THE SECURITY STATE HAS EXISTED SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR II. THEY'VE BEEN OPERATING IN SECRET AND WITH NO DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EIGHT OR NINE DECADES NOW. DWIGHT EISENHOWER WHEN HE LEFT OFFICE WARNED THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE DANGERS THAT THEY POSE. Continue reading →

Glenn Greenwald: "So you have huge number of journalists who believe that, they have the right to lie and even when they get caught, they don't care because they know their audience won't hold it against them." Continue reading →

Shinichiro Watanabe compares COWBOY BEBOP to LAZARUS but admits nothing beats his experience on SPACE DANDY in this interview.

The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince is a brand new romance manga from Yen Press. This first volume takes us to a familiar setting where there's a royal arranged marriage involved, and some frozen hearts are melted along the way!

Lunch Break

By: Tim Ernst

I've been noticing a trend lately at my job of what people are eating for lunch. The people I've been noticing are people in their 20's who have very unhealthy eating habits. Most of these people are skinny guys that appear to be either lazy to eat right or trying to gain weight. I think that in their minds they think that by eating anything they want it will some how help them to gain weight or does it?

These guys are known as hard gainers. They can eat anything they want and not gain weight. What they don't realize is what their putting into their body's will eventually do more harm than good.

Just the other day while I was eating my lunch I saw a guy who looked pretty skinny throw down a whole box of twinkies and washed it down with a bottle of soda. I watched him eat one by one until he was finished. I thought if only he knew what he was doing to himself he might rethink what he was doing. He looked pale, skinny, and just unhealthy.

You see anything you put into your body, it has to break it down. So what happens when you put something unhealthy into your body? Your body needs certain nutrients to break down food so if you are eating unhealthy foods that do not have certain nutrients, your body has no choice but to pull those nutrients from somewhere.
Your body is going to pull those nutrients from either muscle or bones to break it down leaving you looking unhealthy, skinny, and pale.

So the next time you think that by eating a twinkie is going to somehow help with gaining weight, you might want to consider replacing those foods with more nutritious foods. Its like they say, "Garbage in Garbage Out".

Have questions? Post them here and I'll do my best to get back with you.

Alright, today we're going to cover some common questions you may have
about the Stage Shredded Status DVD's before
they sell out...

==> Click here to learn how this transformation went down...


If you've seen the video but have some questions before ordering:

Question: Is SSS a documentary of Vince Delmonte's transformation or is there an actual program included?

Answer: Yes, SSS includes an entire program (covered on 3 of the 8 disks) and it was filmed with former NFL lineman and NPC level bodybuilder Ryan Watson! They are both pretty jacked up in this workout so it's pretty motivating too!

What Vince is going to do for anyone who orders is send you the printable workout sheets of the Stage Shredded Status workout program! Just email him your receipt to the help desk for proof of purchase!

You'll love this program because it relies on a variance of rep ranges to target, specifically, the Type 11a & Type 1a muscle fibers which create the training effect of
hypertrophy and strength-endurance. The combos generate a lot of lactate to boost growth hormone levels to assist in fat loss. You don't do super heavy loads because heavy lifting does not involve enough mechanical stress to promote fat loss.
Plus, you would not normally lift super heavy when you get leaner because your joints have less fluid and fat to protect them from the bigger forces.

Question: What if I have more than 50 lbs to lose?

Answer: Heck, Vince had 30 lbs to lose so you're programming
is going to be no different than his. The only difference is that you have an extra 8-10 weeks to travel. Let's go!

==> Get 6-Pack Abs By Summertime!



Question: Is SSS for a complete beginner?

Answer: If Vince only cared about selling his DVD's I would say yes but if you have less than one year experience in his crazy fitness world, you'll probably find his approach a little too hardcore for now. Sit this one up unless you're absolutely intrigued to see how this goes down.

The weight training program is far too advanced and you would be better off learning the nutritional principles in No Nonsense Muscle Building, which focuses on a balanced approach to eating. You need to master a balanced
approach before implementing some of the more advanced things they did.

Question: I noticed you had an ENTIRE cupboard full of supplements.
Am I supposed to take all of those?!?!

Answer: When it comes to supplementation, that's a personal choice.

In the DVD's Vince explains WHY he takes what he takes and encourages you to just sit back and consider it an educational experience. Then, as you choose, start to add one new supplement a month and measure
the response. There are SO MANY supplements he's interested in trying himself but he likes to add one new thing at a time so he will get there when he gets there.

Question: What if I only have 10 lbs of fat to lose?

Answer: Again, the same principles apply and you'll learn how Vince adjusted his cardio intensity and frequency as he gets closer to the show to ensure he does not lose muscle the last few weeks.

You'll see EXACTLY how he changed his diet from phase to phase (He changed it three times throughout the 16 weeks) and you'll see some creative ways to switch around your macros and food sources
that assist with fat loss, WITHOUT dropping your calories.

==> Get 6-Pack Abs By Summertime!

Question: Is Ben Pakulski in any of the DVD's?

Answer: YES! The first 2 DVDs start off in Toronto when Vince is looking pretty bulky and they get 2 hours of coaching on the gym floor with Ben & Intentions! If you bought MI40 then you already have this footage but it's worth reviewing and owning it on hardcopy. I know that every time I watch this footage, I re learn something new and then BOOM, I have a better workout!

If you don't have this footage, heck, the first 2 hours is worth 3x the price of the DVDs because Ben bills $150 an hour! This is the kind of information that propelled him into the ranks of the top ten bodybuilders in the world this past month!

Question: How long are the DVDs on sale?

Answer: It depends... we have about 550 left in stock now and the $50 off sale ends Sunday night or whenever he sells out... Whatever comes first.

