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dansnaturepictures · 1 year

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06/01/2023-WWT Slimbridge: Part 2 of 2-Other birds seen today and the plants, fungi and landscape Following on my previous post, it was also great to see charming Pintails intimately male and female seeing the unique and attractive make up of their feathers. This a low key bird of the week contender with great views of them at a few places. Shelduck and Pochard male and female which I adore and Wigeon and Shoveler were great ducks to see today too. I also enjoyed a Mandarin Duck seen at the feeding at dusk which I’d not seen at Slimbridge before and was nice to. Many of these species, the Bewick’s Swans and rows of Greylag Geese were amazing to see in the noisy frenzy as they fed, seeing Mallards and others pile onto each other and many scuffles was so engrossing. Powerful moments of natural connection.

As I touched upon in my last post with Golden Plovers the Lapwings gliding on mass through the sky like northern lights at various points was a spectacle of the day I took the fourth picture in this photoset of some, and I enjoyed large numbers of uniformly beautiful Barnacle Geese. Grey Heron and Cormorant were other highlights today. It was good to see the first Kestrel I ever recall doing so here hovering above marsh too. Jackdaw and Rook were key sightings throughout the day as they always are here, the Jackdaws especially atmospheric as large numbers flew and gathered to roost at dusk. With their iridescent purple feathers glowing in the sunlight we enjoyed today Feral Pigeons were a highlight too. I took the seventh picture in this photoset of a Moorhen near where we saw the Water Rails.

In terns of the collections of birds and mammals here I enjoyed seeing captive Scaup with its head feathers glowing well in the light a key bird today on both the captive and wild side I took the second picture in this photoset of it, Goldeneye, Chiloe Wigeon, one called something like an American Red-Crested Duck I can’t recall exactly from the sign and can’t seem to find it on the web and Red Shoveler neither of which I had seen here/other WWT centres before so this was nice they are both beautiful, the fabulous Black-necked Swans, of course the iconic Nene aka Hawaiian Goose which Sir Peter Scott and the WWT have worked so hard to conserve looking stunning in sunlight in the enclosure resembling Hawaii, flamingos and brilliant views of Harvest Mouse as we have seen here before in an enclosure and a Water Vole.

Plant wise I enjoyed a hopeful for the eventual arrival of spring sight we have seen here quite a bit by a hide where we enjoyed other flowers too adorable snowdrops coming through which the first picture in this photoset shows. I took the sixth picture in this photoset of some pink flowers nearby. Also of note was more groundsel I’ve seen so much lately, teasel seed heads and possibly gone over dock. Some candlesnuff fungi I believe on a log was a treat and I took the tenth picture in this photoset of it a fungi I first discovered late last year in the New Forest.

Finally, on a day that had sun and rain it was wonderful to take in stunning views into the estuary and beyond in the great hilly landscape, reedbed, marshland and a great mixture of trees with really red barked ones, pine and willow mixed well in scenes. There were unique and enticing sky scenes of nice cloud formations throughout and epic scenes of lowering sun against the observatory tower as the fifth picture in this photoset shows, over/behind reedbeds and through trees with nice reflections today too. I took the third, eighth and ninth pictures in this photoset of views here today. An incredible day that we’ll be talking about for years to come. Once again it was a perfect thing to do for my birthday and even though it is tomorrow it was nice of the lady on the desk to give me a WWT happy birthday sticker.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Bewick’s Swan, Golden Plover, Snipe, Common Crane, Black-tailed Godwit, Knot, Ruff, Reed Bunting, Water Rail, Scaup and Greenfinch of the year, Pochard, Shelduck, a Cape Shelduck cross with something possibly Ruddy Shelduck which was interesting to see, Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pintail, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, Bar-headed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Redshank, Lapwing, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Moorhen, Coot, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Kestrel, Rook, Jackdaw, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon and a thrush flying over early on probably Redwing.

Part 1 of today’s posts about those bird species I saw for the first time this year is here: https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/705738842177667072/06012023-wwt-slimbridge-part-1-of-2-birds-i-saw

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rosesandleashes · 4 years

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Is it bad that the only thing going through my mind right now is thinking how cute it would be for Rook to just spill his feelings all over in a confession note and send a messenger to give the note? Also he doesn't sign it with his name, he gives a free heart-tipped arrow with it

Please help me this man has made me whipped and I'm crying

#twisted wonderland #pomefiore #rook hunt #lurkingleash #god please help me #this is the third post in a row about rook #he made me so whipped #and Pomefiore's episode aint even out yet #nor his SSR #and nor do i have either of his SRs #but set him as my homescreen boi for a day #and then suddenly im head over heels #im sorry all of this Rook posts must be getting annoying

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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New British Comedy TV Series for 2021: BBC, Channel 4, Sky, Netflix, ITV

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An inter-generational zombie horror-comedy, an Alan Partridge-presented travelogue, Rowan Atkinson fighting a bee… 2021 British TV comedy is a broad church, and that’s before we’ve come to all the stand-ups slicing up their Edinburgh shows into streaming half-hours and Daisy May Cooper playing a 17th century witch. Here’s the info about those new shows and more.

This list will be kept updated through the year as new commissions, casting and release dates arrive. Here’s a look back at the new British comedies that arrived in 2020, here are the new British dramas on their way this year, and here are 2021’s best returning British TV series.

And Did Those Feet

In addition to a second series for The One Show-spoofing This Time With Alan Partridge, the son of Norwich is back to poke fun at the history TV genre. With a working title of And Did Those Feet, Steve Coogan’s character will present what Chortle describes as “a Simon Schama-style historical documentary of Britain” for the BBC, directed and co-written by frequent Steve Coogan/Partridge collaborators, Rob and Neil Gibbons.

Baby Reindeer

Here’s a promising commission: stand-up-actor-screenwriter Richard Gadd, winner of the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Award, is bringing his one-man show Baby Reindeer to Netflix. It won’t be a stand-up special, but a comedy-drama adapted into eight half-hour episodes about the true and revealing story of Gadd’s experiences with his stalker.

Big Boys

Comedian Jack Rooke (above, left) has adapted material from his stand-up shows into six half-hour TV episodes for Channel 4. Big Boys is a university-set comedy about a friendship between shy, closeted student Jack and his boisterous mate Danny. Derry Girls’ Dylan Llewellyn stars alongside Plebs and Pls Like’s Jonathan Pointing.

Bloods

Famalam, Sliced and Truth Seekers’ Samson Kayo has created paramedic comedy Bloods for Sky One. In it, he stars alongside Jane Horrocks as a pair of paramedics working for a south London emergency service. Motherland’s Lucy Punch, Ghosts’ Kiell Smith-Bynoe and The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt co-star.

Buffering

Comedian and TV presenter Iain Stirling, best known as the voice of ITV’s Love Island and for his presenting work alongside CBBC’s Hacker the Dog as well as his appearance on Taskmaster series eight, has co-written a sitcom for ITV2. Buffering is a six-episode coming-of-age comedy starring Stirling, written in collaboration with Steve Bugeja.

Chivalry

A six-episode comedy series promising to “skewer and satirise the complex state of contemporary sexual politics” is on its way to Channel 4. Written by and starring Him & Her and Ridley Road’s Sarah Solemani, Chivalry asks if romance can survive in the post #MeToo era (answer: yeah, of course. Predatory, entitled sleazebaggery has never been romantic). Steve Coogan stars as a successful film producer and womaniser, with Solemani as a writer-director seeking funding for her next feminist project. The two are thrown together and thrash out two different perspectives on gender, sex and romance.

Finding Alice

Keeley Hawes stars in this six-part ITV comedy about a recently widowed woman (Hawes) who’s forced to wade through a mountain of debt and secrets left behind by her husband. Among the cast are Joanna Lumley, Nigel Havers, and Sharon Rooney. It starts on ITV1 on Sunday the 17th of January at 9pm.

