#chimneys old place was also stage 6 i think

[catdadeddie]

any theories on why its just oliver and ryan on the hospital set??

I don't think we can assume it is just them. Those videos are a "this person is on set and we haven't heard from them yet, let's talk to them" thing.

And again, it could be used as a staging area.

I also just don't know enough for the rest of the season to really theorize rn? I've been not great with speculation this season 😂 I can't really tell where the story is going and we just don't have enough on the direction of 7b for it.

There's definitely potential Eddie getting hurt with his parents around but Ryan looked perfectly normal and they're both in uniform so I don't think it's that.

[teawaffles]

There’s No Business Like Show Business: Chapter 6

As Moran and the others each supported the players in their own way, Bond, Maya and the company ran the length and breadth of London, staging scenes of their play as they went.

At Westminster Bridge, Alice, played by Maya, ran a Caucus race with the Dodo and his friends. At Bloomsbury, she kicked Bill the Lizard out of the chimney. At Southwark, the Caterpillar taught her how to grow and shrink her body at will. At Knightsbridge, she met the Duchess and her household, and asked the Cheshire cat for directions. At Marylebone Road, she joined a mad tea-party where the time had stopped at six o’clock, then played croquet with the Queen of Hearts in front of Buckingham Palace. After that, she listened to the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle’s exchanges at Billingsgate—— and then, near the Old Bailey, she gave her testimony at the Knave’s trial.

They played a host of strange and fascinating characters, across a medley of scenes and a variety of places. Tonight, the whole of London had become a wonderland of their very own making.

The performance went well, just as they had practiced, and the response was more than satisfactory. The audience only expanded as the play progressed, and the sounds of the cheers and applause growing louder made their hearts leap for joy.

However, on the other hand, a suffocating anxiety had begun to build up within Maya.

The final act was approaching.

A story about a dream, which in itself was like a dream, was nearing its end.

The scene of the trial. The Queen of Hearts jabbed a finger at Alice, who had taken the witness stand, and screeched an order.

“Who cares for you? You’re nothing but a pack of cards!” Maya — Alice — said.

Immediately after she’d said that, countless playing cards were sent fluttering in the air. They reflected the light from the street lamps, sparkling beautifully like snowflakes as they settled onto the stage.

Blackout. Dark curtains were drawn across the stage, such that the audience could not see what was happening on it.

The crowd waited in silence for the next location to be announced, but meanwhile, in the wings, the players were growing agitated.

“……What? The actress playing Alice’s sister hasn’t arrived yet?”

Hearing the report from the crew in charge of carriage transport, Bond was stunned.

“By sheer bad luck, her carriage is stuck in a jam……”

“I see…… This is bad.”

They had considered the possibility that the crowds may hinder their movements across the city. But fortune had favoured them thus far — the fact that it had went so smoothly till now had made them careless.

“What should we do? Of all times, it had to be at such an important scene…”

“——I’ll do it.”

A hush fell over the players. Bond’s snap decision had astonished everyone.

However, the man himself proceeded to put on a wig, and began to pull on his costume without hesitation. Of course, he made sure not to resemble the former actress Irene Adler. Thinking of the comicality of dressing as a woman on top of his current dress as a man, he stifled a giggle.

Having Bond stand in for an actor was one plan they had prepared in case of emergencies. But as he wanted to let the company showcase their own talent, he saved it as a last resort for situations when they were absolutely trapped.

Seeing his resolve, the company members shook off their doubts, and steeled their hearts to see the last scene to the end.

“Maya, are you ready?”

“……Y-Yes.”

Something seemed to be on her mind.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You’re able to concentrate?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

Having confirmed that Maya had switched her full attention to her role, the two of them ascended the stage.

It had only been twenty seconds after the problem was found. The blackout curtains opened, and from a dream, the story returned to reality.

As Alice, played by Maya, lay on his lap, Bond slowly shook her shoulder.

“Wake up, Alice!”

Then Alice rubbed her eyes and sat up.

Bond continued.

“Why, what a long sleep you’ve had!”

Although it had been a sudden substitution, as a former professional, he was right in his element. Watching from the wings, the company members gasped.

“Oh, I’ve had such a curious dream!” said Alice.

Then, buzzing with excitement, she told her sister all about the adventures she had in her dream.

When the story ended, Alice’s sister patted her head fondly.

“It was a curious dream, dear, certainly: but now run in to your tea; it's getting late.”

Nodding, Alice got on her feet and prepared to dash off the stage. Now Alice would leave the scene, and Maya’s part would end—— or at least, that had been the plan.

Just before she left the stage, Alice — Maya — suddenly stopped.

“……Maya?”

Her colleagues murmured in hushed tones at the strange sight unfolding before them.

On stage, Bond had been inwardly shaken by her act, but kept up a smiling face as Alice’s older sister.

Maya remained where she was, silent and motionless. As the actors on stage stood at a standstill, and the scene began to diverge from the original story, the audience also began to grow restless.

Then, Alice turned to face her sister.

“I had a dream.”

“………?”

An unexpected ad lib. Hearing Alice veer off from the script, Bond’s heart began to thump loudly in his chest. But Maya continued to speak in the role of Alice.

“In my dream, there were many strange animals and people, and I kept getting pushed around. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and they all said selfish things. I journeyed through all that. I didn’t understand any of it until the end…… But it was a wonderful and jolly dream to have.”

Then, Alice looked straight into her sister’s eyes.

“Do you think, I’d be able to dream it again?”

She tilted her head to the side in a cute manner.

To the audience, these were just the gestures of a little girl; But Bond understood the true meaning behind those words, and his heart ached.

After the players left the stage, and the curtains fell, would they ever be able to step into the limelight like this again? Even though their performance tonight was undoubtedly a success, there was no way they would be able to use this extraordinary technique again and again. Moreover, Bond’s support would end here as well.

After this dreamlike night ended, what awaited them was their cruel reality, of life amidst the discrimination and prejudice this society held for the poor.

“When I grow up, will I never be able to dream like this again?”

Alice — Maya — rocked on her heels and toes as she asked this question. To the unknowing audience, this also seemed like nothing more than the actions of an innocent child.

While playing the role of Alice splendidly, Maya was also appealing to Bond.

Could we ever become a distinguished theatre company, and be recognised by the wider world?

They had poured their heart and soul into that cry, and Bond had received it. While staying in character as Alice’s sister, just as Maya did, he wore a sincere expression as he replied.

“Think about it for yourself, and act accordingly.”

His voice was gentle, yet stern.

“Whether you’ll be able to dream like this from now on: that’s for you to think about. Decide on your own. By no means should you constrain yourself by thinking that adults should act like adults.”

Bond had taken Moran’s words and altered them slightly. They now took on a different meaning, but that was alright. Just like how one could interpret an inescapable tragedy as a happy ending, Bond had also given a new meaning to Moran’s words.

The poor should live their lives as befits their station—— to Maya, who’d ridiculed her own way of life as an actress, Bond contended that being born into poverty was no reason to give up on your dreams.

However, even after hearing her sister’s words, Alice was still unconvinced.

She pouted. “But when I grow up, there will also be difficult things waiting for me.”

Even if one were to dream, reality would not allow them to happen. Having experienced this for herself many times over, Maya launched her rebuttal.

To that, Alice’s older sister walked up to her, and gently placed a hand on her cheek.

“Alice, I was so moved by your story. If you just close your eyes…… See, there’s the White Rabbit. And there’s the drowning Mouse. Over there’s the Queen of Hearts, screeching away, and the Cheshire cat, as well as the Duchess.”

Her sister closed her eyes and pointed, and Alice followed her movements with her eyes.

At last, she pointed at the audience: the tremendous crowds, who had been watching their performance with fervour.

“………!”

That very instant, Maya had forgotten about Alice. Enchanted by the crowds, it was this young woman whom Bond spoke to.

“Alice, your story was able to add such wonderful colours to my world. Your dreams, have the power to shape reality.”

Her dreams could change the real world.

Bond’s words pierced straight through her heart.

“If you meet difficult obstacles, remember this sight: for it was created from your dream.”

Then, for one final time, Bond showed Alice the audience watching the stage.

It didn’t matter where you stood in life. Everyone had the right to live their dreams.

Saying his lines in the role of Alice’s sister, Bond conveyed these thoughts to the players.

The crowds watched their improvisation with rapt attention, so much so they even forgot to blink. It seemed this audience, coming from all walks of life, had resonated with their exchange.

Once again, the message exchanged beneath this impromptu performance enveloped the stage and the surrounding crowds in a quiet stillness.

Having understood her sister’s words, a smile rose on Alice’s face.

“——Thank you. Well then, I’ll be off to tea.”

With light steps, she skipped off the stage.

With a peaceful smile, Bond watched her figure disappear, and slowly, the curtains were lowered onto the stage.

Immediately after, a sea of applause thundered like a storm. Joyous whistles and ovations poured forth from the crowds, their deafening cheers rocking the very cobblestone streets.

Then the curtain rose once again for the curtain call, with all the actors lining up on stage and giving a bow. The applause grew even louder.

As the audience showered them with praise, the chairwoman, Maya, shouted over the cheers.

“With that, our play has come to an end. To everyone who has stayed with us all this way — thank you very much!”

She was so moved that she’d forgotten to put on her theatrical tone from the beginning of the play — this was her honest, heartfelt gratitude.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you! Until the day we meet again, goodbye!”

With those closing words, the players bowed in unison once more, and the performance came to an end.

Just as the curtains fell, from the roof of a faraway building, Bond caught sight of Moran giving him a thumbs-up. To his senior, who had been watching over them all this time, Bond responded with a contented smile.

Just like this, the play that had rocked the capital of the Empire for one night only, drew to a close.

Translator’s notes

A rough map of the play’s route across London

At the start of this chapter, the sequence of events described actually follows the exact storyline of Alice in Wonderland. From Chapter 5, we also know that they began at Piccadilly Circus and moved on to Trafalgar Square — again, the respective scenes they acted out are the first two chapters of Alice in Wonderland. I’ve traced their rough route here:

Also, if you recall that in Chapter 5, Part 2, Fred tells the policemen that the next venue is the British Museum, when they were really going to Knightsbridge. From the map, the company had probably just left Southwark at this time — you can see that he really threw them for a loop.

[aenramsden]

Okay then.

Let’s break this down.

(Spoilers and predictions ahead, obviously.)

So, we know the first five titles in Owl House Season 2 and their short summaries. Amusingly, before seeing these I had already put some of this together from the trailer. Behold!

Episode 1: Separate Tides - “Luz feels guilty about Eda losing her powers, so she sets sail in search of a lucrative bounty to help the Owl House.”

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: Lilith and Eda sitting at school desks outside the Owl House. Pic 2: Luz in an adorable sailor outfit (complete with fish-bandana) firing an ice blast in front of some steam chimneys. Pic 3: Luz in the same outfit in front of the same chimneys casting her plant spell.]

Here we have SAILOR LUZ, in an adorable new outfit, and it seems likely that Luz’s Lessons In Glyph Magic For Cursed Witches will be prompting this quest. But I think there’s a high chance this won’t be the only boat trip we take this season, because...

[Image description: Pic 1: Luz in a different outfit, tied up on another ship with a hemispherical canopy in the background, casting an ice glyph with her feet. Pic 2: An incredibly creepy dragon with a face like two hands clasped in prayer and thumbs and fingers all over its wings and body sitting on what looks like that same canopy atop a balloon envelope, looking down with narrowed eyes.]

Here, we seem to see something that may (oh please oh please oh please) be Luz on a skyship, in snazzy cool new pants that do not match her sailor get-up. The balloon canopy the hand-dragon is perched on looks an awful lot like the one above Luz’s head in the first shot, so this is likely either a monster they encounter in whatever aircraft this is, or the possibly the thing lifting it in the first place. They might also be on a roof, but I’m getting strong balloon vibes from what it’s perched on there, so here’s hoping.

Moving on to Luz’s dangerous deal with Amity’s parents, this isn’t hard to match pictures to.

Episode 2: Escaping Expulsion - “When Amity's parents get Luz, Willow and Gus expelled from Hexside, Luz strikes a dangerous deal with them to get back into school.”

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: A giant Abomination cyborg standing in front of a sign that says “??? Industries” with an Abomination-track logo. Pic 2: A green-haired woman firing a jet of green fire from an Abomination-gun on-stage in front of a backdrop reading “Blight Industries” in the same style as the sign. Pic 3: Luz looking battered in her school uniform, running away across overhead pipework as the Abomination-cyborg chases her with a morningstar-hand.]

So yeah, fascinating stuff here. An Abomination-based company, Blight Industries, Abomination-tech. Looks like the Abomination track is the engineering/STEM field and the Blights own one of the biggest companies in the field, which is probably what Amity is being raised for (so why are the older twins in Illusions, I wonder?). This is probably going to be Luz agreeing to fight the Cy-bomination as a test run or something in order to get back into school. May or may not be an Amity-heavy episode, highly likely to have A++ Blight Parenting, child abuse and trauma either way. Be warned.

Episode 3: Echoes of the Past - “King's delusions of grandeur lead Luz, Lilith and Hooty to a dangerous new island.”

Now, this one is going to be both cool and creepy, because...

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: Hooty in a doll house in front of the Owl House door, which seems to have organs protruding from the circular hole left in his absence. Pic 2: King and Luz flying on Owlbert in front of Lilith and a Hooty-house backpack on her staff. Pic 3: Luz venturing through an old ruin with crescent-headed statues in the walls. Pic 4: One of said crescent-headed statues revealing some rather nasty claws in front of Luz and King, with a backdrop of the same ruins. Pic 5: Lilith, also in the same ruins, showing some fair aptitude with a trio of ice-glyph spells, staff in hand.]

Yeah, this one’s going to have Hooty removed from the Owl House for the episode, which might well net us some lore on what the hell he is. These might be ancient Witch ruins, which would be cool, and I’d say there’s a strong possibility it’ll also be a “Luz coming round to forgiving Lilith for what she did to Eda” subplot, depending on whether or not Luz is holding even more of a grudge over than than Eda is (which I hope she is, because it would be a good character point). Also, can I just say that I adore Lilith’s “low battery icon” t-shirt? Hilarious character point. Much love. We may also see some of her Palisman, which would be nice; it never showed any independence from her staff in S1.