Trust that helps and THANK YOU for your interest in Vince's work. This is, by far, the best fat loss resource he's ever released. Grab it while you can!

Here is the $50 Off Discount link to get your DVDs shipped right now!

Get 6-Pack Abs By Summertime!


P.S. Vince ships all over the world!

Here in this video I talk about where I was and where I am now with my fitness progress. I give a lot of credit to Vince Delmonte pertaining to my fitness achievements and where I am in my personal/ business life.  On this site you will find a lot of my own articles and Vince's articles pertaining to building muscle. You can reach me on my Facebook fan page here http://www.facebook.com/TimmErnstFitness

Vince Delmonte is the real deal and cares about his followers progress and muscle building goals. His philosophy is, "If you can Live Large inside of the gym, You can Live Large outside of the gym.

When lighting with small subjects, a speedlight is generally all you’ll ever need. Further, because of the scale and distances involved, even with a small flash you’ll be working at low power settings.

For these photos of some of the resident animals at the Howard County Conservancy, we used a single speedlight generally at one-eighth power, and let the environment of the impromptu studio to the rest of the heavy lifting for light modification.
Read more »

Surviving the 2012 Transition involves dealing with loads of uncertainty and requires continuous adaptation.

There is no avoiding it. The only constant anymore is constant change.

This is something our forebears didn't have to worry about. For hundreds of generations, nothing much changed. They could mosey along with their noses to the agricultural grindstone, doing the same thing their parents and grandparents and greatgrandparents did. We have it in our genes to like things this way (mostly).

But that's not the reality any longer.

Surviving 2012 calls for a different approach, because life is different... even from 10 years ago!

Changes that took millennia in the beginning of time, half a millennium around the time of Christ, and decades in the 1900's are now occurring at 20 day intervals! We can't see anymore where we're going or what's coming next -- the only certainty is that it's coming fast.

And we have to change the way we live, to live with the change.

 

The more you hang on to what you already know, what you're comfortable with, the harder these times will feel and the more difficulty you'll have surviving the 2012 Transition. We are all being called to immense rapid change. It's natural to want things to slow down... but they won't.

And the more you resist it, the more suffering you create for yourself.

So let go of resistance.

Accept that this is the new reality.

Practice letting go easily and flowing with the tide of change.

I call this Dancing Lightly On The Edge. If you're standing on ground that keeps shifting underfoot, you just have to stay light on your feet.

It's kind of like levitation. 

I read one guidebook on levitation said it's a matter of switching your gravitational "pole" -- instead of being held by the gravity of Earth, you are held by the gravity of the Sun or Moon or stars. Then you naturally "fall" upward.

If you can shift your "polarity" from worldly-existence to Divine-process, you will be upheld by that energy.

What I mean is by worldly existence is holding onto ideas like... "I have to look out for myself first" "It's work work work that makes the world go 'round" "I must stay in control in order to survive" "I want things to go back to the way they were" "I already know who I am, and all I need is better stuff and a more obliging lover to make me happy" "All that spiritual mumbo-jumbo is pure fantasy; the world is made of dead rock, man is at the pinnacle of evolution, and the physical world is real enough for me!"

This is a recipe for not surviving the 2012 Transition! It's a recipe for a very hard, unpleasant life!

The more you can switch to Divine process, the more easily, successfully, and beautifully your life will flow.

That means working from ideas like... "The more I help others, the more I ultimately help myself." "It's love that will save me, and compassionate kindness that will save the Earth." "I rest my life in the hands of the Divine, and so I am perfectly safe." "I am part of the most wondrous evolution ever experienced, and I am thrilled to allow it to flow through me." "I am Divine Light; I am Divine Love; I need nothing else: I am One with everything." "The only real reality is Consciousness."

Surviving 2012 is do-able. It may even be easy, depending on how well you master this skill.

In fact, it could very well be the best thing ever, as the entire planet is uplifted to this more beautiful state of consciousness!

With Bright Blessings,

Last weekend I had a lively discussion with a friend about Pagans she has met who don’t condone or accept the LGBT community, especially as it is intermingled with Paganism.  She has met some of this ilk (I have not) and described how they do not condone non-straight sexuality when it is expressed in Paganism, and how this type also has a limited view of what should be expressed as Paganism, and other expressions are wrong.

I gave her the impression I was surprised to hear this, but it was not surprise, but shock.  I knew intellectually that this type exists (since all types of everything exist,) but this was the first I had heard of actual encounters with such thinking.

We followers of Earth-based spirituality are persecuted and ridiculed enough with us doing it to ourselves.  Think of how Christine O’Donnell (who has no business holding public office, but that is another story) was openly ridiculed when an old clip of her surfaced where she stated she dabbled in witchcraft.  It tanked whatever chances she had in her Senatorial race, and was it because she was the wrong picture to put on the pagan community?  No, it was because any inference that one is a practicing pagan is social suicide in most parts of the United States.

We pagans need to be accepting of each other, and open to the great cosmos that is all of us.  There is no “right” or “wrong” way to be a pagan.

Those who think otherwise are suffering from cognitive dissonance.

REVIEW – I’ve had my two Dell monitors for a while, but I’ve yet to find a monitor arm that fits the weight of my 32″ curved screen. I tried my heavy duty work arms, yet no matter how tight I made it, it would slide down and rest on the desk. The LiftSync Dual […]

REVIEW – Look at my fancy coffee maker! The PINKAH Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker is a contemporary take on the French Press design that features an innovative leakproof pouring mechanism and a double-walled design that keeps your beverages hot for hours. We love all the coffee things, so let’s learn more. To the […]

COVER REVEAL!!! So over-the-moon excited to share with you the cover of my next cozy fantasy, THE ENCHANTED GREENHOUSE! Gorgeous art by Lulu Chen and design by Esther S. Kim. With cool mint sprayed edges!! Coming July 2025 from Bramble!

