There are two main schools of thought when it comes to lighting. One is to light your subject in a way that is not grounded in reality but merely looks cool. And the other is to use lighting to translate the way your eye sees light into a way that your camera can better understand it. 

That latter choice is the option we'll be exploring today in a walk-through of a sunset portrait of artist Wendy Ng for the Howard County Conservancy. 

Read more »

At first glance: a simple, one-light portrait of activist gardener Janssen Evelyn.

Dig deeper: a look at tonal mapping via specular highlights, stretching the range of your modestly powered flash, and how to discover your next project.

Read more »

Lighting with flash can give you more than just the ability to control the quality of your light. With the inherent consistency of light from (manual) flash, you can layer in slices of time as well. 

But first, you’ll want to lock down two things: the ambient light portion of your exposure, and your camera’s physical position.

Read more »

Главным событием ближайших недель будут, конечно же, кометы: C/2023 A3 (Цзыцзиньшань — ATLAS) и C/2024 S1, также обнаруженная системой ATLAS 27 сентября 2024 года.
Астрономы обнаружили уникальную тройную звездную систему под названием TIC 290061484. «Трисолярис» (как в книге «Задача трех тел» Лю Цысиня) был обнаружен с помощью спутника NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
Последние исследования, проведенные с помощью спектрографа ESPRESSO, установленного на VLT (Очень Большом Телескопе) в обсерватории Паранал (ESO, Чили), после четырех лет наблюдений дали интересные результаты. У звезды Барнарда была обнаружена планета, получившая обозначение Barnard b. Этот мир, масса которого предположительно превышает массу Марса, относится к категории субземных планет.
Космический аппарат «Вояджер-2» вышел в межзвездное пространство в 2018 году. Для поддержания работы научных приборов стареющий космический аппарат, страдающий от сокращения запасов энергии, уже начал использовать небольшой резерв, предусмотренный бортовым механизмом безопасности. Поэтому инженеры миссии пришли к решению отключить один из приборов с целью сохранения общей работоспособности.
Изображение номера — пара взаимодействующих галактик Arp 107.

Сообщение Астроновости: кометы октября, рекордный «Трисолярис», планеты у Летящей Барнарда и продление жизни «Вояджера‑2» появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Актуальность Дарвина. Экспансия Маска. Памяти нобелевского лауреата Ли Цзундао. Алексей Кудря: Астроновости. О пользе предрассудков для развития науки. Отвечаем почти на всё. Самая яркая конференция в моей жизни. Бомба и только бомба. Мыслить носом.

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Сообщение ТрВ № 20 (414) за 2024 г.: Актуальность Дарвина появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

В поколении людей, родившихся в 1930-е годы, были невероятно талантливые ученые, среди которых можно назвать Серафиму Евгеньевну Никитину. С. Е. обладала множеством способностей. Она могла бы стать певицей или актрисой, музыковедом, этнографом, географом, биологом, физиком или химиком (химиками были ее родители, а старший брат — физиком). Но стала филологом, и филологом необыкновенным, многопрофильным.

Сообщение Серафима Евгеньевна Никитина (01.09.1938–02.10.2024) появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Так получилось, что в этом году сразу в трех семьях моих близких друзей дети (две девочки и мальчик) окончили школу. И все благополучно поступили в вузы. Когда смотришь на этих ребят, остается надежда на то, что у страны есть будущее. Обе девчонки (без преувеличения, умницы и красавицы) выбрали лингвистику как основу своей будущей профессии. Причем одна из них пошла совсем уж, на мой взгляд, тернистым путем, решив продолжить обучение в Германии. И успешно, не без помощи терпеливых и понимающих родителей, конечно, преодолела первый этап квеста.

Сообщение Как поступить в немецкий вуз в 2024 году? появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Ведущий специалист в области искусственного интеллекта и методов машинного обучения Сергей Марков отвечает на вопросы Алексея Кудря и нейронных сетей.

Сообщение О Нобелевской премии 2024 года и ИИ появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Нобель по молекулярной биологии. Пионеры нейронных сетей. Уроки корейского. Комета Цзыцзиньшань — ATLAS, полет к Европе, вспышка в Малом Магеллановом Облаке. Две межпланетные миссии. К гравитационному телескопу — под солнечным парусом. Из троицкой гимназии — в немецкий вуз. «Ее доклады превращались в настоящие концерты». Пункт приема стеклотары рядом с Театром на Таганке.

ТрВ-Наука № 415 от 22 октября 2024 года в PDF
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Сообщение ТрВ № 21 (415) за 2024 г.: Нобель по молекулярной биологии появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

Любительская астрономия сегодня. Сюрприз микроквазара SS433, подробности миссии Artemis 3, пик солнечной активности… Слет специалистов по двукрылым. Дорога в космос. Принципу запрета Паули — сто лет. Революция в языке. Самоходные статуи в Сивцевом Вражке.

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Сообщение ТрВ № 22 (416) за 2024 г.: Не думай об аттосекундах свысока появились сначала на Троицкий вариант — Наука.

 

Everyone's talking about 2012 these days. But what is it really all about?

It's about a lot of things, all coming together. It's about the state of the world, and where it's going.

It's all about life, the future, and humanity's destiny.

Want to know what will happen in 2012? Want to know how to survive these tumultuous times?

The articles in this section will tell you what you need to know about the Transition coming up, including how you can both keep yourself safe and contribute to the well-being of the Earth at the same time.

NOTE: Until this section is finished, not all the links will be working. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it does take time to put it all together.

At this point, only 1 article is still awaiting completion! -- Heal the World: What You Can Do.

See the menu at the bottom of the page by clicking on the pentacle bar below, to find all the articles in this section.

 

The first place to begin is by clearing the confusion of information that's out there, sorting out the facts from the speculation.

So many websites are just repeating each other, even the stuff that's wrong!

What is real, about 2012? What is just confusion? What is illusion?

Find out what I've discovered in my research.

Indian, Mayan, Hopi, and other ancient sages left us calendars that seem to end on Dec 21, 2012. This date is called The Shift of Ages, The End of Time, etc.

Does this mean it's the end of the world?

Well, yes and no.

It's not doomsday, any more than the end of our yearly calendar on December 31st means the end of life.

But it IS the end of the world as we've known it.

Do you need to panic? No... read this article to find out why.

Astrology is the holographic image of life on Earth, projected onto the galactic screen. (Or vice versa.)

Everything in the universe is a 3-dimensional living hologram of the whole universe. That's what it means when poets speak of seeing the world in a grain of sand, and saints speak of knowing that one thing by which all things may be known (the self, that is).

