#ask the hermits of aperture

[ask-hc-portal-au]

(moonbig I am so bored,this you get asks)

Hello? Hello? Is my transmission being received? Scar are you there?

I'm doing investigation into the entity that contained you, do you have any information?

Scar?

Curse this old radio settup-!

- Scott ( @archivist-of-the-void-institute )

(art is in progress of you ask from like a month ago-)

Scar: I can hear you, hello hello!

The "entity" that keeps me trapped here is named Grian, it's an artifical Intelegence. It's absolutely insane and keeps trying to kill me.

I do get the feeling that there used to be some sort of humanity in it, though. It has strange flashes of someone it used to be.

[thicc-astronaut]

I follow a subreddit about hermit crabs and sometimes people ask really basic or inane questions about keeping them - what substrate to use, what food to feed them, what does this behavior mean, etcetera

And this is easily google-able. But I think part of it is that when you want to know “What kind of shells do hermit crabs like” there’s a very different experience between a pet supply corporation saying “Hermit crabs like Turbo shells which you can buy here on our website” and an actual human who also owns hermit crabs and cares about them saying “Hermit crabs tend to really like Turbo shells because the shape of the aperture fits them nicer”

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Wednesday, 6 Mars, 2024

february 22_march 6

VENERABLE BARADATES, HERMIT OF SYRIA (460)

Saint Baradates the Syrian began to live as a desert-dweller in a hut near Antioch. He then built a stone cell upon a hill, so cramped and low that the ascetic could stand in it only in a stooped position. It had neither window nor door, and the wind, rain and cold came in through the cracks, and in summer he was not protected from the heat.

After many years Patriarch Theodoretos of Alexandria urged the monk to leave the cramped hut. Then the saint withdrew into a new seclusion: covered in leather from head to foot with a small opening for his nose and mouth, he prayed standing with hands upraised to heaven. The grace of God strengthened him in his works and purified his heart from passions. People began to flock to him for spiritual counsel, and Saint Baradates with deep humility guided them. Having acquired many spiritual gifts, Saint Baradates departed to the Lord in peace in 460.

He is celebrated jointly with two other hermit of Syria from the 5th c.

THE MONK THALASSIOS, WILDERNESS-DWELLER

Saint Thalassius of Syria lived during the fifth century. At a young age he withdrew to a hill near the village of Targala and passed 38 years there in monastic deeds, having neither a roof over his head, nor any cell nor shelter.

For his simple disposition, gentleness and humility he was granted by the Lord the gift of wonderworking and healing the sick. Many wanted to live under his guidance, and the saint did not refuse those coming to him. He himself built cells for them. He died peacefully, granted rest from his labors.

And

VENERABLE IMMAEUS

Saint Limnaeus began his efforts under the guidance of Saint Thalassius and dwelt with him for a sufficient time to acquire the virtues of his teacher: simplicity of manner, gentleness and humility. Then Saint Limnaeus joined Saint Maron (February 14).

On a hill he built a small stone enclosure without a roof, and through a small aperture, he conversed with those who came to see him. His heart was full of compassion for people. Wanting to help all the destitute, he built a wanderers’ home on the hillside with the help of his admirers, a dwelling for the poor and the crippled, and he fed them with what pious people brought him.

The holy ascetic even sacrificed his own quiet and solitude for these poor brethren, and took upon himself the responsibility for for their spiritual nourishment, inducing them to pray and glorify the Lord. For his holy life he was granted the gift of wonderworking. He once cured himself of a snakebite through prayer.

1 JOHN 3:21-4:6

21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

MARK 14:43-15:1

43 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely." 45 As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. 46 Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him. 47 And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. 48 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? 49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled. 50 Then they all forsook Him and fled. 51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, 52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. 53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. 54 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. 56 For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. 57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.' 59 But not even then did their testimony agree. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" 61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" 62 Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." 63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think? And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. 65 Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands. 66 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. 67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth." 68 But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying." And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them." 70 But he denied it again. And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it." 71 Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!" 72 A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times." And when he thought about it, he wept.

1 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.

[crabstreet]

I’d kept hermit crabs for roughly a year and a half prior to discovering the CSJ site, and – like many others – assumed I’d been properly caring for them, negating the need to further research their requirements…or anything about them, really. One doesn’t exactly discover troves of books dedicated to hermit crabs the way one discovers the same in regards to dogs, cats, birds, or any of the other, more typical household pets. Subsequently, one simply decides that not much must be known about them (or that what is known is too boring and/or limited to bear repeating in guide after guide), and so one makes do with the information provided by pet store employees. While I don’t recall the exact thing that led to my first Google search about them, I do recall that it was diet-related, as I became interested in offering foods other than the pre-packaged pet store fare. During the course of this search, I came upon the CSJ site and decided to poke around. I was quickly struck not only by the quantity of information present, but also its quality. In addition to locating more than I ever bargained for, or could have imagined I’d find, regarding food options – and nutritional needs in general – I found information on so many other factors involved in the crabs’ care: Substrate. Tank size. Heating options. Molting. Illness. And……..science. A college professor by trade, I’m not one to be convinced of something, especially animal-care-related somethings, unless there is appropriate back-up research involved. I found such evidence throughout the CSJ site (man, those hermit crab books and pet store employees were way off…), and it convinced me that the folks in charge here must be awfully invested in correct hermit crab care. Why else would the site be so thorough? Contain information proven through included research? Contain an option for receiving assistance in the event of an emergency? Contain a marketplace, where select food items could be purchased for unbeatable prices? I was sold. And encouraged. I did a bit of additional, outside research, found information from trustworthy sources that corroborated CSJ’s, and set about making changes to my own crabs’ set-up. CSJ opened the door not only to new knowledge, but to the fact that such knowledge actually exists and is freely available. It also opened the door to a desire to learn more, and to maybe even mingle online with others like myself: crab owners dedicated to giving their crustaceous kiddos the best life possible.

Fast-forward to a year-plus later, and I’ve continued to make regular use of the CSJ site. I’ve also, as a result of joining its affiliated (LHCOS) group on Facebook, discovered not just folks I enjoy interacting with in a general sense; I’ve found new friends…a new tribe, if you will…some of whom I had the pleasure of meeting in-person at the first-ever CrabCon in July of 2019, an event that allowed this truly-introverted gal to come out of her shell (come on; you knew such a reference was imminent). It was a surreal experience that continues to sit strongly in my memory, and it offered additional options for camaraderie and a sense of community/belonging. But, I digress.

On September 22nd, 2019, I awoke to find one of my small crabs on top of the substrate, shell-less and missing all limbs with the exception of two walking legs, one of which was injured. He was a pathetic sight at best, and though I did not have high hopes for his survival (he had, I assume, been assaulted under the substrate while molting), I plopped him into an iso container with a few shells of appropriate size, as his was nowhere to be found. It took him a couple hours to choose one, and when he did, he picked a green turbo that was clearly too small. This concerned me, but I was more relieved that he was at least strong enough, and possessed enough of a will to survive, to put on some pants. I posted a photo of him in his sad state to my personal Facebook page, and – not surprisingly – my CSJ friends were quick to weigh in with support and suggestions. When it became readily-apparent after a day or two that the crab truly wanted to live (he was moving, eating, and drinking, although the latter two activities involved my being hands-on with him, as he was missing both claws), I began regularly communicating with various CSJ administrators and moderators. I’d never been in this situation with a crab before, and obviously I was interested in ensuring this one’s survival. I knew the basics for caring for an incapacitated, limbless crab – thanks to the CSJ site – but I desired more specific assistance, and the aforementioned admins and mods were not only quick to advise, but pleasant, genuinely-helpful, and personally-interested, and invested, in this little crab’s well-being. The ever-lovely and thoughtful Mary Akers even mailed a care package that included nutrient-dense food appropriate for a clawless, recuperating crab. This is the level of commitment these people demonstrate…not just for the crabs themselves (in a collective sense), but also for each other and for those of us in the LHCOS group who demonstrate a willingness to learn and to do right by our hermits and by each other, as friends. I was – and continue to be – blown away by the support, and kindnesses, shown.

As a result of these wonderful folks’ efforts, which guided my own, my incapacitated crab, who has since come to be named William Robert (‘William’ because of his will to live, and ‘Robert’ thanks to a former student-turned-friend who regularly checked in by asking how ‘Bob the Crab’ was doing), successfully molted into wholeness in the overnight hours of October 12th, 2019. Two days later – and only 20 days after I found him lying helpless, naked, and nearly limbless in his tank – he continues to harden. I imagine it’s only a matter of time before I discover him picking away at the remains of his ordeal, in the form of his old exoskeleton, with the brand-new claws that he regrew under the watchful eyes of his many CSJ/LHCOS friends and advocates. Much love, and many thanks, to you all.

Sherri Werdebaugh

(Scroll for a series of photos, from the day I found him to the day he molted. )

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William Robert out of his shell and missing all but two legs

William Robert, the hermit crab, clings to Sherri’s finger with his two remaining legs for a hand fed meal

William Robert eating well right from Sherri’s hand

William Robert looking good

William Robert has begun to grow all new limbs

William Robert has begun to grow all new limbs

William Robert’s new limbs are turning orange, signalling he is ready for his recovery molt.

William Robert has molted again and his new limbs are intact but a bit smaller than they should be. One more molt will bring them to full size.

      Sherri W. I’d kept hermit crabs for roughly a year and a half prior to discovering the CSJ site, and – like many others – assumed I’d been properly caring for them, negating the need to further research their requirements…or anything about them, really.

[golshxd-blog]

The original glass is in this window

The 2nd May 2019 marked the 500th anniversary of the death of one of the most multi talented people who has ever lived. He died at Château du Clos Lucé, Amboise, in France, and was often referred to as a Universal Genius.

A glimpse into his atelier

Another shot of his atelier

Yes, that’s a very bold statement, but consider this, he dabbled in, drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography.

Of course I’m talking about Leonardo Da Vinci.

