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asgardian--angels · 4 years

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4 Ways to Connect with Nature During COVID-19

Hi everyone! As someone who studies pollinators and conservation biology, I have found the last few weeks difficult, because I struggle when I cannot be outside in nature most of the time. Connecting with nature is known to be beneficial for our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, and never has that been more important than right now. I thought I would compile a few of my favorite ideas that I can offer about ways you can still connect with nature while social distancing, or even if you cannot leave your home at all. Know that these are obviously not all the ways you can experience nature - just the ones I’m familiar and knowledgeable about. Most of my resources apply to the eastern United States, but these things are applicable worldwide. If you ever have questions, just message me!

1. Go Birdwatching!

Whether you’re a pro already or someone who’s never even attempted to tell the difference between the ‘chip’ and the ‘cheep’ coming from your bushes, birdwatching is a fun hobby that can be done anytime, anywhere, by anyone. While human activities may have slowed or stopped around us, the natural world is always moving and changing. Birds are one of the easiest animals to observe and learn, and their boundless zeal for life can renew our hope and lift our spirits. Whether you live in the country or the city, there are more kinds of birds than you think to be found right outside your door. The springtime is an especially good time to see birds, because they are migrating to their breeding grounds, bringing a whole assortment of colorful and sometimes unusual species close to your home.

It doesn’t take much to start birdwatching. Most of us have an old pair of binoculars up in the attic somewhere, and plenty decent pairs for beginners are available for under $30 online (I just bought my mother a pair of Bushnells for $15 that had very good reviews). There are countless resources online to find an overview or quick guide to birds in your area. If you live in the United States, the best all-around every-need bird resource is Cornell’s AllAboutBirds and eBird websites. Together these two resources cover almost every bird species in the entire world - let me briefly go through each individually.

AllAboutBirds is a guide to every North American bird, with stunning photos, ecology, and identification help. But more than that, from here you can lose yourself in dozens of offshoots of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology - from their several live feeder and nest cams, to their hundreds of articles and interactive bird biology resources. One I recommend for those who want to do some basic yard-watching is the site for Project Feederwatch. This has ample information to get you started in recognizing the (North American) birds around your home. Here’s even a free download of common feeder birds! You should also check out Celebrate Urban Birds, which has ID help for city birds in the US, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Panama!

eBird is a global citizen science site where millions of birdwatchers from Nepal to New Mexico share their sightings to build the largest database of bird knowledge on the planet! I cannot begin to cover everything you can do and learn on this website. You can scope out new places to visit with their ‘Explore Hotspots’ tool, or see where any species on earth has been seen by other people. It will keep your statistics if you enter your sightings, making a convenient way to keep track of all the birds you see! They have a helpful article here about how to start birding near your home.

Birdwatching is an activity that you can put in as much or as little time as you want into it. You will always be rewarded with getting a new perspective on the world around you, discovering neighbors you never knew you had! It can be a refreshing escape from a human-centric world, and maybe spark a curiosity you weren’t expecting! Birds are a bundle of personality, and you will find yourself falling in love with them before you know it. Consider keeping a “life list,” or entering your sightings into eBird to advance bird conservation. Birdwatching can be solitary or you can go with others. When this is all over, maybe you’ll have the chance to meet up with local birders and make new friends! There are birding clubs EVERYWHERE.

2. Plant a pollinator or wildlife garden!

As spring approaches, now is the perfect time to start planning a garden. This is a great way to be outside often but not have any risk of contact with others. Maybe you’ve never gardened before, or maybe you have one but would like to replace some of those exotic flowers with beneficial native ones. No matter your living situation or location, there’s always something you can do to make your little patch of earth a better place for all living things.

Our world is dependent on plants, which make the sun’s light available to other creatures. They interact with the most ecologically important animals on earth - insects. Insects are food for almost all songbirds, as well as the majority of all terrestrial animals in one way or another. “Traditional” gardens try to deter insects with pesticides and non-native plants that insects cannot eat. But we should try to encourage insects, because they pass a plant’s energy up the food chain, as well as pollinate flowers, keep “pests” in check (if you like growing vegetables), and are critical decomposers. The biggest thing you can do to help the local ecosystem is ditch the hydrangeas and hostas, and especially some of that turfgrass. Insects will almost exclusively only eat native plants, and being the most biodiverse animals on the planet, there’s an insect for every plant out there! It’s been shown that yards with few native plants support low levels of insect abundance and diversity, and that means fewer birds and fewer everything else too. Plus, insects are AWESOME in their own right, and once you encourage them, you will discover some incredible, colorful, brilliant species right in your own yard!

Native gardens are easier than you think. In fact, they’re way easier than what most of us are doing now - by definition, they’re plants that want to grow here! They require less maintenance, no mowing, and no pesticides. They may not be readily available at Home Depot or Wal-mart, but they are easy to find once you locate resources from your region. There are online nurseries to buy seeds or root stock from, like Prairie Moon in the eastern US. Many regions have resources that compile lists of local nurseries and hold native plant sales. To benefit insects and wildlife, figure out what the general conditions of your yard are - soil type, moisture, climate zone - and then choose some plants that will grow there. For pollinators, you should find out what the recommended flowers are for your area - universities and cooperative extensions often produce this kind of information (example here for the northeast), as well as the Xerces Society. This kind of info is becoming much more common in the last few years, due to the popularity of pollinator gardens! Try to plant a few things that bloom in each season, so bees will have food year-round! Native grasses will support the caterpillars of many butterflies and moths too. Pollinator gardens easily overlap with wildlife gardens, which seek to support other animals too, particularly birds. Choose plants that have flowers that turn into seeds or fruit eaten by birds (native dogwoods are one of my favorites!). Plant flowers, shrubs, and trees if you can fit it - this gives insects and birds all sorts of choices for food, and places to hide or nest. Your local Audubon can provide a ton of information about bird-friendly gardening and the best plants.

Another easy way to benefit animals is to be the ‘lazy gardener,’ whether you actually have a garden or not. This means simple steps like, don’t rake your leaf litter, leave logs and rocks, and make a slash pile when you cut branches or trim bushes. This creates habitat for everything from bees to salamanders!

Don’t have a lot of space? Try an herb garden, or patio garden. Small herb or vegetable gardens will be loved by pollinators even if the plants are not all native, and they will allow you to grow some foods you can harvest, reducing your dependence on the grocery store. Native flowers can be grown in pots as well - goldfinches, for example, will land on any coneflowers you plant, and eat the seeds right in front of you! And if you have no land at all, you can still help out by putting up a bee hotel, and sharing your knowledge with others.

3. The power of the written word - READ!

Can’t go outside? Live in the most inner of inner cities? Feel like you don’t know enough to get out there and identify what you see or know what it means? Books are a naturalist’s best friend. Now is a perfect time to dive into the wealth of literature about the natural world, from stories to field guides. I am always gung-ho to recommend books for a budding naturalist, or anyone who wants to learn more about a new topic!

Were you intrigued by the things I talked about above - native plants, insects, birds, and the relationship between all of them? I highly recommend Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy. It is the bible of native gardening, in my opinion. It’s an incredible and humbling book explaining in detail and with beautiful photos why we need native plants, just how important insects are, and what we can and should be doing to help.

Want to learn about pollinators and plan your garden? There’s lots of books for that, and they’re so well made that both beginners and experts can use them. Try any of these:

The Bees In Your Backyard - Olivia Messenger Carril and Joseph Wilson

Pollinators of Native Plants (OR its companion book ‘Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide’) - Heather Holm

Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees - Thor Hanson (a narrative, not a field guide, excellent read)

Books about birds? Heck, I mean there’s hundreds of those. It’s a popular genre. I don’t have any on hand but if you want to know more about gardening for birds, check out Planting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard by Sharen Sorenson. To learn birds, I recommend a Peterson or Kaufman field guide.

Looking for books on nature in general? Not field guides, but non-fiction narratives? There are some absolutely stellar writers in our age that regularly move me to tears with their descriptions and connections to the natural world. My top author pick is Bernd Heinrich, an ornithologist and naturalist who has written over a dozen books on a variety of topics. I particularly recommend Summer World (and its companion Winter World), One Wild Bird At A Time, The Homing Instinct, and Life Everlasting: The Animal Way of Death. But they’re all really really good. There are SO MANY books of folks writing about their experiences with nature, from scientists in the jungles of Borneo to the average Joe exploring the concrete jungle. I have a small collection at home, but in my current locale, I can recommend The Secret Life of Bats by Merlin Tuttle, or Unseen City by Nathaniel Johnson. But there are, really, hundreds. All will change the way you view the world around you. You cannot read enough.

Want to learn more about how important nature is to human beings? The biophilia hypothesis that states that we as a species need nature for our very souls, our physical development, our mental wellbeing? Please read Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. It’s humbling, enlightening, and sobering.

4. Citizen Science, Volunteering, and everything else!

You may feel alone right now, but know that everywhere, there are millions of people waiting to share their love of the natural world with you. Anyone who has a second to spare and the interest to look out your window should consider becoming a part of a citizen science project. These sorts of projects vary widely in their commitment time and energy, but most are solitary activities that you have complete control over. Some are more organized than others - many just ask you to report a sighting of a certain kind of organism, and others have a data sheet and timetable to follow. All contribute valuable information to conservation, making you a part of something bigger even when you cannot leave your yard. They also give you the opportunity to learn a new skill - like photography, or data collection - and help you notice aspects of the natural world you may have never given a second thought about before. A lot of them are a community that you can interact with online. Below are just a few of the MANY MANY citizen science projects out there. Again, this is US biased, but it is easy enough to find ones in your own country or those that are international.

eBird - I mentioned this before, but eBird is quite likely the biggest citizen science project in the entire world. There are a googleplex of ways to interact with others, learn more about the birds in your area or anywhere else in the world, find out who local birders are, and keep track of your own sightings. The data you submit has been used in countless peer-reviewed scientific papers and has a direct, significant impact on bird conservation worldwide.

iNaturalist - a worldwide platform for sharing sightings of any species, anywhere. A great community of naturalists, amateurs, and experts, here to help you identify your creature and explore what others find.

Project Feederwatch, The Great Backyard Bird Count, Christmas Bird Counts, Global Big Day, etc - offshoots of eBird and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. These are specific events that ask backyard birders to keep track of what birds they see for a couple of weeks. This helps track migration patterns and population declines!

BugGuide - similar to iNaturalist, but for insects only and in North America only. I’ve been on this site for 12 years now, I’m a diehard! Experts will help you ID insects, and your data becomes part of a huge database to help scientists learn more about our native insects. Requires photos - a good chance to start two hobbies at once!

Bumble Bee Watch - submit photos of any bumblebee you find in North America. Bumblebees are declining and scientists need regular people to help track populations of these pollinators.

Guys, there’s so many more. A few more quickies: iMapInvasives (for spotting invasive species), National Phenology Network (for tracking when things change - when flowers bloom, when animals nest, great if you see the same things reliably every day!), The Great Sunflower Project (plant a sunflower, monitor what bees visit it), Zooniverse (a compilation of different digital projects that need eyes and ears to help sort through data - like trail cam photos for instance! You’d be helping real researchers, often grad students at universities, but sometimes big ticket names too!).

These are large-scale projects. But there are always smaller, local community projects that need your help. Become more aware of what’s coming up, even for after this pandemic when you can get outside and volunteer at something like a BioBlitz, a cleanup, or a tree planting. You would not believe how many volunteers we always need to make conservation possible. People like you are the backbone of what we do. Check your local and regional Audubon, your universities, your cooperative extension. They have resources, things that can give you information you need or ways to afford things you want to do. I’m sure there’s plenty I’ve forgotten to mention, since I don’t have all my things with me here. But never feel isolated. The natural world is always around you, and you are never alone! Every creature big and small is a lifetime of stories to tell. Pick one and get going!

#nature #covid19 #covid-19 #covid19 resources #birdwatching #citizen science #insects #mine #guys if you could do me a solid and reblog this it took me like... uhhhh 3 hours to write #i just want to help some people and so if this could get more than like 20 notes i'd appreciate it #other naturalists please feel free to add more to this #i know i didnt cover amphibian crossings

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aspectedstar · 3 years

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[Info updated as of Patch 5.55]

Name: Listelle Viyrel

Unsundered Name: Ephine

Gender: Female

Age: 21 in ARR, 26 in EW

Race: Raen Au Ra

Relationship: Official with an untempered Elidibus, but still lowkey that not a lot of people know of their status.

Family: Biological family is unknown. Her adoptive Miqo'te parents she keeps in contact with. The Scions of the Seventh Dawn and Elidibus are her main sources of 'support' these days.

Orientation: Bisexual / Demisexual

Nameday: 16th Sun of the 4th Umbral Moon [August 16th]

Abilities/Talents: Archery, Botany, Cooking, Able to speak multiple languages [thanks Echo], Healing, Reading.

Job: Former conjurer turned White Mage; Archer/Bard; Adventurer; A Scion of the Seventh Dawn; Botanist whenever help is needed.

Appearance description: A pale-skinned Raen Au Ra that stands at 4 fulms and 9 ilms. Listelle has dark blue, shoulder-length hair with bangs that naturally curls at the ends. Black highlights are added into the mix and always reapplied whenever they start to fade. Sometimes, puts up her hair in high side-ponytail that has a braid embedded around the back of her head. Has side bangs that hang from her face with this hairstyle as well. She has heterochromia eyes with her left being a pale blue, while her right is a bright purple. Listelle is slightly muscular, but also petite. Her body has vanilla scales peppering her body here and there. Mostly can be seen on her face; Her horns a slightly curled, but go backwards only a bit from her face. The tail she has a few spikes here and there, but it's thin. Mostly spiking at the end of it. Usually wearing a pair of reading glasses, because her eyesight isn't 100%.

Unique features (scars, tattoos, etc.): Multiple scars across her body from battles over the years. The biggest one was from the first meeting with Zenos, where he ended up nailing her in the abdomen badly. The scar is a jagged line in sideways line that covers a good portion of her middle to lower back. Listelle is very self-conscious about this particular one; Doesn't like wearing gear that shows off that part of her body.

Personal Beliefs (religious or otherwise): Fully believed in the Mothercrystal and the Twelve, but has changed since the events of SB into ShB. Mostly because of what Elidibus and Emet-Selch had told her. Still believes in a sense of one's wrongdoing will bite them in the ass later in life.

Residence: Medium house plot on the beach in Shirogane, Hingashi. Amaurot on the First.

Birthplace: Somewhere in the Black Shroud.

Dreams: When the world is done being saved, which is almost never; Wanting to have a peaceful life with Elidibus as much as possible; Hoping that one day more White Mages can be sanctioned by the Padaji; Maybe one day have children, but that's not as important.

Fears: Dying when the world needs her the most; Seeing close friends and family die in front of her again and again; Injured to the point she can't fulfill her duties as Warrior of Light; Losing any of her senses.

Introverted / Extroverted / Ambiverted (bold what applies)

How do they handle stress?: When in front of people, she tries her best not to show she's bothered. There are ways for others to know she's about to hit her limit. Listelle is known to pace around a room, fidget with her hands, and get teary-eyed, but the latter is hard to see. Only ways she can combat it is behind closed doors, or out in the wilderness when no one is around. Going out into nature to find plants or hit trees with her axe is one way. Another way is to basically beat her frustrations out in cooking or baking foodstuffs. Resting under trees when only one can hear naturalistic sounds.

What’s the state of their living quarters? (messy, clean, etc.): That depends. Usually, it's a disorganized mess. Much to Elidibus's dismay, she can usually find things easier than him. If he ever tried to clean her home, she'd yell at him on not being able to find anything. It's not completely trashed, but enough to know someone lives here. As the Warrior of Light, she doesn't get enough time to do homely chores. So, it's mostly left go for weeks at a time.

How do they handle meeting new people?: Listelle usually is kind and friendly to people she meets. Though, it depends overall on the new person (or group)'s attitude, body language, voice tone, and facial expressions. If they come off rude and negative, she is more reluctant to be as nice back. However, since she is not the diplomatic person, she usually leaves all the table-talking to her fellow Scions. Will chime in with a few words, if asked. It all depends on the situation and people involved.

When facing certain doom, what’s their outlook?: It's...questionable. Try to keep a stoic facade, but inside she would be screaming. Or, she'd probably look at like this: Why not going out with a huge bang of glory, and take her foe(s) with her? As a healer, she understands death, but is afraid to die at the wrong time. Regardless, she will tackle it the best she can.

What do they do to relax?: Reading any books she has in her shelves. Have Elidibus tell her stories of the world before it was Sundered. Cooking and baking when she has the time. Gardening, when she has time, yet again. Sitting under trees listening to nature. Go to the beach when no one is around. Stargazing with Elidibus at night.

