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Did you know jellyfish don't have a brain? They also don't have hearts or a central nervous system. They do however have a collective of nerves forming a nerve net. This allows them to sense and respond to stimuli such as touch, light, and temperature. Despite this, they can still perform complex behaviors, including swimming, feeding, and even learning. These are just a few facts I'm going to go over about jellyfish in this blog entry. Let's start off with a few basic facts about jellyfish. They are about 95% water. They have no brain, heart, or bones. Their tentacles are covered in tiny stinging cells called nematocysts. These cells fire microscopic harpoons that inject venom. They mostly drift with ocean currents rather than actively swimming long distances. Jellyfish have existed for over 500 million years, making them older than dinosaurs and some species have remained relatively unchanged for millions of years. The box jellyfish is one of the most venomous marine animals in the world. The species known as the “immortal jellyfish”, Turritopsis dohrnii, can revert back to its juvenile form after reaching adulthood, potentially repeating its life cycle. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now I'll go ahead and do a myth vs. fact jellyfish addition too. Myth #1: All jellyfish are deadly. Fact: Most jellyfish stings are painful but not life-threatening to humans. However, species like the box jellyfish can be extremely venomous. Myth #2: If it’s dead, it can’t sting you. Fact: Even dead jellyfish can still sting. Their stinging cells (nematocysts) can fire after the jellyfish has washed ashore. Myth #3: Jellyfish are fish. Fact: Despite the name, jellyfish are not fish. They’re in the phylum Cnidaria, making them more closely related to corals and sea anemones. Myth #4: Jellyfish don’t have eyes. Fact: Some species do! Certain box jellyfish species have surprisingly complex eyes that can detect light and shapes. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Box Jellyfish This section will be dedicated to the box jellyfish, the most deadly of the jellyfish. Currently we know of around 51 species of the box jellyfish which are grouped into 2 orders and 8 families. Stings from some species, including Chironex fleckeri, Carukia barnesi, Malo kingi, and a few others, are extremely painful and often fatal to humans. This venom is delivered by contact with it's tentacles. The most venomous box jellyfish is the Chironex fleckeri, commonly known as the Australian box jellyfish or sea wasp. It has extremely potent venom that attacks the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. and the more severe stings can cause intense pain, cardiac complications, and in rare cases, can be fatal if not treated quickly. It’s primarily found in the coastal waters of northern Australia and parts of Southeast Asia. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Immortal Jellyfish The immortal jellyfish is the species Turritopsis dohrnii and it’s famous for its unusual ability to essentially “reset” its life cycle. It can revert from its adult stage back to its juvenile polyp stage and it can do this process multiple times. This process is called transdifferentiation, where specialized cells transform into different types of cells. When stressed, injured, or nearing the end of its life, it can transform its adult cells back into immature cells and return to its earlier polyp stage. From there, it can grow into a new adult again. Is it truly "immortal"? No, not really. It can still die from things like predators, disease, or environmental changes too. These jellyfish are actually super tiny, about the size of your pinky nail. Scientists are currently studying them to learn more about aging, cellular regeneration, and stem cell processes. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Moon Jelly This is the most common species of jellies, and likely one you've seen. This species is hardy and super easy to care for, and often found in aquariums. It's found in temperate and tropical oceans worldwide and most common in bays, estuaries, harbors, and coastal waters. Usually about 10–16 inches (25–40 cm) across. Has relatively mild venom, generally harmless to humans. Feeds mostly on plankton and small marine organisms. Moves by gently pulsing its bell, drifting with currents. Good news, you can have these as pets. Here's a few key things to know or have if you're going to do that: You're going to need a kreisel tank and they cannot live in regular tanks and thrive. These types of tanks will allow them to float suspended in the water, prevents them from getting stuck in corners, and creates a gentle current for them that they need to survive. Moon jellies are very soft-bodied and they can tear easily if they touch any type of hard surface or filters. They are very sensitive to water quality. Because of this you'll need to keep the tank temperature around 60–70F (15–21C). Of course, it will have to be a salt water tank with strong filtration and keep the water clean at all times. Clean water is critical because jellyfish have no immune system like vertebrates. For food, they'll eat mostly baby brine shrimp or specialized jellyfish food blends you can order online and they'll need to be fed 1-2 times daily. Because they lack complex digestive systems, uneaten food must be cleaned out quickly to prevent water quality issues. Keep in mind, even though they look simple enough to care for, they are not beginner pets and require a lot of care and work. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To end, I'll leave you with a few pictures I took of jellyfish at the Ripley's Aquarium.

Tonight's blog is all about the farm animals of the ocean, sea bunnies, sea sheep, and even sea pigs. These are three adorable, oddly named creatures that sound like they belong in a barnyard but actually can be found on the sea floor. Yes they have fuzzy "ears", leafy "wool", and even look like little pig blobs, but they have almost nothing in common except for the cuteness factor. So, if you've never heard about these weird little guys before, and you're unsure what they look like, here are some pictures of each, and some facts about each species to start off with. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sea Bunnies The "fur" is actually composed of tiny, rod-like structures called caryophyllidia, which act as sensory organs. The two antenna-like appendages on their head are called rhinophores, used to detect chemical scents in the water to find food and mates. Sea bunnies are toxic. They consume sponges containing toxins and store these compounds in their bodies as a defense mechanism, making them unpalatable to predators. So don't be confused by how cute and fluffy they look, however although toxic, they are generally considered harmless to humans, but their delicate bodies should never be touched. While they are usually white with black spots, they also appear in yellow, orange, or brown varieties. They are very small, usually measuring less than 1 inch (2.54 cm). They are found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Despite their name, they are marine mollusks and do not have gills like a fish; they have exposed, feather-like gills on their rear. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sea Pigs: They inhabit the deepest parts of the ocean, often called the abyss, across the globe. They are deposit feeders, eating decaying organic matter, bacteria, and carcasses that fall to the seafloor. Their skin is toxic, containing chemicals that can break down red blood cells, which helps protect them from predators. They move in large groups, often facing the same direction to navigate currents, and sometimes act as "babysitters" for juvenile crabs that hide on their backs. Generally 1.5 to 6 inches (4 to 15 cm), though they can reach up to 8 inches. They are found on the ocean floor at depths of 4,000 to 16,000 feet. They are actually a type of deep-sea cucumber. While they share the "sea" name, they are distinct from sea slugs (which are gastropod mollusks) and belong to a different phylum entirely. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sea Sheep (The Leaf Sheep) Found in shallow tropical waters near Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It is famous for being one of the only animals in the world that can photosynthesize, using stolen chloroplasts from algae (a process called kleptoplasty) to convert sunlight into energy. First discovered in 1993 near Japan's Kuroshima Island. Found in shallow tropical waters, they feed exclusively on Avrainvillea algae. They often graze together like a herd of sheep and group together with other sea sheep. They have an average lifespan of 6-12 months. These slugs are hermaphroditic organisms, meaning they are both female and male. Also, leaf sheep can lay between 2,000 and 4,000 eggs. The eggs hatch in four days. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I hope you enjoyed learning a few things about these cute creatures, and tomorrow's blog will include some photography of fish I've taken myself

Today's blog is going to be about one of the strangest creatures inhabiting the ocean - the goblin shark. With its elongated snout, pale skin, and a jaw that can snap forward in an instant, it looks more like something from a science fiction movie than a real fish that should be in the ocean. This lil guy is rarely seen and not a lot is known about it, yet this mysterious shark has been swimming in our oceans for over 125 million years, earning its nickname as a “living fossil.” They are from an ancient family called the Mitsukurinidae family from the early Cretaceous period, and they haven't changed much since they coexisted right along side the dinosaurs and are the last remaining species of their kind. Why haven't they changed much in millions of years? That's due to their habitat - living in the deep sea - an environment that is incredibly stable compared to the surface world. Down there, temperatures are cold, light is nearly nonexistent, and conditions don’t fluctuate dramatically over time. When an environment stays consistent for millions of years, animals that are already well adapted to it don’t face strong evolutionary pressure to change, thus is the case for the goblin shark. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A few quick facts about the goblin shark species: Goblin sharks live in deep water, usually 300–4,000 feet below the surface. Their skin looks pink because their blood vessels show through their semi-transparent skin. They have a long, flattened snout filled with electroreceptors that help them detect prey in total darkness. Their jaws can shoot forward in less than a second to grab prey. This makes it one of the fastest jaw projections among sharks. They mainly eat deep-sea fish, squid, and crustaceans. Goblin sharks can grow up to about 10–13 feet long, though most are smaller. They are rarely seen alive because they live so deep in the ocean. The first goblin shark was discovered off the coast of Japan in 1898. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The goblin shark is a big reminder about how much we don't know about our planet, or the species that reside here along side us. Living close to 125 million years, but never seen by human eyes until little over a hundred years ago, and living at such depths that they are still rarely seen today. Pictures and information about them are extremely rare, and most of what scientists understand comes from the few specimens accidentally caught in deep sea fishing nets. Until technology allows us to explore the deep ocean more freely, the goblin shark will likely remain one of the sea’s most mysterious and least understood predators. Although the goblin shark may look intimidating, it poses no real threat to humans. Its survival across millions of years highlights how stable and mysterious the deep ocean environment truly is. Studying species like the goblin shark not only helps scientists understand marine ecosystems, but also reminds us of the importance of protecting habitats we don't know all that much about yet.