Generation Z

Cult British filmmaker and sometime Doctor Who director Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, High Rise, Kill List) is writing and directing a six-part satirical comedy about the generation gap for Channel 4. Using the supernatural premise of a retirement community becoming infected with a toxic substance that turns them all into flesh-eating zombies, Generation Z will see yoots vs boomers over six hour-long episodes.

Lethal

Diane Morgan, star of Mandy, Motherland and Philomena Cunk, has co-written new half-hour comedy pilot Lethal for BBC Two. It’s about a Bolton woman so obsessed with emigrating to the United States that she plans to marry a prisoner on death row to get her Green Card. The pilot was created with comedy producer and co-creator of Holly Walsh secret family comedy The Other One Pippa Brown.

Man vs Bee

Johnny English’s Rowan Atkinson and Will Davies have collaborated on a new comedy series for Netflix. Told over 10 x 10-minute episodes, Man vs Bee is… exactly what it sounds like: the story of a man who does battle with a bee, and causes untold damage to a luxury mansion in the process.

Murder, They Hope

Following on from Death on the Tyne and Dial M for Middlesburgh, Gold’s Jason Cook-written Agatha Christie spoofs starring Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson will be back for a third instalment. Murder, They Hope sees Gemma and Terry chuck in the coach tour business and become private investigators.

New British TV Series for 2021: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Dramas and More

By Louisa Mellor

Best Returning British TV Series 2021: the Most Anticipated Series Coming Back This Year

By Louisa Mellor

The Baby

Comedy producer-writers Lucy Gaymer and Sian Robins-Grace (Sex Education, pictured) have created an eight-part darkly comic horror series for Sky about a 38-year-old woman unexpectedly landed with a baby that changes everything. “Controlling, manipulative and with violent powers, the baby twists Natasha’s life into a horror show. Where does it come from? What does it want? And what lengths will Natasha have to go to in order to get her life back?” This one’s likely to arrive in 2022, but we’re banging the drum early.

The Cleaner

This six-part BBC comedy is adapted from a German comedy original about a man who works as a crime scene cleaner. Man Down and Taskmaster’s Greg Davies stars in the title role as Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead, the cleaner responsible for removing traces of murder from a scene, who meets and gossips with some interesting people on the job.

The Offenders

Stephen Merchant (The Office, Extras) has created new BBC comedy The Offenders about a group of strangers flung together as part of a community payback scheme. Think Misfits without the superpowers? The cast welcomes Christopher Walken to British TV comedy, alongside Merchant, Rhiane Barreto, Gamba Cole, Darren Boyd, Clare Perkins and Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson.

The Red Zone

BBC One’s football comedy The First Team may not have set the world alight, but Netflix is trying a different tack with The Red Zone. Created by sports writers Barney Ronay and Jonathan Liew, it’s described as “a comedy about football, but also not about football,” so that clears that up. Casting is tba.

The Witchfinder

On its way to BBC Two from the writer-directors of the excellent This Time With Alan Partridge is historical comedy The Witchfinder. Set in 1647, it’s the story of a failing witchfinder played by Tim Key (stand-up, poet, actor, Side Kick Simon from loads of Alan Partridge shows and most importantly, Taskmaster task consultant), on a horseback road-trip through East Anglia with his latest captee, played by Daisy May Cooper (writer-creator of This Country, the brilliant Kerry Mucklowe on screen and people’s champion of Taskmaster series 10). Six half-hour episodes will air on BBC Two.

This is Going to Hurt

Everybody should read Adam Kay’s excruciating but brilliant and moving memoir of his time as a junior doctor, then they should immediately buy a copy for a friend. If the BBC Two adaptation, written by Kay (he left medicine for comedy writing years ago), is even half as good as the book, it will be a must-see. Ben Whishaw stars.

Toast in America

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Thespian, egotist and voiceover artiste Steven Toast is returning to the screen. Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) and Arthur Mathews’ Toast in London ran for three series on Channel 4 between 2012 and 2015, following the embittered actor’s career ups and downs, with a host of outrageously unexpected guest stars. Now a spin-off is on its way to a new home on the BBC, tracking Toast’s attempts to break America.

The post New British Comedy TV Series for 2021: BBC, Channel 4, Sky, Netflix, ITV appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3sfYzQr

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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kiradurbin · 4 years

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Super Short Reviews Summer / Fall TV 2019 part one:

Pennywoth (Epix) – Paloma Faith , snippy dialogue, alt DC Universe London post WWII. Alfred before he was Batman’s Alfred. Big thumbs up from me but will definitely connect more with BBC fans than superhero fans.

Alta Mar (Netflix) – Spain. Gorgeous period drama / murder mystery. Beautiful sets, shots, costumes, lighting. Upstairs Downstairs meets Agatha Christie on a cruise ship on the high seas.

Sherman’s Showcase (IFC) – Super duper silly fun. Same guy that did South Side on Comedy Central (Bashir Salahuddin.) Fake documentary of a fake variety show, poking fun and celebrating pop culture / history and shows like Soul Train. Great guest stars.

Bulletproof (CW) – 2 Street cops “fight crime” in London’s east end. Originally aired in UK 2018. No clue why the CW thought this was a good fit for their brand as a summer show.

I Ship It (CW Seed / CW) – Originally aired on the CW Seed whatever that is? If you blinked you missed it. Weird mash up of comedy, musical comedy, fan fiction, and sort of making fun of the shows that are really on the CW. I like anything that makes fun of Hollywood, so I liked this.

Two Sentence Horror Stories (CW) – Again, if you blinked you missed it. Except in this case you didn’t miss anything.

The Terror Infamy (AMC) – You don’t even need evil spirits when the story involves executive order 9066 … but then again im not sure if these spirits are evil or if they’re just … NO SPOILERS!! Watch it watch it watch it.

David Makes Man (OWN) – Tough to watch due to raw honesty. How do we break the cycle of poverty? Akili McDowell is wonderful in his portrayal of David. OWN is finally becoming a real network.

Carnival Row (Amazon) – If Ripper Street had fairies (and other magical beings) – binged it in 3 nights. Nice metaphors for real life topics if you look for them... or don’t and just enjoy a good British alt period drama.

AHS: 1984 (FX) – I didn’t live in LA in 1984 but I bet it was exactly like this... well minus the serial killers (yes there’s more than one.) Like most seasons of AHS I have a blast with the first few episodes – this time it’s 80s references and creepy campground – but after the third week it just seems like a really long drawn out kaleidoscope of horror movies i’ve already seen.

All Rise (CBS) – America loves an underdog, so settle in to the couch for this comfy Monday night broadcast, and join the fabulous Simone Missick as she navigates her first year of being a judge. And Im sure this is exactly what being a judge in LA is like, right?

Emergence (ABC) – Unlike other supernatural tinged shows, when you sit around trying to figure out the WHAT – and how long thats going to take – this show solves the mystery by episode four, so now you have to decide if you care enough about the WHY. Either way, Allison Tolman is the bomb so I hope the writers have a few more tricks up their sleeves.

Prodigal Son (Fox) – The lead dude (Tom Payne) is appropriately super weird, and Michael Sheen as his father is appropriately gleeful in his manipulation / murder revelry, and Lou Diamond Philips is appropriately level headed (and handsome) as the coach of this oddball NY police team. Im not sure how this will be able to develop too much more, but its the network hit of the Fall.

Sunnyside (NBC) – Already cancelled! Kal Penn is the perfect guy to make a comedy about American politics / history but something about this show didn’t gel. And it wasn’t the characters cuz the actors were great – especially Diana Maria Riva.