What’s their favorite outfit?: Her 'civilian' clothes with the Azem constellation crystal as a necklace pictured blow.

Traumas: It's been several over the last few years of becoming the Warrior of Light. From being a healer, she has had a hard time accepting she can't save everyone. The loss of Haurchefant hit her physically hard. He saw Listelle as herself, not just the 'hero' or a weapon to be used by the city-states. Still goes to visit his grave in Coerthas when she can. Seeing the turmoil Garlemald had done to Ala Mhigo and Doma's regions. Zenos yae Galvus, because he reminds her of herself at certain times. How they can relate, as much as the Raen wishes not to admit it. The entire events of Shadowbringers with fighting for another world to holding in the light corruption. Her aether is still a mess, even after Ardbert had joined his soul with hers. Ending Emet-Selch's life, even when she understood his plight and ideals. Having to fight and kill Elidibus; The ONE PERSON that understood and had true affection for her. Yet, he was tempered by Zodiark, so they were forced into battle. It still haunts her to this day that she may lose Elidibus forever.

About them as of current story patch: As of Patch 5.5, Listelle is struggling on what to make of seeing that being surrounded in light. Being told the Final Days is coming--which is no doubt with Fandaniel and Zenos--and the entire world is on her shoulders. This is stressing her out to no end, even with Elidibus trying to keep her calm. He is her main anchor to keep her grounded currently. With the possibility of going to Sharlayan, she is not happy. Possibly having to keep the untempered Ascian unseen, depending. For now, she is stressed and pacing about what to do.

History: Listelle was found outside the doors of a Miqo'te couple living in the Black Shroud. Only a single note saying: "I cannot care for her; I'm possibly dead by the time you read this. Her name is Listelle; Please raise her well". The baby was an Au Ra Raen female, but they had no idea if there was such a family nearby. Living mostly in an isolated area, they didn't get many visitors. Just some adventurers, botanists, conjurers, or miners that came through the area. Despite this, they willingly took the baby in. They had issues trying to concieve their own child, so Listelle would fill the void. The void of trying to have a child, which they had now.

The Raen would come to know her parents as Sizha Vebei, her mother, and Rehzih'li Vebei, her father. They lived in a small cabin in the Southern part of the Shroud. Away from settlements like Camp Tranquil and Quarrymill, they kept to themselves for the most part. They raised their adoptive child as good as any adoptive parents could. With the times that Rehzih'li would go to Gridania for work and supplies, he would ask around about Listelle's family. He usually came up empty handed as per usual. This went on for years, until the Seventh Umbral Calamity hit Eorzea.

Listelle was 16 summers old when Bahamut broke free of Dalamud to reign terror from the heavens. The Black Shroud went up in flames in several areas. Thankfully, herself and her parents survived, but lost their home to the flames. The family was devastated, but then they decided to move on to a battered up Gridania as other refugees. They would have to make a new life within the city-state.

To the five years leading up to ARR, Listelle practiced conjury within the Stillglade Fane. Her parents had taken up other odd jobs to support themselves and their daughter, so Listelle had decided to do the same. With people becoming adventurers, the Raen decided to do the same. With her aetherpool higher than most, she fit right in with the Conjurers' Guild. Even with weird looks, the Au Ra flourished under their guidance and care. She would learn how to properly harness healing magics, as well as learn to borrow from the very Elementals of the Twelveswood.

Eventually, Listelle would become more involved with restoration efforts to help Gridania. Only her efforts would soon become widespread. Widespread enough for a certain organization to recruit her to their cause..

Feelings towards others: (add or remove as relevant)

- Elidibus – Her official partner, who she had a rocky relationship for years. However, it changed much after his defeat by her hand on top of the Crystal Tower in the First. She loves the Ascian dearly and would do anything for him. He had been there as well for her during some stressful times, despite him being under Zodiark's influence. They confide in each other constantly, and is a major support pillar for Listelle.

- Emet-Selch [Hades] – Despite their brief interactions, Listelle came to understand more about the Ascians. Even if it was a hard pill to swallow, the brief details Elidibus mentioned to her started to make sense. Like pieces to the puzzle was finally coming together. She would indulge and ask him a lot of the Ascians' history, the Old World, and the like. As much as her comrades didn't like their Warrior of Light conversating with their worst enemy, she ignored them...sometimes. She was upset to end his life when they couldn't come to some sort of understanding. She still has sobbing fits over Hades' demises, because of the fact of the Azem constellation crystal she has. It was even hinted that he knew of something going on between her and the Emissary at the time. Listelle always denied it, but there was a twinkle in those golden eyes that he knew of something.

- Feo Ul - As much as Listelle appreciates them, she can't deal with their sudden mood swings. The Fae being the Fae, she can't understand the times she gets yelled at for not summoning them. Being called cruel and heartless by Feo Ul made her uneasy around the pixie. Just over the course of the Shadowbringers, she saw the good in the King of Faeries. They became the next Titania, yet, they still treated Listelle as their most precious mortal. After all, they WERE connected by a pact! Feo Ul was another pillar during her struggle to contain the light corruption within her. The constant affection and support helped keep the heroine to move forward.

- Alphinaud – Meeting him the first time made her want to rethink her choices. However, with his constant presence helping her with 'official talks', she has been grateful for him. He has come a long way and has grown. Listelle hates meetings, and groans anytime Alphinaud tells her she has to go. Because she is the hero, she has to go, despite her wild protests.

- Alisaie – It took a bit for them to grow on one another. Alisaie understands when Listelle has her moments. Moments she wants to hide, but also treats the Raen like an actual person. Not just the hero, not just the Warrior of Light. Listelle finds herself getting teased when Alisaie fawns over her, depending if she's down or upset about something. Mostly by Y'shtola though.

- Y'shtola – Their relationship is...weird at best. Y'shtola and herself have their moments when they get into arguments. However, she knows the Miqo'te woman wants the best for her. During the events of Shadowbringers, she was worried over Listelle's state of taking in the Lightwardens' corrupted aether. Y'shtola and Ryne were there for her as they journeyed to Emet-Selch's domain. Full of Light, the heroine had a hard time doing basic tasks at times. Due to this, Listelle appreciates her. Just doesn't like when she teases her about Alisaie and G'raha's constant admiration of her.

- Thancred – Saw him as a flirtatious man who she didn't want to deal with at all. He even made comments about her 'beauty' on several occasions to get under her skin. However, as the years went by, she began to learn he was a lot more. Mostly learned this during her time on the First with the others and Ryne. Just the interactions between him and Ryne made her heart ache for them both. Including when they had to go back to the Source.

- Urianger – This Elezen made her want to rip her hair out most of the time. Just the way he spoke, his mannerisms made her so confused. Had to get the other Scions to repeat what he said to her many, many times. Still not fond of his secrecy behind her back on the few times. However, she does understand it's a necessary evil, yet she hasn't completely forgiven him yet. Though, she does appreciate any vital information he can provide her.

- Tataru - Oh sweet Tataru...Listelle loves the receptionist to death. Another person who treats her like she's a normal person. However, how she manages to get things done makes Listelle double think herself. Like the time the Lalafell wanted her precise measurements to get her outfits made. Just the way Tataru brings up results is quite...scary. The heroine watches herself whenever she's around the Lalafell woman.

- Minfilia - The first person to understand she had the power of the Echo. All those years of not understanding random visions she had when she was a child. She learned more from Minfilia over the course of the years. Only to be upset when she disappeared, then find out she was connected to Hydaelyn. She looked up the Hyur and she still misses her from time to time.

- Papalymo - The duo of 'Yda' and Papalymo made her giggle at times. There were times she didn't quite understand the relationship between the two. She got along with the Lalafell fine. That is, until he sacrificed himself to contain the newly born primal at Baelsar's Wall. She wanted to stay behind and help him, but alas, was forced to flee with the others. She still thinks about him from time to time, hoping he's watching over them from afar.

- Lyse - Wasn't sure how to feel about her until after the whole incident at Baelsar's Wall. She had come to understand Lyse as someone who wanted to fight for her homeland. As they journeyed over Gyr Abania and Othard, she had come to see the woman in a new light. With how she handles matters in Ala Mhigo with Raubhan at her side, she hopes the city-state flourishes under their care.

- Gaius – Rivalry since taking on the Ultima Weapon. However, with tackling the Weapon Project, she put aside her dislike for him. In order to stop these machines of death, she would work alongside him. Listelle began to see him in a new light as the Weapons consumed most of the orphans he saved back then. With only Allie left and the Weapons done with, she hopes Gaius can find some sort of peace.

- Nero – Despite him working at the Garlond Ironworks now, she still finds him quite annoying. Though, she has to admit he has helped her on several occasions when Cid couldn't. So, she'd tolerate the man at best.

- Cid – Thankfully to the Garlean many times over. With his few interventions to save her from certain doom, to helping her take down Omega. The accomplishments and shit they've seen and done is enough for a novel or two....or several. She gets along with him fairly well.

- Haurchefant – The Elezen man from House Fortemps and Camp Dragonhead. It was no wonder the silver-haired male admired her from the start. Even wanting to rush in to stop her from taking on Shiva. Never do anything reckless again! He had said to her, which she had meekly agreed to. When fleeing from the bloody Ul'dah banquet, he was a pillar of strength during that time. With most of the Scions gone, she blamed herself for their loss. Alas, Haurchefant wouldn't have none of it. Always cheering her up with hot chocolate and word of encouragement. However, when he died in her arms saving her from a pillar of light...Listelle was devastated. She was depressed for a long time, and still is when she thinks about it. Still blames herself for his death, even if he wanted her to smile. "A smile better suits a hero"; A statement she won't forget easily.

- Aymeric – The first meeting with him..she wasn't impressed. She had heard Ishgardians were uptight and unwelcoming. As much as he sounded polite, she didn't trust him off the bat. However, as time went on, she began to realize he was much more than. Even inviting her to a dinner after Nidhogg's defeat, which she enjoyed. Just his question about what she wanted for herself? She knew not the answer to that at the time. Regardless, the Raen goes to visit him when she can.

- Estinien – This dragoon is so stiff was Listelle's first thought. She didn't exactly like him off the bat. However, the journey across Dravania opened him up to her. She did try her best to understand him, but it was hard. As the years went by, she had come to know he had paid respects to Yysale, which she appreciates. Even the time when she collapsed in the Ghimlyt Dark, trying to persuade Zenos/Elidibus to stop this madness. Estinien had rescued her, which opened her up to that he was more good than she thought. Now with him joining the Scions, more opportunities to know him better have opened.

- G’raha – Annoying scholar to deal with when looking for the damn aethersand. Made it a game, then she promptly yelled at him for making her run around more than she had to. Investigating the Crystal Tower together, she did appreciate his work. When he locked himself away in the tower, she was a bit sad to see him go. Listelle did understand why he had to do it though. During the events of Shadowbringers, she had her suspicions on who the Crystal Exarch was. She couldn't completely confirm who it was, until she was being consumed by Light Corruption. Despite all this, she scolded him greatly after winning the fight against Emet-Selch. She knew he had a deep admiration for her, but only saw him as a friend. Regardless, their friendship is still healthy and blossoming.

- Other Warrior of Lights - Appreciates their hard work and resilience to keep the fight going. No matter what, as long as there is a light, they can still prevail.

[Character sheet made by @lizzy-dotharl. Template taken from @earthlystar.]

#ffxiv #ffxiv oc #original character #character sheet #listelle viyrel #oc: the blood lily

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moonshinesapphic · 4 years

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So you were disappointed in Throne of Glass...

(DISCLAIMER: This post does not intend to offend anyone who loves ToG. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and likes and dislikes and is allowed to express that. This post is meant to share books that have similar qualities to ToG for people who were disappointed in the series, like myself, but anyone who does like ToG can absolutely find great recs here! However, if you don’t want to hear anything ToG critical I recommend skipping over this post. Thank you!)

So last week I finally got rid of all my ToG books. I was mostly relieved that I now have more room on my bookshelf but I also felt a little sad. It was a series I really enjoyed when I first read it two years ago, and on some level it will always have a special place for me. It was one of the many books that got me back into reading after a five year slump, it’s the reason I became friends with the wonderful Nicole (@/rainbowbooktheif on Instagram) who was the first person irl to make me feel less alone as a bookish nerd, and it, unintentionally, helped me hone my critical reading skills. However, I slowly began to care less and less for the story and characters as the series progressed and ended up not reading the last two books because I just stopped caring. I wondered why a series that I loved so much in the beginning went down hill so fast for me, but in the process of falling out of love with ToG I realized I wasn’t the only one who felt this way about the series! The lack of diversity (and misrepresentation/mistreatment of diverse characters when they were there), sexism, lazy editing and lackluster world building, among other things, came up many times for me and other former ToG fans when discussing why we became disappointed in the series. But the pitch for the book (badass morally gray assassin taking down a tyrant king for her freedom, so cool!) and some of the elements (romance, female friendships, magic, trials) sounded so amazing even though in the end it was executed poorly. So, I decided to compile a list of books that I have read and loved that have some elements and themes of ToG. This list is by no means exhaustive and is limited by the books that I have read (which is not many when you look at how many books exist in the world) so I would love to see your recommendations! Please feel free to add onto this post any recs that you have! Now onto the list!

1) Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I read this book the summer before I started ToG and completely loved it. It was one of the early books that got me back into reading and it was honestly the perfect book for that. It was exciting and I couldn’t put it down. It follows an assassin for a tyrannical king who begins to realize her own gifts for killing are more then she ever thought they could be. Cashore does a fantastic job developing the lead character Katsa and the ways that she dolls out information to the readers slowly is impeccable. While this book is technically the first in a trilogy of books taking place in the Graceling world, it can be read as a standalone fantasy (which I feel like are very rare). Another part of this book that I really loved was the romance. I usually don’t read very many straight romances (due to the sexist/problematic aspects many of the ones that I’ve read have) but the relationship between Katsa and Po is honestly a breath of fresh air when you’re used to a lot of toxicity and sexism with cishet romances in books. The two take care of each other and their relationship is very balanced. There are no gender roles pushed on either of them and they truly grow to become a team throughout the story and it’s wonderful to see! I would consider Katsa and Po, while canonically cis (there isn’t any explicit queer rep in this book), both quite androgynous characters who often express themselves in a fluid manner which I really appreciate. Over all this is an amazing classic YA fantasy that everyone should check out!

Synopsis: “Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.”

2) Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

This book is the first in a five book series about three royal sisters raised to battle it out for the throne. I must admit the first book in the series is a little lackluster due to the fact that it’s setting up a lot but the second book just blows everything out of the water in a fantastic way. This series is dark and bloody and intriguing. I got completely hooked on this series and it brought out a lot of emotion to the point where I was gasping and shouting and throwing my book around as I was reading it (I got very invested)! I think that’s one of the things SJM can do well is get you hooked on her characters and Kendare can do the same (if not better). I love the dynamic between the sisters, this book does a great job at exploring the darker side of familial and female/female relationships (mostly platonic.. there isn’t very much queer rep unfortunately) that I really appreciate. The magic system and wolrdbuliding are also something that I enjoyed and I though was quite well done. Kendare does a good job at weaving in worldbuilding and magic system seamlessly into the story and I love that so much. Three Dark Crowns is just a fun and exciting series that I think anyone who loves fantasy YA should check out!

Synopsis: “ In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown. “

3) The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

So a little disclaimer, this book is one of my favorite fantasy books of all time. I read it over the span of a few months last summer (its a long one guys...800+ pages) and it was one of the greatest, most well thought out fantasy books I’d ever had the pleasure of reading. I loved the characters, the world, the plot, the magic system etc. I loved everything! There’s some great political intrigue, dragon riders, epic battles, prophecies, weddings, funerals, romance and just general badassery and kickassery happening. Shannon clearly put so much time and effort into this book and it shows. That kind of dedication that shows is something that I really appreciate in a book, especially a fantasy book. Another aspect that I loved so so much is the diversity in this book. It came so naturally and didn’t at all feel like tokenism. The characters, with their differing genders, ethnicities, sexualities, ages, and nationalities etc, and their relationships with each other are truly what made the story. This book also has one of the BEST f/f romances I’ve ever read (as a queer woman I really loved that representation so much and felt very connected to both of those characters). Priory is a long one but if you have the time I highly recommend it.

