text:
Cassiopaean Sandbox
Romantic Fiction, Reality Shaping and The Work
Thread starter Laura
FOTCM Member
Meant to take the time last year to make a list - not of books, however related to some of the places read in these books; the periods, and much much earlier periods; castles, estates, "kings, queens, rogues, rebels, victims and villains" etc. Much of it was pretty awful, and some quite interesting. Some may also know all this history very well (as much as can be made of it), and may have even been to these places or live near them. There may be surprises for some, or there may be other sides of the history to tell that is not told.
The guy who put together these less than an hour long documentaries, is a historian by the name of Dan Jones (popular in the UK?) This is a two season series called Secrets of Great British Castles. Here is the Netflix link, and the rest are split between YouTube and daily motion (not all were full versions on YouTube (trailers), so went to daily motion, too - there are three below in bold that I can't seem to find full versions) if interested:
Secrets of Great British Castles - Historian Dan Jones explores the turbulent history behind twelve of Britain's most famous castles. Behind the walls of these celebrated strongholds are stories of intrigue, drama, romance, rebellion, and murder. Dan Jones recounts some of the many classic tales from 1000 years of British history, featuring a stellar cast of kings, queens, rogues, rebels, victims and villains.
Series 1: Dover, the Tower of London, Warwick, Caernarfon, Stirling and Carrickfergus. Series 2: Edinburgh Castle, CARDIFF, York, Leeds, Lancaster, Arundel.
Secrets Of Great British Castles:
Warwick (dailymotion)
Secrets Of Great British Castles S1E3 – Warwick (S1E3) - Dailymotion Video
Leeds (dailymotion)
Secrets of Great British Castles S02E05 - Dailymotion Video
Sterling (dailymotion)
Secrets Of Great British Castles Series 1 5of5 Stirling Castle 720p - Dailymotion Video
Reactions: thorbiorn, Stella Marys, jess and 10 others
Jedi Council Member
Voyageur said:
Especial so connecting them with other works read offered here on the forum - kind of all combine to make one reflect and think. Past memories of self and others can really open up.
Hi Voyageur, if you have a chance of time, could you mention some of the readings you mention? i.e., if I understood correctly, you mean readings related to past memories and others.
Yes, I still have a lot to read, I have a lot books pending to read, among others the recommended novels of this thread, I would like to go back to the novels of Mary Balog, but if you tell me about these other readings it would be very good to have them in tentative for the best opportunity to review them.
Reactions: Breo, OrangeScorpion, happyliza and 8 others
Dagobah Resident
After the plunge into the sweet, supportive Bridgerton family (Julia Quinn), I went from being comfortable to uncomfortable with the Merridew series (Anna Gracie).
The reinforced reality of the need to free myself.
I stayed with Anna Gracie for 2 Devil Riders, to see how much and how I am triggered on my need for trust and my injuries of humiliation.
Then I met with the osteopath who gave me feedback on the latter -related to the pancreas.
I needed a break and turned to Madeline Hunter's Rothwell Brothers.
Perhaps the ease of adapting and navigating in harmony, even in my discomfort?
I had previously enjoyed the in-between as an unstable but searchable place. It's still relevant today.
And it goes with Current Events in disarray: truth seems a conquest that makes one vulnerable, but faith then is an added shine.
Laura had mentioned, I think, about accumulating romances, I can see better how the mosaic settles here in the inner movements
Spoiler: français
Après le plongeon dans la douce famille solidaire Bridgerton (Julia Quinn), je suis passée de l'aise au malaise avec la série Merridew (Anna Gracie).
La réalité appuyée du besoin de me libérer.
Je suis restée avec Anna Gracie pour 2 Devil Riders, pour voir combien et comment je suis déclenchée sur mon besoin de confiance et mes blessures d'humiliation.
Puis j'ai rencontré l'ostéopathe qui m'a fait un retour sur ce dernier -en lien avec le pancréas.
J'avais besoin d'une pause et j'ai abordé les Rothwell Brothers de Madeline Hunter.
Peut-être l'aisance à s'adapter et naviguer en harmonie, même dans mon malaise ?
J'avais déjà apprécié l'entre-deux comme un endroit instable mais à rechercher. C'est encore d'actualité.
Et cela va avec l'Actualité en désorganisation : la vérité semble une conquête qui rend vulnérable, mais la foi alors est une brillance ajoutée.
Laura avait mentionné, je crois, qu'il fallait accumuler les romances, je vois mieux comment la mosaïque s'installe ici dans les mouvements intérieurs
Merci pour la lecture
Reactions: hiker, thorbiorn, Breo and 16 others
The Living Force
Just been released:
Remember Love: Devlin's Story (A Ravenswood Novel Book 1) (English Edition) eBook : Balogh, Mary: Amazon.de: Kindle Store
The handsome and charismatic Earl of Stratton, Caleb Ware, has been exposed to the ton for his clandestine affairs—by his own son.
As a child, Devlin Ware thought his family stood for all that was right and good in the world. They were kind, gracious, and shared the beauty of Ravenwood, their grand country estate, by hosting lavish parties for the entire countryside. But at twenty-two, he discovered his whole world was an elaborate illusion, and when Devlin publicly called his family to account for it, he was exiled as a traitor.
So be it. He enlisted in the fight against Napoleon and didn't look back for six years. But now his father is dead, the Ware family is broken, and as the heir he is being called home. It's only when Gwyneth Rhys—the woman he loved and then lost after his family banished him—holds out her hand to help him that he is able make the difficult journey and try to piece together his fractured family.
It is Gwyneth's loyalty, patience, and love that he needs. But is Devlin's war-hardened heart even capable of offering her love in return?
jess said:
Hi@ Voyageur, if you have a chance of time, could you mention some of the readings you mention? i.e., if I understood correctly, you mean readings related to past memories and others.
Hi jess. It would be a big list (much found in the Forums recommended book list), however anything to do with cognitive sciences - the what makes a person tick and why they may do things or not do things, or what one sees others doing (take for instance The Narcissistic Family - by the Pressman's) - what may compel them. Not limited to these books, would even be books that Laura has written herself, or even something like The Life Beyond the Veil may offer something. So many possibilities. With the Romance books, cross referencing as you read can help look at triggers, linking them with all sorts of childhood and adulthood thinking and experiences.
Yes, I still have a lot to read...
Yeah, going back to what Laura originally said, it can take a great deal of reading to uncover what there is to be revealed to self, in self - and in others. And I think I've referenced this before - take Balogh's vast writings (and others), so a hundred books introduces you to two hundred main characters (at odds, in love), and with other characters in the books it becomes a thousands etc. All the characters and their individual thoughts and actions are bound to spotlight memories, fears, joys - experiences in similar emotional ways, perhaps subconsciously or even past life possibilities may influence. With the latter, and I don't know; take stories of war and the great suffering that results from them, these may be burned deep inside the reader from experience outside of time, from another time.
More recently, while reading T. C. Lethbridge, he makes the point of things (could be objects, certainly sounds) that can powerfully hit a person in an instance (some sort of energy-magnetism), and seem to evoke some sort of transportation of mind from outside time and space, as he says, linking to what might be collectively known and felt from long ago. Sounds will be different for each individual (even reading words put together have their effect), and in this sense, these stories may also seem to transport, even momentarily, to some place or understanding that an individual may not be aware had been deeply buried inside.
Hope this helps to answer, if understood what you were getting at.
Reactions: thorbiorn, Stella Marys, Breo and 22 others
I have just finished making my way through The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley, this is book 4 in the McKenzie series. The book itself followed the McKenzie's template, there's a story that is transversed with a heavy crisis that is overcome and a new chapter begins for the main characters. I will be including some ideas that caught my attention in the spoiler section.
Spoiler: The Dukes Perfect Wife - Jennifer Ashley
Jennifer Ashley teases her next story in her books, and so in the last book she mentioned the title characters for this one. The McKenzie's oldest Hart, Duke of Killmorgen, and Elenor are the central characters of this story.
They had been an item before, but Harts arrogant desire for control, and inability to be honest, ended up causing her to push him away, he never really got over her and spent years trying to move on from having lost her. After Ian, the mad Ian McKezie, sets up a scheme to bring them together, they team up to uncover a "blackmail attempt" on Hart, who is going for the office of prime minister, and their love re ignites.
The story itself hinges upon honesty, control, and intimacy. There are also the repeating theme of inheriting the traits of their father, and. how truth liberates them from such a destiny.
In all the four cases for the McKenzie brothers, there's an underlying fear that they will turn as their father, or at least embody one of his character traits, and it is always through their daring to push past the fear, with the help of their objects of devotion in the shape of their wives, that they realize that their fears were real, but unfounded, that is, they weren't reality.
And that's an interesting idea I think, our fears, whatever they may be are real. We really feel how we feel, but their reality is another question entirely. And I think it's something to navigate carefully, the real vs reality of our feelings, it doesn't have to be a fear, it could also be an illusion, infatuation, jealousy, excitement.
We may feel a certain way, positive or negative, and that ought to be acknowledge if we hope to face it, but it may not correspond to reality. And it takes a lot of will power to get to that point. All of the McKenzies had to undergo that very transformation.
In Hart's case, it was very clearly depicted as a descent into hell, almost quite literally. After an attempt on his life tears a whole in the ground beneath him, he falls into a dark pit of the sewers of London. He had to face himself there, he had to face his father, he had to face an existence with none of the power of one looking to become prime minister.
As in some of the shamanic visions described elsewhere, he was quite literally stripped to the bone, no power or influence, no riches, not even his sight was there to help him out. He was alone against himself, surrounded by filth, with only one saving grace.. honesty, in the same of his brother Ian, more on that later.
That was quite an effective way to depict what life throws at us sometimes, these disintegrative proceses that have the power to level our lives, where we realize there's nothing we can do to stop the onslaught of events, no matter how much we want to, or how unfair it may seem.
For Hart, it was the realization of the world carrying on spinning despite his absence. Destiny force his had to let loose of the reins that he constantly held on anything he had influence over.
And how many of us have that tendency, maybe self important tendency, to believe that without us the world would cease to exist, or maybe not the world, but... life. Or that without our controlling designs on events, things would fall apart.
Now, the need for control in Hart, as in most of us I daresay, comes from a wound that taught him that without it, the uncertainty of life would be too overwhelming. He had placed upon his shoulders the task of protecting not only his family, but his business, his estate, his country and the world if he could have.
