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I had a family that lived next door to me that we weren’t too friendly with. They were very strange in a sort of Addams Family type of way. Now‚ I didn’t really mind that part about them. I actually find strange and weird people interesting‚ which probably says a lot more about me than anything else. What got to me‚ though‚ was that the father loved to mow the lawn on Sunday mornings at around 7:00 a.m. Our houses were so close together that he was right outside my windows with that lawn mower early in the morning. I The post 10 Perfect Songs To Annoy Your Neighbors appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Nearly 100 years after the legs of a giant statue of Pharoah Ramses II were found in Egypt‚ archaeologists have finally located his better half. It’s not his wife‚ but rather his torso‚ head‚ and shoulders‚ which together fit perfectly with the lower half kept in a museum for decades. With both halves together‚ the […] The post Archaeologists Unearth the Long-Lost Top Half of an Enormous Ramses II Statue appeared first on Good News Network.

Book Recommendations cover reveal Revealing The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong Check out the cover and an excerpt from Julie Leong’s debut fantasy! By Reactor | Published on March 18‚ 2024 Photo credit: Drew Regitsky icon-comment 1 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed Photo credit: Drew Regitsky A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in Julie Leong’s debut fantasy. We’re thrilled to share the cover and preview an excerpt from The Teller of Small Fortunes—forthcoming on November 5‚ 2024 from Ace‚ an imprint of Penguin Random House. Tao is an immigrant fortune teller‚ traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells ‘small’ fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…Even if it’s a lonely life‚ it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon‚ they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure‚ and–of course–a slightly magical cat. Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls‚ the shadows of her past are closing in–and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have. Buy the Book The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong Buy Book icon-close The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget Cover art by Devin Elle Kurtz; Design by Katie Anderson Julie Leong is a twenty-nine-year-old Chinese-Malaysian-American fantasy author. She grew up in Old Bridge‚ New Jersey‚ and lived in Beijing‚ China‚ for several years as a teenager. Her experiences of feeling too Asian for suburban America‚ and too American for China color her stories of identity and belonging. She studied economics and political science at Yale and now works at a startup‚ but she has always nurtured a deep love for sci-fi/fantasy beneath her corporate exterior. Julie lives in San Francisco‚ California‚ with her husband and their spoiled rescue pup‚ Kaya. When she’s not writing‚ she enjoys making unnecessary spreadsheets and flambéing things. CHAPTER ONE On the day the Teller of Small Fortunes came to Necker‚ the village was in an uproar because the candlemaker’s would-be apprentice had lost all the goats. Laohu plodded to a stop in the town square and Tao patted his rump. It had been a long day’s travel for them‚ through forest and field. The mule stamped his hooves and snorted relief to be done with it‚ his breath rising in steamy tendrils through the early-evening chill. It was Tao’s first time coming through Necker. She’d made good speed in anticipation of a hot meal and soft bed when they arrived‚ but the scene around her wagon gave her doubt she’d find much welcome at the moment. She sighed. Wrapping the reins loosely over a wagon shaft‚ Tao swung gracefully to the ground‚ looking around at the activity. They’d come to a stop just in front of a tavern—a handsome one‚ two full stories and larger than a village like Necker rightly needed. But where there should have been a crowd of well-fed villagers drinking ale‚ there was instead a strange assembly line‚ with rather a lot of yelling and chaotic banging of metal. “One bucket o’ grain and a bell to each! Hurry up now‚ take a bucket‚ there’s a good lad.” “And who’s to pay for all this grain‚ I’d like to know!” “Oh‚ stuff it‚ Mallack‚ we can sort payment later; the headman’ll pay you fair for the grain and you know that’s true.” “Yes‚ well‚ I’d like