Below Deck: Mediterranean was a beautifully dramatic successor to the already popular flagship show when it premiered in 2016. It even found the mirror image to Kate Chastain's infamous persona with chief stew Hannah Ferrier. In the subsequent second season, Captain Sandy Yawn joined the crew (after the late Captain Mark Howard decided to bow out). Ferrier and Yawn would go on to share many seasons together on Bravo that is until the former fired Ferrier in 2020 for having undeclared drugs aboard the yacht. Apparently, the franchise alum is now claiming that she and the captain weren't friendly at all whilst working on the show.

As far as fans saw, the two co-stars would sometimes butt heads, but they also seemed to have a general respect for the others position. Hannah Ferriers eventual firing obviously ended their rapport. Yet whilst on the Kyle & Jackie O Show podcast, Ferrier indicated that the Bravo editors left out the fact that she struggled with Captain Sandy from Day 1 on Below Deck: Mediterranean. She said:

So the way things can be edited. It was probably edited in a way where it looks like we were better than we were for the years before that we filmed together. We werent friendly at all. It was every season sitting down with production going, How can we get these two working together, where its an environment where they can work together?'

The former series star makes it sound like she and Captain Sandy were bitter enemies on the reality series. Which is surprising, because it truly didn't come across that way on the show, and Bravo isn't one to leave out major drama from viewers. The Mediterranean alum went on to say that the captain was evidently on her case due to preconceived notions from Season 1, saying:

Shes a micromanager. But what had happened is shed watched the show before she came on, and shed made her decision about me on a few things had happened. I think it was like about 45 seconds from our first introduction they had to stop production and be like, Sandy, you cant talk to her like that, like straight off the bat. It was something where Id literally pronounced a dish wrong or something when the chef hadnt told me and given me enough notice to remember. And also, its that competitiveness, wanting to kind of be the fan favorite.

Following her dramatic exit from the fifth season of Below Deck: Mediterranean, Hannah Ferrier would later announce that she was quitting yachting for good. But her early retirement didn't end the apparent feud with Captain Sandy, which clearly lives on. The two have gone back-and-forth about the other in the press and online, culminating, with Ferrier accusing her old boss at one point of being a hypocrite toward women. Captain Sandy maintains that she was in the right with her decision to fire the notorious chief stew, although bosun Malia White has some slight regrets for her part in the drama.

The show goes on, though. Captain Sandy is expected to return in her capacity as leader in Mediterraneans future seventh season. Meanwhile, her former co-star has since gotten engaged and had her first child with her fianc. The Bravo vet also has a pretty successful podcast show now, where she talks with reality stars, including some of her fellow franchise alums.

Hannah Ferrier has said in the past that she would only consider returning to the show if Captain Lee requested her. The slightly shady remark suggests that the old riff between the two castmates likely wont see improvement anytime soon especially if it was indeed years in the making.

Link:
Below Deck Med Alum Hannah Ferrier Explains Why She And Captain Sandy 'Weren't Friendly At All' While Working On The Show - CinemaBlend

Card-based battles can take on a new and interesting life in a video game. Each of the following games features deep strategy, imaginative art, and a clever use of, well, cards!

Even if youve never heard of the term deck-building before, the following selection may serve as a good entry point to a world of strategy and little rectangles. We hope you find something you like!

(At the very least, you wont need to lug around a binder full of cards with these games. Or, you know, trade with someone who said they had a rare holographic version of a card, but it ended up being a piece of cardboard wrapped in foil with a bad drawing taped on it. Not like that has ever happened before)

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars

Experience an RPG set in a world of swords and sorcery, told entirely through the medium of cards. The story follows a self-proclaimed hero as they set off to slay a recently awakened dragon, presented in the manner of a tabletop RPG.

Monster Train First Class

Monster Train brings a strategic layer to roguelike deckbuilding, with a tactical twist: Defend not one, but three vertical battlegrounds simultaneously as you fight to protect the final pyre against the forces of heaven. No playthrough is ever the sameits a fresh challenge every time!

