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theyearoftheking · 4 years

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Book 2: ‘Salem’s Lot

Success is my only motherfuckin' option, failure’s not Mom, I love you, but this trail has got to go, I cannot grow old in Salem's lot So here I go is my shot Feet fail me not 'cause maybe the only opportunity that I got

-Eminem, Lose Yourself

The mere mention of ‘Salem’s Lot has had my brain playing this song on repeat for weeks. And after reading ‘Salem’s Lot, I’d like to point out to Eminem that it’s actually quite difficult to grow old in ‘Salem’s Lot. You’re more likely to be turned into a creepy vampire than grow old and die of natural causes in The Lot. But I feel like if I were to ever address this with one Marshall Mathers, he’d punch me in the face. So I guess I’ll just rest comfortably with my superior Stephen King knowledge.

This was my first reading of ‘Salem’s Lot, and while I enjoyed Carrie; I feel this was the book that made the Stephen King “style” a thing fans are all familiar with. I’m not going to dive into the entire plot and every character, but the format of the book, and the relationships the characters form will be familiar to all King fans. Let me explain.

Part One: The Introduction

The book is divided into three parts. In Part One: Marsten House, we learn about the lovely little town of Jerusalem’s Lot, and start feeling a creeping sense of dread every time the Marsten House is mentioned. We don’t know why we feel creepy dread quite yet, but the feeling is lurking in our stomach like a slimy gas station burrito. We also experience a meet cute between Ben Mears and Susan Norton. Ben is a writer, hanging out at the park, trying to forget all the negativity and bad juju he experienced the first time he lived in ‘Salem’s Lot. But now he’s back, living at Eva Miller’s boarding house, working on his next novel. Susan sees him in the park, and just so happens to be reading one of his books. She asks for an autograph, and he inscribes it, “For Susan Norton, the prettiest girl in the park...” The rest is history. Well, vampire, bloodshed history. But romantic history none the less.

Later on, Ben Mears references The Haunting of Hill House, which was an inspiration for this novel. He tells Susan the subject of his newest novel is, ”...it’s about the recurrent power of evil...” Art imitating life, ammiright, Steve???

Part one also gives us our first (of three!) Wisconsin references. Ben decides to hit up the local watering hole, Dell’s, where he runs into fellow boarding house resident, Weasel Craig. To hear Ben describe it, “...his breath alone could have made Milwaukee famous.” I mean... we do love and brew a lot of beer in this city. But you can imagine my disappointment when in the next paragraph, Weasel orders a pitcher of Budweiser. Gross, Weasel, You deserve to be taken out by those vampires.

Part one continues to give us plenty of local color, and describes the residents of the town (spoiler: don’t get too attached to any of them). Part one ends with some creepy goings-on at the cemetery, and some children disappearing, and later re-appearing in slightly alarming form. Oh, and a lot of bodies at the morgue start disappearing. Never a good sign.

Part Two: The Dread Explained, and the Start of Shit Going Sideways

Part Two: The Emperor of Ice Cream is when the beat drops. But before all of that, we have our final two Wisconsin references. King twice mentions a Packers Patriots game everyone in town is anxious to watch. Ok. I have questions. So many questions. How did Steve decide on this particular football match-up? We’re not division rivals, we don’t even play in the same division. The Packers and Patriots play each other once in a blue moon. Wouldn’t the Bills or the Jets have been a more sensible selection? Maybe the Dolphins? Maybe they were good back in 1975? I don’t know. I do know I personally love Packers/Patriots games because I love seeing Tom Brady pout like a little bitch on the sidelines when our inconsistent defense shows up and decides to tackle him. Repeatedly. It’s a miracle Brady doesn’t trip over that lower lip more.

But I digress. Part two is where shit really starts to go wrong, and we understand the problems plaguing ‘Salem’s Lot are the result of a powerful vampire, Mr. Barlow and his keeper, Mr Straker, moving into Marsten House. That’s right... it’s a vampire book, kids. These two keep a low profile by buying a creepy old murder house, and running an antique store full of old junk in town. As you do.

King holds true to a lot of the traditional vampire stereotypes: they only come out at night, they are burned by sunshine, they sleep in coffins or boxes, they need to be invited in, and they can be repelled by a crucifix or some holy water. No glittery, pretty vamps here. Sorry, Twilight fans. This probs isn’t the book for you.

Part two of the book is filled with creepy passages full of suspense. You know, those parts when you find yourself cringing and chanting, “No! No! Don’t crawl into the creepy old murder house during the day! I don’t care if you think the vampires are sleeping! This isn’t going to end well!” I know most people have those moments when watching movies... but this book (and King in general) usually brings out all the creepy, cringy feels for me.

So, Ben, Susan, and their ragtag band of friends begin to understand the vampire problem, and realize they need to address it before everyone in town either flees, or becomes part of Barlow’s vampire army. One member of their merry band of vampire killers is a little boy by the name of Mark Petrie. Mark lost two of his best friends in the initial round of vampire attacks, and feels guilt about this. If they weren’t on their way to his house to play with his models, maybe they wouldn’t have ended up as part of the un-dead. As a result of this guilt, Mark wants to help the grownups fight the vampires. He’s a bad ass kid. I hope my kid would behave the same way if we were fighting a vampire onslaught in Milwaukee.

King best sums up their crew of vampire killers as, “An old teacher half-cracked with books, a writer obsessed with his childhood nightmares, a little boy who has taken a post-graduate course in vampire lore from the films and the modern prenny-dreadfuls...”

Accurate af.

Part Two ends with a passage I have to share... “The ordinary fellow isn’t half so leery of the superatural as the fiction writers like to make out. Most writers who deal in that particular subject, as a matter of fact, are more hardheaded about spirits and demons and boogies than your ordinary man in the street...”

Part Three: The Real Action, All the Deaths & the Conclusion

Part Three: The Deserted Village wraps everything up. Almost all the residents of ‘Salem’s Lot are turned into vampires, including almost all of the vampire hunters with the exception of Ben and Mark. They ‘nope’ right on out of ‘Salem’s Lot and head for Mexico. Because they’ve seen some shit, and they need to live in perpetual sunshine where they never have to fight vampires again. Only, Ben can’t stop reading the Portland Press-Herald and realizes shit is getting real in Maine again, and they eventually need to go back. Poor Mark; it’s bad enough he lost his friends, had to stake both his parents, and killed the vampire’s keeper. But now he needs to go back? Ugh.

Part three also gives us two coveted Dark Tower references (because, The Beam).

“Ann Norton drew the .38 from the pockets of her wrapper like some creaky gunslinger from beyond time...”

Oh snap. It’s coming. Da da chick, da da chum!

I’ve also failed to mention much about Father Callahan. He was the Catholic priest of ‘Salem’s Lot who suffered a vampire bite despite his crucifix and holy water bath, and was last seen on a bus getting out of town, drinking cheap truck stop liquor. But we’ll see him again. ‘Tis ka.

All and all, a very satisfying book, and I’m very glad I’ve finally gotten around to reading it.

In summation:

Total King Wisconsin Mentions: 4

Dark Tower References: 2

Book Grade: B+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books:

Salem’s Lot

Carrie

Next up is The Shining; which is perfect since Wisconsin is expecting its first major snowfall this weekend. Fun times.

Until next time- long days and pleasant night, readers!

Rebecca

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swldx · 3 years

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Radio New Zealand Int. 1355 7 Feb 2021

6115Khz 1259 7 FEB 2021 - RADIO NEW ZEALAND INT. (NEW ZEALAND) in ENGLISH from RANGITAIKI. SINPO = 55334. English, bellbird int. until pips and news @1300z anchored by Adam Cooper. More than 100 feared dead after Himalayan glacier bursts in India collapsing a damn and causing a flash flood. A former Pullman Hotel guest who had been isolating at home in Hamilton for a week tested positive for Covid-19 but the Health Ministry said the case was most likely historical. Dunedin City Council providing free fruit and vegetables during blood tests as lead water contamination scare continues. West Auckland is on edge after a man was taken into custody today after allegedly firing two shots into the air during a fight due to possible gang activity. @1304z trailer for "9 to noon" program. @1305z Weather forecast. partly cloudy in the south. north island mostly fine with occasional showers. @1306z "all night program" music DJ'd by Adam Cooper. he mentions a message from "Steve" describing the "magical" coast road of NZ. Backyard fence antenna, Etón e1XM. 100kW, beamAz 35°, bearing 240°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 12912KM from transmitter at Rangitaiki. Local time: 0659.

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Rodney Johnson

Date: Sun, Feb 7, 2021, 3:16 PM

Subject: Re: My Son and I catch your program every morning!

To: AllNight <[email protected]>

Hi Adam,

Aaron was inspired to draw a picture of his experience this morning and I have attached it. Also, if you are interested I made some phone video recordings of your show this morning if you care to hear some airchecks from almost 13000Km away! The youtube links below:

https://youtu.be/SEitD4VTfCs

https://youtu.be/cu6D10WUE2w

https://youtu.be/A40qAFWXagc

https://youtu.be/ro9lN3R_lms

Oh and I don't know if you know it but at 1259 GMT (1:59am your time, I believe) the 6115kHz frequency signs on with a bellbird interval signal before the top of the hour pips followed by the news. Both Aaron (6 years old) and Leonard (4 years old) loves the sound of that bellbird and here's a rendition of it by 4-year-old Leonard:

https://youtu.be/hsGLfwLeKDQ

Thanks again for the shout out! Aaron is still beaming about it!

-Rodney, Aaron, and Leonard

Hide quoted text

On Sun, Feb 7, 2021 at 8:38 AM AllNight <[email protected]> wrote:

Great photo Rodney, thanks for sharing! Must have been a bonus catching a nice clear sunrise in the middle of winter!

It brings back plenty of memories from my road trip down that coast. In fact that image suddenly made me think of the Bixby Bridges further south which were a highlight when I did the trip.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Kind regards

Adam

From: Rodney Johnson

Sent: Monday, 8 February 2021 3:26 AM

To: AllNight <[email protected]>

Subject: My Son and I catch your program every morning!

Once again with the photo!

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Rodney Johnson

Date: Sun, Feb 7, 2021, 8:24 AM

Subject: Re: My Son and I catch your program every morning!

To: AllNight <[email protected]>

Hey Adam!

Yes we heard you mention us on air! You should have seen the smile on Aaron's face! Thanks so much, you made our day! And yes, very could here, the coldest day so far this winter by far! Thanks for warming it up a bit for us.

Thanks for mentioning the coast road in the pacific Northwest. Indeed a very rugged and beautiful place! I've attached one of my favorite winter sunset photos I took during a trip back in the 80s. It was at a place called Cannon Beach in Oregon.

(Sorry for all the typos, I'm all thumbs when trying to type on the phone!)

Have a great day, and enjoy your summer there. We're certainly missing it here!

-Rodney and Aaron

On Sun, Feb 7, 2021, 7:37 AM AllNight <[email protected]> wrote:

Good morning Rodney and Aaron!

That has made my morning to know you are tuned i. It’s great to have your company!

Yes, the West Coast road is quite a special road in a remote part of New Zealand’s South Island – they even have signs up telling you to fill up with gas as there is quite a distance between gas stations. Quite rare for a small country like ours! The land and geography actually reminds me of the Pacific Northwest road through Oregon and California which I assume you’re familiar with Rodney – the rugged coastline, harsh (but beautiful) sea conditions, and the occasional spotting of a seal or whale if you’re lucky!

I had a look at the weather forecast in Plymouth out of interest – MINUS 2 is your high today?!?! Goodness me, that is cold. (That translates to minus 19 Celsius in the way we measure temperature) – I cannot quite believe that after a day at the beach on New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast, just north of Wellington, where our high today was a very enjoyable 75 Fahrenheit.

I trust you’re keeping warm, and great to hear from you over the other side of the Pacific. If you keep listening, at about 0250 NZDT in about 10 minutes I’ll pass on my best regards to you both on air and share your note with our listeners.

Thanks so much for your continued correspondence.

Adam

From: Rodney Johnson

Sent: Monday, 8 February 2021 2:12 AM

To: AllNight <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: My Son and I catch your program every morning!

Hi Adam!

Aaron and I are Listening to you right now on the all night program! Great to hear about your memories traveling the magical coast road in NZ!

You sound quite cheerful, keep up the good work!

-Rodney and Aaron!

On Mon, Feb 1, 2021, 4:33 PM Rodney Johnson <[email protected]> wrote:

Greetings from Minnesota, Adam!

Aaron and I were listening to RNZ on Shortwave this morning at 1300GMT (2 am NZST), and the signal wasn't as good as it has been, but I thought we heard Johnny Blades reading the news, maybe you were on the hour before? It is noisy shortwave, so I certainly might be mistaken! Yes, Vicki and John have been so nice, and Aaron treats all of this correspondence like gold because he's just learning to read. This reception report and letter were certainly the first correspondence he's written, let alone getting such a warm response. The whole thing has been a great experience for him and definitely gets us both up in the morning!

So you stayed in British Columbia, Canada? I grew up in Eastern Washington State near a town called "Pullman" about 100km south of Spokane and about 500km east of Seattle. When I lived in Seattle (for about 12 years starting in the late 80s) I often make the trip to Vancouver BC for the Fringe Festival there. A very beautiful city! I'm glad you had the chance to experience what we call "The Pacific Northwest". It really is a wonderful area. My reading about your trip makes me think you might have seen more of the country than I have! For Instance, I have never managed to make it down to New Orleans. I'm afraid we just moved to this area myself and between work and kids were just starting to explore Minnesota when the Pandemic hit. We have been meaning to make it up north to Duluth and what they call the "North Shore", we've heard a lot of good things about it, so you might try there. Also, if you enjoyed Yosemite (I have gone backpacking there a couple of times during my time living in San Francisco California from 2000 to 2015), You might also Try Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (and also the Grand Tetons, if you find the time) and Glacier National Park in Montana. Both of these Parks are along the Rocky Mountain range featuring the continental divide (one side all rivers flow to the Pacific, the other side the Atlantic!).

Great to hear from you Adam. We'll be listening for you on the air!

Cheers!

- Rodney, Aaron and Leonard!

On Mon, Feb 1, 2021 at 5:47 AM AllNight <[email protected]> wrote:

Kia Ora Rodney, Aaron and Leonard!

Adam Cooper here – one of the fill-in presenters on the ‘All Night Programme’ – I’m on this morning, so your message has come to me. Vicki actually mentioned your correspondence to me when I was out working in the newsroom the other night when she had received your message – it’s so nice to know you’re turning in all the way from Minnesota. It’s quite amazing the global community we have tuning into RNZ, either via traditional radio or online. I know when I lived overseas, in British Columbia, Canada, that RNZ was a perfect way for me to keep in touch with everything that was happening back home – and to of course remind myself what the New Zealand accent sounded like!

