Podcasts about Nearby

Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the UK monarch, represents centuries of British heritage while offering visitors a glimpse into the royal lifestyle through its magnificent State Rooms and gardens. We share comprehensive insights for planning your visit, from ticket options and tour experiences to practical tips and fascinating palace facts.• Palace has 750 rooms, including 78 bathrooms, its own post office, and a cinema• Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, became a royal residence in 1761• Royal Standard flag indicates the monarch is in residence; Union Jack means they're away• State Rooms open July-September with standard, small group, and exclusive tour options• Essential to book tickets months in advance as tours sell out quickly• Exclusive small group tours are available at other times throughout the year• New for 2025: opportunity to enter through the iconic front gates• Highlights include the State Rooms, Throne Room, Picture Gallery, and Grand Staircase• Gardens open in summer, featuring 39 acres with a lake, rose garden, and tennis court• Green Park tube station is closest at a 6-minute walk• Photography is not permitted inside the palace, but is allowed in the gardens• Convert your ticket to a one-year pass by signing it and getting it stamped• Nearby attractions include Changing of the Guard, St. James's Park, and Westminster AbbeyIf you're planning a visit to Buckingham Palace or have questions, leave us a voice message via the SpeakPipe link in our show notes.

Dr. Eliot explains how the AI of self-driving cars copes with nearby motorcyclists. See his Forbes column for further info: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/

The asteroid Vesta may be a fragment of a much larger protoplanet, and astronomers examine old data to discover a large molecular cloud lurking right in the solar system's backyard. Get all the details, plus habitable exoplanets get another look, space news, and trivial matters with your friendly neighborhood astroquarks.

Sponsor Details:Insta360 X5 Camera. To bag a free invisible selfie stick worth US$24.99 with your purchase, head to store.insta360.com and use the promo code "spacetime", available for the first 30 standard package purchases only.This episode of SpaceTime explores fascinating new discoveries and urgent updates from the cosmos.First, astronomers have identified a vast molecular gas and dust cloud named Eos, located just 300 light years away from Earth. This remarkable finding, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, marks the first detection of a molecular cloud using far ultraviolet emissions of molecular hydrogen. Eos, which is composed primarily of hydrogen, presents unique opportunities for studying the interstellar medium and the processes of star formation. We discuss the implications of this discovery and how it could reshape our understanding of molecular clouds across the galaxy.Jupiter's Polar Cyclones Under the MicroscopeNext, we delve into the latest revelations from NASA's Juno mission, which is providing new insights into Jupiter's ferocious polar cyclones and the volcanic activity on its moon Io. With fresh observations, scientists are uncovering the dynamics of Jupiter's atmosphere and the subsurface temperature profile of Io, shedding light on the gas giant's extreme weather patterns and the moon's geological activity.Out of Control Russian SpacecraftFinally, we discuss the impending re-entry of the Venera 8 spacecraft, a remnant of the Soviet era, which is expected to crash back to Earth on May 10. Launched in 1972, this spacecraft has been tumbling in low Earth orbit for over five decades. We examine the risks associated with its uncontrolled descent and the potential impact it may have upon re-entry.www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com✍️ Episode ReferencesNature Astronomyhttps://www.nature.com/natureastronomy/NASA Juno Missionhttps://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.htmlBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support.00:00 This is space Time Series 28, episode 54 for broadcast on the 5th May, 202500:48 Astronomers have discovered a vast invisible molecular, gas and dust cloud near Earth12:40 Two key experiments are needed to help us understand the origin of Jupiter15:42 A failed Soviet spacecraft designed to land on Venus is about to crash on Earth19:00 New study claims people who use cannabis have higher risk of heart attack21:12 New study claims ghost lanterns in South Carolina may be caused by earthquakes

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Ucz się angielskiego za pomocą całych zdań. Odbierz dostęp do listy słownictwa. Temat: Free Time:https://teacherola.com/listaChcę odebrać dostęp do darmowej lekcji video o tłumaczeniu w głowie!https://teacherola.com/lekcja

Wilson County residents who want to know about housing developments near their neighborhood need to watch for notices posted on the county website or at the courthouse. That's a reminder from county officials, following concerns expressed by nearby landowners about the Heritage Woods subdivision on C.R. 321 southwest of La Vernia. Earlier this year, the developer, Wild Springs Investments, altered its original “covenant,” which had indicated all homes would be built on site. The modified covenant stated that manufactured homes would be constructed in the subdivision, instead. When the change became known, some neighboring residents, concerned that the subdivision would...Article Link

Nearby military chopper causes planes to abort landings at Reagan Airport; Strong jobs report amid tariff uncertainty; TEMU halting shipments from China to U.S. customers; and more on tonight's broadcast.

My Neighbor Made a Creepy Confession and Now I Don't Feel Safe in My Own Bedroom - Dear Man Who Tried to Talk to Two Teenage Girls, Let's Not Meet Again - Security Guard at the Gym This Morning - Running Story - I Found a Body Featuring narrations by: Kim Andrews Terra Ashe Katie Atkinson Adam C. Alderson Jhas Williams Submit your true, horrifying experience to hear it on the podcast: disturbedpodcast.com/submit Voicemail: hotline.disturbedpodcast.com Listen ad-free, unlock bonus episodes, and more: ⁠patreon.com/disturbedpodcast Merch: https://www.disturbedpodcast.com/p/merch/ Disturbed is a production of Killer Podcasts, a part of the Evergreen network. For more paranormal and true crime shows, visit KillerPodcasts.com. Follow us @disturbedpodcast on Instagram. If you enjoyed the show, please consider subscribing and reviewing on your favorite listening platform. Music by epidemic sound and by Carl Casey at white bat audio. Our Host is Doug Bailey. Our Producer is Elizabeth Flood. Our audio engineers are Nathan Corson and Will Pritts. Executive Producers are Noah Foutz and Brigid Coyne. Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ucz się angielskiego za pomocą całych zdań. Odbierz dostęp do listy słownictwa. Temat: Free Time:https://teacherola.com/listaChcę odebrać dostęp do darmowej lekcji video o tłumaczeniu w głowie!https://teacherola.com/lekcja

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the consequences of US policy changes are now starting to show up in the data.The big overnight news is the Q1-2025 US GDP report. The American economy shrank at an annualised rate of -0.3% in the period, the first retreat since Q1-2022. This was a sharp reversal from +2.4% growth in the previous quarter and well below market expectations of +0.3% growth. A surge in imports was one key factor as businesses rushed to stockpile goods in anticipation of higher costs from the tariff announcements. But that didn't include consumers because their spending growth cooled to 1.8%, the slowest pace since Q2-2023. Federal government spending fell -5.1%, the steepest drop since Q1-2022.That 'cooled' consumer spending reversed in March with a tariff-stocking-up rise for them too (especially for cars) ahead of the April cost increases. PCE inflation cooled a little, but not yet back to mid-2024 levels. Personal disposable income rose less than spending in March.Financial markets reacted negatively to the larger than expected GDP shifts.This weekend we get the April non-farm payrolls report and currently markets expect a smallish rise of +130,000. But that may be an over-estimate. The ADP survey of private business only added +62,000 workers to their payrolls in April, less than half of the downwardly revised 147,000 payrolls in March and well below market expectations of +115,000.April data is weaker than for March, so prospects for Q2-2025 economic activity do not look flash for the giant US economy. US mortgage applications sank again last week, and for a third straight week. A pullback in new orders and production levels in April saw the Chicago PMI contract for its 17th consecutive month.But US pending home sales jumped in March from February, ahead of tariffs which are expected to make new home purchases more expensive. But they are -0.6% lower than year-ago levels which itself was a weak base.And still in the US, it is becoming clearer who will be paying the tariffs. Retail giant Walmart has raised the white flag, telling Chinese suppliers to resume shipments suggesting to them it will 'absorb' the new border costs. Of course they will be passed on to consumers.Across the Pacific, we are looking ahead to the Bank of Japan rate decision later today, although the landscape has changed there and they are unlikely to raise their +0.5% policy rate now.Japan's industrial production was weakish in March, coming in lower than expected from the prior month to be little-changed from March a year ago. At the same time they reported retail sales +3.1% ahead of the same month a year ago which was lower than expected, also with current weakness from February.Nearby, Korea said their industrial production came in better than expected in March although not as strong as for February. Korean March retail sales however gave back a small bit of the outsized rise in February.In China, their May Day holiday starts today and runs to May 5, inclusive. (They were required to work on April 27 (Sunday) to give them five consecutive "days of rest". They may not be resting; travel bookings for domestic trips are up through the roof this year. (Don't forget, in China, the standard working week is 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, which is a five-day work week (Monday-Friday). However, it's important to note that the 996 work culture, where employees work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week, is a common reality, especially in their tech industry.)Once again the official factory PMI for China came in with a small contraction (a definite slowing), while the private Caixin version came in with a small expansion, although a slight slowing. Separately, the official services PMI came in with a slightly better expansion. In all cases, new order levels retreated.In Europe, the German economy expanded slightly in Q1-2025 from Q4-2024. Inflation was steady in April at 2.2%, and retail sales were up +2.2% on a volume basis from March year-ago levels, but little change from February.That all helped the overall EU GDP to expand +1.4% in Q1-2025 from a year ago, up +0.4% from Q4-2024. It is rate that the EU outperforms the US, and this isn't so much because the EU is rising, more that the US is falling.Whichever way you sliced it, Australia's inflation came in at 2.4% in March from a year ago. That was true for the quarterly CPI, and the monthly inflation indicator. Both were little-changed from the respective prior releases. There's now talk of a post-election rate cut from the current 4.10% cash rate target.The pre-tariff shoring up saw air cargo demand spike in March, led by activity in Asia/Pacific, and the US. Come April and May, this spike is expected to reverse quite sharply. Passenger air travel is flattening right out, especially in North America. But it is being held up by strong China and India domestic demand, and still-good Asia/Pacific international demand.The UST 10yr yield is now at 4.17%, unchanged bp from this time yesterday.The price of gold will start today at US$3309/oz, and down -US$10 from yesterday.Oil prices are down more than -US$2 at just under US$58.50/bbl in the US and the international Brent price is down more than -US$3, now just over US$61/bbl. These are four year lows, down to level last seen in April 2021.The Kiwi dollar is now at 59.4 USc, unchanged from yesterday at this time. Against the Aussie we are down -20 bps at 92.8 AUc. Against the euro we are little-changed at 52.3 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today just on 67.6 and essentially unchanged.The bitcoin price starts today down -1.3% from yesterday at US$94,182. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at +/- 1.2%.You can find links to the articles mentioned today in our show notes.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

