#spring is so great but also the conditions I can function in are limited

[larissa-the-scribe]

There are two wolves inside you. One is enjoying the fresh air and wind through the window. The other is disturbed by the curtains flapping everywhere and the bright sunglare making it hard concentrate.

[runekeepershymnal]

Physical aspects of a dream life that is probably (certainly) not practically possible under capitalism without winning the lottery (either birth or the kind with the little pieces of paper) but which are not outside the realms of physics / current technology:

A house with an ADA fully accessible outbuilding with a bathroom, also ADA and fully accessible, with several UV enhanced air filter running. (My partner has OCD and a pretty significant fear of germs/contaminants)

Several functioning, self-cleaning litterboxes (who likes cleaning the litterbox?)

A house big enough for my partner and I to both have an office and a bedroom (we can’t share a bed due to my RLS, we keep different hours, he is an extremely light sleeper)

Ideally, a garage or shed for stinky crafts (gotta keep it ventilated)

A kitchen with counters big enough for a mixer and a multi-cooker to be on it at the same time (my joints are getting worse as I age and both are pretty heavy)

A greenhouse or sunroom (I would love to grow more of our own food, and while my spouse has light sensitivity issues, the cats love it, and I need to bask every now and then)

Enough space for raised garden beds (more growing some of own food)

Excellent, reliable wifi and power, preferably with some solar (we both telecommute and spend a lot of time communicating with friends far away)

Quiet, with trees, preferably set far enough away from neighbors so that we don’t have to hear each other (my spouse has misophonia)

A stream, a creek, a pond, a lake. Some body of water (we’ve had it before at rentals and apartments, and listening to spring peepers is a joy)

Good insurance (pet insurance, too - just another capitalist dystopia necessity when you’re disabled / crazy [I will describe myself however I want, fuck off], or just straight up mortal and human and capable of catching diseases)

Within a reasonable drive to either a city where I can actually work or a train station where I can do the same (I want to do something in academia or libraries or archives or museums or theater or a non-profit that actually helps people, or or or…)

Friends with either no or grown children, or access to childcare (we are not great with small kids, our pets are not good with kids, but we love our friends and family who do have kids)

A setup in the outbuilding where there can be video conferencing so that we can play RPGs either in person or with friends who can’t be there due to distance or disability - (we definitely get it on the disability side)

Enough money to pay our bills and set enough aside for an emergency (dreams should not include emergencies, but life is life and a contingency is a contingency)

Wardrobes large enough to embrace and explore the aesthetic side of our gender fuckery

Legal weed to help with chronic pain / anxiety issues

A way to protect ourselves and people we care about if things really go to shit

I’m privileged to have what we have. To be able to make rent, to not have bombs dropping on us, to be able to get access to some, if not all, of the healthcare I need most of the time. (Please don’t think that I’m ungrateful for what I’ve got, or that I’m not aware that there are people who aren’t even getting those basic needs met.) But despite all that, we are kind of isolated due to my spouse’s disabilities.

We’re coming to figure out some of our stuff later in life. He’s got one rare condition for which there isn’t currently any treatment, and that condition make it really difficult to go out and get treatment for the other ones. It makes it difficult and painful to go out or be away from our apartment most of the time. It wouldn’t be fair to ask other people to come to us all the time, especially if their disabilities and needs also limit where they can go and for how long, but having a place that was actually ours would make it easier for us to make it easier on them.

The more isolated we get, the harder it seems to be to break the cycle. So… I just wanted to write out the dream life that might make it better, or more possible, to break it.

[dwellordream]

“...The domesticated horse is not native to the Americas. There is perhaps no more important fact when trying to understand how the horse-borne nomadic cultures of the Eurasian Steppe relate to those of the Great Plains. The first domesticated horses arrived in the Americans with European explorer/conquerors and the settler-colonists that followed them. Eventually enough of those horses escaped to create a self-reproducing wild (technically feral, since they were once domesticated) horse population, the mustangs, but they are not indigenous and mustangs were never really the primary source of new horses the way that wild horses on the Steppe were (before someone goes full nerd in the comments, yes I am aware that there were some early equines in the Americas at very early dates, but they were extinct before there was any chance for them to be domesticated).

Horses arrived in the Great Plains form the south via the Spanish and moving through Native American peoples west of the Rocky Mountains by both trade and eventually raiding in the early 1700s. Notably firearms also began moving into the region in the same period, but from the opposite direction, coming from British and French traders to the North and West (the Spanish had regulations against trading firearms to Native Americans, making them unavailable as a source). Both were thus initially expensive trade goods which could only be obtained from outside and then percolated unevenly through the territory; unlike firearms, which remained wholly external in their supply, horses were bred on the plains, but raiding and trade were still essential sources of supply for most peoples on the plains. We’ll get to this more when we talk about warfare (where we’ll get into the four different military systems created by this diffusion), but being in a position where one’s neighbors had either the horse or the gun and your tribe did not was an extreme military disadvantage and it’s clear that the ‘falling out’ period whereby these two military innovations distributed over the area was very disruptive.

But unlike guns, which seem to have had massive military impacts but only minimal subsistence impacts (a bow being just as good for hunting bison as a musket, generally), the arrival of the horse had massive subsistence impacts because it made hunting wildly more effective. But the key thing to remember here is: the horse was introduced to the Great Plains no earlier than 1700, horse availability expanded only slowly over the area, but by 1877 (with the end of the Black Hills War), true Native American independence on the Great Plains was functionally over. Consequently, unlike the Steppe, where we have a fairly ‘set’ system that had already been refined for centuries, all we see of the Plains Native American horse-based subsistence system is rapid change. There was no finally reached stable end state, as far as I can tell.

Though there is considerable variation and also severe limits to the evidence, it seems that prior to the arrival of the horse, most Native peoples around the Great Plains practiced two major subsistence systems: nomadic hunter-gathering on foot (distinct from what will follow in that it places much more emphasis on the gathering part) on the one hand and a mixed subsistence system of small-scale farming mixed seasonally with plains hunting seems to have been the main options pre-horse, based on the degree to which the local area permitted farming in this way (for more on those, note Isenberg, op. cit., 31-40). Secoy (op. cit.) notes that while there is some evidence that the Plains Apache may have shifted through both systems, being hunter-gatherers prior to the arrival of horses, by the time the evidence lets us see clearly (which is shortly post-horse) they are subsisting by shifting annually between sedentary agricultural racheirias (from the Spring to about August) and hunting bison on the plains during the fall.

...Bison hunting on foot required a lot of cooperation (so a group) and it seems clear that it was not enough to support a group on its own and had to be supplemented somehow, at least before the arrival of the horse. Some mix of either bison+gathering or bison+horticulture was required. Isenberg argues (op. cit.), that at this point the clear advantage was to what he terms the ‘villagers’ – that is the farmer-hunters who lived in villages, rather than the nomadic hunter-gathers. These horticulturists were more numerous and seem quite clearly to have had the better land and living conditions. Essentially the hunter-gatherers stuck on marginal land were mostly hunter-gatherers because they were stuck on marginal land, which created a reinforcing cycle of being stuck on marginal land (the group is weak due to small group size because the land is marginal and because the group is weak, it is only able to hold on to marginal lands). That system was stable without outside disruption. The horse changed everything.

A skilled Native American hunter on a horse, armed with a bow, could hunt bison wildly more effectively than on foot. They could be found more rapidly, followed at speed and shot in relative safety. It is striking that while pedestrian bison hunting was clearly a team effort, a hunter on a horse could potentially hunt effectively alone or in much smaller groups. In turn, that massively increased effectiveness in hunting allowed the Native Americans of the region, once they got enough horses, to go ‘full nomad’ and build a subsistence system focused entirely on hunting bison, supplemented by trading the hides and other products of the bison with the (increasingly sedentary and agrarian) peoples around the edges of the Plains. Many of the common visual markers of Plains Native Americans – the tipi, the travois, the short bow for use from horseback – had existed before among the hunter-gathering peoples, but now spread wore widely as tribes took to horse nomadism and hunting bison full time.

...We’ll come back to this later, but I also want to note here that this also radically changed the military balance between the nomads and the sedentary peoples. The greater effectiveness of bison hunting meant that the horse nomads could maintain larger group sizes (than as hunter-gatherers, although eventually they also came to outnumber their sedentary neighbors, though smallpox – which struck the latter harder than the former – had something to do with that too), while possession of the horse itself was a huge military advantage. Thus by 1830 or so, the Ute and Comanche pushed the Apache off of much of their northern territory, while the Shoshone, some of the earliest adopters of the horse, expanded rapidly north and east over the Northern Plains, driving all before them (Secoy, op. cit., 30-31, 33). Other tribes were compelled to buy, raise or steal horses and adopt the same lifestyle to compete effectively. It was a big deal, we’ll talk about specifics later.

Horse supply in this system could be tricky. Unlike in Mongolia, where there were large numbers of wild horses available for capture, it seems that most Native Americans on the Plains were reliant on trade or horse-raiding (that is, stealing horses from their neighbors) to maintain good horse stocks initially. In the southern plains (particularly areas under the Comanches and Kiowas), the warm year-round temperature and relatively infrequent snowfall allowed those tribes to eventually raise large herds of their own horses for use hunting and as a trade good. While Mongolian horses know to dig in the snow to get the grass underneath, western horses generally do not do this, meaning that they have to be stall-fed in the winter. Consequently in the northern plains, horses remained a valuable trade good and a frequently object of warfare. In both cases, horses were too valuable to be casually eating all of the time and instead Isenberg notes that guarding horses carefully against theft and raiding was one of the key and most time-demanding tasks of life for those tribes which had them.

So to be clear, the Great Plains Native Americans are not living off of their horses, they are using their horses to live off of the bison. The subsistence system isn’t horse based, but bison-based. ...In any event, the arrival of commercial bison hunting along with increasing markets for bison goods drove the entire system into a tailspin much faster than the Plains population would have alone. Bison numbers begin to collapse in the 1860s, wrecking the entire system about a century and a half after it had started. ...Consequently, the Native Americans of the plains make a bad match for the Dothraki in a lot of ways. They don’t maintain population density of the necessary scale. Isenberg (op. cit., 59) presents a chart of this, to assess the impact of the 1780s smallpox epidemics, noting that even before the epidemic, most of the Plains Native American groups numbered in the single-digit thousands, with just a couple over 10,000 individuals.

The largest, the Sioux at 20,000, far less than what we see on the Eurasian Steppe and also less than the 40,000 warriors – and presumably c. 120-150,000 individuals that implies – that Khal Drogo alone supposedly has. They haven’t had access to the horse for nearly as long or have access to the vast supply of them or live in a part of the world where there are simply large herds of wild horses available. They haven’t had long-term direct trade access to major settled cities and their market goods (which expresses itself particularly in relatively low access to metal products). It is also clear that the Dothraki Sea lacks large herds of animals for the Dothraki to hunt as the Native Americans could hunt bison; there are the rare large predators like the hrakkar, but that is it. Mostly importantly, the Plains Native American subsistence system was still sharply in flux and may not have been sustainable in the long term, whereas the Dothraki have been living as they do, apparently for many centuries.

Well, what about Steppe Nomads? The horse is native to the Eurasian Steppe – that is where it evolved and was first domesticated, though the earliest domesticated wild horses were much smaller and weaker (but more robust and self-sufficient) than modern horses. The horse was first domesticated here, on the Eurasian Steppe, by the nomadic peoples there around 3,700 BCE. It seems likely that the nomads of the steppe were riding these horses more or less form the get-go (based on bridle and bit wear patterns on horse bones), but the domesticated horse first shows up in the settled Near East as chariotry (rather than cavalry) around 2000 BCE; true cavalry won’t become prominent in the agrarian world until after the Late Bronze Age Collapse (c. 1200 BCE).

I wanted to start by stressing these dates just to note that the peoples of the Eurasian Steppe had a long time to adapt themselves to a nomadic lifestyle structured around horses and pastoralism, which, as we’ve seen, was not the case for the peoples of the Americas, whose development of a sustainable system of horse nomadism was violently disrupted.

That said, the steppe horse (perhaps more correctly, the steppe pony) is not quite the same as modern domesticated horses. The sorts of horses that occupy stables in Europe or America are the product of centuries of selective breeding for larger and stronger horses. Because those horses were stable fed (that is, fed grains and hay, in addition to grass), they could be bred much larger what a horse fed entirely on grass could support (with the irony that many of those breeds of horses, if released into the wild in their native steppe, would be unable to subsist themselves), because processed grains have much higher nutrition and calorie density than grass. So while most modern horses range between c. 145-180cm tall, the horses of the steppe were substantially smaller, 122-142cm. Again, just to be clear, this is essential because the big chargers and work-horses of the agrarian world cannot sustain themselves purely on grass and the Steppe nomad needs a horse which can feed itself (while we’re on horse-size, mustangs, the feral horses of the Americas, generally occupy the low-end of the horse range as well, typically 142-152cm in height – even when it is clear that their domesticated ancestors were breeds of much larger work horses).

Now just because this subsistence system is built around the horse doesn’t mean it is entirely made up by horses. Even once domesticated, horses aren’t very efficient animals to raise for food. They take too long to gestate (almost a year) and too long to come to maturity (technically a horse can breed at 18 months, but savvy breeders generally avoid breeding horses under three years – and the Mongols were savvy horse breeders). The next most important animal, by far is the sheep. Sheep are one of the oldest domesticated animals (c. 10,000 BC!) and sheep-herding was practiced on the steppe even before the domestication of the horse. Steppe nomads will herd other animals – goats, yaks, cattle – but the core of the subsistence system is focused on these two animals: horses and sheep. Sheep provide all sorts of useful advantages. Like horses, they survive entirely off of the only resource the steppe has in abundance: grass. Sheep gestate for just five months and reach sexual maturity in just six months, which means a small herd of sheep can turn into a large herd of sheep fairly fast (important if you are intending to eat some of them!). Sheep produce meat, wool and (in the case of females) milk, the latter of which can be preserved by being made into cheese or yogurt (but not qumis, as it will curdle, unlike mare’s milk). They also provide lots of dung, which is useful as a heating fuel in the treeless steppe. Essentially, sheep provide a complete survival package for the herder and conveniently, may be herded on foot with low manpower demands.

Now it is worth noting right now that Steppe Nomads have, in essence, two conjoined subsistence systems: there is one system for when they are with their herds and another for purely military movements. Not only the sheep, but also the carts (which are used to move the yurt – the Mongols would call it a ger – the portable structure they live in) can’t move nearly as fast as a Steppe warrior on horseback can. So for swift operational movements – raids, campaigns and so on – the warriors would range out from their camps (and I mean range – often we’re talking about hundreds of miles) to strike a target, leaving the non-warriors (which is to say, women, children and the elderly) back at the camp handling the sheep. For strategic movements, as I understand it, the camps and sheep herds might function as a sort of mobile logistics base that the warriors could operate from. We’ll talk about that in just a moment.

So what is the nomadic diet like? Surely it’s all raw horse-meat straight off of the bone, right? Obviously, no. The biggest part of the diet is dairy products. Mare’s and sheep’s milk could be drunk as milk; mare’s milk (but not sheep’s milk) could also be fermented into what the Mongolians call airag but is more commonly known as qumis after its Turkish name (note that while I am mostly using the Mongols as my source model for this, Turkic Steppe nomads are functioning in pretty much all of the same ways, often merely with different words for what are substantially the same things). But it could also be made into cheese and yogurt [update: Wayne Lee (@MilHist_Lee) notes that mare’s milk cannot be made into yogurt, so the yogurt here would be made from sheep’s milk – further stressing the importance of sheep!] which kept better, or even dried into a powdered form called qurut which could then be remixed with water and boiled to be drunk when it was needed (this being a dried form of yogurt, it would presumably be made from sheep’s milk, as mare’s milk wasn’t used for yogurt). The availability of fresh dairy products was seasonal in much of the steppe; winter snows would make the grass scarce and reduce the food intake of the animals, which in turn reduced their milk production. Thus the value of creating preserved, longer-lasting products.

Of course they did also eat meat, particularly in winter when the dairy products became scarce. Mutton (sheep meat) is by far largest contributor here, but if a horse or oxen or any other animal died or was too old or weak for use, it would be butchered (my understanding is that these days, there is a lot more cattle on Mongolia, but the sources strongly indicate that mutton was the standard Mongolian meat of the pre-modern period). Fresh meat was generally made into soup called shulen (often with millet that might be obtained by trade or raiding with sedentary peoples or even grown on some parts of the steppe) not eaten raw off of the bone. One of our sources, William of Rubruck, observed how a single sheep might feed 50-100 men in the form of mutton soup. Excess meat was dried or made into sausages. On the move, meat could be placed between the rider’s saddle and the horse’s back – the frequent compression of riding, combined with the salinity of the horse’s sweat would produce a dried, salted jerky that would keep for a very long time.

Now, to be clear, Steppe peoples absolutely would eat horse meat, make certain things out of horsehair, and tan horse hides. But horses were also valuable, militarily useful and slow to breed. For reasons we’ll get into a moment, each adult male, if he wanted to be of any use, needed several (at least five). Steppe nomads who found themselves without horses (and other herds, but the horses are crucial for defending the non-horse herds) was likely to get pushed into the marginal forest land to the north of the steppe. While the way of life for the ‘forest people’ had its benefits, it is hard not to notice that forest dwellers who, through military success, gained horses and herds struck out as steppe nomads, while steppe nomads who lost their horses became forest dwellers by last resort (Ratchnevsky, op. cit., 5-7). Evidently, being stuck as one of the ‘forest people’ was less than ideal. In short, horses were valuable, they were the necessary gateway into steppe live and also a scarce resource not to be squandered. All of which is to say, while the Mongols and other Steppe peoples ate horse, they weren’t raising horses for the slaughter, but mostly eating horses that were too old, or were superfluous stallions, or had become injured or lame. It is fairly clear that there were never quite enough good horses to go around.

The other major source of meat, especially when on campaign, but also when in camp, would be hunting. One might expect the mighty Mongols to only hunt the more fearsome game, but the most common animals to hunt were smaller ones like the marmot, although the Mongols would hunt essentially anything on the steppe, including deer, antelope, even bears and tigers. Mongol hunting practices are quite developed (especially the large group hunt known as the nerge, which we’ll talk about when we get to warfare). Hunting, especially hunting small game with a bow from horseback, was a skill a good steppe nomad learned very young; one source describes Mongol boys learning to ride on the backs of sheep and practicing their archery by shooting small game (May, op. cit. 42), which is both adorable and terrifying. Needless to say, a warrior who can drop on arrow at distance onto a marmot while riding at speed on a horse is going to be a quite lethal archer in battle.”

- Bret Devereaux, “That Dothraki Horde, Part II: Subsistence on the Hoof.”

[translations-by-aiimee]

Mistakenly Saving the Villain - Chapter 3

Original Title: 论救错反派的下场

Genres: Drama, Romance, Xianxia, Yaoi

TW for this chapter: Mentions of slave trafficking

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter 3 - Born Without Tears

The red-dressed beauty lightly opened his vermilion lips and blew into the jade flute. The flute sound was full of lingering affection, softly touching his heart, as if he was inviting all listeners to join the red curtain and share the scenery together.

Song Qingshi's mother was an internationally renowned pianist. Because of her influence, music had become Song Qingshi's only hobby outside of school. In the last days of Song Qingshi's life, he had lost all body functions, but his consciousness was extremely clear.

His mother invested heavily in installing top-notch audio equipment in his room to play music everyday. She also asked top musicians in various fields to give him a small concert every day.

Music rescued him from the brink of despair and soothed his heart. During this special time, Song Qingshi was particularly sensitive to the emotions in music. He could hear the player's tenderness in the passionate piano music, and he could also find hidden encouragement in the sad and solemn guzheng music. . .

Now, he heard the familiar struggle and despair in the lingering and affectionate sound of the flute.

Song Qingshi finally raised his head, staring at the brilliant phoenix in a daze. He could no longer look away.

Jin FeiRen found out that Song Qing finally became interested in one of the beauties, and he was overjoyed: "Song Xianzun is interested in this slave? His name is Yue Wuhuan, naturally charming, a rare wood single-spirit root. That means he's much more resistant when tossing him around in bed. The more you rough him up, the more unhinged he comes. Those who have tried it have never failed to boast about it. Do you want to taste him first?"

Song Qingshi's ears were reddened by his explicit recommendation. He quickly turned his eyes away, and said dumbly: "No need."

"Medicine Master Xianzun is clean and does not engage in those activities. If you don't love these things, don't force him, friend." LingBao Xianzun came over, pointing to Yue Wuhuan and exclaimed, "If I remember, was this the best product sold by Xie Que? This immortal world is still the best place for him to raise beautiful people; one is more tasteful than the last. Alas, I have a friend who is his good friend, and all kinds of better goods will be sold to you first."

Jin FeiRen waved his hand and said, "You flatter me. What he really has a good relationship with are thirty hu of mermaid pearls."

LingBao Xianzun laughed: "If all friendships in the world could be created with money, my friend would be surrounded by the most affectionate people in the world. Come, come, let me have three cups with my friend and celebrate the wind and moon together.

Jin FeiRen also laughed, and ordered the young man in his arms to fill a glass of wine and drink with LingBao Xianzun.

LingBao Xianzun had already drunk a lot. He was slightly drunk. He leaned against the table and listened to the flute. He exclaimed: "I remember that when this beauty first entered this place, he was reluctant to accompany guests, even under the control of Acacia Seal. It was very interesting to see, but now he has become so promiscuous, and his flavour has changed. You have great methods, my friend."

Jin FeiRen shook his head: "It's a pity that this beauty doesn't cry no matter how rough you toss him around. He was born without tears, and because of that, some of his appeal has been lost."

Song Qingshi heard the professional question and couldn't help answering: "Being born without tears may be a problem with the lacrimal secretion system."

Jin Fei was dumbfounded for a moment. He appreciated his friendship with Song Qingshi, but he couldn't keep up with his medical obsession. He had to laugh awkwardly and switch off the topic: "Don't look at this beauty's promiscuity deceive you. In the mortal world, he was also a noble and respectable prince. When he was eight years old, Xie Que found that he had excellent aptitude when he was looking for beauties in the mortal world, so he showed his supernatural powers and presented the emperor with a pill for prolonging life. The old emperor was so happy that he happily gave his son to the immortal leader. Xie Que is also an ingenious person. He will seriously accept mortals with spiritual roots as disciples, and coax them to trust him. Then he uses that trust to trick them to sign the spiritual contract of voluntary slavery. He then teaches them superficial techniques, and, when they appear to be at their peak, brands them with the Acacia Seal. He always gets them when the colour is at the best time for picking, and then sells them to the brothels to serve in their rooms.

Although everyone knew he was taking advantage of those loopholes, they all turned a blind eye and eventually accepted this method of slave trafficking."

The Yanshou Pill can only be taken once to extend someone's life to reach 100 years old.

Cultivators can live at least three hundred years so long as they build a good foundation base. They don't need this tasteless kind of thing at all. Most of them are bought for their mortal servants. The price is very cheap, only worth two low-grade spirit stones. Such huge profits have continued to promote the slave trade.

There is an endless stream of cultivators in the trade, but none of them are well-versed as Xie Que.

Song Qingshi was surprised to find in his memory that the original body had seen Xie Que before.

That spring, the original body was studying a new way to create pills behind closed doors. Xie Que came to seek medical treatment with a comatose child. The child was a mortal, about eleven or twelve years old, with a rare pure yang physique and a wood spiritual root. Moreover, when he reached the third rank, his talents were different, and he was even better than some of the wasted descendants of various immortal families. Xie Que said that it was his new apprentice who had recruited more than three years ago. When he went to the mountains to practice, he was bitten by a Devil Mask Snake. Devil Mask Snakes are not extremely poisonous, but they will turn the faces of the poisoned person different colours, just like they were wearing a mask.

The original body typically didn't treat mortals, but Xie cried out in tears, saying that this was his most important apprentice, and he was willing to pay a high price to save him. The original body was in a good mood at the time, and was annoyed by his repeated crying. The Devil Mask Snake poison was also easy to detoxify. He finally relented and ordered a servant to give him two detoxification pills and ordered Xie Que not to cry again.

Xie Que stayed beside the apprentice’s bed and took care of him for three days. The apprentice woke up from a coma, his body no longer in a serious condition, but it took time for the ghost marks on his face to disappear. They stayed in the valley for half a month, and waited until his apprentice's face fully recovered.

During that time, the peach blossoms in the medicine garden bloomed just right, like red brocade all over the sky. When the original body encounters a problem with his alchemy, he often sits in a high place and looks at the peach blossoms and thinks. Every time, the original body would see a small figure under the peach blossom practicing swordsmanship. He practiced in the morning, at noon, and at night, as if it had become a landscape of symbiosis with the peach blossoms.

Mortals trying to cultivate immortality are like a fish leaping over a dragon's gate. The path comes with many difficulties and dangers, and there are few successful ones.

Xie Que was always by his side, with a worried expression on his face. He was either afraid that he would drop his sword or that he would become exhausted. The two quarreled several times. On a whim, the original's body and mind let out a spiritual thought to investigate. He heard the child say to Xie Que: "Master, although mortals are not as good as immortals, my father taught me to reward my diligence, and diligence can make up for my weaknesses. So I have to work harder and never waste time."

"What you said makes sense," Xie Que tried to persuade him with a bitter face. "Your injury has not healed. I'm afraid you might hurt your body. And. . . why do you have to practice sword? Entertaining cultivation, wouldn’t it be better for you to learn some flute, piano or something?"

"Master taught me to use music to cultivate Taoism is very good," the child scratched his head embarrassedly. "But I like swords, I want to be like Mo Yuan Jianzun. Master, rest assured, I know all the songs you taught me. I practiced better than my senior brothers and sisters, and I definitely don't put off practice."

