#1 September 2011 - part four
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Thursday, 1 September 2011 - part four
The Katie Piper Foundation hosts its first My Beautiful Ball at the Savoy in London. Along with the boys are also Simon Cowell and Leona Lewis present
credits: ziam resources' Tumblr
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Save The Rhino Day
Save the Rhino Day, celebrated globally on May 1, is a day centered around raising awareness of the rhino’s plight in the world, and highlighting ways to help this incredible animal. This day is especially important given the current devastating statistics — on average, one rhino is poached somewhere in the world every 22 hours. On this day, various animal rights organizations, non-profit companies, zoos, animal activists, and other concerned groups provide opportunities to encourage more rhino conservation efforts from people around the world.
History of Save The Rhino Day
To trace the origins of the Rhinoceros, we’d have to go back some millennia — almost 56 million years ago, to be precise. That’s when the first ancestors of the modern Rhinos roamed the planet. They were more horse-like in structure and had no horns. Old rhino bones found from this period in North America show a gradual evolution from this old horse-like structure into one more aligned with today’s rhino. Over these years, there were three distinct species that scientists think might be the ancestors of today’s rhinos. One of these was called the ‘running rhino,’ which was adapted for speed.
Another was more aquatic and resembled today’s hippopotamus. The last, most direct ancestors to the modern rhinoceros appeared approximately 25 million years ago and had multiple sub-species in their families. Of these, the wooly rhinoceros was one of the largest subspecies, weighing in at almost four times the size of the average African elephant, and boasting one-meter-long horns. This species inhabited a large area, from Siberia to the British Isles. These plant-eaters lived alongside the wooly mammoths, and have been found fossilized in ice and in cave paintings made during that period.
These rhinos only lived in Asia initially but began traveling to other places around 25 million years ago. Over time, these rhino ancestors roamed the continents, primarily living in Eurasia (Europe and Asia combined) and North America. However, the American rhinos went extinct sometime between 5.4 and 2.4 million years ago.
Rhinos have also featured in many Asian and African legends — they are the fire-stamping heroes in many stories from Burma, India, and Malaysia. According to these stories, rhinos appeared every time a fire was lit in the forest and would stamp out the flames. So popular is this tale that it even featured in a popular 1980 South-African movie named “The Gods Must Be Crazy.”
Unfortunately, these once-abundant creatures have lost out to human activity. Hunting, and now, poaching and habitat loss, have drastically reduced the number of rhinos across the world. Rhino horns are also integral to traditional medicine in many parts of Asia, with people believing it has mystical powers. Since 2007, there has been a sharp increase in poaching activity and illegal trade of rhino horns, to the extent that many subspecies of rhinos have been declared extinct and the entire rhino population is listed as ‘endangered’.
Save The Rhino Day timeline
1973
A Symbol of Queer Identity
Two Boston artists, Daniel Thaxton and Bernie Toale create a lavender rhinoceros as a symbol to increase awareness of gays and lesbians and put it in a series of subway posters.
2011
No More Black Rhinos
The Western Black Rhino — which used to live in Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Sudan, and South Sudan — is declared extinct because of excessive poaching.
2012
A Ray of Hope
For the very first time, a Sumatran rhino — the smallest of the rhino family — is born in captivity in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia; this miracle repeats in 2016, and then in 2022.
2018
A Sad Farewell
The world bids goodbye to the last known male northern white rhino; only two females survive to this day.
Save The Rhino Day FAQs
What day is World Rhino Day?
On September 22 each year, the global community celebrates the rhinoceros and explains what people can do to help them.
How many rhino species are there?
At present, there are five species of rhinos in the world — the white rhino and the black rhino (both found in Africa), and the Indian, Javan, and Sumatran (all found in Asia).
Are rhinos endangered?
The black, Javan, and Sumatran rhinos are still listed as ‘critically endangered,’ while the entire species is classified as ‘endangered.’
How to Observe Save The Rhino Day
Learn about the rhinoceros: Uncover more interesting information about this magnificent animal. Watch documentaries featuring the rhino, read books and other literature about them, and discover more studies and research that show just how the rhino lives.
Visit a rhino: Why not go see a rhinoceros in real life? Check out rhinos at a local zoo or plan a trip to visit rhinos in the wild.
Help save the rhino: Research the efforts various groups make towards saving the rhino, and check out what you can do to help. These could include online volunteering services, donations of funds, and more.
5 Fun Facts About The Rhinoceros
The rhino communication method: Rhinos make funny sounds — like snorting, sneeze-like sounds, and even honking — and use their bodily waste to 'speak' to other rhinos.
They don't have 20-20 vision: Rhino eyesight is notoriously poor, so much so that if an animal only 100 feet away — in an open space, too — stood motionless, the rhino wouldn't be able to spot them.
How the white rhino got its name: This rhino isn't actually white — English explorers mistook the Afrikaans 'wyd,' which refers to the huge girth of this animal, as 'white' and the name stuck.
Their horns are like our nails: Rhino horns are made up almost entirely of keratin, which is also the protein found in human hair and nails.
And still, people steal their horns: Even as rhino horns are proven to have no health benefits, signs in museums — like the National Museum of Scotland — notify visitors that the horn on display is a replica, as the real one has been stolen.
Why Save The Rhino Day is Important
It helps increase awareness: Rhinos are becoming increasingly rare in the wild, and only continuous efforts to raise awareness, like celebrating Save The Rhino Day, can help this endangered species. Do your bit today to support rhinos.
Creating safe havens for rhinos: The spike in awareness such days provide also subsequently raises the amount of help being offered to save the rhinos. These increased efforts could help secure various safe and protected spaces for the rhino to survive and thrive.
Building a rhino-loving community: Conservation efforts have had a significant impact in the past — various subspecies of rhinos have seen their numbers gradually increase over the years as a result of these activities. After these celebrations, we are left with a passionate and motivated global community that wants to see the rhinoceros flourish in the decades to come.
Source
#Southern white rhinoceros#Grévy's zebra#Lewa Savanne#indoors#outdoors#summer 2023#Zoo Zürich#day trip#animal#travel#original photography#tourist attraction#landmark#cityscape#architecture#landscape#Zurich#Schweiz#Switzerland#Save The Rhino Day#SaveTheRhinocerosDay#SaveTheRhinoDay#1 May
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2. Paris, France
1 of 1,000
I feel like it’s way too early in this process to even fully begin to unpack this one, but here we go.
Realistically, it makes sense. Barely a month ago, Sergio and I got off a plane from attending the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. It was a once in a lifetime event that I had been planning and replanning tediously since January 2023. There were tickets to be won, booked out hotels, over priced planes, and a whole lot of unknowns.
Sergio had never been to Paris or France. I, on the other hand, grew up no less than 20 minutes from the French border, in Germany, for my teenage years. Birthdays, long weekends, grocery shopping, flea marketing - it’d all happen in France. So in planning this Tour de France, it was less about me, and more about what I thought was worth seeing in France for Mr. Man’s first time. I stressed over every detail - was it worth going out of our way to Mont Saint Michel? Will he like staying in this neighborhood in Marseille or should I pick somewhere closer to the water? I begged and pleaded for his engagement for over a year and piecemealed together a plan. So much needed to be figured out, but not for a single minute did I worry about our weeklong stay in Paris.
It was September 25th, 2010 and our high speed train from Kaiserslautern had just arrived in Gare Montparnasse. My family had barely been in Europe for two months and there we were, dressed in our American best pretending we were citizens of the world. The photos of this trip are hilarious given that these were before years of military propaganda and attempts at assimilation (our military TV, AFN or Armed Forces Network, showed several commercials threatening terrorist attacks if you left your military base looking or acting like an American).
Regardless, we were there for one day to celebrate Mom’s birthday. It had not been an easy move to Europe. Over the past few months, Dad returned home from a year long deployment and he and I quickly fell into a quasi-estranged relationship. Weeks later, we found ourselves in Germany living in a concrete box on a military base, ostensibly, in the middle of nowhere. Mom would lash out, leaving scuffs and indents in the walls of the staircase that would never be fixed. The four of us were each other’s only support system, changed by the reintroduction of Dad to the mix after his yearlong absence. Who we were to each other and how we operated as a family unit was actively being rewritten in a militaristic world we had always been a part of but never formalized. It’s been 14 years, but I don’t remember we were ever happy in those early months. So stepping off that train felt energizing. Here we were in Paris - Paris! We were finally fulfilling the promise we were told of travel and seeing the wonders of Europe. It felt like the pain of getting to this point was finally paying off.
