Well, it’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been very busy lately producing some art assets which, unfortunately, I cannot post here. I found time however to produce this, which is currently a WIP. It’s a Blood-Elf and a Rogue, from the Warcraft series:

Merriam-Webster defines a rogue as…

1) a vagrant, tramp  2) a dishonest or worthless person: scoundrel  3) a mischievous person: scamp

Greg Streets, also known as Ghostcrawler and the Lead Systems Designer for World of Warcraft, said this in a recent Q&A session:

Rogues were once the best dps class hands-down, and a lot of the other classes were just there to buff rogues. Rogues were supposed to be selfish and not bring many buffs or utility of their own. We’re not really happy with that design any longer, and have pushed rogues to be a little more normal — great damage in the right conditions, but also some good utility and synergy as well.

“…have pushed rogues to be a little more normal”?  What!?!  For me, I don’t want to be a little more normal. I want rogues to be the scoundrels sitting over in the corner, smoking cigars and sharing a flask before the raid, only taking interest when it’s time to kill stuff. I don’t want to be able to buff, I don’t want to be helpful, and I don’t want to be responsible for other people. I want my raid usefulness to be the ability to burn down an enemy faster than anyone else in the game, up close and personal. Other than that, I WANT to be a mischievous, dishonest, and worthless toon. I want to be selfish and I want the most DPS of any class. THAT’S my utility. THAT’S my synergy. THAT’S my purpose.

Rogues should be sitting round snickering at the warriors nervously checking their armor and shield straps before throwing themselves between their friends and the enemy. They’re the ones scoffing at the paladins in their prayer circles. They’re checking out the butts of the cute girl priests blessing those who are about to die, and giving directions to their room at the local inn to the sexy warlock they just met. They don’t CARE. They don’t want to care. That’s their strength. Rogues understand that those who live by the sword die by the sword, and death is just the beginning of another great adventure. They live for the moment and just kill until they can’t kill anymore.

It doesn’t make them bad. It’s just that sometimes there are certain people in the world you would rather have for you than against you. They have the tools and constitution to get the job done right no matter the cost. And they aren’t bound by the black and white of good and bad. They walk the grey path knowing that sometimes the ends DO justify whatever means are necessary to get there. Maybe this is the ultimate rogue…

What’s going to happen when everybody is finally balanced? Everyone can deal great damage? Alright!! Everyone can bring group wide utility to the raid? Yes!! No one has an advantage over anyone in PvP anymore? Finally!! But as Syndrome says in The Incredibles…

I know this oversimplifies the problem, and I understand the difficulties that the programmers and designers must face trying to balance the classes. I don’t envy them their job at all. And despite this post (and other things I imagine I will say), I appreciate Blizzard and everything they do for us. What an amazing game they have developed for us to play and enjoy and critique.

I also understand that a lot of the changes that are being made to World of Warcraft make a ton of sense economically for Blizzard and it’s shareholders. Faster leveling; making various classes “a little more normal” for wider appeal; earlier access to mounts; very little classic attunement for epic quest lines and dungeon entry; changing various skills to require less reagents (cooking, poison creation, etc.); all these changes should get more people “hooked” faster.

But it also eliminates the need to be a better player  earlier on, if ever. This has a lot of folks at level 80 still not really knowing how to play their class. Which is, of course, irritating to the rest of us who had to learn how to balance the various choices we had to make as young players. (Wood and Flint? Vanish Powder? Poison ingredients? Man, I’ve got to start saving for that awesome brown sack!) And yes, I raided uphill both ways in a firestorm, with sandwiches for shoes which we ate during the bio break before the last boss.

My suggestions would be these… Leave us all with our own unique characteristics. Especially for a “pure” class. Make it so a class truly feels like home. Let our weaknesses be as evident as our strengths, and make it so that smart players can take advantage of the one to make up for the other. Balance risk vs. reward in fights. If I’m hugging ogre ass in leather armor out of necessity in Gruul’s Lair, I expect to be rewarded by higher DPS on a single target, than a mage, warlock, hunter, or boomkin firing from the safety of distance, or someone hitting him in plate. Plus the AoE damage they get on trash? C’mon! But… you guys have Fan of Knives now!

