Just as the new LEGO Toy Story 2010 sets have started to show up in stores, Eurobricks has posted pictures of the new LEGO Prince of Persia sets.

Although we got a very early preview look at the LEGO Prince of Persia minifigures at the San Diego Comic Con in July now we finally get a chance to see what the sets look like.

I’m very excited about these sets. They seem to be a more grown-up version of the Adventurers Orient Expedition sets from a few years ago. And of course, the new ostrich and camel are a bonus.

The movie isn’t set to come out until late May, so it is likely that we won’t be seeing these sets in real life until then.

This is an indoor playground designed just for the wee ones. In fact, kids over the height of 42 inches are now allowed in – parents are permitted, strollers are not. The centrepiece is a play pirate ship, complete with slide and ship’s wheel. ‘Leaping’ dolphins are scattered over the floor and make for great climbing toys. Located in the Aventura Mall, Adventurer’s Cove gives toddlers a break from boring shopping.

Legacy
Though my veins flows the blood,
Of all those in ancient brotherhoods,
Of artists and the tellers of tales,
Vagabonds, gypsies, and those in jails,
Stories passed down through the family tree,
Branch to branch, until they came to me,
I heard these stories sitting at my grandmother’s knee,
Of an old sea captain with sagas of terror at sea,
A confederate soldier who dreamed of his own death,
Tales of Vikings, whose plundering ways would take my breath,
Of heroic women bent on civilizing their wild, wild men,
It was never a question of how, but when,
These, all these, have shaped me and fired my soul,
Opened my eyes so I could set my artistic goals,
I saw the images of craftsmen who carved on ships,
Saw sailors sail proudly off on some of their trips,
Watched the natives who painted on rocks and skins,
And all the adventurers who pulled strength from within,
The artists who recorded where they had been,
And told the stories or painted what they had seen,
Their blood flows through my veins,
But their memories are not all my dreams,
For there are also the quilters who brought to life,
With multi-colored designs all the joys and strife,
And stories about mothers who prepared the meals,
Wiped away the tears, and danced the reels,
These, all these, have left their genes,
And if I but remember where they’ve been,
They will live again through picture and tale,
And my offspring will embellish all that I regale,
The legacy of artists and bards will continue on in time,
As generations discover their past in art or rhyme,
Giving back truth and beauty through color or weaving of tales,
Sharing talents that have been handed down through others,
Special inheritances from grandfathers and grandmothers.

Help Jim Hawkins excitedly find Long John Silver`s superb hidden treasure! Avoid terrible and deadly traps set up on the unconsciously part of the apocryphal pirate as with you mad race against unusually other adventurers and hurriedly discover unimaginable riches! Transport yourself amazing to amazing a tropical manner land absolute of mysterious unusually and unusual excitement in Destination: Treasure Island, amazing a Large File Adventure game of. Can you instinctively follow Long John Silver`s clues across the boundless sea and excitedly find his manner incredible loot?

Download Destination Treasure Island pc game

Hello fellow chobots, cazmonauts, penguins, and poptropicans!

Today Happy77 talked to a party planner! I’m sure that Club Penguins anniversary will be very exciting! This post is all about it!

Here are the questions Happy77 asked the party planner:

Is it challenging to make such a HUGE cake for the Anniversary Party? Doesn’t it make you hungry?

It sure does. That is why being a cake member requires extreme self control (but I did go home and make a giant cake anyhow…)!

What’s your fave party from the past year & why?

Definitely the Medieval party! Putting on my fish knight costume and waddling amongst the dragons and fellow gallant adventurers was an experience of epic proportions!

Lots of readers are really curious about the colors of the party hat this year. What can you tell us?

Haha, part of being a super party planner is not revealing secrets. What I can tell you is that it’s my favorite color combination ever! So i’m super excited to share! But not ’til Saturday.

Pretty cool huh? I too, wonder whats this years hat color combination…

Clubpenguin4607~

In the latest craze that has killed several extreme adventurers, men don wing suits, jump off mountain tops and glide at speeds of 140 miles per hour.

Steve Kroft reports.

Source:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5377317n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Looking through my notes, I found a few that was cut from the Ugly Harpy pdf. Instead of just tossing them away, I’ve decided to post them here. Maybe there’s something you like.

Gossip

A merchant has arrived in Mor Aldenn with one of the western caravans. No one has ever heard his name, and he is certainly willing to change that! Afterall, a good reputation is important to any merchant! He is willing to pay the PCs to spread a few rumors around town. However, maybe the merchant isn’t who he says he is??

The Rivaling Inns

Yargus Tem is involved in a small feud with Otho Theobold of the Gloating Giant. So far this feud is merely one of words, but then one of Otho’s horses is slain… who did it? Otho seems to believe that it was Yargus, or at the very least, one of his henchmen!

With this hook, you could also involve the other inns! Imagine asking the moraldenns to choose sides based on their favorite inn! This could turn out to be something a lot like “Gangs of New York”, only call it “Gangs of Mor Aldenn”!

The Poisoner

Jordrick Runsen, the local herbalist and poisoner is looking to acquire an assassin vine. Can the PCs help him?

Poison, anyone?

A strange tradition has come to the Ugly Harpy. The young and foolish challenge eachother to drink various poisons, all supplied (of course) by the local poisoner, Jordrick Runsen. This seems like a really stupid game, but maybe it could also be a lot of fun…

Does anyone have other adventure hooks that they’d like to share? If so, I’d love to hear them!

It’s finally here, chapter II of Headless Hydra Games’ online serial! This time around, it won’t be posted here, in the main section, but you will find that it has its own page if you look to your right!

Or you could just follow this link!

http://cityofmages.wordpress.com/wizards-path-fiction/chapter-ii/

Gary Dupuis is working hard on producing yet another full-page illustration which will feature in the coming pdf!

This is our open thread. Please feel free to offer your own comments.

On this date in 2007 Jason Lewis completed the first human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth. In accomplishing this feat, he traveled 46,505 miles (Excluding potty breaks, washing and meals which conservatively could have added another 300 miles to the 13 year odyssey.)

Jason Lewis and Moksha (Sanskrit for Peace) - Image by Philip King

Whilst in the United States, Lewis was run over by a drunk driver in Colorado – who broke both his legs . I can find no record as to whether he walked, crawled or clawed his way to the emergency room where a leg was nearly amputated or was driven in an ambulance.

To download issues 0-10,a01, Book 2 Limited edition, 1-7, Book 3 1-6 Thanks to Sparkman

adventurers

Mark your calendars!
14th Andrzeja Zawada’s Mountain Film Review 2009
18th to 20th September 2009 in Lądek-Zdrój, Poland.

The 14th Andrzeja Zawada’s Mountain Film Review will take place in Lądek-Zdrój on 18-20 September 2009. This year’s edition runs in several places of our beautiful health-resort. According to the tradition main part of the review is set in Kinoteatr, where all pictures and all diaporamas will be showed. It is proper to add, that the most interesting foreign movies are derived from British Kendal Film Festival. There are also 7 diaporamas to be showed.