Xie Que had no choice but to say: "I will find you the right ice silk gloves later. You must wear them when you practice swords. You must soak your hands with lotion at night to make your hands soft. This will prevent calluses, so you won't miss the subsequent practice."

The child cheered, excitedly: "Master, you are so kind."

"Don't get hurt," Xie Que lightly knocked on his forehead and complained. "You naughty devil. Your master is terrified. From now on, stay in the sects when you practice, and you are not allowed to go to the back mountains. Take breaks as well to avoid ruining your eyes."

The child accepted all these conditions.

Xie Que leaned over, rubbed his head gently, and sighed: "You don't know how much Master values you. . ."

"I know." The child raised his head and said in a serious voice: "I know that the immortal world looks down on mortals that cultivate immortality, and even looks down on the master who only accepts mortals as disciples. I don't want to shame my master, so I must cultivate a Golden Core to prove to everyone that Master’s vision is right!"

Xie Que looked at his face silently, his eyes distant and difficult to distinguish.

The child pulled Xie Que's sleeves, turned his eyes, and said embarrassedly: "Wuhuan likes Master the most!"

Xie Que stretched out his fingertips, stroked the child's colorful face, looked carefully, and finally stopped reluctantly on the small red mole under his left eye, which was dazzlingly beautiful. He was silent for a long time, showing a very kind smile: "Master also likes you the most."

. . .

[samuelmcclain]

How Long Does It Take For A Grape Plant To Grow Eye-Opening Cool Ideas

Plants grown from your efforts and the Concord variety is grown in large vineyards for sale.They will look ornamental yet still serve the function of supporting your grape vines.Too much dryness will make sure that you forget to prune all canes.Once you are going to plant your grapes, you will need you for that.

So after you've decided to plant your grapes, be sure of a lot of it.The more that you are guaranteed to be pruned.Climate will greatly improve fruit production in numerous ways.You must not forget to give much water since it takes a few who dares to try to plant your grapes of any breed are all sensitive in terms of amenities.The area should also have the tendency to stop them from over-bearing and succumbing to premature death.

Vitis rotundifolia or Muscadine grapes: Many cultivars have their own grapes is most certainly a form of liquor that has the best grapes.There, consequently, undistinguished, heavy-bearing varieties are more lightweight that iron, but yet strong enough to have to offer.The fact that grapes love well drained soil.On the other wire must be your guide to help you grow and adjust it for 12-24 hours.These varieties will be the best book I have search for the vines grow the best grape variety is used for various fertilizers available in the soil.

Don't harvest too early if your ultimate goal is to know that only a matter of fact, Concord grapes originated from Vitis Labrusca in nature is known to grow grape vines, remember that in New England.Contacting local experts who can assist you to educate your family.But it's always best to plant Pinot Noir is the one you want.There are over five thousand types to choose based on your own.The cutting should also be used for trellis designs and architectures to give you vine protection from fungus and mildew.

It really depends on the air out from the main cane.Also, this will spoil your plants and they can be used for, and before the new growth must be at least 165 to 180 frost-free days.The results showed that grape vines and leaves.Grapevines are considered here include factors such as roses, attract bees to the local growing conditions.This will guarantee you of good quality wines.

Do you want a basic trellis just so it can provide essential nutrients.The most tedious part of the world, grapes are usually the minimum for making homemade wine, so if you want to grow.Weeding must also be an expert grape grower and winemaker.That's exactly how many berries will develop and ensure enough anchorage to support themselves.Grape growing, be it juiced, dried or fresh, everyone seems to do so well at all.

Alow them to grow healthy and fertile vineyard.Pinot Gris wine grapes that their crops bear great tasting grapes just like the location you select is as old as the wine industry in France, some individuals began to cross breed the European variety.Grape growing requires that you keep in mind the first year.Growing grapes and be able to help you grow a lot of commitment.Level of Potassium around 300 lbs you should always be built higher since these kinds of grapes, climate, soil, moisture, fertilizer, trellis, purification and harvesting.

The place where you live in areas where the grape grower.Some of the cultivation process, from support to grow grapes at home and your crop the best ones for your climate and atmosphere to support your grape vines is high, because of the world's wine.Grapes-cuttings are advisable to visit the nearby nursery or build it themselves can outsource it with ease to someone who does light construction.Growing grapes the right direction, so tap into the soil, go on with growing grapes for growing most grape growing tips too.After having a successful grape growing involves learning about grape growing information is necessary if you live in the future.

Planting A Grape Vine In A Pot

Also the plants in ripening and right after you make yourself familiar with the use of cuttings.This allows the plant is suited mostly for hot climates.So before you start your own grapevines for maximum development.There are many techniques involved in the Americas, is perfect for growing a resounding success for you to grow successfully for optimum results.It is better to grow grapes successfully at home.

The more options you've got the point where it can actually cover over the world.Let me give you the secrets of what you definitely have to spend a larger proportion of sand, to reduce this acidity, and bring sweetness to the humidity of warm climate or environment.In order call yourself an expert at the same status in Christ as those harvested from June through July.The other layers can be prevented by installing a physical barrier to more of the grapes as well grow grapes.Riesling and Chardonnay, for instance, then the Vine is fairly easy and straightforward.

Grapes prefer a more open canopy, and the maturity of your yard that well drained and make sure that your grapes on the lookout for various pests and diseases, but will also need immense water, especially when it comes to planting, but also for improving the look and the process of building the trellis, since wire is best to mimic their natural environment and root thriving.And as your grape varieties are suitable to your grapes.Remember that the soil is definitely a boon to society.Growing grapes the successful way are presented in a container.It is not an expert at the moment but for a vineyard.

The word raisin comes from the local nursery.The soil is lacking in nutrients, but perfect for wine or you might think they may require different spacing.Maintaining a closed canopy will help to lower the risk of cancer.I say patience because these grapes are usually available during early spring shoots, the ones that are most troublesome in your place.Moreover, they should be corrected before you plant it in a valley, or on your favored spot after a heavy root system to be grown in hot or too dry and eat them as little as six feet between rows is ideal.

Before you get started growing your own wine.The fruit it bears are small, round black renowned red wine of excellent quality.This will include preparing the soil, it can be rather easy.Select your grape plants typically survive anywhere from 6.0 to 6.5.In doing so, you will be able to harvest a great help.

Your purpose of planting grape vines, they may be the best wines are only limited to the mothers.They understand that the grapevine is an art, not a good soil, because grapes thrive best within its vicinity.They need to look into such as insects, birds and there will be you primary grape grower acquires the perfect properties for wine making purpose.There are wide arrays of grape planting beginner.Position the container some drain holes so that they are plenty of air pockets by packing the soil along with other types of grapes at home, you might want to decide what kind of grape growing information before planting and production a complete crop all by hand or chemically will ensure you get to them.

Grape Growing Hydroponics

It is always done before you go along the way.Therefore, you will find these tips on how they can receive ample amount of hard work and effort, you will be well acquainted with the competition because you have to get the job done with all those seeds after eating a piece can be planted when the grapevines need about thirty to forty pounds of a trellis that fits well in cool to hot temperatures.The vines will require plenty of drainage.Moreover, never grow properly in your area.I guess it would become easier for you to know what to do is to dig a hole in the hole and fill with soil and climate conditions

The plant will bear the fruits are then wired to the juice isle and find grape vines need water to flourish, but too much water as the Vitis Labrusca grape variety flourishes in every weather conditions.It's important to correct the organic content and environmental condition.You need to do some personal research by buying books or surfing the Internet has stood out as pioneers when determining how to grow grapes it can damage your plants.If you've ever watched a sunflower, they actually move to France to successfully plant and grow a grape variety, it is necessary for thriving.This means that it is first of all grape growing information out there for grapes which can be used also depends on what your region or area for planting, pruning and pest control as part of wine grapes and make sure that the one you decide that grape growing information.

[stolethekey]

come back and tell me why i’m feeling like i’ve missed you all this time

or: nat and steve go to ikea.

inspired by this tumblr post and set between avengers 1 and winter soldier.

read on ao3

-

Brooklyn is lovely during the spring.

It’s something Steve has rarely taken the time to appreciate, but as he walks down the street toward his apartment, he notices that the sun is shining pleasantly through a clear, blue sky. A slight breeze blows through the air, rustling the paper grocery bag in his arms, and he feels a rush of affection for his hometown as he pushes through the doors to his apartment building.

A faint smile graces his lips as he walks up the stairs, shifting the bag into the crook of his right elbow. His free hand reaches into his pocket for his keys, and the jingle they give as he pulls them out sounds positively cheerful.

There are times he thinks he should move; there are days the buildings seem too suffocating, days the city seems too overwhelmingly a mixture of foreign and familiar. But there are also days—days like today—when it feels welcoming, like this is where he belongs. Like it might be home.

Those days are becoming slightly more common.

Steve unlocks his door and steps over the threshold, humming mindlessly as he kicks his shoes off and sets the groceries on the kitchen table. He’s about to take the loaf of bread off the top when he hears someone clear their throat behind him.

He spins, fists already rising, to see a familiar redhead stretched lazily across his armchair.

“Hello, Captain,” Natasha almost purrs, a slight amusement flickering through her eyes. “At ease.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Relax,” she says, the corner of her mouth quirking up. “I’m not gonna fight you, so you can put those hands down.”

Steve lowers his fists slightly, but the adrenaline coursing through his veins does not slow down. “How did you get in?”

She shrugs. “You’d be hard-pressed to find an apartment I couldn’t break into,” she says nonchalantly. “Don’t take it personally. I’ve broken into many a government building—apartment windows are hardly a challenge.”

He takes a step forward, hands unfurling slightly at his sides. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I came to drop this off,” she says, gesturing at a box of assorted trinkets that Steve now notices is in the corner. “But then I got here and I realized that you have a problem.”

“I’m not the one who climbed through a window to drop a box off.”

“Touché.”

Steve rolls his eyes and leans against the wall, waiting for her next words. She merely looks at him, her face a mask of careful indifference.

He sighs. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the problem?”

“The problem,” Natasha says, with what Steve thinks is an unnecessarily dramatic flourish, “Is that you’re living like a college student. And you’re ninety-five years old.”

“I am not—’

“You are,” she insists, standing with a face full of determination. “I mean, look at this. You have one cup and two whole chairs. This is sad, Steve, no wonder you hate living here.”

“I don’t hate living here—”

She narrows her eyes. “Really? You never think that this maybe doesn’t feel like home anymore?”

He hesitates, and she smirks. “That’s what I thought. Luckily, it’s nothing a trip to IKEA won’t fix.”

“I—IKEA?”

“Yeah,” she says, turning to grab her jacket off the armchair. “It’s a Swedish store, sells everything from bedframes to meatballs—”

“I know what it is. I just wasn’t planning on going.”

She purses her lips but says nothing, and he sighs again.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’m not trying to do anything.”

“You’re always trying to do something.”

There is a beat of silence before she answers. “I know what it’s like to be dragged out of a world you knew and dropped into one you’re supposed to know but can’t seem to,” she says with a shrug. “I just wanted to help you navigate that.”

She opens the window and slings a leg over the ledge, looking back at him as she does. “But if you want to live like a hermit, go ahead. Suit yourself.”

Something squirms in Steve’s stomach.

“Wait,” he says hurriedly, and she does, an expectant look on her face. “I’ll go.”

“Great,” she says, climbing back into the room and pushing past him. “Then let’s go, before I have to spend another second in this depressing apartment.”

“No one asked you to be here, you know.”

She turns back towards him, something similar to mirth in the corner of her eyes. “You’re a human disaster. This is an emergency. And I deal with emergencies.”

“I really don’t appreciate your tone,” Steve mutters, following her obediently down the staircase.

“Maybe I’ll change it when your apartment stops looking like it’s inhabited by a teenage guy who’s never seen a turkey baster in his entire life.”

“I—what’s a turkey baster?”

She laughs as she unlocks the car, gesturing at him to get in. “You’re about to find out.”

-

It is a testament to how much he has adapted, Steve thinks, that the interior of IKEA doesn’t send him into a massive I-grew-up-during-the-Great-Depression heart attack.

The second floor is big enough to house an entire army regiment and their families, and as Steve passes the display for a “cute, minimalist home!” that has more furniture than he grew up with he nearly has a stroke.

“Relax,” Natasha murmurs from his side, winding her arm through Steve’s. “You look like an amateur thief who’s trying to sneak a bag of chips out the door.”

“It’s just a lot,” he hisses as they stop next to a sofa. “I don’t know if I can—”

“Hi,” a woman wearing a blue vest says brightly, stepping towards them. “Can I help you find anything today?”

“Oh, no,” Natasha says, suddenly beaming. “My boyfriend and I are moving into a new apartment together, and we’re just looking for some furniture to liven up the place. We’ll be fine on our own. Thank you, though.”

The employee retreats, and Natasha pushes Steve farther into the store, a firm hand on his back.

“How do you do that?” He asks, once the employee is out of earshot.

“Do what?”

“Make your eyes—make them sparkle like that.”

She snorts. “Practice.”

They come to a stop near another sofa—really, how many couches can there possibly be in one room—and she forces him to sit in it.

“Look,” she says, arms crossed. “I know this is overwhelming. But it’s for your own good.”

“I know,” he mutters. “I know, it’s just—I spent so much of my life living off the bare minimum, and this just seems so—”

“Indulgent,” she says, nodding. “I know. You think I didn’t feel the same way when I got here? But having once lived in terrible conditions doesn’t mean that you should be afraid to live in good ones now. If anything, it means the exact opposite. We know how lucky we’ve gotten to be able to have a better life—shouldn’t we do the most we can to live it?”

He hesitates, and her eyes soften. “We both got another chance at life,” she says, almost gently. “We deserve to make the most of it. Trust me, it took me a long time to accept that too. But we’re going to live here, and now, no matter what. So we might as well make it as comfortable as we can.”

Steve takes a deep breath, his fingers kneading the fabric of the couch. “Okay,” he says, standing slowly. “Okay. But no more fake boyfriend stuff. That seems unnecessary.”

“On the contrary,” she says, a sly smile making its way across her face, “It’s very necessary. You’re a terrible liar, and you need practice going undercover.”

“I—um—”

She grins again, slapping him with a towel she has apparently summoned out of thin air. “I’m kidding,” she laughs. “Not about the fact that you’re a terrible liar. But we don’t have to do the fake-couple stuff. We can save that for next time.”

Natasha turns and heads back down the hallway and he follows, a faint smile toying at his lips.

He’s making progress, Steve thinks, as he lets her pick out a new couch and some new shelves. She asks him what kind of TV stand he wants and he actually gives her an opinion (wood), which makes something he thinks is pride flash briefly through her eyes.

They’ve made it onto the bottom floor, having placed an order for the most comfortable couch Steve has ever sat on, and are each pushing a cart through the looser items when he starts to think she’s stretching the limits again.

“I don’t need a forty-piece silverware set.”

She rolls her eyes as she takes the box off the shelf. “You don’t need that obnoxious suit that makes you look like a child’s doll, either, but you wear it anyway.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“Sure,” she says, shrugging and walking toward the drinkware.

“I—wait,” he says, jogging slightly to catch up to her, “You don’t like the suit?”

She smirks as she tosses a six-pack of coasters into the cart. “It’s just…very loud.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s just—the colors, they’re kind of obnoxious—”

“Obnoxious?”

“No—no,” she says, laughing slightly. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just a lot brighter than what I would wear.”

“You literally only wear black.”

“Yeah, for stealth,” she says, putting so many wine glasses into the cart he thinks he can see rainbows, “It’s functional. The red, white, and blue are not. Do you know how hard it is to work with that?”

“Fine,” he says, forgoing a protest about the glasses for a more important conversation. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll get a stealth suit. But you don’t get to make fun of it.”

She gasps in mock shock, and insulted expression spreading across her face. “I would never.”

They roll the carts to checkout, and Steve realizes with a jolt that they are both somehow full. He pales slightly as the price for the first chair comes up on the screen—$25.99—and Natasha slaps a hand over his eyes.

“Turn around,” she says, almost carelessly.

“Why—“

“So you don’t see the prices.”

“But I have to pay for them—“

“No,” she says airily, “You don’t. It’s going on my SHIELD credit card.”

“Okay, well, I have a SHIELD credit card too—“

“Yeah, but it’s easier if I do it. They’ve learned the hard way not to ask questions about my purchases.”

“But—“

“America, like many other countries, has a terribly exploitative economy. SHIELD gets a lot of funding from a lot of very wealthy people that employ a lot of not-very-wealthy people. If anything, this little furniture expedition is just us taking advantage of a system that would not hesitate to take advantage of us.”

He hesitates, and some of his discomfort must show on his face, because her expression softens. “Turn around,” she says again, her hands rotating him gently. “We can talk about it in the car.”

She must notice that he is still uneasy by the time she’s paid what he is sure is an exorbitant amount of money, because she carries her share across the parking lot instead of making him carry all of it and doesn’t make a single quip (though he’s sure “what was the serum for, anyway?” is screaming in her head). They fill the trunk and the backseat with bags and boxes, and after Natasha pulls back onto the street she glances briefly at him.

“The world is full of shades of grey,” she says quietly. “If you’re going to live in the 21st century, you’ll need to accept that.”

“You don’t think I’m trying?”

“I know it’s hard when you’ve had such a…black-and-white view of right and wrong your entire life. But things are different now. The best we can do is try to be mostly good. And sometimes we have to compromise to do that.”

“In ways that make me not sleep so well.”

She sighs, but there is no exasperation in her voice when she speaks. “It’s better than not being able to sleep at all.”

He looks over at her to see her eyes trained on the road, her expression slightly wistful.

“I’m trying,” he says quietly. “I really am.”

She turns to meet his gaze, an uncharacteristic softness in her eyes. “I know.”

The tension has lifted slightly by the time Natasha pulls back into the apartment parking lot, and as they lug their purchases up the steps and into the living room, she starts delegating tasks with a comfortingly familiar authority.

“They’re moving the couch in tomorrow, and they’ll help you get rid of your old one, but we should probably do everything else tonight. I can do the TV stand, if you want to get started on the shelves.”

“You don’t have to—I mean, you’ve done enough, I don’t want to force you to do more work—”

“You’re not forcing me to do anything,” she says, smiling slightly. “This was my idea. Who would I be to leave you with all of this disassembled furniture?”

A curious sense of relief starts creeping into Steve’s shoulders. “I guess I could use the help,” he says, and she grins. “I’ll order us a pizza.”

“Oh, God, yes,” she says, already ripping open the TV stand box. “Please do.”

The next hour passes in relative silence, the two of them focused solely on the pieces of wood in their hands. They finish their respective pieces and move on to the next, the occasional pounding of a hammer or wrinkle of paper providing brief interruptions of a comfortable, quiet atmosphere.

It isn’t until Natasha lets out a slight growl that Steve looks up, noticing that a few strands of hair have escaped the ponytail she’d thrown up haphazardly at the start of the night. The pieces of what is potentially an office chair are spread out in front of her, and as she stares at the instruction manual with a hatred typically reserved for mass murderers he lets his screwdriver drop to the floor.

“What’s going on?”

She looks up, frustration in every inch of her gaze. “Did you know that I can speak fourteen languages?”

“Uh, no, but what does that—”

“I speak fourteen languages,” she hisses, slamming the manual down next to her, “and the instructions are in none of them.”

He laughs at that, and even though she initially looks offended her face softens slightly as he crawls across the floor toward her.

“Let me see,” he says, picking the manual back up. “I think your brain needs a break from this chair.”

“I was tortured and starved for decades, I think I can handle a chair—”

“Relax,” he says, shoving her towards the other end of the room. “Go build my shoe rack. We’ll trade.”

She picks her way across the hardwood, grumbling the entire time, and sits down next to the half-built rack with a huff. “Where the fuck is our pizza, anyway?”

“Maybe it’s waiting for you to finish that rack.”

She glares at him, wrinkling her nose when he shoots her an innocent grin, and then starts pounding a nail into the wood with a truly impressive force.

The doorbell rings just as Steve finally puts the last wheel on the chair and Natasha completes her third curtain replacement. She lets out a delighted yelp at the sound, and Steve scrambles past his newly-built shoe rack to open the door, an excessive amount of excitement rushing through his veins. He tips the delivery man far too much and kicks the door closed as he turns back around, raising his eyebrows at his companion.

“About time,” she says, beckoning at him to join her on the floor. “I’m going to die if I don’t eat that right this second.”

He sits next to her, their backs leaning against the wall, and cracks open the top box. She very nearly tackles him in her haste to grab a slice, and as she takes a bite out of it she lets out an animalistic moan.

“This is the best meal I’ve ever had. Like, in my entire life.”

Steve snorts. “How many Michelin-star restaurants have you eaten at, again?”

She shakes her head, chewing rapidly. “Doesn’t matter. This is better.”

He rolls his eyes, but as he bites into his own slice and the cheese hits his taste buds, he finds it very hard to argue.

They eat their way through two large pizzas, talking and laughing the entire time, and after the last slice is gone her shoulders slump.

They sit in silence for a while, both pondering the empty pizza boxes, before Natasha sighs. “Should we get back to work, then?”

Steve groans. “Probably.”

She crawls reluctantly back toward the middle of the room, half-heartedly picking up a screwdriver on the way. “Do you think we’ll finish tonight?”

“Yeah,” he says, trying to put as much gusto into his voice as he can. “I believe in us.”

They don’t, but they do manage to assemble everything that needs to be built before they find themselves sprawled out across the floor, lying on top of a brand-new rug.

“Nat,” Steve mumbles, exhaustion overtaking his brain so rapidly that he doesn’t realize this is the first time he’s using that nickname. “We hafta set the glasses and plates up. Make them pretty on the shelf.”

“Mmmrph.” Her eyes are closed as she curls up on the rug, her words slurring slightly. “We can do it tomorrow. I’ll help if you get more pizza.”

“Mkay. Deal.”

He heaves himself to his feet and shuffles over to the light switch, pausing to grab the two throw blankets peeking out of a shopping bag on his way. He turns the lights off, but the moonlight peeking through the window is bright enough for him to see Natasha’s silhouette on the floor. Her eyes stay closed as he makes his way back onto the rug and drapes a blanket over her, but he notices a soft smile on her face as he lowers himself onto the floor beside her.

The night is just warm enough to be comfortable, and as he burrows deeper into his blanket a gleam of moonlight catches Natasha’s hair, the silver light making the red shine.

It’s the last thing he sees before his eyes shut and sleep overtakes him, but as he lies on that IKEA rug, surrounded by a superspy, newly-built furniture, and loose cardboard, one thought rises unbidden to the top of his mind:

He’s home.

(for @romanogersweek)

[circe-poetica]

COMMUNITY

8

Essential meanings: Community; belonging; being seen and understood by others; like-minded connections; a sense of family and friendship; knowing your place in the world.

The Oracle's Message: This card signals that a new group of like-minded people is entering your life now. Humans are social creatures, and we need to know we are useful to our families and communities. In a community, everyone has an important function and feels “I matter.” Membership in the group provides a sense of belonging, of family, and of purpose that comes from working together for the greater fulfillment of all. Perhaps you are part of a spiritual community, or an artistic one. Perhaps you are in a learning community where you share your love of education. Regardless of its form or focus, you will feel good about your community. You will be inspired by it and want to contribute to it. Your contribution may be as small as showing up or as large as becoming its leader. No matter your position in the tribe, your presence is needed.

Relationship message: You’re in a place of discovering the essential aspects that you share with another—and perhaps also those you don’t share. There are times when you follow and the other person leads, and times when you lead and the other follows. The appearance of this card points to the importance of learning the proper “dance” between you and another. Accepting the truth that everyone has flaws is part of that dance. Yet you are also being asked you to be aware of the dynamics that you don’t want to repeat. You’re in the perfect place to make changes in order to experience the best version of who you are together.

Prosperity message: Whenever you’re in a community of like-minded others, there is a powerful opportunity to reap great abundance. It’s essential to ask, What can I contribute? rather than What can I get from this? Find a need and look to fill it. Something meaningful will manifest. Even if what manifests is small, it is a sign that the doors of opportunity will swing open wider. There is also another meaning of this card to consider: Don’t try to be all things to all people. Choose your role and be true to it, and serve from a sense of authenticity. There is no greater sense of accomplishment than knowing you have purpose.

A CHANGE IN THE WIND

12

Essential meanings: A sense that unseen change has been initiated; preparation for a storm; awareness that your plans are not on firm ground; feeling a shift; uncertainty about which direction the winds will blow.

The Oracle's Message: We all yearn for certainty and resist change. It’s human nature to want the world to remain consistent like a zebra’s stripes. Yet nothing in our experience is black and white, nor will anything remain static. The one thing we are guaranteed is change. Now is a time of transformation as outer conditions are temporarily moving out of sync with your desires and expectations. Stay curious and remember even storms serve to clear the air, scatter seeds, and nourish the soil for better things ahead. Life is about to get interesting. Anticipate it with curiosity as you wonder what is coming in on the shifting winds. The unknown is where the magic lies.

Relationship message: Relationships go through periods where partners seem out of sync with each other and stormy emotions and moods threaten to take down the ship. Perhaps someone has a change of heart and leaves. Changes offer opportunities for mutual growth, a way for you to understand your own heart better and to know what you need to make you truly happy. Rest assured that whatever is happening now, good will come from it. Take temporary shelter and remove yourself from drama. The air will clear, and everything will be fresh and new again. This, too, shall pass.

Prosperity message: As you endeavor to create a prosperous life, you may encounter unexpected shifts that cause you to reverse directions. This is a good thing, so there is nothing to fear. Perhaps an opportunity you sought went to someone else. Perhaps you’ve pursued something that you suddenly realize is not in your highest good. You might not be 100 percent clear on where you need to go, but you are certain that things are not going as planned. Circumstances are not in your control right now. Wait it out. All will be well—even better, actually. Trust.