So astrology resonates with what we experience on Earth.

In astrological terms, 2012 signals the Shift of Ages. We leave the age of Pisces the fish (also known as the Christian age) and enter the age of Aquarius the water bearer.

What does the Age of Aquarius herald? Find out more about the Age of Aquarius here.

The year 2012 is not a date picked at random. It's a very precise astronomical moment. It represents the turning of both the Great Year and the Galactic Year, as well as the Seasonal Year.

There's a lot of confusion about these cycles. I've seen websites saying the Galactic Year is 26,000 years long. They're confusing two great cycles.

Find out more about this Galactic Alignment.

The Indian texts and Greek/Roman mythology, we are currently living in the Iron Age, the Age of Kali (Kali Yuga). This is a time of metaphorical darkness, a dearth of spirituality and the dominance of ego/intellect over soul/heart.

The turning of the astronomical Year, just as in the Earth's seasonal year, represents a turning from the darkness and entering into Light.

The fact that two momentous and one smaller but potent cycles are simultaneously turning toward the Light is particularly significant. The power behind this transformation is immense!

Like seasons, fading from winter to spring, December 21 2012 is the official first day of Galactic -- and spiritual -- Spring.

But just like the Earth's seasons, it doesn't change like a door opening and closing. It's a process, a gradual shift from the season of darkness to the season of light.

And we are well into the 2012 Transition!

25 years before the year2012, an exceptional alignment of eight planets, including the Sun and Moon, were aligned in an unusual configuration called a Grand Trine.

At this time, there was tremendous energy to shift the planet from an energy of conflict and violence to an energy of cooperation and peace.

This is considered by many to be the clearest starting point for the 2012 Transition.

This was a pivotal year. On the Mayan Calendar, it signaled the shift into Galactic Consciousness.

You may have noticed that consciousness did shift dramatically and suddenly that year.

For example, in early 1999, Climate Change was still a fringe concept, actively being discredited by the government. By late 1999, an amazing shift had taken place: Climate Change was suddenly accepted as a reality by everyone. It was no longer seriously disputed except by the most gullible or sceptical.

There was no definitive reason for this shift in the Climate Change debates. Suddenly, without reason, it was just accepted by the global consciousness.

This is just one example of a world-wide transition.

2010 was another pivotal year, though in a different way. There was a strong energy dynamic that could have led to extreme violence and another world war. But that deadly potential was defused, and 2010 passed calmly.

What didn't get noticed, therefore, was the fact that by 2010, humanity had already made the shift toward peace consciousness.

You may not have noticed this if you were paying attention to all the stupid wars still going on, but against the possibility of world-wide nuclear war, we did pretty well.

And it's only going to get better!

To find out more about the significant dates in this Shift of Ages, see this article.

Let me state it plainly, in case you have any lingering doubts:

December 21, 2012 is not the apocalypse, doomsday, destruction of the Earth, end of all life, or even the end of civilisation as we know it (more or less).

The year 2012 is a point of transition, when we've irrevocably crossed a boundary into a new way of being, a new paradigm.

The question remains: what will be the new paradigm?

It can signal the end of a lo-o-o-o-o-o-ong era of darkness and a rebirth into Lightness of being. Or, potentially, it could be the release of humans from physical form on the Earth.

The really neat thing is we get to decide which!

What do we do about this change? How do we survive 2012?

That's what the Hopi Prophecy is about. It describes the two options we have, and how we get to choose.

One is very unpleasant. But one is very lovely.

Which would you prefer?

Either way, you have the power to make it happen!

The Mayan Calendar also gives us clues about Surviving the 2012 Transition.

No matter what's going to happen, this is undoubtedly a time of cataclysmic change. It's challenging for all of us.

With the right approach and tools, though, we can make the transition smoother for ourselves, and more beneficial to the Earth.

Find out the secrets to surviving the Shift of the Ages .

(All the articles in this section after this page, will continue the theme of surviving the Shift of Ages.)

You may be asking yourself why evil and darkness seem so much more pervasive, so much more powerful than ever, if we really are transitioning to a brighter future.

It's simple.

It's the last, desperate scream of a dying dinosaur.

The resistance to the Shift seems bigger than it is because it's so loud, but it's loud out of fear and pain and defiance of its own transformation. The ego-world is dying, and doesn't trust that it will evolve into something beautiful.

After the dinosaurs, came the birds.

But the dinosaurs would avoid that if they could.

Luckily for the world, they can't!

With Bright Blessings,

What are the Hopi prophecies, and how are they linked to the year 2012?

I'm so glad you asked!  Of all the 2012 predictions, these are the most important and exciting, because they not only foretell the 2012 Transition, they tell us what we can do about it.

This article reveals the signs of the end of the World Age, according to the Hopi prophecies... and what that means, in their point of view.

The Hopi nation, on the Arizona lands, has highly spiritual values. Hopi means peace; their name for themselves is the Peaceful People. The rituals they do are for the benefit not just of themselves but of the whole world. The clans are matrilineal, and with a balance of power between females and males. Life is religion, in Hopi culture.

The Hopi have carried an oral tradition for centuries. The Hopi prophecies come from that tradition, and they tell of the signs that will presage the end of the World Age (ie, Fourth World) and our entry into the Fifth World.

Note: I'd like to be clear that the Hopi's, as far as I know, didn't give a date for the end of the Fourth World. That's the point of all the prophecies: they will give us warning.

But since all of these prophecies have already come true, and since other sources give us a calendar date for the end of a world age, it seems clear that the Hopi prophecies are talking about the 2012 Transition.

 

Prophecy of the Theft of the Land: There will come a nation of white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs.

(European conquest of the Americas.)

Prophecy of Thunder Strikers: These white-skinned men will strike and kill their enemies with thunder.

(Firearms.)

Prophecy of Wheels : Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices.

(Wagons moving west.)

Prophecy of Horned Creatures: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers.

(Longhorn cattle.)

Prophecy of Iron Snakes: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron.

(Railroads.)

Prophecy of the Skies: The skies shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web, and the white man will put metal wires in the skies.

(Chemical trails deposited by military aircraft, and power and telephone lines.)

Prophecy of Rivers of Stone: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun.

(Paved roads -- heat mirages.)

Prophecy of Black Seas: The sea will turn black, killing many living creatures.

(Oil spills.)

Prophecy of Seekers: Many youth, wearing their hair long, join the tribal nations to learn their ways and ancient wisdom.

(Hippies and generations of spiritual seekers.)

