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[hypnofur1]

Influencing the Influencer

By Hypnofur

“I have to say, I am loving retirement. This is my first year of being retired and it was everything I dreamed it would be and more. Everyone should retire at 36!” Dan joked into the microphone. The two radio guys laughed harder than they should have. While Dan knew that regular people couldn’t retire at 36, he wasn’t joking about loving retirement. He had been playing football since second grade. He enjoyed a 15 year career in the NFL. 13 of those years were in Cincinnati, but the last two were in Kansas City… where a SuperBowl was won in his last season.

Being part of a Super Bowl team, even as a backup like Dan was by the end of his career, makes you royalty in that city for the rest of time. Heck, ask the ’85 Bears about that. Especially in cities that love their team as much as KC. Dan always wanted to win one for Cincy, the city that he truly identified as home now, but that was never even close to being in the cards.

However, Dan was the only high profile guy from the Super Bowl team to retire after the big win. The rest of the guys pretty much stayed on the team, and were in the Super Bowl again this year. As such, all the KC radio and media people were desperate for a “Chiefs Insider” to talk to. Dan was flown down to Tampa for the week to do radio, tv, etc. He was considering a career in broadcasting, so this all-expense paid trip was a nice little trial run. The only downside of it, was that Casey didn’t come with him.

Dan’s wife was going to go to Tampa with him, and make a ton of Instagram videos and posts from Tampa. She was incredibly excited about it, as was the social media company that employed her to do all these blogs. Her sweetness, honesty, great style, and knockout natural beauty was evident to anyone who saw her, whether in real life or on a screen. She had sort of become “Cincy’s Sweetheart” over the years, so when influencers became a thing, she was in high demand. The Tampa vlogs were likely going to set records for likes. However, Dan’s mom broke her ankle in a fall the week before.

Casey insisted she stay home to help Dan’s mom. This is why Dan was head over heels for her. Yes, she was gorgeous. But she was also the sweetest, most wonderful wife in the world. While all the other players would have girlfriends and hook ups in each city, Dan never did. He was completely and utterly faithful to Casey.

With all this said, while Casey didn’t go to Tampa, she had to vlog about something. Trips to Dan’s Mom’s house during the day to help her out wouldn’t make good content. Such was the topic of conversation as the couple chatted on the phone Friday morning.

“So did you find anything to vlog about?” Dan asked.

“Ugh, I think so. They really want us to push groupon experience things. They gave DeAndra groupon passes to a comedy show, so we are going to do that.” Casey told her husband. She meant to sound a bit more cheery as she did so. She was trying so hard to not show her disappointment over not being in Tampa. She didn’t want to make him feel bad.

“Oh yeah, is Darnell going? If the dude is funny, the sound of Darnell’s laugh when he gets roaring is the only thing anyone in that place is going to hear! Hopefully the dude doesn’t make Bengals jokes. Darnell will get up on that stage!” Dan laughed, as did Casey.

“Did you drink tons of water last night?” Casey asked. She was always concerned about him.

“Hahah. I did. A whole river. I’m doing good. Three more days babe, then I am home to you. I miss you so much.” Dan said, very truthfully.

“Me too. I’ll tell DeAndra and Darnell you said hi” she smiled as she hung up.

Dan missed her terribly, but he was at least pleased that he’d have her vlog to watch later that night. He loved watching those. However, it was Friday night of Super Bowl week. Dan had a whirlwind day. He was treated like a Chiefs Legend because he was wearing that Super Bowl ring. He even got invited to a dinner with Joe Montana! He couldn’t pass that up. Dinner was great. Drinks were had, and not enough water was consumed. Dan passed out when he got back to the hotel.

It was late the next morning when Dan finally awoke. He realized that he had missed Casey’s Instagram vlog. He was surprised he didn’t have a text about that from her. He checked her Insta page. There wasn’t one from last night. That was really odd. He started to get a little nervous.

He texted her. “Hi, you ok? No vlog from last night?”

Fortunately, he got an immediate return text “Just filmed it this morning. Posting now J”

That put him at ease. He took a quick shower, and then grabbed his phone to see his beautiful wife’s angelic face. She was in her car. For some reason, that’s where people filmed themselves. Dan never understood why that was a thing.

“Hey guys, its Casey! Hope you are all having a great weekend! I know it is Super Bowl weekend, and that is super exciting for tomorrow! But, I wanted to tell you guys about a great experience me and my friends had thanks to groupon last night! My hubby is out of town, and I was feeling kind of sad, but then my friends called and said they had a groupon for an awesome experience. Totally changed the course of my weekend!

So we went to Funny Bone at Liberty Center, which is such a cute place! Anyway, my friend DeAndra told me the comedian was actually a stage hypnotist named Arnold Denton, aka The Amazing Hypno-natti. When I heard hypnotist, I was freaking out! Oh, and yeah, I found the name ‘Hypno-natti’ lame as well, but trust me guys, he is soooooo amazing!

So anyway guys, when we got in, I decided to put my fear aside and volunteer. Seriously guys, it was one of the craziest experiences I’ve ever had. Before we were even brought up on stage, we had to sign a waiver that basically said the hypnotist is not responsible for any injuries that may occur and all that other fun legal stuff. Guys, believe me when I tell you that I cannot recall a moment in my in my life that I was more nervous when I was up on that stage. The hypnotist explained to us, and the rest of the audience, that what we were about to experience was extremely different. Some of us would remember exactly what happened, and some of us wouldn’t. In total, there were probably about like twenty five of us lined up in front of the stage and the audience was told to be completely silent.

Right before we began, the hypnotist told us that we would be “under” for about a half an hour, but our bodies would react as if it had been asleep for 8 hours. So crazy! From what I can remember, it went a little like this:

We were told to sit down and just relax. With our eyes closed, we were told that we should feel this ‘energy of relaxation’ that would begin to pool at our feet and then work its way up to our body. All the while, there was this really strange music that was playing and the hypnotist was talking to us. After about 5 minutes he had us open our eyes and raise our arms horizontally and lock our fingers together so that we made a ball with our fists. At this point, we are still not under, so we were all aware of our surroundings and what not. Next thing I know, Hypno-natti is coming straight down the line and thrusting our hands down into our laps and pushing our heads down onto the shoulder of the person sitting to our left. It was about my turn and the last thing I can remember about this part is him yelling “Sleep!”

After the whole intro, we woke up and he was kind of pacing the stage and the audience was giggling and stuff and I can remember being super confused. I seriously thought that the show ended and I was actually asleep the whole time. As he was pacing, he was just casually talking to the audience and then he said “spark” (what I now know is a “trigger word”) and just like that it felt as though the wrath of God had come through the leg of the chair I was sitting in and electrocuted me in the butt! It hurt so bad; not like a long pain, but just like a jolt of electricity. I stood up so fast and everybody in the place was just rolling! I looked around and it was just me and another guy standing and grabbing our butts. He did this a couple more times and then triggered some of the other people and the whole time I just remember being super confused. At one point, I remember crying, because I had fallen deeply, madly in love with him, and he was dancing with someone else. It was soo crazy guys! Long story short, the hypnotist basiscally made us his personal puppets and we were slightly embarrassed, but it was all in good fun. My friends and I totally laughed about it all night after. It was a great experience that was all made possible through groupon!! Swipe up and see what other fun experiences they can save you a ton on. Luv you guys!!!” She concluded with a kiss of her fingers then the peace sign.

Dan loved to see her and hear her voice. He was wishing it wasn’t 48 full hours until he’d get to see her again. But it was. Those 48 hours went quickly at least. Frankly, it was a whirlwind. By the time he walked in the door of his spacious Cincinnati home Monday morning, he was exhausted – but so glad to hug, squeeze, and kiss his gorgeous brunette wife.

“Tell me everything!!” Casey said as she put some coffee on. She could tell by his face that he needed it.

Dan laughed as he admitted he exhausted. It had been quite a week of late night dinners, Super Bowl parties, and media work. It was terrific, but it wiped him out. However, he happily launched into his diatribe. He told her about all the radio shows he went on, and how he even did a couple TV spots. Casey squealed when he told her that he plugged her vlogs on all the local Cincinnati shows.

“ooooh My big media mogul!” Casey flirted. Her big brown eyes gazing into Dan’s. Then her phone beeped with a text, which was a constant occurrence. She grabbed it and checked the text. It was at this point that her expression changed. She became completely focused on the phone. It was like she suddenly forgot Dan was there.

“Who’s that?” Dan asked, realizing this was strange. Was someone hurt? Was something wrong? Casey didn’t answer. She just typed a couple things on her phone, and then walked upstairs, not even addressing Dan as she left. Dan found this very strange, but he also had to pee really bad. He figured he’d see what the deal was, but had to handle that situation briefly before anything else.

Much to his shock, by the time he got up to the bedroom, Casey was naked and wearing headphones. She was sprawled out on their bed, reclining in a mound of fur pillows. Naked and eyes closed with her blue bullet vibrator that they had bought as a sexy toy at their anniversary. Dan understandably figured that this was a “welcome home” sex game. He found himself immediately getting hard.

"I’m going deeper and deeper." Casey said quietly. Dan assumed she was talking about the vibrator going into her pussy. This was unusual sex talk from her, but he was still into it.

She moans, "Going deeper and deeper. I am deeply hypnotized. "

Dan was stunned. She was sooooooo freaking sexy with a nipple in one hand and that toy teasing the other one. But what did she say? Did she say hypnotized?

“Deeply hypnotized and deep under your control.” She whispers.

Dan heard that and got more concerned, but then couldn’t help but notice that he sound of the vibrator changed! She had turned up the setting. Soon, she was pinching her breasts and her hips are starting to rock slowly. She was moaning and purring. Dan was so hard he couldn’t think straight.

Casey turned the toy up to level 3; as fast as it goes. The next 4 settings are just various combinations of the 3 vibration speeds. Her hips were moving faster, her breasts were bouncing and she was having a hard time keeping the toy on her clit. Her teeth were clenched and she could feel the orgasm start to creep over her skin. . Her chest was heaving as she changed the setting on the toy again.

Slow, Slow, Slow, medium, medium, medium, fast, fast, fast

Slow, Slow, Slow, medium, medium, medium, fast, fast, fast

Slow, Slow, Slow, medium, medium, medium, fast, fast, fast

Slow, Slow, Slow, medium, medium, medium, fast, fast, fast

With hypnotic words and commands being fed into her mind, the orgasm raced up her torso and arched her body off the bed. Her neck muscles tightened and her eyes pinched shut as she screamed out loud and held the toy in place right on top of her clit.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOhHHHHHHHHHH, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I server Master Hypno-natti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I belong to Master Hypno-natti!!!!!!!!!!!! OOOOHHHHMYGODMASTERRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Shock from Dan.

Awe from Dan.

Lust from Dan.

Fear from Dan.

Anger from Dan… and anger won.

He grabbed the headphones and ripped them off her. He yelled right into the microphone. “This is her husband, you sick fuck! Stay the fuck away from us, or I’ll rip your motherfucking arms off!!!!”

There was a click, and Dan knew that the person on the other end of that phone was gone. He turned his attention to Casey, who was now glistening with sweat, and still breathing heavy.

“Cay – Cay, wake up babe. Cay” he said, shaking his wife.

She eventually stirred, opened her big brown eyes and stared back at her husband. “Dan, what’s going on?” she asked.

“This is going to sound nuts, babe. But I think the hypnotist from the other night, like triggered you into masturbating for him on the phone.” Dan explained carefully. He wasn’t sure how his Catholic, surprisingly conservative wife would handle this manipulation.

He watched her face as the realization of what happened washed over her. He held his breath as he expected the tears to start rolling. Instead, she looked at him wide eyed. Then her beautiful big brown eyes slowly went down to his crotch.

“I missed you” she whispered, as she stared at her husband’s erection.

Confusion from Dan.

Fear from Dan.

Love from Dan.

Lust from Dan… and lust won.

He went down and made love to his wife. They kissed passionately, like the reunited lovers they were. Dan couldn’t remember the last time he was this turned on. He couldn’t wait any longer, and inserted himself right into his wife’s already very wet pussy. He glided right in. He didn’t last long in there. Within 30 seconds, he had finished. Casey giggled and gave him a loving hug. He crashed on to the bed beside her. Planning to only take a minute to catch his breath and then have a talk with his wife about the whole hypnotist thing, Dan accidentally fell sound asleep. The crazy week of the Super Bowl was just too much. He was out like a light, he didn’t even hear Casey get a text...

Dan slept for a good two and a half hours. He woke up to Casey lovingly rubbing his back.

“Hey babe, if you sleep too long, you won’t be able to get to sleep tonight. Your schedule will be all wacky.” She said lovingly. He knew she was right. She was always taking care of him.

Dan turned around in the bed and smiled at his beautiful wife. She had gotten freshened up, her clothes were back on and she was all together. God, she was so beautiful. Like a brunette angel.

“Hey, try this” she said, handing Dan a cup of tea. “It is a new chamomile tea they want us to vlog about. It’s actually reeaalllly good!” Casey said excitedly. Dan took the tea and tried it. He wasn’t a tea guy, but… anything for Casey.

“Hey, look babe, we have to talk about that Hypno-natti guy. I think he’s like still playing with your head” Dan said. He had always been direct. “When I came upstairs, you were on the phone with him I think, and you were, you know…”

“Playing with myself?” Casey said with a devilish, but so cute grin. She didn’t usually say things like that.

“Yeah” Dan said, surprised she said that out loud. He felt his dick stir a bit.

“Seriously babe, you are going to love that tea” Casey encouraged. Dan took another sip. It was pretty good.

“So, that was hot to see, I’ll admit, but you can’t have some guy like… controlling you to do sex stuff” Dan said, surprised he needed to map it out to her to this point.

Casey nodded. Then she looked at the bed sheet starting to tent around Dan’s groin. She laughed. “Well well, me thinks he doth protest too much” she teased. “OMG, I forgot to tell you. I saw the BEST movie on HBO Max when you were gone!” she said exuberantly.

“HBO Max? Babe, we should really deal with this hypnotist thing.” Dan said, what the hell was going on? His head was feeling a bit tingly. Boy, he must still be tired.

“I know Dan, and we will. I’m sorry, I have just missed you soo much. I saw this movie, and it was like, really sexy. And I can see that you are, you know… turned on right now” she said as she gently stroked his growing hard on.

“We can deal with this hypno stuff later. But right now, I am in the mood, and you are in the mood, and I want to show you the sexiest things I’ve ever seen on screen. Finish your tea and we can check this out” Casey said as she leaned into a sensual kiss with her husband.

Dan was a very smart man. He went to Notre Dame. He knew something was seriously fucked up here. But he was a MAN. And the curiosity of what kind of movie could have been so hot that it got her acting like this was just too curious for him to ignore. Against his better judgement, he let his beautiful wife lead him to their home theater room. He felt his head spin as he stood up from the bed.

“Take a seat in the middle” Casey directed with another long sensual kiss before turning on the surround sound and the media player. Dan’s eyes were glued to her. She was walking around such sexy confidence. He had never seen her like this. What the hell was in this movie???

Satisfied that the AV system was on and playing, Casey sat down in the large velvet chair next to her husband’s. The giant screen was black for a while, and Dan noticed that there was a humming coming from the speakers. The humming was vibrating through this very core. It felt… warm? Was that right? Soon there was a black and white spiral on the screen. What kind of HBO Max thing is this? Dan thought. Then he remembered the hypnotist. Wait, what the fuck? He went to protest, but he was becoming enthralled by the whirling spiral that had become the only thing in the room. He could feel it hypnotizing him, warm waves of relaxation moving out from it into his opening mind. Hypnotizing him. Hypnotizing Casey. Hypnotizing them with the way it spun around and around, always going deeper.

This was how it felt to be hypnotized? Dan thought to himself. He never could have dreamed how nice it was. How good it felt to be under hypnosis, under hypnotic control. He knew who the voice belonged to now, that it was Hypno-natti talking to them as they watched in a deep hypnotic state. Hypno-natti was amazing! Sooo amazing. Hypno-natti was the master of the fascinating, hypnotic spiral that controlled their minds.. He was telling them that it was time to submit their entire mind and body now, to go into a trance.

