An old favourite on in the car today. Northward was a one-off collaboration between Floor Jansen (After Forever, Nightwish) and Jorn Viggo Lofstad (Norwegian band Pagan Mind). They wrote the songs in 2007-08 when Floor was on a break from After Forever (the band eventually broke up) but didn't get a chance to actually record them until 2017, by which point she in Nightwish who were on a break between tours at the time. And it's a marvellous album, with Floor in fine form on vocals, some incredible guitar work from Jorn, and some wonderful songs. Floor's sister Irene, also an accomplished rock singer, makes an appearance, too. In terms of the sound, they went for hard rock rather than metal, the usual genre for both in those days. For my money, it's the best album Floor has done outside of her work in Nightwish.

This is the only official video from the project, which never toured and has never released another album (much as fans of Floor might wish). Floor does perform some of the songs in her solo concerts and her song "My Paragon" from her debut solo album Paragon is, at least partly, a response to the song "Paragon" that she and Jorn co-wrote for Northward so the project is certainly not forgotten.

Hm. Quiet. Brews a fresh batch of coffee. Puts on more tea.

Busy trying to sort out next vacation. Had been looking at Greece and the Aegean Islands but with the earthquake situation on Santorini and neighbours right now, we are rethinking. Hopefully would die down by the time we go, but geologists don't seem too sure where it is all headed.

Ape here.

Fire Roasted Fireside coffee is brewing. There's English Breakfast and Raspberry Royale in the teapots. Hot water is on standby for other teas and hot chocolate. There's sodas in the fridge for those sweltering in the South.

With new music from Ukrainian metal band Jinjer due on Friday, my driving music today was Wallflower, their last album from 2021. This is the title track.

And also from the album.

Jesus Christ Superstar

New Marvel teaser out and, while I have largely given up on the MCU, this looks promising. It seems to be its own thing rather than tied tightly to the rest of the MCU and really looks like a live action Fantastic Four comic. That said, this is the third attempt at doing the FF on screen and the others ... yeah, kinda sucked. Maybe they'll get it right this time, though??

Wine. Never been fond of beer even if I hit the odd one I like.

Pop or juice?

A rather silly punk pop song I came across last night.

Omelette. Generally not fond of eggs, and still very, very not fond of scrambled, but I have developed a taste for omelettes.

Rice or potatoes?

Finished Byzantium. Interesting approach to writing a history book. Instead of being rigidly chronological, she looks at how various facets of the Byzantine Greek culture, including the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity, developed. So you have chapters on things like icons and the controversies around them, the empire's relationship with Islam when the Arabs expanded, the economy, and so on.

And then read How Did T. Rex Run? by David Hone, an interesting look at paleontology focused more on the unanswered questions and what we still don't know than on facts and figures about dinosaurs.

Now supposed to be reading another history book by Judith Herrin but, as often seems to happen at home, I'm getting a bit bogged down by life. This one is about Ravenna, Italy during the period when it was the capital of the crumbling Western Roman Empire.

I can take either but Beef is the more flavourful and we don't eat it much, so maybe that.

Concert or Musical?

Quote by CuriousAnnie
Cruises, I did one as a fifteen year old, from Vancouver to Alaska on Celebrity with my parents and one brother. We all loved it

We did Alaska when our son was around that age (out of Seattle). Yeah, that and the Baltic have been my favourite cruises.

37 in the mountains? Eek. I have only been in temps like that once, SW US in August. But I preferred that to the humidity we get around here.

Good morning. Coffee is on. Deathwish Dark Roast today. For teas we have an organic Assam and Earl Grey Cream. Hot water is on for other hot drinks. Sodas are stocked.

Have a good one!

Heaven Can Wait

Quote by AnnaMayZing

I liked Marianne but the song that really struck me was The Ballad of Lucy Jordan from 1979. It was originally a hit for Dr Hook and the Travelling Medicine Show, who released it as The Ballad of Lucy Jordon in 1974. Marianne totally made it her own.

Yeah, I posted her version in the music thread on another site. It's an amazing song that I have heard several versions of over the years but I had not heard Marianne's until today. She nails it.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

At home (winter), outdoors (summer). No gym.

(Meagananne didn't give us a new this or that so I'm using Gil's)

Supermarket or farmer's market?

First Monday of the month so it's time. What do we got this month? Hmmm. Cottage crimes, furries, non-fiction monsters, cryptids, illumination, humourous fresh starts, and more.

» 39 Themed Submission Calls for February 2025

Taking a break from metal today. Marianne Faithfull died last week and I've been meaning to listen to her. There's a "This Is" playlist for her on Spotify that was recommended for obvious reasons so I'm listening to it.

I thought I had the wrong list at first because it kicked off with ... thrash metal? But no, it was the right list. Marianne actually collaborated with Metallica on a song for their album Reload. And not one of their power ballads either. It's a banger.

The song that pretty much made her career and is, for me, one of the most beautiful songs of the Sixties is "As Tears Go By" written for her by Mick Jagger (her partner for a period) and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. While I have heard a Stones version with Mick singing it, teenaged Marianne (she's 18 here) is just so perfect for this song.

Have a heart, eh. Good morning. Thanks for the setup, Bear.

Bit grey and meh here and I am nursing the last remnants of last night's headache. Not much else to report. No writing on the weekend, at least for here (got a poem up on another site). Not even sure what to write so maybe my resolution to stick to comps for this year will hold. We shall see.