Prophecy of the House in the Sky: A dwelling-place will be built in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star.

(Skylab, which according to witnesses seemed to be burning blue as it fell.)

Prophecy of Ashes: The white man will create a Gourd of Ashes that will lay waste to the land and keep it infertile for generations.

(Atomic bombs and radiation.)

Prophecy of Moon Theft: The white man will steal rocks from the moon. Then the balance of universal laws and natural forces will be disrupted, causing earthquakes, severe changes in the weather patterns, and social upheaval. This is a danger sign, that we are in the final days before the purification.

(The Apollo moon landings. As a Wiccan and Pagan, I can only feel this theft from the Temple of the Goddess to be a terrible desecration, but infinitely worse is the massive bomb the USA exploded on the Moon!)

The Hopi prophecies are clear and explicit signs that the end of the Fourth World Age is coming.

They don't see this as a bad thing, even though they foresaw that they would lose their lands, their ways, and many of their people. They also foresaw that it was temporary, and the wheel of life would turn again to their ways.

Although -- according to the Hopi prophecies -- the imminent Fifth World Age will be preceded by an intense cleansing (expressed in some forms as massive and frequent natural disasters), still there is a positive future ahead.

What is even more important than these oracular signs, in my opinion, are the Hopi prophecies that explain how to survive this transition, minimise the harm, and create the best possible future.

That is the subject of the first article on The Hopi Prophecies.

The Hopi are not, by any means, the only aboriginal nation to have prophecied the dark times, and the end of them.

Other nations around the world and throughout history have similar predictions.

Continue to the article on Indian Vedic2012 Predictions to find out more.

With Bright Blessings,

Surviving 2012 -- There's definitely a trick to it! Part of the trick is simple knowledge. You need to understand what's going on.

When you know what's really going on, it can't hurt you (as much). When you know you've got stairs ahead of you, you're not going to trip on them and fall!

This also helps you develop the mindset that will sail you safely through these troubled times.

The other part of the trick is taking appropriate action. What is appropriate action during the 2012 Transition? That's what the rest of the 2012 articles are about.

In these articles, we'll start with the broad strokes, and then progress to the day-to-day details.

So here are the secrets and strategies for surviving 2012.

Surviving 2012 has become a very hot topic, but wrapped up in that one little phrase is actually 3 questions ... Can we physically survive "the end of the world," and if so, how? How can we influence the outcome of 2012, to avoid an apocalypse? How do we cope with these rapid fire, incredible changes and traumas?

The first question is covered in this article on What Will Happen in 2012.

The second is answered in the article on the Hopi Prophecies -- It describes the two options we have, and how we get to choose which path our future will take.

This article on Surviving 2012, and the rest of the 2012 section, deals with the third question. It will help you understand and deal with the effects of this time of transition -- the emotional and psychological challenges.

Because an unbalanced emotional or mental state, at this stage of the game, can be fatal.

In particular, the following articles explain not only how to get through this in one piece, but how to be part of healing the world, because at this point they are both the same thing.

Don't you feel, these days, like... you're being swept down a rapid river of life, and don't even have a paddle? everything is happening too fast, and you can't keep up? changes and surprises and challenges and catastrophes are coming at you (and the world) non-stop?

This is how everyone feels, these days. And that's because it's precisely what's happening.

Surviving 2012 is just a matter of knowing where to put your energy and what to let go.

The next several articles deal with this specifically...

As for surviving the 2012 Transition as a species, the Mayan Calendar also gives us clues.

With Bright Blessings,

Accessing the power of the Heart -- Intuition -- is fundamental to surviving the 2012 Transition.

As we've seen, the intellect can't function as the dominant modality any longer. The human brain doesn't have the ability, and even more important, it no longer has the prerogative.

The intellect (logic, rationality, materialism) has been the unchallenged overlord for millennia. But it has a number dire and insurmountable intrinsic flaws... It knows only what it sees/hears/touches/feels -- locked into material reality as the only thing of consequence. It is the slave to the ego's drive for comfort, control, and immediate physical survival at any cost. It is adept at rationalising even the most destructive, evil actions.It is designed to see what it wants and expects to see.It is cut off from Divine Wisdom and the ways of compassion.It is limited to a functional speed that is too slow to deal with the current speed of life.What other modality could have brought the entire planet to the brink of destruction? You can be sure that this is the paradigm that will also take us right over the edge, if we allow it.

We can't afford the intellect's self-delusions anymore.

If we are looking to prevent an apocalypse, we will need something completely different. As Einstein said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."

 

If the intellect can no longer guide us, what source of information is left?

Only our intuition.

Luckily, that's more than enough.

Intuitive insights are the new dominant modality of thought. Without them, you won't be surviving the 2012 Transition very well. Because this Transition is all about liberating the Power of the Heart, and intuition is the Heart's Voice.

The intuition speaks through the spiritual Heart. You might perceive it through your body's sensations. It may appear as an idea, a sound, or words. The important thing to know is, it doesn't originate in your own brain.

Intuition accesses the Source of all knowledge.

Everything that can be known, is known by this Source -- past, present, future, alternate dimensions, etc. It is the source of infinite knowledge.

So the question is no longer, "What is the logical choice?"

The fundamental question is, "What does your deepest Heart tell you?"

That is the Voice of the Divine.

Learning to distinguish this Voice from the urges of the ego/mind is the tricky bit.

That's what we'll look at next.

 

Learning to hear and understand the quiet Voice of your intuition takes practice. It's a little like developing an ear for music -- at first, you're not really sure what to listen for, or what a good one is like. With practice, you learn to hear more clearly.

Really, you can only learn by doing.

Follow your intuition!

Start with little things. Don't use your intuition, the very first time, to decide to move across the country or adopt a child or something. Because in the beginning, it's trial-and-error. Sometimes you will hear your intuition precisely. But sometimes you may not.

But begin paying attention to it. Your intuition knows more than you think!

There have been studies on women who've been attacked on the street, and every time, it seems, something inside of them was warning them -- but they ignored the warning because it seemed impolite to just walk away or whatever. And if you've heard stories about people who survive cataclysmic events, they usually say they "just had a feeling" and they followed it.

Your inner Voice knows infinitely more than your logical brain ever could!

As we proceed with the 2012 Transition, it's really time to access this source of infinite knowledge.

The biggest difficulty is that we also have another voice inside of us -- the voice of the personality/ego ... and it definitely has its own agenda.

Learning to differentiate between these is the real key to accessing intuition.

