#4 July 2004

[rabbitcruiser]

The cornerstone of One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) was laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City on July 4, 2004.

[makesomethingeloquent]

"Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things.” - Marvin Heemeyer

[sideblogdotjpeg]

one year of my life grinding to a fucking halt because of frog . because of that damn frog

[fatliberation]

they have a point though. you wouldn't need everyone to accommodate you if you just lost weight, but you're too lazy to stick to a healthy diet and exercise. it's that simple. I'd like to see you back up your claims, but you have no proof. you have got to stop lying to yourselves and face the facts

Must I go through this again? Fine. FINE. You guys are working my nerves today. You want to talk about facing the facts? Let's face the fucking facts.

In 2022, the US market cap of the weight loss industry was $75 billion [1, 3]. In 2021, the global market cap of the weight loss industry was estimated at $224.27 billion [2]. 

In 2020, the market shrunk by about 25%, but rebounded and then some since then [1, 3] By 2030, the global weight loss industry is expected to be valued at $405.4 billion [2]. If diets really worked, this industry would fall overnight. 

1. LaRosa, J. March 10, 2022. "U.S. Weight Loss Market Shrinks by 25% in 2020 with Pandemic, but Rebounds in 2021." Market Research Blog. 2. Staff. February 09, 2023. "[Latest] Global Weight Loss and Weight Management Market Size/Share Worth." Facts and Factors Research. 3. LaRosa, J. March 27, 2023. "U.S. Weight Loss Market Partially Recovers from the Pandemic." Market Research Blog.

Over 50 years of research conclusively demonstrates that virtually everyone who intentionally loses weight by manipulating their eating and exercise habits will regain the weight they lost within 3-5 years. And 75% will actually regain more weight than they lost [4].

4. Mann, T., Tomiyama, A.J., Westling, E., Lew, A.M., Samuels, B., Chatman, J. (2007). "Medicare’s Search For Effective Obesity Treatments: Diets Are Not The Answer." The American Psychologist, 62, 220-233. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 2007.

The annual odds of a fat person attaining a so-called “normal” weight and maintaining that for 5 years is approximately 1 in 1000 [5].

5. Fildes, A., Charlton, J., Rudisill, C., Littlejohns, P., Prevost, A.T., & Gulliford, M.C. (2015). “Probability of an Obese Person Attaining Normal Body Weight: Cohort Study Using Electronic Health Records.” American Journal of Public Health, July 16, 2015: e1–e6.

Doctors became so desperate that they resorted to amputating parts of the digestive tract (bariatric surgery) in the hopes that it might finally result in long-term weight-loss. Except that doesn’t work either. [6] And it turns out it causes death [7],  addiction [8], malnutrition [9], and suicide [7].

6. Magro, Daniéla Oliviera, et al. “Long-Term Weight Regain after Gastric Bypass: A 5-Year Prospective Study - Obesity Surgery.” SpringerLink, 8 Apr. 2008. 7. Omalu, Bennet I, et al. “Death Rates and Causes of Death After Bariatric Surgery for Pennsylvania Residents, 1995 to 2004.” Jama Network, 1 Oct. 2007.  8. King, Wendy C., et al. “Prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders Before and After Bariatric Surgery.” Jama Network, 20 June 2012.  9. Gletsu-Miller, Nana, and Breanne N. Wright. “Mineral Malnutrition Following Bariatric Surgery.” Advances In Nutrition: An International Review Journal, Sept. 2013.

Evidence suggests that repeatedly losing and gaining weight is linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and altered immune function [10].

10. Tomiyama, A Janet, et al. “Long‐term Effects of Dieting: Is Weight Loss Related to Health?” Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6 July 2017.

Prescribed weight loss is the leading predictor of eating disorders [11].

11. Patton, GC, et al. “Onset of Adolescent Eating Disorders: Population Based Cohort Study over 3 Years.” BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 20 Mar. 1999.

The idea that “obesity” is unhealthy and can cause or exacerbate illnesses is a biased misrepresentation of the scientific literature that is informed more by bigotry than credible science [12]. 

12. Medvedyuk, Stella, et al. “Ideology, Obesity and the Social Determinants of Health: A Critical Analysis of the Obesity and Health Relationship” Taylor & Francis Online, 7 June 2017.

“Obesity” has no proven causative role in the onset of any chronic condition [13, 14] and its appearance may be a protective response to the onset of numerous chronic conditions generated from currently unknown causes [15, 16, 17, 18].

13. Kahn, BB, and JS Flier. “Obesity and Insulin Resistance.” The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Aug. 2000. 14. Cofield, Stacey S, et al. “Use of Causal Language in Observational Studies of Obesity and Nutrition.” Obesity Facts, 3 Dec. 2010.  15. Lavie, Carl J, et al. “Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: Risk Factor, Paradox, and Impact of Weight Loss.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 26 May 2009.  16. Uretsky, Seth, et al. “Obesity Paradox in Patients with Hypertension and Coronary Artery Disease.” The American Journal of Medicine, Oct. 2007.  17. Mullen, John T, et al. “The Obesity Paradox: Body Mass Index and Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Nonbariatric General Surgery.” Annals of Surgery, July 2005. 18. Tseng, Chin-Hsiao. “Obesity Paradox: Differential Effects on Cancer and Noncancer Mortality in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.” Atherosclerosis, Jan. 2013.

Fatness was associated with only 1/3 the associated deaths that previous research estimated and being “overweight” conferred no increased risk at all, and may even be a protective factor against all-causes mortality relative to lower weight categories [19].

19. Flegal, Katherine M. “The Obesity Wars and the Education of a Researcher: A Personal Account.” Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 15 June 2021.

Studies have observed that about 30% of so-called “normal weight” people are “unhealthy” whereas about 50% of so-called “overweight” people are “healthy”. Thus, using the BMI as an indicator of health results in the misclassification of some 75 million people in the United States alone [20]. 

20. Rey-López, JP, et al. “The Prevalence of Metabolically Healthy Obesity: A Systematic Review and Critical Evaluation of the Definitions Used.” Obesity Reviews : An Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 15 Oct. 2014.

