golf courses.

We did go to do the Datanla waterfall with the roller coaster however we fell out with the people there as they didn't mention you had to pay two entrance fees, so bare that in mind if you are on a budget, we didn't want to see the Datanla waterfall we only wanted to experience the toboggan style roller-coaster that they have. We ended up leaving it and riding around the city instead, then went for a nice coffee and treat :) 

There are lots of nice cafes, but one of my favourites was “An Cafe” they do real smoothies and also give you crayons and paper to doodle on which I thought was very cute. 

Also if you are a coffee lover then visit “Lens coffee restaurant” this is located above the market so its perfect for people watching, they do an awesome Americano. 

We managed to find quite a lot of veggie friendly restaurants but one of the best was “V Cafe” I recommend the Tofu curry and salads, they also serve Dalat red wine which was amazing, I haven't had red wine since I left the UK so I was very excited about this and had a few glasses (30,000 dong a glass so cant complain) every night they have live music to which was great really enjoyed the vibe here.

Red wine and veggie/tofu curry! perfect

After exploring as much as we could of Dalat by scooter and foot we made our way to Mui Ne, this is a beach resort town along the South China Sea in South-east Vietnam. Its a popular spot for things like windsurfing, kitesurfing sailing etc, so if you have time id recommend going there, and also visit the sand dunes, I didn't get a chance but it looked really cool. I only spent a night here as I wanted to move on to Ho Chi Minh as I was flying to Koh Samui to meet my sister and her boyfriend who were holidaying there.

Going solo...

I took the bus from Mui Ne down to Ho Chi Minh, this was probably the best bus I’ve been on, it was a sleeper bus even though I left around 1:30pm but it was nice to lay down a bit and catch up on some sleep, I think I arrived in Ho Chi Minh around 5:30pm so it wasn't a bad journey. 

The traffic was insane as i arrived!

I met Molly, Jon and Mario again and we had dinner and some drinks so that was nice. 

Mariooooo! love this guy, hes currently in New Zealand extending his travels :) 

The next morning I then took a taxi to the airport to fly to Bangkok (under £10 i think). The flight didn't cost much, I think it was just under £50 and the flight time was around 1.5 hours. Ho Chi Minh is a pretty crazy city, it was a shame I couldn't explore more, I would of liked to of visited some of the museums and the tunnels, but I didn't have time, im sure I will go back at some point though.

Everything was going smoothly, then I tried to check in…. They said I couldn't fly because I didn't have an outbound ticket out of Thailand! My heart sank as I thought Im not going to make it and see my sister, at this point id become so home sick I needed to see her. Eventually though after speaking to the manager of the airline he let me through! I was happy again.

I was finally on my way to Thailand my favourite place

To be continued…..

P.S

Ive had alot going on over the past few months, so sorry for not keeping up to date, ive been in the South of Thailand for around two months, exploring islands, lots of diving (I got my SSI qualification, open water and advanced diver), snorkelling, hiking and of course partying :p. Im now in Malaysia!

I will keep on exploring, writing and taking photos while keeping you all updated when I can :) lots of love <3 VB xx 

Some recent photos on my Insta: vegan_bunny_girl

[coreymichaelsmithson]

Local Attractions

I'm growing very fond of Minnesota, much more than I ever guessed I might, and I feel grateful that it's been showing only its best aspects during my visit. The weather has been perfect: blue skies, pleasant breezes, gentle sunlight spilling over everything. There are plenty of tulips (which are, along with daffodils, my favorite flowers), their loud colors popping against the lawns. All the trees have that fresh, almost buzzing green glow that comes with spring renewal. I smell mowed grass, charcoal briquettes, and pine.

It's a lush place, perfect for outdoorsy types. Minnesota has over 11,800 lakes, and it's crisscrossed with fertile rivers, so its rural highways are dotted with places to buy live bait, duck calls, and boats. Its parklands are fantastic, well-situated and well-maintained, though they are also full of ticks … I've picked five of the little buggers off me already, and am praying that I don't contract Lyme Disease.

As I wandered here and there between some of the bigger lakes, with no particular destination in mind, I encountered two gargantuan Paul Bunyan statues … one in the town of Bemidji, and another in Akeley. Neither lumberjack looks very happy, or even very human. The former is paired with a red-eyed Babe the Blue Ox, and the latter sticks his big hand out for tourists to sit upon. I'm not sure why Minnesota lays such a claim to Paul Bunyan … his birthplace was supposedly in Maine, and he seems to have swung his axe in several other parts of North America … but his image does provide a little lift to small town economies, and it's kind of cool that a folkloric woodsman acts as the guardian spirit of the region.

While in the center of the state, I also visited one of the two claimants for "Biggest Ball of Twine in the World", the other being in Cawker City, Kansas. Now I've seen them both, and can finally cross that off my bucket list. The town of Darwin is rightfully proud of its big sculptural achievement, which sits in its own gazebo and weighs 17,400 pounds … but the real treasure is in a small souvenir shop located directly behind the main attraction. Several years ago, the town moved its old rail depot to this location, and it's since been turned into a truly wonderful historical museum, chock full of objects, collections, and photographs. I found an old magic lantern, rusted and forgotten, sitting on the wooden floor, right next to a double-screw seed sorter. My guide through this place was a bright and bubbly docent named Marilyn, and she was very eager to share Darwin's history with a curious out-of-towner. Yesterday was her 74th birthday, happily enough, and she lit up my whole afternoon with her obvious enthusiasm for the depot, the town, and its people. Her pride in this place was deeply life-affirming, and the hug we shared as I left was one of the warmest I've enjoyed in months. My brief visit to Darwin was utterly charming, and its depot museum provided a magic window through which I could glimpse the life of a small farming community. As I pored over the artifacts and newspaper articles, I could see the kinds of things people cared about over the years: businesses, families, churches, baseball, a new grain elevator. One newspaper front page had a long column detailing the minor social engagements of various locals … who was invited to supper with whom, who had taken the train to Chicago to visit a sick relative, who was down with the grippe, who had gotten engaged, et cetera … real local news, chatty and informal, the kind you just don't really get anymore, from a time when Darwin was comprised of maybe two hundred people who all knew one another.

Today, my friend and I attended Minneapolis' May Day parade, a colorful and exuberant annual affair, with marching bands and costumes and feathered dancers, the whole shebang. Huge puppets, the sort with long cloth arms and big papier-mâché heads, waved and nodded benevolently over the crowd. There were lots of children in costumes, lots of young musicians, lots of spangles, lots of decorated bicycles. One of the most impressive groups had created this whole post-apocalyptic road carnival, very "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome": fiery gas jets, a caged and mobile skate ramp, aerialists suspended from a crane, a hand-cranked Ferris wheel, clanking rusted wheels, painted cow skulls, heart-pounding kettle drums, and a whole hog roasting on a spit. Totally committed, totally badass.