Vicki is on her rostered days off but I have saved your latest message for her so she will see it when she returns to work a bit later in the week.

I hope all is well in Minnesota – I have a real love of the United States, which culminated from a six-week road trip a friend and I did in a hired 25-foot long RV in the summer of 2016 – starting off in California, and going up and down the country across many states, and finishing up in Chicago (which would be the closest I’ve been to Minnesota) – before flying to Washington DC then catching the train up to finish in New York. It was a magical trip and everywhere was just brilliant. My highlights were the pristine Yosemite National Park in California and the vibrant live music scene of New Orleans. I managed to see a lot of Washington State and Oregon too when I lived in Vancouver Canada for two years between 2018 and 2019. Once this nasty pandemic dies down, exploring more of the US is top of my list again – I’ll happily take any recommendations of “must-see” places around the Midwest or Great Lakes area!!

Thanks again for your note, it really is great to know you are keeping us company from the other side of the Pacific.

Take care,

Adam Cooper

RNZ All Night Programme

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maximuswolf · 4 years

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My accidental commune experiment that further radicalized me. via /r/Anarchism

My accidental commune experiment that further radicalized me.

Hey guys, I just got so excited to share this I vomited it out in a comment and thought "well I should just make a post about this and maybe it'll inspire someone"

I'm a 27 year old living in Colorado/Sweden. Corona virus shutdown passport offices in late March and left me stranded back in the USA, I'm sure had I spent these months demanding my passport I could have but I missed my US friends and decided since the world's shutdown might as well party!

I'm a basejumper, a sport which is mostly illegal in the United States since most places with a 250+ sheer cliff are national parks. Bureau of Land Management lands are fair game though and we have been exploring a big chunk of remote canyon lands that hasn't really been explored by any of the outdoor community, it's close to Moab so people pass it and never look twice.

Starting late march/early April a lot of us were laid off for corona virus and my best friend said "if anyone needs me before the virus is over....I'm in the desert"

Within a week or 2 we had a clan of 5-10 people, some staying days, some staying months, all of us doing our part to collect firewood, cook, explore for new camps with better shelter or making a town run for food. But there was no hierarchy and no rules. I had a good 5 days I was feeling down in the dumps and I was never shamed for not helping and people checked on me asked if I wanted to talk and brought me food. When I got over my depression I tried to give back more not because I was asked but because I was thankful!

Sadly it's not legal to farm on public lands and if it was the sandy desert wouldn't grow anything worth eating and none of us can afford electric vehicles so we had some dependence on society and savings accounts, even if we had our own land that was fertile you still gotta pay property taxes, and it's not like we were planning to live in a commune....it just happened.

I did however provide the group dinner naturally when a turkey thought he was tougher than my car. I'll never forget my friend bright eyed and bushy tailed crawling around the ditch and lifting up our dinner. I love animals as much as the next guy but shit happens and we made sure he didn't go to waste. It tasted terrible but damnit we were true wild men and women now!

By July we had many people come and go, people who would come bring us food and supported us living outside the law and society so we barely ever made trips into town with the exception of morning poop runs to the only gas station around to avoid there being 1000 catholes or plastic bags used.

I can't think of a single real argument anyone ever got in. I can't think of a single person who didn't contribute their share voluntarily. By the time things started opening and food money running low we considered all applying for food stamps and finding some squatable land with farming potential near by. Everytime I call someone who was a part of the tribe one of us brings up how it was the happiest time of our lives, we all secretly want corona lockdown back so we can do it bigger, better and more environmentally friendly and sustainable next time.

One of the big things I realized in our day to day life was the lack of bartering. There wasn't very much "well I'll do dishes and tend the fire but you HAVE to cook" or "yeah I've got tooth paste IF you've got beef jerky" it was all gift based because we all knew we would look out for each other.

The most beautiful part of it all to me was how natural it was. Many of us thought we would have a shutdown for a week maybe 2 then go back to society. We never planned anything or said "we're gunna have a commune and we're all gunna act this way" it just happened totally organically.

Is this the exact future I want for everyone, running around the desert in big gas vehicles eating roadkill playing madmax and parachuting off cliffs? No it's not....it's a load of fun but it's definitely not a bright utopian future for the masses. But it meant a lot more to me than just an extended camping trip. As summer progressed and things got hot we had to work together to find springs for water and shelter from the sun and winds, fix stuff that broke, wipe with leaves when the almighty toilet paper ran out, tend to each other and our own needs and injuries and live as one big equal happy community of idiots who love jumping off cliffs.

Even if we all get trapped in capitalist society and never get to all cohabitate in our own little society again I'll always cherish the memories of the absolutely amazing freedom we all experinced during "lockdown". It's given me so much more faith that anarchy can scale past 20 or 30 assholes in the desert.

Questions comments and criticisms are all welcome. I know we didn't do everything perfect but we never set out with an intention of any kind other than not rotting away lonely in our shoe box apartments. The closest town we would visit never had a case of corona the entire time we were there so while we didn't exactly socially distance with people coming and going, we definitely didn't hurt the only community we had interactions with.

Submitted November 13, 2020 at 01:04PM by sactheskydiver via reddit https://ift.tt/3lwgD4O

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thegrassisaalwaysgreener · 5 years

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VanCity

Travelling is definitely one of my passions and I have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences thus far. Unfortunately, I haven’t explored as much of our beautiful country as I would have liked. One of my goals is to do a small, more local trip each year. I decided to head to the West Coast (aka best coast if you ask anyone who’s been there) to visit my good friend Shera. Shera and I met while we both lived and worked in Toronto several years ago. While we don’t get to see each other that often, she is such a strong, positive and inspiring person that I am so lucky to have in my life. I was really excited that she had some time in May for me to come visit. Many of my friends and family have been to and loved BC, so I was super excited about this trip. I decided to use some of my hard earned Aeroplan points to book my flights and was heading to BC for an extra long weekend.

Thursday, May 9th, 2019 I decided to take the bus from the Hamilton GO station to the airport. It takes just over an hour and drops you off at Terminal 1 (perfect for my AC flight). It is also super cost effective at about $12 each way and really easy if you packed light (which shockingly, I did). My flight was easy and I landed mid morning in Vancouver. Shera is currently teaching at BCIT, which has several campuses in the city. She works out of the Burnaby Campus, in the east part of the city. She picked me up and brought me towards here work where I could catch the Expo line into the city. Since I had so much that I wanted to do, I mapped out a bit of downtown to check out, starting with Downtown and Gastown. I wandered around downtown and hit up the Gas Town Steam Clock and a few things around that area. I love libraries, so I made sure to visit the Central Library, which had great views and a cool promenade at its base. I meandered along the majority of “downtown Vancouver” and the business district. I made my way down towards Stanley Park and rented a bike for about $30. I biked all the way around Stanley Park, which was way better than I had anticipated. Stanley Park borders Burrard Inlet and English Bay and is over 1000 acres in size. It was one of the first places to be discovered in the city and offers so much! The park was amazing! I did enjoy many of its beautiful sights while biking along the 1000-year-old seawall. I managed to get myself a bit lost while trying to find the famous “hollow tree. Let me tell you, the 27 km of hiking paths in Stanley Park are no fun with a bike (not that I explored even ¼ of that). After getting sufficiently lost and seeing the majority of the park including the Lions Gate bridge, Iron Workers Memorial Bridge and totem poles, I wandered around English bay for a bit. Seeing as it was getting quite late and Shera was expecting me at the ferry, I grabbed a snack (ice cream of course), dropped my bike off and hopped on the bus to the Horseshoebay Ferry terminal which took about 30 mins on the bus. Once I arrived at the ferry terminal, I met back up with Shera and grabbed my stuff out of the car so we could take the ferry home. We had some time to kill before the ferry arrived so we grabbed dinner and drinks at Trolls (I think) and caught up a bit. It had been 5 months since we had last seen each other and had a lot to catch up on! The ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Gibsons leaves at random intervals thorough the day (the schedule is confusing and doesn’t seem to be super consistent) and takes about 40 minutes to get to Gibsons (Langdale Ferry Terminal). Gibsons is technically part of the mainland but is really only accessible via ferry. Tons of people commute into the city each day from Gibsons and beyond- and here I complain sometimes about my 20 min commute. Once arriving at the terminal, we hopped into Shera’s baby (her new but older Ford Escape} and made the 10 or so minute drive over to her place. She has a lovely place in “Lower Gibsons” with beautiful views of the town and water. I was exhausted so went straight to bed after a long and enjoyable day.

Friday May 10th, 2019 Shera had to work quite early in the am so we took the first ferry over (about 5/6 am). The ferry is actually a lot more fun than I had expected. We met up with one of her friends on the ferry and enjoyed coffee and toast. The ferry is such a great place to get work done and hang out. If I had to commute, I would much prefer to do it on a boat where I could work, eat or sleep. Once we got off the ferry, I hopped in Kate’s car as she worked closer to the main part of the city than Shera. Kate dropped me off near the Vancouver General and I moseyed around for an hour or so before things opened. I grabbed a coffee and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the South Granville/East? part of the city. I walked down towards Granville Island and enjoyed the shops and the market. I had a second breakfast there and enjoyed some quiet time people watching. Granville market had some super cute spots but the entrance and Kids Market looked like the most fun part. Sadly, it wasn’t open, or I would have totally gone in. After Granville Island, I hopped on the bus and headed out to the UBC campus where my partner Mike went to school and suggested. After a few glitches (aka my getting lost MULTIPLE times in the huge campus) I managed to find the treetop walk and the botanical gardens I had been looking for. The treetop walk was pretty neat although definitely not as exciting as I had thought. I was there with a big school group and managed to avoid them at all costs. I headed over to Nitobe gardens, which is considered to be on the most authentic Japanese gardens in the world with its cherry blossoms, irises, Japanese pruned trees and a koi pond. I think I hit 20,000 steps before 2 pm, which might be a record for me! I hopped back on the bus and got off just before Kitsilano. I was a bit hungry so grabbed some snacks at Whole Foods before enjoying some R&R on the beach. Shera came down from work and met me at Local Kitsilano, where we grabbed beers before heading to the ferry back home. Shera was having some girls over the next day as a belated birthday celebration so we scooted over to the grocery and liquor stores before going home to get ready for dinner. Sadly, the oyster restaurant was still closed for the season so we settled for the delicious Mexican fare at Lonitas. We enjoyed some chips and guac along with delicious tacos. Shera took me on a little walking tour of Gibsons, despite being super full and tired. The town is so cute and quaint! Being so close to Van but with the perks of a small town are so amazing- I get why she loves it there so much. After our stroll and tour, we headed home for a good nights sleep before another jam-packed day.

Saturday May 11th, 2019 While I may be a Crossfit enthusiast, I am all for any and all forms of exercise and will try anything at least once! Shera has recently become involved in kickboxing and was excited to take me with her. While my spatial sense and hand eye coordination could use some work, I really enjoyed the class. My favourite part was the “elevator” at the end that included jabs and burpees. After a great sweat sesh, we grabbed some much needed coffees and showers in preparation for our afternoon. Shera was having an intuitive come to the house to “read” us if you will. Now, I wouldn’t call myself a full on skeptic but I did have my reservations. I am happy to say, Joanne the intuitive was amazing. She was very personable, relatable and kind. We each had about 30 minutes with her, in which she took time reading our energies, answering questions and guiding us through what she was feeling. I really enjoyed my time with her and took a number of things away from the experience. She was pretty spot on with many of her thoughts and readings, despite my “skepticism”. I would definitely see someone like her again and highly recommend it for anyone who is interested. After Joanne left, we continued to enjoy our snacks and sangria before making our way to down to the dock to meet Scotty. Scotty owns “Scotty’s scooters” and is a friend of Sheras. He kindly brought us on his boat to a spot near them off of Keats Island. This is where locals dock their boats, cook, drink and enjoy the outdoors. The weather was just perfect and I love a good boat ride! We met a few other people and enjoyed drinks, homemade sausages and freshly caught prawns. The prawns were the best I had ever tasted- they were so fresh and didn’t even need the melted butter that accompanied them. After enjoying our drinks and dinner, we hopped back on the boat home. The night was still young so we headed over to Kate’s house to hang out for a bit. They have one of the most beautiful designed homes I have ever seen. It was farmhouse meets industrial chic, all wrapped into one! I hung out with their adorable and precocious munchkins for a bit before we all enjoyed some more bevvys by the fire.

Sunday May 12, 2019 Yay for a bit of a sleep in! We didn’t have a strict itinerary today so we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in before brunch at the Gum boot. The Gum boot is a delicious and popular restaurant in Roberts Creek. Shera and I waited a bit to get seated but my meal did not disappoint. Since it was mother’s day, we enjoyed MUMosas overlooking the nice grass area. Shera had a game of baseball to get to so I hung out and enjoyed that. Her teammates were all super friendly and were pretty decent players. After the game, we hiked around Smugglers Cove and enjoyed the lush greenery, arbutus trees and the views of the Georgia Strait. Since the Raptors were playing (this was the infamous Kawai shot night), we headed over to the lighthouse in Sechelt for dinner and beers to enjoy during the game. Shera’s baseball team had another game so we went and cheered them on for that before heading home to watch an amazing sunset on the beach amongst the driftwood. Sunset is my favourite time of the day and the BC sunset did not disappoint!

