Easy home repairs should always be completed before even thinking about putting a property on the market for sale. Major repairs and renovations must be weighed carefully, to make sure that you will see a justifiable return on your investment. However, performing small projects and DIY fixes should always be a top priority for any aspiring home seller.
Remember, you must look at the situation from a buyer's perspective. If you were buying a home, would you want to deal with lots of items which needed immediately repair and attention? Of course, not. You would want to move right in and create your new idyllic life in a perfect house.
This dialog provides guidance on performing simple home repairs prior to listing a property for rental or sale.
Easy repairs are classified as anything you can do yourself or anything you can hire a professional to fix for a low monetary cost. Do-it-yourself fixes are best, since they are cheap and sometimes require only sweat equity and no real money expenditure. Even showcase-quality homes typically have a few issues which might require repair and most homes have a great number of small and unfinished projects to attend to, before listing the residence.
Being that repairs take some time, effort and planning, it is wise to work on these issues before contacting a real estate agent to sell your home. This way, the house or apartment will be ready to be photographed and shown immediately, once it is listed on MLS.
The seller does not realize that many small problems add up to one big problem in the minds of prospective buyers.
Many sellers feel they can not accomplish repairs themselves. DIY is an intimidating term for many less-handy people.
Many homeowners put off everything and simply do not want to invest time and work into their property. This is the biggest mistake and also the one which costs them the most profit on their sale.
Many homeowners do not know how to look for potential problems and are actually surprised at the issues found by prospective buyers.
Many home owners lack objectivity and feel their properties are in excellent condition, despite obvious flaws.
Hiring a home stager or home staging consultant is a sure way to identify and solve many problematic issues in your property. For every small negative factor you can fix, the overall impression of the home improves. If you can fix all the major repairs before listing your property, you are already much closer to an expeditious and more profitable sale.
I always look to the internet for advice about repair work. There are so many quality websites with step-by-step instructions on fixing almost anything. The information is free and the required tools are usually basic. For larger projects, tools can be rented for a very low fee.
You might also consider attending some of the free workshops on repairs offered by many large home stores, such as The Home Depot or Lowes. These free seminars will give you the basics of home improvement which can translate into lots of extra money in your pocket during the sale.


text:
New partnership maintains community engagement amidst pandemic - Resources
Home / Resources / New partnership maintains community engagement amidst pandemic
New partnership maintains community engagement amidst pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves across the world, affecting everything and everyone it touched. For Growing Young Movers (G.Y.M.), it meant a forced cancellation of their after-school wellness programs for the foreseeable future. And for Youth Mentor Tyrell Crowe, it meant a loss of community connection and income.
"G.Y.M. has been a big part of my life, and it's a part of the kids' lives as well," says Crowe. "I felt pretty sad that the kids didn't have anywhere to go after school."
Crowe first started with G.Y.M. in fall 2019 when he took the leadership pathway course at Scott Collegiate. From that course, he was offered a position as a Youth Mentor with G.Y.M. and given the opportunity to connect with youth in his community while earning a living wage.
"I get to see kids everyday and I get to learn their stories and hear how they're brought up," says Crowe. "I can help them improve on things and I can also help them look at their ideas about life."
Crowe says, since COVID-19 shut the doors on the after-school programs, he's missed working with the kids and being active in the community.
"I miss teaching kids how to play sports and just seeing them and asking them how their day was," says Crowe.
Luckily, he wasn't out of work for long before G.Y.M. expanded on their partnership with the City of Regina. Crowe and other G.Y.M. Youth Mentors are now working alongside city employees at the city's PlayEscapes summer program at the mâmawêyatitân centre.
Like the G.Y.M. program, the PlayEscapes program is a community engagement initiative aimed at youth throughout the city. It focuses on self-directed play as a way to promote an active lifestyle and foster life skills.
When Crowe was offered a position in the new partnership, he jumped at the chance.
"I felt really excited," says Crowe. "I was so glad to hear I had a job opportunity again and could get back to being with the kids."
G.Y.M. and the City of Regina are planning to continue this partnership well past COVID-19 restrictions as they work to build a paid internship program for the G.Y.M. Youth Mentors.
But for now, Crowe is hopeful he'll be back in the gym shooting hoops with the kids again soon.
"I'm most excited to see the kids again," says Crowe. "My favourite part of the program is teaching them basketball."
G.Y.M. after-school programs are scheduled to begin again in September 2020.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Три-Си́стерс ( — Три Сестры) — горы в ЮАР, рядом с пересечением национальных дорог  и  и одноимённой себе железнодорожной станцией, в 75 км к северо-востоку от города Бофорт-Уэст и к югу от города  в Северо-Капской провинции.

Примечания

Горы ЮАР
Северо-Капская провинция

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
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Technical Bullish Momentum Trade and Trigger in ServiceNow Inc
ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW) : Technical Bullish Momentum Trade and Trigger
The results here are provided for general informational purposes from the CMLviz Trade Machine Stock Option Backtester as a convenience to the readers. The materials are not a substitute for obtaining professional advice from a qualified person, firm or corporation.
One of the quietest technology companies to turn into nearly a $50 billion large cap is ServiceNow (NOW). In its history it has shown one of the most remarkable patterns with respect to technical analysis and a specific bullish momentum trigger. Today we examine this trigger, and the historical results.
Technical analysis is the most common form of financial back-testing. It does, at every step, use historical patterns in order to extrapolate them into the future.
Charting isn't simply a collection of a few trend charts, or a few indicators that work in one example. No matter how many lines and chart patterns are drawn on it, is not a rigorous backtest -- it's just a chart, at one specific time -- it really is.
That's why technical analysis can feel so close to being profitable for a trader, and we can do so much preparation work, but at the same time the results, well, they never quite match up to the expectation.
After rigorous testing over the ten year period from 2009-2019 and the period from 2007-2009, which included the Great Recession, and over 100,000 back-tests, today we demonstrate the technical conditions that have provided a strong short-term bullish momentum trigger for ServiceNow Inc , as well as, broadly speaking, the Nasdaq 100 index constituents.
TESTING SWING TRADING SIGNALS - OPTION BACKTESTER LOGIC WITH TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
The goal is to create a portfolio of option trading backtests with alerts attached to them, so we don't have to stare at the screen all day, but rather use Trade Machine as the pattern recognition work horse to notify when the ideas become actionable.
The Bullish Option Trade with Technical Analysis and Moving Averages in ServiceNow Inc (NYSE:NOW)
We examine the result of a long out-of-the-money (strike price is set to the 40 delta) call option, in call options that are the closest to 14-days from expiration (using calendar days). But we follow three rules to test the swing trade:
* Never Trade Earnings
That means the backtester never opens a trade between the "black out period" of two before through two-days after an earnings announcement.Here it is, first, we enter the long call.
* Use a technical analysis trigger to start the trade, if and only if these specific items are met. This is the trading system:
* Trigger on the precise day that the stock crosses the 10-day exponential moving average (EMA) -- that's a trigger of a momentum breakout right at that moment -- an uptrend.
* The stock is already above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA), which means that the stock is not in technical failure -- we're not after reversals, we are looking for "not a down trend." There is also some sentiment surrounding this particular moving average.
* Stock prices are below the 50-day SMA means that it has room to run to the upside.
* The Relative Strength Index (RSI), using 20-days, is below 70, so the stock isn't overbought -- there is little risk of being oversold with the prior signals in place.
Here it is in an image from Trade Machine -- only focus on the moving average and RSI settings where the filter is turned to "on.":
You can set an alert in Trade Machine®, which will track all of these moving parts for you, and message you when it triggers. In fact, you can do this with a portfolio of stocks for a portfolio of bullish and bearish triggers. Let Trade Machine do the work for you -- there's no need to stare at the screen.
* Finally, we set a very specific type of stop loss and limit:
* Use a 40% limit gain and a 60% stop loss.
At the end of each day, the back-tester checks to see if the long call option is up 40% or down 60%. If it is, it closes the position.
10-year Stock Option Backtester With Technical Analysis Results in	ServiceNow Inc
Here are the results over the last ten-years:
NOW: Long 40 Delta Call
% Wins: 66.67%
Wins: 12 Losses: 6
% Return: 671.8%
Tap Here to See the Back-test
We're now looking at 671.8% returns, on 12 winning trades and 6 losing trades.
➡ The average percent return over the last year per trade was 20.71% for each 14-day period.
Stock Option Backtester With Technical Analysis Results
Here are the results over the last three-years in ServiceNow Inc:
% Wins: 80%
Wins: 8 Losses: 2
The mechanics of the TradeMachine® are that it uses end of day prices for every back-test entry and exit (every trigger).
This is not a magic bullet, rather it's a bullish technical analysis momentum strategy predicated on using pattern recognition in charts through moving averages and RSI, rather than manually drawling lines stock by stock.
While this strategy had an overall return of 748.7%, the trade details keep us in bounds with expectations:
➡ The average percent return per trade was 40.2% for each 14-day period.
Checking the Moving Averages
You can check to see the values of all the moving averages discussed above with real-time daily prices, including live after hours prices, for NOW by viewing the Pivot Points tab on www.CMLviz.com.
Rigor to the Option Backtester, Swing Trading Technical Analysis and Backtesting
We compared this technical analysis trigger on the constituents of the Nasdaq 100 versus the results from the baseline. The baseline is simply owning calls and rolling them every two-weeks with the same stop and limit as introduced above (40% / 60%).
Using rigorous technical analysis, as opposed to "that one chart that looked good that one time," we saw out performance over the 10-year period from March 2009 - March 2019, largely a bull market, as well as 2007-2009, the period which includes the Great Recession bear market. Further, we saw out performance in each sub period of one-year, two-years, three-years, and five-years.
Finally, the win rates by stock were also higher, as were the average winning trade return for every time period. Why look at one chart one time, when you can test technical set-ups across hundreds of thousands of charts at once?
Technical Analysis Back-testing More Time Periods in ServiceNow Inc
Now we can look at just the last year as well:
% Return: 95.5%
We're now looking at 95.5% returns, on 2 winning trades and 1 losing trades.
➡ The average percent return over the last year per trade was 35.46%.
You can do this. Tap here to use technical analysis with pattern recognition. Stop guessing.
Trading futures and options involves the risk of loss. Please consider carefully whether futures or options are appropriate to your financial situation. Only risk capital should be used when trading futures or options. Investors could lose more than their initial investment.
Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The risk of loss in trading can be substantial, carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition.
Please note that the executions and other statistics in this article are hypothetical, and do not reflect the impact, if any, of certain market factors such as liquidity and slippage.
You should read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options.
Copyright 2019 Capital Market Laboratories, LLC. All rights reserved. By using this website, you agree to the Terms of Service


