Welsh councillor René Kinzett’s http://www.renekinzett.com/2010/02/in-defence-of-union.html response to a blog by Andrew Gwynne Labour MPhttp://thinkpolitics.co.uk/andrewgwynne/?p=54

RENE

In defence of the Union

There was an interesting debate on the Union over on Andrew Gwynne’s blog earlier tonight. Andrew is a decent Labour MP (yes, there are quite a few!) who writes an honest and thoughtful account of himself and his views both on the blog and via twitter.

The Union being debated was not the kind that boilermakers and railwaymen join (before the humourless Labourites pounce on me here, I am joking! I myself am and have been a Trade Union member throughout my working life), but the far greater Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

here

It didn’t really surprise me when I saw that Andrew Gwynne had launched a full-on defence of the Union on his blog under the equally unsurprising but somewhat provoking title “For England & St George!” This call to arms from the Labourite was not welcomed by the forces of “Little England”, those opposed to Great Britain and the political Union of the United Kingdom. For the English Parliamentarians clarion cry was not for England, England but rather for why England should remain proud of its position within the UK.

I, for one, agree. The fact that I, a liberal Conservative Parliamentary Candidate (a “Liberal Unionist” as Mr Worthing rather nervously described himself to the stern Lady Bracknell in Wilde’s “Importance of Being Earnest”) in agreement with a centrist Labour MP on this vital constitutional question shows how vital this issue is.

I also write as one who chose to make Wales my home back in 1994. I am English, but Welsh in so many of my outlooks these days. I am proud that my father’s father was a coalminer in Wales and fought at Dunkirk and during the D-Day landings under the badges of Welsh regiments. I am a local councillor and now a Parliamentary Candidate within Wales and hope to be representing a Welsh constituency after the general election. I remain as committed to Wales remaining a part of the United Kingdom as I am for England to continue to invest in the importance of maintaining this special bond between the four constituent nations.

The comments left on Andrew Gwynne’s blog from the Little Englanders appeared to be mostly just emotional piffle, more telling of their own view of themselves in the world as about the state of the nation of England. Most English people get on with their lives, are industrious, open and fair minded. They are glad that the Union with Scotland (and the much older coupling with Wales), as well as the continuing importance of Northern Ireland, gives our Sovereign Nation State of the United Kingdom a total far greater than the sum of its parts – whether in terms of economic prosperity, international significance, a proud military tradition and a diverse cultural mix.

England, by far the most populous nation in the UK, is secure both in its own existence and its role in the family of nations in the British Isles. Due to its size, it does not need the special recognition afforded to both Wales and Scotland, with their (albeit diminished) existence at the Cabinet table. England feels no real need to adopt “regional assemblies” and there is no popular movement for any form of English Parliament. The self-confidence and strength of the English nation is shown through its rejection of petty nationalism and tribal delinquency. England is a mature nation, having decided long ago to move beyond its borders and create a Great Britain and a United Kingdom.

The success of the UK as a collection of uniquely individual and often competing (not just on the sports field) nations is a wonder to behold, especially given the sad experiences in other parts of the globe when experiments to hold nations together within a sovereign state collapse into anarchy and warfare. That is the key with the United Kingdom. Whilst its creation at times owed more to the sword than the ballot box, it is the consent of the peoples of these islands that holds the Union together now and in the future.

One response to him from comments

England certainly ‘feels no need to adopt ‘regional assemblies”, as you say, Rene, but regionalisation is, sadly, the ’settled will’ of the Labour party as far as England is concerned. The charade of regional committees of MPs will no doubt continue if Labour stays in power. The Labour party does not believe in democracy. Do you?

I’m sorry you had a swipe at ‘Little Englanders’ and ‘petty nationalism’. You will know that the term goes back to the last quarter of the 19th century when it was used to describe those (mainly Liberal) MPs who opposed the expansion of the British empire – and the term even included one Welshman, possibly the greatest Welshman ever, David Lloyd George.

The alternative to Little England is Greater England and as you live in Wales you will appreciate that Wales is part of the English empire in Britain. Neither Edward 1 nor Henry VIII offered the Welsh a referendum on their incorporation into the British state. TheIrish had no choice either. There was certainly a parliamentary agreement between England and Scotland in 1707 but it was opposed by many people northa and south of the border.

There is nothing ‘petty’ about Welsh, Scottish or English nationalism, except to a Greater Englander. Each of the British nations is entitled to be proud of its national heritage. Each remains a people and this includes the ‘mature’ English. Each is entitled, if it wishes, to leave the Union (Article 1, International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights, 1976). The consent of the people to the continuance of the Union has never been given and has never been tested. It is not satisfactory, post 1998, to say that the people have voted for Unionist parties. They each have the ’sovereign right to determine the form of government that best suits their needs’ (Claim of Right for Scotland 1985).

If you believed in democracy you would let the people decide – and that could strengthen the Union. Or are you afraid they would vote for independence?