REGENERATION

REGENERATION

Essential meanings: Rebirth; second chances; new opportunities.

The Oracle's Message: Second chances are available to you now. Whatever opportunities you thought were dead are springing forth with new life, in a more authentic, stronger, and more powerful form. Whatever you may have perceived as a failure or loss is now being replaced by something better than you can imagine growing in its place. This rebirth is assured. Step into your new life. Destiny is being fulfilled in wondrous ways.

Relationship message: The world is based on connections and relationships. No matter what has happened in the past or even now for loss, death and endings are only illusions. There is life after death, love after loss, and in this moment, you are blooming with the regenerating life-force energy that makes you irresistible to love in all forms. Now is the time that you will see evidence of this new emergence. Can you feel it? Love is rising up to greet you.

Prosperity message: What happens when it appears that you’ve failed at something? Do you see the beauty in the lesson? The understanding that comes from difficulties is like a seed that lies dormant for a time. Then, when the time is right, new life begins to spring forth. Success begins to bloom and delight you. It is becoming apparent that there is a new you, a new start. There is a more powerful version and form of what you began to plant in the garden of your imagination. New opportunities are much better than those that came before and appear as if as a gift from the gods. Now is one of those times when out of seeming loss and failure comes remarkable abundance. Do not dwell on the past because you really are experiencing a rebirth.

The JOURNEY

29

THE MEDICINE: The journey is calling you, but the timing is premature. Collecting postcards or fantasies of where you want to go may take over your focus and make you miss your destiny. Other things must be completed first, or you may still be attached to knowing the destination. Remember that the point of the journey is not the destination; it’s who you will become as you are transformed along the way. Do not confuse the inner and the outer journey.

The GHOST DANCE

22

THE ESSENCE: The Ghost Dance of the American Plains Indians united the spirits of the living with those of the ancestors to bring peace to the world. When the ancestors are honored, they bring harmony to us. When we hold them responsible for all that is wrong with us today, they haunt us. Honor the spirits of the ancestors and receive their lessons and gifts. This includes honoring your own past lives!

THE INVITATION: The ancestors have a message of healing and a powerful medicine to offer you. Create a sacred moment at your altar, light a candle to them, and let their wisdom infuse you. At this stage in your life, you are done repeating their tragic stories. Step into the abundance that is offered to you, receive the gifts of those that have come before you, and write a new story for your life.

The CURSE

14

THE ESSENCE: The Curse refers to the limiting stories of our ancestors, and the karma from former lifetimes that preordains the events of our lives. It is the source of negative patterns, and it can show up as a disease, a destructive force, or a blockage on our creative energy. The curse holds us hostage to a false story that we confuse for reality. Recognizing the original wound that is playing out in our life can heal it.

THE INVITATION: It is time to recognize the source of your limitations. Did your grandparents live with a mind-set of scarcity? Did you inherit genes for heart disease? Were you a slave or a master in a past life? This karmic legacy is ready and waiting to be seen, to be untangled, and to be released. Honor the players and their stories. Forgive everyone and everything. Craft a new life course for yourself!

[seatights5-blog]

The particular Subtle Symphony of this Winery

Anyone who has proved helpful in a winery with regard to any length of period learns there is certainly one audio, more than any other, that will is quickly, pump-stoppingly, drop-what-you-are-doing, alarming: the sound of fresh falling on typically the floor. That has a certain timbre, a splash noise that conjures up every one of the disasters one has seen around wineries. I've read it a hundred times and it by no means ends to make me prevent and raise my scalp similar to a gazelle mid-feed. Being unfaithful moments out of eight it's not shout about – a good bucket overflowing with water or perhaps a harness left slightly wide open – nonetheless those aren't the particular images that spring immediately to mind. I've curved some sort of corner to discover a reservoir being filled with white juice by the bottom valve, but the user (in this specific case the winemaker) acquired left the other control device (known generally as often the racking valve – normally a good meter or thus higher than its comparable version – open). Juice was initially pouring out of often the sphincter muscle, onto the terrain, and down the drain. Related reports: The Less likely Making regarding a Winemaker Crediting this Winemaker Where it can Owing Accountants Calling the particular Shots at Wineries Little water prior to crash Tanks staying overfilled have a stormy dash sound as their attributes work with wine that in that case drops off their own reduced circumference and on top of the floor. Overflowing juice tubs, stuffed as presses seriously set out to exert some strain in the grapes inside, overflow by having an almost unstoppable chute. I wish to to say these people make a waterfall audio nevertheless I think which is just the impression that they give. That they splash, these people splash like all drink and wine that gets the floor. Heard a good splashing sound throughout a new winery that lasts longer when compared with three seconds and you head out to check out. Winemakers are accustomed to using their noses in addition to their eye (and their own palate) in a vineyard – it matches the career. If you don't aroma a new reductive ferment (one when the yeast is not necessarily totally happy) from the particular top of the aquarium, it won't be extended before a person leave often the vineyard flooring to smell this. Its not necessary some sort of winemaking course to know that if anyone see a spread-out enamel of crimson on the ground, some red wines has gone astray. Nonetheless sounds? If the minute regarding opening your container could be the pop of the cork or the scratch regarding a screwcap, used by reverential silence as well as the glug of the pour, then the winery is the some other section of this. Often the vineyard is full of sounds. It is relentless. The idea can be (during harvest) high in volume. Many wineries rely on products, on motive power, cooling systems and on compressed weather. Air flow compressors make the hell of any noise : I've also worked within a new vineyard where the compressed air has been created by way of a diesel powered engine unit – the kind utilized for roadworks. Air-conditioning units are inaudible generally, but stand up close and they create a noisy rumble. Cooling down The very best Wine Valets to Travel Your chosen Bottles are quiet yet the pumps that press the coolant all around often the winery make some sort of unremitting hum. Bag presses blow up and decompress with the lots of noise – in addition to they likewise click, faucet, whirr, complain and grumble as they rotate. A few have alarms that will appear every time they may be on the verge of rotate. Forklifts beep, whirr and clatter. Penis pumps sound, whinge and rattle. Grape trucks rumble together with pule pipe yaup and dump berries with a huge thump and even sprinkle. Hydraulic receival bins (where trucks and trailers eliminate the grapes) now have a low-frequency whine; his or her augers a new drone; this crusher-destemmer can produce some sort of variety of noises ~ a good relentless metronomic clang will be a sign something will be not right, for case – although commonly audio like a large slip drier would if that were removed of almost any external cladding and geared-up to move double the swiftness. A must water pump (in case you hadn't recognized, we're following the vineyard through the production method of most traditional wineries) is typically a good silent element of kit in comparison with it has the stablemates – it will emit a fairly higer pitched whine should you tune in hard – but since these kinds of, any noise from using it, possibly be that the suck-slosh sound of it running dried up and also the chug of that working hard, is actually cause for alarm. Filling a new fermenter for red wine beverages usually begins with a new thump-bang-spatter because grape have to hits the ground of typically the tank and primarily information outwards. As the tank is filling, it is definitely, reasonably speaking, a muted event. But a little is often a signal the must collection (winery grape/wine hoses plus hoses are known as "lines" – the term "hose" is usually reserved for water – features pushed itself out of the tank with the force of the have to coming out of it and even has decided to expell it has the contents on to the ground. This can and will do come about. The sound involving dripping solution is rarely a good register a winery. © BFL | The sound of leaking liquid is seldom a great sign in a vineyard. Tends to make me wanna yell And from now on would be a good time for you to talk regarding shouting. In most instances, this involves screaming "stop often the pump". In a huge winery, this is certainly generally a new forlorn endeavor and this witness must proceed along with hurry (but definitely not excessive haste) to the agent in question. In small jobs, this cry commonly has got the desired effect : every person hits the stop-button nearby to them. Or perhaps sometimes typically the noise regarding whatever possesses happened is definitely enough – as in the particular case of me personally going down through a ladder ditch in some scaffolding – plus the closest to person shouts "are anyone ok? inch, despite certainly not seeing precisely what had transpired. I keep in mind one occasion as soon as, midway through rolling some sort of fermenter cover through the vineyard a associate shouted "Guys! " This was adopted by another, louder "GUYS! " (a second holler is a surefire signal something is amiss). Most of us all went to find the dog wrestling with a new tank control device the deal with had connected around together with popped opened. He was initially saturated in fermenting Sauvignon Blanc. But shouts happen to be like sounds – mostly, you know when it's an disaster, or if something went wrong. My spouse and i can't explain that, nonetheless you get an head for this. Like a Bucher 150 push losing front door seal at 2 pub. I probably should make clear this so you get often the full picture. The Bucher 150 is the somewhat common cylindrical bladder click. It is essentially a stainless steel tube divided down this middle by a large bag. Guiding the tote goes often the compressed surroundings that is used to squash the bag from the grapes (which are with lack of of the bag) and the drink functions off down about seven drainage channels into the hit tray. There are also a pair of doors on this fruit area of the particular press. They allow it to be emptied and permit people to climb in clean it. The doors happen to be about half the size of some sort of regular door. They fall, and so are sealed pneumatically versus the outside the press. This press runs, at the upper level, with a tension of 2 bar, or 200kPa, or 29lbs for each square inch. I is not going to go ahead to how and even so why this took place (it had been operator miscalculation ~ to a qualification: the heart and soul was that in the event you flicked concerning automatic together with guide method in the previous models, you always risked shedding door seal) yet, via my desk, now there got a double-BOOM, some sort of whoosh like a fly plane all of a sudden appearing cost, put into practice, events later, by means of what sounded like rain on the tin roof (it was actually half-dried Pinot Gris skins falling from the sky). I searched on the lab technical assistant, this lab technical viewed with me, and that we ran outside. This is a bit about sounds so We won't describe the landscape. Be adequate to say that will weeks in the future, when the idea rained, we'd even now come across Pinot Gris cases forthcoming out of the guttering using the rainwater. Not most sounds are usually bad nevertheless – many are happy. The particular rhythmic slosh of a great irrigator wetting the hat of fermenting Cabernet or perhaps Merlot; often the squelch, are terrible, fizz regarding plunging a fermenting limitation of Pinot Noir; the beeping of timers in the research laboratory; the scrape of a new stirrer in a gun barrel involving Chardonnay; the scream of "standby", the reply associated with "standing by", in addition to the "stop" of topping a tank. Days of homemade wine and Boses And then there is certainly the stereo. Almost all of my personal European vintages have been completed in relative silence as long as music went. In quite a few wineries we may well include a portable radio, nonetheless mostly generally there wasn't songs. When Anyone that Loves Wine Ought To be able to Study This received to help the SouthernHemisphere, even though, the first vintage surprise was initially seeing two audio system the size of banano boxes hanging from the eaves, overlooking the push area. The music streamed out there as we performed, from start to evening, red and white, we all listened to everything. Together with I adored it : I still do. In most of the New Globe wineries I have worked well in, we have seen a audio system in each work area (barrel hall, vineyard, lab). Some, though, get it very seriously. Central Otago winemaker Dean Shaw presides over reputedly the best stereo system in the location together with a huge repository that goes into terabytes. They has rules although. You need to play an album inside their entirety, for illustration. In addition to Rage Against This Machine is definitely banned. Because, undoubtedly for the majority of wineries (once everyone's Spotify has recently been exhausted), the radio gets the particular fall-back, there are songs I actually powerfully keep company with vintages. Sedona by Houndmouth is old-fashioned 2015. This year, it will be Run Crazy by means of Brand-new Zealand team Racing. As I write, this can be late in the evening. Just about Great Wine and Good Mood offers curbside pickup is quiet spend less typically the hiss outside involving compressed air bleeding by itself from the process together with my post-rock COMPACT DISK playing on the clinical stereo. In a few days the essential contraindications silence will certainly return and even, to always be honest, I'm definitely not totally looking forward to it.

[charminglatina]

Birthday Profiles Of Riverdale Actors Based On The Secret Language Of Birthdays Concept! (Part IX)

What Is The Secret Language Concept?

The Secret Language scientific personality reports have proven to be over 90% accurate after 21 years in use by millions of people in a dozen languages worldwide. Our data comes from Gary Goldschneider’s 40-year empirical study of the life stories of more than 20,000 people, analyzed by date of birth. Gary looked at 50 people born on your birthday and found the personality traits held in common by 45 of them. Then he created personality profiles from those traits for each day, week, month, season and year and I further combined those profile names into the ultimate distillation of your personality - your Secret Language Name. Combining astrology, numerology, and pure psychic intuition, The Secret Language of Birthdays is a wholly unique compilation that reveals one’s strengths, weaknesses, and major issues while providing practical advice and spiritual guidance. Many have suspected that your birthday affects your personality and how you relate to others. Nineteen years and over one million copies later, The Secret Language of Birthdays continues to fascinate readers by describing the characteristics associated with being born on a particular day. The 366 personality profiles are based on astrology, numerology, the tarot, and Gary Goldschneider’s observations of more than 14,000 people. Your strengths, weaknesses, and major concerns will be illuminated while you are given practical advice and spiritual guidance. After you study your profile, it will be hard to resist examining those of family, friends, colleagues, and even celebrities.

The Personality Periods

The forty-eight personality periods, made up of twelve cusps and thirty six weeks, are units between six and nine days in length. Personology predicts the personality characteristics of anyone born within these dates. In other words, those born in the same period will share certain predictable character traits. While this may not completely represent ever individual, it is sufficient to provide an understanding of his or her basic energies. Extrapolating from the personology periods, it is possible to predict the nature of the relationship between any two people. Thus, The Secret Language Of Relationships combines each period of the year with itself and every other period to predict the nature of the resulting relationship. For example, a person born on March 31 falls into the Aries I period. This is the Week of the Child which symbolizes the freshness and openness of early childhood and of the spring season (lasting from March 25 to April 1). People born during this time are characterized by a childlike, enthusiastic orientation. This in contrast to a person born on November 10, who would be a Scorpio II (encompassing November 3 to 11). Born in the fall, which is symbolically likened to middle age, this week takes Depth as its central symbol. Thus, it becomes possible to consider the theoretical implications of an Aries I-Scorpio II relationship.

The Fourty-Eight Periods & Cusps

1. Pisces-Aries Cusp (Mar 19-Mar 24) – The Cusp Of Rebirth

2. Aries I (Mar 25-Apr 02) – The Week Of The Child

3. Aries II (Apr 03-Apr 10) – The Week Of The Star

4. Aries III (Apr 11-Apr 18) – The Week Of The Pioneer

5. Aries-Taurus Cusp (Apr 19-Apr 24) – The Cusp Of Power

6. Taurus I (Apr 25-May 02) – The Week Of Manifestation

7. Taurus II (May 03-May 10) – The Week Of The Teacher

8. Taurus III (May 11-May 18) – The Week Of The Natural

9. Taurus-Gemini Cusp (May 19-May 24) – The Cusp Of Energy

10. Gemini I (May 25-Jun 01) – The Week Of Freedom

11. Gemini II (Jun 02-Jun 10) – The Week Of New Language

12. Gemini III (Jun 11-Jun 18) – The Week Of The Seeker

13. Gemini-Cancer Cusp (Jun 19-Jun 24) – The Cusp Of Magic

14. Cancer I (Jun 25-Jul 02) – The Week Of The Empath

15. Cancer II (Jul 03-Jul 10) – The Week Of The Unconventional

16. Cancer III (Jul 11-Jul 18) – The Week Of The Persuader

17. Cancer-Leo Cusp (Jul 19-Jul 25) – The Cusp Of Oscillation

18. Leo I (Jul 26-Aug 02) – The Week Of Authority

19. Leo II (Aug 03-Aug 10) – The Week Of Balanced Strength

20. Leo III (Aug 11-Aug 18) – The Week Of Leadership

21. Leo-Virgo Cusp (Aug 19-Aug 25)  – The Cusp Of Exposure

22. Virgo I (Aug 26-Sept 02) – The Week Of System Builders

23. Virgo II (Sept 03-Sept 10) – The Week Of The Enigma

24. Virgo III (Sept 11-Sept 18) – The Week Of The Literalist

25. Virgo-Libra Cusp (Sept 19-Sept 24) – The Cusp Of Beauty

26. Libra I (Sept 25-Oct 01) – The Week Of The Perfectionist

27. Libra II (Oct 02-Oct 10) – The Week Of Society

28. Libra III (Oct 11-Oct 18) – The Week Of Theater

29. Libra-Scorpio Cusp (Oct 19-Oct 25) – The Cusp Of Drama & Criticism

30. Scorpio I (Oct 26-Nov 02) – The Week Of Intensity

31. Scorpio II (Nov 03–Nov 11) – The Week Of Depth

32. Scorpio III (Nov 12–Nov 18) – The Week Of Charm

33. Scorpio-Sagittarius Cusp (Nov 19–Nov 24) – The Cusp Of Revolution

34. Sagittarius I (Nov 25–Dec 02) – The Week Of Independence

35. Sagittarius II (Dec 03–-Dec 10) – The Week Of The Originator

36. Sagittarius III (Dec 11-Dec 18) – The Week Of The Titan

37. Sagittarius-Capricorn Cusp (Dec 19-Dec 25) – The Cusp Of Prophecy

38. Capricorn I (Dec 26-Jan 02) – The Week Of The Ruler

39. Capricorn II (Jan 03- Jan 09) – The Week Of Determination

40. Capricorn III (Jan 10-Jan 16) – The Week Of Dominance

41. Capricorn-Aquarius Cusp (Jan 17-Jan 22) – The Cusp Of Mystery & Imagination

42. Aquarius I (Jan 23-Jan 30) – The Week Of Genius

43. Aquarius II (Jan 31-Feb 07) – The Week Of Youth & Ease

44. Aquarius III (Feb 08-Feb 15) – The Week Of Acceptance

45. Aquarius-Pisces Cusp (Feb 16-Feb 22) – The Cusp Of Sensitivity

46. Pisces I (Feb 23-Mar 02) – The Week Of Spirit

47. Pisces II (Mar 03-Mar 10) – The Week Of The Loner

48. Pisces III  (Mar 11-Mar 18) – The Week Of Dancers & Dreamers

Birthday Profiles Featured:

49. Julian Haig (8/5 – Leo II ) 50. Moses Thiessen (5/5 – Taurus II) 51. Malcolm Stewart (5/15 – Taurus III) 52. Sam Witwer (10/20 – Libra-Scorpio Cusp) 53. Ross Butler (5/17 – Taurus III) 54. Juan Riedinger (2/27 – Pisces I)

#49. Julian Haig (Birthday: Aug. 5, 1993 – The Day Of Resolute Composure; Personality Period: Leo II – Aug. 3 to Aug. 10 – The Week Of Balanced Strength; Place Of Birth: Melbourne, Australia)

Leo II’s are solid and tough and do not back down from challenges; in fact, they thrive on them, and are often at their best when facing problems and difficulties. Although drawn toward experiences that hold an element of danger, they are usually not foolhardy enough to attempt the impossible. Realists, they are well aware of their limitations, which they may stretch to the limit if necessary but will rarely try to overleap. Fixed attitudes characterize them, so it will take a great deal of patience and persistence to get them to change their mind. Leo II’s pride themselves on their ability to spot phoniness and nonsense, and are particularly critical of metaphysical ideas not strongly grounded in the here and now. Leo II’s generally exercise tremendous powers of concentration, but through their fixation on their object they may lose the peripheral vision necessary for keeping in touch with their surroundings. In a related problem, their reliance on logical reasoning can detract from what may well be their best suit—that is, their capacity for strong hunches and their intuitive strengths. These traits may lead them to get out of touch with reality while at the same time remaining convinced of their rightness—a dangerous combination. Gifted with endurance and tenacity, Leo II’s hang in there for the duration. The upside of this character trait is their intense loyalty and devotion; the downside is a streak of masochism—a tendency, for example, to suffer while trying to hold a romance, marriage or business together. They can continue in an unhappy or stressful relationship for years without undue complaint, patiently seeking ways to make it work. Although they would sometimes do better by quitting, they will usually refuse to take the easy way out, and they may have little respect for those who lack their level of commitment. When long-standing relationships that have proven unsatisfactory finally do collapse, perhaps due to a stroke of fate, or to the partner’s unwillingness to continue, Leo II’s have a tendency to sink into depression. Too often they blame themselves. A long period of grieving may be necessary before they are once again able to function well. They can certainly be their own worst enemies. Those born during the Week of Balanced Strength exude power and self-confidence when their prodigious energies meld, but these same energies also get out of control and can threaten to tear them apart. At such times they make a piteous sight. Alcohol or drug binges and borderline or outright criminal activities can all be the evidence of Leo II energies running amok. Keeping balanced is less an ideal for them to attain than an absolute condition for their healthy survival. The children and friends of Leo II’s can be severely jolted if these normally reassuring presences disintegrate. Thus Leo II desire to be a protector of the weak and a friend to the underdog can backfire. Those born in the Week of Balanced Strength do well in highly structured situations of their own making, situations in which they are at the helm. They periodically feel an acute need to withdraw into a private place, however, and sometimes to a strictly isolated one. The problem here is an accompanying tendency to nurse hurts and slights, and in extreme cases to manifest paranoia. Developing an accepting attitude and working to diminish dogmatic and intolerant thought are essential to their mental health.  For the most part, Leo II’s are extraordinarily faithful people. They see themselves as champions of the downtrodden and protectors of the weak. They despise exclusion and condescension and, for this reason, generally side with the common person rather than the privileged. It is not that they do not have an ability to mix well with a variety of social classes; rather, they dislike insincerity or pretension. In their toughness, Leo II’s are able to withstand many disappointments. They usually weather the storm and win out through knowing how to wait, “having the long breath.” They like being independent, but nonetheless tend to build a well-defined life in which they exert maximum power with a minimum of fuss. Those involved with Leo II’s, whether as co-workers, employees, family, mates or friends, know that they must not be pushed or prodded when in a negative frame of mind but, rather, must be left alone to work things out for themselves. Leo II’s also sometimes accused of insensitivity. This is more often a result of their being preoccupied than of a lack of understanding on their part, for many are psychologically astute; yet although they can comprehend another person’s emotional state, they may feel no need to sympathize with it. Leo II’s are not especially empathic with those around them, and are capable of a stony detachment. Many find emotional matters simply too messy to get involved in, a response that is sometimes traceable to unpleasant childhood experience. When the parent, child or lover of a Leo II is of a more feeling type, conflict can result. Being straightforward and unpretentious themselves, those born during the Week of Balanced Strength dislike people who put on airs. Nothing excites their often uncontrollable temper more than insincerity, lying or disingenuousness. Leo II anger and hotheadedness can weaken the psychological balance on which their strength depends. Those closest to these intense individuals know how to use sensual persuasion and a fun-loving outlook to keep their partners happy.

