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The Walkers
Comp Ninja 3 stories
Dracula Syndrome
"Are you two okay?" Bernard Walker stared at his son Noah and Robert Hilson's daughter Samantha holding hands as they sat next to each other on the sidewalk. It was a cute little scene next to the ashes of a dead landmark.
Without warning, cop mode kicked in. "You two didn't have anything to do with this … did you?" Noah and Samantha took turns narrating what had happened. Guy had shot six people and somehow set fire to the restaurant.
The news reported two people were killed and four more currently in critical condition. The two toe-tags belonged to the gunman, Arturo Alvarado III, and an unidentifiable corpse found in the burnt remnants of the kitchen area.
Noah and Samantha confessed to killing Arturo tag-team style but the other corpse was a mystery to them. Moreover, the unknown corpse had not been fell by the gunman's aim. He had burned up. Thank God for dental records.
As Bernard broke away from the two young lovebirds, he joined the search for evidence of arson and murder. Amidst the ashes, Bernie noticed the tiny gun and the knife Noah and Samantha had confessed to killing Arturo with.
"Hey, cop," a less-than-germane firefighter yelled at him. Bernie pointed at himself as if to ask, "Who? Me?" The very rude firefighter answered his unspoken question. "Yeah, you. Did you find anything?" He shook his head.
Firefighter shook his head with transparent annoyance. "Keep looking." The guy wearing the fire helmet and heaving around that huge fire axe returned to the slow work of tearing down J'Adore, decades-old mainstay of the city.
Back when Bernard Walker first thought he wanted to be a cop, sometime in kindergarten, the allure had been the whole knight-in-shining armor bit. To live without moral compromise was a great deal even with the crappy hours.
As he grew up, Bernie had to find a better reason to want to be a cop. Everyone (including cops) had occasions to turn Mother's picture to wall and just do what had to be done. He pocketed the gun and the knife and walked away.
During this obstruction of justice in the name of a supernatural masquerade, Bernie, self-flagellating masochist supreme, pondered the question of what his foster parents would think of him right now. Thank God they were dead.
Ian Rockwell spent his days waiting for calls from anyone he cared to talk to. Since his stay in the hospital, Ian had more conversations with therapists (both mental and physical ones) now than he did with his friends and family.
It had an irony to it. Irony. Ian laughed at himself. Another word he might never have learned had this wheelchair not made him disinclined to leave home. Ian had been a bastard with years and this was scared them all away.
Therapists (the mental kind) had deconstructed his story of what happened ten thousand times over, pointing out all the flaws and the gaps he could not account for. Regardless of their prodding, Ian still knew what had happened.
Walkers were the freaks of nature. Their patriarch had emasculated his new group of cronies who specialized in offing freaks like them. When Ian tried to settle the score with that turd Noah, his milf mom stabbed/crippled him.
Now, Ian had nothing left but to go to school and watch his classmates and his teachers pretend not to feel sorry for him and then go home to endure all the same crap from his parents. Ian's life had hit the proverbial rock bottom.
As Ian Rockwell sat up alone in his bed feeling sorry for himself, he had not suspected that he wasn't, in fact, alone. Ian felt a presence in the darkness of his room. Ian reached for Dad's shotgun. "Try it, freak! See what happens!"
The intruder pulled the string on the lights in Ian's room. In the fluorescent glow of the three sixty-watt light bulbs, Ian saw a brown-haired metrosexual grinning like he had gotten a fifty-percent discount on his nails and haircut.
"I already know what will happen." The man took a step towards Ian, giving no consideration to the kind of mess he'd become if Ian pulled this trigger. "It would be loud and smelly and pass right through me like Mexican beer."
The smug home invader extended his hand to Ian Rockwell. "Parker Evans is the name. Recruitment is my game." Parker grinned as Ian shook his hand in spite of himself. "Be all that you can be." Parker looked at the open door.
Parker's shadow peeled off the carpet, took the shape of an animated tendril, closed the door to his room and even had the dexterity to lock the door. "As for what I am, I'm like Peter Pan except my shadow knows how to behave."
Ian didn't understand a word this freak was saying. "War's coming." Parker smiled. "Nasty one too. Admiral Chirac got fragged. Now, the back-stabbing lieutenants and the less-than-back-stabbing lieutenants want to duke it out."
Parker Evans shrugged, both his hands palm-side-up. "Me, I have to work every angle of this damn war because if I end up on the losing side, that will be all she wrote." Parker shook his head. "I will be as extinct as dodo crap."
Ian still struggled to grasp the basics of whatever Parker had in mind for him. "But let's forget politics for now. I'll be a decent drill sergeant (unlike that A-hole in Full Metal Jacket); I'll teach you how to be a good vampire."
All reason riled against Parker's proposal. Ian knew personally that all these deals with the devil ended the same, with him wearing the dress and getting screwed. Ian was curious about one thing. "Will I be able to walk again?"
Parker shook his head. "No." He leaned up close to Ian. "You will be able to run, jump or disappear. Those will be your only choices. Where we're going, only losers walk." Parker tilted his head. "You're not a loser, Ian, are you?"
Ian shook his head. "Of course not." Parker bit off the tip of his tongue. "So, are you, Ian Rockwell, ready to go running with the Devil?" He nodded with perhaps more enthusiasm than the situation warranted. "Let's rock and roll."
The blood mark manifested differently for each people and apparently for each time done. Victor Chirac's first blood mark from Lena had none of this violence and illness. It happened quite smoothly and without major incident.
This was not that. Nergal might have only prolonged Victor's life by a week when he decided to make him human again instead of killing him outright.
Like a lot of latter-day vampires, Piotr was self-conscious about the potency of his blood. Indeed, this "rejection" happened more in younger generations.
Victor Chirac tossed and turned in the flatbed of a rusted-up 1948 Ford F-1 Pickup Truck Piotr and Natasha had provided for him. An improvised cover made of wooden planks provided him the only protection from the elements.
The three-step process of turning a human being into an undead bloodsucker required the formation of a blood mark. A personal glyph would materialize somewhere on their bodies after a marking (done by an exchange of blood).
Unimaginatively enough, Victor Chirac's blood mark was the letter V on his solar plexus. He checked his upper torso once again. Despite ardent wishing bordering on prayer, the blood mark had not yet set in after all this suffering.
The second step would be the easiest. He would have to imbibe human blood with the blood mark in place. This intermediate step would spark his veins with the mystical properties of human blood and lead to the final step.
In the final step, in the forty days after taking the first step, the supplicant would have to die. Being a species prone to ritual, vampires often conducted this as a rite-of-passage for the blooded, complete with a ceremonial dagger.
At the end of the forty days, if the human still lived, the blood mark would vanish and the frustrated blood sire would have to decide whether to kill the host or start over again from scratch. Indeed, only a rare few chose the latter.
Victor Chirac recited from memory the three steps on the path to vampirism to keep his sanity intact and away from the thousand and one pains plaguing his human body. Victor stared at the "ceiling" and prayed for painless death.
As the memories of the transformation process only accented his pain, he let his mind drift to the paradoxical nature of his blood sire. Piotr Chernov had been made by Victor Chirac himself and now Piotr was the one making him.
Victor Chirac had been sampling Russia cuisine when the great superpower known as the Soviet Union arose from its humble soils. Piotr Chernov and Natasha Belova were caught up in the turbulence of "history in the making."
Much like today, Piotr and Natasha were the worst kind of lovers, oblivious to everything except each other. As Moscow fought against history, it had become too obvious that their blood was chosen to serve as the fuel for a revolution.
Victor remembered that night when the Bolshevik troops arrived to take the city. He remembered the detachment sent to where Piotr and Natasha lived. Though Victor would never admit it, he had thought it better not to interfere.
Yet, somewhere inside him, his ego still smarting from the bloodshed of two revolutions he had barely survived, Victor had grown tired of humanity and their sad revolutions. When would the vampires enjoy their own revolution?
Victor must have killed over a dozen soldiers before he discovered Piotr and Natasha kneeled in a corner, moments from sealing their suicide pact. Victor bared his fangs. "Please," he said in fluent Russian. "There is another way."
Victor Chirac never understood romance. Despite common depictions of the French as die-hard romantics and sex fiends, Victor had lived a chaste life before Lena, a Russian woman of great antiquity and even greater appetites.
Still, he could guess what they wanted from context. Death did not scare the two lovers as much as the prospect of being separated. For them, that would be a worse fate. The two lovers wanted to be together for the rest of eternity.
Eternity, Victor thought bitterly to himself. Humans have no sense of scale. Victor, not even the age of the youngest vampire elder, had seen the rise and fall of civilizations in his pithy collection of decades, a far cry from eternity.
Victor Chirac would never admit that he had not seen anything special in the two. That decades-old lie that he had was the thing that had earned him their loyalty in the decades that followed. It was a generous deception on his part.
Lives of Natasha and Piotr had hinged on the whim of an immortal who saw nothing of value in them except the sumptuous possibility of a night's worth of food and entertainment. Victor had licked his lips in anticipated pleasure.
It frightened Victor Chirac to think about how casually he might have turned a pair of future friends into an evening banquet of blood. By pure chance, he had mentioned something about America during his pre-feeding monologue.