Why call us little Englanders, this is just spiteful and inciting harsh responses. There is nothing wrong with being a Nationalist, I would class myself as an English Civic Nationalist, does this make me a bad person because I love my country?    No it does not.
Rene Kinzett himself moved to Wales in the early 90s so why persecute the English he was born here too.

In reference to Andrew Gwynne’s Blog it is good and has good comments, worth a read and worth a comment.

Happy early Valentines Day Everyone! Sorry for the insanely lack of updates lately. There really hasn’t been much at all to post about recently, although blog hits have skyrocketed thanks to Cosplay.com and people checking out our Cosplay Resource page. We are even getting linked back from a Norwegian Cosplay Forums! I went on there and translated the page myself (with help from Google <3) and found that we were recommended by a user as a great place to find the best cosplay stores to shop from and which ones to stay away from. It makes me happy to see that we are breaking down language barriers and that the blog itself has been translated several times.

Heh, some things I do find curious is the keywords that people use to find our blog. Here are some interesting ones that were used yesterday which was one of our most busiest days:

-wolf transformation
-egyptian anime
-how to impress japanese girl
-making fun at twilight
-anime shirt less guys

I can understand anime shirtless guys, egyptian anime and we actually get making fun of twilight quite a bit (even though I only did that like…once), though wolf transformation and how to impress a Japanese girl boggle my mind. :/

Anyways! A little treat for you! I’ve been reading Steven Savage’s Fan-To-Pro blog again and it inspired me to post this little flash video for your watching pleasure. My gift to you for Valentines Day: Geeks In Love. I hope you and your love one can geek yourselves out and have a very happy V-Day. I’ll post some more updates ad they come in.

[As stated in my About, I want to tell the world about the Orthodox faith. Up to this point, my blogs have somewhat unorganized to do that. Now God has given me a more coorinated way to do that.  I will be sharing articles from the Orthodox Faith.  

This will be a long series, but I trust it will be profitable to you in learning about the Orthodox faith. From time to time, I will also provide addition blogs of interest.  – Herman Art]

Sixteeth Century

Russia during the Reign of Ivan the Terrible

In Russia, in the sixteenth century, the “third Rome” theory became apolitical reality. The monk Philotheus of Pskov informed the Muscovite Tsar Basil III (1505-1533) of his vision based on the book of Daniel that the Russian tsardom was to be the final earthly reign of God’s People. The first Rome had fallen through heresy. The second Rome, Constantinople, had fallen through sin. The third Rome, Moscow, was standing. There was to be no fourth Rome.

Tsar Ivan III the Terrible (1533-1584) established his reign on this foundation. He was crowned tsar in 1547 as the successor to the Byzantine emperor. He ruthlessly persecuted his enemies as he subjected both church and state to his personal control. Among Ivan’s many victims was Metropolitan Philip of Moscow. He was strangled by the tsar’s henchmen in 1568 for his open opposition to the actions of the mad ruler. Philip has since been canonized by the Church as a saint.

In 1547-1549 the Church of Russia formally canonized many saints from different parts of the country, utilizing the national veneration of these holy people – who were previously honored only locally – as a means toward national unification. In 1551, the Council of a Hundred Chapters – the Stoglav Sobor – further asserted the supremacy of Russian Orthodoxy over the other Eastern Orthodox churches.

After the Russian defeat of the Turks in Kazan in 1551, Ivan built the famous Church of St. Basil in the Moscow kremlin in honor of St Basil, the Mosocw fool for Christ (d.1552). This church building is known for its combination of Christian and Oriental styles.

During the early part of Ivan’s reign his spiritual father was the priest Sylvester. Many of Ivan’s early reforms were guided by this simple pastor. Sylvester was the main contributor to a book called Domostroi or Home-builder which taught Russian Christian families how they should arrange their lives according to the ritual and ethical practices of the Orthodox Church. The Domostroi was a very popular book which influenced generations of Russian families. Ivan exiled Sylvester in 1559.

Also during Ivan the Terrible’s reign, Metropolitan Makarii of Moscow (1542-1563) wrote twelve volumes called Monthly Readings. It was a vast collection of commentaries on the Bible, the lives of the saints, sermons, and other material for spiritual reading. At this time, the “non-possessor” Saint Maxim the Greek (d.1556) was imprisoned and tortured for his attempts to revise and correct the liturgical books of the Russian Church. Saint Gury (d.1563), the bishop of Kazan, was carrying on his mission among the Siberian tribes.

Russia during the Reign of Theodore

During the reign of Ivan’s son, Theodore, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Jeremiah II, came to Moscow in quest of aid. The patriarchal church of Constantinople was under the power of the Turks. So, under the obvious pressures of that situation, the patriarch recognized the Muscovite bishop, Job, as the first Patriarch of All Russia in 1589. The installation document of the new patriarch was almost a repetition of the prophesy of Philotheus about Moscow as the third Rome. Thus the theory, which had become practice under Ivan III, was now officially affirmed by the highest prelate in the Orthodox Church. In 1593 the Russian Church received the approval of its status as a patriarchate from the bishops of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch. Thus, it was officially recognized as the fifth in honor among the Orthodox patriarchates.

