This year we decided to add a different kind of entertainment to our Thanksgiving festivities. We had goldfish races! Kristen suggested it and John gathered all the needed equipment: 2 gutters filled with water and caps for each end to contain the water, small pump and heater to keep the water warm enough for the fish, a table for the gutters to sit on, 2 squirt bottles filled with water, and a goldfish for each person. We set up a single elimination tournament so 2 fish raced and the winner moved on to the next bracket. You may be wondering what we did with the squirt bottles. When you put your fish in the gutter to race, you use the squirt bottle to spray the water to create a kind of current to urge your fish to head in the right direction toward the finish line at the other end of the gutter. It was crazy fun and a hit with everyone – from the teenagers to the grandparents.
My dad won with mom coming in a close second. I will try and post some photos tomorrow. The only bummer was Kindra, Derek and Alec weren’t here to join in with us. So sad!
(Just so you know, the goldfish were not harmed in any way and have all been adopted out to good homes.)

Twenty-two years ago (November 1987) in our first grade class, my teacher Ms. Sparks gave us all a blank sheet of paper and told us to draw a picture of something we were thankful for.  I was excited.  Thirty minutes later, our teacher walked by everyone’s desk to see the art we had accomplished.  As she came closer to me, I heard her reading off what each of my fellow students said they were thankful for.

“My family.”  “My friends.”  “My parents.”  “My sister.”  “My brother.”

Those were the things I was hearing.  As I looked up from my drawing, I started to realize that maybe mine was a little bit different that everyone else’s.  Ms. Sparks looked down at my picture.  “Animals.”  I was six year-old at the time, but I somehow was keen enough to notice that she that my drawing was weird. 

“Yes, animals.  We can be thankful for the animals.”  She went on to the next student, trying to hide the confused look on her face.

 I had drawn a picture of a picnic table.  On top of the table were several live animals: a fox, a raccoon, a cat, a bird, a dog, a possum, a squirrel, and I want to say… a horse.  (I really liked the Nick at Nite reruns of Mr. Ed back then.)  At the top of the page, I appropriately titled my masterpiece with an orange crayon:  ANIMALS.

Not necessarily animals that I ate.  Just animals.  I had a pet goldfish that I had won a few weeks before at the fair that I named Nippy.  (It was cold outside when I tossed the ping-pong ball in the goldfish bowl.)  But that was really the only exposure I had to animals.  No other pets than Nippy the Goldfish.

I’m still trying to figure out why all these random animals would show up on a picnic table and why I was thankful for them.  Kids are weird.

Animalspeak Table of Contents

Volume 1 http://wp.me/pxqBU-f2
Volume 2 http://wp.me/pxqBU-f8
Volume 3 http://wp.me/pxqBU-gu

We have several gold fish in a big tub and a water fountain. They live healthy and happy in a natural setting without modern filtering system or chemicals added into the water.

Keeping water garden in form of an aquarium or man made pond today rely on technology supports such as chemicals to remove traces of unwanted chlorine from tap water, filtering systems that use electricity and regular water testing. Isn’t it possible to make a living water garden by mimicking the ecological balance of nature? They don’t use all of those complicated gadgets and treatments.

I always question myself how rivers and natural lakes or ponds work for all the fish and the water plants to flourish without manmade technology? Many say that rain water is too soft for the gold fish as it is lacking of minerals so the experts say that it is better to use tap water with chemicals added to remove traces of harmful chlorine.

However, I learned from many articles that the natural balance of aquatic livings can be achieved naturally. Rain water, plants and fish can support each other to create a healthy environment for them to survive.

To live a healthy ecological balance, both water plants and fish can support each other to form a healthy environment. Fish will need oxygen in the water which is provided by submerge plants that act as oxygenators. On the other hands, water plants will need nutrients by feeding the waste that is excreted by the fish. These plants will provide oxygen during the day and absorb carbon dioxide at night. The submerge water plants also act as purifier as it feeds on the waste in the water both from the fish or traces of uneaten food. The most popular submerge oxygenator plants are: Anacharis, Vallisneria, Hornwort, Red Ludwigia, Cabomba. I use anacharis for my water garden.

To add beauty for the water setting and to reduce algae growing rampant in the water, semi floating plant such as water lilies, lotus, nardoo, water poppy or water hawthorn can be added. These plants have the roots submerged in water but the foliage will be on the water surface. The foliage will provide shades for the fish and for reducing algae. These plants will also get the nutrients from the waste in the water so they will help to clear the water. I use water lily for our mini water garden.