Toshia finds herself in a predicament. By BradentonLarry – Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. NOTE: The events of this series (as a whole) follow immediately after Lost in Eros Book 1: The Manor. It is strongly suggested to complete that book first. Chapter 1 Toshia strained against the cords that held her fast. Her arms and legs were stretched out against an X-shaped cross, tied securely at the wrists and ankles. The muscles in her thin, strong arms and her bare legs pulled and struggled as her lithe, naked torso twisted against the cross. She had been trying to pull herself loose for what must be an hour now, and was convinced there was no actual hope that she would free herself. Only fierce stubbornness drove her to struggle again and again. At first, her captors had been gathered around Toshia, laughing at her as she fought futilely against her restraints. They had pinched and fondled her naked body, not as if they were trying to arouse her, but out of amusement at her defiant helplessness. They had squeezed and twisted her nipples, not playfully but cruelly, until tears were rolling down her cheeks. Hands had crushed her breasts roughly and slapped her face and thighs until her skin was burning and bright pink. Rude, unloving fingers had been shoved into her pussy, without intending to excite her, only to violate her. It was infuriating to her that her body had responded to this intrusion with grasping, hungry wetness. Although her mind was rebelling against her situation, and the rest of her body was being so badly mistreated, her vagina – and the damned XYZ in her veins – was ready for sex. Toshia didn't give in, though, and wouldn't. That had been the problem. Toshia wouldn't play along, so they tied her up and put her on display in the middle of this broken down old castle. They had good fun with that, hauling the kicking and fighting naked young woman off and holding her down on the cross while they bound her and then raised the framework to fit into its base. Toshia particularly remembered one of her tormentors, a big redhead with freckles over her cheeks and nose, who laughed in Toshia's face and then licked her cheek with a broad, wet tongue. After a while though, they got tired of abusing her and wandered off to find other things to do. Now and then someone would pass her by. Sometimes they would prod, pinch or fondle her body, but more and more they would just walk by, laughing. At first she had been happy to realize she'd been taken by the warrior women. Given her previous experience in Eros, Toshia expected to find herself in a Sapphic harem, surrounded by playful, horny women. After what she'd gone through, particularly since being separated from Don and the girls, the thought of some girl-on-girl action was quite welcome indeed! As soon as she was dumped out into the courtyard of the castle and looked around, though, Toshia realized this wasn't going to be any nice little harem situation. The stones of the courtyard were rough and cold on her bare skin. The women who stood around her were anything but welcoming. They looked down at her with various expressions of contempt and amusement. Each of these warriors was clearly very strong, with well-defined muscles on her arms, legs and abdomen. Odd pieces of armor were combined with tattered garments to barely clothe their athletic bodies. Each one held a weapon of some kind, mostly spears. "She's a scrawny one," said one of the women with a sneer. "No tits to speak of," said another derisively. Toshia was crouching there in front of them, trying to cover her nudity for the first time since she and Don had awoken in the Manor. "I'll bet she didn't put up any fight," one of the women scowled with distaste. "What about it, little pup? Did you put up any fight or did you just let them fuck you until they were done with you?" Toshia had twisted to get a look at the woman who had asked her those questions. She saw a tall woman with long jet-black hair and icy blue eyes looking down at her. The woman's expression gave the impression that she smelled something particularly rank. Toshia tried to think of what to say, but was distracted when she felt the butt of a spear shoved under her behind, and a voice saying, "I'll bet they screwed her ass too." The blue-eyed woman kept watching Toshia, as the woman behind her shoved the spear harder, pushing Toshia up to a kneeling position. Another woman asked, "Well, what is it, girl, did the goats fuck your ass?" "She's blushing," laughed one of them. "I'll bet she liked getting fucked in the ass by the goats." The blue-eyed woman smiled wryly and said, "As if you don't like a good ass-fucking, Wanda." "Well, yeah, but not from a goat!" Wanda protested. They all laughed at this, but Toshia didn't feel any more comfortable. The woman with the black hair and blue eyes was still looking down at her contemptuously. "What are we going to do with the scrawny little bitch, then," one of the women asked. "Give her to the men?" "It doesn't look like she can fight, so what else is she good for? She's too skinny to be any fun." "I don't know," said the blue-eyed woman haughtily. She reached out and caught Toshia's chin in a strong grip. She turned Toshia's head to the right and left, looking at her face coldly. "She's kind of cute." Cute!? Toshia suddenly realized how incredibly pissed she was. Things hadn't been going exactly well for days but she'd put up with it, thinking that Don and the others would turn up and get her out of this mess. Toshia was nothing if not a good sport; she hadn't actually been hurt and she'd managed to have fun in the process, but somehow a line had been crossed. This bunch of obnoxious women was too much to put up with nicely. A simmering rage welled up in Toshia's breast. The cold woman in front of her seemed to see the fury in Toshia's eyes. She smiled cruelly and said, "What do you say, little pup, will you be a good little pet for me?" "Fuck you!" Toshia spat. The smack came from somewhere off to the right and batted Toshia's head to the left. A spear shaft came down hard across her bare back, stinging like fire and knocking her forward onto her hands and knees. "Show respect, you skinny bitch!" said an angry voice. Toshia glowered at the gray stone in front of her, thinking furiously,I'll be damned if I'm going to be anyone's fucking cute little pet! Then she saw a sandaled foot extended under her face. It moved upward and Toshia lifted her head to avoid making contact. "There, there," said the blue-eyed woman. "I'm sure she'll behave now that she understands that she'll be punished if she doesn't. Right, little pup?" Toshia glared up at the woman and said nothing. "She's a wild one," a blonde woman with braids on both sides of her head, and who looked more than a little like a valkyrie to Toshia, said cheerfully. "Better watch yourself, Daphne." The blue-eyed woman, Daphne, sneered coldly and said, "Don't be ridiculous, Brigit. She'll be a good little pet for me, won't you, pup? Show the girls you'll play nice and kiss my foot." Toshia was keenly aware of the fact that she was surrounded by a gang of big bullies with sticks and worse, but she was past caring. She pushed herself up so that she was kneeling on her haunches and said, "I'll tell you what, I'll kiss your foot right after you kiss my ass." The blonde, Brigit, thought this was very funny, and Toshia thought some of the others laughed a little too, but again she was smacked – this time so hard that she tasted blood. Daphne, who wasn't laughing at all, then said, "It looks like the pup needs to be house-broken, ladies. Let's see how she likes being tied to the cross." So, Toshia was woman-handled until and after she was tied up and put on display in the middle of what seemed to be an ancient, decrepit hall. Fortunately, the women had tired of tormenting her, but they made no move to release her. Toshia pulled again, straining all the muscles in her lithe body against the bonds restraining her left wrist, trying to pull her hand through. She felt the wood of the cross against her back and butt. It seemed as if she would pull her hand off the end of her arm, or at the very least dislocate her shoulder, but nothing gave. She sagged, breathless, against the big X, hanging from her restraints. Toshia resigned herself to waiting until they untied her. In the meantime, she thought back to her adventures since she and Don had come to Eros, both in the Manor and since that day, about a week ago, when they had left the Manor and headed out into the forest. She knew reliving some of those events would make her horny, in spite of her situation, but thoughts of her life before coming to Eros would only depress her further. In any case, there was little doubt that the XYZ would have her horny soon anyway. Chapter 2 The Rite: centaurs & witches & crones (oh my!) Right after leaving the Manor Don found himself in strange company. It wasn't the fact that he was accompanied by four sexy women (each of whom he had slept with, sometimes with the active assistance of the others), including the love of his life and best friend Toshia. Nor was it the fact that two of those women had no memory beyond when they had awakened here in this strange place. Rather it was the presence of the amiable centaur, Ralph, who made the situation so surreal. They had gathered around Ralph in the shade of the first trees on the edge of the lawn spread out in front of the Manor. "Well, we call this the forest," Ralph answered Toshia's question. "No," she insisted, "what do you call everything -- the place where the forest is?" "The world? Oh, you mean Eros," Ralph laughed. "People call the world Eros sometimes." "Naturally," Don shrugged, smiling across to Toshia. "OK," Toshia tried to resume her explanation, "Don, Nicole and I aren't from Eros. We come from a place called Earth, and we would like to get home." Ralph frowned and scratched under his long, dark beard. His equine tail swished a bit too. Then, he said, "I can't say that I've ever heard of this 'Earth' place, and I've traveled extensively throughout the world -- Eros. Oh, would you mind scratching right there, dear?" Amy, who had utterly failed to resist the urge to caress Ralph's strong flanks, obliged him by scratching at his brown hindquarter where her hand had been. "Well," Don tried, "if you wanted to find a way to Earth, is there someone you would ask for help?" "Hmm," Ralph said as his forehead creased with his thought. "I suppose the first place one could try is the Witches of the Glen. Perhaps they could summon the Crone. She is very wise. If anyone knows anything about this 'Earth' it's likely to be... That's very distracting, my dear." "It certainly is!" Shelonda said. She had knelt down next to Ralph and was caressing his prodigious sex organ, which was, naturally enough, responding to the attention. Don wondered if the native fauna responded to the XYZ in the same way the human transplants did. He apologized to Ralph, saying, "I'm sorry. My friends have never encountered one of your kind." "I appreciate that," Ralph said. "It's just that it's been a while since I've been with a mare." "There aren't many centaurs around?" Don asked. "No... not too many..." By now Amy and Nicole had joined Shelonda in caressing and stroking Ralph's large phallus. Toshia was watching them with an expression that seemed a violent mixture of curiosity, shock and titillation. Don almost laughed at her reddening face. He saw that Amy was now kneeling on the ground with both her hands on the column of horse flesh pointing at her face, pumping her hands back and forth on it. Meanwhile, Shelonda and Nicole were similarly stroking Ralph's cock. Don thought it was fortunate for everyone concerned that they hadn't come across an actual horse. "Oh my!" Ralph breathed. Then a deluge of white cum erupted from him, virtually covering Amy's face and front. Pearly droplets splattered everywhere. Shelonda was able to say "Wow!" in the moment before a second bucket full of cum shot out of Ralph and onto Amy's face, and then there was a third much smaller one, followed by a stream that drizzled out. Nicole reached out and caught some of this in her cupped palm, and brought it up to her mouth, only to pronounce it "Yummy!" The girls on the ground proceeded to giggle and laugh as they scooped centaur cum off Amy and slurped it down. Toshia watched this for a moment, until she saw Don watching her with amusement, and then said, "Oh, what the hell?" and got down to join in the fun. "I hope that wasn't too rude of them," Don said to Ralph. "Oh, no -- not at all!" Ralph laughed. "It was a bit kinky, you know. I've never been pleasured by such tiny females, but I'm certainly not complaining." "Well, good," Don smiled. "Now, I was wondering if you could help us find these Witches of the Glen that you mentioned." Once the women managed to finish playing with Ralph's cum and to clean Amy up a bit, the centaur led them through the forest at a pretty brisk pace. Don was happy that he was a good hiker. The women took turns getting rides on Ralph's back, and took the opportunity to bring themselves to loud orgasms along the way. At first Toshia seemed shocked by the fact that Amy and then Shelonda were so openly grinding themselves against Ralph's spine and then so obviously coming, but, after Nicole took her turn, Toshia climbed up and enjoyed the ride for all it was worth. Don watched her bowing her head against Ralph's shoulder blades as she gasped and sighed with her orgasm, and smiled to himself. It was good to see her enjoying herself so thoroughly. For his part, Ralph said he was happy to return the favor done him as much as possible. Amy, however, insisted that she was unconvinced that there wasn't some further way in which Ralph could be of service to the ladies. Don found himself a bit happy when they came upon the glade they were seeking before Amy could put any of her ideas to the test. He sensed that Ralph was a bit relieved too. They were on a cleared hilltop high over the rest of the forest, sloping dark green all around them. The sun was sinking toward the horizon. In the center of the glade were a large stone altar and a large arrangement of wood, ready to become a bonfire. Off to the side, against the tree line, was a large tent of crimson cloth. Ralph led them toward this tent. Before they got there, though, or even called out, a flap was tossed aside and a beautiful woman in a dark red robe stepped out and said, "Hello, and welcome." She had a thick mane of yellow and gold hair falling to her shoulders in an unruly tumult. She looked the party over with eyes of light blue-gray and a knowing smile. "My name is Cassandra, how may we help you?" "Hello Cassandra, I'm Don, and this is Toshia, Nicole, Shelonda, Amy and Ralph." "It's good to see you again, Ralph," Cassandra smiled. Her voice was musical, friendly and confident -- in short, extremely sexy. "Thank you for guiding our new friends here." "It was an honor, mistress," Ralph bowed. "More than that," she winked, "judging from the smell of things." "An honor and a pleasure," he smiled back at her. "I am glad," she nodded. Then, turning to Don, she asked, "How may we help you, Don?" "Toshia, Nicole and I seek a way to leave Eros and return to our home, Earth," Don explained. "Ralph suggested that you could help us find someone who could tell us how to do that." "The Crone," Ralph added. "Ah, yes," Cassandra nodded, taking all of this in with apparent simple acceptance. "I see. We could perform the summoning rite, though you will have to help. We will need a fresh offering for the guardian of the portal, and then there will be a price to be paid to the Crone as well." "What sort of offering and price?" Toshia asked. She had dismounted from Ralph's back and stood next to Don. "Oh nothing quite so dire as you might imagine," Cassandra smiled enigmatically. "Any of you young ladies will do, though I suggest you or Nicole would be most fitting." "Fine," Toshia said firmly, "as long as it's nothing life-threatening, I'll do it." "Wonderful," Cassandra nodded. "And you, Don, will have to pay the Crone's price. Surely you will be as brave as your companion." "Of course," Don nodded, very much conscious of the fact that he was nowhere near as sure of himself as Toshia seemed to be. Cassandra smiled at them both and then turned to the tent behind her and called, "Come on everyone, we have to get ready to summon the Crone!" There were excited exclamations from the tent, followed by a dozen men and women all wearing robes just like Cassandra's. They busied themselves immediately around the firewood and the altar. Don would have paid more attention to what they were doing, but Ralph took this moment to say, "Well, I will leave you in Cassandra's capable hands, then." "You won't stay to see what the Crone says?" Don asked. "No," Ralph shook his head. "I want to find myself a mare as soon as possible, and, to be honest, these magical rites are a bit too intense for me." "Are we safe here?" Don asked in a hushed voice. "Oh, yes!" Ralph laughed. "Cassandra's a sweet, kind person. She won't let any harm come to you, but ... well, it's just going to be intense, that's all. It all gives me the willies. Anyway, good luck!" The girls all bid Ralph goodbye, and then he trotted off into the forest, which was already quite dark in the dusk. "Please, Toshia, come with me," Cassandra said. While they went into the tent, a pair of red-robed women came up to Nicole and Shelonda and led them off toward the fire area. A tall young man approached Don and said, "Sir, if you will accompany me." Don followed the man to a wooden chair that had been set off to the side, with a clear view of the altar without actually being close to it. The young man said, "During the rite, you will sit here until the Crone summons you. Do not participate in the ritual at all until that time. It is very important that you save yourself for the Crone. If you do not, she will know and be displeased." "Okay," Don nodded. "Sit in the chair and don't have any fun -- got it." "Oh, and remove your clothing." "Um, all right," Don said. After disrobing and putting his few items of clothing, and his staff, on the ground next to the chair, Don sat down and tried to make himself comfortable, watching the robed witches go about their preparations. He wasn't surprised to note that everyone in what he was thinking of as the coven was in good shape, even though they seemed to represent a spectrum of different ages, from quite young -- like Nicole or Shelonda -- to as old as in their sixties, if Don was any judge of such things. Knowing what he now knew about Eros, though, Don realized that each of these people could be much older than their appearance would indicate, thanks to the rejuvenating powers of the XYZ they drank as water. After the sun set Don was left alone in the clearing, as the others all disappeared into the big tent. Eventually, the group came out in a solemn procession -- one by one -- with Cassandra in the lead. Toshia came second and was wearing a white robe. The entire group made a circle around the pile of firewood, and most of them began to sing some sort of hymn the words of which Don couldn't make out. This went on for several minutes, until, abruptly, Cassandra raised her hands high over her head, and the wood in front of her burst into flame. Well, that was certainly a neat trick, Don thought to himself. He caught himself, though, and tried to make a point of not being quite so skeptical as usual. After all, we're trying to play along with this world's rules here. Maybe things won't work if I've got the wrong attitude. The witches had stopped singing now, and Cassandra took Toshia by the hand and walked her over to stand with her back to the stone altar; the other witches, along with Nicole, Shelonda and Amy, closed the gap in the circle. Facing Toshia, Cassandra raised her arms, with her palms up to the sky, and called out, "O wise mother who guides us and watches over us, we beseech thee to join us this night that the travelers among us may share in the gift of your knowledge and beauty." The witches around the bonfire repeated Cassandra's words, and four of the men lit torches in the fire and placed them in holes Don hadn't noticed before. These torches were positioned about a meter from each corner of the altar. When the men returned to the circle, Cassandra reached out to caress Toshia's face lovingly. She called out, "O guardian of the portal, we offer you this supplicant who comes seeking knowledge and will give you that which you most desire." Then, Cassandra untied the simple knot at the base of Toshia's throat that held the white robe closed. Toshia shrugged the robe off her shoulders and stood there naked in the firelight. If she was frightened or anxious Don could not see it in her expression or posture. Instead, she stood proudly, with her shoulders back and head high. To Don it seemed that it was Toshia, not Cassandra, who was the high priestess of this affair. As the witches around the fire began a low chant, Cassandra took Toshia by the hand and led her to the foot of the altar, and up a set of steps Don hadn't seen earlier. Toshia gently knelt down on the altar and then turned around and lied down upon her back on the cold stone. Don was fascinated to see her bare, pale flesh in the flickering orange and yellow light. He experienced a strong desire to go to the altar then and ravish Toshia even if it did mess up the rite. Instead, he forced himself to sit still in his wooden chair, and kept watching intently. Cassandra moved around to the opposite side of the altar, away from the bonfire, and produced a large pitcher that seemed to be made of clay. The witch proceeded to pour water over Toshia's naked body. From the sharp gasp and sudden tightening of her muscles, Don could tell Toshia had not expected this, but she lay still on the altar. When she'd emptied the pitcher over Toshia, Cassandra set the pitcher out of the way on the ground somewhere behind the altar, and then leaned over the naked, wet offering and kissed her on the lips. Cassandra came around the altar and joined the circle of chanting witches. Once she was there, the group slowly began to move around the fire. The chanting became a bit more rhythmic, and the witches started to move almost as if they were dancing. One by one, each of the participants broke away from the circle to approach the altar and kiss Toshia on the lips. When they had kissed her, each one dropped his or her robe to the ground in front of the altar before returning to the circle. Nicole, Shelonda and Amy each took their turn in this kissing and disrobing ritual, as if they had done this kind of thing many times. As this went on, with an increasing number of naked chanting, dancing celebrants, the rhythm and pace of the chant very slowly rose. The dancers were now holding hands or had their arms around each other's waists. Finally, only Cassandra still wore her robe, so she returned to the altar, kissed Toshia again and exposed her own naked body to the fire-lit night. This seemed to be a signal to the others, for the chanting shifted to a much more rhythmic cant, and Don swore there were now deep, distant drums keeping the beat. As soon as Cassandra returned to the circle, the dancing around the fire became more playful. Now sweaty bodies glistened in the orangey light. Don saw Amy moving along between two men, in each hand a stiff cock, while their hands groped her body. Shelonda passed by with a lovely young woman trying to get her mouth on Shelonda's beautiful heaving bosom. Nicole had allowed a man to catch her from behind and the two of them managed to move around the circle while he kissed the back of her neck and reached around to run his hands over her front. Cassandra danced past with the wanton sensuality of a belly dancer and a certain regal bearing, somehow both reveling in the energy of the rite and aloof from the playfulness rapidly spreading around the circle. The air seemed to be throbbing with the rhythm of the ritual chant, and the heat of the fire and rising eroticism flooded the night. Don looked over to the altar and saw that Toshia had begun to writhe on the stone. Her hands moved over her upper body and her legs rubbed against each other as she felt the aura of lust pulsing from the fire and the dancers. Don watched as she moved her left hand down between her legs, and he had little doubt what she was doing there. As for himself, Don's cock was lying thick on his thigh, growing harder as the rite progressed. Looking back to the fire, Don saw that the dancing had now stopped, though the chanting and the unseen drums continued on. The witches and company were giving in to their desires. Nearby, backlit by the fire, Nicole, had fallen to her hands and knees, and the man who had been following her so closely was now even closer -- fucking her from behind. Don was unsurprised to see that Amy was kneeling between her two men sucking one cock while stroking the other, and then switching. He couldn't see Shelonda, but figured she must be on the other side of the fire. He could see Cassandra, though, straddling a muscular young man, her head thrown back and her breasts thrust up in the night air as she rode him. When he turned his attention back to the altar, Don was surprised to see that a strange dark figure was standing there at Toshia's feet. Don almost sprang from his chair, but somehow managed to remember what he had been told, and resolved to sit still and wait. The figure, which Don presumed must be the guardian of the portal, was hard to discern at first, only a darker shadow in the night, but as Don concentrated it resolved into a tall, distinctly masculine form. Don was sure the shadowy "man" had long horns springing out of its forehead and sweeping back over its head. Toshia didn't seem to notice the creature's presence until it reached out to touch her ankle; the jet black hand seemed more like a talon at first, but then just a hand with long fingers. Toshia looked down to see the figure at her feet, but didn't seem frightened or even surprised. Don could see that she said something, but if there was any reply he could not tell -- he couldn't make out any features of the guardian's face, though he had the distinct impression that there were two fiery eyes of dark red in the shadows. Toshia parted her legs for the darkness and Don watched the claw-like hands moving over her relatively pale skin. As the shadow rose up and lowered itself over her, Toshia's hands left her own body and reached out for the dark shape. Her back arched as the shadows enveloped her. Don found it hard to focus on what was going on atop the altar. At one moment he saw Toshia with her head thrown back and a black creature with its mouth on her neck, and the next there was an almost billowing shadow enveloping her. Then there was a glimpse of her thighs and butt as they flexed while she was fucking the shadow enthusiastically. Her torso strained and tensed, and a mouth with sharp teeth was on her white breast. And then darkness swirled around her. Don was aware that all around the fire the orgy had become general, even though the chanting and the sound of drums went on. He knew that Nicole was now on her back while a new man was between her legs, thrusting with nearly crazed lust. He knew that Amy was being fucked from behind while she took a cock in her mouth. He knew that Cassandra was passionately kissing one of her female subordinates, while another suckled at her