As explained elsewhere, these drives for control and manipulation, may come from an unfair wound, and hurt and trauma, but if left unchecked, it'll simply turn us into whatever caused us such pain. Ironically, giving up our agency to choose, in the name of wanting to feel like we can choose over everything.
Now Ian, has one of the most interesting roles in his brother's stories. He represents honesty, truth even. He's appeared in all their stories to encourage them to bare themselves to their love interest, as the only way to create a real opportunity. Ian was the only one that was down there with Hart, and that's an interesting idea, it's as if, the only thing you may carry in your disintegration processes, or the only thing that will help you, is truth.
After Hart is found, he finally relaxes the control he taught he had on the word and his life, he bares himself to his wife Elenor, and he discovers something else. Once he let go of the attempt to control everything, he became a whole being and was accepted by his wife as the whole person that he was, not as the bright creature he portrayed.
Not as the split persons that he kept at bay form one another, the controlling cold powerful man on the one hand, and the passionate, playful and kind man on the other, never touching. After his descent into hell, he came back resembled as someone who had integrated the betters aspects of both, and built himself anew.
Elenor, was always his catalyst for change, her personality is quite lovely, always curious as the daughter of a scholar, inquisitive and daring. Someone unafraid of Hart, someone who had the way to make both of his personalities mix and merge. Someone who was able to care for him, in a way only she could.
Having access to both sides of Hart, Elenor was able to care of him by not letting him forget who he actually was. And sometimes that's all care is, not an affectionate protective act, although there was some of that for sure in their story, but a reminder of who the other is.
And this was lovely shown when Hart finally admitted to Elenor, that he wasn't able to face his monsters without her, specially his father, she reminded him that his fears were real, but not a reality, and that was enough for him to anchor himself in that reality and push through those fears.
Thanks for reading, now I will get to The Seduction of Elliot McBride
Reactions: thorbiorn, Deliverance, Voyageur and 12 others
Alejo said:
I had finished the second book of the McKenzie series by Jennifer Ashley a little while ago, but did not get around to post about it, then weeks went by and I realized I wanted to re read it so that I may have some fresh concepts, so I picked it up once again and I am glad I did.
I had missed a few things the first time around, I will be sharing a few things on the spoiler section that I think are key to the story and that caught my attention.
Spoiler: Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage: Jennifer Ashley
So, this story was actually refreshing in the genre, usually these stories depict two strangers who meet one another, fall in love, find themselves and end up together. In the first book of the series, we met Isabella in passing, who is already married to Mac Mackenzie, but they're separated. In this book we explore their marriage, and their reconciliation.
This book was greatly about redemption, not one achieved from outside forgiveness, even though there's some of that for sure, but the redemption that one drives at by sheer will and determination. Isabella and Mac had a toxic, poorly constructed and awful dynamic as husband and wife, they went from completely besotted with one another, to distant and hurt where Mac would simply take off and leave her alone.
The entire book we see them talk things through, recognize their mistakes, recognize their hurt and the hurt of the other, express anger at the wounds received, regret at the ones conveyed and move on to the next step. And despite having been separated for three years, they're far from being completely done with working things through.
And it was interesting to see that dynamic of growing back together, because it showed that forgiveness comes from two places that dispense the same thing, honesty. It's the honesty with the other about the wounds one has, it's the honesty with the self about those same wounds, it's the honesty with the self about being the cause or the receiver of such wounds. Truth is the only thing that will get you through to redemption.
As such, forgiveness isn't really an entirely pleasant journey, but once one gets past that difficult portion of bearing one's soul, and depending on how the other responds, joy may be found, joy and peace. But it's a lot of work. I remember hearing a song years ago that said something along the lines of "Don't forget that forgiveness is a divine thing.." and it really takes a lot to forgive, and seek forgiveness, mostly because you have to get over your self.
Now, Mac had a very interesting arc in this story, he experienced the most drastic transformation of the two, and indeed he needed to. He was immature, afraid and hurtful towards Isabella, even if his feelings for her were sincere and his loyalty was solid. He had no idea who she was, and it wasn't until he lost her that he realize that she was the outlet for the beauty and creativity of his life.
He cleaned up his act, stopped drinking, and changed his friends. He even decided to learn to court his lady. He willed himself towards redemption. He lived his apology, he wasn't merely sorry... he was better than he had been before.
And there was a very interesting depiction of what it takes to really change oneself with Mac and his doppelgänger. There's a guy who is obsessed with Mac and Isabella, he impersonates him and goes around pretending to be Mac, he even resembles him physically and is a great painter, like Mac.
For some reason it made me think that a lot of the personal work that we may undertake is akin to dealing with a doppelgänger who is obsessed with stealing our lives. It's our false personalities who fight for attention and for the prime position in our existence, they look like us, talk like us and even possess some of our great qualities, our looks, our charms and talents... but they are not us, not the us that we choose to become.
And like in the story, they may come very close to actually succeeding, and killing our real selves and replacing us with a fake double. And like in the story, they may reflect back to us the rotten aspects of ourselves, aspects we ignore or refuse to see, aspects we're regretful of, aspects we're ashamed to admit.
It was a very interesting image, what if we conceived of our false selves, or aspects we are trying to master, as a doppelgänger who is attempting to steal our lives and take over the reins of our existence? I bet it could be a useful way to navigate through some of these aspects of ourselves.
Because that is how it feels like sometimes, like a stranger has taken over the reins, but the resemblance is so uncanny, that it becomes almost impossible to distinguish and determine that it isn't us. Not until we choose to change, which is also shown in the story, Mac had already changed enough and put enough effort to become someone else, that the doppelgänger, despite his following and obsession over Mac, could not be anything but a caricature of the real one.
And it works like that sometimes, when looking back and the person we used to be, it does feel like that person was such a caricature, of who we have become. So, the only way to distinguish between ourselves, and our false personalities, is to... well.. make sure that there's a distinction, and that begins by choosing who to become.
But I am extending myself I feel, In summary, it was a very nice story about redemption and what it actually takes from us to create it (and I do think it is created and not found), it's an incredible amount of effort, mostly because sometimes it means we must get rid of aspects we're deeply fond of, aspects that are deeply ingrained in our psyches. In Mac's case, it was Isabella who provided the inspiration to find himself and get rid of the false Mac, the doppelgänger, and be whole again.
Now, on to The May Sins of Lord Cameron.
Regarding the doppelgänger - "I bet it could be a useful way to navigate through some of these aspects of ourselves."
Had not though of that at the time, yet now looking back at the story, one can see what you mean. Interesting.
Think you hit well on most all aspect of this story, and a couple of comments to add could be:
Spoiler: Short addition
Aside from their relationship redefining itself - knowing through their turbulences that each still had deep love for the other without the other knowing, Isabella had a dynamic at her back of her family, estranged for 6 years. She had the dynamic of a constant press writing about her life and her marriage for all to see. Mac, like his other brothers (he was in the middle and an artist with a certain erotic leaning at times), suffered under his father before he had died, and he thought he could be like his father towards Isabella.
Reactions: thorbiorn, happyliza, Alejo and 8 others
Yes, thanks Voyageur for your comments, of course it helps, I will check it out.
It seems that there are always things to work on in oneself and everything is interconnected, and of course the knowledge of new things or information personally I have seen that it helps to remove the erroneous programs or information and ignorance that one accumulates since childhood.
Several days ago I reread the first posts of this thread, and of course it refreshes more to have clear the intention of the novels and other very interesting information.
I hope this post does not make too much noise, it's just that personally about the novels, I have not read many, maybe just a little less than 10, have made me reflect a lot about the emotional impact and the mark left inside, interpersonal relationships, couple or biological family, about how long they can stay with ourselves as a scar, not as something external that you just read, but as part of a landscape of our interior that lives in different mental times, it is complex and interesting and can also be painful or distressing, but either way it seems that it is always comforting to discover the truth, in the discovery of oneself, the complexity of which we can be conformed.
Reactions: hiker, thorbiorn, Marina9 and 14 others
Yes, good point.. I think Jennifer Ashley ties it together on the next one in the series, specially that last point on your spoiler,
Reactions: Deliverance, Voyageur, happyliza and 4 others
Windmill knight
Several novels later I feel compelled to comment on a particular one that touched me more than the rest. It's 'Only a Kiss', book 6 of the Survivor's Club series, by Mary Balogh. The whole series is very good, actually. I have particularly enjoyed books 1 (Hugo's story) and 3 (Benedict's). But none has touched me as the 6th, which is Imogen's, and there's a massive spoiler coming, so do not click on the button unless you've already read it...
Spoiler: Massive Spoiler alert!
Those of you who have read it know that Imogen's particular war injury was probably the most insidious of the whole lot, as she witnessed her husband Dicky being tortured and dying. In the final chapter of the book she explains what really happened to her lover Percy, who has asked her to marry him, but she has refused due to the burden of guilt she has been carrying.
It turns out that she herself shot her husband while they were in captivity. The French soldiers had been torturing him for days, and since he wasn't 'spilling the beans', they took her into the room and threatend to rape her in his presence. She managed to grab a pistol that was lying around, but having only one bullet to make use of, she realized that the only way out for both of them was to shoot Dicky. Then she would surely be killed as well. She read in his eyes his agreement of her decision, so she killed him. But instead of killing her, the French officers took her back to the English side, and (in her words) she was punished by being allowed to live through her own personal hell. The situation is horrifying, if you think of it, it's kind of like when we read about war crimes in any of the major conflicts of the 20th century - and that's one reason it moved me so much, I think. I don't usually cry with movies or novels, but the ones I've cried the most have been war themed.
And she did live her hell. She became the 'marble lady', as Percy thought of the cold version of herself, guarding the terrible secret, guilt and pain of having killed her husband herself. For this reason, she would not allow herself to live again - except for what she thought of as a short 'vacation' by having an affair with Percy. But marry him and live happily ever after? No, she couldn't.
Well, as you can imagine, Percy finally convinces her that she is entitled to live again and be happy, that Dicky himself would have wanted her to do so, so they do marry. One common theme that these romantic novels have is that love redeems and heals. Even for people who seem hopeless, there is the possibility of the gift of redemption through love. What was particularly touching in this story was the fact that the wounds were so terrible, and in spite of that, life offered her love, and yes, she chose it too! I thought she would still carry some of that shadow inside anyway, for how could she completely forget and let go? But! she could now carry it with the help and care of someone who loved her, and that makes the whole difference. It's the miracle of love, really, that someone can be so deeply hurt, and yet be granted this gift.