© Château du Clos Lucé

Discussing Anne & my recent visit to Château du Clos Lucé with Philippe we both agreed we would love to have been able to swap brains with him.

Just imagine the photos you could create with his intellect, talent and artistic perception and perspective.

Of course, that age old question came up with Philippe, what camera would the great LdV use if he were alive today.

Leonardo’s final sleeping place.

Hang on before you get excited and say XYZ camera.

Firstly we need to exam the different Genre of photography and ask ourselves which he would have favoured LdV.

Portraits – Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, maybe he could be the new celebrity photographer to the rich and famous, but would he be so frivolous.

Macro – I’m sure this would’ve been of substantial interest given his interest in engineering and inventions for one.

Landscape 

Street

Architecture

Would he want to be the next Ansel Adams, Robert Capa, Vivian Maier, Edward Weston, HCB, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, or just an enthusiast photographer. IMHO LdV would excel in all genres he decided to pursue.

Before we get to the topic of which camera, in our modern age of school media would LvD be a YouTuber, Facebooker or Instragramer and chase likes and emojis.

From what I could glean from some quick research very little is known about his actual life. Freud concludes by saying “that we actually know very little about Leonardo’s life, especially his youth, so his analysis of the man’s life and mind is based mostly on speculation”.

I will hypothesis and say that LdV would be oblivious to social media and that creative experimentation and the results is what would drive him, not notoriety on the web. Of course some of you may disagree.

Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, Pentax, Hasselblad, Phase One to name a few or a Leica.

Of course Nikon immediately sprang to mind from me, being a user of the brand since 2012. Whilst a D850 with excellent glass Zeiss Otus (28/55/85/100) what else, would fit the bill for landscape, portraits, architecture. Add a Zeiss Milvus 100/2 for macro, what Nikon AF lens for street. Some of you may say well a Z7 with the new Z35/1.8S. Yes that would be excellent kit that most of us would be very happy to have.

As for Canon the 5DsR is getting a little long in the tooth but is still a good camera. I’d match it with the same lens as above. For street mmm, I’m unsure what Canon would be best fit for use, I’m guessing some of you will have a thought and suggestion.

Sony has been kicking goals and continues to do so for some years so a A7R111 with the appropriate G Master Glass would be the order of the day, a one stop shop.

Fuji like Sony have been doing many things right in the camera world firstly they listen to their customers, from what I can glean from the media. The GFX 100 and the appropriate lens would fit the bill for all genres except macro and they don’t have a specific Marco lens that I know of. For street an XT-3 would fit the bill nicely with say a XX lens.

Ah, now the big names, well old ones that have been around for a long time and are spoken of with reverence but most photographers and are on the wish list only if…..

First up, Hasselblad maybe I should let Pascal comment here, on second thoughts here are my thoughts. H6D or X1D? Both have the glass to meet the requirements of LdV. The H6D would meet the requirement for all but street. But would the X1D make it as a street camera. After watching Pascal shoot during a photowalk (inset link to article) I have my doubts that you could capture people in the street, but cityscapes would be no problem.

Phase One again like the Hassie would be let down for street.

Leica ah you say yes a big tick for street as the great HCB used one. So for street an M10 with Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. As for landscape etc, well the SL and appropriate lens should fit the bill.

The burning question is what Camera System would LdV use is……

To be totally honest I have no idea as the choice and ranch of systems he would have to choose from is very large and wide, price of course doesn’t come into to it.

All the above mentioned have their pro’s and con’s, weight, size, DR.

IMHO whatever system he decided upon would do the job. The other question to ask yourself would one system perform at the highest levels for each genre. I don’t think so…….. over to you.

    Pascal adds

  Dallas kindly asked me to make a few suggestions of my own and, to me, there can only be one answer: a large format view camera. Let me explain.

    Leonardo da Vinci is credited as being one the most brilliant inventors in human history. Some now suggest that he may have been a great curator of inventions, but that wouldn’t lessen his talent in my eyes, on the contrary. I think it takes even more genius to recognise brilliance in the work of others and develop them in your own, than to huff and puff as a hermit, which is what he was reported to do. Wikipedia writes :

He made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, geology, optics, and hydrodynamics, but he did not publish his findings and they had no direct influence on subsequent science.

Wikipedia entry (greatly saddened italics, my own)

Whatever the case, the man seemed interested in everything. A man fascinated by a holistic view of the world, to speak the modern tongue.

    Needless to say I can only imagine the irony of his satire on what the photographic industry has evolved into. One strange land filled with denizens who at the same time worship only speed and turn their gaze and social drumming nearly exclusively to such fast-moving subjects as the Eiffel Tower, the Matterhorn and Icelandic glaciers.

In fact, I rather fancy the idea of Lisa del Giocondo quietly wetting herself with laughter at the thought, while he described it to her, during their sessions together.

No, Leo wouldn’t have been one to let a piece of baked sand tell him where to focus and how to set aperture. The very idea would have driven him to refine some dire variant of his steam cannon.

    A man of his intellectual stature and insatiable curiosity would have revelled in the subtleties of the Scheimpflug principle. He would have considered the chemistry of collodion and paladium a sublime form of photographic haute cuisine. He would have elevated the hands-on experience of print making to the same heights as tempera and oil.

There’s a reason many of the most eagerly collected artistic photographers today use, or have used, large format view cameras. And the grand daddy of them all would have too. Only, he’d have made them even better.

    Philippe adds

  Ahhh…to write about Master Leonardo…. no easy task, the man was such a giant among men. But, for sure, he wouldn’t have wanted to be “just a photographer”. He would leave that to lesser men, like (his opinion)… Michelangelo. Remember, one of the reasons we have so few works from him is that he wasn’t interested in “just” painting, or sculpting. He wanted each piece to break new ground in some way. So it would have been the same with his photography.

Yesteryear’s selfie…

The power of his inventive mind would have pushed the boundaries, if only on paper. In what direction? I see at least 3 of them, based on his work and interests.

I see his deep study-based understanding of human anatomy. And, at the time, that was no mere fancy. The Church frowned on anything like opening up cadavers, so Leonardo did it at great risk. I posit that he would have invented the camera that would let hm fully uncover all the mysteries of the human body. How? By not only capturing the outside of his subject, but actually by looking inside. Yes. inside matter. Not only inside tubes, the way of an endoscope, no inside matter itself. Leonardo, the genius!

The second camera would serve Leonardo the architect. For that, he would have designed a camera that would so fully capture perspective and depth as to be fully 3D in virtual reality. You will counter that VR is video and not still-photo. That, my friends, is not the sort of limitation that would hold Leonardo back

The third camera is of course the most interesting. It captures objects in time. A time-travel camera. Actually, I could tell you how it works, having deciphered Leonardo’s secret, coded papers, and it is INCREDIBLE. Unfortuntely I haven’t heard from the Patent Office just yet, so you’ll have to wait. But I make you a promise. You will be the first to know. Yes, here on DS. No-one gets it sooner than you. Just, for your own sake, don’t hold your breath…

  Posted on DearSusan by Dallas Thomas.

[clarenecessities]

spooky souls

Word Count: 1843 Rating: PG

Summary: Nothing like a change of subject to introduce some of your exhaustive and as-yet unfinished research Chapter Warnings: some death discussion

[First] [Previous] [Next]

Adrien opened his eyes and blinked, taking in the apartment before him.

It was about the same size as the main room of his sídhe, but infinitely… brighter. Instead of cool stone and weathered wood it was full of warm and inviting furniture, all straight lines and soft edges. It wasn’t magic in itself, but it was filled with the scent and feeling of Marinette and her family, and a sense of affection seemed to linger in the walls. A smile spread across Adrien’s face as he walked in, looking around to take it all in. It smelled like sugar cookies and cinnamon and honey.

He lingered at the foot of a staircase, peering around the corner into a charming, overwhelmingly pink kitchen, where Marinette and Alya were giggling about something. Probably him.

“You have a lovely home,” he told Marinette, sincerely (if somewhat formally).

“Thanks,” she said, laughing. “How are your knees?”

“Much better,” he assured her. Nino slipped past him, hopping onto a stool that sat on the other side of the counter. Adrien followed a little hesitantly, pulling his out all the way instead of scooting it back once he was in it. “Your mother must be very talented.”

“She is,” said Marinette, grinning, without a trace of humility. “Potions are her specialty. She sells them out the back of the bakery.”

“Potions require very little magic,” said her mother, entering through the front door. “It is for the most part a mix of natural medicines and magical ingredients. They’re far less taxing, in my opinion, than any spell with a similar purpose—I prefer to store my magic for charms.” She looked pointedly at Adrien’s neck, and he blushed, realizing he was still wearing the earring.

He pulled the ribbon off with both hands, handing it sheepishly back to Marinette, who smiled as she took it and immediately put the earring back in her ear.

“You’re gonna get an infection if you keep doing that,” Alya chastised. “It’s covered in cat germs.”

“Yeah, if only it were enchanted or something,” said Marinette, rolling her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Sabine’s shoulders, tucking her head into the space under her jaw and burrowing slightly. “Thank you, Maman. It came in very handy.”

“I’m sorry it had to,” said Sabine, expression darkening. Adrien winced. He hoped she wasn’t too mad—so far he really liked Marinette’s parents, and he wanted to make a good impression. “Does anyone want to tell me what happened?”

“I mean, not really?” said Marinette, wincing.

“Let me rephrase: Which of you is going to tell me what happened?”

“We’re not sure, ma’am,” said Adrien, after a moment’s hesitation. He exchanged guilty looks with the other teenagers—it was too late now. They’d made their bed.

“But it was one of the aos sídhe?” asked Sabine.

“We, uh—we don’t know. Whoever and whatever it is was using the magic of a very recently murdered member of the court, so it seems… likely?”

“Murdered?” Sabine asked softly.

“Oh, uh—Nooroo. He was found dead yesterday,” said Adrien, swallowing a lump in his throat.

“Ah,” said Sabine, closing her eyes. “I had heard he died, but I didn’t know it was… How?”

