VampireS SUMO

Long-sided Cat Eyes

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[1959] He hid in the woods, watching his father and sister, what they were doing. So we heard that, that is. Most of us felt, and all of us gossiped, he was up to no good. Here he lived an estranged life, hidden in the thick of the deep, like a recluse.

At times it was said, you could smell his cooking of venison, or spot him driving his 1952-pickup to town, dilapidated. His one room shack remained on the 1400-acers his father owned, and there he lived quietly, out of sight and out of the minds of the people in town, except for the intermit conversations, and gossip.

His sister, Victoria, remained with her father year after year; her father selling lumber to the highest bidder. He had some tourist cabins also, down by the lake for the fish folks that came up from the big city year-round.

Why Ambrose was the opposite of his sister no one knew. He wanted to sell his one third of the 1400-acers, or perhaps it was one half of his fathers land, and god knows what he wanted to do with the money. But the old man said ‘No!’ harshly, said ‘No!’ after he had left, once and for all. Nine years he was gone, deserted his wife and kid, and went on back to that shack to wait for his father to die, and leave him the land. His sister still there, but the old man never forgave his son, who took a wife, had two grandkids, and left them someplace; he’d never get to see them. But the old man just left well enough alone. Virginia remained single.

We all said, Vera would marry after the old man died, then Ambrose would come out of the woods from his self imposed hibernation, and claim what he felt was his.

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Nobody really knows what the other person is thinking, yet we guessed at it a lot, and maybe a few of us in town did know; as they say, ‘pride comes before destruction,’ and we all could see it coming.

Vera was gentle, soft spoken, always thinking, or so it seemed, perhaps five foot two inches, short, and cute. She was forty years old now, so the cuteness was leaving her, the old man was sixty-seven, and like Ambrose, the older of the two, by two years, was moody and high spirited like his father—stubborn.

“Why don’t you get married?” the old man said one day to Virginia. What ruffled his feathers I don’t know, but Vera became dumfounded. (This of course is speculation and what we put together).

“If you’re waiting for my woods, you’ve got a long wait,” we all heard him mumble that as he walked out of the groceries store in town one Saturday afternoon with his daughter, and put them grocers in his new truck, 1959, and headed out of town to his huge log cabin lodge, you could call it, in the woods, with six-bedrooms, and five bathrooms. She did say something sitting in that front seat, I heard her, before they took off:

“I have no time for a husband, taking care of you, the bookkeeping, cleaning the house I’ve earned my share when you pass on.” The old man didn’t say a word, he perhaps knew she’d leave the shape of things would drastically change then, then what. That was perchance the last he ever said on the matter to her for a spell, and she remained living her old life, her old self at the house, a mild cool mannered life, sedate, and watchful as if with long-sided cat eyes.

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I suppose if there was any respect between Ambrose and Mr. Beck, it was in that Ambrose left the old man alone; regard can and did come in that direction.

The old man must have been thinking (so we thought), Ambrose was brave enough to confront his greedy-design, whereas, Vera was willing to subdue hers, and just wait it out. Yes indeed, it was that way, and whatever was on Vera’s mind, she was not spending any of her money her mother had left her and Ambrose, whom gambled his mother’s inheritance away long ago, had none to worry about.

Then I thought, as many did, the old man would kick her out some day—not that he wanted to, but his temper, his nature, would put her in harms way, and he’d have no choice. And that is exactly what happened, what took place was this: the old baldheaded, bulldog of a man, Mr. Beck short and stocky, like a prize fighter one day opened the door and shoved her down the few steps on the porch saying:

”Spend my money if you can when I’m dead!” And she left his house, just like that. She kept her regular reserved composure, and mild manner, which, strange to say, but true, she was crying, we didn’t think less of her for those tears, but it didn’t quite fit.

4

She had never cried before, in fact I always saw her as a pillar of strength. Much in control of herself, her emotions; she was if any thing, much deeper a fish than her brother, and perhaps equal in shrewdness to her father: perhaps a dangerous combination.

