I was very grateful the other day for the messages of support and good vibes sent by people after I had written about the fact that I have not been particularly well in recent weeks. Things are moving slowly on that score now. I have had some TB tests results back which were negative (as expected) which means we can no go ahead with a new medication which might help prevent things getting quite so bad in the future. The chest specialist has also set things in motion so that I will soon be able to take part in some pulmonary rehab – basically spending time in the gym at the hospital, not only increasing my fitness by working out on certain machines, but also listening to some health care professionals talk through the ins and outs of certain respiratory conditions and ways of dealing with them and living as healthilty as possible under such circumstances. And today I go for my swine flu jab. Contentious, to some, I know, but for someone with underlying problems like mine it is the smart move to make. I shall let you know if it hurts as much as our neighbour reckons (she ought to know, she had it weeks ago as she is a paediatrician).

Anyway, this all seems pretty positive. And I have also found out that some of the chest pains I have been experiencing are nothing to do with respiratory problems at all. No apparently I have also been suffering with acid reflux, possibly caused by the plethora of anti-biotics which have been pumped through my fragile system in recent months. Had you asked me earlier in the year if I thought acid reflux was a serious condition I’d have said no, thinking it is just a bit of heartburn. I have changed my opinion. It hurts like hell and can send vicious spasms right across the chest and into the neck and throat too. So now I have yet more meds to take, but hopefully they will calm things down. I am also between antibiotics too, so that must also give my stomach acids a better chance of returning to some semblance of balance.

Sometimes the best medicine is other people, of course. Being unwell means I’ve not seen too many people, however, apart from my long-suffering and ever-wonderful wife, without whom I might just give up and go completely mad. I am also very grateful to the people who have been helping to take my mind off of things at times with their excellent blogs, foremost among them being someone who is known to me in the physical world and whose posts keep the grey matter churning: MDS. The others I want to mention today are part of a cyber community which has entertained me – thanks Paudie -  taught me much about sport and now about wider-ranging topics too – thanks Steve - and brought music, opinion and oddities such as yesterday’s kids TV swine flu jab song – thanks Jane. There are many others but these guys are the ones I return to again and again and am always so glad that I do. Check them out.

As an American era comes to a close, at least one of the Kennedy brothers was granted a long life, and I am glad he by all accounts did achieve some peace and happiness.  I think the country paid him his due respect in the last three days.

As we saw his three children, I couldn’t help but wonder, what about their mother?  What about Joan?  Well, I found that she did attend the services, very quitely indeed, because I didn’t hear her mentioned.

Trying “not to intrude” yet to honor the life of her ex-husband, Joan Kennedy attended the Thursday mass in the “big house” at the Kennedy compound, according to her sister Candace McMurrey of Houston, Texas.

“She feels it’s very nice to be included in the final saying goodbye to him and she appreciates being included in that, because she was married to him for 25 years,” McMurrey told ABCNews.com.

Joan pictured here with Joe Biden

I watched the wake last night and there really were some hilarious stories from his friends and family.  I just heard a letter read that Ted had written to the Pope, hand-delivered by President Obama, and the Pope’s reply.  He mentioned to the Pope that he had fought against the death penalty, but he didn’t mention that he had also fought for abortion.  So I guess it was pick and choose which parts of the doctrine he wanted to champion.  Just an observation.  But nobody’s perfect and if we were perfect we wouldn’t need a savior, now would we?

So Rest in Peace, Ted Kennedy.  Hope you’re having a good chat with your mom, dad, sister, and brothers who have preceded you.

See ABC story here.

Posted:  08.29.09

www.nightwish.com
Nightwish adalah Band Symphonic Power Metal dari Finlandia yang dibentuk pada tahun 1996. Tuomas Holopainen memiliki ide untuk membentuk band yang memainkan musik akustik dan meminta Tarja Turunen sebagai vokal dan Emppu Vuorinen bermain Gitar.

Sampai awal tahun 1997 band yang baru dibentuk ini mulai memainkan musik yang lebih sulit. Jukka Nevalainen bergabung dengan band ini dan menempati posisi Drums dan mereka mulai mengganti gitar akustik dengan gitar listrik.

Pada bulan Mei 1997, Nightwish tanda tangan kontrak dengan Spinefarm Records dan mereka meluncurkan album perdana berjudul “Angles Fall First“.

Pada tahun 1998, Sami Vanska bergabung dan bermain Bass. Pada tahun yang sama mereka meluncurkan album berjudul “Oceanborn“, yang lebih sulit dan bervariasi dari “Angles Fall First”.

Pada bulan Mei 2000 mereka meluncurkan album berjudul “Wishmaster” yang lebih mirip dengan “Oceanborn”. Mereka juga mengikuti kompetisi Eurovision di Finlandia dengan lagu berjudul “Sleepwalker“. Mereka memenangkan kontes tersebut berdasarkan pooling telephon tetapi juri tidak setuju, sehingga mereka hanya meraih juara ke-2.