I watched a young man in bright makeup and scarves prance down the middle of the street, twirling and sashaying, just as faggy as you please, and I almost wept to see his happiness, his utter lack of self-consciousness, his liberation. He was free, completely free, and brimming with joy.

Looking around me, I saw so many different kinds of people, of all different sizes and shapes and colors and sensibilities … all of them digging the artistry on display, savoring the pleasant weather, smiling and chatting amiably. Just people being nice to each other and having fun, imagine that. No fights, no guns drawn, no shoving, no spitting, no hateful signs with ugly words and dodgy grammar. It was the picture of peaceful coexistence, and it somehow came as a shock. Lately, I've been seeing too many images of America in crisis, reports of Americans turning on one another. We have been so inundated lately with proof of the weird paranoia and bigotry of our times, that I've almost forgotten what Americans look like when everybody's getting along and sharing a good time.

Later this afternoon, I got roped into appearing as an extra in a music video. I was part of an unruly mob that had been tricked into worshipping gold by an unscrupulous entrepreneur / politician. We all wore gold makeup around our nostrils and mouths, as our characters had taken to huffing aerosols, and we were tasked with looking angry and waving around various "golden" objects while the crew threw painted golf balls directly at our heads. For the better part of the afternoon I screamed silently towards the camera while holding aloft a tacky piece of gold-plated home décor, the kind of thing people buy from a suburban outlet when they have absolutely no imagination whatsoever but see only a glaring blank space on their coffee table. Today's shoot saw me dressed in an unflattering canary yellow shirt and spray-painted baseball cap, an outfit that under normal circumstances I wouldn't want to be caught dead in. Yellow is really not my color. It was exhausting to look enraged for so long, and to pound the air in protest when I was, in fact, feeling pretty peaceful, so now my arms are like two strands of cooked spaghetti, and my jaw feels slack. Still, it was a fun assignment, if a bit oddball, and it gave me a chance to talk with some locals about their fine city and its prospects. Minneapolis has a large theater community, a burgeoning film/video scene, and a real DIY aesthetic (abundant evidence of which I saw during this morning's parade). In particular, I enjoyed talking with Sue, a middle-aged actress hoping to move from corporate industrials to music videos, and Tom, a super cute and affable key grip working his way towards the director's chair. Both described a livable and lovable city, one of real warmth and possibility, and a state full of special attractions. I can definitely see what they're talking about.

This evening, right before I sat down to write this, I watched a rabbit and her two kits munch on some grass in my host’s back yard. The fading light of dusk made the lawn appear as an expanse of soft slate blue, against which the dull dun of their fur barely registered … they looked like fuzzy sketches of rabbits, mere suggestions. They noticed my presence, and at first bolted whenever I moved, but after a half-hour or so they seemed to relax, and let me observe them as they nibbled on dandelions. I sat on the kitchen steps and stared, enraptured, until night fell, and the stars came out, and the locals returned to their warren to sleep.

[ad7803]

