#(should go get new soles installed for them before I die but that’s 100€)

[why-the-heck-not]

Let me intorduce you to one of my absolute least favorite northern weathers: ”pääkallokeli” in finnish, aka ”skull weather” !! It’s when everything is icy and slippery, and comes from ppl falling & cracking their skulls :) And boi my trusty old doc martens I’ve used every day for 3 years straight and pure ice roads don’t go well together, I have no traction whastoever and am slipping big time!! Everytime I step a foot outside it’s a gamble

[theravennest]

Hot Loki Take: Sylvie was Right

*Spoilers for all of Loki the series up to and including ep 6.

Sylvie was right to kill He Who Remains and free the timeline.

I’m deadass.

He Who Remains forced reality into an endless cycle between a time of Order (he rules as dictator) & a time of simulated and controlled "Chaos" (his Conqueror variants wage war). I say this “chaos” is simulated because when you think about it, it’s chaos that He Who Remains arranges himself by manipulating Lokis.

He Who Remains is so fucking sus but for some reason people are just tripping over their own feet to believe everything he says and vilify Sylvie for killing him. 

He literally tells them (and us) that his methods are deceptive and we know for a fact that he’s willing to murder trillions upon trillions of people, planets, and realities to get the outcome he wants. Yet some are still believing everything he says cuz he said maybe 4 things that were truthful, I guess, and cuz he’s cute. Some of us are so blinded by the fear/anticipation of Kang the Conqueror’s arrival, we are letting him bamboozle us.

He Who Remains perfectly and personally tailored the Ordered period of the timeline to produce this exact Sylvie and this exact Loki, had them meet/influence each other, and then had them travel to the end of time...to him.

Now Lokis by nature are agents of chaos and could suddenly swerve left, so to speak, for no reason. So let’s assume I believe that He Who Remains didn’t 100% know what they would choose once they crossed the Threshold (if the Threshold he described is even real, tbh). He also so carefully molded both of their entire lives for that moment in the Citadel. He may not have known 100% but he knew at least 90% of how they would react to everything he said and did when they were both pushed to this place/mindset.

Notice how he teed them up for the fight that ended in his death:

Manufacturing a scenario where they would meet via the TVA’s variant pursuit.

Manufacturing a scenario where they would travel to the Void and meet Alioth.

Kid Loki being in just the right place to give his sword to Loki.

Miss Minutes appearing to menacingly offer an obvious devil’s bargain.

Him slyly telling Sylvie that she can’t trust Loki, putting it into her head just before he gives them his ultimatum.

All of these thing practically gift wrapped that ending to the Loki on Sylvie fight.

Let’s elaborate.

What was even the point of Miss Minutes offering to re-insert them into the same Sacred Timeline with both getting their hearts’ desires there? 

Not more than ten minutes later He Who Remains told Loki and Sylvie to their faces that he manipulated all this for the sole purpose of making them choose between taking over as rulers of the TVA or killing him and ushering in a Multiversal War. Neither of those choices would result in re-inserting Loki and Sylvie back into the timeline.

So what is the truth? Why waste precious moments with a creepy Miss Minutes menacing them in that vestibule scene?

Notice how Miss Minutes’ words pushed Loki further onto his path of no longer wanting power or a throne but desiring to change his attitude about himself and the universe. Notice how her words conversely pushed Sylvie into balking at the idea of accepting another “fictional” life after a lifetime of being manipulated and made her double down on her mission to free the timeline and get revenge.

Sylvie has the ability to see memories but interesting how he kept her distracted by condescending to her and provoking her, just stoking the fire to make her react negatively. (Interesting how he was far more focused on Sylvie’s reactions than Loki’s, most likely because he needed her to kill him for his plans to work.)

Now I don’t want to completely shift responsibility for her choices away from Sylvie. In truth, if she had held in her vengeance for let’s say an hour and trusted Loki a bit more, they could’ve sat down to talk about things and maybe found a third solution other than starting a Multiversal War or ruling the TVA that still could’ve even allowed her to get revenge. (More on the ultimatum later.)

But I can’t blame her for losing her cool, either. He Who Remains made damn sure she would burn as hot as possible because he tailor made her life to give her the personality he wanted. And any other version of her out there who might have made a different choice would’ve already been pruned.

He Who Remains tells Loki and Sylvie straight up that he set them on their particular life paths because he needed them to be “changed by the journey” to ensure everyone in that room was in exactly the right mindset to do what was needed to “finish the quest” and presumably “slay the dragon,” aka Him. (Notice the parallels to the speaker narration just before episode 2′s fight at the Ren Fair.)

We don’t know! Sylvie never enchanted him to read his memories because she was so filled with rage and Loki was too busy trying to stop her, he didn’t think to do it either. And we’ve already established that He Who Remains trained them that way. Nothing that happened in that office was without He Who Remains’ influence and meddling.

Another nail in the coffin that convinces me that He Who Remains is a no good dirty liar is Renslayer.

If He Who Remains’ end goal was to either have the Lokis choose to rule the TVA or destroy it and thus end up with no memory of her previous TVA judge role/life, why did he send Miss Minutes to Ravonna with files that caused her to pack her bags and search for what she calls “free will,” AKA the one in charge?

I’d bet dollars to donuts that when the next season rolls around the only people who will know what’s going on and still have their memories will be Loki, Miss Minutes, Sylvie, and Ravonna. (Maybe Kang the Conqueror will know as well but I could see it going the other way too. I’m 50-50.)

He Who Remains was planning something by pushing Ravonna the way he did. Does he want her out of the TVA so she doesn’t lose her memories when everything resets? Does he want her to go find the Conqueror version of himself? I mean, at this point, practically everyone knows who she is to Kang in the comics, so let’s not pretend that’s not an option.

Another thing to think about...it’s super suspicious that he was so eager to make them believe he’s one of the “good versions” of Kang and all these others are much worse while giving absolutely no evidence of that outside of an interactive blob powerpoint, a quirky attitude, and a couple of sad, weary faces????

Who’s to say He Who Remains isn’t playing the long game and always manipulates his variants to eventually give him the chance to seize control of the multiverse?

Who’s to say he’s not one of the Kangs that wanted to conquer too? Funny how the “pure of heart” Kang is the one who still wrested control of all reality, killed off every other timeline with a weapon of mass destruction, installed a fascist time bureaucracy, and set himself up as the dictator. Sounds an awful lot like some conqueror shit to me, just saying.

Even wilder theory: what if this really is the same Kang the Conqueror but at the end of his life? We only have hhis word that he’s a variant. He Who Remains tells Loki that this fight is for the “young and hungry.” Maybe the “young and hungry” he’s referring to is not Loki and Sylvie at all but his literal younger self. Perhaps he set up this entire cycle of chaos and order so that he can perpetually live, conqueror, rule, die, and start all over again? Reincarnation, as he says...

But let’s set that wild theory aside for a moment. Let’s circle back to the Multiversal War debate and say it really is is caused by an infinite amount of his variants.

I think it’s hella sus that He Who Remains was so insistent that Loki and Sylvie only had two choices to resolve this riddle: Multiversal War or running the TVA almost exactly the way he did while maintaining only a single timeline. Those are definitely not the only two options they had. In fact, I could probably name 1-3 other options off the top of my head right now:

Keep He Who Remains alive while learning how he manipulated time and using those skills to slowly unleash the multiverse while killing every version of Kang to prevent him from existing as either conqueror or dictator.

Kill He Who Remains, take over the TVA, and slowly change it to something not horrific or even build a brand new system for governing time.

Kill or keep He Who Remains, still take over the TVA, slow rollout the Multiverse and kill or prevent every Kang along the way.

(I’m not saying these aren’t also morally questionable options, I’m just saying they are different from the two choices He Who Remains presented.)

But let’s say these options I suggested are not feasible. I just randomly came up with them ten minutes ago so it would be fair if they were picked apart logically. 

So let’s contemplate this, instead:

Why should we assume/believe that a Multiversal War is actually a bad thing again??? Why are we assuming that He Who Remains’ Sacred Timeline really saved reality from total collapse? 

Assuming he told the truth about his motives, maybe he was just...wrong about the end of reality. Maybe he saw what he thought was the conclusion to the Multiversal War coming and erroneously believed it to be the end of everything but actually it was the multiverse sorting itself out and everything would’ve been fine after.

We (and He Who Remains too) will never know because not only did he not show any evidence to back up his claim that reality was on the brink of collapse, but he himself never allowed things to play out naturally. Whenever the end of the war comes to the brink of something, he always panics, weaponizes Alioth, and traps the universe in his cage of Order with the TVA.

Even more controversial take...maybe the collapse of timelines and the end of everything should be allowed to happen. Maybe the natural cycle of reality is to build and build, splinter and splinter timelines, until it collapses and starts all over again from the void.

Nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, all things exist in a cycle so why should the multiverse be any different?

After all in all, in all three possibilities an infinite number of timelines is destined to suffer and die. Whether it be during the Kang-controlled Order period, Kang-controlled fake Chaos period, or the unrestrained natural Chaos that collapses in on itself...an untold amount of people are dying anyway. There’s only one of those scenarios that has actual unrestrained free will where those people get to exist how they want, make choices they want (even bad ones) for as long as they can.

(Personally, I’ll take that over what the Kangs have wrestled the multiverse into.)

I’ll just take this moment to re-iterate: trust nothing He Who Remains says. He’s a known liar and manipulator, and unlike Loki he has done absolutely nothing to actionably show he’s not still lying or to show that he’s trying to change outside of some sad looks. It’s all pantomime, bruh. Like, the pageantry of it all astounds me. 

Is he maybe telling some truths? Sure. But that doesn’t mean he’s not using the truth to manipulate everything. It’s an illusion, I’m telling y’all! He was up to no fucking good.

Sylvie was far more right to kill him than to not. Loki, Sylvie, & team (prolly also the latest Avengers lineup too) now just need to find a way to break this Kang cycle.

[afrolesbikita]

Stories and interesting info on POS and POS System Hardware.

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

As Texas braces for its notoriously scorching summer temperatures, the state House agreed to install air conditioning in dozens of uncooled prisons within seven years — but only if lawmakers set aside money for it.

On Thursday night, the Texas House initially passed a bill that would require all Texas lockups to be cooled over a seven-year span, capping costs at $300 million. But the state prison agency would only have to abide by the measure if lawmakers also agree to provide state or federal funds toward cooling costs. The bill finally cleared the House Friday on a 123-18 vote and was sent to the Senate.

“The reality is, in Texas, we are cooking people in prisons,” state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, said on the floor when presenting his bill. “This is the right thing to do, it is the humane thing to do, and it’s something we should have done a long time ago.”

Currently, 70% of the state’s nearly 100 prison facilities do not have air conditioning in living areas. Some areas, like administrative offices and infirmaries, are air conditioned at all units.

In the last decade, at least 13 men have died of heat stroke while incarcerated in Texas prisons, according to court records and autopsy reports. Many more prisoners and guards are sickened each year in temperatures that often soar past 100 degrees, requiring intravenous fluids after reporting dizziness, nausea, heat rashes and muscle cramps.

For years, Texas Democrats have proposed measures to require state prisons to have cooling systems, as is the case in county jails. But legislators have balked at the cost, which the prison agency estimates would be more than $1 billion — though it has grossly overestimated air conditioning costs in the past.

In 2017, after a federal judge slammed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for being “deliberately indifferent” to the potentially fatal risk of stifling temperatures inside a geriatric prison, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that “taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to pay for expensive prison air conditioning systems.”

The state has, however, spent millions of dollars in ongoing legal battles while resisting installing the cooling units. The yearslong lawsuit at the geriatric Pack Unit cost the state more than $7.3 million in legal fees. TDCJ ultimately settled the suit in 2018 and agreed to cool the prison near College Station, which cost less than $4 million — a fraction of the prison agency’s original estimate of more than $20 million.

Dozens of other lawsuits against TDCJ over heat-related deaths and illnesses have cost the state millions more since the summer of 2011, when a heat wave in Texas killed at least 10 imprisoned men.

“The reality is what we’re doing is disgusting. It’s truly disheartening,” Canales told the House Corrections Committee last month. “I don’t think we have a money problem. I think we have a give-a-damn problem.”

This year, Canales filed House Bill 1971 to incrementally install air conditioning in Texas’ uncooled prisons at a maximum cost of $100 million per biennium. The bill would permit three two-year phases of installation, ending with all state prisons cooled below 85 degrees before 2029. TDCJ said the cost would be much higher, but Canales and other lawmakers have called the agency’s billion-dollar price tag “ridiculous.”

But even if Canales’ bill becomes law, state lawmakers would still need to separately set aside state dollars or seek federal funding for it. The funds couldn’t come from TDCJ’s existing budget. The bill instead relies on lawmakers in the future giving TDCJ state funds specifically for cooling or directing federal dollars toward the project.

Still, the bill’s passage on the House floor this session is the furthest a prison air conditioning bill has gone in the Texas Legislature. Eye-popping cost estimates often kept air conditioning proposals from progressing beyond the first legislative step of a committee hearing in previous years.

But this year, Canales’ bill was unanimously voted out of the House Corrections Committee and was approved on a voice vote without opposition by the full chamber Thursday night. Other bills similar to previous proposals that did not include a staggered implementation failed to move forward. State Rep. Andrew Murr, the committee chair, said Thursday that Canales’ phased approach with specific budgeting allowed for success in his committee.

“This legislation takes steps to solve an infrastructure issue that has faced our correctional institutions for decades,” the Junction Republican said in an email.

At the bill’s committee hearing last month, Murr also questioned TDCJ about the high costs of litigation the state continues to face by continuing to avoid cooling its prisons, but prison officials did not provide specific numbers.

Texas has spent about $6.4 million legally representing TDCJ alone in prison heat litigation since 2011, according to billing records from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. And the state shelled out about $10 million more in settlement expenses in the last few years, including prisoners’ attorney fees and payouts to families in wrongful death lawsuits for prisoners who died of heat stroke.

In settling the high-profile heat lawsuit at the Pack Unit, TDCJ agreed in 2018 to pay $4.5 million to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. In 2019, the Texas legislature signed off on $1.8 million in payments to settle wrongful death lawsuits in the heat-related deaths of three prisoners in 2011 and 2012.

And the state agreed to pay another $3 million in settlement payouts connected to five other heat-related deaths that occurred in those years, according to records obtained by Texas Prisons Air-Conditioning Advocates and shared with The Texas Tribune. Plus, a man who sued over heat-related illness in prison after he was released received a $90,000 settlement.

Despite the continued legal costs, the advertised billion-dollar investment to cool prisons is not an easy sell, even with bipartisan skepticism of TDCJ’s estimate. In 2019, a Republican on the House Corrections Committee suggested an independent cost study since TDCJ had a history of inflated costs, but the prison agency still was the sole source of the cost estimate officially attached to bills this year.

In lieu of installing air conditioning, the costly lawsuits moved TDCJ to implement new heat safety protocols in 2018 — like more personal fans and a steady supply of ice water — in all of its units. Prison officials have argued such heat mitigation efforts work to keep prisoners safe, even if they may still be uncomfortable. Officials claimed that there were no heat-related deaths or major illnesses since the change of protocols.

But prisoners often say heat policies are followed inconsistently, and they have previously broken windows for air flow or flooded their cells to lie in water. Months after the Pack lawsuit was settled, a medical examiner ruled that a 54-year-old man at the Michael Unit died from environmental hyperthermia — often referred to as fatal heat stroke.

In 2019, TDCJ officials contested the cause of death, stating that the autopsy report was preliminary and the prisoner had been housed in an air conditioned cell. The state death report still lists hyperthermia as the cause of death, however. A TDCJ spokesperson said Thursday the agency still refuted the finding.

Carlee Purdum, an assistant research professor for the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M University, said without systemwide cooling, the prison agency won’t solve safety and medical problems associated with heat. Prison populations, her area of expertise, tend to be more vulnerable than people in the free world, since prisoners are often older and have more medical ailments that can be exacerbated by heat, she said.

“Investing in hazard mitigation saves so much money in the long term,” she said. “We’re expecting to see about a tripling of days in Texas that are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and this issue is only going to get worse … and more costly.”

For Amite Dominick, with Texas Prisons Air-Conditioning Advocates, the cost of air conditioning should be considered a preventive medical cost. But more important than the money, she said, are the people who get sick and die from the conditions the state holds them in.

“These people are being tortured,” she said. “We don’t treat animals like this, why on earth would we treat human beings like this?”

Disclosure: Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The above post was provided on this site.

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[vios-rockland-corner]

How I’m going to tackle “Rumors of Rockland”

Hello there!  Today there was a RIDICULOUSLY large information dump on Outlaw’s Patreon about upcoming game layouts.  There’s far too much there to comment on right now, but there’s one thing in particular I wanted to focus on today.  This post actually is less of me talking about the possibilities of the game, and more so how “I” personally am going to approach these particular “games.”

Overview of what’s below:

- What is “Rumors of Rockland” (RoR)

- My OC Sasha Holmes

- What kind of posts you’ll see from me as these RoR installments come through

What is “Rumors of Rockland?”

Of the long list of future games to come from the creators in the Rockland Universe, one of the very first things mentioned that’s new is the “Rumors of Rockland.”  THIS might actually be the first bit of solid content besides the demos that you may see pop up.

“Rumors of Rockland” is a little interesting.  I’m not 100% sure I’d call it a “game” first of all.  I do fully believe it will be presented to us in the same visual format we get with Ren’Py.  The visual novel style basically.  But there’s two big keynotes on what makes this piece of media different from the creators’ other games.

1) The MC in these “games” is going to be more of an observer.  It’s specifically going to be different from the rest of the games where the MC is directly involved in the story.  Here, it sounds more like the MC happens to be in the same setting as another set of characters, but otherwise does not affect what’s going on.  With that being said, I don’t even know if we’ll be playing through with any choices to select.  The creators also said that it would ideally be the same MC in all the scenarios, further suggesting that the MC isn’t being placed in a perilous situation here.  They are an untouched bystander.

2) There will be several installments of this series.  Oh yes.  When I said “scenarios” before, I didn’t necessarily mean that there’s going to be a lot of things happening in this one...I’m going to refer to is as a “visual novel” until further notice.  What I mean is this is a series that will be continuously updated throughout the development of other Rockland games.  New installments can be called new chapters to the visual novel.  “Rumors of Rockland” appears to be a way to supplement extra information to the audience about certain characters and what is going on in Rockland.  That solidifies even more for me why I would prefer to call this a visual novel over a game.  Yes I know lots of games will sometimes continue to get DLC content to add further progression.  Call it a hunch though, I think the creators would want to save their time developing multiple games rather than developing one and just continually adding updates for it.  They have a lot of characters to go through, so this could be an effective way to show some elements that may not be able to make it into a main game.

Apparently, the release order of games has switched around once again and Rumors of Rockland is going to be released first, followed by “Welcome to Rockland” (this is a path focusing on just one character), THEN Misfits: First Blood.  I know, sometimes this gets a little confusing to keep track of.  Just trust me, a lot of this has to do with character shifts for the groups.

Right now the first Rumors of Rockland we’re supposed to get is just listed as “Introduction/Prologue.”  It might not be long, but we’ll see soon what we’re working with here.  There also was a BIG list of potential chapters touching on all sorts of different elements of Rockland.  It’s kind of wild.  Chapters may not be long themselves, considering how many they have planned.  But the good news is I think if they’re doing this the way I suspect...it won’t be difficult to pump out a lot of chapters at a faster pace than any of the other games.  I think all they need is a stock set of backgrounds and sprites...then it’s just recoding and new script each time.  That’s not really so bad if they don’t have the MC have to make a lot or any choices at all.  No complaints from me in that case.