During the following years, a few years that is, two years to be exact, rarely did anybody stop to see the old man, he paid his taxes as usual hired some help with the land, and boats he rented, and cabins he rented: Vera now lived with her aunt and uncle about five miles down the road. And Ambrose, well, he still lived in the woods, checking on what his father was doing, going back to his shack, drinking a pint of whisky now and then, making some home made stuff. Now and then the old man walked into the woods near the shack, but not too near, a glance towards it, perhaps he saw Ambrose, perhaps not: he’d then go kill a few animals to eat, and paid it no more attention that that.

Then as Ambrose went one day to see what his father was up to, he saw him lying stone-still, dead on the ground, he knew he was dead he was near the steps of the porch, as if he could have fallen. There was Aunt Betty’s 1960-ford, it took off quickly by the fence, which was by the side of the road, some woman was driving it, and it wasn’t Aunt Betty, unless she got her haircut short recently, and she hadn’t.

The county health officer showed up, and reported to the officials it was death by accident. He had tripped on a loose step attached to his porch; he even fixed it while waiting for the sheriff. The sheriff talked to Ambrose, and then they buried old man Beck by the shack, it was where Ambrose wished it to be. Vera showed up at the funeral, Ambrose did not. Victoria moved into the house and left the door unlocked for her brother Ambrose, but he never again walked through those doors—Victoria often stood under the arch of the doorway, looking into the woods as if Ambrose would show up, she stood in that doorway until she died of old age—waiting, looking.

See Dennis′ web site: dennissiluk.tripod.com dennissiluk.tripod.com

Term life insurance, is a type of insurance where a person’s life is covered for a limited period of time. Many people prefer term life insurance, as the rates of this kind of policy are the lowest. However, the term life insurance rates are different for different people and depend on many parameters such as tobacco consumption, medical records, and occupation. There are many types of term life insurance policies available, and decreasing term life insurance is one of them.

To request a decreasing term life insurance quote, customers can approach the local insurance agents or brokers. Customers can also apply online to obtain a quote for this kind of policy.

As all term life insurance policies are pure death benefit policies, there are fewer complications involved in it. This means that in term life insurance, there are no cash value accumulations, loan values, or partial surrender values. This makes them easier to apply for and also understand the quotes generated for them. The forms of term life insurance are level term life insurance, decreasing term life insurance and annual renewable term life insurance. Level term life insurance has a continuous and level face amount through out the term of the policy. Most of the level term life insurance policies include the privilege of guaranteed conversion. Annual renewable term life insurance is the least expensive of all term policies as it is renewed every year. Therefore, the premium also increases with the increase in the customers′ age.

Decreasing term life insurance is usually purchased to cover the mortgage debt. In this type of policy, insurance decreases at almost the same rate as that of the mortgage debt balance. This means that the death benefit of the policy also keeps declining along with the debt. Therefore, such policies are less expensive than level term life insurance policies. As these policies are usually taken to cover mortgage debts, their quotes can be competitive.

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Running an online think tank is interesting and challenging too. For instance checking identities is rather difficult since modern forums, blogs and social networks are often infiltrated by folks who like to conceal themselves and use pen names or handles making it tough to be certain that the person you are engaged in conversation with is even real?

Recently a gentleman said he visited our think tank and did not feel that anyone took it seriously, as he was basing what he saw online. Interesting really. Because in reality the world online is rather obscure and fake, that is to say it is not real, rather a virtual world. So does a Think Tank have to be online to be real?

Interesting thought. If it does not have a web presence in the modern age then it cannot be real or at least people actually believe this? But what about all the think tanks before the Internet or even the one which invented the Internet? No not Al Gore.

Not long ago I mentioned this to someone who made that observation due to what he saw on the Internet and so I told him;

We are very active in the local think tanks, just not very digitally interactive on the Internet presently, due to the issues previously discussed. As we re-launch the interactive formats, we have to be extremely careful this time to not be infiltrated by the hackers, spies, sploggers and mellow out the hard-core testosterone attitudes that are often common when someone is defending their theory, concept or idea against another competing potential eventuality.