Truth be told, I barely remember anything from this specific trip to Paris. Scenes of this trip playback like the photographic screensaver that used to run on the family computer. But there would be more trips. A Memorial Day foray through the Louvre and the Gardens of Versailles with family friends, a spring break stay at EuroDisney, the three of us zipping through the Metro to catch sights of Mom running her first and only half marathon, a couple days here, an evening or two there - all these visits from our time in Europe exist in my mind as a living map of the city. “Remember when we were here last?” we would ask each other, only to respond “of course! New years 2011,” while standing under the Eiffel Tower. Each trip was significant enough to be noteworthy, but when played back over and over again, they lose their place in time.
This timelessness, I feel, is the point. When you’re sneaking down the Cour du Commerce Saint-Andre, just off the Boulevard Saint-Germain on the Left Bank, it makes sense. The stories you hear of winding streets flush with candlelight, the chattering of wine glasses and the clinking of vape pens against the metal tables, and somewhere, a street performer playing an Edith Piaf song because beauty is innate in every Parisien (and not because they’re catering to a tourist economy) - all of this combines to reaffirm your preconceived notions. Some find it romantic, others, a caricature to be avoided at all costs. And yet, we visit - experiencing a city designed to be beautiful by people who inspired its destruction. For every cathedral vault, there is a riot and barricade, for every newly built city wall, there was a force itching to invade.
In the fall of 2019, in the “blissful” months of post-college “freedom” that usually consisted of downing a bottle of wine by myself in bed watching old seasons of “The Amazing Race”, I felt the need to leave. I had some extra cash, not because my job paid well, but because I was paying next to nothing to live in the converted living room of a shared apartment with two former classmates. It was lonely - feeling as if you were entering adulthood having spent the past four years destroying yourself for a chance at success. So I planned a trip that I knew would hopefully spark some joy into my life. I booked my first solo trip to Paris.
Except it wasn’t solo. Within a few weeks of booking, I reconnected with Rick for the first time in months. I don’t remember who reached out first but after my fallout with Sergio, it felt harmless enough. While sipping a margarita at some restaurant in Midtown New York, long since closed, we caught up. He pummeled me with questions about what I was doing, where I was living, who I was fucking - convincing himself that the two classmates I was sharing an apartment with were my two boyfriends. I sipped on my drink and wondered what I was even doing there. It was just good to see him.
Eventually, we parted ways, tearfully. Texts became more frequent and the fear of repercussions dwindled and I mentioned that I was going to France - had booked a whole trip to go to Paris and see other places in the country I had never been to as a treat for myself. I never asked him to or made any indication it was something I wanted, but the next thing I knew, I was planning a trip for two. It’s funny how organizing a trip with someone who has money makes the entire planning process significantly easier. I didn’t complain, but knew that it was most likely a disaster in the long run.
A few days before the trip, Rick visited the doctor with a horrendous cough. He was told it was the flu and it’d pass, but it certainly wasn’t contagious anymore (Covid was knocking at the door). He could walk only steps at a time before needing a break and was constantly breaking out in a cold sweat. He was adamant that he’d still go on the trip. So there we went.
The trip was emotionally brutal for the most part. Traveling to Paris with him felt like trying to recover from alcoholism in a winery. Insane on my part. But he was sick! He couldn’t do anything. I’d leave the hotel and roam for hours just to return back to sweaty and upset Rick. I didn’t blame him. He could barely talk yet wanted to know everything, he couldn’t walk, but wanted to experience the city. I felt bound by some duty to give up the things that I wanted to do to support a man who I had loved through the city of it. Suddenly, the sights and sounds of the city I had treasured as the escape from my life through my youth felt like a prison. I was there but I shouldn’t be, I wanted to grow but I couldn’t. I was reminded of all the ways I would minimize my existence growing up in my parents house and performed them with wine stained lips - filling the silence while refusing to acknowledge my part in it. I missed him and I missed his company. I still do now, at times. However, that shouldn’t have been the reason I let him come on this trip. A part of the depression and mess I had been recovering from in New York was now sitting across from me at the dinner table in a foreign country I wasn’t supposed to be in. He wanted so desperately for me to love him again, and I knew a part of me did, but to admit that would have destroyed what was left of me.
So on the day before we were to leave Paris for our next city, I set off on the day’s journey. I remember the streets being quiet as I crossed the Île de la Cité. In December, the cold hangs over the city like a layer of frost no amount of warmth could penetrate. The buildings, the sky, everything seems a bit paler than it should be. I roamed and I roamed, climbing to Montmartre and realizing I had never been there. Ascending the winding streets and into Sacre Coeur, my mind flicked through the rolodex of bad ideas that could save me from my current situation. After cresting the hill, I found myself going west and eventually to Montmartre Cemetery. The sun was peeking through the grates of the Pont de Caulaincourt while the trees’ remaining leaves swirled down to their crunchy grave. It was cold, and it was quiet.
I took to the uneven cobblestones that lined the cluttered pathways of the cemetery. The tombs and mausoleums crowded each other like the misshapen buildings of a neglected city. I was alone in this necropolis, the city of the dead.
At a certain point, surrounded by the silence, I found a bench under a Maple tree. I don’t remember how long I sat there, sipping in the silence as one might a Vin Chaud, letting it numb me. Hector Berlioz, Edgar Degas, thousands of others all lay in their final resting place around me at peace and I was living. Why couldn’t I be at peace? Why did I have to be living? Living with the regret of not being strong enough to save myself, with the want of falling asleep there in the cold and praying I’d awaken to a different life. I had loved so hard and loved so deeply, but could never seem to love correctly. I gave everything I had to everyone else, and with everyone gone - I had nothing left.
Almost in response to my isolation, a small black cat emerged quietly from the untrimmed brush that twisted between the two tombs in front of me. The only other sign of life in the cemetery curled their way to the top of the tomb and pawed gently at the leaves, clearing a place to rest. I don’t remember whose tomb it was but time seemed to collapse. It didn’t matter whether the interred died 100 years ago or 500 years ago. Side by side, they were all equal in death. And we, the cat and I, were there now.
In the epilogue of Alistair Horne’s Seven Ages of Paris, which I only read this past year, he muses on the significance of the French words for love and death being so similar. Paris, to me, had always been a city of history, of art, of good food, and of love. It was an escape - a vision of a better world, a better life. It was never anything real. Love, as I knew it growing up, was using and being used - it wasn’t care. Paris was a city I used. Now death - death I could understand. Growing up in the military, it surrounded me. I begged for death several times before I should have. Death is inevitable and everyone will know it. All around Paris are markers of this knowledge - these memento mori. Cemeteries, catacombs, monuments, statues - all in remembrance of those who have come before us and had made this city beautiful. It is on the mounds of the dead that the sprouts of new love and life are able to be shared. It is in death that a tomb can become a bed to a sleepy cat.
I can’t say I bounded from the cemetery, energized by the notion of life. I did not run back to Rick and take him in my arms and promise myself to him forever. I knew that France would be the last time I would ever see him and as of today I’ve yet to be proven wrong. For the rest of the trip, I treated the death of our connection with patience and care, lulling it to sleep as you would a child. I knew that I could not give more of myself to him and I had to stop pretending that I could. What mattered more now was remembering that I will, in fact, die having lived a life for myself. I knew what was left of me was worth saving. I might have felt there was nothing left for me to give, but I could always create more. I couldn’t die without ensuring I left even the smallest bit of beauty behind.
Now, almost 5 years later, I’m freshly returned from another stint in France, this time with Sergio. We still have never discussed what happened between Rick and I or what happened in France, and I don’t know if we ever will. As I stated at the beginning, we were there for the Olympics and I cannot overemphasize how incredible it was. Yes, most of the city was empty save for the hordes of tourists, but who am I to complain? We were tourists too. It was exciting to return to a city I felt I had history with and not for the city’s sake. Seeing Sergio witness the city with fresh eyes and fresh criticism brought the city to life. In walking hand in hand down the banks of the Seine, it didn’t matter that we were passing the Musée d’Orsay. It mattered that we were there together. We had multiple, lengthy conversations about the struggles of our relationships and the ways we don’t show up for each other while also unpacking complicated feelings of family and home. It was hard, tiring, emotional - but the person I was 5 years ago could never have done so. My parents, who were also attending the games, made guest appearances a few times during our trip. It’s worth noting that shortly after that cemetery visit in 2019, my parents and I fell out of touch - no longer on speaking terms for years. Yet, here we were, back in the city that started it all in 2010, each willing to give Paris and each other another chance.