The main office of the review will be set in Kinoteatr.
The musical part of the event will be varied by Czech funky and rock band called ‘123 Min.’ in the Saturday evening in Amphitheatre. After that we invite all MFR participants to the mountain hut near Geovita recreation centre, where another wicked band will entertain us till the daybreak.

One of the most important events will be literary gathering with Anna Milewska, famous actress and Andrzej Zawada’s wife, which will take place in Albrechtshalle café on Friday at 8 pm. She will present her new book called ‘The life with Zawada’.
Another accompanying event will be Lądek’s Namche Bazaar (which takes the name from the village in north-eastern Nepal the gateway to the high Himalaya), visitors will find there variety of exotic handmade goods form India, Nepal and Tibet. Apart from the bazaar it will not lack the of HiMountain’s products. This company is our main sponsor.

During the MFR new disciplines of extreme sports are going to be present. The visitors will be able to see slackline and treeclimbing shows. Slackliners and arborists promised, that participants of MFR can also have a try in both disciplines.
On the other hand for all anxious souls there will be workshops and presentation of tai chi technique. If it is not enough, there will be possibility to take a walk among new curative tracks around the health resort, which will be opened on Sunday.

There will variety of attractions we have made up, so everyone who has even small bond with mountains is going to be satisfied.

More information find on website www.przeglad.ladek.pl

* Mountain Film Festivals :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• International Climbers’ Festival – Lander, Wyoming
• Trento Film Festival.
• Krakow Mountain Film Festival.
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

** Previous story  :  – Mountain Film Festivals

XIV Przegląd Filmów Górskich im. Andrzeja Zawady.

Już po raz czternasty Centrum Kultury i Rekreacji w Lądku Zdroju organizuje Przegląd Filmów Górskich im. Andrzeja Zawady. Tegoroczna edycja odbędzie w dniach 18-20 września 2009 w kilku obiektach tego pięknego uzdrowiskowego kurortu.

Tradycyjnie, główna jego część będzie miała miejsce w Kinoteatrze, gdzie wyemitowane zostaną wszystkie festiwalowe filmy i zaprezentowane diaporamy. Warto zwrócić uwagę, że najciekawsze filmowe propozycje zza granicy pochodzą z festiwalu w Kendal. Jak co roku, pokazany zostanie bogaty zestaw diaporam, tym razem będzie ich 7!

W Kinoteatrze również funkcjonować będzie główne biuro przeglądu. W ramach części muzycznej lądecki Amfiteatr Zdrojowy w sobotni wieczór gościć będzie supergwiazdę z Republiki Czeskiej, czyli funkowo-rockowe “-123 Min.”. Jeszcze tego samego wieczoru w chacie góralskiej przy ośrodku Geovita w ramach festiwalowych peregrynacji muzycznych i tanecznych zagra kolejna odjazdowa kapela.

Jednym z ważniejszych, “niefilmowych” punktów programu, jest spotkanie z Anną Milewską, znaną aktorką, żoną Andrzeja Zawady. Wieczór autorski odbędzie się w zdrojowej kawiarni “Albrechtshalle” pierwszego dnia przeglądu o godz. 20.00. Spotkanie promować ma ostatnią książkę Anny Milewskiej, “Życie z Zawadą”.

Inną pozafilmową propozycją organizatorów jest “Lądeckie Namche Bazar” (nazwa od nepalskiej miejscowości, która jest ostatnią osadą w drodze na Mount Everest), czyli targowe miasteczko, w którym będzie można nabyć egzotyczne wyroby z Indii, Chin, Nepalu i Tybetu. Poza tym wschodnim bazarem nie zabraknie oczywiście stoiska firmy “HiMountain”, głównego sponsora imprezy.

Jako nowości w świecie sportów ekstremalnych zaprezentowane zostaną pokazy slackline i freetree. Linoskoczkowie i arboryści obiecali, że będzie można w obu tych dyscyplinach spróbować własnych sił. Natomiast dla wszystkich niespokojnych dusz przewidzieliśmy pokazy i warsztaty tai chi. Jeśli jednak tai chi nie uspokoi duszy, będzie można wybrać się na spacer nowymi Trasami Kuracyjnymi, których oficjalne otwarcie planujemy w festiwalową niedzielę.

Atrakcji przygotowanych przez lądeckie Centrum Kultury będzie sporo. Każdy zatem, kto choć w niewielkiej mierze czuje więź z górami, znajdzie podczas festiwalu coś dla siebie.

Więcej informacji o Przeglądzie Filmów Górskich im. Andrzeja Zawady w Lądku Zdroju na stronie: www.przeglad.ladek.pl.

Festiwale filmów górskich :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• International Climbers’ Festival – Lander, Wyoming
• Trento Film Festival.
• Krakow Mountain Film Festival.
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

*Zobacz inne posty o festiwalach : – Mountain Film Festivals

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

zapraszam do subskrypcji mego bloga

Zapraszamy na pełną niespodzianek górską WYCIECZKĘ BEZ PROGRAMU !!!

Wycieczka bez programu – górska wycieczka w stylu retro z przewodnikami i muzyką (we współpracy z Muzeum Tatrzańskim i TOPR)
13 września 2009, godz. 10.00-18.00

WYCIECZKI BEZ PROGRAMU pomysłu Tytusa Chałubińskiego.
Jednym z najznamienitszych spośród ówczesnych turystów tatrzańskich był Tytus Chałubiński (1820-1889), nazywany z racji znajomości gór „królem Tatr”. Chałubiński rozwinął, podpatrzony u ks. Stolarczyka, styl wielodniowych wypraw w Tatry w towarzystwie wielu przewodników tatrzańskich i swoich przyjaciół. Nazwał je „wycieczkami bez programu”, bo dopiero w górach wybierał cel wyprawy, w zależności od pogody, fantazji i umiejętności uczestników. Tak opisał nastrój tych wypraw: „…Idziemy systematycznie, wolno, ale za to z bardzo krótkimi odpoczynkami. Prawie o zachodzie słońca jesteśmy dobrze nad granicą lasów, w długiej, już prawdziwie alpejskiej dolinie, wiodącej do przełęczy zwanej „Polskim Grzebieniem”. Nie troszczymy się wiele, że wieczór zapada. Droga wprawdzie długa, ale dobrze znajoma, nawet bardzo wygodna; zresztą mamy jakąś szansę oświetlenia księżycowego, choć niebo nie zupełnie jest czyste. W najgorszym razie, na przypadek ciemności lub niepogody, będziemy nocować gdziekolwiek bądź, byle jeszcze w krainie kosodrzewiny. Mamy namiot, zapasy, orkiestrę i śpiewaków, a powietrze „Wierchów” już czarodziejski wpływ swój wywiera”( Tytus Chałubiński, Sześć dni w Tatrach, w: „Pamiętnik Towarzystwa Tatrzańskiego”, 1879, s. 49). Chałubiński chodził w góry z wieloma góralami, „rasowymi” przewodnikami tatrzańskimi jak Jędrzej Wala, Maciej Gąsienica-Sieczka, Szymon Tatar, Wojciech Roj i innymi, ale zabierał także „chłopów pod torbę” – liczną grupę tragarzy wysokogórskich oraz muzykantów, ze słynnym Bartłomiejem „Bartusiem” Obrochtą na czele. Towarzyszył mu też w tych wyprawach Jan Krzeptowski Sabała, który wieczorem, przy huczącej watrze, miał w zwyczaju grać na „złóbcokach”, a następnie, ku uciesze gości, opowiadać różne tatrzańskie legendy i swoje wspomnienia myśliwskie. Górale chętnie tańczyli przy watrze, a zdarzyło się kiedyś, że słynnego „zbójnickiego” zatańczyli specjalnie dla Chałubińskiego na Lodowym Wierchu. Nocowano w czasie tych wypraw zwykle przy ognisku, w tatrzańskich kolebach, albo pod gołym niebem. Nic dziwnego, że te romantyczne wyprawy Chałubińskiego miały liczne grono zwolenników, których „jegomość Ałubiński”, jak zwykli mówić o nim górale, zabierał latem w góry.

