#the shift from august to september is wild

[hawthornesbiggestfan]

yall ever sit down and just think abt how horrible of a person u actually are but u also think that the reason you're that way is because of other people but at the same time you also just hate yourself and everyone else? yeah i call that my new emotion

[burning-academia-if]

Hi again. If you've been around a while you're probably going to be like "Em, again??" But guess who got sick for the 6th time this year and this time it was a full on chest infection!! It has been three weeks, and somehow I am still Not Free!!

Anyway, BA fell to the wayside this month because it was Velox Fabula time and I've yet to miss a Velox jam (also...chest infection). I also needed to get my sudden and newfound Pirates of the Caribbean obsession out of the way so! I made a short pirate visual novel for the jam and I'm normal again. I also released the prologue of my side IF To Taste Sweet Silver (@sweetsilver-if) just to have it out. Feel free to check it out if you want, but it likely won't be updated for a while as I'm shifting gears back to BA for September!

I don't have much to report but:

UI update should be out in the next week or two depending on how I'm feeling. It won't look like much to y'all since it's more for my sake via cleaning up the code LOL but there were things added (friendship indicators, open dyslexic font option, character page updated, stat page updated, glossary page added) I'm not a graphic designer but it's better organized I think. There won't be an Official Post about it because it isn't new content, but I will make a small announcement when it's out. It'll also include the originally deleted Lars/Zoe/Nevio lunch scene in Chapter 2 as well. Sorry this is taking so long, I just really struggle with the coding side of things which has made the process slow.

Writing in August was also slow, and honestly, I think I really needed those few weeks off not thinking about BA. My inbox being very quiet helped as well, so I really did take a real break from BA. When I opened up the writing doc, I felt a whole lot better about working on BA again, and we have hit 100k words finally!

Anyway, I don't want to lament much, but I did have a personal goal of releasing up to Chapter 4 this year which obviously is Not Going to Happen. It honestly sucks I got sick so often this year because it cut into so much time for creative projects, be it BA or anything else.

I'm not really going to be hard on myself for it, though. I think releasing 3 chapters this year considering everything that kept Going Wrong this year is actually pretty good. I just think its annoying when I know I could have done it but the universe said no instead akfjalfa Anyway, I'm not sure when Chapter 3 will release but I do have a good feeling about September and I think I'll be able to at least get a decent chunk done this month!

Finally, September marks the one year anniversary for this blog and October marks the one year anniversary of BA releasing!! I feel like I literally just started writing this, the fact it's September already is wild.

I was going to do art commissions, but due to surprise car issues, I don't really have the money for that now (next year for sure though!!), so I was thinking of maybe doing character Q&As to celebrate? I've also seen some authors do raffles, but I'm not entirely sure what I would raffle off? Maybe personalized short stories with readers MCs if there's interest in that? I'm not sure yet, but I have a month to figure it out lol

But also thank you to everyone who has followed along!! It's been a really fun time both writing BA and on the blog. I know I say this a lot, but I'm really glad this is such a chill place. It's nice for me the author obviously, but it's also nice because I always want the spaces I have to feel like safe places for others as well so! Thanks again!

Lastly, I normally would end on a little snippet or preview but since most of what I wrote was just the two different openings, I feel like I have nothing fun to tease (or maybe I'm too picky about snippets idk). Hopefully Zoe's bday post tomorrow makes up for it, and I'll post some snippets later in the month instead!

Thanks for reading!

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - August 8-14

Like these weekly* compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my new(ly repurposed) Patreon! (*sorry this one’s a day late, I had a family emergency)

1. Rio’s grassroots agroforestry sustains birds, bees & communities

“[Community-created and -maintained] agroforests have reshaped the urban landscape and now attract an array of fauna, from birds to bees and even fireflies, drawn by the diversity of plant life thriving on improved soils. Perhaps most importantly, the agroforests offer free food and medicines to residents in need, plus shade and educational opportunities for the whole community[….]”

2. First giant pandas from China in decades make their public debut in San Diego

(image source) “Tensions between the U.S. and China had temporarily paused the program known as "panda diplomacy" in which China loans its native animals to zoos around the world […] as a show of goodwill[….] But the presence of [the two pandas in San Diego] appears to show a mending of the diplomatic relationship, which Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to work toward in a meeting with President Biden last year. [… Gov. Newsom] called the giant pandas an example of how strong worldly partnerships can protect wildlife and their habitats[….]”

3. Good news for Europe's top economies as disposable income rises

“Poland experienced the largest increase in disposable income per capita, rising by 10.2% compared with a decrease of 2.7% in the last quarter of 2023. According to the OECD, this growth was "mainly driven by increases in employee compensation, social benefits other than in-kind transfers, and property income". […] In Germany, [household income per capita] rose by 1.4%, compared to just 0.1% in the previous quarter, partly driven by an increase in employee compensation.”

4. FDA approves nasal spray as first needle-free treatment for anaphylaxis

“The spray, which will be sold under the brand name Neffy, is seen as an alternative to EpiPen and other autoinjectors. […] “Some people, particularly children, may delay or avoid treatment due to fear of injections,” said Kelly Stone, an associate director at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, adding that the availability of the nasal spray may reduce barriers to rapid treatment.”

5. [Colin Farrell] is launching a foundation to support adult[s] who have an intellectual disability

““We want to take a good look at residential potential for families with young adults who are ready to go out into the world and have a greater sense of community and connection,” says the actor. […] "It’s really important for James and for all of our kids to feel like they are wanted, to feel like they’re part of the community. Not just out of charitable endeavors or being nice and doing the right thing, but out of a sincere desire to engage and learn about each other."”

6. The Berlin Zoo is hoping for more German-born giant pandas as scans confirm a pregnancy

“Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and a few hundred in captivity worldwide. […] The zoo noted that female pandas are only capable of reproducing for about 72 hours per year.”

7. Arizona school district highlights the benefits of free lunch

“A study by the University of Washington found free meals at school help reduce hunger, reduce the stigma tied to free lunch, and can help reduce childhood obesity. [… A cafeteria worker] said since the school district began offering free lunch, they have seen a positive shift in the cafeteria culture, and students seem happier. […] In September of 2023, the USDA […] loosened up its application threshold for applicants, allowing an estimated 3,000 more school districts in high-need areas to participate in the [CEP] program.”

8. Gigantic millipede lost to science for 126 years rediscovered in remote Madagascan jungle

“A further 20 species 'lost' to science were rediscovered during the expedition, including three iridescent species of fish and several species of ant-like flower beetles.”

9. The climate law’s $8.8B in home energy rebates are starting to roll out

“New York and Wisconsin are the first to launch their long-awaited Inflation Reduction Act programs meant to deploy everything from heat pumps to insulation. […] Once deployed, the DOE estimates, the home energy rebates will help save consumers up to $1 billion in annual energy costs and support an estimated 50,000 U.S. jobs in construction, manufacturing, and other sectors. They’ll also help clean up buildings, one of the biggest sources of carbon pollution in the country.”

