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Tag Archives: fight
Posted on August 19, 2011 by Eris of Discord
Keep your head, Summer.
(17)Solo
Summer breaks into a run the moment she has her bearings.
Jane… Winter whispers weakly. Here too?
Summer's hands burn with heat. The ground underfoot- stone- smokes where her feet land, and power, gathered from a hundred waiting Servants, hums through Summer's body as she closes the gap between herself and Autumn. A bolt of power slams into her shoulder. Autumn's finger glows, His hand remains outstretched.
It doesn't faze her. She lets the pain sink in and keeps running. He's three yards away when He takes one step back. Two when His expression changes to anger from boredom. One when He throws up his other arm slowly, too slowly.
Summer slams into Him, the full force of her fury burning the air. She watches Him tumble away from her, watches Him pull himself to his feet.
Autumn reaches for His long sword, draws it from His scabbard. He holds it left-handed, leaving His right hand empty.
If Summer were thinking, she'd be cautious.
"You bastard!" She screams instead, throwing up both hands and shouting an Eldritch Word: Burst.
Power floods her arms, streams out of her fingertips and leaps outward, striking snake-like in a long, red line towards Autumn. He slashes it, deflects it with His blade, struggling for a moment before sending it soaring away. It hits the far left wall- stone ripples, then explodes outwards in a brilliant wave of heat. It melts through the solid rock and leaves a smoking crater. The shockwave shakes the cavern and the wall of wind that flees the explosion blows Summer's long hair back.
Autumn's face twists in anger.
His blade is steaming now, flashing brilliantly, and His eyes are wide.
"Why?" Summer growls, her hands low again, crackling with barely restrained energy. "What the hell has she done to you? She wasn't even involved yet, you monster! Have you gone completely insane?"
She can see Autumn's eyes narrow, see Him open His mouth to respond.
"Vanish," He says, and does, disappearing in a crack and a puff of brimstone.
She has just enough time to wonder where He went when she hears the clack of His hooves on the stone of the room. They pause after a moment. From behind her, near the entrance and only exit, she hears "I need no reason for doing what's right, Sister. Enjoy cradling your dead pet-"
She whirls and points at the exit. "Wall!" She snaps. Immediately a wall of pure fire splashes upwards and ignites on the ceiling, filling the arch by which she'd entered completely, and casting red, eerie light all over the dim room.
Silence from her brother. Either He's left, or He's waiting to strike now, Summer thinks.
Why did He kill her again? What had Jane done? Why did she have to see it again? It's so much easier, in Winter's head, it's so much easier when you're shielded from it. Summer trembles with fury. Tears evaporate on her cheeks, leaving salt. Jane had been her friend for so long. To meet an end like this without knowing why…
"Hiding now, brother?" She snarls. "What a difference from the last time we fought! Have you weakened so much now that you fear me?"
She searches the room, one green eye, one blue eye, staring into corners, into shadows.
Suddenly, a click behind her, and a white lash of pain draws itself over the back of her thigh. Something slippery drips down her leg, and she stumbles forward for a moment. There's a clatter. She whirls again, sees the long sword- edge half-melted and glowing cherry red- drop from thin air. She throws up one hand.
"Strike!" She hisses. Again the power streams into her from the slumbering Servants. It gathers in her hand and jumps forth in the blink of an eye- this time taking the form of a whip, a tendril of energy, thin and crackling. It sweeps out and catches her brother directly. The glow illuminates him in an outline before he's flung by the force. The invisibility Word fades.
His thin, tall frame flies away, slamming into the stone floor several feet away once, and again after striking a pillar. The sound reaches her next, a thunderclap that shakes the ancient dust from the ceiling.
It's too much to hope that he's dead. He rolls over and then slowly gathers himself.
He pushes himself to His feet, glaring at her, one hand clutching His midsection- His clothes are torn and burned, and blueish red drips from his lips and runs down his middle.
"I cannot fight you here," He growls, spitting the strange blood. "But mark my words, you both will meet your end. Quite. Soon."
He reaches out, fingers curled, and peels reality open as if tearing through paper. Summer's legs feel heavy as she watches Him step through the gate. It snaps shut behind Him, leaving her alone in the gloom. In the distance, the screeching noise is growing louder. In her head, she can hear Winter sobbing.
Summer's recently regenerated left hand aches horribly. Her shoulder drips blood and the back of her leg bears a short, deep cut that flows slowly. Her bones ache and her head throbs.
She kneels down next to Jane's body. After making sure her Servant is truly dead- the heads and serpentine form are both still and cold as marble- she tries again to understand where she is. The room is huge- and must be to contain even a young Goliath.
On the far, far southern wall there is an enormous dark mirror and a small raised dais before it. The dais bears a few strange stones on it, and she remembers now. It's a Seeing Terminal. The old castle back in Season's Refuge- well, Black Refuge right now- had one.
She only knows the combinations for her friends and family, of course. The sort of magic that runs in the old stones here is common enough, though she'd never seen it on quite this scale.
Why would he do this? Winter repeats. Why?
"He cut off our support early. He's trying to make us waste our time," Summer says softly, furiously.
She stalks over to the strange terminal and stares at it. The screen is made from a strange crystal- from within there can shine a light to illuminate images that dance across the mirror's surface. She's not really sure how it all works, but at the moment it doesn't matter.
She takes a deep breath, shoving the corpse of her friend out of her mind, and depresses four stones on the dais.
The screen flashes a multitude of colors, light playing over the mirror and sending eerie shadows over Summer's face as she stands near it and waits. There are two of them here. Will it focus on the future or the past?
The screen goes dark for a moment, and then shows her Fall.
Her brother stands there on a hill, shading his eyes as he looks out over the wall around Spiritfell and into the wastes of the Barrier. His expression is at peace, and its image contrasts sharply with the one of the enraged Autumn she'd fought. Similar, but far from the same. Past and present.