Completely floating water plants are also good for reducing algae, providing shelter for fish and the floating roots are also beneficial for cleaning water. Common floating water plants that are used for water garden are water lettuces, duckweeds, water hyacinths or fairy moss.

I use water from our rain water catchment and the only additive that I add to the water is pure sea salt. This is an old practice to help goldfish healthy by preventing fungal diseases and also acts as a tonic for the fish. I use one tea spoon of pure sea salt (or aquarium salt) for every 10 gallon of water (about 37 litres).

To keep the ecological balance, it is important not to keep too many fish. One mature fish for at least every 40 litres of water is desirable. It is also not to over feed, I feed our goldfish once a day with just use enough food for the fish to eat in 3 minutes. After 3 minutes and if there is still some food uneaten, it is better to remove it. It is also needed to trim the water plants to prevent them from overcrowding and to remove dead foliage and roots.

To know if the habitat for both fish and plants is in good balance, the water should stay clear all the time and both the fish and the plants are happy and healthy. If you are planning to have a water garden, it is important to set the plants life going for a week or so before adding fish to establish the growing of beneficial organisms.

If the ecological balance is working there is no need to change water except to add more rain water if the water is low. If the water is loss by evaporation, there is no need to add more sea salt as salt does not evaporate.

Äntligen har jag fått röven ur vagnen och tagit mig tid till att posta ett inlägg! Mitt namn är Michel Méndez och är DJ här uppe i Stockholms-trakterna. La några inlägg förut i Househeaven och tänkte nu ge ett inlägg med gammalt, nytt, hårt, mjukt & mest av allt; förbannat bra. Hoppas ni diggar det!

Alchemic Strom vs. Microsillon – Rhythm (D.O.N.S. & DBN Remix)

Alvaro – Ultimate Rise feat. Luxx (Seductive Remix)

Anjiro Rijo – Primary priority (Original Mix)

Asino, Mickey-T – Bokito (Asino Di Medico Remix)

Belocca – Drumming Pitchblack (Fred Lilla Bootleg)

Benny Royal & Ralvero – Take control (Robbie Taylor Mix)

Bertie Blackman – Byrds Of Prey (Tv Rock Remix)

Disfunktion – Tamarindo (Original Mix)

DJ Madskillz – Surface

DJ Rose – Twisted (Original Mix)

DNM & diMaro – Control (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Re-Edit)

Don & Palm – Luna (Original Mix)

Erick Morillo – I Get Lifted feat. Deborah Cooper (Richard Grey Subliminal Mix)

Gel Abril – Spells Of Yoruba (Bingo Players Remix)

Goldfish – This is how it goes (Denzal Park Sunrise Mix)

Kid Massive – Touch Me (In The Morning) (Carl Tricks Remix)

Koen Groeneveld – Microburst (Original Club Mix)

Libex & Marshall – Swahili song (Original Mix)

Mark Knight & Koen Groeneveld – Put Your Hands Up (Koen Groeneveld Remix)

Mark Knight & Koen Groeneveld – Put Your Hands Up (Mark Knight Remix)

Nastitek – Tek Proof (Koen Groeneveld Remix)

Nick & Danny Chatelain – Baila Baila (Ralvero & Bassjackers Remix)

Nicky Romero – Woods of Idaho (Hanna Hansen & David Puentez Amsterdam 2010 Remix)

Nino Anthony – Why Can’t We See (Groovenatics Remix)

Oskar Zenkert – Oriental (Original Mix)

Paul Harris – The Take (Sultan & Ned Shepard Vocal Mix)

Rolvario & Musicfuckerz – Spanish Fly (Original Mix)

Seductive – Rock the party (Original Mix)

SHM & Laidback Luke – Leave The World Behind (Tattner Mashup)

Silvio Ecomo & Chuckie – Moombah (Afrojack Remix)

SonicC – Stickin (Oliver Twizt Remix)

Steve Angello – Tivoli (Andycap Remix)

Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso – Partouze (Original Mix)

The Doors – People are Strange (Avicii, Starkillers & Austin Leeds Remix)

Tocadisco – 2 Many shots of Jägermeister (Koen Groeneveld Remix)

Tocadisco feat. Vangosh – Way of love (Tocadiscos Club Dub Remix)

Twin Pack – In weed we trust

Volta & Salvatore Freda – Tiramisu (DJ Madskillz Remix)

Bonus: Michel Méndez – Mixtape #11

Fire es la primera obra de Brian Michael Bendis dentro de lo que más adelante pasaríamos a llamar serie Jinx. Y claro, eso se nota, vaya si se nota.

