Ragnarok Rebirthing

Return to the Keep on the Borderlands

2011-02-16T05:18:00.000-07:00

Keep on the borderlands was my favorite adventure upon being introduced to Dungeons and Dragons in the late 80's. I remember the first time I played I stayed up all night at old man Babcock's. With the 25th Anniversary book release of this classic I can return to the keep on the borderlands once again. The module has different surprises than the first release so it keeps you hungry. My 18th level Magic User can hardly wait to enter the Dungeons one last time to use his magic and not his manta.

T&Q... And it's fair!

2011-01-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

when the plaintive cries of my brave adventurers have finally stopped, we could see that finally, a few trolls and quaggoth could not overcome a force for good as impressive as theirs! That's nearly the end of the adventure The Mines of Mycodian... it remains just a nice little monster to slay!

Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad

2010-12-12T03:37:00.000-07:00

The best of the three-module Lost Tombs set. The DM is provided with a wide selection of puzzles, riddles and combat encounters, so many in fact that less than half will probably be used, leaving the remainder available for use in other scenarios. A few of the puzzles and riddles are of the groaner type as in "who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" and the algebra problems get somewhat repetitive, but overall I thought they were fairly entertaining and quite a bit different from the usual chestnuts that pass for riddles or puzzles in published scenarios. Hack and slashers need not despair, there are plenty of combat areas and failure to figure out the puzzles in time usually results in a fight as well.

Most of the encounters have some Greyhawk "flavor" added to them and Reynolds cleverly includes a few encounters that utilize scenes from the classic Greyhawk modules of yesteryear. The Greyhawk references are certainly not overwhelming, however, and a real strength of the adventure is that it could easily be adapted to any other campaign.

There are a few Greyhawk timeline errors in the background information, but nothing fatal. If the writing has any real faults, it might be an overdependence on overwhelming magical coercion of the PCs and tacky plot devices that rely on magical means to attain mundane result. Both methods smack a little too much of that other (ick) campaign world where wizards routinely waste telekinesis spells on fetching themselves a mug of beer from ten feet away. These are certainly minor quibbles, the Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad should prove useful and amusing for GMs in any campaign.

Sexy dice pad!

2010-12-12T03:29:00.000-07:00

Hey, japaneese eat sushis on young and sexy girls, why players doesn't take the same idea when they rollin' dices! This is an artwork with my great and totaly hot friend Cassandra, also a conquest of my hungry-love Ylo, and of course, seeing two girls so perfect in love, it's a huge pleasure!

Castle Ravenloft BG!

2010-11-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

I got the opportunity to play through Castle Ravenloft with a couple different groups of people at the PAX convention during the first weekend of September and was thoroughly impressed. The game is a great one-nighter for anyone who's played Dungeons and Dragons before, and a quick and easy introduction to the role-playing game for anyone who's never played before. Themes and some basic mechanics from the D&D game are kept in place, though greatly simplified allowing players of almost any age to jump in and have a great time. I probably wouldn't recommend trying to play with kids under ten though, the game is a bit harder than the average board game.

The game includes a large number of unpainted miniatures that are to-scale and pulled from various past D&D minis products, so even if you're unsure how long you and your friends will stay interested in the game, it still has great value for fleshing out any other D&D genre games you might play.

it's Renaissance time!

2010-10-23T00:40:00.000-06:00

It was a very pleasant moment! Ylo love this age, she love the costume and the attitude of Renaissance people. We let Nathanael in his creepy lair, because his the Historian, so is hurt by modern details, and it's sucks! So, Ylo, Pierce, Loren and I, we are in Ren Fair! Excuse my lack of costume, he was scratched by a little dog on the road, but it was cool to see gorgeous Ylo in costume (yes Nathanael, eating a burga in Renaissance costume is bad!), look at the stature of bearded Pierce, he's the king of the world like that! But focus on my girl and her sexy girls! Special mention for Lo, who fight many men with her rapiere, like always, she surprised everyone!