While epidemiologists use BMI to calculate national obesity rates (nearly 35% for adults and 18% for kids), the distinctions can be arbitrary. In 1998, the National Institutes of Health lowered the overweight threshold from 27.8 to 25—branding roughly 29 million Americans as fat overnight—to match international guidelines. But critics noted that those guidelines were drafted in part by the International Obesity Task Force, whose two principal funders were companies making weight loss drugs [21].

21. Butler, Kiera. “Why BMI Is a Big Fat Scam.” Mother Jones, 25 Aug. 2014. 

Body size is largely determined by genetics [22].

22. Wardle, J. Carnell, C. Haworth, R. Plomin. “Evidence for a strong genetic influence on childhood adiposity despite the force of the obesogenic environment” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 87, No. 2, Pages 398-404, February 2008.

Healthy lifestyle habits are associated with a significant decrease in mortality regardless of baseline body mass index [23].  

23. Matheson, Eric M, et al. “Healthy Lifestyle Habits and Mortality in Overweight and Obese Individuals.” Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 25 Feb. 2012.

Weight stigma itself is deadly. Research shows that weight-based discrimination increases risk of death by 60% [24].

24. Sutin, Angela R., et al. “Weight Discrimination and Risk of Mortality .” Association for Psychological Science, 25 Sept. 2015.

Fat stigma in the medical establishment [25] and society at large arguably [26] kills more fat people than fat does [27, 28, 29].

25. Puhl, Rebecca, and Kelly D. Bronwell. “Bias, Discrimination, and Obesity.” Obesity Research, 6 Sept. 2012. 26. Engber, Daniel. “Glutton Intolerance: What If a War on Obesity Only Makes the Problem Worse?” Slate, 5 Oct. 2009.  27. Teachman, B. A., Gapinski, K. D., Brownell, K. D., Rawlins, M., & Jeyaram, S. (2003). Demonstrations of implicit anti-fat bias: The impact of providing causal information and evoking empathy. Health Psychology, 22(1), 68–78. 28. Chastain, Ragen. “So My Doctor Tried to Kill Me.” Dances With Fat, 15 Dec. 2009. 29. Sutin, Angelina R, Yannick Stephan, and Antonio Terraciano. “Weight Discrimination and Risk of Mortality.” Psychological Science, 26 Nov. 2015.

There's my "proof." Where is yours?

[homerstroystory]

Looks vs. Loot at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by The Antiquities Coalition (@/CombatLooting) on Twitter

Transcription below the cut

1: The #MetGala may be "fashion's biggest night," but tonight's event hides some dark truths at @/metmuseum...including a long history of looted antiquities. To spotlight some of the contested objects from the Met's collection, we are featuring #MetGala vs. Loot [THREAD]

2. First up: @/KimKardashian in @/Versace at the 2018 #MetGala posing next to the Golden Sarcophagus of Nedjemankh. The coffin was purchased by @/metmuseum in 2017 and repatriated in 2019 after this viral photo helped solve the case. (link)

3. Next, her sister @/KendallJenner in @/givenchy at the 2021 #MetGala as the 13th century wooden Temple Strut with Salabhinka, returned from @/metmuseum to the Government of Nepal in 2022, after it was determined to be looked from Itum Baha in Kathmandu. (link)

4. Another object from Nepal, @/rihanna in @/Margiel at the 2018 #MetGala as a 10th century Shiva in Himalayan Adobe with Ascetics. @/metmuseum was gifted the sculpture in 1995, but repatriated it to Nepal in 2022 along with the temple strut, after learning both were stolen.

5. Dakota Johnson in @/gucci at the 2022 #MetGala as a terracotta kylix (c. 470 bCE). This piece, valued at $1.5 million, was seized from the @/metmuseum in July 2022 after being linked to Italian antiquities trafficker Gianfranco Becchina. (link)

6. @/billieeilish in @/gucci at the 2022 #MetGala as the Fayum Mummy Portrait. Looted from Egypt and sold to @/metmuseum in 2013, it was seized in September '22 by @/ManhattanDA as part of a global investigation into an international trafficking ring. (link)

7. @/iamcardib in @/ThomeBrowne at the 2019 #MetGala as a painted linen fragment displaying a scene from the Book of Exodus, 'Exodus Painting" (250-450 CE), valued at over $1.6 million. The fragments were also part of the seizure by the @/ManhattanDA in September '22.

8. @/Beyonce in @/givenchy at the 2013 #MetGala as a 2,300-year-old vase that depicts the god Dionysus. The vase is linked to Giacomo Medici, an art dealer convicted of conspiracy to traffic antiquities in 2004, and was seized from the @/metmuseum in 2017. (link)

9. @/blakelively in @/Versace at the 2022 #MetGala as a bronze statuette of Jupiter. This object is among 27 antiquities that were returned to Italy and Egypt in 2022 after investigators seized them from the @/metmuseum. (link)

[boxanimal]

May 24, 2024 is the 20th anniversary of Reborn!

Shonen Jump covers primarily featuring the series:

June 7, 2004, Issue No. 26 - New serialization

November 8, 2004, Issue No. 48 - 1st volume release

July 4, 2005, Issue No. 29 - 1st anniversary

March 20, 2006, Issue No. 14 - Beginning of the Varia arc

September 11, 2006, Issue No. 39 - TV anime announcement

October 23, 2006, Issue No. 45 - TV anime debut

November 20, 2006, Issue No. 49 - Beginning of Tsuna vs. Xanxus

July 9, 2007, Issue No. 30 - 3rd anniversary

September 10, 2007, Issue No. 39

November 19, 2007, Issue No. 49

February 18, 2008, Issue No. 10 - 18th volume release

July 14, 2008, Issue No. 31 - 4th anniversary

November 3, 2008, Issue No. 47 - 3rd anniversary of TV anime

June 22, 2009, Issue No. 28 - 5th anniversary

October 19, 2009, Issue No. 45 - Reborn Month event

November 2, 2009, Issue No. 47 - Reborn Month event

February 1, 2010, Issue No. 7 - 27th volume release & TV anime 7th season

April 12, 2010, Issue No. 17 - Beginning of the Inheritance arc & REBORN Colore! release

June 14, 2010, Issue No. 26 - 6th anniversary

September 12, 2011, Issue No. 38 - Beginning of the Curse of the Rainbow arc

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - October 30, 2023

1. Bill to Ban Hidden Fees in California Signed into Law

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has released a statement regarding the signing of Senate Bill 478 (SB 478). SB 478, coauthored by Senators Bill Dodd and Nancy Skinner, will eliminate hidden fees, also known as 'junk fees,' in California starting from July 1, 2024. Hidden fees are deceptive charges that sellers include in transactions, either through obscured disclosures or later revelations, impacting consumers negatively.