Dan knew he didn’t want to do that, but he felt a deep desire to obey, an overwhelming urge to submit. Pleasing Hypno-natti was most important. To go into a trance for Hypno-natti. Hypno-naitti’s voice was telling them to prepare to surrender totally to his hypnotic power. The spiral was turning faster now. Dan felt all his thoughts begin to move down into it. He could feel the intense hypnotic influence reaching out for his mind and he couldn’t help but submit. Faster and faster, round and round. He was falling into it. Falling faster and faster. She could see only an endless spiral in front of him now, a deep whirling tunnel that pulled him in as he stared into it. Hypno-natti’s voice was controlling their thoughts, hypnotizing them into total obedience.. There was only the spiral. And the voice. The whirling spiral. The soothing voice. Hypno-natti’s voice. Their master. Dan knew he must obey. Casey knew she must obey her master. They were hypnotized, so deeply and completely.

Next thing Dan knew, he was somehow in the foyer. When had he left the theater room? There was a knock at the door. He answered. There was a small scrawny guy about 10 years older than him standing in the doorway.

“Can I help you?” Dan asked, his head still cloudy.

“I’m the Amazing Hypno-natti” the man said. His majestic voice now very familiar to the former NFL start. “Invite me in” he commanded.

“Please, come in” Dan said immediately, stepping out of the way.

Casey had entered the foyer when she heard the knock. When she saw Hypno-natti, she was immediately overcome with desire. He was soooo sexy. The sexiest man ever born. She immediately felt her pussy moisten and her nipples get sensitive. She flirtatiously played with her hair and smiled at him.

“Hello my darling Casey” he said as he took her in. She was so incredibly beautiful with her gorgeous brunette hair, big brown eyes, and perfect trim figure.

Dan knew this wasn’t right. He could sense the attraction between them. What the hell? She was his wife. “Look buddy, I-”

“Dan, go into trance” Hypno-natti said authoritatively. Dan said nothing, but his hands fell to his sides.

“Casey, I am your Master. You desire me above anything else.” Hypno-natti said, feeling very confident that both parties in the couple were completely under his hypnotic sway.

He moved into Casey, kissing her neck gently. She was too lost in him to look over at her husband, who was still still standing next to her with a glazed, entranced look in his eyes.

At Hypno-natti’s direction, the three went upstairs to the bedroom. At this point, the hypnotist commanded Dan. "Take off your wife’s pants and panties”.

Dan rose to action slowly. "Yes, Sir," he said in a soft, deferential voice as he knelt in front of her and pulled down the black yoga pants and little satin panties that were meant for his homecoming.

“Lay her on the bed” Hypno-natti said as he took off his own pants. Dan complied and then went to stand up against the wall when instructed to do so. All this, despite the 10 or so inches of height and almost 150lbs of muscle that Dan had on the hypnotist.

Hypno-natti descended upon her, his face directly in front of hers. His eyes boring into her own. "Submit to my influence, Casey. Submit to my hypnotic power. Submit to Hypno-natti. Submit to hypnosis” he said as he again rhythmically put his cock against her body.

"Very, very good, Casey. You're blissfully floating, deeply in my erotic thrall, open to all my commands. Feeling so wonderful as you obey me. Realizing now that nothing seems important but obeying me, because it feels so wonderful, so sexual. You want the sexy feeling of obeying me, don't you, Casey?"

"Yes. I want to obey." She repeated happily, lost in lust.

"Very good Casey. The more obedient you are, the more wonderful you will feel. Only pleasing me matters now, nothing else. All you want now is the wonderful, sexual, floating feeling of obeying my voice. All you want is to be deeply under my control and to obey me. Tell me now what you want, Casey."

"Deeply under your control. Obey you."

"Do you want me inside you?" he asked the hypnotized wife.

"Yes!" Casey answered, no longer caring for her dignity, her marriage, or for anything but the prospect of being ravished by her master.

The man poked the head of his penis against her quivering opening, slight hip movements just threatening to penetrate her, but not quite.

"Tell your husband how badly you want me to fuck you."

Casey shut her eyes, ashamed of the words she knew she had to offer. "I want him to fuck me!" she offered to the room.

The man pushed her head to the side, making her stare at her husband, still standing against the wall, his penis slowly inching its way to a semi-erection with the spectacle. "Say, 'Dan, I need Hypno-natti’s hypnotic dick inside me.'"

"Honey!" she mustered. Pausing, unbelieving of her own abandon. "I need Hypno-natti’s hypnotic big dick inside me! I neeeed it!!"

With one sharp thrust, the man invaded her with the full length of his modest cock, and Casey cried out in surrender at the explosion of pleasure. He brought his face down to hers, leaning in as if to kiss her, his breath hot on her face, and slowly slid his dick out, his rock-hard shaft grinding against her achingly swollen G-spot. As she raised her lips to accommodate him, he pulled his face away teasingly and thrust himself violently into her again, eliciting another loud pre-orgasmic cry. For what seemed like an eternity, they kept up this erotic dance of desire and denial, his hands caressing her hair, the almost gentle play of his face so close to hers contrasting exquisitely with the force of his thrusts. Finally, he brought his lips to meet hers and kissed her deeply, the lustiness of his tongue's exploration telling her that he was just as aroused by her as she was by him. His cock driving into her more insistently now, faster, even deeper it seemed.

And she loved it - there was no use denying it to herself. The hypnotic power of his eyes, their entrancing gaze. Now the hypnotist was pulling her head back by her hair as he fucked her, running his tongue up and down her neck. Then unleashing her and licking her all over her face. Making her feel so owned. The pressure inside building now to unbearable intensity, the edge of orgasm too much to stand. "Oh... my... God!" she stammered.

The man now gripping the slats of the headboard as leverage to drive himself into her with as much force as he could. He wrapped his small ams around her, squeezing her to him, her tits pressed against his chest, making her feel what strength he had as he continued fucking her just as hard as he could. She wrapped her arms around her Master, wanting to feel him as much as possible.

“Cum for me now my pet and tell me that you now belong to me!” Hypno-natti grunted.

In a burst of mind-shattering pleasure, Casey felt every muscle in her body violently contract upon his words. Her nerves screamed in ecstasy. A long, wailing scream shaping the breath that rushed out of her lungs, forming finally into words..."

"OH GOD, I'M CUMMMMMIIIIIIING!!!!IIIIMMMM YOURRRRSSS!!!"

**********************************************

A week later…

“Hey guys! This is Casey. We are half way through February. I can almost smell the spring! Anyway, I want to tell you guys about something that I am soooo into right now. I’ve been totally improving myself through hypnosis. You guys might remember one of my earlier vlogs where I talked about a totally fun stage show I went to starring the Amazing Hypno-natti. Well, I’ve been working with him one on one on a ton of stuff and he is totally helping me with his incredible hypnosis skills. Dan too! So, swipe up to learn more about Hypno-natti. He has both sessions and videos available. And you can even find where you can try some of his unbelievable chamomile tea. Guys, it is sooo good! More vlogs coming this week, don’t forget to like and subscribe Luv you guys!!!” She concluded with a kiss of her fingers then the peace sign.

[nomanwalksalone]

ALTERNATIVE STYLE ICON: RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN IN WALLENBERG: A HERO’S STORY

by Réginald-Jérôme de Mans

The writer George Santayana famously wrote that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Ironically many who repeat his quote forget who first uttered it.

I had long meant to write about Richard Chamberlain in this role. I once referred to him as “the fey king of the miniseries” and I don’t regret it: foppish, almost milquetoast in fare as varied as a two-part TV version of The Bourne Identity (with Jaclyn Smith, natch), Shogun, and as a leading candidate for an honorary Seinfeld puffy shirt: Not only did he play the Count of Monte Cristo in a 1975 TV movie, but a bunch of what Elaine Benes would have called chandelier-swinging characters in other Dumas adaptations, including Aramis in Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers and Louis XIV and his twin in The Man in the Iron Mask. Postmodern swashbuckler author Arturo Perez-Reverte even described a character in one of his own novels as looking “like Richard Chamberlain in The Thorn Birds, only more manly.” That same Thorn Birds role, Father Ralph de Bricassart, also inspired a certain Rhunette Ferguson to give her son, a future New York Jets player, perhaps my favorite name ever: D’Brickashaw.

Dubbing Chamberlain an Alternative Style Icon for his role as Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is low-hanging fruit. For years this TV special dwelt at the bottom of my Netflix queue for that express purpose. Former Savile Row tailors Manning & Manning won an Emmy award for the outfits they made for him; decades later Bryan Manning had some very interesting things to say to the inimitable Simon Crompton of Permanent Style about the 1930s and 1940s cutting styles he had to adopt for Chamberlain’s outfits for the movie. Chamberlain’s costumes are appropriately dashing, from the full diplomatic gala white tie ensemble worn while conspiring with the Papal Nuncio of Budapest to a tan double-breasted suit with horizontal peaked lapels that is, quite simply, magnificent. Zagreb, one of the most beautiful cities in eastern Europe, admirably filled in for 1940s Budapest and Stockholm in the making of this production. I’m fairly certain that I’ve stayed at the Zagreb hotel on whose esplanade Chamberlain wore that suit, in an early expository scene where the American and Swedish governments encourage Wallenberg to take a position with the Swedish legation in Budapest.  I’ve been told Zagreb’s one of two cities in Europe where the street lamps in certain neighborhoods are still gaslit. Gaslighting happens to have been one of the reasons that I finally wrote about this icon.

Of course there’s plenty to mock in the conventions of this telefilm, even beyond Chamberlain’s indisputable 1970s and 1980s stock hero status: its heavy-handed setup and plotting, making Wallenberg out to be a one-man anti-Nazi force from his time at home in Sweden (wearing a U. Michigan sweatshirt to indicate that he had studied in the US - did college sweatshirts even exist back then?). Miniseries meant melodrama and its archetypal characters: an adorable child whom Wallenberg saves from the death camps only to die of illness; a shoehorned-in love interest in the form of a kindhearted baroness who lobbies her suspicious husband to relax the Hungarian government's strictures on Jews; a fiery Hungarian resistance fighter who provides the unofficial, combative counterpoint to Wallenberg’s diplomatic, humanitarian efforts through official channels. And, of course, Wallenberg’s kidnapping by the Soviets at the fall of Budapest meant his story was perfectly framed for 1985, when we still couldn’t trust those Russians. (In fact, to this day no one knows what they did with him.)

A few appropriately haunting and powerful moments do ring true, including Wallenberg’s cordial verbal fencing matches over contraband Scotch and cigarettes with Adolf Eichmann. Whether those meetings really took place in that form or not, their film versions appropriately capture the realities of how we are forced to engage with evil. Rarely are we simply battling an easily identifiable other, weapon to weapon. Instead, we encounter evil in the everyday – in fact, it seeks us out, finds shared ground, converses with us over pleasantries and hospitality even as we recognize its intentions. It identifies with us, we identify with it. Even as you know it is evil.

Eichmann had made it his avowed duty to kill the Jews of Europe. Wallenberg’s mission, as an emissary of an officially neutral power, was to help save as many as he could. And he did, through famously fearless, reckless endeavors including the distribution of thousands of official-looking Swedish passes to the Jews of Budapest, the creation of vast cultural centers and warehouses in the Swedish mission buildings in which these new countrymen could work under the aegis of their adoptive country, and savvy diplomatic maneuvering with the Hungarian and German authorities and military. He went as far as to climb on top of a train bound for Auschwitz and distribute passes to as many deportees as he could while soldiers fired shots at him. Looking back, historians suggest they were firing over his head to warn him as they could easily have dropped him at that range, but it’s not likely Wallenberg knew that at the time.

At that time diplomats of neutral powers could make fortunes more safely as armchair heroes: playboy Porfirio Rubirosa reportedly did so in Paris selling visas to the Dominican Republic to French Jews during World War II. In that respect, perhaps, both he and Wallenberg were heroes… of different sorts.

Wallenberg did not do it for money. The Wallenbergs were Swedish aristocracy (with, the film takes pains to remind us, an ounce of Jewish blood) with considerable means – hence the finely tailored wardrobe for Chamberlain. Thus, an easy cynical response to this essay could be that a rich aristocrat with diplomatic immunity risked nothing swanning around the salons of Budapest, just like the fictional gentleman spies we read about and watch on screen.

That response is wrong. Heroism is not just born of opportunity. It is recognizing when a choice confronts you and taking the difficult, unpopular and dangerous one in order to do what is right. Fictional heroes like Bond or Steed rarely suffer meaningful personal loss and rarely confront the reality of evil. Evil is your friend with many positive qualities, maybe more intelligent or cultured or better dressed than you, the one you looked up to, who gradually reveals the awful things he or she believes and has done. Evil is those complicit in carrying out those things by their inaction, their credulity, or their cooperation, not at the point of a gun but of a paycheck. Evil is legal, logically explained, repeated and reported until its baseless reasoning becomes fact and the foundation for more lies, more evil. Evil can so easily become the system.

Hindsight is a handicap, for it doesn’t usually permit us to see that there were no times without ambiguity in battles between good and evil and no certainty that good triumphs. We have the privilege of retrospect to acknowledge the dashing diplomat in Savile Row suits was a hero for saving innocents from deportation and death as part of the most ghastly genocide in history. We learned what genocide is, and had to invent the word to describe it. Because at that time the people singled out for persecution and death were unpopular, historically, socially and legally marginalized, supposedly easily identifiable and classifiable. A group that societies had made it easy - through regulation, ghettoization, oppression and antagonism – to hate, and whole false narratives drawn up to explain why that group hated and wanted to destroy us even more than we them.

One of A Hero’s Story’s most timely and inspiring lines is Wallenberg’s reply to the Hungarian ruler’s query why the King of Sweden cared so much about the Jews of another country, when he was a Christian. Wallenberg reminded the prime minister that the King’s “concerns transcend religion or national borders.” That concern is humanity, our lowest common denominator, our shared recognition of our capacity for suffering. That concern drove a man to acts of incredible selflessness, a generous mercy that seems to have cost him his liberty and his life. There is no romance to Raoul Wallenberg’s fate. It is worth remembering that he probably saw little romance in the actions he took in Budapest.

Now is no less an unromantic time, no less a time when others – so many different others –are easily denigrated, feared, distrusted, brutalized. Otherization, both of many within our borders and pressing against them, has returned, as has fascism, with apologists blandly elegant or brutally populist, like some inauspicious comet in our skies. Now, again, is a time for heroes – men and women who recognize how difficult and dangerous it is to do what is right. That struggle is far from those of Chamberlain’s habitual roles swashbuckling against a monolithic, universally despicable, evil. Evil is among us, habituating us, desensitizing us, gaslighting us. Far from frills and fanfare, celebration, or certainty of triumph, can we place ourselves in Wallenberg’s Budapester shoes and do what is right?

Quality content, like quality clothing, ages well. This post first appeared on the No Man blog in February 2017.

[tokyotwosome]

A French Excursion

Toulouse 

7/29/2018 - My first taste of Europe began in the south of France, in the city of Toulouse. My expectations of France stemmed from books and movies, which truly limits you to two senses; sight and sound.  Naturally I expected to see breathtaking architecture and streets filled with centuries of European history. What I hadn’t anticipated were the other senses we would experience; the smells, the flavors, and the feeling. As I write this segment of the blog, I’m sitting on the terrace of our hotel as the sun rises to awaken the city. You can hear the vrooms of mopeds weaving through the alleys. You can feel the fresh breeze of the crisp morning air with a hint of a summer scent drifting with it. It’s something capable of forcing a pessimist to smile. The temperature is a comfortable 69°F (about 20°C). I’m sipping my morning “café – coffee” as I wash down my “chocolatine - a chocolate croissant”, that we bought just last night while walking around the markets. While other visitors come out to their balcony, you greet them with “bonjour” as if you’ve been saying it for years. There isn’t a skyscraper in sight. Just brick buildings upon brick buildings that look like they all have a story to share. Rob has spent several days already completing an extended business trip at Airbus. While he’s at work today, I am off to spend my first day exploring the city, solo. 

As mentioned, Rob had been spending some time at Airbus, providing product support. Through work, he made a friend at Airbus (Julien), who invited us over for a late dinner at his place. Julien’s girlfriend and I spent the day sightseeing in Toulouse. At dinner, Julien, prepared us duck soaked in red wine, served with rice, French pâté, cheeses of all varieties, meats, and more. Then we washed it all down with some rum, where our new friend showed us how to prepare it properly. Julien told us about his home country; a tiny island nestled to the east of Madagascar. A fun and delightful way to spend our last night in Toulouse. 