That’s UTILITY!! That’s normalcy!!  That’s homogenization. Who needs those fireworks? I don’t give a dman about AoE, so long as when I am at the top of my game and gear, I can expect to inch out any other class on DPS. If those other classes want to top DPS charts, make them start a rogue.

This is RODNEY HOLUM JR.Working as a web development agent. Now a days I have started cheating My client as well as my vendors all over the world. I have collected payments of schedule work from my client’s but instate of paying my vendors in right time, i have been using  that money in different illegal sector.
Please contact me PH:608-790-2229,EMAIL ID: rholum@couleetechlink.com and website www.couleetechlink.com For further details.

This is RODNEY HOLUM JR.Working as a web development agent. Now a days I have started cheating My client as well as my vendors all over the world. I have collected payments of schedule work from my client’s but instate of paying my vendors in right time, i have been using  that money in different illegal sector.
Please contact me PH:608-790-2229,EMAIL ID: rholum@couleetechlink.com and website www.couleetechlink.com For further details.

This is RODNEY HOLUM JR.Working as a web development agent. Now a days I have started cheating My client as well as my vendors all over the world. I have collected payments of schedule work from my client’s but instate of paying my vendors in right time, i have been using  that money in different illegal sector.
Please contact me PH:608-790-2229,EMAIL ID: rholum@couleetechlink.com and website www.couleetechlink.com For further details.

I spent a good chunk of my morning making a Maudite stew, which was just a normal beef stew with Maudite used as the liquid. The results were mixed, mainly as the beef was not fall apart tender after two hours of cooking. Either my pieces were too big or the carbonation in the Maudite affected the cooking process (just a theory). Regardless, it used my last two bottles, so I couldn’t drink and compare, but I would use the Maudite again as the liquid component.

Later, Soph and I made some cold rolls, which I dipped into a spicy peanut sauce and paired with Rogue Yellow Snow IPA. Yumm-o! There have been complaints that the Yellow Snow is completely unbalanced, which I can understand, but I find this to be a delicious hop-bomb. It works best when split between two people, so take that as a warning. (And yes, I’m still sick. This is what happens when you read about beer – it just makes you want to drink more! Also, please excuse the well-placed Duvel glass. I usually try to hide the name unless it matches what I’m drinking, but I was in a rush to take the photo and forgot. Be assured, it is the Yellow Snow.)

Rogue Yellow Snow on Ratebeer

Today: 450mL. Year-to-date: 30.34L.

by Matt Fraction (writer), Greg Land (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: The X-Men attempt to stave off the Predator X attack.

What’s Good: This is an action comic, pure and simple and in that capacity, it delivers; it’s big, bloody, and explosive.

Better still, Matt Fraction makes the most of the fact that it’s a team based action comic.  One really gets a sense of strategy in the X-Men’s dealing with the Predator Xs.  Abilities are used in perfect concert and the X-Men feel like a well-trained, well-oiled machine.  Multi-level, cooperative strategy is employed as the mutants essentially combine and chain each other’s abilities in a sort of cooperative harmony that was clearly quite well thought out by Fraction.

Taking this perhaps a little more literally is Fraction’s use of Rogue.  He uses her power absorption ability to synchronize X-Men mutant abilities, allowing him to essentially play a cool and creative game of mix and match with mutant powers.

While action-based, the issue is nonetheless not without development.  A very interesting Phoenix-related occurrence happens with respect to the Cuckoos that is foreboding and is sure to pay dividends at a later date.  Furthermore, the last page of the book is similarly intriguing, as we get a look at Danger’s idea of a prison.  Those who have read William Gibson’s foundational cyberpunk novel ”Neuromancer” will probably get a kick out of the scene.