tits and reached down to play with her, all while still riding her initial partner. Don could feel his untouched cock, straining painfully in its excited, engorged state. However, he could not seem to look away from the altar. Though he couldn't hear anything but chanting, drums and the moaning of the witches, he was sure Toshia was crying out in a long, hard orgasm. He could tell the shadowy creature on top of her was not finished, though. "No," said a voice next to him, "he will not be finished anytime soon. His need is ... special." Don looked up to see a woman with long white hair swept away from her face and down her back. She was watching the altar with a smile on her thin, red lips. Her dark eyes sparkled in the firelight as she went on, saying, "His phallus is so very hard, like a thing of steel wrapped in a tight sheath of leather. Not as big as one might imagine, but so, so hard, almost painful to touch, until it fills you and you feel his need becoming your own." She was thin, but tautly muscular, and stood confidently and comfortably next to Don. She wore a black sleeveless shift, bound around her narrow waist with a silver cord. "What is his need?" Don finally managed to ask. Her features were sharp and aristocratic, but her smile was friendly as she looked down at him and said, "Sex, obviously, but not like you or them, or her. The guardian feeds off the carnal pleasure of others, particularly the woman with whom he is engaged -- but especially if she's new to him. The energy he draws from her orgasm makes it possible for me to come to you. He will couple with her as long as she can take it, drawing sustenance from her orgasms, and the lust of the others. He does not couple for release, though, but for the reverse. If he comes, which is quite rare, it will be a fiery jet of liquid ecstasy filling up her body -- every fiber." "A fiery jet?" She looked down at him again and smiled warmly, "Don't fear; I was being poetic." Don smiled back, "And your need?" She held out her hand, and Don took it and brought it to his lips, kissing her palm. She laughed and said, "Come with me, Don." A Covin of Witches Desire Toshia. Don stood and moved around his chair, following the white haired woman toward the large red tent. He stole one more glance over his shoulder and saw that Toshia had been pulled to the foot of the altar; her legs were wrapped around the column of deep shadow that stood over her there, her hands were on her breasts and her head lolled to the side with eyes tightly closed. Don imagined that the guardian of the portal was fucking her vigorously with his steely cock. He looked back to the woman leading him, who was looking back at him with an amused smile. Don said, "I didn't see a portal." "The portal is somewhat metaphorical. Cassandra called to me and the guardian, the guardian came, then Toshia came in the other sense, which made it possible for me to come to you." "So he's really not a guardian, but more of a conductor." She laughed as she drew aside the flap of the tent and pulled him inside. "Yes, that is perhaps a more apt description." The tent was lit by a number of candles, and was sumptuously appointed with large, soft carpets and many pillows. "And you are hardly what I would call a 'crone'," Don smiled, admiring the cool beauty of her face and the lithe sexuality of her form. "It's a title, not a description," she answered as she untied the silver cord cinching her gown about her narrow waist. "However, if you would prefer a different appearance..." She changed abruptly into an ancient, toothless hag, straight out of a stereotypical fairy-tale, or Macbeth. She laughed harshly and said, "Perhaps not, though. What about this? Something more befitting the images conjured up in your mind by the rite you witnessed so patiently." She was now a pale woman in a white nightgown. Thick dark hair fell in a tumult down around her shoulders. Her eyes were dark and glowing with a feral lust. Her full lips parted to show long, sharp canines, and were red with blood -- blood that covered her chin and had splattered all over her generous cleavage. Don immediately recalled his fevered teenage fantasies and felt his cock strain despite the obvious danger of the situation. "Or maybe you would prefer I took the appearance of someone more familiar," she said with Toshia's mouth. Don watched as Toshia shrugged out of the black shift the Crone was wearing, to reveal the slim body he had lately come to know so well. Don was both taken aback by these sudden transformations and now completely convinced that there was more to all of the evening's events that clever tricks. He swallowed and managed to say, "No, your original appearance was more than satisfactory." "Ah, thank you," she smiled, and stood before him as she was before, though now naked. Her breasts were not large, but firm for a woman of her apparent age, and the rest of her body was obviously fit and trim. She reached out to take his hand again and drew him to her. As Don's arms slipped around her unusually cool body, her hand took his straining cock in a strong grip. When their lips met and his tongue slipped into her mouth, Don found himself suddenly remembering his first kiss with remarkable clarity. Then he was reliving the moment he lost his virginity (in the basement of his teenage home), the time he had had sex with his girlfriend while another couple were doing it only feet away (in a cheap motel), the time he had slept with a certifiably unhinged woman who was also a completely uninhibited wildcat in bed, the first and second of the threesomes he had enjoyed, and every other memorable sexual moment from his life before the Manor. The memories flooded through his mind in vivid detail, as the Crone kissed him passionately, sucking on his tongue and stroking his cock in her tight grasp. He felt himself being pulled down to the sea of soft pillows as scenes from his time in the Manor played out in his mind. He remembered waking up next to Toshia in that strange bedroom, the wild, unexpected encounter with the Nymphets (including the first time he'd seen Toshia come), the sexual escapades involved in that dodge ball game (including seeing Toshia fucking the Player), the orgiastic ball, the night with the Lady, the first time he and Toshia had sex, watching and participating in Toshia's little gangbang in the second floor corridor, the wild night in the Disco, and the orgy in the steam room, and many other intense erotic memories swept through his mind. Don felt himself entering the Crone's surprisingly hot and wet vagina. The strong grip was no surprise. Still reliving his wilder sexual memories in exceptionally vivid detail, Don held on to the strong but slender woman beneath him and fucked. He fucked her both as if it was the only thing he could imagine doing and as if his life depended upon it. He felt as if his cock was penetrating deeper into the Crone than was physically possible. Her muscles squeezed and pulled at him with incredible dexterity and strength. The vision of Toshia being taken on top of the stone altar was in his mind when Don began to come. To say this was the most intense orgasm of Don's life would be a severe understatement. The cum boiled out of his balls and shot out of him into the Crone in a gushing torrent. He shoved into her and continued to pump jet after jet of cum. He felt her arms and legs wrap around him, pulling him tighter to him, even as her pussy squeezed and pulled at his cock. He thought for a moment that it felt that there were more than just two arms and two legs holding him to her. He opened his eyes and saw the Crone looking at him with a cool, happy smile on her lips. Don felt the orgasm slowly subsiding but then that preternaturally skilled pussy pulled him on, and he was squirting still more cum into her. When he could no longer pump any cum, it seemed that her pussy went on sucking it from him. The ecstasy of coming became a frightening overdose of pleasure and then a painful ordeal as what seemed like minutes passed and he was drained of cum. He groaned wordlessly, and surrendered to the blackness of unconsciousness. Don had no idea how long he was out before he felt the Crone caressing his face with her cool fingers and kissing his lips lightly. When he opened his eyes, she was smiling down at him. "You seek the Sage of the Tower," she said. "Go down into the valley and follow the river there to its source, and you will find the Tower." "Oh, but wha-?" he tried. "Shush," she smiled, "that is all you need to know. Thank you for your gift, Don." Don thought he should say "my pleasure" but he wasn't sure if that was true, and in any case he was already falling asleep. Chapter 3 Toshia Saved & Caught; rough sex in the forest Like Don had done a week earlier, while he was with the Crone, Toshia found herself reliving the erotic adventures she had had since waking up in the Manor. The sounds of the warrior women feasting and carousing nearby only taunted her with the thought that someone might remember her and bring her some food and water. Her deliberate mental game of remembering her time in Eros while she hung tied to the big, wooden X-cross served to distract her from not only her hunger and thirst but also from her frustration and dejection at being in this predicament. These depressing thoughts reminded her of the day ...Was it three days ago already? She must have been very close to drowning, her vision darkening and her temples pounding, when the strong slender arms had slipped around her from behind and she was hoisted up to the surface of the river. She had gulped air into her lungs desperately, and allowed herself to be drawn to shore. Too weak from struggling against the current, Toshia was limp and useless as she was hauled up onto the sandy bank. She lay there gasping, until she felt soft feminine hands brushing the wet hair out of her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw a beautiful young woman with big eyes of blue-green and long straight hair of emerald green looking down at her with concern. "Thank you for saving me," Toshia finally managed. The green-haired girl smiled at her with full inviting lips. She touched Toshia's lips with light fingertips. She licked her own as she traced the outline of Toshia's lips. She looked over Toshia's naked, wet body, and Toshia raised her head enough to see that the girl was also naked and, obviously, wet. She seemed to be very thin, but strong, and quite pale. The girl looked back at Toshia's face and smiled again, and Toshia thought this smile was a bit friendlier now. Well, this is Eros, after all, Toshia thought to herself. It's probably customary to sleep with anyone who saves your life. As if she could read Toshia's mind, the girl leaned in closer, brushing Toshia's skin with her wet hair, and kissed her mouth tentatively. The girl's lips and tongue were cool and moist, and Toshia found herself returning the gentle kiss happily. After only minutes earlier thinking that she was about to drown, this interlude was a most welcome turn of events. Toshia slipped her arms around her rescuer and held her body against her own. For some time, they lay there on the wet ground, kissing each other languorously. Then, with a smile, the green-haired girl pulled away a little and then moved a bit lower, so she could kiss her way down the curve of Toshia's breast. Toshia shuddered as the girl took her nipple and sucked on it. Toshia parted her legs in anticipation as she felt the girl's hand moving up along the inside of her thigh. Suddenly, though, the girl raised her head and looking into the nearby tree line with obvious alarm. In another second, Toshia heard the sound of someone coming toward them through the undergrowth. "It's OK, that's just my friends looking for me," Toshia smiled at the girl, who immediately shook her head and pulled away from Toshia's embrace. Toshia took the moment to look around a bit more carefully and realized that she was quite a bit downriver from where she had fallen in and, moreover, on the wrong side. It couldn't possibly be Don and the others making all that noise in the woods. Toshia looked warily at the woods, and then back to the girl who had saved her life. She was alarmed to see the green-haired waif diving back into the water. "Wait!" Toshia called as she scrambled to her feet. "Oh, damn!" said a masculine voice behind her. "She got away!" "Of course she did," said another. "The way you two go crashing about, it's impossible to sneak up on anything!" "At least we've got a consolation prize this time," said a third. Being called a consolation prize almost wiped the shocked expression off Toshia's face. Out of the forest had emerged three figures, about five and a half feet tall, with long, dark, curly hair and beards, and bare, muscular torsos and arms. They also had short, curled horns growing out of their foreheads and the hindquarters of goats. Naturally, they also had very prominent and generous male genitalia. Of course, after meeting Ralph the centaur she should not have been so surprised to be confronted by bona fide satyrs. In fact, Ralph hadn't even been the strangest thing she'd encountered since leaving the Manor; there was the demonic guardian of the portal to name just one thing.One thing that had fucked my brains out! she thought to herself. Still, in spite of herself, Toshia was shocked by the sight of these half-man, half-goats. "She does look like she'll give us some sport," said one of the satyrs with an obvious leer. "How about it, toots," grinned the third one who'd spoken, "you up for some fun and games?" "Um, actually, I was just going to find my friends," Toshia said taking a step toward the forest away from the three satyrs. "We can be your friends," suggested the satyr who had spoken first. He took a step closer to her on his hoofed feet and gave his already hard and thick cock a squeeze. "We're very friendly." "Oh, well, I'm sure, but I should really be going." "What's the hurry?" said satyr number two, without taking his eyes off her naked body. "Come on, honey," said number three, "we'll show you a real good time." Toshia was simultaneously revolted by the smarmy attitudes, alarmed that it seemed clear they had no intention of taking "no" for an answer, and annoyed with herself for being a bit aroused by the thought of having a "real good time" with three goat-men. Goddamn that fucking XYZ! "Tell you what," said number two, doing his apparent best to sound good-natured, "we'll give you a head start, and if we catch you we'll have some fun." Thinking it was a good idea to take advantage of a chance to put some distance between herself and them, Toshia nodded and said, "Fine." Without waiting for them to say anything else, she sprang for the trees and made for the nearest hillside up away from the river. Tree branches lashed at her bare skin, and she wished she had fallen into the river with her sandals on, but she didn't slow down. She clambered up a hill, vaulted over a large rock and then half-ran, half-fell down the other side, only to start up the next one. Ducking under a thick branch, she turned to the left and started running along the ridge of a line of hills that seemed to parallel the course of the river. She was trying to close some of the distance between the satyrs and where she had fallen into the river. She was vaguely aware that there were now sounds of pursuit echoing in the forest. Toshia slowed just a little to catch her breath, but that only allowed her to realize that the satyrs were getting alarmingly close. She even caught sight of one moving through the trees off to her left, cutting her off from the river. Plunging ahead again with renewed determination, Toshia clambered up the side of the next hill almost on all fours. At the top of the steep slope, she saw a sunlit clearing in the distance. With the vague hope that she might be able to get someone's attention on the other side of the river, Toshia set her sights on reaching that clearing. She might have made it too, if she hadn't tripped on an ill-placed root. Toshia went sprawling in the thick forest carpet of leaves right in front of an enormous tree trunk that had fallen years ago and was now covered with a deep layer of green moss. She heard someone coming up the hill close behind her, and frantically scrambled to her feet. Toshia hurried to get hold of the mossy tree trunk and raised her foot to get purchase on it so she could vault over, but then felt a strong, hairy arm slipping around her waist to pull her back down. "Gotcha!" the satyr laughed, as he pulled her behind against his front, at the same time pushing her chest and face forward against the soft moss in front of her. Toshia struggled, trying to twist out of his grasp, but he was too strong and she was too winded. She felt the head of his cock between her legs and rubbing up against her outer lips. He pushed her against the moss with one hand, holding her in place, while using the other to get his sex organ in the right position. Toshia gritted her teeth as he pushed himself into her. It wasn't an enormous cock, but it was hard and thick, and she had to admit at that moment, with the XYZ and the adrenaline of the chase coursing through her veins, it felt good to be filled. Toshia clutched the mossy trunk, and closed her eyes, as the satyr held on to her hips roughly and began to fuck in and out of her from behind, shoving violently. In addition to the sensation of the penis sliding in and out of her all too eager pussy, Toshia was keenly aware of the thick mat of fur brushing against her legs and butt as he took her and the fact that her tits were being pressed into the yielding moss with the solid resistance of the tree behind it. She knew that she was, basically, being raped by a half-man, half-goat creature, but she also knew she was enjoying it. The question of whether she should actually consider this rape would occupy her mind quite a bit in the days afterward, and particularly while she was strapped to the X-cross. On the one hand, she had actually said "Fine" to the satyr's proposal that "if we catch you we'll have some fun", but, on the other, at the time of that agreement she had been convinced they were going to have their way with her in any case. However, she knew that rape in the normal world she called home was not really a crime of sex but of violence. Someone who raped another wasn't really trying to have sex with them, but to hurt them. Somehow, Toshia did not get the sense that these satyrs wanted to hurt her in the least; they seemed to just want to fuck, and given the nature of this world, it might be reasonable for them to presume that she would enjoy a good tumble in the woods. Still, the girl who had pulled her from the river had obviously wanted to avoid getting caught by the randy goat-men. Later she would ponder these issues, but for that moment against the moss-covered tree trunk she just let herself enjoy the rough fucking. It wasn't too long before the goat-man began to shove into her with even more force, and then his cock swelled and shot his hot satyr cum into her. It felt like there was quite a bit, and it took him some time before he pulled out of her and slapped her butt happily. Toshia slumped against the fallen tree trunk, both relieved and frustrated. She started to push away from the tree, to make an attempt at gaining that clearing ahead somewhere, but another pair of rough hands took hold of her and pushed her back against the moss. "Not so fast, toots," said satyr number three. Without any other preamble, he shoved his cock into her pussy, squishing his partner's cum out to run down the insides of her thighs. Toshia surprised herself by letting out a happy moan as she was filled again. While the satyr proceeded to fuck her with great enthusiasm, Toshia let go of the moss with her left hand and managed to get it down between the trunk and her body, so she could get her fingers on her clit. She began to stroke herself frantically as the cock pistoned in and out of her almost savagely. In only moments, Toshia found herself gasping and moaning as her orgasm tore through her violated body. She shook and whimpered while the satyr had his way with her until he filled her up with his own flood of cum. He pulled out of her, and she felt more cum running down her legs. Laughing, he said, "Told you we'd have fun." Toshia wasn't surprised to hear satyr number one say, "My turn!" This time, though, she managed to roll around and get her back against the mossy tree trunk. She actually found herself smiling at the hairy goat-man as he stepped up in front of her. Toshia put her hands on his broad shoulders and let him lift her up a bit. Soon, she had her thighs supported on his furry haunches as he pushed his eager cock up inside her. She looked at his grinning, bearded face with its little horns, and even laughed a little as he lowered his mouth to her tits to suck and bite on her nipples. She rocked against him as he fucked in and out of her, letting his hairy torso rub against her clit. Leaning back against the curve of the trunk behind her, Toshia let herself enjoy getting fucked there in the woods by an actual satyr. She smiled when she felt his cock swell inside her to spew a third torrent of cum into her pussy, only to spill in a slow river out of her as soon as he withdrew. She noticed that the other two satyrs were still standing there, watching, with still very hard cocks standing in front of them. Perhaps they would have let her go in that moment, but Toshia had her mind on other things. She laughed and said, "Well, hello boys; are you just going to stand there? I thought you promised me a good time." This prompted laughter from all three of them, and they hastened forward. In the next moment, Toshia was surrounded by all three of the satyrs as they pawed her with their eager hands and kissed and nibbled at her wherever they could reach. Fingers pinched her nipples and pushed up inside her soggy cunt. One enterprising individual got his finger nice and slippery and pushed it up inside her ass. This reminded Toshia of that wonderful time she'd had in the steam room with Don and Peter, only a few days earlier, and gave her an idea. "OK, well, before we go any further, don't you think you should introduce yourselves?" Toshia laughed. Any further? They've each fucked me and they've got their fingers in my pussy and ass! "Oh, I'm Scratch," said satyr number two. "I'm Roscoe," said number one. "And, I'm Bob," said three. "I'm Toshia," she said. "Now that we've got that out of the way. Why don't you lie down on your back here, Bob?" Bob was only too happy to comply, and Toshia promptly straddled him, and took his stiff cock in her hand, pushing the head of it into her pussy, which was quite ready for more action. She sank down on Bob's shaft, leaning forward by placing both hands on his broad hairy chest. Toshia slid up and down on him a couple of times, just because it felt good. Then, she looked over her shoulder and said, "Scratch, can you get back there and fuck me in the ass?" "I sure can!" Scratch said with a grin. There was some scrambling around, and an interesting moment when Scratch pushed his finger up inside her wet pussy with Bob's cock (Oh my! That's interesting! I'll have to try to remember that.). After her own juices and a liberal amount of satyr cum was worked into her butt and smeared over his organ, Scratch slowly pushed himself into her butt. "Oh fuck that feels good!" she exclaimed. "Yes, push it in me!" An unexpected orgasm hit her then, and she held still there as her pussy and ass clenched on the two cocks inside her. Moaning and trembling, Toshia rode it out with a smile on her face. When she had started to come down, she looked down at Bob and over her shoulder at Scratch and said, "Well, what are you waiting for boys, fuck me!" The two satyrs began to do as they were told, working their thick, hard cocks in and out of her. Whether they had practiced this trick before or it was an innate satyr skill, they quickly got into a perfect rhythm, pumping and grinding against her body as if the three of them were one ideal sex machine. Toshia made sure she was giving as good as she was getting, working her pelvis in time with the way the satyrs were pushing and pulling inside her. When she felt comfortable and knew she could keep up, she looked around and beckoned Roscoe over. The third satyr moved over on his cloven hooves to stand in front of Toshia. She reached up with her left hand and took his cock in her hand and pulled it to her mouth, tasting his cum and her own juices on him. Once she had the fat head in her mouth, she stroked the shaft in her fist. Bob reached up to cup her breasts in his hands and to help hold her up. Letting Bob and Scratch do most of the fucking work, Toshia relaxed to enjoy those sensations and concentrated her active attention on Roscoe's cock. She pulled him closer so that she could get her mouth working up and down on him, pushing the head deeper in her mouth so she could feel his thick shaft moving over her lips and her tongue. I wish Don could see me! she thought as she relaxed her throat and sank deeper on to Roscoe's cock. She let go of the base of his shaft and held onto his hips with both hands, both for support and to shove him back if it became necessary, but she was now letting him fuck her mouth and throat. Roscoe was surprisingly careful, holding her head gently in his hands and moving slowly and steadily. Meanwhile, Bob lay under her flexing his hairy abdomen to push himself up inside her pussy, and Scratch held on to her hips and fucked in and out of her ass vigorously. Toshia was intent on making the satyrs come before she came again, but her body had other ideas, and soon she was moaning and trembling while an intense orgasm shook her from head to toe. The frantic clenching of her pussy and ass pulled Bob and Scratch past the point of no return, and they filled her up with more of their cum. Roscoe, who had come most recently anyway, held out a bit longer, but the other two were still inside her when Toshia felt him swelling in her mouth and throat and then pumping gout after gout of sweet, hot cum into her stomach, and then filling her mouth. Pulling away from her, he splashed on final stream of pearly jizz across the bridge of her nose and down her cheek. Still hard, Bob and Scratch continued to fuck her squishy pussy and ass until she came again and again. Only when she had collapsed between them, did they extract themselves and carry her off to their camp in the forest, where they bathed and fed her. That night, the next day, and the night after were spent in a marathon of satyr fucking that left Toshia exhausted. Toshia now, bound to the X-cross, strained again at her restraints, wishing she could get at her pussy and clit now. She needed to make herself come. She remembered how she had awoken the third day, well into afternoon. The satyrs were gone, and she was surrounded by the gathering party from the warrior woman camp. Angry at being abandoned, worn out from the incessant demands of three hard pricks, frustrated at being lost, Toshia had been a bit happy to learn that she was going to be taken to a bunch of women, but that hadn't lasted long. She remembered how they had tied her up underneath a pole carried on the shoulders of two brawny men. The next two days were spent hanging there as she was carried further down river, to the castle where she now stood on frustrating display. To be continued. By BradentonLarry for Literotica