Monday May 13th, 2019 Since I love my sleep, Shera went into the city before I did on my second last morning in BC. I lounged around Gibsons and enjoyed coffee at the Beachcomber. I took the bus over to the ferry and met Shera at the ferry Terminal. Today we were going to be proper tourists and check out the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain (which we were supposed to do on Friday but thank goodness we didn’t as my legs wouldn’t have made it). The Capilano Suspension bridge is one of Vancouver’s most popular tourist attractions. At over 130 years old from its inception the “Kia’palano” (meaning beautiful river) bridge was named after a great Squamish Chief who lived in the area in the early 1800s. While the bridge has had many improvements and enlargements over the years, the 70 meter high and 140 meter long suspension bridge has magical views over the Capilano River. The park also has a learning centre, treetop walk and a cliffwalk, all surrounded by lush, beautiful forest. While it was very cool and beautiful, it was super touristy and a bit pricey ($54 a person) for what it all is. I would still highly recommend it (or the cheaper/free suspension bridge called Lynn Canyon. Next stop- Grouse Mountain! Grouse Mountain is just a short drive from the Bridge. We made sure to check our bags and waterbottles before our hike so we would be prepared. Grouse Mountain is considered the Peak of Vancouver at 1200 meters high. It is a popular ski destination for those in the area during the winter but is probably even more popular in the summer. Nicknamed “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster” the over 2800 steps leading the way up over 800 meters (about 2.9 km) to the top are no easy feat. Every year, there are thousands who come do the “Grouse Grind”. There is even a contest to see who can climb it the most in 24 hours. I am not the most avid hiker (fake it till you make it) but am probably more experienced than the average person (cough Kilimanjaro, cough). Despite my previous experience, I suffered supremely on this “hike”. I would call this more of steep steps. Being 5”2, I am very disadvantaged when it comes to high steps and had a hard time keeping up with Sheras long, gazelle-like legs. I think it ended up taking us almost an hour and a half to do the whole thing, which was longer than I had anticipated. I mean, I wasn’t in the best shape of my life but didn’t think it would be so hard! For reference, the top time of the day was around 25 minutes… I definitely suggest doing the Grouse Grind but make sure you are prepared both physically and mentally- and have lots of water and snacks! Once atop the 2830, steps, we ate our snacks and grabbed a coffee before paying the $15 to take the gondola back down. You can’t actually climb back down-which is probably for the best. The gondola is beautiful and well worth the climb. The sights of the city and area are amazing. After our hike, we headed to the ferry Terminal and back to Gibsons. We were the only patrons at Drift Restaurant in town and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It’s too bad the weather wasn’t cooperating because their patio was awesome and had great views of the water. After full tummies, we headed home for a good nights sleep.

Tuesday May 14th 2019 Sadly, it was my last day in BC. Shera and I hopped on the 0830 ferry and picked up Shera’s car that was being looked at in North Van. She dropped me off in downtown after saying our sad but so happy and grateful goodbyes. She had a busy day at work as the new school semester had just started. Since I had my suitcase, I found a post office that stored bags for the day and paid to have my suitcase and large backpack stored. It is an ingenious idea and worth every penny, especially since it was raining and I did not want to be carting my stuff all around town. After dropping my stuff off, I made my way back over towards Stanley Park and walked in a different way to the Aquarium. Since it was pouring rain, I figured the aquarium was a great place to visit. I was the only adult above the age of 21 there without a child but still had a great time. I learned a lot about sealions during their live show and checked out the many different eco systems they have set up at the Aquarium. Once I had seen all of the sea creatures, it dawned on me that I hadn’t had much seafood yet this trip, which is sacrilegious when visiting any coastal city. I wandered around downtown and settled on Fanny’s Oysters, which ended up being a fabulous choice! I had several different types of oysters and some that was almost as good as the oysters. Anyone that knows me, knows I can eat my weight in Oysters but I limited myself to a dozen and kept on my downtown stroll. I stopped into Steamworks for a beer in Gastown before grabbing my stuff at the post office and jumping on the train to the airport. The train ride was about 30 mins and seamless. The airport seems so much smaller in comparison to Pearson so getting around it made more sense. I had a lounge pass and was super excited to use it! I enjoyed dinner, drinks and a nice hot shower before getting ready for my redeye back home. I managed to sleep well on my flight home and took a morning bus back into Hamilton. While there are many places I would still like to see in BC, I really think I did a good job of hitting a bunch of important spots on the trip. Most importantly, I got to spend some quality time with my girl Shera and get a glimpse into the amazing life she has built for herself on the west coast. I see many more visits to come and cannot wait for them!

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domestic-harry · 7 years

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hiii lisa! so i really love how you've been linking fics to songs and i was wondering if you could do a rec list based off of your top 25 most listened to songs! (i know that's a lot so you don't have to if you don't want to lol)

Iris by Goo Goo Dolls

And I’d give up forever to touch you

Where Your Heart Is: Louis is ready for his brand new adventure. So what if he suffers from a genetic condition that prevents him from being touched? College is going to be awesome. It has to. Karma kind of owes him right now. Forget about his overprotective mother, or Liam– his entirely too chipper step brother– or his mess of a roommate. Forget about the gloves he has to wear at all times. He’s here to expand his knowledge, write and drown himself in books – No matter how distracting ‘Hallway Boy’ may be– The obnoxious, flirty frat wannabe determined to become the bane of Louis’ existence.

Don’t Let Me Go by Harry Styles

Seems like these days I watch you from afarJust trying to make you understand

Emperor’s New Clothes : Harry’s a pop star and Louis isn’t, and there’s a non-disclosure agreement where there used to be a relationship.

Somebody to Love by Queen

I just gotta get out of this prison cellOne day (someday) I’m gonna be free, Lord!

Atlas At Last : He doesn’t know what he had been expecting out of the road trip itself besides burping contests and too much shitty gas station food with Oli and Stan, but in the brief moment before Harry ambles up his driveway, Louis idly wonders if this is about to become some sort of Gay Coming of Age story.Maine to California in ten days. In which Zayn’s an open-shirt hippie they meet somewhere in Ohio, Liam’s the pastor’s son running away from home, and Niall’s the number they call on the bathroom wall.It’s 1978. Harry and Louis are just trying to get to San Fran in time for the Queen concert.

Right Now by One Direction

You know I can’t fight the feelingAnd every night I feel itRight nowI wish you were here with me

Love Is A Rebellious Bird : AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who “has made Mozart cool again” according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too.

Tiny Dancer by Elton John

But oh how it feels so realLying here with no one near

Never Gonna Dance Again : Louis is a spy and Harry is a dancer. The only real thing they know is each other.

Wait by M83

Give your tearsTo the tide

Into the Blue : AU. In which Louis is Harry’s scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can’t be all that difficult to convince Harry that they’re on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

Just Hold On by Louis Tomlinson

If it all goes wrongDarling, just hold on

You Are The Blood : A seventh-year Hogwarts AU in which Niall gets all the girls, Liam goes on a journey of self-discovery, Zayn falls in love, Harry wants something more, and Louis tries to figure out once and for all why he, a Muggleborn, was sorted into Slytherin.

What Kind Of Man by Florence + The Machine

And with one kissYou inspired a fire of devotion that lasts for twenty yearsWhat kind of man loves like this?

Baby Heaven’s In Your Eyes : A sixth form!AU where Harry is the fucked up bad boy with too many problems, Louis is the perfect rich boy with too much money and their schools are right across from each other. They meet at a party and that’s the last (and maybe the only) thing they need.

I’ve Just Seen a Face by Jim Sturgess

I’ve just seen a face,I can’t forget the time or placeWhere we just met

Nameless Night : For their 18th birthday, every person receives a letter that reads a simple date. That is the date you’ll meet your soulmate. Harry and Louis have different beliefs, live in different worlds and have different dreams, hopes and fears. Yet, they’re not so different from each other when it comes to love. When their paths cross, there is no doubt they belong together. Except for that one, essential difference: they didn’t receive the same date.

If I Could Fly by One Direction

I’ve got scars, even though they can’t always be seenAnd pain gets hard, but now you’re here and I don’t feel a thing

Butterfly Gun : Harry has never been much of a fighter, but—as always—where Louis Tomlinson is concerned, a lot of things stop being true.1940’s AU. Even after six years apart, they can’t forget their shared wartime childhood.

Jumpin’ Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones

I’m Jumpin’ Jack Flash

Escapade : In the grand scheme of things, finding a date for a wedding should be no problem for Louis Tomlinson. He’s rich. He’s handsome. He’s reasonably well behaved. But when the wedding is for his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend), and is happening in under a month, finding a date for the ceremony and accompanying festivities becomes more of an adventure than he ever could have planned for.

18 by One Direction

Long before we both thought the same thingTo be loved and to be in loveAll I could do is say that these arms were made for holding youI wanna love like you made me feel when we were 18

Red Brick Heart : Uni AU. Harry had turned up at the halls of residence expecting fun, new friends, and maybe a life experience or two. What he doesn’t expect is a surprise roommate who’s loud and dramatic and obsessed with tea and is maybe, actually, all he’s ever wanted.

Half A Heart by One Direction

I’m half a man at bestWith half an arrow in my chestI miss everything we doI’m half a heart without you

Never Be : The one where Harry Styles moves to Connecticut from England for nine months as a part of a study abroad program, and he just so happens to move in with Louis Tomlinson and family.

Fallingforyou by The 1975

I don’t wanna be your friend,I wanna kiss your neck

Relief Next To Me : AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

Closer by Tegan and Sara

Here comes the breath before we get a little bit closerHere comes the rush before we touch, come a little closer

The Night Sky is Changing Overhead : Harry is a tattoo artist, Louis is a drama professor, and they meet during an argument at a café.

Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones

Faith has been broken, tears must be criedLet’s do some living after we dieWild horses couldn’t drag me away

Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can’t Lose : American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football. A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?

No Control by One Direction

PowerlessAnd I don’t care it’s obviousI just can’t get enough of you

Switch Out the Batteries : Two years after meeting in a sex shop, Harry’s just returning to Louis from a month-long tour in the States, and they come up with a wholesome bonding exercise.

Ship to Wreck by Florence + The Machine

Did I drink too much?Am I losing touch?Did I build this ship to wreck?

Young & Beautiful : Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn’t stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.

Asleep by The Smiths

Deep in the cell of my heartI really want to goThere is another worldThere is a better world

Here In The Afterglow : 1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

From the Dining Table by Harry Styles

We haven’t spoke since you went awayComfortable silence is so overratedWhy won’t you ever be the first to break?Even the phone misses your call, by the way

These Inconvenient Fireworks : Future AU in which nobody tries out for X Factor but the boys end up finding one other eventually anyway. Louis is a jaded bastard who owns a cat named Duchess and teaches drama to teenagers, Harry is an idealistic aspiring photographer/part-time footy coach, Zayn teaches English lit and wears leather jackets, Liam saves people from burning buildings, and Niall is Niall.

Skinny Love by Bon Iver

And in the morning I’ll be with youBut it will be a different kindAnd I’ll be holding all the ticketsAnd you’ll be owning all the fines

Pull Me Under : AU. As the first British footballer to come out at the prime of his career, it helps that Louis Tomlinson is in a long-term, committed relationship. Even if that relationship is fake.

He’s a Pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack

Instrumental

Resist Everything Except Temptation : The one where Louis is the commodore’s son who is forced to become a part of Harry’s crew when he is captured.

Sunburn by Ed Sheeran

You scarred and left meLike a sunburn

Empty Skies : For three years, Harry has been running from his past. Now, he is moving to London and pledges to fulfil his only dream – making it big in the music industry. Not everyone has a place, though, and the competition is tough. As is his past catching up on him.Louis is part of the biggest boy band of the world, and getting there had meant a lot of hard work, as well as sacrificing parts of his heart and soul. He’s still happy. Maybe not as happy as he could be, but who is he to complain?

Pine Trees by Jake Bugg

You can sit in the pine treesYou can feel at homeYou can breathe a sigh of silence in the woods

May We Stay Lost On Our Way Home : On March 31st, Harry Styles disappears. Though many speculate, only two people know where to find him: Niall, his former guitarist, and Zayn, who follows where Niall leads.The fact the biggest boy band in the world broke up two weeks earlier might be related to the disappearance. The fact Harry meets a fairy named Louis in the woods is a whole other matter.

Colors by Halsey

Everything was greyHis hair, his smoke, his dreamsAnd now he’s so devoid of colorHe don’t know what it means

Gods & Monsters : The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that’s exactly what he did.

#HOLY FUCKIN SHIT THIS ONE WAS WILD #and yes I added two of my own fics but IN MY DEFENSE THOSE ARE THE SONGS I HAD ON REPEAT WHEN I WROTE THEM #just embrace and love me #fic rec #asks

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12b-nondo-blog · 5 years

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The Buildings and Streets In Binondo Speak

Giorgina Escoto

I was awoken from my sleep by my grandmother who, with her chinky eyes, smiled at me as she whispered a soft “Let’s go out,” as to not wake up my cousins from our afternoon siesta. Chuckling a bit at our little afternoon secret, I rose and put on my favourite red slippers, grabbed my grandmother’s hand and walked with her to the main street. I appeared as a small shadow beside her as we were walking— a tiny morena four year-old kid in contrast with a tall, slender, half-Chinese Lola whose skin could be compared to white porcelain just like my mom’s. I watched as she hailed a taxi in front of the gas station near her house and we set off for Binondo, her favourite area to walk around in. Before her daily sightseeing begins she walks with me to Eng Bee Tin, a Chinese deli in Ongpin Street, and purchases a few packs of Hopia just make me happy. I can recall how it was a childhood favourite snack for me, much like how I thought I was the only one my Lola takes to her secret afternoon adventures around Chinatown.

It wasn’t until a few years after she passed that it was revealed that my cousins can all recall the same memory: being woken up by our grandmother, hailing a cab bound for Binondo, and joining her in hours long of walk trips and afternoon prayers. We only laugh about it now, often boasting about what she purchases for us from various street vendors that she called her friends. Now, for some of her grandkids, dropping by Binondo was a weekend staple especially during Sundays where the family hears mass in Binondo Church. I can recall wearing my roller blades to church, pairing it with the itchy dresses my mother would make me wear as Sunday’s Best. Walking hand in hand with my smiling grandmother in her favourite place is a memory to cherish forever. Truly, it had been a wonderful place where our some of our happiest moments with our grandmother were created.

A few months have already gone by since I last joined my cousins in hearing mass at the church, and so when I saw a chance of visiting once again last week when my mom told me she was going to drop by, I joined her. I felt a sense of nostalgia as our car crossed Jones bridge, with my eyes travelling immediately to the new arch that was built some few years ago. It was

definitely a sight to see— a fusion of modern and traditional Chinese design meant to be the entryway for a place that was filled with centuries long of Filipino and Chinese relations. The red, gold, and green colours of the arch seemingly made it come alive along with Chinese characters and drawings as well. I’m lucky enough to have seen the Arc de Triomphe engraved with political scenes in France and the bright orange Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona in Spain among others, but as beautiful as they are in following the grandeur of European architecture, it wasn’t quite as unique as the one here in Binondo. It was refreshing for me to see asian-inspire architecture despite living in an asian country. This prompted me to wonder if I should travel the biggest continent more. Seldom do I see a story of culture and history just by looking at a piece of architecture especially in the Metro, but it delighted me to no end that this arch had allowed me to do so.