When you first begin trusting your intuitive guidance, you may find that it seems to lead you astray at times. What's really happened, of course, is that your ego has tricked you into thinking it was Divine guidance.

Nothing is as tricky as the ego!

There's also an element of deep trust that is needed, though. Sometimes even the best intuition will lead you into an unpleasant situation. But I can guarantee it's because that unpleasant situation will turn into something you really needed.

The biggest block to accessing intuitive guidance is a cluttered mind. When there are a lot of thoughts, worries, plans, grudges, desires, etc. taking up space, how could you even notice when the Divine quietly offers a bit of advice?

Clear your thoughts and quiet your mind.

Clear your emotions.

Only when your mind is empty of the ego's thoughts and drives, can you clearly hear the Divine's advice -- and be sure of it. Then your intuition will seem much more obvious, and it will not lead you astray.

Meditation is a perfect practice for this. That's why intuitive ideas so often pop up when you are meditating.

A Mind-Watch, or Purging Papers, as well, are wonderful for clearing the mind and emotions. Reflection (spiritual journalling) and working with symbolisms like in dreams and with Animal Spirit Guides are also extremely beneficial. There are some things you can do that are like exercises for developing your intuitive muscles.

Divination helps develop this skill. Tarot or runes or palm-reading, even astrology or numerology? anything that offers you guidelines to follow (like in a book) gives a great starting place for developing intuition.

As you begin to interpret your divination readings, you can rely on what you remember, or what jumps out at you, that you read in the book.

After a while, you will realise that you will remember or notice the precise bit that is most relevant. Your sixth sense is already at work, and without any pressure it can work most effectively.

Gradually, you will start to extrapolate... using what you read as a starting point and making intuitive leaps from there.

Eventually, you may notice that most or all of your reading becomes intuitive.

With Bright Blessings,

Surviving the 2012 Transition involves dealing with loads of uncertainty and requires continuous adaptation.

There is no avoiding it. The only constant anymore is constant change.

This is something our forebears didn't have to worry about. For hundreds of generations, nothing much changed. They could mosey along with their noses to the agricultural grindstone, doing the same thing their parents and grandparents and greatgrandparents did. We have it in our genes to like things this way (mostly).

But that's not the reality any longer.

Surviving 2012 calls for a different approach, because life is different... even from 10 years ago!

Changes that took millennia in the beginning of time, half a millennium around the time of Christ, and decades in the 1900's are now occurring at 20 day intervals! We can't see anymore where we're going or what's coming next -- the only certainty is that it's coming fast.

And we have to change the way we live, to live with the change.

 

The more you hang on to what you already know, what you're comfortable with, the harder these times will feel and the more difficulty you'll have surviving the 2012 Transition. We are all being called to immense rapid change. It's natural to want things to slow down... but they won't.

And the more you resist it, the more suffering you create for yourself.

So let go of resistance.

Accept that this is the new reality.

Practice letting go easily and flowing with the tide of change.

I call this Dancing Lightly On The Edge. If you're standing on ground that keeps shifting underfoot, you just have to stay light on your feet.

It's kind of like levitation. 

I read one guidebook on levitation said it's a matter of switching your gravitational "pole" -- instead of being held by the gravity of Earth, you are held by the gravity of the Sun or Moon or stars. Then you naturally "fall" upward.

If you can shift your "polarity" from worldly-existence to Divine-process, you will be upheld by that energy.

What I mean is by worldly existence is holding onto ideas like... "I have to look out for myself first" "It's work work work that makes the world go 'round" "I must stay in control in order to survive" "I want things to go back to the way they were" "I already know who I am, and all I need is better stuff and a more obliging lover to make me happy" "All that spiritual mumbo-jumbo is pure fantasy; the world is made of dead rock, man is at the pinnacle of evolution, and the physical world is real enough for me!"

This is a recipe for not surviving the 2012 Transition! It's a recipe for a very hard, unpleasant life!

The more you can switch to Divine process, the more easily, successfully, and beautifully your life will flow.

That means working from ideas like... "The more I help others, the more I ultimately help myself." "It's love that will save me, and compassionate kindness that will save the Earth." "I rest my life in the hands of the Divine, and so I am perfectly safe." "I am part of the most wondrous evolution ever experienced, and I am thrilled to allow it to flow through me." "I am Divine Light; I am Divine Love; I need nothing else: I am One with everything." "The only real reality is Consciousness."

Surviving 2012 is do-able. It may even be easy, depending on how well you master this skill.

In fact, it could very well be the best thing ever, as the entire planet is uplifted to this more beautiful state of consciousness!

With Bright Blessings,

Learn Astral Projection Easily-CLICK HERE!
11. How often should you project?
Once you learn how to Astral Project at will, you can project as often as you want to. But don’t forget that you have a life on the physical plane too. You need to  maintain a balance.
12. What is the real trigger to leave the body? Where it is located?
No one really knows where the real trigger to leave the body is located. But I believe that out of the seven major Energy Chakras in our spiritual body, the trigger lies in
the most active Chakra for that person. Most people report leaving through the Third-eye Charka, the Solar Plexus Chakra or the Heart Chakra
13. What can I do about my belief that I can only perceive through my physical senses?
Since our birth we have perceived everything through our physical senses. So it is very difficult to imagine that we can have other senses as well. The only way to shed that belief is to experience Astral Projection yourself. Once you are out of your body, you will realize that you can actually perceive your surrounding without the physical senses that we are so used to. Moreover, you will realize that your new set
of senses is much more enhanced and powerful.
14. While Astral Projecting are we able to use our senses? See in color, hear, feel cold or heat etc?
As mentioned in the answer to the previous question, in the astral plane, we do not use our physical senses. We can see, hear, and feel using our astral senses. I should also mention that we do not feel cold or hot in our astral body. If we do feel them, it is because our physical body is feeling hot or cold, and that feeling is  transferred to the astral body via the Silver Cord.
15. Can Astral Projection be done without being taught by some one specialized who knows what is going to happen?
Yes, Astral Projection can be done without being taught by someone. It might take you longer or you might do it the wrong way. But it can be done. There are many people who have done it alone consciously or unconsciously. But it always helps to have the right guidance.
16. What is the best time to practice Astral Projection? Day, night, or early in the
morning?
There is no best time to practice. But because of our busy lives, most people prefer to practice early in the morning or at night, before going to sleep. But if you have time, you can very well practice during the day.
17. Should I practice lying down or sitting cross-legged?
Astral Projection can be done in any position you are comfortable with. But I recommend the lying down posture, because this is the way we sleep, and it is very
natural. This position also distributes our weight throughout the body, and makes it easier for us to relax. But as I said, you can choose any position you want to. As long as you are comfortable                                   
18. I have heard of people who can Astral Project at will, like a normal daily activity. Can I do the same, whenever I command? If yes, when will I succeed?
Yes, there are many who can Astral Project at will. You can do it too. But to get to that stage, you have to project several times, get rid of your fears, get used to the astral environment, and you should have also learnt to control your thoughts.
19. Do I need to meditate first, enter a supportive state of mind to successfully Astral Project? If yes, for how long should I meditate?
For a proper, conscious out of body experience, you should be in a meditative state where your physical body is completely relaxed and your mind is completely clear of unwanted chattering. This will give you good control over your thoughts, and help you focus on Astral Projection.
20. What triggers Astral Projection? And when does it actually happen?
Your goal is to reach a stage where your physical body is completely  relaxed and your mind is completely awake. And then deepen that stage using visualization exercises. This is the magic moment where the separation of the Astral body from the physical body takes place.
21. How can I avoid being anchored to my body when I go into trance?
If you go into a deep trance, where your body is asleep and mind awake, your astral body WILL separate – either partially or fully. If it is a partial separation, you need to exercise a strong will power and visualization exercises so that you can achieve a full  separation.                                   