Recently I was talking a lot of fish talk with @Kazuma Satou and @Zariel and it gave me an idea for some new blog entries. I haven't updated my blog in awhile, and I've pretty much done all blog entries of photography I've taken, so this is a new one for me. Since I'm studying fish and working towards a PhD in Marine Sciences, I thought it would be fun to do several entries focused on fishy friends and fun fishy facts It won't be all fish, I'll also focus on different types of marine life as well. I want to try to do one entry a day this week, mostly to brush up on facts myself and this helps with my studies too so it's win/win. Maybe someone can learn something too or at least be entertained for a few minutes Today I will talk about the almighty Mola Mola, otherwise known as a sunfish. These are my absolute favorite fish simply because they look so dorky and are silly little guys (I like my fish how I like my men, what can I say? LOL). If you've never seen one, they look like someone didn't know what a fish looked like and tried to draw one: A few quick facts about the Ocean Sunfish: They weigh between 250 - 1,000 KG (or 545 - 2,200 pounds). They can be up to 1.8m long (around 5ft 10 inches), and specimens up to 3.3m (10ft, 10 inches) tall have been recorded from fin-to-fin height. The largest one on record was records in New Zealand and weighed 2,300 KG (5,100 pounds). Sunfish are not wide and have virtually no width and are a flat fish. It recieved its name because it likes to sunbathe on top of the water and is commonly seen floating around at the surface of the water. In German, it is also referred to as Schwimmender Kopf, or "swimming head", and in Polish, it is named samogłów, meaning "head alone", because it has no true tail. The earliest known fossils of the sunfish date back to the Holocene period, around 11,700 years ago. There is a freshwater version of sunfish but it is not related to the Mola Mola and is part of the Centrarchidae family. The Sunfish shares a lot of characteristics with the Puffer fish and was originally mistakenly classified as part of the Puffer fish family. Likely due to the fact they have beaks to eat with instead of teeth like a Puffer fish. It was believed in early research that Sunfish just drift along with the ocean current to travel, but recently species have been recorded traveling 26 KM (16 miles) in a day and actively hunting at 200m (650 ft) and below and they can go as fast as 3.2km an hour (1.9 miles an hour). A sunfishes main predators are Seals, Sea Lions, Sharks, and Killer Whales. Not a lot is yet known about Sunfish because they haven't been researched extensively, and we are only recently discovering more about their mating, eating, and migration patterns. There was a lot of misinformation about them up until recent years as well. For example, their diet was once thought to consist mainly of jellyfish and Gelatinous Zooplankton, but in recent years it's been determined they consume mostly Flounder, Eel, and Squid. As for their lifespan, we still don't even know that because it's not yet been documented in their natural habitat, though it's believed they may be able to live around 25 years. Another type of Sunfish is the Giant Sunfish, which is slightly different to the Mola Molas, although they are in the same family. These are considered to be the largest bony fish and weight up to 2,700 kilograms (6,000 lb) and is usually 3.3 m (11 feet). They are easily distinguishable from Mola Molas as they are much wider and have bumpy bodies: Sunfish pose no harm to humans and are often docile so if you find yourself diving next to one, you don't need to worry as they will likely ignore you, and you can probably get a really cool picture next to a HUGE fish~! I'm thinking tomorrow's entry I might do crabs, but if you have suggestions let me know in the comments~

So today's blog is going to be about octopus, the most intelligent invertebrates in the ocean. I'll do some quick facts, as well as some info about how smart these guys are, and go over some ways to tell octopus apart from squid. There's so much I'd like to cover about them, but I don't want to write hundreds of paragraphs, and it would be super easy to with these guys. They have complex nervous systems, advanced camouflage abilities, and remarkable problem-solving skills, they challenge everything we think we know about animal intelligence and are very interesting little guys to be around or research. Let's do a few fun facts about these guys first: An octopus has three hearts. Two pump blood to the gills, and one pumps it to the rest of the body. Fun fact: the heart that pumps to the body actually stops beating when they swim, which is why they prefer crawling. Octopus blood is blue because it contains hemocyanin, a copper based molecule that helps transport oxygen in cold, low oxygen ocean environments. About two-thirds of an octopus’s neurons are in its arms, not its brain. Each arm can taste, touch, and even move semi-independently so it’s almost like they have eight tiny brains. Some species, like the Mimic Octopus, can impersonate other sea animals such as lionfish, flatfish, and sea snakes. They can change color, texture, and even body shape in seconds. Octopuses can open jars, navigate mazes, and remember solutions. They’re considered among the most intelligent invertebrates on Earth. Because they have no bones, an octopus can squeeze through any hole larger than its beak, which is about the size of a coin in many species. Each suction cup can taste what it touches. That's the equivalent to if you could taste with your fingertips. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Octopus vs. Squid: Knowing the difference. Octopus: Has a round, soft body. Mostly found on the sea floor. An Octopus has a rounded shaped head. Octopus have eyes on the top of their heads. They are solitary creatures and do not live in groups. They can be seen with babies sometimes, as they care for their young. An Octopus only has 8 arms, and does not have tentacles like the squid does. Squids: They have a very triangular shaped head and their bodies are long as opposed to the Octopus, which is more round. Squids have 8 arms and 2 tentacles. Their eyes are on the sides of their heads. Squids have been known to live in groups and can often be found with other squid. They are usually found in the open ocean and not on the sea floor like an octopus. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The smartest animal of the ocean? Octopuses are considered the most intelligent invertebrates on Earth, with complex nervous systems and around 500 million neurons distributed throughout their bodies. Unlike most animals, a large portion of their neurons are located in their arms, allowing them to process information and move semi-independently. This unique setup contributes to their impressive problem-solving abilities. In laboratory settings, octopuses have been observed opening screwtop jars to reach food, navigating mazes, recognizing individual humans, and even escaping from secure tanks. They are capable of learning through observation and remembering solutions to tasks long after first encountering them. Their intelligence makes the octopus one of the most remarkable thinkers in the ocean. When faced with a new obstacle, an octopus will explore it with careful, deliberate movements, testing and adjusting until it finds a solution. Studies have shown they can distinguish between shapes and patterns, remember successful strategies, and adapt when circumstances of their environment change. Their ability to rapidly camouflage by processing visual information and altering their skin in real time also reflects advanced neural control. Rather than reacting automatically, octopuses demonstrate curiosity, memory, and problem-solving skills that suggest a highly developed and independently evolved form of intelligence. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hope you guys enjoyed reading this, and walked away with a little more info about octopus!~

Before we begin: no, this is not Snake Head Terror. There will be no low-budget CGI here, probably no screaming people, and, possibly unfortunately, no chainsaw showdowns with a 50 foot long snakehead. We’re talking about real snakeheads today. I know he said I don't have to credit him, but I still want to say that @Kazuma Satou gave me a ton of facts for this blog and I appreciate him for it, (and for listening to me ramble about fish the entire last week lol). Before we begin, you might be wondering what the heck is a snakehead and the first image that comes into your mind is probably something from a movie. There are over 50+ species of snakeheads that are divided into 2 different groups: Channa and Parachanna. The 2 main types I'm going to be talking about today are Northern Snakeheads and the Ceylon Snakeheads both from the Channa groups. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A few facts about Ceylon Snakeheads: Incredibly dangerous, even to their own species, they will eat smaller members of their own species. They don't stay in one place for long. when food becomes scarce they move to other ponds by jumping on the ground and they can survive without water for a while. They can heal fast, with bruises from walking across land healing within a day. Can grow up to 10–13 inches (25–33 cm). They don't hesitate to attack humans and if you put a finger into the water they'll swim toward it at lightning speed and try to bite it. They're fast swimmers and when they feel like they're under attack, they stir up the mud to make water unclear. They're easy to catch if you just slowly place a net in front of them and tap their back they'll swim straight into it. The Ceylon is one of the smaller snakehead species and often referred to as the "Dwarf Snakehead". Habitat: Streams, rivers, ponds, and wetlands. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A few facts about Northern Snakeheads: Originally from China, Russia, and Korea and is classified as an invasive species in the United States. Can grow up to 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) long and weigh up to 15 pounds. Like the Ceylon, they "walk" by wiggling on land from one body of water to another and can breathe air for several days. Eats fish, frogs, crustaceans, insects, and sometimes small birds or mammals but if it fits in their mouth, they will eat it. They prefer sluggish waters with dense vegetation, but can inhabit canals, rivers, and ponds. They are highly adaptable to temperatures ranging from 32F - 90F(0C - 32C). A female Northern Snakehead can lay up to 100,000 eggs per year and they can double their population in as little as 15 years. Northern snakeheads are respected among some Chinese fishermen for their virtue, as parent snakefish are known to sacrifice themselves to protect their young. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Myths VS. Facts: Snakehead edition. Myth #1: They can crawl for miles on land. Fact: They cannot go on epic cross-country journeys. They can survive out of water for a short time if kept moist and may wriggle short distances to reach nearby water and they are not planning to attack any local towns. Myth #2: They attack humans. Fact: There are no confirmed cases of Northern Snakeheads hunting people. They’re aggressive toward other fish (especially when guarding babies), but you are not on the menu unless you go sticking your hands in the water or aquarium you have them and then yes, they will dart at your hand and likely try to bite you because they'll think it's a food source. Myth #3: They’re venomous because they look like snakes. Fact: They are not venomous and not at all related to snakes despite the name. Myth #4: They’ll completely destroy every ecosystem instantly. Fact: They are invasive in parts of the U.S., and they can compete with native species which is a real ecological concern, but they are not machines of mass destruction (despite that movie lol) Ecosystem impact varies by location. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I hope you enjoyed reading this, and tomorrow we will be covering Sea Bunnies~! And of course, I had to throw this in here for @Zeref, his favorite movie LOL