My mom dropped me off in front of the Binondo Church, also known as the Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz. Its cobbled granite walls looked ancient, being that it had been more than 400 years since it was erected. I had often wondered why there would be a catholic church in a Chinatown and so when I saw my cousins waving at me, I immediately asked the very same question. I approached them without hesitation. Ate Casina, Jerry, and Gelo greeted me. I immediately asked the eldest, Ate Casina, of my inquiries. She then partly explained to me about how St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, was born from a Filipino mother and a Chinese Father, and trained in the church before heading to Japan where he was executed for not renouncing Christianity. The church was built for the Chinese who converted to Christianity and for the native Filipinos too. Masses were celebrated in Filipino, Mandarin, Hokkien, and English as to cater to the languages of the faithful who hear the eucharistic celebration here. Upon reading some historical material, I found out that Andres Bonifacio and Gregoria de Jesus who were revolutionary leaders, were married in the church. It was splendid to note that the silent yet beautiful and pivotal parts of the country’s history occurred right inside the house of God in Chinatown of all places.

We entered the church and said a little prayer. Some of my cousins took longer than me so I went ahead and did a little exploring. For the many years that I have been visiting this church, I only got to admire the frescos painted on its high ceilings now. Scenes of Jesus Christ’s life graced the church, and marbled pillars added to its old-aged charm. The sun’s rays streamed through the circular openings in the roof and created a warm glow that seemed to emanate from the church itself. I took some pictures, but seeing the church in real life really is different as it came with more than a feeling of solemnity. It came with the feeling of wonder alongside learning of its rich history.

Walking through the crowded streets of Binondo under the afternoon sun was more than tiring. However, it allowed me to discover the town on foot rather than just seeing it through tinted windows of vehicles. The arch and the church had been a wonder to the eyes, but it was truly in the streets that the chinatown comes alive. Restaurants’ names were written in Chinese with yellowing signs attracting me to look into their menus that listed off some of my favourite meals. Vendors lined every fruit stall under colourful umbrellas, and red lanterns hung above cords in almost every street. Walking made me see just how old the place is, and how much history has happened in it. For me, it seems as though Binondo had been frozen in time in terms of its appearance. However, it made me appreciate it more than ever. It made me remember the walk trips I had with my grandmother and how it still feels like she’s with me every single time we go here to explore.

Binondo is a place I will always make sure to go back to, no matter the occasion. The place just gives me a sense of nostalgia and its rich history and culture that my grandmother was part of makes it all the more interesting. I couldn’t put into words just how charming and full of wonder it is for myself. Somehow I think you’d find it beautiful in your own way too.

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michaelfallcon · 4 years

Text

An Interview With Coffee-Loving Hip Hop Artist Propaganda

For about as long as there has been popular music, there have been songs about coffee. From Frank Sinatra to Otis Redding, Kate Bush to Black Flag, Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash, coffee has been the topic of songs from some of the most famous singers in American music history. Mostly recently, Kelly Rowland added her own very good entry to the coffee canon with a single titled, simply, “COFFEE“. But save for maybe 90s punk act The Descendents—a bunch of dorks and caffeine fiends who sang about coffee regularly and had multiple pieces of coffee-related merch—the world’s favorite beverage is rarely more than a device to tell a different story.

Enter Propaganda, the stage name of Los Angeles-based hip-hop and spoken word artist, author, podcast host, and activist Jason Petty who has just today, Friday, May 22nd released a new song, “If Coffee Were A Man.” As the title suggests, the spoken word over a beat piece imagines what coffee would be like in the context of personhood. Appearing on both the upcoming book and album for the LA-based polymath, the new track draws from his deep affinity for and knowledge of coffee—how many songs do you know that reference a Porlex hand grinder or have a video that begins by making a pour-over? But the message runs deeper; it’s a track that rewards repeat listens.

We spoke with Propaganda via digital communique to learn more about the making of “If Coffee Were A Man,” this visuals in the video, and his own coffee journey.

youtube

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Hey Prop! By way of introduction, can you tell our readers a little more about yourself?

Sure, my name is Propaganda. I am from South Central Los Angeles and I’ve lived in pretty much every corner of LA County. I am a hip hop/spoken word artist, and as of last week an author! I do a lot of justice and advocacy work around black and brown communities. I serve on the board of directors for Preemptive Love, a non-profit organization operating in Syria, Iraq, and Venezuela. Pretty much anywhere there is a refugee crisis Preemptive Love is. I also lead a podcast with my wife Dr. Alma Zaragoza Petty, PhD in educational equity called the Red Couch Podcast as well as another podcast called Hood Politics. And I drink a ton of coffee.

So where did the idea for “If Coffee Were A Man” come from? What’s the message you want listeners to take away from it?

The idea originated with some homie Sekajipo from Panther Coffee in Miami and from Black Rooster. This idea of 4th wave coffee being coffee for the people. So he was the one that said the first line to me as a writing prompt, “If coffee were a man, it would be a black man.” The poem is a part of my new album and book called Terraform, set to be released later this year.

I guess one of the biggest takeaways is a reclaiming of a narrative of sorts. Coffee, like many things the world enjoys, was invented by or originated from people of color. More specifically black people. A lot of times, this truth get lost. And I feel like it’s important not only for us consumers but for all the farmers across the world, who have to live along the equator for the coffee to even grow, to know and to recognize what a gift the people are to us, also the gift that sits right in our cups. Hopefully people will catch the metaphor of how we could be treating each other so much better than we actually are. Ultimately I would hope that it would inspire people to treat each other better.

You drop quite a few deeper coffee references—Porlex, natural processing, etc—what’s your involvement with specialty coffee? How plugged in are you with that world?

Basically my intro to specialty coffee happened by accident. In the process of touring as an independent artist, you stop before the show and grab a cup of coffee and notice how much longer this cup takes than the cup at 7-11. And then in those late-night rides between cities you stop at a gas station and get some coffee to keep you up for the drive and now you can totally tell the difference. If I’m really specific I’d say the city of Portland basically converted me. My record label is based there and we just got used to a certain quality of coffee. Next thing I know baristas are recognizing me as I walk into shops, my music was featured in A Film About Coffee, and I would get @ mentioned on social media that baristas had my music playing out of the booths at Expo. Once upon a time, I owned a little micro roaster called Left Roasters. But as you know, you can’t launch a specialty coffee brand part-time. So I was content with just learning on my own and really just being a fan of specialty coffee.

In the video, there are quite a few scenes set in Africa, including a coffee ceremony. Was this a coffee-related origin trip?

The trip was with a relief organization called Food for the Hungry. I was with them doing some relief work in Ethiopia. I specifically asked to go to Ethiopia obviously for the coffee, but also on a personal note. Throughout my life I’ve been mistaken for Ethiopian. And not just by anyone but by actual Ethiopians. As a matter of fact while we were in the country, the security guards never checked my passport. We would be at restaurants and the waiters would look to me to translate for everyone else. So for me there was the relief work, there was my passion for coffee, being at the birthplace of coffee, but also in the homeland of my ancestors.

I know that’s a much deeper answer than you were asking but the moment was so special. And that coffee ceremony that’s in the video was completely impromptu. The video doesn’t show me balling in tears from the beauty! Lol I met that lady that served us, not even an hour before that moment. She is one of the family’s Food For The Hungry servers. We struck up some small talk. I bought something from her little corner store. She was also convinced my ancestry was Ethiopian, and it just kind of moved her so much that she invited us to her backyard to make some coffee.

During quarantine, you’ve also been doing Pourigami Fridays on Instagram. Can you tell us a little more about that?

Yes! So Pourigami Fridays came out of a conversation with me and Brian Papé, the founder of the drinkware company Miir, who are the inventors of the Pourigami pour-over product. We’ve been cooking up some cool partnership ideas, including a coffee club in the style of a wine club. As the seriousness of quarantining was becoming more and more obvious, we were trying to think of ideas to A. sell some merch! B. keep spirits up, and finally figure out a way to support all these rad roasters that have lost all their foot traffic. So every Friday morning on my Instagram live I feature a different roaster then I shoot the breeze and I make a pour-over with one of my artist friends. We then post a discount code on my website for the folks to order from that roaster.

What’s been cool is a lot of my buddies have gotten into specialty coffee because of me. But they didn’t have all the tools and know all the language that I know around coffee culture so they felt like they weren’t in the know enough to participate. But they really love coffee. I feel like that represents pretty much the rest of the world. We all love coffee but everyone doesn’t have a burr grinder. So I just wanted a fun way to have some entertainment and support all of my coffee partners. And also lead the way in knowing that the best cup of coffee is the one in your holding.

Thanks Prop!

The video for “If Coffee Were A Man” is available today on Youtube. To check out all of Propaganda’s endeavors, visit his official website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

An Interview With Coffee-Loving Hip Hop Artist Propaganda published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

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shebreathesslowly · 4 years

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An Interview With Coffee-Loving Hip Hop Artist Propaganda

We spoke with Propaganda via digital communique to learn more about the making of “If Coffee Were A Man,” this visuals in the video, and his own coffee journey.

youtube

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Hey Prop! By way of introduction, can you tell our readers a little more about yourself?

So where did the idea for “If Coffee Were A Man” come from? What’s the message you want listeners to take away from it?

You drop quite a few deeper coffee references—Porlex, natural processing, etc—what’s your involvement with specialty coffee? How plugged in are you with that world?

In the video, there are quite a few scenes set in Africa, including a coffee ceremony. Was this a coffee-related origin trip?

During quarantine, you’ve also been doing Pourigami Fridays on Instagram. Can you tell us a little more about that?

Thanks Prop!

The video for “If Coffee Were A Man” is available today on Youtube. To check out all of Propaganda’s endeavors, visit his official website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

from Sprudge https://ift.tt/2XrN5ea

#Sprudge

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the-record-columns · 4 years

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March 11, 2020: Columns

Just Call Mule...

Harold ‘Mule’ Ferguson

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

I first met Harold “Mule” Ferguson in the early 80’s when I began my long-time association with the Rotary Club of North Wilkesboro.

It was years before I was actually invited to join the club, and I then worked for Thursday Magazine, predecessor to The Record, and we began printing the program for the Wilkes Agricultural Fair which the Rotary Club sponsored. Mule was a faithful Rotarian; the club’s president 1986 to 1987 and was honored as the Distinguished Rotarian of the Year, 95-96. He tirelessly worked to raise money for Rotary to fund community projects of all kinds, even organizing the very successful Balloons over the Blue Ridge hot-air balloon rally for several years.

Mule and his wife, Debbie, continued to support Rotary and its projects long after his active membership had ended.

By the time I got to know him, he had retired from Lowe's and was running full-out on his new job, enjoying life. Mule and Debbie have been just about anywhere that is worth going to, and seen about everything worth seeing. And if you were lucky enough to see one of his travelogs, it was a treat like no other.

Mule loved to fly.

I cannot begin to tell how many times I would see him flying one contraption or another over the Wilkesboros. We would kid him about having a flying lawn chair and he would simply laugh and tell us that about anything could be made to fly with the right equipment. When pressed about the safety of his collection of exotic aircraft, which was sometimes called “Mule Ferguson and his Famous Flying Machines,” he would cut his eyes at you for a brief serious moment and say, “Never lose sight of somewhere to land.”

And, he never did.

As time passed, I became more and more impressed with the way he embraced change. The cameras and ancillary equipment he used in his Pumpkin Creek Video Productions business was always state of the art. And, he was never satisfied unless he had the absolute latest, best, and most innovative equipment on the market. “It takes good equipment to turn out good work.” he would say.

But, mainly I want to remember Mule today as the good, kindhearted person he was. Some years ago I was allowed to interview some Wilkesboro citizens for Mayor Mike Inscore’s project to preserve more history of the town. Mule was doing the editing work and called to tell me he had just finished the piece I did with Ray Stroud, and wanted me to come by. He knew how much I thought of Ray and said he just wanted me to get to see it first.

Just call Mule.

He was also a musician and singer and performed for us at The Record’s ChickenFest and at our veterans events. He traipsed around the saw briars and chiggers of Dellaplane helping me, and The Record's editor Jerry Lankford, as we tried to locate and film the burial place of the hand, yes I said hand, of Otto Wood the Bandit, Wilkes County's most prolific and famous desperado. This was the first of several Otto Wood trips; from filming famed bootlegger Thurmond Sparks down in Antioch, to traveling to Salisbury to the site of Wood's fatal shootout with police in 1930. And he wouldn't even let me give him gas money.

Just call Mule.

Countless times we would get a call here at The Record from someone needing help with a video transfer or some other electronic problem. I would look up Mule's number and tell them to call. I would always tell them that, if for some strange reason he can't help you, he will know who can. One lady I sent to Mule's office in Town Hall called me back and said she felt as though she had been in the control room at NASA.

Just call Mule.

A few years ago, I got to go on a Rotary Honor Air Flight taking 130 World War II veterans to Washington D.C. There was some kind of link to some kind of site I needed for a presentation I was working on about the flight for a meeting at the North Wilkesboro club. I was told that this particular “computer guru” was the only person who could do what I needed, and I called him.

On the day of the meeting I went by to pick up the disc and he told me what I wanted “...couldn't be done,” going on to say “...equipment to do what you want does not exist.”

It was 2:30 and the meeting was at 6:30 that evening. I left very agitated and called Mule on my way back to the office. “Bring it to me” he said, “I'll look at it.”

In two hours he called me back to pick up the disc for my program which ran perfectly at the meeting. As he refused any payment, he remarked he was glad to help his Rotary Club anytime.

Just call Mule.

The problem with this column is not what to put in, but what to leave out.

I suppose I will end it for now with a note about the preparation for Mules memorial service and reception, which were held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on this Saturday past. A fella named Peter Kulsziski had been working on two video pieces—one was about Mule and his connection to the start and growth of MerleFest, and the other about Mule and Debbie. As irony (or good karma) would have it, Peter finished them and on Monday afternoon emailed them to Mule and Debbie, and they got to see them. As many of you know, it was Monday evening when Mule became suddenly ill.

Well, on Thursday, Bill Hurd was working on the two videos to play at the reception after Mule's funeral, and was having some difficulty. He knew I had copies as well and called and asked me to forward them to him, which I gladly agreed to do. When he expressed his concerns in a technical language that may as well have been Greek to me as the saying goes, I instinctively knew I could help.

Before I gave it a thought, I said in pure reflex, “If what I send gives you trouble, just call...

And I caught myself.

Bill knew exactly what I was going to say, and I smiled and felt just a bit less sad.

Rosie The Riveter: March is National Women’s History month

By HEATHER DEAN Record Reporter

During WWII, women were entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers, with more than 310,000 women, making up 65 percent of the total workforce, which was only 1 percent pre-war.

Almost everyone in the world is familiar with the morale boosting poster bearing a young woman in work overalls, a red polka dot bandana, flexing her bicep with the tag line “We can do it!”