What is fascinating is if you apply a think tank way style of days gone by to an online think tank format, much has to change for it all to work correctly seeing as how people throw common courtesy out the window when the person they are communicating is not right there in front of them. So, I certainly hope this article will propel thought in 2007.

Lance is a guest writer for ourspokanemagazine.com/ Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

The Goat Chinese Zodiac (also known as the Sheep Chinese Zodiac) are seen as being lucky, peaceful and prosperous. In addition they are considered to be generous and kind-hearted. They may seem timid but this is more because of their artistic and mild-natured temperaments than any actual shyness. Individuals born under the sign of the Goat Chinese Zodiac are open-minded in both their own lives and how they view the life of others. Because of this, they are often admired and always respected. They can be very stubborn and often dig their heels in when someone attempts to force them to do something. They will not be forced or coerced but instead will take the bad and turn it into a positive springboard for making things better.

Individuals born under the sign of the Goat Chinese Zodiac are difficult to get to know, as they tend to keep to themselves and rarely let anyone know what their true feelings are. Goat/Sheep people tend to like things to look good and will spend hours in front of the mirror making sure they look just right. They are loving but also give in way too often to their emotions. This shows through their melancholy moods, frustration and even periods of improper decision making linked directly to their emotions. Goat Chinese Zodiac individuals will avoid people and isolate themselves before they hurt the feelings of another. Those born under the Goat Chinese Zodiac may not be best suited for occupations that require a strong sense of responsibility or ones that demand quick decisions. They are better suited to positions that allow them to work within their own devices and maintain responsibility for themselves and their product.

People born under the sign of the Goat Chinese Zodiac, do best when allowed to excel in things that they are interested in – they can not be round pegs forced into square holes.
Those born of the Goat/Sheep are the most compatible in love and business with those individuals born in under the signs of the Rabbit, Horse, other Sheep and Boar Chinese Zodiacs. The Goat Chinese Zodiac is the sign for individuals who were born in 1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991 and 2003.

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There once was a big angel with a little head, with a long slant to it. His name was ‘No-name ‘el’ [everyone called him NN for short], because he never had time to give himself a more proper name. He was always writing night and day. He was told by his many friends in heaven that his head was shrinking because of too much thinking. But he paid them no attention. He liked to write. The bad thing was he did not allow much time for fellowship.

One day Asor’el, a small angel that hung around with Serr ’el and a few other angels, commented to No-name ‘el, saying in essence, that he had forever to write, and create, but one must grab the moment. Live this life, I mean he was so busy not living, the angels got thinking; what was the sense for him to have been given the gift of life. Fly around the heavens and planets and enjoy the blessings of the Universe, this was what the other angels were trying to tell him.

“Asor’el,” commented to NN, “… (as if he had not heard a word that was uttered to him) you go fly around now, I’ve got to get a new story out for the library.” And so Asor’el left a little sad, but was happy she got to even speak to him usually he would not even look up, lest of all listen.

The Wait and the Writing

After they said, well, goodbye, NN went back to writing, and writing and more writing. And the little angel hid behind a door by his room, waiting, and waiting and waiting: waiting for what you might be asking, and your guess would have been as good as mine at the time, but of course, now I know, since I am writing this. All of a sudden, she got bored waiting, and so she picked one her feathered wings stuck under her little feet, and started writing also. Kind of like: if you can’t beat them, then join them.

As her friends came to see her, they tried to pull her away from her writings, and she was as stubborn as a donkey with big wings. She would not move. During all this time, NN would look behind him noticing she was not waiting like she used to, and was writing and waiting, just like him. But what was she writing about he wondered.

And so, NN stopped his work, walked over to Asor’el, and asked:”What are you writing about?” She looked up at him kind of in disbelief that he had stopped everything to check on her writings. And she replied, “I am writing about you writing, and how one misses out on life. That one must live it. That reading 1000-books is not equal to experiencing the real thing.”