Today I'm going to do my blog on two of my favorite marine creatures - seals and sea lions. I worked with these guys over the Summer at the zoo so I got a lot of hands-on experience dealing with both. Much like the Sunfish from my previous blog entry, I can also say these guys are complete silly little dorks too. Seals make the most hilarious faces and sea lions have personalities that are as giant as they are. A lot of people confuse them for each other and it's easy to do so, since they are usually housed together at the zoo. Hopefully after this blog you'll be able to identify who is who the next time you see them~! First off, I'll start with a few differences between seals and sea lions: If you see them in a zoo encloser, they are probably swimming. One way to tell who is who is seals swim by using their back flippers in a side to side motion, and sea lions tend to use their large front flippers. When you look at their heads, you'll notice that sea lions have visible external ear flaps, whereas a seal just has tiny holes where their ears are. Sea lions have much longer necks compared to seals and they often sit upright, and a seal will usually lay flat and scoot around on land. Size-wise there is a pretty big difference. Sea lions are up to 10 feet long, weighing up to 1,000 pounds, and seals are around 5-8 feet long and only weigh up to 300 - 400 pounds usually. If you see one "barking" and making a lot of loud noises, chances are you're looking at a sea lion as seals tend to be quieter and make softer grunts. So in summary > If it's screaming at you, has ear flaps, and it's walking on land, you're probably looking at a sea lion, and if it's being quiet like a ninja, earless, and flopping around on land, odds are it's a seal. Here is a good chart to use when comparing: And now for a real picture, you can immediately spot some of the differences, noticing the "hole" on the seals head for ears compared to the obvious flapped ears of the sea lion. The flippers also make it very obvious which is which, with the sea lion having those large and outward facing flippers. Also this picture makes it very easy to note the difference in how their necks look, with the sea lions being much longer. I'll leave you with a few fun facts about seals and sea lions. Seals can sleep underwater and can surface for air without waking up. Seal pups are born very fluffy with white fur, and later shed it. Sea lions are highly intelligent and can solve problems, recognize patterns, learn tricks, and remember commands. A seals whiskers are able to detect even the smallest of water movements, allowing it to hunt fish in dark or murky waters. Male sea lions are known to be extremely aggressive and get much larger than the female sea lion. During mating season they become extremely territorial. A seal can reach speeds of up to 15-20 miles per hour and a sea lion can reach speeds of up to 25. Sea lions have been known to dive as deep as 600 feet. Seal moms and pups find each other in seal colonies through sound alone and are able to identify each other's individual "voices". I hope you enjoyed this, and I'll see you tomorrow with more fish

I'm going to continue doing some fish blogs for awhile since I'm having some fun writing them and people seem to be interested in them. So my question is, what fish or marine animal would you like me to write about in upcoming blogs? I'll eventually get around to all suggestions, and it can be any type of fish, shark, or marine life animal. So far I have a list of upcoming ones for: Oarfish Anglerfish Any other suggestions anyone has?

Since graduating high school, I've mostly been working fast food, studying japanese, and drawing repeat repeat repeat... That was until I took the JLPT n4 test in december. I failed it. But ya, I did. I learned a lot about how the test works and how to study for it. I'm still studying as much as I can, but now I have a new goal! I'm drawing a manga for Silent Manga Audition! I'm still studying japanese for N3.... which is the next hardest test. the thing is I almost passed the test, and I just don't want to take it again! I have a lot of goals now, and I'm making progress in them so its ok! On top of that, I'm starting a phelubotomy course starting in April so I don't have to keep working in fast food. My job is chill, but sometimes its brain numbing. yknow? So now I have so many things on my plate, the manga contest (may 10th is the deadline), JLPT n3 (next december), and work. Its kind a lot but it keeps me busy! In January I was feeling pretty down bc I was just waiting for my test results, but now I have things to do which is nice! I've only completed one page of my manga, so I kinda need to lock in and work on that. I'm gonna do that right now, but just to give u guys an idea of what its about, the title is "I had a Dream where I Learned how to Skateboard, so I turned it into a Reality!" But ya, lots of things going on. But I'm locked in!!!!!!!!! RAHHHHHHHHH☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

I'm posting this a little later than I wanted to today, but I haven't been feeling the greatest over the last 24 hours and I've had a bit of a fever. I'm feeling better now though so decided to post this before I go back to bed. Today I'm doing a little info-blog about stingrays and manta rays, their differences, similarities, habits, and hopefully a lot of facts you'll find interesting about both species. First, let's talk a little about the differences between stingrays and manta rays. Stingrays: Flat, diamond-shaped, or circular bodies. Their habitat is usually coastal waters and sandy or muddy areas. For food they scoop or suck prey up from the sand. They have a whip like tail that may have one or more stingers depending on the species of rays. Likes to be buried in the sand. Manta Rays: Much larger than stingrays, they have triangular pectoral fins and cephalic lobes near their mouth. They are more often found in large open areas of the ocean. They do sometimes come to the coast as well but they typically prefer more open areas. They are filter feeders and swim with their mouths open. Their tails are very thin, short, and they do not have stingers. They migrate and are very social. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Some easy ways to tell the difference between stingrays and manta rays: The easiest way is size. Stingrays are much smaller, usually 1-6 feet, and manta rays are huge reaching sizes of up to 23 feet across. Stingrays are often sitting on the sea floor or in shallow areas, manta rays are usually in deeper ocean areas near reefs. Another good way is to look for the mouth. The mouth of a stingray is on the underside, designed for bottom feeding, and the mouth of a ray is on the front of their body and they are usually swimming with it wide open for filter feeding. So if you've got a huge fish swimming at you with its mouth wide open, odds are it's a manta ray. Here's a good image for visual with a manta ray on the left and a sting ray on the right: The above picture also helps you visualize the shape, you can see the sting rays are much rounder and the manta rays appear to have wings. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ While neither species is aggressive, it is important to remember that stingrays, while not aggressive by nature, can become defensive, and use their tails to protect themselves and sting, especially if stepped on. Manta rays are generally very gentle, curious, and don't have a stinger to harm you with. Manta rays = ocean puppies, stingrays = spicy sand pancakes. Here are a few parting facts you might find interesting about both: Giant manta rays can grow up to 23 feet (7 meters) across. Stingrays often bury themselves in sand with only their eyes sticking out. Manta rays have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any fish. They show signs of intelligence, curiosity, and even self-awareness. Some researchers believe they may recognize themselves in mirrors. Despite their size, mantas eat tiny plankton. Stingrays eat clams, shrimp, worms, and small fish, and they use their powerful jaws to crush shells. Female mantas usually give birth to one pup at a time and sometimes only every 2–3 years. Stingrays are part of the cartilaginous fish family, meaning their skeletons are made of cartilage, not bone Manta rays can live 40–50 years, possibly longer. Stingrays can detect tiny electrical signals from prey hiding in the sand. Mantas are known to leap completely out of the ocean. Scientists aren’t 100% sure why but it could be possibly for communication, mating displays, or just showing off. Stingrays usually have between 2-6 pups at a time. The spot pattern on a manta ray’s belly is like a fingerprint with each one having a different one. Researchers use these patterns to identify individuals. See you guys tomorrow for my snakehead blog~! I hope you enjoyed reading this one.

A couple weeks ago I went on a really nice hiking trail with @Zeref and took a buncha pics. The day was one of those really nice ones with the perfect blue skies we've been having a lot of lately. Another perfect weather day too which is always nice for walking. I've really liked going out for hikes and walks lately and just being in the quietness of nature. I think that's really good for mental health too. Being able to be somewhere quiet and relax and just enjoy the peacefulness of being alive. It's definitely helped me. I really liked this particular place we went to because they had all different types of trails depending on what kind of hiking experience you were wanting to have such as ones for more experienced hikers or flatter ones that were only around a mile long for people not that experienced. We kind of stuck to the latter ones because I wasn't really feeling climbing up a buncha complicated things that day lol ~ Anyway I really wanted to share the pictures from there because I thought it was a really lovely place I'll put most of these behind spoilers so it's not to overwhelmed with pictures: Out in the wooded part of the trails: I really liked this tree because it was a place people could carve their initials on ~ And here's some pictures of the sky ~ Lastly, I just thought the paintings on the building were pretty ~

A few weeks back @Zeref and I went on a sunset river cruise on the Belle of Louisville. For a little background information, the Belle of Louisville is a steamboat that is still in operation and was built in 1914. Per Wiki- "She initially operated as a passenger ferry between Memphis, Tennessee, and West Memphis, Arkansas. She also hauled cargo such as cotton, lumber, and grain. She then came to Louisville in 1931 and ran trips between the Fontaine Ferry amusement park near downtown Louisville and Rose Island, a resort about 14 miles (23 km) upriver from Louisville. From 1934 through World War II, she operated a regular excursion schedule. During this time she was outfitted with special equipment to push oil barges along the river. She also served as a floating USO nightclub for troops stationed at military bases along the Mississippi River." & Now you can take fun trips on her during the day or take an evening sunset cruise which is what we did : D Sorry the pictures aren't that great but the sunset from the boat was really pretty and we were pretty fortunate that we were on a smaller cruise & the boat wasn't packed. It was easy to walk around and get views from all sides of the boat without having to wait for other people standing around. These are pictures of the sunset from the boat: These are pictures coming back into the city after dark: Note ~ The bridge pictures are the walking bridge as it's known here, it constantly changes colors & you can walk across it from the Louisville side to the Indiana side and end up in Jeffersonville. These were prior to leaving while the boat was still docked & daylight pictures going upriver: That's all for now, hope you guys enjoy the pics ;D

Cleeve Abbey is a medieval monastery near the village of Washford in Somerset and was founded in 1198 by William de Roumare with monks from Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire of the austere Cistercian order. The abbey was not among the more distinguished abbeys of the Cistercian order and suffered from poor governance and financial troubles. Although towards the end of its existence its fortunes, and living standards, had improved. A fact demonstrated by the expensive high status tiled flooring it had gained by then, some of which has amazingly managed to survive. The abbey church took several decades to construct and was of a conservative cruciform design with a aisled nave with seven bays, the transepts each had two side chapels. To the south of the abbey church a cloister was built surrounded by the domestic buildings. The abbey grounds were defended by a water filled moat and a gatehouse. The abbey was closed in 1536 by Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The abbey church was demolished so it could no longer be used as a place of worship but unusually the rest of the monastic buildings were left untouched and became a private house and passed though several owners one of whom was Robert Radcliffe the 1st Earl of Sussex who was granted the house in 1538 by the King. Cleeve declined in importance and by the early 17th century had become a farm and was extended by the construction of a farmhouse. In the 1860's the abbey was acquired by the Luttrell family of Dunster and George Luttrell began repairs to arrest the decay of the buildings at this time the site ceased to be used as a farm and was divided up into three rented cottages. Excavations on the site by George Luttrell in the 1870's supervised by the archaeologist CH Sampson traced the extent of the abbey church and discovered evidence of other buildings and features. Today Cleeve Abbey is one of the best preserved medieval Cistercian monastic sites in the country. Several of the buildings not only survived but survived surprisingly intact and are still habitable including the gatehouse, the 15th century refectory with its impressive roof, while the dormitory is one of the finest examples in the country. The abbey is now in the care of English Heritage and is a Grade 1 listed building and scheduled ancient monument. The Gatehouse where charity in the form of food, clothing or money was distributed. The arch on the left led to the Chapter House, the stairway led up to the monk's dormitory on the floor above. The top floor of the building on the right was the refectory. Inside the monk's dormitory. The amazing carved ceiling of the refectory. (an incredible survivor considering that this room was used for storage when the buildings were used as a farm) A closer look at one of the carved figures. All that's left of the Abbey church are the bases of the pillars of the nave. The Chapter House once stood between where the ruined walls are. The room with the round window was the Sacristy. The dormitory occupied the whole of the upper floor. The door on the far right was the night stair from the dormitory to the church so the monks didn't have to go outside on cold evenings. On the left of the ruined wall was the Warming Room where a fire was lit in the winter months so the monks could come in from the cloister and warm themselves. The 13th century tiled floor in the original refectory, an amazing survivor. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog.

