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alwaysmarilynmonroe · 4 years ago

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Today is a very special day, it’s Marilyn’s Birthday! Can you believe that if she were still alive, Marilyn would have been turning 94 years old today – just two months younger than the Queen herself! With each year I always try and write a special post about this amazing woman, who has helped me so much and achieved more than anyone could have imagined in her 36 years. Therefore, I decided to write 94 facts about the Birthday Girl – some you may know, some you may not, all in the hope that genuine things will be learnt and the real Marilyn will be more understood and appreciated.

Gladys and baby Norma Jeane spend some quality time together on the beach in 1929.

Little Norma Jeane, aged seven, in 1933.

Norma Jeane photographed by David Conover whilst working at the Radio Plane Munitions Factory in either the Fall of 1944 or Spring of 1945.

Norma Jeane by Andre de Dienes in late 1945.

Marilyn by Richard Miller in 1946.

Marilyn on Tobey Beach by Andre de Dienes on July 23rd 1949.

Marilyn by Ed Clark in Griffith Park in August 1950.

Marilyn attends a Party in Ray Anthony’s home, organized by 20th Century Fox on August 3rd 1952.

Marilyn filming The Seven Year Itch on location in New York City by Sam Shaw on September 13th 1954.

Marilyn by Milton Greene on January 28th 1955.

Marilyn by Cecil Beaton on February 22nd 1956. This was her favourite photo of herself.

Marilyn attending the Premiere of The Prince In The Showgirl at the Radio City Music Hall on June 13th 1957.

Marilyn by Carl Perutz on June 16th 1958.

Marilyn by Philippe Halsman for LIFE Magazine in October 1959.

Marilyn attends a Benefit for The Actors Studio at the Roseland Dance City on March 13th 1961.

Marilyn on Santa Monica Beach for Cosmopolitan Magazine by George Barris on July 1st 1962.

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1. Stood at a height of 5’5½”

2. Born in the charity ward of the Los Angeles County Hospital at 9:30 AM on June 1st 1926.

3. Married three times;

– Jim Dougherty: (June 19th 1942 – September 13th 1946) – Joe Dimaggio: (January 14th 1954 – 31st October 1955) (Temporary divorce granted on October 27th 1954) – Arthur Miller: (June 29th 1956 – January 20th 1961).

4. Suffered two confirmed miscarriages; an ectopic pregnancy on August 1st 1957 and miscarriage in December 16th 1958.

5. Suffered with endometriosis very badly, so much so that she had a clause in her contract which stated she would be unable to work whilst menstruating.

6. Starred in 30 films – her last being uncompleted.

7. Favourite of her own performances was as Angela Phinlay in The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

8. Winner of three Golden Globes; two for World Film Favourite – Female in 1954 and 1962 and one for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for her performance as Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot (1959) in 1960.

9. Her idol was the first Platinum Blonde Bombshell, Jean Harlow.

10. Amassed a collection of over 400 books in her library, ranging from Russian Literature to Psychology.

11. Favourite perfume was Chanel No.5

12. Had two half siblings; Robert “Jackie” Baker (1918 – 1933) and Bernice Miracle (1919) – the former she would never have the chance to meet and Bernice was not informed about Marilyn until she was 19 years old.

13. Former Actor and 20th Century Fox Studio Executive, Ben Lyon created the name Marilyn Monroe in December 1946 – Marilyn after fellow Actress, Marilyn Miller and Monroe after Marilyn’s mother’s maiden name. Ironically enough, Ben starred with Jean Harlow, in her breakout movie, Hell’s Angels (1930).

14. Legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe ten years later, on February 23rd 1956.

15. Attended The Actors Studio.

16. Third woman to start her own Film Production Company – the first being Lois Weber in 1917 and the second being Mary Pickford in 1919.

17. First had her hair bleached in January 1946 at the Frank & Joseph Salon by Beautician Sylvia Barnhart, originally intended for a Shampoo Advert.

18. Contrary to popular belief, she was technically a natural blonde, not a redhead or brunette. She was born with platinum hair and was very fair until just before her teen years. Her sister described her with having dark blonde hair upon their first meeting in 1944.

19. Another myth debunked – she had blue eyes, not brown.

20. Was one of the few women in the 1950s to use weights when exercising.

21. Wore jeans before it was considered acceptable for women.

22. Her famous mole was real – albeit skin coloured, so she emphasized it using a brown eye pencil.

23. Was a Step-Mother in two of her three marriages to three children – Joe Dimaggio Jr. and Bobby and Jane Miller.

24. Found out she landed the lead role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) on her 26th Birthday.

25. Another huge myth dispelled – only actually met President Kennedy four times from 1961 – 1962. Three of them were at public events, with the last being her performance at Madison Square Garden. One of them was at Bing Crosby’s Palm Spring house with various people, so at most (which again, is very unlikely) they had a one night stand – nothing more and nothing less.

26. Was the first Playboy Cover Girl, although she did not actually pose for them, nor give permission for them to be used. Hugh Hefner bought the photograph from a Chicago Calendar Company for $500 and the two never met.

27. Speaking of Playboy, the photo was taken by Photographer Tom Kelley on May 27th 1951 and Marilyn made a total of $50 for the photo shoot. The most famous photo then went on to cause a national sensation after being sold to the Calendar Baumgarth Company and became known as, “Golden Dreams“.

28. In 1955 it was estimated that over four million copies of the Calendar had been sold.

29. Favourite singers were Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

30. Attended the Academy Awards Ceremony only once on March 29th 1951 and presented the award for “Best Sound Recording” to Thomas Moulton for All About Eve (1951) which she also starred in.

31. Performed ten shows over four days to over 100,000 soldiers and marines in Korea in February 1954 – she actually ended up catching pneumonia because it was so cold.

32. Was one of the few Stars who had Director Approval in their Contracts. Some of the names included were, John Huston, Elia Kazan, Alfred Hitchcock, George Stevens, William Wyler, Joshua Logan and Sir Carol Reed.

33. Was pregnant during the filming of Some Like It Hot (1959) – filming finished on November 7th 1958 and she miscarried the following month on December 16th.

34. Featured on the cover of LIFE Magazine seven times during her lifetime;

– April 7th 1952 – May 25th 1953 – July 8th 1957 (International Edition) – April 20th 1959 – November 9th 1959 – August 15th 1960 – June 22nd 1962

35. Favourite bevarage was Dom Perignon 1953 Champagne.

36. By the time of her death, her films had grossed over $200 million, when adjusted for inflation that is the equivalent of $2 billion in 2019.

37. Designer, William Travilla dressed Marilyn for seven of her films, two (*) of them received Oscar Nominations in, “Best Costume/Design, Color“;

– Monkey Business (1952) – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) – How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) * – River Of No Return (1954) – There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954) * – The Seven Year Itch (1955) – Bus Stop (1956)

38. Spent 21 months of her childhood at the Los Angeles Orphanage, from September 13th 1935 until June 7th 1937.

39. Was one of the first Stars to speak out about child abuse, with her story appearing in movie magazines as early as 1954.

40. Fostered by her grandmother’s neighbours, Ida and Albert Bolender, for the first seven years of her life.

41. Lived in England for four months, during the period of filming for The Prince and The Showgirl (1957) from July 14th 1956 – November 20th 1956.

42. Her Production Company, Marilyn Monroe Productions produced only one film, The Prince and The Showgirl (1957) based on Terrance Rattigan’s play, The Sleeping Prince.

43. Was photographed by Earl Theisen in October 1952 wearing a potato sack dress after being criticized by the press for her outfit choice at The Henrietta Awards in January 1952. A journalist wrote that Marilyn was “insignificant and vulgar“and “even in a potato bag, it would have been more elegant.“

44. Was a huge supporter of LGBT+ rights, saying the following quote about fellow actor and friend, Montgomery Clift to journalist W.J. Weatherby in 1960,

“I was remembering Monty Clift. People who aren’t fit to open the door for him sneer at his homosexuality. What do they know about it? Labels–people love putting labels on each other. Then they feel safe. People tried to make me into a lesbian. I laughed. No sex is wrong if there’s love in it.”

45. Her measurements were listed as the following by her Dressmakers; 35-22-35 and 36-24-24 by The Blue Book Modelling Agency. For the majority of her life she weighed between 117-120 pounds, with her weight fluctuating around 15 pounds, during and after her pregnancies (1957-1960), although her waist never ventured past 28.5 inches and her dress size today would be a UK Size 6-8 and a US Size 2-4 as she was a vintage Size 12.

46. Her famous white halter dress from The Seven Year Itch (1955) sold for $4.6 million ($5.6 million including auction fees) on June 18th 2011, which was owned by Debbie Reynolds. The “Happy Birthday Mr. President Dress” originally held the record for the most expensive dress, when it was sold on October 27th 1999 for $1.26 million. It then went on to be resold for $4.8 million on November 17th 2016, thus regaining it’s original achievement.

47. Was discovered by Photographer, David Conover, whilst working in The Radio Plane Munitions Factory in the Fall of 1944 or Spring of 1945, depending on sources.

48. Now known as the, “Me Too” movement, Marilyn was one of the first Stars to speak out on the, “Hollywood Wolves” in a 1953 article for Motion Picture Magazine entitled, “Wolves I Have Known”. The most famous incident being with the Head of Columbia Studios, Harry Cohn, who requested Marilyn join him on his yacht for a weekend away in Catalina Island. Marilyn asked if his wife would be joining them, which, as you can imagine – did not go down well and her contract was not renewed with the Studio. Marilyn made only one film with Columbia during her six month contract, this being Ladies Of The Chorus (1948) which was shot in just ten days!

49. Loved animals dearly and adopted a variety of pets over the years. These included a basset hound called Hugo and parakeets, Clyde, Bobo and Butch with Husband Arthur Miller. A number of cats including a persian breed called Mitsou in 1955 and Sugar Finney in 1959. Her most famous pet was gifted to her in March or April of 1961 by friend, Frank Sinatra, a little white maltese named Maf. His full name was Mafia Honey, as a humorous reference to Sinatra’s alleged connections to the Mob. After Marilyn’s death, Maf went to live with Frank Sinatra’s secretary, Gloria Lovell.

50. The book she was reading at the time of her death was Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mocking Bird.

51. One of the movies she starred in was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and won, this being All About Eve (1950) at The 23rd Academy Awards on March 29th 1951. It ended up being nominated for 14 Oscars, a record at the time and has only been matched by Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016).

52. Her first magazine cover was photographed by Andre de Dienes in December 1945 for Family Circle, released on April 26th 1946.

53. Joined The William Morris Agency on December 7th 1948.

54. Was right handed, not left as often believed.

55. Third Husband Arthur Miller wrote the screenplay for Marilyn’s last completed film, The Misfits (1961) which was originally written as a short story for Esquire Magazine in 1957. After the tragic ectopic pregnancy Marilyn endured in August of 1957, friend and Photographer, Sam Shaw suggested to Miller he alter his short story specifically for her. Ironically the making of this film culminated in their divorce and Marilyn stating,

“He could have written me anything and he comes up with this. If that’s what he thinks of me then I’m not for him and he’s not for me.” 56. Was Author, Truman Capote’s original choice for the role of Holly Golightly in Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961) however, she was advised to turn it down by her Acting Coach, Paula Strasberg, who did not think the role of a prostitute would be good for her image. Writer George Axelrod, who wrote the Screenplay for Bus Stop (1956) and the play, The Seven Year Itch, ironically ended up being the Screenwriter for this movie.

Capote said this regarding Marilyn,

“I had seen her in a film and thought she would be perfect for the part. Holly had to have something touching about her . . . unfinished. Marilyn had that.”

57. Second Husband Joe Dimaggio had The Parisian Florists deliver red roses on Marilyn’s grave twice a week, for twenty years, from August 1962 until September 1982. Marilyn had told him how William Powell used to do this for Jean Harlow after her death and he reportedly vowed to do the same after their Wedding Ceremony. After the 20 years he then donated to a children’s charity, as he thought it would be a nice way to honour her memory. They also created the flower arrangements for her casket at her funeral.

58. The following five Directors directed Marilyn in more than one movie;

– John Huston; The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and The Misfits (1961) – Richard Sale; A Ticket To Tomahawk (1950) and Let’s Make It Legal (1951) – Howard Hawks; Monkey Business (1952) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) – Billy Wilder; The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959) – George Cukor; Let’s Make Love (1960) and Something’s Got To Give (1962)

59. Was an illegitimate child, which unfortunately was attached with a lot of stigma in the 1920s. Her mother, Gladys, listed her then husband Edward Mortenson on the Birth Certificate, although it is commonly accepted that her real father was Charles Stanley Gifford, as Gladys left Edward on May 26th 1925. Gladys had an affair with him, which ended when she announced her pregnancy and he never acknowledged or met Marilyn, although she tried multiple times over the years to speak with him.