An ominous black tower structure was spotted at Area 51 on Google Earth, sparking speculation online about its purpose.

Zapisuję się na darmową lekcję angielskiego na żywo. Temat: Free Time:https://teacherola.com/czasChcę odebrać dostęp do darmowej lekcji video o tłumaczeniu w głowie!https://teacherola.com/lekcja

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We finally know exactly how long it takes Uranus to turn once; there's a Type 1a supernova in the making, and it's really close; how much total life could be on Titan? and a new comet could brighten in the coming weeks. And in our Space Bites+ on Patreon, how our understanding of the physical properties of galaxies could be wrong.

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Ichha Sharma.Today is the 11th of April and here are this week's headlines.The US officially enforced a sweeping 104% tariff on all Chinese imports starting Wednesday, escalating its trade confrontation with Beijing. This move follows President Trump's ultimatum to China to withdraw its retaliatory 34% tariffs. China hit back sharply at Washington's escalating trade war rhetoric, saying it does not seek conflict but won't tolerate bullying either. US further escalated the situation with its decision to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% while pausing tariffs for other nations. Responding to this, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing, “This cause will not win popular support and will end in failure.” Lin emphasized that Beijing will defend its people's rights, signaling that retaliatory action may still be on the table. Meanwhile, Asian markets surged on news of the 90-day tariff pause for other countries, with Japan's Nikkei 225 soaring 8%, South Korea's Kospi rising over 5%, and Australia's ASX 200 up 5% in early trading.In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court declared Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi's decision to reserve 10 re-passed Bills for Presidential consideration as illegal. The court held that the Governor showed scant respect for judicial precedent and unduly delayed action. Using Article 142, the bench declared that the 10 Bills are deemed to have received assent, overriding the governor's withholding. This rare step sends a strong message about constitutional propriety and reinforces legislative autonomy amid growing tensions between elected governments and appointed constitutional heads.The Reserve Bank of India has slashed the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6% in its latest monetary policy review. This signals lower interest rates on home, personal, and auto loans soon. The Monetary Policy Committee also shifted its stance from "neutral" to "accommodative," hinting at more rate cuts ahead. GDP growth for 2025–26 has been revised down to 6.5% from 6.7%, while retail inflation is projected at 4%. Lower rates aim to boost borrowing and spending amid slowing economic momentum.Russia has formally invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend its Victory Day Parade on May 9, commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko confirmed that the invitation has been sent, and the visit is under discussion. The gesture comes after Moscow confirmed President Putin's scheduled visit to India later this year. Russia has extended invitations to several “friendly nations,” reinforcing diplomatic ties amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Modi's participation would signify India's balancing act in global power dynamics.A deadly Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in northern Gaza's Shijaiyah neighborhood on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people, including eight women and eight children, according to officials at Al-Ahly Hospital. The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed the toll and said rescue teams were still searching through rubble for survivors. Nearby buildings were also damaged, according to Gaza's civil defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government. The strike is the latest in a wave of intensifying attacks, as the humanitarian crisis worsens in the besieged Palestinian enclave with no signs of a ceasefire in sight.This was the CatchUp on 3 Things by The Indian Express.