En Fire podemos intuir muchas de las características que luego Bendis desarrollaría en Goldfish, para lo bueno y para lo malo.

Por un lado un grafismo poco claro en blanco y negro, menos definido todavía que en Goldfish, que dificulta la fluidez de la narración (porque se hace difícil distinguir a los personajes)  y unas viñetas con una disposición caótica que son el sello del autor. Eso sumado a una rotulación deficiente (a pesar de que yo he leído la versión corregida, esta sigue siendo pésima, así que no me quiero imaginar cómo debía ser la original) conforman una parte gráfica que en general no aporta nada nuevo y que bajo mi punto de vista, es el punto débil de Brian Bendis a lo largo de toda su carrera. De hecho, creo que si Bendis hubiera trabajado con alguien que se ocupase de la parte gráfica hubiera obtenido resultados mucho más interesantes.

Por otro lado tenemos unos diálogos potentes y un guión sencillo pero efectivo. Con una estructura muy original, Bendis se sirve de un flashback que abarca casi toda la historia después de empezar por la escena final y dejarla en su punto más álgido. Evidentemente ese es el punto fuerte de Bendis y en Fire ya se puede apreciar lo que luego dará de sí en Goldfish, Jinx o Torso. Fire es, por tanto, una buena manera de entrar en el mundo de Bendis, para luego ver cómo evolucionó (a mejor) en todas sus obras posteriores.

A nivel argumental, comentar que Fire es una historia de espías. Sui generis pero de espías al fin y al cabo.  Explica la historia de un universitario al que recluta la CIA para convertirse en espía y como se desarrollan sus primeros trabajos.

En definitiva, creo que, teniendo en cuenta que fue su primera novela gráfica, nos encontramos ante una obra notable pero completamente mejorada por su autor en todas sus publicaciones posteriores.

Fire: una historia de espías
Brian Michael Bendis
PLANETA DE AGOSTINI 2005
17.0×26.0 cm
112 pags
Lengua: CASTELLANO
Encuadernación: Tapa blanda
ISBN: 9788467414028
Nº Edición:1ª
Año de edición:2005
Plaza edición: BARCELONA

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Gold Fish Submerged Sundays

Goldfish’s Submerged Sundays have truly become part of the fabric of Cape Town.

Now in its 3rd year, Goldfish have taken the Submerged Sunday’s Concept and grown

it into Cape Town’s hottest night of the week – hands down.

Featuring 12 exclusive sets from Goldfish every Sunday, the cream of South Africa’s DJs,

Sushi Bar courtesy of Tank, incredible visuals courtesy of Afterlife VJ’s, mind-numbing

sound from Audio Engineering, as well as top secret production effects to rock the

dance floor, The Fishies have upped their game once again.

Pull in early for a drink, grab some Sushi and watch the sun set with the perfect soundtrack

and setting before Goldfish take the stage to play the cutting edge live show that has

made them a global phenomenon, showcasing tracks from their new album

Perceptions of Pacha – Remixed.

With La Med’s refurbishment complete, there’s a more spacious Dance Floor,

a new VIP area and reserved parking, the stage is set for a Summer to remember.

Entrance: R50

Strictly over 18

Dress: Beach sand welcome.

Avoid the queue:

Presale: Tickets from Havaianas, V&A Waterfront

Online: www.webtickets.co.za

www.goldfishlive.com

www.youtube.com/goldfishlive

www.myspace.com/goldfishlive

www.facebook.com/goldfishlive

www.twitter.com/goldfishlive

     Ever since we installed our pond, I have been waiting for the critters to show up. This summer the deer arrived after four years of absence. They cleaned the yard of every newly planted Hosta.  A possum has dug up the lawn looking for grubs. Squirrels have planted corn seed all about the yard. Slinky the garter snake slithered into the rocks around the water fall.  A red tail hawk often swoops through the yard after a squirrel or dove. The place is a veritable zoo at times. 

      I thought things would quiet down now that the leaves have fallen and the flowers are all gone. Last Sunday morning, I sat having my coffee reading the paper. I could see the window from the corner of my eye when it happened, A huge shadow swooped across the window. At first, I thought is was the hawk. I jumped up to see if he nailed a squirrel. Nope. I looked up at the pond, there he was, Big Bird in person. A great Blue Heron had spotted the goldfish. Before I could say “Peg come see,”  the bird had a bulge moving down it’s long throat. He nailed my largest, fanciest goldfish. He saw me, and took off looking like a prehistoric pterodactyl.