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Question

After reading the archives, banging my head on the wall of current comps, this is what I came up with. My biggest struggle has been the series in my head is one far reaching arc, with each novel containing its own smaller arc. Trying to pare that down into something manageable and interest grabbing without tangling delicate threads that weave and weft has been quite the challenge. I believe in this story, my question is; did I convince you to pick it up and be transported too?

 

Not yet, but that's the whole point of QueryShark. Revise till you get there!

Don't pare down the entire story, just focus on the start of the story.

 

Dear Query Shark,  

907 A.D. Britain is suffering birth pains of becoming a united land, divided into separate kingdoms, barely able to resist Danish assaults. Rhiannon, orphaned young during a savage incursion by the heathen Northmen was raised by a Viking warrior plagued by regret. Trained to be one of the best archers in the land, Rhiannon earns a name, The Northern Flame, 

 

I suggest adding The Northern Flame here, so that when you use it below, your reader is not confused about who you are talking about. 

and a vaunted place amongst King Anarawd ap Rhodri’s teulu, single-minded in her quest to avenge her parents.

 

 Ok, and?

What you need in a query is a sense of where the story is going. That's often shown by telling us what problem the main character faces.

Story is not events.

Story is NOT set up and background (what you have here).

 

Story starts with what problem does a character face, and what are her choices, and what's at stake.

How must she change/grow or what must she do to overcome that problem?

 

Rhiannon is a great archer.

She wants revenge for the slaughter of her parents.

What's the problem?

What are her choices?

What's at stake?

 

Mercia is ruled by King Alfred the Great’s daughter; the intrepid Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia.

It took a minute to sort out the who and what here.

Let's revise:

 

The intrepid Aethelflaed, daughter of King Alfred the Great, rules Mercia.

 It's a tad awkward, but it's clear. Revise further as needed.

She is threatened on all sides by invasion on all sides: of —Danes and Norsemen intent on conquering everything in their path and subjugating her subjects.

 

subjugating her subjects is really awkward. You'll hear these things if you read your query aloud. 

Revise here for smoothness.

Hearing tales of The Northern Flame’s skill, she makes a deal with the Welsh king.

 

To do what?

Marry him?

Kill him?

Foist her mean sister off on him?

 

Commander Wulfric, a man haunted by the past, leads Lady Aethelflaed’s hearth-guard and is sent to retrieve the infamous archer. Opposed to bringing a foreigner to his land during these tumultuous times, yet unable to disobey his liege, he discovers a passionate woman who tests his patience and makes him question his vows to absolve his family’s name from the shadow of treason that cloaks him like a death shroud.

 

Rhiannon and Wulfric must find a way to trust each other before the Viking warlord, Ingimundr, lays siege to the burgh of Chester, annihilating the dream of a united country. They try and fail to resist their explosive passion while struggling to keep their sworn oaths of vengeance.

  

What makes this hard to read and absorb is you've got too much going on. For starters, you've got too many characters:

Rhiannon

King Anarawd

King Alfred the Great

Aethelflaed

Commander Wulfric

Ingimundr

 

Six named characters is three too many.

See below for notes on how to focus the query, but also get a sense of the series.

 

THE NORTHERN FLAME (122,000 words) is historical fiction that will appeal to fans of early medieval history like The Last Kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell

 

Was first published in 2006 so it's not an effective comp.

Effective comps are recent; pubbed in 2019 or later.

 

 

as well as sweeping historical romances such as Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

 

First published in 1991, same problem

 

 along with strong female protagonists as in The Warrior Maiden, by Melanie Dickerson.

 

Pubbed in 2019, so that's ok, BUT take a look at the publisher: Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson publishes Christian fiction. Unless your novel is also Christian fiction (which I don't get the sense it is) you don't want to use this as a comp.

 

Your comps should be in the same category as your book. Christian fiction is a separate category.

 

THE NORTHERN FLAME can stand alone but I envision it as the start of a series.

 

Here's where you develop the series idea:

From above

Set in 907 A.D. Britain is suffering birth pains of becoming a united land, divided into separate kingdoms, barely able to resist Danish assaults.

develop this further of course.

 

New paragraph for bio.

 

I am a debut author, wife, stay-at-home mother working on my history degree, and wear so many hats I resemble the dog from Go Dog, Go! 

 

this is a terrific line. It gives your reader a sense of your wit.

 

 

New paragraph for pub credits.

My non-fiction essay, (Amazing) has been was published in the literary magazine (Woohoo!) winning and won 2^nd place for best prose.

 

 

Thank you for your time and consideration,

 

 

As for getting the whole of the story line into the query, you can't.

 

What you can do though is give us the start of the story, and then sketch out the larger picture.

Using Game of Thrones as an example (cause almost everyone has read/seen it), Ned Stark has discovered the King is not the father of his children. When the King dies Ned is faced with the choice of staying silent while an illegitimate son ascends the throne, or going public and risking not just his life but those of his family.

That's the individual problem.

The thematic problem is who is entitled to rule.

You can get that on the page with meanwhile, or what he doesn't know.

Example:

Meanwhile, each of seven power hungry families is plotting to take the iron throne.

What none of them know is a pawn has just become a queen. And she has dragons.

 

We need plot and drama on the page to compel your reader to want more. 

 

Revise and resubmit.