NOT REVIEWED:

Designated Survivor: 60 Days (Netflix)

The Rook (Starz)

Bankok Love Stories (Netflix)

Muder in the Bayou (Showtime)

Room 104 (HBO)

First Wives Club (BET +)

Bigger (BET +)

Godfather of Harlem (Epix)

Back to Life (Showtime)

Veronica Mars (Hulu) – This is not a new show.

Press (PBS) – UK. I wandered out of the room and forgot it was on – thats how much I was interested.

#alfred pennyworth #jack bannon #the terror infamy #akili mcdowell #ripper street #carnival row #simonemissick #allison tolman #michael sheen #lou diamond phillips #emergence #prodigal son

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owlways-and-forever · 5 years

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Summary: The Marauders are getting older, and that means so many things. Mischief, heartbreak, and trying to figure out who they really are. They'll face problems within their group, prove their loyalty to each other, and discover the ugliness that is brewing in the wizarding world at large. Welcome to Years 2-4 of the Marauders time at Hogwarts. **This piece is a sequel to Behind the Mango Tree, however, you do not have to have read the first installment to pick this up. It does stand alone, but there is some carry over from the last book, especially with inter-character relationships. Basically, you don't have to have read BtMT, but it certainly helps. Word Count: 2376 Links: FFnet | ao3

A/N: Okay, here we go! Welcome to Part II of the Better Together universe! This installment of the story will cover years 2-4, so there'll be a lot going on, and we'll be moving through each year pretty quickly. I've written several chapters of this story already, but not necessarily the first several, so I'm going to try my best to stick to a weekly posting. If all goes according to plan, you can expect a new chapter every Wednesday, and I'll try my best to let you know if I'm going to be late. Beyond that, I don't have much in the way of notes for this chapter - we're picking up largely where we left off. Remus' younger sister died, there was a funeral over the summer, and now the Marauders are returning to Hogwarts for their second year.

Chapter 1: Common Knowledge

“So the one who brought all the chocolate, that was your Uncle Benjy?” Sirius asked, idly moving his rook across the chessboard.

Peter had brought a muggle chess set with him for the train ride, thinking that the others might enjoy it. As the only one of the four boys to have a muggle childhood, Peter often delighted in exposing his friends to various muggle innovations. He’d brought chess, Monopoly, Sorry! and Battleship with him to entertain them on the long train ride. Naturally, they’d begun round robin chess and Battleship tournaments almost as soon as the train left Kings Cross.

“Cecil,” Remus answered, shaking his head lightly, his eyes focused on the board, trying to decide how best to counter Sirius’ move.

“Right,” Sirius said, looking disappointed with himself. “And he’s your father’s brother.”

Again, Remus shook his head, “Mum’s.”

“Bloody hell,” Sirius swore, fisting a hand in his curls.

Remus tore his eyes away from their game and fixed Sirius with a look.

“Sirius, it doesn’t matter,” he said, trying to calm his friend down, but it was no use. Sirius looked furious with himself, but Remus couldn’t understand why remembering the names of his family members was so important.

“IT DOES MATTER!” Sirius exploded, slamming his fist against the compartment door, and it shook noisily.

All three boys looked at him with alarm. They had become acquainted with Sirius’ temper in their first year, and knew well enough that it was best to avoid angering him, but they had never seen him like this. His hands fisted in his messy black curls, ready to tear them out.

“Sirius, it’s all right, just calm down,” James said, trying to pacify his friend.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Remus suggested, flashing his friends a meaningful look. He sensed that Sirius needed some breathing room – he was never any good at processing emotions in front of other people.

“No, I don’t –“ Sirius seethed.

“Too bad, I’m hungry, so let’s find the food trolley,” Remus cut him off, pulling him to his feet and pushing Sirius out the door of the compartment.

Sirius started moving quickly, walking like he was late for something. His agitation was evident in his movements, and Remus tried to keep up while keeping enough distance. When they were a decent distance from their compartment, in a car that was mostly occupied by older students from different houses, Remus finally spoke.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on?” he asked, grabbing Sirius’ wrist.

“I’m a bloody idiot, that’s what,” Sirius grumbled in reply, his hands curling into fists at his side.

“No, you’re not,” Remus answered automatically. “Why are you trying so hard to memorize my entire family tree?”

“I don’t know, I just...” Sirius couldn’t seem to find the words, and he looked at Remus, willing the other boy to understand without them, but Remus just waited patiently. “You matter to me, and your family matters to you, so...”

Sirius shrugged, and Remus nodded, smiling. Remus had sometimes wondered if Sirius’ offhanded remark about the inferiority of magical creatures last spring hadn’t affected their friendship more than either of them realized. Sirius seemed to have learned from the mistake, and Remus had genuinely forgiven him, but still... sometimes it niggled at his mind. Forgiven or not, neither of them could ever quite forget that it had happened. And there were moments, every now and then, where Sirius seemed to be extra... well, sweet, to Remus, and he had sometimes considered that it might be his way of trying to make up for what had happened. Remus wondered if that’s what this was, Sirius’ demonstration that Remus’ family, his values were important.

“Thank you,” Remus offered, and Sirius seemed to relax a bit at the words. “But you don’t have to memorize everyone in my family to show me that you care. Just being a friend to me is enough right now.”

“You miss her a lot, don’t you?” Sirius asked quietly.

“All the time,” Remus answered sadly. “But it’ll be easier at Hogwarts, I’ll be busy and it won’t feel quite as strange that she isn’t there.”

Sirius nodded, not sure what else he could say. He’d never met Remus’ sister, but he knew that they had been close, and he couldn’t imagine how painful it would be to lose Regulus, as it was, let alone if he and Regulus had grown up as close as Remus and Zeva had.

“For the record,” Remus said, interrupting Sirius’ thoughts and placing his hand on Sirius’ shoulder. “Asking about her, that’s how I know that you care about me.”

Sirius smiled, and the two of them hugged briefly, before setting off for their compartment again. Peter and James had taken over the chessboard, and Peter was soundly thumping James, who was down to two pawns, a rook, a knight, and his royalty.

The rest of the train ride passed less eventfully. Sorry! had gotten perhaps too competitive, and they had all needed some time to cool off after finishing it. Peter narrowly beat Remus in the chess tournament and James won battleship handily. When the food trolley finally made its way to them, they had gorged themselves on food, until they felt like they would never eat again.

As the sun dipped low over the horizon, Peter, Sirius, and James all dozed off, while Remus pulled out a book and began to read. The final hour to Hogsmeade passed, and Remus shook his friends awake as they pulled into the station.

As the four boys disembarked at Hogsmeade Station, they looked around wondering what they were supposed to do this year. Last year the first years had been called to cross the Black Lake by boat, but they had no idea how the second years had been transported.

“Marlene!” Sirius called, running after the third year girl.

“Hey, what’s up?” she answered, slowing her steps to allow the younger boys to catch up to her. She had grown over the summer, her skinny legs much longer than Sirius’.

“Good summer?” Sirius asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer. “Clearly we don’t take the boats this year, so how do we get to the school?”

“I hope we don’t have to walk,” Peter groaned, rubbing his face tiredly.

“Don’t worry, Pettigrew, you don’t have to walk far,” Marlene laughed. “There’s some carriages that will take us up.”

“Excellent,” Peter sighed.

They followed Marlene up the path to the large wrought iron gates at the edge of Hogwarts’ grounds. Students poured into carriages, six apiece, all lined up, waiting to be occupied. As soon as the doors closed, the carriage would set off, pulled by nothing but a pair of harnesses hanging in midair. The four boys clamored into a carriage with Marlene and Emmeline Vance.

Peter alone seemed content with their company, smiling awkwardly at the older girls. Sirius was looking around, trying to see if he could watch Regulus following Hagrid into the distance. Remus was searching for Georgiana, no doubt, eager to see his best friend outside of their little circle. James was staring into the distance, lost in thought as he watched Lily Evans’ braid disappear into another carriage with Severus Snape. He never could believe that she would be friends with him, the utter dirtbag that he was.