60. Stayed in a number of foster homes during her childhood,

– George and Emma Atkinson; February 1934 – September 1934 – Enid and Sam Knebelcamp; Fall of 1934 – Harvey and Elsie Giffen; January 1935 – March 1935 – Grace and “Doc” Goddard; April 1935 – September 1935 and June 1937 – November 1937 and end of 1940 – February 1942 – Ida Martin; November 1937 – August 1938 – “Aunt Ana” Lower; August 1938 – End of 1940 and February 1942

61. Had her hand and footprints immortalized in cement at Graumans Chinese Theatre on June 26th 1953, with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) co-star, Jane Russell. Marilyn would place a rhinestone in the dot of the letter “i” as a reference to her character, “Lorelei Lee” but it was sadly stolen. This was an incredibly special moment for her, as she often talked about placing her hands and feet in the many prints there, when she spent her weekends at the Theatre as a child, especially in 1933 and 1934.

“When I was younger, I used to go to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and try to fit my foot in the prints in the cement there. And I’d say “Oh, oh, my foots too big. I guess that’s out.” I did have a funny feeling later when I finally put my foot down into that wet cement, I sure knew what it really meant to me, anything’s possible, almost.”

62. The famous gold lamé dress worn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and designed by William Travilla, was deemed too risqué by the censors. Unfortunately for fans, this meant that the musical number, “Down Boy” was cut from the film and we only glimpse a few seconds of the dress from behind, on screen.

63. Due to the censors, the original, “Diamond’s Are A Girl’s Best Friend” costume was changed to the now iconic pink dress with black bow. Originally it was to be a diamond encrusted two piece, which was extremely daring for the then Motion Picture Hays Code.

64. Loved Erno Lazlo Skin Cream, Vaseline and Nivea Moisturizer.

65. Had she completed Something’s Got To Give (1962), Marilyn would have been the first Star in a major Motion Picture to appear nude on film. As she passed before it was completed the achievement went to fellow Blonde Bombshell, Jayne Mansfield in, Promises! Promises (1963).

66. Met Queen Elizabeth II in England at the Empire Theater in Leicester Square whilst attending the Premiere of, “The Battle Of The River Plate“ on October 29th 1956.

67. The Misfits (1961) was both Marilyn and Clark Gable’s last completed films. Clark died 12 days after filming finished, on November 16th 1960. The film was released on Clark’s would be 60th Birthday, February 1st 1961 and Marilyn passed 18 months later.

68. As Marilyn died before the completion of Something’s Got To Give (1962) it ended up being remade with Doris Day and James Garner, entitled, Move Over Darling! (1963). The film was originally intended to be a remake of, My Favourite Wife (1940) which starred Cary Grant.

69. Signed a recording contract with RCA Records on September 1st 1953. One of her songs from River of No Return (1954) entitled, “File My Claim” sold 75,000 copies in its first three weeks of release.

70. Was admitted to the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic on February 10th 1961 by her then Psychiatrist, Marianne Kris. Originally thought to be for rest and rehabilitation, following her divorce from Arthur Miller and the strain of filming The Misfits. However, Marilyn was placed on the security ring and held against her will. Thankfully, she was able to contact ex Husband, Joe Dimaggio, who stated he would, “Take the hospital apart brick by brick” if she was not released and after three days of emotional trauma, she left.

71. Visited the following Countries;

– Canada – (July – August 1953) – Japan (February 1954) – Korea (Feburary 1954) – England (July – November 1956) – Jamaica (January 1957) – Mexico (February 1962)

72. Purchased her only home, 12305 Fifth Helena Drive on February 8th 1962, where she would tragically pass just under 6 months later.

73. The home had the following tile located on the front paving entrance saying, “cursum perficio” meaning, “my journey ends here.” The title is still there to this day.

74. Her final interview was published in LIFE Magazine on August 3rd 1962 and was written by Richard Meryman.

75. Aside from her millions of fans, had a staunch group of supporters affectionately known as, “The Monroe Six” who followed Marilyn around New York during her time there. Their nickname for Marilyn was, “Mazzie” and they became so acquainted that Marilyn actually once invited them for a picnic at her home.

76. First married at just sixteen years old, this was to avoid returning to the Orphanage she had spent almost two years in as a child.

77. Supported numerous charity events, most famously riding a pink elephant in Madison Square Garden, to support the Arthritis and Rheumatic Affections Association on March 30th 1955.

78. Left 25% of her Estate to her then Psychiatrist, Marianne Kris and 75% to mentor and friend, Lee Strasberg. For reference, her Will was last updated on January 1961 – a month before she entered the Payne Whitney Hospital on the advice of Marianne Kris.

79. At the time of it’s release, The Misfits (1961) turned out to be the most expensive black and white movie ever made, costing a budget of $4 million dollars.

80. The Premiere of The Seven Year Itch was held on her 29th Birthday, on June 1st 1955, she attended with ex Husband, Joe Dimaggio.

81. Laid to rest at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery on August 8th 1962 at 1:00 PM, with friend and mentor Lee Strasberg delivering the Eulogy.

82. Although so often associated with diamonds, actually wasn’t that fond of jewellery stating, “People always ask me if I believe diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Frankly, I don’t.”

83. Spent her 36th Birthday filming Something’s Got To Give (1962) and then attending a Charity Event for muscular dystrophy at the Chavez Ravin Dodger Stadium, which also happened to be her last public appearance.

84. Whilst recovering in hospital from an appendectomy in April 1952, Marilyn asked long time Makeup Artist and friend, Allan “Whitey” Snyder to do her makeup, should she pass before him. She gave him a gold money clip with the inscription, “Whitey Dear, while I’m still warm, Marilyn” and he did fulfill this promise to her.

85. Converted to Judaism for third husband, Arthur Miller on July 1st 1956.

86. Despite appearing in 30 films, she only actually dies in one, that being her breakout movie, Niagara (1953) where her character Rose Loomis, is strangled by her Husband George, played by Joseph Cotten.

87. Moved to New York City in 1955 and attended The Actors Studio, after breaking her Film Contract with 20th Century Fox. This was for a number of reasons, mainly years of low pay, unsatisfactory scripts and lack of creative control. A new contract would finally be reinstated on December 31st.

88. Repurchased a white Baby Grand Piano that her mother, Gladys, owned during their time living together in 1933. After Marilyn passed it would then be sold at the Christies Auction of her Estate in 1999 to none other than, Mariah Carey for $632,500.

89. Wore long hair pieces in River of No Return (1954) and a medium length wig in The Misfits (1961). The first I can only assume was due to the time period and setting of a Western and the second was due to the bleach damage her hair had suffered. After the filming in 1960, she wore the wig a couple of times in public events and then reverted back to her normal hair.

90. Like all students, it was tradition to perform in front of each other in The Actors Studio and on February 17th 1955, Marilyn acted out a scene from “Anna Christie” with Maureen Stapleton. Although it was an unwritten rule that students were not meant to applaud one another, an eruption of cheers and clapping happened after Marilyn had finished.

“Everybody who saw that says that it was not only the best work Marilyn ever did, it was some of the best work ever seen at Studio, and certainly the best interpretation of Anna Christie anybody ever saw. She achieved real greatness in that scene.”

– Actor Ellen Burstyn, on recalling Marilyn’s performance.

91. Used the pseudonym, “Zelda Zonk“, when trying to remain incognito.

92. Marilyn’s mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from Paranoid Schizophrenia and after various stays in institutions, was declared insane on January 15th 1935, when Marilyn was just 8 years old. After 10 years she was released and managed to retain various cleaning jobs and had developed an intense interest in Christian Science. However, by 1951 she was back in various institutions and would stay in the Rockhaven Sanitarium until 1967. Even after death, Marilyn continued to cover her mother’s care payments and Gladys would go on to outlive her for 22 years.

93. Favourite photograph of herself was taken by Cecil Beaton on February 22nd 1956.

94. Last professional photos were taken by Bert Stern, famously known as “The Last Sitting” for Vogue Magazine on June 23rd, July 10th and 12th 1962. Allan Grant took the LIFE Magazine interview pictures in her home, on July 4th and 9th 1962. Whilst George Barris took his photos for Cosmopolitan Magazine, the previous weekend on the 29th and 30th of June, until July 1st 1962. ______________________________________________________________________________

To those of you who took the time to read through all 3000+ words, thank you! It truly means more to me than you know and I really hope it’s shed some light on the truly special person Marilyn was and made you hold a good thought for her on her big day.

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Happy 94th Birthday Marilyn! Today is a very special day, it's Marilyn's Birthday! Can you believe that if she were still alive, Marilyn would have been turning 94 years old today - just two months younger than the Queen herself!

#1940s #1950s #1960s #angel #blonde bombshell #classic hollywood #hollywood #icon #legend #marilyn #marilyn monroe #norma jeane #norma jeane baker #old hollywood

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kinetic-elaboration · 4 years ago

Text

January 1: 2020 Writing Year in Review

And so the tradition continues.

I usually start with my words counts for each 4-month period but I stopped keeping track of that at some point this summer and frankly, I don’t want to think about it or try to figure it out now. I know my word count was lower than in the last couple of years. And that’s okay! I don’t care!

I had such a major writer’s block from roughly May through September this year, and the year in general was so hard... That I wrote anything at all is a big accomplishment.

That said, I actually published more than I thought I did, when I first stopped and looked back over the year’s creativity. Part of that was the fic I wrote in January and February, and even into March, which feels like it must have been written in 2019 or earlier, but wasn’t. Part of that was the projects I started in 2019 but finished in 2020. And the biggest part by far was (the fandom event then known as) Chopped and other fandom events and exchanges.

Overall, I posted 26 new fics and updated 2 ficlet collections. Everything is for The 100 except the second ficlet collection, which is ST: AOS (not linked).

This year I’ll be organizing the list by month and event. I used the dates I posted to AO3 even though I know some of these (in particular, my celebration fics, originally posted only to tumblr) were written earlier.

January / Bellarke January Joy:

Some Sort of Queen of the Underworld: Bellamy/Clarke, 1,100 words, Canon-divergent AU, written in January (but posted to AO3 in April) for Bellarke January Joy 2020

February / Chopped: CYOA:

Sail Away with Someone’s Daughter: Clarke/Murphy, 2,600 words, Modern AU, posted February 11, for Chopped: Choose Your Own Adventure

it is new moon and twilight: Bellamy/Raven, past Murphy/Raven and Murphy/Bellamy/Raven, 4,500 words, Modern AU, posted February 11, for Chopped: Choose Your Own Adventure

March & April / Chopped Madness:

On the Ground and What Bellamy Found There: Bellamy Gen, 3,000 words, Ark AU, posted March 15 for Chopped Madness: Qualifying Round

Release: Murphy/Harper, 3,800 words, Modern AU, posted March 22 for Chopped Madness: Round One

The Taste of Hope: Murphy/Raven, 4,900 words, Sci-Fi AU, posted March 30 for Chopped Madness: Round Two

Hands That Burn: Clarke/Raven, 4,900 words, Superhero AU, posted April 6 for Chopped Madness: Round Three

April - June / Other:

The End of the Story: Clarke/Maya, 13,300 words, Canon-divergent AU, posted April 17-21

What Beautiful Things: Jasper/Monty, 4,100 words, Canon-divergent AU, posted May 14 for an anonymous request

Never-Contented Things!: Raven/Octavia, 7,100 words, Modern/Fantasy AU, posted May 21

Time to Play B-Sides: Bellamy/Clarke, 19,400 words, Canon AU, posted May 28 - June 25, continuation of my Bellarke Big Bang 2019

August - October / Summer Celebration:

Taste Test: Murphy/Raven, 700 words, Modern AU, posted August 22

Fifteen Miles: Clarke/Raven, 1,300 words, Modern AU, posted August 23

At Heart: Murphy/Raven, 1,400 words, Modern AU, posted September 13

The Road Leads West: Miller/Bryan, 1,500 words, Modern AU, posted September 19

Summer of the Not-Quite-Seen: Jasper & Monty & Octavia, 2,500 words, Modern AU, posted September 24

Monarchs: Bellamy/Clarke, 2,700 words, Canon-divergent AU, posted October 3

October / Other:

Or Anyone Like You: Bellamy/Clarke, 6,600 words, Modern AU, posted October 1

October / Autumn and Halloween Events

Mad Women: Gen (Murphy/Raven), 7,200 words, Sci-Fi AU, posted October 23 for Chopped Horror

The Wanheda Tape: Gen (past Clarke/Raven), 8,600 words, Modern AU, posted October 26 for Chopped Horror

Safe Harbor: Bellamy/Clarke, 7,400 words, Modern AU, posted October 31 for the Bellarkescord Halloween Exchange

December / Holiday Events and Exchanges:

The Ice Princess / Turn the Radiator On: Bellamy/Clarke, 5,700 words, Fairy Tale and Modern AU, posted December 13 for the Bellarkescord Advent Calendar

Merry Christmas, Lovebirds: Murphy/Raven, 4,700 words, Modern AU, posted December 25 for the Chopped Holiday Exchange

Night Watch: Bellamy/Clarke, 3,200 words, Canon-verse, posted December 27 for Bellarke Secret Santa

A Different Kind of Ghost: Bellamy/Raven, 3,100 words, Steampunk AU, posted December 28 for the Ravenbell New Year Fanfiction Exchange

A Documentary History of the U.S.S.S. Arkadia: Bellamy/Raven, 1,600 words, Sci-Fi AU, posted December 28 for the Ravenbell New Year Fanfiction Exchange

Ficlet Collection Updates:

There’s a lazy moon outside right now: The 100, various pairings, started in 2019 and continued in 2020, originally posted to tumblr

#the 100 #the 100 fanfiction #bellarke #murven #jonty #princess mechanic #braven #mine #my writing #the year 2021 #2021: writing projects #masterlist #long post

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duggardata · 4 years ago

Note

Has anyone from the families you track given birth and announced another pregnancy within the same calendar year?

