#2nd year now officially starts in June (instead of April) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

truecrimesstuff · 3 years

Text

The only judge in India who was hanged:

This heinous crime dates back to the early 70s and in its entirety jolted the whole of Assam, India. Upendra Nath Rajkhowa was posted as a District and Sessions Judge in Dhuburi, Assam in 1969. Due to his rank and service, he was given many facilities and even a bungalow for accommodation. His family consisted of his wife Mrs. Putuli Rajkhowa and three daughters namely Miss Nirmali Rajkhowa, Miss Jonali Rajkhowa, and Miss Rupali Rajkhowa.

Upendra Nath Rajkhowa and his family.

Rajkhowa initially arrived alone in Dhuburi and stayed up in the Circuit House and later on shifted to the bungalow given by the government. Around October 1969 during the Durga Puja holidays his family arrived in Dhuburi and started staying with him. After the holidays were over his youngest daughters Jonali Rajkhowa and Rupali Rajkhowa went back to resume their college studies in Guwahati.

In January 1970, Rajkhowa told Bigan Prosad Rout, a helper in his court to uproot a stump that was standing near his bathroom. Rout did what was asked of him with the help of another helper in the court Md. Sahid Ali and the gardener Radha Nath Mali. As the stump was removed a pit was left behind in the same location. Rajkhowa didn't allow the helpers to fill up the pit stating that he wanted to grow some flowers there. He again advised Md. Sahid Ali to dig up another pit at the East side of the compound where he said he would plant some lotuses which will be brought from Coochbehar.

Rajkhowa retired from his services on 2nd February, 1970, but he didn't immediately vacate the bungalow. 10th February being Saraswati Puja, Rajkhowa sent all his house helps to go out and celebrate. Bigan later recalled that at about 8:30 P.M when he returned he saw Rajkhowa coming back from somewhere with his wife and eldest daughter Nirmali and all three were seen sitting around the fire and talking. Sadly, it was the last day Putuli Rajkhowa and Nirmali Rajkhowa were seen alive.

On 11th February, when Bigan came to the Rajkhowa residence he was shocked to learn from Mr. Rajkhowa that his wife and eldest daughter had gone back to Guwahati, Assam and that Mr.Rajkhowa had himself gone to drop them at the bus stop. When he further questioned about why they had gone back since there were no plans even till the previous evening Rajkhowa told him that they had decided on moving back as he was already retired. Rajkhowa then sent Bigan to the market and when he returned he saw Rajkhowa washing some clothes in the bathroom and the disposal water coming out had a red tinge. Later, that day a plumber who had come to the Rajkhowa residence to repair a water pump saw Rajkhowa leveling a pit near the kitchen. When Rajkhowa saw the plumber he ran away inside and instead sent a helper to tell the plumber that the owner of the house wasn't there.

Upendra Nath Rajkhowa's two younger daughters Jonali and Rupali were studying in Guwahati at that time and were staying in the house of Barada Charan Sarma, the brother-in-law of Upendra Nath Rajkhowa. On 14th February 1970 Rajkhowa gave a call to Sarma asking him to send Jonali and Rupali to Dhuburi as he had planned a Darjeeling trip with the family. Sarma informed Rajkhowa about their impending exams but Rajkhowa was adamant so, he sent Jonali and Rupali to Dhuburi by the afternoon bus that day itself. Rajkhowa himself went to the bus stand to pick them up and when they asked about the whereabouts of their mother and elder sister they were informed by Rajkhowa to be visiting a relative name Lakhi Goswami in Kokrajhar. Jonali and Rupali were last seen alive by Bigan on 25th February 1970 at about 10:00 A.M. At 2:30 P.M Bigan saw Rajkhowa talking to a man in a black car and at about 4:30 P.M when Rajkhowa came back into the house he instead told Bigan that he had sent back his two daughters to Guwahati in a friend's car as they were having some study issues. On 26th February, Rajkhowa got the second pit which was dug in the East side of his compound filled up by his accomplice in the crime Umesh Baishya, who was also the house help. The pit was later leveled up by an unaware Md. Sahid Ali.

Rajkhowa's accomplice in the crime, Umesh Baishya.

On 13th April 1970 Rajkhowa sent two letters to Barada Sarma stating that his wife hasn't come back, that he received a phone call on Saturday and he would be traveling to Delhi on Tuesday night. He also informed him that Jonali and Rupali won't be appearing for the exams and would return to Guwahati in June. On 15th April, he left Dhuburi by the Siliguri Express after leaving some of his belongings in the hands of Mr. Golok Sarma and Mr. Joy Prakash Chakravarty. His accomplice in the crime Umesh Baishya stayed in the bungalow after he left, until June 1970.

After his departure, his further whereabouts were unknown until June 1970 when Rajkhowa visited Mr. Satya Prakash Chakravarty, father in Gauripur where he ended up staying for three days. He was asked about his family members but he said they were in Delhi. When he was getting ready to leave, Rajkhowa pleaded with the Chakravarty's to keep his visit and his further plan to go to Siliguri a secret. After this visit, Rajkhowa departed to Savoy Hotel in Siliguri.

In June, when after repeated attempts to contact Upendra Nath Rajkhowa failed, Barada Sarma started a frenzied search to get hold of him to enquire about his sister and nieces. Barada came to Dhuburi and was informed by Joy Prakash Chakravarty and Golok Sarma, who were close friends of Rajkhowa that he was at Room no 3 in Savoy Hotel, Siliguri. On 25th July 1970 Barada Sarma left with Apurba Barua, brother-in-law of Rajkhowa and D.N Kahali, the then officer-in-charge of Dhuburi Police Station, to Siliguri Savoy Hotel. They got hold of Rajkhowa in the aforementioned location. The men started questioning Rajkhowa who later told them that the whereabouts of his wife and daughters can be said only in writing. He was given a piece of paper whete ajkhowa wrote in Assamese that Putuli, Nirmali, Jonali, and Rupali weren't anymore in this world. When further pressed about their exact whereabouts, he later said that his wife had one evening seriously injured herself in a fall that led to her death and that Nirmali had also died due to an overdose of sleeping tablets. On their tragic death he wasn't in a sane mind and didn't know what to do so he called some people who disposed of the bodies by throwing them in the Brahmaputra river for a sum of Rs. 500. Rajkhowa further stated that the news of their mother and elder sister's death was too much to handle for his younger daughters and they committed suicide one evening by jumping into the Brahmaputra river. After he wrote this statement, Barada Sarma told him to accompany them to the police station to issue the same statement. They then went out of the room so that Rajkhowa can change his clothes. After some time they heard a sound and all of them barged inside and found that Rajkhowa attempted suicide by assaulting himself with a knife.

Rajkhowa was immediately taken to the hospital and a case was registered by Apurba Barua in the Siliguri police station. But when Barada didn't receive any additional information from the Siliguri police station he registered a case in Dhuburi Police Station on 4th August, 1970 and atlast on 9th August after twodays of continuous questioning, Rajkhowa confessed to killing his wife and daughters and burying their bodies within the official compound of the district judge with the help of the house help Umesh Baishya. He also further stated that that the crimes were committed on the nights of 10th February and 25th February, 1970. The Police then examined the pits where Rajkhowa had confessed burying the bodies of his family members. A pair of skeletons was found in both the pits and as a result Umesh Baishya was arrested immediately in 11th August, 1970, for helping Rajkhowa in committing the crime and in 13th August Upendra Nath Rajkhowa was arrested from Siliguri Hospital.

The then District and Sessions Judge's residence in Dhuburi where Rajkhowa buried his wife and daughters. This house is now infamously known in Assam as "Bhoot-Bangla" or "Ghosthouse".

Soon, the trial began and it went on for a year and the lower court sentenced Upendra Nath Rajkhowa to death and his accomplice in the crime Umesh Baishya to lifetime imprisonment. Upendra Nath Rajkhowa further appealed at the High Court against the death sentence, but the High Court upheld the decision of the Lower Court. Rajkhowa again appealed at the Supreme Court, but here too the previous sentences of the High Court and Lower Court were upheld. Rajkhowa also appealed to the President for mercy petition, but it was turned down. On 14 February 1976, the former judge Upendra Nath Rajkhowa was hanged in Jorhat jail for the murder of his four family members. But one big mystery still surrounds the case, Rajkhowa never told anyone even after numerous questioning the reason behind murdering his own wife and daughters and it still to this day remains a mystery.

Note: As this case dates back to the 70s I didn't find any good pictures of the victims and the criminals. The above given pictures are screenshots taken from some old youtube videos.

#true crime #true crime community

8 notes · View notes

clockworkmoose · 4 years

Text

Oof 2020 recap.

I stepped down from my job in... End of Jan? Early Feb? with the intention of 1. getting away from a crazy employee I was not being paid enough to deal with and was not allowed to fire, 2. Finally had enough savings that I wasn’t a constant ball of insecurity, and I could take 9 months off with no income before I’d start worrying, and 9 months felt like a good time frame to try and be self employed and sell crafts/plushies at conventions.

Because why wouldn’t there be a bunch of conventions to sell things at in 2020???

Not working 50 hour weeks was also supposed to give me time to plan August wedding, and make wedding dress.

March, start sending out wedding invites. Two weeks later, Cuomo shuts down the entire state. *~*Timing~*~

Send out “woops hold that thought” cards.

The fiance had to transition to teaching his classes over zoom, and making youtube videos, which ends up being a 12-hour, 7-day a week time commitment. On the plus there, that was a huge crash course in video editing he finally had a reason to learn. And serendipitously, me had his brother had gotten him a bunch of camera and recording equipment to bully him into doing movie reviews on youtube, so he actually had the stuff he needed to teach online effectively. He takes over half of my craft room immediately after I reorganized and spread things out to make sewing more efficient and organized. Sewing stuff gets re-squished back into the corner. :<

April, i sew so many masks. so so many. i do not like sew mask. ;~;

Etsy sticks more fees on their site! I make a website! Web design has changed a fuckton since ye olden dayes of neopet pet pages! I have no idea what I’m doing; can’t even add a glitter trail following the cursor around! Where is the option for autoplay music in the background! Lame!

Mid June, and no end in sight for, ...y’know, so we cancel August wedding and push our deposit back to 2021. Fiance was really bummed about not getting the specific date so like a week later the venue says we can still show up with a small group and get “official married” outside on the day. I’m not gung-ho for this at all, but James is, so we decide to do that; start scrambling. I make my dress but like. From what was supposed to be the first drape fabric, because fabric store’s still closed. I like it, but idk!

I didn’t think I actually cared super much about wedding details, like I didn’t have a “dream wedding” as a kid or have a moodboard or anything... All I was really hoping for was having family there since I only get to see all the cousins maybe once every 7-10 years, and making my own dress. Since big family gather was obviously not allowed, not even being able to make my dress in the way I saw it in my head was just kinda... disgruntling? I guess? Sad emotions I can’t really put to words, and not strong enough to overrule fiance having strong happy emotions about getting to keep our original wedding date.

New York gathering limit is raised to 25, so my family (6) and his (2) plus us and officiant (3) all get together and yay, officially married on August 1st! Until we get paperwork from NY state, and ha ha funny story, officiant signed the paperwork for August 2. Officiant apologizes, sends in a correction letter, so now we’re officially married on the 2nd, but have a footnote in state records that says *(actually it was Aug. 1).

So like, I’m happy we got married, that’s a happy part of the day, but 1. family wasn’t there, 2. didn’t get to make the dress I was hoping to, 3. we didn’t even get the fucking date we did all this for??? It’s a complicated mix of emotions and I’m finding myself just kinda ignoring the fact we actually got married instead of trying to grapple and force the positive feelings to outweigh the negative. SHRUG EMOJI HAHA. DEALING WITH OUR FEELINGS? SOUNDS SUS.

September, my former job reopens, asks if I want to come back, because the person I trained as my replacement ended up quitting because she didn’t want to come back. Neither do I.

October, they hire a new manager, and I end up going in to train her a few days, and cover for her a few more days, and now I’m on call to help out, because I am a big wimpy pushover and did actually really like my job, and like the new lady taking over and don’t want things to be hard for her.

November, I got glasses! I have discovered that the world should NOT be blurry when it is 10 feet away from you.

I know I struggle without a defined definite schedule and my brain latches on to any possible distraction, so this year has been heck. Mental health-wise, I’m doing much better now that I’m not in daily contact with chaos employee! But productivity and focus-wise? ZIP ZILCH ZERO. It has been a STRUGGLE. I don’t have a distraction free zone because of James doing work-from-home teaching, and I don’t have a defined schedule of social events and work shifts to keep me on task. I kinda feel like my brain has turned into a bunch of smokey fog that’s just kinda swirling around inside my head, and every once in a while I emerge and realize a week has passed and I have not checked my email or talked to another non-husband human being in that time.

Oh, and small schadenfreude update on chaos employee- she didn’t have a job until the state reopened, wasn’t eligible for unemployment during the shutdown apparently, her husband finally got the divorce he’s been pushing for for the past decade, and she had to sell her 5k$ sewing machine to be able to make the monthly payments on it. And when she came in to the store once it reopened, new manager had already been warned that she was banned from the premises.

But before she was chased out, she rambled on about how she thought the government was tracking her phone so she got a new one and didn’t back up any of her contacts, and she was hoping new manager would give her my number again because we’re “””best friends.””””””” Manager declined to assist.

CHAOS LADY DOESN’T HAVE MY NUMBER OR ADDRESS ANY MORE. :D

#moosemun #life update idk putting down feelings more than expecting people to read #also #i got a new phone bc mine was going on 6 years old and this new one can do social media apps!#which is why i am posting on tumblr again after a month or so of my old phone giving up on the tumblr app #i can also do twitter and discord again!#as soon as i remember what super secure passwords I have. fuck.#time to reset everything

4 notes · View notes

klcthebookworm · 4 years

Text

2020 My Year In Fic

2020 Fiction Word Count:

86691 / 126531 words. 69% done!

Insights To Not Forget:

So I had a beautiful plan that I was going to reset and hit the ground running for 2021. See Year Zero is Reset Year.

Covid-19 was officially found in my state March 9, 2020, and life found unforeseen territory.

