Mayor John Callahan and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership welcome the Bethlehem Mounted Police.

ECW Hardcore TV
02.13.96
Queens, New York
Your Host: Joey Styles

The Eliminators are in the back, as John Kronus is shaving his hair off, while Perry Saturn is laughing with the title in his hand. John is saying does he think they care about his hair; then he says he will eliminate you (referring to Pitbulls).

Joey Styles is in the ring as Bill Whistle Man and Taz march into the ring. Bill starts ranting on Joey Styles saying he hates him and hates Queens, New York. Bill says that 911 is finish. Rey Mysterio Jr. interrupts Taz—and says he is not afraid of Taz. Bill talks some trash, but then Rey spinning-heel kicks him. Rey then hits a botched hurrcanarana. Rey goes up the top and tries to go springboard, but get caught in a Taz Suplex. Rey fights back but Taz hits another Taz Suplex that puts Rey inside and out.  Wrestlers and Refs come out to check on Rey. Joey Styles is addressing for some help for Rey.  Joey Styles then puts over ECW by saying that you will not see action like this. Woman enters, and says that Joey Styles and her can go to WWF, but Joey says he wants to stay here. Sandman enters, and she asked him if he wants to come with her. He says he does not want to “come” with her, and then he says she has been a bitch her whole life. Women says she wants to stay here along time being the bitch here for along time, and no one is going to remove her from the ring. 2 Cold comes out and joins Women.  2 Cold then says business is picking up. He pretends he is with her, but he says Nancy you out of here. 2 Cold takes her out of the arena, and puts her in the limo. Stevie Richards comes out with Blue Meany, and lays down the offer. Sandman says never has he ever backed down from a fight. Richards says Sandman feels like a tough person with a chain in his and—and he thinks Blue Meany and him are a puss. Richards says Sandman should back out of the match—or he will have to Stevie-kick him. Blue Meany says he will do it. Blue tries to superkick him, but cannot reach him. Sandman canes Meany and Sandman said he is going for Raven. Richards is paranoid, as Raven enters the ring. Raven calls Stevie a moron. Raven then disses on Meany. Ravens says he was supposed to give Beulah her pill, but he could not handle that. Raven starts to beat the crap out of him. Richards tries sucking up to Raven. He goes into Blue’s paints—and it says Richards the king of dancing is engaging a lawsuit against Missy Hyatt for sexual harassment. Hyatt comes out and calls Richards a joke. Raven says that the other option is that she joins up with him. Hyatt says look at her and look at Raven because he is not on her level. She says that the bitch he is with now is a whore, and we all know that Raven has a low sperm count since Dreamer knocked up his ex. Raven gets angry and takes his coat off.  Sandman makes the save and canes all of them. Hyatt tells Sandman she likes that. Sandman and Hyatt celebrate hardcore style with beer, squares and Enter Sandman in the back round.

Joey Styles recaps what has been happening in ECW so far.  Joey Styles calls Taz offensive to the wrestling industry because of his evil intentions.

Commercial break plugs!!!!!!!!!!!

Joey Styles starts plugging what you can see on the DVDS if you buy them.

Shane Douglas/ Tommy Dreamer. w/ Beulah vs. Stevie Richards/Raven

Richard and Dreamer start the match. Dreamer hits a closeline that drives Richards out, and the crowd is wild up.  Shane sets up a chair near Richards head and Dreamer baseball slides into it. Dreamer throws Richards in. Richards puts on a Razor shirt and puts a toothpick behind the ear trying to piss off Shane. It cuts to a better part as Shane is cleaning house with the chair.  Shane tries getting a pin on Raven, but gets only two. Douglas hits a Piledriver on Richard, but Raven makes the save. Tommy jumps Raven. Cactus jumps into the match. Shane fights off Foley. Raven hits Shane with something, but only gets tow. Sandman enters, canes everyone including the ref as the place goes wid. Raven gets up, and pins Douglas, but there is no ref. Richards wakes up the ref, and Raven pile drives Douglas. ONE-TWO-NO.  Richards gets the tag in, and dominates Douglas. Raven comes back in, but Douglas hits him with a DDT.  Both men are done in the ring. Dreamer wants the tag, but Richards cuts him off. Richards hits a Stevie-bomb. ONE-TWO-NO.  Douglas gets Irish wiped, but hits a launch backwards springboard elbow. Dreamer has a frying pan and cleans house with it. Richards gets tree of wowed, and catches a pain in the groin. Dreamer goes for a cover, but Raven hits them with a chair. Dreamer gets back up, and attacks Richard. Meany is clueless and hits a meanymoonsualt onto Richards. Tommy goes for a pin, but Raven breaks it up. Raven hits a DDT but only gets two. She ties the frying pain to Dreamer’s boot. Dreamer kicks Stevie in the head. ONE-TWO-THREE.  You could feel the drama and the heat between all the wrestlers in the match. The excessive run ins and shenanigans made it a little overbooked, but that was pretty much what ECW was all about; it was about having that realism playing in—and making it seem like anything can happen at any given moment. Pretty decent and exciting and well booked match overall, but I cannot rate a match that was this clipped fairly.

Taz vs. Shark attack kid.

The kid tries to get fancy with Taz, but he gets drilled with a T-Bone on his head. Taz then hits a vicious Tazplex onto the kid, but Kid gets back up. Taz hit a belly-to-belly suplex him from the top of the top. Taz puts in the Taz-mission and that is it @ 2:00. Taz calls out 911, but Gordon comes out with the mic. Gordon comes out and says 911 do not want to wrestle him. Bill calls out Gordon. Gordon gets in the ring, and Gordon punches him in the face. Gordon closelines Bill—and attacks him. Taz attacks Gordon, but Bam Bam Bigelow makes the save! Bam Bam calls out Taz.

Going Home: We started ECW off this week with possibly the longest segment in the history of humanity. Well maybe I am exaggerating, but it was still very long. Some of the stuff on it was very interesting, but some of it was simply ridiculous. I liked the stuff with Sandman and Raven’s flock; it drew good heat and expanded the rivalry in the right direction. I found the stuff with Missy Hyatt and the restraining order to be entertaining, and they did a good job of making you want to see where Sandman and Hyatt goes from this point on. Both matches on the show were fine, but I think there could have been more wrestling on this show than what they gave us. Taz was possibly the most interesting and well-booked thing going for ECW at the time and I loved how they brought in Bam Bam in surprisingly. Overall, the show wasn’t bad, but if you missed it—or haven’t seen it, you really are not missing a whole lot.

“Lucy Harmer’s shamanic astrology book is truly amazing. I use it in my work every day as a therapist to help people understand their personality and find their pathway through life.”
–Jean-Francois Beltrami, counselor and kinesiologist

Welcome to Lucy Harmer’s Shamanic Astrology monthly forecast for the Northern Hemisphere! Each month Lucy shares inspiration and ideas for the coming weeks from her book Shamanic Astrology: Understanding Your Spirit Animal Sign.

Shamanic Astrology is based on the study of the movement of the sun and the moon during the different seasons of the year. There are twelve astrological ‘”signs” which are represented by twelve different spirit animals. To find out your own personal spirit animal sign (the sign you were born under), please check the table of spirit animals at the end of this article. Shamanic Astrology teaches us that inner power derives from knowing the properties, characteristics, and qualities of each spirit animal (known as their “medicine”), and applying this in our own lives.

