#61. Visit five countries

[imjustthisawesome]

Dubrovnik!

Earlier this year, I began contemplating my holiday destination and quickly considered Croatia. However, I found myself torn between Split and Dubrovnik for some time. Ultimately, I chose Dubrovnik, not only for its stunning beauty but also for the opportunity to explore nearby countries. Additionally, the fact that Dubrovnik served as the filming location for King’s Landing in Game of Thrones…

[dragoneyes618]

Until recently, Israelis could not travel to a single neighboring country, though Beirut, Damascus, Amman, and Cairo are all less than a day's drive from Israel. Peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have not changed this much, though many curious Israelis have now visited these countries. In any event, this slight opening has not dampened the urge to break out of straitjacket that has been a part of Israel's modern history from the beginning - from before the beginning.

Long before there was a State of Israel, there was already isolation. An early economic boycott can be traced back to 1891, when local Arabs asked Palestine's Ottoman rulers to block Jewish immigration and land sales. In 1922, the Fifth Palestine Arab Congress called for the boycott of all Jewish businesses.

A longer official boycott by the twenty-two-nation Arab League, which banned the purchase of "products of Jewish industry in Palestine," was launched in 1943, five years before Israel's founding. This ban extended to foreign companies from any country that bought from or sold to Israel (the "secondary" boycott) and even to companies that traded with these blacklisted companies (the "tertiary" boycott). Almost all the major Japanese and Korean car manufacturers - including Honda, Toyota, Mazda, and Mitsubishi - complied with the secondary boycott, and their products could not be found on Israeli roads. A notable exception was Subaru, which for a long time had the Israeli market nearly to itself but was barred from selling in the Arab world.

Every government of the Arab League established an official Office of the Boycott, which enforced the primary boycott, monitored the behavior of secondary and tertiary targets, and identified new prospects According to Christopher Joyner of George Washington University, "Of all the contemporary boycotts, the League of Arab States' boycott against Israel is, ideologically, the most virulent; organizationally, the most sophisticated; political, the most protracted; and legally, the most polemical.."

The boycott has at times taken on unusual targets. In 1974, the Arab League blacklisted the entire Baha'i faith because the Baha'i temple in Haifa is a successful tourist attraction that has created revenue for Israel. Lebanon forbade the showing of the Walt Disney production Sleeping Beauty because the horse in the film bears the Hebrew name Samson.

- Start-Up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, pages 59-61

[ellecdc]

200 Questions

these are the 200 questions from my 2k celebratory picnic! feel free to use these for whatever!

1 - How important are friends to you?

2 - What do you want less of?

3 - Do you step on pavement cracks?

4 - What's your favourite colour?

5 - How many countries have you visited?

6 - In your dream life, how often would you travel?

7 - If you were a flower, what kind would you be?

8 - Are witches all female?

9 - Do you think we are alone in the universe?

10 - What's your happiest memory?

11 - What do you wish you were good at?

12 - What's the nicest thing a neighbour has done for you?

13 - What's the worst injury you've ever had?

14 - Did you keep a diary as a kid?

15 - What are the top five items on your bucket list?

16 - Do you like routine?

17 - What is worse - trying and failing or never trying?

18 - Would you rather have a holiday in the mountains or at the beach?

19 - Would you like to hang-glide?

20 - What's your least favourite colour?

21 - What do you most value about yourself?

22 - Do you prefer to cuddle or be cuddled?

23 - How old do you feel?

24 - Does your family have any famous recipes?

25 - Have you ever self sabotaged?

26 - What single thing must you do before you die?

27 - If you suddenly had a free afternoon, what would you do?

28 - Have you ever fainted?

29 - What's the most beautiful sight you've ever seen?

30 - Do you tell the truth at a restaurant if the food is bad?

31 - Is there a product you love so much you'd volunteer to be a spokesperson?

32 - What is better about today than yesterday?

33 - Is happiness something to strive for?

34 - Do you like to people-watch?

35 - Do you prefer people or animals?

36 - Do you remember your first kiss?

37 - If something is forbidden do you want it more or less?

38 - Have you ever disciplined someone else's child?

39 - If you could have a Marvel-style superpower, which would you choose?

40 - Have you ever had therapy?

41 - Who would you want as your Amazing Race partner?

42 - Are you a good neighbour?

43 - Do you know any jokes by heart?

44 - Do you keep a journal?

45 - Have you ever received an anonymous gift or act of kindness?

46 - Do you arrive early or late?

47 - When did you give up on something bad?

48 - What are some things you do with your pets?

49 - What beverage could you not live without?

50 - What is under your bed?

51 - How tall would you like to be, if you could choose?

52 - If you could visit any planet, where would you go and why?

53 - Do you like your voice?

54 - Are you scared of spiders?

55 - Do you know the Indigenous name of the Country you live in?

56 - What was the last disagreement you had with your siblings about?

57 - Are you usually the person who cares the most or the least in your group?

58 - Do you enjoy dating?

59 - If you were the Prime Minister and needed three people to assist you, who would you pick and why?

60 - If you could design the ultimate treehouse. What would it look like?

61 - Where would your dream school trip be and what would you do there?

62 - Would you rather ace school or be average in school and master skills for the outside world?

63 - Do you like the place where you grew up?

64 - How would you describe yourself in five words or fewer?

65 - Do you think the world would be a better place without the internet?

66 - If you were a bird what kind would you be?

67 - What's been on your mind most lately?

68 - Would you rather be the oldest child or the youngest child?

69 - Would you rather wash your body with shampoo or your hair with soap?

70 - What was the last sweet text you screenshotted and saved?

71 - If you had an envelope with your death date inside, would you open it?

72 - Would you rather eat your favourite meal every day or never eat it again?

73 - What do you consider the most beautiful thing about your personality?

74 - What are some of your best childhood memories with cousins?

75 - How would you explain 'love' to someone without using the word?

76 - When at the movies, what is your favourite snack food?

77 - What's the best teen party you've been to and why?

78 - What is your favourite flavour of chips? 

79 - What is your strangest phobia? 

80 - If you could design a national flag what would it be like? 

81 - What type of animal do you feel most connection with? 

82 - What is your favourite snack to eat? 

83 - What song could you listen to on repeat for the rest of your life? 

84 - What vegetable is your least favourite and why?

85 - If you could be any object which would you be and why? 

86 - What do you like in a sandwich? 

87 - What movie absolutely scarred you?

88 - What's your favourite constellation? 

89 - What is your favourite sport to watch? 

90 - Which TV or movie character would you be friends with in real life? 

91 - Are you scared of the ocean? 

92 - Which emojis do you use the most? 

93 - Would you rather be a surgeon or a pilot? 

94 - If you had to move to another country tomorrow where would you go? 

95 - What old person tendencies do you have? 

96 - Do you prefer sunset or sunrise? 

97 - What is your comfort movie or TV show? 

98 - Would you rather give up peanut butter or Nutella? 

99 - If you had to curate the soundtrack to your life what songs would be on there? 

100 - What do you collect and why? 

101 - What is a quote you really like from a song, movie or book? 

102 - What animal represents you the best? 

103 - What's your favourite flower? 

104 - If you could learn the answer to one of history's greatest mysteries, which would it be? 

105 - What is your favourite fruit? 

106 - If you could have lunch with a Disney character, who would you choose? 

107 - Who is your favourite character from a book? 

108 - Would you rather watch your dreams or control them? 

109 - Do you think you could survive in prison? 