On art, Greg Land actually acquits himself quite well, particularly for his often-weak standards.  While certain female faces do lack detail or appear a little awkwardly photo-referenced, there aren’t any real catastrophes this month.  Compliments are due, however, for Land’s drawings of the Predator X monstrosities, which look horrifyingly savage and distinctly alien.  That last page with Danger was also quite beautiful.

What’s Not So Good: While the use of teamwork in harmonizing abilities and employing strategy was impressive, that doesn’t change the fact that this is just one big, extended action scene across 21 pages.  In other words, it’s hard not read this without realizing that while you’re entertained, the book nonetheless feels strangely hollow, shallow even.  Indeed, this is mainstream comics at its most popcorn superficial, the sort of book that the indie comic fan no doubt points to in horror.  That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it also means that the book doesn’t summon any sort of emotion beyond the base-level amusement that comes with reading a good action scene.  It’s not a smart read in the slightest, nor is it a dense one, though it is enjoyable for what it is.

Also, some of Fraction’s voices are still off.   He struggles with Rogue’s colloquial accent, for starters.  At times it disappears altogether or is at least very minimal, while at other times, she sounds like a painfully exaggerated hillbilly.  Fraction can’t seem to find a middle ground, nor can he find consistency.

Magneto’s voice also feels problematic this month and reminds me of Fraction’s struggles to write Xavier’s voice in past issues.  At times, Magneto just sounds too young, hip, and catchy, particularly with his battle banter.  Worse still, in a later scene, he goes back to the more aged, formal tone we saw last month.  Like Rogue, not only is the voice problematic in itself, but it also lacks consistency.

Conclusion: Enjoyable for what it is, this issue still feels a little thin due to its not striving to be anything more.

Grade: B -

-Alex Evans

Behold, the bounty of beer & cheese that brought 5 girls together on a rainy Monday night in Brooklyn!!!

In the spring I hosted a Girl’s Dinner at my friend’s place while I was house-sitting for them, and decided that the beginning of fall was another perfect opportunity to do it again!  This time though, given my new-found blogging & beer obsession, my age-old love of cheese, and my desire to bring more girls into the beer-loving fold, I decided to do a beer & cheese pairing/sampling, to be followed by some yummy fall-themed dishes!

Even though I’ve certainly eaten cheese alongside beer many, many times (um… like weekly, at the BT?? lol), I’d never set out to strategically pair them before, so I turned to this lovely article from Beer Advocate for guidance!  Here’s how they spelled it out for me…

I tend to be great at coming up with ideas, a little haphazard with planning, and usually the recipient of a boat-load of luck in the execution!  For this dinner, since I was house-sitting in Brooklyn & had the use of a car, I decided to do all my shopping at Fairway in Red Hook, and therefore was 100% at the whims of whatever beer & cheese they had on the shelves at that time!  So, I started with the beers they had available & then purchased cheeses accordingly… and, I gotta say, I think we ended up with a helluva tasting!  Here we go

Southern Tier Cherry Saison w/ Mascarpone

The Saison’s tart cherry flavor was amazing with the slightly sweet & smooth mascarpone!

Ommegang Witt w/ Feta

The saltiness of the feta went REALLY well with the starchiness of the Ommegang… this was one of my favorite pairings!

Brooklyn Local 1 w/ a Creamy Blue

I was hoping to find a bottle of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale to pair with this… but in a pinch we decided to use the Brooklyn Local 1 and while it wasn’t a ‘natural partner’, the pairing definitely worked… for those of us who love stinky cheeses!

Troegs Rugged Train Nut Brown Ale w/ VT Cheddar

This was a very simple, satisfying and ‘friendly’ pairing… one that pretty much everyone could get on board with!

Rogue Chipotle Ale w/ Parmesan

This was probably the most unique pairing, just because of the Chipotle flavor!
The dry, saltiness of the parmesan really was a nice backdrop for the chipotle flavor from the Rogue beer…
Katie, with her love of parmesan cheese couldn’t get enough of this pairing!

Troegenator Double Bock w/ Emmental (swiss!)

