Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, readers of TLOS&S! I wish you all the best for today's holiday!

Currently, it's SNOWING here in Toronto!! >:( It's incredibly annoying, but it's awesome.

Wikipedia article (I didn't write this)

click HERE to read more

History

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)".^[1] The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".^[1] A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced Kálan Gái av).

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes^[2] regarded as the "Celtic New Year".^[3]
The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.^[4][5] Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.^[6] Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
The name 'Halloween' and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era.<sup>[7][8][9]



Have an awesome Halloween!</sup>

100th Post Party

Welcome, readers, to the 100th post party! This is a post made by *both* creators, so don't be fooled when you read who posted it. Right now, this is ♠Speed♠, and I'm going to post some photography in the name of Autumn.

This was the only green tree. :P

HELP! ACK! I WAS HELD HOSTAGE! (Yeah I know I'm too old to Photoshop immature things :D)

To Swirly Girl: You were the first Blogger I had ever met, and you have stayed by my side the ENTIRE time. You are a true friend :) Here is what I remember from my first ever day at blogger (I have a good memory):

Anonymous said...

Hi my name's Swiftkit and I was abandoned by my parents in a forest fire. Can I please join WildClan? I am a small black and white tom-kit with blue eyes.

Catlover said...

Of course you can, Swiftkit! We'll make a nest for you in the nursery right away, and I'll get one of the queens to take care of you. Thanks for joining!

*sighs* :') My first day on Blogger. Swirly Girl (Catlover then) had an awesome Clan, WildClan! I stumbled across it on an advertising comment on WarriorsWish and thought I'd check it out. ~ Speed

To Silverleaf:

Silverleaf, you were the one I looked up to, in my early days of Blogger. (It was you, Glowstream, and Goldenstream actually :D) And I hope you get the chance to read this soon, but if you don't, that's okay. I was really upset when I found out that you were in the hospital..... and I wish the best of luck to you, so GET WELL SOON! ~ Speed

And this is Swirly, adding on to Speed's post before she's posted the pictures. Well, she has now. Duh. I hope you enjoy the party! To start with for moi, I've written some poetry and a short story description thingie. I hope you like it!

Can time freeze, the way the winter cold

blows over the innocent forests?

Can time freeze, the way I sit there in my room,

watching with an open heart?

Because when I see the trees,

the redyellowgolden leaves,

I feel a sort of unEarthly pull.

To run outside.

To leave all I've known behind.

And to become, one of nature.

It's raining, but I don't feel afraid,

quite the opposite, I feel at home.

I gaze around me, forgetting everything,

is this my home?

Because when I see the trees,

the redyellowgolden leaves,

I feel a sort of unEarthly pull.

To run outside.

To leave all I've known behind.

And to become, one of nature...

While I was writing this, I sung it =)

This next one is from my novel...

All content below is (c) 2010 Swirly Girl. All rights reserved.