 

 

 

REVISION #1

Dear Query Shark,

 

I am writing to you seeking representation for my 122,000-word adult fantasy novel THE CROSSOVER.

This is better than the 137K you had the first time, but paring down to under 120K is a good idea.

 

The last thing you want is an agent seeing the word count and swiping left without reading another word.

 

When ELENORE and BENAIAH

don't cap character names.

 

 inadvertently stumble across a portal to another world.

 Elenore just wants to gather evidence of their strange discovery to prove it to her university colleagues.

 

None of this matters, not really.

The story starts when they arrive in Swordlandia.

 

Let's refocus to make that clear.

 

Driven by her curiosity, she

 

 

Eleanora and Ben find a portal and of course, they want to see where it leads.

 

She leads Ben, her horse, and her dog through the portal.

Not to pick nits but did you notice the dog is never mentioned again?

Having your dog with you in a strange land would be comforting, no?

And does the dog get superpowers too?

 

 

They pop popping out in an entirely different universe.

 

This is a big moment in the query. Making it a separate short sentence gives it power and drama.

 

You want to stay in Elenore's point of view here, so let's revise this:

 

Two sword-bearing forces arrive with one obvious goal:

They're met by two, separate sword-bearing forces.

 

Let's add separate here so the reader doesn't think these are two platoons of the same company.

 

 

capture the strangers from another world.

We don't really need to know what the SBFs want. They're not the important antagonist.

 

 Elenore is captured by the king's brigade, and Ben is captured by the resistance movement. against the king.

Let your reader do some of the work here. If you say resistance movement, the reader will fill in that they're resisting the King. 

 

 

From their captors inform them that they learn that when they entered the portal, they passed through “the pathways” and  coming through the portal developed gave them abilities  that allow them to wield energy from the space between worlds.

 

Out of desperation to

Desperate to reunite and return home, Elenore and Ben accept separate, yet similar deals.

 

So, you learn you have superpowers. What's the first thing you want to do?

Give them up and go home?

Really?

 

Cause if you told me I had superpowers, I'd want to know what they were, and how I could use them to do fun stuff, like fly (Sharknado!), or eat ice cream without sacrificing my svelte sharkly silhouette, or get the world to quit using the phrase safety deposit box (it's safe deposit box, and yes this is a hill I will die on.)

 

 

But here you have her using her abilities (still unspecified) to do something that she doesn't have a stake in. Why would she do it?

 

When we're puzzled by why a character acts in what seems to be an illogical or unrealistic way, we're NOT engaged.  You want your readers to engage, to care what happens to Elenore (and the dog!!!)

 

Elenore agrees to use her new abilities to help the king recapture the same city where Ben is held, and Ben agrees to use his powers to aid in the movement  resistance and to dethrone the king who captured Elenore.

 

These two characters don't seem to have much depth or personality.

It's ESSENTIAL that your characters be interesting and right now they seem lacking in imagination or sense of adventure.

 

 As part of the deal, Elenore gains a vast understanding of the nature of time, reality, and mortality from the space between worlds.

 

Well, that's nice but what can she DO?

 

 Despite that knowledge, she doesn’t realize the danger they are in.

Of course not. What's the fun of that.

 

 

 

VICTORIA, Elenore’s mentor,

 

wait, what?
Who the heck is Victoria?

And WHERE is she? As in which side of the portal.

 

Introducing a main character this late in the game is confusing.

 

 

 

 

has no idea that she is fated to inadvertently catalyze the end of the universe, causing it to be wiped from existence layer by layer. 

 

Ho hum.

If a character is fated for something they don't have any choice in the matter.

The essence of a good story is what choices the characters face and what path they choose.

 

 

 

Ben’s captor, the leader of the resistance movement against the king, might be the only one with information on how to prevent the destruction of the universe and has no intentions of sharing it. Unaware of their larger role, Elenore and Ben are sure their hardships will come to an end if they can manage to avoid manipulation and survive long enough to see the deal through, but it is only a matter of time before Victoria finds a way to seize power from the king, setting the unraveling of the universe into motion.

 

Ok, who's the antagonist here?

 

You've got (as you did in the first version) too much going on.

You don't need as much world building as you think.

 

You need to focus on Elenore. She seems to be the main character.

What does she want?

Make sure what she wants makes sense to us the reader.

You're in an alien world with superpowers! What would you want to do?

 

Then give us a sense of the dilemma she faces

There must be some sort of conflict or there's no plot.

 

 

You do need more three-dimensional characters and we must have a better sense of choices and stakes.

 

 

 

The style, tone, and characters of THE CROSSOVER will appeal to readers of are most comparable to A.K. Larkwood’s The Unspoken Name meets and Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library.

 

 

Here's the description of The Unspoken Name

What if you knew how and when you will die?

Csorwe does—she will climb the mountain, enter the Shrine of the Unspoken, and gain the most honored title: sacrifice.

But on the day of her foretold death, a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin—the wizard's loyal sword. Topple an empire and help him reclaim his seat of power.

But Csorwe will soon learn—gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.

 

Notice there is almost NO world building.

There's one sentence of set up.

The choices the main character faces are clear, as are the stakes.

All in fewer than 100 words.

This is your goal.

 

You have 380 in the query.

 

It is intended to be the first installment of a series that I hope will span 3-5 books.

It can stand alone but I envision it as the start of a series

 

new paragraph for personalization

(Insert personalization here).

I am querying you because you like kale and I like rabbits (or whatever.)

 

 

Thank you for your consideration,

 

 

Focus.

Pare down the events and increase character development.

 

There are a million portal stories in my inbox.

Show me (don't tell me) how yours is better, faster, more enticing.

 

I'd start with the dog.

That's interesting.

 

Dogs? DOGS??

 

 

 

 

******

Initial query

Question/Concern:

I have been submitting queries to agents since May of 2022 and have only received kind rejections so far. I have decided to blame this on my query letter for now, and so I come to you with my struggle after reading the archives. I have a complex first installment of a fantasy series in progress, and it seems impossible to include the necessary information in a concise manner. I have left many important characters unmentioned, and I have failed to include the aspect of my plot that involves the protagonist's impending trek through the infinite layers of an infinite universe in a war of fate and freewill. In addition to that, I feel that some of the appealing aspects of my book, like the presence of ghosts and alternate timelines, alternating chapter perspectives, intricate arcs, and relatable societal problems can't be included without getting to a 1200 word query letter.

Dear Query Shark,

 

 I am writing to seek representation for THE CROSSOVER, which is a 137,000-word new adult, fantasy fiction novel.

 

For starters, your word count is high. 137K is an auto-pass for many agents.