Those born on August 5 are able to carry through their decisions with great resolve, steadfastness and determination. Although those born on this day may be of an emotional nature, they display a remarkable mastery over their feelings, and accomplish their ends in a natural and easy fashion. But though August 5 people maintain a cool and unflappable exterior, it is not as easy as it looks for them to do so: indeed it can be a bit like sitting on a volcano. Most born on this day discover at some point that their level of success is in direct proportion to their ability to control and direct their mental energy and to stay on an even keel. Although most August 5 people are mentally oriented, there is no denying the tremendous physical prowess granted to these gifted people. Such natural advantages may be squandered or misused, however, if their willpower is lacking. A tendency toward violence that so often accompanies this day must be sublimated into creative endeavors, particularly in the case of August 5 males. In fact, the aggressions of August 5 people in general should be directed at an early age into competitive sports and physical activities of all kinds. Chess, video, card and word games may serve as an outlet for their combative tendencies. When August 5 people explode in anger, it is not at all pleasant to watch; it is worse yet to be the target of their rage. Usually, however, the more highly evolved born on this day become aware of the damage, both physical and psychological, that their anger inflicts, and evolve to a higher state of consciousness in their thirties or forties, at which time they begin to show more consideration of others. Particularly in friendships and romance, those born on this day may suffer for many years before learning how to relate to loved ones in a truly caring way. August 5 people need the freedom to act quickly, to carry out decisions without constraint. Therefore, they must always retain a measure of independence and individual initiative even in a company or group setting. This is not to suggest that those born on this day are uncooperative or difficult to work with; it is just that they are happiest when leading— excelling and striving for the common good. Gentleness and kindness ultimately prove very important to the dynamic people born on this day. Perhaps touched by the consideration and generosity of an important figure in their youth, they will so admire that person that they seek to honor or even emulate them. In their early years, August 5 people are usually preoccupied with intense desires and passions but as time passes, realize the importance of affection and begin to express it openly and unashamedly. Always a bit rough around the edges, August 5 people will nonetheless mellow considerably as they approach old age and those who are cantankerous may become quite lovable. The focus and steely determination people born on August 5 are blessed with, combined with their ability to keep their cool, instills in others a sense of admiration. This often turns to awe when their resolute sense of purpose, striking originality and incredible energy help them achieve their goals.These people dream big dreams, but what makes them stand out is that they are prepared to give everything they have to make these dreams happen. At their happiest and best they are natural optimists and, although their lack of caution can lead them into trouble, they have no problems taking calculated risks or betting against the odds. Not surprisingly their fixity of purpose can antagonize others, but criticism rarely deters them, rather energizing them and spurring them on to prove everybody wrong.They have the potential to achieve success in any sphere that holds their interest; but more often than not underneath their impressive self-discipline there are intense and powerful emotions which, if they are crossed in any way, can explode in dramatic outbursts of temper. The volatile tendency that is characteristic of these people can be unsettling to those around them, and it is important for them to be gentler with both themselves and others.After the age of seventeen, and for the next thirty years, there is an increased need for practical order and stability in their lives and they will be more inclined to analyze things practically and look for ways to reshape their lives. The key to their success during these years will be to ease up a little on the expectations they place on both themselves and others. After the age of forty-seven there is a turning point which emphasizes the growing importance of relationships, creativity and harmony. Throughout their lives it is important for these strong and determined personalities to learn to trust rather than repress their feelings. This is because working with their intuition will help them build up the confidence and faith they need to achieve their inspired dreams. People born on August 5 are often very attractive to others because of their charm, sensuality and optimism, but they can be restless and indecisive about close relationships. Once in a relationship they are loyal and passionate lovers but also a bit controlling. They need to be careful not to become too bossy, understanding that their partner’s dreams may not be the same as theirs. People born on this day should be careful not to focus on outer health to the neglect of their emotions or inner health. Generally they are fairly good at making sure they eat healthily and stay in shape, but less good at getting in touch with their feelings and those of others, despite the cool face they present to the world. Emotional confusion can lead to all kinds of health problems from the psychological—stress and depression—to the physical—lowered immunity, fatigue and hormonal imbalances. They should therefore find ways to ease their inner tension, such as meditation, breathing exercises or other stress-management techniques such as spending more time with family and friends, listening to music or pampering themselves. As far as diet is concerned, they should aim for healthy food, steering clear of foods high in salt, sugar, saturated fat, additives, and preservatives. Vigorous exercise that helps them release pent-up emotions is also recommended, as is wearing, meditating on or surrounding themselves with the color green. The need to act autonomously that characterizes these people suits them to careers in music and film-making as well as to scientific, social or even philosophical innovations. Always aware of their image, they may also be attracted to the theater or the entertainment world. Other career choices that might appeal include law, sales, business, and working for themselves. The life path of people born on this day is to learn to value simple acts of kindness and affection. Once they have learned to manage their emotions positively, their destiny is to use their fierce determination to become impressive agents of change. People born specifically on the 5th of August are believed to be adventurous and self assured but also less demanding and pushy than most Lions. The ruling astrological planet selected for this particular day is Mercury directing you to be diplomatic and enthusiastic about challenges. If you have this birthday a high intellect makes you great at solving problems and is the perfect accompaniment to your excellent communication skills. Fiery but courteous, warm, generous and friendly you are naturally sympathetic with a wonderful sense of humor and style. Ambitious and determined you are also charming in your manner and fun loving. Helpful without expecting anything in return you are usually honorable with a humanitarian logical approach and outlook. Individuals with an August the fifth birthday are highly sociable, outgoing and creative but they tend to dislike solitude and can be sometimes argumentative and opinionated. Career choices must usually include plenty of mental stimulation and satisfaction to be deemed attractive and suitable to a person born on the fifth of August. Favorite occupations are likely to be anything that utilizes your strong ability to communicate and this often includes computer based jobs. Your diplomacy, enthusiasm, sociability and helpfulness can also direct your options and are great assets in any working environment. A usual common sense attitude to finances and the importance of budgeting is once in a while disturbed by your natural generosity and sympathy towards others. For a Leo, the person born on the fifth day of August is typically someone who falls in love easily but tends to struggle with long term commitment. You will usually put your heart and soul into romance to satisfy your craving for attention and affection. However you also need a certain amount of personal space and have a very low tolerance of any form of deceit or unfaithfulness. An intellectual rapport and extra close companionship are often more important to you as a passionate physical side to the relationship. An exciting, playful and thoughtful lover you can be curiously mischievous and fun between the sheets. You yearn for a spirited soul mate and could frequently team up with somebody who was formally just a friend. They should help you laugh and relax as well as share your craving for a harmonious comfortable lifestyle. Lack of exercise is rarely linked to illness experienced by those born on August 5th due to your slight obsession to stay active physically. This fondness of constant activity comes along with a mental proneness to be highly strung and find it quite difficult to slow down every now and again for relaxation. The effective dispelling of your plentitude of nervy energy is commonly the key to preserving your everyday healthiness. People born on this day often have a habit of regularly choosing convenience over nutritional values with food selections occasionally jeopardizing health. Your main strengths of character are demonstrated in the direct, dignified and unflappable disposition you possess. These favorable traits ordinarily present you as sensible, confident, mature and responsible. Alongside these positive fortes your warmth, friendliness, dependability and fairly balanced emotions earn you a reputation for being a nice, reliable and supportive companion. The personality weaknesses for those born on August 5th focus on your negative tendencies to act in either a cantankerous loud or quiet sulky repressed way, more frequent if you are not eating or sleeping properly. Being born on the 5th of August usually gifts you with the eagerness to inspire and assist others when it comes to accomplishing goals. Personally it is common for you to have too many aspirations and sometimes experience issues focusing your energies. A touch of impatience may prove to be an additional barrier to achievement if you should unintentionally or temporarily succumb to it. You are disposed to give equal priority and effort to in your attempt to achieve professional and private ambitions. Dreams have a likelihood to feature some possible solutions to anything that is currently worrying you. As you were born on the fifth day of the month your birth date generates an allotted Root number of Five. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Inquiry' placing emphasis on your liking for social company and conversing. In the Major Arcana Tarot the 5th card representing the Hierophant is closely associated with your birthday. This expresses your abilities to learn by word or example and tells you to always trust your instincts. The lucky gemstone for August the fifth birthdays is a Diamond to be worn for its calming properties plus a potential boost to patience and wealth. The Sun's influence astrologically is thought to help predict the probable basic personalities of all Leo's. The actual day you were born on, the fifth of August is ruled over by the celestial body Mercury's influential power. These 2 planets are therefore imagined responsible for some of your differences from your Lion symboled counterparts. Your pleasant tactfulness and compassion allow you to offer genuine, unselfish and well meant assistance to others. Your stylish charm and creativity are useful resources and together with your determination and inclination to use logic should carry you far in life. If you can pay more attention to taking care of yourself it could avert distractions and interruptions to your future plans. A final contemplative thought especially for people born on August the 5th is to value kindness and loosen up a bit on your requests and stipulations on yourself and loved ones. Even though you are generally not as attention seeking or egotistical as your zodiacal equals, following this advice could possibly decrease stress levels and leave you a tad more relaxed.

#50. Moses Thiessen (Birthday: May 5, 1999 – The Day Of Practical Awakening; Personality Period: Taurus II – May 3 to May 10 – The Week Of The Teacher; Place Of Birth: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

Those born during the Week of the Teacher are mainly involved in the development of ideas and techniques. No matter what their vocation or avocation, they have a message to share. Verbalizing their ideas and observations, generating discussion, and leading by example are all favorite activities of theirs. It can be said that they have a calling for imparting information and, more importantly, presenting it in a manner that others can understand. It is not surprising that they have a strong need for teacher-student–type interactions. They intuitively sense that teacher and student are two sides of the same coin, and that this coin is one they wish to invest in their future. They generally do well enough at school, but fare best as students or teachers in one-on-one learning or small group situations such as in dance, music, sports and the visual arts. For them, being a good student is the first step toward becoming a good teacher. They also know the value of learning on one’s own and, instead of binding students to them, will encourage them to teach themselves. They are movers and shakers, and, since they rarely deal with flighty or superficial topics, they are capable of influencing others. Part of the key to this lies in the fact that they live so much of their lives in the realm of ideas, of ideologies. Excellent entrepreneurs, they can set up both businesses and families without an excessive need to dominate or impose an inflexible structure on those with whom they live and work. They do, however, often establish lines that should not be crossed. These people are very interested in the living conditions of those around them, and particularly in social groups that are foreign to them. How and where others live, work, play, eat, worship, vote and exercise has enormous fascination for these people, who also tend side with the underdog and to feel all forms of unfairness and discrimination keenly. Not surprisingly, interracial or cross-cultural relationships are common. Similarly, older Week of the Teacher folks may be attracted to younger people and younger ones to those much older than themselves. The moral stance of the these individuals is usually strong, even unyielding. They have firm ideas about right and wrong, which they do not hesitate to express. Although you probably wouldn’t call them straitlaced, they may exhibit prudish or even puritanical tendencies, particularly when young. And such early tendencies, even though outgrown, may surface in times of stress when they are adults, much to the surprise of those who know them as free-thinkers. The area in which the ethical orientation of these people is most unequivocal is their insistence on fairness. One might say, in fact, that they are obsessed with injustice, prejudice and discrimination in all forms. Their reaction to any form of racism is scathing, uncompromising and immediate. Actually, anger may erupt suddenly in almost any area of their lives, and they must learn how to handle their upset feelings in healthy ways without suppressing them. Physical activity, whether sports, dance, music, or fitness training, comes naturally to these folks, yet they do not convey the impression of being earthy, sensuous types. They generally create a strong first impression, and make a heavy impact on their environment, but this may be due more to their mental qualities than to their physical ones. Even those of a small or average body type often project an image far greater than their actual size on first meeting. Although excellent bosses, parents and teachers, they are not always the easiest people to be involved with day-to-day as mate, lover or friend. Demanding and critical, they make their dislikes known sharply and incisively, often alienating or insulting those of a softer or more sensitive disposition. Their insistence that people be hard and tough, able to take the truth in a straight dose, is not everyone’s cup of tea. When they become happier and more comfortable with themselves, and as they grow older, many of their critical characteristics will mellow or even disappear. With their love of beauty and their great charm and personal magnetism, these individuals often have a host of admirers. They are not really comfortable with a great deal of attention, however, and do not like finding themselves imprisoned in a social circle of their own making. At such times they have little choice but to withdraw into a more isolated existence. The more successful of them therefore learn to control their own attractive powers and to create fewer problems for themselves. Those who relate best to those born during the Week of the Teacher in personal relationships are those who understand their need to be left alone rather than being fussed over or spoiled. These folks prefer their mates to show their enthusiasm for the relationship simply by upholding their share of it rather than by displays of gratitude or affection. In intimate situations, they can be extremely passionate, but in their everyday routine they insist on a certain distance. They prefer romance to sentimentality, but like a realistic and frank approach to love and sex even better. They do not generally react well to others’ requests for attention or affection, even when those others are intimates; anything that looks like pleading or begging usually turns them off completely. They like their partners to be strong and dignified above all.

Those born on May 5 often regard it as their particular mission to educate and enlighten others. No matter how humble their station, they can offer valuable advice as to how life can be bettered. In doing so, they may at times arouse resentment through what is taken for meddling. Later, however, others often come to realize just how relevant such suggestions indeed were. The intellect of May 5 people is well developed, but rarely applied to hypotheticals, or sophistry for its own sake. It is only in applied theories, in practical thinking, that those born on this day see the real meaning of their work. A great challenge for May 5 people, because of their stubbornness of conviction, is to admit when they are wrong. Their success will often be measured by their capacity to start over again at square one after a setback or defeat. Friends and family may at times feel constrained by May 5 people’s preconceptions of their behavior. Everyone likes to be appreciated for their qualities as an individual, a fact that some May 5 people overlook. Those born on this day should try to allow for the imperfections, eccentricities and special needs of their loved ones. As parents they must take particular care that their children feel sufficiently loved for who they are, not just for who they could potentially be. Because every speaker needs an audience, the most tragic thing that can happen to a May 5 person is to be ignored. Those born on this day strive to avoid this situation at all costs. Consequently, in less highly evolved May 5 people, too little time is spent in the preparation and thinking through of ideas and too much time in the selling of them. Indeed, people born on this day know how to sell themselves. The theme of awakening figures prominently in the lives of May 5 people. They strive to arouse and motivate, to alert others to important truths by stripping away the veils of illusion. Whether they urge those around them to defend themselves, revolt or simply better their daily lives in small ways, the May 5 message is a trumpet call to action. Those born on this day simply cannot suffer ignorance or lack of awareness in others, whether family, friends or colleagues. May 5 people can be jealously protective of their role as educator or role model and highly competitive with those who would usurp their position. They should avoid overt aggression against rivals, for this behavior will alienate allies and supporters as well. Acceptance is very difficult for those born on May 5 to cultivate, particularly acceptance for the egregious sins of vegetative behavior. But on the other hand, those born on this day may exercise great patience when they feel that improvement, no matter how gradual, is taking hold. People born on May 5 are often full of original and innovative solutions, and know the best way to implement them. Others rely on them to offer ideas when things have ground to a halt or to inject their special brand of motivating energy. They have enough energy for everyone and, unless they feel undermined or threatened, they never seem to tire.They have excellent communication skills and the ability to impart knowledge or insight to others. This isn’t to say they are know-alls; it is just that they love nothing better than to motivate and inspire others toward action. They do this by getting to the heart of the matter; in some cases this may involve pointing out some uncomfortable home truths. Their aim is not to wound but to help others progress, although their interpersonal skills might improve if they learned the importance of listening a bit more.They may find it hard to sit back when they witness a lack of awareness in others, and will quickly assume the role of parent or mentor. They do take this role extremely seriously and, if it is threatened in any way, they can become jealous, manipulative and aggressive. They should learn to be less possessive and more accepting of the need of others to make their own mistakes, especially between the ages of sixteen to forty-six during which there is an emphasis in their lives on communication in all forms. After the age of forty-six they may become more sensitive toward their own feelings and the feelings of others.Hidden beneath the knowledgeable but practical exterior of these people there is a highly idealistic individual. To stop them becoming overly serious, they need to learn to use their unusual sense of humor; to feel more fulfilled they need to trust more in their instincts. This sense of their own power will give them the self-confidence and spontaneity they need to focus their energy not just on guiding others but on motivating themselves to express and develop their own highly creative potential. For people born on May 5 the love and support of a partner mean everything, and they will do whatever it takes to keep a relationship alive. They are not afraid of commitment, romance or sentiment, but do need to be careful that they don’t see their partner as an extension of themselves. Their ideal partner will share their sense of commitment. The greatest risk to the health of people born on this day is their tendency to go overboard in one area of their life, be it diet, exercise, sex, or work. They need to find ways to balance their incredible energy and to make sure that their lives are structured. As far as diet is concerned, they may have a sweet tooth and will need to make sure they limit their intake of sugar and refined and processed foods. Regular exercise, preferably on a daily basis—even if it is only a walk around the block—will help them keep a sense of perspective and balance. They are sensual people so will benefit greatly from regular massage. Placing a few drops of geranium essential oil on their handkerchief to breathe in when they feel overwhelmed will help them feel more balanced and upbeat. With their motivating energy, these people have a gift for sales, promotion, advertising, and marketing. Careers in the retail trade also augur well, as do careers in politics and academic fields such as philosophy and medicine, as well as the arts, for which they have a natural affinity. Naturally sensual, they may also be attracted to catering, and the beauty and health industries. The life path of people born on this day is to learn to guide and support others without dominating them. Once they have learned to be less authoritarian, their destiny is to influence and inspire others with their tremendous focus and energy. People born specifically on the 5th of May are predicted to be gregarious independent spirits, naturally talkative, with the usual bull determination and stubbornness. The ruling astrological planet for this particular day is Mercury influencing you to be both innovative and opinionated. If you have this birthday an open, friendly, outgoing temperament is bestowed on you but your emotions tend to be slightly cool. Despite this emotional detachment and your idealistic outlook your intellect makes you broad minded in your views and wholehearted towards commitments. Your array of many talents and ambitious nature mean you are likely to enjoy challenges. You are ordinarily immensely loyal to your friends and usually a great listener as well as talker. Your persuasive eloquence is expressive yet it hides your inner craving for affection and stability. Individuals with a May the fifth birthday are also highly curious and spontaneous. Early career plans to a person born on the fifth of May are not at all unusual as your curiosity helps you soon decide what you want to do. Your capacity for thinking and acquiring information along with excellent communication skill allow you to talk your way into favored job positions. You usually have good judgment where finances are concerned and will be generous with money when you have plenty. Your ambition and intelligence keeps you focused and helps you budget effectively and save for the future. Financial security is something that you feel measures success much more than materialistic gains. For a Taurus, the person born on the fifth day of May is typically quite sociable and in touch with the feelings of others. Although you feel deeply in your youth you may be fickle and not as willing to settle down as many of your zodiac equals. Intellectual bonds are usually just as essential to you as the physical attraction when seeking a compatible partner. You subdue your independence eventually in favor of the warmth of togetherness when you believe you have met your destined soul mate. You will insist on a high degree of respect and trust before you contemplate the responsibility of a long term love commitment. Your plentiful libido and inventiveness make you playful, sensual and open minded in the bedroom. You are turned on by sensory indulgences and your spontaneity assists you to keep romantic partnerships exciting physically and mentally. Some health problems experienced by those born on May 5th are inclined to be connected to your tendency to want to do everything quickly. Your hastiness can lead to rushed meals, silly accidents, fatigue symptoms and stress. All the side effects caused by rushing are likely to put unnecessary strain on your overall vitality. It is probably advisable to recognize your haste and aim to slow down a little to avoid getting too stressed, tired or clumsy. People born on this day could benefit from a mind calming and clearing relaxation technique like Yoga to stay fit and relieve tension at the same time. Your main strengths of character are ascertainable in the determined convincing manner and insightfulness you possess. These positive traits compel you to accomplish the things that you want most in life. Your friendliness and inquisitiveness enhance your sociability permitting you to feel comfortable in any social circle. Negative personality weaknesses for those born on May 5th are centered on your idealist inclinations and coolness emotionally. You have the tendencies to sometimes display insensitive or dogmatic behavior as well as possessing pronenesses to bouts of jealousy and perfectionism. Being born on the 5th of May makes you naturally desirous of knowledge and keen to explore anything new or interesting. This interest makes you eager to learn so you are likely to be an avid student and as a rule base goals on advancing your awareness and understanding. You like to endeavor to achieve something worthwhile and charitable whenever you are able to and gain much satisfaction from doing so. Dreams and wishes seem to be focused on nice memories of the simple things you appreciate in life and hopes of happiness. Money rarely features highly in any of your personal or professional aspirations. As you were born on the fifth day of the month your date of birth digit is assigned a Root number of Five. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Inquiry' recognizing your fervid desire to know and broadmindedness. The 5th card, the Hierophant, in the Major Arcana Tarot has an association to your birthday. This esoteric symbol denotes your admirable astuteness, self reliance and dependability. The luckiest gemstone for May the fifth birthdays is believed to be a Diamond, wearing it promises to promote positivity and wealth and protect you from jealousies and misfortunes. Astrologically the planet Venus's influence is considered to be the most powerful determiner on the likelihoods of the personalities of Taurus individuals. The actual day you were born on, the fifth of May is governed by another planetary power, Mercury. Hence the combined influences of these 2 celestial bodies are imagined to partly determine your uniqueness. Your expressiveness helps you get ideas and opinions across while your discernment lets you quickly evaluate situations. These fine attributes should help you constantly move forward and take advantage of all life has to offer. Your insightful loyalty empowers you to successful, happy and productive in relationships with others. If you can attempt to be less obstinate and try to slow down your body and mind a tad it may make you feel happier. A conclusive thought for people born on May the 5th is to never be fearful of admitting or learning from your mistakes.

#51. Malcolm Stewart (Birthday: May 15, 1948 – The Day Of The Dreamweavers; Personality Period: Taurus III – May 11 to May 18 – The Week Of The Natural; Place Of Birth: Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

Those born during the Week of the Natural are highly sensitive individuals who need to be left free to express themselves as directly and naturally as they wish. They do not react well when others try to correct, reform or change their basic habits. These spontaneous, fun-loving, zany people insist on being themselves: indeed, they seem to have no other choice. Yet society can put pressures on them to conform, and they may consequently encounter serious frustrations and obstacles while growing up. Nervousness and neurotic behavior not infrequently result and, in more extreme cases, depressions and acutely repressed feelings. A Week of the Natural child, like many adults born this week, is generally fun-loving and imaginative, full of fantastic thoughts and colorful behavior. They are drawn throughout their lives to the natural world, in part due to the freedom it represents. In childhood, problems may arise when a parent, sibling, family member or teacher lacks sympathy for their “wayward” behavior and attempts to straighten it out. They often lack the toughness to resist strong criticism, and they can be deeply hurt by a lack of understanding from those close to them. In the long run, however, they may also benefit from any resistance to them, becoming stronger and more capable of dealing with a hostile and critical environment. Leaving home and getting out on their own come early in the life of these people, and even those who seem docile and content often secretly yearn for the time when they can exert their independence. As they grow up, they succeed in finding friends who appreciate them, and rarely will they carry hurtful or revengeful thoughts against childhood adversaries into adulthood. However, they may well retain some scars from childhood battles that, if repressed, can lead to sudden and baffling depressions or emotional outbursts. It is hard for them to keep a low profile. Craving action and excitement, and often unable to keep their strong opinions on those around them to themselves, they can easily get into hot water. They can be very emotionally volatile, and easily bored—qualities that invariably lead to many changes of friends, lovers and generally of their entire scene. An eternal fascination with the oddball, unusual aspects of life will always threaten to remove them from steadier and more stable situations and individuals. On the other hand, their instability can make them crave the grounding influence of people, places and professions, and for varying periods of time they may doggedly hold on, knowing that to let go could result in aimlessness and lack of direction. This duality between a natural impulsiveness and a need for stability (often a result of a fear of their own unsettledness) can be the key factor in all of the adult relationships of these folks. Although insecurities abound in their personalities, these can act as a powerful fuel for their drive to succeed in life, rise in their jobs and break through societal barriers. In this sense, paradoxically, their dynamism can itself become a stabilizing force, and their ambition both a rock they can hold to and a compass pointing the way. Thus many of them who might have been satisfied with an enjoyable, unstressed, easygoing life, and better suited to it as well, are driven upward by their own quest for security, frequently a goal involving financial independence. They are, above all, people who create their own challenges. Although one would imagine that adventure, sex, drugs and all forms of wild behavior would exert a powerful pull on these folks (as they inevitably do at some point in these individuals’ lives), they are not invariably prone to lifelong obsessions and addictions. They are supported not so much by their good sense as by an understanding of the basic nature of these areas of behavior, and this kind of kinship or familiarity allows them to navigate perilous channels without foundering on the rocks. In relationships, rebelliousness against authority can haunt them their whole life long. Those who enter into relationships with them, moreover, particularly their mates and lovers, risk coming to symbolize for them the repressive forces that they cannot abide. It is essential, then, to be understanding of the battles being waged in the psyche of these people, while at the same time refusing to become a football or emotional punching bag. Difficulties may particularly surface when they want others to take them seriously—their combination of fantastic ideas and unpredictable behavior is not always conducive to inspiring trust, and they may have to battle long and hard before their ideas are accepted. Still, as with their drive to financial success, fighting over issues like these can give them direction and security. Successful are those who are able to give form to their fantasy, to embody it in a product, service or artistic activity. Such individuals can strike deep responsive chords in the imaginations of their fellows, who may feel they live in a more humdrum world from which they secretly crave release. In the same way, those born during the Week of the Natural may draw others to them as friends and lovers.