110 - Would you rather be a princess or a mermaid? 

111 - If you could have a celeb as your BFF who would it be? 

112 - Do you own any crystals? 

113 - Would you rather see any one day in the future or read minds for a day? 

114 - Do you prefer to go out for hamburgers or pizza? 

115 - Would you rather work in a bakery or an ice cream shop? 

116 - What three items would you take to a deserted island? 

117 - What is your favourite ice cream flavour? 

118 - Would you rather attend Hogwarts or be a Pokemon trainer? 

119 - What's your favourite line from a movie? 

120 - Who's your ultimate celeb crush? 

121 - When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

122 - Are you a warm weather or cold weather person? 

123 - Are you a morning person or a night person?

124 - Which element (earth, water, fire, air) best describes you? 

125 - Would you prefer to live on a boat or a remote island? 

126 - Who is your favourite superhero? 

127 - What colour do you think your aura is? 

128 - Who is your favourite author right now? 

129 - What's the strangest thing you're afraid of? 

130 - Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn? 

131 - If you could pick three animals to put together and create a new animal, which animals would you pick? 

132 - What's the weirdest fact you know? 

133 - What period in history would you like to live in? 

134 - Do you believe in the Supernatural? 

135 - Do you play video games? If so, which ones? 

136 - What's your favourite subject to research and explore? 

137 - If money wasn't a concept what would your dream job be? 

138 - Would you rather eat dinner in a castle or breakfast in a hot air balloon? 

139 - What character do you identify with most personality wise? 

140 - What's your favourite dessert? 

141 - Are mermaids real? 

142 - What colour are your eyes? 

143 - If you could turn into any animal which would you choose? 

144 - What's your Chinese zodiac? 

145 - If you could meet anyone dead or alive who would it be? 

146 - What's a superstition that you have?

147 - What’s your favourite way to celebrate something?

148 - What does your perfect day look like?

149 - What is your go-to karaoke song?

150 - If you could design a video game about anything, what topic would you choose?

151 - Would you rather be in a cartoon or have an artist paint your picture?

152 - Would you rather be a musician or a movie star?

153 - What’s your dream car?

154 - Who was your first celebrity crush?

155 - What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to learn?

156 - Do you like haunted houses?

157 - What weird smell do you really enjoy?

158 - What is your attachment style?

159 - Which of the four seasons is your favourite?

160 - What is your favourite piece of advice?

161 - How would you spend $50,000?

162 - What is a taboo you think shouldn’t be taboo?

163 - What’s your favourite meme?

164 - According to you, what is the most monotonous sport to watch?

165 - If you could meet anyone in history, who would it be and why?

166 - What’s your favorite happy hour drink?

167 - Why did your parents give you your name?

168 - Hardcover, paperback, or ebook?

169 - What would you have a personal assistant do if you could have someone follow you around all the time?

170 - The zombie apocalypse is coming. Who are three people you want on your team?

171 - Would you rather live in the ocean or in deep outer space?

172 - If you could be any supernatural being, which would it be?

173 - What was your first email address or screen name?

174 - If you were a potato product, what would you be?

175 - Would you rather be loved by someone special (but hated by everyone else) or liked by everyone (but never loved)?

176 - What is your very first memory?

177 - Teleportation or flying?

178 - Would you go with aliens if they beamed down to Earth?

179 - What was one new experience you tried that was completely unknown or uncomfortable to you at the time you tried it?

180 - What is something your mother or father often does that you find yourself doing?

181 - What are the three scents you like?

182 - What’s your favorite board game?

183 - What is the most absurd thing you've been tricked into doing or believing?

184 - Have you ever thought of what your future baby will be named?

185 - What are those things you're too old to do but you still enjoy?

186 - Which of the two smells better, fresh-cut grass or bread baking in the oven?

187 - What are the songs that make you sing along whenever you hear them?

188 - What is something your brain wants to convince you to do but you have to fight it?

189 - What would you name your yacht if you had one?

190 - Who is your favourite YouTube vlogger?

191 - What are the two things you’d like to ask your pet?

192 - What has been the most flattering compliment you've ever received?

193 - What three things did your past relationship teach you?

194 - What song would make the best theme music for you?

195 - What is the wackiest thing you ever did to help a friend?

196 - What is the most bizarre wrong number text or phone call you ever received?

197 - What is the best commercial you have ever seen?

198 - If people suddenly got paid for bad behavior, what habit would make you a fortune?

199 - If you had an unlimited budget, what epic prank would you pull?

200 - What’s the best piece of workplace drama you’ve ever heard?

[dankusner]

Top 5 Bob Dylan myths, explained

TULSA — Has Bob Dylan ever stepped foot inside the Bob Dylan Center?

“No, he hasn’t. And we don’t expect he ever will,” a staff member replied in a quick, measured manner that implied she’d heard your question a thousand times before.

It’s hardly a surprise that Dylan hasn’t visited his own museum.

After all, he didn’t acknowledge winning the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature for several weeks and blew off the annual Nobel ceremony in Sweden.

Ever since singing the phrase “don’t look back” in 1965, Dylan has mostly refused to examine his hallowed place in music and culture.

The singer — who’s still touring and recording at age 83 — had almost no involvement in the center other than selling his vast archives to the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation, which opened the 30,000-square-foot museum in 2022 next door to its other project, the Woody Guthrie Center.

But even if the elusive artist won’t take part in a remembrance of things past, millions of fans are doing just that.

Not just in Tulsa, where a steady stream of visitors pored over hundreds of interactive displays about his career on a cold gray weekday in late November.

The main event takes place in movie theaters nationwide on Christmas Day with the opening of A Complete Unknown, the aptly titled biopic starring Timothée Chalamet as the young, curly-haired Dylan.

Directed by James Mangold, who also oversaw the Johnny Cash story Walk the Line, the film takes a mostly factual look at Dylan’s uneasy rise to fame from ’61 to ’65.

But according to news reports, the singer instructed filmmakers to include at least one scene that is totally fictional.

That’s par for the course with Dylan, who fabricated stories about being a carnival worker and a male prostitute before he was discovered in Greenwich Village folk clubs.

He also blurred reality in the 2019 pseudo-documentary Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese.

“That came from Bob. He loves to mix fact and fiction,” T Bone Burnett, Dylan’s longtime friend, told The Dallas Morning News in October.

So who is the real Bob Dylan?

Your guess is as good as anyone’s.

To help Dylan neophytes unwrap the enigma, here’s a look at five common myths.

Spokesman of his generation

After writing topical masterpieces like “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Dylan was hailed as the mouthpiece for the anti-war and civil rights movements and a half dozen other causes.

“And here he is: Take him, you know him, he’s yours,” singer Ronnie Gilbert said, introducing him at 1964′s Newport Folk Festival.

There was just one problem.

You can’t be a spokesman if you refuse to speak.

Within months of being called the new prophet of social progress, Dylan stopped writing political songs, ceased giving interviews and publicly disavowed his role as “the prince of protest,” as he later dubbed it with a sneer.

In a Dylan Center exhibit on 1965 — the year he went electric and alienated folk purists — a concert review quotes him as telling fans:

“I’m sick of people asking ‘What does it mean?” It means nothing.’”

Years later, he said hearing the word “spokesman” made him physically ill.

Just a Guthrie clone

Some critics slammed Dylan for mimicking Woody Guthrie on his first few albums.

Yet for all his Guthrie-isms (the voice, the lyrics, the Greek fisherman’s cap), he was far from a Guthrie clone.