2. New Portable Water Treatment System Vaporizes 99% of ‘Forever Chemicals’

A startup based Washington has devised a portable system capable of removing the vast majority of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from water.

The system uses hydrothermal alkaline treatment, or HALT, to eliminate 99% of forever chemicals from water.

3. Tumor-destroying sound waves receive FDA approval for liver treatment in humans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of sound waves to break down tumors—a technique called histotripsy—in humans for liver treatment. Technique developed at the University of Michigan provides a noninvasive alternative to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer

4. Japan's top court says trans sterilisation requirement unconstitutional

Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to require citizens to be sterilised before they can officially change genders.

The 2004 law said people could only change their gender if they have no reproductive capacity. Wednesday's ruling came after a transgender woman filed a petition challenging the law.

5. Abandoned golf courses are being reclaimed by nature

Golf courses, despite occupying large green spaces, are not necessarily good for the environment.

Conservation nonprofits and local authorities are looking to acquire golf courses that have been abandoned due to high maintenance costs, low player numbers or other reasons, and repurpose them into landscapes that boost biodiversity and build natural defenses against climate change.

6. NSW court allows health officials to give blood transfusion to Jehovah's Witness toddler

Regional New South Wales health officials have won a court order authorising them to give a blood transfusion to a Jehovah's Witness toddler if needed in surgery. The Supreme Court has been told the girl, three, who can only be referred to as JI, is in need of two surgical procedures. 

On such an application, the overriding criterion to be applied by the court is the best interests and welfare of the child.

7. North Atlantic right whale population has steadied, scientists say

The population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales appears to have levelled off after a decade of steep decline, according to updated data released this morning by Canadian and American scientists. Scientists in the consortium said Monday that the 2021 estimate of 340 North Atlantic right whales in existence has been recalculated to 365 primarily because of the number of calves born that year.

The estimate for 2022 is 356.

---

That's it for this week :)

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Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.

[tateshifts]

SLYTHERIN BOYS + pansy ⋆｡˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚ dr headcanons

this is going to be about my dr and how i know the boys and a little about their background.

✮ . . . quidditch; all the boys play quidditch except enzo (he’s protecting his face from flying balls).

mattheo is a beater, player 5. theo is the captain, he’s new from this year, he’s a chaser and he’s player 10. blaise is a chaser and he’s player 2. draco is a seeker and he’s player 15.

dracos been playing since second year, but blaise and theo have been playing since third whilst mattheo joined in 4th year. the other players are, adrian pucey (keeper), graham montage (chaser) and miles bletchley (beater).

✮ . . . were all 18 turning 19 this year. my dr is still hogwarts as a school, its just with all the school years aged up? i hope that makes sense lol

mattheo was born on january 7th 2005 (capricorn) theo was born on october 28th 2004 (scorpio) blaise was born on november 28th 2004 (sagittarius) enzo was born on march 2nd 2005 (pisces) draco was born on june 5th 2005 (gemini) pansy was born on july 7th 2005 (cancer)

✮ . . . draco is 6” blaise is 6”2 mattheo is 6”5 theo is 6”4 enzo is 6”2

im not sure why they’re all so tall??? i didn’t script this so it’s probably my subconscious wanting a height difference or something. but their parents aren’t tall either from what i’ve heard so it’s a mystery ? puberty did them good.

✮ . . . these guys are so built, they take their healths so seriously when it comes to food. they train so much for quidditch, enzo trains with them sometimes too just to keep his health up. their arms, their thighs, their abs. so toned and defined. literally hench

✮ . . . the only people who can see thestrals are theo and mattheo, this is because they both witnessed the death of theo’s mother. even though theo says he’s still processing the death of his mum, he can still see these thestrals. which can only been seen only after you have processed the death you have witnessed.

my dr background with the boys + pansy

✮ . . . we’ve all known eachother since forever as we all grew up together. our parents were all ‘friends’? they weren’t friends just accomplices i guess you could say. they are business partners and they invest in eachothers work. some of our parents know eachother from school or distant family.

✮ . . . we were all kind of passed around eachothers houses LMAO there was always some kind of shit going on so we had to spend a few nights in eachothers houses, i say few but it was A LOT of nights.

✮ . . . we’ve been together 24/7 since and we almost never spend time apart. which can be overwhelming so we of course have boundaries.

thanks for reading ❦｡･:*:･ﾟ. follows, likes & reblogs are appreciated x

[seandwalsh]

Who lays the nectar eggs found in the Pikmin games? It might seem like a silly question, but for a series with such extensive lore surrounding its creatures it is surprising that it remains a mystery. Nectar eggs are a mysterious item found in Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3 and Pikmin 4. The eggs themselves are rarely acknowledged by the leaders and can contain a wide array of different things.

When broken, nectar eggs usually release a form of nectar or raw material. Curiously, there are also several creatures associated with these eggs, but it’s never been explicitly stated which actually produces them. Let’s look at the candidates:

Firstly, there are the Honeywisps. Honeywisps sometimes carry nectar eggs as they float through the air back to their nests. However, they don’t seem to be producing these eggs themselves, as in Pikmin 1 they can be seen carrying pure nectar collected from flowers.