“Oh,” he commented…then with a kind of a hummmmmmmm… he said, “The story sounds promising, and most interesting, can I read it?”

“Sure,” said the little angel with a pony tail. And as he took the l5000-pages she had written in the past 150-years while she was waiting, NN started reading. It became very interesting to him; so interesting, he couldn’t put the book down. She talked about her trips to Malta, to England, and Avalon, as she had asked for such assignments from God to do them: also to world monuments, in Cambodia, and to Peru where she was fascinated with its history. And to the many Solar Systems she had been to. He was so fascinated with it he sat down for two years going over it and over it. Then all of a sudden he stood up.

“Gee,” he commented, “It was really good.”

As he went to start writing again, he couldn’t think of anything to write.

“Asor’el,” he asked, “would you mind if I accompanied you on a few of your trips, so I can get some fresh ideas on what to write?” adding, “I am lost for any good ideas. I need to experience them.” And so with the flick of a finger they were off into the Universe. They first stopped on Mars, then Saturn, then Earth’s moon. And then all over the universe, even some places man has not discovered such as the planets Moiromma, and SSARG. Somehow, his formal reasoning had been changed, and thus, slowly like cooking a frog alive, the fire was increased to where his life needed more in it to produce more out of it.

As the months went by, and they both started putting away more adventures, NN’s head went back to a normal size. When they got back to heaven’s door, Serr’el and a hoist of other angels were waiting for their return. All greeting NN for his recover of being obsessed with writing, and thanking the little angel for her helping NN recover. They both said they had very little to do with the transformation, it just happened that way. NN replied, “I guess God uses our love to wake us up; for writing got me to look at myself. What a better way to get his message to me then through the thing I so love, writing.” Said the little angel, “And writing got me to share my experiences with someone,” and they all smiled.

Note: 3/2002 (revised 11/2005)

See Dennis’ web site: dennissiluk.tripod.com dennissiluk.tripod.com

I read a “tip” on music sales today that made me angry. The author asked, “Are you selling your CD for $15?” Then goes on to say that we are Indie musicians and we shouldn’t. Sell it for less because it is the industry standard for Indie musicians to sell for less. How do I say this nicely…that’s Bull Sh*t!!!!

That attitude pisses me off. I mean it is hard enough for us to make a decent leaving selling CDs, but to sell them for $10? Unless you have less than 10 songs, don’t listen to em. It is that attitude that makes some people think you only have to pay $10 for a CD.

Will more people buy the CD? Well, probably…a few. But you know what? If people like your music, they WILL pay $15 for a CD! Surprise, surprise, surprise. They may falter a bit, but they will eventually buy it, and when they do, it will mean so much more to them. Don’t be fooled. You are a professional. Now act like one.

Now, let me give you an incentive why you should sell for $15 instead of $10. There are some age-old terms used in marketing, perhaps you’ve heard of them…discounts and sales?

Yeah, I admit it. I’m hesitant to pay $15 for a CD. It is a lot of money for a CD. I’m constantly looking for great CD deals online. I can’t stand paying $15 for a CD. It’s too much for my poor musician blood. But some, like me, require an extra incentive. So why not put your CD on sale? Offer 10% or 20% off. One-time only, or for a limited time. And you know, at 10-20% off, you’re still making more than $10. But to your fans, 10-20% off sounds like a great deal! Add a touch of urgency, and even those who hadn’t gotten around to buying your CD will.

Ever since I started running special prices on my new CD, Gullible’s Travels, I′ve gotten a helluva resposne. Right now, you can buy it for 10% off. Or buy both our albums and get 20% off each one.

So if you have an album with more than ten songs, and you are currently selling your album for $10, this is what I want you to do. Contact your mailing list now. Tell them this:

“It was decided that in order to take our band to the next step, we will have to start running our business more professionally. To start, we will raise the price of our CDs in four weeks from their current price of $10 to their new price of $15. This should give all our loyal fans the opportunity to purchase a copy of our music at a one killer price. But it won’t last long. So order your CDs now!”