Each month I will focus on the spirit animal for that month, and describe the “energy” of the month itself and also the influence of the moon. I will also indicate which other spirit animal signs will find this month to be particularly beneficial, and why.

November 22-December 21: OWL

Month of Hibernation and Long Nights

Spirit Animal Sign of the Month:
Owl is the spirit animal which corresponds to November 22 – December 21 (in the northern hemisphere). If you were born at this time, your spirit animal sign is Owl and you share Owl’s strengths of being fair, honest, wise, philosophical, idealistic, optimistic, and independent. You are someone who enjoys the good life! You may also share some of Owl’s weaknesses and can have a tendency to be restless, negligent, intolerant, proud, irresponsible, tactless, superficial and excessively optimistic.

Medicine: Owl’s medicine is the ability to seek out truth and justice in all
circumstances. This can be used in any ambiguous or unclear situation, to find the path to follow and to restore order.
Element: Fire
Stone: Obsidian
Color: Gold
Plant: Mistletoe

Energy of the season:
Owl’s month, which ends with the winter solstice, is that of hibernation and long nights. The sun is at its lowest in the sky and the nights are at their longest. This is a period for introspection, spiritual seeking, visions, plans and preparation for the future. Everything undertaken during this month will need a greater dose of enthusiasm, spontaneity, and optimism than at other times and will have to be on a sound ethical basis. Projects conceived now are often highly ambitious.

Energy of the moon:
Owl’s new moon started on Nov 16th and the full moon is on December 2nd 2009. The period from November 22nd until December 2nd is the ideal time for conceiving or launching projects. These will have a high rate of success, as long as they have a sound ethical foundation. After the full moon, from December 3rd until 15th December, time is best used for introspection and deep spiritual growth. This is a time for learning from the past and for setting new goals for the future. December 16th brings the new moon in Snow Goose; this is a time for putting new structures in place for the year to come, with much determination.

This month is particularly favorable for the following signs:

Owl:
If your sign is Owl the energy of this month is very favorable because it corresponds to the month and the moon of your birth. A new cycle is about to start in your life and this is the best time to start planting seeds. Use the sun’s energy to take stock and head off in a new direction.

Falcon/Salmon:
If your sign is Falcon or Salmon, this is a very lucky month for you, with lots of harmony because you are in your own fire element. A multitude of opportunities will open up for you in this period and this is the best time to give destiny a helping hand!

Raven/Otter:
For Raven and Otter people, this is a very dynamic month, full of energy which favors the conception and birth of new projects. You will feel new motivation and a renewal of your energy at this time.

Table of Spirit Animal Signs:

To find your spirit animal sign, just locate your birthday from the dates below, according to your place of birth. If you were born north of the equator (eg; USA, Canada, Europe), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Northern Hemisphere.” If you were born south of the equator (eg; Australia, New Zealand, South Africa), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Southern Hemisphere.”

© Copyright 2009 Lucy Harmer

Shamanic Astrology is available for purchase directly through NorthAtlanticBooks.com, as well as major book stores and online retailers.

CLICK HERE to learn more about courses, seminars and workshops offered by Lucy Harmer.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Shamanic Astrology.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Discovering Your Spirit Animal.

Unique, black shadow crossing the sky

Surrounded by darkness, sun hidden.

Feathers. Movement. To death given,

As a secret where the bird will lie

Along with the clouds upon its wings.

A quick gaze from above while flying,

Gives the whole feeling of denying.

Denying its own destiny, written in rings.

Passion through the wind. It feels,

Strange, because he flies alone.

Undercover, agile, fast, it steals

the one-life minute. All is done

for its existence as it kills,

any other hope in brighter tone.

Author: Charles Ryder.

A poem inspired by this mysterious and elegant animal. Have a nice day.

If you haven’t already, I highly suggest reading The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. It’s an amazing poem full of insane wickedness and insanity. I was forced to read it in my English 11 class but I ended up loving it. My teacher said it is because it tunes in with my twisted thoughts. He thinks I’m plotting his death because I’m quiet and I laughed when he almost fell into a trashcan. Be honest, would you have laughed if your English teacher tripped over a small trashcan and almost fell into a larger one?

I’m terribly sorry if I end up going off topic but my dog decided to wake me up at 5 o’clock this morning. I tend to be a bitch when I’m tired.

My friends have been driving me crazy recently. They are all obsessed with the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus. You’re probably thinking they are twelve year old girls right? Wrong. They’re seventeen. Honestly, I hate Miley Cyrus. I don’t know what it is about her that pisses me off, but something just does. Everytime I see or hear her I start to get a headache. I am not trying to bash her or whatever, I’m just stating my opinion. I’m sick of everyone saying, “How can you judge her if you never met her?” Well, I can’t. I’m not judging her. If I was I could say she’s a slut for wearing shorts or that she talks weird because she’s from ‘the country’; and that’s just plain BS. I wear shorts and I am not a slut. My cousin is from Arkansas and he talks perfectly normal.

Listening to Someday by Rob Thomas

What follows is a trip through my notebook pages from this year’s World Fantasy Convention — things I wanted to remember, many of which are authors and the titles of their books and stories, some of which may be misspelled. [I think I've noted the spellings I'm not sure of.] The stuff is in no particular order — it’s like a junk drawer dumped out onto the tabletop. It’s a starting point: the place to begin intriguing searches and maybe discussions. Feel free to jump in with corrections, information, comments, or further queries.

It’s from such soup that great ideas might come. (Artist Guest of Honor Lisa Snellings said “You can’t go wrong with a soup analogy. It’s all in there.”)

Poe . . . Stephen King . . . background in poetry.

The Last Unicorn poses a riddle that is never answered in the book: “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” One panelist, frustrated for years, eventually caught up with Peter S. Beagle and asked him for the answer. He allegedly said, “The answer is either ‘Poe wrote on both’ or ‘Both have inky quills.’” Someone in the audience chimed in and suggested a third answer: “Both produce notes that are generally not musical.”

There’s a folkloric connection between ravens and the Tower of London — if ravens cease living in and around the Tower, England’s monarchy will fail; the royal line will break. So even now, there are special attendants who look after the ravens and make sure they’re happy living there.

There’s a curious relationship between wolves and ravens in the real world. They play together. Ravens will swoop down and pull wolves’ tails, and the wolves will snap and chase the ravens. (I’m not at all sure the wolves are “playing”. . . .) They also hunt together, helping each other for mutual benefit. Ravens will scout out likely-looking prey and call the wolves’ attention to it. Wolves will leave leftovers that ravens can eat. Ravens follow wolf packs, and wolf packs follow ravens.

