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rose-lunaire · 1 year ago

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May I ask for overall dating Bedelia headcannons? What is she like in the relationship etc. Thank you 🙏🏻😊

i have to say i was surprised to see how little content there is about her, really. so i’m very grateful for this ask, hope it’s what you were looking for, enjoy! i wanted to write about her from a broader perspective, so i hope you don’t mind i altered the ask a little bit

pairing: bedelia du maurier x gn!reader

warnings: mention of mental illness

bedelia du maurier sfw dating alphabet

a - asking out

as much as i believe in bedelia’s confidence, it was you who made the defining move. you met at a charity gala on a chilly evening in september. the first round of champagne has been distributed and bedelia found herself finished greeting all of her acquaintances, her gaze suddenly drawn to an unknown figure. pushed by an invisible force, nearly ran in your direction. “oh, i’m so sorry, i mistook you for one of my old friends!” it was a lame attempt in masking her excitement, but you just laughed and introduced yourself. as the evening passed you ended up gravitating towards each other multiple times. it was almost surreal, you gave in to the urge to finally ask her out

b - best friend

the connection between you is undeniable, it runs deeper than simple attraction. bedelia is an attentive listener and there was something about her that made you trust her completely. it’s your weekly ritual to dish out the juiciest gossip on saturday dinners. it’s always fun to make fun all your pretentious colleagues and drink good wine. there is always an atmosphere of warmth and trust when you hang out together. you don’t need anyone else in your life, because you just found true love in your soulmate’s embrace

c - cooking

i feel like she isn’t a fan of cooking. it feels mundane and messy for her. hates cleaning afterwards. she can make simple things or prepare a beautiful charcuterie board but that’s it. that’s not to say she doesn’t enjoy fancy food; you both will explore all restaurants in the neighbourhood, searching for the perfect place to relax after a long day of work. sometimes you’re both too tired to go out and end up snacking in the kitchen, laughing at bedelia’s attempts at cooking dinner. in the end it always tastes good because of how much fun you had preparing it (and thanks to your life-saving cooking skills)

d - date time!

at first you mingled at many social events, sometimes dancing under the scrutinising gazes of other guests. as your connection deepened, you opted for coziness of your houses. you lost track of passing days, the whole world seemingly disappearing for the time of your dates. bedelia doesn’t like planning many things ahead as her schedule changes frequently. quite early on you got the spare key to her home, hanging out anytime you got. the setting doesn’t have to be special for you two, the sheer company makes for unforgettable time

e - escapism, exploring the enchanted gardens

for bedelia, the only thing that can measure up to your beauty are flowers. on gloomy days you would visit local botanical gardens or orangeries. the humid air and heart-fluttering scent make of a unique atmosphere so unreal and mystical, you can forget all the mundane earthly worries. you dive into the feeling, savouring the serenity in your lover’s eyes: a sight so rare and precious to your heart

f - favourite part

her favourite part of you is your hands. the light squeezes and feather-like brushes of the knuckles, it grounds her and never fails to make her heart flutter. bedelia would trace your callouses, detailed lines on your palms searching for peace after a difficult day. loves the way your hands fit together. eager to adorn your hand with a promise ring

g - gifts

bedelia is a big spender and you can’t convince me otherwise. will buy you gifts any chance she gets, ranging from your favourite pastry on a sunday breakfast to a gold pendant she saw on a shopping spree. expect countless items related to your hobbies appearing on your shelf. it’s always something thoughtful and not over-the-top. you once scolded her careless shopping habits and now she’s bit better with limiting herself. but she just loves you so much, there’s no stopping bedelia from splurging on your birthday

h - holidays

i would say her favourite holiday is the summer vacation. she enjoys the warm evenings filled with mellow jazz and good rosé. it usually means less work and more time to spend with you. it’s the season for oversized sunglasses and strapless dresses. evening seem to stretch on forever, filled with your soft laughter and your cheeks flushed from the heat.

i - illness

gets sick easily, especially in autumn. with meeting a lot of people come consequences, but with years she got better with masking her own struggles to focus on helping the other person. if you notice her sneezing, she will dismiss it as dust allergy or something. bedelia enjoys being pampered as long as it doesn't get in the way of her work. pro tip: reschedule all her meetings before she has the chance to protest!

j - jealous, jealous girl! does she get jealous easily? how does she react to you being jealous?

she despises seeing you jealous. for her it’s a symptom of distrust, which she fears the most in a relationship. but sometimes it can’t be avoided: once a waiter slipped a note into her hand and bedelia made a show out of turning him down. she was shocked to see a shadow of a frown if your face. “what’s wrong, dear?”was her voice a little too loud, she wondered. “it was cruel. i wish people knew you’re mine and stop doing such things.” it was hard for the blonde to hide the smirk forming on her lips.

k - kisses

kisses with bedelia are short but sensual. they leave you wanting more and yearning for her touch. like everything with her, they’re playful yet almost dignified. the way she places her thumb under your eye, studying the depth of your orbs. how your hips touch as your bodies slowly melt into each other and the surrounding fade away. her breath is hungry, she’s feeding off your desperation. with nowhere to run, you’re savouring every second.

l - love language

words of affirmation are a must. as a psychiatrist she understands the importance of communication and wants you to know how much you mean to her. it’s just.. her emotions are so strong and bedelia wants you to know just how much you mean for her, her efforts seem a bit messy and the message doesn’t really get through. there’s just so much she wants to tell you on the daily basis.

m - mornings

hates to waste time in morning. not to say she’s an early bird, she hates the way her joints feel heavy and her gaze blurs at the bright sunlight. it’s like the nature is playing a joke on her clouded mind. her days are filled with rummaging through people’s darkest memories and pristine mornings seem like an ironic prelude. however, her attitude changed when you moved in with her. now the sharp rays are the signal to let go of your body, start of missing your warmth and calming scent. but seeing you rub your eyes sleepily makes bedelia forget all about it

n - nicknames

for you: duckling! there’s a cute story behind it. there was a cocktail party hannibal was hosting and you both couldn’t miss for the world. unfortunately you barely knew any guests and just followed bedelia anywhere she went. during the dinner you observed her manners intently, faithfully copying her every move. when came the time to chat with host, hannibal greeted you by saying “and who is the lovely duckling following you around, bedelia?”

for her: snowflake! cold and unique, bedelia is an unattainable treasure for most people. some tried holding her tightly, but it resulted in losing her momentarily. you were the one she graced with her beauty, the one who saw her true nature and didn’t try to melt her icy exterior. you loved all her sharp edges and intricate patterns

o - open book, how open is she about her past, her struggles?

to be honest she doesn’t like discussing her past. it’s complicated and painful so she doesn’t want to burden you with unnecessary knowledge. but if you as for something in a straightforward manner, she will probably confess what’s on her mind. just don’t press too hard as she feels more comfortable helping with your struggles. during some late-night talks like this she will also unveil a bit of her struggles, so listen carefully then and hug her tightly

p - pda (public display of affection)

melts every time you greet her with a kiss on the cheek. it’s subtle and cute, but during a dinner party it can reassure her deeply. sometimes she would squeeze your ring finger to catch your attention. no one needs big embraces or french kisses to see how madly in love and committed you are to each other. it’s the stolen moments by the bathroom giggling and staring contests across the ballroom. a smile so bright each moment your hands are intertwined. it doesn’t take a detective to tell how much in love you are

q - quiz time! how much does she know and remember about you?

queen of small gestures. once again, it’s her job to remember personal information and uses it to her advantage. that blue shirt you liked on instagram? she will paint the bedroom walls with this colour. in the early stages of your relationship she exhausted all sources to find more information about you. it’s gotten to the point when you want to tell her a story from your childhood and she just goes “oh, i remember that one” even though you don’t remember telling her about this detail

r - romance

she has a very alluring aura and in addition to that, bedelia has an immense knowledge about relationships. she has seen the most toxic unions as well as pure platonic couples through her career. she knows exactly what to not do, but barely what how she actually wants to treat you. she’s not big on over-the-top gestures and splurging on gifts. firm believer in quality time! she goes relatively fast in the relation, which doesn’t make her intentions less genuine. she would never admit that she fell for you at the first sight, but bedelia was sure the moment she saw you.

s - sense of security

constantly being around unstable individuals, hell, being held hostage as hannibal’s wife, i took a big toll on her well-being. when he’s in jail, it’s like something is missing. the lack of adrenaline felt foreign, so i feel like she would look for it in a relationship. borderline unhealthy attraction to scheming, games of cat and mouse. keeps life interesting until there is mutual trust within the relationship. keep each other on your toes while holding hands tightly.

t - temper

i would say she’s a stoic person, to the point it’s unsettling. when provoked, her rage manifest as an icy, calculated cruelty. she knows how to hurt a person on a spiritual level and they won’t notice until it hits them bad. bedelia is like a dormant volcano, full of mystery and unspoken wishes. the first time you’ve ever seen her angry was when hannibal escaped prison. the animalistic look in her eyes made you want to flee. moment like these, she’s like a venomous snake, quietly contemplating whether to spare her prey.

u - unwinding

i guess that she host her psychiatric sessions in her house, so the building has a strong stressful connotation. but it was like she haven’t noticed; always reading in her living room, excusing herself from other plans to stay at home and rest. you made it your point to change her habit. you started to plan dates outside, dragging bedelia to the lakeside and taking her on long walks to talk about her feelings. that’s also the reason you eat out so much. it’s become your tradition to go to the seaside once in a while

v - vanity, is she concerned about her looks? and what would people think?

she likes to look her best every day, reliable and charming attire is her signature. adores accessories and the days when her hair curl perfectly. her whole image is meticulously crafted during her years as a therapist. it makes her feel empowered during difficult moments. bedelia wants to look reliable and a little unattainable. the layers of silk make for an intricate armour and tease

w - warmth and wishes

“well, and what did you pray for?” she asked, ushering you to the side, a playful smile lingering on her lips. the birthday cake was long forgotten, but the sight of your hopeful eyes wouldn’t leave bedelia’s thoughts. you’re not supposed to share the wish with anyone, but this time you would make an exception. you look at girlfriend and confess with a hushed voice. “i asked that you would believe me.” her baffled expression begged for more. “it’s just… i love you so much and i can’t stand the way you dismiss my praises. the only thing i care about in this world is your happiness. so give it to me, it’s my birthday after all.” you chuckled, tears threatening to fall from your eyes. “then who am i to deny your wish, duckling?”

x - xtra, random headcanon for you!

has a collection of silk scarves, once someone told her they carry scent the best, so she can enjoy her favourite perfumes even more. also, bedelia likes to match the colours and patterns to how the scent makes her feel: musk fits embroidery, floral patterns with fresh aromas etc. she would gift you one for your anniversary, so you can have a part of her always with you. if there is a challenging day looming before her, she would take the scarf from you to feel your scent throughout the day.

y - yuck! absolute no-no in the relationship

incompetence and helplessness. she had enough of desperate individuals in her lifetime and craves for a partner, not another patient. someone to ground her, remind of what’s real, present. another big turn-off is a lot of secrets. as it may be thrilling to play games sometimes, she is not keen on uncertainty and insincere gestures. she’s sure about the relationship with you, so don’t make the mistake of doubting it.

z - zzz… sleeping habits!

as i mentioned previously, bedelia has a hard time falling asleep. sometimes it takes a chamomile tea before bed or a heart-to-heart at two am. she wouldn’t want to burden you with her struggles, but with time you’ve started to recognise her breathing patterns. after a while you just cuddle her and softly ask what’s bothering her so late at night. she never snores, but trashes a lot. needs something to hug, either your arm or her favourite pillow

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nephrosoupp · 4 years ago

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And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him

haha also —

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bluestockingbaby · 5 years ago

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Tagged by @leaf-on-the-wind15 (thanks!) to list a song for every letter of my url. I’ll try not to repeat any songs that I’ve had on other tag memes!

B- Big Spender (Smiler ft. Lana Del Rey)

L- Losing My Religion (Jacqui Naylor)

U- Unwell (Matchbox Twenty)

E- ES (Crying)

S- She’s Gone (For Good This Time) (Carbon Leaf)

T- Tin Man (Miranda Lambert)

O- Only Human (The Parlotones)

C- Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley)

K- Kyrie (Mr. Mister)

I- IOU (OMTG Cast Recording ft. The Craze)

N- Nobody- Mitski

G- Girls Like You (Denny)

B- Boom Clap (Charlie XCX)

A- Amsterdam in the Spring (Simon Jefferis)

B- Boom (Anjulie)

Y- You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks (Seasick Steve)

Tagging: @mad-prophet-of-the-airwaves @therashumoneffect @forthegothicheroine @lesbiancolumbo @nakshatragranger @cranberryuniverse @notbecauseofvictories @fleetwoodmacarthistory and @dangerously-human

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its-flicked-switch · 5 years ago

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Alien

| RATING M |

MSIV left the X-File fandom on the edge of a cliff that, in the absence of GA, will never be resolved to any level of satisfaction. Alien is my attempt to do what Chris Carter could not — provide closure for the series as a whole. What happens following Scully's revelations on the dock? What becomes of William, Skinner, Reyes, and The Smoking Man?