Now, watch the orders come flooding in!

Bard Marc Gunn of the Brobdingnagian Bards has helped 1000’s of musicians make money with their musical groups through the Bards Crier Music Marketing and Promotion Ezine and the Texas Musicians’ Texas Music Biz Tips. Now you can get personal advice by visiting bardscrier.com bardscrier.com for FREE “how-to” music marketing assistance.

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Have you ever wanted to create a cartoon design of your own? I’m a fabric artist so I frequently come up with my own designs with no particular source of inspiration.

First, let’s clarify the word cartoon. I’m not referring to drawing cartoon characters although the word is the same word. My use of the word cartoon is more in the sense of a pattern drawn on a large piece of paper (usually 18″ x 24″).

There are many ways to practice turning on the creative juices. It always starts with a blank piece of paper. Now instead of deciding to draw anything in particular, I just pick up a pencil or pen, place the pencil on the paper somewhere and let the flow begin.

One technique is to draw a rectangle somewhere in the middle of the paper. Now you have certain defined spaces to fill with straight lines, curvy lines, groups of lines, shapes, repetition of shapes or free flow.

The center space can be filled with circles of various sizes, a simple leaf design or triangular shapes. Shapes can be repeated in various ways by changing the sizes of the shapes. The outside space around the edge of the paper can also be filled with similar shapes or just drawn curvy lines or straight lines.

At this point, I don′t think about placement or an actual design, just let the process of drawing take place.

After you have created some shapes and lines, begin using colored pencils or crayons to fill in these spaces. Use three colors to start with, use three colors that you really like. Then add variations of these colors, lighter and darker, softer and brighter. You would be surprised what can happen in this process.

These images that you’re creating are mostly abstracts but if you really like flowers and leaves, draw flowers and leaves. Just do very simple drawings with simple color schemes.

As you practice the above techniques, it will be easier and easier to draw designs starting on an empty page. The page is your canvas, it’s there to serve you, so let things happen. If you love the color purple, use only shades of purple, then add a little black here and there, with some soft greys.

Once you get comfortable with the process of creating designs, begin to look at the overall balance of the various elements you have created. Could they be smaller, larger? Could they be placed in a different area of the paper and have a greater visual impact? Could you add a bright lime-yellow to make the other colors pop?

Another technique is to take an abstract drawing you’ve created, cut the paper in strips or any kind of pieces you want, then re-assemble the drawing in a new way. Look at the overall effect. Do you want the shapes to pop? Do you want the colors to be more dominant? Does your design have energy and flow to it? What do you want to convey with your drawing?

Practice the above process as often as you can. I try to draw something on a daily basis and a lot of times I do this late at night before going to bed or early in the morning before my busy day begins. Find a slot of time for your creative juices to begin blossoming. I really believe that becoming creative (in whatever medium you choose) requires practice, practice, practice. Soon you will find your inner voice and direction for your art to express itself.

Happy sketching! Take time for you! Good Luck!

Katrina

Chinese paintings are famous all over the world for their unusual combination of materials and different techniques. Chinese painting is a traditional form of painting and has been in existence since a very long time. A large number of exquisite wall paintings were produced in the initial period of China’s history, but very few of them have managed to survive. Many of the Chinese paintings enable historians to understand the Chinese way of life in early periods and offer insight into the styles and tastes of the early artists.

Some of the main features of Chinese paintings include colophons and seals, and different materials. The Chinese brush, which is used for painting, has a very fine tip to draw in different styles. Brush techniques include line drawing, cunfa (texture and shade), and dianfa (dotting methods). The brush strokes in Chinese paintings impart a kind of rhythm as well as aesthetic beauty. Brush strokes can greatly vary according to the individual styles of the painter. Different types of Chinese painting brushes include the “hsieh chao pi”, which is a crab claw brush available in large and small sizes, and the “hua jan pi” brush, which is specifically used for painting flowers. A “lan yu chu pi” brush is generally used for painting bamboo and orchids. Chinese artists hold their painting brush in a peculiar fashion.