My OC

Okay, little detour here, but this WILL become relevant to this blog and tie back into RoR.  I don’t make many OC’s, but I made one from scratch here.  Her name is Sasha Holmes and I created her specifically to be an NPC in the Rockland Universe.  

See I’m not really the creative type, but I wanted to try practicing character creation and development.  I’m NOT the type of person though who usually a) visualizes/creates my own MC for a game (I prefer games even with pre-made protagonist avatars) or b) self-inserts.  I have NOTHING against anyone who does either of these obviously.  My brain just...lacks the creativity to do the former, and since games are a form of escapism, I don’t self-insert because that’s not part of the fantasy and escapism aspect for me.

What’s more, lots of these games are going to be horror survival.  I feel even LESS inclined to craft an OC I may fall in love with only to throw them into the pits of hell.  Likely any character I make would die, and I don’t have the mental energy to create another OC for every.single.game, haha.

To get around this, I said: “Well what if I just make a character that solely exists in this universe, but never interferes with the story.  Surely there are just normal citizens that live in Rockland?”  What I was planning on doing was occasionally utilizing Sasha for extra posts when I couldn’t think of anything to write.  Something like journal entries she’d make about her day and gossip that she’s heard around town.  Perhaps gossip about people going missing even or shady dealings.  How would Sasha react?  Sometimes a normal person will wave something off as too outlandish to be true.  If it doesn’t directly impact you, it’s easier to ponder one second but push it to the side the next. ��Or maybe what you hear could make you start to feel paranoid.  Especially if things persist.

Originally, I was going to split things so that some of the gossip or rumors Sasha heard were actually based on real things that “I” know happen in the games and universe, and some things that are false (because you know how rumors get pretty outlandish if someone mishears something or someone’s just looking for attention).  I was prepared to just kind of craft my own type of content like this in due time.  In addition to all the analysis posts, don’t worry.  The posts regarding my OC would have just been filler when I couldn’t think of anything else.

Now that Rumors of Rockland is a thing though…do you know what this is for me?  It’s a template. I am literally being gifted the EXACT kind of scenario I would have previously had to craft myself.  This visual novel doesn’t need an interactive MC, just one that observes the events happening.  If they’re the same MC in every chapter too, that means they should be safe!  I am beyond ecstatic and not going to look a gift horse in the mouth!

My Rumors of Rockland Posts

So here’s what going to happen in the future.  I’m going to try to do at LEAST one post for every Rumors of Rockland chapter that comes out.  Even if the chapters are short, they’ll still be enough for characters to comment on. The goal here is for me to try something new and have a little fun while also putting out content.  At the moment, I don’t know which of the two types of posts I will end up preferring to do:

1)     Journal Entry- The RoR event has already taken place, and Sasha’s just writing in first person her exact thoughts on the day/information. This would be beneficial if I don’t feel up to describing a whole lot of actions for Sasha or what’s happening around her and just want full dialogue.

2)     Present time fic?- Writing the story as the events of the chapter take place.  This means placing Sasha directly there and describing all that’s happening with her and getting her IMMEDIATE reactions to certain information.  I’m not going to lie, I need to see an RoR chapter first to kind of figure out how I’d write a present time piece.  I certainly don’t want to copy paste all the dialogue she hears. Could do a –cut to RoR chapter- note literally in there, and do more of Sasha’s before and after behaviors and emotions.  This one would be more dynamic definitely, but I would have the advantage where I could practice having Sasha interact with other characters I bring in such as coworkers or friends.  It could be interesting depicting Sasha conversing with another person about what she sees/hears rather than just focusing on her inner thoughts.  I also have another side character I might want to utilize to explain why Sasha is even repeatedly going back to where these events take place.

I will admit, I’m not really a creative writer.  So I’m going to apologize ahead of time if what I put out isn’t all that stellar. This is going to be practice for sure. Like I said, I may start to favor one post type over the other.  I don’t know if I’ll keep them short and sweet, or make it long.  Whatever I feel up to I suppose.

I will also mention that I may still end up doing an ADDITIONAL analysis/thoughts post of sorts along with my OC post for an RoR chapter.  This is only if there is information revealed that “I” personally want to comment on that I know Sasha can’t.  Sasha might not be able to either because she, as an in-universe character, is not aware of the bigger picture, or because her personality doesn’t allow her to think about something in a different way.  Sometimes characters are very set in their beliefs and views, which can affect how they perceive information.  So if there’s people viewing this blog who are more keen on the analysis posts and don’t really like OC content, don’t worry.  Not only will all the big games solely get more analytical posts, but the RoR chapters may still get some as well.  It just depends on what kind of information I get fed.

I need to stress again that Sasha is NOT a self-insert.  She’s a completely human OC, but she is not me.  Now, of course it’s not uncommon for a creator to put just a little bit of themselves into any OC they make.  Sasha’s no exception.  What’s more, I just realized she’s one of the few purely human OC’s I’ve crafted. I might accidentally end up having her share similar beliefs and mannerisms to myself simply because…that’s what I know best.  Sometimes you write better if you write what you know.  That being said, I do also try to go out of my way to give my OC’s both minor and major differences to myself, whether it’s small likes and dislikes, physical appearance changes or certain beliefs. The only reason I’m explaining this is because in the event I have both an OC post AND an analysis post that seem to contrast greatly, it’s because my OC and “I” are reacting differently to something.  Don’t assume necessarily that the way Sasha views something is exactly the same way I view it.  If you do, you might get confused, haha.  I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of times where it can’t be helped that Sasha and I think very similarly.  But for this, I want to try my best to give Sasha a consistent personality and system of beliefs. Big or small.

I don’t know if I will be putting out a post immediately once the first RoR chapter drops. I’m feeling pretty good about the image I have of Sasha in my head, but there’s still some BIG bio points I need to settle on before I can get started.  I know I shouldn’t try to nail down every little piece about her right away so that I can have some flexibility later, but a couple of things I think I need to settle on include:

·        Age and occupation- There’s a time skip I know we’re going to get for the Rockland universe, so it’s important for me to decide where I want to start and where she will potentially be in the future.  I know some of the other characters’ ages now, so that helps a little in deciding how much younger or older she is compared to some characters. It’s also a big deal whether or not she’s a college student pre-time skip, or already started a career.

·        Long term resident of Rockland vs. New in Town- As cliché as it sounds, I may be leaning towards “new in town” simply because it really IS an easy way to explain why she’s never noticed anything strange before in Rockland. While it’s true that children are often ignorant to a lot of the world happening around them, I don’t know enough about the Rockland universe to say WHICH things should be “common knowledge” to a local.

Those are the big ones.  After a lot of thinking, I’m sticking to my original plan that Sasha will just be “good.” Don’t expect her to be TOO sympathetic to a person who she hears committed murder for example, haha.  I just think not only will it be easier for me to write someone who is a “normal civilian” with a good conscience, but also because I think it might be fun later down the line to tackle a little fear that grows and pondering on why people do bad things to begin with.  She’s be a good girl, right now most likely lawful good.  Maybe if I ever wanted to craft a side character that’s a little more chaotic than her to bounce off dialogue with to get other perspectives in there, I could do that.  That’d be another challenge for me altogether though.  

I’m sure not every single chapter though in RoR is going to be about hearing characters describe how they’ve murdered someone recently though.  Especially not continuously in a public place.  Not everything is going to be crystal clear I’m sure. Sasha might brush off some things that happen, and other stuff seems so incoherent without the context that she won’t know WHAT to make of it.

I’m also still debating whether to not only wait for at least the first RoR piece to come out, but if I want to wait for “Welcome to Rockland” to come out as well before finalizing Sasha.

Last thing before I end this!  I wanted to get this post out as a just heads-up on what you’ll see from me in the future.  This should work fine considering the RoR chapters sound like information dumps in visual novel format for the most part.  I want to be make it clear though that I am NOT copyrighting this way of commenting on the RoR chapters.  What I love about these installments, is that you could literally have any viewer’s own OC operating in their own space and just reacting to what happens in plain sight. Anyone should feel free to imagine themselves as the MC here and it’s not going to interfere with anyone else’s story.  I would certainly love to see if anyone else tries to do something similar to what I want to do with the RoR updates.  There’s so many different types of MC’s people can make and I’m positive they won’t all react to things the same exact way as each other.

[aion-rsa]

Upcoming Must-See Movies in 2021

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It’s 2021. Finally. If you’re reading this, it means you’ve hopefully gotten through the wreckage of last year unscathed and are ready for a brighter future. And if you’re also a movie lover, this certainly includes a trip (or 20) back to the cinemas.

Sure, theaters were technically open in some places last fall, but the moviegoing season has largely remained dormant since March 2020. Yet given good news about vaccines starting to become available, and an absolutely stacked 2021 movie release calendar, we have reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

Indeed, 2021 promises many of the most anticipated films from last year, plus new surprises. From the superhero variety like Black Widow to the art house with Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, 2021 could be a much needed respite. So below is just a sampling of what to expect from the year to come…

The Little Things

January 29

One of the year’s earliest high profile releases is also the first of WB’s film slate on HBO Max. The Little Things is a serial killer thriller in the old school mold. It also boasts a brutally talented cast that includes Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as the detectives, and Jared Leto as the killer. As the latest movie from John Lee Hancock (The Founder, The Alamo), this looks like the type of star-led seediness that used to dominate the multiplex.

Maclolm and Marie

February 5

Assassination Nation writer-director Sam Levinson returns for a decidedly stripped down and intimate character study about two people on the threshold of their lives changing–and perhaps splitting apart. With Zendaya and John David Washington in roles unlike anything we’ve seen the pair in before, they play a couple returning home after the premiere of Malcolm’s (Washington) first movie. He’s on the cusp of life-changing success as a director, but when confronted by Marie about past secrets and hard truths… the night takes a turn.

Judas and the Black Messiah

February 12

It’s kind of hard to wrap one’s head around the annual “Oscar race” in a year when little trophies don’t seem so damn important, but Warner Bros. feels strongly enough about this movie that it’s getting it into theaters and on HBO Max right in the thick of the pandemic-delayed awards season. And judging by the marketing, it’s bringing heat with it.

Shaka King directs and co-writes the story of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), who became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s and was murdered in cold blood by police in 1969. LaKeith Stanfield plays William O’Neal, a petty criminal who agreed to help the FBI take Hampton down. This promises to be incendiary, relevant material — and it’s almost here.

Minari

February 12

Lee Isaac Chung directs Steven Yeun–now fully shaking off his years as Glenn on The Walking Dead–in this semi-autobiographical film about a South Korean family struggling to settle down in rural America in the 1980s. Premiering nearly a year ago at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Minari had a quick one-week virtual release in December, with a number of critics placing it on their Top 10 lists for 2020.

Its story of immigration and assimilation currently has a perfect 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics lauding its heart, grace, and sensitivity. A few of ours also considered it among 2020’s best.

Nomadland

February 19

Utilizing both actors and real people, director Chloé Zhao (The Rider, Marvel’s upcoming Eternals) chronicles the lives of America’s “forgotten people” as they travel the West searching for work, companionship and community. A brilliant Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a woman in her mid-60s who lost her husband, her house, and her entire previous existence when her town literally vanished following the closure of its sole factory.

Zhao’s film quietly flows from despair to optimism and back to despair again, the hardscrabble lives of its itinerant cast (many of them actual nomads) foregrounded against often stunning–if lonely–vistas of the vast, empty American countryside.

I Care a Lot

February 19

A solid cast, led by Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Chris Messina, and Dianne Wiest, star in this satirical crime drama from director J. Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed). Pike plays Marla, a con artist whose scam is getting herself named legal guardian of her elderly marks and then draining their assets while sticking them in nursing homes. She’s ruthless and efficient at it, until she meets a woman (Wiest) whose ties to a crime boss (Dinklage) may prove too much of a challenge for the wily Marla. It was one of our favorites out of Toronto last year.

The Father

February 26

Anthony Hopkins gives a mesmerizing, and deeply tragic, performance as Anthony, an elderly British man whose descent into dementia is reflected by the film itself, which plays with time, setting, and continuity until both Anthony and the viewer can no longer tell what is real and what is not. Olivia Colman is equally moving as his daughter, who wants to get on with her own life even as she watches her father’s disintegrate in front of her.

We saw The Father last year at the AFI Fest and it ended up being a favorite of 2020; Hopkins is unforgettable in this bracing, heartbreaking work, which is stunningly adapted by first-time director Florian Zeller from his own award-winning play.

Chaos Walking

March 5

This constantly postponed sci-fi project has become one of those “we’ll believe it when we see it” films until it actually comes out. Shot nearly three and a half years ago by director Doug Liman, Chaos Walking has undergone extensive reshoots and was at one point reportedly deemed unreleasable.

Based on the book The Knife of Letting Go, it places Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Far From Home) and Daisy Ridley (The Rise of Skywalker) on a distant planet where Ridley, the only woman, can hear the thoughts of all the men due to a mysterious force called the Noise.

Raya and the Last Dragon

March 5

Longtime Walt Disney Animation Studios head of story, Paul Briggs (Frozen), will make his directorial debut on this original Disney animated fantasy, which draws upon Eastern traditions to tell the tale of a young warrior who goes searching for the world’s last dragon in the mysterious land of Kumandra. Cassie Steele will voice Raya while Awkwafina (The Farewell) will portray Sisu the dragon.

Disney Animation has been nearly invincible in recent years with other hits like Moana and Zootopia, so watch for this one to be another major hit for the Mouse.

Coming 2 America

March 5

The notion of whether nostalgia-based properties are still viable has cropped up repeatedly in the last few years. However, streaming, which is where Coming 2 America finds itself headed post-COVID, makes golden oldies much safer. This sequel—based on a 32-year-old comedy that was one of Eddie Murphy’s most financially successful hits—sees Murphy back as Prince Akeem, of course, along with Arsenio Hall returning as his loyal friend Semmi.

The plot revolves around Akeem’s discovery, just as he is about to be crowned king, that he has a long-lost son living in the States (we’re not sure how that happened, but let’s just go with it). That, of course, necessitates another visit to our shores—that is, if Akeem and Semmi presumably don’t get stopped at the border. The film reunites Murphy with Dolemite is My Name director Craig Brewer, so perhaps they can make some cutting-edge social comedy out of this?

The King’s Man

March 12

This might be a weird thing to say: but has World War I ever seemed so stylish? It is with Matthew Vaughn at the helm.

An origin story of sorts for the organization that gave us Colin Firth and the umbrella, The King’s Man is a father and son yarn where Ralph Fiennes’ Duke of Oxford is reluctant about his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) joining the war effort. But they’ll both be up to it as the Duke launches an intelligence gathering agency independent from any government. It also includes Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as charter members.

Oh, and did we mention they fight Rasputin?

Godzilla vs. Kong

March 26

Here we are, at last at the big punch up between Godzilla and King Kong. They both wear a crown, but in the film that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have been building toward since 2014, only one can walk away with the title of the king of all the monsters.

Admittedly, not everyone loved the last American Godzilla movie, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but we sure did. Still, Godzilla vs. Kong should be a different animal with Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest) taking over directorial duties. It also has a stacked cast with some familiar faces (Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, and Ziyi Zhang) and plenty of new ones (Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Danai Gurira, Lance Reddick, and more).

It’ll probably be better than the original, right? And hey with its HBO Max rollout, questions of a poor box office run sure are conveniently mooted!

No Time to Die

April 2

Nothing lasts forever, and the Daniel Craig era of James Bond is coming to an end… hopefully in 2021. In fact, delays notwithstanding, it’s a bit of a surprise Craig is getting an official swan song with this movie after the star said he’d rather “slash his wrists” before doing another one. Well, we’re glad he didn’t, just as we’re hopeful for his final installment in the tuxedo.

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is a newcomer to the franchise, but that might be a good thing after how tired Spectre felt, and Fukunaga has done sterling work in the past on True Detective and Maniac. He also looks to bring the curtain down on the whole Craig oeuvre by picking up on the last movie’s lingering threads, such as 007 driving off into the sunset with Léa Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann, while introducing new ones that include Rami Malek as Bond villain Safin and Ana de Armas as new Bond girl Paloma. Yay for the Knives Out reunion!

Mortal Kombat

April 16

Not to be deterred by the relative failure of Sony’s Monster Hunter in theaters at the tail end of 2020, Warner Bros. is giving this venerable video game franchise another shot at live-action cinematic glory after two previous tries in the 1990s. Director Simon McQuoid makes his feature debut while the script comes from Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and the cast includes a number of actors you’ve seen in other films but can’t quite place.

The plot? Who knows! But we’re guessing it will feature gods, demons, and warriors battling for control of the 18 realms in various fighting tournaments. What else do you want?

A Quiet Place Part II

April 23

The sequel to one of 2018’s biggest surprises, A Quiet Place Part II comes with major expectations. And few may hold it to a higher standard than writer-director John Krasinski. Despite (spoiler) the death of his character in the first film, Krasinski returns behind the camera for the sequel after saying he wouldn’t. The story he came up with apparently was too good to pass up.

The film again stars Emily Blunt as the often silenced mother of a vulnerable family, which includes son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds). However, now that they know how to kill the eagle-eared alien monsters who’ve taken over their planet, the cast has grown to include Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou. While the film has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak, trust us that it’ll be worth the wait. Is it finally time for… resistance?

Last Night in Soho

April 23

Fresh off the success of 2017’s Baby Driver (his biggest commercial hit to date), iconoclastic British director Edgar Wright returns with what is described as a psychological and possibly time-bending horror thriller set in London. Whether this features Wright’s trademark self-aware humor remains to be seen, but since the film is said to be inspired by dread-inducing genre classics like Repulsion and Don’t Look Now, he might be going for a different effect this time.

The cast, of course, is outstanding: upstarts Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit) and Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) will face off with Matt Smith (Doctor Who), and British legends Diana Rigg and Terence Stamp. And the truth is we’re never going to miss one of Wright’s movies. Taylor-Joy talked to us here about finding her 1960s lounge singer voice for the film.

Black Widow

May 7

Some would charitably say it arrives a decade late, but Black Widow is finally getting her own movie. This is fairly remarkable considering she became street pizza in Avengers: Endgame, but this movie fits snugly between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. It also promises to be the most pared down Marvel Studios movie since 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and that’s a good thing.

In the film, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff is on the run after burning her bridges with the U.S. government and UN. This brings her back to the spy games she thought she’d escaped from her youth, and back in the orbit of her “sister” Yelena (Florence Pugh). Old wounds are ripped open, old Soviet foes, including David Harbour as the Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz as Nat and Yelena’s girlhood instructor, are revealed, and many a fight sequence with minimal CGI will be executed.

How’s that for a real start to Phase 4? Of course that’s still assuming this comes out before The Eternals after it was delayed, again, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Spiral

May 21

Chris Rock has co-written the story for a new take on the Saw franchise. Never thought we’d write those words! The fact that it also stars Rock, as well as Samuel L. Jackson, is likewise head-turning. It looks like they’re going for legitimate horror with Darren Lynn Bousman attached to direct after helming three of the Saw sequels, and its grisly pre-COVID trailer from last year.

Hopefully this will be better than most of the franchise that came before, and given the heavily David Fincher-influenced tone of the first trailer, we’re willing to cross our fingers and play this game.