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.Today is the 10th of April and here are today's headlines.China Pushes Back Against U.S. Tariffs, Warns of ConsequencesChina hit back sharply at Washington's escalating trade war rhetoric, saying it does not seek conflict but won't tolerate bullying either. Responding to the U.S. decision to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% while pausing tariffs for other nations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing, “This cause will not win popular support and will end in failure.” Lin emphasized that Beijing will defend its people's rights, signaling that retaliatory action may still be on the table. Meanwhile, Asian markets surged on news of the 90-day tariff pause for other countries, with Japan's Nikkei 225 soaring 8%, South Korea's Kospi rising over 5%, and Australia's ASX 200 up 5% in early trading.India Steers Clear of U.S. Tariff Clash, Eyes Fall Trade PactIndia responded cautiously as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a temporary suspension of his sweeping reciprocal tariffs, which went into effect Wednesday. Just hours before the announcement, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar confirmed that India is actively engaging with Washington to finalize a bilateral trade agreement by the fall. Speaking at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Jaishankar avoided directly commenting on Trump's controversial statements about trade partners, saying only, “We've been constructive in our engagement, and so have they.” India appears to be walking a fine line—avoiding confrontation while quietly working to secure a stable trade relationship.Tahawwur Rana Extradited from U.S., Special Prosecutor AppointedIndia has taken a key step toward justice in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case. The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday night appointed a special public prosecutor for a three-year term to lead the prosecution of Tahawwur Rana, who is being extradited from the United States. Sources confirmed that a senior team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and intelligence services has taken custody of Rana, who is expected to arrive in Delhi by Thursday. Rana is accused of aiding the planning of the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai, which left more than 160 people dead.Kashmir Cleric Says Police Blocked Religious Meet Over Waqf ActMirwaiz Umar Farooq, the prominent religious leader and head of the Muttahida Majlis Ulema (MMU), accused Jammu and Kashmir police of halting a planned meeting of clerics at his Srinagar residence. The gathering was meant to discuss concerns over the Waqf Act, which governs religious endowments in the region. Calling the police action unjust, Mirwaiz said religious leaders must be allowed to deliberate peacefully. He added that a joint resolution would be read in mosques across the Valley on Friday. The MMU also pledged support to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board's legal challenge to the Act.Israeli Airstrike Kills 23 in Gaza as Conflict DeepensA deadly Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in northern Gaza's Shijaiyah neighborhood on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people, including eight women and eight children, according to officials at Al-Ahly Hospital. The Gaza Health Ministry confirmed the toll and said rescue teams were still searching through rubble for survivors. Nearby buildings were also damaged, according to Gaza's civil defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government. The strike is the latest in a wave of intensifying attacks, as the humanitarian crisis worsens in the besieged Palestinian enclave with no signs of a ceasefire in sight.That's all for today. This was the CatchUp on 3 Things by The Indian Express.

Episode Title: 16-145 12 Hours of Nature's Relaxing SymphonyDescription:In this episode of the "Ambient Noises ASMR Podcast," immerse yourself in the soothing sounds of nature with a 12-hour symphony of relaxing ambient noises. Let the harmonious blend of rustling leaves, gentle streams, and distant bird songs transport you to a serene natural sanctuary. This episode is designed to help you unwind, find peace, and escape the hustle and bustle of daily life.Imagine yourself in a lush forest, where the gentle breeze carries the soft whispers of leaves brushing against each other. Nearby, a babbling brook meanders through the landscape, its rhythmic flow adding a calming undertone to the environment. The occasional call of a bird echoes through the canopy, creating a beautifully orchestrated concert that envelops you in tranquility.As you listen, you'll be joined by wanderers from different walks of life, all seeking solace and rejuvenation in this peaceful setting. Whether you're using this episode to relax after a busy day or to aid in meditation and mindfulness practices, our carefully curated nature sounds provide the perfect backdrop for your journey to calmness.Tune in and let these natural melodies guide you to a place of serenity and bliss. Allow yourself to be enveloped by the beauty and wonder of nature's symphony, and emerge refreshed and renewed.DISCLAIMER

Astronomers recently made an exciting discovery around a nearby star that's raising some intriguing questions. They found signs of a massive planet or something with unusual characteristics orbiting the star, and it's unlike anything we've seen before. This finding has scientists scratching their heads because it challenges what we thought we knew about how planets and stars interact. The object seems to have an odd orbit, and its size and behavior don't quite fit the usual patterns we've observed in other stars. Some experts wonder if this could be evidence of something new and unexplored in the universe. As more data is gathered, it might unlock some big mysteries about how solar systems form and evolve. Credit: Clark dome: By Pretzelpaws, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cl... Fomalhaut b orbit animated: By Jason Wang (Caltech)/Paul Kalas (UC Berkeley), CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... TrEs-2b / NASA Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD... Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook:   / brightside   Instagram:   / brightside.official   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.of... Telegram: https://t.me/bright_side_official Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this fun episode, Josh sits down with John Norwood, a commercial banker from Raleigh, North Carolina, whose second identity is that of a passionate adventurer. While John's day job revolves around numbers and negotiations, his soul is stirred by trails, waterfalls, and sunfish sails. Rather than jetting off to exotic lands, John finds endless wonder in his own backyard—the mountains, lakes, and coastlines of North Carolina. Together, they explore John's lifelong connection with the outdoors, how he blends adventure with a full-time career, and how he's cultivated a community of fellow explorers. From Christmas Day hikes to dry-suit sailing in winter winds, John shares stories that blend practical inspiration with a bit of wanderlust magic.

If you rob a grocery store with a machete, it's going to make the news. 33-year-old Jeffrey Bradburn made off with a cinnamon bun and some incense but was caught by police nearby when he stopped to enjoy it. The cinnamon bun, not the incense.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could there be rouge planets floating in space between us and Alpha Centauri system? Will the Chinese be beaming power from a space station to Earth? Will solar sails be used for propulsion in our lifetime? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, how Lagrange points work for different planets and moons? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

Could there be rouge planets floating in space between us and Alpha Centauri system? Will the Chinese be beaming power from a space station to Earth? Will solar sails be used for propulsion in our lifetime? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, how Lagrange points work for different planets and moons? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports Iceland's weather agency says a volcano is erupting in the southwestern part of the country.

In the middle of the night, a burglar broke into the policyholder's house. Nearby police arrived, and the suspect was apprehended. Debbie filed a claim for the police's bullet holes in her house and cleanup of heating oil spilled when a bullet hit the tank.   Notable Timestamps [ 00:15 ] - The bullet holes were all from police guns. 150 gallons of heating oil spilled in the basement. [ 01:40 ] - Heating oil tanks are most commonly found in what region of the United States? [ 03:30 ] - Tim reads through the Pollutants exclusion. Heating oil is most likely going to be considered a pollutant. [ 04:45 ] - When pollutants are released, it's usually caused by something else. This policy narrows down the analysis by listing the perils covered in Coverage C. [ 05:55 ] - Let's run through the Coverage C perils... how about explosion? There was a trial-level court case from Pennsylvania in the '90s that held a gunshot could be considered an explosion for the named peril. [ 07:55 ] - "Riot and civil commotion" probably envisions multiple people, or at least a larger area. [ 09:00 ] - Is it finally time for malicious mischief? No, it was the bullets from the police, and they were not causing the mischief. [ 09:30 ] - The peril for theft includes attempted theft, so this peril is a possibility. [ 10:45 ] - "Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning or bulging of a steam or hot water heating system"... was the heating oil tank part of the hot water heating system for the home? [ 12:00 ] - Volcanic eruption? Probably not, but it is valuable to step through the policy to look for coverage. [ 13:13 ] - The governmental action exclusion applies to the destruction of covered property by order or governmental or public authority. [ 14:00 ] - "Order" usually means a search warrant, or something more formal than what occurred in this scenario. [ 14:45 ] - If the police officer's conduct exceeds the scope of the warrant, that may fall outside of the exclusion as well. [ 16:15 ] - Tim provides a recap of the scenario and the points above. Your PLRB Resources Coverage Question: Governmental Action Exclusion – Raid Pursuant to Warrant - https://www.plrb.org/documents/governmental-action-exclusion-raid-pursuant-to-warrant-pcq-2023-04-30-twh-a/?search=governmental%20action Coverage Question: Governmental Action or Civil Authority Exclusions Not Applicable Where Damage from Apprehending Suspect - https://www.plrb.org/documents/governmental-action-or-civil-authority-exclusions-not-applicable-where-damage-from-apprehending-suspect-pcq-2020-08-18-eks-a/?search=governmental%20action Annotation: Pollutants; Smoke from Industrial Operations (HO131) - https://www.plrb.org/documents/pollutants-smoke-from-industrial-operations-ho131/ Employees of member companies also have access to a searchable legal database, hundreds of hours of video trainings, building code materials, weather data, and even the ability to have your coverage questions answered by our team of attorneys (https://www.plrb.org/ask-plrb/) at no additional charge to you or your company. Subscribe to this Podcast Your Podcast App - Please subscribe and rate us on your favorite podcast app YouTube - Please like and subscribe at @plrb LinkedIN - Please follow at “Property and Liability Resource Bureau” Send us your Scenario! Please reach out to us at 630-509-8704 with your scenario! This could be your “adjuster story” sharing a situation from your claims experience, or a burning question you would like the team to answer. In any case, please omit any personal information as we will anonymize your story before we share. Just reach out to scenario@plrb.org.  Legal Information The views and opinions expressed in this resource are those of the individual speaker and not necessarily those of the Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB), its membership, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated. The information, ideas, and opinions are presented as information only and not as legal advice or offers of representation. Individual policy language and state laws vary, and listeners should rely on guidance from their companies and counsel as appropriate. Music: “Piece of Future” by Keyframe_Audio. Pixabay. Pixabay License. Font: Metropolis by Chris Simpson. SIL OFL 1.1. Icons: FontAwesome (SIL OFL 1.1) and Noun Project (royalty-free licenses purchased via subscription). Sound Effects: Pixabay (Pixabay License) and Freesound.org (CC0).

In this episode, we're diving into the magic of Feng Shui and how small shifts in your space can create powerful transformations in your life. Your home is a reflection of your energy, and by making intentional changes, you can invite more abundance, harmony, and joy into your daily experience. This conversation will inspire you to see your home in a whole new way. I'll be sharing personal experiences, insights, and practical tips that you can apply right away. From creating a welcoming entryway to enhancing the energy in key areas of your home, these simple adjustments can have a profound impact. Feng Shui isn't about rigid rules—it's about tuning into what feels good and supports the life you want to create. So, if you're ready to turn your home into a sanctuary that uplifts and energizes you, this episode is for you! Let's explore how to set up your space for success, love, and well-being—one mindful shift at a time.   Key Takeaways:  Simple tweaks, like decluttering your entryway or adjusting furniture placement, can create a powerful ripple effect in different areas of your life. Aligning your home's energy with your intentions can help you manifest more love, success, and opportunities. When you treat your home as a sanctuary, it nurtures and supports you in return, helping you live with more joy, balance, and ease.   Are You in the UK?  London (or Nearby)? I'd Love to Meet You in Person! Come join us - https://love.patricialohan.com/one-day-retreat   Resources: Feng Shui Mini Course or Feng Shui 101 - https://www.powerhousefengshui.com/fengshui-101-v3-1 Feng Shui Checklist - https://www.powerhousefengshui.com/feng-shui-checklist-1   Connect with Patricia Lohan: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/powerhousefengshui/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@PatriciaLohan Website - https://patricialohan.com/ Send us an email: miracles@patricialohan.com

After days of trekking through the Andes, the sight of Machu Picchu is unforgettable. Nearby, the horses that carried supplies for the arduous journey graze peacefully, their heavy breaths mingling with the faint, ghostly hum of the valley below. The stillness and raw power of the landscape create a profound connection to this historic wonder. UNESCO listing: Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu Recorded by Rafael Diogo ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world's most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage

"The world's first iron bridge spans the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire in the English Midlands. Through the gorge runs the River Severn, which is prone to flooding - and becoming more so, through climate change. The Ironbridge Gorge is often called the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The area contains all the elements of progress that contributed to the rapid development of this industrial region in the 18th century, from the mines themselves to the railway lines.  "Nearby, the blast furnace of Coalbrookdale, built in 1708, is a reminder of the discovery of coke. The bridge at Ironbridge had a considerable influence on developments in the fields of technology and architecture. This recording was made at the highest point of the arch of the bridge, at a time when the river was in flood and parts of the surrounding area were inaccessible as a result. You hear the rush of the water some 18m below the bridge, the voices of tourists and visitors walking past, the sounds of the town (stereo L) and a passing light aeroplane, and an angrily barking dog! You also hear the clicking and beeping of tourists' cameras as they photograph the flooding, including one who stands directly above the recorder, then accidentally kicks it over and apologises!  "Many thousands of people visit the Iron Bridge and the surrounding area (UNESCO WHS) but mostly in fine weather. Local people's experience of the Gorge inevitably includes experiencing the impact of flooding, hence I thought it was important to capture a sound few visitors will have heard." UNESCO listing: Ironbridge Gorge Recorded by Jim Hawkins. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world's most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage

Heathrow Airport Closed After Nearby Fire; Judge: DOJ Response on Deportations Woefully Insufficient | NTD Good Morning

Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent for the London Independent // Maura Fay, RTÉ Reporter at Dublin Airport // Brian O'Connell, RTÉ Reporter at Cork Airport // Shelagh Fogarty, LBC presenter who was meant to be flying to Shannon today // Paul Charles, the head coach with London Amateur Irish Rugby Club

you're out and about, maybe on a hike or just chilling in your backyard, and suddenly you spot this crazy laser beam streaking across the sky. Well, hold onto your hats because that laser beam could mean lightning is about to strike nearby. It's like a real-life warning sign from nature, telling you to take cover and stay safe. Scientists have found that these eerie laser-like beams, known as "lightning sprites," often appear right before lightning bolts zap down to the ground. And it's just one way of nature saying, "Hey, heads up, lightning's about to crash the party!" Credits #brightside Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Listen to Bright Side on: Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960 Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textWatch the video!https://youtu.be/tIr1TMlUXa8In the News blog post for March 21, 2025:https://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2025/03/in-the-news770.html00:00 What Month Is It? 202507:49 Streaming Laggard15:22 A Very Promising Modem20:21 Nearby vs. “Near Here”22:25 Improved Text Messages25:51 Portable Power to the People30:58 In the Show - The Return of Lasso!35:36 Still Not a Cat!37:17 Someday (There Will Be No Zombies)40:53 Brett's iTip: “Safe Driving Mode” in Zoom on iPhone (aka “Quick Mute”)45:10 Jeff's Compass App Tips: More than Just DirectionsJohn Gruber | Daring Fireball: Gurman: Tim Cook Has Put Mike Rockwell in Charge of Siri, Reporting to Craig FederighiJason Snell | Six Colors: Who's the laggard? Comparing TV streamer boxesRyan Christoffel | 9to5Mac: Apple's C1 outperforms iPhone 16 with Qualcomm in most benchmarksRyan Christoffel | 9to5Mac: Apple Maps in iOS 18 got a new feature that's been on my wishlist for yearsJoe Rossignol | MacRumors: iOS 19 to Improve Texting With Android Users in Five WaysJeff's Review: Anker Laptop Power Bank — portable power, smart designClaire Moses | The New York Times: The Cat Lawyer Figured Out His Zoom SettingsBrett's iTip: “Safe Driving Mode” in Zoom on iPhone (aka “Quick Mute”)https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0068143Jeff's Compass App Tips: The incredible Compass apphttps://ios.gadgethacks.com/how-to/using-your-iphone-compass/Support the showBrett Burney from http://www.appsinlaw.comJeff Richardson from http://www.iphonejd.com

Gallipoli has become a hotspot for travellers seeking both history and hedonism. The summer season sees a seismic shift as Gallipoli becomes synonymous with revelry and celebrations extending well beyond the old and new towns. Nearby beaches – especially those in and around Baia Verde – echo with the rhythms of music festivals, vibrant parties, and a diverse crowd.  Our insider tips on when best to visit the old town, where by day fishermen still meet to drink, chat and mend their nets. We recommend some fine seafood restaurants and tell you where we enjoy the best sunset in Salento. Details of the locations on our walking tour of Gallipoli can be found in our companion Puglia Guys Gallipoli city guide. Follow us on Instagram for frequent video stories, reels, photos, ideas and other information to inspire your stay in Puglia.