Typically, artists use Chinese paper or thick silk for painting. Different varieties of Chinese papers are available and the painting on each variety will come in diverse finishes. To paint on a silk cloth, it first must be treated with glue and alum to make it less absorbent. Contemporary Chinese artists usually prefer paper for their varied textures.

Chinese artists use different shades of a color to depict the features of a particular subject and to give it a natural feeling. These artists enjoy the freedom of structural composition and manner of expression. To emphasize a particular subject, artists may leave the background blank to enhance the impact.

A bright red seal is seen in Chinese paintings that indicate the name of the artist or the owner of the painting. The position of the seal may vary from one painting to another.

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Chicago style, the style which is frequently referred to as Turabian one is used in most of the social sciences.

The most important feature that differentiates this style from the great many of other styles is that it provides full information on the material cited whereas everything that the rest of styles indicate is only the name of the author or a short title, which in some cases appear to be not enough. There are cases when it is very important to know the direct source of the material, here a Chicago-style citation is preferable. There distinguished three main citation features of Chicago style.

Here belong: in-line citation, footnotes/endnotes, and content notes. Footnotes and endnotes, which are typical of this style, are an advantage as they allow commenting on the source or providing some more information, which can be of important use for other writers, researches. The difference between footnotes and endnotes lies in the following: footnotes are placed at the bottom of every page, while endnotes are places at the end of the paper.

As you see the difference lies in the location. The in-line citation is possible in case when the paper is under 10 pages. The in-line citation is considered to provide the same information in easier way. Content notes are part of footnotes and also endnotes. It provides explanatory material in addition to the source of the cited material which might be of important use. The reference list comprises the same information as the footnotes put in the alphabetic order by an author’s last name. To other peculiarities of this style belong: indicating month and year of monthly magazines and as for the months’ spelling, they should be spelled and not abbreviated. When using punctuating marks, one should remember, that after punctuation marks, citations space should be put once. When citing something do not outdent first line in each citation, but do outdent all other lines.

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The premise of Rock Star, a completive music-industry reality series, is that a band or music group seeks to hire a new lead singer from a cast of contestants who have auditioned and been accepted to be on the program. In season one of Rock Star, Australian super group INXS chose contest winner J.D. Fortune as their lead singer. For season two, a new group called Supernova was formed explicitly for the purpose of the reality series. The second season of Rock Star (Rock Star: Supernova) premiered on July 5, 2006 on CBS in the United States.

Rock Star: Supernova operates somewhat like American Idol however Rock Star’s contestants keep their wardrobe resplendent with leather pants, studded necklaces and skull and crossbones t shirts. Season two of the Rock Star series focuses on the formation of Supernova, a rock super group featuring Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke. The newly formed Supernova will record an album once the season wraps up, and will begin a world tour sometime in early 2007. Supernova’s first live performance will take place on New Year’s Eve at The Joint, a club at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The show is hosted by Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and Brooke Burns. It features 15 contestants vying for the lead singer role of Supernova. The series actually began online on the Supernova website on MSN on July 3, 2006 with an internet exclusive episode and then debuted on CBS two days later on July 5, 2006. Votes are allowed on the website or by text message.

During the first season, viewers were able to watch behind the scenes footage on television however Supernova offers those episodes solely online at the MSN website or through a Verizon subscription.

Each week, contestants perform on one performance episode and one judging episode. During the performance episode, contestants cover songs by artists such as Nirvana, Bon Jovi, The Police and The Who. Each week on the judging episode one finalist is asked to perform an encore of the song they performed the night before. The three finalists with the lowest votes are asked to perform a song of their choice in front of the judges and the audience. Occasionally one finalist is chosen to debut a new Supernova sing with the members of the group. The weekly elimination of one contestant is based on both performances.

Find more out about rock-star-mania.com Rock Star SuperNova and the entire reality t.v. world at rock-star-mania.com rock-star-mania.com