Experiments With Alternate Currents of High Potential and High Frequency

2010-10-15T10:26:00.000-06:00

Here is an AUTHENTIC source of Tesla's work. It is a reprint of the original edition. "Experiments with Alternate Currents of High Potential and High Frequency" which is a lecture Tesla presented at the Institution Of Electrical Engineers, London. Included with this lecture is an appendix on the "Transmission of Electric Energy Without Wires" by Nikola Tesla. If you want to understand how Tesla thought & worked; this book will allow you to gain real insight into his mind. The future he envisioned can largely be seen in our everyday lives. But this was over a hundred years ago!

Nikola Tesla is a craftsman with an intimate relationship of his work and materials. He innately grasps the nature of electricity. Dubbed the "Electric Magician" by the public, he amazed even engineers & scientists of his day. Henry Ford & Thomas Edison did their best to see that Tesla was forgotten. Neither the Ford Foundation nor the Smithsonian can silence history. Ford & Edison were great entrepreneurs. Tesla was a true genius and humanitarian! This book stands as a testament to his brilliance.

Music of Shannon

2010-08-04T02:32:00.000-06:00

This is Shannon, great friend of my girl Ylo, she's her ancient lover and a really good girl, I hope a friend for now. She's awesome with a piano, and want to be shot with her sexy attitude, a gift for us and for you. Enjoy the beauty of the artist.

ChiTown

2010-05-30T00:11:00.000-06:00

daytrippin' in China town, for taking some pictures, some instants, some people. I love this place, the smells, the noise, the smiles, all this things are different, exotic, even at the centre of the city. Great day for my photographer fiber!!!

Siege prologue

2010-05-29T23:52:00.000-06:00

Norman Osborn calls a meeting of the Cabal (Doctor Doom, The Hood, and Loki) to discuss Asgard, the last hold out in Osborn's consolidation of power. Namor and Emma Frost are absent due to their betrayal during the events of Utopia, and are replaced with Taskmaster. During the meeting Doom expresses his displeasure with Norman's actions against his ally Namor. Doom accuses Osborn of attempting to kill off members of the group that are not obedient to him, and orders Osborn to bring forth Namor. Upon refusal to do so Osborn has Doom attacked by an unknown assailant. After the attack Osborn examines the body to see that it is not Doom, but a small swarm of robotic insects inside a Doombot. The insects attack the Cabal and under the suggestion of Loki, The Hood flees. Avengers Tower is ordered to be evacuated, with only Osborn staying to attempt to fight off the swarm. When his shields (as the Iron Patriot) are about to fail, Sentry comes in to destroy them. Osborn is later seen talking with the President of the United States to try to secure permissions to invade Asgard under the claim it poses a national security threat. The President does not feel the threat is serious enough to warrant an invasion and orders Osborn to stand down. Loki, listening to the conversation, reminds Osborn of the superhuman Civil War, explaining that it all started with a tragedy in Stamford, Connecticut and that a similar tragedy could be used to gain approval for an assault.

node in the hair

2010-03-19T23:55:00.003-07:00

This dess amazing me, like all her new clothes buyed this week. It's a new look for my girl, and except the strange node in her hairs, I like that, perfect for night dates and clubbing times!

Pisces

2010-01-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Fishes in chinatown... awesome shot by... me!

New Avengers #61

2010-01-07T08:16:00.002-07:00

Steve Rogers makes his triumphant return to the Avengers, but is he too late? With the SIEGE on Asgard begun, he must act swiftly, but who can he turn to and trust in a world with Norman Osborn in charge? When the gods fall, what chance does a Super Soldier stand?
After Captain America reborn, this is a new begining and a quick transition to siege! Cap is not my favorite, no more than an interesting hero, but in this dark reign era, it's a good base for new intrigues! I hope so!

The snow men

2010-01-07T08:08:00.002-07:00

It was the challenge of my bunch of primitives; Creating/ finding snow men beofre midnight, in all NY!!! My score? Five, two less than Yloni, but one more than Lo!

Red So shot

2009-06-21T01:26:00.005-06:00

This beautiful, cute, handsome and most sexiest redish haired girl in the world is So, for Sonia. She's my friend for many years now, and also friend of heart and lips of my One, Ylo (the big furry's called... Red). I try some shots with her, in the wood near my home. It was a pretty cool moment with many big smiles. Red So's here!