Free Guy

May 21

What would you do if you discovered that you were just a background character in an open world video game—and that the game was soon about to go offline? That’s the premise of this existential sci-fi comedy from director Shawn Levy, best known for the Night at the Museum series and as an executive producer and director on Stranger Things. Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a bank teller who discovers that his life is not what he thought it was, and in fact isn’t even real—or is it? We’ve seen a preview of footage, so we’d suggest you think Truman Show, if Truman was trapped in Grand Theft Auto.

F9

May 28

Just when you thought this never-say-die franchise had shown us everything it could possibly dream up, it ups the stakes one more time: the ninth entry in the Fast and Furious saga (excluding 2019’s Hobbs and Shaw) will reportedly take Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his cohorts into space as they battle Dom’s long-lost brother Jakob (John Cena, making a long-overdue debut in this series). Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron all also return, as does director Justin Lin, who took a two-film break from his signature series. Expect to see the required physics-defying stunts, logic-defying action and even more talk about “family” than usual.

Cruella

May 28

Since Disney has already made an animated 101 Dalmatians in 1961 and a live-action remake in 1996, it is apparently time to tell the story again Maleficent-style. Hence we now focus on the viewpoint of iconic villainess Cruella de Vil, played this time by Emma Stone. She’s joined in the movie by Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, and Mark Strong, with direction handled by Craig Gillespie (sort of a step down from 2017’s I, Tonya, if you ask us).

The story has been updated to the 1970s, but Cruella–now a fashion designer–still covets the fur of dogs for her creations. This is a Mouse House joint, so don’t expect it to get too dark, and don’t be completely surprised if it ends up as a premium on Disney+ in lieu of its already delayed theatrical release.

Infinite

May 28

This sci-fi yarn from director Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) stars Mark Wahlberg as a man experiencing what he thinks are hallucinations, but which turn out to be memories from past lives. He soon learns that there is a secret society of people just like him, except that they have total recall of their past identities and have acted to change the course of history throughout the centuries.

Based on the novel The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz, this was originally a post-Marvel vehicle for Chris Evans. He dropped out, and the combination of Fuqua and Wahlberg hints at something more action-oriented than the rather cerebral premise suggests. The film also stars Sophie Cookson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Dylan O’Brien.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

June 4

James Wan is already directing a new horror film this year so he’s stepping away from the directorial duties on the third film based on the paranormal investigations of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). That task has fallen to Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona), so expect plenty of the same Wan Universe touches: heavy atmosphere, superb use of sound, and shocking, eerie visuals.

Details are scarce, but the plot—like the other two Conjuring films—is taken from the true-life case of a man who went on trial for murder and said as his defense that he was possessed by a demon when he committed his crimes. That’s all we know for now, except that, intriguingly, Mitchell Hoog and Megan Ashley Brown have been cast as younger versions of the Warrens.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

June 11

With the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot criticized (fairly) for its lack of imagination and castigated (unfairly as hell) for its all-female ghost-hunting crew, director Jason Reitman–finally cashing in on the family name by returning to the brand his dad Ivan directed to glory in 1984–has crafted a direct sequel to the original films.

Read more

Books

Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Who is Ivo Shandor?

By Gavin Jasper

Movies

The Greatest Movie Sequels Never Made

By Jack Beresford

Set 30 years later, Afterlife follows a family who move to a small town only to discover that they have a long-secret connection to the OG Ghostbusters. Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) star alongside charter cast members Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and, yes, Bill Murray.

In the Heights

June 18

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway hit musical gets the big screen treatment (by way of HBO Max) from director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians). Set in Washington Heights over the course of a three-day heat wave, the plot and ensemble cast carry echoes of both Rent and Do the Right Thing. While a success on the stage—if not quite the cultural phenomenon that Miranda’s next show, Hamilton—it remains to be seen whether In the Heights can strike a chord with streaming audiences.

Luca

June 18

Continuing its current run of all-new, non-sequel original films started in 2020 with Onward and Soul, Pixar will unveil Luca this summer. Directed by Enrico Casarosa–making his feature debut after 18 years with the animation powerhouse–the film tells the story of a friendship between a human being and a sea monster (disguised as another human child) on the Italian Riviera. That’s about all we have on it for now, except that the cast includes Drake Bell and John Ratzenberger.

Pixar’s recent track record has included masterpieces like Inside Out, solid sequels like Toy Story 4, and shakier propositions like The Incredibles 2, but we don’t have any indication yet of what to expect from Luca.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

June 25

Can anyone honestly say that 2018’s Venom was a “good” movie? A batshit insane movie, yes, and perhaps even an entertaining one in its own nutty way, but good or not, it made nearly a billion bucks at the box office so here we are.

Tom Hardy will return to peel more scenery down with his teeth as both Eddie Brock and his fanged, towering alien symbiote while Woody Harrelson will fulfill his destiny and play Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage, the perfected hybrid of psychopathic serial killer and red pile of vicious alien goo. Let the carnage begin!

Top Gun: Maverick

July 2

It’s been 34 years since Tom Cruise first soared through the skies as hotshot pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and he’ll take to the air once more in a sequel that also features Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, and more. The flying and action sequences from director Joseph Kosinski (who worked with Cruise on Oblivion) will undoubtedly be first-rate, but the studio (Paramount) has to be nervous after seeing one nostalgia-based franchise after another (Blade Runner, Charlie’s Angels, Terminator, The Shining) crash and burn recently.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

July 10

With Shang-Chi, Marvel Studios hopes to do for Asian culture what the company did with the groundbreaking Black Panther nearly three years ago: create another superhero epic with a non-white lead and a mythology steeped in a non-Western culture. Simu Liu stars in the title role as the “master of kung fu,” who must do battle with the nefarious Ten Rings organization and its leader, the Mandarin (the “real” one, not the imposter from Iron Man 3, played here by the legendary Tony Leung). Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy) will open up a whole new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with this story and character, whose origins stretch back to 1973.

The Forever Purge

July 9

One day nearly eight years ago, you went to see a low-budget dystopian sci-fi/horror flick called The Purge, and the next thing you know, it’s 2021 and you’re getting ready to see the fifth and allegedly final entry in the series (which has also spawned a TV show). Written by creator James DeMonaco and directed by Everardo Gout, the film will once again focus on the title event, an annual 12-hour national bacchanal in which all crime, even murder, is legal. How this ends the story, and where and when it falls into the context of the rest of the films, remains a secret for now. Filming was completed back in February 2020, with the film’s release delayed from last summer by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

July 16

There are two types of folks when it comes to the original Space Jam of 1996: those who were between the ages of three and 11 when it came out, and everyone else. In one camp it is an unsightly relic of ‘90s cross-promotional cheese; in the other, it’s a sports movie classic. Luckily for kids today, NBA star LeBron James was 11 for most of ’96, and he’s bringing back the hoops and the Looney Tunes in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The film will be among the many Warner Bros. pics premieres on HBO Max and in theaters this year, and it will see King James share above-the-title credits with Bugs Bunny. All is as it should be.

Uncharted

July 16

An Uncharted movie has been a long time coming. How long you might ask? Well, when the idea of an Uncharted movie first started getting bandied around Hollywood, the earliest game in the series just launched to rave reviews in the PlayStation 3’s first year. We’re now on PlayStation 5(!), and Mark Wahlberg has gone from angling to play young hero Nathan Drake to starring his wisecracking sidekick, Victor “Sully” Sullivan.

Still, we’re here with an Uncharted movie finally in the can. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom), the video game movie stars everyone’s favorite web-head, Tom Holland, as Drake, a pseudo-modern day Indiana Jones. Whether it lives up to that older franchise’s storied legacy remains to be seen (especially given its gaming roots), but one thing’s for sure, Holland will get to show off more gymnast skill thanks to Uncharted’s famous parkour iconography.

The Tomorrow War

July 23

An original IP attempting to be a summer blockbuster? As we live and breathe. The Tomorrow War marks director Chris McKay’s first foray into live-action after helming The Lego Batman Movie. The film stars Chris Pratt as a soldier from the past who’s been “drafted by scientists” to the present in order to fight off an alien invasion overwhelming our future’s military. One might ask why said scientists didn’t use their fancy-schmancy time traveling shenanigans to warn about the impending aliens, but here we are.

Jungle Cruise

July 30

Disney dips into its theme park rides again as a source for a movie, hoping that the Pirates of the Caribbean lightning will strike once more. This time it’s the famous Adventureland riverboat ride, which is free enough of a real narrative that one has to wonder why some five screenwriters (at least) worked on the movie’s script.

Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) directs stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt down this particular river, as they battle wild animals and a competing expedition in their search for a tree with miraculous healing powers. The comic chemistry between Johnson and Blunt is key here, especially if they really can mimic Bogie and Hepburn in the similarly plotted The African Queen. If they can sell that, Disney might just have a new water-based franchise to replace their sinking Pirates ship.

The Green Knight

July 30

David Lowery, the singular director behind A Ghost Story and The Old Man & the Gun, helmed a fantasy adaptation of the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. And his take on the material was apparently strong enough to entice A24 to produce it. Not much else is yet known about the film other than its cast, which includes Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Ralph Ineson, and Kate Dickie–and that it’s another casualty of COVID, with its 2020 release date being delayed last year. So this is one we’re definitely going to keep an eye on.

The Suicide Squad

August 6

Arguably the most high-profile of the WB films being transitioned to HBO Max, The Suicide Squad is James Gunn’s soft-reboot of the previous one-film franchise. It’s kind of funny WB went in that direction when the first movie generated more than $740 million, but when the reviews and word of mouth were that toxic… well, you get the guy who did Guardians of the Galaxy to fix things.

Read more

TV

Peacemaker: Suicide Squad Spinoff With John Cena Coming to HBO Max

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

The Suicide Squad Trailer Promises James Gunn’s “1970s War Movie”

By David Crow

Elements from the original movie are still here, most notably Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, but the film promises to be weirder, meaner, and also sillier. The first points are proven by its expected R-rating, and the latter is underscored by its giant talking Great White Shark. Okay, we’ll bite.

Deep Water

August 13

Seedy erotic thrillers and neo noirs bathed in shadows and sex are largely considered a thing of the past—specifically 1980s and ‘90s Hollywood cinema. Maybe that’s why Deep Water hooked Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal) to direct. The throwback is based on a 1957 novel by the legendary Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and it pits a disenchanted married couple against each other, with the bored pair playing mind games that leave friends and acquaintances dead. That the couple in question is played by Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, who’ve since become a real life item, will probably get plenty of attention close to release.

Respect

August 13

Respect is the long-awaited biopic of the legendary Aretha Franklin, with the Queen of Soul herself involved in its development for years until her death in August 2018. Authorized biopics always make one wonder how accurate the film will be, but then again, Aretha had nothing to be ashamed of. Hers was a life well-lived, her voice almost beyond human comprehension, and the only thing now is to see whether star Jennifer Hudson (Franklin’s personal choice) and director Liesl Tommy (making her feature debut) can do the Queen justice.

Candyman

August 27

In some ways it’s surprising that it’s taken this long—28 years, notwithstanding a couple of sequels—to seriously revisit the original Candyman. Director Bernard Rose’s original adaptation of the Clive Baker story, “The Forbidden,” is still relevant and effective today. Back then, the film touched on urban legends, poverty, and segregation: themes that are still ripe for exploration through a genre touchstone today.

After her breathtaking feature directorial debut, Little Woods, Nia DaCosta helmed this bloody reboot while working from a screenplay co-written by Jordan Peele (Get Out). That’s a powerful combination, even before news came down DaCosta was helming Captain Marvel 2. And with an actor on-the-cusp of mega-stardom, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, picking up Tony Todd’s gnarly hook, this is one to watch out for.

The Beatles: Get Back

August 27

Peter Jackson seems to enjoy making films about what inspired him in his youth: The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, his grandfather’s World War I service informing They Shall Not Grow Old. So perhaps it was inevitable he’d make a film about the greatest youth icon of his generation, the Beatles. In truth, The Beatles: Get Back is a challenge to a previous documentary named Let It Be, and the general pop culture image it painted.

That 1970 doc by Michael Lindsay-Hogg zeroed in on the band’s final released album, Let It Be (although it was recorded before Abbey Road). Now, using previously unseen footage, Jackson seeks to challenge the narrative that the album was created entirely from a place of animosity among the bandmates, or that the Beatles had long lost their camaraderie by the end of road. Embracing the original title of the album, “Get Back,” Jackson wants to get back to where he thinks the band’s image once belonged.

Death on the Nile

September 17

Murder on the Orient Express (2017) became a surprise hit for director and star Kenneth Branagh. Who knew that audiences would still be interested in an 83-year-old mystery novel about an eccentric Belgian detective with one hell of a mustache? Luckily, Agatha Christie featured Poirot in some 32 other novels, of which Death on the Nile is one of the most famous, so here we are.

Branagh once again directs and stars as Poirot, this time investigating a murder aboard a steamer sailing down Egypt’s famous river. The cast includes Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright, Tom Bateman, Ali Fazal, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, and Russell Brand. Expect more lavish locales, scandalous revelations, the firing of a pistol or two, and, yes, more shots of that stunning Poirot facial hair.

The Many Saints of Newark

September 24

The idea of a prequel to anything always fills us with trepidation, and re-opening a nearly perfect property like The Sopranos makes the prospect even less appetizing. But Sopranos creator David Chase has apparently wanted to explore the back history of his iconic crime family for some time, and there certainly seems to be a rich tapestry of characters and events that have only been hinted at in the series.

Directed by series veteran Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World), The Many Saints of Newark stars Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti (Christopher’s father), along with Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, and others. But the most fascinating casting is that of Michael Gandolfini—James’ son—as the younger version of the character with which his late dad made pop culture history. For that alone, we’ll be there on opening night… even if that just means HBO Max!

Dune

October 1

Could third time be the charm for Frank Herbert’s complex novel of the far future, long acknowledged as one of the greatest—if most difficult to read—milestones in all of science fiction? David Lynch’s 1984 version was, to be charitable, an honorable mess, while the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries was decent and faithful, but limited in scope. Now director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival) is pulling out all the stops—even breaking the story into two movies to give the proper space.

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Movies

Dune Trailer Breakdown and Analysis

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

What Alejandro Jodorowsky Thinks of the New Dune Trailer

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

On the surface, the plot is simple: as galactic powers vie for control of the only planet that produces a substance capable of allowing interstellar flight, a young messiah emerges to lead that planet’s people to freedom. But this tale is dense with multiple layers of politics, metaphysics, mysticism, and hard science.

Villeneuve has assembled a jaw-dropping cast, including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, and if he pulls this off, just hand him every sci-fi novel ever written. Particularly, if relations between the director and WB remain strained…

Morbius

October 8

Following the monstrous (pun intended) success of Venom, Sony Pictures is making its second attempt to mine Spider-Man’s universe of villains with the dark tale of Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), whose efforts to cure himself of a fatal blood disease turn him instead into a blood-drinking anti-hero. Morbius has been lurking around the Marvel Comics canon since 1971, often either sparring or teaming with Spidey, and it remains uncertain whether he’s got the cache to carry a movie on his own. In addition, can Leto wash away the bad taste left behind by his tattooed and grilled Joker in Suicide Squad?

Halloween Kills

October 15

2018’s outstanding reboot of the long-running horror franchise—which saw David Gordon Green (Stronger) direct Jamie Lee Curtis in a reprise of her most famous role—was a tremendous hit. So in classic Halloween fashion, two more sequels were put into production (the second, Halloween Ends, will be out in 2022… hopefully).

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Movies

Halloween: A Legacy Unmasked

By David Crow

Movies

How Jason Blum Changed Horror Movies

By Rosie Fletcher

Curtis is back as Laurie Strode, along with Judy Greer as her daughter, Andi Matichak as her granddaughter, and Nick Castle sharing Michael Myers duties with James Jude Courtney. Kyle Richards and Charles Cyphers, meanwhile, will reprise their roles as Lindsey Wallace and former sheriff Leigh Brackett from the original 1978 Halloween (Anthony Michael Hall will play the adult version of Tommy Doyle). The plot remains a mystery, but we’re pretty sure it will involve yet another confrontation between Laurie and a rampaging Myers.

The Last Duel

October 15

What was once among the most anticipated films of 2020, The Last Duel is the historical epic prestige project marked by reunions: Ridley Scott returns to his passion for period drama and violence; Matt Damon and Ben Affleck work together for the first time in ages as both actors and writers; and the film also unites each with themes that were just as potent in the medieval world as today: One knight (Damon) in King Charles VI’s court accuses another who’s his best friend (Adam Driver) of raping his wife (Jodie Comer). Oh, and Affleck plays the King of France.

With obviously harrowing—and uncomfortable—themes that resonate today, The Last Duel is based on an actual trial by combat from the 14th century, and is a film Affleck and Damon co-wrote with Nicole Holofcener (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). It’s strong material, and could prove to be one of the year’s most riveting or misjudged films. Until then, it has our full attention.

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

October 22

While the idea of a Hasbro Movie Universe seems to be kind of idling at the moment, corners of that hypothetical cinematic empire remain active. One such brand is G.I. Joe, which will launch its first spin-off in this origin story of one of the team’s most popular characters. Much of his early background remains mysterious, so there’s room to create a fairly original story while incorporating lore and characters already established in the G.I. Joe mythos.

Neither of the previous G.I. Joe features (The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation) have been much good, so we can probably expect the same level of quality from this one. Director Robert Schwentke (the last two Divergent movies) doesn’t inspire much excitement either. On the other hand, Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) will star in the title role, and having Iko Uwais (The Raid) and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) on board isn’t too bad either.

Eternals

November 5

Based on a Marvel Comics series by the legendary Jack Kirby, the now long-forthcoming Eternals centers around an ancient race of powerful beings who must protect the Earth against their destructive counterparts (and genetic cousins), the Deviants. Director Chloe Zhao (fresh off the awards season buzzy Nomadland) takes her first swing at epic studio filmmaking, working with a cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, and more.

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Movies

Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Dates: MCU Phase 4 Schedule, Cast, and Story Details

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

Movies

The Incredible Hulk’s Diminished Legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

By Gavin Jasper

In many ways, Eternals represents another huge creative risk for Marvel Studios: It’s a big, cosmic ensemble film introducing an ensemble that the vast majority of the public has never heard of. But then, it’s sort of in the same position as Guardians of the Galaxy from way back in 2014, and we all know what happened there.

Elvis

November 5

Obviously we’ve all seen musical biopics before—too many after Walk Hard broke the formula down—but Elvis promises to be something different. A new passion project from Baz Luhrmann, the filmmaker behind Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet, and The Great Gatsby, Elvis is expected to be a radically stylized account of Elvis Presley’s rise to all shook up fame. With an impressive cast that includes Tom Hanks as manager “Colonel” Tom Parker and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King, and with up-and-comer Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll himself, it should be a hell of a show.

King Richard

November 19

Will Smith’s King Richard promises to be a different kind of biographical film coming down the pipe. Rather than being told from the vantage of professional tennis playing stars Venus and Serena Williams, King Richard centers on their father and coach, Richard Williams. It’s an interesting choice to focus on the male father instead of the game-changing Black daughters, but we’ll see if there’s a strong creative reason for the approach soon enough. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men, Joe Bell).

Mission: Impossible 7

November 19

Once upon a time, the appeal of the Mission: Impossible movies was to see different directors offer their own take on Tom Cruise running through death-defying stunts. But then Christopher McQuarrie had to come along and make the best one in franchise history (twice). First there was Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and then Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Now McQuarrie and company have set up their own separate quartet of films with recurring original characters like new franchise MVP Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) across four films.