Synopsis: “ A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep. “

4) Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

As a queer woman, I’m always a little on edge when someone mentions f/f friendship in a book. This is entirely because of the erasure many many f/f romances experience when they are just brushed off as friendships (we’ve all heard the term “gal pals”). It’s frustrating and even though I love a good f/f friendship when the f/f romances get erased and replaced by friendships it gets exhausting. However, Truthwitch is a true f/f friendship that I can fully get behind! Dennard is an author that I had been following for writing tips for a while before I finally picked up her book. I knew that she’s someone who is invested in making her series diverse, even if she herself doesn’t fit into those categories, and accepts criticism because she want’s to do her characters justice. That’s something I really appreciate seeing from white cishet authors and is one of the reasons I picked up Truthwitch. It’s so much fun and the heart of the story truly is the relationship between the two leads Safi and Iseult. Their friendship reminds me a lot of my relationship with my friends. Books about f/f relationships (romantic or otherwise) are few and far between so I really love that this book exists. Strong platonic relationships are so often pushed aside for cishet romantic ones so it’s SO refreshing to see a series where the book would not exist without Safi and Iseult’s bond. They are truly soulmates and their relationship with each other is the most important one in their lives and that is just beautiful. Not to mention this book has got an awesome magic system and is building up to an amazing fantasy series! There’s pirates, priestesses, princes and, of course, witches! It’s loads of fun all around!

Synopsis: “ Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. “

5) Monstress by Marjorie Liu (Writer) and Sana Takeda (Illustrator)

Another disclaimer! This book is my favorite graphic novel, period. There is really nothing like Monstress out there and I think that it’s criminally underrated. Liu and Takeda are the perfect combo of writer/artist to make this GN come together. I’m constantly in awe of the world, characters, and story Liu built and the frankly stunning art Takeda creates to go along with it. It’s steampunk and dark and dirty and beautiful. The lead character, Maika, is one of the few truly morally gray characters that I’ve read. Her decisions will make you question if you’re a good person because you still love her despite the fact that she just killed that guy... and that guy... and those other guys. This graphic novel series is very reflective of the dark animes (like Tokyo Ghoul and Castlevania) that we are seeing more recently and I personally believe Monstress would make a fantastic animated series if it were ever to get an adaption. This book has also some great representation of queer women (Maika herself is a queer, disabled, WoC). It’s totally the norm for the world and all of the lead female characters are queer, which I just love. This story has amazing woldbulding, magic, characters etc. It’ll give you everything from giant dead gods, to talking cats with multiple tails, to demonically possessed teenage girls who need to eat people. It’s honestly amazing. (I would give a major trigger warning for blood/gore so as long as you know you can handle that I think you should check it out!)

Synopsis: “ Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers. “

6) The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

I never thought I would love a cishet romance as much as I love this one but here I am. The Bridge Kingdom is not really the kind of book I would normally pick up but it was on sale on kindle so I thought “why not!” And I was not disappointed. This story follows the assassin princess, Lara, who was raised to be married off to her fathers rival kingdom and kill the king. However, things get sticky when she begins to actually fall for the king and starts to realize that her father isn’t exactly who he says he is. Not only was this romance steamy as hell (this is an ADULT book folks so there are some explicit sex scenes, beware) but the world is super cool. The political intrigue was something I really enjoyed and I loved to see the world unfold from Lara’s eyes. I also totally loved Lara’s character. She’s complicated and cutthroat but ultimately want’s to do what’s right and is a character made to change and develop. I usually don’t go for that character trope that Lara fits into (beautiful and badass and despite being the MCs they somehow end up being very bland...) but Jensen managed to create a very mature and ever changing version of the YA trope that I ended up loving completely. If you love steamy fantasy romances with cool worlds and intriguing characters this is absolutely the book for you!

Synopsis: “ Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil - and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara's homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom.

But as she infiltrates her new home - a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas - and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore. Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people? “

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madsraa · 4 years

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hey! i can't get over how incredible your background perspectives are! i'm aware of drawing different guidelines for 1 point, 2 point, 3 point perspectives, but how do you get your art to look so naturalistic when doing so (especially for environmental art)? would you mind walking us through your process?

Hello! And thank you :) I’m surprised you asked about perspective because that’s something I’m constantly working on. Planning a painting’s perspective is always a struggle for me but I do have some tips that might help!

Here are the big things for me:

- Feel it out! Most of the time I just kind of wing the perspective which is terrible advice haha. But!! I think artistic license is helpful when working with perspective because then it comes down to what looks good - not what’s technically right. I start pieces with tiny, loose sketches that are usually never accurate when it comes to perspective. But I think that things like composition/shape arrangement are much more important than perfect perspective. And in my experience I think that if you stick too close to the rules of perspective, things might start to feel a bit stiff. That also kind of reminds me of the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff”. If something feels right, people will probably never take the time to actually check if it’s accurate! I should also mention that getting to a point where you can “feel it out” comes from knowing a bit of perspective rules and practicing from life/reference. Another thing worth mentioning is that you’ll probably be more confident about feeling out the perspective after you’ve built up your mental library - certain things will come to you naturally.

- Use lots of reference!! This one is pretty simple - you can’t draw what you don’t know. It can be difficult to imagine the idea you have in your head without using reference and if you try to cut corners by not using them, you’ll probably make more problems for yourself later. And there’s nothing worse than having to make changes to the perspective after you’ve started painting!

- Try setting up a grid on the ground plane. I think technically this point is the most helpful one for me when it comes to planning perspective that feels natural. In past pieces, I would roughly draw one in but these days, I’ve been taking more time to properly set up my perspective which really helps in the long run. I start with my horizon line, find my vanishing points, and then draw a grid using those points. I’ll have an example below! And for landscapes that aren’t a flat plane, I find it really helpful to draw lines over the surface. There’s also an example of that below! But in general I think having at least some marking/design on the floor to indicate a ground plane/form helps immensely instead of trying to arrange objects on an empty plane.

- Along with feeling it out - flip the canvas if you can! And if you’re drawing traditionally, look at it with a mirror. Once you flip your drawing, you might find that a part of it feels weird that you didn’t notice originally.

- You can also create a tiny mock-up from objects around your house. Anything that you can physically manipulate and then take pictures of is a big help!

And here’s a quick breakdown of two pieces in the sketch stage!

This one was pretty much felt out. The main sketch is suuuuper messy but I went with it since I liked the movement/energy. I had a couple of reference photos to go off of but didn’t end up using them as much - they were more for the general feel. This was a case where I had the movement and composition of the piece determine the perspective. I remember moving the horizon line around a lot but wanted it a bit higher so I could paint more of the ground. And I wanted the hills to go back and forth like they were woven, leading your eye down to the castle. The grid thing I mentioned before could also be applied to the hills here - warping the lines over each hill could give you a better idea of how they actually blend into each other/sit in the environment. And again just having those lines makes it much easier to place things like trees/figures/etc.

This one wasn’t too bad since it’s a level ground plane with normal 2 point perspective. I started with a very rough sketch which had the horizon line with that in place, I could then mark the two vanishing points and make a grid based on that. Then I started to add in everything on the ground and worked my way up from there. So before I even started drawing the wall of the temple in perspective, I wanted to make sure the grid on my ground plane was in place. The ground plane is great because it really gives you a feel for where everything should sit even as it recedes to the horizon line. And it’s super easy to make changes/move things around because all of the information you need to know where to place things like pillars or rocks is there!

I also want to add that even though I say I find the horizon line, vanishing points, and then draw a grid - it’s not always as simple as that and I rarely figure out what I want in one go. I’m really indecisive and it can take me a bit to nail the perspective I had in my head. So that’s why I start with a bunch of tiny sketches before I spend more time on a clean sketch and make sure to try out a couple combinations of horizon line heights along with different vanishing point placements.

There’s also a helpful set of images by Thomas Romain on perspective. I always think about the last set of images where he draws the floorpan of a room, then transforms that into perspective and starts drawing based on his flat floorplan. Something like this is probably best for interiors/rooms which have more structure - but I’m sure you could also get it to work for environments with a more natural/hilly terrain.

And in addition to that, Matt Laskowski put out some great videos on perspective.

And just a little last note: I think there’s a ton to learn just looking at a bunch of different environments! I feel like no one really talks about it, but you can absorb a lot and add to your mental library just by taking time to look a little closer at the world around you. And that’s all without ever drawing! Usually when I’m not doing anything and am sitting for a while, I’ll look at wherever I am and ask “how would I draw this space?”. I’ll run through where the horizon line would be, how I’d draw a grid on the floor, how certain objects are distorted from perspective. And sometimes when I don’t feel like drawing or doing a study, I’ll look at photos and really try to understand and internalize what I’m looking at. So it’s great when you need a bit of a break!

And please take this all with a grain of salt since I’m no expert on perspective! But I hope that answered your question! If not, feel free to send another ask if there’s something more specific you were wondering about.

#asks #anonymous #sorry this is so long!!!#I hope there aren't any typos haha #anyway I hope this helps!!

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thiswaycomessomethingwicked · 4 years

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I have a silly Napoleon ask for you: if he suddenly woke up in the present day what do you think he would a)like most about it b) like least about it c)get unreasonably addicted to d)decide to do for a living

hahah I’ve answered a similar one before here and here.

Most Like About It: A lot, I think. Central heating. Guys, he’d fucking love central heating.

In general, he’d love most technological advances. Cars, planes, trains etc. like he’d be very into that. “Bertrand we’re going to ride the TGV all day every day. Look at how fast we are going! This is genius.”

“Bertrand WE ARE IN THE SKY. This is AMAZING. We are going from Paris to Rome in a matter of HOURS. HOURS BERTRAND. WE DON’T HAVE TO CROSS MOUNTAINS.” (sorry just assuming this is exile Napoleon who woke up in modern day.)

Public transit in general - the metro, buses - anything that makes life more efficient for people. Dishwasher, washers/dryers, modern electricity, laptops, printers, ball point pens etc.

I suspect he’d be a big supporter of public health care and all the advances made on vaccines and medicine in general. 100% would hate anti-vaxxers. Pro-modern glasses (he’d get himself a pair asap. Then they’d explain contacts to him and I think he’d be like “WAIT NO, I WANT THOSE.” He would not be into lasik, I suspect).

Modern hygiene! Razors, tooth brushes, floss, moisturizer - general daily body care he’d probably be keen on. (All that stuff we take for granted.) Though maybe not all of it, he was quite traditional in certain things (his penchant for older fashion, par exemple). Maybe he’d keep the old straight razor shaving approach. But modern dentistry would be a huge improvement and I can’t see him being against it. Especially as someone who had a tooth extracted in the early 19th century.

‘Oh they give you pain killers now? Fantastic.’

‘Sir, we just numb the area where we are doing the work.’

‘So it doesn’t impede my awareness? Amazing. Please, fix all my teeth right now.’

He’d also support the greater access to education that exists, especially compared to his day. Also, streaming services. He would binge so many things. ‘Bertrand we are watching every thing this very soothing sounding British naturalist made about planet earth. Holy shit look at that they’re under water! They’re at the bottom of the ocean! Bertrand look at this. if only Josephine were here. She’d be so excited.’

Pro-zoom/Microsoft teams/facetime etc. 100%. ‘If I had this instead of people relying on my bad handwriting ...’

Oh, he’d like the EU as a concept. Except he would be very disappointed that France wasn’t at the helm. I think France’s position globally would disappoint him, overall. But yeah, the broad principles espoused by the concept of the European Union would appeal to him.

Brexit though. Lol. I think he’d enjoy watching England shoot itself in the foot. But if you asked him for his opinion, as in “do you think the UK should do this” he would answer no. They should remain.

He would like globalization, trade agreements, things like NAFTA, CETA etc. Supporter of big government. Reduction of religion in public sphere. Though would he be pro-banning visual manifestations of faith? (i.e. Hijab etc.) I don’t know. I doubt it. Simply because he was very focused on religion in government, so if churches aren’t involved in decision making, what citizens get up to on their own is their business (so long as you don’t cause problems). But I don’t know, he might be pro-it, because he was also into assimilation and creating a broad sense of a French culture. I could see him really going either way on it. It’d probably come down to whatever he thought would garner the most public support as a political move (since a lot of his more liberal moves as a leader were tied to understanding that marginalized communities would gun hard for him if he helped them).

He would be pro-mask wearing for COVID because he wasn’t a fucking idiot and lived in a time when pandemics were still a real going concern.

He would also probably like how comfortable modern clothing is. I don’t think he’d like how cheap and made-to-wear-out that most brands are, but he’d like the over all philosophy. Like Napoleon would dig t-shirts. Lounge wear. The fact that jeans have some stretch in them. That sort of thing.

Least Like: I think he’d be very wary of the internet. For many reasons. For the lack of government control (Napoleon “What is a free press? never heard of her” Bonaparte). But also, because of the misinformation problems. The side effects many of us are now bearing witness to, and experiencing the ramifications of.

He would dislike the whole fake news nonsense. Oh this man was a master spin-doctor, very good at twisting a narrative around to suit him, but he still did have respect for and a firm belief in basic facts. Especially fake news that usurped the sound advise of scientists and doctors (i.e. COVID nonsense).

Free press, I think he would be wary of it. Mostly from a government control perspective. Like as a day-to-day citizen, since he wouldn’t be anyone in power in this hypothetical, I think he’d value it. He would do that disassocative thing he did when he talked about things in the abstract. That cold, calculating way he would position himself in a situation and be like “Ah yes, these are the things that need to be tamped down if you want control of a populace as a monarch”. Then he had his more liberal, call-back-to-that-misspent-jacobin-youth moments where his views shifted.

I suppose it would also depend what age this hypothetical Napoleon is. He softened a lot in retirement exile. Napoleon at the height of his power, thirty-odd years old, different man to fifty year old Napoleon.

Would not be into women in politics. He’d be like ‘Why is there a woman in charge of Germany? Also what happened to the Habsburgs? Where’s Prussia? Silesia? What the FuCk is happening in the Balkans? I’m very confused about Europe’s current geographic layout. ...Corsica...still doing you, I see.’

He’d dislike Trump and his cronies. As I wrote before: “ I think Napoleon would find Trump disgusting on a personal level. Uneducated, incapable of holding a real conversation, gauche, anti-intellectual, anti-fact-based discussion, anti-science, anti-art etc. He’d also feel that Trump is disgracing the position of President and that he is unworthy of leadership. Napoleon would also find Trump physically repulsive as he could be a wee bit shallow in some of his assessments (though, very early modern to 19th century to assume your physical appearance is a manifestation of your interiority).”

Steve Bannon’s fiddling with finances? Napoleon would find that repulsive. Mitch Mcconnell disgracing his office by fucking around with constitutional loop holes? Napoleon would think it a disgrace.

He had a lot of respect for America’s experiment with democracy. Like, quite a lot of respect. So I think he’d be vastly disappointed in not only the person occupying the white house, but also a lot of the apathy in voting that is going around. (Yes, this coming from a [mostly] absolutest monarch, too.) But Napoleon valued and respected the notion of civic duty. If you live in a democracy, you have a duty to participate. To opt out is to shirk that duty which he would find insulting and distasteful. Because, I would argue, he was very much a believer in people doing right by their fellow citizens.

Get unreasonably addicted to: MODERN BATHS. HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE THE BATHTUB. THEY CAN HAVE JETS AND EVERYTHING BERTRAND THIS IS GREAT.

Also central heating. Saunas. Jacuzzis. He was like a wee lizard seeking warmth at all times.

I think he’d be into driving. I don’t know if he would be good at it. Don’t let Napoleon take the wheel, guys. But if someone else was driving he’d be that person “go faster. you’re driving like my grandmother.” And gods, he’d do dumb shit like drive like a maniac around the arc de triumph six times in a row because he’s an adrenaline junkie and a risk-taker (it’s that bored ADD brain of his). The autobahn would be his dream.

I think he’d be super into epic fantasy series. Like the big sweeping ones like Lord of the Rings. I think less so GRRM because GRRM is unrealistic and Napoleon is pedantic. Especially about politics and war. Exhibit A: consider Napoleon’s very detailed nitpicking of Virgil on his inaccurate rendition of Troy from a military perspective. Therefore, I suspect GRRM’s lack of accuracy in how society works, how war works, how politics works, all the plot holes and illogical character decisions, would drive him up the wall. Napoleon liked Homer because he could tell Homer had been to war. And you can tell Tolkien has been to war. Also LOTR hits all those notes of high-hearted emotion and big sweeping scenes that Napoleon so liked in Ossian and the Illiad etc.

All this to say, overall, as a genre, I think those big, sweeping fantasies with lots of plot, politics, intrigue, soaring battles, great heights of emotion - he’d love that. It would hit all of his buttons for what he liked in fiction. Lots of emotion, lots of action, lots of big scenes, lots of crazy shenanigans. This can also be applied to Sci-fi. I think he’d be a big nerd on that too. But the science would have to make sense.

I think he’d be into Star Trek, particularly Picard, if only for the philosophical aspects of it. He liked those sorts of questions and hypotheticals. So I think he’d binge all of The Next Generation (among other seasons).

Do for a living: Teach? God knows. This is Napoleon from 18-something who just woke up? He could be paid for consultant work for historians and film crews and the like, I guess. Just to tell them how accurate stuff is. Of course, be wary, this is Napoleon I Am A Spin Doctor Bonaparte.