Your category, new adult, is one that you might see referenced on Goodreads etc., but isn't all that useful for queries. New Adult started as a way to categorize books for readers above the YA age range (that tops out at 18.)

 

All too quickly it morphed into porn light. Think 50 Shades of Grey.

 

Now it's trying to make a comeback but in a query you want to use the most solid description you can. Your book is fantasy. You don't need to say fiction, cause fantasy is not non-fiction. (Current events not withstanding.)

 

And fiction novel is an instant pass for a lot of us.

 

So: The Crossover (137,000 words) is fantasy.

 

Except when you start with this, it just gives agents permission to pass without reading another word.  That's why I suggest you put this at the close of the query, NO MATTER WHAT.

 

 

(Personalize for agent here).

Personalization goes below as well. So many writers botch this up that it's just safer not to lead with it.

 

Comps go at the end too.

And you can NOT use Stephen King as a comp. He is in a category by himself. People read his books just cause he wrote them.  You don't have that advantage yet.

 

 

THE CROSSOVER is most comparable to Stephen King’s newest novel Fairy Tale mixed with Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone.

 

Shadow and Bone was first pubbed in 2013. It's too old to be an effective comp.

 

 

ELENORE (23), a curiosity-driven student of science,

This is not a police blotter, or a newspaper article. Don't put the ages in parenthesis.

 

and BENAIAH (Ben, 22), her grumbly companion with a heart of gold,

 

heart of gold is a cliche.

Agents are looking for things that are fresh and new.

 

 

inadvertently stumble across a portal to another world on their rental property in Indiana.

 

Elenore’s desire to prove their discovery compels them to enter the undulating void despite a vague, menacing message found graffitied on their wall promising death to Ben should they go.

 

What?

What does prove their discovery mean?

Also, try this without all the modifiers.

 

Elenore’s desire to prove their discovery compels them to enter the undulating void despite a vague, menacing message found graffitied on their wall promising death to Ben should they go.

 

A lot easier to understand without all the descriptors.

 

Over-modifying is a common flaw in early work.

Watch for it, and pluck out everything you don't need.

And you don't need anywhere near as much filigree as you think.

 

 

After entering the portal and becoming separated by the sword-bearing forces in the Kingdom of Corva, Elenore and Ben are informed that when they entered the portal, they passed through “the pathways” and developed abilities.

 

This sentence is 35 words long.

That means you've got too much information for your reader to readily absorb.

Short form work like a query usually means you want short sentences.

 

 

Other people have some abilities, but allegedly, none can wield the pathways like those that walk through time.

 

The construction of this sentence seems to convey that pathways walk through time.

My guess is that's not what you mean.

An easy fix is just to change out that for who.

Other people have some abilities, but allegedly, none can wield the pathways like those who walk through time.

According to the warring rulers, Elenore and Ben are potentially the most powerful in the kingdom. Out of desperation, Elenore and Ben accept similar deals by agreeing to help in the conflict that envelopes the kingdom in exchange for help returning home.

 

At this point I'm utterly befuddled.

 

Unbeknownst to Elenore, Victoria, her mentor and advisor to the misguided King Gael, has a vicious ambition to seize power. Despite the knowledge Elenore gains on her journey, she doesn’t realize the danger they are in. Opal, the scheming, untrustworthy leader of the resistance movement that captured Ben, is the only one who understands the extent of the danger they are in, and she intends to use the knowledge to bargain for her life when Elenore and the king invade the city she holds. Meanwhile, Victoria  has no idea her antagonistic actions will eventually lead to the collapse of the infinite layers in their cyclical universe. Even worse, Elenore, Ben, a dog, and several other friends are the only ones that stand a chance of altering fate enough to prevent it. They must decide between risking their lives for a foreign universe or living with the guilt of doing nothing to prevent its demise.

 

There's so much information here it's impossible to follow.

 

In a query you don't need anywhere near this much detail.

 What you need is:

What does the main character want?

What's blocking them from getting it?

What choices do they face?

What's at stake with those choices?

 

That's all you need.

 

 

I have been writing for as long as I can remember.

This may be true. It's not useful to say so in a query.

 

The ideas that shaped this novel often surfaced in the night, causing me to leap out of bed and take notes on a post-it stuck to a book next to my bed.

Also not useful in the query.

 

Now, as a 25-year-old high school English teacher with a Bachelor of Arts in English Education, I finally had the tools to sit down and finish it.

Also not useful

 

The manuscript is complete and ready for review.

I hope so, cause if you're querying an unfinished book, its an automatic pass.

In other words, no need to  state the obvious.

 

And review means something else. You're submitting your ms for consideration. But you still don't need to say so.

Agents do not generally care about how long you've loved to write or your process.

 

 I truly appreciate you taking the time to read my query,

Don't sound like I'm doing you a favor here.

I'm not.

I'm reading your query with the idea of becoming extremely wealthy by the sweat of your brow.

 

 

and I look forward to the possibility of hearing from you. 

Yea, my colleagues are notorious for no response means no which I find highly objectionable.

But let's not give them leave to do that by acknowledging it. Let them sauté in their own shame.

 

Thank you for your consideration, 

 

Unfortunately you've got a novel that has all the aspects of every other portal fantasy, and nothing that makes it distinctly your own.

 

That's the challenge to all writers. Fresh and new doesn't mean stories we've never seen. It means a different take or a different approach.

 

First Blood is essentially a fresh look at Beowulf.

Clueless is a new way to tell the story in Emma.

 

Every Jack Reacher novel is a Western, really: A stranger comes to town, shakes things up, then leaves.

A Western with no horses, no six-guns, no cattle rustlers. In other words, a fresh take.

 

So the problem here isn't the query. It's the novel.

Time to think about what you can change to put your own distinct spin on a portal fantasy.

 Think about what prompted you to write this. What do you want to say that hasn't been said before. 

As for your question: The problem is not lack of detail. It's too much detail. Agents don't expect to know everything about the book from the query. The query is the introduction, a brief taste of the meal that is the book.

You need to pare down here, but also figure out what makes your book distinctive, and get that on the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Very excited for San Diego Comic-Con!!! Here's my full schedule. Hope to see you there!

 Had an amazing time at San Diego Comic-Con!!! 

I'm off to Glasgow, Scotland, later this week for Worldcon (the World Science Fiction Convention)! Very excited!!! Here's my full schedule. Hope to see you there! 

I had such a fantastic time at Worldcon 2024 in Glasgow!!!

This weekend is StoryFest 2024!!! This will be my first time at this literary festival, and I'm so excited! 

