#'why r they dominican' MY BEST FRIEND DOMINICAN.

[jayesprite]

some updated hcs:

rose lalonde - afrolatina (dominican)

roxy lalonde - black

dave strider - afrolatino, albinic (dominican)

dirk strider - latino (domincan)

june/john egbert - wasain (vietnamese)

jason/jane crocker - white (irish/scottish)

jade harley - filipino & vietnamese

jake english - white (scottish) & filipino

[internaljiujitsu]

Negrito: Race In The Latino Community

I had lots of nicknames growing up. Bolita (little ball) when I was a toddler because I was round. Jun (short for Junior), because I share a name with my dad. But the monikers I heard most from my mom and extended family were Negro (black), Negrito (little black) or Negrolo (black something or other). Notice a pattern?

As the darkest person in my Puerto Rican family, that’s how my loved ones would address me. It’s a common practice in Latino cultures. Identifying someone by their color, frowned upon in politically correct, modern society, has morphed into a term of endearment among racially diverse Latinos. Or so it seems.

Despite the wide range of hues within Latino culture that would suggest an evolved view of skin color, these societies are just as racist as any dusty mid western town full of red cap wearing “Americans.”

When a black South African, Zonzibini Tunzi, beat out Ms. Puerto Rico for the ridiculous Ms. Universe crown, the supervisor for the Island’s Education Department called the winner, “La prima de Shaka Zulu.” It means Shaka Zulu’s cousin. You know, the legendary African military leader.

In case you were wondering, there is no relation.

In 1937, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo had forty thousand Hatitian migrants massacred to “whiten” the population of the Caribbean nation. Sixty years later, every Dominican in the world hailed the dark skinned Sammy Sosa as one of their own when he chased Babe Ruth’s legendary home run record.

And now — twenty years after that — Sammy Sosa is white.

In the eighties, my friends and family referred to African American people as “Morenos” (Dark Skinned) or “Cocolos” (a term originating with a dark skin group of people in The Dominican Republic.) We were all living in the same impoverished, dilapidated neighborhood together, but never felt the same. There was always an us against them attitude. We often felt as if we needed to fight for respect within our own neighborhood while buying into media perceptions of what it meant to be black and brown. And what we saw around us everyday did little to give us faith in ourselves or our darker brethren.

But I could blend in anywhere — while feeling comfortable nowhere. I belonged to a light skinned (except for me and my dad) Puerto Rican family growing up in a black neighborhood but I found myself relating more to white culture. While the Cosby Show was number one, I watched Family Ties. While kids were listening to Chuck D or KRS 1, I was head banging to Guns and Roses. I hated baggy clothes, preferring tight jeans and t-shirts. But I didn’t feel like I was rebelling - I just liked what I liked, and got plenty of shit for it.

To me, the Cosby show was bullshit. That’s not how it was for the black and brown people I knew. It was fantasy. Family Ties I had seen play out before my own eyes at white friends’ homes with cookie cutter lives that seemed perfect (spoiler alert: they weren’t). I wanted what they had so badly — peace of mind and enthusiasm for the future — and I wasn’t finding it where I lived.

I also hated my brother at the time (who I love to death) and wanted to be the opposite of him. He was a thug who always gave my parents headaches. He set a terrible example for his little brother while constantly asserting the fact that he was six years older and wiser. Once I stopped idolizing him, I detested everything he stood for. He has long since proven me and the old neighborhood wrong.

It took me years to become as secure as I am, but even now I get shit from people in my life. I’ve embraced my heritage and have ensured that my five year old daughter does the same. But when my parents hear my daughter speak proper Spanish without a Puerto Rican accent, they make fun of us. She’s been attending a Spanish speaking school since she was two. Her mother and I have attempted to be consistent with the dialect we use with her. That means she actually rolls her r’s and doesn’t sound like she’s gonna hock a loogie when she says “carro” or “perro.” My family thinks it’s fucking hilarious.

But it’s not just family. In a recent conversion with an old friend who had just retired from the police department, he called me an “Oreo.” Black on the outside and white on the inside. This guy is in his fifties. I chuckled when he said it, but haven’t returned his calls since.

The thing is, I know he was just fucking around. He himself is of mixed race and sounds like an Irish American with a Brooklyn accent, but looks Japanese. But there is something about police perception of dark skin people, how we are supposed to sound, that bugged me about what he said.

There’s too much chuckling that goes on. Too much nodding. A former close friend of mine, who is half Puerto Rican and married to a dark skinned Dominican woman, once complained that a guy he knew had “niggered up” his car ( because he added shiny rims, window tint and other bells and whistles). It wasn’t the first time I heard him use the word. Each time it turned my stomach. I didn’t get it — I was his friend. Both me and his wife would have been denied access to white bathrooms and water fountains. Just because we did not identify with black culture didn’t mean we wouldn’t be exposed to the same bigotry and hatred. What the fuck? It was too much for me to overlook. We haven’t spoken in years.

There was an ugly song I remember from the old neighborhood back in the day. There were two versions:

“A fight, a fight, a nigger and a white, the black don’t win, we all jump in.”

Or,

“A fight, a fight, a nigger and a white, the white don’t win, we all jump in.”

Which one you sang depended on who you were with. Which “us” against which “them?”

I remember, as a teenager, going to the Sunset Park pool in Brooklyn with a bunch of Latino boys. On the way home, there was a group of black kids walking ahead of us. The group I was with, only one of whom was my close friend, started taunting them. They hurled racial epitaphs and threats at the black kids for being in their neighborhood. I was silent and utterly confused.

As a kid, it was actually my one close white friend, Jesse, who was the least racist kid I knew. He might have been the most genuine friend I ever had. I stopped returning his calls because I didn’t trust his friendship. Not because of anything he did — My negative view of myself kept me from believing that he really wanted to be my friend. Why would he? He was from a great family that lived in a beautiful house and valued the things that mattered to me but weren’t for me.

When I hung out with Jesse’s friends, the chip on my shoulder was always ready to bash someone over the head. At a party in some kid’s basement, someone spilled a drink. The host, an Italian kid that I didn’t know, asked me to help clean it up. I told him to go fuck himself. Then he asked me, “What are you?”

The party ended when I dragged him down a staircase and started beating him down before being pulled off and barely escaping the awaiting mob. I am my brother’s brother, after all.

So even though I felt like a Martian in my own neighborhood and knew I wanted better, I didn’t think I belonged on the other side either. I was stuck in this bizarre place where the only role models I had were Roberto Clemente, Eric Estrada and Slater. I never knew anyone else successful that looked like me. At the same time it seemed everyone around me was determined to make sure I never forgot where I belonged.

When I was twelve years old, I refused to attend my zone school because it had a reputation for being the worst in the city. It wasn’t my parents that refused, it was me. I told my mom and dad I would not go to junior high unless they transferred me. What if I hadn’t done that?

As it turns out, the school I ended up going to (because my dad used a friend’s address) was in a good part of town and was the best public education I ever experienced. The work was so advanced that I went from being one of the smartest kids in class to struggling. I actually had to study — something I never had to do much of and found excruciatingly boring. At that new school, I felt like the bad boy. The outcast. The kid that didn’t quite belong and couldn’t keep up.

My grades suffered that year, and when I transferred to a another school, I wasn’t placed in the gifted program for the first time in my scholastic career. I petitioned the principal and pleaded my case, explaining the difficult circumstances of the previous year and promising that I would shine in his “7SP“ class, which got to skip the eight grade and go straight to “9SP” in the fall. Like when I refused to go to that war zone of a school, I once again stood up for my own education. I was thirteen years old.

The work that year was far easier than what I had learned at the other school. I breezed through. The kind of disparity that existed between the two public middle schools I attended is indicative of the subpar education that children of color receive within what is supposed to be one school system. Kids in bad schools aren’t exposed to the same world that their crosstown rivals are and are ill prepared for the reality that awaits — be it a college admissions exam or the job market. Those who do not take it upon themselves to find opportunities for advancement can’t rely on working parents with little time or education to advocate for them. They are left with shitty choices and no one to champion their cause.

The scourge of poverty and racism is further sullied by the structural hierarchy of “shade” in communities of color. In the Autobiography of Frederick Douglass, the trailblazing abolitionist and former slave writes of the preferential treatment lighter slaves received, even among the others in bondage. Proximity to whiteness, then and now, is proximity to power and privilege.

In the late 1700’s, Spain instituted the process of gracias al sacar. Mixed race people could purchase a decree that converted them to white. One such royal decree granted to Cuban Manuel Baez in 1760 says that it erased “the defect that you suffer from birth and leave you able and capable as if you did not have it.” Ain’t that some shit.

Alice Walker coined the term “colorism” in her book, “In Search of Our Mother’s Garden”. She describes “prejudicial or preferential treatment of same-race people based solely on color.” Research has shown that skin tone affects the outcome of job interviews, court cases and elections. This is not a secret among people of color. They grow up believing that the whiter they look, the easier they’ll have it.

How does that make a kid feel who wants so badly to get ahead in life but has the mirror, the media and the world outside his window saying he doesn’t stand a chance? As if even after you do all the work and get to the finish line, the tape will be pulled back another few feet each time you stretch to get across. The life you want will be just out of reach, no matter how long or how fast you run.

There has been a delusion among some that because we’ve had a black president, hip hope rules the world and the Rock is the world’s biggest movie star, racism doesn’t exist anymore. There are people of color in positions of power and prestige, but they are few and far between. There just hasn’t been enough time for all the seeds of opportunity that were only planted a generation or two or three ago to compete with those who have seemingly inherited an eternity of racial privilege. Just because so many people fought for and finally earned some basic human rights doesn’t mean the playing field has been leveled.

The destruction of the long standing racial hierarchy is a challenging ongoing project that the world must decide to address together. The perpetuation of negative stereotypes of black and brown people is not only meant to strike fear in every suburban household, but to reinforce in the mind of the oppressed their role in society. Centuries of subjugation have purposefully convinced young men and women of color that they are born with an inherent disadvantage. Then, once their will to fight was clear, the oppressors barked that those they once lorded over should be grateful to simply be out of their chains.

It is up to people of color, whether African American, Latino, West Indian, or any other subdivision of “black” that may exist, to burn down the old models. The carefully calculated lie that “whiteness” is more attractive, desirable or indicative of ability must be deleted from our main frame. We must believe we are just as capable, because we obviously are. We must know that we have the opportunities, even if we have to work harder for them. And we cannot fight among ourselves, to the delight of those that would sooner see us dead, in jail or all together erased from the annals of history.

With dog whistles long having been discarded in favor of bull horns, the paper thin veil has been lifted from our union. In a country already in pieces, further division because of infighting is not something people of color, no matter their shade, can afford.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Novena to Saint Martin de Porres Recited from: October 27th through November 2nd Feast Day: November 3rd (Ordinary Time)​

Novena The word Novena derives it name from the Latin word “novem” meaning “nine.” A novena can be either a private or public devotion in the Catholic Church to obtain special graces.

NOVENA AND PRAYERS TO ST. MARTIN DE PORRES

PRAYER TO ST. MARTIN de PORRES to be said by those in distress (May be said Daily before each day’s reading)

In this pain and sadness which weighs me down and for which I can find no human support, I turn to you, Saint Martin. Be my friend and my protector and intercede for me with our merciful Father in heaven. Ask that my sins be forgiven and that I may be freed from the evils which burden and distract me. Give me your spirit of sacrifice that I may welcome whatever God sends me for love of Him who makes all things a means of holiness.

O Heavenly Father, in the name of your Son and of His Blessed Mother, and by the merits of your faithful servant Martin, help me in my great trouble and do not forsake me. Amen.