PREFACE

—

"Evil (ignorance) is like a shadow — it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it."

— Shakti Gawain

—

For the past 17 years, I have played the role of Jackson Van De Kamp. Odd, isn't it? That I would refer to playing myself as playing a role? But as I reflect on all that has happened in the past 17 years, that is the only way I know how to describe the journey that began on a farm in rural Wyoming in 2001 — a role.

Initially, everything was as it should have been. I was an only child being raised by two loving and doting parents. They attended to me and each of my milestones with the adoration and enthusiasm typical of new parents. Imagine their absolute elation at my ability to run when most babies were still creeping around on all fours and their pride in my ability to read at a first-grade level when I was only three years old. I was their miracle, an answer to their prayers for parenthood. As I continued to grow, however, it became clear that I was far more than an exceptional miracle.

My early childhood was unremarkable, until the day that it wasn't.

Tragically, the Van De Kamp's love and devotion would not be enough to silence what was inside of me. Despite their efforts, my earliest childhood memories were shrouded by a sense of unease. A deep-seated feeling that something was missing or not as it should be. In time, my parents confessed what I already sensed. I wasn't truly theirs. I came into their lives as an infant and what they knew of my biological family was limited. I have now come to understand why. The Van De Kamps were truly remarkable parents. The more I learn about who and what I am, really am, the deeper I mourn their loss. They deserved better. We all deserved better.

Van De Kamp Entry #092

Case No. 11101993717

Evidence No. 163.092

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CH1: THE WATER'S EDGE

—

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."

― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

—

The rain has thoroughly soaked through her hair and clothes, but Scully feels nothing. She remains anchored in place staring down into the black abyss below her as the divers divide the harbor into grids. When William and Spender disappeared into the depths of the harbor several hours ago, the air was cool and crisp with an overlay of mist, but the temperature has dropped ten to fifteen degrees since then and what was a soft drizzle has now transitioned into a light, steady rain.

She knows she should walk away, but she's done with that.

While C. G. B. Spender's admission to Skinner had come as a surprise, the truth had not. She and Mulder had long suspected the syndicate's involvement in her sudden ability to conceive a child. After discovering Emily and learning of her missing ova, Scully had run every test imaginable. Had there have been any ova remaining inside of her, she would have found them. This is how she knows with absolute certainty that the ova used to created William was either implanted or produced within her body by unnatural means.

Her greatest fear for William has always been that his existence was part of an agenda, and the testing she performed throughout her pregnancy and after his birth had done little to ease her fears. DNA doesn't lie. William is their son. Hers and Mulder's. Yet he isn't — at least not entirely.

Traditionally, each parent passes half of their genetic material to their unborn child. William, however, only shared half of her and Mulder's DNA collectively. The remaining half was unidentifiable and by definition — alien. When she performed the original analysis, the technology to isolate this anomaly and examine it properly didn't exist, at least not in any laboratory she had access to. Her desire to find the truth, however, had been overwritten by fear. She knew that exploring the origins and implications of the remaining half would come at a cost, undoubtedly drawing attention to and endangering their son. The decision to destroy all of the samples and data she had collected had not been a decision that she had made lightly. But ultimately, she had chosen William's safety over conspiracy and little green men.

What Scully had told no one, not even Mulder, was that she had kept the most critical sample of all. Hidden in a secure location amongst hundreds of thousands of other samples, she had stored William's umbilical cord, preserving not only his DNA but his stem cells. She could not, in good conscience, given what she and Mulder had experienced with the alien virus, destroy the key to the greatest mystery of their lives. Preserving his cord wasn't just about science. It was also about security. She had lost Mulder once, and the thought of going through anything like that ever again was unbearable. Their enemies had waged war on them before, and there was little assurance that they wouldn't come for them again. William's miraculous conception only served to further convince her that the truth was far more sinister than they had been previously led to believe. In that sense, what Spender had told Skinner was true. He was, at least on some level, responsible for the science that helped to created William — but a father, he was not.

Scully isn't sure where Mulder is at the moment, but there is little doubt in her mind that he is somewhere nearby taking the brunt of Deputy Director Kersh's wrath. The fact that she has been standing on the docks for over an hour and hasn't been approached or questioned by anybody is most certainly his doing. Were it not for Skinner, she and Mulder would both likely be in handcuffs and in the bowels of the justice building.

The call she made earlier to Tad O'Malley had been reckless, bordering on insane, but it had to be done. The days of hiding in the shadows were over. Remaining silent all these years had bought them time but not freedom. Too much had been lost to let this fall below the surface yet again. This time, those responsible will not be able to contain the blowback.

The vibrating phone in her pocket pulls her away from her thoughts and back into the harsh reality of her present surroundings. The only reason she even attends to it is that she thinks it might be Mulder, but it's not. It's her brother, and it's not the first time he's called. Tad O'Malley's broadcast in combination with tonight's body count has created quite the media storm with her and Mulder at its center.

Bill's hatred for Mulder still remains unmatched. If she can give her brother credit for anything, it's consistency. With the recent loss of their mother, she knows she can't continue to send him directly to her voicemail. He never calls, so the fact that he has called seven times in the last forty-five minutes tells her that he is about to reach his limit. If she doesn't answer soon, he is likely to turn up unannounced.

Deciding that answering the phone is the lesser of two evils, Scully takes a deep breath and hits accept, getting right to the point because she knows her brother well.

"Bill, this is not a good time. I'm going to have to call you back later."

Bill is well-connected and not above pulling rank to get the information he wants. Odds are, he already knows that she is not one of the casualties in tonight's bloodbath, leaving him with only one other reason to call, and she is in no mood to argue with her brother about Mulder or the X Files.

"Jesus Christ, Dana, what the hell is going on? Are you okay? I swear to God if Mulder —"

She cuts him off quickly because she doesn't have the energy or the patience to listen to his long list of grievances against Mulder.

"Mulder wasn't the source, Bill. I was. This isn't about the FBI or the X Files. This is about William."

She says William's name to shut him up, and also because she doesn't want him to hear it from another source. Given his high-security clearance, it's certainly possible he will find out elsewhere if she doesn't tell him herself, assuming he doesn't know already. Even though they haven't had a pleasant conversation in over a decade, he's still her brother, and he still deserves to hear it from her.

"I've seen him, Bill. Spoken to him. Mulder and I both have. He's…," she hesitates because she can't be certain that her line is secure. Swallowing the lump in her throat and steadying her voice, she finally settles with, "gone."

It's not a lie, but it's not the truth either.

"William? Dana… what are you talking about? And what do you mean gone… Jesus, is he…? How can you —"

"I can't talk about this right now. Tell everyone that I am okay and that I will be in touch as soon as I have a more secure line."

"Dammit, Dana, I —"

Ending the call, she switches off her phone and slips it back into her pocket. Scully knows that at some point she will have to level with her family and tell them the truth about William, but not now — not today. Her frozen fingers sink deeper into her damp pockets in search of her mother's quarter medallion.

The mystery surrounding its origin doesn't bother her as much as it used to. If anything, it has been a great source of comfort. Scully's mother and sister were the only members of her family to ever support her decision to join the FBI, and their support and relation to her had cost them their lives — her sister directly, her mother more so indirectly. Scully's abduction, cancer diagnosis, and subsequent hospitalizations in combination with Melissa's murder and William's adoption had undoubtedly aged her sweet mother at least two decades. Her brothers continue to assert that she died of a broken heart. They are probably right.

The conversation she and Mulder had on the church pew earlier this week immediately comes to mind. Can she live with the results of the decisions she has made? Were they the right ones? As she runs her fingers over the outer ridges of her mother's quarter, she silently prays for the clarity and strength that will be required to face whatever comes next. While she cannot predict the future, she does know one thing with absolute certainty: their son is not dead.

The dive teams won't find either body. She can't explain how she knows. She just does. With her hands buried deep in her pockets, she takes one last look at the churning waters below before turning and heading back towards the chaos. There is nothing left for her here.

Making her way back towards the warehouse in search of Mulder, Scully spots Skinner almost immediately. He's sitting in the back of an ambulance wrapped in a blanket speaking to Kersh and two other agents that she doesn't recognize. Skinner's eyes look tired and defeated, but he still manages to give her a nod and a slight smile. She returns the gesture just before disappearing behind a second ambulance. Words with the deputy director will have to wait. She needs to get out of the rain and find Mulder. As she navigates her way through the maze of tape and haphazardly parked emergency vehicles, she stops abruptly when she hears her name, turning to find Mulder walking towards her.

His stride embodies purpose and confidence, but as he gets closer, she can see the fatigue in his step and the concern in his eyes.

"I've been looking everywhere for you."

His brow furrows as he reaches out with one hand to lightly touch her shoulder, the other quickly finding the tips of her hair and side of her face.

"Scully, you are soaking wet, have you been standing out in the rain all of this time?"

Before she can respond, he's slipping off his jacket and draping it over her shoulders, pulling the hood up over her head in an attempt to protect her from the rain.

"I've been on the docks. They haven't located Spender or… or William," she says, her voice unsteady.

He swallows and nods, averting his eyes off into the distance as if he is looking for someone.

"Let's get out of here," he says as he takes her hand.

Neither of them speaks as he guides them through mayhem. She's surprised to see his silver Mustang up ahead and wonders how in the world he managed to move it without erupting World War III. Only Mulder could remove a car from an active crime scene and walk away unscathed. He unlocks the passenger door and places his hand protectively on the top of her head as she eases down into the seat. Moments later, she feels the car shift under his weight as he slides into the driver's seat, but she doesn't look at him. Her eyes are entranced by the rain splattering against the windshield — her mind on their son. He's out there. He's cold, wet, and has nowhere to go. And instead of looking for him, they are leaving. His words, spoken through Mulder, are still reverberating in the recesses of her mind.

"We can't protect him. No one can … let him go … he knows you love him."

A sickening feeling hits her in the pit of her stomach as Mulder puts the car into reverse and starts to drive away. Tonight, she is abandoning her son for the second time. The tears she has been holding back for the past several hours now flow freely. Mulder notices them but says nothing. Instead, he turns on the seat warmers and angles all the vents in her direction before reaching for her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. It's not until his hand joins hers that she realizes how cold she is, but it's not just the cold that causes her tremble. The raw emotion brewing inside of her is paralyzing. She tries to speak but opens her mouth only to close it.

The first few miles are silent because neither of them knows where to begin.

The minutes continue to tick by until she can't take it anymore.

As wonderful as the heat feels as it hits her damp hair, skin, and clothes, she turns the intensity of it down to quiet the obnoxiously loud fan, not wanting to raise her voice to be heard.

"He's not dead, Mulder. Neither of them are."

It's not the most profound thing she could have said following the bombs she has dropped on him today, but it's a starting point.

"Scully…"

"No, Mulder, listen to me. I can't explain it. I can't explain how I know. I just do."

He's quiet for a moment, briefly giving her his eyes before he responds.

"Do you want me to turn around?"

"No."

Her voice is soft and raspy from the cold, but the answer comes easily, for the answers they seek are not at the bottom of the harbor.

Unable to look out into the dark, miserable night any longer, she closes her eyes. There is so much more she wants to say… so much that he deserves to hear but not here… not like this.

The drive home takes a little over two hours.

They finish it with their hands joined in silence.

---------

AN: As always, a HUGE thank you to my betas @kikocrystalball, @admiralty-xfd and @suilven19 for their edits and encouragement... because nobody gets there alone ;)

To follow the Cleaning Up After Chris Carter Series, click here.

