The Band of the Red Hand

First up, welcome and congratulations on joining the greatest military force of all time, a wise choice. Feel free to have a look round the site and post on anything you find interesting. In a bit some of the others will pop into this thread and say hi; feel free to tell us a bit about yourself, we are(on the whole) a friendly bunch. In a while our fearless leader Corki will come by with his official spiel, which tends to go on for a bitso if one or two of the guys offer you a stiff drink to brace yourself for it; take them up on the offer. And whatever you do take some of Jea's brownies they are tasty! Jea is Canis' secretary ;) ; Jea likes to think of he…

Following on from the victory of Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel in the "It's A Knockout" thread for Female Vocalist of the Band's Dream Band, three positions are now filled. It is time to pick the next stage to focus on. Above is a poll of the main areas we still need to focus on - Male Vocalist, Drummer and Keyboardist. Please pick which area you want to decide next. Poll ends on Saturday 6th March, and we shall start nominating names for whichever area we are looking at. Below are the spaces filled so far, and a link to the "It's A Knockout" thread for the winner. Guitarist: Carlos Santana LINK Bassist: Geddy Lee LINK Female Vocalist: Sharon den …

It has taken a bit longer than I wanted, but I can now announce the new permanent Captain-General of the three Regiments. So, these three members will be in charge of the Regiments from between March 2010 to August 2010, and will be getting the Regiments into shape here on DM. Last up is the Infantry Regiment. And I am pleased to announce that Krakalakachkn has decided to take the reins and become the first permanent Captain-General of the Infantry. It does mean he is skipping the Raw Recruit Scheme (well, he has been a slacker - plus I think this is one of the biggest promotions ever in the Band!), but he was up for the challenge, and I hope current Infantry members…

It has taken a bit longer than I wanted, but I can now announce the new permanent Captain-General of the three Regiments. So, these three members will be in charge of the Regiments from between March 2010 to August 2010, and will be getting the Regiments into shape here on DM. First up is the Archers Regiment. And I am pleased to announce that Amavia has decided to take the reins and become the first permanent Captain-General of the Archers. Amavia, when you are ready and had a chat to a few members of the Archers, please could you announce who will be your Lieutenant-General (2iC of the Regiment) and your Banner-General (3iC of the Regiment) (you can have one,…

It has taken a bit longer than I wanted, but I can now announce the new permanent Captain-General of the three Regiments. So, these three members will be in charge of the Regiments from between March 2010 to August 2010, and will be getting the Regiments into shape here on DM. Next up is the Cavalry Regiment. And I am pleased to announce that Canis Rufus has decided to take the reins and become the first permanent Captain-General of the Cavalry. Canis, when you are ready and had a chat to a few members of the Cavalry please could you announce who will be your Lieutenant-General (2iC of the Regiment) and your Banner-General (3iC of the Regiment) (you can have on…

Corki stands before the formation of the entire Band. The three Regiments stand at ease before him with the Captain-Generals of each Regiment in front of their formations, all facing him. To the side of the formation stands Corki in his best ceremonial uniform. Suddenly a horn sounds, and everybody snaps to attention at the horn’s sounding. Corki announces: Well, it is with great pleasure that I can announce the new Executive Officer of the Band of the Red Hand to join myself and Jeannaisais as the Band's Senior Staff. This person will be a great addition to the team, for they have been a member of the Senior Staff before. And they bring a good amount of Band knowle…

After a two month hiatus to focus on Christmas and music of the last year, the music theme for February returns to pick our "Dream Band".After picking Carlos Santana as the guitarist and Geddy Lee as the bass player, our focus now turns to the world of female vocalists. And there are a host of activities surrounding this theme, which you can find highlighted below. NOMINATE YOUR BEST FEMALE VOCALIST For the beginning of February, I am looking to you to nominate who you think are the best female vocalists. Between 8 and 16 is what I am looking for, and those nominated will go into the "It's A Knockout" contest to decide who takes the role of Female Vocalist in th…

"It's A Knockout" continues again this month as the Band of the Red Hand returns to creating its Dream Band. We have already filled the position of Guitarist, which was won by Carlos Santana and Geddy Lee was picked as the bass player. Up next is the place of Female Vocalist, with Male Vocals, Drummer and Keyboardist still to come and complete the line up. Amazingly, sixteen (16) Female Vocalists got nominated to challenge for the honour, so Corki didn't have to find any to compete the line up for the position in the Band's Dream Band. The Female Vocalist that makes it into the Band's Dream Band is the one that wins this "It's A Knockout" contest. It is basically down to …

CHEREPAKHA TURTLE SALAD Ingredients: 2 cans of sardines 3 eggs 1 small onion 1 cup of a soft, white cheese mayonnaise Method: Mash the sardines with a fork and spread along the bottom of a pie dish. Hard boil the eggs. Separate the egg white from the yolks, mash the egg whites and mix with the diced onion. Place this mixture on top of the sardines. Grate the cheese and spread along the top and sides. Spread mayonnaise over the the cheese covering as if icing a cake. Mash the egg yolks and sprinkle to cover the mayonnaise. Chill and serve.