The Union of Brest-Litovsk

The sixteenth century saw the development of the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom on the Western boundary of Russia. By 1569 Poland and Lithuania had become one under Sigismund. The kingdom had taken segments of the Russian lands as far east as Kiev – territory populated almost exclusively by Orthodox Christians. Jesuits had entered this territory earlier, bringing Latin learning and practices. The result was the Union of Brest-Litovsk in 1596 through which the Orthodox bishops of the area effected a union with the Roman Church on the foundations agreed to in Florence a century earlier. The rites and customs of the Church for the masses of Orthodox faithful taken into the “unia” remained the same. The ecclesiastical hierarchy, clerical, and academic leadership of the Church was totally subjected to the Latin discipline and doctrine of the Roman papacy. This union of 1596 remained in effect in the territories which have continued to be ruled by non-Orthodox governments such as Poland, Austro-Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. From its inception, the uniate movement was always confronted with substantial opposition. Opposers were mainly Orthodox laymen who were organized into brotherhoods and blessed by Patriarch Jeremiah of Constantinople to defend the Orthodox faith, as early as 1588. In the beginning the anti-uniate movement was helped by the use of the printing press of Ivan Fedorov. This man was expelled from Muscovy with his “diabolical invention” by Ivan III.

The East

In the second half of the sixteenth century, the Eastern patriarchs were in contact with the Protestant reformers in the West. Josaphat II (1551-1565) sent representatives to Wittenberg and Tubingen. They returned highly displeased with what they found. Jeremiah II, after a careful study of the Augsburg Confession – which was sent to him for his inspection – soundly declared the Lutheran teachings to be heretical.

During this same period, Saints George and John the New (1526) were added to the Church’s list of saints for their martyrdom under the Moslems. Other Greek saints at this time were Saint Vissarion, Bishop of Larissa (d.1541) and Saint Philotheas of Athens (d.1589).

The West and the Protestant Reformation

The West in the sixteenth century went through the Protestant reformation and the counter-reformation of the Roman Church. Martin Luther (d.1545), John Calvin (d.1564) and Ulrich Zwingli (d.1545) led the reformation movement on the European continent. They attacked the practical abuses of the Roman Church as well as its official teachings. King Henry VIII founded the Anglican Church by the Act of Supremacy in 1534 and John Knox (d.1572) brought the Calvinist faith to Scotland.

The Roman Church held the Council of Trent (1561-1563) which officially formulated the doctrines of purgatory, indulgences, transubstantiation of bread and wine in the eucharist and other positions attacked and denied by the Protestants. The Protestant position is based on the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone. The Bible is the sole churchly authority, interpreted directly by each believer under the inspiration of God. The sacramental life of the Church is reduced to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which is understood primarily as a memorial meal, in no sense a sacrifice. The Council of Trent reinforced the doctrines of the supremacy of the pope of Rome and the authority of the church hierarchy. Both these doctrines were main targets of the Protestant attack.

The West and the Counter-reformation

The Roman counter-reformation was led by the Jesuits. The Society of Jesus was founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola (d.1556) for the specific purpose of defending the Roman papacy. Francis Xavier (d.1552) was the famous Jesuit missionary who reached the Far East during this period. The Dutch Jesuit, Peter Canisius (d.1597) led the counter-reformation in Germany, writing his famous Catechism which became a standard text of post-reformation Catholicism.

In Spain the mystical writers, Teresa of Avila (d.1582) and John of the Cross (d.1591) were leading the reform of the religious life of the Roman Church. In Geneva, the Roman bishop of the city, Francis de Sales (d.1622) was writing his works about the spiritual life. During this same time the artist Titian (d.1576) was painting and the musician Palestrina (d.1594) was producing his grandiose musical compositions which were used in the Roman Church.

http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=149

What a farce, the council leaders must think they have a strong electoral vote behind them to let this happen.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4887499.Council_to_hunt_down_cabbies_with_English_flag_stickers/

COUNCIL chiefs have declared war on taxi drivers displaying the “English-speaking driver” posters that have sparked a racism row.
They have vowed to punish cabbies who have put up the stickers in their vehicles by suspending them.

But one hackney carriage driver has pledged to defy the ban and challenged the council to give him one good reason why he should take it down.
Darren Busby, pictured above, described the threats as “farcical” and said the stickers were about providing a good service to customers.
Taxi trade representatives, councillors and race campaigners have branded them “racist” and demanded they are removed.

My response to the paper.

People pay their council tax for this, English people getting persecuted for being proud to call themselves after their homeland.
Southampton City Council have a lot to answer to, the people of Southampton should start a petition to stop this act of racism against the English people, the Pakistani, Muslim, Jamaican, Indian, African and many more races that come to this country to get the benefits of state education, NHS, our benefit services, welcome all this when they come here, so they should assimilate into our way of life too, to coincide with their traditions, and ours, and bearing a flag is one of them, a ST George Cross is just not for football, it is the flag of our nation,England our nation, and if you are proud of this and the fact that you are and speak English, you have the right to state this in any way you see fit.
Will the council be telling the migrants, and immigrants to take their flags and pennants out of display in their taxis. Doubtful. Southampton City Council, as an entity you are being racist towards the English. Love to see the Judges face when it is observed that the St George Cross is on the emblem sitting above the Judges head. It has made a mockery of the council, whose leaders are voted in by mainly English people as well as the migrant population of Southampton, bear in mind the English out number any other ethnic background, who vote for your leaders and for the government that run this country. The English are the majority race in England.