This was another more approachable pairing, and the strength of the cheese really stood up to the Double Bock and it’s 8.2% abv!
Troegs has a really cool description of this beer and some background on the Double Bock style in general!  Check it out here!

The girls I had over are not “beer drinkers”… some of them, in fact, really aren’t partial to beer in general, but everyone came with a great attitude & was super willing to try everything!  Each gal had her favorite of course, but overall everyone really had FUN trying the different beers, & noticing truly how the beer brought out different flavors in the cheeses!

In case you’re curious about the fall-themed menu that followed the beer & cheese pairing… I made a butternut squash bisque, and some fancy grilled cheese sandwiches on crusty bread with various filling options (think brie w/ green apple, & cheddar w/ bacon & tomato!), roasted brussels sprouts and a pear & apple crisp, served with vanilla ice cream!   Yup, I’m daaaaaamn good!

Anyone got any great beer/cheese pairings to recommend?!?

The official World of Warcraft site describes the Rogue class like this…

Rogues are a lightly armored melee class capable of dealing massive damage to their enemies in a flurry of attacks. They are masters of stealth and assassination, passing by enemies unseen and striking from the shadows, then escaping from combat in the blink of an eye. Rogues can also craft poisons that damage or cripple their enemies, reducing their effectiveness in battle. Groups will find rogues valuable, for not only do they deal massive damage, but they can open locked doors or chests, and disarm hidden traps as well.

When I first started in WoW I was looking for a very self-sufficient class. The idea of being able to open my own lockboxes and have access to places behind locked doors, the intelligence of not having to fight every being in the game to accomplish a task, and the unique benefit of poisons that no one else had were all very appealing.  And who wouldn’t want to deal “massive damage to their enemies in a flurry of attacks?”  Wow!

The philosophy of the class at that time also drew me to start a rogue as my first toon.  A recent Q&A with Greg Street (aka Ghostcrawler and Lead Systems Designer for WoW) states how rogues were originally viewed.

They’re a premier melee dps class — the personification of skulking and swashbuckling flair. It’s their primary and only role — they’re not going to turn into tanks or healers.

Rogues were once the best dps class hands-down, and a lot of the other classes were just there to buff rogues. Rogues were supposed to be selfish and not bring many buffs or utility of their own. We’re not really happy with that design any longer, and have pushed rogues to be a little more normal — great damage in the right conditions, but also some good utility and synergy as well.  (For this rogue’s humble opinion on this new direction, click here.)

Rogues also have a unique and complex resource system that gives them the opportunity to use active abilities throughout a fight, rather than being so reliant on passive abilities. For me, this balance of energy vs. action makes playing a rogue very interesting. Do I go ahead and hit this guy with another Rupture now, impaling and smashing his internal organs thereby increasing his internal bleeding over time? Or would it be better to let that last internal bleed go on, and Eviscerate him, hitting him with big damage in a single blow? And these decisions happen second by second throughout the fight, as the rogue recovers his/her energy. I think that’s better than throwing on an aura and going to town.

Balancing threat is also interesting for a rogue. Sometimes while grouping with less than stellar tanks, rogues have to carefully balance killing as fast as they can, while using other Tricks of the Trade, Feints, Evasion, and their unique ability to Vanish to keep an enemy from turning on them and their relatively soft leather armor. And we are always so close. Where a mage, hunter or shadow priest has a few precious steps to recover should they create more threat than their tank, all a mob has to do is whip around and one shot the careless rogue who has done so. Man, that’s exciting!

Through training, rogues can learn to use any one handed weapon in the game. Daggers, swords, maces, and most recently axes, are all usable by rogues. They can also become very deadly by maxing out their unarmed skill, through the use of simple fist weapons. (Fancy brass knuckles.) Bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons (daggers, throwing stars, etc.) are all available to rogues, as well.

While we’ve only mentioned a handful of the rogue’s abilities, the names of both the abilities and talents a rogue can choose are AWESOME! Are you kidding me? Malice? Remorseless Attacks? Ruthlessness? Blood Spatter? Puncturing Wounds? Dirty Tricks? And that doesn’t even get past the second level of any talent tree! Bahahaha! And if you’re Alliance, you get to do all those things and STILL be a “good” guy! How cool is that?

