Raven Bower's Blog

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[…] For the last three years, this small group of women have brow beat me into actually accomplishing the goals I set each week. One of the fiercest and most diabolical members of this group would be fantasy/paranormal suspense/horror author Raven Bower. […]

Normally I don’t hold with beer of any sort (ack!) with the known exceptions of Guinness and Sin Eater. But seriously, look at the awesome packaging! It called to me…I HAD to! Heck, even if I didn’t like the beer itself, it would have been worth it just for the packaging. In fact, my middle son – who collects cans and bottles that he thinks are neat – begged me to keep one of the empty bottles for his collection.

See – just oogle the alluring images -

The temptation was too much! Overwhelmed, I brought it home. I had some hope for it because I like Dragon Mead’s Sin Eater, which is also a stout (but I can’t find it listed on their site, so maybe they stopped making it?).

Anyway, the worry was in vain. I popped the cap off The Poet and this wonderful, dark aroma wafted out. So far…so good.

Then took the first sip… YUM!

It’s thick, but not too thick. Heady, but not too heady. A symphony of flavors, but not too many (eerrr sorry, drifted into Agent Cooper mode there, ahem). Perfect. I also agree with New Holland Brewing‘s suggested food pairings for The Poet – particularly the chocolate!

Verdict for The Poet is in – this is a 5 bat beer! Which, is saying something, considering that, again, I’m generally not fond of beers.

I’m looking forward to trying more of their brews including -

Freshwater Superior Single Barrel Rum – Really enjoy a smooth rum, so this ought to be fun.

Knickerbocker Gin – Love gin, it’s one of my top drinks. Go gin & tonic! Can’t wait to try this one.

Dragon’s Milk Stout – I mean, truly…look below at that nifty packaging – it’s irresistible!

Title: Hard Body

Genre: Workout DVD, Health, Exercise

Bats: 5

I buy Jillian Michaels‘ DVDs for two primary reasons – 1. They are effective. 2. I love her no-nonsense, push-you-to-make-you-the-best-you attitude.

Hard Body is no exception. It’s a brutal workout and though she does have a Beginners version for most of the moves, I’d still recommend that if you haven’t been active for years that you start with one of her less intense and less complex DVDs like the 30 Day Shred. That said, Hard Body is a wildly effective set of workouts that are both challenging and fun.

The moves here are more complex and require some degree (sometimes a lot of degrees!) of balance and co-ordination.  What I like best about the Hard Body format is that Jillian runs through each circuit once 1-6, then goes back and repeats from the beginning – starting again at circuit 1 and going through to 6. It’s a refreshing change from the standard format of circuit 1, then repeat circuit 1, THEN move to circuit 2, repeat circuit 2 etc. She continues to give Advanced, Moderate and Beginners versions to most of the exercises, which is something I’ve always loved about her workouts because it gives me something to aspire to (the Bad Ass version) yet doesn’t make me feel lost if I’m not quite there yet.

Hard body also breaks from the Jillian Michaels’ norm of 20ish minutes, instead it focuses you on creating the best you for a full 45 minutes, plus whatever additional warm-up or cool-down you prefer to do (or not do) on your own.

If you’re looking for results – Hard Body is certainly recommended!

Well, I’ve taken a new plunge!

Over the course of the time I’ve been in aquatics, there’s a growing concern from many in the industry about the fragile sustainability of wild-harvesting tropical and saltwater fish.

With so many areas facing the threat of depleting wild populations as well as some areas closing the doors to wild harvesting due to the despicable and dishonorable harvesting tactics of SOME (by no means all) harvesters, it makes sense to encourage the breeding and raising of our aquatics here in tanks vs. the wild.

To do my part, and because I love aquatics anyway, I’m choosing some freshies and salties to specialize in and am working my way towards raising a sustainable population of my chosen fish.

Some will be a challenge, as there’s no known reports of some of my favorites spawning in captivity – but as Lain said, there’s always a first time.

So I’ll be studying each species (*does the Go Library dance*) and working on locating cheap/free tanks and equipment for this new venture.

In the meanwhile, since I have the perfect set up already existing for one of my all-time favorites…Just purchased my first breeding pair of German Blue Rams! They ought to be in next week – so expect lots of pictures.

Wondering about the maggots?

One of the species I chose to raise is Amano Shrimp because A. I looove Takashi Amano’s tanks (the guy the shrimp is named after) B. they’re hands down the best shrimp for controlling algae in planted tanks. However, they’re one of the toughest shrimp to raise because of their needs. They have to spend their adult years in freshwater, but Amano eggs and larva cannot survive freshwater. So the majority of Amano young die in their parents’ freshwater tanks

I was a little intimidated to start this process with the Amanos because of all the nay-saying I read when researching how to breed them. Someone on a website made the mistake of saying they weren’t worth the trouble when we can ‘just import them’. You guys know how I feel about constant importing…but really the first thing that came to mind was – for the challenge! I mean really, if people decided not to do things just because it was tough to do – where would we be? Mind you, I don’t pick difficult species on purpose… though eh, well that’s not always true, sometimes I do just because someone says it’s not possible and that just bothers me and then the persnickety side of me comes out and does a ‘Says WHO?’ And then I have to do it. It’s a terrible habit.