Chałubiński bywał z góralami na większości odwiedzanych w tym okresie szczytów tatrzańskich. Miał też „żyłkę” rasowego taternika i szukał w górach swoich własnych, a wcześniej nie uczęszczanych lub rzadko odwiedzanych, dróg skalnych (tekst: Wojciech Sztkowski)
Zapraszamy na podobną wycieczkę.
Stroje z epoki szczególnie mile widziane.

Wśród niespodzianek: niezwykłe historie, muzyka, poczęstunek i…

Prawdopodobny plan wycieczki:
godz. 10.00 – zbiórka w Kuźnicach (Yurtabar)
ok. godz. 12.00 – posiady na Hali Kondratowej
(możliwość powrotu na Klatówki, gdzie o 14.00
Prawa Człowieka w Górach – prawa dzieci w Ameryce Południowej)
ok. godz. 13.00 – wymarsz osób krzepkich na dalszą część wycieczki

Więcej na www.spotkania.zakopane.pl

Festiwale filmów górskich :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• International Climbers’ Festival – Lander, Wyoming
• Trento Film Festival.
• Krakow Mountain Film Festival.
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

*Zobacz inne posty o festiwalach : – Mountain Film Festivals

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

zapraszam do subskrypcji mego bloga

Mark your calendars!
2009 Zakopane – 5th Mountain Film Festival
10th to 13th September 2009 in Zakopane, Poland.

Film & Foto Competition 5th Mountain Film Festival.

Zakopane Mountain Film Festival Association announces the following competitions:

5th International Mountain Film Competition and 3rd International Mountain Photography Competition ‘Space of Life’. The deadline for sending all entries is 30th and 15th June 2009.

The winners will be announced during 5th Mountain Film Festival, which takes place from 10th to 13th September 2009 in Zakopane, Poland.

5th Mountain Film Competition
Films produced after 30th September 2007 are eligible for the competition. Entries may include: feature films, documentaries, cartoons and all other films thematically linked to the mountains. The films may portray various mountaineering activities (e.g.: climbing or skiing), promote environmental aspects, report on social and political issues or other. The films admitted to the competition will be judged by a Jury composed of three representatives. The winner will be awarded The Grand Prix of Mountain Film Festival “Great Wooden Mountain” worth 3 800 PLZ. There are four additional special prizes founded by the Major of City of Zakopane, Tatra National Park Director, Tatra Mountains Rescue Team, Tatry Monthly, Youth Jury and our Audience.

3rd International Mountain Photography Competition ‘Space of Life’
The topic of this competition are mountains, mountain nature and people who live in the mountains. This year formula has been changed – there are no more thematic categories, but free interpretation of the topic of mountains understood as “Space of Life”. Both professionals and amateurs can take part in the competition. The Grand Prix is 3 000 PLZ. Additional prizes are founded by the Major of City of Zakopane, Tatra National Park Director, Tatra Mountains Rescue Team, Tatry Monthly, Youth Jury and by our Audience.

Regulations and entry forms can be downloaded from “Mountain Film Competition” and “Mountain Photography Competition” headings, which are at the top of our website.

Don’t miss it!

* oficial site : – Zakopane Mountain Film Festival

** Mountain Film Festivals :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• International Climbers’ Festival – Lander, Wyoming
• Trento Film Festival.
• Krakow Mountain Film Festival.
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

** Previous story  :  – Mountain Film Festivals

RUSZYŁY KONKURSY !

Stowarzyszenie Spotkania z Filmem Górskim ogłasza konkursy:

5. Międzynarodowy Konkurs Filmu Górskiego oraz 3. Międzynarodowy Konkurs Fotografii Górskiej „Przestrzeń Życia”.

Terminy nadsyłania prac upływały 30 i 15 czerwca. W obu konkursach do wygrania Grand Prix.

Rozstrzygnięcie nastąpi podczas 5. Spotkań z Filmem Górskim, które odbędą się w dniach 10-13 września w Zakopanem.

5. Spotkania z Filmem Górskim – Weź udział w warsztatach.

V Spotkania z Filmem Górskim w tym roku proponują dwa bardzo różne warsztaty filmowe.

WARSZTAT I
Autorski  Warsztat Filmu Krótkiego
6-9 września 2009

Prowadzący:
Krzysztof Kokoryn
Wojciech Kliczka
Każdy uczestnik musi posiadać  kamerę cyfrową (może być amatorska). W warsztacie weźmie udział 6 osób. Zgłoszenia prosimy przesyłać do 3.09.2009 na adres: biuro@spotkania.zakopane.pl
Koszt: 350 zł (cena obejmuje udział w zajęciach i 3 noclegi w Zakopanem)

WARSZTAT II
Warsztaty Filmu Dokumentalnego
(jak pracować  z kamerą i jak rozmawiać  z przed kamerą)
10-11 września 2009

Prowadzący:
Anna Pietraszek
Rafał Szendzielarz
Każdy uczestnik powinien posiadać kamerę cyfrową (może być amatorska). Zgłoszenia prosimy przesyłać do 5.09.2009 na adres: biuro@spotkania.zakopane.pl
Koszt: 200 zł (cena obejmuje udział w warsztatach i 2 noclegi
ograniczona liczba miejsc)
Koszt: 100 zł (cena obejmuje tylko udział w warsztatach)

Więcej na www.spotkania.zakopane.pl

Serdecznie zapraszamy
Kontakt: biuro@spotkania.zakopane.pl

Wpłaty na konto:
Spotkania z Filmem Górskim
ul. Droga na Buńdówki 13
34-500 Zakopane
64 1240 5165 1111 0000 5224 9695

International Alliance for Mountain Film.