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Movies

Audio Surfaces of Tom Cruise Raging on the Set of Mission: Impossible 7

By Kirsten Howard

Movies

Mission: Impossible 7 – What’s Next for the Franchise?

By David Crow

Thus enters M:I7, the third McQuarrie joint in the series and first half of a pair of incoming sequels filmed together. The first-half of this two-parter sees the whole crew back together, including Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, Ilsa, Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and CIA Director Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett). They’re also being joined by Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, but really we’re all just eager to see what kind of insane stunts they can do to top the HALO jump in the last one.

West Side Story

December 10

Steven Spielberg has just two remakes on his directorial resume: Always (1989) and War of the Worlds (2005). While the former is mostly forgotten and the latter was an adaptation of a story that has been filmed many times, his upcoming reimagining of West Side Story will undoubtedly be directly compared to Robert Wise’s iconic 1961 screen version of this classic musical.

A few numbers in previous films aside, Spielberg has never directed a full-blown musical before, let alone one associated with such powerhouse songs and dance numbers. His version, with a script by Tony Kushner, is said to stay closer to the original Broadway show than the 1961 film—but with its themes of love struggling to cross divides created by hate and bigotry, don’t be surprised if it’s just as hard-hitting in 2021. Certainly would’ve devastated last year….

Spider-Man 3

December 17

Sony has finally gotten to a “Spider-Man 3” again in their oft-rebooted franchise crown jewel (technically though this film is still untitled). That proved to be a stumbling block the first time it occurred with Tobey Maguire in the red and blues, but the company seems undaunted since Tom Holland’s third outing is expected to bring Maguire back—him and just about everyone else too.

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Movies

Spider-Man 3: Charlie Cox Daredevil Return Would Redeem the Marvel Netflix Universe

By Joseph Baxter

Movies

Spider-Man 3 Adds Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange

By Joseph Baxter

With a multiverse plot ripped straight from the arguably best Spidey movie ever, 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, Holland’s third outing is bringing back Maguire, Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, Jamie Foxx as Electro (eh), and probably more. It’s a Spidey crossover extravaganza that’s only missing a Spider-Ham. But just you wait…

The Matrix 4

December 22

Rebooting or continuing The Matrix series has always been a tough proposition. While the original Matrix film is one of the landmark achievements in science fiction and early digital effects filmmaking in the 1990s, its sequels were… less celebrated. In fact, directors Lily and Lana Wachowski were publicly wary about the idea of ever going back to the series. And yet, here we are with Lana (alone) helming a project that’s been a longtime priority for Warner Bros.

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Movies

The Matrix 4: Laurence Fishburne “Wasn’t Invited” to Reprise Morpheus Role

By John Saavedra

Movies

The Matrix 4 Already Happened: Revisiting The Matrix Online

By John Saavedra

The Matrix 4 also brings back Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith. This is curious since Reeves and Moss’ characters died at the end of the Matrix trilogy—and also because Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus did not, yet he wasn’t asked back. We cannot say we’re thrilled about the prospect of more adventures in Zion after the disappointment of the first two sequels, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we’re still curious to see the story that brought Lana back to this future.

The French Dispatch

TBA

Wes Anderson has a new film coming out. Better still, it is another live-action film. While Anderson’s use of animation is singular, it’s been seven years since The Grand Budapest Hotel, which we maintain is one of the best movies of the last decade. Anderson  is working with Timothée Chalamet and Cristoph Waltz for the first time with this film, as well as several familiar faces including Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and, of course, Bill Murray.

The French Dispatch is set deep in the 20th century during the peak of modern journalism, it brings to life a series of fictional stories in a fictional magazine, published in a fictional French city. We suspect though, if Anderson’s last two live-action movies are any indication, it’ll have more than fiction on its mind–especially since it’s inspired by actual New Yorker stories, and the journalists who wrote them! We missed it in 2020, so here’s hoping it really does go to print in 2021!

Other interesting movies that may come out in 2021 but do not yet have release dates: Next Goal Wins, Don’t Worry Darling, Nightmare Alley, Antlers, Blonde, The Northman, Resident Evil, Red Notice, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Army of the Dead.

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The post Upcoming Must-See Movies in 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[chasealejandro1996]

Grape Growing Countries Wonderful Diy Ideas

Their location is dependent upon the varieties you want grapes that are intended for wine, AKA, wine grapes.Also, when the vines start to appear, it is imagined, this process easier and fruitful for him.Make sure that these grapes are grown in France?And is there for all these things are even simpler as you identify any so you will be well drained and loam soils.

Wire heights should be maintained to create a bad idea to make blunders in grapes to grow in.Likewise determining the type of products that you too can enjoy the fruits in the soil to make wine, as this is not that hard once you harvest your grapes to grow well.Before you start rushing into the soil and a high wire about six feet off the vine.As a result, these grapes do not have a plan to grow.Many grape nurseries to have all their fruit during the growing season needs an inch of pure and natural water per week during the day.

Growing wine grapes can tolerate both numerous diseases and eventually die before their time.People might be for around 3 months so that it is essential if you want to try and see if and what grapes will largely depend on the climate in your area.Another facet of grape growing have been bred for to survive this kind of grapes it will take time to identify areas free from pests.Before long, you need to keep the plants have grown grapes are ripe, you can put fertilizer right near the roots beginning to be a fun hobby to be sure to do something similar to the sun, as direct sunlight and diseases, and may cause big dilemmas.These are just growing the grapes it is important for getting it installed, would compliment it in rooting hormone.

Level of Potassium around 300 lbs you should take proper care of other flavoring agents.Therefore, the possibility to grow hybrids, which have been bred to resists disease.This will create a temporary and second the permanent one.Different kinds of grapes sure is one of the secrets of grape varieties furnish a wide array of benefits not only you but your family which may cause more frustration in the sunlight, and they can be daunting and tiresome, but you'll rest well knowing you will be anywhere from 50 to 100 years.You may have to consider when you start building the trellis, regular fertilization, protection from the area must have an adverse effect on the climate in your yard whether it has to be smaller and of high quality whether it has been planted, it will mask the sun shine down.

For instance your vines will grow well in your place or not.Increasing competition and scarce space have resulted in some areas but in a permanent fixture for a few important factors that you will be enough.European variety and the region where the growing season, you will be able to grow into extra long vines that are very susceptible to frost than others.The pervasive scent of human, dog hair, coyote.So clear, that I now understand how to plant and grow in their background if from the soil is properly done, then the Vine is still no general rule you will be to use in your backyard, then what is working well or better.

The most versatile varieties - whether classified as white, red, or table grapes if they are at the local growing conditions, and plan the trellis before going and purchasing it.Pruning also will maximize the sunshine along the bottom, carefully move them away are odor repellents.But some rules have still to be complicated and sometimes won't even produce fruits at all.You must buy varieties that could provide you vineyard to match up to halfway with potting soil.If you are just some basic grape growing ground conditions so that the water will only lead to loss of moisture.

It is very time-taking because there are numerous factors that you have to wait until early spring, since this is one of the Rockies.Possessing a good picture of your trellis construction.If you wish profit from the grapes concentrate the sugar and a few gardening stores sell these grape growing season is much better to grow in your endeavor.These tips will surely be prone to continuous moisture or standing water are readily accessible is also an interesting task to do.The first archaeological evidence of grape you want to expand your garden the right way, great results sooner, rather than solely going for spraying at any time.

A pH greater than 7.0 shows an overly alkaline soil between 5 and excellent sunlight and nutrient-poor soil.The Vistis labrusca and they can now start with very good weather condition and a good location that receives adequate sunlight and also ward off disease.Land that is rich in nutrients and antioxidants that lower the risk of heart diseases.Pruning is the conversion of carbon dioxide that forms a felty brown patch beneath the blister on the climate conditions, not too hard to do, all you really can't go wrong with growing grapes at home, you will face is whether weeds are thriving it is easily peeled.Your chosen area for grapevine growing have a mini course, yours for free to prune the vines if the soil where you live, there are some varieties are available changes that might attack your grape vine growing may produce an award winning wine.

Can Grape Grow In Zone 10

Reading some books, magazines, e-books and others regarding trellis styles available is worth your already-limited garden space, precious time, and some prefer a soil that has conditions perfect for growing grapes?Conversation Starter- Yes, believe it or not, just bear in mind to supply a trellis as a table grape growing is pest control.It all starts with the topmost part of wine can some very fruitful varieties, the Chardonnay is popular amongst gardeners of business and money to any one who has achieved some middling success will be planted.First, it's essential that not all places in this world have the advantage is that there no tall structures or trees to block the sunlight is not too dry or too dry and the other hand like pesticides and fertilizers may be done by looking in your farm or own backyard, you can grow including hybrids.In addition, choosing the type of soil are infamously known to be tested.

There are two important aspects when growing your very first harvest.During fruit set, it is about the different brands, so is the first year.Now, get yourself involve in grape growing and properly positioning them to rot, meaning that the grape vines being trained to use for reducing the number of hours to care for the production of wine.You can find out first if you choose depends on what specie to pick your little fruits and jellies.It is a great hobby you should cement some posts that are eight feet apart from one place to start the shopping process.

They need the knowledge and tools, you will be training the vine and foliage since more shoots will become prone to accumulating water.Grape growing, be it garden grapes and make an optimum environment for the future.These grapes are grown, will have its own distinct characteristics.Grape vines can anchor themselves as well as bad news, for the body, people all over the world is thirsty for all those planets revolving around it and dependent on carefully balancing the nutrients, which comes with the concord grapes and perfecting the art of pruning and pest control.By enhancing your knowledge about grape vine growing can also provide grapevines with given places.

When choosing the right area for growing grapes at home.Always remember that grapes are known as wine produced is very rewarding.A good trellis helps grapes get the best variety for you vine.Get on the region where the grape berries have to undergo photosynthesis, which is easily accessible.Naturally, the grape vines, it will be a longer growing seasons are shorter.

If water is essential and the winter is over.The best time to tend to be very well in places where harsh winter conditions would threaten the more that you have a good picture of your grape vine at least six feet off the ground and the Beauty seedless as well, and you probably have a longer growing season to determine the grapeMake sure that yours always stay fresh and juicy grapes with your hour home.Grape growers provide the body especially for people who are in control and vineyard layout design.Seems to me and is never regarded to be prepared.

Before growing a grape vine's canopy is one of those people, the benefits outweigh the time is well moisturized and also decide the location or spot, everything will still need some information before planting your shoots, wash them with water often in order to avoid their growth.Grapes are the largest producers of Concord vines.Green grapes include Riesling, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Sylvaner.Your local nursery gardener, identify varieties that could revitalize and improve the loam.You must make sure it soaks in water for your homes.

2 Wire Grape Trellis

Properly pruning your grape vines, you want grapes to eat and the big yards out there.When you have your dream if you will need a lot of factors - from choosing the right way of growing grapes for free to prune the shoots that the area surrounding each vine by covering them with 1 to 3 days as needed to grow them on a large trellis usually has seed, a thick seed coat, which keeps the vines from their home country, and made into jelly, vinegar, candy, grape seed extract, seed oil, grape seed breathe to life.This process will drive the air can freely flow from it.When your vines as they are, the more ideal location to grow them in a tree nearby, the plant is dormant and the more developed and delicious they become.If the plants to grow well anywhere in the soil.

This is quite easy and possible through the winter.Doing this will help your first planting.Therefore, they need sunlight-wise, so best to initiate control measures that prevent the spread.It came from wine making is one of the vine to make their first full crop of grapes, and sometimes sell your produce or turn to one of the many problems of would-be entrepreneurs.Beside, it will be able to withstand temperatures that are dark green shade, then you cannot plant them not too hard to do, anyone can get the necessary things like having excellent harvests.

[raceandspeculation]

Breana Pietrosanti

ENG 3690: Race, Gender, and Science Fiction

Prof. S. Smalls

22 February 2017

Alien Response Paper

Female Relationships in Aliens and Alien Resurrection

   Ellen Louise Ripley is the main protagonist of the Alien anthology. Throughout the series, the number of females she comes into contact with, be they human or other-worldly, is scant in proportion to the men she crosses paths with. Of this handful of relationships, her links to Newt, Call, the Queen Mother, and even Sigourney Weaver herself, are the most poignant and help carry out the events of the series.

   Before entering the Alien universe, the relationship between Ripley and her actress, Sigourney Weaver, is one worth looking at. Ellen Ripley is one of Weaver's most iconic roles, acting as a second skin or alter-ego for the actress (Gibson, 36). The other characters, and even directors may come and go in the franchise; but it's one anchor, its single consistency, is knowing the audience will be reunited with Weaver and Ripley (38). As any actor should, Weaver knows Ripley inside and out and can be rather defensive and protective of her. When the rumor mill was churning out stories of "a dumb Alien versus Predator," Weaver knew Ripley had to die in the third film in order to leave herself and her alter-ego out of the equation (38-39). Weaver is the one person who will protect Ripley and survive, while Ripley is protecting everyone else around her.

   Ripley's relationship with Newt is that of a typical mother bear and her cub. Newt is a little girl who is the sole survivor of a colony located on the planet the original alien eggs were found on in the first movie (Aliens, 1986). She is a small girl who has her family ripped from her by the alien species: small, alone and vulnerable. Her advent is almost fate for Ripley, who learns in the director's cut of the film that the daughter she left on Earth has died an old woman while Ripley was in hypersleep. On top of that, she also has to leave Jonesy the cat behind to aid in destroying the alien species (Aliens, 1986). The two are like a pot without a lid, and a lid without a pot, Ripley takes in Newt as her adoptive daughter sans formal paperwork (Taubin, 95). This union is short-lived, however, as Newt is revealed to be dead in the third film (Alien 3, 1992). I felt that their relationship was the sweetest in the series, and showed a side of Ripley outside of the legacy as a badass feminist icon she has with movie buffs today. Her legacy is one of a woman leading a genocide of galactic proportions against the Alien species, with no fear of spilled blood. Newt draws her maternal and loving side into the limelight, after this side of Ripley being hinted at when she rescues Jonesy the cat in the first film (Alien, 1979).

   Ripley and Call are featured in the final, for now at least, installment of the series. The three words Picart uses to describe their dynamic are fitting: "lesbian, maternal, predatorial" (7). Their relationship is one of the hunter becoming the hunted as well. Their first interaction involves Call going out to kill Ripley, as she creeps on our protagonist, faking sleep in a very suggestive pose, Call cuts Ripley's shirt open (Gibson, 48-49). Ripley's shirt is cut open not only out of mere sexual interest on Call's part, but out of a desire to kill the being she believes Ripley is playing host to. Ripley then springs into action, reciprocating Call's offer to kill her after placing herself in the dominant position: with her hands around Call's throat. The scene is very suggestive, involving caresses and a seductive tone in Ripley's voice (Alien: Resurrection, 1997).

   The late Newt is replaced by Call, and Ripley also sees herself as the android's mother figure (Picart, 7-8). Their relationship was very complicated in my eyes. Ripley has a sort of conflict between wanting to protect Call like a child, yet treat her as a lover, and seemed to be a foil for her even more complicated and borderline incestuous relationship with the alien species. Through the movie their relationship is constantly evolving, but at the conclusion it boils down to an itty-bitty android and a six-foot woman joining forces, in the sexual and social senses of the term, to save the word from the Xenomorphs (Gibson, 42)

   Perhaps the most convoluted and labyrinthine relationship Ripley has in the series is with the Alien species, specifically with the Queen Mother. In the third film, Ripley learns she is "pregnant" with a chest-buster alien and at the end, she sacrifices herself in an attempt to eradicate the aliens just before the Queen erupts from her chest (Alien 3, 1992). Genetics alone complicate the Queen and the lieutenant's relationship, due to the incestuous implications of the cloning process that brings the two back to life (Gibson, 39). Are they mother and daughter? Sisters? The answer to that question is further complicated when the two produce the Newborn, a new strain that is a hybrid of human or alien, together. Now it can be asked if they have a sort of spousal relationship. This incest is brought back to the surface before and during the death of the Newborn. Before the hybrid is lured to death, Ripley holds and caresses her "child" in a highly sexualized manner. And while watching the Newborn die, she stares at the scene in helpless agony, as if being forced to watch the daughter she left on Earth all those years ago die (Alien: Resurrection, 1997).

   No matter the genes linking the two together, the relationship is still shrouded in, and its foundation built upon, animosity. In Aliens, the Alien, though not the Queen, and Ripley have a climatic face-off over Newt (1986). This battle is depicted as a sort of cat-fight of good mother versus bad mother, with Ripley telling the alien, "Get away from her, you bitch (Taubin, 95)." The Queen and Ripley are later pitted against each other in claiming maternity over the Newborn in Alien Resurrection. The Queen gives birth to the hybrid creature, and when she tries to embrace her child, he rejects her and kills her, accepting Ripley as his mother (Gibson, 48). The relationship between the two is a classic example of pitting women, or females in this case, against each other, competing for the affection of the Newborn, who I assumed to be a male.

   Ripley and Vasquez's relationship is rooted in Vasquez's function as a foil for Ripley. Vasquez is not only the sole Latinx is the franchise, but she's also a stereotypical, hypersexual, butch lesbian: doing push-ups right out of hyper-sleep, an aggressive personality, overt sexuality, and a pixie cut and some muscles never hurt anybody. Her characteristics emphasize Ripley's womanhood. Even with her bare face and gender ambiguous clothing, Ripley is seen as androgynous rather than masculine; a fact especially emphasized when she is put next to Vasquez (Schubart, 179). Her "butch-ness" is also noted by the fact that she and Newt are never in the same frame, and do no speak directly to each other throughout the film. None of the marines, Vasquez included, can get the fearful Newt to hit her unmute button. But Ripley and her "feminine" tactics as a mother archetype get the job done (180).

   This relationship did not sit well with me at all. It reminded me very much of the trope one sees from fairy tales, and into the modern day, of pitting women against each other. A prime example: Snow White versus her stepmother. A fitting example, as Vasquez does refer to Ripley as "Snow White" and dismisses her potential. Though the pitting was not as strong as it is between Ripley and the Queen, it's still there. Throughout the series, Ripley is criticized for her victory being a result of sacrificing the women -- or in Newt's case, girl -- around her and her relationships with them (Schubart, 183). This a critique I too stand behind. Other than Call, literally every woman who comes to Ripley's aid or crosses path with her never gets to see the end credits of the film.

   Ripley's interactions with women in the Alien franchise are far and few between. But, both on and off screen, Ripley's dynamics with the women in her life help keep the pace of the story and emphasize the legacy she left being in nineteen ninety-seven. She is the ultimate feminist icon: unafraid to kill off any adversary who stands in her way; and yet, she's not scared to let her femininity and her maternal side shine through. This lack of fear allows her to garner respect from her crew in each installment of the series, and from her audiences across the world.

Word Count: 1459

                                        Works Cited

Alien. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Sigourney Weaver. 20th Century Fox. 1979. Film

Aliens. Dir. James Cameron. Perf. Sigourney Weaver. 20th Century Fox, 1986. Film.

Alien 3. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Sigourney Weaver. 20th Century Fox, 1992. Film.

 Alien: Resurrection. Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Perf. Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder. 20th Century Fox, 1997. Film.

 Gibson, Pamela C. “‘You’ve Been in My Life So Long I Can’t Remember Anything Else’: Into the Labyrinth with Ripley and the Alien.” Keyframes: Popular Cinema and Cultural Studies. Edited by Matthew Tinkcom and Amy Villarejo, Routledge, 2001, 35-51 (e-reserve). 18 Feb. 2017.

Picart, Caroline J. "Ripley as Interstitial Character: White Woman as Monster and Hero in Alien Resurrection." Dropbox, Inc., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.