He was more of an equal-opportunity sponge.

He borrowed melodies from countless old country, folk and gospel songs — sometimes credited, sometimes not.

Most of all, he borrowed heavily from the blues.

He filled his ’62 debut album Bob Dylan with a half dozen blues songs, including “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” by Dallas legend Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson — who recorded half of all his songs at 508 Park Ave. in Dallas — was another huge influence.

“From the first note, the vibrations from the loudspeaker made my hair stand up,” Dylan wrote about hearing Johnson’s music in Chronicles: Volume One, his impressionistic 2004 memoir.

“The stabbing sounds from the guitar could almost break a window. When Johnson started singing, he seemed like a guy who could have sprung from the head of Zeus in full armor.”

His peers love him

Most of them do.

But the love is far from universal.

Judy Collins, who met him in ’59 when he was still Robert Zimmerman, practically tripped over her tongue describing him to The News earlier this year:

“He was a magical chisel into the preconceived idea of what this country was all about.”

He gets a mixed review from onetime girlfriend Joan Baez.

She’s depicted in A Complete Unknown calling him “kind of an a--hole.”

Yet she was fairly glowing when The News asked her about him in 2019.

“I mean, he’s a genius,” Baez said.

“He gave us the best songs we’ve ever had.”

And then there’s Joni Mitchell.

Though the two were friendly in the ‘70s, she lashed out at him in a 2010 Los Angeles Times interview:

“Bob is not authentic at all. He’s a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception.”

Refuses to sell out

Everyone knows Dylan marches to his own beat.

But what’s often forgotten is that he isn’t above making a quick buck.

At the Bob Dylan Center, you can buy his Heaven’s Door whiskey, supposedly “co-created” by the singer and named after his 1973 song “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

In 2004, he appeared in a Victoria’s Secret TV ad, brooding and flashing his glimmering blue eyes like a fashion model.

And in 1996, he licensed “The Times They Are A-Changin’” for use in a Bank of Montreal ad campaign.

As he put it so well on Bringing It All Back Home, “Money doesn’t talk, it swears.”

You gotta see him in concert

Some musicians really need to be witnessed in the flesh for you to fully appreciate them.

Dylan?

Not so much.

In the 13 concerts I’ve seen, he’s been brilliant a few times, unveiling bold new arrangements of old songs and singing with soulful urgency.

More often than not, a Dylan show is an exercise in frustration, especially for newcomers.

Performing in April at the Music Hall at Fair Park, he stayed hidden in the shadows behind a keyboard, barely acknowledged the audience and skipped all his best-known songs in favor of tunes from his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways.

Some die-hard fans loved the show. But most of the audience simply seemed puzzled — which is precisely how Dylan wants it.

Did Bob Dylan Invent Bootcut Jeans?

This holiday season, if you find yourself parked in a theater seat to witness Timothée Chalamet embody an early-1960s Bob Dylan in the upcoming biopic A Complete Unknown, keep an eye out for the changing hems of Dylan’s blue jeans.

Indeed, while the new James Mangold-directed film follows a four-year period in Dylan’s career, from his 1961 arrival in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village to his “going electric” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, it also traces the musician’s shifting self-presentation—most notably through his changing hairstyles, but also his denim.

When Dylan lands in New York City with little more than a snap-buttoned cap, an acoustic guitar, and a dream of meeting Woody Guthrie, he wears a farmer-ish pair of late-’50s Levi’s 501s; by the time he plugs in his amp at Newport, he’s rocking a leather jacket and ultra-skinny jeans.

“I realized that the onus would really be on costume and hair to help guide the audience through this visual growth of this 19-year-old kid to a 24-year-old man,” says costume designer Arianne Phillips, who previously earned Oscar nominations for her work on Mangold’s 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, as well as Quintin Tarantino’s 2019 mid-century epic Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.

“I was really looking for threads of continuity in Bob’s character and his taste level,” Phillips says, “and one thing I can say for sure in that excavation was denim. Bob has always worn jeans.”

During pre-production, Phillips connected with Paul O’Neill, the design director of Levi’s Vintage Clothing, the brand’s sublabel that recreates and reimagines archival designs.

Back in 2019, O’Neill and his team developed a capsule collection based on the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early 1960s called “Folk City,” and he’d already done a good deal of research into the wardrobes of Dylan, Karen Dalton, and Joan Baez (who also features in A Complete Unknown, as portrayed by Monica Barbaro).

While reading A Freewheelin’ Time—a memoir by Dylan’s then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo, a version of whom appears in the film as Elle Fanning’s Sylvie Russo—O’Neill uncovered a great sartorial tidbit:

In the mid-1960s, Rotolo used to sew inverted-U-shaped panels into the inseams of Dylan’s 501s, widening the hems so that he could more easily wear the pants over boots. In other words, Rotolo was DIY-ing bootcut jeans years before Levi’s started manufacturing them in 1969.

“I can remember me and my colleague high-fiving each other when we found that out,” says O’Neill.

“Arianne said they had Dylan experts consulting on the film, and none of them had even heard about this before or seen it.”

Bob Dylan in 1964.

It was a lucky nugget for the costume team, one that not only explains one of the musician’s style idiosyncrasies but also adds narrative depth to Dylan and Rotolo’s dynamic.

(The real-life Rotolo also appeared on the cover of Dylan’s 1963 album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan; for that photoshoot, Dylan himself wore a pair of 501s.)

Once O’Neill and Phillips discovered the detail about Dylan’s custom flares, they started noticing them everywhere—including on the album artwork for his fourth LP, Another Side of Bob Dylan.

To commemorate A Complete Unknown and its costumes, Levi’s Vintage Clothing produced a capsule collection featuring a reproduction of Dylan’s customized XX 501s complete with hand-sewn bootcut inserts and a D-ring leather belt, as well as toffee-hued suede work jacket based on a jacket Dylan wore during the era.

The full assortment will hit the brand’s website on December 20.

In A Complete Unknown, Dylan’s classic denim also contrasts with Baez’s trendier silhouettes, which often included Levi’s with a white or black logo tab on the back pocket, which the company produced in the early 1960s to denote hipper styles geared towards young people.

In this case, that meant more denim storytelling: Dylan, like his customized jeans, was sly and rugged; Baez, fresh and forward-thinking.

But by the mid ’60s, the folk scene—and with it, Dylan’s tastes in music, clothing, and otherwise—was in metamorphosis.

And the jeans, they were a-changin’.

Phillips gleaned that after Dylan had toured England in spring 1965, he “clearly had come back with his Cuban-heeled boots, his skinny jeans, his military peacoat, that whole look. He was a big fan of the Beatles, and he met the Beatles and he was hanging out with Donovan [Phillips Leitch],” she says.

“It was Carnaby Street mod time, and he definitely brought that look back.”

The costume designer consulted with O’Neill to identify the super-skinny jeans that Dylan wore during his historic Newport performance that summer.

In 1965—the same year Bob went electric—Levi’s introduced the Super Slims, which O’Neill says “were basically the skinniest jeans you could make without using stretch fabric.”

He sourced fabric produced at a defunct mill in North Carolina to recreate a pair for the scene.

Though there was no photographic evidence to verify for certain that Dylan wore Super Slims that night at Newport, for the film, they fit the bill.

But Dylan’s trailblazing Newport ’65 performance held another fashion mystery.

Per photos from the era, Dylan wore an uncharacteristically loud mint-green, polka-dotted blouse during a soundcheck for his electric set;

he later wore the same shirt on the cover of one of his 1966 EPs.