10. Advance in stem cell therapy: New technique for manipulating stem cells opens door to novel treatments

“Recently, a team of McGill researchers discovered that by stretching, bending and flattening the nuclei of stem cells to differing degrees, they could generate precisely targeted cells that they could direct to become either bone or fat cells. […] The first applications of this discovery are likely to involve bone regeneration, possibly relating to dental or cranio-facial repair[….]”

August 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[fokrons-art-hell]

doodled my guys to stay sane. forgoted tumblr hates wide images :-(

I'll introduce my guys undercut :-)

Hi welcome to me talking about my guys.

(I'll preface this by saying, in my oc headworld (pippaf), the dominant species are called "creatures" and all creatures can shift at will between fragile (humanoid) and primal (animal forms), the primal forms seen herer.)

The blue one is my favorite, their name is Amek (21, they/he). And by favorite i mean i emotionally torture them the most <3. Amek's species are called Storm Spirits, they are shapeshifters, but think of them more like dittos. they can't significantly change their color, eye-shape, or markings. they can voice/sound mimic tho! Storm spirits typically have weather magic. Storm spirits are a rare species, nearly hunted to extinction due to prejudice and their association with the god of chaos, Okkjuk. Amek's full name is actually Ameokk, after getting "adopted" by September, she gave him the nickname Amek, not wanting to unsettled others with the Okkjuk themed name. Amek is a long way from his original home, but he wouldn't consider it home anymore, even if he wanted to. I realized

I realized i haven't spoken of their personality at all. Amek is an upbeat goofy silly guy, he is a charmer and loves entertaining a crowd. He is very good at acting, his job requires him to.

the black cat is August (19, he). Amek is August's adopted brother. He is a prince but his mom (september) hates him bc she's ableist but also she sucks in general. August likes art and painting, and crowds make him very nervous, having been discouraged from going outside for much of his childhood. He also loves loves books, especially history and romance.

the picture on the left of him sitting he's 16 actually, bc i drew his proportions wrong. and all the pics where he has the torn ear and eyescar he's around 22. It's from an assassination attempt :- ). Oh yeah August's species r called spinecats. They're like cats but what if spines and posable tails and maybe some bug-like traits.

The doggy looking thang is Hyun (17. she/he). She is rabid and unhinged but probably the sweetest of my ocs, next to August. Like a rough kind of sweetness. His species is called Keyhorn, because keyhorns store their magic in their horn (magic energy is called 'keyaa'). As you can see, Hyun's horn was broken by a meaner :-( , this guy is called chrrris and he sucks. Hyun's magic is permanently weakened by this, but he is an optimistic bugger, don't worry.

Hyun was raised by these wild animals (not creatures) called night yips (imagine a wolf if it was as smart as a parrot and upright like a gorrila and the muzzle of a sawfish and rabbit ears). She also masqueraded as a local god so that she would get offerings from the local village. Then she lived in a cave for a bit. Don't worry about it.

[highsocietyhq]

HSHQ'S TIMELINE !

which of these mains do you guys remember ? highsocietyhq or haisocietyhq or vikrp or chambordrp... hshq has had many forms over the years !

chambordrp was originally created by admin m sometime around 2014 ? 2015 ? admin j joined the admin team and for a while the group set at chateau chambord, france was just one group among many #royal rp or #rich kids rp groups. chambordrp had to be closed due to low activity but pretty soon admin m opened it again and some of the oldest members rejoined. chambordrp was revamped into vikrp in 2016 ( ? ).

vikrp set in iceland lasted for 6ish months maybe before closing... and then reopening again. i don't remember properly. around this time i ( admin e ) was part of the admin team and admin evy joined the team a bit before vikrp was revamped into haisocietyhq. admin m had gone awol at this time.

haisocietyhq set in shangHAI was when things started to shift from petty drama to something a bit bigger. i think in shanghai we added monarchs ? or maybe that was already in vik, but anyways, in shanghai people actually applied for monarchs. i think dukes and duchesses were a new addition.

then we wanted to move from shanghai to 'a greek island'. but we had a problem: the constant url change was a problem. we couldn't change the url every time we moved, that would cause confusion in the tags. 'highsocietyhq' was already taken by a closed group. what a shame ! but then i figured i'd lose nothing by sending an im to the url's owner and hallelujah ! the owner actually saw the im and was kind enough to give the url to us !!!!! that was amazing. and random. so that's the story behind our url. in shanghai we had our first plot drop/event hybrid when there was an earthquake and i think the hotel suffered some damages.

the greek island plotline was pretty chill until it wasn't. the invasion was pretty wild and i was in summer 2018. when i think back on it, i think it's one our most successful events in terms of character development and engagement. people wrote a lot and it was insanely interactive.

oslo follower the greek island. i have to admit i don't remember much from the oslo period. the plotdrops that i wrote back then were surprisingly frequent though and it was cool that people were really into developing the major plotlines !

dubai followed oslo shortly after nye if i remember correctly. i don't remember the excuse for the move. it wasn't anything major. dubai was fun and different. the big city vibe was fun.

dubai lasted for 8 months and then, in september of 2019, came phuket ! phuket was a lot chiller. i remember us planning all sorts of shocking plot twists. one was a flood and a complete power failure. that never happened. one idea was having them get stranded on a cruise ship.

mar del plata still feels like a fever dream. we moved to mar del plata in august 2020. i swear i always forget we were there. the only thing i remember from this era is the hike/earthquake event. we wanted drama and since we had failed to deliver the flood/power failure/dramatic pd this was really needed !

in april 2021 came tokyo ! i personally enjoyed big city backdrops a lot more so i liked tokyo a lot. i also remember being very pleased with the grapics if i may say so myself. tokyo lasted for a long time and rae won the points game that allowed her to pick like 5 possible locations for a future location change.

i don't remember them all but on the list were regina and casablanca. and we planned to make the regina era really brief and it was supposed to be a quirky comedic era. but you know us ! we don't know how to keep up with a schedule lmao. i think the regina sidequest lasted from spring of '22 and ended in august '22 when we moved to spain for that long event.

the spain was supposed to be a month long thing that would end in an invasion. but the dash was fairly quiet, the admin team was busy af and it just wouldn't happen. the invasion, as you all probably remember, came a year late lmaoooo

we really hoped that the invasion would have been something akin to the one in 2019 but you know, times had changed, people didn't have 8 hours to spend on the computer. the invasion was still a fun extreme event and i'm so glad it succeeded as well as it did because there was room for failure.

after the invasion we finally made it to casablanca where we had planned to end up almost 1,5 years prior lmaoo

and now it's been almost 10 years of a silly little royals group and 8 years of hshq. i genuinely think it's so damn remarkable how far we've come especially considering how the average lifespan of an rp group is like some months. admining this group has been such a privilege !!! thank you !!!