Anyway, back to the maggots.

Last night, that snickety streak hit and  I made a nighttime foray into my 20g where I know my female Amano (shown above with Neptune the German Blue Ram) has been shedding ripe eggs. Using flashlight I attracted what I thought were eggs/larva to the light and then with a cut up thigh-high stocking (I have an issue paying what they want for those special nets made for larva…insane!) caught a bunch and put them – stockings and all – into the refugium on my saltwater tank.

Then this morning, went to bed thinking nothing of it. I figured that I might have just caught debris or even if it was Amano larva or eggs, they might not live or might have already been dead from being in the freshwater for too long.

Then, went to feed the fish in the salt tank and thought, eh, I’ll check the refugium just to see. And sure enough! It’s teeming with maggots! Eh. Larva. hehe

YAY!

So now I know I can nab them and successfully get them swarming in saltwater. What’s left is making sure they’re well fed and grow into wee bity shrimp in saltwater and then slowly acclimating them back to freshwater to live out the rest of their adult lives.

Wish me luck!

Title: Dawn Rider

Director: Terry Miles

Genre: Western, action

Rating: 5 bats

This is a really nifty film in the tone of the traditional westerns. Basic premise is – the father of a notorious gunslinger is shot by bandits and the gunslinger (Slater’s character) seeks justice.

There’s a love triangle in here that adds to the plot instead of detracting from it or derailing it. It was woven deftly into the main storyline. Well done!

There’s another interesting subplot involving a Marshal that, again, was expertly brought in and woven into the main line.

All three merge at the end and culminate in a clever ending.

I really appreciated the familiarity of the characters and how everyone was linked so solidly together. Not your typical strangers vs. strangers deal. This added both realism and emotional conflicts. I also enjoyed how the hero was both heroic and gritty – not your typical sterling goodie who makes you want to vomit because he’s just soooo flawless. Instead, the hero was a real human capable of mistakes and bad choices, yet still moral in his own way.

Also, what Director Terry Miles chose to show – and not show – of the various lines really made this film stand out.

Acting was all well done and the reactions and actions of the characters were believable and motivated by previous plot issues.

If you like westerns, this is a great one to watch.

Title: Sanctum

Director: Alister Grierson

Genre: Suspense, thriller, adventure

Rating: 5 bats

This movie is simply a must watch. It’s about a group of explorers delving into a previously uncharted cave system – complete with rivers and subterranean lakes. When a tropical storm rolls in, it floods the upper tunnels and they’re forced to find another way out. Yes. In a system that no one has explored.

Beautiful chaos! Doom!

They portrayed that tenuous strand of humanity well – that one that’s so easily snapped when people are put in a crisis. It brings to life the grit and harsh decisions people must make when forced into a survival situation.

The underwater footage is fantastic, interesting shots and the terrain is varied more than the norm for films of this nature. The actors sank into their roles and brought the suspense and drama out even more.

Dun dun dun!

Our first grave, one year later.  It’s complete and growing in nicely. Just need Lain to engrave it – muahahhaha! Whatever shall we put upon it?

Most of the plants, except for the chives and decorative carpet plant (with the pink flowers), are from Richter’s Herbs out of Canada. They have wonderful plants – even rare ones – along with heirloom seeds and almost anything else an herbal garden needs. They ship the plants small, but with well established root systems, making the shipping costs nominal. Their plants show good growth the year that they’re planted and, as you can see, the next year they really pop!

Starting from back right, we have:

garden sage in almost full bloom

Further inward and center are a few neptella plants – they smell absolutely wonderful.

Middle right, off to the side of the grave proper, is a stray betony plant.  Betony makes a splendid tea that’s a caffeine-free alternative to black tea. It sorta tastes like black tea but…not exactly. I’ve had the betony plants for three years. They were originally in the front garden but I transplanted them to the graveyard where they’re doing much better.

The front two chive plants are from Lowes garden center. The rear one is from a packet of seeds that I unceremoniously dumped in there last spring.

To the front left is a thyme plant that’s trying to take over the universe.

Here’s a shot from a different angle:

In this one, you can see more of the betony that marks the second grave – still no headstone on that one yet.

I’m still hoping to get another headstone in before winter hits * crosses fingers * but we’ll see. We have the masonry mix for it, just need to make the mold, stir, pour and cast. Plus set into place, those buggers are heavy! So we pour on-site so it just needs shifting and sliding into the pre-dug hole. Annnd that sounded saucier than a headstone setting ought to sound!