One book to go - George's story. I hear it's intense too, so we'll see! :)
Reactions: thorbiorn, Mariama, Tauriel and 20 others
Sounds good I haven't read that series yet! I just started the Bedwyn Series, so maybe Surivor's Club will be next on the list.
Reactions: thorbiorn, Laurs, Alejo and 9 others
Windmill knight said:
But none has touched me as the 6th, which is Imogen's, and there's a massive spoiler coming, so do not click on the button unless you've already read it...
It was many books ago, yet the series was always building to Imogen's story, and you have the right of it in describing. Of all the authors and books, this story will always stand out and can understand how it touched you.
I think Jennifer Ashley ties it together on the next one in the series, specially that last point on your spoiler,
Oh boy, yes, Cameron. God good, such a very sad beginning - how could one even begin to over come.
Reactions: thorbiorn, Yas, Laurs and 7 others
I'll never forget the story of Imogen either, from her perspective as you well described, but also from the perspective of her late husband. During the description of what actually happened, just recalling that one word,
"Courage!"
and all that it encompasses for both of them at that moment, I am like
And such a beautiful contrast to all the tragic tears, the character of Percy, and the people and animals that made up his household, that Balogh created, who all made me laugh to tears at times.
Reactions: thorbiorn, Mariama, Breo and 14 others
Oh Imogen... that was one story that will stay with me forever.
Spoiler: Ideas on Imogen
I remember something that devastated me a few years ago, putting my dog to sleep, I still remember it as the most painful night of my life, so far. And the reason was that, he trusted me with his life and I had to end it.
There were reasons for it, Medical and understandable and kind ones, even selfless ones. But the idea of betraying someone's trust, someone innocent, is incredibly difficult to accept.
I think Dante reserved the deepest level of hell for people who had betrayed another, because he considered it the worst of sins, and it seems to me that Imogen was forced into that very place, for love... that is torture that no amount of physical pain can match. That's why I think that her story was so devastatingly touching.
I daresay you're going to love Geroge's story.
Reactions: thorbiorn, Mariama, Yas and 9 others
I have finished The Seduction of Elliot McBride by Jennifer Ashley.
It was an interesting story to get through, specially a few of the descriptions that Ashley gives on Elliot, I will be discussing a few ideas on the spoiler section below.
Spoiler: The Seduction of Elliot McBride - Jennifer Ashley
So, this story follows Elliot, who is Ainsley's brother, who married Cameron McKenzie, and Julianna.
Julianna is left at the altar by her fiancé because he fell in love with his piano teacher, and Elliot was there to take over, they end up marrying the same day and move in together. Through their story, several concepts are explored, some of the familiar to those who might've read the Survivor's club series by Balogh, but there were a few details that caught my attention.
Julianna and Elliot had a former story, they had feelings for one another growing up and that is the key to the resolution of their history together. However, they were separated as Elliot left for India with the army, and then stayed to make a fortune, upon his return, he finds Julianna and was determined to marry her, they do, overcome several difficulties, and their story concludes.
Elliot is someone who is deeply traumatized, in a terrible way really. The difference between the survivor's club, and Elliot McBride, is that he was forced to murder via torture, they had turned him into a weapon, they had killed almost all of his humanity, something that quite literally tore him off of his reality.
The reality that he had created, in which he was a certain kind of person, was completely swallowed by the darkness they forced upon him. Funny enough, it reminded me a bit of Star Wars, and I know.. but bare with me. Just like with Anakin and the younglings at the temple. ( I know I am going full fanboy), Elliot was forced to commit an atrocity in order for him to give up control of his being to his captors. And he was turned to the dark side, quite literally as it is explored in the novel, his condition is depicted as being unable to control the darkness that surrounded him.
And that really sunk in for me, sometimes it's beatings, sometimes it's gaslighting, sometimes it's lies and manipulation, but the most insidious way to gain control over someone's soul, is by forcing them to commit an act that goes so much against their principles, an act of such cruelty and darkness, that shame, guilt and regret overwhelm them, and their identity is completely broken.
He was unable to escape that place, and thoughts of being back there would overcome him, and he was transported there in an instant, completely disconnected from reality.
But, and this is where his history with Julianna came into play, she was the only one who could bring him out of it.. seduce him out of it, and the reason for this was that while in captivity, he kept her constantly present, never revealing her existence to anyone, as his inner light. They could destroy every other aspect of his sanity, but the light that she brought into his life, was unbreakable.
And that was a lovely idea, he even calls her at some point "life and heat" she was the warmth inside of him that would remind him of who he was before all the tragedy befell upon him. Sometimes we all need a muse, an inspiration, a source of light to carry on in the darkness of the world. Sometimes this is someone external to ourselves, sometimes it's a group of people, sometimes it's something inside of us, like the North Star. And every now and then, I think it would be a good idea to identify it.
The idea of forgiveness is also explored, Stacey, the person who betrayed Elliot and thus lead to his capture, makes an appearance, he asks for forgiveness, and Elliot initially refuses, but it's not until he realizes what it feels to have found peace with Julianna, that he didn't make the decision to forgive Stacey, part of overcoming the wounds of our past, however traumatic, is to let go of the guilt we bestow upon someone else.
Releasing someone of guilt, is also releasing ourselves.
Now, Julianna goes through an interesting process, which reminded me of the book by McGillchirst, she is shown as someone deeply organized, constantly making lists, taking over the fixing of the old house that Elliot purchased, and even takes a similar approach with Elliot, making a list of steps to "fix" him.
She discovers that she can't, she discovers that sometimes the best help isn't to fix someone, but to be there for them, it has a lot more impact. Fixing someone is a self centered act that places a judgement on someone else for not living up to our standards or wishes.
And not that she had any ill feelings towards Elliot, she was simply that organized in her way to see the world, or rather, the world she created through her mental relationship with it, was one that simply needed to be organized and categorized. The trouble was that she could run the risk of missing her actual impact on his life, and becoming cold and hell bent on results.
The last scene of the book is the one that reminded me of McGillchrist, Elliot decides to take Julianna out in an unplanned, unstructured walk through their property, something that she protests about, but once they reach the place that Elliot took her to, she realizes that he actually had planned it all along.
And that's a good way to look at our mentation and behavior, it's not that we ought to be completely spontaneous and flexible, or completely rigid and organized, but a proper balancing of both approaches is the best way to use all of the resources at our disposal to navigate life successfully, specially the difficult times.
It's the best way to combine both the disciplined growth and organic flow of life, you can't grow from your current position without determination, or discipline, but you will only grow in a single direction if you don't allow yourself to be flexible, and without this flexibility, life events are more likely to make you tumble and break you.
Thanks a bunch for reading!
I will be taking a bit of a break from romance while I get through The Master and his Emissary, I just picked it up and it's a very interesting read.
Reactions: thorbiorn, Breo, Korzik18 and 16 others
Cassiopaea


text:
How to Herc – An Illustrated Guide to Demigodery
March 24, 2016 March 14, 2021 / jstater	/ 5 Comments
Every day, hundreds of people (or none) email me asking how they can be more like Hercules. They also ask for my social security number, so it may be an elaborate internet scam, but in case it isn't, I present this guide.
If your fighter or barbarian character checks off everything on this list, when they die they will ascend to Mount Olympus and become a god. Any player at the table who plays a cleric will have to convert to your new religion, which obviously means they have to adopt your dead character's alignment and they lose access to spells if they don't fetch drinks and chips for you.
Kirk Morris as Hercules and Illoosh Khoshabe as Samson
Throw a Mega-Punch
At least once in his life, a real Hercules must throw a mega-punch. Here's how:
1. When making an attack, declare it's a mega-punch
2. Roll a d20, d12 and d10, adding your Str bonus and attack bonus to each dice
If all three rolls best your opponent's AC, you reduce the target to 1d6 hit points and knock them out for an hour – yep, even if its Gandalf or Cthulhu
If two hit, you score normal punching damage, and are banned from mega-punching again until you gain a new level. We're all a little disappointed in you.
If one hits, you swing wildly and miss. Any ally within fist range, though, must pass a saving throw or get clocked by you, suffering normal damage. If this occurs in a bar, your friend now has to get up and punch a stranger, and so on.
If none hit, you lose one level due to embarrassment and divine punishment. This lost level returns after you defeat something awesome in battle – without help Poindexter!
Reg Park as Hercules
Swear an Oath to the Gods
When bad shit happens to good people, look to the heavens and cry, "By the power of Zeus I will avenge you!"
Then do it.
Earn double XP, and operate under a bless spell during your next adventure.
Dear God, It's Me, Hercules
A variation on the above. Whenever you screw up something you shouldn't have, look to the sky and ask "Why have you forsaken me?"
There is a 1% chance, +1% per person at the table who laughed or snickered at your failure, that the head of the pantheon appears and tells you, and then gives you a quest to fulfill.
What's the upside? There is none. But being Hercules ain't all cheese and crackers, you know.
Gordon Scott as Hercules
Wrestle With Something Way Out of Your Class
If you're medium, it should be huge. You can warm up on something large, but eventually you need to step it up to huge. And I mean wrestle – not attack with sword. Grab it. Pin it. Choke it out.
Dan Vadis as Hercules
Ruin Architecture
If the world provides you with two pillars within arms reach of one another, you damn well better knock them down.
"But wait," you cry, "I can't do that with even an 18/00 strength!"
Then I guess you can't be a god.
Steve Reeves as Hercules
Kill Someone with Chains
And not just any chains. The chains with which they bound you. Break out of the chains, then pick them up, and then start cutting down bastards like you're harvesting grain.
Heavy chains do 1d6 damage and add 5′ to your reach. When attacking anyone who was involved in binding you, you score double damage.
Mark Forest as Hercules
Lead and Army in Skirts
No armor, just grim determination and skirts so short they would make a nun blush. Bonus if the army is Inca. You know, because of mythology and such.
Smack Around Some Moon Men
They may look like earth elementals, but trust me, they're Moon Men and they have it coming.