[meltotheany]

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018! hi hi, loves! i hope you’re all doing well and staying cool (or warm) in whatever hemisphere you are in! i always love doing posts like this, and just reflecting on all the good book options i have for the last six months of 2024 (which feels wild to even type)! but truly, so many good books are publishing over the last half of this year, and i can’t wait to talk about them all with you! 😍 🌞 SUMMER RELEASES ☆ The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark – august 6th ⤷ once again, this book is about necromancers, assassins, and a vow our mc isn’t supposed to remember, but does. it very well could be my new personality very soon! ☆ Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright – august 13th ⤷ maybe the summer buzzword is assassins, because this queer filipino debut also stars one who is forced to work with two others to solve a magical murder mystery that could also involve vampires. this is truly the debut that i have been looking most forward to all year! ☆ The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter – august 27th ⤷ we love a tuesday birthday, and this year for mine i get a sapphic snow white dark retelling. i am obsessed with this author’s writing and her malice duology that ended up being a favorite of mine. i can’t wait for all the sapphic stories she will give us, but this birthday release one feels very special to me already. 🍁 FALL RELEASES ☆ Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio – september 24th ⤷ i mean, once everyone saw there was a new ml rio book coming out i think the entire book community let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. it is “only” a novella (i say this as a novella lover), but it is about a group of night shift workers trying to solve a mystery at the graveyard, involving a gravedigger, and i know it’s going to be everything. ☆ The City in Glass by Nghi Vo – october 1st ⤷ at this point, i will just beg tor for anything that nghi vo writes. but this is a brand new standalone all about angels and demons and a lost city and i just know that i am going to love it like everything else this author writes! ☆ Lore Olympus: Volume Seven (Lore Olympus, #7) by Rachel Smythe – october 1st ⤷ there is just something really happy and healing about waiting for my next preorder of lore olympus to come in. volume six  was actually my favorite so far, so i extra can’t wait for this newest installment for the fall! ☆ Spectacular (Caraval, #3.5) by Stephanie Garber – october 22nd ⤷ i cannot believe we are actually get a caraval holiday story right before the holiday season! i am so curious if we will see characters from both of her trilogies in this, and if we will get some hints for what is to come next! but i love being in the world of caraval and i can’t wait for this! ❄️ WINTER RELEASES ☆ The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong – november 5th ⤷ this is actually one of my favorite covers… ever. but is a new debut about a immigrant fortune teller, traveling from town to town with her magical cat, and i think this is the tale of them trying to help someone in one of these towns! this is going to be cozy and heartfelt and i can’t wait to read. ☆ The Songbird & the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia, #3) by Carissa Broadbent – november 19th ⤷ i am all caught up and so ready to read this new carissa broadbent book! this third full length story is about a character we know and love from books one and two, but i am curious how i am going to enjoy it because i really didn’t love the last novella i read set in this world. but i am still excited to find out this winter! ☆ Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) by Brandon Sanderson – december 6th ⤷ the fifth and last (of this story arc, before a very big time jump) of the very beloved stormlight archives. i cannot believe it will be in my hands in six months, and i also can’t believe brandon has said it is the longest bo...

[devitalise]

IMO im sending this so early NOT because I'm trying to beat you (though it does feel nice 🤭) but I'll be offline during our usual end-of-month wrap-up + i SHANT make you wait long!!! HOW DID AUGUST GO! I read ur goodreads review on The Picture of Dorian Gray but I'm dying to hear more 👁️ + do u think you're gonna try and shift into ~fall vibes~ for reading now (whatever that means to you) or continue to go with the flow?

hi cas this was such a jumpscare getting this over a week ago but i'm glad you were able to beat me! of course there's a new autumnal vibe in the books i'll be reading i've even updated my discord profile (goodbye summer kendall you were great)

but i can go into more detail in the

august book wrap up

(2 days early but i'm not finishing a book in 2 days)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Original 1980 Uncensored Edition) by Oscar Wilde

well i read a book. there were some really interesting threads in this, i thought Dorian being a narcissistic weirdo was cool to read about, but other than the end of the book taking a much darker turn, i did't find much about this impressive. i don't like reading books expecting them to work harder for me to enjoy them, but i struggled to want to read this.

Must I Go by Yiyun Li

wasn't what i expected it to be, not really a fan of what it was. you give me an 88 year old woman who's survived her eldest daughter's suicide and raised her granddaughter and is looking after her greatgrandaughter and what do we do? we spend almost 200 pages of her dissecting the journal of some random man who ended up marrying his cousin and lived his whole life not knowing he had said daughter? why. i don't care! i don't care!!!!!!! and then when Lila (the character in question) did talk about herself, her mother having her dreams crushed in her marriage, her three marriages and further 4 children, it's just brushed over and kind of shrugged at. none of the "important" men in her life are alive and yet they took up so much of the book. whatever you keep dead people alive in your memory but other than being reminded how selfish and uncaring Lila was there wasn't much about this i felt positive about. wouldn't recommend, went straight in my donation pile.

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

i finally did it. what a rollercoaster! i absolutely hate reading first person books when i find the character annoying. not to say a bad person, or morally defunct or anything. just plain old annoying. Elena Greco is annoying. fine in the first 2 as she's 10-22 years old and it's expected, but the third book sees her in her mid 20s early 30s and i genuinely wanted to throw this book at a wall. i struggle to see this as a tale of friendship at this point just because like. they aren't friends??? they're two women who at this point are bound by history and maybe that's the point but i want better for Lila and she remains the star of the show

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante

i finished the quartet and feel emotionally wrung out. this was going fine but i think it's around 350 pages in there's a full blown "relationship" between Lila's 24 year old son and Elena's 15 year old daughter???? reading from the perspective of an awful mother was so jarring, too. really enjoyed the series, i just feel like i felt very untethered towards the end and i just wanted it to end

september / autumnal reads

i'm annoyed that i've ended up in such a white reading space so will be fixing that for sure. also need a romance, i haven't read one i've liked this year! something fun is overdue. i have some horror books picked out but that's not for a little while yet. i don't see myself picking up anything new (maybe?) so i'll just be picking from what i already bought, trying some contemporary reads that have been rotting on my shelf for the past year

[ren-from-mars]

I’ve been doing some reflecting on this past year, and I really truly think it is the most artistic improvement I have made in any span of time. Of course, I’m going to be completely insufferable about it and have collected my best piece from each month with a few personal notes, so why don’t we go on a sprint down memory highway together?

January

At the start of the year, I was both adrift between fandoms and art styles. I was mostly aiming to find which style I could keep using, finish pieces quickly yet still feel proud of. It certainly worked in the moment, but as I pushed my boundaries more it didn't stick. Still, I look back on this style fondly! also proper throwback to my old username that i had for far too long

February

This was the start of me working on colour palettes. I lay down my main colour in the background and fit the rest of my colours around that. It was a good way to start experimenting!

March

Then the shift back to finding my style- I particularly like how the hair turned out in this piece! I also started trying more interesting poses here, and actually properly attempting hands.

April

I didn't finish any pieces in april as I had started working more hours and didn't quite know how to balance myself creatively at that point. I did lean into this style of sketch much more, which was good fun while it stuck around but ive leant away from it in more recent times.