I left to deliver Thanksgiving food baskets with my Lions Club. I got home a couple of hours later. Peggy greeted me with “he’s been back three times already.” Later, I saw him again, but as soon as I made a move for the camera he flew off. It is three days later, and we have spotted him at the pond every day. My friend Al told me he would stay until he has cleaned all the fish from the pond. I hope it freezes tonight so he will migrate south.

An anthology storm is brewing in the bowl, ripples disquieting the surface of the placid aqua underbelly.

Writers writing raise their heads and cock their ears to the sound of distant printing presses, the hiss of the typeface tide.

The Goldfish turn their spectacled eyes with hope.  Soon the anthology of goldfish writers will make waves in the bowl!

Yesterday, I went on this blind date with this girl in the bag next to me… To be honest, I’d been leering at her for the past 2 minutes.

I tried to get her attention by painting her arabesques with my tail. She returned with a very long sideways glace. Before I knew it, these enormous bulbous creatures and a smaller bulbous creature grabbed hold of our bags, and suddenly separated us, for what seemed like years…

It was like something out of the romantic comedies of the eighties. I wondered where our Empire State building would be, when suddenly I plummeted into some nippy waters, and would you know it, the sassy lady and I now share a small (oddly shaped) studio apartment. …DALI

In a nod to Dark City, Faith No More’s Epic, and any other joint that uses the imagery of a goldfish flapping its life away, surrounded by the shattered glass remains of its bowl on the floor…

A Man and His Fish

There was a man. He had a pocket. In his pocket, he had a fish.

A goldfish.

This goldfish would get so, soooo thirsty. But whenever the man offered to find it something soothing and cool to drink, the goldfish adamantly protested.

“No, no! No way. I’ve been in bowls and ponds before! No way in hell am I letting myself get put in the water again. I AM NOT A FISH. You need to understand that from the beginning, so get it straight. I WILL NOT BE TREATED LIKE A FISH.”

The man smiled, and continued walking.

As it turns out, this man smiles a lot. Keeps walking, a lot. But he began to grow concerned.

The I’m-not-a-fish in his pocket was getting feeble, weaker and weaker by the day. Not having water was clearly dampening its spirits.

The man would have smiled at the irony of this thought, because as it turns out, he smiles a lot. However, the man tries to think as little as possible. So he keeps walking, a lot.

The next morning, the sun rises. The man is walking. The goldfish is rasping. The birds are chirping.

The man walks up upon the edge of a pond. Without a word, he slips the goldfish into the water.

The goldfish, realizing the impending baptism is unavoidable, begins to protest “THIS BETTER NOT BE WATER OR” but is cut off as the cool quenching liquid surrounds and dissolves any qualms the I’m-not-a-fish had.

The man smiles, a lot. Keeps walking, a lot.

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Plantas Acuáticas

Sony Vaio JS

Peces Goldfish

The Goldfish Bowl

Writers’ Circle

Members’ Christmas Competition

2009

‘The Beginnings of Father Christmas’

Prose

Max 2,000 words

Entry Fee: £2

Entry deadline: 9^th December

Reading and Voting: 16^th December

1st Prize: A Christmas stocking packed with writing goodies!

2nd Prize: A box of mince pies!

Putting socks on your hands is hilarious.

Not quite sure what to say about this one. I think he was saying cheese with a mouthful of goldfish.

This speaks for itself.

Dancing to Britney…snapping his fingers.

My favorite.

Teach your Goldfish how to swim under the ornamental bridge

Hello fellow resteraunteurs! Restaurant City has been updated with an array of new items!

You asked, and we listened! We asked you what theme you all would want most of all, and the answer you all gave us was: Underwater.

This week you can dive into the deep blue sea and swim with the fishes in your underwater themed restaurant. You can create a fun underwatery world with the beautiful marine life and the bright and fun coral reefs that we have stocked up for you in the decoration shop.  We are sure that this tranquil paradise will entice your customers!

Firstly we have a number of items for you to use on the outside of your restaurant, we are sure these outside decorations will make an impression! And make sure you check out that bubble-producing geysir!

Giant Clam Roof	Underwater Window	Underwater Door
Tall Seaweed (animated)	Brown Seaweed (animated)	Green Seaweed (animated)
White Seashell	Pink Seashell	Nautilus
Concus	Discusfish (animated)	Angelfish (animated)
Demekin Goldfish (animated)		Outside Bubble Geyser (functional, spawns bubbles)

As for the inside of your restaurant, we have many items that will help you create your underwater paradise!