to be sure of the price afore all the grain is spilled through the woods halfway to the sea and none to account for it! There ought to be a premium for interrupting a man’s supper and raiding his stores without so much as a—” “You scoundrel! If we don’t find them‚ Necker’ll be a ruin and your mill with it‚ for who’ll buy your grain when there’s no goats to feed and no coin to pay with?” A teenage boy‚ gangly and flop-haired‚ sat on a stump some distance away‚ watching the commotion with a desolate expression. As he seemed to be the only one not rushing about‚ Tao chose to approach him first. “Hello‚” she said‚ walking up to him. “Can you tell me what’s happened‚ please?” The boy startled out of his misery to goggle at her. “You’re Shinn!” “I am‚” said Tao patiently. “Can you tell me what’s happened here?” “But you speak Eshteran!” said the boy. He squinted up at Tao with suspicion‚ as if expecting her foreign features—dark‚ hooded eyes; tawny skin; and black hair twisted up into a loose bun—to change before his eyes and better suit her speech. Tao sighed internally and tried a different tack. She flourished her cloak with one hand and bowed. “Greetings‚ young sir‚ from this humble traveler. I am a teller of fortunes from the faraway empire of Shinara‚ and have come to these lands to seek wisdom and learning.” “…in Necker?” said the boy‚ doubtful. “Wisdom can be found in all places‚” said Tao. She pressed her hands together with what she hoped was solemnity. “Wheresoever river inscribes rock with truth‚ and men fan flames of creation.” “Ah‚” said the boy‚ suitably impressed. “You’ll want old Derry the blacksmith and his forge‚ then? He’s holding a pail on the left‚ there.” They both looked over again at the assembly line‚ which had now been more or less equipped with buckets of grain and various noisemaking implements. The boy drooped further‚ all elbows and knees and teenage despair. “What are they doing with all that grain?” Tao asked. “They’re sending out search parties. I lost the goats‚ you see‚” the boy said miserably. “Arty had me watching the herd today‚ out in the west pasture‚ and I fell asleep after lunch‚ and when I woke‚ the goats were all gone. “And now the village’ll be ruined‚ and it’s all my fault‚ although how was I to know that the goats would rather climb down all those rocks than stay in a nice sunny pasture full of grass? I was to be the candlemaker’s apprentice‚ not a goatherd‚ and now who knows if Bern’ll still have me! I’m good with his bees; bees don’t make a fuss—they stay put where you want them‚ unless you fumble the hives—but Arty’s bad leg was twinging again‚ and I didn’t mind helping just for the day‚ and now look what’s happened. Stupid goats!” The words burst out of him all at once‚ a hot concoction of youthful indignation and shame. “Hm‚” said Tao. “Perhaps I can be of some assistance.” She strode to her wagon and leapt back up onto her driving perch‚ Laohu shuffling impatiently in his traces. But rather than pick up the reins again‚ Tao ducked beneath the glowing lanterns‚ swinging gently where they hung from the jutting ridge beam‚ and into the small wooden traveling wagon that served as home. A hanging curtain of embroidered canvas hid the interior from both rough weather and curious eyes; behind it was everything Tao owned‚ tucked away as neatly as could be managed in what might generously be called a storage chest on wheels. Pots and pans of various sizes hung on one wall from a crooked nail. Opposing them was what Tao thought of as her pantry: a small bag of winter apples; jars of grain and tea leaves strapped into place on their makeshift shelf; mint and nettle‚ hung in bunches to dry. Here‚ also‚ was her bedding: a few sacks of hay (which conveniently also served as Laohu’s feed—though it meant that when they went too long between resupplies‚ her sleep inevitably suffered for it) swaddled in thick woolen blankets. In all‚ it made for a cozy—if humble—nest But all this Tao took in with only a quick glance. Everything was where it should be. Which meant that what she needed would be in the back‚ where she kept the things most precious to her. Moving through the cramped space with the ease of familiarity‚ Tao sorted through the carefully wrapped bundles in the very rear of the wagon‚ behind the small stools and folding-table. From these bundles‚ she extracted a disc of hammered bronze‚ hung on a ribbon‚ and a small cloth-wrapped mallet. Grasping the ribbon and mallet