Has Anyone Given Birth, Then Announced Their Next Pregnancy In The Same Calendar Year?

Actually, yes. It has happened a few time...

Chelsy (Bontrager) Maxwell had Axton John (#1) on January 26, 2019. Later that year, on December 29, 2019, she announced Pregnancy #2 (Elliot).

Disturbingly enough, Anna Marie (Hamilon) Maxwell did this twice in a row... In 2014, Anna Marie gave birth to Ruthanne Elizabeth (#2) on February 18, and revealed Pregnancy #3 (Lydia) on September 4. In 2015, Lydia Joy (#3) arrived on March 23, just months before Christopher + Anna Marie revealed Pregnancy #4 (Daniel) on November 28.

Melanie (Maher) Maxwell gave birth to Susannah Joy (#1) on March 21, 2007. (Tragically, Susannah died within days of birth.) Later that year on November 7, 2007, Melanie + Nathan announced Pregnancy #2 (Abigail).

Courtney Rogers has done this three times. (Seriously.) In 2010, Courtney’s Firstborn (Clint) was born on March 13, then she revealed Pregnancy #2 (Clay) on November 29. Then, she did it twice in a row in 2017 and 2018... In 2017, Courtney gave birth to Calena (#8) on May 9, and then announced Pregnancy #9 (Caydie) on September 27. In 2018, Caydie (#9) was born on June 10, just months before she announced Pregnancy #10 (Coralee) on September 22.

Alyssa (Bates) Webster gave birth to Lexi Mae (#2) on January 26, 2017, and announced Pregnancy #3 (Zoey) on November 9, 2017.

#pregnancy announcement #john and chelsy #christopher and anna marie #nathan and melanie #courtney and christopher #alyssa and john

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kristallioness · 4 years ago

Photo

2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

*arrives a month late*... Happy 2021 to all of you, my dear followers! *raises a glass* It seems that my tendency to finish my artwork or personal posts on time has only gotten worse over time (I blame work *lol*). Oh well, better late than never, since there are things I would still like to take with me from this extraordinary year of 2020.

It is cringeworthy that I have two huge red X-s this year. But after I'd put these puzzle pieces together, I remembered far too well what was going on in my (work) life at the time, so it's completely understandable why I didn't have the time nor the energy to draw at all during those two months.

What were those typical statistics that I wrote about again to compare the years? *goes to read last year's post*.. Oh, right! In 2020, I managed to finish 3 full digital drawings (from the months of April, July and December) as well as work on several sketches. I wrote 28,154 words worth of fanfiction (oohh, that's a lot better than previous year), plus 3,126 words in English (I dare say I wrote an equal amount in Estonian) for the prompts I got during UYLD (making the total 31,280 words, which is quite impressive!).

I finished reading the 1st Kyoshi novel in the evening of the 20th and slightly past midnight on the 21st December (barely before the holidays, but I set this goal for myself and I did it!). Am already looking forward to starting with the 2nd part some time this year. Besides that, I ordered and received all the other new Avatar books that came out (3rd part of "Ruins of the Empire", "Katara and the Pirate's Silver", "Legacy of the Fire Nation") as well as BOTH Avatar series DVD sets (I still can't believe I found these on sale on some random online store in Estonia, but these are now among my most prized possessions!).

I finally started my Avatar rewatch last January, but merely got to the Ba Sing Se episodes in Book 2 (I need to continue with "The Earth King") and now it's been 5 YEARS since I last saw Korra. Reading through my journal personal posts from last year, I know far too well that it's not about rushing through it as fast as possible. Instead, I should enjoy the ride and continue watching the episodes when I'm well rested and in the right mood. That way I'll end up feeling much more at peace.

As for the entire year as a whole? I don't think anyone in this world of ours was prepared for the way this decade would begin - with an uncontrollable pandemic, the virus of which is randomly attacking and threatening to wipe out the weakest amongst us. If any of you (or even if you know someone who) have lost a loved one to this plague, there is not much else I can offer but my sincerest condolences! Me, my family, friends and colleagues seem to have managed to avoid catching it so far. *spits 3 x over her shoulder*

I had such high hopes for this year in so many ways. Event-wise I was looking forward to watching the Eurovision Song Contest in May (where Uku Suviste was supposed to represent Estonia for the 1st time ever after so many unfortunate failures to get selected as the winner of our local competition), the European Football Championships in June (asking my colleagues which countries they support, perhaps make fun bets / guesses with them to see whose team would win the matches), the Tokyo Olympic Games in July-August, the President of Estonia (Mrs. Kersti Kaljulaid) coming to visit my hometown to celebrate our Victory Day by taking part in the parade together with the Defence Forces (after 15 years *sigh*)...

I will always remember my last big event, which took place when life used to be "normal", so to say. It was the 102nd anniversary of Estonia on the 24th of February, when I took part of all the most important celebrations in Tallinn on our Independence Day, FULL-TIME (whenever I scroll through my Facebook timeline, I see the photos I uploaded of that day, my heart melts and I smile fondly). But the day after that.. utter hell broke loose. We had our first infected person in the country.

I will also remember the last day I went to work in "normal" conditions. Friday, the 13th of March (typically my lucky day-number combination): I missed the tram I wanted to get on in the morning, at work my team received great news that one of our colleague's family had grown bigger by a new tiny member the day before, we had our last team lunch together, we discussed the safety measures that we should take and joked about what might happen next week, I took the bus home instead of the tram (as the tram's route came from the airport and that place was considered to be more dangerous and with a higher risk of catching this virus).. It was another 2.5 weeks later by then (since the 25th of February) - Estonia (along with the rest of Europe) went into full lockdown.

The beginning was frightening and people were on edge, nobody really knew what to do nor what was gonna happen next. But in time, things began to shake into place and everybody developed a comfortable routine for remote work, including figuring out how to get everyday things done (such as grocery shopping). I found solace in taking photographs of various beautiful bird species, who began to fly around and serenaded me during spring, visiting the trees around my "nest" i.e. rented apartment (with a pair of them ACTUALLY building a nest in the chestnut tree right beside my window, thus turning me into a protective godmother of their chicks).

To be honest, I was awestruck by the positive / surprising aftermath of this lockdown: how the world / environment began to heal itself from the pollution that was normally caused by humans. I was taken aback by how dead silent our usually loud capital became in my neighbourhood (I could only hear trams passing by my house according to their schedules, practically no cars whatsoever, streets were empty of people.. absolute silence).

By May-June, things started to look up in Estonia (as well as the rest of Europe) and people were allowed to start travelling / moving around more freely. During my vacation in July, I managed to go to my last (open air) event (for the rest of the year) under these new "corona" conditions and ended up having a blast at the Open Farm Days in my home county for the first time.

Our country's shining moment came during the first week of September, when we hosted the first ever Rally Estonia of the World Rally Championship (WRC), where our very own Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won. The event was so well organized and successful that nobody caught the virus nor did the spectators / participants spread it to others, which surely must've helped in ensuring us a spot in the WRC calendar for 2021 as well.

The remainder of the year was rather dull, with the exception of the US Presidential elections in November, when we were all holding our breaths that Joe Biden would win (congratulations, my American friends!). This eventually led to the painful downfall of THE WORST government the Republic of Estonia has ever had, and to the rise of our first female Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas (both happening in January 2021, I couldn't believe it all spiralled so soon, ha-ha!).

Anyways, during the last 4 months, work was very stressful and driving me nuts, so badly that when I eventually went on vacation before Christmas, I had a slight anxiety disorder that wouldn't let me relax for several days (luckily it went away just as quickly once I began to take it easy and managed to get some proper rest / sleep).

In hindsight, I kind of get this weird feeling as if I saw this whole thing coming, given how actively I was living my life throughout 2019. My final year of the 2010's was so full of important events and personal achievements. It's almost as if something mysterious inside was driving me, telling me to visit all the places and do all the things I wanted to do, cause I wouldn't have this sort of a chance again for a very long time.

This must be the main reason why I am thankful for 2020 for going the way it did. Sure, I'm disappointed that a lot of events were cancelled, that so many people have had to leave this world so soon due to this unpredictable disease.. But I think there are so many lessons to take from what came out of all of this. I believe the world needed some sort of a restart or break, given in what direction we were headed (politically, economically, environmentally, socially etc.). I'm just sorry it's had to come with such a high price of innocent lives.

I have even higher hopes for 2021, given how amazingly January has already passed for me and my country, and what is to come in my hometown in February. Let's take the lessons learned from 2020 with us and keep on heading back towards the "normal" lifestyle we used to know. Except this time, let's improve our ways, put all the hatred behind us, be more considerate, keep a distance, stay safe, but still try to make the world a better place for everyone. Thank you so much for reading, for remaining by my side, and for your support and love throughout the years, my friends! I hope to see you all alive and healthy at the end of the white metal ox year of 2021! *virtual hugs*

#personal #shards of Kristal

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lovingsylvia · 5 years ago

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The “Sylvia Plath Calendar” - 55 years ago today:

Ariel was published in the UK on Thursday, 11 March 1965 by Faber as a collection of 40 poems - two years and one month after Sylvia Plath comitted suicide.

The night Plath comitted suicide, she left a black spring binder on her desk that contained a manuscript consisting of poems she had written during the months leading to her suicide. The final title read: “Ariel and Other Poems”, even though Plath tried alternative titles like: “Daddy and Other Poems”, “A Birthday Present” and “The Rabbit Catcher”. Together with the manuscript, Plath left nineteen additional poems she wrote after she completed those intended for Ariel.

In 1965, Ted Hughes published an altered edition of Ariel. He changed the selection (dropped twelve poems, while adding twelve of the additional ones Plath left beside the manuscript) and arrangement previously chosen by Plath.

Robert Lowell who’s book Life Studies was cited by Plath as a great influence on the poems she was writing shortly before her death, contributed a foreword to the American edition published by Harper one year later, in June 1966:

“In these poems…Sylvia Plath becomes herself, becomes something imaginary, newly, wildly and subtly created."

***

All images via Peter K. Steinberg’s sylviaplath.info/:

Faber proof, circa 1965. 40 poems, 86 pages.

First Faber edition, published on 11 March 1965.

Harper paperback, published 1996.

Faber paperback edition, printed in the 1980s.

Faber Classics paperback edition, published on 4 October 1999.

Faber paperback edition, published in 2001.

Faber paperback edition, published in 2006.

Faber Poetry Collections 2010 edition, published on 6 May 2010.

Faber hardback edition, published on 3 October 2013.

Faber Modern Classics edition, published in 2015.

Harper Perennial Modern Classics, published on 6 March 2018.

Faber 90th Anniversary edition, published on 5 September 2019.

#sylvia plath #sylvia plath calendar #ariel #ted hughes #robert lowell #1965 #Sylvia Plath poetry #sylvia plath poems

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thez1337 · 5 years ago

Text

Happy Star Wars Month!

Happy Star Wars Month! Compiled here is a chronology of what the Kylux fandom has been through so far. This is by no means complete, and is specifically tailored for events in the USA, so it’s being provided as an open source document to share and distribute because each fan’s experience is different. We should all be so proud of our accomplishments, from art to fics to comics to toys and so much more!