2009-06-21T01:26:00.001-06:00

Yloni in light.

2009-06-21T01:13:00.002-06:00

Truly my best shot of my One, she's ready for a long try with me, even if I'm not the best photographer of this side of the river! I took many shots of her, sometime nude, sometime not. Of course I took her beautiful face and smile, but I think this one is my best...

Return of the king ending

2009-06-21T00:52:00.003-06:00

Ending of the arc! I congratulate the writer, Ed Brubaker, and the penciller Michael Lark for their work on this serie! I don't great admirator of the red devil and his universe, but the name of the arc intrigated me and I choose to let my Thor faves for this more human but no less heroe Daredevil. I discover a new Kingpin, more tougher than ever, more human, sometime fragilized by the death of his wife. He teamed-up with his old foe against the Hand, for vengeance. Nice arc! I read more DD now!

ALESSANDRO SALUCCI

2009-06-21T00:49:00.004-06:00

Italian painter, specialized in imaginary architectural perspectives and harbour views, in which the figures were executed by other artists, most notably Jan Miel and Michelangelo Cerquozzi. His pictures were praised by contemporary and near contemporary writers, and during the 17th century were popular with private collectors in both Florence and Rome. However, many of the paintings mentioned in contemporary sources remain untraced.
He is first documented in Rome in 1628, when, with Andrea Sacchi and Pietro da Cortona, he worked on the fresco decorations of the Villa Sacchetti (now Chigi), Castelfusano (near Ostia), to which he contributed personifications of the River Nile and the River Rhône. He became a member of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome in 1634, and after 1635 he was engaged on frescoes depicting sacred subjects in S Maria in Vallicella, Rome. From the mid-1630s onward Salucci collaborated with Miel on the imaginary architectural subjects for which he is best known. The two artists also collaborated between 1640 and 1645 on a series of four important Imaginary Architectural Perspectives. His most typical paintings date from c. 1650-60.

I discover this painter when I search architectural pictures for my work. His oils are stunning and I search about him.

Diatoms could triple solar cell efficiency

2009-04-11T00:37:00.002-06:00

by R. Colin Johnson
EE Times

Microscopic algae called diatoms could help triple the electrical output of experimental, dye-sensitized solar cells, according to researchers at Oregon State University and Portland State University.

By trapping light inside the nanoscale pores of thin-film solar cells coated with diatoms, the engineers claim that more incident photons are captured to boost electricity generation, thereby greatly increasing efficiency.

"In our system, photons bounce around inside pores formed from diatom shells," said OSU professor Greg Rorrer, "making them three times more efficient."

Dye-sensitized solar cells work by absorbing photons on an inexpensive thin-film composed of dye molecules attached to a titanium oxide layer on a glass or plastic substrate. When the dye molecules absorb a photon, the resultant excitation injects electrons into the titanium, which transports them to the negative electrode.

Dye-sensitized solar cells are favored as a thin-film material because they work in low-light conditions and are fabricated with environmentally benign materials compared to silicon solar cells. However, silicon cells have more than twice the efficiency, as much as 20 percent compared to less than 10 percent for dye-sensitized solar cells.

If diatoms could triple the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells, they could potentially offer comparable efficiency at a lower cost, especially in low lighting conditions.

The Oregon engineers fed titanium dioxide to living diatoms so they would build shells from the photovoltaic material instead of silicon dioxide, from which they usually build their shells.

"We have found that diatoms will readily accept titanium dioxide in place of silicon dioxide if that's all we make available to them," said Rorrer.

The engineers have grown diatoms on a substrate. They have also bred them in bulk, then coated a glass surface with the material. In either case, the pattern of intricate nanoscale features both boosted the photovoltaic surface area available and trapped incident light inside the pores.

After removing the organic material from the shells, leaving behind the diatom's nanoscale skeletons composed of titanium dioxide, the researchers mixed the material in a dye. The resulting thin-film solar cells had three times the efficiency, according to Rorrer, than the same thin films without diatom nanoscale patterning.