[a free tour inside the Capitole de Toulouse Building, pictured above] 

To sum up a few interesting facts I learned in my first few days in France:

There’s a TV tax - used to fund local French TV networks. 

Business isn’t always open – With Paris being the exception, hours of operation tend to vary in France. Sometimes it’s too late in the day for a croissant at a café. Or sometimes it’s too early for dinner and all restaurants don’t open until 7:30 PM. A way to avoid this is by going to bakeries for baked goods and then going to a local park. It’s much more efficient if you’re on the go, downside being you miss the outdoor café on the street atmosphere. Apart from food, boutiques are typically not open until 10 AM  or so. Oh and Sundays? Forget about it. Many of the French truly live by exercising their day of rest. That goes for shops as well. Need not worry! There may be a local outdoor market open.

Bakeries are no joke – Bread is the staple of this country. It was a major player in the French Revolution. Seeing passersby with a baguette in their bag is in no way unusual. There’s a bakery around every corner, each item a soft, fluffy, piece of heaven. You can smell the bakeries in the street, making it impossible not to stop and snag a pastry. 

Cheese is also no joke - The French cheese puts our cheese to shame. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a nice Wisconsin sharp cheddar as much as the next guy...but French cheese is savory on a whole other level!

Bordeaux 

7/31/18 - Next stop, that’s right you guessed it; wine country. We decided to rent a car, a manual no less. A French car; a Peugeot. It was about a 2-hour drive north of Toulouse. Having experience driving a manual, I thought what a thrifty idea. Let’s not get into the narrow European one-way streets...eventually, we made it to Bordeaux. The city itself is just that, a city. Where were the acres of vineyards? We would soon travel 20 min east to Saint-Émilion to find out. But before we head out of the city, we stop by the Bordeaux Wine Museum. The Museum included a tasting and allowed you to explore the smells and sights of wine around the world. It was cool to see Yakima Valley (a Washington region) being recognized as a world-renowned wine within the museum. Wine is a big contributor to romance; the museum touched on that countless times. An interesting take on wine. After grabbing a French lunch buffet, we head out towards Saint-Émilion. The streets start to quiet and those vineyards finally make their grand appearance. 

Our Airbnb sat within vineyards and the city we’d just left behind was a world away. This is the kind of countryside life where you can really forget about your troubles. The next day we had an electric bike tour planned through the  Saint-Émilion chateaus and little did we know what an exceptional experience it would turn out to be. 

Our tour consisted of 8 riders and one guide. Our guide Julie was a local French gal, sharing her knowledge of the area’s history as we zigged and zagged through the back roads of vineyards. We learned about the importance of the soil; the area mostly comprised of limestone and clay - the perfect soil suitable for merlot and cab franc. The other 6 riders in our group were all Australian and what an entertaining lot they were! As we made our way through the hills, we eventually made our first stop at Château Panet. Here we walked through the Château where the wine was being made, learning about the process along the way. We ended the tour with an outdoor picnic of wine, cheeses, meats, and breads. We chatted with the rest of the group, learning that they all are from Melbourne. One of the riders complimented me on my accent, which was the first and likely the last time that will ever happen. Who ever thought an American accent could be “charming”? 

Our final stop on our tour was Château Saint-Georges, a true castle once owned by the king of France. We walked around the breathtaking grounds, stopping to try the smells and flavors in the garden. Each item in the garden was carefully chosen to help represent different notes within the wine. They also told us about how much the weather impacts the harvest, and why you often hear wine connoisseurs say things like, “2015 is an excellent vintage” or “that’s a good year”. We learned how you identify older wines vs younger by the color. We discovered so much about wine that we didn’t know, in such a short span of time.

Paris

8/3/18 - Paris, the world’s most visited city in the world, is its own breed. Comparing it to the rest of France isn’t a fair comparison really. We stayed at an Airbnb apartment within the heart of the city. Everything was within walking distance, with places like Notre Dame just a short walk away. Sure, in a city like Paris you’re going to come across a few homeless people digging through the trash and you have to be mindful of the possibility of pickpockets. If you’re able to avoid this and/or not allow it to spoil your visit, Paris can be very charming. Keeping a loose agenda and simply walking along the river, stumbling across places as you go, is the best way to do it. We stopped by a cafe, where a friend of a friend had just opened business (Jozi Cafe). He gave us some great advice on things to see and things to avoid. We joked with him about how he’d never been to the Louvre, much like we’ve never gone on Ride the Ducks in Seattle and how you’re often not the tourist in your own city. We visited Shakespeare and Co. bookstore to check out the 1920′s gathering spot for famous writers such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. We even bought Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, a nonfiction that he wrote describing his time in Paris. Don’t forget to have the store clerk stamp your book with a Shakespeare & Co. stamp before you go! 

The Eiffel Tower - the symbol of romance in Paris. You can find an Eiffel Tower in the states on shirts, bags, or home decor. Seeing it in person really depicts its grandness. We needn’t bother go up the tower; we simply wanted to see it up close and in-person. Our 4th Wedding Anniversary we spent at a restaurant on the water, just beneath the tower. While enjoying our meal and our view, we did our favorite thing to do when we travel; people watch. We noticed our server speaking Spanish to the table to our right and French to the table on our left. He spoke English to us, so this was pretty impressive how he could just switch gears in a matter of moments. Tipping is not a custom in France, but you can certainly leave one if you feel the service was superb. While the boat tour on the river had been going on for hours, we opted to skip it during the day. The weather was hot, muggy, and uncomfortable. Instead, we did the tour during the sunset which proved to be both romantic and a much more comfortable and rewarding experience. 

We spent our last day at The Louvre. We managed to see all of our favorites within 3 hours. The renaissance paintings being our favorite. Liberty Leading the People left the biggest impression on me. It was a must see and I wouldn’t recommend skipping it if you’re in Paris. Overall, we loved France and have every intention of visiting again one day. Travelling really teaches you a lot of lessons and opens your eyes to the big beautiful world out there. You also learn a lot about your own country through the perspective of other countries. Our craving for travel continues so stay tuned! We aren’t certain where our next trip will be. Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore, Iceland, and the UK are all on the horizon. Thanks for reading; until next time.

#travel #france #paris #adventure #tokyotwosome #love #explore

[britishchick09]

sherlock s2 ep 2 livewatch

after seeing so many sherlock posts on my dash today, i’m in the mood for some johnlock! and what better way to get that than with one of the most iconic stories? :D

fun fact before i pop the dvd in: in samantha’s first mystery, ‘the curse of ravenscourt’, she reads the original ‘hounds of baskerville’ book! :D

YAS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY YYYYAAAASSSS!!!!!! :D

also i love how my dad put ‘series II’ instead of ‘series two’ or series 2′. classy! ;)

masterpiece yaaasssss :D

aand we just jump right in with DOG REDRUM >:)

DRAMATIC INTRO YAASS!!!!!

yo lockie civil war wut?

john: “you went on the tube like that?” why did he go on the tube like that

john: “another photo of you with the-“ sherlock: *BIG SIGH*

sherlock: “nothing of importance... OH GOD!!!!!” LOCKIE IS P-I-DOUBLE S- ED YO!

sherlock: “i need some, get me some!” john: *plays john lennon’s ‘cold turkey’ at full blast* lol this didn’t happen but i wish it did :D

NO LOCKIE DON’T CALL FOR MRS. HUDSON SHE’S YOUR NOT HOUSEKEEPER NOT YOUR NOT DRUG DEALER

lockie be like ‘Y E E T !”

john: ‘you’re doing great, don’t give up now!” THE TONE IN HIS VOICE LOL :D

mrs. hudson: “yoo-hoo!” big tea blowout, yah? :D

they just played the racist ‘oriental’ tune from ep 2 ugh :/

omg DID SHERLOCK JUST MAKE MRS. HUDSON CRY??

sherlock: “I NEED A CASE!!!!” oh so it’s not drugs?

someone needs to find a bunny awww :)

sherlock: “this is brilliant call lestrade” i think this is a stuffed bunny AND THAT’S SO CUTE!!!!

samsung THAT BE THE BRAND OF MY MONITOR AND TV!! :D

he’s twitching his fingers cute lockie ♥

welcome to dateline nbc!

OMG HE’S ACTUALLY AT THE FLAT :D

henry: “i was just about to say it on the-” sherlock: “i prefer to do my own editing” same :D

geez the dog redrum was his dad violently killed geez :?

john: “did you see the devil that night?” i think you mean cujo ;)

ew cujo tore the dad apart :(

cujo’s a genetic experiment according to sherlock woah :o

wowza that was 20 years ago :o

of course sherlock knows everything that’s happened to this guy earlier!

sherlock: “please smoke mr. knight, i’d be delighted” you can join the smoking guy i saw outside of cvs yesterday ;)

sherlock: “i’ve been cooped up for ages!” covid quarantine who

i love how sherlock infodumps about people it’s so cool :D

henry: “how did you know that so fast?” sherlock: “it’s my job, now shut up and smoke” ...daaaang :o

john: *is asking henry questions* sherlock: *SNIIIIIIFFFF* yo what up lockie O_o

woah henry has to ‘face his demons’ :o

sherlock: “if i wanted to read poetry, i’d read john’s emails to his girlfriends” OHHHHH

but what about emails to lockie? ;)

sherlock: “bor-ing! goodbye mr. knight, thanks for smoking” lol :D

henry: “they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!” masterpiece trailer moment! :D

sherlock: “repeat those words exactly as you said them a moment ago” he wants it for the trailer

he didn’t say them exactly as he said them a moment ago :/

awww john is sherlock’s ‘best man’! ♥♥♥♥♥

AND LOCKIE’S TAKING ON THE STUFFED BUNNY CASE AWWWW!!!!! :D

sherlock: “a monstrous hound, i wouldn’t miss it for the world!” says the guy taking a different case

frozen 2 much?

john has a jeep how very army of you sir

i paused this at just the right moment ;)

henry tells his therapist he’s been seeing ‘liberty’ and ‘in’... liberty in the hound?

hotel guy: “it’ll be a double room for you boys” john: “that’s fine, we’re not-”

p

he knows ;)

OMG ISN’T THAT THE GAY INNKEEPER??? :o

the innkeeper’s accent is cool B)

sherlock’s talking to a shepard fairey guy woah :o

p

a smiley little lockie!!!! ♥♥♥♥

sherlock bet this guy 50 quid that sounds like a lot!

p

:/

p

aww he gave a little snort! :)

sherlock: “ooh, is it haunted?” his sarcastic soft voice tho :D

guy: “he said i’ve seen things i’ve never seen again” like henry! :o

guy: “rats as big as dogs and dogs the size of horses” oh noes

so when is that bunny thing showing up?

they just snuck in as mycroft SHERLOCK WHY

p

a good ol’ salute! :D

p

another johnlock screenshot ft antiques roadshow! ;)

p

JESUS CHRISTMAS MONKEY

the corporal guy is so nice! :)

p

ooh word wall! :o

p

a sarcastic happy lock!

dr lady: “i have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies...” wut

p

THERE’S THE BUNNY!!!!! :D

it glowed in the dark! :o

john: “did we break into a military base just to investigate a rabbit?” indeed you did ;)

p

OH SNAP MYCROFT :o

he’s like ‘ugh what’s my little pesky bro doing now?’

sherlock: “23 minutes, mycroft’s getting slow” lol :D

oh no the major looks crankyyy :o

OMG WHY ARE THE LIGHTS FLICKERING

the dr guy thinks sherlock is mycroft!

sherlock just goes with it lol :D

p

someone’s not convinny....

the dr knew it was sherlock the whole time! :o

he’s read the blog! and he wants sherlock to wear the hat lol

the dr guy likes ‘the pink thing’ ;)

dr guy: “i’d love to tell you what i do, but i’d have to kill you!” sarcastic yet >:)

p

that’s a look of luv bby ♥

john: “don’t be all mysterious with your... cheekbones and turning your coat collar up so you look cool” cheekbones?

sherlock: “i don’t do that” john: “yeah you do!” yeah lockie you kind of do...

p

happy john! :)

sherlock says the mystery words are liberty in death! :o

his plan is to go out at night and john’s like ‘that’s not a plan’ lol

p

squinty smile!!!! ♥

p

sherlock 2 NOW

a kid scream just played twice in a few seconds... transition perhaps?

i’ve always thought sherlock was darkly lit, but night takes it to a whole new level! :o

bird tweet!

maybe the scream is actually a weird bird idk

p

ooh a code!

john whispering ‘sherlock!’ over and over ♥

henry after sherlock mentions his parents: “look at you and john” ;)

OMG IS THAT CUJO

p

cujo see you... ;)

sherlock claims to not have seen cujo BOI HE WAS RIGHT THERE

p

two bros sitting by the fireplace, five feet apart ‘cause they’re not gay!

john: “i guess it’s morse” boi that was definitely morse

oh no sherlock heavy breathing?

john: “maybe we should just look for whoever has a big dog” lol :D

sherlock: “i saw it... i saw it too... i saw it too, john!”

john’s the rational one AND SHERLOCK SAW A RATIONAL HOUND BOI

sherlock: “look at me john, i’m afraid... i’m afraid!” :(

did john just call him ‘spock’

aww john wants lockie to take it easy ♥

sherlock: “there’s nothing wrong with me!” that shaky breath tells otherwise...

sherlock nervously infodumping although there’s ‘nothing wrong with me’ shows that there’s something wrong with him! poor bby :(

john: “i use my senses unlike other people” ooh sick burn lockie B)

john: “why won’t you listen to me? i’m your friend!” sherlock: “i don’t have friends!” john: “no... wonder why” aww :(

p

ooh johnny carson :o

p

OMG WAS SOMEONE DOING IT IN THE CAR WTF???

john: “...oh god.” same john same

p

nice blackberry john ;)

henry’s watching home movies and the lights are suddenly way bright! :o

HENRY JUMPSCARE!!!!

he’s so freaked out poor guy :(

p

ooh john’s on a date!

he’s talking to henry’s therapist so maybe it’s not?

john: “i have another friend who might be having the same problem” aww it’s lockie :(

franklin: “don’t you read the blog?” we all read the blog ;)

therapist: “sherlock who?” HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW SHERLOCK FLIPPING HOLMES???

franklin: “this is his p.a” john: “p.a?” franklin: “live in p.a” therapist: “live in...” ;)

p

eyyy reusing the same shot but with john digitally removed ;D

p

lockie’s so happy to see henry! :D

p

coffeelock! :D

john: “funny doesn’t suit you, let’s stick to ice” yep!

sherlock wasn’t afraid of the hound... he was afraid of his doubts! :o

john’s not too convinced...

sherlock: “i don’t have friends” you have- “i just have one” AWWWWW HE HAS JOHN!!!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

john: “...right” thanks for making it akward bud

sherlock: “john! you are amazing, fantastic-” john: “don’t overdo it” :)

p

cool font ;)

LESTRADE IS HERE!!!!

sherlock: “is that why you call yourself greg!” john: “...that’s his name” lol :D

john: “scary inspector from scotland yard could put in a few calls...” lol :D

sherlock apologized to john with coffee aww ♥

IT’S THE GAY INKEEPERS YAS!!! :D

p

that smirk tho ;)

wait the hound is dead?

omg sherlock has asbergers! :o

lockie saw a glowing superdog huh

p

sherlock: “hello brother dear! how aaare you?” lol his sarcastically sweet tone :D

and john’s look tho!

henry jumpscare!!!

man that one scared him so much poor guy!

john’s sneaking around ;)

brightening sherlock screencaps be like:

p

also why isn’t the show lit closer to something like this all the time

john muttering: “what the fu ‘ell” OMG JOHN BASICALLY SWORE :o

now it’s super dark!!!