I want to thank everybody who helped compile this list; it was truly a group effort. The link is below, though I’ve included the entire list under the cut.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B9nAz3lDbXfBVYjZi3OtpHhXnjrIAyAc63Qly1BJvTo/edit?usp=sharing

2015

Domhnall Gleeson spoils the name of Starkiller Base - July 10, 2015

Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie and Adam Driver are interviewed for Star Wars E7 at San Diego Comic Con - July 11, 2015

Snickers comes out with wrappers that have sayings such as "hot mess" and "whiny" - September 22, 2015

The Force Awakens Trailer released - October 19, 2015

First Explicit Kylux Fic posted on AO3 titled "broken wishbones under your bed" by wolfhalls - November 27, 2015

The Force Awakens Red Carpet Premiere - December 14, 2015

Domhnall Gleeson goes on The Late Show with James Corden - December 16, 2015

The Force Awakens - December 18, 2015

General Hux TFA 2015 Collection Action figure released - 2015

2016

Kiss a Ginger Day - January 12, 2016

Star Wars Undercover Boss - Starkiller Base – SNL, aka when we meet Matt the Radar Technician - January 17, 2016

First #Huxlive tweet - February 5, 2016

Millicent mentioned by Lucasfilms Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo in tweets - February 6, 2016

"Friction" by Imagine Dragons becomes the national Kylux Anthem because of a video made by Studio Sagittarius - February 21, 2016

Kylux Bingo Card, 1st fan edition released - February 19, 2016

This Is Madness Tournament where Hux got 40% against Boba Fett's 60% - March 2016

The term "Blue milkshake" is entered in to the fandom vocabulary because of a fic on AO3 with that title by Ilyn - April 23, 2016

Kylux Exchange May 2016 - May 2016

General Armitage Hux Day (Domhnall's Birthday) - May 12, 2016

General Hux is entered in to Urban Dictionary as "A ginger-headed individual with daddy issues set on ruling the entire galaxy with his fan club, alongside his terrifying baby-faced boyfriend who goes by the name of Kylo Ren" - May 31, 2016

National Donut Day - June 1, 2016

First Kylux Positivity Week - June 8, 2016

My Journey From Marine to Actor, Adam Driver's Ted Talk - June 21, 2016

"I Fucken Hate Kylux" is first uttered on Anon to several Kyluxers - June 2016

Lego Star Wars The Force Awakens game released with an Aerobics Hux clad in yellow who also eats pink ice cream - June 28 2016

The first anti-Kylux post by waluigitheanti on Tumblr - July 5, 2016

Armitage Day, the day Armitage’s first name is revealed through leaks and/or previews - July 9, 2016

Chuck Wendig's Life Debt: Aftermath trilogy comes out with Armitage’s official first name - July 11, 2016

Lucasfilms Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo mentions that Kylo and Hux have been working together for around the past 5 years - August 6, 2016

Kylux 33 Days of Guro - August 2016

AO3 Ship Stats 2016 Overall Top 100 list where Kylux made it to #7 - August 4, 2016

Kylux Big Bang 2016 - September 2016

Pablo Hidalgo tweets that there was no reason why Hux had not seen Kylo’s face before – September 22, 2016

General Hux is given a second entry in to Urban Dictionary as "The act of cumming on your partner's face while you yell 'DEATH TO THE RESISTANCE' (while rolling the R) and pretending your cum is a giant laser beam and your partners face is a star system home to billions of lives who will soon be extinguished. Bonus points if you are choking them and they are crying for totally unrelated reasons." - September 24, 2016

Huxloween 2016 - October 1, 2016

Kylux Holiday Cards Exchange - November 22, 2016

Children Wake Up Series by Hollycomb had, and possible still does have, the most hits, kudos, and comments in the Kylux tag on AO3 - 12/31/2016

General Hux First Order Black Series 6" #13 2016 Action figure - 2016

2017

Star Wars Kylo Ren and General Hux Cat Mice Toy - Early 2017

Kylux Bingo Card, 2nd fan edition created - January 3rd, 2017

Kiss a Ginger Day - January 12, 2017

Kylux Eggstravaganza - May 1, 2017

"Darth Tantrum And His Evil Space Ginger" is first coined in an AO3 fic titled “The Art of Being Torn Apart” by Cynical Pudding and DailyAl - May 2, 2017

General Armitage Hux Day (Domhnall's Birthday) - May 12, 2017

Vanity Fair publishes "See the Cast of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Four Exclusive Covers," one of which has Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren, and General Hux - May 23, 2017

National Donut Day - June 1, 2017

AO3 Ship Stats 2017 Overall Top 100 list where Kylux made it to #37 - August 3, 2017

Adam Driver interviewed on Today - August 20, 2017

Kylux Big Bang 2017 - September 2017

Hux's pleated black robe and ice-blue sofa are mentioned in the Phasma Novel by Delilah S. Dawson - September 1, 2017

Domhnall Gleeson shows up to the premiere of Mother! with a mustache – September 6, 2017

Domhnall Gleeson gives interview to Hollywood XYZ and shows up without mustache - September 17, 2017

Huxloween 2017 - October 1, 2017

The Last Jedi Trailer released - October 9, 2017

Screen Rat Adam Driver Interview - December 6, 2017

The Last Jedi Red Carpet Premiere - December 9, 2017

Secret Santa Interview where Domhnall said he would give Ren a grenade, and Adam said he would give Hux socks every year - December 11, 2017

Adam Driver goes on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and is surprised by the red soles of the shoes they made him wear - December 14, 2017

The Last Jedi - December 15, 2017

The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary released with a picture of Kylo Ren's bedroom - December 15, 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Domhnall Gleeson "General Hux" Behind the Scenes Official Movie Interview, aka a tastefully disheveled Hux talks with reporter in a casual setting - December 17, 2017

Compliment Battle with the Cast of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Funny Moments with Daisy Ridley & Domhnall Gleeson - December 19, 2017

General Hux With Mouse Droid TLJ Collection Action figure 2016 - 2017

2018

Kiss a Ginger Day - January 12, 2018

Delilah S. Dawson, author of the Phasma novel, came out as a Kylucc - January 26, 2018

Domhnall goes on the late show with James Corden to talk about Peter Rabbit - February 6, 2018

Domhnall Gleeson of 'The Last Jedi' Pitches General Hux Spin Off Ideas, After Hours, MTV - February 6, 2018

Peter Rabbit comes out, confirming Armitage Hux's eyes as "sea foam green with a hint of battleship grey" - February 9, 2018

Domhnall's brother tells him about Kylux - February 10, 2018

Rian Johnson mentions claims by reports that anybody who likes Hux is actually a Russian Huxbot, in Anthony Wonke’s 90-minute documentary titled “The Director and the Jedi” - March 13 2018

Garry Whitta, artist of TLJ comic jokes about virgin Hux, and later Delilah S. Dawson tweeted about him not taking his gloves off while having sex - March 20, 2018

Star Wars The Last Jedi Outtakes + Bloopers Released with one single sneak peak of Hux - March 28, 2018

Kelly Marie Tran comes out as a Kylucc - March 29, 2018

General Armitage Hux Day (Domhnall's Birthday) - May 12, 2018

Kylux Prompt Bingo - May 22, 2018

National Donut Day - June 1, 20 18

First Kylux Summer Fest - June 29, 2018

Star Wars Episode IX Cast Announced - July 27, 2018

Kylux Big Bang 2018 - September 2018

Domhnall Gleeson interview: on Star Wars and playing Dr. Faraday in his new film, the Little Stranger photographed by Jonathan Dean with lighting that made it look like one could cut their fingers on how sharp Domhnall's cheekbones appear - September 16, 2018

First post about Kylux Niche Kinks November - September 21, 2018

Kylux Secret Santa Fic Exchange 2018 - September 23 2018

Adam Driver's second time hosting SNL - September 28, 2018

Star War: The Last Jedi Graphic Novel Adaptation - September 25, 2018

Kylux Book club - October 1, 2018

Huxloween 2018 – October 2018

Kylux Holiday Cards Exchange - November 12, 2018

Kylux Titleception 2018 - December 1, 2018

Kylux Content Creator Document created on Google Docs - December 3, 2018

RIP Tumblr - December 17, 2018

Official Announcement of one year time skip between TLJ and TROS - December 22, 2018

2019

Kiss a Ginger Day - January 12, 2019

Kylux Fluff Fest - January 22, 19

Kylux Calendar Project - January 24, 2019

Kylux Romance Week - February 10, 19

Kylux Titleception 2019 - February 15, 2019

Kylux Tarot Card Project - February 23, 2019

General Hux Appreciation Day - March 17, 2019

Star Wars Age of Resistance # 1 Hux comic announcement – April 2, 2019

The Rise of Skywalker teaser trailer released - April 12, 2019

Star Wars Age of Resistance # 1 Hux comic First Look at cover - April 13, 2019

#JFDKYLUX on Twitter - May 1, 2019

Kyluxception Kylux Adjacents Month 2019 - May 1, 2019

General Armitage Hux Day (Domhnall's Birthday) - May 12, 2019

Star Wars Instagram states "sending many birthday wishes (and hugs) to General Hux himself, Domhnall Gleeson!" with a saddened Hux looking down - May 12, 2019

Vanity Fair posts "Star Wars: The Knights of Ren Make Their Long Awaited Return" story and KOR photo - May 22, 2019

Vanity Fair posts "Star Wars: Richard E. Grant’s Villainous Character, Revealed" story and a photo of General Hux with General Pryde, whose name and the irony of it was not lost on the fandom - May 22, 2019

National Donut Day - June 1, 2019

Kylux Omegaverse Week - June 9, 2019

Kylux Daddy Fest 2019 - June 10, 2019

Kylux Summer Fest 2019 - July 1, 2019

Star War Instagram posts photo of Domhnall Gleeson posing as General Hux on the platform of Star Killer Base from The Force Awakens with Gwendoline Christie unhelmeted in the background as Captain Phasma - July 7, 2019

AO3 Ship Stats 2019 Overall Top 100 list where Kylux made it to #28 – July 24,2019

Kylux Adjacent Calendar/Schedule Planner Project Memorial Book for 2020 - July 31, 2019

Domhnall Gleeson goes on the Late Show With James Corden and talks about singing Happy Birthday as General Hux - August 6, 2019

Automattic buys Tumblr for $3 million - August 12, 2019

Hugo Award to AO3 and all fic writers - August 19, 2019

Star Wars Age of Resistance # 1 Hux comic spoiler released - August 22, 2019

The Rise of Skywalker D23 Special Look trailer - August 26, 2019

Star Wars Age of Resistance # 1 Hux comic comes out - August 28, 2019

Kylux Big Bang 2019 - September 1, 2019

Huxloween 2019 - October 1, 2019

AQUARIUS Star Wars Episode 9 The Rise of Skywalker Playing Cards with Hux included - November 20, 2019

Hux Topps trading card from the 2019 Star Wars Masterwork set - November 20, 2019

New Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker Posters with one tiny glimpse of Hux - November 21, 2019

Kylux Holiday Card Exchange - December 2, 2019

Adam Driver, “Dark Star Rising” interview in Rolling Stone Magazine - December 2, 2019

The Rise of Skywalker red carpet premiere -

The Rise of Skywalker - December 19, 2019

What else is missing? Feel free to add your own!

When the video was released that Kylo walked in to the millennium falcon in TFA.

Domhnall mentions that he's "terribly irish in real life" in a Peter rabbit interview where he's wearing a navy blue button up

Kylux Day - Maybe June 6, 2016?

#kylux #kylo ren #armitage hux #star wars month #star wars

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garbage-empress · 5 years ago