Given they intend to feed the nectar from the nectar eggs they carry to their young, it seems more likely that they sometimes just steal nectar eggs from their nests of origin instead of collecting nectar from flowers.

“This timid creature flies around collecting nectar from flowers.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“This creature collects nectar for the larvae waiting in its nest.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 1, December 2001]

“This cutie swims though the air with a heavy-looking nectar egg dangling below its translucent body on its way back to its nest where its offspring await lunch.”

[Source: Dalmo, Sozorian Animal Enthusiast and researcher, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

The next creatures are the Mitites. Mities are a type of insect that occasionally hatch from broken nectar eggs in great numbers and produce nectar when defeated, which initially makes them seem like good candidates for the producers of these eggs. However, the nectar eggs notably don’t resemble insect eggs - and for good reason! The Mitites are actually parasites that lay their eggs within the eggs of a “particular species”, with their larvae feeding on the nectar the eggs provide.

“These parasitic insects feed on eggs. Upon reaching maturity, they excrete a special pheromone that attracts females of particular species, enticing these females to swallow the mitites whole. (Pikmin, however, seem to dislike the scent.) After entering the host female's body, the mitites lay their own eggs inside the host's eggs just prior to the host spawning.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

“The cheeky Mitite lays its eggs inside the eggs of other creatures to provide its offspring with an easy first meal.”

[Source: Dalmo, Sozorian Animal Enthusiast and researcher, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

Similarly, the egg-like Sunsquishes can also be found within nectar eggs. These are explicitly “other creatures’ eggs”, making them a species that parasitises on the eggs like the Mitites.

“A type of primitive organism called a protochordate. In its juvenile state, it has a skeleton-like structure called a notochord. It flaps its finned tail to move and lives within other creatures' eggs as it grows.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

That leaves us with the Burrowing Snagrets. In Pikmin 4, Downy Snagrets, the infant form of the Burrowing Snagret, occasionally hatch from nectar eggs. These seem to be the most likely candidates for the actual producers of nectar eggs.

As established in a previous post, almost all extant life on PNF-404 is made up of nectar, which would extend to the nutrients in the egg yolk.

“Nectar is a vital source of nutrition that most life on this planet depends on. Whether it's in the form of an egg yolk, sap, or honey, I leave up to your imagination!”

[Source: Dalmo, Sozorian Animal Enthusiast and researcher, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

Nectar eggs also strongly resemble bird eggs and Burrowing Snagrets are certainly large enough to produce them. They’re also large enough to swallow Mitites whole and are even said to eat insects in the Piklopedia.

“The majority of snagret species lie in wait to ambush and capture prey, with a body type perfectly adapted to such sudden strikes. It violently attacks small, surface-dwelling insects.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

What’s more is that Snagret has the widest distribution of a species after the Bulborb, which explains why nectar eggs can be found all over the world across the Pikmin games.

“Distributed across a relatively wide range, subspecies of snagret suited to the varying soil conditions have emerged, making the snagret the most geographically represented species besides the bulborb.”

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

So in short, female Burrowing Snagrets lay their eggs. Those that are fertilised will produce Downy Snagrets, while unfertilised eggs will produce nectar. Sometimes, a female Burrowing Snagret will eat a Mitite, resulting in Mitite larvae hatching within and feeding on the eggs laid by the Burrowing Snagret. The larval Sunsquish also finds its way into these eggs, while Honeywisps occasionally steal the eggs to feed the nectar within then to their own larvae.

[rabbitcruiser]

The cornerstone of One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) was laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City on July 4, 2004.

[vintagelasvegas]

Union Plaza Hotel & Casino, July 1971

The hotel was built on the site of the former Union Pacific depot and Greyhound bus terminal. Two companies financed the hotel: Upland Industries, a subsidiary of Union Pacific Corp, and Scott Corp. directed by Frank E. Scott. The Scott Corp. was the landlord, Scott was the CEO and president of the hotel, with partners Sen. Howard Cannon, and downtown casino stalwarts J.K. Houssels Jr, Jackie Gaughan, Sam Boyd, and Bill Boyd, who managed the “world’s largest casino.”

'70: Aug. 10, Groundbreaking. (LA Times 8/9/70, RJ 7/1/71)

'70: Nov., Union Station demolished. (RJ 11/24/70)

'71: May 2, Final UP train service. Amtrak was established, and passenger service through Las Vegas is suspended.

'71: Jul. 2, Union Plaza Hotel & Casino is opened. Architects: Zick & Sharp (Las Vegas) in association with Stanley J. How (Omaha). Contractor: Blount-Yoxen Construction Co. The hotel complex contained a bus station, 500-seat showroom, 2nd story pool in front of the hotel, and an adjacent parking garage. The 504-room hotel was roughly the same size as the Fremont Hotel and smaller than some on the Strip, but it boasted the largest casino floor in Las Vegas at 66,000 sq ft.

'75: Jul., Sports book addition. KDWN Radio 720 AM begins broadcasting from the hotel with a station on the 2nd floor.

'79: Oct. 28, Amtrak’s Desert Wind line through Las Vegas begins the first regularly scheduled service since ‘71. Small room and platform in the rear of the hotel is used as the depot.

'81: Apr., Rooftop sign and lights changed. Design by Charles Barnard, Ad Art. 

'82: Construction of 26-story south tower, parking garage, and conversion of the front pool to restaurant designed by Louis Pereira. (RJ 3/16/82, 9/19/82, 10/28/82)

'83: Center Stage restaurant opens in Jan. (RJ 1/23/83) Mural depicting the past, present, and future of passenger rail service created in the hotel between the lobby and depot area. Tower topped off in Apr. and opened in fall. Total rooms: 1030. (RJ 4/23/83, 10/20/83)

'90-'93: Jackie Gaughan acquires the holdings of Union Plaza founder Frank Scott, followed by Upland’s participation in '93, becoming the majority shareholder and ending the relationship with Union Pacific. The hotel is renamed “Jackie Gaughan’s Plaza” circa ’92, though the signs remain unchanged, with “Union” on the rooftop sign for several years.

