Cliff went back to his roots, and hit the volks with the Flip Flop Paint no duplicolor spray can either!  looks killer

Chameleon Concave Stage G

Fresh Volks Stage

HELLAFLUSH Feature

And Now

George Clooney is our top tip for best actor gold.

Having won the award in 2008, for best support in Syriana, Clooney looks to update his trophy cabinet for his role in Jason Reitman’s new film Up in the Air (2009). Although I have not seen the film, as the US don’t like us, I hear its great. And I always belive what I hear.

But who does Clooney have in his way, well…Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart is drawing a hell of a lot of atention while Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Sam Rockwell (Moon) and Viggo Mortensen (The Road) all stand a chance.

P.S – Although I have tipped Clooney for this, I would like to see Rockwell grab the award. He was great in Moon.

Here are some more examples of the fantastic coloured rocks in the cliffs at South Beach, Studland, which is part of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, UK. The spectacular bright red and yellow rock strata with their natural patterns resemble great canvases of abstract art. They are further embellished with graffiti.

To see more photographs of the rocks at Studland, please click on the links below for earlier posts on the same subject in this blog:

Rainbow rocks and beach graffiti

Rainbow rocks and beach graffiti (2)

Studland rocks in autumn (1)

Views of South Beach, Studland, in November

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Esiko opened his eyes. He layed there in the glistening pool of water for a while. He thought about what had happened.

I ran straight off the barren cliff. I could see how far away it was from the ground.

How did I survive? Why is water around me? How did I get here?

Esiko stood up and surveyed the scene around him. He was standing in a pool of pure sparkling water. Healthy trees and patches of green grass were everywhere. He noticed mushrooms every now and again. A flock of birds soared into the darkening sky. The sun was setting in the distance, behind the Ketuj mountains.

He looked up behind him. The top of the cliff was barely visible, so distant from the prince.

“Goodbye Esiko!”

Esiko was suddenly alert. He remembered the terrible voice. It made him shudder. He made sure he still had everything in his small leather pouch and nothing was broken or unusable. Thankfully, everything was fine. He attached the puch back onto its holder, securely strapped to his belt. Checking it did not come loose, the young prince walked into the forest, following the small creek that connected to the pool of water he woke up in.

He walked and walked. Esiko had not encountered any danger nor any life at all. The undisturbed forest had seen no traces of human life in thousands of years. Nature had freely grown here.

The sun had gone down. The night sky was faintly visible.

Esiko knew he had to hurry. He did not know what lurked in these areas at night. He did not want to be left in the forest all night. He walked at a fast pace, not stopping to rest. He was suffering from extreme fatigue. Esiko grew tired and hungry.

He still hadn’t escaped from the overgrown woodland yet. He started to run.

He ran blindly forward.

I cannot go on forever..

The prince tripped.

He lost consciousness.

Residents of this apartment building were evacuated on Thursday evening when a big section of the cliff slid off into the ocean.  A very large  crane was moved in to lift boulders over the top of the apartment to shore up the bottom of the cliff in an attempt to stop the erosion.

Everyone was evacuated except for one kitty cat which somehow missed the evacuation deadline and was rescued by human society officers on Saturday morning.

You can see more of my photos in the Pacifica Tribune, which will be published next Wednesday.

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latvian
Meaning: “rock; cliff.”
(KLIN-tah)

The name is derived from the Latvian word klints meaning, “rock; cliff.” The designated name-day is December 18, and according to the Latvian Statistics Office, approximately 346 women in Latvia bore this name.

Excuse me for quickly jumping back to baseball…there will be no “possession analysis” in this article

In what’s likely to be the biggest event of Major League Baseball’s offseason, Seattle sent three prospects to Philly and in return got a former Cy Young winner in Cliff Lee. (The trade was more complicated and involved the Blue Jays and Athletics, but that’s the simplified version from Seattle’s perspective). It’s easy to say that the Mariners practically gave up nothing for a Cy Younger, but I want to at least give those prospects a little respect.