March 24th, I had to adjust to working at home. June 1st, back to working in the office and commuting daily. November 30th, we're back on a modified work from home/office plan (day at home, next day commuting in). I haven't gotten sick and I haven't passed on covid-19 to anyone else. For 2020, that is the biggest win anyone can have. 1.83 million people (to date) didn't get that win.

Would I have forgotten about my buckle down and reset plans without a global pandemic distracting me? Quite likely, I tend to forget all my plans every year. In fact, the writing business plan that I made to cover the year (I use it below for all the goals of the year), the printed version is on my filing cabinet and covered with so many other notes, I can't read the plan. (Removed the notes). This is for 2019. I never printed out 2020's?

And you can see by the total words written, I came under what I wanted to write. Let's see what I accomplished this year.

Stories I Posted:

Star Wars: Sororal Lineality: Aftermath: Word count = 3309. The Fic Whining Circle was getting stories ready for May the Fourth. I decided that this story would be perfectly short to get it up and started writing on May 2nd. I didn't get it finished for May the Fourth, but put it up on Revenge of the Fifth. And then it turned out to be the only story I posted in 2020.

Stories I Finished:

Star Wars: Unexpected Consequences: Word count = 126,607 (31,008 written previously + 49,572 written in 2019 + 46,027). The first draft was finished on July 28th, and it took the rest of the year to get my first edits polished to a second draft for my beta to go over. Now I need to go prod her so I can start posting in 2021.

Star Wars: Sororal Lineality: MJ-0002: Word count = 5664 (387 written in 2019 + 5277). I finished this short story as planned after I finished Unexpected Consequences and before I picked up the next novel. I hope to post it after Unexpected Consequences, but I may need to use it for a May the Fourth story.

Stories I Didn't Finish:

Strix: Forget the Sun: Word count = 31,146 (26,588 written previously + 4279 written in 2019 + 279 written in January) I took a very tiny stab at this novel in January and promptly lost it to work on other things.

Star Wars: Looking For Home Future Timeline: Word count = 7598. So at the end of February, I got stuck on giving the Sequel Trilogy Trio better movie(s) and started writing detailed notes on a future story that will probably never been written. I had already put Rey and Poe Dameron in the sketchy future of the Looking For Home so I needed to figure out how to add Finn. I got stuck with the Third Act, and probably need to declare it has to be a trilogy to get the resolutions I want. Maybe I need a Death Star.

Star Wars: Everybody Lives But Maul: Another plot bunny developed during the year. Mara Jade was given to Darth Vader to annoy him so he would eventually murder her, but he bonds with her instead. So Palpatine orchestrates that Lady Vader's path crosses Maul's on Tatooine. Only Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter ruin the planned outcomes, and Mara remains on Tatooine for her safety. I really don't know if it will be a novel or something else yet.

Star Wars: Everybody Lives But Maul: Prologue: Word count = 1385. So far all I have written in this AU is the scene of the adoption of Lady Vader. I don't know where this scene will end up in the finished work.

Star Wars: Rescue the Farmboy: Mission on Mimban: Word count = 22,882 (8093 written in 2019 + 14,789). After writing "MJ-0002," I came back to Mission on Mimban from the beginning. Still working on it.

What I Think About My Stories:

My favorite story this year: Star Wars: Unexpected Consequence. I can't wait to turn this one lose on the readers.

Story most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Star Wars: Looking For Home: Future Timeline. I really need to spend some more brain time on this one if just to find a conclusion that makes me happy.

Most fun story: Everybody Lives But Maul. I really wasn't expecting to write it accept the idea would not leave the muse alone and then this happened:

KLCtheBookWorm: I really don't know what to do with Vader and Leia... unless he goes into her cell deactivates the IO droid and "Now Princess can we discuss waging war against Palpatine? Because he orchestrated my first family's death, has tried to kill my daughter, and your rebellion has made her flee her safe haven so he will potential see her again. He will not have her or my grandson." Sithspit, why does the muse want to rewrite OT constantly? JediMordsith: lolol Hmmm.... that could be interesting. Or he could go to Bail. "I will give you your daughter back if you help me get mine back." KLCtheBookWorm: YOU GAVE ME MORE PEOPLE TO HELP LIVE! JediMordsith: Bail convinces the rest of the Rebel leaders to work with Vader to take down the Emperor because he knows what a father's love is. KLCtheBookWorm: I always consider Alderaan's destruction a fixed point in time But the conversation between Bail and Mon Mothma. "You wanna do what now?"

Yeah, at that point I will write it.

Stories I wrote that I never thought I'd write: Star Wars: Everybody Lives But Maul. Technically I haven't really started the narrative, but really, Muse, was not expecting yet another rewrite of the OT. This one is the third, after Rescue the Farmboy and Sororal Lineality.

Hardest story to write: Star Wars: Looking For Home Future Timeline. I have never gotten stuck in which I couldn't finish off an outline. And this is so stuck.

Biggest disappointment: Strix: Forget the Sun. I did not even try for NaNo during the pandemic. (Huge props to everyone who did). I'm considering to do NaNo in April instead in 2021 to finish this novel.

Biggest surprise: I only posted ONE THING! I'm not beating myself up for any of the results of 2020 because it was garbage year, but I honestly didn't plan to leave my readers hanging so hard. On the plus side, they will have at least 30 weeks of new content to read in 2021.

What's your favorite piece of dialogue you wrote this year? From Star Wars: Sororal Lineality: Aftermath.

Luke opened his eyes to Leia’s suspicious face. “She was arguing with Threepio. I went the other way.” “So she couldn’t put you back in the medbunk.” Leia bounced to her feet and helped leverage him out of his seat. “You are going right back to it and staying in it until we reach the Fleet, Commander.” “Aye, aye, Colonel,” Luke replied with less than the banter he normally did. He leaned heavily on Leia, more than he should. Lando finished locking down the controls and followed behind them. “Colonel? Not a General?” “Not a General yet,” Luke responded with a wheezy laugh.

It took a while to figure out what Leia's military actual rank is based of costumes and plot actions in Empire Strikes Back. Major Bren Derlin didn't get a yes from Leia because she loves the two men out in the cold, but because she out ranks him.

What's your favorite piece of description or narration you wrote this year? From Star Wars: Soroal Lineality: MJ-0002.

The last one she dared to open was a recording. Her memory replayed on the screen: a child’s best dress colored green as the recorder tilted down, followed by looking back at the sad adults in the shadows of the shuttle’s lights. She heard the woman’s quavering voice, “Please, don’t take my baby.” Then the gnarled hand extended from the sleeve of the black robe and a tiny hand took it, and the recorder turned to the lit hatch at the top of the ramp. Mara's surroundings registered in waves after that. Her glutes were tingling as she shifted from sitting in a collapsed position on the floor. The floor was cold stone. The recording was playing on a loop above her head. She hadn’t fainted because she wasn’t flat on her back. She climbed up to her feet and shut off the playback. Now the title of the file burned into her retinas, Primary Memory Imprint for Murdering Judges Clone Line.

I can't wait to share this story with readers.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would, less, or about what you predicted? Oh I came in under what I had aimed for, only writing to 69% of my goal that I set from what I wrote in 2019. But 2020 was a garbage year so I'm not beating myself up over word count results. As I went through the year though, I noticed that August and September were totally spent on just editing and no new words. That means I need to watch the schedule in 2021.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I have officially started the write a series of short stories and keep them under 7500 words. I need more practice writing short, which is why I plotted Sororal Lineality this way.

Did you meet last year's goals?

That's a no, and boy, how is it a no. 2021 Goal is to not have Leeloo laugh at me.

The goals from my unprinted 2020 one-page business plan are:

Use Ali Luke's Two Year Novel Plan to finish the Strix series

January - May 2020: Finish Strix: Forget the Sun's first draft = Nope, not done yet.

June - October 2020: Finish Strix: Forget the Sun's second draft = Nope.

Writing Star Wars AU fanfics

Finish Unexpected Consequences' first draft = Done

Start writing Sororal Lineality = Two stories done out of 28

Finish Rescue the Farmboy: Mission on Mimban's first draft = Nope, but I am currently writing it.

Send Unexpected Consequences to beta reader = Done

Send Sororal Lineality stories to beta reader = Done

Edit Unexpected Consequences = In Progress

Edit Sororal Lineality stories = Done

Post regularly to Intentionally Left Blank, Dreamwidth, Discipline Under Fire, Tumblr Random Thoughts, Pillowfort = Do once a week on Saturdays = I haven't been doing this at all. Tumblr posts happen when I'm home but usually reposting and not anything I have written.

BookWorm's Library website maintenance = Work on once a week on Sundays = Really need to do this

Make sure the software is up to date once a month

Add any files that need adding

Add Media Center to BookWorm's Library = Work on once a week on Sundays = Hasn't happened yet

Create section

Make artwork

Code section

Upload files

Add more fanfics to AO3

Upload Zackverse in story order = Nope, not yet

Upload Star Wars: Unexpected Consequences when edited on Ao3 = In Progress

Upload Sororal Lineality stories when edited = In Progress

Upload Rescue the Farmboy: Liberation to FF.net and the Library when finished = Oops, forgot about this

Upload Rescue the Farmboy: One More Service to FF.net and the Library when finished = Oops, forgot about this

Post Star Wars: Unexpected Consequences to FF.net = In Progress

Post Star Wars: Unexpected Consequences to Library = In Progress

My daily writing plans to help the above list of goals get done:

Write 600 daily words. Can be split among the projects. I'm making the yearly goal to reach whatever number I actually reach on December 31st.

Write and edit every day.

Schedule website updates and fanmix work on the weekends.

Work in meditation time with Brain FM.

Use my Kanban Flow checklist consistently.

Don't let chores pile up now that you have two jobs plus writing to do.

Reward myself when goals are reached throughout my Reset Year.

Do you have any goals for the coming year? The goals from my 2021 one-page business plan are:

Use Ali Luke's Two Year Novel Plan to finish the Strix series

April - August 2021: Finish Strix: Forget the Sun's first draft (I'm going to push myself to get it done in by treating April as NaNo, but more time is available if I need it)

Sept. - Dec. 2021: Finish Strix: Forget the Sun's second draft

Writing Star Wars AU fanfics

Finish Unexpected Consequences' third draft

Finish Rescue the Farmboy: Mission on Mimban's first draft

Edit Rescue the Farm: Mission on Mimban to second draft

Send Rescue the Farm: Mission on Mimban to beta reader

Finish Rescue the Farm: Mission on Mimban third draft/li>

Finish Sororal Lineality: Miha first draft

Edit Sororal Lineality: Miha to second draft

Send Sororal Lineality: Miha to beta reader

Finish Sororal Lineality: Miha third draft

Writing Zackverse

Work on Hyrueliana's overhaul

Post regularly to Intentionally Left Blank, Dreamwidth, Discipline Under Fire, and Tumblr Random Thoughts = Do once a week

BookWorm's Library website maintenance = Work on once a week on Sundays

Make sure the software is up to date once a month

Add any files that need adding

Add Media Center to BookWorm's Library = Work on once a week on Sundays

Create section

Make artwork

Code section

Upload files

Add more fanfics to AO3

Upload Zackverse in story order

Upload Star Wars: Unexpected Consequences when edited on Ao3

Upload Sororal Lineality: MJ-0002 on Ao3 on May 4th

Reload Sororal Lineality: Aftermath on Ao3

Upload Soroal Lineality: Miha to Ao3

Upload Rescue the Farmboy: Liberation to the Library

Upload Rescue the Farmboy: One More Service to the Library

Post Star Wars: Unexpected Consequences to Library

Upload Looking For Home: My Home Is You to the Library

Upload Looking For Home: Outcast to Library

Upload Sororal Lineality: MJ-0002 to the Library

Upload Sororal Lineality: Aftermath to the Library

Upload Sororal Lineality: Miha

Update FF.net profile of where newer stories are now

My daily writing plans to help the above list of goals get done:

Write 600 daily words. Can be split among the projects. I'm making the yearly goal to reach whatever number I actually reach on December 31st.

Write and edit every day.

Schedule website updates and fanmix work on the weekends.

Work in meditation time with Brain FM.

Use my Kanban Flow checklist consistently.

Don't let chores pile up now that you have two jobs plus writing to do.

Here's to 2021. We'll get through it together.

#fic life #2020 goals #2021 goals #my year in fanfic

2 notes · View notes

fire2forge · 4 years

Text

Looking back...

March 15th 2020. My ship said goodbye to to our last guests. We pulled into Miami, let everyone off and left to go drift out with all the other cruise ships. At the time we all thought that it would truly be a 30 day pause in operations, we know now how naïve that was.

I’ll admit for awhile it was nice. Crew had the run of the ship, bars were open earlier, we had very little work to do, late nights out having fun, all kinds of activities. We were all so confident that covid hadn’t made it to our ship, that we were all safe, and this was just gonna be a 30 day vacation.

Cut to the 21st:

We come to find out later that this unannounced drill was our super-spreader event. Because no-one knew it was a drill, everyone that was in isolation came out (we thought the ship was on fire)...by the time it was announced it was a drill and those confined should not leave it was to late...

Cut to the 24th:

I go back to medical later in the day, and after testing negative for the flu, am given a mask and told I was not allowed to leave my cabin (I luckily did not have a room mate), unless it was to come back for daily temp checks.

I find out later on that unknown to most of us we had a lot of people that had quietly been put into isolation (in a crew of 2000+, it’s easy to not notice). This was also the day of our first major repatriation effort 700 crew (mainly cruise division) where slated to fly...only a few did.

Cut to the 28th:

The first PCR tests are done onboard, sometime in the afternoon the Captain comes on and says we have one positive case. A few hours later its 14 confirmed cases, and everyone is told to return to their cabins until further notice (We never had an official announcement given after the first 14, but it was well over 100 cases by the end). The ship has just entered lock down.

On the 29th All crew got moved into guest rooms, this was both because of an order from the CDC, and so that the many smoker’s would be able to smoke on the balconies. We had different zones to divide everyone up:

Red Zone for confirmed cases, Orange for suspected/been in contact with, and the rest for supposedly healthy. It’s here that I note that even though I had already been in isolation for days, had a constant cough, and had had a fever (that by then had broken) I was never tested, nor was I put into orange zone.

At this point no one can leave cabins (excluding those working crew) and the company has started to realize that they need to get everyone back home as soon as possible. Repatriation efforts start to really kick into gear.