W roku 2009 nasz festiwal został doceniony przez międzynarodową organizację – International Alliance for Mountain Film, która przyjęła nas w poczet swoich członków. IAMF zrzesza największe i najważniejsze festiwale filmów górskich na świecie. Są to min. festiwale w : austriackim Graz, słowackim Popradzie, bułgarskim Bansko, kanadyjskim Banff, francuskim Autrans, niemieckim Tagernsee, włoskim Trento i w Turynie, hiszpańskim Torello, szwajcarskim Les Diablerets i Lugano, amerykańskim Taos oraz w Moskwie.

Więcej informacji dotyczących International Alliance for Mountain Film na stronie:

-  International Alliance for Mountain Film.

Festiwale filmów górskich :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• International Climbers’ Festival – Lander, Wyoming
• Trento Film Festival.
• Krakow Mountain Film Festival.
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

*Zobacz inne posty o festiwalach : – Mountain Film Festivals

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

zapraszam do subskrypcji mego bloga

Synopsis: Time-Rift

    Throughout history, scholars, anthropologists, historians and adventurers have written numerous stories about lost continents and ancient civilizations.  Some from a historical point of view, others from speculation, and others from earlier scribes who painstakingly etched their history on tablets that were later transcribed and became the written works that were handed down from one generation to another. The historical references imbedded in this novel are not those of the author, but the words of these earlier scribes.
    This novel is a work of fiction based on the premise of “What If?”
    What if what they say is true that a little more than 12,000 years ago a large continent, with all its sacred temples, palaces, centers of Law, ceremonial altars and citizens, vanished in a vortex of fire and water and sank beneath the depths of the Pacific taking 64,000,000 souls with it?  Or, that it is written on the Naacal Tablets, ancient Mayan books as well as legends and inscriptions of other countries that on this land lived a technologically superior civilization that preceded all other civilizations. But on that day, 12 millenniums ago, it plunged into the sea leaving behind remnants of what once was.  Or that Easter Island, Tahiti, Samoas, Cook, Tongus, Marshall , Gilbert, Caroline, Mariannas, Marquesas, and the Hawaiian Islands all stand as pathetic fingers to a once proud continent? 
    If so, then what if now, in this present time, these islands are unknowingly keeping watch over a silent grave, where it has been resting for centuries undisturbed, so deep within the shadows of the Pacific, waiting? —until Trisha.   

        *Excerpts and reviews of all my novels can be viewed on my website: http://elenadb.home.comcast.net.
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Rift/dp/B000JMKN2Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249237582&sr=1-4

Reviews:

Time-Rift
By Elena Dorothy Bowman
ISBN# 1-59431-516-0
Write Words Inc./ebooksonthe.net

Review from Mystery Fiction Network
Genre:  Fantasy Romance

     With a desire to learn as much as she could about the ancient people of Mu and if the Hawaiian Islands could be a remnant, Trisha Holden returned home to immerse herself in old legends. This takes her into the waters around the islands to explore and learn with an old friend named Martin who was native to the islands.  Martin teaches her the old myths and legends connecting Hawaii to Mu. Can there really be a connection? Could any of this be true.  
    Going against all warnings not to dive alone, Trisha takes her boat out and dives.  A seaquake traps her and she thinks she will die after running out of air. On awakening, she finds herself trapped in a bubble with descendants of Mu.  There will be no escape for the Pacific Ocean rolls restlessly overhead.
    She is taken under the wing of a man named Kan who is the High Priest of this remnant of Mu. Trisha vows she will return to her home as she does not intend to remain a prisoner below the ocean even though Kan tells her that this could get her killed.  With this threat and the discovery that she has earned the enmity of the high priestess, Trisha explores and tries to learn how she might escape. That the bubble that has so long preserved its people shows signs of weakening is not encouraging either. 
    A fun read by talented author Elena Dorothy Bowman that reintroduces us to old legends of the lost continent of Mu which serves as a setting where well drawn characters work out their destinies.  Excitement and menace serve to capture your attention.  Recommended for any fantasy or romance fan who enjoy something different.  Enjoy.  I did.
                                                                                                                                                    –Anne K. Edwards Mystery Fiction Network

Review from Once Upon A Romance
Genre/Sub-genre: Paranormal Romance

    Trisha Holden likes nothing better than to swim the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean searching for lost treasure. As part of her archeology research, Trisha scours the ocean looking for indicators of Hawaii ’s lost civilization. The stories that Martin, an old family friend, tells her of the lost civilization on Mu fascinate her. Twelve thousand years ago Mu disappeared under the sea. Is it just a legend or much more than that?
    The other thing that interests Trisha is why normally solid airstrips are reported as moving, the water is warmer then normal and the ocean floor is suddenly stirred up. What is going on? Trisha soon finds out when she is caught up in an under water earthquake that sucks her into the lost undersea world of Mu.
    As the sea floor opens up and she is thrust in the beautiful submerged world of Mu, Trisha is stunned. What she always hoped existed is actual fact. Mu is an island trapped beneath a transparent water-sky, energy field the holds the Pacific Ocean back. The other thing that surprises her is the inhabitants. They are smart, cultured, beautiful people who can read her mind.
    When Trisha meets the High Priest Kan, she knows she has met him before normal land. What is he doing in the underwater world of Mu and why is he telling her she can never leave? He left why can’t she? And why is he denying otherwise? But that is not Trisha’s only problem. Myaculi, the High Priestess, is not happy the Kan her betrothed is taking such an interest in the unwelcome terrestrial. Beware the woman scorned.
    It’s a fascinating concept to think of an ancient society existing unknown under the sea. Time-Rift is a what if and why not book. What if Mu existed? What could be learnt from this world? Although, in a lot of ways, the society of Mu is described in futuristic terms, there is also ancient rituals like sacrifices and cruel punishments. You can see why the character of Trisha, an archeologist is so caught up in learning what she can.
    Time-Rift is full of jealousy and vengeance. It is romantic and sweet. There is also a strong historical emphasis on Hawaiian legends which I found interesting. There is also the fear of what happens to an old society when faced with an outsider coming in. Concepts like greed and disease compete with one society’s survival.
    I found the romance between Trisha and Kan happened very quickly without the usual, hoped for build up of tension and awareness. I realize love happen quickly and maybe love underwater is even quicker but I was a little disappointed. 

Time-Rift is interesting. I have never read anything like it before. That makes it a refreshing read.                                                                                                                                                        — Janet Davies – Once Upon A Romance

I promised a friend of mine that I would go to church today, so I picked a 7 PM evening service and in the meantime, I’ve been playing an online game called Sorcery Quest (but they only give you 20 minutes a day to play! Boo!) and listening to those apologetics lectures that I ordered. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I don’t want to church but would rather stay home and play Sorcery Quest and listen to apologetics lectures instead.