PRAYER

Well done, thou good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over few things, J will make thee ruler over many things, saith the Lord.

V. Pray for us, Saint Martin de Porres. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY

O God, the exalter of the humble, Who didst make Saint Martin, Thy confessor, to enter the heavenly kingdom, grant through his merits and intercession, that we may so follow the example of his humility on earth as to deserve to be exalted with him in heaven. Though Christ our Lord. R. Amen.​

PRAYER FOR HUMILITY after the example of Saint MARTIN de PORRES (May be said Daily before each day’s reading)

O God, Who hast given us in Thy Humble Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the model of all virtue and perfection, grant to us the virtue of humility. We think so little of Thee because we are so full of self. We cannot love Thee more until humility shows us our own nothingness and makes us rejoice in our complete dependence upon Thee.

Thou hast given to the world a glorious apostle of humility, Saint Martin de Porres. Guide us by his example and strengthen us through his intercessions in our efforts to conform our hearts to the humble Heart of Thy Crucified Son. Renew, O Lord, in these days, when pride and forgetfulness of Thee are so widespread, the wonders which Thou didst perform through Thy humble servant, Saint Martin de Porres, during his lifetime. We pray that all the world may know of Saint Martin and of the surpassing value of the virtue of humility. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

NOVENA

FIRST DAY

Saint Martin’s Humility

SAINT MARTIN imitated Our Lord, Who was meek and humble of heart. There was no pride or vanity in his soul. He knew that God is our Creator and that we are but His creatures. He understood that God loves us as children and only wants us to be happy. So he submitted entirely to the Holy Will of God. Let us all imitate Saint Martin by humbly doing the Will of God in all things.​

Let us pray.

O humble Saint Martin, ask Our Lord to give us the grace of true humility that we may not be puffed up with foolish pride, but may be  contented with the gifts that God gives us. Obtain for us the light of the Holy Ghost that we may understand, as you did, that pride is a deceit of the devil and that only by doing the Will of God can we be truly happy. Amen.

One Our Father - [Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.].

Ten Hail Mary’s - [Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.].

One Gloria - [Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.]

SECOND DAY

Saint Martin’s Love of God

SAINT MARTIN’S whole soul was filled with of God’s love. He knew that Almighty God sent His Only Son into the world to suffer and die on the Cross for our sins. His heart was stirred with deep affection for so loving a Redeemer, and his whole life gives evidence of his sincere gratitude. May we, too, learn to love Our Savior more and more and show our love by our good works.

Let us pray.

O Saint Martin, why are our hearts so cold and lacking in love for the Son of God, Who became a little Child for our salvation? Why are we so slow to love One Who loved us so much that He gave His life for mankind? Ask God to make us realize that the only way to happiness is by loving and serving Him with all our hearts and souls. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)​

THIRD DAY

Saint Martin’s Love of the Poor

SAINT MARTIN was called “the Father of the Poor”. He saw in the poor, the sick and the dying the children of God, and he helped them in a thousand practical ways. He studied medicine so that he might know how to cure the sick. Every day he distributed alms to the poor. He built an orphanage for children. Let us imitate the charity of Saint Martin that God may bless us as He blessed him.

Let us pray.

Dear Saint Martin, teach us to be generous with the gifts that God has given us. Make us sympathetic towards those who are suffering and afflicted. Pray to Our Redeemer and to Our Lady of Mercy that our hearts may not be hardened by sin and selfishness, but that we may always be kind and generous to our neighbors because they are the children of Our Heavenly Father. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

FOURTH DAY

Saint Martin’s Faith

SAINT MARTIN had a lively faith in all the teachings of the Catholic Church because he knew that it was founded by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived. God rewarded Saint Martin’s humble faith by enlightening his mind that he might believe the mysteries of our Holy Religion. May God give us the grace always to believe the truths which He has revealed.

Let us pray.

O glorious Saint Martin, we need strong faith in God and His Holy Church, especially in these days when so many people have turned against religion. Bring to a knowledge and love of the true Church the non-Catholic members of your race that they may find the way to salvation and happiness. Ask God to make us faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ in life and in death. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

FIFTH DAY

Saint Martin’s Confidence in God

SAINT MARTIN firmly relied on the goodness and promises of God. He hoped through the grace of God, and the merits of Jesus Christ one day to obtain an eternal reward. We know that Saint Martin’s trust in God was not in vain. We, too, are confident that God will forgive us our sins if we are truly sorry and that He will give us everlasting life if we serve Him faithfully by obeying His commandments.

Let us pray.

Saint Martin, help us to have a great trust in Almighty God. Make us understand that He is One Friend who will never desert us as long as we are true to Him. Keep us from foolishly presuming that we will be saved without doing our part, but keep us also from despair, which forgets the mercy of God. Ask the Child Jesus to increase in our hearts faith, hope, and charity. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria. (As above)

SIXTH DAY

Saint Martin’s Devotion to Prayer

SAINT MARTIN kept his mind and heart always lifted up to the Creator of all things. His prayer came from the depths of his soul. He  constantly turned to God to adore Him, to thank Him, and to ask Him for help. Saint Martin prayed with humility and perseverance, and God was pleased to answer his prayers in miraculous ways. He will pray for us before the Throne of God in Heaven.

Let us pray.

Saint Martin, help us to realize that Christ meant what He said when He promised: “Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find.” Make us faithful in attending Holy Mass and other devotions. Remind us to say our daily prayers to obtain the blessing of God. Ask the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary to obtain for us a share of the treasures of the Holy Rosary. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

SEVENTH DAY

Saint Martin’s Spirit of Penance

SAINT MARTIN was a brave man. He was not afraid of hard work. He did not weakly seek for comforts as we often do. Even though he labored so hard, he was glad to do severe penances for his sins and for the salvation of souls. If so holy a man did penances, how much more should we, who have seriously offended Almighty God by our sinfulness!

Let us pray.

Saint Martin, from you we learn how to be courageous and valiant. From your life we learn to avoid idleness and self-seeking. Give us some of that spirit of penance which you had, so that we may be brave in the struggle with temptation. Ask Jesus Crucified to give us the grace to fight the good fight for victory. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)​

EIGHTH DAY

Saint Martin’s Reward

SAINT MARTIN died a holy and peaceful death. He had spent his life in doing good as a humble Lay-Brother of the Dominican Order. But he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Soon his heroic life became widely known, and Pope John XXIII solemnly proclaimed Martin de Porres a Saint of God. Let us rejoice that we have such a noble brother among the Saints of God in Heaven!

Let us pray.

Dear Saint Martin, you have been raised up by Almighty God to show us the way to our true home. You have given us the good example and the encouragement that we need. We know from your life that to win the reward of glory we have but to love and serve the Best of Masters. May we ever be humble that we, too, may be exulted unto everlasting life. Amen.

One Our Father, Ten Hail Mary’s, One Gloria. (As above)

NINTH DAY

Saint Martin’s Miracles

SAINT MARTIN performed many miracles during his life and after his holy death. We can go to him with confidence for he will grant our petitions if they are for the good of our souls. His heart is very big, and he loves to help us, he is kind in every way. We have only to tell him our troubles and to ask him to help us. If we do our part we can be sure that our dear friend Saint Martin will do his.

Let us pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst inflame the heart of Saint Martin with an ardent Jove of the poor and Who didst teach him the wonderful joy of true humility and the wisdom of accepting God’s Holy Will, grant that, like him, we may be ever truly humble of heart and full of Christ-like love for suffering humanity. Deign, we beseech Thee, that, by imitating the holy life and enjoying - the powerful help of this saintly Negro, the whole world may be drawn nearer to Thee, the Savior of the human race. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Marys. One Gloria (As above)

INVOCATION TO ST. MARTIN (May be said Daily After each day’s readings)

In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, In the name of Mary, Queen of Heaven, In the name of Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, Saint Martin, cure (help) me (him, her) For the honor and glory of God And the salvation of souls.”

Invocation to be said when applying the Saint Martin relic, picture or medal to the sick, or when held in the hand by those who are in need.

PRAYER TO ST. MARTIN de PORRES (May be said Daily After each day’s readings)

Most humble Martin de Porres, whose burning charity embraced not only thy needy brethren, but also the very animals of the field, splendid example of charity, we hail and invoke thee! From that high throne which thou dost occupy, deign to listen to the supplications of thy needy brethren that, by imitating thy virtues, we may live contented in that state in which God has placed us, and, carrying our cross with strength and courage, we may follow in the footsteps of Our Blessed Redeemer and His most afflicted Mother, to reach at last the Kingdom of Heaven through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.​

Short Biography​

ST. MARTIN de PORRES OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS AN AMERICAN NEGRO (1579-1639)

BROTHER MARTIN, saintly colored Dominican, today numbers his grateful clients in tens of thousands. He is our latest saint, a bright star in the spiritual heavens.

Martin was born in Lima, Peru, December 9, 1579. His father was Don Juan de Porres, a Spanish knight; his mother was a coloured woman, Anna Velazquez, a native of Panama. Don Juan, an adventurer, after the birth of a daughter, Jane, Martin’s junior, left the hapless mother and children to shift for themselves. The faded record of Martin’s baptism is still extant, but only few details of his childhood have come down to us. However, we are told that, in spite of the sordid surroundings of his boyhood, Martin showed himself an exceptional child, especially generous to those even poorer than himself. When his mother sent him to the market, he would often return empty-handed, having given all his basket of provisions to those dying of hunger and neglect. His mother punished him for his prodigality, but Martin often forgot his mother’s words when he came face to face with suffering and want. Perhaps he felt that if he bravely took a beating, the scales of justice were more than balanced.

At the age of fifteen, Martin felt called to a higher life. He knocked at the door of the Dominican Priory of the Holy Rosary and asked to be admitted as a Tertiary helper. In his humility, he sought the lowest place in the community, and it was not till nine years later that Martin was ordered to become a regular Lay-Brother. Martin soon became a model religious. His industry was unflagging; his obedience and humility most sincere; his spirit of penance extraordinary; and his charity boundless. Martin, Dominican friar, was now ready to carry on a marvelous apostolate among the sick and poor of Peru.​

Martin’s heart was on fire with love and sympathy for mankind. He sought to relieve want and misery in every form among all classes and conditions of life. His superiors gave him a free hand, knowing that he was absolutely unselfish. Daily he fed nearly two hundred; each week through his success in pleading the cause of the poor, he disbursed about eight hundred pounds’ worth of necessities of life among the Indians, Negroes, the Spaniards — the sick, the miserable and the dying. He visited the hovels of the wretched and abandoned. He was an angel of mercy, and often God gave him the power to perform miracles and to foresee the future. Through his efforts the Orphanage of the Holy Cross was erected for the poor waifs and homeless children of Peru. Everywhere he went Martin brought comfort and consolation. All Lima affectionately called him “the Father of the Poor”.

So great was Martin’s charity that God even annihilated great distances for the extension of his mission. Thus we have reliable witnesses who declare that Martin — though he spent all his life in South America — helped the Christian captives in Africa and ministered to the sick and poor in Mexico, China and Japan.

When Saint Martin died at the age of sixty, November 3, 1639. great was the grief of all Lima and the surrounding country. Only the knowledge that Martin was now in heaven and only the numerous miracles worked at his tomb were able in some measure to assuage their sorrow. Perhaps, after a while, they began to understand that Martin’s mission of kindness, now that he was in Heaven, was to assume worldwide extension.