Note – unless you're lucky and they're on Earth plotting to resurrect their queen by draining the life from a human woman, you'll have to go to the Moon to fight them.
Choke a Thick Snake
Proudly, and announce that you're choking a thick snake. Repeatedly. And talk about how your hands are tired afterward.
Don't worry – each person at the table that snickers only adds to your glory. It's called confidence, and there's nothing manlier than that.
Sylvia Lopez as Omphale
Dally with an Evil Queen
She needs to be scary-hot. And evil.
Doing it while under a spell counts.
Changing her alignment counts for more.
Nigel Green as Hercules (one of my favorites)
Endanger The Party with Your Antics
Like, maybe by awakening Talos by stealing treasure you were specifically told not to steal.
Of course, you also have to save the day, or die trying.
Reg Park as Ursus
Kill two men-at-arms by throwing one at the other. Extra points for a trick shot.
Fight Moloch
Or a guy dressed up as Moloch.
Okay – I just included this one because I thought the guy looked cool.
Row a Galley
Bonus points if the captain can water ski behind it.
AND FINALLY …
Learn to laugh at life!
After the Fall of Troy
November 6, 2014 March 25, 2021 / jstater	/ 11 Comments
It's the end of the late Bronze Age world, and I feel fine
If D&D represents a fantasy post-apocalyptic world, it makes sense to look for ancient fallen civilizations to use as inspirations for campaigns. What better than Troy?
A silver piece from Troy
Helen was a drop dead gorgeous (and a demigoddess, the daughter of Zeus), apparently, and Paris, prince of Troy, was smitten. So smitten, in fact, that he convinced her to run away with him to Troy where they would live happily ever after.
Well, not so fast. Apparently, Helen's husband, Menelaus, the King Sparta (those happy-go-lucky fellows) was none too happy about this situation. More importantly, he had managed to extract an oath from all her old suitors (also kings and lords) when he married her. They swore that they would lend him military aid if anyone tried to steal her away as a way to ensure that none of the other great Greeks would try kidnapping her. Menelaus rallies the Greeks and off they go to lay siege to Troy for a really long time. The gods get involved here and there, and ultimately Troy falls due to the trickery of Odysseus more than the rage of Achilles. The Greeks go too far, of course, and sack the temples and are visited with many troubles.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Age of Heroes, the days when the great heroes of Greek mythology trod the earth and the gods and goddesses took a very active interest in the world, moving people around like pawns in a great game only they understood.
Eventually, the actual existence of Troy was proven, by Frank Calvert in 1865 to be precise. It's mythic history was then woven into the historic period called the Late Bronze Age Collapse. The Greeks would have called it the Golden Age Collapse, but why quibble – a collapse is a collapse.
The walls of Troy, as they were
The collapse involved the transition from the late bronze age to the early iron age, and the disruptions that resulted from this technological shift. Power structures are built on the now, and the new often causes things to tumble. According to Wikipedia, "The palace economy of the Aegean Region and Anatolia which characterised the Late Bronze Age was replaced, after a hiatus, by the isolated village cultures of the Greek Dark Ages." During this period, from 1206 to 1150 BC, we have the fall of the Mycenaean Kingdoms, the Hittite Empire, the New Kingdom of Egypt. Not only was Troy destroyed (twice, apparently), but also the Hittite capital of Hattusas, and the city of Karaoğlan.
That sounds like D&D – small villages and brand new ruins to loot and plunder.
So what is different about a Post-Troy fantasy campaign than the standard D&D campaign?
Bronze Weapons: The fighting-men of this era are fighting with bronze weapons, rather than iron or steel. Iron was not unknown in this period, but iron weapons were probably still relatively rare – they were the high-technology of the time. With this in mind, it probably makes sense to allow bronze weapons to have the standard weapon statistics in your game (short sword 1d6 damage, etc.), and make iron weapons something akin to magic weapons in your campaign. A +1 bonus to hit probably makes sense, especially since they're being employed against bronze armor. It might also make sense to treat them something like silver weapons when fighting supernatural creatures, since the manufacture of iron, and thus blacksmiths in general, was considered magical by many people (any technology advanced enough, etc. etc.)
Come on Zeusy – my boy needs a cleric spell.
Divine Champions: In the Iliad and the Odyssey, we are introduced to the concept of certain characters being favored by the Greek gods and goddesses. This brings up the idea of casting clerics not as simple priests, but rather as extraordinary men and women favored by the gods, and perhaps descended from the gods. Odysseus, for example, had the blood of Hermes flowing through his veins, and Achilles was the son of the nymph Thetis, who could intervene on his behalf with Zeus. The idea here would be that these champions could pray to the gods and get solid, concrete results because they were part of the extended divine family. One might also use the demigod class I came up with in a campaign like this. At a minimum, feel free to make the gods and goddesses active participants in the campaign.
PLACES TO VISIT, PEOPLE TO SEE
First and foremost, the Fall of Troy campaign provides a great megadungeon in the ruins of Troy. Sacked by the Greeks, a battleground (indirectly) of the gods, the famous horse, the sacked temples, the great palace, etc. Obviously, we'll need to bring in a subterranean aspect to the city – catacombs, caverns, etc. Making Troy a total ruin allows one to populate it with monsters – goblins and the like – bubbling up from the Hades' realm.
Any spot in Greek mythology is fair game, of course. The island of the gorgons, entrances to the underworld, the amazons' queendom (or its remnants), the oracle at Delphi (imagine the dungeon that exists below the oracle, from whence come the strange fumes that drive her prophecies), etc.
Maybe the perfect campaign in this setting is one patterned on the journeys of Odysseus. This would be an island-hopping campaign, with the adventurers and their henchmen traveling from place to place, maybe trying to get home, maybe searching for a new home (i.e. Aeneas) and maybe just looking for treasure and adventure.
For another wrinkle, the Late Bronze Age Collapse might have also been the time period in which a prince of Egypt, by the name of Moses, led his people across the wilderness to a land promised to them by a mysterious deity who was really going to shake things up on the deific scene. Adventurers might have a chance to meet the guy who pretty much invented the Sticks to Snakes spell (or at least, the guy who cast it first).
Partial spell list: Sticks to snakes, part water, insect plague …
A Fall of Troy campaign offers up an addition opportunity – brand new places to see. One of the famous stories that comes from the Fall of Troy is the founding of Rome by the exiled Trojan prince Aeneas. In a traditional D&D campaign, high level characters work hard to found strongholds, essentially medieval fiefs. In a Fall of Troy campaign, high level characters can work to lead their followers to a new land to found new city-states. The follow-up, of course, is a campaign of ancient war, the forging of new empires and ultimately the redrawing of the map of the ancient Mediterranean.
Fight Like a Greek Hero … In the Buff!
May 10, 2014 March 26, 2021 / jstater	/ 9 Comments
A while back, I tossed out the idea of modeling variant samurai in Ruins & Ronin by swapping out access to armor in exchange for extra special abilities.
Today, I was looking at some classical art, wherein all the great heroes fight in the buff. Now, you could swap out the fighter's normal access to armor with the monk's ability to improve AC by level if you wanted to run a campaign set in classical Greece – in fact, I would suggest it. But what if you wanted to award fighters (and other character classes that normally have access to very good armor) if they want to throw down their metal suits and fight like Hercules?
My idea would be to grant an XP bonus whenever a warrior goes into battle unarmored. You can actually tie the size of the bonus to the amount of armor the warrior forgoes. This can get tricky at lower levels though, when fighters and clerics cannot necessarily afford better armor. You don't necessarily want to hand the fighters and clerics a big XP bonus over the thieves and magic-users when they're opting not to use armor they couldn't get access to anyways.
Maybe the way to do it is this: If a character that normally has access to any armor decides to wear nothing more than leather armor (nonmagical), they get a +10% bonus to earned XP. If they decide to wear nothing more than padded, they get a +15% bonus. If they go around unarmored, but clothed, they get a +20% bonus. If they go virtually naked, they get a +25% bonus to earned XP.
You can reduce these bonuses for characters with more restrictive armor choices; you might decide that thieves who decide to go around virtually naked earn no more than a +10% bonus to earned XP, since they're really only forgoing a couple points of AC bonus.
Shields don't figure into this – the classical heroes often fought with shields. If the armor mentioned above is magical, reduce the XP bonus by 5% per magical plus (so wearing +1 leather armor translates into a +5% bonus to XP).
This could be a fun option for players with fighters who want to challenge common sense, and show off a bit in the process. It could also be a way to model the Xena's and Red Sonja's running around in less-than-optimal armor.
You might also give fighters with impressive physiques an additional bonus to reaction checks if they walk around virtually naked – i.e. permit them to add their Strength bonus in place of their Charisma bonus to reaction checks.
Titans: What Are They Good For?
September 29, 2011 March 14, 2021 / jstater	/ 2 Comments
Orcus and Demogorgon, solars and planetars, but whence the titans? These big guys and gals seem to be on a pretty even footing with the demon lords and archangels (depending on which version of the game you adhere to), but they don't get much love or use. I think this is a shame. To my way of thinking, titans represent a third way when it comes to the solars and the demon princes and dukes of Hell – neutral powers that can stand with the powers of Law and Chaos.
Perhaps the titans are the children of minor gods and goddesses. I'm talking Alala and Eleos, here, not Zeus and Aphrodite. Their parentage is divine and immortal, but they're not. Well, maybe they are immortal in terms of aging, but they are creatures of the Material Plane and thus mortal in terms of "can be killed". Where demon lords and solars hang out in the outer planes, titans live in the Material Plane, lording it over lesser beings as kings and queens by dent of their divine birth and tremendous power. How much more interesting to discover that the city-state you just wandered into is ruled by King Criomenos, the son of Moros, demi-god of impending doom and Eunomia, demi-goddess of law and legislation. You walk into this court to announce yourselves as great heroes, and find not a little man with a long, white beard, but a titan, head wreathed in gold, hand resting atop a golden sceptre as tall as your paladin and eyes that have seen centuries.
With that in mind, I decided that any titan that shows up in Nod is going to have a name, a heritage and powers commensurate with that heritage. According to S-n-W, the primary power of titans is spells – two spells of first to seventh level from both the magic-user and cleric lists, for a total of 28 spells. I decided to alter that a bit. Drawing on the old d20 SRD, I decided to instead give them all the spells (level 1 to 9) from the two cleric domains that most befit their parents. Since that gives them only 18 spells (still probably plenty), I decided to make up for it with a special defense (see below) and with the ability to commune with mommy and daddy once per day.