The panelists were somewhat divided on whether the raven is more often a wise, instructive friend to humankind or a treacherous opportunist who is not at all our friend. In The Hobbit, the ravens living on and around the Lonely Mountain are long-term noble friends of the Dwarves. The raven who sits on the bust of Pallas in Poe’s “The Raven” may just be making mindless noise; it may be leading the narrator to consider his situation; or it may be mocking him and/or actively trying to push him over the edge. The panelists talked about the raven who leaves Noah’s ark and doesn’t come back, because it finds what it wants and needs elsewhere; they didn’t mention the ravens that bring Elijah food. (Have I got that right?) I keep coming back to the “Twa Corbies,” who will be making a sweet dinner of the dead knight — feeding on his heart, feeding on his “bonny blue eye,” and using his hair to weave into their nests. One panelist had a very good feeling about ravens she’s actually met; one always felt coldness from their eyes, and the sense that, if she died, they would gladly eat her. At Niigata University, there are abundant black birds — I’m not sure if they’re ravens or big crows — who come and hunt through the garbage and glare at passersby. I often get a very unfriendly feeling from them. There was, however, one early summer a couple years ago when I would often give little pieces of my lunch to a big one who would find me regularly and watch and hop as close as he dared. Of course I don’t think he was my “friend.”

Robert Chambers [I think], The King in Yellow

L to R: Jay Lake, Lisa Snellings, Garth Nix, Michael Swanwick, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Richard A. Lupoff, Zoran Zivkovic, Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer: World Fantasy Convention 2009, San Jose, California

E.F. Benson, “Negotium Perambulans” (I may have read this years ago, and that’s what inspired me to include that inscription in Dragonfly, above the shaft where the Thanatops lives. It’s a quote from the Psalm, “Negotium perambulans in tenebris” — “The pestilence that walks in darkness.”)

“A Voice in the Night,” by William Hope Hodgson –  one panelist said a teacher read this out loud to them in gradeschool, and the room was utterly silent, and the kids were totally freaked out and never forgot it.

Same group, same caption

The Sun Bird, by Wilbur Smith (an excellent lost race novel) 

The Moon Pool, by A. Merritt — Lovecraft loved the novelette but condemned the novelization — which is probably the one I have on my shelf here.

David Hartwell’s The Dark Descent (I gather this is some kind of an overview of weird/horror fiction. Very intriguing.)

These next are all from Lisa Snellings:

It’s best not to write some stuff down. Sometimes when we do, when we capture the idea and put it down on paper, that satisfies us, and we’re done with it. Don’t worry: Good ideas persist. If it keeps coming back to you, it’s probably a good one. [This thought really made me nod in recognition. I agree.]

She says Ray Bradbury told her: “A general direction is better than a plan, because plans rarely work out. Keep working.”

The best ideas ring like a bell. The best ideas make you sweat. You just want to work, and don’t care if your shirt is on inside out. [Again, I recognize the truth of this. I've been there, now and then!]

In general, people who are successful work very, very hard.

Lisa Snellings says: “Why I’m never blocked: because I go to work every single day. It’s your job.” [Stephen King says pretty much the same thing in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.]

When you’re working or doing some kind of playing that you’re totally into and the rest of the world disappears, you’re in the Zone. For our well-being, our brains need to be in the Zone. It’s like a shower for our brains. She’s in the Zone often when she’s playing video games. But you can get there when you’re working, too — on art, music, writing, etc.

Moving back to general notes:

Garth Nix: “Some books are good enough to survive the most horrendous authors and constant exposure to them.”

He says “Sabriel” with a long a, as in saber.

Ellen Kushner: “Real life is a great impediment to grace and elegance.”

Tim Powers doesn’t read his contemporaries at all. He has a horror of ever being in a writer’s group, because he’d be expected to read the other group members’ manuscripts. (He says not to tell anyone about this; he hopes no one will post it on-line.)

When Ellen Kushner was a little girl and realized some other people didn’t like her, her father said, “Do you like everyone you meet? No? Then why should they all like you?” And she never worried about that again.

Something Garth Nix said that I really identified with: He’s a “story-driven character writer.” He knows very little about the characters as he begins writing. He learns about them as they go through the story, as they face the events and act. So he doesn’t try to figure out all that about the characters before he starts. I find this to be amazingly comforting, because I go at it the same way and always wondered if there was something wrong with my approach. This seems so much more real to me than filling out all those character sheets, writing profiles for them, pretending to walk around talking with them for months before you write your book, etc. I’m so relieved!

Someone asked if the panel was supposed to be 55 minutes or exactly an hour. Ellen Kushner said, “It’s 55 minutes. It’s a therapy hour.”

Ellen Kushner: “We live in an age that devalues the imagination.”

Some writer said: “I am all my characters, but none of them are me.”

Michael Swanwick pointed out how in Lud-in-the-Mist, the conflict is between magic (Faery) and the law. [True! In Lud, the modern people are in denial of the existence of magic, and to say "fairy" is like saying the worst swear-word, and their legal language has euphemisms for magical things.]

Swanwick: “At the heart of fantasy is mystery. The universe is unknowable. In sf, it’s the other way around — the universe is knowable and follows noble rules.”

Swanwick related how William Blake saw ghosts all the time. Blake drew a picture of the ghost of a flea to show people what he was looking at. [And this is me: still one of my favorite Blake-related quotes was from his wife: "I seldom enjoy Mr. Blake's company. He's always in Paradise." Blake was in the Zone!]

Swanwick: The weakness of the “deal with the devil” story is that the very existence of the devil offering the deal proves the existence of the afterlife, testifies to eternal consequences, etc. — so who would take such a deal? [An old first-grade classmate of mine, no longer with us in this world, was a fine writer who actually took that into account in writing a "deal with the devil" story.]

Swanwick: “If it’s said in front of a writer, it belongs to him.” [Fred: By this point, most of my friends know this to be true!]

Guy Gavriel Kay: “If almost anything is done well, it can work.” [Isn't that also extremely comforting? Your idea doesn't have to be Earth-shaking. Just tell the tale well. Eight centuries ago, the Japanese poet Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) told his writing students: "Do not strain for novelty."]

Guy Gavriel Kay liked the Emma Thompson film Sense and Sensibility — very good film overall — but he intensely disliked how the filmmakers played the manners of the time for laughs from a modern audience. They pandered to a modern audience. It was almost bad enough to kill his enjoyment of the movie. [At my first-ever writers' conference -- I was in high school -- Paul Darcy Boles told me that a good thing about my writing was that I didn't poke fun at my characters. If we write about people in a different time or culture, we have to let them be who they would be in that time and place.]

Modern readers are very averse to dialect. In the 19th century they loved it when characters spoke in dialect on the page, but not now.

Ellen Kushner made the point that, to represent the language of another era or place, you can use the rhythms of that culture’s language. One skillful writer she cited, to give French characters the “flavor” of speaking French in her English-language books, consciously employed the beats of standard French poetry. And the English lines do somehow give the illusion of being French!

Avoid trendiness in speech patterns. [Note to self: Do not have characters in an epic fantasy say, "Tuh. As if!"]

Deanna Hoak: “Copyediting is like bathing. No one notices it unless you don’t do it.”

Guy Gavriel Kay (on writing dialogue that sounds authentic): “There’s no formula for success, but there are avenues for authenticity. It depends on maintaining a consistent tone.”

[In my Hokkaido days, I was the D.M. for a small group that played Dungeons & Dragons in the parsonage of Asahikawa Lutheran Church. As a non-native speaker of Japanese, I spoke -- and still speak -- the language at one level of politeness: the standard, safe-in-all-situations level that foreigners are taught in classrooms. But Japanese has a huge range in levels of politeness, each appropriate in a different situation depending on the speaker's relationship to the listener, their relative ages, genders, statuses, etc. Sometimes my D&D group would burst out laughing because my orcs spoke so politely: "Please drop your weapons. If you do not, this will turn into a fight! -- Grrr! Aargh!"]

