#chances are that it is using products that come from Sun Laboratories. The company is trusted not only by individual consumers but many owne

[darlingpetao3]

Primrose Path (Harry Wells x Reader, Chapter 1)

Rating: Explicit

Summary: When you, a lovely florist, move to Central City to open your flower shop, you had no idea you’d fall for such a complicated and dangerous man who deals in a less-than-legal business. Harrison Wells - a major player and powerhouse within the underground mafia world of the region - sweeps you off your feet as you quickly become his greatest weakness.

Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, Mentions of War, Coarse Language, Blood and Violence, Minor Character Deaths

Tag List: @aryasnape @cursedfaechild  @jadedragon1903 @disneyoncerlover815 @child-of-winter-1215 (please check to see if your Tumblr settings are set to receive mentions from us for future tag related purposes!)

A/N: Well, here we are. After four months over our labour of love, @central-city-meta-pocalypse @letyourimaginationrun and I would like to present our baby, Primrose Path. We will each alternate in posting the chapters, kind of like how they did the Crisis on Earth X crossover - each posting a part of the whole product. For example, next week I will reblog Chapter 2 from C-C-M-P so that everyone has had a chance to read it (if you don’t already follow each of us). Please keep in mind this is an AU - Alternate Universe - so not everything will be canon. We’ve made plenty of changes to fit our story. And so, after writing +100,000 words of a story full of fluff, angst, drama, sex, heartbreak, and so much love, we are extremely happy to finally be able to share this with all of you. Thank you for being patient and without further ado, here’s Chapter 1!

Primrose Path.

Phrase: the pursuit of pleasure, especially when it is seen to bring disastrous consequences...

You had heard about Central City and their metahuman phenomenon, but seeing a person’s abilities with your own two eyes is the most amazing thing you’ve ever witnessed.

When you'd watched the reports on the news before moving here, they only ever showed the dangers of metahumans and the ones who decided to try and bring this city to its knees.

But your first encounter is nothing like that.

You almost drench your poor flower pot stationed outside your flower shop, Primrose Path, when you see your first metahuman. The man is rugged and dirty with tattered clothes. You assume he’s homeless, and offer a kind smile. He returns it, then takes notice of the begonia display drooping - a cause of the relentless summer sun. The man reaches for a petal, and instantly at the contact, the flower blooms back to life in full colour. You stand there mesmerized. It's an utterly incredible gift, the power of restoration, right there at this man's fingertips.

“My goodness, thank you, Sir-”

“-Stand back, Miss!” hollers an authoritative voice. When you turn, you see a tall, blond, and well-groomed police officer who is taking cautious steps towards the man, acting as though he's just threatened your life rather than give assistance to your flowers. His hand is readily on his gun in his holster. You start to panic.

“No, no, really officer! I’m fine, he-”

“Get inside to safety, now!” he shouts. You drop your watering can and the contents spill all across the sidewalk. There’s no reason to be afraid, but the tone of the officer’s words themselves is what’s most frightening. You heed his orders and run into your flower shop. The very second you close the door, the officer clamps a pair of rather heavy duty handcuffs on the man, who is now hanging his head, and reads him his rights.

But even though muffled behind the glass, it sounds as if this metahuman, this man who did no wrong, has none.

***

Harry ends his call, sighing heavily as he sinks back down at his desk. Papers litter the glass plane, all regarding new projects and current ones to be approved for Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories - or S.T.A.R. Labs - utilization.

Tossing his own phone aside, his hand smooths over one of the documents in front of him. He presses his lips into a thin line, anger culminating inside him from the phone call. He takes a small gadget from the corner of his desk and hurls it to the other side of the room. The device shatters when it smashes against the wall.

Frustrated, that's what he is. Annoyed, about to go ballistic - a volcano preparing to erupt and spread fiery lava at any second.

There’s a brief, firm knock at his office door.

"What?" he snaps, one hand rubbing his temple while his other hand grips the arm of his chair. The door opens and a man puts his head around it, looking a little anxious at the tone of his boss' voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir, but we've just had news that one of the vacant shops has been occupied by someone no one seems to have heard of. Apparently they’re from out of town. It's only two blocks away and... Well, we thought you should know."

Harry's eyes narrow at the lower-rank man, adjusting his posture so that an elbow is propped on the armrest of his chair while his chin sits in the middle of his palm. He looks at the timid employee for a few seconds, with a dangerous storm brewing in his glare. The younger man swallows, palms sweaty as he avoids doing any sort of action to piss off the dark-haired scientist.

"I'll deal with it," Harry grumbles through gritted teeth, bitter rage still boiling within him from the previous and unsuccessful phone conversation. The blond goon senses that his boss is feeling extremely prickly at the moment and simply moves forward, placing a piece of paper with the address of the new tenant on the edge of the desk. Turning, he leaves in a hurry without any further words so as to not poke the bear.

Two blocks away? That was awfully close. Somewhere for someone new to get near to him, threaten him in his own territory.

Harry stands, walking over to the large window which overlooks the city below him. This is his city, and he'll be damned if someone tries to make a move to change that. He grabs his gun and strides through the company building, holding an antagonistic expression and glaring at anyone who dares look him in the eye.

Outside, the sun is up in the middle of the vast blue sky, signalling that it’s midday. The city bustles with noise as people chatter through the streets and birds chirp from tree to tree. If anything, the city-life only fuels Harry’s bellicose mood as the world around him seems to experience ecstasy and bliss while he has to address a current complication on his territory.

Harry continues his war-path through the populous streets, weaving through the gaps in the crowds to arrive at the now occupied property. His hand instinctively touches the cool metal of his concealed gun behind him, slender fingers at the ready to pull out the firearm if necessary.

Danger, an anomaly, or another bastard seeking to do away with his work - Harry’s prepared to show whoever the hell set foot on his property just who owns Central City.

What Harry doesn’t expect is coming face to face with… potted plants? An array of flowers that sit within tiny, terracotta pots… He blinks, reading the sign above, Primrose Path, thinking this is some sort of prank or front.

Is this really a floral shop?

Outside the quaint business sit several baskets of brightly coloured flowers, leading up to the door where beyond it, lay more and more crates of blooms all over the interior of the shop. And that's when Harry first hears your voice come from just inside the door.

"Six pink roses and a selection of white flowers to fill it out, wasn’t it? Oh, I’m sure that’ll make a wonderful display. Your mother is going to love it!"

Maybe Harry wasn’t as prepared as he thought.

The tenderness of your voice was definitely something he didn't expect. In fact, it rather takes him aback. Harry ducks and steps out of the way of the window so he wouldn’t be spotted, casting a glance at this new ‘resident’. Oddly enough though, when he catches sight of you, his fingers go limp from clutching his weapon. A weird, warm feeling courses through him as his eyes scan what they can from where he currently stands. It must be his gut warning him of something. With eyebrows knitting together, Harry figures he should go about this with caution.

He observes you with the customer, who had supposedly said something humorous because Harry hears you giggle and sees you covering your mouth. Your eyes crinkle in this adorable way that makes his stomach flip.

“Damn... she’s cute,” he mutters while hiding behind a hanging plant, peeking in through the window once more. He watches you for a few minutes, interacting with the customer and arranging a recent delivery of stock in your new premises. Your bright smile is utterly captivating and Harry finds the corner of his mouth turn up in a tiny smile as he looks at you. You couldn't be a threat, surely? No one that sweet would be trying to challenge him.

You let out another radiant laugh before Harry decides it’s time to leave. At the moment, he doesn’t consider you a risk or even a potential enemy in the future. Sometimes the property he owned was just a prime piece of real estate for someone to open a business. He has a hard time remembering that not everyone in this world has it in for him.

His hands bury into his pants pockets, still unable to wipe his smile away. He walks back to his company with the bell-like sound of your voice replaying in his head. The image of yourself has been burned into his mind.

"I'll come back and deal with this later," he whispers to himself, now registering how dry his throat had become.

He’ll deal with it... just not in the way he initially thought.

***

Ding ding!

You can’t stop the little gasp that escapes you when you see who it is walking through your door.

Since the event with the cop and the metahuman outside your shop, you’d been researching the creation and rise of the metahumans, and all of your reading seemed to culminate around the man now standing at the counter in your inconsequential little shop; one of the most famous, or maybe infamous, people in the city.

Doctor Harrison Wells.

From what you’d read, the man was a mystery, wrapped up in an enigma, wrapped up in a suit. A rather gorgeous, designer suit at that.

Several articles you’d found linked back to the War of the Americas and Harrison Wells’ name was prominently featured within them. He’d been discharged at the end of the war with a commendation and an award for bravery, though you hadn’t been able to find what it had been an award for. But now he seems to be seen more as a war-hero-turned-mad-scientist who had seen fit to turn this city upside down for his own gain as no one in Central City seemed to know what he and his team were working on in the high-rise S.T.A.R Labs building.

But despite much of this mockery and antagonism towards him, he had never been challenged to stop his work. He was a force to be reckoned with, and woe betides anyone who got in his way.

The rumours surrounding him seemed to go from the sublime to the ridiculous and you could not work out which, if any, were actually true. People said that since the war, there was a dark, underworld-type nature of most of his business that no one particularly wanted to talk about. He seemed to exude an aura of fear to the people of this city.

He apparently owned property in virtually every block, knew how to pay off the right people to get him what he needed and had a reputation of being able to… effectively deal with those who refused. The gossip all said that he dealt in the shadows, manipulating those small gangs in the criminal underworld to create the biggest empire the city had ever seen. Which, despite the mayor and elected officials, left Harrison Wells as the undisputed king of all of it.

But you couldn’t bring yourself to believe any of it. A man awarded such an honour during his service surely wouldn’t then come home to terrorize his own city. He was just another businessman, trying to make his way in a corporate world and people wanted to demonize him for his success.

Which brings you to the current hitch in your breath as the rumoured secret King of Central City lays a small bundle of bright blue flowers on your counter. His dark hair is messy, like he’s been running his hands through it, nothing like the styled pictures on the covers of magazines you’d seen. You notice his piercing blue eyes study you as you watch him. It’s hard not to be captivated by his handsome features but you force yourself to be professional again when he speaks.

“Hi there,” he says.

“H-hello,” you reply timidly. “Is this everything for you, today?”

“It is, thank you.” You ring in the bundle and tell him the cost. Harrison Wells slides a few bills across the flat surface to you, which you then place into the cash register. “Have a nice day...”

You offer your name at his hesitation and notice a slight tug in the upper corner of his mouth.

“(Y/N)... beautiful name.” You can’t hold back an uncontrollable, bright smile at his compliment. He doesn’t seem so scary. Harrison Wells turns to leave, but without his purchase.

“Uh, Sir? You forgot your flowers.”

“I didn’t forget,” the man says with a wink, leaving the shop as the door jingles when he exits. You pick up the pretty blue bundle of flowers and finally process their name.

Forget-Me-Nots.

[Chapter 2]

[chaipobunkreen1979-blog]

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[linhgd9]

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[shirlleycoyle]

Whatever Happened to AltaVista, Our First Good Search Engine

A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, a twice-weekly newsletter that hunts for the end of the long tail.

A quarter-century ago, one of the first major search engines came to life on the internet as an experiment of sorts—a public test of a server manufacturer’s primary product that anyone with a web connection could take a part in.

The experiment, for a time, proved more successful than anyone could have ever imagined. But the problem was, it was an experiment at heart that was never intended to be a business—and that meant better suited companies would eventually topple this innovation. Eventually, it would ensure that this cutting-edge idea would become a part of the past.

But nobody is going to encase the innovations of 1995 and 1996 in amber on the internet: Time does not stand still, and neither do web sites, no matter how important they are or once were. But it would sure be nice if we could.

It’s with that in mind that I write about AltaVista, Digital Equipment Corporation, web domains, and how important history can turn into the basis of some random company’s crass marketing scheme.

In honor of AltaVista’s 25th anniversary this month, I’d like to lament the loss of its original home to the gods of search engine optimization.

Do not expect a backlink.

270GB

The combined size of the two hard drives that Scooter and Turbo Vista, the machines that ran AltaVista, sported as of early 1996. (As tech legend Bob Metcalfe wrote in InfoWorld at that time, the two machines worked in tandem, with the more modest Scooter, with a 20-gigabyte hard drive and 1 gigabyte of RAM, fetching the pages, and Turbo Vista, with two gigs of RAM and a 250-gig hard drive, storing those findings and serving them up to web viewers.) The machines, which stored a modest amount of information between them by today’s standards, essentially existed to show off just what the DEC Alpha processor could do. In fact, that was the reason AltaVista existed in the first place: The person who came up with the idea, Paul Flaherty, had been tasked with showing off the power of a new line of DEC computers, and had the spark while on vacation. It was eventually developed by DEC employees Michael Burrows and Louis Monier.

AltaVista, as it appeared in early 1997. Image: Internet Archive

How AltaVista, our first good search engine, fell into the digital abyss

Digital Equipment Corporation survived for more than 40 years as an independent company, but it was a company built for an earlier era of computing—and while it adapted better than contemporaries like Wang Laboratories, it ultimately began to struggle at the start of the 1990s, and ultimately could not find its footing into the modern day.

But on the way, less than three years before the company was sold off, DEC almost accidentally stumbled upon a mainstream web application that in many ways is more familiar to regular users than the groundbreaking PDP and VAX computer lines that the firm made its name on in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

During that period, DEC was one of the most important computer companies around. Founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957, the two former MIT researchers leveraged venture capital to build computers for industry—and found success by focusing on relatively small minicomputers over mainframes. DEC was an important company for computer history, but it missed out on trends as fundamental as the personal computer and (initially) the popularity of UNIX-based operating systems, and the company struggled to reshape its fortunes throughout the 1990s.

An example of the DEC Alpha chipset, of the kind used to power AltaVista. Image: Wikimedia Commons

AltaVista came to life as a part of this turnaround effort, which starts with a processor line called the DEC Alpha. The Alpha, a 64-bit RISC microprocessor line, was well-positioned to compete handily with major CPUs of the era from companies such as Intel and IBM on the speed front. It was a worthy competitor that gave DEC a chance to make a comeback, but price ultimately was the deciding factor for many buyers—and DEC couldn’t compete with the Intel Pentium on that front, at least in the desktop and workstation market.