On our final night in Paris, as the Olympics drew to a close, Sergio and I grabbed a bottle of wine and made our way to the Jardin du Carrousel. The Olympic cauldron, as made famous by the fact it wasn’t a fire, was a giant hot air balloon whose basket was a ring of lights and smoke that would lift into the air at sunset and shine over the city and all the various arenas. I posited that it was most likely because the first manned hot air balloon ride that brought man to the skies back in the 1800s had taken place in Paris. Either way, we stayed in the garden commenting on the past 16 days of travel and what it meant to each other. For him, an opportunity to discover and appreciate a history he had always known but had strong prejudice against due to France’s imperialism (fair, lol). And for me, an appreciation of feeling present in a place with a history that had not always been easy. Home is a concept that I struggle with, but sitting there with him, it felt like home.
The sun set and the crowd around us leapt to their feet as the giant balloon in front of us unceremoniously slid into the sky. The empty wine bottle laid at our feet as the two of us stayed seated. The city had never felt so magical and this love had never felt so beautiful.
#1001 places#1001 movies#1001 albums#architecture#cemetery#france#paris#paris france#essay#olympics#paris olympics#tw sui ideation#relationship#project#cat
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Five Guys was founded in 1986 by Janie and Jerry Murrell. Jerry and the couple's sons Jim, Matt, Chad, and Ben were the original "Five Guys". The Murrells had a fifth son, Tyler, two years later. Today, all five sons, the current "Five Guys", are involved in the business: Matt and Jim travel the United States visiting stores, Chad oversees training, Ben selects the franchisees, and Tyler runs the bakery.
The first Five Guys was in Arlington's Westmont Shopping Center. Buns were baked in the same center by Brenner's Bakery. This location closed, in favor of another in Alexandria, Virginia, at the intersection of King and North Beauregard Streets, which closed on September 21, 2013.
More followed in Old Town Alexandria and Springfield, Virginia, making five locations open by 2001. Their success encouraged the Murrells to franchise their concept the following year, engaging Fransmart, a franchise sales organization. Former American football player Mark Moseley, who had gone to work for Fransmart after his football career, played a key role in Five Guys' expansion and went on to become the company's director of franchise development after it ended its business relationship with Fransmart. In early 2003, the chain began franchising, opening the doors to rapid expansion which caught the attention of national restaurant trade organizations and the national press. The expansion started in Virginia and Maryland, and by the end of 2004, over 300 units were in development through the Northeast. Over the next few years, the chain rapidly expanded across the entire United States and into Canada, reaching over 1,000 locations by 2012.[needs update][citation needed]
The first location outside North America opened in the United Kingdom in July 2013, in London on Long Acre in Covent Garden. The chain now has more than 150 restaurants in the UK. Five Guys also has locations in the Middle East and has continued to expand in Europe. In late 2017, Five Guys opened its first restaurants in Germany, with a branch in Frankfurt and another in Essen.
Five Guys, one of the top three burgers in the U.S., opened its first Korean store in Gangnam, Seoul, at 11 a.m. on June 26, 2023 with a countdown shout. As of 2024, there are a total of four branches in Seoul.
Five Guys Enterprises has several affiliated companies that are not part of a consolidated group, but are under common ownership. Five Guys Operations was founded in 2012, Five Guys Holdings was founded in 2007. Five Guys Foods UK Limited was incorporated on March 12, 2013. FGE International, FGO International BV, and FG Coöperatief U.A. are based in Amsterdam. FGH International C.V. is located in Bermuda.
Five Guys had a 39,900 square feet (3,710 m2) headquarters in Lorton, Virginia, overlooking the Occoquan and Potomac Rivers, that was specially designed to convey the corporate brand. According to the architect, "The lobby mimics the typical Five Guys restaurant with red and white tile, tall tables, Freestyle Coke machine and signature peanut boxes." In 2023, they moved their headquarters to a new location in Alexandria, Virginia.
On September 24, 2020, the first Five Guys location with a drive-through window opened in Surfside Beach, South Carolina. The franchisee retained it from the former business in the building in light of COVID-19 pandemic safe practices.
In September 2021, Five Guys opened their first location in Australia. The chain also has plans to expand into New Zealand. In November 2022, Five Guys announced the relocation of their headquarters to the Carlyle neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia.
Five Guys has received numerous awards in D.C. area publications, including "Number 1 Burger" by Washingtonian Magazine for seven years.[citation needed] The former US President Barack Obama is reportedly a fan, buying lunch for himself and his colleagues at the Washington Five Guys branch in 2011.
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(a few) Infamous moments in Tumblr History
Tumblr has some absolutely heinous things that happened on/in relation with this website, so here are a few highlights of them. 1) The Tumblr sexyman phenomenon, and the Tumblr sexyman(and sexywoman) polls. Basically, Tumblr sexymen are (usually fictional) men that Tumblr as a whole lusts over. A few infamous characters are Sans (from UnderTale, 2015 created by Toby Fox), The Onceler (from The Lorax, 2012 Illumination film) and Bill Cipher (from Gravity Falls, 2012-2016 Disney XD show created by Alex Hirsch) The Tumblr sexyman poll was a poll that occurred on Tumblr in I believe August to September. In it, a selected few Tumblr sexymen were placed in polls to be gradually voted out, until one remained. The winner was Sans from UnderTale Photo of the Tumblr sexyman bracket, source: https://www.fanbyte.com/games/news/sans-undertale-is-officially-the-ultimate-tumblr-sexyman/
2) Homestuck. Homestuck is a webcomic created by Andrew Hussie that started in 2009, and ended in 2016. Homestuck amassed a large fanbase which peaked in the years 2011-2013. A lot of things resulted from it, and the most infamous thing was the Sharpie bath incident. The original post regarding this actually was posted to 4chan, but it's such a ridiculous part of Homestuck fandom history it needs to be included. In Homestuck, there are characters named trolls. They have grey skin and horns which are orange, yellow, and deep orange. One day in 2011, a cosplayer who was going to cosplay a Homestuck troll decided that instead of using grey facepaint, they would run a bath, throw sharpies into it, then proceed to take a bath in said sharpie water. It obviously turned they skin grey, but also wrecked the bathroom, and allegedly the cosplayer ended up in the hospital which is not hard to believe considering alcohol poisoning. Homestuck fans were really active on Tumblr and since a lot of them acted similar to this, they obviously got a reputation. Not a real photo of said sharpie bath, but you get the point. Source: https://drawception.com/game/yAbEP96t5r/homestuck-sharpie-bath/
3) An extra hour in the ballpit. In 2014, there was a convention called DashCon which was a Tumblr convention put together poorly by three main people. A lot of things were planned for it (most of which didn't happen due to being put together so shoddily) but one of the thins that was going to happen was that there would be a ballpit there. It was pretty hyped up so when people found out that it was just a small pool filled with about a thousand plastic balls, they were not excited. Another promised thing was that a band that was popular on Tumblr would be there to preform. Long story short that band did not arrive or preform because they weren't going to get paid. However, instead of the people running the convention refunding or properly compensating those who went to the convention to watch the band preform, they tried to compensate them by saying they could have an extra hour in the ballpit. Photo of the ballpit, you can see it barely fits four people. Source: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/dashcon
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1. Belgians' purchasing power largely recovers to pre-crisis levels
Belgians' purchasing power has largely recovered to levels last seen a year-and-a-half ago, when soaring inflation and high energy prices precipitated a severe cost of living crisis across the European continent. Read more.
2. Up to €250 less: Dropping prices and low consumption reduce advance energy bills
As energy prices have been dropping since September 2022 and people have adjusted to consuming less, households' advance payment bills will soon start decreasing spectacularly. Read more.
3. The unfathomable scale of justice
The hulking Palace of Justice in Brussels, where the main law courts are based, looms like a latter-day Acropolis over the old city. But few people alive have seen it in its original glory: for the past four decades, it has been hidden under a shroud of scaffolding. Read more.
4. More than 100 swimmers swim across Meuse in 7°C water
More than a hundred swimmers braved the cold and swam across the Meuse on Sunday for the 54th edition of the Winter River Crossing. The first dives took place at 10:15 and the event ended three hours later. Read more.
5. Brussels Police announce Monday strike, disruptions likely
The Brussels-Capital/Ixelles police zone has announced on its Twitter account that it will carry out strike action in Brussels on Monday 20 February between 10:00 and 15:00. Read more.
6. Belgian man discovers 80-year-old pickled vegetables...and eats them
A Belgian man who discovered jars of vegetables that had been stored in his grandmother’s attic for 80 years, has teamed up with a star chef to make a meal from the ancient ingredients as part of an experiment instigated by a Flemish newspaper. Read more.