text:
MC5: Kick Out the Jams 12"
Tags: · 60s · garage · proto-punk · reissues · spo-default · spo-disabled
Kick Out The Jams is the explosive 1969 debut album from the proto-punk quintet MC5, recorded live over two nights at Detroit's Grande Ballroom by famed producer/engineer Bruce Botnick. Recording a debut album live was unheard of at the time, but MC5 and as it turns out the music world alike, felt it was the best representation of what the band was truly about.
Featuring Rob Tyner on vocals, Wayne Kramer and Fred 'Sonic' Smith on guitar, Michael Davis on bass, and Dennis Thompson on drums, the unrelenting 8-song set is as raw and powerful as they come, highlighted by the revered title track, John Lee Hooker's blues number "Motor City Burning," and an eight and a half minute Sun Ra workout "Starship."
"It's the ultimate rock salute: 'Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!' Recorded live in Detroit by Rob Tyner and his anarchist crew, Kick Out the Jams writhes and hollers with the belief in rock & roll as civil disobedience. The proof: It was banned by a Michigan department store!" - #294 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time


text:
package org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.rpc.sql;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
import org.eclipse.leshan.core.ResponseCode;
import org.eclipse.leshan.core.node.LwM2mPath;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.thingsboard.common.util.JacksonUtil;
import org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.rpc.AbstractRpcLwM2MIntegrationTest;

import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
import static org.springframework.test.web.servlet.result.MockMvcResultMatchers.status;
import static org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.Lwm2mTestHelper.OBJECT_INSTANCE_ID_0;
import static org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.Lwm2mTestHelper.RESOURCE_ID_2;
import static org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.Lwm2mTestHelper.RESOURCE_ID_3;
import static org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.Lwm2mTestHelper.RESOURCE_ID_4;
import static org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.Lwm2mTestHelper.RESOURCE_ID_8;
import static org.thingsboard.server.transport.lwm2m.Lwm2mTestHelper.RESOURCE_ID_9;

public class RpcLwm2mIntegrationExecuteTest extends AbstractRpcLwM2MIntegrationTest {

    /**
     * Update FW
     * Execute {"id":"5/0/2"}
     * {"result":"CHANGED"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteUpdateFWById_Result_CHANGED() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectInstanceIdVer_5 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_2;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.CHANGED.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
    }

    /**
     * Update SW
     * Execute {"id":"9/0/4"}
     * {"result":"CHANGED"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteUpdateSWById_Result_CHANGED() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectInstanceIdVer_9 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_4;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.CHANGED.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
    }

    /**
     * Reboot
     * Execute {"id":"3/0/4"}
     * {"result":"CHANGED"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteRebootById_Result_CHANGED() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectInstanceIdVer_3 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_4;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.CHANGED.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
    }

    /**
     * Registration Update Trigger
     * Execute {"id":"1/0/8"}
     * {"result":"CHANGED"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteRegistrationUpdateTriggerById_Result_CHANGED() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectInstanceIdVer_1 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_8;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.CHANGED.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
    }

    /**
     * execute_resource_with_parameters (execute reboot after 60 seconds on device)
     * Execute {"id":"3/0/4","value":60}
     * {"result":"CHANGED"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteResourceWithParametersById_Result_CHANGED() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectInstanceIdVer_3 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_4;
        Object expectedValue = 60;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteWithValueById(expectedPath, expectedValue);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.CHANGED.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
    }

    /**
     * Bootstrap-Request Trigger
     * Execute {"id":"1/0/9"}
     * {"result":"BAD_REQUEST","error":"probably no bootstrap server configured"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteBootstrapRequestTriggerById_Result_BAD_REQUEST_Error_NoBootstrapServerConfigured() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectInstanceIdVer_1 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_9;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.BAD_REQUEST.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
        String expected = "probably no bootstrap server configured";
        String actual = rpcActualResult.get("error").asText();
        assertTrue(actual.equals(expected));
    }

    /**
     * bad: resource operation not "E"
     * Execute {"id":"5_1.0/0/3"}
     * {"result":"BAD_REQUEST","error":"Resource with /5_1.0/0/3 is not executable."}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteResourceWithOperationNotExecuteById_Result_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectInstanceIdVer_5 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_3;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.BAD_REQUEST.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
        String expected = "Resource with " + expectedPath + " is not executable.";
        String actual = rpcActualResult.get("error").asText();
        assertTrue(actual.equals(expected));
    }

    /**
     * bad: execute_non_existing_resource_on_non_existing_object
     * Execute {"id":"50/0/3"}
     * {"result":"BAD_REQUEST","error":"Specified object id 50 absent in the list supported objects of the client or is security object!"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteNonExistingResourceOnNonExistingObjectById_Result_BAD_REQUEST() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = OBJECT_ID_VER_50 + "/" + OBJECT_INSTANCE_ID_0 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_3;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.BAD_REQUEST.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
        String expectedObjectId = pathIdVerToObjectId((String) expectedPath);
        LwM2mPath expectedPathId = new LwM2mPath(expectedObjectId);
        String expected = "Specified object id " + expectedPathId.getObjectId() + " absent in the list supported objects of the client or is security object!";
        String actual = rpcActualResult.get("error").asText();
        assertTrue(actual.equals(expected));
    }

    /**
     * bad: execute security object
     * Execute {"id":"0/0/3"}
     * {"result":"BAD_REQUEST","error":"Specified object id 0 absent in the list supported objects of the client or is security object!"}
     */
    @Test
    public void testExecuteSecurityObjectById_Result_NOT_FOUND() throws Exception {
        String expectedPath = objectIdVer_0 + "/" + OBJECT_INSTANCE_ID_0 + "/" + RESOURCE_ID_3;
        String actualResult = sendRPCExecuteById(expectedPath);
        ObjectNode rpcActualResult = JacksonUtil.fromString(actualResult, ObjectNode.class);
        assertEquals(ResponseCode.BAD_REQUEST.getName(), rpcActualResult.get("result").asText());
        String expectedObjectId = pathIdVerToObjectId((String) expectedPath);
        LwM2mPath expectedPathId = new LwM2mPath(expectedObjectId);
        String expected = "Specified object id " + expectedPathId.getObjectId() + " absent in the list supported objects of the client or is security object!";
        String actual = rpcActualResult.get("error").asText();
        assertTrue(actual.equals(expected));
    }

    private String sendRPCExecuteById(String path) throws Exception {
        String setRpcRequest = "{\"method\": \"Execute\", \"params\": {\"id\": \"" + path + "\"}}";
        return doPostAsync("/api/plugins/rpc/twoway/" + deviceId, setRpcRequest, String.class, status().isOk());
    }

    private String sendRPCExecuteWithValueById(String path, Object value) throws Exception {
        String setRpcRequest = "{\"method\": \"Execute\", \"params\": {\"id\": \"" + path + "\", \"value\": " + value + " }}";
        return doPostAsync("/api/plugins/rpc/twoway/" + deviceId, setRpcRequest, String.class, status().isOk());
    }

}


As part of the Tots100 Film Club with Warner Bros, I was offered a selection of films to review. I picked 'A Little Princess' as I had seen parts of the film before but not the whole film. From what I had seen I thought munchkin would enjoy it.
A little princess is about a little girl, who believes ALL girls are princesses and don't have to be rich and pretty to be one! She is left at a boarding school for girls as her father goes off to fight in W.W.I. Intitally things are all going well, until she learns on her birthday that her father has died …..cue the pregnancy hormones making me want to cry. That is when the headmistress turns nasty and life as an orphan is difficult for the 'princess'. Initially things look bleak for her, but she makes the best of a bad situation and continues to hope.
I don't want to spoil the ending for those who haven't seen it, but it DOES have a happy ending…. (thankfully, otherwise my hormones would have had me crying buckets!!).
Munchkin did seem to enjoy the film but there were bits where she did look a bit bored and started playing with her doll, (who was also watching the film with us). In addition to this, the little princess was telling her friends about an indian story which was shown in animation through the film and at one point I thought the monster she was talking about looked a bit scary!!
However, we did enjoy the film. The acting was great and another star was the monkey in the film! I loved him!
Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of 'A Little Princess' for the purposes of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I remember this movie – I enjoyed watching this!