"Brother," She says quietly. "Why?"
He starts, looks around. That's right, Summer thinks. It transfers voice too!
"Summer?" He asks the open air. His voice can be heard, like a whisper, though it's plain he's speaking out loud. He's all alone on the hill though.
"I'm talking to you through a screen," She says plainly. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes," comes the faint reply. "Is everything alright? What's a screen?"
"Jane is dead. And there's no time to explain."
She watches Fall's expression slide from anxious to grieved in a flash. "What?" He asks. "How?"
"Autumn was here waiting for me."
"Cycle above. Are you hurt?"
Summer shakes her head and sighs. "Yes, but it's nothing that won't heal."
"How about your uh. Your hand?"
"It regenerated before I left," Summer replies dryly. "You were there for that, brother."
"Right. What will you do now?"
"Bring Jane back."
"How will you do that?" Fall asks, arching an eyebrow at nothing. "There's no way to bring back the dead."
"Goodbye, brother," Summer replies quietly.
"Summer-"
She slaps a hand against a stone, cutting the connection. The screen goes dark.
She finds that she's trembling again. It's hard to believe that Jane's death would take her quite like this.
She walks back over to Jane's corpse, taking another long, deep breath. Her Servant doesn't stink, like a normal body would. There's no mark on her, no sign that she died in pain.
We heard her before, Winter says grimly. While we were coming this way she was in pain.
"Yes," Summer replies stonily. "I am Summer- I am responsible for life, like Spring is for renewal. I remember that."
And I am for death, like Fall is for decay. I've figured out that much.
"Are you prepared for what we need to do?" Summer whispers to herself.
I will do whatever it takes. We need to do this twice in any case- now and in the future. Just show me the way. Winter sounds determined. She's changed now- as Summer has. In so short a time, they've both changed, and Summer, while she doesn't understand it, thinks she might enjoy the feeling. After so much time being a monster….
Summer looks around her for a stone or a knife, but all she can see are pebbles. But they'll serve. She draws on the heat of the now silent Servants. She gathers a few pebbles in her hand and in a flash of heat, fuses them together into a mass. The heat tickles a little, and the smell of burning rock nauseates her.
"Sharpen this, Winter." Her voice is emotionless. She moves back to stand over the still body of her friend "Hurry."
It's so clear to her, here. She'd done it. It had been done before. She'd never needed to think about it- she'd just known that she'd done it, that she'd brought back the dead. Winter will have to help, but she's part of me, Summer thinks. She wants this as much as I do, even if she doesn't know the way.
I know the way. I've known it since forever.
This will just be the first time I've done it, though I've done it before. Does that make sense? More importantly, will it work?
Why? Winter asks. But she wills the melted stone sharp with all her heart, and, as Summer's grip tightens on it and it lengthens to a razor sharp tip, she realizes that was the vast majority of her energy.
Summer holds the makeshift knife out. She takes a deep breath, drawing on the life of the Servants above her and flooding herself with power again. Everything has a price…
Her vision flares, white and black. She is sheathed in white, her Servant sheathed in black, the shadows glowing and the very surface of the stone beneath her feet etched in her eyes when she closes them. She can see, she can feel everything, every little twitch of every little cave creature… Every hiss, squeak, squeal and click from the Servants above her, in the tunnels surrounding her.
Following memory, Summer grips the stone knife in white knuckles. She floods everything around her now with her power, eyes shut tight and heart pounding.
"Life for life," Summer whispers. "Blood for blood."
It'd be comforting if the words shimmered like she did, but they sink like stones in the dark, swallowed up. And the dark waits for her.
She jams the sharpened edge of the stone into her neck. The rock tip bites deep, thrust through bronze skin. With waning strength, she pulls it out again, lets the flood loose.
Blood washes out thought, and Winter's scream is drowned out by the roar as it floods from her severed veins in a ruddy stream, soaking the hungry stone and splashing on her dead Servant's scales. She slumps forward.
Posted in Demimind	| Tagged bring back the dead, chapter 17, Chapter seventeen, dead, death, demimind, duel, Fall is clueless, fight, fury, Goliath, Goliath is dead, good Fall, grief, Jane, Jane is dead, Lord Autumn, Lord Autumn is a wuss, magic, pain, past, powerful magic, Servant, solo, still in the past, story, Summer grieves, Summer is reckless, Summer vs Autumn, Summer vs Fall, Summer-Heat-Rising, Winter, Winter grieves	| Leave a reply
Demimind: Chapter 3
Posted on June 17, 2011 by Eris of Discord
(3)Banished
The ground here is freezing cold, but Winter can't even feel it. Summer can, trapped in Winter's head as she is. C-couldn't have picked a better spot, She grumbles. What is it with you and cold?
"I don't know," Winter says quietly. "I… I must not have had a memory of somewhere warm. I still don't know how I remembered this place."
Did you mean to bring the Illmetal with you?
Winter shakes her head. "No. I didn't know it would come along."
She clutches the tiny bead in her fingers. She could put it in the pocket of her jeans, but she worries if she drops it it might disappear. The metal-stone had lost its luster shortly after arriving.
It's useless without the column though.
The air is frigid. Trees stand here, covered in frost and ice, buried under ages and ages of white. Even the snow is frozen solid, so that she leaves no tracks. For as far as the eye can see there are more trees, an infinite forest. The eye can't see too far, of course.
She had hoped that the binding spell would leave Summer when she left the column and He-Whose-Name-Shakes-Mountains behind. It hadn't. Winter hasn't the faintest where she should go, and Summer is too cold to be much help.
She looks all around, trying to find a path through the trees. She has as much time as she needs, really. Summer had told her, sleepily, the last time she'd woken up, that Winter needs only the occasional bite of life energy to survive.
Summer, on the other hand, needs to be surrounded by it in order to thrive.