7. Hidden Belgium: Coffee & Vinyl
Lars Cosemans used to run a cluttered record shop in Antwerp called simply Vinyl. Then in 2011 he moved all his stuff into a shop on Volkstraat in the Zuid district and added coffee to the name. Read more.
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HISTORY | HEADCANONS | CONNECTIONS | SOUNDTRACK
.・゜゜・ ・゜゜・..・゜゜・ ・゜゜・..・゜゜・ ・゜
﹆ basics;
Full Name: Bennett James Ryan Brody
Nickname/Preferred Name: Ben, BJ, Badger, Bro
Age: thirty two
Birthday: September 30, 1990
Zodiac: Libra sun, Aquarius moon, Taurus rising
Sexual Orientation: Most likely heterosexual
Relationship Status: Married to Lale Kaplan-Brody (2009)
Children: Berkan James Jordan Brody (b. 2008); new baby due 11/2023
Religion: Does hedonism count?
Neighborhood: Ocean Colony
Occupation: Civil Engineer, The Morris Group
﹆ background;
Place of Birth: Half Moon Bay, CA
Hometown: Half Moon Bay, CA
Education: B.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford (2014)
﹆ physical;
Faceclaim: Sam Claflin
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Green
Height: 1.8 m (5'11")
Weight: 81kg (180 lbs)
Tattoos, Birthmarks, Scars, etc: tbd; various R knee scars from 3 surgeries (2011-12.)
﹆ relatives;
Father: Dr. Ryan Daniel Brody (b. 1965, m. 1989)
Father’s Status: Alive
Father’s Occupation: vascular surgeon
Mother: Johanna Bennett Brody (b. 1965, m. 1989)
Mother’s Status: Alive
Mother’s Occupation: clinical psychologist
Siblings: Tana Alice Elizabeth Brody (b. 1994)
﹆ connections;
full listing
Tana Brody, sister; @tanabrody
Lale Kaplan-Brody, wife (m. 2009) ; @lalekaplanbrody
Lena Kaplan, friend & sister-in-law; @lenakaplan
Evie Morris, friend, emotional/physical affair; @evangelinemorris
Drew Hayes, neighbor; @drewhayes
Devon Aiello, friend, affair #1; @devonaiello
﹆ personality;
Positive Traits: intelligent, charming, discreet, accepting
Negative Traits: deceitful, guarded, reckless, moody
﹆ personality assessments;
Zodiac: Libra☀ | Aquarius ☾ | Taurus ↑
MBTI: INTP-T
Enneagram: Core Type 4 (The Individualist)
Love Language: physical touch
Harry Potter house: gryffindor
﹆ Timelines;
History/Biographical
Dash Chronology
﹆ Headcanons;
Full page here
One of the foundations of his relationship with Lale was redirecting money from the trust supporting her and her sister into her sister's hands so her sister could leave.
His original major in college was statistics after a 'mathematics of sports' class sold him on it. His loose plan was to apply for an MBA program after his professional football career had ended. The end came sooner than he thought and he never applied anyway.
Has minimal sensation in the lower part of his right leg following his college knee injury and, sometimes, if he's tired or he's had too much to drink, he stumbles as he walks.
Due to his physical limitations, most of his exercise is 'gentle', including swimming, yoga, pilates, and light weights. Gone are his days of surfing, hiking, running, and dead-lifting (and sometimes he misses them.)
He drinks whiskey if he's sad and tequila if he's feeling amorous.
Calls his wife La or Lala, and his son Bear.
In spite of his father's football-playing history, Bear is very into baseball, thus breaking Ben's heart a little.
Since moving back to Half Moon Bay, Ben and Lale have been homeschooling their son both because they can and it works better for their family, and also because he plays baseball competitively.
Lale taught him how to cook and, while he generally keeps it simple, he doesn't hate it and isn't terrible at it.
He is a voracious and speedy reader of basically any genre. He averages about 100 books per year.
Is more likely to come up with some random science experiment or project for himself and Bear than to suggest they, say, watch a movie
﹆ Biography | tw: teen pregnancy, infidelity, injury mention
Ben was born in Half Moon Bay, CA to Ryan and Johanna Brody, an old-money couple who were still both in medical and graduate school when he was born, respectively. The good news was they could afford a nanny so at least someone paid attention to him; the bad news was they relied on the nanny exclusively to do so and he never really bonded with them very well.
His sister was born four years later and met the same basic fate, with the exception that they stopped bothering with nannies when his sister was twelve. Ben had already historically been her entire support system, but when the last nanny left to have her own children, he got his drivers license exclusively so he could support Tana with her own lessons and interests.
Throughout all this, Ben pushed at limits and pushed them hard, getting away with all sorts of bad behavior because he was charming and his family was rich. When he hit high school, he was a competent football quarterback who kept their high school team afloat; it just enabled his ability to do whatever he wanted -- have sex, drink, dabble in drugs -- and get away with it. He was also a strong student in math and hard sciences in particular, so his grades never suffered consequences when he acted out. This fueled his father's lifelong expectation that Ben would follow in his footsteps as a surgeon, the school performance being the only part of Ben his father ever paid any mind.
By the time he was 17, Ben was dating a sweet girl named Lale. By the time they'd been together six months, in spite of being smart and using protection, she was pregnant. It was a devastating and confusing time as she decided to keep their baby and what few goals he had rearranged themselves.
During football camp, knowing what was coming down the pipe soon enough and how much he wanted to get the fuck out of dodge, Ben switched football positions from quarterback to safety, in order to make himself more marketable for colleges, working hard and distancing himself a little from his teammates with his introversion and singular focus.
Their son, Berkan, was born in December of his senior year. Ben spent most of his time in the winter and spring interviewing with colleges and arranging distance-based campus tours while caring for their infant as his girlfriend struggled to catch up and finish school. He was determined to be more open and hands-on than his own father from the start, but he couldn't say he immediately fell in love or anything. It was all really hard and he was pretty isolated, and he wouldn't do it over again for anything, honestly.
Accepted a football scholarship to Stanford with early-signing during the winter of senior year.
He and Lale married in a simple ceremony just before it was time for him to start football camp in Palo Alto, and moved to the city as a family of three. This decision was largely made based on financial support from his father and the strings that were very much attached to the money.
He suffered a devastating knee injury during the fall of his junior year, requiring multiple surgeries and much rehab before he could walk. Not only was it career ending, it took him about a year to recover to the point he could function. It was absolutely a physical, mental, and emotional rock bottom for him.
In the midst of all of it, he had a sexual encounter with the football coach's daughter, @devonaiello, that did help restore some of his physical confidence, but did not keep his marriage on stable ground at all. In addition, when he didn't redirect to a medical career, his father threatened to cut off the support they'd been receiving from the Brodys until they were ready to stand on their own; Ryan also suggested he would hold Ben accountable to repay the years worth of expenses that had already been covered unless Ben did something to keep his shit together.
He then proceeded to have sex with @evangelinemorris after her grandmother's funeral when they were both emotional. In the intervening years, he hasn't talked to anyone except Evie about this because he's pretty sure he's allergic to the amount of change and upheaval the information would cause.
Spent several years working in San Francisco, supporting his wife as much as he could while she finished a post-grad degree, and ignoring his relationship with his parents as much as humanly possible.
Is back in Half Moon Bay due to issues surrounding Lale's childhood home and the Brodys taking over the property.
Has accepted/is just starting a job at The Morris Group, working with Evie. Is genuinely excited to be around her more and also really nervous about how he's going to fuck things up.
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BATTLE BEAST Singer NOORA LOUHIMO Opens Up About Weight Struggles And Depression
BATTLE BEAST singer Noora Louhimo has opened up about struggling with generalized anxiety disorder and weight.
Louhimo, who last year released her debut solo album, "Eternal Wheel Of Time And Space", under the NOORA LOUHIMO EXPERIENCE banner, joined BATTLE BEAST in 2012 with no previous experience as a metal vocalist but quickly acclimated herself as the replacement for Nitte Valo (a.k.a. Nitte Vänskä).
Earlier today (Monday, December 12),the 34-year-old Finnish-born vocalist took to her Instagram to write: "Have you ever thought of losing weight? Are you depressed or anxious? I have, ALL MY LIFE.
"I have been struggling with eating disorders and my weight since I was a little child and still trying to find a balance. I have been depressed and anxious sometimes 'without a reason'. Just resently it appeared, most of this was caused by the imbalance in my body that was caused by life without routines and bad decisions. I wanted to start a journey to myself and what I COULD DO to make myself feel better in my skin and in my head.