Slay the Spire

Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire! You will discover hundreds of cards to add to your deck with each attempt at climbing the Spire. Select cards that work together to efficiently dispatch foes and reach the top.

Wingspan

Ok, you got usthis one is not a battle game. Instead, you take the role of bird enthusiastsresearchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectorsseeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats.

Faeria

With its living board, Faeria will challenge you with truly strategic card battles. Build exciting decks and shape the battlefield as you fight epic battles. Raise mountains, build forests, fill lakes, or harness the sands of the deserts. You choose your own path to victoryliterally!

Dicey Dungeons

Become a giant walking dice and battle to the end of an ever-changing dungeon! Can you escape the cruel whims of Lady Luck? Youll play as six different characters, each with their own play styles and abilities. Master each class and figure out which one best fits your style.

Signs of the Sojourner

Signs of the Sojourner is a narrative card game about connecting with people. Your deck is your character, reflecting your experiences and shaping your relationships. Youll encounter optimistic stories, compassionate characters, and delightful surprises in a world where climate change has made life hard.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

Thronebreaker is a single player role-playing game set in the world of The Witcher that combines narrative-driven exploration with unique puzzles and card battle mechanics. Facing an imminent Nilfgaardian invasion, Meve is forced to enter the warpath and set out on a dark journey.

SteamWorld Quest Hand of Gilgamech

Lead a party of aspiring heroes through a hand-drawn world and intense battles using only your wits and a handful of cards. Take on whatever threat comes your way by crafting your own deck choosing from over 100 unique punch-cards!

Griftlands

Fight and negotiate your way through a broken-down sci-fi world. Every decision is important, be it the jobs you take, the friends you make, or the cards you collect. Death comes quickly, but each play offers new situations and strategies to explore.

Shadowverse: Champion's Battle

Team up with characters from the Shadowverse anime in this card battle game. With new summoning animations and exclusive cards, take on your rivals in story mode or head online* to challenge your friends!

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Put your deck-building skills to the test with these card battle games - Nintendo

Jessica More from Below Deck Mediterranean said shes left yachting and likely wouldnt return to the series if asked.

More said yachting fulfilled its purpose for her and even though the show gave her a platform, shes not interested in doing more Below Deck. And while most cast members have said theyd love to do another season of the show, More isnt the only crew member who isnt interested in returning.

A fan asked if shed return to the show. I dont know if I would, More said in a video in her Instagram stories. I am working to try to transition out of yachting. Below Deck, probably not. Could I see myself doing some other kind of show or movie? Yes.

So yachting served its purpose, she continued. I got out of debt, I met amazing people. [And] I got on an amazing reality show. It gave me a platform. But at this point and phase in my life, its pretty toxic for me. So yeah, I found myself getting stuck and partying. And drinking a lot and just dating the wrong men in the industry. And its just not in a good place where I wanna be now.

So whats next for More? Headed back to Florida this weekend and then to Nicaragua next week for a yoga teacher training for a month, she wrote. Super excited, Ive heard its life-changing. Im ready to make some big changes in my life and feel this will be a beautiful foundation.

I dont have a home technically, she admitted. More added that most of her belongings and vehicles are in a storage unit in Fort Lauderdale, FL. And I havent really found my place yet. Home is where the heart is, I guess.

More has spent the past few weeks in Tulum, Mexico, and met up with chief stew Katie Flood. She also shared how they connected. I slid into her DMs a month or two ago and asked if she wanted to meet up for a drink, More wrote. The rest is history. Love her. She has an epic personality and a beautiful heart.

More isnt alone in not wanting to return to Below Deck. Stew Courtney Skippon recently said its too late for her to go back and in fact, it would be embarrassing. No, I think its embarrassing, Skippon said on the Dear Reality, Youre Effedpodcast. I would have gone back right away. If Kate went back and they wanted me back as like a second stew again, I definitely would have done that right away. Because I feel like thats a more natural progression.

