tal-is-man: ring, stone, etc., supposed to have magic powers, especially of bringing good luck.  Synonyms: amulet, charm, fetish, mascot; wishbone, rabbit’s foot.

Every day, usually within a couple hours of waking up, I hold my little coin talismans and give thanks for all I have, all that I will have and all that I once had.  This is an accounting of my wealth and whenever I do it I do not put them away until I have felt a relaxing warmth come over me.

It does this two ways.  As I hold them, I hold off this collective infection we have in our world where somehow we feel we just never have enough.  I start looking at my bedroom and see all the nice things I have, pictures of people in my life I love, awards for what I have accomplished in Irish dance, etc.  This, in turn, allows me to put some space between me and the material world.  It’s not everything folks.  We need it for consciousness to be manifested, however, it’s not consciousness itself.  One is part of the other.

Regular holding these coins, these talismans, has measurably helped me change my life.  I’m getting out of debt and should be free of it in at most, two years.  I am building the value of my artistic work.  I am taking back my life.  And boy do I need to that, on a day like this.

Last night at work I had a nice gay couple at my table for a couple hours and they ordered lots of beer and food.  I comp’ed them a drink during the night.  Then, during one of our nightly shows, they walked out quickly without paying their check.  I really don’t care to recount much of the story as it is obviously upsetting when someone steals from you. There is much gnashing of teeth involved and visions of the perpetrators getting blown up stream through your head.

Their accidental or intentional action felt like a direct attack on my image (not on my soul because that cannot be affected by something as silly as theft).  It felt like they were stealing a part of me, which as a waiter they were.  But as the true Russell Patrick Brown, they were definitely not.  Still, to restore that external self that is tarnished by such a negative action, I use my coins.  They help me reconnect to the feelings of abundance in life.

This is why talismans are so important.  They are an object chosen by you that reminds you to love life in whatever way you feel you need to.  I use these coins because I have a hard time staying focused on making money and keeping it.  My attention always drifts away from it so it really helps me make sure I provide for myself.  Maybe for you it would be better to have shoelace in your pocket that reminds you how gorgeously fit you are and how easy it is for you to work out!  Or maybe it’s a water stone you touch every day that gives you the healing power of water.

Whatever you chose, pick a talisman  and let the magic work in your life. Maybe it will come from a shaman like my main coin did. It is a penny with a dove punched through it.  This symbolizes the Christian Holy Spirit working through money.  You’re supposed to hold it a certain way and say lots of good things to yourself.  It’s fun!  And with it you’ll start feeling the other dimensions of possibility in your life.

I discovered the board game Talisman back in the 90’s, when it was just coming out with its 3rd edition. I had a bunch of friends – henceforth known as “pushers” – who initiated me into the ways of that game with its 2nd edition. We only played once or twice but that was enough to engender a deep and sometimes disturbing addiction.

I eventually got a hold of the 3rd Edition of Talisman, which most of my friends had never seen before. It wasn’t long before we were having regular games of it over at my house once a week – sometimes more often than that. We couldn’t get enough of it. It was like a drug that had grabbed hold of our brains and wouldn’t let go.

Two of the things that made this game so horrifyingly addictive – and still do – are that 1) it’s easy to learn and 2) it has expansions. The game is very accessible and appears to have infinite potential right from the start! For someone like me, that kind of game is nigh-impossible to resist. That’s especially true when you consider its D&D-like fantasy setting and the fact that you’re all playing characters who you can choose to move in any available direction when you roll the die and whose stats you’re trying to improve enough to make it to the final challenge at the center of the board. All qualities that sucked me in like a tornado.

And then of course you have the expansions – separate boards you can enter, whenever you like, to fight different kinds of monsters and earn rewards that help boost your stats in different ways. When the 3rd Edition came out they started making those expansions L-shaped so that they could fit together with the main board – with the exception of a 3-dimensional tower that you could put at the board’s center. That little innovation only served to make the game look that much cooler and, naturally, that much more addictive.

Now, in reality, while the game IS very replayable, after you’ve played a few times you pretty much know what’s going to happen. The players are going to try to build themselves up as fast as they can. The process will inevitably take at least a few hours and will continue until one of the players calculates he or she can’t possibly lose and decides to charge to the center and end the game.

I’ve just described almost every Talisman game I’ve ever played.

Of course, by the time my friends and I discovered that little fact, the game already had its hooks in us, and knowledge of the endless cycle we were now facing didn’t really matter. We still played in marathons that seemed to last days on end as late nights would bleed into early mornings. Then we discovered Drinking Talisman, and it was all downhill from there.

There were no real rules for Drinking Talisman – not the version we came up with, anyway. We’d take a drink whenever somebody won a combat… or was turned into a toad… or crossed into a different region… or pretty much whenever we felt like it. We would all begin chanting “TOAD! TOAD! TOAD!” whenever someone was possibly about to be Toaded – a chant that would only become louder and more elaborate the more inebriated we were. One night after nursing a particularly large bottle of Scotch for a while I started going and lying down in the next room between turns and, despite my drunken stupor, always managed somehow to figure out when it was time to come back and sit down to take my next turn. I’m told that, disturbingly, the only thing different about me on each occasion was that my hair had become wilder and more chaotic every time I returned to the table.