To determine the titan's parentage, I decided to just make a random table of the cleric domains, rolling once for mom and once for dad. I listed some potential parents from Greek mythology behind each domain.
Roll D30 – Parent
1. Air – Aello (F), Aeolus (M), Aura (F)
2. Animal – Britomartis (F), Ichnaea (F), Krotos (M), Priapus (M)
3. Artifice – Acmon (M), Aristaeus (M), Hecaterus (M), Philomelus (M), Rhapso (F)
4. Chaos/Evil – Adikia (F), Eris (F), Dysnomia (F), Kakia (F), Kydoimos (M)
5. Charm – Eros (M), Hedone (F), Iynx (F), Peitho (F)
6. Community – Eunomia (F), Harmonia (F), Hymenaios (M), Nomos (M), Praxidike (F)
7. Creation – Euporie (F), Othorsie (F), Porus (M)
8. Darkness – Charon (M), Erebos (M), Nyx (F), Tartarus (M)
9. Death – Macaria (F), Melinoe (F), Thanatos (M)
10. Destruction – Alecto (F), Enyo (F), Moros (M), Nemesis (F)
11. Earth – Chrysus (M), Plutus (M)
12. Fire – Phlegethon (M)
13. Glory – Agon (M) , Eucleia (F), Kalokagathia (F), Nike (F), Pheme (F)
14. Good/Law – Arete (F), Astraea (F), Dike (F), Eunomia (F), Nomos (M), Peitharch (F)
15. Healing – Aceso (F), Eirene (F), Eleos (M), Eupraxia (F), Panacea (F), Philophrosyne (F)
16. Knowledge – Polymatheia (F)
17. Liberation – Momus (M)
18. Luck – Tyeche (F)
19. Madness – Deimos (M), Lyssa (F), Epiales (M)
20. Magic – Astraios (M), Circe (F), Despoina (F), Telete (F), Zagreus (M)
21. Nobility – Kalokagathia (F)
22. Plant – Amphictyonis (F), Carmanor (M), Chloris (F), Karpo (F), Silenus (M), Thallo (F)
23. Protection – Soter (M)
24. Strength – Bia (F), Kratos (M), Ponos (M)
25. Sun – Alectrona (F), Eos (F), Helios (M), Hemera (F)
26. Travel – Angelia (F), Arke (M), Ioke (F), Iris (F)
27. Trickery – Apate (F), Ate (F), Dolos (M)
28. War – Alala (F), Enyalius (M), Homandos (M), Polemos (M)
29. Water – Amphitrite (F), Galene (F), Glaucus (M), Proteus (M), Thetis (F), Thalassa (F)
30. Weather – Briareus (M), Chione (F), Tethys (F), Typhon (M)
A few of the categories are pretty sparse when it comes to divine representation, but what can you do.
You can find the various domains HERE and HERE. The spells that don't show up in your favorite version of the game are easy enough to convert. If you don't like conversions, use another spell that fits. Personally, I like the idea of a titan throwing down a spell the party clerics and magic-users have never heard of – maybe if they make a good impression and grovel a bit, the titan will teach them the secret!
Special Defenses
Special defenses should relate to the parentage, and the Ref might want to give them more than one special defense. Defenses for the titan might include:
+5 to save vs. poison or disease
Cannot be attacked by different kinds of creatures like reptiles, birds or plant creatures
Cannot be surprised
Immune to energy drain or falling damage
Immune to a class of spells – i.e. illusions, death spells or mind control
Magic resistance (maybe 15% for the least titans, with a 5% bump per additional hit dice)
Only harmed by +1 weapons
Resistance (half damage) from iron weapons or missile weapons, etc.
Resistance (half damage) to cold, fire, electricity, acid, etc.
You can probably think of others.
Using the example above, King Criomenos might have the following stats:
KING CRIOMENOS, Titan: HD 20 (109 hp); AC –1 [20]; Atk 1 sceptre (2d8) or javelin (2d6); Move 21; Save 3; CL/XP 22/5100; Special: Immune to death spells, spells (bless, cause disease, cause critical wounds, cause light wounds, disintegrate, earthquake, greater status, harm, heroes' feast, implosion, mass cause light wounds, mass heal, prayer, refuge, shatter, status, sympathy, telepathic bond), commune with Eunomia and Moros.
The Gods of the Motherlands – Part Three
Lawful god of valor, honor, chivalry and soldiers
Wields a lance
Served by angels
Symbolized by a bull or cross
Mithras' clerics enjoy a +1 bonus to hit and damage the undead
Mithras is a demigod associated with Minerva. His cult originated with the dervishes, who cast him as the prophesied slayer of Tiamat. Mithras is a patron of chivalry and is worshiped by soldiers and the nobility.
Mithras is depicted as a handsome young warrior wearing a Phyrigian cap and a crimson cape. His temples, called mithraeum, are constructed in caves and kept secret, for his is a mystery cult that is spread from initiate to initiate. A place of honor in his temples is reserved for an idol of the god slaying a bull, a serpent and dog drinking from the animal's bleeding wound. Other symbols that may appear with the idol are a goblet, small lion, raven and scorpion. Twin celestial torchbearers stand on either side of the idol with their legs crossed. Above Mithras, the symbols for Sol Invictus and Luna are present in the starry night sky. New initiates to the cult are brought to such a temple where a mystagogue explains the symbolism and theology. A rite is then performed to re-enact the Water Miracle, in which a bolt is fired into a rock, causing water to spout from it.
The Mithras cult has seven ranks, which are in order: Raven, Bridegroom, Soldier, Lion, Perseus, Sun-Courier and Father.
Mithras is celebrated September 29.
Nethuns, Poseidon
Neutral god of the sea, storms and earthquakes
Wields a trident
Patron deity of Dominions
Served by fey, water elementals
Symbolized by a trident or dolphin
Sacred animals are the dolphin, horse and bull
Neptunus' druids can cast Water Breathing as a 2nd level spell
Neptunus is the god of the seas, oceans, rivers, lakes, and earthquakes. He has the power to create new life forms and is the creator of bulls and horses. He can also summon and control non-divine forms of sea life and change his own shape into that of any living being at will. In his true form, he is a man standing a hundred feet tall holding a trident and wearing a crown.
Neptunus is capable of raising islands up from the sea or shattering them with earthquakes. He can bring fair weather to sailors or strike them with a terrible storm, necessitating sacrifices in the form of drowning horses.
Neptunus is the son of Saturnus and Rhea, and the brother of Jove, Juno, Pluto and Vesta. His consort is Amphitrite. He has fathered many heroes, including Theseus and Orion. He is the father of Arion the talking horse by Ceres and the father of Pegasus by Medusa. Other monstrous children are the tritons, mermaids, cyclops and giants.
Neptunalia (July 23-24): Games are held during this festival, including a knightly tournament and boat races. People erect colorful pavilions and use them for feasting and entertaining friends.
Aidoneus, Dispater, Hades, the Silent One
Neutral god of the underworld and its treasures
Wields a mace
Served by earth elementals and the undead
Symbolized by a ram's head
Sacred animals are the ram, raven and serpent
Pluto's druids can rebuke undead as a cleric 3 levels lower
Pluto is the King of the Underworld and lord over all it contains, from the souls of the dead to the precious metals and gems locked inside it. Pluto is also the god of wine under the name Dionysus Cthonios. He also has a measure of control over the creatures that dwell underground, especially the treasure hording dragons. Although not evil, Pluto is grim and morbid, and thus not popular among gods or mortals. In fact, mortals fear him enough that they rarely utter his name, lest they draw his attention. Although Pluto rules the Underworld, he is not death itself. That entity is called Thanatos.
Pluto's kingdom is called Erebus and contains such places as the Asphodel Meadows, Elysium and Tarterus, the abode of the Titans and devils. The five rivers of Erebus are Acheron (Woe), Cocytus (Lamentation), Phlegethon (Fire), Lethe (Oblivion) and Styx (Hate).
Pluto is the brother of Neptunus and Jove, and with them defeated the Titans and claimed rulership over the cosmos. His wife is Persephone, daughter of Ceres.
Secular Games (May 31 – June 3): Every hundred years (a saeculum) the Secular Games are held in Pluto's honor. The games include all manner of athletic endeavors, with nightly sacrifices of lambs, she-goats, bulls, sacrificial cakes, cows and sows.
Theuth
Lawful god of learning, writing and magic
Wields a staff
Patron deity of Ibis (as Thoth)
Served by elohim
Symbolized by a quill or book
Prometheus' clerics can learn one 1st level magic-user spell at each odd level, and cast them in place of cleric spells
Prometheus is the god of magic, philosophy, science and learning. He is the patron of scholars, illusionists, scientists, wizards and potters (since he created man from clay). Prometheus' temples are gathering places for philosophers and scholars to debate and learn; they are often connected to universities and colleges. Promethean clerics are dedicated to the protection of their deity's worshipers, and the enlightenment of human and demi-humankind.
Prometheus is the brother of Epimetheus ("Afterthought"), Atlas ("Enduring") and Menoetius ("Ruined Strength"). His parents are the titans Japetus and Clymene. Prometheus' gift of fire to mortals earned him the enmity of Jove, who had him bound to a rock while an eagle ate his liver every day, only for it to grow back. Prometheus was eventually freed by Hercules.
Aphrodite, Astarte, Turan
Lawful goddess of love and beauty
Patron deity of Ishkabibel
Served by elohim and nymphs
Symbolized by a mirror or crown
Venus' clerics enjoy a +1 bonus to reaction checks
Venus is the goddess of beauty, love and gardens. As befits her position, she is an enthusiastic companion of the male gods. She is married to Vulcanus, but this did not stop her from consorting with Mars, Neptunus, Pluto and others. Venus can charm any male, god or mortal, and can generate strong emotions (love, hate, anger, sorrow, etc.) in any intelligent being. The myrtle, dove, sparrow and swan are sacred to her.
Although she can assume any form (all of them beautiful), in her true form she is a woman of astonishing beauty with golden hair. She also has a more martial aspect, sometimes appearing armored and carrying a mace.