We stayed in what would eventually be labeled Phase 1 for 29 days. We entered Phase 2 April 26th.

PHASE 1

During the initial phase, all crew got asked if they wanted to stay onboard (unpaid), basically for those who didn’t want to or couldn’t go home for any reason. This would become Group 3. I was part of this group, for many reasons I did not want to go home, so the free room and board was perfect for me, and many of my friends. This is the sole reason I was onboard for so long, not because of anything the company did.

Those that did want to go home became group 2, many of them would end up waiting months before their country opened up and flights could be made, I remember how at the end of March beginning of April, we would constantly here from the Capt that some nationality was going to fly that day, only for him to come back and say that the got denied at some point in the process and would be coming back onboard.

Those few that were still getting paid, still had a job because someone had to run the ship became known as Group 1.

I don’t really remember that much from this time, the days really started to blend and the isolation was not helping anything. While people in the US where throwing fits over “Shelter in Place” orders, I was not allowed to leave a room that was roughly 20′x10′. They complained about not being able to see friends, I only saw 1 person a day (one of my managers twice a day for temp checks, approx. 5 second visits each). They complained that stores had limited hours, I had no store, I had limited choice in food, I had no ability to get snacks, it was 3 meals a day that’s it, you want some chips at 3pm to bad dinner won’t come till 6pm. (eventually they sorted out a system so we could by snacks, beer, cigs, and bathroom supplies). To top this all off we had no access to laundry services till round April 5th, I was put in isolation before everyone else, I had not done my laundry for a week before hand....I was struggling.

Looking through some old notes, apparently at one point I had made a schedule, Breakfast 9-10...Read till 11....Listen to the crew radio show 11-1...Lunch 12-1...Nap...Dinner 5-6...Sleep. Very stimulating days we had.

A month of solitude was not easy, especially when you keep hearing about crew members being denied entry into their own countries, the media blaming the industry as a whole for covid reached the US, constantly thinking our quarantine was gonna end only for it to be extended, and not seeing or really speaking to anyone the entire time. But a light at the end of the tunnel...Phase 2

PHASE 2

April 26th we got let out....kinda...

Split down the Middle...people on Portside got let out for 3 hours, then People on Starboard got let out for 3 hours (this excluded anyone in red or orange zone). After our “yard time” we went back to our cabins. Once a week you could go down and purchase up to 4 items from the slop chest (the crew shop). Everyone was wearing masks, the only time we weren’t is if we were smoking, one person per ashtray spaced about 8ft apart.

At some point during this time the Captain made a comment on how in hindsight we should of went straight into lockdown on March 15th, that we should of done 2 weeks then instead of over a month now.

We still had 2 temp checks a day (done door to door), and all meals were still delivered. There is a reason we joked about it being yard time, because it really was. You got to get some fresh air and maybe see a few friends that was it....Luckily it didn’t last long we entered phase 3 on May 12th.

But before that a note. By this time the fleet had started using our own ships to transport crew home, aka one ship sailed a bunch of people over to India. Along with that some people were getting lucky enough to have flights. So my ship was constantly losing people, either because they got a flight home or where being moved onto another ship. If I remember correctly our largest sign off was ~500 Filipinos, it was a hectic time in crew movement, by the time we got into Phase 3 we only had a few hundred people on board if memory serves right.

PHASE 3

We could finally be outside for as long as we wanted, no more restricted movement. Meals where in the large guest buffet area (seating 1 or 2 people a table only, all distanced), temp checks where done at division based locations, for me that was the theatre (still two a day)....that’s basically the only change.

We still had to wear masks at all times, we were still supposed to keep distance, no groups, no going into each others cabins, no fun nights out...in theory.

The first few days in Phase 3 we ended up signing off almost everyone that was in Group 2, by May 20th we were at minimum manning +16 Group 3 (in total about 100 people). It was then that we went back to eating in the crew mess and the restrictions where unofficially forgotten about.

When I say this you must keep in mind that at this point it had been almost 3 months since any of us had touched land, and a solid month and a half since we had a positive case. Much like New Zealand and Australia now, we no longer had to worry about covid. We still wore masks around the ship (thanks to the CDC), but unless Chief Safety caught you no one was gonna look twice at a large group eating at one table, or a group staying up late drinking and playing cards (guilty of that)...By the end of May it was almost like we had regained some normalicy...so of course it couldn’t last...

MOVING SHIP

May 21st, Group 3 got a notice that we would be transferred to another ship in the fleet to consolidate all of us together. They said it would be a few weeks before this transfer...We finally got moved on June 22nd.

As of today March 16th 2021 a full year after we stopped sailing, the last remaining Group 2 and Group 3 people from my company have gotten home, those that were in Group 2 came from Vietnam, and Trinidad and Trabago it took a year to finally get them home...let that sink in.

...

And here is where i’ll end this tale, if anyone is interested in knowing about life on the 2nd and 3rd ship I got transferred to before going home in December, let me know i’ll type something up.

#cruise crew #Cruise Ship #covid #crew #long post #there is so much i didn't put down #all the little things #all the rules #all the shit the cdc did to us and still is doing #a lot of nuance #is lost here as i tried to make it not a super long post #as well as keep it vague what company i work with #and don't get the wrong idea here i will be the 1st one back on a ship #i just felt like doing a retrospective on how my covid experiance differed from others #maybe its because my friends from the ship just got home and seeing them reacting to just everything that's changed ....#well it got me thinking

1 note · View note

uhxrp · 4 years

Photo

timeline

just like with our plot, our timeline comes with a lot of detail and information, so it will be under the cut. we urge you guys to go through this, because it features a lot of information on how our plot developed from the past to present and plays further into the political intrigue we’ve developed on site. we really hope you like it!

now, for reference, please keep in mind that when we open we will be running with the same time as it currently is, which is to say that it will be september of 2020 on site at open. thanks!

2005

TYPE-O FEBRUARY 7TH 2005

monday’s are supposed to be ordinary things—that tired day of the week you’re never quite ready for; waking up roughly after a late sunday night, yelling at slow drivers on your way to work, your morning spent on the toilet using up company time. but by the evening of that fateful monday, the world had changed.

with the leaked release of type-o research work, a synthesized blood product made to satisfy the hunger of vampires, word spread across the internet. many asked, could this be real? while others scoffed at the notion.

but on fox news that evening, one vampire came forward, the supernatural world’s first whistle-bowler. through his existence, the world learned of all the monsters lingering in the night.

THE WHISTLE-BLOWER'S DEMISE FEBRUARY 8TH 2005

the cops find him lying face down in a storm ditch, his body marred with sunlight burns, making him almost unrecognizable. almost. his face in the past 24 hours had been plastered on every news outlet in the country. this was the supernatural whistle-blower, and someone had taken swift vengeance.

THE MONTGOMERY PROTEST FEBRUARY 9TH 2005

before the white columns of the alabama state capitol, the first ever protest against the supernaturals erupts, with violence springing up as the sky grows darker.

THE FANG CLASHES STARTS FEBRUARY 10TH 2005

in response to the show in alabama, the supernaturals flood the streets of nyc. they hold up signs, all mirroring the same pair of fangs, in remembrance of their whistle-blower. inspired by the images coming out of the big apple, pro-supernatural rallies soon spring up in other major cities. humans flood the streets in equal response, refusing to let these supernatural voices be heard. violence breaks out by the second night, as cars are set alight and windows smashed. everywhere signs of fangs and messages of damnation can be seen.

later, these long protests and counter-protests are named the fang clashes, for the banner the supernaturals align under.

THE BUNKER MEETING FEBRUARY 12TH 2005

with violent protests occurring throughout most of the u.s., the government sends out the national guard.

deep in a bunker in the white house, the president meets with representatives of type-o and a small number of cabinet officials. nobody knows the content of the meeting—if any bargains or threats are made—but a few weeks after, the government comes out with official details of all known species.

AASF ESTABLISHED MARCH 2005

on the back of wide-scale protests in the state, humans band together and establish the alabamians against supernaturals force (AASF). their aim—to protect their state from supernaturals and keep humans safe. the groups numbers swell overnight, and vigilante justice sweeps the state. many supernaturals and non-supernaturals end up getting hurt in the terror that follows.

the groups success leads to other states forming vigilante groups of their own.

WALKER MURDERS SEPTEMBER 12TH 2005

on the morning of september 12th, the AASF leaders, edward and julia walker are found dead in their beds. no immediate cause of death is revealed, and so blame is immediately thrust upon the supernaturals. four days later, the autopsy comes back, revealing they were murdered by a witches’ curse. having stayed relatively under the radar, the witch community now comes under fire from anti groups.

TITLE 18 UPDATE SEPTEMBER 25TH 2005

in response to the walker murders, the government addresses the criminal activities of creatures. title 18 of the united states code is updated, and new chapters are added, outlawing such things as dangerous curses, necromancy, fey pacts, drinking from humans without consent, and turning humans into therians.

PFHL ESTABLISHED OCTOBER 2005

fresh off the clampdown of magical activity, the humans establish a political force, the party for human lives. lobbying the republican party, they ask for increased rights for humans to defend themselves against supernaturals, as well as supporting the oppression of supernaturals.

DCA ESTABLISHED DECEMBER 2005

after months of protests, a branch of the democratic party come out in support of supernatural creatures. they are ousted from their political party, but quickly form the democratic-creature alliance. they begin to work on ways to gain protections for supernaturals. hours after the formation of the group, the democratic party denounces them.

2006

THE BEING LIST JANUARY 1ST 2006

on the first day of the new year, the government announces a system, named the being list. all supernaturals are required to sign up, providing details of their powers and identification through photographs, fingerprints, and blood. any failure to sign up to the program results in jail-time. processing stations are set up across the country, as well as police taskforces to track down any supernaturals disobeying the program. with this new system, the fang clashes end.

however, many supernaturals feel unfairly prosecuted, and peaceful sit-in protests occur in larger cities. these protests are quickly disbanded by the police, and the supernaturals are taken to be processed against their will.

THE SANCTUARY JANUARY 4TH 2006

in new orleans, a city with a more tolerant attitude towards supernaturals due to its history with them and rich diversity of supernatural inhabitants, some of the city’s therian population establish a safe house. feeling affronted by the list, they aim to ferry people from elsewhere in the country and bring them to the safety of nola. they want to make a home for themselves, somewhere they might stay safe from the prosecution seemingly everywhere.

THE ANNIVERSARY MASSACRES FEBRUARY 8TH - 14TH 2006

leading up to the first anniversary, flyers for protests and counter-protests are handed out, and the events bring huge crowds to the cities. small scale clashes erupt between the two groups, but overall, the night goes on without any major blows.

on the morning of the 9th, the bodies of many supernaturals are found across the country. at first, many think the various vigilante groups had started the wave of murderous violence, but the groups soon protest their innocence. later, it becomes clear all the bodies have one thing in common—all are branded with twin pistols. the mark of hunters.

the killings continue in waves up until the 14th, where on valentine’s day the largest number of supernaturals are wiped out in a single day. never before had the hunter's managed to target them on this scale, and the supernaturals wonder how they managed to find everyone. quickly, their attention turns to the being list.

days later, the government finally admits that their database had been hacked.

THE GATHERINGS STARTED LATE FEBRUARY 2006

facing persecution from the government, as well as the threat of being hunted down, the fight for supernatural rights soon leaves the streets. instead, communities gather in houses, discussing ways to ensure their safety and survival, as well as to debate on suitable methods of self-defense. with the resistance underground, alliances start to deepen between the various species, while others only widen.

NEW ORLEANS RUSH MARCH 2ND 2006

with a supportive and sympathetic human populous, and one of the largest communities of supernaturals already established in the country, the mayor of new orleans proclaims the city as a pro-supernatural haven. he urges supernaturals to make their way to the city, to the arms of more tolerant friends. in response, there's a large influx of supernaturals to new orleans, and soon hunters follow in their wake.

FELLOWSHIP OF ALL BEINGS OCTOBER 31ST 2006

but, the more tolerant humans of NOLA don't take kindly to the anti-supernatural groups that attempt to rise in the wake of the supernatural rush. in response, the fellowship of all beings comes together; a group with the aim to promote free love of all beings and establish themselves as supportive allies of supernatural beings.

the first pro-supernatural march happens in new orleans on halloween, with many humans and supernaturals in attendance.

2007

THE CENTRAL CITY CLASHES JUNE 4TH - MAY 9TH 2007

in NOLA, the vampires and therians start to dispute territories. this leads to a series of midnight clashes between the two species, with much blood being spilled on the streets. after many evenings of violence breaking out, the police department warn that if disruption continues, they will bring in hunters.

while the threat prevents further outright violence, a slow burning war between the two species takes hold.

HUNTER PROTECTION MANDATE JULY 10TH 2007

taking inspiration from the new orleans police department, the government enacts a mandate; every police department in the country will be assigned a hunter, while largest police departments will have entire hunter task forces at their disposal.

THE BLOOD MOON PROTEST AUGUST 28TH 2007

under the total lunar eclipse, across the nation the therians launch a series of publicity stunts against the mandate. in the minutes while the world turns dark, they paint their luminary symbol on walls and roads, lay down signs on capitol lawns listing their demands, and bomb newly established hunter offices within police departments. in response, the government labels the blood moon party as terrorists.

2008

OPERATION CHANGELING STARTED JANUARY 12TH - APRIL 27TH 2008

with supernatural rights group largely underground and unknown, the fbi launches an operation to infiltrate pro-supernatural groups and take down the leaders of the movements. many agents of the task-force are sent into new orleans, a known hub of pro-supernatural activity, as new members of the fellowship of all beings.

over the next three months, 12 of the 15 agents vanish, before finally the agency pulls the mission.

BLOOD TYPES OCTOBER 31ST 2008

during the annual halloween fab parade, some vampires are seen exchanging vials of blood. most assume they are trading the vials of synthetic type-o blood, but rumors of vampires on blood highs start to circle, the underworld steps in to squash these rumors, but the exposure leads to other dark beings becoming involved in the underworld's dark market.

2009

THE MOREAU KIDNAPPING APRIL 26TH 2009

making waves in the back halls of government, the DCA develops the first pro-supernatural bill. the bill’s architect, lawyer and merrow activist, melusina moreau, establishes herself as a force for change. but, her work is cut short when she mysteriously disappears from her d.c. home on april 26th 2009.

two weeks later, parcels of her remains are sent to other DCA leading members, demanding them to stop the work they are doing on the bill. without their architect and the heart of their cause, as well as being afraid for their own lives, the DCA halt work on the bill.