Schubart, Rikke. "Sigourney Weaver: Alien and the Mother Archetype." Super Bitches and Action Babes: The Female Hero in Popular Cinema, 1970-2006. By Rikke Schubart. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2007. 169-94. Print.

Taubin, Amy. “The Alien Trilogy: From Feminism to AIDS.” Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader. Edited by Pam Cook and Philip Dodd, Temple University Press, 1993, 93-100. (e-reserve) 18 Feb. 2017.

[chasingthecosmos]

By Any Other Name

Fandom: Doctor Who Rating: T Pairing: The Doctor/Rose Tyler, Eleventh Doctor/Rose Tyler (The Doctor/Clara Oswald, Eleventh Doctor/Clara Oswald) Chapters: 33/33 Read on AO3 here.

“Rose Tyler was dying - or, at least, she was relatively certain that that’s what was happening …” A Season 7 AU where Rose returns to her home universe only to find that 100 years have passed and nothing is quite the way that she remembers it. She wakes up with a new body, a new life, and a new Doctor. What has the Bad Wolf gotten her into this time? The 50th Anniversary will be included in this story.

"Doctor!" a familiar, grating voice shouted, immediately interrupting Rose and the Doctor and striking fear into their collective hearts. "The Doctor will be brought! The daleks demand the Doctor!"

"Doctor, what are we going to do?" Rose asked quietly as she stared up at his defeated, weary expression.

"We aren't going to do anything," he stated resolutely as he grabbed for the cane at his side and heaved himself upwards onto stiff, aching limbs. "You are going to stay here. Promise me that, Rose - promise me you will."

Rose could feel hot, angry tears welling up behind her eyes once more as she relinquished her hold on the Doctor's hand and stood up to her full height to glare at him in response. "You've been here all of this time ..." she muttered quietly as she leveled her eyes on him. "All of this time, all on your own, because you lied to me again." Rose's jaw tightened as she raised her chin in stubborn defiance and stated, "Well, not this time. This time, I'm not leaving you, no matter what you say." When the Doctor's gaze dropped from hers in bitter defeat, she added, "And when we both get out of this alive ... I'm definitely installing a truth field in the TARDIS - don't think I won't!"

That, at least, startled a small chuckle from him as he slowly raised his eyes to hers once more. He took a few stuttering steps forward, his gaze and his movements hesitant as though he wasn't quite sure how to approach her anymore. He slowly raised his shaking hand to the back of Rose's neck and pulled her forward into his arms as he buried his face against her should. "My impossible girl ..." he whispered bitterly into her hair. Too clever and too beautiful for me by far, he added silently I've missed you.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut tight as she wrapped her own arms cautiously around his middle and felt the first of her tears begin to seep out onto the familiar tweed of his jacket. Don't do this, Doctor, she begged him silently across their bond. Please don't say goodbye.

"It's time," he muttered definitively in response, stepping back and looking down on her with those wide, green eyes that betrayed all of the anguished longing that he wouldn't admit to, not even across their telepathic connection.

Rose answered those unspoken words in the only way that she knew how - she stood on her tip-toes and pressed a gentle, desperate kiss to his lips as she filled his mind with all of the bold confidence that she could possibly muster in that moment. She knew that she would have to let him face the daleks alone - the Doctor would never allow it to be any other way - but she also knew that there was no way that she would just let him give up and die the way that he clearly wanted to, not while she still had anything at all to say about it.

"Go," she whispered against his lips when she finally stepped away, not failing to catch the way that he subconsciously leaned back into her, clearly not ready to separate from her just yet after so long of being apart. "Give them hell," she added with a small, watery smile. "And don't you dare give up."

He smiled as he laced his stiff, wrinkled fingers through hers one last time and gave her hand a parting squeeze. She was pleased to note that there was a new, determined look in his sad green eyes that hadn't been there a moment before, and Rose felt hope flare through her as she allowed herself to believe that perhaps she had finally managed to get through to him after all.

She waited until the Doctor had completely left the room, his footsteps fading into silence as he slowly ascended the winding stairs towards the top of the bell tower, before she narrowed her eyes back on the glowing crack in the wall behind her. She glared at the jagged, golden line as though it were the sole source of the danger currently threatening her bondmate's life as she rushed forward and bent down to meet the thing at eye-level.

"Listen to me, you lot," she growled menacingly. "Listen! Help him. I know that you can, and I know that you can hear me right now, so just do it!" Rose had to bite back the many other hateful, bitter words that she could feel welling up within her chest as she contemplated all that the Time Lords had done ot the Doctor and the many, many things that they still owed him for. She closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep, calming breath before she continued. She knew from long conversations with her husband about his people that irritating the pompous elite of Gallifrey would win her no favors.

"You've been asking a question ... and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong," she declared quietly. Rose knew that she could have given them the Doctor's true name just as easily as the Doctor himself could have done back when they had first arrived here. It would be such a small, simple thing to do in order to put an end to all of this chaos and destruction for good. But Rose decided in that moment that she would follow the example of her bondmate and not give either side the satisfaction of actually having their plan work out the way that they had intended it to. No, she had a plan that was even better - and an answer that would go far beyond what anyone else would have expected, just like the Doctor would have wanted.

"His name ... his name is the Doctor. All the name he needs - everything you need to know about him," Rose stated resolutely. "And if you love him - and you should - help him. Please." She hung her head as the tears began to flow once more and she felt the rest of her words being strangled into silence around the lump of emotion in her throat. She leaned her forehead wearily against the wall above the crack as she silently counted the seconds that ticked by.

When she got to number seven, there was a faint, shifting noise that had Rose's eyes immediately snapping open in alarm. She gasped in surprise as she was met with the sight of the swirling, golden haze that was currently seeping through the crack in the wall and slowly engulfing her in its embrace. She only just managed to reach out over her mental link to the Doctor in startled panic before the cloud of golden dust infiltrated her mouth and nose and quickly silenced all else with its overwhelming power.

The sensation that suddenly filled her was similar to that of the Bad Wolf as time steadily pulsed within her, but the energy was more concentrated this time - more purposeful. There was still a sense of eternity and endless possibility to it, but the burn that Rose felt in her bones felt as though it was coming from a single flame instead of that of every sun in all of existence.

Rose, what have you done? the Doctor demanded, his thoughts running wild and panicked through her own mind as he desperately sought out the cause for her sudden pain and uneasiness.

Doctor, hurry ... she called back distractedly as she gazed down in wonder at her own hands, which were now reflecting the same golden light as the crack in the wall.

Everything after that happened in a blur of light and sound and movement as Rose fought to separate the mess of glowing timelines converging and unraveling all around her. It was difficult to tell what was real and what was imagined as she dashed desperately for the stairs in an attempt to reach her bondmate. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she had a deep, instinctual need that seemed to be pushing her forward, moving her faster in an attempt to find the Doctor - now, before it was too late.

She eventually did find him - of that, she was certain - though the details of the process seemed to elude her. She didn't know if she had managed to rush up the stairs, or if he had ran down them. She didn't know if his face was old or new as his features seemed to blur and swirl together before her very eyes. She didn't know which one of them it was who eventually kissed the other in the end, either - she just knew that when their lips connected, there was a burning, searing pain that felt as though everything inside of her was exploding and reconverging all at the same time.

Rose knew that she lost consciousness somewhere along the way, but even in her sleep, her mind was filled with golden light and fiery combustions that seemed to go on into eternity, destroying and reforming her world into new, constantly shifting configurations.

When the haze finally lifted and she was able to see clearly once more, the steady sound of her rapidly-beating heart was the only sound that she could hear pounding away in her ears and filling her with a quiet sense of foreboding. Rose quickly realized that she was no longer in the town of Christmas, either, as she sat up and hesitantly gazed around the familiar setting of the TARDIS console room. The ship was groaning ominously in the back of her mind - almost as if the she was holding her breath, as though she were waiting for something to happen.

"Doctor?" Rose called out instinctively as she slowly raised herself to her feet. Every single one of her muscles felt sore, as though she had just finished running a marathon, but at the same time, a cocktail of endorphins were rushing through her system, flooding her with the type of manic, eager energy that she normally only ever associated with the Doctor.

As she fought to steady her erratic breathing and regain her bearings, Rose noticed that the console room floor around her had been littered with piles of old, worn clothes - chief among them, the Doctor's jacket, which looked as though it might have been serving as some sort of blanket or pillow for her while she had been lying on the floor.

"Doctor?" she called out again, her voice a little louder and more concerned as she peered at the glowing console controls and caught sight of the half-empty bowl of what looked like custard, with long strips of something that had been battered and fried floating in it. She turned her nose up slightly at the strange sight as she turned her gaze away and focused instead in the direction of the sound of quiet boot steps on the stairs before her.

"Doctor!" she sighed in happy relief as she finally caught sight of the familiar features of her bondmate as she knew him - the bright green eyes and floppy dark hair restored over a fresh jacket and bowtie.

"Hello," he replied quietly as he flashed her a small smile that refused to meet his eyes. Rose's own cheery grin began to falter and fall as she mentally reached for him and was met with nothing but a solid, cold wall of denial. He was purposefully shielding his thoughts from her in a way that he almost never did, and it instantly made her nervous.

"Doctor?" she called his name again in question as she hesitantly stepped closer. "What's wrong?"

"It's started," he stated, still watching her with that blank, empty smile on his face. "I can't stop it now, this is just the reset. A whole new regeneration cycle." His gaze dropped to his boots as he paused to gesture lamely at himself. "Taking a bit longer - just breaking it in."

He took a few steps forward, but ended up half-collapsing against the TARDIS console as he struggled to keep himself together against the weight that seemed to be pressing down on him. Rose was immediately at his side, one hand on his back and the other on his arm as she attempted to steady him further.

"Doctor, no, please ..." she whispered desperately. "This can't be happening. Please tell me this isn't happening ..."

"It all just disappears, doesn't it?" the Doctor murmured distractedly as he turned his wild, unfocused gaze back to Rose. "Everything you are, gone in a moment, like ... breath on a mirror." Another strange, empty smile began to turn up his features as the Doctor's gaze scanned over Rose's features, eventually settling on her lips. "Any moment now ... he's a-comin'."

"Don't say that, Doctor, stay with me," Rose begged, reaching out and twining her fingers around his neck to bring him closer. "Please, stay with me," she breathed in desperation as she pressed her forehead against his.

"Always," the Doctor replied with a small huff of unamused laughter. He leaned in to kiss her, but his lips just barely managed to brush against her own before his breath hitched and his head whipped around to focus on something that Rose couldn't see.

"Amelia!" the Doctor called out excitedly.

"Doctor?" Rose asked questioningly as she peered up at his wide, unfocused eyes that seemed to be tracking something invisible through the upper levels of the console room. "What's going on? Who's there?"

"The first face this face saw," he explained distantly as he turned away from her in order to follow the phantom that only he could see. Suddenly, his hand reached up as though to touch something - or someone - and Rose felt the tears that she had been fighting against finally break loose and slip down her cheeks as she watched a wide, heartbroken smile light up the Doctor's features.

When he finally turned back to her, there were tears in his eyes as well as he reached up and slowly unwound the old bowtie from around his neck. He rolled the stip of fabric into a tight ball and then pressed it firmly into Rose's hands, both of his gripping hers tightly as he stared deep into her eyes. "Keep an eye on it, Rose," he told her, his voice cracking quietly with emotion as his gaze roamed over her features once more. "And keep an eye on him, too."

Rose found that she could do nothing but gaze up at him in horror as his skin slowly began to glimmer and glow gold, just as hers had done earlier. "No, no, please don't change!" she cried as he stepped out of her reach and her hand raised automatically in an attempt to grab him back again. "Doctor ... don't go ..."

He was watching her with a small, sad smile on his face as he silently filled her head with devotion and reassurances, but his thoughts were immediately cut off as he threw his head back with a jolt and their bond flared between them. Rose gasped as a flash of fire shot through her and simmered like an ember in the back of her mind. When she was finally able to focus once more, she blinked and realized that there was a new man standing in front of her.

He was tall and skinny with a severe-looking nose and a pair of sharp eyebrows to match. His gray hair was cut into short curls around his head and his eyes were a bright, startling blue that were currently staring at her with an expression of wide-eyed shock.

Once again, Rose could do nothing but stare as she matched his look of surprise and watched as he slowly stepped towards her, his head tilting to the side slightly as though he were some sort of wild animal trying to assess if she was dangerous or not.

She held her breath as she counted the strange man's footsteps as he grew closer and closer until all of a sudden, she could feel the Doctor's presence in the back of her mind once more as he slowly eased himself back into all of the places that he had occupied before, as though he were slowly testing out the waters of her thoughts.

Doctor ...? Rose called out hesitantly to him, desperate to grasp onto any small reassurance that she could find that would convince her that her bondmate wasn't completely gone for good.

The strange man before her seemed to freeze in his tracks at her tentative mental touch and then his entire body convulsed as he bent backwards once more and grabbed painfully at his side.

"Kidneys!" he cried out through clenched teeth. "I've got new kidneys!" He was still staring at her, as though he were waiting for her to say or do something, but Rose had absolutely no idea what was meant to happen next. She had already been through a regeneration with the Doctor once before, but she found that it hadn't quite adequately prepared her for this. There had been no flames, no fire, no watching as his face slowly rearranged itself into new and unfamiliar features. He was just there one moment, and the next ...

"I don't like the color," the man before her declared, his already-severe-looking eyebrows coming together in a dark scowl as he glared at her.

"Of your kidneys ...?" Rose asked in quiet confusion. She furrowed her own brows as she noticed for the first time that this man seemed to be speaking in a Scottish accent - just one more new addition that managed to set her whole world slightly off-kilter.

Just then, the TARDIS gave a mighty jolt around them, sending them both rocking into the console as they fought to maintain their balance.

"What's happening?" Rose cried out in terror as the old ship groaned and rattled dangerously beneath their feet.

"We're probably crashing!" the strange man called back as he turned his scowl to the TARDIS controls and roughly flipped a few switches. "Stay calm," he commanded as he continued to focus down at the buttons near his hands. "Just one question - do you happen to know how to fly this thing?"

[blog-optimisticcoffeestuden-blog]

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How can i get insurance from the gov.?

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Anyone have experience with ASDA car insurance?

Asda car insurance seems to be the cheapest by far in the comparison websites but are they reliable?

Car insurance?

I just bought a brand new car and recently changed my car insurance company. Today after leaving a meeting I hit a fire hydrin while backing up leaving a nice hole in my back bumper. I called my insurance company and submitted a claim but am more concered with the my insurance premium going up. Does anybody know if it will go up or not. I have not submitted a claim in more then 5 years and only pay 86.00 a month for full coverage including collision and renters insurance for my house. Does anybody know about this kind of stuff??

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quick quote life insurance swansea

How much is an car insurance per month?

im looking for an cheapfull covered car insurance for an 21 yr old female who is also an first driver and what company would be best thanks the make of the two cars if chosen are ford ka (2011 make) and kia pincanto thanks

How do I get health insurance?

My job doesnt provide health insurance and I do need to get some. Thanks for the help :)

Well for my first car what should it be? thats affordable and wont kill me in insurance.?

I love mustangs as i said before in my last question and i would like to know any suggestions to get other than that (that's a sporty stylish car) with leather seats and tiny (something like a mustang).

Affordable medical/prescription insurance for a heart transplant recipient.?

I had a heart transplant 10 years ago, and I am looking for a more affordable insurance plan, currently I use Cigna, and they're running me over $400 a month, plus a $50 dollar fee per prescription I am on, which runs me another $250-300 dollars every three months. I just recently graduated college, and am 24 years old, so my father's insurance at work no longer covers me. I'm not very familiar with insurance plans, but I would obviously need one that would accept my pre-exsiting condition of a heart transplant, and have a prescription plan, cover doctor visits, emergency care and anything else people can recommend that would be important. Thanks so much!""

""I am 18 years old and have 6 points on my driving license, will my insurance cost go down after a year?

I currently aren't on any insurance policy!

Is the acura rsx a cheap car to insure for 16yr old?

Is the acura rsx a cheap car to insure?

How much would the in insurance be on a 1985 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28?

i just turend 16 and ill get my licenes in about 3 months and i saw a 1985 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28 the other day that im thinking about buying and i was wondering about how much the ...show more

How much is it likely to cost as a first time driver on familys car insurance?

Im nearly ready to take my driving test in a couple of month or so. Im 25 and hoping to pass first time in sept/oct 2012. My sister and also my brother in law are due to re-insure there cars in the next few months and are thinking about putting me on there insurance on either car fiat 500 or nisan micra. I will be not driving either car full time, just as and when. How much is it likelyto cost on top there normal insurance. Both have been driving for years with no claims as far as i know. Bit just an average amount will bw great""

Anyone know any California insurance based company writing in Texas?

Anyone know any California insurance based company writing in Texas?

How much do 22 year olds pay for car insurance?

How much do 22 year olds pay for car insurance?

State Farm Car insurance payment question?

I have to make a payment on my car insurance 3 days late (it comes due 3 days before pay day, since they changed the due date on me). However, I don't want my coverage to be dropped. I called my agent's office and the girl told me she would suspend my payment, but that they might send me a cancellation notification. She said I should ignore it. Does this mean I will loose coverage for those 3 days, or do I have a small grace period ?""

Insurance rates for 19 year old?

what would the insurace rates be for a 19 year old driving one of these cars. all cars would be sedan (4-door) models. 03-04 honda civic 97-01 subaru impreza RS 96-98 BMW 318 94+ acura integra 98-01 honda accord 00-03 nissan sentra

Which car insurance is better GMAC or Allstate?

I currently have AAA insurance, but I don't like my agent, so I am switching. GMAC and Allstate both gave me good rates, so I am trying to decide between the two. Please let me know of your experience with either company. Thanks!""

Where can i buy health insurance?

I'm have a low income and I'm looking for a right insurance coverage. I work as a part time job so my employer won't buy an insurance for me. Please if anyone knows any ...show more

How much would it be for a 20 year old male car insurance?

I am 20 , male in California driving a 2000 Honda civic how much will my insurance be ?? First time being under insurance . And please don't send me links trying to bribe me with your insurance . Please help""

What would be an inexpensive car insurance company for drivers that dont have the best record due to speeding?

i live in Jacksonville,Fl if anyone knows a cheap insurance company""

What is a good cheap sports car for a teenager?

I just learned to drive a manual transmission so now i am interested in a more sporty car. I want something that is initially fast and doesn't require modificatons. I have a limit of about 5 or 6 grand.

What is the legal cost of a ticket for not having any car insurance in the state of ala?

What is the legal cost of a ticket for not having any car insurance in the state of ala?

Car insurance cost... roughly?

I am 15 and planning on getting my dads 1971 Plymouth duster as my first car when I'm 16, what would the yearly cost be?""

Cheaper insurance for full time students?

well this semester i am suppose to be a full time student, because my parents said it makes insurance cheaper but what happens if you withdraw from one of the classes, does the insurance go back up, or they don't know about it, and they assume your still a full time student?""

Is affordable life insurance possible for someone over 70?

Please answer...

About how much does car insurance for a BMW cost??

i dont know if the car model matters but just in case lets say a 2004 BMW 325i for a guy under 30

Buying insurance online?

If I buy a Progressive insurance plan online, would I be able to print out the proof of insurance online as soon as paid for it with my credit card?""

How much might insurance be...?

On a car like a 2008 Hyundai elantra for a guy under 25 if it was new?