2004: Mar. 26, Plaza is sold. Union Plaza Hotel & Casino Inc, Exber Inc and Gaughan South sell Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Gold Spike, Western Hotel, and 60 acres of land and non-gaming properties to Barrick Gaming and Tamares Real Estate for $82M. The Barrick group plans a "themed street behind the Plaza which will re-create the ambience of old downtown Las Vegas." (RJ 3/26/2004)

2005: Tamares buys Barrick’s interest in Plaza hotel and the Las Vegas properties; Larry Woolf managing.

2009: Firefly opens in the former Center Stage restaurant; Oscar's Steakhouse opens in its place in 2011.

2014: Jonathan Jossel takes over as the CEO of the Plaza, the youngest non-restricted gaming licensees in Las Vegas. 

Construction in 1971. The first photo is dated 1/12/1971, Nevada State Museum Las Vegas.

Fremont & Casino Center, Apr. 1971. Union Plaza construction past Main St.

Sal Sagev Hotel and Golden Gate Casino; Union Plaza; Las Vegas Club and the Dugout restaurant. 1971. Photo via Plaza Hotel.

Postcards circa 1971.

Sources: UP Hotel Plans Ready for Signing. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/3/69; Work on 22-story hotel to start soon. Review-Journal, 8/2/70 p1; No Parking Here. Review-Journal, 8/10/70; Union Plaza Magic Hour Near. Review-Journal, 7/1/71; Plaza celebrates LV ‘uptown’. Review-Journal, 8/13/71; Rod Smith. Four Gaughan casinos pass to Barrick. Review-Journal, 3/26/2004; Howard Stutz. Lady Luck. Review-Journal, 12/13/2005; Oliver Lovat. A Golden Age for Downtown. GGB Magazine, 2021.

[deepcreekvulture]

Spencer Reid's College Timeline

So, I was chilling at my local Library and decided to use my very extensive free time to write out Spencer Reid’s College timeline (or at least how it makes the most sense to me).

There’s probably going to be a lot of inconsistencies and possible contradictions in this, but please give me a little grace. I don’t go to college, and I'm just silly. 

I did try to be as accurate as I could, but there’s only so much I can do with my little brain and 10 mgs of Adderall. 

I also tried to be as realistic as I could, especially with considering how Diana’s condition would affect his education. But, again, it's not going to be perfect. Feel free to share your thoughts.

What we know:

-Spencer Reid graduated from a Las Vegas public high school at the age of 12 (01.18 “Somebody’s Watching”)

-He went to Caltech. I personally like to think that he also went to MIT (Breen Frazier has admitted that Spencer saying he want to MIT in 07.04 “Painless” was a continuity error, but I think it is possible that he went to both, just not at the same time.)

-He has 3 PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering (04.08 “Masterpiece”)

-He had 3 Bachelors degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy  (04.08 “Masterpiece”)

-Joined the BAU around July of 2004 at the age of 22 (05.16 “Mosley Lane”)

Spencer is talking to Sarah Hillridge and mentions that he’s been with the BAU for “5 years, 7 months, and 19 days...” doing the math puts it around July of 2004.

-Spencer was born in October of 1981

There is some confusion about whether his birthday is October 12th or October 28th. I believe that his birthday is October 28th 1981, Emily Prentiss’s birthday is October 12th 1970 (04.14 “Cold Comfort” & her headstone)- and it is very unlikely that the two of them would share a birthday and it not be mentioned. (It also gives some more insight to why Spencer loves Halloween so much- it’s right after his birthday!)

So, assuming he started kindergarten at 5 years old, Spencer was in grade school from around 1986-1994. It is likely that he could have finished grade school faster, but a lot of the time public school systems want to keep students from jumping too many grades in order to not stunt their social development. 

I am taking the liberty of assuming that Spencer received all 3 PhDs before joining the FBI- so from age 12-22 (Over 30 years of schooling for three PhDs in the span of around 10 years, wowza).

Someone as smart as Spencer would’ve definitely gotten a 36 on the ACTs, so prestigious universities would be banging down his door to get their hands on his geniusness. BUT, Spencer loves his mom, and he wouldn’t want to stray too far from her. He also says he was drawn to Caltech because of certain professors in an article written about him.

We know that Spencer went to Caltech and would bike to classes and such. He was most likely able to stay at the dorms for free and given financial support from his scholarships. It is unclear how Spencer could’ve balanced having his mom in Nevada while he was in California, but there are buses and public transit to and from Las Vegas to Pasadena (ranging from 4-7 hours for a one way ride, so 8-14 hours round trip). William Reid, despite leaving Spencer and Diana, most likely maintained providing money to them due to paternal obligation and guilt.

There are, of course, ways for Spencer to care for his mom even all the way in Pasadena: Neighbors could’ve checked on Diana regularly/daily, Spencer could’ve called daily to remind her to take her medicine, etc.

To make Spencer going to both Caltech and MIT make sense, I figure Spencer would get his PhDs in Mathematics and Chemistry from Caltech then after Diana is institutionalized Spencer enrolls in MIT for engineering. 

The University term dates are loosely based on the academic calendar they provide on their websites.

(Rough) Caltech term dates:

Spring term: April to June

Summer term: June to August

Fall term: September to December

Winter term: January to March

(Rough) MIT term dates:

Spring term: February to May

Summer term:June to August

Fall term: September to December

I know that in the U.S. you don’t have to have a Masters degree to get into the PhD program, but Spencer likes to learn and I figured he might want to get the most out of his time in college- or it might be a little contingency from the University so he’s still pacing himself and they can still see his growth and all that good stuff.

NOW ONTO THE TIMELINE.

At Caltech, Spencer would most likely have more freedom to complete his schooling faster and they would’ve worked with him to create a good plan for him to complete things at his own pace while also following whatever school protocols they have. 

Spencer stays in Pasadena from the Fall term (Begins around mid September), through the winter term, and until the end of the Spring term (Ends around end of June), he goes home to Las Vegas during the summer term and winter/spring breaks.