#msr fanfic #post my struggle 4 #XF season 12 #the x files #x files fanfic #mulder and scully #william arc

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tabloidtoc · 6 years ago

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Life & Style, January 7

Cover: Katie Holmes dumped by Jamie Foxx on her 40th birthday

Page 1: Photo Flash -- Kate Hudson joins Weight Watchers

Page 2: Contents

Page 3: Say What?! Taraji P. Henson, Chrissy Teigen on John Legend, Lily Collins on dating, Miley Cyrus on Liam Hemsworth, Kelly Clarkson

Page 4: The Top 10 Tulle Dress Looks -- Naomi Watts, Brie Larson, Jessica Chastain, Emilia Clarke, Dakota Johnson

Page 5: Victoria Justice, Leslie Mann, Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, Madeline Brewer

Page 6: Twinning -- Laura Harrier vs. Miley Cyrus, Tilda Swinton vs. Jennifer Aniston

Page 7: Romee Strijd vs. Izabel Goulart

Page 8: Jennifer Aniston will have a baby with or without a man

Page 9: Bethenny Frankel’s terrifying near-death experience, Throwback -- Johnny Knoxville, Biggest Spenders of the Week -- Shonda Rhimes, Kid Rock, Bella Hadid, Cardi B, Hilary Duff

Page 10: Heidi and Spencer Pratt’s out-of-control spending, Kim Zolciak-Biermann’s duck lips disaster, Whose Earrings Are They? Katy Perry, Emma Roberts, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Garner, Amy Adams, Bebe Rexha

Page 11: Julia Roberts and Danny Moder fighting to save their marriage

Page 12: Victoria Beckham’s fashion line is going under, so cash-strapped Posh Spice might join the Spice Girls reunion tour to save it

Page 13: Brandi Glanville wants back on RHOBH, The Bachelor Colton Underwood still a virgin?, VIP Style -- Chrissy Teigen, Kathie Lee Gifford, Rosario Dawson, Jonathan Scott, Coco Austin, Lo Bosworth, Cara Santana, Bryce Vine

Page 14: The Week in Photos -- Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez

Page 15: Padma Lakshmi, Chris Pratt and John Krasinski

Page 16: John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell, Khloe Kardashian and daughter True, Emily Ratajkowski and Amy Schumer

Page 18: Jenny McCarthy, Scott Eastwood, Al Roker

Page 19: Prince William and Kate Middleton and their children

Page 20: Zendaya, Miley Cyrus and Leslie Jones, Nick Cannon

Page 22: Cardi B and James Corden

Page 23: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend and daughter, Kylie Jenner, Antoni Porowski

Page 24: Ronnie Ortiz Magro and Jen Harley and daughter, Emily VanCamp and Josh Bowman, Kendra Wilkinson

Page 25: Jason Momoa and son Nakoa-Wolf

Page 26: Stars Behaving Badly -- Amber Heard, Bebe Rexha, Jonathan Cheban

Page 27: Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley

Page 30: Hollywood Heartbeat -- Gwen Stefani’s worst nightmare -- Blake Shelton is never going to propose

Page 31: Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard defending their marriage, Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse’s toxic romance, Romance Report Card -- Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Scott Wolf, Offset

Page 32: Rachel Lindsay and Brian Abasolo’s nuptials, Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon are finally ready to wed

Page 33: Jenni “JWoww” Farley’s divorce turns nasty

Page 34: Cover Story -- Katie Holmes’ 40th birthday heartbreak

Page 38: Countdown to Babies -- Carrie Underwood

Page 39: Jessica Simpson

Page 40: As Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton’s feud spins out of control, the Queen steps in

Page 42: Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian torn apart by their men Travis Scott and Kanye West

Page 44: Top 10 craziest Kardashian moments of 2018

Page 48: Who Lives Here? Blac Chyna

Page 50: Entertainment

Page 51: Star Review -- Arielle Kebbel, As Seen On-Screen -- Jennifer Garner’s shoes are Rosie high-heel mules from Chloe Gosselin

Page 52: Style -- Coats -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Page 53: Gigi Hadid

Page 54: Alexa Chung

Page 55: Olivia Palermo

Page 56: Winter Ready -- Priyanka Chopra

Page 58: Beauty Crush -- Saoirse Ronan

Page 60: How She Got That Body -- Melissa Gorga

Page 62: The Fabulous Life of Simon Cowell

Page 64: Diva or Down-to-Earth? G-Eazy, Bradley Cooper, Emily Ratajkowski

Page 65: Conor McGregor, Gwen Stefani and sons

Page 66: Social Stars of the Week -- Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick and child, Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth and Adam DeVine, Amy Schumer and sister Kimberly, Amanda Seyfried

Page 67: Miley Cyrus, Spencer Pratt, Kate Hudson and Kurt Russell and granddaughter Rani, Andrea Barber and Jodie Sweetin and Adam Hagenbuch

Page 68: Horoscope -- Capricorn January Jones, They’re Not Together But They Should Be -- Scorpio Eric Dane and Pisces Rihanna

Page 70: Made Ya Look -- Maria Menounos

Page 72: What I’m Into -- Kristin Cavallari

#tabloids #katie holmes #jamie foxx #suri cruise #robert pattinson #rob pattinson #suki waterhouse

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fordallstreams-blog · 7 years ago

Text

What if THIS is how it ends?

X-Files Speculation Fiction, End of Season 11:

For the eightieth time, Skinner cursed the devilish traffic he'd fought through. Skidding to a full stop and finally shutting down his wailing siren, he jumped out of the FBI SUV and strode toward the bay shore. Despite the small clumps of gawkers staring out onto the water, he knew he'd arrived too late.

Surveying the area where the most FBI jackets could be seen, Skinner filtered them all out and finally zoned in on the tall teenager who stood a little apart. Ignoring any agent who spoke to him, he hurried over, and when he reached the boy, he lightly touched him on the shoulder.

"Where are they?" he asked William/Jackson.

"You missed it." William glanced at him as he spoke matter-of-factly. There was no accusation in his voice.

"Tell me what happened." Skinner urged. He also now took time to look at their surroundings and saw a body lying about twenty feet behind them. It was covered with a tarp or a sheet or something.

He made to step over to it, but William, who continued to gaze out on the water, said, "That's C. G. B. Spender. He's definitely dead this time. But just in case, it's probably a good idea to cremate what's left of his body and scatter the ashes in a secret location."

Skinner wondered whether the kid was in shock. William seemed disconnected, distant.

"I'm all right, Mr. Skinner," the boy assured him even though the assistant director had not asked any question out loud. "The danger is past. There isn't going to be any alien apocalypse or mass plague -- at least not in our lifetimes."

"I heard a few things on the FBI channel in the car, but then it cut out." Skinner paused, unsure if he should ask this but then going ahead: "Did Mulder kill the old bastard?"

William slowly shook his head.

"Do you know who did?"

"Mulder and the old monster faced off. Mulder told him all his evil plans to decimate humanity had been exposed and shut down. He told CSM he was finished...forever. Mulder refused to get out of Spender’s face; he said the old man would have to go through him, and he wasn't budging. Mulder said the old guy had only one choice: to live out the rest of his forsaken days in a six-by-ten isolation cell, nowhere else. That's when one of CSM's goons got a really itchy trigger finger and shot the old man dead. Some of the blood spray hit Mulder."

Relief flooded Skinner. He really had feared that Mulder had pulled the trigger on CSM. Not that he gave a damn about the life of old Cancer Man. But, Mulder...well, who the hell wanted to visit him while he did a prison stretch for a murder rap?

On the other hand though, a jury probably wouldn't have convicted Mulder if he had killed Spender Senior. Not if the jury learned that Dana Scully was dying of cancer again because she had removed the chip -- alien they thought -- that had kept the malignancy in check all these years.

She'd removed it because she'd needed to use it to uncover and halt CSM's diabolical plans. How, exactly, Skinner wasn't sure. He couldn’t follow the scientific intricacies even if they were explained to him. But he knew her cancer was back with a vengeance, and they had no more chips. She and Mulder both knew her death was imminent.

Skinner only learned this earlier today when Scully appeared in his office -- alone -- to tell him this grim news. Funny, he'd thought then, she doesn't look sick -- maybe a little thin, but that’s all. But he hadn't doubted her in the least. She was a bad liar; he would have known if her story'd been concocted.

Then he'd thought how horribly unfair it was that she had only just met her sixteen-year-old son again, and now would leave both William and Mulder. Scully had been composed, even serene, and emitted no bitterness: "I had to do what I had to do to stop millions from dying. I'm content with that."

But Mulder was another story. Scully's sacrifice drove him to chase down CSM and rage at him. Spender and a small armed encourage were on the road here when Mulder ran Spender off the road. Soon quite a crowd of law enforcement people formed on the one side and Spender bodyguards and toadies on the other. Scully was there. And William too, of course. All these tidbits Skinner had learned over the car radio before communications had gone strangely dead.

What Skinner did not know though was: the whereabouts of Mulder and Scully now... He had to ask, "Where are your parents, William?

The young man studied Skinner a moment before replying, "You know there are aliens with good intentions as well as ones with bad ones, right?"

Skinner eyed him blankly.

William continued, "I can communicate with some of the friendly ones on occasion. A ship of theirs was stationed beneath the bay's surface, waiting. After Spender was offed, and chaos took over on shore, the ship rose up from the waters and put everyone but the three of us in a kind of trance.

"These beings have powers eons ahead of earth. The aliens invited my parents to come on board. They can make my mother well; human medicine can't. They also wanted to show them both some things."

Skinner stared at the boy. "You're saying that Mulder and Scully were whisked away in an alien spaceship? They went?"

"Yes."

"What about you? Why didn't you go?"

"My alien friends know it isn't the right time for me. I need to go back and be Jackson Van de Camp again now. My adoptive parents love me and need me."

Skinner felt a wave of tenderness for the young man. "William, I hope you know that Mulder and Scully have always loved you with their whole hearts. Your absence over the years left a gaping wound in both of them."

"I know it," William answered quietly and smiled gently, wistfully. Skinner though he saw a tear or two in the teen's eyes. "I hope to see them again and have time then to get to know them."

Abruptly William stood straighter, pushing his emotion down in a very Scully-like manner. "The main thing is that they're together." He gestured upward into the cold, spring night sky and added, "That's what they both need more than anything: to meet their challenges together."

The two went silent then under the vastness of space over their heads.

by Fordallstreams

#XF speculation fic End of X-Files season 11?

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wlw-webcomic-bracket · 11 months ago

Text

Group Stage Stats and Standings

With two out of three rounds of the group stage complete, here's a summary of where things currently stand. Remember, there are two ways to qualify for the championship bracket - winning a group (10 characters), and having the most total votes without winning a group (6 characters). By receiving enough votes, any character in the tournament could still technically qualify for one of the six wildcard slots.

First, these tables show standings by group. Purple indicates the group leader (by number of wins; ties broken by number of votes) and red indicates a character who has been locked out of winning their group. Note that since Rain Flaherty and Lucas in Group A have been in three matches rather than two, their vote totals are multiplied by 2/3 to allow a fair comparison.

Next are standings by total number of votes. Group leaders are in purple, and the leaders for the six wildcard championship slots are in blue.

The last batch of group stage polls will go up later this week. Until then, if you're interested in more stats, I've put them beneath the cut because there are Many.

The main reason I decided to have this tournament start with a group stage is that I think it's fairer to the characters (more on that later), but I'd be lying if I denied that More Stats was also a contributing factor. To begin with, here are the total number of votes by group (Group A adjusted as noted earlier):

Group H - 6,573

Group B - 2,653

Group J - 2,081

Group F - 2,002

Group E - 1,254

Group C - 1,196

Group D - 968

Group G - 950

Group A - 785

Group I - 485

These are the individual matches with the most votes and the most notes:

Dainix vs Zhusen (Group H) - 3,674 votes, 1,139 notes

Eddie Kaspbrak vs Lucy Marlowe (Group B) - 1,869 votes, 314 notes

Dainix vs White Chain (Group H) - 1,401 votes, 239 notes

Carla Rutten vs Davepeta (Group J) - 1,118 votes, 155 notes

Penny Spender vs Gaueko (Group F) - 985 votes, 239 notes

Zhusen vs Lupe Jara (Group H) - 824 votes, 109 notes

Vote totals in the remaining matches were distributed as follows:

600-699 votes - 1

500-599 votes - 1

400-499 votes - 4

300-399 votes - 4

200-299 votes - 11

100-199 votes - 14

0-99 votes - 1

The widest margins of victory (by number of votes, not by percentage) - all four matches from Group H are in the top four:

Zhusen vs Lupe Jara (Group H, 724-100) - 624

White Chain vs Lupe Jara (Group H, 605-71) - 534

Dainix vs White Chain (Group H, 946-455) - 491

Dainix vs Zhusen (Group H, 1,999-1,673) - 326

Carla Rutten vs Fleet (Group J, 396-81) - 315

Eddie Kaspbrak vs Fenic (Group B, 375-112) - 263

Eddie Kaspbrak vs Lucy Marlowe (Group B, 804-1,065) - 261

And the narrowest margins of victory (again, by number of votes):

Merlow the Rose vs Chau Le (Group G, 128-130) - 2

TIE Rain Flaherty vs Luck (Group A, 92-98) - 6

TIE Lucas vs Luck (Group A, 75-81) - 6

DIFFERENT TIE Bacon vs Julie (Group D, 113-102) - 11

DIFFERENT TIE Tedd Verres vs Merlow the Rose (Group G, 145-134) - 11

Rain Flaherty vs Elle Argent (Group A, 95-110) - 15

Maggie vs Sulla Pinsky (Group E, 79-97) - 18

In two groups, the current group leader and the group member with the most votes are not the same:

Group F: Gaueko (2-0 record, 747 votes) and Penny Spender (1-1 record, 810 votes)

Group J: Davepeta (2-0 record, 743 votes) and Carla Rutten (1-1 record, 916 votes)

All four characters are currently set to advance to the championship bracket - Gaueko and Davepeta as group winners, and Penny and Carla via wildcard slots.