“They aren’t sure,” said Marinette, “but his magic was stolen.”

“Stolen? How?”

“…We’re not sure,” said Adrien. Suppressing a shudder, he remembered his nightmare—a pale hand reaching out—

“Adrien?” Marinette said softly. “Are you okay?”

“Oh,” he mumbled, looking down, embarrassed. “Yeah, I’m sorry, I was just—thinking about that dream again.”

“Dream?” Sabine asked, just as soft as her daughter.

“I had a dream—a nightmare, really—that I was there when it happened,” he confessed, licking his suddenly dry lips. “There was this voice, and—it was me, but it like wasn’t me, you know, and it was saying it had ‘found them’ and the aos sídhe don’t have souls or something, but…”

“Don’t have souls?” Nino asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. “I dunno about that, man. You all seem pretty lively to me.”

“I dunno about it either,” said Adrien, shrugging helplessly. “It doesn’t really come up.”

“It depends on your conception of a soul,” said Sabine. “Most French people would say it’s vitality—life force. An intangible energy.”

“Isn’t it?” asked Nino.

“If that were so, a body without a soul would simply be a husk—a shell with no hermit crab, so to speak,” said Sabine. She reached out, Marinette’s arms still around her, and beckoned Alya into their embrace. “But a soul can exist independently.”

Alya’s hand went automatically to her necklace.

“So if something happened to Alya’s soul, she wouldn’t just wind up a ‘husk’?” asked Nino, brightening.

“No, I would,” said Alya. “It’s more that it isn’t physically constrained, you know? I could take all sorts of damage and survive, as long as my soul was safe.”

“Which gets back to the sídhe,” said Nino, frowning at Adrien like he was trying to solve a brain teaser. “If they don’t have souls anywhere, how are they… alive?”

“Well, generally speaking,” said Sabine, “the aos sídhe are animated solely by magic. They’re functionally immortal, as long as they work with the forces in question.”

“I’m immortal?” Adrien squeaked, alarmed. That seemed like something somebody should have told him. He should know that, right?

Sabine laughed, shaking her head. “No, most cait sídhthe are different. You’re essentially a human which can transform into a fairy cat, rather than a fairy with multiple forms.”

“So I… sometimes have a soul?”

“It’s… difficult to articulate. It gets back into how the French look at souls,” sighed Sabine. “It’s not as if you have half a soul, because the magic compensates, but—you don’t have any hún souls.”

“Oh, jeez,” groaned Marinette, finally breaking away from her mother. She tugged a laughing Alya away, snuggling up to her instead, both of them leaned against the counter. “Here she goes.”

“You wouldn’t be so annoyed if you’d pay attention to your mother once in a while,” said Sabine, miming injury to her heart.

“If I listened to every lecture you gave about our heritage, my brain would have exploded by now,” said Marinette, sticking out her tongue for good measure.

“Your heritage?” Adrien asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, it’s a Chinese thing,” said Marinette, waving a vague hand. “Soul, uh—dualism?”

“That’s right!” Sabine beamed at her daughter. “Everyone—well, almost everyone—has a hún soul and a pò soul.”

“So like… what’s the difference?” asked Nino.

“Well… a hún soul is ethereal, while a pò soul is corporeal. Which is to say, when you die, a hún soul moves on, while a pò soul decays with the body.”

“So I like… just have one?” asked Adrien.

“Yes,” she affirmed, “a pò soul. It governs the seven apertures—like your eyes and ears—and it wants to return to the earth. It seeks to undermine your physical body so it can dwell again amongst the dark and damp.”

“You mean it’s trying to kill me so it can live underground? I already live underground!” said Adrien, paling.

Sabine laughed. “It’s only killing you in the sense that we’re all going to die someday, Adrien. It’s a soul, but it’s a mortal one. Your magic compensates for the most part, though there are some things it can’t do on its own.”

“Like what? If we spritz him with holy water or something is he gonna catch fire?” asked Alya, grinning unabashedly at Adrien, who scowled as convincingly as he could through his suppressed smile.

“No,” said Sabine, amusement playing across her gentle face. “Mostly, it’s that magic cannot act as a part of the regenerative cycle necessary for a pò soul to grow and heal as it should. Functionally, that means that most cait sídhthe have a difficult time recovering from emotional disturbances, like grief, and of course the limited transformations—”

“The what?” Nino broke in, straightening abruptly on his stool. Adrien winced beside him. “Limited? How limited?”

Sabine blinked, looking between them, apparently confused. “They can only transform into cats nine times, but if they do it that ninth time, they won’t be able to change back.”

“Dude!” said Nino, looking at Adrien with dawning horror. “Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have made you—”

“It’s okay,” Adrien rushed to assure him, “I wouldn’t have—I wouldn’t transform unless it was important, and this was really important—”

“You could have been stuck forever like a goddamned—excuse me Madame C—like a gosh darned Animorph—”

“No, I—A what?”

“How many times, bro?”

“H-how many times… what?”

“How many times have you transformed?” asked Nino, his voice low, his face pained with guilt. Adrien hesitated to answer, looking away, his own guilt overwhelming him.

“…Eight,” he mumbled finally, fiddling with the bell around his neck. Nino groaned. “But it’s okay, Nino! I can—all I have to do is sign a contract, and then I can transform as much as I want!”

“…Really?”

“Yes!” said Adrien, nodding a little too emphatically. “It isn’t that big a deal, it’ll be okay. I promise, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think it was important—” Marinette cleared her throat to his side, “—or fun,” he admitted, smiling reassuringly.

“Okay…” said Nino, though he still looked incredibly guilty. Adrien’s heart clenched.

“Nino, it’s not your fault,” he persisted, crestfallen. “It’s mine. I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool,” Nino mumbled. “It’ll… it’ll be alright.”

“It sure will!” Alya broke in, clearly trying to break the tension. Her voice was loud, her smile was wide, and her arm was slung across Marinette’s shoulders like she was keeping Alya upright. The way she was leaning on her, she probably was. “All our boy needs to do is find someone to sign a contract with! I sure I wish I knew an eligible witch somewhere.” She sighed dramatically, slumping further against Marinette, who was now propping her up with both hands and unable to hide her blush.

“Alya!” she hissed.

“Why aren’t you two signed?” Adrien asked, looking between them. It’d certainly be a good match. Granted, a witch and a kitsune would have a very volatile brand of magic, which he couldn’t really see either of these two handling, but they got along very well.

“What, like to each other?” asked Alya. “My mom says I’m too young for contracts. She says maybe when I’m 50 and I can actually manage to hold a transformation more than a few hours.”

“She’s right, you know,” observed Sabine, smiling over the rim of a tea cup Adrien hadn’t noticed her fetch. More magic, he supposed. “A contract isn’t anything so transitive.”

“Madame Cheng,” said Alya, mock gasping and clutching at her heart. “Are you saying I have commitment issues?”

“I’m saying you’re distractible,” Sabine said fondly. “Would you like something to eat?”

Alya squinted at her suspiciously. “I see what you’re doing, Madame,” she muttered, “but I would like something to eat.”

[passportandplates]

Disclosure: Pueblo Español hosted me as a student on the immersion program. As always, all opinions are my own.

Am I actually going to do this? 8 days of no English? 8 days of 12+ hour days entirely in Spanish? I can do this. No, I can’t. I’m doing it.

That was pretty much my exact thought process the night before I started Pueblo Español. I was packing my bag at 1 AM (an annoying habit that I can’t seem to shake) mentally ricocheting between excitement and worry. I’d done Spanish classes in the past, but this was a whole new level of language learning. The immersion methodology is precisely why I wanted to do it.

  What is Pueblo Español?

I’d first heard of Pueblo Español after volunteering for their counterpart, Pueblo Ingles. Essentially, Pueblo Español is an incredibly intense 8-day language “camp” for adults. Students are immersed in an all-Spanish environment with native volunteers for 8 days, 12 hours a day. No English allowed – just lots of conversations, activities, and more conversations. The program is meant to improve confidence and fluidity in Spanish without the classroom.

  How does it work?

Although the program is officially from Friday to Friday, the fun began the Thursday before, when I met the other students and the tour leader for lunch. The next day at the train station, each student was paired with a native Spanish volunteer and spoke Spanish for the entire ride to the venue (~4 hours). The rest of the week was a jam-packed schedule of activities, meals, and one-to-ones….all in Spanish.

  The volunteers:

Pueblo Español does an excellent job of sourcing a diverse group of volunteers from various parts of Spain, ensuring maximum exposure to different accents. The volunteers came from a variety of ages and backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: they wanted us to improve our Spanish!

Me, Ali (student), and Jennifer (Volunteer)

  The activities:

One of the best parts about Pueblo Español is the diversity of events. Rather than sitting in a classroom and learning grammar all day, we participated in a ton of different cultural activities. I’ve included an overview of some of the major aspects of the schedule below.

 Tú a tú: This was one of my favorite activities because I prefer speaking to people one to one. Students typically do anywhere from 3 to 6 one to one’s per day. Not only was this an excellent way to get to know people, but it was also a low-pressure way to really focus on comprehension. I felt incredibly comfortable asking people to slow down or explain a word or concept. Plus, it took the pressure off of meeting people in a large group. Win, win!

Meals: Not going to lie, meals were definitely the most challenging part of the day. We were purposefully seated student-volunteer so nobody would be tempted to speak in English…or rapid-fire Spanish either. This worked for the most part, although there were definitely a few moments where it felt like I was concentrating on a game of ping-pong! Between the eating and multiple people talking, mealtime is definitely when I had to fully concentrate.

Theater and presentations: Every day we had a variety of theatrical skits and presentations by both the volunteers and the students. I don’t voluntarily do theater in English, but somehow ended up doing it in Spanish. At the end of the week, all of the students also had to give presentations on a topic of their choosing, something which would intimidate me in English. When Pueblo Español promised I’d improve my confidence, they weren’t kidding!