DEC, trying to kickstart things, needed a way to promote what the Alpha could do, and it was decided that a project to highlight the Alpha’s capabilities at chewing through a massive database was just the way to do it. And what better database to chew through than the World Wide Web? Hence, we got AltaVista, a shining example of what a struggling company’s server hardware could do.

DEC was not new to the internet—hardly. In 1985, the company registered one of the first commercial domains on the internet, DEC.com, as technology companies staked their claims for top-level domains. But the Digital.com name, registered in 1993, was the one that most users associated with DEC in the 1990s, thanks to AltaVista.

At www.altavista.digital.com, regular users could search the web for items with a degree of depth and sophistication that most other search engines could not offer at that time. It was groundbreaking: Someone had built an internet search engine that treated the internet with the respect it deserved.

So why did AltaVista lose? Well, while it was a great idea for a marketing tool, it was almost as if DEC didn’t realize that the search engine was a worthy business on its own until it was too late. Which meant that after they built the thing, they naturally would face competition from companies that did understand this, like its eventual conqueror Google.

A September 1996 New York Times article described it as such:

By floating Altavista, analysts said, Digital is hoping to receive more recognition for developing a cutting-edge Internet technology. That could boost sales of Digital computers much the way Sun Microsystems has benefited from its development of the red-hot Java computer language, even though Java itself has generated relatively little profit, and Sun has so far announced no plans to spin it off.

(The Sun comparison is apt, though Sun was far more adept at figuring out what to do with Java than Digital ever was with AltaVista.)

In The Search, a 2005 book on the rise of Google and the search engine in general, Wired cofounder John Battelle blamed a corporate culture that didn’t know how to handle having its kind of innovation under its roof:

To borrow from the present, AltaVista was the Google of its era. In 1996, it was arguably the best and most-loved brand on the Web. It presaged many of the current innovations and opportunities in search, from automatic language translation to audio and video search to clustering of results. And as a business AltaVista attempted—and failed—to go public three times in three short years under three different owners. Possibly most instructive, AltaVista was the product of a company that was an extraordinary success in its original business but ultimately failed because of hidebound management unwilling to drive by anything other than the rearview mirror.

Ultimately, despite being the most popular search engine as recently as 2000, a series of poor decisions—including the misguided and eventually reversed choice to turn the search engine into a Yahoo!-style portal—ultimately ensured AltaVista would lose its place in the digital conversation. It was sold off multiple times, generally as part of a larger corporate segment, and by the time Yahoo! acquired AltaVista as a part of its 2003 purchase of Overture Services, AltaVista had become yesterday’s news, disconnected from the domain name that had berthed it years prior, and ultimately forgotten about by most regular internet users.

During the last decade of its life, it was essentially a shell of its former self at Yahoo!.

“Earlier this year, we announced an ongoing effort to sharpen our focus and deliver experiences that enhance your daily lives. As part of that, today we’re shutting down a few products so we can continue to focus on creating beautiful products that are essential to you every day.”

— Yahoo!, in a 2013 announcement—deep in the Marissa Mayer era of the company—that it was shutting down AltaVista. (If you visit altavista.com, it redirects to Yahoo! Search.) The shutdown had long been rumored, first appearing in a slide by the company’s chief product officer suggesting things that should be shut down to consolidate the company’s offerings.

Digital.com, as it appeared in 1996. Image: Internet Archive

Why, as an internet user who cares about history, you shouldn’t visit Digital.com to learn about DEC

In late 2020, AltaVista and DEC are two dusty segments of internet history, things that don’t see the light of day very often. But it’s worth noting the irony that the best way to learn about AltaVista in 2020 is not through the top result of a search engine.

If you do a search for AltaVista on the web at this time, the first result that comes up is for a site called Digital.com (note: all links to this site intentionally link to the 1996 Internet Archive version of the page). Rocking the headline “AltaVista Search Engine History Lesson For Internet Nerds” (linked via the Internet Archive for reasons I’ll explain below), you might think that this historical research project is noble in nature.

With a professionally written article, it seems to be very insightful and informative in nature.

But the truth is, it’s something of an internet bottom-feeder. It exists primarily to help create a top-of-funnel stream of content for Digital.com’s primary goal in 2020—a site focused publishing AI-driven software reviews that it can then make money from.

Digital.com did not start like this—first registered in 1993 by DEC, the site was the second home of the company, after DEC.com. But DEC, like its most famous consumer product, passed through a few hands as it faded out of view. In 1998, the company, which saw its minicomputer offerings fall into a tailspin that the Alpha processor line was unable to stop, was sold to Compaq. Compaq, in turn, had over-invested in the enterprise market and was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2002, with parts of the legacy DEC splintering between HP and HP Enterprise when that company split in half in 2015.

Digital.com, as it appears in 2020.

In the process of all this splintering, the Digital.com domain, which had been owned by HP for many years, was sold off in 2014 after many attempts by the tech giant to get rid of it. In 2015, meanwhile, a firm named Review Squirrel got its start, and that company later acquired the Digital.com domain, soon taking that name for its company.

Long story short, this historically important internet domain name—which hosted one of the first popular search engines—is now being used to launder some random company’s search engine presence, and if you search for AltaVista, DEC, or any piece of internet history related to Digital Equipment Corp., you’re essentially clicking on an ad for the former Review Squirrel.

I am a scholar of internet history and a noted hater of backlink schemes, and when I first learned of this site a few months ago—after receiving a backlink request from them, of course!—my brain nearly exploded. It was as if someone took everything I hate about the modern internet and combined it into one domain.

“I do not publish unsolicited resources, sorry. I’m sure Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson would be excited to know that their company’s primary domain name was being used as a content factory,” I immediately quipped as soon as I got the email. (I, of course, did not hear back.)

I will admit: As of right now, there is nothing stopping owners of culturally important domains from preventing their future reuse in non-respectable ways. For example, TheFrisky, once a popular women’s blog, now leverages its near-decade worth of search traffic as a cudgel, taking advantage of its decaying cultural role to help push up the identity of a Serbian music producer.

Now Digital.com isn’t arguably doing anything as sketchy as that, but it is doing something that I find equally as distasteful—it’s leveraging a bedrock piece of internet history in an effort to help push up its own marketing presence.

A year ago, I wrote about why websites with strong historic relevance should gain some sort of protection from this kind of thing, citing the way that Yahoo! had frequently mistreated its properties throughout its history as one reason for that. Yahoo! is only a side player in the saga of Digital.com, but I think its story nonetheless reflects the same general issue: Businesses do not care about history unless it’s something they can monetize.

Digital.com treats history as the top of the funnel, but you should see how dark the bottom of that funnel gets. It’s not pretty.

In a way, I’m glad Digital.com exists, even though I hate everything about what it represents. It’s as strong of evidence as I can find in favor of my argument that we need a way to protect dormant but historically important domain names from being reused for commercial reasons.

It shows what happens when large companies prioritize a quick buck over an important legacy. You can argue that HP had its hands on the internet equivalent of a Honus Wagner baseball card and decided the responsible corporate thing to do was to see what happened if it put the card up for auction.

Well, I’ll tell you what happens—there’s a chance that someone without a lot of respect for history gets a hold of it and decides to take the card out of its plastic case just because they can. And honestly, that scares me, and it’s something I fear someday might happen again with an even more valuable card.

The internet needs to start retiring jersey numbers. Digital.com was the equivalent of the number 23, and we’re letting a third-stringer wear it.

Whatever Happened to AltaVista, Our First Good Search Engine syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[kitcarlklehm]

kit klehm How To Make The Best Organic Garden

kit klehm Skilled tips provider. Gardening is a fun, healthy and rewarding activity. However, without the right knowledge, it can become difficult, stressful and frustrating. Everyone from newbies to experienced growers can learn valuable information from tips and tricks. This set of tips will really help you see an improvement in your garden and possibly teach you something you didn't know before.

The fall season has arrived and the task of emptying our container gardens is at task. However, instead of storing your clay pots in a garden shed for the winter season, why not replace the summer annuals with edible fall vegetables. Having mums in your favorite clay pot signifies fall, however, consider adding alternative edible plants like leafy lettuces such as arugula, endive, bok choy and radicchio. When it is time for a quick salad, simply snip a few leaves, and you will instantly have delicious ready to eat salad.

To save space in your garden, try planting your crops in blocks rather than in the traditional rows. Rows end up leaving too much space between plants for needless pathways. Blocks help keep plants tight together without sacrificing production. Small variety kitchen vegetables do best in blocks that are arranged in a wide bed.

Use groundcover perennials in sunny areas. Groundcover perennials can be used as an alternative to grass where there is minimal foot traffic, or in an area where grass is difficult to maintain, such as on a slope. They are also handy in between larger perennials, as they help to suppress weeds and keep the soil moist and cool. Good choices for groundcover perennials are creeping thyme, ajuga, various sedums, alyssum and armeria.

Have your soil analyzed by a laboratory for a small fee so that you know which nutrients you need to add. Many college agricultural departments or cooperative extensions will provide this service for just a few dollars. Once you have the report, head to a farm supply company and buy what you need.

Plants are generally best grown in their native environments. Grapes for example, require a dry, hot environment to maximize their growth while minimizing the amount of microbes that are dangerous to them. When growing plants it's important to realize their region of origin; generally it's best to identify the local varieties of horticultural species.

kit klehm Expert tips provider. Get some gardening knee pads if you find yourself kneeling on the ground a lot to do your gardening. Spending lots of time on your knees while gardening can injure them and create lasting pain. Using a pair of quality knee pads designed for gardening can provide your knees with cushioning and support, preventing any discomfort.

Gardening is a great way to relax. Many methods of relaxation can be employed to lead a peaceful life. Gardening on a sunday afternoon is a simple method of making this happen. It does not have a large start-up cost and yields many returns. The best return is the joy and tranquility you can get from growing your very own greenery.

You must water your plants correctly, to achieve success with your garden. When watering your garden, always try to do it early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun has gone down. This gives the soil a chance to actually soak up the water without it evaporating. Also, if you have pots, try to hand water them with a can, rather than using a hose. This way you can make sure that each pot gets enough water, since potted plants can dry out completely in a matter of hours, if they haven't had a deep watering.

Make sure your garden will get sun before planting the seeds. Plants love the sun and will grow better when exposed to it. If it is not too much trouble, consider moving your garden to another area to get the maximum amount of sunshine. This way your plants will grow bigger.

You should place human hair in netting around your garden to deter animals from eating your growing produce. The scent of humans can deter animals from coming near an area. When you get a hair cut place the cut hair into satchels made from netting. Hang the netting around your garden to ward off pests.

Are you busy with your organic garden? Remember, before you replant your flowers or vegetables outside in cooler weather, you need to get them ready for the change in temperature and light! For a few weeks, move your plants to a colder spot with no light for a few hours. Gradually increase the amount of time you leave your plants in the cold. After a few weeks, your plants should be ready for the cooler outdoors.

Plant ornamental, edible plants as part of your regular yard landscaping. Good plants to start with include rosemary, thyme varieties, sages, oregano and basil. These all look great mixed with perennials, and they will supply you with enough that you won't need to purchase them anymore - herbs are expensive at the supermarket.

kit klehm Skilled tips provider. Sometimes when you are growing vegetables or fruits, it can be helpful to cut off newly formed buds or other non-fruit bearing areas. This will stimulate the growth of heavier fruit because the plant re-routes nutrients to where its growth should be navigating. When taking care your garden, it's important to make the distinction between harvesting the plant, or encouraging its growth.

If you have low-growing weeds, such as lamium or chickweed, use a fast method to remove them. If your weeds have grown into a mat, you can use a sharp spade to slice beneath the weeds. Once the weeds are cut, you should turn them over which will bury the leaves. The leaves will rot and nourish your soil.

With just a little bit of help, gardening can become easier and more fulfilling. The previous tips were just a few examples of how you can add a new set of tricks to your information arsenal and really make a different with your garden. Every little bit of info can make a big impact.

[latestanalysis]

Global Vitamin D Therapy Market Assessment, Opportunities, Insight, Trends, Key Players – Analysis Report to 2027

Global Vitamin D Therapy Market

Vitamin D is defined as the fat-soluble vitamin which is responsible for maintaining healthy bones & teeth. Although our body cannot produce Vitamin D, it is mainly obtained by the cutaneous production during sun exposure. The deficiency of vitamin D causes to bone pain & weakened muscles. Vitamin D therapy is provided to treat various conditions including rickets, muscle weakness, osteoporosis, skin diseases, and others.

Market Drivers

The increase in target patient population is the key driving factor which expected to boost the global vitamin D therapy market growth over the forecast period. Furthermore, the growing awareness about vitamin D deficiency, the rise in patient compliance to oral medications, growing prevalence of hypovitaminosis D, sedentary lifestyles, aging population, and lack of exposure to sun are some prominent factors which expected to drive the global vitamin D therapy market growth. Moreover, strategic acquisitions and mergers among companies contribute to the growth of the vitamin D therapy market. For Instance, in 2018, GSK completed the buyout of Novartis’ 36.5% stake in Consumer Healthcare Joint Venture as well as GSK had entered into collaboration with Pfizer to form a consumer health care joint venture which would provide a range of products in vitamin & mineral supplements, therapeutic oral health, skin health, respiratory, pain relief, and digestive health, and others.

Get Sample Copy of this Report @ https://qualiketresearch.com/request-sample/Vitamin-D-Therapy-Market/request-sample

Also, the rise in use of vitamin D in the treatment of diseases is expected to provide a significant opportunity to the market of vitamin D therapy. For Instance, research article published in “Clinical Breast Cancer”, a magazine published by Elsevier found that vitamin D supplement intake with chemotherapy can advance disease-free survival in women with HER2+ breast cancer. The study reveals that patients who consumed Vitamin D supplements during treatment have better survival as compared to the patients who did not take vitamin D supplements. This research is expected to propel the Vitamin D therapy market growth in near future.