Piotr Chernov interrupted his speech and Victor Chirac did not slit his vocal cords, a sign of the trust that would evolve between them. Piotr knew of this ship that could take Victor into North America by crossing the Bering Strait.
The notion of returning to the New World by heading east instead of west had never occurred to Victor. Like all great ideas, an eastern sea voyage was a masterpiece of simplicity and precision, the exact idea Victor needed then.
"You are a smart young man." Victor helped Piotr off the floor. "How would you like to stay a smart young man forever?" Piotr grinned at him. He loved the idea and added only one provision. "Yes. Natasha's free to join us."
Piotr Chernov volunteered to be turned first. To make sure that immortal life would be comfortable for his lover. When Piotr learned just how much a sire would dominate his own kindred, Piotr chose to turn her, to become her sire.
Victor Chirac awoke sweating icicles from his latest bout with the fever. His memories had merged seamlessly with his dreams. He checked his chest for his blood mark, the two pinkish-red lines fused at his solar plexus. At last …
News of Ian Rockwell's "accident" tore through Chaney High like a twister. Rumor had it that his parents had found him in his room with a shotgun clutched in his fingers. The coroner ruled his death an accidental discharge.
Everyone else, Noah Walker included, were skeptical. Both parents had full NRA memberships and imprinted in their son strict gun safety. Also, rumors of prior suicide attempts had reached the Chaney High student in the know.
Noah pulled a flyer off the wall. It had the time and location of the funeral listed as well as a picture that captured Ian Rockwell's resemblance to actual human beings. He hoped he'd have so good a photo when he died … again.
Noah was jealous of Ian Rockwell's current status. Noah had died fighting a wendigo and his death (however temporary it turned out to be) was not even acknowledged by a circle of loved ones numbering in the double digits.
Not even Jason Newton knew yet about his brief stint with the afterlife. His death (and subsequent resurrection) had been covered up with the half-assed excuse of having gone to live with Grandma Laurie. Noah felt truly gypped.
Ian Rockwell had taken the coward's way out. Students had to feign grief to mask their overwhelming relief. Ding dong, the dick is dead. For his single-minded dedication to unfaltering cruelty, Ian would receive a hero's funeral.
On the other hand, Noah Walker, the closest thing this crappy world had to a real hero, had died. With his demise came an endless flood of consequences.
As a result of six weeks of being dead, Noah had missed his finals and stood a chance of getting held back a year for it. Noah Walker had gone to Hell. In his absence, Noah's life had followed in his downward spiral into the abyss.
Noah still didn't know what his nightmare had meant. Sammy reassured him that it could not be what it seemed to be. Sammy theorized that postmortem amnesia mixed with his own insecurity had bred that nightmare/hypothesis.
Besides, as Samantha Hilson had pointed out a million times already, if this mythical descent into Hell had befallen Noah, it did not explain his return. A great many of Hell's tormented longed for escape. What made Noah unique?
What makes me unique? Noah felt as though he had been wrestling with that question his whole life. Most times he ignored it, reasoning that the question did not need answering because Noah wasn't unique in any way whatsoever.
Recent developments had outed his denial as sheer cowardice. Noah was, at least, special but that didn't answer that question. Being a Benandanti didn't make Noah unique. There were Benandanti before Noah and would be after.
"Unique" was a different animal than "special." Someone considered special did not exclude the possibility of there being other people special like them. Anyone considered unique was, by the definition of the word, one of a kind.
Ian Rockwell felt a metallic clank of a shovel against the solid mahogany of the casket his parents had picked out for him. Even in death, nothing but the best for their star pupil. Ian took the clank as a sign of Parker Evans' arrival.
In a bout of strength unreal for his wiry frame, Parker ripped open the casket and extended his hand to help Ian up. "Nap's over. Time for the night shift." Strength surged through Ian as he jumped and landed next to his tombstone.
Parker Evans gave Ian a golf clap. "Bravo. You've figured out how to access your blood to channel greater strength. I did not even have to show you; you just did it. It's a good start. It's a very good start." Parker paced around Ian.
Parker clicked his fingers. "But you need fuel." Parker reached behind a tall angel statue and produced a young Hispanic lady, bound and gagged. "I will bet you all the tea in China that you are hungry." Ian licked his lips. He was.
From all that Twilight hype and other vampire fiction, Ian had expected a lot more from the bloodlust. Perhaps, Ian's lack of angst came from the fact that he was not an Edward poseur. Being a vampire meant being a killer. Simple.
Ian felt a row of shark-like teeth slide down from his gums. He made a cut in the woman's ample almost-neck. Why did he have to pick a fat chick? Ian wondered as he struggled to get past the thick deposits of her adipose tissue.
Ian Rockwell looked at the palm of his right hand as he dug into the woman. His vampire birthmark, a seven-pointed star, glowed bright red as he sucked the blood out of her. It was beautiful like the bioluminescence of a box jelly.
Ian sought out an animal metaphor to distance himself emotionally from the ways of his new flesh. Edward had been a cold-blooded killer for a while. It didn't take all that much to go from immortal badass to vegan coffin stuffer.
Animals were the proper metaphor for handling life. Animals did what they did without any conscience. Animals killed when they needed to, slept when they needed to, ate when they needed to, and that was the whole of their law.
Parker Evans' choice for his first feeding was an insult when Ian stopped to contemplate the sexuality of the act. From that second he rose, Ian had been something of a vampire virgin. He had popped his cherry on Hefferella here.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Ian dug deep on the vein. Ian kissed the fat chick as she trembled in his arms. "Yeah," he crooned in a deep baritone. "It was good for me too, baby doll." With that, Ian twisted her head backwards.
Victor Chirac strolled into the Darkside Club. One of his edgier concepts, he knew that would find its market in no time. Victor had gotten the notion for it from Anne Rice of all people. A way for vampires to hide out in the open.
It was a strip joint with one key difference. Those strippers pretending to be vampires were actual vampires. In a modern society where Googling "clown porn" yielded 547,000 results, a spot for suck addicts was a logical addition.
Even on a slow night like this, Victor could spot the two categories of club-goers. In the far corner was a quintet of "marks," five drunks in team jerseys who wanted a different sort of strip club and took this walk on the wild side.
In the front row next to the pale eternally young beauties were the "smarks." Those guys were in on the caper. Differentiating between the marks and the smarks was of critical importance. Only a smark came for "the full service."
Marcos Botero, a hot-blooded leftist from the Spanish Revolution, enjoyed the company of the young ladies of the Darkside Club. If there was an ideal place to start the search for the usurping Spaniard, the Darkside Club was it.
Victor Chirac looked in on a human receiving the full service. While smarks would sometimes ask for sex in addition to getting serviced, this was mostly feeding. The guy was off to Neverland while the stripper drained his blood.
Piotr and Natasha, always in synch with each other, bashed in the metal door to the back office and took point on both ends of a long conference room. It was a strangely formal setting for the behind-the-scenes look of a strip club.
"Victor Chirac." Marcos Botero rubbed his slender hands together as if the friction could start fire. "A pleasure to see you." Victor doubted that. "Come in." Marcos extended on a hand to the available seats. "Mi casa es su casa."
The four traitors that Arturo had failed to kill were seated. The quartet gave off a bunch of twitches punctuated by stillness. Marcos had turned the four. "No," Victor said. "Mi casa es mi casa. You have no claim to my territory."
Urbine, May, Gibson and Jones, the four cowardly traitors, should have died when J'Adore burned. Instead, they were immortals now, the end product of unauthorized and unsanctioned turns done by this insipid revolution junkie.
"I didn't pretend to," Marcos corrected with the eloquence of a natural-born diplomat. "I'm but a steward waiting on the return of the true king … you."
Victor nodded. "A true caballero," Victor said with ample sarcasm. "In that case, sir, I release you from your burden and I take back my rightful throne."
"It is not a burden," Marcos said, perhaps a little too quickly. "Believe me." The four Judas vampires snickered at how expertly Marcos managed this debate. "Perhaps … you would be kind enough to grant me a brief stay of regency."
Marcos Botero could dance around the real question all night long so Victor cut him off at the root. "Do you question my right to rule?" The seven words shook the room like thunder. "Have my decades of loyal service gone unnoticed?"
"You bowed before a demon." The sharp statement of fact stabbed Victor in his heart. A mincing fop of a wordsmith, Victor had not expected so bold an accusation from Marcos. "Leadership belongs to leaders who hungers for it."
After years of squatting in his territory under a banner of friendship, Marcos Botero had finally shown his true colors. Whether he was called the steward or the regent, he wanted to be the big boss calling the shots in Victor's city.
Victor Chirac looked over at the four traitors. They were okay with their old boss reduced to a ceremonial figurehead. "Do not listen to this fool," Victor cautioned them. "He would bring plagues of hunters down upon our heads."
Marcos countered with equal venom. "'Do not listen to this fool?'" Marcos parroted Victor's words. "'This fool' plans to wash away old blood with new blood. 'This fool' is not a demon-loving coward drunk on his own dreams."
Victor bared his fangs at him. "If you do not surrender to me, your skull will make a fine drinking goblet. Would you not agree, Nattie?" Natasha nodded. "It is confirmed. Your brain is far less precious than the skull that shields it."
Marcos bared his fangs at him. "When all is said and done, you will see … that it was you that should have surrendered to me." Marcos giggled. Victor said nothing in reply to his threat. The three of them sauntered out the door.