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if i could date & kiss anyone it would be the Tunguska event was a large explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of 30 June 1908 (NS).[1][2] The explosion over the sparsely populated Eastern Siberian Taiga flattened 2,000 square kilometres (770 square miles) of forest, and may have caused up to three human casualties.[3] The explosion is generally attributed to the air burst of a meteoroid. It is classified as an impact event, even though no impact crater has been found; the object is thought to have disintegrated at an altitude of 5 to 10 kilometres (3 to 6 miles) rather than to have hit the surface of the Earth.[4] The Tunguska event is the largest impact event on Earth in recorded history, but there have been larger impacts during prehistoric times. Studies have yielded different estimates of the meteoroid's size, on the order of 50 to 190 metres (160 to 620 feet), depending on whether the body entered with a low or high speed.[5] Since the 1908 event, there have been an estimated 1,000 scholarly papers (most in Russian) published on the Tunguska explosion. In 2013, a team of researchers published analysis results of micro-samples from a peat bog near the center of the affected area showing fragments that may be of meteoritic origin.[6][7] Early estimates of the energy of the air burst ranged from 10–15 megatons of TNT (42–63 petajoules) to 30 megatons of TNT (130 PJ),[8] depending on the exact height of burst estimated when the scaling laws from the effects of nuclear weapons are employed.[8][9] More recent calculations that include the effect of the object's momentum find that more of the energy was focused downward than would be the case from a nuclear explosion and estimate that the airburst had an energy range from 3 to 5 megatons of TNT (13 to 21 PJ).[9] A 2019 paper suggests the explosive power may have been around 20–30 megatons.[10] The 15-megaton (Mt) estimate represents an energy about 1,000 times greater than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan—roughly equal to that of the United States' Castle Bravo (15.2 Mt) nuclear test in 1954, and about one-third that of the Soviet Union's Tsar Bomba explosion in 1961.[11] It is estimated that the Tunguska explosion knocked down 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 km2 (830 sq mi), and that the shock wave from the blast would have measured 5.0 on the Richter magnitude scale. An explosion of this magnitude would be capable of destroying a large metropolitan area.[12] Eyewitness reports indicate that at least three people may have died in the event.[13][14][15][16][3] The Tunguska event has helped to spark discussion of asteroid impact avoidance. Contents 1 Description 2 Investigations 3 Earth impactor model 4 Geophysical hypotheses 5 Similar events 6 In popular culture 7 See also 8 References 9 External links 1.1 Selected eyewitness reports 3.1 Asteroid air burst 3.2 Blast patterns 3.3 Asteroid or comet 3.4 Lake Cheko Description Trees knocked over by the Tunguska blast. Photograph from the Soviet Academy of Science 1927 expedition led by Leonid Kulik. On 30 June 1908 (cited in Russia as 17 Jun 1908, Julian Calendar, prior to implementation of the Soviet calendar in 1918), at around 07:17 local time, Evenki natives and Russian settlers in the hills north-west of Lake Baikal observed a column of bluish light, nearly as bright as the Sun, moving across the sky. About ten minutes later, there was a flash and a sound similar to artillery fire. Eyewitnesses closer to the explosion reported that the source of the sound moved from the east to the north of them. The sounds were accompanied by a shock wave that knocked people off their feet and broke windows hundreds of kilometres away. The explosion registered at seismic stations across Eurasia, and air waves from the blast were detected in Germany, Denmark, Croatia, the United Kingdom, and as far away as Batavia and Washington, D.C.[17] It is estimated that, in some places, the resulting shock wave was equivalent to an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter magnitude scale.[18] Over the next few days night skies in Asia and Europe were aglow,[19] with contemporaneous reports of photographs being successfully taken at midnight in Sweden and Scotland.[17] It has been theorized that this effect was due to light passing through high-altitude ice particles that had formed at extremely low temperatures—a phenomenon that many years later was produced by space shuttles.[20][21] In the United States, a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory program at the Mount Wilson Observatory observed a months-long decrease in atmospheric transparency consistent with an increase in suspended dust particles.[22] Selected eyewitness reports Topi Tunguski, around the area where it fell. This photo is from the magazine Around the World, 1931. The original photo was taken between 1927 and 1930 (presumably, no later than 14 September 1930). Testimony of S. Semenov, as recorded by Leonid Kulik's expedition in 1930:[23] At breakfast time I was sitting by the house at Vanavara Trading Post [65 kilometres/40 miles south of the explosion], facing north. […] I suddenly saw that directly to the north, over Onkoul's Tunguska Road, the sky split in two and fire appeared high and wide over the forest [as Semenov showed, about 50 degrees up—expedition note]. The split in the sky grew larger, and the entire northern side was covered with fire. At that moment I became so hot that I couldn't bear it as if my shirt was on fire; from the northern side, where the fire was, came strong heat. I wanted to tear off my shirt and throw it down, but then the sky shut closed, and a strong thump sounded, and I was thrown a few metres. I lost my senses for a moment, but then my wife ran out and led me to the house. After that such noise came, as if rocks were falling or cannons were firing, the Earth shook, and when I was on the ground, I pressed my head down, fearing rocks would smash it. When the sky opened up, hot wind raced between the houses, like from cannons, which left traces in the ground like pathways, and it damaged some crops. Later we saw that many windows were shattered, and in the barn, a part of the iron lock snapped. Testimony of Chuchan of Shanyagir tribe, as recorded by I. M. Suslov in 1926:[24] We had a hut by the river with my brother Chekaren. We were sleeping. Suddenly we both woke up at the same time. Somebody shoved us. We heard whistling and felt strong wind. Chekaren said, 'Can you hear all those birds flying overhead?' We were both in the hut, couldn't see what was going on outside. Suddenly, I got shoved again, this time so hard I fell into the fire. I got scared. Chekaren got scared too. We started crying out for father, mother, brother, but no one answered. There was noise beyond the hut, we could hear trees falling down. Chekaren and I got out of our sleeping bags and wanted to run out, but then the thunder struck. This was the first thunder. The Earth began to move and rock, the wind hit our hut and knocked it over. My body was pushed down by sticks, but my head was in the clear. Then I saw a wonder: trees were falling, the branches were on fire, it became mighty bright, how can I say this, as if there was a second sun, my eyes were hurting, I even closed them. It was like what the Russians call lightning. And immediately there was a loud thunderclap. This was the second thunder. The morning was sunny, there were no clouds, our Sun was shining brightly as usual, and suddenly there came a second one! Chekaren and I had some difficulty getting out from under the remains of our hut. Then we saw that above, but in a different place, there was another flash, and loud thunder came. This was the third thunder strike. Wind came again, knocked us off our feet, struck the fallen trees. We looked at the fallen trees, watched the tree tops get snapped off, watched the fires. Suddenly Chekaren yelled "Look up" and pointed with his hand. I looked there and saw another flash, and it made another thunder. But the noise was less than before. This was the fourth strike, like normal thunder. Now I remember well there was also one more thunder strike, but it was small, and somewhere far away, where the Sun goes to sleep. Sibir newspaper, 2 July 1908:[25] On the morning of 17th of June,[26] around 9:00, we observed an unusual natural occurrence. In the north Karelinski village [200 verst (213 km (132 mi)) north of Kirensk] the peasants saw to the northwest, rather high above the horizon, some strangely bright (impossible to look at) bluish-white heavenly body, which for 10 minutes moved downwards. The body appeared as a "pipe", i.e., a cylinder. The sky was cloudless, only a small dark cloud was observed in the general direction of the bright body. It was hot and dry. As the body neared the ground (forest), the bright body seemed to smudge, and then turned into a giant billow of black smoke, and a loud knocking (not thunder) was heard as if large stones were falling, or artillery was fired. All buildings shook. At the same time the cloud began emitting flames of uncertain shapes. All villagers were stricken with panic and took to the streets, women cried, thinking it was the end of the world. The author of these lines was meantime in the forest about 6 versts [6.4 km] north of Kirensk and heard to the north east some kind of artillery barrage, that repeated in intervals of 15 minutes at least 10 times. In Kirensk in a few buildings in the walls facing north-east window glass shook. Siberian Life newspaper, 27 July 1908:[27] When the meteorite fell, strong tremors in the ground were observed, and near the Lovat village of the Kansk uezd two strong explosions were heard, as if from large-calibre artillery. Krasnoyaretz newspaper, 13 July 1908:[28] Kezhemskoe village. On the 17th an unusual atmospheric event was observed. At 7:43 the noise akin to a strong wind was heard. Immediately afterward a horrific thump sounded, followed by an earthquake that literally shook the buildings as if they were hit by a large log or a heavy rock. The first thump was followed by a second, and then a third. Then the interval between the first and the third thumps was accompanied by an unusual underground rattle, similar to a railway upon which dozens of trains are travelling at the same time. Afterward, for 5 to 6 minutes an exact likeness of artillery fire was heard: 50 to 60 salvoes in short, equal intervals, which got progressively weaker. After 1.5–2 minutes after one of the "barrages" six more thumps were heard, like cannon firing, but individual, loud and accompanied by tremors. The sky, at the first sight, appeared to be clear. There was no wind and no clouds. Upon closer inspection to the north, i.e. where most of the thumps were heard, a kind of an ashen cloud was seen near the horizon, which kept getting smaller and more transparent and possibly by around 2–3 p.m. completely disappeared. Tunguska's trajectory and the locations of five villages projected onto a plane normal to the Earth's surface and passing through the fireball's approach path. The scale is given by an adopted beginning height of 100 km. Three zenith angles ZR of the apparent radiant are assumed and the trajectories plotted by the solid, dashed, and dotted lines, respectively. The parenthesized data are the distances of the locations from the plane of projection: a plus sign indicates the location is south-south west of the plane; a minus sign, north-north east of it. The transliteration of the village names in this figure and the text is consistent with that of Paper I and differs somewhat from the transliteration in the current world atlases. InvestigationsIt was more than a decade after the event before any scientific analysis of the region took place, in part due to the isolation of the area. In 1921, the Russian mineralogist Leonid Kulik led a team to the Podkamennaya Tunguska River basin to conduct a survey for the Soviet Academy of Sciences.[29] Although they never visited the central blast area, the many local accounts of the event led Kulik to believe that the explosion had been caused by a giant meteorite impact. Upon returning, he persuaded the Soviet government to fund an expedition to the suspected impact zone, based on the prospect of salvaging meteoric iron.[30] Photograph from Kulik's 1929 expedition taken near the Hushmo River Kulik led a scientific expedition to the Tunguska blast site in 1927. He hired local Evenki hunters to guide them to the centre of the blast area, where they expected to find an impact crater. To their surprise, there was no crater to be found at ground zero. Instead they found a zone, roughly 8 kilometres (5.0 miles) across, where the trees were scorched and devoid of branches, but still standing upright.[30] The trees farther away had been partly scorched and knocked down in a direction away from the center. In the 1960s, it was established that the zone of levelled forest occupied an area of 2,150 km2 (830 sq mi), its shape resembling a gigantic spread-eagled butterfly with a "wingspan" of 70 km (43 mi) and a "body length" of 55 km (34 mi).[31] Upon closer examination, Kulik located holes that he erroneously concluded were meteorite holes; he did not have the means at that time to excavate the holes. During the next ten years there were three more expeditions to the area. Kulik found several dozens of little "pothole" bogs, each 10 to 50 metres (33 to 164 feet) in diameter, that he thought might be meteoric craters. After a laborious exercise in draining one of these bogs (the so-called "Suslov's crater", 32 m (105 ft) in diameter), he found an old stump on the bottom, ruling out the possibility that it was a meteoric crater. In 1938, Kulik arranged for an aerial photographic survey of the area[32] covering the central part of the levelled forest (250 square kilometres (97 sq mi)).[33] The negatives of these aerial photographs (1,500 negatives, each 18 by 18 centimetres (7.1 by 7.1 inches)) were burned in 1975 by order of Yevgeny Krinov, then Chairman of the Committee on Meteorites of the USSR Academy of Sciences, as part of an initiative to dispose of hazardous nitrate film.[33] Positive prints were preserved for further study in the Russian city of Tomsk.[34] Expeditions sent to the area in the 1950s and 1960s found microscopic silicate and magnetite spheres in siftings of the soil. Similar spheres were predicted to exist in the felled trees, although they could not be detected by contemporary means. Later expeditions did identify such spheres in the resin of the trees. Chemical analysis showed that the spheres contained high proportions of nickel relative to iron, which is also found in meteorites, leading to the conclusion they were of extraterrestrial origin. The concentration of the spheres in different regions of the soil was also found to be consistent with the expected distribution of debris from a meteoroid air burst.[35] Later studies of the spheres found unusual ratios of numerous other metals relative to the surrounding environment, which was taken as further evidence of their extraterrestrial origin.[36] Chemical analysis of peat bogs from the area also revealed numerous anomalies considered consistent with an impact event. The isotopic signatures of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen at the layer of the bogs corresponding to 1908 were found to be inconsistent with the isotopic ratios measured in the adjacent layers, and this abnormality was not found in bogs located outside the area. The region of the bogs showing these anomalous signatures also contains an unusually high proportion of iridium, similar to the iridium layer found in the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. These unusual proportions are believed to result from debris from the falling body that deposited in the bogs. The nitrogen is believed to have been deposited as acid rain, a suspected fallout from the explosion.[36][37][38] Researcher John Anfinogenov has suggested that a boulder found at the event site, known as John's stone, is a remnant of the meteorite,[39] but oxygen isotope analysis of the quartzite suggests that it is of hydrothermal origin, and probably related to Permian-Triassic Siberian Traps magmatism.[40] Earth impactor modelAsteroid air burst Comparison of possible sizes of Tunguska (TM mark) and Chelyabinsk meteoroids to Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building. The leading scientific explanation for the explosion is the air burst of an asteroid 6–10 km (4–6 mi) above Earth's surface. Meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere from outer space every day, travelling at a speed of at least 11 km/s (7 mi/s). The heat generated by compression of air in front of the body (ram pressure) as it travels through the atmosphere is immense and most meteoroids burn up or explode before they reach the ground. Since the second half of the 20th century, close monitoring of Earth's atmosphere through infrasound and satellite observation has shown that asteroid air bursts with energies comparable to those of nuclear weapons routinely occur, although Tunguska-sized 5-15 megaton[41] events are much rarer. Eugene Shoemaker estimated that 20 kiloton events occur annually and that Tunguska sized events occur about once every 300 years.[8][42] More recent estimates place Tunguska-sized events at about once every thousand years, with 5 kiloton air bursts averaging about once per year.[43] Most of these air bursts are thought to be caused by asteroid impactors as opposed to mechanically weaker cometary materials based on their typical penetration depths into the Earth's atmosphere.[43] The largest asteroid air burst to be observed with modern instrumentation was the 500-kiloton Chelyabinsk meteor of 2013, which shattered windows and produced meteorites.[41] Blast patternsThe explosion's effect on the trees near the hypocentre of the explosion was similar to the effects of the conventional Operation Blowdown. These effects are caused by the blast wave produced by large airburst explosions. The trees directly below the explosion are stripped as the blast wave moves vertically downward, while trees farther away are knocked over because the blast wave is travelling closer to horizontal when it reaches them. Soviet experiments performed in the mid-1960s, with model forests (made of matches on wire stakes) and small explosive charges slid downward on wires, produced butterfly-shaped blast patterns similar to the pattern found at the Tunguska site. The experiments suggested that the object had approached at an angle of roughly 30 degrees from the ground and 115 degrees from north and had exploded in mid-air.[44] Asteroid or cometIn 1930, the British astronomer F. J. W. Whipple suggested that the Tunguska body was a small comet. A comet is composed of dust and volatiles, such as water ice and frozen gases, and could have been completely vaporised by the impact with Earth's atmosphere, leaving no obvious traces. The comet hypothesis was further supported by the glowing skies (or "skyglows" or "bright nights") observed across Europe for several evenings after the impact, possibly explained by dust and ice that had been dispersed from the comet's tail across the upper atmosphere.[8] The cometary hypothesis gained a general acceptance amongst Soviet Tunguska investigators by the 1960s.[8] In 1978, Slovak astronomer Ľubor Kresák suggested that the body was a fragment of Comet Encke. This is a periodic comet with an extremely short period of 3 years that stays entirely within the orbit of Jupiter. It is also responsible for the Beta Taurids, an annual meteor shower with a maximum activity around 28–29 June. The Tunguska event coincided with the peak activity of that shower,[45] and the approximate trajectory of the Tunguska object is consistent with what would be expected from a fragment of Comet Encke.[8] It is now known that bodies of this kind explode at frequent intervals tens to hundreds of kilometres above the ground. Military satellites have been observing these explosions for decades.[46] During 2019 astronomers searched for hypothesized asteroids ~100 metres in diameter from the Taurid swarm between 5–11 July, and 21 July – 10 August.[47] However, as of December 2019 there have been no reports of discoveries of any such objects. In 1983, astronomer Zdeněk Sekanina published a paper criticising the comet hypothesis. He pointed out that a body composed of cometary material, travelling through the atmosphere along such a shallow trajectory, ought to have disintegrated, whereas the Tunguska body apparently remained intact into the lower atmosphere. Sekanina argued that the evidence pointed to a dense, rocky object, probably of asteroidal origin. This hypothesis was further boosted in 2001, when Farinella, Foschini, et al. released a study calculating the probabilities based on orbital modelling extracted from the atmospheric trajectories of the Tunguska object. They concluded with a probability of 83% that the object moved on an asteroidal path originating from the asteroid belt, rather than on a cometary one (probability of 17%).[1] Proponents of the comet hypothesis have suggested that the object was an extinct comet with a stony mantle that allowed it to penetrate the atmosphere. The chief difficulty in the asteroid hypothesis is that a stony object should have produced a large crater where it struck the ground, but no such crater has been found. It has been hypothesised that the passage of the asteroid through the atmosphere caused pressures and temperatures to build up to a point where the asteroid abruptly disintegrated in a huge explosion. The destruction would have to have been so complete that no remnants of substantial size survived, and the material scattered into the upper atmosphere during the explosion would have caused the skyglows. Models published in 1993 suggested that the stony body would have been about 60 metres (200 ft) across, with physical properties somewhere between an ordinary chondrite and a carbonaceous chondrite.[citation needed] Typical carbonaceous chondrite substance tends to be dissolved with water rather quickly unless it is frozen.[48] Christopher Chyba and others have proposed a process whereby a stony meteorite could have exhibited the behaviour of the Tunguska impactor. Their models show that when the forces opposing a body's descent become greater than the cohesive force holding it together, it blows apart, releasing nearly all its energy at once. The result is no crater, with damage distributed over a fairly wide radius, and all of the damage resulting from the thermal energy released in the blast. Three-dimensional numerical modelling of the Tunguska impact done by Utyuzhnikov and Rudenko in 2008[49] supports the comet hypothesis. According to their results, the comet matter dispersed in the atmosphere, while the destruction of the forest was caused by the shock wave. During the 1990s, Italian researchers, coordinated by the physicist Giuseppe Longo from University of Bologna, extracted resin from the core of the trees in the area of impact to examine trapped particles that were present during the 1908 event. They found high levels of material commonly found in rocky asteroids and rarely found in comets.[50][51] Kelly et al. (2009) contend that the impact was caused by a comet because of the sightings of noctilucent clouds following the impact, a phenomenon caused by massive amounts of water vapor in the upper atmosphere. They compared the noctilucent cloud phenomenon to the exhaust plume from NASA's Endeavour space shuttle.[52][53] In 2013, analysis of fragments from the Tunguska site by a joint US-European team was consistent with an iron meteorite.[54] The February 2013 Chelyabinsk bolide event provided ample data for scientists to create new models for the Tunguska event. Researchers used data from both Tunguska and Chelyabinsk to perform a statistical study of over 50 million combinations of bolide and entry properties that could produce Tunguska-scale damage when breaking apart or exploding at similar altitudes. Some models focused on combinations of properties which created scenarios which similar effects to the tree fall pattern as well as the atmospheric and seismic pressure waves of Tunguska. Four different computer models produced similar results; they concluded that the likeliest candidate for the Tunguska impactor was a stony body between 50 and 80 m (164 and 262 ft) in diameter, entering the atmosphere at roughly 55,000 km/h (34,000 mph), exploding at 10 to 14 km (6 to 9 mi) altitude, and releasing explosive energy equivalent to between 10 and 30 megatons. This is similar to the blast energy equivalent of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. The researchers also concluded impactors of this size only hit the Earth at an average interval scale of millennia.[55] Lake ChekoSee also: Lake ChekoIn June 2007, scientists from the University of Bologna identified a lake in the Tunguska region as a possible impact crater from the event. They do not dispute that the Tunguska body exploded in mid-air but believe that a ten-metre fragment survived the explosion and struck the ground. Lake Cheko is a small, bowl-shaped lake approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) north-northwest of the hypocentre.[56] The hypothesis has been disputed by other impact crater specialists.[57] A 1961 investigation had dismissed a modern origin of Lake Cheko, saying that the presence of metres-thick silt deposits at the lake's bed suggests an age of at least 5,000 years,[35] but more recent research suggests that only a metre or so of the sediment layer on the lake bed is "normal lacustrine sedimentation", a depth consistent with an age of about 100 years.[58] Acoustic-echo soundings of the lake floor provide support for the hypothesis that the lake was formed by the Tunguska event. The soundings revealed a conical shape for the lake bed, which is consistent with an impact crater.[59] Magnetic readings indicate a possible metre-sized chunk of rock below the lake's deepest point that may be a fragment of the colliding body.[59] Finally, the lake's long axis points to the hypocentre of the Tunguska explosion, about 7.0 km (4.3 mi) away.[59] Work is still being done at Lake Cheko to determine its origins.[60] The main points of the study are that Cheko, a small lake located in Siberia close to the epicentre of the 1908 Tunguska explosion, might fill a crater left by the impact of a fragment of a cosmic body. Sediment cores from the lake's bottom were studied to support or reject this hypothesis. A 175-centimetre-long (69 in) core, collected near the center of the lake, consists of an upper c. 1-metre-thick (39 in) sequence of lacustrine deposits overlaying coarser chaotic material. 210Pb and 137Cs indicate that the transition from lower to upper sequence occurred close to the time of the Tunguska event. Pollen analysis reveals that remains of aquatic plants are abundant in the top post-1908 sequence but are absent in the lower pre-1908 portion of the core. These results, including organic C, N and δ13C data, suggest that Lake Cheko formed at the time of the Tunguska event.[61] In 2017, new research by Russian scientists pointed to a rejection of the theory. They used soil research to prove that the lake is 280 years old or even much older; in any case clearly older than the Tunguska events.[62][63] Geophysical hypothesesThe scientific consensus is that the explosion was caused by the impact of a small asteroid, but there are some dissenters. Astrophysicist Wolfgang Kundt has proposed that the Tunguska event was caused by the release and subsequent explosion of 10 million tons of natural gas from within Earth's crust.[64][65][66][67][68] The basic idea is that natural gas leaked out of the crust and then rose to its equal-density height in the atmosphere; from there, it drifted downwind, in a sort of wick, which eventually found an ignition source such as lightning. Once the gas was ignited, the fire streaked along the wick, and then down to the source of the leak in the ground, whereupon there was the explosion. The similar verneshot hypothesis has also been proposed as a possible cause of the Tunguska event.[69][70][71] Other research has supported a geophysical mechanism for the event.[72][73][74] Similar eventsSee also: Fireball (meteor) and List of meteor air burstsThe Tunguska event is not the only example of a great unobserved explosion event. For example, the 1930 Curuçá River event in Brazil may have been an explosion of a superbolide that left no clear evidence of an impact crater. Modern developments in infrasound detection by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and infrared DSP satellite technology have reduced the likelihood of undetected airbursts. A smaller air burst occurred over a populated area in Russia on 15 February 2013, at Chelyabinsk in the Ural district of Russia. The exploding meteoroid was an asteroid that measured about 17 to 20 metres across, with an estimated initial mass of 11,000 tonnes and which exploded with an energy release of approximately 500 kilotons.[55] It inflicted over 1,200 injuries, mainly from broken glass falling from windows shattered by its shock wave.[75] In popular cultureMain article: Tunguska event in popular cultureSee alsoPatomskiy crater, about 830 km (515 mi) to the east-southeast Sikhote-Alin meteorite, 1947 impact Tunguska Nature Reserve, protected area covering a portion of the site; ongoing scientific study of forest recovery Tall el-Hammam, a Middle Bronze Age site that one archaeological team has proposed was destroyed by an airburst