Venus was created when Cronus castrated his father, Saturnus, and cast his testicles into the sea. She is married to Vulcanus, but has had notable affairs with Mars, Mercurius, Pluto and Adonis. Her children include Cupid, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia and Fortuna.
May Day (May 1): The day is celebrated by the gathering of herbs and wild water (from which holy water is made), the blessing of houses, 'beating the bounds', greenwood marriages, and dancing around May Poles.
Hephaestos, Mulciber, Weyland
Neutral god of fire, volcanos, smiths and invention
Wields a battle axe
Patron deity of Galardis
Served by fire elementals
Symbolized by a hammer and anvil
Druid totems are the bull, boar and serpent
Volcanus' druids enjoy a +1 bonus to save vs. fire and heat
Volcanus is the god of fire, earth, and the forge. He is the smith of the gods, creating their weapons, armor and thrones. Volcanus is also a patron of engineers and an expert trap maker. Temples of Volcanus are decorated with precious stones and metals and are usually supported by the local guild of smiths.
Volcanus is depicted as a dour, ugly man with a twisted leg. He carries the tools of a smith and his skin is blackened from soot and exposure to fire.
Volcanus is the son of Juno, created by her alone as Jove created Minerva. Hurled from heaven for his ugliness, he was found by the sea nymph Thetis and raised as her son. His wife is Venus, though they are estranged due to her indiscretions. He is the creator of Pandora from clay and the father of Periphetes, the demi-god of bandits.
Vulcanalia (August 23): Bonfires are created in honor of the god. The bonfires are used to roast fish and small animals and a red bull-calf and a red boar are sacrificed at the god's temple to ward away destructive fires.
The Gods of the Motherlands – Part Two
September 9, 2010 March 20, 2021 / jstater	/ 1 Comment
Continuing the Gods of the Motherlands with Hercules through Minerva.
Also – For those that purchased an electronic copy of NOD #4, I have attached the missing cover. You should be able to download it again with the cover – if not, let me know and I'll send it to you as a PDF.
Donar, Heracles
Lawful god of strength, adventure, heroism and rebirth
Wields a club
Patron deity of Guelph
Served by elohim and cherubim
Symbolized by a lion
Clerics can cast the magic-user spell Strength
Hercules is strength personified. While still an infant, he strangled two huge snakes with his bare hands. Hercules is a fearless adventurer whose many escapades are the stuff of legend. A robust, cheerful man, he has an appetite for food and women that almost equals that of his father.
Hercules appears as a stout man with a long beard, usually wearing a lion's skin or leather armor, brandishing a large, wooden club. Hercules is the son of Jove by the mortal woman Alcmene. Being born by Jove from an extra-marital tryst has earned Hercules the enmity of Juno, protector of marriage and sister-wife of Jove.
Hercules is best known for his Twelve Labors, quests he had to complete to atone for killing his own children when he was driven insane by vengeful Juno. The labors included killing a giant lion, hydra, giant deer, giant boar, cleaning stables, killing the Stymphalian birds (giant cranes with metal beaks), capturing a giant bull, rounding up carnivorous horses, stealing the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the amazons, herding the cattle of Geryon, fetching the Apples of Hesperides and capturing Cerberus, guard dog of Hades. Because many of these labors included slaying giant beasts, Hercules is often taken as a patron by rangers.
Grande Tourney (July 22 – August 7): During the Hercules' tournament, people compete at various athletic and musical contests. Brass tripods are awarded to the victors.
God, Jupiter, Zeus
Lawful god of the upper sky and royalty
Wields a lightning bolt
Patron deity of Nomo
Served by angels and air elementals
Symbolized by a lightning bolt
Clerics can cast the magic-user spell Lightning Bolt as a 5th level spell, dealing damage as though 2 levels lower.
Jove is the king of the gods, though his command over them is far from absolute and his decisions are often challenged. Jove is the god of the sky, the ruler of all high things, including the clouds, rain, wind, thunder, and mountain summits. He is the protector of laws, friend of the weak, and dispenser of justice. Jove is also worshiped as Father Oak, or the Green Man, the masculine force of procreation.
Although Jove can take any form he wishes, he often assumes the form of a powerful, bearded man with regal bearing when he visits the mortal world. His true form is that of a ball of fiery light so intense that no mortal can look upon him without bursting into flames.
Jove is the husband of Juno, queen of the gods. He is the father of Minerva, Apollo Helios and Hercules. His brothers are Neptunus, ruler of the oceans, and Plutus, ruler of the Underworld. Jove's father was Saturn, king of the titans.
Gulestide (December 22-28): Gulestide is not only a time of feasting and merriment, but also a time when the world is turned upside down; masters and slaves, teachers and students and nobles and peasants switch places for a time, with the proceedings led by an elected Lord of Misrule.
Juno Regina
Hera, Saturnia
Lawful goddess of women, marriage and cattle
Wields a spear
Served by angels and erinyes
Symbolized by the cow, peacock or pomegranate
Clerics of Juno can, at 5th level, summon an erinyes once per month to punish an oath breaker
Juno is the goddess who protects women and the sanctity of marriage. She is known for her vengeful nature, especially toward the paramours of her husband Jove. She is the queen of the gods, often depicted enthroned and wearing a diadem and veil. Poets usually describe her as cow-eyed, indicating large, beautiful eyes.
Offerings to Juno take the form of pomegranates and poppy seeds, or ivory ornaments in the shape of pomegranates and poppy seeds.
Juno is the wife and elder sister of Jove and the daughter of Rhea and Saturnus. Her children by Jove are Mars, Juventas, Discordia and Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth. She reputedly created Vulcan without the aid of her husband in response to his creation of Minerva.
Matronalia (June 1): On this day, women perform rites in the temple of Juno. They are permitted to wear their hair down and not permitted to wear belts or any knots in their clothing. Husbands are expected to say prayer for their wives and children give presents to their mothers.
Ares, Camulus
Chaotic god of war
Patron deity of Azsor
Served by demons
Symbolized by a spear and shield
Clerics of Mars are permitted the use of swords, though they must be cleaned of blood after use and anointed with expensive oils (worth 10 gp with each use)
Mars is the god of blood lust and slaughter. He is fond of strife, anger, and unrestrained blood-letting. As such, he is not a very popular god and is only worshiped by a large numbers of people in the city-states of Guelph and Nomo. Vultures and dogs are sacred to him.
Mars usually appears as a large man with burning, hateful eyes and a permanent scowl etched across his mouth. He wears ornate platemail armor and carries a flaming sword.
Mars is the son of Jove and Juno, the husband of Bellona and the lover of Venus. He is attended by Deimos (terror) and Phobos (fear) in battle, his sons by Venus, and by Adrestia, his daughter by his sister Discordia. Other members of his retinue are Nike, the deathless spirit of victory, Kydoimos, the demon of the din of battle, the Makhai (battles), the Hysminai (man-slaughters) and Alala, personification of the war cry. Mars' other children by Venus are Cupid and Harmonia.
Armilustrium (November 12): On this day weapons of the army are purified and stored for the winter. The army is assembled and reviewed and garlanded with flowers. Trumpets blare and citizens gathered with their arms and armor take part in a procession with torches and sacrificial animals. Young noblemen dressed as ancient warriors with red capes take part in ritual dances.
Hermes, Lugus, Psychopompos
Lawful god of trade, gambling, thieves
Patron deity of Blackpoort
Symbolized by a cadeuceus, tortoise, cock or winged sandals
Clerics can cast the magic-user spell Charm Person
Mercurius is the god of travelers, merchants, thieves, gamblers, athletes and eloquent speech. He also serves the gods as a messenger and an arbitrator of disputes. As a god of travelers and a slayer of giants (Argos, in particular), some rangers choose to worship Mercurius as their patron.
Mercurius is depicted as a handsome, athletic youth wearing a broad-brimmed traveler's hat and carrying a white caduceus (winged rod entwined by two serpents).
Mercurius is the son of Jove and Maia, a daughter of Atlas. His children include Faunus, the god of satyrs, Hermaphroditus, a man merged with the nymph Salmacis, Fortuna, goddess of fortune, and Autolycus, prince of thieves and grandfather of Ulysses.
Shrovetide (April 1): Merchants sprinkle their heads, ships, wagons and merchandise with holy water. Shrovetide is a day of raucous celebrations with a carnival atmosphere.
Lawful goddess of wisdom, crafts, strategy and war
Wields a long sword
Patron deity of Gwenth
Symbolized by an owl
Clerics can cast the magic-user spell Shield (see below)
Minerva is Jove's favorite daughter and the virgin goddess of strategy, architecture, sculpture, spinning, weaving, horses, ox olives, prudence, and wise counsel. Though she is a warrior goddess, she is no less skilled in the arts of peace, inventing the potter's wheel, teaching men to tame horses and helping them to build great ships. Minerva is also a patron of chivalry and knighthood.
Minerva is depicted as a statuesque woman of great beauty attended by an owl. She wears the Aegis, a breastplate of goatskin with serpent fringes, a shield that bears a gorgon face, and a helm decorated with a winged lion.
Minerva was created by Jove without a mother, and as a virgin has no offspring of her own. She is often accompanied by Nike, the goddess of victory. She has aided many heroes, including Ulysses, Jason and Hercules.
Candlemas (February 1): The highlight of the day are candle-lit processions and rites of purification. It is especially an artisan's holiday. Women consult fortune tellers on this day, plays are exhibited, and contests for orators and poets are held.
The Gods of the Motherlands – Part One
September 7, 2010 March 20, 2021 / jstater
The Priestly Colleges
Although many deities are worshiped in the Motherlands, the following deities are the most popular and well known. Most city-states have a temple or shrine to each of them. Each city-state in the Motherlands has a college of priests (usually 10 to 20), with one priest assigned to manage each temple. The college is headed by a pontiff, and each temple priest is assisted by a staff of lesser clergy. Some city-states have an upper college dedicated to the Motherlander deities and a lower college that oversees the temples of foreign deities.
Apollo Helios
Apollon, Apulu, Belenus
Lawful god of sun, music, archery and herdsmen
Wields a bow
Patron deity of Antigoon
Symbols are the lyre, crook, sunburst or cross
Clerics can cast the magic-user spell Fireball as a 5th level cleric spell, dealing damage as though 3 levels lower.