All audio transcribed

“There’s three main types of clouds and then lots and lots of subsections to them. You’ve got cirrus clouds which tend to be long, wispy, and they’re always going in a certain direction, they’re very driven by the wind. You’ve got stratus which is more heavy cloud cover which most of us would be used to in the Autumn and in the spring time when it’s just sat there heavy, it looks like a solid lump of cloud but if you really look at it there are gaps but not a lot. Cumulus is the main one we see most of the time, which is a large clump of clouds, which we’ll see as thick and pillowy, what most people would think of as a cloud. The cumulus has got loads of subsections, you’ve got the cumulonimbus which is big pillowy clouds but they’re more closely packed so you may get a completely clear blue sky with this huge lump of cloud in it but no little wisps on the edges, they’ll all be in that one big mass. Then you get altocumulus which is the opposite, pillowy clouds but hundreds of them, so you can barely see the sky through them. Cirrocumulus is the same but even finer, you can see the blue sky through it but it’s almost like someone has emptied a massive bag of cotton balls in the air. Um, a lot of the weather conditions that we have will produce a certain sky, but some of the skies you will only see over certain grounds. Deserts tend to have cloud masses that we can’t have over our land because we’ve got too much water. Over the really out in the middle of the pacific and the Mediterranean seas, they will have clouds formations that you can’t see over land because of the amount of water. Um, a stratocumulus tends to be more over heavily wooded areas where there’s quite a large density of water, a lot of your Amazon rainforests they will have the stratocumulus more than like our land would have. It’s all down to how much water the clouds are holding and where the water is coming from. Over your deep seas the water is salty which means it is heavier, and will produce a different cloud form to what you will get over a fresh water mass, because salt will affect how much water is held in those clouds. Now, deviating from what the actual technical names for everything are, the important thing to remember with clouds is from the beginning for time people have used clouds to help us interpret what the weather is doing. The clouds are not there simply to make the cloud- the sky look pretty, they are there as a complete indication to the water levels that are in the air. My best way of describing this is if you are in the shower and it is cold outside you will make condensation on your windows, that is the same as how a clouds is made. If the inside air is warmer than the outside you will get condensation, if your inside air is colder than outside you will not. Um, clouds are formed by the air picking up water from the ground and turning it into clouds ready for the water to be redistributed onto the land when the clouds dictate. Some people think that the clouds are a separate entity to weather, they’re not, they are part of the weather, but they are our visual representation of what the weather is doing. You can stand outside and have a wind swirling round you and you do not know what direction the wind is actually in, because perhaps you’re in your back garden and you’re in a bit of a tunnel and it may be coming at you from every direction. Look up to the clouds because clouds will only be going in one direction, whichever way the wind is blowing them, that is the direction of the wind, so you can use the clouds to help you with that. You can also determine from the clouds how wet it is or how wet it is likely to become. In the middle of summer, you’ll have a pretty clear blue sky, there might be a couple of little scuddy clouds about if there’s a bit of wind around but they’re very unlikely to drop their water on us, they’re going to go and find a larger clouds mass to join to, but it’s probably not going to be over you. But when you suddenly see a blanket sky that looks like completely unbroken cloud we are going to have rain at some point, the darkness of the clouds will dictate whether the rain is going to be heavy, the darker the cloud the more water it has and the chances are it will come out, and we will get wet. In the past, people have used clouds to con other people, by trying to pretend that they are magic, that they hold magic or they hold powers. They don’t, it’s just that they were clever at interpreting what the clouds were going to do. The only way I can explain this is you’ve all seen films, you’ve all read books where some mage, or wizard, or witch, will suddenly dictate that there will be a massive rainfall, or you’re going to get struck by lightning or things like this, they looked at the clouds which has given them an indication there’s a storm coming. Most people can also feel a storm is coming because you begin to feel different, the air pressure has changed, but back in those times people weren’t switched on to that kind of thing, so all of a sudden your main leader that has been claiming that they understand all of these things, they will con them into believing that they have made it rain, they have made it thunder, only because they’ve read the weather conditions. Our visibility is there with clouds, we cannot see any other kind of weather, but we can see clouds, and that will tell us what the weather is liable to do. The official met office use the clouds very heavily. They will watch cloud formations coming in from another country over to ours, see what direction it’s coming in, is it growing thicker? is it getting thinner? that will tell them roughly what’s floating over us for the next 24 hours, 48 hours, whichever way they wish to go. Um, which means that they are using the clouds to try and pre warn us what is likely to happen. Sometimes they get caught out because the wind will suddenly change direction and that cloud mass doesn’t come to us at all, it carries on floating out in a different direction, but usually they will follow paths. Um, I find it more interesting to look at old civilizations to see how they used clouds. Most civilizations used the clou- used the clouds for their own purposes. Fishing villages will use the cloud formations to tell them ‘Hang on, we’re not taking the boats out too far today there is definitely a storm going to come out over to ocean’ because they can see the cloud formations that are going to cause that. Certain types of sky will also fit to certain types of people. Your farming communities will have their own colloquial names for a certain looking sky, so will your fishing communities. Fishing communities have things that they call like a mackerel sky, where all the clouds are scudding across the sky and if you actually look at them they do look like the stripes on a mackerel. But those skies will tell the fisherman it is safe to go out, we’ve got a mackerel sky so, we might get a little bit of rain but it’s not going to be anything too horrendous, it’s not going to be too dangerous to anybody so yeah we’ll go fishing. And it also has managed to cut the glare of the sun to the point that the fish are going to be almost blinded to what’s above them. Farmers will use the clouds quite a bit for them to decide ‘we need to go and harvest fairly soon, oh my gosh look at the state of those clouds up there I think we need to harvest right now because there’s bad weather on its way and we need to get this in before it gets soaked’, um it’s all that kind of thing. Going back to the real old civilizations where Wicca people were around a lot believing in all kinds of magic, they were very heavily into nature, whereas weather is a huge part of nature. Their life cycles depended very much on what the weather was doing, um, so they would use it very much to make their decisions as to what was going to get done. Certain types of clouds will tell you when good weather’s coming, when bad weathers coming, whether it’s going to be wet, whether it’s going to be dry, and bear in mind for those civilizations sometimes what we would call bad weather, sudden downpours of rain, they might be waiting for, they might be wanting that. Out on things like the Serengeti, they very rarely have rain. But when you watch your wildlife programs and the rainy season starts if you actually pay attention and look at what the sky is doing you can see the clouds rolling in, they’re heavy, they’re black, they’re thick, they are going to down load hundreds of tons of water in a very short amount of time, and they do flood places like the Serengeti because they are so dry. Um, but you will also have places that are permanently wet and all of a sudden the skies, the clouds have dispersed and they are going to have a dry season, probably not for long, but they will be able to see these things coming, and therefore there are certain things that happen through the year that they will either bring forwards or delay if they don’t have the weather conditions they’re requiring. Um, the whole world, and the whole of nature is dependent on weather, everything, everybody’s life cycle is dependent on weather. Certain crops can grow, or certain crops can fail if the weather conditions are right, or if they’re wrong. Very important for farmers, very important for livestock owners. If you can see that certain weather conditions are coming you may not want your sheep roaming up on the highlands you might need to bring them down. Our first indication is to look at the sky. Now a day not so many people do it because we have constant weather reports on television and media and everything else, but in the olden days they didn’t have any of that, they did heavily rely on what they could see and how they could interpret it. Most of your older civilizations would reserve there to be one particular person that would be able to interpret these things which gave them a really big seat of power because other people didn’t understand how they knew these things; they just studied clouds. Most people when you’re a kid, you’ve led down in a field at some point in the summer when it’s really nice and there’s little fluffy pillowy clouds around and you’ve led there and you’ve decided if you can see horses or fish or people and most people look at the clouds and see what they can see as a laugh or a joke as something to entertain yourself with. That’s exactly how people that need more information will also look at the clouds, they’re not looking for faces they’re not looking for horses they’re looking for what the clouds are doing. Are they dispersing and getting thinner? Are they getting thicker? telling us whether the weather is coming in or whether the weather is going out. Um, if you’re looking over a land mass, if you can get yourself high enough that you can see a large land mass you can watch a storm come right through, you can see where it’s starting, you can see where it ultimately ends up going, and you can see what destruction it can do in between, similarly with good weather you can see the good weather following things, the weather it will have a path but the only way to see the path is to watch the clouds.”

[elwincastro901-blog]

Why You should follow these Essential hiking tips?

There’s nothing quite like immersing yourself in the great outdoors with an excellent hike. Fresh air? Peace and quiet? Stunning views? Yes, please. But as awesomely invigorating as hiking can be, it also carries some real risks.

“No matter how experienced you are or where you’re going, unexpected things can and do happen in a wilderness setting,” Christine Hoyer, a ranger and backcountry management specialist at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, tells SELF.

Fortunately, there are many ways to minimize your odds of encountering an emergency while hiking and equip you to handle one just in case. “The more prepared you are, the more likely you are to have a good time and stay safe,” Hoyer says.

These expert safety tips are crafted to help you prep smart and trek smart. Make sure to follow them before and during every hike.

1. Consult a park ranger.

When deciding where to hike, your best bet is typically going to be a national or state park. They’re staffed by rangers with a wealth of information about what you need to stay safe in that particular location. Give the park office a call before your hike, visit the official National Park Service (NPS) site, or stop by the office before you leave the trailhead.

“By reaching out to the park department, you’ll get a lot of key information about what you might encounter,” Hoyer says, such as “big and little critters,” toxic flora and fauna, and recent changes to the terrain, like fallen trees or rockslides. The park department can tell you how to stay safe in the environment and how to protect it from human damage too. what to wear on a hike and still look cute https://www.hikingbay.com/what-to-wear-on-a-hike-and-still-look-cute

2. Bring at least one friend.

Make it a group activity to eliminate the risk of being stranded alone in a dire situation, EMT Tod Schimelpfenig, fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and wilderness medicine curriculum director at the nonprofit National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), tells SELF. That way, “there’s at least one companion who can go get help,” he says. You and your companions should discuss a few things before you set out, like how strenuous a hike you're all OK with, your general itinerary, and an emergency plan. Those last two deserve a bit more detail, so let's get to it.