So here’s what the Mariners lost…

Phillipe Aumont turns 21 this January and has been in the Mariner’s organization for 2 years. Pitching nearly 107 innings between A, A+ (the higher A league) and AA ball, Aumont struck out an impressive 109 batters while starting 8 games and saving 18. His walk rate is on the high side like many young pitchers, and predicting whether or not he can change that is difficult.

Juan Ramirez’s numbers are a little less impressive, especially considering he hasn’t escaped from A ball yet. However, being a full time starter unlike Aumont, his numbers haven’t been fudged by reliever advantages.  In 342 innings, he has 297 strikeouts and a modest 2.2 K/BB ratio.

Outfielder, Tyson Gillies, turned 21 on Halloween and also hasn’t seen any action higher than A+ ball. Gillies is by no means a power hitter, but more a speed demon. He racked up 44 steals in 124 games last season in the A+ league, and turned a high percentage of balls in play into hits (BABIP). He walked a solid 60 times in 593 plate appearances, recording a 0.430 OBP. It seems like his calling is leadoff.

It doesn’t appear as though the Mariners have lost any major prospects, but still the Ms have obviously lost some depth in their lower minor leagues.

Now here’s what they get…

Cliff Lee first came up with the Cleveland Indians in 2003, and after 5 seasons of just slightly above-average pitching, he won the Cy Young in 2008. (While he finished 4^th in the Cy Young voting in 2005, luck factors were on his side, and his 18-5 record was weighted much too heavily in the voting.) Something clicked for Lee between 2007 and 2008 that lowered his walk rate and increased his groundball rate. Lowering a walk rate has an obvious impact on pitching, namely keeping people off base so they can’t score (novel concept). But what does groundball rate have to do with anything?

Lee was a flyball pitcher throughout the early years of his career, and then suddenly turned toward the groundball side of average. With that swing, his double play rate increased from about 8% to 17% in 2008, and he recorded nearly twice as many double plays as his next best season. Each double play reduces scoring potential in the inning by anywhere from .5 to 1.2 runs depending on the situation. If we assume an average of about .75 runs lost per double play, Lee’s double play spike saved him nearly a half a run on his ERA. That’s the difference between his 2.54 ERA, and a potential 3.00 (still good, but likely not good enough for the Cy Young.)

Increasing his groundball rate was also the likely culprit in his homerun reduction. During the first five years of Lee’s career, he allowed an average of 29 dingers per every 200 innings pitched. That number has quickly downshifted to about 13 in the last two seasons. A homerun is worth approximately  1.4 runs on average, so this decrease in homers allowed saved Lee nearly another run on his ERA. To summarize, keeping the ball down saved Cliff Lee about 1.5 runs on his ERA during the 2008 season.

The point I want to make is that Lee’s shift toward being a top tier pitcher was fueled not by luck, but mostly by making adjustments that he had control over. This is a good sign going forward, and Seattle can expect an ace-like season from Lee next year.

You also may remember a certain lefty that recently benefitted from the cavernous Safeco field (Washburn for those of you who are lost). His new ballpark and outfield defense will only aide Cliff Lee in having another great season. While I don’t think he is really a 2.5 ERA kind of pitcher, with average luck Lee will still likely turn in an ERA between 2.8 and 3.2 in 2010, making him a pretty damn good number 2 behind King Felix.

several years ago my friend and teacher Jonathan told me this was an ‘awareness practice’. Lately I have been aware of a lot of stress in my life and I’ve been trying to unravel it before it unravels me.

In the last few days some ‘follow the white rabbit’ moments have also taken place. An accidental email recipient who ended up being related to the primary recipient, a student wearing a watch like the one my grandmother told me a few days earlier was left to me by my grandfather, and being lost in a moment that Was at once happening now and also happened through a photo years earlier. All three incidents involved students, peers, and teachers I met on this path.

Feeling my grip tighten over the weeks from fear of falling off the edge of the cliff has closed me to the places where I experience joy. These strange moments have felt like they were thrown specifically in to my path as to cause me to trip on them.

I’m wondering if what I need now is to open my hands, fall a little, and hang on to a place with a more pleasant view. Perhaps it is my holding tightly from stress and fear that has left me with no ability to hold tightly from love and joy….