Apollo Helios is the god of the sun, archery, medicine, healing, light, truth, oracle, colonists, patron defender of herds and flocks, music and poetry, homosexuality, harmony, order, reason and plague. He helps ripen crops, destroys pests, cures illnesses, and protects shepherds and their flocks. Apollo is not entirely beneficent. He carries a bow with terrible arrows that visit plague and disease upon the targets he fires them at.
In his true form, Apollo Helios is a beardless young man of divine beauty who radiates warmth and light. Apollo Helios always carries a lyre or longbow; in fact, the object he carries can take either form as the god desires.
Apollo Helios is the son of Jove and Leto, half-brother of Mars, Minerva and Hercules and twin brother of Diana.
Midsummer's Day (May 15): People build huge bonfires and walk themselves and their livestock between them to protect them from the diseases of warm weather. Masked mummers frolic and folk stay up all night making merry.
Atlas Telamon
Lawful god of strength, perseverance, exploration
Patron deity of Dweomer Bay
Served by devas, giants
Symbolized by a globe or compass
Clerics can cast the magic-user spell Enlarge
Atlas is worshiped not only as a deity of strength and endurance, but also as a god of exploration and cartography. He is the strongest of the titans who separates the heavens from the earth. Atlas appears as a giant of man holding the tools of exploration: compass, sextant, spyglass and globe.
Atlas is the son of Japetus and Clymenem, the daughter of the titan Oceanus. His brothers are Prometheus, Menoetius and Epimetheus. His own children are mostly daughters, and include the Hesperides by Hesperis, the Hyades and Pleiades by Aithra, and Calypso, Dione and Maera by unspecified goddesses.
Atlas' temples are supported by merchant societies and in turn fund cartographers and explorers. Temples of Atlas are decorated with images of exotic lands, animals and people. The classic cleric of Atlas will wear three-quarters plate and be found at the head of a column of explorers plunging into unknown lands.
Ceres Dea Frugu
Neutral goddess of grain, agriculture and fertility
Patron deity of Lyonesse
Served by fey creatures, earth elementals and erinyes
Symbolized by a poppy, sow or mare
Sacred animals are the bear, crow and horse
Druids can cast the spell Respite from Death
Ceres is the queen of the fruitful earth, goddess of agriculture, and patron of motherly love. Without her blessing, no crops may grow on the earth. Ceres will not hesitate to use this fact to blackmail men and other gods if the need exists. Ceres also has control over the weather. A sow is sacrificed to her when a death occurs in a family. Ceres is a usually a benevolent goddess. If her worshipers ignore their duties, however, she does not hesitate to destroy their crops and send famine upon them.
In her true form, Ceres is a beautiful woman, but she can change her own shape and that of others at will. She carries the cornucopia, or horn of plenty, and a scepter.
Ceres is the daughter of Saturn and Rhea and sister of Jove, Juno, Vesta, Neptunus and Plutus. She is the mother of Persephone by Jove. When pursued by Neptunus, she took the form of a mare to escape him. She could not hide her divinity, though, and Neptunus took the form of a stallion and coupled with her, producing a daughter called "the Damsel", who leads the avenging erinyes, and a black-maned, divinely swift, speaking horse called Arion.
Lammastide (August 1): Celebration of first fruits, when loaves are baked from the first harvested grain and shared with friends and family.
Respite from Death (Druid Level 4): A recently killed comrade's soul is released from the Land of the Dead as a shade for a limited time. If the person's body has not been destroyed, it can re-animate it as a zombie with the mentality of the deceased (with one half of the deceased memorized spells, determined randomly, and all special class abilities except saving throws and attack bonuses, which are per a zombie's statistics). The shade can persist in the re-animated body for 24 hours only. If the body cannot be inhabited, the shade uses the statistics of a shadow, but can only remain for 1 hour. In either case, the soul cannot subsequently be raised, resurrected or reincarnated for a period of 9 months.
Diana Prima Dea
Artemis, Brigantia, Nicevenn
Neutral goddess of maidens, the moon and hunting
Patron deity of Tremayne
Served by dryads, nymphs and giant animals
Symbolized by a boar or the moon
Sacred animals are the eagle, boar and wolf
Druids may cast the spell Coursing Hound
The huntress Diana is the patroness of young girls and the mistress of beasts and all wild things. Because she will have nothing to do with men, she is a favorite goddess of the Amazons. Except for helping women during childbirth, she avoids involving herself in mortal concerns and matters. She values her privacy, and will severely punish any man violating it. Merchants, always on the hunt for profits, also pray to her to give them persistence.
In her true form, she appears as a slim young girl wearing buckskins and carrying a longbow. She is sometimes mounted upon a stag. Oak groves are sacred to her. Diana is the daughter of Jove and Latona and the twin sister of Apollo Helios. She is associated with the water nymph Egeria and the woodland god Virbius.
Diana's high priest is the rex Nemorensis, or "King of Groves", stationed near a sacred lake near Tremayne. The rex Nemorensis attains the position through a trial by combat, killing the reigning king of the grove. Combat may only be initiated, though, if the challenging druid is able to pluck a golden bough from one of the trees in the sacred grove.
Those trees in whose dim shadow
The ghastly priest doth reign
The priest who slew the slayer,
And shall himself be slain.
Whitsuntide (May 15): On this day Whitsun Ales (fairs) and horse races are held, mummers dress as wild forest men, and hunting is forbidden.
Coursing Hound (Druid Level 2): The druid conjures a ghostly hound that can track on a roll of 1-5 on 1d6 (-1 chance for each day since the tracks were made, additional -1 chance if the tracks have been obscured by snow, hard stone or running water). The hound exists for 24 hours and cannot attack or be attacked.
Hekat, Trivia
Neutral goddess of ghosts, witchcraft and curses
Wields a dagger
Served by demons and the fey
Symbolized by a torch and key
Sacred animals are the wolf, serpent and horse
Priests can cast the spell Entrancing Dance
Hecate is the enigmatic and dark virgin goddess of the undead and witchcraft. She is also associated with childbirth and rearing, doorways, walls, crossroads, torches and dogs. Most city-states, towns and villages honor her with, at the very least, a shrine and a lichfield. She is also associated with the concoction of medicines and poisons, thus making her a patron of alchemists, apothecaries and assassins. Hecate is served by chaotic clerics and druids.
Hecate is depicted as a three-headed goddess, either with the heads of three maidens or with the heads of a dog, serpent and horse. She is the daughter of the titans Terra and Uranus, the Earth and Sky.
The most common offering to Hecate is meat left at a crossroads. Dogs are sometimes sacrificed to her. A more intense ritual requires one to bathe in a stream of flowing water at midnight, don dark robes, dig a pit and then offer a libation of honey and blood from the throat of a sheep. The libation is placed on a pyre next to the pit by the petitioner, who then leaves the site, never looking back.
Hallowtide (Nov 1): The boundaries between the Mortal World and the Ethereal Plane are thinnest on this day. People light bonfires, stay up all night, drink beer and enjoy the end of the harvest season.
Entrancing Dance (Cleric/Druid Level 3): As the priest dances, all those present (except the priest's allies, unless the priest chooses to affect them as well) must save or become entranced. A new save must be made each round the priest dances without interruption (i.e. takes damage), and a dancing priest loses any dexterity bonus to Armor Class. Entranced creatures take on a bestial aspect and begin attacking one another savagely (+2 to hit and damage) until no rivals survive or the dance stops.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We thought you may like to get to know your scoopers better: Most clients are at work when we service their yards; therefore, we started this feature article at the beginning of this year. Each month 2-3 techs and/or office staff are profiled. Did you miss the article featuring your tech? Check out the techs featured in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August & September.
I am a very hard worker. I try to be the best employee I can be. I'm always ready to work no matter what the weather is like outside. I love my job.
I am a Colorado native. I lived 16 years in North Carolina. I served in the Army for six years and proudly served in Desert Storm. After the service, I went to school at Duke University. I worked in North Carolina as a production engineer for 16 years. I then came home to the place I love, Colorado. Here I found the people I love, two girls (11 & 13), a young man (23) and their beautiful mom. I have always been a dog lover and have found a home at Pet Scoop. The business, "clients" and their owners have been very good to me and I love what I do! If you love what you do everyday, you never work a day in your life!


text:
Q: How do I solve "Uncaught Error: [News] is not a  component. All component children of  must be a or "? I am trying to make a news app and this version 6 of react-router-dom is not working. Can anybody tell me how to fix it?
The code below gives me this error:

Uncaught Error: [News] is not a  component. All component children of  must be a or <React.Fragment>

import "./App.css";
import { BrowserRouter as Router, Routes, Route } from "react-router-dom";
import React, { Component } from "react";
import NavBar from "./components/NavBar";
import News from "./components/News";
export default class App extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        <Router>
          <NavBar />
          <Routes>
          <Route exact path="/"><News key="general" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="general"/></Route>
          <Route exact path="/business"><News key="business" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="business"/></Route>
          <Route exact path="/entertainment"><News key="entertainment" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="entertainment"/></Route>
          <Route exact path="/general"><News key="general" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="general"/></Route>
          <Route exact path="/health"><News key="health" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="health"/></Route>
          <Route exact path="/science"><News key="science" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="science"/></Route>
          <Route exact path="/sports"><News key="sports" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="sports"/></Route>
          <Route exact path="/technology"><News key="technology" pageSize={this.pageSize} country="in" category="technology"/></Route>
          </Routes>
        </Router>
      </div>
    );
  }
}
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react/16.6.3/umd/react.production.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/react-dom/16.6.3/umd/react-dom.production.min.js"></script>

A: In React-router-dom v.6 you should use element attribute:
<Route path="/" element={<News />} />

instead of wrapped components like
<Route path="/" element={<News />} > <News /> </Route>

as it did in version 5
see docs: https://reactrouter.com/docs/en/v6/upgrading/v5#relative-routes-and-links

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


HOUSTON - A man involved in the 2012 killing of a man over Air Jordan shoes has pleaded guilty.
Anthony Wade got 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated robbery. He has already served a little over three years, so he'll be eligible for parole in 17 years.
In December 2012, police said Wade was in a car with three other men who went to rob Joshua Woods and his friend for their brand new Air Jordan sneakers the day the coveted shoes were released.
Upon returning to the friend's house, the group of men pulled up and tried to rob them of the shoes. Woods and his friend took off, but the men opened fire.