I'll be on the "Dangerous Visions: Dreams Across Universes" panel on Saturday (9/21/24) at 10am with Jedidiah Berry, P. Djeli Clark, Sarah Beth Durst (me!), Christopher Golden, Peng Shepherd, and GennaRose Nethercott. The panel will be followed by a signing.

If you're near the Westport Library in CT, I hope you'll join us! 

https://westportlibrary.org/storyfest-2024/

Had a wonderful time at StoryFest this weekend! Thank you, Westport Library!!! 

Very excited for New York Comic Con!!! I'll be there on Thursday and Sunday. Hope to see you there!

Had such a fantastic time at New York Comic Con!!!
 

 

There is a popular and well-informed YouTube channel called BoardGameCo that has its finger on the pulse of the crowdfunding market for board games. A number of years ago, my husband Christopher shared the channel and its content with me, and it was an instant like for me. The main host, Alex, manages to come across as charming, intelligent, and principled all at once. He has a firm understanding of the board game industry, a vast library, and good instincts when it comes to predicting the value (both in terms of play and resale) of upcoming and current crowdfunding games, and makes recommendations on when to purchase and when to pass. I never feel like he’s trying to sell me something. He’s just very enthusiastic about board games and somewhere along the way realized people enjoy his work and I think that fuels him (along with YouTube ad revenue of course).

In 2023, Alex and his business partner Motti Eisenbach (of Addax Games) launched Level Up Events and hosted the inaugural Level Up Retreat. The retreat is an annual board game and RPG convention associated with BoardGameCo. It’s a small (<400 attendees) and cozy event tucked away in the Tri-State metropolitan area  (NY/NJ/CT), and very welcoming to all. The library (800+games) is well balanced in terms of complexity of play, player count, publication date, and game mechanisms.

This year the retreat was held in February and branded as the Level Up Winter  Retreat. One of my friends in the industry encouraged me to check it out and I was invited by Alex as a special guest to participate. My husband talked me into bringing him along as well since he’d introduced me to BoardGameCo all those years ago. There were a handful of other special guests in attendance – board game designers, content creators, etc. - and many of them became part of the draw of the retreat for attendees. It’s fun to play board games with smart, funny, and popular people. I definitely enjoyed getting to play with friends I don’t get to see often and also networking with other content creators.  I haven’t even mentioned the cosplayers yet but they were pretty cool too – shout out to all the Star Wars players especially. 

One thing I really enjoyed about the Level Up Retreat is their choice to host a regional qualifier for the World Series of Board Gaming (WSBG). The WSBG is an annual event in Vegas where competitors choose from 16 different games to begin a tournament that ends in 1 finale winner and a cash prize of $25,000. Serious gaming! To enter the WSBG, one must pay a registration fee, OR, win a regional qualifier to receive a gratis entry. So for anyone living in the Tri-State area and interested in qualifying for the WSBG, the Level Up Retreat is especially a great idea. I competed in the qualifier and made it to the semi-finals and it’s really spurred my interested in the WSBG. After returning home from the retreat, I’ve been organizing practice games and I’m currently running multiple practice games on Board Game Arena at all hours and planning to attend the WSBG. It’s really fantastic that the Level Up Retreat included this event as part of its scheduled activities and I hope that more regional board game conventions follow suit.

Another nice touch at the retreat was the VIP snack room. Are you a chocoholic? Or maybe a sugar fiend who skips over the chocolate for straight sugar goodness like Sweet Tarts, Runts, or Sour Patch Kids, or Nerds? Perhaps you go for the salty and you fuel your games on pretzels, chips, and granola bars? You might even be in the select group of healthy noshers who prefer fresh fruit and protein bars? It’s all good because the VIP snack room has it all (except beverages; the hosting hotel did not permit the organizers to provide beverages this year). Personally, I ate a lot of Nerds ropes, punctuated by a few fresh fruits. It’s an upcharge to have access to the VIP room, but if you’re a hard core board gamer who likes to hyperfocus, you’ll want to opt for it. You’ll also get additional swag in a nice swag bag as well.

So, the games were on point, the snacks were fantastic, the guests were great, and the events were numerous and well attended (including many many RPG events outside my scope that I heard were fantastic). Bonus: I never had to wait in a long line in the library for a game I wanted to become available. In fact, there weren’t any lines at the library at all, as it was kind of a constant free-for-all. And that’s the only aspect of this convention that needs some work – the library setup and procedures. While the library volunteers did their best to help people find games they were looking for, there isn’t any inventory list of games for attendees to browse through when selecting games, the games are not arranged on the shelves in alphabetical order, and there is no formal check-out, check-in process. Not only does this create a bit of chaos when trying to find a game, it’s a security issue. Most conventions have either a formal check-out/check-in process so that someone is always accountable for each game removed from the library, or they have the library setup directly within the gaming space and security at the door to prevent attendees from removing games from the gaming area. The Level Up Retreat had neither; it’s all operating on the honor system. I hope for the sake of future attendees and the profitability of the event for the organizing entities that more effort is given toward organizing and securely managing the library at the next retreat.

The Level Up Retreat has found the formula for convention success and I’m confident that once they address the library management issues it will be well on its way to being recognized as one of the best regional board gaming conventions.

 

ALT TEXT: The head of a bear, figured in every artist's medium of choice: yellow Playdoh. And looking considerably more apprehensive than the artist intended, although I suppose that makes a change from all the inane grinning. 

The 'head only' approach is by far my patron's least favourite. He loathes it, and any such submission is immediately met with outraged cries of 'Knees! Knees!' However, as I believe Caravaggio used to say to Cardinal Del Monte, "There's only so much Playdoh in the tub."

 

 First, an apology. It has been brought to my attention that I have been irritatingly coy about the identity of my patron for this series of pieces, and the precise nature of my relationship with him. This is of course information you have every right to know, for reasons too obvious to explain; and which you could not possibly in a million years have guessed. No-one’s that clever-clever. 

So let me now be perfectly straightforward with you: my patron is His Serene Grace Archduke Gustavus Von und zu Schellenhuber, Prince-Elector of Westphalia. I recently had the honour to be appointed his Court Artist (Ursine and Elephantine works only). 

Here is the latest piece I have completed for His Grace. I believe he intends it as a fresco for his refectory.

ALT TEXT: A cardboard box, on which is drawn a family of hippos gazing in delight at a shower of cupcakes falling towards them like manna. This reflects my patron's short-lived hippo phase. However, elephants are just about visible on two other flaps of the box, so yes it does count, thank you.