Giudicate voi:

Down - There's Something On My Side

The Sword - Freya

In Dallas Laboratories, Dallas, Texas !

This TOP SECRET NUKE Project is called FREYA

And You Know why they choose this ridiculous pagan name ? Because Freya is The Nordic Goddess of Love and of WAR. Freya leads the Valkyries, the Choosers of the Slain.

You don't want to know how many people the crazy psychobitch will exterminate.

So where to start?  I guess I should explain the title of my blog 'The psychological profile of a rogue potato and other fascinating stories'.  Pretty good huh?  Bet you're all dying to know how I came up with that one. Perhaps not but I'm enjoying the thought of all you lovely random people scratching your head and thinking 'what the f**k'? The title of my blog was inspired by nothing more complicated than a good old fashioned joint and dates back to a conversation I had with a guy called Paul who I had met on New Years Eve 2006 in Egypt.  Whilst discussing the merits of me writing a book (something I've always wanted to do but again, rather sadly, have managed to put off until the end of never), we came up with this rather fabulous title for a book which I have donated to this blog based on the fact that if I ever do write a book I have since decided it will be called (wait for it) 'The Bipolar Diaries - Part 1: Memoirs of a Manic Depressive' (more about that at a later date me thinks!).

So onwards and upwards, now I've (kinda) explained the title of my blog, I'll be moving swiftly on to what I have done today.  I havent got the slightest idea on whether people will be actually interested in what I;ve been up to today.  All I do know is that I enjoy reading about days in the lives of other random people so I've decided to share the love and besides if you don't like it there about an squillion (is that a number?) other blogs for your reading pleasure!

So today I have been mostly...

Started the day with a mini lie in which is a rarity courtesy of a rather cute baby (mine) called Freya and got up at 9am.  Bliss bliss bliss since she usually starts her morning chorus at around 6am! Got up, at this point I'd love to say 'shit, showered, shaved' but I'm not a bloke so I won't.  Instead I'll say, 'went for wee, showered, had a brew'.  Got Freya fed and dressed and headed out at about 1/4 past 10 to meet other mums from playgroup for a charity walk through Sefton Park.  The idea was we paid a quid to walk a mile for skin cancer.  In return Freya got a sun hat, sun cream and a certificate.  In practice, we paid our quid, collected the sun hat and cream and waved at the other mums and kids setting off on their walk cos Freya was more interested in the mini traffic cones placed at the start of the course.  They still gave her a certificate so all was good!  After that, went home for lunch (days with a baby tend to revolve around meal times somewhat), she fell asleep in her chair, was transferred to her cot for a good kip while I checked my emails and tried to make my brain bigger on Facebook's 'Who's Got The Biggest Brain', still didn't manage to beat my previous score of 3020 but hey maybe that's big enough! After Freya got up we played with building blocks for a while and read a few stories before 'Grandma' and 'Grandpa' came round to see Freya.  'Grandma' and 'Grandpa' are not Freya's biological grandparents, they are infact my Aunti and Uncle but for reasons I'll explain in another posting they are Freya's 'Gramps' and very good they are too!  After that it was time for tea (mealtimes again!) and back to bed for my little princess (for the night).  I knitted a few squares for a cushion cover/blanket (haven't decided yet), watched Big Brother and then thought about writing a blog which brings me nicely to the end of my day!

There's more to my world than this obviously and the promise of other fascinating stories is not too far away so please come again soon :)

Many of the brands I came across in the maternity category started by woman entrepreneurs who left their day job to start their own business. And most importantly, they were successful at it. So aside from the great designs, it was encouraging to find these success stories and learn from it.

i. Intimates: I'm starting with this category after seeing countless ugly bras designed for pregnant or nursing moms. Pregnancy is probably when women are most aware of their self image and having sift through hundreds of designs, I'm appalled at the lack of choices available in the market. To keep hopes out there, below are some of my favorite finds. Keep in mind that some international brands may not be available in the US.

BENDON

Bendon, a New Zealand brand, has several sub-brands in the nursing bra category. Few designs that were my favorites were:

Bendon Lace Nursing Bra

This style comes in two different
colors on nordstrom.com: crystal
blue and black. It provides
underwire-free support and
soft shaping. Can also be found
on figleaves.com.

La Mere Nursing Bra

This style is under the the subbrand
Elle Macpherson Intimates. It comes
in four different colors and can also
be found on nordstrom.com or
figleaves.com.

FREYA

Freya, a UK based company, offers chic and sexy lingerie to customers around the world.

Rosalie

Rosalie nursing bra is listed under
Freya's best seller styles and comes
in couple colors. You can read reviews
on herroom.com. Freya has some very
cute regular bras you might want
to take a peak on, Charlie and Matisse are just a few.

BELABUMBUM

Belabumbum is known for its bold color choices with fabric imported from Brazil. It has a few great choices for maternity lingerie and it's another cute site that is just fun to browse around.

Copacabana Nursing Bra

I liked this style for the simple
and casual look. It has also
comes in a set with boycut as
shown on the product site.
Belabumbum is also featured
in some of the well known fashion and parenting
magazines.

HOT MILK

HOT milk is another New Zealand based company who produces maternity and nursing lingerie. They are by far the sexiest and most stylish brand I've seen in the category. It's too bad that they are currently only found in Europe and Asia markets.

Delicate and Dangerous

This style is made of pink satin
with French blue and cream floral
embroidery. It looks super sexy
in the picture and hope they will
become available in the US soon!