I think he could lean into writing histories - particularly the classics, early French and European history - that sort of thing, where he already has a strong background in it and it wouldn’t require him basically learning an entirely new trade. Like, will Napoleon ever fully be a natural with computers and cell phones? Probably not. Could he be like your old school Professor emeritus who still churns out papers and does 90% of it the old fashioned by-hand way? Yes. And Napoleon had a bunch of histories planned on St. Helena that he wanted to write, so I think he could do that.

As this is literally Napoleon Bonaparte he’d get a book deal in seconds. There’d be a bidding war over it.

Thank you for the ask! This was very amusing :D

#napoleon #napoleon was his own shitpost #napoleon bonaparte #napoleonic #napoleon in the modern day #ask #reply #anon

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as-the-crow-trots · 4 years

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Winter Weather Clothing Safety

Hi everyone. I don’t know if this could help anyone, but I hope it can maybe help someone, especially those who aren’t used to the winter weather in Southern states. I am a northerner, having lived in the Northeast my whole life, and the past few years in Maine. I am also a naturalist and have had to take courses in winter safety.

Layering is extremely helpful in winter, and layering correctly can be the difference between life and death.

DO NOT WEAR COTTON. Cotton has cooling effects, which is great in warmth but obviously bad in the cold. It is extremely dangerous if wet as it doesn’t insulate or dry quickly and had been known to be the reason for frostbite and hypothermia. COTTON KILLS

When layering, start at the base. Use synthetic fabrics like nylon or polyester to keep your body heat close. This can be things like pantyhose/stockings, thermals, sometimes leggings, etc.

Your next layer should be an organic material like wool or fleece. These materials will dry and will keep you insulated.

Your last layer should be a wind-breaker or other similar jacket that is water repellent.

Make sure your extremities, i.e., fingers, toes, nose, and ears are covered and protected to avoid frostbite

Depending on how long you are outside and how high energy the activity is, it may be a good idea to “start cold” (best in use for high intensity/long length of time activities).This means wearing less layers to avoid sweating early on in your ventures which can lead to hypothermia, and instead adding layers if and when you’re cold. It is better to be slightly chilly than sweaty.

Other tips:

If you do not have winter gear, use what you have. If you don’t own mitten/gloves, use socks. If you don’t have a hat/scarf use leggings. Blankets. Whatever you have to keep yourself warm, use it in a pinch. No matter how it looks, it is better to be alive.

Clear your car’s exhaust pipe before starting it, as snow and ice can clog is and the fumes in the car can kill.

To remove ice from a windshield, start by warming the car, and putting defrost on. This will help melt the ice. Then, using a car scrapper, credit card, or other form of hard plastic, scrape.

Leave the taps dripping over night if it dips below 20 at night and you don’t have good insulation. This will help prevent pipes from freezing and then bursting.

Remove icicles from gutters, porches, etc. But don’t stand underneath of them while doing so. They can kill. Removing them will prevent them from falling during a thaw, and will prevent them from weighing down gutters and breaking them.

If your hands/feet are cold after being outside, slowly warm them up with warm running water.

Use a towel, blanket, clothes, etc. under doors and windows to prevent drafts which run up your bill and can make your house colder. Additionally, drawing close the blinds/curtains will provide some barrier from the cold outside, and can keep your house even slightly warmer.

Check your dogs/cats paws after being walked, or outside for rock salt. it can blister their paws or they may eat it, both can be harmful

Keep blankets, or towels in your car with your emergency kit. If you get stuck in a snow drift, again, check your exhaust pipe if possible. Run your car in periodic spurts rather than leave it running.

I will add to this list if I can remember anything else. Please feel free to add to it as you share it if you have more ways people can be safe. Everyone in the South who is experiencing winter weather, please be safe and be smart.

#South #Winter #weather #winter weather #winterwear #winter gear #wintergear #winter safety #winter safety tips #wintersafety #wintersafetytips #cold #cold weather #southern #southern cold #safety #layering #southern winter

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patricianandclerk · 5 years

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apps that encourage you to go outside

so!! one of the things i fall into is that like, i’ll often get into points on my days off where i don’t want to go for a walk or go out anywhere because i’m not feeling like being around people or doing exercise, but i have these apps and like, pretty much all of them encourage me to either go out where otherwise i wouldn’t, or to spend more time when i am walking around

please!! feel free to add other suggestions

iNaturalist - for flora and fauna spotters

So, I enthuse about iNaturalist all the time, but it’s just wonderful - basically, it’s an app and website that lets you take a note of any and all wildlife that you spot as you go about your day-to-day life.

When you note the time spotted (which will be automatically taken from the timestamps on photos taken from your digital camera or phone), the location you spotted it, and an identification, it will be Research Grade and will contribute to actual censuses of species and so on! They even do little meet-ups in certain areas where they try to measure all the species in a specific area.

Not a naturalist? Don’t think you can identify the species of animals, insects, flowers, and mushrooms? Don’t worry. The wonderful thing about iNaturalist is that not only does their system give a rough identification of your species based on how it looks and similar species in the area to start you off, but then other people contribute their identifications of the species, so it’s actually a great way to learn more as you go.

I can’t recommend iNaturalist enough, even if you just want to look at other people’s identifications in the area and learn more about it!

Play Store | Apple Store

Candide - for gardeners and flower enthusiasts

Candide is just... It’s gorgeous. It’s literally a social media website just for gardening and spotting flowers in your day-to-day life, and it’s so wonderful.

So, one of the drawbacks of iNaturalist is that when you see domesticated flowers and plants, they aren’t put up for the community to try to identify because they’re captive species, but on Candide? You can post wild plants and domestic ones that you see in gardens and parks, and as well as having their own recognition system, other users will then help ID them!

On Candide, you can ask for plant care tips or read guides if you’re interested in taking care of your own garden, or houseplants like me, but what I really love is that even if you’re not a gardener yourself, you can just enthuse with like-minded people about beautiful plants that you encounter as you go about your day, and the community is endlessly warm and friendly!

Candide will even recommend you close-by botanical gardens and parks that are worth a visit, which is lovely!

Play Store | Apple Store

GuruShots - for photographers who like a challenge

So, GuruShots doesn’t directly require you to leave your home, but I’m including it anyway.

GuruShots is a photography “game” that basically posts several competitions per day, as well as weekly and monthly ones. All the different competitions have different expectations or specifications, but a lot of them focus on getting you out during the golden hour, encouraging you to take certain landscapes, et cetera, which is so great for like... Encouraging you to get into photos and taking different kinds of photos?

I’ve learned a lot about different genres of photography just using this app, and it’s honestly so much fun. You don’t need a big heavy DSLR! Most smart phones have a perfectly good camera, and you can accomplish gorgeous shots just with that!

Play Store | Apple Store

Pokémon Go - i mean we know what this is

Listen. Pokémon Go is fun, it’s cute, it’s funny.

It encourages you to seek out the local landmarks in your area, to go for daily walks where you engage with your surroundings as well as with your phone, and is genuinely just good fun. It genuinely is such great fun for all ages, and while I’m very much not on Pokémon Go all the time, I always keep it on my phone for when I’m going through a phase with it.

One thing I recommend is that if you have a bus commute, play Pokémon Go on your way home, which is such a great way to get quick Pokéstops and a lot of Pokémon, but once you get to your stop, like... You’re normally pumped up from playing on the bus, and you want to go for a quick (or not so quick) walk somewhere before you go home.

Play Store | Apple Store

JobSpotter - spot hiring signs and you get paid

Okay, so this one isn’t really a fun or creative one, but what I really like about it is that it encourages me to take different routes and explore a bit in the same way that Pokémon Go does, which I love!

JobSpotter is run by Indeed, the job site - basically, what you do is keep an eye out for hiring and help wanted signs in storefronts. Lots of people don’t necessarily post their job listings on Indeed, but the site obviously want to get as many local job listings as possible, so what you do is take a picture of the hiring sign and a picture of the store front, and Indeed will then list them on their site.

They award you a number of points based on how many other people have submitted the sign, how long/how often the sign is up (e.g. Starbucks or McDonalds are always hiring, whereas a little family-owned café puts up a sign less often), how clear the pic of the sign is, whether it’s hand-written or professionally printed, how much in desire that kind of job is, et cetera et cetera, and each point that you earn is worth one American cent, I think? Every month, the register resets, so you can submit stuff again if a new month starts and the signs are still up.

The only drawback is that you only get that money in Amazon giftcards, but I earned a little under thirty quid the first week I was using it, so if you do use Amazon, it’s obviously money that adds up and can be a nice little thing while you’re on a walk for an incentive to go further or take a different route.

Play Store | Apple Store

#as defined by dictionary #apps

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aro-who-reads · 5 years

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Aro-friendly books

So @aromagpie made a great post about aro rep, and included Radio Silence a character is suggested to be demiromantic, but also just because it's aro friendly, which got me thinking about other aro-friendly books that don't necessarily have explicit aro rep (these are also probably easier to find at your local library)

Radio Silence - Alice Oseman

Okay so I really loved this book as well and wanted to say something about it. After reading the blurb but before I started it I wasn't that convinced but I think it's just really hard to explain what's going on. Basically it's got my favourite kind of secrets, nerds, a missing sister, and focuses on friendship. I was scared for a while they were going to fall in love but they don't. (There is some romance on the side, but it's never shown to be more important.)

Keiko Series - Mike Brooks

Fun adventures in space, classic story of a not exactly legal crew on a spaceship who get caught up in shenanigans.

So this trilogy as down on the database as having an asexual character, and while her romantic orientation is never brought up, there are some other characters who definitely come across as arospec to me (one is in his 40s, and talks about how's he's falling in love for the first time and it's all new to him, and another who's not sure he's ever fallen in love and if he has it was only the one time.)

More to the point, even though there is a romance between two of the characters (and I can't say I'm particularly impressed by the age gap in it), it never feels like romance is a priority for any of them, or something they're really looking for at all.

Memoirs of Lady Trent - Marie Brennan

Okay so this is starting to get more towards romance (and the later books definitely do have romance) but I thought it was worth a mention.

Basically, Victorian-era fantasy setting, there are dragons, and the main character Isabella is a dragon naturalist and studies them, also ends up having more adventures than planned.

I think I just really liked the way her first marriage isn't particularly romantic: they marry almost more for convience? But it isn't an issue, they get along really well and it doesn't matter that they aren't 'in love' in the expected way. I don't think she's aro, but their relationship gave me a real qpr vibe.

She also has a very close friendship with another man, and although other characters assume things about their relationship, it's completely platonic and I love how it's really important to her, even when she's married (in a romantic sense, the second time.) I actually discovered this book on the database as well because one of the side characters is ace (and maybe aro?) but honestly she's only properly in one book and it's not talked about much.

(Please feel free to add on, I'm almost at the end of aro and ace database books the library has, and I'd love some more aro-friendly books to read, I'm sure others would as well)

#aro #aromantic #Aro books

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microcosmicobservations · 6 years

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Mental health and academia, P1

All right, who’s ready for a literal NOVEL where I answer questions about how I deal with mental illness in academia/life? I’m going to break this up into parts so it’s not too much. Topics include: fitting in, needing a break from the rat race, anxiety/depression from thinking about the future, and impostor syndrome. Please feel free to reply with advice and wisdom of your own.

Anonymous asked: Do you feel like you fit in with your peers? I'm a casual herper and general naturalist. I love a little bit of everything. I have a friend I go herping with sometimes. He doesn't mean to be rude or anything, but when I go home I feel alienated sometimes. I feel like I'm not enough or that I don't belong and can't fit in with other professionals or even hobbyists. Have you experienced that? Is there any way to make it easier to deal with? Thank you for your blog <3

Hobbyists and professionals can be a little bit elitist and cliquey at times, and I think that’s dumb because this world is so fascinating and wonderful and why wouldn’t you want to share your passions and enthusiasm with others?? To be honest, though, I haven’t tried to fit in with the others much because going out and hunting for organisms is very much a solitary thing for me, then when I get home I turn to the internet, to identification groups on FB or Reddit or iNaturalist, for the learning and communicating part. People on those websites are there because they want to help others learn about the organisms they’re keen on. I’m sorry if this isn’t super helpful for you. I am a cockroach.

Even so, let’s make some rules now for the naturalists club. The first rule of naturalists club is to be excellent to each other. The second rule of naturalists club is that anyone can be a naturalist if they want to, no matter their age or skill level. (The third rule of naturalists club is to not pretend to be confident about an identification unless you are absolutely sure.)

Anonymous asked: It’s super amazing of you to present yourself so truthfully; I know it can be hard. You’re honestly really great and what you do is awesome ! Personally, my biggest issue is feeling overwhelmed - be it academics or life in general. The hardest part is when I feel like I need a break, but feel that taking a break will just put me further behind. Any thoughts on that ? Thanks, and again: you rock ✨

I felt this A LOT throughout my 20s because I spent a lot of time not knowing exactly what I was doing and struggling with committing to a single path (real talk: I still do this). I didn’t graduate college until I was 27. I’m 31 now, and I just started on my master’s degree. There are some downsides to this (the primary being that a number of the other millenials who graduated college in a timely manner and lucked out in actually landing a career actually have homes and savings accounts, while I don’t and probably won’t for a long time). But I’d like to call attention to your words “further behind,” which to me indicates you’re comparing your path to others’. It’s not a race. Do what you need to do to thrive.

Anonymous asked: One thing in particular that really triggers my depression/anxiety is thinking about my life in the long-term, and how uncertain my future is as a 20-something recent graduate. How do you deal with these thoughts?

Take things one step at a time. You recently graduated - what do you need to do now? Apply for jobs? Apply to graduate programs? Once you figure out that most pressing step, then you can think about the further out things. I am probably not the best person to advise you on this though, since as I mentioned before, I have never been great at committing to a path, and I have definitely never been a 5 year plan person. But with the job market the way it is, who really can be? So I guess my best advice is just to make sure that your immediate needs are taken care of (income -> food, housing), then daydream about the options your future may hold, and start to take small steps to work toward those dreams. Nothing is set in stone. If your plans fall through, make other plans. (Seriously though, good luck with this. I don’t know what it is about 20s that is so excruciating, but if it’s any consolation that pressure of figuring out your future tends to ebb away as you get older.)

Anonymous asked: Imposter syndrome: what do you do about it?

Ah, impostor syndrome. As an artist-turned-scientist who avoided a lot of the hard math/science classes that sure would have been great to add to my foundation of knowledge (*side-eyes my past self*) and is now studying molecular systematics even though most of my background is in ecology, I feel impostor syndrome so regularly that it’s part of me at this point. I don’t know what the best way of dealing with it is, but here is what I do: Fake it ‘til you make it. I’ve heard about people who are experts in their field dealing with impostor syndrome, so maybe it’s okay for me as someone who is still very early in their career to feel it too? I am low-key TERRIFIED about the first time I get to present my molecular analyses and someone asks me a basic DNA question and I make a fool of myself by not knowing the answer. But what can I do about it? All I can do is take things as they come and do the best I can. If I somehow manage to advance through my career without being “exposed” as a “fake scientist,” cool! If someone gives me crap about not knowing everything, that’s their problem.

Oh, one last minute thought on this: The place I’m doing my master’s degree at really encourages communication and collaboration between grad students, so I’ve been talking with my peers more than ever before. One of the most valuable things I’ve gotten out of that is learning that NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THEY’RE DOING. We’re all just kind of flopping around until we poop out some results.

#mental health #academia #depression #anxiety #impostor syndrome #science #fitting in

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straykatfish · 4 years

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I think the previous exercise gave rise to a soft enough landscape for now, so I’ve gone for the hard version. More architectural and structural but also involving a lot of horizontals and verticals that need, even if they’re hand drawn as opposed to drafted onto the page with ruled precision, need to do the job of giving the viewer decent enough clues as to perspective. As a learner, there is also a requirement to demonstrate that I can do this with reasonable conviction.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, actually sitting in front of a landscape and sketching there is impossible, and so I have resorted to photos. I like to use my own because I was there, I framed it, chose the angles and, after a fashion, the compositional quality. I take snaps, not Photographs, so this is basic. Nevertheless, I know the places and they’re meaningful to me, which gives me context that goes beyond the image in my camera.

I had three contenders; two of Brighton (a stitched photo of the 360 degree tower under construction at the West Pier, and one of a typical Brighton street which I’d run through the Enlight app and changed the colours), and one of my old school which many of us had visited a few years ago on a reunion and which has since been demolished despite its history and the very many objections.

I very quickly rejected the tower even though it has potential, being stark and so centrally positioned. Then I pulled out the school building which again has potential and which I might have represented as it used to look when I was there – the sandstone black with the soot in the air. I am a colour magpie, drawn to what I had already made in an app from an image that in itself was bright and colourful.