3. Create an itinerary and share it with someone outside of the group.

Draw up a rough plan that all members of your party agree upon well before you leave the trailhead, Schimelpfenig says. Include your starting point and time, destination, route, and anticipated finish time. When calculating timing, keep in mind that it can be really tough to predict how long a hike will take when on unfamiliar terrain, Hoyer says. That’s why she recommends planning to start early, being conservative with your time frame, and not being overly ambitious.

Share this plan with at least one person not hiking with you, Schimelpfenig says. You can also leave this info with the park office. If you don’t return on time, someone will be able to relay this key information to a search party if necessary.

4. Agree on an emergency plan.

“Part of your plan for any hike should be what you’re going to do in an emergency situation,” Hoyer says. Before heading out, know how you will call or send for help in the unlikely event something bad happens. (Again, the park service is a prime resource here).

These are the key questions your plan needs to answer, according to Hoyer: • Will there be reliable cell service? Is someone bringing a fully charged phone and a portable charger? • If not: Is someone bringing a personal locator beacon, satellite messaging device that can get emergency messages out by pinging satellites with your GPS data, or satellite phone? • If there’s an emergency, does the park have its own emergency number, or should you call 9-1-1? • If you can’t transmit a message, which one of you will volunteer to go get help? sandwiches for hiking https://www.hikingbay.com/no-mess-easy-to-prepare-sandwiches-for-hiking

5. Prepare for the weather.

This goes beyond just checking the weather before your hike. Talk to the rangers or consult the park site to find out what inclement weather events are most likely at this time of year and how to stay safe in them. “Even with the best weather forecast, big storms can come up quickly and unexpectedly,” Hoyer says.

Thunder and lightning are common dangers. If you get caught in them, the NPS advises making your way towards shelter and spreading out in case one person is struck (unlikely, but still). Also, avoid high and open areas (like boulders or fields), tall objects like trees, bodies of water, and metal.

Even small changes in weather can make your whole hike much riskier because of how they affect the terrain. For example, light rain that breaks out on your way up a peak could make the trip back pretty precarious, Schimelpfenig explains.

6. Pack the 10 Essentials.

The 10 Essentials is a list of emergency provisions originally created by Pacific Northwest hiking and conservation non-profit the Mountaineers. According to the Mountaineers, the objective of the 10 Essentials is to ensure that you can respond to an emergency and spend at least one night outdoors. It’s a classic reference point in the hiking community for beginners and experts alike.

“Especially when you’re new to getting out there, the more critical things you have with you, the safer you’ll be,” Hoyer says. Here’s NPS’s expanded version of the 10 Essentials: 1. First aid kit 2. Navigation: map, compass, and GPS 3. Sun protection: sunscreen, sunglasses, hat 4. Insulation: jacket/raincoat, extra layers 5. Illumination: flashlight, lantern, or headlamp 6. Fire: matches, lighter, fire starters 7. Repair kit: duct tape and multifunctional tool 8. Nutrition: at least an extra day’s supply of no-cook, nutritious food 9. Hydration: water and/or means of water purification 10. Emergency shelter: tent, space blanket, tarp, bivy (as in, emergency shelter for a sleeping bag)

The list is non-exhaustive and adaptable, so keep the circumstances of your hike in mind when assembling your pack.

7. Customize your first aid kit.

Schimelpfenig recommends buying a premade first aid kit containing items like adhesive and elastic wrap bandages and antiseptic. This will help you deal with the most common hiking injuries, like scrapes, ankle rolls, and bug bites. You can find a first aid kit at a drugstore or online. You can also assemble your own with some tips from the Red Cross. Either way, you may need to add certain items to your kit based on your health. “You don't leave your medical history in the car when you go hiking,” Schimelpfenig says. “You carry it with you.” Bring any medications you take on a regular or emergency basis, like insulin if you use it to manage diabetes or an EpiPen if you’re allergic to bees.

8. Buy proper hiking boots and socks.

Properly fitting footwear with good cushioning and grip is essential for avoiding issues like rolling an ankle due to improper support. It will also help you prevent one of the most painful hiking hindrances: blisters. If you don’t know where to start, try consulting an expert at an outdoor supplies store. After that, Schimelpfenig recommends testing your boots around the house and/or on a trial hike (more on that in a bit).

Also, avoid cotton socks. They retain moisture from sweaty feet, causing skin to blister more easily, Schimelpfenig says. Instead, opt for hiking socks made from materials like wool or synthetics made to wick away moisture and ease friction. (To help keep your feet dry during your hike, Schimelpfenig also recommends taking off your boots and socks when you sit to rest.)

Always bring blister dressings in your first aid kit, too. As soon as you feel discomfort, Schimelpfenig says to stop and inspect your feet for signs of a nascent blister, like redness and irritation. And if you’re breaking in new boots or have a problem area that tends to blister easily, consider applying blister dressings before you start hiking.

9. Protect yourself from the sun.

As a member of his local search and rescue team, Schimelpfenig sees people with terrible sunburns and various forms of heat illness at least a couple times a summer.

Your first line of defense here is good timing. To avoid the peak hours of sun and heat, most experienced hikers set out in the early morning or late afternoon, Schimelpfenig says. Also, heed the weather report. If it’s going to be 100 degrees and clear skies, it’s not the best day for a four-hour trek through shade-free terrain.

Next is preparation. Slather any exposed skin with a broad-spectrum sunscreen that has at least SPF 30, and don’t forget to reapply based on the product’s instructions. (Another option for frequent hikers is clothing made with sun-protective fabric.) Wear sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat to shade your face and neck, Schimelpfenig says. And to protect yourself from heat illness, which can range from miserable (heat rash, heat exhaustion) to life-threatening (heat stroke), the NPS recommends staying hydrated and taking frequent breaks, preferably in the shade.

Finally, pay attention to how you’re feeling and take action at the first sign of a problem. “You can pick up on the signs that you're getting too hot or dehydrated before they become a real big issue,” Hoyer explains. If you or someone in your party experiences symptoms of heat illness like headache, dizziness, nausea, and confusion, the NPS recommends stopping. Then you should move the affected person into a cool and shady area if possible, call or send for help, give them water to drink, and douse them with water as well. (By the way, if you’re hiking at high elevation, be on the lookout for altitude sickness, too.) Finding The Best Lightweight Sleeping Bag For Hiking https://www.hikingbay.com/finding-the-best-lightweight-sleeping-bag-for-hiking 10. Bring extra water or a purification system.

The NPS recommends drinking about one-half liter to one liter per hour while active outdoors. The exact amount you need will depend on the circumstances of your hike as well as your usual water intake. “Know thyself,” Schimelpfenig says.