text:
Home/News/EVIT, Copperstate Mustang Club present Car & Motorcycle Show
FeaturedFrom our SponsorsNews
EVIT, Copperstate Mustang Club present Car & Motorcycle Show
Justin Heintz Follow on Twitter October 18, 2017Last Updated: October 18, 2017
Media contact: CeCe Todd, (480) 461-4032
An appearance by former Indy race car driver Lyn St. James and a new Classic Automotive Restoration program will be featured at the EVIT Car & Motorcycle Show, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21 at the East Valley Institute of Technology, 1601 W. Main St., Mesa. Admission is free.
All makes and models are eligible to participate in the car show. Pre-registration is $25; call Dan at (602) 828-0340 or Ron at (602) 999-6801 for more information. Registration the day of the show is $30 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. For show classes and to register, go to www.copperstatemustangclub.com.
St. James, the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1992, will be on-hand at the show to sign autographs. St. James had seven Indianapolis 500 starts in nine years. She qualified sixth in 1994, finished 11th in 1992, and at age 53, was the oldest driver in the Indy 500 field in 2000. St. James held 31 international and national closed circuit speed records over a 20-year period.
St. James has been a major supporter of EVIT's automotive programs, including Adult Education @ EVIT's new Classic Automotive Restoration program. Funded in part by a $20,000 grant from the RPM Foundation, the program provides adult students with 310 hours of training in auto restoration, materials handling and safety practices. The program is a mix of classroom lectures, lab and shop activities.
The Car & Motorcycle Show is presented by Adult Education @ EVIT and the Copperstate Mustang Club. The event will include awards, trophies, goodie bags, door prizes and raffles, a bounce house for kids, food vendors and music by EVIT's radio station, 88.7FM The Pulse.
In addition, EVIT's Automotive Technologies and Diesel programs at the Dr. A. Keith Crandell (Main) Campus will be open during the show for visitors who would like to learn more about career training for high school students and adults.
The East Valley Institute of Technology provides over 40 career training programs for high school students and adults at two central campuses in Mesa and branch campuses in Apache Junction and Fountain Hills. Training is tuition-free for high school students. Adult Education @ EVIT provides tuition-based training for adults, with financial aid available for those who qualify.
For more information about EVIT, visit www.evit.com or call (480) 461-4000.
car show evit
Justin Heintz
Digital Media Director and jack of all trades at 88.7 The Pulse.
Happy Death Day Movie Review
UK Company reveals what the average person spends in their lifetime on music


text:
How do you solve #4x^2-8x+3<0#?
Alan P.
#color(green)(x in (1/2,3/2)#
#4x^2-8x+3 < 0#
can be factored as
#(2x-1)(2x-3) < 0#
#{: (2x-1 < 0,color(white)("XXX"),2x-3 < 0), ("if " x < 1/2,,"if " x < 3/2) :}#
#(2x-1)(2x-3)# will be less than zero if one but not both of the terms are less than zero.
That is #(2x-1)(2x-3) < 0#
#color(white)("XXXXXXXXXXXXXX")#if #1/2 < x < 3/2#


text:
Home Biology How fungi influence global plant colonization
How fungi influence global plant colonization
The nearer to the equator, the more frequently the plant-fungus symbiosis occurs – for example in the species-rich tropical rainforest of the Amboró National Park in Bolivia.
Credit: Patrick Weigelt
The symbiosis of plants and fungi has a great influence on the worldwide spread of plant species. In some cases, it even acts like a filter. This has been discovered by an international team of researchers with participation from the University of Göttingen. The results appeared in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
In the colonisation of islands by plant species, it isn't just factors like island size, isolation and geological development that play an important role, but also the interactions between species. The scientists found that the symbiosis of plant and fungus — the mycorrhiza — is of particular importance. The two organisms exchange nutrients via the plant's fine root system: the fungus receives carbohydrates from the plant; the plant receives nutrients that the fungus has absorbed from the soil.
"For the first time, new data on the worldwide distribution of plant species in 1,100 island and mainland regions allows us to investigate the influence of this interaction on a global scale," says Dr Patrick Weigelt from the University of Göttingen's Department of Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, who worked on the study. The results: mycorrhiza-plant interactions, which are naturally less frequent on islands because the two organisms rely on each other, mean that the colonisation of remote islands is hindered. The lack of this symbiotic relationship may act like a brake on the spread of the plants. This is not the case for plant species introduced by humans, as fungi and plants are often introduced together. Head of Department, Professor Holger Kreft, adds, "The proportion of plant species with mycorrhiza interactions also increases from the poles to the equator." One of the most prominent biogeographic patterns, the increase in the number of species from the poles to the tropics, is closely related to this symbiosis.
Dr Camille Delavaux, lead author from the University of Kansas (US), explains, "We show that the plant symbiotic association with mycorrhizal fungi is an overlooked driver of global plant biogeographic patterns. This has important consequences for our understanding of contemporary island biogeography and human-mediated plant invasions." The results show that complex relationships between different organisms are crucial for understanding global diversity patterns and preserving biological diversity. "The absence of an interaction partner can disrupt ecosystems and make them more susceptible to biological invasions," Weigelt stresses.
Materials provided by University of Göttingen. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Camille S. Delavaux, Patrick Weigelt, Wayne Dawson, Jessica Duchicela, Franz Essl, Mark van Kleunen, Christian König, Jan Pergl, Petr Pyšek, Anke Stein, Marten Winter, Peggy Schultz, Holger Kreft, James D. Bever. Mycorrhizal fungi influence global plant biogeography. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2019; 3 (3): 424 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0823-4
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I strongly believe in the natural process of birth and in a mama's strength to both give birth and enter motherhood confidently, safely, and joyfully. I strive to empower my clients through educational, emotional, and physical support around guiding their own pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum experiences. I believe that East Asian Medicine can be a steadfast partner through this experience. Through acupuncture, herbs, and bodywork we can find pause amidst the intense sensations and emotions that accompany the childbearing years. Even more so, these modalities build upon the mind-body relationship that will lead us to trust our bodies throughout pregnancy, birth, lactation, and beyond.
I provide all of my clients with wholehearted acceptance free from judgment and am truly honored to be part of each experience. I recognize that pregnancy and birth are not dependent upon sexuality or gender and I am passionate about partnering with folks from all walks of life to embrace the miracles of pregnancy, birth, and parenthood.
My journey into health care began in 2008 with the discovery of the doula profession. I realized that birth support offered the opportunity to advocate for a mother's rights while leaving my heart and soul fulfilled at the end of the day. I found that I was able to bring a calm, grounding presence and strong intuition to the birth environment. As a result, many families experienced very powerful and positive birth experiences. As time passed, my appetite for more knowledge became so strong that I realized I needed to return to graduate school. While birth has always remained my passion, in East Asian Medicine I found a unique opportunity to empower patients to connect with their bodies and their health. With both a high Cesarean rate and poor maternal mortality rankings nationwide, our modern maternity system is in crisis and there has never been a more important time for us to empower each other to reclaim the innate knowledge our bodies carry generation to generation.
Having been raised on a sailboat in the Puget Sound, I find great joy and peacefulness on and near the water. I attribute much of my calm and intuitive nature to the significant time spent outdoors in my childhood. I attended college in Massachusetts and hold a Bachelor's Degree in Government from Smith College. After four years of classroom and clinical study, I earned a Master's Degree in Oriental Medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. In addition to being a practitioner of East Asian medicine and a doula, I am the mother of two spirited young boys. Motherhood is as wonderful and challenging as anything I have ever done and I am thankful to raise my children in the vibrant and progressive community we have here in Portland. As a family, we enjoy working in our garden, hiking in Forest Park and taking advantage of all of Portland's family music.