From stress reduction to faster healing times after surgery, being in nearby nature has measurable effects on our well being. Master Gardeners work to foster the connection between people and the natural world to help our communities be able to access nature no matter where they live. In part two of our Program Priority Series we sit down with Master Gardener Cathi Lamoreux to discuss Nearby Nature. For resources, links, a transcript, and more be sure to visit our website at https://evergreenthumb.mastergardenerfoundation.org/episode043/  

learn how to use the word 'nearby' in English

From Lost In Eros – Book 1The Player's Outdoor GamesIn 10 Parts By BradentonLarry.  Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Afterward, they all gradually moved toward the area in front of the maze. Three sides of a large rectangle were marked off by a low hedge only about a foot high. The fourth side was marked by a white line that seemed to be painted onto the grass, and the rectangle was divided into right and left halves by another painted line. On the far right end of the rectangle was a table with holes in it. In most of the holes were short rods, or batons, of different colors, and around each baton was a bracelet of matching coloring. In the left half of the rectangle were several women and one man, who were talking idly. While Don chewed an apple, a man entered the right side of the rectangle and took one of the baton-bracelet sets and walked over to the left half, where he offered the bracelet to one of the women there. She took it from him with a smile, slipped it on to her wrist and then jogged off toward the maze. There were two openings that Don could see, and the woman made for the one on the left. As soon as she got to that opening, she sprinted in, and the man suddenly gave chase.“If he can find her and tag her with the baton, they'll play together,” the Player explained. “If she can get back here without getting tagged, she returns the bracelet. The baton will vibrate, so he knows he's lost his quarry.”“Does that happen often?” Toshia asked. “I mean, she didn't have to accept the bracelet, did she?”“Ah, but it's all about the game and the chase,” the Player smiled. “In the maze, you have to win your playmates.”Don grinned, “I like it.”Amy, Keiko, Natalia, Marissa and Jamie all stepped over the hedge into the left half of the rectangle. Peter, Ilsa and the Player all went to the right. Peter offered his bracelet to Amy, who took her time walking to the maze and only started running when she got there. Peter took off after her. Ilsa chased Marissa, and the Player went after Jamie. Igor was sitting on one of the steps behind them, with no apparent interest in the garden or the maze.Don looked to Toshia, “I think we can walk around the maze. If there's a way out, it makes sense it will be in the outer perimeter, right?”She nodded, and they started off to the left. Don noticed that Shelonda was following along. He smiled at her and said, “You can play with the others.”“I can help you look for a way out,” she said simply, and fell into step with them. “Why do you want to get out of the garden, though? You were trying to find the garden, and we just got here.”“Well, we want to find a way to get home,” Toshia explained.“Don't you live in the Manor, with the rest of us?”“No,” Toshia said, “we're just staying here until we can figure out how to leave.”“Don't you like it here?”“It's not that simple,” Toshia said a bit impatiently.“We like it here, Shelonda,” Don tried. “It's just that there are people who aren't here that we would really like to see.”“Oh. Everybody I know lives here.”Don smiled a little, happy to have answered Shelonda's questions without upsetting her.“I am wondering about something, though,” he said to Toshia as they walked along on the grass with the wall of the Manor on their left and the high hedge of the maze on their right. “If you're right about this being a ‘different world', then is it likely that just finding a way out of this particular place will do the trick?”“It might be a start,” Toshia shrugged.“Ah, yes,” Don pointed. “It does look like there's a space between the corner of the maze and that wall of whatever it is.” It turned out to be an exceptionally dense and thorny wall of a hedge, rising up at least twenty feet, and running parallel with this left side of the maze. The three naked searchers kept walking.At the next corner, they found that there was another clearing at the back of the maze, with another fountain and some padded platforms and benches strewn about. There were two maze entrances on this side, matching the ones on the opposite side. Nobody was back here, though. Don and his companions followed along the high hedge wall on their left, which eventually swept back around run parallel to the right side of the maze. In the end, the trio found themselves back in the area at the front of the maze.Oddly enough, it was Shelonda who said, “Well, that's disappointing.”“Why do you say that, Shelonda?” Don asked.“You won't find the people you want to see.”“Well, we're not giving up,” Don said. “We just need to keep looking somewhere else; maybe in the Manor.”Toshia touched his arm and said, “Thanks, Don.”He smiled at her and said, “But after that long walk, I do think we deserve a bit of play.”Shelonda clearly thought this was a good idea, and Toshia said, “Yeah, that would be good. I wouldn't mind giving this maze game a try.”Don watched as Shelonda went to the left side of the rectangle and Toshia got a baton and bracelet, the latter of which she presented to Shelonda, who took it with a happy smile. As the cute young woman headed for the maze, Don called out, “Be careful, Toshia; the girl's got moves!”“So do I, Don,” she called back with a laugh.When Toshia took off after Shelonda, Don considered his options. He thought he might try both pursuing and being pursued, but would rather start with the first. In what he was now thinking of as the “quarry box”, he could see that Keiko and Natalia were gone, and that Marissa was now back, though there was no sign of Ilsa. There were seven other people there. Given the general mores of the Manor, he was surprised that none of these people were having sex, but seemed to be waiting patiently for someone to come and chase them. Don had no interest in chasing one of the four men, so he considered Marissa and the other three women present. One was a tall, thin woman with long, light blonde hair; another was a bit curvier, with slightly shorter light brown hair shading over to blonde; and the last was a small, very attractive black woman with Asian eyes and straight dark hair falling to her shoulders. Don thought it would be fun to have a threesome with this girl and Shelonda, and then worried if that thought was somehow racist. Still, Don really knew his first choice would be Marissa. He preferred leggy brunettes, and Marissa was certainly that, as well as gorgeous, sexy and, well, she had great tits. He hoped he would be able to hook up with the little black girl later, but he had to start with Marissa.He took the closest baton and bracelet set, and offered the latter to Marissa, who accepted it with a smile that was both friendly and a bit haughty. Don thought to himself that he would enjoy fucking her soon. He watched her legs and ass stroll over to the maze, and as soon as she bolted for the right entrance, he ran after her. Don could cover a short distance very quickly, and this was not a long distance at all. He took the sharp right turn in time to see Marissa at the end of another long straight path, and to see that she was turning to the right at the end of it.Don sprinted at full speed down the path, and threw himself around the corner after his quarry, ignoring the path to the left. He was slowed down by a series of turns and switch backs. If Marissa had gone to the left and he was stuck here, Don would have lost a lot of time on her. Then Don came to a junction where he had to decide between three paths. Two of them seemed to lead back toward the Manor side of the maze, if his sense of direction could be trusted, which it usually could, and the third appeared to double back along the way he'd come. He had thought he'd heard someone running back that way on the other side of the hedge just seconds ago, so he quickly moved into the third path. Several turns and another little sprint carried him out into one of the clearings in the maze.In the middle of this opening was another fountain shooting water straight up into the air. Around this were padded benches, several of which had couples busily copulating on them. On one of these, Jamie was straddling a supine man who was not the Player, riding up and down on him while fondling her own big tits. Don might have been distracted by all of this, except that he also saw Marissa leaving this clearing through the exit directly opposite him. Don sprang forward, stepped up onto the unoccupied bench in front of him, splashed right through the fountain and jumped over a pair of lovers on the other side, splattering them with water as he went over. He thought about apologizing but he heard them laughing, so he just tore after Marissa.He had closed quite a bit of the distance between them now, and was frequently catching glimpses of her backside as they twisted and turned through the maze. There was now no need for Don to wonder about which way to go, because he was able to track her by sight and sound quite easily. When Marissa turned sharply to the left and found herself caught in a dead end, Don almost crashed into her. She made an attempt to slip past him, but he tapped her with his baton on her upper arm. There was a buzzing sound, and Don realized the bracelet was vibrating to let Marissa know that she really had been tagged. She stopped and smiled at him, all friendliness now. Don smiled back and admired her now sweaty body and the rising and falling of her tits as she caught her breath. He needed a moment as well; it had been a vigorous chase.Before she was done breathing heavily, though, Marissa dropped to her knees in front of him, and took his cock into her mouth. Don watched from above, and it wasn't long before his cock was fully hard and he was enjoying seeing this gorgeous woman happily bobbing up and down on his thick shaft. The sensations of her warm, wet mouth moving on him were exquisite. He had assumed that they would go and find one of the clearings and a bench, but he couldn't see anything wrong with this little nook in the maze.Thinking back to the all too brief glimpse of Jamie on that bench, Don gently took his cock out of Marissa's mouth and got on his back in the warm grass. He didn't need to say anything; she promptly straddled him and pushed his cock into her hot, slick, tight cunt. She slid down on him slowly, adjusting to his girth as well as enjoying the sensation. Don couldn't help but admire the view as her statuesque body, covered with a sheen of perspiration, moved on top of him. Her dark eyes were half-closed as she began to move up and down on his cock. Don's hands moved from her hips up to her full tits. She smiled down at him and began to ride him a bit more vigorously. Don used his abs and legs to push himself up into her.“That feels so good, Don!” she breathed in her deep voice. After a while, she began to spend more time on the down strokes, grinding herself against his body. Don moved his hands back to her waist, pushing her down on him and moving her back and forth. He watched as she squeezed her tits, and then ran her hands up over her neck and face, before tossing her head back and concentrating fully on the sensations in her clit and cunt. She was rocking herself against him, as Don worked her back and forth, and moving his cock in and out of her. When she came, she arched backward, thrusting her tits up at the sky, and let out a long, low, quavering moan.Marissa held this position for several moments while the orgasm had its way with her, and then as she came back down. When she was done, she sat up and smiled down at him. Moving on his cock still, she said, “I want you to come for me, Don.”Don grinned and said, “I think that can be arranged. Get up and get on your hands and knees.” As she quickly did so, Don said, “I've been chasing that beautiful ass of yours, and I'd like to get up close to it while fucking you.”She cooed her approval, and waggled her behind at him. He wasted no time and pushed himself deep into her cunt. With his hands on her ass, Don began to fuck in and out of her deeply and steadily. Don saw her right shoulder drop a bit, and then felt her fingertips brushing against him as she played with her clit. He felt himself nearing orgasm, and when she pushed back him and started that low moaning again, he gave in and shot jet after jet of hot cum into her. As his cock spasmed inside her, Don felt Marissa's cunt squeezing him while she came again.Don held still in her until she stopped coming and then slowly pulled out of her. He leaned down and kissed her lower back, and then helped her to her feet. She staggered a bit and leaned on him for support. “Thank you, Don,” she said, “that was wonderful. I will let you catch me sooner next time.”“Where's the fun in that?” Don laughed. “No, forget I said that!”She laughed with him, and they began to find their way out of the maze. They soon came to what Don thought must be the central clearing in the maze. There was a large tree in the center of the circular area, as well as quite a few benches. There were a dozen couples in here, including Toshia and Shelonda who were engaged in a 69 at the base of the tree, Keiko who was lying back on a bench as a man Don didn't recognize went down on her, and Peter with a blonde sitting on his lap moving slowly up and down.Fighting the urge to go over to both Keiko and Toshia and Shelonda, Don continued to walk with Marissa back into the maze. It's probably against the rules, he thought, and I can't go to both anyway, plus it would be rude. They eventually came across Natalia getting well and truly fucked by a strapping young man with longish dark hair right in the middle of a four path intersection. While having a hard time taking his eyes off this sight, Don said, “They need a shortcut out of this place for after you've caught your playmate.”It was Marissa's turn to laugh and say, “Where's the fun in that?”When they finally got out of the maze, Marissa said, “I'm going to go for a quick swim. Care to join me?”“Thank you very much for the offer,” Don smiled, “but I think I'll try one more time in the maze.”He replaced the bracelet and baton he'd taken earlier and then took a place in the “quarry box”. The little black-Asian girl was still there, and she smiled at him. “Did you have fun?” she asked.“Yes, I did, thank you. Hello, I'm Don.”“I'm Nicole,” she moved closer to him. “You're new here, aren't you?”“Yes, I am.”“When did you get here?”“Um, two days ago, I guess.”“Fun, isn't it? I've been here for about a week now.”“Wait, you remember being somewhere else?” Don wished Toshia were here for this.“Yeah; funny how nobody else seems to, isn't it? I'm a college student, pre-med,” she smiled as she shook his hand, a formality that seemed silly and funny in the circumstances.“I'm a history professor,” Don said.“Oh, a hot professor; fun!” she said with a twinkle in her eye.Don laughed, and asked, “Have you found any sign of a way back?”“No, but then I really haven't been looking. I love it here! Back home all I ever did was what people expected of me; my parents, my teachers. I had no social life and hardly any fun at all. I had a bit of sex with boys, and once with my roommate, but frankly most of my sex was with my vibrator. In comparison, this is great! Besides, it's summer break anyway.”“Wait, no it isn't. It's winter, and you don't sound Australian.”“No, I'm from Chicago,” Nicole said. “That is weird, isn't it? I suppose I should be more worried about it, and after another week of this I might start getting homesick, but right now I'm having the time of my life. Speaking of which, ” She abruptly walked over to the batons and bracelets and took a set, returning to offer the bracelet to Don. “, Let's have some fun, Professor.”“Um, Okay, but I definitely want to continue this conversation,” he said as he slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, noticing that it seemed a bit elastic and fit over his hand and onto his wrist rather snugly.“Cool, as long as we do it naked,” she smiled. “Now get going. Make me work for it.”Temporarily setting aside the questions that were suddenly jostling for his attention, Don tried to focus on the game at hand. He thought it made sense for him to use the right entrance again, since he had some familiarity with the path that way. He took off into the maze, and quickly made his way through the twists and turns, sticking to the path Marissa and he had followed, not taking any risks of ending up in a dead end. He almost crashed into Jamie and her partner who were trying to find their way out of the maze. Fortunately Jamie saw the finger Don held to his pursed lips and didn't say, “Hi Don!” At the first clearing, with the fountain where he'd seen Jamie earlier, he made his first deviation from the course he'd run earlier, skirting around the fountain and benches and going into a path to the right. After more twists and turns and a few arbitrary choices, Don came to a small widening of the path, in the middle of which was a little bench, about the size of an ottoman. He thought he was near the far right edge of the maze, about half way in. He had no idea where Nicole was, though she was clearly not right on his heels. Don decided there was no harm in stopping for a bit to catch his breath. After all, with the different paths through the maze, there was always a chance that he would actually run right into Nicole. So, Don sat down on the bench, and tried to listen for sounds of pursuit.After a while, he thought he heard the sound of someone walking on the grass in a nearby path. Then there was the sound of someone running, coming from the direction opposite the one he'd come from. He turned to see Amy running straight for him, being chased by Ilsa, both of them with tits jiggling wildly. He made the same shushing gesture that had worked so well with Jamie, but Amy just laughed and shouted, “Hi Don!” as she rocketed past him. Ilsa laughed as she passed him in the next second.“Fuck!” he said under his breath, and got up from the bench, listening for any sign that Nicole had heard his name. Unfortunately, Amy and Ilsa were still nearby, crashing about and laughing. Don looked down the way he'd came, saw nothing, and then turned to look up the other way, only to see Nicole right there, grinning at him. He jumped a little, but before he could make a break for it, her baton hit him in the chest and his bracelet buzzed.“Gotcha!” she laughed. She dropped the baton on the ground and threw her arms around his neck, smiling broadly. “Ravish me, Professor.”Don chuckled and took her in his arms. Her small tits were pressed against his chest tightly, and his cock was rising between her thighs. He ran his hands over her lower back and squeezed her ass as he lowered his mouth and kissed her. She responded eagerly, pushing her tongue into his mouth and then sucking on his when he returned the favor.Holding on to her cheeks Don lifted her easily off the ground. He turned her around and laid her down on the bench. Breaking their kiss, he stood up and then kneeled between her legs, which she spread eagerly. He bent down, put her legs up on his shoulders and then pushed upward, pulling her forward as he did. Nicole was at an angle with her shoulders, neck and back of her head on the bench, and her legs crossed behind Don's neck. This put her cunt right in front of his mouth. He held her ass up in his hands and began to do as she had asked; ravish her with his mouth and tongue. He sank his long tongue into her exposed cunt, reveling in the sweet taste of her nectar, and then flicked his tongue over her clit. Then Don sucked her clit into his mouth, pulling on it. Nicole squealed and squirmed. Soon Don was lapping steadily at her clit, as his chin pressed against the mouth of her cunt.It didn't take much of this to pull Nicole into a violent, and loud, orgasm. Afterward, Don lowered her and stood up. Nicole, seeing his hard cock standing up in front of him, scooted back on the bench, so that her ass was on it again, and then sat up to grab Don's cock and begin sucking on it. If she hadn't had much experience before she got to the Manor, she had certainly made up for it since. Nicole was bobbing her mouth on him like a pro, while stroking his shaft purposefully. This train of thought gave Don another idea.He pushed her away from his cock, and coaxed her up off the bench. He then lied down on it. She quickly straddled him, with her feet on the grass on either side. She took his cock in hand and, holding it up, managed to get the head into her cunt. Very slowly, she sank down on him. Then, leaning forward a bit, she rested her hands on his chest and began to ride up and down on him. “Umm, this feels so good,” she said with a smile.“So, you've been here a week,” Don said as he rocked his hips to help stimulate her, “what's the wildest thing you've done?”She smiled down at him, “Um, well, it's a toss-up really. I think it was my second day, and I found my way into this big steam room. There were a bunch of guys in there. I was being a little coy, still, but I was really turned on by being the only girl in there with all those naked guys. This guy next to me was looking me over and kind of stroking his cock; not really jerking off, just playing with it; and it was pretty big, so I just leaned over and started sucking him. I felt so slutty, but also incredibly hot. Well, I'm there sucking on this guy and I feel hands on me; all over me. There were at least two guys, playing with my tits and squeezing my ass. I spread my legs so they could get at my cunt. I was sucking on this guy's cock, and other guys I couldn't even really see were fingering me. I came right there, and when I was done, I was on my back on a bench in there, and there was a guy getting ready to fuck me. I could have said something, I'm sure, but I really just wanted to get fucked, so I let them. I let every guy there fuck me. Some of them came inside me and a lot came all over my stomach and tits. I think there were like twelve guys in there, and some of them went twice. I must have come like twenty times.”“Wow; good story,” Don smiled.