Martin de Porres was solemnly declared a saint by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962. His Feast Day is kept on November 3, and the spontaneous and enthusiastic devotion to this noble Negro leads us to believe that he is a providential patron raised up in these times to teach a cruel and proud world the two outstanding characteristics of his own life — charity and humility.​

Click below for​

Novena Pamphlet to St. Martin de Porres​

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a84285_d2a9122f288544eba51b0cbe6d5355c0.pdf

All Novena Pamphlets​

https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/novenas

[1095]

3 Tags Because I Procrastinate And Everything Builds Up; Part Two

i’m back on my bull everyone :)

[First Tag - @welcometochanskitchen​]

1. What is the group you supported the most this year? BTS because I am TRASH

2. What group did you get introduced to this year? Stray Kids, The Rose, A.C.E, The Boyz, SF9, a couple of more, and I finally listened to ASTRO, NU’EST and WINNER.

3. What song(s) were your favorite this year? Black or White (Cross Gene) Rookie (Red Velvet, My First and Last (NCT Dream), Cover Up (Taeyeon), Love Is So Nice and Elevator, Al1 (SVT) and Sunrise + Moonrise (Day6) were a pure blessings, Untitled, 2014 (G-Dragon), Wanna One’s Beautiful, Gashina, Where You At (NU'EST W), Taemin’s MOVE, and lastly, Love Yourself 承 'Her' ABSOLUTELY KILLED ME.

4. What album(s) were your favorite this year? Moonrise, Story Op.2, all BTS albums are my favorite albums, MOVE, and My Voice.

5. Which comeback were you most excited for? BTS LMAO WHAT KIND OF QUESTION

6. What’s a concept that you want to see with your favorite group next year? The most platonic gayest family mind-twisting one. 

7. What rookie groups are you excited for? LOONA and Stray Kids

8. Which idols were your favorite this year? ... BTS, like always. Taemin and Heize killed 2017 too.

9. What was your favorite food this year? spicy stir fried pork uM SO GOOD

10. Is there a song that you will play when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s? I played A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone and it was magical because “you never walk alone” was sang at exactly 12 and it just hit me so hard how much I love BTS

11. What’s the first thing you want to do when 2018 begins? Go to sleep and that’s exactly what I did

[Alphabet tag - @achuu-nice​]

A: age? 16 B: birthplace? Dominican Republic C: current time? 9:48 PM D: drink you last had? Water E: easiest person to talk to? My dog F: favourite song? I Need U G: grossest memory? Sixth grade, a kid threw up blue ice cream all over me. H: Hogwarts house? Ravenclaw I: in love? Love is fleeing however BTS remains as my one true love(s)  J: jealous of people? Only of BTS because they know BTS K: killed someone? not yet. L: love at first sight or should I walk by again? Keep walking until your feet start bleeding M: middle name? Not legal  N: number of siblings? One O: one wish? for the world to improve. for example, stop mass production to reduce the amount of trash we have, improve our recycling and stop our environment from dying, reduce the use of non renewable resources, be more open-minded and stop being dicks to animals.   P: person you last called? my brother Q: questions I’m always asked? are you really 16? like no f*cking shit why would I lie about my age R: reason to smile? BTS and my dog :) S: song u last sang? SAVE ME SAVE ME I NEED YOUR LOVE BEFORE I FALL T: time you woke up? 11 AM or something like that U: underwear color? Gray, just like my outlook on life. V: vacation destination? My bedroom W: worst habit? Biting my nails X: x-rays? I’m too dumb to understand but I agree Y: your fav food? Spicy stir-fried pork Z: zodiac sign? Libra 

[11x11x11 - @stray6​]

1. What are your thoughts on avocados? Delicious all the time, I miss my avocado tree.

2. Who do you want to meet most in the world? Honestly, the Eleventh Doctor. Excluding fictional, which ew, what a bummer, then Ricardo Arjona or Kim Namjoonie.

3. What is your favourite Disney character? Winnie the Pooh

4. How much money do you want? Enough to have a big house, with big cars & big rings.

5. What does “ rawr XD “ mean to you? you may now kiss the bride

6. List 3 things you think are funny? People getting hurt after they do something hurt, when BTS does something stupid and you see Yoongi’s little shit smile, Jin cracking tf up and Hoseok clapping like crazy while Namjoon hides his face in embarrassment, and my dog is pretty freaking funny.

7. Tell a random fact about yourself? I capitalized and fully spelled all the words in your questions just for my aesthetic.

8. Tag your favorite Blogs! Not a questions but I will do as such: @hyuunjins​ @achuu-nice​ @astrayminho​ @stray6​ @chanbng​ @seungminty​ @seungchanie​ @stray6​ and like 100 more

9. What was the last song you listened to? Jonghyun’s Like You.

10. Do you like flower petals? No but I don’t dislike them. 

11. How did you get into your ULT group? One of my now best friends made me watch a BTS MV during Biology class.

[justimajinthat]

Got Boybands?

Beatles, boys who cry, Boyz n motion, and big time rush has something in common and its not that all of them starts with the letter b, its that they are all iconic boy bands. boy bands been around for years swooning queens of all ages. Ever since one direction hiatus I thought boy bands were dead. I failed to realize that the boy bands didn't stop they are just overlooked so I'm here to point some out talk about them maybe help them get some more support I don't know.

I was going to save this for last but I will be distracted the whole time if I did. Prettymuch. woohoo! anyway my friend showed me "open arms" my attention was grabbed wig snatched I wasn't prepared for the beat to drop like that but it did so did my heart. I loved it. um, they make straight bops. from what I understand a lot of fans feels neglected by them. "where's the album" is a common saying by the BEANZ. BEANZ are the fans in the fandom. it stands for Brandon, Edwin, Austin, nick, and Zion. they are a pop group with a hip hop sound at times. all of them can sing. they don't always get the same amount parts on songs but all of them can sing. it was formed in 2017 by Simon Cowell. I'm going to try to describe each member of the group the best can. starting with Brandon Arreaga. born December 14th 1999. he is 19 years old (the youngest) he is from Texas. He is white and Mexican he is good just about everything. one of the best dancers in the group. my favorite vocalist in the group. he has a deeper richer tone in his voice but can easily go up an octave or two he is a sick producer. he seems like one of the leaders in the group. I think he sings the most out of all of them. it seems like he is constantly working on his craft which I love. he loves food. his runs are superior. next up is Edwin Honoret. Edwin was born Feb 12, 1999. he is from the Bronx. he is Dominican. first thing to come in mind is fashion. don't get it twisted they all got style but with Edwin its evident that fashion is his thing. he seems positive most of the time putting out positive messages through social media. sports is not his thing but skateboarding is. he has a higher tone of voice but not the highest pitch in the group. next is Austin porter. born Aug 14, 1997 in North Carolina. This 21 year old (oldest) is lit. he always seem to be energetic and upbeat. he paints a lot . he gets the least amount of singing time but he is a great singer . he has a deeper tone of voice as well. he likes rapping. he seems to be very family oriented. all of them do but I notice it more with Austin. he seems very talkative and could relate with just about anybody. Nick Mara is up. he is also 21. he was born Nov 8,1997 in new jersey. he is the best dancer. has the highest tone voice. he seems the most serious out of everybody but stills jokes around. he has crazy shoe game. he's just suave. last one is Zion Kuwonu. born June 29,1999. he is Canadian. he is tall. loves Fortnite. he probably the second most amount of times. I think he is talked about the most in the fandom. prettymuch symbolizes quality to me. things take time with this group. they have 13 songs but you can bump to all of them. their lyrics are great, all of them can dance, they have a hip hop feel to them, and their music is constant. I feel like their motto is quality over quantity and out of all of them I feel like they have the best chance to really break out. my favorite released song is healthy.(they have a bunch of unreleased music) my least favorite is Jell-O. don't get it twisted Jell-O is still a bop but not "the" bop. BLiND is their most recent bop released(01/25/19). that song slapped video made the song even better. I honestly didn't know that was possible but they proved me wrong. I like blind because everybody did their thing and everybody vocals had a shinning moment. also the video was an aesthetic within its self. their first song released is would you mind(07/21/17)

next group is why don't we. I don't know why don't we as well but they seem like more on the quantity side. I say this because they have the most amount of songs out of all of the boy bands but not all of them are bangers in my opinion. I feel like most of my friends cant get into them because they do occasionally have a childish sound and their songs don't have as much depth as other artist do. what I mean by this is a lot of their songs are repetitive and the only thing is different about them is the new person singing the same verse. they also cant dance, but here are the reasons why you should give them a chance. they are very stylish, they voices are very distinctive, and they have one of the best melodies when its a banger. the group started in 2016 and consist of jack Avery(19), Corbyn Besson (20), Jonah Marais (20), Daniel Seavey (19), Zach Herron (17).their fans are called limelight I want to know why but I don't know maybe something dealing with the first song taking you. the childish sound songs are like trust fund baby and these girls. 8 letters was the first song I heard by them (jack Avery stood out to me for some reason). my friend was talking how she couldn't get into them so I decided to do my research. 8 letters was decent but I had to see if they had more hits and they do but I had to dig deep. talk(fell in love with Daniel), something different(loved the beat and video was sick), into deep (fell in love with Zach's voice and the melody was nice), nobody gotta know (started to appreciate Zach even more and all to them together and melody was clean as well), choose (I loved it gave me 00s' Justin Timberlake vibes the beat was great and the melody was another hit), why don't we just (was a decent song seemed really repetitive but it was catchy), invitation (had a r&b feel to it was catchy and the video was funny), words I didn't say (it was cute), turn it off ( the melody was good), made for( I loved the beat and it was cute). I think they have 40 songs don't quote me. their latest song was big plans which was a banger released (01/16/19). their first song released was taking you (11/25/16)

next group is in real life. the were the winners of ABCs 2017 tv music contest boy band. the group consist of chance Perez(21) Brady Tutton (17) Michael Conor(19) drew Ramos (21) Sergio Calderon(18). All of their songs are catchy and has the typical pop boy band sound but with a . they have 7 released songs including 2 Christmas songs.one thing different about this group is that Michael Connor can rap. my favorite song is how badly and my least favorite is probably got me good (their most recent song released 09/06/18) its still a good song though. their first song released was eyes closed released 08/25/17.

4th ave consist of Mikey Jimenez (19), Marcus Pendleton(18), Jaden gray (17), cam Jackson (20) who all compete individually on the sow boy band with the members of in real life. all of them can really sing. their runs are crazy but I feel like cam and Jaden mastered them the best and Jaden has a wider range. this group pop/r&b group. Jaden and Marcus are my favorite because Jaden just seems very confident and its cool plus his vocals are mental, Marcus because he like the homie he can get lit but he seems like a chill guy who cracks jokes.4th ave can dance , its not extreme like prettymuches but its way better than why don't we or the other bands. they have 12 songs and a fire interlude including 5 holiday songs. my favorite song is probably 4 u(honestly all of their songs was my favorite at least once). my least favorite is probably exit. their first song released was xoxo (02/8/18) and their latest song released is us (01/25/19).

the next group is cnco. they are a latin boy band who are from the show called la banda (executive produced by Simon cowell). the group includes Joel pimental(19), Erick Brian colon (18), Christopher Velez Munoz (23), Richard Camacho (22), Zabdiel de jesus (21). i think they have 45 songs including the remixes. tan facil is their first song released (01/29/16) and their latest song released was hey dj the remix (11/9/18). Mala actitud id my favorite and mas alla is my least favorite.

new hope club is the next group. this band is a pop British trio. Blake Richardson(19),George smith(19),and Reece Bibby(20).

they have 14 songs. fixed being the first(05/05/17) and permission being the latest(02/01/19). i love their music and their feel. they have nice vocals and their songs has a vintage sound to it with rock tendencies. crazy is my fav amd tiger feet is my least favorite.

next town down is the next group on the list. NTD is a an r&b group with Malik Knighten(19), Terence Thomas (24), Trevon Water(22), Chris Louis(21),and Leon Outlaw jr(16). they have 8 songs but they spoil us with covers on youtube. their first song released was easy (05/11/18) my favorite song of theirs will have to be easy and the least is kissin on.

the last final group i will be mic lowry. they are a r&b band from liverpool. Delleile Ankrah, Akia Jones, Kaine Ofoeme, Ben Sharples, and Michael Welch embodies old school r&b with new school flare. They were formed 2011. tuxedo is their first song released 05/18/15. their latest song is Tesla 10/19/18. they have 16 released songs.

