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Slow down, says Alice Waters, the food-world force behind the legendary Chez Panisse restaurant and the Edible Schoolyard organization. As Alice explains in her latest book, "We Are What We Eat: A Slow Food Manifesto," the world of fast food and disposable everything is not the way forward for mankind or the planet. Alice joins us from her home in Berkeley, California, to share her point of view, reminisce about the 50th anniversary of Chez Panisse, and reveal a few details about the restaurant project she's working on in Los Angeles. It's not Chez 2.0, she stresses. Fanny Singer, Alice's daughter, author of the memoir "Always Home," and co-founder of the design brand Permanent Collection, joins host Kerry Diamond for the second part of the show. Fanny talks about her lovingly written book and the project she's curated for Absolut Art that celebrates her favorite room in any house—the kitchen. Thank you to AIX Rosé for supporting this episode!
Click to listen to episode (4:04)Sections below are the following:Transcript of AudioAudio Notes and AcknowledgmentsImagesExtra InformationSourcesRelated Water Radio EpisodesFor Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.) Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-22-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 25, 2021. MUSIC – ~14 sec – instrumental That’s part of “Midwinter Etude,” by Timothy Seaman, of Williamsburg, Va. It opens an episode about a kind of hawk that’s commonly found around eastern Virginia marshlands in wintertime. Have a listen for about 10 seconds to the following mystery sound, and see if you know this bird of prey. [Clarification, not in audio: “raptor” is a more precise term for hawks and related birds than is “bird of prey.”] And here’s a hint: what might you call a cross-country runner located far north of Virginia? SOUNDS - ~11 sec If you guessed a Northern Harrier, you’re right! Besides being a name for cross-country runners, harrier refers to a group of birds within the family that includes hawks, eagles, and kites. The Northern Harrier is the only harrier species found in North America. Occurring widely across the continent, this species sometimes is a summer breeder in southeastern coastal Virginia, but it’s more typically found in the Commonwealth during winter.It was formerly called the Marsh Hawk because it’s frequently found around marshes, as well as in meadows, grasslands, and other open, vegetated areas. In these areas, it flies low over the ground in search of its usual prey of small mammals, other birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Northern Harriers are also capable of taking larger prey like rabbits and ducks, and they’ve been reported to overcome some of these larger animals by drowning them. The Northern Harrier’s face looks somewhat like that of an owl, and, according to the National Audubon Society, the bird also resembles owls in using sharp hearing to help locate its prey. As Alice and Robert Lippson put it in their book, Life in the Chesapeake Bay, quote, “Northern Harriers have an owl-like facial disc that apparently concentrates the sound of its prey; couple this with its keen eyesight, and mice and voles are in constant jeopardy of becoming lunch.” Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use the Northern Harrier sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs. Thanks also to Timothy Seaman for permission to use part of “Midwinter Etude.” We close with a little more music, in honor of all wild creatures, including harriers and other hawks. Here’s about 10 seconds of “All Creatures Were Meant to Be Free,” by Bob Gramann of Fredericksburg, Va. MUSIC – ~12 sec – instrumental SHIP’S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624. Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Midwinter Etude,” from the 1996 album “Incarnation,” is copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission. More information about Mr. Seaman is available online at http://timothyseaman.com/en/. The Northern Harrier sounds were from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott. Lang Elliot’s work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/. “All Creatures Were Meant to Be Free,” from the 1995 album “Mostly True Songs,” is copyright by Bob Gramann, used with permission. More information about Bob Gramann is available online at https://www.bobgramann.com/. This music was previously used by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 524, 5-11-20. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Painting of Marsh Hawk (former common name for Northern Harrier), originally published between 1827 and 1838 by John James Audubon in Birds of America (plate 356). Image made available for public use by the National Audubon Society, online at https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america; specific URL for this image was https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/marsh-hawk, as of 1-22-21. Northern Harrier in flight at Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts, July 2011. Photo by Amanda Boyd, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov; specific URL for this image was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/13235/rec/1, as of 1-22-21. Northern Harrier, photographed in southeastern Virginia, January 23, 2021. Photo by iNaturalist user keyojimbo, made available online at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/68521040(as of 1-25-21) for use under Creative Commons license “Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0.” Information about this Creative Commons license is available online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT THE NORTHERN HARRIER The scientific name of the