2011

THE NIGHT OF WITCHES NOVEMBER 5TH 2011

on the night of november 5th, the hunter police forces raid 37 witch covens across the states. in a press release, they state the raids are to prevent illegal witch activity. after, some covens are forced to disband, while some witches are prosecuted for illegal magic use, without fair trial.

THE SALEM PROTESTS NOVEMBER 7TH 2011

with the brutality the police had treated the witches with, many are reminded of the barbaric practices of the salem trials. angry their brothers and sisters have been punished unfairly, the witches return to the salem village parsonage. there they protest, spending the night chanting and burning effigies of hunters over the stake.

2012

OPERATION GARGOYLE STARTS FEBRUARY 8TH 2012

six years on from the type-o reveal, the cia commences operation gargoyle; a research project looking into the biological differences between humans and supernaturals. the greenfield lab is established, and starts research on the vials of blood collected from the being list.

2014

MHC MARCH 2014

wanting to continue to work on the supernatural protection bill, a group of supernaturals split off from the DCA and form their own group—the mythic humanoids committee (MHC). made up of lawyers and politicians, the committee start to work on old drafts of moreau's bill and start to lobby key government figures. they make alliances with both the DCA and the democratic party.

2017

SUPERNATURAL BEING PROTECTION ACT 2017 OCTOBER 21ST 2017

after years of turmoil, the supernatural being protection act is finally passed. the act represents the first time supernaturals are given the right to citizenship as well as protection under civil liberties. but many argued this is only the start of a lengthy process; with their privacy still disregarded by the being list and the lack of credible trials, supernaturals will still be treated harmfully by the government.

THE DC RIOTS OCTOBER 22ND 2017

following the passing of the act, anti-supernatural groups converge on capitol hill to protest against the increased rights. over the next few days, more people pour in from all over the country, leading to one of the biggest mass protests in the country’s history.

2019

JACKSON SQUARE TREATIES AUGUST 5TH - AUGUST 8TH 2019

following years of tensions between the supernatural species, the mayor of nola invites representatives of the various groups to meet in jackson square. after a few nights of peace-making revelry, the groups agree to a shaky truce, preventing more blood from being shed on the city’s streets. but many criticize this, doubting how long such a truce can last.

2020

FAB ATTACKS FEBRUARY 8TH 2020

peace seemed to be on the horizon, but that streak of hope fades when the fellowship’s main office is attacked. in the middle of the day, with the building heaving with social workers and supernaturals, gunfire erupts throughout the building. 41 individuals lose their lives in the attack on the office, with many more injured.

in the wake, nobody comes forth to claim responsibility for the attack, but a letter is delivered to the mayor’s office. one that requests the city to cease its supernatural loving agenda, or face the streets being turned red with blood.

#updates #unhxlyrp #timeline #have i got news for queue

2 notes · View notes

gnrsly · 5 years

Text

THE DIARY OF MY MOON AND HIS STARRY NIGHT EYES

NOV 1st, 2017 at 2:32 am

i think i’m falling for you. you make me feel better. like i’ve healed over. i know i shouldn’t feel like this but i do. god emotions are confusing.

NOV 12, 2017 at 7:34 am

you are officially mine. i’m so happy and in love. i hope this won’t end up bad. i trust us not to fuck this up.

DEC 23rd, 2017 at 4:23 am

i believe this is going well. i’m happy. you seem happy. i’m in love and i hope you are too. we’ve been fighting a bit but i think it’s going to be okay.

JAN 3rd, 2018 at 12:34 am

i hate you. i hate you. i hate you. i hate you.

you broke my heart. i hate you. but i hate her. she said i was bad. i’m not. she said i cheated. i never did. she said i was using you. i wasn’t. she said break up with me. you did. why? i love you. i trusted you...

JAN 8, 2018 at 3:24 am

i thought that if i threw it away it would leave me.

that the pain would maybe go away.

that the scars that where never really there would go away.

but i found your sweatshirt.

you probably want it back.

and i hate the fact that i don’t know how to.

because it’s the only thing to remind me of you. it’s the same cologne you’ve worn for the past 2 years.

ive been wearing for almost 5 minutes but each second is a different flashback and it hurts. because this once was a sweatshirt i considered home.

it felt loved and comforting

but now it’s empty.

i should probably give it back.

but i feel if i give it up i’m giving up you. and i can’t do that. not yet.

JAN 16, 2018 at 1:44am

fuck. fuck. fuck. fuck.

you posted the letter, me being the number 1 reason.

“you poisoned my heart with you toxic love”

how was i toxic? i was the gave everything up for you. my sanity. my friends. my family. my love.

but i’m toxic. because i called you out on your bullshit.

even if i was toxic, i actually tried to make something out of the relationship. sorry that i didn’t want to be a midnight fuck for you.

but hey. at least i didn’t talk shit about people behind their back.

no offense but next time you want to call me a cunt, say it to my face not my friends.

FEB 15th, 2018 at 12:34 am

we are trying again.

it won’t last

well the relationship at least.

i was wrong per usual.

it wasn’t me, or maybe it was and you lied to my face. either way i’m almost happy.

thank you i guess? you gave me back some sanity, but they still blame me. but at least i’m with you.

MARCH 12th, 2018 at 2:37 am

fuck you.

maybe. it’s my fault. i always cause things to go down hill. i couldn’t compare to the girl with the long pretty hair, i’m just a dumb boy who’s fallen and can’t get up. she’s toxic. she’s going to hurt you, but it’s okay. not really but you don’t believe me.

i still love you, but it must be one side.

but how many times when i kiss you, i’m kissing a memory of her.

MARCH 23rd, 2018 at 11:21 pm

i’m drunk. you’re drunk in love, but i’m just wasted and angry. maybe i could’ve done something. she hurt you. but you hurt me.

i asked you awhile back how long you’ve loved liv, and you said never. she was forceful and cruel. i hate it, that agin i could’ve done something but instead i sat around and became a poet. well fuck.

APRIL 13th, 2018 at 1:01 am

you said you never meant anything. you weren’t on meds. that’s okay though because i trust you. i really do. you make me happy. we are healing. no longer together but healing. i still like you. a lot. i don’t know whether to start over yet. i’m kind of confused. but i know that i trust you.

APRIL 28th, 2018 at 11:34 pm

everyone says you like me. i doubt it. we aren’t ready for a new relationship. i don’t think so at least. but life is confusing and it kind of a love sick puppy. you missed me earlier. no one knew. i’m in love i think.

MAY 2, 2018 at 4:45 pm

you asked me to be yours. i said yes. i know that you truly love me and trust me. you said so and i’m taking your word on this. don’t hurt me again. i’m to close to breaking.

MAY 31st, 2018 at 11:54 pm

we were doing good. we had our ups,

our downs,

and our stay stills.

but you say one thing. one single thing and suddenly the whole world is down on their luck. it’s everyone else’s fault but yours. because you feed off your egos. take someone i’m close to and you use them against me. you lie, and lie. cause that’s all you do. at this point i’m questioning if you love them both more than me. because i’m doubting you even loved me.

JUNE 2nd, 2018 at 9:35 pm

this is the first time. this is the first time i’ve ever felt you physically hurt me. it wasn’t a slap or a hit. you just shoved me away. i walked next to you. that’s it’s. and you ran to her. why her? you told me you don’t trust me. you don’t know if you truly love me. told me that you don’t know how to love me anymore. and i hate the fact that i feel the same way towards you.

JUNE 9th, 2018 at 12:32 am

i want to text you. tell you to end it. i want to end it. i’m giving you 10 days. if it’s not fixed. it’s over. because this is toxic.

and i know why.

i don’t think i love you anymore. i don’t think that i feel the same butterflies. now they don’t flutter but churn. i don’t love you. i despise you. you hurt others and you know it. i hate you. there is no longer love in me. only hurt, anger, and heartbreak.

JULY 8, 2018 at 12:45 am

ha bitch. you thought. it’s over and i’m healing

(not really, because drinking vodka and going to jail isn’t healing)

SEP 10th 2018 at 10;56 pm

My best friends chose you. I’m now the outsider. Is this what you wanted? For me to be lonely? For you to be everyone’s favourite? Because now I’m alone in my room and I am crying. Begging for someone to listen, but you are standing with them. That stupid fucking smirk on your face. Is this what you wanted? Because you got your wish. You are truly a god. A fucked up, twisted god.

October 1st 2018 at 8:55pm

she is yours. she loves you and i loved you. i still do. i really do. but because of how shitty everything is in my life, i don’t want you to love me back. but hear me out. my best friend is in love with you. don’t break her heart because they already have been damaged enough. learn to love her for her flaws and her quirky attitude. i love her because she is my best friend and i love you as so much more. but i’d give anything in the world to see her smile at someone and be in love. don’t break her heart.

November 24th 2018 @ 17:42 (aka 5:42)

you are my soulmate. you’re my best friend

and i’m okay with that

january 18th, 2019 @ 11:15pm

rereading messages hurts. you broke my best friend. she thought she was in the wrong. you cheated on her. and now that she is talking to a new boy, you had the audacity to call her a whore? yet you’ve fucked everyone in the friend group. fuck you. i’m going to keep talking to you because my other friend is falling for you. stop doing this.

september 16 2019 @ 10:43 pm

it’s been years. i know im over u. at least my brain tells me i am but my heart hurts when i think of u. but u cant seem to stop hurting the people around me. we r older now. we are different people i’m not some insecure kid anymore, oh no. i’m an asshole who isn’t afraid to say u hurt me. and i hurt u. i played victim but so did u. but u r still my friend. one of my brothers. just listen to me okay? i love u. and it won’t ever change. and this may be the end to this letter bc i found a new love who i know will stay in my poems for years to come. i may never stop writing about you but i’m done giving it to you

#poetry #poets of tumblr #slam poem #slam poetry #letter to my ex #excerpt from a book i'll never write #abusive relationship #letters #poem #trauma poetry #poems to my ex #the diary of the moon and his starry night eyes

13 notes · View notes

missmyloko · 6 years

Text

Spotlight: Umechie

October 2nd will be Umechie’s last day as a member of the Kyoto karyukai, so in dedication of her hard work and long service let’s take a look back at the career of a maiko that’s spanned 6 years, many ups and downs, and a wonderful smile!

September 13th, 2012

Image courtesy of the Kamishichiken Kabukai.

16 year old Moeka takes her first steps to becoming a maiko with the start of her minarai period. She is from the Umeno (梅乃) okiya in Kamishichiken and possesses the geimei of Umechie (梅ちえ). She has stated that she wanted to become a maiko ever since she was a young girl and now strives to make her dream come true!

October 2nd, 2012

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie marks her formal debut with her misedashi ceremonies. She debuts without an onesan and is the second active maiko at her okiya. Within two months she would become the only maiko as her okiya onesan Umeyae (梅やえ) leaves the profession. She will remain Umeno’s only maiko until 2014.

February 25th, 2013

Image courtesy of Hiro’s Factory. Umechie takes part in her first of six Baikaisai (梅花祭). She is joined by another first year maiko, Katsuna (勝奈) of Daimonji (大文字), who she would become close friends with.

March 25th - April 7th, 2013

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie takes part in her first Kitano Odori (北野をどり). She performs the tea ceremony with okiya onesan Umeha (梅葉). It is her first stage performance since debuting just shy of 6 months prior to the event. She would take part in a further six Kitano Odori over the course of her career.

August 2013

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie takes part in her first Bon Odori (盆をどり) with best friend Katsuna. A few weeks later she would turn 17.

October 2nd, 2013

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie completes her first year as a maiko and no longer wears shidare in her kanzashi. She also begins to paint her upper lip.

January 2014

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie kicks off the new year with a formal outfit. 2014 would hold many changes for the okiya, including a great deal for Umechie as well!

March 25th - April 7th, 2014

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie takes part in her second Kitano Odori, looking much more comfortable in her role as a maiko. Her newfound growth doesn’t go unnoticed though!

May 2014

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie becomes a senior maiko after being active for 1 year and 7 months (19 months), just ahead of the misedashi of new maiko in her okiya.

June 2014

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. The two newest maiko debut from Umeno in the same month, Umechō (梅蝶) on the right and Umesaku (梅咲久) in the middle. Sadly Umesaku would retire quickly only 7 months later in January 2015.

June 28th and 29th, 2014

Image courtesy of the Kamishichiken Kabukai. Although slightly hard to see, Umechie performs on stage in her first Miyako No Nigiwai (都の賑わい) performance. She would reprise this role three more times before her retirement.

August 2014

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Now looking far more comfortable in her role as a maiko (just look at how relaxed and happy she is!) Umechie celebrates her 18th birthday.

February 25th, 2015

Image courtesy of Blue No Shashin. Umechie celebrates her first Baikasai as a senior and is absolutely glowing!

March 25th - April 7th, 2015

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie participates in her third Kitano Odori, with junior maiko Umechō. Sadly, Umechō would also leave the profession in October of 2015.

June 2015

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie makes a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia on a promotional trip. It’s one of her first international trips abroad.

August 2015

Image courtesy of Cita111. Umechie dances with Katsuna at the annual Kyoto Tanabata Festival (京の七夕祭). A few weeks later she celebrates her 19th birthday.

December 2015

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie shows off her signed maneki from Kaomise Soken (顔見世素見). They were signed by Kataoka Ainosuke (片岡愛之助 - black) and Nakamura Senjaku (中村扇雀 - red).

January 2016

Image courtesy of Umeno Okiya and Ochaya. Umechie rings in the new year in a stunning outfit that shows off her senior status well! During the year she’ll witness a new batch of recruits join Umeno and will no longer be alone while continuing to grow ^^

March 25th - April 7th, 2016

Image courtesy of Nuriatrillo. Another Kitano Odori, this time with new outfits!

June 2016

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. Big changes for Umechie and her okiya! The new okamisan, Yuko, makes the change to her new kamon official, switching from the three leaf standard paulownia to the bent leaf paulownia. The first of a new line of Umeno maiko also begins her minarai period. She is Umehina (梅ひな), who would prove successful enough to still be active today.