This was “Rosie the Riveter” a fictional patriotic character of the hard-working women who kept the military factories humming, giving hope of those caught in the midst of another world war, some still reeling from the last.

Oh. Did I say fictional character? Fun fact, there were several real life women, who inspired editorials, songs and several posters of Rosie.

I grew up watching PBS. It was about the only station that would come in, in the era of rabbit ears and (gasp) having to walk to the TV and turn the channel manually, in an age where there was actually something good to watch. I heard the words “Thank you to the Rosalind P. Walter Foundation” over and over.

Who was this lady, besides someone who used her privileges and wealth to make sure I had fantastic programming? Turns out, she was the first of many Rosies…

Rosalind Palmer (Roz to her friends) was born on June 25, 1924, in Brooklyn, N.Y. She went to the best schools, dreamed of attending college. But at the age of 19, like many women, she was recruited during the war effort, and served selflessly on the night shift as an assembly line worker at the Vought Aircraft Company in Stratford, Conn. A riveter on Corsair fighter planes, F4U marine gull-winged fighter airplanes, and this girl not only did her patriotic duty, she also broke records for speed on the production line, while advocating for equal pay for her female co-workers.

Enter Igor Cassini, a syndicated newspaper columnist. Roz’s story caught his attention, and Cassini wrote about her in his “Cholly Knickerbocker” column. And the rest as we say is history.

In 1942 Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb wrote the song, "Rosie the Riveter." which was recorded by Kay Kyser and The Four Vagabonds, their inspiration was Cassini’s column.

Roz was not our ‘only’ Rosie, but she was the first. She and other women like her became sensations. Norman Rockwell drew his version of Rosie for the cover of the May 29, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. His model was also a riveter, Mary Doyle Keefe from Vermont. Mary died in 2015. His Rosie, still in overalls, work goggles on her head, and machine oil smeared on her face from the hard and dirty work is shown eating a sandwich from her lunch pail as her riveting gun rests on her lap, the American flag waving in all its glory behind her, her foot placed firmly on the cover of Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

J. Howard Miller drew a Rosie poster for Westinghouse war factories, and is the aforementioned one that we still see today. The model for that Rosie was Naomi Parker Fraley, who was photographed working in the machine shop at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, Calif., in a red polka dot bandana. Naomi died in 2018.

Other Rosies of note were Geraldine Hoff Doyle of Michigan, who worked in a Navy machine shop as a metal presser during World War II — she died in 2010 — and Rose Will Monroe, who worked as a riveter on B-24 and B-29 planes at the Willow Run Bomber Plant near Detroit and featured in a promotional film for war bonds. Rose died in 1997.

Rosalind P. Walter sacrificed her opportunity for furthering her education in serving our country. This led to her using her inherited and married wealth to supporting public television; as the documentaries and other programs helped fill in the gaps. In total she helped produce almost 70 well known and loved shows.

The Rosie collective left a lasting impact on future generations for women, forever changing the workplace, once dominated by men. You see, the call for women to help was supposed to be temporary… they were expected to leave their jobs when men came home from war. When the men did return, seeing the selfless efforts of their women, men could no longer claim superiority over women.

Rosalind P. Walter, the last of the Rosie’s, died last Wednesday, March 4, 2020. But even in death, Roz left women across the world a message: “March forth.”

The apple of God’s eye continues to twinkle

By AMBASSADOR EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

Special to The Record

As a regular traveler to Israel and one who has lived among the Jewish people, although I am not Jewish, I am continually amazed at how this land and its people manage to maintain their sense of balance, direction, and joie de vivre being surrounded by enemies on every side.

Israelis unceasingly confront crisis after crisis yet somehow their spirits remain high and their collective moral compass stays true to their love of life (all life), freedom and democracy, and their faith in God.

Israel’s list of woes is practically unending. Under constant attack from terrorists in Gaza in the south and Hezbollah to the north, Israel is the only civilized country in the world whose very existence is threatened on an almost daily basis by its hate-filled neighbors all around. It is the subject of worldwide BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaigns trying to topple its economy and is unceasingly maligned by the left-leaning media and the United Nations.

Yet, in spite of the emotional stress and turmoil inflicted on this tiny nation, Israel continues to flourish. Even during this time of worldwide panic over the Corona virus, Israel continues to cautiously host tourists. Until the recent outbreak, restaurants and hotels were full to overflowing. The streets were crowded with pedestrians, cyclists, and shoppers. People gathered day and night on streets such as the famous Ben Yehuda Street and Jaffe Street not to protest or create violence, but rather to dance, sing, and celebrate life, family, friends and faith.

For almost two decades my wife and I have been pro-Israel advocates. As a Christian broadcaster and journalist, my focus has been on telling Israel’s side of the story – truthful and fact-filled. It’s frustrating to be constantly met with opposition from the mainstream media which is bombarding the world with misleading messages about Israel and her people and always portraying them as villains and the reason there is no peace in the Middle East. The fact of the matter is tiny Israel is the only oasis of stability and freedom in the region.

While being forced to live in a very tough neighborhood, somehow Israelis manage to carry on celebrating life while the Palestinians continue to carry on celebrating death by strapping explosives on the bodies of their little ones and sending them off to suffer a martyrs death. By the way, dying as a martyr is the only way a Muslim is assured of their entrance into Islam’s heaven. It’s the reason so many Palestinian mothers encourage their children to participate in this murderous performance.

Israel, known as “The Start-up Nation,” is constantly contributing to the betterment of mankind. They lead the world in the advancement of science, technology, medicine and agriculture, to name only a few. Their sense of belonging and connection miraculously allows them to rise above their circumstances creating positives where, naturally speaking, one would expect negatives.

Israel’s existence is somewhat paradoxical. While dancing in the streets embracing life and hoping for peace, Israelis must also be about the business of building bomb shelters. In fact, bomb shelters are standard fare on all children’s playgrounds. Just part of the “normal” equipment the same as swings and sliding boards.

Yes, Israel is dealing with the Corona virus just like most of the rest of the world. Some have even attempted create fake news that Israel is responsible for the virus! While certainly not the cause, it would not surprise me one bit if Israel were to produce the solution. Long live Israel and may it continue to be a light unto the nations.

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riannagalvez · 4 years

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Hello, dolls! Hello again, New York! When I said I look forward to our adventures every weekend two months ago, I really meant it. We’ve been on 4 road trips since then and now I am working on my giant packing list for our trip to the Philippines and Taiwan. I started preparing for Christmas too since I will only have a week to get everything ready after we come back from our trip. It’s going to be a hectic month but I look forward to wearing my superMom cape all month long! 😛

If there is anything I learned about being a Mom in the past three years, it is the fact that no amount of lists can prepare me for the adventitious days Motherhood will bring my way. Perfect example? A and I planned this weekend trip to New York more than a month ago but my toddler, Little A came home with another round of germs from school on Friday so the four of us are currently sniffing and coughing like we are some cracked up boy band. Luckily, I have a list of great baby products I use whenever the kids are sick. Thanks to Big City Moms for connecting Moms like me (who are still learning) to great brands that can help make things easier.

I feel fortunate to be able to bring home this many freebies for the second time this year.

I had an amazing time at the event, of course! Here are some of the brands I met. If you plan to attend someday, here’s what you can expect to see at the event.

Most products are highlighted below and linked to Amazon for your shopping convenience!

The first booth that welcomed everyone at the event was Love Love. I love to snack all day, so I am all about healthy munchies I can keep in my drawer. Plus points if I can share it with my toddler Little A! 🙂

Love Love’s energy bites are so addicting even Little A couldn’t help himself. Angelika, the great mind behind Love Love was so nice to let him sample a couple of pieces.

My simple joys! Don’t you just hate it when you go to an event and there are no refreshments? Like you have to depend on the vending machine across the hall. Not at Big City Moms Biggest Baby Shower Ever! They have multiple drink stations at the venue, making it so convenient for guests.

I love that they have lids for the cups now. I was able to hold on to my cup for a while and not worry about it spilling! I also thought that it was a great way to minimize waste.

Trust me when I say, attend Big City Mom’s Biggest Baby Shower Ever because there will be FREE DIAPERS AND WIPES!

Huggies made all of the guests happy by giving away free diapers and wipes! I’ve been changing nappies for more than three years now and I know it will be a while until I can kiss this task goodbye. Diapers and wipes are in my DNA now, so getting them for free is pure elation for me! 😛

‘

Big City Moms spoils everyone with yummy treats throughout the event.

We left Baltimore right after Little A got out of school at noon. We all ate in the car, checked in the hotel, got ready real quick then went straight to the event. Cupcakes for energy? Why not!

Enfamil was there with different products for everyone. I was very excited to take home a full-sized bottle of di-vi-sol! My Pedia recommended this for baby C so it was really cool to bring home a bottle with us.

Cord banking is such a promising program now. In my ideal world, I would have done this for Little A and Baby C through one of the many brands at the event like StemCyte.

Tot Squad is a new brand with unique services. Don’t know where to start when it comes to deep cleaning your baby gear? Call Tot Squad! I cleaned Little A’s car seat a couple of months ago and it was horrific!! The crumbs in tight spaces and God-knows-what stains on his chair almost made me gag. It was time-consuming and a lot of work. If you want to get your professionally done, Tot Squad is the answer.

Baby C started eating soft food recently. She is a good eater (thank God) so I am always looking forward to feeding her. I am all about healthy food so seeing a couple of brands like Lil’ Gourmet who promotes natural ingredients on their baby food is inspiring.

I am currently using Dove for the kids so I was very excited to see them at the event! Even more when I saw them giving away personalized bottles. I lost my Mom for a while and found her typing Little A’s name on the big screen lol.

Nursh/Boon was there with so many products that I haven’t seen before. Baby C has a nursh bottle that we got from a free baby box and I LOVE the boon drying rack. .

I recently bought their traveling drying because of all the trips we have planned. I love it because it came with some bottle and nipple brushes so I do not have to worry about packing what I have at home! It’s so convenient to have a drying rack when we are away from home

Get the travel drying rack for a discounted price here.

Happy Family Organics was there to showcase their healthy snacks. I’ve tried most of their products when Little A was younger. The puffs are so easy to bring along with us everywhere because of the sleek bottle.

MAM s a European brand that has interesting baby bottles. I currently have two Mam bottles and the way it disassembles is pretty awesome. Baby C loves their pacifier too!

I did not know Mam has toothbrushes too. I like the safety shield to help prevent the toothbrush from hitting the back of your little one’s mouth.

There are a lot of great baby carriers out there and one of them is Tula. I honestly do not babywear because of my back but A does! 😛 Especially when we travel to the Philippines.

I was excited to see Babo Botanicals again because of April, the brand’s sales manager. Her friendliness made me really curious about the brand so I bought their sunscreen a couple of months ago at Target.

Get the sunscreen here for 40% off!

When my pediatrician told me I can give baby C cereal with iron, I went to Target and bought Earth’s Best multigrain cereal. I felt like it was the best brand I could give baby C.

Giggle is a fun brand that sells baby items. From clothes to fun books. I checked some of their rompers and man were they soft!

KinderCare is a fun learning center in New York. If we were locals, I would definitely send Little A there.

They had an activity table set up for kids which Little A loved.

And a calligrapher on site! I had the kid’s names done. What a souvenir!

Chicco and all of its durable baby products. They don’t just have baby gear, they have small baby essentials too!

I wish I knew about Green Toys sooner. Any brand that puts the environment first will always be on top of my list.

Little A loved playing with their toys especially since Green Toys’ table was filled with vehicles, and his all-time favorite, fire trucks!

This is such a perfect Christmas present for kids! In fact, I just found out some items are discounted up to 50% off now.

Click the links below to see and get the best deal!

Vehicle Carrier Set.

Rescue Boat with Helicopter.

https://amzn.to/37sM7Co

Spoonful One is now part of my baby must-haves. Spoonful One reduces the risk of your little one developing any food allergy. Introducing them to ingredients that might cause it is safe and effective so there is nothing to worry about, not to mention the nutritional values of doing so.

My favorite is the puffs because I can give it as a snack to my baby (my toddler loves it too!) Want to try it too? Here’s a great deal for you! 🙂

Water Wipes is a great brand for kids who have sensitive skin like my kids. Don’t want to worry about your little one having a reaction after cleaning him up? Water wipes will give you that peace of mind.

Parents Magazine gave away Janie and Jack coupons!! I freaked out because people close to me know Janie and Jack is my go-to store for the kid’s wardrobe ❤

I may not be from New York but I love it when a brand still accommodates me. All thanks to Island Lab for being so friendly!

Tiny Organics gave away samples of their flavorful baby food.

Hue-ga is owned by an inspiring husband and wife who wants to give their toddler the best. Hug-ga is a subscription program for best snacks with no added sugar, how awesome is that? I have to say, I am afraid of sugar and how it can affect my toddler’s health. I do not deprive him of everything but I do keep his sugar intake in moderation. This is a helpful service to all parents who are always looking for the best healthy snacks for their toddlers.

They also add a food-related gift to every box. What a treat!

The Evolved Parent Co has the coolest baby items Moms would love! I use baby balm religiously to prevent diaper rash. I HATE how much cream I have to wipe off my finger. This diaper balm applicator is going to be my new best friend during nappy changes!

Mommy Matters for postpartum goodies; UniMom has great breast pumps; Hello for oral care; and Similac for baby formula.

”

Pipette is a brand from California that specializes in anything for your baby’s skin. They ban 2000 harmful ingredients on their products so there is no doubt your little one will be safe when using Pipette.

Pipette had the most beautiful set up at the event!

I love buying things that we can utilize for a very long time. When I saw Doona’s bike, I knew it was something I would love to buy for Little A…..if only his Lola did not gift us a different brand for his birthday!

Little A refused to leave the event because he wanted to take this Doony bike home. He even woke up the day after and asked me where his yellow bike is! LOL

Two of my most used brands for baby/toddler feeding! EZPZ and Re-Play. I use both every day and I honestly can’t complain 😛

I was happy to see more brands promoting breast pumps! I exclusively pump for baby C so this one is close to my heart 😛

Let me tell you how Byram Healthcare saved my life that night, especially the gentleman who unhesitatingly helped me after uttering the words “I forgot”.

I was such in a rush all day since we had to drive from Baltimore. It took us less than three hours to get to Jersey City which was great. I had about an hour before the event to check in our hotel and get everyone ready. Unfortunately, in the midst of chaos, I forgot to grab my cooler bag with my pump supplies in it! I successfully brought my pumping unit to the event so during the first hour I was hoping there would be a brand that has breast pump supplies.