But if youre just like waiting around you do sort of to an extent have to be, she added. Just like readily available for that. And thats not cute for me. Thats like a guy that ghosted you. And then six months hes like You up? And you are like, Im absolutely up. She added, Yeah, no.

RELATED: Below Deck Med: Hannah Ferrier Reveals She Never Had a Good Relationship With Captain Sandy We Werent Friendly at All

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'Below Deck Med': Jessica More Says Yachting Is 'Toxic' for Her and Wouldn't Return to the Show - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

The Spice & Tea Exchange will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 11.

The tea shop and culinary store at 161 Lincolnway in downtown Valparaiso is planning a weekend-long grand opening that includes a 20% discount for veterans with ID on Nov. 11. The first 25 customers each day that weekend get a free one-ounce tea.

A buy five, get the sixth free will be offered on all consumables that weekend, while customers can get buy one, get one free 16-ounce iced or hot teas from the tea bar 3-5 p.m. on Nov. 12 and 13.

Valparaiso native Tina St. Aubin started the business, which sells teas, spices, seasonings and specialty salts and sugars.

Being born and raised here in Valparaiso, it is truly rewarding to give back to my community through the opening of The Spice & Tea Exchange, she said. The majority of my family are business owners so it was only right that I joined the list. Im also thankful that my mom and sons have been a part of the process I find it so special that we have three generations in the store on some days.

The store products are sourced from around the globe and include many exotic varieties. It offers 85 custom blends of spices that are hand-mixed "for beginners and five-star chefs alike." It offers more than 45 loose-leaf teas, more than 150 spices by the jar, kitchen accessories, recipe kits and gift boxes.

The Spice & Tea Exchange also has a tea bar that serves both hot and cold teas. It's the first Northwest Indiana franchise of the national brand that was founded in 2008 and has more than 80 stores across the United States.

Ive worked to not only build a new team, but a family who loves The Spice & Tea Exchange brand as much as I do. We are all so proud to be able to bring something to the community that will not only share our passion for food, but also enhance the lives of our guests, St. Aubin said. One of the first products I tried during my initial visit to The Spice & Tea Exchange was Viks Garlic Fix Spice Blend. But I also like to recommend Honeybee Ginger Elixir Tea, Black Truffle Garlic Seasoning and Backwoods Hickory Rub to members of my community who are looking to try something new.

The Spice & Tea Exchange is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, visit http://www.spiceandtea.com/valparaiso or call 219-615-3162.

If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.

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Society of Innovators to recognize groundbreakers in HVAC, decks and theater education - nwitimes.com

Whether you consider this the age of Aquarius or nah, its hard to deny how powerfully mainstream both cannabis and the esoteric have become.

The normalization of plant medicine, moon rituals, and the iconographic tarot have made New Bohemians out of a diverse segment of the population. We see zodiac placement on dating profiles, Major Arcana art prints in department stores and a global buzz around functional fungi, ancestral herbs, and cannabinoid wellness.

Whether you call it sorcery, enlightenment or revolutionary hippie residue, tarot and cannabis have been used for generations to access and navigate intuition. Frankly, it was only a matter of time before someone married the two concepts. And while The Psychic Mary Tarot Deck may, at first blush, seem an superficial coupling of weed and woowoo, a closer inspection actually reveals an interpretation thoroughly suited to our times.

Who is Psychic Mary?

The Psychic Mary Tarot Deck was created by celebrity psychic Jusstine Kenzer, aka PsychicGirl. Psychic Marys decks are reinterpretations of Rider-Waite cardsthe best-recognized tarot iconographyand, as such, can be navigated with most contemporary tarot guidebooks.

Though Psychic Marys deck utilizes Rider-Waites structure, Kenzer introduced an iconography and terminology with Psychic Mary that, while potentially eliciting double takes from tarot-fluent users, will resonate clearly with varsity stoners.