Something interesting I noticed the other day is that the nine top-ranked characters by vote count all got there in part by facing each other:

In Group H, Dainix (#1) faced Zhusen (#2) in the first round and White Chain (#5) in the second round

In Group B, Lucy Marlowe (#4) faced Eddie Kaspbrak (#5) in the first round

In Group J, Carla Rutten (#6) faced Davepeta (#9) in the first round

In Group F, Penny Spender (#7) faced Gaueko (#8) in the second round

These are the same five matchups that had both the most votes and the most notes. All five of them were reblogged by at least one of their characters' creators. And all but one of the nine characters received more votes - often several times more - facing their highest-ranked opponent than facing their lowest-ranked opponent:

Lucy Marlowe - 8.3x (1,065 vs 128)

Davepeta - 4.1x (598 vs 145)

Gaueko - 2.3x (522 vs 225)

Zhusen - 2.3x (1,673 vs 724)

Eddie Kaspbrak - 2.1x (804 vs 375)

Dainix - 2.1x (1,999 vs 946)

Penny Spender - 1.3x (463 vs 347)

Carla Rutten - 1.3x (520 vs 396)

White Chain - 0.8x (455 vs 605)

This seems to indicate popular characters actually benefit from facing each other, especially taking into account that the championship bracket will be seeded by total number of votes. Of the six characters currently holding a wildcard qualification slot, five of them are ranked in the top seven qualifiers overall.

On the flip side, these are the characters with the most nominations who don't currently qualify for the championship:

Cheryl (Group E) - 8

Rain Flaherty (Group A) - 8

Teige Carroll (Group I) - 7

Lucas (Group A) - 6

Of the fourteen characters who received five or more nominations, ten are currently slated to advance. The remaining six current qualifiers received either three or four nominations each.

These characters have received the most votes so far without winning a match:

Merlow the Rose (Group G) - 262

Cheryl (Group E) - 244

Rosemaster (Group D) - 235

And these are the characters who have the fewest votes while winning both of their matches:

Yoshi (Group I) - 156

Luck (Group A) - 179

Vaarsuvius (Group I) - 200

Elle Argent (Group A) - 285

Group A and Group I are the only groups with two undefeated characters who will face off in the final round, and the only groups in which number of votes had to be used as a tiebreaker to determine the current group leader.

Vaarsuvius has the lowest number of votes of any character currently winning their group. While there's only a difference of 85 votes between Elle Argent and Vaarsuvius, there are quite a few characters between them - Elle is ranked 15th, while V is ranked 27th. V is the only character currently slated to advance over other characters with more votes.

One of the dangers of a round-robin format is a match in the final round between two characters with a 0-2 record, both of whom have already been locked out of winning their group. That will only happen once here, between Teige Carroll and Eri McCure in Group I.

Finally, here's a piece of etymology I learned while preparing for the tournament: The "robin" in "round robin" has nothing to do with the bird or with the English given name. Instead, the term originated from the French phrase "ruban rond," meaning "round ribbon," but over time "ruban/ribbon" was idiomized to "robin."

#holy shit this is long #it took me a couple hours to put it all together but I had a ton of fun doing it #so hopefully it's fun to read too

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hakuyamazakisensei · 7 years ago

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The whole list for Chizuru! - hope I don't ask too much 😶

OOH boy! I haven’t ever been asked to do one for Chizuru so this will be FUN!

A. Art – If they were artistic what would they draw or paint?

Chizuru likes to showcase positivity, so I see her painting lots of nature scenes using bright and vibrant colors.

B. Beauty – What is their favorite feature on themselves and others?

The one thing Chizuru can honestly say that she likes about herself is that she is determined.

Hijikata- The kindness he tries so hard to hide.

Saito- The warmth most people miss in him.

Heisuke- The seriousness with which he tackles something bigger than himself.

Harada- His gentle way of prodding someone to do more or do better.

Shinpachi- His spirit and how he uplifts everyone around him.

Gen- His gentle but firm way of leading without seeming to lead.

Kondo- His generosity of heart.

Souji- His ability to keep going on, no matter what is thrown at him.

C. Color – What color describes them?

Gold- Warm and bright, rich and full…She embodies a richness of life that most people miss.

D. Dating – How do they ask someone out?

Much like Yamazaki, if SHE is the one to do the asking, she’ll practice for a long time before making the approach. Honestly, though….I see her waiting to BE asked out more.

E. Entertain – What do they do to keep themselves entertained on a boring day?

Chizuru has allllll kinds of ways to keep herself entertained, be it cleaning, reading, sewing or whatever. HOWEVER, I think the way she does it most is by daydreaming…She lives all of her fantasies out in her head while she does her tasks.

F. Fashion – What is their personal style? Where would they shop?

Comfy chic….She’s not a big spender, but she’s got a cute wardrobe. Basics are black jeans, sweaters galore, skirts that hang at different lengths (but not too short). She likes boots over shoes.

G. Grammar – How do they text? Do they use full sentences, emojis, text talk, etc?

She’s emoji crazy…She pretty much ends each sentence with a smiley face instead of a period.

H. Hard – What everyday things are difficult for them to do?

Voice her opinion. She’ll do it eventually, but only after MUCH debate with herself.

I. Impact – What kind of impression do they leave on others?

Kindness and Naivety personified. She comes off as childish sometimes, just because it’s her nature to trust…

J. Jukebox – What is their playlist?

She has an eclectic taste of classical music, contemporary jazz, soft rock….

K. Kids – What would they be like as a parent?

She would be a doting mother, but she would definitely put her foot down when needed. I see her having to scold most of the husbands just as much as the children, though…Especially Okita and Heisuke. :P

And her scolding….is just NOT very scary, ya know?

L. Love – What’s it like the first time they say ‘I love you’?

Full and sincere, strongly voiced because once she has decided to SAY it, she wants the person she’s telling to KNOW she means it.

M. Medicine – What are they like when they are sick?

She would be the perfect patient so long as she not NEEDED somewhere. If her being sick meant that somebody was shorthanded, she would do her best to sneak around until she was able to get things done.

N. Nude – Are they comfortable in their own body?

She’s not really very confident with her body. She sees others as so much prettier, sexier, more womanly….yada yada. yeah, she has no confidence there.

O. OOC – What is something people assume about them that is completely not true?

That she’s weak. I think she’s a lot braver than people give her credit for.

P. Patronus – If they were an animal what would it be?

Saint Bernard- Loyal, strong, out to save everybody.

Q. Quirks – What is one thing they do that drives other people absolutely insane?

She gets down on herself pretty easily, which can be endearing but at the same time, it can get old.

R. Repress – What is something they aren’t dealing with?

Her feelings for her significant other. She tries to hide them so as not to interfere with said SO’s life.

S. Sex – favorite position?

I think she would also be one to like missionary, simply because she likes to see her man above her, looking down at her while he takes charge of everything.

T. Taken – What are they like in a relationship?

She’s a giver….she gives all of herself and takes very little. She’s a homemaker type….loves that traditional role of making the home perfect for her lover. She enjoys spending time with him/her…talks are always nice and she loves cuddling in front of a fire.

U. Unfamiliar – What are they like when they meet new people?

Shy but polite. Meeting new people is difficult for her, but she pushes through any nervousness and does as she should in each situation.

V. Velvet – soft or rough?

Mostly soft, but can really get into some roughness, too, when the mood hits.

W. Whole – What in this world completes them?

Being wanted and needed.

X. Xerox – If they could copy one thing about someone else and give it to themselves or vice versa what would it be?

She would want some of Sen’s bubbly personality and some of the captains’ tenacity ( though she has this, she doesn’t recognize it in herself).

Y. Young – If they could give advice to their younger selves what would it be?

Be stronger…both mentally and physically. Ready yourself for the real world.

Z. Zealous – What excites them?

Chizuru is easily excited by things….the same things that bring her joy bring her excitement. Her love, a beautiful day, a completed task. Get me?

#yukimura chizuru

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fondazioneterradotranto · 5 years ago

Photo

Nuovo post su https://is.gd/8NBbJd

Gli Arcadi di Terra d'Otranto (14/x): Giorgio e Giacomo Baglivi di Lecce

di Armando Polito

Si dice che madre non è la donna che ti che ti ha generato ma colei che ti ha cresciuto, anche se rimane vivo quasi sempre il desiderio di conoscere la propria madre naturale. La prima parte del detto, in fondo, potrebbe valere per tutti gli autori di questa collana che fecero fortuna o trascorsero la maggior parte della loro vita lontani dal luogo natio, nel nostro caso la Terra d’Otranto. Lo stesso vale all’incontrario (anche se solo inizialmente) per Giorgio e Giacomo Baglivi che, nativi di Ragusa in Dalmazia, vennero adottati nel 1684 da due fratelli leccesi (rispettivamente Piero Angelo e Oronzo Baglivi, il primo medico, il secondo canonico della Cattedrale) del quale assunsero il cognome. Giorgio, che era nato nel 1668, divenne uno dei medici più famosi d’Europa e morì nel 1707. Inizio da lui.

Dato il taglio di questa collana, tralascio di citare le numerosissime sue pubblicazioni scientifiche e a tal proposito mi limito a riprodurre le pagine iniziali di una del 1704, il cui frontespizio risulta preceduto da un’antiporta contenente il suo ritratto.

Su quest’ultimo1, che di seguito riproduco da solo, voglio spendere qualche parola.

La cornice dell’ovale appare costituita dalla doppia riproduzione del bastone di Asclepio, antico simbolo associato alla medicina, consistente in un serpente attorcigliato intorno ad una verga, qui intorno ad una corona d’alloro sormontata da un sole splendente, simboli entrambi alludenti alla chiara fama del nostro. Ma un sottile legame lega il sole al gallo rappresentato nella parte inferiore su un letto di rami ardenti: un tramite tra la notte e il giorno, tra la morte e la vita, ben oltre il valore di animale sacrificale legato alla guarigione secondo un’interpretazione non superficiale di un passo di Platone2, non sfuggita ad un attento commentatore di qualche secolo fa3.

Passo alla parte testuale della tavola:

GEORGIUS BAGLIVUS AETAT(E) 34 (Giorgio Baglivi a 34 anni)

Più in basso: a sinistra C(laude). Duflos sc(ulpsit) e a destra Parisiis. L’incisione, dunque, è del francese Claudio Duflos (1665-1727), che operò a Parigi.

Fuori campo: Carolus Maratta inv(enit), delin(eavit) et Autori amico D(ono) D(edit) D(edicavit) Romae 1703 (Carlo Maratta ideò, disegnò e all’autore amico diede in dono, dedicò Roma 1703). Sul Maratta e sui suoi legami con gli Arcadi di Terra d’Otranto rinvio a Caraccio e Maratta e ad Antonio Caraccio di Nardò .

Qui mi preme sottolineare, in rapporto all’analisi fatta della tavola, quanto felice fu “l’idea” del Maratta ed efficace il suo disegno.

È tempo che mi occupi di Giorgio come arcade.

Entrò nell’accademia il 10 aprile 16994 col nome pastorale di Epidauro Pirgense. Se Epidauro evoca immediatamente la greca Ἐπίδαυρος (leggi Epìdauros) in Argolide, che non dev’essere stata scelta casualmente dal Baglivi, essendo essa la patria di Asclepio, il dio della medicina, Pirgense è dall’aggettivo latino Pyrgense(m), che significa relativo a Pirgi [in greco Πύργοι (leggi Piùrgoi), in latino Pyrgi], cittadina dell’Etruria.

La stima di cui godeva anche in seno all’Arcadia trova una conferma nella biografia che Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, uno dei fondatori della stessa accademia, di lui scrisse5 e in un sonetto che un altro fondatore gli dedicò6 e che di seguito riporto.

Trasformazione in Fenicea. Di Montano Falanziob uno de’ XII colleghi. In lode d’Epidauro Pirgense

Se, come altri già ottenne, a me pur lice,

anco ad onta, e stupor di mia natura,

novamente cangiar sorte, e figura,

deh fammi, o Feboc, diventar Fenicea.

Né pensar, che desii Dd’esser felice

con quella vita io già, ch’eterna dura:

ch’anzi temer potrei per mia sventura

eternamente allor farmi infelice.