[kismet-at-the-library]

A-Z BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

I’ve seen a few of these lists floating around as per @macrolit‘s idea (you can find their original post here) and obviously I had to spend the past few hours compiling a list of my own. It’s definitely harder than it looks! I was trying to go for some less obvious choices while also paying homage to all the books that have struck a chord with me, but I must admit I had to cheat a little by including a few titles from my TBR pile. In my defense, I have an excellent feeling about all of these – plus, what better motivation to finally get started on reading them? (If only grad school weren’t in the way... but a girl can still dream.)

A - Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001)

A superbly well-written and incredibly touching novel, featuring one of the children characters I’ve related to the most in my reading life. (Yes, I relate to Briony! Not for what she does, of course, but the way she experiences and describes the world is just so so familiar to me.)

B - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (2007)

I think I’m still a little heartbroken over this one. It wasn’t always perfect, but it’s stayed with me in a way that other books I’ve read in the past few years haven’t. Plus, I still can’t get over a narrator using footnotes to explain historical details about the Dominican Republic. If you’ve read Díaz before, you’ll definitely fall for Yunior’s voice all over again. And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?

C - La casa de los espíritus (The House of the Spirits) by Isabel Allende (1982)

I already got one for H (this list was not compiled in alphabetical order) so I’m “cheating” by using the title in the original language (which is also the one I read it in).

D - Du côté de chez Swann (The Way by Swann’s) by Marcel Proust (1913)

...because lately I’ve been mildly (she says) obsessed with Proust and you should be too <3 This is the first volume in the monumental In Search of Lost Time. I went in knowing hardly anything about it other than ~Proust~ and was incredibly surprised by how accessible it was. (If you’re still feeling intimidated, I definitely recommend reading Alain de Botton’s How Proust Can Change Your Life to help break the ice!)

E - Emplumada by Lorna Dee Cervantes (1981)

A poetry collection by the author on whom I wrote my bachelor’s thesis. Lorna Dee Cervantes writes about growing up as a working-class Chicana in the U.S. Southwest. In her poems as in her life, gender, race, and class intersect to make up the experience of a powerful woman and gifted poet who uses incredibly lyrical language.

F - Free Enterprise: A Novel of Mary Ellen Pleasant by Michelle Cliff (1993)

Now, if you want some good, kickass, well-researched alternative historiography featuring Black historical lady figures, then this is the book for you. It’s an account (fictional, yes, but in no way less significant than the ‘authorized’ history) of John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry and the women that took part in it (for non-U.S. readers, John Brown was a white abolitionist who tried to start an armed slave revolt). One of those women was Mary Ellen Pleasant, a black woman and entrepreneur who helped fund John Brown’s raid. So, yep, you should definitely get to this one straight away. It’s not the most accessible kind of writing because it moves across time, space, and characters, but if you pay enough attention you’ll have no problem following it until the end, and you’ll be immensely enriched because of it. <3

G - The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (1915)

This is the saddest story I have ever heard. That’s the first line of the book, by the way. If you like unreliable narrators and morally-dubious characters, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

H - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2006)

Adichie is very well known right now because of her booklet We Should All Be Feminists (and with good reason), but this is the one that made me fall in love with her. I don’t even remember what led me to buying this book when I basically knew nothing about her, but I’m so glad I did. I love historical fiction and this novel about the Biafran War just broke my heart in all the right places. One of my best on-a-whim purchases.

I - If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio (2017)

This is one of the latest books I’ve read but more importantly one I’ve been excited to read for at least two years. The stakes were high but wow, did it deliver. It’s been marketed as a mystery/literary thriller but I get the feeling that this kind of description could turn away readers who are not into mysteries but who would have plenty of other reasons to enjoy this novel. Yes, there is a mystery (and the pacing is excellent!) but the story is really about the characters, who are really well-developed. Rio ( @m-l-rio) has the incredible ability to set a scene with great economy of words and make each of them count. And, oh, that ending was absolutely perfect.

(Special mention: If This Is a Man by Primo Levi.)

J - Jacques the Fatalist and his Master by Denis Diderot (1796)

A novel about subverting the reader’s expectations (and I mean that). I read this one some 6 years ago but I still think about it as one of the funniest novels (or non-novels?) I’ve ever read and I can’t wait to read it again one day. It gets very, very meta and I remember lots of (subtle or not-so-subtle) criticism on the art of the novel as practised by Diderot’s contemporaries.

(Special mention: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Because, do I even need to explain? <3)

K - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

Well, this one is a bit obvious. Didn’t have a lot of K-titles to choose from... But also, this was one of the first books I read in English, at a time when my love of literature fully-blossomed, and that makes it even more special.

L - The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon (1956)

I loved the writing in this novel about the life of West Indian immigrants in London in the 1950s. Such a strong narrative voice. Its only flaw is that it only focuses on the male immigrant experience, but that’s no reason not to love it anyway.

M - Manual of the Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho (1997)

The book that made me get into Paulo Coelho quite a few years ago. I’m less into him now, but this is still among my favourites <3 A book one can turn to in times of hardship, always ready to offer much-needed words of wisdom.

N - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)

I think @dukeofbookingham once described this as “Pride and Prejudice with a social conscience” and I don’t think I can top that description. If you’re still unsure about this, why not watch the 2004 BBC adaptation with Richard Armitage?

O - Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928)

Sometimes a bit difficult to get through, but so beautifully written that it makes it totally worth it. Also, such an imaginative read!

P - Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (1913)

Maaaaan I love this play. My inner linguistic nerd can’t resist Higgins’s endavours to train Eliza to speak like a “proper lady”, and the feminist in me is ever in awe of Eliza’s strength of character. (Don’t trust the ending they gave her in My Fair Lady. Shaw was much smarter than that.)

Q - Regina di fiori e di perle (Queen of Flowers and Pearls) by Gabriella Ghermandi (2011)

Now this is a double cheat because 1) I’m using the translation to make it work, and 2) I took it from my TBR pile, but this is one I’m really excited about, and it’s by an Italo-Ethiopian author, so... <3

R - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (1966)

There were plenty of more obvious choices for this one and I’ve actually only ever seen the film adaptation, but I love the idea for this play so much I couldn’t resist. Plus, I’ve been meaning to get my hands on a copy since forever...

S - Sillabari (Abecedary) by Goffredo Parise (1972-1982)

Going again by the title in the original language. Honestly, I keep trying to recommend this wonderful book to my English-speaking friends but it’s so frustrating because only the first part of this (...novel? collection?) has been translated into English. “Collection” doesn’t seem like the right word because there is such a strong thematic unity to this book, but it is certainly made up of vignettes, each of which is meant to describe a human feeling, something that is achieved with great economy of words and often in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Incidentally, this is a particularly fitting title for this list because the vignettes are organized in alphabetical order (Abecedary, anyone?) –the first one is “Amore”, love. If you can read Italian, I cannot recommend this enough!

(Special mention: Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde.)

T - The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954)

This doesn’t look like cheating but it feels like cheating. :P There were plenty of other titles to choose from but none that was giving me as strong a feeling. Plus, it feels good to pay homage to one of the books that started it all for me <3 (and I actually first discovered Tumblr by looking for LOTR-related content, so it's even more appropriate.)

U - Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid by Nikki Giovanni (2013)

I was trying to go for something that wasn’t Ulysses (which I haven’t read yet, by the way). Now, I haven’t read this whole collection, but I remember reading some of Nikki Giovanni’s poetry in one of my American literature classes and I definitely liked her work. Plus, I love that title! I had kind of forgotten about this one, so now might be the right time to go and actually check it out from the library.

V - Il visconte dimezzato (The Cloven Viscount) by Italo Calvino (1951)

Wow, was it difficult to find a worthy V-title! (Or one that is not in my TBR pile.) I haven’t read the books in this unconventional ‘trilogy’ in so long, but I still remember liking them a lot (although my favourite was always The Nonexistent Knight).

W - Waiting in the Twilight by Joan Riley (1987)

This is a more obscure title and probably not as easy to get a hold of (AbeBooks would be your best option) but this immigrant story about a Jamaican woman and her dream of building a better life for herself told from the perspective of her disenchanted old self is incredibly powerful and just... my heart breaks for Adella.

X/Y - I got nothing. :(

Z - Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde (1982)

Another one that I haven’t read (yet), but this is Audre Lorde, so. <3

[swearronchanel]

Kicking off the hiatus with 5.04

A few people have requested that I continue my commentaries™ during the hiatus & after all the positive feedback, I couldn’t say no! But I expected to have an awful day & it actually went well so I thought I’d go ahead and do it now. You know since I’m going to avoid all my responsibilities anyway it might as well be for a good cause🙃

I watched a lot of shameless on Netflix today so it’s nice to watch something wholesome for a change of pace 😂

“The world was shifting on its axis in 1961, strides were being made, decisions taken, questions asked..” Vanessa’s narration is always on point like I wish I had the patience to post all her quotes 😭😂

Aw sister Mary Cynthia! I hope she’s in the Christmas special

My bby trixie looking flawless while riding a bike, goals

But who is this nun they’re having a service for lol ??

Like it’s kinda irrelevant oops,  r i p & dios te bendiga but why do we care? at least I don’t

Isn’t this girl from something? She looks so familiar

i remember saying this before .. oh yea she’s from game of thrones I think. I don’t watch it though haha

“Angel? I could get used to that!” Aw my bby is so cute like yes trix ur an angel

yikes that cough lady, I have a stuffy nose rn and I’m hoping I don’t start coughing 😭cause then I wanna be in a coma cause I hate being sick

Aw he'a so excited! He got into university👏🏼 that was legit me though 😂 I’m so irrational and literally only applied to one university (well I filled out many applications but didn’t submit any others because you gotta pay so I tried to wait and see if I got accepted to where I wanted first😂) I found out in English while on my phone instead of doing work & I screamed and just ran out the classroom 😂 I went to my guidance councilor and told everyone in the main office and then called my parents who *were nervous I wouldn’t get in* but also were literally going through security in the airport on their way to Dominican Republic .. ah, I was full of excitement and hope. Look at me now 3 semesters in &I’m over it 😂😂 it’s so stressful and mentally/emotionally draining and sometimes I’m just like how do I become a trophy wife asap?

BACK TO THE SHOW THOUGH

My bby SHELAGH! 😍 she is so precious in her suit aww, but lets be real the navy suit is the best™ one she owns. But I still like her best in uniform at the clinic though 💁🏼

she’s over here giving a talk on giving birth at home & Im just like holy shit SHE JUST HAD A BABY IN THEIR NEW HOME, I STILL CANT BELIEVE IT😭!!!!