It seems fairly inhospitable here, but if she concentrates, Winter can feel the presence- like tingling pinpricks on her thumbs- of life, far off to the east.
She decides that will have to do. She gives up her aimless wandering and sets herself off to the east.
Her clothes are stiff. Summer had guided her through the long, laborious process of conjuring them. Of course, Summer had also been half asleep. It figured there were some flaws in their creation- namely two long blank strips made of conjured material, but not dyed, and one long slash down the right leg where Summer had nodded off mid-teaching.
After a while of walking, she feels very exposed. A strong oppressive presence lurks nearby- she can feel it.
She can feel the sting, the dangerous hum of the scar on her thigh suddenly. And Summer is awake in her head.
Uh oh. Magehunting squad by the feel of it.
"You don't sound too concerned," She mutters.
Comes with being a demigoddess. We could probably take them under any other circumstances. I dunno that they'll even know we're magic users. Our type of magic is usually undetectable. We can get by without hurting anyone.
"I seem to recall you being much more-"
And suddenly, she remembers. And the memory hits her like a hammer.
"Come on!" Summer growls gleefully, lifting an arm and sending out a stream of power towards the nearest man. It vaporizes the poor soldier in his armor, leaving hissing plate in its wake. It withers some of Summer's power, but she really doesn't care. What does it matter? She's never felt so alive. The sheer life around her is granting her power beyond any mortal dream.
"Are all of you cowards?" Summer's eyes glint. Her body is the same as Winter's, but bigger- taller, a little plumper and with golden bronze skin. The switch between hers and Winter's is usually seamless. Only their hair remains the same- a short pixie-cut, naturally white-blonde. Summer's eyes are green.
The men circle her. Their lead mage sets her arms, perhaps a little uncertainly. "I didn't even feel it!" She shouts. "What type of magic is that?"
"Thomas is down," One of them grumbles. "We should call for backup."
"His fault, he wasn't wearing antimagic plate."
"How do you know it's magi-" says a clever third, but he's interrupted as his skin flash-fries. The sickly sweet scent of charred flesh and the hiss of his steaming blood as it escapes from his armor fills the air.
Summer's finger smokes. "I told you," She hisses. "I'm a demigoddess. You can't fight me. You can't lay a blade on me!"
Heat rises around her in waves. It's enough to make the strongest of men uncomfortable. The sorceress backs away, lips pressed into a tight line.
The rest of the soldiers flee. And Summer stands there, laughing.
"-vindictive," Winter finishes weakly. The memory had been quite strong. And very, very vivid. The smell of burning skin still lingers in her nostrils, no matter how much she wishes it wouldn't. Summer feels a bit uncomfortable.
Different days. I'm a bit different than before-
Whatever else Summer was going to say is lost. There's a series of fantastic 'pops', and three figures appear out of thin air.
One is dressed in crimson robes. Another, obviously and emphatically female from the shape of her clothing and body, wears nothing but two strips of cloth and is being carried in chains. The third, holding the chains and looking particularly morose in a wide, black-rimmed hat, is wearing sensible working pants and a thoroughly sensible vest with leather armor under it and a metal circle on the front. In one hand he holds the chains, in the other he bares a long metal blade. From the chill it radiates- somehow much more piercing than that of the cold around her- and the warping sense it gives off, the chain and the blade are both made of earthmetals, though what type Summer has no idea. The stuff would drain her magic if she were to try to enchant it, but fortunately Winter seems nonaggressive and probably wouldn't try it.
"See here now, Argus! You've gone and given me the wrong coordinates again!" It's a man's voice, and it comes from the crimson robes. "It's freezing cold! We're probably in some godforsaken tundra-"
"Forest, actually," The man in leather and vest says mildly. He doesn't seem perturbed by the chill.
"You're always getting us lost and- what?"
"Tundra are bare of trees. This is a forest."
The woman in chains shivers violently in the cold and mutters something that might be a curse. Then her eyes look up and find Winter standing there, not ten yards away, under the shade of a frozen pine.
She lets out a clipped cry, and muffles it quickly, biting her lip and trying not to draw attention to Winter at all, a moment later.
The look had been a pleading one. Winter stands there, rooted to the spot and staring. Is that one of my- your disciples? Summer asks.
"How should I know?" Winter hisses. "I've forgotten pretty much everything!"
And then the men see her, too. The one in crimson robes seems to spot her first.
"Hey- Argus. There's a woman there in the shade of that pine. Do you see?"
The man in leather is only a little slower. "Yes. I see her."
"She's standing there- gracious Cycle, is she barefoot? She should be frozen to the core."
"Seems in fine enough health to me."
"A bit rigid, perhaps."
"It's not exactly pleasant weather, my magical friend."
They talk as they move toward her, carefully as though she might startle. It's a hunter's walk, a predator's walk, though neither is likely to be aware of it. Summer notices, though.
Winter, these men are dangerous. That woman is a magic user, likely they're transporting her to a prison for not having a signed doc for its use.
Winter backs away slowly, unfreezing.
"A slip of a thing, but clearly a Frostwitch. Natural, by the look," the red-robed one says.
"You give her too much credit- she can't be more than ten years, the idea of her using more than a cantrip to keep warm is ridiculous." The other is still skeptical. Their respective life-forces feel exceptionally strong, this close. It's making her strangely hungry.
They stop, some ten feet distant, still eyeing her, talking and shaking their heads. The woman doesn't look at her.
Winter wants to keep backing away. You'll have to fight them, Summer says grimly. The woman clutches the Illmetal bead tightly. I'll help. Look, you can't run- you might lose them, sure, but they can track you. I know how it works around here.
Winter clenches her fingers into fists. She raises one hand uncertainly. But she hasn't the faintest how to fight, and she feels very silly.