THE ENCHANTED GREENHOUSE is set in the same world as THE SPELLSHOP. It's about Terlu Perna, the librarian who created Caz and was transformed into a wooden statue as punishment. That should have been the end of her story. Yet one day, Terlu wakes up...

I am so absolutely in love with the cover, and I can't wait for this book to be out in the world!

Now available for pre-order!

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/EnchantedGreenhouse.htm

We’ve had our eye on Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated since its debut in 2019 from Renegade Game Studios. In our house, we love legacy games and we own most of the other Clank! editions, so it seemed like a good fit.

Boy, was it ever! We finally got the game a couple of weeks ago, and immediately fell for it so hard during the first few minutes of the game that we played it nearly every day with our 11 year old twin sons, Max and Locke.

In Clank! Legacy: AI, designed by Andy Clautice and Paul Dennen, players take on the role of employees at a small organization. At the beginning of the legacy campaign, the organization is in the process of applying to become a franchise of Acquisitions Incorporated, a megacorp famed for its for-profit adventuring services. We loved the narrative and appreciated the touches of authenticity,  like the franchise charter agreement.  We’ve played through other legacy campaign games over the past year where the narrative fell flat at times (I’m looking at you Aeon’s End Legacy), but Clank! Legacy: AI doesn’t suffer from that problem. Every game session (mission) introduces new and compelling twists in the ongoing storyline and is able to hold our interests. And the gameplay - including choices, restrictions, and goals-  makes sense within the narrative universe Clautice and Dennen have constructed for us. We found that the narrative so captured our kids attention that they were better about staying in the game each mission long enough to explore the terrain to everyone’s satisfaction as compared to their more typical race to the finish behavior when playing the standard edition of Clank! .  I was very pleased with that aspect of this edition as I really enjoy exploring the far reaches of the board.

The game mechanisms here are based on those in the base game (primarily deck building and point to point movement), with players descending into lower depths on the central board, tasked with obtaining rewards and escaping to safety before the game ends. But the legacy edition of this midweight strategy game introduces additional non-player characters, rewards, perils, and side quests as play unfolds. Spaces on the board have narrative icons indicating passages, from the Book of Secrets, which are to be read when a player lands on the space for the first time. These passages will often direct players to apply stickers to the game board, cards, or the rule book.  They may also reveal new game components such as additional cards or tokens. Clank! Legacy: AI  also utilizes both sides of the central game board, providing a lot of real estate for legacy modifications.

I didn’t notice a lot of analysis paralysis during our plays of Clank! Legacy: AI. The requirement to play all cards each hand coupled with the movement restrictions on the board provided only a few reasonable options to choose from each turn in terms of movement. Occasional delays were seen when players selected cards to recruit using skill points, but even then, it was never more than a few moments of hesitation. Each game session wraps up in a couple hours or less.

The components (the central board, the cards, cardboard tokens, etc) are of average quality for the price point. Our franchise board (where you deposit clank, hold market items for purchase, track dragon rage, and track player damage) arrived slightly warped and seems to have warped further as it has sat out on our game table (we’ve had some wild temperature swings here in snowy Iowa), but otherwise everything arrived in and remains in excellent condition.

The artwork (implemented by a full team of artists, including Clay Brooks, Anita Burrell, Derek Herring, Raul Ramos, Nate Storm, and Alain Viesca) is on point. It reinforces the narrative, is kid-friendly, and is generally unobtrusive, which is just what I’m looking for in this price range. It also blends seamlessly with the artwork in the base game, so when the legacy campaign is finished and players want to mix components of this game with the base game, it works visually.

The rulebook was generally clear and we didn’t need to look up much online, although we did have a few questions about some of the language on the cards that we didn’t feel the rulebook addressed (and we also couldn’t find a clear answer online, so it might just have been a brain block unique to us).

Every aspect of Clank! Legacy: AI  has been well planned and executed by Clautice and Dennen. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing this edition with my family and I’m hoping they’ve got additional legacy campaign expansions in the works for this IP as I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Solid storytelling, from start to finish.

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

Publisher: Renegade Game Studios
Players: 2-4 (We played with 4)
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 90 minutes per game
Game type: deck building, point to point movement, legacy, campaign
Retail Price: $75-100

Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.

During the early reign of King Charles III (Charles the Simple) in West Francia, the area was besieged by Viking invasions, while the memory of the previous and frequent Saracen incursions was still fresh in the minds of the general populace. The Saracens were Muslim - mostly Berbers from Africa – and had only let up on the Franks because they’d been pushed back by the Vikings. The local nobles were left largely to fend the Vikings off on their own.

In Paladins of the West Kingdom, players assume the role of these unnamed nobles (most likely Dukes), working to keep the region safe and spread their faith (historically: Christianity).  I really enjoy this theme, and in fact, playing the game nurtured my interest in the historical kingdom of West Francia.  That’s why I can tell you that while the rulebook notes that the King lends his Paladins to the nobles to aid them in their quest, I’m giving all the credit for the loan to the designers, Shem Phillips and S J MacDonald.  Paladins are a fictional group of knights in French lore (think of them as similar to the Knights of the Round Table in British lore),  or alternatively, a translation of the Frankish royal title of Palatine Count, which was a noble that focused mostly on judicial and governing matters and was not known as a knight.