"How did you become a vampire?" Ian Rockwell struggled to find a way to overturn through Parker Evans' decision not to talk to him. Apparently, Miss Consuela Jacinto was supposed to last them the week before she had to die.
Parker Evans shook his head as he practiced twirling his cape like a matador tempting the rage of a bull. It was, by far, the gayest thing Ian had ever seen before. "I don't believe I know you well enough to have that conversation."
Ian shrugged. "Fine." He could only hoped that the frustration he felt would not show through in his voice. "Go back to twirling your fruity cape." Ian's brief stint as a homicidal badass had earned him censure from his blood sire.
Parker sighed and let his cape fall to his sides. "I killed a couple people," he said like he had mentioned about he had for breakfast this morning. "No big deal." Parker rose his cape in his arms and continued his cape dance routine.
Ian threw his arms into the air. "No big deal?" Ian circled him. "I killed one snack girl and you nearly bit my head off." Ian gripped his sinuses. "How is killing more than just one person before becoming a vampire 'no big deal?'"
Ian Rockwell calmed himself down enough to ask a purely clerical question. "Who were they?" Parker winced like that question stabbed him in the eyes.
"My girlfriend," Parker Evans answered Ian after a pause of twenty seconds or more. "And some random whore." That got Ian's imagination roaring into full power. Perhaps, the girlfriend had caught him in the act with his whore.
Still, regardless of how much that scenario entertained his mind, Ian needed to give his blood sire the benefit of the doubt. "Why did you kill them?" The caped murderer laughed at Ian for asking that question. "What's so funny?"
Parker shrugged. "I do not know why I killed them." The caped vampire had twirled in place to avoid looking at Ian. "If you know why, that would make one of us." Parker twirled again to face Ian. "Because I really do not know."
His answer froze blood in Ian's veins. Whether done out of hatred, revenge, jealousy, love or just plain boredom, people didn't kill people for no reason. The fact that Parker didn't even know his reason scared the crap out of Ian.
Ian nodded. "What do you remember?" Parker's brown eyes dilated in reply to Ian's intuitive leap. He had not mentioned anything about amnesia but his lack of knowledge about his motives suggested a general lack of memory.
Parker tilted his head back and forth, giving the question its fair hearing. "I don't remember much. Me and my girlfriend were making out. Next thing I know, I'm in an alley and they were dead, my hand on the murder weapon."
Ian leaned in close. "What did you do?" Ian's question was how Parker had become a vampire. Killing two people while blacked out, however horrible, did not turn a person into a vampire. Something must have happened next.
Parker let out a long breathy sigh. "I tried to kill myself." Parker held out an imaginary blade in his hands. "When I realized that I was going to go to jail for what I did, I thought I'd put that pig-sticker in my heart and end it all."
Ian asked Parker the obvious question. "What stopped you?" Another one of his leap of intuition, this less impressive than the one before. Corpses didn't have the capacity to turn. Something must have stopped his suicide attempt.
"Not a what," Parker corrected him. "A who." Pause. "Victor Chirac stopped me." Parker spoke that French-sounding name like he had dropped the name of a famous celebrity. Ian didn't possess Clue One about who that could be.
Ian shook his head. "I'm sorry. Victor who?" Ian had taken classes of French in high school, mostly for the chicks. This flaming French teacher with this ugly wig called him a buffoon. He got suspended for calling for him a faggot.
"Chirac," Parker Evans replied. "Victor Chirac is the vampire lord in these parts." Parker took a moment to revise that statement. "Or, at least, he was." Ian could see the gear turning in his head. There resided a bigger story here.
"What happened?" Ian prompted Parker as he sat on the floor of their flat in complete motionless silence. "What happened? Did he die or something?" A devilish grin appeared on Parker's face. Just the opening he had waited for.
"Or something." Parker sprung to his feet. "He got mixed up with a demon." Ian's eyes widened. He had not thought to ask him about other supernatural beings like werewolves. "He should've known better than to trust a demon."
Ian thought to steer the conversation back to the original line of questions. "Why did he turn you?" This question of why Parker Evans had become a vampire depended on the motives of this vampire lord Ian Rockwell had never met.
Parker smirked. "He said I had potential." Ian didn't bother to point out that this was the judgment of the same demon-dealing vampire. If that irony was lost on him, Ian had no intention of being the one to enlighten Parker Evans.
Ian cut in with another question. "Then he offered to turn you into a vampire and you thought he was insane, right?" Ian could see the exchange so clearly now. Parker must have been scared witless getting propositioned by this stranger.
Parker grinned. "Yes and no. Victor did offer to turn me but I believed him." Ian crooked an eyebrow. "After what happened, anything seemed possible ... If Santa Claus had offered me a job as an elf, I'd be at the North Pole by now."
Ian Rockwell sighed. "Listen." Ian had Parker's full attention. "I'm sorry for killing the girl." Parker shrugged. "I thought you vampires were supposed to kill people." Ian shrugged too. "I hadn't expect you to go Al Gore on me."
Parker raised his hands palm-side-up. "It's a common misconception that we vampires are mindless killers." He smiled and rested his cape on a coat rack.
"We are not?" That statement was the most confusing Parker had told to Ian since trying to explain the tripartite initiation for vampiric metamorphosis.
"No, we are not." Parker cracked his neck. "Humans kill for reasons alien to our kind. They kill in the name of God. They kill for sport. They even kill to keep the oil pumping that fuels all their petty little cars and automobiles."
Parker Evans' monologue must have had a point in there somewhere. With a little luck, he'd get to it sometime in this century. "We kill to live. We do not live to kill. If we kill too much or too often, we endanger our own survival."
Ian clicked his fingers. "Oh, that's right." Ian licked his lips. "The hunters." Ian laughed. "You mentioned them." Ian grinned. "Tell me something." Ian's shadow arched up from his back like a scorpion's tail. "What can a bunch of retards with crosses do against this?" Ian punched three holes in the drywall.
Parker gritted his teeth in reply. "We all go through that phase at one time or another. When we think nothing can harm us." Parker turned his head to Ian. "Those 'retards with crosses' have spent the last twenty generations learning all the ways to kill us. If you ever meet one of them, I suggest you run away."
Ian Rockwell already had plans for if he ever met a hunter and none of them would include running away. Ian never ran away when he was human. Why should he start as a vampire? Ian grinned at the triad of holes in the drywall.
Continue Reading Next Chapter
11. Dracula Syndrome
2 Society With Secrets
3 Nowhere To Run
4 Nightmare On Oak Street
5 Shirts Versus Skins
6 Hell House Rules
7 Good Neighbors
9 Days Of Christmas
10 Noah's Inferno
11 Dracula Syndrome
12 Blood And Soil
13 Bad Moon Rising
14 Lucy In The Sky
15 Extraordinary Birth
16 Dead Need Cash
17 Fur Against Fang
18 Seed Of Destruction
19 Monster Mash
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This entry was posted on April 1, 2019 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Lynnfield.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


I enjoy your reviews but it seems strange that you feel the need to denigrate Bob Monroe as some kind of inauthentic inexperienced out of body practitioner stating that this author like yourself are the ones that have TRUE OBEs not that level nonsense the others do.
You do realize those titles were signposts used to communicate experiences in this reality frame and do not actually exist objectively in the non-physical *focuses*?
If you could explain your distaste for Monroe and *the like* OBE experiences when compared to your own maybe I can better understand you.
Sorry for my previous post I now realize that you were attaching the Monroe-Focus-Level system to Bruce Moen or Rosalind McKnight who only use non-physical overlays in the physical through their teachings similar to remote viewers and do not actually phase their consciousness to OBE into the non-physical themselves.
Man, I read this review a while back and although at that time I had already known/heard of Jurgen, I hadn't really read the entire book. I just about finished it yesterday. Oh My! That last page (Nirvana?? or whatever)! I will say this: you were not in any shape hyperbolic about anything you mentioned in my opinion. The question I have, though, is, why isn't this guy more visible? I understand his website may attract huge traffic, but apart from a couple of videos on YouTube and Vimeo I don't see much of him anywhere. That's a bit interesting. Bob, would you place any other OBE book at the same level as Jurgen's? By the way I've read your book as well, and I meant no disrespect by my question. I particularly was struck by your narrative of watching your self work in dream...poor paraphrasing here.
Although I've read a couple OBE books by now, I simply think Jurgen's is in a level that I can't quite put my finger on. Again, why isn't this guy everywhere? BTW, I could ask the same of you as well.


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Home / Editorial / Cool heads and common sense must prevail
Cool heads and common sense must prevail - by Barbados Today August 10, 2017
The dust has settled since the 20,000 strong protest march against the austerity measures outlined in the 2017/2018 Budget and the shouting match involving Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and members of his Cabinet, trade unions and the private sector has also abated.
Tomorrow in the full glare of the public as promised by the Prime Minister, all sides will meet face to face for urgent overdue talks on the way forward for this ailing Barbados economy in the first ever televised meeting of the Social Partnership.
On the table are grievous matters.
And we have heard it all before from the common man in the street to the qualified economists, the pundit and the Government itself.
We are spending too much, earning too little, the debt is beyond high and there's no fairy godmother with a magic wand to wave our woes away.