Group discussions and projects: As a break from one to ones, we were oftentimes grouped together in small discussion groups. The topics were really entertaining and creative: everything from creating a marketing campaign for a city to deciding how we would rebuild the world after an apocalypse. Not only did I learn a ton of new vocabulary, but I also gained insight on cultural values as well…everyone has a different idea of what makes a city great, for example.

Cultural Activities and Social hour(s): What good is immersion if you aren’t interacting with locals from the city itself? Pueblo Español arranged for us to do several fun excursions outside of our “classroom” (aka the hotel) throughout the week. I was at the Úbeda venue in Jaén when I did the program, so our excursions included a city tour, olive oil tasting, and local artisan visits. We also visited the nearby towns of Baeza and Cazorla, and even went on a hike in Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. Learning about Spanish history in Spanish definitely did a number on my head, although it was fascinating to visit these small towns I would have never visited otherwise! In the evenings, we oftentimes had cool (mostly optional) events scheduled after dinner such as a game night, a Galician Quemada, and a tapas night. The fun (and learning) never stopped!

Our fearless director!

The hills of Úbeda

Pottery visit!

Exploring!

  Where is it?

Pueblo Español currently takes place in two locations: Úbeda in Andalusia and La Alberca in Salamanca. I’ve been to both places and they’re both incredibly comfortable and charming. The venue in Úbeda is a traditional hotel whereas the venue in La Alberca consists of bungalows with two rooms each: one for a volunteer and one for a student. The food is better at the Úbeda location…just saying.

Went into hermit mode in the tiny Andalusian town of Ubeda, Spain, where I spent 8 days in a Spanish immersion program, @puebloespanol! Not only did we talk to natives all day, every day, but we also got to explore the town and nearby surrounds. Imagine learning about this historical town in another language! 😅 Have you ever participated in an immersion program? #ad #spanishimmersion #learnspanishinspain #puebloespañol

A post shared by Sally • Food & Travel Writer (@passportandplates) on Mar 31, 2017 at 2:02pm PDT

  When is it?

Pueblo Español for adults is currently offered every month between March and November, with the exception of August. They also offer several student programs throughout the summer. You can see the full calendar here.

  What’s included?

The program includes transport to and from the program, full room and board for 7 nights, excursions, and travel insurance. The students have to cover travel costs and accommodation to and from Madrid plus any additional purchases made during the program (snacks, souvenirs, etc.). The cost is €1950 per person, but Pueblo Español does offer discounts for early booking. Send them an email with any questions or concerns.

Mealtime!

  My review of the experience:

My brain was hurting by the end of the week but in a good way. I never dreamed that I’d be able to stand up in front of an audience and give a presentation, act in a theatrical skit, or do a conference call, all in Spanish. By the end, I was no longer hesitant or worried about my Spanish abilities and felt confident enough to brave language exchanges and social events without breaking a sweat (for the most part).

Doing theater in Spanish…no words

While I thoroughly enjoyed the week, I have a few suggestions for improvement:

Choosing meals was initially a bit of a challenge due to the fact that several of us had dietary restrictions. The kitchen allowed us to create our own meals but I do wish we had more non-pork options on the menu.

The wifi at the hotel wasn’t great, making it difficult for me to work during my free time. I understand that most people don’t need to work, but it’s important to me.

While I loved the excursions, there was a couple that I felt were a bit long. I believe that time would have been better spent speaking one to one (maybe that was just me).

Springtime in Andalusia is magical, especially at Boveda del Rio Cerezuelo in Cazorla! I would have never discovered this place if it weren't for our fabulous guide and program leader at @puebloespanol! Not only did I learn a TON of Spanish during this immersion program, but I also discovered some awesome local destinations as well! #ad

A post shared by Sally • Food & Travel Writer (@passportandplates) on Apr 3, 2017 at 3:00pm PDT

  Does the program “work?”

If your goal is to improve your fluidity and confidence in speaking Spanish, then this is the program for you. My brain did a total 180 during the week, to the point where I was thinking and dreaming in Spanish. Forget about translating or conjugating verbs in your head – by the end of the week, the words will flow naturally.

Cristina, our program director

Ali and I presenting a marketing campaign

  Who should do it?

Firstly, in order to do this program, you have to schedule a level assessment with the Pueblo Español team. In order to get the most out of this program, you need to be at least intermediate in Spanish.

Given the intensity and cost of the program, I recommend it to people who are currently living (or plan to live) in Spain, doing business or studies in Spanish, or planning extensive travel in Spanish-speaking countries.

Pueblo Español offers two packages: the 8-day full immersion program or the program plus 4 days of intensive Spanish classes beforehand. I chose the latter option and found that the first day was much less difficult since I’d already warmed up in Spanish.

I’ve tried my fair share of Spanish classes in the past: everything from traditional schools to language apps to meet ups. I can honestly say that this was by far the most helpful program in taking my Spanish fluidity and confidence to the next level. If you’re eager to take your Spanish from mal to major, Pueblo Español is the way to do it!

  Tell me: Have you ever done a language course in another country? What was your experience like? 

  Like this post? Pin it and save it for later!

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How to Take Your Spanish From Mal to Mejor: Spanish Immersion in Spain Disclosure: Pueblo Español hosted me as a student on the immersion program. As always, all opinions are my own.

[ecotone99]

[SF] Sandbox - Episode #1: Playground

A man dressed in a long overcoat stood across the street from an apartment building. He had a thick, silvery mustache that made him look like a wolf with weathered gray fur and aged scars. A wolf on its last legs that pushed through the heavy snow ahead as the strongest in the pack. Old but still dangerous. Spotlights blasted the exterior of the building from multiple angles. Police cars blockaded the street. Bright yellow tape fluttered in the wind. Wooden barricades shook as dozens of heavy boots hit the ground and passed near them. More and more backup arrived. Officers grouped at a distance; their eyes focused on their target. The apartment façade looked brighter than a newly minted silver coin.

“Evening, sir. Our chief informed us you would oversee this operation. My men are in position and ready to move in when you give the green-light.” A police officer approached the man in the overcoat.

“Deputy Director Malius Dusman.” The man extended a hand.

“We weren’t expecting the Special Intelligence Service to take over.”

“SIS usually deals with foreign intelligence and manages covert operations, but this is a special case.”

“Your orders, Deputy Director?”

“Keep your men on standby for now. No one is to approach the building under any circumstances. The situation looks dangerous.” Dusman pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

“A terrorist?”

“I cannot give you an answer officer. Any information SIS acquires here is to remain classified. I’ve called in one of my subordinates to assess the situation. Your job is to keep the area secure.” Dusman exhaled a cloud of white smoke. “There he is now.”

“Got it, sir. You can count on us. I’ll leave you both to it then.” The officer marched off.

A man with slicked-back hair walked past the barricades. He wore an uncollared shirt and a dark blazer with an embroidered tulip on the breast pocket. His eyes looked like amber stones with a smoldering fire trapped within them. Like a movie or play propped up and carried on the shoulders of a single actor, his eyes looked like they would save the day with a sword forged in its flames.

“Rev. Good of you to come.” Dusman said as Rev drew near.

“Sorry, I’m late Deputy Director. The Bosnians were giving me a hard time. I flew in from Sarajevo soon as I got your message.”

“Forget the Bosnians. This one takes the cake at Priority Level Onyx.”

“A threat of unknown origin?”

“Residents of the building were calling the police and reporting a series of unusual events. Doors leading from one end of the building to another country. People almost drowning or being bitten by sharks in their bathtubs in meters deep water. Trees and animals running amok through the hallways. There were too many reports to ignore, so police were dispatched to check out what everyone was smoking.”

“And?’

“When the officers entered the building, they dropped out of contact. Radios became scrambled. Cellphones dropped out of service. The police chief sent more men, but they also disappeared without a trace. That’s when I got a call from the higher-ups. One of our satellites detected a massive level of energy coming from this building. Suffice it to say my observations so far have confirmed their suspicions. The longer the energy source remains unsecured, the more potent its effects. Take a closer look at our target.”

Rev eyed the building from top to bottom.

“All the glass in the windows looks like it turned into a thin film of water?” Rev said.

“Like puddles in the rain. Check out the building’s walls.” Dusman pointed.

“Gemstones are growing on the exterior?”

“If we do not stop it, the radius of these unexplained effects will continue to increase. You know me Rev. I expect and prepare for the worst. I have a feeling the fallout could be global. Everything humanity achieved up to 2020 will do down the crapper. This is not only a threat with unknown origins. This is an unknown threat to the foundation of our reality.”

“What’s the plan?”

“This is why I asked for you, Rev. I need you to figure out what in the blazes is going on and find a way to save all those people trapped inside. Meanwhile, I’ve requested a containment team from headquarters to lock down the scene. I’ll be plugging any leaks until we have more intel. This will be a shadow job. Top secret. The whole package. You get me, Rev?”

“Any conditions for this one?” Rev asked.

“Pull out all the stops. SIS is throwing all resources at this. I spoke to the Director and I told him you’re the only qualified agent to deal with this situation. Taking your covert operations experience and reputation as a sharp investigator, they agreed with me. Full public containment is a priority. The fewer people know about this the better they’ll sleep at night. If all goes well everyone will love a story with a happy ending.”

“This will take one hell of a creative spin for the media to eat up.”

“The agency also needs to keep this under wraps internally as well. Only me, you and the Director know about the situation here.”

“I brought Jasek with me to assist.”

“Jasek Dubinsky? The science guru?”

“That’s the one. Though I’d call him more of a materials specialist.”

“And he’s essential?”

“Jasek is an asset to the team. I rely on him whenever things get technical.”

“Fine, we’ll add one more brain to the list of confidants.”

“Alright, time to us to get started.” Rev pulled out his cellphone.

“Jasek, bring the geospatial scanner. Hurry.” “Yes, boss! Right away, boss!”

“Someone sounds excited.” Dusman commented.

“We’ll get to try out a new toy.”

“What are you planning?”