"SO HERE, this method is worth trying:
"1. Go to sleep and wake up everyday the same time (for example: I wake up at 7 am and go to sleep 11 pm) AND sleep everyday at least 8 hours. There can be exceptions like when I have late shows. But 90% of the time my goal is to keep the same sleeping rhythm.
2. Eat at least 3 times a day, 3-4 hours between the meals. (For example I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening snack) Your blood sugar stays steady throughout the day and there are less cravings.
3. Move your ass - Find your sport and do it at least 3 times a week. (For example I love dancing, gymnastics and running (with Bobby my dog.) The most important thing is that you have fun.
4. Talk nicely to yourself and avoid judging - if you keep talking to yourself as you would talk to your best friend (supporting, loving, kind way) this will make your thinking into doing eventually and you have more believe in yourself and what you are doing. It is important to be the kind parent to yourself - Sometimes it is okay to have a sweet snack or lay on couch and watch a movie. But sometimes it is time to say to yourself: Enough is enough, now go and seize the day, enjoy life. After all, we all are here trying to do our thing, trying to succeed in life, enjoy life, make life, be inventive, be something, BE HUMAN.
"Today is a good day for thinking - What kind of life I WANT and HOW DO I GET IT. OR I am part of life on this Earth, what kind of part do I want to play in it?
"Have a nice thinkful Monday".
In an interview with Metal Divas, Noora explained how she ended up fronting BATTLE BEAST: "[In] September [2012], I got a call from [then-BATTLE BEAST guitarist] Anton [Kabanen] that they want me to join BATTLE BEAST. I had heard their music and loved the sound and the vocals, so the next day I called Anton and said I'm in.
"Anton found me by accident on YouTube when he was searching for the new vocalist," she continued. "He had been looking for a vocalist — male or female; [it did not] matter. The only thing that mattered was can that [he or she could] sing his songs without compromises.
"I've been singing since I was four years old," Noora added. "While being a huge fan of heavy metal of '80s and a teenager, I had some classical singing lessons when I was 16 years old. Then at the age of 19, I started studying music in pop/jazz line. At the same time, I started doing some jam sessions at bars. There I found my first band (ADMIRAL OCTOPUS) in the blues bar. We used to play rock and blues music from '60s-'70s and Janis Joplin was the reason I got the rasp in my voice. After ADMIRAL OCTOPUS, in 2011, I took part in a singing competition ('Wanna Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star') at Henry's Pub of Tampere and won it with Janis Joplin's 'Piece Of My Heart'. That's how my single 'Relax' was born."
Photo credit: Terhi Ylimainen
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Harry Styles' Life Story
Harry Edward Styles was born on 1 February 1994 in Redditch, Worcestershire, to Anne Cox and Desmond 'Des' Styles. She has an older sister named Gemma. His family separated when he was seven years old.
Styles spent most of his growing years with his mother and sister in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. He received his education from the 'Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School'.
Styles has admired music since childhood. She enjoyed singing and even performed as lead singer for the school band 'White Eskimo', which won several competitions. Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley and 'The Beatles' were the earliest influences of Styles. He even worked part-time at 'W.'. Mandeville Bakery' at Holmes Chapel to support himself.
Harry Styles is an English singer and songwriter known as a member of the famous pop rock band One Direction. Blessed with his love for music, Styles stepped into the music industry at a young age. She made her debut when she auditioned for a spot on The X Factor. Styles' natural talent and sense of music made him a favorite among the judges. Although he was unable to tour the judges' houses, he was pulled out as a member of the pop rock band One Direction. Stiller called the band 'One Direction'. The band's first song, which was also an elimination song on the 'judge's house' tour, was an acoustic version of 'Torn'. Their performance was so brilliant that they soon gained popularity in the United Kingdom. One of the biggest contenders for the coveted title and a people's favorite, 'One Direction' finished third in the seventh season of 'X Factor'. Soon after, 'One Direction' was signed by Cowell's 'Syco Music Records' on a £2 million contract.
Despite being the youngest member of the men's group, Styles soon became a favorite among fans because of his talents, appearance, and attitude. After months of recording in various cities including Stockholm, London and Los Angeles, 'One Direction' released her debut album 'Up All Night' in 2011. The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Table and eventually became the world record holder. It is the UK's fastest-selling debut album of 2011.
Their first single, 'What Makes You Beautiful', peaked at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2013, director Morgan Spurlock made a documentary titled 'One Direction: This Is Us' that allowed us to take a look at the band's routine. The film grossed more than $68 million worldwide.
During their five debuts, One Direction broke several records and became the only boy band to debut their first four albums to number one in the United States. They also became the first boy band in U.S. chart history to release two number-one albums in a calendar year. After a hiatus hiatus, Styles pursued a solo career and signed a record deal with Columbia Records. Styles has also starred on television and in films, including the Nickelodeon series iCarly, the documentary concert film One Direction: This Is Us, and the feature film Dunkirk.
Her self-titled debut solo album was released in May 2017. The album topped the 'US Billboard 200' chart. It has also been successful in many other countries such as the UK and Australia. The album was certified platinum in the U.S. and four other countries for being the ninth best-selling album of 2017. He also embarked on a tour of North and South America, Europe, Asia, Europe and Asia called 'Harry Styles: Live on Tour'. and Australia, from September 2017 to July 2018.
Harry Styles has an image of Casanova and is known for his various romantic connections. In 2011, he dated television presenter Caroline Flack. Their relationship made headlines around the world due to the age difference between the two, with Styles being just 17 at the time and Flack 32.
After leaving Flack, Styles formed a romantic bond with various personalities including Sarah-Louise Colivet, Emma Ostilly, Cara Delevingne, Lily Halpern and Rita Ora.
In December 2012, Styles began dating international pop star Taylor Swift. The two separated in January 2013. He later dated Kendall Jenner and Nadine Leopold.
A longtime advocate of equality and an ardent supporter of the LGBT community, she often waives the rainbow flag (the flag of LGBT pride) on stage. She has also supported organisations such as the 'Little Princess Trust' and the 'Young Survival Coalition'.
#harry styles#harry edward styles#harry styles imagines#harry styles fanfiction#harry styles writing#harries#vintage#sales#cute
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Chinese Air Force publicly reveals J-20 stealth game on the ground during AirShow China 2022
Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 11/18/2022 - 14:00 in Military
AirShow China 2022 marked the first time Chengdu Aerospace publicly exhibited its J-20 stealth game on the ground, giving the public the opportunity to see the aircraft in all pre- and post-flight operations.
As reported by Liu Xuanzun and Fan Wei in Zhuhai, in the Global Times, China will continue to update its J-20 stealth game, including the implementation of the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive technologies, announced Yang Wei, chief designer of the J-20, at a press conference held by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) in Zhuhai,
The Chengdu J-20, also known as Mighty Dragon, is a stealth game for any climate developed by China's Chengdu Aerospace Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is designed as an aerial superiority fighter with precision attack capability; it descends from the J-XX program of the 1990s.
The aircraft made its inaugural flight on January 11, 2011 and was officially revealed at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition 2016. The aircraft entered service in March 2017 and began its combat training phase in September 2017. The first J-20 combat unit was formed in February 2018. The J-20 is the third fifth-generation operational stealth game in the world after the F-22 and F-35.
The development strategy of the Air Force of the China People's Liberation Army (PLAAF) used to be internal defense, but now it has become the integration of airspace with attack and defense capabilities, said Yang Wei, chief designer of the J-20. The J-20 was deployed in all parts of eastern, west, south, north and central China, and the combat capacity, number and range of the J-20 had significant increases, according to Yang.
"Four J-20s can participate in a formation, which is a small system; a J-20 can join a J-16 and a J-10C in another small system. Recent news has also suggested that the J-20 can fly along with drones, which is also a system," said Yang, echoed by Liu Xuanzun and Fan Wei. The J-20 will also integrate closely with terrestrial, sea, air and space systems to play its ideal role throughout the system, and this includes the implementation of the latest cognitive and AI technologies, said the chief designer.
Tags: Military AviationChengdu J-20 'Mighty Dragon'China Airshow
Fernando Valduga
Fernando Valduga
Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. It has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.
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F1 driver Lando Norris visits the Red Arrows team before the Abu Dhabi GP
Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 11/18/2022 - 12:00 in Demonstration Squads, Military
The Red Arrows shared the photos of the McLaren F1 driver, saying: "Lando Norris. Ready to fly." (Photo: Red Arrows Twitter).