August 2016

Image courtesy of h.ishibashi1001. Another year of Kyo No Tanabana, this time with a new obi and a new kanzashi! A few weeks later she would turn 20 years old.

December 2016

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. Umechie, along with Umehina and new maiko Umekana (梅叶菜), perform at Tokyo Disney on Christmas.

January 2017

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. Umechie rings in 2017 by telling people customers that she will be having her erikae within the next year. The year looks bright for her okiya as well with the addition of more shikomi.

March 10th, 2017

Image courtesy of Kuumill. Umechie takes part in the annual Higashiyama Hanatōro (東山花灯路) dances at Yasaka Shrine.

March 25th - April 7th, 2017

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. The trio of Umeno maiko perform at the Kitano Odori, showing off the new motifs that were introduced in 2016. A month later Umechie would become the most senior maiko in the Kyoto gokagai.

June 24th and 25th, 2017

Image courtesy of Chihiro_So_Ko. Umechie takes part in her final Miyako No Nigiwai performance.

August 2017

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. Umechie celebrates her 21st birthday to much fanfare. However, the youngest Umeno maiko, Umekana, would leave around the same time, leaving their overall maiko numbers down to two.

September 2017

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. Umechie poses with the newest Umeno minarai Umetae (梅たえ) and Umehina. Umetae would debut one month later, just after Kotobukikai, bringing the total count of Umeno maiko back up to three.

December 2017

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. With another year come and gone everyone is wondering what happened to Umechie’s planned erikae and, even more puzzling, why she isn’t tying her obiage. Even if a maiko plans to leave at the completion of her apprenticeship she will still tie her obiage within a year of that planned date or starting around her 20th birthday. Since Umechie has passed both milestones it becomes more apparent that she may not be staying after all.

March 25th - April 7th, 2018

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. In a day that karyukai fans patiently waited for, Umechie finally ties her obiage. She first tied it at the end of February and would continue to have it tied for the Kitano Odori performances. However, by the end of April she was no longer tying her obiage anymore. No one is still sure of the reasons why this occurred and no maiko before or since has begun to tie their obiage and then suddenly untie it.

August 2018

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. Umechie celebrates her 22nd birthday, which comes as a bit of a surprise as the oldest a maiko is allowed to be active is up until the age of 21. By this point it is confirmed that Umechie will not be having her erikae and will instead retire. A few weeks later the first of three new minarai would debut from Umeno.

September 2018

Image courtesy of Yuko Umeno. Umechie poses proudly with the other maiko and new minarai of her okiya. They now include the ranks of Umehana (梅はな), who debuted on September 19th, Umenana (梅なな), who debuted on September 25th, and Umesana (梅さな), who would debut on October 2nd, the same day as Umechie.

October 2nd, 2018

Image courtesy of Mosaic Machiya KSK. Umechie retires after spending exactly six years as maiko. Her personality has changed Kamishichiken for the better and she was an absolute jewel of the karyukai. I can only hope that the young maiko of Umeno can carry on the warm spirit and friendly smile that Umechie shared with everyone. Wishing her all the best in whatever she chooses to do next in life. Umechie, you were truly one of a kind. おおきに梅ちえさん ♥

#maiko #geiko #geisha #kyoto #spotlight #kamishichiken #umeno #umechie #farewell #舞妓 #芸妓 #芸者 #京都 #上七軒 #梅乃 #梅ちえ #さよなら

118 notes · View notes

thomasroach · 5 years

Text

Top RPG News Of The Week: April 28th (KH3, Persona 5 Royal, Bloodborne and More!)

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: April 28th (KH3, Persona 5 Royal, Bloodborne and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Happy weekend from Fextralife! If you’ve been too busy to keep up on the latest in the games we cover or are looking for a refresher we’ve got you covered! Here’s a bite-sized version of the Top RPG news of the week. Taste all the latest news across the Fextralife Wiki Network.

Check out the video above and read on for the text!

Kingdom Hearts 3

In a Twitter post by the Director Tetsuya Nomura on the official Kingdom Hearts’ account, an announcement was shared with the release date for the free DLC update which will add Critical Mode to Kingdom Hearts 3. The new mode was made available on April 23rd. The mode was revealed earlier this year, set to add further difficulty for those looking for more of a challenge.

The tweet also revealed that the mode will be different from previous iterations in the franchise. Previous titles have added increased damage dealt by enemies, but it looks like this won’t be the case for KH3. Critical Mode gives players access to quite a few abilities when you start the game as well as “Critical” abilities to help you deal more damage. Sora’s max HP and MP have also been halved in this mode, as well as there are lower frequency of situation commands and magic.

This is not the only release KH3 will have this year, a story DLC is set to release by the end of 2019 and it will not have a Final Remix version but instead further DLC content.

Kingdom Hearts 3 is available to play on Playstation 4 and Xbox One with the free DLC Critical Mode which launched on April 23rd.

To read more about this news find it here in Kingdom Hearts 3 Critical Mode Releases On April 23rd.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The developers FromSoftware have released a new patch for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice which comes with various updates and fixes for the action-adventure game.

The latest patch 1.03 brings a range of improvements which includes the adjustment efficiency and Spirit Emblem cost for select Prosthetic Tools, Combat Arts as well as certain items. It also reduces the Posture dealt by the first hit from the Combat Arts known as “Senpou Leaping Kicks” and “High Monk” which was due to it creating more damage than it was suppose to in certain situations.

There are also some fixes which include Posture and Vitality of Blazing Bull which was meant to help in terms of game pacing as well as bring more of a balance when it comes to timing in combat.

For a full list of updates in Patch 1.03 you can read the details on our wiki patch notes page for all the latest updates.

To read more about this news find it here in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Patch 1.03 Update.

Square Enix

Making some changes to the lineup at E3 this year, Square Enix has shared their press conference slot which will be on June 10th at 6pm PT, which traditionally has been held by Sony in the past. As Sony forgoes E3 this year, Square Enix will be taking the time slot. This is just a few days after Octopath Traveler launches on PC on June 7th.

As for what they will be showing this year, hopefully its more on the Final Fantasy 7 remake which has been a little quiet on the details so far. After Tetsuya Nomura finished up with Kingdom Hearts 3, fans have been hoping to see the progress for FF7. Previously the director has shared the possibility of making compilation titles. It was also earlier this month that they announced Naoki Hamaguchi as Co-Director for Final Fantasy VII who was previously project lead.

Square Enix have also revealed along with the recent release of the Critical Mode for Kingdom Hearts 3, there will be further DLC content which could be outlined further at E3.

There could be more surprises at this year’s E3 but we’ll have to wait and see what they’ll reveal on June 10th.

To read more about this news find it here in Square Enix Sets Their E3 Press Conference For June 10th.

Bloodborne: The Board Game

CMON games have launched their Kickstarter for Bloodborne: The Board Game, with the project already exceeding the initial pledge goal. The board game is based on FromSoftware’s dark RPG Bloodborne that originally released in 2004.

It looks like the project has got well over the needed amount for its fruition which was set at $200,000 as the number has already gone well over $1 million. The estimated delivery for the board game has been stated for May 2020.

The game sets to bring the title to a table top board game, with figurines, cards depicting the action, hunt track board and tiles to bring it all together. There are also dashboards that will depict your Trick Weapon, hunter status and more. You can play with 1 to 4 players with an average playtime for game of 60 to 90 minutes.

If you want to back Bloodborne: The Board Game Kickstarter campaignyou can do so for the next 20 days. The campaign ends on May 15th at 9:00AM AWST/May 14th at 6:00PM PT.

To read more about this news find it here in Bloodborne: The Board Game Kickstarter Has Over $1 Million In Pledges Already

Slay the Spire

The Playstation 4 version of Slay the Spire will be releasing in May and developer MegaCrit have released a new trailer showcasing the card game that mixes in RPG elements.

The deck builder card game lets players choose from three characters who each have their own card set to battle it out against enemies using strategy. With a range of 250 cards to sought after, there is many ways to replay the game. The devs also add items and events to help change things up, which will effect the way your deck plays.

Originally Slay the Spire focused on more single-play action, but MegaCrit add some competition aspects by having a Daily Climb. The tower challenges players to a number of particular enemies to best, as they try to make their way to the top of the tower while competing for the best spot with players around the world.

Slay the Spire is currently available on PC and will be coming to Playstation 4 on May 21st. A Nintendo Switch version is set to launch later this year.

To read more about this news find it here in Slay The Spire Releases Official Trailer Ahead Of PS4 Launch.

Persona 5 Royal

Altlus have revealed Persona 5 Royal which is a more expanded version of its school based JRPG and it will come to west next year for PS4.

Atlus have already teased about Persona 5 Royal, releasing a trailer in March featuring a new female character that appears to be playable. But more details of its release have been shared as it will come to PS4 in the west next year.

During Atlus’ Persona Super Live concert held in Japan, the publisher teased more features for Persona 5’s expanded edition. These will include new areas to explore in Tokyo, new characters, reworked dungeon design with new foes to face, graphical and UI improvements. There will also be new music to enjoy and a new third semester at Shujin Academy.

Persona 5 has sold 2.7 million units and has now joined Playstation Hits with a permanent price of $19.99.

Persona 5 Royal sets to release in the west sometime next year and in Japan on October 31st 2019.

To read more about this news find it here in Persona 5’S Royal Edition Will Launch In The West On PS4 Next Year.

Persona 5 Scramble The Phantom Strikers

But that’s not it for Persona news as Atlus have revealed a new title Persona 5 Scramble The Phantom Strikers which was announced at the end of day 2 of the Persona Super Live P-Sound Street 2019 concert.

The title was teased earlier in April as Persona 5 S, now being given its full name Persona 5 Scramble The Phantom Strikers. This also sets to be the first action-RPG in the series. The project sets out to be a joint collaboration between Atlus, Koei Tecmo and Omega Force.

A new trailer shows the Joker defeating masses of enemies. You can also see the elemental weaknesses system which is present in the Persona games. The game also is a brand new story and features a new character which is seen at the end of the trailer.

There is currently no release date as of yet for Persona 5 Scramble The Phantom Strikers but it will release on Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

To read more about this news find it here in Persona 5 Scramble The Phantom Strikers Action-RPG Unveiled for PS4 and Switch.

Anthem

Bioware has decided to delay the release of its post-launch content for Anthem which includes the anticipated Cataclysm which adds the first four-person raid type activity to the game.

Bioware are set to release some features as part of their “Act One” of post-launch content. This decision was made as they are trying to make improvements to the games current state.

This isn’t the only feature that has been postponed, the game it set it gain a mastery system, guilds, new legendary missions, weekly stronghold challenges, leaderboards and further freeplay events. There is no news as of yet when these additions will be implemented into the game.

According to the roadmap that was released for Act One, only the new Stronghold mission called The Sunken Cell is on schedule as this arrived yesterday. Further updates came with 1.1.0 which include access to the Forge anywhere in the world, ability to launch new expeditions from the expedition menu, and access to contracts without having to go and collect them.

To read more about this news find it here in Bioware Delays Post-Launch Content To Prioritise Game Fixes.

Blizzcon 2019

BlizzCon 2019 will take place on November 1st to 2nd in Anaheim, hosting a range of tournaments for Blizzard games including the Overwatch World Cup.

Fingers crossed for a Diablo 4 or remastered version of Diablo 2 announcement after the whole mobile game fiasco of last year, fans will hopefully not see a repeat (even though we do have phones). However, they may announce the release date for Diablo Immortal.

We could also be seeing the first glimpse of the next expansion for World of Warcraft and the release date for Warcraft 3 Reforged, the remastered version of the original which was announced at the last BlizzCon.

Blizz goers will also be able to get their hands on some collectibles which will be included in the price of the ticket, celebrating 25 years of the original Warcraft game release. Choose either a footman or an orc grunt, alliance or horde.

Tickets will go on sale in two sessions, starting Saturday May 4th and then on Wednesday May 8th.

To read more about this news find it here in BlizzCon 2019 Dates Announced Along With Collectibles.

Well, that’s it for the Week in Wikis. Please join us next week for yet another great week of gaming! Remember to check out our VIP program for some exclusive supporter benefits, and budding writers should take advantage of our Become an Author initiative! Thanks again for being a part of this great community. Keep checking in with us for news, reviews, YouTube streams and vids, and general wiki goodness!

Follow us on social media for all the latest and greatest. The more followers we get, the larger the army of the Fexus grows:

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

read on for the text!

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: April 28th (KH3, Persona 5 Royal, Bloodborne and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Top RPG News Of The Week: April 28th (KH3, Persona 5 Royal, Bloodborne and More!) published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

2 notes · View notes

crystalracing · 6 years

Link

Kimi Raikkonen 2008: Connecting the "dots"

September 10, 2013 UPDATE: Today, Ferrari announced Kimi's re-signing for 2014 F1 season as a SF driver. In many ways this is a confirmation of what we have been saying all along that Kimi's ousting at the end of his first stint took place under a totally unusual circumstances which had nothing to do with his racing and driving abilities.

I'll continue to update this documentary blog as new information becomes available but judging from the visitor traffic to this blog a lot of people are now even more curious as to why would Ferrari re-employ Kimi if in fact all those reasons and justifications to fire him were true... So, my guess is that we'll continue to learn a lot more about the details of 2008 events as the insiders continue to talk (they always do...). We'll keep this documentary blog as an example of a Hall of Shame Piece for Formula One Journalists who have been either sleeping on the job or too scared to expose/talk about what goes on behind close doors...

This is the working version of the article "

Why Kimi was not on top of his game in 2008"

-- the original was published in AS forum and F1Bias.com (Soren is a good friend).

Dates of events in the following timeline are important, because according to official Ferrari, or Santander accounts, and timelines most of the following did NOT take place in 2008, but in 2009.

You may read all original articles in this blog in their timeline order (starting from the bottom on the main page, all articles are posted under their original 2008 dates).

Why Kimi was not on top of his game in 2008

by wrcva

The period between April-July 2008 is probably one of the worst periods not only for Kimi’s F1 career but probably in his life. All his life he and his family believed in hard work and doing their best to achieve good things on merit. In Kimi’s case this means putting his natural talents to best use in performing, and winning races.