Rock Table	Clam Chair	Treasure Chest (animated)
Butterflyfish (animated)	Pinkfish (animated)	Sardine (animated)
Seabed Wallpaper	Bubble Geyser (functional, spawns bubbles)	Ocean Floor Tile
Brown Seaweed (animated)	Green Seaweed (animated)	Purple Seaweed (animated)

So lots of items for you all this week, we hope you enjoy them. And make sure you let us know what your under the sea fantasy adventure looks like! You can post your new found restaurant paradise in the Restaurant City Gallery!

Όταν ακούω death proof εκτός από τον Tarantino μου έρχονται συνειρμικά και λέξεις όπως water proof κτλ. Ακούγεται άσχετο, αλλά δεν είναι τελείως. Πριν 3 ημέρες αποφάσισα να δω τη συγκεκριμένη ταινία. Συμπτωματικώς την ίδια μέρα το ένα εκ των δύο ψαριών μου αρρώστησε και μέσα από μία σύντομη διάγνωση που έκανα κατέληξα στην εξής ασθένεια: νηκτική κήστη (ή swimbladder). Η ανάρρωση περιλάμβανε διακοπή από φαγητό για μία μέρα και στη συνέχεια να του βράσω αρακά!! Δεν απελπίστηκα αρχικά δηλαδή, γιατί υπέθεσα ότι θα τα καταφέρουμε, υπάρχει θεραπεία.

Σε αυτό το σημείο είναι που βαζω να δω την ταινία. Να σχολιάσω για την ταινία ότι έχει φοβερό soundtrack, δεν έχω σταματήσει να το ακούω. Και επίσης για όσους δεν την έχουν δει ο πρωταγωνιστής είναι psycho!! Σε γενικές γραμμές την απόλαυσα δηλαδή! Τελειώνει η ταινία και πάω να δω το ψάρι μου.

Ε κι εκεί ήταν που είδα το ψάρι κόκκαλο και κοκκάλωσα και εγώ. Η Λίλη ήταν.. Άφησε μόνο του το Μπάρνι και εμένα με την ιδέα της αποτυχημένης. Το συμπέρασμα που έβγαλα μέσα από τα φόρουμ (το σωστό νομίζω είναι fora) που διάβαζα για τα ψάρια είναι ότι αν αποφασίσει κανείς να πάρει, να το κάνει ολοκληρωμένα. Τι εννοώ; Ότι είναι τελείως λάθος η άποψη παίρνω μία γυάλα και βάζω δύο ψάρια μέσα και είναι όλα οκ (αυτό ακριβώς που έκανα εγώ δηλαδή!). Τα ψάρια θέλουν πολύ προσοχή και κατάλληλο περιβάλλον για να επιβιώσουν και δεν είναι διακοσμητικά.

Στεναχωρέθηκα…

Ponyo (2008)
★★★★ / ★★★★

Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, “Ponyo” (also known as “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea”) tells the story of a princess goldfish (Noah Cyrus) who truly wants to become human. After escaping from her father (Liam Neeson) whose job is to maintain balance in the natural world, she meets a five-year-old boy named Sosuke (Frankie Jonas) and instantly falls for him. Although I very much enjoyed this latest film from Miyazaki, I don’t think it’s his finest work. The story is beyond cute, the characters’ motivations are easy to understand, the world has a sense of wonder, and the situations the characters are put in have enough danger in them to make the audiences want to root for the characters to succeed. In a nutshell, it’s the perfect movie for kids and adults because it’s highly entertaining. However, I wasn’t as emotionally invested in it as I was when I saw “Spirited Away” for the first time. It must be noted that I saw the dubbed version of this animated picture in theaters so perhaps some of the dialogue was lost in translation. But I wanted a more insightful story regarding the characters. Earlier in the film, there was this tension between Sosuke’s mother (Tina Fey) and father (Matt Damon) because his father was always away at sea. There was a certain innocence and genuine comedy when the mother and father were trying to communicate in morse code by using lights. I wanted more of those situational family moments because then the film becomes that much more personal. What I really liked was that the message about the environment and how we must do our best to take care of it but it the message was never heavy-handed. Such messages were simply shown on the screen as tons of garbage were being collected from the ocean floor and ocean creatures were suffering in more ways imaginable (including the title character). Despite some of the very small negatives I mentioned, I still think this is a very strong film about a creature who tried her best to reach her dreams. “The Little Mermaid” comparisons are justified because of the premise but one shouldn’t imply that it doesn’t rise above the template. In fact, Miyazaki’s signature style of being unbound by realism was constantly at the forefront here. Therefore, every image we get (and the emotions that come with them) is very inspired and it’s very difficult to resist its charm.