The gang comes to terms with a heavy loss as they head deeper into the tunnels of the Underwood. Unexpected tight corners and mighty foes make appearances as the Woven Cord weaves its way to Kinari.Instagram (where all our animations are):www.instagram.com/wwditb@wwditb on social media.wwditb.bigcartel.com for merchandise.Kevin & Thomas' show ‘Oops All Segments' on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oops-all-segments/id1651866023Sound/Music Notes:Recap Theme by Liam Berrywww.liamberry.caAmbience_Cave_00.wav by LittleRobotSoundFactory -- https://freesound.org/s/270387/ -- License: Attribution 4.0"Fantastic Dim Bar" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Promises to Keep" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Disconcerned" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Plaint" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Mystery Sax" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Hot Pursuit" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Nearby explosion with debris.wav by juskiddink -- https://freesound.org/s/108641/ -- License: Attribution 4.0custom_short_explosion_impact_sound by Artninja -- https://freesound.org/s/750822/ -- License: Attribution 4.0"Hitman" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Undaunted" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"All This" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Asian Drums" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Desert City" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Lightless Dawn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Dreams Become Real" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Jackie's lonely deep-space post enjoys delicious company.Based on a post by Alizzia. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Jackie awoke to a twinkling, navy-blue night. She lay still, perceived the idle murmer of gulls and surf, the sweet air, the soft and runny sand against her back. With every little rush of the surf, a liquid touch caressed her. Startlingly chill. Goosebumps prickled her naked form. She pulled a long, resuscitating breath, sat up.She nearly gasped. Out on the surf, submerged to the dimpled saddle of his hips, stood a bare and strapping figure. Head tipped to the moon, he raised and clasped corded hands, stretched. He twisted, hummed as he arched the broad, inverted triangle of his lats. Yawning luxuriantly, he turned, dropped his arms, smiled at Jackie.Jackie's pulse fluttered. She returned the crinkled hazel eyes' smile. The figure blushed a hint, turned a bashful eye to the sea. He approached. Surf split and foamed about his hips, thighs, knees, ankles. All softly corded, olive, and bare.He stopped inches from Jackie's toes, let his gaze drag over her, slow. She blushed in return, twisted a little, pulled and bent her knees to touch. Responding, his eyes flicked to her face, stopped there. Though not a turn of betrayed sentiment showed on his lips, a soft bundle of creases remained at the corners of his eyes, somehow more intense. He lingered on her mouth, nose, eyes, canted his head just a hint. A hoarse, longing sigh rose from his chest.Some melted excitement splashed into Jackie's chest and belly. Returning the gaze in full measure, she straightened her legs, arms, lay back on the sand. She raised a challenging brow.Slow, the figure knelt, touched one knee to the beach, then the other. He straddled just one of Jackie's legs, bent, placed heavy hands beside her head. Jackie could hear the wet sand squish under his weight. He bent ever so close, stopped, just breathed. Not a slip of skin touched between them. Droplets fell from his locks and long nose, fell just inches before rolling down Jackie's cheeks. He smelt of salt and earth.Jackie's lips parted involuntarily, asymmetrically. Never breaking her gaze, she stretched, wriggled just a bit, tilted her groin and chin. She heard the figure's pupils dilate, heard his shuddering breath, sensed his heavy arousal. A small smile of glee split her face. She squirmed in the sand beneath him, like a sea star, free beneath his hanging weight. Then, suddenly deadly serious, she stopped. With dearest care, she shifted just a little, pulled the inside of a smooth thigh to meet his knee. The figure shuddered, shut his eyes. Jackie struck, pushed her lips into his. For a moment, she could taste the warmth, the salt. Then, the world spun.The figure disappeared. The stars went out. The black sky fell away. Jackie awoke to a riveted, titanium ceiling studded with white lights. She flailed momently, gasping wetly. Tubes hung before her face, wet with the spit of her own trachea. Pressure lifted from her wrists, ankles, and abdomen. She began to float from the padded pod where she lay.Jackie's clumsy fingers found rails on either edge of the pod. She held herself within, panted. She swallowed dryly, blinked, surveyed the pod, her white sleep shorts and top, the room about her. After a moment, she groaned in recognition and disappointment. Any arousal she'd experienced had flown with her dream, left her with naught but a sodden crotch in a chilly room."Good morning, Specialist Jaqueline Kent," said a voice, at once sonorous and very dull.Jackie tried to sit up and look over the side of the bed. The inertia of the action strained her fingers. Her hands split from the rail. She floated from the bed, frowned.Across the room was a crop-haired man in red. His cotton jumpsuit strained where it failed to accommodate his chest and back. He had cold, blue eyes and a pointed nose. He held onto a support rail, feet firmly affixed to the vaguely-concave floor in magnet boots."Who the fu..." coughed Jackie, barely audible. She rasped. "The fuck are you?" She inadvertently turned upside down in the microgravity, crossed her arms over her floating tits."My pardon, Specialist Kent. My designation is Sam.""You're..." said Jackie, trying to find a more dignified stance. She failed, ended up sort of weakly kicking off the side wall. She made a face as she clipped the stasis pod, wheeled into Sam. Her face collided with his broad chest. He caught her there. For a moment, Jackie's cheek and nose pressed into him. He was firm, but soft. He smelled of soap and salt."You're a service unit, an organic android?" she said, frowning, as Sam pulled her away from him."Indeed.""Why isn't this place being spun for gravity?" raged Jackie, shuffling from his grasp. Strong fingers released from her upper arms."The habitat is spun for only eight hours of the 24-hour cycle, per regulated health minimums. Generator and battery capacity are prioritized for the lighthouse array, rather than gravity rotors. The next spin commences tonight, in several minutes," said Sam, smiling thinly. "For now, please accept these mag boots.""Fine," said Jackie, cold. She bumped against the wall, struggled to pull a boot on. The other floated away. She made a face, huffed, weak from stasis sleep. "Please, allow me," said Sam. For just a moment, Jackie twisted her face as if to protest, but relented. She moved close, allowed the android to wrap an arm around each of her calves in turn, slip a boot over the foot, and strap it tight. For a moment, she relaxed, felt the long hands wrap near-entirely round her bare ankles. They were firm, but not rough. Sam moved away. "There."Jackie tentatively pushed away, set a foot to the floor, felt it stick. "Thanks," she said, quietly."Allow me to show you around the lighthouse. Afterwards, you may recuperate. It will only take a moment. The station is not large, and I understand by your Company service record that you have served in this role before.""There wasn't an android on my last lighthouse. I do this job because I like the solitude."Sam looked genuinely regretful. "I am sorry. You must understand I was attached to this station by the company. I am their property.""Yeah, yeah," said Jackie, seeing his face. A spike of empathy broke through her grumpiness. "You don't seem like bad company, anyway. What model are you?" she said, as Sam opened the hatch for them to exit."I am a Serault Corporation Ceres-6," he said, stepping through. Jackie followed. The concave floor of the room beyond was double-walled transparent alloy. It acted as a gigantic window out onto the red and purple nebula which the lighthouse was meant to warn of. Along the walls, set so one might look down into the nebula, were leather benches, a few pod chairs, and a bed with microgravity webbing, all somewhat worn. Crimson light played over the white upholstery and sheets.Jackie looked over the living quarters, far nicer than she'd had before. She gaped at the nebula for a moment, watched a streak of magenta light cross Sam's eyes and face. "So, you're one of those white-blooded ones?""My internal serum is a sucrose base. It serves modified roles in all my body fluids. It is indeed an off-white.""Sucrose? A real sweetie, huh?""If indeed it were to be tasted, my serum would taste of sugar." He looked her in the eyes, terribly sincere.Jackie looked away, grinned uncomfortably. "Right. Have any other special features?" she said, sarcastic."As Ceres-6 models are designed for small crew missions, our personality precepts are mutable. We change in reaction or in request to facilitate maximum compatibility.""Ah, well. Good to know." Jackie looked about awkwardly, arms crossed. "I take it this is my room?""Indeed, this is the lighthouse keeper's room," he blinked at her, slow."And where do you sleep?""Though I do not often enter my hibernation cycle, I have a pod in the crew maintenance room we just exited."Jackie suddenly uncrossed her arms, waved one about. "Listen, do you need to stare me straight in the eyeballs all the time? It's freaking me out.""Would you prefer I focus on a different portion of your body?" said Sam. He concernedly looked at her left foot."Like, shit. No. Just let your eyes wander like a normal person, okay?""Understood," said Sam. He glanced at her eyes, then about the room, then down into the floor-window."A little less wildly, maybe.""Yes, Specialist Kent." His eyes flitted over Jackie, focused momently on the nipples poking through her airy sleep top. Jackie crossed her arms, blushed. "And call me Jackie, not Specialist Kent.""Understood, Jackie.""And smile a bit more.""Of course," he said, doing so. Jackie shivered, not from the chill air. The lines which pulled about the android's eyes and nose bridge turned the cold face quite warm. It stayed that way."Well," said Jackie, hesitating. "We're getting on better already," she said, only half as sarcastic as she meant. "Can we continue the tour? I could use a shower.""Of course." He continued to a hatch on the other side of the room. Jackie stepped through as well. They entered a circular room with a ladder in the center. The walls were ringed with computer panels and other hatches."This is the primary communication room. Here, you-""Sam, I know how to use the comms.""My apologies," he said. "This hatch leads to the EVA room. This one to the galley. This one to life support. The ladder leads up to the secondary systems and down to engineering.""I take it life support has the shower?""Indeed.""Great. Anything else?""No. We commence operation tomorrow morning, approximately an hour after the eight-hour spin." He broke off for a moment, canted his head. His eyes trailed over Jackie's bare abdomen, likely by chance. She squirmed, regardless. Sam raised his eyebrows, continued. "The spin, which I believe should commence now."There was a jerk, a hollow whine in the hull of the station, a rush in Jackie's ears. Jackie and Sam slowly settled under the centrifugal forces. Jackie adjusted her shorts, surreptitiously. "I'm going to shower.""There are requisite uniforms and undergarments waiting for you.""Gee, thanks for laying out my underwear.""Of course, Jackie."Jackie shook her head, kicked off the mag boots, stomped to the life support bay. She shut the hatch with a good deal of force. The bathroom was behind a secondary hatch, near the spare air purification tanks and the waterless laundry engine. It was stark, shiny white, floored with nobly grip tiles. There were indeed clothes laid out for her: A red jumpsuit and white boyshorts. Jackie passed them just a glance before dropping her shorts and top. Naked, she passed the small mirror, sneered at her baggy eyes, her body, depilated for stasis sleep.She stepped into the shower. A touch panel reading "Shower Ration: 2 Minutes," met her."Same old station-life," she groaned, punched the Start key.A vertical shower hit from above. Mist quickly filled the room. Jackie moaned for the heat, turned her head and chest to face the stream. Little rivulets poured from her nose, chin, nipples. At these she looked askance, gently surprised. She cupped, rubbed one between thumb and forefinger experimentally, sighed a little. She repeated this with both, sighed a lot. Doing so, suddenly quite determined, she stepped back and leaned back, pressed her rump against the white wall. One hand, the right one, slipped between her hairless legs, which she widened just sufficiently. They wobbled a bit, weak from stasis. She leaned harder against the wall, slipped a middle finger over and through her dripping vulva, split the lips, found it dripping inside, too. The left hand joined, found the clit, elicited a hum, a bitten lip. Several wet seconds later, a groan. Jackie's face tipped upwards. Her thighs twitched. Droplets hit her screwed-up eyelids, her open mouth.The water stopped abruptly. Jackie jerked upright. "Motherfucker," she said, a cry fading into a mumble. She leaned through the steam, slightly pigeontoed, red the touch panel. It said, "Time until next Shower Ration: 18 hours." Jackie rubbed her temples, groaned resignedly. The cold of the station was already seeping into the shower. Quickly, she dried, performed her remaining ablutions, threw on the insulated red jumpsuit over still-aching nipples.Jackie emerged to find Sam in the life-support bay. He was shirtless, jumpsuit rolled at the waste, supine beneath a large conduit emitting steam. Droplets rolled over his long fingers and corded forearms, dripped and slid over an expanse of blond-furred chest. Veins stood out in his neck and arms, swollen from the effort of having just slotted a hefty filter into place. As Jackie approached, he turned."Jackie," he said, emerging carefully from under the conduit. He panted gently, lips parted just a tad. They were pink, creased. Human. "How are we?""I'm fine, thanks," said Jackie, forcibly pulling her eyes to his. She looked for a moment longer, watched a vein pulse on his temple. "If you don't mind me saying, you're damn realistic, aren't you?""I am, on the exterior, functionally and visually indistinguishable from a human man.""Yup," said Jackie, moving to leave."Jackie?"She turned back a moment. "Yes?""Is the station too cold for your comfort?" His eyes brows, cream and near-invisible, were arched in concern.Jackie squinted, raised an eyebrow. "No. It's fine.""Good. And, do make sure to have the appropriate post-stasis ration packs. I have concerns your flight here has left you low on muscle mass."Jackie turned away. "Yeah."She opened the hatch to her quarters, shut it with a huff. One protein pack later, she had stripped off her jumpsuit, dead asleep.Hours later, Jackie woke to a crimson nebulaic glow. She floated, bleary, in the microgravity webbing. The vibrating hum of the spin-rotors had died. Now, there was merely silence. Dully, Jackie moved to turn over under the webbing. As her thighs shifted, she felt a tingling wetness from some dream she couldn't remember. Idly, half asleep, she let a fingertip creep down her belly, trace over the soaked groin of her shorts, begin to prod, massage. She hummed, rubbed her cheek into the netting.Nearby, a hatch creaked open. Jackie jerked awake, hang back her hand, froze."Ready to get to work, Specialist Jackie?"Jackie groaned. "Yup," she said. Sam nodded, smiled, retreated into the comms room. The hatch clacked shut.Only after clambering out of the sleep webbing did Jackie realize her floating tits had been in full view. The Corporation had some odd opinions about bras in space. Jackie shook her head. "Chill, girl. Robot doesn't care."The proceeding five hours were a floating blur. Jackie stood in the comms room, directed ship after ship in non-collision courses around the nebula. The job was a steep and constant series of calls and responses to incoming and waiting craft. Sam assisted."Astroliner 313, after well veer, climb straight ahead five degrees Kepler. Thank you.""Jackie, we have a Corsican military craft requesting expedited access," said Sam."Tell him to follow the greens and stand by for expedite.""EES Pearl River is expressing a complaint.""Send them the docs. They can deal with the Company." She changed channels. "Yes, Arrowtine Sirius, you have permission to take route bravo in five. Thank you.""Jackie, I'm directing Designate 476 to hold. Their cargo requires maximum berth.""Thanks, Sam."Sam smiled thinly at her. He had started doing that more often. His eyes stayed crinkled kindly, when he did. Jackie kept watching him.Abruptly, Sam frowned. "Jackie, we have an error.""What?""New connections are timing out. We have a receiver down from d