Episode 4: Keeping Up A-fear-ances - “Eda gets an unwelcome visit from a family member who puts strain on everyone in the Owl House.”

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: An old witch with grey hair and a giant eagle Palisman on her staff lands(?) in front of the Owl House. Pic 2: Present Eda fade-transitions into Past Eda in a clear flashback. Pic 3: Young Eda hides behind a door looking scared as a shadow on the wall very similar to her own silhouette shouts angrily on the other side. Pic 4: An older Eda, with a cloak, Owlbert and a streak of grey in her hair, turns around as something lunges toward her in a strange spherical room with a giant keyhole-shaped opening behind her.]

Mom? Mom. That unwelcome visitor in the first picture is almost certainly Eda and Lilith’s mother, which means we are going to be getting family dynamics and possibly flashbacks. This may or may not be a full flashback episode, but I’d say it’s at least likely that this will dig into Eda’s life - we’re certainly going to be getting a flashback of Eda’s life at some point. It looks like things weren’t happy at home - that third picture may be shortly after she was cursed, or possibly a reaction to her mischief-making, and the fourth may (given that keyhole opening) be where she got the portal door. Very excited for this; I love flashback episodes.

Episode 5: Through the Looking Glass Ruins - “Gus tries to impress a group of cool kids from Glandus High, while Luz and Amity journey into the most dangerous section of the library.”

I just wanna say I absolutely called both of these points from the trailer before looking at the episode summaries. Observe!

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: Amity ties her hair back in front of a bookshelf, wearing a lanyard that says “Amity Blight: Staff”. Pic 2: Amity and Luz stand in the Library, flanked by bookshelves, in front of an enormous set of doors. Pic 3: Luz and Amity hold hands against a backdrop of blue and purple. Pic 4: Flying books/roof tiles with wings and eyes flap around amidst the rooftops. Pic 5: Gus fires a fireball through a blue magic circle in a forest, with giant thorny vines in the background. Pic 6: Gus’s fireball EXPLODES, scorching a path through more vines as four kids (one of them Matholomew) cower in the foreground.]

I was pretty sure from the library shots that there was going to be another Lumity-focused episode in the library, with the third picture possibly being books gone wild from the same episode or possibly not. Meanwhile, I connected the last two pictures from the environment and spell, and given all the plants, I’m betting this is either Gus going somewhere horribly dangerous to impress those kids, or him having accidentally upset Willow by trying to be popular and having to get her out of the horrible murderplant wall she’s surrounded himself with. 50/50, really, giant murderplants are very much her thing, but also not uncommon in the Boiling Isles ecosystem. This probably won’t be where we get canon Lumity, but I bet it’s a major step towards it. Looking forward to it!

---

So, that’s the episodes we have concrete info on. What about the ones we don’t? What else might we see this season? I believe canon Lumity is all-but-confirmed - and even if it isn’t I’d say there’s a very, very high chance - but that feels more like a mid-season thing to me. What else?

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: Lilith desperately reaches forward from where she’s fallen to the ground in the Owl House living room with hands that are growing talons and feathers. Pic 2: A monstrous Curse Beast with a white face unlike Eda’s and mottled plumage stalks around one of the Owl House doorways. Pic 3: A close up of this new Curse Beast snarling terrifyingly.]

Yup, looks like we’re getting a “Lilith’s First Transformation” episode. This confirms that she and Eda’s lessened curse will still have them (probably both) transforming sometimes, which is cool - I like the Owl Beast and it leads to interesting plots. Solid odds on this being something of a horror episode, with Curse Beast Lilith chasing them through the Owl House - and Eda no longer has magic to stop her. What’s Lilith reaching out for there in that first picture? Luz and Eda, warning them away? Her staff? The elixir? Possibly some combination of the three? Gonna be traumatic for her, that’s for certain.

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: Camilla stands in front of a fullblown string-and-newspaper-clippings conspiracy wall, looking surprised. Pics 2 & 3: Nine individuals, each wearing a white cloak fastened with a brooch that bears the symbol of one of the nine major Covens (from left to right: Bard, Beast, covered-but-presumably-Healing, Illusions, Potions, Abominations, Oracle, Plants, covered-but-presumably-Construction (same short bald guy that was manning the Construction booth at Covention).]

On the “authority figures” side of things, we have Camila! And the Coven heads! Looks like Luz’s mama is going looking for her daughter - or possibly for whoever’s sending her those creepy letters - and I hope the background there is meaningful and not just filler backdrop, because that key on a hook to her left looks significant and might be the key for the ruined shack Luz entered the Boiling Isles through, while the strange figure holding what seems to be a paddle of some kind in the newspaper clipping to her right looks like it’s at the centre of the string-web. Meanwhile, we’re gonna be seeing the heads of the major covens in some form, probably in a single episode that has all of them cameo in minor roles - except wait a moment. That figure on the far left; the head of the Bard Coven in the hooded cloak with the shiny glasses and frown. Doth my eyes deceive me? Or...

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: a short-haired older witch whose glasses and frown match the Bard Coven head turning to glare at the camera in front of a rock-strewn sandheap(?) Pic 2: The same witch playing a violin in front of a stone pillar, looking unhappy. Pic 3: Eda’s Grudgby scrapbook, including a photo of her, Lilith and a third girl in the Bard track enjoying sweets with Eda.]

... be this the same character? I believe it be! And it looks like an old friend-slash-possible-girlfriend of Eda’s! (Thanks to HeyRebeccaRose on Twitter for pointing that third picture out). That means Head Bard is probably going to get more focus than the other Coven heads (though the Abomination one is very front-and-centre and might also get significant focus from the Amity side if it’s a “Career Day” sort of episode), and we may get even more about Eda’s past.

Speaking of which...

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: A strange conical figure shrouded in robes with a single yellow eye staring out from within them, holding a purple-fire lantern and pointing with elderly, long-fingernailed hands. Pic 2: Another strange cloaked figure, this one with a crescent moon for a face and stars all over their robes.]

Who are these two? Mysterious, and somewhat Oracley in the second case. Could these perhaps be other Wild Witches? We’re likely to see a running subplot of Luz searching for more glyphs and old-style glyph magic this season, so she may well meet some. I don’t get an “antagonist” vibe from either of these, more a “mysterious possible ally” one. Wild Witches they well could be. I wonder what Luz will learn from them?

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: Creepy statues in a possible-graveyard with glowing red eyes that are crying blood. Pic 2: A giant blue dragon with a Shellder for a face that’s wreathed in cyan fire appearing out of nowhere in said creepy possible-graveyard. Pic 3: Hooty rearing up in the woods outside the Owl House, clearly fighting, surrounded by orange-glowing brown masses that could be trees or could be wings and may well be on fire either way. Pic 4: Lilith in a burning forest hitting something with a broken branch.]

What would The Owl House be without action, creepy monsters and horror? Not half as good, that’s what. These creepy evil statues may just be creepy evil statues or they may be petrified wild witches - either way, that’s probably going to be a horror episode, with the Shellder Dragon as a guardian of some sort for the possible-graveyard they’re in. And the second two pictures look alarmingly like an attack on the Owl House - one involving fire. We’re probably going to see Hooty cut loose and fight again, so, uh... RIP to his opponents, I guess. We’re also going to be getting more wide-scale action in the form of...

[Image descriptions: Pics 1-3: The Titan’s Skull, its eyes first glowing yellow, then burning with golden fire, then engulfing the whole frame in a giant explosion. Pic 4: Luz activates a combo-glyph comprised of Fire and Ice together, painted onto some giant boulder or similar. Pic 5: Luz floating apparently-unconscious in a glowing body of water of some kind, with a rope tied around her waist that’s either connected to something deeper down, or has been cut loose from whatever it was anchored to.]

... the Titan itself. Yeah, we’re going to be seeing it acting in some form this season - and I include the pictures of Luz there, because the first shows her increasing skill at glyph magic and the second looks either like a stock “fell from a great height after the rope tying her to another character/the skyship was cut, landed in water, passed out” thing, or a “communing with the Titan while in trance” pose. Or maybe even both! Certainly I think we’re going to be seeing Luz discover that Belos isn’t the only one with a way to talk to the Titan in this season, and if she takes a trip up to the Skull - highly likely - we may see it take a more active role in communicating its own desires and viewpoint, such as they are, and Luz developing her form of magic further as a result.

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: Owl-Masked figure seated on a techno-staff, waving merrily, against a backdrop of what seems to be the Skull. Pic 2: Owl-Mask in front of a set of doors, watching inscrutably as a horned figure (whose shadow is cast across them) undergoes a monstrous transformation. Pic 3: Owl-Mask taunts a caged King. Pic 4: A distressed Kikimora casts a spell. Pic 5: Luz (in her snazzy new patterned pants and cloak) leaps up onto a roof with a red bird (Palisman?) on her shoulder and Owl-Masks’s techno-staff in her hand.]

So yeah, saving the most interesting till last, there’s this asshole. Owl-Mask (and I’m not giving a gender, since we don’t know either way) is probably going to be the new Lilith in this season, either being the primary one in that role of “Belos’s hand”, or sharing the role with Kikimora (who is at minimum going to be in at least one fight). Given the techno-staff like Belos’s and the owl theme of the mask, this person has strong themes of being a foil to Luz; with Belos as their Eda. And indeed, that monstrous figure they’re watching has horns - is that Belos? Does he have a cursed form as well? That would increase the parallels even more.

Of course, it seems Luz is, hilariously, going to steal that techno-staff (like mentor, like student, I suppose), and possibly learn something about this third form of magic-as-technosorcery without glyph or circle that Belos uses. She also has a friend! This might well be someone else’s Palisman that she’s helping escape (since we see in another shot that Belos is still murdering and eating Palismans), but it might also be her own! If so, hopefully she’ll carve it from the giant wisteria tree she and Amity grew in Enchanting Grom Fight, and hopefully it will be gay as hell.

And of course, closing out the season...

[Image descriptions: Pic 1: A gauntleted hand puts a patchwork key into the keyhole of the reassembled Franken-Door-Portal as it lights up. Pic 2: Belos stands in front of the still-incomplete Franken-Door-Portal, with shaggy blonde hair reaching his shoulders and his mask in hand. The shot, even as he puts it on, very carefully hides any sight of his ears from the viewers.]

Yup. Belos’s work to reassemble the Door and the “Day of Unity” is the ticking clock this season (which I suspect it will end on him successfully opening, and then the three 44-minute Season 3 mega-episodes will be the consequences of that). I’m nearly certain he’s human at this point, the framing is just being too coy about hiding his ears for anything else, and his hands and hair are definitely humanoid rather than some kind of eldritch monster. Though I’m sceptical about him being Luz’s father as some have suggested. It’s possible, but I’d rate it as a somewhat flat twist. We are getting more Camila this season though, so who knows?

The “Day of Unity” is what he’s working up to, and I wonder - unity with what? Between all witches? Between worlds? Between him and the Titan? I’m inclined to believe him when he says it’s not as simple as a straightforward invasion of the human world, less because I trust his word (I don’t) and more because, like... what would be the point? What would it gain him?

There are a couple of other shots from the trailer I could ask about - the giant demon shadow on the wall that I called out as probably being another King gag of being cast by a tiny demon when I saw it and was vindicated by the short excerpt from Ep 1 that got released, the shot of Luz clinging to some kind of mechanical-looking arm holding a boulder, a guard using magic (maybe at a magicless Eda), a knightly-looking fellow being attacked by a giant monster, etc - but none of those are shots I can get much from in terms of what to expect, so I’ll close off there. All in all, I’m super eager for this new season and can’t wait to see how much I got right!

See you when the new episodes drop!

[anne-lister-adventures]

Thursday, 9 April 1840

7 1/2

11 1/2 

Fine morning – No sun – Reaumur 6 1/4º on the window seat close to my bedhead at 8 1/2 – Slept very well but the terrible jolting one has day after day makes one a sort of lassitude even on getting up after a few hours sleep – I slept from about one last night to 7 a.m. – Cold here so high among the mountains – Casbek after Elbrus the highest summit of the Caucasus – Breakfast over at 9 1/2 then sat reading Murray till now 10 3/4 article Persia II. p.[page] 396 et seq. and here is the account of the Province of Shirwan &c. now ceded to Russia – 

A-[Ann] sketched the little church neat new ashlar red stone church and its very pretty picturesque little clock separate standing on 4 little arcades open at the bottom – Out from 11 1/4 to 1 1/2 – I sauntered about 1st by myself then sought George – Went up to the little Gurian (as George called it) rude chapel and cemetery at a little height on the hill (East) above the Town – The chapel oblong very small door towards the West – Fast –

Rather tapering – Roof of rough walling retiring roof wise stood on little knoll above the chapel gazing till I could see nothing my eyes ached towards Casbek –

The monastery full in view for 3 or 4 minutes or more at 12 1/4 then clouded over – Kasbek appears to be behind rather South of the monastery – From the glimpse of his centreforts he must be magnificent and 1/3 way up the horizon seen from this little knoll – The monastery handsome looking high dome-topped church and handsome tower (round topped?) clocher – Largeish handsome looking place – 5 v.[versts] from Kasbek – 

The Gergeti Trinity Church, above Stepantsminda (Kasbek in Anne’s time), which Anne deemed a “monastery”. (Image Source)

A village en route about 1/2 way? up the hill or not so much – But this village flat topped like the village town here – Counted 40 squares at 6 families each these squares like little bomb roof forts or casemattes – Covered with gravel at top – Quite like a fine gravelled square to walk – 4 or 6 little round openings are chimneys for the 2d.[2nd] story the ground story has little loop holes at each side front and back which let out the smoke and give all the light there is – The fire on the ground à la Calmuck – It seems I did not over calculate houses or people the latter = 1000 an old man said his house was very ancient was standing in Peter the Great’s time – 

There are 2 towers (tapering square) in the ville – The one we passed last night is quite in ruin only the 2 sides towards last night, standing, and the fog so soon hid it, could see nothing it – Appears (at the distance I saw it, from the cemetery above named) to have had 6 étages and was perhaps gathered up into a stone roof – Singular Town this – The 1st instance we have seen of the quite flat gravelled walk-like roofs of the East – 

Some of the better places open into a little court the 2d.[2nd] story entered by rude stone (black schist from the neighbouring mountains) stairs and a broad balcony gravelled like the roofs – This reminds me of Mouravieff’s description of Khiva &c. Perhaps the 50 chambers of the Palace of Priam were something in this style - ∴[therefore] might be one or 2 stories high – Here the squares are sometimes the dots signify the fire places and there is no division between 2 families –

The middle part is a sort of passage divided off by a wattling – For calves &c. &c. which also seem to be admitted even into the family apartment – The people never wash – Terribly dirty – Had just written so far now at 2 1/2 – A new road from here, George says; but the old one, by Kobi, tho’ longer still the one travelled – Probably the other not yet quite monté – Inquire – From here the defile fait fourche –

Ours is the one of Terek to the right en sortant Kasbek – Paid the post horses 3 Kopek en argent per v.[verst] per horse 16 1/2 v.[versts] = 4/95 + -/12 greasing en argent – ‘Tis now 2 3/4 – Off at 2 50/’’ from Kasbek a very interesting place – It has made me understand the Ossetine Towns – The fort is 2 pieces of canon in the courtyard the sight of the Town except the 2 tall Towers soon lost – At 3 little wood bridge over little stream - At 3 10/’’ right, little distance, on high promontory of rock –                    

a Inn

b Mr. Bachmetieff’s house

c another corresponding house  

d great court and parade yard

e line of barracks for the soldiers

f stable yard

g blacksmiths shop

h Cossack stable for about 12 horses

i large joiners shop and sort of coach house?

k post horse stable for 18 or 20 horses all one story buildings ascended by a step or two

View from a fort on the Russian side of the border. Forts like this one were common along the sides of the Georgian Military Road, which Anne and Ann are using in this stage.