OMG MONKEY SCREECH JUMPSCARE

john swiping the card over and over is like my dad trying to get his debit card to work at the store

or like that thing john did at his own grocery store ;)

john’s breathing heavy just like lockie.... :(

OH CRAP CUJO GROWL

RUN JOHN RUNNN!!!!!!!!

cujo’s out there

john just made a noise that sounded like that puffy fish eating a carrot :o

john to phone sherlock: “it’s in here with me..” OH CRAP HIDE IN A CAR FOR A MILLION HOURS

john’s whisper squeaked awww :(

sherlock wants john to keep talking awww :(

john doesn’t know what he sees but he’s scared af

AND HE CAN’T SEE CUJO

p

super sherlock!! :D

p

awww he was hunkered in a cage poor guy! :(

john: “jeeesus i saw the hound! it was here sherlock it was here!!! did you see it you must’ve seen it-” sherlock: “it’s okay john-“ john: “NNNOOOO IT’S NOT!!!!! IT’S NOT OKAY, I SAW IT, I WAS WRONG!!!” OMG JOHN :o

wait now sherlock’s denying what he and john saw wut

...they’ve been drugged?

is cujo just drugs?

dr lady: “are you okay? you look very peaking...” very what now

oh so it was a real bunny? when i was researching a sherlock return, i saw a website saying sherlock went through london for a stuffed one what was that about

what if cujo’s real and not a drug hmm lockie?

the drugs were in sugar?

OMG WHAT IF SMOKING IS THE DRUGS???

sherlock needs to go to his mind palace YAS!!!!! :D

oh no is this the cringe mind palace clip on tumblr

p

OH DEAR BLOODY GOD NO HELL IT IS

p

change the font I’M BEGGING YOU CHANGE THE BASIC AF FONT

p

elvis?

good it’s over!

henry’s running from the cujo drug!

oh no there’s a lady crying!

DID HENRY HURT THE LADY????

ooh it’s project h.o.u.n.d in liberty indiana? why would a cia project in the us be in the uk?

ew henry has 5 biographies of margaret thatcher :/

p

first off what pretty eyes! and the hound is names!

h.o.u.n.d was hidden in 1986... courtney did moore than reagan ;)

20 years ago for them is 1992 but the drug was hidden in ‘86 so lockie’s probably not being specific since it’s 2012 there and not 2006

the dr guy is american because he says ‘cell phone’?

oh no henry’s missing! :o

HE HAS A GUN WTF

did smol henry take the drug before ‘86 and hallucinated his dad’s death?

OMG HENRY DOESN’T KNOW ANYMORE

a man murdered his dad!

the guy sounds like darth vader :o

awww john’s comforting henry but it’s too dark to see :)

man henry’s so messed up poor guy!!! :(

lestrade: “oh my god! oh christ!” lol :D

oh no is henry reliving the murder?

the drug is in the fog!!!!!

THE DRUG IS IN THE FOG!!!!!

OMG THEY’RE SHOOTING AN INNOCENT DOG BECAUSE OF THE FOG DRUG

HENRY SCREAMING NO :(

RUN FRANKLIN RUN!!!

frankin’s down!

p

OMG DID HE DIE????

p

domestic eating right after that!

also why does sherlock never eat :(

did sherlock just say ‘is this ketchup brown’

sherlock put the drug in john’s sugar and locked him in for an experiment BOI

that explains why he appeared so fast...

p

flashback! with that face HE BEEN KNEW

i think there’s an s4 thing where lockie plants a bomb or something and laughs at john so this is unfortunately a thing :/

sherlock: “won’t happen again” WHAT DID I JUS SAY

sherlock: “you’ll be fine once you’ve excreted it” ...ew

john: “i think i’ve already taken care of it” EW

p

omg so many sherlocks

p

spooky...

is that moiarty setting up for the fall next ep?

p

and it ends with only the winky man knowing...

this was a very suspenseful ep! there were so many heartstopping moments and cujo being a drug was really clever. i can see why samantha liked reading the original book!

#livewatch #this is a samantha parkington approved ep ;) #this took WAY longer than usual due to tumblr not saving part of it! #but it was good to see some parts again :)

[sussex-nature-lover]

Tuesday 5th January 2021

We Want You Back

We want you Back? I was going to talk about the White Storks a bit more later in the month, but as the Twelve Days of Christmas draw to a close I’ll be discontinuing the music links and frankly, today’s is an absolute corker, chosen especially to go with this blog title.

The White Stork Project Q & A

Following the exciting sighting here on Boxing Day I’ve submitted details to the project. Although we live so close to one of the sites for Sussex Storks, because  Guru pointed out damage to the wing feathers of one, I thought they may be interested to know the pair were flying out here.

Crow - not *my* Crow (left) monitoring two Storks in flight. Boxing Day 2020

Edit: I heard back, the project was very happy to have heard from me. The site nearest to us has 20 birds who are now starting to explore the area. Being able to give precise location and timing information is very useful they said as they can add this to other reports and build up a thorough picture of their movements. So that was worthwhile doing.

I have in the past submitted sightings and information to other projects as I think it’s very important to gather as much knowledge as possible.

The Little Owl project

Operation Turtle Dove

Garden Wildlife Health

I digressed...

Below, Storks Nesting at Knepp Wildland, which I highly recommend (12:43m)

Update (1.14m)

The Re-wilding of Knepp is another lovely bit of film, with beautiful Nightingale bird song featuring heavily.  It explains a bit about the history of the project and its hopes for the environment (8.47m)

It’ll be interesting to follow any further updates come Spring.

Of course it’s not only previously extinct (to us here) or more exotic birds which we need to worry about

Garden Birds in decline

Winter Song Thrush in SE London. Photo credit: Ms NW tE

Song Thrush is one of the UK birds in decline.

I have seen an article debating whether there is likely to be a cull of the Ring Necked Parakeet as it’s termed a ‘squirrel of the sky’ - referencing the thought that as an invasive species with a very healthy breeding trend, it’s responsible for driving out many native species by competition for both food and habitat. I won’t link as at this stage it’s speculative and Ms NW tE may find it insensitive...they’re a very strong presence in her neck of the woods.

photo credit Ms NW tE

What We Learned Today

Coming up 3rd February, post Brexit, The Agriculture Bill

Hopefully we’ll all start looking at the bigger picture.

Butterflies, moths and bees

Warm winds from the continent brought record numbers of migrant moths in the summer and early autumn. Among these was the Clifden nonpareil, one of the UK’s largest moth species that has returned to southern England after going extinct in the 1960s. It was spotted on a beech tree at Buckinghamshire's Cliveden (its namesake) 250 years after it was first found. Calke Abbey in Derbyshire and Ware Cliffs in Dorset also reported their first sightings of the moth.

There were also reports from the New Forest of silver-studded blue and small heath butterflies flying up to a month ahead of schedule. A marsh fritillary was also spotted at The Coombes in Wiltshire for the first time. We counted 750 large blue butterflies over the summer on Rodborough Common in Gloucestershire following the largest ever project to reintroduce the species, which haven't been seen in the area for 150 years.

Meanwhile, Lytes Cary Manor in Somerset was buzzing with 37 sightings of the rare shrill carder bumblebee. The warm spring brought overwintering shrill carder queens out of hibernation much earlier than usual, and the first worker was recorded on 21st May, some three or four weeks ahead of normal timings. New season queens and males were seen on the estate's field margins in August, confirming that the shrill carder colonies had successfully reproduced.

From the National Trust report I linked to on 31st December 2020. Here it is again if you missed it. You can read about our wildlife Winners and Losers.

When it’s grim in Winter, I’ve got to admit that Crow and I become hermits and couch potatoes and we do like a bit of weekend morning TV while we have a late breakfast. It’s usually cooking programmes with guests followed by a football roundup. Lately it’s all been getting rather samey, so I looked for something we haven’t seen before and came across Alan Tichmarsh’s show on catchup at The ITV Hub if you can access it. As Alan is a hugely well known English gardener, the show includes a fair bit on gardening and the location is lovely. We watched October’s Episode 6 from Series 1 and it had some good tips for recycling kitchen rubbish. We try to do our best, but we can always learn a bit more or pick up some new hints.

WAR ON WASTE:

There were tips on the TV programme about cutting up yoghurt pots to make labels for seed trays, using kitchen and toilet roll inner tubes for compostable pots (soak before use) and cutting plastic milk containers for scoops or to aid watering in flower beds. They also had some film of what you can recycle to make Bug Hotels, I think I’m going to have a go at that. 

I don’t think I have the skills to produce something as impressive as this though, seen in Potters Fields, close to London’s Tower Bridge.

Here are some more ideas

Whatever little things we can do to help the habitat for birds and wildlife, no matter how small a contribution, it’s got to be worthwhile.

Final Decoration of the Day:

I’m closing my series of tree decorations with a nod to events across the Ocean. Tomorrow Joe Biden’s presidential election win is due to be certified by Congress ahead of the official Inauguration on Wednesday 20th January 2021.

We have two mementoes of past holidays in the USA, this one purchased to commemorate our Statue of Liberty visit. Back then you could take a lift to levels one and two but if you wanted the view from the Crown, you had to climb all the stairs. It was a never ending line and the staircases got narrower and narrower. I’m not exaggerating that it took hours and when you got to the top to look out of those famous windows, the queue behind was chuntering on to hurry up. I wasn’t terribly popular with Crow that day I can tell you.

Liberty Enlightening the World

From the Statue Cruises site

IMPORTANT: 

HOW STRENUOUS IS THE CLIMB?

The climb to the crown is a strenuous journey that encompasses 393 steps or approximately the height of a 27-story building, in an enclosed area with high temperatures in the summer. All crown visitors must be able to climb up and down the 393 steps unassisted. IMPORTANT: There are 162 narrow and tight steps from the top of the pedestal to the crown. There is no elevator access from the pedestal to the crown platform – the distance from the Statue’s feet to the Statue’s head.

IS IT SAFE TO GO UP TO THE CROWN?

National Park Service Rangers will be on site at all times to assist visitors. Since the Statue is not air conditioned, interior temperatures can be 20 degrees higher than those outside. On hot days, it is suggested that visitors drink water prior to the climb; there are no restrooms inside the Statue. The National Park Service recommends that crown visitors have no significant physical or mental conditions that would impair their ability to complete the climb. IMPORTANT: There is no elevator access from the pedestal to the crown – the distance from the Statue’s feet to the Statue’s head. Guests must climb 162 stairs to access the crown.

Today’s Music Choice

 is in celebration of the message to our endangered species. A completely OTT presentation of ‘I want you BACH’

#nature birds wildlife conservation recycling WhiteStorks projects

[littlemuffinblog]

Hello all!

It’s been a long while since I’ve written up a proper blog post on here. I’m most active on my instagram these days, but I’m going to make an effort to post more regularly on my actual page as sometimes I find I cut recipes short to fit them all into the Instagram/Facebook format etc.

I was recently in New York and pretty much centered the entire trip around finding all the good foodie spots, so I figured it deserved a lengthy post! We tended to eat a late brunch and dinner most days, skipping lunch as our hotel had a free snack bar which was very handy. They had fresh fruit, lovely coffee & granola bars in the morning which were great to grab n’go. The options changed from lunch time and included savoury snacks and sweet treats with limitless soft drinks, fizzy water etc. We stayed in the Club Quarter Hotel Midtown near Times Square. It was a brilliant location, lovely room, great value, nice staff and the unlimited snack bar with filtered water on tap was such a bonus. They even gave little bottles to take your water with you! Hotel website linked here.

So, without further ado, here are all of the foodie places in New York during my trip. Hope anyone travelling to NY finds it useful! Thanks to everyone who recommended food spots to me before I went – you all helped to make my trip deliciously good and my foodie self is eternally grateful!

BRUNCH 

Bubbys – Easily the single best brunch I have ever had and was the food highlight of the trip for me. We went to the one in Tribeca but they have a few locations. We got the Eggs Benedict and ‘Pancake Flight’. The Eggs benny was to die for, we opted for the version with bacon and added some avocado to it. The pancakes were also EPIC. Super fluffy & thick, they came with berries, nutella, blueberry compote, whipped cream, caramelised banana and toasted walnuts. They also came with maple syrup and butter on the side without even asking – it was a lovely touch. The total bill came to about $60 including a tip and we didn’t get coffees/drinks, only tap water. I honestly can’t wait to go back to NY to have Bubbys again, it was just that good. Bubbys is a definite must! Website here. 

@bubbys

Sarabeths – This is super near to Central Park. We had seen on their instagram that they are famous for their french toast so that’s what we went with. For $50 we also got a caraffe of Bellini’s – it’s about 5-6 glasses which were $15 each so it’s good value really ;). I ordered the Almond crusted French toast and my friend went for the ‘Fluffy Fat’ french toast. We also ordered a side of bacon (additional $12). I will say I was quite disappointed with my almond version as when I cut into it, it was actually bone dry in the middle. The whole point of French toast is that it should be eggy/custardy having been soaked in an egg mixture but this was essentially dry almond toast. They were very good and immediately replaced it with the plain version that my friend had ordered. This was absolutely delicious and came with a side of butter and maple syrup. The service was great here and I would definitely recommend the Fluffy Fat french toast and skip the almond version! All in all the bill came to about $115 excl tip. Pricey but it is in a great location and overall the food and drink was lovely. Website here. 

  @sarabethsnyc

Fresh & Co – We definitely couldn’t leave New York without trying a cream cheese bagel! I had lots of places recommended to me, but we happened to be passing by here and were stuck for time so we just popped in. It wasn’t on the menu and breakfast had just finished, but they made these specially up for us which was really nice. We asked for 2 wholemeal bagels, filled with cream cheese, avocado, crispy bacon and a runny fried egg. We got freshly squeezed orange juice to go with. It was honestly *so* good and hit the spot. Great place to call into if you just want something quick to eat & go. I think it was roughly $12 for the two bagels, with orange juice about $5 extra incl taxes. They have quite a few locations. Website here.

@freshandconyc

DINNER 

Ellens Stardust Diner – This place is pretty much as American as it gets. It’s a diner set in the heart of Times Square, waited by Broadway hopefuls who sing and perform throughout the entire meal. They are also famous for their brunch. We headed here our first night and ate dinner here. We went for the Mac n Cheese burger, served with waffle fries. We then shared a Brownie ‘Mudslide’ Sundae for dessert. It was typical American diner food, it was decent and hit the spot but you definitely more so go there for the surroundings than the food. Total bill was about $60 excl tips but be mindful, they send around a separate bucket for the tips for the singers too. Website here.

@ellensstardust

Ottos Tacos – We got these the night we went to Woodbury Common Shopping outlet. It was such a long day and we were absolutely shattered when we got back to our hotel, so we ordered Uber Eats. We opted for a ‘Beyond’ Vegan chorizo taco, chicken taco, chips & guac and rice and beans. The chorizo taco wasn’t great but all in all was a tasty meal and perfect for a late night nibble. Uber eats is super handy if you’re stuck on time/tired and they have no problem delivering to hotels, they had a huuuuge selection of foods available. Website here.

@ottostacos

Otto Pizzeria – We had a lovely dinner at otto pizzeria. We originally wanted to get to Joes pizza which I’d had lots of recommendations for or Scarrs… however otto was closer by and Joes had queues out the door! I opted for a delicious egg pizza washed down by blood orange cocktails. We actually arrived half an hour earlier than our booking and they were lovely about it and immediately seated us. We also got complimentary focaccia & olive oil to start! It did the trick but definitely still have Joes & Scarrs on the pizza list! Website here.

@ottopizzeria

BAKERIES 

Levain Bakery – I went to the one just off central park. I had heard a lot of hype about this place. They are famous for their super thick gooey cookies and sweet jesus, they did not disappoint. Some of the best cookies I’ve ever had. All made better by eating them while strolling on lovely sunny day in central park. You wouldn’t even know the bakery is there – it is tiny and down these little steps, I had to ask a local where it was as I couldn’t find it! There was no queue when I was there thankfully, but be mindful of this as apparently there is usually a big wait. The cookies were $4 each and worth every bit and more! Their hot chocolate looked epic too so will definitely be paying here a visit the next time I’m in New york to get it! Definitely put this place on your list. Website here. 

@levainbakery

Magnolia Bakery – If you are a fan of Sex in the City, you’ll be familiar with this place. It is just around the block from Carrie Bradshaw’s famous apartment and the bakery featured in the TV show a couple of times making it an instant hit. They are famous for their banana pudding – a creamy pudding filled with banana, sponge and graham crackers. I opted for the small pot (as I was stuffed but couldn’t not go to NY and not try it!). It was absolutely insanely good. I think it was about $5 incl tax and worth it for sure. Next time I’m going to try their cupcakes as I’ve heard they are amazing too. Website here.