Baby Doll Delicious

Another favorite of mine is
this sunflower embroidered
maternity bra. I just love the
color and chic style!

BELLA MATERNA

Bella Materna is a Seattle company focused on luxury nursing & maternity essentials. On their site, they mention their products are all made in the US!

French Lace Nursing Bra

This is probably the sexiest style
I've seen among all US brand offerings,
with a premium price tag. It's US made
imported French Lace and Italian
nylon/Lycra.

AMORALIA

Amoralia is a UK company started by Jules Fossett, an ex-advertising strategist, who saw a need for stylish maternity lingerie.

Nougatine

This was another stylish nursing bra
that caught my eye. It comes in three
different colors and my favorite is
actually the Caramel shown on the site.
Catriona Mackechnie in the US carries them.

Noisette

This is an interesting style that
combines vintage and modern look.
The cup has fresh balconette shape
for a feminine look. I'd only found this
on Amoralia's site so check about their
international shipping policy.

CONDESSA

Condessa is an LA based company that offers "fine lingerie that is also nursing - accessible." They don't seem to have many options but the couple that they offer are quite good options for stylish nursing bras.

Cassandra (Lace)

The Cassandra-Lace line has the most
style among the selections available for
this brand. It is designed in 3/4 lace cup
and 1/2 cup cotton lining for comfort.
See more colors here.

Veronica

I was very surprised how this demi
cup nursing bra could be so simple
yet modern and stylish. Don't know
if it's good photography but I think
the shimmering material definitely
adds the extra shine needed for a
stylish glow.

This page is devoted to Freya, the runes and the modern day Valkyries, women warriors! It is written for women,  who are practitioners and followers of Freya and Norse shamanism, of which the runes are an integral part. You may be a veteran Valkyrie rune master and shaman of many years or you might just be a beginner, whatever your status grab a shield, sword, helm and horse and come along for an exciting ride!

Quotes from Lory, Daughter of Freya:

"Years ago, after reading Freya Aswynn's book "Leaves of Yggdrasil," I remember thinking I felt that the book had been written for me exclusively. It spoke to my German Ancestry, in a way that no other book on Shamanism of other cultures had. It inspired me to learn more about Freya, the runes and the Northern Feminine Mysteries and to study the deeper meanings of the runes. Before this I had only thought of the runes as an ancient alphabet and divination tool. I never imagined that the runes could be used as a code or key for magic, healing, manifesting a better reality or even accessing other worlds!"

"Through my studies with Freya I learned that the runes were very closely tied to Norse Mythology. This pantheon of gods/goddesses was forced underground by Christianity, and it stayed covered for many centuries. The abandonment of the Norse Gods caused them to be driven into mankind's unconscious. The result of doing this is similar to driving your domestic cats and dogs back into the woods. When you return to look for them several generations later, you will find the offspring of these original animals have gone back to their ferocious, feral state. But the animal's essence is still the same - the cat is still a cat with all it's possibilities."

In the 1930's, when efforts were made to re-awaken the Norse Gods, by using the runes they had very harsh results. Carl Jung, in his essay on Odin first published in 1936 describes how "The God of Storm and frenzy, the long quiescent Woten, is awakening like an extinct volcano, to a new activity, in a civilized country that had long supposed to have outgrown the middle ages." This was something like going into the woods, finding the fierce decedent of those original cats and saying "Oh look there's a cute kitties! Lets take her home with us."

Attracting the energies of the runes out of the timeless, spaceless infinite ocean of the Quantum Ocean is not a game. The vehicles or forms that you want to bring these energies into must be clearly defined.

Seventy years later the Runes and the Norse Gods still bring to mind something awesome and untamed. For many people that is enough reason to leave them alone. But for those of you who feel the call there is something compelling about the runes and the wild Gods return from the underworld (Quantum Ocean). To be attracted to their ancient power is natural because it is the essence of the underworld itself. There may be danger in the runes, but this is a time when dangerous ideas are needed - we need to turn inward to find the challenge. We need the runes. We need to update the runes and bring them into the 21st century.

There is a divine timing plan in the Quantum Ocean, which is also the mind of the creator god. It is time to once again attract Freya, the Northern Mysteries and the Runes out of the Quantum Ocean and into our lives.

Ellis Peterson AKA Ragnar Storyteller is a retired math professor and electronics engineer. He has been studying astrology, runes, metaphysics and alternate healing treatments for over 30 years. He is 70+, in very good health and lives in the boonies of the Pocono mountains with his wife Lory. His writings are unique and refreshing.

To see more of his writings visit his websites.

http://www.olevikingshop.com/

and

http://www.runes-for-health-wealth-love-now.com/

and

http://www.radionics-quantum-physics.com/

Or go to goggle and type in his pen name RAGNAR STORYTELLER for his listings. He is also a ghost writer and will write and article for you. Email Ragnar for his FREE 10 PART MINI-COURSE, "How-To use Quantum Physics in Your Every Day Life to Attract More Wealth, Health and Love, Now."

You can contact him at:

ragnarstoryteller2@gmail.com

]]> http://givemeareasontoparty.wordpress.com/?p=18 Fri, 30 May 2008 11:50:38 +0000 givemeareasontoparty http://givemeareasontoparty.wordpress.com/?p=18 Wey! It's the day everyone has been waiting for, the Friday. Why the hell is this the day where people go and get drunk?