The Red Arrows shared the photos of the McLaren F1 driver, saying: "Lando Norris. Ready to fly." (Photo: Red Arrows Twitter).
The McLaren Formula 1 team driver, Lando Norris, was photographed joining the Red Arrows before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
McLaren shared the photos of its driver - who is used to high-speed emotions - in the cockpit of one of the Red Arrows team's Hawk jets and their green overalls before the F1 final this weekend.
The RAF Acrobatic Demonstration Team also shared a photo of the British pilot on Twitter, with one of the team's Hawk jets in the background.
The McLaren F1 team tweeted "Lando Norris, reporting to the service", with the photos of Norris seeming to be part of the Sky Sports F1 coverage of the race weekend. It was not disclosed whether the F1 pilot even flew with the RAF squad.
The Red Arrows are in the United Arab Emirates as part of a Gulf tour and earlier this week they completed an overflight over Abu Dhabi along with the Emirates A380.
Tags: Military AviationRed Arrows
Fernando Valduga
Fernando Valduga
Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. It has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.
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珍妮·戈德利
H:生命的奮戰,輸赢不是重點,精神毅力才感人。20241105W2
維基百科:
珍妮·戈德利是一位蘇格蘭單口喜劇演員、演員、作家和政治活動家。她於1994年開始她的單口喜劇生涯,並在2000年代憑藉喜劇贏得了各種獎項。 在 COVID-19 大流行期間,她為政客和其他知名人士製作了一系列配音剪輯。第二年,在一系列有爭議的歷史推文出現後,她被從《美女與野獸》的啞劇表演中除名,戈德利後來為此道歉。
簡介
珍妮·戈德利
janey godley
出生資訊: 1961 年 1 月 20 日,英國格拉斯哥
逝世: 2024 年 11 月 2 日,英國格拉斯哥
子女: 阿什利·史托瑞
身高: 168 公分
父母: 安妮·庫里、 吉姆·庫里
配偶: 西恩·史托瑞 (結婚於 1980 年)
綜合外媒報導,潔妮戈德利2021年發現罹患卵巢��後,於2022年6月將子宮摘除,沒想到同年2022年12月就復發。如今她的女兒阿什利斯托里(Ashley Storrie)透過社群證實母親已經在2日過世,表示媽媽是在睡夢中離開,而當時家人們也都陪伴在她身邊。
Janey Godley
Scottish actor, writer and comedian (1961–2024)
Janey Godley (born Jane Godley Currie; 20 January 1961 – 2 November 2024) was a Scottish stand-up comedian, actress, writer and political activist. She began her stand-up career in 1994, and won various awards for her comedy in the 2000s.
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she made a series of voice over clips of politicians and other well known personalities. The following year, she was dropped from a pantomime performance of Beauty and the Beast after a series of controversial historical tweets emerged, for which Godley later apologised. She was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer, from which she died in 2024.
Early life
Godley was born in Campsie, East Dunbartonshire, on 20 January 1961. The youngest of four children born to Annie and Jim Currie, she was raised on Kenmore Street in Shettleston, a district in the East End of Glasgow, and attended Eastbank Academy. Living in poverty, which was rife in the East End during that time, Godley left school at 16 with no qualifications. Her parents were alcoholics and her mother was also addicted to tranquilisers. Her uncle molested her and her sister for a number of years during their childhoods, crimes for which he was charged in 1993, being sentenced to two years in prison in 1996.
Career
Godley began her stand-up career in 1994 using her middle name as both the Storrie and Currie families had disappointed her and changed her name from Jane Godley Storrie to Janey Godley the following year. She won an award for the "Best Show Concept" at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2002 and the "Spirit of the Festival" in 2006. She published her autobiography Handstands in the Dark in 2005. In 2006, she was a finalist for the Edinburgh Evening Times' "Scotswoman of the Year" award. In 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2009, she was nominated as "Best International Guest" by the New Zealand Comedy Guild. Her TV appearances include River City, Sam Delaney's News Thing, The Alex Salmond Show, Have I Got News for You, and Traces, and she appeared in the film Wild Rose. Godley often made spoof voice-overs of videos.
In 2020, Godley wrote and starred in a series of short films titled Alone, about a recently widowed housewife whose abusive husband has died of COVID-19, as part of the National Theatre of Scotland's Scenes for Survival webseries. In December 2020, the Royal Society of Edinburgh commended Godley's voice-overs of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's COVID-19 briefings for helping engage the public with the warnings. That year, she won the Scots Language Award's Speaker of the Year Award. In September 2021, tweets Godley had sent in 2011 were publicised by The Daily Beast, leading MSP Douglas Lumsden to question the decision to cast her in a pantomime performance of Beauty and the Beast. Some of these tweets included insults based on the Chernobyl disaster and disabilities, and racial insults towards African American musicians Kelly Rowland, 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg in 2011. Godley apologised for the tweets and Public Health Scotland dropped her from a campaign.
Political activism
Godley was a strong advocate for the transgender rights movement, actively supporting protections for the international transgender community, a stance that had led to her receiving death threats. She was also a supporter of Scottish independence. Initially a supporter of the Conservatives in her youth, once going so far as to meet Margaret Thatcher at a Scottish Conservative Party Conference in Perth, she later became a supporter of the Scottish National Party and toured the UK in February 2016 in support of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Godley went viral that year after being pictured standing outside Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf resort holding a sign stating "Trump is a Cunt", having been prevented from approaching her subject by Police Scotland (who did not, however, stop her displaying the sign), and organised a protest in Glasgow just prior to the election of Trump as president, for which she received rape threats through Twitter.
Personal life
Godley married Sean Storrie in 1980. Storrie, who is on the autistic spectrum, was born into a Glasgow gangster family. Their daughter, Ashley Storrie (born 1986), who also has autism spectrum disorder, is a stand-up comedian and BBC Radio Scotland presenter.
Godley ran a public house in Calton, Glasgow, with her husband and his family for 14 years during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982, when Godley was 21, her mother died after drowning in the River Clyde. Godley believed that her mother was murdered by her mother's boyfriend, who she claimed was violent. He was never charged by police for Annie Currie's death despite calls from her family for an investigation. On 31 December 2010, her brother Mij Currie died from a drug-related illness.
Illness and death
In November 2021, Godley announced via Twitter the cancellation of the last weekend of her tour, explaining that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was being treated in hospital, and underwent a full hysterectomy in January 2022. In June that year, she announced that she was cancer-free. In December, she announced that her cancer had returned and that she would need further chemotherapy. After her cancer spread, she began to receive palliative care and moved into a hospice in September 2024. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow on 31 October 2024.
Godley died at the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow, on 2 November 2024, aged 63. Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paid tribute to her.
Books
Godley, Janey (2005). Handstands in the Dark. London: Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-190877-5. OCLC 61175808.
Godley, Janey (2020). Frank Get the Door!. Illustrated by Christina Connelly. Edinburgh: Luath Press. ISBN 978-1-910022-14-6. OCLC 1198558126.
Godley, Janey (2022). Nothing Left Unsaid. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-5293-5712-7. OCLC 1308460883.
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Save The Rhino Day
Save the Rhino Day, celebrated globally on May 1, is a day centered around raising awareness of the rhino’s plight in the world, and highlighting ways to help this incredible animal. This day is especially important given the current devastating statistics — on average, one rhino is poached somewhere in the world every 22 hours. On this day, various animal rights organizations, non-profit companies, zoos, animal activists, and other concerned groups provide opportunities to encourage more rhino conservation efforts from people around the world.
History of Save The Rhino Day
To trace the origins of the Rhinoceros, we’d have to go back some millennia — almost 56 million years ago, to be precise. That’s when the first ancestors of the modern Rhinos roamed the planet. They were more horse-like in structure and had no horns. Old rhino bones found from this period in North America show a gradual evolution from this old horse-like structure into one more aligned with today’s rhino. Over these years, there were three distinct species that scientists think might be the ancestors of today’s rhinos. One of these was called the ‘running rhino,’ which was adapted for speed.
Another was more aquatic and resembled today’s hippopotamus. The last, most direct ancestors to the modern rhinoceros appeared approximately 25 million years ago and had multiple sub-species in their families. Of these, the wooly rhinoceros was one of the largest subspecies, weighing in at almost four times the size of the average African elephant, and boasting one-meter-long horns. This species inhabited a large area, from Siberia to the British Isles. These plant-eaters lived alongside the wooly mammoths, and have been found fossilized in ice and in cave paintings made during that period.