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dansnaturepictures · 4 years ago

Photo

My photos that I’ve chosen to go on my 2021 wildlife calendar: Cover & January-September with some thoughts on each of the photos

Just over a month ago I tweeted the lineup of photos that I’ve taken that I’ve chosen to go on my 2021 wildlife photos calendar. To those who don’t know I make two calendars for personal use and as my Christmas present each year, one from my wildlife photos another from my landscape and other outdoor photos. I make the calendars in August or September each year and leave it up to my family after that to order the calendars via the website we use, wrap up at the appropriate time etc. Its evolved that I finalise and reveal on social media the lineups for these between late April and June. There are many reasons for this and a key one being the hot, busy and long evenings/weekend mornings of summer are not a great time to be sat at my laptop choosing photos and looking at quality comparisons between photos I’ve taken. I wouldn’t want to be in a position of choosing them in September as I’d just worry if certain things come up I may not be able to get the calendars chosen in the right time frame for them to be made in time for Christmas. With other things happening in the build up to Christmas for me and the time between September and Christmas flying by every year it seems it just makes sense to get the calendar line up choosing done and dusted in the spring for them to be made in late summer/autumn and ordered in time to be my Christmas presents.

That does then mean the photos I have chose from are any I took within about a year from spring to spring. So for example, the photos in contention for my 2021 calendars were ones I took from spring 2019 until spring 2020. I now operate a system of variety quotas of what types of pictures I want within the 13 pictures (cover and one for each month) of mine making the calendar. As part of that, using the example of my 2021 calendars, five photos on each calendar must have been taken in 2019 and five photos on each calendar must have been taken in 2020. This just makes it fair to ensure both years’ worth of photos that have fed into my selection process are represented on the calendar. So below are my Cover and January-September photos on this calendar, ordered in appearance in this photoset by their month. Below I shall say what and where each one is, when it was taken and a little bit about why I was happy to take it/its journey onto my calendar.

I must confess I wrote this up the day after I finalised this calendar line up in late April (the choosing was sped up a little by the lockdown this year and the time I had on my hands because of that and with the amount of photos I take really increasing in 2019 and 2020 to previous years I had much higher amounts of photos to choose from so felt I had to really progress my choosing a lot in April to get it all done in time)

Cover: One of my favourite birds the Guillemot on Staple Island, Farne Islands, Northumberland, taken June 2019

Another reason I chose the calendar final lineups about now is because often in June we have our main holiday for the year which very often involves many photos with lots of wildlife up close and top views so for both calendars I don’t want them to be swamped by one holiday’s photos to give lots of photos at local and further afield places a chance. That can easily happen if when doing the final choosing I am still within the buzz of the many holiday photos not long after they were taken, so photos from a holiday in June 2019 say having to wait until the year after next for their chances to be on a calendar allows me to refine the choices and identify what was my strongest photos from that trip. That being said, six photos from my Northumberland holiday for the Farne Islands last June have made this calendar. This is because it was one of my greatest photography weeks ever, and this picture of a Guillemot sums up the sorts of once in a blue moon opportunities I had to take these types of close up and intimate photos with my very favourite creatures. I like how this one looks good in the sun bringing out the Guillemot’s brilliant colours. Its not only a Guillemot but a bridled one too with the ring and mark around the eye not something too common on coasts down here but there were many in Northumberland’s colonies so I was proud I could capture this in this way. When deciding my cover if felt natural to put a Northumberland one there with many of them on the calendar only one could actually represent the month they were taken in June and this felt like a natural photo to be the face of this calendar for me.