Their carriage set off with a jolt, carrying them up the pathway to the towering castle looming above them. The scenery whisked by them, trees and the lake and the quidditch pitch. Before long, they were pulling up to the carved oak doors of the Great Entrance and climbing out of the carriage. Without ceremony, the students – all but the first years – proceeded through the doors and the Entrance Hall, and into the Great Hall, taking their seats at their house tables.

There was chatter filling the Hall as students caught up with their friends that they hadn’t seen since the end of last term. Even Peter and Remus seemed more talkative than usual as they passed by other Gryffindors. Those who hadn’t been at the funeral offered Remus their condolences, no matter how well they knew him. Sirius rolled his eyes at the insincerity of it all, unable to understand why people would go out of their way to offer sympathy they didn’t really feel to someone they couldn’t care less about.

He flopped into a seat and craned his neck to look toward the doorway, waiting to see when the first years would be brought in to be Sorted and join their new houses. Eventually, Professor McGonagall led the first years through the doors and between the rows of tables, bringing them to a stop in front of the long, high table of professors. She made her speech about how the Sorting would proceed, and then prepared to begin.

Sirius sat at the Gryffindor table, fidgeting as he watched the first years get sorted into their houses. It was a new experience for all of them, sitting on the benches and waiting to find out who would join their ranks, instead standing in terror waiting to find out what test they would be subjected to in order to find out where they fit. Up and down the tables, the second years stuck out like a sore thumb. They were the students sitting with a mix of relief at knowing their place and discomfort at not knowing what to do with themselves Those with younger siblings being sorted – Sirius, Calliope Kendrick, even Caspian Calanon – looked the most nervous.

The Sorting started, and Lloyd Aubrey – Bertram’s younger brother – went to Hufflepuff, followed by a muggle-born named Simon Beringer.

Sirius never wanted Regulus to face the kind of anger from his parents that he’d been subject to. He knew that if Reg were sorted into any house but Slytherin, his parents would be furious. Maybe not as furious as they had been with him, they would find a way to salvage it for darling Regulus, but they’d still be angry. And yet, Sirius felt that being out of Slytherin was Reg’s only chance to get away from their parents’ toxic ideology. He knew that not all Slytherins were bad people, that they didn’t all believe in blood purity and wizarding superiority. Artemis Arandur was lovely, Anselmo Durion was nice enough, and Sirius thought Dagdan Rowle might be on the right side of things, though he was so quiet it was hard to tell. But Sirius knew Reg wouldn’t fall in with those people, the good ones. Reg was quiet, shy, he would gravitate towards the people they already knew from their parents’ parties and they playdates they had been forced into as children. That meant the Warwick twins, Crabbe, Yaxley, and Heino Selwyn. All the people Sirius worked hard to avoid, or better yet, piss off.

Sirius watched as Regulus walked up to the dais, a nervous expression on his face. Even from far away, Sirius could see his brother’s eyes darting from professor to professor, looking for some reassurance that he had nothing to worry about. He took a deep breath as he sat on the stool in front of everyone, his eyes closed as he waited for the Sorting Hat to be placed on his head. It dropped down around his ears, hiding his eyes from the view, and the entire Hall collectively held its breath.

The minutes seemed to drag on, and Sirius felt like his heart was stopped as he waited for a decision. At last, the hat began to stir, opening its mouth, and Sirius raised himself off the bench slightly.

“Slytherin!” it shouted, and Sirius immediately felt himself deflate.

Regulus looked over his shoulder as Sirius as he walked over to the Slytherin table, amid cheers from the pureblood families they had long associated with. He shrugged, and from the look in his eyes, Sirius knew that Regulus was not surprised by his sorting at all, but he thought it might not have been the result he was hoping for.

With a sigh, Sirius sank back into his seat, pouring himself a goblet of pumpkin juice. He paid little attention to the rest of the Sorting Ceremony, barely noticing the new Gryffindors that joined their ranks. A little girl with an innocent looking face and a broad smile sat down next to Lily, and he thought he heard her call the girl Mary. Caspian’s sister, Saxa, ended up in Gryffindor as well, naturally gravitating toward her brother. Two unremarkable boys sat down the able from them, and one who looked like he might be useful at Quidditch once he grew a bit.

James, Remus and Peter were happily chatting about the new year, wondering what the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be like, wondering which first years would be the most fun to prank. Sirius couldn’t join their conversation, he couldn’t think about anything. The only thing that kept running through his mind was that he had just lost his brother, probably for good.

#gen writes #hp ff #hp fic #Sirius Black #Remus Lupin #marauders #marauders fic #marauders ff #James Potter #peter pettigrew #QiMH #Better Together

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txhatch · 3 years

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Good Will Hunting - Fantasy Football Soof

Scene V – By the lake – Sean and Lee sit quietly

Lee: (rambling as Sean sits next to him not speaking) What’s this? A taster’s choice moment between guys?

This is really nice…

You got a thing for ducks? Is this like a fetish? You know, maybe something we need to devote some time to?

Sean: (finally speaking) Thought about what you said to me the other day. About my rankings…

Lee: uh huh…

Sean: Stayed up half the night thinking about it.

Something occurred to me…then I fell into a deep peaceful sleep and I haven’t thought about you since.

You know what occurred to me?

Lee: No.

Sean: You’re just a rook and you don’t have the faintest idea of what you’re talking about.

Lee: (condescendingly) Why thank you

Sean: That’s alright. You’ve never been off of cable. No redzone. No live look in.

Lee: Nope.

Sean: So if I asked you about players, you’d probably give me the skinny on every Howie Long or Curt Menefee player rant.

Aaron Rodgers. Bet you know a lot about him. Career stats. 4th quarter comebacks. Him and McCarthy…Olivia Munn…the whole thing right? But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in Lambeau Field. You’ve never actually stood there and looked down at that frozen tundra. Felt that.

If I asked you about defenses…you’d probably give me a syllabus of your personal favorites. You may have even had a punt return a few times…But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up, check your scores, and feel truly happy.

You’re a smart guy.

I ask you about TEs, you probably throw Rotoworld at me right? “High upside, boom or bust” – exhale laugh – but you’ve never feared one. You’ve never held your breath as Jordan Reed gets evaluated for another concussion for the third year in a row.

I ask you about WRs, probably quote me fantasy pros. But you’ve never looked at Antonio Brown and been totally vulnerable. Knowing someone that could carry your team alone. Feeling like God put an angel on earth, just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of the waiver wire. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be his keeper. To have that love for him, be there forever. Through anything. Through Landry Jones. And you wouldn’t know about sitting up in a hotel on a West Coast business trip, waiting to plug him into the lineup, because your league members could see in your group chat that the term Pacific Standard Time, wasn’t going to let you lose.

You don’t know about real loss. Because that only occurs when you take a risk greater than a normal ADP. And I doubt you ever dared to take any flyer that deep.

I look at you, I don’t see an intelligent, confident player. I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you’ve got game Lee, no one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a mock draft of mine and you ripped my fucking life apart.

You’re a homer right? Like to take the guys from your own college.

(Lee nods softly)

You think I know the first thing about how hard you study, how much passion you have, or who you are because I saw the College Football Playoff? Does that encapsulate you?

Personally? I don’t give a shit about all that, because you know what…I can’t learn anything from you, I can’t read on some fucking reddit post. Unless you wanna talk about you…who you are…and I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t wanna do that do you sport? You’re terrified of how many games you might lose.

Your move chief.