Her stomach growls at her, throwing her off a bit. She's quite hungry. She's not sure why, but being near these three is making her very, very hungry. She tries anyway, bringing up the will, or trying to, feeling her scars begin to glow.
No, don't use your magic. Just drain them. You need the energy anyway.
"Sort of a crooked nose, don't you think?" says the one in his crimson robes. "A little on the ugly side."
"She'll sell," Argus shrugs. "That's all we need. Hey, kid!"
No, no. Not like that! Here, watch, Summer says.
There's a moment where time seems to hiss and bend, where the world is distorted and everything is scrunched up tight. Summer makes Winter spread her fingers. There's a sensation of tugging, of pulling in such a fashion that seems to make her legs wobble. The hunger inside, the gnawing emptiness reaches a glorious peak, settles in her hand, in her arm. There's a wet sucking, popping sort of sound, like tugging a slick rubber dart off of a window.
Then there's a brilliant flash of light. Two red streamers of twisting something leap from each of the men and writhe, twisting into her outstretched hand. The connection snaps just as the last of it is siphoned off. The last streaming tendril of energy whips out and then in, funneled to fill the emptiness in her arm warmly, snugly.
Winter just stands there, stunned.
The woman doesn't appear to notice until the two men stop dead in their tracks and both topple, strings cut. The girl starts, at that- she can't be more than seventeen or eighteen. Her eyes snap from the men, who lie prone, to the slip of a child who seems to have been responsible. She looks at Winter, at her outstretched hand, a mixture of pure terror and awe on her face. She shrinks away as Winter first moves.
But it's only to stare at her hand. Her scars- visible all over her body in weird shapes and lines- are glowing brightly. She feels full again, the hunger is gone.
"What did you do?" She whispers, her gaze traveling all over her body. A feeling of horror comes over her.
Fed you, Summer says blankly. There isn't even the slightest hint of unease.
And that seems to be that.
Or would be, except for the feeling of outraged violation Winter nurses. It contrasts sharply with the pleased, full contentedness of a good meal. It also cements something in her mind. She is extremely dangerous. And so is Summer.
The shaking in her legs she can tell herself is relief. The men were going to take her somewhere and sell her? Or take her to prison. That's what Summer said.
Their deaths are on Summer's conscience. Right?
Are they dead? Yes. Their lifeforce is gone.
Oh come on now. They just return to the Cycle. It's not like you're stealing their souls or anything. Toughen up, wuss.
"Shut up," She hisses. "Don't preach ethics at me, murderer."
Hey, I'm just using what's there to save our hides. If you can't wise up and protect yourself, we both'll die. If I have even the slightest bit of control, I'll take it, Summer snaps. I'm in here too.
"It's your own damn fault you got bound!" Winter shouts. "Don't try and pin this on me! I never wanted you in my head!"
Winter, sweetie, I've been in your head from the fucking start. We just usually take turns.
Think what you want, fine. Your memory'll come back eventually, I'll find a way to free myself.
"You're just like you were," Winter snaps bitterly.
Summer is silent for a moment.
"Did that hurt?" Winter asks. Summer's silence is all she needs. "Good."
Finally she takes a deep breath and turns to the woman. She's since crumpled, breathing shallowly, on the snow. Her skin is blue and her eyes are shut.
Fiery anger is banked. Summer is still quiet, so Winter acts, rushing over to the woman's side. She strips the first man of his crimson robes awkwardly, wraps the young girl up in it. The robes are probably cold, but much better than nothing. The woman's skin feels warm to her, but she can't trust her own sense of touch, and Summer won't tell her what the girl's real temperature is.
Winter eyes the chains. They'll prove a bit awkward. She can't afford to drag two corpses around. Searching the one named Argus reveals a set of strange metal things-
Keys. Summer grumbles. They go in the locks.
– which, with Summer's reluctant guidance, Winter puts in the locks of the woman's manacles and turns. Undone, she finishes wrapping the woman up, staggers under her weight, and sighs.
Here's the formula for the spell you want. Summer offers, showing Winter the way. Borrow some of my power, it's what it's there for. This woman is giving me some, only fair I return the favor.
Unsure if she should trust her mindguest's words but with little other choice, Winter recites the incantation. Her scars flare and magic floods her for a moment. It weakens her- tires her- but she finds the woman in her grip light as a feather now.
She turns. The woman's lifeforce is strong- blurring her grip on where the faint forces were before- but she remembers the direction she was moving. The sun is hidden by treecover and clouds, but she knows it's going to set. She needs to find shelter. With that in mind, Winter strides off through frost and snow, a new burden in arms.
The corpses of the two men lie silent in the snow, and eventually the thick forest surrounds and swallows them.
Posted in Demimind	| Tagged chapter 3, chapter three, demimind, fight, flashback, Illmetal, magic, memory, murder, story, Summer, Winter	| 1 Reply


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Many of you who have been customers for decades know that we rarely bother you with miscellaneous requests and political rants. We're just hard working farmers who see our mission as providing you with nutritious food in an environmentally friendly way. So it's not without restraint that we ask for your help commenting on the proposed rules for the Food Safety and Modernization Act of 2011. There are two major regulations that will affect farm level producers, the Produce Rule, which outlines standards for produce production (growing, harvesting, packing, and holding) and the Preventative Controls Rule, which requires new safety measures for "facilities" (including typical farms) that process (manufacture, pack, or hold) food for human consumption. These regulations apply to everything from harvest, to buildings, wild animals, compost, and irrigation water.
After decades operating a small family organic farm, we seriously think that many small produce farms like ours might be forced to close, not for any production or marketing issue whatsoever. The prospect here is better than ever. The FSMA has the real potential to make it impossible for small produce growers to make a living by requiring costly and we feel unnecessary alterations to the way produce is handled. This would leave such farms as merely pretty western PA landscapes without the resources to withstand development pressure on the suburban fringes of a major metropolitan area. This issue is that serious.