Friday is a mythical day in the west world, a mythical day where the strangest things happens. People around the globe begin to act strangely, somehow people are starting to feel greater, the hearts open up, the work week is over, people are getting horny, offices introduce strange clothing behavior, such as having a "cool tie" or shirt-free policys. Some companies even let their employees to surf on facebook for 30 minutes, why?

You know it aint no stoppin all tha doggs Im droppin
Its friday night so everythang is poppin.
I got skin lets spin on da hand,
So let tha games begin.
Yakity yak dont jump back or its on,
Callin up earl on tha car phone.
Mack 10 just got out of court,
Rollin through tha hood in his super sport ropin too $hort.

-Icecube

The etymologi of this day is pretty strange, the day is actually a the day where you celebrate the god Freya, the Goddess of Love and I do actually have a theory that this is not a co-incident. The in-official humping day is the Friday, if we then should celebrate the day of the Goddess of Love, the chance that we can get what we really want on a Friday (tell me someone besides the hippies and some Jews who don't want to hump on a Friday .

Pity those people in Saudi Arabia and Israel that don't celebrate the most awesome day of the week.

We don't care how you celebrate it, but we do care if you don't.

Asi que nos quedamos de ver a las 10 en el recinto ubicado por la Independencia y Allende, pero cómo el gran Lalo tenia que entregarme unas copias para la tarea de desarrollo llego a mi casa a las 9:20, según el plan May llegaría por mi a las 9:30 así que nos dispusimos a esperarla. Ya casi eran las 10 y no llegaba así que le mande un mensaje de texto rogandole que se apresurara, despues de 5 minutos llego pero no con vestido como me habia dicho ¬¬ una de las pocas ocasiones que la iba a ver con vestido y llego sin el,pero bueno eso es otro asunto, salimos de mi casa como eso de las 10:15 xD ya que estabamos chateando Lalo y yo con un amigo =).

Tomamos el taxi que nos llevaría a nuestro destino, ibamos de lo mas feliz, riendo,bromeando y poniendonos al día de los acontecimientos que habian pasado en esa semana. Al fin llegamos y podía escuchar "Night Fever" resonando en mis oidos, no podia aguantar mas, tenia que entrar y bailar hasta que mi cuerpo me dijera no mas!!!!.

Entramos, nos instalamos en una pequeña mesa y empezamos a bailar sentados porque no habia nadie en la pista, pero nuestras ganas de bailar eran más grandes asi que empezamos el baile, en medio de la pista me sentia soñada bailado "Girls Just Wanna Have fun" o "Like a virgin" llevabamos aproximadamente 40 minutos bailando cuando mi amiga May me dijo que tenia hambre, yo le dije que andabamos en las mismas, salimos un momento para ver si a los alrededores habia algún puesto de hamburguesas o tacos, nuestra busqueda fue negativa, el encargado nos dijo que habia uno a dos cuadras, cuando nos disponiamos a ir en busca de comida pusieron la canción "square rooms" y decidimos bailarla y despues comer, pero seguian canciones conocidas y bailables hasta que llego el punto que nuestra hambre fue mas fuerte y si lo admito me moria de hambre u.u no habia cenado y apenas si habia comido u.u. Asi que emprendimos nuestra busqueda de comida =)

Caminamos dos cuadras y no habia puesto alguno,sólo señales de que horas o minutos antes si habia un puesto de tacos, esa fue nuestra primera descepción, seguimos deambulando por las solitarias calles de Tepic, bajamos por la Juarez con la esperanza aún en alto, llegamos a la P.Sanchez y aún no nos dabamos por vencidos, encontramos una cenaduria y pozolería llamada "Doña Lupita" pero ninguno de los 3 queria pozole a las 11:30 de la noche, así que seguimos caminando, estando a punto de arrollarme un carro, Lalo a punto de caerse 2 veces y May...sólo caminaba.

Llegamos a un deposito y le preguntamos al buen hombre que si sabia de algún puesto de comida cerca, su respuesta nos desanimo más,nos dijo que a esa hora ya no era probable encontrar alguno.Pero nuestras esperanzas eran más fuertes por lo que seguimos caminando.....y caminando.....y caminando......no se que me habia pasado que me volvi una pesimista y en lugar de alentar a mis compañeron sólo les iba matando las esperanzas poco a poco, y así llegamos a la plaza antigua.....y ahi estaba!!!!! el puesto de hamburguesas que tanto estuvimos buscando!!! rapidamente y sin dudar nos dirijimos hacia el, era como un oasis en el desierto nos sentiamos tan bien! pero yo con mis negatividades se me ocurrio decir "y que no haya" jaja pero el destino no fue tan cruel y habia las ultimas 3 hamburguesas de la noche, eso se llama suerte =) cenamos y por sorpresa de todos yo fui la primera que termino, ni me di cuenta con la rapidez y facilidad que se termino la hamburguesa, despues que mis dos amigos terminaron su preciado alimento pagamos y dijimos ahora que.....yo queria regresar a bailar u.u pero ya era demasiado tarde eran las 12:30 de la mañana y en lo que regresabamos se iba a terminar mi plazo para llegar a mi casa, por lo que optamos en seguir caminando.