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Sookie worried that the chill of her hand reminded Sarah of death. Her friend hadn't said much since they'd boarded the plane. The younger people had taken over the table and chairs in the back. Diana was sleeping in her car carrier and Rick was talking softly with George Hermosa and his sister, Maddie. Rubio and his wife, Lily were in the seats directly across from Sookie and Sarah. Lily was still human, something that surprised Sookie, although right now she was grateful. When dawn came it would mean Diana wouldn't be left alone with a novice father and his college-age friends.
Frank, the Hermosa's youngest, wasn't traveling to Chester for the funeral. He grew up knowing Peter and the Chandlers, but unlike George and Maddie, he'd maintained his distance. When Frank graduated from boarding school last year, he announced he was taking early admission and left for college almost immediately. Unlike his siblings, Frank elected a school far away on the west coast. Sookie knew the plans to turn Lily were delayed when Rubio was suspected of being a spy, but that had cleared up. She wondered if Frank was the reason the turning still wasn't scheduled.
Behind her the sound of talking grew louder. Sookie glanced over her shoulder. In their school days, Rick and George had been best friends, but college and Brigid had driven a wedge between them. It looked as though that distance lingered. It was in the way they shrugged and fiddled with their hands. Maddie seemed to be carrying much of the conversation and Sookie was relieved to see a swift smile ghost across her son's face in reaction to something Maddie Hermosa said.
She couldn't help seeing it, that door that led into the back of the plane just beyond where Rick was sitting. Somewhere back there in the cargo hold Peter Chandler was lying in a coffin. They were taking him back to the town where he'd grown up, and Sookie's throat clenched, imagining if had been Rick in that coffin instead of Peter.
Sookie was startled out of her own thoughts when beside her Sarah said, "They're arranging a dance in his honor." Her friend was looking out the window into the darkness.
Sookie squeezed Sarah's hand. "Peter would have liked that." If Sarah heard her, she gave no sign.
Peter's fiddle lay on the seats behind them. Sarah's son hadn't owned much, but he'd loved his instruments.. His guitar would follow with the rest of his belongings already packed in boxes and being shipped north to his Mother's house. Sookie had felt odd, packing things without Karin's being there. She'd never understood the relationship between Eric's progeny and Peter Chandler, but she knew it was real.
"Do you think she'll come?" Sarah asked, as though reading Sookie's mind.
Neither of them needed to ask who 'she' was. "I don't know," Sookie replied. "You saw her. She's not in a good place."
Sarah's quick intake of breath spoke volumes. She wiped at her eyes before squaring her shoulders. "He loved her," she whispered.
Sookie knew if she said anything, she'd be unable to stop her grief from overwhelming her, so instead she squeezed Sarah's hand again, closed her eyes and sat back.
It didn't help much. Sookie could clearly see Karin as she'd appeared at Amy Ludwig's hospital. Karin wasn't fussy about her appearance, not like Pam, but she did have a certain style. You wouldn't have known it, though, seeing how she walked in. Karin's clothes were torn and her hair stuck out in snarls. She was covered in dirt and leaves and her eyes were wild. When Eric stepped out of the room to meet her, Karin roared her frustration. It was a chilling sound, one Sookie wished she could forget. It carried everything Karin was feeling: her anger, her loss, her desperation. Sookie recognized some part of it. She'd had times after her turning she'd wanted to end herself, but she realized now she wouldn't have gone through with it. There had been many nights she'd battled with depression, but she'd never lost sight of Rick and Eric, both of whom needed her. Knowing how her final death would affect them, Sookie kept moving forward.
Karin didn't have that. Karin had a Maker's command literally forcing her not to meet the sun. She was powerless to end her suffering. She was powerless to retreat from Shreveport. Eric had imposed his will, and Sookie wondered if Karin would ever forgive him.
Eric wondered too. He'd told Sookie before she left that holding his child in this way was the hardest thing he'd ever done as a Maker. "I feel like Appius," he confessed. Sookie knew what that meant. As much as Eric held back from criticizing his Maker, she knew on some level, Eric's becoming a decent person was in reaction to, and not because of Appius Livius Ocella. Eric and Thalia remained behind in Shreveport with Karin. They told her it was to kickstart the investigation, but Sookie knew it was also about trying to save Karin from herself.
Behind her Diana started to cry. Sookie half-turned, but Lily was already up. "I've got it," Rubio's wife told her.
Sookie glanced at Sarah. Her friend appeared to be sleeping and Sookie hoped it was so. The purple smudges under Sarah's eyes looked like twin bruises and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. "How is she?" Rubio asked.
"How would you be?" Sookie asked in return.
Rubio nodded toward the back and Sookie stood, following him to where Lily was standing in the aisle watching Maddie feed Diana. "I never thought we'd be doing this," he told Sookie. Lily looped her hand through her husband's arm and leaned against him. Sookie wished, yet again that Eric had come with her instead of staying behind.
Rick shook his head, "I just can't believe any of this is happening." Her son had aged again. It was in his eyes. He didn't look like a twenty-something anymore. He looked older, and Sookie's heart hurt for him. She knew what Amy Ludwig said, that Rick would live a long life, almost as long as a vampire, but at this moment, Sookie's heart hurt for him. She wished she could turn back time and make all this go away, but she knew that was impossible.
Only last night they'd stood in the cemetery near the house on Hummingbird Lane, laying Brigid to rest. There'd been no question in her mind. Rick's mate belonged next to Gran. Jason agreed and it hadn't taken much to arrange it.
They'd used the cover story Eric came up with, that Brigid died in childbirth. It wasn't something that happened so often anymore, but with Diana fussing in Sookie's arms, the story wasn't questioned. Rick hadn't been able to speak, but he'd written a eulogy for Hunter to read. In it he praised Brigid's fearlessness and her quest for adventure. He mentioned her restless spirit and her sense of joy. He spoke of his love for her, and the consolation he found in looking at the daughter they'd created together.
During their time in Bon Temps Rick and Brigid had made friends. Sookie recognized many of the faces that stood around her, holding candles. Jason hadn't invited the latest Reverend from the Church to officiate. Sookie heard some grumblings, but Brigid hadn't been a religious person so no one seemed surprised, either. When the ceremony started to break up, Sookie wandered with Eric to the place where Kyle fell, and then to the section of broken fence where they'd found Brigid's body.
"Do you want to go back to the house?" Eric asked her. Sookie hadn't been back inside her childhood home since before the incident.
"I'm not sure I can," she told Eric before reaching out to take his hand.
This place carried all her childhood dreams, but Sookie was starting to feel like this place was cursed as well. Her eyes traveled toward that place where she'd been buried by Bill Compton, and she felt her hand shake. "We can burn it to the ground," Eric offered. Sookie thought of Bill Compton's house, or where It once stood. There was no sign of it, now. Even the basement was filled in and the foundation pulled down. Did she really want that for her family home?
"No," she said after a bit. "As much as it has its ghosts, this place has had its joys, too." She reached up, bringing Eric's lips down to meet hers. "We made our son here," she told him. "Brigid's end was terrible, but she was happy here. I saw it." Sookie glanced over to where Rick stood beside the grave, Jason next to him giving comfort. "Someday Rick will remember those times and he'll want to bring Diana here. You'll see."
Eric kissed her. "Ever my hopeful one," and he smiled that smile that still made her feel warm before saying, "You have a warrior's heart, Älskade."
"So does our son," Sookie told him, although she knew that at this moment it was more wish than reality.
Eric looked toward the grave, and Rick chose that moment to look back at his Father. They were so alike. They'd talked for over an hour before the funeral, just the two of them. Eric hadn't shared their conversation, but Sookie thought it must have made an impression. Rick hadn't cried once, and when the ceremony was over, her son took his daughter in his arms and smiled for her.
Diana's angry squawk ended Sookie's reveries and once more she found herself in the plane heading toward Chester and another funeral.
"I think she's done," Rick was telling Maddie and he held out his arms. He moved Diana swiftly to his shoulder, simultaneously settling her against him while he rubbed her back. He was rewarded by a clear burp, followed by Diana butting her head against him.
"She's a good eater," Lily praised.
Rick nodded, "She's a good baby," and he looked Sookie's way. "Was I this good when I was an infant?"
"Yes," Sookie answered automatically. She tried to remember exactly how Rick looked at this age but as hard as she tried, the memory seemed fuzzy, not like her vampire memories.
When Sookie remained quiet, Lily asked her, "What is it?"
"Nothing," Sookie assured her, "It's just I think I've just found something that I like more about being vampire than being human." It startled her, but at the same time, Sookie felt a sense of peace she hadn't realized she'd been missing.
Sean Bailey was waiting at the airport to meet them. He was driving an over-sized SUV that seemed to have an unlimited number of seats. While Rubio confirmed transportation for luggage and coffins, Sookie took a moment to give her former beau the once-over.
He was still handsome, but his hair had gone gray at his temples. Marriage to Lora seemed to agree with him. His waist was pushing against his waistband more than it had been when she'd known him. Sookie raised her eyes to find Sean watching her. "I could say time's been kind to you," he said, his slight Irish accent on display, "But you'd know I wasn't exactly giving you a compliment."
"Well, you look good," Sookie lied. "How's your wife?"
"Waiting for us at the B&B," he replied. Once upon a time, Lora had served as Fran's housekeeper. She'd known Sookie for years and Rick all his life. Sean glanced at Rick and Diana, "Seems like the blink of an eye. Wasn't it yesterday I was walking you up those stairs in Boston, and the next thing I knew, you were holding that one just the same."
Sookie took a quick look around to make sure Sarah wasn't near before she replied. "I can tell you that night didn't feel like the blink of an eye! Just about the longest night of my life, but it was all worth it."
"A grand-daughter," and Sean sighed. "She's beautiful, just like her grand-mother."
When Sarah and Lily exited the terminal office it gave Sookie the excuse she needed to walk away from Sean. Remembering those days when she'd been pregnant and alone made her miss Eric. She reached through the bond for her husband but she couldn't find him, not even a trace and she found herself wondering if he was missing her too.