Tarja meninggalkan band pada tahun 2005 setelah tour “End of Era”. Pada tahun 2007, penyanyi asal Swedia “Anette Olzon dipilih untuk menjadi vokalis baru. Kemudian mereka meluncurkan single, “Amaranth“, dan beberapa bulan kemudian mereka mengeluarkan album baru berjudul “Dark Passion Play“.

Style Musik
Nightwish mengusung aliran Power Metal dan Symphonic Metal. Nightwish juga diidentifikasi mengusung aliran “Gothic Metal“. Bassist dan vocalist Marco Hietala mendifinisikan aliran musik Nightwish adalah Symphonic Gothic Metal.

Album & Lirik

Dark Pashion Play 2007

• The Poet And The Pendulum
• Bye Bye Beautiful
• Amaranth
• Cadence of Her Last Breath
• Master Passion Greed
• Eva
• Sahara
• Who Ever Brings The Night
• For The Heart I Once Had
• The Islander
• Last Of The Wilds
• 7 Days To The Wolves
• Meadows Of Heaven
• Escapist

Wishmaster 2000

• She Is my Sin
• The Kinslayer
• Come Cover Me
• Wonderlust
• Two For Tragedy
• Wishmaster
• Bare Grace Misery
• Crownless
• Deep Silent Complete
• Dead Boy’s Poem
• FantasMic
• Sleepwalker

Oceanborn 1998

• Stargazers
• Gethsemane
• Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean
• Sacrament Of Wilderness
• Passion And The Opera
• Swanheart
• Moondance
• The Riddler
• The Pharaoh Sails To Orion
• Walking In The Air
• Sleeping Sun
• Nightquest

Angels Fall First 1996

• Elvenpath
• The Carpenter
• Beauty and The Beast
• Astral Romance (1997)
• Angels Fall First
• Tutankhamen
• Nymphomaniac Fantasia
• Know Why The Nightingale Sings?
• Lappi (Lapland)
• Once Upon A Troubadour
• A Return To The Sea

In preparing this post, I was hoping to find something deep and profound to set the right tone.  Instead of that…  I found “Friends”.

I have been talking somewhat cryptically for a while about the some of the upcoming changes I have been facing.  As with most changes, and GOD things, there is a good deal of excitement and trepidation attached.

It is in that vein that I share my first steps with you.

As of this month, I will no longer be serving on staff at THE CHURCH of Jacksonville.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of that great team for the last three and a half years.  I leave today better than when I first arrived.  As this season comes to an end, I can say that it has been extremely beneficial and I feel better prepared for my next step as a result of it.

Most importantly, I am eager to follow after GOD as He leads.  As doors begin closing, He begins opening others.  For the last several months, I have been keenly aware of GOD stirring things within my heart.  As we launch into this new season, we do so entirely trusting in GOD.

If you would like more information about our next steps, please continue to visit the blog.  I hope to begin sharing more over the next days and weeks.

As for now, Stacy and I desire your intercession and prayer.

The best is yet to come…

When I got back into collecting sports cards last year, it was mainly due to two blogs. Ben Henry’s Baseball Card Blog and Mario Alejandro’s Wax Heaven. About a week ago, Ben said on his website that by the end of the year he was going to ramp it down. Yesterday Mario said that by July 1st he would like to scale back also. This is definitely a blow to the blogging universe for cards.

Being a daily blogger (when it’s not your full time job) is a difficult proposition.  Sure the first month you pound out tons of posts and everything is running smoothly.  Then you have to take that first trip and you sweat out how you are going to post while you are away.  You get it done though, then you realize that you are not spending enough time with your significant other, that leads to scaling back to a post a day.  Then you might get sick or get a big project at work, your blog takes a hit and you feel like you are letting down your readers.

I think these two guys are just plain tired. I always felt it would be cool to dedicate one site to a bunch of authors, kind of like what a pack a day was like. You think about all the great blogs about cards and the different views we all have, I think it would be great.  In the end, I think that both Mario and Ben got burned out.  I can definitely see how that happens.  I really want Operation Topps to be an every day post, but sometimes, it’s just too much to put together in a day.  So I’ve cut back on my end, but at least I try and get at a minimum one post a day.

Somehow I think these two Blog giants are going to come back, either in a full or half throttle mentality.  I want to thank both of them for creating a place for all of us card geeks to come to and to air our voices.  If it is truly the last year (or month) for both of them, I wish them both the best of luck and to make a surprise post every once in a while.  Like the card industry, it’s real easy to burn out.  Hopefully, they won’t retire and will continue to post great insight into the collector’s universe, but hey I completely understand if they do. If anyone wants to get involved with a group blog site, where each member can post once a week please get in touch with me at chemgod1000@yahoo.com, maybe we can come up with some sort of e-zine.

Good luck to both Mario and Ben in all their future en devours!