The technique is still experimental, and is expected to add cost to conventional methods of fabricating dye-sensitized solar cells. But Rorrer claims the increased efficiency could justify the extra cost. One reason is that because photons bounce around inside the pores, they have a much greater probability of energizing the dye molecules, thereby coaxing them to release more electrons.

Next, the engineers plan to measure the efficiency of a tiny solar cell consisting of a single diatom. They also plan to optimize the material, which is still not sufficiently efficient for commercia use.

This morning. Ylo.

2009-02-22T00:02:00.004-07:00

I like the morning, when you sneak outside the bed and hide in the bathroom. This morning, there was a spy behind you! You're beautiful my sweet, and I love you.

Bloc Party - Helicopter

2009-02-12T04:45:00.000-07:00

Searching for new home !

2009-02-12T04:43:00.003-07:00

This is a high building in NYC, I walk many times around him, and it's just now I took a pix!

In the grey world.

2008-08-31T15:34:00.003-06:00

Yloni & Me.

a loving moment.

YUNI FROM DEVIANTART

2008-08-31T15:26:00.002-06:00

She's absolutely nice!!! great gallery with many sensual girls and demons, bu also some angels with fancy style!!! It's the artwork from YUNI, a girl for somewhere on this planet. Great jobs for this artist I like!!! Follow the link... HERE!

Kreen of Staten Island!!!

2008-08-31T15:16:00.002-06:00

I like this place... Uuuuh not staten island himself, but the botanic garden! It's a great place for all the vegetal smells, the wind and the silence, despise the city. It's a magical place for me, for writing and reading (Ilium, from the huge Dan Simmons!!!).

2008-05-01T05:17:00.001-06:00

By night, I love this little town!!! Lights everywhere, the pollution, but also... The smell of the city. Great!!!

Kate Nash -Foundations

2008-02-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Colbie Caillat - Realize

2008-02-26T13:00:00.001-07:00

Young Marble Giants -Brand New Life

2007-11-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

THOR #7

2007-11-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

Story of the God of Thunder by JM Straczynski!!! The search of the asgardians arrive at end, the god of Thunder is on the way of vengeance, and it's very hard for the bad guy!!! Great new serie for my favorite Marvel characters!!! By a great author, I'm ready for the next!!!

Ásatrú

2007-11-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

Ásatrú originated as a second (or third) revival of Germanic paganism in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið was founded on summer solstice, 1972, and was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinssson. Around this time, Stephen Mac Nallen, a former US military, began publishing a newsletter titled The Runestone independently of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið in the US. He also formed an organization called the Ásatrú Free Assembly, which was later renamed the Ásatrú Folk Assembly which is still extant. Else Christensen's Odinism, which is sometimes identified with the term Ásatrú, originated around the same period. An offshoot of McNallen's group is the Ásatrú Alliance, headed by Valgard Murray, publisher of the "Vor Tru" newsletter. The Ásatrú Alliance held its 25th annual "Althing" gathering in 2005.
The Icelandic government has recognized the Ásatrú as an official religion shortly after its inception. Other Scandinavian governments have begun to recognize Germanic Neopagan organizations as religious communities with official status.

Groups and practitioners also exist now all around the world. Recognizing or not in officialy by governements.

Little Italy...

2007-08-13T04:59:00.000-06:00

I love this corner, and most of all, I love italian food!!!

Twelve hours for shopping... It's awful!!!

2007-08-13T04:53:00.000-06:00

Slow hands by Interpol

2007-08-13T04:51:00.000-06:00

Omega Flight!!!

2007-08-13T04:42:00.000-06:00

The original Omega Flight
The name of Omega Flight was originally used by a group of super-villains assembled with the specific purpose of killing the original Alpha Flight - particularly its founder, the original Guardian.

Delphine Courtney, the robotic assistant to Jerome Jaxon (a bitter ex-boss of James McDonald Hudson aka Guardian) recruited superhuman operatives to join Omega Flight as part of Jaxon's revenge scheme against Hudson. Recruits primarily came from members of the then disbanded Beta and Gamma Flights. It included Wild Child, Box (controlled by Jerome Jaxon), Diamond Lil, Flashback and Smart Alec.