Tomamos la avenida México y se nos ocurrio ir al bar etc, cuando llegamos a dicho bar no habia mucho ambiente como para quedarnos asi que seguimos nuestro peregrinar, caminamos y caminamos y llegamos al karaoke que esta por la México antes de llegar a la Insurgentes no recuerdo el nombre del bar, pero era más nuestro cansancio y sueño que mejor decidimos seguir nuestro camino a casa. Así que May y yo tomamos el primer taxi y Lalo el siguiente, llegando a mi casa no podia dormir, no se si por la hamburguesa o porque se me volo el sueño en el camino, no se, prendi la computadora y me puse a platicar con unos amigos, despues me vencio el sueño y me fui a descansar.

Al día siguiente me di cuenta que me hizo daño el caminar de noche, ya que una gripa me estaba amenazando y logro introducirse en mi cuepro ese virus molesto u.u así que ahorita estoy toda moquienta y con dolor de cabeza ¬¬ pero a pesar de eso, me diverti mucho, riendo,bromeando, inventando cosas respecto a las solitarias calles de Tepic etc, y lo mejor que fue con mis amigos espero que se vuelva a repetir y que volvamos a pasar otra chocoaventura pronto =) los quiero mucho.

Y señorita J. no se me ha olvidado la ida a las albercas HD (icono con cara de  enfermo) quiero nadar,sentir el agua por todo mi cuerpo en especial la nariz ¬¬  y lanzarme clavados jajaja, también tenemos pendiente una venida a mi casa a comer tacos de birria jajaja y muchas cosas más como ir a bailar con nosotros =) sera un placer compartir nuestras chocoaventuras con usted.

Es todo por esta ocasión....

Escuchando: Let's Dance-Atrocity (Cover de David Bowie)

Leyendo: Entrevista con el vampiro-Anne Rice (Terminé Harry uufff =D)

Comiendo: Muecas de cereza o.O

2:53 pm. 17 de Mayo del 2008

We had a mixed day today but it worked out fine in the end. First, I had to go and fetch Freya from the cattery. When I got to Liverpool Street Station, I found it closed because of engineering work, so we had to do part of the journey by tube. Here is Freya in her cage on the Victoria Line. She doesn't like the tube much because it is so noisy and rocks from side to side but she took it quite well today.

Of course, she had to tell us all about her holiday and told me off for letting off the flash in her face. (That she managed to close her eyes between the flash going off on the shutter closing shows how incredibly fast cats' reactions are.)

After brunch, we went down to the Thames and bought tickets for this cruise boat. With those tickets you can get off and on the boat as often as you like but we stayed on, going round and round (and dozing off a couple of times - well, it has been a busy week!) until we had had enough.

We disembarked at St Katherine's Dock where this famous sculpture of a girl swimming with a dolphin is sited.

One of the reasons for coming here was the Mala Indian restaurant. They do the most beautiful mulligatawny soup and a lot of tasty vegetarian dishes.

Needless to say, we had a very enjoyable dinner.

We left by the gate of St Katherine's Dock that is decorated by a pair of elephants, one of which is pictured here. They date from the days of the ivory trade but I prefer not to think of that. They are beautiful elephants and can be enjoyed for that reason.

We returned home, tired but pleased without day. Freya met us excitedly at the door, saying "ech-eck-eck-eck...", which is her special greeting to us. On the way I took a few photos. There is something magical about the city at night when the lights begin to stand out against the dying sunlight. Here are two of those photos.

Shea and Mercer will be back throughout the month of May!  

Look for Shea and Mercer on Friday, May 16th. 4:00 Eastern Standard Time (blog time) Cubby Den, Paw Park [9:00 P.M. UK Time] (reference:  Shea's blog)

The Build-A-BearVille May Calender from the workshop lists some great events in May!

 Starting May 2, visit the Panda in the Sportsplex for “Fit and Furbulous”!

Hi there! 

Thanks fur asking! 

We are aware of the issue and are currently working on it. We apologize for any
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Build-A-Bearville is a work in progress and your feedback is pawsitively
important and greatly appreciated! Please stay tuned for future developments in
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If you need further assistance, please send an email to vwhelp@buildabear.com 

Have a Bearrific® day! 

Bear Hugs,
From your CyBear Pal
Sammik Says:
May 6, 2008 at 5:07 pm eI HAVE GREAT NEWS!!!!

I emailed BABV about online purchases and they honored my receipt codes! I could only find two of them, but that gave me four credits!  So if you’ve made online purchases, email BABV and include your receipt codes, the date of purchase, and the amount of purchase!

(Freya, could you please put this somewhere so that everyone will know? Thanks so much!!)

I finished reading the Ichigo 100% manga series! Gosh, I’ve been reading it since first year college. It took me a long time to finish it actually, mainly because our pc’s not internet connected (oh, by the way, I read it online, not the actual printed material) and so I have to spend lots of money just reading it in my favorite internet café. I read it on http://readmanga.com but I found out that you can actually download it for free so I preferred the latter. What I did was, while I was doing academic stuffs researching in the net or updating my blog, I was also downloading it. Saves a lot of trouble, time and money. Hehehe. I could finish my required stuffs and I could read the manga at home.

I really like the story, maybe it so funny, Manaka ending up in a strawberry labyrinth of love. *laughs.

This is a summary of the manga series. Not really accurate, I’m just trying to recall some important events. And if you haven’t read the manga just yet and plan to read it, DON’T READ BEYOND THIS BECAUSE IT MIGHT SPOIL YOU. But if you want the other way around, read at your own risk.