   From 1975 till 1998 the elite of the Khmer Rouge built their homes perched on the Dongriek mountains looking over Cambodia.  From the cliff face it is a 400 meter drop down to where the people live.  This mountain border forms the border to Thailand and Cambodia.  For centuries this cliff face has been the site of wars and bloodshed.  From this perch, the Khmer Rouge also planned their conquest of Cambodia and ruled over the murder and starvation of some 40% of its population. 

   It is on these mountains, a chain of nearly constant cliff faces which stretches more than 500 kilometers, that Cambodia and Thailand have recently been fighting over the Preah Vihear temple complex.  The temple complex was conquered by the Thai people in the 1700’s, but the world court gave it back to Cambodia in 1962.  In order to expel the Thai Special Forces, the Cambodian military has stationed troops and built a network of foxholes and trenches along the entire border.  Once again, this border cliff is a place of bloodshed and violence. 

The cliff side perch from where Ta Mok pondered his violence

   The most atrocious bloodbath was when the first batch of Cambodian’s escaped the Khmer Rouge and sought refuge in Thailand in the late seventies and early eighties.  The initial response of the Thai’s was to round up the Cambodians in their tens of thousands and take them to that cliff face and dump them back into Cambodian territory.  More than 100,000 Cambodians died either from the fall from the cliff, or the landmines that waited for them at the bottom.  Finally the UN intervened and the refugee camps were started along the border area.  The cliff region remained an area of constant killing and war.

   Last week, down a narrow jungle path, I knew of a historical landmark.  Few know it is there.  It is a few kilometers through the jungle, passed the unmarked grave of Pol Pot.  There is only the remains of a destroyed concrete bunker which is overgrown with trees.  As you make your way through the deep grass and trees you come to the cliff edge.  This bunker and cliff section had a previous occupant who made this his perch.   His name was Ta Mok, nicknamed “The Butcher.”  If you ask any Cambodian who is the worst killer in the world they will give you one answer: Ta Mok, “The butcher”.  If he came to your village, it would be your last day alive.  He made it his personal mission to kill every resident of Prey Veng and Svie Rieng provinces and nearly completed his task.  He was famous to killing anyone who looked at his watch or even looked him in the eyes.  He would not kill them immediately, but he would take them at the night to create more fear among the people by using night ambushes. 

   From this perch he would scheme how to conquer every corner of Cambodia.  He would sit high above the comrades of his cause, pawns in his strategy for domination of the people.  Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, were killed by him.  He died without being tried.  He was held for nearly 10 years in prison.  He was buried by his family and with full Buddhist rite, even though it was this “Butcher” who killed more than 50,000 Buddhist monks and oversaw the decimation of every temple in the land.

   On this day, this place of death stood for a different purpose.  From this perch, my friends and I stood and asked God to bless this land and to bring true peace to all the people.  From this spot of terror and death, we asked God to redeem it for his purposes.  God bless Cambodia!

The “companion” deal to send the most coveted pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay, to the Philadelphia Phillies is finally done.

The Toronto Blue Jays in turn receive three prospects from the Phightin’ Phils for Halladay. They receive the Phillies’ top pitching prospect in Kyle Drabek, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and OF Michael Taylor. The Blue Jays then swapped Taylor to Oakland for the A’s top prospect 3B Brett Wallace whom they attained from St. Louis in the Matt Holliday trade.

Now here’s the fun part.

Cliff Lee is being traded to Seattle for three prospects as well. They received RHPs Phillippe Aumont and Juan Ramirez and OF Tyson Gillies. Aumont was Seattle’s top pitching prospect. This was done in an effort by Philadelphia to bolster their depleted farm after the Halladay deal.

This trade makes the Phillies good but they would be unstoppable had they kept Cliff Lee too. However, in keeping Cliff Lee, they would be looking at a huge payroll and no farm system.