January: Bewick’s Swan, WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire taken in January 2020

The Slimbridge trip away to start this year also features multiple times on this calendar, this Bewick’s Swan photo taken on my birthday was one I was so proud of and brings a great closeup but not really needing sun to make it memorable vibe.

February: Woodpigeon, WWT Slimbridge, taken January 2020

Features of the calendars I’ve made for wildlife the last couple of years have been handing places to photos of species that have never featured on my calendars before; Fox, Arctic Tern and Green Hairstreak among this year’s examples. But so also is Woodpigeon, a species I’ve photographed so much over the last couple of years and this one was such a memorable one for me I really like the colours especially the purple chest feathers and I think this one will look good printed. Common species can make what I feel are strong photos too.

March: Robin, Blashford Lakes, Hampshire, taken in March 2020

An obvious choice for the calendar. At the time of writing this its without doubt the most pleasing photo in my view that I’ve taken with my new camera so far that I got in January. I’ve rarely taken photos like this for detail and it captures such an intimate moment with an iconic species. It was literally the first photo on the calendar that was taken in 2020 when the time was right to start to selections I knew it was going on.

April: Green Hairstreak, Magdalen Hill, Hampshire, taken April 2020

This photo is a week old as I write this and its taken me by storm to reach this calendar within seven days of being taken. Yes the timing was good with me into the very final stages of getting this lineup at this point, but I had to be happy enough with it for it to make it. Its one of the best butterfly pictures I’ve ever taken I think, like the Robin without doubt right now the best butterfly photo or photo all together that I’ve taken with my new macro lens that I also got in January. It sums up perfectly the detail I can get with this macro lens and type of picture I want to take with it. It displaced provisionally qualified photos to get on this calendar which shows how much I love it.

May: Another of my favourite birds the Razorbill on the Farne Islands, Northumberland taken June 2019

This was a dark horse as one of the unsung photos of my big Northumberland seabird trip. However in the selecting at all the stages I just appreciated how much I liked this photo and it just seemed to look stronger and stronger to me every time I looked at it, a personal choice I was glad I could make.

June: Arctic Tern, Inner Farne, Farne Islands, Northumberland from June 2019

Compared to trips to Skomer Island and Bempton Cliffs which have had many photos get onto the calendars they fed into in previous years the Farnes had something different, the terns. These Arctic Terns the standout bit of the trip walking through the colony and having them divebomb you so I just really wanted to include an Arctic Tern photo from that trip in this calendar if I could as I knew many of the photos from that time away would be candidates. This one got there on quality merit regardless of its species I feel. But it was another dark horse, at the time of the trip I did not pick this out as my favourite Arctic Tern photo of the trip of the lovely extensive set I took of this a new bird for me at the time on two visits to Inner Farne where the colony is. It soon became apparent it was though as I chose it for my “4 of my favourite ....” (pictures in categories tweets) on my Twitter Dans_Pictures in 2019 in December in a special unqique feature of the year category about the seabirds on that trip and I still loved it enough to carry it onto the calendar for next year.

July: Brown Argus butterfly, Lakeside Country Park, Hampshire, taken in July 2019

One of my quotas as a big chunk of my wildlife photography is I must have at least one butterfly on the calendar. I am proud this one remained, despite very nearly missing out once the Green Hairstreak was on the scene (another early 2020 butterfly picture had to make way in the end), to represent my butterfly pictures of 2019 which were taken during my greatest ever butterfly year with more species seen than I ever did etc. This is another new species for one of my calendars this lovely butterfly I am getting to really like the last few years. It was one of a batch of my very favourite butterfly pictures taken last year in terms of quality and symbolised one of my best butterfly moments of 2019 as I saw it during a booming ‘Big Butterfly Count’ survey for Butterfly Conservation one Saturday morning. This photo holds so many memories of that summer day which is perfect for a calendar for me I feel. The lockdown has led to many of my strongest photos being so locally to me taken and this is an example of one I took locally under normal circumstances last year.

August: Another of my favourite birds the Kittiwake at Seahouses, Northumberland from June 2019

This is a second calendar of mine in a row for wildlife to include a Kittiwake after a Bempton Cliffs one taken in 2018 made my 2020 wildlife calendar (It got June as its month so today I turned over the calendar to see it in fact!). But this Kittiwake picture had to be on my calendar for one simple reason beyond everything else, of the photos I took between spring 2019 and spring 2020 this was what I felt was the best one of a bird in flight out of a strong field I must say. I like flying bird photos so much I say at least one must appear on the calendar. So sometimes putting aside species that appeared here and there on past calendars of mine it really is that simple to pick pictures. This photo shows an integral part of the journey I am on really getting to love and know this favourite bird of mine more and more over the last few years. It couldn’t be on the month for the one it was taken as the Arctic Tern took June but I just had to have it for August with that blue sky even if you might not see one that month as its so summery.

September: Fox at Titchfield Haven in Hampshire taken in September 2019

Another easy choice for the calendar. This was one of my most magical moments in wildlife watching and photography and the photo was that photo of the species that I might never match again. I just longed for a photo and a chance to be so close to this species I scrambled to get the right lens on to get the photo when the moment came my first Fox of 2019 in fact with the Fox looking right in at us in the hide such an intimate moment with a wonderful species and I managed it, on a variable day for weather that patch of early autumnal sun just came out at the right moment to set this picture up well. With this one I admit there are shortcomings maybe bits of the photo that could have been done better but its one of those I get that I overlook them and I just get them on the lineup this was among the first few photos I chose to go on because I want to see it printed.

In half an hour I do a post with the photos on this calendar for October, November and December and introduce five reserve photos that didn’t quite make the calendar in case I need them.

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barberwitch · 6 years ago

Text

Witch Tip Wednesday 2.6.19

The Calendar of 2019

So my bitchin witches, you’re starting to wake up from the haze of the never ending january and are looking to the rest of the year struggling to stay on track? Well, do I have a post for you! Also...sorry I didn’t do this in January, that was the plan, but then...life!

Includes: Moon Phases, Mercury retrograde (no Venus or Mars retrogrades this year), and more. Also, full moons and new moons that land on Friday’s are debuted due to specific rituals that require that.

Please note, that the dates and times are based in North America PST, so some math and actual date tracking may still be needed for those who aren’t based here in the US. Holidays from the Wheel of the Year are added, though not listed for the Solstices and Equinoxes.

February

🌑New Moon: 4th @ 104:pm

🌓First Quarter: 12th @ 2:26 PM

🌕Full Moon: 19th @ 7:53AM (Super Moon)

🌗Last Quarter: 26th @ 3:29AM

March

🔄♓️Mercury Retrograde 5th - 28th (Pisces)

🌑New Moon: 6th @ 8:05AM

🌓First Quarter: 14th @ 3:27AM

🌕Full Moon: 20th @ 6:42PM

🌷Spring Equinox: 20th

🌗Last Quarter: 27th @ 9:09PM

April

🌑New Moon: 5th @ 1:50 AM (Friday)

🌓First Quarter: 12th @ 12:05PM

🌕Full Moon: 19th @ 4:12AM (Friday)

🌗Last Quarter: 26th @ 3:18PM

👹Walpurgisnacht:30th

May

🔥Beltane: 1st

🌑New Moon: 4th @ 3:45PM

🌓First Quarter: 11th @ 6:12PM

🌕Full Moon: 18th @ 2:11PM (Blue Moon - 3rd Full Moon in single season)

🌗Last Quarter: 26th @ 9:33AM

June

🌑New Moon: 3rd @ 3:01AM

🌓First Quarter: 9th @ 10:59PM

🌕Full Moon: 17th @ 1:30AM

🌞Summer Solstice: 21st

🌗Last Quarter: 25th @ 2:46AM

July

🔄♋️♌️Mercury Retrograde: 7th to 31st (Cancer into Leo)

🌑New Moon: 2nd @ 12:16PM

🌓First Quarter: 9th @ 10:59PM

🌕Full Moon: 16th @ 2:38PM

🌗Last Quarter: 24th @ 6:18PM

🌚New Moon: 31st @ 8:11PM (Black Moon - 2nd New Moon in 1 month)

August

🌾Lammas/Lughnas: 1st

🌓First Quarter: 7th @ 10:30AM

🌕Full Moon: 15th @ 5:29AM

🌗Last Quarter: 23rd @ 7:56AM

🌑New Moon: 30th@ 3:37AM (Super New Moon - Friday)

September

🌓First Quarter: 5th @ 8:10PM

🌕Full Moon: 13th @ 9:32PM (Micro Full Moon - Friday)

🌗Last Quarter: 21st @ 7:40PM

🍁Autumnal Equinox: 23rd

🌑New Moon: 28th @ 11:26AM (Super New Moon)

October

🌓First Quarter: 5th @ 9:47 AM

🌕Full Moon: 13th @ 2:07PM

🌗Last Quarter: 21st @ 5:39AM

🌑New Moon: 27th @ 8:38PM

🎃Halloween/Samhain: 31st

🔄♍️Mercury Retrograde: 31st to Nov. 20th (Scorpio)

November

🔄♍️Mercury Retrograde: Cntd.- Nov 20th (Scorpio)

💀Dia De Muertos: Nov 1st ( - 2nd)

👻All Souls Day: Nov 2nd

🌓First Quarter: 4th @ 2:23AM

🌕Full Moon: 12th @ 5:34AM

🌗Last Quarter: 19th @ 1:10pm

🌑New Moon: 26th @ 7:05AM

December

🌓First Quarter: 3rd @ 10:58 PM

🔔Krampusnacht: 5th

🌕Full Moon: 11th @ 9:12PM

🎊Saturnalia: 17th

🌗Last Quarter: 18th @ 8:57PM

🌜Winter Solstice: 21st

🕎Hanukkah: 22nd @ 4:47pm

🌑New Moon: 25th @ 9:13PM (🎄Christmas)

January 2020

🌓First Quarter: 2nd @ 8:45PM

👑Dia De Magos: 6th

🌕Full Moon: 10th @ 11:21AM (Friday)

🌗Last Quarter: 17th @ 4:58AM

🌑New Moon: 24th @ 1:42PM (Friday)

🦋Cheers, Barberwitch

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Original content of this blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attributution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license

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nothingunrealistic · 5 years ago

Text

even more notes on the timeline of billions

(see the first round of notes here)

2x01: mafee’s computer monitor shows stock information related to the value of bluudhorn steel on several dates, the last of which is january 21, 2017, placing this scene on or after (possibly near) that date.

2x02: mafee refers to statements krakow made “last year,” and taylor later adds that those statements were first made in january 2016, setting this episode in 2017. taylor then tells axe that they’ve been at axe cap for three months and leave for grad school in two weeks; this suggests but doesn’t confirm that it’s the end of the summer and they plan to start grad school in the fall. however, a view of taylor’s computer shows rows of data extending from dates in 2016 to april 2017, month by month; the last few rows are empty, suggesting those months are in the future and placing this scene in the winter.

2x10: connerty says that taylor was active in occupy wall street during their college years; the occupy movement was most active from 2011 to 2012, placing at least some part of taylor’s college education in that timespan. axe tells wags to give taylor a $500k bonus immediately rather than at the end of the year and describes it as a mid-semester bonus, presumably placing this scene either three months or nine months into the calendar year.

2x11: wags mentions that taylor’s performance reviews of the analysts are coming right before bonus time, or comp time; comp decisions are typically made at the end of a calendar year.

3x03: wags mentions a financial disaster that occurred in august 2007, and taylor points out that that was over ten years ago, placing this episode in august 2017 or later.

3x08: monitors showing information about sugar equities display 2017-2018 as the most recent season of sugar growing, placing this episode in either late 2017 or early to mid-2018.

3x09: rudy is confronted over stealing from dollar bill, and it’s mentioned that the end of the quarter is approaching, placing this scene in either march, june, september, or december.

3x10: the investors from kansas city are repeatedly mentioned to be going to see cats, the broadway revival of which ran from early 2016 to late 2017.

3x11: in discussing comp, taylor mentions axe cap’s earnings in the past year and states that they ran the place for most of that time, suggesting 3x01-3x07 takes place over most of a year.

4x04: ben mentions eternalblue, a cyberattack exploit first used in may 2017, placing this episode after that point. chuck is elected attorney general of new york; NYAG elections are held every four years with the most recent being in 2018, suggesting that (most of) this episode is in november 2018.