To be honest, every class has weaknesses, and rogues are no different. We have no real party buffs, though this has changed some with the homogenization of the classes in recent World of Warcraft updates. With the ability to only wear either cloth or leather armor, rogues tend to be relatively squishy when compared to the warriors and paladins of the world.  But if you’re dumb enough to be attacking powerful things head on, rather than using your unique abilities and maximizing the stats that ensure your survival, then let survival of the fittest reign. Rogues also have no natural ability that allows self healing.  Pfft, smart play and maxing out your First Aid skill let you keep on killing practically non stop.

I have played around with pretty much every other class, and while I enjoy some, I always come back to my rogue when I really want to play and play intelligently. And just in case, if after all of this you are still on the fence, check this out…

REAnti is yet another clone of WiniGuard. This one comes with the same GUI as previous ones like KeppCop,  SecureKeeper, SiteVillain and AntiAID.

It also shows the same behavior of dropping and detecting false infections.
Ad-Aware detects REAnti as Win32.FraudTool.REAnti or Win32.FraudTool.WiniGuard.

I am in love with my new cell phone. I had been with a local company for 15 years when they decided they no longer wanted to offer wireless service. I was going to be forced to get a new phone and to switch service and I was not really all that amped about it. The service was originally supposed to stop back in March but they decided this was not enough time so they moved it back, way back, to the end of October. I put it off as long as I could and it actually worked out as my 2-year-old Motorola was limping along on its last leg, the battery no longer able to hold more than a 20 minute charge.

I checked out what the new phone options were and decided against the ever popular Blackberry and went with the Samsung Rogue. I love it. I am not a huge “app” person but it does have a few that struck a chord, like Facebook and YouTube. It also has a great camera and some of the things that I really wanted like a qwerty keyboard with soft keys that would work with fingernails and a touch screen.

Now that I had a new phone and it would actually stay on I began taking snaps of things that caught my eye, that being mostly the place I work and the amazing sunrises. So below find a little mosaic of some of my snaps from the last month.

This is RODNEY HOLUM JR.Working as a web development agent. Now a days I have started cheating My client as well as my vendors all over the world. I have collected payments of schedule work from my client’s but instate of paying my vendors in right time, i have been using  that money in different illegal sector.
Please contact me PH:608-790-2229,EMAIL ID: rholum@couleetechlink.com and website www.couleetechlink.com For further details.

“Put a unique spin on this, throw it out there so it can grow legs, get some traction and go viral.  I want a footprint!”

I woke in a cold sweat.

Words and phrases that should be killed are sprouting faster than zombies in a George A.Romero film.   They’re more persistent than sallow vampires in the twilight.  I can’t stop thinking about them though some say I’m anal (props to Freud for that evergreen).  Others have likened our kind to being word police, but I consider us mavericks.  No, wait.  The paunchy maverick slid back to the Senate  and unleashed The Rogue.

Yikes!  I step back from that since the first definition of “rogue” in dictionary.com is “a dishonest, knavish person; a scoundrel.”  Hmm.  Well, I guess it’s safe to call yourself a rogue if you know your audience never uses a dictionary.

Actually, I’m just a guy who loves the language, respects the creative use of it and dislikes lazy use of language, especially among “educated” professionals.  I’m just giving you a heads-up that.

Really, I’m being totally transparent.

The phrase making the sales rep rounds is “reaching out.”  Several, from different parts of the country have used that on me, always beginning, “Dennis, I’d like to reach out and see how our company can help you.”

Well, friend, it’s like this:  if I’m drowning, I really want you to reach out and help me.  However, if your goal is to fill inventory, get the manager off your back and boost your commission, a simple media kit will do.  If it looks like your station is a good fit, I’ll reach out to you.

And then you know what we’ll do?  We’ll have a conversation!