God is good because Byram Healthcare was there. I walked up to them to do my initial interview about the brand and then uttered the words “I forgot my pump accessories”. It is unfortunate that I forgot the name of the gentleman who helped me but he did not even make me say more, he just asked me what pump I use and gave me everything I needed!

Not only was I relieved! I am so grateful because I was able to pump and feed baby C. If wondering, I would be okay nursing baby C too if I did not find anyone who has extra pump supplies at the event but since it has been a while since Baby C latched on me, I did not want to risk forcing her and spoiling our night in New York City!

When they said Big City Moms Biggest Baby Shower is a Mom’s event, they meant it! Byram Healthcare sponsored the nursing/pumping lounge and I love how convenient it is to do so and feel comfortable!

‘

#MomLife

Worried about getting hungry while at the event? Big City Moms has a caterer at the event! I was planning to leave a little early to go to a restaurant with the kids but I did not have to because Big City Moms made it so convenient by having food on site.

Then towards the end of the event, Huggies gave away free big boxes of baby wipes!! it’s as if Beyonce showed up because everyone started frolicking where the kids and I were standing. Everyone got excited but what I wasn’t prepared for was the pushing from these women! I almost wanted to post on Facebook “Marked Safe from the Big City Moms event” LOL!

Our trip to New York was nothing short of amazing. I couldn’t have enjoyed myself as much without my Mom who helped me with the kids so I can go around.

Some women came up to me and said: “you have a baby in your arms, a giant camera, your phone, and toddler, How do you do it?”. It may have seemed I was doing it all but my Mom was there to save me every time I needed her.

Little A ad his superhero pose. LOL!

Now, let’s move on to the best part. How many freebies can you actually take home from the event? I couldn’t even begin to tell you how happy I was while unpacking everything the day after.

Here are stuff I got while going around at the event.

Two cases of Huggies diapers — the best part of my loot IMO because I go through wipes like crazy every month!

Earth’s Best gave Little A a full box of breakfast biscuits (which he loves now because I make him eat in the car while on his way to school — he likes to have a snack immediately after eating his breakfast lol).

They also gave me a box of baby cereal after mentioning to them I bought one for baby C as soon as her pediatrician told me she can eat cereal with iron.

StemCyte has the best giveaway bag! I wish the pact onesie is Baby C’s size because they are the best onesies!

More wipes on top of the two cases I brought home.

Personalized baby dove body wash.

Treats from different brands! I am loving the mints from Byram Healthcare because they fit my small purse 😛

Hue-ga had amazing food samples for babies and toddlers. We gave baby C the apple and cinnamon sauce last week and she devoured it!

You know you are a Mom when free baby vitamins and diapers make you happy! 😛

Parents Magazine had a box full of Gryph and Ivy samples! They gave me a handful which is awesome because I love to bring these small packs when we travel. I also got a baby bottom buddy (balm applicator) from The Evolved Parent Co.

Treats from Happ Organics, Litl Gourmets, and Thinster! Re-play also gave away feeding bowls and spoons after signing up.

More sample products at the venue!! Every table had stuff to give away so make sure to stop by and learn about their product when you go 😉

I also received a PR kit from Big City Moms! I was in awe of the products in the giant bag I brought home.

My husband A was very excited about our new roku stick!! What a cool gift from Big City Moms!

This is the cutest toy from Fisher-Price ever!! I gave it to Baby C right away after taking this picture because I knew she would love it! And she does.

Motherhood is closing its stores nationwide which is unfortunate. I am planning to use my gift card to stock up on nursing tops.

Hue-ga and EzPz spoiled me with more feeding items!! So perfect now that Baby C started eating.

The Harry Potter lover in me was so happy to get this surprise toy! I let Little A open it and we got Dobby 😛

More SpoonfulOne treats for my babies!! ❤ I gave them a pack last night and they were so happy to have it as their “treat”!

Nasal Spray and Immunity Booster!! Just in time for flu season, especially now that Little A has been bringing home lots of germs from school lol

I know the box said “take one” but I swear the people from Parents.com gave me more Janie and Jack coupons when I told them I love the brand so much and I shop there every week! lol

A well-stocked baby room makes Mommy happy 😛

Six months ago I went to Big City Mom’s Biggest Baby Shower Ever with Baby C in my belly. I had the best time and I came back to Baltimore with a smile from ear to ear.

This time, I came back with two kids in my arms (well one of them doing a superhero pose) and I still had a great time! This event is not only for expecting Moms but also for parents who are always looking for the best brands/products to give their children ❤

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Big City Moms. However, my opinion about the event and brands are all genuine.

BIG CITY MOM’S BIGGEST BABY SHOWER NEW YORK NOVEMBER 2019 Hello, dolls! Hello again, New York! When I said I look forward to our adventures every weekend two months ago, I really meant it.

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hoteltonight · 7 years

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When you hear the term “road warrior” what comes to mind? Bad airport food and efficiently packed rolling bags? Stale hotels and conference rooms? We’ve teamed up with Culture Collide to challenge the idea that all business travelers wear suits – and chat with emerging musicians about their life on the road.

Molly Burch’s recently-released debut album Please Be Mine feels like a perfect fit for open highways, dusty pit stops and new adventures on summer road trips. The collection of songs occupies a space at the crossroads of indie rock, American roots music and soulful country ballads (à la Patsy Cline). The Austin-based singer/songwriter is clocking in some serious hours on the road with her band this year. We caught up with the Scorpio and avid watcher of RuPaul's Drag Race at home during a short break to find out her travel tips and favorite local haunts.

What are some of the essentials that you always take on the road?

Dry shampoo is a big one, and my daily planner. I’m very obsessed with staying on top of things. Also, my cell phone, lipstick and a bathing suit, just in case!

What’s your No. 1 travel secret or hack that you don’t usually share?

It’s not a secret, but taking care of yourself and getting enough sleep is important. I sleep as much as possible, and I don’t drink too much. Sleep is really important. I’m always paranoid about being sick on the road.

Is it inspiring musically to be on tour?

Touring is pretty new for me. My album came out in late February and we’ve been touring the U.S. ever since. Everything is new, and being able to meet so many people in all these different cities is inspiring.

Did you have any life lessons on the road in those first few months?

I definitely had some bumps in the road. I got into a car accident right before we started the tour. Starting off the first two months of the tour with such an unfortunate incident really taught me that I could get through something that feels like a huge disaster. If something happens to us, we’ll be ok and we’ll get through it.

Have you had any other surprises on the road? Maybe an occasion where you wish you had HotelTonight?

Every night (laughs)! We’ve been really lucky, and have a lot of friends and family in the U.S. cities where we travel. I’m too embarrassed to talk about the nights that were unnecessarily bad, but usually we’ve been pretty lucky.

What’s the best hotel you have stayed at in recent memory?

We have been staying mostly with friends, so it’s definitely a treat. The Driskill in Austin is a really beautiful hotel. It’s really old and haunted, apparently. I really love old, historic hotels.

Also, the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, Calif. All of the rooms are unique and themed.

Do you have any guilty pleasures on the road?

Just bad snacks at gas stations. It’s so hard avoid getting junk food on the road, especially when you are driving all day and your options are slim. I get Diet Coke, M&M’s with peanuts and popcorn. Those are my go-tos.

What’s the last city you fell in love with?

I really loved Portland, Ore. I didn’t spend much time there, but we had a day off and got to go to the Japanese Garden. It’s a really nice city.

Do you recommendations for people visiting Austin?

Barton Springs, when the weather is nice, is one of my favorite places ever. It’s a really large swimming pool that is filled with natural springs. It’s such a great place to go swimming in the summer. Cheer Up Charlies is one of my favorite bars, and it’s a great music venue.

Food-wise, one of my favorite places is this taco place called Veracruz All Natural. Another great taco place is Tyson’s Tacos. I think the best restaurant here is Dai Due. It’s basically an upscale butcher shop. Everything they make is from scratch and locally sourced. Everything is from Texas, so it’s a really special place.

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festivalists · 7 years

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In the mood for Transylvania

With the Romanian TIFF slowly but surely emerging as a must stop for every film professional, not just for the ones curious about local cinema, we are happy to offer you Patrick Holzapfel's notes on the contemplative week he spent in Transylvania. Just like last year, he shares his experience entering the cinephilia space-time continuum, only this time peeking far beyond the snows of Sieranevada.

It is odd to be writing again. I wonder how one can come back to a place one has been before, as the same or a different person, watching the same or different films. How often do we have to come to a place until the memories connected with it become real again? Festivals in general give the impression of being always changing, while they seem to be the same from year to year. Cluj-Napoca, it was again. The huge Transylvania International Film Festival which would once again prove that you do not need many cinemas to project films.

I have seen it, and like last year it greeted me with rain and sticky weather. Like with so many festivals, the trip is part of the experience. Especially when being able to do it by car. Why? Well, because you might win a spring screen wash for your car at a Romanian gas station (I asked “Why did I win?” and the answer “Because you tank!”), or you can witness a dog not only running on the street in front of cars but doing it in circles in a roundabout. Moreover, for the first time in my life I had to pass through a mudslide while a policeman was observing it and shrugging his shoulders. In my imagination, I was swept away from the mud. Then I arrived in Cluj-Napoca with my muddy car. I was very happy to own a spring screen wash. From my hotel room I could see the whole town. Traces of the sun behind the clouds.

Why do I write about these matters that do not seem to be related to cinema? It is because I think they are related to cinema. Traveling to a foreign country is always about comparing it to images one has of it. In terms of cinema, this means you can see who is a “documentary filmmaker” and who does not care about the real world. Documentary filmmakers, like Christian Petzold, Thomas Heise, or Angela Schanelec in Germany, give an image of a country that holds true when you travel there. There is something you know about a country without ever having been there. Something cinema knows. It is not facts but sensibilities, and it is memories becoming material. In the case of Romania, it seemed to me again, the absurdities are very well depicted by cinema, the beauty and poetry are not.

However, I know of someone who would have jumped right into the mudslide: Buster Keaton. I decided to open my personal festival with him as the war – a so-called cine-concert with Diallèle accompanying THE GENERAL (1926). The musical trio with its wreaking sounds focussed on the idea of movement in the film as opposed to the idea of gags. It is an approach that works particularly well with THE GENERAL, because the speed of the film is its oxygen. Oh, this cross-cutting splendor. The music was taking the side of the machines, not of Keaton. Due to that, the actor seemed even more out of place than he is anyway. It was a rather nice way to start the festival even if the digital copy seemed to be a Blu-Ray (maybe it was that was just the bad quality of projection in the Student's Culture House, but it certainly was not projected from film).

Some thoughts on silence. There was very little of it in the theatres here in Cluj-Napoca. It was a cell phone paradise. Nobody seemed to bother. Sounds and lights everywhere. Is it too much for a festival to ask people to shut down their mobiles during screenings?

Another silence gone – Šarūnas Bartas. His cinema tells the story of a frustration, the frustration with words. Whereas in his first works he stunningly avoided them, now he has become some sort of prophet of the non-speaking. It is a paradox, though, as his characters talk a lot about not-talking. But his latest film FROST (2017) is much more than that. It is a journey into questions about the inability of touching and the impossibility of truth. Nevertheless, what remains is the absence of silence. Yet, silence is resistance as it is shown in Jean-Pierre Melville’s beautiful and cruel THE SILENCE OF THE SEA / LE SILENCE DE LA MER (1949), part of the director's retrospective at the festival. In the first row a young lady was sitting with a laptop as a live-subtitling device. The light of that screen (why does she have to sit there?) were louder than the words of the film.

I had to face it: Cluj was loud and joyous again. It was not a cathedral of cinema, nothing holy here, just people enjoying cinema. In the festival trailer, a guy eats cabbage and afterwards an alien-like creature bursts out of his stomach.

So, in the morning I sat down in a park close to my hotel. There were some ducks here, an old lady was picking leaves from the trees, many lovers here, they did what lovers do. It was almost silent. I tried to think about what I had been seeing so far: a lot of noise, some silence.

Interlude. What it takes to show films in Cluj-Napoca, present them as a big event, and pay for hotel rooms for people like me:

Drink some Staropramen or Sâmburești wine, pay for it with your Mastercard, or get some money at Raiffeisen Bank. That is how your day should start. While you are at it, go to McDonald's, they even have a parking spot where you can put your Mercedes, baby. At McDonald's they show HBO, or TV5Monde should you prefer French. After eating a cheeseburger and having beautiful talks about the arts with representatives of the Ministry of Culture as well as some big shots from Creative Europe, you can fill in some gas at a MOL. It is easy, and you are also doing something for the culture, as they faithfully tell you in their commercial. Maybe some Nespresso for take-away. However, please be careful and wash your clothes only with Persil. I can not bare any other detergent.

And don’t forget to write to me. You can use DHL. You can also add the beautiful images you made with your Nikon. I could digitize them and watch them on my brand new BenQ LCD monitor. You could also send them digitally. Don’t you own a Samsung mobile phone that makes even better images? You could also call me with it. Internet should not be a problem with UPC. Neither is light with E.ON, neither is water supply with Water Coman SOMEŞ S.A. I guess you have everything you need? If there is anything you miss, you can also go to M@dd Electronics.

On Romanian TV they said “I love Cluj!” The ambassadors and other inspiring people from the world of institutes are also there. I could see them walk on television. Don’t hesitate to drink some Jameson Irish Whiskey with them. They are nice. Don’t drink too much. I heard AQUA Carpatica is better for your health. Maybe when you become friends with them you can also buy a Tenaris pipeline together. There was a James Bond film with Pierce Brosnan where they had lots of fun in such a pipeline. If you want to feel more beautiful, I recommend Avon, it is “the company for women.” Should anthing happen in the pipeline, or anywhere else, Aegon will be there for you.

Cinema, I’m lovin’ it.

The emptiness of the Ethnographic Museum in Cluj-Napoca reminded me of an absence. It is not an absence that is connected with something or someone in particular, but one of those absences one feels in the soul while looking at things. As I walked through a building that contained the peasant history of the region in instruments, clothes, and decor, everything seemed to be so touchable and so far away. In a brave and weak second, I could not resist – though it was forbidden, I put my finger on one of these dresses, feeling the colors under my fingertips, the material with my skin, yet, the history seemed gone. A peculiar sensation that even got stronger when I felt that looking at huge photographies of people actually wearing those clothes, or working with those instruments, spoke a lot more to me than the touch. Is this, I asked myself, the price you pay for watching too many movies, or just for living in this world? The images showed eyes of people looking into the camera, there was joy and poverty, struggle and beauty. They were stronger, in a way even more present than the objects. I could only understand the weight of these instruments, their function, and beauty while I was looking at the photographs. As if I was blind for the real thing. However, I was wondering, what is real about those instruments and clothes without people?