When Phillips first showed images of the shirt to Mangold, she recalls, “Jim wasn’t so sold on it.”

But Chalamet himself had a vision for how the shirt might make sense in the movie.

(Hint: Chalamet’s Dylan wears it in a scene opposite Boyd Holbrook’s Johnny Cash, a character whom Phillips—having costumed Walk the Line—relished the chance to revisit “in a totally different film and with a different actor.”)

“Timmy loved that shirt and I loved the shirt, too,” says Phillips.

“It really seeds what we know Bob goes on to in ’65, where his style really explodes.”

Over the course of the film, as O’Neill puts it, we see Dylan morph “from this rough-and-ready traveling character into this peacock with the big hair and the shades and the skinny jeans and the polka dot shirt.”

Even so, the blue jeans provided a through-line.

“Denim is so beautiful because it’s the signature of a youth culture movement [and] when we think about today, we take it for granted,” says Phillips.

“I’ve done a lot of mid-century films, but denim, there are so many dress codes [where] you couldn’t wear denim in the workplace, you couldn’t wear it to school, you couldn’t wear it to church. It was really relegated to the blue-collar workers [or] how we dressed on the weekends until it became a signature of the youth movement in the Sixties. And that really, that rebellion—I mean, that was punk rock before punk rock, right?”

Movies If Bob Dylan didn’t exist, “A Complete Unknown” would be an absorbing if conventional drama about a fictional folk singer with that name who, in the nineteen-sixties, shows up in New York and turns himself into a rock star at a time when the concept was novel.

But, given the complex ubiquity of Dylan’s music and life story, the movie’s synthetic simplicity is bewildering.

The director, James Mangold (who wrote the script with Jay Cocks), emphasizes the protagonist’s own sense of self-invention, and offers a bland and smooth official portrait—which nonetheless remains fascinating.

Timothée Chalamet stars, delivering an impressive yet emotionally muffled impersonation of Dylan; the rest of the cast—principally, Edward Norton, as Pete Seeger; Monica Barbaro, as Joan Baez; and Elle Fanning, as the pseudonymous Sylvie Russo—push vigorously against the narrow limits of their roles.

[mariacallous]

Days before a U.S presidential election with potentially colossal implications for Ukraine, the country’s leadership is focused on one thing: staying out of the race as much as possible.

“Any election in a country that supports Ukraine is important to us, because this can impact the level of support,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor in Ukraine’s Office of the President. “Of course, we do not interfere in the domestic political process; we don’t support either candidate.”

That delicate balancing act meant that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris during a visit to the United States in late September. The trip highlighted just how fraught stepping into American politics can be: Zelensky’s tour of an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania—which produces artillery shells sent to Ukraine—was blasted by Republican representatives, furious that three Democrats and no Republicans took part in the visit.

But as Russian forces keep advancing in eastern Ukraine and Moscow deploys North Korean troops in the Kursk region, Kyiv fears that the next U.S. president, whoever they are, won’t increase support to a level that would allow the Ukrainian military to put Moscow back on the defensive.

“Unfortunately, we depend on the U.S.,” said Solomiia Bobrovska, an opposition member of the Ukrainian parliament. “The problem is that it will be difficult for us, no matter who is elected. If Trump is elected, Europe will have to do more, act more independently. But even if Harris becomes president, she will continue [President Joe] Biden’s policy of making slow decisions, and that’s not a solution for us.”

The United States has remained Ukraine’s main ally since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Washington has supported Kyiv to the tune of more than $100 billion total, disbursed through several separate aid packages. But frustration has steadily grown in Ukraine over Washington’s fears of escalation as well domestic U.S. disputes over the merits of support more broadly. Both contributed to long delays before the United States delivered advanced weapons systems and, earlier this year, approved a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. Washington has also so far refused to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory using Western weapons.

Zelensky’s U.S. visit was used to present Biden with Ukraine’s five-point “victory plan,” which called on the U.S. president—current or future—and other Western allies to authorize strikes on Russian territory using the long-range weapons they provide Ukraine. The blueprint also suggests that NATO provide Ukraine with a membership invitation. So far, Washington has remained mute all of those asks.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is feeling the impacts of the  presidential campaign. The Biden administration’s reluctance to announce new measures of support for the country has been interpreted by both Ukrainian analysts and officials as an attempt to avoid drawing flak from Republicans ahead of the election.

“It’s possible that the sitting president hasn’t said his last geopolitical word,” Podolyak said, reflecting a commonly held hope in Kyiv that Biden could, after the election, use the last months of his presidency to increase support to Ukraine.

What happens after that is clouded in uncertainty.

Trump’s long history of disparaging comments toward Ukraine in general and Zelensky in particular has raised concern among Ukrainians. So has Trump’s flattery of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal, Zelensky,” Trump told supporters during a campaign rally in North Carolina in late September. In May 2023, the former U.S. president also famously claimed that, if elected, he would end the war “in 24 hours.”

“We’re seeing a huge difference in rhetoric between Trump and Harris. And that includes a difference in how both candidates mention potential peace talks,” said Alyona Getmanchuk, a Kyiv-based foreign-policy analyst and the director of the New Europe Center, a think tank. “Harris follows Joe Biden’s line by saying that only Ukraine should be the one to decide when and how to initiate negotiations … while Trump made it clear he would be the one initiating such a deal.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Kyiv has remained publicly composed about the prospect of a Trump presidency, hoping that the former president’s unpredictability and ego-driven governing style could ultimately play in Ukraine’s favor, even as Ukrainians expect a newly elected Trump to immediately pressure Kyiv and Moscow to negotiate.

“There is also the hope among Ukrainian policymakers that, even if Trump was to make a deal with Putin, Putin would quickly violate that deal, and after that Ukraine would receive even more support from Trump,” Getmanchuk added. “But everyone understands that Trump isn’t suddenly going to fall in love with Ukraine if he is elected—we aren’t naive.”

Harris, by contrast, is seen as a more predictable and reliable figure. But she may not see support for Ukraine as a foreign-policy priority while the United States balances numerous other global challenges, including the crisis in the Middle East and competition with China.

Kyiv has argued in recent weeks that increased Western support is essential to put the country in a favorable military position that could, down the line, push Moscow to begin peace talks.

Ukraine’s military position has steadfastly deteriorated this year. After taking the stronghold of Vuhledar in southern Donbas in early October, Russian forces have moved nearly 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) north of the mining town. The advances are of near-unprecedented speed since the Russian military was forced to retreat from the Kyiv region in early 2022—and have highlighted Ukrainian forces’ exhaustion in that part of the front line. Across the country, Ukrainians are also bracing for new strikes against energy infrastructure that could trigger long power cuts.

“I’m really worried about the winter,” said Bobrovska, the Ukrainian legislator. “And I’m worried that our allies are waiting for the moment where we can’t fight any more to say, ‘we did everything we could to support you—now you should go negotiate on Russia’s terms.’”