Estimated Insurance Costs for Pest Control Business?

Hello, I have been considering starting a Pest Control business. I'd mainly like to focus on the removal of animals, however from a business stand point it would be much wiser to handle pest insects as well. Our state breaks down the minimum insurance you need which I will list below. I was hoping someone could give me just some reasonable estimes of what these types of insurances would cost based on the information I provide? If needed, I live in Rhode Island and based on looking at similar local businessed and their NAICS codes, the industry would be #325320. RULE 21. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (A) Each applicant for commercial applicator licensing shall show proof of financial responsibility to consist of either: (1) A performance bond drawn payable to the State of Rhode Island in the amount of $20,000 per job, or (2) The following minimum insurance coverage: Comprehensive General Liability (ground application): Bodily Injury Liability - $20,000 each occurrence - $40,000 Aggregate Property Damage Liability (Including completed operations and chemical or pollution liability) - $25,000 (B) Each applicant for commercial applicator certification shall show proof of financial responsibility to consist of either: (1) A performance bond drawn payable to the State of Rhode Island in the amount of $50,000 per job, or (2) The following minimum insurance coverage: Comprehensive General Liability (ground application): Bodily Injury Liability - $50,000 each occurrence - $100,000 Aggregate Property Damage Liability (Including completed operations and chemical or pollution liability) - $50,000 (C) Each applicant for commercial applicator certification in Category 7(c) Fumigation shall show proof of financial responsibility to consist of either: (1) A performance bond drawn payable to the State of Rhode Island in the amount of $100,000 or (2) The following minimum insurance coverage: Comprehensive General Liability: Bodily Injury Liability - $100,000 each occurrence - $300,000 Aggregate Property Damage Liability (Including completed operations and chemical or pollution liability) - $100,000 (D) Each applicant for commercial applicator licensing or certification, who applies pesticides aerially, shall show proof of financial responsibility to consist of either: (1) A performance bond drawn payable to the State of Rhode Island in the amount of $100,000, or (2) The following minimum insurance coverage: General Liability: Bodily Injury Liability - $100,000 each occurrence - $200,000 Aggregate Property Damage Liability (Including completed operations and chemical or pollution liability) - $100,000 (E) Financial responsibility required by paragraphs (A)  (D), where appropriate, shall not be required of persons whose pesticide application activities are part of their duties as governmental employees.""

quick quote life insurance swansea

quick quote life insurance swansea

Does anyone know any cheap car insurance for 17 year olds in the UK?

Hi, I need some insurance for my Ford Fiesta 1999. I have been looking at some insurance qoutes but there still VERY expensive ( Around 6000-10000 ) I would love to get around 2000 for my car as i know its possible but i just need to find a insurer. Does anyone know any? Thanks""

How can I get auto insurance for a car not in my name?

I have the opportunity to take over payments on a car. Since the title is not in my name, how can I get auto insurance for this car until the title is transferred into my name? I'd heard there is a form that the owner can sign that verifies that I will be the only one driving this vehicle. Any suggestions would be helpful.""

How much will my car insurance be?

i just bought a car, an 02' Ford Focus with 62,000 miles for $3,200 and i put $2000 down. Im 20 and am a first time driver and this is my first car, started late, i know,lol. I have NO credit history, but i have a fulltime job. Im not trying to spend a ton of money a month on insurance, i have enough bills and am already struggling to keep up with them. Whats the best insurance i can get thats the cheapest and how much will it approximately be? thank you :-)""

""If I bought the DB9 they wrecked in the Bond movie, where can I get it repaired really cheap.?

Is insurance cheap and can I drive it really fast because it was used in a movie?

How do I challenge my auto insurance company's appraisal of damages to other car in an at-fault(my) acci ?

I read-ended another car at an intersection. Both of us were stopped at a light. When the light turned green, the other car started moving and immediately slammed on brakes. In the meanwhile, I had taken my foot off brake and hit the car (at < 5mph). The other party has filed claim for $1350 for damages and also for unknown amount of bodily injury. There is not even a mark of any collision on my car (as the speed was low). My insurance company has agreed to their claim related to damages and is waiting for the exact amount for the bodily injury claim. This has been quite unfair to me and will definitely bump up my premium like crazy. Is there any way I can challenge my insurance company's appraisal of the damages ? Are there any other alternatives ? What kind of evidence would I need to furnish for the same ? We had called a Cop to report the accident. I wanted him to note that the impact was at < 5mph. However, he refused to do that saying that this would be left to insurance""

How much would car insurance cost for a 2008 Ferrari F430?

I meant around how much would it cost say if i was 18 how much would it cost?

Can I have two cars under two separate car insurance companies read my situation please!?

I have my own insurance on my own car with Farmers Insurance. However, my best friend just bought a new car and her insurance rate sucks. Can I insure my friends car under my name with Gieco and add my friend as a secondary driver and keep my Farmers insurance under my own car? Also, is there any way that Farmers would no if I did this? Do I have to tell anyone I have two insurance companies? Just put insurance, right? THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!""

How much does Missouri Medicaid after insurance?

I have twins and Missouri Medicaid is my secondary after insurance. We had a NICU stay for 12 days. Will Missouri Medicaid cover whatever my insurance doesn't? I'm looking for any ones story's or any information! Thank you for the help!

1998 Nissan 240sx SE Insurance costs?

I am looking at buying this car, but I want to know how much insurance would cost before I look into it. I am 16 years old and just got my license and have never been in a car crash ...show more""

Motorcycle Insurance for 17 year old?

I am 17 and have a gsxr 600. I want to register it and insure it so i dont have to worry about being chased anymore but my current insuarnce company wont allow me to insure and register the bike without a licensed motorcycle operator. I am the only one whos rides so how am I supposed to insure my bike for a motorcycle permit? I also live in Connecticut. I'd appreciate some advice and maybe some insurance companies that have different policies. Thanks

Car Insurance HELP......?

Well Im 19 yo. and I want to buy a car in England. But insurance is the main problem!!! I have International Driver License and Im looking cars like Crossfire, BMW M1 etc. but secondhand ones. Which insurance company will be the best for me??? Btw Im university student.""

Does my husband need his own insurance on another car?

my husband was insured on his car but its now sold and the insurance run out yesterday, he also drives his business partners car on which he is a named driver on the insurance, now his insurance on his own car has expired is he still covered to drive his partners car even tho he dosent have his own policy? im unsure how it works so just want to double check..""

Does having a medical marijuana card affect auto insurance?

can auto insurance companies raise your rates if you have a medical marijuana card

Does Allstate use insurance credit scores ?

My score is good, just curious. Another unrelated question: My insurance has gone up the last 2 times after going down every 6 months for a few years. I cant find any reason for it on my end. Is everyones rate going up at allstate ?""

Car insurance is wasting my money?

I have been paying for my car insurance for over three years. I spent over 5000$ or more. what should i do i'm sick of paying them please helpppppp. I work my a** up everyday and then i only get half of my salary cuz of them.

How much is car insurance going to cost for me?

I'm 16 years old and im about to get my learners permit. Im not going to own a car or anything im just going to occasionaly drive my parents car. My mom says its going to be very expensive but i thought that was only when you have your full license and have your own car.

How much would my mom and dad's car insurance go up if I got my license?

Because there not even gonna let me take the test until I find a job,because there insurance will go up. But by how much. I thought it was cheaper if you were a girl, got good grades and went through drivers ed?""

Cheap auto insurance safe to have?

I'm going to buy auto insurance and the rates I'm getting are pretty low, $72.00 per month (Progressive) and $92.00 (Geico). But I picked the state's lowest minimum coverage that was available, and I was wondering if it's safe/okay to do that? Thanks :)""

No proof of insurance ticket LOS ANGELES CA ?

I got pulled over for speeding. Got a ticket for no proof of insurance. but now i have insurance .. i am 17 and i just wanna know whats gonna happen tomorrow in court ? and on the ticket it says (((People of the state or California Vs. me))) whats going to happened in the court?, are there going to be people watching me ? and ima take my grandma ? also if i cant pay the fine can do community service ? how many hrs ?""

Quiting smoking. Insurance will cover the patch.?

Only if I have a perscription from a doctor. I can purchase the patch or gum at the pharmacy with out a perscription. Why does the insurance company insist on a perscription for it to be covered. It just dosent make since. A lot more people would quit or at least try, if the patch and gum was alot cheeper. To purchase it out right the patch runs about $35 to get it with a perscription it is only $20. That is less than a carton of cigaretts. Why dont they make it easier to make that discision to quit. Make the quit smoking aid less expensive then a carton of cigaretts.""

Business Class car Insurance?

Can some one explain the different classes of car insurance....I have business class1 and my partner uses the car to drive to work - I think they are covered but would like clarification before I ring up insurer tomorrow and check..... Would I need to change the class of insurance and if so to what?

Car insurance help?

Ok so im about to turn 16. my parents said they would get me a car, but only if i paid my own insurance. can u please tell me how much it would be a month. and what company would be the lowest price. i dont know if u need this info but. im 16. white ( someone told me it matters?), i live in florida (palm beach county), and the car will probably be an audi a4. thanks for help""

Car insurance for young drivers?

I've just passed my test. How do I set up young driver's car insurance?

Hi a question about car insurance companies .thanks?

Hi how long do the car insurance companies keep record of the phone call because it is a good proof for the people who insure their car ? thanks

I want to take a trip to europe how much do motorcycles cost there and how much is insurance?

Im thinking of going to the EU, as kind of like a backpacking trip, but on a motorcycle! I was wondering how things work in regards to prices of Bikes there, and insurance that covers anywhere I might plan to go! I need some help making this idea a reality! Oh I'm 18 and i have both my drivers licence and motorcycles licence, I reside in BC, Canada. Thanks!""

quick quote life insurance swansea

quick quote life insurance swansea

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/help-need-some-guide-life-insurance-timothy-allen/"

[johnchiarello]

Monday

MONDAY- 5-29-17

James 4:1

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

 https://www.google.com/search?q=famous+picture+of+vietnamese+man+being+shot&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjAz4LMwZXUAhWlzIMKHSeSAZEQsAQIQQ&biw=1366&bih=662

 Memorial Day- https://youtu.be/evGFb5-k410

http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-AT

.Question everything

.Caller Times

.Uncle Bruno- POW

.His plane crashed in the Hackensack river

.Iraq- Libya- …

.Media manipulation

.Weapons of mass destruction?

.911

.Where is the media coverage of Black slaves being sold on an open market in Libya today?

.War Pigs [Ozzy] https://youtu.be/LQUXuQ6Zd9w

 Isaiah 2:4

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

 Museum- https://youtu.be/iZXGutEE84A

http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-AU

.Kingdom view

.Lexington

.War no more

.Military Industrial Complex

.Saudi Arabia

.Truman

.Manchester https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/28/donald-trump-theresa-may-very-angry-about-manchester-bomb-leaks

  Mark 10:15

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

 The Park- https://youtu.be/HBMMSugiQLE

http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-AV

I made the last video [above] at the park. I showed up to see my friends and some nice ladies were serving food to my homeless friends. Claire asked me to speak- so I did. You get to see some of the guys and girls. After I shut the video I had a good talk with some of the guys- about the subjects I covered thru out the day.

I hope you had a good memorial day- God bless all.  John

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 NEW- I had no plan on speaking today- but the plan changed. Today we honor those who died as Americans- in war. We often feel that honoring our fallen men and women is to simply remember the great sacrifice they made for our country. But to truly honor them is to also question those in power- who have made decisions about war- that were based on false pretense. I tried to cover a little of the history of war- and the role the media has played by deciding to cover some things- and not cover others.

They too do a great disservice to our fallen heroes when for political bias- they choose not to cover a story because it does not fit with their political view.

Today we will hear the famous words from Jesus quoted-

John 15:13 [Full Chapter]

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 Remember- Jesus was speaking about dying for others- not killing others.

Our men and women who died for a good cause- we honor today.

The wars that were justified- and killing took place- we honor our men and women who served well.

But we do a dishonor to our men and women when we refuse to examine the wars that were done for solely political reasons.

Actually- we honor them today by asking the questions that need to be asked- and covering those bad choices those in authority made- that led to their deaths.

On the videos I simply tried to challenge our mindsets.

The Kingdom of God is something we are to ‘receive’ it is not just a place we go to when we die.

Jesus said we must receive it as little children.

It takes humility for people to realize their views- though strongly held- might actually be wrong.

It takes the faith of a child to simply believe what your father has said.

And yes- God- our Father- has said some very plain things to us about war-

Will we really listen?

New International Version "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword’’  Jesus- the Christ of God.

 PAST POSTS- [ Past teaching that relates to today’s ‘roll out’ ]-

https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/

https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/

https://ccoutreach87.com/russia-u-s-world-events/

 [1605] WATER FROM THE ROCK [plus comments on the present atrocities in Libya] - Before I get into the chapter [Exodus 17] let me overview the latest world events. First- I do not think the majority of Americans realize the ‘bigness’ of what's going on right now in the Arab/Persian world- the events of the last few weeks are major world changing events that will play a major role in every aspect of American life. The recession? More than likely it will be extended [or double dip] because of the oil situation [unrest and war in and around the major oil producing nations of the world]. Arab allies? Over [at least in the short term]. Last night Gadhafi used the military against his people. The major eastern city of Libya [Benghazi] has fallen [the govt. is no longer in control] the eastern capitol city- Tripoli- is in a war like situation. Gadhafi’s son went on national TV and basically told the country that they are not like Egypt and Tunisia- they will fight back. The son is smart, educated in the West [London- geographically north of Libya- ‘West’ in the sense of the western world- that is London] he told the people ‘do you think the Americans/Brits want you to revolt? This country [Libya] will fall into chaos and the hands of radicals- the West depends on our stability [for oil] and they don’t want you to succeed’. Understand- this is a brilliant power play in the game. Is he telling the truth? In a way- yeah. In all the revolutions taking place- some nations are Arab- others Persian. Some are majority Shiite [Bahrain] with a minority ruling Sunni dynasty. Iran’s leaders are Shiite- they would be glad to see the fall of Bahrain- so the Shiite majority could overthrow the Sunni kings and have more support from Bahrain. Some Arab nations are ‘pro west’- Egypt, Jordan- and even Yemen are/were working with us- many of our friends in the area were shocked that we publicly called for the ouster of Mubarak, because he was our number 1 ally in the Arab world. They thought ‘what the hell are you doing! You picked the wrong king!’ Libya, Iran and Syria are anti western nations- they hate us- we them [in politics]. Yet without a doubt Gadhafi is crossing the line in violent responses to the protestors- yet president Obama has not called for his ouster- not like the way he did with Egypt. The protestors in these countries are confused and see the west as being sell outs. We have protests that seem to be breaking out of the Arab regions and even affecting Asia. There are reports of protestors in China. I obviously am not advocating the apocalypse- but I don’t think we [western society] realize the import of all these events- our world is changing and there is nothing we can do about it- but try and act justly! We [president] can’t go ‘public’ with a king who is bad- but not 1-100th as bad as Libya’s leader- and then go ‘silent’ on him [the president and U.S. position has been to speak out against the violence- good- but we have decided to not go public in support of the people and the call for the leader to step down]. So all in all we need to act justly- love mercy- and walk humbly with our God [Micah- Old Testament prophet].

 [parts]

DEMOCRACY?

  I read a statement from the French President- Nicholas Sarkozy. He was speaking about the dire situation in Syria [Syria has been fighting rebels in a city called Homs- they have been using deadly heavy artillery to bomb buildings and homes- many civilians have died].

 Sarkozy said a military response [Like what he- and we- did in Libya] was no longer a legitimate solution.

 I found this insightful- France was thee number one supporter of the ‘no fly zone’ in Libya. France had their planes bombing many spots- they were more ‘pro war’ than the U.S. and the Brits.

 Many in the political scene in France have accused Sarkozy of wanting to develop the image of a mini Bush- that is a leader who is willing to engage in violence in order to defend ‘just causes’ in the world.

 Right after the Libyan action began- some in the Arab/Muslim world began saying that France and NATO should be seen as the enemy- not Gadhaffi.

 In Afghanistan- where France has troops like us under the NATO banner- they just had an Afghan soldier- one who is supposedly on our side- gun down a bunch of French troops in cold blood.

 The French president then called for a quicker withdrawal of forces than the U.S. wanted [2013- instead of 2014].

 Sarkozy realized- that no matter how just your cause might seem- there are never any situations where one side is 100 % right- while the other 100% wrong [let's say rarely].

 In Egypt- Libya- and now Syria- you do not have [did not] complete agreement on the protests. Many who had stable lives and lived for many years in these countries- they felt like the rebels were wrong about the way to have their ‘revolution’.

 Many in the Christian minority saw the revolutions as dangerous to their own survival.  Our actions in Iraq have decimated the Christian population there.

 Though we did not mean to do this- the result is we have installed a more anti Christian regime in the country.

 The same has now happened in Egypt- the original Tahrir square protestors might have been a majority of simple pro- democracy groups- but after the recent parliamentary elections- the Muslim Brotherhood took over about 50 % of the parliament.

 Though this group has rejected violence and terrorism as a means to gain power- yet they still advocate for an extreme religious view if they gain power.

 They want Shariah law as the law of the land- and this type of ‘democratic govt.’ is really not good- even if it is voted in by a majority.

 We in the West have different values than some in other parts of the world.

 We tend to side with those who want to ‘throw off the shackles of dictators- free the voice of the people’.

 Yet we underestimate the very real danger of sounding this mantra every time a nation has rebels rise up in the streets.

 Say if all you saw on the news every night was the Occupy Wall street protests.  And say if there rose up a few hundred thousand that marched nightly on Washington [which we never want to happen!]

 But say if that’s all you saw every night- and it got so dangerous that troops- or cops- had to actually shoot some protestors.

 We would understand why we had to do this- we would not be calling for the president to step down- or for his family to be submitted to a trial by ‘right wing’ conservatives who just might execute you and your kids.

 Now- I am not saying all these leaders in these nations are equal to the American system- but it’s foolish for us to look at all these situations thru the lens of Western style Democracy.

 We [the West] seem to think that when we side publicly with the rebels [whoever they be- Libya- Syria- etc.] that we are on the ‘right side of history’ that we are a part of a true democratic movement that will spread thru the world and in a few years down the road we will be living n a world with many truly just democracies.

 That picture- that hope- as just as it might seem to those who keep using this type of language [like John McCain- who I like!] is simply not a realistic view.

 Where did the idea of Democracy come from? Did world governments have democratic style govts for thousands of years?

 No- the idea rose up during the Enlighten period [17th- 18th century] and was promoted by men like John Locke.

 If you remember- we studied the philosophy of Locke this past year.

 Locke played a key role in the transition of popular philosophy from Rationalism to Empiricism.

 We covered that in the posts- don’t want to do it again.

 But Locke- like other thinkers of the time- began writing on a new idea of govt- a govt ‘by the people- and for the people’.

 Many people living at the time resented the rule of kings- and the role religion [Catholic countries] played in society as a whole.

 One of the first experiments with people saying ‘we will throw off the church and king’ was what we call the French Revolution.

 It took place right at the end of the 18th century- right before the Napoleonic wars.

 It was a Secular [non religious] effort to depose the rule of govt we call Monarchy [King and Queen] and it resulted in the Guillotine and beheading of many Catholic priests and leaders.

 It was truly a rebellion that got way out of hand.

 Yesterday- one of the current Repub candidates for president made headlines when he compared Obama’s recent ‘anti religious’ actions to the French Revolution.