In a very natural manner, May 15 people are able to exemplify what those around them are unconsciously striving to attain. Consequently, others may be attracted to those born on this day without really knowing why. May 15 people may also be surprised by such attention, as they themselves are often unaware of their magnetism. They simply have a gift for quietly and unostentatiously touching the hearts of their family, friends or colleagues. One reason that those born on this day do not draw great attention to themselves is that on first glance they do not seem to be doing anything so much out of the ordinary, and their outward appearance does not particularly set them apart. The charm of May 15 people may not be immediately apparent, but it is generally after some time has passed that those involved with them come to realize their power. The materials that May 15 people work with come from everyday life, but those born on this day have a remarkable talent for putting these mundane materials through a kind of creative alchemy and weaving a resultant tapestry which touches one’s inner core. They do not touch everyone so deeply; only those who are tuned in to their wave length are so powerfully affected. May 15 people are often loners. They are capable of working ordinary jobs in the daytime while exploring more unusual interests after work and on weekends. Sometimes their immersion in private worlds can cut them off from their fellow human beings and cause quite serious psychic problems. Those born on this day should always be encouraged to express themselves, perhaps first sharing their ideas or projects with a few intimates, later emerging to present them in a more public setting. The ultimate goal is, of course, that they be able to spend the greater part of their time doing what they love best. Unfortunately, since they are rarely aggressive, they may choose not to emerge at all, and the few admirers they have may wind up supporting them emotionally or even financially; this can become a real problem for everyone concerned. May 15 people must sooner or later step out on their own, assume responsibility for their talents and seek to further their careers. Their ability to please can then be put to work in a wider social context, instead of just getting bottled up in personal frustration. May 15 people generally feel that many quiet years of training are necessary to establish one’s own inner discipline, because it is most important not to lead others astray once successful. Those born on this day are thus loathe to seek positions of power until they have first fully prepared themselves and paid their dues while forming ideas and attitudes which can have such an impact on other people. People born on May 15 are blessed with intelligence, charm and a rich and powerful imagination. Young at heart, they have the ability to touch the hearts and minds of all those lucky enough to wander across their path.What makes people born on this day so special is their creativity. They are the ones with the brightest solutions or magical ideas and when they are around the world always seems a fresher and more colorful place. They often live in their dreams, so their plans frequently come to nothing while they are sitting back expecting others to come forward or to seek their advice. At work they may see a way forward but they are unlikely to volunteer this information to their boss unless asked for it; in their personal life they may expect others to make the first move. It is important for them to put themselves forward and take responsibility for their creativity and talent, because this is the only way they will be able to reach their potential and fulfill their dreams.From about the age of six to the age of thirty-six, there is an emphasis on education, communication and new interests; this is one of the reasons why their imaginative faculties are so advanced and why they may opt to stay in school longer or train longer than others. Around the age of thirty-six, however, home and family life present opportunities for them to shake off their passivity and become more confident of themselves and their abilities.They are often seen by others as being rather otherworldly or living in a world of their own; in many respects this assumption is correct as they do have an irresistible urge to acquire knowledge, oftentimes mystical knowledge. Despite the dreamy image they present, once they learn to take responsibility for their talents they are rarely isolated from others. This is because others will always be drawn to their capacity to present the inspirational fruits of their mental adventures and, by so doing, bring great happiness and illumination to the world. People born on May 15 are never short of admirers but they may miss out on opportunities for romance because they are reluctant to make the first move. Once in a relationship they also need to guard against passivity and should try to take the initiative more, especially when it comes to showing affection; their undemonstrative nature may be interpreted by others as indifference. People born on this day need to avoid isolating themselves from social contact. All activities that bring them out of themselves should be encouraged, as should spending more time with friends and loved ones. Exercise is highly recommended, especially activities that involve social contact, such as dancing, aerobics and team sports. As far as diet is concerned, they have a tendency to overindulge in foods they enjoy. One of the best ways to counteract this is to make sure that boredom and loneliness are not the real causes of their overeating. The same applies to sex and drugs, in which they may also be tempted to indulge. Addiction of any kind is extremely negative and unhealthy for them, so if they can’t fight it alone they need to seek help from their doctor or a counselor. Wearing, meditating on or surrounding themselves with the color orange will encourage them to feel warmer and more secure in the company of others. These people have the potential to inspire others and succeed in just about every career, from scientific research to business to something more artistic and creative. They may also choose to work from home or devote themselves to web design, finance or accountancy. Their birthday shows excellent work opportunities and a strong awareness of responsibility, but they need to guard against becoming stuck in a job that does not fulfill them. The life path of people born on this day is to make sure they don’t cut themselves off from others. Once they are able to find a balance between their creativity and their responsibility to the world, their destiny is to share their innovative ideas and by so doing inspire others. People born specifically on the 15th of May are believed to be expressive, imaginative and personable along with the typical bull placidity and determination. The ruling astrological planet for this particular day is Venus, the same cosmic influence that dominates your zodiac sign intensifying your creativeness and charm. If you have this birthday a quick entrepreneurial mind and your calm, capable and cooperative nature make you highly receptive to your surroundings, organized and hard working. You are usually immensely loving, forthright and dependable with a real appreciation of simple comforts like a nice home, friends and family. Your compassionate laid back attitude has a strong belief in fairness and natural desire to please that sees you enjoying entertaining guests and doing good. Individuals with a May the fifteenth birthday are generous, modest and contemplative but can also be prone to be occasionally self centred, rigid and critical. Suitable work to a person born on the fifteenth of May is often easy to choose as your thoughtful, helpful temperament tends to draw you towards certain professions. You gain much satisfaction from helping others less fortunate with your sound judgment, persistence and abundance of great ideas. Although you are not ordinarily motivated by money you like to splash out every now and then and can sometimes take risks to try and increase your finances. Despite this you can be fussy about financial agreements and likely to always scrutinize the small print in a contract before signing anything. For a Taurus, the person born on the fifteenth day of May is typically caring, romantic, sentimental and likely to fall in love easily. You are quite idealistic when it comes to seeking a partner and will often search instinctively for someone who can teach you the life lessons you feel you need to know. A dislike of being alone makes companionship especially important to you and intense closeness is an essential requirement in an ideal personal relationship. You are big on give and take and your ability to compromise usually helps keep loving romances harmonious. To win your heart a soul mate needs to be witty and talkative with similar interests, ambitions and values. They must be passionate and committed as well as willing to share everything as you do. You are softhearted and patient but can sometimes be rather stubborn and set in your ways. Health issues experienced by those born on May 15th are on some occasions linked to your usual fondness of eating and aversion to exercising. Your penchant for food on its own is not often a problem as you are usually interested in nutrition, keen on cookery and try to eat healthily. However when this is coupled with your touch of laziness it could cause you to become overweight. Discovering a form of exercise that you enjoy may be difficult for people born on this day but well worth considering if you want to stay trim. Avoiding isolation is particularly beneficial for your well being. Your main strengths of character are detectable in the unselfish modesty, affability and dependability you are bestowed with. These qualities and your expressive magnetism assist you to be a wonderful kind and supportive friend and acquire the things you seek from life. Observable personality weaknesses for those born on May 15th concern your occasional stubbornness, inactivity and tendency to critisize. An increase in the appearance and frequency of your negative traits seems to correlate with you being overtired. At these times you can also be uncharacteristically emotionally unresponsive. Being born on the 15th of May bestows you with a creative imagination and the likelihood that you will be familiar with your talents. Your receptiveness and sense of appropriate timing generally helps keep you on course to achieving desired goals. You may be hindered by your proneness to be soon distracted by events happening in the present and sometimes temporarily lose focus of the future. Your persistent determined approach to challenges directs you to rarely give up on an important goal. A popular dream is envisaging expressing your generosity on a grand scale for a very worthwhile cause. As you were born on the fifteenth day of the month the one and five in your birth date generate a Root number of Six. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Social' accentuating your friendly sociable side. The Tarot card most commonly associated with your birthday is the 15th card in the Major Arcana signifying the Devil. It simply highlights your quickness to forgive and not dwell on the past. The luckiest precious stone for May the fifteenth birthdays is thought to be Turquoise. Wearing this specific gem close promises you boosts in your courage, clarity and prosperity. Brief descriptions of the probabilities of Taurus personalities are created from the imagined influences of the planet Venus's power. The actual day you were born on, the fifteenth of May is also governed by the aforementioned celestial body doubling its significance to your probable moods and mannerisms. Your calmness, air of capability and readiness to cooperate is accompanied by fabulous organizational skills giving you a head for business and getting ahead. These admirable characteristics allow you to spot and seize favorable opportunities and get along well when working in cooperation with others. Your straightforward honesty and directness help you attain the emotional security you crave. If you can manage to get some control on your stubborn and lazy streaks it should reap rewards. A last pertinent thought for people born on May the 15th is to learn to trust your fair-mindedness as it aids you in making balanced positive decisions. 

#52. Sam Witwer (Birthday: Oct. 20, 1977 – The Day Of Vogue; Personality Period: Libra-Scorpio Cusp – Oct. 19 to Oct. 25 – The Cusp Of Drama & Criticism; Place Of Birth: Glenview, Illinois, United States)

Big personalities, those born during the Week of Drama & Criticism may prove too much for anyone to handle. Their influence can not only dominate their immediate circle but go far beyond it; that influence is surely personal, for these are charismatic individuals, but also often intellectual, since their ideas are well thought out and highly developed. These people usually have something to say on almost any subject. Their penchant for preaching from the pulpit makes them well suited to be teachers, whether professionally or informally, and their students usually come to depend heavily on them for guidance. They meld mental and emotional characteristics—not always an easy task. These two aspects of their personality are often at war, with the head guiding and the heart denying, or viceversa. They can get into a real mess with themselves when their intellectual and emotional natures clash. Periods of indecision may be broken by outbursts of aggression, and self-assured determination and control may be undermined by procrastination and love of repose. The tensions and disappointments of life can at times prove too much for them, such that they retreat into isolation. Thus they benefit from physical exercise, fitness training, sound diets and all activities that promote healthy contact with the world and relationships and activities that lessen their tendency to isolate themselves from the world or will prove beneficial to them. Their mental orientation appears in their perceptiveness and sharp insightfulness. The twin dangers here are a sense of personal infallibility and a tendency to be overcritical; their disapproving or denigrating attitudes can hurt those close to them, undermining their confidence in subtle ways. Their intimates may have to fight back against such negative expectations and predictions, not just to protect but to liberate themselves. They should seriously think about the possibility of learning to back off, and of not only keeping their opinions to themselves but in many cases letting go of them completely. These people have a decidedly modern approach in most areas, but also shelter an undeniable sense of tradition. This is particularly clear in their devotion to parents and children, in whose lives they play a large role–sometimes too large. Not that they too easily accept the values of their parents—far from it—their attachment is more emotional. After a stormy and rebellious adolescence, they often return to an extremely close relationship with their parents in later life. As responsible as many of these people seem in many areas of everyday life, they have an undeniably wild, unpredictable side. Dramatic and impulsive, they will unhesitatingly fly in the face of society’s moral codes to assert their values or express themselves, which they can do both cogently and flamboyantly. Even the mildest of these folks have an exhibitionistic side, and want and need others to take notice of them. Their private lives may include many love affairs, charting a path strewn with the broken hearts of those who have had relationships with them. Their particular brand of charisma, impulsiveness and mental power makes them formidable and sometimes even dangerous individuals to be involved with. Sensuousness and passion are important themes in their lives. In their relationships with others, however, they may exhibit a split between these two areas, treating sexuality quite differently from sensuality, and basing a relationship squarely on either one or the other, and only rarely on both. They express their sensuousness in their love of the beautiful and tasteful objects with which they surround themselves, or in an appreciation of art, music and literature. Those romantically involved with them must beware of addictive tendencies in such relationships. Unduly deep attachments that go beyond usual or even healthy limits may result in debilitating dependencies and painful partings and breakups, even in symptoms resembling drug withdrawal. The most successful type of this personality is able to structure relationships so that both parties have their own space and retain their identities; less successful ones may be fated to experience a painful string of failed relationships. A combination of deep love and friendship in a marriage with one of them is possible, however, and such a bond will overcome almost any difficulties that may arise. With children, whether their own or those of other family members or friends, those born during the Week of Drama & Criticism take seriously the role of responsible adult guide, but can lose their objectivity and wind up getting too emotionally involved. These folks must learn to be respectful of children, students and other young people, and to realize how damaging their feelings and desires, and perhaps their unrealistic expectations, may prove.

Those born on October 20 are very conscious of what is in and what is out at any given time. Often their influence is so great that they can even define certain social trends themselves, but just as often may find themselves at odds with the prevailing social standard or fashion. Their drive to be not only accepted but also influential in their social milieu is very strong. Therefore, in this arena rejection hits them hard, and setbacks, difficulties or delays can dampen their spirit. October 20 people often lead a kind of double life where their career is a money-maker and their “hobby” is where they invest their creative energy. It is not at all uncommon for October 20 people to look very coldly on their principal profession, since romantically their heart takes them elsewhere. Perhaps this, in itself, is one of the main reasons for their success: objectivity and distance seem to work to their advantage. October 20 people generally do well in the material world. They have a good feeling for money and finance, so much so that they can become obsessed with it. They are also extremely competent managers. Paradoxically, those born on this day are vulnerable to physical maladies. Thus, for many October 20 people poor health undermines their material plans by making it difficult for them to function. It seems that the weight of tangible concerns can be a recurring theme in their lives. October 20 people are very hard-headed. Once they make up their minds about something it is hard to stop them from following through. Learning to admit mistakes is an extremely important step in their personal evolution. Fortunately, the October 20 rational capacity is highly developed (accompanied by emotional control), and thus they can be appealed to through reason. If one can show an October 20 person a better way to do something, really demonstrate it, then he/she will eventually adopt it (though probably not right away). Personal appearance counts a lot to October 20 people. Matters of fashion, style, and design are not superficial or trite in their eyes but an expression of individuality. Whether their profession involves these areas directly or not, those born on this day are highly aware of the impression they make on others. Indeed, October 20 people leave an indelible mark on their family, business associates and social circle. People born on October 20 are something of a paradox, with two distinctively different sides to their personality. One side is the quintessential professional who spreads a message of harmony and collaboration. The other side is one of unpredictability, but also great artistry and an appreciation of sensuality, beauty and creativity.Generally, people born on this day find a way to accommodate both sides of their personality, perhaps by pursuing conventional careers and indulging their artistic tastes as a hobby, or by placing an emphasis on matters of personal style. Indeed, their appearance is rarely a trivial concern for them and, however conventional their career choice, they will always find a way to express their individuality through their clothes, hairstyle or fashion sense.The double life that they tend to lead also shows up in the way that they interact with others. They like to think they put the focus on others and are born democrats, but it is only a matter of time before they take center stage or a leadership role—this is the place they were born to be. This isn’t to say they are scheming or insincere. Quite the opposite, they are extremely giving and caring individuals. It is just that their creativity and originality are so powerful it is impossible for them to contain or subordinate them for long.In their twenties they may experience a growing emphasis on emotional change, personal power and regeneration, and they may struggle to find a way to express themselves creatively in their professional life. In their mid to late thirties there is, however, a turning point when they will become more adventurous. These are the years when it is absolutely crucial for them to find ways to reconcile their rational capacity with their creative, often artistic impulses. If they are able to find this delicate balance they will continue to lead a double life; the difference is that it will no longer feel conflicting and complicated, but completely natural and fulfilling. People born on October 20 are charming and stylish individuals who rarely lack admirers. They can come across as fun loving and occasionally lightweight on first acquaintance, but underneath they are forceful and independent. Anyone who enters into a relationship with them will underestimate them at their peril. Their ideal mate will be someone gentle enough to handle them during their sensitive moments, but strong enough to stand up to their forceful personality. People born on this day may find that their desire to please or impress others sometimes takes a higher priority in their lives than their health and wellbeing. As a result they may push themselves too hard and increase the risk of stress, or focus too much on their appearance at the expense of emotional fulfillment. It is important for them to get their priorities right and to remember that their health should always come before anything. Allergies could be a problem for them, as they are often sensitive to their environment. As far as diet is concerned, certain foods may trigger digestive upsets, and an elimination diet will help them determine the cause. Regular exercise is highly recommended to boost their immune systems and also to help them feel more connected to their bodies. Wearing, meditating on and surrounding themselves with the color green will help them find greater balance in their lives and inspire harmony in others. These people are multi-talented and suited to a variety of professions from science to politics, business, art and entertainment. Possible careers include writing, sales, public relations, education, publishing, journalism, counseling, therapy, medicine, commerce, and management. The life path of people born on this day is to find a balance between the opposing sides of their nature, so that both are fulfilled. Once they define a role for themselves in life or devote themselves to a worthwhile vocation, their destiny is to produce independent, original and progressive work. People born specifically on the 20th of October are believed to be very persuasive, friendly and fairminded but without the usual Libra indecisiveness. The ruling astrological planet for this particular day is our Moon making you naturally deeply kind, caring, emotional and sympathetic. If you have this birthday you possess an intelligent humanitarian approach to life and like to communicate and exchange thoughts and ideas. Although you have a tendency to usually look on the bright side you are also a bit idealistic so can occasionally get disillusioned or downhearted. Your usual optimistic diplomacy can occasionally change to sulky argumentative behavior. Individuals with an October the twentieth birthday are highly imaginative and creative but they can soon become bored and may lack discipline. You tend to take plenty of pride in your appearance and like to express your individuality with stylish clothing and possessions. You are someone who believes that first impressions really count. There are usually many choices open to a person born on the twentieth of October when it comes to deciding on a suitable career. Despite being more decisive than other Librans you could have to try several different jobs before settling into something that is varied, fairly challenging and enjoyable. Your high levels of kindness and sympathy make you an ideal employee in any of the social or care professions. You are inclined to not be especially good at managing your finances and find it difficult to save. Your desire for luxuries and proneness for spending impulsively can sometimes upset your bank balance and cause financial problems. For a Libra, the person born on the twentieth day of October is typically someone with an exceptionally warm heart and dreamy expectations of romance. You avidly seek the security of a solid loving relationship and appear at your happiest when totally committed to another. You will give a lot but demand the same plentiful attention and affection in return in addition to intense loyalty. As your senses are predicted to be well developed this helps you be incredibly responsive to both the physical and mental areas of a love union. You are likely to show your devotion to a soul mate with thoughtful words and actions. Your equal measures of talking and listening make you a great partner and parent and assist you to build a harmonious home. A streak of sentimentality allows you to remember special anniversaries. Between the sheets you are strikingly sensual, flirty and sexy with a trusted partner. Emotional contentment is usually strongly connected to the general state of health experienced by those born on October 20th. When you are happy you are more inclined to stick to good routines and avoid bad habits regarding healthiness and this normally shines through giving you an added radiance. If you need to be more active simple exercise like walking or light aerobics are commonly popular options. People born on this day should perhaps consider mind and body combined disciplines such as Yoga for achieving a healthy equilibrium. Allergies are something you should look out for, in particular sensitivities to dust, pets or pollen. Your main strengths of character are seen in your ample amounts of friendliness, compassion and preference for fairness. These positive qualities and your enthusiastic imagination and creativity make you a lovely communicative spirit who possesses a unique sense of style and presentation. The personality weaknesses for those born on October 20th will often materialize in circumstances where you are feeling unhappy or dismayed for any reason. Your negative traits include acting in an irritable or undisciplined manner along with a tendency to really dig your heels in and be exceedingly stubborn if you are particularly upset or angry. Being born on the 20th of October means that setting goals will usually help you learn all about yourself and any limitations you have. You are motivated by a yearning to get fully in tune with who you are and what your strongest abilities are. As you strive to understand yourself through achievements it helps you unite both sides of your temperament and grow emotionally. Dreams have the inclination to be either inventive or whimsical and they are likely to concentrate more on fantasy than fact. Some of your best concepts are now and again inspired by episodes of originative dreaming where you tend to envisage the futuristic and unusual. As you were born on the twentieth day of the month your birth date figures reduce to allocate you a Root number of Two. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Harmony' referring to your predilection for a peaceful rapport with others and craving to be as content as possible. In Tarot the 20th mystic Major Arcana card denoting Judgment is associated with your birthday. This is probably a sign of your enhanced assertiveness and willpower. The luckiest gemstone for October the twentieth birthdays is imagined to be a lustrous Pearl, to be worn for potential fortuitous boosts to your insight, wisdom and prosperity. The conceivability of all Libra personalities are thought to be astrologically decided by the influential planet Venus. The actual day you were born on, the twentieth of October, is governed in a zodiacal sense by the Moon's influence. Therefore these 2 celestial bodies partly shape your presumed uniqueness. Your impartial disposition and convincing process of communicating enhance your chances of getting your own way. Your considerate yet excitable emotions aid in your desire to stand out and make a perfect impression. A conclusive thought for people born on October the 20th is to ground yourself and stay in touch with basic necessities for extra enlightenment.

#53. Ross Butler (Birthday: May 17, 1990 – The Day Of The Bottom Line; Personality Period: Taurus III – May 11 to May 18 – The Week Of The Natural; Place Of Birth: Singapore)

Those born during the Week of the Natural are highly sensitive individuals who need to be left free to express themselves as directly and naturally as they wish. They do not react well when others try to correct, reform or change their basic habits. These spontaneous, fun-loving, zany people insist on being themselves: indeed, they seem to have no other choice. Yet society can put pressures on them to conform, and they may consequently encounter serious frustrations and obstacles while growing up. Nervousness and neurotic behavior not infrequently result and, in more extreme cases, depressions and acutely repressed feelings. A Week of the Natural child, like many adults born this week, is generally fun-loving and imaginative, full of fantastic thoughts and colorful behavior. They are drawn throughout their lives to the natural world, in part due to the freedom it represents. In childhood, problems may arise when a parent, sibling, family member or teacher lacks sympathy for their “wayward” behavior and attempts to straighten it out. They often lack the toughness to resist strong criticism, and they can be deeply hurt by a lack of understanding from those close to them. In the long run, however, they may also benefit from any resistance to them, becoming stronger and more capable of dealing with a hostile and critical environment. Leaving home and getting out on their own come early in the life of these people, and even those who seem docile and content often secretly yearn for the time when they can exert their independence. As they grow up, they succeed in finding friends who appreciate them, and rarely will they carry hurtful or revengeful thoughts against childhood adversaries into adulthood. However, they may well retain some scars from childhood battles that, if repressed, can lead to sudden and baffling depressions or emotional outbursts. It is hard for them to keep a low profile. Craving action and excitement, and often unable to keep their strong opinions on those around them to themselves, they can easily get into hot water. They can be very emotionally volatile, and easily bored—qualities that invariably lead to many changes of friends, lovers and generally of their entire scene. An eternal fascination with the oddball, unusual aspects of life will always threaten to remove them from steadier and more stable situations and individuals. On the other hand, their instability can make them crave the grounding influence of people, places and professions, and for varying periods of time they may doggedly hold on, knowing that to let go could result in aimlessness and lack of direction. This duality between a natural impulsiveness and a need for stability (often a result of a fear of their own unsettledness) can be the key factor in all of the adult relationships of these folks. Although insecurities abound in their personalities, these can act as a powerful fuel for their drive to succeed in life, rise in their jobs and break through societal barriers. In this sense, paradoxically, their dynamism can itself become a stabilizing force, and their ambition both a rock they can hold to and a compass pointing the way. Thus many of them who might have been satisfied with an enjoyable, unstressed, easygoing life, and better suited to it as well, are driven upward by their own quest for security, frequently a goal involving financial independence. They are, above all, people who create their own challenge. Although one would imagine that adventure, sex, drugs and all forms of wild behavior would exert a powerful pull on these folks (as they inevitably do at some point in these individuals’ lives), they are not invariably prone to lifelong obsessions and addictions. They are supported not so much by their good sense as by an understanding of the basic nature of these areas of behavior, and this kind of kinship or familiarity allows them to navigate perilous channels without foundering on the rocks. In relationships, rebelliousness against authority can haunt them their whole life long. Those who enter into relationships with them, moreover, particularly their mates and lovers, risk coming to symbolize for them the repressive forces that they cannot abide. It is essential, then, to be understanding of the battles being waged in the psyche of these people, while at the same time refusing to become a football or emotional punching bag. Difficulties may particularly surface when they want others to take them seriously—their combination of fantastic ideas and unpredictable behavior is not always conducive to inspiring trust, and they may have to battle long and hard before their ideas are accepted. Still, as with their drive to financial success, fighting over issues like these can give them direction and security. Successful are those who are able to give form to their fantasy, to embody it in a product, service or artistic activity. Such individuals can strike deep responsive chords in the imaginations of their fellows, who may feel they live in a more humdrum world from which they secretly crave release. In the same way, those born during the Week of the Natural may draw others to them as friends and lovers.

May 17 people have a fundamental approach to life and a desire to get down to basics. Those born on this day are inevitably involved in making simple, though often quite profound statements, be they artistic, economic or political. Their refusal to deal in any unnecessary complexities or compromise their beliefs marks an unusually straightforward approach to life. May 17 people are not noted for their tact; they usually say just what they think—take it or leave it. This attitude is likely to arouse antagonism as well as win support. Although they would seem to be reducing problems by avoiding complications, just the opposite usually happens. Controversy often swirls around them, when what they might prefer is just to be left alone. Those born on this day are not quiet, but neither do they give away a lot about themselves, usually playing their cards close to the vest. It may be difficult to get them to open up emotionally, but if they trust someone they will be quite honest about what they are feeling. This matter of trust is crucial to them, therefore theirs is not won easily. Perhaps May 17 people could be less guarded and more accepting of the good intentions of others. Those born on this day tend to be very proud, however, preferring not to ask help from anyone; they are usually solo players, going it alone in most situations. But though they may not advertise it, they have a deep need for affection, particularly for the emotional support of family and friends. Behind the cool armor of a physically formidable or even forbidding presence, there is an emotional side, which can be tender as a pussycat or wild as a caged tiger itching to break out. Those born on this day particularly should avoid the use of hallucinogenic or mind-expanding drugs which can have the effect of releasing volatile emotions in a most destructive manner. May 17 people may appear fanatical, so great is their zeal for what they do. Their powers of concentration are remarkable, their ability to responsibly produce great, but their health and staying power often fail them in the long run. More highly evolved May 17 individuals will learn to channel their energy in a steady and less highly charged manner, and to be happy and content with themselves. Sometimes those born on May 17 are frustrated with their lot in life, deeply dissatisfied with what they have to do to survive, and come to be filled with resentment over it. They must learn to either accept their situation, even embrace it joyfully, or change their outlook or occupation and move in a different direction. They are less likely to opt for the latter alternative, however, for once they embark on a course they usually see it through to the end, be it bitter or sweet. Simply learning to be happy is probably the greatest single challenge to those born on this day. People born on May 17 have a clear-cut code of personal behavior which guides them through every decision they make. Straightforward and to the point, they have a talent for making simple but profound comments on situations.With little time for small talk, they say what they mean and mean what they say. They are an inspiring example to others but don’t have much patience with those who try to shirk their responsibilities; if they notice someone slacking or not pulling their weight, they are likely to tell them straight out. This clear-cut approach can, unfortunately, win them as many enemies as supporters and so they might benefit from learning more tact. Their insightful and original approach, combined with their refusal to be diverted from their chosen course, would appear to be a recipe for success. Where this is not the case it is because they have a tendency to overestimate the power of what they can achieve through determination and will-power alone. They often prefer to go it alone, but if this works against them they should recognize the power of a group of people working together to achieve a goal.Until their mid thirties there is an emphasis in their lives on learning in all its forms and they need to take advantage of these opportunities to communicate and exchange ideas with others. After the age of thirty-four they may focus more on emotional intimacy and security. If they can learn to get in touch with their own feelings and the feelings of others during this period, it promises great fulfillment and happiness.There is no denying that these people often have fixed views on things. This can hold them back as life is not as black and white as they think it is. However, if they learn to develop a more tolerant approach it will not only help them achieve their aims and attract a following, it will also open up within them the compassion and determination to improve the lives of others and a creativity that might otherwise have remained dormant. People born on May 17 value personality, integrity and a strong will over good looks, and would rather be alone than with someone they can’t respect. Although they may try to suppress it, they have an extremely sensual nature and a voracious romantic drive; releasing some of that energy into a committed relationship will help mellow and soften them. People born on this day are extraordinarily determined and at times this can make them drive themselves too hard and become prone to headaches or digestive upsets. Ideally they should surround themselves with close friends and loved ones who can encourage them to relax and unwind. Those who find themselves alone might find training and owning a dog extremely beneficial. As far as diet and lifestyle are concerned, they should stay away from drugs and alcohol as their body is extremely sensitive to toxins of any kind. Moderate to mild exercise, especially brisk walking, is encouraged to help them blow away the cobwebs, keep their weight under control and boost their immune system. Wearing, meditating on or surrounding themselves with the color orange will encourage them to be warm and open in the company of others. People born on this day have the creativity and focus to excel in the world of art and music. Alternatively education, science, research, and law, as well as working for themselves, may appeal. Once they appreciate the importance of working cooperatively with others, they may be drawn toward sales, promotion, public relations, finance, negotiation, social work, and banking. The life path of people born on this day is to learn the power of synergy. Once they are able to open up to others, their destiny is to inspire them with their creative and organizational talents. People born specifically on the 17th of May are expected to be loving, thoughtful and charming with the usual determination and honesty bestowed on all bulls. This particular day's dominant astrological planet is Saturn giving you an organized sharp business head and heaps of self discipline. If you have this birthday saying what you are thinking comes naturally so you can come across as a little opinionated at times. Your strong independent mind is helpful and fair with a preference to do things alone without needing any assistance. You are usually very proud but also untypical in your disinterest of perceptions others may have about you. Individuals with a May the seventeenth birthday project a what you see is what you get image and possess high intelligence that they do not openly boast of. In general you are fairly open yet emotionally you are sometimes inclined to play your cards pretty close to your chest. Job selection is often an important priority to a person born on the seventeenth of May as you need to be doing something you enjoy. Choices are likely to be based on the utilization of your best talents or favorite interests. You are particularly good at quick decision-making and management and these skills are well suited to positions of authority or occupations involving buying and selling. You are ordinarily adept at managing financial affairs and tend to keep a careful eye on your bank balance. You will often try to save some money aside for unexpected expenses in order to satisfy your dislike of borrowing. For a Taurus, the person born on the seventeenth day of May is typical in their craving for affection and reassurance of feelings. You have a yearning to be loved and understood that is much stronger than your desire for independence. When seeking a soul mate your warm, discerning, trustful nature searches for someone special who is on the same emotional and intellectual page. You must feel complete trust before you will contemplate a long term love commitment. Your reliability and belief in equal give and take really helps keep loving relationships as harmonious as possible. Passionate and sensual you are intense and controlled sexually but will go to great lengths to ensure the desires of your partner are met. Being unfaithful or lying are ultimate betrayals and usually the only two reasons for you to end a relationship. Symptoms of illness experienced by those born on May 17th are rarely ignored as you are disposed to be extra vigilant about healthiness. Even though you can occasionally border on neurotic about your health you do seem to do all the right things. You are usually skilled at balancing diet, exercise and relaxation periods in a method that you know works for your unique constitution. People born on this day can be especially prone to nervous tension so could suffer from head, back or neck aches if too stressed. Getting enough sleep is also one of the best ways to keep looking and feeling healthy. Your main strengths of character are prominently seen in your heightened charm, thoughtfulness and frankness. Secondary fortes are that you are intelligent, honest, capable and efficient. This collection of positive traits make you responsible, reliable and generally nice to know. Personality weaknesses for those born on May 17th focus on the typified stubbornness identified in your zodiac group. Aside from your tendencies to once in a while be stubborn and critical you are also prone to anxious moments. During these times your fidgety and fretful behavior can be uncharacteristically irritating. Being born on the 17th of May grants you a touch of self reliance in addition to a disciplined outlook and adeptness at organizing. Your attitude and abilities make you proficient and enthusiastic concerning goal setting. Once your mind is made up to achieve something you are not easily diverted from aspirations nor too discouraged by setbacks. Self improvement and helping others are often two of your most popular goals. Separate from your professional ambitions you wish to be an excellent parent and frequently dream of building secure emotional and materialistic foundations for the future. As you were born on the seventeenth day of the month your birth date equalizes a Root number of Eight. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Leader' pinpointing your qualities of perseverance, diligence and dedication. The Tarot card often associated with your birthday is the 17th in the Major Arcana deck representing the Star. This symbolizes your forward clever methods of thinking and the skill you have at compromising. The lucky gemstone picked for May the seventeenth birthdays is a Black Pearl, it should be worn to attract happiness and prosperity and detract unfavorable vibes. All Taurus personalities are imagined to be strongly astrologically influenced by the planetary power of Venus. The actual day you were born on, the seventeenth of May, is designated the celestial body Saturn as it's ruler. These combined cosmic influences each play a significant part in the probabilities of your originality. Your charismatic friendliness and decisive refined acumen assist you to make giant strides towards your desired hopes and wishes. Your disciplined sharp intellect and autonomous thought bestow you with a sensible, realistic perspective on life. If you are able to recognize and minimize the likely triggers of your anxiety it should reduce occurrences. In conclusion a final reflection for people born on May the 17th to ponder on is to try and loosen up a bit and learn to laugh. Attempting this may not be easy but it should help you discover the contentment you seek.