Bland fired 14 shots from a .40-caliber handgun, one of the bullets hit Woods in the head, prosecutors said. The vehicle crashed into a house.
"He (Wade) does feel remorse. It was a horrible situation," Wade's defense attorney William Cheadle said.
Cheadle said Woods' mother, Daizy Williams, delivered an emotional victim impact statement.
"I also feel that today healing can begin and he will allow the mother of the dead child to come visit him so I think that's very powerful," he said.
For Woods' family and friends the painful court process is almost over.
"A day to move forward, especially in light of all of the healing we as a community have to do, we as a state have to do and we as a nation have to do," Cheadle said.
Last week, Deron Taylor was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Neil Bland was convicted of capital murder in February and sentenced to life in prison.
Keagean Arrington is the fourth man accused in the case.


MADRID (Reuters) – Spain's Supreme Court dropped a European arrest warrant for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Thursday after Germany refused to extradite him to face a charge of rebellion for declaring Catalonia an independent state last year.
Puigdemont initially traveled to Belgium where the prospect of charges being restricted led Spain to drop an arrest warrant in December. The judge reissued it later, causing Germany to arrest Puigdemont when he traveled there in April.


About Tingley Electric Services, Inc.
We deliver high quality residential and commercial electrical services to the Boston Metro-West community.
Tingley Electric Services is locally owned & operated by Vinny Tingley and has been providing residential & commercial electrical services to the Boston Metrowest area since 2003. Over the years the team expanded but the one thing that remains constant is the commitment to quality work and superior customer service. We specialize in lighting design and installation, service work, home repairs, energy audits, home automation and residential & commercial wiring. Our team of expert electricians are experienced, licensed, and trustworthy – we treat every job as if it were our own home.
We've grown our business through loyal customers and referrals as a result of our dedication to integrity and delivering excellence in electrical services. Working with the unique needs of your home or place of business is very important to us, which is why we can customize our service offerings and provide the solutions you need to get the job right. Our extensive experience allows us to work with older homes to new construction.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide you with reliable service and customer satisfaction for all your electrical needs.
Uniformed and background check employees.
Employees wear floor savers in your home.
We always answer the phone and return all calls as quickly as possible.
Highest quality of trained electricians with weekly training to keep up to date on current trends. They are confident and experts in their field.
We only hire experienced electricians that have residential experience.
Our employees work in a team approach atmosphere. They care about each other and the project we work on.
No high pressure sale tactics.
We are respectful of your home, pay attention to detail and will leave it neat and clean.
We arrive within a 2 hour window for your appointment.
We know your time is valuable and we get right to work on your electrical needs so you can get on with your day.
Straight Forward Pricing. You will know the exact cost for your project before we start. We offer ideas and solutions to get your project done.
We love to help design lighting in your home and can suggest ideas to improve your homes lighting and energy efficiency.
We purchase only the highest quality product for your peace of mind.
We offer a plan that guarantees your new installation for life.
We perform a safety inspection of your home with a written report for no additional charge.
While we are all in business to make a profit, we also believe business should serve a greater need. At Tingley Electric we feel our business can be honorable and noble and make a difference in communities and individual lives around us. Below is a list of some of the organizations we help out in our community.
Vinny Tingley is on the Board of Directors and helps out each week.
Open to the public every Thursday night at 5:00 at St. Paul's Church on East Central is a free community dinner. The dinner is open to anyone in the community looking to enjoy a meal with friends and neighbors. It's a great opportunity to meet new people and enjoy each others company. Dinner is served promptly at 5:30. The meals are put on each week by different organizations in the community. ie boy scout troops, girl scout troops, rotary, lions club, Temple Israel, local middle schools. The Open door is always looking for groups willing to cook a meal for 40-50 people. Contact Joan Bace if interested 508-380-7883.
Vinny Tingley helps set up each Saturday morning.
The Natick Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 9-1. It is held outside at the Natick common in the spring, summer and fall and at the Common Street Spiritual Center across from the common in the winter. There are a variety of farmers and vendors there each week. Lots of homemade baked goods, jams, salsa and clothing. It's a chance to support our local businesses.
Vinny Tingley has been a Natick Rotary member for over 3 years.
Natick Rotary meets every Tuesday at 12:15 at the Dolphin restaurant. The Rotary club is always looking for new members who would love to support the local community. Some of the activities that the Rotary is involved with is the annual Tour de Natick bike ride, St. Patricks Senior Day brunch, helps support Natick food pantry and a Place to Turn. They are involved in many other activities thrughout the year. Our website is www.NatickRotary.org.
Vinny Tingley helps them with donations and through Natick Rotary.
The Natick Service Counsel is a local organization involved in helping the community in need. One of their biggest projects is helping people and families in need of food and personal items. A list of items that are needed most is listed on their web site. They are also looking for volunteers to help stock the shelves. Their website www.natickservicecouncil.org.


Futura Omnimedia is an audio and video production and post-production house that also offers creative and technical consultation and training. We support independent media production with a variety of services.
We have technical proficiencies in Mac/Windows/Linux, MS office, audio/video production tools, website administration, databases, media asset management, CRM, SaaS, and more.
Send us a note to ask about what we can help you with!


text:
Mike Shannon on his decision to retire from broadcasting the Cardinals after 2021 season
Arias' Final Plea To Jury, 'I'll donate my hair'
PHOENIX, AZ - An Arizona jury resumes deliberations in the Jodi Arias murder trial Wednesday. Jurors must decide whether Arias will face the death penalty. On Tuesday Arias asked them to spare her life. That night she gave an interview from jail.
Jodi Arias began her plea for her life with an acknowledgement of the pain she has caused the family of Travis Alexander, the former boyfriend she brutally murdered in 2008.
"Nothing drove that point home for me more than when I heard them speak last week. I never meant to cause them so much pain." said Arias. "To this day I can hardly believe I was capable of such violence. But I know that I was. And for that I'm going to be sorry for the rest of my life."
The rest of her statement to the jury was in sharp contrast to the interview she gave to a local reporter minutes after her conviction. Then, she spoke of suicide and said she would prefer the death penalty.
"I didn't know then that if I got life instead of death that I could become employed and self-reliant. I didn't know that if I got life there are many things I can do to affect positive change and contribute in a meaningful way. In prison there are programs I can start and people I can help." said Arias.
Arias promised, among the things, to continue her practice of donating hair to cancer victims, and to teach Spanish, sign language and reading to other inmates.
One surprise, she displayed the t-shirt she's been selling to raise money for domestic violence victims even though the jury rejected her claims that she killed Alexander in self-defense.
"Some people may not believe that I am a survivor of domestic violence. They are entitled to their opinion. I'm supporting this cause because it's very, very important to me." said Arias.
As convicted killer Jodi Arias waits for a jury to decide if she will be executed or sentenced to life in prison, she sat for a new round of media interviews.
Earlier Tuesday, she began pleading for the jury to spare her life by acknowledging the pain she has caused the family of Travis Alexander, the former boyfriend she brutally murdered in 2008.
Without any mitigation witnesses testifying on her behalf, it was entirely left to Arias to appeal for mercy, by showing her artwork and family photos.
"Every time I've had the thought or the desire to commit suicide, there's one element that has always, almost always, caused me to waver. They're sitting right over there, they're my family." said Arias."Either way, I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison. It'll either be shortened or not. If it's shortened, the people who will hurt the most are my family. I'm asking you please, please don't do that to them."
Alexander's family watched in silence, their faces saying everything.
Casey Wian - CNN
You Paid For It / 41 mins ago
Missouri / 1 hour ago
Illinois / 43 mins ago


For Hatfield, that subtle change didn't make her embrace her age any less than had she skipped a little cosmetic filler. But as the pro-age-empowerment movement in magazines and advertising heats up with words like "anti-aging" being struck from the beauty vernacular and models over 60 gracing editorials and campaigns, the positive shift toward embracing the march of time has brought to light a tug-of-war between two beauty factions: aging gracefully versus opting in on cosmetic upkeep. Can you have it both ways?
"The question is: Is there an expiration date on caring about how you look? Can I be pro-beauty over a certain age?" Hatfield muses. To her, no matter if you do away with adjectives like "anti-aging," you're not actually removing society's obsession with appearing youthful. And to claim that with age comes the wisdom to simply stop caring about — or trying to better — one's appearance seems patently false. What complicates matters is society's double standard with aesthetics: You should look your best no matter your age, but if you're over 50, you'd better do so naturally — no makeup, no fillers, no improvements — unless you're exercising, which is acceptable as long as you're modestly clothed.
The positive shift toward embracing the march of time has brought to light a tug-of-war between two beauty factions: aging gracefully versus opting in on cosmetic upkeep. Can you have it both ways?
"Just because you're 55 or 65 you don't have to stop loving beauty," Hatfield says. "All the glittery eye shadow and the shimmery lipstick and the things you did that made you feel pretty 20 years ago … [society says] you can't participate in it anymore because you aged out of it? No. We didn't age out of wanting to feel pretty." And that includes electing to undergo cosmetic improvements — those minor little boosts that not only refresh your appearance, but also your confidence.
What procedures might these be? Dr. Jeanniton guides us through what treatments give you minor boosts without stripping you of your hard-won looks.
Dr. Jeanniton likens proper filler usage to a makeup pro's skill: "Makeup artists are extremely skilled in manipulating light and shadow to communicate beauty and health. At their best and without overuse, fillers can create the same effect by lessening shadows and optimizing light," she says. She favors hyaluronic acid fillers for their flexibility and ease of personalization, as well as the fact that the treatment is minimally invasive with negligible downtime and results can last for more than a year. Plus, should you develop "filler regret," she reports the plumping can be reversed with an enzyme injection that effectively "melts" the filler and returns features to their original shape.
Glowing skin denotes health and youth, and it can be achieved through chemical peels, which Dr. Jeanniton says, "Reveal your gorgeous face in its healthiest, freshest state — and that is truly empowering." She lists these peel benefits: The treatments are highly customizable, tend to be more affordable and have cumulative results (think: fewer age spots over time) when undergone in a series. "The freshly revealed skin that emerges has less fine lines, sun damage, and irregularity in tone and texture," she says. Of course, the deeper the peel, the more downtime that's required to allow skin turnover, but less invasive peels can have you in and out during your lunch hour.
And feeling good is the definition of aging gracefully.