HELLO GUYS, ITS BEEN AWHILE AND THIS ENTRY IS FOR THE MONTH OF PRIDE HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES, THE EVENT WAS HELD IN AYALA MALLS 30TH IN PASIG. THIS EVENT HIGHLIGHTS THE ;GBT COMMUNITY WITH GRAPHIC AND WRITTEN NOVELS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON THE LGBT COMMUNITY, THERE ARE ALSO TALKS THAT FOCUSED ON HEALTH MAINLY THE TOPIC OF H.I.V. THIS EVENT IS ALSO HAD ANIME THEMED TRINKETS THAT FOCUSED IN LGBT. ALSO THEY HAD A FREE TESTING FOR H.I.V AS SEEN THER PICTURES, THAT IS ME WITH MY FRIENDS. THE PHOTOBOOTH WAS SO CUTE AND THE COLORS WAS MY FAVES. THE PEOPLE WHO ATTTENDED THE EVENT STARTED TO COME AROUND AFTERLUNCH SO IT WAS LUCKY THAT THIS EVENT WAS HELD INDOORS, THANKGOODNESS FOR AIRCONS, I ALSO HADE A SOLO PICTURE IN THE HPOTOBOOTH, SO THERE IS THE FREE TESTING AND THE DOCTORS WAS SO DISCREET THAT PRIVACY WAS UTMOST IMPORTANT TO THEM. ALLIN ALL THE EVENT WAS A SUCCESS

We drove to the river front the other day to the Indiana side to watch the sunset and I thought it ended up being really pretty so I decided to share some pictures from it. I won't make this a long entry because I don't have much else to say or add with this. This is from the Indiana side of the Ohio River looking towards Louisville, Kentucky. Usually I'm over on the other side taking pictures because we live on the riverfront but it was nice seeing it from the other side looking towards the larger skyscrapers. I thought the sunset reflecting on the water with the bridge in the back looked really lovely Plus it was very peaceful just having milkshakes and watching the sunset. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some better pictures because we are going on a sunset cruise on the Belle of Louisville boat :3

I've been in Chicago for what feels like forever even though it's only been a few weeks. Sunday I got back home to Kentucky. Luckily the plane ride isn't so long and I didn't feel tired when I got home so @Zeref and I decided to take a mini road trip out towards the countryside of Meade County, KY. There's a steakhouse out there we wanted to meet some of my aunts and cousins at for Sunday dinner. The drives about 45 minutes to an hour so a pretty nice long drive out there with a lot of pretty scenery along the way. I took a buncha pictures of everything. The sky was so beautifully blue! I also got some really pretty shots of the Ohio River when we went over it on the bridge. I thought I'd share those from that day here since it's been awhile since I posted a blog entry. First I want to put my favorite ones here ~ the rest will be behind the spoilers The first ones are when we were crossing over the Ohio River and the rest are all pictures from the countryside scenery as we were driving out. Everything has gotten so green now that Spring is here and the sky was perfect that day. I'll put the rest under spoilers here. These are pictures from my Great Aunt's farm such as views from her property and the old barn that has been there for 60 something years. The rest under this spoiler are just pictures of the Kentucky countryside. There's also a few more of the Ohio River in these. That's all for now but I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures ^^

I won't be back to AF for a little while again so I wanted to post a blog entry and some of the pictures I've taken this past week before I leave. These are all from my road trip back to Chicago with @Eris and @Sarada. We really had a fun time. We got a bit turned around and ended up in Missouri instead of Illinois the first night.. yeah yeah my bad LOL By the time we realized we had gone the wrong way we just decided meh, whatev's, let's go see St. Louis, so, we did! What would a road trip be anyways without some adventure? I've really enjoyed being back home. The reasons why I'm here are for mental health reasons so it's a bit personal and not exactly the best situation to be home for. Despite how I'm feeling I've felt more at peace since being home. Seeing the places I used to go to, meeting up with friends, seeing my family, staying in my dad's house. It's made me feel relaxed, safe, not stressed out, and just peaceful which is better than I've been in what feels like a really long time. Everything has just been kind of building for months and then kind of came crashing down at once. I decided to try a black and white photo which is not something I usually do. I tried the first one with an angle of a street I liked and the second one is downtown Chicago. I really like the way the black and white looks on the first set it kinda gives it a really old look. Not sure about the second one I think I like the way the colored one looks more. The ones below this spoiler are from the road during our trip here. The sunset that day was so pretty coming through the clouds that I had to take some pictures of it! Another one of my favorite things to take pictures of is the city lights at night. It was a bit cloudy as usual in Chicago this time of year, but I kinda think it just adds to the atmosphere. Or maybe I'm weird but I've always liked foggy and cloudy Chicago when I can look up at the huge skyscrapers and can't see the tops because they are in the clouds ~ Most of these are in and around the Chicago Tribune building which is right at the main center of the Magnificent Mile and the other is from out on Navy Pier. Below is just a few pictures of when we first headed out to walk around. The last picture is at The Field Museum. The Field Museum might look pretty familiar because it's been in a lot of movies such as Night At The Museum which is actually a movie I really like : D I guess that's all for now. I really wanna say thank you to all my friends though on AF who have been there for me lately. You guys mean the world to me

As the title states I would like some more friends, currently I only really talk to my mum, dad, brother and university class. I would enjoy having some additional people to talk to.

LAST FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WAS THE DAYS SOLELY FOR THE TOY CON, THE EVENT WAS SO FUN AND ALLOT OF PEOPLE ATTENDED THE EVENT. THE EVENT EVEN HAD TALKS ABOUT AN UPCOMING MOVIE TITLE "QUEZON:" A HISTORICAL MOVIE THAT TELL THE STORY ABOUT THE PRESIDENT MANUEL L. QUEZON , WITH THAT BEING SAID. I CANNOT WAIT TO WATCH IT AT THE CINEMAS, IT IS A PIECE OF HISTORY SELDOMLY TACKELD. BUT THE DETAILS OF THIS WOULD BE IN ANOUTHER BLOG , THE MAIN FOCUS OF THI EVENT WAS ANIME TOYS AND COLLECTIBLES FROM THEB PRESENT AND THE PAST. HERE ARE SOME PICTURES FROM THE EVENT ITSELF, AND BY THE WAY, I ATTENDED ONLY THE 2ND DAY (SATURDAY) MEET PLUMBER, ONE OF THE PAWMPLOYEE OF THE EVENT, HE WAS SO CUTE AND WELL BEHAVED. SHENRON AND LITTLE GOKU \ AND OFCOURSE THIS IS PSYDUCK, WITH A MASSIVE MIGRAINE A CHUBBY KRILIN FOR THE WIN, SO CUTE AND EXPENSIVE, >.<!!! KARASUNO TOBIO KAGEYAMA WITH HIS JERSYE IS SO HOT!! PRIII!!!! A TOGEPI INSIGHT, BUT WHERE IS MISTY??? AND OFCOURSE, ANYA FORGER IS OUT IN AN ADVENTURE WITHOUT HER LOVING PARENTS, OR EVEN BOND. THE PEOPLE ARE STILL ARRIVING UNTIL THE NIGHT TIME, BUT THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN LIKE 5PM. AND YES IT IS STILL SUNNY. A VIEW FROM THE 2ND FLOOR WITH A ZOOM OF 2.4 FROM MY PHONE, TAKING PHOTOS AND TRYING THE ZOOM ASPECTS OF IT.

Brean Down is a headland between Burnham on sea and Weston super mare in Somerset and at the far end of it stands a fort. Brean Down Fort was a Victorian naval fortification built in the 1860s and designed to protect the Bristol Channel against a possible Napoleonic invasion. The fort is one of the "Palmerston Forts" which were built in several locations round the coast following a Royal Commission report about the defence of the United Kingdom prompted by concerns about the strength of the French navy. The name comes from Lord Palmerston who was Prime Minister at the time and promoted their construction. Some of the fort's buildings like the officers quarters and barrack block survive as do the gun emplacements. The fort was originally armed with seven 7 inch guns in three gun positions although the fort never saw any action apart from gunnery practise. The end of the fort's operational life came to a sudden and dramatic end on the 6th of July 1900 when a soldier named Gunner Haines fired his rifle down the ventilation shaft of no 3 magazine. The magazine at the time contained three tons of gunpowder and the resultant huge explosion caused massive damage to the fort and as a result the fort was closed down. No one really knows why Gunner Haines did this because he did not survive to explain his action. With the start of the second world war the fort was rearmed with two 6 inch naval guns and searchlight batteries and was used as a testing site for experimental secret weapons. The foundations of the second world war barracks can be seen outside the fort. During the 1980s and 90s the original buildings were renovated and made safe so that people could visit the fort in safety. The fort is now in the care of the National Trust. A general view of the fort and its location. The barrack block. Inside the barrack block. Nothing survives of the original interior except a fireplace at one end. A world war two gun emplacement. The ammunition for the gun would have been stored in the compartments under the emplacement and along the side wall. The original 1870s gun emplacement and ammunition store. The officer's quarters. This is the most well preserved building on the fort and still has its interior walls, sadly it is not open to the public. Thank you for reading this blog entry, I hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting.