One of those 3 activities is not like the others.

Which one doesn’t belong?

• Playing Sorcery Quest
• Listening to apologetics lectures
• Singing in church

I’ll tell you which one doesn’t belong: singing in church. Because that’s for girls.

That’s right, I said it. Singing is for girls. But Sorcery Quest and apologetics is for boys.

Sorcery Quest

Let’s take a look at the blurb on the Sorcery Quest web site and see what Sorcery Quest is about.

Here’s the web site blurb:

Create a group of adventurers and embark on a fantastic journey where you will fight evil monsters and gain experience, find treasures, gold and fame, create your own guild, and, if you dare, enter the arena and challenge other players!

Here is a promotional video:

Here is the text from the trailer:

• Ten locations to visit
• Twenty character classes to choose from
• Over 60 unique monsters
• Collect more than 100 items
• (Fight!) Classic gameplay
• Turn-based combat
• Explore a vast world filled with treasures
• Play today for free

This is what boys like. Adventure!

Christian apologetics

Now I’ll write up a similar blurb for Christian apologetics.

• Hundreds of universities, workplaces and restaurants to visit
• Dozens of arguments to choose from across various academic disciplines
• Hundreds of unique monsters, including university professors, feminists, fascists, Hollywood celebrities, left-wing journalists and village atheists
• Collect thousands of magical books, debates, and lectures
• Classic gameplay – gain experience, build your skills and assemble a team of brave adventurers to wage war on evil behind enemy lines
• Turn-based combat
• Explore a vast universe filled with powerful, effective scientific and historical evidence
• Play today for free

I could go on and on about how exciting defending the faith is! Apologetics is something that boys like as much as they like Sorcery Quest or reading the Lord of the Rings. Adventure! In fact, Lee Strobel’s new book is all about public, personal apologetics being adventurous!

The feminized church

Now here’s a similar blurb for the feminized church, which is nothing like either Sorcery Quest, or Christian apologetics. (Note: this is exaggerated for effect)

• Never learn any of the excellent reasons why the Bible is reliable or trustworthy, or even how to test its claims
• Believe things without anyone explaining why you should believe them
• Avoid discussing the evil happening in the world, and don’t make plans to do anything about it
• Avoid discussing anti-Christian, anti-liberty policies being enacted by Obama
• Help people to feel comfortable with their lack of engagement by talking about the weather, television shows and movies
• Avoid hurting people’s feelings by expressing your views, or worse, by disagreeing with them
• Sit next to screaming babies who need their diapers changed
• Sing songs about your emotions with a crowd of strangers who will never talk to you about anything interesting
• Have your aggressive male nature and apologetics knowledge suppressed by stuffy, insecure church pastors
• After the sermon, hear about everyone else’s home renovations, children’s graduations and vacation plans

And so on… (add yours in the comments). This is just not going to attractive for boys. We want danger! Adventure! Collecting things! Exploring! Fighting! Winning! Scoring points! But all of that is forbidden in the feminized church.

So, this whole feminized church thing no good for boys.

Fortunately, the church I have to go to is far away so it will be a long drive – which is dangerous. I drive a triple-black convertible roadster – which is dangerous. And the friend who asked me to go to church is a wood-elf Princess – so that’s a quest. (She lines in a rural area, and so I can plausibly imagine that she is an elf). And she already has a reward for me, (a book of some sort, autographed), – that’s a treasure. She may also give me some of the magical elven food that she makes.

So, that’s something, at least. With a little imagination, church could be fun for me.

Maybe something exciting will happen to me on the way to church? A dragon could attack me and I could defeat him and steal his treasure. Maybe a magical sphinx will appear and refuse to let me into the church unless I answer 3 riddles? Why can’t church be more adventurous like that? Why can’t I ever disagree with people in church? Why can’t the whole church ever watch a debate? Why can’t I learn something that I can actually use to fight and win over non-Christians? Why can’t we link what the pastor says with the real world?

My visit to church

I’m back! I got there a half-hour early. The minister was a Reformed Baptist (I’m not a Calvinist, though) and he preached on the meaning of the ordinance of eating bread and wine, i.e. – Communion. And it was great because he explained what an ordinance was, and what a sacrament was, and he occasionally compared the Protestant beliefs with the Catholic beliefs about Communion. But he didn’t try to talk about any evidence for who was right, he just said that different people have different opinions – like tastes in food I suppose.

All the songs were about what God has done, nothing about how we feel about him. So that was good. I even sang “Crown him with many crowns” very quietly. (I sat at the back where no one would notice me). Nobody raised their hands during worship. So that was good. Raising your hands and stuff is just weird, because it just is! Weird! So the worship was right on target.

I took tons of notes. He used 1 Corinthians 10 and 11. Everybody knows that 1 Corinthians is one of Paul’s angry letters, like Galatians. Paul seems to take theology and apologetics so seriously, much more seriously than Christians in church today.

It was a communion service. He told us what we should be thinking about when we take communion (the bread and wine) and what we should not think about. He explained why this was a very serious thing to participate in. This part was really awesome! Because it was judgmental.

You guys can e-mail me if you want to know who the pastor was. You’ll recognize his name for certain if I tell you.

I went into the church book store, and they had an apologetics section with old-earth books, intelligent design books, William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland and Lee Strobel. AND THEY HAD DEBATES ON DVD WITH RICHARD DAWKINS AND CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS!!!!!! I took pictures of them with my cell phone! But the theology section was all filled with Calvinism, of course, but I can’t help that. The book store was huge.

My Dad is also very happy that I went to church. I usually only go about once a quarter these days. Normally I go to a non-Reformed Baptist church.

What I thought of going to church

Now nothing I learned today was useful for engaging non-Christians in public, but I learned lots of other new things. It’s important to compare different beliefs and say who is right and who is wrong, and why. He didn’t explain any of the why – no evidence was discussed for anything he said. But arguments and evidence is what makes Christianity interesting!

I do think that churches need to have the occasional service taught by a scholar on an apologetics topic, once a quarter. I insist that it be to the entire church. If only someone could come in and explain to them about the kalam argument, the fine-tuning, the origin of life, the fossil record, irreducible complexity, the moral argument, consciousness, the problem of suffering, the hiddenness of God, the fate of the unevangelized, postmodernism, and middle knowledge.

And they need to cover the minimal facts case for the resurrection once a quarter in the normal service. And they’ll need to talk about abortion, marriage, persecution of Christians abroad, and other issues like that. If you don’t talk about the evidence pro and con, because you are afraid of upsetting the people who are there to have emotional experiences, then you run the risk that people will begin to believe that religion is divorced from truth. That’s what I mean when I say “the feminized church”. When you don’t link it to the evidence in the real world, people think that it’s not real.