SOUTHAMPTON CITY COUNCIL, YOU ARE THE RACISTS, NOT THE ENGLISH TAXI DRIVERS.

Baja roads have been washed out so I have been stuck in southern Utah soaking up desert sun, regaining a sense of self, and getting dangerously close to over planning this adventure south.  How wonderful it is to relax in the desert.

Climbing at the Prophecy wall St. George utah

After 5  days of camping in the desert outside of St. George Utah, mountain biking and climbing I couldn’t be more ready to continue south leaving the faithful grease truck (aka “home”) behind.  I recognize again the potent ability of the desert air and long days of physical activity to revitalize the soul.  Is that why there are so many homes here?  We all know, and we keep forgetting.

It seems clear to me that if I come up with any more reasons to stall, I will be putting off this long anticipated trip for nervousness.  Not an enjoyable thought, I better get going.  Last night Sleeping on a back road, some place I had never been, away from the lights of town, a truck passed.  Was it because I was in mormon country that I didn’t worry, that I didn’t know the person.  Why were they on this road, this late at night?  I slept comfortably, feeling safe, knowing no one, but being in the country of my birth.  I wondered then as I do now, why do I feel less safe at the proposition of traveling in Mexico?  Much of my planning has been to understand and avoid danger perceived or otherwise.  I feel like it is nothing short of racism to feel safe among strangers in my own country yet feel fearful around strangers in another country.   This is subconscious racism taught to us by media outlets (and reinforced by one another) that selectively report and certainly over report but I am not a victim.  This is my responsibility, to inform my subconscious, to remove the effects of over-leveraged  and under educated judgement against what I do not know or understand.

The next morning, Marti`n passed riding a horse (I was still in mormon utah)  a mexican from a border town, my subconscious fear of drug lords shooting everyone embodied!!!  Classic, we chatted for a bit, he politely didn’t acknowledge my poor spanish, and we went on our way.  Every interaction I have had in Mexico with Mexican people has been the same way and still I plan, ask, and feel nervous.  When will I learn?  I hope soon.

I am reminded of my first ‘big’ trip to South Padre Island, a bicycle tour to learn to kiteboard.  A decade later this seems to be a return to such an adventure.  The machine makes this one a little more complicated but otherwise the similarities are many.  On that trip I carried a packet of wisdom from my friend Michael Graney…. “let the journey take you”, “there is nothing to fear but fear itself, death is as light as a feather, duty to life as heavy as a mountain.”, and my favorite, one for which remembering the author is easier than the others:

“Awake

Shake dreams from your hair my pretty child my sweet

and choose the day

and choose the sign of your day, the days divinity

first thing you see…

A vast radiant beach

a cool jeweled moon

couples naked, race down by its quiet side

and we laugh like soft mad children

snug in the wooley cotton brains of infancy

the music and voice are all around us

oh great creator grant us one more hour

to perform our arts and perfect our minds…”  – Jim Morrison

Life has a lot of grey areas, areas that lie uncharted that in maps of old would be marked as ‘Here be Dragons’… There’s a tendency for such places to be the source of a rather bizarre fear, effectively a fear of the unknown. Instead of going there and finding out what exactly is over there that’s such a mystery, the mapmaker just throws his own story there and that’s that…

Life’s like that sometimes. It’s a giant experiment that’s got a million ingredients and a billion outcomes, like somewhere along the way, the actions of your past influence your present and go on to tweak your future ever so slightly… The thing with decisions like that is they look so small in the moment, but they snowball and become an avalanche later in life.
So then the question begs, is it wiser to sit put and point at the dragons on the map or go gung ho and find out if the dragons are for real?
Sometimes the unknown is better than what is known, for the obvious reason that out of sight is out of mind. I mean, it’s easier to attack something from a point of ignorance than from a point of knowledge. Take away the ignorance and you end up with a changed mind. That’s why ignorance ranks up there amongst mankind’s worst enemies. Fear and ignorance, coupled with a blind faith, taking things for their surface value.
Dragons can be substituted for pretty much anything… Emotions, ’stuff’, life itself, things that are generally frightening and therefore have loads of associated pain that they carry along. Then in the end, in true dragon fashion, the bearer gets burned. Badly. They also have to make sacrifices to keep the dragon quiet and sated. All this would have been much easier had the dragons been vanquished in the first place… But slowly by slowly, the unknown grows and covers everything like a thin fog, making that which had been known before to be confused, muddled up…
And unlike the story, St. George does not make a quick appearance and kill the beast. But this one grows and grows until it swallows you whole…
Somewhere along the way, that space has to be defined, then the dragons vanquished and you reign victorious.
Or you lose.