It took a few extra minutes to figure out how to strap Diana's car seat into the vehicle, but soon enough they were all headed for Chester. Sookie heard Rick sigh as they pulled up to the B&B. She knew how he felt. For a moment, she was Susan Hale and human, but Sookie knew the nostalgic feeling of coming home couldn't last long. Soon, luggage would be delivered and Seth Chandler would arrive to take Sarah to her home and this life would move forward, crowding out the shades of what had been.
Sookie made an effort to stay close to Sarah as Lora Bailey hugged and greeted, then ooh-ed and ah-ed over Diana. Once the welcomes were concluded, Sookie suggested, "Why don't we head to the kitchen? I can make us some tea."
"I've already got the water on," Lora told them. "Go on. I'll join you in a minute," before trailing after Rick and Diana as they headed up the stairs.
Lily, Sookie and Sarah settled around the old table, and once more, Sookie could almost believe things were as they'd once been. Rick and George's voices carried from above them and there was that underlying buzz you feel when there are people in a house, making it a home.
"Sean and I can take one of the upstairs rooms if you'd like," Lora announced as she bustled back into the kitchen.
"Don't be silly," Sookie shushed. "The housekeeper's apartment is best for the two of you. I never converted it to light-tight, so no worries about my wanting it." The house-keeper's apartment was where Sookie lived during all those years when Rick grew up in this house, and it was hard to give it up. Like other old habits, Sookie couldn't stop herself from making room assignments, just as she had when she was the one running the business. "Rubio and Lily can take the first light-tight bedroom upstairs and I'll take the other. Maddie can take the small bedroom down here and Rick and George can share the third floor, just like old times."
"And, what about Diana?" Lora asked.
"Diana is Rick's responsibility," Sookie decided. "Rick and George are perfectly healthy young men. They can keep up with one small baby for a few days."
Beside her, Sarah stirred. "Can you ask Rick to come down here?" she asked. Sarah had been very quiet since sitting down, barely touching her tea. Peter's fiddle lay in its case on the table in front of her.
Seth chose that moment to walk in through the back door. He nodded to the women before stepping forward and squatting down next to his mother. "You ready?" he asked.
"In a minute," Sarah told her son. When Lora returned with Rick in tow, Sarah laid her hand on the case. "Rick, I've been thinking about this, and I'd like you to have this."
"Mom!" Seth exclaimed, but Sarah shushed him.
"You know how Peter loved this. It was funny. Even when he was a little boy, Peter never really talked much. Things would happen and he'd just watch, keeping it all to himself, but then he'd play this fiddle and you'd hear everything that was going on inside him. There were times I thought this fiddle was just as much a part of him as his foot or his hand, and the thought of it sitting silent on some shelf in my house is too much to bear." She tapped the case, then pushed it until Rick picked it up.
"Good," Sarah said. "I want you to play it often. You know what Peter said about old instruments. In fact, if you can bear it, I'd like you to play it for his dance tomorrow night. It will be as if he's still there with us." Sarah swiped at the tears that were falling, and she allowed Seth to help her stand.
They were almost out the back door when Sarah stopped, turning back to Rick. Her voice choked as she said, "I'm told you'll live a long time, almost as long as any vampire." She looked again at the case he was holding against his chest. "I think it was meant to go to you, and it makes me happy to know that as long as you live, and as long as you play Peter's fiddle, some part of him will live, too."
Sookie stared at the door after they'd left. Beside her, Lora cried quietly and Lily wiped her face. "I'll do it," Rick pledged. "I'll play it every day. For Peter."
'It could have been you,' Sookie thought as she stared at her son, and she felt at once happy and guilty that her son survived when another's hadn't.
They didn't linger downstairs long. Neither she nor Rubio were tired, but the others were. It took a few trips up the stairs to the third floor to bring all Diana's things to Rick's room. Once the luggage was up, there was the mini-fridge in the room to be set up with bottles and the microwave to be washed one more time. Sookie set up a changing station and did the final inspection on the travel crib. Then, there was Diana herself who seemed fascinated by the activity around her. Interest turned to suspicion when George accidentally knocked over a small table. Nothing was broken, but it was loud enough to make Sookie jump, but instead of crying, as any baby would, Diana squawked and then almost immediately settled.
Sookie's eyes drilled into Rick and her son had the grace to blush. It seemed Eric wasn't the only one feeding her granddaughter blood and then using that tie to control her. Sookie waited until George ran downstairs for more towels before confronting him. "I don't know whether to feel angry or left out," she hissed.
"I'd rather she had my blood than some donors," Rick shrugged.
"Just be careful," she warned. "There's a thin line between influencing and dependency. You'd never forgive yourself if you hurt her." Sookie could see that idea made an impression. George came back and she easily fell back into mommy mode as she said, "Well, looks like you're all settled. It will be a long day tomorrow. I'm sorry I'll miss all the visiting, but pace yourselves. Keep an eye on this little girl," and she stroked Diana's smooth cheek. "Don't forget, she's your first priority."
"She's my daughter," Rick scolded, and Sookie knew her serious, slightly old-fashioned son meant every word.
Sookie met Lily Hermosa in the downstairs hallway just outside the lighttight rooms. "I feel bad about missing Kyle's funeral," Lily told her. Of all the vampires, Rubio and Lily had known Kyle best. The Were's funeral was taking place this evening in the cemetery near Shreveport.
"We'll be represented," Sookie assured her. "Eric and the other Sheriffs are attending. Pam, too. Mustapha understands." 'And Karin,' Sookie thought.
Lily startled Sookie out of her dark thoughts by asking, "And what about Brigid's people? Didn't you say she had a Grandmother living somewhere around here?"
"Rhode Island," Sookie answered. She hadn't called Elizabeth Crane, or any of the Fae contacts she'd gathered. She thought of that one time she and Pam met them and how unpleasant they'd been, and then something occurred to her. "They may already know," she told Lily. "When a Fae dies, their spirit visits their oldest relative on its way to the Summerlands. I didn't think Brigid was too Fae until the end, and then you couldn't miss it."
"I didn't see her much," Lily nodded, "But that was the rumor." She busied herself folding a sweater, clearly waiting. Lily was a Southern lady, and Sookie was reminded of Gran and her manners. Sookie knew Lily was being too polite to say anything, but Sookie could feel her disapproval just the same. "You're right," Sookie sighed after a moment. "It's not my place to make that assumption, and for all they weren't talking, the Cranes were her kin."
"Family should be told these things," Lily nodded, saying aloud that age-old truth.
But Sookie wasn't in agreement. She'd threatened the Fae, telling them she was the better protector. Now, Brigid was dead. When Sookie settled into her bed she picked up her phone. She glanced at the hour. 'Too late,' she decided. 'Decent people don't call other people at this hour.' She opened her text messages, and for a moment considered sending the Cranes a text, but, of course, delivering this kind of news by text didn't seem polite, either. 'I know,' she thought. 'I'll do it first thing on my rising tomorrow,' but somehow, Sookie knew she wouldn't.
It was like being bound in iron straps. Karin flexed her arms, but the feeling didn't go away. She shifted so she couldn't see Master. She wouldn't think of him as her Maker anymore, or as Eric. No, he was now Master and everything that title embodied. Her teeth ground. In all the nights since her making, Eric Northman had never treated her like this, squashing her, holding her down like a bug, and she felt her rage bloom again, bright and sharp.
She'd begged Thalia to reason with him, but instead of doing as she asked, Thalia lectured her. She'd used words like 'grateful' and 'mourning,' words that had no place in Karin's world. Thalia assured her she'd be thankful someday that the Viking did this, but Karin knew she'd never be thankful. One day his grip would loosen and she'd exact her revenge before… and then Karin forced her mind to go blank. She could feel his interest shifting back to her. Best Master didn't get any hint of what she planned. He'd already threatened to lock her in a silver coffin and Karin believed him.
Karin looked back toward the graveside. The human religion man was mumbling his nonsense words. The dead Were's mother was crying. Beside her, her human children were watching their brother's coffin, round-eyed and weak. Karin stood with Eric and the other vampires. They weren't welcome at the graveside, so they stood apart, gathered on the hill. 'Like crows!' Karin mocked.
"Stop it!" Pam hissed.
"I'm not doing anything," Karin spit out.
"You are!" her sister accused. "You're doing that laser thing with your eyes. You're supposed to be offering sympathy, not burning the skin off them."
"They failed!" Karin snarled. "They should all die!"
"Enough!" Eric hissed behind them and he mentally jabbed Karin hard enough that she flinched. Her lip curled, but in another way, she welcomed the pain. It was better than the other pain she felt. It allowed her to focus and keep moving forward until she could stop.
It had been better before Master forced her to come here… and worse. There was no resting, no end to the anger that washed over her. She'd stayed up past dawn and risen before the sun was truly set. Her existence blended into one, long continuum, moving her toward the light where she was sure he waited. 'Peter!' and she felt tears threaten and as quickly she bit the inside of her cheek, grinding her fingernails into the palms of her hands, using the pain to beat back her weakness. At least then, she'd been free to act. Now, her will was tethered, and she walked through these nights like a pet on a chain.
"Mustapha's coming over," Pam whispered behind her. The tall Were was headed their way, trailed by several of his Pack.
"Our condolences," Master said, and Karin caught his bow out of the corner of her eye.
"I won't say this squares everything," Mustapha said, "but it helps. Pam," he acknowledged before turning her way. "Karin?" he asked.
"My daughter is in mourning," Master said behind her. "She is remaining silent. You understand." Karin felt his will on her. It was as if he'd wrapped his hand around her throat and was squeezing. Karin lifted her chin, willing Master to feel her defiance. He could choke off her words, but he couldn't force her to hide the fury she felt as she stared at the Were.
Mustapha stared back and Karin could see they understood each other well enough. "Where's Hunter?" he asked her Master.
"My nephew is working," Eric answered. "We have the store employees at the warehouse. There were two who quit or were fired. We've tracked them down. It will be a long night, but we all deserve answers."
"We'll share everything we learn," Pam added. "You have the address. You know you're welcome to send representatives."
"Of course, we are," but Mustapha didn't bother hiding his sarcasm. "That's why you decided to hold the questioning tonight."
"You have a problem with finding swift justice?" Indira hissed. She gestured toward the graveside where Kyle's mother sat surrounded by her surviving children. "We all deserve retribution for our fallen ones."