This trade takes Seattle to probably the top of the AL West. They signed Chone Figgins and now they add Cliff Lee to go with Felix Hernandez, look out AL West. The Angels are in trouble after losing John Lackey who signed a 5-year deal with the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Speaking of signing with the Red Sox, former Brewer Mike Cameron signed a 2-year deal with Boston worth $14 million.

i like to go out alone. to an isolated, withdrawn place. to wild places. places with a touch of danger, silence and anticipation. this place not even far away, an escaped bridge joining here to there, the gap uninhabited. slowly the population thins, they’re walking the other direction, and eventually it’s just me.

i love to get out to jackson’s bay sometimes, to take pictures and look at how whatever little bit of swell is breaking. there are little outcrops of rock, patches of sand, and over the years i’ve noticed the gradual erosion of the cliffs.

it’s a good place to fish too, it always has that feeling that you’re much further away from scarborough than you really are. people stand silhouette on the cliff, you can hear light murmurs of them calling the dog. people rarely come down the cliff anymore, the path is a steadily decaying muddy stream. one day the cliffs will retreat further back, pulling the path down.

and camping too, i’ve camped on these beaches many times over the years. sometimes as party’s, sometimes as a couple, sometimes alone. the sun drops away early and driftwood makes the best fires. too hot on your face, too cold on your back, there’s never a comfortable medium. camping isn’t really about comfort, it’s comfort of the soul.

i don’t think i go there enough, i don’t think anyone does.

Today the Philadelphia Phillies Did 2 things to the New York Mets and their fans.1 They got Arguably the best pitcher in baseball and 2 they blocked the New York Mets from getting him .Although  the Phillies did have to give up Cliff Lee which a lot of people consider just as good as Halladay  in doing so they blocked the Mets from getting Halladay .Now the Mets don’t have Halladay they don’t have Lee and they still don’t officially have Bay. Met fans are livid,on the Mets home radio station WFAN  in New York several very upset fans called the Mike Francesca show today and vented their frustrations.”The mets do not want to win  I don’t think the Wilpons” have it in their gut to win” stated another caller.. As if the met fans didn’t have enough problems.The only  other pitcher on the market  considered a Number 1 John Lackey singed with the Boston Red Sox for 5 yrs 85Million dollars something the mets were unwilling to do. Met fans again vented their frustrations “I hate the Wilpons” stated Paul  from Long Island  ”i should have knowned they wouldn’t be players in the Free Agent market”another caller said” I don’t  blame them  i blame  myself  for believing them”.

My Take:The New York Mets  better do something  and fast  if I was the Mets owner and General Manager I would sign Matt Holliday  if he was not available Jason Bay then sign Benji Molina and then  1  more bat  no matter  who it is as long as it’s a proven name.As for pitching  I would go after erik bedard maybe even try to stick it to the Yankees and go after Chin Ming Wang. He is coming off a bad injury however he is only  26 yrs old and he has won 19 games  2 times already in his career .This would be a move  that  the Mets would be in a no lose situation because Wang does have a up side.  The New York Mets are on borrowed time with their fans and time is running out

2008 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee

It’s being reported that the Mariners are part of a three team deal that would send Roy Halliday from Toronto to Philadelphia, and Cliff Lee from Philly to Seattle, with Toronto getting prospects from both clubs.  The Mariners would reportedly be sending pitching prospect Phillippe Aumont to the Blue Jays as part of their compensation for Halliday.  The M’s would also be sending a couple prospects to the Phillies for Lee, but it isn’t being reported who.  I would guess that Brandon Morrow would be a strong candidate to be one of those prospects.  He’s young and talented, but hasn’t really gotten it going in Seattle, where he’s been shuffled back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen.  A rotation fronted by Felix Hernandez, Lee, and Ryan Rowland-Smith would be quite formidable.  The last two rotation spots could be Ian Snell and Luke French, unless they get beat out by someone in spring training.

Lee won the Cy Young in 2008 for Cleveland, then was traded to Philadelphia mid-season where he helped lead them to a second straight World Series title.  He finished last year 14-13 with a 3.22 ERA.  He would essentially give the Mariners two #1 caliber starting pitchers.  It’s a bold move by the Mariners that is perhaps taking many by surprise (pleasantly).  It shows that they are serious about winning now.  The move could bolster Seattle’s stock in the eyes of current young ace Hernandez, as he considers whether to sign a long-term extension.  It also gives the Mariners some insurance if they can’t get a deal done and it looks like the King will opt for free agency.  Lee has one more year left on his contract after the Phillies exorcised his option for 2010.