Ciò bramo io sol, perché in più giusti modi,

e almen con tempo al di lui merto egualee,

d’Epidauro cantar potrò le lodi.

Perch’eif, che spesso ad altrui pròg lo straleh

spezzò di morte, e ne schernìo le frodii,

mertal in Pindom a ragion vita immortale.

______________

a O araba fenice, mitico uccello che rinasceva dalle proprie ceneri.

b Nome pastorale dell’abate Pompeo Figari di Genova.

c Epiteto di Apollo; dal greco φοῖβος (leggi fòibos), che significa lucente.

d che io desideri

e e almeno in uno spazio temporale adeguato ai suoi meriti

f egli

g vantaggio

h freccia

i e si fece beffa dei suoi inganni

l meriti

m Monte della Grecia, anticamente ritenuto sede delle Muse.

Molto probabilmente gli impegni scientifici impedirono a Giorgio di dedicare un po’ del suo tempo alla produzione letteraria, il che spiega l’esito finora negativo che hanno avuto i tentativi di trovare qualche suo componimento in raccolte altrui.

Un po’ più fruttuosa per questo aspetto è stata la stessa indagine operata su Giacomo (1670-1712) che era entrato nell’Arcadia contemporaneamente al fratello col nome pastorale di Meropo Alittorio. Parecchi personaggi mitologici ebbero il nome di Merope, ma tra essi il più candidabile per il riferimento relativo (con cambio della desinenza al maschile?) mi pare essere una delle Eliadi, figlia di Helios e dell’oceanina Climene. Per quanto riguarda Alittorio so soloche venne assunto come seconda parte del nome pastorale pure da Giuseppe Odazzi di Atri e da Paolo Borghese di Roma, ma questo non mi ha aiutato nel reperire uno straccio di riferimento.

Di lui ho reperito7 solo un’ecloga in esametri latini.. Secondo il modello classico essa è costituita da uno scambio di battute tra due pastori, Meropo …8 (Giacomo Baglivi) e Estrio Cauntino (l’agostiniano Giovanni Battista Cotta da Tenda):

La riporto pagina per pagina in formato immagine facendola seguire dalla mia traduzione con le opportune note.

(Ecloga di Meropo … e di Estrio Cauntino

Meropo Estro

Quel giorno è giunto in cui è lecito stimolare con la voce, o Arcadi, ed entrare nei premi sotto un facile giudice, in cui è lecito tentare melodie e toccare l’agreste zampogna. Oh dopo che ci siamo concessi al bosco, oh se qualcuno mi si ponesse di fronte a gareggiare a versi alterni! a

ESTRIO Ci sono le forze né manca il canto e la zampogna a due fori, con i quali sarei capace non solo di gareggiare con te nel verso ma di chiamare a gara nel canto lo stesso Febo. Ma perché è necessario, tolta la pelle, mettere allo scoperto i nostri arti e cospargere le selve di vivo sangue? Celebriamo piuttosto Alnanob con alterno onore.

MEROPO Oh, Estrio, forse è adeguato canto dalla gracile zampogna esaltare un Pastore che spinto dai meriti in nobile

_________________

a Questa battuta, anche se non è indicato espressamente, è da ascrivere a Meropo.

b Alnano Melleo era il nome pastorale di Giovanni Francesco Albani di Urbino, cardinale e poi papa col nome di Clemente XI, socio dell’Arcadia per acclamazione dal 12 maggio 16959 e dedicatario della raccolta.

sedea, già da tempo evitandola, infine ne accolse l’onore per dare compimento ai comandi celesti, egli che, come l’Olimpo con la vetta sta tra i monti, tanto egli si distingue in altezza tra i sacri Padri, Tuttavia, per non sottrarmi, verrò dovunque mi chiamerai. Comincia! Seguiremo quel che la Musa ci concederà.

ESTRIO Comincerò. Ho visto Alnano mentre cinto di porpora e brillante di bisso camminava nella nobile cittàb: quale regina delle api, circondato da lunga schiera, risplende di nativa maestà e brilla di oro. Così andava tra i benemeriti Padri e il sacro senato, veramente più grande del regno e più grande della tiara. E. mentre l’aria risuonava intorno di voci festose, in Arcadia i verdi colli rimbombarono di festoso mormorio, Eco che si nascondeva rispose con applausi e i campi sembrarono rivestirsi improvvisamente di fiori. Da qui ritornano le antiche arti: pronte le Camenec sollevano il collo disprezzato e quelle che arrossirono nei campi osando a stento di emettere un canto, a stento di toccare il plettro, mentre viene Alnano, improvvisano pubblicamente melodie e con verso non timoroso addolciscono le taciturne selve. Ma dove la musa trascina colui che canta le gesta del Pastore! Per esempio io ora canto cose più grandi di quanto ispirino i campi e il bosco. Ma le nostre selve. che sarebbero state un tempo degne di un antico Console, ora lo sono di un Principe. Come talora il fiume abbandona il letto nativo oltrepassate le rive, così io Estrio, immemore della campagna, immemore di aver vissuto già da misero bovaro, cercando alte mete esclamo: – Voi, selva e campi, state bene! -. Ma ora guarda quanto Dio arda in un volto illustre e quanto grande sia la gradita maestà dell’eccelso pudore! Guarda le forze dell’animo, quali neppure le poesie immaginano per i semidei, guarda lo sguardo e il decoro della fronte!

____________

a il papato

b Roma

c Le Camene erano antiche divinità latine delle sorgenti, assimilate alle Muse dei Greci, e perciò assunte a simbolo dell’ispirazione poetica.

Chi poteva piegare lo scettro, chi, più degno, la città? Da solo affronta fatiche temibili per gli dei, Potente per saggezza e parola: tanta è la facoltà dell’ingegno che illustri romani ammirano i responsi . Tu, o Cinziaa, vedi lui vigile in pesanti preoccupazioni; lo vedi tu, Febo, e più ampio illumini il cielo.

MEROPO Senza dubbio egli volge queste preoccupazioni al pubblico interesse, un tempo pastore dell’Arcadia, ora della città, guidando il peso delle cose sacre e il peso di Quirinob. Si prepara a costruire tempi miti per il mondo turbato, a correggere con le leggi i costumi e le frodi e di mandare fino alle regioni più lontane e ai regni barbari i salutari riti e i diritti da rispettare, per convertire a dei migliori le genti malate affinché si faccia strada la fede per gli dei e l’onore per gli altari. Proteggerà l’Italia, l’Italia che geme sotto il crudele Marte, ora con la preghiera, ora con le lacrime, ora conciliando con nobile voce i cuori dei re con la desiderata pace, mentre il Pastore stimola premuroso l’opera di pace e mentre il Padre commiserando l’afflitto invoca un’era tranquilla. Da qui una sicura quiete e tempi che non sanno cos’è la guerra spingeranno le stragi degli uomini e l’amore del massacro al di là del Tanaic e del Tigri e dei tempestosi giacigli del sole. Così il padre e il Pastore a voce altissima insegneranno a far sentire un suono tra le sacre trombe, non tra gli accampamenti. Tu, Temid, che nel frattempo hai commiserato gli antichi Penatie, affrettati a consegnare a Clemente i piatti della bilancia affidati a vantaggio dello stato romano , della religione gemente. La gloria richiesta con tali auspici trasferirà alla gioventù latina le virtù e il coraggio consoni ai Romani e in seguito rinvigorirà le memorie degli avi. Se sotto un tale Principe è prossima la fine per lo stato di rovina e una migliore età per i secoli a venire,

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a Epiteto di Diana; dal monte Cinto su cui era nata.

b Nella leggenda della fondazione di Roma fu identificato con Romolo. Qui sta come il simbolo del detentore del potere amministrativo (distinto solo formalmente da quello religioso appena nominato).

c Antico nome del Don; dal latino Tanais, a sua volta dal greco Τάναις (leggi Tànais), che è probabilmente da”iranico dānu che significa fiume.

d Dea greca del diritto e delle leggi. Regge una bilancia, simbolo del giudizio.

e Divinità romane protettrici della famiglia.

chi negherebbe i pascoli al gregge, i ruscelli alle erbe assetate, il latte agli agnelli, i fiori alle api e il citiso alle caprette? La terra grazie alla diffusa rugiada concederà le messi, le mammelle della vacca produrranno latte più del solito e cresceranno già un altro gregge e un altro ovile. Se, o grande Padre, Dio ha mandato te dall’alto Olimpo a presidio per le terre, con comune dono vivi una lunga vita e dispensatore di pace e di placida quiete, vigilando nello stesso tempo sulla speranza e sul gregge e benigno sui nostri campicelli, proteggerai l’asilo del sacro boscoa.

ESTRIO Con questa guida non la volpe, il feroce leone, non il velenoso serpente e l’orsa che suscita ansia circonderà i campi parrasib.

MEROPE Con questa guida l’ombra non nuocerà ai solchi, non alle messi, né la spiga ormai gonfia avrà paura delle fredde stelle.

ESTRIO Se qualche pecora si perde per i luoghi solitari dello scosceso monte, sollevata dalle braccia si nutre di erbe migliori.

MEROPE Se qualche scabbia, quella che rovinaC i velli, colpisce il gregge, subito al contagio appone la vigile mano.

ESTRIO Se qualche albero si protende verso il cielo con gracile tronco, grazie all’agricoltore Alnano respinge le nevi e i venti.

MEROPE Se qualche speranza di preda spinge il lupo intorno agli ovili, grazie al Pastore Alnano vanifica gli inganni e la preda.

ESTRIO Oh felice Pastore, al quale sorridono i campi, i coloni applaudono e le nostre ninfe modulano canti!

MEROPE Oh felice Pastore, al quale Roma prepara, il Lazio raddoppia e la terra contraccambia grandi promesse e preghiere!

ESTRIO Intorno a te scorrano moltissime generazioni, e per te le sorelle filino concordi stami senza fine.

MEROPE Febo volge al tramonto. Tu smetti: infatti se in te, Clemente, ci sono tante arti di un santo cuore, che hanno potuto celebrare i sibili di un’esile zampogna?

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a Bosco Parrasio fu il nome generico scelto dagli Arcadi per le sedi provvisorie delle loro adunanze, passato poi definitivamente alla prima stabile inaugurata nel 1726. Parrasio è da Parrasia, regione della Grecia antica nella parte meridionale dell’Arcadia.

b Vedi la nota a.

c Nel testo originale si legge tenera, che, oltretutto, genererebbe insanabile difficoltà metrica; è evidente che si tratta di un errore per temerat, ascrivibile, data la caratura degli autori, alla composizione tipografica.

d Sono le tre Parche, che presiedevano alla vita di ogni uomo:Cloto filava il filo simboleggiante la vita, Lachesi ne stabiliva la lunghezza, Atropo lo recideva.

_________

1 Con un’operazione scorretta, a quei tempi difficilmente scopribile e sanzionabile, lo stesso ritratto, ma senza le firme degli autori e la dedica, compare come antiporta in un’altra edizione (s. n., Anversa, 1715). Frutto di un altro rame di qualità visibilmente inferiore, come, a parte quanto detto, mostrano altri dettagli che lascio al lettore individuare.

2 Fedone, 118a (sono gli ultimi attimi di vita di Socrate): Ἥδη οὖν σχεδόν τι αὐτοῦ ἦν τὰ περὶ τὸ ἦτρον ψυχόμενα, καὶ ἐκκαλυψάμενος—ἐνεκεκάλυπτο γάρ—εἶπεν—ὃ δὴ τελευταῖον ἐφθέγξατο—‘ὦ Κρίτων, ἔφη, τῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ ὀφείλομεν ἀλεκτρυόνα· ἀλλὰ ἀπόδοτε καὶ μὴ ἀμελήσητε.’ (Ormai dunque erano fredde le parti intorno al cuore e scoperto, infatti era stato coperto, disse, furono le sue ultime parole: – O Critone, siamo debitori di un gallo ad Asclepio, ma dateglielo e non ve ne dimenticate!)

3 Sebastiano Erizzo, I dialoghi di Platone, Varisco, Venezia, 1574, pp. 243-245.

4 L’Arcadia del Canonico Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, Antonio de’ Rossi, Roma, 1711, p. 349.

5 Notizie istoriche degli Arcadi morti, Antonio de’ Rossi, Roma, 1721, tomo III, pp. 276-280.

6 I giuochi olimpici celebrati in Arcadia nell’Olimpiade DCXXII in lode degli Arcadi defunti nella precedente Olimpiade pubblicati da Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, Antonio de’ Rossi, Roma, 1710, p. 84.

7 I giuochi olimpici celebrati dagli Arcadi nell’Olimpiade DCCXX in lode della Santità di N. S. Papa Clemente XI e pubblicati da Giovanni Mario de’ Crescimbeni Custode d’Arcadia, Monaldi, Roma, 1701, pp. 33-36.