It is Tuesday. I work, I play, I get ready for tomorrow.

When a nearby gym shuts down, its members risk losing their momentum—but you can step in to offer them a welcoming community where they can continue their fitness journeys. That's just what Matt Michaud, owner of EverProven, did when two gyms in his area closed their doors. This influx of new members helped his gym earn a spot on all three of our sales leaderboards: set, show and close rates. In one month, Matt's gym closed a whopping 22 sales in 28 appointments. The key is that Matt led with a Help First mindset: He and his staff focused on helping displaced members keep their fitness on track, without being pushy or “salesy.”In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with Matt, who details the exact steps he took to ensure a seamless transition, from initial communication with the previous gyms' owners to adjusting his systems to handle rapid growth. You never know when a gym near you might be forced to close, so tune in to ensure you're ready to help.Links“Help First” by Chris CooperGym Owners UnitedBook a Call  01:08 - Helping displaced gym members08:12 - Mechanics of outreach14:15 - Prescriptive Model with groups20:46 - Avoiding staff overwhelm23:51 - Long-term lead nurture

Episode 58. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman and Rachael Owens.  Material Cultures co-founder Summer Islam explains how a regional ‘materials matrix' informs the design process. ‘We imagine the future, rather than working within the present,' says Islam, describing the approach of design and research consultancy Material Cultures. ‘We speculate on the potential for woodlands to produce certain materials, even though today we import them from mainland Europe.' Material Cultures, co-founded in 2019 with Paloma Gormley and George Masoud, advocates greater use of biobased materials in construction and bioregional material sourcing. Bioregional mapping involves in-depth research to find out what resources, products and skills are local to a site, such as visits to sawmills and interviews with nearby foresters and farmers to build local supply chains. Through built projects, hands-on workshops, research, teaching and films, Material Cultures has emerged as a significant disruptor of business as usual. The practice's main message is that our extractive construction industry needs a radical overhaul. ‘Our experience is that people want to make choices that align with their values', Islam explains. ‘They just aren't informed because we deliberately obscure, as an industry, the impact of certain processes and materials.' Hands-on workshops with builders and community residents have evolved to be one of Material Cultures' most impactful workstreams, simultaneously addressing lack of industry understanding of how to build with biobased materials and empowering builders and local residents with new construction skills. ‘Straw is the ultimate equitable material. Everyone can pick up a bale and build with straw,' says Islam. In addition to straw, Material Cultures advocates greater use of hemp and wood fibre. These are three regenerative materials which could be scaled in the British context, according to Islam. In this episode, we also discuss Material Cultures' work with Civic Square in Birmingham, developing a neighbourhood microfactory for community retrofit. In terms of retrofit, Islam cautions that ‘more insulation is not always the answer.' An awning or a minor modification to the plan might result in a more impactful outcome for a given cost. For show notes and to catch up on all AJ Climate Champions episodes, click here.

AM UPDATE: More fire debris could get dumped into local landfills angering people who live nearby full 1015 The LA City Council will meet for the first time since Mayor Bass fired LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley. The smoke-filled Delta flight forced to make an emergency landing in Atlanta Tue, 25 Feb 2025 16:13:45 +0000 7IboHMWZmKftGstG4MYc7y3OalW9fVUx news The LA Local news AM UPDATE: More fire debris could get dumped into local landfills angering people who live nearby Your TL;DR for what's happening in SoCal. Get caught up in less than ten minutes every afternoon on The LA Local. From culture to crime to politics to the offbeat, Alex Silverman and the team at KNX News 97.1 FM have you covered. 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. News False

Curt Reed and Dr. Hixson discuss the Nephilim and whether they are still part of Satan's army today. Harvest Life: https://harvestlifecf.org/ NBW Ministries Premier Membership: https://nbwministries.myshopify.com/products/nbw-premier-membership-2?selling_plan=8502542651&variant=47459098460475 North Georgia Prophecy Conference: https://www.nbwgeorgiaprophecyconference.com/ https://www.notbyworks.org/ Newsletter Signup: https://notbyworks.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2dd006a2d705e5683002e3cb4&id=e604d57842 https://nbwministries.myshopify.com/ Spirit of the False Prophet Audiobook https://linktr.ee/nbwministries https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCMIahDSgmwkm9PRf9KIWsw https://rumble.com/c/notbyworks https://notbyworks.podbean.com/ http://www.notbyworks.org/Spirit-Of-The-False-Prophet https://www.notbyworks.org/Spirit-Of-The-Antichrist-Volume-One https://www.notbyworks.org/Spirit-Of-The-Antichrist-Volume-two

  Around here, it's mostly known as the Balboa Beach area, but it's much more. Located on Ponce De Leon Drive, a lot is going on around the beach. There's a playground, volleyball court,  grilling facilities, cornhole "courts," picnic tables, covered areas, a pavilion, the Balboa Marina, a gas station, a spillway, and a trail. Nearby is the Sunset Grill, which has the best dining views of Lake Balboa. Thanks to our exclusive media partner, KVRE • Join Our Free Email Newsletter • Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel (click that LIKE button, too) • Join Our Facebook Group • Support Our Sponsors (click on the images below to visit their websites) __________________________________________ __________________________________________

In January, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that radioactive contamination at the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site is more widespread than previously known. To clean the site, the agency will now have to dig up and dispose of an additional 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris — more than three football fields piled one yard high with material. Nearby resident Dawn Chapman has pushed for accountability and cleanup of the site for 12 years. She's frustrated that it's taken decades for the agency to announce what community members — many of whom have died or suffered illness from the exposure — have known for years. She shares her hopes and fears for the future alongside Missouri Independent reporter Allison Kite.

Website: https://saltmustflow.comOTHER PLATFORMSRumble: https://rumble.com/c/SaltyCrackerYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SaltyCrackerTwitter/X: https://x.com/SaltyCracker9Locals: https://saltycracker.locals.com/SUPPORT SALTYWebsite: https://saltmustflow.com/support/SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/salty-crackerCash App: https://cash.app/$saltmustflowMerchandise: https://saltmustflow.com/shop/Mrs. Salty's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChnZMOno3rthe1LHvcxufdwMusic by: https://incompetech.com/ Crinoline Dreams In Your Arms--Disclaimer-- These are the opinions and ramblings of a foul-mouthed lunatic. They are for entertainment purposes only and are probably wrong. You listen at your own risk.

The Sower's Hope: A Reflection on God's Patience God's Hope in You and Me God has hope in you. God has hope in me. And in His infinite mercy, He grants us time. There is a well-known saying: Keep the Word of God, and the Word of God will keep you. This wisdom reminds us of the importance of holding onto God's truth, for it has the power to sustain and guide us. Today, the Gospel presents us with the Parable of the Sower—a lesson deeply rooted in faith and patience. The Sower goes out to scatter seeds. Anyone familiar with farming understands the care required for planting. In many places, before sowing, farmers prepare the land by making ridges, ensuring the soil is rich and free from stones. This preparation is essential for growth, as seeds need fertile soil to flourish. During Jesus' Time . . . During Jesus' time, however, farming methods were different. A farmer would walk through the field with a basket of seeds, scattering them by hand. He knew that some seeds would fall on fertile ground, while others would land on rocky paths, among thorns, or in places where birds would snatch them away. Yet, he still sowed generously. Why Did Jesus Use This Sower Parable? So, why would a farmer take such a risk, knowing that not all seeds would bear fruit? Why does Jesus use this parable? At first glance, the farmer may seem careless or even wasteful. But Jesus' message goes deeper. The Sower represents God, and the seeds symbolize His Word. Despite our hardened hearts, our rocky faith, or the thorns of sin in our lives, God still sows His Word within us. He does so because He has hope in us. He believes in our ability to change, to grow, and to transform. If God were only concerned with efficiency — if He sowed His Word only where He was sure of immediate results — many of us would never have received His grace. We are sinners, imperfect and flawed, yet He continues to reach out to us. He trusts us. He loves us. And He patiently waits for our transformation. He Patiently Waits for Our Transformation This trust, this divine hope, should not be taken for granted. In the first reading, we hear of a High Priest who does not reject us because of our sins but intercedes for us. This is the essence of God's love—a love that never gives up on us, no matter how unworthy we may feel. Let us reflect on this: God's hope in us is unwavering. Will we open our hearts to His Word and allow it to take root in our lives? Hear more within this Meditation Media. Listen to: The Sower's Hope: A Reflection on God's Patience ********************************* Image Parable of the Sower: Dutch Painter: Pieter Bruegel the Elder:  1557 A Sower went out to sow. The painting depicts a farmer scattering seed across a field. On the left, thorny bushes threaten to overtake the grain. Nearby, rocky ground offers quick growth but little endurance. To the right, further down the hill, the seed falls on fertile soil. Across the river, a crowd gathers to hear the teachings of Jesus. The painting was inspired by a trip to the mountains the artist took just before creating this piece. ********************************* Gospel: Matthew 13: 36-43 First Reading: Jer 14: 17-22

President Trump is facing accusations of advocating ethnic cleansing, after he suggested relocating Palestinians in Gaza to nearby Arab countries.

CLICK HERE for the video to this reflectionJesus Changes Water Into WineJohn 2: 1-11On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.