[fabioperes]

What’s Ulaanbaatar Really Like? Capital City of Mongolia 🇲🇳 Улаанбаатар I spend a few days touring Ulaanbaatar (Улаанбаатар), the capital city of Mongolia. ► If you enjoyed this video, please hit the like button above as this really helps me. ► Due to YouTube's ever-changing algorithm, please also turn on notifications and hit the bell sign, selecting 'All Notifications'. Otherwise you won't get updates. ► Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts - I reply to almost all comments left in the first 48 hours. My Social Media ► Website ►►► https://ift.tt/ayLWUr0 ► Instagram ►►► https://ift.tt/LOS8zfM ► TikTok ►►► https://ift.tt/iPQmar3 ► Facebook ►►► https://ift.tt/RspeCow ► Sign up to Airbnb and get up to $42 off your first booking ► https://ift.tt/maJLe8q? ► Get Month-by-Month Travel Insurance ► https://ift.tt/tCluv3Z I'm Jason, a full-time British Travel Vlogger and YouTuber who's been to 61 countries. I've been travelling around the world full-time since 2017. I have travel series' from many of the world's best (and least) known destinations. I filmed the first vlogs on my channel in the summer of 2016 after spending a year living in China. A proper solo trip around Eastern Europe followed after graduating from University in the summer of 2017, taking me to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Kosovo. This marked the start of my efforts to turn vlogging into a full-time job. After that European trip I explored much of Asia: visiting India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea and Kazakhstan. I have also travelled to North Africa and the Middle East fairly extensively over the last five years, filming videos in Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. I've travelled to North America just once as a YouTuber, visiting Mexico in 2021. Though I have been to both the USA and Canada, this was as a child on family holidays. In 2022, I took my first trip to Sub Saharan Africa, visiting Kenya and Tanzania, before heading to the Middle East, stopping in Dubai and Lebanon. Europe followed, covering both the Greek and Turkish sides of Cyprus, and afterwards going back to Italy for the second time to cover Milan and Sicily. I then visited the Caribbean for the first time, covering the Dominican Republic, before heading to both Brussels and Amsterdam, then covering Taiwan and the Philippines in Asia. I finished off the year with a trip around Morocco. I started my travels in 2023 by finally visiting Paris, taking the Eurostar from London. I then headed over to Qatar for a few days, before heading to Asia, with videos following from India, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Mongolia. #mongolia #ulaanbaatar #travel via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb0uaRbBlCs

[chloeunitfive]

Wentworth Castle

Explore centuries of history at Wentworth Castle Gardens, which boasts formal gardens, historically important monuments and a folly that isn’t quite what it seems. From the perfectly manicured Union Jack Garden to a still-recovering parkland that reflects Yorkshire's industrial heritage, there's plenty to see and do at these special gardens, just a stone’s throw from Barnsley.

Stainborough Castle

This almost ancient castle is the crowning glory of a visit to Wentworth Castle Gardens. Although it looks medieval, this folly was actually completed in 1731 by Thomas Wentworth.

Born out of a fierce family rivalry, the folly was designed to give the impression that the Wentworth family had lived here for centuries. Today it’s a peaceful place to enjoy a picnic, surrounded by medieval-style turrets.

Gardens within a garden

The Union Jack Garden

Thomas Wentworth created the landscape at Wentworth to showcase his wealth and status, and the Union Jack Garden is no different. This 18th-century wilderness garden was planted in 1713. Its distinctive criss-cross pattern marks the union of England and Scotland in 1707. It was largely replanted in 2005.

The Victorian conservatory

Monument to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Framed by the trees, this monument has a powerful story to tell. Originally erected by Thomas Wentworth, it was later dedicated by his son William to Lady Mary Montagu in honour of her efforts to inoculate children against smallpox.

A symbol of Mary’s achievements, it's believed to be the oldest monument in the country dedicated to a non-royal woman.

Lady Lucy's Walk

Wentworth Castle

The grand house at the centre of this estate is not regularly open to the public, but is an integral part of the Wentworth story. Previously known as Stainborough Hall, the original Stuart house was built in the 1670s.

This great house has undergone a number of major changes since then, with a Baroque wing added from around 1709, a Palladian-style wing added in the 1760s and a Victorian wing added in the 1890s.

Today the house is home to Northern College, a pioneering adult education institution.

A view of Yorkshire’s industrial past

As you look out over the parkland, you’re looking at centuries of industrial history. A landscape shaped by coal mining, and a garden built by the Wentworth family from the profits of Yorkshire coal.

You can see the impact of mining on the landscape here, including Ivas Wood, the parkland woods replanted in the 20th century to ‘regreen’ the area after mining had taken its toll on the land.

Wildlife in the gardens

Our gardens and parkland provide homes for lots of different wildlife, including deer and wild birds.

Bats at Stainborough Castle

Old buildings, such as Stainborough Castle, are ideal roosting sites for bats. There are four species using roosts within the castle, including the brown long-eared bat, noctule, common pipistrelle and Natterer’s bat.

Bumblebees in the wildflowers

Various varieties, such as the red-tailed and buff-tailed bumblebee, can easily be spotted in the flower gardens.

Deer in the parkland

Can you spot the deer in the parkland? There are around 150 deer – 61 fallow deer and five bucks and 85 red deer and one stag called Bertie – going about their daily business of grazing and sleeping.

Throughout June and July, they will be starting to give birth so you may see the young in the parkland. The mother deer like to leave their young in a nice shady spot to rest so it's perfectly normal to see a fawn or calf relaxing on their own.

Birds in the woodland areas

In the parkland the 'scratchy sweet' melodic song of the blackcap is often heard, although the birds usually hide under cover. Similarly, the two-note song of the chiff-chaff is a common sound.

[warningsine]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Kuwait said Thursday it executed five prisoners, including an inmate convicted over the bombing of a Shiite mosque in 2015 that killed 27 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

The inmates were hanged at the Central Prison, Kuwait's Public Prosecution said in a statement. Prosecutors said the five include the mosque attacker, three people convicted of murder and a convicted drug dealer.

One of the convicted murderers was Egyptian, another was Kuwaiti, and the convicted drug dealer was from Sri Lanka. The statement didn't provide the nationality of the mosque attacker or the third convicted murderer, saying only that they were in Kuwait unlawfully.

The 2015 bombing occurred during midday Friday prayers inside one of Kuwait’s oldest Shiite mosques. The Islamic State group, which at the time controlled large areas in both Syria and Iraq, claimed the attack, which was carried out by a suicide bomber. The Sunni extremist group views Shiites as apostates deserving of death.

It was the first militant attack in Kuwait in more than two decades. The attack was likely intended to foment unrest between Kuwait's Sunni and Shiite Muslim populations, but instead it was widely condemned and reawakened a sense of national solidarity not seen since Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the small, oil-rich country.

The extremist group no longer controls any territory following a grueling military campaign by an array of local and international forces, but continues to carry out sporadic attacks in Syria and Iraq. It also boasts affiliates in several Asian and African countries.

Executions are relatively rare in Kuwait, which put seven inmates to death last November. Before that, the last mass execution was in 2017, when Kuwait executed seven prisoners, including a ruling family member.

The executions last November, which coincided with a visit by a European Commission official, drew condemnation from the European Union and human rights groups, derailing discussions around exempting Kuwaiti travelers from having to obtain EU visas. The 27-member bloc and many rights groups view the death penalty as a form of cruel and unusual punishment that should be abolished.

Kuwait and other Gulf nations are known to carry out executions for murder as well as nonviolent drug-related crimes. Saudi Arabia executed 61 people in the first half of this year, according to the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, and 196 people in 2022, including 81 in one day.

[imjustthisawesome]

Milan!

[burundisafaritour]

Discover the Wonders of Kruger National Park, South Africa

Introduction

South Africa, a diverse and breathtaking country, offers incredible opportunities for group tours. One of the most popular destinations for group tours in South Africa is the Kruger National Park. Spanning over two million hectares, this place is a wildlife paradise, teeming with diverse flora and fauna. Let's explore the highlights and experiences of group outings in this magnificent park.