Calm, clear blue waves lapped gently against the beige-toned shore with a comforting gurgling sound. Silver moonlight dappled the shadows of the palm trees which grew further up the shore. Other than a few scraggly, weather-worn bushes, the island was deprived of any life.
Or so it seemed.
A ripple, which had begun a little way away from the coast, was now becoming bigger and more defined as it headed nearer and nearer this forgotten patch of land. Every so often, what looked like a fish’s tail flickered above the surface for a millisecond before disappearing below once more.
As the ripple came closer, a silhouette formed in the shallow water: A mermaid, with outstretched arms and a long, winding tail. Her hair flowed around her like a cloud of smoke and her movements were so swift, they almost ceased to exist. In the mermaid’s right hand, she clutched a conch shell, and in her left, a bag crafted out of limp rope from a fishing boat.
A few more flicks of her tail and she was perched on a broad, flat stone by the water’s edge, her tail throwing diamond lights on the smooth surface. She twitched her fingers impatiently, occasionally flipping her long, chestnut-brown hair and twiddling the loose strands that were already beginning to dry.
After ten minutes – or it could have been more – a harsh rumbling sound pierced the air. A speedboat zoomed into view, churning up water and sand in its wake. The mermaid slid down into the sea and raced over toward it just as a young man dressed in faded khakis and a thin cotton shirt stepped down, water swirling around his knees.
“Azure, it’s…it’s been too long.” The man’s expression was a mixture of love and pain as he took the mermaid’s hand.
“Chris,” Azure cried frantically, staring into the man’s eyes, “I-I need to leave.”
Chris blinked. “But…why?”
Azure didn’t meet his eyes; instead, she let them drift to the ocean floor, as though memorizing the patterns there.
“Azure?”
Azure placed the hand with the shell protectively over her stomach.
Chris gasped.
“Exactly.” Tears began to spill down her cheeks, and she gazed up at Chris through water-streaked eyes. “If anyone finds out…”
Chris dropped Azure’s hand to clench his fists. “They won’t,” he growled. “And even if they do, they won’t touch a single hair on our baby’s head without getting past me first.”
“Our baby,” Azure echoed distantly.
“Yes.” Despite the anger, his eyes softened a little and his lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. He took hold of Azure’s hand again, stroking it with his fingertips. “Do you really have to leave?” he breathed, desperation burning in his green eyes.
“I-I wish I didn’t,” she sobbed. “But I have to. For our baby’s sake. And for our sake, too. If anyone finds out and reports it to Regina…” She trailed away, burrowing her face into Chris’ chest.
Chris fingered her hair lovingly. “I’ll never forget you, and never stop loving you,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. Then he noticed the conch shell and rope bag. “What are they for?”
Azure handed him both objects. “They’re everything you ever gave me,” she sniffed. “The bag is full of them. I can’t keep them, in case…well, you know, but I would never want to get rid of them. Ever.”
Chris bundled the bag carefully into his boat. “I’ll keep them safe,” he promised. “For when we next see each other.”
Azure felt a wave of shock hit her stronger than any current. “Don’t you see?” she snapped, harsher than she meant for it to come out. “We’ll never see each other again. Never, ever.” Her tail lashed fumingly, spraying both of them with water. “We should never have let this go this far, anyway.”
Chris gaped at her. “Never…ever…again?”
“No.”
“Well, then.” He bowed his head, but even then Azure could see the glimmer of tears at the corners of his eyes. “I guess this is…goodbye.” His voice broke on the last word.
“Goodbye, Chris,” Azure babbled. “I love you. Goodbye. Keep safe. Promise me you’ll keep safe.”
“I promise.” Chris spoke slowly, picking his words out carefully. “I love you, too, Azure. Goodbye.”
And then he was starting the speedboat’s engine and disappearing into the engulfing shadows of the night, not glancing back even once at the mermaid he loved.
Azure watched him go long after he had vanished from sight.

If anyone copies this, well...*cracks knuckles*

To Speed:

Wow. To think we're only Internet friends is quite an amazing feat, cuz we've shared laughs, troubles and secrets, just like real friends. But what *is* the definition of a real friend?

1. Someone who understands you

2. Someone who knows you extremely well, sometimes better than your parents

3. Someone you can trust

4. Someone who makes you smile when days are gray

5. Someone you can truly be yourself around

Speed, you are everything except two and maybe five ;) But anyway, you get the point...

Thank you, Speed!

And now...

Put this on your blog and tell others to do the same in a post if you agree with me.

To make an ocean, you first need a single drop of water.

To go on a journey of a thousand miles, you first need to take a single step.

To make a rainbow, you first need to put up with the rain.

Thank you, everyone. You are my drop of water, my single step, my rainstorm.

Thanks.

And this is ♠Speedy♠ again, announcing the contest winner! And the winner is...okay there's sorta two winners, because I couldn't decide between the two of them. So the winners are...Yay!

<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://img828.imageshack.us/i/buttoncontest.jpg/'><img src='http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/6959/buttoncontest.jpg' border='0'/></a>

Swirly Girl says...Congrats! Post a comment under here with a description of ANY custom item you'd like, and I'll make it!

Thank you, all readers of The Lives of Swirly and Speed! Goodbye until the next post!

and

Oops.

This morning I accidently deleted a post (Stupid me), but it was one of my own and it wasn't important so this will be the 99th. Pay no attention whatsoever to this post.

~~Speed

My Camera

***The Olympus Pen***

It's a mini-professional camera, with interchangable lenses and such. Very good if you're a beginner to pro. photography =)

P.S. This is the ninety-ninth post! The hundredth calls for a celebration. I'll let you know what it is soon...

Caption Contest

Hi! I've decided to hold a friendly caption contest for you LOLing people. Just caption these cat photos - funniest caption gets a prize! Contest ends in 5 days. (Sunday the 17th.) So get thinking! Oh and NO COPYING OFF OTHER PEOPLE/OTHER SITES THAT U SAW THE PICTURE ON!