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Welcome to my (well, our) blog! I have tried a few times to start this blogging thing, but this time I’m feeling extra motivated. So, hopefully it will stick The last time I tried blogging was while training for Ironman Arizona. I don’t know why I thought taking on training for an Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) and entering the blogosphere at the same time was a good idea. Looking back, I was setting myself up to fail. I think I blogged four times before I completely gave up. This time I’m here to stay.

Me and Roy after the hardest day of our lives!

Why am I so confident? Well, this time I will be blogging not only about me, but also about my husband. We both competed at Ironman Arizona on November 22, 2009. It was my first attempt at that distance, and his second. A lot of people cross the finish line and say “wow, that was the most amazing thing ever. When I can I do that again?” Others cross and say, “wow, I’m never doing that again.” My husband would be the former, I would be the latter.

The blog’s name “Team Hitch” comes from our last name… Hichens. I added a “t” to hich, because let’s face it… you’re more likely to add a “t” on your own. This blog will present a different perspective on Ironman training.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will recap what I learned about myself after completing an Ironman (trust me, you learn a lot) and introduce you to my family. Roy (my hubbie ) will be competing at Ironman St. George on May 1 (his third Ironman in 2 1/2 years). I, on the other hand, am going through a weird stage when it comes to my motivation to compete in endurance events. But, I will expand on that in later blogs.

I know from personal experience that Ironman athletes try hard to blog about their training, working, balancing life, etc. but often come up short because the last thing they want to do after completing an 80-mile bike ride, four-mile transition run, and a legs weight session (because you want your legs to hurt as much as possible for the next day’s long run… sick, I know) is blog about the experience of it all. That’s where I come in. I’ve been there, done that. And now I’m here to share his experiences, as well as my own in supporting him as he works to achieve his goal.

What exactly is his goal? I’ll let you in on that little secret in future blogs

Despite the slow real estate market rebound and slight decrease in the resale value of many remodeling projects, St. George homeowners are finding remodeling projects that are giving them the most bang for their buck.  They are discovering that some of the smartest home improvement projects are also some of the least expensive.

The 2009 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report showed that small-scale exterior projects were the most profitable when it came time to resale.  According to the report, eight out of ten projects were recouped when exterior projects costing less than $14,000 were performed. 

Remodeling projects such as door replacement, siding replacement and wood deck additions all gave more than 80% of project costs upon resale.  Just replacing an entry door with a steel door recouped 128.9% of costs.  Upscale fiber-cement siding replacement recouped 83.6% of costs.  Wood deck additions recouped 80.6% of costs.

The report really highlights the importance of a home’s first impression.  Giving your home curb appeal with exterior projects will definitely add value to your home. 

Along with your exterior home remodeling projects, don’t forget about your interior needs as well.  Decluttering your home, adding a fresh coat of paint, cleaning windows, adding fresh lighting, etc., will also help with the sale of your home.

It has been a rough winter for me. By rough I mean I spent more time laying around the house and eating whatever was placed in front of me.

The up side: I got to spend more time with my family than I have for years, it was really nice.

The down side: I have gained over 10 lbs and gotten really out of shape.

The reason: on thanksgiving I managed to pull or tear my groin lifting a box of shit out of the basket at Costco. It took lots of pain, two visits to two docs, one CAT scan to discover that it is “probably” a torn muscule. Lame.

Anyhow I finaly just desided that I need to get back on the wagon and get in shape, even if it hurts. So last week i got into the gym twice for 30 min. on the stationary bike and this weekend I went biking with a buddy on three sweet trails in St George Utah. The Church Rocks trail, the Barrell roll trail, and Zen trail. Here are a few pics. It felt sooooo good to get back on the bike, well my ass was quit sore on day 2-3 but it was worth it.

The pain was not as bad as I feared, in fact in some ways it seems to be better. I think I should have been getting some low impact cardio long ago and I would probably be better by now. Oh well, at least I am getting to it now.

Yeeeeeeehaaaaaawwwww!

With the inversion thickening, the sun hiding behind layers upon layers of haze, and inescapable cold, least in the valley, Mare and I came to the conclusion it was time for our first road trip together. I will spare you a vomit-inducing comment. You’re welcome.

In reality, we had been planning this for some time, at least a month, as her family was going down and had rented two condos in Green Valley. I figured I’d tag along to see Alex, which I did.

We left late Friday afternoon, after she left work. She informed me the day before she needed to take Nitro down as well, which didn’t turn out half as bad as I anticipated. She had given him Benadryl before we left, so he was pretty calm the entire way down. She drove until Fillmore, where I took over and drove the rest of the way. Fun stuff.

When we finally reached St. George, we met up with Alex and Laura, whom we had to pick up, at Red Robin. Had an enjoyable dinner, where I finagled a $5 burger, so score for me.

The following day, Alex and I mostly hung out the majority of the day, we went to In-N-Out and then to the outlet mall, where I resisted the tempting new Emporio Armani cologne, and a pair of Prada sunglasses.