4x08: sara mentions a psych matrix that wendy built on taylor “over years,” implying that taylor worked at axe cap for about two years or more.

conclusions:

a wide range of years is possible re: taylor’s college attendance, but given that season 2 is firmly set in 2017, i'd say they went to college from 2012 to 2016 (likely in or near new york city) and took six months to a year off of school to take on some internships before entering grad school

possibilities for the timings of seasons 2, 3, and 4:

season 2 is set in the first half of 2017, season 3 is set in the second half of 2017, and season 4 is set in the second half of 2018 and first half of 2019. for whatever reason, axe gives bonuses to all his employees in the middle of the year as well as at year’s end, and waited six months to start wreaking havoc on mase cap.

season 2 is set in the first half of 2017, season 3 is set in the second half of 2017 and first half of 2018, and season 4 is set in the second half of 2018 and first half of 2019. for whatever reason, axe makes his annual comp decisions in the middle of the calendar year, and taylor has followed his lead.

season 2 is set in most or all of 2017, season 3 is set in all of 2018, and season 4 is set in the second half of 2019 and first half of 2020. for whatever reason, billions is set in a universe where the NYAG elections occur one year prior to every leap year, rather than two, and the broadway revival of cats was still open in 2018.

i hate k&l so much it’s unreal

#billions #how hard can it be to work with a logical and consistent timeline!! it can't be harder than learning how Corporate Finance works!!!#chronology posting

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drsunilposhakwale · 4 years ago

Text

Covid-19 and the challenges to the Indian economy

Bhaskar Mukherjee and Prof Sunil Poshakwale

The Indian economy is expected to get a hammer blow from the effect of Covid-19. While an economic contraction is inevitable, it is very challenging to estimate the level, given the uncertainty of how long the pandemic persists. Reliable data is hard to come by and the challenge is magnified in these unprecedented times due to the effects of the lockdown. Even where data is available, its application to compute Gross Value Added GDP using simulation models may be rendered statistically irrelevant because of the staggering range of the variation. While one hopes that the government has the resources to compute the numbers in a dynamic context, there has not been any substantive press releases with such details. Most of the reporting has thus been reliant on Investment Banking Reports with the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the simulation models they have used for sectoral GDP calculation. As these are mostly proprietary, they are not available for public scrutiny and without their analysis one can hardly comment on the accuracy of such forecasts. However, conclusions when published are used in India’s noisy and highly polarized politics to further political positions. They are reported in mainstream television media with headline grabbing bombast accompanied with selective usage of footage from real life stories that can be found to buttress as many points as there are humans. All this justifiably causes a great deal the angst amongst the populace about “what if” their predictions are real? During such times of crisis, data-driven analysis should be the only way to assess the extent of the disaster as it is unfolding. It is precisely because of these reasons the authors have adopted a simple Do It Yourself (DIY) methodology to work out estimates of what might happen in each constituent sector of the economy. The emphasis is to ensure that the assumptions are clearly stated and documented so that subsequent revisions can be effected, once more data is available.

The Lockdown in the Indian Economy was declared on March 25, 2020 when the financial year 2019-2020 was nearly over. As the Financial Year (FY) for the Indian Economy starts from April 1, its impact is mainly going to affect the FY 2020-2021. Most of the 2nd quarter of Calendar Year (CY) 2020 (or 1Q of FY 2020-2021) is going to be lost with a cliff-edge drop impact on the GDP. For purposes of simplicity, the authors have considered zero revenue for impacted sectors. Thereafter while several sectors will take many quarters to recover others should be able to pick up the threads unless the pandemic runs amuck causing disastrous levels of death. Given in the following is a construct of the Gross Value Added (GVA) measure of the Indian Economy by considering a sectoral drop percentage in various constituent sectors.

● For the Trade, Repair, Hotels, Tourism and Restaurants sectors, a change factor of 0.5 or 50% has been considered with the GVA drop being 50%.

● Electricity, gas, water and utilities have been considered at 100% representative or minimal impact.

● With transport starting to operate, change in transport is considered at a factor of 0.75, with GVA drop being 25%.

● While agriculture is not expected to be impacted severely there is a lot of loss of value due to the lockdown, considered at a GVA drop of 20%.

While these are armchair affixed factors, within the macroeconomist’s discipline these should and would be based on statistically determined sectoral simulations. The big-ticket conclusions from the given armchair exercise on the effect of a full 3 month lockdown from April to June on an annualized FY 2020-2021 basis, are the following:

The table below lays out the details of calculation behind the aforesaid numbers:

Source: Base Line GDP 2019-2020 constructed based on GDP growth % applied to data gathered from : http://statisticstimes.com/economy/sectorwise-gdp-contribution-of-india.php. INR = 0.01402 US$

It is revealing to compare these estimates to the professional estimates prepared by global financial giants such as Goldman Sachs1, Nomura2 and HSBC3.

Goldman Sachs:

Goldman Sachs predicts the Indian economy will shrink by 45% on an annualized basis this quarter, and suffer its most severe recession since 1979 this fiscal year, as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on many of its industries. Their latest quarterly growth forecast, detailed in a May 17 note, is significantly worse than its previous estimate of a 20% decline. On the positive side, its economists expect the Indian economy to rebound 20% in the third quarter, compared to the current quarter. They then anticipate 14% growth in the fourth quarter and 6.5% growth in the first quarter of 2021.

Goldman Sachs’ estimate applied to the authors’ baseline results in the following:

GDP Drop: 31% Value: US$ 730 Billion

Nomura:

India’s real gross domestic product growth is likely to contract 5.2 percent in the financial year ending March 2021, which loweres its economic outlook amidst an extended lockdown. That is against a contraction of 0.4 percent projected earlier. “We now expect year-on-year growth to remain negative for three consecutive quarters — with growth faltering to 1.5 percent in Q1 (January-March) before plunging to -14.5 percent in Q2 (April-June), and then weakly recovering to -6.0 percent in Q3 (July-September) and -1.5 percent in Q4 (October-December),” the research house said in a statement.

Nomura’s estimate applied to the authors’ baseline results in the following:

GDP Drop: 5.2% Value: US$ 121Billion

HSBC:

HSBC’s forecast on GDP decline is not available as yet.

The authors sincerely hope that neither theirs nor Goldman Sachs’ estimates come to fruition. While a deep recession spares no one, it is unspeakably hard on the poor and working classes with little savings and reliant on day to day work for earnings. Below Poverty Line (BPL) population in India was approximately 22% of the population in 2012. It is expected that loss of millions of jobs as a result of the economic contraction is going to increase this number substantively. These are some of the most vulnerable sections of the society mainly from the eastern states of Bihar, UP, Orissa and Bengal (including illegal immigrants from Bangladesh). With employment opportunities mainly concentrated in the Western and Southern states of India, a large number of BPL families travel to these states to take up employment as unskilled and semi-skilled labour in sectors such as construction, quarrying, textiles, jewellery making, hospitality and tourism, to name a few. With hardly any leverage in an oversupplied labour market they continue to remain the most vulnerable and exploited. Since the start of the lockdown, pitiable images of these migrant workers in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat have drawn the attention of the world. Due to the cliff-edge drop in economic activity in the earlier named sectors, they have mostly remained unpaid since the start of the lockdown in India from end-March by unscrupulous private sector employers and contractors. On average their earnings are estimated at around Rs 10,000 per worker, a month.

Only recently since early May the government has organized migrant special trains to transport this restive population back to their hometowns and/or to their extended families. As they now return, by end of May their unpaid wages would total 3 months or a full quarter due to no fault of theirs. At a very conservative estimate, they could number up to a fifth of India’s labour force of over 500 Million at 100 Million. These workers potentially support family members numbering between 200 to 400 Million or more. A resurgence in the Indian Economy can only happen if India’s migrant labour are nursed, rehabilitated and motivated to join the rebuilding effort. In line with Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s principle of Integral Humanism the authors lay a case to propose the provision of a special one time grant, to rehabilitate these affected millions. A modest grant of ₹10,000 per month for 3 months for 100 million workers is going to cost ₹ 3 lakh crores or US$ 42 billion.

While naysayers will be quick to criticize this as a wasteful “dole” one should also consider it from a humanist prism as a stabilization cost for the society. An unstable society is on a slippery slope of breakdown of law and order. The academic underpinnings of the proposal are anchored in John Maynard Keynes’s Macroeconomic Policy. Keynesian intervention has been successfully used in the past to overcome the 1930’s depression. Fundamentally the macroeconomic equation at any present moment is considered as balance between Aggregate Demand (comprising consumption and investment) and Aggregate Supply (comprising wages, rents, interest and profits). Keynesian macroeconomic policy stipulates that in unprecedented deep recessions boosting the Demand Side of the macroeconomic equation is the only way to kick start the economy.

Given below are adjacently placed tables of Fiscal Stimuli and GDP by Country extracted from the website Statista4. Based on the same, the authors have compiled a table of gross value of fiscal stimulus in US$. Out of all G20 countries, Japan has passed the largest fiscal stimulus package that amounts to about 21.1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). This package amounts to about 117.1 trillion Yen (1 Trillion US$), and consists of delivering universal cash handouts of ¥100,000 (approximately US$ 930) to every individual in Japan, comprising 126 million people. The USA has also a high fiscal intervention percentage as they did during the 2008 subprime housing-related Economic Crisis.

The Indian government has recently announced a comprehensive stimulus package of ₹20 lakh crore (or 20 trillion) worth approximately $280 Billion Dollars at an old exchange rate of 71.3, estimated to be 10% of GDP. These are a combination of fiscal, monetary and macro-financial measures5.

The key elements of the fiscal package (3.5%) captured in the earlier table are the following:

· In-kind (food; cooking gas) and cash transfers to lower-income households

· Insurance coverage for workers in the healthcare sector

· Financial sector measures for Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFC)

· Concessional credit to farmers, as well as a credit facility for street vendors and an expansion of food provision for migrant workers.

The monetary and macro-financial measures are structural in nature mainly comprising of regulatory, liquidity and policy amendments pertaining to RBI. One of the excellent policy decisions of the government is in amending legislation to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce anywhere. The new model Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act7 proposes to do away with the concept of notified market area and allow the aforesaid measure. “Over time” such a policy decision is going to lead to increased agricultural revenue and even allow India to emerge as a force to reckon with in international markets as farm based value additive agro-units emerge to take advantage of this supply flexibility. There is a tremendous value and demand for Indian agro-produce such as seasonal fruits and vegetables, amongst the Indian diaspora, but mechanisms for their reliable and assured supply is required. Structural changes however strategic in nature, affect the supply side macroeconomic equation and usually take time to create an impact.

There is a legitimate question in the minds of people as to how the government is going to fund the stimulus even if it is just a medium term (4 year) loan, without controlling runaway inflation. The following is the Debt Status of the top 100 debtors in India (based on their 2019 balance sheet) accessed from Money Control6. Analysis of this suggests that public deposits more than adequately cover outstanding debt:

Banking and Finance Sector Debt actually comprises Public deposits held by these financial institutions. Presuming that the Reserve Bank has done its job professionally regarding oversight on the quantum of advances lent by banks, public deposits more than adequately cover outstanding debt. It also explains how the government can work on a stimulus using public funds. The government also has various other policy tools such as easing controls on the level of deficit financing and external borrowings to name a couple, which it has been reticent so far in using. The fear has always been about the decline in value of the Rupee and its adverse impact in funding oil imports, but at a time when every country in the world has thrown such caution to the wind and oil prices are at an historic low, there is a compelling case for more direct fiscal stimulus in the form of direct benefit transfer to India’s migrant labour and daily wagers to kick start the Demand side of the macroeconomic equation. Economic policy to alleviate the immediate effects of Covid 19 needs to be tactical to stabilize society. Strategy has a long term horizon in terms of yield of aspired results. A fine balance of both approaches should serve India well in the times to come.

The present government has displayed commendable commitment to the highest levels of humanism by initiating the lockdown and thus effectively containing a runaway spread of the pandemic. As preparations are made to restart the economy after the effects of the lockdown, stimulating the demand side of the economy is the need of the hour. Augmenting the already announced fiscal measures by providing succour to India’s itinerant labour with an additional one time distress grant, will enable them to have a fresh start once the economy opens up again. Industry and Businesses also need to share responsibility towards minimising labour migration by offering them food supplies and a minimum allowance to meet their monthly expense. While the mechanism of identification of the recipients of such a benefit is a technical challenge in its own right and merits an in-depth assessment, this is perhaps one policy that will have wide political consensus in the otherwise fractured polity of India.

References:

https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-india-economy-recession-gdp-decline-45-percent-q2-2020-5?r=US&IR=T

HSBC Global Research’s -India-Covid Impact in charts, authored by Ms.Pranjul Bhandari et al. dated April 30, 2020

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1107572/covid-19-value-g20-stimulus-packages-share-gdp/#statisticContainer.

https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#I

https://www.moneycontrol.com/promo/mc_interstitial_dfp.php?size=1280x540

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/new-act-may-give-freedom-to-farmers-to-sell-anywhere/articleshow/58025600.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

About the Authors:

Bhaskar Mukherjee is a Chemical Engineer with over 34 years’ experience in the Oil, Gas and Chemicals Business, based in UK.

Dr Sunil Poshakwale is Professor of International Finance, School of Management, Cranfield University, England.

#indian economy

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