2nd Edition Talisman in play. Photo by Wikipedia contributor "Frecklefoot."

This kind of addiction doesn’t seem to fade. Even though I’ve moved twice – and the game has gone out of print twice – since falling prey to it, I’ve continued to play whenever I can convince my friends to do so. I still wander around online every now and then looking for fan-made add-ons to the game (I highly recommend the Talisman Island site for that, by the way). I try going cold turkey every now and then, but sooner or later I always find myself breaking out the game board in a cold sweat and caressing it lovingly until I can rope someone into playing. There is no hope for me.

The game is now in a revision of its 4th Edition and is currently available from Fantasy Flight Games. I have the original 4th Edition, but I haven’t had a chance to buy anything for the revised version as of yet. Fantasy Flight has already put out three expansions for it and there may be more on the horizon. As you can imagine, I’m chomping at the bit to get a hold of them. Especially if the revisions help with some of the afore-mentioned predictability issues I’ve come to know and loathe over the years.
In the mean time I’ll continue applying house rules and fan material as needed. And alcohol, when desired.

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When you think of a dragon, what image do you conjure up in your mind?

Do you picture a serpent like beast with a long muscular body and a fanned tail that can twist itself into coils? Or is your beast a huge creature than can rear up onto its hind legs and breathe fire? Personally, as a woman with a phobia of all things serpent like, my dragon would definately be the kind with legs, and he’d probably be purple.

What got me thinking about dragons in particular, was that as I was updating the mystical amulets & talismans section in the store I couldn’t fail but notice just how many dragons were represented in there, in all their many shapes and forms. There are Celtic Dragons, fantasy dragons, dragon skulls and a whole lot more.

For a creature perportedly only to exist in myth and legend we certainly hold some strong beliefs in its magickal abilities, or else why would we still design and wear jewellery that carries its image or form?

Den gudesmukke Angelina Jolie har sammen med Brad Pitt kastet sig over jobbet som smykkedesignere. Kollektionen er inspireret af slangen. Da Angelina var gravid med datteren Shiloh, fik hun en ring formet som en slage i gave. Siden da, har hun opfattet slangen som en slags talisman og beskytter af familien, derfor er slangen temaet for kollektionen. Ydermere, så går overskuddet af salget til organisationen Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, hvilken Angelina var med til at stifte i 2006. Kollektionen kan desværre ikke købes i Danmark, men den kan købes i Aspreys butikker i London og New York. Priserne starter ved 525$. Se hele kollektionen her

This week is FUNday’s 8th weekly post and possibly one of the longest, since I decided to transcribe large portions of text from this week’s issue. How is typing out all those words so much fun? No, that’s not fun, that’s work! Right, uh, except no one pays me for this, therefore it’s fun!

Marvel Age #31
Oct 1985

Marvel Age was a monthly series featuring previews of upcoming comics, news articles about various subjects, advertisements, humorous pieces, and the occasional interview with creators and Marvel staff. Long removed from the Internet age, it was a great way (sometimes the ONLY way) to get news about what was going on in the world of Marvel Comics. This issue has a few Alpha Flight images, two interviews and cartoon Puck on the back.

In Marvel Age #29, Jim Salicrup included a Top Ten list for Marvel Sales on the inside front cover, where Alpha Flight ranked #6. Unfortunately, that data was aggregated over a few months, likely so he could put Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars at number one. In this issue, the list is just the top ten best-selling Direct Sales titles for April 1985.  Individual issues are listed, not titles:

1. Secret Wars II #2
2. X-Men #196
3. New Mutants #30
4. Alpha Flight #25
5. Web of Spider-Man #5
6. Elfquest #1
7. Fantastic Four #281
8. Amazing Spider-Man #267
9. Iron Man #197
10. Thor #358

Alpha Flight moves up in the ranks to #4! For the record, in Marvel Age #30, Alpha Flight #24 was in the #5 position of the Top Ten titles sold only through Direct Sales outlets (not including newsstand nor subscription figures). So in 3 months, Alpha Flight moved from #6 to #5 to #4!

This issue was concurrent with Alpha Flight #27 and solicited issue #28 in the section, “Marvel Coming Attractions” with text set inside its own yellow highlighted block:

ALPHA FLIGHT #28 – The Beyonder! Alpha Flight! Omega Flight! And all of them are against the Hulk! You’ll never believe how this saga ends! You’ll never believe how this saga begins! But whatever you do, you’ll never forgive yourself if you miss “Cross-Over” written and drawn by John Byrne with an inking assist by Keith Williams. 65¢.

On the bottom of the page, a panel taken from Alpha Flight #28 is shown with Mister Jeffries’ hand in the foreground and the caption, “ALPHA FLIGHT meets THE INCREDIBLE HULK – the hard way!” Notice how the figure on the screen is colored green in the solicit but neutrally colored in the actual comic. Not as if it weren’t known who the figure was supposed to be, especially after the interviews below, but the neutral color sustains a bit more suspense for both the reader and the characters in the story for the ending of Alpha Flight #28. There’s just a completely different reaction to a green figure (oh, that’s the Hulk) than the neutral one (gee I wonder, who or what is that?), and I’m glad the actual version was published that way. Both panels are shown below for your viewing pleasure.