2007 season was a dream come true year for Kimi. He won the closely fought Formula One (F1) World Drivers Championship (WDC) and was ready for defending his title in 2008. From all indications outlook for the 2008 season was pretty good, arguably conditions were even better than the 2007 season for Kimi to defend his title.

Backdrop for 2008:

As of April, Kimi Raikkonen is already leading in WDC points 4 races into the 2008 season. Generally, life is good other than the management changes that took place at Ferrari as

Stefano Domenicali

replaced

Jean Todt

as the head of Scuderia Ferrari the 1st of January 2008. It's no secret that Todt and

Luca di Montezemolo

(LdM)

had a power struggle within Ferrari, something which lead to Todt'd eventual and swift exit. With Todt effectively out of the way from early 2008 and Domenicali, di Montezemolo's protege, in his place it was basically a different Scuderia overnight

(thanks to OSX).

"In 2007, [Todt] prepared the ground for Stefano Domenicali to succeed him as head of the Scuderia as from 1 January 2008. Then, on 18 March 2008, he resigned his position as Special Advisor to the Ferrari board, to be replaced by Amedeo Felisa. He nonetheless remained a member of the board of Ferrari for a further year before resigning all his functions within the Italian firm in March 2009."

April 27, 2008

-- FIA post-race press conf after winning Spain —

Kimi –

“It was a perfect weekend for us in Barcelona,” explained Raikkonen. “We were going really fast all the time and we didn’t have the slightest problem. Many times I have won and afterwards still had the feeling that it could have gone better. This time I did not have that feeling: this was probably the best weekend I’ve ever had in my career.”

Comment

: The guy won Spain just several days ago… then, all of a sudden Public Relations (PR) seed planting & “rumors” kick in. It is not clear who started them but the mission was to melt the iceman because it would be terrible PR to get rid of a 2 times WDC, in the event that he managed to win the 2nd one in 2008.

In the following, partially narrated timeline, I tried to put the main news item with the earliest approx. date of first showing up (in google news based on article posting date) out of 100s or 1000s regurgitated ones for each article. They give a good glimpse into what was in Kimi’s mind as he was facing a psychological PR war, aside from racing issues during 2008.

May 1, 2008

–

Luca di Montezemolo:

Massa’s future with the team is secure. It will be too damaging to partner Alonso with Kimi.

Keke Rosberg:

Kimi has to make way for Alonso…

Stefano Domenicali:

Kimi is motivated from head to toe, and I know he is not thinking about retiring.“

here

Comment

: You can tell that they have been talking about Santander coming in as the new long term sponsor but the plan is to not to talk about it externally… This is the first time appearance of Kimi’s “motivation” by Domenicali. It is not yet used in a negative way but it is a crucial PR keyword because at this point they cannot start talking about Kimi’s performance as he is in the lead. But, this is point the decision has been made that

Kimi has to go

. Also note the disconnect between LdM & Dom’s statements. Yes, the date is correct - May 1 2008, and Ferrari leaders are are forced to answer questions about the driver line-up, Kimi's motivation, and retirement rumors instead of talking about their win of Spanish GP several days ago.

May 8, 2008

– Niki Lauda scoffs at Alonso-to-Ferrari rumours —

"Raikkonen and Alonso together?"

former triple Formula One World Champion Lauda, 58, is quoted as saying by the German news agency DPA.

"Last year Raikkonen was champion and now he is number one. Why must we now discuss whether Alonso is going to go there?"

the great Austrian wondered.

"They already have the perfect team with Massa, so why should they bang their heads together?"

Lauda, who won two (1975, 1977) of his drivers' world titles with the Maranello based team, added.

Comment

: Hearing all kinds of rumors, Lauda is wondering WTF is going on at Ferrari as they seem to have one of the best line-ups for defending the championships they won with Kimi just six months ago... He is a racer and he simply is thinking about these rumors from the racing perspective as to why the team would change their existing WDC/WCC wining line-up... but what he does not know is that the seed is already planted about a month ago when

Emilio Botin, Fernando Alonso and Flavio Briatore

(Renault boss and Alonso's manager)

, and

Luca di Montezemolo

got together to discuss

Santander/Alonso Ferrari move

(April, 21 2008). Interestingly, the next day

Montezemolo (April, 22 2008)

, and subsequently

Briatore (April, 24 2008)

both denied the rumor

Briatore agreeing with Montezemolo that.

"When a team has two drivers equally good, the teammates become their biggest enemies. Pilots as Raikkonen and Alonso are complicated and put them in one team does not produce the best result for a team. During the last year, see the McLaren. Hamilton and Alonso lost the championship and the reason was simply because of their rivalry." -- link

So, by the first week of May 2008 Santander-Alonso-Ferrari plans were already in motion. From this point on Ferrari's challenge is to manage the situation with the media and fans to make sure Kimi is phased out of Ferrari with minimal negative publicity for Ferrari for getting rid of their World Champion.

May 24, 2008

– Alonso signs for Ferrari —

The word in the F1 paddock in Monte Carlo is that Fernando Alonso has just inked a deal to drive for Ferrari in 2010. No confirmation is expected for a year, and there may be denials of any arrangement, as there would obviously be some serious knock-on effects for other parties in the F1 paddock.

here

Comment

: Spanish press is going nuts over this as well at this time.. You can use google news with date filters if you want to see for yourself. Emphasis:

do not confirm and deny until next year

— which they did…

June 6, 2008

– FIA interview —

Kimi: “

I still have a contract until the end of next year,” Raikkonen said during the press conference ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Thursday. “I haven’t made any decision as to whether I will keep going or not. That’s the last contract I have and we will wait and see during this year and next year what happens.” “I haven’t made my mind up and we will see.”

"I like the racing and the other stuff is not always the best thing... When there's too many things that you don't enjoy, or you think that the whole thing is not what you want any more, then it's time to go away.

Comment

: (this is the GP Hamilton rear ended Kimi) — why would this contract issue come up in the FIA press conference? You can tell internal discussions about his departure is well underway. Yet, we are only 7 races into the season…

July 10, 2008

– German magazine Sport Bild

According to popular German magazine Sport Bild, it would seem that Spanish bank Santander would be moving from sponsoring McLaren to become one of Ferrari’s top sponsors from 2009 onwards. The big bank would have their adverts on the front and rear wings, alongside lettering on the drivers overalls. Ferrari have been touting for a new top sponsor since cigarette advertisers were not allowed in many countries, Marlboro being the major backer for many years. With a contract with Marlboro still in place, hash markings would still be on the cars. For the Scuderia though, Santander have said the major condition of their deal is that former World Champion Fernando Alonso would drive for the team. He won’t confirm his future, and will not comment until September.

here

Comment

Santander-Ferrari-Alonso deal is done at this time but negotiations with Kimi are in full force. Look at the desired date for the sponsorship… Now, how did Alonso come up with that

September

date, unless he red Kimi’s contract, and is familiar with the performance / and renewal options Kimi could exercise? I think that is an accidental slip up by the Spaniard because the September date was significant only to Kimi’s contract. He cannot comment on what will happen because they do not know what Kimi will do yet – as Ferrari is still negotiating! (see Sep 12 news, in the following).

July 11-19, 2008

-- Kimi's front suspension is updated sometime between these dates..

According to Interview with Ferrari team principle Domenicali on December 16 2008, this is the point Kimi lost his front suspension. From all indications this was a surprise to Kimi, given how sensitive he is to changes made on the car.

Question to Domenicali by Autosprint:

Did Kimi share his problems with you? - We always talk with each other and argue about general technical issues. From the technical point of view he was dissatisfied with front suspension, and it didn't work the way he wanted. The front suspension to suit him was a recurrent topic of our discussions. How fast did you discover that? - In midseason. We changed the suspension in Germany and returned it for Kimi in Monza.

In this interview Domenicali misspoke. Kimi got his old suspension back in Singapore, not Monza. This issue is also alluded to by Michael Scumacher who is in charge of car development and updates:

“In a way it is his (Kimi's) strength that he has a very focused vision, and maybe sometimes it doesn't always help him. We could maybe help him more if he would ask for it,”

said Schumacher in an interview for BBC earlier yesterday. The German insisted that part of Kimi's loss in form in the second part of the season was because the Fin failed to adapt to the new developments introduced by Ferrari in the mid-season. “I think I have to protect him in many ways, because in the middle of the season we made some developments to the car but Kimi simply didn't get on with these ones. The moment we went back to those changes, we got him back to competitive lap times," link

Here, if we look at the WDC points table, from mid-July to the end of September Kimi was able to score only 9 points in 6 GPs. Surely, there was some bad luck involved as well...

July 20 2008

-- FIA -

German Grand Prix

Post Race driver quotes:

Look at Kimi's reaction in the interview in his own words:

"This was definitely not the kind of race we had been hoping for. We have struggled all weekend and we have to try and understand why. Usually, our race pace is always good, but today that was not the case, because I almost always suffered with a lack of grip: only in the final stages did the situation improve a little bit, but it was never enough to be competitive. We have a test in Jerez, where we will try and improve the car so as to arrive in Budapest in better shape. This is definitely not a crisis, but we have to study carefully the handling of the car to understand if we have taken the right road in terms of development." Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/7/8126.html

Comment

: Mr. Schumacher definitely knew what was the deal but maybe he did not have a chance to inform Kimi that his front suspension was totally different for the German GP... This also amplifies the communication and turf problems between Domenicali and Schumacher.

Now, imagine or try to visualize what would Schumacher himself (as a driver) or Alonso would have done after learning the fact that their front suspension was replaced without their knowledge or they were not invited to driver debriefs... not a pretty picture huh.

Interestingly, Schumacher made another comment back in early April about Massa with a prediction. At the time, it was not a big deal but hindsight his support for Massa, and willingness to predict his WDC chances, given his 3rd and development driver role for Ferrari, further supports the timeline that he knew a bit more...

"He (Massa) has zero points for the season, so it is not the best of starts ... he has played his jokers so far, and doesn't really have any more jokers to play,"

"But things will turn around very quickly I think in his favour. He is certainly still very capable of winning the championship this year.

"If Massa wins the championship at the end of the year, nobody will care or remember about the start of the season." (link)

July 31, 2008

– FIA Thursday press conference - Hungary

Question: People are talking about you retiring, not necessarily at the end of this year but at the end of next year. Are there any thoughts on that?

KR:

I never said anything like that. I only said that I have a contract until the end of next year and then somebody made up that I will stop at the end of this year or the end of next year, but I never said that.

here

Comment

: Guess who is propagating retirement rumors? This is a pretty major PR war against Kimi… and they are wearing him out. You know, all by itself, it is pretty hard to fight for the WDC – even when you have full support from the team…

Aug 24, 2008

– FIA post-race press con –

Massa: “My win in Valencia moves me ahead of Kimi into second place in the championship. I’ve been asked if I feel Ferrari should favour me for the title since there are just six races remaining. All I can say is that I want to keep winning, to keep beating not just my teammate (Kimi Raikkonen) but others too,” Massa was quoted as saying on the Ferrari website. The Brazilian, who is on 64 points, six behind the leader Lewis Hamilton, further added that he has got nothing to do with such decisions. “I just do the best possible job for the team and leave the rest to the management,” he added.

Raikkonen is third on the table with 57 points. Meanwhile, Kimi has rubbished the claim that he lacks motivation.“Next week, we will go to Spa (venue of the next Grand Prix). I love this track. I will give it all to win again. If someone has doubt as far as my motivation is concerned: go ahead. I want to win. More than ever,” he said on the Ferrari website.

Comment

: Since April, Kimi’s lack of motivation stories have been propagating into millions of articles, blog and forum posts. (Google is your friend). Motivation is the keyword because they still cannot talk about performance…

Sep 12, 2008

– Ferrari confirm Raikkonen to end of 2010 —

Ferrari have announced an extension to Kimi Raikkonen’s contract for a further two seasons, keeping the world champion with the Italian team until the end of 2010. With Raikkonen’s teammate Felipe Massa also under contract for that period, it means Ferrari’s race line-up will remain unchanged until at least the start of their 2011 campaign. Raikkonen joined Ferrari from McLaren last season, while Massa has been with the team since 2006. The announcement should end media speculation suggesting that Raikkonen may retire at the end of this season.

here

Comment

: This is the automatic contract renewal option Kimi is exercising to increase the Santander/Ferrari payout based on exceeding his performance benchmarks on his contract. He knows he is done with Ferrari… and if he could find a way, he could have left by the end of 2008. He is loosing the PR war, but trying to secure finances in negotiations. I also think this is the point that Kimi's generally cooperative relationship with LdM went south. (read about

Kimi's contract

)

Sep 12, 2008

– Alonso "Kimi deal has no impact"

Fernando Alonso insists that Kimi Raikkonen's extended Ferrari deal has not put a dent in his plans for the future. Ferrari announced on Friday that Raikkonen had extended his contract and would remain with the Scuderia until the end of 2010.

This put an end to reports that Alonso could be heading to Ferrari at the end of 2009.

However, the Spaniard insists those were just rumours and that Raikkonen's deal has not upset his future plans.

"I knew already that they will extend the contract," he told Autosport. "Nothing has changed. "Talking about 2010 and 2011 is way too far for me. I want to win before that! "Always my plans were more focused on 2009 and in 2009 there was no possibility of Ferrari so it was never in my plans." It remains to be seen which team Alonso will race for next season as while Renault are keen to retain their double world champion, Honda are also reportedly on the look-out to sign him.

here

Comment

: Alonso knew Kimi had to exercise the automatic contract renewal option after negotiations with Santander failed... I guess he could not convince Botin to pay up Kimi to walk at the end of 2008, so he could move to Ferrari starting 2009. It is interesting that Kimi's contract renewal announcement date is the same date as Alonso's statement: September 12 2008.

I also think between July and September 2008 Santander explored various possibilities to get McLaren let them off the hook from the exclusivity clause in the old Santander-McLaren sponsorship agreement but their attempts were unsuccessful (probably Ron asked for a lot of money). If that took place Santander could have started their Ferrari sponsorship a year earlier. So, during this period (until September) Kimi was waiting to see if he would be able to end his relationship with Ferrari at the end of 2008.

Sep 14, 2008

– FIA post race int. Monza —

Raikkonen. “

You don’t have to be Einstein to understand that this is not the right way to fight for the title. It’s not over yet, but now it will take a miracle, like one that makes lightning strike twice

.”