Jasek sprinted between barricades and police cars with a duffle bag. He wore thick-framed prescription glasses and a t-shirt with a Fibonacci spiral print. He reached Dusman and Rev nearly out of breath.

“Here, boss.”

“You need to work on your cardio Jasek.”

“Yes, boss!”

Jasek started to unpack the contents of the bag. He took out a laptop and a smooth cylindrical device on a collapsible tripod. Jasek placed the device so its array of lenses faced the building.

“To answer your question Deputy Director. Jasek here is setting up a long-distance geospatial scanner. It’s going to create a detailed map of the building’s interior for us and provide any data the satellite might not have picked up.”

“How is a map relevant?”

“This scanner will pinpoint the exact location of the energy source. That’ll make it easier for me to navigate on the inside.” “Now hang on Rev…” “Boss! Look at this!” Jasek blurted out.

Rev leaned over to look at the screen. There was a virtual map being processed and visualized in real-time.

“This is impossible…”

“That’s not the only weird thing, boss. Check out the support structure.”

“It’s missing. How is the building even standing?”

“The rooms too. Maybe of them are overlapping or on the wrong floor.” Jasek added.

“How is that possible?” Dusman asked.

“The scanner isn’t detecting any people either.” Rev said. “Jasek, is there any kind of extraneous data present?”

“Yes, there seems to be a dense mass according to these numbers. On the uppermost floor. The penthouse suite.”

“I’m going in.”

“Rev now hold on for a minute…”

“Deputy Director, you said to pull out all the stops. People are also trapped inside. I don’t see many options.” Rev took off his blazer and handed it over to Jasek. “We know precisely where the source of the anomaly is. We don’t know what it is. That’s where I come in. You know I prefer doing things hands-on.”

Dusman nodded his approval.

“Jasek, I doubt we’ll be able to communicate but keep pinging my cell and radio every five minutes. There might be a soft spot in there somewhere.”

“Be careful, boss.”

Rev walked up to the lobby doors. The handles looked like the shell of a hermit crab. When he reached out to pull a handle, an aperture opened. A huge claw snapped at his fingers. Rev jumped back. A crab the size of a dog flew out. It landed on the ground behind Rev. The crab was fast. It rushed at him. Its pincers were big enough to sever a limb. Rev slammed a door behind him. The hum of sirens, radios, and voices outside ceased. No sounds from the outside.

The entire lobby was plastered with colorful stalagmites and stalactites. It looked like an underground cave with a disco flair. A single lightbulb flickered on the ceiling. It was covered in a sticky substance that dripped down onto the floor and sprouted into geodes. The geodes cracked open like eggs as they hit the hard surface. Miniature birds escaped from the inside. The birds flew out and disappeared into wisps of smoke. An elevator door slid open further down the lobby. Rev walked up to it. On the elevator’s inside, the top half of the cabin was filled with water. The floor of the empty, lower half was covered in a rich patch of grass. A fat rabbit sat in the corner; its mouth was stuffed.

“Anyone there? Please, anyone!” It was a man’s voice.

Rev ran down the corridor and knocked on one of the apartment doors.

“Hello? My name is Rev Soto. I’m with the police. Are you okay?”

The apartment door was open. Rev took a step inside.

“Hey there!” The voice answered.

“Where are you?” Rev looked around.

“Up here!”

Rev threw his head back. A man was on the ceiling.

“Weren’t expecting it?” The man chuckled loudly, but his face was red and wet. “Tell me, please I’m imagining all this and I’m not up here? I think this is what it feels like going bonkers. I mean I read about it, but I never thought it would happen to me.”

“Sir, I can imagine how difficult it might be to stay calm in a situation like this, but can you tell me what happened?”

“I can’t be of much help. One minute I was making pancakes and the next I was up here all warm and furry.”

“Warm and furry?” Rev looked closer at the man. His body was covered in thick fur.

“You see it now, don’t you? My hamster Baboo was right next to me when it happened. I ate so many pancakes, I feel sick but all I can think about is food.”

Rev glanced at his map.

“Sir, I’m going to find out what happened. Please stay where you are. If you move too far from that spot, you might fall.”

Rev continued down the hallway. A faint blue light at the end of it caught his eye. He took the stairs up. As he skipped steps to reach the next floor faster, he stopped to look at the numbers.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Rev squinted. “I went up only a single flight of stairs and I’m on the eighth floor?”

The eight-floor was covered in tropical vines, leafy bushes, exotic flowers and insects of all kinds. Rev looked up. A clear blue sky and a bright sun spread out as far as the eye could see. Birds flew in from above and perched on tree branches that stuck out from the walls. Apartment doors bolted out of their frames to switch places and fought each other for a spot. Parts of the floor were neatly cut up and looked like a chessboard. The dark parts looked like bottomless pits. Rev moved along the lighter squares to avoid stepping on the pitch-black emptiness. A door at the of the hallway lit up in a faint blue light. Rev avoided the hissing snakes that slithered along the walls. As he dodged a door that nearly took his head off, his phone slipped out and dropped into one of the pits. As the device passed the edge of the pit it instantly disassembled into its parts. Rev looked up again. A huge blood-red moon dwarfed everything on the horizon. Grey clouds sailed along the night sky.

Rev reached the door and entered. There were no walls in this room, only darkness along its fringes. A patch of grass and a rabbit were the only things present. Their spot was illuminated by an unknown source of light.

“The same rabbit?” Rev said out loud to himself.

“You are incorrect. This rabbit is another version of the same rabbit you encountered in the elevating device, but not the same rabbit.” An invisible voice answered him.

“Who’s there?” Rev shook his head.

“Before I answer your inquiry, I believe it would be pertinent to appear in a form you can perceive on the visual spectrum.”

Bright blue dots appeared. They looked like stars in the night sky and hovered around like fireflies. Each dot floated into a specific point in space to form a constellation. Streaks of light shot out from each dot and connected them to create a humanoid shape. The iridescent being had a voice that sounded like a dusty, scratched up vinyl record.

“Greetings. My name is Eo.”

Rev blinked wildly and patted himself on the head.

“Eo. I have so many questions, but I have to be practical.” Rev said. “Can you tell me what the hell is going on?”

“You do not wish to start with an inquiry into my identity?” Eo’s face was made up of intersecting lines of light. They formed a sort of shoddy cross. The kind of outline drawn when sketching a character. Extra dots appeared and created a child-like drawing of a sad face.

“Is that a look of disappointment?” Rev asked.

“Indeed. I was under the impression you humans placed a high value on introductions.” Eo pointed at Rev with a holographic arm.

“Well I apologize, but the context of our meeting warrants some urgency. Let me start differently then.” Rev took a deep breath. “My name is Rev Soto and I’m…”

“I am aware of who you are and your situation human. You may cease your explanation.” Eo’s face displayed a sinister smile.

“Why you devious son of a chandelier.” Rev gestured with a fist.

“I am still processing the nuances of human speech and the subtleties of this dimension. This includes the rules of social interaction.”

“You seem to be a quick learner on how to make someone angry. Who are you anyway?” Rev crossed his arms.

“I am an Ulxa. We are beings that exist on another plane of existence. It is far beyond human comprehension.”

“Did you cause this anomaly?”

“One of my siblings was careless during playtime and dropped sand into your dimension. He was scolded, but the damage had to be contained. I am here to retrieve the sand and return it home.”

“Sand?”

“Yes, that is the best analogy to describe it within the framework of your understanding. It is a special kind of exotic matter. It appears as the same kind of sand you find on a beach, except this sand does not reflect any light and can alter the forces governing this universe.”

“This sand can bend the laws of physics?”

“Quite so.”

“Why did it end up here inside a building in Toronto of all places?”

“That is a factor I have yet to determine.”

“Once you retrieve it, will all this return to normal?” Rev spread out his arms.

“Yes, however, any biological damage sustained will be irreversible.”

“I’m coming with you to get it.”

Rev took a step towards Eo.

Eo’s face lit up with a broken frown.

“I cannot allow you to accompany me. The danger to your feeble vessel could be substantial.”

“Look Eo. Do you accept responsibility for all this?”

“I do.” Eo lowered its holographic head.

“Then you’ll make up for it by taking me along for the ride.”

“May I ask why you have a strong desire to put yourself at risk?”

“Part out of duty. Part out of curiosity. And you don’t meet an Ulxa such as yourself very often.”

“Very well.”

“Lead the way.” Rev gestured for Eo to take the lead.

Eo simulated the motions of walking, but they were far from convincing. Rev followed close behind. The Ulxa wobbled over to the patch of grass in the center of the room. “Pull the rabbit by the left ear and twist it counter-clockwise.”

Rev stood at the edge of the grass.

“Can you please explain to me what the rabbit has to do with all this?”

“To you, this rabbit looks and acts like a rabbit, but it is not a rabbit.”

“What is it then?”

“It is a quantum key.”

“A what?”

“A quantum key allows you to access a specific probability outcome. The exact one you need to obtain a required value.”

“Why do we need this quantum key?”

“We need to reach the uppermost floor where the sand is, but the sand has muddled the path to its true location. There are now infinite paths but only one that is correct. The trick is knowing how to properly use the quantum key. If the key is used incorrectly, we will end up on another path and unable to ever return to our initial starting point.”

“That would mean we would be trapped forever in a formless void?”

“Correction. You would end up trapped. I would be able to escape.”

“Thanks for the reassurance.”

“As an Ulxa I can see this quantum key in its true form and how to properly use it. To access the path we require, you must follow my instructions.”

“Fine, but why can’t you do it?” Rev threw a sly look at Eo. “I have a feeling you need my help, but don’t want to admit that you need it.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot directly interface with anything in this dimension, other than the sand from my home.” Eo made a visual display of a heavy sigh. “This rabbit you see is a by-product of the sand, but it has manifested into physical form as dictated by the forces of this dimension.”

“I see, so you do need my help after all.” Rev grabbed the rabbit’s ear, pulled and twisted.

A series of translucent blocks, like something out of a Tetris game, dropped in from above and landed beside them.