The Blaenafon Iron Works which started producing iron around 1789 is the best preserved blast furnace of its time to survive from the beginning of the industrial revolution. Because the blast furnaces couldn't be allowed to cool down, unless it was for repair and maintenance, they were operated 24 hours a day seven days a week. For 12 hours each day men worked in the blistering heat of the furnaces constantly at risk from fire, molten iron and poisonous fumes. The molten iron would be at 1500 degrees Celsius which is hotter than molten lava. The ironworks also employed many children who often worked up on the top yard an area level with the tops of the furnaces where children under 13 and as young as 5 spent their days breaking ore for the calcining kilns that removed the impurities from the ore before it was fed into the furnaces from the charge houses built on the very top of the furnaces. The gases rising up from the furnace below and filling the charge houses would be at around 200 to 300 degrees Celsius. In 1842 government inspectors discovered 185 children under the age of 13 working in the ironworks, a quarter of them were girls. The workforce lived on the job in rows of small two storey terraced houses, which while small they were well built, the museum has a number of these set out as they would have been at different times. There was also a company ran shop on site that sold the basic necessities of life, however the prices charged were high and in the 1830s the shops provided a tenth of the company's profits. The iron works is a World Heritage Site and many of its structures are Grade 1 listed. This is a model, appropriately made of iron, that shows how the works would have looked when working. A general view of the works showing the foundry, the cast house for no.2 furnace and the Ballance tower. The balance tower is the most impressive of the remaining buildings. It's a water powered lift that lifted goods 80 feet up to the level of the top yard. I had two platforms and the weight of the top platform lifted the bottom platform up. Another view of the cast house for no. 2 furnace and beyond that the foundry. The row of worker's cottages which were about 300 feet away from the furnaces. The mound in the centre is the base of a huge chimney stack for the boiler houses that once stood in front of the cottages, about where the railings are today. A view of the remains of furnaces 4 and 5, both of which have lost their cast houses. These are two of the calcining ovens on the top level beside the tops of the furnaces where the ore was prepared to be fed to the ever hungry furnaces below. I found the whole iron works to be a fascinating and interesting place to visit. So thank you for reading my blog and I hope you found it interesting.

Bodium Castle is an impressive fortress, built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II. The castle has no keep and all the rooms and chambers are built around the outer defensive wall. This was characteristic of castle architecture in the 14th century. Sadly, while the exterior of the castle has survived largely intact the interior has not, although enough of the walls and foundations survive to allow some reasonably educated guesses about the interior layout. The castle has a round tower at each corner and a square tower in the centre of each wall, two of these towers contain the entrances. The castle is surrounded by a huge moat that gives the impression that the castle is standing in the centre of a lake rather than surrounded by a moat. Access to the main gatehouse was via a small octagonal island in the middle of the moat connected by bridges, one of which may have been a drawbridge. The gatehouse itself comprises two imposing towers and had three portcullises. Today the castle is accessed by a bridge going strait to the central island but the original access route was via a bridge set at 90 degrees to the castle entrance making it hard for an enemy force to charge the main gatehouse. The access to the postern gate was a much simpler affair with little defensive capability. However the postern was very low and narrow and the gatehouse featured murder holes in its ceiling. Viewed from the edge of the moat the castle has all the appearance of an impressive and powerful fortress but it is questionable if it was really intended to be a fortress. The outer wall has some quite large windows in it which are certainly weak points in its defensive capabilities. Indeed it has been questioned if this was really a fortified manor house designed to impress visitors rather than a castle because despite it's three portcullises and murder holes in the ceiling of the gatehouse the arrow slits in the upper levels are unsuitable for this purpose and some military historians have raised questions about the design of the the crenelations and suggest that they may have been purely decorative. However, the castle was involved in two conflicts. In 1483 during the wars of the Roses it was placed under siege by Richard III's forces and surrendered. During the English Civil War the castle was attacked by the Parliamentary forces and following its capture the castle was slighted, meaning that it was deliberately damaged so it could not be used as a fortress this involved destroying the interior buildings and bridges. It has also been said that the moat could be drained fairly quickly by any attacking forces. The castle's 28 garderobes (toilets) discharged into the moat, so the castle was effectively surrounded by an open sewer so even if the attackers drained the moat it would not have been a pleasant area to cross. But whatever your opinion of its defensive capabilities, when viewed from a distance it presents the perfect image of a powerful fortress set in the middle of a lake and the very essence of what a mediaeval castle should look like. Which is why it appears on the covers of so many books about castles. Today the castle is owned by the National Trust and is a protected Grade I listed building and Scheduled Monument. The main gatehouse and a classic image of an English castle surrounded by a moat. The postern gate, more a sort of tradesman's entrance. It was too narrow for a cart to pass though and too low for a horse and rider to pass through. It has been suggested that in the 14th century it was intended as the servants and tradesmen’s entrance. Another view of the heavily fortified main gatehouse and all that's left of the building on the central island. A view of the main gatehouse and one of the side walls. One of the side walls of the castle, the large windows were a weak point in its defences. The interior of the castle was destroyed after it fell to the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War. The various doorway openings in the wall give an hint of the upper floors of the castle. Another interior view showing the locations of doors and fireplaces in the upper floors. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and found it interesting.

The hovercraft museum is on the seafront at Lee-on-the-Solent and is situated in one of the iconic Type J hangars within “Seaplane Square”, an important part of the former HMS Daedalus Royal Naval air base. The Type J hangers are all Grade II listed buildings and provided essential storage and maintenance facilities for seaplanes in the early 20th century and also played an important role in the development of hovercraft which were invented by British engineer Christopher Cockerell in the 1950s and developed by Saunders Roe. The SR.N designation stands for Saunders Roe Nautical. It is the world's only hovercraft museum. It has a collection of over 50 hovercraft of varying types and sizes. The collection includes both military and civilian hovercraft. Among the hovercraft on display are two of the craft from the 2002 James Bond film "Die Another Day" Sizes range from small one man hovercraft to the mighty SR.N4 "The Princess Anne" the worlds largest civilian car carrying hovercraft which could carry 427 passengers and 60 cars in its cavernous car deck. SR.N4 hovercraft operated between Dover and Calais for 30 years. The service eventually ceased because not only was such a huge craft expensive to maintain and operate but also the opening of the channel tunnel meant they lost their competitive edge on journey times across the channel. Only one of these magnificent machines survives and sadly it is no longer operational. The mighty SR.N4 hovercraft "The Princess Anne". The car loading ramp on the SR.N4. The orange ladder you can see is the access ladder to the flight deck. Inside the cavernous car deck which could hold 60 cars. Part of the passenger compartment on the port side of the SR.N4. There was another one on the starboard side giving a total of 427 seats. The flight deck of the SR.N4 "Swift", and sadly all that remains of the Swift. The BH7 military hovercraft designed for strategic operations and rapid deployment. An SR.N6 twin prop 'Super 6'. This is one of the hovercraft used in the James Bond film "Die Another Day". Three one man hovercraft. One of the SR.N4's four propellers, each blade is 21 feet long. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog entry and found it interesting.

Hello, hello AF. I have never made a blog in my entire life but I have decided to put one together focusing on something I love: Gaming. I'll review games I've played here or games that I am playing at the current time. For my Runescape friends on this site I will also be reviewing new releases in OSRS related to bosses or new content. You can look for guides here in games I play regularly and have a lot of familiarity with coming too. I will be putting together my first official guide and entry on the next post and look forward to posting some gaming guides that which will help anyone out who is also a gamer like myself.

The story of Glastonbury Abbey story starts somewhere around 670AD when a Saxon church was built on the site, this was later replaced with a much larger Norman church, which was destroyed in a fire in 1184. The ruins we see today are all that is left of the Great Church which replaced the Norman church and work on it was started in 1189. You only have to look at what remains to get some idea of how huge and impressive it must have looked when it was finished. In 1191 while excavating in the abbey cemetery the monks found, buried at a great depth, a wooden coffin which reportedly carried an inscription claiming it contained the bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The bones of King Arthur were re buried in the abbey in 1278 in a black marble tomb at a service attended by King Edward I. Some historians claim that the bones had nothing to do with King Arthur and that it was all just a publicity stunt to gain the abbey more funds for its rebuilding programme, but who now knows what the truth is. When you stand in front of the sign and look at the place where the tomb stood it's not easy to dismiss it and walk away, the legend of King Arthur is as strong today as it was then. By the 14th Century the Abbey was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England and controlled huge tracts of the surrounding land. But things didn't go on forever, and the end came in 1539 as a result of the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. The Abbey today is a grade 1 listed building and scheduled ancient monument. The view from the choir towards the Lady Chapel. The two huge pillars are all that is left of the supports of the tower and transepts. The railed off area is the site of the High Altar. (the sky colour was create with a filter) A view into the Lady Chapel. There was originally a floor going the full length of the chapel, the bridge walkway is a modern addition. Part of the outside wall of the Lady Chapel. This is, or was, the Abbot's kitchen and is the only complete building of the Abbey that remains. The sign marking the place where the tomb of King Arthur was sited. Thank you for reading this blog entry, I hope you found it interesting.