1st village 1 lofty Tower 5 stories high and 2 lower Towers – All tapering square – About 6 of the squares (as at Kasbek) reckoned them at 6 families per square but they are all 2 stories high, and there are generally 6 on one floor or at least 4 families in these Sacles (Sacle signifies house in the language of the people) say 50 families in this village (but there are more?), and reckon 50 families = 200 souls just after this village that was high above us, Crocuses along our road purple and white 1st time and a thorny low, whitish little shrub covering the bottom of the Defile (Zizyphus? No! What is it?) 

At 3 1/4 at the fourche a fine ravine left (saw no traces of the new road George mentioned) and a few coarse grass thatched stone huts, and enter our prong 2d.[2nd] of the fork, right, at 3 1/4 – At 3 20/’’ another fortification-like village (right) on the steep perpendicular rock, with 2 or 3 square Towers but low ones, and a little white line of mountain streamlet (misseau) tumbling down from the high summits close on this side the village – The 1st of these misseaux so common in the Alps and Pyrenees that we have seen here and on pinnacle of rock above the 2d.[2nd] village another village – Several square dry walled flat roofed stone houses along the flat bottom about a verst 3d.[3rd] wide good road – 

At 3 25/’’ the village on pinnacle of rock above the 2d.[2nd] village – 2 more rock-seated picturesque villages in sight ahead of us the nearest with high tapering chimney like Tower 4th little Towerless village or hamlet left on the plaine rather in the glen defile to the left – At 3 33/’’ descend upon little wood bridge over little rapidy streamlet – 4 Ossete women on the bridge in picturesque costume mouths covered with dirty white handkerchiefs – 

Traditional costumes of the people of the North Caucasus. Ossetian costumes are first from the left.

Another little village or 5th hamlet beyond the last and a peep at still another on the mountain side above the 5th village still farther in the the glen to the left

6th

8th the tall chimney-tower fortification old castle like village (vide line 7 above) on steep rocky projection high above us, left – The tall Tower 10 to 15 yards high – Narrows one half – The base seemed about 4 yards the top about 2 yards wide – One of the Towers at Kasbek seemed to narrow (to diminish) 1 yard in 5 yards of height – I could not see it quite from the bottom – The base might be 5 yards wide? – 

Steep descent and drag now at 3 40/’’ down into glen (ravine) with little stream and wood bridge just below the chimney Towered village or Ossetine Town this tall small Tower seen from far in all directions – Little Tower on high rock on the other side of us opposite village no.[number] 8 – This pass has been well fortified in ancient times – The tall Tower of no.[number] 8 walled with lime – Looks a large old fortified place towards the South, out works a good way along the ridge that stretches (towards the South) up to the high mountain – The rock quite perpendicular towards our road – 2 great caves in the hill side joining part of the ridge strewed without works, more walling –

Ruined Tower &c. – Very picturesque – A little beyond us – 9 and 10 on the other side the deep ravine of river, at 3 55/’’ 2 villages on high ridge at a little distance apart one beyond and above the other – There must be plenty of common juniper near tho’ not seen by us for here we passed a Drovne on wheels loaded with it – 

Astonishing the no.[number] of villages on the high steep rocks, and ridges, and bits of platforms under the high mountains – 11 another little village at 4, on the same ridge, on high point of rock above the 2 last villages there must be a little high valley between this ridge and the high mountains – 

And now at 4 Terek 200 ft.[feet] in steep ravine close below us (right) – No guard – We might easily slip off the side of the narrow road into the river, a blueish, whitish, rapidy, 8 or 10 yards broad stream – Here, red, perpendicular schistose, irony? coloured mountain on the other side (left bank) of Terek, and on our left, always singularly rough, projectiony-pointed mountains –

I think there may be 2 or 3 more villages along the same ridge above named to the end of it but the mist is lowering now at 4 1/4 and all to lower than the top of this ridge will soon be hid on our right – 

The bottom of our Defile becomes more strewed with big stones as well as little – The little at Kasbek and everywhere today gathered into large heaps to clear the champs which they sow with corn a small grain said one of the Ossetes at Kasbek – Blé sarrazin i.e. buck wheat? But he said it was all burnt up last summer – 

12th village at 4 16/’’ with tapering not high square tower on the side of high mountain right – 13 village a little beyond and much lower down them the last on the same mountain side 14 ditto at the foot of the same mountain close upon stream? (rather far from us) an affluent of the Terek from deep glen or little valley from the North westward – 

Little frozen small snow flying about now at 4 20/’’ as we toil up to higher ground a broad plateau above the deep ravine of river Terek – And in a minute or 2 steep pitch thro’ the snow narrow road along the brink of deep ravine going down to the Terek – The Courier wanted us to alight – He alighted and walked up – 

15 at 4 1/2 (right) on mountain side village with square Tapering tower at a little distance above and beyond it but this village unlike all the rest has some sloping roofs tho’ looking fortress-like outside – All the villages of dark coloured stone hardly distinguishable from the rock – 

High plateau of débris on each side Terek thro’ which it has formed the deep ravine – The mist covers 1/2 way down right, and now the ragged pointed summits left – We are perhaps 200 yards from foot of high mountains left and perhaps 300 or 400 yards from foot of ditto right – Some deep water courses down the mountains right but dry now – 

4 40/’’ more snow on the road and mountains left much covered with snow, and very streaky right – At 4 50/’’ Kobi just in sight peeping from behind mountain head, right – At 5 steep descent from our plateau into the bottom down to the river divided into several little streams in the little basin like opening out of defile in which the dot near a is Kobi at 5 5/’’ cross little wood bridge over one of the streams still driving small snow –

d our road tomorrow

b castle          

e Defile of the Terek 12 v.[versts] to its source said Colonel G-[Grauert] they say here one can go 15 v.[versts] along this defile and no farther –

c village

f ditto

16 old castle and at 5 10/’’ on rocky ridge (left) about in a line with Kobi, and at a little distance below this castle little fort-like village in and at the entrance of the little Defile to the East and about opposite another village at foot of high mountain right – 

Enter Kobi at 5 1/4 thro’ little street of low flat-roofed shops about 8 on a side – Right side with little rude covered passage (portico) – At 5 17/’’ alight at our nice little stone? yellow washed Inn – This and 2 more such like buildings and the Ossetine Sâcles form the whole town of Kobi – No Krepost – The few Cossacks in low flat roofed huts near the Sacles – Delivered our 3 letters – The Prince of the place came – To be off very early – The Courier with empty carriages at 4 1/2 a.m. and we at 6 a.m. – 

A-[Ann] and I went out – She sketched – I (with a soldier) went to the Sacles – Less good than those at Kasbek – 20 or 30 families or more – A neat little white washed stone church just before entering the village – 

Tea over at 8 – ‘Tis now 11 5/’’ as I have just written so far – Fine day till the driving small snow in the afternoon (vide above) – Tonight they want us all to set off together – An officer and 25 men instead of 10 as the Prince said – 3 Traineaux – 2 for baggage instead of one! Our people frightened – I told George I should set off after the Courier and empty carriages – took off only pelerine and lay down in my gown and black stuff cloak at eleven and a half

Anne’s and Ann’s route on this day.

[symbols in the margin of the page:]         +          𐐥

[in the margin of the page:]            Kasbeck

[in the margin of the page:] ��          Leave Kasbek

[in the margin of the page:]            Population of village

[in the margin of the page:]            steep pitch

Page References: SH:7/ML/E/24/0077 and SH:7/ML/E/24/0078 and SH:7/ML/E/24/0079

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Thoughts on Mary Poppins Returns

I’ve fallen behind on my current-movie viewing due to a number of factors (the only cinema screenings I’ve been to in the last 6 months in fact have been Aquaman at Christmas and twice to see Alita Battle Angel a few weeks ago), but I’m getting caught up as the blu-rays come out. I saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse last night and will comment about it later (the tl;dr - good movie, a treasure trove for fans of pop culture, but looks awful on Blu-ray due to the textures used and I still think Incredibles 2 was more deserving of the Best Animated Feature Oscar), but since I actually invoked Mary Poppins Returns in a post I did about Alita yesterday, I thought I’d give some thoughts on this one first.

A spoiler/length break first as I get a bit wordy. I also do touch on some mild spoilers.

The Good

* Emily Blunt. Being unfamiliar with her other musical work, I was not prepared for how good a singer she is. Whether she stacks up to Julie Andrews is in the ear of the beholder, but I thought she was great. She wisely didn’t base her Mary on Julie, in the process giving us a slightly more cynical, world-weary Mary appropriate for someone with a quarter century more life experiences and adventures. I heard some reviewers call her a sexier Mary than Julie’s. I say nonsense to that - they’re equal (the only difference being Emily having a bit more innuendo in one of her songs, which I’ll mention later). One other comment is that when she played Mary, Julie Andrews was not an experienced film actress with only a few TV and film credits prior to Poppins - she was more a stage actress (her lack of screen experience was one of the reasons why Audrey Hepburn got the role of Eliza Doolittle for the My Fair Lady movie instead of Julie); Emily, by contrast, has been making movies and TV shows since 2003, so she has a level of screen-confidence that adds contrast to her performance.

* Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not being overly interested in Hamilton, Miranda has never been on my radar, so I came into this with a clear slate. He is a terrific addition to the film, he commands the screen (even stealing a couple of scenes from Emily, much as Dick van Dyke did from Julie), and director Rob Marshall wisely gives him a couple of Broadway show-like sequences and lets him go wild. This wasn’t his first film role - he has a number of movie and TV credits - but this is his first lead in a major film, and it won’t be his last.

* The kids. The three child actors chosen come off like 25 year olds who have been transplanted into pre-teen brains. Amazing. If they ever decide to remake Harry Potter, they could do worse than consider these three.

* Nackvid Keyd. Although this person’s cameo was I think intended to be a surprise, the trailers and other promotions give it away. Nonetheless, I’m going to keep it spoiler-free for those who haven’t seen it, by using the actor’s pseudonym here. He’s only on screen for about 3 minutes but it’s an amazing 180 seconds - and to both his and the director’s credit, "Mr. Keyd” actually doesn’t upstage the current cast. And his inclusion - as well as a cameo by another veteran of the original film - shows respect to the original film.

* Angela Lansbury. Her cameo (which I don’t think was intended to be quite the same level of surprise as Mr. Keyd’s) was amazing. This was a woman who made her screen debut in the 1944 Ingrid Bergman film Gaslight. Here, she plays a character equivalent to the first movie’s bird woman (though a little more sprightly). It’s widely believed this part was originally meant to be played by Julie Andrews, but Julie, to her credit, reportedly felt appearing in the film would take away from Emily Blunt (similar to how an alleged plan to have Sean Connery appear in Daniel Craig’s Bond film Skyfall as the groundskeeper was wisely dropped in favour of bringing Albert Finney in for the role. Soon as Sean appeared on screen, Daniel would have been done).

* Replicating the look of the original film. There are some scenes where this doesn’t apply, in particular the use of actual locations in London (the original film was all shot on soundstages in Hollywood), but the attention to detail in replicating iconic locations like Cherry Tree Lane, the Banks’ home, etc., is amazing, even allowing for it not being 100% the same - which is understandable since, after 25 years, you would expect a room to get a fresh coat of paint. There’s a touching featurette on the Blu-ray where “Nackvid Keyd” visits the Cherry Tree Lane set and is amazed at the detail.

The meh...

1. The music. Despite my praise for the cast, I was less impressed by the music (even though I bought the CD). Granted, the original score has had more than 50 years to become iconic, and there are a few songs here that could rise to the same level in a half-century. But, at least for me, they never delivered another “Feed the Birds” or “Chim Chim Cheree”. In fact, some of the songs felt almost like pastiches of the Sherman Brother’s originals. The closest to something that felt brand-new was a rap-like song performed by Miranda during the animated sequence, “Cover is Not the Book” (it actually works, while actually referencing something similar that Dick Van Dyke did in the original.)