First, I needed to map out the verticals because there are many. I did this using a black sharpie on a print of the photo. What emerged from that was an image that attracted me immediately for its graphical quality. That tied bin bag in the centre at the bottom with its emptiness as an image contradicting its bursting fullness in reality; and the white-out bins further up. It’s as thought Enlight was keen to eradicate the muck on this street which was in fact littered with debris barely contained enough for the refuse collectors to pick up.

Thinking back to a conversation with my tutor about investigating the effects of different base colour washes I went for an orange mix to sit underneath the blues and purples and hopefully pop them out. But first I had to get those lines transferred and oh my goodness was that a struggle! The support is A2 cartridge prepped with white gesso for substance.

The perspective is very tight and angular, and to complicate matters, the windows are bay-shaped on some of the houses but not on others. I made rough estimates of the largest blocks then assigned numbers to them so that I would know which strip belonged to which sliver of the photo. A three metre rule is an essential for this kind of thing even if my mathematical competence lets it down from time to time. This is the first pass blocking in some of the colours and tracking the accuracy of the perspective. I am actually quite surprised to find it seems pretty much on target.

After some more blocking in, I can see a terrace emerging. I use black (or white) conte to make guide lines but I’m not aiming for a ‘clean’ graphic image, more one that is impressionistic. As long as I get the perspective right, I’m going to feel free to use colours that say Brighton rather than take a more naturalistic approach. I’ve become a fan of the ‘dirty brush’, one that will streak another colour along with the main one. This seems to be turning into a quilt.

Today, I added some depth of colour to some of the blocks, completed the window in the foreground, added definition to some other elements, and used wash to give the street furniture some volume. I am deliberately trying not to over-work this, or to resort to my blocky brush technique because this is definitely a graphical type of painting, albeit a type I had not set out with in mind. Probably it was driven by the photo I had both taken and modified originally.

The colours are unrealistic – at least in the sense that they are not the original ones but not in the sense that they would be out of place in a Brighton street. I think the perspective (just about) works, and I’m quite pleased I managed to avoid adding detail to the distant objects. I’ve been asked by my tutor to think about stopping sometimes a little earlier than I do to avoid over-working and I think I’ve done that here with reasonable effect. I could have fiddled all day tomorrow with it, but I’m not sure it would have added anything but irrelevant marks.

Interestingly, I can see the guide lines I drew before starting which I think adds to the graphical tenor of the piece.

Time taken: 10 hours

Part 1, project 1, exercise 2 – hard or soft landscape. I think the previous exercise gave rise to a soft enough landscape for now, so I've gone for the hard version.

#exercise 2 #hard landscape #Part 4 #project 1

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lethaderr-blog · 5 years

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Here’s a weekend itinerary for eco-friendly, sustainable, and kind adventures in Dutchess County, New York.

Looking to spend two days wandering around adorable towns, spending time in quiet nature, and sampling delicious food and drink? You’ll want to run, not walk, straight to Dutchess County, New York. It’s less than two hours from New York City and three hours from Boston. If you’re a curious Canadian like myself and looking for a new place to explore, it’s about 4-5 hours from Montreal and Ottawa, and 7.5 hours from Toronto. Trust me, it’s worth the drive. There are so many fun things to do in Dutchess County.

Thanks to the knowledgeable folks at Dutchess Tourism, I ventured off the well trodden tourist path to the lesser known gems of the region. Even though I was visiting on weekdays, there were so many occasions where there weren’t any other travelers in sight. So, if you’re looking for a peaceful place away from the crowds, I’m going to show you exactly where to go.

Natural wonders like the Dover Stone Church will make you feel like you’re in New Zealand, not the Hudson Valley. There’s castle ruins that make you feel like you’re in the middle of Scotland. Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue is such an amazing cause and could really benefit from an increased amount of visitors. And with the Culinary Institute of America in Dutchess County, you’d better bet that you can find an incredible culinary scene.

Whether you’re visiting over the weekend or spending 2 days in Dutchess County , prepare to be charmed by this beautiful section of the state. Let me show you exactly what I did when I was in Dutchess County, which emphasized eco-friendly travel, vegan travel, and combating overtourism by visiting the lesser known spots.

DUTCHESS COUNTY TRAVEL GUIDE

WHERE TO STAY IN DUTCHESS: I loved staying at the Inn at Pine Plains in Pine Plains, New York. You can read my review a little further down on this page. Book your stay at the Inn at Pine Plains or read more reviews by fellow travelers. There are a great variety of small hotels, B&Bs and inns throughout the region. Feel free to check out hotels in the towns of Rhinebeck, Beacon, or Poughkeepsie if you’d like to stay in a larger city. To have your own place in Dutchess, browse the available listings on Airbnb.

GETTING AROUND DUTCHESS: I recommend having access to a car when you visit Dutchess County. A lot of the places on this particular itinerary can be far apart from one another. It’s possible to take the train into towns like Beacon and Poughkeepsie, and even continue by bus up into Rhinebeck. However, having a car makes it so much easier to visit to these off the beaten path spots that I recommend. If you don’t have your own, consider renting a car for this trip.

MORE THINGS TO DO IN : For all of the best things to do in New York State, check out all of my other blog posts.

PHOTOS OF DUTCHESS: Check out our entire photo album of pictures from Dutchess County to inspire your trip. You can also purchase prints, housewares, and all sorts of gifts made from any of our photos – just click the “buy” button on any picture.

Day 1 in Dutchess County

For your first day, you’ll be exploring the finer side of things to do in Dutchess County. First, you’ll be visiting a tea room (and tea factory), beautiful gardens, and a vineyard with an impressive history. Top it all off with one of the best views in Dutchess County , followed up by some of the best Indian cuisine I’ve ever tasted.

Tour at Harney & Sons Fine Teas

It’s not everyday that you get to go behind the scenes at a tea factory. You might have heard of Harney & Sons. Their tea is so popular for a reason – it’s absolutely delicious. There’s really a variety and taste for everyone as they serve over 250 varieties of tea. I recommend browsing their collection online where it’s easy to place an order (or you can always order it on Amazon, too).

Harney & Sons is a family owned and operated business. Back in 1983, John Harney began his journey to master the art of tea blending in his basement, serving his tea to inn guests. This home-run business has vastly expanded to their headquarters in Millerton, New York. They have a 90,000 square foot warehouse there, a bottling plant in Hudson, and two tasting rooms in Millerton and SoHo, New York. Sadly, John passed away in 2014, but his two sons, Mike and Paul operate the company along with other family members. Harney & Sons Tea employs over 200 people.

John’s grandson, Alexander offered to give us the Harney & Sons factory tour. He is so full of knowledge about everything relating to tea. I could really sense his passion for tea, especially when it came to traveling the world to source rare varieties. He’s visited Taiwan, China, Japan and India to find the best tasting teas.

As we toured around the factory, we could see that the company sources, blends, and packages their tea from start to finish, keeping full control over all aspects of production. They are committed to making and selling the finest tea possible and have strict quality control measures. If the tea bags aren’t filled to a certain weight or standard, they aren’t sold to the public. It was really fascinating to see the huge pieces of equipment to blend and package the tea. They even make some of their own tea bags at the factory.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was smelling all of the tea. The tea sits in giant barrels before being packaged and shipped off to a store near you. We walked around and smelled the various fragrances of each tea blend. From smooth vanilla scents to bright floral ones, I could certainly get used to smelling all of the tea. Is there somehow a way that I could pivot being a professional blogger into being a professional tea tester?

I quickly discovered that the one that smelled the best was a tea blend called Paris, with scents of Earl Grey, black currant, vanilla, with a hint of caramel. It’s inspired by Mike Harney’s visits to Paris and enjoying pots of tea at Parisian tea shops. I knew that I had to buy some of that at their tea room. If you’re interested in taking a factory tour at Harney & Sons, please reach out to their headquarters via email or phone.

Lunch at Harney & Sons Tea Room

After the factory tour, head down the road a short distance to the Harney & Sons Tea Room in Millerton. You can sample teas in their tasting room, browse the shop for your favorite blends, and sit down for a full meal. And it’s not only a tea room. It’s one of the best Dutchess County restaurants, too. I was very impressed that all of the vegetarian and vegan menu items were clearly marked, which always make it so much easier. There’s also the massive tea menu to peruse, and it’s insanely difficult to decide on just one tea to order. You can order it iced or hot, whatever you choose from their huge variety of over 250 teas. There’s something for everyone!

For food, I chose the hummus and veggie platter, which is always one of my favorite things to eat. For my main course, I tried the mushroom risotto (brown rice risotto topped with sauteed mushroom of the day and balsamic reduction, served with greens), just remember to ask for the vegan version without cheese. And there’s even a vegan choice of dessert, a rice pudding made with plant-based milk topped with fruit. Yum! For those compiling a list of Hudson Valley vegan options, add Harney & Sons tea room to your vegan restaurant bucket list.

Innisfree Garden

Innisfree Garden is one of the world’s 10 best gardens, and it’s right here in Dutchess County . It’s unlike any garden I’ve ever visited before. Innisfree Garden is an American stroll garden, all about the individual’s experience in nature. It combines the essence of Modernist and Romantic principles with traditional Chinese and Japanese design. Using water, rocks, wood, and of course, plants, the result is a naturalistic landscape that isn’t immaculately groomed.

At Innisfree, it’s almost as though you’re strolling from one landscape painting to the next. It’s designed around the notion of a “cup garden”, a Chinese garden concept that draws attention to something beautiful in the scene. It might be a lotus pool or a single rock covered with succulents and lichens. Wander around Tyrrel Lake to discover native plants, waterfalls, and magnificent trees. Follow the path across streams using tiny bridges and wooden footpaths. I am certain that every person who visits notices a different detail, having new experiences with each visit.

While I went to Innisfree Garden in late April just at the start of spring before the first bloom, I am sure that it looks even more lovely throughout the prime of spring, summer and fall. I’d love to return again in the future to see how Innisfree Garden changes with the seasons.

Clinton Vineyards

Clinton Vineyards is called a, “jewel in the crown of Dutchess County”. Established in 1976 by Ben and Phyllis Feder, Clinton Vineyards is inspired by the stunning wineries and vineyards in France. The 100-acre Clinton Vineyards is modeled after the European tradition of specializing in a single grape. He chose the Seyval Blanc, a hardy grape that can survive the weather of the Hudson Valley. Going for a wine tasting at Clinton Vineyards is one of the best things to do in Dutchess County.

We met with Phyliss at Clinton Vineyards for our wine tasting. She is such a fascinating woman with so many stories to tell. You could spend an entire day with Phyliss, learning about how she and Ben were pioneers of the New York wine industry. I love that she is a champion for women’s rights and equality. She’s paved the way for so many other women in the wine industry, becoming the first female president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. You’ll notice photos all around the tasting room with notable people like Hillary Clinton. There are also several letters from the Queen of England after receiving and tasting wines from Clinton Vineyards.

The other thing you’ll notice are all of the awards. Each type of wine in the tasting room has at least one medal or ribbon hanging from it. I’m sure that Phyliss has lost track of just how many awards their wine has won. Whether it’s their Seyval Blanc, Riesling, Rosé, Pinot Noir, or Methodé Champenoise sparkling wines, I’m sure that you’ll quickly fall for the wine at Clinton Vineyards.

We got to sample a variety of wines, including my personal favorite, Romance, a late-harvest Seyval Blanc. They have a series of dessert wines that you simply must try. Clinton Vineyards also makes a Cassis, a black currant wine and the only one produced in the USA that has won gold medals at international competitions. Oh, and you can be sure that all of the wine at Clinton Vineyards is 100% vegan!

The tasting room and retail shop are inside a 19th century Dutch barn. It’s unlike some of the stark and minimalist tasting rooms that I’ve visited in the past. The tasting room at Clinton Vineyards feels as though you’re welcomed into someone’s home. With framed pictures covering every surface of the wall and wine displayed proudly on barrels, it feels so much more personal and inviting. So, why don’t you stay a while, sample some of the wine, and bring a few bottles back to enjoy in your own home.

Ferncliff Forest Fire Tower

It’s time to get back out into nature for another one of the best things to do in Dutchess County. On the National Historic Lookout Register, it’s only a short hike through the forest to reach the Ferncliff Fire Tower. The lookout is open all day, every day, and provides an exceptional view of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains. The Ferncliff Fire Tower is a 1933 International Derrick Fire Tower and it’s about 80 feet high.

The history of lookouts and fire towers at this site is quite fascinating. At first, people created a lookout made out of trees, which was used to assist map makers. In 1912, the Astor Family created a stone lookout. Next, in 1942, Army engineers created a 40 foot wooden tower to protect the president during the war. Finally, in 2007, the International Derrick fire tower was moved to the forest for tourists and locals alike. While it might seem like quite a few stairs to climb, it’s always worth it when you reach the top. It’s windy up there, but the surrounding scenery is breathtaking. Enjoy 360 degree panoramic views of the entire region, including the bridge and the mountains.

Dinner at Cinnamon Indian Cuisine

I’ve eaten a lot of Indian food throughout my lifetime as a vegetarian and last 10+ years as a vegan. I’m even co-leading a trip to India this September where we’re going to eat all of the vegan food (you’re invited to join me!). Anyway, I’ve tried my fair share of Indian food and Cinnamon Indian Cuisine ranks up there at the top of the list.

Their menu has all of the vegan items clearly marked with a “V”. There’s even an option to make a dish vegan if it’s possible, and that’s marked, too. It’s very easy to dine at Cinnamon Indian Cuisine if you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. Furthermore, 95% of the menu is gluten-free. And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go as it’s one of the best Dutchess County restaurants, right on the main shopping street in Rhinebeck.

They serve items that are fresh and local, so the menu changes according to the seasons. To start, I tried a vegetable samosa, crispy cauliflower, and a traditional street food on the side. Next, it was a plate of crispy spinach with chickpea flour that tasted a little like kale chips, but way more flavorful. And I also sampled one of the best lentil soups I’ve ever had, perfectly spiced.

Then, I tried a whole feast of vegan delights, including a chickpea and asparagus dish (typically made with cauliflower, but asparagus was in season), fried okra, spinach and corn mixed with turmeric and spices, plain dosa, lemon rice, and mango chutney. To drink, I drank a hibiscus, white tea, ginger, and peach beverage. For dessert, there was a vegan rice pudding with rose water, cardamom and saffron alongside a mini scoop of mango sorbet.

Coffee at Samuel’s Sweet Shop

After your Indian feast, walk across the street to Samuel’s Sweet Shop. This cafe and sweets shop happens to be co-owned by Paul Rudd and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Unfortunately, there weren’t any Paul Rudd sightings, but I did savor a delicious Americano while I was there. If you’ve still got room for more dessert, you might want to indulge in some unique sweet treats that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Where to Stay: Inn at Pine Plains

The drive from Rhinebeck to Pine Plains was an interesting one, to say the least. Navigating the winding roads through the forest at night was one thing, but it was so incredibly foggy. At times, I could barely see at all and had to trust that I wasn’t going to drive off the road. I breathed a sigh of relief once I arrived at my home for the next two evenings, the Inn at Pine Plains. I felt right at home at this comfortable and quaint accommodation where I felt like I had my own little apartment in the house.

My Room

My room at the Inn at Pine Plains had a separate bedroom, living room, and kitchenette. With beautiful 19th century original hardware flooring, lots of framed pictures, and even a few books to read, it’s easy to feel cozy and relaxed here. The bed features a firm, Euro top mattress with 100% cotton bed linens. The kitchenette has a small fridge, microwave, a kettle, and a coffee maker. And the bathroom is perfect for those who prefer to have a bath or a shower, the best of both worlds.

I loved the special added touches, like plenty of complimentary water, sparkling water, and other beverages in the fridge.There was even a little basket of snacks should you feel hungry at night. You can make your own coffee with the provided Keurig coffee pods. In addition, there’s complimentary Wi-Fi and lots of channels on the flat screen TV. You’ll find it easy to get some work done, whether you’re using the wooden desk or you like to use your laptop while sitting on the couch like I do.

Breakfast

There’s a complimentary breakfast buffet each morning and I found it to be quite vegan-friendly. You have got to try the avocado hummus spread onto a bagel, bread, or rice cakes. It’s delicious! I also helped myself to some fresh fruit, and it was the perfect way to start the day. Be sure to book your stay at the inn or read more reviews from fellow travelers.

Day 2 in Dutchess County

Ready for your second day in Dutchess County ? We’ve got a unique castle to visit (yes, there are castles in the USA!), as well as an island tour. There’s a gorgeous natural attraction – a waterfall inside a cave. And we’ll also visit a horse rescue center that’s just as healing for you as it is for the horses. Sound good? Let’s go!