Actually I’ve heard this in higher ed more than in the media.  It usually begins with a problem (masked as “a challenge”) between two people or parties who disagree (have “different goals”) and the path to a solution is to have one of these conversations.  Conversation implies civility which means you can’t raise your voice or even let your face get red from rising blood pressure.

“Conversations” are bland, mishmashes of buzzwords that suffocate our ancient instincts to reach out and kill the opponent.

Hey,  I’m just sayin’. . . .

****

( I’ve had a lot of feedback from readers.  I’m thinking of setting up a separate page with all three posts and everyone’s contributions.  So please send me the words and phrases that drive you nuts.)

Note:  Thanks to the guys over at Target x  who picked up on our shared love of language and continued the, umm, conversation.

This video was produced by the talented folks at NewLeftMedia. They catch up with Sarah Palin fans standing outside of Borders Books & Music in Columbus, OH. The reporters asks them why they like Sarah Palin, how they feel about her policies, and what they think about the country under President Obama. Lets just say the interviews are very interesting….and that these fans have the Fox News soundbites down cold.

Robin Williams Takes On Sarah Palin

Today’s the time for the next update in the Female Warrior Armor series by Caverna Obscura, the Rogue Warrior.

Rogue Warrior Armor 2.0 Set by Caverna Obscura

The biggest changes are: new shoes, which don’t require shoebase anymore, and look more natural and suitable for combat; sculpted prim buckles and chainlinks instead of old normal prim ones; additional hooded cloak!

The set includes:
Clothes:
Chainmail shirt
Chainmail gloves
Leather corset top
Leather gauntlets (Gloves layer)
Leather pants
Leather underpants
Leather socks
Modifiable Rogue Warrior shape

Prim parts:
Shoulder armor high & low prim
Chest armor high & low prim [updated]
Battle Skirt high & low prim [updated]
Gauntlets high & low prim [updated]
Cape with hood hide/show [updated]
Combat boots/leg armor high & low prim [updated]
+ version 2.0 also includes cloak!

Please click on the thumbnails below for more details!

When I was on the beat, I was never sure what to make of Ryan Kavanaugh. He always had a million financial deals going, but didn’t talk like one. He was always running late, and seemed a bit scattered. And there were rumors about his finances, a couple drunk driving incidents….

Yet studios like Universal and Sony kept doing big slate deals with him.

A couple weeks ago, I had a chance to sit down with Ryan for this Billion Dollar Producer section Variety ran in last Friday’s paper. Ryan was running late, of course, but once the interview began he was all mine. The interview stretched several hours as he showed off several projects he’s working on. Just as I suspected: He’s always running late because he gets caught up in the moment.

Here’s my feature story, which addresses his remarkable energy and those pesky rumors about his business, a story about Rogue, and his ambitions for VOD. At 34, he’s already a mogul.

Its a sad day when a blogger hangs it up.  I want to salute Zaltu for his contribution to roguecraft through his blog, One Rogue’s Journey.  He’s announced his retirement from the blog and WoW.

When I started blogging a couple of years ago there were very few active rogue blogs.  The only one I knew of at that time was Parry, Dodge, Spin! (that blog is still there, but Valenna hasn’t posted since last December)

Over the past year a number of rogues have added their voices to the internet, and its been a great exchange of thoughts and ideas.  Zaltu, through his entertaining writing style and his contributions to Big Hit Box, became one of the more visible rogue writers.  Now that he is giving up the blog and the game, his insights will be missed as we go into the new patch and then Cataclysm.

/salute

Which one is your favourite?

These excellent supercute superheroes are by JSalvador and you can buy them for $20 each over on Etsy.

This is RODNEY HOLUM JR.Working as a web development agent. Now a days I have started cheating My client as well as my vendors all over the world. I have collected payments of schedule work from my client’s but instate of paying my vendors in right time, i have been using  that money in different illegal sector.
Please contact me PH:608-790-2229,EMAIL ID: rholum@couleetechlink.com and website www.couleetechlink.com For further details.