Everyone says read Mythago Wood, by Robert Holdstock. The direct sequel is Avilion. [I'm not sure about any of those three spellings.]

Lavinia, by Ursula LeGuin, is absolutely amazing.

Little, Big is evidently a great book.

Alice Henderson [sp?] has a really good-sounding horror novel set in Glacier National Park.

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner — apparently really excellent — one panelist whom I respected re-reads it every year.

In Cold Blood by Capote is really disturbing, really scary.

Final note: It would be a very good idea to read the World Fantasy Award-winning novels and runners-up each year. The ones that win seem to be highly original, hard to categorize.

And there we have it!

Let us go forth and read, write, love, and live!

02.06.96
From:  Queens, New York City
Your Host: Joey Styles

Raven cuts a promo saying he wants to introduce is to his most prized possession—the ECW belt as he throws that whore out of the way.

Opening Match: Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.

This is JG’s debut into ECW—and he faces Rey who has been in ECW for a couple of months now. We cut to commercial as we come back there is a “Fonzie Must Die” tee-shirt plug. The bell rings, and JG hits a firemans carry into a slam. Rey gets the advantage with the side headlock, but JG gets out, but Rey Mysterio hits a nice arm drag. JD hits an arm drag of himself. Joey Styles mentions that their both 21 years old right now. JG hits a spine buster but only gets two. They start exchanging slaps to the face. They both get up, JG softy paintbrushes him, but  Rey gives him a big slap. Now the action gets fast; Rey kicks his legs out, but JG lands on his feet. Rey tries to monkey flip him over, JG lands on his feet on the outside of the ropes. Rey goes to the top and hits a hurrcanarana. Rey and JG both exchange flashy moves. Rey comes back, and hits a closeline, and a head scissor. Rey then hits a springboard hurrcanarana followed by an over the top senton onto JG. Rey puts the chair on JG neck and drives him into the turn post, twice. JG comes back in, and hits a dropkick. Rey tries to do a dive under the legs, but JG hits him with a German Suplex. JG goes for a tigerbomb, and nails it. ONE-TWO-NO. JG press slams Rey into a throw away slam with a bridge. ONE-TWO-NO. Rey comes back, and hits a hurrcanarana for only a two. Rey hits a powerslam, but cannot put JG away. Rey goes up to the top, but JG cuts him off. JD is going for Splash Mountain, but Rey counters with a hurrcanarana and gets the win @ 9:34. The match was a very good opener; it had incredibly high pacing and tons of innovative and outstanding moves. Even though Juventud did not pick up the win, he still looked very credible in the match. I wish they gave this match more time, but it would have been very difficult to that because they really only got 45 minutes of TV time a week—so it was hard to actually give the midcard much time for Paul E. The match also gets an extra boost because Joey Styles was so excellent at calling all the moves in this match—and getting everything over. ***

More plugging shirts and Enter the Sandman (which shuts the volume off due to copyrights on youtube, so I had to download the show because of it).

Joey Styles is promoting Douglas vs. Jack; then summarizes their friendship and rivalry over their career.

Foley is in the back with Whipreck and Foley starts putting Whipwreck over. Foley then ask if he wanted to go to WWF, but Mickey says he is happy here.

ECW Tag Titles:Mikey Whipreck/ Cactus Jack vs. Eliminators (Perry Saturn/John Kronus)

Foley takes off his shirt, and under his other shirt, it says “WW F’N F”, which breaks out a “you sold out” chant.  John Kronus and Mikey tie up and John pushes him down. Mikey takes John down with a headlock. Saturn tags in, but Mikey does some nice arm drags into a headlock. Cactus pulls him off because he wants in the match. Foley gets on the mic and buries Mikey on the mic by saying Mikey has not done much, and that he won the titles all by himself. Foley works over Perry, and then tags in Mikey. Mikey puts in an arm hold, so Foley gets irate and pushes him off. Eliminators work over Mikey. Kronus puts in a rest hold, but Mikey comes back but Saturn cheap shots him. Kronus powerbombs Mikey; then PS drops a knee on Mikey from the top rope. PS hits a lariat but only gets 2.  Eliminators work over Mikey more.  Mikey is slowly going to Foley and makes the tag. Foley starts to work over both of them, but the numbers game start to take place. Foley regroups and hits a Cactus closeline and sends Perry over the top. Foley hits a springboard elbow on the outside to Perry. Foley hits a Piledriver, but does not want the count. Foley wants to hit Perry with it,but Mikey stops him. Perry has the glass, but Mikey saves Foley from getting hit. Mikey starts to clean some house. Eliminators regroup and hit Total Elimination @ 11:20. After the match, Raven does a beat down on Mikey, but Foley saves him. Foley trash talks Raven in the corner, but then Cactus closelines Whipreck. Raven grabs a chair and starts smashing Whipreck with it. Foley then hits a DDT on the chair. After that, Eliminators cut a promo with Styles. Francine says she joined the Eliminators, but ends up being a trick as Pitbulls come out; then they do a beat down on them. Pitbulls then cut John’s hair. The storytelling was great, but the wrestling in the match varied from great to sloppy. The more newsworthy and better action came after the match than in it. **

OG cut a promo on Pitbulls saying that they should not be attacking Eliminators because they beat them, not the Eliminators.

In the back, Dreamer cuts a promo with a candle lit over his bloody hand. He talks about mental pain and his hate for Raven. He talks about how he must snuff him out.

Foley cuts a promo with Raven with some Pulp Fiction playing in the background. Foley rants on Mikey on how he helped him in life. However, all he did was throw it down the toilet.  Foley talks about how he has an eating disorder, and other weird stuff.

Shane Douglas is just laughing

Taz and Whistle man are ranting about New York. Taz says he will choke out all comers.

Pitbulls rant on Eliminators.

OG tell Pitbulls are going down, and the Gangstas are alive.

Beulah then tells Raven she faked it with him.

Raven is under the stairs, he talks about his scars, and how people think he does not have love but they are wrong.

2 Cold talks about how he loves a good women than describes what he loves about them. He asks if his baby wants to come in, he brings her in and it is his title. He gives the title a big kiss. 2 Cold talks about he gets all the women and now has the gold.

Pitbulls talk about how they took Eliminators pride and hair.

Eliminators are in the back, as John cuts his hair off asking them do they really think he cares that they cut his hair off. John says all that matters is that they have the gold because they make more money.

Going Home: No matter if you are pro-ECW or not; you cannot deny that ECW in 1996 was not written awesomely. Everything on this show was very enjoyable and set a purpose. The opener was a very good match, the ECW tag match was entertaining, the Dreamer promo was deep, and then the ending promos are brilliantly done. I just loved how they played the Pulp Fiction music in the back round as they all did their promos. Out of all the promos, I have to say that Foley’s was the best, but not to take away from the awesome, crazy segment with the Eliminators when John cut his hair off in a psychotic way.

In this show, they did a great job of explaining what is going on, and it also made you want to see want is going to happen on the next show. Dreamer-Raven, Foley-Whipreck and Pitbulls-Eliminators were all very interesting feuds that were must see. ECW in 1996, is when I think Heyman didn’t write with a pencil; he was writing with gold, because he made the best out of nothing, and that is why he is considered one of the greatest writers of all time. If you do not believe it, watch this episode, and this is coming from a person who thinks people overrate ECW.