These rhinos only lived in Asia initially but began traveling to other places around 25 million years ago. Over time, these rhino ancestors roamed the continents, primarily living in Eurasia (Europe and Asia combined) and North America. However, the American rhinos went extinct sometime between 5.4 and 2.4 million years ago.
Rhinos have also featured in many Asian and African legends — they are the fire-stamping heroes in many stories from Burma, India, and Malaysia. According to these stories, rhinos appeared every time a fire was lit in the forest and would stamp out the flames. So popular is this tale that it even featured in a popular 1980 South-African movie named “The Gods Must Be Crazy.”
Unfortunately, these once-abundant creatures have lost out to human activity. Hunting, and now, poaching and habitat loss, have drastically reduced the number of rhinos across the world. Rhino horns are also integral to traditional medicine in many parts of Asia, with people believing it has mystical powers. Since 2007, there has been a sharp increase in poaching activity and illegal trade of rhino horns, to the extent that many subspecies of rhinos have been declared extinct and the entire rhino population is listed as ‘endangered’.
Save The Rhino Day timeline
1973 A Symbol of Queer Identity
Two Boston artists, Daniel Thaxton and Bernie Toale create a lavender rhinoceros as a symbol to increase awareness of gays and lesbians and put it in a series of subway posters.
2011 No More Black Rhinos
The Western Black Rhino — which used to live in Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Sudan, and South Sudan — is declared extinct because of excessive poaching.
2012 A Ray of Hope
For the very first time, a Sumatran rhino — the smallest of the rhino family — is born in captivity in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia; this miracle repeats in 2016, and then in 2022.
2018 A Sad Farewell
The world bids goodbye to the last known male northern white rhino; only two females survive to this day.
Save The Rhino Day FAQs
What day is World Rhino Day?
On September 22 each year, the global community celebrates the rhinoceros and explains what people can do to help them.
How many rhino species are there?
At present, there are five species of rhinos in the world — the white rhino and the black rhino (both found in Africa), and the Indian, Javan, and Sumatran (all found in Asia).
Are rhinos endangered?
The black, Javan, and Sumatran rhinos are still listed as ‘critically endangered,’ while the entire species is classified as ‘endangered.’
How to Observe Save The Rhino Day
Learn about the rhinoceros
Visit a rhino
Help save the rhino
Uncover more interesting information about this magnificent animal. Watch documentaries featuring the rhino, read books and other literature about them, and discover more studies and research that show just how the rhino lives.
Why not go see a rhinoceros in real life? Check out rhinos at a local zoo or plan a trip to visit rhinos in the wild.
Research the efforts various groups make towards saving the rhino, and check out what you can do to help. These could include online volunteering services, donations of funds, and more.
5 Fun Facts About The Rhinoceros
The rhino communication method
They don't have 20-20 vision
How the white rhino got its name
Their horns are like our nails
And still, people steal their horns
Rhinos make funny sounds — like snorting, sneeze-like sounds, and even honking — and use their bodily waste to 'speak' to other rhinos.
Rhino eyesight is notoriously poor, so much so that if an animal only 100 feet away — in an open space, too — stood motionless, the rhino wouldn't be able to spot them.
This rhino isn't actually white — English explorers mistook the Afrikaans 'wyd,' which refers to the huge girth of this animal, as 'white' and the name stuck.
Rhino horns are made up almost entirely of keratin, which is also the protein found in human hair and nails.
Even as rhino horns are proven to have no health benefits, signs in museums — like the National Museum of Scotland — notify visitors that the horn on display is a replica, as the real one has been stolen.
Why Save The Rhino Day is Important
It helps increase awareness
Creating safe havens for rhinos
Building a rhino-loving community
Rhinos are becoming increasingly rare in the wild, and only continuous efforts to raise awareness, like celebrating Save The Rhino Day, can help this endangered species. Do your bit today to support rhinos.
The spike in awareness such days provide also subsequently raises the amount of help being offered to save the rhinos. These increased efforts could help secure various safe and protected spaces for the rhino to survive and thrive.
Conservation efforts have had a significant impact in the past — various subspecies of rhinos have seen their numbers gradually increase over the years as a result of these activities. After these celebrations, we are left with a passionate and motivated global community that wants to see the rhinoceros flourish in the decades to come.
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#Great Indian Rhinoceros by Katharine Lane Weems#Bronx Zoo#New York City#Indian rhinoceros#Zoo Zürich#Zoo Basel#Zolli#Lincoln Park Zoo#Chicago#USA#Schweiz#Switzerland#sculpture#outdoors#original photography#travel#summer 2018#vacation#day trip#Save The Rhino Day#SaveTheRhinocerosDay#SaveTheRhinoDay#1 May
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FC 25 Best New Icon Rating Leaks - Angerer, Buffon, Bale and more
With EA SPORTS FC 25 releasing on September 27, 2024, there have been rumors about which icons will be in the game. This is usually a big part of EA's football video game.
This icon pack features one of the all-time greats and their stats have been upgraded, which makes them a must-get for Ultimate Team. Parts of their cards that receive an upgrade are their dribbling, pace, passing, shooting, defending, physicality, skill moves, weak foot accuracy, and playstyles. So make sure you keep an eye out for when these icon cards will be released.
Nadine Angerer - 92 OVR
Angerer has played for Frauen-Bundesliga clubs Bayern Munich, Turbine Potsdam (with whom she won the 2005 UEFA Women's Cup), and FFC Frankfurt. In 2008, she played for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Damallsvenskan and she spent two periods on loan with Brisbane Roar of the Australian W-League in 2013 and 2014. During her extensive international career, Angerer was recognized as one of the world's best female goalkeepers.
Germany won the UEFA Women's Championship on each of the five occasions Angerer was involved and won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 and 2007. Their best finish at the Olympics was third in 2000, 2004 and 2008. Angerer is a penalty-saving specialist, having stopped Marta's kick in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Final and both Trine Rønning and Solveig Gulbrandsen's during the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 Final. She was appointed captain of Germany in 2011 following the retirement of Birgit Prinz. On 13 January 2014, Angerer was named FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first goalkeeper – male or female – to win the award. She announced her retirement from the international team on 13 May 2015.
Gianluigi Buffon - 91 OVR
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and by some the greatest of all time, he is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances and holds the record for the most appearances in Serie A.
Buffon was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. He is the only goalkeeper to win the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award, which he achieved after reaching the 2003 Champions League final; he also won UEFA's award for best goalkeeper that year and was additionally voted into the UEFA Team of the Year on five occasions. Buffon was the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2006 and was elected part of the FIFPro World11 three times. He was the first-ever goalkeeper to win the Golden Foot Award and was also named the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper a record five times, alongside Iker Casillas and Manuel Neuer. He would go on to be named the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, of the past 25 years, and of the decade by the same organization.
Aya Miyama - 90 OVR
Aya Miyama is a Japanese former footballer who played for the Japan national team starting in 2003, and from 2012 to 2016 served as captain of the team. She appeared in four World Cups between 2003 and 2015 and was part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup for Japan. Miyama also led Japan to a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
At the 2011 World Cup in Germany, Miyama scored the winner – a curling free kick – to help Japan beat New Zealand, and netted Japan's first goal in the final against the USA. Miyama also scored Japan's first penalty of the eventual penalty shoot-out in the final which ended 2–2 after extra time. Her team won 3–1 in the penalty shoot-out, making them the first Asian team to win the World Cup. In the moment of victory, Miyama did not join her teammates in celebration but instead went to the American players to hug and congratulate them. This has been reported both by Hope Solo and the Japanese media as evidence of Miyama's sportsmanship and respect for her opponents.
Gareth Bale - 88 OVR
Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time. He was known for his explosive pace, athleticism, and powerful strikes from a distance.
One of the fastest footballers in the world at his peak, Bale started out as an offensive left-back or wing-back at the beginning of his career. It was at Tottenham Hotspur that his manager Harry Redknapp decided to utilise Bale's pace and played him as a left winger, where he developed into a world-class player. He was predominantly known for his speed, strength, stamina, and heading ability, but also possessed good technique and ball control. His skills, combined with his acceleration and physicality, allowed him to get past defenders regularly and make runs into space, where he was able to score or create. Bale was also a free-kick specialist and was known for employing the "knuckleball" technique (popularised by Juninho Pernambucano) when taking free kicks. As he moved further forward onto the wing, he began to score goals on a regular basis with powerful strikes from outside the penalty box. In addition to his athletic and offensive capabilities, Bale also drew praise in the media for his work rate and defensive contribution off the ball.