Beginning of Fall 1994- Starts college @ Caltech studying Mathematics– Age: 12 turning 13

End of Spring 1995- Finishes his Bachelors in Mathematics– Age: 13

Summer 1995- Home

Beginning of Fall 1995- Starts Masters in Mathematics– Age: 13 turning 14

End of Spring 1996- Finishes Masters in Mathematics– Age: 14

Summer 1996- Home

Beginning of Fall 1996- Starts PhD in Mathematics & starts Bachelors in Chemistry– Age:14 turning 15

End of Spring 1997- Finishes Bachelors in Chemistry– Age: 15

Summer 1997- Home

Beginning of Fall 1997- Starts Masters in Chemistry– Age: 15 turning 16

End of Spring 1998- Finishes PhD in Mathematics & finishes Masters in Chemistry– Age: 16

Summer 1998- Home, Diana suffers a bout of bad psychosis and Spencer cannot return full time at Caltech during the Fall term. Due to his mother’s condition, Spencer contacts the school board and they work out a plan where Spencer can work on his Chemistry PhD in Las Vegas with the use of public Library computers and occasional trips to the campus for exams if possible. 

Beginning of Fall 1998- Works on his PhD in Chemistry, living in Las Vegas– Age: 16 turning 17

Spring 1999- Works on his PhD in Chemistry, living in Las Vegas– Age: 17

End of Summer 1999- Finishes PhD in Chemistry, living in Las Vegas– Age: 17

Spencer starts making arrangements to move Diana into a facility when he turns 18. He also applies to MIT to start their engineering program, manages to work out a plan to enroll in their Fall term but only move to a dorm at MIT after he gets his mom institutionalized (around October/November 1999)

Beginning of Fall 1999- Enrolls in MIT’s fall term on scholarship, starts Bachelors in Engineering– Age: 18

End of Spring 2000- Finishes Bachelors in Engineering– Age: 18

Beginning of Summer 2000- Starts Masters in Engineering– Age: 18

End of Fall 2000- Finishes Masters in Engineering– Age: 18 turning 19

Beginning of Spring 2001- Starts PhD in Engineering– Age: 19

Summer 2001- Works on PhD in Engineering– Age: 19

Fall 2001- Works on PhD in Engineering– Age: 19 turning 20

Feeling immense guilt for having his mother institutionalized, Spencer splits his attention between his Engineering studies and studying Schizophrenia independently. At the end of the Fall term at MIT, Spencer starts corresponding with a professor at Harvard University and is invited to help with a study on understanding Schizophrenia and the effects of different medications. He takes off both the Spring and Summer terms of 2002 in order to do said study.

Beginning of Spring 2002- Independent study– Age: 20

End of Summer 2002- Independent study– Age: 20

Beginning of Fall 2002- Resumes working on PhD in Engineering– Age: 20 turning 21

End of Spring 2003- Finishes PhD in Engineering– Age: 21

Beginning of Fall 2003- Starts Bachelors in Psychology at MIT– Age: 21 turning 22

Spencer goes to a seminar hosted by the BAU (Most likely with Gideon and Hotch), he’s very engaged and vocal during the seminar and catches Gideon’s attention.

Spring 2004- Spencer starts at the FBI academy– Age: 22

FBI academy is 4 months.

Summer 2004- Spencer joins the BAU after graduating from the academy– Age: 22

After joining the BAU, Spencer transfers his credit hours from MIT to a University in Washington D.C. to continue going to school part time.

End of Fall 2004- Finishes Bachelors in Psychology– Age: 22 turning 23

Most of Spencer’s attention is on his work in the BAU, so he slows way down on getting his degrees, and gets a degree in sociology both because it interests him and also because it’ll help with work.

Beginning of Spring 2005- Starts Bachelors in Sociology– Age: 23

End of Fall 2005- Finishes Bachelors in Sociology– Age: 23 turning 24

Beginning of Spring 2008- Starts Bachelors in Philosophy– Age: 26

End of Fall 2008- FInishes Bachelors in Philosophy– Age: 26 turning 27

Again: Breen Frazier has said that the line in 07.04 “Painless” about Spencer going to MIT was an error. I actually think it might be another way to show Spencer’s guilt over putting his mom in the psychiatric hospital- being so close without visiting might’ve made him feel even worse so he wanted to run away to a school across the country. 

Also I feel like Spencer having all these degrees shows that he didn’t really know what he was supposed to do with his intellect so he was just doing whatever interested him at the time until he met Gideon.

We are shown two articles (that I can remember) about Spencer college time frame:

There's one from 1997/1998, we are shown an article written about Spencer getting a Bachelor's degree, this would make him ~16. I’m not sure if it lists that it’s his first Bachelor’s degree- but I’m going to say that it’s just about the one he got for Chemistry which was his second Bachelors based on my timeline.

I don’t think it makes sense for Spencer to have done ~3/4 years of college before getting his first bachelors and then the other 6 or so years cramming the rest of his schooling? Eh, I don’t like it.

And there’s one in 04.08 “Memoriam” we are shown an article about Spencer receiving his first PhD at the age of 17. In my timeline he finishes his first PhD at the age of 16- which isn’t too far off so I’m choosing to believe that it’s a typo in the article (I know it’s kinda cheating but whatever).  

I had his PhD programs take around 2 years to complete because research and dissertations take time, no matter how speedy Spencer is.

If Spencer wanted to make any extra cash on the side, he could help with tutoring, work at the campus library, help coach any collegiate sports teams at the college, etc.

A lot of the things I added in this are just things that I thought of and don’t have any sources from the show (ex: Spencer doing school from home to help his mom, and the independent study thing from Spring 2002 to Summer 2002).

Again: a lot of this may be inaccurate, if there is anything you want to add or correct, feel free to do so. I spent only around 5 or so hours on this, it’s not perfect.

I love Spencer Reid. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

(if anyone is curious about how I write Spencer, my writing blog is @deepcreekvultures-writing )

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I wasn't a royal watcher in 2007 when Kate and William split. Could you share more about it? How? What happened? Why? How did they reconcile? Curious mind!