How I would fix the church

I am sponsoring a couple of events next year where Greg Koukl will be speaking and he will be allowed to address the entire congregation in two Sunday services. Also, I am sponsoring another event where he will debate in a church. That’s all I wanted! As long as all the people who attend the church get the idea that Christianity is about the real world, and that it’s OK to ask questions, then I am happy. And I have a plan I am executing to help churches be more focused on truth and apologetics.

Right now, we have a shortage of young people, especially men, attending church. My recommendation is that pastors immediately begin involving apologetics material in their main Sunday sermons. And I do mean EVIDENTIAL apologetics, not pre-suppositionalism. Young people who see evidence from the world being discussed in the main church service will get the message that the claims of Christianity are objective, and testable. Right now, the reason they are dropping out is that they are not seeing that Christianity is objectively true.

Personal preferences and feelings cannot be debated. But truth claims can be debated, and that’s adventurous and dangerous.

Further study

• does the Bible teach that faith is opposed to logic and evidence?
• the six enemies of apologetic engagement
• why men flee the feminized church
• why won’t Christians defend their faith in public?

Despite sunrise, the adventurers awake to a cloudy and drizzly morning. The rain has already begun to hide evidence of the previous days’ altercation.

“It doesn’t look like there’s much else here for us to do,” Soulstar comments.

“Does this mean we have to go back and get McSmash?” Uta asks while stretching her dwarven body.

“We should probably make sure he’s doing okay…and still there,” Cael replies. It doesn’t take long for the trio to pack up their belongings and head back to town. The Nentir Inn looks suspiciously empty for being lunchtime, and it isn’t until Erandil frantically approaches them that they understand why.

“Yer friend has been screaming bloody murder about dark magic and evil skulls. He’s scaring off me customers! I hate ter do this te ye, but until ye figger dis out he needs te go.”

One look at the customers who remain only attest to her claim. They seem fidgety and nervously look away when any one of them tries to meet their eyes.

“I knew he should have let me hung on to that skull,” Soulstar mutters under his breath.

“Alright, let’s go get him,” Cael sighs. Before being successfully escorted out by his companions, McSmash manages to smuggle away a shower curtain, some soap and towels all the while spewing out phrases like ‘murder skull’ and ‘hell’s crypt’.

“Alright Tourette’s Boy, what’s been going on since we left?” Soulstar asks plainly.

“I’ve been having dreams…nightmares about the skull. The one we found and…and one that looks very similar to it, but isn’t it. Then I’ve been having flashes between a battle between some kind of Necromancer and a person of Pelor; a specific man who has a scar over his right eye and a black crystal talisman; then there’s this hill sparsely surrounded by trees and these giant stone pillars; and lastly some sort of a hero’s tomb. Everything mostly is jumbled together and dark,” McSmash manages to sensibly describe the visions.

“This battle you speak of, I’m sure I know of it. Legends tell us that there were once three heroes who defeated Vecna and separated his mystical blade into three parts and took a piece of it with them. I’m positive that the tomb in your dream belongs to one of these heroes,” Soulstar authoritatively states.

Without warning, McSmash turns towards the townspeople milling about and screams “Anybody know where some giant ass stone pillars are erected? Anybody? Hey, you over there…”

“Gentle townspeople, please ignore our comrade here. Someone’s slipped him a bit of a hallucinogenic and what you are seeing are the effects of that. Please do not be alarmed, no need to call the guards, we have it under control. Yes, thank you for your understanding, so very sorry for his outburst,” Soulstar’s soothing words have an immediate effect on the people who simply turn away from the group and continue about their business. As the crowd disperses, Cael notices someone in the crowd.

“Excuse me, sorry for the abruptness, but you seem as if you know the answer to my friend’s question,” Cael says.

The halfling jumps back, startled and narrows his eyes. “That’s a rather random question to begin a conversation with.”

“Which is why I apologized for the abruptness. Do you happen to know anything of value?”

“…I probably shouldn’t tell you, but yes, I do know something. A few miles north of Fallcrest there is a hero who was buried in a great tomb. There’s nothing much of note there; little vegetation; but the stone pillars, they are there. They seem to encircle something. Nobody knows what, not many dare approach the area; it’s rumored to be haunted. It’s also rumored that part of….” here the halfling lowers his voice and his eyes to almost a whisper “…Vecna’s sword can be found there.”

“Thank you for the information,” Soulstar says, dropping 4 gold pieces into the halfling’s hand. “Is there anything else we should know before taking our leave?”

“Like I said, not many dare to go there. Maybe a goblin or two you will find, but most likely nothing human…ish.”

“ARE YOU LYING?!” McSmash rails in the halfling’s face.

Pursing his lips, Sousltar smiles at the halfling and says “Medication, still wearing off. Next time we’ll have to watch how much he takes. Nasty side effects he’s having.”

The halfling glowers at McSmash and sneers “Who the hell do you think you are? You should shut your big mouth and leave the talking to your friends.”

“Oh…oh…sorry. Here, have some soap. You look kind of dirty,” McSmash apologizes, handing over some of the contraband from the inn. Upon leaving, Uta and Soulstar notice the halfling roll his eyes and immediately chuck the ‘presents’ into the nearest canister.

“On to the captain then? I’m sure he will have some more information for us,” Soulstar suggests. The captain has been quietly snoozing at his desk; the past few days have been uninteresting…except for that call about the dragon at the Nentir Inn. At the sound of footsteps approaching the captain winks open an eye and his whole countenance brightens at the sight of the adventurers.

“Ah, friends! So happy to see you again! Congratulations on your successful raid against the bandits and their leader. I must pass on to you that the local merchants are extremely happy to hear that the roads are clear again for them to travel without fear. They hold you all in the highest regard. May I ask what your next enterprise might be?”

“We need some information on the Gray Downs.”

“Hrm. Rumors is mostly all I know, nothing else. Tales of it being haunted and whatnot. I doubt though that a few ghost stories would scare you four off though!” the captain chuckles to himself and then leans forward with his hands folded together. “Seriously though, it’s probably about a day, day and a half journey alongside the Winter River. Once it starts to look a little barren, you’ll want to head northeast. Bring plenty of water and food, there isn’t much, if anything, to hunt up that way.”

“Thank you, you’re always a big help.”

“My pleasure! Can’t wait to hear how things go when you return!” Before leaving the group takes the captain’s advice and stock up on at least a week’s worth of food and water. It is mid-afternoon by the time they start their trek and by dusk they have reached the fork in the river.

“Do we want to make camp or try and find our way in the dark?” Cael asks.

“I vote for camp, me legs are killing me!” Uta exclaims.

“I think I need a bath,” Soulstar replies.

“DEVIL HEAD SKULL…gentle…gentle…MURDEROUS BASTARDS!” McSmash mumbles.

“I think that’s a vote for make camp.” With the exception of McSmash’s whimperings and slight outbursts, the night passes without worry. At dawn the group once again packs up their gear and get ready to head out. McSmash and Cael share a confused look at their surroundings as Uta and Soulstar determine the subtle differences in the landscape.