Why the big push to "modernize" the food safety regulations? There have been a steady string of food contaminations which caused sickness and deaths in the last two decades which have made national headlines --green onions from Sonora, spinach from California, melons from Colorado, peanuts from Texas, ground beef from Nebraska, juice from California... Demand for regulatory action had resulted in legislation. But does anyone see a pattern here in the incidents? All these incidents were from very large companies distributing food nationwide. The real problem is with that system. Scattered illnesses in dozens of states need to be linked together to determine what's going on in an individual case. By the time causation is known, it's too late. (also, in large batch plants like those, a little contamination innoculates a very large amount of food) Whereas, sickness caused by small scale locally produced food is quickly found out, halted, and other consumers alerted.
What's wrong with the FSMA? Large corporations in the business of growing and shipping to a nationwide network will accommodate to it. (and in our opinion need to). But for the small producer, there are so many shortcomings in the rules that it's hard to know where to start objecting. We think safe food is extremely important. But on nearly every level this act is a misguided effort with disastrous consequences when applied wholesale to small farmers and especially for sustainable and organic farmers.
Just a few worrisome excerpts from the proposed rule: On buildings: "... be constructed in such a manner that floor, walls, ceilings, fixtures, ducts and pipes can be adequately cleaned and kept in good repair." This would seem to preclude use of all classic Pennsylvania bank barns like our 150 year old barn, with it's fieldstone foundation and still strong beams, hand hewn by sturdy pioneers of another century. It's caused no known food illnesses. Yet "modern" warehouse-like structures not twenty years old shipping to nationwide markets have meanwhile caused thousands of illnesses and scores of deaths. On wild animals: "... If under the circumstances there is a reasonable probability that animal intrusion will contaminate covered produce, you would be required to monitor for evidence of animal intrusion immediately prior to harvest and, as needed, during the growing season. If you see evidence of animal intrusion, such as significant quantities of animals..." Do the writers seriously think we farmers ignore losses due to deer and other animals and don't try to prevent them from entering fields? And has any of them seen the PA deer herd in action? Yes, surely none of us need be told not to harvest produce visibly containing excrement. But a buffer zone for rain splash, runoff with rain, etc? Documentation? Wouldn't produce farming in PA be banned entirely? I guess it's better to produce in thousand acre fields in the middle of a desert--no animals there. Composting, the seminal organic procedure, the recycling of natural byproducts, would be in danger of being entirely eliminated by farmers because of continual extensive testing requirements: Proposed §§ 112.54 and 112.55 Organic farmers have long practiced the art of composting and have strict standards for it's production. Yet, the FDA knows better. Yes, better to landfill that "waste" and feed the plants with chemicals. Irrigation water (proposed § 112.41) Season long weekly testing is not only a great cost, but requiring treatment for water which almost immediately becomes re-contaminated by contact with soil, just doesn't make sense. Numerous healthy fish, and animals live in the ponds, lakes, and streams used for irrigation in our region. We thought that was a good sign. Suddenly this is bad? Surely someone should realize the East is not like the West. Here water supplies change daily because of rainfall, and production fields are part and parcel of an integrated natural hydro-ecosystem as opposed to use and reuse of irrigation water from common canals in the West. Equipment: " You must use equipment and tools... used to store or convey harvested covered produce (such as containers, bins, food-packing material...) to enable them to be adequately cleaned... and sanitize...[with] Instruments or controls used to measure, regulate, or record temperatures, hydrogen ion concentration (pH), sanitizer efficacy or other conditions..." We clean or line our containers as necessary, but one could easily see where this one is going. Throw-away or plastic containers put through a dishwasher like machine with each use. Goodbye to durable, reusable, and environmentally friendly wood! Hello to expensive machines and single use packaging.
We'd like to plan over the next few years to gradually reduce our personal workload and responsibilities and transition our highly successful and productive farm on to the another generation of farmers. There's absolutely no business reason to think this can't be accomplished. But the FSMA puts a huge cloud on that horizon. And this is just when the local, organic, and sustainable agriculture movements are transforming the food scene nationwide. It's attracting many enthusiastic young people to a profession long characterized by average ages in the fifties and sixties. Assuming a similar scenario plays out with other small farms in our region, it will leave the entire region at the mercy of the nationwide system of food delivery you are all too familiar with at your local supermarket. The fresh produce you have all come to know and enjoy from local farms will be gone, because those local sources will be hard pressed to continue with rules like these. It will also leave you all at the mercy of the FSMA protocols.
If the proposed rules are enacted, it will be the end of farming as we know it. Young people will cease to enter the field. The local foods movement will be devastated. The quality of our dining will degrade. TheU.S.food supply will be less secure, not more.
Brian Snyder, executive director for Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, has a very informative blog which sounds the alarm and directs you to what you can do. It's well worth reading at: Write to Farm. (http://writetofarm.com/2013/09/26/moment-of-truth-for-farmers-with-food-safety-has-arrived/#) Also, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has put together a great site with tons of information and even comment templates.
Some short videos on impacts of FSMA on farmers and on availability of fresh food:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud__oFjA9YE- more farmer focused
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmXzOs0rF6M - more consumer focused
Please help! Swell the public outcry over this issue by commenting to the FDA. Save our farms. Save your food.
--Don & Becky Kretschmann
P.S. Here's the exact comment page: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FDA-2011-N-0921-0199
P.P.S. Our suggestion to FDA: Use rules similar to those written for producers and facilities over a certain volume of production, and/or those with national distribution--not a dollar amount because that penalizes anyone who retails production, adds value (even being certified organic adds value), and/or supplements with produce from a neighbor. Then mandate for all producers under that amount that they have a permit which requires specified coursework and continuing education, similar to pesticide applicator's licenses.