In the January to March report on the island's economic performance, Acting Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes outlined that the economy recorded modest two per cent growth while forecasting that overall growth this year was likely to slow down to less than one per cent.
He said then that the Government had fallen short of its fiscal targets and warned that more belt-tightening measures were needed to stabilize the stuttering economy.
Mere weeks later, the Democratic Labour Party administration responded.
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler imposed onerous taxes, including a hike in the excise tax on gas and diesel; a two per cent tax on foreign exchange transactions and the main bone of contention – the 400 per cent increase in the National Social Responsibility Levy that moved from two to ten per cent.
The outcry has been loud, but the painful problems linger and time is against us.
This outlook is disastrous and fiddling at the edges of expenditure cuts and removal of some private sector impediments to investment will not do the job. Introducing incremental reform will simply not work. Importantly, it will not stop Barbadians from demanding relief, demands the Government cannot afford.
The greatest mistake our capable Social Partnership can make now is to avoid making the tough decisions quickly.
Barbadians know there must be some tough decisions, because the alternative will not deliver what this island desperately needs – a return to sustainable growth.
Therefore, all stakeholders need to come to the party and ensure that they are determined to start on a new path to fix our economic troubles, by listening, exchanging and devising realistic, effective strategies to halt the economic slide.
The glare of television cameras is not a licence for theatrics – Barbados can ill-afford that. Grandstanding and the blame game will get us nowhere.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, who chairs the Social Partnership, rightly said recently that the buck stops with his Government. His duty tomorrow should entail explaining the scope of the massive economic problem and what alternative measures Government can genuinely consider to ensure that all Barbadians can still make a decent living and provide for their families.
We have been warned time and again that Barbados cannot tax it way back to economic growth. Hence given that the NSRL will cripple business and households, aren't there other measures that could help to achieve the desired results?
Spending cuts, elimination of wastage, a drastic improvement in business facilitation easily come to mind.
Trade unions no doubt have to represent the interest of the country's workers who have been subjected to this prolonged period of austerity despite promised recovery.
However, they have a duty once provided with the true economic picture to temper their demands with a realization that it cannot be business as usual. Workers deserve a fair deal from Government, but they should not take a hardline stance on improbable desires when the country's viability is at stake.
Equally, the private sector has to lay its cards on the table and help to formulate a programme of reform for big and small businesses. The private sector too must recommit to maintaining jobs, boosting investment, stimulating entreprise, and increasing its contribution financial and otherwise to the society.
It is incumbent that Government, labour and capital accept they have contributed to the island's challenges and they have a duty to be part of the solution.
While it would be unrealistic to expect a quick fix tomorrow, we urge the players at the table to be on the same page and take decisive action buttressed by commitment, to re-ignite hope in Barbados.
#BTEditorial – We are all St Alban's people now
On March 21, 2019, when a daring fatal shooting at Sheraton Mall stunned shoppers going about their business in the middle of...
#BTEditorial – The law is not an ass; perhaps we citizens are!
Over the past few years, having monitored the deliberations in the Magistrates' Courts, we have come to the conclusion that...
#BTEditorial – Look north: Speightstown cruise terminal a good idea
Barbados' cruise tourism sector continues to grow, with 853,200 passengers arriving here via that route in 2019, up from...
#BTEditorial – Saving The City a capital idea
It is a sobering but vitally important issue facing the entire nation. Our capital city, nearly 400 years old, is dying. This...
#BTEditorial – The new 'talk' in Barbados is welcomed, at last.
The cases were the talk of a nation. On one hand, a self-proclaimed 'superstar', Timothy Rugrat St Pierre, was remanded...
#BTEditorial – Fight the urge to fight change in education
It is a painfully unnerving exercise to witness knee-jerk opposition to change among leaders who purport to represent their...
#BTEditorial – Howzat, Mr Skerritt and Cricket West Indies?
Perhaps the closest species to magicians are politicians. Both frequently deal with sponsoring and selling illusions. Now you...
#BTEditorial – Points to ponder on Golden Square
Over the last few days, there has been much debate on the pending transformation of the Probyn Street area of Bridgetown,...
#BTEditorial – Murder, suicide rear their ugly heads. What will we do?
Today, the sixth day of the New Year and of a fresh decade, we are forced to focus on two dreaded issues – crime and...
Former minister found culpable in money launder...

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Vector or Bitmap? What is the difference?
Bitmap/Raster graphics and vector graphics are the two main types of image files used in the world of graphic design. People often struggle to understand the difference between vector and bitmap graphics despite the fact that they are very different file types. Both of file types have their advantages, and equally they have their disadvantages so it's important to know the difference between the vector and bitmap so you can make an informed decision about which one is best for your design project. Let's start with the definition of each so we know the basics first and your decision of bitmap or vector might be a little bit easier.
Bitmap (or raster) graphics are made up of as a series of tiny dots called pixels. Each pixel is actually a very small square that is assigned a color, and then arranged in a pattern to form the image.
Vector graphics is the use of polygons to represent images in computer graphics. Vector graphics use mathematical formulas to draw lines and curves that can be combined to create an image. These lines (vectors), lead through locations called control points/nodes/ anchor points.
So the obvious difference between vector and bitmap graphics is how they are created, as identified in the above definitions. Bitmap are made up of pixels while vector graphics are created using a mathematical formula. But there are numerous other differences between vector and bitmap graphics.
For starters, when you zoom in on a bitmap image you can begin to see the individual pixels that make up that image, most noticeably at the edges of the image. When a vector image is scaled up, the image is redrawn using the mathematical formula and the resulting image is just as smooth as the original.
In terms of file size, vector images tend to be smaller than bitmap images. That's because bitmap images store color information for each individual pixel that forms the image while a vector image just has to store the mathematical formulas that make up the image, which take up less space. Unfortunately, vector formats have not always been well supported on the web. Currently the most popular image file formats used on the web, GIF, JPEG and PNG, are bitmap formats. Most vector images are first converted into bitmaps images (rasterized) before they are used on the web, although the SVG format is growing popularity due the rise in responsive web design.
In terms of colour, bitmap graphics are best for images that need to have a wide range of color gradations, such as photographs. Vector formats, on the other hand, are better for images that consist of only a few areas of solid color such as logos and type (text). This also means that vectors can't create realistic gradients, and although some vector softwares will allow it, they are actually using raster effects on the vector graphic.
Vector graphics are excellent for graphics that frequently require resizing. A company logo is a prime example of a file that should be created as a vector and saved as a master file so you can use it with smaller items such as your business card, letterhead and brochure, but also on larger surfaces, such as billboards or the corporate jet. Vectors can also be used to create stylized modern graphics as their solid colours and sharp lines help them to appear crisper and with more visual impact that a bitmap image.
Bitmap graphics are best used for photographs or other graphics with a wide range of colours such as a movie poster. They are also ideal for graphics with effects such as drop shadows (as they use gradients). Bitmaps can also be used to create realistic graphics and images using image editing or "paint" softwares such as Photoshop or CorelDraw. They are the most common type of graphic used and are supported on all digital systems.
EPS, PDF (for transferring vcector files) and SVG (responsive web design) are the best file types in which to save your vector graphics outside of the editing software you are using.
The best file types in which to save your bitmap graphics are JPG (for photos), GIF (for basic images like cartoons) and PNG (for images with transparency).
Encapsulated PostScript files (.eps) are self-contained files that are the same mathematically as vector files, though they can be created from raster images as well. The format is one of the most compatible and portable because they are supported by almost all graphics software.
Then there is the Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) files in which files render as they were created thus using (potentially) a combination of vector and raster images.In a PDF file vector images are rendered as such as and be scaled and extracted. Fonts are embedded within a file and are rendered as type, not flattened as an image element. Raster images, such as photos, will appear as intended at 100 percent but, being bitmap graphics, they will still lose quality if they are over-enlarged.
Vector v Bitmap - Web or Print?
Which graphic format is suited for web or print or both?
This questions is much more relevant to bitmap graphics due the fact that they can lose quality when scaled up. Units of measurement such as dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch) refer to the number of pixels in one inch of the image. To determine whether your bitmap images are a suitable resolution for a specific situation (poster/business card/web banner etc.), you should first need to check their pixel density.
As mentioned earlier, vector graphics have not always been well supported on the web and currently the most popular image file formats used on the web are bitmap formats such as .jpg or .png. The web displays 72 dpi, a relatively low pixel density, so raster images with a low dpi (such as 72 dpi) look nice and crisp on the web but this same image may not be suitable for printing on a brochure, poster or packaging which require a higher pixel density to maintain quality when printed.
Why is this relevant you ask? Well to correctly print an image, it should be at least 300dpi, a much higher pixel density than the web displays so if you try to resize a low dpi image pulled from the web to use for your high dpi print project it won't work because the image still has the same amunt of pixels and will distort (pixelate) when you try to scale it up. For example, if have a 72 dpi .jpg of an image it will need to be "stretched" to more than 3 times it's size to get it up to 300dpi. So that 72dpi image will look fine on your computer monitor, but when it prints at 300dpi it will look pixilated.
In this situation you should use a vector image (.EPS or .AI format) or create a bitmap/raster (.JPG or PNG or GIF) in the exact final print dimensions and at 300dpi.