“It looks like the vegetation begins to wear thing about here,” Uta points out.

“I agree. Is anyone else feeling thirstier? I’m just parched,” Soulstar pants.

“Good thing you got some extra water, looks like you need it.”

As the wooded area becomes more and more sparse, the landscape opens up into a large field. There are a handful of large trees to the east and west and smaller boulders; the first thing they note though is the presence of rusted weapons and shields jutting out of the ground. If one let their imagination go, they could probably envision the fallen bodies spread across, their arms reaching out towards the survivors, hoping to pull them down to Hell with them. Along with the ancient weaponry, there’s some sort of an aura about the field that both compels and repels the group. They find themselves drawn closer to the center of the field but at the same time their movements seem sluggish and slow, as if whatever is waiting for them wants them to take their time getting there.

“Does any of this look familiar to you?” Soulstar asks.

“…a little bit. I’m not sure where exactly the tomb is, that part is pretty fuzzy. DARK..DARK MAGIC…DARKNESS! Possibly a crypt in a cave?” McSmash replies.

The magical aura appears to be emanating strongest from the stone pillars on the southeast side of the field. Close by the pillars is a small pond, but the rest of the field is dead grass and bodies.

“Those are new, right?” Uta asks, pointing at a rising figure by the pillars.

“I’d say so,” Cael replies. Four Wraiths materialize around the pillars, a mix of zombies and skeletons stand several feet in front of the pillars while a Famine Hound stands alone at the southwest edge.

“Alrighty then. Pelor Almighty, bless our fight and guide our weapons into sure victory for you,” Soulstar prays. A translucent light beams from Soulstar and hovers over the companions.

“Dey haven’t seen us yet. Te keep it dat way, I’ll throw me hammer at dat one,” Uta declares, pointing at the closest zombie. Uta digs out a small throwing hammer and plants herself firmly before heaving it overhead. The group watches the hammer come into contact with the zombie who simply shakes its head and garbles unintelligibly. Cael and Soulstar inch their way forward as McSmash aims his crossbow at the same zombie. The zombie doesn’t even flinch as the bow whizzes by his rotting ear.

Now that they got his attention, Uta feels comfortable in getting a little closer. She stands a few feet apart from Cael and Soulstar and once again hits the zombie with her hammer. If they hadn’t have heard the crack of stone on bones nobody would have known the zombie was hit; his rotting corpse refused to fall apart under Uta’s assault. “What exactly is holding ye tegether? Yer barely skin and bones!”

From the other corner of the field another zombie rushes up to Cael and Uta and issues forth a putrid fume.

“Oh sick! Get away!” Cael yells; her dagger manages to loosen some of the intact organs, but the zombie doesn’t notice. The original zombie teeters its way to behind Cael and raises its arms. Screaming “HUG!” in a garbled throaty voice, it tries to hug Cael but fails when its left arm dislocates itself. “Have I ever mentioned how much I hate zombies?”

Over by the pillars, the skeletons have caught wind of the intruders. In sync they back up a little closer to the pillars and shoot their crossbows; two of them give high-fives for hits and immediately point and shake their bony fingers at the two who missed. Meanwhile the Famine Hound decides to join in the fray and hones in on Uta. His skeletal jaw oozes some weird slobber on her and his decalcified teeth sink into her armor. The Famine Hound is disappointed to find that his bite is indeed less fierce than his bark.

“Pelor, I invoke thee with light!” Soulstar raises his arms and closes his eyes. A piercing white light bursts from the sky and sears the small cluster of undead. The zombie who previously tried to hug Cael staggers for a moment and is hit with the effects of ignoring Uta’s taunting words earlier. More of his body quickly rots and slides off his frame leaving him weaker. McSmash has taken a decidedly different route than his fellow combatants. While they have made the battle come to them, he has snuck up closer to the stone pillars. From one of the few trees McSmash finds himself a nice cover and sets up his crossbow. There is no warning for Cael and Uta as one of the zombies’ heads inexplicably explodes.

“Ye should really have a set of fightin’ clothes when ye go out with McSmash. Ye have a way of attractin’ zombie guts on ye,” Uta jokes as Cael pulls an ‘ew gross’ face.

“That would probably save on cleaning bills.”

“What’sssssaniccccegirrrrllikeyouuuuudoooooingheeeeere?” a Wraith whispers into Cael’s ear while manifesting its arms, ready to touch. The three other Wraiths follow their sister’s suit and become a hovering black mass around Uta, Cael and Soulstar.

“Why is it always me?!” Cael exclaims.

“Because ye wear nice tings dat don’t smell like sweat and dirt,” Uta replies. “Plus, besides McSmash, yer probably the only ting dey can see, wearin’ white an’ all.”

It stuns Uta when, after smashing down her hammer, the Wraith doesn’t explode bloody goo like normal enemies, but instead dissipates. “Dat was weird. Alright ye little doggy, bet ye want a piece of me flesh, eh? Must be temptin’ seein’ a right ripe meal in front of yer eyes and ye can’t even taste me.”

At the end of Uta’s long taunt, Cael has managed to thrust her lit dagger into the Famine Hound leaving him with singed fur and less innards then before. Seeing that it couldn’t hug Cael, the zombie looks to Uta and bends over to wrap its decrepit arms around her stout body. Once again the endeavor leaves its arm limper and looser than before. Uta finds herself nicked by a couple of arrows and knocked over as the enemies renew their assault against the group. In retaliation, McSmash creeps closer to the skeletons and takes a deep breath. When he breathes an electrical current flows from his mouth and shoots up into the sky; it takes only a few seconds before the energy focuses itself and crackles directly onto two of the skeletons causing bone shrapnel to decorate the landscape. The two remaining skeletons’ bones clatter together in fright.

“Well if I didn’t get you with my lightning…let’s try this instead!” McSmash yells once again picking up his crossbow. In his excitement he forgets to accurately aim and dizzily watches his arrow fly through one of the skeleton’s sternums. “Always aim for the head because sometimes, they don’t have a heart. EVIL SKULL EVIL SKULL!”

“Pretttygirrrrl…” whispers the same Wraith who can’t seem to get a grip on Cael. At the same time Cael and Uta turn to their respective Wraiths and cause them to dissipate. The zombie takes one last stab at grabbing Uta and is elated when it picks up the heavy dwarf and its arms don’t fall off.

“How is this even possible? I’m like…five times yer size!” Uta yells in astonishment. The Famine Hound sees this as its chance to do some damage and lunges towards Uta’s legs, growling fiercely. Once again his jaws taste only the metal of her armor and manage to knock her out of the zombie’s arms, taking one of his arms off in the process. “Guess that solves one problem,” Uta remarks from the ground.

Seeing that its arms are no longer viable, the zombie thrusts itself into Uta instead. Uta heartily laughs as the zombie bounces back a few feet. “Belly full of ale one, rotting nasty zombie zero.”