May

Not much to say about may in particular, lots of the same things as the past few months with improvements here and there! just some steady progress :)

June

Cue the crunch of getting character refs done before artfight, and then only actually finishing one (which isn't actually complete, even to this day). But hey, more solid reference for My Guy ! I also leaned into drawing furries a lot more and have improved heaps in the difference of proportions!

July

artfight baybee!! no artistic differences, but it was a lot of fun scouting out other peoples character designs! I do hope to participate more this year :3

August

back to colours, though this month felt like a bit of a backtrack. Don't get me wrong, I do quite like this piece, but contrast-wise it doesn't have as much visual clarity as I would like. Regardless, a good learning opportunity!

September

Fun fact, I rendered this one entirely in greyscale! This was the start of me getting back into hatchetfield after being reminded of NPMDs release, and lets be real this part of black friday was chilling so I had to do something about it! I consider this piece a landmark in terms of my art journey.

October

Once again no real finished pieces, I was too busy watching nightmare time while waiting for the group watch of npmd. I did do a lot of studies of star wars characters from their live-action shows though, which was a fun learning experience!

November

This was the piece where I applied pretty much everything I had learnt throughout the year. contrast, colour themes, interactive environments and poses, the lot! and also. its them. how could i not

December

A perfect piece to wrap up the year with! Another step up from november, this applied lots of what I had learnt and pushed my boundaries even more. I have been aiming for more realism to actor's faces and body types, not out of it-has-to-be-canon-sake, but rather learning how to accurately depict someone's likeness from a few photo references. good practice for both live-action and animated characters!

Overall last year was absolutely wild. I can't wait to share my journey with you all as we go into 2024 strong!

[cmrosens]

Monstrous May Day 01: The Werewolf

Historical Notes on the Village of Hangingstones, West Yorkshire

1518

A strange happening (Extract from R. E. E. Stubbs, 'Hangingstones and other Villages, a short history' (1898):

Three days after they hanged Widow Harding at the hanging stones, there came upon the village nearby a terrible storm, so great the roof of the church fell in and the tower crumbled. Several of those huddled inside were killed, but those who escaped reported tales of a large black dog with deep red eyes like the burning pits of Hell who came amongst them and tore many limb from limb... Indeed, it was reported there that when the bodies were recovered from the church, they showed signs of tearing rather than crushing, as if they had been rent asunder by a wild, ferocious beast. Of the survivors of this terrible atrocity, it was said that they were never themselves after, and that on the nights of the full moon they could be seen on the tor capering around the stone circle there and shifting their shapes to roam the moors as beasts. There came a certain priest to that place to see if what was said was true, but he came away saying there was nothing to the tale but superstition and tragedy - but the priest himself was rumoured to have the power to shift his shape at will, a slur against his character levelled by the Protestants, and he was later burned at the stake for refusing to recant his Roman Catholicism. Nevertheless, the superstition has arisen that every hundred years or so (for these things are never terribly precise) the black dog with burning eyes is seen again, plaguing travellers and locals alike, sometimes to blame for the deaths of livestock and for spooking horses along the road, at other times driving people to madness, and still at others taking vengeance if called upon for this purpose.

1620

A curious tale from Yorkshire (Extract from R. E. E. Stubbs, 'Hangingstones and other Villages, a short history' (1898):

While in Lancashire the Pendle Hill witch-trials were ongoing, in Hangingstones there was a coven who danced with the Devil on the tor, so they say, and they called upon the demon keeper of the hounds of Hell to release one of his creatures to protect them from the witchfinders. After their dark rites beneath the full moon, a howl rang out across the moors like the call of a mermaid or siren, irresistible and beautiful and terrifying. They followed the sound of the howl like ones possessed, leaping and dancing under the stars, and went straight into the gorge at Devil's Drop and were never heard from again. But, that very night and for many nights afterwards, travellers spoke of a large black dog roaming the moors that spooked their horses, and farmers lost many livestock.

1735

A gothick mystery (Extract from the published Journal of Dr L. Fairweather, vol. 2, Travels Through the North Countrie (1730-37):

28 August 1735

A certain curate's daughter, Alice Thompson, vanished from her home on the night of Wednesday last, after receiving a note from a stranger to the village. The stranger stayed the night at The George Inn, but no trace of him has been heard or seen since his sudden departure in the night. No blame could ever be attached to such a pure young lady as Miss Thompson, and her frantic parents and friends suspect foul play. The circle of standing stones on the tor above the village, where in the past miscreants from the parish were hanged upon the gibbet set there, are a gruesome and sinister sight, and scraps of bloodied cloth were discovered therein upon the grass, which appeared to be part of a lady's night-gown with a fine lace collar. Her mother has identified the lace as belonging to the missing lady. No body has yet been recovered, but a local farmer claimed that he saw a large black dog with blood-red eyes upon the road and that this was the very night that both Miss Thompson and the stranger vanished. Their connexion to each other is still quite unknown.

09 September 1735

...Regarding the tragic tale of Miss Alice Thompson that I recorded previously: the remains of a young man were later recovered from Devil's Drop, mauled and savaged beyond recognition. In his pack, recovered from the grisly scene, there were pieces of Miss Thompson's jewelry and an ivory fan. Miss Thompson's fate remains a mystery.

1826

A Tale of Terror (Local Newspaper Report)

A terrifying tale from Yorkshire has set the imaginations of our most sensible gentlemen of late, with several astonishing stories emerging from the survivors of Sir William Armitage's hunting party. The party of experienced gamekeepers and less experienced gentlemen, became lost on the moors. Of the gamekeepers only Mr Daniel Haywood was left, staggering over the tor with Sir Thomas R———, whose leg was very badly wounded. They were with a young beater purported to be Mr Haywood's son, Master Samuel Haywood, and Sir Charles L———. Neither of these eminent gentlemen are given to flights of fancy and are considered to be most sensible, redoubtable fellows, and yet the tale they told of 'a great devil dog' hunting them across the moor and devouring their hapless companions was fit for the most lurid of publications......

1919

Murder on the Moors (Local Newspaper Report)

For some, the horrors of the Front are no mere memory. Lance Corporal Samuel Thackrey was shot dead last week in a tragic case of 'shell shock', a common affliction among the returning men. It is reported that Private Charles Bennett, who served in Thackrey's regiment during the Great War, was 'running wild' on the moor in pursuit of the imagined enemy, and that the Lance Corporal was shot attempting to bring Bennett to his senses. For several days prior to the shooting, neighbours allege that Bennett had reported hearing howling on the moors and seeing 'a girt black hound' watching his cottage at night, and believed it to be a death omen of some kind. Bennett was seen limping after a dog-bite, apparently blaming the 'black hound'. Bennett, who had grown increasingly disturbed since his return from France, became agitated after a small boy let off a firework on the village green, causing him to commence snarling, shouting, and threatening passers by. He accused Lance Corporal Thackrey, whom he did not appear to recognise, of being a German officer and many other fantastical things besides, before drawing his pistol and shooting the Lance Corporal in the head. The curious detail learned by this reporter is that Bennett shot Thackrey with a silver bullet, and no one can account for how he came by it.