So after all that what we can say is that neither vector or bitmap is a better format than the other but rather that each format has it's advantages and disadvantages. The main thing is that once you know what these advantages and disadvantages are you can make an informed decision on which format is the right one for your design project. Vector or Bitmap... it's your call!


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Letters from Germany: Hanover, a Green City in the Heart of Lower Saxony
Adventure Travel	 December 30, 2020	 6 Comments
My dear travelers, welcome to the Mr.M blog! At the very beginning, I would like to wish you a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas holidays and wish you a lot of health, happiness and love. I hope that the New Year will bring us only beautiful moments and that the old year will take all the negative things with it tomorrow, and tomorrow at midnight you will wish yourself and your loved ones a lot of beautiful moments and give each other the most precious thing – your time.
In the previous months, I received your messages saying that you miss my "letters", so I decided to give you something nice for the end of this year and take you for a walk through the green city in the heart of Lower Saxony. Welcome to Hanover!
Hanover is the capital of the German state of Lower Saxony. The city is located in the southern part of the northern German lowlands on Leine and Ihme and was first mentioned in written documents in 1150, and the status of the city was officially announced in 1241.
At the beginning of 1636, Hanover became the royal city of Welf, from 1692 the residence of Kurhannovers, and in 1814 it became the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover, after the annexation of Prussia in 1866, the provincial capital of Hanover and after the breakup of Prussia in August 1946. is the capital of the state of Hanover.
By merging with the Free States of Braunschweig, Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe in 1946, Hanover gained the status of the capital of the German province of Lower Saxony. Today, Hanover is one of the 15 most populous cities in Germany.
Opera House in Hanover
Hanover is a major European traffic "crossroads", as it crosses important road and rail routes north-south and east-west. Hanover was a Hanseatic city in the period from the 13th century to the middle of the 17th century and is a member of the Hanseatic League, which was symbolically re-established in the 1980s until the end of June 2019.
A monument in honor of the famous German surgeon George Friedrich Luis Stomeyer
There are eleven universities and several libraries in Hanover. The letters of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and the document Golden Letter are documents kept in the library of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hanover is an important economic and business in Lower Saxony. The cultural scene is considered diverse, with numerous, and in some cases internationally renowned theaters and museums. Numerous international theater, music and dance festivals are held every year in this city of music and art.
Hanover has been a city of music on the UNESCO list since 2014. The city plan of urbanism is characterized by numerous public green areas, high density of street art and numerous architectural monuments, including representative buildings of various styles such as: North German brick Gothic, Hanoverian school of architecture, expressionism brick, Art Nouveau and classical buildings Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves.
Holocaust Remembrance: A Monument to the Jewish Victims in Hanover
While post-war buildings dominate the interior of the city, many parts of this city still possess a significant number of old buildings and maintain the identity of the city of Hanover.
The Hanover Adventure Zoo, Maschsee and Herrenhausen Gardens are famous throughout Germany. An unusual curiosity is the arched elevator in the New Town Hall, which I must admit is a real world rarity. With the world's largest exhibition center and numerous leading international fairs, Hanover is one of the leading congress and fair centers in Europe.
Memorial sacral monument: Tower of the Aegidienkirche church in Hanover
The cultural content in Hanover is diverse. To understand the richness and development of culture and art, I would like to mention that there are about 40 museums and galleries in Hanover, of which eight are the main city museums:
The State Museum of Lower Saxony has three sections: the art section on one side shows the state gallery with European art from the 11th to the 20th century, including a collection of German and French Impressionism, and on the other a rich collection of coins of former kings of Great Britain. A natural section showing zoology, botany, geology and a vivarium with 2000 species of fish, insects, amphibians, spiders and lizards.
The section on the history of mankind shows the prehistory and early history of Lower Saxony, as well as cultures from all over the world, including Japanese culture. The origins of the museum date back to 1856, while the building of today's museum was built in 1902.
Kröpcke-Uhr
The Historical Museum is a "witness" who can tell us more about Hanover from the medieval settlement of Hanover to the royal seat and the current location of the fair. One of the focuses is the time between 1714 and 1837, when the electorate of Hanover ruled in close communion with the British Kingdom.
The neighboring Begin Tower is connected to the museum and is accessible. The museum was opened elsewhere in 1903 as the "Patriotic Museum" and moved to the current building in 1966.
History of the Kröpcke clock in the heart of Hanover
The Herrenhausen Palace Museum opened to the public in 2013 and is part of the History Museum. In this palace you can see settings where people from the Welfenhaus and various garden architectures are presented, and it illuminates the connection between the social and intellectual preconditions of the Baroque and the villa garden design. The third part of the palace shows the development of the Herrenhausen gardens from the Enlightenment to the present day.
The August Kestner Museum, opened in 1889, displays 6,000 years of applied art in four eras of art collection: ancient culture, Egyptian culture, the largest collection of coins in northern Germany with about 1,000 pieces, and applied art.
One of the central streets in Hanover
The Sprengel Museum was opened in 1979 and represents modern art of the 20th century. The focus is on classical modernism with the collection of Kurt Schwitters, works of German Expressionism and French Cubism, the Cabinet of Abstracts, Graphics and the Department of Photography and Media. The museum also displays special examples of abstract, conceptual and minimal art,
The Wilhelm Bush Museum, the German Museum of Caricature and Drawing Art in Herrenhausen, displays permanent collections about Wilhelm Busch and caricature and critical graphics. In addition, exhibitions (cartoons, comics and caricatures) of contemporary artists from the country and abroad are constantly changing. The museum was founded in 1937.
The Kestnergesellschaft was founded in 1916 and displays exhibitions of classical modernism and contemporary art. The focus is on film, video, contemporary music and architecture, and extensive installations and comprehensive presentations of contemporary painting, sculpture and video art are on display.
Kunstverein Hannover, founded in 1832 as one of the first art associations in Germany, is based in the Kunstlerhaus Hannover. Six to eight internationally oriented monographic and thematic exhibitions are presented each year.
Hanover has long been considered a mediocre and boring destination. The prevailing opinion was that the city center was impersonal and soulless, while the inhabitants of the surrounding municipalities of the city, some of which were large old buildings, developed some of their way of life. The city has a relatively large amount of open space and green areas, which is why some tourists attribute its small "stress due to density" and relaxation in everyday life.
In 2018, the accommodation booking portal Booking.com listed Hanover as one of the ten new tourist destinations in development due to the "large number of museums, parks and cultural events".
The Leine-Heide-Radweg long cycle path, the Kulturroute cycle path, the Gruner Ring cycle cycle and hiking trail, Lower Saxony Muhlenstrasse, the Via Scandinavica pilgrimage route and the European History Gardens route, the Council of Europe's cultural route, escape routes of the greatest tourist importance. city of Hanover.
Today's old part of the city is significantly different from the original old city before the Second World War. The center of Hanover was 90% destroyed, including the old town. Therefore, a kind of traditional island was created around the market church. For that purpose, the main landmarks were renovated, such as the market church, half-timbered houses and other buildings moved from other parts of the city, and post-war buildings were created as part of the reconstruction that harmoniously blended into the old part of the city.
Today's gates of the old town are the Marstalltor Louis Remi de la Fosse. It is the preserved central portal of the Hofmar stables on the Hohe Ufer. As already mentioned, in the center of the old part of the city is a market church, built in the 14th century, with a market square and a market fountain in Hanover. Together with the old town hall, it is a testimony to North German brick Gothic.
Broihanhaus, Hanns-Lilje-Haus and Georg-von-Colln-Haus are located near the Marktkirche. The Kreuzkirche in the Kreuzkirchenviertel has a precious altarpiece by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Opposite it is the Kreuzklappe restaurant. The oldest preserved half-timbered house in Hanover from 1564/1566 is located at Burgstrasse 12. Ballhof, built between 1649 and 1664, has long been the largest event hall in the city, and is now one of the places in Lower Saxony – State Theater.
On Holzmarkt with the Oscar Fountain, next to the Nolta house, which was built shortly before 1900, there is a house with a Renaissance facade of the Leibniz house, which was reconstructed in 1983 (originally built in 1499 in Schmiedtstraße).
Of the medieval city defense towers, only the initial tower in the History Museum has been completely preserved. The old town is bordered by the Hohe Ufer der Leine, where the Leineschloss and the promenade along the coast with cafes and restaurants, which was redesigned in 2018, are located.
Martin-Neuffer-Brucke runs from the old town to Calenberger Neustadt. And this suffered serious destruction in World War II. However, there are numerous representative buildings and sandstone churches here.
The Baroque Neustadter Church with Leibniz's tomb and St. Clemens' Basilica, the first new Catholic church building in Hanover after the Reformation, and the Evangelical Reformed Church, whose bells were donated by Britain's Queen Victoria, still give an idea of why Calenberger Neustadt was called "Freedom Island".
Even then, all denominations and beliefs were allowed. The State Archives of Lower Saxony and the Ministry of the Environment are also located in Calenberger Neustadt, in front of which is the Duve Fountain, in the middle of the Leibniz coast.
Everywhere in the city center, but also in some parts of the city, there are buildings of master Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves. At the beginning of the 19th century, the planning and design of the city of Ernst-August-Stadt, which is today part of the district of Mitte, began.
