Legacy

Mortality. I’ve been thinking about mortality a lot, lately. Two cousins, an online friend I’ve never met, my aunt, and my father—all are battling cancer, and for some of them, it’s not the first bout. They’re experiencing pain from the disease, and from the surgeries to treat the cancer. The outcomes are by no means sure. It was so difficult to see my father, always so gentle, dependable, healthy and strong, in pain in the hospital bed. He's recovered from that cancer, but another, less virulent lurks inside him, and it's being treated.

Immortality. Some of my Christian friends believe that their family members and friends who have passed away are already in heaven, basking in the light and love of Jesus. Others believe their loved ones are sleeping in the grave until the Second Coming, and their next thought and sight is of their resurrected and living Lord. Some believe that this life is all we have, and there's no other existence. Some say that the spirit never dies, but hovers around the people and places it knew in life. (I prefer the biblical explanations.)

Friends say that they feel the presence or watch-care of their departed family members, and are comforted by the peace that passes understanding. And I can understand that, having had a similar feeling—but I think it’s because my mother is present in my DNA and in the training she gave me. The legacy that she left is who I’ve become and what influence I can provide to others. Mom taught me many of the creative arts, including music, literature and writing, visual art, and graphic design. Although my children are the furry, four-footed variety, I have the privilege of teaching hundreds of students over many years, about the pursuit of excellence that I received from my mother. 

 I played the organ and piano for the memorial service to Fred Black, a member of my church. I’d met him once or twice, and seven years ago, he called me at work to tell me that his uncle wrote the hymn, “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.” He was a nice old guy, but I didn’t know him well. That’s my loss, as I discovered when his many friends and family members told anecdotes about the legacy of love, service, and excellence that Mr. Black left. But Mr. Black lives on through his descendants, the people he worked with, those he taught and fellowshipped with, and those he blessed as if he were serving Jesus Himself. Mr. Black will live again—forever. 

My uncle and aunt were a minister couple in Wisconsin (he a pastor, she a nurse), and not only did they adopt children to their family, but were involved in “green” endeavors in their community, being politically active, building homes for Habitat For Humanity, and ministering to their fellow retirees when they “snow-birded” in Arizona each winter. They died within a year of each other, with grace and dignity, surrounded by their children and many grandchildren. 

That is an amazing legacy. But a legacy doesn’t end. A legacy lives on in one form or many, for eternity. Sometimes, the legacy is property left in a will or trust, or the worn heirlooms that remind us of the hopes and dreams that have gone before us; but the legacy that’s remembered is the gift of the experience: the life well-lived, the teaching or discipline imparted, the marked-up family Bible with answers to prayer noted in the margins, the encouragement to keep on trying to your utmost in both failure and success.

Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, wrote about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, meant to build up Christian believers and multiply their numbers. Among the gifts were teaching, discernment, wisdom, healing, prophecy, languages, and others. But then Paul said we should earnestly desire the greatest gift of all: loving people the way God loves them. That is where the love of 1 Corinthians 13 comes from—it’s a gift from God. It’s not something we can “develop” or progress to. We can only receive a gift.

God has multiplied the gifts of the Spirit far beyond our wildest imaginings. Far into eternity. And we have forever to meet and greet our brothers and sisters, those who have gone before us, and those who will come after us. It will be the fulfillment of a legacy that began at the cross and continues today. 

We often think of great historical figures or biblical heroes (Abraham, Moses, Solomon, the prophets and apostles, the saints who've gone before us), when we read in Hebrews 12:1-3 :

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

What if, for future generations, we are among the great cloud of witnesses? What if we're rubbing elbows with those greats of Hebrews 11, the faith chapter? What legacy have we left behind for future generations? What sort of life are we living right now? The legacy may be invisible to us, and when we learn of it in heaven, we will be shocked at the seeming insignificance to us, and the great import to them. Something we do or something we leave behind can be an inspiration so that others will not grow weary or lose heart in their journey.

It puts mortality and immortality in a different light!

Products That Are Making Me Feel Spring-Like

Ahhhh, Spring...a time that brings us Cadbury's Creme Eggs, a chance to ditch our winter wardbrobes and a whole host of pretty new makeup collections! I love Springtime because there's loads of products around that look (and make you feel) fresh and pretty.  It's all about pastels, peaches, pinks and generally shades that are associated with springtime flowers.  I'm loving the simplicity of lilac shades or pale blues with a slick of thick black eyeliner. 