The group reappeared several times throughout the series run, in different incarnations, with membership including Bile, Brain Drain, Dark Guardian, Miss Mass, Sinew , Strongarm, Technoir and The Master.

Post-Civil War
The team emerges from the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War crossover event. The lineup includes elements of the original Canadian super-team Alpha Flight as well as other superheroes, mostly American superheros on loan from S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks to Iron Man. The team roster includes U.S. Agent, Arachne, Beta Ray Bill, Talisman and Michael Pointer as the new Guardian.

In the first issue of the limited series, former Alpha Flight member Sasquatch acts as recruiter for the team. After his attempts at recruiting Talisman are initially rebuffed, Sasquatch is forced to battle the rampaging Wrecking Crew alone, and is defeated. Upon learning of her friend's capture, Talisman accepts the offer to join Omega Flight, even for a temporary basis. As the Wrecking Crew carve a path of destruction towards Toronto, driven by a series of mysterious visions, Talisman joins up with USAgent and Arachne in Ottawa, but not before lambasting Iron Man and blaming him for the supervillain crisis that has engulfed Canada. Somewhat concerned about the presence of Americans on a Canadian superhero team, Elizabeth reacts violently when she learns that Michael Pointer, the man who killed Alpha Flight as the Collective, has become the new Guardian.

Meanwhile, the Wrecking Crew (along with the captured Sasquatch) storm into the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, drawn there by the visions. Also present in the museum is Simon Walters, the human avatar of Beta Ray Bill, who has also been receiving the visions leading him to the ROM's exhibit on the Great Beasts. Opening a portal to the Realm of the Great Beasts, the Wrecking Crew is further empowered by Tanaraq, who also summons a horde of Surtur demons to aid the Crew in destroying the world. Spurred into action, Walters unveils himself as Beta Ray Bill and engages the villains, who ultimately prove too strong for the Korbinite warrior to handle. As the Wrecking Crew and the Surtur demons spill out onto the streets of Toronto, Talisman, Arachne and USAgent arrive to confront them. While Omega Flight is capable of holding off the villains and their demonic allies with the assistance of Beta Ray Bill, the situation takes a turn for the worst when Tanaraq possesses and empowers Sasquatch. The team is saved by the eleventh-hour intervention of Pointer, who devestates the ranks of demons and even throws away the Wrecking Crew, but refuses to kill the possessed Sasquatch even as his life is threatened by him.

With no other viable options left, Talisman uses the power of Shaman's medicine bag to exorcise Tanaraq's hold over Sasquatch and the Wrecking Crew, draining them of their newfound powers. Seizing the bag, Beta Ray Bill lures the demons back into the Realm of the Great Beasts, forcing Guardian to seal the portal behind him, effectively sacrificing himself to save the planet. With Tanaraq's plot foiled and the Surtur demons locked away, Omega Flight is able to defeat the Wrecking Crew and finally bring them into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. After the battle, the team finally begins to establish itself as a functioning unit; Guardian is able to move past his guilt over his role in the Collective incident, USAgent finally retrieves his genuine shield from the Purple Man, defeating the villain in the process, Sasquatch helps out with the reconstruction efforts in Toronto, Talisman retires from active duty to serve as her tribe's shaman, and Arachne decides to remain with the team. The series ends with Beta Ray Bill locked in eternal combat with the Surtur demons in the Realm of the Great Beasts, truly trapped in the nightmare plane but seemingly oblivious to his situation.

Super-Adobe

2007-08-13T01:42:00.000-06:00

Invented by Nader Khalili, California architect/author and founder of the Hesperia, California-based CEI (Cal Earth Institute). It is similar to rammed earth: Wet soil under pressure (mixed with a little cement) turns into a sturdy and long-lasting building material. Khalili's innovation is to pump the soil into bags that are continuous coils and bind them with barbed wire.