“Up we go then.” Rev released the rabbit’s ear.

“Yes, up.” Eo said.

Human and Ulxa moved up the staircase. Eo’s moved like a cheaply coded video game character. The holographic appendages made the proper motions, but without the crisp interaction with any obstacles in encountered.

“You know for an advanced being from another dimension, you look pretty awkward right now. If this wasn’t such a serious mind-bending situation, I’d enjoy a laugh at your expense.”

“It seems my imitation of bipedal movement is lacking. I have much to learn.”

“You’re going to stay in our world?”

“That is out of the question Rev. After retrieving the sand, I must return home.”

“Us humans would love to learn more about the Ulxa and your dimension.”

“It is forbidden for us to linger unless there are extenuating circumstances. We Ulxa have rules, just as your society does. There are reasons for this.”

“Yeah, otherwise magic rabbits start popping up.”

“A simple yet accurate summarization of my point.”

Once they reached a plateau the stairs dropped out of sight.

“Is that a microwave?” Rev pointed.

“Yet another quantum key. The correct combination of digits is required.” “What do I punch in?” Rev readied his finger.

“314. Press the start button four times. Pause. Then once. Pause. Then three times. And then say “lickedy splikity”.

Rev punched in the code sequence and paused.

“You’re kidding about the last phrase, aren’t you?”

“You are more astute than I anticipated.” Eo displayed a weak smile.

“Why you duplicitous walking talking candelabrum…”

A tall, wide wooden archway landed in front of them.

On the other end of the archway, Eo and Rev found themselves in the upper-level penthouse. The rooms were decorated with animal skins, expensive paintings, stylized furniture, and large windows.

“If the sand is here, then why does this look like the most normal place in the entire building?”

“Please step away from that substance!” Eo exclaimed.

Rev turned towards the direction Eo shouted. A woman stood by a coffee table in the open living room. Her long hair was tied into a neat ponytail. Each golden strand looked like a whip about to lash out with deadly precision. She wore a tanned welder’s jacket. There was a compact satchel on her back. Her eyes countered Rev’s fiery amber with an imposing icy sapphire. There was a mound of black sand on the surface of the table. She had a mason jar in one hand and a ladle in the other. She was using the ladle to scoop up sand into the jar.

“Ma’am, I’m with the police and I would advise you not to touch that sand.”

“What a surprise.” She raised the ladle and faced Rev and Eo. “A fellow human. Boring. A real Ulxa. Fascinating. I never thought I would meet one.”

“Who are you?” Rev asked.

“I would also like that question answered.” Eo concurred.

“My name is Kala Ornesse. I doubt that will satisfy your curiosity but regrettably, I am pressed for time. So, I’ll be blunt. I am taking all this exotic matter you call sand. If you try to stop me, you will regret it.”

Kala resumed scooping up the sand into her jar.

“Wait, why are you doing this?” Rev said.

“This exotic matter is a blessing. With it, I will turn this universe into my sandbox and ascend to a higher plane of existence. I will shed this decaying flesh with all its shortcomings even if Earth itself must be sacrificed. Does my explanation answer all your questions?”

Rev acted. He leaped over a leather sofa towards Kala.

Kala swung the ladle in Rev’s direction and flicked a grain of sand at him.

“Rev! Cease. Halt. Stop!” Eo shouted. “If that sand should touch you, you will become…um…spaghetti with tomato sauce?”

“Damn it.” Rev tried to dodge, but it was too late to change direction. He fell.

Eo materialized next to Rev in the blink of an eye. The Ulxa grabbed the grain of sand.

“How?” Rev looked up at Eo.

“My form is comprised of light energy. Consequently, I can move at the speed of light in this dimension on a whim. Moving slower is merely a courtesy.”

Kala poured in the last handful of sand into the jar. She retreated.

“A shame that I cannot study your Ulxa companion in more depth, but this sand will make up for the lost opportunity. Goodbye.”

Kala climbed into a refrigerator and closed the door behind her. Rev sprinted over to reopen it.

“She’s gone.”

“That kitchen apparatus was another quantum key. I am impressed she was able to manipulate it successfully. I am also impressed she devised a storage device for the sand and a reliable extraction tool.”

“The question is how she was able to do all this. By herself.”

“I am afraid I must trouble you with a request, Rev.”

“What is it Eo?”

“The situation has been exacerbated due to Kala’s actions. I must prolong my stay here in your dimension. I will also require your assistance to retrieve the remaining sand.”

“That’s in my world’s interest, so I’m on board, but explaining all this to my superior will take some doing.”

“Once more I must apologize for the inconvenience caused by my sibling, but this Kala must be stopped with great haste.”

“What can she do with it?”

“Considering the level of intelligence and resourcefulness needed for her aforementioned deeds here today, the question posed should be what can she not do with it.”

“She can transcend her existence?”

“It will take time and experimentation, but with her advanced level it may be possible.”

“It’s the experimentation part I’m afraid of.”

“Come in, boss. This is home base. Please respond.” It was Jasek’s voice on the radio.

“Jasek, come in. This is Rev. Can you hear me?”

“Roger, boss. This is Jasek. What’s the situation?”

“Jasek hang on for a minute.”

Rev turned to Eo.

“How is the situation here going to play out?”

“Now that the sand is safely contained, its effects in this area will immediately cease. All will revert to normalcy, except for any resulting biological abnormalities.”

“Jasek, come in. Put the Deputy Director on.”

“This is Dusman. What’s the status, Rev?”

“The source of the anomaly has been neutralized. It’s now safe. You should get a medical team in here pronto. Our people only. I repeat our people only.”

“Roger. Giving the order now. Get over here Rev so you can explain what went down in there. The media is giving me a headache.”

“Give me five.”

Eo hovered around Rev.

“Rev, I will conceal my presence by cloaking your body. It will be what you refer to as an aura. This way, I can follow and appear you should the need arise.”

“Eo, won’t people become suspicious if I glow in the dark?”

“I will not emanate any light when I am an aura. I will be an undetectable energy field. Your body will not be damaged by this energy.”

“As long as I get to keep my privacy.” Rev mumbled.

Eo’s blue light diffused and engulfed Rev like a cloak and then disappeared without a trace. Rev headed towards the penthouse elevator and pressed the down button.

“We’re coming after you, Kala Ornesse.”

To be continued…

Thank you for reading! I wrote the first episode of Sandbox with great ambitions, but humble expectations. This first episode is like a TV show pilot. I hope you enjoyed it. Please vote, comment or share the story.

submitted by /u/samokish [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/2yBBIas

[worldfootprints]

I held on to the apple for a moment, enjoying its weight in my hand. Even more than the feel of the fruit, I enjoyed the fact that it was going to cost me less than two dollars per pound. After living on a Caribbean island for two years, where everything cost at least twice as much, affordable fruit felt like a dream come true. I hate Wal-Mart, with its crowded aisles and blistering overhead lights, but I was excited to buy something there without buyer’s remorse. I placed the apple on the conveyor belt and watched the cashier ring it up. He told me my total. “Do you have chip?” He asked. Chip? I looked at my purchases. No potato chips, corn chips, or even poker chips. What? I stared at him blankly. “Chip,” he repeated, “To pay for your groceries.” Good heavens, I thought, are we getting implanted with the Mark of the Beast now?

Returning Home to a Changed City

Becoming an expat in Sint Maarten was hard, with culture shock taking the wind out of my sails for days at a time at the beginning. It is a beautiful island, but the casual attitude towards time, the unfamiliar traffic culture, and my trouble communicating in the local dialect of English wore me down. Coming back home was supposed to be a breeze, but the chip episode was only the first of many repatriation struggles. While everyone in the States was securing their bank accounts with a credit card chip, island folk were still a-swiping their plastic long after my plane landed in Phoenix.

I had lived in the Phoenix area for 20 years, but after only two years of living overseas, I felt like a newcomer. New businesses had popped up in place of my old favorite hangouts. Friends of mine had gotten married, had babies, moved, bought homes. I, however, couldn’t remember how to drive to places in my hometown and had to rely on my phone for everything from Google maps to finding fair gas prices. Even more challenging than my changed hometown were my changed relationships. In a few cases, I found that old friends had changed so much I hardly knew them anymore. More disconcertingly, however, was discovering how much I had changed.

A lazy Sint Maarten beach

Changes Abroad

I am sure every repatriating expat discovers they have become a different person during their time overseas. For me, the experience was sharpened because aside from learning to adapt to the Caribbean’s cultural mold, I had done a lot of growing up in those years. When I arrived with my husband, I was twenty-one, had been married and out of the suburbs only a year. I had a whopping three months of post-college life experience. By the time we went home, I had not only learned a lot about being a grown-up, but had managed to adapt to life without Wal-Mart or six-lane highways. I learned to keep house, shop, cook, and clean in a totally foreign environment. I had been a foster mom. I was an online graduate student and had started a freelance writing career, no thanks to the challenges of spotty electricity and internet. I had learned to navigate the geography, social expectations, and lingo of a foreign country.

Most importantly, I had become a part of a society that was incredibly different than what I had experienced in the neat, landscaped rows of houses in my childhood neighborhood. Phoenix is a city where a nod of acknowledgement is about all you can expect from Nike-sporting, sports-car driving neighbors. In the Caribbean, I greeted everyone and received a greeting back as I climbed onto a bus, or stopped on the street to talk to acquaintances, or enjoyed conversation with prominent members of society, or practiced my flimsy Spanish skills with a hitchhiker riding shotgun. The Dutch half of Sint Maarten, where I lived, covers less than 15 square miles of the 37-square-mile island of Saint Martin. The whole island was the size of a small city, separated into neighborhoods and fishing villages. Everyone recognized everyone, and I found my place in this close community.