< Cut Scene >

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automaticpostinfluencer · 4 years

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‘What even is that pitch?’ An oral history of Kerry Wood’s 20-K day – Chicago Cubs Blog

Editor’s note: This story originally ran on May 6, 2018 for the 20th anniversary of Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game

It was an otherwise nondescript day. In fact, it was a forgettable one. Overcast and rainy, the Cubs were hosting the Houston Astros in an early May matinee. School was still in session, so just 15,758 fans were in attendance. How many stayed to see history is unknown, as the rain picked up throughout the day.

That didn’t stop 20-year-old Kerry Wood from a magical performance. He produced the highest game score in baseball history, posting a pitching line of 9 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 20 K’s. He did it with a dynamic fastball and a slurve, which the Astros would call unhittable. Here are the memories of some of those involved, including Wood. Current Cubs pitchers Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks add their two cents as well after watching the highlights in arguably the greatest-pitched game in Wrigley Field history. It was May 6, 1998 — 20 years ago.

Kerry Wood: “I remember specifically having low energy that day. I don’t know why. Maybe it was a day game or the overcast skies. I was dragging at the ballpark. It wasn’t jumping right away, the way I wanted. I felt sluggish.”

Cubs manager Jim Riggleman: “I do remember him saying that after the fact. He didn’t have a great warm-up.”

Astros second baseman Craig Biggio: “Our minor league [scout] said, ‘Hey, he has a good fastball, OK curve and be patient with him.’ We watched him warm up, and it was like, ‘OK, no big deal.’ Then the game started, and the kid put on his Superman costume, and the next thing you know, he struck 20 of us out.”

Wood: “I was all over the place in warm-ups. I was erratic. Every other pitch in the bullpen, I was getting another ball because I was throwing it to the screen or bouncing it in. I didn’t throw one strike. The first pitch of the game, it didn’t change. I hit [plate umpire] Jerry Meals in the mask. I didn’t have the feel.”

Plate umpire Jerry Meals: “To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen again. It’s the first pitch of the game, so things start going through my head. ‘Is there something I need to be addressing? Is there some bad blood? How do you get crossed up on the first pitch? What the hell is going on here?'”

Wood: “I went to 2-0 on Craig Biggio, then struck out the side. I absolutely surprised myself. After the first I felt great, but I had zero of those feelings warming up.”

Biggio: “He had a nice, smooth delivery. The ball was electric. I could relate it to [Craig] Kimbrel. He’s got that ball where he throws it and it pops in the glove, and it’s heavy and hard and firm. He was on.”

Jon Lester: “In that game, it wasn’t a lot of long at-bats. You see a lot of swings-and-misses and takes, not a lot of foul balls. Nowadays, you know the spin rate and all this stuff, that would have been plus-plus. That’s the biggest thing, the way those pitches broke.”

Ron Vesely/Getty Images

After four innings, Wood had eight strikeouts. An infield hit by Astros shortstop Ricky Gutierrez ruined any chance of a no-hitter, but by then, he was locked in and thinking about a complete game.

Wood: “Bagwell’s second at-bat, I know I get to 3-1, and I throw hook-hook and buckle him back-to-back. After that, I knew I had a chance to finish this.”

Meals: “He had everything working. He had a good-hitting team just baffled. They were flailing on the breaking stuff and couldn’t catch up to the fastball.”

Kyle Hendricks: “The movement on his pitches was incredible. What even is that pitch [the slurve]? I don’t know how you snap that off. No clue. You can just see how much spin is being created. Those guys didn’t have a chance.”

Biggio: “We didn’t have the technology they have today. Now you know everything about a guy. What he throws, how hard and stuff like that. You got everything. And you can go look at your at-bats as the game is going on.”

Lester: “The only information you had back then was facing the guy.”

Riggleman: “Somewhere around his 13th strikeout, [third-base coach] Tom Gamboa said, ‘You know how many strikeouts he has?’ It became interesting. … I didn’t know 20 was a record.”

ESPN Stats & Information

Meals: “The weather turned crappy in the sixth. The grounds crew did a good job.”

Wood: “My goal was not to walk anyone. That’s what I heard my whole minor league career and my short time in the big leagues: Just don’t walk anyone. In a 1-0 game, I was just focusing on not putting the tying run on base.”

Biggio: “We’re one swing away from tying the game, so we’re not thinking about the strikeouts. But when you go out there, you see the fans throwing up the K’s, and you’re like, ‘Holy shoot, how many strikeouts does this guy have?’ You start counting them up. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 … I think they ran out of K’s.”

During one stretch, Wood struck out five in a row looking.

Wood: “With two strikes maybe they thought I was trying to trick them with off-speed, so a lot of those fastballs were them not pulling the trigger, thinking off-speed.”

Hendricks: “The fastball is obviously electric. It rides up in the zone. A few of these breaking balls to a lefty, it goes up and in to him. The spin rate would have been unbelievable. It makes it more fun to watch, without all those stats on the screen.”

Biggio: “We had 102 wins that year. That was no weak lineup. He carved us up like we didn’t belong there.”

Riggleman: “This is probably a little bit of an indictment of everyone that managed in that period, I was probably thinking like 135 pitches for him. I have to let him try and finish this thing.

“I didn’t want to take him out with men on base. That’s when you give life to the other club. Maybe at the end of the inning. I’m not sure we ever got anyone up though.”

Wood: “Being from Texas and following Roger Clemens, I knew he had the major league record, but it’s not one of those numbers you think is attainable. … I didn’t know how hard I was throwing or how many pitches I had thrown. We didn’t have that back then.”

Riggleman: “There were games [in which] after six or seven [innings], he had 13 or 14 strikeouts, the pitch count was high, and we would take him out. I would get booed like crazy for taking him out. Later, when he was hurt, it was, ‘Oh, you pitched him too much.’”

Wood: “In the seventh inning, I thought the umpires might call it for a moment due to rain. And I knew at that point, if there is a delay, I’m done. I remember thinking, ‘Don’t call that game.’”

The Cubs scored an insurance run in the eighth, giving them a 2-0 lead. Wood had 18 strikeouts yet still did not know he had a chance at a record.

Wood: “I remember thinking in the eighth inning I just wanted to get back out there and finish this up. We scored another run, and I know I just wanted the inning to end. A young player should want his team to score as much as possible.”

Lester: “That would be so hard now. I don’t know if you’ll see 20 again in the future. With bullpens and specialization. … He was very unique. How big and tall he was and he had the levers working. When you think of Kerry Wood, you think of someone special.”

Biggio: “He hit his spots and made his pitches that day. It was just a man amongst boys right there.”

Keep track of the Japanese phenom’s bid for greatness on both sides of the ball. Story »

Wood (on getting strikeout No. 20 against Derek Bell): “His first swing in that at-bat, I knew I could throw the rosin bag up there and he would swing at it.”

Meals: “I was thinking about almost calling a no-hitter. The crew chief pointed out he had 20 strikeouts. I had no idea. I wasn’t paying attention to the fans holding up the K’s.”

Wood: “My fist-pump on the mound was about no walks and completing the game. I hugged [reliever] Terry Adams and say something to him, because before the game, he said, ‘Hey rook, why don’t you pitch more than five innings. You’re killing us.’ But no one said anything about 20 strikeouts.”

Meals: “[Umpire] Terry Tata was at first base. He says, ‘You had 19, I had one.’ Because he rang one up on a check swing. That was when I realized 20.”

Wood: “Thirty seconds after it’s over, they bring me over to the camera, and my hands are shaking. My adrenaline is racing. That’s when I found out I struck out 20 and tied the record. I didn’t have anything to say, though.”

Biggio: “You’re bummed out you lost, but 20 punchouts is pretty amazing.”

Riggleman: “You meet a lot of people that say they were there that day, but it was a rainy day in May. Maybe it was 18,000.”

Hendricks: “And to do it that young. He must have been in one of those once-in-a lifetime zones.”