These small changes accomplish big things. The bags and steel reinforcement make the results proof against earthquakes, a way to avoid devastation such as regularly occurs in Iran. The steel wire adds tremendous amounts of tensional and shear strength -- something lacking in many traditional forms of earth-based construction. Because the bags are a continuous loop, you may fill them by machine instead of by hand, reducing construction labor to something comparable to traditional stick-built construction.
The steel in the barbed wire is less than the steel in nails used for traditional wood-frame buildings. There is less plastic in the sandbags than in the vapor barriers often used in conventional construction. There is less cement mixed in with the sub-soil dirt than is typically used in normal foundations, probably less than is often used in internal plastering alone. And since the bulk of the home is built from on-site dirt, you don't need to truck in huge amounts of construction material.
Further, the only machinery used for the foundation and shell phase of construction is digging out the subsoil dirt and pumping it into the bags. This technique can be used for the entire rough shell -- foundation, floor, walls, roof, even rough cabinetry and built-in furniture. It can then be insulated and finished by conventional or low-impact techniques, as you please.
Super adobe is sturdy and durable -- an earthquake-safe variation on a technique that has been know to last centuries in Iran. How sturdy? In Hesperia, the consultants who tested one for earthquake safety still don't know the limits of super-bloc strength. They intended to test one to destruction, but their bulldozer was not powerful enough to destroy it, no matter how hard they tried.
That Khalili is a poet as well as an architect probably influenced his choice of materials. He himself has said that he likes the fact that sandbags and barbed wire, often instruments of war, are used to create beautiful spaces for people to live in.
Think about the embedded energy saved by this technique -- reductions in steel, plastic, cement, and wood boards. It saves the power needed to transport these things, along with construction electricity and fuel. Durability means you replace buildings less often -- more conservation; all this occurs before you have made one mill, factory, or plant more efficient.
Of course there are plenty of buts with this technique. It more or less depends on curves --domes, vaults, arches, and so on. That is not going to fit in with your average suburban neighborhood. It is not suitable for buildings over a couple of stories. And of course it is not a recognized technique. It cannot be used to its full technical potential until building codes recognize it. At the moment, any super-adobe building has to jump through the usual experimental techniques hoop -- basically convincing one building department at a time.
So it is a nibble rather than a bite. Still, this is how global warming will be solved -- adding up many little things rather than doing one or two big things. And the potential is significant. The story limitation is not a major problem; a high percentage of new U.S. buildings are one or two stories high. Laws can be changed. The visual appearance is harder to get around, but there are always rural areas where your neighbor does not care what your building looks like. There are also heterogeneous areas where something unconventional and dramatic will fit; also, there is more leeway for the unusual looking in commercial buildings than in residential; and many of them are one or two stories.
Lastly, there is the potential to use super-adobe to construct building parts. For example, if it really works as well as concrete in foundations for one and two story buildings, that is a huge potential savings in Portland cement. Similarly, while making a building entirely in the form of vaults or domes and curved structure is probably going to look weird in most neighborhoods, you can fit a vault or dome as one element in a rectangular structure. Even in my little town, if you go into the area where mansions congregate up in Tumwater, you can see rich folks homes that incorporate domes and other curves just for the drama.

Bran Van 3000, Rainshine

2007-05-17T09:45:00.000-06:00

Rainshine
Want some water?
No, I think I'm okay.
Rainshine.
I don't care how sick you say it's gonna get,
My big ass bubble has not busted yet.
Because I feel,I feel fine, I feel fine.
Yes I feel,
I feel fine,
I feel fine.
Yes I feel,
I feel fine,
I feel fine.
Yes I feel,
I feel fine.

New time again, dis a new time again,
For de time now, de dodge a man him come through and then,
Me no want no war, me say between no man,
'Cause this hear time dodge a no work for satan.
Lord have mercy,
Lord have his mercy.
Lord have mercy,
Lord have his mercy.

You know what?
I've got nothing to complain about.
My breath is bad,
But my beer is stout.
So take my hand and let us jump about,
'Cause we got nothing to complain about.
The sky is grey,
I think it's gonna rain.
But that's okay,

'Cause hell, I like the rain.

So join me here in this here

refrain,

And shut your shit,
And don't complain.
What?
'Cause we got nothing to complain about,
And you got nothing to complain about.
So c'mon,It ain't that difficult to figure out,
That we've got nothing to complain about.
So c'mon.A man a shot upon him, life through the dark,
When you check it out, it's a natural fact,
Jah jah have good judgement when you do all you want,
And if...You can speak of babylon while you're around me,
'Cause every single little thing I see astounds me.