Comment

: He is not just talking about racing here. Even though he is still within the mathematical possibility with 4 races left in the calendar (he is 20 pts behind Massa, and yet that still is better odds than 2007); he is up to his neck in the swamp trying to fight/fend off elegators on multiple fronts:

Santander/Ferrari lawyers…

His relationship with Schumacher. It was never emphasized in 2008 but I think it was a very significant issue. For 2008, Michael’s role was, per LdM: “official 3rd driver, in charge of car development.” See footnote 1 (and check out Michael’s Ferrari and wiki profile for his role in 2008). Kimi did not like this at all because Michael was in charge of something (the car itself) that he had been used to controlling/influencing all his career. Link

Pressure from LdM and Dom to help out Massa because if Massa wins the 2008 WDC, Santander will be thrilled given their upcoming 2009 IPO in Brazil. In my opinion, Dom or LdM never mandated this, but they highly encouraged Kimi to fall back because financial implications for Santander, the future sponsor, was in Billions of $. (not Millions, it is Billions) And because Massa is a native son of Brazil who can mobilize local investors even better than Alonso. here. In the end, Santander’s IPO gains were about $9 Billion. See footnote 2. Note: IPO means Initial Public Offering. Or the stock market launch for that company. In this case, in Brazil. Click on this link to read about the inportance of Brazil to Santander.

Sep 24, 2008 - Pitpass –

Spanish media is claiming that Ferrari’s recent decision to re-sign Kimi Raikkonen until the end of 2010, is a smokescreen, aimed at putting everyone off the real story, which sees Fernando Alonso heading to Maranello as early as next year. Spanish newspaper Marca claims that Santander, which headed to McLaren with Fernando Alonso in 2007, is behind a move which will see the two-time champion join Felipe Massa. The Spanish banking giant is due to take its account to Ferrari next year, and, having lost out when Alonso quit McLaren after just one season, wants its national hero back on board and in a winning (red) car. It’s claimed that the bank will not only meet Alonso’s financial requirements but will also meet any compensation demanded by Raikkonen.

It is fair to say that the announcement that Raikkonen is to stay with Ferrari for two more years caught many by surprise, especially since the Finn appears to have lost his sparkle in recent months, a situation not helped by the fact that he is now almost certain – barring a miracle recovery – of having to play second fiddle to his Brazilian teammate. While several teams, most notably Honda, have been wooing Alonso, the Spaniard needs to be back in a winning car, and other than BMW – which is backed by Santander’s rival Credit Suisse – Ferrari appears to be the only option.

Comment

: Looks like negotiations for buying out 2009 failed, probably to Kimi’s dismay — from here on it is a Cold War within the team and

Kimi is the unofficial #2

by corporate decision because they still need to ramp up Massa’s standing in Brasil for the upcoming IPO.

The only thing they could not foresee was Massa’s accident in 2009. Kimi’s departure was a done deal as early as May, 25 2008, latest Sep 14 2008. They just had to make sure he did not accidently win 2008 WDC as Ferrari would have looked really stupid… Very curious about that pit screw up in Monaco, if it was real or orchestrated because this is where it all started, it is a milestone event for things starting to go wrong for Kimi for the rest of the year, along with some unlucky situations.

May 25, 2008 FIA post race Monaco — Kimi “A very poor race for me, right from the off. There was a problem with a wheel before the start and we broke the rules, which meant I was given a drive-through penalty. During the race, my main problem was trying to get the tyres to work as well as possible. Then we decided to change the strategy as we expected it to rain again, but it didn’t happen. Twice I had to change the nose after breaking the front wing. So, as you can see, a long run of things going wrong which explains the 0 points. I am sorry for Sutil, who I hit with just a few laps to go. I lost control of the car under braking coming out of the tunnel and I could do nothing to avoid him. It’s a shame how things went today, as we had the potential to do well. It’s true that I’ve lost the championship lead, but I always said the championship would be a very long one. Now we must prepare as well as possible for Canada where we will try to make up for this disappointment.”

That is why, Kimi always said;

“There are many reasons. In F1 there is always a lot of money and there can always be different options. That’s what happened in the end. It’s nothing to do with racing or what I do in the team.”

In short, Kimi was in the wrong team, at the wrong time stuck between Ferrari and future sponsor Santander, because he had the wrong nationality (the Latin lineup), relative to Santander’s business plans, and Ferrari’s role within.

January, 13 2009

-- Ferrari approves of Kimi's rally outing --

Ferrari has no problem with Kimi Räikkönen contesting Finland's famous Arctic Lapland Rally later this month, team boss Stefano Domenicali has insisted.

Formula one teams often baulk at drivers' requests to engage in dangerous off-season activities, but it emerged last week that Räikkönen, the team's title winner of 2007, has entered himself as the driver of a Fiat Abarth S2000 in the event later this month.

"This is the traditional attitude we take to our drivers," Domenicali said at the launch of the team's new 'F60' single seater for 2009.

"We always try to have a very open attitude to what they do. I see this as an extra two days of testing for Kimi."

here

Comment

: Why change of heart by Ferrari after two years with Kimi, all of a sudden approving a "dangerous sporting activity" for Kimi? Because that was a part of

Kimi's separation negotiations

back in September that he will be allowed to participate in whatever sports activity he desired, including rallying. Domenicali is referring to Michael's soccer activities in "We always try to have a very open attitude to what they do."

Possible reality is they are no longer concerned about Kimi or whatever happens to him as he is on his way out. Again, note the dates...

Now, let's fast forward to September 2009...

September 14 2009

-- Formula1.com - Q&A with Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali--

Formula1.com Q&A with Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali

Q: After all the rumours it would be helpful to hear one word from you regarding Kimi’s future. Is Kimi driving a Ferrari in 2010?

SD:

I am definitely not going to discuss that now. As everybody is aware, Kimi has a contract with us next year and I am very happy with his performance because he is driving very, very well, especially in the second part of the season. The last five races he has always been on the podium and I think after Barrichello he has scored the most points, so he has shown true qualities of fighting for the championship. That is our position

Comment:

So, Kimi's ousting is not officially announced yet...but the new contract was already signed and sealed about a year ago, back in Sep 2008 that;

Option 1) 2 year full pay (2010+severance) provided he walked away from F1 for 1.5 years.

Option 2) 1 years pay (2010) + some severance + get the McLaren seat.

As we know Kimi took option 2 - you can read more about this

here

December 11 2009

-- SportsPro discussion interview --

The following snippets are one of the few direct mentions of Massa's role within the Santander world from Mr. Cendoya, who is the Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Communications, Corporate Marketing and Research for Santander Bank (Mr. Botin's number 2 guy for sponsorship affairs)

... Cendoya is understandably reluctant to place the bank in the pecking order of Ferrari sponsors and says simply: In Ferrari, we are on the podium and the podium is a very good place to be. Ferrari has a process and they are going to announce the car and image later on. We are a main sponsor; we are not a title sponsor. I cannot say more... ... Cendoya rightly points out that Santander is not in charge of driver selection and intriguingly suggests that, for example, the commercial appeal of current Ferrari driver Felipe Massa might be an effective way of growing the brand worldwide the implication being that, even with Alonso on board, the bank's popularity might only increase in Spain by one or two percentage points, whereas the potential gains in other markets are significantly greater. Cendoya says it is all about creating an emotional link between potential new customers and the bank. How many Spanish people, for example, are today very happy because we are with Ferrari? I don't know, but in my opinion a lot because I received more than 700 emails giving felicitations for this agreement. Every employee in our bank can guess a figure but it could be 10 million. In Brazil there are 50 million fans of Formula One, 80 per cent of them are Ferrari fans and they now feel happy and proud of being part of the Santander group (source article:: Sport is playing its part in the Santander story).

This SprortsPro article is very telling about why Kimi had to go without mentioning his name even once. Mr. Cendoya further states;

Cendoya makes clear, a cold, rational business decision, just as was the decision to sponsor McLaren three years ago. We started at the McLaren team, with an English pilot and a Spanish pilot at the beginning. We had a low presence in the team but we paid a lot of attention to every penny, peseta, euro that we were spending. We don't give money away. We have given a lot of attention over the last 100 years to caring for the money of our shareholders.

Comment

: This article also sheds light into Massa's continued presence at Ferrari without results (read update on this here). His presence alone is enough to produce the expected

Return On Investment

(ROI) at the levels that are even better than what Alonso is able to generate as a Spaniard. Santader's ROI does not even depend on Alonso or Massa winning races. Given their demographics they have enough appeal in the Latino world to satisfy Santander's financial expectations by just driving the red cars around to boost credit card, insurance, other financial instrument sales as well as merchandising.

What is a bit hard to understand is how the journos/media could not connect these dots to show what really went on in 2008. You do not have to do any major investigation because pretty much everything is in the public domain. While we understand commercial pressures on the racing business, 2008-9 was anything but sporting for Ferrari. They should have just let him go after 2007 instead of playing all kinds of games, and engaging in a PR war to give it an appearance of performance problems.

I suspect, even Massa will not bet against Kimi’s performance this year, or when he appeared to beat him back in 2008-9 as he knows what the deal was relative to his role within the Santander world. I think Kimi understood the business aspect of the issues, and in line with his character never washed any dirty Ferrari laundry in public. Yes, he did have several unlucky situations but his fate was already signed and sealed mid season 2008 purely for business reasons. 2009 was essentially continuation of the 2008 theatrics until Massa’s accident. On another front, almost identical scenario (to Santander-Massa-Brasil situation) is in play for Perez in a Santander sponsored car (Ferrari or McLaren) — Perez-Santander-Mexico, from the same playbook.

November 8 2012

-- Spanish sports newspaper Marca --

Asked by the Spanish sports newspaper Marca to recall his memories of racing for F1′s most famous team Ferrari, Raikkonen answered: “Neither good nor bad.“

I won a title with them and had some good times. I am satisfied with the three years I spent there.

“I don’t miss anyone,” he admitted. “To me, leaving there (Ferrari) was a relief.“

The situation could have been better, but it’s the past and what is done cannot be reversed,” said Raikkonen.

“Things don’t last long if you’re working somewhere and the relations are not good.”

He explained that, in contrast, he enjoys working with Lotus.

“I felt good from the start,”said Raikkonen. “

People work hard and calmly, but they want to win and the sport and the technical sides come before the politics.” --

Source

December, 4 2012

Mercopress.com

For Spain’s Santander bank Brazil is number one and ‘absolute preference’

Emilio Botin chairman of Santander Bank, the leading financial institution in Spain and among the top largest in the European Union said in Sao Paulo that Brazil is the “number one country in Latin America” and the absolute preference of his institution...

read full article

Footnotes:

1) As to how things evolved with the car I am not totally sure, but the person who had a front seat was Chris Dyer. In the following quote, he is reflecting on 2008 season.

“We had a tough and hard season but Kimi did exactly the right thing within the team and everyone respected what he did and how he reacted to this situation. We had a fantastic car but unfortunately we made mistakes when thinking about what’s best for our driver (Raikkonen).”

I believe the "situation" he is talking about is the Ferrari corporate decision to support Massa – not exactly sure when, but possibly Sep 24. (Kimi was told that they have to let Massa contest the 2008 championship because they are stuck with this request from Santander).

I think

“we made mistakes when thinking about what’s best for our driver”

bit is referring to Michael Schumacher, because Michael wanted Massa to be the official feedback/debrief driver sometime around Monaco. I think all of Michael’s initiatives were well intentioned organizational efficiency related enhancements trying to help Ferrari without favoring any driver but because he was closer to Massa probably Massa benefited more from them.

The other issue was the infamous suspension change that was introduced mid-season, again by Michael's planning and directives. It was a unilateral action by him as he was trying to improve the car.

link

If you recall, recently Kimi said there was only one person at Ferrari he did not like… he did not name that person but I believe it is Michael, because Michael was officially in charge of the car. I think he was/is on good terms with Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo (LdM) because he understood the Ferrari business situation that he could not control but Michael was in charge of something (the car itself) he has been used to controlling all his career. In any event, this area – Michael’s role — needs more research because it is mostly opinions. I suspect Dyer will talk or imply after his departure mid year.

2) Massa was at the right place, at the right time and with the right Sponsor, given his nationality. In fact Botin personally made sure

Massa was taken care of

even before the 2010 Ferrari sponsorship started:

Massa-“I’m glad to get this support from Santander. Lately I met President Emilio Botin twice and he is absolutely excited about the potential of the Brazilian market…

Being Brazilian, going into the IPO Massa became the

brand ambassador for the bank

(read the last paragraph in the link relative to the date of the article. Alonso was supposed to be in the list but not Massa, on that date) sometime during the summer of 2009, well before Santander-Ferrari relationship kicked in on Jan 1, 2010 (Alonso had been the brand ambassador for Spain for a while). This was a direct Massa-Santander payroll relationship ~$5-7M per year.

Fast forward to Nov 2011,

Botin decided to personally fire him

because he was upset with Massa for the results of 2010/2011 seasons. To understand the importance of Latin America to Santander, just look at their annual reports. So, to those who have been wondering why Massa has been with Ferrari despite underperforming? Because his nationality has been more important than his performance. And remember this stuff was not supposed to take place prior to Jan 1, 2010.

Global recession further increased the importance of Brazil

for Santander as they are desparately looking for new markets to offset losses in Spain. Therefore, they couldn't afford to drop Massa despite his not so stellar performance between 2010-2012, so they had to renew his contract.

This area could use some more research – journos: talk to some ex employee perhaps…

Posted 10th September 2013 by wrcva canvass

#Kimi Raikkonen #ferrari #raikkonen #Scuderia Ferrari #F1 #fernando alonso #Felipe Massa #Massa

8 notes · View notes

bienready2122 · 4 years

Text

Jewellery Birthstones

Ever puzzled about what gemstone must Engagement Rings Perth you place on that very special engagement ring? Do you want more which means put to it, instead of simply blatantly purchase the maximum steeply-priced ring you could find the money for? Or you simply want to provide someone a hoop that they can cherish forever. You must do not forget getting their Birthstone! Birthstones are historically given to a person as a gift. The stones rely on what month the owner become born. Different countries virtually have special lists in the earlier instances, leaving jewellers harassed as to what virtually is the "fashionable" birthstone listing. In 1912, with a view to standardize birthstones, the (American) National Association of Jewelers officially adopted a listing, now called the present day start stones. Here are the subsequent stones that you could remember to get set in your treasured engagement ring.