***

The View from the Tor

It is no easy task, to take off one’s skin. 

First, because the skin you see is different to the skin you do not see, and it is much easier to peel something tangible from your body than it is to detach your very essence; second, because it hurts.

Observe: 

A field in the witching hour, once deserted, now crawling with stripped bodies.

Silver light gleams on a mass of undulating skin, writhing in the dark. The expanse of grass is now a lake of spines and cresting bodies, moving in waves and ripples of cracking, lengthening, shifting bones. Peach-white and gammon-pink meets and merges with earth tones and stone tones, golden, rich, mottled, grazed, stippled with psoriasis and acne, smooth and supple.

Among the neat stacks of clothes on the field’s edge, humanity has been put aside, folded carefully with shirts and skirts and jeans and shoes, the shape of each person carefully stowed between layers of polyester and cotton.

Upturned buttocks, reflecting the roundness of the orb above, undulate in various stages of painful eruption. A second hole opens above the anus, where there was a coin-shaped scar, now a coin-sized opening. The tailbone erupts through it, pushing to the surface and breaking the skin. Lengths of fur unfurl like fern-fronds, feeding through the broken holes where the skin is already raw from last month’s Turning. 

A forest of tails, curling and dark, some glinting with aged grey and some with youthful white, blossom upwards. Small ruby spots fleck the raised round cheeks, drips of claret leaving the curves tear-streaked. 

Ribs expand and crack. It is hard to breathe when the body knows it should not be this shape, this size. Reconfiguring contortions sweep the gathering, causing billowing humps of groaning flesh to surge and subside, slick with perspiration. 

One final push relieves them of their burdens, gives them full and final release. 

And now:

The pack shake damp fur and trot into the dark, leaving their human layers behind.

[xtruss]

10 National Parks To Avoid The Summer Crowds

From rugged hiking trails to pristine beaches, upgrade your summer at these under-the-radar wilderness areas.

— By Elizabeth Kwak-Hefferan | June 2, 2023

Two spelunkers explore Lechuguilla Cave—currently reserved for scientific research—in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, home to some of the deepest, largest, and most ornate caverns in the U.S. Photograph By Robbie Shone, National Geographic Image Collection

The most popular national parks in the U.S. such as Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon attracted record crowds last summer. For some, it might be worth fighting traffic or walking packed trails to see the towering granite monoliths in Yosemite or fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains. But, there are 63 national parks across the country, many with far fewer visitors—and just as many hikes with epic views, wildlife-spotting opportunities, and kid-friendly excursions.

Here are 10 of the country’s least trafficked parks, plus what to see and do in them.

Best Water Excursions: Channel Islands National Park, California

Hikers and kayakers find ample ways to explore this constellation of five wild islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. Beginner-friendly paddling trips, like the one from Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island, let visitors take in abundant sea caves, kelp forests, and wildlife such as gray whales, dolphins, and sea lions. Strong currents and shifting weather make going with a guide a smart move.

Remote islands like Santa Rosa have hiking trails through rugged mountains with glimpses of wildlife, including tiny, endemic island foxes, at dawn and dusk. Spend the night at Santa Cruz Island’s only lodging option, Scorpion Canyon Campground, a half-mile hike from the beach.

Composed of five tectonically formed islands and surrounded by an extensive marine sanctuary, Channel Islands National Park offers ​dramatic sea views, epic wildlife watching, and scenic hikes. Photograph By Robert Schwemmer/Alamy Stock Photo

Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

More than a third of this Northwoods network of boreal forests and rocky islands is covered by water—four huge lakes plus 26 smaller ones. New environmental protections make now an ideal time to experience these waterways via a tour boat, canoe, or kayak. Easy-access shoreline campsites line the park’s major lakes, but the wildest, quietest destinations sit deep in the interior of the Kabetogama Peninsula. Reserve a backcountry campsite along the Chain of Lakes or on the central peninsula’s waters, where your only companions for a spectacular aurora borealis show will be the loons and moose.

Best Wildlife Viewing: Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

This coast-meets-mountains reserve takes wildlife watching to the next level. Use the park’s only maintained long trail to the outlook over Harding Icefield for breathtaking panoramic views of this expansive, icy landscape. Along the way, keep an eye out for grizzlies, black bears, wolverines, lynx, wolves, and mountain goats. From a kayak or tour boat, look out for orcas, humpback whales, and dolphins among the waves and Steller sea lions and harbor seals on the beaches

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Brazilian free-tailed bats are a star attraction at this Chihuahuan Desert park. Each year, these flying critters make their way back from their winter grounds in Mexico to roost in the park’s intricate network of limestone caves. August and September bring the best bat watching when the year’s babies take to the skies with their parents. Around sunset, the bats spiral out of the cavern’s Natural Entrance by the hundreds of thousands to eat insects.

Top: The glacial landscapes and coastal waters of Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park provide ideal conditions for viewing wildlife, like these Steller sea lions pictured. Photograph By Cagan Sekercioglu. Bottom: Thousands of bats spew out of a cave in Carlsbad Caverns in search of food. Photograph By Michael Nichols — National Geographic Image Collection

Best Hiking Trails: North Cascades National Park, Washington

Known as the “American Alps,” this park holds more than 400 miles of trails that take hikers and horseback riders to wildflower meadows, old-growth forests, glacier viewpoints, and remote lakes. One standout is the Desolation Peak Trail, which leads to a mountaintop lookout cabin where Jack Kerouac spent a summer. North Cascades remains well off the radar: Just over 30,000 people visited last year, a mere 2 percent of the traffic of its southern neighbor, Mount Rainier. The terrain is so remote and wild, the park is considering restoring grizzly bear populations here.

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Explore the sunset-colored canyons that ancestral Pueblo people called home in Mesa Verde. Here, skillfully designed cliff dwellings, some with up to 150 rooms and large enough to house one hundred people, remain tucked into protected stone alcoves, just as they’ve been for 800 years. In summer, rangers lead hiking tours inside some of them, including Cliff Palace, the largest such village in North America, and Balcony House, which involves climbing up cliffside ladders and crawling through rock tunnels. After dark, look up. Mesa Verde’s skies are well-protected from light pollution, earning it International Dark Sky Park status in 2021.

Tourists visit the ruins of Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park., Colorado.Photograph By Phil Schermeister, National Geographic Image Collection

Best Cultural Experiences: Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida

Accessible only by boat or seaplane, this park offers pristine beaches, exceptional snorkeling, and the chance to explore the historic Fort Jefferson. Located on Garden Key, the second largest of the park’s seven islands (70 miles from Key West), the military stronghold was the largest masonry fort in the Western Hemisphere during the mid-1800s. During the Civil War, it became one of the nation’s largest prisons.