Exploring Kruger National Park

It offers a range of exciting activities and experiences for group excursions. With its vast size, it provides ample opportunities to spot the famous Big Five (elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion, and leopard) in their natural habitat. The park's open savannahs, dense forests, and winding rivers create an ideal environment for wildlife viewing.

1. Safari Adventures

One of the main attractions in this amazing park is the safari adventures. Tour participants can embark on thrilling game drives, led by experienced guides who share their knowledge about the park's wildlife and ecosystems. These game drives offer a chance to see lions prowling, elephants bathing, and hippos basking in the sun. Night safaris are also available, providing a unique opportunity to observe nocturnal animals and experience the park's enchanting ambiance after dark.

2. Cultural Encounters

Kruger national park South Africa  tour also provides opportunities to engage with the rich local culture. Many tours include visits to nearby communities, where participants can interact with local tribes and learn about their traditions, crafts, and way of life. These cultural encounters offer a deeper understanding of South Africa's diverse heritage and foster cross-cultural connections.

3. Nature Walks and Hiking

For those seeking a more active experience, this fascinating park offers nature walks and hiking trails. Accompanied by experienced guides, tour participants can explore the park on foot, discovering hidden gems and observing the smaller, often overlooked wildlife. These excursions provide a chance to appreciate the park's stunning landscapes up close and connect with nature on a personal level.

4. Conservation and Environmental Education

This place is committed to conservation and environmental education. Many excursions include visits to educational centers or participation in conservation projects, allowing participants to learn about the park's efforts to protect endangered species and preserve the ecosystem. These activities promote awareness and inspire individuals to become advocates for conservation in their communities.

Conclusion

Kruger National Park safari offers an unforgettable adventure that combines wildlife encounters, cultural immersion, and educational experiences. From thrilling safari adventures to meaningful cultural exchanges and outdoor activities, there's something for everyone. Whether you're a nature enthusiast, wildlife lover, or simply seeking a unique travel experience, this glorious park will leave you with lasting memories and a deeper appreciation for South Africa's natural treasures.

FORE MORE INFORMATION;- Website:- https://www.burundisafaritours.com

Mobile No.:- +257 62 29 61 74 Email:- info@burundisafaritours.com

[layoverinistanbul]

Layover in istanbul airport

 Layover in Istanbul 

A prolonged Istanbul layover can be the ideal opportunity to experience a new place for the first time. There is no reason not to leave the airport and take a "free" mini vacation if you have at least six hours or more. While some airlines, such as Turkish Airlines, do offer customers complimentary tours of Istanbul during layovers, these are often bus tours for large groups. 

Things to do in Istanbul on layover Istanbul offers many things to do, some of which are listed below Tak e a Food Tour of Istanbul One of the most popular activities in urban areas is doing a food tour. People often claim that delicious food transcends all boundaries, and that food plays a significant role in many historical events.A number of attractions are often introduced along the way on food tours as well. Locals do know best, so using a local guide to navigate the food scene can help you get the most out of your trip. 

A 3hour walking food tour of Istanbul offered by with local’s private excursions lets you sample real Turkish food. It's truly the ideal way to pass time during an Istanbul layover. You eat a delectable supper, walk around, and take in the sights. Visit to Blue Mosque One of the most popular tourist destinations in Istanbul is the Blue Mosque, and with good reason. Inside, it is really stunning and worth a visit. 

On an Istanbul layover, if you really only have time to see one attraction, you can't go wrong with the Blue Mosque. As a functioning mosque, the Blue Mos que is closed to tourists when people are inside praying. 

You might want to make sure that your layover coincides with the hours that the Blue Mosque is open to visitors in order to prevent becoming dissatisfied or frustrated. Five times a day, according t o the position of the sun, people pray. 

Blue Mosque    

Shopping in the Grand Bazaar   

One of the oldest and biggest covered markets in the world is the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Now spanning 61 streets with more than 4000 stores, the Grand Bazaar dates back to the Ottoman Empire in 1455. A feast for all the senses awaits you at the Grand Bazaar. In the maze of stores in the Grand Bazaar, you may buy anything from the wellknown colored Turkish lanterns to handwoven carpets. Haggling is entirely acceptable, just like you would in countries like Morocco. If you find something you adore and believe you cannot leave Istanbul without, never appear overly enthusiastic. Shopping in the Grand bazaar is famous among Istanbul layover. Wander a Neighborhoo d Istanbul is a sizable city with more than 15 million residents. 

When you have an Istanbul layover, you won't have time to explore the entire city, so plan your vacation carefully. Decide on a neighborhood and make a commitment to only exploring that area. You can always plan a proper vacation back to Istanbul if you enjoy what little of it you get to see while there on a layover. 

Popular neighborhoods to visit include Galata, home to the well Ukurcuma, known for its antique shops and hoknown Galata Tower, me to some of Istanbul's best antique dealers, Balat, a vibrant district with many vintage stores and small coffee shops, and Arnavutköy, where you can take in the picturesque waterfront. 

Turkish Meal Food on the airline is generally quite unpleasant. However, the options in the airport food court are frequently not much better. Have a seat and eat a traditional Turkish lunch before returning to the airport. 's topIf your flight to Istanbul has an overnight or evening layover, have dinner at one of the city rated eateries.

 Mikla was ranked number 44 on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2018, making it more than just one of Istanbul's top eateries.If you have an Istanbul layover during the day, you can't go wrong by visiting the Meşhur Fi libe Köftecisi, which is a familyrun business. Since 1893, they have been producing Turkish meatballs, or köfte, in Istanbul. The menu is straightforward, with the köfte served with bean salad (Piyaz) and a yogurt cake called revani to round it out with s omething sweet. Conclusion Istanbul layover is distinctive for the several activities listed above that attract travelers. Because of this, their trip is memorable and they want to go back.

To enjoy with a layover in istanbul you may check : 

Layoverinistanbul.com

[roscoebarnes3]

Scott Barretta returning to Natchez

He will talk about Charles Evers’ Blues Legacy

 NATCHEZ, Miss. – Blues historian Scott Barretta is returning to Natchez to talk about “Charles Evers’ Blues Legacy” in recognition of Black History Month. He will speak at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, at Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St.

Barretta will present the same lecture at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Dumas Hall, Room 107, at the Lorman campus of Alcorn State University. Both events are free to the public. They are sponsored by the Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture & Learning at Alcorn State University.

“Charles Evers is deservedly best known for his contributions to the civil rights movement and his political engagement in the state, but I also think it’s important to recognize him as a pioneer in cultural tourism,” said Barretta. “Notably,” he added, “the annual Medgar Evers Homecoming Celebration concert featuring B.B. King and other blues greats, which brought in people from across the country, predated the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival by five years.”

Teresa Busby, the center’s executive director, said Barretta’s talk will address the impact Evers had on the public visibility of the blues in Mississippi. Busby said the presentation will also address Evers’ work as a DJ in Philadelphia, Miss., in the 1950s; a nightclub owner in Chicago and Mississippi; and as the owner for many years of a blues-oriented radio station in Jackson.

The first major show held by Evers occurred in 1973 at the Mississippi Fairgrounds in Jackson, Barretta said.  Evers recalled he had first visited this site when it was a makeshift jail where hundreds of civil rights activists were locked up, Barretta said.