I’ve won a few and lost a few games of Paladins. It’s a worker placement game that incorporates card drafting.  At the beginning of every round, players draw the next three Paladin cards in their deck and choose one to play for the round, one to put back on top of their Paladin deck to draw during the next round, and one to put at the bottom of their Paladin deck. Each Paladin boosts faith, influence, or strength (usually more than one of these), and also provides a special benefit. If you’ve got players prone to analysis paralysis, this is where they may get stalled, especially in the first few rounds. After Paladins are selected and put into play, workers for the round are selected by each player and put into their personal resource supply. You have many stations on your player board to place your workers during the round,  and when you do so, your moves are independent and walled off from your opponents (they cannot tamper with your player board or placement of your workers on it). However, there is one area on the general board (the King’s Favour card area) where you can also place your workers and those spots are competitive. Also contributing to player interaction – some of the stations on your player board where you place workers allow you to move resources (monks and outposts) from your player board to the main board, consuming a competitive spot that provides a placement reward. And all the resource cards on display around the main board – the townsfolk you can hire, the walls you can build, the outsiders you can attack or convert, the tavern cards you draw workers from, and the suspicion cards you gain $$$ from, are all lucrative items for which players must compete. So we’ve got a good mix of independent action and player interaction in Paladins.  There are not a lot of opportunities for  “take that” behavior in this game, other than perhaps timing your draw of suspicion cards to trigger an inquisition when you know your opponents will suffer a penalty and be forced to take on more debt.

Strategy Tips: [1] Don’t be afraid to take on debt. It’s not too hard to flip debt cards for additional victory points and the income generated from the suspicion cards + the usefulness of the criminal workers are worth the increase in debt. [2] As with all worker placement games, look for opportunities to get more workers. For example, try to recruit any townsfolk that provide workers as a reward for other actions. [3] Attacking outsiders is a reliable way to get provisions and build influence, which are prerequisites for building the wall, which in turn give more strength and allow you to attack more outsiders. When paired with the townsfolk card that provide a bonus worker for every attack action, it’s a powerful combination.

Giving the game more intellectual weight, worker placement on your board and the actions workers trigger often have additional requirements beyond number and types (i.e., colors) of workers. The actions triggered by worker placement may be constrained by your strength, faith, or influence level. And some spots or actions triggered by placing workers in those spots require money or provisions. All of these prerequisites can be gained as rewards from prior actions triggered by various worker placement, so much of the game is finding the most efficient ways to obtain prerequisites associated with the series of actions you’d like to take as the game progresses. I worried this decision making would be a weak point for analysis paralysis (I’m a pretty good candidate for testing potential AP, as I’m prone to it) and while there can be a bit of that during the game, nothing excessive was logged during our plays.  

The artists (Shem Phillips on graphic design and Mihajlo Dimitrievski on illustrations) have printed helpful indicators next to each placement location on boards and cards to identify any prerequisites as well as rewards. It’s an example of how the designers have worked with the artists to layer meaningful game information into the layers of artwork. In fact, all of the symbols implemented across the game components are really quite helpful. Bonus: once you familiarize yourself with them in one of the West Kingdom games, you’ll have learned them for the entire series as the artists reuse the same symbols in all three titles.

Beyond the iconography, the illustrations and other artwork are lovely. As with the iconography, the same style of artwork is implemented across the entire series and it carries the theme well. There was a good mix of cisgender representation, but not a lot of racial diversity, especially as would be suggested by the historical setting of the game (for example, Berbers in the area had skin tones ranging from light to to dark brown).

The components for Paladins of the West Kingdom are well made.

There are wooden meeples, an assortment of foldable boards constructed from cardboard, and various plastic coated card decks. We found the rulebook to be clear and direct, and there weren’t any items we had to look up online. It would have been nice if the designers included a player aid in the components, but I was able to compensate for the oversight by downloading a detailed player aid another user uploaded to the forums on BoardGameGeek.com.

Paladins of the West Kingdom is my favorite game of the West Kingdom series. All of the worker types and available actions make sense within the context of the theme, the mechanisms (worker placement, card drafting) integrate tightly with the scoring system to provide opportunities for building a victory point engine, and the game is complex and interesting yet still accessible for new players. The game is also a great value at its price point (approx $50) given you’ll get dozens of multiplayer games in before even a hint of same-o same-o creeps in. Many games with comparable replayability and complexity are double the price of Paladins. There’s also a solo play mode, which provides an additional way to explore the game.

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

Publisher: Renegade Game Studios
Players: 1-4 (We played with 2)
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 2 hours per game
Game type: card drafting, worker placement
Retail Price: $50

Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.

Last week, I was invited, along with my husband, to join a group of board gamers from our local Iowa City area on their annual gaming retreat. For this event, they gather at the Gamers Ranch, for day after day of board games and fellowship.

If you’re not familiar with the Gamers Ranch, it’s a short term rental/vacation property in the countryside, nestled among farms and open pastures, just outside of Bland, Missouri.  The site can accommodate groups of up to 20 people at a time and offers activities for indoors (frequently updated board game library with thousands of games including the BGG Top 100, arcade, LAN gaming pc area, Lego library, MTG library, miniature painting workshop area, reading nooks, and several large screen tvs for streaming) and outdoors (disc golf course, miles of hiking trails, a lake with boating, geocaching, fire pits, etc). The sleeping areas inside are well appointed with linens, toiletries, and wifi. Bonus for foodies: the kitchen is fantastic, offering a commercial fridge/freezer, large work area, and all the equipment you need to cook just about anything (they even provide a smoker!). Like other properties of this type, you just need to bring your own food, and you pay a base rate per night, plus a flat cleaning fee. Just a phenomenal property in terms of its amenities. The owner (Dave) has a home literally next door, and while he isn’t always around, he often is, so if you need anything (including some company to enjoy all those activities), he’s got your back. During our stay, because the retreat organizers have known Dave for a few years now, he was often gaming with us.