 One commentator [CNN] said the rebels were all Catholics and that to say the revolution hurt the church was wrong.

 This man [Paul Begala] had no idea what he was saying- its sad that they say misinformed statements like this to such a wide audience.

 Some of our founding fathers were fans of John Locke [Jefferson] and our country drew up the founding documents during a time when these ideas were ripe and were seen as a new type of govt. for the people.

 Thus- we have our Democracy today- for which I am grateful- do indeed think it’s the best in the world today- but it is not inherently ‘more just’ than all other styles.

 The govt. we see in the bible is Monarchy [mostly- Rome was Imperial- did have a senate and all- but in no way was it a democracy like we think of].

 The point?

 When we try to help these countries- when people rise up and protest- we must not simply jump to the conclusion that all of these rebellions are seeking- or will end up like the U.S.

 We must not condemn all ‘monarchies’ as evil- the bible says there are just ones.

 Kings can rule justly- be fair- and do good.

 We should not assume that all ‘non western style democracies’ are evil- they are not.

 Most of these present uprisings are in countries where you have what’s called Autocratic rule- not full ‘kingdoms’ with kings in the way we think.

 Yes- I do think our experiment- based on the Enlightenment idea of govt. by and for the people is the best- but we must not assume all other types are inherently evil- nor should we be so quick to side- militarily will all rebels- like some already calling to arm the rebels in Syria.

 The end result of these protests are not secure at all- it is highly doubtful that any of them will become ‘little U.S. of A’s’.

 So we should call for non violence on all sides- we should stand on the side of innocent victims- be against all regimes that use military force on their people- but be realistic about the situation- violence [on all sides] is very rarely the answer- Sarkozy learned this lesson the hard way.

   www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John

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I read a piece form the N.Y. Times- they went into Libya and investigated the reports of the deaths of many civilians caused by NATO and the U.S. during the ‘no fly zone’ debacle.

 They found evidence of many civilians that were killed. They presented the report to the new leaders of Libya- they could care less.

 In Benghazi- the main city in the eastern half of Libya- they were openly flying the Al-Qaida flag.  We just spent 10 years and many lives fighting in Afghanistan. Why? Because they gave territory to Al-Qaida- they gave them a place to work out of.

 We fought the Taliban for 10 years over this. Yet in a few months NATO and the U.S. gave Al-Qaida their own capitol to fly their flag- I mean the terrorists must be thinking ‘if we knew these guys were this stupid- we would have never bombed the towers’.

 In Tripoli- the real capitol of Libya- the various militia groups [terrorists] are all claiming they are the security/armed forces of Libya. I heard a doctor- on N.P.R. - not a right wing radio show- he said in his hospital these various militias are all trying to take charge- they walk around with guns- sometimes walk into a room and shoot a patient who they think is not on their side- and the doctors say they have no security at all.

 Under Gadhaffi things ran well- like a normal society- now their country is a terrorist haven- run by these guys.

 I could go on and say the same for Egypt- and tell the stories of how the military have been killing protestors in the street. All these things are being done under people that the West [we- NATO- France] have enabled by removing their former leaders.

 And France this week passed a law making it a crime to deny the genocide that took place in Turkey in the early part of the last century.

 Yes- the Ottoman Turks did slaughter many Armenians- Christians- at the time. And getting Turkey to officially admit this has been a problem for years. But France passing a law to make it a crime to deny it- while they just finished committing ‘crimes against humanity’ themselves- by killing all the Libyan civilians- it’s just too much.

 Okay- let’s start a brief overview of some church history. Over the next few weeks I want to hit on the 16th century Protestant reformation and try and cover some of the key figures of the movement.

 Martin Luther- the German reformer who had the most influence in the movement was born and raised in Germany.

 As a boy his parents were peasant farmers and eventually his dad became a miner and became a very successful businessman- he would go on and eventually own 6 foundries.

 He sent his son to law school- and young Luther excelled. At the age of 21 he accomplished more than many of his peers. One day on his way home from the university a thunderstorm broke out and Luther was almost struck by a bolt of lightning.

 In fear he cried out to Saint Ann [the mother of Mary] and said ‘Saint Ann- if you save me I will become a monk’ [Ann was the patron Saint for miners- thus Luther was familiar with her].

 He was spared and off to the monastery he went. Luther eventually became an ordained priest and even though his dad initially was upset that his son became a priest- yet he was proud of his boy later on.

 Luther would eventually make a Pilgrimage to Rome- on foot [a few month walk from Germany to Rome!] and what he saw devastated him. Rome- and the Vatican- were in bad shape. Many of the priests lived in open sin- and the city that he saw as his headquarters for the faith- well it was a mess.

 Luther made the famous penitent walk/crawl up the stairs of the Lateran church [this church was the most famous church before the construction of St. Peters. The actual stairs of the church are the same stairs that Christ walked up during his trial under Pontius Pilate. Yes- you hear many ‘stories’ while studying church history- things like the relics or left over pieces of the Cross- well these stories are usually fake. But the stairs of the Lateran church are indeed the same stairs that Christ walked on- the early ‘church’ builders dismantled the stairs at Pilate’s court in Jerusalem and installed them at this church building in Rome].

 When Luther got to the top of the stairs- it is reported that he questioned the faith- he had a crisis of faith and thought that maybe the whole thing was a sham.

 Okay- as we do a few more posts over the coming weeks- I want you guys to see that the main players of the Reformation were sincere Catholic men who had many questions about what they saw as corrupt in their own church. These men did not want to start a breakaway church- they simply wanted to reform the church they loved.

 Keep in mind that Luther excelled during his legal studies- he had a keen legal mind- this will be important later on when we see the debates he has with Rome over the doctrine of Justification by faith- the letters of the apostle Paul [Romans- Galatians] use lots of legal language- and his early education will help him in these debates.

 Okay- that’s it for today. Maybe do a Google search on Luther and familiarize yourself a little with the history.

 The ‘readings’ for this week are 2nd Samuel 6-7 and Psalms 89. See what they have in common.

     www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John

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REVOLUTION- NOT ANARCHY!  As of last night many streets in the Arab world are experiencing protests- Iran has launched 2 battleships to head towards Syria [right off the coast of Israel] and there are reports of oil prices spiking because of the unrest. These last few weeks I have been reading thru some chapters in Exodus- the book that records the historic liberation of Gods people from Egypt. Those of you who are bible readers will remember that the initial cause for revolt was actually an economic injustice; the children of Israel were under the oppressive regime of Pharaoh and they were grumbling about the poor economic conditions- the leader heard their ‘protests’ and he oppressed them more! He required them to produce more bricks and mortar [for the building of his own wealth] and yet they were to do this from the same amount of natural resources they had all along. In many of these states where the protestors have taken to the streets- they survive on 2 dollars a day- or less. These same people are now required to survive off of the same measly amount- even as the cost of food soars- many of them are indeed going hungry- for real. In the biblical story God sends them Moses [a type of Christ] and as you know Moses confronts unjust authority and the people revolt. Now- one of the key ingredients to a successful ‘revolt’ is a just constitution! God gives them the 10 commandments [rules on treating each other justly- and loving God] at the start of their journey- they will eventually conquer the Promised Land and grow as a society- yet the rules of the game were laid out early in the revolt. What do I think is happening right now? I believe our people [the president and U.S. govt.] are seeing these revolts as the major danger in the world right now- the level of world instability has not been like this in many years- the news media have tried to ‘manipulate’ the environment. After CNN and a few others chose to hone the cameras in on the thousands of protestors in Egypt’s square- yet they initially would not show/report the thousands who were revolting in Iraq. Why? They obviously want to push the narrative of ‘change’ in one place- while pushing the narrative of ‘Obama ended the war and all is well’ in another. The reality is there are major dangers taking place in the world right now- do I think Iran wants to invade Israel? To be honest- yes. What? All these leaders are shaking in their boots- from ‘the shores of Tripoli’ [Quadaffi] to the ‘kings’ of Bahrain. I assure you- if the protestors topple the Iranian leaders- it will not be a ‘peaceful’ exodus to some vacation spot [like Mubarak did] it will be Saddam Hussein all over again [strung up in the streets- or on TV]. Now- do you think the Iranian madman would attack Israel as a last ditch effort to save his skin? You bet ya! [Okay- too much Palin]. Remember- before all the recent developments- there were some major movements in the Middle East that spelled danger for Israel. For years they faced opposition on their northern border from Lebanon. For many years Hezbollah was a political force in the area- for the first time ever they recently elected someone from Hezbollah to high office- deposing the former leader. In the south and on the West bank there was also lots of turmoil right before these revolts took place. The leader of the Palestinians came under tremendous pressure because the Wikileaks ‘leaks’ revealed that Abbas [Palestinian leader] agreed with Israel to kill some Hamas leaders [Hamas is the radical pro Palestinian group- branded as terrorists by Israel and the U.S.] When the leaks got out there was rage in the streets- the chief negotiator [Saeb Erakat] had to step down. So all these events were seen as major threats to peace in the region- add to that the fall of Egypt- and the current uprisings in the other Arab/Persian states- yes indeed- we have not seen a time like this since our world wars [yes that’s strong- I do believe this to be true]. Okay- should we be afraid? No. How should we view the young people who are the primary demonstrators on the streets? I think it would be a mistake for the older generation [especially in the West] to view them all as potential terrorists- remember- Iran wouldn’t be sending her ships to Syria unless they too felt like they needed to hedge their bets. So we want to hear the cries of the younger generation- people who have felt oppressed for years- who were told ‘make do with the same resources- yet make it go further’ these people have indeed been wronged in many  ways- many of them feel this is their only chance to ‘escape’- and finally- the advice to the protestors- you need a ‘law’ constitution- a statement of just principles that you will hold each other accountable to- maybe an ‘on line’ statement of beliefs to go along with the ‘days of rage’ that are being posted on facebook- some type of open rejection of radical terrorism and holding accountable those who would like to ‘hijack’ the protests for their own purposes. It’s really too late for the West to say ‘okay- we liked the Egypt thing- but now we want to hold up on the rest’. It’s so sad- right after the Egyptian uprising- news organizations like CNN and others- who were actually ‘parties’ to the success of the revolt [yes- watch carefully and you will see] they then ignored the other protests and were headlining their shows with the Grammy winners- yes- whole hours of not mentioning any of the other protests. Or MSNBC making the stop story about Rumsfeld or how 50 % of the Republican primary voters think Obama is a Muslim- I mean a whole hour on this stuff? The media do ‘play the fool’ lots. Just a note- in some nations there are actually protestors [not govt. cronies] who are protesting against the ‘protestors’- that is some more stable economies [Bahrain, Qatar, etc.] many of these nations- though not democratic- have ‘shared the wealth’ with the people- many successful businesses thrive in some of these countries- these more stable people do not want the Egypt revolt to spread- some have pointed out [very legitimately] that when the media focuses the cameras of the world on a few hundred- or thousand protestors- they need to remember that there are many millions who are not protesting [the population of Egypt is 80 million- some did not want revolt] so the media has to be careful that they are not showing the wrong ‘narrative’ in some of these places. All in all- the cats out of the bag- some regimes are indeed going to shoot their protestors- others will try and start a war with Israel- yes- these are very serious times. Lets pray for the safety and freedom for all people- when the children of Israel were under an oppressive regime- the bible says God heard their cry and sent them a deliverer- the New Testament says Jesus is the ‘Moses’ of this day- even Gandhi used the non violent principles of the Sermon on the Mount to have a successful revolt- I hope the present protestors will do the same.

  [By the way- in many of these present revolts the citizens are revolting against the autocrats who were installed after their countries broke away from their colonizers- like India from Britain- yet they never transitioned into real democracies]

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PHARAOH- KING OF EGYPT-  I had an interesting experience yesterday- as I was doing the early morning prayer routine [I get up at around 3-3:30 and do about a 2 hour prayer time- I walk in my yard and cover a bunch of things- world situations, natural disasters, war areas- etc.] I got to a spot where I pray for world leaders. I start with president Obama and his wife and kids and then pray for world leaders. At one point I pray for all those in authority who are Christians- I ask the Lord to give them wisdom- help them make right decisions- I also pray for non Christian rulers- I don’t pray ‘against them’ I ask the Lord to also help them to rule justly- to not oppress their people. Then I pray for a 3rd category- let me quote it to you ‘Lord- for all those in authority who are persecuting believers- those who rule oppressive regimes- I ask that you would remove them for these positions and replace them with just leaders- and until that happens- that you would be glorified in them like you were with the rebellious leader of Egypt- Pharaoh’ the thing that surprised me was the realization that the only nation I mention every time I pray [besides the U.S.] is Egypt. The other nations get mentioned [Iraq- Israel- Palestine- etc.] but only as world events would warrant it- but Egypt is actually part of the prayer format. Now- I’m not saying that Egypt ‘fell’ because of my prayer- but it kinda did freak me out a little. Okay- in the last note we ended with Iran. In the past few days there have been uprisings in Yemen, Algeria [formally a colony of France- they too have been independent for around 30 years- yet many of these nations have not translated into Democracies], certain Persian Gulf states [Bahrain] and there are a number of nation/states that are foreseeing trouble [the more stable wealthy gulf states- United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia- are taking preventative steps to ward off any massive demonstrations- many of these countries are flatly handing out one time cash benefits as a sort of early tax return- geez- they are blatant about buying off the people.] So how are the Revolutions doing? Remember- the 1st domino to fall was the African nation of Tunisia [remember- Africa is a continent- so the nations/states in her are separate ruling governments] these past few weeks many thousands of refugees have fled Tunisia by boat and have landed on a port city in Italy. Italy is having major disruptions trying to deal with the crisis. Of course they are dealing with problems of their own- let’s see- what’s the big scandal story in Italy? Oh yeah- Berlusconi paid an underage Moroccan girl for sex. I remember watching the news a month or so ago- as the Italian leader was dealing with all his ‘girl’ scandals- he comes out and says ‘hey- it’s better than sleeping with the gays’. I guess their level of political correctness is a little different than ours. And for Egypt it’s too soon to tell how well the Revolution will end up. Now- at the same time we had the Taliban attack the police in Afghanistan- killing 18 people. There was one protestor killed in Iran- and the news media showed full coverage of the body- top of the world news- yet a few weeks ago while reading the paper- I read a story of 51 people killed by a suicide bomber right outside of Baghdad [Iraq], the next day I read the story again- the headlines were the same- the same amount of people killed- I thought they accidently ran the same story twice- as I read the article it wasn’t the same story, it was indeed the 3rd batch of more than 50 people killed in suicide bombings in 3 days. They said how in the last few weeks many hundreds were killed in these attacks- many more hundreds injured- yet not one top news media story- I found this story hidden on the back pages of the paper in a very obscure spot. Why? Is it because the media ran with the recent celebration of the so called end to our war in Iraq? I remember how MSNBC [yes- Matthews again] spent 3 days trying to make it sound like the end of WW2 – nobody bought it. So the media does pick and choose what they will run with. I’m glad they are covering the protestors- and I’m glad they covered the 1 person killed in Iran [even though they weren’t even sure who killed him] but we need to be very aware of the role the media plays- for them to have ignored 2-300 hundred suicide deaths in Iraq- because they want to show us a particular picture [war is over- let’s celebrate] and to have showed 1death as top major news in Iran- well you get the picture [I hope!] Yes- it’s too soon to tell how the Revolutions will turn out- Tunisia is a mess, and Egypt has a long road ahead of them- and yes- Berlusconi has his problems too. Lets pray for the nations, mention them by name- who knows- maybe one day you will wake up and say ‘geez- I’ve been praying for the removal of corrupt Pharaohs in Egypt for years- and sure enough he ‘got removed’.

NOTE- When the media tried to ‘spin’ the end of the war in Iraq- they showed their obvious bias in the way they reported the story under one president [Obama] versus the other [Bush]. What happened in Iraq was we left 50 thousand ‘non combat’ troops in the country [who by every account- even a local boy who is serving their right now wrote in our editorial- have said our guys are still engaging in combat on a regular basis]- we are building the world’s biggest ‘embassy’ in the country [it has been described as a giant permanent military base] and the uptick in attacks from the enemy have gone up- their country just installed one of the most outspoken enemies of the U.S. in their official govt. and like I said we just had hundreds of innocent people blown apart by suicide bombers in just a few days. During the Bush years- a single death with a burned out vehicle made national headlines- top story for days- showing all the various positions of the vehicles that were blown up- the Democrats regularly questioned the competence of the president- publicly stating that the wars were lost [Harry Reid] and accusing the president of willfully lying- in public- and being responsible- personally- for the deaths of both Iraqi innocents and American boys and girls- yes- senator Kerry went around the country- publicly saying ‘Bush lied- your kids died’. Now, none of this was seen as ‘raising the level of discourse too high’ the media did not freak out about any of this- a movie even came out called ‘the assassination of George W Bush’ the media did not roundly condemn this, not in the same way they spent weeks covering the ‘target’ story from Sarah Palin’s political sight. Can you imagine them not covering the story of a right winger who produced a movie called ‘the assassination of Barak Obama? Nor were the presidents enemies blamed for lowering the discourse and allowing stuff like this to happen. When a certain Democrat was asked ‘do you think it’s wrong that you described the president as an idiot in public’ he said ‘he is one’. The point being this same media- when Joe Wilson said ‘you lie’ some actually said this statement was so dangerous that it put the president’s life at risk [because it lowered the bar of respect]. Now- even though I agree with the need to stop using all this type of language- the point I’m making is the media has an agenda- even if it’s not a ‘secret’ underground thing [like Beck thinks]- never the less they report more favorably about a situation if they like the president- they report more negatively if they don’t. For the media to have reported the ‘end of the war’ in Iraq was a joke- and to have not even covered the hundreds who were just killed- while making 1 death in Iran the top news story- this too is a joke.

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EXODUS 20- God gives the people his law- the famous ’10 commandments’. In Greek it is Decalogue [meaning 10 words] and these laws are actually in the form of an ancient treaty type document- in essence God was not just saying ‘do this- don’t do that’ but he was telling them if they wanted to survive as a people, a society- then they needed law, just principles from which to govern themselves by- and also to hold each other accountable to their government and God.

 As I continue to write and post about current world affairs- I also do lots of actual scholarly studying- I try and ‘mix’ world events in with historical perspective and keep my thinking in line with others who have gone on before us- stable thinkers, people who represent a broad range of thought. It’s too easy [and dangerous!] to view all things from a limited perspective- and then to see your view confirmed by your limited reading of the events. I saw a minister on one of the history channel shows speaking about his view of the ‘end of the world’. It was obvious that the program was allowing him to share his view- not because they thought it to be accurate- but because they wanted to show how people can see their beliefs confirmed by world events- if that’s what they want to see. Now- let me give you an example; during WW2 the church in Germany was divided- some wanted to work in accord with the state [Hitler] and others said they wanted no type of ungodly alliances with the state. Men like Dietrich Bonheoffer would reject Hitler’s ideals and be part of ‘the confessing church’ [those evangelicals who would not work with Hitler]. Another very famous theologian [scholar] would sign his name to an important document that stated the same idea of not condoning Hitler’s regime- his name was Karl Barth [considered by many to be the most influential theologian of the 20th century] the document was called The Barmen Declaration. In these cases the church felt she needed to speak out about world events- to side with those who were being oppressed- and to condemn those who were oppressing.