Bannerman’s Castle and Island Tour

On Pollepel Island in the Hudson River, you’ll find the ruins of an abandoned castle with an intriguing history. Castle ruins and an interesting story? Yes, please! We embarked on a tour of the island and Bannerman’s Castle from Beacon, New York. There’s a small boat to transport passengers across to the island for a short tour. It’s also possible to book a tour from Newburgh, New York, and the experience lasts about 2.5 hours in total.

Bannerman’s Castle has Scottish influences, but you’ll only see the crumbling remains nowadays. The family purchased the island in 1900 as a safe storage site for ammunition and equipment from the US Army. Bannerman designed the buildings himself, which mostly consisted of storage for his vast inventory. The large castle by the water has the words, “Bannerman’s Island Arsenal” on the side of it. There was also a smaller castle built at the top of a hill to serve as a summer home. Mrs. Bannerman decorated the garden with flowers and plants, a tradition that continues today.

After Bannerman died in 1918, any further construction halted. Just two years later, there was a massive explosion on the island, nearly killing Mrs. Bannerman. The family used the island until about 1930. After 1957, the island’s last superintendent retired and the property was abandoned for the next three decades. The state purchased the island in 1967, though it remained in ruins. Both vandals and negligence are responsible for its dilapidated state. However, since the 1990s, the Bannerman Castle Trust started to preserve the island and its buildings. They’ve stabilized the remains of the castle for your viewing pleasure, and they’re currently reconstructing the family home. It’s a wonderful little piece of New York history that’s certainly one of the most unique things to do in Dutchess County.

Lunch at Vegetalien

There’s a vegan restaurant in Beacon, New York that you need to check out. It’s called Vegetalien and they’re serving up meals and beverages made from locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. This plant-based cafe has smoothies, build your own Buddha bowls, acai bowls, salads, BBQ jackfruit tacos, paninis, avocado toast, and so much more. I couldn’t resist trying the “Tun’ah Sandwich” made out of chickpeas, slaw, lemon vinaigrette on harvest grain bread. Paired with a purple haze smoothie (blueberry, banana, apple and mint), it was so yummy, filling, and nutritious. Also pictured, the avocado and black bean toast.

Coffee at Trax Espresso

Looking for a caffeine boost? Head right across the street to Trax Espresso. It’s a bright and airy cafe in Beacon, serving up rich brewed coffee and espresso beverages. I even picked up some of their coffee beans to bring home with me. It’s that good! And they’ve got several varieties of plant-based milk, including oat milk. Huzzah!

Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue

Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue in Dover Plains is a sanctuary for abandoned, neglected, and abused horses. They save so many of these beautiful creatures, rehabilitate them, and provide them with a forever home. While the goal is to enable horses to trust people again, it works the other way around, too. The horses can help people overcome their own struggles, build trust, and work together. These horses provide therapy for children and adults alike. All in all, the sanctuary aims to strengthen the relationship between people and animals for a compassionate and kind community. Their slogan is, “People helping horses heal people.”

Owner and founder, Deanna Mancuso, shared her story with us. She had a turbulent relationship with her grandfather who struggled from PTSD, alcoholism, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. Shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer, Deanna formed a wonderful relationship with him as he worked through many of his personal struggles. Her grandfather bought her a horse before he passed away to remember him by; he taught her that horses bring peace. Sadly, the horse was badly abused and he was not well behaved. When she almost gave up the horse, her father reinforced the message that we shouldn’t give up on animals. This paved the way for Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue, which Deanna founded in 2008.

While everyone is welcome to visit the sanctuary, their primary goal is to assist those struggling with mental health issues, domestic violence, PTSD, substance abuse, and family problems. There are numerous programs and events at the farm, including horse yoga. Participants lay their yoga mats down in the stables, and the horses decide whether or not they want to engage with everyone. For those interested in visiting, you can check out the farm daily from 9:00am – 3:00pm, and be sure to follow along their updates on Facebook. Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue is one of the most peaceful and therapeutic things to do in Dutchess County.

Dover Stone Church

The Dover Stone Church is a spectacular ancient cavern in Dover Plains, New York. Hiking there is one of the most fun things to do in Dutchess County. There are several hiking trails at the site, but the main attraction is the Dover Stone Church. You’ll see a waterfall cascading inside a cave, dubbed the “Stone Church” for the pointed arch formation of the rocks.

Local legend states that the rock formations were a refuge for Pequot Sachem Sassacus and his warriors from the English army in the 1600s. The Town of Dover, the Dutchess Land Conservancy and the Friends of Dover Stone Church purchased the property in 2004, and property owners donated additional land for the creation of hiking trails for everyone to enjoy.

It might be a little difficult to find the Dover Stone Church. Look for the blue and yellow sign at its entrance in Dover Plains. Please note that there is no parking in front of the trail entrance, but you can park at the school when it isn’t in session (or at the Freshco 22 plaza). Descend down to the trails and walk through a path lined with trees. Then, you’ll get to a spot with trail markers for hiking to your left. You’ll want to keep to your right if you want to see the Dover Stone Church. It isn’t a very long walk until you’ll reach this amazing triangular rock formation.

The short trek to reach the stone church is lovely. There’s a gently flowing brook, lots of trees, and moss covered rocks everywhere you look. When I visited, it was after a lot of rain so the river was flowing quite rapidly. I got up as close as I could to the Dover Stone Church, peering inside to the waterfall. When the water level is much lower, you can even venture inside the cavern itself. It’s such a brilliant site and one of my favorite things to do in Dutchess County.

Dinner at Oakhurst Diner

It’s time to refuel at Oakhurt Diner in Millerton, New York. While it might not seem like a “greasy spoon” diner would have many vegan options, they’ve got a really delicious one on the menu. It’s pretty much the opposite of a greasy spoon dish, too. They have a healthy Macrobiotic Plate: steamed broccoli, carrots, acorn squash, black beans and organic brown rice with tahini dill dressing and seaweed. It’s absolutely delicious and more filling than it looks. The diner itself is a total 1950s throwback and oozes with charm. You’ve gotta check out this Dutchess County restaurant when you come to town.

Day 3 in Dutchess County

Here’s a couple of places in Red Hook, New York, that you’ll want to check out before you leaving Dutchess County. They’re right next door to one another, sharing the same building space. And they’re both kind to animals, too!

Wildflower Cafe

You can’t visit Dutchess County as a vegan and not dine at Wildflower Cafe. It’s one of the yummiest vegan restaurants in Dutchess County . And I could really feel the passion for veganism and plant-based living from its owner. Try one of their burgers: I’m convinced that you won’t be able to tell that it’s vegan, and it’ll be one of the best burgers you’ve ever had.

From burgers to tacos, flatbreads to desserts, Wildflower Cafe has something for every taste. It was really difficult to choose what to order, but I went with the Onion Lover Burger (Impossible burger patty, a toasted pretzel bun, lettuce, caramelized onion, onion rings, and signature sauce). We also sampled a Greek flatbread with seasoned meat and feta cheez. The food was so satisfying, tasty, and I’d love to visit again to try even more food. To top it all off, there were decadent milkshakes for dessert, and I couldn’t resist trying one made with Oreos.

Living Eden

If you’re passionate about helping animals, eco-friendly living, or a sustainable lifestyle, you’re not going to want to miss shopping at Living Eden. It’s a conscious and compassionate store that’s connected to the Wildflower Cafe. It’s definitely worth popping over before or after your meal. Every product in the shop is rooted in good intentions, whether it’s handmade, recycled, upcycled, eco-friendly, or cruelty free. There’s women’s clothing, accessories, jewelry, shoes, housewares, and so much more at this eco chic boutique.

If my wallet allowed for it, I would have bought one of everything! However, I settled on buying a super adorable purse with a squirrel on it. It’s hard to find vegan purses sometimes, and this one is exactly my style. I also really loved the pillow stating, “No couch is complete without cat hair.” Welcome to my world!

Bonus: A Cup of the Valley

Now, this might be a long shot, but if you happen to be in town during A Cup of the Valley, you should check it out. In 2019, this coffee and tea festival happened at the end of April, taking place at the Culinary Institute of America. You’ll find locally made products, local coffee roasters and tea blenders, and lots of other delicious food and drink. I loved sampling coffee, tea, and kombucha while I was there.

We spent most of our time at the Greenwood Lake Roasters craft coffee booth. As we waited for the coffee to brew, the owner was a wealth of knowledge relating to all things coffee. It was quite fascinating to listen to him speak about the roasting processes for my favorite beverage. Also, I made sure to pick up some coffee infused maple syrup and horseradish maple mustard from Soukup Farms. There were also some delicious vegan treats by Emy Desserts, which I didn’t have the opportunity to try at the festival, but later sampled at Vegetalien. So good!

Even if you aren’t a fan of coffee or tea, there’s plenty to sample and taste at A Cup of the Valley. I missed the latte competition and the Japanese tea ceremony though, which I’d love to check out next time I’m in the region.

PLANNING A TRIP TO NEW YORK STATE?

Book your accommodation, Airbnb rental, or rental car.

Browse tours and excursions around the city for fun day trips.

Check out my 10 essential items to pack for a day hike.

Research even more with New York guidebooks to help plan your holidays.

Read the rest of my New York blog posts for the best trip ever.

Thank you so much to Dutchess Tourism for hosting my stay. This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of them, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you (for which I am very grateful!).

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The post Fun Things to Do in Dutchess County : Unique and Uplifting Adventures for a Getaway appeared first on Justin Plus Lauren.

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vacationsoup · 6 years

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New Post has been published on https://vacationsoup.com/your-new-year-your-things-to-do-anna-maria-island/

YOUR New Year — YOUR Things to Do — Anna Maria Island

The beginning of a new year is always a reflective time. The New Year brings new energy and is a time resolutions are made. The best New Year’s resolution our family ever made, and I must add, the one we actually kept, was to take more vacations to Anna Maria Island.

If you are vacationing with us in Anna Maria Island now, or have already booked your next vacation with us, I would say you have started your New Year right!

Whether you are a returning guest of Anna Maria Island Condo Rentals or coming for the first time, the island offers an abundance of activities. You can design your vacation to be as busy or as leisurely as you want it to be.

Here are a few fun events for you to consider during your January visit —

Farmer’s Market - City of Anna Maria

Every Tuesday through May 14th the City of Anna Maria is hosting a farmer’s market at City Pier Park at the corner of Pine Avenue and South Bay Blvd. Your choice of Southwest Florida produce as well as herbs, plants, flowers, baked goods & more! Market hours are 8:30 am – 2:00 pm

Fun Family Event — Movies in the Park

Enjoy these classic shows. All shows will take place at City Pier Park, 101 N Bay Blvd. Anna Maria every Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm

1/2/19 – SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE (2017)

1/9/19 – KICKING AND SCREAMING (2005)

1/16/19 – INSIDE OUT (2015)

1/23/19 – SHOW DOGS (2018)

1/30/19 – FIRST KID (1996)

Please be aware that all shows are weather permitting. Bring your chairs and blankets, select refreshments are provided.

Please call 941-708-6130 ext. 121 for further information and cancellations.

Healthy Walking Tours

Start your New Year with a happy, healthy walking tour. Put on your walking shoes and dress for the weather to discover some of the best nature spots Anna Maria Island and the surrounding area has to offer.

Sign up for any of these short walking tours with Coastal Climate Walks. On these weekly Friday morning tours you will have lots of time to interpret nature and cultural history. All tours are guided by Professional Master Naturalists and/or NAI Certified Interpretive Guides.

All walks are Friday's 9:30-Noon/1:00 pm at Coastal Parks

Locations and Event Dates:

Emerson Point: Florida's First People Jan. 11 or March 1

Ken Thompson: Sea Level Rise Jan. 18 or March 8

Perico Preserve: Coastal Resilience Jan. 25 or March 15

Leffis Key: Early Restoration Efforts Feb. 1 or March 22

Robinson Preserve: Mangrove Migration Feb. 8 or March 29

Grassy Point & Neal Preserve: Intracoastal Feb 15 or April 5

Felts Preserve: Bird Migration Changes Feb 22 or April 12

Cost: $25/person 4-pack $80 Series $150 Attend all 7 tours - get one FREE!

To Register or for additional information contact:

Around the Bend Nature Tours — aroundbend.com — 941-794-8773

Theatre Production at Island Players

Celebrating their 70th season the Island Players Community Theatre is Manatee County's oldest Community Theater. Located at the north end of Anna Maria Island this theatre continues to provide artistic experiences for the communities while utilizing young and local talent.

From January 10 - January 27, 2019 the theatre is showcasing their version of I HATE HAMLET. I Hate Hamlet is a dramatic comedy written in 1991 by Paul Rudnick set in John Barrymore's old apartment in New York City. The play follows successful television actor Andrew Rally as he struggles with taking on the role of Hamlet and dealing with a girlfriend who wants him to play Hamlet in Central Park. This is the only stage role his agent, Lillian, has found for him, but Andrew hates Hamlet! The ghost of John Barrymore, who, clothed as Hamlet, has come back to earth for the sole purpose of convincing Rally to play the part. Barrymore is very convincing and Andrew decides to play Hamlet. But when a Hollywood friend shows up offering Andrew a new role in a television pilot, with a potentially large salary and fame, Andrew is forced to choose between Shakespeare, whom his girlfriend loves, or television, where he is loved by millions. Will he stay or not stay? Come find out. You are sure to enjoy this entertaining production of I Hate Hamlet, in this quaint, historic theatre in Anna Maria Island.

Performances are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm with Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Single tickets are $20.00 each. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Box Office located at 10009 Gulf Drive (corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue), Anna Maria. The theatre can be reached at 941-778-5755 for ticket reservations or on their website islandplayers.org

The Outlaws LIVE Concert

At The Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, Florida

Saturday, January 19th / Doors open 6:00 PM / Opening Act 7:00 PM

Showtime 8:00 PM / Reserve seats are $50.

This is a concert you don’t want to miss. Do you remember this southern rock band formed in Tampa in 1972? You might remember the Outlaws 1975 best known hit “There Goes Another Love Song.” Come and see their show, hear their new songs when the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (BACVB) brings the Outlaws to Anna Maria Island. As part of a series of concerts planned in 2019 the BACVB hopes to bolster tourism and boost the local economy with each venue receiving 100 percent of ticket and food sales from the concerts. Rich Engler, the first inductee in the Pittsburgh Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will be producing the concerts at the same time he celebrates his 50th year as a concert producer in 2019.

This particular performance will prove to be a balancing act for the production crew. The Anna Maria community center holding the concert, is in a neighborhood where this type of entertainment is not characteristic. Some residents might love the music while others might find the “noise” bothersome. But, those involved in bringing this concert to the community have stated that they will do everything to make this unique experience a good one for all. They want to give the residents and visitors the feeling of intimacy by giving them an opportunity get up close and personal with the artists.

For the Outlaws, this is their chance to bring their band back into the light, to show how much they love making music.

Over the years, The Outlaws experienced several hardships. They went through personnel changes, ill-fated reunions, bitter trademark battles, the tragic deaths of co-founding members Frank O’Keefe and Billy Jones in 1995, and songwriter/vocalist/lead guitarist Hughie Thomasson in 2007. Many people feared that The Outlaws’ trail had come to an end. Not so, after 40 years, The Outlaws are back. They are on the road, on the radio and their fans are loving it.

I have seen the Outlaws perform a few times before and they never disappoint – actually they seem to get even better with age. If you get the opportunity to see this band, you should – they are a true Southern Rock legend.

To purchase tickets visit — manateeperformingartscenter.com

In between any of these fun events be sure to —

Enjoy soaking up the sun on our beautiful white sandy beach with our own private beach access

Walk along the shores of Anna Maria Island where the sand is silky soft yet firm enough to walk

Lay by the pool for that dose of R&R you came for

end your perfect day watching one of the breathtaking sunsets Anna Maria Island is known for

Shop on Bridge Street

Dine at the unique area restaurants. Some of the best seafood restaurants on the Gulf coast, popular among locals and visitors are within walking distance from our condo.

May Your New Year bring you to Anna Maria Island, where there is always something to fill your time.

For the latest up to date news, things to do, special offers, travel tips and more continue to follow our blog @ Anna Maria Island Condo Rentals/Blog

Note: Anna Maria Island Condo Rentals offers the above company names and affiliated links as suggestions only. We are not receiving commissions from the above and are listing only to assist our guests. We recommend services that we or close friends and family have experienced.

The content of this blog is not to be copied, adapted or shared without the written consent of Anna Maria Island Condo Rentals.

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news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog · 6 years

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Steak-umm is using anti-consumerism to get you to buy. Snooze.

Twitter has a new therapist. Surprise, surprise, it's a frozen steak brand.

Last week, the legendary frozen meat Steak-umm had a Network-style outburst on Twitter, touching on everything from college debt to unemployment to millennial nihilism. Steak-umm had been building up to this moment for months, having previously explored the relationship between love and beef and waged Twitter war against fellow 'woke' industrial food brand Moon Pie.