After a dream, I woke up to a screening of CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ / NESFÂRŞIT (2007) by Cristian Nemescu, a film I had known already and loved. It was presented as a tragic and sad anniversary screening. Sad because director Nemescu died in a car crash while working on the post-production of this film. It tells the story of a meeting between a Romanian village and American soldiers passing through. It is at the same time a political statement, a light and romantic comedy, a coming-of-age film, a drama, a western, and an exploration about different forms of resistance. Due to rain and other issues, the screening started at midnight. So in the middle of the night, all the leaves were brown, and the sky was grey. It was uplifting and deeply touching at the same time. Again, I was wondering what spoke to me so much in this film. Is it finding oneself in those images, narratives? Is it really all about identification? I am not happy with it, I did not want to go to cinema to see myself on the screen.

As it is asked in the Golden Bear winner ON BODY AND SOUL / TESTRŐL ÉS LÉLEKRŐL (2017) by Ildikó Enyedi, what happens if two people see the same image, maybe look into the same mirror in a dream? Do they maybe become blind for the real thing, or do they only project themselves on the dreams of another person?

It was a day without structure. Cinema swallowed memories.

The Romanian Days had started. This line-up is the festival's flagship, because Romanian cinema keeps being exciting. I watched new films by Adrian Sitaru and Călin Peter Netzer, as well as many average to bad shorts. Sitaru’s latest offers a moral dilemma deeply concerned with the ethics of journalism and image-making. When you try to make people who suffered unjustly speak, and you know that the act of speaking makes them suffer, what do you do?

It reminded me of a note in one of my old notebooks: “Is filming stealing (time)?”

The issue of realism in Romanian cinema has been discussed on (too) many occasions. Yet, it catches the eye how certain ways of camera movement, color grading, or sound design are not connected to moral positions anymore. They are mere style. Due to that, every little change from what one seems to know comes like a surprise. There are not many surprises.

In the morning, the cleaning lady of my hotel took away my card, she came back and gave it to me. While arriving at my room late in the evening, the card did not work. I went to the desk, and they gave me another card, telling me the one I had was for a different room. I like the idea of a hotel where people have to find their room, because the cards / keys do not tell. I was sleeping in the wrong bed, maybe, like a baby that was given to another mother.

Flowers in the Japanese Gardens, some ducks searching for cover under a sunlit bridge, children screaming and scaring away the flowers. The flowers can not run. Yet they whisper to each other about hiding. Leaves falling to the ground, searching for a shadow. Someone let a tree die, here. It looks beautiful. The Botanical Garden in Cluj-Napoca is truly magnificent. I went there in order to hide, to look at water lilies reflecting suns.

Later I was going to see one of my favorite flowers in last year’s cinema – the one the protagonist is holding lovingly, moribundly close to his chest in Radu Jude’s SCARRED HEARTS / INIMI CICATRIZATE (2016). He is on his way to his love, he wants to give it to her. He bids farewell to the world and tries to live in it for the last breathe close to the sea. He is blooming but still dying. It is a film that exceeds wrinkles of suffering and instead gives an approach to death that consists of anger, desperation, and beauty. It is also concerned with the gap opening between what is said and seen, what is hidden and embraced by history and those writing it. Since I have seen it, I want to read Max Blecher’s writings. The film is based on his life and takes from his novels. I started reading his novel with a title that seems rather fittingly for my festival endeavors, Adventures in Immediate Irreality.

How an attempt concerned with history and its perception can be done rather clumsily showed CAMERA OBSCURA (2016), a documentary on cine-clubs during Ceaușescu that had above all a terrible soundtrack. It showed people telling redundantly their memories. In the end, it communicated its very clear message in titles – these cine-clubs are looked at as if they were pure propaganda instruments but they were much more and harm was done to their essential documentation of communist life in Romania during and after the Revolution. What is to be done with those films that only consist of what they talk about?

The flowers in the Botanical Garden had no messages. So before the screening of the not quite fantastic but decent A FANTASTIC WOMAN / UNA MUJER FANTÁSTICA (2017), I returned there. But all the flowers were in hiding. They were telling me, like Gustave Courbet, that we can only see what gets lit from the sun. I don't know... a festival can be such a sun, can't it? However, I am wondering, what if a sun chooses where to shine on?

There was more shadow than light on my last day in Cluj-Napoca. Nevertheless, I could see more than in the previous days.

Part of the bright shadows came from the long-buried Romanian classic THE ONE HUNDRED BILL / 100 DE LEI (1973) by Mircea Săucan. The film was shown in a newly restored copy that was so black and so white that Philippe Garrel, wherever he was, must have felt an itching in his left eye while watching it. Fittingly, it tells a rather dark story about two brothers, one a successful actor, the other – a drifter. They fall for the same girl but the film is, again, about more than that. It is about the unreality of dependency. The sound seems to be miles away from the image. People talk, yes, but the post-production voices are not meant to stick to the reality of the image. Instead they project themselves onto something which we know from being too late, a sensation close to an echo or something that resonates in a desire to be somewhere else. It is a bizarre and hypnotic film that must be watched again. It was followed by Radu Jude’s latest documentary THE DEAD NATION / ŢARA MOARTĂ (2017), which consists entirely of photographs and found-footage voice-over, telling or not telling about the history of anti-semitism in Romania during at the time of WWII. So, after all those flowers and doubts, cinema got me back when it started to open gaps between what we can and can’t see.

My week in Transylvania ends here. After a festival there is much to tell. It always struck me as funny to travel in order to sit through something that basically feels the same everywhere yet makes you travel again. It is like a double exposure of traveling. During a festival, we are at many places at the same time. One can keep the city or cinema at a distance. So, the sensation of memories intertwining with visits to places and films will always be distorted. It is highly dependent on the rhythm. TIFF has the rhythm of too much, too fast. Still, sometimes such an overdose allows for sudden freedom. It is like when Bresson wrote that the sound-film invented silence – a festival like this might remind us the true value of a single film and the time we spend with it. Curating at TIFF is looked at from the perspective of offering, bringing something, maybe everything. It is not about taste, morals, or values, it is about the market.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, because it might work and be understood like a convention for world cinema in Romania. Rarely have I visited a festival where so much is done to include the town and even its surroundings into the programming and the event as such. It feels like everything breathes TIFF, and the young audience shows that such an attitude can give the impression of cinema being alive. There is no possibility you have not heard of TIFF if you are local. Some beautiful encounters and impressions derive from such a presence.

However, the question remains if it is cinema that is alive or the event it is engraved in. Cluj-Napoca once again proved to be an island where such doubts feel out of place. It quite clearly tells people to have fun, to celebrate, not to repine. Considering developments in the Romanian industry bureaucracy, such a place is clearly needed and embraced by many. The festival is young, it wants to break with certain patterns, it is moving on where others hesitate. It looks bravely and sometimes blindly into the future. The beautiful thing about this is that it creates enthusiasm, the bad thing is that it does not ask you to look, it does not tell you anything about cinema as a festival. With this I mean there is no idea of how to look at films, how to project films, how to discuss films, or how to program films.

But don’t think too much. Take a # and dance me to the future of cinema.

If you are a film industry professional, you can watch films from Transylvania IFF on Festival Scope.

0 notes

mysteryshelf · 7 years

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FRIDAY SF & FANTASY - Rarity from the Hollow

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by the author. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lacy Dawn’s father relives the Gulf War, her mother’s teeth are rotting out, and her best friend is murdered by the meanest daddy on Earth. Life in the hollow is hard. She has one advantage — an android was inserted into her life and is working with her to cure her parents. But, he wants something in exchange. It’s up to her to save the Universe. Lacy Dawn doesn’t mind saving the universe, but her family and friends come first.

Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction filled with tragedy, comedy and satire.

“The most enjoyable science fiction novel I have read in years.”

—Temple Emmet Williams, Author, former editor for Reader’s Digest

“Quirky, profane, disturbing… In the space between a few lines we go from hardscrabble realism to pure sci-fi/fantasy. It’s quite a trip.”

Evelyn Somers, The Missouri Review

. “…a hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy…what I would have thought impossible; taken serious subjects like poverty, ignorance, abuse…tongue-in-cheek humor without trivializing them…profound…a funny book that most sci-fi fans will thoroughly enjoy.” — Awesome Indies (Gold Medal)

“…sneaks up you and, before you know it, you are either laughing like crazy or crying in despair, but the one thing you won’t be is unmoved…a brilliant writer.” —Readers’ Favorite (Gold Medal)

“Rarity from the Hollow is an original and interesting story of a backwoods girl who saves the Universe in her fashion. Not for the prudish.” —Piers Anthony, New York Times bestselling author

“…Good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find.” — The Baryon Review

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

What initially got you interested in writing?

I grew up in an impoverished West Virginian family that didn’t have money for toys or recreation. We didn’t have a working television or a telephone until I was a teen. My father was a war damaged Vet with PTSD who would become enraged when intoxicated. Perhaps dissociative of harsh reality, I began writing stories as a child, often using paper grocery bags. I would read the stories to my younger siblings and share them in the community – gas station attendants, store clerks, neighbors…. It became my primary recreation.

I continued to write, but more to express my frustration and anger as a teen at a tumultuous time in American history – civil rights and the Vietnam War. I started writing poetry, some of it published in alternative political zines. While I continued to write short stories during these years, I was so busy that they were unpolished and rarely shared. I enrolled in college to avoid the military draft and continued to write but added handout for protests and other promotional materials / slogans that were used in local protests. One of my poems was accepted for publication in the 1972 West Virginia Student Poetry Anthology, an annual competition. During graduate school, having serious academic deficiencies from very poor attendance in public school, working two jobs, and with a young son, my fiction writing took second place to school papers, including the dissertation.

I was awarded a Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1977 and specialized in child welfare. It was an evolving time in the field. My writing focused on social service models for helping kids, one of which was accepted into the Child Welfare Resource Center Research Library and another was nationally distributed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Over a forty year career in child advocacy, my writing in the field were research on foster care accepted for presentation in 1983 by the National Association of Social Workers, investigative reports published by the West Virginia Supreme Court where I worked from 1982 through 1997, statistical reports on child abuse and delinquency, training materials…stuff that aspiring fiction writers produce.

A little over a year ago, I retired from my most recent job as a psychotherapist for a local mental health center. During this long haul, I never lost interest in writing fiction but never made the move into it either.

How did you decide to make the move into being a published author?

As I mentioned, I accepted a job as a children’s psychotherapist in 2002. It was an intensive day program for children with serious emotional disturbances. Many of the children had been abused, some sexually. Part of my job was to facilitate group therapy sessions. One day in 2006 during a session, I met a skinny little girl who became my inspiration for pursuing my life-long dream of becoming a published author of fiction. I named her Lacy Dawn, my protagonist.

While always an avid reader within all genres, I was totally naive about the world of books and believed that all it took to become an author would be to write a great novel. Without conducting much research, I found Duotrope, it was free back then, and began submitting short stories that I’d written after work. Three were subsequently published in Wingspan Quarterly, Beyond Centauri, and Atomjack Science Fiction Magazine. I received token payments. Since it was fun and easy, I started on what would become my debut novel, Rarity from the Hollow.

When I felt that the manuscript of the novel was ready, I started looking for publishers and agents. A new traditional eBook publisher was listed, owned by the Acquisitions Editor for the University of Michigan’s Library. I submitted and for the next six months we mailed the paper manuscript back and forth. I had to learn what the little symbols that she had written in the margins meant. I week after the release of Rarity from the Hollow, this publisher went defunct. The owner sent me a few hundred dollars and apologized before fading into the sunset. While I didn’t realize the significance at the time, the best thing about the experience is that the novel had received glowing reviews by The Missouri Review and Baryonline (a highly regarded science fiction book critic) and blurbs by Piers Anthony and David Gerrold, famous authors, as well as a few reviews and blurbs by lesser known poets and authors.

Reality hit. For the next almost six years, almost every evening after work, I searched for publishers, posted on social media, emailed agents, and almost gave up after Robert Stephenson, an Australian agent who believed that he could place Rarity from the Hollow with Tor, suddenly died. Fortunately, somewhere along the way, I met Adam Lowe, owner of Dog Horn Publishing, a traditional small press. Based on the adversity that I’d experienced, I dedicated half of any future author proceeds to child abuse prevention so that I would never be tempted to give up again. A reedited Rarity from the Hollow was published on Amazon for the first time in 2012 and, wiser, I began anew. However, this edition had a serious formatting problem – the italics for the internal dialogue were missing. There has been an assortment of other barriers and successes with this novel since the first edition by Dog Horn, some of them related to my inexperience and some of them because small presses, while incurring all costs, do not have marketing budgets or adequate staff.

Despite the formatting problem, the first edition was awarded two Gold Medals by major book review organizations, was named one of the best releases of 2015 by a Bulgaria book critic, and received twenty-six five star reviews and forty-three four star reviews by independent book review bloggers. An unsolicited Top 100 Amazon Reviewer found:

“Rarity from the Hollow written by Robert Eggleton, to be fully honest, was much more than expected and a great read – semi-autobiographical literary work full of beautiful and ugly things, adventure, romance, pain and humor….”

Another reviewer of the first edition found that the writing style was one-quarter turn beyond that of the famous author, Kurt Vonnegut. http://electricrev.net/2014/08/12/a-universe-on-the-edge/ While I’m flattered by this comparison, please note that the novel was found by the editor of Atomjack Science Fiction Magazine, to be “laugh-out-loud funny” in some scenes. Long-time book critic, Barry Hunter, closed his review, “…good satire is hard to find and science fiction satire is even harder to find.” http://thebaryonreview.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=50 Vonnegut, Douglas Adams (i.e., Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), or Tom Robbins (i.e., Another Roadside Attraction) are also close examples by subgenre. A former Editor of Reader’s Digest found that, “Rarity from the Hollow is the most enjoyable science fiction that I’ve read in several years….” http://warriorpatient.com/blog/?p=58 Recently, the novel was referred to as a Hillbilly version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and awarded a gold medal by Awesome Indies: “…Tucked between the folds of humor are some profound observations on human nature and modern society that you have to read to appreciate….” http://awesomeindies.net/ai-approved-review-of-rarity-from-the-holly-by-robert-eggleton/ More recently, with respect to the story’s treatment of tough social issues, this reviewer said: “…I was hesitant to accept. I usually do not read or review books that discuss child abuse or domestic violence; however, I was intrigued by the excerpt and decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I took a risk; otherwise, I would have missed out on a fantastic story with a bright, resourceful, and strong protagonist that grabbed my heart and did not let go….” http://www.onmykindle.net/2015/11/rarity-from-hollow.html A book reviewer from Bulgaria named Rarity from the Hollow as one of the best five books that he had read in 2015. http://codices.info/2015/12/top-5-for-2015-ventsi/ On January 20, 2016, Rarity from the Hollow was awarded a second Gold Medal by a popular book review site: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/rarity-from-the-hollow. Additional praise of the first edition has been posted by book bloggers on Amazon.