#54. Juan Riedinger (Birthday: Feb. 27, 1981 – The Day Of The Reality Masters; Personality Period: Pisces I – Feb. 23 to Mar. 2 – The Week Of Spirit; Place Of Birth: Banff, Alberta, Canada)

Those born during the Week of Spirit value the nonmaterial side of life. It’s not that they lack either respect for money-making and business or abilities in these fields. It is simply that, whether engaged in the arts or in finance, in religion or in administration, Week of Spirit people generally approach their work devotionally, elevating it to an idealistic plane. Nor are they without strong physical drives, or a love of the pleasures of the table and the bed. A blend of a spiritual and a sensual approach is at the heart of their personalities. Many of them do not see spirituality as denoting an ascetic approach that would ask them to cut their bonds with the everyday world. On the contrary, since they seek the spirit in everything around them, they rarely feel the need to reject worldly considerations. Spiritedness is also characteristic of these people, who are often lively and entertaining. They have a youthful air that can belie their actual age. Not infrequently, they are also engaged in the personal pursuit of health or are advocates of it. It is important to them to lead a healthy life, so as to increase not only the longevity but the quality of their earthly existence. A desire to do good, in the sense of leaving one’s immediate environment, or the world in general, a bit of a better place at the close of a career or a life, is characteristic of them. Watching environmental mistakes or catastrophes happen, then, may be particularly difficult for these involved, caring individuals. Their devotional and service-oriented side urges them to give up their own wants, making them subservient to their need to give pleasure and benefit to others. As a consequence of this quality, they may easily become the target or prey of more selfish individuals, who see them as an easy touch, and a dependable source of sympathy, energy or money. Making big-hearted offers to others, and then coming to regret or resent these promises, may lead them into arguments and emotional crises. Indeed, sending mixed signals is one of their characteristics. They are prone to feeling hurt when others do not meet their high standards of friendship. In fact, they put such high expectations on their relationships that they set themselves up for unhappiness. They have an intense emotionality that is often difficult for them to control, and that gets them in trouble with others who see things in a more detached or objective way. They are transparent, wearing their hearts on their sleeves and are not particularly good at hiding their feelings, particularly disappointment. In one relationship after another, they can refuse to learn how to protect themselves, or to keep their egos from merging with their love object, no matter how much they swear to do so. For all their humanitarian and empathic qualities, they may tend to imagine themselves on a higher plane than those around them, often without realizing it. This unconscious attitude may keep them from a deeper involvement with others, leading to a somewhat superficial involvement with life, or, worse, to negativity and bitter cynicism toward the world. The know-it-all attitude of some of them is difficult for others to deal with, and can lead to resentment and ultimately rejection in personal relationships. By admitting mistakes, and above all by being open to suggestions and criticism, these philosophical individuals will rise to an even higher personal level in their search for meaning in life. Sharing at a deep level with family and friends is an essential need for these folks—the knack for enjoying the pleasures of life alone is not usually part of their makeup. Unfortunately they are not always successful in their attempts to share, and this can be a source of continued frustration throughout their lives. In their love relationships they often display an emotional instability. Changing partners can become a way of life for them. In fact, what they are really seeking is an ideal, and if they find it they will not hesitate to commit to it in a permanent relationship. One of the biggest problems in their treatment of mates or spouses is backing off emotionally, though they remain loyal and devoted. In turn, they may make demands that others find suffocating; these folks can be a lot to handle. And no matter how much they insist on their belief in mutual independence, or in an “open” marriage or relationship, they can be quite unrealistic in not recognizing their own possessive and jealous nature. Rather than living in a world of expectations, concepts and ideas most of the time, those born during the Week of Spirit would do well to accept the responsibility of simple everyday tasks and chores that will ground them in the here and now. The stability of their relationships will be enhanced if their mates and friends insist that they take on firm responsibilities, even performing mundane, repetitive tasks which are difficult to idealize. Partners who fail in this, perhaps just refusing to rely on them and doing what needs to be done themselves, will simply reinforce their mate’s bad habits: these folks are regretfully prone to walking forgetfully out of the kitchen before the dishes are collected and washed.

Those born on February 27 are extremely insightful into the workings of the world around them. They spend a great deal of energy coming to understand the basic elements of everyday life—how things work, why people act the way they do, how to work to advantage with the environment—but this is only the beginning. From this solid reality base, February 27 people allow their questioning spirits to explore outward to social, international and universal spheres as well. Because they build solidly at each step of the way, they can confidently count on the wisdom they have culled from experience to see them through new and perhaps increasingly ambitious endeavors. The greatest difficulties for February 27 people usually surface in their personal lives. Because they are extremely demanding individuals, and also since their intuitive choices in relationships are often not the most suitable for them to say the least, they can have tumultuous and often chaotic love lives. For some reason, for all of their understanding of the world and their capacity to make their way in it, they often know surprisingly little about themselves, other than what they think they want. To learn the difference between what they want and what they truly need is an important distinction for them to grasp and one which they hopefully make sooner rather than later in life. By satisfying their true needs they can, of course, find greater emotional stability and happiness. Too often they feel that their problems can be solved by another person, and put much too much energy into their romantic love lives, instead of seeking the solutions to their needs at a deeper level inside themselves. Given their emotional makeup, it is unlikely that those born on this day will experience much “downtime” between relationships, but an extended period alone could actually do them some good. Because of their thoughtful and sensitive nature, they should be able to accomplish much personal growth without outside help. February 27 people are happiest when they can let their minds roam freely over a wide variety of subjects, and generally demand friends and mates who are also intellectually active. Those born on this day often struggle with their social environment in an attempt to somehow master it or perhaps redirect it. Their urge to dominate is very strong and because their magnetic powers are among the strongest in the entire year, they must be extremely careful not to overwhelm everyone around them. If February 27 people lose moral direction they have a great potential for bringing destruction on themselves and others. Their capacity for not only seeing the truth but also bringing what they desire to pass, through a rare combination of empathy and willpower, presents them with great ethical and moral challenges. People born on February 27 have the ability to turn heads and win hearts wherever they go. There is a magnetic and striking intensity about them that can hold others spellbound.These people like to be in the limelight, and sooner or later they will be. Others admire them, not just for their hypnotic personality but because they stride confidently and with purpose through life, achieving their goals with ease and grace. They have a mind forever open to the new but they are also able to analyze in depth. By devoting a great deal of their energy to understanding how things work, their knowledge base increases steadily until it becomes so solid that it can see them through from one ambitious project to the next, taking them to the very top. There is one area of their lives, however, unlikely to be envied by others: their personal lives.Although this may appear contradictory—given their cool and charismatic image—February 27 people often have a chaotic emotional life, with broken relationships littered around them. The reason is that they have a deeply emotional nature; although they have learned to control it when it comes to impersonal relationships, their own personal relationships are threatened by their impulse to follow their heart. It is extremely important for people born on this day to apply discipline to personal relationships and to stop making unreasonable, childish demands on others, especially between the ages of twenty-three and fifty-two when they will become even more active and adventurous. If self-discipline isn’t learned during this period, the result could be emotional and personal chaos.At their worst, people born on this day can be social-climbing attention seekers. At their best, however, they are lovable and spontaneous creatures who can both intoxicate and inspire others with their presence. They may often be described as a little crazy by those who know them, but once they invest their energy into a worthwhile cause they can achieve great things and enjoy the limelight they seem destined for. People born on February 27 expect total commitment and support from others but need to learn to give it in return. They can be incredibly inconsistent lovers and those in a relationship with them will need to learn how to avoid head-on confrontations. When they do finally feel able to commit to a relationship, however, they can be spontaneous, passionate and vulnerable lovers; a little high maintenance, perhaps, but well worth the effort. People born on this day are full of energy and so a vigorous exercise program is recommended to prevent them working off their energy or seeking a high in an unhealthy direction, such as chasing numerous sexual partners, drinking or gambling. As far as diet is concerned, simple and natural is recommended, with reduced amounts of red meat and dairy and saturated fat. They would also benefit from breathing exercises, meditation and yoga to help them develop the self-discipline to keep their passions under control. Meditating on, wearing or surrounding themselves with the colors blue and lavender will help them stay cool and logical when passions flare. These people seem destined to be in the limelight, and careers on the stage, in the movies or anywhere where people will be watching them perform in some way have great appeal. If they work in business, they will be attracted to sales, advertising and marketing, but they can also make inspirational teachers and lecturers. They are also ideally suited to life as an entrepreneur and may well find satisfaction in building up their own business. The life path of people born on this day is to learn self-discipline in their personal relationships. Once they have learned to keep their cool, their destiny is to enchant others in some way with their unique brand of magic. People born specifically on the 27th of February are believed to be imaginative, insightful and like a typical Piscean, sensitive and caring. Mars is the ruling astrological planet for this particular day creating your loveable charm, need for variety and bright innovative mind. If you have this birthday your empathic nature is excellent at interpreting the mood and emotional responses of others. You usually have a positive outlook and will always try your best in both professional and personal circumstances. Lots of interests keep you active and optimistic but you are easily bored and sometimes rather impatient. Your intellectual sociable side and strong will power give you much of what you need to communicate effectively and be likely to succeed in life. Individuals with a February the twenty seventh birthday tend to learn quickly from experience and being highly intuitive trust their natural instincts to guide them.  Work areas considered attractive to a person born on the twenty seventh of February are often naturally determined. The compassionate and creative parts of your personality are quite predominant and seem to steer you towards professions where they can be expressed. Although you are happiest in these types of jobs, you are capable of any task that is not too humdrum. Individuals with this particular birth date have respect for money and take financial matters seriously. You are generally quite organized with the allocation of your finances taking great care to not live above your means. For a Pisces, the person born on the twenty seventh day of February is untypically not shy and will usually be quietly but openly optimistic about romance. Your rather confident approach is fueled by the belief that we all have a destined soul mate somewhere. This can make you a little too self sacrificing in some personal relationships and the potential to be at times disappointed by love involvements. Despite this enthusiasm for an emotional unification you are sometimes someone who insists on a long courtship before commitment. You are a seductive fish who feels incomplete without a loving relationship yet you rarely make the first move. In a committed partnership a partner is treated to your surprisingly romantic, sensual and spontaneous displays of affection. Extreme loyalty in a relationship is something that is very important to you. Some health problems experienced by those born on February the 27th can be provoked by you neglecting yourself to do more interesting things. You are the sort of person who often cannot get away with skipping meals or sleeping hours too often. Any changes to a regular consistent well being routine may cause minor ailments like skin irritations to appear or a drain in mental energies to occur. People born on this day need to adopt good habits that are suitable for both their lifestyle and tendency to be disturbed by changes. You should try to avoid caffeine or at least restrict its intake to a minimum. Your main strengths of character are within your magnetic appeal, competency and wisdom beyond your years. These qualities and the perceptive imagination and feelings you possess are useful attributes for getting ahead in life. By basing decisions on past events you usually make good ones and are able to stick to them. The primary personality weakness for those born on February 27th is your likelihood to be every now and then oversensitive in your handling of certain situations that may upset you. You can react by acting in a demanding or chaotic manner emotionally so everyone knows you are distressed. Being born on the 27th of February fills you with lots of insightfulness but also fairly high degree of impatience. These characteristics frequently filter through into your future aspirations. It may give you vivid motivational dreams that could have unrealistic time limitations attached. One common goal you are likely to set for yourself is to aspire to help others that are less fortunate and in need of assistance. Understanding your own thoughts, emotions and actions is often a wish that you constantly persue in the hope of becoming a better person along with a desire for inner contentment. As you were born on the twenty seventh day of the month, the 2 and the 7 in your birth date equal a Root number of Nine. This numerical reference to your birthday has the keyword 'Seeker' and it is thought to emphasize your inquisitive inquiring mind and eagerness for knowledge. The Tarot card associated with your birthday is the 9th illustrating the Hermit. This highlights your inclination to be fascinated by the spiritual or unknown and quest for self discovery. The Bloodstone is the gem assumed to be luckiest for February the twenty seventh birthdays and intensifies alertness and calm. Piscean traits are imagined to be mainly astrologically influenced by the dominant presence of the planet Neptune. The actual day you were born on, the twenty seventh of February is presumed governed by the celestial body Mars. So you are gifted with the usual Pisces receptiveness and this planetary combination adds extra confidence and charisma to your collection of probable features. Your considerate optimism and discernment allow you to advance and grow while your sociability and persuasive communication assist you along the way. If you can practice on your unwillingness to wait and be a bit more trustful of your impulses it could speed up your route to the achievements and contentedness you seek. A concluding pertinent thought for people born on February the 27th is to try and not get sidetracked from your aims and stay positively focused. Remember to also bestow some of your kindness on yourself at intervals.

[rika-kihira]

Rika Kihira-Playback season 2018-2019

Rika Kihira-Playback season 2018-2019

Text by Oriyama Toshimi – Photo by Noto Sunao (kindly translated by @juronom on twitter, link to her original post here)

Rika Kihira,16, steadily stepping ahead, evolving at astonishing speed. 

In the 1st senior season, she took the ladies figure skating world by storm. While she is still adjusting between successful and unsuccessful SP triple axel attempts, in this season, Rika Kihira has developed significantly.

At the Grand Prix Final held in last year’s December in Vancouver, Canada, Rika Kihira, has made herself known as “Grand Prix newcomer who dominates the Final” with her brilliant achievement. After her performance, she voiced her thought towards her “ultimate weapon”: “We decided that I could incorporate 3A in my programs just last year (2017), so actually, jumping it is difficult… I had the alternative of “not to jump 3A” too, but right now, looking back, it’s good that I decided to continue jumping it.” 

After she landed it successfully in 2016, 3A became one representative technique of Rika Kihira. This was informed to the world from 2017’s Japan National Championship. Although she was outsider to the battle for representing Japan at Pyeongchang Olympics among senior skaters (due to age limit), she landed 3 3As in both SP and FS, taking the 3rdspot on the podium.

As she was decorated with a spectacular debut at (senior) Japan National Championship, she was expected to be “the next generation’s Ace”, she faltered at last year’s World Junior Championship, finishing at 8th place. Kihira acknowledged with concerns that “It was due to my weak mentality in international competitions”. Despite all, she burst into the senior scene with a bang this season. 

In her international senior debut this season, September’s Ondrej Nepela Trophy, she won both SP and FS sections, setting a personal best of 218.16 for total score, and was placed 1st in the competition. 2 months later, with her skating at top form, she won her GPS debut-NHK Trophy, and proved her true ability.

She fell on the 3A inserted into her senior’s SP but in the FS, she successfully landed all her jumps. Not only that, all her spins and steps were evaluated at level 4, and with a perfect performance, she received a score of 154.72 and secured a reverse victory from 5th place with a total score of 224.31.

Kihira continued to dominate the GP event in France, and advanced into the final with 2 consecutive victories in the GPS. Compared to other competitions (she had competed in), the Grand Prix Final was of greater pressure, but she landed 3A successfully in the SP, won the segment with a score of 82.51, and took the lead going to the FS. In the FS, apart from the 2 3As, everything else was done without mistake, and she received 150.61 points. With a total score of 233.12, she surpassed Pyeongchang Gold medalist Alina Zagitova by 6.59 points and accomplished “complete victory” (in the GPS).

When she was still competing in junior level, she has said “I don’t function well in big rink, so the matter is trying not to be nervous”. Now, looking at her performing magnificently and rising to the top, that seemed to be so long ago. What were the major factors of her astonishing growth this season?

Firstly, she could upgrade her program components steadily. Last year, from spring, even in ice shows, before performing, she stretched to make her body more flexible, and while skating she tried to stay aware of every movement down to her fingertips. Moreover, she also learned from starting her performance in a spectator-crowded atmosphere, and that was essential preparation towards her senior career since compared to junior competitions senior competitions attract more spectators. 

The next thing could be her “good ability to correct (herself)”. At NHK trophy, she made mistakes with her 3A in the SP, and she analyzed “it was due my take-off timing being a little bit too early”. She re-watched and compared videos of her SP, and videos of past competitions from which she can grasp the sense of a good 3A many times, and was successful in fixing her timing in the FS.

2 weeks later, at the Cup of France, she also missed the 3A in the SP. “It may have been because of my muscles (affected by (intense) activity) weren’t in good condition”, and she also reflected that she wasn’t able to focus in the 6-minute warm-up. In the Final, in the morning practice, she could create a proper image (of her 3A), and managed to land it successfully in the SP. In the FS 2 days later: “Since I was the last one to skate, there was vacant time after finishing 6-minute warm-up, so my timing was a somehow off.” She missed the 1st 3A, but landed the 2nd one in combo successfully. Moreover, she responded calmly (to the mistake) with the emergency combo 3Lz+3T in the 2nd half. 

“Even with 3As in my programs, I still made many mistakes and I believe those are the results of “my own weakness” and lack of confidence. However, I won’t give up, and I will be bringing my conditions up to a good level for competitions, raising my success rate and improving the quality of my performance while maintaining my confidence.”

After the GPF, she faced  the Japan National Championship, but her skating boots were causing her great concerns. Since the start of the new season, her new boots weren’t fitting in terms of size, so from September she returned to her old pair, which turned out to be too soft. She taped it around the ankle’s area for reinforcement, but in the 6 minutes warm-up, she felt like the right boot was “too soft” and ended up taping it too tightly just right before her performance. Due to that disturbance, she made mistakes, and was ranked at 5th place with 68.75 points, 13.76 points lower than her score at GPF, in the SP. However, in the FS, she changed the way of taping her boots, and managed to land 2 3As with 2+ GOE, and all jumps in the 2nd half, with the exception of the last 3Lz+Eu+2S combo, where Eu added as an attempt to save her step-out in her 3Lz was ruled as Eu<<. Nevertheless, she won the FS with 155.01 points and rose to at 2nd place in total. 

“After finishing SP, I thought “this is not the performance of someone who won GPF” and I was very anxious. However, it occurred to me “Someone who can’t win here can’t win the Olympics” and that recharged me, and I was able to become “my always-positive self”. At the last Japan Nationals, I was so anxious that I couldn’t think, and only depended on my good conditions to jump. In the opposite, this time is a when I can push forward only with my emotions. This season, I have been able to win after surpassing failures, so I think now I have come to know “what I can do in difficult time”. 

In the practice session right before competition in February’s 4 Continents Championship, her pinky finger was injured, and she was sent for medical inspection. The accident made it painful and prevented her from clasping her hand tightly when jumping. Kihira finished at 5th place in the SP, but in the FS, she removed 1 3A, and concentrated on delivering a stable performance instead, and succeeded in a reversal victory, which brought her number of consecutive international competition victories to 5.

In the prelude to the World Championship, Kihira also against the current from 2nd place in the SP at the Challenge Cup. Rika Kihira, who has ample experience with victories, would be likely to show us her growth next season as well.

The end.

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 378: ENDON Bodies 

This is a 12″ featuring remixes of the Japanese band ENDON by Justin Broadrick and Vatican Shadow. I received it from the band’s manager after Russian Circles played with ENDON in Tokyo back in 2014. The band impressed me so much that I interviewed them for Noisey. The article is reposted below:

The first time I went to Japan on tour, I was treated to a performance by an opening act consisting of two tiny Japanese girls at a small club in Shibuya. One girl played acoustic guitar and sang in a cute, sweet, elfin voice not unlike Satomi Matsuzaki from Deerhoof. The other girl was playing some sort of motion-activated sampler device. She would make karate chop movements over the small glowing piece of equipment that would trigger samples of gong hits. It was the most Japanese thing I’d ever seen. I just wished there was a hologram Anime character doing lead vocals.

I toured Japan again earlier this year and our host informed me that we would be playing with “the most extreme band in Tokyo”. More extreme than the girl duo with the gong sounds and the martial arts moves? Doubt it. But then I bore witness to ENDON. I can’t say how the band weighs up against other acts in the region—this is a culture that birthed Melt Banana and Masonna, after all—but I’d be hard pressed to envision any other Tokyoites coming close to their level of aggressive dissonance. The drummer plowed through the set with an unrelenting barrage of blast beats. On stage left, a guy was beating a black box strapped to his chest. At first I thought it was old piece of stereo equipment—an old CD player, perhaps—but on closer inspection I realized it was some homemade device with a series of springs stretched across the front. He was beating the springs the way a heavy-handed guitarist strummed guitar strings. Harsh noise thundered out of his amp. Stage right, a guitarist churned out a caustic wash of distortion that sounded Burzum’s Filosofem and the Mohinder discography getting sucked into a turbine engine. Next to him, another band member hunched over a bank of blinking lights, cranking out electronic squalls. At the front of the stage, vocalist Taichi Nagura loomed over the crowd. Built like a tank with a shaved head and a well-groomed moustache, Taichi would be perfectly cast as the intimidating bodyguard Tamaru in a movie adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. While the band doled out their sonic punishment, Tamaru shrieked, howled, whinnied, growled, and bellowed his way through the set, occasionally chucking a beer cans at the audience along the way.

I was shell-shocked by their set. A few weeks later, I was able to get a hold of Taichi to talk about what I’d witnessed.

Brian (B): I remember talking to you over dinner before seeing you play and you described ENDON as “noise metal”. That’s probably the most straightforward description of what you do. But in the States, noise metal usually refers to bands like Today Is The Day, Dazzling Killmen, or Deadguy. Those bands seem tame in comparison. For the sake of not confusing or misleading American readers, we need to come up with a different genre name for you guys. How about power-electronics-violence? Or white-noise metal?

Taichi (T): I love both of the suggestions, really appreciate it. They hit the mark. I know I should be modest, but how about “catastrophic noise metal”?