The not so good

1. They call it a sequel, but, really, it’s more a remake. I’m not alone in noting that the film duplicates the original almost beat for beat. The order of events is similar, the types of songs are similar. Some of the songs sound similar to the earlier versions, even. Instead of acrobatic chimney sweeps, we have acrobatic leeries who go around lighting street lamps. Instead of Uncle Albert who floats when he laughs, we have Aunt Topsy who, for whatever reason, has a condition where her entire world turns upside down once every two weeks. George Banks becomes dejected over apparently losing his job at the bank; Michael Banks becomes dejected over apparently losing his house due to the bank - and both have epiphanies thanks to someone singing them songs. Both films have big production numbers set in animated alternate universes and another involving airbourne objects in the park. Etc. The only really original thing here plotwise is while the original film actually had no villain (George Banks comes the closest to being an antagonist, but even then he barely qualifies), here there is an actual clearly defined villain, as well as a scene or two of actual jeopardy which we never saw in the original. More on this momentarily.

2. The tone is all over the place ... and too much of it is kinda depressing. We know a film set in the height of the Great Depression isn’t going to be all goodness and light, and the ironic tone of the opening number, “Underneath the Lovely London Sky” sets that out clearly (and quite effectively - it’s one of the best scenes in the film). When Mary arrives, Jane and Michael assume she’s out of work and destitute so they take her in out of kindness. And the whole film revolves around Michael possibly losing his family home. Yet ... I thought too much of it was downright sad. Ben Whishaw - another actor I had no idea could sing - gives an amazing performance of “A Conversation” in which Michael talks to his dead wife. But as that description suggests, this isn’t “I Love to Laugh Redux”. In fact it’s such a sad sequence that it takes you right out of the film - which is a bad thing considering the song is performed only about 10 minutes in. They might have been better off saving it for later.

3. There are also aspects of the film that I think violate the spirit of the original Mary Poppins - and possibly PL Travers’ books too. The “Cover is Not the Book” sequence, which is great and probably the closest to a truly memorable original song (I’d have chosen it for the Oscar nomination over “Place Where the Lost Things Go” which was an attempt at replicating “Feed the Birds”), contains some off-colour jokes delivered by both Mary and Jack that really felt out of place. I’m not being prudish on this, and the off-colour bit is mild, but this being Mary Poppins it was still jarring. And a chase sequence, although well done and exciting - and for fans of the original film providing a dark bookend to 1964′s steeplechase sequence - likewise felt like it belonged in another movie. It was almost as if Disney - in a stark contrast to the days when the reverse was true - refused to release a G-rated movie so they had to add a few bits to get the PG. Sort of like how an F-bomb will sometimes pop up in scripts to ensure a movie gets bumped from PG to PG-13 (which famously allows for one F-word before triggering an R rating). Because no one is possibly interested in watching a G-rated movie in the late 2010s, apparently.

So, I guess, I am rather critical of Mary Poppins Returns. I feel not enough was made of the opportunity to create something new, rather than a rehash of the original.

But - don’t get me wrong, it is still a quality film and I’m glad I have the Blu-ray. The cast does a fantastic job, the music isn’t bad (I just felt they didn’t come up with anything as instantly iconic as the songs back in 1964), and once you get past some of the depressing bits it’s a fun film. So I’d still give it a solid 7 out of 10 and I do recommend it. Just maybe don’t watch it right after the original.

[mamaluigi2018-commsopen]

Mama Luigi’s Top 10 Favorite Games of All Time.

Hey, everyone! Mama Luigi here. Just wanted to create this list to show appreciation to the games that have given me the most joys in my life and so you can all have an idea what kind of games I love. I will be going into small detail on each game, give a description on why I love these games. and also add my favorite track from each game. Alright. Let’s begin!

10. Mega Man 10 (heh....funny)

This was the most recent Mega Man game we got until Mega Man 11 arrived. This was released in 2010 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and WiiWare, and now available in Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. The story is that a virus called “Roboenza” has appeared and have caused robots to go out of control. It’s up to Mega Man and for the first time joining his side, Proto Man, to stop the menace and uncover the cause of the virus. Many would think that at the 10th game, the gameplay of Mega Man would get stale. Not so! The platforming is still tight and a fair challenge, the robot masters are some of my personal favorites of the series with Blade Man, Nitro Man, Strike Man, and my baby boi Sheep Man. The music is fantastic with tracks such as Stage Select, Solar Man stage, and Wily Stage 1. The weapons may not have been as useful as Mega Man 9, but the good ones are really good like Blade Man weapon and Nitro Man weapon. Plus the added DLC with playable Bass and 3 stages based on the Mega Man Game Boy games are a great bonus!

Favorite Track: Nitro Man

9. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Released in 1997 for the Playstation and rereleased on the PSN store and PSP as part of the Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles. After the disappearance of Richter Belmont, Alucard is tasked with invading his father’s palace and put an end to his reign of terror. Symphany of the Night broke the mold of  the Castlevania traditional platform gameplay with a non-linear explorative action adventure similar to the Metroid series, which coined the term Metroidvania. Later games would adopt the Symphony of the Night gameplay such as Aria of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia. What I love about this game is just the amount of free roam the game allows for you to do and what kind of items you can find. If you are having trouble with a part of the game, there is a variety of solutions such as a certain spell or a certain weapon combinations that can help you out. The graphics are a clean, smooth sprite style and the music is some fantastic CD quality music. The love I have for this game makes me even more excited for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night to come out in 2019.

Favorite Track: Dracula’s Castle

8. Kirby: Planet Robobot

Released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016. Planet Popstar has been converted in a mechanized world due to President Haltmann and his goons. Able to snatch one of the bots, Kirby embarks on a robotic adventure to free his planet from the machine menace. I love Kirby. I love Robots. Put them together and you get a absolute fantastic adventure with great Copy Abilities old such as Sword, Fire, and Hammer, as well as new such as Doctor, Poison, and ESP. The levels are well design to emphasized the robot theme and the soundtrack was given a more techno feel. The best parts are definitely the Robobot segments! It can not only smash enemies along the way, buy also copy it’s own set of abilites!

Favorite Track: Super Nova (vs. Star Dream Soul OS) or “P.R.O.G.R.A.M”

7. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2014, Smash 3DS was a companion game for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Nintendo’s greatest are pitted against each other in battle to see who will come out in top. Due to not owning a Wii U, I was a bit skeptic about getting the 3DS version, thinking it was only a dumb down version. I can now say it was not the case! Smash 3DS is just about as a real Smash game as the Wii U version. Having a cast of 65 characters, there a character for almost anyone. The addition of Omega Stages allowed for any stage to be play for competitive match. The choice between For Glory and For Fun was a fantastic idea that allowed any kind of player to have fun. Smash Run was a fun game mode to run in a maze collecting power ups to face your opponents. The music was god like with themes coming from a variety of games and remixes included. So many hours playing with my friends, I know I will always cherish this game and am looking forward to Smash Ultimate this December. BTW, my mains are Pikachu, Luigi, and Lucina.

Favorite Track: Tie between “Gerudo Valley (Legend of Zelda)” or “Main Theme”

6. Shovel Knight

Released in 2014 for the PC and Wii U, with later releases on 3DS, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, PS Vita, and Nintendo Switch. Shovel Knight stars our titular character on quest to stop the evil Enchantress and her Order of No Quarter with his trusty shovel. Steel thy Shovel! Shovel Knight is an indie created by Yacht Club as their first game, and man do they give it their all! Shovel Knight is styled after the NES days not only in art style and music, but in difficulty as well. With exciting stages with their own gimmicks and precise platforming, Shovel Knight is definitely for those who want to relive the NES days. The music is amazing, the characters have so much personality, and the 3 DLC are basically full games put in. Plauge of Shadows is a fun mode with combining different potions. Spector of Torment is my favorite mode with wall climbing, slicing enemies, and Scythe Skating (yes I said Scythe Skating). King of Cards is not out yet, but is showing promise to be just as fun as the 3 other campaigns.

Favorite Track: La Danse Macabre (Spector Knight Stage)

5. Sonic Colors

Released in 2010 for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles “Tails” Prower must stop Dr. Eggman from capturing planets for his Interstellar Amusement Park and free the captive Wisps. Sonic Colors takes the game play the day time levels from Sonic Unleashed and puts him in a high speed adventure with amazing level designs such as Tropical Resort and Starlight Carnival. The Wisp power up allow Sonic to absorb the Wisp and take a variety of forms such as the Cyan Laser or Yellow Drill. What I really enjoy is how the White Wisp the only thing that gave you the Boost so you had to plan out when is the best place to use it. The best feeling I get from this game is sense of speed I get.

Favorite Track: Planet Wisp Act 1

4. Hyrule Warriors: Definite Edition

Released in 2014 for the Wii U, released for 3DS in 2015, and finally for the Nintendo Switch. The Dark Sorceress Cia has called the greatest villains from across the Zelda timelines. Now Zelda, Link, the White Sorceress Lana, Self-Proclaimed Hero Linkle( and best girl), plus heroes from the entire series must stop her and save Hyrule. An absolute fantastic hack n slash adventure where you get use your favorite Zelda Characters and just wreck everything in your path. With a fantastic soundtrack of original tracks and remixes of past Zelda themes. An expansive Adventure Map where you can collect heart pieces and unlock new weapons, collecting material to expand your characters strength. You can spend so many hours on this game and just have a good time.

Favorite Track: Linkle’s Theme

3. Metroid Fusion

Released in 2002 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. After an expedition to SR-388, Samus is infected with X-Parasite. After being given a vaccine containing Metroid DNA, Samus is tasked with investigating the BSL Station. This game. This god damn game was my first horror game. It terrified my 8 year old self. The tense atmosphere, the feeling of isolation, the horrible monstrosities all being after you was made perfectly. And we can not forget about the the nightmare fuel that is the SA-X. That thing was horrifying! The gameplay is fantastic with just shooting down monster after monster and fighting to survive.

Favorite Track: Vs. Nightmare

2. Super Mario World

Released in 1991 as a launch title for the SNES. Mario travels to Dinosaur Land to save Peach(again) from Bowser(again). Super Mario World was my first console game and I share many fond memories of it. The graphics are great with a nice color palette, the levels are fun and varied in design, the Super Cape is an amazing power up, allowing you to skip levels with the right timing. It also introduces one of our favorite dinosaurs, Yoshi. The music is catchy and is remixed into almost every track in the game. This game is truly a masterpiece.

Favorite Track: Staff Roll

1. Pokemon Emerald.

Released in 2005 for the Game Boy Advance, Pokemon Emerald is the 3rd game in the Gen 3 Pokemon games, following Ruby and Sapphire. As moving to the Hoenn Region, a young trainer travels defeating gym leaders, catching Pokemon and stopping the villainous Team Magma and Team Aqua. This is it. This is without a doubt my favorite game of all time. My very first game I ever bought with my own money. Many hours put in to catching all the Pokemon, training and raising different teams, competing in the Battle Frontier. Team Magma and Team Aqua were the first villains to actually feel like a threat, the Hoenn region is an amazing land scape with well known areas such as Mt. Chimney, Meteor Falls, and Sootopolis CIty. The Pokemon designs were made more excotic looking and the music is simple sublime with the use of trumpets. I love this game and I will continue to love and play for all of eternity.

Favorite Track: “Littleroot Town” “Route 120″ and “Ending Credits”

So what did you all think? Do you share any of my opinions on these games? What are some of your favorite games of all time? I would love to know! Have a great day to you all and this is Mama Luigi signing out!

[carolunea-matea]

Mistletoe

A/N: Well this is my first time trying out a writing challenge.  And of course, I take on a 12-part challenge. @like-a-bag-of-potatoes and @thing-you-do-with-that-thing are running Kari and Ida’s 12 days of SPN Christmas.  This is day seven. Mistletoe

“I’ll see you tonight at the party?” Jade asked me as we were pulling our coats on, getting ready to leave work.

“I don’t know. I hate going to these things dateless.” I shrugged.

“Oh, come on! It’s going to be fun! Maybe you’ll meet someone!” She wiggled her eyebrows making me laugh.

“Maybe…” I really didn’t have anything else to do.

“Look, Sam’s big brother just moved to town. I’m sure he doesn’t have any plans tonight. Let me text Sam and see if Dean is up for the party tonight. If he is, I’ll tell him to pick you up at your house around 7:30. Worst case scenario, you end up with a new friend and we get to spend more time together!”

“A blind date? Really, J?” she was already texting Sam. I rolled my eyes.

“He’s related to Sam, Carebear! Practically raised him! He can’t be that bad! Sam did graduate from Stanford with honors after all.”

She had a point. Sam was a great guy. This couldn’t be that bad.

“Yes! Dean will be at your place at 7:30! I’m so excited! I ‘ve been wanting to set you two up since Sam told me he was moving here!”

I just shook my head and laughed.

“Well now I have to go get all cute and shit. Thank god this is a dressy casual thing. I don’t think I could handle having to get all decked out tonight. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

We waved good bye as we headed for our cars.

 By the time I got home it was almost 6 o’clock. I jumped in the shower after pulling out my dark skinny jeans, a burgundy sweater, and a dark green top to so underneath.

It was almost 7 by the time I had my hair dried and curled, makeup applied, and was running around my house looking for my knee-high boots. I had finally found them when my doorbell rang.

“Coming!” I yelled as I hopped down my hallway pulling on my left boot. I knocked into the table I dropped my mail and keys on every day.

“Ow! Fuck!” I was still rubbing my hip as I opened the door.

There before me stood an emerald eyed, dark haired, drop dead gorgeous man.

“Hey, you must be Caroline. You ok?” He was smirking obviously having heard my run in with the table.

I laughed, “Yeah, the table just attacked me is all. Nice to meet you. Come in. I still have to get my coat.”

He walked in and shut the door behind him. I led him to the living room and told him to make himself at home.

“So, you and Jade work together at the hospital?” He asked as I dug through the closet looking for my leather jacket.

“Yeah. She’s one of my techs in the main pharmacy. We’ve worked together for, wow for five years now. I actually remember when she met Sam. She was like a school girl! Couldn’t wait to talk about every date they had.” I chuckled at the memory.