Riggleman: “[Former Cubs] Billy Williams and Ron Santo were at Wood’s game that day and said that it was even more dominating than Sandy Koufax’s perfect game [against the Cubs in 1965]. They were at that one, too. You could make a case, as old as that stadium is, that could be the greatest game anyone has ever pitched there.”

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dansnaturepictures · 6 years

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24/02/18-Farlington Marshes

I just about required a full blog for this week’s Saturday afternoon trip as like last Sunday’s any presentation of it hinged on two main wildlife species as the talking points. The only other thing of note being the great variety of different species I saw today, indicated as always by my wildlife sightings summary at the bottom of the post. But I did take four pictures today as well, the first two in this photoset from today are landscapes of the beautiful reserve in the sunshine.

We walked around the lake area and turned the corner looking over the channels and grassland when we saw a rail type bird lurch up a bank into a bush. Having seen a lot of Moorhens on the grass beforehand I wondered if it might be that but we knew a Water Rail had been seen here, the briefness of this encounter didn’t allow me enough to tell. However it came out of this bush and quickly skulked into another longer row of bushes to the side but gave us a much better view in the binoculars still and we could make out the unmistakable glow and beak of a Water Rail! I was very happy to see this bird, another amazing one in 2018 and my 131st this year, and it was a pretty spectacular way to see it.

Now in these blogs I often like to pull in a bit of a story with a wildlife species I’ve seen, something to do with a previous sighting of it or a little trend within a year and two sprang to mind when seeing the Water Rail. Firstly as we passed the lake and didn’t see any Bearded Tits in the reeds like we had done here in 2016 and 2017 I thought to myself that I hadn’t seen any of the elusive reedbed hat trick birds (Bearded Tit, Water Rail and Bittern, which I saw all in one year last year and that was the first time that had ever happened for me) yet this year. That all changed with the Water Rail view.

Just before and afterwards on that grass another highlight of the day was seeing a few Snipe. I’d only seen one Water Rail ever at Farlington before today and it may be the same case for the Snipe, if so that would have been the same day that I saw them both here last. I also saw Turnstones for the first time actually at Farlington today ever, a little trend I’m noticing a lot recently is birds seen in places I’ve never seen them before. Anyway what made that day which was ten or more years ago memorable was there were a whole group of birdwatchers in winter looking over the reeds at the Lake and one man shouted “WATER RAIL!” in a very detached standard announcement type voice for us all to see. Then my Mum spotted a Snipe and told a nearby lady just in a normal voice as she always does and this lady shouted “SNIPE!” in a similar voice to the man. I still sometimes say Snipe like that in my head the hilarity of that left such an impression on me. So seeing these two birds closer together than ever since that day brought back memories.

Throughout the visit one of my favourite birds the Brent Geese proved a star too as is often the case at Farlington, especially when we saw hundreds in a field and they all took off together as shown in the third picture in this photoset. This was just a phenomenal moment of natural beauty, the sight of it all was matched amazingly by the beautiful sounds coming from all these birds as they flew over our heads. I know I have said this loads and loads of times but at the place where with them flying over our heads in our early birdwatching days like this I was reminded why I fell in love with Brent Geese. I love them also because they are the truly wild geese that dominate in autumn in winter in my part of the country so they are a great symbol for the south and coastal areas here and its just one of those grand natural spectacles I can never tire of seeing.

Furthermore with the photo I missed chances to photograph two of my favourite birds the Little Egret and Shelduck flying, in close succession by the lake earlier in the visit, you could say I squandered the chances or they just never truly flew close enough but photographing one of my favourite birds in flight after all today was nice. I would complete the days pictures with one of a Brent Goose on the ground we got close to the fourth in this photoset. This is actually a rare occurrence as most of my Brent Geese pictures have been of them in flight and this ones joins a trend this year of goose pictures I am proud of with memorable Canada and Greylag ones taken in 2018 so far.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Water Rail of the year, three of my favourite birds the Brent Goose, Shelduck and Little Egret, Moorhen, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pintail, Avocet, Snipe, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Turnstone, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Curlew,, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Stonechat, Robin, Blackbird, Starling, Rook, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Kestrel and Rabbit.

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junker-town · 6 years

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The 16 best moments from the Celtics' 16 game winning streak

Boston’s streak ended against Miami, but that doesn’t make it any less incredible.

The Celtics won 16 games in a row before their 104-98 loss to the Heat on Wednesday snapped their unimaginable early season run.

Boston’s winning streak embodied everything they are as a team. It was tough. It was gritty. It was resilient and it just wouldn’t go away. And, at one point, it felt as if it would have no end.

The streak may be over, but the memories and moments the Celtics created won’t go away anytime soon. From them bouncing back from Gordon Hayward’s tragic injury to Kyrie Irving putting on highlight shows in crunch time, Boston was loads of fun to watch. To commemorate the streak, here are the 16 best moments from the C’s 16-game winning streak.

Gordon Hayward speaks to Celtics’ fans

The Celtics’ broadcasted this message from Hayward on their jumbotron in the TD Garden and the crowed erupted. It was the first time they’d seen Hayward since his injury and he seemed to be in great spirits. This was truly inspiring.

Gordon Hayward has a message for Celtics Nation. http://pic.twitter.com/H6RHeGgios

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 18, 2017

Kyrie Irving’s five-point play

The streak was just a baby at this point, but this was Celtics’ fans first taste of the pure majesty of Kyrie Irving’s offensive game. He hit the most difficult three point shot you could think off, missed an easy free throw but somehow crashed the glass and snuck in for a slick layup. He makes the difficult look too easy.

Hayward returns to the bench with the team

Hayward returned to the team on Nov. 13 for the first time since his injury and also received a huge cheer from fans here. It might seem like a small moment, but it’s comforting to see that Hayward is recovering just fine.

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Al Horford cannot miss vs. Raptors

Can’t forget: the Celtics aren’t all Kyrie. Horford reminded the Raptors just that.

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Marcus Smart obliterated Lonzo Ball

Welcome to the league, rook.

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Kyrie’s handles will destroy your favorite player

Kyrie Irving has the greatest handle in the NBA and, maybe, the greatest handle of all-time. Don’t think so? Ask the Lakers.

Cheat code activated http://pic.twitter.com/HTMeIvE8vh

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 9, 2017

Still don’t know what this dribble is

And you can also ask the Mavericks about his handle, too. I’m sure they’ll have some strong opinions.

Oh man, Kyrie is feeling it! http://pic.twitter.com/MZ1JNJqc22

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 21, 2017

How did Kyrie get through here?

Add Malcolm Brogdon to the list. Irving is crazy nice with his dribble.

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Kyrie scoring when it matters

And Irving also makes shots when they matter the most. Irving scored 47 points in a comeback win over the Mavericks and did most of the work to win the game in the overtime period. Sometimes, there’s just nothing anyone can do to stop him. This was one of those games.

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Marcus Smart passing

Smart might not be shooting the ball well this season, but he certainly can still pass it. Look at this sweet no-look dish out of the post.

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19-0 run against the Warriors

If you still weren’t taking the Celtics seriously before their 96-92 win over the Warriors, this was the moment had no other choice but to. They clawed their way back into the game after falling down by 17 and took a lead. They didn’t look back.

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Kyrie is playing defense, too

A major question mark when the Celtics traded Isaiah Thomas plus the kitchen sink for Irving was his defense. We knew he was capable of playing D when needed. But could he play solid defense consistently over 48 minutes, over 82 games?

So far, the answer has surprisingly been yes. Irving is averaging 1.7 steals per game. The Celtics give up just 98 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor (93.9 with him off of it). Boston is now the NBA’s top defense after ranking 12th at the end of last season.

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Jaylen Brown isn’t scared of Warriors

Brown was a huge part of that win with 22 points and lots of activity on the defensive end. From the jump he showed us he wasn’t scared of the Warriors. To prove it, he locked down Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in the first quarter.