Manaka Junpei, third year junior highschool student, bumped into a mysterious girl with strawberry panties. He didn’t know who the girl was, the only thing that’s left of her identity was an old math notebook. Unexpectedly, it belonged to Toujo Aya, a rather unnoticeable, classmate of Manaka, a girl with a braided hair and glasses, who enjoyed writing stories in her notebook. Manaka read her unfinished novel, and was moved by it. He wanted to become a movie director and told Toujo that he would make her novel alive on the movie screen.

On the other hand, Manaka’s friends, Ookusa and Koyami concluded that the girl with the strawberry panties might have been Nishino Tsukasa, the hottest and the prettiest girl in their school. Toujo suggested that he should confess to her, and Manaka did, by doing pull-ups in front of Tsukasa. Surprisingly, Nishino Tsukasa agreed to be her boyfriend. Junpei was very happy, besides, he saw that Nishino Tsukasa was wearing strawberry panties one time.

But it turned out the original strawberry panty girl was Toujo Aya, whom Junpei was sharing his dreams to become a film director. When Tsukasa was dating Junpei, Toujo changed her hairstyle and removed her glasses, making her beautiful and surprisingly, it even reminded Junpei more that she was the real strawberry panty girl. Nishino Tsukasa felt that Junpei was somehow into Toujo, so on the highschool entrance examinations she chose to study Oumi Academy while both Toujo and Junpei, driven by their movie dreams went to Izumizaka High. With Kitaoji Satsuki, Misuzu and Hiroshi Sotomura, and Rikiya Komiyama, they formed the Film Studies Club. Satsuki confessed her feelings for Junpei, and Junpei in turned became confused for the three of them, ending up in awkward situations and then breaking up with Tsukasa.

Later on, Hashimoto Chinami joined the club and Junpei was even more surrounded by beautiful girls that he really liked.

Another character Minamoto Yui, Junpei’s childhood friend, moved into Junpei’s household as she was attending Oumi Academy, the same school where Tsukasa was attending. Yui has this habit of ending up almost naked while sleeping and Junpei has to overcome this strange condition while living with her.

A certain guy named Amachi also blend in the crowd, and fell in love with Toujo Aya. They were both members of the Literature Club.

When Junpei was in second year highschool he worked part-time at the movie theater. Without knowing it, Tsukasa was also working part-time at a cake-shop nearby.

On their highschool field trip, Junpei’s class in Izumizaka High went to Kyoto and Nara, while Tsukasa’s class went to the same place. There, Tsukasa witnessed Junpei and Toujo on the brink of kissing each other. Later on, Junpei escaped from the hotel they were staying and went to Tsukasa to apologize to her and they were both reconciled.

On Valentine’s Day of the same year, he received chocolates from all the girls, and was surprised to find out that Tsukasa planned on studying abroad.

In preparation for college entrance exams, Junpei attended the same cram school as Aya, and met the beautiful Mukai Kozue, who has an intense fear of guys but whose head always filled with perverted thoughts. However, due to Junpei’s efforts, Mukai started to open up with him. Meanwhile, Amachi is trying to capture Toujo’s heart and this irritated Junpei. To further on, there were rumors that Tsukasa is getting married soon to the pastry chef Higure. But it was just only rumors, Tsukasa confirmed.

Around that time Tsukasa invited Junpei to go with her in a three-day trip. Junpei encouraged her to pursue her dream when she was on the verge of giving it up and this made Tsukasa loved Junpei ever more.

Lots of things happened when they were filming the last movie for that year, like Junpei being trapped in a women’s bath and Satsuki advancing on him. The main hero was Junpei, and the heroine was Toujo. In the memorable scene when the heroine confessed her love for the hero, Toujo did an ad lib to Junpei and it sounded so real.

The annual school festival was coming near. At that time Tsukasa invited Junpei to go on a date. There, Tsukasa confessed her feelings to Junpei, doing pull-ups like what Junpei did before. Junpei loved Tsukasa so they ended up together. Then Junpei found out that Toujo was dating somebody and this confused Junpei even more. Junpei noticed that Toujo was avoiding him, maybe because of her new boyfriend-rumor, but on Toujo’s part, she was only avoiding Manaka because she was not wearing bra that time (long story, actually) and she was still ashamed because she left her bra at the piles of movie equipments in the film club room.

Getting his emotions mixed up and confused of these events, Junpei became sad while he was walking Tsukasa home. Tsukasa consoled her, and Junpei confessed his love for her.

Going out again with Tsukasa, this bothered Junpei on how to tell everyone especially Satsuki. But he was able to eventually, and she was devastated (so to speak). He found it hard to tell Toujo, and postponed the idea for the meantime. The film club members were editing the movie that night, and Junpei stayed behind to finish the whole work. Tsukasa went there to bring snacks for hungry Junpei. When Junpei was out for something, she saw the part of the movie where the heroine Toujo confessed her love for the hero Junpei. They went home that night, and Tsukasa told Junpei that she loved him. Junpei answered the same.

The next day, Misuzu planned to rerun the whole movie at the school theater before the festival would start for the scriptwriter Toujo and the director Junpei. They were alone at the theater watching the movie they made and starred. Then out of the blue, Toujo asked Junpei if he was going out with someone at the festival. Junpei said yes, and he said that he was going out with Tsukasa. At that moment, the scene where the heroine Toujo confessing her love to the hero Junpei was rolling on the film screen. By the end of the movie, Toujo cried, and told Junpei that it’s because the movie was great (an excuse, hmmm), and then she ran away.