This was the high point of the weekend at Tali Beach. Thanks to the hospitality of a friend, a group of us stayed at his place over there and had a great time.

The cliff we had to jump off was as high as the 3rd floor of a building. My knees were shaking and I thought I would get hurt. I am afraid of heights. I did it twice but even the 2nd time, I still got scared.  Scared I wouldn’t jump far enough and hit the side of the cliff. Scared I might get hurt. No one did. But still, it was scary.

But I did it. Twice.

Plan to do it again when we go back. They said you keep doing it until you aren’t scared anymore. Takes 3-4 times to get over the initial fear. So 2 more to go…..

The Evil Empire is at it again. The Yankees stole (bought) former Cy Young winners Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay from the Phillies and Blue Jays respectively.

For 48 hours, everyone seemed to be happy. The Philadelphia Phillies were going to acquire former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, the Mariners were going to get former Cy Young Winner Cliff Lee, and the Blue Jays were going to get… rid of their off-season problems in return for… a few prospects.

In a deal that was said to be completed barring failed physicals by the players involved has turned into a nightmare for the participating teams in the 2009 off-season pitching sweepstakes.

Enter The Evil Empire.

After talks with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, the New York Yankees have bought the rights to arguably two of the best five pitchers in Major League Baseball for $51 million this season alone.

New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman explained the simple process as to how he stole Lee and Halladay away from their potential teams.

“Listen, sugar,” Cashman announced. “My real name is Brian Goldman.  But once I became a Yankees intern in 1986, I changed it to Cashman for a reason. Money doesn’t grow on trees, but money does grow on the Yankees.”

Halladay, on the other hand was confused.

“I’m confused,” Halladay said.

After buying AJ Burnett, Mark Teixeira and Carsten Charles Sabathia, most baseball fans thought the Yankees were done. But again, Cashman proved us wrong.

“I don’t know how many days there are in Christmas, but in Chanukah, we have eight days,” Cashman said. “That means one present every night. Since over half of the Yankees management is Jewish, that means we get at least four presents for this special holiday… or should I say Halladay? Oh, I’m so clever.”

The biggest losers in this deal are the Philadelphia Phillies.

“The Yankees already (expletive) on the (expletive) (expletive) World Series,” Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said calmly. “Are you (expletive) kidding me? How the (expletive) is this possible?”

Pundits said if the Yankees want any chance of winning their second straight World Series, they will need more than just the ageless Andy Pettitte, the horse Sabathia and the erratic, but often sensational Burnett.

“Now all we need is Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum,” Cashman said. “Only then would this Chanukah season be complete.”

Game Notes:
Unlike the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Future, Cashman only talks about getting another Chanukah present.

A huge variety of rock strata is exposed along the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in the UK. You do not need to be a geologist to appreciate them. They have a beauty all their own. The colours, textures, designs, and structures are wonderful. On vertical and horizontal surfaces. The way they crack, the way they weather is fascinating. Viewed close up, the details make these layered rocks into abstract works of art. Here are a few examples of the natural patterns that are on display.

The photograph above shows part of the cliff face at Kimmeridge Bay. It has a graphic quality with angular fissures and sharp edges in a wide range of rusty and grey shades. 

You can find more postings about Kimmeridge Bay in Jessica’s Nature Blog by clicking Kimmeridge Bay in the list of Categories in the right-hand side bar of the home page.

This picture shows the finely bedded soft rock platform on the beach at Charmouth. The wet glistening thin grey layers have been broken by wave action to give this unusual sort of scalloped appearance – almost as if something has been taking bite-sized pieces out of the edges of the strata.

You can find more postings about Charmouth in Jessica’s Nature Blog by clicking Charmouth in the list of Categories in the right-hand side bar on the home page.

This magnificent yellow pattern is composed of alternating hard and soft layers of rock in the cliff face at Burton Bradstock, Dorset. The softer strata have been eroded by the elements more rapidly than the narrower and harder strata so that the hard rock sticks out as ledges.