He also played after losing his friend

The day after his best friend died in Atlanta, Brown led Boston’s third-quarter comeback in their win over the defending NBA champions.

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Jayson Tatum shows he belongs

It often takes time for most rookies to settle into NBA life. If we’ve learned anything through Boston’s early run, it’s that Tatum isn’t just any rookie. The Duke product is special, he’s versatile, and he’s packed with gobs of offensive talent.

And to think the Celtics got him at pick No. 3.

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Masked Kyrie returns

Irving suffered a fractured orbital bone via his own teammate’s elbow. But that didn’t keep him off the court. It only made him more stylish on it.

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

The Celtics’ winning streak may have come to an end, but they have the best record in the NBA, and at 16-3, they’re far and away the best team in the East. Winning 16 straight is nothing to sneeze at. They’re the first team in league history to win that many consecutive games after losing their first two to start the season.

And once a team rattles off so many wins, there’s no telling how many smaller streaks they can pull off over the course of the season.

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onlinegossipnews-blog · 7 years

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Prince Harry last night attacked Britain’s pill-popping culture

New Post has been published on http://www.onlinegossipnews.com/prince-harry-last-night-attacked-britains-pill-popping-culture/

Prince Harry last night attacked Britain’s pill-popping culture

Prince Harry says we must stop handing out pills to cure all ills as he criticises how doctors treat depression during visit to Canadian clinic ahead of Invictus Games Prince was speaking before opening of Invictus Games for wounded veterans He called for ‘a better way’ to tackle mental health rather than handing out pills Comes days after Prince William criticised for discussing legalisation of drugs

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Prince Harry last night attacked Britain’s pill-popping culture which he said dominates doctors’ approach to depression.

Speaking before the opening of the Invictus Games for wounded veterans, he called for ‘a better way’ to tackle mental health.

He told doctors at a pioneering mental health clinic: ‘It seems we suffer from a culture where a pill will fix everything. There has to be a better way than just giving out anti-depressants.’

His comments come only two days after Prince William was criticised for controversially discussing the legalisation of drugs with former addicts.

Today, The Mail on Sunday also reveals how the Princes’ mother was ‘dosed with anti-depressants’ because physicians thought she was suffering from an obscure mental condition.

Prince Harry, who met Melania Trump today, told doctors at a pioneering mental health clinic

Harry said: ‘There were 65 million [anti-depressants] given out in one year in the UK alone. That’s why I look to you guys in this room. Everyone is uniquely wired is what I keep saying. There is no one silver bullet, no one cure for everyone.’

Harry, 33, also listened keenly as he was told about the ground-breaking research carried out at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto – including a potential chemical ‘antidote’ to post-traumatic stress disorder.

The centre is a world leader in treating psychological conditions and the Prince hopes to take lessons from there back to the UK.

Harry has been praised for his work in raising the issue of mental health alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as well as candidly admitting his own problems in the past.

He told the group: ‘Everyone is doing their bit just trying to normalise it so people can seek help without judgment.’

Gloria Chaim, of the child, youth and family programme at CAMH, said meeting Harry reminded her of a visit by his mother 26 years ago. ‘It was really inspiring when I met Princess Diana in 1991 – especially when mental health was this taboo subject.

Speaking before the opening of the Invictus Games for wounded veterans, he called for ‘a better way’ to tackle mental health

‘With Harry there today, it felt like he was carrying on her legacy and continuing a conversation she started many years ago.’

The visit came just hours before the Prince opened the third Invictus contest which has brought wounded athletes from 17 nations to Canada in an eight-day event.

Crowds of well-wishers are hoping Harry will choose the occasion to officially ‘introduce’ his girlfriend Meghan Markle, as rumours of a possible engagement between him and the TV actress abound.

But yesterday at least, the glamour was provided by US First Lady Melania Trump – who beat her husband Donald to meeting a British Royal after his plan for a state visit to the UK was put on ice.

Wearing a black and white dog tooth Dior suit, the former model sat alongside Harry for the two-hour opening ceremony at the 20,000-seater Air Canada Centre. Earlier, Harry showed his lighter side and played Prince Charming to wake up burly Australian athlete Kris Lane at the poolside.

Prince Harry Photo (C) GETTY

Astonished Lane, 23, from Brisbane, decided to take a quick nap on a back row of the spectator stand, but the Prince spotted him as he was being shown around.

‘I put my water bottle behind my head and just passed out for a sleep,’ said the former soldier.

‘The next thing I knew, Harry was shaking my chest and saying, “Hey, Kris.” I was actually in shock – it was strange.’

Source: DAILYMAIL MAILONLINE Tags: Prince Harry, Melania Trump, Invictus Games, First Lady, Gloria Chaim, Programme at CAMH, 17 Nations to Canada, Eight-Day Event

#17 Nations to Canada #Eight-Day Event #First Lady #Gloria Chaim #Invictus Games #Melania Trump #Prince Harry #Programme at CAMH

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edgysocial · 7 years

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New Post has been published on http://edgysocial.com/chess-triumps-stumbles-and-embarrassments/

Chess Triumps, Stumbles and Embarrassments

Two American grandmasters won the first major chess events of 2017. Wesley So triumphed in the traditional Dutch tournament in Wijk aan Zee and Hikaru Nakamura prevailed in Gibraltar. Their victories were almost upstaged by the Women’s world champion Hou Yifan. She deliberately lost a last round game in five moves with the white pieces.

Wesley So secured the first place at the Tata Steel Chess tournament by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in the last round, finishing a full point ahead of the world champion Magnus Carlsen. It was So’s third consecutive tournament victory in a major event after winning the Grand Chess Tour in Saint Louis and London last year. He has not been beaten in the last 56 games.

Four players had a chance to win the tournament before the last round, but only So was able to pull away with the help of his Russian opponent.

Nepomniachtchi, Ian – So, Wesley 79th Tata Steel Masters, Wijk aan Zee 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.e4 h6 Pushes the bishop away from the queenside. 6.Bh4 The trade 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 gives Black a bishop pair. 6…dxe4 7.Qe2!? 7.Nxe4 Qa5+! 8.Nd2 Nbd7 is no problem for Black. 7…Qa5 It seems Black has just prevented the long castle. 8.0-0-0?! White thought for 25 minutes before going to La La Land. While he is joking on the queenside, his pieces on the other wing are in deep freeze. 8…Qxa2 Of course! 9.Qb5+? Nbd7 The computers are screaming that Black is already winning. 10.c6 Falling deeper into the abyss, but other moves are not helping either: A. 10.Bxf6 Qa1+ 11.Nb1 a6 12.Qc4 gxf6 13.Qxe4 Nxc5 14.Qd4 Bd7-+; B. 10.Nb3 a6 11.Qc4 Nxc5-+. 10…bxc6 11.Qxc6

11…Bb7! The sacrifice gives the attack a nice rhythm. The pace would be slower after 11…Rb8 12.Nb3 Nd5 13.Bb5 (13.Rxd5 exd5 14.Ne2 Bb7-+) 13…Ba3! 14.bxa3 0-0 still with a decisive attack. 12.Qxb7 Qa1+ 13.Nb1 Rb8 14.Qxb8+ There is not much else White can do, for example: 14.Qc6 Qxb2+ 15.Kd2 Bb4+ 16.Ke2 0-0 17.Rxd7 Nxd7 18.Qxd7 Qxc2+ 19.Nd2 g5 and Black wins. 14…Nxb8 15.Bb5+ Nfd7 16.Ne2 Be7 17.Bxe7 Kxe7 18.Nd4 Nc5! Game over. The rest is silence. Trapping the queen, for example 18…Ne5 19.Nb3 Qa2 20.Nc3+- was White’s last trick. 19.h4 Rd8 20.Rh3 Threatening 21.Ra3, but White’s hopes are crushed immediately. 20…Nd3+! 21.Bxd3 Rxd4 22.Be2 Rxd1+ 23.Bxd1 Qa5 24.Nd2 f5 25.Rg3 Qe5 26.Ra3 Nc6 27.g3 Qd4 28.Re3 Nb4 White resigned.