We met up with Mary later that night, to go hot tubbing, where we met two, arguably, drunk 16 year olds. After getting in several arguments with one of them, and winning mind you, I decided to leave, and the others followed. We went back to their condo and watched Hitch, which everyone seemed to love, but I only found mildly entertaining.

The following day, Sunday, Mary invited us to Sand Hollow Reservoir, after church, where I went with Grandma, whom, along with Grandpa, were down for a tenant meeting. Alex wasn’t thrilled, I didn’t mind though. Anyhow, the reservoir, which was ten dollars to get in, was actually very beautiful. Red rock all around surrounded by clear water. We hiked around a little, and I lied out on a rock for some sun. Several hours later, the wind picked up, and the clouds rolled in, making it too cold to stay.

Later that night, at Mare’s condo, we met up and played a just generally kick ass nerdy game called, Hero Quest. I may have to purchase it, even though I’d need some nerdy friends to play it with. Or friends in general…

Monday, the four of us, Laura included, had decided to go to some place called the Bear Paw. Evidently it’s a delicious breakfast place. That morning, I wasn’t really in the mood to go out, but was forced to, after much persisting from Alex. We arrive, and I am expecting at least a lobby to stand in, as Alex mentioned the wait is about an hour for a table, making me even less enthused about the whole idea. After about five minutes, which included pushing and shoving to get our name on the list, I had decided it was time for me to go. I was freezing, hungry, and tired. I drove back to the condo and had a quiet, free breakfast, which pleased me.

Once they returned, Alex mentioned to me that Mare wanted to head back to Salt Lake around 7-8, which did not please me. I was hoping to leave early, as I was ready to get home, and not to mention a huge storm was starting to develop in the area, and I did not want to drive home in that.

So, around 7.30, Mare finally arrives to head back home. Between St. George and Cedar City, the roads were awful, and the storm was hammering that area. It was raining very hard, and visibility was low. The precipitation continued until about Beaver, and then we were clear, minus my anxiety over black ice. But, we did make it, and just in time. Around midnight, when we arrived in the valley, it had started to rain pretty steadily. Needless to say, after the storm, the anxiety, and three nights on an uncomfortable, itchy couch, I was ready for my own bed. My, did it feel great.

that last blog stating I had a co-signer for my vet school loan, that is.

FUCK!!!!

The other incoming student got scared and backed out of our concurrent co-signing agreement/scheme.  She will be deferring to the next semester–which leaves me at square one:  No co-signer, no loan=no vet school.

JUST when I was starting to relax and be excited, the dream was yanked away from me again.  The parents still won’t co-sign.  I don’t need anyone with good credit–as a matter of fact it’s preferable I get someone with nothing to lose to co-sign my loan application.  The goal here is to be denied the Sallie Mae loan so I can apply for the in school loan being offered.

I don’t know what to do, and am quickly running out of time.

Why, why, why???!!!!!!!!

I’m still not eligible to get the Sallie Mae loan without a co-signer.  I still have no viable co-signer.  BUT the school is now offering a loan to students who are rejected for the Sallie Mae loan with a co-signer.  This loan will cover tution and housing, which is all I need since I have been working my ass off for the last year, fundraising, and selling my body parts.

I have worked out a deal with one of the other incoming students who also couldn’t get a co-signer.  We will co-sign each other’s Sallie Mae loan knowing we will both be denied.  Upon rejection, we are both eligable for the school’s loaan-yay!

I still think the school sucks for putting me through that stress the last 2 weeks.  There is no excuse to run a business so haphazardly!  And my parents–I won’t soon forget their lack of support and lack of sensitivity during such a trying time.  I’ll probably never really trust them again. . .

At the same time, this is my one guaranteed path to vet school and I’m sure going to take it if I can.  So cross your fingers that my scheme will work out and I can go to the island next Saturday!

And yet so far away.  As you know I was finally accepted to veterinary school.  I was all set to fly to the Caribbean on August 8.  I had been planning for this move to a foreign country for the last year.  I had 3 international flights paid for.  I had packed all my belongings in boxes, paid a year of storage, quit my job, and moved halfway across the country (with my cats) to my parents’ house.

.. ..

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You can see where this is going.  Yesterday, I found I cannot attend vet school.  The school waited until last week to tell us about our only loan option.  Despite my 720 credit, I was denied without a co-signer.  My parents REFUSE to sign.  Relatives and family friends, not only don’t have a responsibility for my well-being, they have poor credit, or fears of losing their house in this economy.  Without a loan, I can’t make the required $50,000 for a year of tuition, housing, books, island amenities, etc. . .

.. ..

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I have failed at my dream of becoming a veterinarian—again.  I’m starting to wonder if the universe is against me.  Everything had been going so well, my 26^th birthday was going to be a new start.  Now, I’m devastated, lost, back at square one.  To make matters worse, my mom kicked me out of their house by August 24.  She has to put her craft materials in my old bedroom, you know.  MUCH more important than letting me get back on my feet!

.. ..

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I have no home, no job, no career, and I’m not sure where to go from here.  I just know I need to do whatever I’m going to do quickly!