“Yeah, Sammy would call me after every date, too. She’d a good woman. She’s good for my brother.”

“Sam’s a great guy. J told me you practically raised him. You did a good job.” I had just pulled on my burgundy hat and match gloves and was buttoning my short leather trench.

“Thanks. Dad was on the road a lot. Mom, she passed when Sammy was six months old. Our Uncle Bobby watched us a lot, but yeah. We pretty much only had each other.”

I grabbed my purse, “Ok, I’m ready.”

“Let’s party!” Dean joked standing up and opening the door for me. He offered me his arm with a goofy grin on his face.

“Why thank you, kind sir!” I teased in a southern belle accent.

We laughed as we walked to his car. My jaw dropped.

“Holy Shit! A 67 Impala? She’s beautiful!” I walked around his car impressed.

“A woman who knows her cars. Nice.”

“Not all cars. But this, this is my dream car.” Dean was opening the passenger side door for me. I got in and rubbed the dash and the seats before pulling on my seat belt.

“This is my Baby. She was my Dad’s. When he passed, I got her.”

Dean had just bought his own mechanic shop. We talked about cars, my job, how cute Sam and Jade were together. All the random first date stuff. We were laughing about our favorite episode of Friends when we pulled up to the bar the Christmas party was at. Sam and Jade were just arriving as well.

“Well look at you two, laughing and getting along,” Sam teased and Dean opened my door for me.

“Hush, Sammy. Respect your elders!” I teased right back.

“Oh God, you’ve already started telling her stories, haven’t you?” Sam glared at Dean while I gave Jade a hug.

“Oh my God! How did I not think about that? Dean, please! You have to!” I gave Sam a hung before spinning around to look at Dean.

“Oh, there are tons of them! We have all night. Let’s get inside and get drinks. I hope there’s pie.” Dean grabbed my hand and led the way into the bar.

My co-workers called out to Jade and me with a chorus of “Merry Christmas”.  We said hello to everyone and I introduced Dean around.

“What’s your drink?” Dean asked in my ear so I could hear him over the noise in the bar. I got chills.

“Captain and Diet and a shot of Patron.”

“Coming up!” Dean and Sam walked to the bar to get the first round of drinks. As soon as they were far enough away, I smacked Jade’s arms.

“Dude! You didn’t warn me about how hot he is!”

She laughed.

“Well what did you expect? He’s related to Sam.”

“Fair point. But, my God, those eyes!” I fanned myself to further my point.

We pulled off our outerwear and hung them on chairs reserved for our party as Dean and Sam walked back with our drinks. We drank to Christmas and family with our shots and settled in to our seats.

“Ok, everyone! We have our food to the left and we’re going to start karaoke in about twenty minutes. Solo, duets, and groups are all welcome! Let’s have some fun tonight!” The head nurse of the hospital’s trauma center, Meaghan, announced.

We all cheered as people started going to sign up.

“Santa Baby?” I asked Jade. It was a sort of tradition for the two of us to perform the song together.

“Absolutely!”

I told them I’d be right back and went to sign us up.

“You guys carrying on tradition?” Stephanie, one of the trauma nurse’s asked.

“Of course!”

“Who is that guy you walked in with? He’s fucking hot!”

“Dean. He’s Sam’s brother and just moved into town. J fixed us up on a blind date tonight,” I explained, taking a large sip of my drink.

“Good luck!” Steph said while nudging me with her shoulder. I laughed as I walked away.

Back at the table, Jade and Sam were smiling widely while Dean shot a dirty look at them.

“Whoa! What did I miss?”

“Oh nothing,” Jade responded, not making it sound like nothing.

I shrugged it off and sat back down.

Two and a half drinks later, Jade and I were called up to do our song.

“Now up, your favorite duet in the pharmacy and at the Christmas party, Caroline and Jade!”

Our group cheered and Sam and Dean threw in a couple cat calls.

Jade and I laughed our way to the stage.

Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree for me Been an awful good girl Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Jade began the song giggling.

Santa baby, a '67 Impala too, dark blue I'll wait up for you, dear Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

I sang, walking toward Dean, shrugging at the color of the car, shooting him a wink. We were now standing in front of Sam and Dean and pulled them to the stage with us.

Think of all the fun I've missed Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed Next year I could be also good If you'll check off my Christmas list

We alternated the lines. Circling the men while we continued.

Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that's not a lot Been an angel all year Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa honey one thing I really do need, the deed To a platinum mine Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a duplex and checks Sign your 'x' on the line Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree With some decorations bought at Tiffany I really do believe in you Let's see if you believe in me

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring I don't mean on the phone Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight Hurry down the chimney tonight Hurry, tonight

 When we finished, we turned back to the guys to see Sam down on one knee. My jaw dropped as I turned my face to look at Jade, who had dropped her microphone. I slowly walked to stand next to Dean.

“Jade, we’ve been together for four years. I don’t want to spend anymore time not being your husband. Will you marry me?”

The room had fallen silent. Our co-workers all holding their breath waiting for Jade’s answer.

“Of course, I will,” she replied in a barely audible whisper.

“She said Yes!!” I screamed jumping up and down in excitement, tears streaming down my face.

The room erupted in applause while Sam slipped the ring on Jade’s finger before they kissed.

They were the talk of the rest of the party. Everyone congratulating them and hugging the couple while we were dancing.

Dean and I walked over to the food table and began filling our plates. We were about to head back to our table when I heard Sam yell, “Hey Dean! Look up!”

We both looked up to notice we were standing directly under a mistletoe.

Dean smiled taking both of our plates and putting them on the table. He placed one hand on my hip and the other on the back of my head.

“I’ve been waiting all night to find an excuse to do this,” he whispered against my lips before kissing me.

I could feel myself blushing as I stood on my toes, my hands traveling behind his neck.  His lips parted and kissed me deeper.

It wasn’t until I heard the cat calls from my co-workers that I slowly pulled away blushing bright red.

“I am so glad Jade talked me into coming tonight.” I was grinning ear to ear.

@idk-wtf-is-happening (Merry Christmas, Darling!)

[turbogrill]

The Israeli Chef Making Ancient Rotten Fish Sauce the Not-so-traditional Way

Abie, the Doktor

It’s the morning of October 29. In the evening, Abie, the new restaurant owned by brothers Yotam and Asaf Doktor (proprietors of two other Tel Aviv eateries, Haachim and Dok) was to open its doors to clients for a trial run. Chef Asaf was worried, not only because of the grand occasion and the pressure of managing service and staff in a new location, but also because an unfortunate incident had occurred the morning before. “The chefs broke the last bottle of garum we’d prepared,” he said glumly. “I didn’t explode in a fit of anger – but I almost blew up inside. We’re making another batch of garum, but it won’t be ready for a few weeks.”

Garum, a basic element of the Mediterranean diet until the Middle Ages, is a sauce derived from salted, fermented fish, notable for its complex salinity and umami taste. In ancient times it was prepared by drying and fermenting small fish such as anchovies and sardines, together with their innards, in straw baskets or clay barrels that were placed out in the sun. In the past few months, Asaf Doktor, known to all as Dok or Doktor, experimented with the preparation of traditional garum, intended as a cooking ingredient and condiment for some of the dishes on the new menu.

“Some people want to go forward with progress, but my interest is to go back, to the traditions and the roots,” he says. “I have no problem using modern technology. I have a sous-vide cooker in the kitchen, and it cuts down the time to prepare garum from 6 months to 11 weeks. To accelerate the fermentation process, caused by enzymes originating in the fish guts, we used barley koji that we got thanks to the Dok restaurant. Because [the menu] is based exclusively on local ingredients produced in Israel, and because we invited the public to share interesting raw ingredients with us, almost every day someone knocks on the door and brings something. In this case, it’s a young man from a kibbutz in the north who’s interested in fermentation processes and who makes barley koji and miso.”

At Abie, Asaf and Yotam Doktor’s fish restaurant in Tel Aviv. Dan Perez

Curiosity about the past and the tendency to treat the restaurant’s kitchen as an experimental research laboratory is manifested in Abie’s most prominent feature: an immense wood-fired grill – 3.5 meters long, half a meter deep – that dominates the narrow, elongated space. Abie is named “a little for Abe Lincoln, like the street, and a lot for Abie Nathan, a restaurateur and person of peace who understood long before all of us that there’s a shared Mediterranean space,” says Asaf. It’s the next stage in the development of the restaurant business for the Doktor brothers and their partners.

Haachim, opened in 2011 on Ibn Gabirol Street in Tel Aviv, is a modern skewers restaurant based on a charcoal-fired grill. Dok is a small, intimate bar-and-restaurant adjacent to it, which opened in 2015. “Abie is something of a combination of the two,” Asaf Doktor says, “but a wood grill takes the place of the charcoal grill. For the local ingredients we’ll go with a less rigid version than in Dok – here you can have a coffee and eat tahini – but we will still work with small manufacturers who supply most of the products – the primary one being local fish. There’s no meat, only fish and vegetables.

“We work with four different fishmongers to try and acquire the best catch: fish imported only from the Mediterranean – Cyprus and Egypt – and hopefully importation of mussels and fish from Greece will also develop; and fish [raised in] local sweet-water ponds, mostly St. Peter’s fish and trout, which in my view have achieved excellent quality. When fishing in the Mediterranean stops during the reproduction period, we’ll serve a more pared-down menu, which will include fish from breeding ponds and pickled and preserved fish that we prepare ourselves.”

At Abie, Asaf and Yotam Doktor’s fish restaurant in Tel Aviv. Dan Perez

Cooking at the primal level

It’s enthralling to watch the big grill, in which two or three fires at different stages are always burning, and the work of the cooks, who incessantly need to feed the fire or shift a burning ember. “It’s cooking at the most primal level,” a cook who visited the restaurant early in the trial run said in amazement. “To throw logs on the fire, like in the past, and over them to grill animals, vegetables and fruits. In the modern age, cooking processes are hidden behind sophisticated instruments and techniques, but here you’re reminded anew of how the controlled use of fire was a driving force in human development.”

“Charcoal is also made of wood,” Dok says, explaining the choice of a wood-fired oven that entailed installation of a complex, costly system of chimneys and smoke filters to meet environmental standards. “But the burn and emission of charcoal are different,” he adds. “In a way, as with the challenge of local raw ingredients that we set at Dok, we’re making it hard on ourselves. With charcoal you skip the combustion stage and get a stable, long-lasting fire. With a wood stove, we have to start by igniting the fires, created from twigs with logs atop them, hours before the service; and because wood is more dynamic, we need to ensure a fire nonstop.

“It’s a headache,” he continues, “but it makes the work more interesting, with the goal of making the aromas and flavors more interesting, too. Working with wood also allows us to place the foods above the fire – at different levels of proximity to the flames or to the glowing coals – on thin nets, instead of the thick nets that a coal-fired grill requires.”

At Abie, Asaf and Yotam Doktor’s fish restaurant in Tel Aviv. Dan Perez

Wood for the fire comes from agricultural refuse provided by farmers who cut down trees, old groves and orchards; the main types at the moment are pomegranate, citrus and olive trees. The wood-fired oven is used simultaneously for grilling, for slow or fast cooking of fish, shellfish and vegetables, and for smoking fish heads and bones to produce stock. (The sight of fish hanging on a steel hook above the source of the fire makes you think of still lifes by Chaim Soutine or larder paintings by Juan Sanchez Cotan; the image will surely become an icon readily identified with the restaurant.)

The wood oven, covered with red bricks, also includes a hot smoker. The range of fish and cooking techniques made possible by this oven prompts thoughts about the use of the sea creatures’ less familiar parts, which usually get thrown out. One day in the restaurant’s trial run, an excellent stew of turnips cooked on the grill and then smoked together with the flesh of triggerfish heads was served. The next day came triggerfish stock and heads of little tunny with saffron and fennel.

In the first two weeks of the trial run – the restaurant opened in the season when fishermen return to the sea (between summer and winter, or what optimists call the “Israeli autumn”) – the first diners enjoyed excellent dishes based on blue crabs, striped sea bream, anchovies, Spanish mackarel, greater amberjack, chub mackerel and other local fish. The grilled trout, from local ponds, is also very good; and even better is the St. Peter’s fish, also raised in local ponds, served deep fried as is the custom here. “Frying enhances St. Peter’s fish,” Dok says. “I’ve noticed that wherever I go in the world people respect it and present it as the crowning glory of the local kitchen. Maybe the time has come for a renaissance of St. Peter’s fish in the Israeli consciousness, too.” Served with the fish is a selection of Mediterranean mezze, such as homemade ikra, labaneh and a spread made from fava beans and grilled vegetables.

Abie is located in a strange-looking concrete building that used to be a telephone exchange and had been abandoned in recent years. The nearest neighbor in the small, neglected commercial center, opposite excavations for the light train project, is a local supermarket. Like the brothers’ other two restaurants, which appear to have successfully captured the elusive essence of Israeliness, the design and atmosphere of the new establishment create a relaxed feeling free of formality and luxury elements.

Abie, Lincoln 16, Tel Aviv, 03-777-5161

Ronit Vered

Haaretz Contributor

Check out the TurboGrill™

published first on https://turbogrill.us/

[aliciabuncle]

Is Christmas spirit still the North Pole’s greatest asset?

Nestled at the northernmost point on the planet sits a legendary operation of massive scale. Producing billions of gifts per year, it has primarily relied on Christmas spirit to ensure that every child on Earth has a holiday to remember. But to make all of this happen is no elfin task. It is critical that the hundreds of thousands of pieces of equipment, workshops and one magic sleigh are operating at peak performance.

As we uncovered in our interview with the Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) and Chief Operations Officer (COO) last year, these complex, connected software-driven assets are the key to delivering the most joyful day of the year. To maximize their usage, intelligence has become the North Pole’s greatest asset using insights from data, IoT, and AI.