Northern Harrier is Circus hudsonius. The following information is excerpted from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Tundra Swan,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040094&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18649. Physical Description “Adult female [is] brown above and on tail bands; lighter brown below with heavy brown streaking. [Adult] male [is] ashy gray above and on tail bands; white with cinnamon spots below; wing tips black. [B]oth sexes have long banded tail with prominent white rump patch. [F]lies a few feet above ground; tilting from side to side and holding its long narrow wings upwards at slight angle.” Reproduction and Behavior “[R]itualized courtship, calls, skydancing, performed by male to advertise territory; males arrive at breeding grounds ahead of females; male provides food during incubation and early nestling period by passing food items to female in flight; rarely visits nest himself…. [N]ests built on ground often in marshy areas and surrounded by low shrubs or tall grasses rather than open. [N]est is small structure of reeds and sticks on dry ground…. Forage by slowly flying over marshes and fields, usually below 10 feet (3 meters); they generally take small mammals but also use birds, [reptiles and amphibians], and insects. Status of Population“Harriers occur in relatively low numbers as breeders in Virginia, where they may be found using both open marshes and open upland grassland habitat. Their numbers swell during the winter with the influx of migrants, and it is this winter population that should be the focus of conservation efforts. Like other grassland species, Harriers rely on relatively large tracts, such that preserving and restoring blocks of native grasslands is a high priority conservation action for this species. Wintering harriers will likewise use emergent wetlands; identification, protection, and management (for example, Phragmites control) of suitable marshes will be necessary to ensure continued habitat availability for this species…” SOURCES Used for Audio Alaska Department of Fish and Game, “Sounds Wild/Northern Harrier,” 1 min./31 sec. podcast, online at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=soundswild.episode&title=Northern%20Harrier. John James Audubon, Birds of America, online by The National Audubon Society at https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america. The entry for the Marsh Hawk (the former common name for the Northern Harrier) is online at https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/marsh-hawk. Chesapeake Bay Program, “Field Guide/Birds,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/birds/all. The Northern Harrier entry is online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/northern_harrier; “Raptors” is online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/birds/raptors); and “Marshes and Wetlands” is online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/marshes_wetlands/all/all. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org. The Northern Harrier entry is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier. Encyclopedia Britannica, “Bird of prey,” online at https://www.britannica.com/animal/bird-of-prey; and “Harrier,” online at https://www.britannica.com/animal/harrier-bird. Goddess of Never Broken blog site, “The Harrier Incident,” April 9, 2013, online at https://maibey.wordpress.com/tag/northern-harrier-drowning-prey/. This blot post has a series of photos showing a Northern Harrier drowning an American Coot. Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay-3rd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006, page 234. National Audubon Society, “Guide to North American Birds/Northern Harrier,” online at https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-harrier. Chandler S. Robbins et al., A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, St. Martin’s Press, New York, N.Y., 2001. Stan Tekiela, Birds of Virginia Field Guide, Adventure Publications, Inc., Cambridge, Minn., 2002. University of Missouri Raptor Rehabilitation Project, “Raptor Facts,” online at http://raptorrehab.cvm.missouri.edu/raptor-facts/. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Northern Harrier,” online at https://vafwis.dgif.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040094&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18649. For More Information about Birds in Virginia and Elsewhere Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Birds of the World,” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home(subscription required). Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Merlin Photo ID.” The application for mobile devices allows users to submit a bird photograph to get identification of the bird. Information is available online at http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird,” online at https://ebird.org/home. Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org/. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, “List of Native and Naturalized Fauna of Virginia, April 2018,” online (as a PDF) at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/virginia-native-naturalized-species.pdf.Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.org/. The Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth. Xeno-canto Foundation Web site, online at http://www.xeno-canto.org/. This site provides bird songs from around the world. RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). See particularly the “Birds” subject category. The Northern Harrier was one of the birds included in Episode 430, 7-23-18, on birds associated with marshes. (Other birds featured in that episode are the Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Least Bittern, Common Moorhen, and Marsh Wren). Following are links to other episodes on raptors (often also referred to as “birds of prey”). Bald Eagle – Episode 375, 7-3-17.Barred Owl – Episode 382 – 8-21-17.Eastern Screech-Owl – Episode 227, 8-18-14.Osprey – Episode 116, 6-25-12; Episode 175, 8-19-13. FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post. 2020 Music SOLs SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining
As Alice's new crew finish up in the shop they make their way to Tony Starks workshop where they craft a few items and then finally embark to Wonderland and encounter someone new but are they friend or foe? Support us on patreon-https://www.patreon.com/HeartsCast Follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/HeartsCast Tony- https://twitter.com/AndersensPride Luis- https://twitter.com/SelborSiul Roma- https://twitter.com/iappreci8urbutt Amber- https://twitter.com/kissofdeletion Jake- https://twitter.com/MisterJakeypoo
Interviews with pioneers in business and social impact - Business Fights Poverty Spotlight
Meet two of global experts on gender equality and addressing gender-based violence (GBV) at home and work – Jane Pillinger and Alice Allan. This is a tough podcast to listen to, but vital. As Alice explains: “Sadly COVID-19 is exacerbating gender inequality.” Prior to the pandemic evidence shows that one in three women experience gender-based violence. During the lockdown the estimates are that globally there is a 20% increase in that number. Jane and Alice not only address this difficult subject head on during our podcast conversation, but they share their practical insight from years working on the issue. They explain why in 2019 the ILO convention 190 raised the important question of duty of care of businesses on their employees. Recognising that not only workplace harassment but also that businesses are affected by and have a duty of care when violence takes place in the home. With so many people working remotely, from home due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, this convention has become so much more important and many businesses are stepping up to address domestic violence and support their employees. “And what we are seeing is that businesses aren’t just thinking about how to support survivors. But more and more businesses are working on ways to address the perpetrators.” Explains Jane. “We want to stop the perpetration of abuse. We have to look at this in relation to men and boys and prevention in the long term.” And what are their recommendations: “We would want to see all businesses implementing policies and procedures, for prevention and resolution. To build spaces for women to talk and to build trust.” To hear more detail of Jane and Alice’s advice, please do take a listen. Links: · Business Fights Poverty: Action Toolkit: How Business Can Address GBV During COVID-19: https://snipbfp.org/C19_TKs_W1 · ILO convention 190: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190 · Barclays Banking on Change: https://www.careinternational.org.uk/sites/default/files/Banking%20on%20Change%20Partnership.pdf · How Can Business Tackle Gender Based Violence in the World of Work: A Toolkit for Action: https://businessfightspoverty.org/articles/how-can-business-tackle-gender-based-violence-in-the-world-of-work-a-toolkit-for-action/ · Gender is Everyone’s Business: https://businessfightspoverty.org/articles/gender-equality-is-everyones-business-engaging-men-as-allies-to-advance-gender-equality-across-the-value-chain/ · UN Women 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/take-action/16-days-of-activism · IFC Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Harassment, Good Practice Note for the Private Sector : https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/sustainability-at-ifc/gpn-gbvh-external-peer-review
Host: Ashmin Ram, Sean McHugh, Cody Epperson Alice and Pamela head on an independent journey to Houston to attend the National Woman's Conference. The journey is anything but smooth as they learn to read maps, get lost, and follow the liberals in the right direction. Once they arrive at the hotel, the line for check in is hideously long and they quickly learn that the hotel is overbooked and they cannot accommodate them. When they turn to team-mate Rosemary she is anything but inviting and does not offer them to stay with her. Alice and Pamela join a share a room list and are welcomed into a room of liberals. In this episode, Alice is constantly faced with the truth about her community and the kindness of the liberals. After she unravels in front of the camera, she looses her confidence and begins to have a few drinks at the bar. As Alice becomes tipsy, she enters the world of the liberals and learns that its not so bad. She even lets her hair down and attends some of the breakthrough rooms and takes the lead singing in the lesbian room. In conclusion, Alice feels the back-lash and judgement from her community and begins to question who is she actually fighting against. After all, the"libs" aren't that bad! Follow us on http://www.Twitter.com/AfterBuzzTV "Like" Us on http://www.Facebook.com/AfterBuzzTV For more After Shows for your favorite TV shows and the latest news in TV, Film, and exclusive celebrity interviews, visit http://www.AfterBuzzTV.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
As the doubts about Alice’s existence are seemingly answered, one final question remains; what now? As Alice and Rob head deeper into uncharted territory, Rob’s history with The Road is revealed. The pair are forced to consider their place within the Left/Right Game, as they encounter their most daunting landmark yet. The Left Right Game is presented by Sonos. Visit sonos.com for more. Produced by Tessa Thompson, Automatik & QCODE.