One of the Weres beside Mustapha bristled and the scent of shifting wafted through the air. If one shifted, the emotionally charged atmosphere would have the rest shifting too. Mustapha drew himself up. "You're right," he said a touch too formally. "It's kind of you to set aside your own mourning to help."
"Yes," Pam answered just as formally, "We're allies, and that's what we're doing: helping."
"My sympathies," Eric repeated. "We are sending a donation to Kyle's mother. It should help pay her bills for the next year or so."
"Pay off," one of the Weres hissed.
It was enough to make Mustapha's next words sound more sincere. "You've done your best, Viking. You've shown respect and you're going the extra mile. They're burying your friend tonight, and you could have gone north with him, but you didn't. There are no problems between us and all demands for vengeance or retribution are satisfied."
Karin could see that didn't sit well with the Packmaster's companions, but her Master bowed slightly, answering, "And for us as well, old friend. What's important is finding out who was behind this. That's where vengeance belongs."
"Agreed," and Mustapha returned the bow. He started turning around but not before giving Karin a hard look. She glared right back. Someday, Master would free her and when he did, she'd be visiting Mustapha Khan and his Pack.
"You won't!" Master had waited until the Weres walked away before leaning forward to hiss in her ear. "You will not harm the Packmaster or his Pack. I command it!" and another set of chains settled around Karin. Her mouth opened but before she could wail, he hissed, "and if you make a sound, you'll be eating silver!"
Karin snapped her mouth shut. She was so angry she was shaking. Pam just rolled her eyes, grabbed her arm and pushed her to follow the rest. "Come on! Time to figure out what happened."
Karin was bundled into the back of one of the cars. Master wouldn't ride with her, which was just as well. He might be forcing her, but she could force back, and seeing him reminded her to do it. Even though the car was crowded, Indira made an effort not to touch her. That was good, too. Karin didn't think she'd ever willingly be touched again.
The trip to the warehouse could be fast, but not tonight. They had to take the highway and somewhere up ahead there'd been an accident. As they crawled along, Karin stared out the window. The clouds that were threatening decided to let loose and Karin allowed her eyes to follow the rain tracking down the windows, 'like tears,' and she was back in the room at Amy Ludwig's hospital, standing at the foot of his bier.
She'd stood, rooted in place for the full hour as Master's custom demanded. He couldn't force her to light the candles, he'd done that. He'd stood behind her. He told her he was giving her the opportunity to say goodbye. He told her it was important to remember every moment she'd spent with Peter, He told her this vigil honored the memory of a loved one when they fell. At the end of the hour, he'd asked if she wanted a token.
All through that long hour Karin's thoughts fought against each other. The body that lay before her wasn't Peter. The vibrant, talented man who forced her to speak her heart through keeping his own silence was now silent forever. The sparkle was gone from his eyes and his clever fingers would never interpret their emotions again. Somewhere his soul was freed and Karin tried to feel it around her, but she couldn't. All she could feel was cold emptiness, like the corpse laid out before her. Had he been vampire, she could have taken his fangs. But he wasn't. 'He never will be,' her heart whispered, jabbing her with yet more regret.
"He's gone," she told Master. "There's nothing here worth taking."
Master seemed to understand. He let her walk away and didn't question her decision not to attend her lover's funeral up north. When Sookie pressed, telling Karin she could change her mind, Master cut off his mate, telling her, "Karin has made up her mind, Älskade. Don't ask her again."
When Peter's mother approached her, Pam tried to run interference. It didn't work. Sarah used words that didn't matter anymore, words like 'missing' and 'love.' It was Peter's eyes in Sarah's face that kept Karin from killing the woman.
She refused to return to the house she'd shared with him. She refused to sleep under a roof. Her life was back to the beginning, when she rose from the ground each night, hunting and hungry. Karin knew she was waiting for some signal, and she suspected that signal would bring vengeance.
Another raindrop slipped down the car window and Karin tracked it with her finger. When vengeance came it would fill the void within her, or hollow out what was left. In either case, Karin would be free, and that was what mattered.
16 thoughts on "Chapter 39 – Forward Past"
I can only hope that Karin will allow herself to deal with her feelings and grieve before she does something she will regret. I am sure Eric is doing what he feels is right, hopefully it will not backfire, but I fear there will be damage done that might not be able to be fixed.
Glad to see Rick taking care of his daughter despite his sorrow. Diana, and the rest of his family and friends, will help him and day by day things should get a tiny bit easier.
That's the problem with people who never learned to handle emotions – they are undone when those emotions finally break loose. Karin is facing her worst self, and striking out at everyone in her frustration and sorrow. As for Rick, he's been raised right. He's able to put his daughter first as he walks through the next weeks and months. What's more, you can bet that if he forgets, he'll have parents who will kick his ass until he remembers again.
A chapter filled with sorrow and pain. Understand Eric not wanting to lose Karin, just wonder if she will ever forgive him for that maker's command. My sense of her character is that Peter may have been the first man she ever loved, so her grief and regret (that she did not turn him before this happened) is overwhelming. And yet, if Eric is able to help her overcome her desire to die, perhaps she can find light on the other end of this dark tunnel.
Your interpretation of the relationship is the one I imagined. She never expected to find herself in this place, but that's love. It refuses all our best intentions. For Karin that would never be easy, but she'd found someone whose prickles and burrs complimented her own. It's a rare and overwhelming thing, finding someone who fits you so perfectly. But now, he's gone. Karin is a fighter and a survivor. If Eric can hold her long enough, she'll find her way. The key will be not delivering too much damage to the world around her in the process.
I hope that Karin will forgive her maker in the future, once the haze of hate for him and self-hate and loss for herself. It'll take time –I hope she understands in the back of her mind that this is for her health and future. There's hope, Karin, as you go through the grief.
I imagine that Eric's talk with Rick involved his loss as a human of his wife and child to a fever. While Brigit's death was certainly violent, there was the parallel of quick death of wives while delivering/pregnant.. It is because of Brigit's courage in making Mustapha save Diana that Rick now has a child to raise –poor Eric was left with losing his wife and child….. I think Rick now understands his father more than ever.
Sigh…so much death, sorrow and pain. The good thing is that eventually you work your way through it. You have to work through it –to try to avoid it or postpone it only results in more pain…..
So very sorry that Ms. Buffy is ill. I hope she is better soon. You are so good to us Natsgirl with weekly updates. As I have stated before, I could spend years reading this story. Fabulous chapter on the power of grieving. It makes sense that Eric is holding Karin in a makers command. I am hoping she will use all this rage to focus on the perpetrators of this crime. I loved the scene of Sarah giving Rick Peter's fiddle…so her son's spirit can live on.
Ms Buffy assures me (us) that she's managing, and she sounds better. I suspect once Spring and all the weather changing is over, she'll feel better.
Ah… Karin using her rage as a way of dealing with grief? Be careful what you wish for… Karin has a lot of rage.
For me, the image of Peter's music continuing through his fiddle is personal. Peter was based on someone I knew – someone just as talented and mischievously silent. But, that's the prerogative of writers… we get to immortalize those we see and know. There are characters in the Swimming stories that are my past bad bosses, and others who were dear friends and relatives. You get to ask yourself, 'how should it have turned out' and you get to make it so.
If Karin can find her way through this, she'll forgive Eric. On some level, she does appreciate what he's doing. It's just she's blinded by grief in the moment. At her age, she's found her first love, and now he's been taken from her. What I find is that sometimes the strongest are knocked down the hardest by this kind of loss. It demands that they acknowledge they are still vulnerable.
Eric has found a way of connecting with Rick when his son needs it most. There is a shared experience that allows them to find common ground. Not sure how Sookie will take that long term. She's been his 'all' up to now, but we'll see.
Now… how will our characters deal with loss and grief? Each according to his or her needs…
addicted2love7 says:
Wow Karin's grief is sooooo intense…I wonder if desire of vengeance should be enough for her to carry on!
Hugs to Ms. Buffy hope she will get well soon.
Sometimes, when the heart you told yourself you didn't have is so deeply injured, all you can embrace is rage. Anger is easier to process than grief.
redjane12 says:
WOW Karin is out of control with her grief but it is completely in tune with the assassin's personality after losing the one person who had made her vulnerable, perhaps ever. Hard to think what may get her out of that awful funk… At the moment even for the purpose of getting justice for Peter, Kyle and Brigid, she seems way too volatile… Not exactly an asset even with her 'Master' looking after her…
So true. Love is being vulnerable, a state Karin has purposely avoided all her long life. Now, it's smacked her in the face and there's no escape. Somehow this one person slipped past all her defenses, and now he's gone. It's a muddle of grief, rage and some degree of self-loathing. This is a state she never desired; a weakness she defended against, and yet she has no one to blame for her feelings but herself. Eric certainly understands the need to hold her tight. She's processing things she's never faced and Eric understands how this kind of loss can twist you. He lost Sookie and it made him act in ways that still embarrass him.
I'm really worried about Karin. I hope she's not planning on hurting Eric. I can see why she's so angry at him but he is trying to protect her from herself. He doesn't want to lose her any more than she wanted to lose Peter. The people responsible for this better watch out. I think Karin the Slaughterer will show them exactly why she has earned that name.
Thanks for the great chapter!
Good call. Karin's going to start in a direction sooner as opposed to later, and who ever's in her path had better look out!! Karin the Slaughterer indeed!
I expected Karin's pain and sense of loss to be extremely intense and you did not disappoint. I just hope that she can eventually forgive Eric for what he's doing to keep her. She needs to channel everything into laser focus on trying to figure out who did this so they can be punished. She is a force to be reckoned with and I know she can help resolve this mystery.
Well, the concern will be in the instance that they can't identify a culprit. I don't think Karin's going to wait too long to start exacting her revenge, and if there's no 'smoking gun' of evidence, she may just draw her own conclusions.