Marvel Age #31 version: Oh, that's the Hulk

Alpha Flight #28 version : Gee I wonder, who or what is that?

Two interviews regarding the Alpha Flight/Hulk creative team switch follow, a 3-page John Byrne piece by Dwight Jon Zimmerman and a 1-page Bill Mantlo piece by Kurt Busiek. Here is the portion of the John Byrne interview pertaining to Alpha Flight:

     How did the HULK/ALPHA FLIGHT cross-over come about?
     It started with me realizing that I was fast approaching the end of my Alpha Flight stories. You see, I had a specific number of stories in mind when I started ALPHA FLIGHT. As it turned out, a couple of those stories, when they were produced, generated other tales, so I actually remained with ALPHA FLIGHT longer than I anticipated. Even so, I realized a couple of months back that I was reaching that cut-off point for me, after which I’d have no more Alpha Flight stories to tell. So I started asking myself what I wanted to do after ALPHA FLIGHT? At one time, I would have said THOR. But THOR is in really good hands with Walt Simonson right now.
     Then I remembered the Hulk. I was lying on my bed staring at the ceiling and wondering what I would do with the Hulk. And it was as if someone had knocked over a domino in my head. Suddenly I had about fourteen issues worth of stories formulated. I soon started hounding HULK editor Carl Potts, asking him if Bill Mantlo was tired of writing the Hulk yet. Bill, of course, wasn’t. But Carl jokingly suggested that I call up Bill and ask him if he wanted to trade THE INCREDIBLE HULK for ALPHA FLIGHT. That’s what I did. After Bill got over the surprise, he called me back and told me that both he and Mike Mignola, the Hulk’s penciler, would love to swap.
     As the plans started to firm up, we decided to make everything a literal cross-over of characters, creative and editorial teams.
     Is the cross-over going to be double-sized?
     No, it will appear in two regular-sized issues. One of THE INCREDIBLE HULK and one of ALPHA FLIGHT. We will show two sides of the same story that month. Basically it’s a fishing story where the Alpha Flight crew is fishing around in an alien dimension trying to find a new body for Langkowski and they hook something. What they hook is the Hulk. So in THE INCREDIBLE HULK #313, we get his side of the story about his being hooked, and in ALPHA FLIGHT #28, we get Alpha Flight’s side of things as they do the hooking.
     It must have taken some pretty close plot coordination.
     Pretty close, yes. It was lucky, really, because we happened to hit a time for both Bill and myself when we were able to slip this scenario into our continuities. Unconsciously, our storylines were actually all in position, so we didn’t have to spend hours burning the midnight oil to try and fit everything together. It was one of those Marvel serendipity things where once it was conceived, it fell right into place.
     With ALPHA FLIGHT, what are the major plot threads that you’ll be finishing?
     Actually, I’ll be doing less wrapping up than I will be dangling story threads that Bill wants me to dangle. I’ve pretty much tied up everything I wanted to do. Bill told me a few things that he would like to have happen that he wanted to pick up on. So I started to add those elements in. Anything that has a Bill Mantlo plot twist in the ALPHA FLIGHT stories I’ve done also has a Bill Mantlo plot credit.
     Could you give us any examples?
     Bill wants to concentrate more on Shaman than Talisman. So we concocted a way of taking care of Shaman and Talisman at the same time. Bill also wanted me to bring Snowbird back. I had originally intended to leave her out for a while, so I changed plans there.
     What will happen to Talisman?
     What happens to Talisman will be tied into the SECRET WARS II continuity. My last issue of ALPHA FLIGHT is also the SECRET WARS II cross-over. I will say this, Talisman won’t be killed. There has been enough death in Alpha Flight during my tenure. I’ll let Bill handle any new killing.

On the following page, the Alpha Flight title block and four title box floating heads appear: Heather, Aurora, Talisman and Box (who was occupied by Walter in the concurrent issue #27 and part of the solicited issue #28 until Roger Bochs jumped in and Walter jumped out into the fishing line, so it’s not clear which Box’s head that is). Ironically, the floating heads were drawn by John Byrne on the Bill Mantlo page. Byrne’s floating heads would continue to appear in the title box through Alpha Flight #31.

Here is the full Bill Mantlo interview:

     One of the biggest surprises of the year is that Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignola, the creative team on THE INCREDIBLE HULK, and John Byrne, writer / artist of ALPHA FLIGHT, are switching assignments. Starting with HULK #313 and ALPHA FLIGHT #28, John will be bringing you the adventures of Marvel’s anti-social green goliath and Bill and Mike will be chronicling the exploits of Canada’s greatest heroes. We collared Bill Mantlo in the offices one Monday afternoon shortly after we heard the news, to find out what’s in store for the northern stars.
     I know it’s a little soon for you to have worked out all your plans, Bill, but can you tell us anything about what’s coming up in ALPHA FLIGHT?
     We have a lot of ideas. We’re not sure exactly how soon eadh [sic] idea is going to be put into the process. Essentially, my feeling about ALPHA FLIGHT is that John did a spectacular job. That’s straight from the shoulder – I think it’s some of the finest writing I’ve read in a long time. But I think you had to read it consecutively. You had to sit down as I did, and read ALPHA FLIGHT #1-20, in order to get a grasp on the organic maturation of his characters. It was extremely difficult to follow what he was doing on ALPHA FLIGHT from issue to issue, because he never really concentrated on the team. He concentrated on individual members and their problems. And after awhile, even I, who read it religiously, lost track completely of who was in the book and who was a member of ALPHA FLIGHT, and what the team was.
     Our first job is going to be to pull the team together, to give them a reason for existence, a location, a headquarters. Probably they will be funded by the government. Whether that is a generous gesture on the part of the government, or whether there is some subterfuge involved in forming this team again, is something that we’re going to develop.
     Once they’re held together as a team, they will act as a team. If one of them has a problem, that problem will involve the whole team, instead of specific individual adventures as you’ve seen in the first two years of ALPHA FLIGHT. The whole team will go solve Snowbird’s problem, or find out what Snowbird’s problem is. The whole team will go on a Puck adventure, instead of Puck going off and leaving the team at home.
     Some characters will remain, some charcters [sic] will go. I think John has already dealt with Sasquatch – he will not be returning. Northstar will probably meet his demise, as something from his past surfaces. Snowbird is going to think that she’s dying, but that’s actually a prelude to some major changes in her life and character. A major villain, tentatively called Pestilence at this point, is going to be introduced. I don’t think the book has had a major villain except for the Master. We’re not sure what to do bout Marrina. We’ve got a lot for plans for Box, the robotic member of Beta Flight. He’s going to be reintroduced.
     I want to deal with Beta and Gamma Flight, and Omega Flight, find out who these people are, and . . . Where is the government raising these people with bizarre powers, and what is it raising them for, and what does it mean that now they’re re-funding Alpha Flight? Is it because they’re using Alpha Flight as a control group, or do they want to study Alpha Flight and find the secret to their powers and create new super heroes, or what? We don’t know. That’s all stuff we want to find out.
     They will become more closely linked to the Marvel Universe, in that there will be a few cross-overs. There’s already an ALPHA FLIGHT / X-MEN project in the works that Chris Claremont and John Byrne did. We will pick up on elements of that, and may have them meet other Marvel heroes, although not too many.
     There’ll be an international sense. The book has been predominantly located in Canada so far, with one or two trips to the United States. But Canada is closer to, say, the Soviet Union or Greenland or Europe than we are, in many ways. You go right over the top of Canada to shoot an ICBM from the United States to the Soviet Union. We’ll probably do stories that deal with that notion of pan-globalism, and how Canada’s tied up with the international scene.
     So there’s a lot of ideas – we just haven’t put them into specific stories yet. Guardian will be back, in some form. Not the Guardian you know and love, but . . .
     That’ll be a big development certainly.
     I think that’s where we’re going. In fact, we’re here today to discuss the nuts and bolts of what happens now, to discuss the cross-over where John and Mike and I will actually switch titles, our first issue of ALPHA FLIGHT will hit. Apparently the book is doing remarkably well, and has a loyal following. I’d like to win back people who bought a team book, and then saw it devolve into indivdual [sic] stories, and I’d like to win new readers who might not like super hero books, but are going to find that this is a different kind of super-team book. It’s not THE AVENGERS or THE FANTASTIC FOUR or THE X-MEN. It’s a completely different slant towards telling super hero stories.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for, the FUN part of today’s FUNday post! The calendar! The back pages of many Marvel Age issues featured a comical calendar with staff birthdays, one-liner jokes and parodies of various Marvel characters. The back cover of this issue had a calendar for July 1985 featuring cartoon Puck on the 1st, celebrating Canada Day, which is, uh, the day Canada signed the Magna Carta and Quebec became independent from France in 1492, or something like that, whatever. I really should have waited until it were July 1 to post this, but I’m pretty sure that in modern times, Canada Day got moved to some other date after the Queen conquered the Duke of Calgary in the Battle of Halifax in 1776, so it doesn’t matter. Credits for the calendar are w-Jim Salicrup, a-Ron Zalme and c-Andy Yanchus.

Days pass by and in a blink, another 2 weeks have gone by.

Inside, I am waiting for something instinctively.
The days seems long on the other hand.

Indeed, I display some signs of hope towards life.
I begin to dream last few days what I want to be.

When i reach home, mom shouts to me that I have a “big letter”.
I dash to the drawer that keeps the incoming letters and dash back to my room.

Mom shouts at me what that is. I ignore her.

Yeah, it is the reply from Maria Duval that I have been waiting for.

There is a 4″ by 4″ talisman, in golden colour. There are exquisite patterns on both sides of the talisman. It feels expectantly.

I grab the talisman with both palms and close my eyes, trying to feel something inspiring and hopeful.

Does my mind get clearer in that instance?

Suddenly I feel like a kid who just receives the new toy.

It has been sometime since I have this kind of feeling.

Maria Duval gives me a personalised letter as well. This one feels thick.

Yeah, it is her astrology report for me. Wow, this is a letter of substance and I do not wish to read in details now.

It’s time that i rush out to meet my buddy again.

No matter how, thank you Maria Duval for this free report and talisman.

You have given a new lease of hope to my life.

Por Fin! Todos Los Secretos Para Tener Suerte En La Vida Son Revelados!