That large black bird flying over you …. is it a crow or a raven?  Not sure?  This may help you identify it! 
 

Judul asli: 名探偵コナン漆黒の追跡者 (Meitantei Konan Shikkoku no Tsuisekisha)
Produksi: Toho (2009)
Sutradara: Yasuichiro Yamamoto

Akhirnya sempat juga menulis resensi film layar lebar Conan keluaran tahun 2009 ini dan aku merasa lumayan puas dengan the movie ke 13 jika melirik 2 film layar lebar Conan sebelumnya secara berturut-turut. Harap maklum, karena baik the movie 11 maupun 12 mengalami penurunan kualitas baik secara cerita misteri, suspense maupun petualangan jika dibandingkan dengan the movie sebelumnya. Kali ini Conan kembali berhadapan dengan musuh bebuyutannya Kuro Sosiki (Organisasi Hitam) beserta para gembong utamanya Gin, Vodka dan tentu saja Vermouth. Sekedar info, The Raven Chaser ini juga merupakan penampilan terakhir Kamiya Akira yang mengisi suara Meitantei Mouri Kogoro untuk Detective Conan The Movie, karena kontrak Kamiya berakhir pada tahun ini. Pada Detective Conan The Movie 14 tahun depan, Koyama Rikiya akan mengisi suara Kogoro (dimulai sejak serial anime episode 553).

6 orang ditemukan tewas di 6 tempat berbeda di jepang tengah dengan penghubung keping mahjong, sehingga menyebabkan polisi di 6 prefektur bekerja sama untuk memecahkan kasus ini. Seperti biasanya, Conan ikut terlibat dalam kasus ini karena detektif partikelir Mouri Kogoro turut diundang sebagai tenaga bantuan. Tanpa sengaja Conan menemukan bahwa Kuro Sosiki ternyata ikut terlibat dalam penyelidikan kasus ini karena menyangkut chip tentang data daftar anggota NOC Kuro Sosiki yang hilang ketika salah satu korban terbunuh. Mereka menduga kalau sang pembunuh membawanya tanpa sadar. Perlahan, Conan mulai menyadari kalau salah satu dari anggota gabungan polisi adalah penyamaran anggota Kuro Sosiki dengan kode nama Irish, dan ternyata Irish sang polisi palsu mengetahui identitas asli Conan sebagai Kudo Shinichi.

Jika melihat trailer promosi yang diluncurkan sebelum film ditayangkan, terlihat seolah-olah Kuro Sosiki benar-benar sudah dekat dengan penyingkapan identitas asli Conan. Padahal pada kenyataannya tidaklah demikian, sehingga hal ini cukup mengecewakan aku sebagai penggemar konfrontasi Conan-Kuro Sosiki. Disisi lain, film ini tidak menawarkan suspense dan thriller yang intens sebagaimana keterlibatan Kuro Sosiki dalam film Detective Conan 5: Countdown to Heaven yang lebih menegangkan dibandingkan The Raven Chaser. Benar-benar trailer yang bombastis itu membuatku terlalu banyak berharap pada film layar lebar ke 13 ini, sehingga menyebabkan penilaianku menurun cukup drastis. Tapi bagaimanapun juga dengan keterlibatan Kuro Sosiki, film ini jatuhnya masih lebih baik dibandingkan dua film sebelumnya. Misteri siapa polisi palsu samaran Kuro Sosiki yang ditampilkan juga cukup membuat penasaran, walaupun tidak menampilkan trik pembunuhan yang aneh-aneh. Segi petualangan yang kuharapkan lewat penampilan Kuro Sosiki ternyata sangat kurang, sehingga bisa dibilang tidak ada hal baru yang menarik ditawarkan oleh the movie kali ini. Sedangkan berkumpulnya para tokoh polisi 6 perfektur kenalan Conan dari berbagai kasus dalam serial manga/anime, terlihat hanya sekedar tempelan yang menuh-menuhin layar saja. Memang sih, mereka semua ditampilkan demi menyamarkan sosok Irish si polisi palsu, sayangnya hanya sebatas itu saja.

Judul The Raven Chaser sendiri diambil dari lagu Nanatsu no Ko yang dihasilkan dari bunyi dial nomer telepon bigboss Kuro Sosiki dengan awalan liriknya Karasu naze naku no (Hai gagak, kenapa kau menangis). Jika sang gagak diasumsikan sebagai Kuro Sosiki, maka tugas Conan lah mengejar sang gagak. O iya, ada satu hal aneh yang menurutku ganjil (spoiler dikit). Apakah untuk menjadi seorang penggemar band The Beatles, harus berasal dari jaman McCartney berempat masih aktif nge-band? Aku sendiri yang lahir setelah The Beatles bubar, gemar dengan lagu-lagu mereka koq.

Rating: 3/5

Lupe Fiasco & Michael Ealy

NYC Premiere Of ‘The People Speak’ backstage at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 19, 2009

The film brings together images, music and narration with re-creations of American moments of resistance. There’s the Declaration of Independence; speeches by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.; songs by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Public Enemy; and a call to action by Cindy Sheehan among many others.

Taylor has put up with my feminist outrage for a long time.  When we sit down to watch a television show at the end of a hard day, it’s almost tradition for me to see an ad and blurt something like, “Come on!  By using a woman they are insinuating that women are the only ones who are incapable of taking care of themselves without additional security!”  And Taylor raises his eyebrows a little bit and agrees with me when I press him about it.

I can be a little out of control, it’s true.

My feminist rage is at its strongest when watching cartoons.  It’s a fact: most all of the coolest cartoon characters are men.  The boys are allowed to have complex motivations and badass fight scenes.  They typically get the best jokes and tend to be the main characters.  The women’s motivations tend to be “SHE IS A LADY.  THAT IS WHAT LADIES DO,” and their jokes are limited to nagging  and histrionics.

It’s true that some characters are worse than others, though.  For your pleasure (and to give Taylor’s ears a break) here are the Seven Worst Female Cartoon Characters, rated in order of how much they conform to an unhealthy and unnecessary stereotype.  You may note that I’ve left out the classics – Betty Boop, Disney Princesses…I feel like these characters, sexist though they are, are the product of their times.  But now we have decided we are progressive!  Our entertainment features women who can rassle!  Women who know math!  So our modern cartoons are devoid of girls who rely on sexuality or bitterness, right?

Ha.

Are you ready to get your Righteous Indignation on?

7.  Candace from Phineas and Ferb:  I like Phineas and Ferb.  The show centers around two young boys who live each day of their summer vacation to the fullest, often concocting wild and impressive schemes to get what they want.  They are good natured and fun loving.  Their older sister, Candace, is not.  Candace likes boys and makeup and being a star, and hates fun and things that are messy.  She often plays the role of the villain in the cartoon, but her motivations are completely transparent.  It’s as though the creators decided she was A Big Sister and left it at that.  Boo, Candace.  Booo.

She is the very spirit of fun and mischief!