There’s not a whole lot known about the split since neither Kate nor William have gone on the record to speak about it.

What we know (and most of this is assumptions from a few leaks and some side stories) is this.

In December 2006, Kate and her parents were William’s guests at his passing-out parade at Sandringham Academy. This is considered to be Kate’s official debut as William’s girlfriend, after about 4 years of dating. The Middletons’ appearance at the event made engagement rumors and speculation EXPLODE. Apparently it freaked William out a bit.

In early 2007 (sometime between January and March), William was waffling about whether to commit and kept signing up for new military rotations and trainings. Eventually Philip advised him to, more or less, shit or get off the pot; it wasn’t fair to string Kate along. William decided and broke up with her. Kate accepted it. They went their separate ways - William to do military stuff and Kate went to her family.

Kate decided (maybe on Carole’s advice, it’s not really clear) that she was just going to live her life. She went dancing at clubs with her sister and their friends - most of the clubbing pictures from 2007 are from this time. In April 2007, she signed up for a charity crew/rowing event and began practicing with the team. Royal reporters called Kate to ask about the relationship and what happened. Kate said something like “I haven’t spoken to reporters before and I don’t think it’s appropriate to start now” and they all backed off.

Eventually William began to miss Kate and asked her to take him back. She refused until either he showed some kind of commitment or they discussed getting married. Whatever he did, Kate was satisfied by it and they got back together in June, relaunching their relationship at the Concert for Diana on July 1st, though it wasn’t confirmed until a few weeks later when it was announced that Kate had pulled out of the charity rowing race.

(There’s some speculation that the Queen ordered Kate to quit the team but everything we’ve seen of Kate’s behavior since the relationship outed in 2004 indicates that Kate chose to quit on her own discretion because she had become too much of a distraction and the photographers/crowds watching the practices were disruptive.)

Also, by the way, it was around this time when Katie Nicholls coined the nickname “Waity Katie” while writing about Kate (though she refuses all accountability) and the press, tabloids especially, began using it relentlessly in their coverage of Kate.

Next, in 2008, three Very Big things happened.

First, William received his Air Force wings in April 2008 from Charles. Kate attended the ceremony and this is the first time they were photographed together in a quasi-official way that made it clear they were a) back together and b) very committed.

Second, William asked Kate to represent him at Peter and Autumn Phillips’s wedding in May 2008 when he couldn’t attend for another commitment. This is when Kate met The Queen for the first time. (They speak about this a little bit in the engagement interview.)

Third, Kate attended the Order of the Garter service in June 2008 as William’s guest when he was inducted in as the 1,000th member. She was given a space on the porch alongside Harry and Camilla. This essentially signaled to everyone that they were eventually going to marry (because you don’t go to an event like that without some kind of tacit approval and plan) and we were off to the races.

(Also William and Kate had a few smaller break-ups/pauses through 2005 and 2006 but they were never picked up by and reported in the press the way the 2007 breakup was so the 2007 breakup is considered the “main” breakup. It’s also the inflection point for alternate timelines in royal fanfiction.)

And anon, if you haven’t already, definitely give the engagement interview a watch. I linked to it above. You’ll learn a lot about the way Kate is from what she says and how she carries herself in it.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

The Year In Doom & Gloom

Doom & Gloom From The Tomb celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, which is crazy. But what can I say, I keep finding cool live tapes and keep feeling compelled to share them with you ... whoever you are! A lot of this website is just me talking to myself, hashing and rehashing and re-re-hashing various obsessions, getting impossibly niche about some of my favorite artists, trying to shine a light into the darkest corners of music history. But that makes it sound like it's a serious endeavor. Mostly, it's fun. I hope it's fun for you too. So, if you need to catch up, here's a tip-of-the-iceberg rundown of what we checked out over the last 12 months ... as always, thank a taper!

Lou Reed - Sister Ray in the 70s

“Candy Says” - Lou Reed, Kongress Zentrum, Hamburg, Germany, March 29, 1979

Lou Reed - October 1974

Lou Reed - Lady Mitchell Hall, Cambridge, England, October 13, 1972

Lou Reed - City Hall, Sheffield, England, June 1, 1974

Lou Reed - Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden, May 14, 1974

Lou Reed - Parc Des Expositions De Colmar, Theatre De Plein Air, Colmar, France, August 12, 2004

The Modern Lovers - Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 27, 1972

The Modern Lovers - Sword in the Stone, Boston, Massachusetts, 1972

The Modern Lovers - Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, February 23, 1974

Foggy Notion - The Bowery Ballroom, New York City, December 13, 2023

The Feelies - Daniel Street, Milford, Connecticut, July 22, 2011

John Sinclair - BAR, New Haven, Connecticut, September 28, 2003

Meg Baird + Chris Forsyth, Cafe Nine, New Haven, Connecticut, October 26, 2022

John Fahey - McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, California, December 1979

The Go-Betweens - The Gatekeeper To Your Soul

Frank Black - Wetlands, New York City, June 13, 1994

Jacobites - Hearts Are Like Flowers

The Replacements - The Ritz, New York City, June 21, 1986

Willie Nelson - El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, California, December 20, 1997

Neil Young - Razor Love (1984-2020)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Control The Violent Side

“Peace Of Mind” - Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Community Theater, Berkeley, California, November 2, 1976

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan, March 4, 1976

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario, October 31, 1996

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California, October 1 / October 2, 1994

Fairport Convention - Harlow Town Hall, Essex, England, June 15, 1974

Richard & Linda Thompson - Dublin Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, November 10, 1979

Robyn Hitchcock & Richard Thompson - “First Girl I Loved (Incredible String Band),” The Barbican, London, England, July 19, 2009

Can - Nordseeheilbad, Cuxhaven, Germany, January 7, 1976

Bob Dylan and The Band - “Nobody ‘Cept You” (Outtake)

Bob Dylan & The Band - Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, Jan. 3, 1974

Patti Smith - Max’s Kansas City, New York City, September 1, 1974

Patti Smith Group / John Cale / Television - The Palladium, New York City, December 31, 1976

Television - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, California, December 9, 1992

Television - Roseland, New York City, October 2, 2004

Grant Lee Buffalo - Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, England, October 11, 1994

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Vredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands, December 4, 1982

Wilco - Orpheum Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts, October 19, 2002

[simmillercc]

I felt well enough today to make some alien-related tattoos ☺️

They are Early Access because I haven't been able to make much for my subscribers regarding this month's theme due to my illness. They will become available to the public on July 7, 2024 🥰

SIMS 4 - ALIENS - CROP CIRCLE UPPER BACK TATTOOS AM/AF - BASE GAME

Even though these tattoos are base game compatible, they can still be used on other occult sims.