At the annual school festival, Junpei and Tsukasa planned to go on The Love Sanctuary. They bumped into Toujo and the guy that was rumored to be her boyfriend. But Junpei found out that the guy was Toujo’s older brother, and he was deeply relieved. Tsukasa noticed this, and told Junpei that she won’t watch the movie and then she left. Junpei went back to the film studies room, alone, hoping someone would ease the pain in his heart. He really wanted to see Toujo.

Meanwhile, Toujo was told by her brother to forget about Junpei, and she was sad that it was finally over because it was already their last year at high school. She wanted to see Junpei, and she left.

And the two met, though there was a huge glass wall separating them. And Toujo confessed her love for Junpei, and Junpei apologized to her. Toujo apologized too for blurting out her feelings, and ran away. Junpei was left alone again, (I think he was on the verge of tears), recalling that the first girl he fell in love with was actually Toujo, but it hurt him to recall Tsukasa’s painful expression. So he went to Tsukasa’s house and confessed that it was her that he truly loved, and he made sure that she knew it.

And everyone moved on.

The underclassman Misuzu continued to pursue the dreams of making movies of the film studies club. Mukai is now able to open up herself to guys. The rest were constantly thinking of the prospect university life, and were studying very hard. Toujo received an award for her published novel and was readily accepted in a prestigious university. A movie director told Junpei that his movie was nicely done and very passionate and this inspired Junpei even more. Tsukasa is planning to leave for France next spring to pursue her own dream.

And at the airport, Junpei bid Tsukasa goodbye. They decided to break up there mutually because of the separation due to the pursuit of their own dreams, and they promised that when they would see each other again, they would be together.

And graduation came.

After a year after that, they decided to have a reunion.

Satsuki is now working in their family establishment. Chinami is a famous bikini model under Hiroshi Sotomura productions. Misuzu is now a beautiful young woman who attended a university and she got herself a boyfriend. Toujo is a famous author. Everyone was surprised upon the arrival of Junpei, who had grown up a lot. He worked as a day laborer to earn money to travel places and film them. He had already received a movie award.

After meeting up with them, Junpei went to the park. He was holding up his camera at the foot of the stairs for a long time. Tsukasa has come back. She was up there, waiting for her. He ran towards her, and they started their relationship afresh.

*Sigh! Such a wonderful ending!

The manga series was written by Mizuki Kawashita. Great thanks to Free Manga, Akatsuki, Yamaitsuki, Ass-Troop, Anime Waves, for their efforts to come up with the manga release (I saw it in the copy of the manga I have). I’m so grateful to you guys, especially

to the editors Dagashi, Bryan, ice-kun, Chrippa, Sses, pokute, darthlord, finalpro, hellcat, kawaiibaka, grave, youngmug, ravenheart, tragickingdom, motoko-chan, rinako, mizukage, smoo, shinaku, pridav, tree, azu, alphaultima, caffinated yug, krol,

and the translators resoto, akarichan, oldskool33, gotenks-x, dsy22, freya, déjà vu, kakuri, cccnnn, nahus, aintguest, Antoine, boon, jasonshinji, jlester, jekyl03, telemaster, kann, jujubix, Will, PlzDontHurtMe, the mysterious ghost, OG, kamis, kuroneko,

and for those people who further check the translations nihonjintaylor, ikuzu, maxpower,

to the scanners nanashi, cgotten, HiRO-AU,

to the proofreaders and QCers (Quality checkers) kazh, katydid, astcd2, katy-pyo, origami, charp, amievil, nishio, elkhan, xx_blue, yuurei, waya475, JZ87, ed, ACQ, Yuna, Jaisbane, pnyxtr, the_mighty_highlord, starfisher, roots, davidov, _yeah, smafdi, darkgodloki, relentlessflame, waxmaker, animetrader0306,

to the raw providers nanashi, frozenshade, loserbait, and finally

to da mighty plum, ddr, strikeflo for the real-like page colors.

I am really thankful to you guys, I really love the manga, and you really did a nice job that’s why I want to thank you personally. It must have been hard, doing all this, and sometime the project got rebooted and all. You’re so cool! Made for the fans for the fans like me!

Visit the following sites for an experience of the strawberry labyrinth of love! akatsuki-manga@aniverse.com, http://www.deshou.net/akatsuki, #akatsuki-manga@irc.aniverse.com, http://yanime.com, #anime@irc.mircx.com, http://akatsukimanga.com, #akatsuki-manga@irc.mircx.com, akatsuki-manga@irc.irchighway.net, yanime@irc.irchighway.net, #dragonvoice@irc.mircx.com, http://dragonvoice.no-ip.com, dragonvoice@irchighway.net, http://souhaku.free.fr/dragonvoice/, http://animewaves.net, #animewaves@irc.rizon.net.

Via De Standaard
De VRT stopt vroegtijdig met haar paparazzi-wedstrijd waarbij het publiek foto's van BV's mocht inzenden.
Na vele negatieve reacties van bv's, heeft de directie van de openbare omroep beslist de wedstrijd stop te zetten en de foto's offline te halen. De VRT heeft schrik dat de wedstrijd het imago van de zender zal schaden.