I am not a fan of the Nars Orgasm Blush but I DO love the Nars Orgasm Nail Polish!  It's a sheer peach polish with lots of gold reflects that would look great against any skintone.  It's delicate enough to just work for anyone.  I like to apply two coats to get the right amount of intensity and have found it lasts really well.  It's a very natural and pretty shade so if you are more into vamp nails then this obviously won't be your thing.

I never thought I would wear an Orange nail polish but RMK's Nail Colour in Orange really works for me and it will look perfect in the summer months too.  Its more of a pastel orange that verges on a strong peach shade and it's definitely accentuated with a tan!  Once again, you need two coats of this to get full coverage on the nail but it dries quickly so no need to worry about smudges (my personal pet peeve!).

There's something about pastel lilacs that just scream SPRING to me and this Illamasqua Nail Polish in Jo'Mina is the perfect bright pastel shade to put a smile on my face at this time of year.  This shade is just so unique and only a hardcore brand like Illamasqua could deliver it.  It looks beautiful on fingernails and toenails and I will be wearing this non-stop in the next few months.  Love it!

I am officially addicted to peachy toned blushes and they are more than perfect for Springtime because they make your face look bright, luminous and radiant.  Peachy tones go perfectly with my lightly golden skin (with the help of gradual fake tan!) and as soon as I apply it, my skin comes alive.  A great brightening peach blush is Topshop's Blush in Rosy.  I don't think the shade name is appropriate since I associate 'rosy' with more dusky pink shades.  Also I'm never keen on the sponge applicator blushes because they can be unhygenic and messy.  I often prefer to pull the sponge off and just apply the product with my usual blusher brush.  This blush is a wonderful sheer veil of colour for your cheeks with very slight shimmer (akin to Benefit Coralista).  It's a really pretty shade that would look great on fair to medium skintones but I don't think it would show up so well on darker skins.

I adore this next blush/highlighter product and it's the much talked about Estee Lauder Signature 5 Tone Shimmer Powder for eyes, cheek and face.  The peachy pink shades in the pan are just so flattering and look gorgeous on the skin, PLUS it doubles up as a fantastic highlighter too!  You can either choose which shades you want to apply or swirl your brush over the whole pan.  I find myself just sitting looking at the pan because it's so beautiful.  It has a very illuminating effect on the skin and is subtle enough to be worn in the daytime because the shimmer is so finely milled with no chunky pieces of glitter (I hate having glittery cheeks so I would never recommend anything that has that effect).  I love that this is two products in the one compact and although I thought I wouldn't deviate from Benefit Coralista for anything, this compact has tempted me away!

I never wear strong coloured lipsticks/glosses during the day because I prefer to look a bit more natural (well, as natural as you can look with a full face of makeup!ha ha).  I always gravitate towards pink and peach tones for my lips because they always compliment my skintone and hair colour.  One multi-taksing lip product I have been using and loving lately is the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Apricot Shimmer, which is a lip care product and lipgloss in one tube.   It's a tinted gel formulation that nourishes and moisturises your lips as you wear it.  I love the practical tube packaging with the mess-free sponge applicator and the way it makes my lips look nice and plump!

Pale blue eyeshadow worn in the wrong way can look cheap and tacky but if you do it right, it can look really fresh and current.  The first rule of thumb is to NEVER apply the pale blue eyeshadow above your crease.  The second tip is that when you wear pale shades on the lids, it's important to either add a contour to the crease for definition and/or use an eyeliner to add definition to your lashline.  I like wearing this RMK Crayon & Powder Eyes in Light Blue all over my lid (crayon as a base first, then powder over that).  I then add a thick line of black liquid eyeliner all along my top lashline.  I love the contrast between the pale blue and black and because the look is so simple, it's hard to get wrong.  It's important not to wear a shade on the lips that is too pale or frosty or you will run the risk of looking washed out.  I love this RMK product because it's quick and easy to use, the colour is gorgeous and the packaging is really practical.