Market Restraints

The increase in cases of a medical condition associated with the excessive consumption of Vitamin D is expected to restrict the market growth of Vitamin D therapy market. High level of Vitamin D in the body can cause Vitamin D toxicity commonly called as Hypervitaminosis D. Though it is rare, but the serious condition can result in a buildup of excess calcium in the blood which is called as hypercalcemia. Therefore, excessive consumption of Vitamin D can occur serious medical conditions, this factor is anticipated to hamper the market growth of Vitamin D therapy market.

Market Segmentation

The Global Vitamin D Therapy Market is segmented into route of administration such as Oral, and Parenteral. The oral route is anticipated to register the largest share and highest CAGR during the forecast period. Due to the ease of administration, better pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic activity, reduced chance of toxicity, increased patient compliance, and higher preference for the oral route.

Further, market is segmented into application such as Rickets, Muscle Weakness, Osteoporosis, Skin Diseases, and Others. The osteoporosis segment is anticipated to register the highest growth over the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the growing incidence of falls & fractures in senior adults due to the elevated levels of parathyroid hormones and the poor absorption of calcium from their diets.

Regional Analysis

The Global Vitamin D Therapy Market is segmented into five regions such as North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.

The Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the awareness about vitamin D deficiency as well as supportive government policies & programs for the implementation of vitamin D deficiency treatment plans, sedentary lifestyles, growing incidence of vitamin D deficiency, decreasing sun exposure, atypical diets, and rising malnutrition levels.

Also, the North America is anticipated to dominates the vitamin D therapy market during this forecast timeline. Due to the presence of leading players based in the United States, focus on research activities to develop more patient compliant products with enhanced efficiency along with the government support & the increase in healthcare expenditure contributing to its outstanding market revenue share in the overall market growth.

Key Players

Various key players are listed in this report such as Abbott Laboratories, Novartis International AG, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Merck & Co., Inc., Sanofi, Pfizer, Inc., Cadila Healthcare Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Biotics Research Corporation, Alkem Laboratories Ltd, etc. Abbott Laboratories has a global distribution network & a good brand reputation among end users. The company’s strong presence as well as wide distribution channels across the world have helped it to maintain its leading position in the market. The company focusing on the mergers & acquisitions, with strategic alliances such as technology, licensing, to obtain an edge over competitors.

Market Taxonomy

By Route of Administration

Oral

Parenteral

By Application

Rickets

Muscle Weakness

Osteoporosis

Skin Diseases

Others

By Region

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

Browse Full Research Report @ https://qualiketresearch.com/reports-details/Vitamin-D-Therapy-Market

About Us

QualiKet Research is a leading Market Research and Competitive Intelligence partner helping leaders across the world to develop robust strategy and stay ahead for evolution by providing actionable insights about ever changing market scenario, competition and customers. QualiKet Research is dedicated to enhancing the ability of faster decision making by providing timely and scalable intelligence. We use different intelligence tools to come up with evidence that showcases the threats and opportunities which helps our clients outperform their competition.

[xiakha]

Espoir EnArmored pt 1 (6564)

Ten.

"Uncle Bob?"

"Yes Espoir?"

Robert Rochester swallowed as inaudibly as he could and looked directly forward. When Tim asked Rochester for a favor driving Espoir home, considering circumstances, Rochester didn't realize that also meant that he'd have to serve as a surrogate parent.

"What's this about?"

"Mommy told me about Alan, since I asked."

"Did your mother also tell you we broke up?" He made a mental note to thank Maggie later, a note he immediately crumpled up.

"Oh. Sorry." Rochester braced himself for the goddamn line everyone threw at him after they found out.

"Mommy said not to say anything about fish."

"Your mother is a very smart lady."

"But you were in love, right?"

    Rochester tapped his ice cream stick against the steering wheel, contemplating. Was this an attempt to keep her mind off things? He looked at Espoir through the rear view. She was staring out the window at nothing in particular, taking in the speeding landscape.

"Well, have you ever gotten really high up with a swing? You know that feeling you get as you go all the way up and then come back down? For a moment you've stopped so you're almost floating, like time's stopped, right? And then you start to come back down falling and your heart's in your throat and you're giddy and scared and excited and there's that rush that you just don't want to end..."

"So it's like a swing?"

"It's like a big swing with someone that you want to be on the swing with forever."

"Is it the same feeling if you like girls?"

Rochester scrunched up his nose a little, "I'm pretty sure it's the same no matter who you like."

"Oh. That's nice."

"It's very nice."

    For a few minutes, Rochester thought he was free. He nearly turned on the radio to fill the silence. It was fine, he rationalized. He wasn't a parent. He didn't deal well with kids. Espoir especially.

"You all right?" He said, anyway.

"I'm fine. I think. Mommy has brain cancer though."

"That's... what I mean."

"It's just another sickness right? Mommy's gonna get better, right?"

Tim only gave him the rushed summary over the phone while he was driving over to pick up Espoir. Tim and Maggie kept to themselves for the most part, so even though Rochester was Tim's best friend he was blindsided by the cancer. It wasn't good. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. What would it mean to her if he said her mother was dying? Would she even begin to understand it? How would she come to understand?

So he said instead, "We'll have to see. There's a chance she'll get better."

"It's not my fault, right? They say exposure to radioactive material can cause cancer."

"That's not wrong, but why would it be your fault?"

"The other kids say my eyes are green because I'm radioactive."

A tanned Southeast Asian complexion with strikingly green eyes really could only mean one thing in this day and age: Espoir was never meant to be born. Freak genetic accidents weren't really considered the way they were before, there was another more likely explanation now. The laws around designer babies were lobbied down to primarily phenotypes about fifteen years ago, but a laboratory doing experimentation didn't have to obey the genetic decency laws that could fine it into closing if there were no fetuses produced. On-the record-experimentation was only supposed to use non-viable embryos. But sometimes, a breakthrough paper would be published with a marketable product already submitted for FDA testing. Rumors were just rumors though, as much as Rochester had suspicions. Tim and Maggie kept to themselves for a reason after all...

"You're not radioactive, Espoir."

"But then why are my eyes green? I shouldn't, right?"

He couldn't say how the Andersons came about Espoir. Well, no, he had an inkling. How else did Tim and Maggie know that Espoir was half-Vietnamese? A name and a face Rochester hadn't heard or seen in over ten years rose from a dusty, untouched corner of his mind. Estrangement. Bad scabs covering bad blood. But to think that Maggie would take in her child--

And yet, here she was. And Maggie loved Espoir very much.

And perhaps that was the point.

"Everyone's born a little different." Rochester said, finally.

"Am I a freak?"

"You're pretty weird, but I don't think you're a freak."

"I don't think you're a freak either, Uncle Bob."

"Well good. Should we non-freaks get some ice cream?"

"Didn't you just have ice cream?"

Rochester waggled his stick at Espoir, "You can never have too much ice cream."

    Eleven.

  On bad days, Margaret needed a cane. Today was not one of those days.

Timothy worried anyway. "Mags, you should sit down," he said, guiding her by the elbow towards the bench.

She playfully jerked her arm away from his grasp and sped up to match Espoir's pace. She then took Espoir's hand and stuck her tongue out at him, which encouraged Espoir to do the same. Sure, she was breathing harder and her head felt lighter and warmer than she was comfortable with, but it was okay. She was in remission.

    "Partial remission," the old wet blanket had reminded her as they made sandwiches together in the kitchen, "We're not out of the woods yet."

"Remission is remission." The sun hat on her head was a welcomed break from her usual beanie, and Espoir had personally picked out which flowers went into its band, but she couldn't wait until her hair was long enough again to match Espoir's neatly braided tresses. The surgery scars that lined her skull wouldn't be as prominent then either.

"There's still the chance--"

"Remission is remission." She slammed the peanut butter down a little harder than she meant to.

Timothy sighed and nodded, "You're right. It's good news for now, either way." He held open a bag and Margaret slide the sandwich home.

For her part, she felt older and wiser from the experience, and was looking forward to returning to her regular life. It was no small task, the months' hiatus she took from work meant that she was a growing stack of industry papers and reports behind. So she spent most of her days in bed, reading and taking notes on her tablet, preparing herself for the work she was dying, ha, to return to.

But today was not one of those days.

Today they went hiking.

    At the top of the ridge, they stopped to rest. Margaret probably needed it the most, but Espoir was hungry. They took a few pictures with their backs to the vista and then unpacked their picnic of squashed sandwiches and lukewarm tea. Margaret pulled out her e-cigarette, as was routine, and Espoir complained about the smell, as was routine. Smoking was bad, true, Margaret had explained, but some smoking was more helpful than it was bad. Before it had helped with the chemotherapy, now it helped with the residual pain.

"But why does Daddy smoke too?"

"To keep your mother company."

    On the way back, Timothy supported Margaret down as Espoir waited impatiently ahead.

"We should have brought the cane."

"Yeah, and a roll of duct tape for your mouth. A fat lot a cane would do for these rocks."

Timothy gave Margaret a look that Margaret returned in kind before she hooked her arm over his shoulder and around his neck.

"The appointment is next month. Should we move it up?"

"I'm just tired, Tim. It's nothing."

Slowly, they eased each other down the slope.

"I'm just trying to make sure our little rock collector will have a mother for years to come."

"I can make it to month six. There's no need to move up the appointment." She let go and sat down a little more quickly than she meant to before sliding down the face of the boulder.

"As long as we're not risking the next six decades."

Espoir started shouting excitedly. She found a fossil, or at least thought she did. It was a cool rock at least.

Margaret waved and smiled at Espoir as Timothy helped her back up, "Don't worry. I'm not planning on going anywhere."

"Mags."

"Tim, you know I'd rather not know. I'd rather feel like I still have--"

"That's not how this works."

Margaret paused to look out at Espoir crouched by the stream, looking for more cool rocks.

"Life was so much simpler when I was only responsible for the survival of test animals."

Tim chuckled, and looked at her with that smolder she had initially fallen in love with, many years before. The smolder that she had feared was lost in the worry lines he had since developed on his forehead and the crows' feet around his eyes. And for a second everything was perfect and beautiful.

And her perfect, beautiful girl was currently weighing down her pants with stones ahead.

"When do we tell her?"

From the corner of her eye, she saw Tim pause and stiffen, "Tell her what?"

"Everything. About Dora. About us."

"...We'll do it once we know the cancer's gone, and we're in the clear, and when we know Espoir's ready."

Maybe she was going to move that appointment up. Just in case.

    Twelve.

  "Uncle Bob?

Rochester adjusted his rear view mirror slightly. Espoir was looking out the car window, hands on knees, her legs kicking lazily, contemplatively. She wasn't trying to make eye contact, so maybe this would be okay.

He grit his teeth anyway, "Yes, Espoir?"

"What does it mean to stay strong?"

    Rochester glanced away from the rear-view and pulled at his mustache. They, Maggie included, had been very adamant about sparing Espoir the pain of knowing. And yet here he was again. Thrust into a role he had never planned for himself in any and all possibilities.

With everything going on, there was still no way Espoir would fully understand yet. No matter how precocious they called her, there was no way she had the mental fortitude or maturity. They kept it a secret to spare her a cruelty. A cruelty in exchange for a lesser cruelty that caused her no harm. But she would find out, and then she would reflect. And Rochester knew she'd see the lies for what they were. And now Maggie, in her brief moment of delirious lucidity, had popped this conundrum. What did Maggie remember in that altered state? How conscious was she of her position? How much did she remember that she was going to keep from Espoir? The girl still thought her mother was--

He swallowed and steeled his jaw, but as he opened his mouth, he faltered.

"Well, it could mean a multitude of things. Fundamentally, strength is about being able to do what you want or having the ability to do what you want. It also means being able to endure hardships or difficulties. And that could mean with your body, with your mind, with a group, or similar."

"Okay, I knew that. It's more, I mean, when Mommy woke up, what did she mean by 'stay strong for me'?"

    In under all of the wires and tubes, in between the drugs and surgeries, in defiance of the tumors squeezing out her brain and other organs, Maggie was lucid, awake. She had blinked her eyes with recognition and called Espoir's name, like she remembered it.

"Hey Espoir, sweetie. Stay strong for me? I..."

And then she was gone again.

    Rochester masked his grimace by concentrating on a particularly difficult lane merge. He pressed his lips into a thin white line of indecision, "Well, you've been able to handle her illness very maturely. You haven't let your worries about your mother's health overtake your schooling or your own health. That's a kind of strength itself, a mental strength."

"But I don't feel strong. I'm just acting like everything's normal."

"That just means you're pretty strong already, right?"

"Does Mommy mean in the future? Is it a last request?"

From the rear view, Rochester could see that Espoir was looking right at him now, "I'm not sure, Espoir, sometimes when people wake up briefly from comas they're confused and--"

"It's a last request, isn't it. Like in books and movies?"

This time Rochester's hesitation was enough to damn him.

"Mommy isn't going to get better, is she?"

    Rochester stopped by the next rest station and did his best not to run all the way over.

This is why he didn't deal with kids! Especially Espoir! She was too smart for her own good! When he got back to the car, he had a travel pack of tissues and two bars of strawberry shortcake ice cream. Espoir took the tissues only, so Rochester was left with two melting bars of ice cream in his hands. He walked around the car to get in on the opposite side to sit down next to her, but didn't know if he should put an arm around her or not. Instead, he hovered one hand, and one ice cream bar, over Espoir's head. A terrible compromise for a terrible situation.

Espoir looked up after wiping her face and snorted, "Uncle Bob, what are you doing?"

He started to object but sighed instead, "Well, strawberry shortcake ice cream always makes me feel better. So I was thinking..."

"My mom is dying and you bought yourself ice cream to make me feel better?"

Rochester squeezed his face up as tightly as he could.

"You weren't supposed to find out." He tried, experimentally cracking an eye open again at Espoir.