In Vlaanderen is er dus geen plaats voor paparazzi. De meeste bv's (denken we niet aan de Wendy Van Wantens en de Pfaffs) willen hun privéleven privé houden en de VRT plooit dan ook onder druk. Ik had graag gezien dat de VRT meer ballen had gehad en de wedstrijd had laten doorgaan. Beelden van bv's die contracten opzeggen, rechtzaken aanspannen en schadevergoedingen eisen, duiken al op. Misschien had de VRT met deze stunt de grenzen van de privacy kunnen verleggen. We zullen het nooit weten.

Nog veel interessanter: we zouden geweten hebben of er in de Vlamingen paparazzi schuilen. De selectie op de website stelde voorlopig niet veel voor. Een handvol geposeerde familiekiekjes met bv's, optredens op podia en hier en daar wat vakantiefoto's.

Hans Otten mag dan wel roepen dat zijn vriendin niet in de media wil komen, beste Meneer Otten: we willen ze ook niet in de media zien. En Freya Van den Bossche met haar vermeende nieuwe lief in Lissabon? Niet geïnteresseerd, want wie zegt dat het haar lief is. Haar man was ook al lang haar man niet meer toen we eindelijk aan het idee begonnen te wennen dat ze van de straat was.

Al kussend en rollebollend op het Portugese strand willen we Freya wel zien. Iets anders geloven argwanende Vlamingen toch niet. Veerle Dobbelaere haar lief? Bewijzen op tafel. De foto's van Hans Otten met zijn madam in de sneeuw? Toch liever niet.

De kans om de vuile was van bv's uit te hangen was er, de VRT had het lef om dat te vermommen als een wedstrijd, maar als het puntje bij het paaltje komt, kruipen ze terug in hun schelp. Laf!

Een onschuldige wedstrijd, meneer, die ongewild een hetze uitgelokt heeft. Neen, wie Dag Allemaal wil spelen moet all the way gaan en niet al jankend terugkrabbelen als je op de vingers getikt wordt. Het is alles of niets. Niet een klein beetje en later niet meer.

De vraag die er nog rest: wat gebeurt er met het fototoestel dat je kon winnen? Volgende week twee te winnen, met een foto van Madonna en een selectie van het beste materiaal dat op de site heeft gestaan?

Hellsing
The Hellsing Ultimate OVA soundtrack, BLACK DOG, is available here.

Crossovers
Stii and Dark Stii - from Colbits, the Chobits/fake news mix. Contains ribbons, laces, fishnets, and Chobits spoilers.

Next Week in Shine:
As a nearly-helpless Robin squares off against Yumie, with Timothy fretting on the sidelines, Anthy drops in and turns the creep factor up to eleven.

As this is our first day back from our holiday, the usual rituals must be performed. Chief among these is fetching Freya home.

This involves a bus and train journey from Angel to Chingford and then same in reverse. On arriving at Chingford, I phoned the cattery and was told that Freya was in a "grumpy" mood and disinclined to be picked up. The cause of the problem was apparently that she disliked the cat in the next pen and this made her bad-tempered. This didn't surprise me particularly, as I know Freya doesn't much like other cats.

In such circumstances, we have recourse to Plan B. (Yes, it has happened before.) I am taken by car from the station to the cattery to persuade Freya to get into her basket. Next, I am taken back to the station, cage in hand, from whence the return journey can continue normally. The picture shows a caged Freya on the train. She doesn't like it very much and periodically voices her disapproval. This doesn't worry me too much: after all, parents these days seem to let their infants run riot and scream and shout so why should I embarrassed by a few miaows?

At Liverpool Street Station, I like to catch the 214 which deposits us close to home. Also, just behind the driver there are two seats sideways on with a luggage space between them into which the cage neatly fits. This time, I just missed the 214 but spotted a 153 which brings us almost as close and has the same useful luggage rack.

Back home, Freya emerges cautiously from the cage: is this really home? Then she explores everywhere thoroughly, giving familiar objects an affectionate rub as she goes past them. Satisfied at last, she rolls around on the carpet to show how contented she is.

So that's that, for this time. The holiday is over. It was short but it was fun, despite the weather. Freya, at least, is glad to be home.

Katia - zo mag je haar noemen door haar lange naam* - was eerder al schepen van Gelijke Kansen in de Vlaams-Brabantse gemeente Huldenberg.

* Bovendien is het een gewoonte om bekende vrouwen bij hun voornaam te noemen. Ségolène, Hillary, Condi, Freya, Angela, Maggie, Kathleen, Justine, Kim, Tia, …

I have written elsewhere about the human ability to go to extraordinary and illogical lengths to create meaning (see Nessie, God, and the Creation of Meaning). In many cases it could be argued that this harms no-one, although I would argue that the attitude of "let them believe it if they want to: it isn't harming anyone" is patronising and demeaning. Sure, let people believe what they want, but don't expect me to be disrespectful by keeping silent about any self-deception.

In other cases there can be real, and tragic costs.

At least 48 people in India’s Kottayam district have experienced photochemical burns on the retina and damage to their sight after looking into the sun to see an alleged divine image in the sky. Believers are still flocking to a hotelier’s house in Erumeli near where the divine image is said to have appeared. The hotelier, who has since moved, had claimed that statues of the Virgin Mary in his house have been crying honey and bleeding oils and perfumes.

Purveyors of snake oil don't restrict their activity to developing nations where the general level of education can be low. A ruling yesterday by the UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) revealed that at least one such purveyor is alive and well in Britain.

The ASA has ordered a woman who does business under the names "Zara" and "Freya" to stop claiming that she is superior to other "psychics" and can cast spells that will "solve all problems" and improve the health, wealth, love life, happiness, or other circumstances of her clients.