Re-entering the United States was a baptism back into anonymity. My accent no longer turned heads, nobody asked me where I was from. No famous people waved to me—not that I ran into them in the streets here, anyway! And no kids came running for a hug when I was out doing errands. That had become my daily norm, and it was hard to re-adjust. In a day, I went from tight-knit community to the glazed-eyed indifference of a giant metropolis. I had a hard time relating to the people I did interact with. I probably lost some friends during my first summer home, because I was a bit of a hermit. I found it increasingly difficult to relate to people and feel okay about interactions. What do you talk about with people who have no way to relate to the last two years of your life, and vice versa?

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Beach Days and Rainbows

To be honest, I probably could have handled repatriation better than I did. Each time someone asked how my time in the Caribbean was, they expected accounts of beach days and rainbows. I did have those, sure. But my life had been made up of helping kids navigate the challenges of growing up as I volunteered with the local Little League and foster system, dealing with uncomfortable social situations and difficult culture barriers, battling our beat-up Mitsubishi Lancer, and walking through the ups and downs of life with both expats and locals. I found that as I talked about these things, people would usually listen politely but lose interest in the conversation. For a few months, I felt isolated by this and reacted by withdrawing. As time went on and I acclimated to life in the city once again, however, I realized some important lessons.

First, I accepted that it is OK to struggle with repatriation. Life had changed once again. I had to redefine my identity, in a way. Moving is always hard, and it was unrealistic to expect to slide right back in to my old life… especially considering I didn’t have my old job, home, or neighbors back. Secondly, I realized that it was totally unfair of me to expect everyone to understand my experiences when they had no way to relate to it. I couldn’t understand all of their life experiences, so why did I expect them to connect to this aspect of my life? I saved the deep conversations about the expat experience with other former expats and decided to spend my time with other friends learning to readapt to American norms. Slowly, life started to feel normal again.

Why aren’t we, as expats, having more conversations about how to deal with the fact that going back home is unexpectedly painful? We talk about our struggles with overseas culture shock and how to laugh in the face of change. But we rarely talk about reverse culture shock, which is almost worse, since it’s so unexpected. What’s the solution to this struggle? I don’t know that there is one. If nothing else, it helps to be willing to laugh at yourself. Like anything in life, repatriation requires letting go of expectations and a holding on to positivity. If you can do that, you can survive anything… including when you no longer know how to pay for groceries!

The Bittersweet Experience of Repatriation I held on to the apple for a moment, enjoying its weight in my hand. Even more than the feel of the fruit, I enjoyed the fact that it was going to cost me less than two dollars per pound.

[clusterassets]

New world news from Time: Self-Championed Dealmaker Donald Trump Faces the Ultimate Test Meeting Kim Jong Un

It’s not yet clear whether there will be hamburgers, as Donald Trump suggested he could bond with Kim Jong Un over during his volcanic campaign, but on Thursday the U.S. President made good on his promise to negotiate with the North Korean despot, agreeing to sit down for historic talks by May, the first ever between the heads of the Stalinist state and its longtime American nemesis.

In fact, Trump will be only the second world leader Kim has ever met (presuming he first sits down with South Korean President Moon Jae-in). Because to date, the Swiss educated 34-year-old — a basketball and Whitney Houston fan, by all accounts — has, rather aptly, remained sequestered in the Hermit Kingdom, doggedly advancing his weapons program. That he has achieved with some distinction: Today, the impoverished nation of 25 million has the ability to strike anywhere on the continent U.S. with a nuclear-armed ballistic missile. Trump should expect no less steel at the negotiating table. (The location for the talks is still under discussion.)

“President Trump made his reputation on making deals,” a senior administration official told a press call to justify the unprecedented summit. “Kim Jong Un is the one person who is able to make decisions under their authoritarian — uniquely authoritarian — or totalitarian system, and so it made sense to accept the invitation with the one person who can make decisions instead of repeating the long slog of the past.”

Read More: Why Trump’s Predecessors Did Not Meet With North Korea

Still, the stakes are unbelievably high for two geopolitical neophytes. Trump may point to a lifetime as a savvy businessman, though he has won few friends in international diplomacy, reportedly describing African nations as “shitholes,” pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords and preaching “America First” to bewildered international institutions that Washington founded and largely controls. He also has a threadbare State Department to handle preparations, especially after Joseph Yun, the top U.S. diplomat dedicated to North Korea policy, retired last month. South Korea still does not have a U.S. ambassador.

“The risk right now is as much on the U.S. side,” says Professor Stephan Haggard, a Korea expert at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy. “Is the administration in a position and does it have the staff and bandwidth to exploit this opportunity?”

Kim Jong Un, by contrast, cannot call on decades of wrangling over Manhattan real estate, but he was groomed for his unparalleled leadership role for several years before assuming power in late 2011, following the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong Il. Trump must be wary; canny brinkmanship defines the Kim clan. North Korean founder, Kim Sung Il, father to Kim Jong Il and grandfather to the current Kim, expertly played his estranged Chinese and Soviet benefactors off each other for decades to eke concessions. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Kim Jong Il used the same tactic between China and South Korea, switching between antagonism and reconciliation. Noncompliance was rife. The younger Kim has learned these lessons well, threatening “seas of fire” one minute and then dangling denuclearization the next.

Even so, the scale of Kim’s current volte-face is flabbergasting. From vowing in September to “surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard [frail elderly man] with fire,” referring to Trump, Kim has now flipped to pledging “he is committed to denuclearization,” according to South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong, who addressed assembled media outside the White House Thursday evening. Kim has also promised a moratorium on weapons tests and that the talks would occur regardless of the looming U.S.-South Korea joint military drills, which Pyongyang abhors.

Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty ImagesSouth Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong flanked by South Korea National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon (L) and South Korea’s ambassador to the United States Cho Yoon-je (R), outside the West Wing of the White House on March 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.

“I think it’s a genuine sentiment that if North Korea, the regime and the nation can see a way to feel secure without nuclear weapons they will do without them,” says Professor John Delury, an East Asia expert at Yonsei University in Seoul. “Then the question is: how do you make North Korea feel [secure]?”

That hurdle is monstrously high considering America’s recent record. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi were both toppled with American backing despite acquiescing to Washington’s request to abandon their atomic ambitions. Obama’s hard-won denuclearization deal with Iran is today being undermined by Trump, who has also taken aim at his predecessor’s rapprochement with Cuba. Kim knows that promises from a democracy only last as long as the administration that uttered them — if that.

China could play a role here, guaranteeing the security of the regime in the similar fashion as Japan and South Korea fall under the American “nuclear umbrella.” But Beijing already has a mutual defense treaty with North Korea, so its doubtful that alone would be sufficient. Kim may ask for the 30,000-odd American troops in South Korea to be removed, which would be a clear nonstarter for the allies. A sobering though very real possibility is that Kim is desperate for breathing space as unprecedented new U.N. sanctions bite, owing to stringent adherence by Beijing.

Although Trump tweeted after Thursday’s announcement that “sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached,” the rub lies in Chinese enforcement across the two nations’ 880-mile shared frontier, enforcement that can be tinkered with in a matter of hours. Kim might be trying to demonstrate to his Chinese benefactors — unsettled by Trump’s threats of a trade war — that he’s willing to cooperate so they take the foot off the gas. To achieve the maximum possible outcome from the summit, Russia, China, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. must remain united and steadfast in their goals. And Trump must prove his deal-making prowess lives up to the hype.

March 09, 2018 at 11:03AM ClusterAssets Inc., https://ClusterAssets.wordpress.com

[andthentherewere2blog-blog]

When the summer holidays are 11 weeks long and for all intents and purposes you’re staying in the UAE for the duration, you start to look for alternatives to soft plays and malls. The attractions in Dubai are amazing and aplenty, but they are also costly and as the kiddies start to get older, they often start to ask for something different. I had heard that there are loads of things to see and do in Sharjah with kids, but we just never seemed to get our collective selves on the same page and across the boundary line. Until now! Here is what we got up to during our first Sharjah Day Trip!

Before you head out:

We do generally prefer to go with the flow and see what there is to see once we get there, however, in this case, I would recommend at least a little research before heading out. This is simply so that a) you do not psych up the kids and arrive at a closed venue and b) you’re dressed appropriately – Sharjah is more conservative than Dubai so you will need to modest and respectful clothing. The trip is about 40 minutes depending on which side of Dubai you’re heading from and we didn’t get any traffic along the way. I did pick up a joke book and Archie comic at a petrol station along the way to keep the kids entertained though!

Stop 1: Sharjah Aquarium:

Our first stop and the main reason for our trip was the Sharjah Aquarium. This was Joshua’s favourite part of the day (admittedly he has decided he wants to be a Marine Biologist when he grows up)! Do not expect a flashy affair but you are able to get up close and (almost) personal with sharks, rays, hermit crabs, star fish and a wide range of sea creatures. You are able to view several of the tanks from the top (and hence get to see the stereotypical shark fin approaching you) and from the side/below which is really fun. Because Sharjah is the only Emirate with 2 separate coast lines, they have chosen to feature the creatures from both habitats in the exhibits and is therefore very informative if like mine your kids are getting older and more receptive to education trips.

It was bright and hot and humid (spot the foggy lens)!

The very first tank has an array of sharks that you can spot from the observation deck and if you’re lucky you get to see the spooky triangle popping out of the water!

So tranquil and peaceful. In complete contrast to the raucous school tour underway below it!

Important notes:

Getting there is simple if you’re using Google Maps (Sharjah Aquarium) and there is plenty of free parking on site.

The aquarium is open 6 days a week (closed on Sundays) though I would recommend a week day visit as it gets pretty full on weekend (especially Friday).

Tickets are very reasonable AED25 per adult and AED15 per child (2 – 12 years old) and there is a little coffee shop/restaurant at the exit as well as a souvenir shop with the cutest stuffed rays.

Contact info: Sharjah Aquarium Website

  Stop 2: Sharjah Maritime Museum

Your aquarium ticket gives you access to the Maritime Museum too and though it is not huge, it was incredibly interesting and has a wide range of interactive displays for young and old. The kids learnt about different types of boats, pearl diving, fishing and navigation. All the displays were immaculate and the attention to detail for me was the most impressive part. This is probably better suited to slightly older children (over 4 years old) depending on your ability to tolerate stress as they run amok inside the hall.