6.  Roxanne from A Goofy Movie:  What do we know about Roxanne from A Goofy Movie?  The main  character, Max, loves her and wants to impress her.  Why?  Because she’s hot, of course!  And she like…uh.  I guess we don’t really know what she likes.  But she’s very….oh.  I guess we don’t really know her personal qualities either.  Well, we KNOW her name is Roxanne, and that she is HOT!  And that’s enough for her to be a truly compelling character, right?  Right?  You guys?

She has a sparkling uh...personality?

5.  Amy Rose from Sonic The Hedgehog:  When you have a cartoon and video game franchise centered around a blue hedgehog, the natural choice for his counterpart is a pink hedgehog.  It is the law of the wild.  Amy Rose exists to chase Sonic with large hearts in her eyes, wielding a hammer that she uses to stun him into submission.  When she isn’t chasing him, she is nagging him to ‘be more sensitive’ or ’slow down and do things with her’.  Flash forward twenty years and he will be an overweight husband in a dead-end job, and she will be a hot wife that only wants him to do the dishes, and harps on him to eat a salad now and again.  Stay in school, girls!

Don't showcha your chocha, Amy!

4.  Jean Grey from X-Men Evolution:  Okay.  I’m going to catch a lot of flak for this one, because lots of people like Jean Grey, but her X-Men Evolution iteration is…maybe a little less than impressive.  In this era, Jean is a high school student.  She is gorgeous, limber, the most popular girl in school, gets straight A’s, and has fantastic telekinetic and telepathic powers to boot!  All this besides the undying love of most of the male characters.  So, here’s what I don’t like about Jean: she is entirely focused on what others think of her.  From the outside, this sounds like a solid motivation for a character, but Jean, in the true tradition of dim female characters, relies entirely on the males around her to define herself.  Is she dating the football jock or sensitive Scott Summers?  Is she being kidnapped by Magneto, or are her Phoenix powers being squelched by ultra powerful psychic Charles Xavier?  Jean is a grievous cartoon stereotype offender because she purports to be a Modern Woman – smart and powerful, but ultimately she relies on the men in her life to boost her esteem and supply her opinion.

Don't be afraid, Jean! Somewhere out there...somewhere, there is a shirt that will cover your midriff.

3.  Raven from Teen Titans:  In the bold tradition of Jean Grey, Raven is a heroine who seems quite heroic until you take into account who pulls her strings.  She is the daughter of vicious demon Trigon, which has imbued her with impressive magic.  The magic controls her more than she controls it, and when Trigon comes to earth, he promptly subjugates her to his whim.  A great story would be if Raven found her courage and her strength and rose up to slay her father, freeing herself and gaining control over her power.  Buuuuut Robin the Boy Wonder does it for her, and she is so pleased to be saved it establishes her trust in humanity.  Yay, Robin!  You’ve finally showed us all that we don’t need to save ourselves, as long as we can go from one male protector to another.  Did I mention she does all this in a tight-fitting legless leotard?

Dig the belt, Raven! But I think you...did you forget to put something on this morning? Starts with a P? Ends with an 'Ants'?

2.  Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon – Oookay.  I know Tuxedo Mask is a dude.  I’ve been focusing mostly on horrible female stereotypes, but male stereotypes exist as well.  Tuxedo Mask is the Edward of Sailor Moon.  He is a preteen girl’s ultimate fantasy.  That bratty guy at school that causes her so much grief secretly loves her for no apparent reason!  And what’s more than that, he is secretly a super hero!  He always shows up at the right moment to save her from evil amid a show of bubbles and delicate rose petals.  What does he like?  What are his hopes and dreams?  What are his fears?  It’s a mystery.  After all, Tuxedo Mask doesn’t need to be a real person, as long as he loves me.  Sob sob sob.

Ohh, Tuxedo Mask! Let me stare into your eyes for another four hours!

1.  I have reserved the number one spot for a cartoon creation that truly kindles the flames of my red-hot ire.  I speak, of course, of The Ruiner.  The Great Hair-Flipper, the Bunny-Smoocher, whose vapid stare and saxophone-stoked entry music sends me into paroxysms of rage.

I speak, of course, of Lola Bunny.

You guys remember the movie Space Jam.  Aliens try to take over the Looney Tunes, and they challenge them to a basketball game.  To tip their hand, the Tunes snag Michael Jordan.  Hilarity ensues.  When it turns out they don’t know how to play basketball at all, Michael Jordan says, in desperation, “Hasn’t anybody here ever played basketball?”

You guys.

Lola Bunny has:

I feel like that is all I really need to say about Lola Bunny.

Tune in next Monday when I post my picks for Top Seven Awesomest Cartoon Ladies!

One way that you know an artist is talented is when other artists are eager for their work. Gwaai Edenshaw is in that enviable position among the Northwest Coast artists who live in Vancouver. A some-time botanist and Bill Reid’s last apprentice, he works largely in gold, although he has been known to sketch, carve wood, and even experiment with animation. Having admired his work since we first saw it, Trish and I recently celebrated our anniversary by buying two of his rings.

Mine is based on an episode in “Raven Traveling,” the Haida narrative of the Trickster’s wanderings near the beginning of time. On the beach, the raven encounters a group of crows. They begin to cook a salmon. The raven falls asleep, but the crows can’t wait for him to wake, and devour the salmon. Belatedly, they realize that the raven will be angry when he rouses, so they take the remaining crumbs of salmon, and wedge them between his teeth. When the raven wakes, hungry for his meal, they point out the crumbs and ask, “Don’t you remember? You ate it before you went to sleep.”

I appreciate the story for its broad humor, as well as its extrapolation from nature; crows really do mob ravens, especially when their young are in the nest. If crows could play practical jokes on ravens, they undoubtedly would. Also, the story is not one of the ones that is generally depicted, like raven’s stealing of the light, or even his theft of the ravens from the beavers.

I suggested the subject to Edenshaw, and waited with all the patience that anticipation would allow for six months until he had time to get to it.

The result was more than worth the wait. Edenshaw chose a style that fits the humor of the story, showing the raven with his beak open and crows rollicking around him, pushing the crumbs of salmon into his mouth and their beaks open in excitement, no doubt chortling with glee at the thought of putting one over on their rival.

Since the raven has teeth in the story, and the Haida storytellers must have had plenty of chances to notice that birds have none, I assume that he must have been in human form when he met the crows. However, the fact that Edenshaw chose to show the raven as a bird with teeth in his beak does not detract, any more than the teeth in the beak of the parrot in Aladdin. It is a comic touch, and the result is reminiscent of the lively cartoons that you see in the margins of medieval manuscripts. I especially like the mischievous crow that is pushing a piece of salmon along the raven’s back(You can see the crow’s beak just behind the top of the raven’s head).

At the same time, I appreciate the economy and skill with which Edenshaw rendered the story. Like a business card (only more so), a ring provides a very limited space for depicting anything, yet Edenshaw manages to focus on the main event of the story, while selectively choosing details so that, while the feathers on raven’s head are not visible, the pieces of salmon clearly are. The detail is all the more amazing when you consider that the ring is cast, not engraved.

So far as I am concerned, Edenshaw produced a ring that is utterly unique, and wonderfully rich in humor and detail. After wearing it for several weeks, and having appreciated the small extra touches with which it was delivered (in a small wooden box, with the promise that the mold would be kept, in case the original was lost), I fully intend to buy more of Gwaai Edenshaw’s work. But if, as I suspect, his prices rise as he receives the recognition he deserves, at least we have a couple of samples of his work to console ourselves.