The brand's recent monologue was its most explosive and self-aware yet.

If only any of it was real.

SEE ALSO: Scott Walker's latest ad is one of the most bizarre campaign ads of 2018

Historically, people haven't turned to frozen steak for spiritual guidance. According to Steak-umm, viral tweets by brands are only possible now because millennials experience unprecedented economic anxiety. Millennials identify with these brands, the brand goes on to write, because they feel detached from everything else, including real jobs, mental health services and physical communities

Here's their Marxist cultural analysis of the situation:

why are so many young people flocking to brands on social media for love, guidance, and attention? I'll tell you why. they're isolated from real communities, working service jobs they hate while barely making ends meat, and are living w/ unchecked personal/mental health problems

— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) September 26, 2018

they often don't have parents to talk to because they say stuff like "you don't know how good you have it," and they don't have mentors to talk to because most of them have no concept for growing up in this strange time, which perpetuates the feeling of helplessness/loneliness

— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) September 26, 2018

they grew up through the dawn of internet culture and have had mass advertising drilled into their media consumption, now they're being resold their childhoods by remakes, sequels, spinoffs, and other cheap nostalgia, making them more cynical to growth or authenticity

— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) September 26, 2018

no soundcloud to add here. at the end of the day it’s easy to tweet about problems and complain about “the other,” it’s a lot harder to improve the self and work toward solutions be encouraged and have hope my beeflings, the world needs it

— Steak-umm (@steak_umm) September 26, 2018

With over 47,000 likes and write-ups by the likes of Vox and the AV Club, Steam-umm's rant quickly reached viral prominence. It's the type of success ad companies like Allebach Communications, who operates the Twitter account, dream of. And while followers were quick to note its "revolutionary" qualities, Steak-umm was actually using one of the oldest ad tricks in the book: disguising an ad campaign under an anti-consumerist cloak.

Anti-ad advertising has a history

Take Volkswagen. In 1959, Volkswagen marketed the Beetle with a subtle anti-car-ad print campaign. At a time when most car ads depicted oversized cars against panoramic naturalistic backdrops, VW did exactly the opposite. Their print ads featured a tiny automobile driving through a blank canvas of space.

oops, the headline was supposed to read "Don't think small" #Advertising #typo @vw @Adweek pic.twitter.com/RxoGFQQH7q

— Circa (@circa_now) July 19, 2018

"Think small," the ad advised, while winking. Thirteen years later, the VW surpassed the Ford Model-T to become the most successful automobile in history.

Like Steak-umm, VW's ad campaign was explosively popular at a time (the Mad Men era) when many consumers were struggling with ad fatigue.

Over a half century later, Sprite capitalized on that very same exhaustion with a commercial featuring LeBron James.

“I’d never tell you to drink Sprite, even if I was in a commercial for Sprite, which I am,” James says.

youtube

By identifying, not minimizing, the artifice of the celebrity endorsement, "self-aware" Sprite sought to build a bond with more cynical consumers.

Some brands are even more self-aware about their approach. Two years ago, Oasis led an ad campaign with a skeletal pitch: they sold drinks. Unlike other refreshment brands, however, their brand was "free" of self-promotion:

youtube

It was a clever disguise, but it could only go so far.

Social issues are a great distraction from mediocre products

There's more than one way to use anti-consumerism to fuel an ad campaign. In the past, brands similar to Steak-umm have partially detached from the product they're marketing to take on broader and far more engaging cultural issues.

Remember when Heineken, America's most overrated imported beer, decided to address political polarization?

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Or when Burger King — the franchise best known for squeezing frozen meat between tepid diaper buns — was applauded for taking on bullying with an explosively viral ad? #BeBest

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Deadpool, a movie that should never have been successful, was valorized for using its ad time to push for testicle exams.

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Similarly, Chipotle received acclaim and a New York Times write-up for their anti-factory farming campaign. One Chipotle-produced short film, 'The Scarecrow,' even earned a modestly favorable New Yorker review: "The Scarecrow, with those trembling, obsidian eyes, seems like a sensitive soul; if he showed up in our world with a craving for an inexpensive burrito, I think he’d appreciate Chipotle’s efforts."

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And sure, Chipotle is superior to many of their competitors when it comes to ethically sourced ingredients. It just feels bizarre to be awarding social justice points to a franchise best known for E. Coli outbreaks.

I'm not sure who gave cultural authority to either the Whopper Jr. or Ryan Reynolds (was it Mashable? I'm so sorry. It was Mashable). Steak-umm might argue that Deadpool has a stronger relationship to millennials than, say, the National Institute of Health, because of cultural alienation. Americans are exposed to over 4,000 ads per day. You're more likely to see an ad for a brand than you are a tweet from the president.

Ad saturation has strengthened consumers' relationship with brands, even as it's made them more skeptical.

Steak-umm isn't wrong. But I'd like to think it's simpler than that: consumers like ads that appear authentic and self-aware. No matter that the that authenticity in advertising is ultimately a fantasy. Ads are here for one reason: to sell you shit you don't need.

If you have an authentic voice, you can build an authentic following.

The "authentic" brand voice

No wonder, then, that brands on Twitter — Steak-umm, MoonPie, Wendy's — have all adopted an identical digital voice. They're gently biting, nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek, friendly, and amorphously political. When they do discuss issues, they keep it across-the-spectrum and safe — decrying political polarization and college debt — and never address topics that might impact their own brands (ahem, a $15 minimum wage).

Even sarcastic Steak-umm signs their philosophical tweets with "Steak-umm bless."

Look at MoonPie, recently dubbed one of the "funniest and most personable brands on Twitter." Never mind that MoonPie isn't so much a person as it is a mass-produced highly processed marshmallow pie. The brand earned over a billion impressions for responding "Lol ok" in response to a Hostess boast.

Lol ok.

Lol ok https://t.co/lobyuNOkee

— MoonPie (@MoonPie) August 21, 2017

Wendy's infamous Twitter roasts garnered it an impressive three hundred thousand Twitter followers in just three months.

So please. Follow Steak-umm if you must but let's not pretend this scrap steak is a Twitter prophet. Ads, disguised as anti-consumerist rants and raves, are advertising 101. It was a print strategy, later adopted for video and now for digital.

Steak-umm blesses only those who buy.

WATCH: The perfect fire-starter for your camping needs

#_author:Heather Dockray #_category:yct:001000002 #_uuid:1c3cace5-f0db-3245-beed-8d087f6cb4e4 #_lmsid:a0Vd000000DTrEpEAL #_revsp:news.mashable

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ricardosousalemos · 7 years

Text

Violent Femmes: Violent Femmes

Billie Jo Campbell was discovered at age 3 while walking down a street in Los Angeles with her mother. A photographer approached, told the mother that Billie Jo was adorable, and asked if she wouldn’t mind her daughter appearing in a photo shoot at a house in Laurel Canyon. The mother—“a free spirit,” Billie Jo explained—promptly set up an appointment. They later learned that the shoot was for the cover of an album by an obscure acoustic-punk trio from Milwaukee about to release their debut. In the photo, barefoot Billie Jo wears a cute white dress and strains to peer inside a darkened house through a window. She had no idea that this was an apt metaphor for the band’s songs, which capture that precise moment when childhood innocence is corrupted by the obsessions of the adult world—sex, violence, perverted religiosity, and omnipresent death.

Years later, when Billie Jo was a teenager in the ’90s, she realized that the album was pretty momentous. “This was my bragging point,” she recalled in 2007. “I’d be at parties, and if the girls in the dorm knew you were trying to meet cute boys, they’d tell them I am on the cover.”

What’s amazing about this story isn’t just that Billie Jo Campbell was still recognized, well into her college years, as the kid on the cover of the Violent Femmes’ self-titled 1983 LP. It’s that people knew what the cover even looked like. “I think the majority of people found out about our music because somebody had made a tape and played it at a party. I’ve heard that so many times,” said Violent Femmes’ singer-songwriter Gordon Gano in a 2016 interview, still cherubic even in his early 50s. “A few years ago, I had somebody that was a big fan say, ‘What does your album cover look like? I’ve never seen it because it’s always been on a tape that somebody made.’”

Violent Femmes are perhaps the greatest mixtape band of its era—they were to Maxell what Drake now is to Spotify playlists. Long after the Femmes’ initial wave of underground fame came and went in the mid-’80s, choice cuts from their first album kept popping up on countless tapes dispensed throughout teenage suburbia. For those that encountered the Femmes in this manner, the band’s songs were akin to outsider art—found musical data that offered bracingly unfiltered takes on lust and alienation and the yearning to belong, written on an acoustic guitar by a misfit kid who sang in an untrained pubescent whine. Mixtapes gave Violent Femmes renewed life divorced from the context of their own up-and-down career, infusing songs from their first and most successful record with the adolescent angst of each subsequent generation of middle-schoolers in search of a spokesman.

This is the art of the mixtape, finding songs that will expose your innermost self to whoever is receiving the tape. And Violent Femmes songs were catchy and simple enough to work especially well as plainspoken musical messages. If you wanted a killer kick-off for your “I’m an Edgy Outsider and Want to Be Appreciated As Such” mix—one of the most popular mixtape genres—a common choice was “Blister in the Sun,” in which Gano snakes allusions to heroin and premature ejaculation behind Brian Ritchie’s relentlessly busy bass line, like a shoplifter stuffing cigarettes down the front of his jeans. And the perfect closer for that tape would inevitably be “Add It Up,” a relentless rant that argues against involuntary celibacy on the grounds that it can make you homicidal. (“Gone Daddy Gone” also worked in this slot, particularly if the tape had an “all marimbas” theme.)

The other most popular mixtape genre was “I’m Into You and This Is My Way of Showing It,” and Violent Femmes delivered there as well. Gano wrote the most romantic song on Violent Femmes, “Good Feeling,” when he was just 15. An affectingly pure expression of fairy-tale love, “Good Feeling” is a rare moment of unfettered tenderness on an otherwise brash record, revealing the nice young man behind the bravado who was raised by a Baptist minister and a theater actress. Gano actually wrote a collection of gospel songs around the same time as Violent Femmes, but Ritchie, an atheist, refused to record them. He and excitable stand-up drummer Victor DeLorenzo—who was the oldest member by several years—were more comfortable with the nervy “Please Do Not Go,” in which Gano pledges to “patiently pray, pray, pray, pray, pray” for sex rather than salvation.

Gano and Ritchie later admitted that the members of Violent Femmes had virtually nothing in common except for music. But in the beginning, at least, that was enough to bond them together, because nobody else in their hometown of Milwaukee, Wis. took Violent Femmes seriously. The affectations that later endeared them to fans —the ramshackle instrumentation, the spitefully witty lyrics, Gano’s habit of wearing a bathrobe in public—stigmatized the Femmes in the Milwaukee club scene. They were forced to busk in the street with acoustic instruments because nobody would book them.

According to legend, Violent Femmes were “discovered” in 1981 by James Honeyman-Scott of the Pretenders, who invited them to open for his band during a performance at Milwaukee’s Oriental Theatre after seeing them busk outside the venue. Gano had just graduated from high school, and it was rare of the Femmes to perform indoors on an actual stage.

This story became an oft-repeated talking point in press releases after the Femmes became semi-famous in the American indie underground. But as the band members themselves were quick to point out, Violent Femmes were hardly set up for a professional career after that minor acknowledgment. As always, they were left to fend for themselves, eventually borrowing $10,000 from DeLorenzo’s father to fund recording sessions at a studio in Lake Geneva, about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee. Producer Mark Van Hecke later described the studio as being “in a state of collapse. You’d go into the studio and there would be this equipment, and the next day you go in there’s a piece missing because it got repossessed.” Van Hecke’s intention was to give Violent Femmes a classic Sun Sessions sound, though this naturalistic approach required lots of takes, as the band tended to move around a lot while playing. For Van Hecke, working with the Femmes was an act of faith—he had previously tried to shop a three-song demo to a few dozen record labels in New York and Los Angeles, and all of them said no. “A lot of people thought I was nuts and this was shit. I knew it wasn’t,” he said later.

Nevertheless, Violent Femmes were oddly confident in themselves. “When we made the first album, we thought it was destined to be considered a masterpiece,” Ritchie claimed in 2015. The first prominent person to agree that Violent Femmes were destined for greatness was New York Times music critic Robert Palmer, whose rave review of two performances opening for Richard Hell at the Bottom Line and CBGB in 1982 was instrumental in getting the Femmes a deal with Slash Records.

Palmer, a blues scholar who had just published the definitive history Deep Blues the previous year, compared Gano to his most obvious antecedents, Lou Reed and Jonathan Richman. But Palmer also heard a new strain of Americana in Violent Femmes’ revved-up, snotty confessionals, likening songs to “the discursive, rambling structures of folk-era Dylan.” In a subsequent review of Violent Femmes’ second album, 1984’s overtly spiritual Hallowed Ground, Palmer detected “a subterranean mother lode of apocalyptic religion, murder, and madness that has lurked just under the surface of hillbilly music and blues since the 19th century” in the Femmes’ knowingly primitive music. Perhaps Palmer was also thinking of Violent Femmes’ “Gone Daddy Gone,” which lifts a verse from Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” or the teenage murder ballad “To The Kill,” in which Gano fantasizes about vengefully hunting down his ex in Chicago, like so many Delta musicians decades earlier.

Flash forward to the ’90s, and Palmer’s conflation of Gano’s songs with the timeless quality of the blues felt truer than ever, even as Violent Femmes also seemed more contemporary than ever. In the ’80s, Violent Femmes were strictly an underground phenomenon; a slow but steady seller, the self-titled debut finally went platinum in February of 1991, though it didn’t actually crack the Billboard 200 chart until later that year. By then, Violent Femmes had achieved a measure of mainstream recognition thanks to the alt-rock explosion. They became a fixture of nostalgic movie soundtracks—Ethan Hawke sang “Add It Up” to needle Winona Ryder in Reality Bites, and Minnie Driver blasted “Blister In The Sun” on the hip underground radio show that John Cusack obsesses over in Grosse Pointe Blank. Violent Femmes even appeared in an episode of “Sabrina The Teenage Witch”—mean girl Libby casts a spell on Gano, making him serenade her with “Please Do Not Go” while Sabrina and her aunts do an awkward skank.

Violent Femmes' influence was now discernible in the legion of underground rockers who had codified Gano's quirky vocal style into what is now commonly recognized as the "indie guy" voice. In years to come, Gano’s vocals—recently described by author J.K. Rowling as sounding “like a bee in a plastic cup”—would echo in Stephen Malkmus, Jeff Mangum, Colin Meloy, Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and countless less heralded reedy young men.

Violent Femmes remain a band out of time. They are rarely mentioned with the “canon” bands of ’80s American post-punk—lacking the sales and accolades of R.E.M., the Replacements, and the Pixies, the Femmes don’t signify an era so much as a time of life. Violent Femmes is children’s music for teenagers—uber-elementary sing-alongs that have their time and place, and then are set aside as facile once they’re outgrown.

But Violent Femmes deserves better. If the blues survived because of the oral tradition of passing down songs from one singer to another, Violent Femmes endured because the tunes were shared via word of mouth at dorm parties and high school keggers. (Even the girl on the cover learned about Violent Femmes that way.) And don’t discount those precious mixtapes, a primitive form of social media that worked exponentially slower than the internet but were ultimately no less effective at creating a lasting legacy.

For young people growing up in the internet age, Violent Femmes is part of a shared language. In 2013, after a period of estrangement marked by lawsuits and public in-fighting, Violent Femmes were persuaded to reunite for a performance at Coachella. “As soon as we started out the set with ‘Blister in the Sun,’ when that riff hit, it was like a swarm of insects coming towards our stage. They all started running from the other stages,” Ritchie recalled. All these years later, whenever teenagers listen to songs from Violent Femmes, they also hear themselves.