Haz Clic Aqui Para Obtener Mas Informacion 

Descubre Ahora Mismo:

• Por que otras personas son “suertudas”  y usted no
• Como tener el control total de la suerte
• Los secretos que otras personas conocen  y usted todavia no
• Todos los encantos y conjuros que se han ido recogiendo con el correr de la historia
• Como utilizar correctamente los talismanes y simbolos para atraer buena suerte a su vida Haz Clic Aquí
• Las técnicas exactas utilizadas por los expertos en Ley de Atracción y Hechicería
• Los poderes mágicos que están a nuestra disposición y poder transitar nuestros días como personas bendecidas

Es Una Realidad Comprobada Que Los Talismanes y Símbolos Son Lo Más Efectivo Para Atraer La Buena Suerte.

Las tribus americanas ya lo sabían. Los Aztecas y los Mayas lo sabían. Y con toda honestidad, casi todas las culturas que conocemos han aprovechado el poder de algún amuleto, talismán, u otro símbolo de la Suerte para reforzar una oración, pedir un deseo, o al buscar un resultado positivo en alguna acción o intento de algo. ¿Por qué? Porque les funcionó! ¿Como te crees que estas civilizaciones perduraron por tanto tiempo!

Ahora imagine lo que estos secretos podrían hacer por usted!. Si realmente deseas saber como atraer buena suerte a tu vida haz Clic Aqui

Cristi Gram, chitaristul legendarei formatiii Phoenix va concerta sâmbătă, 21 noiembrie, la sala Radio din Bucureşti începând cu ora 20:00. Evenimentul va marca lansarea albumului sau solo- State of mind. Artistul va fi acompaniat în concert şi de un cvartet de coarde.  Cristi este împreună cu formaţia Phoenix încă din 2004 şi a avut contribuţii majore la realizarea albumului “Baba Novak”. A mai făcut parte şi din alte formaţii precum Talisman, perioadă în care s-au editat albumele “Pentru ea” şi “Talisman Live”, înainte de a deveni membru Phoenix. Cristi Gram este cunoscut atât pentru activitatea sa de chitarist, dar şi pentru abilităţile sale avansate în ingineria de sunet, artistul fiind imaginea brandului de instrumente muzicale Ibanez în România. Alături de Cristi Gram pe scena Salii Radio vor urca de asemenea: Iulian Vrabete (Holograf), Andreea Retegan, Iulia Gheorghe, Ionuţ Micu, etc. Biletele se găsesc pe www.blt.ro http://www.blt.ro , www.bilete.ro http://www.bilete.ro , www.eventim.ro http://www.eventim.ro şi punctele de lucru Orange.

Sursă: A&A Records, 14 noiembrie 2009

This morning I got up to my usual 5:15 alarm and headed down to Talisman Center. I started off the morning with a 75min swim consisting of 4×400 alt swim/pull, 8×50 golf and, 3×200 kick and a lot of drill and easy swimming. It was a solid workout and I felt fantastic. By the end I was getting a good catch in the water and engaging my lats and core with each stroke. 

After the swim I hoped out, washed the chlorine off, grabed my ipod and hoped on the tready for a quick 90mins. I rolled very easily at 8mph for the full 90 and felt very relaxed. This mornings workout was a huge mental boost and an indicator the the pain of the past few weeks is paying off. After work tonight I think I’m going salsa dancing to reward myself. I just have to make sure I’m in bed early.

Grant

Have You Seen Smallville: Season 3 Episode 20 – Talisman?

Episode Synopsis:

Lionel calls Professor Joseph Willowbrook to the Kiwatche caves to show a recently found ancient object. Professor Willoebrook brings his assistant Jeremiah Holdsclaw, who takes the relic from the hands of Lionel. It transforms in a knife and makes Jeremiah as powerful as Clark. He runs away from Lionel’s security men with the mythic knife. Professor Willowbrook insists that Clark is Namam, the man who fell from the stars, and in accordance with the Indian prophecy, that knife belongs to him and could be destroyed only by his greatest enemy. Jeremiah thinks that the enemy is Lionel and makes plans to kill him. Meanwhile, Lana decides to move to Paris to be away from Clark and make a fresh start. Also, a troubled Pete reveals to Chloe that his parents have decided to get a divorce.

So what do you think of this episode?

If you missed it, you can watch it here.

“And get some water from the well;I need it to make breakfast!” The shrill call echoed across the field, to where a small child was working, weeding a small cabbage patch. “Yes ma’am!” Came a excited-sounding reply, for the little boy was eager to leave the field; he hated weeding above all other chores. He dashed over to the small shanty that he called home, grabbed the large bucket for water, and dashed out again, towards the local well, which the whole village shared. He scooped a large amount of water from the well, and tried to lift it. Seeming as the bucket was as big as he was, he couldn’t. So, depressed, he dumped some out, then took it away up the hill, back to where the housegirl was waiting for it. “Here you go!” He said. “Hmmph.” Grumbled the housegirl, grabbing it away, and trudged away up to the larger shanty. The little boy turned back to the field, then thought better of it. He looked around quickly, then ran to his small, shared, shanty. His sister was waiting. The little boy’s name was Georgie, his sister’s name was Annemarie, his older brother’s name was Jim. They were orphaned from birth, their mother unknown to anyone in that village, nor the next. They all worked more than required, though they didn’t know so. The housegirl, Heather, was NOT of anythimg NEAR royal blood, nor related, even distantly, to anyone important. However, if anyone wanted to visit their shanty, they could, for their adopted “Mother” enjoyed seeing them humiliated, as you MIGHT have figured out already. . . . . . .Oh well. As I always say, if at first you don’t succeed, try try again, you know……….