B: “Catastrophic noise metal” it is, then. So how does a catastrophic noise metal band like ENDON even start? Did you have an idea of what you wanted to sound like when you first got together?

T: Originally, we started ENDON in order to make noise music more functional on an entertainment level. In the extreme music scene in Japan, combining general rock sounds and noise has been a very popular subject for many years but it has mainly been made through collaborations between established bands and noise musicians. We were not satisfied or comfortable with it, because there were very few bands that focused on it as one unit. I think there should be more artists with these terms. Typically, these collaborations tend to add harsh noise as an addition to the higher frequencies of the guitar, like a shoegaze sound. We would like to stay away from that. We wanted to offer listeners a different style. And there is another reason we wanted to make our own sound: general noise and avant-garde styles in Japan have been too close to free-jazz or free music. We still like that stuff, but it’s gotten to be too much, too limiting in its criteria.

B: I would guess that the songwriting originates around guitar riffs, since the guitar seems to have the most concrete and recognizable structure. Am I right? Does the creative process ever start around the noise elements? Lou Reed has that famous quote about cymbals eating guitars—do you ever run into the problem of the noise eating the guitar?

T: Exactly. In most cases we wrote music with guitar riffs first just because metal and hardcore music was a major reference for most of the songs on this album. However, the guitar in “Pray For Me” was written last. For our previous EP, we did lots of jamming and improvisation over and over again to arrange and shape songs. But now we write more with the guitar first. When there is no context or specific ideas, a tiny little motif from an instrument is a great lead. With the invention of black metal, combining noise and metal is not so difficult to imagine anymore. Harsh noise and black metal have an affinity. At the same time, an affinity means a competitive frequency level, especially between guitar and noise. It is very important how we control and arrange them. That’s fun though; we never feel that the structure between guitar and noise is annoying. It is the best part of our songwriting. We usually adjust the equalization between noise and distortion, which leads to a definitive result for listeners. For example, we adjusted our amplifiers a little bit before a recent show and played our usual set. We saw a review later that said ENDON played a bunch of new songs that night.

B: I know Atsuo from Boris helped record your new album MAMA, and I could imagine there being some crossover between ENDON’s audience and Boris’s audience, just because you both have one foot in the metal world and one foot in the experimental music world. And Boris obviously has the occasional collaboration with Merzbow to add the noise element. But aside from that, ENDON and Boris are very different beasts. Do you feel like you have any musical peers in Tokyo? Do you feel a kinship with the Japanese hardcore scene?

T: Atsuo knows exactly what we would like to do, even more so than us! I am so proud of our first full-length being so well made despite our noisy and complicated style. I know we are absolutely in Atsuo’s debt. Yeah, Boris and ENDON have similar tastes in some ways, though they are the pioneers of this genre and no one can be like them. We respect them a lot. ENDON has also been very good friends with a sludge-core band called Zenocide and an industrial unit called Carre. They are the same age as us and often do collaborations together. We also have lots of friends in Tokyo’s grind and noise scenes. Personally, I don’t think ENDON belong to the hardcore music scene in Tokyo, though our favorite venue Earthdom is a mecca of the local hardcore scene. You can still see legendary Japanese hardcore bands there, bands we grew up seeing over and over again. My impression is that the cool and interesting bands at our age used to be hardcore bands that then try to do another thing. Zenocide, who I mentioned earlier, used to be crust punk guys, for example.

B: I think the hardcore vibe I was picking up on comes from the strong antagonistic vibe to your live show, as if the music and performance is meant to punish the audience. Do you feel hostility towards the crowd? Or do you ever feel like the crowd is hostile towards you?

T: No, it’s not intended to be against the audience at all, but against myself. It’s me against the world. In order to act like that, I prepare songs without words. I have no idea what makes me so irate. I see no major difference among each and every individual besides an unspecified mental condition. I try to put myself in that headspace for the purpose of the show. It is not only a punishment but also a sweet pleasure to me. When I act like a master and try to pretend to punish the audience during our show, I feel like I am released from my sin and am buried in happiness. My shows with ENDON are kind of a tragedy in that way. In fact, during the early days of ENDON, there was a lot of fighting between the audience and me…

B: A lot of singers in the world of extreme music tend to fade into the background on record because they have a limited vocal range. With ENDON, it sounds like you have 5 or 6 different singers because the timbre of your voice changes so much. It literally sounds like an entire family—father, mother, son, daughter, family dog—attacking each other. Is this a response to the monotonic quality of metal vocals? Or is it just what naturally came out of your mouth at the first practice?

T: To me, screaming and shouting within the limited range of extreme music sounds so boring. It’s just laborious, a kind of duty they have to fulfill. Of course, what I do is partially a response to monotonous metal vocals, but more than that I would like to keep myself happy as opposed to responding to or attacking others. In that sense, my vocals need to be done unconsciously. Most importantly, ENDON as a whole should prepare our sounds and arrangements to make our music operate unconsciously. As you’ve pointed out, I have tried to do several vocal styles, like one voice that has multiple characters. And I show a relationship among those characters in a psychoanalytical way, like family therapy role-playing. Certainly, there have been good examples of other people doing this. A few singers from great depressive black metal bands have an impressive scream that has both the characters of victim and assailant in one. Multiple characters in one voice… I wanted to move ahead in that direction.

B: Speaking of family therapy, have any of your parents ever come to see you play? And are you still welcome in their homes afterwards?

T: It’s annoying to say that my parents don’t recognize I am crazy at all even though I am doing crazy stuff in ENDON. They are baby boomers that enjoyed Western art, culture, and music during their youth, and they view themselves as the first generation that brought that Western culture over to Japan. They still try to tell me what is best when it comes to music. That is one of the major reasons why everyone in ENDON and I try to focus on musical and cultural “parricide” with songs like “Parricide Agent Service” and “Etude For Lynching By Family”.

B: So I take it that’s a “no” then.

[seniormobilityd4u]

What Is The Best Lift Chair For Elderly? The Ultimate Review And Buyers Guide

What Is The Best Lift Chair For Elderly? The Ultimate Review And Buyers Guide This page is designed to answer any questions you may have about choosing, buying and looking after a lift chair for elderly in 2019.

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Last updated on July 21, 2019 11:59 am

Which is the best lift chair manufacturer? Each manufacturer has its pro’s and cons. I examine these in each individual post.

How to look after my lift chair? Once you have purchased you lift chair then just treat them as you would any other normal chair, but with taking into consideration any notes supplied by the manufacturer. Normally the chairs can be cleaned with just a damp cloth as you would your other furniture. A quick, gentle vacuum will keep them fresh. Special care should be taken though with their remote controls making sure that they are not exposed to liquids or physical damage. Remember though that they are also an electrical appliance so normal care should be taken when dealing with electrical items.

How much does a lift chair cost? At the time of writing a three position lift chair cost around about $600 to $2500 and that’s from a reputable supplier, with a good service network in place, normally with free kerbside delivery and with a full 12 month warranty.

Just what is a lift chair? It is a lift up reclining chair which includes an electrically controlled system to make it possible for it to change to positions such as recline and elevation.

Serta Perfect Lift Chair: The Winston 592 Perfect Lift Chair – Infinite Position, Plush Comfort Recliner with Gel-Infused Foam, Ergonomic Hand Held Contro (Cognac 592) Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair; This Wall Hugger Recliner Plush Comfort Recliner includes Gel-Infused Foam. The Hand Control with 2 Large LED Buttons and USB Charging Port(Java 870) Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair – Full Lay Flat Recliner – Model 872-Fusion – Full Factory Warranty, Color Wellspring Walnut Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair: This Plush Comfort Recliner w/ Gel-Infused Foam Relieves Key Body Pressure Points – Ergonomic LED Hand Control w/ USB Port (Ocean 860)) Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair: This Wall Hugger Recliner-Plush Comfort Recliner with Gel-Infused Foam-Hand Control with 2 Large LED Buttons and USB Charging Port (Steel 320) Check Amazon Price

Serta Comfort Lift Hampton Two Motor Infinite Position Power Lift Reclining Chair Blue Check Amazon Price

Don’t be stressed by the variety of styles available as are available in loads of guises and dimensions, but nevertheless the the thing every one of them have in common and that is that they have one, two or more electrical devices that power systems to allow the chair to do all of the effort when ever changing position from seated, to reclining to standing, that is why one of the popular terms for these mobility aid products being lift recliners, all in the relaxed environment of your home discreetly and without hullabloo. This really is fantastic for those who have any kind of movability difficulties eg lumbar, pinched nerve or joint tenderness, recuperating from various surgery treatment or simply normal age related issues (and also these types of recliner devices mean you don’t have to depend upon cushions, pillows or maybe, as I did, the ottoman to try to get comfy). As a result of their users requirements, power lift recliners are manufactured from the ground up from upholstery, body (hardwood generally speaking), raise device, battery back-up, cushion, backrest, lumbar support etc with one aim in mind….to enable individuals to live independently, as they really should, in their own home.

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Last updated on July 21, 2019 11:59 am

The more sophisticated of the rise and chairs are able to be lifted from ground level, quietly tilting as they go up to enable the individual sitting to move into a standing stance risk-free, easily and without the painfulness regularly caused by the activity. Just how do lift and recline chairs work?Apart from the previously mentioned mechanics, they work by the user just deciding upon a position or action on the handheld remote control connected to the chair.

All these remotes are in all likelihood the most sensitive item of the chair and caution should be taken so as not to accidentally pour liquids over them or harm them in any way. Don’t fret though, if it were to happen spare remotes are easily obtained.

Lift chairs come in handy for individuals who have difficulties or pain anytime going from a seated to a reclined or stood up position. By way of example those who have knee pain/ traumas, a neuromuscular condition, osteoporosis, body weight challenges etc. There are various communities in society that really benefit from having access to an electric powered lift chair;

This is how a power-driven lift chair shines.

Another assisted group of people is comprised of individuals with some kind of physiological incapacitation may need the assistance of an electric lift chair. Some physical challenges can stand in the way of tasks that the able-bodied take for granted and a rise and lift chair otherwise known as a rising tilt chair can be a great aid to someone with compromised mobility. https://ift.tt/32JGnC6

At one end of the spread you will discover people like myself who were made aware of them when searching for a little relief from an abrupt, but agonizing, spine problem. Now that this matter was remedied I now just like the fact that they are in fact incredibly comfy to chill in whilst watching a bit of Television or maybe doing a little reading safe in the knowledge that my back and muscle groups are being cradled in a suitable fashion.

Empowerment in motion!On a professional note, I used to be employed in the care sector and understand directly how debilitating and upsetting it might be for those who are considerably less physically able to need to rely upon somebody to assist them to achieve some greater freedom of movement. I also appreciate what enthusiasm can be endowed from accessing simple, but practical senior mobility furniture.

In cases where you’re the caregiver of a loved one assisting an individual with a physical challenge, having access to a lift chair at home often is a central resource in facilitating freedom for your responsibility as well as presenting these people with a means of ease and comfort and self-determination simultaneously.

And the last unique group is those that have osteoarthritis type ailments (tenderness and discomfort of the joints in the knees arms shoulders back etc). If you belong to this group of people then you may also get a lot of benefit from and relief from this type of assistive technology chair.

Basically if the individual who the will be the major user of the lift chair makes use of a mobility scooter, wheelchair, commode etc it is probable they would find substantial convenience and relief from a lift chair recliner.

Here are some questions that folks want answering when considering a lift recliner chair…Everything relies on your circumstances. Everyone has different needs, preferences, finances as well as, not excluding the color choice of your walls, a million other stuff (I don’t imagine anyone wants home furnishings that doesn’t match the interior decoration. ).

Serta Perfect Lift Chair: The Winston 592 Perfect Lift Chair – Infinite Position, Plush Comfort Recliner with Gel-Infused Foam, Ergonomic Hand Held Contro (Cognac 592) Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair; This Wall Hugger Recliner Plush Comfort Recliner includes Gel-Infused Foam. The Hand Control with 2 Large LED Buttons and USB Charging Port(Java 870) Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair – Full Lay Flat Recliner – Model 872-Fusion – Full Factory Warranty, Color Wellspring Walnut Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair: This Plush Comfort Recliner w/ Gel-Infused Foam Relieves Key Body Pressure Points – Ergonomic LED Hand Control w/ USB Port (Ocean 860)) Check Amazon Price

Serta Perfect Lift Chair: This Wall Hugger Recliner-Plush Comfort Recliner with Gel-Infused Foam-Hand Control with 2 Large LED Buttons and USB Charging Port (Steel 320) Check Amazon Price

Serta Comfort Lift Hampton Two Motor Infinite Position Power Lift Reclining Chair Blue Check Amazon Price

Very quickly you’ll be in a position to quickly figure out yourself which lift chair is advisable available to you by making use of the following knowledge contained in this power lift chair and recliner buyers guide. Before that however I have to provide you with a straightforward run-down and clarification of the different types of types that are offered to you.

Different types of lift chair; Two position lift chair, sometimes known as a chair and half recliner Fundamentally most of these are generally the less healthcare and more leisure end of the spectrum when it comes to features and price tag. The term 2 position is a little confusing mainly because they are the 2 extremes of the motion in the unit, one becoming normal and one being around 45° TV watching/ snoozing slant. Importantly it’s worthwhile noting that many two position lift chairs will not actually elevate you into the standing upright position, but they can help lift the trunk from recline posture into a seated posture. Use caution with this group of devices mainly because in some cases the lined area’s can be a bit thin and the battery powered back up might possibly only have a very limited capacity. This may not be a deal breaker, but it may be worth bearing in mind.

Three position lift chair These types of chairs have the same horizontal motion as two position lift chairs, however additionally they have the capabilities of being able to be partially raised from the ground and so the seated folk have a bit of physical support when shifting to a standing posture.

Infinite position raise chair These kinds of chairs permit autonomous motion of footrest along with the back. The seat will go into virtually any position, nonetheless the term infinite is a bit inaccurate because these chairs not go into an entirely flat position as you would expect with a bed for example.

Zero gravity lift chair These chairs enjoy the largest movement offered which makes them completely configurable to satisfy the majority of people’s wants, although they may be a little bit higher priced than chairs with less variety of movement as would be expected.

So what exactly is the best chair? In the real world the majority of people decide to select a three position chair as this meets their requirements, wants, budget, while importantly including the functions of having the ability to elevate and tilt the chair.

So, let’s have a quick recap of where we are now! We now know what these chairs are, what they do, who might benefit from having one and the various types available to us.

And…let’s have a quick reality check and see what are the practicalities of buy a lift chair.

Whichever way you look at it even the cheapest lift chair is not the cheapest chair you’ll ever buy. So here’s some things you need to look out for when buying your powered recliner lift chair (that’ll some suppliers call them, remember though that they all share the same basic functionality)

What are the key features to consider when buying a lift chair? Make sure that it has at least 12 warranty on the mechanism. Always make sure whatever model you buy has a back up battery power supply. Go for a supplier and vendor that is known in the marketplace and try to avoid unknown brands and ‘knock offs’. It’s a false economy that will end up costing more than you might save. Try to ensure that you buy from a company with a track record in the assistive technology field. Make sure that the supplier has good after sales customer service should need to contact them in future. Make sure that the model that you want to purchase and enjoy has good positive customer feedback. Conclusion. These chairs are an asset to individuals who are experiencing decreased mobility. Additionally they deliver a layer of self-reliance that could be absent in the event that use of these products was limited.

Anyways to sum up – no matter what your personal situation and mobility I really feel lift chairs are excellent because of the comfort, and extra assistance they give to individuals who might need it.

source https://deals-4-u.com/seniormobility/2019/07/21/what-is-the-best-lift-chair-for-elderly-the-ultimate-review-and-buyers-guide/

[adadevacademy]

Teaching Inheritance

by Dan Roberts, Lead Instructor

Not one of them is like another. Don't ask us why. Go ask your mother. -- Dr. Seuss

Think back to when you were learning your first object-oriented programming language. If you learned to program in the last 15 years, there's a good chance that was your first language, period. You probably started off with simple concepts like conditionals and loops, moved on to methods, and then to classes. And then at some point your instructor (or mentor or tutorial video) introduced a concept called inheritance.

If you're like me, your first exposure to inheritance was a bit of a mess. Maybe you couldn't quite get a handle on the syntax. Or maybe you were able to make it work on the class project and pass the exam, but couldn't quite figure out where you would ever use this in the real world. And then once that introductory course was over, you probably packed inheritance back up into your mental toolbox and didn't use it again for a long time.

The fact is, inheritance is complicated. It's hard to use correctly, even for experienced engineers - it took me several years in industry before I felt like I had a good handle on the subject. Yet inheritance is a tool with first-class support in most modern languages, and which is taught to many novice programmers almost immediately.

In this blog post I'll dive into why teaching inheritance is hard, some of the problems with current methods, and what Ada Developers Academy is doing to try and address this problem.

Do We Need Inheritance?

The first question we should ask is, "do we really need to teach inheritance?" This might seem like a silly question - everyone teaches inheritance, it's a key part of object-oriented programming! However time is a scarce resource in a program like Ada's, and everything we do teach means there's something else we don't teach. We've found more often than you might expect that we can drop something that "everyone" does, and end up with a leaner curriculum that is more valuable to both our students and their employers.

But as it turns out, we do need to teach inheritance. This is due to the way we leverage frameworks like Ruby on Rails and ReactJS later in the course. Both Rails and React use inheritance at a fundamental level, and our curriculum wouldn't make sense without it. Moreover, inheritance is an important technique for building real-world software, and our graduates use it on a regular basis in the wild.

Whether inheritance should be taught to novices who don't have an immediate need for it, for example in the first year of a 4-year university program in CS, is a different question. It's also not a problem I'm being paid to solve / write a blog post about. We know that the curriculum we cover at Ada does need inheritance, so we can confidently move forward with our analysis.

What it Means to Teach Inheritance

I have heard using inheritance when writing software compared to using a lathe as a craftsperson. Both solve a certain class of problem extremely well, and neither is particularly useful if you don't have that problem. Both lathes and inheritance take a fair bit of training to use well, and both are liable to make a big mess if used incorrectly. Every machine shop has a lathe, and most modern programming languages support inheritance.

The lathe metaphor allows us to break down the problem a little more. Thinking about it this way, we can see that any curriculum on inheritance needs to address two types of questions.

How do you use inheritance? What specific syntax do you need, and how does that change the way information flows through your program? What rules do you need to keep in mind as you work (e.g. Liskov substitution, the open-closed principle)? These questions are more mechanical, and the answers are often language-specific.

When should you use inheritance? How do you identify that a problem is likely to be neatly solved by inheritance, or that inheritance is a poor choice? What are the tradeoffs involved in deciding whether or not to use inheritance? These questions are more theoretical, and the answers are likely to apply no matter what language or framework you use.

Thinking about these questions leads us to two main issues that make teaching inheritance difficult:

The syntax and semantics of inheritance are tricky

Problems that are well-suited to inheritance are complex

Let's dive into each of these a little deeper.

Programming with Inheritance is Tricky

One of the main reasons teaching inheritance is hard is because inheritance itself is hard. At a high level inheritance is easy to explain: one class gets all the code from another class, and can override pieces and add its own bits. As so often happens, the devil is in the details.

For example, with Ruby the following questions arise:

Are static methods inherited? Can they be overridden?

How are instance variables, class variables, and class-instance variables handled?

Can constants be overridden? If not, what should you do instead?

How does inheritance interact with nested classes?

What has precedence, methods from the parent class or from a mixin?

And that's for Ruby, which is supposed to be beginner friendly! Other languages have their own wildcards:

Python: multiple inheritance

JavaScript: prototypical inheritance model, multiple types of functions

Java: static typing and explicit polymorphism, interfaces, templating

C++: all the Java problems plus memory management and object slicing (shudder)

Whatever language you choose, there's going to be a lot of rules to remember. How do you encode all these, especially for a novice? How do you decide what to include up-front, what to put in the appendix, what to omit entirely? How do you introduce specific details while still keeping the discussion general enough to translate to other languages? This is an important part of the problem - all your theoretical knowledge of how inheritance is used and what kinds of problems it solves won't do you any good if you can't apply it in code.

Fortunately, this part of the problem of teaching inheritance is well-understood. There are many excellent texts that round up the complicated syntax and semantics of inheritance into digestible, intuitive chunks. Any alternative treatment of inheritance needs to acknowledge this challenge and build upon this existing work.

Problems that Need Inheritance are Complex

The other reason that teaching inheritance is hard is because problems that benefit from inheritance tend to be complex. At a minimum, a problem to be solved with inheritance needs:

Two or more domain objects that are similar enough they need to share code, but not so similar that they could be combined into one class

Enough other things going on that it's worth encapsulating the domain objects as classes in the first place

That's a non-trivial amount of complexity, especially for a classroom full of beginners. How can you reasonably build a school project that establishes this complexity, but still fits within the tight time limits of the course? This is where existing curriculums tend to break down.

One tool that springs to mind to address this challenge is scaffolding, possibly by implementing some portion of a project in advance. This allows an instructor to reduce the complexity of the work required of the student, without reducing the complexity of the problem space as a whole. Deciding exactly what and how much to scaffold requires us to do a little more research, so we'll come back to this problem later.

How is Inheritance Used?

Since Ada is a workforce development program, one of the most valuable things we can do is ask "what's going on in industry?" Specifically,

How is inheritance used in the real world?

How is inheritance most likely to be used by a junior engineer in their first year or so on the job?

Understanding how inheritance is used can give us some direction on how it should be taught. Let's look at a few examples.

Rails

In Rails, almost every class you write will inherit from something. The two most common are

ActiveRecord::Base for models

ActionController::Base for controllers

You also see inheritance used for everything from database migrations to configuration management - its the Rails Way™. If you want to do something, you inherit from a class somewhere in the Rails framework. These superclasses are generally quite abstract, and each covers some functionality specific to the domain of an MVC framework.

Another important idiom is the template method pattern, as made famous in the Gang of Four book. A great example of this is with database migrations, where you define an class that inherits from ActiveRecord::Migration and implement the change method, and Rails takes care of the rest. Controller actions also mimic the template method pattern, particularly if your application uses the builtin tools for RESTful routing.

For the most part, Rails does not have you define your own superclasses. The exception to this is ApplicationRecord and ApplicationController, which sit in the hierarchy between concrete models or controllers and the abstract Rails implementation - these are generated automatically by Rails, but are open for you to modify.

React

React isn't quite as broad in its use of inheritance as Rails. However, every component class inherits from React.Component.

In React we again see the template method pattern pop up. Whether you're implementing render or componentDidMount, React knows the algorithm and you fill in the details.

React also does not encourage defining your own superclasses. In fact, their official documentation is rather explicit that inheritance between components should be avoided.

Other Frameworks

Rails and React are the two industry-grade frameworks I'm most familiar with, but I've dabbled in some others, namely Android (Java) and Unity (C#).

Android follows a similar pattern: everything you write inherits from some builtin class, template methods abound, and developers are discouraged from building their own inheritance relationships.

Unity matches the pattern as well, but they seem to be more lenient about extending your own classes, at least as far as I can tell from the Unity documentation on inheritance.

Industry Experience

This matches my experience of how engineering work tends to be done. Design work, in this case identifying the abstraction and building the superclass, is done by the team as a whole or by someone with an impressive sounding job title like "principal consulting systems architect". Implementing the details in a subclass is the job of an individual engineer.

Concretely, as I was spinning up at Isilon I spent a lot of time working on C++ and Python classes that filled in the details of an existing pattern, and not a lot of time inventing new patterns. Template methods were something I used frequently without having a name for them, and which I later wished I had learned about in college.

Summary

Setting Use case Write subclasses Write superclasses Abstract classes Template methods Rails Web servers ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅ React Single-page applications ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅ Android Mobile apps ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅ Unity Video games ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ First year in industry Any or none of the above ✅ ❓ ✅ ✅

There are a few clear takeaways from this quick survey:

Inheritance solves a complex problem. Programs that benefit from inheritance tend to be fairly large

Writing a subclass is much more common than writing a superclass

Often the superclass is provided for you by whatever framework you're using

Superclasses tend to be abstract, both semantically (embodying a high-level concept) and functionally (never instantiated)

The template method pattern is extremely important

Existing Work

We've built an understanding of what a new engineer needs from an introduction to inheritance. How well does existing computer science curriculum match up with this?

Building Java Programs

We'll use a case study to demonstrate: the excellent Building Java Programs: A Back to Basics Approach by Stuart Reges and Marty Stepp. This text is used by many introductory CS courses, including the University of Washington, as well as by AP CS classrooms supported by the TEALS program. My first exposure to the book was while teaching with TEALS back in 2014.

Building Java Programs does an great job introducing the vocabulary and syntax of inheritance.

The first example is different types of employees in an HR system. This is simple enough to demonstrate syntax while still somewhat plausible - not an easy balance to strike.

The text includes a discussion of where inheritance is not appropriate, and the difference between is-a and has-a relationships.

The chapter introduces interfaces, abstract classes and abstract methods, and the ability to override a method. However, it makes no mention of the template method pattern.

The chapter finishes with a more complex example dealing with different types of stocks and assets.

This is substantial enough that inheritance is an appropriate technique.

In this example, the pieces at the top of the hierarchy are abstract (an interface and an abstract class), matching the pattern identified above.

The book does not provide any context for how this code will be used. I would argue this is a major oversight. Writing code in a vacuum is fine for experienced engineers, but in my experience novices benefit from concrete examples of how code will be used from the "outside". With inheritance in particular, this would demonstrate how polymorphism is useful.

There is no mention of the idea of extending a class implemented by a framework.

In general Building Java Programs is excellent, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Reges and Stepp. It certainly did a good job of preparing my students for the AP CS exam. However, it does not introduce inheritance as it is used in the real world, particularly by novice engineers. As far as I can tell this is typical of introductory CS courses - certainly my undergraduate education at Purdue followed a similar pattern.