In last year’s feature, we focused on the health and safety of the equipment behind the manufacturing of these toys. This year we sat down again – with only the finest cocoa and sugar cookies – to discuss three key topics:

      How to engineer billions of connected toys at scale

      Creating the most enchanting workshop experience

      Why arctic hares and musk oxen introduced the need for a remote monitoring solution

Since the CHO and the COO were away at the annual MUG Council (Merry User Group), they had us sit down with Twinkle, the Chief Tinsel Officer (CTO), Noel, the Head of Workshop Planning, and Kris, the Director of Chimney Operations to better understand how the North Pole continues to put data, IoT and AI to work.

 Delight is the outcome that matters most

In an operation as complex as this, the primary goal is always to deliver higher-quality toys faster – at lower costs. As a non-profit operation, fueled only by Christmas spirit of the youth it serves, it is important to stretch every positive sentiment to the max. However, these young lads and ladies are not always easily impressed. In an era of limited attention spans and children who can navigate a smart phone before they are 6 months old, toys have become increasingly software-driven, connected and sophisticated. Development of these toys must respond in kind.

Elves examining the 2020 model of the next-gen toy car

How does a CTO with consumers who are not easily impressed always create such delight? Twinkle deploys an AGILE (Always Gifting Incredible Life Experiences) methodology to software development. Whether it is the toys that land under the tree or the software that guides the sleigh through the night to its billions of destinations, agile development means faster software engineering. Twinkle learned about this methodology at last year’s IoT Exchange from a presentation given by one of her peers.  She has since found enormous value in implementation of the engineering lifecycle management solution.

“Informed by AI and letters to Santa, the North Pole has been able to cut software development and delivery time by 37%. If that’s not a Christmas miracle, I don’t know what is!”

Toys are more complex than ever before

As toys have evolved far past the traditional days of wooden pull-ducks, basic stuffed dolls, and pressed tin tanks, delivering them at Christmas scale has become a substantial challenge. But, toys, just like any other complex product, are only as good as the requirements that drive them and the tiny, adorable elf hands that craft them. For Yuletide Engineers to manage the growing complexity of connected knickknacks, they need better visibility into changes, deeper insight into data and shared tools for global distribution.

Operations at the pole form a traditional super-system and today’s systems-of-systems require mechanisms to create versions and variants of holly products while maintaining relationships between the traditional and the new. The CHO’s shared, digital dashboard stores data in a single location from which many different teams can benefit.

Complete traceability all through the year

This approach integrates project stages for complete traceability, starting the day after Christmas, in order to achieve evergreen compliance and become less complicated. All activity and changes in requirements can be viewed by anyone at any time. It shows relationships throughout a project such as circuit boards to R/C cars or batteries to Power Wheels. The documentation is built-in to help manufacturing teams conduct reviews and audits more easily while remaining both holly AND jolly.

“The last thing any of us wants to see is a disappointed look on little Billy or Sally’s face after they open a beautifully wrapped box and the surprise inside doesn’t work to their absolute delight. You see, there’s no amount of milk or cookies that can fuel the magic we need to bring smiles to all the little boys and girls around the world. We have to rely on advanced technology to enable the annual production cycle that we strictly adhere to. During that time, we have very little room for even the smallest errors in our systems, assets, products, and more. We turned to IBM Engineering Lifecycle Facilitator (ELF) for their leading end-to-end, integration and goodwill development solution for complex gift management and cheer engineering.” – Twinkle, North Pole, CTO

 Elves are demanding a workshop experience that promotes community and cheer

 When you think of the North Pole and the holiday it serves, what comes to mind? Probably singing elves, open-space workshops, festive décor, and plentiful milk and cookies. If you recall from last year, the North Pole is home to many festive facilities, such as:

       Toy Workshops

       Worker Housing

       Reindeer Hanger

       Bake Shop

       Hoofsmith

       Candy Shop

       Hat Maker

       Post Office

       Cocoa Cafes

       Sleigh Valet

Each facility is the workspace for an elfin community. Yet, last year, the Head of Workshop Planning realized some alarming trends. Certain workshops were showing decreases in SLEIGH (Singing Loud Eagerly In Great Harmony) measurements. There were also some shops that were over-crowded while others sat under-utilized. This led to an increase in artisan milk and cookies running out in the over-used spaces. It also meant we were spending way too much Christmas spirit, the currency of the North Pole, to power the under-used spaces. The North Pole is not a cheap location to host one of the largest operations in the world. With real estate costs being second only to the cost of homemade cookie delivery, managing those costs is critical. Noel was concerned by these trends and began to do some research on how to improve in these areas.

Millieni-elves are shaping the future of the workshop experience

What he found gave him pause. No matter where they spent their days tinkering, some commonalities arose in what elves value in their workspace. In a recent study that interviewed 500 Millenni-elves (those elves that had been in the workforce for only 1000 years or less), some commonalities rang true.

Optimizing workshop utiilization

Shops that rank high in elf engagement are 21% more productive and have 37% less absenteeism. They also have up to 59% less turnover than their less-engaged counterparts.

“There is nothing more disheartening to see than a disengaged elf. It’s just not in their nature so we knew we had to fix it ASAAP (as soon as angelically possible.) “

In addition to this, elves spend their entire lives training for this job. It is their livelihood. “The only kind of turnover we want to see in the North Pole is of the apple variety!”

Spaces matter for elf engagement

Noel took it upon himself to attend IoT Exchange in Orlando last April. While it gave him the opportunity to visit surrounding theme parks to do market research on his ideal customer, his biggest takeaways were around the technologies he could deploy to improve how his spaces were used. He wanted to make sure elves had the workshop setups that would ensure improvements in spirit and productivity.

Last year they had invested in additional Candy Cane Lane conference rooms and reduced the number of Snowball Bungalows. This had allowed them to save on square footage without needing to lease another building. However, they could see now that this shift simply wasn’t enough to increase elf engagement. Having rooms available was great, but not if it wasn’t easy to book one.

Jolly the Elf explains: “I had an important presentation to give last week about why we needed to enhance security measures on our AI-powered dolls after the release of the latest killer doll movie gave some parents a fright. It took me 15 minutes to find a free room and by then it was time for the bi-hourly cookie break and everyone had their next meeting to go to. Now I need to reschedule and it was a waste of everyone’s Christmas spirit.”

This experience is not uncommon for many elves. Nearly 70% of elves report that finding a place to meet is one of the biggest wastes of Christmas spirit. The average elf wastes 15 mins per day. Multiply this number by 400,000 elves and you’ve got a productivity issue!

While the North Pole has been using a facilities management solution for several years to manage maintenance and lease accounting, this expansion into space management and workplace experience has really helped them address their elf productivity issues.

In fact, in the most recent poll, SLEIGH scores were up 716% and turnover was at an all-time low. Noel is very excited to report these findings at IoT Exchange 2020!

Monitoring equipment near and far

Monitoring the operations of equipment at the North Pole is no small feat. A few things to consider are the extremely cold climate, unpredictable fluctuations on the naughty/nice list, and the global scale of operations. Think of what it takes to ensure that 2 billion chimneys are safe and operable for the CHO to scoot down each year! This can only be done using a state-of-the-art asset monitoring solution. Configurable dashboards and alerts mean that any change in chimney soot density is immediately detected and the nearest remote team is sent to restore to appropriate levels.

Ensuring equipment stays up and running with asset monitoring

On the Pole itself, they can immediately detect when there’s an overgrowth of ice chunks on the equipment that keeps the shops running.

“We have many Musk Oxen and Arctic Hares above the 85th parallel. When it gets cold, they huddle together for warmth. There was one time a few years back that we got a record-breaking cold streak and they needed to go to extreme measures to stay warm. They huddled together near one of our generators because it was emitting heat. But that then caused the generator to overheat. We had no monitoring equipment on it so it went down and caused 14 workshops to go dark for days. So much lost productivity and such a mess! It still makes my cheeks so red to think about!” – Kris, Director of Operations, North Pole

Thankfully now the North Pole has an asset monitoring solution that notifies them when temperatures and conditions are at risk for a similar situation.

“We’ve equipped all 7,000 of our power generators with sensors and are notified as soon as anything goes out of range. We send a crew out to clear the hares, oxen and/or ice chunks so there’s no more interruption to production. We’ve estimated that it has saved us thousands of hours of lost elfpower and many disappointed children. Can’t put a price on that, no sir.”

Bring joy to the world with IoT and AI

The North Pole has aggressive targets to meet and the goal every year is 100% joyful children. Any deviation from that is unacceptable to the elves that dedicate their lives to the toy craft. Joy is the goal and solutions from Watson IoT help the North Pole reach their targets every year. Infusing intelligence into everything from buildings to toys to equipment produces the results they require.

How can you bring more joy to the world? Come share your story and network with your peers at IoT Exchange 2020!

  The post Is Christmas spirit still the North Pole’s greatest asset? appeared first on Internet of Things blog.

Is Christmas spirit still the North Pole’s greatest asset? published first on https://decalsgraphicstore.tumblr.com/

[gyrlversion]

Couples stunning Cardiff home crowned BBCs Best House in Town

A couple whose surprise semi-detached house was named BBC One’s Best House in Town have shared their top tips on transforming your home. 

Miffy and Gareth Shaw, from Cardiff, appeared on the series last month and blew viewers away with their stunning three-bed home – which looks like a standard semi-detached from the outside. 

The Welsh home has been lovingly restored by interior designer and 39-year-old mother Miffy Shaw, and builder husband Gareth.

Speaking about the win as she shared her interiors advice, Miffy admitted: ‘I don’t know why I’ve won to be honest, I just do what I do, but I’m really proud and thankful.

‘People have said they think I’ve won because my house is unique but that’s quite a weird thing to hear because surely everybody’s house is unique.’

1. Find inspiration everywhere 

Miffy and Gareth Shaw, from Cardiff, appeared on the series last month and blew viewers away with their stunning three-bed home – which looks like a standard semi-detached from the outside. Their living room, complete with exposed brick wall juxtaposed with a teal blue statement wall is pictured

The interior designer is very clear on where people can find her style inspiration: everywhere.

Miffy says: ‘Everything influences me. If a girl walks past my in Tesco and I spot a handbag or jacket in a nice color or material or we go out for food in a cafe and they’ve done great lighting, I take note.’

The mum says there’s no better inspiration than nature itself, the colours and textures she sees just taking their French bulldog Tugboat out for walks.

2. Tie the look together

To create flow within your home, then there need to be particular elements running through the property to tie the ‘look’ together, the hallway and first floor is pictured 

Even though the frames are different styles and sizes, they are all curated under the banner of gold, black and wood, so giving the display a subtle continuity see in the hallway

The home, pictured, looks like a standard semi-detached from the outside

To create flow within your home, then there need to be particular elements running through the property to tie the ‘look’ together, but Miffy says that doesn’t mean you have to be shackled by your style.

Colours, textures, surfaces, flooring and lighting can all assist in bringing harmony to a room and a home, even if your interior design style is eclectic.

The photo display in the hallway and up the stairs, although at first glance may seem random, each item’s spot has been carefully considered.

Even though the frames are different styles and sizes, they are all curated under the banner of gold, black and wood, so giving the display a subtle continuity.

Thinking about flow and continuity before a decorating can be a worthwhile step, if you are patient enough to do the research and source ideas that work for your home.

In Miffy’s home the consistent use of flooring, texture, pattern and colour in key areas all assist to create a structured design journey through the home, including the use of navy and wood in the kitchen/diner and the garden, visually connecting the two areas.

3. Don’t be afraid of dark colours

Miffy’s home is the main bedroom, where the stormy, dark grey is used continuously throughout the room, is an example of use of dark colours

One aspect of Miffy’s house that many homeowners may be a little nervous to copy is the use of dark colours.

Incorporated into a colour scheme successfully, dark colours can add drama, create atmosphere and act as a striking background to key interior design features.

One stand out example in Miffy’s home is the main bedroom, where the stormy, dark grey is used continuously throughout the room.

It’s on the walls, the ceiling, the floor and the cupboards. It creates a strong contrasting backdrop for the collection of metallic mirrors, gold leaf design light fitting and warm wood furniture.

Miffy says: ‘I’m obsessed by dark and moody colours, creating atmosphere.  In the bedroom I found the wallpaper and it all developed from that.’

4. Break things up a little

In daughter Frankie’s room the dark accent colour is burgundy but Miffy has used it only above the picture rail and on the ceiling, creating a cosy feel to the room but without overwhelming it

In daughter Frankie’s room the dark accent colour is burgundy but Miffy has used it only above the picture rail and on the ceiling, creating a cosy feel to the room but without overwhelming it.

The mono, pattern wallpaper below the picture rail allows the room to breathe and for Frankie’s treasured possessions to take centre stage.

The navy kitchen / diner continues the dark colour theme, but Miffy has been clever to break it up with a variety of tactile textures, light colours and eye-catching curios.

She says it took some courage using dark colours, but laughs: ‘We thought, if the worst comes to the worst and we don’t like it, we can always paint over it!’

5. Source reclaimed materials to decorate on a budget

The dining table scaffolding boards appear again as the tactile structural element of the kitchen island 

Miffy and husband Gareth have been very budget clever with interior design of their home.

The table is made from leftover scaffolding boards, built onto the legs of a snooker table found whilst rummaging through a reclamation yard.

The chairs are all mismatched, each with its own design story, that have been given to the couple or found in charity shops. Ideal for a family home, there’s no drama when they get bashed and disrespected.

The dining table scaffolding boards appear again as the tactile structural element of the kitchen island.

6. Use industrial materials – but soften them 

The outside space sees wooden benches and a brick wall featuring a built in fire an dwood storage, softened by a pond and green plants

When it came sourcing a kitchen worktop, the couple were hoping for marble but it wasn’t in the budget.

The resourceful pair decided to look into the possibility of using concrete, long before it became accessible to standard suburban homes.

Miffy explains: ‘I wanted different textures and concrete in a semi was quite a new concept back then. I love it, it’s rough and rugged. It was accessible for us; we couldn’t afford marble so this was perfect.

‘I designed the bathroom double sink too and the countertop company had a go at trying to make it. It was the first one they made, now they do them for Nandos!’

The industrial light fittings, scaffolding, metal and exposed brick wall are all softened by Miffy’s introduction of soft textures and tactile furnishings.