Shaw River Resources Limited (“Shaw River” or “the Company”) (ASX Code: SRR) is pleased to announce the commencement of a 4,000 metre RC drill program at its prospective Baramine Manganese Project in the East Pilbara. The drill program is designed to follow-up targets generated from Shaw River’s recent EM, IP, gravity and structural mapping surveys and the drill results announced in June 2009. Up to 80 RC drillholes will test the priority manganese targets during this drilling campaign.

Previous drilling at Baramine identified 45 significant manganese drill intersections of up to 38.7% manganese across 14km of exposed target geology, confirming the Company’s exploration model for the discovery of
significant near-surface DSO manganese mineralisation.

“This drilling program will test new target areas as well as areas of known mineralisation across the project.

Our primary objective remains the discovery of high grade DSO manganese at Baramine while at the same time building up areas of beneficiable manganese resources” commented Vincent Algar, Shaw River’s Managing
Director.

Talisman Energy is amassing land in two of North America’s leading shale-gas plays as the company is increasingly shifting away from conventional gas production.To reflect this shift, Talisman is reorganizing its gas business in North America and opening an office in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Calgary company said yesterday it has doubled its holdings in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale-gas play and in the Montney play in B.C. after adding 170,000 acres to its land base for $570 million.

via Talisman Energy charts unconventional course | Money | Edmonton Sun.

Calgary-based Talisman Energy is reorganizing its North American operations into two businesses, the company announced Tuesday.

One of the new divisions will focus exclusively on shale gas, the other on conventional oil and gas.

Talisman also announced it will open an office in Pittsburgh to co-ordinate its increased presence in the Marcellus shale gas play in Pennsylvania.

via CBC News – Edmonton – Talisman Energy to create two divisions.

W.E.T.'s self-titled debut album

Most casual music listeners and hipster critics live in the belief that anthemic rock died out some fifteen-odd years ago and only belongs in cheesy montages, ironic references, middle-aged flashbacks and the bottom of department store bargain bins. Wrong. Since the (mainstream) downfall of hair metal, arena rock, glam, and AOR there have been a contigent of artists who have slaved, labored, toured, and rocked their way through life just to bring us quality music.  Three of these bands are the funk-influenced Talisman, the Toto-esque Work of Art, and the riff-oriented Eclipse.  Members of the aforementioned bands have come together to bring us the band W.E.T., and combine their talents to showcase what, on the surface, looks like what could be a melodic rock masterpiece.

Before I continue on with this review, I must acknowledge and promote a website that has done more to promote this genre of music than any other. Visit Melodic Rock to read reviews, news, press releases, and interviews centered around melodic rock bands old (Journey, Styx, Survivor, Van Halen), little-known (Pride of Lions, Gotthard, Tall Stories, Tyketto), and new (Anberlin, Airbourne, Shinedown, and now W.E.T.) Be sure to visit the forums for a wealth of entertainment and knowledge, and stay tuned for weekday updates on a variety of independent and major-labor artists.

The website through which I've discovered dozens of Melodic Rock and metal bands

Now for a bit of background on W.E.T. Robert Sall of Work of Art, Erik Martensson of Eclipse, and Jeff Scott Soto of Talisman are all veterans of the Swedish and international music scene, having decades of professional experience between them. Perhaps the most well-known of the lot is Jeff Scott Soto, who has also spent time with Yngwie Malmsteen’s band, Soul SirkUS, and even the gods of the genre, Journey. One can’t speak enough of Soto’s vocal talents, he’s one of the most underrated voices in any style of music. Equal parts Sammy Hagar, Chris Cornell, and Steve Perry; there isn’t much Soto can’t sing, and emote well while doing so.

The first track, “Invincible,” has a calm intro before an explosion of riffs splits the speakers. Soto’s voice combines soul, R&B, and funk influences with soaring, anthemic notes. The band is incredibly tight; the instruments weave in and out of one another while maintaining a punch. The guitars shift from heavy and surging to wafting and epic. Major props go out to the understated yet effective keyboard theme, and the fact that Soto’s vocals sound especially “from the heart” on this record thus far.

The first song seamlessly gives way to the second, “One Love.” This song sounds like a sequel to the first, but there’s evident difference in the feel. The method by which the riffs give way to Soto’s vocals, and the brilliance of the snappy rhythm section, make the song flow rather well. The vocals are mixed extremely well and this is definitely a “sing-along” type of tune. I love Soto’s vocal especially about 2/3 through the song, right before the destructive tapping solo that is equal parts Van Halen and Schon, but all W.E.T.