in each hand‚ she ducked back out through the curtain‚ blinking in the warm glow of the swaying lantern light. Tao stood tall on the perch of her wagon (or as tall as her slight frame allowed)‚ made sure her hooded cloak was billowing impressively so that its blue velvet lining could be seen‚ lifted her chin‚ and—with ponderous ceremony—struck the disc. A low note tolled out‚ brassy and deep and authoritative‚ and a hush rolled out over the crowd of villagers as they finally noticed the young Shinn woman perched upon a traveling wagon in the middle of their square. Tao struck the gong once more‚ and the sound reverberated as all eyes fixed on her. “Greetings to the people of Necker!” she cried out into the general bafflement. “I am Tao‚ Teller of Small Fortunes.” She gestured grandly with the mallet toward the side of her wooden traveling wagon‚ where‚ indeed‚ TELLER OF SMALL FORTUNES was painted in neat black letters‚ along with the addendum‚ in much smaller lettering beneath: (no spells‚ potions‚ or ancient prophecies). “But tonight‚ I shall give you the gift‚ free of charge‚ of a Moderately Sized Fortune! You there‚ mistress.” Tao pointed at a harried-looking woman in an apron holding several buckets by the tavern door. “Tell me—is there a small stream‚ flowing through a grove of pines‚ just to the east?” “Aye‚ so there is‚” said the woman‚ narrowing her eyes. “And you‚ Master Arty‚” Tao pointed now at a rangy older man leaning heavily on his walking stick. “Tell me—are there plentiful berry brambles along that stream?” “Here now‚ how did you know my name?” Arty said in confusion‚ rubbing at his leg. “Yes‚ there are‚” cut in the aproned woman. “And so?” Tao spread her arms dramatically wide‚ closing her eyes and tilting her head back‚ as if listening to voices only she could hear. “People of Necker . . .” she intoned. “I have seen your goats! Look to the east where blackberries and cold mountain water meet‚ for there you shall find your herd!” The villagers burst into buzzing cacophony. As a teller of small fortunes‚ Tao didn’t often have a chance to play the showman‚ for she’d feel rather silly making such a fuss about announcing whether or not it’d rain next Scholarsday‚ or when the carpenter’s daughter’s warts would go away. But she had to admit—she rather enjoyed it when she could. “She’s Shinn‚ she is‚” cried the gangly boy‚ who had jumped up from his stump at her proclamation. “She sees things in rocks!” “And what’s a Shinn woman doing all the way out here in Necker‚ I’d like to know‚” said a woman with a pinched mouth and holding a broom. “How’d she know my name? I’ve never once been to Shinara in my life‚” shouted Arty over the din. “Enough‚ enough!” shouted the woman in the apron‚ banging a bucket with a wooden spoon to regain the crowd’s attention. “We’re losing the light if we mean to be finding these goats afore dark. Well now‚ this fortune teller says to look along the stream to the east‚ so someone may as well look there—we meant to search in all directions anyways.” A chorus of ayes met this decisiveness‚ and the villagers began pairing off and setting out in multiple directions‚ some glancing back at Tao and her wagon. The gangly boy dashed off to the east‚ having grabbed his own bucket of grain and yelling over his shoulder‚ “I’ll check the stream!” His hopes of redeeming himself had clearly been renewed by faith in Tao’s prophetic abilities. Tao bit back a smile‚ stowed the gong and mallet back inside her wagon‚ and climbed down to unhitch Laohu and await the outcome. The stream with the blackberry brambles wasn’t far—perhaps half an hour’s light run for a motivated youth with long legs. She had crossed it not long before she arrived in Necker‚ her wagon wheels rattling over the stones and Laohu laying his ears back at the cold water as he daintily lifted hooves high. Tao remembered leaning down from her wagon to grab a handful of the ripe blackberries‚ savoring each bright burst of sweetness as she ate them one at a time. What Tao also remembered was the sound of leafy chomping‚ the distinctive scent of livestock‚ and the even more distinctive caprine chorus of maas coming from behind the brambles as her wagon rolled on by. Excerpted from The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong Copyright © 2024 by Julie Leong. Excerpted by permission of Ace. All rights reserved. The post Revealing <;i>;The Teller of Small Fortunes<;/i>; by Julie Leong appeared first on Reactor.