1)

2) (re-caption this)





3) 

4)

That's it! Have fun!



Still Life (Macro Love)

Yo - ♠Speedy♠ here!

Yo! It's ♠Speed♠. This is a post all about announcements and updates. First of all, Brooke did a reveiw on Seagull Beach about this blog. We got a 4-star rating out of 5 - pretty good, isn't it? Thanks Brooke :)

She suggested that •Swirly• and I should make our posts more long, and descriptive, and that I shouldn't change the design so much. I put up a background, but I need to check with my co-manager if it's alright with her.

1) I also added a MixPod, which you can see if you scroll down all the way to the bottom of the page. It's all my favourite music, so if you don't like any of it, or you wanna request other songs, just tell me in a comment and I'll edit it.

2) Let's see.... hmm.... OH!!! I joined PokeFarm, my username is SpeedyRox, so private message me!  I put my first little eggy on the top of this page. Please click it! I want it to hatch so I can send people messages! Just click on the egg to access my profile and whatever.

3) Please feel free to suggest things! That's why I put up A SUGGESTION PAGE! I'm not stupid! I know some of you have things that you wanna say but you won't! *Points fingers at random people*

4) If you find a good website with like, gadgets and things, please gimme the link in a comment.

5) I'm going to try to add more photography in my posts, like Olive Tree, or The Cornet Crazie. I'll take photos of abstract things, and maybe you guys can guess can guess what they are or something? I have a wild brain, so I can turn A LOT (and I mean a lot) of things into abstract, or stuff. IDK. These are just suggestions.

6) Thanks for reading my post, everyone who read my post!

Thanksgiving

HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

Radio Magic

Okay.

I was lying on my sofa in my room, listening to _ radio on my phone, my head engulfed in a splitting headache. I was texting my friend, and basically keeping it cool.

Guess what happened?

The radio told the listeners their number and asked the to send them a message, one of those get-together-Britain moments.

I texted them saying {quote}, "I luv the XFactor!!! Cher rules!!!" - _ {insert name here}. And for those of you who don't know this, the X Factor is a British version of American Idol, and Cher is one of their finalists.

A song was playing. I knew that they only picked out one of the thousand or so they recieved. I sat there, hoping.

You know what happened next, don't you?

After the song finished, the radio woman reported weather and traffic in Devon. Then, just as the new song was beginning, she said this:

"Tell me what you did on your weekend in three words. _ says, 'I love the X Factor!' Wait, that's too many words!"

She actually read out my message, out of the thousands there.

Wow.

My tag

Here is the tag from the last post. I did it :)

1. What is your favorite book series?
Warrior cats, or course!


2. Which online networking site do you prefer?
Yahoo, Blogger, and iGoogle.


3. What's your favorite animal(s)?
CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


4. What's your favorite eye color? Describe in detail!
I like green. That deep leafy - green.

5. And your favorite hair color?
Light brown. I also like black hair.


6. Where do you *really really really* want to travel to?
New York City! The city is for me. I've always wanted to go there.


7. Your favorite food?
I don't know.... I like pizza... and M&M's!


8. Tell your readers about your first day of high school (or if you're not in high school yet, then tell them about your first day of elementary or middle)
Middle school: I just walked around and hung out with my friends. I made friends with a girl from my school last year :D and this girl who's locker is near mine. I was so excited to get our lockers, and I learned the way around my school.


9. Your top three favorite songs are:
1. Take a Minute by K'naan
2. Cave in by Owl City
3. Fuzzy blue Lights my Owl City


10. Sadly, you have come to the end of this tag. Is it the sort of tag that you'd like to share with your Blogger friends?
Yeah! There are very unique questions, and it's not a really long tag!

11. You tag...

♫Goldenstream♪
Lilypetal
♥Shinepaw/Glowstream♥
Shadowflower
Alice/Spirit

Novel Sneak-Peek, and Tag

Here is a sneak-peek of my novel! Now, don't get excited; it's only two sentences, but perhaps the most important two sentences in the whole story.

(c) 2010 Swirly Girl. All rights reserved.

“You’re not who you thought you were, are you?” His voice was sour, petulant.
“No,” I agreed. After an awkward pause, I added, “No. I’m even better.”