While you can bring all your water with you (especially on a short hike), if you want to save weight, find out if there will be places to refill your bottle with potable water and if there are any natural water sources along the trail. (If you’re visiting a national or state park, the rangers or site should have this info.)

If there are natural sources of water, you can take advantage (and lighten your pack!) by bringing purification and disinfection materials. You can use a heat-safe container and heat source to boil water, according to the NPS. You can also use a physical filter to remove larger contaminants plus a disinfecting tablet or liquid to kill microscopic pathogens.

Never drink unpurified water while on a hike (or otherwise). Even if it’s the most crystalline spring water you’ve ever seen, it could contain potentially harmful pathogens, according to the NPS.

[discountsaleggdb-blog]

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[hausandhaus-blog]

Why you need to know about the supermall effect

Luke Remington, Managing Director of haus & haus, explains why Dubai’s supermalls are driving property demand like never before.

When I was an estate agent in the UK, a new Waitrose in town could increase the value of your property by thousands of pounds. Here in Dubai, it’s not so much the supermarket effect as the supermall effect that drives demand. Increasingly, developers are building spectacular commercial spaces designed to trigger demand for nearby properties – old and new. Here’s my guide to the latest in mall power.

The established supermall – Dubai’s unique brand of glamour The supermall is all part of Dubai’s signature luxury lifestyle, where high fashion fuses with big name tech brands, designer homewares, endless dining options and adventurous leisure experiences. Here, you can even stay mall-side at a glitzy 5 star hotel of your choice.

While malls may come and go, for me, the ultimate supermall is still Dubai Mall. Its vast, glittering atrium, extravagant stores and legendary fountain sum up the affluent tribe of buyers that flock to Downtown perfectly. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, along came a 150 unit extension of Fashion Avenue, including Gucci’s 3 storey flagship complete with VIP changing rooms.

From the heavenly scents of the fragrance counter at Galleries Lafayette to the earthly pleasures of a burger at Mighty Quinn, the delights of Dubai Mall are only an elevator ride away from properties like this fully serviced 2 bed apartment for sale at The Address. The haus & haus lettings brokers will tell you that demand for Downtown rental property directly linked to Dubai Mall is currently pretty healthy too. This property is forecast to yield around AED 300,000 net rental income a year; buy to let investors take note!

Groundbreaking master plans for the new age of supermalls A brand new shopping multiplex is a clear sign that an area is ‘up and coming’. Those words are like honey to the bee for buyers who want to stake their claim in a community before prices soar. I’m thinking in particular of the new off plan properties for sale in Dubai Hill Estate, which will soon be serviced by the Dubai Hills Mall, courtesy of Emaar Properties.

The Dubai Hills Estate is an appealing property mix of stylish affordability and all-out luxury that caters equally to mid-range buyers and high net worth investors. Its master plan is also groundbreaking because for the first time, you can choose between a penthouse apartment and a 7 bedroom villa with garden, just a short walk from the mall. This is a huge shift when you consider the urban high-rise landscape surrounding Dubai’s older-style malls.

It’s also interesting how the fortunes of other sectors link to the arrival of a new supermall. The Dubai Hills Mall became a case in point when the Kings School at Al Barsha recently opened nearby. It’s not hard to see why Dubai’s most exclusive educational franchise identified this spot as the perfect location for its next venture. Emaar’s designs for a central courtyard and ‘streetscape’ inspired layout of over 750 premium retail and dining outlets, a cineplex, hypermarket and concert venue suggest the completed mall will be as chic as it is capacious. Maintaining the impeccable quality of its developments well into the future is also an Emaar speciality. I’m in no doubt that The Dubai Hills Mall has set the tone for the clientele that will live nearby even before it opens its doors.

The cool mall – a very good thing When temperatures reach 30 degrees or more, you have to head for the air-con. So having one of Dubai’s airy malls with their plethora of air-cooled amusements on the doorstep is a highly sought after convenience for expat family buyers and tenants. Together with the obvious skiing (Mall of the Emirates) and ice-skating (Dubai Mall), you can also escape from the midday heat in a mall by going to the theatre, catching a movie or visiting an aquarium. With so many relaxed restaurants, the mall is also a mainstay of family friendly brunches in Dubai. For me though, nothing says it better than the sight of Dubai’s mall walkers, who take their power walk in the cool of the mall from April – November. Driven by the needs of an expat population, the Dubai mall is a truly unique phenomenon.

For some Dubai dwellers, a mall ‘on the doorstep’ actually means a short drive away. For example, demand for a villa in Umm Suqeim is high, thanks to the easy 5 minute drive to amenities at Mall of the Emirates, shopping emporiums at Al Quoz and specialist malls like the Gold and Diamond Park (also home to the haus & haus headquarters).

A total of 7 new malls are scheduled to open in Dubai by 2020, so if you don’t live near a mall now, it’s likely you will before long. Those of us living in Arabian Ranches properties, for example, can now look forward to shopping just 10 minutes away by car at The Dubai Hills Mall. This adds a fresh layer of appeal to beautiful villas and townhouses in The Ranches, together with properties for sale or rent in the neighbouring Sports and Motor Cities.

The supermall – a global destination With its international reputation for retail, Dubai has attracted the world’s most committed shoppers for years. Nowadays, it’s not so much the prospect of a week long shopping trip that brings high net worth tourists, but an entire shopping season, thanks to the arrival of The Dubai Shopping Festival. The annual festival begins just before the Christmas holiday period, with events lasting until April. Together with the shopping pop ups and cultural experiences that take place around the City, its supermalls play a central role at festival time, featuring multiple promotions and discounts on designer brands.

One of the outcomes of the shopping festival is a spike in demand for short term luxury lets. With an expert Property Manager onsite, this type of buy to let investment can be lucrative for both overseas and domestic landlords. Competitive payment plans are one way that buy to let investment in prime locations is becoming more achievable; just take a look at the installment options for this beachfront residence, right next door to Dubai Marina Mall. We also see buyers from China to the USA purchasing luxury pied à terres kept especially for the shopping festival, which also coincides with the winter sun holiday season. This emerging trend amongst overseas buyers shows retail to be a key economic driver

I’m proud to say that at haus & haus, we’re always on trend. If you’re reading up on real estate sales and leasing in Dubai, you’ll find we’ve tried and tested the latest market shifts already. Take a look at our news section for more award-winning insights, or get in touch – we’d love to talk.

Source article: https://www.hausandhaus.com/latest-news/blog/358-why-you-need-to-know-about-the-supermall-effect

[pamdent]

An Insider's Guide to Buying A Charlottesville Country Property

Are you considering buying a “main home” or a “second home”?

