Torn World; Basic World Premises Torn World is a science fantasy, combining science fiction and high fantasy. It is set in an Earth-like, long-post-apocalyptic world with slightly tweaked temporal behavior - although we observe general rules of physics (there is no 'magic!'), time itself fluctuates and can be manipulated, with fascinating and far-reaching affects. Our source civilization, the Ancients, was well advanced of ours, and is established as a powerful, globe-encompassing society that could manipulate time and genetics with ease. In-story, very little is known about them or the destruction they caused by pulling the energy of their world out of balance. The Upheaval is the violent result of the Ancients manipulating time to withdraw more energy from it than they put in, essentially trying to get 'something for nothing'. Click to view a version of this map with clickable links! The Empire Over time, absorbing the best (and sometimes the worst!) See also: The Empire article. World Features
Amazing Places To Experience Around The Globe (Part 1) Preachers Rock, Preikestolen, Norway Blue Caves - Zakynthos Island, Greece Skaftafeli - Iceland Plitvice Lakes – Croatia Crystalline Turquoise Lake, Jiuzhaigou National Park, China Four Seasons Hotel - Bora Bora Ice skating on Paterswoldse Meer, a lake just South of the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Marble Caves, Chile Chico, Chile The Gardens at Marqueyssac Ice Canyon - Greenland Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia Valley of the Ten Peaks, Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada Multnomah Falls, Oregon Seljalandsfoss Waterfall on the South Coast of Iceland Petra - Jordan (at night) Verdon, Provence, France Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania, Australia Norway Alesund Birdseye of City Benteng Chittorgarh, India Riomaggiore, Italy Keukenhof Gardens - Netherlands. Sky Lantern Festival - Taiwan. Mount Roraima - Venezuela. Seychelles East Iceland. Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. New York City.
Calm Soothing Casual Games For Relaxing Your Brain My day is often stressful, and my brain is usually working on overdrive. I bet many of you have the same kind of brain-clogged days that I have. Sometimes, I need to literally relax my brain by giving it calm, soothing cool-down exercises. My favorite way to do this is by playing one of three games that combine soothing music with simple, but addictive game play. All three of the following casual games involve easy mouse movements, simple flowing graphics, and brain-calming music. This first game is called Flow In Games (I think). Boomshine is the brain-calming game I play most often. Although the graphics in Music Catch are a bit old-school, the mind-mood is still tamed, as you simply move the mouse in easy motions to catch yellow shapes and avoid red shapes, while the music plays in the background. I keep all three of these games bookmarked for the mind-breaks I need to take.
Nature Gave Us Four Kinds of Happiness Happiness is just a neurochemical spurt. Four different brain chemicals create happy feelings, and you need all of them to feel good. You miss out when you rely on one or two old familiar ways of triggering your happy chemicals. You can enjoy a balanced happy chemical diet if you know the distinct kind of happiness each brain chemical evolved for. Endorphin happiness is triggered by physical pain. The body's natural morphine masks pain, which allowed our ancestors to run from predators when injured. Dopamine happiness is triggered when you get a new reward. Oxytocin happiness is triggered when we trust those around us. Serotonin happiness is triggered when you feel important. Each of the happy chemicals evolved to do a job. Sometimes you stumble on happiness. The happy chemicals feel so good that we use our big cortex to figure out how to get more. Sometimes it works. But the brain only releases happy chemicals in limited bursts for specific aims. Nothing is wrong .
Learning Meditation at LearningMeditation.com An introduction to the John Scopes (Monkey) Trial The early 1920s found social patterns in chaos. Traditionalists, the older Victorians, worried that everything valuable was ending. Younger modernists no longer asked whether society would approve of their behavior, only whether their behavior met the approval of their intellect. Who would dominate American culture--the modernists or the traditionalists? William Jennings Bryan, three-time Democratic candidate for President and a populist, led a Fundamentalist crusade to banish Darwin's theory of evolution from American classrooms. The Scopes Trial had its origins in a conspiracy at Fred Robinson's drugstore in Dayton. The conspirators summoned John Scopes, a twenty-four-year old general science teacher and part-time football coach, to the drugstore. Rappalyea initially wanted science fiction writer H. A carnival atmosphere pervaded Dayton as the opening of the trial approached in July of 1925. On Thursday, July 16, the defense called its first witness, Dr. The trial was nearly over.
a mason jar meal (my 6th PFB challenge) UPDATE: You can VOTE FOR ME HERE, if you’re so inclined. I love mason jars. They are perfectly portioned, retro, convenient, and reusable. They are affordable, accessible, versatile and stylish. They contain, shake, serve and store. And they travel. Here is what I served: I wanted a meal that tasted freshly made, even after sitting for hours in a jar. Put dressings and heavy items on the bottom, foods to stay crisp and fresh at the top. chickpea and chicken salad: Rinse and drain a can of chick peas. homemade bagel chips: Slice several bagels in half. pesto pasta: Cook penne pasta and drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water. white wine sangria (adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe): In a saucepan, combine and heat 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup honey, the zest and juice of a lemon, six whole cloves, and two cinnamon sticks over medium heat to a simmer. The beauty of mason jars is the pretty package. To test the freshness, I prepared my mason jar meal in the morning and we dined in the evening.
- StumbleUpon (click images for detail) For the better part of three decades multidisciplinary artist Guy Laramee has worked as a stage writer, director, composer, a fabricator of musical instruments, a singer, sculptor, painter and writer. Among his sculptural works are two incredible series of carved book landscapes and structures entitled Biblios and The Great Wall, where the dense pages of old books are excavated to reveal serene mountains, plateaus, and ancient structures. Of these works he says: So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes. Laramee’s next show will be in April of 2012 at the Galerie d’Art d’Outremont in Montreal.
How to feel better now What makes you happy? I find directly pursuing happiness is difficult to do. Many times the things we think will make us happy fail to do so. Instead I like to focus on growth and developing a strong life philosophy that can guide you through tough times and help you enjoy successes. But what about feeling good right now? Hack One: Goals Nothing creates a bigger jolt of enthusiasm than a new inspiring vision of the future. Hack Two: Chores Procrastination sucks. Hack Three: Laugh Don’t take yourself so damn seriously. Hack Four: Aid Help someone who needs it. Hack Five: Socialize One of the leading evolutionary theories for explaining the size of the human brain is our complex social structure. Hack Six: Inspiration Find something to get you inspired, even if just for a short time. Hack Seven: Exercise Exercise releases various chemicals into your brain which leave you feeling good. Hack Eight: Posture Change the way you hold your body to reflect someone who is happier. Hack Nine: Music