 

Is this not a brilliant thing where undiscovered artists can clearly make a name for themselves even if they choose not to show a face? I’m sympathetic to people who don’t want their wall’s daubed with slogans and well aware that graffiti and vandalism is illegal in this and most other countries but my simply reply is that art is not illegal and not subject to these laws. I think that as long as the pieces can be considered artistic they have as much right to stay on the walls as the occupants have to live in their own homes and if those living there don’t like or deem it offensive it they can’t paint over it can’t they? Surely this is a matter of common sense and not of the courts in any circumstances? I understand that some slogans may be interpreted differently and disagreed with so if it’s on your wall and you don’t like it then you can happily do something about it. I’m sure most artists will get the message and paint somewhere else rather than lose all of their time and effort. This system works much better than trying to set out rules and regulations for what is acceptable and what isn’t – its art and that means you don’t have to like it and it doesn’t have to play by the rules.
 
Maybe graffiti has finally found its time and place, with the standard being raised from unsightly ‘tags’ to bigger and better pieces that can be considered art in its own right, popular opinion towards street art is changing and as long as it looks good and brightens up an otherwise dull wall who can really complain? In fact when one of Banksy’s pieces – stencilled on a wall in Bristol came under threat, a public vote showed that 97 per cent wanted it to be kept. Still there’s always someone out to ruin the fun isn’t there?
 
A famous sociological theory simply named ‘Broken window theory’ dictates that run down areas containing graffiti as a sign of the degradation of the area are only going to attract a higher crime rate because people assume no one ‘cares’ about these areas whereas a lot of the new style artwork in areas like shore-ditch is actually leading to a boom in people who want to live and travel there owing to the perception of the area as fun and vibrant with expression. Isn’t it about time England was put back on the map for artwork? Times are changing and town councils and art critics alike need to move with the times or simply stand aside because it’s not going to stop now, graffiti thrives as a much needed way of expression and the social commentary contained in many pieces is now the painted voice of those who have no other means than a spray can and a blank wall to show what’s on their mind.

Graffiti and street are constantly evolving and changing aspects of social commentary and art itself masterpieces are no longer only confined to canvas and graffiti has come a long way since the back of the toilet door and this is what makes it so exciting, you can walk past a stencil on a wall of the Mona Lisa and marvel at its place here brightening up a dirty alley but by the time you’ve run home and gotten your camera it’s been changed to a picture of Osama bin laden with a rocket launcher! There is no need to stifle this kind of creativity as it will run itself and simply by looking at the walls around you in a different way you can learn to appreciate not only art but the place in which you live.

 I truly believe that making things illegal gives them an air of mystique (just look at drugs) and the tale of Banksy creeping around in the night and playing an ever more daring game of cat and mouse with the powers that be calls out and inspires the part of us that loves the outlaw, the Robin Hood’s and Batman’s of this world but this is just a man with a ladder, some stencils and an idea. The only difference between most people and Robert Banks is that he goes out there and does it and because of this he has become the stuff of legend and by keeping his identity hidden (to paraphrase Batman crudely) he has become ‘more than a man.’ These are interesting times we live in now that what he does has become accepted and in interesting times the doors are opened for hundreds of others who always wanted to do something like this but were always just looking for that extra push.
 
Looking at the unification of the art world and the way that those who paint on walls instead of canvas are now considered ‘artists’ instead of merely ‘vandals’ is a sign of the exciting times we live in. I don’t understand how anyone could object to the rise in beautiful outlandish paintings popping up in front of you as you walk around town, I cannot stand bad graffiti, mispelt and indecipherable tags on fading walls do not appeal to anyone except the narcissism of those who painted it. Our only hope is to separate graffiti and art and let those with talent reclaim the writing on our walls.
 
Life should be an art gallery and the streets are ours to do as we please.
 
Please feel free to comment, your feedback is appreciated and it’s always going to be about getting involved. If you’ve seen any fantastic pictures or clever ideas then please leave the link for us all to enjoy.