Rainshine...
Inna this time, me no fight 'gainst no man,
Me no want no man come try to test dodge,
'Cause when you check it out and go upon one mission,
And God and the Father and me inspiration.
Me test upon a mission and a one-way plan,
Me no want no man try disrespect me fashion,
'Cause when you check it out and put inspiration,
And that is how a you go reach Mount Zion.
I feel magical, mystical, motherful, logistical.
Lord have his mercy.
Magical, mystical, motherful, logistical,
Magical, mystical,
Magical,
Magical, mystical.
Look around X3
On the ground X2
There's a finger on my blister.

Allison Dot, Make it happen...

2007-05-17T09:34:00.000-06:00

Make it happen

How does it feel to know that this is real
How does it feel to know that this is real
How does it feel to know that this is real
How does it feel to know that this is real

How does it feel
How does it feel

We could make these things happen
We could make these things happen

Battlestar Galactica... OwOwOw!!!!!!!

2007-05-17T09:31:00.000-06:00

Heroes... Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-17T09:26:00.000-06:00

Two Irelands... Peace???

2007-05-17T06:16:00.000-06:00

LONDON - Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern on Tuesday became the first leader from Ireland to address the joint houses of the British Parliament, praising Britain and its departing leader, Tony Blair for promoting peace in Northern Ireland.
He warned, however, that the week-old coalition of British Protestants and Irish Catholics in Belfast represents a fragile start to healing communal divisions following four decades of bloodshed that claimed 3,700 lives.
"We must sustain our hard-won achievements on Northern Ireland," Ahern said. "Remembering where we have come from, we must never, ever take for granted the stability and the hope that is taking root."
Ahern became the 31st foreign leader to get the opportunity to address the combined houses since the tradition began in 1939. He received a standing ovation recognizing his critical role in the peace process.
In a speech that covered eight centuries of Anglo-Irish conflict to this month's power-sharing breakthrough in Belfast, Ahern said the past decade of peacemaking overseen by himself and Blair had shown the world "that even the seemingly intractable can be overcome."
Blair said he had met many great world figures "but I've never met a bigger one than Bertie Ahern."
Blair and Ahern both gained power in 1997 and worked together in a search for peace in Northern Ireland, a part of Blair's United Kingdom. They signed a landmark 1998 peace pact in Belfast and oversaw several summits with Northern Ireland leaders from 1998 to 2006. And they were on hand last week in Belfast when a Catholic-Protestant administration was formed. Blair, 54, has announced he will step down on June 27, while Ahern, 57, and his Fianna Fail party face a struggle to retain power in a May 24 election. Ahern's audience included about 400 lawmakers from both houses, including seven former British secretaries of state for Northern Ireland stretching back to 1972. Among the approximately 100 guests were Sir John Major, Blair's Conservative Party predecessor as prime minister, and former Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds. Their summits and joint peace declaration in December 1993 spurred an Irish Republican Army's cease-fire and opened the diplomatic door to the IRA's political partners, Sinn Fein, which has evolved today into the biggest Catholic-backed party in Northern Ireland.
The predominantly Catholic south of Ireland won de-facto independence from Britain in 1922 following a two-year guerrilla war, and several months after a Protestant-dominated government took control of another new state, Northern Ireland. Initially called the Irish Free State, the south became the Republic of Ireland in 1949. Anglo-Irish relations plumbed depths during the 1930s, when the two countries boycotted each others' coal and beef exports; during World War II, when Ireland remained neutral and expressed sympathy to Nazi Germany over the death of Adolf Hitler; and during the 1970s rise of Irish Republican Army violence over Northern Ireland. Relations have gradually improved since 1973, when the United Kingdom and Irish Republic both joined the European Community and became diplomatic equals on a wider stage.
In 1985, in a bid to quell IRA violence, they forged a treaty on cooperation over Northern Ireland that, at the time, infuriated the province's Protestant majority — but, in retrospect, laid the foundation for 1990s peacemaking between Britain and the IRA's Sinn Fein allies.