Visitors who brave the two-plus-hour trip by boat or 40-minute ride by plane to get here can tour the grounds where Union prisoners (like the doctor who set John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg) were imprisoned during the Civil War. After strolling the grounds, explore Dry Tortugas’s other major attraction: superb snorkeling among coral reefs where you might see octopi, nurse sharks, reef squid, and barracudas.

Haleakalā National Park, Maui, Hawaii

More than 30 miles of trails wind over ancient lava flows and through endemic silversword patches before plunging into the summit crater of Haleakalā. Native Hawaiians consider the summit a sacred site, where they held religious ceremonies, studied the stars, and quarried basalt for centuries. On the other side of the park, visitors can still see their village ruins and fishing shrines at tropical Kipahula, an 800-year-old coastal settlement that’s now better known for its crashing waterfalls and the idyllic Seven Sacred Pools of ‘Ohe’o Gulch.

The famed Haleakalā Crater is a vast depression—but it's actually not a volcanic crater. It was formed as erosion ate away a ridgeline, joining two valleys in Haleakalā National Park. Photograph By Pete Ryan, National Geographic Image Collection

Top: To avoid crowds, visit Haleakalā summit after 3 p.m.; its sunsets can be as spectacular as its famous sunrises. Bottom: Erected in 1958, the Haleakalā Observatory is Hawaii’s first astronomical research planetarium. — Photographs By Babak Tafreshi, National Geographic Image Collection

Best For Family: Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana

Kids will find more than just a day at the beach in this welcome pocket of nature amidst the nearby bustle of Chicago, a 45-minute drive away. An impressively diverse number of ecosystems in this compact park let families explore wetlands, oak savannas, pine forests, prairies, and 15 miles of sandy shoreline in a day.

There are also opportunities for kayaking the coast of Lake Michigan or canoeing the Little Calumet River (the park was upgraded from national lakeshore status in 2019). The in-progress Indigenous Cultural Trail features murals and interpretive signs that teach about the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, two of the area’s original peoples.

Top: Mammoth Cave—Kentucky’s only national park—contains more than 400 miles of caves, making it the longest cave system in the world. Photograph By Phil Schermeister, National Geographic Image Collection Bottom: Park visitors stand up paddle board along the Grand Calumet River on the outskirts of Lake Michigan in Indiana Dunes National Park. Photograph By Keith Ladzinski, National Geographic Image Collection

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Escape the summer heat by exploring a labyrinth of underground caverns that maintain a refreshing temperature of 54°F year-round. To see the caves, you’ll have to take a ranger-guided tour. These vary in difficulty, with options for families with young kids to enjoy the stunning stalagmites, stalactites, and tunnels. Or for the older kids, try the longer, more challenging tours by lantern light.

During the guided tours, park rangers point out remnants of early inhabitants’ mining activity dating back to 1200 B.C. and tell the stories of enslaved Black cave guides from the 1830s and the “Cave Wars” between rival tourism developers in the early 1900s.

[newlifemortgages]

The 2024 Canadian Housing Market: A Tale of Interest Rates, Immigration, and Consumer Spending

August 14, 2024 | Posted by: Dallas Martin

Welcome to the wild world of the 2024 Canadian housing market, where the rules are made up, and the interest rates actually matter. Buckle up as we dive deep into the latest numbers, experts' opinions, and the economic ups and downs keeping homebuyers, renters, and developers on their toes. Let's explore how immigration, consumer spending, and the ever-fluctuating interest rates are shaping the landscape.

Immigration: The Welcome Mat is Out (But the Homes Are Few)

Canada's population grew faster than a teenager's appetite in the past year. With over 400,000 newcomers arriving in 2023 alone, the housing market had to brace itself for the influx. While welcoming new faces is great for the economy, it also strains the already tight housing supply.

Why does this matter? Because most newcomers rent before they buy, adding pressure to the rental market. Vacancy rates are dropping like the latest TikTok trend, and rents are shooting up faster than you can say 'affordable housing.' Rental rates have jumped by 8.6% in March 2024, compared to their level one year prior

Consumer Spending: The Wallet Tightens

Canadian consumers are known for their love of maple syrup, hockey, and, of course, homes. But with inflationary pressures and high interest rates, spending patterns have taken a hit. After a brief post-pandemic spending spree, wallets are tighter than a toddler's grip on their favourite toy.

What's happening? High prices and interest rates have made financing homes more challenging, reducing disposable income for other expenditures. In essence, people are spending less on everything else to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

Experts Opinions: Economists Weigh In

CMHC's Chief Economist, Bob Dugan, has been busy analyzing the situation. According to Dugan, the economic outlook for 2024 points to weak growth, with a glimmer of hope on the horizon. 

Dugan believes these interest rate cuts will stimulate a rebound in housing demand. As mortgage rates decrease, more buyers will jump back into the market, pushing sales and prices up.

Analysts suggest the Bank is now shifting its focus away from inflation and toward maintaining economic growth and avoiding a recession.

But don't pop the champagne just yet—this recovery will be gradual, not an overnight miracle.

Interest Rate the Ups & Downs

Interest rates have been the talk of the town, and for good reason. Initially kept high to combat inflation, the Bank of Canada has FINALLY hit the 'down' button twice this year and is eyeing another rate cut in September, thanks to some news down south in the US. This could be a glimmer of hope for the market.

What's the Impact?

Lower interest rates can feel like a breath of fresh air for those looking to buy a home or with renewals coming up. Reduced mortgage costs? Yes, please! Imagine buyers flocking back to the market like kids to a candy store.

But hold on a second. Let's get back to reality. Canadians are pretty leveraged right now. Their wallets are tighter than ever, so a slight dip in mortgage rates might seem like a tiny drop in the ocean. And we can't ignore the elephant in the room—many Canadians have hefty debts. This could slow down the rise in housing prices or even push them down a bit more before they climb back up.

Charts and Graphs: Because Numbers Don't Lie

Let's break up the text-heavy discussion with some eye-catching visuals:

Navigating the housing market can be tricky, but there's a silver lining. Challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. Exercising patience may have proven beneficial for the individuals who waited to purchase their first home during these wild years we have experienced.

For personalized guidance on mortgage options, reach out to us at New Life Mortgages.ca. We're dedicated to assisting you in navigating the dynamic market and finding a place to call home amidst the chaos. Whether you're a first-time homebuyer, an experienced investor, looking to consolidate debt through refinancing, or simply aiming to stay informed about market trends, count on us to have your back.

Stay tuned for more updates, and remember—buy low, sell high, and always read the fine print.

[festudio]

Aug 9 Update

At the top, my post for the Language of Flowers Reference has gotten more attention during the break. I'm so thankful people are getting a use out of it! I believe that resources like this should be free because when my labor saves someone else time then it has exponential value, at least to me.

On that note, if someone knows how to edit Wikipedia, I saw a lot of flat out false meanings assigned and said to come from The Language of Flowers but the source is just some blog post with no references.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now Progress Updates:

Since my last update, it seems like everything has stood between me and progress.