Tom’s so excited for Ian it’s so cute and sweet

And Tom is so cute and attractive ugh, he could get it

oh damn wait Mrs Cottingham has the baby with no limbs

aw yea and she wanted a girl

I agree though little boys are gremlins 😂😂 from ages like 7-14, get them away from me 😂

Ian all hopeful for their future and then boom he’s a dad. That went from 0 to 💯 real quick

Phyllis!! & lol sister W giggling

But damn why they all acting like Sister J is too old and incapable 😂 she wants to go to St Cuthberts, let her

Sister Monica Joan upset aw😭 don’t worry sister you’re Help is needed

Pats and Deels look cute “tanning” outside

“You want to see Anita Ekberg in that fountain just as much as I do”  Lmaoo 😂😂 for real though have u ever seen La Dolce Vita? Like Anita Ekberg was too hot to handle. I wish I looked that good damn

Trixie came to thirdwheel even though she isn’t unaware she is lol

But Trixie is serving summer looks™ I love it 😍

Damn though Patsy’s legs are pretty pasty 😂😂

Trixie wondering what the hell kinda magic bra Anita had on, literally same cause I want it. Always need good quality strapless bras for summer👍🏻

Patsy inviting Trixie and Delia gave the side eye omg 😂

Here comes Babs lmao

LOL DEELS IS SALTY OMG

ugh this is when Babs first got with Tom and they were annoying lmao, I got over it though

If I was Trixie I’d be lowkey mad too like that was her ex-fiancé but I’m glad they got over it and are friends despite that 💕 cause I know petty girls that would just cut the other off

WHY DO THEY PRONOUNCED SCHEDULE LIKE THAT? And honestly How?? Like I can’t even lol it’s hard. Oops is my American showing

Sister J out here

Ohh yea this matron is a bitch lmao, vete ya

What is the correlation between going to grammar school and getting pregnant ?? @ Ian’s mom

Lol Trixie’s just like pls don’t ask me

ugh get this nurse/matron or what ever tf she is off my screen before I smack her

I swear Jenny Agutter has such a relaxing voice, like she really can calm you down & tell you all will be well & you’ll just be like “yea you right”😭

Tom is so rational and sensible because if I walked in I’d immediately start screaming and all that like “calm tf down people" 

Pats and Deels sneaking around in a convent lol it gives me anxiety always thinking “oh shit u think someone will walk in?”

LOL OKAY TOM YOU TELL YOURSELF TRIXIE IS MAD ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE

Damn Tom you just made Babs feel like a rebound™

“Who’s to say we won’t carry on” ya will be fine & get married next year chill out

So Babs is only 23, how old are the other nurses *well how old do you think*??

WHEN WILL WE SEE A NONNATUN BIRTHDAY?? *I preferably want to see Trixie or Shelagh have one* but I’d take anyone really, like these people literally celebrate every other damn holiday/event but no one has had a birthday?? Except for Jenny and Chummy but they’re both gone lol

yikes emphysema, one of my grandfathers died from that. 70 odd years of tobacco smoking 😬 he did someone love to be 85 yrs old though. Idk how, he couldn’t breathe for so long

I love Phyllis just saying again for the millionth time

Aw Trix 💔 you will be happy soon💕😭

See! She said w/o Sister J she’d be screaming! Her presence is calming

Emergency c-section aye dios

Turn up at the pub

Lol funny how the dad gave Tom orange juice bc he’s a vicar but he was drunk af the night before his wedding 😂 drunk enough to have little memory and to be hungover the next day

we’ve all been there tho I don’t judge

Is it really CtM if there’s not at least one mention of babycham a series?

c-sections are wild omg

also I’ve never been under anesthesia so I’d be scared af

LOL & also I’ve never had a kid so that’s scary too duh

“Oh God another one” ahh omg

Do you think that was a doll ??

Again this show makes everything look real af so I never know

Is the doctor here the Mr Kenely that I hate??

They really left that baby there to die like o m g

Sister J praying/blessing the baby 💔💔 my freaking heart omg

again this nurse is on my screen and I need her to go, preferably to carajoland

“may the lord bless you and keep you”!! 💔😭

the third deformed baby and they didn’t report it??

“I’m not drunk” I mean you’re sitting on the floor in the bathroom so I’d think you were too 😂

Lol remember.. *cringes* no wait lets not

Tom worked in a record shop that’s cute

damn Tom do you really think telling them to just settle is the best way to comfort him

Aw sister J needs a hug😭😢💕

and yes prayer you’re right sister MJ

Sister MJ, Sister MC & Sister J comforting each other is so pure, all the they have scenes together wash my sins away for a second

wait where tf is sister Winifred lmao, did she just scadaddle after compline? snuck out to see a heathen movie i bet  jk jk I’m sure she only sneaks to quality films

but then I say dumb shit like that ^ or even worse/more inappropriate & the sins return😂😂

There’s my bby Shelagh! And in uniform, love it. 😭😍

Whenever Shelagh goes back to work next series I hope we see more of her being a nurse cause I love it

Wild that the hospital was just not saying anything about the deformed babies

Sister J coming to the best detective in Poplar, Dr Watson aka Shelagh Turner aka secret agent Shealgh Turnova™ 😂😂 *forever one of my fave lines of hers*

Lmao Tim helping out old ladies, being a good seed & too perfect of a teen

But damn boy comb your hair!

“I haven’t boiled any urine today, nice to have a change of pace” Lol Babs😂😂

oh no she’s bleeding 😢

I’m having flashbacks to Shelagh’s threatened miscarriage like lets not go down that painful memory lane  

Sister J told Ruby it was a girl bc she knew she wanted a girl ughhh 😢

Ruby thinks it was a punishment 💔 ugh my heart & ugh again makes me think of when Shelagh thought she was being punished/greedy when they told her she couldn’t have a baby 💔

Stop the sadness I say, stop it now

“We haven’t got a fairy godmother between us” WHERE IS PHYLLIS WHEN SHE IS NEEDED?

And Poor what’s her name 💔💔

oh yea it’s Linda omg how could I forget that’s my Gram’s name

But Shelagh and Trixie are interacting!!

It’s about a patient but at least they’re speaking right .. LMAO BUT WAIT ILL NEVER BE OVER HORMONAL SHELGH YELLING AT TRIXIE ABOUT THE FAMILY PLANING CLINIC ENTRANCE

ALSO: I’LL KEEP SAYING IT TILL I DIE, ALL I WANT IS A TRIXIE & SHELAGH FRIENDSHIP! 😭😭💕💖💖 they’re my bbys and I’ve been asking nicely

shit ¡¡ @beatrix-franklin wrote a damn essay as to why we need/want it !!

PLS LET IT HAPPEN @ HEIDI & OTHER WRITERS😭💔

Shelagh’s grey cardigan is actually cute *she just doesn’t need anymore lol*

“What the poor pet really needs is a good cry, a bottle of aspirin and a hug in no particular order..but the hug is of prime importance”  you see. We could’ve have a cute scene of Trixie visiting Shelagh in the hospital & a little parallel of when she visited her in the sanatorium

or Just give me Trixie hugging Shelagh and I’ll cry of joy 😭💕

omg wait

shit I forgot Ian put his head in the oven

Angela playing on the floor !! So precious 💖

“..Don’t think they’d thank you for that Patrick, they’re both younger than me”  Lol I always laugh at that, it’s kinda cute. I like when Shelagh has funny lines , why didn’t Patrick say anything back 😂 there could’ve been cute playful banter. Even this series we could’ve heard him call her an elderly primigravida is a joking/playful banter context ..BUT at least we know now Shelagh is 36!

Yea man those bombs impacted multiple generations

“So World War II is history now is it?” I seriously love these little lines of Shelagh’s lol. Also funny how she prob sees her self as old, and she was what, like my age, when the war needed?? 18 or 19 depending on her birthday (We’d know but nonnatuns apparently don’t ever have birthdays)

Shit. Wait..I feel. Kinda strange and scary to think my future children will learn in school the events I’ve lived through so far ??

okay lets not think about that

what’s the sluice? I know he washes instruments but what exactly is the sluice? The room ? Idk

Aw Angela crying, one of the the only times we’ve heard her make a sound lol

WAIT HE COULD BE SUED FOR BREAKING THE ENGAGEMENT WHAT??

“How long have we been broken off?” “A year. To be precise a year and ten days”  I know they weren’t really a good match but aw 😭 it was nice while it lasted

Trixie Bby 💔💔 happiness is coming your way I promise

“I never know when I love you the most. But I sometimes think these are the times I love you best..”😭😭 BYE IM DEAD AGAIN & MY HEART EXPLODED AGAIN😭💔💕��

thinking about it though, they’ve never actually said I love you properly, have they??

See Patrick’s little med school anecdote, can Shelagh share one anytime soon? About anything from her past, I’m just curious.

Was that just a piece of “in the mirror” or is it playing in my head? Honestly it happens quite often, I’ll swear I hear a song and it’s actually in my head

alright Ian so why were you marrying her? you switching it up kid

I’m calling him kid like he’s not probably older than me lmao

Phyllis in her robe I love it

Trixie serving yet another look™😍

I’m so glad Trixie gave Babs her “blessing” & became good friends. So pure, we don’t need any more women being put against each other

“Fuzzy felt apostles” WHY AM I LAUGHING AT THAT? It’s not even funny?

Now the service for a nun we never knew, filled with extra nuns we will never know or care about.

I love that the nurses are at the service lol, like they probably don’t have to be but still there for fam

& Shelagh there wearin a mantilla, so sweet😭💕

“God hugs you” aw sister MC 😭❤️

You gotta admit even if you aren’t religious this show does make you feel some type of faith

“We knew so little then, in a world that seems so filled of opening doors and bright horizons. We thought only of what was new and better because it was new and better. And it would take us to places we had never been before.” VANESSA😭 she never fails with the narration, never.

Trixie helping Babs fix her bracelet bc there’s no hard feelings and she’s happy for them aw

“..We couldn’t see what was coming or understand yet what had already come to pass, yet so much still to learn”

Oh shit that foreshadow was heavy, especially because it ends with a shot of baby cottinghams body in the box.

I don’t think I picked up on that the first time ..                                     Anyway it’s 1:15am I should go to bed I have class in the morning 😭😂

The End.🙃

[lookoolah]

I was tagged by the cutest most adorable human bean alive @raphaelsdumort (ilysm ana!!)

RULES: Copy this post into a new text post, remove my answers and put in yours, and when you are done tag up to 10 people and also tag the person who tagged you… and most importantly, have fun!

A - Age: 14 (i’m turning 15 in april ayyee)

B - Biggest fear: death probably

C - Current time: 7:19pm

D - Drink you last had: lemon water lmao when am i not drinking lemon water

E - Every day starts with: a shit ton of complaining about that i wanna sleep

F - Favourite song: take me to church by hozier

G - Ghosts, are they real?: duhh

H - Hometown: Yerevan

I - In love with: magnus bane

J - Jealous of: alec lightwood bc he gets to blow magnus bane

K - Killed someone: “every morning starts with” LMAO JK there’s no wifi in jail im good

L - Last time you cried: last night lmao

M - Middle name: dont got one

N - Number of siblings: got a half sister and a half brother

O - One wish: for my parents to be accepting of my sexuality

P - Person you last called/texted: i sent my best friend a picture of a sloth, she’s welcome

Q - Question you’re always asked: “why do u wear so much makeup?”

R - Reasons to smile: cause it’s someone’s bday today!!