Its largest buildings in Hanover include the Opera House, the Waterloo Column, the Vangenheim Palace and the Laveshaus opposite the New Town Hall.
He renovated the Leineschloss on the edge of the old town (today the seat of the state parliament of Lower Saxony) and expanded it, among other things, with a portico in Leinstrasse. Other Laves buildings include the von Beckedorf Chamber House summer house, Villa Rosa and various bridges.
In the middle age, until the end of the 19th century, the Hanover School of Architecture created its own direction of form with clinker brick buildings in the neo-Gothic and arched style (for example from the Kunstlerhaus Hannover, 1855), which had an influence outside Hanover and shaped the face of the great residential districts.
Due to the many green areas in the city, Hanover is one of the greenest cities in Germany and has a special epithet called "green metropolis". On the ranking list Meinestadt.de in 2011 came in first place in Germany, but not on other rankings, because other cities have more green space in terms of area (total or proportional), and some rankings do not count only public green areas. However, Hanover is particularly sustainable in terms of its urban development.
The new town hall in Hanover is the town hall of the capital of Lower Saxony and the seat of the city administration of Hanover under the administration of the mayor. Wilhelmina, a magnificent palace-like building in an eclectic style, was built between 1901 and 1913.
The new city hall is located in the most beautiful part of the ten-hectare Maschpark on the southern edge of the city center, outside the historic center of Hanover. The square in front of the north-northeast facing the north wing is now called Trammplatz, it was created especially in connection with the town hall building and was named after Heinrich Tramm, the then mayor. The south side of the building faces Maschteich.
During the expansion of the city with industrialization, especially from the early days of its founding, the scattered administration of the city of Hanover grew, so that at the end of the 19th century a new larger town house was necessary. The driving force behind this was the city director, Heinrich Tramm, who had been in office since 1891, and under whom the building was to become "the pinnacle of bourgeois self-expression."
Initially, there was talk of Goseriede north of the old town. The finally determined location on the then southern outskirts of the city took into account the planned expansion of the city to the south ("Sudstadt"), in combination with the "Rathauspark (Maschpark) which stretched there as the center of new public buildings".
The town house, 97.73 meters high, about 129 meters long and about 67 meters wide, was built on 6026 beech piles according to the plans of architect Hermann Eggert. The main hall of the town hall was 30 meters long, 21 meters wide and over 30 meters high. The construction material, the sandman claims, was brought from the Mehler quarry.
I advise you that due to the difficult current situation in the country, if you want to go out into the fresh air, take a walk and clear your mind, feel free to do so, but do not go to places where there are a lot of people and create crowds.
Travel is currently disabled, but I sincerely hope that with the start of vaccination of the population in Europe and the world, the measures will be relaxed.
My dear travelers, we have reached the end of this special post from Germany which would not have been possible without the selfless help of the Hanover Tourist Board and the Tourist Board of the German State of Lower Saxony in cooperation with the German National Railway DB – Deutsche Bahn which allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty the city of Hanover and the German federal state of Lower Saxony and to share my impressions of this unusual city in Germany.
Time always flies when a person has a good time! A man is rich at heart if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad to always be able to find partners for my projects that help me discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way during this global COVID-19 health crisis.
I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the care and protection of yourself and your loved ones. Let's prevent the spread of the Corona virus and try to make this one day just one bad dream that we have successfully forgotten!
I understand that people need to go out into the fresh air for physical activity and mental health, and you can do that by walking around the city in the open air every day, using the busy streets. Of course, you can walk through the park and other types of green areas or along the promenades along the rivers, but stick to the prescribed physical distance and use disinfectants and wear a mask.
I am honored to have the opportunity to work with companies that are at the top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank them for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauties of the German state of Lower Saxony in a completely different way.
How did you like this story of mine about Hanover? Have you had a chance to visit this city in Germany so far?
If you have a question, comment, suggestion or message for me, you can write me down in the comments. Of course, as always you can contact me via mail or social media, which you can find on the CONTACT page.
With love from Hanover,
This post is sponsored by the Tourist Board of the City of Hanover, the Tourist Organization of the German state of Lower Saxony and the German national railway Deutsche Bahn.
Letters from Germany: Magdeburg, the Royal Fairy Tale on the Banks of the Elbe…
Adventure Travel	 September 6, 2020	 5 Comments
My dear travellers, are you ready for a new adventure and getting to know some gems of Germany? In previous posts you have had the opportunity to feel the spirit of the charming city of art and design – Halle and the Hanseatic city on the Baltic coast – Greifswald.
Today I will introduce you to the capital of the German federal state of Saxony – Anhalt and also the oldest city in East Germany – Magdeburg. The city lies on the river Elbe and is one of the three largest regional centers in the country. With less than 250,000 inhabitants, Magdeburg is the second largest city in the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, after Halle.
The Green Citadel of Magdeburg
According to some historical records, Magdeburg was first mentioned in official documents at the beginning of the 9th century. In the middle of the 9th century, Otto I the Great, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, together with the scientist and politician Otto von Guericke, founded the Archdiocese of Magdeburg with his namesake of today's "Ottostadt Magdeburg".
Emperor Otto I was so fascinated by the beauty of this city that was the wedding gift to his wife Edith of England (Eadgyth of England). The locals faithfully preserve their history and the memory of this emperor, who was buried in the Magdeburg Cathedral, which is a great symbol of the city today.
The building of the state parliament of the German province of Saxony – Anhalt
In the Middle Ages, the Hanseatic city gained exceptional importance due to its trade role and Magdeburg city law. In the late Middle Ages, it was one of the largest German cities and the center of the Reformation and resistance against recatholicization in the Schmalkaldic League.
After the devastation of the Thirty Years' War (better known as the "The Sack of Magdeburg"), Magdeburg was expanded and became the strongest fortress in the Kingdom of Prussia.
At the end of the 19th century, Magdeburg became a large city with almost 100,000 inhabitants. Unfortunately, the city was seriously destroyed again in the Second World War. Magdeburg was part of the GDR from 1952 to 1990, and after 1990 it became the capital of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Magdeburger Dom (Magdeburg Cathedral) – Cathedral of St. Catherine and Maurice
Due to its unusual geographical location, Magdeburg has a separate port at the mouth of the Elbe and Havel canals and is the economic and industrial center in Saxony-Anhalt German state.
This city has a highly developed machine industry, special environmental technologies and recycling management, logistics and production of chemical products, iron and steel products, paper and textiles, and all these industries help maintain the economic stability of the city and the province in general.
Magdeburg is both a Protestant and a Catholic diocese. The true symbol of the city is the Cathedral of St. Catherine and Maurice. Magdeburg Cathedral is a Protestant cathedral in Germany and also the oldest Gothic cathedral in Germany. This cathedral was under the administration of the former emperor-archbishopric of Magdeburg.
Today, the Magdeburg Cathedral is one of the most important architectural monuments in central Germany and the first cathedral in Germany built in the Gothic style. The Magdeburg Church is the main church of the Evangelical Church in central Germany. An interesting fact is that its bell towers, which are about 100 m high, make this church one of the highest cathedrals in East Germany.
North side of the cloister in Gothic style
The cathedral's main chapel has a trapezoidal shape, because its three wings were equated with the previous cathedral from the 10th century. The south wing still remained in the Romanesque style. The east wing also contains a large two-row hall, also known as the "Remter". The cathedral is visited annually by more than 100,000 tourists. During 2019, the 810th anniversary of this late Romanesque-Gothic cathedral was celebrated.
An interesting fact is that during the Middle Ages, the city had a shape that was shaped by seven churches with two towers, the only formation of the city in Europe. This structure of the city was unfortunately lost due to the bombing in the Second World War and the demolition during the GDR period, and only four of the seven pairs of towers survived.
There are still seven church buildings in the area of medieval Magdeburg, but not all of them are used for religious purposes.
Today, the Magdeburg Cathedral is the episcopal church of the Evangelical Church on the territory of the province of Saxony-Anhalt. The artistic treasures of this cathedral include ancient pillars of porphyry, marble and granite, a large baptistery and the tomb of Emperor Otto I the Great.
Monastery of Our dear Lady in Magdeburg
The Monastery of Our Lady was built in the middle of the 11th century. The Municipal Art Museum of Fine Arts was opened in 1974 and is located in the premises of this important complex of the Romanesque monastery. Most of the exhibits are on display in the monastery itself, but some sculptures and figures can also be found in the nearby park.
The Johanniskirche (Church of St. John), located near the town hall, built in the 13th century, is now used as a dance and concert hall. The sculpture of the "Bereaved Magdeburg" in the church lobby was saved from the ruins in 1945. This sculpture is a historical reminder of the conquest and subsequent devastation of the city by the imperial army in the Thirty Years' War.
Church of St. John in Magdeburg
The single-nave Gothic Magdalenenkapelle chapel was built at the beginning of the 14th century as a sign of reconciliation, and it was moved to the neighboring Magdalenenkloster only at the end of the 14th century. St. Petri-Kirche, also known as the University Church, was located outside the city when it was built in the early 12th century.
Church of St. Sebastian built in the 11th century. The architecture of this religious building shows the features of the Romanesque and Gothic style, and today's shape was largely given to the cathedral between the 14th and 15th centuries. After hundreds of years of use for the purpose of a warehouse, St. Sebastian's Cathedral has regained its role as a Catholic parish church. Vallonerkirche: The church in the Gothic hall was built in 1285 as the church of the Augustinian monastery.