In response to the complaint, the woman stated that (a) she harnessed positive energy and provided a focus through which her clients could instigate positive changes in their lives; (b) there is a solution for every problem, if people look for it; and (c) her role was to empower people to find solutions for themselves.

The ASA concluded that these claims were unsubstantiated. [ASA Adjudication: Zara, 12 March 2008]

I am very happy to accept that some people in Kottayam may have seen something unusual, and that Zara's clients may have benefitted from an encounter with her in some way. What I would challenge are the explanations (the interpretations) provided. Going for a supernatural explanation that cannot be substantiated when a more rational one that could be investigated is available seems to be a dangerous choice - one likely to lead the individual away from reality and into fantasy. (Placebo effects are very powerful and well documented.)

Sadly, strange beliefs are very widespread. For example, a typical study in England in 1987 (cited in Nicholas Humphrey's Soul Searching) suggested that 88 per cent of people believe in some paranormal phenomena. This study did not even include traditional religious tenets such as the belief in life after death, which 71 per cent of Americans and 43 per cent of Europeans have signed up for.

It seems that human beings have a tendency to see imaginary connections between events - perhaps a by-product of the vital ability to discern patterns in the world. Perhaps our disposition to overestimate the improbability of certain events, thus leading us to infer a cause when there is really only coincidence, is a form of "better safe than sorry" strategy.

I am also very aware in writing the above that at one stage in my life, when I was part of a traditional believing community, I would have regarded the above stories as weird, but would have been completely oblivious to the striking parallels with my own faith. Now, it seems that there are few substantial differences (apart from some skilfully created caveat escape clauses) between Zara's claims and the claims made by mainstream churches about the benefits of faith and the power of prayer.

(See also: Asparagus Mystic)

I wasn't, really, or maybe I really was, but in this case I couldn't decide which title I liked better so I am using two, echoing the misogynist modernists. Tom Eliot stacked his writing on top and on top of itself, leaving room for wonder and none for story; once a professor asked my class what the real first line of The Waste Land--making "wasteland" one word implicates Pynchon, all of a sudden--is.

Leonard Cohen_Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye.mp3

Is it the epigraph from Petronius? Is it the dedication to Pound? The Burial Of The Dead? Is it any one of the many lines from the two sections that originally preceded our published April is the cruellest month, breeding?

Leonard Cohen_Tonight Will Be Fine [live].mp3

I like stacking things, too; it's an easy way to steal someone else's gravity.

Leonard Cohen_Is This What You Wanted.mp3

Eliot piled words upon each other, never once adverbing his way into romance. There is a structural parsimony there that my time at Brown had probably prohibited me from ever reaching.

When the children asked, "Sibyl, what do you want?" she would answer: "I want to die."

I'm at the end of a long moving process; when Chris and I were driving down Grand Street last week he saw a store that I think was called The Art Mart Cente(a)r(t) or something. I said yeah, that's what we're calling East East East Williamsburg these days.

It is taking me some time to unpack, so I'm left only with the most recent Economist and The Waste Land And Other Poems, so I just keep reading it. The Journey Of The Magi is a very convenient thing to have committed to memory; it's unfortunate that I don't date women, I think they'd really like it. Marina, too.

What is this face, less clear and clearer
The pulse in the arm, less strong and stronger--
Given or lent? more distant than stars and nearer than the eye

[Buy more Leonard Cohen here.]

It's some time since I posted a photo of Freya so here is one that was taken the other day. She is looking a bit grumpy. I don't think she likes having her photo taken, perhaps because of the flash. You can see from the sparkle in her eyes that the flash was used. You can't? Just click on the photo to see a bigger version.

We have recently been having some fun and games with Freya. This is because of visitors to our windows. You may recall me saying that scaffolding has been erected at the front and the back of the house. A local cat has taken to climbing on this and sitting on our window sill and staring into the rooms. This doesn't please Freya. Not one bit.

The first we knew about it was one evening when a sudden racket disturbed the calm of the Tig(g)er household. Looking toward the source of the noise, the front window, all we could see was Freya's tail, hanging below the curtain. I say it was Freya's tail but it more resembled a fox's brush, so puffed up was it. Opening the curtains, we saw a black cat sitting calmly looking in at us.

He has returned many times, mainly to the back window, where Freya awaits him, nervously patrolling up and down. When he appears, she begin to yowl and wail and her tail swells like a bottle brush. She retires from the window only to rush at it in a simulated attack, hoping the frighten the interloper away. For his part, he just sits there, obviously knowing he is safe before the glass.

The other night produced a different scenario. We spied Freya looking out of the bedroom window, in a state of tension and with her tail puffed up. This time she wasn't emitting verbal threats, though. Peering into the darkness, we saw nothing on the window sill. Eventually Tigger spotted a figure poised on the garden wall: a dog-like shape with dun fur. A fox! We guessed that there must be urban foxes around here but this was our first sighting.

I am sure Freya has seen foxes before because they were plentiful in Hendon where we used to live. This time she seemed nonplussed: should she yell at it? Or remain quiet and watch what it did? In the end, the fox jumped down into the garden and loped off into the darkness.

I ran to fetch my camera but the single photo I managed to take before the fox disappeared is useless, dazzled by the flash on the window glass.

Here it is a pic of my Dark Chii costume!!
Don't forget to visit my site to see all the pics of this gallery!