Apples;scenery
csa share
Funny Veggies
All content property of Kretschmann Family Organic Farm. 257 Zeigler Rd., Rochester, PA 15074.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Stress relief has become a multifaceted, multi-billion-dollar industry. Armies of experts have emerged, dispensing advice of every sort. Some say the key is better time management—reduce stress by doing a better job of juggling everything we need to do. Others say the key is patience—be ambitious, but focus on less daunting short- and mid-range goals. Others tell us to reexamine our priorities from the quality-of-life angle and major on the things that count most. Still others take a more spiritual approach: Relieve stress through yoga, meditation, or other disciplines. Who are we to believe?
What amazed me the first time I saw an oil refinery up close was the intricate maze of pipes. Besides the complexity of it, one wonders how it can all be maintained safely and still be financially viable.
Proper pressure must be kept in every pipe to ensure that the oil flows at just the right rate—not too fast lest it burst the pipes, and not too slow. The designers were clearly ingenious, and it takes an army of experts to maintain and monitor it all.
Most of us are pretty busy people. We usually have more to think about and tend to than we can actually fit into our day. We all want to stay on top of our lives, but for me at least, keeping my priorities straight regarding the many things that I want and need to do can sometimes be a challenge, and my days are usually filled with more than I can fit into them.
Have you ever had one of those days where it seemed like the world was against you, and where it looked like everything that could go wrong, went wrong? It was February 29, a day that only comes every four years. Looking at a list of things that had fallen on my schedule for that day, it seemed as though the day had been scheming for the past four years to ensure that it would fit four days' worth of tasks into 24 hours!
I have a six-year-old nephew who loves video games. The other day I was sitting with him while he was playing a racing game on his Wii. The levels were getting progressively more difficult, the speed was faster, and the courses were more hazardous. I could see him becoming more and more stressed—his face was turning red, his hands were getting sweaty, and he couldn't stay in his seat.
There's so much that you need to do each day, so much that you want to do, and so much that others expect of you. You feel pulled in all directions. Pressure. Tension. Anxiety. Will it ever stop?


Customer relationships need time and attention to flourish. Lola makes it easy to prioritize each and every one of your existing and future customers, giving them the service they deserve while giving you the peace of mind that you are doing everything right to achieve success and grow your business!
It all started with a simple idea. What can we do to help business owners manage their marketing tasks and stay relevant in a marketplace that is becoming increasingly competitive?
The answer is Lola, a tool that organizes, prioritizes, and maximizes your marketing in a simple, reliable, and efficient way.


The seller will CONSIDER ALL REASONABLE OFFERS ON THIS PRIME LAND WHERE YOU CAN BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME.
What a fantastic family friendly location to build your dream home and take advantage of the coastal lifestyle. This affordable block in this sought-after coastal suburb is perfectly located with surrounding quality homes in this section. The location is ideal to schools, transport, with the popular Mullaloo beach only a short stroll away, as well as local parklands and the proposed Ocean Reef marina due to commence in mid-2020 - What are you waiting for? Ocean Reef is the coastal suburb that has all the necessary family friendly infrastructures in place, for everyone from 0-100 years.
This block would suit a 2 storey family friendly home with the potential of ocean views or a perfect lock up and leave for the retiree.
Let your dream begin here at 6b Fireball Way Ocean Reef and build the home you have been visualizing on this flat 360sqm block which is ready to go - titles are through and you can start as soon as you wish. For further information contact Sharon Adams.


text:
Betrothed
By: Greg Fisher
Betrothed Movie Review
Written by Greg Fisher
Released by Osiris Entertainment
Directed by Jim Lane
Written by Jeff Rosenburg
2016, 90 minutes, Rated R
Mikayla Gibson as Audra West
Joey Bell as Ethan
Jamie B. Cline as Adam Cooper
Adam Dunnells as Nate Cooper
Bunny Gibson as Ginnie Cooper
Typically, when there is a fairly sizable rift between a film and its trailer, there will be issues. If the trailer can't even remotely capture the feeling and tone of the movie in a minute or so, how can it feel right with the longer form?
The trailer for Betrothed promises a tense, brutal cinematic experience. Tight shots and dramatic pleas fill the small YouTube screen, and the viewer is readied for a bloody thriller. Watching the film in whole, the audience is given a much different experience. The grittiness turns to grime, and the drama turns into gleeful vicious abandon in a movie that far more resembles Grindhouse than Arthouse. It may give the final product less of a glitzy legitimate appeal, but also serves to make the movie unique and more memorable than a normal kidnap and terrorize horror flick.
The setup could easily be for a porno or a horror film: a pretty young woman is abducted to become the bride of one member of a creepy and sadistic family. The acting, other than lead Mikayla Gibson, would be fit for either as well. The two brothers, Adam and Nate, are caricatures, speaking in lowbrow redneck accents. Bunnie Gibson, as their mother, does her best to channel Anne Ramsey from The Goonies. In fact, most scenes involving the Cooper family feel like a variation on the Fratellis from that movie mixed with the Sawyer family from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This is completely on purpose. You'll not find a brooding villain soliloquizing about the nature of good and evil. The big bads here simply guffaw, look confused, and do bad because they like how it feels.
As noted, Mikayla Gibson's performance bucks the trend. Viewers could almost question whether she was working from a different script In a movie of silly acting and cartoonish violence, Gibson does her level best to play the straight man. She rides the line between dramatic acting and dramatic overacting, but this is evened out by, and helps offset, the over-the-top work of the rest of the cast.
Director Jim Lane embraces overindulgence at every turn. The color palate of the movie stays bright and vibrant, even oversaturated, matching with the tone of Jeff Rosenburg's script and the performances. In our current landscape of dark and gritty thrillers and horror films, there's something to be said for someone doubling down on bright and crazy. Rosenburg's script is anything but nuanced, lacking any instance of subtlety and subtext. In most cases, the dialogue resembles a middle of the road sitcom dreck, but it somehow works.