You can find more postings about Burton Bradstock in Jessica’s Nature Blog by clicking Burton Bradstock in the list of Categories in the right-hand side bar on the home page.

The pictures above and below show rock layers at Lyme Regis, Dorset. The patterns in the eroding layers of the soft shales are infinitely variable.

For more postings about Lyme Regis in Jessica’s Nature Blog click Lyme Regis in the list of Categories in the right-hand side bar of the home page.

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

No, just wait!

It’s true! Trust me!

Really! Really.

Flickr can actually make you a better photographer. Flickr has made me a better helped me become a less crappy photographer. Sure, Flickr has warts; half of the community lives for HDR, another quarter want their Safe Search filters off all the time (if you catch my drift) and the rest have their strobes stuck so far up their own…

Getting way off topic here. Flickr, in the right doses and when used the right way, can help you become much better than you were/are, if you’re willing to shut your mouth and swallow your pride.

Consider this case study.

The Case of the Empty Mountain

Flash Parker v. the Seoul Photo Club

Once upon a time, Flash Parker took a photograph of a hill. He thought it was a nice photograph; a sunset that turned the sky a striking ruby red (or thereabouts) and a silhouette of a tree. Who can go wrong with a silhouette of a tree?

He thought he had a winner on his hands. A simple, clean shot, unlike many of the complicated flash photographs he had been throwing at the internet in previous weeks. So Flash posted this photo to the Seoul Photo Club:

Expecting hoping for a warm response. But the response was not that warm. While his friends were too kind to come right out and say that he missed the mark, Flash’s contacts did have things like this to say.

From Helje:

At first, Flash was indignant.

“But this is a nice photo!” he said to himself. It’s simple, clean, different… I don’t get it. These guys don’t know what they’re talking about.

But after marinating on these words of wisdom, these helpful bits of advice, Flash gradually came to realize that indeed the photograph was missing something. He hadn’t seen it. He had settled on the first thing he had seen, in fact. But the Flickr faithful had seen it and pointed it out to him, even if he didn’t want to hear it believe it for himself.

Looking back at the photo a few days later, Flash brain said to him;

“Yup. Nice photo. Nice and boring.”

And he began to think. He spun the gears. He went and sat down with his notebook and looked at the photo and wondered how he could make it better. Nothing came to him initially, but coming back from the kitchen with a glass of water while editing some of the less boring parts of his new novel he tripped over the monopod in the doorway and it hit him…

MONOPOD!

Flash raced back out to the hills with a sack of gear, tore off his shirt and set about making it rain. The result, while not technically perfect, is wholly different from the original photo.

Different? Yes. Better? Undoubtedly.

Because neither photo was in explore the stats are comparable, and they tell much of the story;

Crappy shot: 49 views, 2 favorites

Less crappy shot: 623 views, 23 favorites

Would it have happened naturally? Maybe. Flash likes to play in the woods with his shirt off, so there’s a chance this photo gets made eventually. But it wouldn’t have happened this way without flickr and the Seoul Photo Club. So the next time someone slams one of your “favorite” photos, or something you spent days and days composing and processing, don’t take it personally. Most of the time, people are just trying to help. Sometimes, your contacts will hit one out of the park – like they did here. Sometimes, they will be way off the mark. But it’s important to listen during those times, too. Maybe more so.

And that’s how Flickr can make you a better less crappy photographer.

He is a very interesting subject. My only regret is that I used manual mode on my camera instead of automatic. I wanted to practice my camera skills. But then I have challenges in seeing the display when it’s sunny and the display reflects the light. Aggghhhh!!