GOURYEVSKAYA KASHA Ingredients: 1 c semolina 2 1/2 c milk 2 tb butter 2 tb sugar 2 c dense cream 2/3 c nuts 2 c canned fruits 1/2 c sugar 1/2 ea lemon vanilla salt Method: Take a not very deep pan. Put cream (must be dense) into the hot oven. As soon as there is a pink skin on the cream, take it carefully away on the plate. Be careful not to tear. Do it until you have 6-7 skins. Boil a viscous kasha (mush) on milk. Add butter, sugar (2 tb), vanilla, salt and mix very well. Put kasha into the oven to warm up for 30 minutes. Add the rest of baked cream to kasha. Nuts caramelizing: nuts must be caramelized otherwise kasha will be grey…

NASTOY SHIPPOVNIKA Ingredients: 4 tbsp hips 2 tbsp honey 1 ea lemon 2 quarts boiling water Method: Squeeze a juice from a lemon. Pour the juice into the thermos, add hips and honey.You can also put the pieces of squeezed lemon there. Pour over boiling water, cork up and leave to brew for a night. Drink 1/2 cup before meal. It is very useful for kids and adults as well.

SARATOV, RUSSIA Below is a review I found written by someone who has actually traveled to Saratov. PICTURES http://russiatrek.org/images/photo/saratov-russia-oblast-scenery.jpg[/img] COST Flight (beginning from Kansas City, MO) - $2006 (1 traveler, departure Feb 27, Return March 6) Hotel (for a one week stay) - $996

Arkhangelsk, Russia The climate in the city longitude is sub-arctic, marine, with a long winter and a short cool summer. It is influenced by the Northern seas and the huge air masses from the Atlantic Ocean; the sun radiation is small. The average January temperature is 13 degrees below zero, the average July temperature is 17 degrees. Annually we have 529 mm of precipitation. Arkhangelsk is a large research and industrial centre in the north-west of Russia. Here wood-working, wood chemistry, pulp-and-paper, fish-processing, machine-building, microbiology industrial enterprises are concentrated. 7700 enterprises are registered in the city, 2200 of them are l…

Moscow, Russia The capital of Russia, this is a popular tourist city. The city has much to offer and plenty to do. Russia's earliest roots are in Moscow: the Kremlin still shows off the splendour of Muscovy's grand princes and St Basil's Cathedral still recounts the defeat of the Tatars. Moscow also recalls Russia's more recent past, still fresh in our memories. On Red Square, the founder of the Soviet state lies embalmed. And only a few kilometres away, a future leader rallied outside the White House, leading to the demise of the same state. Moscow continues to make history. It is unfolding on every street corner, as Muscovites move into the 21st century, e…

We're very excited to see you join the ranks of the awesome Band of the Red Hand. I'm Jeannaisais (or Jea if you're afraid of spelling it wrong) and I'm the Under-Commander (second in command) of the Band. *hands the newbie a plate full of her extra special chocolate fudge brownies and a Brew Tea* Others will be along shortly to greet you properly, and our illustrious leader (Corki) will knock you off your feet with the Official Spiel....so I would suggest you hang on to those brownies!

Firstly, welcome back! It's great to have you back! Expect a PM from me shortly (and a few other recruits as well), as it contains some important information. I don't think it will affect you too much, but hope you are happy to wait just over a couple of weeks. In the meantime, sample the delights that the Band has to offer, and get involved! I can't remember if you can see our private boards, but I will ask you to be added. If you can see them, just post to let me know! Thanks! :)

The two groups of Tinkers have been camped for a couple of days together in the Circle of Union. The young women have been coached concerning their dance to attract a man. The Central Fire has been added to...it now gives off a glorious light. Tonight's party will be the highlight of the Meeting. Lots of good food, music, dancing...BYOB. Of course, I'll post. So should you. Release your "inner Tinker". Think up a scene that you imagine will take place at the celebration tonight. For those of you with a darker side, maybe you could rob all of the Tinkers while they're busy dancing or maybe kill all of their mules? Use your …

Welcome to the band, in a the senior staff will be round to give you all your official spiel; it'll knock you off your feet, but this might help take the edge off it *Stevros offers the recruit a swig from his hipflask* Until that time though feel free to have a look round and post on some of the topics (if you want to have a go in the regimental competition you should help out on the Raw Recruit thread). Also feel free to tell us a bit about yourself in this thread and one or two of the others will pop in and say hi. Most importantly have fun (and remember the cavalry is the best regiment)