Column Bigfoot Around the World: Finding Bigfoot Goes Overseas The search for the Yowie in Australia‚ the Orang Pendek in Sumatra‚ the Tari in Viet Nam‚ the Yeren in China‚ and the Yeti in Nepal… By Judith Tarr | Published on March 18‚ 2024 icon-comment 0 Share New Share Twitter Facebook Pinterest RSS Feed So far in this chapter of the SFF Bestiary I’ve focused more on the humans who hunt Bigfoot that on the cryptid itself. Bigfooters are an interesting subculture‚ not least for the persistence of their belief in a creature for which there is no convincing scientific evidence. And yet‚ there are all those stories‚ all over the world. The Finding Bigfoot team concentrated primarily on North America‚ but from Season 3 onward‚ once or twice each season they ventured overseas in search of other fabled primates. They searched for the Yowie in Australia‚ the Orang Pendek in Sumatra‚ the Tari in Viet Nam‚ the Yeren in China‚ the Yeti in Nepal‚ and somewhat anticlimactically‚ a combination of medieval legends and modern sightings of big hairy man-apes in the UK. The last featured two very American males in a Scottish forest at night‚ in kilts‚ in the worst infestation of midges in thirty years. Which pretty well sums up the experience of hunting the legendary Wild Man in the British Isles. It’s striking how consistent the stories are‚ and how old they purport to be. Native Americans and First Nations in North America knew various forms of the Sasquatch before European colonization. The Yowie is an Aboriginal tradition. In Asia‚ the stories are supposedly centuries old. The animal they describe is bipedal and covered in black or brown or reddish hair; Hollywood and graphic novels notwithstanding‚ the Yeti is the same color as the rest of its relatives‚ not white or light grey. Sasquatch appears to be the largest‚ but the Yowie is close‚ and the Yeren and the Tari and the Yeti are not much smaller. The Orang Pendek is more like what we might expect a known primate to be: about four feet tall‚ but massive and powerful‚ with huge arms. The Finding Bigfoot team keeps noting how similar each subspecies is to the Sasquatch. There are variations‚ but they’re fairly minor. Bigfoot vocalizations are not that far off the hoots and howls of the Yowie or the Tari or the Yeti‚ or the birdlike chittering of the Yeti or the Yeren. And of course there are the very large‚ very wide tracks that give Bigfoot its best-known name. All of these primates seem to gravitate toward mountains and forests. Even the Yeti or Abominable Snowman does not actually live in the snows of the Himalayas. It lives in the deep‚ richly forested‚ well-watered valleys below the peaks. Sasquatch is an omnivore‚ and most of its cousins seem to be as well. The Orang Pendek may be an outlier: it raids farmsteads on the edges of the jungle‚ and steals the farmers’ crops‚ which indicates it may be vegetarian. There are stories of the Yowie stealing goats and gutting them and hanging them in trees‚ but it may also graze on plants. The Yeti has been seen beside rivers or ponds‚ hunting for frogs. The Tari‚ it’s said‚ will grab you by the arm in daylight and hold you until dark‚ and then eat you; but that’s unusual in Bigfoot lore. Bigfoot in general is a peaceable creature‚ shy and elusive‚ much more likely to run away from a human than to attack. It’s so elusive in fact that no one has been able to prove its existence. There’s no concrete evidence. With one controversial exception. The Finding Bigfoot crew travels to Pangboche Monastery in Nepal‚ which guards a unique treasure: an arm and part of a skull that purports to be that of a Yeti. The arm is large‚ long‚ with long‚ skeletal fingers‚ and the skull is a pointed dome with a rim of short reddish hair. Peter Byrne‚ one of the first Westerners to make a career of hunting the Yeti‚ claims to have stolen one of the fingers and taken it back to London‚ where it was determined to be human. The crew doesn’t believe it‚ of course. The proportions are too far off. The fingers are too long. It has to be a Yeti. The skull is definitely not human. Its shape is similar to that of the Sasquatch‚ tall and pointed. Matt has a theory about it. The head shape evolved‚ he opines‚ for living in rainy areas‚ “like a peaked roof.” The episode glosses over a truly wild saga‚ naming only Yeti hunters Peter Byrne and Tom Slick‚ and not even mentioning a possible connection with actor Jimmy Stewart and his wife Gloria. The upshot is that the relics are most probably faked‚ and at least part of the hand is human. The whole thing seems to owe more to the ethos of P.T. Barnum than to credible science. And yet‚ as resident skeptic and field biologist Ranae notes‚ it’s not entirely unlikely that an unknown primate might exist in the remoter parts of the world‚ which would include the Australian rain forest‚ the Indonesian jungle‚ and the valleys of the Himalayas. Her teammate Cliff Barackman points out the recent discovery in Southeast Asia of a largeish bovid‚ the Saola or Vu Quang ox. If an animal the size of a good-sized cow can hide in the jungle‚ why not a large ape? Both Viet Nam and China have lent official credence to the existence of their countries’ respective forms of Bigfoot. Viet Nam has a national park designated as a reserve for the Tari‚ despite the lack of concrete evidence that the creature exists. The Chinese government has mounted expeditions to search for the Yeren‚ and welcomed the team with great ceremony when they arrived in Shennongjia in the mountains of central China. It’s a sharp contrast with the skepticism they met elsewhere. I’m indebted to the Finding Bigfoot team for compiling all these stories and traveling to the places where they’re told. It’s a great summary of the lore‚ and a solid overview of the big-hairy-primate variety of cryptid. Wherever the story comes from‚ whatever it’s based on‚ it goes way‚ way back. Who knows; maybe it’s a memory of a time when more than one species of hominid lived in the world.[end-mark] The post Bigfoot Around the World: <;i>;Finding Bigfoot<;/i>; Goes Overseas appeared first on Reactor.