I have heard so much controversy online and on TV over Rihanna's new raunchy video for her single 'S&M'.  I'm not entirely sure why anyone is surprised that Rihanna's went down this route because her image is, and has been for some time, very sexual!  I mean pop stars have always been controversial in this respect (hello Elvis, Madonna and Lady GaGa) and the fact that alot of people are outraged and have been talking about it just makes people want to see the video EVEN more.  So Rihanna can sit back and enjoy all the publicity!  I personally love this song but the only problem is, I find myself singing the lyrics out loud, then pray that no one has overheard me!ha ha.  I do think it's a dodgy one for Rihanna's younger fans because you certainly wouldn't want your kids watching the video! What do you think?

Also, on a MUCH more serious note, my heart goes out to all those poor people in Australia who are being affected by the floods and now a hurricane/cyclone in the next 12 hours.  They are in my thoughts and I'm praying that it passes without any fatalities.

Machine | Poetry | Collapsing Ambiguity

“A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop”

-Robert Hughes

As the etymological dictionary on your bedside table will tell you, the verb ‘to impress’ come from the Latin impressus, meaning ‘press into or upon, stamp’ and was taken into English parlance in the 14^th Century as meaning ‘to apply with pressure, making a permanent image in’. Now of course, we use it to describe things that we think are kinda cool.

So, you know how sometimes you’re just really impressed by people? Not by any one action or attribute, but by something about them fundamentally. I feel that about the poet, Ross Sutherland. In both senses.

For those of you who have not read Sutherland’s work, I strongly recommend you pick up his profound and incredibly amusing debut collection, Things To Do Before You Leave Town and let yourself be carried away by writing which is idiosyncratic and fresh in a way which (as is so rarely the case in poetry) does not leave the reader feeling shut out or like they somehow ‘don’t get it’.

Whilst I find Sutherland’s work incredibly entertaining and enjoyable on the page, I also highly recommend that you go see one of his live performances to really get the full breadth of his talents. In today’s article, I will be discussing his article which is perhaps best supplemented by this video here, if you’re the sort of person who likes having lots of windows open at the same time while you pay a modicum of attention to all and none of them.

What I want to talk about, with regards to Sutherland, is a poetic trick of his that I first read about in his essay in the anthology, Stress Fractures: Essays on Poetry. In Sutherland’s essay, ‘Every Rendition on a Broken Machine’, he extols the virtues of using online text translators as an aid in poetry’s redrafting process. To be more specific, he sees the translators as less of an aid than a “collaborator” in the process.

“I began to feed famous poems into the translator, bouncing them back and forth between the different languages, then back into English. With every translation, the program was forced to collapse the ambiguity of the original.”

The essay continues down fascinating avenues of unpacking what the machine’s ‘bias’ is in the ways that it pulls apart poetry when bouncing it across languages on a sea of zeroes and ones (on one particular machine translation ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’ becomes ‘Of Reduced Principle Scale’), Sutherland points out that ‘the most notable thing here is that the program has removed all human elements from the poem’.

When we think about this, it is quite terrifying that the ultimate way to ‘collapse ambiguity’, as Sutherland puts it, is to eradicate the human element. Which is, I suppose, why machines will never be poets (if we take the term ‘machine’ and the term ‘poet’ to mean what we currently take them for). I mean, unless you count that crazy David Link bag of weirdness.

Poets, not all of them, but almost all of them, thrive on duality of meaning and saying things which are only tenuously analogous to what they are actually attempting to communicate. This is entirely at odds with the inner working of the machine. This is part of the reason why I love Ross Sutherland’s eTranslation poetry – it entirely rests on making poets and machines behave in ways that they are not expected to.

It is not within a poet’s instinct to ‘draft’ by entering someone else’s text into a digital box. It is not in a machine’s instinct to deal with the delicate nuance of poetic diction. But here they are, with Sutherland’s method, forced to compromise for the greater good. Which is another reason why I like this; neither the poet, nor the machine can take full credit for the outcome. They are working together toward something that neither of them could have done alone, which is a very healthy collaborative balance to have when thinking of poets’ egos.

Of course, the whole thing looks too much fun not to have a go with, so I had a stab at eTranslating Robert Frost’s Stopping By Woods. Here’s what came out for the title and opening quatrain after a while…

I live in the forest as an individual

I guess I do not know the two forests,

It’s his home town,

but he’s still too good

to see the snow that covers me.

I say this now for anybody reading this who thinks that Sutherland’s machine-translations are a lazy approach to creativity… those five lines just took me forty minutes. And you can still just about recognise the original poem in them. Think how long it must have taken old Ross, translating away long into the night, bouncing the English Literary Heritage from language to language, chopping up syntax and sense along the way.