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Archive for the 'Monsters' Category
Posted: November 1, 2016 in Aliens, Chuck Russell, Cinema / Film, David Cronenberg, Drive-in, eighties, Frank Darabont, Horror, John Carpenter, Monsters, Remakes, Retro, Reviews, science fiction, The Blob, Tony Gardner, Uncategorized
There is one film in my vault of horrors that I watch every Halloween, regardless of what my yearly theme may be. It's a film I associate with the holiday, (despite having nothing to do with it) starting way back to when I was fresh out of diapers, and stumbled across it for the first time on cable. Now I'm sure many purists out there will scream blaspheme when they discover it's a remake, but it's one of the best, and a prime example of how they should be done. Taking what worked from the original, and building upon it while omitting the kitschy bits that kept it from achieving greatness.
The film in question is a mortifying one, responsible for my outright abhorrence of a certain Cosby marketed gelatinous treat that makes me gag just thinking about it. The crusty film that spreads across its surface if left to fester in the fridge for too long. The way it jiggles upon a spoon as it creeps toward your mouth, and how it slurps, and slithers down your throat like an edible slug. I'm of course talking about Jell-O, and its amorphous acidic older brother, The Blob.
Released in 1988, The Blob is director Chuck Russell, (known for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors) and writer Frank Darabont's, (of Shawshank Redemption, The Mist, and spawning the now beloved Walking Dead series) loving remake of the Steve McQueen led 1958 classic.
The film follows the citizens of Arborville, California as they're attacked by an organism that devours, and dissolves anything unfortunate enough to cross its path, while growing to astronomical proportions in the process.
The major divergence from the original was making the creature a biological weapon, rather than an extraterrestrial organism, which provides a terrifying political subtext that's much more effective than the outer space craze so rampant in films from the fifties, and sixties.
The gruesome special effects, provided by the legendary Tony Gardner, (Army of Darkness, Michael Jackson's Thriller) are extraordinary for the time the film was released, and hold up exceptionally when compared to what we see today.
The Blob, is hands down one of the top three best remakes of all time, the other two being Carpenter's Thing, and Cronenberg's The Fly. It's gory, it's scary, and it's a hell of a good way to kill an hour and change.
A fun fact to end on, Tony Gardner has been investigated two times by authorities. The first, by the FBI, then again by the Arizona State Police, and Missing Persons Bureau for his work on .
Posted: October 31, 2016 in An American Werewolf in London, Cinema / Film, Dog Soldiers, Horror, Liam Cunningham, Monsters, Neil Marshall, Reviews, The Howling, Uncategorized, Werewolves, Wolfman
A good werewolf film is hard to come by these days. Aside from the obvious Universal monsters, Wolfman there have been arguably three effectively scary films featuring the furry bastards throughout film history, An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, and the subject of today's post, Dog Soldiers.
Directed by Neil Marshall, (also responsible for the stellar, The Descent) Dog Soldiers follows six British Army soldiers on a training mission in the Scottish Highlands who face off against a family of ravenous werewolves.
The special effects are amazing, the werewolves themselves some of the best ever created for the screen, and the cast, including everyone's favourite Onion Knight, Liam Cunningham are fantastic as well.
If there's one complaint I have, it would be that I've been waiting since 2004, for its sequel Fresh Meat!
Posted: October 31, 2016 in Adaptations, Cinema / Film, Clive Barker, David Cronenberg, Hellraiser, Horror, Literature, Monsters, Nightbreed, Nineties, Reviews
I love Clive Barker. There's something about the man's seamless blend of the morbid, and erotic that I've always been attracted to.
Hellraiser was one of the first true horror movies I watched as a child, and I still remember the experience vividly. Sneaking out from my bed, and creeping downstairs. Peeking out from behind the wall that separated the living room from the entryway in my childhood home, and listening to the blood-curdling screams as a leather-bound man with pins embedded in his head summoned chains from the pits of hell to dismember those unfortunate enough to stumble upon the gateway to his realm. I instantly fell in love, and peed a little, but mostly the love.
It wasn't until many years later that I discovered Nightbreed, an adaptation of his horror-fantasy novel Cabal that was released in 1990.
The film follows Aaron Boone, a mentally unstable man who dreams of a supernatural world that exists within a cemetery called Midian, and is led to believe by his psychotherapist, (David Cronenberg in a thoroughly terrifying role) to be the serial killer responsible for the murders of several families. After escaping Doctor Philip Decker, (who we soon discover is the serial killer, surprise, surprise) Boone takes refuge in Midian, and discovers its denizens are an ancient race known as the Nightbreed who were driven to near extinction by humans. Once there he must lead the Nightbreed in a defence against Dr. Decker who intends to destroy them all.
Nightbreed is another example of studio mistreatment, in this case 20th Century Fox. The studio barely promoted the film, and much to Barker's chagrin, released a handful of misleading posters, and trailers that marketed the film as a slasher, and not the unique horror-fantasy that it was. They also refused to screen it for test-audiences, and critics, arguing that the people who watch horror don't read reviews, causing the film to be sold to the lowest common denominator.
Unsurprisingly the film tanked, regaining only 8.9 of its 11 million dollar budget, and quickly faded into obscurity, but has since found a new audience thanks to Scream Factory's release of the director's cut on bluray.
Nightbreed is quirky, grotesque, and rich with as much homosexual undertones as you'd expect to find in a Clive Barker piece of art, and I love it.
Do yourselves a favour skiddies, and check out Nightbreed.
Midian awaits you.
31 Days of Horror, Day 21. Fred Dekker.
Posted: October 25, 2016 in Aliens, B-Movies, Cinema / Film, Drive-in, eighties, Fred Dekker, Horror, Monster Squad, Monsters, Night of the Creeps, Reviews, science fiction, Shane Black, Slasher, VHS, Zombies
The eighties in a single picture.
I've touched briefly upon director's in my previous posts, greats like Romero, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Hitchcock, Jackson, as well as a few lesser known names like Henenlotter, Solet, and Craig.
Today I'd like to introduce you to another relatively unknown name, a man responsible for two of my all time favourite horror films, and a handful of episodes from the groundbreaking HBO anthology series, Tales From the Crypt. The one, and only, Fred Dekker.
Fred Dekker was born in 1959, in San Francisco, California. A comic book fanatic, cinephile, and horror nerd from an early age, Dekker applied at USC, and UCLA for film studies, and was subsequently rejected by both. He attended UCLA, majoring in English instead, and it was there where he met frequent collaborators Shane Black, Ed Solomon, and Chris Matheson.
His big break in the movie industry came after writing the Steve Miner directed, Sean S. Cunningham produced horror-comedy House, and from there he went on the write, and direct the two cult classics I'd like to talk about today, Night of the Creeps, and Monster Squad.
Night of the Creeps.
Released in 1986, Fred Dekker's directorial debut is a loving homage of B-movies that mixes the best bits of zombie, slasher, alien invasion, and creature feature films into a unique, and thoroughly enjoyable picture.
The film follows a couple of loveable university dorks, who unwittingly release a horde of alien slugs after stealing a cadaver in an attempt to join a fraternity. Aided by a haunted detective, the three must fend off an army of zombie-like creatures infected by the slugs before their quaint little own is overrun.
Night of the Creeps is one of those rare films that makes you smile from start to finish no matter how many times you've watched it. The chemistry amongst the cast is wonderful, with a standout performance from the legendary Tom Atkins as Detective Ray Cameron, who chews up every scene he's given, and the creature effects hold up surprisingly well, thanks in part to Dekker's reliance on prosthetics, and practical effects.
Although I've never seen him admit it out loud, or in an interview, Slither, by James Gunn can be seen as a spiritual successor of sorts to Night of the Creeps, and if you haven't seen it either, I recommend you watch it immediately, and note the similarities between the two.
To put it plainly, Monster Squad is essentially the Goonies meet the Universal Monsters.
The story is every child whom grew up loving horror's fantasy come true, and follows the Monster Squad, group of preteen friends who idolize monsters, and get more than they bargain for when Dracula aided by the Wolfman, Mummy, and Gill-man show up in their picturesque town searching for an amulet capable of helping him take over the world.
Monster Squad is an important film to me. Back when I was fresh out of diapers my grandmother taped it off cable, and I'd watch it for hours while visiting the old farm house where I was born, eventually playing the damned thing into oblivion. It wasn't until 2007 that I'd get a chance to watch it again after the release of the 20th anniversary DVD, and little has changed since those early days of my youth. Like all of Fred Dekker's work there's an inherent playfulness at work, almost as though conceived through the imagination of a child.
Unfortunately Dekker hasn't written or directed anything like his first two films in quite some time, thanks in part to their lukewarm critical reception, and box office returns, but if the 2010's have taught me anything it's that nostalgia is a goldmine, and there's always the possibility that the long talked about sequel to Monster Squad might be just around the corner, provided his work with Shane Black on the new Predator film is successful.
So I ask of you this Mr. Dekker,
31 Days of Horror, Day 19. Virtual Terror.
Posted: October 24, 2016 in Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, eighties, FromSoftware, Horror, Monster Party, Monsters, NES, Nineties, Retro, Reviews, science fiction, Slasher, SNES, undead, Video Games, Zombies, Zombies Ate my Neighbours
Over the last few weeks I've focused on horror mainly in film, television, and literature, but today I thought I'd shake things up a bit, and take a look at a medium I've always found to be a fertile ground for the genre, video games. There's something effective about placing people in control of characters surrounded by danger, and terror, and developers have been trying to capture that magic for nearly forty years.
I could talk to death about mainstream titles like Resident Evil, Doom, and Silent Hill, and their impact on horror gaming, but everyone knows them. Instead I'd like to take a gander at a few obscure titles.
Monster party.
Monster Party is one of the most brilliantly nutty 8-bit gems on the NES. The game follows Billy, who after being confronted by a sentient gargoyle requesting his help sets off on a quest with his trusty baseball bat to save its world. Along the way Billy battles punk-rock zombies, singing plants, cow hurdling minotaurs, and…floating breaded tempura shrimp, and onion rings? I get the feeling drugs were consumed during development, (Billy transforms into a gargoyle after picking up a pill for Christ sakes!) because the whole game is a gleefully dark, and bat-shit experience. Monster Party is about as scary as you'd expect an 8-bit title to be, (not very) but credit however must be given to the atmospheric soundtrack, and imaginative first stage of the game, which effectively sets an eerie tone right from the get go. Also, the cover art was the stuff of nightmares, guaranteed to mortify any child unlucky enough to stumble upon it while shuffling through the game rack of his local video store during the eighties.
Just look at this shit. LOOK AT IT!
Lucasarts made a name for themselves in the late eighties, and early nineties developing point and click adventure games like Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, and Day of the Tentacle for the PC, but during the 16-bit era they ventured into the action-adventure realm with a little horror gem called Zombies Ate My Neighbours.
ZAMN as it will be called for the duration of this post, because the title has too many damn letters for me to keep typing, is a top-down, co-op, run-and-gun game that tasks players with rescuing their neighbours in a variety of horror inspired settings while trying to survive an onslaught of horror-movie monsters like werewolves, mutants, giant babies, squid men, blobs, aliens, and of course the titular zombies. To progress through each level players are required to rescue at least one neighbour, and if all of them die, it's game over. To do so, players have a number of inventive weapons at their disposal, such as dishes, UZI water guns, weed-whackers, Soda-pop grenades, and many more.
ZAMN is a noteworthy title, because of the heavy censorship it received upon release. Nintendo, having a strict policy against excessive violence in their games ordered all depictions of blood, and gore to be replaced with purple ooze, a similar fate that befell the original Mortal Kombat when ported to the SNES. Many European nations censored even more of ZAMN, changing its name to simply, Zombies, and replacing the chainsaw wielding enemies with lumberjacks sporting axes.
The Souls series
I know I said I was going to avoid mainstream titles for this post, but I couldn't help myself for the last entry on the list. No series captures what makes a horror game effective so much so as FromSoftware's Souls titles, Demon's, Dark, and the most recent, Bloodborne. Each entry contains a dark, and atmospheric world with little reason given as to why you're there, adaptable monstrosities lurking around every corner, limited resources at your disposal with which to slay them or survive their relentless attacks, and death actually matters, serving as a method of increasing the game's difficulty.
You are never so close to sheer terror as you are while playing a Souls game, and that's why it rounds out this list.
That's all for today skiddlets. Please feel free to comment, and share some of your favourite horror titles.
I'm always up for a new scare!
31 Days of Horror, Day 12. Splinter.
Posted: October 13, 2016 in B-Movies, Cinema / Film, Horror, John Carpenter, Monsters, parasites, Reviews, Splinter, undead
Creature features are a tough sell these days as we've seen pretty much all there is to see in terms of monsters gobbling up humans like the earth is an all you can eat buffet. Wolf-men, vampires, creatures from the Black Lagoon, check, check, check. Radioactive dinosaurs, ants, ticks, check, check, check. Flesh-eating plants, intergalactic porcupines, Killer Klowns from Outer Space check, check, check. Sharknados, telekinetic tires, and Ron Jeremy's penis… sadly another triple check, and so on in infinitum. Do you see a trend? It would appear that as the years progress filmmakers are attempting to make things that aren't scary, well, scary, (not counting Ron Jeremy's penis of course. That thing is terrifying). So it's always a pleasant surprise when a creature feature comes along that brings something unique to the sinner table, without stumbling into the absolutely ludicrous.
Take 2008's Splinter, for example. On paper it has a fairly simple plot. A couple on route to a romantic camping trip in the forests of Oklahoma, (words I never thought I'd put together) are car-jacked by an escaped convict, and his junkie girlfriend. After suffering a flat tire the four end up seeking shelter in an abandoned gas station, and soon find themselves attacked by a parasitic fungus that reanimates the flesh of the dead in creative, and disturbing ways.
Splinter works because of its simplicity. There's no complex backstory explaining the origin of the fungus, no end of the world type scenario, there's just a handful of people in a small environment doing the best they can to survive.
Co-Writer/ director Toby Wilkins, did an excellent job with the relatively small budget he had to work with by focussing more on the characters, and less on the creature itself. Also praise is due for one of the most brutal amputation scenes I've ever witnessed.
The creature itself is splendidly grotesque. It's essentially a zombie with notes of John Carpenter's Thing, and a little Cabin Fever flesh-eating disease tossed in for fun, and the mix of practical, and CGI really bring it to life.
Splinter is definitely worth a watch, and is ranked high on my list of favourite horror films from 2008.
That's all for today my dearest darklings, and as always stay scared!
31 Days of Horror, Day 7. Monsters.
Posted: October 8, 2016 in Anthologies, Horror, Monsters, Reviews, Tales From The Darkside, Television
In honor of Thankskilling, (er giving) this weekend I'll be doing things a little differently. Instead of offering the usual bite-sized horror appetizers I've been bringing to the sinner table, I'll be serving a veritable smorgasbord of grizzly treats. A Stake-Out dinner, so to speak. So slap on your barf bags, and prepare to delve into the idiot-box for today's feast of fears. The items on the menu come courtesy of Chef, Richard P. Rubinstein, one of the masterminds behind Tales From the Darkside. I do hope you're hungry, because the portion sizes are monstrous.
Monsters, an anthology series that ran from October of 1988 to April of 1991 was a spiritual successor of sorts to Tales From the Darkside, but whereas Darkside often ventured into the realm of science fiction and fantasy, Monsters remained firmly rooted in horror.
Much like its older sibling, many of the stories were written by genre veterans like Stephen King, Robert Bloch, and Michael McDowell, (for those unfamiliar with McDowell, he's the man responsible for creating the ghost with the most, Beetlejuice). The episodes were generally mean-spirited affairs, with a rotating cast featuring cameos from a slew of now famous actors as well as genre mainstays like Linda Blair, Ashley Laurence, Billy Drago, and Meatloaf. Believe me, there's nothing quite like watching Tony Shalhoub, Matt Leblanc, David Spade, and Jerry Stiller slumming it before becoming household names.
The bread and butter of the show however were the monsters themselves, putrid grotesqueries ranging from unsettling, (Holly) to completely ludicrous, (Bee-Woman) but all wonderfully unique, and memorable thanks to the prosthetics, and animatronics common at the time.
There are three seasons worth of episodes, but the ones I've selected for today's post all come from the first, and best in my opinion. Monsters suffered a fate similar to those of its kind like Tales from the Darkside, and Crypt, in that the longer they went on the more they dipped in quality. There are a few diamonds in the rough in the later seasons, such as Stephen King's The Moving Finger, Talk Nice to Me, and The Farmer's daughter, but they don't have quite the lasting effect as the ones I've chosen for you today.
That's enough history, let's get started, shall we?
Holly's House.
There's something inherently creepy about children's programming, puppets in particular being the worst offenders, especially those that resemble little girls, and are suffering from a killer case of separation anxiety.
Holly's House follows Katherine, actress and star of a popular kids show who controls a child-sized robot named Holly via a remote control system attached to her central nervous system. Stressed after discovering her costar Mike the Mailman has gotten her pregnant, Holly begins to say awful things to Katherine, and lash out at members of the cast without her control. Is Holly alive? Or is Katherine in the middle of a violent identity crisis?
Holly's House is an impressive slice of television considering the budget they had to work with. Holly, herself is a technical marvel for the time, and the set of the titular show has a tremendously unsettling quality about it. The storyline also has a surprising amount of depth when compared to other members of the inanimate objects come to life subgenre of horror.
This episode is the reason why I adore Monsters. No idea was too bizarre for the show, and Pillow Talk is about as bizarre as they come.
Author Miles Magnus has a secret, his bed is an ancient creature that hungers for human flesh. Viki is Miles' latest victim, a romance writer, who has a secret of her own.
The monster is a bed, A BED!!!! That's pretty much all that needs to be said.
Mannikins of Horror
Mannikins of Horror, based on the Robert Bloch short story of the same name follows Dr. Collins, a once brilliant surgeon who now resides in an insane asylum, and spends his time sculpting anatomically correct little clay men with which he shares a special bond.
This is the second time the story has been adapted, the first having been a part of the 1972, Amicus Productions anthology, Asylum.
Watch it for the jaw-dropping stop-motion animation used to bring Dr. Collins' creations to life, and the gruesome twist ending!
I don't know about you skiddies, but I'm stuffed! Hopefully you veracious animals saved a bit of room for tomorrow though, because we'll be moving on to the second course of our thankskilling weekend feast.
Until then killdren, stay scared!!!