By popular demand (because I had people emailing me asking where to sign up and send money) Dealer and Artist Registration for Anime St. George 2010 Convention is now open early. For Vendors wishing to come sell their wares or aspiring Artists who want to showcase and sell their artwork, this is the place to do it.

Dealer/Artist Registration is now set up on the Official Site under the Dealers tab. I’ve stream lined the sign up and made it a little easier then it was last year. For some reason I had people going to an extra page that was completely unnecessary. Now instead of finding the sign up form on a second page, you will find it right there on the dealers page. I’ve also removed the option to buy the 10×15 booth which we no longer support. Layout for the  dealers room in general has also been modified a bit since we were actually set up all the tables and whatnot last year and were able to see what can actually fit and what cannot.

Dealer Registration will be Open Until September 11th 2010. Spaces are first come first serve so if you want a good prime spot, get in there early!

Because it’s fairly late in the evening already, I’m setting this blog entry to be posted tomorrow morning. Also figured I would try out the new HootSuite WordPress Addon to see how it worked.

So anyways, I got the new program ad for the Anime St. George 2010 Convention finished this evening and sent in for review. It’s planned to be running in the Fannatiku Fest Convention Program in March. It’s very nice half page ad which is basically an updated version of the ad that ran in AnimeVegas 2009. A new addition to the ad is that Dealer and Artist Registration will be open by then to attract to the many dealers and artists that attend the con. I’ve also added that Online Pre-Registration opens just a few weeks after that convention. I hope this will attract the bulk Fannatiku Fest crowed since this will be our first time advertising with them and a lot of them are people we already know in the community.

Either way, I’m kind of looking forward to it and curious to see how their convention will turn out. I still need to buy my pink wig so I may cosplay as Marluxia from Kingdom Hearts: Re Chain of Memories. I already have the Organization XIII Coat that I used for my Axel cosplay so it shall be one of my cheapest cosplays yet. >w< After I do Marluxia, I would eventually like to get the same style wig in white so I may also do a Riku cosplay as well.

Well…that is enough of my ramblings for now. Sometimes you just need to post about things that are completely useless in order to keep you sane.

A bit of everything at Brighton-Le-Sands

The city skyline in the background, a plane taking off from the airport, and folks taking an evening stroll at Brighton-Le-Sands baths.

Le Sands Restaurant

Frederik Hyttel, one of the students here at the Maritime Archaeology Programme in Esbjerg won our “HMS St George gun modelling competition”…- well, or just delivered an incredibly detailed model…
You can download his model of an iron 12 pounder lifted from the wreck of HMS St George below. Frederik’s model is based on the total station survey of a gun and carriage on display in the Strandingsmuseum Thorsminde. To view the Rhino 3D file, you need a copy of Rhinoceros3D. A fully functional evaluation version can be downloaded here. The Sketchup file can be viewed and modified with the free 3D modelling software Google Sketchup.

Iron 12 Pounder HMS St George (Rhino3D file – 17MB)

Iron 12 Pounder HMS St George (Sketchup file – 26MB)

The convention season is here once again and things are really going to be hopping now. I’ve got some important updates for all of you regarding dates of registration and whatnot.

Follow/Fan/Friend Us!
It is now easier then ever to stay up-to-date with everything that is happening with Anime SG. Now you can Follow Us on Twitter, Become our Fan on Facebook and Friend us on Myspace. You can also subscript to us here on WordPress so you will get an email notice whenever a new post is made. If you aren’t keeping tabs on us by now or are not yet a member of our anime harem, go click one of the links above already! You can also find them on our Official Website as cute little pin buttons on our front page and home page.

Registration Dates
Our Official Site has now been updated with the final Registration Dates for both Dealer Registration and Pre-Registration. I still need to update the dates here on the blog but I will get to that shortly.

Dealer Registration: Opens January 15th.
Dealers and Artists Booth 10’x10’ Booth: $75.00
Dealers and Artists Booth 10’x20’ Booth: $145.00

A 10′x10′ Booth will include 1 Table, 2 Chairs and Table Covering.
A 10′x20′ Booth will include 2 Tables and 2 Additional chairs (If desired) and Table Coverings .

Pre-Registration: April 1st through September 10th.
Pre-Registration Price: $15.00 US Dollars.
At the Door Price: $20.00

Registration for both of these can be done securely and safely through PayPal on our website and can be done completely online. We already have both Dealers and Attendees who are chomping at the bit to register so we should have a very good year!

Recording the guns of HMS St George

The day we were all going to know as St.George Rudder and the Cannons Day started very early, in fact way too early for most of the Maritime Archaeology students, but as dedicated students we sacrificed our sleep in (which never goes past 9:30 of course). After traveling north through the Danish tundra we arrived at the edge of the Nissum Fjord. To be exact the small settlement of Thorsminde where the Strandingsmuseum was situated. Here we started the day by (under protest) being split up into two groups. We were to take turns in taking points with the Total-Station as well as measuring the remaining canons and carriages of the St.George by hand and in precise measurement drawn archaeological drawing of the famous St.George Rudder.