Our group from Iowa City was about 15 people, plus a couple of kids. My husband and I arrived a day after the event began as we were coming directly from a vacation in the Maldives and had 7 and a half hours of driving to get to the retreat from O’Hare once we got off our flight. Within our group, the arrangement was that one of the folks was in charge of all the meal planning and execution, and the rest of us took turns doing  cleanup after. For those of you who know me, you know that I often take on that role, and it’s a lot of work, so I was happy for once to be able to attend a fun event like this and just participate as a guest and not an organizer. The gentleman who handled all the meals (Mike) was an amazing  talent in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure I actually cried with joy the first evening I was there when a delicious pile of BBQ ribs with all the fixings was placed in front of me. I joked that one of the best things about the retreat for me, as a woman, was getting to play the role of the typical privileged American white male where I can just show up at mealtime and something yummy and made from scratch is handed to me. While not a built-in amenity of the Ranch, it was an absolutely amazing enhancement to the whole experience.

Let’s talk about the games. Dave prides himself on having the latest and greatest new releases in the library and he delivered on that. I got a chance to play Mosaic from Forbidden Games, and to my delight, it was the fru fru version from the Kickstarter with all the upgrades (great game by the way, I hope to get a copy and play a few more times to write a review for you).

   Another recent release – Dog Park – was also on the tables, and this pattern of new games repeated itself many times over the retreat. I spent a good bit of time recovering from jet lag as the Maldives are 12 hours ahead of central time, so I didn’t play continuously as I usually do at game events, but I still got in plenty of games.  They included Mosaic, two games of Twilight Inscription (from Fantasy Flight), Tapestry (from Stonemaier Gamers) with all expansions, Brass Birmingham (from Roxley Games), and numerous games of Werewolf.   We wrapped up our retreat Sunday morning. I had hoped to get in another game or two before the 1pm checkout time, but as I’d stayed up till 4am playing Twilight Inscription, I needed to sleep in so I could be fresh for driving home. Once we were finally up, we said our goodbyes to all our new friends (before arriving, I only knew one person at the retreat) and were off. I’m home now, already two days into my workweek, and all I can think of is how much I can’t wait to go back with the group next year. I’m hoping perhaps even to organize a trip for the board game group we host at our hose each week as well. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you give the Gamers Ranch a visit with your favorite group of people. Go for the games, or the other activities, and have a great time. I think you’re really going to find it to be an amazing experience, just as we did.   

Note: If your drive home from the Gamers Ranch takes you by Hermann, MO as mine did, make sure to stop at the Wurst House for lunch and supplies (bring a cooler and ice packs to take home their award winning brats and summer sausages).

Alt Text: Two dog walkers, walking two dogs. (It looks as if I've whimsically made it look like one of the dogs is interested in a butcher's signboard advertising sausages, but actually it wasn't me who did that. It was the dog.)

Nomadland [US, Chloé Zhao, 5] When her town closes down in the wake of its gypsum mine’s closure, a self-reliant widow (Frances McDormand) moves into her van and joins the ranks of the nomad subculture, people who rove the US, taking whatever hard work they can get and living out of their vehicles. Rooted in social realist cinema, marked by a triad of transcendent qualities: poetic visual beauty, an indelible central performance and a deep love for the characters from the writer/director.

This is from Searchlight, formerly Fox Searchlight, now part of the Disney empire, so you’ll get a chance to see it. Likely as part of awards season, whatever the heck that’s gonna look like this year. Normally I don’t spend festival slots on titles with distribution but that’s out the window in the COVID-verse.

(At the moment cinemas are open, with distancing, here in Ontario but if you look at the numbers we’re in the early denial phase of a reimposition of lockdown measures. Whatever the deal is I don’t plan to be inside a theater in any foreseeable time frame.)

Her next project is a huge pivot from poetic verite dramas like this and The Rider— Marvel’s The Eternals. 

Memory House [Brazil, João Paulo Miranda Maria, 1] Racist harassment from German co-workers drives dairy worker to vengeance. Blunts the political anger of its subject matter with enervating pacing.

Another Round [Denmark, Thomas Vinterberg, 4.5] Burned out high school teacher (Mads Mikkelsen) embarks with three colleagues on an experiment to enhance their performance by maintaining a blood alcohol level of 0.5% throughout their days at work. Not only an original booze movie, but a big one, full of turns and ambiguities, and an utterly masterful performance from Mikkelsen.

Shadow in the Cloud [New Zealand, Roseanne Liang, 4] When an WWII RAF Flight Officer (Chloe Grace Moretz) boards a Samoa-bound cargo plane bearing a mysterious package, a monstrous gremlin on board is just one of the surprises. Enclosed space horror-action thriller tips an 80s-style hat to Carpenter and Cameron.

---

Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, disc and/or streaming over the next year plus.

City Hall [US, Frederick Wiseman, 4] The latest of Wiseman’s distinctive epic-length observational documentaries studies the quotidian, procedural and human moments of human life as seen through the processes of municipal government in Boston, as held together by the thoughtful charisma of Mayor Martin Walsh. Improbably absorbing as always, this institutional cross-section offers a beguiling vision of an oasis of good government in the USA.

In a normal year I’d wait for the four and a half hour Wiseman documentary to arrive on television rather than taking up two time slots to watch it from the confines of a cinema seat at TIFF. But this is not such a year and with a digital screening you get a pause button when you need it. This is bound for PBS and due to the breadth of its subject matter will serve as an excellent introduction to those unfamiliar with this pillar of the documentary form. Or track down 2017’s Ex Libris, about the New York Public Library. In North America Wiseman’s filmography can be found on the Kanopy platform, which you may be able to access through your public library system.

The Father [UK, Florian Zeller, 4] Retired engineer (Anthony Hopkins) struggles to piece together the confusing reality of his living circumstances as his daughter (Olivia Colman) copes with his progressing dementia. Impeccably performed stage play adaptation puts the viewer inside the contradictory shifts of the protagonist’s subjective viewpoint.