Last weekend, once I was out of the hospital, my friends, my sister and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. A little mental health walk as we called it lol Those can actually do wonders because it kind of lifted my spirits when I was feeling really down. The Dogwood trees in the area are blooming now, as are a lot of the other trees, and things just looked really pretty so I took some photos to share of it I really love Spring once everything starts blooming and the trees are coming back. The temperature is always just perfect too usually between 50-60 and I'm not hot or cold and I feel good being outside and taking walks. Dogwoods and Cherry Blossoms are some of my favorite trees when they are blooming ~ I think the pink ones in the photos are Cherry Blossoms and I'm not sure what some of the other ones are such as the red trees. The whole neighborhood area is blooming with them right now though ^^ Anyways hope you guys like the photos. Hopefully I can get back to creating blog entries again soon after I start to feel a little better. I think I messed up resizing some of the photos but it'll haveta do for now lol

Hello everyone, Ulas here with a new update. I told you in my first Blog post that i'll do music album reviews here, but the plans changed and i decided today that i'll do Song Reviews instead. The reason is I'm not motivated to do a full album review, since i have other hobbies as well in my free time, and i just don't have the time nor the motivation to do a full album review. I have the feel that it could get too stressful and i want to avoid that, because writing about a hobby should be fun. That's why i'll stick to write about one song only because that might take time as well, but it definitely wouldn't get stressful like writing about a whole album. I will see when i do the first song review, because i still have to think about what song i'll pick first to start my new future song review journey on this Blog here. But to be immediately clear here, i won't review every song! Only songs which i personally want to review and write my opinion about them. Thank you for understanding guys, and i wish you a great day, or a great night, whenever you read this post from me. Until then, see you next time with my first song review.

so heyo anime fans and otakus its me Otaku. i have not posted for a while because I've been... actually there is no excuse I've been exploreing diffrent places on the net and I've found a community. This community i will not share the name of due to it being similar to 4chan and i don't want to get banned for that. Anyways i will still post on here but not as much or maybe not at all (sorry about the contradictory sentences) This website has a great community and I'm glad you all welcomed me. I dunno maybe i will continue to use both now this has been unbanned from my assigned laptop. I know i said i was back in February and well i lied ima be honest i dunno if ill stay for that long i cant predict future me, but i have gotten better I've been going to therapy and have been on something that makes me feel better about myself so i am struggling still but with different issues. like i cant seem to socially interact with my peers or i cant seem to leave the house unless one of my friends drag me out to "hang out" so i have to appear normal. but skools been fine i started this year the academics is easy im attempting to transfer to higher level classes at the moment, i hate my classmates. Summer was fun i went to metrocon and attended pannel rooms and got some kool merch. dunno what else to say but ill try to be more active

Over the UK May Bank Holiday weekend, 2nd to 5th May 2025, I went to the West Somerset Railway's Spring Steam Spectacular. The railway has held these steam galas since the mid-1990s and I have attended most of them and have photographs of every Spring Gala since 2002. What's so special about these you might ask, well on a normal day the railway will run 4 or 5 trains in each direction per day with 2 or 3 steam locomotives in use. On a gala there could be up to 16 trains in each direction and 9 or 10 steam locomotives in service and they also run goods trains which gives some variety to what you can see, so you can see the appeal for railway enthusiasts like me. A brief bit of history. The railway originally opened in 1862 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway between Taunton and Watchet and was built to the broad gauge of 7 foot and a quarter inch it is a single line railway with loops at several place along the route where trains could pass each other. Watchet was at that time a major port on the River Severn as well as an industrial centre and exports from the port included flour, limestone, textiles, iron ore, paper and in later years car parts. On my first visit to Watchet in 1979 the port was still working and it was interesting watching ships come in, the whole port are was of course shut off from the town because of quarantine regulations, today the port continues to exist as a marina. But back to the history, the inhabitants of Minehead looked at the railway that ended in Watchet and wanted the railway to come to their town and they got their wish in 1874 when the line was extended to Minehead, this explains why the station building at Watchet is at a right angle to the station platform rather than parallel to it. In 1876 the Bristol and Exeter Railway became part of the Great Western Railway and in 1882 the line was converted from broad gauge to standard gauge. Williton station, one of the passing points, still has evidence of its broad gauge origins in the large space between the platforms it also has an original Bristol and Exeter Railway signal box. From the 1930s to the 1960s Minehead became a popular tourist destination and attracted thousands of holiday makers each year a so unlike many branch lines the station at Minehead can take a 12 coach train. But the line was included in the infamous Beeching Report as one that could be closed and even the opening of a Butlins Holiday camp in 1962 wasn't enough to save the railway and the last train ran in January 1971. But that wasn't the end of the railway. In February 1971 a group of local business men investigated the idea of acquiring the line and running it as a private all year round commuter service to Taunton, for various reasons this plan didn't happen and today the line operates as a heritage steam railway, which is where we came in at the start of this blog entry. The railway today runs from Bishops Lydeard, near Taunton, to the coast at Minehead and at 20 miles is England's longest Heritage railway and has 10 stations along its route, it is regarded as one of the country's premier heritage railways it still has a connection to the main line and on occasion special charter railtour trains, sometimes steam hauled, arrive at Minehead from places like London Paddington. I had a really enjoyable 4 days on the railway and the weather was warm and sunny which made waiting around between trains very pleasant. I took a huge number of photographs, some of which are below. When you look at these photos remember that all of the locomotives in them were rescued from a scrap yard as rusting heaps and have been beautifully restored to working order by their owners. The demonstration goods train arriving at Blue Anchor station behind heavy freight locomotive no. 2807. Built in 1905 the loco is the oldest surviving working GWR loco. A train in the landscape. A passenger train on its way from Dunster to Blue Anchor. A beautifully restored GWR Manor class locomotive no.7812 Erlestoke Manor departing from Crowcombe Heathfield station Two trains passing at Williton. Note the wide gap between the two tracks as a result of the station being built as a broad gauge station. GWR Saint class loco no.2999 Lady of Legend (running as 2986 Robin Hood for the gala) passing through Stogumber station. The area on the right was once the goods yard but is now a beautifully kept garden and picnic site, and a nice place to just sit and enjoy watching the trains go by. 2807 on the turntable at Minehead station. This is how you turn 76 tons of steam loco round so its facing the right way for the return journey, and yes, the crew push it round by hand! Thank you for reading this blog entry, I hope you found it interesting and informative.

"Embrace the oddness." We humans often don't like the change, the irregularities happening around us. It makes us feel tense, even scared. If a built system works just right enough, we don't try to change it. We only improve it when necessary. We call them laws, traditions, cultures, beliefs and so on. Stability is the most crucial part of a healthy society. That's why making a radical change is one of the most craziest things a society could do. They can actively create a disturbance. And no one knows what will be the consequences of such actions. You are following me so far, right? Good. Even though we don't like it, we get attracted to the oddness. Like a moth to a flame. It feels intriguing to experience such rare things. A ghost tale you've heard is probably someone else's imagination, but what if it's not? That possibility creates a disturbance in your mind. You don't know what could be the consequences if said ghosts were real. Are you going to see one too? Will it haunt you? What if they can talk? Now, let's change the things a little bit. What if we mix this oddness with art? How can we do that? How can we portray that weird feeling? "Feel the weirdness." One way to create that feeling is through paintings. I'm going to show you someone that does it perfectly. Suguru Tanaka, an artist with an amazing skill to draw something so unusual yet familiar. These are just examples to show you how paintings can make you feel... different. But what about other forms? Without giving you a wall of text let's jump onto the next one, games. "Play the dreams." Okay, this one is somewhat already known. Have you ever heard of a little game called "Yume Nikki"? It's a great, dream-like game with no story. I won't spoil much but expect some surprises here and there. You explore these unique worlds while trying to go to the next one: Yume Nikki is an amazing experience, really. Though I admit, it can feel boring if you are not interested in slow paced games. But the feeling of exploration is still unmatched and only succeeded by its own fan made sequel. This game has an amazing soundtrack too, I still listen to it after all these years. And you heard it right, this game has a fan made sequel called "Yume 2kki"! Now, Yume 2kki is literally a trophy. It's a fan game that is clearly made with love. It's actually still being developed almost monthly! There are thousands of maps, yes, thousands of them for you to explore at your own pace. Got stuck? Head over to the extensive wiki that basically covers all the maps. Here are some of the maps to show you how creative the fans can be:

FOR THIS WEEKEND THE EVENT FOCUSES THE KOREAN POP LIFESTYLE, THERE ARE ALLOT OF GAMES AND ACTIVITIES THAT ATTENDESES GOT THE CHANCE TO ENGAGE THEMSELVES. , THERE IS ALSO A PHOTOBOOTH AND A CONFESSION WALL THAT BEWILDERED ME.. I MEAN WHY HAVE A CONFESSION WALL IN THAT EVENT BUT USUALLY IS DONE AT VALENTINE EVENTS, AFCOURSE THE EVENT MAINLY FOCUSES ON KOREAN POP SCENE SO THERE ARE KOREAN MERCH

This morning I checked my AP score results. I had signed up for two classes, AP art where I had drawn a comic series throughout the year, building a portfolio to submit. And AP Japanese, where my knowledge from the past 4 years of my studying would be put to the test. How scoring works, is its 1 - 5, 3 is passing and anything under means you don't get the college credit. Japanese I got a 2 (｡•́︿•̀｡). And for Art I got a 4 (o_O) ! I was expecting to fail my art, since I wasn't sure how anime esque manga inspired comic would be received by highly technical artists who are scoring my work. If you would like to see my comic, I'll be posting it on my art channel called Froggy's Art or something like that. I forget. This is a link to the thread here. I was feeling confident with my writing and reading, but I think I messed up on the speaking portion, I fumbled that for sure. I didn't really know what to say in regards to Japanese sports since I'm not a fan. But oh well. I was planning to take the JPLT, but I think I might postpone it. I've been studying less since I've just been pursuing other things than school. But seeing these scores really makes me reflect, with my dad I've been having a lot of conversations about what career I'm going to pursue. I'm already taking a gap year, so I can just figure something out. But really, I just want to make art, hang out with friends, and watch anime. I enjoy reading manga in Japanese and anime without the subtitles, and when I go to Japan again then I'll have skills to navigate. But in regards, to working in Japan or trying to fit in there, I don't think its for me. In middle school, I used to idealize Japan a lot. As any normal child, I've done my fair share of daydreaming. But when it comes to reality, I want to develop my art skills. Practice Japanese as a hobby, and enjoy other aspects of my life like skateboarding and making memories with people that are important to me. Pretending to be something I'm not is something I'm going to let go of. Just to reference, the area I live has a high korean population. I'm asian, but south asian. Ever since I was kid, I've had a hard time fitting in or having a community because I'm mixed and don't properly relate to my white or asian side. At my school, the korean kids always sticked together because of discrimination, but that meant I couldn't fit in with the white kids or the asians at all. I felt really left out, after giving up on trying to fit in, I just did everything in my power to be as weird as possible because I just wanted attention. (-_-;)・・・ I thought I could make my whole personality be being weird, but that also wasn't me. There are very normal things about me, liking anime is important to me like a lot of different things. I'm glad my interest has pushed me to work hard in Japanese class, and anime and manga for inspiring me to make art. In my Japanese and art classes, I've made great friends and memories. It was the best part of my highschool life, which is why I wanted to take the AP, just to see how what I learned would measure up. But the actual value of those classes was teaching me that identity is made up of tons of things, who you are changes, but the things you love don't fade away that easily. Doing what you love to is the best way to live(〃￣ω￣〃ゞ That's all!