We're glad to have you join our illustrious group, and though no one has greeted you yet, be certain that we look forward to having your numbers in our ranks! I'm Jeannaisais, or Jea if you don't like to type a lot, the Executive Officer of the Band, meaning I take care of getting you points (so be nice to me, or else.....). *hands the Raw Recruit a plate full of her extra special chocolate fudge brownies* Corki will be by momentarily to give you a full run down with his official spiel. Keep a hold of those brownies, you'll need them for the spiel! ;) Welcome to the Band! Take a look around, join in to the polls and various activities and just have fun…

Well, I see nobody has created a welcome thread for you yet, so here it is! Welcome to the Band of the Red Hand, and what a great choice you have made!! You have been added to the Band's usergroup, so you should now be able to see our private boards. And the official spiel will be on the way to blow your mind shortly! But in the meantime, relax and let a few Banders welcome you!

This is always hard for me to decide, but just curious as to what kind of music DMer's are into. My Top Ten: 1. Pink Floyd 2. The Beatles 3. Frank Zappa 4. T. Rex 5. Led Zeppelin 6. Rush 7. The Who 8. Deep Purple/Rainbow 9. Jethro Tull 10. King Crimson

The Band of the Red Hand is now back to its quest of picking its Dream band. After picking Carlos Santana as the guitarist and Geddy Lee as the bass player, our focus now turns to the world of female vocalists. This thread allows you to nominate your female vocalists to go into the "It's A Knockout" contest to win the slot in the Band of the Red Hand's Dream Band. And below is what you need to do! Between now and FRIDAY 12TH FEBRUARY 2010, nominate the female vocalists you want to see try and take that spot. Follow the simple proforma below to get a nomination in. Name your female vocalist, explain why you have nominated them, and provide a YouTube clip (or similar) …

St. Petersburg, Russia Located in Eastern Europe, the city of St. Petersburg rests on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Known as the “Venice of the North” (for its many rivers and canals), St. Petersburg rarely sees temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius or higher than 30 degrees Celsius. No matter what though, waterproof clothing is essential as this is known to be a wet city. Deciding when to visit St. Petersburg is difficult as the various theatres and attractions take breaks throughout the year, not to mention the multitude of festivals celebrated in the city throughout the year. For example, the fountains at Peterhof are only open from July to October (look …

Band of the Red Hand - Attention! Please make your way to the Campfires board (our private boards) for 3 extremely important threads. Two are application threads, and one requires you to post on it saying that you have read it. Dismissed!

I know it was not that long ago when I announced that the Band had a new Under-Commander in the form of Direwolf Jon, but sadly, he has had to step down from the position due to work and real life taking over. Many of you probably noticed his dip in activity, and it was a difficult decision for him to make. I take this opportunity to thank him for all the work he has put in over the years, and hope that when time allows, he will come by and visit. And as is the norm, here is a case of M-G Brew for the retirement! ;) *passes Direwolf Jon his case of M-G Brew* So while Direwolf Jon goes and enjoys his case of M-G Brew, it is with great pleasure that I announce, th…

After debating on whether or not to visit St. Petersburg, Russia, I have decided to determine whether or not we would be able to eat in Russia! Here is a common meat dish from Russia. Ingredients: 2 lbs Tenderloin of beef - cut into very thin strips 10 Allspice berries- freshly ground (2 tsp. dried ground) 1/4 lb. Butter (2 Tbs. reserved) 3 Tbs. Flour 2 cups Estouffade (brown veal stock may also be used) 1 tsp. dijon mustard 2-4 Tbs. Sour cream (more as desired) Salt and pepper to taste To make one gallon Estouffade* 2 lbs. Veal bones 2 lbs. Beef Bones 1 Unsmoked ham knuckle 1 lb. Mirepoix - coarsely cut 1/2 lb. onion 1/4 lb. carrot …

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Come by the Movies discussion in the Chan and join the Oscars 2010 prediction pool! It's going to be awesome!

Bleh... my couch's recliner ate my power cord, so I didn't have a computer for a couple days after I used up my battery! I first knew something was up when I heard a crackle, looked at the cord, and little blue lightning bolts were streaking across the exposed wire... unfortunately the only universal powercord that actually charges a dell battery (stupid dell makes their difficult on purpose so you have to buy their own) cost $99... grr!

I am resurrecting one of two simple games for the Band of the Red Hand ORG. It is 20 Questions, and is based on one of our ORG themes (travel). I am starting with a clean slate to make things easy. Rules Everyone should know the rules for 20 Questions. But if you don't, here they are for this game: - The aim is to work out the answer that has been thought up through a series of questions and guesses, and aiming to be correct within 20 turns - Only ONE question/guess can be asked in a post at a time (i.e. no multipal questions and guesses). If people most more than one, I will delete all questions except the first one you asked - Before you can ask anoth…