My world has basically shifted entirely since that update. There was a big change at my day job that's resulted in me having way more work to do. It's ultimately a good thing but it's a lot. Without getting into it too much, I am basically trying to get a print center/basic graphic design spot up to snuff. I have been up to my ears in cardstock and various machine manuals.

This is also on top of the fact that my only working vehicle decided to give up and it took 31 days to get back to usable. This was a long stressful journey that involves family.

Then, I sprained my foot and having to walk half an hour each morning to the bus stop made it worse. It's still not great but I'm actively staying off of it.

I did get the Three of Cups redesigned and carved and carved the Four of Cups. it's all I've managed to squeeze in and I haven't even done a test print on them, they're just hanging out.

However, it really saves my ink to print these in batches of at least 3. There will always be loss but the less I have to wash my palette the less ink I lose.

I'm hoping August will be a better progress month but after the last one, I'm not holding my breath.

I will likely have a limited run of pressed botanicals and rosary beads in September. The foot injury kept me from my foraging walks. I did score a lot of Queen Anne's Lace/Wild Carrot Flower which presses beautifully. And, yes, I'm very experienced and very sure this is Queen Anne's Lace and not Hemlock.

[mikelsons07]

Endless Horizons: A Yearbook of Beautiful Sceneries

Scenic vistas provide a timeless break from the everyday grind. Humans have dreamed about a limitless horizon for generations. An "Infinite Horizons" calendar showcases stunning landscapes from Stationery Supplies that inspire us to explore and appreciate nature.

January: Beautiful Mountains

In winter, snow-covered mountain ranges greet the year. Each month showcases a spectacular mountain range, from the Swiss Alps to the Himalayas. These photos evoke wonder and appreciation for Earth's beauty.

February: Relaxing Beaches

The February page takes us to peaceful seaside resorts as winter fades. The beautiful Maldives or rocky Pacific Northwest coasts beckon us to rest, revitalize, and enjoy the waves' soothing cadence.

March: Beautiful Woods

As spring arrives, the calendar shifts to magical woods and woodlands. Wildflower-covered canopies shelter various wildlife. These verdant landscapes inspire us to appreciate rebirth and progress.

April: Gorgeous Desert Views

The calendar shows stunning desert views as temperatures climb. These photographs highlight dry places' harsh beauty and tenacious life, from Arizona's Antelope Canyon to the Sahara's unending dunes.

May: Beautiful Landscapes

May's page features beautiful rural scenes as the days lengthen and the countryside wakes. Rolling hills, charming towns, and vivid meadows showcase rural life's timeless beauty.

June: Arctic Wildness

We can tour the Arctic in June. Large icebergs, polar bears in freezing tundras, and the dazzling Northern Lights inspire adventure and admiration for our planet's vulnerable polar areas.

July: Tropical Paradises

The calendar takes us to tropical paradises in summer. We're drawn to tropical ecosystems' palm-fringed beaches, pristine lakes, and lush jungles.

August: Alpine and Glacial Lakes

Autumn emphasizes alpine lakes and glacier waters. Reflective surfaces reflect the surrounding peaks, giving unmatched stillness. These photos highlight the delicate balance between rocky topography and calm waterways.

September: Fall Beauty

As autumn arrives, the calendar celebrates its beauty. Colourful leaves, fresh air, and golden vistas induce reminiscence and affection for the seasons.

October: Volcanic Wonders

We saw volcanic marvels in October. From Hawaii's volcano craters to Iceland's strange landscapes, these photographs show Earth's geothermal strength and beauty.

November: City Skylines

November's page features metropolitan skylines as the year ends. These photographs demonstrate how cityscapes and nature can coexist.

December: Arctic Wonderland

The calendar ends with a magical Arctic adventure. Winter wonderlands, frozen fjords, and cold-adapted fauna make for a thrilling year-end.

In conclusion, the "Infinite Horizons" calendar offers a stunning visual tour of the planet's various and majestic landscapes. Monthly, we stop, ponder, and appreciate the beauty around us. This calendar reminds us to preserve and appreciate nature. We wish you a year of adventure, appreciation, and a stronger connection to the boundless vistas that await us.

[girlyandunruly]

2023: Most important thing is family

First year I’ve felt a shift from my “forever young” lifestyle to realizing we are getting old. Our friends no longer join every big event. Both our grandmothers passed away earlier this year. We’ve also had some health problems we’ve had to manage. There’s more time spent at home with continued house maintenance and remodeling projects (and a little of relaxation when possible). I guess since we spend more time at home, we keep improving it. But overall, I’m like “what’s going on? Are we boring? Oh, we are just getting older”, blah.

The biggest focus this year has been family. Between birthdays, funerals, national holidays, and newborn family member, we traveled 8 times in the year to spend time with family. With all the life changes, I cherish the time I spend with our family.

Workwise, this year I hired three new people for my team, and it was the first time in 5 years working at Barr Engineering that I felt the workload was finally manageable. All those years of stress finally paid off; I have a solid team, way more money (ha!) and Barr did an article about me so getting some industry recognition.

Traveling to a new place or visiting family is my favorite thing to do. Here’s this year’s list, 9 different states and 3 new countries, not one full month spent in Denver.

JANUARY:

Jackson Hole, WY snowboarding with friends (Highlight: seeing a moose on the ski run!!)

FEBRUARY:

Taos, NM snowboarding trip with friends for my 38th birthday (Highlight: live music at a bar)

MARCH:

Tucson, AZ for work NAEM conference (Highlight: cucumber vodka lemonades)

APRIL:

Houston, TX for abuelita’s celebration of life

MAY:

Birmingham, MI for Luka’s birthday

JUNE:

Vienna, Austria trip with my mom (Highlights: ALL THE ART!! Absolute best and champagne breaks)

JULY:

Collbran, CO camping for 4th of July

Lake George, NY for Betty Brown’s celebration of life

AUGUST:

Nagawicka Lake, WI for grandpa Bob’s 95th birthday

Serbia and Montenegro for our 5th year wedding anniversary (Highlights: Basketball player Boban Marjanovic being at the same restaurant and all the cats in Montenegro)

SEPTEMBER:

Houston, TX for business trip (Highlight: Got to see SanJuanita and parents for a night)

OCTOBER:

Minneapolis, MN for work training

NOVEMBER:

Birmingham, MI for sisbro’s birthday and went to see Metallica (Highlight: Detroit Institute of Art with so many dutch paintings)

Tampa, FL for Thanksgiving with the Brown family (Highlights: Salvador Dali, wild dolphins and saving Sofi)

DECEMBER:

Houston, TX for Christmas with the family (Highlight: Go Karts with the siblings!)