Forget Draculas and Cthulhus. This is the real terror.

Summer of 85 [France, Francois Ozon, 4] Love between two young men in a French beach town leads to a bizarre crime. Teen emotions run high in a sunlit melodrama of Eros and Thanatos.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, disc and/or streaming over the next year plus.

Beans [Canada, Tracey Deer, 4] As the 1990 Oka standoff envelops her Mohawk community, a shy tween achiever (Kiawentiio) decides to toughen up by ingratiating herself to the tough kids. Mixing the docudrama and coming-of-age structures offsets the inherent trickiness of both, but it wouldn’t work without an appealing and touching performance from its charismatic young lead.

Akilla’s Escape [Canada, Charles Officer, 4] Weed dealer hoping to leave the business (Saul Wiliiams) tries to recover his boss’ ripped-off cash and product without sacrificing a young gang member who reminds him of his younger self. Moody, laconic crime drama contextualized by the political history of Jamaican gangsterism.

Williams, a recording artist, also supplies the score. The kinds of films that play at the festival often economize by favoring black credit  screens over full title sequences, so it’s always a bracing change of pace to see a well-done one. The title sequence for this not only delivers a welcome jolt of mood and energy but does a lot of the storytelling work that would otherwise have to be done with expository dialogue.

New Order [Mexico, Michel Franco, 4] A wedding thrown by a wealthy family during a growing insurrection suffers a murderous attack by protestors and the kidnapping of the bride. Wildly disturbing vision of political violence and degradation takes its time unreeling its allegorical purpose.

David Byrne’s American Utopia [US, Spike Lee, 4] Filmed version of the Broadway version of David Byrne’s recent tour features joyous choreography, simple but arresting stagecraft, and songs from his Talking Heads and solo eras. When you shoot a concert film featuring David Byrne, you have to bring it, and Lee does that ably, finding countlesss different ways to shoot within a proscenium.

David Byrne has always been a hugely important artist to me, but I was surprised how moved I was to get to feel that I was at a live concert.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, disc and/or streaming over the next year plus.

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Federal Government Boosts Australian Cardiovascular Alliance’s Mission to Combat Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke  News Hub

Japanese encephalitis virus activity in the Kimberley  Government of Western Australia Department of Health

1. North Melbourne announces three-year Western Australia agreement  North Melbourne Football Club
2. Roos end 14-year relationship amid bold new location for AFL games  Fox Sports
3. North Melbourne takes 'home' AFL matches to Western Australia  ABC News
4. Eagles set for extra WA game  West Coast Eagles

1. Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam charged over head-on collision, allegedly failing second drug test  ABC News
2. Brisbane news live: Broncos’ Ezra Mam charged over drug test result after crash | Stab victim’s widower wants knife checks in schools | Dog rescued near abandoned boat  Brisbane Times
3. Broncos player charged after car crash: 9News Latest Stories Season 2024, Short Video  9Now
4. Ezra Mam issued court notice after allegedly failing secondary drug test  Fox Sports
5. Club Statement: Ezra Mam  Broncos

1. Kate Middleton sparks doubts whether she even had cancer?  Geo News
2. ‘Played us all’: Vicious Kate theory takes hold  news.com.au
3. Kate Middleton Yet Again Trapped In Conspiracy Theories While Battling Cancer? Find Out As Royal Reporter Questions Princess’ Diagnosis  PINKVILLA

1. Apple reportedly releasing a wall-mounted smart home tablet in 2025 - and yes, it does AI  Yahoo Finance Australia
2. Apple’s next device might make your home a lot smarter  Sydney Morning Herald
3. Apple's Next Big Move Could Be Home Security Cameras  PCMag AU

1. ASX falls as banks drop; MinRes sinks, James Hardie rallies  The Australian Financial Review
2. Wages growth slows, CBA logs flat first-quarter profit, ASX falls — as it happened  ABC News
3. Markets today: ASX slides as ‘Trump trade’ peters out on Wall Street; miners, banks fall  Sydney Morning Herald

1. Corporate regulator sues Cbus over unresolved insurance claims  Sydney Morning Herald
2. VIDEO Cbus taken to court accused of failing to pay thousands of claims  ABC News
3. Super fund in strife over $20m in delayed payments  The Canberra Times

1. NSW nurses strike heaps wage pressure on Minns government  The Australian Financial Review
2. Hundreds of elective surgeries cancelled as 10,000 nurses and midwives walk off job in NSW  ABC News
3. Nurses took to the streets after ‘insulting’ pay offer. Next stop, court  Sydney Morning Herald
4. Almost 700 surgeries cancelled as 12,000 NSW nurses strike for better pay  9News

1. As it happened: Donald Trump ally taunts Kevin Rudd; WiseTech shareholders launch class action  Sydney Morning Herald
2. Ditching Rudd over Trump insults would be ‘worst possible signal’: Turnbull  Sydney Morning Herald
3. Senior Liberal calls for Rudd to be sacked after Trump advisor suggests US ambassador is on thin ice  9News

1. Elon Musk’s job as Trump’s bureaucracy buster could be just the start  The Australian Financial Review
2. Elon Musk tapped for ‘government efficiency’ role by Donald Trump  Sydney Morning Herald
3. Evening News Bulletin 13 November 2024  SBS News
4. Donald Trump wants Elon Musk to slash regulations as he reveals his role  ABC News

I sat in my crumbling courthouse a couple of months ago, having edged past the permanently-stuck gate on the justices' car park, and made my way up the nearly-new lift to the assembly room. It is a handsome room, built in 1907 but has sadly not seen a lick of paint in the last decade-and-a-half and more.