S - Song last sang: touch by little mix

T - Time you woke up: 7am ew

U - Underwear colour: gray i think lmao what the fuck

V - Vacation destination: dominican republic yoo

W - Worst habit(s): too drawn to arguing

X - X-rays you’ve had: i haven’t had any lmao

Y - Your favourite food: sushi omg i’ve been craving some for days

Z - Zodiac sign: aries 

I tag: @hoteldumorts @lightwoody @fangtasticsaphael @raph-bane @accordingtomel

[topicprinter]

This post encourages you not to be afraid to implement ideas. Don't leave them to gather dust until better times. Swipe to see a lot of photos from the pitch, from a trip to the Dominican Republic and the metamorphosis of the robot. Perhaps our story motivates you to put your ideas (that have been nurtured for a long time) into action.In golf there is a driving range, a training field for practicing long and medium strokes. During a day it may catch up to 20,000 balls. These balls need to be collected somehow. Usually, they are gathered with the special equipment attached to the car. It causes personnel costs, maintenance of equipment, damage both to balls and to the field. In the summer of 2018, my friend Michael Wykrent, a golf coach in Germany, talked about this issue of the administrators of golf clubs. So I found a solution in the form of a robot. I made the first prototype from plywood and wrote an article about it on the Internet to receive a broad response. Now, we have a team of 4 people, professionals featuring experience in international companies.Basically, the message of this post is that you don't need to be perfect, you just need to act.If I had kept my idea, protected it, and cherished it, it wouldn't have worked. I made the first model (very far from ideal) and told the world about it. It helped to find like-minded people with whom I hope we will remain good friends. Below is a photo of our team building! Next let's talk about the body, mechanics, control board and software. I would like to show what was in the beginning and how it looks now. The progress is especially noticeable due to the low base effect.The first version of the body was terrible and shouted that we need a man to solve this problem. Together with the team we remade it and now it looks like this. First model Current version with painting and glass fiber reinforcement. The progress is visible to the naked eye, and it's all the result of networking.Any old thing helped to test the idea, even noname engines from Aliexpress and printed gears. Of course, for further development it all had to be replaced, even the engine change and printing сhevron gears didn't work. This option isn't the final drive, now we're waiting for the timing belt and pulleys to facilitate the design. Board First there was the word, then the breadboard. What does the interweaving of wires look like? That's right, a cat's cradle. This is what the first compact breadboard looked like. Then the user SkyserR took over. He designed and assembled the module connection Board for the raspberry pi version.If you would like to help, please DM me in FB. Software Initially, all software was self-written. Python scripts and Arduino sketches. But when we become tired, we switched to Ardupilot and ROS. We have MVP and now we are developing hardware and software altogether. We use opensource solutions and write our own software. We have contractors in Russia and China who supply us with components.​The transformation from a hobby experiment to a productWe took part in pitch sessions, talked about our project. We received contacts of 3 investment funds and two independent investors. Such events are permanent. I highly recommend them, they allow you to find investors, prepare your presentation, find weaknesses in the project. It was a meeting with one of the funds from the event that allowed to get the first offer. Just a good option is to appeal to the investor, who has in the portfolio of a similar project or invests in this field. Funds in the US, in which we prepare applications. If you have experience in the presentation of the project in the US and you want to help us with this, message me in the social networks.​Trip to Dominican Republic in February 2019"Esto es un robot que collecta las bolas de golf" — I said, because I don't know what's Spanish for "No, it's not electric sheep". I think for the gentleman from the sun and our sister country of Haiti it would sound about the same. User tersuren invited us to the Dominican Republic. So we were able to test our robot in the winter and don't wait until May to work out the algorithms for building a GPS trajectory. At the same time, the tests were held in one of the best golf clubs in the world. We made a video of the robot working in a golf club, which helped a lot in communicating with investors and demonstrating the robot's capabilities. Flying with a robot is a whole story. I had to somehow carry spare parts and personal belongings as well as the robot itself(1100*800*300). In general, I put the laptop and the battery in a backpack. Personal belongings, gifts from Russia, spare engines, wheels, wires, etc. were placed directly in the robot, in the compartment for balls. You should have seen the surprised faces of the airport and customs officers. The robot was taken in the scanner back and forth several times. And we ended up with a question: What's that? Considering a huge sign of HERROBOT on board, the answer seemed obvious. After all, it is clear! And we have some epic fails. We hurried to order the board in resonance, so one of the contacts was mixed up. It was rewired by a thread. Because of the humidity, the driver on the wiring worked just on special occasions. Any testing of algorithms in low-level problems wasn't possible. "A gramme is better than a damn I, suffering from heat, and Shadow_ru, braving the cold with a 7 hour difference due to time zones, introduced urgent changes to the Ardupilot to make it work in the new environment. ESC, to replace the burned, had to drive from the online store the day before departure from Russia. But it wasn't meant to be. Existing controllers understand PWM and beaglebone hard given only the frequency for the servo. In the end had to make a bridge from the Arduino.​Promo-video after the trip Video with 3D rendering before the trip.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fS3xkKofGo​Now there is only one competitor in the world and it costs $15,000. In the world there are 34.000 golf clubs, each spending at least 1.500$/masses to collect the balls. This market costs over $600M /year. Our program is at least the sale and subsequent maintenance of 1000 robots. Even when sold at a price 40% below a competitor's, it gives a revenue of around $8M. We have a preliminary arrangement with golf clubs interested in testing the robot on their field in Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and the Dominican Republic. And it's all thanks to Habr. Do you know why it is good to fulfill dreams and implement your ideas? Tranquility. Just close your eyes and enjoy the moment. No Eckhard Tolle will tell you about the power of the moment, if you are thinking the same thought ad it doesn't leave you alone.You add details to your project, but don't start acting. You forget about it for a while, and then a trigger again causes images of the idea for the dream project. That's exactly the reason to start acting. Don't wait for the perfect moment, the perfect moment is now!​Do we even need such a robot?In Russia, golf is not so common, but we have turned to industry experts to find out their opinion. They all agree that this robot is necessary. We turned to the leaders of the robotics market in Russia to find out their opinion on service robots for solving routine tasks. This is undoubtedly a trend. We will refine and promote our robot, because it's urgent. To speed up we need your help and support! Plans We have another pitch planned for the beginning of March. Why, if we already have an offer? I don't know yet, we do it like Siddhartha, the way finds us. In March, we need to finalize all the algorithms for full operation and start tests on Golf courses in Russia in April. In June, we're planning the participation in the exhibition, publication in European golf papers and magazines.Over the summer of 2019, we have to make 25 robots and start tests in Russia, Germany and the Dominican Republic. In autumn, we're planning to start selling as a service. And in 2020, we're to enter the US market. In 2020, we're intended to release the model of the lawn mower working on the same algorithm of construction of a trajectory for the solution of all problems on a driving range. Here are some simple milestones, thank you for your support.​Thank you so much for your time!www.Herr-Robot.com

[ozsaill]

A cruising year: milestones and introspection from Totem’s 2017

Inspiration and gratitude flow from the mundane in an annual review of Totem’s year by the numbers. We’re serious about tracking data on Totem; Jamie but can’t resist having fun with analysis (annual cheese consumption, anyone? After all, cheese provisioning data is vital on a boat with three hungry teenagers!). But pondering the data and events of 2017 he turned reflective. Read on for Jamie’s takeaways.

Distance traveled in 2017: 3,402 nm / 3,915 miles / 6,301 km (since 2008 – 47,095 nm / 54,196 miles / 87,220 km)

Countries/territories visited: 14 – USA, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, USVI, BVI, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent and Grenadines, Bonaire, Colombia

Best 24-hour run: 208 nm, Bonaire to Colombia

Nights anchored: 249 (68%), Docked – 65 (18%), Moored – 31 (8%), Hauled – 10 (3%), Passage – 10 (3%)

Shallowest anchorage: 6.08Ft / 1.85M (Totem’s draft + 1 inch) for 4 days at Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas

Number of times worked on: Toilets – 8, Watermaker – 11, Outboard – 8, Rigging – 8

Number of flight takeoffs Jamie had during 3 trips away from Totem:  21 (thanksfully also an equal number of landings!)

Best new food we’d never heard of: Mofongo con langosta!

Number of field trips: 21

Number of visitors on Totem: 322

Number of audio/video calls with coaching clients: 118

Shark species we swam with most often: nurse shark

Shark species we didn’t know we swam with until getting out of the water: tiger shark!!!

2017: probably the last full year we’re all on Totem

Biggest surprise of the year: This is a tie between a good surprise, and a bad one. The bad one was discovering that underneath Totem’s bottom paint… there is no gelcoat! Apparently, it was peeled by a prior owner and the detail did not get passed in the sale. The good surprise was finding Rita. Behan has a handmade apron from Bequia, a piece of functional art found in a thrift store that she’s owned for about two decades. From the lettering “R WILLIAMS” stitched at the bottom, she set out to find the maker when we arrived in Bequia. Like searching for unicorns, I thought, but, surprise!

Hardest part of 2017: Hurricanes…

The North Atlantic had 10 hurricanes, 6 of which were major (category 3 or higher). We were having a blast in Nanny Cay, BVI as Harvey rambled across the southern Caribbean, arcing northwest up into Texas. At the same time along the coast of Africa a tropical wave began moving westward. Forecast models had it likely going towards the northern Caribbean, so we got moving south. Martinique, where we were anchored had potential storm force winds, so we sailed further South. St Lucia is about 230 miles south of where Irma slammed into Barbuda, St Maarten, Tortola, and rest of the northern islands. We watched grey, streaky west flowing clouds shift direction to the northeast. Very ominous! My log entry for that day reads, “Hurricane Irma, now cat 5, to make landfall in Leeward Islands tonight. It’s going to be bad bad…”

If you lived in Irma’s path, your world was turned upside down, lashed and smashed. Hurricane Jose was a threatening post-Irma bully that held everyone one edge but fortunately stayed out to sea. News and pictures trickling out from Irma’s destruction were unimaginably worse than my log notion. The day after Irma died, yet another tropical wave started westward across the Atlantic. This disturbance grew rapidly to tropical storm force, then Hurricane Maria. We hopped further south to Grenada. By no means a hurricane-free island, we watched Maria with intentions of shifting further south should the system stray our way. This cat 5 hurricane smacked Dominica, where we were 3 weeks before; and then Puerto Rico, where we were 6 weeks before.

Hiking near Portsmouth, Dominica, on a hillside denuded a few weeks later

We were close enough to see the atmosphere do strange things and far away to feel only light winds and swell. The hard part was feeling for the friends we’d made in these, now, broken islands. A coaching client’s boat on the hard in St Martin was destroyed; another’s in Tortola suffered moderate damage. A third coaching client was in the process of buying a boat called “No Worries;” it was later found sunk. We know new cruisers and very experienced cruisers whose boats were a total loss.

I admit to anger watching ShipTrack.com placing boat AIS positions in insanely stupid places directly in the broad path of these forecasted monsters. I shouted, “why are you there now!” many boats and some people literally disappeared. People have commented to us, “it must have been so stressful dodging so many hurricanes.” It wasn’t. We had mobility and the benefit of timely decision thanks to the science of meteorology. Forecasts were not perfect, so add a margin for error. I am thankful for the easy mobility that so many people had little or none of.  Some boats weren’t ready to dash, some owners had other obligations. Islanders without means suffered deeply. We remember Sheldon Hamilton in Portsmouth, Dominica who traded his fresh fruit and interesting sea glass for our clothes and canned food. Sheldon lived in a shack on the beach and wore the same rags trading this time as we saw him in the year before.

Our year in review shows a few metrics and silliness. It was a good year for us, despite a few medical maladies. It was a nightmare year for many friends. Sheldon Hamilton didn’t have shit for opportunity before Maria. Now his home, village, and island are in ruin. Hurricane season is coming again… Sounds gloomy, right? But the message is… Get MOBILE! REBUILD better! LEANER! APPERCIATE what you have because even if it doesn’t seem great, it’s better than AFTER Irma, Maria, natural disasters, cancers, accidents, and clumsy dentists. Make a plan (as the South Africans say) to do what YOU dream of. Go _______________ (insert preferred form of transportation) and get out, whatever that means to you. Go to Dominica and to search for Sheldon Hamilton, Bequia to meet Rita, or search for your own unicorn.