Maybe when the holidays come up, I’ll donate more time to sitting at home remoulding some literary classics with an electronic procrustean bed. It seems every bit as intellectually valid as smoking too much weed and blurting out Howl.

Phil Brown

Poetry Editor

Cold Cases of Rape Solved: Kansas City Serial Rapist 's DNA Links to Decades Past

Modus Operandi: Women from age 16 to 51 were asked for money, then assaulted by a gunman who targeted women outdoors. The man, "Devotion Baker" is already doing time (story and picture below); the Jackson County special cold case unit methodically works through "thousand of old, unsolved sex crimes year by year" according to the Kansas City Star.
 (The Unit has been very successful using new technologies to solve old cases, but their funding is now ending.  Funding story HERE)  excerpt: 
By CHRISTINE VENDEL  "Since its inception, the Kansas City police department’s cold case sex crimes squad has cleared 141 cases, identified 25 possible serial rapists and arrested at least seven of them — including the man suspected of being the Waldo rapist.But the velocity and volume of its heralded work soon could slow to a crawl. Grant funding is expiring and could run out as soon as next month, though police hope to stretch the money through April. ...fewer detectives will be sifting through the nearly 1,400 sex crime cases known to have evidence dating back to 1981."

His mother must have named him Devotion; how much hope she must have had for him!
  Sadness Alert: The stories--
Here is what the Star story tells us about his method of operating:
"In the 1987 cases:
•Two victims were attacked as they returned to their apartment buildings at 506 E. 44th and 516 E. 44th streets. The rapist pointed a gun at one victim as she retrieved her mail and grabbed the other as she fumbled for her keys in her purse.
•A 16-year-old girl was attacked after she arrived at a friend’s apartment building at 4021 Walnut St. with a sack of groceries.
Two of those victims were raped and left on the ground in alleys and one was raped and left in a wooded area.
•A college student was surprised by a stranger while in a car with her boyfriend in the parking lot at 45th and Oak streets near the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. She told police a man knocked on her window, pointed a gun at her and her boyfriend and forced her boyfriend into the trunk. The gunman then repeatedly sodomized and raped her in the vehicle and said “Have a nice day” before walking away. She freed her boyfriend from the trunk.

In the 1994 case, police said the suspect broke into a woman’s apartment. The 51-year-old victim was watching television in her living room in the 4100 block of McGee Street on Aug. 20 when a stranger appeared. She screamed, and he punched her in the mouth. He pulled her necklace tightly around her neck and asked her where her money was. He ransacked her home looking for valuables then raped her while threatening to hit her with a large stick."

I know these stories are terrible to read. But- without knowing the stories, how can everyone work to change this abomination?
Here is how the victims reacted to the news:
"The victims received news of the charges with mixed feelings, said Detective Janna Eikel.
“They were very excited we had found someone, but most of them started crying because they have to re-live everything.”
Baker denied knowing or ever seeing any of the five victims, according to court records.
(as usual)

The highlighted case above, of a college student with her boyfriend, serves to warn that just being with another person is no guarantee of safety.

While this blog has many stories of our own friends, coworkers, and students being attacked, (including by the Manhattan Serial Rapist,) it is important to read at least one major newspaper to see how common this crime is. When you read the comments from men who feel most rapes are "made up"  (HERE and HERE) you can see clearly the need for increased education.

Being raped by a stranger has a whole set of terrors and trauma; being assaulted by an acquaintance has another set, well articulated by this K-State student in court.

Take care of each other.


picture by janet




Liparazzi's Favourites: L'Oreal & A New Girl Crush

So it's time for another post to highlight which products I use the most and love from different brands.  This week the spotlight is on L'Oreal.

The L'Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer is without doubt the best primer I own because it single-handedly smoothes out my complexion, evens out my skintone, helps my foundation application and makes my makeup last longer.  Put in the simplest terms...it just makes my skin look flawless after I have applied my makeup.  I love the marshmallow, spongey consistency as it's unlike any other primer I have tried.  You only need a very small amount and it's best to apply a very thin layer, blending thoroughly.  I highly recommend this if you are looking to try an affordable and effective primer.