She says: ‘I would describe my style as eclectic, sort of DIY rustic. It’s organic in that I love wood, stone, leather and natural materials like rattan.’

Milly, seen in the sitting room, says: ‘I would describe my style as eclectic, sort of DIY rustic. It’s organic in that I love wood, stone, leather and natural materials like rattan.’

Wool, wood, china, glass, house plants and flowers all add to the softening accessories and furnishings and ensure this home continually looks warm, inviting and comfortable.

The couple have had many inspiring design ideas whilst doing up their property, but one of the most inventive is probably moving the kitchen door further into the hallway, so the under stairs space could be incorporated into the kitchen design.

The continual use of the same flooring from the kitchen/diner out onto the patio means that there is a visual flow through from the indoor to the outdoor spaces, even when the bi-fold doors are closed.

Even wood log storage has been considered, with a long, eye-catching alcove carved into the lounge chimney breast as a place to pop the firewood. All genius ideas, and all ideas you can pinch for your home.

7. Plan your look – but don’t be afraid to change

In daughter Frankie’s room Miffy knew she wanted burgundy and mustard, but the inspiration for the wallpaper came from the pattern of a puffer fish

And when planning a room makeover, it’s all about the planning, isn’t it? Yes, but Miffy also believes that a room’s personality should continue to grow.

The Welsh home has been lovingly restored by interior designer and 39-year-old mother Miffy Shaw and builder husband Gareth

She explains: ‘When I think I know what I would like in a room, I have found my influences, I will start making mood boards and initially find different versions of the look I want on Pinterest.

‘But I’m more of a grower, things come to me slowly and ideas start growing and changing.

‘All the rooms have started from different inspirations with the core being that you have to love it.

‘So in the bedroom I found the wallpaper and it all developed from that.’

In daughter Frankie’s room Miffy knew she wanted burgundy and mustard, but the inspiration for the wallpaper came from the pattern of a puffer fish.

She says: ‘It’s a growing process I don’t do it all in one go, I start collecting things.

‘So I suggest people begin with a favourite picture, a lovely rug or a comfy sofa, use whatever you love to inspire you, and it all comes from that – pick out different colours and textures from your beloved item and build it from there.

‘The key is to make it personal to you.

‘My house doesn’t usually look like this, it usually has an ironing board in it, washing hanging around; it’s real life, but I fill it with the stuff that I love – surely that’s what your home’s all about?’

The three-bed semi-detached home, seen before its transformation, has been lovingly restored by interior designer Miffy Shaw and builder husband Gareth

The post Couples stunning Cardiff home crowned BBCs Best House in Town appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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7 Practical Tips for Creating a Sustainable Home

Making your home more environmentally friendly is not only a good idea for the planet, in the long run it can save you money as well.

Whilst you can decrease the environmental footprint of your home at any time, carrying out a renovation, addition or extension is often the perfect opportunity to include features that make your home more sustainable.

In 1998, the HIA (Australia’s Housing Industry Association) put in place their GreenSmart program to offer up-to-date information on practical, affordable and lasting environmental solutions for residential design and construction, and provide accredited training for builders and designers.

As an accredited GreenSmart Professional, Addbuild contacted the HIA and spoke with their Executive Director of Planning and Development, Michael Roberts, to find out the latest thinking and most practical measures a homeowner can consider when carrying out home improvements.

1. Stop heat getting into your home in summer

Preventing the sun heating your home in the first place is the top priority for Michael who highlights two key areas – your roof and your windows – to focus your efforts on:

“Good insulation in your roof is the number one thing to consider. For those homeowners building an additional floor, it’s very likely that they will be replacing most if not all of their roof, so this really is a no brainer for them.”

“Everything between the tiles or metal roof and the ceiling can be measured for how much insulation it provides: the sarking directly under the outer roof structure, the air in the roof cavity, the insulation batts above the ceiling. They’re all opportunities to prevent heat entering your home.”

“The sarking comes in different grades of quality and reflective value, the best being sarking that is backed with a blanket of insulation material.”

“Whirlybirds are effective in ventilating the roof cavity to allow hot air to escape and prevent damp. The wind powered varieties are fine, but electric powered versions are more effective and there is a increasing range of solar-powered whirlybirds that are worth looking at.”

In terms of your windows, you have a number of potential solutions, some by design, some via the materials you choose:

“Your first consideration should be keeping the sun off your windows by using shading hoods, screens or shutters on the outside of your home.”

“Then there the glass itself. Using tinting to reduce heat from the sun and double glazing for better insulation are established options, but we are now seeing the use of more expensive solutions like ‘smart glass’ that adapts to the conditions inside and outside of the home and can be used to heat the interior as well as keep it cool.”

“Moving inside, your final barrier is to use heavy curtains.”

“And the good news is that all the insulation I’ve mentioned will help keep your home warmer on a cold Sydney winter night.”

2. Passive design principles

Michael is a fan of using smart design to keep your home cool:

“If you can incorporate it in the design of your new layout or addition, you should consider the benefits of cross ventilation. As a rule of thumb, if you stand with your back to a window, you should be able to see another window in front of you.”

“Also, a second floor addition gives you the opportunity to create a ‘thermal chimney’. This draws air through from lower floor to the upper floor via a stairwell or void, and then out of the house via open windows.”

3. Use sun tubes to light your home

Michael notes that “ideally, you should be able to read a book in any room in your home during daylight hours without having to turn on a light, but some rooms don’t have many or any windows.”

“Sun tubes are an alternative source of light and have taken over from skylights as they are more practical and cheaper to install.”

“Sun tubes are also now pretty sophisticated at reducing the heat whilst letting in light. They are designed to reflect some of the light away from the house during middle of the day, but let more light in when sun is low.”

“Some models also come with dimmer switches so you won’t be woken up in summer when the sun rises in the early hours.”

4. Lighting

Michael explains that as well as reducing your reliance on electric lighting where possible, your renovation is also an opportunity for installing new lighting like LED lights which use far less power than conventional lighting.

“At the beginning, LED lights were underwhelming, a bit of a gimmick, but they are now becoming a legitimate option for lighting your home and draw a fraction of the power”.

5. Water

Even though we aren’t currently experiencing a drought in Sydney, Michael reminded us that this won’t always be the case, so reducing the amount of water your house uses is still important:

“Regulations in NSW have really improved the new fixtures and fittings installed in homes: taps, showers and toilets are all of a much higher standard in terms of water efficiency and this has done most of the heavy lifting to improve water consumption in recent years.”

“Some solutions that had a lot of focus like water tanks and grey water systems haven’t taken off as many thought they would. Water tanks have issues in terms of space and the need for regular maintenance, whilst grey water systems have proved too complicated for many to install.”

6. Solar Panels and Batteries

There was a time when rebates and feed-in tariffs were the deciding factor for the uptake of solar panels in NSW. Now the lowering cost of panels and the rapid technological improvements in battery technology are making the combination of solar panels (which are only effective during the day) and batteries (for the storage of the energy generated for use at night) viable:

“Once you have done everything you can to design your home to keep it cool in summer or warm in winter, solar panels and batteries are beginning to look like no brainers for offsetting the cost of cooling or heating your home.”

“The technology is moving at such a pace that within two years, batteries may be a legitimate option for every home given the reduction in their size and cost, coupled with the increase in their storage capacity.”

7. Home Appliances

Like solar panels and batteries, appliances can be replaced whether you are completing a home renovation or not, but, as Michael notes, often a renovation is a time when several key appliances may be replaced:

“For example, people tend to replace their fridge when renovating a kitchen, and may invest in air conditioners when adding new rooms or a second storey.”

“The advice with air conditioning is to buy the most energy efficient unit you can afford, and pay close attention to matching the capacity of the unit to the size of space it is operating in. You should try to place an air conditioner in rooms that are the best sealed and insulated.”

“Buying a cheap, inefficient unit that struggles to cool its surrounding area is a quick way of receiving a very large energy bill.”

“Also note that in NSW you can now get rebates for replacing your old heater with an energy efficient air conditioner.”

Next thing to look at is your hot water system. Again, Michael advises you to purchase the most energy efficient system you can afford:

“Solar, heat pumps and efficient gas units are the environmentally friendly options, and natural gas is cheaper than bottled gas. Whilst electric hot water is cost effective if operating off-peak, it’s not necessarily good for greenhouse gas emissions.”

Turning our attention to white goods, Michael also has a hierarchy of importance in mind:

“The next big energy guzzler is the refrigerator. Once again I advise people to buy most energy efficient fridge they can afford.”

“Crucially, when buying a new fridge, don’t put the old fridge in the garage as back up, switched on with a few cans of soft drink inside! That really defeats the purpose of buying a new energy efficient fridge, but you’d be surprised how many homes do this.”

“When renovating a kitchen, often people build an open cupboard to house the fridge. It’s really important to make sure that there is plenty of room to the sides and behind the fridge to allow for air flow around it. This ensures the fridge can operate as efficiently as possible.”

“Next in line is your washing machine: buy the most water efficient one that you can afford. After that, the dishwasher. This doesn’t use as much water as you washing machine, so once again look for the most energy efficient unit, but also keep one eye on its water efficiency.

For this article, we asked Michael to focus on his most practical advice, but the GreenSmart program has a more comprehensive range of information for anyone wanting to delve deeper into all their options.

A good starting place is the GreenSmart website where you’ll find the “Guidance Notes for Designing and Building New Homes and Renovation Projects” as well as other resources.

As I think you’ll agree, Michael’s advice is something many homes can follow whether carrying out renovations or just wanting to improve their environmental footprint and save money on their recurring bills.

Whilst some of the options do incur an investment, it was also clear that other ideas are simple and easy to carry out, especially if they can be discussed and planned at the design stage of a renovation project.

The post 7 Practical Tips for Creating a Sustainable Home appeared first on Addbuild Additions Sydney.

7 Practical Tips for Creating a Sustainable Home published first on https://medium.com/@LandscapingMate

[thesausagequest]

Seasonal Sausages

It has recently been the time of year where Chris Rea drives home for Christmas only to find that no one was actually expecting him, and so there aren’t any gifts for him at the house, everyone shipped them to his place, didn’t they arrive? They did? Chris, was that not a giveaway? Did you bring them with you? Why not? You really should have phoned ahead, Chris, this is actually bordering on rude at this stage. 

Unlike Chris Rea, I did inform my family and people close to me that I would be home for Christmas - it wasn’t hard, Chris, I just sent a couple of emails. Have you set up your Outlook or do you need help again? Ok, later. As I was saying, I did inform people that I would be travelling back to the United Kingdom for the festive season and, what with it also being my birthday around then (don’t guess my age, I am deceptively old for someone who fastidiously monitors their sausage intake. I remember the launch and subsequent teething pains of Channel 5, if that helps) a sausage outing was in order. 

‘Sausage outing’, while sounding like something to be avoided in public, is actually just a trip to have sausages. I don’t know why your mind is like it is and always goes for the gutter. 

As my family live in the county of Yorkshire, we mounted our shire horses, stuffed our jackets with straw for warmth, loaded our whippets with a distaste for extravagant spending and began the four-day trip to Leeds, during which only one of us contracted Cholera, which is actually a very good outcome. 

Our eventual destination was the German market in Leeds which, as it transpired, was mainly a place developed for mothers to shout at their small children al fresco rather than in the confines of their own homes. This is what it looked like:

I’m not sure why a house fire is trying to creep into my photo. I also question the decor, why are there gifts on the roof? Was Santa bamboozled by the lack of chimneys? Chris, honestly, I am doing something. I know, you can’t work Snapchat, you don’t need it now, Selena Gomez isn’t going anywhere, and if she is she’ll probably announce it, unlike some people. 

We wended our way to the sausages like tube-seeking missiles and were not disappointed and nor did we explode on impact which I should have thought about when I began constructing this metaphor. 

Why this takes three men I am unsure, but these gentlemen know their business and their business is putting sausages in my hand and, subsequently, mouth. I got one with cheese in. Couldn’t think of a clever way of wording that. 

This was kind of not great, and I say that in case the person who made it somehow reads this. The cheese honestly tasted like Dairylea, which is fine, I like that when it’s in a triangle form, but not when it’s a golden seam running through my nicepipe. Also, how much bread? If they’re paying by weight I can save them some money by advising them to reduce the bread by about a third, I’m not at a bakery, sirs, I am at a massive barbecue buying sausages of unknown provenance that have been resting for an unclear period of time on indirect heat in the open air. 

This isn’t specific to this venue, but I will never cease to be made uncomfortable by the mustard teat. 

In all of humanity’s time on earth, this is the best we could come up with. We’ve walked on the moon, seen some kids drink so much Sunny Delight that they literally turned orange, recognised and dealt with the problem of moths eating our coats and yet this, a mustard teat, is the most efficient way that we have devised of dispensing mustard. 

Also, Leeds Christmas Market, I want a word with you about what words mean. This, this is not a beer list. You cannot preface this with ‘beers’. 

What these are, are ‘quantities’. You only sell one beer, and it was very nice and well-priced I thought, but unless ‘pint of beer’ is the new trendy name for some craft ale, stop it. (I know Marble Brewery sells a beer called pint but it doesn’t fit the bit so shut up, Chris). 

All in all a strange day, in a quiet market, with a weird sausage (my nickname for my mum), a disappointing sausage (her nickname for me) and an actual sausage that was just ok. Chris, Jesus Christ, it’s written on the router. The WiFi router. Black box with blue lights. No, that’s - wait, why did you buy an Alexa?

CURRENT LENGTH - WE’RE LOOKING AT A SOLID 545CM AT THIS STAGE THAT’S LONG ENOUGH TO ENCIRCLE SOME OF A HORSE

SAUSAGE RATING - SADLY THIS WASN’T A CONTENDER AND THEREFORE I HAVE TO GIVE IT A 6/10 AND A PEP TALK. 

[theglobetrottergp-blog]

I love Christmas. The hype, the music, the parties, the markets, the mulled wine,  the smell of log fires and cinnamon, the pop-up ice skating rinks… What’s not to love about the festive season?! Travelling South America currently means that this year I’ll be missing some of the Christmas build up but there’s no reason why you should too! Therefore I’ve asked some of my travel writing colleagues to tell you about their favourite European Festive Destinations for a getaway in December! So what are you waiting for?! Dust off your snow boots or book that last-minute Christmas market trip and get in the festive mood!