We Ladies are equal-opportunity oglers.  That is, we don’t discriminate when it comes to sports hotties, young or old.  Some of you may consider today’s HDH to be on the old side of the spectrum, but some of us here think he’s quite handsome.

Brendan Shanahan announced that after 21 seasons in the NHL, he was finally hanging up his skates.  What better way to honor his impressive career (Can you say 19 playoff appearances in 21 seasons?) than with a hump day hottie post chronicling his career in hot pictures?

Follow me after the jump for a trip down memory lane.

Rookie Card love

3-Time Stanley Cup Champion with the Red Wings

Spending some time with Sid the Kid and the Canadian team

Shanny spent some time in NYC

And finally…I love a hot hockey player out of uniform!

A big stick tap to Lady Bee for suggesting Brendan! And apologies for being so late with this post.  First off, I was totally stumped until Ms. Bee passed along the retirement link, and then my computer and wordpress decided that they weren’t speaking today, so I had some technical difficulties!  Enjoy!

Det blir inget på svenska denna gången. (Det står ändå inget viktigt… Orkar du inte läsa på engelska så kan du kan bläddra ner och titta på bilderna.)

Getting out the jewellery stuff on my work table.

Working with birds

A few days ago I started working again. There’s an idea that has been maturing in an oak cask in the cellar of my mind and I think it’s ready now. And I think it deserves real silver.

I like working with the silver coated copper wire and I’ve been putting off starting to work with the real silver I got on my birthday – mostly because it makes me nervous, I guess. (It is more valuable, I am less experienced in how it twists and turns, and it was a gift, so it sort of matters what exactly this piece of wire becomes.)

Enough with “sort of” and “think” – I know this one should be made in silver and nothing else. Well some oxygen, too.

Old Crow before he turned black?

The design is inspired by some necklaces I saw on my Canada birthday journey, depicting Raven. The Raven who in North American legends made the world.

I had a different goal, but those guys – Raven and Old Crow, who appears in the same legends – have been difficult to shake off. But no, this isn’t them.

Especially the stories of how they each turn their shiny white coats black as coal have been echoing in the back of my head for reasons you will see some decimetres further down…

Especially the two of them together make me think of Raven and Old Crow.

Apart from what little was told to me in that jewellery/sculpture/art shop in Montreal my basic knowledge of Raven comes from Katharine Judson’s Old Crow Stories (the link goes to amazon.ca) and a guest appearance in Charles de Lint’s Widdershins (the link goes to the author’s home page). But mythological or not there is something special about ravens, crows, jackdaws, and all the others. Just look at these etchings by Franc van Oort, Raven 1, Raven 2, or the enamel works of Catherine Crowe Imago corvi (don’t miss “The Story of the Old Crow of Achill”).

There are more crows to come, of that you can be certain.

Anyway. In with the eggs they go!

Which one came first?

And as they lie there making a coat of silver oxide we can sit back and ponder the parables that could fit in there…

I already mentioned the change of colours, but more obvious connections could be made from trapping eggs and full grown birds in the same bag. Bearing in mind what it is I try to make – I haven’t told you what that is yet, have I? – I’m a bit sorry that no part of the process involves fire.

Whoever he turns out to be, here he's all black.

The material was a birthday gift, the inspiration comes from a birthday gift, so the outcome will be a… birthday gift. That’s why I don’t really have the liberty of going with the corvid theme. There is a point in sticking to what I aimed for from the start. And I’m almost there now.

The only thing left is to polish up the silver beneath the oxide again in the tip of the feathers. I know I’ve drifted off topic but this is the Phoenix and none of those other birds.

And you, Phoenix Birthday Boy, don’t read this until it is finished, okay? You don’t have time to read blogs anyway. You’ve got work to do!

Additional links:

• Imago corvi on Etsy
• Imago corvi on Blogspot
• Old Crow Stories, Catherine B. Judson (på adlibris.com)
• Widdershins, Charles de Lint (SF-bokhandeln, recension på svenska)

Aquí tienen unos videos de unas fotos de Kate’s Playground y de Raven Riley. Que disfruten estos slideshows.

Please remember about Raven.  Because Raven is a rescue dog.  Just like me.  But she got lost from her rescue home.  And I feel very sad for her.  Because she got lost.  And now she has to take care of herself.  All by herself.  Like I did.  And that is very frightening.  That made me very afraid.  And I think Raven is very afraid too. 

Here is about Raven, how my Kind Friend wrote it.  

Raven is a Black Standard Poodle.  At the time she got lost she weighed about 45 lbs.  She is missing from her family in Northern California.   Raven was staying with her dog sitter in San Jose when some things went wrong  and Raven got out of the yard and got lost!!   

Here is a photograph of Raven before she got lost. 

Raven. Photograph courtesy of Mark Rogers.

But  if Raven has not had a haircut since she got lost.  Then Raven will not look  like  this photograph, above, any more.    She may look more like this ungroomed Standard Poodle  below. 

Ungroomed Black Standard Poodle. Photograph courtesy of Susan Wilson.

So, if she hasn’t had a haircut, Raven won’t look like what most people think of when they think of a Poodle.  She may well be covered in burrs and other debris.  So she may just look like a medium-to-large, unkempt, dark colored dog.

Raven has reportedly been sighted  in Los Gatos and Campbell, and at various locations around and between these two communities.  

Raven’s owners are trying, desperately hard, to find her.  They have offered a significant reward.  And they have used tracking dogs, on several occasions, to try and pinpoint Raven’s location and travels.

Please spead the word about Raven to as many people as you can by whatever, and however many, means you prefer.  Even to people outside of California and outside of the USA.  Because the people you contact in other states and other countries may very well have other contacts, direct or indirect, in the area where Raven now is. 

At this point, Raven is most likely to be very disoriented, fearful and hungry.  She may be sick.    So she needs sensitive, careful handling if she is seen.

Please help Raven get home in any way you can. 

And please contact her owners at http://lostpoodlesanjose.blogspot.com, if you have seen Raven; if you think you may know where she is; if you would like to help find Raven; if you have any experience of or expertise in searching for a missing dog; or if you have any other helpful suggestions about how best to find Raven.

Here is link to a yahoogroup you can join.

http://lostpoodlesanjose.blogspot.com/

Thank You for helping Raven.

“I’m sorry.”

The old man sat there shaking his head slowly and she noticed tears fall from his eyes. They crawled their way down past his wrinkles and landed on his blue kerchieft making dark blue circles.

“No no no … I’m being a softy again.”

Her eyes started to sting as she willed herself not to cry. She turned her head away embarrassed and  focused on the raven sitting on the branch outside his window. Raven’s black eyes stared  coldly at her adding another level of emptiness alongside the tinny notes coming from the old record player playing in the corner.

She stared right into Raven’s eye and felt a sense of falling allowing the depth of color to draw her in. She defiantly met his gaze and didn’t bow to his powers.  She felt her heart sinking and knew that somewhere in the near future a message was coming.

“Have I made you sad?” His voice cut off their chance meeting of souls and she looked away from Raven half out of relief half out of fear.

Looking back at the gentleman she focused on the crinkles around his eyes and the way the light glinted off his pupils. She preferred his eyes to that of the Raven. They were more kind and though they held pain, they were filled with history and memories that he shared with her. She understood his emotions and she didn’t know that she would ever understand that of Raven’s.