Kenzers Major Arcana cards lack expressively gendered caricatures and detailed, symbolic tableaus of its more traditional contemporaries. Instead, this deck relies on straightforward, uncluttered single images against plain, white backgrounds. Some cards are comically simplistic in their accuracy (Judgement represented by a DEA badge, The Sun represented by a fluorescent grow light), while others require a more developed comprehension of tarot (The Empress represented by a single, sprouted seed, or Temperance presented as an empty bong).

Although Psychic Marys Minor Arcana rely on the Rider-Waite structure, theyre much more complex in their cannabis user-oriented reimagining. Rather than suits of Staffs, Swords, Coins and Cups, Psychic Marys Minor Arcana are organized by Grinders, Lighters, Pipes and Papers.

The face cards eschew royal terminology in favor of pothead vernacular, swapping Grower for King, Dealer for Knight, Smoker for Queen, and Tender for Page. The Minor Arcana are reliant on numerology rather than tarots established, highly visual folklore.

Test-Driving the Psychic Mary

There are no fewer than five tarot decks in my house, but Im not out here giving free readings on full moons. I just happen to appreciate small-scale works of art and guided introspection, both of which good tarot can provide.

When I broke open the Psychic Mary deck, my first impression was that this particular deck wasnt likely to deliver on either of those fronts. But on closer inspection, I saw a deck that actually felt both intentional and authentic to stoners and spiritualists alike.

My first spread was a simple, three-card arrangement meant to turn my inner eye toward my past, present and future. For the past, I pulled the Eight of Pipes, for the present the Ten of Lighters, and for the future the Eight of Grinders.

I was stoned to the bone as I pulled cards, so I had to consult the reference card several times before Psychic Marys language settled into my memory. I pulled another three cards, this time an Empress card represented by a single, dancerly splash of (bong?) water, Death represented by ashy chunks of black resin, and The Emperor represented by a chic leather couch.

By my third pull, it occurred to me that seeing such elaborate icons reduced to these relatable cannabis associations would be an awesome way to introduce my less mystical-minded homies to the fun, totally subjective contemplativeness of the tarot. This deck may appear superficial, but that lightheartedness could introduce tarot as fun and accessible rather than performatively witchy.

Our household is less concerned with divination than introspection, and to that end, The Psychic Mary Tarot Deck is a fine addition to our collection. But I think the real value in this deck is how easily and entertainingly it can introduce an everyday stoner to the self-reflection of a good-ass tarot reading, which is something everyone, Aquarian stoner or nah, can make good use of.

Get it from: psychicmary.com

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The Psychic Mary Tarot Deck Is a Cannabis-Oriented Reimagining of the Rider-Waite Cards - Willamette Week

Thousands of pitch decks and only a handful of winners. Such is the math of the VC industry right now, what with an explosion of startups and dreams of glory launching every year. VCs are overwhelmed with pitches, which means that crafting the perfect deck and connecting with a reader in the few seconds you have their attention is critical.

So what do you do to build a deck that cant be ignored? To answer that question, we assembled a group of three exceptional venture capitalists on the Extra Crunch stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2021 who have probably read more decks collectively than any group of humans should ever be expected to. Mar Hershenson is founding managing partner at Pear VC, Mercedes Bent is a partner at Lightspeedand Saba Karim is the head of global startup pipeline at TechStars.

In our discussion, we covered whats changing with pitches as the world moves toward a hybrid in-person and virtual pitch model, discussed how deep tech startups should think about pitches, and then we wrapped by exploring how each panelist reads decks and what that portends for founders who dont want to be ignored.

We got right into the crux of the matter at the top of the panel: What does reading pitch decks feel like in 2021? For Hershenson, theres just always more under the sun:

I would say the volume of pitches that we receive has increased and continues to increase at some form of exponential rate. For us, we have to become far more efficient at sorting and reading through these decks. The actual reading of the individual deck hasnt changed, but the rate and volume have increased dramatically. (Timestamp: 1:01)

Bent noted that the bar has gone up for the quality of decks that she reads.