Each display was better than the previous one! A serious feast for the eyes.

I love that they are now old enough to start enjoying these exhibits and reading and exploring for themselves!

There is a gorgeous outdoor play area for kids big and small, unfortunately, we couldn’t make the most of it as it was stiflingly hot and humid but will be amazing during the cooler months or if you go in the evening. Excluding the play area and assuming you don’t stop for a treat (we did, boys could not resist the brownies), plan for about 2 hours for both the aquarium and the museum.

Stop 3: Sharjah Fort (Al Hasin):

Since Liam was about 2 he has been fascinated with castles and forts! Our first family trip to Portugal involved hours of driving around looking for castles and every subsequent family holiday has had to include at least 1 castle/fort. So obviously, a trip to Sharjah would not be complete without exploring Al Hasin. The Fort was built in 1823 and was home to both the Al Qawasim royal family and the Sharjah government. We loved exploring the nooks and crannies of the fort, complete with a prison, windy stair cases and a weapons room – seems if you’re a boy this is a crucial room to investigate.

Roaming the Fort does require you to be outdoors part of the time as you move between galleries but we weren’t too perturbed and the views from the top are amazing and eerie as Al Hasin stands amongst the bustling Heart of Sharjah.

Exploring the model of Al Hasin

Because boys….and swords…

We walked the entire Fort hunting for the weapons room!

Important notes:

Like all the Sharjah Museum attractions we’ve now tried, it is well referenced in Google Maps (location) and has parking on site (keep your ticket receipt to validate your parking)

The Fort is open 7 days a week and again I would recommend a week day visit in order to avoid the crowds.

Tickets are very reasonable AED10 per adult and AED5 per child (2 – 12 years old) and while there is no restaurant on site, there is a lounge where you can get coffee as well as a souvenir shop.

  Stop 4: Al Qasba

No surprise that once we had done the Fort tour Joshua was hungry….again…he ate at the aquarium! Anyway, we headed over to Al Qasba (5-minute drive from the Fort) for lunch. There is a wide range of options and we stuck to our theme and had lunch at Beit Setti (Arabic/Middle Eastern cuisine) which was delicious followed by ice cream! If you’re headed out after 4 pm there is a cute children’s play area, musical fountain, Eye of the Emirates and so much more so you can really make an evening of it.

The Eye of the Emirates.

The sweetest little garden along the canal

Beautiful canal with boat trips available in the evening.

  This was our first foray into Sharjah and most definitely not our last as there are still so many museums and activities to explore! If you know of some gems please do let me know in the comments so that I can add it to our list of Summer Holiday Day Trips!

One day in Sharjah exploring the Sharjah Aquarium, Maritime Museum, Al Hasin Fort and Al Qasba When the summer holidays are 11 weeks long and for all intents and purposes you're staying in the UAE for the duration, you start to look for alternatives to soft plays and malls.

[ask-hc-portal-au]

*a strange recording begins playing over the intercom*

Hello! My name is Grian X. Mycel. I'm one of the heads of office here at Aperture, second only to The Boss. I got to this position through lots of hard work and years of learning. My job is being an assistant to The Boss and overseeing the neurotoxin production, two jobs that are more similar than you might think.

*laughing to himself*

Anyway, I'm making this recording for the lab boys, they said they wanted to capture some voice samples from me. Standard procedure for employees apparently. I don't pay too much attention to what they're working on since it's not my job, but maybe we're getting new voice recognition software for the doors! These keycards are terrible.

Sorry, I'm rambling. Hopefully this recording is long enough for them. I've been doing all sorts of strange testing for the lab boys recently and it's been taking up so much time. I need to do my job!

This is Grian, signing off.

*the recording ends*

[touristguidebuzz]

Overnight Camping in Aloguinsan Cebu

Out of Town Blog Overnight Camping in Aloguinsan Cebu

Overnight Camping Experience in Aloguinsan Cebu

The day before my birthday, I decide to go on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Aloguinsan.

Why? I saw a post on Facebook about Hermit’s Cove and it was stunning.

Sunsets at Hidden Beach in Aloguinsan

It was a secluded white sand beach with a picture-perfect view.

So I brought my ‘borrowed and hopefully will never return’ tent and rode a bus to this municipality two hours away from Cebu City.

Halfway, we stopped to pee and for some refreshments.

It took me a few minutes to do my thing that the bus actually drove away without me.

Camping on government property

I had no choice but to run as fast as I could eventually hanging on to the bus door’s handles. I guess you could say I became a stuntman for a minute.

Arriving in the town, I bought some food from the market’s carenderia and hailed a motorcycle. This ride kept breaking down along the way, I actually convinced myself that it was a sign that I should lose weight.

Arriving at Hermit’s Cove a few minutes before the evening, I was denied entry.

Antique lamp at The Farmhouse in Aloguinsan

They don’t allow overnight camping anymore.

Next option was Hidden Beach. Again, I was denied entry. It was closed during that day because of a private event. Bad luck.

So I asked the motorcycle driver if there’s another beach he could suggest. He told me that I could stay at his cousin’s place, and it was free of charge.

Entrance to The Farmhouse

Problem solved? No. It was horrible. And I had no other choice.

It was a delapidated beach property where fishermen parked their boats. It was full of garbage and it had no proper source of light which made it unsafe.

With hesitation, I set up my ‘outdoor hotel’ and looked for a well-lit place to eat my take-out.

Feeling full, I decided to drink to numb the fear of sleeping at a rundown place.

The store was owned by a retired police chief who kept asking questions about my identity.

I’ve always thought I looked innocent but this incident made me realize that I could easily pass for a hired killer. I had no choice but to make up a story that I was here on matters of tourism.

At least I got a travel blog and some photos in my camera to show. I also told him of my sleeping situation. Still, he looked unconvinced.

I finally overdid my deception by telling him that I have an appointment with the tourism officer tomorrow morning, which I don’t.

Thinking that I finally got away from his untrusting radar, he suggested that I transfer my tent within the grounds of the municipal hall beside the police station.

St. Raphael Archangel Parish in Aloguinsan

Being an ‘expected guest’ of the town, he felt that my safety was his responsibility.

How can you say no to that? If I rejected this offer, he would be more suspicious about me.

You guessed right, I moved my set-up tent about a hundred meters with several onlookers.

I guess I could say that I was the first person to ‘illegally’ pitch my tent on government property.

Stairway at Hermit’s Cove in Aloguinsan

The garden was super illuminated it actually looked like a football stadium, and I was poised to sleep in the middle of it.

Thinking that I already ran out of more awkward things to experience, I got invited to drink a bottle of Fundador by a police officer on night duty which I think was a violation of protocol.

Waking up looking thrashed the next day, I remembered I had an ‘appointment’.

So I went back to the motorcycle driver’s cousin and asked if it was alright to request for a pail of water for bathing which he smilingly obliged.

Viewing deck at Baluarte Ruins

Smelling fresh and looking presentable, I mustered all the courage to head over to the tourism office.

I introduced myself, told her that I write for a popular travel blog, and asked her if it would be alright to ask for their assistance with regards to writing about their tourist attractions in just a span of one day.

She called up their town mayor and I had my go signal, I even had someone take me around town on a motorbike.

Enjoying the Bojo River Cruise – Overnight Camping in Aloguinsan Cebu

Guess what? I was able to visit Hermit’s Cove, Baluarte, The Farmhouse and the world-class Bojo River Cruise without paying a single peso. Aloguinsan hospitality at its finest!

Thinking I’m done for the day, their tourism officer called and informed me that I have a courtesy call from the mayor herself and that she’s inviting me over for lunch at the world-class Lunhaw Farm Resort.

Selfie at Lunhaw Farm Resort

She even asked me to stay at one of the rooms worth about 150 dollars a night and take a dip in the pool. Sweet.

Heading home with a full stomach and an epic story to tell, it was indeed my most unforgettable birthday yet.

Getting There

From Mactan Cebu International Airport, ride a taxi to Cebu South Bus Terminal. Look for a yellow Sepo Bus that plies the route Barili-Aloguinsan-Pinamungajan. Drop off at Aloguinsan Public Market and ride a motorbike to your specific destination.

Also Read:

Baluarte Park in Aloguinsan: A Testament of Resilience

The Farmhouse in Aloguinsan Cebu: A Cebuano Countryside Experience

Bojo River Cruise: An Eco-Cultural Tour in Aloguinsan

Hidden Beach Resort in Aloguinsan: A Backpacker’s Paradise

Hermit’s Cove: Aloguinsan’s Best Kept Secret

Where to Stay in Aloguinsan Cebu: Lunhaw Farm Resort

Overnight Camping in Aloguinsan Cebu Karlo Pacana

[ask-hc-portal-au]

*Poppy picks up the mirror cube and walks to the lazor, shocked that it reflects it.*

hmm

*Poppy aims the lazor at the hole, seeing the doors open. They walk through the door*

-Poppy anon

*there is another elevator. You see it and enter, it goes down.*

Now I must ask, how did you get in here? This facility is hidden underground and is not easily entered.

[ask-hc-portal-au]

your broadcast has been recived, who are you and do you know where you are? your brodcast has reached the raido department of the void instatute, london. my name is Scott, ill help the bast i can. -Scott S. Major (@archivist-of-the-void-institute )

(an actual responce is being made art wise and va wise :D )

Hello hello hello! I am so glad you received my message, Scott. I am Scar. I... do not know who i am other then that. I don't have any memories outside of this place.

Hmm... I know I'm underground, in a place called Aperture. I'm somewhere in the United States I believe. That's really all I know.

[ask-hc-portal-au]

(all good mate :>)

Ok! G.

(Gonna pause anyway, we can do this stuff later :>)

-Poppy anon

Be careful, this one introduces you to lazers. Or don't be careful, it does not effect me.