Buying country property is a dream for many people.

With the constantly increasing cost of homes in the city or suburbs, moving to the countryside is ideal. Just imagine having a big house on a vast parcel of land where you can enjoy fresh air every day, raise pets, grow a garden, and your kids can play and run freely.

If you are not fully committed to living in the countryside just yet, having a country retreat as your vacation home is also a wonderful arrangement. Many people buy rural properties as their second home, though some of them actually don’t have a first home yet.

Your vacation home is a great place to spend the weekend, the summers, the holidays, and for when you just want to get away and leave all the stress behind.

Come and experience the unique charm of Charlottesville!

Charlottesville in VA is one of the best places to buy a country home. If you haven’t fully decided, watch this video and you’ll see why.

(Click this link if you can’t watch the video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ0mLZE1doQ)

Downtown Charlottesville is fun, vibrant and dynamic. It is a great shopping district with a lot of restaurants and boutiques to choose from. It is a city but it has a small-town feel, which is why many people love it.

If you love being outdoors, Charlottesville is perfect. Depending on the season, you can go hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, skiing, snow-tubing and more. You’ll never run out of activities here.

How to buy a country property in Charlottesville

When it’s time to buy an acreage in the countryside, you might feel overwhelmed by all the choices and decisions you’ll have to make. Let me help you make it easier.

Here’s a step-by-step process to help you take it one day at a time.

Step 1. Conduct preliminary research.

As soon as you decide to buy a property, start visiting websites that offer estates, farms and ranches in Charlottesville’s countryside.

Your goal is to see what real estate you like, and have an idea of the price range. Take note of specific listings that catch your interest, and see how they are positioned in the market. Also, note if those properties experienced any price changes.

This is also the time to determine how you intend to use the land and if your favorites will have the necessary features. When you decide to buy a country property in Charlottesville, you already have a general idea of why you want it and what you want to do with it.

Step 2. Know how much you can afford.

Knowing your budget easily streamlines the country homes available to you. The expression, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew” fits this situation.

The first question you want to ask yourself when it comes to your purchase ability is, “How will I pay for this property?”

Will it be a cash purchase? Or will you opt for bank financing?

When you have substantial savings, you may want to make it a cash purchase. This will allow more room for negotiation, and it makes the whole buying process easier.

Step 3. Get Prequalified and Preapproved.

Knowing your possible budget range based from your own computations, and knowing how much you actually qualify for are two different things.

Before you buy the country property that you’ve been checking online every night, you first need to know how much you can actually spend, and the best way to find out is to be pre-qualified.

Getting a pre qualification allows you to know what loan program is best suited for you. It also gives you an idea of how much you can borrow. Securing a pre qualification will prove beneficial in the other steps of the buying process, like in budget preparation.

Once you know how much you can secure for the financing, get pre-approved.

A pre-qualification is helpful, but a pre-approval is more valuable because it tells the seller that a lender has checked your credit, verified your papers and has approved a loan amount for a particular time period.

Getting a pre-approval has many advantages:

1. It makes the home selection process easy for your agent. When agents know the price range you have been approved for, it is easier for your agent to know which properties to show you.

This is a better solution that your agent showing you properties way over your price range. You could fall in love with a country farm you cannot afford. After that, the lower price point properties just don’t have the same appeal to you.

Don’t set yourself up for disappointment.

2. Sellers are more likely to take your offer seriously when you have been pre-approved.

3. It lessens stress knowing you have already been approved by the lender. It gives you assurance that the buying process will be smoother.

Step 4. Hire the right real estate agent.

There are real estate agents, and there’s the right real estate agent.

When you are looking for a home in Charlottesville’s lovely countryside, you need someone who is not just a residential real estate agent. You want someone who specializes in selling country properties, farms, and ranches, and that would be me, Pam Dent.

My knowledge of the area, of the ranches, of Charlottesville’s land itself came many years before I was even actively involved in real estate. I grew up exploring the countryside on the back of a horse.

I raised my kids in Charlottesville’s countryside. I know what you need to look for when purchasing land, being a long time owner myself.

My skills as a real estate agent allow me to guide you through the home buying process, aid you during the negotiation, provide assistance for all the paperwork, and share with you information about anything you’d like to know as a countryside home owner in Charlottesville.

With my skills, experience and professionalism, our home buying process will be less challenging and stressful.

Step 5. Find the acreage you like and make an offer.

This is the most exciting part! This is the part you usually see on TV, the part where buyers visit different properties, checking out the features and amenities, seeing if the farms offer what they need.

This is also a really difficult part. This is what the decision of where you’ll be living and what type of real estate you’ll be buying heavily relies on. This is the part you have to get right because it will affect your future drastically.

Start by looking at the homes in your price range. Bring your “Needs and Wants” list and take note which farms or ranches fit your list.

Since this step is crucial, let me share with you my top considerations if you are buying a country home. Carefully read the different factors you must make note of. Knowing these considerations can make a huge difference in the selection process.

Top considerations for buying a country property

Location. When you are buying a city or suburban real estate property, you want a home that’s in a safe neighborhood, close to school and other amenities, easy commute to work, etc. The same things factor in when you are looking for a Charlottesville country home.

Here are a few questions you should be asking yourself :

How close (or far) do you want to be to shopping, hospitals, and many other amenities?

Should there be a water feature close to the property?

Is there access to electricity, water, cable and other utilities? There will usually be electricity but country farms will have well and septic. There will rarely be cable but often dsl is available.

What’s the road condition?

Do you want a place y that’s easily accessible from the main road, or one that’s miles off from the main road?

What’s the productivity of the soil type in the area?

Also, know why the home is being sold. Learn its history. Drive around the area of the acreage you are considering to purchase and see what the neighbors are like.

Get a feel of the area and decide if you can live in that setting. Visit more than once, on different times of the day, to see if your first impression of the farm still holds, and if you still like it.

Type of country property. Think of your definition of country living and know the type of property you intend to purchase. For some buyers, country living means a home with country views, easy access to water, electricity and other utilities, and neighbors a couple of minutes away. For others it means being surrounded by extensive land, with its own wells, a reserve power generator, and where the nearest neighbors are a 10 to 15 minute drive away.

What will you do with the land? Do you plan to raise livestock? Are you going to use it as a horse farm or as an agricultural land? Will you hunt? Or do you just want a get away?

Property size. The size of farm you will purchase depends on what you are going to use it for. It also depends on your purchasing power.

If you plan to use the property as a vacation home, how many acres do you need to secure privacy and retreat? If you’re going to start a Charlottesville horse farm, how many acres is a good start-up size? If you intend to use it for outdoor and recreational activities like hunting, how many acres would be sufficient?