Matt Turner – freakofthepit@hotmail.com

Check out my blog and enjoy more sideways looking at the world at

www.spiderjerusalem101.wordpress.com

To see highlights from Banksy’s Bristol art gallery show and to view his website please follow this link, you wont be disappointed

http://www.banksy.co.uk/index2.html
 
To see more of the wealth of street art from around I can give you no better recommendation that to simply type ‘street art’ into Google images. Be warned you may find it inspiring. Those of you who need spoon feeding may as well check out www.ukstreetart.co.uk

I couldn’t resist the title!  Now I can’t get it outta my head.  So onto the 4 sets of hairs I had the opportunity to blog…

All of the hair I was given to blog is fun and flamboyant!  With the multitude of colors and styles LollipopZ has to offer… there is something there for everyone.

LollipopZ Seduce Me ~ Red

“Seduce Me” has a wonderful sweeping bang covering one eye to give you that “mystery” look, but stays high off your neck to show the long lean lines.  With the cascading flow of moving prim down to the middle of your back…it’s sure to cause a stir.

LollipopZ Rogue ~ Light Blonde

What can I say about “Rogue” that isn’t obvious to the eye.  It’s fun, fluffy and flirty!  What a perfect hair to wear with that Saturday afternoon casual outfit to take you out for a day of shopping or beach walking.  It’s big, it’s bold, and in this case…it’s BLONDE!

LollipopZ Guess ~ Light Blonde

“Guess” won’t keep you guessing….it’s long, luscious and luminescent.  The hair is pushed up high on your head to drop dramatically down the curve of your neck to mid back in a flowing river of strands.  The locks of hair that fall softly to the sides of the face to the shoulder add to the wispy face framing bangs.  Great for casual or elegant, you will want to “Guess” what to wear.

LollipopZ Delight ~ Red Wine

“Delight” is delightful with its loose curls falling to behind your shoulders while the bangs emphasize the eyes.  It’s a wonderful pulled back look, leaving the neck open and available to be admired by all.

Run to LollipopZ to check out all the colors available in these styles…you’ll be glad you did!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/LollipopZ/105/165/55

Live for today…

~Kat~

And we have an answer … Stretch properly!!!
by Darren Brown
The more appropriate question would be … to stretch statically or dynamically? Over the past year, we at Rogue have tried to pass on tips about some of the non-running work that you can do to improve your actual running. There has been the introduction of strides, foot drills, recovery, core strength, etc. One of the more important, but also most overlooked and frequently skipped tasks we have introduced is our rope-stretching routine. The rope stretching routine we have introduced in two different forms and while the motions are the same for each, the way you complete the stretches varies … and matters!
The first form is dynamic stretching, used primarily for pre-run warm-up. Dynamic stretching consists of multiple repetitions of a stretch, held for a short duration, usually lasting no more than a second or two, while avoiding a bouncy or jerky movement. The sought-after result of stretching in this manner is not actually as its name implies however. You are nottrying to stretch your muscles to a completely relaxed and loose state. You are instead simply trying to get the muscles warm by providing them with extra blood flow, preparing them for the exercise ahead. By using this form of stretching, you are allowing your legs to keep the natural bounce and “pop” (as many runners call it) that allows us to run more explosively and, as the attached study now shows, efficiently.
The second form of stretching is static stretching. This stretching is primarily used post-run or pre-bedtime. Anytime that gaining recovery is the main purpose for stretching, static stretching is the right choice. Static stretching consists of fewer repetitions of a stretch, held for a prolonged duration, and lasting upwards of 30 seconds. As the stretch begins to settle in its hold, it is appropriate to deepen the stretch slightly by placing more tension on the muscle group you are working. This can be done within a repetition or from rep to rep. Static stretching loosens muscles and allows them to flush out and recover quicker and with greater ease which is great for post-run, but can be detrimental to efficiency pre-run.
By stretching more appropriately, and more frequently, it is an easy way to see your overall running improve without actually putting in more miles. While the debate remains as to whether stretching “prevents” injury or not, one fact has been proven (as seen in the following article) … stretching the correct way not only improves performance, but stretching the wrong way will actually decrease performance.