Later, alligators.

Yeesh, quiet. Coffee and tea are refreshed since they were getting cold and stale. Fresh hot water is out, too.

Looking at a story I was working last Fall to see if I feel ready to pick it up again.

Nice song that popped up in my recommendations. I assume that it got recommended because the bass player is Finnish bassist Marko Hietala, of whom I am a fan. Kind of fits with a story I have got on the go. It opens with a boat caught in a storm. Singer is Indian but her band on this track is all Finns.

Okay, sorry, I am here. Just kind of busy and still settling back into normal life.

Vibes on your dad, Gil. Dealing with that family stuff is always difficult.

Sunny here but chilly, only -9C going to a high of -7. At least the sun will make it feel warmer.

How about some nice FireRoasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe for the coffee crowd?

For teas, we got Tetley Black Currant and Organic Assam.

Hot water is always available if other teas or hot chocolate are your poison. Sodas and filtered water can be found in the fridge if you're needing something cooler.

Hello, SS!!

Quote by verbal
You’ve got me hankering to try a cruise now.

Try Alaska. Those cruises run out of Seattle and Vancouver which would be closer to you than the Southern ports where the Caribbean cruise homeport. The Alaska season is kind of May-September, vs. the Caribbean season which runs from November to March (basically outside hurricane season). If you're doing a warm weather cruise, though, most are out of Florida with Galveston and New Orleans as the main non-Florida ports. I haven't sailed from the former yet, but we did the Bahamas out of the Big Easy as our first post-pandemic cruise, as much because I know what it means to miss New Orleans as for the cruise itself.😋

As for lines, Carnival is good but my boss and son have both referred to it as the Walmart of cruise lines. Cheaper, and it shows in some ways. We did Celebrity and Norwegian last year and there are some noticeable differences. For instance, Carnival only has basic black, decaf, and green teas included while Norwegian offers a great selection of Bigelow's, one of my favourite bag teas. If you want any teas beyond the basics on Carnival, it's US$3.99 PER BAG!!!! I can get top grade loose leaf for less than that. They also skew a bit younger, with more families and a bit of a party scene. Celebrity, I think we had one family on board and we seemed to be among the younger cruisers. Forget what the age range on Norwegian was like but it was a Baltic cruise which is going to skew differently from the winter vacation crowd anyhow.

Most of the differences don't bother us and Carnival offers a great selection of itineraries so we usually check Carnival first, then go to other lines if we can't find an itinerary we like with them (which is how we ended up using Celebrity and Norwegian last year). Also we are Gold members in Carnival's VIFP frequent cruiser program so now get some mild perks (one free drink on longer cruises for instance) out of that.

FYI, Carnival seems to own like half the industry now, with Princess, Holland America, Cunard, and Costa being among the lines they own. Our ship this time was actually a Costa ship originally that they transferred to Carnival and rebranded. It still had the original Costa funnel as I realized when we docked next to a Costa ship in one of our ports. Not sure if that is why, but we didn't like it as much as some of the other Carnival ships we have been on.

Quote by WriterGirl
There’s a poetry comp announced, you know

Oo, thanks for pointing that out. I actually have not been there since leaving for my vacation. Was not going to go back anytime soon, either but you changed my mind.

Good morning. I am back on Canadian soil, or at least Canadian snow. In honour of that, I have brewed some Tobermory Grotto coffee and Canadian breakfast tea. There's also my famous pancakes with real Canadian maple syrup.

Hello from Orlando International Airport. Cruise is over, now we are awaiting our flight to Detroit, first leg of our return home. Still some Carnival goodies left so I will just make fresh coffee and tea.

I am having thoughts about my writing and life that will impact my presence here. Basically, I really want to get back to reading more so I am thinking of doing comps only for the next year. That said, it is something that will likely fall by the wayside as soon as a new story idea hits. I am reading mostly late Roman and Byzantine history so something set in that world is not off the table.

Good morning from somewhere off the coast of Florida. Bumpy day at sea. Only really bad one this cruise, though

There's some genuine Carnival cruise coffee in an urn and some Lipton's Orange Pekoe and Bigelow's Green teas in the teapots. Snacks are Carnival banana bread (which is delish) and sticky buns. Yep, it's cruise day in Inspirations.

Quote by verbal
I’m a big Dylan guy,

I have kind of mixed feelings about Bob. Love him as a writer and composer but have never warmed up to that voice. Still listen to him but when push comes to shove, a lot of my favourite Dylan songs are covers by others. Strangely, I was kind of like that with Leonard Cohen but came to love the way his voice developed later in life.

Quote by verbal

I wrote a hopeful thing yesterday. https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/memoirs/sunshine-2

Hopeful and good. Well, I likes it at least.

Good afternoon from St. Kitt's. Rather muggy with occasional showers but we made it through a four hour tour of the island. We have been here before on an earlier cruise but it is a fairly scenic place so not complaining about being back.

So we are back on the ship trying to relax on Serenity, the adults only deck, but there's a band playing loud on the ship across the pier from us. Right now they are covering Bon Jovi, which I can live with but it's not really what I want right now. Playing black metal at full volume can't drown it out. Are full broadside cannon volleys still legal in the Caribbean? ☠️😄