The decks are getting better and better in terms of design. I think more and more people have realized that the visual representation of your deck is just as important as the material and the content thats in there. Theres these instinctive milliseconds that an investor looks at your deck and almost makes a snap judgment about whether its even in the realm of something they want to look at it. Unfortunately, it shouldnt be like that, but were human. So Im seeing decks that are super polished, and I dont know where everyone is getting these great graphics from, but theyre amazing. (Timestamp: 1:48)

Most pitch decks are based off templates, and therein lies a key trade-off: How much should you rely on a template versus being original, but different and perhaps harder to read? Karim noted that sometimes originality can pay off:

The best pitch deck that I got in a different format would be from a company that recently got into TechStars it was actually a podcast version of their pitch deck that had my face on it. I went into Apple Podcasts and it said, Hey, Saba, heres my pitch. That was amazing! But the second or third time that happens, it might not be as impressive because Ive seen it before. (Timestamp: 3:41)

Hershenson pushed founders to consider keeping to the standard templates because it can help VCs focus on what makes each business unique.

For us, having the pitch in a format that we are able to consume in an efficient way is super important. There are a lot of templates online, we all know the key points that need to be hit on in a deck. So your job as a founder is to hit those in a deck of 10 to 15 slides and kind of do the hard work of synthesizing your business in a short format. I think you can be original, but sometimes being original is to your detriment.

I can tell you my own story. When we were first fundraising for Pear, we decided we were going to be really original: Were going to use Prezi to send decks to LPs. And that was just totally the wrong call, because its almost like, What did they just send me? (Timestamp: 4:29)

One of the interesting dynamics that has shown up in the last year has been the rise of Notion as a form for fundraising. Responses from our panel were muted. Hershenson said Notion isnt an excuse for not being succinct.

Read more from the original source:
Crafting a pitch deck that can't be ignored - TechCrunch

Lifegain decks in Magic: The Gathering will continue to evolve with the new Innistrad: Crimson Vow card, Voice of the Blessed.

A variety of MTG decks built around gaining life exist in Standard and all of them can benefit from Voice of the Blessed, scheduled to release digitally on Nov. 11 via Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW). The spirit cleric is a Mono-White two-drop who gains added bonuses from +1/+1 counters gained from its controller gaining life.

Synergizing with Righteous Valkyrie thanks to its cleric creature type, Voice of the Blessed fits into Orzhov Lifegain decks and can easily slot into GW as well. The spirit cleric doesnt have to drop on turn two but can.

The later Voice of the Blessed comes onto the battlefield, the more value it accrues by gaining a bunch of Lifegain counters via ETB triggers that are already in place. And due to its low mana cost, it allows a player to leave up mana or cast a second spell.

Players can test out Voice of the Blessed in Standard with the digital release of VOW on Nov. 11. All other MTG formats will have to wait for the sets global release on Nov. 19.

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MTG Lifegain decks gain Voice of the Blessed from Innistrad: Crimson Vow - Dot Esports

Shes from Southwest Philly. Hes from Sweden.

And theyve been together in rental homes and apartments in Stockholm; Washington, D.C.; East Oak Lane, and Northern Liberties, among other places.

But it was the two-bedroom, 2-bath trinity condo with the rooftop deck in Francisville that prompted Sharne and Jan Algotsson to buy.

We fell in love with the skyline view, and the apartments unique layout, says Sharne, a semiretired interior designer who found the North Philadelphia condo through an architect she knew. We were empty nesters. And we wanted someplace cozy.

That was in 2014. But now its time for Sharne and Jan, a retired carpenter and contractor, to move on. They can still navigate the three flights, she says, but they wont be able to forever, and it would be good to find another condo nearby with an elevator, something a little closer to ground level but still with outdoor space.

The trinitys lower level opens into a kitchen/living room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a large central island, leaving space for a dining table or barstools and a TV sitting area. There are also a half-bath and laundry.

On the next level is a large bedroom with a full bath that has a soaking tub. And on the third level is another bedroom, full bath with walk-in shower, and balcony.

Each full bath has a double vanity, Porcelanosa tiling and hardware.

The double-level roof deck has skyline views and space for container gardening and outdoor dining.