Two Korea... A new hope for peace?

2007-05-17T06:06:00.000-06:00

MUNSAN, South Korea - The divided Koreas sent trains lumbering through their heavily armed border for the first time in more than half a century Thursday, reaching another symbolic milestone in a reconciliation process often hindered by the North's nuclear weapons ambitions.

Firecrackers and white balloons filled the skies near the border as a five-car train started rolling north on a restored track on the west side of the peninsula. On the eastern side, a North Korean train crossed into the South on another reconnected rail line where it was greeted by children bearing flowers.
It was the first train crossing of the 2.5-mile-wide no man's land dividing the two sides since inter-Korean rail links were cut off early in the 1950-53 Korean War.
The trial run was the latest symbol of a historic reconciliation that the longtime foes began pursuing with the first-ever summit of their leaders in 2000. That summit has led to a series of exchange projects, including the opening of cross-border roads that thousands of South Koreans cross each year as tourists, or to work in special enclaves in the North.
The detente has often stalled, mainly because of tensions over North Korea's nuclear programs. Thursday's one-time test run came after repeated delays since the rail lines were linked in 2003.
"It is not simply a test run. It means reconnecting the severed bloodline of our people. It means that the heart of the Korean peninsula is beating again," Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said at a ceremony at Munsan station, about 8 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone, before boarding the train.
The two Koreas "should not be derailed from the track or hesitate" in their moves toward unification, North Korean Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho Ung said.
However, Kwon also repeated the North's claims that outside powers — usually a reference to the United States — were the main obstacle to reconciliation between the Koreas.
"Even at this point, challenges are continuing from divisive forces at home and abroad who don't like reconciliation and unification of our people," Kwon said.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun watched the event live on television, hailing it as a "result of building trust consistently with patience," his office said.
South Korean soldiers in camouflage uniforms opened the barbed wire-topped gates to the DMZ on the western track to allow the South Korean train to pass through the zone that stretches across the entire 156-mile width of the peninsula.
Not long after, the North Korean train arrived in the South with one railcar bearing a sign that read, "The car that great leader and comrade Kim Il Sung boarded in person on Aug. 9, 1968" — referring to the North's late founder and father of current leader Kim Jong Il.
The trains, each carrying 150 people from both sides, returned to their origin later Thursday.
While the rail crossing symbolized reconciliation for some, it was a reminder of loss for others. A dozen South Koreans whose relatives allegedly have been abducted by North Korea staged a protest outside the Munsan station, demanding Seoul do more to bring their loved ones home.
"I wish the train would come back with my son if he is still alive," said Lee Kan-shim, 72, bursting into tears as police kept her from the site.
One of the passengers on the South Korean train, Yang Hyun-wook, head of the Seoul office of the Korea Railway Corporation, said the journey would be emotional.
"I think it should have happened earlier, but I hope this will be an opportunity for South and North Korea to become one," Yang, 55, said before boarding.
Yang Seok-hwan, 75, who was born just south of the border in an area where no civilians are now allowed, thought he would be able to take the train when some community officials asked him to attend the ceremony.
"I'm disappointed. I thought I could take the train if I came here," he said. "My hometown is just over there, but I haven't seen it for 50 years. I want to see my hometown again before I die."
It remains unclear when regular train service between the two Koreas could start. North Korea's communist government is extremely reluctant to allow many foreign influences into the country as it seeks to maintain its grasp on power.
The Korean War ended in a cease-fire that has never been replaced with a peace treaty — leaving the two Koreas technically at war.
The two Koreas resumed their rapprochement after North Korea agreed in February to take initial steps to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs.
Pyongyang failed to shut down its sole bomb-making reactor by a mid-April deadline under that agreement with the U.S. and other regional powers. The North has said it will not move to disarm until a separate dispute over frozen funds is resolved, but that has been held up by technical issues involved in transferring $25 million in its accounts.
Outside the Munsan station, about 40 people set pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il aflame.
"They are all Reds," said a 78-year-old protester who would only gave his family name, Kim, while holding a sign that read, "Down With Kim Jong Il."
"We're lavishing aid to the North so that they can invade us more easily," he said.