1/ Oslo, by Megan Starr of www.meganstarr.com

Oslo, Norway is an ideal winter destination for Christmas lovers, adventurers, and outdoor enthusiasts.  I lived in the city for four years and whilst the days are short during the winter months, Norwegians really know how to get down with the lack of daylight.  During December, the days are the shortest, but the anticipation of Christmas takes over the minds of the locals and the city becomes as happy as it does when the days are warm and sunny.  Oslo has small and cozy Christmas markets in the main area of the city by Karl Johans Gate where you can find local delicacies, festive music, and a seasonal ice-skating rink.  Whilst I love checking this out during that time of year, what I love most about winter in Oslo is the ability to head to the mountains via the subway (yep, that’s right!) and go sledding or cross-country skiing.  While I never actually put on a pair of cross-country skis, I did love taking my dog up the mountain to the snow-covered forest and walking him around for hours during the week when no one was up there.  You will be completely stunned by the natural beauty that is accessible in Oslo just by hopping on the subway (t-bane, as Norwegians call it.)

2/ Vienna by Cristina Puscas of LooknWalk

Every year, Vienna turns into a magical place right before Christmas. There will be as many as six main Christmas Markets open in 2017 (and five smaller ones). The two most popular ones – Viennese Christmas Market in front of the City Hall and Christmas and New Year’s Market at Schonbrunn Palace- open as early as Nov 18. Vienna has a long history of being home to Christmas Markets. The first day markets opened in 1298 and was called “December Market”.

Viennese Christmas Market is the one that most visitors know about and plan to explore. So it is packed. All the time. I planned my trip for early December 2013 and, during the evening, it was always busy. If you want to just take photos of the stalls and decoration, you can visit during day. Christmas Markets in Europe are famous for the mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, and a variety of Christmas decorations. In Vienna, make sure to also taste the punch. Or mulled cider. And you can pay (2 euros, back in 2013) to keep those wonderful mugs (each market has its own design). As for the food, carnivores will be delighted with the many options, whereas vegans will have a bit of a hard time.

Over the weekends, there are also free concerts taking place, so make sure to check the schedule.  For these events , Vienna is an amazing short break (weekend) choice for visiting the Christmas Markets.

If you travel with kids, they won’t get bored either, as there are special activities available for them.

Winter in Vienna can be brutal so pack accordingly. On a windy evening I had to go with leggings under my trousers and multiple layers of blouses! And don’t forget your mittens!

3/ Cologne, Germany by Amanda Williams of  www.dangerous-business.com

Every December, the city of Cologne (Köln), Germany, gets overtaken by Christmas markets. The city doesn’t have one market; it doesn’t have two markets; each Advent season, Cologne plays hosts to seven different Christmas markets! Cologne’s markets each have a unique theme, meaning you may want to visit every one.

The largest and most famous of Cologne’s markets can be found right next to the UNESCO-recognized Cologne Cathedral. Here you’ll find a massive Christmas tree and more than 160 festive wooden pavilions selling everything from Christmas ornaments to traditional market food. Another popular market is the Heinzelmännchen Market (gnomes’ market), which is famous for its large skating rink. You can walk among twinkling stars at the Angel Market on Neumarkt (the oldest Christmas market in Cologne), or visit an enchanted fairy tale market aimed at kids on Rudolfplatz.

There’s also a medieval market at the harbor, an LGBT Christmas market between Rudolfplatz and Schaafenstraße, and a handicrafts market in the Stadtgarten.

Whichever market(s) you visit in Cologne, you’ll want to be sure to try some lebkuchen (kind of like gingerbread) and some hot mulled wine, or glühwein. Each market in Cologne has its own unique Christmas market mug. You pay a deposit for the mug (usually 2 or 3 Euro) when you order a hot drink, and can either return the mug to get your deposit back or just keep it as a souvenir. Christmas market mugs are my favorite holiday souvenir from Cologne!

4/ Stockholm, Sweden by Allison Green of www.eternalarrival.com

If you’re looking for a European destination for the holiday season, you really can’t do any better than wintery Stockholm! During the winter, Stockholm becomes incredibly festive with lights and candles everywhere in the Old Town, plus a lovely Christmas market where ornaments, baked treats, and delicious mulled red wine are sold. You can take walking tours by lantern light, passing by all the cute narrow colourful houses or stroll all on your own pace. Stockholm is cold, but not too extreme — temperatures are typically around 0 C/32 F and snow is common, making the Christmas decorations all the more festive. The days are short (think sunsets around 4 PM or earlier!) but with cozy cafés, interesting museums, and beautiful architecture you won’t mind!

5/ Nuremberg, Germany by Hannah Lukaszewicz of www.gettingstamped.com 

Europe is full of amazing places for a Christmas getaway. One of our favorites was Nuremberg Germany, we visited on our Christmas market cruise down the Danube River. We visited several amazing Christmas markets but Nuremberg was our favorite. The square was full of stalls, great mulled wine, tons of gifts, tasty food, and that great Christmas cheer was in the air. Make sure to go up to the top of the church and look down below at the market. The Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt has been a tradition for more than 400 years. The market does get busy on the weekends so we suggest visiting on a weekday if possible. Nuremberg is a great city to just walk around and get lost.

6/ Budapest, Hungary by Christina Saull of www.myviewfromthemiddleseat.com

Festive Budapest is home to ten Advent Markets, with six of them easily accessible in the city center. The Advent Feast at St. Stephen’s Basilica is located a block off the main avenue and is complete with a towering holiday tree and ice skating rink. Tucked in the shadow of the towering Basilica, it’s definitely one of the most festive and local of the holiday markets. The Christmas Fair at Liszt Ferenc Square was perhaps the quaintest of all the markets we visited, with giant pillar candles providing heat to freezing cold hands whilst shopping for handmade holiday items.

The Winter Festival at Vörösmarty Square & nearby Fashion Street Advent are by far the most popular markets, with festive Christmas light displays in the shape of handbags & shoes, endless mugs of mulled wine and wall-to-wall people. Across the river, the Várkert Bazaar Advent Fair offers an amazing view of Pest and a tiny ice skating rink the size of a kiddie swimming pool (and swarming with local kids!).

Perhaps my favorite is the Városháza Square Advent Fair, which was more food than gifts (which is not a bad thing). Grab a steaming hot chimney cake and a sausage as long as your arm, washed down with more mulled wine, and enjoy the local music playing on stage. In the mood to shop after eating? The St. Stephen’s Advent Feast is just a short walk away.

  7/ Berlin, Germany,  by Don of www.travelvoila.com

We had the opportunity to visit Berlin during the start of winter. And that was the second time we visited Germany. We liked Germany a lot, and were always fascinated by their economy, system and administration. Of course, their history as well.

But Germany is renowned for their Christmas markets too. Berlin alone has more than 50 Christmas market. And the popular ones are

Weihnachtszauber at Gendarmenmarkt

Berliner Weihnachtszeit Roten Rathaus

Winterwelt at Potsdamer Platz

There are more variety of stalls in the Christmas market than what we see in France. You have different kinds of food and beverage like sausages, mulled wine, gingerbread. What we particular like are the freshly roasted nuts. The aroma of the roasted nuts can be detected from quite a distance. Making it irresistible!

The Christmas Market in Potsdamer Platz features one of Europe largest mobile toboggan runs. 70metres of sliding that this huge snow slide. It is fun! You should definately try this.

If you prefer sightseeing, you can visit the museums and attractions all around in Berlin. You need at least 3 days to cover these attractions.

During Winter, the daylight hours are short. So you have plan your itinerary with outdoor attractions in the morning, museums and indoor attractions in the late afternoon then Christmas markets in the evening.

8/ Edinburgh, Uk, by Anuradha Srinath of www.countryhoppingcouple.com

Edinburgh equates to festival. It is THE festival city. And when there’s Christmas, they are no less to any other country in the world. Be it the Christmas lights, markets, rides, ice skating, santa’s grotto or bringing in the festive mood, Edinburgh does it in style.  It’s one of the iconic cities one should visit during Christmas. Every year there’s something new to look forward to. And this year the theme is ice Adventure – a journey into Frozen Scotland. Which means plenty of snow and ice sculptures, viking  look-alikes, highland cows, greyfairs bobby and more.

There will also be plenty of shows that run in its famous theatres around this time. Add to it the famous torchlight procession and Hogmanay for New year, you can expect nothing less, it won’t disappoint.

9/ Paris, France by Jennifer Dombrowski of www.luxeadventuretraveler.com

  Audrey Hepburn famously said: “Paris is always a good idea.” And even more so at Christmas time, when the City of Light truly lives up to its nickname. The Champs Elysees becomes a sea of glittering Christmas lights. The Eiffel Tower seems to sparkle just a bit more as the wooden huts spread out in the Iron Lady’s shadow, scents of roasting chestnuts and mulled wine wafting from them. Galeries Lafayette’s Christmas windows rival those of the famously decorated department stores of New York City. And for a short time each year, you can twirl your way around an ice rink at the Eiffel Tower.

Paris undergoes a magical transformation during the holidays with the city’s various Christmas markets, ice rinks, decorations and merriment in the air. And best of all, the most delicious French desserts pop up during the season when the French consume more butter than any other. Elaborately decorated Bûche de Noël and the beloved La Galette des Rois begin to fill the windows of pâtisserie, just beckoning you to come in out of the cold and indulge in something sweet.

A little something for everyone, Paris at Christmas time is one of the most magical times to visit the French capital.

10/ London, UK by Hadas Aharon of www.thefashionmatters.com 

London is one of the best places to visit in Europe during Christmas time, as the entire city is being decorated with mesmerizing Christmas lights and there are many German Christmas Markets to visit as well as great activities. When it comes to Christmas fairs, Winter Wonderland is the best place to visit as it is guaranteed to get you into the Christmas spirit. Winter Wonderland hosts Christmas markets and activities such as an ice skating rink, Christmas shows for kids, giant observation wheel and even a Bavarian tent. If you’re looking for ice skating rinks you have got the one in Somerset House which is beautifully decorated with a huge Christmas tree, and also the Natural History Museum’s ice rink which is without a doubt is one of the most beautiful scenes.  Another place that is recommended to visit during Christmas is the store Fortum & Mason, since it is beautifully decorated with Christmas trees and decorations and it is there where you can find unique Christmas-themed gifts. In addition, Oxford Street on Christmas is definitely a must-seen attraction with its beautiful lights and holiday vibe. Indeed, London knows how to do Christmas when it comes to Christmas shopping, activities, and decorations and therefore it is very recommendable to visit during the holidays.

So there we have it, 10 top destinations for that festive getaway to amke the most of all the best christmas has to offer – mulled wine, ice skating rinks, christmas markets and snow! Where is your favourite place for a christmas getaway? I’d love to hear about it so pelase feel free to comment below!

      10 travel writers tell us their favourite places in Europe for a festive getaway! I love Christmas. The hype, the music, the parties, the markets, the mulled wine,  the smell of log fires and cinnamon, the pop-up ice skating rinks...

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Meals Techniques For Wonderful Skin

Warren Buffett, the expenditure King of United States, is the planet's 3rd wealthiest man yet he simply has actually acquired a 2001 Lincoln Community Automobile due to his practical lifestyle. It gives an area where your visitors may leave their shoes if they decide to remove them, as well as delivers a place for all of them to dry their footwear if they make a decision to leave all of them on. A mat at your door supplies you with a great deal in healthystyle-4us.info regards to keeping a celebration without your property getting ruined. Making a pet dog home may be a tiresome work, specifically for those that possess just about no expertise or even skill-set at construction. The possessed property lies at the old carriage house at the Fremont Center Shopping Center. Organize the primary interruption from having employees, equipment, as well as products (as well as dirt, clutter, and feasible harm) that will certainly be actually invading your residence. Addition Event Supplies: When you possess a Super Mario motif you are going to find that there are considerable amounts of other event products to decide on. If you are just about anything like me, you will certainly go above and beyond to make your spot appear great as well as accepting on the moving-in time in the chance that this treatment and focus will certainly be recognized and reciprocated. Our Open House took place this past Wednesday, almost a month after university began. Taking a vital examine your property will definitely reveal some traits to you that might worth a fortune to people. And also at first, this would enable conditions to secure larger federal contributions to Medicaid than your house plan. When staging the property the professional will certainly perform several things that possibly you on your own haven't strongly believed of. However, in case you hire a specialist stager as well as they are actually not as pro as you assumed, our home could be overdone and also appear staged, making the possible buyer ponder just what you might be concealing. Altogether, the ground floor provided a big home which our team had not observed in every other property within our spending plan - and also certainly, this was within our budget plan and also really less costly compared to the majority of the others our experts had actually checked out.

Me as well as my housemate spent hours scanning every YouTube online video and paparazzi image we could possibly find of Amy Winehouse either in or even around her house. I presume it would certainly be actually a terrific concept to possess a have ceramic home varieties carried out to commemorate any sort of special affair. Although that could set you back a few hundred bucks to open up a scenario along with the appellate judge, this procedure could use up to 6 months in some locations - a few hundred dollars to stay home loan free of cost for an extra half a year is actually surely worth that for residents that need the moment. The chimney as well as the power body from the dining-room can be transformed for giving a make over and refreshing feeling.Additionally, when your house encounters the complications from some additional area at that point they merely placed their mind on the presuming that where they are going to utilize this space. It is actually also worth noting that White Property primary economic consultant Gary Cohn is viewed through both Us senate Democrats and also the Baker et. al. team as a possible ally for the carbon tax strategy given his previous help for the Paris Contract and opponent to Mr. Icahn's push to change the United States replenishable energies mandate. I collected a handful of fir tree cones (although I think want cones would look even better), skin off a variety of plants (effectively lifeless limbs technically), small pebbles, twigs, one-half of a walnut layer as well as snail residence (be sure that is actually empty).