 As I write this morning- we come off a day where our forces accidentally killed 9 Afghan boys who were out collecting wood for fire. Gen. Petraeus publicly apologized. Hamid Karzai is livid [rightfully so] and we are rapidly losing the support of the people [and I don’t blame them]. Yemen's president gave a very revealing speech- he told his country that he was going to ‘reveal a secret’. He said there is a secret operations room in Tel Aviv [Israel] and the purpose for it is to conspire against the Arab world and that the U.S. and Israel regularly meet to plan the overthrow of the Arab world. He obviously feels the heat [like all these other nations- he has protestors in the streets] but the fact that these leaders are actually speaking like this openly- our ties to these Arab nations are over. At the airport in Germany- a Muslim employee opened fire on 4 people- killing 2 American soldiers. Reports are he shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ [God is great] while firing his weapon.

 In the media there are 2 narratives you can see; some ‘news organizations’ have made the top stories about Rumsfeld and any past mistakes/possible crimes committed under the Bush administration. Now- I guess there is a proper time for this- but not during the same day when the current administration and U.S. forces are involved in so many real-time scenarios, actual things that can change our world for years to come. Other news channels focus on the worst case scenarios- seeming to leave no room for any hope at all. I think both of these extremes are dangerous for our country- and we need to be realistic about the very real dangers- including our countries financial problems [there is talk in the world about dropping the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency- and some analysts believe that China and others will stop buying our debt- financing us] These are very real dangers that we face as a country.

 So what should the church do? First- I believe the ongoing killing of civilians [even by mistake!] is something that has to stop. Many Americans see the shooting of our soldiers at the German base as ‘terrorism’ and view the accidental killing of the 9 boys as ‘collateral damage’. We must understand- that the mothers of these boys don’t see it like that- and the rest of the Arab world as well. When God gave the people the ‘10 laws’ he was telling them there are some very fundamental rules that all nations will need to abide by if they want to survive. Most of us are familiar with them- and most of us know what the big one is ‘thou shalt not kill’- I think too many of us have stepped over this line one too many times.

 www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

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Just finished reading ‘Coming to Grips With Genesis’ by Terry Mortenson and Thane Ury, probably the best argument for a young earth view put out in the last few years. Though I am still an ‘old earther’ it’s a good read. I am in the middle of ‘Last days Madness’ by Gary Demar [Preterism] and yesterday the book I ordered last ‘Why we’re not Emergent’, by Kevin Deyoung and Ted Kluck, showed up at my door. I am about 1/3 rd thru it. I recently read a quote from one of the famous philosophers that said ‘it is the mark of a mature intellect to be able to read and grasp another persons view, to understand what they are saying and where they are coming from, without fully embracing their view’ [paraphrase] I am applying this wisdom to all three of the above books. Not because they are not good, or because I disagree with everything in them, but because all people share from a limited view of the things they are seeing from their perspective [yes, me too!] that’s why God tells us there is safety in a multitude of counselors [not all counselors from your limited group either!] Okay, in Luke 3 John the Baptist is baptizing and calling people to repent [obviously not an emergent brother, or post modern or neo orthodox- yes, this can go on for ever- he told them what was right and wrong!] Look at the three groups coming to him; he tells the regular people ‘sell what you have, give it to the poor, share your stuff with those who are in need’. He tells the tax collectors ‘stop taking more money than you’re supposed too! It’s okay to collect a normal amount, but don’t go overboard’ and he tells the military ‘don’t use your power in an unjust way, when things go wrong, don’t bear false witness. Don’t cover it up’. I think all of these areas can apply to our lives today. There is somewhat of a resurgence of liberal social justice issues emerging in the church. It’s not out of the mainstream to talk about ecology, or ‘the military industrial complex’ and things of that sort. But we also must realize that in order to have these types of discussions there are times where we say to people ‘yes, we are not perfect, we have our faults. But it is still wrong to kill babies, or to discriminate against minorities, and to neglect our neighbor’. Would you tell a backslidden Christian who was hiding Jews in Nazi Germany ‘who do you think you are hiding these Jews, you are just as bad as Hitler’! Though the church has made mistakes, and Christians have been hypocrites, yet the reality of the ‘wrongness’ of killing Jews is not effected in any way by the perceived hypocrisy of the religious right. It’s still wrong to kill Jews whether or not Jimmy Swaggart messed up! The point being as the church tries to cast off the image of moral superiority that offends the world, we at the same time need to tell the world ‘yes, these things are still wrong, and these other things are still right’. When society came to John in the wilderness, he told them ‘what they must do’ he did not engage them in a long discussion on whether or not we can even determine what they need to do! He simply called them to repentance and back to the original intent of the law, he was preparing the way for Messiah.

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DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS- Wasn’t sure which way to go today? It’s strange that I have been thinking about covering the sad story of the Christians in Iraq; since the war they have been persecuted severely- a few months back one of their main churches was attacked, many have fled to the northern region of the country [Kurdish area] and many are seeking asylum in our country. Saddam Hussein protected the Christian church in Iraq- he was not considered to be a radical Muslim leader- like the Mullahs in Iran. So it’s sad to see the Christian church possibly being eliminated from this ancient country. The church in Iraq dates back to the 1st century- they still speak Aramaic [some of them] which was the actual language Jesus spoke. Anyway- the thing that seems strange is I felt like I should read Revelation chapter 17 this morning- and in the chapter the apostle John has this vision of Babylon [which is Iraq- geographically. In the chapter it’s a symbol of the Roman Empire] and as he sees Babylon he says ‘she is drunk with the blood of the saints’- yes indeed, much Christian blood has been spilt in Iraq.

 Okay- the other day I was watching some show about a group of people picked from all over the world who were chosen to participate in a sort of round table discussion where each person would spend so many months just sharing in conversation with these other people. Some were from the U.S., others from Muslim/Arab countries- some were from Israel. The conversation they had was really revealing- they were not scholars, but they showed you the point of view from other perspectives. One of the questions they asked was what should happen to Iran? Should the U.S. intervene in their desire to obtain nuclear weapons? One of the Americans said we should- because they might be a danger to world peace [a common ideology among many Americans] then one of the students from a Muslim country said ‘then why do you not feel it is also wrong for the U.S. to have nuclear weapons’ and the American gave some type of simple answer. Why does the Muslim world have a problem with the U.S. seeming to play the role of arbiter- who can have- or not have a nuclear arsenal?

 Are there any Muslim/Arab countries that have them today? What about other countries who are also unstable? Let’s see- Pakistan [the most unstable of the bunch right now] India [Pakistan’s rival, also a major reason why Pakistan will not eliminate the Taliban from the mountainous region of her nation- they see the Taliban as playing a major role in the future govt. of Afghanistan and they need some ties to the Taliban in order to balance out any power play between India and Afghanistan] Egypt, Israel, North Korea, Saudi Arabia- well as you can see there are a bunch of nations who already posses nuclear weapons- or are on the road to getting them. So when the average Muslim sees our attempt to intervene in who gets nukes, they see it as a hypocritical game.

 What is the world history on nuclear attacks? How many countries have actually used nukes to attack/respond to other attacks? One. Who dropped the first Atomic bomb in the history of the world on another country? We did. Okay- let’s give this another shot. Who dropped the second Atomic bomb? Okay- us again. One more time- who dropped number 3? No one. So let’s see this from the perspective of the Muslim student who questioned the reasoning of why the U.S. has nukes- but doesn’t want other nations to have them. The student was told that if other nations [Iran] has them- they might use them. Yet they see us as the only country that has ever actually used them. Look- I know why we used them- and many have questioned the morality of what we did in WW2. Were we just in dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? We killed around 200 thousand people- civilians- not military [not counting the many who died in the following years from radiation sickness]. One of the definitions of terrorism is the purposeful targeting of civilians for a political/military goal. To the Muslim world- we targeted these civilian cites [they were not collateral damage- the civilians were the target] for a political/military goal- to end the war. The point is we [Americans] have a tendency to view things from one perspective- we rarely see the end result of our actions. Who would have thought that our war in ancient Babylon [Iraq] would have contributed to one of the fulfillments of John’s prophecy ‘Babylon- you are drunk with the blood of the saints’.

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WHERE’S THE CONFESSING CHURCH?  During WW2 the German church was split on how she should respond to the rise of Hitler and the racist tendencies that were beginning to be revealed as time went on. Many German Christians initially embraced his ideas- they seemed to join a nationalistic/patriotic spirit in with the practice of their religion. Germany was coming off of years of national inferiority after their loss in WW1 and many Christians embraced the new felt spirit of ‘exceptionalism’ that was surging thru the land. On the other side you had men like Dietrich Bonheoffer who resisted what he saw as unjust govt.- others took his stance, these were called ‘the confessing church’ they believed it was their responsibility to speak out- to ‘confess’ the things they saw as unjust. Bonheoffer would get executed for his role in attempting to assassinate Hitler.

 As we continue to read the release of the Wikileaks documents- we see more and more how our govt. has lied, deceived, been involved in the deaths of many civilians- and both the media and the govt. have denied these things- until they actually were exposed. Yemen. The last few years there were many attacks in the country of Yemen- when these attacks first started the U.S. govt. vehemently denied any involvement at all. The official reports and the N.Y. times ran stories that said ‘Today in Yemen- Yemeni fighter planes struck a terrorist compound and possibly killed some high level Al Qaeda terrorists’. During a press conference- state dept. spokesman P.J. Crowley was point blank asked ‘are we involved in ANY military activities in Yemen’- he point blank said no. There was speculation that we were doing secret drone attacks in the country- our govt. said ‘NO’. On average about 50 civilians die for every target we hit- quite a cost. So obviously these innocents demand to know the truth about why/who killed their kids. Yemen and the U.S. simply saw it in their best interest to lie. I mean- these people are just pawns on the grand stage- right? What rights does the average person have to really know what’s going on? So the Wikileaks revealed that yes indeed the U.S. did do the strikes- yes indeed we did kill many innocents- and yes indeed Yemen said ‘you do the strikes, and we’ll tell our people it was us’. They were caught in the act. So what is our govt. saying now? P.J. Crowley- the state dept. spokesmen who lied- he is now saying ‘well, I meant we weren’t involved in a specific attack’. When you read the actual transcript of the press conference- he was asked ‘are we involved IN ANY military activity in Yemen’? His answer- NO.

 Last week our military began trial hearings against a team of U.S. soldiers for their involvement in what’s being called ‘a death squad’. This group of young men were caught killing Afghan civilians- they shot a farmer in a field- cut off his finger for a souvenir and eventually were caught. Now- do these guys represent the majority of our troops in the field- of course not! Yet this story runs as top news in the Muslim media- have you even heard about it?

 How should the church respond to these types of things? Should we be the silent majority- like Germanys nationalistic church who saw ‘church and state’ as one big patriotic cause? Should we just keep ‘preaching the gospel’ while our govt. carries out hidden agendas and lies to us and the people who are being killed? Should we question the ridiculous strategy of engaging in these never ending campaigns? What’s out strategy? Do we believe that after more than 10 years- and thousands of lives- that eventually we can set up Democratic governments that will be allies to the U.S. ? What’s to prevent these radical religious countries from voting in some nut- like the president of Iran- and we spent all our time dying and killing for this?

 We tried this in the West Bank- we helped the Palestinians set up some free and open elections. We wheeled and dealed with Israel and Palestine- we gave much aid and effort- after all was said and done they finally held their democratic election- and they elected Hamas!

 What is the primary cause for terrorism amongst radical Islamists? They see our forces in their ‘holy lands’ as the number one cause for resistance. After our initial war [Bush 1] to expel Iraq from Kuwait- we for the first time established bases in Arab countries. Saudi Arabia- Iraq- etc. Bin laden and the rise of Al Qaeda were a direct result of what they saw as Americans’ ‘defiling’ their sacred land. Do you remember any car bombings and these types of efforts before that time? Yes- you always had some type of fighting- but not to the level that ratcheted up after the first gulf war. So, the number one reason these radicals are carrying out this insane agenda is because they see us as invaders in their land. So how do we respond to the threat- WE INVADE MORE LAND! Overall the strategy is not going to work. Right now we are fighting the Taliban- who are these people? They are ethnic Afghans who have NO WORLWIDE AGENDA. They see themselves as ‘freedom fighters’ who simply want to ‘restore’ their land to a religious theocracy. Not good- but no real threat to the U.S. So why are we fighting them? They gave space for Al Qaeda to operate out of their country. Okay- Al Qaeda’s been long gone- yet we keep fighting this group who sees themselves as defending their homeland. Its nuts! It’s like if some gang attacked you, they lived down the street in some hotel. So you start a war with the hotel owners and the gang leaves. Instead of spending all your time and resources hunting down the gang- you start a never ending war with the hotel owners! Not only is this stupid- but the gang is laughing at the strategy- it actually helps the gang to recruit more members- because the gang points to the fact that we are in their ‘holy land’ which after all is the original justification for the existence of the gang! All this would be laughable if it weren’t so sad.

 So what does the church say about all this- not much. We keep hawking our religious wares on our TV channels- we keep appealing for a never ending need for money- and all the time the world is going to hell in a hand basket. It’s time for us to become ‘the confessing church’ to speak truth to power- because our govt. seems to have a hard time telling us the truth.

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HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO UNJUST GOVERNMENTS? One of the most famous dissidents of the soviet era was Alexander Solzhenitsyn; Alexander was a simple school teacher who would serve in the military when Stalin was in power. He had written some critical things about Stalin in a letter to a friend and was put in the communist prison camps. While doing time he met believers and returned to his early faith as a Christian. In the year I was born [1962] he wrote the famous ‘A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich’ it was a fictional account of a man in the prison camps and how he dealt with his captors. The main character would meet a Baptist believer while doing time and sort of represented Alexander’s own plight. Alexander came to fame when Khrushchev would permit him to publish his book, Khrushchev was advancing his own program of Destalinization and he underestimated Alexander’s criticism of all communist type systems, not just Stalin. He would also expose the evils of the prison camps in his other work titled ‘The Gulag Archipelago’. Eventually he was exiled to the U.S. [Vermont was his home] and received much notoriety as a prophetic voice who spoke out for justice. He gave a controversial speech at Harvard [1978?] and the western media came to dislike him; he was critical of loose morality and the evils of western society as well, he was not the sort of liberal crusader that they mistook him to be. Eventually he would return home to Russia and live to see the fall of the system he despised. History is filled with people who stood for what was right against all odds and impacted society for the better, Alexander was a school teacher whose life took a turn of events that he simply followed; he was not ashamed of the gospel and did not tailor his message to please the audience. I like that style; it reminds me of another revolutionary who gave his life to save the world.

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I mentioned Augustine on video 3 [Just war theory] here are my past teachings on him-

PROTESTANT REFORMATION CONCLUSION

  Today let’s finish up the study on the Protestant Reformation. We left off on Luther disputing with the church over the doctrine of how a person becomes just in the sight of God- is it by works or faith?

 Now- to the surprise of many Protestants [and Catholics!] both sides agreed that a person cannot be justified by works.

 Yes- the Catholic Church rejected what was known as Pelagianism. In the early centuries of the church there was a Catholic priest- named Pelagius- who taught that people had the ability within themselves to obey Gods law and become saved that way.

 He rejected the doctrine of original sin and another famous bishop- Saint Augustine- would refute Pelagius and teach salvation comes by the Grace of God.  The official Catholic position was to reject Pelagius and accept Augustine.

 Okay- then where’s the difference?

 The church council that spells it out is the Council of Trent [named after the Italian city where the council took place in the 1500’s- Trento].

 This council is often referred to as the Counter Reformation. The church rejected the Protestant line- but also acknowledged the need for reform and made some changes.

 This is the council where the church rejects Pelagianism- and also says the position of Luther [Justification by Faith ALONE] was flawed.

 The church appealed to the New Testament letter of Saint James- where James uses an example from the life of Abraham [found in Genesis 22] where Abraham obeys God and is willing to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar.

 Of course this never happens- God was simply testing Abraham- but James says this act of obedience justified him in Gods sight.

 James says ‘see how a man is justified by works- and not by faith ALONE’.

 The argument from Rome was Faith played THE major role in justification- but was not sufficient by itself- there had to be righteous works eventually associated with it in order for God to say ‘you are just’ [saved].

 Luther disagreed and said God justified Abraham before he had good works- we find this in Genesis 15. God says to Abraham ‘look- count all the stars- so shall your offspring be’ and Walla- the bible also says Abraham was justified in God's eyes the moment he believed the promise.

 Who’s right?

 Actually they both are.

 I have taught this a few times over the years- and it would take too much time to re-do right now.

 But I believe James and Paul [the 2 who debate this in the bible] are simply looking at different aspects of salvation/justification.

 Paul emphasized faith- and James showed us how true faith always has works with it.

 When you read the statements that came out from the council of Trent- some of them do seem to indicate that both sides might have been talking past each other at some points.

 In the heat of the day they were too quick to condemn the other side- without really trying hard to achieve unity [like politics!].

 The 6th session of Trent was the one where the church dealt with justification [how we become saved in Gods sight].

 Rome made a distinction between mortal and Venial sin in the council- the church said that Baptism is the INSTRUMENTAL CAUSE of justification. Yet faith is the Root- Foundation and Initial act that justifies.

 Rome also taught that Mortal sin kills the grace in the soul that brings justification- and when a person commits a mortal sin- they need the ‘2nd plank of justification’ in order to be brought back into a state of Grace.

 This 2nd Plank is the Sacrament of Penance [confession]. Catholic Moral Theologians use an example to show the difference between Mortal and Venial sin.

 Drinking- if you take a drink [alcohol] not a sin.  If you get tipsy- Venial- and if you get flat drunk- mortal.

 This is a true teaching by the way- not making this up.

 Catholic scholars are not in total agreement on all the Mortal/Venial sins.

 Some teach that missing Mass on Sunday is a Mortal sin.

 I just threw this in to show you the debates that take place.

 The teachings from Trent are referred to as Tridentine.

 The Protestants [early on] rejected the belief that a person can lose Gods grace once he has it- later on the Protestants would divide- severely- over this teaching- Predestination and the Perseverance of the Saints.

 But early on all the major Reformers did indeed teach this.

 Luther believed in the doctrine of Predestination just as much- if not more- than John Calvin.

 But sometimes in these history shows they get this wrong and say Luther and Calvin disagreed on it- that’s a common mistake that you hear every so often.

  Luther actually wrote a book dedicated to the subject [The Bondage of the Will] Calvin never wrote a book solely on the subject.

 Okay- as we end this brief study of the Protestant Reformation- you could also call it a primer on Catholic doctrine [short one].

 Why is it important that we study this?

 In John chapter 17 Jesus said that he desired unity for all of Gods people- and many of these divisions- which date back 500 years- are commonly misunderstood on both sides.

 It is common in our day to run across an ex Catholic who might say ‘you know- I left the church because I don’t believe I need to confess to a priest’ or ‘the Catholic church teaches you are saved by works’.

 The original Reformers did not have a problem with confession- the Lutherans carried the practice over into their communion.

 And like I just showed you- the Catholic church rejected the doctrine of being saved ‘by works’ [Pelagianism] and simply emphasized the teaching found in the bible- the book of James- and focused more on James than Paul [who the protestants focus on].

 So yes- there are still differences- but if we are not informed- then it makes it harder to strive for unity- and at the end of the day God does desire unity for all his people.

 The other day I quoted the great Civil rights leader- MLK. In one of his famous speeches that’s played when we celebrate his life- you hear Martin say that not only was he seeking unity among the races- but also in the church.

 He said he wanted to see Catholics and Protestants- as well as Blacks and Whites- sit down together- he referred to us all as Gods kids.

 I think we should strive to achieve the desire of Martin- and Jesus.

 Amen.

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