@magnoliabakery

Carlos Bakery – If you’ve ever watched Cake Boss, here is a must visit! We went to the one near the Port Tunnel (where we got our bus from to Woodbury Common. We actually got a great deal for this on groupon, I’ve linked it here) The original one is in Hoboken and I believe is worth a visit too! The bakery itself was full of a mix of treats, a lot of artificially coloured american style cakes which wouldn’t be my thing, but their pastries, cookies etc all looked amazing. We were spoiled for choice. M\y friend got an M&M cookie which was really tasty and I got a chocolate hazelnut lobster tail pastry filled with delicious hazelnut creme patisserie and drizzled with nutella. So good. All in all they both came to about $11 dollars. The perfect breakfast to bring on board the 1 hour bus journey!  Bakery linked here. 

@carlosbakery

OTHER BITS…

Airport Lounge – 51st & Green in Dublin Airport terminal 2. We opted to pay into the lounge before our flight as we had a few hours to kill. It was definitely worth it in my opinion! It was located after pre clearance for the US so it was lovely to relax and unwind knowing you had that already done. It costed €39 to get in at the door, but you can book it online for €35. Our flight was in the morning, so they had a full buffet breakfast bar alongside a cocktail bar and coffee station. You can see the lounge by clicking here. 

The Plaza Hotel – We were initially going to book ourselves in for afternoon tea here as we’ve heard rave reviews. It was booked out in the end, but we went their for a drink after our brunch in Sarabeths. We opted for 2 x champagne cocktails each $26 excl tax/tips. They were served with a lovely little snack plate of chilli pumpkin seed chocolate and roasted chickpeas. The cocktails were amazing and the setting was just fabulous. It is pricey, but 100% worth it. We sat in a window seat and watched the world go by, just taking in the surroundings for the afternoon. It was such an activity fulled break, it was lovely to just relax for a while and unwind. Would highly recommend it and I think I would definitely try the afternoon tea the next time I visit! Website here. 

@theplazahotel

Tourist Attractions – I figured I may as well pop in the places we went while I’m at it. We pretty much ticked everything off the list except visiting the Brooklyn Bridge and the Highline… next time!

Statue of Liberty – We got a free ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island. You don’t need to pay for the tourist ones and they will try the hard sell to push it on you at the door of the terminal but stand your ground! You can get the commuter ferry for free from Whitehall which goes right past it and you get a very clear view. We just hopped off at the other side and got straight back on it. Took 20 mins – they go every half an hour. Would definitely recommend. Info link here.

Carrie Bradshaws Apartment – Quite near the Statue of Liberty area, about 20 mins in an Uber. It was so cool to see as a SATC fan. It was also just around the corner from Magnolia bakery. Be mindful people actually live in the Apt block when you’re taking photos. Location is here

Ground Zero – We went here en route to statue of liberty as it is quite close by. It was also quite close to Bubbys in Tribeca. We just went to see the memorial which is free but you can go into the museum too. There is a great shopping mall and discounted designer department store nearby called Century 21. Worth a visit too. There is also a target nearby if that’s something you wanted to browse!

Rockefeller Centre – Top of the Rock. We paid about $42 for the ticket to get up. We bought online but they have a ridiculous queue system where you need to validate your online ticket to get a physical one, so the queue was the same for those who didn’t buy online and it cost the exact same. Be prepared to queue, we waited almost an hour to get up but we were told it was unusually busy as it had been raining the 2 days previous. However, the views are absolutely spectacular when you get up, so it was well worth it in the end. You can go at sunset for an extra $10 per ticket which would also be pretty cool.

Woodbury Commons Shopping Outlet – This place is definitely well worth going to if you are in the market for discounted designer handbags / shoes. The clothes were good value too depending on what you’re looking for but the handbags we’re exceptionally cheap with 60%-80% some items depending on what coupons you had/how much you spent. As I mentioned above, we got the return bus from the port terminal near times square. It was $27 on groupon linked here or you can buy it there for $42 so it’s definitely worth getting it online. It took about an hour each way, with a pretty regular time table. It doesn’t open until 10am so we got the 8.30am coach which worked out great. You also get a free coupon book from the information desk when you arrive which is included in your bus ticket.The food was okay there, had a lot of fast food outlets and a Pret A Manger (they are everywhere in NY!) Definitely a must visit if you’re looking to do some shopping! Link for outlet is here.

Central Park – I was really taken with central park. It is so cool to stroll around (especially with some Levain cookies!). You can hire a horse drawn carriage for a pricy $100 per half an hour or a bike cart for $5 per minute. We were initially going to rent bikes but we didn’t bother in the end, instead walking around and taking it all in. Well worth a look. The plaza hotel and Sarabeths were super near here too.

So that’s a wrap! It’s pretty much all I can fit into this post. I hope it’s helpful for any trips you have planned to New York. Please tag me if you visit anywhere I’ve recommended so I can relive the memories… @littlemuffinblog

It was the most epic trip and I will definitely be back! Miss you already NYC.

New York – Foodie & Travel Guide Hello all! It's been a long while since I've written up a proper blog post on here.

[cutsliceddiced]

New top story from Time: America’s Travel Guru Rick Steves’ Talks About Staying in One Place, What America Is Getting Wrong, and Dreaming of Escargots

This summer, I traveled. There were sun-soaked Italian hill towns; a sleepy Portuguese fishing village; a musty, centuries-old timber church in Romania. I saw it all from my couch, or sometimes the faded hammock on the porch. And I did it under the gentle narration of Rick Steves, the un-assuming travel magnate whose childlike wonder and irreverent curiosity, seen in decades of cheap and cheerful guidebooks and travel TV shows, have introduced multiple generations of tourists to the charms of small museums and the pleasures of a walking tour.

Now, with the coronavirus pandemic making international travel obsolete, Steves–just like the rest of us–has been staying home. “You can’t go to Europe? Poor boy,” he reminds himself with a burst of laughter. “From my point of view, my life has been on an amazing trajectory until three months ago–too good to be true.” It’s the first time in 30 years that Steves is spending the summer in his hometown of Edmonds, Wash. Steves is on the road for more than four months in a given year, mostly in Europe. As the leader of one of the most successful U.S. travel franchises–it was on track to host 35,000 tourists for its 2020 guided tours–it has been hit hard by the global pandemic.

In the meantime, Steves has rediscovered what it means to hear birds in the morning. He’s brushed off his old trumpet and plays a nightly rendition of taps for the neighborhood as the sun sets over the Pacific. He’s learning to love his partner’s dogs, to chop vegetables, and to travel–as he puts it–from home. “That mindset when I’m traveling, to sit on a bench and watch the moon rise over the Alps?” he explains. “We have moonrises here also.”

Travel is sensory, but it is also, as Steves has preached for decades, inherently political. It’s this connection to the broader world–the needs of his local community, the political crisis facing America and the grander global challenges ahead–that fuels him now. “When people say, ‘God bless America,’ I say, As opposed to what? God not bless Canada? It makes no sense to me. This is not a high school football game. We don’t just root for our team,” he says. “The challenges confronting us from here on out are global and need to be addressed in a global mindset. You can’t build a wall and say, ‘Desperation here, happy rich people there.'”

Rick Steves’ Europe is an empire, with 100 U.S.-based employees and 150 freelance tour guides around the world. He hosts tours, publishes guidebooks, speaks at events and broadcasts TV specials. Rick Steves the person, however, is a dad. He’s a little silly. His hair is a little long. His kitchen, where he works, is decorated with a generic travel poster advertising the joys of Tuscany.

But behind this affable persona lies a steely, decades-long ambition. Born in Edmonds to a family of piano importers, Steves disappeared to Europe as a teenage backpacker–and pretty much never looked back, hosting scrappy tours for young people, giving travel seminars in Washington State and self-publishing his first guidebook, Europe Through the Back Door, in 1979. Today Rick Steves’ Europe books make up 25 of the 30 top-selling guidebooks in the U.S., and his dozens of annual tours make millions of dollars.

Not that this status helps him now. The pandemic has slashed the travel and tourism industry; estimates project a 35% global downturn in 2020. Steves predicts revenues of “practically zero” for his year ahead and is cautious about making any plans to return until business can go back to usual. He is committed to retaining his full-time staff, reducing their hours and pay while continuing their health care. It’s tough in a business based on volume. “For things to work in my world, you gotta pack the house, you gotta pack the plane, you gotta pack the hotel, you gotta pack the restaurant, you gotta pack the tour bus. Social distancing is just not a part of that equation,” he says. “When I go to France, I want to be kissed on both cheeks, three times.”

On my family’s first trip to Europe, a Steves book was our bible to choosing tiny trattorias, and his videos were our primers to navigating the twisting steps of the Cinque Terre. Nearly 25 years later, listless in quarantine, my family turned to Steves once again, playing episodes of his namesake show to while away the quiet evenings. “Remember that bruschetta?” we asked one another, watching Steves luxuriate in the flavor of tomatoes and garlic on fresh bread. “We were there too!” Watching Steves now is like peeking into a time capsule of a reality we didn’t realize was ending. Steves seems to live in a Europe untouched by the hordes of contemporary tourism, his optimism unmarred by the darkness of today’s politics or the superficiality of our consumerism.

Yet Steves is intimately aware of historical and present realities. One travel special explores fascism in Europe–something that, he thinks, has lessons even more applicable now. “I don’t think America does a very good job of learning from history,” he says. “When I was younger, I wanted to hurl people out of their comfort zones. All I had was a baggie of Valium to help people calm down,” he says with a bright laugh, referring to his early days as a tour guide leading small groups to funky hostels. “Now you support somebody, you hold their hand.” All of this, he insists, is connected to building a better world. “If I was to measure profit, it is on how transformational the travel is that I offer. That’s profit. If I look at a Trump rally, I would love to have a busful of those people on a bus in Europe. Because that would make my work more productive.”

Productivity hasn’t stalled for Steves in isolation. He recently finalized an Egypt special and published a book of nostalgic essays about Europe. He also doubled down on his philanthropy, pledging millions of dollars to offset climate change, address global hunger and support his hometown. He is a longtime campaigner for the decriminalization of marijuana in the U.S., a cause he sees as deeply tied to the structural inequalities that have reared up so visibly in recent months. “It’s not because I’m a pothead but because I think the laws are racist, non-productive, anti–civil liberties, anti–states’ rights,” he lists off. He is donating and helping raise money to improve voter access in the South.

He’s also sitting still, watching the humming-birds that flock to his bird feeder. “The main thing for us to do right now–and what America is flunking at–is being patient. Being diligent, embracing science, respecting the needs of the greater community,” he says. This summer he would have been meeting the family of his daughter’s fiancé on a three-week trip. It would have been his first real European vacation in 30 years, guided by his son.

But if even Steves can stay home and refocus his attention, well, maybe that’s a lesson for us all. “I always say, ‘If it’s not to your liking, change your liking.’ Be in that group that loves it while we stay home,” he urges. The TV shows, the books, and the blog posts and flashbacks: these things will carry us through. “When you travel, all you’re doing is racking up these huge banks of memories and experiences. I was walking home the other day and saw a little snail on someone’s fence,” he recalls, smiling, “and all I could think of was escargots.”

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

#Time #top stories #IFTTT #news

[vsplusonline]

Australia to deploy armed forces in coronavirus compliance battle

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/australia-to-deploy-armed-forces-in-coronavirus-compliance-battle/

Australia to deploy armed forces in coronavirus compliance battle

Australia is introducing enforced quarantine by midnight on Saturday for citizens returning home from overseas and will deploy the armed forces to ensure people already subjected to self-isolation measures are complying.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday that returning Australians accounted for around two thirds of the country’s more than 3,000 coronavirus cases, making it the “biggest issue” to be addressed in the country’s fight against the pandemic.

“As time has gone on, the risk of those who are returning from other parts of the world actually increases,” Morrison said in a televised briefing.

Australia has already closed its borders to everyone but Australian citizens or residents returning home. Those returnees will now be detained in a hotel for two weeks, rather than trusted to go home and self-isolate.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) will be sent out to check recent returnees are complying with the previous order to self-isolate at their home for the same period of time, a rare step in a country where the military is not often seen on the streets.

“The ADF will be there to put boots on the ground,” Morrison said.

The rate of infections across Australia remains much slower than in many other countries, but officials are concerned that the number of cases has accelerated over the past week, particularly in the most populated states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. There have been 13 deaths nationally.

Despite the relatively low numbers, there has been frustration and anger over contradictory guidance from the federal government, state legislators and health officials in recent days over the necessary level of social distancing.

At the same media conference where Morrison announced returning Australians as the No. 1 issue to tackle, Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said the priority from a health perspective was preventing any potential spike in local transmissions.

“We’re not kidding ourselves – if community transmission becomes significant, that is the real serious concern,” Murphy said. “That’s why these social distancing measures are just so important.”

That has been a particularly thorny issue for Morrison’s government, which has said that schools should remain open and has so far backed away from the more sweeping lockdowns on public movement seen in Europe.

The leaders of NSW and Victoria state have both said they are ready to push ahead with tighter curbs when – rather than if – they become necessary.

“We will get to a point where we need to do more,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said after Morrison spoke.

Andrews said measures like the enforced quarantine for returning travellers were a “big step to take away someone’s liberty … but this is life and death. There is too much at stake to do otherwise.”

CRUISE SHIP CONCERNS

Cruise ships have become a flashpoint in Australia after almost 200 of 2,700 passengers who were allowed to disembark from Carnival Corp’s Ruby Princess in Sydney a week ago later tested positive for COVID-19.

Murphy noted on Friday that case numbers had “not been helped by a recent cruise ship”. The blunder sparked widespread anger, a blame game between state and federal authorities, and tighter scrutiny of cruise ships still in Australian waters.

One liner off the west coast, the German-owned MV Artania, was permitted to dock on Friday morning after a medical emergency on board. Seven passengers have tested positive for COVID-19, with one now in hospital in a critical condition.

Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan said arrangements were being made for around 800 remaining passengers to be transferred to waiting planes for charter flights to Germany, the home country of the bulk of the tourists.

Australian passengers on board a second cruise ship in Western Australian waters, the Vasco da Gama, will be quarantined on the former prison island turned tourist destination of Rottnest island from Monday. Other passengers will be flown home.

IndiaToday.in has plenty of useful resources that can help you better understand the coronavirus pandemic and protect yourself. Read our comprehensive guide (with information on how the virus spreads, precautions and symptoms), watch an expert debunk myths, learn about the first human trial of a vaccine and access our dedicated coronavirus outbreak page. Get the latest updates on our live blog.

Watch India Today TV live here. Catch the latest TV debates and video reports here.

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#Politics

[worldlibertytv]

See Many Non-Profit Heads and CEO's of Companies Speaking on Panels at the Clinton Global Initiative Meet 2023, In our World Liberty TV , Humanitarian Channels @ https://www.worldlibertytv.org/clinton-global-initiative-world-leaders-humanitarians-speaking-at-cgi-2023-meeting/

#CGI 2023 #Hilton Hotel NYC #World Liberty TV Humanitarian Blog #President Clinton #Humanity

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Firefly, Lou Antonelli, Nintendo 1985, Robot Anime

T.V. (Medium.com): Every generation has their white whale of a concluded series. Baby boomers got hooked on Star Trek and made a big noise about it until they got movies, spinoff shows, more movies, more spinoff shows… Generation X kept the love of Star Wars alive until they got novels, video games, comics and, err, prequels. Milennials got Firefly. And three years later, Serenity, a movie that, while excellent, reminded us that the story worked better on TV.  And then nothing.

Author Interview (Liberty Island): It was four months of Hell for the Sad Puppy finalists– from the announcement of the ballot in April until the WorldCon in August – and essentially a left-wing lynch mob. In the end, the whole fiasco can be considered useful because it made the secret manipulators come out of the closet. Larry Correia has been completely vindicated.

Fiction (Paperback Warrior):  “East of Desolation” was Jack Higgins’ (real name: Henry Patterson) 22nd novel, published in 1968 by Berkley and then reprinted dozens of times using different cover art. The book arrived seven years prior to Higgins becoming a mega-bestseller and household name with his 1975 novel “The Eagle Has Landed”. While booming sales never supported the material, the 1960s produced some of Higgins’ finest literary work, evident with this ice-capped adventure starring brush pilot Joe Martin.

Westerns (Mostly Old Books): A taut and violent short western that finds young Jess Remsberg, consumed with avenging the rape and murder of his wife, scouting for an Army wagon train that finds itself outnumbered in a brutal cat-and-mouse battle with a band of merciless Apaches. The tension remains high as the brilliant Apache warlord Chata matches wits step for step with young and ambitious Army Lieutenant McAllister who is close friends with Jess.