“Now black and white can walk in there together for an evening of singing and dancing,” Evers noted on the first event. “That’s the way Medgar would have wanted it and he died trying to make that kind of joy possible.”

In 1969, Charles Evers became the first African American mayor in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era when he was elected as mayor of Fayette.

Barretta’s last visit to Natchez occurred in October 2022 when he presented a talk on “Natchez’s Rich Blues Tradition.” A resident of Greenwood, Barretta is well known as the host of the MPB radio show “Highway 61.” He is a writer and researcher for the Mississippi Blues Trail. He also teaches sociology courses about music at the University of Mississippi.

For more information, send email to tbusby@alcorn.edu.

[antifainternational]

In case you think the Rittenhouse verdict is an aberration, here are four other examples of the US justice system permitting fascists to use lethal violence against their opponents with total impunity:

1) The Greensboro Massacre, 1979:

In 1979, three dozen KKK members got the police in Greensboro, NC to turn a blind eye to the ambush they were planning for an anti-racist march. The KKK members fired on the anti-racists, killing five and wounding ten others. No one was ever convicted. 2) Dan Shersty and Lin "Spit" Newborn, 1998:

Dan and Spit were two young anti-racist organizers in Las Vegas. In 1998, a gang of nazis lured them out to the desert and shot them to death. Two of the nazis were acquitted of the murders in a trial 16 years later; a third was never even charged. 3) Sacramento 2016:

Nazis attending a white supremacist rally at the California state capitol arrived armed with knives and guns and stabbed nine counter-protestors while the police blithely looked on. Afterward, the police actively colluded with the nazis to frame the counter-protestors who had been stabbed. 4) Black Lives Matter Protests, 2020:

In addition to the three people killed or maimed by Rittenhouse, fascists attacked at least 53 other Black Lives Matter protests in the US, killing seven others and injuring an 61 additional people; To our knowledge, none have been convicted. Internationally, fascists & far-right bigots murdered at least 326 people and injured 1187 others last year. It is folly to expect the US justice system - or any country's legal system - to hold fascists accountable for the violence they visit upon their opponents & our communities. Community-based organizing and collective self-defence are all we have to protect ourselves from their terror.

[onceuponatown]

In 1869,  Albert Smiley purchased a ten-room inn on Lake Mohonk and expanded it into the sprawling, marvelous Mountain House it is today—now in its fourth and fifth generations of Smiley family proprietorship. Albert Smiley’s vision was to preserve a natural paradise for guests, a place to rejuvenate away from the stresses of work and city life. But Albert was more than just a hotel proprietor. In 1895, he convened the first of many Conferences on International Arbitration at the Mountain House, bringing together leaders to meet and discuss world issues.

Over the decades, distinguished visitors to the Mountain House have included five U.S. presidents, naturalists, theologians, business leaders, actors, artists, musicians, and more. 

The early story of the Mountain House begins with two identical twin brothers, Quakers Albert and Alfred Smiley. Albert was co-principal of the Friends Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island, and hoped to retire to a place in the country. In September of 1869, his brother Alfred felt he had found the perfect location. On an outing to Paltz Point, now the site of Sky Top Tower, Alfred was so taken by the stunning vista he telegraphed Albert and implored him to make a visit. Initially claiming he was too busy, Albert relented and made the journey that would chart the course of the rest of his life.

A ten-room inn, Stokes Tavern stood at the time on Lake Mohonk. Albert purchased the tavern and the surrounding acres with $14,000 in savings, $300 contributed by his wife Eliza, and a $14,000 bank loan. The era of Mohonk Mountain House had begun.

The ten-room inn was renovated and expanded, and the Mountain House underwent a grand but gradual conversion to the place we see today. The facility opened with accommodations for 40 guests in June of 1870. Over the years that followed, rooms and buildings were added, then torn down and rebuilt as the need to grow larger became paramount. The current Dining Room was completed in 1893, the Lake Lounge and Parlor in 1899—both with electricity, so changes have been minimal in these areas. In 1910, the Dining Room Circle extension was completed, and this marked the end of additions to the Mountain House until the modern era. At its highest capacity, the Mountain House boasted 300 rooms (currently 259). The Victorian ambiance of the decor and furnishings has been maintained since the Mountain House’s inception.

There is no single architectural style reflected in the sections of the Mountain House. They are, from south to north, the Spa wing, the Rock section (so named because it sits on the rock cliffs), the Stone building (as the walls are made of hand-cut stone, making them appear “castle-like”); the Central building (including the Lake Lounge and Parlor); the Grove, and the Dining wing. Using various materials (stone was an early favorite due to concerns about fire safety), they contribute to an eclectic mix of styles that helps achieve the near magical look of Mohonk Mountain House.

Mohonk Mountain House is located in the Shawangunk Mountains, designated by The Nature Conservancy as one of Earth’s “last great places.” When Albert Smiley purchased the Mountain House, the grounds were largely untamed wilderness. Herculean efforts were required to create the system of carriage roads and trails that are still in use today. Albert Smiley was a passionate gardener. He and the early groundskeepers trucked in tons of soil and applied near-infinite patience to establish the Mohonk gardens. These gardens were influenced by the English style of landscaping of the mid-19th century.

Beginning with Albert, the Smileys began a process of land acquisition, buying up surrounding farms in an effort to preserve a pristine area around the Mountain House, free from development. Guests engaged in hiking and carriage rides throughout this property, enjoying stunning vistas such as those seen from Copes Lookout and Eagle Cliff Road, as well as Sky Top with its views of six surrounding states. A belief in the beauty of nature motivated these acquisitions. Preservation was further enhanced in 1960 when the Mohonk Trust was established; the trust later became the Mohonk Preserve, a non-affiliated sister organization to the Mountain House, which is now the largest visitor supported nature preserve in New York State. Mountain House guests have access to 8000 acres of Preserve land, 1200 acres of Mountain House land, and nearby state park lands, for access to a total of over 85 miles of hiking trails.

Rock scrambles such as the Labyrinth (with its famous Lemon Squeeze) have been popular since the early days of Mohonk, allowing guests from all eras to navigate these remarkable tunnels and fields of boulders. Rock climbing was a popular activity at Mohonk.

Lake Mohonk is a glacial lake, fed from sky water, not from nearby streams. It stretches a half-mile long, and is 61 feet at its deepest. The lake is stocked with trout (perch, sunnys, bass, and pickerel can also be found). There is swimming at the beach, and guests enjoy canoeing, boating, and paddle boats. Dotting the majestic cliffs and the carriage roads are over 125 scenic summerhouses, a mainstay of the Mohonk experience since the early days.

See our first post on the Mohonk Mountain House here.

[ivykrystos]

Q&A- 100 Personal Questions

Leave me questions in my Inbox I haven’t interacted here in a long time but I want to

1. What’s your philosophy in life?

2. What’s the one thing you would like to change about yourself?

3. Are you religious or spiritual?

4. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

5. Which parent are you closer to and why?

6. What was the best phase in your life?

7. What was the worst phase in your life?

8. Is what you’re doing now what you always wanted to do growing up?

9. What makes you feel accomplished?

10. What’s your favorite book/movie of all time and why did it speak to you so much?

11. What is a relationship deal breaker for you?

12. Are you more into looks or brains?

13. Would you ever take back someone who cheated?

14. How do you feel about sharing your password with your partner?

15.If you died tomorrow, what would you wish you had done?