One day after the tournament ended, the former world champion Boris Spassky turned 80. In 1967 he won this traditional event in Beverwijk before it moved to Wijk aan Zee next year. We played in a small Kennemer Theater (photo).

Spassky played three 24-game world championship matches and believed that you needed a full year to recover from each of them. He had a point.

Last November Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin finished their 12-game world championship match and within a month went to play the Rapid and Blitz world championsips in Doha, Qatar. Afterwards they hopped over to Wijk aan Zee and they must have been tired. How else to explain Magnus Carlsen’s miss:

Carlsen, Magnus – Giri, Anish 79th Tata Steel Masters, Wijk aan Zee 2017

56.Rc8+ Carlsen played 56.Bf7+ Kh8 57.Rh5+ Kg7 58.Bxe6+ Kf6 59.Rh6+ Ke5 60.Bh3 Qd2+ 61.Bg2 Qxh6 62.Rxc6 and the game was drawn after 123 moves. 56…Kh7 [56…Re8 57.Rxe8+ simply wins.] 57.Rf7+ Kh6 58.Rh8 mate.

The long game extracted its toll the next day and Magnus lost to Richard Rapport. Even after he falters and does not play to his liking, Carlsen always hovers around the top. We used to say that 50 percent is a good score when a bad form hits.

Hikaru Nakamura won the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters for the fourth time (three times in a row). This year he shared the first place with a 8/10 score, but won the playoff matches. When the tempo of the game quickens, Hikaru becomes a tiger. He had to eliminate a dangerous Chinese opponent first.

Nakamura, Hikaru – Yu, Yangyi Gibraltar Masters 2017

The position against Yu reminded me of the lessons Ludek Pachman was giving to the best Czech juniors more than 50 years ago. At one point the veteran grandmaster asked us: “How do we best cut the king from a pawn?” “With a saw,” a joker suggested, and the lessons were soon cancelled. But we learned something about horizontal and vertical cuts. Hikaru could have prevented the black king from crossing the sixth rank.

63.Rb5? This move only draws. Any rook move along the c-file wins the game, but the most precise way is to cut the black king along the sixth rank: 63.Rc6! Kf4 64.Kd3 and the black king cannot cross to e5: 64…Ke5 (64…Rh5 65.c5+-) 65.Rc5+ Ke6 66.Rxf5 Kxf5 67.Kd4 wins. 63…Kf4 64.Kd3 Rxb5 65.cxb5 Ke5 Draw.

Nakamura won a decisive game in the final against the young Spanish grandmaster David Anton Guijarro, 21, by shifting his pieces to the kingside.

Nakamura, Hikaru – Anton Guijarro, David Gibraltar Masters 2017

The black rooks are like two clumsy giants, hard to move and no help on the kingside. Nakamura brings his heavy pieces in for the final attack.

38.Rg1 Ra6 39.Qf1! Pinning down the rook on a6 and threatening to swing his own rook to h3. 39…R6a7 40.Rh3 Qf4 41.Qe2?! In the winning line 41.Qg2! Qg5 Nakamura didn’t see 42.Rg3 and White wins. 41…Rg8 Loses a piece, but 41…f5 42.exf5 was not enjoyable either. 42.Rxh7+ Kxh7 43.Qh5+ Qh6 44.Qxh6+ Kxh6 45.Rxg8 White is a piece up and it took him 10 more moves to convert his advantage to a victory. 45…Ra6 46.Kg2 Rb6 47.Nc6 Ra6 48.Ne7 Ra4 49.Nf5+ Kh5 50.h4 Rxb4 51.Kh3 Rc4 52.Rh8+ Kg6 53.h5+ Kg5 54.Ng3 Rc3 55.Rg8+ Black resigned.

Nakamura will move to the sixth spot on the next FIDE rating list. Fabiano Caruana lost some rating points in Gibraltar and should slide to the third place behind So. The United States will have three grandmasters among the top six. They are ambitious: So, Caruana and Nakamura would like to become world champions, but the top ranked Carlsen has something to say about it.

The Chinese Ju Wenjun won the women’s top prize, scoring 7/10. We noticed her five years ago playing the sharp Chinese Donner variation . That was unusual. She must have been under the spell of her coaches. In Gibraltar, she celebrated her 26th birthday by defeating the current Women’s world champion Hou Yifan.

Hou, Yifan – Ju, Wenjun Gibraltar Masters 2017

The white king is vulnerable to back-rank mating threats and Ju opens more lines.

32…d3! A nice deflection, bringing the knight closer to the king. 33.Qxd3 Nb4! 34.Qe4 After 34.Qe3 Nxa2+ 35.Kd1 Qb1+ 36.Ke2 Qxc2+ 37.Kf3 Qxf5+ 38.Kg2 c2 wins. 34…Qg1+ 35.Qe1 Qg2 36.Qe4 36.Qe2 Qh1+ 37.Qe1 Qb7! 38.Re3 (38.Re7 Nd3+! wins.) 38…Nxa2+ 39.Kd1 Qb1+ 40.Ke2 Qxc2+ 41.Kf1 Qxf5+ 42.Kg2 c2 wins. 36…Qd2+ After 37.Kb1 Qd1 mates. White resigned.

Some players were not happy with the pairings throughout the tournament. Hou Yifan played against seven women in 10 games and she didn’t like it. In the last round, she was 25 minutes late, played five moves with the white pieces and resigned in protest.

Hou, Yifan- Lalith, Babu M R Gibraltar Masters 2017

1.g4 d5 2.f3 e5 3.d3 Qh4+ 4.Kd2 h5 5.h3 hxg4 White resigned

This was unfortunate for the organizers and for her personally. The game will follow her for the rest of her life. The organizers denied any pairing manipulation. “It was done by computers,” they said.

Instead of the thrown game, we should have been talking about Hou’s masterpiece that could have been a nice addition to the previous column. She sacrificed her queen for two minor pieces at move 16, continued positionally and 28 moves later reached this position: Ider, Borya – Hou, Yifan Gibraltar Masters 2017

44…Bf3+! 45.Kg1 After 45.Kxh2 Bf4+! 46.Kg1 (46.Kxh3 Rxe5-+) 46…h2 mates. 45…Nxf1!! A cool move, allowing a discovered check and White’s invasion. 46.Rxe7+ Black wins after 46.Kxf1 h2! 47.Rxe7+ (47.Rxg5+ Kh7 48.Rg1 hxg1Q+ 49.Kxg1 Rxe4-+) 47…Kh6 48.Qg7+ Kh5 49.Qh7+ Bh6 50.Re5+ g5-+; or after 46.Rxg5+ Kh7-+. 46…Kh6 47.Qg7+ Kh5 48.Qh7+ Kg4 48…Bh6 49.Re5+ g5 also wins comfortably. 49.Re8 After 49.Rxc7 h2+ 50.Kxf1 Bh4! 51.Qxg6+ Kh3 52.Qe6+ Bg4 53.Qb3+ Rf3 the checks stop and Black wins. White dies on the back rank after 49.Kxf1 Rb8! -+

The game ended:

49…Rxe8 50.Qd7+ Kh4 51.Kxf1 Rd8 52.Qh7+ Kg4 White resigned.

Note that in the replay windows below you can click either on the arrows under the diagram or on the notation to follow the game. Select games from the dropdown menu below the board.

Images by Alina Ami from Wijk aan Zee and Sophie Triay and John Saunders from Gibraltar

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