Totem + Utopia kid crews – Bonaire

from Sailing Totem http://ift.tt/2FNWqmH via IFTTT

[pamphletstoinspire]

Novena to Saint Martin de Porres

Recited from: October 27th through November 2nd Feast Day: November 3rd (Ordinary Time) No Feast Day designated in Latin Calendar __________

Novena

The word Novena derives it name from the Latin word “novem” meaning “nine.” A novena can be either a private or public devotion in the Catholic Church to obtain special graces.

NOVENA AND PRAYERS TO ST. MARTIN DE PORRES

PRAYER TO ST. MARTIN de PORRES to be said by those in distress (May be said Daily before each day’s reading)

In this pain and sadness which weighs me down and for which I can find no human support, I turn to you, Saint Martin. Be my friend and my protector and intercede for me with our merciful Father in heaven. Ask that my sins be forgiven and that I may be freed from the evils which burden and distract me. Give me your spirit of sacrifice that I may welcome whatever God sends me for love of Him who makes all things a means of holiness.

O Heavenly Father, in the name of your Son and of His Blessed Mother, and by the merits of your faithful servant Martin, help me in my great trouble and do not forsake me. Amen.

PRAYER

Well done, thou good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over few things, J will make thee ruler over many things, saith the Lord.

V. Pray for us, Saint Martin de Porres. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY

O God, the exalter of the humble, Who didst make Saint Martin, Thy confessor, to enter the heavenly kingdom, grant through his merits and intercession, that we may so follow the example of his humility on earth as to deserve to be exalted with him in heaven. Though Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

PRAYER FOR HUMILITY after the example of Saint MARTIN de PORRES (May be said Daily before each day’s reading)

O God, Who hast given us in Thy Humble Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the model of all virtue and perfection, grant to us the virtue of humility. We think so little of Thee because we are so full of self. We cannot love Thee more until humility shows us our own nothingness and makes us rejoice in our complete dependence upon Thee.

Thou hast given to the world a glorious apostle of humility, Saint Martin de Porres. Guide us by his example and strengthen us through his intercessions in our efforts to conform our hearts to the humble Heart of Thy Crucified Son. Renew, O Lord, in these days, when pride and forgetfulness of Thee are so widespread, the wonders which Thou didst perform through Thy humble servant, Saint Martin de Porres, during his lifetime. We pray that all the world may know of Saint Martin and of the surpassing value of the virtue of humility. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

NOVENA

FIRST DAY - Saint Martin’s Humility

SAINT MARTIN imitated Our Lord, Who was meek and humble of heart. There was no pride or vanity in his soul. He knew that God is our Creator and that we are but His creatures. He understood that God loves us as children and only wants us to be happy. So he submitted entirely to the Holy Will of God. Let us all imitate Saint Martin by humbly doing the Will of God in all things.

Let us pray.

O humble Saint Martin, ask Our Lord to give us the grace of true humility that we may not be puffed up with foolish pride, but may be contented with the gifts that God gives us. Obtain for us the light of the Holy Ghost that we may understand, as you did, that pride is a deceit of the devil and that only by doing the Will of God can we be truly happy. Amen.

One Our Father - [Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.].

Ten Hail Mary’s - [Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.].

One Gloria - [Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.].

SECOND DAY - Saint Martin’s Love of God

SAINT MARTIN’S whole soul was filled with of God’s love. He knew that Almighty God sent His Only Son into the world to suffer and die on the Cross for our sins. His heart was stirred with deep affection for so loving a Redeemer, and his whole life gives evidence of his sincere gratitude. May we, too, learn to love Our Savior more and more and show our love by our good works.

Let us pray.

O Saint Martin, why are our hearts so cold and lacking in love for the Son of God, Who became a little Child for our salvation? Why are we so slow to love One Who loved us so much that He gave His life for mankind? Ask God to make us realize that the only way to happiness is by loving and serving Him with all our hearts and souls. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

THIRD DAY - Saint Martin’s Love of the Poor

SAINT MARTIN was called “the Father of the Poor”. He saw in the poor, the sick and the dying the children of God, and he helped them in a thousand practical ways. He studied medicine so that he might know how to cure the sick. Every day he distributed alms to the poor. He built an orphanage for children. Let us imitate the charity of Saint Martin that God may bless us as He blessed him.

Let us pray.

Dear Saint Martin, teach us to be generous with the gifts that God has given us. Make us sympathetic towards those who are suffering and afflicted. Pray to Our Redeemer and to Our Lady of Mercy that our hearts may not be hardened by sin and selfishness, but that we may always be kind and generous to our neighbors because they are the children of Our Heavenly Father. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

FOURTH DAY - Saint Martin’s Faith

SAINT MARTIN had a lively faith in all the teachings of the Catholic Church because he knew that it was founded by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived. God rewarded Saint Martin’s humble faith by enlightening his mind that he might believe the mysteries of our Holy Religion. May God give us the grace always to believe the truths which He has revealed.

Let us pray.

O glorious Saint Martin, we need strong faith in God and His Holy Church, especially in these days when so many people have turned against religion. Bring to a knowledge and love of the true Church the non-Catholic members of your race that they may find the way to salvation and happiness. Ask God to make us faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ in life and in death. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

FIFTH DAY - Saint Martin’s Confidence in God

SAINT MARTIN firmly relied on the goodness and promises of God. He hoped through the grace of God, and the merits of Jesus Christ one day to obtain an eternal reward. We know that Saint Martin’s trust in God was not in vain. We, too, are confident that God will forgive us our sins if we are truly sorry and that He will give us everlasting life if we serve Him faithfully by obeying His commandments.

Let us pray.

Saint Martin, help us to have a great trust in Almighty God. Make us understand that He is One Friend who will never desert us as long as we are true to Him. Keep us from foolishly presuming that we will be saved without doing our part, but keep us also from despair, which forgets the mercy of God. Ask the Child Jesus to increase in our hearts faith, hope, and charity. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria. (As above)

SIXTH DAY - Saint Martin’s Devotion to Prayer

SAINT MARTIN kept his mind and heart always lifted up to the Creator of all things. His prayer came from the depths of his soul. He constantly turned to God to adore Him, to thank Him, and to ask Him for help. Saint Martin prayed with humility and perseverance, and God was pleased to answer his prayers in miraculous ways. He will pray for us before the Throne of God in Heaven.

Let us pray.

Saint Martin, help us to realize that Christ meant what He said when He promised: “Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find.” Make us faithful in attending Holy Mass and other devotions. Remind us to say our daily prayers to obtain the blessing of God. Ask the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary to obtain for us a share of the treasures of the Holy Rosary. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

SEVENTH DAY - Saint Martin’s Spirit of Penance

SAINT MARTIN was a brave man. He was not afraid of hard work. He did not weakly seek for comforts as we often do. Even though he labored so hard, he was glad to do severe penances for his sins and for the salvation of souls. If so holy a man did penances, how much more should we, who have seriously offended Almighty God by our sinfulness!

Let us pray.

Saint Martin, from you we learn how to be courageous and valiant. From your life we learn to avoid idleness and self-seeking. Give us some of that spirit of penance which you had, so that we may be brave in the struggle with temptation. Ask Jesus Crucified to give us the grace to fight the good fight for victory. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Mary’s. One Gloria (As above)

EIGHTH DAY - Saint Martin’s Reward

SAINT MARTIN died a holy and peaceful death. He had spent his life in doing good as a humble Lay-Brother of the Dominican Order. But he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Soon his heroic life became widely known, and Pope John XXIII solemnly proclaimed Martin de Porres a Saint of God. Let us rejoice that we have such a noble brother among the Saints of God in Heaven!

Let us pray.

Dear Saint Martin, you have been raised up by Almighty God to show us the way to our true home. You have given us the good example and the encouragement that we need. We know from your life that to win the reward of glory we have but to love and serve the Best of Masters. May we ever be humble that we, too, may be exulted unto everlasting life. Amen.

One Our Father, Ten Hail Mary’s, One Gloria. (As above)

NINTH DAY - Saint Martin’s Miracles

SAINT MARTIN performed many miracles during his life and after his holy death. We can go to him with confidence for he will grant our petitions if they are for the good of our souls. His heart is very big, and he loves to help us, he is kind in every way. We have only to tell him our troubles and to ask him to help us. If we do our part we can be sure that our dear friend Saint Martin will do his.

Let us pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst inflame the heart of Saint Martin with an ardent Jove of the poor and Who didst teach him the wonderful joy of true humility and the wisdom of accepting God’s Holy Will, grant that, like him, we may be ever truly humble of heart and full of Christ-like love for suffering humanity. Deign, we beseech Thee, that, by imitating the holy life and enjoying- the powerful help of this saintly Negro, the whole world may be drawn nearer to Thee, the Savior of the human race. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

One Our Father. Ten Hail Marys. One Gloria (As above)

INVOCATION TO ST. MARTIN (May be said Daily After each day’s readings)

In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, In the name of Mary, Queen of Heaven, In the name of Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, Saint Martin, cure (help) me (him, her) For the honor and glory of God And the salvation of souls.”

Invocation to be said when applying the Saint Martin relic, picture or medal to the sick, or when held in the hand by those who are in need.

PRAYER TO ST. MARTIN de PORRES (May be said Daily After each day’s readings)

Most humble Martin de Porres, whose burning charity embraced not only thy needy brethren, but also the very animals of the field, splendid example of charity, we hail and invoke thee! From that high throne which thou dost occupy, deign to listen to the supplications of thy needy brethren that, by imitating thy virtues, we may live contented in that state in which God has placed us, and, carrying our cross with strength and courage, we may follow in the footsteps of Our Blessed Redeemer and His most afflicted Mother, to reach at last the Kingdom of Heaven through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. __________

ST. MARTIN de PORRES OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS AN AMERICAN NEGRO (1579-1639)

BROTHER MARTIN, saintly colored Dominican, today numbers his grateful clients in tens of thousands. He is our latest saint, a bright star in the spiritual heavens.

Martin was born in Lima, Peru, December 9, 1579. His father was Don Juan de Porres, a Spanish knight; his mother was a coloured woman, Anna Velazquez, a native of Panama. Don Juan, an adventurer, after the birth of a daughter, Jane, Martin’s junior, left the hapless mother and children to shift for themselves. The faded record of Martin’s baptism is still extant, but only few details of his childhood have come down to us. However, we are told that, in spite of the sordid surroundings of his boyhood, Martin showed himself an exceptional child, especially generous to those even poorer than himself. When his mother sent him to the market, he would often return empty-handed, having given all his basket of provisions to those dying of hunger and neglect. His mother punished him for his prodigality, but Martin often forgot his mother’s words when he came face to face with suffering and want. Perhaps he felt that if he bravely took a beating, the scales of justice were more than balanced.

At the age of fifteen, Martin felt called to a higher life. He knocked at the door of the Dominican Priory of the Holy Rosary and asked to be admitted as a Tertiary helper. In his humility, he sought the lowest place in the community, and it was not till nine years later that Martin was ordered to become a regular Lay-Brother. Martin soon became a model religious. His industry was unflagging; his obedience and humility most sincere; his spirit of penance extraordinary; and his charity boundless. Martin, Dominican friar, was now ready to carry on a marvelous apostolate among the sick and poor of Peru.