Book Review (Pulp Fiction Reviews): New Pulp writer Derrick Ferguson is best known for his action packed adventures, be they the exploits of Dillon, Fortune McCall or Sebastian Red. All of these should already be on your reading list. But back in 1914, Ferguson wrote this truly amazing novella, “The Madness of Frankenstein” that is his homage to the great Hammer horror flicks of the 60s and 70s. Having finally picked up a copy, we were eager open its pages and discover what special grisly treats Mr. Ferguson had whipped up for his unsuspecting readers.

Cinema (Scifi Movie Page): Disney+ has officially arrived, with all the force and weight that Uncle Walt’s 600 lb. entertainment gorilla can muster. The Mouse plays for keeps, and the buzz around event releases like The Mandalorian and the various MCU projects immediately put their streaming service in the top tier alongside Netflix and Amazon.

But Disney’s strengths go beyond their acquisition (and undeniably strong shepherding) of hot IPs such as Marvel and Star Wars. Their library stretches back over 80 years, and a large amount of it is available for streaming.

D&D (Walker’s Retreat): You know you’ve got something worth watching when you get a comment like this: “Yes. Monotheism is the missing link that D&D needs for a medieval authentic feeling in your game. I use it. In addition it does one of two things. It either keeps SJWs away from your game, or it attracts them because they want to break your game or be an antichurch outsider. In those cases they always end up quitting because they don’t get what they want.”

Gaming (RMWC Reviews): The Nintendo Entertainment System represented a sea change in what video game consoles could do and how they were received at home. Released in 1985 in North America, the NES came out at a time when the American market was still reeling from the great industry crash of 1983. Compared to the Atari 2600 which was the previous home console of choice, the NES had better graphics, sound, processing power, and yes, gimmicks. The 1985 launch was actually limited to New York City for the holiday season, and was then expanded in 1986 when it was clear to be a success.

Anime (Wasteland and Sky): As anyone who knows anime knows, there are two kinds of mecha series. First there were the originals, the super robots, then there were those created with Mobile Suit Gundam, the real robots. The former were pulp heroes that went on adventures to stop the villains while the latter were based on soldiers fighting in wars. Different approaches and aims allowed for very different legacies.

Book Review (Matthew Constantine): The second book in The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, The Black Cauldron is somewhat more complex and more interesting than The Book of Three.  Having already been introduced to many of the characters, we don’t need to go through that again and can instead jump right into the action.  Taran and friends are tasked with finding and destroying the Black Cauldron aka the Crochan, the magic item used to create near invincible Cauldron Born, undead warriors.

Tolkien (BBC): A pub made famous as a meeting place for fantasy authors CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien is to be made into a hotel. The Eagle and Child in St Giles’, Oxford, has a plaque inside commemorating the writers’ get-togethers. Known as The Inklings, they would regularly meet up with other academics at the Grade II listed pub. The application was approved by Oxford City Council’s west area planning committee on Tuesday.

D&D/Cinema (Tenkar’s Tavern): Comicbook.com shared an article about the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie (due Summer of 2021) – Thanks to Luke Gygax for sharing the article on Facebook. The upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie will feature at least one character with ties to the Forgotten Realms and will focus on a quest for an iconic magical object. ComicBook.com can exclusively report that the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie currently in development by Paramount will focus on a group of adventurers looking for the Eye of Vecna, a powerful artifact that dates back to the earliest days of the game.

Pulp Hero (Black Gate): I have to confess that writing The Spider is a completely different experience for me than writing the Wild Adventures of Doc Savage, Tarzan, John Carter, or any of the other classic pulp heroes I’ve been privileged to bring back to life in new novels. With these other pulp heroes, it’s largely a matter of concocting a logical plot and having the heroes go through their customary pieces, although I seem to have quickly become an accidental king of crossovers since I’ve managed to convince the various license holders to permit me to have a few of them collide, such as Doc Savage and The Shadow, Tarzan of the Apes and King Kong.

Review (Porpor Books Blog): Men of Violence: All Review Special’ ($5.99, 93 pp) features reviews (limited to 250 words for an individual book and 500 words for a series) of over 100 paperbacks and comics published from 1953 to the present day, that fall (more or less) into the genre of ‘Men’s Adventure’ fiction. Needless to say, we live in an era in which men rarely read for pleasure, the genre of Men’s Adventure is regarded as affront to a Woke society, and any adolescent who brings a copy of Torture Love Cage (Jack Savage, 1959) to school probably will be expelled, and obliged to receive Counseling before being readmitted.

Book Review (Rough Edges): Almost a year ago, I read the first book in the Casca series by Barry Sadler and really enjoyed it. I didn’t mean for so much time to go by before I got back to the series, but that’s the way it happened. I’ve finally read the second book, GOD OF DEATH, which picks up the story of Casca Rufio Longinus, former Roman soldier who was present at the Crucifixion and was cursed with immortality because of it. Wounds or illness that would kill a normal man can’t claim him, and he’s doomed to wander the world, always making his way as a mercenary soldier.

Novel Excerpt (DMR Books): Wulfhere and Eanhere and their army of bears crept down the valley silently. From a cliff they could see Penda’s men as they sat in a little grove eating their midday meal. Eanhere took half the bears and crept round to the other side of the grove while Wulfhere waited on this side with the rest. Wulfhere crept quietly closer till only a small knoll stood between the Mercians and himself, and he could hear their loud talk and laughter. “Ha, we will root this bear out of his den, and he will go the way of his people!” one said as he emptied his horn of mead.

Art (Karavansara): Turns out this is a Robert Maguire cover for a novel called The Deadly Lady of Madagascar, bt Frank G. Slaughter (nice name for someone writing about deadly ladies) that I will try and find somehow. If I can’t write it, I can certainly read it.

Alt. History (Enter Stage Right): Alternative history (popularly called “alternate history”) is sometimes termed “uchronia” or counterfactual history. It is important to remember that alternative history pertains to events that are in the past at the time when the narrative is being written. So, for example, the 1920s projections of Hugo Gernsback about the 1980s cannot be properly termed as being alternative history – even though his vision of the world of the 1980s is much different from what has actually occurred.

D&D (Sacnoth’s Scriptorium): So, I just got a comment on my post back in September on the new film documenting Arnesom’s role in the creation of D&D. Since the comment seems to come from the filmmaker himself, thought I’d feature it here so as to give the filmmakers a better chance to have their say. Here’s their comment.

Gaming Magazines (Silver Key): Later issues of White Dwarf introduced readers to Thrud the Barbarian. The loinclothed barbarian stereotype born in the pages of sword-and-sorcery (Brak, Thongor, Kothar and their ilk) was by then quite pervasive, and strip author Carl Critchlow had fun with a character that was literally all muscle and no brain—a tiny head upon a massive, muscular body. Issue #50 (February 1984) has Thrud invoking “the sacred jockstrap of Robert E. Howard” before hacking his way through a horde of castle defenders, whom he (mistakenly) believes are holding a princess captive in the tower.

Science Fiction (Tellers of Weird Tales): I’m going back farther now into the past, into spring when, in a week when I was sick, I read The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis. Things To Come (1936) was still fresh in my mind when I read these books. That freshness may have influenced my thoughts on Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Perelandra (1943), and That Hideous Strength (1945). I shouldn’t spend too much time on this, but I’m sure I will. There is a lot in The Space Trilogy and it’s hard to move past some of these things without commenting on them and applying them to issues current in this blog and in our world of today.

Weird Tales (Dark Worlds Quarterly): Seabury Grandin Quinn would begin his writing career in The Thrill Book, an early Weird Tales precursor devoted to strange and off-trail fiction. Street & Smith, the future publisher of The Phantom and Doc Savage, ran The Thrill Book for sixteen issues, from March 1 to October 15, 1919. The magazine would publish Francis Stevens’ The Heads of Cerberus, one of the first science fiction novels about parallel worlds.

Sensor Sweep: Firefly, Lou Antonelli, Nintendo 1985, Robot Anime published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[nomanwalksalone]

ALTERNATIVE STYLE ICON: RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN IN WALLENBERG: A HERO’S STORY

by Réginald-Jérôme de Mans

The writer George Santayana famously wrote that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Ironically many who repeat his quote forget who first uttered it.

I had long meant to write about Richard Chamberlain in this role. I once referred to him as “the fey king of the miniseries” and I don’t regret it: foppish, almost milquetoast in fare as varied as a two-part TV version of The Bourne Identity (with Jaclyn Smith, natch), Shogun, and as a leading candidate for an honorary Seinfeld puffy shirt: Not only did he play the Count of Monte Cristo in a 1975 TV movie, but a bunch of what Elaine Benes would have called chandelier-swinging characters in other Dumas adaptations, including Aramis in Richard Lester’s The Three Musketeers and Louis XIV and his twin in The Man in the Iron Mask. Postmodern swashbuckler author Arturo Perez-Reverte even described a character in one of his own novels as looking “like Richard Chamberlain in The Thorn Birds, only more manly.” That same Thorn Birds role, Father Ralph de Bricassart, also inspired a certain Rhunette Ferguson to give her son, a future New York Jets player, perhaps my favorite name ever: D’Brickashaw.

Dubbing Chamberlain an Alternative Style Icon for his role as Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is low-hanging fruit. For years this TV special dwelt at the bottom of my Netflix queue for that express purpose. Former Savile Row tailors Manning & Manning won an Emmy award for the outfits they made for him; decades later Bryan Manning had some very interesting things to say to the inimitable Simon Crompton of Permanent Style about the 1930s and 1940s cutting styles he had to adopt for Chamberlain’s outfits for the movie. Chamberlain’s costumes are appropriately dashing, from the full diplomatic gala white tie ensemble worn while conspiring with the Papal Nuncio of Budapest to a tan double-breasted suit with horizontal peaked lapels that is, quite simply, magnificent.

Zagreb, one of the most beautiful cities in eastern Europe, admirably filled in for 1940s Budapest and Stockholm in the making of this production. I’m fairly certain that I’ve stayed at the Zagreb hotel on whose esplanade Chamberlain wore that suit, in an early expository scene where the American and Swedish governments encourage Wallenberg to take a position with the Swedish legation in Budapest.  I’ve been told Zagreb’s one of two cities in Europe where the street lamps in certain neighborhoods are still gaslit. Gaslighting happens to have been one of the reasons that I finally wrote about this icon. Of course there’s plenty to mock in the conventions of this telefilm, even beyond Chamberlain’s indisputable 1970s and 1980s stock hero status: its heavy-handed setup and plotting, making Wallenberg out to be a one-man anti-Nazi force from his time at home in Sweden (wearing a U. Michigan sweatshirt to indicate that he had studied in the US - did college sweatshirts even exist back then?). Miniseries meant melodrama and its archetypal characters: an adorable child whom Wallenberg saves from the death camps only to die of illness; a shoehorned-in love interest in the form of a kindhearted baroness who lobbies her suspicious husband to relax the Hungarian government’s strictures on Jews; a fiery Hungarian resistance fighter who provides the unofficial, combative counterpoint to Wallenberg’s diplomatic, humanitarian efforts through official channels. And, of course, Wallenberg’s kidnapping by the Soviets at the fall of Budapest meant his story was perfectly framed for 1985, when we still couldn’t trust those Russians. (In fact, to this day no one knows what they did with him.)

A few appropriately haunting and powerful moments do ring true, including Wallenberg’s cordial verbal fencing matches over contraband Scotch and cigarettes with Adolf Eichmann. Whether those meetings really took place in that form or not, their film versions appropriately capture the realities of how we are forced to engage with evil. Rarely are we simply battling an easily identifiable other, weapon to weapon. Instead, we encounter evil in the everyday – in fact, it seeks us out, finds shared ground, converses with us over pleasantries and hospitality even as we recognize its intentions. It identifies with us, we identify with it. Even as you know it is evil.

Eichmann had made it his avowed duty to kill the Jews of Europe. Wallenberg’s mission, as an emissary of an officially neutral power, was to help save as many as he could. And he did, through famously fearless, reckless endeavors including the distribution of thousands of official-looking Swedish passes to the Jews of Budapest, the creation of vast cultural centers and warehouses in the Swedish mission buildings in which these new countrymen could work under the aegis of their adoptive country, and savvy diplomatic maneuvering with the Hungarian and German authorities and military. He went as far as to climb on top of a train bound for Auschwitz and distribute passes to as many deportees as he could while soldiers fired shots at him. Looking back, historians suggest they were firing over his head to warn him as they could easily have dropped him at that range, but it’s not likely Wallenberg knew that at the time.

At that time diplomats of neutral powers could make fortunes more safely as armchair heroes: playboy Porfirio Rubirosa reportedly did so in Paris selling visas to the Dominican Republic to French Jews during World War II. In that respect, perhaps, both he and Wallenberg were heroes… of different sorts.

Wallenberg did not do it for money. The Wallenbergs were Swedish aristocracy (with, the film takes pains to remind us, an ounce of Jewish blood) with considerable means – hence the finely tailored wardrobe for Chamberlain. Thus, an easy cynical response to this essay could be that a rich aristocrat with diplomatic immunity risked nothing swanning around the salons of Budapest, just like the fictional gentleman spies we read about and watch on screen.

That response is wrong. Heroism is not just born of opportunity. It is recognizing when a choice confronts you and taking the difficult, unpopular and dangerous one in order to do what is right. Fictional heroes like Bond or Steed rarely suffer meaningful personal loss and rarely confront the reality of evil. Evil is your friend with many positive qualities, maybe more intelligent or cultured or better dressed than you, the one you looked up to, who gradually reveals the awful things he or she believes and has done. Evil is those complicit in carrying out those things by their inaction, their credulity, or their cooperation, not at the point of a gun but of a paycheck. Evil is legal, logically explained, repeated and reported until its baseless reasoning becomes fact and the foundation for more lies, more evil. Evil can so easily become the system.

Hindsight is a handicap, for it doesn’t usually permit us to see that there were no times without ambiguity in battles between good and evil and no certainty that good triumphs. We have the privilege of retrospect to acknowledge the dashing diplomat in Savile Row suits was a hero for saving innocents from deportation and death as part of the most ghastly genocide in history. We learned what genocide is, and had to invent the word to describe it. Because at that time the people singled out for persecution and death were unpopular, historically, socially and legally marginalized, supposedly easily identifiable and classifiable. A group that societies had made it easy - through regulation, ghettoization, oppression and antagonism – to hate, and whole false narratives drawn up to explain why that group hated and wanted to destroy us even more than we them.

One of A Hero’s Story’s most timely and inspiring lines is Wallenberg’s reply to the Hungarian ruler’s query why the King of Sweden cared so much about the Jews of another country, when he was a Christian. Wallenberg reminded the prime minister that the King’s “concerns transcend religion or national borders.” That concern is humanity, our lowest common denominator, our shared recognition of our capacity for suffering. That concern drove a man to acts of incredible selflessness, a generous mercy that seems to have cost him his liberty and his life. There is no romance to Raoul Wallenberg’s fate. It is worth remembering that he probably saw little romance in the actions he took in Budapest.

Now is no less an unromantic time, no less a time when others – so many different others –are easily denigrated, feared, distrusted, brutalized. Otherization, both of many within our borders and pressing against them, has returned, as has fascism, with apologists blandly elegant or brutally populist, like some inauspicious comet in our skies. Now, again, is a time for heroes – men and women who recognize how difficult and dangerous it is to do what is right. That struggle is far from those of Chamberlain’s habitual roles swashbuckling against a monolithic, universally despicable, evil. Evil is among us, habituating us, desensitizing us, gaslighting us. Far from frills and fanfare, celebration, or certainty of triumph, can we place ourselves in Wallenberg’s Budapester shoes and do what is right?

Quality content, like quality clothing, ages well. This article first appeared on the No Man blog in February 2017.

[blizinhotelsus-blog]

Blizin Hotels

Cheap Prize Hotels in Pakistan

Tourism plays a necessary role in a rustic's economy. Other than bringing in tourists and overseas income tourism additionally helps promoting a country's culture, traditions, norms and values to the outer world. As increasingly tourists come they take away some fragrance of a country with them. Many countries focus allot on their Social Network Here tourism sector, because it offers some other advantages, for instance, offering supply of revenue for individuals. These folks sell their traditional goods and meals to these vacationers and hence make their way of life; same is the case with vacationer guides, journey brokers, tourism companies, lodges, drivers and many others.