After the (which has known to be a standard procedure) arguments and discussions of the first group, about whether the 3 cm diameter hole in the 7m rudder was on an original part of the rudder or a reinforcement, the archaeological drawing could start! Unfortunately at this point one and a half hours had passed and it was time for a change of stations.

The recording of the cannons had to be continued. Using the total station we started with 4 orientation points on the ground, and then recording points at every important angle and curve which would later be used to create a 3D model by using a program, loved by the students, called Rhino. With little coffee breaks and a short excursion to the pier the work made steady progress, plus we got to a free tour of the  museum by the very welcoming director (who also provided the coffee).

By the time it was starting to get dark, the last points of the carriage were being taken and recorded, and the last details of the St.George rudder were being drawn (this turned out to be an amazing drawing thanks to our special portuguese friend). Once finished we could make our long way back home to Esbjerg…

Watch this spot for the results!

Isger Vico Sommer

Sam never goes to the grocery store with me unless forced, but yesterday he wanted treats to eat while watching the Fiesta Bowl.  He knew I would probably pick out something like carrot sticks so he was more than happy to come along knowing that he could choose his own.  We came out of the grocery store and were greeted by the most magnificient sunset.  The sky was aflame in reds and pinks of the most glorious hues. Red at night sailor’s delight. At times like these Sam always thinks of Robert.  “Mom, I’ve got to hurry and call Dad and tell him to look out the window, he won’t want to miss this…” 

Robert was home preparing his next painting which will be going to the Robert and Peggy N. Sears Invitational Art Show in St. George.  He dropped everything and ran outside when he got Sam’s call, just in time for the tail end of the colors. “Thanks Sam!”

A successful watercolor needs to be well planned. (This is the 2nd try!)

At last,  2010 has arrived and here is the first post of the new year as well as the new decade! I thank everyone who commented on my last post about the interesting things that went down on First Night that we did not see. Rhies commend to tell us that a drug bust went down in the car next to her event booth that she was running to make some extra pocket money. Just goes to show that no matter where you go, something illegal will always go down on New Year’s Eve. I hope everyone had a safe and fun evening other wise.

Now…as for our own happenings….yes….that was very interesting….

First off, Karson and I went to Chili’s to enjoy a $25 gift card that I had. My good was good and we had a very fine and smexy out waiter serving us (Adam I think his name was?….yummy).  Well, I ordered the chicken wings and my dear friend had the Bacon Burger. Now, keep in mind that Karson ALWAYS orders his meat well done. However, when it was brought out, it turned out to be Medium Rare. Lets just say that I’ve seen Sushi better cooked then that. Damn  thing was practically moo-ing and bucking off his plate. Because of his sensitive stomach, he had to excuse himself to the restroom and we got our entire meal for free.

After that drama settled down, we decided to head to First Night.  What I expected to be the biggest shindig of the year that in past years took up most of the whole downtown area and was on the scale of a college-like party ended up being more like Family Night. I’ve never seen more pre-pubescence since I was one myself. Not being much one for endless hours of DDR and Guitar Hero or face painting, we bought Ramune at Judd’s General Store and headed back to Karson’s place for a few hours of Mario Kart on Wii.

Due to other more private matters which I will not discuses openly, I needed to go home early, about 20mins before Midnight which really was a bit of a downer. Even so, New Years Day was a blast. The Japanese Pot Luck (which I didn’t see any of you there! >_>) was wonderful with some great food and good company. Afterward it was filled with more Mario Kart and Pizza. So really, it wasn’t so bad after all.

-Quick Announcement Note-
Since the 2010 Convention Year is upon us at last, many more updates regarding our convention plannings, dealers and major website updates are going to be coming in. Starting Tuesday (since I’m going to be away from my computer all day Monday), I’ll be sending out emails to all of our previous dealers inviting them back for early dealer registration and setting up open dealer registration. Because we’ve moved our con date from Early October to Late September, registrations for both dealers and pre-registration will be open earlier. This is also because we have more time for planning our second year then we did our first. Our Second Year is already shaping up to be pretty good. We will have an ad running in the other local anime convention Fannatiku Fest, which will hopefully bring in some of their people to our con too.

So I had a flash of creativity last night and this is what I came up with.  It is not even close to finished, but I thought I’d post a few in progress pictures… I’ve got quite a few things I’m in the middle of, since I’m great at starting things but notoriously bad at following through with them!  It’s india ink, charcoal and gold ink.  The embellishments on the cloak will eventually be inked metallic red, green and blue, and will be the only thing in color (besides the gold).

The Spectrum: Snowpack could result in flooding - Last week’s storm may be over, but officials say the excess snow it left in Southern Utah’s higher elevations may result in future flooding.

Salt Lake Tribune: Gains from Grand Canyon flooding short-lived - Maintaining sandbars crucial to wildlife in the Grand Canyon would require more frequent high water flows from Glen Canyon Dam that coincide with natural flooding of Colorado River tributaries, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist said Tuesday.