I always like to prime my eyelashes before applying mascara to ensure I get the thickest, fullest lashes possible.  My lash primer of choice is the L'Oreal Studio Secrets Lash Primer.  Some lash primers can actually make mascara application tricky when they dry too quickly and you end up with the dreaded spidery look.  However, this primer stays tacky long enough to pop any mascara over the top and create really fluttery, full lashes.  I only apply one layer of the primer and it's important to wiggle it into the roots of the lashes to make sure you are getting the best results.  I am rubbish at applying false lashes so I really depend on products like these to make the most of my natural lashes!

Together with Maxfactor Calorie 2000 mascara, I think L'Oreal's Voluminous Carbon Black mascara is one of the very best drugstore affordable mascaras.  It gives a whole load of volume in just two coats and when layered over the L'Oreal Lash Primer, it makes a huge difference and really opens my eyes up.  I don't apply this mascara to my bottom lashes because I find it can smudge slightly in the outer corners but it's perfect if you just like mascara on your top lashes.  This mascara never flakes on me and it creates that separated, volumised look that I love.  This is also a big favourite of Tali over at The Gloss Goss, you can read her post about it here.

I really like the L'Oreal Color Appeal Platinum and Holographic Eyeshadows because they have amazing pigmentation, they blend out beautifully, they have the prettiest sheen to them and they really last.  These two shades above (Real Silver 150 & Astral Taupe 115) are the perfect base for a smokey eye or a warm toned, summery look.  Love them!

L'Oreal Glam Shine Glosses are a fantastic example of a line of lip products which are totally accessible, affordable and with a wide range of colours to suit everyone.  I have shown my favourite shades above (the first three are Glam Shine Reflection and the last two are Glam Shine Natural Glow).  I love the shape of the applicator and the fact that there are different finishes to all the shades. 

The first three shades above are sheer and juicy looking with teeny tiny shimmer particles, whilst the Natural Glow glosses have more of a pearlised finish.  The jucier shades are PERFECT colours for summer, the peach would look amazing against a tan!

When I get dressed up and go somewhere special or on a girl's night out, I like to look really polished.  This applies to my makeup, my hair and my skin.  When it comes to the skin on their bodies, almost everyone has uneven skintone, blemishes, scars and visible veins.  I have always used fake tan to even out my skintone but I wanted the look that girl's had in photoshoots and music videos.  That means applying some kind of body foundation and/or illuminating products to make your skin look flawless all over.  I love Mac's Face and Body Foundation for use on my legs, together with Mac Strobe Cream down my thighs and shins to make them look slimmer.  BUT a great drugstore alternative to that is L'Oreal's Glam Bronze Micro-Fine Foundation Spray for legs.  I find that these sprays can cause a whole load of mess so I spray it directly into my hands and blend it in.  This product is only £9.99 for a 150ml can so it's alot more affordable than buying a Mac product on a regular basis (which is £23.50).  You can just use any highlighter down your legs to make them look slender.   This product makes you legs look absolutely flawless!

Similarly, the L'Oreal Sublime Bronze One Day Tinted Gel Bronzed Glow is a great product when you need a serious tan boost on your legs/body.  You can just quickly apply it, blend it and it just washes off at the end of the night but be careful if it's raining outside! You don't want it running down your legs...that would be a SLIGHT giveaway!ha ha.  This is my emergency product when my legs are looking sad and pasty.

So those are my favourite L'Oreal products! I would love to know if you have any recommendations for this brand?

I officially have a new girl crush in the form of Emily DiDonato, a 20 year old American model who has featured in campaigns for Maybelline, Vistoria's Secret, Guess, Ralph Lauren and in 2010 she became the face of Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gioia perfume.

She is of Irish and Italian ancestry which lend her an exotic look!  Her electric blue eyes are just incredible and look amazing against her brunette locks and olive skin.

I absolutely LOVE this makeup....

I was listening to this song last night when I was in a really chilled out mood.  It's one of those tunes that is PERFECT for when you are in the bath or on a sunday afternoon while you're milling around the house doing nothing much.  It's by a singer called Rumer and the song is called 'Slow'.  I love how she sounds like Karen Carpenter and Dusty Springfield.

Wider Reading | Speak2Tweet: Google Supports Free Speech In Egypt, In A Cheeky Carefree Rapscallionish Sort Of Way

Geoffrey Rush, as promised. AKA the coolest thing in Elizabeth.