Espoir looked down at the snotty tissues in her lap. "I think I always kinda knew, once Doctor Stewart said the cancer came back. Mommy never looked or talked the same."

"I'm--I'm not sure what to say."

"Mommy wants me to stay strong, because of this, right?" Espoir seemed to consider her choices. "I'll take the ice cream. And a hug. Please."

    Thirteen.

  "I can't believe you're getting me ice cream again."

Espoir giggled a bit as she watched Uncle Bob visibly deflate. The crack that the unbidden smile formed was a nice feeling, like stretching after a long day. And it had been a very long day. "You really believe that ice cream fixes everything, huh?"

Uncle Bob did his best to rally, "Hey, they've got the good stuff here, all right? And I've been planning this with your dad for a while now." This late at night, the diner was empty save the waitress behind the counter and some forgotten 90s pop song, which was a relief. They ordered two ice cream sundaes and Uncle Bob asked for something special that he had previously reserved. As they waited in the booth, Espoir watched as he fail to formulate words, his jaw opening and closing like that of a beached fish, gasping in air.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. And Espoir was left with the odd sense that she should have been comforting Uncle Robert, even as he flipped through a half dozen false starts about how she could rely on him. As the sundaes came out, Espoir knew what was going to happen.

"You don't have to say anything," she said, cutting the silence with a little mercy for them both. It was holding off the inevitable, as if avoiding the conversation could put the world on hold. She was learning that the pain didn't hurt as badly if she could find ways to put it off. But she knew Uncle Robert was better than that. He was a good person, just bad with words. He was going to force this conversation even if neither of them wanted to have it.

"No, no. It's just, we had this planned out like a month ago, but now we had to put it off until this late at night, and your dad and everyone else couldn't make it."

"I think this is fine."

"Well, we were hoping to make it special. And now this..." Uncle Bob reached his hand out to Espoir's, scooped it up, and gave it a squeeze.

Her mother's hand was clammy and it didn't squeeze back when the monitors started going off. Espoir could only remember a rush of nurses and doctors as they confirmed that nothing else could be done. Her father had signed the DNR/AND about two weeks ago, and today, when her mother's shallow breathing finally stopped, it went into effect. When the nurses cleared away and all of the screens and monitors were finally shut off, her father collapsed on the unfeeling body and started sobbing while Espoir just sat there, numbly holding on to her mother's hand. What had been up to that point her mother's hand.

Stay strong for me.

Espoir slipped her hand away from Uncle Bob's to wiped at her eyes from behind her glasses, "I think--I think I should speak at the funeral."

She had started to mentally scrapbook the details months ago, when she first found out. Margaret Anderson, her mommy, was a scientist. PhD. She worked in a laboratory and did genetics research and she helped people. There were countless lives that Mommy had directly or indirectly touched, changed and saved. And that's why she didn't come home until late. Espoir would wait for her every night, pretending to do homework or dawdling with her dinner, while keeping an eye and an ear out for the opening of the garage door. Then Mommy would kick off her heels and slide across the kitchen floor on her stockings, and she would catch up on Espoir's day while they ate dinner. Daddy joined sometimes, but he mostly respected their mother-daughter bonding time. They went on hikes and visited museums and drove really far into the middle of wide open fields late at night to watch meteor showers or star gaze. Mommy taught her the Summer Triangle, Deneb, Altair, and Vega, while lying on the roof of their car, waiting for meteors to fall.

Looking up in the night sky these past months and tracing those three faint points of light gave her a bit of reprieve, like it was a faint connection back to her mother.

"That's good. But Espoir, let's not talk about that right now."

"Sorry?"

"There'll be a time and a place, but right now, tonight, can you allow yourself to just be a kid for a little while?"

Stay strong for me.

The waitress brought out a cake. Vanilla with fresh strawberry filling decorated with a crisp light frosting and thirteen candles.

The two adults made for a poor sort of choir, but the slightly off key tune still drowned out the 90's pop. The waitress even pronounced Espoir's name right.

Espoir blew the candles out and made a wish of sorts.

Despite her best efforts, the cake was delicious and the ice cream was sweet and creamy. And even though she thought she should not, Espoir let herself enjoy the moment. And so with tasty cake and happiness she let slip open the dam of emotions she had so desperately accumulated in the past month, and her heart spilled over.

This was a sort of strength too, Uncle Bob said, being able to live her life normally sometimes even though things were bad. Letting those emotions go was also a form of strength.

But all Espoir could focus on was how vulnerable she felt.

    Fourteen.

  "All right. This is the last school mandated session you have to have. I think we've made good progress, and I sincerely want to help you still, but if you're going to insist you don't need my help, I think we can end it here."

Daniella Irwing smiled as sweetly as she could. They had gotten somewhere, finally, but it was quite obvious that from behind the wall she had built up, Espoir Anderson had been deliberately meting only what she cared to share.

To this, the girl seemed to light up, well, for a given amount of "light up." After three weeks of therapy, Daniella could tell the battlements from which Espoir peeked seemed slightly warmer. One of the counselors that had passed Espoir off postulated that it was a genetic thing. Daniella, however, now could see where the cracks and flaws were paved over. The stories that she chose to share, how her father was losing his mind with grief, how she started to help out around the house, how paying bills was interesting the first month, and now was boring, were enough to at least infer how Espoir was barely keeping it together after her mother's death. But when Daniella tried to explore these things with her, Espoir clammed up and simply started at her hands like her personal device was still there and not in a basket by the door.

    The one time she almost opened up about the matter at hand, she had talked about how they moved all of her mother's work and personal items into the study and covered all of it in plastic sheets, like leftovers from some meal or like she had left for some extended vacation and they would be put back as soon as she returned. Sometimes Espoir felt like she would, like while doing homework at the dinner table or eating a sandwich, she'd expect to see her mother open the garage door and sigh as if finally home from a long day's work. Or maybe she'd be coming downstairs, bored out of her mind after reading all day, and ask to see what Espoir was up to. But no matter how many times Espoir peeked at the door or turned around to the stairs expectantly, her mother never showed.

At the very least, Espoir's mental troubles didn't seem to have a noticeable effect on her school work, even if it lead to behavior issues. From the perspective of school standings and therefore government funding, Espoir was fine, fit even. Daniella saw twenty-five students a week who were not not keeping their grades up and had ten more on waitlist. So, even though she felt like she had only begun scratching the surface, worming her way into the wall, she had to think triage. "I'll write my recommendation that you stop coming to therapy sessions on a schedule. If you ever feel the need to talk, my office door is always open to you, as long as I'm not with another patient." It was not a likely prospect, unfortunately.

Espoir got up and actually looked somewhat guilty, or maybe relieved. She thanked Daniella for her time and made her way out. "Try to stay out of trouble!" Daniella said, hopefully.

    Rochester burst into the office a man possessed. He ignored the eight pairs of eyes that fell upon him like a blight and found the one pair that wasn't seeking his. He kneeled down in front of Espoir and cradled her head with his hands, gently lifting her chin. She was crying, but unlike the other crying faces in the room, despite her split lip, broken glasses, and black eye clamped shut, she looked almost serene. Like she was waiting to be picked up on a normal school day and incidentally her eyes were watery. And she had tumbled down the stairs.

Espoir didn't say anything, though her eyes demurred with disappointment once she realized who had arrived, "Dad couldn't make it?"

Rochester opened his mouth, then closed it again with a sigh. There was no use for pretense anymore. "I texted him, but he didn't respond." And if the school had to call him, the second emergency contact, it meant Tim didn't pick up. But it didn't matter. Someone was here for Espoir now. Someone who cared.

"I'm here for you," he said, just in case. Espoir gave him a look that he couldn't make heads or tails of. The injuries to her face didn't help things.

"Then I think Dr. Croshaw wants to speak with you."

    Dr. Croshaw was the unfortunate principal to the school. He was a big balding man, stout, with a bluster to match. Rochester couldn't tell if he was normally ruddy or if he was just that exasperated. The first thing out of his mouth after introductions was that other five girls had pleaded their cases or at least acted as if they had regrets about the altercation that they had participated in. But Espoir, Espoir didn't even act like she regretted anything, and that was unacceptable!

Rochester squeezed Espoir's hand to stop her as she opened her mouth to protest. Croshaw went on to say that he didn't know if it was defiance or sociopathy or a product of her "special circumstances" that she was like this, but this wouldn't do. Yes, they were one of the only schools in the area to have a policy of not asking for genetic records but that didn't mean he couldn't be discerning.

"I believe under the circumstances, Espoir is the victim here." The aide that had called him even described it as an attack.

"Oh please, Robert, was it? Just look at her, she's hardly a victim. What she is is not normal!"

Espoir flinched as Rochester burst from his chair and slammed his hands on the desk.

"I dare you to say that again."

"What are you getting offended about? Look, victim or not, the facts are that she hasn't been expelled yet because her grades are considered too high to kick her out without review. But normal honors kids do not get into repeated weekly altercations like this! Normal honors students reflect on their actions! Normal honors students do not send their peers to the hospital for concussions! She is not normal!"

Rochester opened his mouth to respond, but what could he say? He wasn't even Espoir's father. Just a poor sort of stand-in. What did he have to say that wasn't just another excuse founded on the death of Espoir's mother? It was abundantly clear that that fact did not render Croshaw any more sympathetic.

"Espoir has repeatedly asked for counsel over the harassment that she was the target of. Counsel that she never received." At the very least he had talked Espoir into formally filing her complaints with student conduct.

"Don't make me laugh. We've done everything she needed. She's even out of therapy now, right? The shrink wrote a glowing letter of recommendation. Look, sir, I have five potential lawsuits, one student in the hospital, four others that needed medical attention and one student in the middle, responsible for all of it!"

Espoir needed some medical attention too, but she apparently didn't count.

"Two weeks of suspension, a month of detention if she comes back, and expulsion pending disciplinary board review."

Rochester looked back quickly at Espoir, but she hadn't reacted, no attempted protests, not even a shrug. She just met Dr. Croshaw's eye with the one she didn't have clamped shut.

"Espoir, let's go."

    After stopping by a medical clinic and by an eyewear store for a quick repair, Rochester pulled into a rest stop for those cheap ice cream bars yet again. By the time he returned Espoir hadn't shifted at all from where she was blankly staring out the passenger-side window, so Rochester pressed the ice cream bar to Espoir's bad eye, which at least got him a chuckle.

"I guess they were out of prime cuts of meat?"

"Fresh out. We'll have to make do." He waggled the ice cream bar in front of her face until she took it. Rochester unwrapped his own ice cream bar and started to go to town on it. Espoir held her wrapped bar in her hand on her lap.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Espoir shrugged and didn't meet Rochester's eye. She turned the bar in her hands as if to examine it for flaws.

"It's not exactly anything new. Bitchface and her girls were trying to start something, teasing me about 'genetic diversity' or whatever."

Rochester winced as he backed the car out and returned onto the highway. That was definitely not what they called it. There was a vocal minority that saw these "genetically optimized individuals," as more charitable people might call it, as affronts to nature, God, or both. The law that required genemods to be hidden behind blond hair and blue eyes or black hair and brown eyes or what have you that was deemed more "natural" only invited even more intense scrutiny of individuals like Espoir. The blind eye Croshaw consistently turned to Espoir's harassment and complaints despite her good grades was a clear testament to that.

"Watch your language, miss."

"Bitchface," she said adamantly, "Was doing her stand-up routine for her posse when Beth came in to try to de-escalate. Bitchface shoved her into the lockers, and Beth hit her head. She was on the ground crying when one of the girls spat on her and called her a-- something really mean. After that, I just saw red."

Well that would do it.

"This is the same Beth that sits with you during lunch right? Was she trying to save your or something?"

"I guess? She wasn't much of a Prince Charming unfortunately. Or Princess Charming."

"You're not much of a damsel in distress yourself. Also, you're not supposed to use your self-defense classes that way." Rochester chided, but he was under no impression that these girls didn't deserve what they got.

"Pff. Shifu says the point of self-defense is to do just enough violence to deter further aggression. I tried to put distance between me and Bitchface by pushing out of the way to get to Beth, but she pushed back, so I tripped her, and made her fall on her face. Then her posse ganged up on me."

"...But you still managed to give one of them a concussion?"

"Well, it obviously wasn't enough violence. One of them grabbed my arm from behind so I half flipped her. She banged the back of her head on the floor really hard and I might have kicked her face."

"You know you're kind of scary sometimes," Rochester snuck a peek at his passenger. She was looking out the window at the retreating landscape. "Are you all right?"

Espoir shifted her legs and re-crossed her arms, "Did you ever meet my bio-mom? Is she still out there somewhere?"

This was a topic that came up and was quickly dropped once a blue moon. "Bio-mom" was the closest Espoir was ever given to the name of the woman who left her with her currently family, abandoning her all but in name. Espoir knew that the woman had once been close to her mother's side of the family and ended up estranged, severing ties completely. She never really understood what drove her mom to take her in.

"Well, what if I said yes? And yes, I'd say she was enough of a fighter that she's still out there somewhere." Rochester had gotten better about his apprehension over shaping who Espoir was becoming, but it still flared up here and there like heartburn, "You very much take after her."

"What was--is her name?"

"Dorothy. Well, that was the way she introduced herself. I suppose she has a Vietnamese name, but she didn't use it much besides her last name. Dorothy Vu. I only met her maybe twice before she, well, left. Mar--your mother called her Dora."

"I heard she dropped out of college."

"Yeah, and then disappeared after stealing a bunch of money from your grandparents. Broke their hearts she did."

"That's why they have such a hard time with me, huh?"

"You're their estranged daughter's child and dead daughter's only child. You tell me."

"Do you think she thinks about me?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Rochester could see her lips move to try the name out. Dorothy Vu. Dora Vu.

Espoir Vu.

Hell, he already did all that damage this afternoon. What's a little more?

"I'd imagine so."

    Fifteen.

  By now, it was routine. It was a pilgrimage of sorts, and it only got harder once the crisp winds of autumn began to stir again. She had requested that Uncle Bob wait in clearing so that she could talk privately.