“Brothers in Arms” has a very effective main riff. This song soars just as much if not more than the others before it. It’s not proven, but I believe this song to be a tribute to the late Marcel Jacob, Soto’s longtime bassist in Talisman and friend. I find Soto’s voice to be inspirational, full, vibrant, and deep. The guitars chug in the bridge, and the song turns on a dime. It defies the typical formula of the genre, especially after the chugging near-metal section gives way to peaceful drum-and-key interludes.  The ending blast to the song is pseudo Dream Theater before the record gives way and lessens pace to the fourth tune.

“Comes Down Like Rain” does just that, a gentle shower of moody and moving lyrics from Soto. W.E.T. manages to keep an epic sound even in their first ballad of the record. The guys are masters of melody and prove it yet again here. The guitar solo is very technically good, but it honestly has a “come out of nowhere” feel to it and don’t think it fit well to the mood and rhythm section. Good, but just not for the song.

“Running from the Heartache” is another dark and moody yet surging and big up-tempo number. The keyboards are tasteful yet again, and have been throughout the record. One criticism of the genre is that synths could be too overstated or used too much.. but yet in this album the keys are beautiful and accent the music rather than take it over. Guitars are big in melodic rock and this record is no exception.

I really do love “I’ll Be There.” This is the fastest track yet and its feel is a mix of Survivor, Soto’s solo material, and the best of pop rock. The lyrics could be passed off as “cheese” but Soto emotes them well enough to make them authentic; one can really “feel” listening to music like this. I love the riff, it’s very fist pump-worthy, and I can see myself cruising around to this song for years to come. “I’ll Be There” fits in well with any playlist of uptempo rock and roll. The best solo of the record thus far shreds through the speakers halfway through the tune. Melodic rock is packed to the brim with extremely talented instrumentalists. Martensson, Sall, and helpers Magnus Henriksson and Robban Back deserve their fair share of accolades and respect. It’s a shame that great players like these guys are relatively unknown and unappreciated while folk like the Jonas Brothers and Daughtry sell out stadiums and rack up platinum records.

“Damage is Done” is yet another up-tempo head-bobbing rocker. The shifts in timing and lush harmonies keep a fresh feel to the otherwise consistent mood of the record. There’s a great flow to this album, and should be listened to as an album despite the single-worthy qualities of the tunes. These songs could definitely be hits in the U.S. if it weren’t for the average listener being a sheep force-fed with ringtone rap and overmarketed pop-tarts… but that’s a rant for another blog.

Songs like “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” prove that the boys in W.E.T. are having a little fun with this album. It’s bluesier with more hard rock roots than the rest of the songs thus far. It wouldn’t sound out of place on a modern Whitesnake or Winger record, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s not as serious and dire as some of the other tunes but it’s a change in mood that’s very well-timed.

Another ballad comes in the form of “One Day at a Time.” In the vein of Journey’s “After the Fall” or Whitesnake’s “Is This Love?”, it’s a dense song with a snappy flow. I love how the twin guitar solo is layered, and how the harmonies are mixed. Production is top-notch; I can hear the instruments clearly. Authenticism isn’t subtracted and there isn’t any trickery, it’s just very well-recorded. The song takes nearly a minute to close out, with intense and morose keyboard and bass tones lulling me unsuspectingly into the next song.

“Just Go” revisits some of the gnarliest Talisman rockers with its churning feel. The drumming is impeccable and I really can’t say enough of the piercing guitar work. The keyboard is again wonderfully understated and accents the song. “Can’t choose the way we die/But we can choose how we live.” Brilliant lyricism and an inspirational feel. Are the guys saving the best guitar work on the album for the latter half? It sure seems so with this dynamic solo.

“My Everything” revisits the feel of “I’ll Be There,” and keeps a smile on my face as I tap my foot to these relentless riffs.  The guitar solo, again, is beautiful and fits smoothly into the rhythm section. Soto’s inflections and vocal trademarks are well-timed and precise, he’s a master of the vocal craft.

The album comes to a less hectic ending. “If I Fall” is possibly the best song on the album. It’s a mid-tempo song, faster than the ballads on the record yet not fast enough to fit in with any of the anthems. I love how the smooth intro goes straight into isolated guitar, thundering drums, tasteful piano, and then incredible vocals. The ringing, clean guitars throughout the background of the verses are extremely well-done and add to the passionate vocal work. The chorus is sensational, the harmonies are some of the best ever done in rock, I’m grinning from ear to ear, the song has definitely done its job. I can “feel” it, and love how this song makes me feel, it will be listened to many more times in my life. Fans of Journey will definitely eat this song up. The guitars are melodic yet piercing, it’s everything the genre stands for, was that even a “Who’s Crying Now” motif I heard thrown in? The outro is several minutes long, but it’s very effective and a great ending to what I see as a very good album. As I listen to the AMAZING guitar work, I wonder how the solos can get any better… and somehow, they do. It all fits well together and is a very mature, dense, impressionable piece of work.

W.E.T.’s debut album was moody, direct, well-paced, mature, mostly up-tempo and well-produced. A handful of the songs truly made me “feel” while the others delivered melodic rock with a seasoned feel. There wasn’t much that felt “cheesy” or “forced” or “formulaic” about this record; those are the typical criticisms of the genre as a whole. The instrumentalists are very talented and Soto has some of the best vocal work of his entire 25 year career, one can argue he gets better with age. The album did have one song that truly helped elevate it into greatness, and that was the beautiful “If I Fall.”  While W.E.T.’s work isn’t incredibly deep or innovative, it’s great rock and roll and worth every cent you pay to help support a good band, if you buy this record (which I kindly suggest you do).