Martin’s heart was on fire with love and sympathy for mankind. He sought to relieve want and misery in every form among all classes and conditions of life. His superiors gave him a free hand, knowing that he was absolutely unselfish. Daily he fed nearly two hundred; each week through his success in pleading the cause of the poor, he disbursed about eight hundred pounds’ worth of necessities of life among the Indians, Negroes, the Spaniards — the sick, the miserable and the dying. He visited the hovels of the wretched and abandoned. He was an angel of mercy, and often God gave him the power to perform miracles and to foresee the future. Through his efforts the Orphanage of the Holy Cross was erected for the poor waifs and homeless children of Peru. Everywhere he went Martin brought comfort and consolation. All Lima affectionately called him “the Father of the Poor”.

So great was Martin’s charity that God even annihilated great distances for the extension of his mission. Thus we have reliable witnesses who declare that Martin — though he spent all his life in South America — helped the Christian captives in Africa and ministered to the sick and poor in Mexico, China and Japan.

When Saint Martin died at the age of sixty, November 3, 1639. great was the grief of all Lima and the surrounding country. Only the knowledge that Martin was now in heaven and only the numerous miracles worked at his tomb were able in some measure to assuage their sorrow. Perhaps, after a while, they began to understand that Martin’s mission of kindness, now that he was in Heaven, was to assume worldwide extension.

Martin de Porres was solemnly declared a saint by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962. His Feast Day is kept on November 3, and the spontaneous and enthusiastic devotion to this noble Negro leads us to believe that he is a providential patron raised up in these times to teach a cruel and proud world the two outstanding characteristics of his own life — charity and humility. __________

Click below for:

Novena pamphlet to:

Saint Martin de Porres

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a84285_d2a9122f288544eba51b0cbe6d5355c0.pdf

All Novena Pamphlets

https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/novenas

[globalcreating]

Global Online Dating

OKCupid, Tinder, Badoo, and private social networks are just a few ways I have met some interesting characters over the year and continents.  While friends back home are full of online horror stories about these apps, my overall overseas experience has been pretty good, I'd give it an 85%. An app's popularity depends greatly on the region and the year.

Badoo

While living in Southeastern Africa, I was told by a male Irish friend that he loved Badoo. It was his "favorite piece of travel tech." His job took him across the continent and the app facilitated his access to young attractive African women—that was in 2014. When I mentioned the app to a black American male friend in Kenya, in 2017, he told me it was a scary scary place and he didn't want to return. Now, this could have to do with their taste profiles but I have to second the American's view. When I tried the app on a small African island I was terrified by the results. There was no shortage of men, but they were so unattractive, my friend with whom I would share screen captures called them appetite suppressants. Although I am currently dating someone, I logged on in Nairobi just to see if I could screen capture anything entertaining. My friend was right, it was a scary scary place.

(L-R) What is really going on here? It looks like one of the Clampetts escaped Appalachia with a passport. A dictator is slumming it on a dating site. Someone needs to call one of hoarding shows for an intervention. Well, I truly have no idea why that man has a tiger on his belly with eye nipples. Back to the island for a moment, while 95% of the people who would come up in my feed would make me cringe, I did wind up meeting a man from the Canary Islands. He, in turn, introduced me to a host of Colombian, Dominican, Portuguese, and Spanish men who were also on assignment in what one man called fealandia (land of ugly people). These guys became my primary source of entertainment over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. I even dated one of them for several months. When his contract was up we broke up. Then, when he saw I was visiting the States he sent me a ticket to come join him in the Caribbean for a few beach days. He said Badoo was a scary scary place and he didn't want to return. Then, of course, there is one of my girlfriends, let's call her Catfish Susie since she seems capable of meeting every shady guy around. From Badoo, she met Mark. At the time she was living in Saudi so virtual male attention is about all she could get on the daily. After weeks of talking with him, she started to think something was fishy. Sure enough Catholic Mark was calling a priest a reverend and couldn't seem to pinpoint exactly where in Europe he hailed....

Tinder

I was late to the party on this one. On one of my last nights in America, some Kiwi friends were in town, we were out at a bar. I noticed the guy we were chatting with was swiping on photos. One of the Kiwi boys said, "Gimme that. That's not how you Tinder. This is how you Tinder." He started quickly swiping left, left, left, left with the occasional right. A few days later when I was back at home in South Africa, I tried it. I was quickly hooked. With the amount of traveling I did for work it was perfect. Yes, like most women I got the occasional lewd message or the eponymous dick pic if I shared my WhatsApp with the wrong person. However, overall I met some amazing people. With that said, there were definitely some profile pictures that made me giggle and others that gave me the willies.

(L-R)Nothing like a quick hop over the water in my chopper.  Well, that is except a stroll on a fine white sand beach in a sarong that highlights you beautiful color. On who creepy planet is it okay to put a picture of you and who I hope is your daughter in the tub on a dating site? And of course, there is nothing like a bottle of whiskey shared with a baboon. Tinder became a more effective networking tool than asmallworld or Internations. In Uganda, I met a pro-boxer who trained me every day after work. In Kenya, I met a tall man who just wanted to organize my life and make my entry into the country as smooth as possible. He referred me to three clients. In Qatar, I met a Frenchman who took me on an amazing diving vacation to Zanzibar. In Egypt, I met a Spaniard working directly in my field. We went for dinner with my local counterpart, then, a cruise up the Nile on a felucca. On another pass through Cairo, I met a Brit who was struggling with life on the road—he was living between the UK, US, and Dubai. He and I had a 72-hour honeymoon which included seeing the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid. Then when I was about to face empty seats at the event I was supervising he filled it with industry appropriate people. In Bahrain, I met an amazing pilot who while totally misbehaving on Tinder became my brother from another mother. He then added me the friends and family plan with the local carrier allowing me to enjoy business class again. I could go on but you get the point. To this day, I am LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram friends with these men. Tinder became a more effective networking tool than asmallworld or Internations.

Left: After I unmatched with the scam profile, he then reappeared under a new name with a leather daddy look. Right: the fake contract Then came the crazy story and like many of my crazy stories, it involves a Nigerian giving his people a stereotypically bad name. I was in Doha for a few days. Out of habit, I opened Tinder and there was this beautiful man. I mean he was model gorgeous. As a woman who always had gay friends, my gaydar was beeping loudly but I mean he was that fine. I messaged him and we began to chat. There were no other red flags so I gave him my Viber number. After a few more photo exchanges, I asked him for a picture of his hand. It was a thing I used to do to see if the person was using a fake photo. I just knew he was going to demur. But he didn't, about twenty minutes later a hand photo arrived. He then, unsolicited sent me the strangest thing, it was what looked like a contract cover page created by a 10-year-old in MSWord. It said that he was contracted by the Qatar Petroleum Company for $3.6million to inspect oil rigs or something. Knowing I had him, I pretended to be impressed and asked him to meet. He said he was headed to the airport. I decided to bring in my brother from another mother on it and made him think I lived in a penthouse apartment in West Bay. His greed was starting to get the best of him and he began using distinctly Nigerian phrasing including a lot of Jesus references and marriage proposals. This all took place over about a 3-hour period, I was getting bored so I asked him flat-out why he, clearly a Nigerian man who was not in Doha was using the photo of a gay Swedish man? He gave me a long sob story about he was an international businessman but nobody wants an African. This made me more upset than the lying and after going on a long audio message rant, I blocked him.

OK Cupid

I have no personal overseas experience with this app but I will revert to Catfish Susie for a quick tale. It was summer time and Susie was looking forward to a jaunt across Europe, a welcome break from the stress of teaching in Saudi. She had tried to sell us all on the virtues of virtual romance. I wasn't feeling it. Anyway, she had been carrying on a cyber relationship with a man for several months. He originally told her he was German but then when they went to Skype he said he was actually half-German half-Turkish. She was willing to let that one slide. Together, they made real world plans to visit Cyprus and Romania. I told her this didn't sound like a good idea but yalla whatever. As the date crept closer so did his excuses. He couldn't talk because he needed to go care for his ailing mother. Then it was a work crisis. I suggested she check out Naples instead and stay far away from the shady man's sphere of influence. She still wanted to know what was going on so she enlisted the help of a friend who traced the IP address on the emails and did a geo-location on the phone he was using to send text messages.  Do I need to continue... It is worth noting that OKCupid may be on the decline in America, however,  there are still users overseas and with the ability to teleport yourself to a different place you may enjoy chatting with some expats or locals.

Social Networks

I was a member of asmallworld and Internations. A friend in Italy sent me an invite to Internations when it began, but I was never very keen on going to the events. I went to a handful in South America, Africa, the States, and the Gulf.  A few years ago they introduced a new twinkle feature. It is frankly quite weird. Every time I log in there are new twinkles from a host of Indian and Pakistani men living in the Gulf. There does not seem to be a way to turn off this feature so I just reduced the amount of public information on my profile. One of my friends who I met in Mozambique loves the site. She, a Jewish New Yorker, enjoys mingling with the city's expat population on the platform and in the various meetups. Unlike me, she pays for her membership and can email anyone on the site.  In the decade or so that I have been a member, I have been asked out several times. The answer is always no. The ASW geolocator generated the most interesting experiences by far. Asmallworld used to be a different site, a chic-chic Facebook—but now it is a travel membership site with perks and a global community capped at 250,000. Before it changed over and to a lesser extent today, one would post their upcoming trips in the geolocator app on the site. Shortly thereafter, you would begin to receive invitations from men and women to events or offers to grab drinks in the various cities you would be visiting. It was great. From Johannesburg to Hong Kong, I met and dated intriguing men. I went to a high-end spa in Thailand, was given a whirlwind tour of Hong Kong's hottest lounges, attend a fashion show in South Africa, a film festival in Switzerland,  a private concert at the Brazilian embassy in Rome and a host of other unique dates. Owing to the closed network, you could always trace the person back to common connection. I have to say, by far the ASW geolocator generated the most interesting experiences of all the apps combined.   Click to Post

[somewherebetweeniwantanddigotit]

Get to know me Rules: Copy this post into a new text post, remove my answers and put in yours, and when you are done tag up to 10 people and also tag the person who tagged you… and most importantly, HAVE FUN! Tagged by: @kangolcap A - Age: 20 B - Biggest fear: failure, the dark LMAO, snakes C - Current time: 6:47PM D - Drink you last had: Water E - Every day starts with: music, finishing conversations I fell asleep on lol, hitting the snooze button at least twice F - Favorite song: atm, it’s make love to me - Luke James G - Ghosts, are they real: Hell yeah H - Hometown: Baton Rouge, La I - In love with: myself, music, black love J - Jealous of: n/a K - Killed someone: nope L - Last time you cried: Last week M - Middle name: Janay N - Number of siblings: Two (I am the middle child) O - One wish: To perform on broadway P - Person you last called/texted: called - my best friend / texted - a guy friend Q - Questions you’re always asked: Why not major in music? When are you getting married? How’s your sister? R - Reasons to smile: Graduation is approaching, Beyoncé is pregnant with twins, God is slowly confirming things for me, Beyoncé is pregnant with twins, S - Song last sang: Love Ballad - LTD T - Time you woke up: 7:30am U - Underwear color: pink V - Vacation destination: LA, NY, Dominican Republic or Hawaii W - Worst habit: procrastination, X - X-rays you’ve had: one on my hand, my boobs Y - Your favorite food: Seafood, sushi, any soul food Z - Zodiac sign: Leo I tag - @iamquillionaire @itssimplyni @m1tzi @wannabenubianbaddie @mixedfeelinqs @believe-in-hype @trethesavior @isyouwitmeorwhat @only-one-toni-renee @beauteous-thoughts