Zoning and property restrictions. Zoning rules vary on different types of property. Generally, farms with 20 acres or more are agricultural lands, which allows all types of animals and livestock. If you intend to hunt in your land, you need sufficient acreage in a rural location, and it should neighbor with lands that also have large acreage, but remember that you will only be able to hunt on neighboring properties with permission.

Find out building codes, zoning and restrictions. Can you build a chicken coop on the property? How about a ranch? How about a pond?

Check with the seller and the municipality for any existing easements in the area.

Know if the property is part of a conservation area or under conservation easement.

Neighbors. You may think that being out in the vast countryside, you’ll have little chance to see your neighbors so it doesn’t really matter what kind you have.

However, you have to remember that neighbors are a great help especially if you have questions about how to develop the acreage. They have extensive knowledge of the land and the weather. They know what to do during emergencies.

Significant research goes into finding the right property.

Take your time in deciding which Central Virginia real estate to buy.

Once you’ve chosen “the one”, work with your real estate agent and negotiate an offer based on the comparables in the area.

In your offer, include any contingencies, like home inspections, well and septic tests, building and safety code requirement for the house, etc. You have to be specific in writing any requests and repairs to be included in the sale.

Determine the amount of “earnest money” you’ll be putting in.

When both parties are in agreement regarding the terms, you can then put your name on the Purchase and Sale Agreement form.

Step 6. Get a home inspection and a land survey

You have to know what you’re buying.

A home inspection is conducted so you’ll know everything that’s going on in the property, from the condition of the house, to the plumbing, the structural strength, and of course, the deal breakers. You may also want to have an environmental study (think home inspection for the land).

A land survey will tell you the exactly where the property line is. You’ll know where your farm begins and ends through this survey.

These surveys and inspections should be clearly stated as contingencies when you make an offer.

Step 7. Secure your loan.

This is the part where you choose the lender. Before you decide, shop around for mortgages with the lowest interest rates and best programs.

Choose the mortgage where you’ll be financially comfortable. Be aware that many mortgage companies do not lend on farms and land. Your Realtor will be able to give you a list of lenders who can assist you with this type of property.

Step 8. Get a property appraisal.

Your lender will want to ensure it is paying the right market value of theCharlottesville acreage.

A professional appraiser will be hired to check the farm’s value.

Step 9. Prepare the necessary paperwork and finalize the deal.

Once the terms are set, and the property is appraised, you can use the result for renegotiating the terms if needed. Your agent will negotiate on your behalf.

To verify if the seller is the rightful owner of the home, your attorney or closing company will use the service of a title company to take care of all the paperwork.

Step 10. Close the deal.

This is the easiest yet costliest part of the buying process. Review everything prior to the closing, going over the fine details, ensuring everything is to your liking before handing over the payment to the seller.

Congratulations! You’ve now reached the end of your country home buying journey. The final step is to move in to your new home.

Call me, Pam Dent, at 434-960-0161. I am your golf and equestrian property specialist here in Charlottesville. I am also a Seniors Real Estate Specialist, as well as being experienced in working with first time buyers.

[gadget-reviews]

Best Ski Goggles 2018

For our annual list of the best ski goggles in 2017, we only chose goggles with a high optical quality, interchangeable lens systems for maximum usability. Helmet compatible straps and high quality, layered foam for all day face comfort were also critical deciding factors. As a result, our #1 pick is the Smith IO 7 goggle which boast large spherical lenses, easy lens interchange, and a highly adjustable strap compatible with most helmets. To that end, Smith offers tons of lens and color options for this particular goggle including a photochromic option, which automatically adjusts to the brightness of the sun. Also, did we mention that Smith offers a lifetime craftsmanship warranty?

Best Ski Goggles 2018

How We Choose

In the five years of teaching skiing full time, I've figured out how to separates the okay goggles from the legendary ones, and how to avoid some of the most common mistakes in goggle buying. How do we choose the best of the best? We're looking for goggles with advanced spherical lenses, that offer great peripheral views, UV protection, and stylish color options. Our choices must be helmet compatible too, as more and more skiers wise up to the benefits of protecting their heads. We're also only including lenses with interchangeable lens systems - an important factor for swapping lenses on bright or cloudy days. All of the goggles we have chosen are offered by recognized manufacturers in ski industry with proven track record, and we've avoided budget and up-and-coming brands to bring you only the most refined ski goggles available today.

Why You Should Buy New Ski Goggles

Goggles have evolved greatly over the last handful of years to meet two main needs. First, skiers are demanding more flashy colors and styles, and second, skiers are almost universally wearing helmets today which older goggles cannot fit over anymore. Helmet use is on the rise, and we really expect to soon see every skier wearing a helmet. This means old goggles with small straps are out. You need a goggle with enough adjustability to be worn with or without a helmet and that's exactly what we've chosen here. Our goggles feature highly adjustable headbands and wider attachment points at the goggle to accommodate that new helmet. While fashion may not be the most critical upgrade factor, flashy new lenses do offer a few real upgrades over older lenses. First, newer goggles and lenses are beginning to incorporate wide lenses with a greater peripheral view. This helps with safety, allowing you to see more of what (and who) is around you at all times. Second, these newer lenses are using reflective coated technology to help shed harmful UV light before it reaches your eyes. Because crisp visibility and wide viewing angles are an important part of skiing at your best level and avoiding potential dangers, we feel there's a strong case to be made for an upgrade. Your goggles may be the unsung hero of your skiing gear. Without a good goggle you'll be left skiing in poor, flat lighting which makes skiing difficult and unsafe. Choosing the right goggle and lens combo will revolutionize the way you see the snow you're skiing...literally.

Smith IO 7

Price: $160 | Style: Interchange | Included Lenses: 2 WHY IT'S A TOP PICK: Refined simple design with large spherical lens for perfect viewing. Designed around a "less is more" concept, these interchangeable goggles come with two lenses (on most models). You can swap out your lenses with one simple turn of the release lever, and lock the new ones back in within seconds. All around the best ski goggle we have reviewed on our list. Triple layer foam on the IO 7 surrounds your face with moisture wicking synthetic fibers for a dry, cool fit all day, no matter how hard you're hucking it. One of many reasons this goggle earns our top rating is for the almost limitless variations available. Buy your goggles in one of more than a dozen frame and strap colors, and you can buy just about any color reflective lens to match your style. Highly customizable, reliable, and crystal clear viewing make the Smith IO 7 our editor's pick  for  best ski goggle this season. Read: Best Ski Boots Quick release strap and silicone bands around the entire strap help to make sure that once the goggles are on, they won't be coming back off easily. Wide pivot strap hinges are designed with helmets in mind and we know this goggle will perform like a dream with your favorite helmet. I recommend the photochromic lens - it adjusts the darkness of the lenses automatically based on the brightness of the day. Sunny day? You lens will automatically become darker. Cloudy day? You lens will lighten up for better viewing and safer skiing!