The times I wasn’t traveling but stayed in Denver were memorable: 1- Goat yoga 2- Getting a limo to see SOFI TUKKER at Red Rocks 3- Bridgerton themed brunch with Elizabeth 4- Indoor mini golf with friends where I won :D 5- Denver Nuggets won the NBA championship and my obsession with Jokic started 6- Seeing The Book of Mormon 7- Makeup class with Kate at Sephora, and finally learning better makeup techniques (I know what to do with primer and bronzer) 8- Obsessed with Women’s World Cup games 9- Vivas Streets where Denver closed Broadway and Welton and had it open for bikers/walkers and no cars. So much fun. 10- Free outdoor movie The Goonies at Curtis Park 11- Tried something new: Hip Hop class with Holly 12- Seeing Jerry Seinfeld 13- Discovered new favorite restaurants: Jovanina’s Broken Italian and Bao Brewhouse

Relax time at home:

Creating art of any form is my favorite pastime. And this year I’ve become obsessed with creating miniatures. A few inspired by my recent travels: Mozart's home after Austria and Porto Winery after Portugal.

Favorite books I read this year: o The Blueprint for Revolution by Srdja Popovic o All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Bigger focus on skin care. I have a routine of drinking tea collagen every morning, take vitamins and use serum. The occasional face mask.

Favorite TV shows/Movies in 2023:

Shrinking

Beef

Transatlantic

Ted Lasso

Air

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

BARBIE!!

With all the art obsession this year I came up with our Halloween costume: Vincent Van Gogh and The Starry Night

Baby news!

New nephew Noah born in February 2023 and new baby announcement from Justin and Vanessa again on the same year! (another boy!)

Owen and Pearl had their baby Soren on November 7, 2023.

My 2024 wishes are for better health and continued happiness <3

[ailtrahq]

Aptos has a bearish outlook on the higher timeframe price charts. The recent gains could easily be wiped out if it was not backed by genuine demand for APT. Aptos [APT] saw its market structure flip bearishly on the daily timeframe on 15 August. A month ago, APT was trading at $6.1, but at the time of writing it was valued at $5.3. Over the past two weeks, this trend appeared to slow down. Is your portfolio green? Check the Aptos Profit Calculator In other news, the Aptos blockchain announced a partnership with Flowercarbon to align itself with the climate change agenda. The partnership is aimed at pushing APT toward sustainable practices. Aptos threatens a structural break with gains of over 8% Source: APT/USDT on TradingView On Sunday, 24 September, APT saw a large bullish swing in the lower timeframe price charts. Within 20 hours the token noted gains of 8.3%, climbing from $5.07 to $5.49. On the daily chart, the previous lower high sat at $5.36. Hence, this surge higher was one of two possibilities- a sign of bullish intent and the beginning of a retracement of the losses of the past month, or a northward liquidity hunt before further losses in value. The RSI remained below neutral 50 to indicate a downtrend in progress. The market structure of APT on the daily chart remained bearish but will shift its bias upon a daily session close above $5.36. The OBV has noted some gains over the past week and signaled buyers entered the market with noticeable strength. A move above $5.65 and its subsequent retest could offer a counter-trend buying opportunity. The take-profit targets would be the 61.8% and 78.6% Fibonacci retracement levels at $6.82 and $7.34. The Open Interest saw a wild swing higher Source: Coinalyze As noted previously, Aptos posted large gains and nearly reached the $5.5 mark. This saw speculators go into a bullish frenzy. The Open Interest noted a spike from $65 million to $85 million. It was a huge sign that speculator sentiment was bullish- but were they right? Realistic or not, here’s APT’s market cap in BTC terms The spot CVD remained in a downtrend and did not support the idea of hefty demand. Combined with the importance of the $5.36 and $5.5 levels in the lower timeframe charts, the recent spike could have been a bull trap and we could see a drop in Aptos prices. A drop below the $5.03 mark would be indicative of a continuation of the bearish higher timeframe trend. Source

[meowmageddon]

September 2023 Reading Update!

Wild that it's already September! Feels like my reading is finally returning to normal after the busy end to last year and buying our house this year.

Following my new monthly update format plans, I'll cover what I finished reading last month, what I'm currently working through, what I plan to get to this month, and some new and upcoming releases that sound cool! So as it's a Long Post ahead, I'll give you a break here.

August Reads Mini-Reviews

Trans-Galactic Bike Ride ed. by Lydia Rogue - 3.5 stars

The stories in this anthology varied in quality a bit, and some felt a bit young for me, despite not being YA per se. Still a good time, with a few especially memorable romps. Full review here.

Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection Vol. 1 ed. by Hope Nicholson - 4.5 stars

Great all around collection! My personal favorites were "Ochek" by David Robertson & Haiwei Hou, "Coyote and the Pebbles” by Dayton Edmonds & Micah Farritor, and “Home” by Ian Ross & Lovern Kindzierski & Adam Gorham & Peter Dawes.

Babel by R.F. Kuang - 4 stars

This was very much My Shit, but also could have benefited from being a duology or even trilogy instead of one book. I loved how stuffed it was with etymology and history, though some might find that more dense a read than they'd like. The shift from the relatively slow, observational pace of the beginning to the tense action after about 300 pages can be a little jarring. And I wish we'd had more fleshing out of the other characters and their relationships, as well as time spent to take the commentary on empire and colonization back further. As my first R.F. Kuang read, it was very enjoyable, though.

More detailed review on Goodreads or The StoryGraph.

Moonshot Vol. 2 ed. by Hope Nicholson - 5 stars

It felt like the project really hit its stride here. Lots of great stories and art. My favorites of the bunch were “Worst Bargain In Town” by Darcie Little Badger & Rossi Gifford, “Water Spirits” by Richard Van Camp & Haiwei Hou, and “Journeys” by Jeffrey Veregge.

Current September Reads

Back down to the appropriate number of reads: The Library Book, The Physical TBR Book, and The Project Book.

Moonshot Vol. 3 ed. by Elizabeth LaPensée, Ph.D. & Michael Sheyahshe

As with the previous volumes, more comics, illustrated stories, and artworks by Indigenous creators. This time edited by past contributors! Over halfway through, so it won't take long to finish.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

Things have gotten intense in ways I didn't expect it to go (not a negative!). About a third of the way through, should be easy to finish this month.

Speaking Bones by Ken Liu

Had some neat revelations and some frustrating mistakes on the part of characters who should've known better so far. Only at p. 142 out of 1047. 💀

Additional September Plans

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link

This is on its way to my local library branch, so I'll be picking it up soon! It's Kelly Link's new story collection, just released this March. I look forward to more of her strange and wonderful works.

Loot by Tania James

Mentioned in my previous update, when I received it from the publisher's Goodreads giveaway. Going to start it once I finish Lone Women.

Upcoming Releases

A Crown So Cursed by L.L. McKinney (September 19th)

Third book in the Nightmare-Verse series, inspired by Alice in Wonderland stuff. I'm not always into YA fantasy, but I've been having a great time with this series!

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan (September 26th)

Adult historical fantasy set during the Inquisition, featuring Sephardic Jewish folklore. As Toba's people flee rather than forcibly convert, she's separated and ends up in a realm of powerful beings. Naftaly seeks to rescue her, encountering even more dangerous secrets along the way. Warning that it is the first in a series, and word on the street is that there's a cliffhanger ending.

So that's what's going on this month for my reading. If you read this far, know that I love you! 💕