Overall, the story is nothing new, and the performances won't wow you. However, should a viewer need a palate cleanser from the plethora of found footage movies and dark and dreary Babadook wannabes, this movie fits the bill. After all, sometimes a movie can just be fun, without any big statements or hand wringing. When your biggest star is Omar "My brother Cuba might get the credit but I was on Wild and Crazy Kids, dammit" Gooding, you have to go with what works.
Sometimes, it's best to embrace what you are, and not strive to be more.
Author: Greg FisherWebsite: http://www.openletterstomyenemies.blogspot.com/
Greg Fisher hails from Maryland by way of Philly. He was weaned on the teat of late night cable horror movies from a young age, owing Joe Bob Briggs and Rhonda Shear a debt of gratitude. After graduating from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a BA in Sociology and minor in Theater and Film Studies, Greg has worked on several dreadful screenplays, written an unpublished and slightly unfinished book, hosted an unpopular podcast, and still writes the humor blog Open Letters to My Enemies.
The Tattooist
Greg Fisher
Osiris Entertainment
Jeff Rosenburg
Jim Lane


text:
LEGGE, James
LEGGE, James. Huntly, Aberdeenshire 20.12.1815 — Oxford 29.11.1897. British (Scots) Missionary and Sinologist. Professor in Oxford. Graduated from King's College, Aberdeen and after theology studies in London, he worked as a missionary of the London Missionary Society in Malacca (among Chinese) in 1839-43, in China (Hongkong) in 1843-45 and, after a while in England (with his three Chinese pupils seen in the famous picture), again in 1848-73, at Anglo-Chinese College in Hongkong. In 1876-97 Professor of Chinese at Oxford (a new chair). Twice married.
He had well mastered the Chinese language so that his translation of the entire corpus of the Chinese classics soon became a standard work, but his relation to Chinese civilization was ununderstanding and condemning and notwithstanding his efforts his Christian prejudice occasionally twisted his judgement.
Publications: The Notions of the Chinese concerning God and Spirit. 1852; Christian works in English and Chinese.
– translated with parallel Chinese text: Analecta & Mencius. 1861; Shoo-king. 1865; She-king. 1871; Ch'un Ts'ew. 1872 – with the general title The Chinese Classics. Hong Kong & London.
– translated: The Book of Ancient Chinese Poetry in English Verse. 1876; Texts of Confucianism. S.B.E. 3, 16, 27-28. Oxford 1879–85 (Shû king, Yî king, Lî Kî); Texts of Taoism. S.B.E. 39-40. Oxford 1891 (Tâo Teh King, Chuang Tzŭ, and shorter works).
– The Life and Teachings of Confucius. 1867; The Life and Teachings of Mencius. 1875; The Religions of China. 1880; several further books on China.
– The Nestorian Monument of Hsî-an Fû in Shen-hsî, China. L. 1888.
– ed. & translated: The Travels of Fa-hsien: A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms. 14+ 123+45 p. Oxford 1886.
Sources: briefly Arberry, British Orientalists. L. 1943, 46 (with photo of a painting from 1843); T. W[atters], JRAS 1897, 223–225; *TP 9, 1898 (with photo); Wikipedia with drawing.
*N. J. Girardot, The Victorian Translation of China: James Legge's Oriental Pilgrimage. UCLA Press 2002; *H. E. Legge, James Legge, Missionary and Scholar. L. 1905; *L. F. Pfister, Striving for 'The Whole Duty of Man': James Legge and the Scottish Protestant Encounter with China. 1–2. Mainz 2004.
LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISSIÈRE, Guillaume-Joseph-Hyacinthe-Jean-Baptiste
LEHMANN, Erich Arno
University of Leipzig University of Paris Indian studies Tibet Language studies Western explorers and traders Colonial India Historical studies British colonial time Jainism islam University of Vienna University of Munich University of Bonn Buddhism University of Berlin


With 36 megapixels, the Nikon D800 has 3 times as many pixels as the Nikon D700 and almost one and a half times as many pixels as the - in terms of megapixels - nearest cameras of the competition that are on the market in May 2012 (like the Canon 5D MK3 or Sony A77). With the Nikon D800E, Nikon goes even further. The Nikon D800E is a special edition of the Nikon D800 and is designed for photographers who want to go all out in terms of resolution. The Nikon D800E does not have an anti-aliasing filter in order to allow for even sharper images. This makes the Nikon D800E a unique SLR.
Design is a matter of taste, but personally, I think the Nikon D800E is beautiful with its rounded forms. What is very pleasant to work with, is that there is a button on the body for many functions (including bracketing and image quality) so that you do not have look for settings deep into menus.
The body, additionally sealed against dust and moisture, weighs just two pounds, including battery.
At the Nikon D800E, some buttons on the camera are at another place than at the Nikon D3x or a Nikon D7000. This may take some getting used to for someone who transfers from such a camera to a Nikon D800E.
On the top left on the Nikon D800E are e.g. 4 buttons, with which you can access bracketing and ISO settings among others. At the Nikon D3X, the ISO button is at the bottom left at the back and at the Nikon D7000 is a tiny bracketing button at the front of the body. In my view, the location of the buttons at the Nikon D800E is more convenient than the location at the Nikon D3X / Nikon D7000.
Measurements for this test have been carried out with the aid of Imatest. The measurement results are shown in the Nikon D800E test report. For the test method and explanation of terms, see FAQ.
The Nikon D800E has a much more advanced AF unit with 51 AF points including 15 cross-type sensors, with which face priority AF is possible.
The level / virtual horizon works in two directions on the Nikon D800E; on the Nikon D700 only in 1 direction. You can see on the Nikon D700 that you have the camera lopsided, but not whether the camera is tilted.