Smith IOX

Price: $99 | Style: Interchange | Included Lenses: 2 WHY IT'S A TOP PICK: At a lower price tag this great wide lens goggle is compatible with glasses (OTG)! I've been rocking the Smith IOX goggles for years since they first hit the market and I can say that with over 300 days in these goggles, they don't back down and never fog up. The Smith IOX are also one of the best ski goggles for wearing over the glasses (OTG). Roomy, comfortable, and featuring a cutout on the sides for your glasses to sit gently on your temples without being smashed by the goggle. Without a doubt, the IOX goggles earn the best OTG goggle pick on our list. Changing lenses on these goggles isn't as easy as the newer IO 7 goggles, but it's still quite simple. The quick release strap is durable and reliable, fitting any helmet with ease and style. Our main concern is that the IOX goggle offers slightly less peripheral view compared to the IO 7's. These are great, reliable goggles with all the performance of the IO 7's at a fraction of the price.

Oakley Flight Deck

Price: $174 | Style: Interchange | Included Lenses: 1 WHY IT'S A TOP PICK: Massive lens will keep you looking like the best skier on the mountain  (even taking diggers on the bunny hill). Oakley has been making solidly-built optics for years, and ski goggles are no exception. The Oakley Flight Deck ski goggles are based around an oversize spherical lens and a low profile look. The may not be not as slick as Maverick's gold rimmed aviators from that 1986 classic, but it's as close as you're going to get without an F-14. Without a doubt, the best ski goggles for style and fashion. The included lenses are designed to be 100% protective to UV light for prolonged high altitude exposure to sunlight. We all know how bright a cloudless day can be on fresh snow pack at 12,000 feet - keep yourself protected! Our only real complaint is the high price and single lens included with the goggle.

Dragon Alliance X2

Price: $129 | Style: Interchange| Included Lenses: 2 WHY IT'S A TOP PICK: Thin frame design makes the lens view unobstructed and completely immersive for great skiing. If you're looking for a serious goggle with a lens view that won't compromise, then the X2 is for you! Dragon Alliance created this goggle around a frame-less design, which maximizes real estate and minimizes any obstruction of view. For their reasonable price it seems Dragon Alliance has been able to create an awesome goggle at a killer budget price. Don't forget the goggles come with two lenses right out of the box. We think this is a great deal at a great price. Dragon Alliance has really been the sole maker of "frameless" goggles up until recently. You can be assured these goggles make a statement and won't be mistaken on the hill. While gaining popularity, they're still much less common than the Oakley and Smith goggles. Dragon Alliance X2's earn best frame-less goggle design.

POC Lobe Goggle

Price: $77 | Style: Interchange | Included Lenses: 1 WHY IT'S A TOP PICK: Economy based pricing with a wide lens view and great fitment. If you're in the market for a great wide lens goggle with helmet compatibility at a reasonable price, then the POC Lobe might be just the ticket. Unfortunately the interchange system is a little clunky compared to other goggles on our list but the lower price might just make up for it. Relatively narrow outriggers for the goggle straps mean you may have a tight fit over larger helmets, but the strap its self is plenty adjustable to meet your needs with or without a helmet. Unfortunately lenses will cost as much or more than a whole new set of these goggles, so choose your color options wisely when purchasing. These goggles stand out on the hill with a unique, simple aesthetic that's recognizable from a distance. With uniform color throughout the goggle, the POC Lobes earn the best ski goggle choice for the skier looking to match colors. They look great with a sleek, matching color helmet too!

Key Factors and Features of a Good Ski Goggle

View: Never compromise on view. One part of having great clarity and contrast through a goggle is a high visibility lens for overcast days. I highly recommend an interchangeable lens system for this reason. Spend the extra money on a good pair of wide view goggles too, and your skiing will improve dramatically.

Price: Price is a big deal to many skiers. A new pair of skis and boots are expensive, so it can be tempting to try and save a little money on the goggles, but don't do it! Investing in good goggles is critical to avoid fogging, clarity issues, and low light contrast issues. It's scary trying to ski moguls in low light with a foggy lens. Avoid that by investing in a good goggle system.

Helmet Fit: Most goggles these days are designed to be worn with a helmet. Wide hinge points for strap attachment and silicone bands on the strap help keep everything in place. Make sure your goggles and straps are wide enough to fit around your helmet - all of our recommendations are!

Lens Types: Buying a goggle with a wide assortment of available lenses is a huge bonus. On super dark and snowy days a clear (or near clear) lens is great to improve visibility. For bright bluebird skiing a reflective lens helps protect your eyes from solar radiation, and also gives a good increase to your overall "radness" level in style.

Included Lenses: If you're spending good money on a new goggle system, look for one that includes more than one lens with your purchase. The Smith IO7 goggles we reviewed, for example, usually come with two lenses - a dark and a light lens to accommodate different weather patterns throughout the day.

Mistakes to Avoid

Going Too Big: With the big goggle trend at an all time high, some skiers may buy the coolest goggles only to find out they're actually too big to fit with their helmet. Yeah, that's a thing. Check reviews to make sure the goggles you're ordering aren't too big to fit your riding setup. Skimping on Price: Many skiers will say their skis or ski boots are the most important piece of gear. I would urge you to think differently - your goggles are the most important piece of gear. Without a good, crisp image to see while you're skiing, it's impossible to avoid dangers and injury. Fog, flat lighting, and overly dark lenses are all common issues. Spend the extra dough on your goggles - you'll be happy you did.

Which Ski Goggle is Right For Me

With so many options on the market, we've narrowed it down to reputable brands with goggles that outperform and are feature rich. We recommend you stick with high quality ski goggles to get the most out of your day on the mountain. Glasses can be difficult to wear when skiing so if you're looking for an over the glasses (OTG) goggle solution, go with our #2 pick, the Smith IOX goggle. Interchange lenses, high performance, and OTG fitment make this goggle a clear winner. If you want only the best all-around goggle system today, we recommend the Smith IO 7's with quick interchange lenses, triple layer foam for all day comfort, and many choices of advanced lens technology. We also think they beat the competition with helmet compatibility and adjustability. For the newest and sleekest frameless goggle look on the mountain, it's tough to top the Dragon Alliance X2's upgraded from previous models. Huge lenses, tons of color options, and reworked design make them a total winner. Ultimately all of the ski goggles we've chosen have a place on the mountain, and all that's left for you to do is choose a goggle based on your needs and budget.

Best Ski Goggles 2018 was first published on GadgetReviews