This Friday on Tea & Tattle Podcast, I’m joined by the writer, Alice Vincent, to discuss Alice’s memoir, Rootbound, which is a beautiful exploration of the restorative qualities of nature. Reeling from an unexpected breakup, Alice found herself increasingly drawn to planting up pots on her urban balcony and to exploring the wider world of horticulture, engaging in community gardening projects near her home in London, researching the history of women and plants and plotting travel abroad around botanic gardens to visit. As Alice gained greater knowledge in nurturing and growing plants, she also began to question what a life well-lived meant to her, beyond the many trappings of the millennial generation. Rootbound takes the reader month by month through a year in which Alice gardened herself out of heartbreak, found new love and embraced independence. Rootbound is a wonderful read for anyone who finds solace from the natural world, and I had such a fun time chatting to Alice about her growing love for horticulture and the research that went into her book. Episode Links Rootbound by Alice Vincent (ebook and audiobook versions). Modern Nature by Derek Jarman. Find Alice Vincent on Instagram and Twitter. Find Tea & Tattle on Instagram at @teaandtattlepodcast. Read my blog, Miranda’s Notebook. Happy Listening!
In this episode, the amazing Naomi Ortiz discusses her contribution to the new anthology "Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People", edited by Alice Wong. This anthology includes 16 essays by 17 disabled writers, activists, & artists. As Alice twitted "This is crip wisdom for the people"! Naomi Ortiz is a facilitator, writer, poet, and visual artist who cracks apart common beliefs and spills out beauty. Naomi is a nationally known writer, speaker and trainer on self-care, disability justice, and living in multiple worlds (intersectionality). She is a Disabled, Mestiza (Latina/Indigenous/White), raised in Latinx culture, living in the U.S./Mexico borderlands. Naomi’s book, Sustaining Spirit: Self Care for Social Justice invites readers to delve into what self-care means in their lives by exploring the relationships between body, mind, spirit, heart, and place to integrate self-care to survive and thrive. Caring about the world should not burn us out. Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice shows us how to balance activism with self-care. "Every page of this spiritual book is a gift, full of poignant stories, poetic metaphors, insightful questions, and practical suggestions to sustain ourselves as activists over the long-term." - Lisa Hoffman, International Human Rights activist. To find out more about Naomi, you can visit: www.NaomiOrtiz.com, follow her on Twitter @ThinkFreestyle and on Instagram @NaomiOrtizWriterArtistTo find out more about and order the anthology edited by Alice Wong, please visit: https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/resist/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/genderstories)
As Alice, she faced Freddy Krueger multiple times in the ’80s and lived to tell the tale. Several decades later, Lisa Wilcox still maintains a strong presence on screen, and with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master celebrating its 30th anniversary this August, the talented actress joined Corpse Club co-host Heather Wixson to discuss her cinematic career on a very special installment of Daily Dead's podcast. In this in-depth episode, Wilcox discusses how she got into acting, her beloved portrayal of Alice in The Dream Master and The Dream Child, her guest-starring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation, upcoming projects, and much more! So, brush up on your martial arts, grab a slice of Freddy's soul pizza, and kick back with a special Class of 88 episode of Corpse Club!