The Nikon D800E has so many settings that a demanding professional photographer will be satisfied. In this brief test, we cannot discuss all functions of the Nikon D800E. But the way that Nikon has designed the Auto ISO setting is very user friendly. The signal to noise ratio of modern cameras is so good that you can use an ISO range without being troubled with noise. Therefore, several camera manufacturers offer an auto-ISO setting, with which the camera boosts the ISO setting if there is not enough light. With that, the desired shutter speed is not sufficiently taken into account. If you want to take sharp images from the hand with a high resolution digital camera, you need at least a faster shutter speed than 1/2 times the focal length. Nikon offers the possibility to limit the longest shutter speed at the auto ISO setting. Tribute to that.
The Nikon D800E has a viewfinder magnification of 0.7 and a 100% viewfinder coverage. But the latter applies only for the FX / full-frame. The Nikon D800E automatically detects if you have a Nikon DX lens on the camera and adjusts the image size accordingly. That is very user friendly. However, the viewfinder cover when using a DX lens is less accurate (97%). Confusing for those regularly changing between DX and FX lenses.
The viewfinder information of the Nikon D800E is very extensive, as we expect from Nikon. The 930,000-point screen on the back of the camera is not rotating or tilting.
The Nikon D800E delivers, with a good lens like the Nikon 35mm 1.4G, a jpg file with a resolution in the center of more than 3000 LW/PH (at aperture 8 and ISO 800). That is one and a half times as high as the resolution of a Canon 5D MK3 jpg file.
Move your mouse over the image, where now the red square is visible, for an image cropping at 100% in order to get an impression of the sharpness at 100%.
With processed RAW files, it is usually possible to achieve an even higher resolution. If we edit the Nikon D800E RAW files with the beta version of Camera RAW, this is not the case with the Nikon D800E. The latest Camera RAW update of Adobe (6.7) is released on May 1st. We thus come back to this quickly.
The Imatest results are shown in the Nikon D800E test report. For the test method and explanation of terms, see FAQ. The total dynamic range goes from 12 stops at low ISO values up to 2 stops at the highest ISO setting. In comparison, the Canon 5D MK3 only reached up 11.3 stops in our last test.
Here you see a night shot taken at 3200 ISO, at aperture 8 and a shutter speed of 5 seconds. The usable dynamic range of the Nikon D800E is good enough to carry out an HDR operation on this one raw file, without the noise being disturbingly present. Below is the result of the HDR edit on 1 RAW file. A few years ago, this was not possibly with any camera and you had to combine multiple images using bracketing and HDR to obtain the same end result.
Move your mouse over the image above for a 100% image magnification for the assessment of noise and detail.
The usable dynamic range of jpg files runs from 8 stops at low ISO settings up to 2 stops at ISO 25,600. The Nikon D800E practice image above clearly shows that in practice even at ISO 3200 you have a useful signal to noise ratio in the shadows to carry out a HDR processing on 1 RAW file.
Also, noise is strikingly absent in practice images taken with the Nikon D800E. And that applies to both jpg files and RAW files where no noise reduction is applied yet. Here is a ISO 3200 jpg practice shot. Move your mouse over the image for a 100% image cropping on the place of the red frame. Test results are in the Nikon D800E test report.
Moiré is a type of aliasing / interference that occurs when too few samples are taken from a fine pattern, as you can see in the camera bag shown here. Move your mouse over the image for a demonstration of moiré.
Because the Nikon D800E has no anti-aliasing filter, the Nikon D800E may be more sensitive to (color) moiré. But we failed to find visible disturbing moiré in the test period. Those who are doubtful between a Nikon D800 and a Nikon D800E because of the risk of moiré, can confidently choose a Nikon D800E.
Nikon has anticipated any moiré by adding an anti-moiré processing to the latest version of Nikon Capture. Those who buy a Nikon D800E also get a license code from Nikon Capture when purchasing.
Here you see a practice shooting at which, if you are highly magnifying the shot and greatly increasing the saturation, some color artifacts are visible. This occurs to a similar extent at cameras that do have an anti-alias filter and is negligible in practice.
The Nikon D800E delivers a nice, balanced color reproduction in the field in daylight. This is also confirmed by our Imatest measurement results.
In artificial light, it applies to both the jpg and raw files, that a visible color deviation occurs. Those who shoot in RAW can simply and significantly improve the white balance in artificial light compared to the automatic white balance. For further information on the color reproduction, go to the Nikon D800E test report.
The Nikon D800E has a built-in flash with a guide number of 12 and an angle of 24 mm. We have not tested the flash further in the short test period.
The Nikon D800E contains the same AF unit as the Nikon D4. And that one is fast and accurate. The AF obtains an average of 95% of the optimum. The worst AF result was 15% less than the best results. Such a difference cannot be seen with the naked eye in practice shots.
The Nikon AF D800E contains the same unit as the Nikon D4. And that also complies with continuous autofocus of fast-moving subjects. A series of photographs of a car coming towards the camera with a speed of 80 km / h only delivers sharp images. Only the last shot, where the photographer is almost under the passing car, is no longer sharp. The maximum speed of 4 fps might be a bit on the low side for some.
Click on the image for a series of images.
The Nikon D800E is simply a fantastic camera, both in terms of image quality and ease of use. Compared to the Nikon D700, not only the number of megapixels is three times as high, you have also gotten modern video capabilities.
For those who hesitate between the Nikon D800 or Nikon D800E: choose the Nikon D800E; the risk of visible (color) moiré is very small. And if you come across this once, it is easy to correct with the included Capture NX2.
At the Nikon D800E site of Nikon are multiple sample jpg images (each more than 20 mb in size), taken with the Nikon D800E that you can download to see the image quality of this camera for yourself. Do it!
The measurement results which belong with this Nikon D800E review, are shown in the Nikon D800E test report.