{Dun-dun-dun...}

Woe betide you if you even think about copying this >=( I'm serious. No copying.

Anyway, here's a fun little tag I got from some random blog...they tagged everyone who read it, so here I go! {Credit to Honey-Oats-Flapjack for this tag}

1. What is your favorite book series?
Hm...I'd have to say...the Twilight Saga =) Did you expect anything else from me?

2. Which online networking site do you prefer?
Blogger, MSN and Skype {does that count...?} I don't have Twitter or Facebook {yet}

3. What's your favorite animal(s)?
Cats. Well, house cats. I also *love* tigers, dolphins, wolves and dogs. Oh, and anything small and fluffy, e.g. hamsters

4. What's your favorite eye color? Describe in detail!
*Random...* I like really warm, melted-chocolate-brown eyes, with long, thick black lashes crowning them. Or green eyes, you know, those hazely-emerald shades. Blue eyes with black lashes look good, too

5. And your favorite hair color?
I like naturally streaked hair. I have a friend whose hair is not quite blonde, and not quite brunette...it makes a very nice effect

6. Where do you *really really really* want to travel to?
Italy. Definitely Italy. As I live so close now, it should be easy {see post below}. Oh, and Australia as a second-favorite

7. Your favorite food?
Pizza pizza pizza. My logic *insists* that pizza is what you would need on a desert island. After all, anything can be used as a topping

8. Tell your readers about your first day of high school (or if you're not in high school yet, then tell them about your first day of elementary or middle)
Middle school: I was still in the U.S.A., in Washington, D.C. I knew everyone and all the teachers there as it was such a small school. It was...fun, learing our way around the 'upstairs'. I'll never forget it

9. Your top three favorite songs are:
1. Battlefield, by Jordan Sparks
2. Iridescent, by Linkin Park
3. Airplanes, by B.o.B.
{Not technically in this order}

10. Sadly, you have come to the end of this tag. Is it the sort of tag that you'd like to share with your Blogger friends?
Yes. It was very interesting, Honey-Oats-Flapjack. I wish I could remember your blog URL, and that others knew about your blog. {I found it by clicking 'Next Blog' at the top of TLOSAS}

11. You tag...
1. Speed
2. Brooke
3. Cornet Crazie
4. Strypes
5. Squeaks

Thanks, everybody!

Italian Musings

Today's day at school has inspired me slightly.

Mostly because of Food Technology lessons happening on a Wednesday mid-morning.

Food Technology is a lesson where, every week, we bring in ingredients for a different meal. We've already made bread rolls, fruit crumble and scones.

This week, we made pasta bake.

I had some of my pasta bake for dinner, less than twenty minutes ago. It tasted very...cheesy. There were optional flavorings of bacon, tuna, sweetcorn, etc., but I'm not a big fan of any of those. So I just stuck with cheese.

And now, as I'm writing this, I'm *meant* to be doing my Food Tech homework. "Find ten dishes with pasta in them and find pictures and descriptions," the teacher explained. So far, I've found seven.

Only three to go, then.

Lasagna.

Pasta bake.

Spaghetti bolagnase.

Etc.

I'm a big fan of Italian foods. Pizza, pasta, gelato, you name it, I'll eat it. Funnily enough, though, I've never been to Italy.

But now I want to.

My parents have already agreed to take me to Venice. Sicily. Rome. Beautiful, exotic, old-fashioned places.

Yep. You board a plane to Italy, and I'll hop on it with ya before you can say the word "pizza".

Ciao for now, my lovelies. I love you. Every single one of you reading this. In a friendly sort of way.

Speed's first band class

Hey. :) Today was our first band lesson.... I GOT ALTO SAXOPHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was my first choice!!! I'm so happy :)

Isn't it beautiful?

~~♠Speed♠

Bookworms Book Reviews

Goodness, I haven't posted for a while! Apologies for that =)

Anyway, I'd like to share with you here a link to my new blog, Bookworms Book Reviews. As you may remember, Speed, an earlier version of this blog was once created, but then deleted after the first few reviews. It has now opened up again, new and improved, and currently has the first review on display. It is stated as 'the journey of an addicted reader' {the reader being moi, of course!} and I hope that you enjoy my book-crazy world. In fact, I may make a music review blog, too... *plans* Anyway, to go to Bookworms, click the link below. Happy reading!

P.S. Pinch, punch, first of the month {October}, no returns!

Bookworms Book Reviews