I recently watched this movie called "The Sixth Sense" and in the movie one of the characters said to just write without thinking and you'll end up writing stuff you didn't know was inside you. I like that kind of and wanna bite his style. For these I am just gonna think "out loud" in a sense. I realized maybe I am not educated enough to really appreciate paintings. Like I recently went to an art museum and none of the paintings really spoke to me. I did like the religious stuff even though it's not the religion I follow, That probably means something. I mostly enjoy sculptures, I think they are the closest thing to encapsulating the true beauty and individuality and similarities between all people. They are made with the intent to preserve and they are to be taken kind of at face value while still giving me the narrative that its trying to push. I don't mind having to think when looking at art. But something about paintings just don't stick with me. I realized all my blogs have been one block of writing and maybe that's not normal. In school they made us write big ass paragraphs. sometimes my paragraphs in essays would be 2-3 pages long. but the professors didn't care the grade was still A+. thanks for tuning in today's work rant was lowkey not that serious.

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first ever blog. At first i didn't really know what i could write about in my blog, but then i had an idea and just thought i could write my opinions about music albums here. I love music very much, and i also love to listen to old music and new music because i personally think that there are a lot of great old songs and new songs. There will be positive reviews but also negative reviews sometimes, but of course i still try to write my opinions in a constructive way and will name actual reasons why i didn't like some albums. If you're interested in this, then feel free to read my future reviews about music albums. See you soon with a album review.

Sorry I've been less active I've been dealing with finals, got two done today and I have 3 tomorrow. Also just been focused on my relationship but also struggling mentally a bit but I'm sure things will improve.

HI GUYS, THIS IS ONE EVENT WHERE J-POP, ANIME OST, K-POP AND P-POP WAS COMBINED, ALLOT OF DANCE PERFORMANCE WITH IDOLS AND THE BEST OF ALL IT WAS FOR FREE. HERE ARE SOME SNIPETS FOR IT THERE ARE ALSO MERCHANTS THAT SELLS CUTE KNITTED ITEMS THAT TOTALLY MAKES THE EVENT MORE MEMORABLE.

Oh, boy--is there a lot to share with you guys. I'll keep it short, though; I passed 2nd semester! I really had to lock in and focus on improving my test-taking strategies, and I think it finally paid off. I end the course with an 82%, which is all that I need to progress. And now, I look to an entire summer to relax, recuperate and prepare for the next school year. Until then, I'll just hang back and enjoy my newfound free time. This was an incredibly trying time for, not just me but, everybody. I think it brought the worst out of all my classmates, but we all pulled through. I hope to see everyone's faces at the end of it all.

TIS THE LENTEN SEASON HERE IN THE HPILIPPINES AND ALL I CAN SAY IS THE WEATHER IS MORE HUMID THE NORMAL AND ALLOT OF PEOPLE WOULD CHOOSE TO GO TRAVEL ABROAD OR HAVE A ROADTRIP HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES. THE GO-TO PLACES RIGHT NOW ARE THE BEACHES AND OFCOURSE THE SUMMER CAPITAL OF THE HPILIPPINES(BAGUIO), THAT PLACE IS REALLY AN ESCAPE FROM ALL THE HEAT THAT WE HAVE TO ENDURE THUS SAYING THAT THOSE PLACES ARE MOSTLY JAM-PACKED WITH TOURISTS AND LOCALS ALIKE. STILL THE ESSENCE OF THE DAYS OF LENT ARE NOT FORGOTTEN. VISITA IGLESIA OR CHURCH VISITATION IS A MUST ALSO WHILE YOU YOU'RE AT IT, SAY THE ROSARY AND DO THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS. AFTER WE ALSO OBSERVE THE TRADITION OF NOT EATING ANY MEAT ON ALL FRIDAYS OF LENT. ONLY FISH, FRUITS, VEGGIES. THE TV SHOWS ARE ALMOST ALL ABOUT LENT EVEN MOVIES ON LOCAL CHANNELS. WHEN I WAS A KID I USED TO WATCH EVERY YEAR THE 10 COMMANDMENTS, LIFE OF SAINTS AND OFCOURSE THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST.

I FINALLY FIND TIME TO GET MY LATE FATHER'S CAMERA REPAIRED AND WORKING AGAIN.. FROM THEN ON I REALIZED THAT MY PASSION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY DID NOT PASS AT ALL... I REMEMBER MY RELATIVES TELLING ME THAT I CANT HAVE A REAL JOB JUST BY DOING PHOTOGRAPHY. THAT IS JUST A HOBBY THAT YOU DO TO UNWIND AFTER A STRESSFUL WEEK. BUT I DONT MIND THEM AT ALL.. HERE ARE SOME OF MY SHOTS HOPE THEY ARE OK. I LOVE TAKING PICTURES OF FOOD AND YES THATS MR WITH A MIRROR SELFIE. I JUST WANT TO TRY SOME THING NEW YET OLD. ALSO THE LAST PICTURE IS BARBECUE. I AM JUST FEELING HUNGRY THAT TIME I TOOK A PICTURE OF IT. AHAHA >.<

Watching anime from young taught me that dreaming is the most important thing you can do, and to chase your dreams you must be all in. The real world will give you many reasons to not chase your dreams. I want to before I die have my impact on this world. I want to make the world a better place. I chose this major because I was pressured by family. This major is slowly losing my interest, I want to do something tangible. I want to be a teacher/professor. Make learning fun again. I want to explore the world. Learn more. Knowledge is power after all. What sucks most is Having so many things that feel like they are on my shoulders. I am seeing the world deteriorate just like everyone. Revolution and Change will no longer be a thing. Because the system makes sure our lives aren't in danger but still drain us of our rights and free will. I feel like a conspiracy theorist. But this inability to chase my dreams is making life unlivable. Have to worry about so many things. I just want to learn forever. I want to teach the next generation the importance of taking in the beauty of people and this world. This world is supposed to be a blessing. One piece was such an important part of my growing up. So was Superman. I wish I could embody Luffy's freedom and Superman's ethics. Spread Love and Joy. Because Life is too short for everything to be doom and gloom. It feels as if I am a Prisoner of proverty and to make money I must work for an unethical entity, The fortune 500 are the fortunate evil in this world. When I see foreign lands properly tax their people by using taxes for the benefit of their people, it brings hope to my heart, but deep down I know that the imperialist nation is most likely exploiting another nation. If we could just trade honestly and uplift each other the world will benefit. and an era for positive scientific discovery will flourish. Karl Marx said, "The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signalised the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings are the chief momenta of primitive accumulation." (Das Kapital, Chapter 31) Marx described the beginning of the most proudly capitalist nation as built on the backs of slavery death and destruction of a people. Turning continents into "warrens" (dehumanizing africans) and using the people of said warrens as slaves. He mocked the idea that capitalism was built off of people who saved and moved their money smart. In capitalism someone is a loser and someone is a winner. The winner tending to be the one who exploits the loser. If a country is built off of this and then becomes the economic center of the world, the only way for the world to become a better place is to be rid of evil and restart. But in reality, the capitalist machine has a millennia of backup generators, even after its death it will come back like a zombie. So how can we as people be comfortable with the exploitation of others, and this earth? We should all be able to chase our dreams and love the world as the hippies intended, even though the hippies were really just people who used exoticism to fetishize the cultures their nations broke down to gain their power. It is almost as if they were spitting in the face of these nations when "embracing" the cultures of the lands they walked through. I am not a Marxist, I am not a Capitalist. I am a human, A human who loves this world and it's people. (DISCLAIMER: I used wiki quotes to find the quote and then read the chapter, I haven't read all of the capital nor do I own a copy)