There are numerous cultural institutions in Magdeburg, including the Magdeburg Theater and the Magdeburg Cultural History Museum. Otto von Guericke University and the Magdeburg-Stendhal University of Applied Sciences are located in Magdeburg.
Due to the severe destruction of the 17th century in the Thirty Years' War and the middle of the 20th century in the Second World War, Magdeburg has fewer historical landmarks than other cities in Germany if we look at the traditional architectural sense. Many buildings that are carriers of the city's history, architecture, art and culture have been destroyed.
Many excavations have taken place in the vicinity of Magdeburg in recent years and numerous discoveries have been made. Government is working on a detailed discovery of historical facts about the development of Magdeburg, where we could supplement and present some new facts that would be worth mentioning.
The old building of the City Hall of Magdeburg
The most important sights of the city are located in the area of the old part of the city, separated from the university part of the city and the newer center of Askanischer Square and the river Elbe. Cultural monuments that exist in Magdeburg are registered in the city and regional register of monuments.
Old Market with the Magdeburg Horseman
My dear travellers, once again we have come to the end of the special blog post from Germany. Time just flies so fast when you are having a good time! At the end of this post, I would like to thank my friends from Magdeburg Tourist Board – Magdeburg Marketing, Saxony – Anhalt Marketing and Deutsche Bahn for this incredible German adventure.
Once again, Deutsche Bahn recognized the quality of my work and they wanted to be part of this amazing project. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with companies that are at the top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank them for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of the capital of Saxony – Anhalt German state in a completely different way.
How do you like this story about this German gem of Saxony – Anhalt called Magdeburg? Have you maybe had a chance to visit this lovely city? I would like to share with me your experience! See you next week with another interesting story!
Saint John's Church
This post is sponsored by the Tourist Board of the City of Magdeburg, the Tourist Organization of the German state of Saxony – Anhalt and the German national railway Deutsche Bahn.
Letters from Germany: Greifswald, Hanseatic city on the Baltic coast…
Adventure Travel	 August 26, 2020	 3 Comments
My dear travellers, how are you today? I hope you are ready for a new adventure, because today I present you another jewel of Germany, which is located on the shores of the Baltic Sea. In the previous post, you had the opportunity to get to know Halle, a charming city in Germany that is well- known for its art and design. If by any chance you missed it or want to enjoy the beauty of this unusual city near Leipzig again, you can do so with one click on this link.
Greifswald is the capital of the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, located in the northeast of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania region. This university and Hanseatic city lies on the river Ryck which flows into the Baltic Sea spatially between the islands of Rügen and Usedom.
An interesting fact is that Greifswald received the city charter of the city of Lübeck in the middle of the 13th century. The University of Greifswald, was founded in the middle of the 15th century and is the second oldest university in the Baltic region.
The city has almost 60 thousand inhabitants, which makes it the fifth largest city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Together with Stralsund, Greifswald forms one of the four regional centers in the province.
Greifswald is approximately equidistant from the two largest cities in Germany, Berlin and Hamburg. The nearest major cities are Stralsund and Rostock. The coastal part of Greifswald at the mouth of the river Ryck, called Greifswald-Vieck, originated from a small fishing village. Today there is a small beach, a marina and the main port that belongs to Greifswald.
How did Greifswald get its name? The original name of this settlement, which eventually developed into the independent city of Greifswald, is not known. The only written evidence that exists is a letter from Duke Vartislav III. which dates from the 13th century. is also the first documented mention of today's name of the city.
In the feudal era during the reign of Vartislav III. in the 13th century, there is his explicit statement that Greifswald is called Gripeswald in Low Saxon German, which suggests that this area originally had a different ethnic population: Slavic, Danish and German as well.
There is no official evidence for the theory that the original name was Danish based on Gripscogh, the name of a forest located near the town of Esrom in Denmark.
Greifswald – contains the word "griffins" which represents the legendary heraldic animals of the Pomeranian dukes. "Wald" means forest. The griffin and the forest can also be found in the coat of arms of the city of Greifswald. Since 1990, the city has again become a Hanseatic city and is now described as a university and Hanseatic city.
The Hanseatic League (Hanseatic League of Cities) is an alliance of trade guilds, which established and maintained a trade monopoly in the Baltic Sea and most of northern Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries. German cities have achieved a dominant position in trade in the Baltic with incredible speed over the course of a century. Lübeck became a central hub in all maritime trade during that period.
Due to its size, Greifswald has a rich cultural and tourist offer for its visitors. The largest cultural institutions in the city are the Vorpommern Theater and the Pommersche Landesmuseum (Pomeranian State Museum), a museum housing paintings by the famous painter Caspar David Friedrich, a native of Greifswald.
More than 10 million euros have been set aside for this project and it was founded out of a great desire to document the life and work of this "romantic" and his artistic environment. This project was funded by the city of Greifswald, the region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, as well as the federal government.
The town hall of Greifswald, which was built in 1915, has been completely restored and together with the adjacent theater building, represents the central complex of the old part of the town of Greifswald.
City architecture has styles from almost all eras, from medieval brick, Gothic to modern forms of architecture. The older buildings of the city are especially characterized by the style common in northern Germany and the Baltic Sea region, which can also be found in other Hanseatic cities such as Lübeck and Wismar.
Of course, the architecture of classicism and the beginning of the Wilhelmin era also left a significant mark in Greifswald. During the GDR era, large parts of the northern part of the old town were demolished and prefabricated apartments were built there. Since 1990, great efforts have been made to restore and restore the historical architecture of the city.
The central market square, unique in size and shape in northern Germany, is truly imposing. The 13th-century Gothic-Baroque town house of Greifswald is located in the market square. The two medieval Hanseatic town houses Markt 11 and 13 in the famous brick-Gothic style are especially significant in terms of the architectural history of the town.
At the corner of Muhlenstrasse is the white, classicist building of the Pomeranian State Museum's painting gallery, designed by Johann Gottfried Kuistorp.
There are also various important historic town houses in the old town, for example near the main churches and along the east-west direction of Schuhhagen or Muhlenstraße and Lange Straße streets.
The northern part of the old town in the direction of the port was significantly destroyed due to the design of the old system, although it was spared during the war and replaced by prefabricated buildings, only a few old buildings, such as the city library in Knopfstrasse, were spared this destructive measure.
My dear travellers, once again we have come to the end of the special blog post from Greifswald. Time just flies so fast when you are having a good time! At the end of this post, I would like to thank my friends from Greifswald Tourist Board – Greifswald Marketing GmbH (GMG) and Deutsche Bahn for this incredible German adventure.
Once again, Deutsche Bahn recognized the quality of my work and they wanted to be part of this amazing project. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with companies that are at the top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank them for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern German state in a completely different way.
How do you like this story about this German gem of Baltic called Greifswald? Have you maybe had a chance to visit this lovely city? I would like to share with me your experience! See you next week with another interesting story!
If you have a question, comment, suggestion or message for me, you can write me down in the comments. Of course, as always you can contact me via mail or social media, which you can find on the CONTACT page. Also, I am kindly inviting you to enjoy in the rest photos of Greifswald in gallery below.
This post is sponsored by the Greifswald Marketing GmbH and the Deutsche Bahn German National Railway.
Letters from Germany: Halle, a charming City of Art and Design…
My dear travellers, how are you today? It is my great pleasure to have the opportunity to write you a new travelogue after a long time. The corona virus has changed our daily habits and some pleasures such as travel have been limited and kept to a minimum. This year's tourist season is in great danger and many countries are trying to encourage domestic and international tourists to visit their country this season.
This year, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has made great efforts to motivate domestic and foreign tourists with their campaigns to visit Germany after the tourist "break" with the imposed quarantine.
Halle, a town in the southern part of the German state of Saxony – Anhalt.
Welcome to Halle, a charming city of art, history and design. This city is located in the very south of the German province of Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Saale, which is the third longest river in Germany.
Halle is an economic and educational center in central and eastern Germany with less than 250,000 inhabitants. The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, with its campuses in Halle and Wittenberg, is the largest university center in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and one of the oldest universities in Germany where the principle of startup ecosystems is nurtured. Halle University Hospital is the largest hospital in this province.
How did this charming city get its name? The name of this city is historically connected with the salt harvest. The name of the river Saale contains the Germanic root of the word for salt, and the salt harvest has been taking place in Halle since the Bronze Age.
The city itself has a modern city center, a large number of green areas and numerous unusual narrow streets in which architecture from several epochs has been preserved. There are many interesting and beautiful places you can visit along the Saale River that runs through the city. Halle is located near Leipzig and as a tourist you can enjoy the beauties of these two exceptional cities in Germany.
Halle is a relatively small town, but that doesn't mean it's boring. On the contrary, you will feel like you are in a big open-air museum. Halle is one of the largest university centers in Germany and various university institutes and libraries can be found here.
Halle became a very rich and "famous" city as a result of a successful salt trade. The preserved ramparts of the medieval castle give Halle its historical stamp and exceptional beauty. Other sights of the city include the Unserer Lieben Frauen and the Roter Turm, a free-standing bell tower.