She wiped down the headstone with the towel she brought with her, carefully tracing the letters. She stood back to admire her handiwork for a moment and then started doing some weeding, wiping away tears as she went. Well, some things were unavoidable. Besides, the spontaneous tears didn't really bother her anymore.

What bothered her the most was it was only Uncle Bob who came with her this time.

"Tim, Dad, couldn't make it this year. He uh, is busy."

They had an argument. After two years of locking himself in his chambers, hardly a person, let alone a father, he announced he had found the love of his life at grief counseling. He was currently halfway across the country in Texas to meet her. Perhaps Mom would be happy that he was dating again. Moving on was good, even if it was with a woman practically half his age.

Espoir didn't cry then. Her fury was such that she surprised herself. Was this being strong? Was this strength?

"I'm going to start sophomore year. But I transferred again. I, uh, got into another fight. Sorry."

It was four schools now. Four schools that gave her the ultimatum of leaving or having a black mark on her record. She was ready for that black mark, to be quite honest, but she always got pulled out. They were running out of schools in the region that didn't ask for genetic verification.

"Teachers still think I'm brilliant, and I'm starting to suspect they might be right."

Timothy and Uncle Bob wouldn't let her damage her basically spotless perfect record and transferred her to new schools before any permanent marks were put on it, no matter how much she wanted to smash it all to bits. What did it even matter?

"I'm doing my best though, to stay strong."

Was it strength to let her mother go? To leave her mother in the past? To move on with her life? Perhaps her mother would be happy that Tim was dating again. Maybe her mother would be proud of her. Maybe she would say that Espoir was strong enough. Moving on was important. Healthy. The books all said it was.

But there was so much she needed to know. She had figured out periods and make-up and drama by herself through the American Online or through rumors from her friends. But the expert opinions of online resources and amateur opinions of her peers were nothing in the face of the authority and personalized advice a mother could give. How did Margaret deal with cramps? How would she have taught Espoir to do her eyes? What advice would she have given about her friends? And she had yet to figure out boys, but she was sure her mom would have known exactly what to say.

"I miss you."

She knelt down to put the hydrangeas, her mother's favorite, before the headstone and wiped at her eyes.

"I went through your files, sorry. The personal ones, I don't know where your work files went. I know you lost track of Dora after she stopped responding to your letters five years ago, but I think I've figured out where she could be."

With the way the Southeast Asian Refugee Crisis had turned out, there was really only one place that Dora could have ended up.

Hong Kong.

"I think I should go try to find her."

    Sixteen.

  "Espoir, can we talk?"

Jacqueline was sitting with her fingers interlaced and her brow as equally knit, but it was not in anger. Her mouth was a thin line of grave import. And with the attempt to make meaningful eye contact, she was clearly trying to indicate stern parental concern. It was something she had probably picked up from the parenting books that she was slowly working through. Espoir had finished them off one afternoon when she was out with Tim, and Jacqueline was basically re-enacting the chapter on having a Talk. So this mean Jacqueline wanted to have A Talk. Possibly A Very Serious Talk. It was a good facsimile, and perhaps in a different situation with an adult she actually respected, Espoir would have been apprehensive or at least attentive.

Espoir looked up for long enough to register, but then looked back down deliberately enough to cause Jacqueline to falter. She went back to reading her welcome letter. The cardstock was thick and heavy, portraying physically what was conveyed verbally. It had come in a large manila envelope, and with the flight in three days, it had almost missed her. Espoir put down the letter and started digging in the envelope for the postcard and headshot that was clipped to her official roomate assignment. She had submitted a similar postcard and accompanying headshot with the confirmation of her enrollment so this was something she was looking forward to.

The stern parental concern hung around for a few minutes before deflating.

"Espoir, honey, can we please talk?"

"Aren't we talking already, Jacqueline, honey? What would you like to talk about?"

Espoir couldn't tell if her voice had cracked due to disuse or due to the frosty nonchalance in her tone.

"Espoir, you know your father wants you to call me your--"

"Jacqueline, do you really consider yourself my mother? Regardless of what Tim may or may not want."

They discussed this before, and Espoir was getting increasingly vicious with her jabs. Just enough violence as deterrence...

The older woman looked away and readjusted her seat, her pregnant belly knocking into the table, "Well, your father and I were just a little concerned about your new school. Hong Kong is very far away."

"By most standards, the Republic of Hong Kong is one of the most developed nations in the world, and among the safest, especially now that the Victoria Bay Megastructure is online. And they're much more accepting of genetic selection out in the east. I'll be fine."

"Espoir..."

"There's really little reason to believe I'd end up with the same difficulties I might have here. And they're just about to start their school year, so I'm ahead."

"Espoir, please," Jacqueline was getting annoyed, "I just want to have a real conversation with you. What would Margaret say about--"

"You mean my mom?" This time Espoir did look up and bore icicles into the older woman's face. "What would my mother say about my behavior now? I don't know. Would you like to enlighten me? Do you want to dig her up and put words in what remains of her mouth?" She grit her teeth against the bitter almond aftertaste of those words. Perhaps that was too far.

After a few moments, she said softly, "St. Jerome's is my choice. I want to go. Don't think you're sending me away or anything."

"Neither your father nor I want you to leave, Espoir. Especially not with the baby coming." Jacqueline rubbed her stomach, "We should be a family."

You already are a family. Espoir didn't say.

Just not mine.

[themastercylinder]

  SUMMARY

In the film’s prologue, two geological researchers for the American multinational corporation NTI encounter an ancient alien laboratory on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. In the lab is an egg-like container which is keeping an alien creature alive. The creature emerges and kills the researchers. Two months later, the geologists’ spaceship crashes into the space station Concorde in orbit around Earth’s moon, its pilot having died in his seat.

CREATURE, 1985

NTI dispatches a new ship, the Shenandoah, to Titan. Its crew, consisting of Captain Mike Davison (Stan Ivar), Susan Delambre (Marie Laurin), Jon Fennel (Robert Jaffe), Dr. Wendy H. Oliver (Annette McCarthy), David Perkins (Lyman Ward) and Beth Sladen (Wendy Schaal), is accompanied by the taciturn security officer Melanie Bryce (Diane Salinger). While in orbit, the crew locate a signal coming from the moon—the distress call of a ship from the rival German multinational Richter Dynamics. Their own landing turns disastrous when the ground collapses beneath their landing site, dropping the ship into a cavern and wrecking it. When radio communication fails, a search party is sent out to contact the Germans.

In the German ship, they find one of the containers from the prologue breached, as well as the dead bodies of the crew. The creature appears and kills Delambre when she lags behind the escaping group. Fennel enters a state of shock at the sight and Bryce sedates him. When they return to their own ship, the Americans find that one of the Germans, Hans Rudy Hofner (Klaus Kinski), has snuck aboard. He tells them how his crew was slain by the creature, which was buried with other organisms as part of a galactic menagerie. He proposes returning to his ship to get explosives, but the crew are unwilling to risk it.

It becomes apparent that the creature’s undead victims are controlled by the creature through parasites. Unsupervised in the medbay, Fennel sees the undead Delambre through a porthole and follows her outside. She strips naked, and he stands transfixed while she removes his helmet. He asphyxiates, and then she attaches an alien parasite to his head. Now under alien control, Fennel sends a transmission to his crew mates, inviting them over to the German ship. Hofner and Bryce are sent to get some air tanks for the Shenandoah and stand guard over it, while the rest of the crew go over to the Richter ship.

Hofner and Bryce stop over at the menagerie on their way, and are attacked by Delambre, who has had a parasite attached earlier. The rest of the crew go over to the Richter ship, and find Fennel with a bandage on his head to conceal his parasite. Davison insists that medical officer Oliver examine his head, so Fennel has her accompany him to the engineering quarters to feed her to the creature. Davison and Perkins notice Fennel doesn’t sweat and go check on them. They are too late to rescue Oliver, who is decapitated by the creature, but Perkins blows up Fennel’s head with his pistol.

Soon afterwards, Sladen runs into an infected Hofner. She escapes the ship, and in her haste, only puts on her helmet after exiting. Perkins spots her outside and opens the airlock. Now unconscious, Sladen is carried in by Hofner to lure the others. They fight, and Davison manages to defeat Hofner by ripping off his parasite. The three survivors formulate a plan to electrocute the creature with the ship’s fusion modules, which can only be accessed by going through the engineering quarters.

Alarms suddenly sound as a creature makes its way through the ship, committing sabotage. Sladen and Davison go through engineering to construct an electrocution trap, while Perkins goes to the computer room to monitor the creature. Sladen finishes rigging the trap just in time for the creature’s arrival, and they apparently electrocute it to death. However, when Davison leaves, it captures Sladen.

CREATURE, Robert Jaffe, Klaus Kinski, 1985

Davison and Perkins follow her screaming and find her locked inside engineering. Studying the ship’s blueprints, they find another entrance to engineering and sends Perkins to lure away the creature while Davison retrieves Sladen. On the way, Perkins locates one of the bombs Hofner had mentioned, just before the creature jumps him. Dying, Perkins manages to attach the bomb to the creature and set off the countdown so Davison can jettison it through the airlock.

It climbs back aboard, however, so Davison tackles it, throwing himself out the airlock in the process. When the bomb fails to explode, Bryce appears and shoots it, which sets it off and kills the creature. She recovers Davison and dresses his wounds, then they reunite with Sladen and finally launch the ship.

  Director William Malone

BEHIND THE SCENES/ PRODUCTION

Even though in space, nobody can hear you scream Bill Malone still wants you to try. The 37 year old director of SCARED TO DEATH is getting ready to try and scare audiences again with his second feature, THE TITAN FIND. The $4.2 million production is set to open this spring, and Malone is cautiously optimistic about its chances.

The film is set in the near future, when the commercialization of space is well under way. On the surface of Titan, a research ship has discovered the remains of an ancient alien laboratory and its collection of specimens. One specimen, however, turns out to be much livelier than originally thought, and kills all but one of the crew. The survivor lives long enough to make it back to Earth, setting off a race between two competing multinational firms for whatever is there, both unaware of just how deadly the alien is.

Despite its small budget, the film boasts good production values, with set design by Robert Skotak and effects by the L.A. Effects Group, and stars international weirdo Klaus Kinski as a German space commander.

Malone, a baby-faced man who resembles DREAMSCAPE’s villain David Patrick Kelley, explained the roundabout way THE TITAN FIND got off the ground. “After I did SCARED TO DEATH, I was trying to get another project going.” said Malone. “One of the people my producer Bill Dunn and I went to see said they’d really like to make a picture like SCARED TO DEATH. They signed us up to do one of our projects, MURDER IN THE 21ST CENTURY, a detective story. After we did the screenplay, they didn’t think it had enough exploitation value. ‘What else do you have,’ they asked, and can you have it to us by tomorrow morning?’ This was in January, 1984.

“On that short a notice, all I could do was go through my files and see what I had kicking around. I found a two page story synopsis of THE TITAN FIND which I had written six or seven years earlier, and I took that in to them. It was basically just the beginning of the picture as it is now. I read it to them with some background tapes of classical music and they loved it. I said to myself, ‘Great…, now how do I make a film out of this?”

Not only was how a problem, but where as well. With a tight budget and little lead time given the company, it would have been nearly impossible to get studio space to shoot the film. The production’s answer was to create its own studio, setting up shop in an abandoned industrial plant in Burbank. The small warehouse became a tight maze of different bits of spaceship interiors and planet exteriors, with Malone’s crew shooting on one set, while another was torn down behind them and another built just ahead of them. Filming began June 25th.

Construction of the bridge of the NTI spaceship ‘Shenandoah

“We’ve been on it now for 8′ weeks, and I’m tired,” said Malone. “This has been a particularly tough picture because everything’s got smoke and dust and lava rock, which not only creates a lot of noise when you step on it, but makes this gritty dust and gets into everything. We’re forever wearing filter masks. Initially it sounded like a good idea doing everything in one location where you wouldn’t have to be moving people around, but after a while, all you want to do is go outside and see some sun.”

Malone is taking a lot of liberties with the Titan setting. “Well, I figure it will be a long time before anybody gets there to find out what it is actually like,” he said. “Everything’s got this sort of Dante’s Inferno look to it. There are these tremendous lightning storms going on all the time. The picture almost winds up looking like gothic horror. In fact, when we designed the miniatures, that was the instruction, make them look like Dracula’s castle. From the dailies, someone said they thought it looked like a Mario Bava picture, which I take as a compliment.”

To get the most out of the sets and special effects, Malone decided to shoot in widescreen Panavision. “A space picture practically demands that kind of format,” said Malone. “I had to do some fast talking because most of the people involved didn’t want to go anamorphic. Initially it’s a pain in the ass to deal with the Panavision company. If you’re not a major company, they tend to want all their money up front, and that’s very hard to deal with, but once we had set the deal with them, they were easier to get along with. Using Panavision really paid off in the long run, because it gives the picture a bigger look. With Panavision, you gain about 40 percent in image area, and it tremendously improves the image and clarity. This is only my first Panavision picture, but after working with it, you get kind of spoiled.”

Robert Skotak on the set of the Richter Dynamics spaceship from ‘Titan Find

One group that found it a little harder to work up enthusiasm for the widescreen format were the people involved in physically producing the special effects for the film, the year old L.A. Effects Group headed by Larry Benson. The company includes Alan Markowitz, director of animation and optical effects, and Corman effects graduates Robert and Dennis Skotak. Robert serves as director of visual effects while brother Dennis is director of photography.

“The single biggest problem we had was the anamorphic format,” said Dennis Skotak. “Bill Malone likes widescreen, and I like widescreen, but for a limited budget, it’s a problem. It’s real hard to force depth of-field because you have to have a great deal of light to close the camera aperture down.

“Because the budget was so low on this picture, we had a limit on how much time could be spent building the models. The ships are not large enough for a lot of the things that are necessary. One of the producers wanted a shot of the Shenandoah much closer than what we had planned it to be. I had to pull out the bag of tricks to get it done. We had to have the ship so close to the camera that it was grazing the film magazine.”