Everywhere are signs of decay and neglect - but no matter. I understand the desperate need for the government to bring expenditure under control, even if that means denying resources to the public service that I have served unpaid these thirty years. There are still biscuits (amazingly) and most of the lights come on when you press a switch. There is some mysterious  kit that we think might be for use in the new all-electronic courthouse. It still bears the protective film that we see on expensive audio visual stuff to protect it on its long journey from a Chinese sweatshop.

I have recently received an email from  www.gov.uk/annual-tax-summary setting out the tax that I paid in the last fiscal year setting out the tax that I paid (direct tax only, so forget the taxes on consumption such as liquor duties and Council Tax (fifty quid a week on my modest Thames Valley bungalow).

Much more interesting is the breakdown of where it went, revealing how little our fellow citizens know of what is done with the country's collective cash.

Not that much goes on the justice system.

The MoJ's planning for recruitment to the bench is no better than their usual planning, unfortunately. When I was sworn in in 1985 I became one of about 29,000 JPs in England and Wales; today the Bench is more like 19,000 strong, the drop being largely due to the increase in out-of-court disposals such as fixed penalties and cautions. In the meantime numbers have gone up and down, and during the years of amalgamating benches just over five years ago there was a virtual freeze on recruitment for some time. Now the system is struggling to recruit enough JPs to do the job. Nowadays, the biggest obstacle is the reluctance of many employers to allow JP employees time off. This even applies to public services such as the fire brigade, who used to be known for being relatively generous with time off for public service, but are now more niggardly.

I shall not fill the blog with the minutiae of how to apply, because the website  (www.gov.uk)  is very good, but I can say that if you are even slightly interested in the justice system you should consider applying. I wouldn't have missed it for the world, and your chances are probably better than you would expect

In the six months since my retirement from the bench I have not had cause to visit the courthouse. This week, however, I volunteered to show some local people around the building, and I was agreeably surprised to find that I still remembered the pass code for the car park. Our visitors were very interested and full of questions, which reminded me of my very early days as a JP when I found out just how little people knew about the court and its workings. That was a prime reason for my starting a blog a decade ago.

Great Britain's men's ice hockey team receives a grant from the IOC to help in its bid to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics

As of November 10, 2015, BORROWED TIME (the sequel to CHRONAL ENGINE) is now available in bookstores everywhere as well as online (in hardcover and ebook)!  Signed copies are available from BookPeople.

In an article titled, 'Borrowed Time' mixes paleontology and fantasy, Saturday's Austin American-Statesman had a great review of BORROWED TIME, stating it's "a slam-dunk for dinosaur aficionados and will appeal as well to those who are fans of literary time travel and outdoorsy adventure."

Sunday was the launch party at BookPeople! I had great fun doing a presentation discussing the connections between the book, Charles Umlauf, dinosaurs, Johnny Weissmuller, and me (really).

The dinosaur standees for the photo booth were a hit, as were the refreshments including water, soft drinks, wine and cheese, and crackers. (The wine, from the Languedoc region of France, is made from grapes grown in Cretaceous clays where dinosaur fossils have have been found).

But the real eye-opener was the mosasaur cake by author/cakelustrator Akiko White. About two feet high, it featured a mosasaur sculpted from modeler's chocolate on a chocolate cake base with buttercream frosting! She'll be doing a youtube video on the making of it soon (and I'll link when it's available).  Suffice to say that still pictures don't do it justice -- it was mounted on a motorized turntable and illuminated with a blue strobe that made it look like it was underwater!

Here are the pics:

Me and cake

Carmen Oliver and T.rex

Akiko assembles! (photo courtesy Akiko White)

Presenting (photo courtesy Akiko White)

Cake!

Refreshments

Signing

Frances Hill and Lindsey Lane (photo courtesy of Shelley Ann Jackson)

Shelley Ann Jackson and Lindsey Lane (photo courtesy Shelley Ann Jackson)

 Many thanks to BookPeople for hosting the event, to everyone who came for the event, and to everyone who helped out: Akiko, for making the awesome cake; Cynthia Leitich Smith; Carmen Oliver; Lindsey Lane; Shelley Ann Jackson; and Cory Putnam Oakes!

Cake topper in its natural habitat

Just back from the Texas Library Association Conference in Houston! 

As always, it was great to see fellow authors and illustrators, as well as the librarians who've supported our books through the years.  And I always enjoy seeing what's new at the publisher booths.

We had a great time for my panel Tuesday afternoon, "What's New with Texas Middle Grade and YA Authors," organized by Susie Kralovansky, featuring Jessica Lee Anderson moderating, and fellow panelists Paige Britt, Cory Putnam Oakes, P.J. Hoover, Cynthia Levinson, Liz Garton Scanlon, Jennifer Mckissack, and Joy Preble.  Conversation was entertaining and enlightening.  

Many thanks to everyone who puts in the work to make TLA the best state library conference in the country!

Here are some pics:

Hitting the road

Rainy Houston from the hotel

Me, Cynthia Levinson, PJ Hoover

Carmen Oliver signs

Jennifer McKissack, Jennifer Ziegler, Joy Preble

Paige Britt and Donna Janell Bowman

Me and the world in the lobby of the Hilton

Signing BORROWED TIME

Janet Fox and Jennifer Ziegler

PJ, Jessica, and Joy

Me and Elaine Scott

Buffalo Bayou on my early morning run

Back in Austin!

The famous Distance Challenge fridge magnets

It's been a few months, but I finally have some time to sit down and blog my having completed the Austin Distance Challenge (long course), sponsored by the Austin Runners Club.  I'd done most of the events before, but decided to do the challenge itself (six races, culminating in the Austin Marathon), because I wanted to put more structure into my training for the marathon. I'd done several in the 90s, but this was my second of the century and I wanted to do better than my last one (2013).