The best way to get FC 25 coins
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Other related FC 25 blogs
EA FC 25 Top 50 player ratings – Real Madrid and Man City stars dominate
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FC 25 Manchester City Rating Predictions
EA SPORTS FC 25 - Career Mode Deep Dive
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Sunita Williams: Pioneering Space Exploration and the Future of Crewed Missions
Sunita Williams – A Trailblazer in Space
Sunita Williams is a renowned American astronaut and United States Navy officer. Born on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, she has made significant contributions to space exploration, notably becoming one of the most accomplished astronauts of her time. Her illustrious career is marked by her exceptional achievements in the realms of science, space exploration, and inspiring future generations.
Williams graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Science. She then embarked on a career in the Navy, becoming a test pilot and logging over 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Her journey to becoming an astronaut began in 1998 when she was selected by NASA for their astronaut program.
Williams' first spaceflight was aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-116 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in December 2006. During this mission, she broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending 195 days in space. She also performed four spacewalks, totaling over 29 hours. Her second spaceflight was in July 2012 aboard the Soyuz TMA-05M, where she spent another six months aboard the ISS, adding to her cumulative spacewalk time.
First Crewed Mission on Boeing’s Starliner Capsule
One of the significant milestones in Sunita Williams' career is her involvement with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, a spacecraft developed as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. This program aims to develop safe, reliable, and cost-effective human spaceflight capabilities to the ISS and low-Earth orbit.
The Starliner is designed to carry up to seven astronauts or a combination of crew and cargo. It represents a collaboration between NASA and Boeing to reduce dependency on Russian spacecraft for transporting astronauts to the ISS. The spacecraft boasts advanced technology, safety features, and is reusable for up to ten missions, making it a cornerstone of future American space exploration.
Williams has been a pivotal figure in the Starliner program, being named as one of the astronauts for its first crewed mission. Her extensive experience and technical expertise have been instrumental in the development and testing of the spacecraft. The first crewed mission, known as the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), is a crucial step toward certifying the Starliner for regular crewed missions.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon
Parallel to Boeing’s efforts, SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has also been at the forefront of developing crewed spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The Dragon 2, also known as Crew Dragon, is SpaceX's spacecraft designed to transport astronauts to the ISS. It is a successor to the uncrewed Dragon 1, which was primarily used for cargo missions.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is a fully autonomous spacecraft capable of carrying up to seven astronauts. It is equipped with the latest technology, including touchscreen controls and the ability to dock autonomously with the ISS. The spacecraft is launched atop the Falcon 9 rocket, another SpaceX innovation known for its reusability.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon made history with its first crewed mission, Demo-2, in May 2020. This mission was significant as it marked the return of crewed spaceflights from American soil since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011. The success of Demo-2 paved the way for subsequent missions, solidifying Crew Dragon as a reliable means of transporting astronauts to the ISS.
Boeing Starliner Mission
The Boeing Starliner mission, particularly its crewed missions, is integral to NASA's vision of maintaining a continuous human presence in space. The Starliner is designed with a focus on safety, reliability, and operational efficiency. It features a unique pusher abort system that can propel the capsule away from the rocket in case of an emergency during launch.
The spacecraft's development journey has not been without challenges. The first uncrewed test flight, known as Orbital Flight Test (OFT), took place in December 2019. However, due to a software issue, the spacecraft was unable to reach the ISS as planned. Despite this setback, valuable data was gathered, and subsequent efforts were made to rectify the issues.
In August 2021, the second uncrewed test flight, OFT-2, was scheduled, but technical issues with the spacecraft's propulsion system led to a postponement. These challenges highlight the complexities of developing a new spacecraft and the rigorous testing required to ensure astronaut safety.
The Boeing Starliner mission’s crewed flight, with Sunita Williams as one of the key astronauts, is highly anticipated. The successful completion of this mission will mark a significant milestone for Boeing and NASA, demonstrating the viability of Starliner for regular crewed missions to the ISS.
The Future of Space Exploration
The advancements made by both Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon represent a new era in space exploration. These developments not only enhance the capabilities of the United States in human spaceflight but also pave the way for future missions beyond low-Earth orbit, including potential missions to the Moon and Mars.
Sunita Williams' involvement in these programs underscores the importance of experienced astronauts in advancing space technology. Her contributions have been invaluable in the testing and operational readiness of these spacecraft, ensuring that they meet the high standards required for human spaceflight.
As space agencies and private companies continue to innovate, the collaboration between NASA, Boeing, and SpaceX exemplifies how public-private partnerships can drive significant advancements in space exploration. The successes of the Commercial Crew Program demonstrate the potential for future collaborative efforts in pushing the boundaries of human space exploration.
In conclusion, Sunita Williams' remarkable career and her contributions to the first crewed mission on Boeing’s Starliner capsule highlight her role as a trailblazer in space. The advancements made by Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon under NASA's Commercial Crew Program signify a new chapter in human spaceflight, with the potential to revolutionize our approach to exploring the final frontier. As we look to the future, the achievements of Williams and her colleagues serve as an inspiration for the next generation of explorers, scientists, and engineers who will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in space.
#Sunita Williams – A Trailblazer in Space#first crewed mission on Boeing’s Starliner capsule#SpaceX’s Crew Dragon#Boeing Starliner mission
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Five steps of Wikipedia for Thursday, 2nd November 2023
Welcome, 你好, Bienvenue, नमस्ते 🤗 Five steps of Wikipedia from "2018 massacres in Benue and Kogi States" to "1991 All-Africa Games". 🪜👣
Start page 👣🏁: 2018 massacres in Benue and Kogi States "In 2018, several massacres occurred in Benue and Kogi, in central Nigeria, supposedly by Fulani herdsmen gunmen. At least 50 were killed in all...."
Step 1️⃣ 👣: Middle Belt "The Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt) or Central Nigeria is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It is composed of the southern half of the defunct Northern..."
Step 2️⃣ 👣: Abuja "Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Planning Associates (IPA), a consortium of three American..."
Image licensed under CC BY 3.0? by Collage: Jamie Tubers Images used: Bryn Pinzgauer, Tsadori, MrPanyGoff, ayatudeen74, chippla, and Teemages
Step 3️⃣ 👣: 2003 All-Africa Games "The 8th All Africa Games were 5–17 October 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed Abuja Stadium. The organizing committee was headed by Nigerian Amos Adamu...."
Step 4️⃣ 👣: 2011 All-Africa Games "The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent...."
Step 5️⃣ 👣: 1991 All-Africa Games "The 5th All-Africa Games were held from September 20 to October 1, 1991, in Cairo, Egypt. Forty-three countries participated in eighteen sports. For the first time the Games were held on a four-year cycle as planned. Egypt had hoped to use the Games to showcase the city of Cairo for a possible..."
Image licensed under CC0? by 1991 All-Africa Games Organizing Committee
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On March 16, 2024, Ed Sheeran will return to India with his Mathematics Tour; Callum Scott will open the show.
Ed Sheeran returns to Mumbai, India, six years after his previous smash blockbuster tour, the Divide Tour, in 2017. Ed Sheeran, one of the world's best-selling musicians of all time, will bring his + - = x (Mathematics) Tour to India as part of his Asia and Europe Tour in 2024. The India leg of this much-anticipated fantastic and best-selling tour will be the Asia Tour's final stop, taking place on March 16th, 2024 at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in the heart of Mumbai. Calum Scott, a singer-songwriter, will appear as a special guest on the evening.
BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment branch of BookMyShow, will promote Ed Sheeran's + - = x Tour in India alongside AEG Presents. Ed Sheeran returns to Mumbai, India, six years after his previous smash blockbuster tour, the Divide Tour, in 2017. The general on-sale for Ed Sheeran: + - = x Tour - India will begin on October 27th, 2023 at 3 PM IST. The + - = x Tour's upcoming Asian concerts will be Ed Sheeran's first in Asia since 2019, while the European dates will follow his visit to the region last year. The announcement follows Ed's record-breaking USA tour, during which he set various attendance records, including Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium and New Jersey's MetLife Stadium; the latter saw Ed secure the greatest single-day concert attendance in the United States, ever. Ed Sheeran, a four-time Grammy Award winner, released two albums this year, '- (Subtract) and Autumn Variations, both of which debuted at No. 1 around the world. Sheeran collaborated with The National's Aaron Dessner on both LPs, which were released to tremendous acclaim in May and September, respectively. Sheeran's two-hour + - = x Tour will feature songs from all of his albums released since 2011 - "Plus," "Multiply" (2014), "Divide" (2017), "Equals" (2021), and the new "Subtract," as well as one from 2019's "No. 6 Collaborations Project" ("Blow").
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