Holly Ringland in conversation with Ashley Hay (journalist and award-winning author of many works of fiction and non-fiction including 'The Body In The Clouds', 'The Railwayman's Wife' and 'A Hundred Small Lessons') at the launch of 'The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart' The book is available here: http://avidreader.com.au/products/the-lost-flowers-of-alice-hart Flowers, fire and fairy tales are the elements that will forever shape nine-year-old Alice Hart's life, in this remarkable debut by Holly Ringland.Agnes loves flowers and teaches her daughter their hidden meanings, but when Agnes is killed in a fire, Alice is sent to live with her paternal grandmother, who she's never met before. There, Alice realises that her grandmother -- whose farm provides a refuge to women who, like Alice, are lost or broken -- also speaks the language of flowers, and Alice soon begins to do the same, using flowers to say those things that are otherwise too hard to speak. There are some things, however, that even flowers cannot say. As Alice grows older and flees her grandmother's home after discovering the truth about her past, she has to learn a new language -- the language of love, and loss -- for, if she's to find her place in the world, she must first start listening to her heart . . . This podcast was recorded at Avid Reader Bookshop in Brisbane as part of our year-round events schedule. For more information and to see what we have coming up, visit our website: http://www.avidreader.com.au
REPENT, YE SINNERS! And prepare thyselves to be judged by….ALICE COOPER?!? Yes, one day rock ‘n’ roll’s most hedonistic bad boy arose from his Budweiser-filled bathtub and remembered that he was once Vincent Furnier, son of a preacher man, and it was time that Alice got born again and brought the good word to the children. But, being this is ALICE, after all, there’s an awful lot of bone-burning, flesh-eating, ass-spanking, clown-fearing tough love on the way to salvation, and to get there you also gotta listen to 2000’s “BRUTAL PLANET” and 2001’s “DRAGONTOWN”, the albums under discussion on this, the 7th episode of COOPERCAST! As Alice judges the denizens of Brutal Planet and Dragontown (that means YOU, if you didn’t figure that out), so too does he get judged by your clean-living and morally-upright Coopercast team of Bobby Hazzard, the lovely Ms. Hazzard, Nashville’s physician of fright Dr. Gangrene, and Troy Guinn of the Naschycast. Join us as we wade through this musical metaphorical morass to get to the heart of that most theological of all questions: “Does it ROCK?” Leave us a comment and you just might win a Phil X signature “Ass” model guitar too!
With a book by comedian/actor/author Steve Martin, lyrics by singer/songwriter Edie Brickell and a bluegrass-inflected score by both, Bright Star comes to Broadway music with its creators as the most recognizable names on the marquee. Set in North Carolina, the story jumps back and forth between moments in the life of Alice Murphy; it shows her both as a young rebellious girl in the 1920s and later as a sophisticated woman who runs a literary journal in the 1940s. As Alice, Carmen Cusack impresses in her Broadway debut, playing the main character at both stages. New York Times theater critic CharlesIsherwood describes the show as more gentle alternative to the usual Broadway spectacle. Hear more of his thoughts in the audio above.
Everyone wants to feel good about their body and themselves. As Alice will explain, the struggle with being in shape isn’t from a lack of diet and fitness experts, programs or reality shows. In fact, they are often a big part of the problem! They create diet and exercise rules only a minority can live with. Worse, they focus on what you should do, not how to solve the underlying subconscious beliefs and emotions that are at the heart of why people struggle to live a healthy active lifestyle. The keys to success are by breaking the rules, doing what feels good, building confidence, and addressing hidden baggage that drive behaviors. Alice will share the HOW TO secrets in creating a healthy and fit lifestyle and a New Sexy body--secrets that will help you achieve and maintain long-term results. Alice is America’s Healthy Lifestyle Coach and author of Inspired to Feel Good: Making Healthy and Fit Choices So Rewarding and Liberating You Never Want to Stop. She knows what it really takes to become a health, fitness, and weight loss success story. She is a nine-year success, and she teaches her clients the secrets to easily and naturally adding healthy choices, fitness, and self care into their lives for long-term results and feeling their best. Alice is an expert in motivation, healthy dieting, enjoyable fitness, and overcoming self-sabotage. Her coaching programs give people the tools and knowledge to create healthy choices that are realistic and feel really good to maintain. As a result, her clients finally achieve success in having a healthy relationship with food, long-term fitness, self-care, and a healthy weight that lasts. You can learn more about Alice at www.aHealthyLifestyleWorks.com.
As Alice continues her unexpected adventure, she soon discovers that, in this strange place, the only thing that's certain is that nothing is.