But even if it was not focused, he still was an interesting subject.  Need to practice more on people as subjects

Oh, it seems the festive season is almost here, where did that come from? I’ve never known it to sneak up quite like it has this year, perhaps that’s an age thing, with me hitting 28 this year! Or maybe it’s to do with the whole credit crunch ‘thing’ that has dominated the headlines this year (Meaning just the mention of Christmas/Presents before the end of November was enough to convince passers by that you did indeed want your eyes tearing out with slicy fingernails of mysterious eyelid disintegration) but now, the first Christmas card has arrived with me, the tree is calling out to be released from its dusty box…

I do look forward to the festivities, what I don’t look forward to is the inevitable crap TV, and having Cliff Richard forced into my eyes and ears like some kind of whinging wailing wrinkled idiot (I especially love his calendar this year, with Cliff in various amusing/embarrassing poses, Photoshopped into different locations around the world, especially enjoying how the front of the calendar features the same Cliff picture as a certain month, only Photoshopped into a different location, as if just to say ‘That’s right, he wasn’t really there, we feel bad misleading you, being quite old and all, there there, go and have a nice cup of cocoa and a digestive biscuit, be careful not to trip over the corner of that rug’ But to be fair to them, they have succeeded in providing a very memorable calendar,which I’ve even considered buying myself, though probably for the wrong reasons.

Enough!

I’ve just finished off a nice new canvas for Ammo magazine, along with releasing the mini canvas ‘Transporting the Last tree’ onto the store page, both are available now here: Squink! Store

It’s probably getting on a bit now for Christmas delivery if you’re not in the UK, but you might just get in there in time if you’re quick, i’ll be sure to be super fast with shipping (But as much as I’d like to, I can’t guarantee Christmas delivery unless you pay for super speedy delivery) There are also Weeping coffee bear tees left, which would also make a nice gift for the coffee lover, or perhaps someone big on animal cruelty, who loves seeing cute animals in distress.

Until next time, stay jolly! (pictures below)

• Jennie Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills 90210) and husband Peter Facinelli are on the cover of PEOPLE’s special holiday extra edition. PEOPLE.com has a video from the photo shoot.
• Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills 90210) and mom Candy Spelling have reportedly reconciled.
• Luke Perry (Dylan, Beverly Hills 90210) is featured in a new video for The Killers. Interestingly enough (but I’m sure not purposefully), it somewhat echoes the season 5 episode where Dylan revisits his past lives.
• Perry, Jason Priestley (Brandon, Beverly Hills 90210), Chace Crawford (Nate, Gossip Girl), Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill), Joshua Jackson (Pacey, Dawson’s Creek) and Benjamin McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) made AOL’s list of the Top 50 Teen Idols. Perry ranks the best at number 7, while CMM is at 13, Crawford came in at 17 with Priestley right after at 18 and Jackson sits at number 20 while McKenzie is at 31. Also on the list is John Schneider who recently played Liam’s step-dad on 90210.
• Ryan Eggold (Ryan, 90210) is included in PEOPLE.com’s Sexy at Every Age photo gallery.
• AnnaLynne McCord (Naomi, 90210) was on The Tonight Show last week and Jessica Stroup (Silver, 90210) was on Rachael Ray.
• Greg Vaughan (Cliff, Beverly Hills 90210) tweeted that he’s filmed 3 episodes for his appearance on the new 90210.
• If you missed Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) on SNL last week, here are some of the promos and recaps: EW.com, EW.com again and Zap2it.
• Zap2it has a photo gallery called “The Quotable Blair Waldorf,” which feature quotes and photos from season 3.
• OTHPodcast.com has been revamped.
• There’s photos on Facebook of James Laffety (Nathan, One Tree Hill) and Robert Buckley (Clay, One Tree Hill) in character for The Legend of Hell’s Gate: An Ameican Conspiracy.
• If you live near New York City, Kate Voegele (Mia, One Tree Hill) will be at the lighting of the NYSE Christmas tree this Thursday.

last night i said things…never thought i’d say..but i did..it wasn’t my ego speaking…it was i..wondering if i should trip tonight…am i okay…i think.. i am..not bothering me too much..slept well…in the altered state..i can forget..destroy it completely…cleanse..right now..ego is clinging to it..importance of it..but i am ignoring my ego…soon i will step on its fingers…that clasp..onto the edge..of the cliff..and watch…ego falling…splat..

i can not guarantee happiness..at the end of the fall..i can only hope.. to end suffering…i cannot begin happiness…once suffering ends…i will have..nothing..and yet…everything…that is happiness..to me.