16. What kind of parent do you think you will be?

17. What would you do if your parents didn’t like your partner?

18. Who is that one person you can talk to about just anything?

19. Do you usually stay friends with your exes?

20. Have you ever lost someone close to you?

21. If you are in a bad mood, do you prefer to be left alone or have someone to cheer you up?

22. What’s an ideal weekend for you?

23. Can you pin point the moment in your life where you were the happiest?

24. Do you judge a book by its cover?

25. Are you confrontational?

26. When was the last time you broke someone’s heart?

27. Would you relocate for love?

28. Did you ever write a journal?

29. What are you most thankful for?

30. Do you believe in second chances?

31. What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you?

32. What is your idea of a perfect vacation?

33. What did your past relationship teach you?

34.Why did you cry the last time you did so?

35. Is home for you a place or a feeling? Describe that place or describe that feeling.

36. When have you felt your biggest adrenaline rush?

37. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done and would you do it again?

38. If you could be anywhere other than where you are right now, where would you be and what would you be looking at?

39. What’s your biggest regret in life?

40. What do you think about when you’re by yourself?

41. Does your job make you happy?

42. What did you want to be when you were younger?

43. Why did your last relationship end?

45. What’s been your biggest mistake so far in life and what did you learn from it?

46. Where is your favorite place in the entire world to go?

47. What are your top five favorite movies?

48. What are some of your favorite songs?

49. What qualities do you admire about your parents?

50. How would you describe your best friend?

51. What’s your favorite hobby to do alone?

52. What’s something you can’t go a day without doing?

53. What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve done lately?

54. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for love?

55. What’s your biggest pet peeve?

56. Do you have any recurring dreams or nightmares?

57. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

58. What is one dream you have yet to accomplish?

59. What is your greatest fear?

60. What are three things you value most about a person?

61. Who are five people you are closest with?

62. What is the greatest struggle you’ve overcome?

63. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

64. What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened this past year?

65. Do you believe more in fate or that we are the creators of our own destinies because we are governed by free will?

66. What’s one thing that bothers you most about the world today?

67. How do you define art?

68. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

69. If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?

70. Who was your favorite teacher and why?

71. What sport did you fall in love with?

72. If you could have the option of eradicating pain from your life would you choose to do so? Why or why not?

73. What was your longest relationship?

74. What would your best friend say is your best quality?

75. If you could be given the date of your death would you want to know it?

76. If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would it be and why?

77. If you could tell your former self one thing right now what would it be?

78. What food could you not live without?

79. Dogs or Cats?

80. What’s closest you’ve ever come to being arrested?

81. What was your best birthday?

82. What’s one thing you wish you knew how to do?

83. Where’s one place you’d like to go that you haven’t been?

84. What was the last book you read? And When?

85. If you were given a chance to explore the oceans, go to outer space or visit 50 different countries, which one you choose and why?

86. What are some of your own personal goals in the next 5 years?

87. What would you consider your greatest accomplishment so far?

88. If you could get away with anything that you do?

89. Out of the negative emotions of greed, anger, jealousy and hate, which one would you say affects you the most?

90. What’s the greatest risk you’ve ever taken?

91. Has another’s pain ever given you joy? Be totally honest.

92. If heaven is real and you died tomorrow, would you get in?

93. Do you believe in fate?

94. If you had to pick one, what is the most important value you would teach your children? Honesty, Kindness or Courage?

95. If you had the ability to erase something that you did in the past, what

would it be?

96. What song makes you unconditionally happy?

97.  Name the one worst quality you cannot tolerate in a partner.

98. What fictional character do you most relate to?

99. If you got a free cheque for $5,000 right this second, how would you use it?

100. What is your biggest irrational fear? 101. Anything else you can think of! feel free to reblog and have your followers ask you the same things

[inari-zaheer]

Thank y’all so much on reaching 100 followers

So as a thank you I will be doing the 100 prompt’s thingy (as it will be hard to do more than that lol), so again thank you so much❤️

Ask Here//Rules//Masterlist//Fandoms

Dialogues

1.“I know what it looks like, but I wasn’t my fault!”

2.“What if we moved to_____?”

3.“Of course I’m right about it, when was I ever wrong?”

4.“I didn’t called you a liar, I just didn’t called you a truther”

5.“10 bucks for your thoughts”

6.“Of course I didn’t do it, but like, what if, I hypothetically did it?”

7.“Of course I did it, how else am I supposed to spend some time around you?”

8.“If I didn’t knew you that well I’d think you are in love with me”

9.“They are so good for each other, aren’t they?”

10.“Sometimes I ask if it was supposed to be like this”

11.“This isn’t exactly legal, but as long as the guards don’t show up we’re good”

12.“Are we going to plan a murder or just sit here and eat cookie dough?”

13.“Oh hell no, I’m not going to fight you”

14.“Is that a threat or are we flirting?”

15.“Well, we used to be “just friends” too!”

16.“Is somebody jealous?”

17.“Oh don’t worry, the blood isn’t mine”

18.“Want me to stab them?”

19.“What? I can’t send a message to the enemy?”

20.“Here’s some cookies, and some bad news!”

21.“Next problem…we might die”

22.“I can’t help that I’m curious!”

23.“The art of being an_____is extremely challenging for me”

24.“You look hot when you try to punch me”

25.“So, I suppose this is where we kiss?”

26.“You love me too much to do that”

27.“Oh fuck me!”

28.“Thank you, but what am I supposed to do with it?”

29.“Did you really had to take off your shirt?”

30.“We can definitely do that, but not when you’re that drunk”

31.“Sometimes I think you have a death wish”

32.“Sheesh, I was just kidding! Or maybe not”

33.“You two are the closest thing I have to a television”

34.“Touch yourself”

35.“What if someone sees us?”

36.“Pinky promise?”

37.“Come on baby, don’t hold back”

38.“Stop stealing all the blankets!”

39.“Never thought I’d say that, but fuck that’s hot”

40.“You look like you were ran by a bus”

41.“Fucking is a reward, but you haven’t been good, now have you?”

42.“You’re so cute when you blush”

43.“My hands are cold, can you warm them up?”

44.“It’s like watching a chihuahua provoke a rottweiler”

45.“What did you just called me?”

46.“Wait don’t pull away…not yet”

47.“Could you try and not bitch about it for like five minutes?”

48.“It's not lying, it's omitting!”

49.“Who said you could do that?”

50.“I didn’t said it was safe, I said it was fun!”

Situations

51.Beach day

52.Being sick

53.Playing a specific game

54.Playing 7 minutes in heaven

55.Studying

56.Doing each other’s makeup

57.Giving presents

58.Cooking

59.Having Nightmares

60.Confessing

61.Telling childhood stories

62.Doing matching tattoos

63.Playing fight

64.Cleaning the house

65.Public sex

66.Doing piercings

67.Buying furniture

68.First time

69.Doing grocery shopping

70.Going on a hike

71.Sparing

72.Going out for a drink

73.Spa day at home

74.Car travel

75.Visiting another country

76.Wearing glasses

77.Building/fixing something together

78.Seeing each other cry

79.Having stuffed animals

80.Family dinner

81.Getting into an argument

82.Destroying something together

83.Apologizing

84.Visiting family

85.Being chased

86.Teaching/learning how to play an instrument

87.Going camping

88.Dancing together

89.Adopting an animal

90.Stargazing

91.Being in a band

92.Being enemies to lovers

93.Treating injuries

94.Gettin wisdom teeth removed

95.Shower sex

96.After an argument

97.Playing hide and seek

98.Baking together

99.Breakup

100.Birthday celebration