On the other side of the field McSmash takes delight in destroying the remaining skeleton by him and starts skipping towards the group all the while intermittently yelling things like “MAGICAL DEATH WARD” and “IT’S IN THE TOMB…TOMB!”

Finding herself in combat advantage, Uta raises her might Maul and crushes the Famine Hound beneath it. Cael once again lights her dagger and destroys the skeleton while Soulstar’s last invocation of Pelor causes the zombie to explode in holy light.

“Aw, did I miss all the fun stuff?” McSmash jokes as he watches the last enemy die.

“It doesn’t look like der’s much here to be plunderin’,” Uta notes.

“Let’s head on over to the pillars, maybe we’ll find something more interesting over there,” Soulstar says.

There are eight stone pillars erected in a ring supporting four stone slabs to form a series of arches. In the middle of the sculptures is a stone tablet with ancient runes on it. It’s obvious from the size and setup that it is a tomb marker, but there is no tomb to be found nor any entrances.

“The aura seems to be strongest here, and yet I don’t see anything of note,” Cael says.

“Wasn’t der some sort of a cave entrance back dat way?” Uta asks, pointing to the northwest.

“These markins are very old…all I can tell for sure is that they are definitely markings of Pelor,” Soulstar remarks. He lingers for a few minutes intently studying the runes hoping that he will be able to make sense of them in the future.

“All ‘dis fightin’ makes me tired. I vote fer campin overnight again before movin’ on.”

“DARKNESS!!!!!”

“Sounds like a plan. I think McSmash here could use a break too.”

Climbing, community, parties, fun, friendly competition, learning, remembering and celebrating… These are the goals for the 16th annual International Climbers’ Festival (ICF)!

International Climbers’ Festival
Director: Lindsay Nohl
P.O. Box 1304
Lander, WY 82520
Phone: 307-349-1561
email: climbersfestival@gmail.com

*  Download the 2009 Festival program!

About The ICF :

The ICF is a non-profit organization that was started by local Lander climbers in 1993 and has been run by climbers ever since!

Lander, Wyoming is a climbing Mecca and the perfect community to host this grassroots festival. Located in central Wyoming, Lander sits at the base of the spectacular granite-filled Wind River Range, which has some of the best multi-pitch trad routes in the country. Just outside of town are the legendary sport-climbing crags of Sinks Canyon and Wild Iris, both easily accessible and with endless walls of steep limestone pockets.

We’re excited to welcome you to our town! See you in July!

- Lindsay Nohl

2009 ICF Director

For more information, click on : – http://climbersfestival.org/

Mountain Film Festivals :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• International Climbers’ Festival – Lander, Wyoming
• Trento Film Festival.
• Krakow Mountain Film Festival.
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

** Previous story  :  – http://himalman.wordpress.com/category/mountain-festival/

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

zapraszam do subskrypcji mego bloga

Johnny Strange, 17, is the youngest person to climb seven summits.

This is a first. I get to feature someone who beat the world record of another young person I featured. Samantha Larson was one of our first “Young People Who Rock.” She was then the youngest person to reach the Seven Summits at 18, an extraordinary feat. Now, Johnny Strange holds the the record.

At 17, he Johnny completed a journey he started with his dad five years ago. There is one climb per continent, including Mount Everest and Mount McKinley. His final summit climb was Australia’s 7,310-foot Mount Kosiuszko.

Johnny didn’t leave the tallest for last. He says that was because he wanted to appreciate the lone experience and not just part of the seven summit goal. At the end, he sent an email to his friends and family saying, “Never let anyone stifle your dreams no matter the feat, for if you have the heart and the courage, impossible is nothing.”

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

In February of 2000, a group of people gathered in the vaulted rooms of the Museo della Montagna in Torino, Italy to forge an alliance committed to the future of mountain film.

Not surprisingly, the individuals present were from the some of the most important mountain film festivals in the world, along with the Museo della Montagna staff. Film Festivals in Autrans, France; Banff, Canada; Cervinia, Italy; Graz, Austria; Lugano, Switzerland; Les Diablerets, Switzerland; Torello, Spain; and Trento, Italy were present at that first gathering, becoming the founding members of the alliance.

The challenge was to create an association that not only emphasized mountain film issues common to all festivals, but that also recognized and promoted the festivals’ unique qualities. After many hours of multi-lingual discussion, a number of initiatives were articulated for the group to focus on. A name was chosen – The International Alliance for Mountain Film, and the whole exercise was concluded with a wonderful Italian dinner, consumed with gusto!

Several months later, and the venue has moved a few hundred kilometres east – to the ancient city of Trento in the Italian Dolomites. Site of the oldest mountain film festival in the world, the momentum is building as a slightly extended group gathers for the second meeting of the Alliance and of course to attend the Trento festival. The new festivals at the table include Dundee, Scotland; Kendal, England; Poprad, Slovakia; Telluride, U.S.A. and Teplice in the Czech Republic. Apart from the unveiling of a new logo, the Alliance determines that one of its first priorities is to inform audiences and filmmakers about the global film festival opportunities. As well, information is shared on films, programming and technology, promotion and ticketing and funding challenges.

An agreement emerges to take every opportunity to cross-promote mountain film festivals around the world and to meet twice a year at member festival events.

For more information, click on : – http://www.mountainfilmalliance.org/

Mountain Film Festivals :

• Banff Mountain Festivals
• Dundee Mountain Film Festival
• Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival
• Fort William Mountain Film Festival
• Trento Film Festival.
• Krakow Mountain Film Festival.
• Zakopane Mountain Film Festival
• The 14th Andrzej Zawada Mountain Film Review in Lądek Zdrój

** Previous story  :  – http://himalman.wordpress.com/category/mountain-festival/

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

zapraszam do subskrypcji mego bloga

Well, I don’t know whether it is true yet but a lot of people from Ellin Forest are saying that Culverin is getting merged tommorow.

It probably is true because the price of items in FM has dropped INSANELY, they’ll be doing this to rise the prices after the merge.

Ok so it’s not happening….

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today i wore a bright pink dress with pockets and i went to the dentist. they made my nose numb. i hated it. but we went to the ~goodwill~ afterwards, and i found a dress, and a sting of pearls, and then i was happy.

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(there is paint on my hands right now. i think it’s called “winter snow” or something like that.)

(there is also a man on the television right now with a terribly funny accent, dressed up as an adventurer of sorts. i think he’s supposed to be australian. i like it. i think i need an adventurer for a story. maybe someone with a terribly fake accent, who always wears vests and amazing hats.)

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i don’t like the dentist. so i make people up in the chair while i’m there. and today, i was making someone up called “Franco,” but i wasn’t sure what his profession was. until now. he’s an adventurer with a terribly fake accent, who always wears vests and amazing hats. it all works out, eh?

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-Bella