8 Alla data del 1710, dunque, non risulta ancora assegnata a Giacomo la seconda parte del nome pastorale (conteneva di solito un riferimento toponomastico detto campagna).

9 L’Arcadia del Canonico Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni, op. cit., p. 345.

(CONTINUA)

Per la prima parte (premessa)

http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/07/08/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-premessa-1-x/

Per la seconda parte (Francesco Maria dell’Antoglietta di Taranto):

http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/07/15/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-2-x-francesco-maria-dellantoglietta-di-taranto/

Per la terza parte (Tommaso Niccolò d’Aquino di Taranto)

http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/07/23/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-3-x-tommaso-niccolo-daquino-di-taranto-1665-1721/

Per la quarta parte (Gaetano Romano Maffei di Grottaglie)

http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/07/31/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-4-x-gaetano-romano-maffei-di-grottaglie/

Per la quinta parte (Tommaso Maria Ferrari (1647-1716) di Casalnuovo): http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/08/16/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-5-x-tommaso-maria-ferrari-1647-1716-di-casalnuovo/

Per la sesta parte (Oronzo Guglielmo Arnò di Manduria, Giovanni Battista Gagliardo, Antonio Galeota e Francesco Carducci di Taranto) : http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/08/26/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-6-x-oronzo-guglielmo-arno-di-manduria-giovanni-battista-gagliardo-antonio-galeota-e-francesco-carducci-di-taranto/

Per la settima parte (Antonio Caraccio di Nardò): http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/09/17/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-7-x-antonio-caraccio-di-nardo/

Per l’ottava parte (Donato Capece Zurlo di Copertino): http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/09/21/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-8-x-donato-maria-capece-zurlo-di-copertino/

Per la nona parte (Giulio Mattei di Lecce): http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/09/28/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-9-x-giulio-mattei-di-lecce/

Per la decima parte (Tommaso Perrone di Lecce): http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/10/03/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-10-x-tommaso-perrone-di-lecce/

Per l’undicesima parte (Ignazio Viva di Lecce): http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/10/11/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-ignazio-viva-di-lecce-11-x/

Per la dodicesima parte (Giovanni Battista Carro di Lecce):

http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/10/18/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-12-x-giovanni-battista-carro-di-lecce/

Per la tredicesima parte (Domenico De Angelis di Lecce):

http://www.fondazioneterradotranto.it/2019/10/21/gli-arcadi-di-terra-dotranto-13-x-domenico-de-angelis-di-lecce-1675-1718/

#Arcadi di Terra d'Otranto #Armando Polito #Carlo Maratta #Claudio Duflos #Epidauro Pirgense #Giacomo Baglivi #Giorgio Baglivi #L'Arcadia #Libri Di Puglia #Pagine della nostra Storia #Spigolature Salentine

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hibernianbok · 7 years ago

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Character ABC’s!

Ask meme thing I thought of awhile back, ask for anyone and i’ll fill it out!

A -rgh! (What makes them angry)

B -eauty! (What do they like about themselves)

C - uddle! (How do they cuddle)

D -reams! (What are their ambitions)

E -h?! (How smart are they on a scale of 1-10)

F -abulous! (Do they care about what they look like)

G -lug! (Do they drink alcohol/if so favorite)

H -ello! (Favorite method of communication)

I -nnuendo (Favorite way to do the dirty ;-))

J -elly! (How much would it take to make them jealous)

K -in! (How much do they care about their family/friends)

L -ove! (What/who do they love most in life)

M -oney! (Are they a spender, frugal or in between)

N -ope! (What would make them leave somewhere almost instantly)

O -uch! (Most painful experience)

P -lease! (Are they polite, rude or a little bit of both)

Q -uiver! (what are they afraid of)

R -ival! (who is their rival)

S -hh! (What calms them down after a stressful day)

T -ick tock! (Are they usually early, late or on time?)

U -rgh! (What annoys them the most)

V -room! (preferred method of travel)

W -oof! (What pets do they have)

X -oxox! (Favorite place to kiss {their S/o or another})

Y -ummy! (Favorite meal)

Z -zz! (How they like to sleep {With S/o})

#You can request anyone in hetalia!#but this can be used for multiple fandoms #I hope #ask meme #It's 1am send help

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somebodyhelpthenotdeadfreds · 7 years ago

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tagged by the always lovely @suspectsim!

A - Age: 19

B - Birthplace: Virginia, United States

C - Current time: 10:45

D - Drinking: Red Zinger iced tea

E - Easiest person to talk to: One of my good friends

F - Favorite song: it’s always Mr. Brightside by The Killers

G - Grossest memory: You’d think I’s have one growing up with a funeral director for a father, but really it’s having food poisoning at 2 in the morning.

H - Horror yes or horror no: YES, I’d rather watch a bad horror movie than a comedy any day.

I - In love?: Nope

J - Jealous of people?: Only when the mental illness won’t shut up.

K - Killed someone?: Nope

L - Love at first sight or should I walk by again: I wasn’t looking

M - Middle name: Elizabeth! I’ve got a two-name thing, it’s a family tradition.

N - Number of siblings: 1

O - One wish: Hannibal season 4 and a Leverage movie.

P - Person you called last: My mom

Q - Question you’re always asked: So did the preacher oversee the funeral? (interrogating my mother about a murder case that happened when she was a kid, i’ll make a post about it if you want me to.)

R - Reason to smile: The smell of cookies baking

S - Song you sang last: HEY BIG SPENDER

U - Underwear color: PINK

V - Vacation: Went to Universal Studios Orlando with my parents and BFF!

X - X-rays: Never had one

Y - Your favorite food: Sour cream and onion chips, Utz brand

Z- Zodiac sign: I’m a Taurus, just barely.

I tag @marywisdom, @mrschiltoncat, @storm89, @agentmarymargaretskitz, @diea-kierlyn

#about me

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autolesionistra · 7 years ago

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Bon, imbarcatevi con me in un viaggio di spulciamento normativo ricco di sorprese. E di cannoni. Ma non di quelli buoni.

L'ultima legge di bilancio, nota anche come legge 11 dicembre 2016, n. 232, al comma 140 recitava:

Nello stato di previsione del Ministero dell'economia e delle finanze e' istituito un apposito fondo da ripartire, con una dotazione di 1.9 milioni di euro per l'anno 2017, di 3.15 milioni di euro per l'anno 2018, di 3.5 milioni di euro per l'anno 2019 e di 3.0 milioni di euro per ciascuno degli anni dal 2020 al 2032, per assicurare il finanziamento degli investimenti e lo sviluppo infrastrutturale del Paese, anche al fine di pervenire alla soluzione delle questioni oggetto di procedure di infrazione da parte dell'Unione europea, nei settori di spesa relativi a:

a) trasporti, viabilita', mobilita' sostenibile, sicurezza stradale, riqualificazione e accessibilita' delle stazioni ferroviarie; b) infrastrutture, anche relative alla rete idrica e alle opere di collettamento, fognatura e depurazione; c) ricerca; d) difesa del suolo, dissesto idrogeologico, risanamento ambientale e bonifiche; e) edilizia pubblica, compresa quella scolastica; f) attivita' industriali ad alta tecnologia e sostegno alle esportazioni; g) informatizzazione dell'amministrazione giudiziaria; h) prevenzione del rischio sismico; i) investimenti per la riqualificazione urbana e per la sicurezza delle periferie delle citta' metropolitane e dei comuni capoluogo di provincia; l) eliminazione delle barriere architettoniche.

Vi risparmio i conticini, sono 47.55 milioni di euro spalmati su una quindicina d'anni. Però anche la lista di temi è ambiziosa. Soprattutto fresca e spontanea (cfr. "al fine di pervenire alla soluzione delle questioni oggetto di procedure di infrazione da parte dell'Unione europea"). Tralasciamo anche l'ordinamento, che ricorda quello che diceva che "il problema della sicilia è il traffico". Ma alla fine, via, meglio di un calcio in cvlo. E come funziona questo fondo?

L'utilizzo del fondo di cui al primo periodo e' disposto con uno o piu' decreti del Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri, su proposta del Ministro dell'economia e delle finanze, di concerto con i Ministri interessati, in relazione ai programmi presentati dalle amministrazioni centrali dello Stato.

Occhèi. Uno di questi decreti del Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri, su proposta del Ministro dell'economia e delle finanze, di concerto con i Ministri interessati, in relazione ai programmi presentati dalle amministrazioni centrali dello Stato (scusate se ripeto tutti i personaggini e i passaggini in gioco ma non è una roba che la Pinotti si può scrivere da sola in uno sgabuzzo) è attualmente in esame alle commissioni di bilancio di Camera e Senato.

Qui trovate le parti salienti ma in pratica il ministero della difesa s'è impaccato un 21% del fondo (circa una decina di milioncini). Oh, io nell'elenco lì sopra mica li vedevo. Forse c'era una "m) armamenti pesissimi;" che la notoria fatina buona del cazzo ha cancellato.

Prima di prendere torce e forconi (di poca utilità contro i pregiati carri da combattimento CENTAURO 2 in arrivo - true story) vale la pena inquadrare la cosa in un contesto generale se possibile anche più infelice: in un accordo del 2006 i paesi del patto NATO si sono impegnati (o meglio, li hanno impegnati) ad arrivare a spendere in difesa almeno il 2% del loro prodotto interno lordo. Non essendo tecnicamente previste sanzioni, nessuno ha fretta: l'Italia è a 1.4, i tedeschi a 1.2, Spagna, Olanda e Canada a 1. Uno dei paesi più virtuosi che va pure oltre il 2% è anche curiosamente quello più noto per bilanci stabili, economia ferrea e felici scelte militari: la Grecia (gli altri che arrivano al 2% sono Estonia, Polonia, Gran Bretagna e Stati Uniti)

Che il futuro fosse radioso lo anticipavano già le parole dolci nel neo presidente americano: "I'm a big fan of NATO, but they have to pay up"

Il fatto che il decreto sia uscito poco dopo il G7 suppongo sia puramente casuale.

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ofchxrisma · 7 years ago

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TAGGED BY: @telepathiciism

I TAG: anyone whose favorite color is purple

RULES: answer the questions in a new post and tag some blogs you wanna get to know better !

A - age: Older than 25 but younger than 30 :D B - birthplace: Illinois C - current time: 8:28 pm D - drink you had last: Mt. Dew E - easiest person to talk to: My teacher bestie F - favorite song: Ever changing like always, but currently: Human - Jon Bellion G - grossest memory: It involved getting sick...we’re gonna leave it there. H - horror yes or horror no: Horror NEVER I - in love?: Nope J - jealous of people: Sometimes. Trying not to be. K - killed someone: Nope L - love at first sight or should i walk back by again?: Walk by again M - middle name: Rose N - number of siblings: 1...plus some halfs, but I have no idea a really true number...maybe 3 or 4 half siblings? O - one wish: To be teaching in a happy supportive district and make enough money to live comfortably. P - person you called last: My mother Q - question you’re always asked: What are you? (as in ‘what’s your race not that I appreciate either) R - reason to smile: Teaching S - song you sang last: crosses - Woke the F**k Up - Jon Bellion T - top 3 fictional characters: Piper Halliwell, Eliot Spender, Tim Riggins U - underwear color: Blue + white V - vacation: Anywhere! I’ve never really been anywhere W - when’s your birthday: November 20 X - x-rays: Dental, shoulder, ankle, hand Z - zodiac sign: Scorpio

#｢ gifted with thought ｣ ↬ about jay

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bharatiyamedia-blog · 5 years ago