These are crop circles from around the globe.

"What are crop circles?

Crop circles are large-scale patterns made by flattening crops such as wheat, barley or canola. Crop circle artists still use boards of wood to stomp out patterns, as a National Geographic documentary filmed in 2004 illustrated. The artists hide their tracks in existing tractor-tire ruts, making it seem as if the design dropped out of the sky.

Crop circles can be simple circles or more complex patterns. Southern England remains a hotspot for crop circle artists, with masterpieces incorporating triangles, spinner shapes and crescents. They've also popped up elsewhere around the world, with one article in the Illinois newspaper Courier & Press calling them a "plague" in the state in the 1990s. ("We think it's probably just kids," Rock Island County Sheriff Tod VanWolvelaere told the paper decades later.)

Sometimes, "crop circles" appear for apparently natural reasons. The crop circles that Chorley and Bower took their inspiration from were found in Australia in 1966, though they weren't actually crops; they were patches of flattened, floating reeds in a lagoon in far north Queensland. The farmer who found them claimed to have seen a flying saucer whizzing away, but locals said such circles were common during the wet season. According to the Cairns Post, the most likely explanations were downdrafts of wind or small vortices known as willy-willies (similar to dust devils). " Crop circles: Myth, mystery and history | Live Science

TAGS

UPPER BACK

MALE AND FEMALE AGED TEEN-ELDER

30 SWATCHES

ALL SIMS

ALL OUTFITS

NOT ALLOWED FOR RANDOM - if you want to change this for your own personal use, make sure to also uncheck Werewolves in Occults so that they aren't shown randomly on Werewolves...unless you want them to.

Enjoy!

PATREON https://www.patreon.com/posts/106695765

CURSEFORGE https://legacy.curseforge.com/sims4/create-a-sim/aliens-crop-circle-upper-back-tattoos

[fma03anniversary]

Happy 20th anniversary FMA. Let's put some forgotten feathers back in your cap.

Melissa was the #1 anime theme song to wrap 2003, and peaked at #2 on the Oricon Singles Chart - Japan's music industry standard for charting CD singles. Melissa became the #34th top selling single for 2003 and was only on sale for two months of the year (Melissa went on sale Sept 26th and Oricon is tracked Dec 1 - Nov 30). Melissa ranked #66 in top Japanese singles for 2004 too. The song would be on the Oricon charts for 38 weeks! Melissa won Animage Magazine's 2004 Anime Grand Prix for Best Anime Song.

Ready Steady Go! was the 18th best selling single of 2004 and peaked at #1 on the Oricon Singles Chart, and would do so charting less than half the time of Melissa, 16 weeks.

FMA sweeps Animage Magazine's 26th Annual Anime Grand Prix held in June 2004 - winning best series, best male character (Ed), best female character (Riza), best voice performance (Romi Park), best song (Melissa @ #1, Kesenai Tsumi @ #2), and best episode (7).

FMA is on the cover of all 3 major Japanese animation magazines for July 2004 - Newtype, Animage, and Animedia.

July 31, 2004 L'arc~en~Ciel make their North American debut at Otakon. Prior to their concert held at the 1st Mariner Place (now CFG Bank Arena) in Baltimore, to a crowd of 12,000 the first episode of the upcoming FMA English dub is premiered.

Rewrite peaks at #4 on the Oricon charts and becomes the 63rd best selling single of 2004. Rewrite won Best Anime Theme Song at the American Anime Awards at New York City Comicon in 2007.

FMA gets the rare honour of going to reruns in Japan.

FMA debuts on Adult Swim and is on the cover of all 3 major North American anime magazines for November 2004 - Newtype USA, Anime Insider, and Animerica.

FMA pulls in a ton of new viewers to Adult Swim for December 2004.

TV Asahi ranks FMA the most popular animated TV series in Japan in fall 2005, a year after it finished airing.

FMA is the best selling anime series on DVD for 2005 in North America. Individual DVD volume sales are so strong they rank alongside anime movies.

Anime News Network crowns FMA the best series of 2005.

Link is the #4 anime song for 2005 and peaks at #2 on the Oricon chart.

Conqueror of Shamballa is the #7 anime movie and #47 movie overall in Japan for 2005.

Anime Expo 2006 celebrates FMA. AX teams up with FUNimation to premiere Conqueror of Shamballa at the convention, hosted by guests of honour: Seiji Mizushima (Series Director), Mike McFarland (EN Director), Masahiko Minami (President of Studio Bones), Romi Park (who unfortunately had to cancel last minute), and Vic Mignogna.

Conqueror of Shamballa set to screen in 40 North American theatres. In !!2006!!

In the first ever event to honour voice acting, direction, production, etc of English anime in North America, the American Anime Awards were held at New York City Comic Con in 2007, handing out awards for the Best Of 2006. Online fan voting selected the finalists and FMA led the nominations with 5. The series would lose Best Feature (CoS) to FFVII Advent Children, but win Best Long Series, Best DVD Packaging, Best Cast, and Best Theme Song (Rewrite). Source (1), (2), (3)

Over five years after its Japanese debut and four years after it's North American start, as Brotherhood begins airing in Japan FMA still ranks #7 for best selling anime series on DVD in North America for spring 2009!