Garnet - The birthstone for January. Garnet is observed in Brazil, Russia, East Africa and India, with the excellent Garnets being located in Sri Lanka. Garnet is a completely famous jewel. It is used for jewellery such as rings, necklaces and bracelets. Garnet can be crimson (that's the most popular), crimson, inexperienced, grey and yellow.

Amethyst - The birthstone for February. Amethyst might be the 13th maximum famous stone in the international. Amethyst is pink coloured quartz. When heated, amethyst can be yellow which produces citrine. Amethysts are discovered in geods of which most are discovered in Brazil. The deep crimson coloration of amethyst has been recognised for hundreds of years because the colour of royalty and is even part of the British Crown Jewels.

Aquamarine - The birthstone for March. Aquamarine surely manner seawater. You can nearly hear the roaring waves while you stare into the shimmering sides of aquamarine. It is said that it is brilliance even opponents that of a diamond's. Gem first-rate aquamarine is located as hexagonal crystals which can be up to thirty-nine inches long (1 meter) and perfect. Aquamarine within the 19th century changed into desired to be inexperienced in colour.

Diamond - The birthstone for April. It is the ultimate gemstone. When they stated they're for all time, they had been not kidding. The handiest way that a diamond can be cut or chipped is by way of getting hit with some other Diamond. These stones are so clear that Loose Diamonds may be cut to the factor that they emit a sure "hearth" in their radiance. Because of their characteristics, they are the maximum used gems for engagement rings.

Emerald - Emerald is the birthstone of May, the month of rebirth and celebration of life. An emerald pendant are traditionally given to moms on Mother's Day. Emerald is a totally transparent inexperienced. Emeralds are very rarely wonderful. The stones are regularly oiled to fill inside the cracks of imperfect emeralds. When they oil the emeralds they regularly help decorate color. The finest emeralds come from Columbia, but there are different suitable assets like Australia, India, Austria, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, U.S.A., Norway, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe.

Pearl - The birthstone for June. Well, a Pearl isn't always in reality a gemstone. A pearl is a hard item produced inside the gentle tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline shape, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The perfect pearl is perfectly round and easy, but many other shapes of pearls occur. The best great natural pearls have been incredibly valued as gems and gadgets of beauty for lots centuries, therefore, the phrase being used as a metaphor for something very rare, first-class, admirable, and valuable.

Ruby - Ruby is the brirthstone of July, and is so long lasting and sturdy, it is 2nd best to diamonds. A perfect gem for regular wear as a ruby ring or ruby pendant. A pure ideal pink ruby is valued extra than a diamond. Ruby is one of the quality jewellery settings. It can be crimson, pinkish, purplish or brownish. The shade depends on the iron content material of the stone. If rubys fracture it could be due to regular twining. Crystal prisms are hexagonal with tapering or flat ends. As rubys develop they form greater layers.

Peridot - August's birthstone. A Gem-fine of the mineral olivine are referred to as peridot by gemologists. Peridot has an olive or bottle green colour that is due to the presence of iron and a unique oily or greasy luster. It has a high birefraction. So doubling of the back aspects can without problems be seen in larger specimens. When regarded from the front, suitable quality crystals are very rare.

Sapphire - The birthstone of September. The deep blue colorings of twilight are captured in the intense shiny tones of sapphire. Extremely long lasting and constantly in fashion, a sapphire ring in white or yellow gold will never exit of style. All satisfactory corundum that is hot is sapphire yet this call is popularly associated with blue. Variation in color that is because of iron and titanium impurities spans many shades but the maximum treasured is a clear deep blue. Some stones called coloration change sapphire show off one of a kind sun shades of blue in artificial and herbal light. Good first-rate sapphire is found in Mynmew, Sri Lanka and India.

Opal - The birthstone for October. Opal has been a treasured gemstone round the sector from the beginning or recorded history. Cultures at some stage in time have revered opal as a symbol of wish and purity. The shimmering rainbow of colours interior every opal has inspired the imagination from the historic Romans to the sonnets of Shakespeare. Opal is hardened silica gel typically containing 5 to ten percent water. It is therefore non crystalline not like maximum other gems. It can also even dry out and crack. There are two kinds of treasured opal which flashes of colour iridescence. Depending at the attitude of viewing a common or potch opal, that's regularly opaque, opal presentations no iridescence.

Topaz - The stone for November. In a selection of different colours topaz varies of deep golden yellow and pinks are often the maximum precious of topaz. A blue topaz is nearly indistinguishable from an aquamarine from the naked eye. Some topaz have a bubble inside the center. When a gasoline bubble is in a topaz in can motive harm such as cracks to occur, so that you higher select an amazing unfastened Topaz before having it set.

Turquoise - The birthstone for December-borns. Turquoise changed into one of the first actual of gems to be mined. Because of the deep blue to inexperienced colour turquoise is noticeably valued. Turquoises shade vary due to how an awful lot iron or copper is within the stone. As turquoise a while it can expand cracks. If you wax Turquoise after it cracks it can hold its look. Although the nice sky blue turquoise is from Tibet, the turquoise from Iran is greater long lasting.

0 notes

samuel-roth · 4 years

Text

If you’re pro Trump you’re not pro military.

Just some of the great things he’s done or said during his presidency and life.

• ⁠Trump knew since March 2020 that Russia paid bounties to kill American troops, yet has done nothing

• ⁠May 2020, the White House attempted to end National Guard deployments one day before they could claim benefits

• ⁠The Trump admin seized 5 million masks intended for VA hospitals. Kushner distributes these masks to private entities for a fee, who then sells the masks to the government

• ⁠Trump fired the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt after warned superiors that COVID19 was spreading among his crew. The virus subsequently spread amongst the crew

• ⁠After Iran's retaliatory strike, 109 US troops suffered brain injuries. Trump dismissed these as "headaches"

• ⁠20/7/2017, in room 2E924 of the Pentagon, told a room full of Generals, "You’re a bunch of dopes and babies"

• ⁠Pardoned multiple war criminals, which stomped on long standing military values, discipline, and command. Trump has no military experience (May&Nov, 2019)

• ⁠Trump mocked Lt. Col. Vindman for his rank and uniform. threatened said purple heart officer, resulting in the Army providing him protection

• ⁠Trump’s Chief of Staff worked—in secret—to deny comprehensive health coverage to Vietnam Vets who suffered from Agent Orange

• ⁠There's a facility in Tijuana for US veterans that Trump deported. Wounded war vet, Sen Duckworth (D) marked Veterans Day 2019 by visiting this facility

• ⁠Russia took control of the main U.S. military facility in Syria abandoned on Trump’s orders. Russia now owns the airstrip we built

• ⁠10/7/2019, Trump abruptly withdrew support from America's allies in Syria after a phone call with Turkey's president (Erdogan). Turkey subsequently bombed US Special Forces

• ⁠Trump sent thousands of American troops to defend the oil assets of the country that perpetrated 9/11

• ⁠Sept 2019, made an Air Force cargo crew, flying from the U.S. to Kuwait stop in Scotland (where there's no U.S. base) to refuel at a commercial airport (where it costs more), so they could stay overnight at a Trump property (which isn't close to the airport). Trump’s golf courses are losing money, so he's forcing the military to pay for 5-star nights there

• ⁠7/2019, Pentagon pulled funds for military schools, military housing funds, and daycare to pay for Trump's border wall

• ⁠Aug 2019, emails revealed that three of Trump's Mar-a-Lago pals, who are now running Veterans Affairs, are rampant with meddling. "They had no experience in veterans affairs (none of them even served in the military) nor underwent any kind of approval process to serve as de facto managers. Yet, with Trump’s approval, they directed actions and criticized operations without any oversight. They wasted valuable staff time in hundreds of pages of communications and meetings, emails show. Emails reveal disdainful attitudes within the department to the trio’s meddling."

• ⁠Veterans graves will be "dug up" for the border wall, after Trump instructed aides to seize private property. Trump told officials would pardon them if they break the law by illegally seizing property

• ⁠Children of deployed US troops are no longer guaranteed citizenship. This includes US troops posted abroad for years at a time (28/8/2019)

• ⁠2/8/2019, Trump requisitioned military retirement funds towards border wall

• ⁠31/7/2019, Trump ordered the Navy rescind medals to prosecutors who were prosecuted war criminals

• ⁠Trump denied a U.S. Marine of 6 years entry into the United States for his citizenship interview (Reported 17/7/2019)

• ⁠Trump made the U.S. Navy Blue Angels violate ethics rules by having them fly at his July 4th political campaign event (4/7/2019)

• ⁠Trump demanded US military chiefs stand next to him at 4th of July parade (reported 2/7/2019)

• ⁠June 2019, Trump sent troops to the border to paint the fence for a better "aesthetic appearance"

• ⁠Trump used his D-Day interview at a cemetery commemorating fallen US soldiers to attack a Vietnam veteran (6/6/2019)

• ⁠Trump started his D-Day commemoration speech by attacking a private citizen (Bette Midler, of all people) (reported 4/6/2019)

• ⁠Trump made his 2nd wife, Marla Maples, sign a prenup that would have cut off all child support if Tiffany joined the military (reported 4/6/2019)

• ⁠27/5/2019, Trump turned away US military from his Memorial Day speech because they were from the destroyer USS John S. McCain

• ⁠Trump ordered the USS John McCain out of sight during his visit to Japan (15/5/2019). The ship's name was subsequently covered. (27/5/2019)

...and going...

• ⁠Trump purged 200,000 vets' healthcare applications (due to known administrative errors within VA’s enrollment system) (reported on 13/5/2019)

• ⁠Trump deported a spouse of fallen Army soldier killed in Afghanistan, leaving their daughter parentless (16/4/2019)

• ⁠20/3/2019, Trump complained that a deceased war hero didn't thank him for his funeral

• ⁠Between 12/22/2018, and 1/25/2019, Trump refused to sign his party's funding bill, which shut down the government, forcing the Coast Guard to go without pay, which made service members rely on food pantries. However, his appointees got a $10,000 pay raise

• ⁠banned service members from serving based on gender identity (1/22/2019)

• ⁠denied female troops access to birth control to limit sexual activity (on-going. Published 18/1/2019)

• ⁠tried to deport a marine vet who is a U.S.-born citizen (16/1/2019)

• ⁠When a man was caught swindling veterans pensions for high-interest “cash advances," Trump's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined him $1 (26/1/2019)

• ⁠called a retired general a 'dog' with a 'big, dumb mouth' (1/1/2019)

• ⁠increased privatization of the VA, leading to longer waits and higher taxpayer cost (2018)

• ⁠finally visited troops 2 years after taking office, but only after 154 vacation days at his properties (26/12/2018)

• ⁠revealed a covert Seal Team 5 deployment, including names and faces, on Twitter during his visit to Iraq (26/12/2018)

• ⁠Trump lied to deployed troops that gave them a 10% raise (26/12/2018).

• ⁠Tried giving the military a raise that was lower than the standard living adjustment. Congress told him that idea wasn't going to work. Then after giving them the raise that Congress made him, lied about it pretending that it was larger than Obama's. It wasn't

• ⁠fired service members living with HIV just before the 2018 holidays

• ⁠tried to slash disability and unemployment benefits for Veterans to $0, and eliminate the unemployability extrascheduler rating (17/12/2018)

• ⁠called troops on Thanksgiving and told them he's most thankful for himself (Thanksgiving, 2018)

• ⁠urged Florida to not count deployed military votes (12/11/2018)

• ⁠canceled an Arlington Cemetery visit on Veterans Day due to light rain (12/11/2018)

• ⁠While in Europe commemorating the end of WWI, didn't attend the ceremony at a US cemetery due to the rain -- other world leaders went anyway (10/11/2018)

• ⁠used troops as a political prop by sending them on a phantom mission to the border and made them miss Thanksgiving with their families (Oct-Dec, 2018)

• ⁠stopped using troops as a political prop immediately after the election. However, the troops remained in muddy camps on the border (7/11/2018)

• ⁠Trump changed the GI Bill through his Forever GI Act, causing the VA to miss veteran benefits, including housing allowances. This caused many vets to run out of food and rent. (reported 7/10/2018)

• ⁠Trump doubled the rejection rate for veterans requesting family deportation protections (5/7/2018)

• ⁠Trump deported active-duty spouses (11,800 military families face this problem as of April 2018)

• ⁠forgot a fallen soldier's name (below) during a call to his pregnant widow, then attacked her the next day (23-24/10/2017)

• ⁠sent commandos into an ambush due to a lack of intel, and sends contractors to pick them up, resulting in a commando being left behind, tortured, and executed. (Trump approved the mission because Bannon told him Obama didn't have the guts to do it) (4/10/2017)

• ⁠blocked a veteran group on Twitter (7/2017)

• ⁠ordered the discharge of active-duty immigrant troops with good records (2017-present)

• ⁠deported veterans (2017-present)

• ⁠said knows more about ISIS than American generals (10/2016)

• ⁠Oct 3, 2016, Trump said vets get PTSD because they aren't strong (note: yes, said it's 'because they aren't strong.' didn't say it's 'because they're weak.' This distinction is important because of Snopes)

• ⁠Trump accepted a Purple Heart from a fan at one of his rallies and said: “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.” (2/8/2016)

• ⁠Trump attacks Gold Star families: Myeshia Johnson (gold star widow), Khan family (gold star parents) etc. (2016-present)

• ⁠Trump sent funds raised from a Jan 2016 veterans benefit to the Donald J Trump Foundation instead of veterans charities (the foundation has since been ordered shut because of fraud) (1/2016)

• ⁠Trump said has "more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military" because went to a military-style academy (2015 biography)

• ⁠Trump said doesn't consider POWs heroes because they were caught. said prefers people who were not caught (7/18/2015)

• ⁠Trump said having unprotected sex was his own personal Vietnam (1998) For a decade, Trump sought to kick veterans off of Fifth Avenue because found them unsightly nuisances outside of Trump Tower. 1991

• ⁠Trump dodged the draft 5 times by having a doctor diagnose him with bone spurs

• ⁠No Trump in America has ever served in the military; this spans 5 generations, and every branch of the family tree. In fact, the reason his grandfather immigrated to America was to avoid military service.

1 note · View note