In addition to the renovated city center, the surrounding modern districts give this town an unusual charm. In some parts of the city one can still find villas and houses and houses that belong to the old architectural style and have unfortunately been demolished in many other cities in Germany.
Halle is not only the cultural capital of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, but also the birthplace of George Frederic Handel. The spirit of the famous baroque composer can still be felt in the city today, especially during the Handel festival, which is usually held in June every year.
If the road leads you to this city, be sure to visit the birth house of the composer Handel and the Church where Handel was baptized, which is located in the heart of the city. Experience the cultural diversity of the more than 1,200-year-old Halle city center with its narrow streets and historic buildings.
Did you know that Halle is also popular because of its history of sweets. Mozart balls were born in Salzburg, but in Halle there are the famous Halloren Kugeln.
"Whoever does not feel the beauty of fluttering his wings, remains an ordinary creature of this world…"
My dear travellers, once again we have come to the end of the special blog post from Halle. Time just flies so fast when you are having a good time! At the end of this post, I would like to thank my friends from Halle Tourist Board – Stadtmarketing Halle and Deutsche Bahn for this incredible German adventure.
Once again, Deutsche Bahn recognized the quality of my work and they wanted to be part of this amazing project. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with companies that are at the top of the tourism industry and I would like to thank them for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of Saxony-Anhalt German state in a completely different way.
How do you like this story about this art and design centre in Saxony-Anhalt? Have you maybe had a chance to visit this lovely city called Halle? I would like to share with me your experience! See you next week with another interesting story from Germany!
This post is sponsored by the Halle Tourismus and the Deutsche Bahn German National Railway.


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J. Christopher Flowers lists UES co-op for $18M
Private equity giant recently purchased 640 Park Avenue home
By Katherine Clarke
Having recently forked out $20 million for a second floor-unit at 640 Park Avenue, billionaire private equity mogul J. Christopher Flowers may be trying to balance his books. Flowers, who founded J.C. Flowers & Co., has listed his six-bedroom, seven-bathroom spread at 66 East 79th Street for $18 million, according to Streeteasy.com. The price is $1 million less than what Flowers paid for the property in 2006. The unit is listed by Sami Hassoumi of Brown Harris Stevens, who was not immediately available for comment.
This is the first time that the duplex apartment, located on the 14th and 15th floors of the building, has been publicly offered for sale. The home, which was originally designed as the largest in the building, has traded only through privately marketed transactions in the past, according to the listing. It has a 30-foot drawing room, a formal dining room and a wood-paneled library.
Flowers bought the unit in 2006 from old school ad man Martin Puris, who penned BMW's signature tag line "the ultimate driving machine." That was the same year he made records for paying out $53 million for the Harkness Mansion at 4 East 75th Street. The Harkness property later sold to art world powerhouse Larry Gagosian for a loss in 2011. Gagosian paid just $36.5 million for the property, which he may turn into an art gallery.
Flowers' new digs on Park Avenue reportedly have six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms as well as a gym and staff facilities.
Hudson Yards megadevelopment inspires a new line of sex toys
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Wendy Silverstein, co-head of WeWork's real-estate fund, is out
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Billionaire hedge funder Dan Loeb buys waterfront Miami Beach estate: sources
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Wynwood Is Getting Its First Big Parking Garage
Kyle Munzenrieder May 13, 2015 12:35PM
No neighborhood in Miami is a true hot spot until it has a big-ass parking garage. Think about it. Downtown: tons of big-ass parking garages. South Beach: so many big-ass parking garages, some of them even designed by world-renowned architects. Coral Gables: yep, even some big-ass parking garages there. The Design District: its big-ass parking garages just recently open for business. Coconut Grove: a few big-ass parking garages, but some people say it doesn't have enough big-ass parking garages.
Wynwood, however, has remained big-ass-parking-garage-free. That's all about to change.
It was less than a year ago when street parking was totally free in Wynwood, and it could usually be found without much of a mission on all but the busiest nights. However, the city launched pay-by-phone parking in the area last September, and as the neighborhood continues to grow, parking is becoming harder to find, even as visitors must pay for it.
However, there have been rumblings that the area's major developer, Goldman Properties, has been planning a parking garage for some time, and now The Next Miami has gotten hold of renderings.
The building is slated for 301 NW 26th St., just east of Zak the Baker, and would stretch to NW 27th Street across from the black-and-white-striped Wynwood Building, which is home to Goldman Properties' main office in the area (as well as Miami New Times' offices). Currently, a surface parking lot occupies the land.
The eight-story structure, quite large by Wynwood standards, would have 428 parking spaces. Naturally, the building would be covered in artwork. The plans will go up for review by the Urban Design Review Board next month.
Though Wynwood is a quite walkable neighborhood, the only option to get to it by public transport is Metrobus. Not even the Miami Trolley, which serves nearby midtown and the Design District, stops in Wynwood.
KEEP MIAMI NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started Miami New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" program, allowing us to keep offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food and culture with no paywalls.
Kyle Munzenrieder
Contact: Kyle Munzenrieder
Twitter: @Munzenrieder
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ETRADE is a broker for people who want to buy stocks. It's not necessarily an education tool, although they do provide some education. Start by researching on sites like YouTube and Investopedia - …... The content provided by E*TRADE Securities is for educational purposes only. This information neither is, nor should be construed, as an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell securities by E*TRADE Securities or its affiliates.
E*Trade is buying more than 1 million self-directed brokerage accounts from Capital One Investing, meaning taxable accounts or IRAs that clients manage on their own, for example. Notably, the deal... The conventional wisdom is to buy when stocks are at a low price and sell them at a high price later. This is great in theory, but it's difficult to put into practice. There's no way to know how a stock will move in the future. Instead, look for stocks with great momentum. The idea, of course, is to try to buy at the beginning of an upswing and sell before a big decline. Easier said than done.
14/11/2018 · Welcome to E*TRADE. No matter your level of experience, we help simplify investing and trading. With our mobile experience, you have everything you need in the palm of your hand—including investing, banking, trading, research, and more.
Etrade Australia Limited Nevertheless, the deal is more important to E*Trade than ANZ as it opens the lid to a treasure trove of potential growth and provides the capital for other initiatives. However, as we pointed out in issue 28 (Hold - $10.00), even though business is booming a very cautious approach should be taken towards buying the stock just after its has had such a huge run.
E-Trade Financial Corporation (stylized as E*TRADE) is a financial services company organized in Delaware and headquartered in New York City. The company provides services for individuals and institutions that are investing online.


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Texas Meteorologist Shot Outside News Station
Amanda Crum
Texas meteorologist Patrick Crawford was shot several times in the parking lot of the KCEN television station on Wednesday morning in Waco, and police reportedly have a man in custody.
Crawford and the man had words in the lot, then the man allegedly pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and shot him several times before fleeing. Crawford was able to get in his car and drive down the road, where he ultimately crashed. Construction workers were able to help him, however, and according to local news sources he has undergone surgery in a nearby hospital. Police have not released the name of the suspect or a motive.
"Crawford was getting into his car this morning after leaving the building and the subject walked up to him and they had a confrontation," Trooper D.L. Wilson said. "Whether they know each other or it's a random shooting, we don't know that yet."
The station and nearby schools were placed on lockdown while officials searched for the gunman, who was found barricaded in a home about a mile and a half from the station.
Police say they aren't sure at this time whether the suspect works at the station or not.
Tags texas meteorologist
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Scotland will face South Africa in the final of the 119th Amateur Championship for the first time in 17 years. Blairgowrie's Bradley Neil meets South African Zander Lombard in tomorrow's 36-hole final at Royal Portrush.
Neil defeated fellow Scot Conner Syme 2&1 in the semi-final while Lombard survived a tight battle with Southport & Ainsdale's Sean Towndrow. The 19-year-old from Pretoria won by one hole.
Neil immediately called his mother Amanda after winning. Both were struggling to cope with his achievement. "We got pretty emotional," Neil said. "We both know what this could do. I think Zander knows the same. This is life changing. I never thought I'd be in the final. The doors it can open and the events it can get you into are just incredible."
A run of four bogeys in five holes from the 8th hole by Syme let Neil take control of the match and, although he lost the 13th and the 15th, he was able to see it out with pars at the 16th and 17th.
The 18-year-old is having the best season of his life with seven top ten finishes, including three runner-ups and two third places. His latest runner-up finish came in a play-off loss at the recent St Andrews Links Trophy and he has climbed to 38th on the World Amateur Golf RankingTM.
The winner will have the opportunity to play in The Open at Royal Liverpool and next year's US Open at Chambers Bay and traditionally receives an invitation to the Masters.
"You think about that coming into the week and every day," admitted Neil. "I definitely thought about it more than once today. It's hard to put something like that to the back of your mind. You have to try to use it as motivation to win each match.
"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I'm not going to shy away from the occasion. I'm going to play the golf I have been playing the last few days. I know he's going to want to win just as badly as me but if he's going to beat me it's not going to be easy. I believe this is my time. My confidence is there, my game's there. I just need to bring it on the day."
Lombard is currently ranked 59th on the World Amateur Golf RankingTM but has been as low as 48th. He won the recent KwaZulu-Natal Amateur Championship and is in good form.
After taking an early lead after two holes against Towndrow, Lombard found himself two down after seven. He won the eighth and ninth holes.