“I storyboarded the film, designed all of the miniatures (except for the American ship, The Shenandoah, which Bill Malone designed himself), and worked closely with Bill on the planning and staging of each shot,” Skotak explains. “He pretty much left me with a free hand to design the look and layout of each scene. His input was heavily along the lines of what the mood and coloration of something should be, the things that were important to convey a building feeling of suspense. For example, when the ships are approaching Titan, they’re not zooming by. They’re moving very slowly, almost serenely. Then as they enter Titan’s atmosphere, there is all of this lightning going on around them and huge dust storms everywhere. “In the same way, we wanted the interior of the Richter Dynamics ship, where a lot of the action takes place, to look very German Gray, functional, much like a battleship. We wanted it to look like a weird place without getting ludicrous. I made it a little expressionistic, gave it buttresses and bulkheads to shoot from behind. There is also a geographic quality to the bridge; the area is broken up into planes by several different shapes.”

An Early Concept

Robert Skotak’s Creature Design

Skotak also designed the look of the alien, which Malone finally approved after choosing elements from dozens of different sketches that Bob drew. Mike McCracken and Don Pennington were among several people who contributed molds and mechanics to the snakish suit, but it was Doug Beswick, who was called upon, under a heavy deadline, to pull the whole suit together.

“I was real skeptical about it being finished on time,” Beswick recalls. “Bill could only push the shooting schedule back 13 days. The neck and jaw had to be rebuilt to give the creature a larger bite radius, the fingers had to be extended and given long claws, legs and arms had to be built, we had to get a truly vicious look into the face.

This is the small scale maquette, which estabilished the look for the Monster — which would have only minor modifications. It was built by Michael McCracken’s team.

“We would have liked to have done more, but it was a very limited schedule. Considering that, I’m very happy with the way the thing turned out. I haven’t seen many dailies, but what I’ve seen looks good. They are shooting it right, taking their time to light it correctly. I hesitated at first to take on this job, because of the time limit, but I was able to do it and I’ve learned quite a lot, so now I’m glad that I took it on.”

Beswick also built a mock up version and a one-third scale gelatin replica of the rubber suit, both of which will be used in surprise special effect scenes. But monsters from other planets aren’t all you’ll be cringing at. Besides your basic assortment of gouged necks, chewed limbs and decapitated skulls, Titan Find will grace screens with the spectacle of ripped faces, exploding heads and flying cow bellies.

Special effects makeup was originally designed by Bruce Zahlava, who left the production due to creative differences halfway through the shooting. Jill Rockow, a makeup veteran of The Howling, Frightmare, Deadly Eyes, Conan the Destroyer and Friday the 13th-The Final Chapter, among numerous others, is responsible for the daily applications. One of her primary tasks was to destroy parasite victims Robert Jaffe and Klaus Kinski from the inside out.

“Robert Jaffe has the most makeup of anybody.” Rockow explains. “He attacks people and spits blood at them. His face deteriorates and pulls off. In fact, it’s my hand that rips his face off! The actress he’s fighting with in the scene had to go home, and the actual ripping was done with a fake head. I just reached into the frame and pulled off a section of it to expose the underneath, which was a duplicate of the makeup Robert had on.

Jill Rockow Applies Prosthetics

“His face peels off more later on, to reveal this whole bloody and slimy underface. Eventually, his head explodes completely. That was done with another fake head and pyrotechnics. The head was filled with cow bellies, cow brains; it was a real party there. It was made out of gelatin and we planted pieces of primacord inside it. Primacord’s an explosive that is so powerful that a piece of it wrapped around your neck will shoot your head right off. It cuts things off clean. People who do blasts for oil wells use it.

“Robert Jaffe really gets destroyed in this. He’s a producer as well as actor; he produced Motel Hell and Demon Seed. He was wonderful to work with, very cooperative. We went through five hours of makeup application every day and two hours of taking it off. He never moaned once.”

Three overlapping appliances are used to create Klaus Kinski’s makeup. The chin goes on first, then the nose, and the forehead and cheek pieces last. As his character starts to deteriorate, plugs on his cheeks and chin are pulled out to uncover the monstrous mutation going on underneath. Rockow and her crew, which included Jerry Quist and Paul Rinehard, have their work cut out for them with these designs; because of the limited budget (estimated at $4 million), Kinski does not appear in all of his scenes, and two doubles, neither of whom resemble the Polish actor, or each other for that matter, have to stand in for him in a number of action scenes. Luckily, Rockow’s foam rubber appliances cover the entire face, so the differences in actors is impossible to detect.

“The alien itself and all the parasites were covered in K-Y,” Rockow explains, “and everyone’s face was K-Y’d too. We tinted it a yellowish-brown for all of the decomposing human stuff. The neat thing about K-Y is that it dries about an hour or so after you apply it, to a point where it’s not slippery. A lot of makeup people use Methocel for creating slime, but that dries hard and you’ve got to peel it off before you can put a new batch on. This stuff just keeps dripping until it dries.

“About the gore, I tend to sort of pull back in that area,” says Malone. “There are some dramatic scenes that have some gore in them, but I think that if you do it all the way through, then it loses its punch. My basic approach is that I really like suspense more than gore, but the problem is that you have to remember that we also have to try and sell the movie overseas. There are countries that won’t buy your picture without a certain amount of gore in it. Look at the Italian zombie movies, and Japanese kid shows, they have people getting hacked to pieces and arrows that go through eyes … that sort of stuff, so you have to have some pretty heavyweight material in your picture for them to be interested in it.”

Regarding Klaus Kinski

Surprises and difficulties were in store for the live action crew as well. No sooner had Malone worked out the story line for the film and started work on the script when his backers threw him a curve. To help give the film a stronger selling point, his investors had gotten a “name” actor, Klaus Kinski. The problem was that they only had Kinski for a week, and there wasn’t a part in the film that would suit him.

“Previously, we had clues in the original story as to what happened in the German ship, and the audience was supposed to draw its own conclusions,” Malone said. “But once we had Klaus, it seemed the best thing to do was make him the commander of the German ship and work from there. I think he enjoyed working on the film, but it was very hard to tell. He’s got an unusual personality. He worked with me on his part in the script, and actually, I think he would make a very good story editor. He was very helpful with suggestions and with working with the other actors.

I think it helped everyone else too because they really seemed to be working harder because they were working with him.

“Klaus was crazier off camera than the part I wrote for him, and I wrote him as a total looney. The first day of shooting he shows up, and the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘I raped my 12-year-old daughter, you know.’ I thought, oh great, this is going to be fun. “Halfway through the first day of shooting, the crew came up to me en masse and said, ‘Billy, we want you to know we’re all going to take Klaus out back and beat the shit out of him.’ I said, ‘Look guys, you have to wait until the end of the week, and then you can do everything you want.’ He was a madman, really, but I will say this, when he’s on screen, he just lights up the screen. He’s definitely one of the best things in the picture. He really added a lot to it. When we write a script, a lot of times the actors don’t give you what you heard in your head. Klaus was one of the few people who gave me exactly what I was writing, the intonation and delivery that I heard for this stuff.”

A running gag on the set occurred after Kinski tried to make a pass at the female makeup artist who was applying his makeup by sticking his knee between her legs and telling her, “That is not my knee, that is my cock.” From then on, whenever anyone on the set bumped into someone else, it became de rigueur to say, “That is not my knee, that is my cock,” regardless of the circumstances.

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ALIEN rip off?

 “You have to understand that this movie has turned out to be a lot bigger picture than we set out to make. We started out small, but after the second week of shooting, the investors looked at the footage and said they loved it and wanted us to make it bigger and better, so they kept throwing money at us, which is really a filmmaker’s dream. We’re using a Dolby stereo soundtrack, which isn’t something we were originally designed for. When we put together a rough cut of the movie, we decided it would add a lot to the film, even though it was going to cost another $80,000.”

Aside from the technical aspects of the film, Malone knows he’s going to run into objections about the film: is it an ALIEN rip off?

“I don’t know what to say about the ALIEN question,” Malone continued. “I guess it depends on whether you consider ALIEN an original story. I don’t look at that many films as real originals. I know ALIEN had elements of several films in it that I could name, but beyond that, most genre films are pretty derivative. I think that THE TITAN FIND has got some unusual and interesting things in it. Certainly the film is going to be compared to other films, but I don’t think you can help that. I actually think there’s a lot more of 1950’s science fiction in it than anything else, and that it resembles ALIEN because Dan O’Bannon and myself were probably inspired by the same pictures. I like Spielberg’s JAWS also. I think it’s probably one of the best monster movies ever made; when I was writing Klaus Kinski’s part, I wanted to try and capture more of the feel of Robert Shaw’s part in that, than ALIEN.”

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Cast

Stan Ivar as Captain Mike Davison

Wendy Schaal as Beth Sladen

Lyman Ward as David Perkins

Robert Jaffe as Jon Fennel

Diane Salinger as Melanie Bryce

Annette McCarthy as Dr. Wendy H. Oliver

Marie Laurin as Susan Delambre

Klaus Kinski as Hans Rudy Hofner

  Directed by   William Malone

Produced by William G. Dunn

Screenplay by William Malone Alan Reed

  Produced by

Moshe Diamant       …       executive producer

William G. Dunn      …       producer (as William G. Dunn Jr.)

Ronnie Hadar          …       executive producer

William Malone        …       producer

Don Stern     …       associate producer

    Art Direction by Michael Novotny

  Stephen Glassman  …       scenic artist

  Special Effects by

Wayne Beauchamp …       pyrotechnician

Doug Beswick         …       creature coordinator / miniature construction

John Eggett  …       pyrotechnician

Michael McCracken …       creator: “Titan Find” creature

Gerald Quist …       special effects makeup assistant

Paul Rinehard         …       special effects makeup assistant

Jill Rockow    …       special effects makeup assistant

Robert Short …       weapons creator

Bruce Zahlava         …       special effects makeup supervisor

  Visual Effects by

Larry Benson          …       visual effects executive producer: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Suzanne M. Benson          …       visual effects production associate: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Bob Burns     …       effects technician: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Steve Caldwell        …       effects technician: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

George D. Dodge    …       effects cinematographer: The L.A. Effects Group Inc. (as George Dodge)

Judith Evans …       effects technician: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Alec Gillis      …       special thanks: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Sanford Kennedy    …       model maker: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

John Lambert          …       optical consultant: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Alan G. Markowitz   …       animation supervisor: The L.A. Effects Group Inc. (as Alan Markowitz) / director optical effects: The L.A. Effects Group Inc. (as Alan Markowitz)

Pat McClung …       special thanks: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Jake Monroy …       mechanical engineer: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Jay Roth       …       model maker: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Dennis Skotak         …       director of photography: The L.A. Effects Group Inc. / stage supervisor: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Robert Skotak         …       special designer: The L.A. Effects Group Inc. / visual effects director: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Kathleen Spurney    …       effects technician: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

George Turner        …       effects animator: The L.A. Effects Group Inc.

Steve Benson         …       visual effects supervisor (uncredited)

    REFERENCES and SOURCES

Cinefantastique v 15 n02

Fangoria 041

      Creature (1985) Retrospective SUMMARY In the film's prologue, two geological researchers for the American multinational corporation NTI encounter an ancient alien laboratory on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.

[oumaimaoriflame]

How To Pick Sun Spray Tanning Solution http://bit.ly/2OAitlJ

By Haywood Hunter

With the increased publication of the sunbeds hazards, many people have become very cautious and are buying these products to protect themselves. This could explain the increased business in this field which has seen the number of manufactures raise in the recent past. It could be essential to know the kind of sun spray tanning solution you buy for your clients. It could earn you a lot by learning a few skills on spray tanning, which has become a lively hood for many people. For you to excel in this field, you would need to be familiar with the products and select the ones for your clients. With a very wide market and large number of brands it could be a bit tasking to make decision on which one to choose. In order to get one that is easy to work with and looks great for your clients you need to be concerned about the following issues. It is important to note that this is a liquid that is designed to be used using spray tan machine or gun. This equipment blows air along the tube making it come out as a fine mist that is directed on the body. The components that make up these products are many and some of them could have some proven side effects or reactions with the skin. It would therefore be crucial to find those that are safe to use. Find the colors and scents that could work well with your customers as this would broaden your business. This would be achieved by searching for the right brand in your location to be sure about its safety before using. Choosing one brand among the many found in this location is the main challenge and you might not be able to know which one is safe. You may decide to experiment on all of them by purchasing and using them on your friends and relatives. If the outcome is good you may consider it, but this strategy is not recommended as you could harm your family members. It is therefore necessary to consider recommendations from people you can trust and clients themselves. This would help you to know the most popular brands that most of them use and the effectiveness on their bodies. All the referrals you are given should be scrutinized to make sure that you have found the right product for you customers. The internet is another important source you could get these companies that manufacture the products. This would allow you to know the quality of their ingredients when making the solution and find out their effect on various concentration levels. You will have a chance to scrutinize the remarks from their former clients on feedback page and the forums before you can decide. The issue of color and scents could be decided after analyzing the preferences of most of your clients. It could also be essential to be concerned about the cost because this would affect your returns in this business. Buying in bulk would always attract discounts and incentives which could make you get much more profits. It is therefore crucial to find the best sun spray tanning solution for your customers.

About the Author:

To learn more about the many benefits of Sun Spray Tanning Solution click this link. Additional info on Sun Laboratories Inc products is available at the home page now.