Tourism sector being so important for a country's financial system is effected by allot of factors. These factor one way or the other the opposite impact the tourism and tourists instantly or indirectly. Some main factors are political scenario, express hotel lahore legislation and order situation, perspective of people in direction of foreigners, availability of fine inns at a reasonable worth, availability of traditional wholesome food, roads and infra structure, climate and climate, and clearly availability of tourists resorts.

Pakistan is likely one of the few countries that's thought of an excellent place for tourism, from stunning snow lined and luxurious inexperienced mountains, huge deserts, lovely landscapes, 4 seasons, rich and numerous culture, historical civilization and archeological sights, rivers lakes, seashore, number of food, luxury motels it merely all the things. However in previous few a long time tourism has not been promoted because it ought to have been because of the negligence of the concerned authorities. Nonetheless in recent times the federal government has lastly realized it and is at present engaged on tourism tasks.

Karachi city is in the southern a part of Pakistan, which is the capital of Sindh Province and is positioned on the Arabian Sea. Karachi being the most important metropolis of Pakistan https://www.blizinhotels.com/ is considered to be the hub of major trade, manufacturing, financial and commercial actions. Most of the worldwide commerce passes through this city through the seaport.

Some main sectors in terms of production in Karachi are steel, textile, petroleum, footwear, chemical compounds, machinery, processed meals and handicraft. Town can also be necessary in terms of it banking and monetary sector with Karachi Stock Trade and the top places of work of all banks. Karachi city has to supply allot to its guests, together with domestic in addition to foreigners it has few of probably the most spectacular sights of Pakistan, together with the seaport of Gawadar, Masjid-e-Tooba, Mohatta Palace, Wazir Mansion, Trinity Church, beautiful seaside, Mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam.

Hotels are one of many important parts of town; there are few luxury inns that cater the visitors who come to admire the great thing about the town. Some well-known and major motels have been listed in this article along with their quick description and detail.

The Sheraton Karachi Resort and Towers is the one 5 Star internationally managed hotel in Pakistan. It is situated 17 kilometers from Jinnah International Airport. Vacationers can have access to instant buying and can enjoy the great thing about close to by seashores or can go to Kamari Harbor. The hotel has over 407 properly furnished guest rooms with outsized beds and elegant furniture.

One other 5 Star hotel that has luxurious with fashion, it is located within the coronary heart of Karachi. Marriot lodge is provided with all of the up to date amenities that fulfill the needs of enterprise clients. A number of the highlights embody, excessive speed internet access, visitor rooms, leisure room, mini bar, electrical retailers and so forth.

Pearl continental lodge was beforehand the a part of Intercontinental Lodge chain. Pearl Continental is widely often known as COMPUTER Karachi. It was bought by an area enterprise ground in 80's and since then is now a part of country's 5 Star inns. It is the member of the leading hotel of the world, and with the passage of time has performed allot of improvements the resort now has Pakistani, Chinese language, Thai and Japanese restaurants along with a coffee store and a grill. It's located close to Sheraton Lodge.

Another elegant hotel that gives a very charming and relaxed setting to its shoppers. Seashore Luxury Resort offers finest level of companies. The lodge include 82 properly furnished rooms with three different eating places serving Italian, continental, Chinese and local cousines. Set among lush tropical gardens, this resort supplies superior views of the Arabian Sea.

Avari towers in Karachi is the tallest building in Pakistan. It is located in the mid city space of Karachi, shut to various purchasing malls and jiffy drive from Pearl Continental and Sheraton Resorts. It is owned by the awari family who own accommodations of the identical identify in Dubai as properly, it is a good business resort and is most famous for its eating places that offer Japanese Fujuyama and Chinese language meals.

Hotel Sarawan is a 3 Star hotel positioned in downtown Sadar Karachi. It has been lately renovated with very elegant; the club ground is decorated maintaining in thoughts the needs of government class. The strategic location of the Lodge Sarawan at the very coronary heart of Karachi's business belt makes it an ideal location where the tradition and hospitality of Pakistan blends with the fashionable facilities.

Ramada Plaza Resort is situated near Jinnah Worldwide Airport, with lovely panorama and plush green areas makes it a great place for spending vications.

Regent Plaza Resort is located 15 minutes of drive from Quaid-e-Azam Worldwide Airport and about 10 minutes of drive from city's foremost business centre, buying malls, Arabian Sea, beaches, government offices. Regent Plaza Resort has roughly 440 well furnished rooms with an eye catching blend of nationwide and international décor that cater all wants of the guests.

Superb for marriage ceremony and other capabilities, Carlton Resort has eighty deluxe rooms and huge halls for features. Carlton Lodge is located in the beautiful locality of DHA Part VIII, with a pleasant peaceable Blizin Hotels surroundings and surrounding, and subsequent to Marina Creek Membership which has all facilities of swimming, squash, gold and jogging, all mixed to form a really peaceful and healthy place to remain.

Since Lahore has efficiently been attracting thousands of tourists annually from a really long time, the lodge business has been fairly worthwhile in the metropolis. From delicious food being served at Gawalmandi and Fort Food Streets to breathtaking Click here for Wikipedia beauty of Shalimar Gardens and Badshahi Mosque, Lahore is a great place to spend a number of days at and explore issues. Nonetheless, it is vitally needed to decide on an excellent hotel from a variety of resorts in Lahore Pakistan.

It's possible you'll discover a number of motels offering numerous amenities and properly-furnished rooms at competitive prices however following are the very best resorts in Lahore Pakistan to spend a couple of days in:

A highly inexpensive lodging choice, Liberty resort is positioned within the heart of Liberty market, a really famous procuring place of Lahore. Apart from air conditioned rooms with attached rest room, fridge and television, Liberty Here is our Blog Hotel enjoys a really perfect location from the place friends can have quick access to greatest eating places of Lahore at M M Alam Highway. Liberty Lodge can also be close to Allama Iqbal Worldwide airport and Daewoo bus cease.

Positioned close to Lahore Railway Station and downtown, Marco Polo Hotel is a great option for travelers who want to explore Previous Lahore. With so many issues out there in Previous Lahore, you will see it handy to remain at Marco Polo Resort which affords clean rooms fitted with air conditioners and hooked up lavatory. Television can be obtainable and the lodge is satisfactorily secured by guards. Complimentary breakfast is served and eating choices can be found onsite.

One of many oldest accommodations in Lahore Pakistan, Faletti's was constructed in 1880 throughout British Colonialism. Regardless of being an historical property, it is a lovely place to reside in on account of a current technique of renovation that came about. There is a big variety of rooms to select from relying upon your necessities and price range. Although accommodation at Faletti's could cost lots, the experience will likely be worth your cash. A corridor is on the market contained in the hotel that can accommodate approximately 1800 folks. Faletti's is at a close distance to Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque and Food Street.

Lodge One is a phenomenal dwelling choice at Mall Highway for enterprise and leisure travelers and is well accessible from Lahore airport, motorway, procuring areas and tourist attractions. With a minibar, kettle, coffeemaker and flat-screen satellite tv for pc television, the air conditioned rooms of Lodge One Mall will provide you with an amazingly comfortable dwelling experience. You may as well go to Lahore Museum located at a distance of simply four kilometers.

At a super location of Anand Road at Upper Mall, Royal legacy presents excellent rooms with attached bathtub, air conditioner, Wi-Fi, LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY tv and telephone. There is the power of effective eating at an onsite restaurant where delicious meals is served. With armed guards, the security of Royal Legacy is reliable. The laundry and ironing wants are fulfilled by the environment friendly workers available. So these five are the perfect accommodations in Lahore Pakistan that may fulfill all your lodging requirements.

[tyleroakley-obsessed]