Highly recommended to fans of any melodic rock, old or new, especially Work of Art, Eclipse, Talisman, Jeff Scott Soto, Journey, Whitesnake, Survivor, Pride of Lions, Boston, and Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen.

Great album, nothing goundbreaking, deep instrumentals under melodic sing-along lyrics, one of the best albums in years within the genre and perhaps one of the best since the 80s.

FINAL GRADE: B+

W.E.T.

From the Star, dateline 2009-10-27 (I’ve been away, okay?):

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) awarded two production sharing contracts (PSCs) for Block SB309 and Block SB310 offshore Sabah with an estimated minimum financial commitment of US$75mil and US$117mil respectively yesterday.

In a statement, Petronas said the PSCs were awarded to a partnership between its exploration and production arm Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd and Talisman Energy Inc’s wholly owned subsidiary, Talisman Malaysia Ltd.

Talisman Energy is a global, diversified, upstream oil and gas company headquartered in Canada.

Under the terms of the PSCs, Talisman Malaysia, with participating interest of 70% in each block, will operate both blocks.

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Here’s something to follow up in the year, ooh maybe 2012 (3 years exploration rights, I assume).

And why does everyone spell PETRONAS with lower case? Non-O&G reporters…

Una de las mejores voces del panorama acaba de publicar bajo el nombre de W.E.T.  un discazo en toda regla,  muy alejado de lo que estaba haciendo en solitario. W.E.T son Scott Soto, y Erikk Martensson de Eclipse y Robert Stall de Work of Art, y el resultado es una mezcla de lo que hacen cada uno en sus respectivas bandas (Work of Art. Eclipse.Talismán… W.E.T.) Hay temas tremendos de principio a fin, redondeados con el excelso trabajo vocal de Soto, con unas melodías matadoras como no podía ser menos con este elenco de músicos. A destacar la que sería la última grabación de Marcel Jacob al bajo recientemente fallecido

Psychic Sterling Sinclair Halloween Auracature Talisman for Protecton from October 31-November 2, 2009

Print multiple copies and put at your places of entrance, under the beds, and carry them with you.  This is a very time specific talisman.

Blessings,

Sterling

Together, we walk over the horizon.

Psychic Sterling Sinclair Auracature Talisman Channeled to Psychically Fight the H1N1 Virus, October 30, 2009

October 30, 2009

This Auracature is a talisman drawn to give extra support for your spirit and body to fight the H1N1 Virus.

I was told by Spirit that this “symbol communicates with the H1N1 Mutating virus & the H1N1 Mutating virus is repelled by this symbol.”

If you believe in the work of talismans, print multiple copies of this Auracature and put it many places where you work, play, or rest.  Place it near your water source and above your doorway entrances.  Some of you may choose to even temporally transfer it onto your skin.  You be the judge.

I have prayed and prayed for extra support and this is what I have received as a gift to the chosen.

Stay Well.

We will walk over the horizon together.

Along with this talisman, I send you my love.

Blessings,

Sterling

Beak

I know you’ve heard of getting all one’s ducks in a row, but hummingbirds are ferocious little things. I only need one of them. Beak is quite singular. There isn’t a whole row of him. I’m getting set for Sunday’s NaNoWriMo kick off and he alone perches atop my monitor, ready to peck at any ill-intentioned inner critic that may emerge during November to ridicule my writing.

Beak’s brutal in his role of protector. Really, he is! If you don’t believe me just lean in a little closer and sneer a bit. Be prepared to duck because he wields that beak like a two-edged sword. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. He’s poised to strike. (What? You think he looks like a little softie? Shhhhhh! Puleeeease don’t say that too loudly. I have to keep the IC at bay for an entire month.)

The final countdown to NaNoWriMo begins — “just three more sleeps”, as my family would say when awaiting the arrival of a much-anticipated event. Am I ready?

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I’ve dusted off another of my writing totems that will remind me of the book I want to write and the typing that is necessary for its creation. Other than that, I’m heading into November 1^st armed with a carton of Diet Coke, a fresh bag of coffee beans, a poorly developed plot plan and great expectations.

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Chris Baty, founder of National Novel Writing Month, has written No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days. In it he suggests a bit of “limited planning” is desirable but “overplanning” is dangerous.

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“Past a certain point, novel planning just becomes another excuse to put off novel writing. You will never feel sufficiently ready to jump into your novel, and the more time you spend planning and researching, the more likely you’ll feel pressure to pull off a masterwork that justifies all your prewriting work.”*

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Well, no worry about that! There’s no overplanning here, just a basic plot and a couple fog-enshrouded characters in mind. But with his voice of experience Chris also says, “I’ve learned you’re allowed to begin a novel simply by turning on the nearest  computer and typing. You don’t need to do research; you don’t need to understand anything about your characters or plan out your setting. It’s fine to just start.”*

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He’s right. NaNoWriMo is touted to be “Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon”. So yes, I’m ready. Are you?

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[* Chris Baty is the founder of NaNoWriMo and has organized the November writing frenzy every year since 1999.]