"A flower unfolds its petals, much like a human reveals their true beauty." Today, I want to share some information about the flowers I've discovered while browsing on the internet. They are beautiful, they are unique, they are lovely. I'm sure you'll like them too! #1 Wisteria Clusters of pendulous blossoms spill like lavender waterfalls from wisteria vines, each pea‑shaped flower soft and slightly curled at the edges. Their scent is sweet and heady, filling spring air and drawing bees and butterflies. Colors range from pale lilac and deep violet to creamy white and blush pink, often fading delicately toward the tips. Flowers hang in long racemes that sway with the breeze, creating a lush, romantic canopy when the vine is in full bloom. The overall visuals are both elegant and exuberant. #2 Fuchsia Fuchsia flowers hang like tiny lanterns, their slender tubes flaring into delicate, petal‑fringed skirts that sway with the slightest breeze. Colors like rich magenta, fiery coral, soft rose and white often blend vividly. Nectar-rich and elegant, they attract hummingbirds and pollinators, offering a quiet peace in shaded gardens and hanging baskets. Each bloom is a playful joy. #3 Snapdragon Snapdragon flowers stand upright like tiny, colorful chimneys, their two-lipped blooms opening and closing when gently squeezed. Petals form aesthetic shapes in shades of cream, yellow, pink, red and deep maroon. Their crisp texture and subtle fragrance welcome bees and butterflies, while the blooms persist from spring into fall. #4 Delphinium Delphinium spikes rise like towers of sky, their tightly packed blossoms forming striking vertical columns in shades of cobalt, indigo, pale blue and creamy white. Each flower has a soft, ruffled edge. Delphiniums prefer cool roots and plenty of sun, rewarding careful staking and rich soil with cascades of blooms. #5 Lilac Lilac blossoms gather in density. Their tiny tubular flowers cluster in shades of lavender, deep purple, soft pink and pure white, creating clouds of color against heart shaped leaves. Shrubs bloom reliably after a cold winter, offering a nostalgic, garden center that lifts quiet mornings.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hello to whoever is reading this." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Looking at the posting history on forums like these is like looking through a time portal." I read some of the earlier topics and what other people posted. It's a very distinct kind of feeling of nostalgia, to see people laugh, cry and get excited over something many years ago. Some were arguing with each other, some were telling how much they love them as friends. Their posts remain here, like a silent relic, but they are nowhere to be seen. I checked their profiles, almost all of them left this forum a long time ago. "Internet forums are not only dying; they're now on life support." This is nothing new. It's been like that for over a decade now. People are choosing new and different ways of communicating, which is not a bad thing at all. But, not every new thing labeled as an improvement is actually one. We are losing genuine human connection now more than ever with the introduction of predatory algorithms and the AI. Don't get me wrong, these are nothing but tools. Though, who is developing them often use it for profits and sometimes even for evil purposes. An algorithm doesn't care about your feelings, your unique personality, your hopes and dreams. It only focuses on what generates more money to its creators. Same as AI. "The destruction is inevitable." This is my take, controversial sure but whatever you think is too. It's best to have different opinions and beliefs. We'll never understand the true value of something until it no longer exists. A happy memory is kept in the deepest part of your mind, because, well it's now a memory. When the internet becomes so optimized to generate more money in less time, when every opinion is discarded if it's not a popular one, when every new feature is locked behind a paywall or a subscription... Then... Then we will look back to the old internet. We will reminiscence the good old days. And then probably try to revive it with many attempts, but soon realize it's not the same anymore. And then we will begin rebuilding on top of the wreckage. How do I know all of this? Because that's how the human cycle has been since the dawn of time. "What we need is love, positivity, justice and respect." A bunch of cliché words. But sometimes a common pattern in nature is a successful one. In the age of social media, we are now isolated more than our ancestors. We are now able to communicate faster, but we don't listen to each other anymore. We are now able to get information quicker, but that information is often false. We are arguing, mocking, trolling each other in the comments section on many platforms. And look at where we are now, because of our wrongdoings as humans. "In the end, you will only be remembered by your actions by those who remain on this planet. So just try to be good. Show some love."

Since the think tank is empty I don't actually know what to write. But, writing is so fun. I used to run a meme page back in my first year's of high school. It was overly edgy and had like 1k followers, Most amount of follower's I had ever had in my life. It felt nice to create (Yes I would sometimes create my own memes) after a horrible high school relationship the account got compromised and I had to delete it. Now writing and posting on this blog feels like the same as posting those memes. Bogus as hell I know, think tank only works when I am comically depressed. I struggle sleeping and tend overthink. But ever since I became an adult It has felt so much better. Honestly because I rely on myself and I try my best not to be home. I am actually just really lazy and don't like doing chores. I was born too Late, I woulda been one hell of a cowboy or something. (I'm a Wuss.) It's actually crazy I wrote something without intending to write about it. I will not overshare though! (TAKE WHAT U CAN GET) I was also part of a JJBA community during the meme page years, seen some heinous stuff in my life. Those Instagram group chats weren't a joke. The internet is not a good place to share your private life ammiright guys!? Other than hanging out with my friends once a week and talking to my fiancé, this forum is my only socialization. I HATE THE SUBURBS! Shorter less meaningful work thought rant. I am currently just studying the history of my ethnicity (riveting stuff) Thanks for tuning in!

The obvious answer is that it is probably because it has become so easily available. It feels like the previous blog topic and this might tie in, in the US that is. The American Suburbs have made it harder for the younger generation to connect. Growing up there was never a third space and there was never anything close by to do. You go to work/school go home and stay home. in the Past people used to go outside because there was more community and less Internet. Now people don't go out as much and don't express themselves as much. It feel's like the world wants you to be boring and not get along with anyone. I was looking at the "indie" web recently and it was cool to see people actually being themselves and proud of it. Our websites are usually just big organizations making everything competitive and into a monetary thing. Why is Individuality being stripped like this? People are too busy working 2 jobs and going to school and It is like to fit into the system you need to constantly be moving! Is this the society we want? The rising costs in the U.S and horrible work life balance is making the interenet the only escape when people are home and they are too tired to put effort into themselves and be themselves. I feel like a conspiracy theorist, and these takes seem so obvious. I looked into the site called spacehey which is kinda like myspace. I grew up with facebook and instagram where customization is limited. At most you could have cool highlight covers and a nice bio, It's all about pictures. Back to the topic at hand though, how does this tie into how the internet changed? well people tend to stay home more now and play games, doom scroll. before you would go out and loiter without being hassled by security and stuff. Enjoy your community. The internet was secondary. Now the closest thing to this is like going to a Sheetz and chilling there. I try to make the internet as secondary as possible despite being a IT major. I dont want it to consume my life. (thats why I am only on this forum at work). P.S sorry if I complain about the U.S a lot I know there are countries struggling 10x worse and my heart goes out to those who suffer. But my feelings are still valid! Thanks for tuning into another rant/conspiracy.

HELLO GUYS, FOR THE COFFEE LOVING PEEPS HERE..I WANT TO SHARE THE CAFFE I JUST WENT BECAUSE A FRIEND OF MINE IS WORKING THERE AND INVITED ME. THE NAME OF THE CAFFE IS CAFFÉ POCOFINO. AN MODERN TWIST FROM AN ITALIAN CAFFÉ, THE AMBIANCE IS WELCOMING AND COZY. I LOVE HOW THE BARISTA'S ARE FRIENDLY AND ALL SMILES. THERE ARE MANY CUSTOMERS WHEN I WAS THERE BUT THEY MADE SURE ALL WAS ATTENDED TOO. WHILE THE NIGHT TURNS INTO MIDNIGHT AND THAT TO TURNS INTO EARLY MORNING THE PEOPLE WHO GO THERE IS NOT DWINDLING DOWN., THUS TO SAY THE COFFEE, TEA, AND PASTRIES HERE ARE DELICIOUS. ,. I ORDERED THE CINAMMON LATTE AND IT YUMMY. I am alone this time and all the coffee and the hot choco is mine. I just got to have it. It is so Yummy. My Friend made the Latte Art and I am so Proud of Him :), I was hungry so Got to grab some Panini while at it. it was like I WAS IN ROMA all again. where at this time like 2:30 am, people are still at plazas and having their dinner or midnight snacks., some are wine with friends. That is all for now. happy weekend to all

NOT ONLY IN JAPAN THAT TANABATA IS BEING CELEBRATED, IIT IS BASIALLY CELEBRATED ASWELL HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES, BUT MOSTLY AS AN ANIME EVENT. THE EVENT WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY OZINE EVENTS. THEY WERE STAGE PROGRAMS AND OFCOURSE THE CHARITY AUCTION, PEOPLE BID ANIME ITEMS FROM THE MERCHANTS THAT IN RETURN WILL GIVE A PORTION OF THE EARNING TO THE COMMUNITY. I WENT TO THE EVENT BY GETTING ON A TRAIN THEN TRANSFERRED TO A TRAIN AGAIN THEN HAD TO TAKE A TRICYCLE, LIKE A TUK-TUK IN THAILAND. HERE ARE SOME OF THE SNIPETS FROM THE EVENT. I ALSO INCLUDED MY LUNCH FOR THE EVENT

As stated in the title, I recently figured out that I'm a femboy. I'm grateful that my university class accepted me. I really appreciate them. In addition to supporting me being a femboy they have also provided me with advice about how to find love, a lot of which I've struggled with due to my Autism.

Fire Force season 3 opening Tsuyobi by Queen Bee

he Kempton Steam Museum is the home of the world’s largest working triple-expansion steam engine. The engine sits amongst two steam turbines and opposite an identical twin which is currently being restored. The machines stand 62 feet high, which is as high as four stacked London double-decker buses, and weigh 800 tons. They are similar in design and size to the RMS Titanic’s engines. The two engines and two steam turbines provided huge volumes of London’s drinking water from 1929. In 1980 they were replaced by electric pumps in an adjacent building. The museum is located at the Kempton Park Pumping Station in southwest London which continues to supply water to London. The museum and its engines are housed in a Grade II* listed building, which is also a Scheduled Monument, and constructed from Portland stone and glazed bricks. The engine house is crowned at the rear by two tall brick chimneys which stand as a landmark for miles around. The powerful triple-expansion steam engines and turbine pumps have been preserved since 1995 by volunteers of the Kempton Great Engines Trust to ensure their engineering magnificence is preserved for people to enjoy and marvel at now and in the future. The museum holds regular open days when the huge engine is in steam and when running it is a magnificent sight. As the museum is not far from where I live I have visited it several times and on one occasion I was invited by one of the volunteers to climb to the top of the second, non-working, engine. I accepted this offer, but when I reached the top and stood on the top platform 62 feet above the ground I regretted my decision as I really have no head for heights! I did take the opportunity to take some photos from up there, holding the camera in my right hand while my left hand maintained a vice-like grip on the single guard rail. I have to admit that the climb down from the top was not the most enjoyable of experiences! * A photo of the outside of the building. * The triple expansion engine. The visitors and staff give an idea of how huge the engine is. * A closer view of the engine. * A photo of the very top level of the engine. * The view from the top of the second engine across to the working one. It's a long way down from up there. Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you enjoyed reading about these impressive engines.

THIS BLACK SATURDAY WAS SPENT WITH ALL ABOUT FAMILY. A SMALL REUNION WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH ALL THE PREPARATIONS BY MY AUNTS AND UNCLES. I WAS THE ONE WHO TOOK THIS PICTURE AND THOSE ARE MY COUSINS,AUNTS AND UNCLE. HAVING THEM IN THIS LENTEN SEASON IS WHAT I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TOO.