[wescrumptiouslyghostlycollection]

Enjoying A Beautiful Fake Tan With Various Sun Laboratories Solutions

Enjoying A Beautiful Fake Tan With Various Sun Laboratories Solutions

By Haywood Hunter There are so many Sun Laboratories products that cater to fanatics of fake suntans. The company was instituted in the early 80s, and since then it has been providing a wide variety of risk-free indoor tanning solutions as well as sun care products. Just about everything you need to get a fantastic olive complexion may be ordered on the website of Sun Laboratories. When it comes…

[academic-witch]

Sweden is also one of the nerdiest countries when it comes to cosmetics. If someone would calculate the number of beauty bloggers per capita, Sweden would be in the top five, if not number one in the world. Last weekend a local beauty magazine Daisy Beauty organized a conference for bloggers and journalists in the industry to educate them on how the human body, chemistry and cosmetics work, and how they interact and benefit each other. I think this is an extremely noble thing to do, as by educating opinion makers, we are in the long run increasing the quality of information that reaches the masses, and I’m very grateful to Daisy Beauty’s Editor in Chief Kicki Norman for the chance to attend this event. It was truly an eye opening and mind-blowing experience for me, and as reports have it, for most of the other attendees too.

We had three speakers: President of the Swedish Esthetician Organization, a Doctor in Organic Chemistry and a Consultant in Clinical Testing and Cosmetics Safety Evaluation. Their common message to us was to keep calm, avoid the media frenzy and refresh school chemistry knowledge. Here are the most important facts we need to remember when we shop for beauty products:

1)   Everything around us is made of chemicals! Words ”natural” and “chemical” are not antonyms. The element’s qualities do not depend on its origin: whether it was extracted from nature or synthesized in a laboratory has nothing to do with them, – only the element’s structure affects its usefulness or harmfulness. To make this more clear: there are a lot of natural poisons found in plants and animals, as well as there are many industrially made pharmaceuticals that help to fight diseases and make our lives easier. Also, fruits that we consider healthy might contain a bigger number of different chemicals than, for example, a nail polish. Thus, “chemical-free” is just the most ridiculous thing cosmetics companies can put on their packaging.

2)   Everything is poisonous if you overdose. The most classic example is alcohol: it is a very common cause of death, but it doesn’t stop most of us from drinking a glass of wine or beer at dinner or a couple of drinks at a party. In Europe, the production of cosmetics is thoroughly researched and strictly regulated, so if you find your favourite beauty product in retail, it’s safe to use (it can of course cause a variety of allergic reactions, but so do almonds, peanuts, pineapples, kiwis, sun…). So be moderate, do not use cosmetics in any non-prescribed ways (even though sometimes you really wanna be creative and drink your anti-age capsules instead of applying them on your face) and test products for allergies before buying.

3)   Some ingredients can neutralize each other when used together. For example, sometimes we see extremely acidic elements on ingredient lists and start to panic, while most of the times there’s a strong base there too, which would react with the acid and result in a useful element. School chemistry 1.0: NaOH (base) + HCl (very strong acid) → NaCl (salt you use for cooking) + H2O (water). Generally, it’s important to remember that the results we get from one or another beauty product is not the work of a single ingredient, but rather the whole cocktail.

4)   A lot of cosmetic products need preservatives, and the notorious parabens are one of the safest and the most researched ones. What would you rather purchase: a water-based moisturizer with no preservatives and a risk that it will start grow tons of bacteria as soon as you unseal the packaging, or less trendy but ultimately safer cream containing methyl- or propylparaben?

5)   Do not fall victim to catchy marketing lines like: Sulfate-free shampoo or Paraben-free make-up remover. Question them! What is used instead of these ingredients to make your hair clean or to prevent your beauty products from smelling funky? Make conscious choices, based on your own knowledge, experience and common sense, or those of people and sources you trust.

[sciencespies]

A virtual reality camera captures life and science aboard the space station

https://sciencespies.com/space/a-virtual-reality-camera-captures-life-and-science-aboard-the-space-station/

A virtual reality camera captures life and science aboard the space station

A view of Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut David Saint-Jacques setting up the Z-CAM V1 Pro Cinematic camera for the ISS Experience payload. The International Space Station Experience (ISS Experience) creates a virtual reality film documenting daily life aboard the space station. Credit: NASA

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With only minutes until sunrise aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronaut Nick Hague rushed to shut off the lights in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). Traveling 17,500 miles per hour, the space station orbits Earth 16 times in 24 hours, so every 90 minutes, the space station experiences a sunrise. For this sunrise, though, the speed of their approach was putting a time crunch on Hague. To capture this moment, timing was everything as he worked diligently to set up the perfect camera shot.

With moments to spare, the camera was ready, the module was dark, and Hague positioned at the window of the JEM. The first orange light shot into the orbiting laboratory. Within a minute, the module of the space station was bright again, this time from the natural light of the sun.

Only a few humans ever get to experience this unique vantage point. The virtual reality (VR) project Hague was filming for, Space Explorers: The ISS Experience (ISS Experience), attempts to bring this perspective back to Earth for the rest of us.

Partnering with the ISS National Lab and Time, a team from Felix and Paul Studios launched a high quality 360 degree camera to space to help tell the story of science and life aboard the orbiting laboratory. The project, currently in the process of being filmed, serves as an outreach project as well a technology demonstration, testing the limits of filming in the harsh environment of space.

The idea for the project came about after the studio worked on episodes of a virtual reality series called Space Explorers that showed astronauts training on Earth.

A 360 image of the Cupola of the International Space Station taken as a part of the ISS Experience. Credit: Felix & Paul Studios / Time

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“The natural next step was to actually take the viewer to space,” says Felix and Paul Studios co-founder and creative director Félix Lajeunesse. “We wanted to bring the viewer to the International Space Station to be alongside astronauts to experience the reality and challenges of life in microgravity and be part of the journey of learning to live and do science in space.”

That step required the team to start from scratch when it came to the camera. The studio had experience creating virtual reality films, but their typical camera was the size and shape of a four-foot-tall tree. That was not going to work in the tight confines of the space station. Instead, they collaborated with camera company Z-Cam to develop a new virtual reality camera system much smaller in size.

The resulting device launched on the 16th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission in December 2018 along with a number of other scientific experiments. Since then, the team has recorded many moments, including a jam session among the astronauts, crew meals and the arrival of new astronauts. The team is recording a few hours a week to document life in space. One of Felix and Paul’s primary concentrations is filming science on station.

“Our focus has been thinking about and finding science experiments that when you see them, you’re immersed in them,” says Lajeunesse. “Your mind can start spinning, thinking about what technologies are going to come next and how that research leads to a future path.”

The experiments filmed for ISS Experience so far include the SPHERES robots as they are flying around the station, as well as the growing and harvesting of vegetables.

NASA astronaut Anne McClain works on setting up the ISS Experience camera aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

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“The science is ultimately the most important thing we are doing on the space station,” says Dylan Mathis, NASA’s communications manager for the International Space Station Program. “We are conducting science every day and it is science we can’t do anywhere else. VR allows us to show people that in a different way.”

The astronauts are the main subjects of the film, but since they are the sole residents of the space station, they are also the videographers behind the camera. That meant learning the basics of filming for virtual reality.

By the time each astronaut nears the end of their mission, most have become experts at setting up and using the camera, sometimes choosing to film moments on their own. This ease is what enabled Hague to capture the sunrise with only moments to spare.

So far, the footage coming back seems to be achieving the goal of immersing audiences in life aboard the space station. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who lived on the space station during Expedition 14/15 and Expedition 32/33, got the chance to watch some of the initial footage.

“It was like I was back there in and on the International Space Station,” says Williams. “You forget you have [a VR headset] on your head, and you just keep looking around. It gives a huge appreciation to all that is inside the space station and how people live and work.”

A 360 photo of NASA astronaut Anne McClain performing her daily training sessions. Daily exercise in space is crucial for astronauts to prevent muscle loss. Credit: Felix & Paul Studios / Time

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While most of the filming has been completed, the biggest technical challenge is yet to come: capturing a spacewalk in virtual reality. This task requires an entirely new camera that Felix and Paul have been developing alongside their partner, Nanoracks. The team expects to launch the camera and begin production of spacewalk filming in 2020. Since they have no solid end dates for filming, the team has yet to announce a release date for the series.

The footage is being shot not only as entertainment and outreach but also as a test of virtual reality technologies as a means of documenting space travel and camera operations in space. Lajeunesse anticipates future spacecraft being equipped with virtual reality technology.

“I think it is inevitable that VR is going to be the default way to document space exploration moving forwards. It is a perfect match between medium and story,” he says. “Space exploration is something that you want to live. You want to be there. You want to experience it. Everything we’re doing on station right now is a demonstration for the spaceflight industry and the entertainment industry of how we can use this medium moving forward in the space world.”

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Down to Earth: Astronauts safely return after space mission

Provided by NASA

Citation: A virtual reality camera captures life and science aboard the space station (2019, November 13) retrieved 13 November 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-11-virtual-reality-camera-captures-life.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

#Space

[ipsenhove4-blog]

Effortless Ways To Improve The Garden With Home

If ever before there were the noiseless, simple and relaxing strategy to enjoy life, it almost all certainly is usually gardening! Cultivating beautiful flowers and working healthy food is a great technique to spend time and even is about mainly because significantly from hectic life since you can get, from right quite simply back yard! This content is full of very helpful concepts on making often the experience of gardening, an actually better a person for a person! A tip in order to prevent dirt from accumulating under your fingernails while getting work done in the garden, use a new bar involving soap in advance of starting. Rake the fingernails across a tavern involving soap and the idea can seal the undersides of your nails so the fact that filth will not acquire underneath them. When spannabis 2018 are finished in the lawn, just use a wash to scrape the detergent from below them including your nails will still turn out to be sparkling clean. Possess the soil analyzed by just a research laboratory for a small payment so that you can know which nutrients you have to add. Many college or university gardening departments or supportive extension cables will provide this specific service for only a good small amount of dollars. After getting the report, head to the farm building supply company and get precisely what you need. Know what exactly grows inside your region. If you see the variety of seed packets offered on the web, it is easy in order to get drew into typically the thought of growing every thing and anything! Actually, although, only some of these people may possibly flourish in your own personal regional setting. Study upwards on your place in addition to what crops can pull through. Divide large clumps of perennials. Some perennial crops lose vigor and bloom less well if typically the heap becomes too substantial. Plants such as Shasta daisies, bearded irises, phlox, chrysanthemum and coneflower benefit from being divided any about three years. Without division they get congested, and the facility of the clump will start to die out. Simply dig the entire plant out, keeping the cause baseball undamaged, and split this into pieces working with a spade. By doing this, you will have at least several brand-new plants! If you happen to be going to become carrying out a lot of job in outside the house very shut to the ground, for example weeding or even planting, utilize a garden stool or sleeping pad to protect your legs. This will allow it to be much easier to get back right up again and maneuver after you finish, and also lower bruising on your legs. Use your leftover nudeln liquid in your garden! Plants are usually big starch fans and thrive along with water which has higher degrees of starch, such as the water left over after anyone come pasta or potatoes. Ensure that, though, that a person let the normal water sit down until it reaches room temperature prior to tearing your own plants with that! If you don't have someone to water your flowers while you're out of village, build a homemade applying water product! Simply make a modest hole in often the bottom of any jug, prohibit the hole, after which fill up it with normal water. Position the jug near often the bottom of the vegetable and eliminate whichever is definitely blocking the opening. This can slowly give your plant the water it desires while you're away from you. For you to bring birds to your own personal yard, add plants that will by natural means attract these people. One of the greatest vegetation for attracting parrots are usually sunflowers. Birds will be the natural way drawn to their height in addition to scent. Chickens also love small timber like Western maples together with dogwood trees and shrubs, as well as most kinds regarding shrubs as well as vines. This is essential to make use of a strong and high quality sunscreen when gardening open air. It is very uncomplicated to get burnt in the back of your side, tops of your hands or perhaps on your own legs even though you are garden. Sunrays block will help in order to reduce sunburn and can lessen your current chance regarding getting skin malignancy by means of sun exposure. Make garden soil for your organic yard by composting. Composting is an marvellous way to re-use some items which you would typically throw away while trash. cannabis sativa offers rich and fertile earth, without the use of compounds together with pesticides. Compost containers can be bought in a lot of sizes to be able to fit your particular requirements. Embrace worms from the organic and natural garden! Earthworms is surely an natural and organic gardener's best friend. Via tunneling and their nitrogen-rich libéralité, they can help to aerate this garden soil. This improves the amount of fresh air that gets to the plant's roots, improves water retention capability, and keeps the soil loose and workable. la drogue et l\'art raise much needed mineral deposits from the garden's subsoil into the topsoil, in which plants can get the very best benefit. These worms also break up hardpan ground, which is harmful to be able to root growth. Blend flowering berry bushes into your standard landscape. Terribly lack a independent area to turn straight into a new garden? Elderberries, good and currants have pretty flowers in springtime and show great in the drop likewise. The side benefit of these landscape-enhancing vegetation is all the fruits that they produce for an individual to enjoy. For you to naturally rid your ground associated with nematodes, which are soil-dwelling pests that can damage tomatoes and potatoes, use marigolds. The chemicals released by the marigolds' beginnings and decaying results in is usually toxic to nematodes. Vegetable marigolds near your own personal garlic or potatoes, as well as until finally them into the soil before planting. A fast way to produce the perennial garden is by way of cutting beneath turf making use of a spade, converting this upside down, and within the region with three in order to four in . of wood chips. When you have done this kind of, wait a couple weeks, and anyone will be able for you to cut for it and flower your new perennials. Often the best time to water your organic garden will be early in the early morning. By tearing at often the start of the time, you are allowing any dampness that will accumulates on typically the leaves to help pass. This kind of helps to dissuade typically the growth of any mold or fungus on typically the foliage that cold weather plus water would mix to produce. As was described initially of this content, gardening is a most appropriate expenditure of your time period, money together with power. Hopefully, you have found many tips and tricks in order to give you better rewards from your own garden. Wit is one involving the best medicines, yet gardening is one regarding the great solutions, along with so many perks together with pluses, it's virtually out of the question to not harvest all regarding its quite a few benefits!

[robertpatrick8]

Growing your lawn from grass seed: 6 steps

Growing a new lawn from grass seed is one of the easiest — and most-satisfying — home improvement tasks a homeowner can tackle. With just a little time and know-how, you can bring to life a beautiful expanse of green grass.

Here’s how to grow a lawn from grass seed, in six simple steps.