The first race was the Run Free Texas 80s 8k (for those who don't think in metric, that's about five miles) up in Cedar Park.  Naturally enough, there were a couple of DeLoreans, each outfitted with a flux capacitor.  Time travel being what it is, they were obviously the same car but from different time periods. :-).  The course was through residential neighborhoods and parks and had some rolling hills -- nice for a beginning of the season race.

Back to the Future!

The second race of the Challenge was the Run for the Water Ten Miler.  The course was along Lady Bird Lake and up through Tarrytown and then back downtown, There were some great hills on this course and let me know I needed more hill work...And, ironically enough, it was raining. :-)

Rain and hills

Race three was the Decker Challenge, a half marathon in early December with a course around Decker Lake.  It's notorious for hills and really bad weather.  (The last time I ran it, it was in the 40s and pouring rain).  If anything, last year, it was a bit too warm.  The hills were pretty brutal, though. 

My face when attacking the hills

But Santa was there!
After that, we had a month break until the Rogue Distance Festival 30k (about 18.6 miles) in early January.  This one was fairly cold and probably my least favorite of the events.  It was up in Cedar Park again and ran through residential neighborhoods which was fine.  There was an issue with marking the course, though, so most of us got off track, which meant the mile markers were out of order so it was impossible to figure out a pace. (I think at some point, we were going in circles -- and ended up going about a mile farther than we should've.).  Still, it was my longest run before the marathon and I was kind of glad it happened that way. 

Yay!  I'm done! :-)

With four events done, it was all downhill from there.  Literally.  The 3M Half Marathon starts up in the Great Hills area and runs a straight line down to downtown. It also has a swag bag filled with useful (and not so useful) 3M products.:-)

Leo checks out the swag bag

This one also started out pretty cold and way too early :-). 

Before dawn, in the warm car before the cold race.

I really enjoyed this one, though, and it was a nice preview of many of the neighborhoods on the marathon route.

Finisher!

The piece de resistance, of course, was the Austin Marathon in mid-February.  I like the course, but the first time I ran the Austin Marathon, it was all downhill, starting up north and snaking its way downtown.  Now, there's a good bit of uphill until around mile 18.  I still like the course, though, and it's not like the hills from the Decker Challenge or the Run for the Water races.

I was pretty happy with my time -- my second fastest of the century!  I did it in under 4 hours, which had been my goal.  Next year, I'll work more on speed, but this time, I just wanted to not have my quads seize up in the last two miles :-).

Running through UT campus

Made it! Best time of the century!

Anyway, thanks to everyone involved in putting on the races and the challenge itself: organizers, volunteers, emergency personnel, and all the rest!  You keep Austin running!

This past year, I signed up for the Austin Distance Challenge again, because it was intrinsically fun, but also to ensure that I would get enough running in for the Austin Marathon. The Distance Challenge, sponsored by the Austin Runners Club, involved five races: The Run Free 8k, the Run for the Water 10 miler, the Decker Challenge half marathon, the 3M Half Marathon, and the Austin Marathon.

The Run Free 8K is out in Cedar Park, a considerable distance from downtown.  It leaves from one of the high school football stadiums and winds through residential neighborhoods before returning to the starting line. It's a nice start to the fall training season.

The first piece of the puzzle

Run for the Water goes through downtown and along the lakefront. It's one of the prettiest routes in the challenge and much of it is along routes I train on.

Starting line on Cesar Chavez

The drum group at the finish line

A friend got this shot of me at the starting line.

After that came the Decker Challenge -- a hilly route just east of Austin in Decker, and notorious for terrible weather.  This year, it wasn't bad --- a bit misty with a steady drizzle. By the finish line, my glasses were so fogged up I had to take them off to see anything at all. Which made it difficult to see things like potholes...

Glasses fogging up as I climb the hills

Blindly crossing the finish line

 Not on the Challenge, but still an Austin staple was the Turkey Trot!  One of the more fun races, it usually features a good number of costumes and a large helping of whimsy.



After the holidays, the next race was the 3M Half Marathon. It's almost the exact opposite to the Decker Challenge, because it's all downhill. It starts up in the Great Hills area and winds its way downtown. This year it was a particularly fast run because there was an incredible wind out of the north. Several folks, including myself, were nearly blown over as we ran past the UT football stadium.

A selfie at the starting line

the 3M photographer got a shot of me taking my selfie

After the finish in sight of the Capitol

And the last race was the Austin Marathon!

But. About three weeks before the race, in the middle of the night, I slipped and came down on the edge of my entertainment console and tile floors. Result? A nice set of bruised ribs and a strangely linear scar on my right side.

By race day, I could still feel it a bit but had gone on short runs with only minor discomfort, so I decided to go for it.  The first half went pretty well, but the second was less pleasant.  But I'm still glad I did it...

Looking all chipper and optimistic before the race starts

Vulcan salute for the photographer

Gritting it out with a hundred yards to go

Finished!

So my time for the marathon ended up being a personal worst, although I did make it under five hours :-).

Anyway, thanks to all the organizers, volunteers, emergency personnel, and everyone else involved in putting on these races! You keep Austin running!
Next up? The Capital of Texas Triathlon! Hopefully there won't be rain...

An analysis of the U.S. Senate's FY 2025 budget request for NASA.

A single 3.5 billion-year-old rock shows signs of all the conditions life needs to thrive.

With all the advances in private space exploration, why do taxpayers still pay for space science missions?

Looking to the past to guide the search for life.

NASA is preparing to launch its flagship mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. Launching sometime in October 2024 and arriving in 2030, the mission will explore the icy world with a subsurface ocean that scientists think could have conditions favorable to life.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to launch a mission to study the aftermath of DART's impact on the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos.

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft launched on Oct. 7, 2024, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will travel to the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system to study the aftermath of the first-ever field test of an asteroid deflection technique.