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Zone 1 News
The 27 London locations where Hollywood movies are most likely to be filmed
We could soon be sharing the city with the next big Hollywood blockbuster
Owen SheppardLocal Democracy Reporter
More big name stars - like Daniel Craig, Sandra Oh and Renee Zellweger - could soon be coming to London
The council that runs central London hopes to capitalise on Britain's "booming" film industry by touting central London's iconic landmarks to location scouts.
Killing Eve, James Bond and Bridget Jones have all used settings in the Square Mile, including the Barbican Estate and Tower Bridge.
Now the City of London Corporation is drawing up plans to hire a film location agency to promote itself to TV and film producers with the hope of generating over £500,000 of extra income per year.
The Barbican Estate in the City of London (Image: Getty)
While Notting Hill and the Houses of Parliament may be the first places that spring to mind, a CoL report lists 27 past and potential new film locations. The full list is here:
All 27 film locations
Barbican Art Centre
Barbican Estate
Avondale Estate (Southwark)
Golden Lane (Square Mile)
Middlesex Street Estate (Aldgate)
Leadenhall Market (Square Mile)
Chartered Inst Insurers (Square Mile)
Billingsgate Market (Poplar)
New Spitalfields Market
Hampstead Lido & City Ponds
Hampstead Heath, body of the Heath and Parliament Hill Fields
Golders Hill Park & Pergola (in Hampstead Heath)
Epping Forrest
Burnham Beeches (Buckinghamshire)
City of London School for Girls (on the Barbican Estate)
City of London School for Boys (Upper Thames Street)
Freeman's School
Sir John Cass School (Stepney, east London)
Barking Power Station
Mansion House, the Old Bailey, Monument and Spitalfields Market were all named as would-be sites.
Hampstead Heath, Billingsgate Market, Highgate Woods and Epping Forest ― all located outside central London but managed by CoL ― were also suggested.
The CoL report says: "The UK film industry is booming... Inward investment films generated approximately £1.25bn in 2017, the highest figure since records began.
You could be seeing much more of Hampstead Heath, Spitalfields Market, the Monument and Epping Forest on the big screen (Image: Getty)
"We propose that the 27 buildings and open spaces that are suitable for filming would be promoted using a reputable and established location agency that would liaise directly with the local staff at each location."
But it adds "opportunities are missed" to attract film crews, because the CoL is not registered with any professional location agencies whom film producers often turn to for advice.
Latest from the City of London
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Peanut sellers turfed off Tower Bridge
Children to see views from the Tulip
Square Mile landmarks that made the big screen
Judi Dench and Daniel Craig shot scenes from Quantum of Solace at flats at the Barbican Estate (Image: Quantum of Solace © 2008 Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc)
The Grade II-listed Barbican Estate, renowned for its brutalist concrete architecture, has provided backdrops for James Bond Quantum of Solace; The Hunger (1983) starring David Bowie; and series two of the hit TV drama Killing Eve.
Tower Bridge is probably the most-filmed landmark associated with the City of London.
Tower Bridge features in a pivotal scene in Bridget Jones (Image: Getty)
Appearances include: Bridget Jones's Diary; The Da Vinci Code; Tomb Raider; and The Mummy Returns.
The Old Bailey has seen more murder trials than any court in the country, so it was a natural choice for comedian John Mortimer's TV series, Rumpole of the Bailey.
CoL bosses are hoping to use the Old Bailey for more filming locations, like classic BBC drama Rumpole of the Bailey
It was also selected for late director Alfred Hitchcock's 1972 movie Frenzy.
Liverpool Street Station appears in Mission Impossible (1996), where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) meets with Jim Phelps.
The Elephant Man and Mission Impossible were both shot at London Liverpool Street
The major transport hub also appears in The Elephant Man, a historical drama based on Joseph Merrick, who adopted the monika "Elephant Man" to earn a living from his severe disfigurements during his life in the late 19th century.
You can find a guide to visiting the City's film locations online here
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London's hotspot for first-time buyers
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