Match-3 games have taken mobile gaming by storm‚ and one of the best is Royal Match. If you have exhausted everything Royal Match offers or are just interested in trying something new but similar‚ this is the guide for you. This article explores 10 games similar to Royal Match in terms of gameplay‚ visual style‚ and addictive nature.  Mayor Match Image: Rollic Games Mayor Match is so similar to Royal Match that I wouldn’t blame you if you thought the game was a sequel. It follows the same premise: Match three colored items in a row to earn points and level up your area. This time‚ your area is the Mayor’s house instead of a castle. The artwork is nearly identical‚ with the same style and vibe. Royal Match and Mayor Match resemble each other so much that even the main character looks the same. Toon Blast Image: Peak Out of all the games mentioned in this list‚ Toon Blast is my favorite. I used to spend hours playing this mobile game because it ...

The Rev. Dr. Taylor Filmore Ealy faced many struggles‚ most not of his own making‚ while a Presbyterian medical missionary between 1874 and 1881—first at Fort Arbuckle‚ on the Chickasaw Reservation in Oklahoma Territory; then in volatile Lincoln‚ New Mexico Territory; and finally at Zuni Pueblo‚ also in New Mexico Territory. Some of that time he kept a journal. Daughter Ruth drew on his journal entries‚ as well as the recollections and correspondence of her father and mother‚ Mary‚ to write Water in a Thirsty Land—first privately issued in 1955 in a limited edition of 40 copies. Editor David Thomas resurrects the Ealy chronicle as Vol. 10 of Doc45’s Mesilla Valley History series. In his excellent introduction Thomas provides not only overviews of the three Western locales where the Ealys lived‚ but also brief biographies of the major figures in Ruth’s narrative. Perhaps of greatest interest is the time the Ealys spent in Lincoln‚ as the family arrived on the day murdered English rancher John Tunstall’s body was brought into town. It was the latter’s murder that triggered the 1878 Lincoln County War‚ and it was the Rev. Dr. Ealy who delivered Tunstall’s funeral oration at the home of Alexander McSween. Forty-one days later the doctor and family witnessed the killing of Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady and Deputy George Hindman‚ and the Ealys were also present for the five-day shootout in Lincoln that culminated with the burning of the McSween house and Alexander’s murder. In his journal Ealy noted that Colonel Nathan Dudley‚ the commander at Fort Stanton‚ “refused to protect McSween and ordered his men not to fire over Dudley’s camp‚ or he would turn the cannon on them. My wife read his note to reply to McSween’s request for protection. McSween’s house‚ where his party had taken refuge‚ was deliberately set on fire.” Such violence is what ultimately drove the family out of Lincoln. The Rev. Dr. Ealy then spent nearly three years as a missionary teacher at Zuni Pueblo‚ 150 miles west of Albuquerque. There was no gunplay there‚ but Ealy experienced plenty of cultural shock. “He had gained the respect of many of the Indians who more and more were beginning to realize the value of an education‚” wrote Ruth (who was born in East Waterford‚ Pa.‚ in 1877 and died in St. Petersburg‚ Fla.‚ in 1959). “The religious dances still interfered with the school attendance‚ it is true‚ but the children seemed to be enjoying their schoolwork. He had learned to like his Indian friends.” It was—and remains—mighty dry country‚ and Ealy often noted in his journal how the Zunis danced day and night for rain.  Water in a Thirsty Land By Ruth R. Ealy‚ edited by David Thomas‚ Doc45 Publishing‚ 2022 get it on amazon If you buy something through our site‚ we might earn a commission.

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