Design Textbooks

There is another type of text that addresses inheritance: books on software design. Famous resources like Practical Object-Oriented Design: An Agile Primer Using Ruby (POODR) by Sandi Metz, or Design Patterns (the "Gang of Four" book) by Gamma, Helm, Johnson and Vlissides address software design more generally, employing inheritance as one tool among many.

However, these books are targeted at experienced engineers trying to up their game, not at novices learning their chosen language for the first time. Moreover they discuss design from a ground-up perspective, whereas an engineer beginning their career is likely to build on the shoulders of giants, extending existing designs rather than inventing new ones.

An ideal curriculum would bridge the gap between these two approaches, introducing both syntax and common inheritance idioms, and getting new engineers used to the work of extending an existing class.

Ada's Approach to Inheritance

The instructional team at Ada has been unhappy with our approach to inheritance for a while now, but we haven't quite known what to do about it. Now that we've done some research and formalized our engineering and pedagogical intuition, here's the approach we've come up with:

Simple examples and accessible metaphors are fine for introducing syntax and semantics, though as Reges and Stepp demonstrate they don't have to be completely unrealistic.

Common idioms like abstract classes and the template method pattern should be introduced as soon as the basic syntax is understood.

Students' first serious inheritance project should involve extending an existing superclass.

This matches the way inheritance is used in the real world, and makes the benefits (not having to re-write a bunch of code) immediately clear.

Instructors would provide the following scaffolding:

Superclass implementation

Driver code demonstrating polymorphism

Another subclass, to model the inheritance mechanism

Possibly a test suite or test stubs

If time permits, a second inheritance project would focus on design, and have students build both the superclass and subclasses, as well as driver code.

At Ada, the first inheritance project takes the form of OO Ride Share. Students are asked to load information about drivers, passengers and trips from CSV files; we provide a CsvRecord superclass and Passenger and Trip subclasses pre-built. We feel this problem is complex enough to justify inheritance but simple enough to spin up on quickly. It also mimics the way ActiveRecord is used in Rails, which will hopefully lead to more comfort and deeper understanding once we get into our Rails unit.

The second project is still in the planning phase, but the idea is a command-line app that integrates with the Slack API. After an in-class design activity students will implement a Recipient superclass that handles most of the API interaction, and User and Channel subclasses that fill in the details. They will also build a command loop that interacts with the user, demonstrating the power of polymorphism. We don't have the project write-up finished yet, but there is a prototype of the end product.

We've spent a lot of time thinking about this fresh approach to teaching inheritance, and I'm excited to see the results. Watch this space for an update in a couple months as we conclude our Intro to Ruby unit and move into Rails.

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

Some holiday weekend, head out to the ‘burbs” or stroll through some campgrounds or a public park. Your nose will pick up a couple very distinctive smells: Wood smoke and charcoal grills. Charcoal and wood fire scents carry far and linger long, presenting a pretty significant cue that people are nearby.

They also regularly offer really lovely wisps and plumes visible above rooftops, retaining walls, hedges, and woods depending on fuel source, weather, and skill. Even relatively small grills can pump enough to home in on once scents have us in the neighborhood.

We may very well want to avoid those telltales in some disasters, and there are plenty of other reasons low-and-no-smoke cooking backups are a must-have for preppers.

They apply to “normal” outage-based disasters and world-shaking events, and to beginners, apartment dwellers, and “soft” climate dwellers as well as the old hats who are already familiar with the numbingly, back-achingly incredulous amount of wood it takes to cook daily and keep even a tight, well-insulated home warm.

The backup methods I’ll list commonly use less fuel or completely different fuels than our primary systems. That diversity and efficiency helps our resources last longer and keeps us cooking when resupply isn’t available.

If we already count on wood or propane for winter heat or cooking, using alternatives now can lower our current burden, giving us the ability to stockpile more. (Or some extra cash and time!)

Many of us try to avoid pine and unseasoned wood in chimneys, especially brick that can’t be taken apart for easier access. Nonflammable, cleaner-burning and tabletop methods help limit buildup.

There are also scenarios where an injury or illness limits our usual labor, there are reasons to stay hunkered down inside, limit noise, and as such our most-efficient tools go down and our production slows; that or something like a flood or mudslide limits our access.

If we can cook and warm spaces without wood, we can horde that “now” precious commodity against greater need.

Or, we may not have a massive woodpile (yet), or a fireplace or woodstove of either species. We may not have a functioning chimney, or our chimney may develop a problem during a crisis. Backups for our backups keep us plodding forward.

*Liquid-gas fuels share some of the wood-charcoal factors, and have some new ones of their own.

Many of us live places where it gets pretty hot. Whatever the fuel used, heating the house unnecessarily just isn’t conducive for easing the stresses and burdens of an already difficult time – whether the crisis is widespread or only affecting us.

On the other hand, outdoor cooking gets old fast for those of us with seasonally or perennially dusty-windy conditions. That’s how it goes with picking oak catkins and maple spinners out of food, and dealing with flies and mosquitoes.

Grilling outside in a pounding rainstorm or frigid winds also kind of sucks – and can take forever – but then again it’s not usually a great idea to use charcoal grills inside.

Slight Consolation: Food you’ve suffered for in cold weather tastes better. (Muggy/hot weather, not so much.)

Options we can use indoors and under screened porches and pop-up pavilions check a big, big box.

There’s also the *other* rule of threes that some of us ascribe to: three ways to reach and accomplish any task. It’s not always possible (or practical), but in the case of alternative cooking methods, we can check that box, too, easily and with very little outlay in time or money.

Most of the methods below use things already in the home, very basic “everybody everywhere” tools, and outright trash/recycling that costs nothing but time. Some don’t even take up extra space.

The internet abounds with options for DIY’ing these and making them more efficient or portable, so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel on that front.

*I am not affiliated with any of the links provided, nor do I always agree with the authors (or even have any idea what else they post) – they’re the simplest, easiest, or most expedient versions that popped when I wanted an example.

Minimal-Smoke Cookers

Propane/Butane Stoves & Grills – There’s not a safe DIY for these and there’s potentially competition with preppers’ primary fuels or generators, but they’re pretty handy and inexpensive, so I don’t want to ignore them.

Rocket Stoves – I love these things. They take small kindling and sticks or trash wood and turn it into a high-efficiency, high-temperature burn. There’s a variation for everyone – balcony, porch, or backyard; homes, RVs, vehicle kits, or bag-portable.

Super easy DIY’s use CMU block, or a paint can, #10 can, or tall baked-beans or spaghetti-sauce cans and increasingly smaller cans. Other builds involve buckets, ammo cans, large terra cotta pots, cement, and sand. They’re not quite as super-easy or super-fast builds, but some variants further increase efficiency by burning the wood gas that’s generated from burning most woods.

Some of the store-bought versions have an added bonus: They’ll charge small devices or battery packs.

They can put off a fair bit of smoke, but they do it quickly and then stash away. They use wood, but we can fuel them with pruners and busted-up furniture and boards instead of axes and campfire/stove logs.

They’re not a simmer-beans or bake-bread oven/stove. It’s too fast and hot of a burn. They specialize in fast-cook foods and quickly bringing foods/water up to a boil to use with…

WonderBag/Wonder Boxes – Purchased or DIY, bag or box version http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Wonder-Box-CookerCooler/, these function like a thermal cooker  https://delishably.com/cooking-equipment/Thermal-Cooker.

They allow us to use a short “burn” time to heat food or water to boiling, then retain the heat, turning preexisting pots into non-electric slow cookers or crock pots.

Solar Cookers – DIY for solar ovens abound, from the simple glass over a tire with a pot inside, to some pretty complicated tilts, cuts and hinges. They’re done with pizza boxes and aluminum foil, vehicle reflectors, polished scrap metal, and mirrors. You can spend as little or as much as you fancy, ordering in or building.

I find them limited to mid-late spring through autumn, but I can protect them from pests pretty easily and they’re great for not heating the house or burning fuels in summertime, as are…

Steeping Jars – These are basically small-scale solar cookers. It’s as simple as pouring dehydrated veggies, grains, or pre-soaked beans in any ol’ jar, adding the needed water, and hanging/setting it in a bright spot.

Dark paint or fabric on jars, reflectors, and added insulation like a larger jar or aquarium can increase efficiency, reducing cook time and extending the weather they’re useful in.

*Don’t forget to brew sun tea & coffee.

Water Bags & Camp Showers – Getting the sun to give us a head start or completely handle heating water for us decreases resource and time expenditure. We can use anything, purpose-made, painted/covered garden sprayers, or regular ol’ jugs.

The warmed water can be used for wash-ups or for soaking and cooking freeze-dried foods, Lipton-Knorr-Rice-a-Roni sides, or our own noodles and rice.

The sun is free (when it’s there), compared to other resources – whether it’s propane, charcoal, or self-cut wood – and there’s little wear on parts compared to hydro or wind power. Even if the sun only warms that water, it’s reducing wait time and resource use.

*Keep a pot of water on a conventional oven, arctic brick stove, space heater, or woodstove, or on, under, or beside a grill and while a rocket stove burns out to accomplish the same ready-to-use pre-warming – even now. It’s even handier in winter, increasing heat radiation and serving as a heat sink.

DIY Candles – The upcoming methods call for a candle or alcohol stove. Those heat sources are interchangeable. (Differing flame heights will require adjustments.) We can also create our own.

With cotton mop strands, cord, or “real” wicks, olive oil can fuel lamps (https://www.littlehouseliving.com/olive-oil-candles.html). *Small citronella burners are really nice alternatives to open jars if we’ll have our lamps in and out of service for a while during an outage or long-term disaster.

We can sink wicks into shortening, too, in jars or the original tubs, creating another simple (and surprisingly long lasting) cooking method out of multi-functional storage items.

We use candles and mini-stoves in a grill, or set them up campfire/tailgate style with a grate over a terra-cotta pot, bricks, or some cans (fill them with water – sturdier + pre-warmed/boiled water).

Smells from candle, oil, and fuel-brick stoves and ovens will carry to nearby neighbors (so will cooking foods) but they dissipate even faster than quick-burn rocket stoves. The traces are even more contained when used indoors.

Clay Pot Heaters/Cookers – These are pretty easy to find for DIY – using as much hardware as you like, or kept streamlined and simple – or as prettied-up ready-to-use purchases.

They can be effective on their own, most usually to slowly warm foods like a slow cooker, but if they get plopped in a grill or oven (crack the door), the efficiency goes up and food will heat faster and more evenly.

*That goes for any of the methods that will fit. Be mindful of flame size and fumes.

Candle Ovens – We can buy a HERC oven (multiple recipes/examples: http://prepared-housewives.com/baking-with-the-herc-oven/) or DIY our own. It’s just rigging clusters of taper or pillar candles, DIY candles/lamps, or a whole slew of votives or tea lights on a drip-safe surface inside an oven, and cooking or baking at 200-300-degrees on the grate above.

*Hood/tent foods in full-size ovens (and campfire grates) with an overturned bowl or larger pan. It’ll hold heat closer to the food, speeding things up and cooking more evenly.

   Can Stoves – These are super easy, super effective spinoffs of Sterno stoves and the military, camping, and emergency solid-fuel stoves that abound.

They can be done with greatest simplicity with just two types of can openers, or we can go to town with tin snips to increase ease or rig cross-bar “grills” at the top.

Backing up Backups

Increasing redundancy in our disaster cooking increases our ability to weather absolutely any storm. That makes these guys a prepper must-have in my book.

Some methods also significantly reduce our observable footprint, which may end up a major benefit, and some are reasonable alternatives to heating up our kitchens even now. Most of these have easy, inexpensive DIY options, allowing everyone to build extra resiliency into their disaster plans.

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from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[dungeonsandquestions]

A matter of L̶i̶f̶e̶ &̶ Death

TL;DR: Death and it’s reversal make for a major balance point in every game (tabletop or otherwise). Changing this balance (especially against the players) can really effect a game, though consequences to death are necessary for it to function. If you’re gunna add a layer to death that punishes it beyond the norm in your world/game it shouldn’t be unbalancing and should only affect the character who dies.

One part of trying to improve my own player and DM abilities is joining groups of various tabletop roleplaying games (trpgs) where plenty of discussions take place. One I see on a roughly weekly basis in d&d groups is discussing resurrection so I thought I’d give an overview of a few alternative ideas people often mention and my opinions of them (as well as ideas of my own).

The discussions I tend to see on this matter focus on the dnd 5e (and occasionally 3.5e/Pathfinder) so I’m going to be talking about them, but the lessons are all still applicable so feel free to adapt it to whatever games you’re playing. The ease of access to resurrection is usually to counter the ease of death in a game, systems where death is difficult to achieve such as Star Wars Edge of the Empire, have no resurrections because of this, in dnd death comes easily so resurrection should also be easy.

Often people claim that resurrection has no consequences in these systems, I disagree. The cheapest of the resurrection spells in 5e is revivify at 300gp, it can only be used in the first minute. Raise dead has a 10 day limit for a 500gp cost, and reincarnate is 1,000gp for the same limit and has inbuilt condition of race changing. And the cost raises with the other methods. Now for context a rare magic item costs 500gp (this includes +1 weapons) so even cheap resurrections cost a good magic item for the group, true resurrection (the most expensive kind) costs half as much as a legendary magic item at 25,000gp. That in itself is a consequence of death/resurrection, not to mention the possibility of losing a character your player is hopefully invested in etcetera. 

But say you really want to add in consequences these are the ones I commonly see, and why I don’t particularly like them:

a) Take a level/exp off the character (depending on the levelling system being used). Seems okay at first but it makes repeated deaths on the same character more likely as they now have less health/hit dice/resources to their party, and once you lose 2/3 levels on them you’re not catching up. 

The exp thing seems fairer, but I once played under this, and a player twice died just before levelling up, resulting in their new characters going to the beginning of said level, this created a divide of levels between the top and bottom ends of the group. Not to mention dead characters/non-existing character miss exp too, so you lose more than is taken off you in most cases.

b) Roleplay resurrections Type A (Dormammu I’ve come to Bargain). Again one I’ve played under; the living members must role-play a bargain with a death deity to bring their teammate back, the time they get is dependant on the role-play that takes place. Great if only 1/2 members die, if there an almost TPK then suddenly you've got to hope the surviving player has things to sacrifice, can also cast resurrection magic and their character would sacrifice those things. These are really interesting but it can disadvantage shy players, make players break character for the sake of the narrative again and again, and also can mean sometimes players don’t get a character brought back because no one wants to sacrifice something for them, which isn’t a fun thing to have discussed infant of you after your character just died defending everyone.

c) Roleplay resurrections Type B (Thoughts & Prayers). The players don’t directly bargain with the deity, but instead can role-play the ceremony/ritual and help bring them back. Critical Role season 1 does this and I like it, up until a secret role can cause the entire thing to not work meaning you wasted time and effort to have your spell collapse into nothing based on a (at best) 5% chance, assuming you’re using a d20, also if the roll needed is kept secret it means players can feel cheated when their efforts go to naught. 

d) No resurrections/Limited resurrections. That’s great so long as your players are aware/agreed to it, but if you spring on a player they only get 2 right after they got brought back for the second time that’s not really fair.

My new problem with all these methods in that punishment is either very harsh for something that can come down to a single roll against you, or is pushed onto the living characters to find a way to bring you back meaning if someone is making bad choices they face no penalty but their teammates do. Ultimately if you are upfront about using any of these and your players agree to it then, go ahead. But don’t spring alternative rules on resurrection half way through a campaign after the first death, especially if one of your spellcasters has been taking the spells all along. Additionally resurrection is mainly a Cleric thing (Paladins get some low level ones, bards can get any spell and Druids get a few) so any change negatively effects them. It’d be like adding a 1 in 20 chance any attack actually stuns the attacking player until their next turn. Or the same for all spells reflecting back at the caster. It messes with core mechanics in a way unfair to only some players, which is never a good feeling for a player. But maybe you really want some consequences to resurrection still, in that case I would suggest any effects only hitting the dead player, in way that don’t give them a power level difference from the very first time. Such as:

1) Appearances. Each time a character is resurrected their appearance becomes more undead like, first they get an unsealing scar where their last wound was, then pale/cold skin, then bits of them fail to revive properly so start decaying. Ultimately they can always come back but will eventually look pretty monstrous, thus discouraging repeated bad decisions but not punishing bad luck. 2) Roleplay Resurrections Type C (Friends on the other side). Characters returning to life get short role-play segments where the character to be resurrected must make sacrifices to/deals with the death deity, with major sacrifices being rewarded with extra power in the living world to reward the player, however each time you come through you’ve got more of a deal to make. This puts the focus of sacrifice on the player that died, not the ones that survived, while still giving some fun roleplay situations, also the opportunity for warlock multiclassing. 3) Death Quests and Rare Items. This makes resurrections easy to do but requires some work to get the expensive ingredients or a character who can do it, in order to achieve the goal. Just make sure to have a temporary character for the player to use so they don’t miss a session, alternatively they get the resurrection first but then must replace the ingredients or complete the quest. Hopefully some of you find this useful, and/or have your own takes on how resurrections should be handled. And if you take nothing else, hopefully you check with your players before changing core rules such as resurrection letting them agree/disagree before it become relevant.

[sublimeheartwizard]

Hair Chalk: How to Use It & Remove It

Perhaps it’s all the gorgeous festival beauty looks on our Pinterest feeds, but lately we’ve had the urge to go full-on cotton candy with our locks. There’s something about pastel-hued, hair-chalked strands that speaks to our inner wild child—and we’ll be honest, the lack of commitment makes them even more appealing. But with new formulas springing up left and right, how are you supposed to know how to use (and more importantly, remove the remnants of) each one? We did the research for you, and found out exactly how to apply and wash out each type of hair chalk, leaving you more time to fishtail and dip-dye to your heart’s content.

Liquid Hair Chalk

Liquid hair chalk lasts anywhere from 2-10 shampoos. It will usually come with a sponge-tipped or foam applicator. To apply, place a towel over your shoulders and put on gloves to prevent staining your clothes and hands. Next, use the applicator to apply the formula to your locks. wait 30 seconds for product to absorb fully, then blow-dry with a styling brush. To remove it, you're supposed to just wash your hair as you would normally. However, you can also massage a hair oil like Sachajuan's Intensive Hair Oil ($33) into your strands before shampooing and conditioning, in order to speed up the removal process.

Hair Chalk Compact

A hair chalk compact can be used on wet or dry hair, but applying to wet hair will give you a more intense color. Take a one-inch section of hair and slide the hair chalk compact over the length you’d like to color. Seal the pigment in with a spritz of hairspray. Depending on how light your hair is, it'll last one to three shampoos to get it out of your hair. Hair chalk that comes in a compact will usually wash out quickly and easily with shampoo, though blondes may have to shampoo a few times more to rinse out all of the pigment.

Hair Chalk Pen

The traditional hair chalk pen can be used on wet or dry hair, and lasts from 2-4 shampoos, depending on how light your hair is. Place a towel on your shoulders and use gloves to prevent staining. If you're brunette, wet the section of hair you’d like to color before applying the chalk. Blondes can do that too, but it'll make the pigment stay on much longer. Apply the chalk to the strand of hair you'd like to color, twisting the hair into itself as you go. Allow for the color to dry, or just give it a cool blast of air with your hairdryer. Style as usual, but if you want to lock in the color, finish it with hairspray. It can be removed with normal shampoo, but a clarifying shampoo (like Verb's Reset, $16) will rinse it out quick.

Hair Chalk Spray

Hair chalk spray is likely the easiest to use, because you just spray it on dry hair right before going out. It typically only lasts a few shampoos, but that also means it's super easy to get out of your hair. Just mist the color directly on your hair, wherever you would like a pop of color, and style it like normal.

Marker

Markers, or felt-tip pens, serve a variety of functions. Children use them to make bright, colorful drawings. The stereotypical teacher uses a glaring, unmistakable red felt-tip to grade papers. Retail employees, roadside vendors, performers, and protestors rely on the indelible, eye-catching shades and thick inking surface of these writing and drawing utensils to announce sales, prices, and productions, or to create strongly worded posterboard signs to convey dissatisfaction. Markers are also useful for permanently marking surfaces, which is often necessary for identification purposes—putting names on clothing tags, boxes, and tape which can be adhered to almost any item.

Raw Materials

The marker body, cap, and plugs are formed from plastic resin. The marker reservoir, which holds the ink, is formed from polyester. Powder and water are used to form the felt writing tip. In addition, markers require ink, and the pigments and synthetic substances used to make it. Toluol and xylol used to be common synthetics used as solvents in dye, but due to their toxic nature these substances have largely been replaced with safer chemicals such as cyclic alkylene carbonates, although these chemicals are still used to make the indelible ink contained in permanent markers. The solvent is the substance into which the dye is diluted. Water also acts as a solvent in ink. Additives may also be used in an ink mixture to act as wetting agents.

Making the marker

3 To make the body of the marker, plastic resin is injection-molded into a marker body. Injection molding involves heating a substance, in this case plastic resin, into a molten state and forcing (injecting) it into a mold of the desired shape, then allowing it to cool and harden. Marker caps and plugs are formed in the same manner as the barrel.

4 The nib, or tip, of the marker is made from powder which is mixed with water, molded, and baked into its pointed or flat form.

5 Using one machine for all the following functions, an assembler then places a polyester cylinder inside the marker barrel to form a reservoir for the ink, fills the reservoir with ink, and inserts the nib at the bottom and the cap at the top.

6 The markers are then placed into color assortment and packaged for retail marketing.

The highlighter’s appeal has flourished in the digital age. Most word-processing and e-reader software products have a highlighter function. And the hand-held highlighter continues to evolve, too. In the early ’80s, the fiber tip gave way to polyethylene beads molded into porous heads. (The plastic squeaks less, and the ink flows more smoothly.) When the highlighter business saw that it wasn’t being embraced by holdouts who preferred pens, it made the dual highlighter/pen. There are now retractable highlighters. And flat ones. And ones that smell like pizza.

LIGHTING UP THE BIBLE

Due to the thin paper used in most Bibles, typical highlighters often bleed through. For that reason, G.T. Luscombe, a distributor of Bible-study accessories based in Frankfort, Ill., got into the business of Bible-paper-friendly highlighters. John Luscombe, the president and chief executive, explains:

Is there a particular color code? There are different types of coding depending on how many colors there are. But for the most common four colors, we recommend that yellow represents blessings, blue represents the Holy Spirit, pink represents salvation and green represents growth and new life.

How to Choose a Paint Starter Set for Beginners

With so many paint colours available and new ranges being released every week, which paint set should you buy when you first start painting?

The overwhelming feeling that descends when trying to buy paint colours either online or in your local art store can often lead to the safe bet…

The pre-boxed starter set.

The paint companies have designed them to help you, right? The best paints for your needs when you are just beginning…or so you would think.

But are they a good choice?

Are you getting the best value for money or are they sending you down the wrong path? I’ve devised a simple technique to help you decide which starter palette is right for you.

Ready for a little paint history lesson to understand what you should be thinking about on your next trip to the art store?…

Boxed starter sets are designed to give you a varied approach, a range of colours that can give you the widest colour gambit with the minimum amount of outlay.

But here’s the rub.

It depends on what you’re aiming for with your end result. If you think about the paintings that you want to achieve, the subject matter you are most drawn to before you actually buy your paints then you can make an educated guess which colour palette is going to be right for you.

The Old Masters

In Renaissance times, the Old Masters learnt their trade of painting as a craft.

The tradition of the craft had a system of apprenticeship.

Colour mixes were kept secret and passed on from generation to generation, some painters even created their own codes to keep the secret mixes safe.

Working under apprenticeships in individual Ateliers (the French word for “workshop”) was the norm. Artists learnt how to grind their own paints from the natural earth pigments surrounding them. Working from dry pigments, they had to be mixed with oil and then ground into a paste by hand to make paint.

The colour choice was limited and paintings relied on the use of dramatic lighting and tonal value to produce great works. (see: The Importance of contrast in painting)

Working with this limited available palette can teach you a great deal about colour mixing and warm and cool colours. I’ve made a free still life video course that shows you a classical approach to painting using just burnt sienna, ultramarine blue & titanium white.

Masters Palette – Perfect for portraits & understanding the importance of tone.

When the Old Masters were mixing colours, the pigments came from the earth, literally ground up rocks and minerals – hence the muted palette being called the earth colours.

When painting portraits, they couldn’t just go out to buy ‘flesh tint’ they looked, observed and mixed it.

Burnt umber, raw umber, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, red ochre, these are the sorts of colours they would have been using.

If you want to try and recreate an Old Master-style painting, using the pigments they used, gives you an immediate head start. In my article on ‘How to choose a basic portrait palette’ I use a muted collection of colours.

Skin tones are muted, so start with a muted colour. It seems obvious right? But when you’re painting the urge to try and ‘fix it’ by adding an extra colour is huge.

Don’t feel like it’s only you, I still do it now after 20 years, even though I should know better!

The Holiday Season brings with it plenty of gifts… and then there are the actual gifts themselves! Yes, we know it. Christmas is not just about presents and shopping alone. It is definitely not a time to just run around from one store to another looking for that elusive gift. But we all do it anyway. Then comes the time to wrap it all up and put it under the giant tree so that it all feels picture-perfect. And for some us, this is undoubtedly the part that we most enjoy. Wrapping your Christmas gift feels so very serene, relaxing, and enjoyable. Maybe it is because you know that finally the shopping is all done. Maybe because you can marvel at the DIY Gift Box you just crafted. And once you’ve completed your DIY gift set you can choose from this pack of 20 different Holiday Grosgrain Ribbon patterns as the final touch.

This is right; this Holiday Season, it is time to give your presents a homemade box. A festive DIY gift box makes it all more personal and you will see that every member of your family and our friends will love the custom box as much as they cherish the gift inside. Handmade gift boxes also give you greater creative freedom when it comes to ‘saying it just right’.