The second edition of Rarity from the Hollow was released on November 3, 2016: http://www.lulu.com/shop/robert-eggleton/rarity-from-the-hollow/paperback/product-22910478.html. The eBook version was released on December 5, 2016: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017REIA44/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk.

There are still barriers that will hopefully be resolved, such as the Look Inside on the paperback version on Amazon not being correct. But, I’ve learned a lot by struggling to become a published author with a debut novel. Mostly, I’ve learned to not give up. Instead, I think about the determination of the real-life Lacy Dawn – to find herself a permanent loving home, to achieve empowerment so that what the meanest daddy on Earth did to her is kept in the past. And, I remind myself about how if this novel ever does well that it will benefit a lot of maltreated kids.

What advice would you give to people you decide to make the move into being a published author?

After sharing my story, my advice would be to never give up, to invest what you can and make responsible decisions in pursuit of your dream.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

Primarily, the mission of Rarity from the Hollow is to sensitize readers to the huge social problem of child maltreatment through a comical and satiric science fiction adventure. There’s other social commentary in the story. The content addresses: poverty, domestic violence, local and intergalactic economics, mental health concerns – including PTSD experienced by Veterans and the medicinal use of marijuana for treatment of Bipolar Disorder, Capitalism, and touches on the role of Jesus: “Jesus is everybody’s friend, not just humans.”

There’s also political allegory in Rarity from the Hollow. You would have to read the novel to find out how Lacy Dawn, the protagonist, convinced Mr. Rump (Bernie Sanders) to help talk Mr. Prump (Donald Trump) into saving the universe. The political allegory includes pressing issues that America is fighting about today, including illegal immigration and the refuge crisis, extreme capitalism / consumerism…. Mr. Prump was a projection of Donald Trump based on the TV show, The Apprentice. Part of the negotiations in the story occur in the only high rise on planet Shptiludrp (Shop Until You Drop), a giant shopping mall and the center of economic governance, now more easily identifiable as Trump Tower. There is no political advocacy in the story, other than sensitizing readers to the huge social problem of child maltreatment, but the allegory is much more obvious now that Donald Trump is a household name.

However, while there is a strong literary element, there is nothing preachy in the messages. Each of us must find our own truths in life. What one reader takes away from having read Rarity from the Hollow will likely be very different for another. I do hope that people think about the novel long after the last page has been turned.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

The act of creation is reward in itself. However, I do believe that the most beautiful painting never hung is not truly art. Appreciation of one’s work is the most rewarding, since I was a child.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

Self-promotion and finding a balance between it and writing is the most challenging for me. I want to write, write, write, but, given my values on appreciation, I feel compelled to promote, promote, promote.

What ways can readers connect with you?

Purchase links:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/robert-eggleton/rarity-from-the-hollow/paperback/product-22910478.html

http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B017REIA44

http://www.doghornpublishing.com/wordpress/books/rarity-from-the-hollow

Public Author Contacts:

http://www.lacydawnadventures.com

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32993259-rarity-from-the-hollow

https://www.facebook.com/Lacy-Dawn-Adventures-573354432693864/

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FRIDAY SF & FANTASY – Rarity from the Hollow was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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8 Myths About Solo Female Travel Debunked

Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse writes our regular column on solo female travel. It’s an important topic I can’t adequately cover, so I brought in an expert to share her advice for other women travelers to help cover the topics important and specific to them! She’s amazing and knowledgable. This month, we are starting the year off with some of the common myths people have about solo female travel!

I had a lot of misconceptions about traveling alone before I went overseas. I thought it might be dangerous, lonely, too much work, or make people think that I didn’t have any friends. Moreover, I always thought that being alone as a woman would make me a target for terrible things (thanks, mainstream media!). Plus, who wants to see all these amazing places completely alone? It sounded like a non-option, at least at first.

Then I realized that nobody had the time to go with me. My friends were working on their careers while I had just decided to take a break from mine. I couldn’t wait. I just had to go, or else I might never go.

So I went alone and found out that all of my assumptions about traveling solo were dead wrong. I wasn’t lonely, I didn’t end up kidnapped, and, in a lot of ways, it was actually way better to travel by myself. The freedom it afforded me, the way it grew my confidence, and all of the new friends I made were huge benefits that wouldn’t have happened it I went with a group of friends.

So for everyone who thinks that solo travel is lonely, dangerous, or boring, I want my first column ofthe new year to be on the common solo female travel myths — and why they are all wrong – to help give you the courage to get over your fears and conquer the year:

Myth #1: Solo traveling means being lonely often.

The scariest thing about traveling by yourself is the thought that you might be alone for your entire vacation, right? Who wants to travel to the other side of the world only to have to be by herself while looking at the majestic red sunrise over Angkor Wat?

I was really worried about this before I started traveling solo. Thankfully, I came to find that I made more friends in one week on the road than I had in a whole year back at home.

The best thing about traveling solo is that you’re not the only one doing it. More and more women are considering the concept of solo traveling to be realistic these days, and I couldn’t believe how many other solo female travelers there were on the road with me! Since so many other people are in the same boat, they tend to be pretty outgoing and friendly. It’s as simple as staying in a social hostel — you can easily find which those are by doing a quick search on Hostelworld — and heading to the common room. I regularly did that all over Southeast Asia and I rarely felt alone during my years of traveling there.

Myth #2: Solo traveling is only for those who are single.

Before I started traveling and meeting people with all kinds of different stories and backgrounds, I figured that if you’re traveling by yourself, it must be because you don’t have a significant other. People who have commitments like a family or partner don’t just go traveling on their own. It must mean there’s a problem in the relationship or that they’re escaping their commitments, right?

Wrong. I came to learn that plenty of people who are in relationships travel alone, and for all kinds of reasons.

It could just be that they have different interests, something many relationship experts say is totally healthy. Maybe their partner can’t get time off from work, or maybe both parties made a conscious decision to do some soul-searching on a solo adventure, even just for a portion of the trip, and meet back up again.

Many solo travelers are single, but there are many more who are in relationships too. Just because you’re not single doesn’t mean you can’t have an awesome trip by yourself.

Myth #3: You must be extraordinarily brave to travel on your own.

A lot of my friends thought I was ultra brave and independent because I was going to travel alone. The honest truth is that I was incredibly scared and overwhelmed with the idea of traveling solo until I finally just got on the plane and went. To fear what you don’t know is just to be human. It’s in our nature.

Despite being terrified, I went anyway. Later I laughed at how scared I had been, after I realized that getting around, meeting new people, and finding things to eat was all way easier than I had ever thought it could be.

You don’t have to be sure of everything and incredibly courageous to go traveling on your own. Those things may come as a nice benefit of traveling solo, but they don’t have to be prerequisites. The hardest part is getting on the plane. After that, it’s surprisingly easy to get around language barriers, figure out timetables, and have an adventure. Plenty of locals speak at least some English, and Google Maps, translation apps, and cellphone connectivity have all made traveling so much easier than it used to be.

Myth #4: You can’t be an introvert.

I used to quietly watch the TV in bars or wear my headphones in public places so that I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. I used to feel pretty paralyzed in a room with someone with a strong personality. Basically, I was kind of awkward.

But an incredible benefit of traveling by myself is that it has made me super outgoing. Even if you have trouble starting a conversation, in a hostel common room, chances are really good that eventually someone will reach out to you and bring you into a conversation. I recall that in the Philippines, a girl tapped me and asked where I’m from, and after chatting for a while, we became friends and hung out all week.

You will probably also find that after a few times approaching new people — which will be incredibly nerve-racking at first — they will be so much more open than you feared that it will be an encouraging surprise. It’s so easy to start a conversation by simply asking somebody where they’re from or where they just came from. I know those are cliché, but they also work, and before you know it, you have something to talk about.

It’s easy to build up confidence around travelers — they’re just really friendly people!

Myth #5: It’s dangerous to travel solo, especially as a woman.

You’ve seen the movie, Taken, right? The one where Liam Neeson’s daughter gets kidnapped in Europe and he kicks major butt and rescues her? Or what about Brokedown Palace, where Claire Danes gets thrown in Thai jail when a handsome stranger plants drugs on her? This is our image of girls traveling the world (thanks, Hollywood!). I’m guessing that, given dramatic stories like these, the biggest argument against solo travel that you might be hearing from your friends and family is that it is dangerous.

First of all, neither of the protagonists in those movies actually was traveling solo. Maybe if they had been, they would have paused and listened to their voices of reason and stayed out of trouble.

Staying safe on the road is all about trusting your intuition, behaving abroad like you would at home. Would you get super drunk alone at a bar at home? Would you walk around alone at night? Talk to the locals at your guesthouse about what you should watch out for, and practice common sense. What kept you alive at home and keeps you alive on the road, too.

For more check out this post all about solo female travel safety.

And take a look at these blogs for inspiration and proof women can travel alone:

Never Ending Footsteps

The Great Affair

Legal Nomads

Every day millions of women travel the world alone. It’s safe and doable, and you won’t end up in a ditch!

Myth #6: You will constantly get unwanted attention.

It happened from car windows when I was walking home from school at age 14, it happened when I was getting into my car at a random gas station in the middle of nowhere in Nevada, and it happens when I walk down the streets of New York City. Sometimes a boyfriend was only a few steps away — it didn’t matter. Catcalls happen abroad and at home. They’re annoying, yes, but don’t let them keep you from having the awesome solo trip you deserve.

The best way to deal with that kind of attention is to make sure you understand the modesty requirements in the countries that you visit and dress accordingly. Some women suggest wearing a wedding band, but I find that being very confident, looking people in the eye, and being respectfully assertive are all good ways to stand my ground as well.

While simply being a female does open you up for catcalls and unwanted advances in some parts of the world, in many cases, though, it’s quite the opposite, and I’m treated with respect and kindness, particularly because I’m a woman traveling on her own.

Myth #7: It’s way more work because you have to do everything yourself.

If you travel on your own, you will be making all of the decisions.

This is also the biggest benefit of traveling solo. It means that you don’t have to plan ahead if you don’t want to, worry about whether the other person is having fun or not, or stress about doing everything for two or more people. Solo travelers get to have more serendipitous fun, the novelty of which we are hardwired to crave. There’s often room for just one more on a motorbike, in the car, or at a local’s family dinner, and you’ll be able to make split-second decisions without asking anyone first.

I found that the benefit of complete freedom while traveling solo outweighed the extra legwork that I had to do. I also found it easy to just ask a friend which restaurant or activity they liked, or the person working at the hostel counter. It’s not that hard. (Besides, planning everything for multiple people and keeping them happy is a lot of work too.)

Myth #8: Traveling solo is a huge, life-changing decision.

A lot of people sell off everything they have and take off to the other side of the world with a one-way ticket in hand (I’m talking about myself here), but that doesn’t mean that everyone who travels solo has turned her life upside down in order to do it.

It can be as simple as a weekend trip alone to another city, a two-week jaunt to a warm and tropical place you’ve never been, or a monthlong solo backpacking trip in Europe between semesters. It doesn’t have to be a huge deal, and you could come right back to life as you know it before, with a few new adventures and a bit more confidence.

****It turned out that, contrary to what everyone (including me) thought, solo traveling wasn’t dangerous, boring, or lonely at all. It actually was one of the most social activities I’ve ever tried.

I ended up finding that, instead of solo traveling being a disadvantage in any way, it was actually advantageous to be free when I traveled. It endeared me more to locals, and I got to have unique experiences because I could say yes to everything, and that’s something that only solo travelers can say. It’s a big benefit to be able to go where you want when you want, without having to answer to anyone else. There must be a reason why it keeps growing in popularity year after year, right?

If traveling is about the benefits, the time spent in a new reality, and a departure from your normal, everyday life, then to traveling solo is to put those benefits on steroids. Give it a try, and you too may find that your misconceptions about it are all wrong.

Kristin Addis is a solo female travel expert who inspires women to travel the world in an authentic and adventurous way. A former investment banker who sold all of her belongings and left California in 2012, Kristin has solo traveled the world for over four years, covering every continent (except for Antarctica, but it’s on her list). There’s almost nothing she won’t try and almost nowhere she won’t explore. You can find more of her musings at Be My Travel Muse or on Instagram and Facebook.

Conquering Mountains: The ultimate Guide to Solo Female Travel

For a complete A-to-Z guide on solo female travel, check out Kristin’s new book, Conquering Mountains. Besides discussing many of the practical tips of preparing and planning your trip, the book addresses the fears, safety, and emotional concerns women have about traveling alone. It features over 20 interviews with other female travel writers and travelers. Click here to learn more about the book and start reading it today!

The post 8 Myths About Solo Female Travel Debunked appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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fadingfartconnoisseur · 7 years

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8 Myths About Solo Female Travel Debunked

Myth #1: Solo traveling means being lonely often.

I was really worried about this before I started traveling solo. Thankfully, I came to find that I made more friends in one week on the road than I had in a whole year back at home.

Myth #2: Solo traveling is only for those who are single.

Wrong. I came to learn that plenty of people who are in relationships travel alone, and for all kinds of reasons.

Many solo travelers are single, but there are many more who are in relationships too. Just because you’re not single doesn’t mean you can’t have an awesome trip by yourself.

Myth #3: You must be extraordinarily brave to travel on your own.

Myth #4: You can’t be an introvert.

It’s easy to build up confidence around travelers — they’re just really friendly people!

Myth #5: It’s dangerous to travel solo, especially as a woman.

First of all, neither of the protagonists in those movies actually was traveling solo. Maybe if they had been, they would have paused and listened to their voices of reason and stayed out of trouble.

For more check out this post all about solo female travel safety.

And take a look at these blogs for inspiration and proof women can travel alone:

Never Ending Footsteps

The Great Affair

Legal Nomads

Every day millions of women travel the world alone. It’s safe and doable, and you won’t end up in a ditch!

Myth #6: You will constantly get unwanted attention.

Myth #7: It’s way more work because you have to do everything yourself.

If you travel on your own, you will be making all of the decisions.

Myth #8: Traveling solo is a huge, life-changing decision.

Conquering Mountains: The ultimate Guide to Solo Female Travel

The post 8 Myths About Solo Female Travel Debunked appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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