There are four units in the building, which is protected by a sprinkler system and monitored fire safety system.

There are still three years remaining on the units tax abatement.

The condo is listed by Alejandro Franqui of Solo Real Estate for $440,000.

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On the market: A trinity condominium with roof deck in Francisville for $440,000 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Grant Lee has been living in slide decks for most of his career, but it wasnt until he was doing some advisory work last year that relied heavily on slides that he aimed to reimagine the format.

Slides were built for a different era of work, he told TechCrunch. They were more of a visual aid. You had to have a presenter because they have little standalone power without the person.

Previously, people would print off slides or watch the presentation together on one screen, but the overall problem of people sharing and communicating their work has existed for a long time, Lee said. Slides have been around for over 30 years, and now everyone has their own screen.

So Lee and his co-founders, James Fox and Jon Noronha, all former Optimizely employees (Optimizely was acquired by Episerver in 2020), started Gamma, a software that enables users to build stacks of cards that fit a brands aesthetic and prioritize design by linking different bits of content, like videos and embeddable forms that can be filled out in real time.

The Gamma team. Image Credits: Gamma

The idea for Gamma was to create something that still feels familiar to the traditional slide, but that also unlocks a whole new set of super powers, Lee said. He refers to building content in Gamma like choosing your own adventure, and the content can be dragged, dropped uploaded and fit into the cards. And though the presenter is guiding the conversation, watchers can explore the content themselves and then go back to following the presentation.

The company was founded last November, launched in private beta in August and is now announcing $7 million in seed funding led by Accel. Other participants in the round include Zoom CEO Eric Yuan; former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner; founders at Airtable, Patreon, Segment, Honey and Optimizely; and early-stage funds including Script Capital, South Park Commons, LocalGlobe, Afore and Hustle Fund.

When we came out of stealth in August, we were talking to Accel and thought they were the right partner, Lee said. Investing in a new medium can be difficult, but we were excited about crafting the right building blocks. The new funding will allow us to build out the team and the product, and it will help having the right partner.

Gamma is now out of private beta and Lee said there are thousands of people on the waitlist to be onboarded. It is too early to discuss growth metrics, due to the company not yet having paying customers, but there will be some paid plans down the road, he said.

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Gamma brings in $7M to bring the slide deck into the 21st century - TechCrunch

The book Tarotfeatures more than 500 decks, spanning six centuries and shows how different artists have put their own unique stamp on tarot. The Strength card, symbolising bravery in adversity, may typically feature a woman with a lion, but depending on the artist, that woman might be an Aztec warrior, Egyptian Queen or in the 2015 Black Power Tarot Tina Turner. She might be stroking the lion, riding on its back or holding its jaw open. It might not be a lion at all, but a grizzly bear, or an alligator. Yet all will convey a sense of inner strength overcoming obstacles. "It's really thrilling to see how people have interpreted and then completely changed it, but there's still that unifying archetype," says Hundley.

The oldest known existing tarot cards, the Visconti-Sforza deck, date back to 15th-Century Italy. Created for aristocrats, the cards are hand-painted, intricate pieces of art, featuring figures that would go on to become key tarot archetypes. Tarot originated as a parlour game, and it wasn't until the 18th Century that the cards became a tool for divination.

The most famous and influential tarot was created in 1909 when occultist Arthur Edward Waite commissioned artist Pamela Colman Smith to design a deck. If you've only seen one tarot deck, it's likely to be this, the Rider-Waite-Smith (often referred to as just the Rider-Waite) still the most widely used in the world today. Both Colman and Waite were members of the secret society the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, devoted to the study of the occult (other members included Bram Stoker and WB Yeats). Their deck reimagined and modernised tarot, reinterpreting the imagery to create a deck intended to reflect the reader using it. "The pictures are like doors which open unexpected chambers, or like a turn in the road with a wide prospect beyond," wrote Waite in the accompanying book, The Pictorial Key to Tarot.

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Why the secret symbols of magic and witchcraft fascinate us - BBC News