A few press statements concerning machines. The first is from Vodaphone, when the Egyptian government shut down mobile phone communications. It's a sort of on-the-fence shrug; the final clause indicating, very, very delicately that maybe Vodaphone would prefer this sort of thing not to happen, but that it's not really their business to interfere, and that, practically speaking, there's nothing that can be done. Not that I'm comparing it to the US reaction or our reaction here in the UK or anything. Less still the Foreign Office's 'wait-and-see' policy in Yes, Prime Minister to say that they can't do anything until it's too late to do anything, then admit that something could have been done but that it can't now, in fact, be done. Anyway, the quote.



"Under Egyptian legislation, the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it."


Their second statement, made when service was resumed, is almost masterful in its wording; the implication being that Vodaphone were right to close down their mobile networks in Egypt, because had they resisted, the government would have closed them down manually and prevented them from bringing back the power of communication to the people for quite some time. So, if you think about it, they were the good guys, applying softer pressure from within the system rather than standing against it. Oh, Vodaphone, you brave little Schindlers!


"We would like to make it clear that the authorities in Egypt have the technical capability to close our network, and if they had done so it would have taken much longer to restore services to our customers."


The third statement came on Monday night from Google, announcing a new method of communication. In essence, it's that bit in A Knight's Tale where Heath Ledger's having veg pelted at him in the stocks. Then James Purefoy turns up as the Black Prince and announces dramatically that Heath Ledger's actually a knight and must be set free and given a chance to joust the baddie a second time and a happy ending and everything, after which he gives Heath Ledger a cheeky grin and a wink and starts very obviously rooting for him in the joust. You have absolutely no idea why this immensely powerful figure turns up and comes through for the underdog hero. It could be an ethical thing; or it could be just that he doesn't give a shit about offending anyone and he's too much of a softie not to root for the little guy, regardless of the knock-on effects of introducing social mobility very suddenly into the feudal system.


Observe the cheeky grin and the wink that accompanies this statement of obvious neutrality and business-like detachment. God, it might as well be whistling nonchalantly.


"Like many people we’ve been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground. Over the weekend we came up with the idea of a speak-to-tweet service—the ability for anyone to tweet using just a voice connection.

We worked with a small team of engineers from Twitter, Google and SayNow, a company we acquired last week, to make this idea a reality. It’s already live and anyone can tweet by simply leaving a voicemail on one of these international phone numbers (+16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855) and the service will instantly tweet the message using the hashtag #egypt. No Internet connection is required. People can listen to the messages by dialing the same phone numbers or going to twitter.com/speak2tweet.

 

We hope that this will go some way to helping people in Egypt stay connected at this very difficult time. Our thoughts are with everyone there."

 

What the...Google, you've absolutely no right to go around idealistically sticking up for freedom of speech with a cheery disregard for the practical consequences. Less still to mimic the carefree jargon of a group-buying site ("Glued to the news", indeed!) while pretending your action has no political implications whatsoever. You're meant to be the oppressive internet baddie who swallows competitors whole, advertises sexy adult webcam pop-ups and spends your weekends torturing Bing with electrodes in a basement. And Twitter, Google, and SayNow working together? Like the Justice League?

Actually, scratch that previous thought about James Purefoy. This absurd situation is more like the bit in a movie or TV series where the old baddie has been supplanted by a new, more ruthless, more powerful baddie. And there's 40 minutes until the end and the goodies are arguing about how their situation's hopeless. And they hear from off-screen something like, "Hopeless, eh? Perhaps I can help." And they turn around and there's the old baddie, grinning at them in the doorway. So, after some token scenes where they shout at each other about how they can't trust him, they all team up and save the day together. Huzzah!

 

Yes, you heard me right. Google is Captain Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Blizzard of 2011: Feeding the Blue Birds is Happiness

Kansas State University Closes! for like, the third time in 2000 years. A massive storm is coming, affecting millions of Americans, as they like to keep saying on the telly... The birds are eating with determination. This morning, suddenly, all the woodpeckers were here. Many species came all at once, ate voraciously, then left together. Must be a before the storm tour...
I took hundreds of pics and videos in the past 48 hours. --will post more later in the week. For now, here is a beeeootiful Bluebird. It makes one happy to see them. Four come together to the watering hole here.

Bluebirds in Kansas

crows from the window

Click on pic to enlarge.