“No not at all … please continue your story. I’ll switch the record over and we can have another cup of Earl Grey.”

She smiled at him and rose from the table.  As she poured boiling water from the kettle to the ceramic pot she felt an uneasy feeling thicken the atmosphere. Fearing that Raven was still spying on her she looked out the window to where he was perched and felt a protective urge to shoo him away. In helplessness she looked to her elderly companion and understood the origin of her fear.

Raising her gaze to Raven he smirked at her briefly and then proceeded to fly off into the grey afternoon.

Calmly she walked back to the table and placed the tea pot’s spout to her companion’s tea cup and poured him the warm burgundy liquid that brought them together. She measured out the sugar and poured a bit of cream, stirred the mixture with the spoon and watched as he brought the cup to his lips.

Casting her eyes downward she felt her own tears fall and create dark circles on her pants.

Ursäkta det abrupta slutet, Rifa bestämde sig för att trycka på stoppknappen, haha. Ifall ljudet är osynkat är det YouTubes fel, by the way. Förslag på vad jag ska prata om nästa gång?

Puss!

( scroll down for German Text )

Rocktower Festival Lübeck – The Easter Metalfestival 3. April 2010

On the 3rd April 2010, at 11 am, the Lübecker Musik- und Kongreßhalle and Treibsand will open their gates for the second Rocktower Festival Lübeck. The buzz starts on Friday with the metalmarket in the „Muk“ and warm-up Shows in Treibsand and Sounds.

MUK rocks. And this time it’s gonna be heavy! Now in it’s second year, the Easter Metalfestival will be raising the roof of the white house at the River Trave on Easter Saturday. Get ready for Hard Rock and Heavy-Metal fever. Thanks to the cooperation of „Treibsand”, this year we are able to present 19 national and international bands performing live. Two stages – two worlds: MuK meets Treibsand. Perfect conditions for the 14 hours concert marathon with top-class bands showcasing different styles of Metal and Hard Rock.

Appearing live are: Kalmah, Endstille, Finntroll, Powerwolf, Van Canto, Blitzkrieg, Raven, Cursed Anguish, Nastrandir, Entombed, Thunderbolt, Omen, Equilibrium, Asmodis, RAM, Roxxcalibur, Ruffians, The Devils Blood, The Rods.

The buzz starts on Friday in Lübeck with the Metalmarket in the MuK and warm-up shows in the „Sounds“ and in „Treibsand“. (More information to follow)

Festival starts: Saturday 03. April 2010 – 11:30 a.m. (Doors open: 11 a.m.)

Festival Tickets: www.metaltix.com . Advance booking: 42.90 € incl. all fees; Available from all known ticket agencies. Box office: 46.00€ incl. all fees.

Tickets for the warm-up show: 12 € direct from the box office or advance booking also available online.

For more information on travel possibilities, location and tickets: www.muk.de / www.metaltix.com / www.myspace.com/rocktower / www.rocktower.de

RUNNING ORDER 2010 :

Stage one:
 
11:15 – 12:00 Uhr Nastrandir
12:20 – 13:05 Uhr RAM
13:25 – 14:10 Uhr Ruffians
14:30 – 15:30 Uhr Kalmah
15:50 – 16:50 Uhr Blitzkrieg
17:10 – 18:10 Uhr Endstille
18:30 – 19:30 Uhr The Rods
19:50 – 20:50 Uhr Raven
21:10 – 22:10 Uhr Entombed
22:30 – 23:45 Uhr Equilibrium
00:00 – 01:15 Uhr Finntroll
 
Stage two:
 
13:50 – 14:35 Uhr Cursed Anguish
14:55 – 15:40 Uhr Asmodis
16:00 – 17:00 Uhr Thunderbolt
17:20 – 18:20 Uhr Omen
18:40 – 19:40 Uhr Van Canto
20:00 – 21:00 Uhr Powerwolf
21:20 – 22:20 Uhr The Devil´s Blood
22:40 – open End Roxxcalibur

Rocktower Festival Lübeck – The Easter Metalfestival 3. April 2010

Am 3. April 2010 um 11.00 Uhr öffnen die Lübecker Musik- und Kongresshalle (MuK) und das“ Treibsand“ ihre Tore für das zweite Rocktower Festival Lübeck. Und bereits am Freitag beginnt in Lübeck, mit der Metal-Börse in der „Muk“ und warm-up Shows im „Treibsand“ und im „Sounds“, der Ausnahmezustand.

Die „MuK“ rockt. Und dieses Mal wird’s richtig hart. Im zweiten Jahr erbebt das weiße Haus an der Trave am Ostersamstag im Hardrock- und Heavy-Metall-Fieber. 19 nationale und internationale Bands haben sich angekündigt. Sie spielen parallel auf zwei Bühnen: in der „MuK“ und im „Treibsand“, dem Veranstaltungsraum der „Alternative e.V.. Zwischen beiden Veranstaltungsorten liegen Welten aber nur wenige Schritte zu Fuß

Der vierzehnstündige Konzertmarathon mit hochkarätigen Bands aus verschiedenen Richtungen des Metal- und Hardrock beginnt am Sonnabend, dem 3. April 2010, um 11.30 Uhr. Tickets gibt es im Vorverkauf für 42,90 Euro, an der Abendkasse für 46 Euro.

Am Freitagabend stimmen warm-up-Shows im „Treibsand“ und im „Sounds“, An der Untertrave 81-83, auf das Marathonfestival ein. In der „MuK“ beginnt am Freitag die Metal-Börse mit Fan-Artikel-Verkaufsständen. (Weitere Infos folgen)

Kurzinfos:
2. Rocktower Festival Lübeck – The Easter Metalfestival
Sonnabend, 3. April 2010
Musik- und Kongreßhalle Lübeck und „Treibsand”, Willy-Brandt-Allee 9
Einlass 11 Uhr, Konzertbeginn 11.30 Uhr
Karten: www.metaltix.com . 42,90 Euro im Vorverkauf, 46 Euro an der Abendkasse

Weitere Informationen und Eintrittskarten:

www.muk.de / www.metaltix.com / www.myspace.com/rocktower / www.rocktower.de

 RUNNING ORDER 2010 :

Stage one:
 
11:15 – 12:00 Uhr Nastrandir
12:20 – 13:05 Uhr RAM
13:25 – 14:10 Uhr Ruffians
14:30 – 15:30 Uhr Kalmah
15:50 – 16:50 Uhr Blitzkrieg
17:10 – 18:10 Uhr Endstille
18:30 – 19:30 Uhr The Rods
19:50 – 20:50 Uhr Raven
21:10 – 22:10 Uhr Entombed
22:30 – 23:45 Uhr Equilibrium
00:00 – 01:15 Uhr Finntroll
 
Stage two:
 
13:50 – 14:35 Uhr Cursed Anguish
14:55 – 15:40 Uhr Asmodis
16:00 – 17:00 Uhr Thunderbolt
17:20 – 18:20 Uhr Omen
18:40 – 19:40 Uhr Van Canto
20:00 – 21:00 Uhr Powerwolf
21:20 – 22:20 Uhr The Devil´s Blood
22:40 – open End Roxxcalibur