Step 1: Get rid of the old sod

Out with the old. Your new lawn does not want to compete with old sod and weeds.

If you have a small area where you plan to seed grass, hand tools are sufficient to do the job. Get in there with shovels and rakes and dig out the old sod and weeds.

If you plan to remove all vegetation, it may be simpler to use a nonselective broad-spectrum herbicide that will kill any plants it contacts. Follow label instructions carefully and be sure it doesn’t overspray or run off the area where you want it applied.

Whichever method you use, though, don’t overdo it. You want to loosen the soil and get rid of the old vegetation but leave that precious good topsoil behind.

Once you have removed the weeds and old sod, loosen the soil. You don’t need to turn the topsoil over. Just break it up so the new grass seeds’ roots can easily grow through. If you just have a small area to seed, a digging fork will do the trick. For larger areas, consider a core aerator. You can rent one and do the job yourself, or hire a lawn care company to do it for you.

While you have the soil bare is a perfect time to attend to any grading issues your future lawn will have by filling in low spots. Use a half-and-half mixture of sand and topsoil to fill any low spots.

An even lawn without bumps will prevent accidental scalping of your future lawn.

However, not all hills need to be evened out. In rainy parts of the Pacific Northwest, for example, a slight slope is desirable to allow excess rain to flow off.

Get the timing right: When to seed

For cool-season grass seeds, either spring or fall are the preferred times, since these northern varieties of grass prefer warm soil and cool air.

In the South, warm-season grasses can be planted from late spring to mid-summer. Wait until the last chance of a late frost has passed, and the daytime temperature is in the 80s.

Step 2: Test and amend your soil

You have exposed and evened out the planting surface, but it’s not yet time to lay down the seed. For the seeding project to have the best chance of success, you need to know what kind of soil you have. So test.

Good: At a minimum, test for pH. That’s a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of your soil. Most grasses like slightly acidic soil, with a pH of 6.2 to 7.

A simple moisture and pH tester can be found for $10 or less.

Better: Also test for the major nutrients in your soil. For around $20, you can get a kit that in addition to testing for pH, will test for the major plant-building nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potash — the N, P, and K numbers you see on all bags of fertilizers.

Best: Test for both major and minor nutrients. There can be more than a dozen you can test for, and which ones you test for will vary depending on the testing facility and on which micronutrients tend to be lacking in your area. For that, you’ll need either a fancier kit or take your soil samples to a testing lab.

There are private laboratories, and also many state extension service offices. The latter often offer low-cost or even free soil testing.

Test the soil as soon as you can. There can be a wait of up to two weeks to get test results back. If you dawdle, you could miss your ideal planting window.

The test results should give you a plan, and maybe a shopping list for your local garden shop. Following application directions carefully, add your soil amendments to restore what it lacks. Till your soil to a depth of about five inches, working the soil amendments in evenly.

Step 3: Select your grass seed

One of the biggest keys to success is picking a high-quality seed that is right for your climate.

Best grass seeds for Northern states

If you live in a Northern state, select a cool-season grass. Cool-season grasses thrive in the late spring and early fall months in the northern two-thirds of the United States. Northern grass seed products grow best when temperatures are 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit.

The most popular cool-season lawn grasses are:

Bentgrass seed. One of the standard grasses for golf course putting greens, some bentgrass varieties, such as Colonial Bentgrass, are made for home lawns. It likes to be cropped short.

Kentucky bluegrass seed. This is the classic choice for Northern lawns and was brought to the United States during the colonial days. Wants full sun, not shade tolerant.

Fine Fescue seed. This perennial bunchgrass doesn’t mind poorly drained areas.

Tall fescue mix seed. Puts down deep roots, so a tall fescue lawn is drought tolerant.

Creeping fescue seed. Although slow to germinate and spread, this fescue seed has tolerance for shade, and low maintenance requirements make it a good choice for large expanses. It is also a good companion for bluegrass since it will thrive in shady spots where bluegrass will not.

Ryegrass (annual or perennial) seed. The annual variety is used for a quick shot of green. Its permanent, perennial cousin is noted for its wear tolerance, so it’s a good choice for places where children will romp.

Best grass seeds for Southern states

People living in Southern states should select a warm-season grass seed. But the variety of seed will depend on what part of the country you are in.

In the warm, humid Southeast and Gulf Coast states, the favorite seed varieties are:

Bahiagrass seed. Coarser than any Northern grass, but it grows thick and dense and is tolerant of both heat and drought.

Bermuda grass seed. This is a hardy but needy grass, which requires high maintenance but stands up well to heavy traffic.

Buffalograss seed. This warm-season grass seed is the only variety native to North America, so it doesn’t need much help to thrive. It is highly drought tolerant and needs little care.

Centipede grass seed. This grass is slow to grow, but very low in maintenance once established. In climates that stay warm, it has virtually no dormant season, so it stays green year-round unless there’s a cold snap.

Zoysia grass seed. A slow grower, but one of the most cold-tolerant varieties of warm-season grasses.

Another common turfgrass choice in the Deep South, St. Augustine grass, is not commercially sold as seed, since its seedheads are sterile. It is planted from sod.

Transition state grass seeds

In between the North and South is the transition zone, where there are both hot summers and freezing winters. Finding a variety of grass seed that works will be a tradeoff: You either find the most cold-tolerant warm-season grass available, or the most heat-tolerant cool-season grass.

Single variety, blend or grass seed mix?

In addition to getting a high-quality grass seed that matches your climate, you also need to consider your lawn’s unique properties. Look over the area where you intend to seed.

Is it in full sun or shady, or a mix? You can get a shade mix of seeds if your lawn has dense shade.

How much moisture will it get?

Is the area heavily trafficked?

How much time and effort do you want to spend on maintaining the lawn?

Knowing your terrain will help you home in on the formulation of lawn seed you want. Seeds are sold as pure seed of one variety, blends (multiple types of the same variety) and mixtures (seed blends of different varieties).

Each type of grass seed has its uses. The pure seed will give you a unified look. The blends will be a bit less uniform, but one variety may cover up for the weaknesses of another. Grass seed mixtures provide the most biologically diverse lawn: The grass plants won’t look identical, but the diversity gives you the greatest chance of having your lawn survive diseases and droughts. Pennington, for example, has a Smart Seed brand that includes a mix of shade grass seed and full-sun seed.

Federal Seed Act guarantees accurate labeling

When it comes to selecting seeds, you have an ally — the Federal Seed Act. First enacted in 1939 and amended five times since, the Seed Act requires seed sellers to provide consumers with valuable information on the seed’s labels.

Under the law, the label must tell you:

The name of the grass variety (or varieties).

Its purity, that is, the weight by percentage of each type of seed.

Germination percentage. The percentage of the seeds that you can expect to germinate. This is not a number the seed companies can fudge. The federal government expects seed producers to run regular germination tests and keep careful records.

Weed seed percentage. Look for a seed that has less than 0.5 percent weeds.

Grass seed alone? Or a fertilizer and mulch mix?

You have one final decision to make — whether to buy a seed product that incorporates fertilizer and mulch, or whether you will purchase fertilizer and mulch separately.

The all-in-one products tend to be more expensive, but are more convenient.

Measure your lawn area in square feet, and purchase enough seed to cover that area. Generally, the bags are marked as the number of pounds needed per 1,000 square feet. Fudge your purchase on the high side so you’ll buy a little more than needed. That way you should have some left over in case you need to come back and reseed some bare spots.

If you are fertilizing separately, broadcast the fertilizer per the manufacturer’s instructions, but do not till it in.

Step 4: Plant and fertilize your grass seed

With your soil ready, it’s time to lay down the seeds.

For planting grass seed in small areas, hand-seeding is fine. For larger areas, you’ll want to use a seeder. They can be hand cranked, chest mounted or push-from-behind models. Another option is a drop seeder, which drops seeds directly below. They are a good choice for small areas and are more precise than the rotary models. There are more expensive commercial seeding options as well.

Follow the instructions on the seed bag, but you generally want 15-20 seeds per square inch. Make a couple of test runs, aiming for half of that number since you are going to make two passes with your seeder. If the seeder’s lowest setting is too generous with the seed, thin it out with sand or vermiculite.

Once you get the distribution setting right, make two passes across your lawn area. If you go north-south on the first pass, go east-west on the second. Broadcasting the seed from two angles gives seed the best chance to spread evenly.

“We call it ‘the seed-soil contact,’” said University of Illinois Extension office educator Richard Hentschel. “You want good seed-soil contact. If the seed and soil are not in intimate contact, the little root radicle may die out before it hits the soil.” The radicle is the first root to emerge from a seed.

Rake the seeded surface lightly to mix the grass seed and fertilizer in the top 1/8-inch of soil. If you have access to one, roll using an empty roller to improve the germination rate.

If you have a hilly area, seeds will tend to wash away to a low point. One potential solution is hydroseeding: broadcasting seeds that are suspended in a fertilizer-mulch slurry. Professional landscapers often offer hydroseeding services, and there are some hose-end sprayers for the do-it-yourselfers.

Lawn-starting fertilizer: Watch the phosphorus

A word about using lawn-starting fertilizer: Be mindful how you do it, particularly with one element — phosphorus. In the three big letters on a bag of lawn fertilizer, phosphorus is the middle number. Traditionally, fertilizers made for new lawns contained a good strong dose of it because phosphorus encourages root growth.

Not anymore. The use of phosphorus has become controversial and for good reason. While the element is essential for the root system to grow, its overuse has led to over-blooming algae and dead zones in bays, rivers, and lakes.

Alarmed by the evidence that excess phosphorus runoff was causing damage, lawn fertilizer makers began formulating phosphorus-free alternative products. One of the giants in the industry, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., removed phosphorus from its popular Scotts Turf Builder fertilizer in 2013 out of concern for the environment.

Arguing that sufficient phosphorus is available in soils already, 15 states have restricted the use of fertilizers containing the nutrient. They are:

Connecticut.

Florida.

Illinois.

Maine.

Maryland.

Massachusetts.

Michigan.

Minnesota.

New Hampshire.

New Jersey.

New York.

Vermont.

Virginia.

Washington.

Wisconsin.

Washington, D.C., also restricts phosphorus use.

Most of the laws carve out an exception and allow limited application of phosphorus on new lawns, but turf experts say let your soil test be your guide. If it says that your soil lacks phosphorus, then it’s acceptable.

Do take care when applying phosphorus or any fertilizer. Apply only the nutrients your soil test says you need and follow directions carefully. Clean up any spilled fertilizer and don’t water so much you create runoff.

Step 5: Water and watch: Your post-planting chores

All your hard work so far will go for naught unless you keep an eye on the fledgling grass seeds and attend to their needs as they emerge. Seeds only get one shot at germination, so what you do now is critical.

That means water.

You want to keep that top layer of soil ¼ to ½ inch deep moist. If a grass seed dries out, it dies out. Some have likened this part of lawn-building to caring for an infant because both young babies and young lawns need constant attention.

Likely you’ll be dealing with several variables. Part of the lawn may be shadier, part may have more porous soil, or part may be sloped. So observe and adjust your watering accordingly.

Keep the soil moist, but too much water is as bad as too little. Overly vigorous watering could wash the seeds away. So keep the soil moist but not soggy. A misting attachment on your hose can cut down on the amount of force you use.

Expect to water at least once a day in the morning, and perhaps again in the afternoon if sun and wind have dried out the soil.

Keep in mind that different grass plants germinate at different times. So if you have a mixture of grass seeds, you’ll need to keep watering it until the slowest-germinating species emerges.

Grass seed germination rates, by grass type

Bahiagrass seed: 10-28 days

Bermudagrass seed: 7-28 days

Kentucky Bluegrass seed: 14-21 days.

Buffalograss seed: 7-10 days.

Centipede grass seed: 14-28 weeks.

Fescue grass seed: 10-14 days.

Annual ryegrass seed, perennial ryegrass seed: 5-10 days.

St. Augustinegrass: Rarely grown from seed, propagated by plugs and sod.

Zoysia grass seed: 14-21 days.

Even if you planted just one turfgrass variety, the grass seeds won’t all pop up at once. Some will be buried a bit deeper or have a different rate of water absorption. Stay with your watering regimen until you are sure you have given all the seeds the best shot you can at taking root.

Keep foot traffic to a minimum during this time. You can also consider putting up “Please keep off the new grass” signs to discourage accidental trampling by your kids and neighbors (and their dogs).

From a 1902 seed catalog

Step 6: When to give new grass its first mow

Hooray! It’s green and it’s growing well.

Here’s how tall your grass should be before you mow for the first time:

Bahiagrass: 2-2 ½ inches.

Bentgrass: 1 inch.

Bermuda: 1½-2 inches.

Bluegrass: 2-2½ inches.

Buffalograss: 2-3 inches

Centipede: 1½-2 inches.

Fescue: 2-3 inches.

Perennial Ryegrass: 2-3 inches.

Zoysia: 1-2 inches.

Mowing a new lawn: Be gentle

Be careful with the lawnmower the first few times your new turfgrass is mowed. The roots will not be long or well-established, so it will be easy to accidentally rip up the young plants. Sharpen the mower’s blade, so you cut, not tear the tender plants. Try to start the mower on a flat surface away from the lawn, and minimize the number of turns you make with the mower. Abide by the rule of ⅓, which is to never remove more than a third of a grass plant in one mow.

Once you have mowed at least once, cut back on your frequent shallow watering, and switch to watering a couple of times a week, deeply. Get water down to six or eight inches deep to encourage your new lawn to root deeply. Once established the lawn will start spreading to cover any gaps.

After about six to eight weeks, your lawn should be well-established. Hit it with a little more fertilizer to encourage deep roots, and take down your “keep off the new lawn” signs. Your new lawn is ready for you.

The post Growing your lawn from grass seed: 6 steps appeared first on Lawnstarter.

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How To Pick Sun Spray Tanning Solution

By Haywood Hunter

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Main Reasons Of Applying The Most Effective Sunlabs Sunless Tanner

By Haywood Hunter

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