#reviews-albums

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readbookywooks · 8 years

Text

The Greek Islands

AT SUNRISE the next morning, February 12, the Nautilus rose to the surface of the waves. I rushed onto the platform. The hazy silhouette of Pelusium was outlined three miles to the south. A torrent had carried us from one sea to the other. But although that tunnel was easy to descend, going back up must have been impossible. Near seven o'clock Ned and Conseil joined me. Those two inseparable companions had slept serenely, utterly unaware of the Nautilus's feat. "Well, Mr. Naturalist," the Canadian asked in a gently mocking tone, "and how about that Mediterranean?" "We're floating on its surface, Ned my friend." "What!" Conseil put in. "Last night . . . ?" "Yes, last night, in a matter of minutes, we cleared that insuperable isthmus." "I don't believe a word of it," the Canadian replied. "And you're in the wrong, Mr. Land," I went on. "That flat coastline curving southward is the coast of Egypt." "Tell it to the marines, sir," answered the stubborn Canadian. "But if master says so," Conseil told him, "then so be it." "What's more, Ned," I said, "Captain Nemo himself did the honors in his tunnel, and I stood beside him in the pilothouse while he steered the Nautilus through that narrow passageway." "You hear, Ned?" Conseil said. "And you, Ned, who have such good eyes," I added, "you can spot the jetties of Port Said stretching out to sea." The Canadian looked carefully. "Correct," he said. "You're right, professor, and your captain's a superman. We're in the Mediterranean. Fine. So now let's have a chat about our little doings, if you please, but in such a way that nobody overhears." I could easily see what the Canadian was driving at. In any event, I thought it best to let him have his chat, and we all three went to sit next to the beacon, where we were less exposed to the damp spray from the billows. "Now, Ned, we're all ears," I said. "What have you to tell us?" "What I've got to tell you is very simple," the Canadian replied. "We're in Europe, and before Captain Nemo's whims take us deep into the polar seas or back to Oceania, I say we should leave this Nautilus." I confess that such discussions with the Canadian always baffled me. I didn't want to restrict my companions' freedom in any way, and yet I had no desire to leave Captain Nemo. Thanks to him and his submersible, I was finishing my undersea research by the day, and I was rewriting my book on the great ocean depths in the midst of its very element. Would I ever again have such an opportunity to observe the ocean's wonders? Absolutely not! So I couldn't entertain this idea of leaving the Nautilus before completing our course of inquiry. "Ned my friend," I said, "answer me honestly. Are you bored with this ship? Are you sorry that fate has cast you into Captain Nemo's hands?" The Canadian paused for a short while before replying. Then, crossing his arms: "Honestly," he said, "I'm not sorry about this voyage under the seas. I'll be glad to have done it, but in order to have done it, it has to finish. That's my feeling." "It will finish, Ned." "Where and when?" "Where? I don't know. When? I can't say. Or, rather, I suppose it will be over when these seas have nothing more to teach us. Everything that begins in this world must inevitably come to an end." "I think as master does," Conseil replied, "and it's extremely possible that after crossing every sea on the globe, Captain Nemo will bid the three of us a fond farewell." "Bid us a fond farewell?" the Canadian exclaimed. "You mean beat us to a fare-thee-well!" "Let's not exaggerate, Mr. Land," I went on. "We have nothing to fear from the captain, but neither do I share Conseil's views. We're privy to the Nautilus's secrets, and I don't expect that its commander, just to set us free, will meekly stand by while we spread those secrets all over the world." "But in that case what do you expect?" the Canadian asked. "That we'll encounter advantageous conditions for escaping just as readily in six months as now." "Great Scott!" Ned Land put in. "And where, if you please, will we be in six months, Mr. Naturalist?" "Perhaps here, perhaps in China. You know how quickly the Nautilus moves. It crosses oceans like swallows cross the air or express trains continents. It doesn't fear heavily traveled seas. Who can say it won't hug the coasts of France, England, or America, where an escape attempt could be carried out just as effectively as here." "Professor Aronnax," the Canadian replied, "your arguments are rotten to the core. You talk way off in the future: 'We'll be here, we'll be there!' Me, I'm talking about right now: we are here, and we must take advantage of it!" I was hard pressed by Ned Land's common sense, and I felt myself losing ground. I no longer knew what arguments to put forward on my behalf. "Sir," Ned went on, "let's suppose that by some impossibility, Captain Nemo offered your freedom to you this very day. Would you accept?" "I don't know," I replied. "And suppose he adds that this offer he's making you today won't ever be repeated, then would you accept?" I did not reply. "And what thinks our friend Conseil?" Ned Land asked. "Your friend Conseil," the fine lad replied serenely, "has nothing to say for himself. He's a completely disinterested party on this question. Like his master, like his comrade Ned, he's a bachelor. Neither wife, parents, nor children are waiting for him back home. He's in master's employ, he thinks like master, he speaks like master, and much to his regret, he can't be counted on to form a majority. Only two persons face each other here: master on one side, Ned Land on the other. That said, your friend Conseil is listening, and he's ready to keep score." I couldn't help smiling as Conseil wiped himself out of existence. Deep down, the Canadian must have been overjoyed at not having to contend with him. "Then, sir," Ned Land said, "since Conseil is no more, we'll have this discussion between just the two of us. I've talked, you've listened. What's your reply?" It was obvious that the matter had to be settled, and evasions were distasteful to me. "Ned my friend," I said, "here's my reply. You have right on your side and my arguments can't stand up to yours. It will never do to count on Captain Nemo's benevolence. The most ordinary good sense would forbid him to set us free. On the other hand, good sense decrees that we take advantage of our first opportunity to leave the Nautilus." "Fine, Professor Aronnax, that's wisely said." "But one proviso," I said, "just one. The opportunity must be the real thing. Our first attempt to escape must succeed, because if it misfires, we won't get a second chance, and Captain Nemo will never forgive us." "That's also well put," the Canadian replied. "But your proviso applies to any escape attempt, whether it happens in two years or two days. So this is still the question: if a promising opportunity comes up, we have to grab it." "Agreed. And now, Ned, will you tell me what you mean by a promising opportunity?" "One that leads the Nautilus on a cloudy night within a short distance of some European coast." "And you'll try to get away by swimming?" "Yes, if we're close enough to shore and the ship's afloat on the surface. No, if we're well out and the ship's navigating under the waters." "And in that event?" "In that event I'll try to get hold of the skiff. I know how to handle it. We'll stick ourselves inside, undo the bolts, and rise to the surface, without the helmsman in the bow seeing a thing." "Fine, Ned. Stay on the lookout for such an opportunity, but don't forget, one slipup will finish us." "I won't forget, sir." "And now, Ned, would you like to know my overall thinking on your plan?" "Gladly, Professor Aronnax." "Well then, I think - and I don't mean 'I hope' - that your promising opportunity won't ever arise." "Why not?" "Because Captain Nemo recognizes that we haven't given up all hope of recovering our freedom, and he'll keep on his guard, above all in seas within sight of the coasts of Europe." "I'm of master's opinion," Conseil said. "We'll soon see," Ned Land replied, shaking his head with a determined expression. "And now, Ned Land," I added, "let's leave it at that. Not another word on any of this. The day you're ready, alert us and we're with you. I turn it all over to you." That's how we ended this conversation, which later was to have such serious consequences. At first, I must say, events seemed to confirm my forecasts, much to the Canadian's despair. Did Captain Nemo view us with distrust in these heavily traveled seas, or did he simply want to hide from the sight of those ships of every nation that plowed the Mediterranean? I have no idea, but usually he stayed in midwater and well out from any coast. Either the Nautilus surfaced only enough to let its pilothouse emerge, or it slipped away to the lower depths, although, between the Greek Islands and Asia Minor, we didn't find bottom even at 2,000 meters down. Accordingly, I became aware of the isle of Karpathos, one of the Sporades Islands, only when Captain Nemo placed his finger over a spot on the world map and quoted me this verse from Virgil: Est in Carpathio Neptuni gurgite vates Caeruleus Proteus . . .* *Latin: "There in King Neptune's domain by Karpathos, his spokesman / is azure-hued Proteus . . . " Ed. It was indeed that bygone abode of Proteus, the old shepherd of King Neptune's flocks: an island located between Rhodes and Crete, which Greeks now call Karpathos, Italians Scarpanto. Through the lounge window I could see only its granite bedrock. The next day, February 14, I decided to spend a few hours studying the fish of this island group; but for whatever reason, the panels remained hermetically sealed. After determining the Nautilus's heading, I noted that it was proceeding toward the ancient island of Crete, also called Candia. At the time I had shipped aboard the Abraham Lincoln, this whole island was in rebellion against its tyrannical rulers, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. But since then I had absolutely no idea what happened to this revolution, and Captain Nemo, deprived of all contact with the shore, was hardly the man to keep me informed. So I didn't allude to this event when, that evening, I chanced to be alone with the captain in the lounge. Besides, he seemed silent and preoccupied. Then, contrary to custom, he ordered that both panels in the lounge be opened, and going from the one to the other, he carefully observed the watery mass. For what purpose? I hadn't a guess, and for my part, I spent my time studying the fish that passed before my eyes. Among others I noted that sand goby mentioned by Aristotle and commonly known by the name sea loach, which is encountered exclusively in the salty waters next to the Nile Delta. Near them some semiphosphorescent red porgy rolled by, a variety of gilthead that the Egyptians ranked among their sacred animals, lauding them in religious ceremonies when their arrival in the river's waters announced the fertile flood season. I also noticed some wrasse known as the tapiro, three decimeters long, bony fish with transparent scales whose bluish gray color is mixed with red spots; they're enthusiastic eaters of marine vegetables, which gives them an exquisite flavor; hence these tapiro were much in demand by the epicures of ancient Rome, and their entrails were dressed with brains of peacock, tongue of flamingo, and testes of moray to make that divine platter that so enraptured the Roman emperor Vitellius. Another resident of these seas caught my attention and revived all my memories of antiquity. This was the remora, which travels attached to the bellies of sharks; as the ancients tell it, when these little fish cling to the undersides of a ship, they can bring it to a halt, and by so impeding Mark Antony's vessel during the Battle of Actium, one of them facilitated the victory of Augustus Caesar. From such slender threads hang the destinies of nations! I also observed some wonderful snappers belonging to the order Lutianida, sacred fish for the Greeks, who claimed they could drive off sea monsters from the waters they frequent; their Greek name anthias means "flower," and they live up to it in the play of their colors and in those fleeting reflections that turn their dorsal fins into watered silk; their hues are confined to a gamut of reds, from the pallor of pink to the glow of ruby. I couldn't take my eyes off these marine wonders, when I was suddenly jolted by an unexpected apparition. In the midst of the waters, a man appeared, a diver carrying a little leather bag at his belt. It was no corpse lost in the waves. It was a living man, swimming vigorously, sometimes disappearing to breathe at the surface, then instantly diving again. I turned to Captain Nemo, and in an agitated voice: "A man! A castaway!" I exclaimed. "We must rescue him at all cost!" The captain didn't reply but went to lean against the window. The man drew near, and gluing his face to the panel, he stared at us. To my deep astonishment, Captain Nemo gave him a signal. The diver answered with his hand, immediately swam up to the surface of the sea, and didn't reappear. "Don't be alarmed," the captain told me. "That's Nicolas from Cape Matapan, nicknamed 'Il Pesce.'* He's well known throughout the Cyclades Islands. A bold diver! Water is his true element, and he lives in the sea more than on shore, going constantly from one island to another, even to Crete." *Italian: "The Fish." Ed. "You know him, captain?" "Why not, Professor Aronnax?" This said, Captain Nemo went to a cabinet standing near the lounge's left panel. Next to this cabinet I saw a chest bound with hoops of iron, its lid bearing a copper plaque that displayed the Nautilus's monogram with its motto Mobilis in Mobili. Just then, ignoring my presence, the captain opened this cabinet, a sort of safe that contained a large number of ingots. They were gold ingots. And they represented an enormous sum of money. Where had this precious metal come from? How had the captain amassed this gold, and what was he about to do with it? I didn't pronounce a word. I gaped. Captain Nemo took out the ingots one by one and arranged them methodically inside the chest, filling it to the top. At which point I estimate that it held more than 1,000 kilograms of gold, in other words, close to 5,000,000 francs. After securely fastening the chest, Captain Nemo wrote an address on its lid in characters that must have been modern Greek. This done, the captain pressed a button whose wiring was in communication with the crew's quarters. Four men appeared and, not without difficulty, pushed the chest out of the lounge. Then I heard them hoist it up the iron companionway by means of pulleys. Just then Captain Nemo turned to me: "You were saying, professor?" he asked me. "I wasn't saying a thing, captain." "Then, sir, with your permission, I'll bid you good evening." And with that, Captain Nemo left the lounge. I reentered my stateroom, very puzzled, as you can imagine. I tried in vain to fall asleep. I kept searching for a relationship between the appearance of the diver and that chest filled with gold. Soon, from certain rolling and pitching movements, I sensed that the Nautilus had left the lower strata and was back on the surface of the water. Then I heard the sound of footsteps on the platform. I realized that the skiff was being detached and launched to sea. For an instant it bumped the Nautilus's side, then all sounds ceased. Two hours later, the same noises, the same comings and goings, were repeated. Hoisted on board, the longboat was readjusted into its socket, and the Nautilus plunged back beneath the waves. So those millions had been delivered to their address. At what spot on the continent? Who was the recipient of Captain Nemo's gold? The next day I related the night's events to Conseil and the Canadian, events that had aroused my curiosity to a fever pitch. My companions were as startled as I was. "But where does he get those millions?" Ned Land asked. To this no reply was possible. After breakfast I made my way to the lounge and went about my work. I wrote up my notes until five o'clock in the afternoon. Just then - was it due to some personal indisposition? - I felt extremely hot and had to take off my jacket made of fan mussel fabric. A perplexing circumstance because we weren't in the low latitudes, and besides, once the Nautilus was submerged, it shouldn't be subject to any rise in temperature. I looked at the pressure gauge. It marked a depth of sixty feet, a depth beyond the reach of atmospheric heat. I kept on working, but the temperature rose to the point of becoming unbearable. "Could there be a fire on board?" I wondered. I was about to leave the lounge when Captain Nemo entered. He approached the thermometer, consulted it, and turned to me: "42 degrees centigrade," he said. "I've detected as much, captain," I replied, "and if it gets even slightly hotter, we won't be able to stand it." "Oh, professor, it won't get any hotter unless we want it to!" "You mean you can control this heat?" "No, but I can back away from the fireplace producing it." "So it's outside?" "Surely. We're cruising in a current of boiling water." "It can't be!" I exclaimed. "Look." The panels had opened, and I could see a completely white sea around the Nautilus. Steaming sulfurous fumes uncoiled in the midst of waves bubbling like water in a boiler. I leaned my hand against one of the windows, but the heat was so great, I had to snatch it back. "Where are we?" I asked. "Near the island of Santorini, professor," the captain answered me, "and right in the channel that separates the volcanic islets of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni. I wanted to offer you the unusual sight of an underwater eruption." "I thought," I said, "that the formation of such new islands had come to an end." "Nothing ever comes to an end in these volcanic waterways," Captain Nemo replied, "and thanks to its underground fires, our globe is continuously under construction in these regions. According to the Latin historians Cassiodorus and Pliny, by the year 19 of the Christian era, a new island, the divine Thera, had already appeared in the very place these islets have more recently formed. Then Thera sank under the waves, only to rise and sink once more in the year 69 A.D. From that day to this, such plutonic construction work has been in abeyance. But on February 3, 1866, a new islet named George Island emerged in the midst of sulfurous steam near Nea Kameni and was fused to it on the 6th of the same month. Seven days later, on February 13, the islet of Aphroessa appeared, leaving a ten-meter channel between itself and Nea Kameni. I was in these seas when that phenomenon occurred and I was able to observe its every phase. The islet of Aphroessa was circular in shape, measuring 300 feet in diameter and thirty feet in height. It was made of black, glassy lava mixed with bits of feldspar. Finally, on March 10, a smaller islet called Reka appeared next to Nea Kameni, and since then, these three islets have fused to form one single, selfsame island." "What about this channel we're in right now?" I asked. "Here it is," Captain Nemo replied, showing me a chart of the Greek Islands. "You observe that I've entered the new islets in their place." "But will this channel fill up one day?" "Very likely, Professor Aronnax, because since 1866 eight little lava islets have surged up in front of the port of St. Nicolas on Palea Kameni. So it's obvious that Nea and Palea will join in days to come. In the middle of the Pacific, tiny infusoria build continents, but here they're built by volcanic phenomena. Look, sir! Look at the construction work going on under these waves." I returned to the window. The Nautilus was no longer moving. The heat had become unbearable. From the white it had recently been, the sea was turning red, a coloration caused by the presence of iron salts. Although the lounge was hermetically sealed, it was filling with an intolerable stink of sulfur, and I could see scarlet flames of such brightness, they overpowered our electric light. I was swimming in perspiration, I was stifling, I was about to be cooked. Yes, I felt myself cooking in actual fact! "We can't stay any longer in this boiling water," I told the captain. "No, it wouldn't be advisable," replied Nemo the Emotionless. He gave an order. The Nautilus tacked about and retreated from this furnace it couldn't brave with impunity. A quarter of an hour later, we were breathing fresh air on the surface of the waves. It then occurred to me that if Ned had chosen these waterways for our escape attempt, we wouldn't have come out alive from this sea of fire. The next day, February 16, we left this basin, which tallies depths of 3,000 meters between Rhodes and Alexandria, and passing well out from Cerigo Island after doubling Cape Matapan, the Nautilus left the Greek Islands behind.

#20000Leagues

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