Ed. Note: Looking for things to do in Memphis this spring? Here is a list of more than 40 Memphis events, festivals, and things to do with kids this spring and early summer.  These events are listed in chronological order. For event series (i.e., the Peabody Rooftop Parties, Redbirds season) I’ve used the start date to determine where this goes int eh list. Got something to add? Tweet at me @ilovememphis and I’ll give you a RT, or add to the blog’s calendar here. I love that there’s something for everyone on this big list – families, music lovers, art aficionados, sports fans, outdoors enthusiasts, foodies. Plus, there are plenty of free and affordable things to do in Memphis we’ve included here. Here’s your 2019 Memphis Spring Events Guide: – Cooper Young Community Farmers Market, First Congo Parking Lot, every Saturday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., free entry, all ages/kid-friendly Cooper Young Community Farmer’s Market meets every Saturday – even in the winter – with local produce, food, handmade goods, coffee, baked goods, and more. Winter hours are from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. – MusliMeMFest, Agricenter International, March 30, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., free, all ages/kid-friendly This annual one-day festival, hosted by Muslims in Memphis, features food, shopping, exhibits, entertainment, and children’s activities. – Faux Fest / Fool Fest, Shangri-La Records, March 30, noon – 6 p.m., free to attend, all ages Buy cheap 45s, CDS, and more, plus free live music starting at 2 p.m., including The Faux Killas who release their vinyl album Chiquita on this very day. – Memphis Express v. Orlando Apollos, Liberty Bowl, March 30, kickoff at 1 p.m., $20, all ages, kid-friendly Our very own Association of American Football team plays at home on Saturday, March 30 in an afternoon game. For this matchup, there’s an Express Challenge fitness competition at 10 a.m., pre-game paint party at noon, and a Celebration of Faith during the game. – Condomonium, The Columns, March 30, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m., $55, 21 and up Local designers create stunning fashion pieces made of condoms as a fundraiser for CHOICES.  Check out the living art show, live music, food and cocktails. – Memphis Redbirds 2019 Season, AutoZone Park, starts April 4, prices vary, all ages/kid-friendly The World Championship Winning Redbirds start off the 2019 season on April 4 with a home series against Omaha. Regular season games continue through early September. Go here for the full season schedule. – Memphis Comedy Festival 2019, Various Locations, April 4-7, $10+, 18 or 21+ Dulcé Sloan (The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, E! News Daily) headlines the annual Memphis Comedy Festival, a showcase of standup, improv, games, and more. It’s $60 for an all-access pass, $10 for standup showcases and other shows, and $45 for everything but the headliner. – Broad Avenue Spring Artist Pop-Up, Broad Avenue, April 5, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m., free to attend, all ages/kid-friendly A special First Friday on Broad for April means new spring merch and art at all the local shops and galleries on the street. Check out the new skatepark, Society Memphis, plus live jazz guitar at Maximo’s, and more. – Food Truck Fridays, Dixon Galley & Gardens, April 5 – September 27, free, all ages/kid-friendly Enjoy the spring spectacle of 125,000 bulbs all in bloom at the Dixon Galley & Gardens in late March, and don’t forget Tuesdays are PWYC and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon are free. On Fridays from April through September, there will be food trucks from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the gardens are free during that time. See the food truck schedule here. – Midtown Opera Festival 2019, Playhouse on the Square, April 6-14, $10 per event, all ages Opera Memphis’ festival returns to Playhouse on the Square this year with a new featured opera, “The Falling And The Rising”, and whole slate of other events during this annual celebration of opera – pre-show dinners, Broadway brunch, aerialist performances, Cartoons & Cereal, and much more.  – Memphis Farmers Market Opening Day 2019, G.E. Patterson and S. Front St., April 6, 7 a.m. – 1 p.m., free to enter, all ages/kid-friendly Memphis’ largest farmers market kicks off the season with Opening Day on Saturday, April 6 with food vendors, food trucks, and entertainment. The market happens every Saturday through October.  – River Series, Harbor Town Amphitheater, April 7, April 28, May 19, 3 p.m., $5, all ages/kid-friendly This series of shows, curated by Goner Records, bringing Memphians together to see and celebrate live music in an intimate riverfront venue. Grownups can enjoy great music and beer in an environment where the little ones are welcome. Proceeds benefit The Maria Montessori School. – Memphis 901 FC v. Atlanta United 2, AutoZone Park, April 10, 7 p.m., $10+, all ages/kid-friendly Come one, come all to this highly anticipated soccer matchup downtown. Yes, it’s on a Wednesday, but it’s the ESPN USL Championship Game of the Week, so we need to have full stands and look good for the TVs. Plaza gates will open at 4:30 p.m. for the Plaza Party Happy Hour ($3 Bud Heavy and Bud Light). – Memphis Fashion Week, Various Locations, April 11-13, prices vary, 18+ Memphis Fashion Week brings together local and regional designers, models, photographers, artists, and other fashion industry types for days of exciting runway shows, parties, and boutique events. – Rooftop Parties at Peabody Hotel, April 11 through August, $15, 21 + The season kicks off April 11 with Almost Famous. Dance to live music and enjoy drinks and snacks while partying on the roof of the Downtown hotel. The parties are Thursdays from April through August, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Read more here. – Bookstock Memphis Author’sFestival, Memphis Central Library, April 13, 11 a.m. –  3 p.m., free to enter The annual local author’s festival celebrates the talent we have in the Mid-South and gives you a chance to meet Memphis writers and buy their books. There’s a keynote speech by Lisa Patton and plenty of activities for everyone. Food trucks! – Southern Hot Wing Festival, Tiger Lane, April 13, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., $17 online / $25 at the gate, kids 12 and under free, all ages Cooking teams compete for $5,000 in prize money for the best hot wings in Memphis, and most teams will give out samples for a $1 or $2 donation to Ronald McDonald House. Expect live music, a wing eating contest, a cornhole tourney, and more. Buy tickets online ahead of time and save $8. Vets and military get in free, as do kids 12 and under – there’s a Kids Zone, too. This year, you can get a combo ticket for $30 (!!) that gets you in to both the Hot Wing Fest, and the Memphis Express v. Atlanta Legends game at the Liberty Bowl at 7 p.m.  – Memphis Express v. Atlanta Legends, Liberty Bowl, April 13, 7 p.m., $20+, all ages/kid-friendly For this extra special final Express home game of the season, you can get combo tickets that include admission to the Southern Hot Wing Festival (11 a.m. – 6 p.m.) and the game (kickoff at 7 p.m.). It’s also Pride Night at the Liberty Bowl. – V&E Greenline Art Walk, V&E Greenline, April 13, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., free, all ages Local artists and vendors will line the V&E Greenline in Midtown for the 8th annual V&E Art Walk. In addition to dozens of local artist booths, the festival will have food vendors, kids’ activities, live music and a silent auction. If you’ve never been there, the V&E Greenline is an unpaved trail that starts at Cleveland and North Parkway and runs to Rhodes College. – Overton Square Crawfish Festival, Overton Square, April 13, noon – 6 p.m., free to attend, all ages The annual Overton Square Crawfish Festival is so big that it takes over the whole square, shutting down Madison Ave. for an afternoon of eating, drinking, shopping and live music. Prices for crawfish and drinks vary. – Lucero Family Block Party, Minglewood Hall, April 13, 2 p.m. – 10 p.m., $33+, kids 10 and under free, all ages This is one serious Memphis throw-down. (It’s okay for kids early on, though.) Lucero, plus Will Hoge, Mighty Souls Brass Band, BlackBerry Smoke, and more, plus vendors like Wiseacre and Central BBQ. – Beale Street Wine Race, Beale Street, April 14, 1 p.m., free, 21+ Cheer on your favorite Memphis restaurant workers as they compete in a decidely adult version of elementary school field day, complete with relay races (involving carrying wine over hurdles), a beauty pageant / dance off, and grape-stomping competition. It’s weird and wonderful. Leave the kids at home for this one. – Africa in April, Robert Church Park, April 19 – 21, $5, all ages Enjoy a fun cultural celebration in Robert Church Park during Africa in April. The park will be packed with vendors, food, cultural activities, a parade, live music, and workshops on diversity, entrepreneurship, and health and wellness. This year’s honored country is the Republic of Nigeria. Check out the full schedule here. – Time-Warp Drive-In, Summer Drive-In, April 20, May 18, June 22, dusk to dawn, $10 per person, all ages (parental discretion strongly advised) Black Lodge Video and Malco Theatres present the 6th annual Time Warp Drive In series. April’s movie night is John Hughes themed (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science). May’s movie night is on May 18 and 90s Fantasy themed (Jumanji, Hook, and Small Soliders), and June 22 is weird animated movie night including Heavy Metal, A Scanner Darkly, and more. Do not bring your kids to that one, trust me. – Hopped Festival, Memphis Made Brewing, April 20, 1– 10 p.m., free to enter, 21+ to drink It’s time for the 5th annual celebration of hoppy, springy beers from Memphis Made. If it’s anything like past years, expect a free glass for first few customers, live music, food trucks, and more – and it’s all family and pup friendly. – Kaleidoscope Food Festival, Wiseacre Brewing Co, April 21, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m., free, all ages/kid-friendly The 3rd annual Kaleidoscope Festival in Binghampton is a chance to sample food from the multicultural chefs from the neighborhood – including AROMA Kitchen’s East African cuisine, Ibti’s Soup and Catering Sudanese food, Indra’s South Asian Dumplings, and Inspire Community Cafe. Enjoy Wiseacre beer, of course, plus more vendors and dance and cultural performances. It’s free to attend (food + beer for sale) and kids and pets are welcome. Dining Out For Life Week, Various Locations, April 22 – 28, Prices Vary, all ages Support Friends for Life by dining out at different local restaurants, when 25 percent of proceeds will be donated to their mission of supporting those affected by AIDS/HIV.  There are 15 restaurants (and counting) including Beauty Shop, Gray Canary, Dru’s Place, Hog and Hominy, Iris, and more. You must check the schedule, though, it’s not every place very day. Fratelli’s Cafe inside the Botanic Gardens will donate 75 percent of proceeds every day, all week! – Botanical Bars, Memphis Botanic Garden, April 25, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., $30 members/$40 non-members/21 and up Stop and sip the rosé this summer, while you learn about your rose garden. Enjoy sparkling wine, a “Rosé-rita”, and more, plus speak with experts from the Memphis Rose Society. Botanical Bars continues with other themed nights (cocktails, beer) throughout the year; see the schedule here. – Spirits & Soul Fest, South Main/Old Dominick, April 26 – 27, $100, 21 and up Thirty distilleries from across Tennessee are heading to the South Main Historic Arts District in downtown Memphis for two days of rare spirits tastings, food, live music, and more. Friday night gets you liquor samples at Trolley Night and access to rare bottles for sale. Saturday is a Block Party at Old Dominick with cocktails, music, and food truck food for sale. Read more here. – Roar and Pour, Memphis Zoo, April 26, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m., $125, 21+ This is an exclusive night of dining and drinking with Memphis’ best chefs and mixologists, plus live music. There’s a VIP option that includes hand-rolled Cuban cigars and select bourbons. – Cooper Young Saturday Shop Hop, April 27, 10 a.m.  – 5 p.m., free to attend, all ages/kid-friendly Local restaurants and shops in the neighborhood will offer discounts, giveaways, and refreshments all day in honor of Independent Bookstore Day. – Overton Park Field Day, Overton Park, April 27, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., free, all ages/kid-friendly Overton Park Conservancy invites you to a day of sun, fun, and games on the Greensward. This event is free to enter and includes field day games, beer, food trucks including MEMPopS, Let’s Be Frank, and Firecracker Grille Foodtruck, live music, Overton Park merch for sale, and a raffle with prizes from local businesses. Plus, guided nature walks every hour on the hour ($10, kids under 12 are free). – Down To Earth Festival, Shelby Farms Park, April 27, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., $5 parking, all ages/kid-friendly Celebrate Earth Day at one of the country’s largest urban parks on Saturday, April 27. They’ll have live music, kids’ activities, crafts, eco-friendly vendors, artisans, and more. Rain date is April 28. – Arlington In April, Depot Square in Arlington, April 27, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., free, all ages/kid-friendly Vendors from around the Mid-South will display and sell handmade crafts and boutique items. They’ll have lots of activities, great music, and entertainment. – East Buntyn Art Walk, Midland Avenue, April 27, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., free, all ages Head to Midland Ave between Prescott Street and Reese Street for the 9th annual East Buntyn Art Walk, where residents will turn their front yards into galleries for local and regional artists. Mingle with the neighbors at this kid, people, and pet-friendly event. (Rain date is April 28 from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m.) – Mid-South Food Truck Festival, Liberty Bowl Stadium, April 27, 11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. $8 adults/$3 gate, all ages/kid-friendly  The Food Truck Festival at Tiger Lane features dozens of regional trucks (each are serving one $5 item plus their regular menu) and DeAngelo Williams Foundation’s ‘Throw-in for a Cure’” Cornhole Tournament. Tickets are just to get in/parking. You have to buy your food and drink. – Edge Motor Fest, 645 Marshall Avenue, April 27, noon – 6 p.m, free, all ages/kid-friendly The new Edge Motor Museum opens on April 27 with a festival celebrating the neighborhood’s automotive history with tons of classic cars, live music, vendors, food trucks, and more. – Taste the Rarity, Wiseacre Brewing, April 27, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m., $65 + fees, 21 and up Taste rare craft beers from breweries around the country and celebrate the release of the annual Unicornicopia 2019, with music from the Mighty Souls Brass Band, Griz Line, circus acts, food, games, commemorative taster glass and more. Expect this one to sell out, so get your tix asap. Rain or shine, no dogs.  – Grind City Flow Festival Showcase, Memphis Botanic Garden, April 27, 6 p.m. – midnight., $10 adv./ $15 gate, all ages The Grind City Flow Festival Showcase is selection of performances with hula hoopers, acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, fire twirlers, dancing, and more, with food trucks, vendors, and live music for the whole family.  After 10 p.m., the event becomes 18+. So take the kids home at 10 p.m. Earlier that day, Grind City Flow Fest will host workshops for 18+ in flow aerial, yoga, dance, and more. Those tickets are 75 and that starts at 9 a.m. – 27th Annual Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival, Wagner Place, April 28, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., free, all ages The Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival is the city’s largest, at least by amount of crawfish: during the single day festival, they’ll serve 15,000 pounds. There will also be live music, a gumbo cooking contest, and all manner of crawfish-related activities. Bring a lawn chair and set up camp along the trolley tracks while you eat. Proceeds from the festival benefit Porter-Leath. – Twilight Thursdays, Memphis Botanic Garden, May – September, until sunset, $10 adults/$8 seniors, $5 kids, all ages/kid-friendly  Enjoy extended hours at the Gardens this summer, included with regular admission or free for members. Each week will have a different theme, i.e., plant spotlights or pet-friendly night, so stay tuned for that schedule. – Memphis in May International Festival, Tom Lee Park/Other Locations, May 2019, various prices, all ages A few things in Memphis are certain: summers are sticky, basketball is awesome, and the Memphis in May International Festival is the city’s biggest party. This year, it starts on May 3-5 with the Beale Street Music Festival (check out the band lineup here) and continues throughout the month, including the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (May 15 – 18), Celebrate Memphis (May 25) and the Great American River Run (May 25). This year’s honored country is actually a city, our very own Memphis, Tennessee, in honor of our bicentennial.  – 40th Annual Blues Music Awards, Halloran Center, May 9, 5:30 p.m., $150+, 21 and up This event brings together Blues performers, industry reps, and fans from all over the world to celebrate the best in Blues music. – Memphis Brewfest, Liberty Bowl Stadium, May 11, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., $48 gen. admission/$100 VIP, 21 and up Try more than 40 local, regional, and national beers at the annual Memphis Brewfest on the field at the Liberty Bowl. They’ll have food trucks, vendors, specialty releases, and Belgian beers from Flying Saucer. – Annual Memphis Greek Festival, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, May 10-11, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. $2 (or canned food donation, all ages/kid-friendly Vendors from around the Mid-South will display and sell handmade crafts and boutique items. They’ll have lots of activities, great music and entertainment. Take a trip to the “little Greek island on Highland” for dancing (don’t worry, there are lessons), a marketplace, tours of the church sanctuary, live music and yes, tons of food. If you can’t stay for dinner, you can always get food in the drive-thru. – 4th Annual Cooper Young Garden Walk, May 18 – May 19, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. $15 before May 5, all ages More than 50 totally unique gardens are on display at homes and businesses in Cooper Young for the fourth annual garden walk on Saturday and Sunday. There will be live gardening demos, educational booths, and garden experts on hand to help you start your own garden. Tickets go up to $20 after May 5. Ticket holders get discounts at select restaurants, too. – Memphis Italian Festival, Marquette Park, May 30 – June 1, all day, $8-$10, all ages Celebrate Memphis’ Italian community with food, games, a cooking contest and more at the Memphis Italian Festival. Similar to BBQ Fest, you have to have an inside connection or be a part of a cooking team in order to eat most of the food or be allowed in a tent. You can also play bocce ball and cornhole and hear live music. Original article by Aisling Maki. Updated by Holly for 2019. Got something to add? Put it on the calendar.  About the Author Aisling Maki is a freelance writer, editor, and public and media relations specialist with awards from The Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists and Public Relations Society of America, as well as several awards for fiction writing. Her work has appeared in publications in more than 20 countries. You can usually find her cheering on the Grizzlies, doing outdoorsy things, or traveling with her daughter, Brídín. They live in Cooper-Young with a dog, a guinea pig and a pair of pet mice. Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout https://ift.tt/1B5z3Pc

http://ilovememphisblog.com/2019/03/2019-memphis-springs-events-guide/

#I Love Memphis

[tooclosetothesun-blog1]

The Advantages of Broadband Internet

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[travelteatv]

Most of our time in New York was spent in mid/uptown but this was our final day so we went AWOL (to other nice places). First stop, Brooklyn Bridge.

This day (funnily enough the one we were spending the majority of outside) was absolutely FREEZING but it didn’t put us off – we wrapped up warm and headed out, only to head back in (to the Subway). It was our first time riding it because generally we’re pretty bad at directions and had been too lazy to figure it out. BOY did I regret this once I got on it. Its so ridiculously simple and cheap (in comparison to London’s extortionate prices). We definitely should have used it the whole time. You buy a metro card from a person or a machine (which I still for some reason have in my purse now, a month later) top it up (like a London oyster card) and away you go. I had already downloaded a Subway map app on my phone; I have a tube map on my phone at all times in London even though I live here – its free, tells you the quickest route and updates you if there are any delays/works on the line. Whats not to like?

  42ND STREET / TIMES SQUARE / TOURIST CENTRAL

A post shared by Travel Tea Tv (@travelteatv) on Jan 30, 2018 at 7:01am PST

  We got to Brooklyn Bridge first thing and it was gorgeous weather. Yes freezing cold but sunny as ever. It was nice being out of the touristy areas – it was Sunday morning and people were out jogging, cycling, walking their dogs. Being in a big city doesn’t always feel particularly homey but at this moment it really did. I could see myself running across Brooklyn Bridge on a Sunday morning (or maybe looking out of my tiny apartment window at other people doing that, while sipping a cup of tea). We meandered across it, took some photos, did some people watching and walked back.

My mum wasn’t that fussed about seeing the Statue of Liberty by boat and I wasn’t either – the cold did not make it appealing in any way, but I did think it would be nice to see her in the flesh one way or another so we got back on the Subway and went round to Battery Park to look at Ol’ Lady Liberty. My mum’s main reaction was how small she looked. In fairness, we were very far away from her.

It was too cold to stand there for long, so we got back on the Subway and went up to Chelsea, where we had brunch booked at ‘Tipsy Parson’, an adorable Southern Inspired place. I nearly got biscuits and gravy but the mac and cheese was calling my name – I didn’t regret it. All the staff were lovely and the decor was superb. We were obviously there early on but the bar looked very well stocked so I’m sure its a good late night hangout too.

We had a beautiful brunch (go there if you can) and then walked down to Chelsea Market (an indoor arts/homeware/food market), where the rest of the world was hiding. It made complete sense for everyone to be there of course but it was a bit of a surprise going from zero people to hundreds in a small space. It was still lovely and we bought lots of different bits and pieces, including my new favourite ring, some awesome New York prints and a rad decorative glass bottle. If its cold its the perfect place to visit, in fact, even if it isn’t cold its great; especially if you’re with people that can’t make their mind up on what they want to eat. There’s so much choice for food it might even be a bit overwhelming. Thankfully we had already eaten so didn’t need to go through the (enjoyable) stress of picking.

I absolutely loved Chelsea and would love to spend more time there if possible, the streets were super peaceful and quiet for a Sunday morning yet still had some life about them with people walking their dogs. It was nice.

Once we had bought all the things we could carry (some might think we shopped ourselves silly yesterday, those people are wrong), I decided I wanted to look for some vintage clothes, so we wandered around some second hand/charity stores and then made our way back up to our hotel on the Subway where we dropped stuff off and then headed back out to our favourite place, the TKTS booth in Times Square. Since we had already bought some tickets from there earlier on in the week, we got to skip the queue and ended up being one of the first 5 people at the desks. We asked for tickets for Kinky Boots and were offered front row orchestra seats at half price (front row stalls). My mum didn’t really understand what they were saying and was hesitant, but I pushed and we got them in the end.

It was only later on when we actually walked into the theatre and continued walking further and further down to the front, that she finally understood just how great these seats were. Actual Jake Shears from the Scissor Sisters was in it and we were so close we could see the hairs on his legs. That’s probably not what I should note as my main take away/ what I would go with if I were asked to write a proper review of it but so far no one has asked me to, so thats the best I’ve got.

No, in truth, the whole thing was absolutely amazing – the singing, the sets, the costumes. I didn’t really know what it was about but I had a blast. The only thing that was a bit strange was hearing Northampton accents while in New York. For that reason (amongst many others), I would love to see it again on the West End in London. But that list is already very long so it might be a while before I get round to it (42nd street is at the top of it, for anyone considering treating me – hint hint, nudge nudge).

And with that, the trip was over.

In my first post about our NY trip, I wrote that it was for 5 days – strictly this isn’t true, as we were away for 6 days but the only thing we accomplished on the final day was getting from A (Our hotel, the Knickerbocker, in New York) to B (The airport, London Gatwick). Suffice to say, we did manage to do that but its not the most exciting thing to read or in fact write about so I’ll keep it short and sweet…

We woke up early, checked out easily and had a lovely journey home. It was only when we got home that we had a problem… The airline lost my mum’s bag. I still feel bad about making jokes that they had lost hers while I was stood there holding mine, watching other people’s go round and round…

Its been over a month now and we still haven’t got the bag yet. So, yeh, thats super fun.

Aside from that (very annoying) hiccup, it was an amazing trip and I had the best time. We saw so much while we were there and I cannot WAIT to go back. Maybe when its a * touch * warmer though…

And that’s it for the New York posts – Booo I hear you say. Yes I know, I’m terribly sorry. It must be a terrible inconvenience to read no more about the ups, downs, trials and tribulations, of two British women travelling around New York. Quite the mental, physical and emotional journey. The best thing since Eat Pray Love, is the most common thing people have said. Alas, that is what happened and I’m not one to make up things to make this blog sound exciting (I’m sure anyone that has read a single post on here knows thats very true).

I would usually like to take time at this point to reflect on my favourite parts on the trip but I enjoyed so much of it, its hard to pick. If I had to say, I’d pick downtown as my favourite area and the movie tour as my favourite activity, but everything we did was great fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

What I will point out is that in order to get all this stuff done, a fair amount of planning went into it. For some that’s the last thing they want to do when they go on holiday but it really did make a big difference to us. It takes the stress out of your day because you wake up there, already know what you’re doing and only have to worry about getting there. You can still leave gaps in your schedule to do things on the fly but certain things like the improv comedy, movie tour, NBC tour etc. need to be booked in advance otherwise you don’t get to do them. It only takes two seconds to do it all online from home but it will save you so much headache once you’re there.

  Bye New York ✌️

A post shared by Abi (@abipageaustin) on Jan 15, 2018 at 7:47am PST

  Abi

@travelteatv 

  P.S. We’ve been very busy since then, with London life, visiting Devon and Edinburgh and planning more exciting things, that I’ll post about very, very soon…

In the meantime, keep up with us on Instagram and Twitter – please send me your social media accounts, I’d love to follow them!

NEW YORK | DAY 5 | 'Quite the mental, physical and emotional journey. The best thing since Eat Pray Love, is the most common thing people have said.' Most of our time in New York was spent in mid/uptown but this was our final day so we went AWOL (to other nice places).

#America #brooklyn #brooklyn bridge #brunch #chelsea #chelsea market #Market #new york #new york city #nyc #Travel #usa