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Past the PC: Lenovo's formidable plan for the way forward for computing

http://tinyurl.com/y5nwzdpl Lenovo is a number one PC producer, a top-five participant within the server market and has lately returned its smartphone group to revenue. This is the place the corporate goes subsequent. How typically have you ever learn that the PC is lifeless or dying? Many instances, little question. But it is a good guess that the articles in query had been typed on a keyboard hooked up to a standard desktop or pocket book PC, fairly than tapped out on a pill or smartphone, or dictated right into a smartwatch or a sensible speaker. After all, gross sales of ‘post-PC’ gadgets have eaten into these of conventional PCs in recent times, but it surely appears to be like as if there will likely be a spot for gadgets with a keyboard and mouse, a decent-sized display screen and native processing energy for whereas but. As Lenovo’s chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing informed ZDNet in Beijing: “That is nonetheless a $200 billion trade — when you attempt to discover one other $200 billion trade, it isn’t simple.” Certain sufficient, Lenovo is large in PCs, which ship over three-quarters of its income, and has lately returned its smartphone group to profitability. Subsequent in line for the turnaround remedy is the info centre group, which has seen double-digit income progress for the previous 5 quarters however has but to make a revenue. So can Lenovo convey collectively PCs, smartphones and information centre right into a complete technique? Lenovo’s new Beijing HQ formally opened in October 2018, and ZDNet visited in November to find extra in regards to the firm’s present operations and future plans. SEE: Pictures: Inside Lenovo’s new Beijing campus The brand new campus is situated within the Zhongguancun Software program Park northwest of the Chinese language capital and goals to create a “Silicon Valley type working setting” for its workers — over 10,00Zero of them. A cluster of Chinese language tech giants — together with Baidu, Netease, Sina and Tencent — are close by. Because of this, the entire space has been dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of China‘. Lenovo’s Beijing HQ actually packs most of the perks — climbing wall, fitness center, little one care centre — that Silicon Valley staff would recognise. The low-rise set of buildings, maybe unconsciously, echoes Lenovo’s merchandise, resembling a stack of laptops or servers. However the firm can be aiming past PCs to the slicing fringe of tech: inside the brand new buildings are showcases of its wearable know-how and holographic shows, augmented actuality and extra. Beijing is infamous for its heavy visitors and poor air high quality, however the streets and skies had been remarkably clear at some point of ZDNet’s go to. What is the market climate forecast wanting like for Lenovo? Charles McLellan takes an inside take a look at Lenovo’s China HQ and studies on the corporate’s future. Lenovo by the numbers Lenovo is greatest often known as a PC producer, and presently occupies the number-two spot simply behind HP Inc in IDC’s newest worldwide rankings ( Q1 2019). In Lenovo’s most up-to-date quarterly outcomes (Q3 for fiscal year 2018/19, ended 31 December), the PC & Sensible System (PCSD) enterprise group accounted for over three-quarters (77%) of the corporate’s $14 billion income (Determine A). Determine A (click on to enlarge). The PCSD group delivered document revenues of $10.7 billion in Q3 FY18/19, up 11.6 p.c year-on-year. Past PCs, the Cell Enterprise Group (MBG) grew to become worthwhile for the primary time for the reason that acquisition of Motorola in 2014. In the meantime, the Q3 spotlight for the Knowledge Heart Group (DCG) was 31 p.c income progress year-on-year to $1.6bn — a fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit progress. Geographically, Lenovo’s income is kind of evenly balanced, with the Americas accounting for 31 p.c in Q3 FY18/19 adopted by China (26%), EMEA (25%) and Asia Pacific (18%) (Determine B). Determine B (click on to enlarge). Income has elevated year-on-year for the previous 5 quarters, with progress hitting a peak of 19 p.c in Q1 FY2018/19 (ended 30 June 2018) (Determine C). Determine C (click on to enlarge). All this provides as much as an more and more wholesome image profits-wise (Determine D). Determine D (click on to enlarge). Word: The $289m internet revenue loss in Q3 FY17/18 was as a consequence of “a one-time non-cash write-off of US$400 million of deferred revenue tax belongings throughout the quarter” following US tax reform laws. Lenovo’s present strategic mantra is to “turn into the chief and enabler of Intelligent Transformation“, which it goals to attain through services and products focusing on good IoT, good infrastructure and good vertical options. The corporate is placing loads of funding into the synthetic intelligence (AI) and machine studying (ML) wanted to energy the ‘good’ parts of its mission, with a lot of this analysis funded through the Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG), which launched in Could 2016. The LCIG funds and nurtures advances not solely in AI, but in addition in IoT, large information and VR/AR, throughout sectors reminiscent of manufacturing, healthcare and transportation. Lenovo spent $1.27 billion on analysis and growth in 2017/18, or 2.81 p.c of its $45.Four billion income. R&D is more and more necessary to the corporate, with expenditure as a p.c of income doubling for the reason that starting of this decade, from 1.41 p.c in 2010/11 to 2.81 p.c in 2017/18 (peaking at 3.32% in 2015/16) (Determine E). Determine E (click on to enlarge). To place this R&D effort into perspective, Lenovo was ranked 127th in Technique&’s 2018 Innovation 1000, a examine of the world’s largest company R&D spenders. The corporate got here in 39th out of 309 IT corporations, and fifth (behind Alibaba, Tencent, ZTE and Baidu) among the many 46 primarily based in China or Hong Kong. Listed below are the highest 50 IT corporations within the 2018 Innovation 1000 rankings (little question Lenovo will likely be happy to see archrival HP Inc. a number of locations adrift) (Determine F). Determine F (click on to enlarge). The typical degree of R&D expenditure in 2018 amongst these high 50 IT corporations was 16.9 p.c of income, which is nicely above Lenovo’s 2.Eight p.c. These numbers recommend that Lenovo spends its R&D price range correctly. Certainly, based on Technique&: “There isn’t any long-term correlation between the sum of money an organization spends on its innovation efforts and its general monetary efficiency. As a substitute, what issues is how corporations use that cash and different assets, in addition to the standard of their expertise, processes, and determination making, to create services and products that join with their prospects.” Let’s dive into among the actions of Lenovo’s enterprise teams in additional element to see how that works in follow. Lenovo’s PC & Sensible System (PCSD) Group Regardless of a latest rally, the standard PC market is in a long-term decline, with 24 of the final 29 quarters in IDC’s figures exhibiting destructive year-on-year progress in shipments (Determine G). Determine G (click on to enlarge). Word: IDC’s figures for ‘conventional PCs’ embody desktops, notebooks, and workstations, however don’t cowl removable or slate tablets. Nevertheless, the image is not fairly so gloomy when you’re a market chief like Lenovo, which shipped 59.Eight million PCs in 2018, 58m in 2017 and 55.5m in 2016, based on IDC. Market shares for Lenovo and HP — who’ve traded the number-one spot in recent times — have been rising, on the expense of different PC distributors (Determine H). Determine H (click on to enlarge). Though common top-five PC distributors like Dell, Apple, Acer and Asus have held their very own, smaller producers have suffered on this mature, shrinking market the place margins are sometimes paper-thin. So how has Lenovo managed to prosper underneath these circumstances? Download this article as a PDF (free registration required). The corporate’s flagship PC product line is its ThinkPad vary of premium enterprise laptops, which was acquired along with the rest of IBM’s PC business in 2005 for $1.25bn. IBM’s first ThinkPad was the 700C, launched in 1992 with the now-classic Richard Sapper-designed black livery and crimson accents — together with the distinctive TrackPoint — all in place from the beginning. Quick-forward to 2018, over 100 million ThinkPad gross sales later, and we now have the 6th-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon, which clearly retains its 26-year design heritage. Left: IBM ThinkPad 700C (1992). Proper: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, sixth Technology (2018) Picture: richardsapperdesign.com & Lenovo Against this with this admirable design consistency, when you try 1992-era transportable computer systems from Apple, you will discover few if any precursors of the modern-day MacBook. For a deep perception into the genesis and evolution of the ThinkPad, and of transportable computer systems usually, we suggest How The ThinkPad Changed the World — and is Shaping the Future, by Arimasa Naitoh (the ‘father of the ThinkPad’) and William J Holstein. The continued success of the thin-and-light ThinkPad is an instance of Lenovo’s wider technique within the PC market, which is to focus on this and different high-growth segments reminiscent of workstations, shows, gaming programs, Chromebooks and PC-related providers (Determine I). Determine I (click on to enlarge). In the meantime, on the good gadgets entrance, CES 2019 noticed the launch of a Google Assistant-powered Lenovo Smart Clock to affix its present Smart Display, and a pair of Android tablets known as Smart Tabs that flip into Alexa-powered shows when docked. Chatting with ZDNet at Lenovo’s Beijing campus in November 2018, CEO Yang Yuanqing was assured that there is loads of life left within the PC market: “By quantity, the PC enterprise could be very secure, and by income it is rising. That is nonetheless a $200 billion trade — when you attempt to discover one other $200 billion trade, it isn’t simple.” And there’s nonetheless scope for innovation within the PC market, Lenovo’s CEO confused: “We should always make PCs smarter than earlier than — not less than they need to be at all times on, at all times related. We must also use extra pure language to work together with PCs, and collect information from prospects to make our gadgets simpler to make use of.” Download this article as a PDF (free registration required). A part of Lenovo’s technique for the following three to 5 years is to defend the corporate’s place within the PC market whereas constructing the cell (MBG) and information centre (DCG) teams into engines of progress. Though Home windows 10 adoption might drive enterprise PC gross sales by way of 2019 and into 2020, Forrester analyst Danny Mu sounds a word of warning: “The PC market is a mature market, and the important thing gamers (Lenovo, HP and Dell) all have considerable expertise in R&D and world provide chain to help their main positions. However PCs are a low-margin enterprise: wholly counting on the revenue from PCSD to turnaround the MBG and DCG can be troublesome.” Lenovo good gadgets, together with a fingerprint/PIN-access door lock. Picture: Lenovo & Charles McLellan/ZDNet Lenovo’s Cell Enterprise Group (MBG) After an extended interval of progress, the smartphone market is now coming into a mature part, with excessive penetration ranges and lengthening substitute cycles in lots of areas, and excessive progress charges restricted to a couple rising markets (Determine J). Determine J (click on to enlarge). Samsung and Apple have been the market leaders for years, with Samsung normally occupying the highest spot and Huawei usurping Apple’s hitherto-customary second place in latest quarters (Q1 2019, Q2 and Q3 2018). Lenovo has not featured within the high 5 worldwide smartphone vendor rankings since Q4 2015, and is not even among the many high 5 distributors in its house Chinese language market: IDC’s figures for Q4 2018 have Huawei in first place in China with 30 p.c of the market (by quantity), adopted by OPPO (20.3%), vivo (19.4%), Apple (11.8%) and Xiaomi (11.5%) (Determine Okay). Determine Okay (click on to enlarge). The arrival of 5G networks and innovation within the form of foldable telephones throughout 2019 might give the smartphone trade a carry on the excessive finish. Nevertheless, IDC analysis supervisor Anthony Scarsella warned recently that “Customers proceed to carry on to their telephones longer than earlier than as newer larger priced fashions provide little incentive to shell out high greenback to improve. Furthermore, the pending arrival of 5G handsets might have customers ready till each the networks and gadgets are prepared for prime time in 2020.” Download this article as a PDF (free registration required). Lenovo’s Cell Enterprise Group (MBG) accounts for round 12 p.c of the corporate’s income (Q3 FY 18/19) and centres on the Motorola model, which Lenovo acquired from Google in 2014 for $2.91bn. The corporate’s turnaround technique for the MBG noticed it break even in Q2 and turn into worthwhile worldwide in Q3 for the primary time for the reason that Motorola acquisition. This was achieved by slicing prices, streamlining the smartphone portfolio and specializing in core markets, Lenovo stated. Talking at an investor day on 18 March, Sergio Buniac, SVP and co-president, Cell Enterprise Group, chairman and president, Motorola, outlined the MBG’s technique going ahead. Buniac had a five-point plan: (1) to guard and strengthen Lenovo’s core markets and reignite progress in rising markets; (2) to strengthen and broaden the corporate’s place with its 2019 product portfolio (see beneath); (3) to seize synergies and improve price advantages; (4) to develop non-device monetization and under-leveraged channels; and (5) to steer the following wave of innovation with 5G. Lenovo’s 2019 portfolio has 4 tiers of Motorola (Moto) handsets, and one Lenovo-branded tier (Determine L). Determine L (click on to enlarge). Moto Z3 with 5G Moto Mod (click on to enlarge). Moto Z is the flagship vary, with the newest Moto Z3 mannequin providing a 5G Moto Mod that may run on Verizon’s community (launched in Chicago and Minneapolis in April, with ‘greater than 30 markets’ as a consequence of observe in 2019). The Motorola One, launched in October 2018, is designed to showcase new applied sciences and enchantment to the youth market, particularly. Based on Buniac, two extra Motorola One merchandise are anticipated within the subsequent six months, the primary of which (due in Could) will function “one first — and it is a very long time since we had a function forward of all our opponents”. The Moto G vary is nicely established within the ‘reasonably priced’ smartphone sector, with the newest G7 fashions being nicely acquired. Lenovo-branded telephones are being lined as much as increase gross sales in rising markets, Buniac stated, whereas the 6.9-inch Lenovo Tab V7 lately launched in EMEA. The Moto E vary, in the meantime, serves the price range finish of the smartphone market. One other Lenovo telephone, teased at MWC 2019, is the Z6 Professional. It is reportedly a 5G handset with a 100MP digicam able to ‘Hyper Video’ and ‘Tremendous Macro’ modes (but to be defined in any element). The rumoured March 27 launch date has been and gone, and we await developments. Download this article as a PDF (free registration required). Following the disclosing of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February, there’s a number of buzz about foldable smartphones. Though Lenovo has but to announce a foldable telephone, the corporate has loads of analysis underneath its belt on this space, having proven concept devices again in 2016 and securing a patent for a clamshell-type telephone in September final yr. Netherlands- primarily based web site LetsGoDigital has had these designs rendered. An idea design for a Lenovo folding smartphone. Picture: LetsGoDigital Netherlands One other rumoured folding telephone, with an identical design, might reprise Motorola’s iconic RAZR model, based on xda-developers.com. Codenamed ‘Voyager’, this Snapdragon 710-based gadget reportedly has a 6.2-inch foldable main show and a secondary (closed) show with a decision of 800 by 600 pixels. Though most media consideration focuses on revolutionary, high-end cell gadgets, Forrester analyst Danny Mu means that Lenovo’s greatest prospects lie on the reasonably priced finish of the market: “Reducing-edge improvements like folding telephones or modular telephones (Moto Mods, for instance) are fancy, however for many customers, cell phones aren’t a luxurious — they need to be reasonably priced. Forrester believes we’re within the age of buyer: smartphone producers must be customer-led, approaching actual time.” Lenovo’s Knowledge Heart Group (DCG) Based on IDC, the server market “continues to expertise strong demand”, with Q4 2018 delivering the very best complete income ($23.6 billion) ever recorded in a single quarter — a year-on-year progress fee of 12.6 p.c. Slightly below Three million server models had been shipped in This autumn, 5 p.c up year-on-year (Determine M). Determine M (click on to enlarge). Lowered demand from hyperscale corporations depressed server market progress charges in This autumn from the heights of earlier quarters (38% in Q3, 44% in Q2, 39% in Q1). However, stated Sebastian Lagana, analysis supervisor, Infrastructure Platforms and Applied sciences, at IDC, “This was offset by elevated server gross sales to enterprise prospects and better common promoting costs (ASPs). Enterprises are shopping for richly configured servers to help useful resource intensive workloads, leading to larger ASPs [Average Selling Prices] and pushing income progress larger than progress from unit shipments.” HPE and Dell are the leaders within the server market, with the rest of the highest 5 drawn from IBM, Lenovo, Cisco and, lately, Inspur. In This autumn 2018 Lenovo was tied for fourth place with 6.2 p.c of the market by income and 6.Four p.c by unit shipments (Determine N). Determine N (click on to enlarge). Lenovo “made errors” after buying IBM’s x86 server business in 2014 for $2.1bn, admitted Government VP and Knowledge Heart Group (DCG) president Kirk Skaugen on the firm’s latest investor day. However now, after 5 consecutive quarters of double-digit year-on-year income progress (31% in Q3 FY18/19, 58% in Q2, 68% in Q1, 44% in This autumn FY17/18 and 17% in Q3), the DCG’s turnaround is nicely underway. There’s nonetheless some strategy to go, although, because the group misplaced $55 million earlier than tax in Q3 FY18/19. Download this article as a PDF (free registration required). The DCG’s imaginative and prescient is to be the “most trusted information centre supplier,” Skaugen stated, including that “you do not have to be the most important to be probably the most trusted”. To that finish, over the previous two years, Lenovo has renegotiated hundreds of contracts in a number of international locations, put in devoted groups protecting gross sales & advertising and provide chain & high quality, launched new channel packages and system integrator relationships, and put in a brand new management group . In his presentation, Skaugen drew a parallel with the PC group’s ThinkPad heritage, mentioning that IBM’s x86 server enterprise additionally had a 25-year anniversary in 2017. With a view to exploit this connection, branding is now coalesced into ‘ThinkAgile’ for software-defined infrastructure choices and ‘ThinkSystem’ for server, storage and networking merchandise (Determine O). Determine O (click on to enlarge). Based on Lenovo’s evaluation (see above), the entire addressable market (TAM) in good infrastructure will develop from $113 billion in 2018 to $151bn in 2022, with hyperscale being the largest section and OEM/IoT exhibiting the very best progress fee. As Skaugen identified: “It is a enormous market alternative for us, in each considered one of these segments…we now have enormous alternatives to disrupt the incumbents with our world provide chain, our procurement energy and our personal manufacturing.” Provided that the DCG generated $4.39 billion in income in FY2017/18 (ended 31 March 2018), capturing simply 3.9 p.c of the estimated 2018 TAM, Skaugen is actually not underestimating the group’s progress potential. Hyperscale prospects, who run enormous information centres with hundreds of servers, in a number of places, sometimes purchase stripped-down ‘white field’ servers primarily based on commodity {hardware} from ODMs (Authentic System Producers), avoiding giant OEMs (Authentic Gear Producers) like Dell and HPE primarily for price causes. Lenovo’s technique, which it calls ‘ODM+’, is to leverage its provide chain and manufacturing muscle to turn into a one-stop-shop that may design, construct and deploy options for top-tier and tier 2/Three hyperscale prospects at costs that compete with the ODMs. This appears to be working: in its Q3 FY18/19 earnings announcement, Lenovo reported that “The Hyperscale enterprise delivered triple-digit [266%] progress because of its investments in bettering its in-house design, manufacturing capabilities and buyer combine.” Software-defined infrastructure is one other high-growth information centre section for Lenovo, with 68 p.c year-on-year progress in Q3 FY18/19. The corporate’s in-house car right here is the ThinkAgile CP Series, a ‘cloud-in-a-box’ resolution developed in partnership with Cloudistics that gives a turnkey on-premises cloud expertise, managed through a SaaS portal. Lenovo additionally sees a number of potential in flash storage arrays, with its September 2018 joint venture with NetApp leading to product traces such because the ThinkSystem DE and DM Collection. Download this article as a PDF (free registration required). Lenovo is presently the number-one vendor — when it comes to each programs and efficiency — within the HPC (Excessive Efficiency Computing) TOP500 record, which paperwork the 500 strongest commercially out there laptop programs worldwide (Determine P). Determine P (click on to enlarge). Exterior of cloud and on-premises information centres, the edge of the network is an more and more fascinating space for server distributors, as a result of the explosion of IoT gadgets would require a number of computing energy to be situated near the place information is generated, as a way to handle points surrounding safety, latency, bandwidth and downtime. That is the rationale behind Lenovo’s new ThinkSystem SE350, which is the primary in a brand new class of small-footprint edge servers that may be mounted on a wall, stacked on a shelf or put in in a rack. For all of the potential in compute, storage and networking {hardware}, Forrester’s Danny Mu stresses the growing significance of software-defined infrastructure going ahead: “Automation will drive the infrastructure and operations (I&O) industrial revolution,” he says. “The whole lot is software program, which implies the I&O professionals of 2020 will seem like builders, and the infrastructure will likely be operated like codes. The infrastructure software program might contribute extra revenue.” Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG) The Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG) launched in May 2016 with $500 million of enterprise capital to spend on innovation. LCIG’s website presently lists 11 ‘inside incubators’ and 53 exterior ‘firm investments’ in AI & large information, robotics, AR/VR, cloud computing, good gadgets, good well being, good visitors, good trade and client upgrades. In its Q3 FY2018/19 earnings report, LCIG — which final yr was ranked 11th in CBN Weekly’s Top 50 China Venture Capital Investors record — reported 15 new funding tasks and new rounds of funding for seven present tasks. Commenting on the CBN Weekly rating, George He, SVP and president of LCIG, stated “Lenovo is searching for corporations that may really ship platform-level know-how in core applied sciences over the following decade. LCIG will rely by itself assets to offer skilled groups not solely with monetary help, but in addition help for manufacturers, provide chain, administration, human assets, authorized, finance, etcetera. That’s what makes LCIG stand out.” Clever transformation Like many corporations, Lenovo is weaving AI and machine studying into the material of its enterprise — from the way in which it interacts with prospects to the design and construct of its services and products. Chatting with ZDNet at Lenovo’s Beijing HQ final November, Feiyu Xu, VP of Lenovo Group and head of Lenovo Research AI Lab, outlined the explanation why AI has come to the fore in recent times — large information, machine studying, information and web know-how, and the provision of high-performance computing — and famous that AI has been integrated into the nationwide technique of many international locations world wide (within the UK, for instance). Challenges in AI embody the mixture of structured and unstructured information (numbers, textual content, video and voice), the multiplicity of languages world wide, and the semantic interoperability of information, she stated. On the company degree, AI can improve and strengthen services and products, optimise enterprise processes and promote a cutting-edge picture internally and externally, Feiyu Xu stated, earlier than describing Lenovo’s ‘AI innovation ecosystem’. This centres on the corporate’s AI Lab, which exchanges expertise, experience and know-how with educational companions (principally the German Analysis Heart for Synthetic Intelligence, or DFKI) and enterprise teams, accumulating information from Lenovo gadgets and feeding intelligence into the Lenovo cloud. Analysis areas at Lenovo’s AI Lab embody pure language processing (utilized in good audio system and good service assistants), voice applied sciences (automated speech recognition, speaker recognition), laptop imaginative and prescient (face and object recognition, medical picture processing, good cameras and albums), machine studying and good information (utilized in good provide chain administration), and an award-winning AI training platform. For instance of inside enterprise processes benefitting from AI know-how, Feiyu Xu highlighted the machine studying and good information group’s work on clever service provide chain administration, the place the AI system carried out 7 p.c higher than people (see above) — a margin that may make an enormous distinction, she stated. Different distinguished examples of ‘clever transformation’ embody Lenovo’s unmanned retail store, E-Health medical imaging, the HoloTable 3D interactive holographic show and the daystAR augmented actuality platform. Commerce disputes and safety issues The continued trade dispute between the US and China, together with safety issues over Huawei and different Chinese language companies, might doubtlessly have an effect on Lenovo. Nevertheless, CEO Yang Yuanqing, talking to ZDNet in November 2018, was assured that the corporate’s repute and multinational standing would stand it in good stead. Picture: Lenovo “Lenovo is a trusted provider, not simply in China but in addition in Europe and North America,” he stated. “We pay a number of consideration to safety: we now have taken steps to fastidiously evaluation all of the processes in product growth, manufacture and provide chain to make it possible for the ultimate product is protected. Lenovo has constructed picture — we’re trusted.” Lenovo’s CEO was equally sanguine about the opportunity of Chinese language know-how corporations turning into embroiled within the US-China commerce dispute: “Globalisation has been a pattern for a few many years, and we want that globalisation will proceed — to the profit not simply of multinational corporations like Lenovo, however of all of the folks.” Extra lately, quoted within the South China Morning Post in February, Yang Yuanqing remained optimistic a few US-China rapprochement: “Now we have heard a number of constructive messages or alerts about attaining an settlement, so positively I feel there will likely be excellent news.” The outlook for Lenovo The New Know-how Growth Firm has grown from an offshoot of the Chinese language Academy of Sciences in 1984, through a home part as Legend (1988-2003), into the 54,000-employee, $45.Four billion multinational that’s Lenovo at this time. Feiyu Xu, VP of Lenovo Group and Head of Lenovo Analysis AI Lab, explains the corporate’s strategy to AI and innovation. Picture: Charles McLellan/ZDNet Having acquired IBM’s PC and x86 server companies, the corporate is a number one PC producer and a top-five participant within the server market (albeit with a single-figure market share). However regardless of proudly owning the long-lasting Motorola model since 2014, Lenovo has not troubled the highest 5 smartphone rankings in recent times. There are actually long-term challenges to the PC enterprise, which is a key driver for Lenovo, however its personal place stays robust. And though public cloud suppliers are capturing ever extra enterprise workloads and operating them on ‘white field’ {hardware}, there are sufficient causes to deploy workloads on-premises, or on the community edge, for the server enterprise to stay viable in the interim. Wanting forward, the buyer, enterprise and industrial web of issues (IoT) will see an explosion of good gadgets, speaking over high-bandwidth, low-latency hyperlinks with on-premises, edge and cloud servers. These will ship providers, more and more enhanced by machine studying (ML) and synthetic intelligence (AI), that individuals will entry through a mix of conventional and post-PC gadgets. SEE: TechRepublic Long Reads: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard) On the face of it, then, a world know-how firm that makes a well-judged portfolio of PCs and ‘good’ gadgets, servers and providers ought to do fairly nicely in at this time’s market — particularly if it has in depth expertise in environment friendly manufacturing and provide chain administration, and takes a practical strategy to analysis and growth. Lenovo now has a campus to match the dimensions of its ambition. Picture: Charles McLellan/ZDNet For long-term progress, Lenovo will look to the IoT and high-growth segments of the server market reminiscent of hyperscale, software-defined infrastructure, flash storage and edge computing. Allied to considered use of AI and machine studying throughout the board, this technique might assist the corporate obtain its objective of turning into a frontrunner and enabler of ‘clever transformation’. “PCs are nonetheless the cornerstone,” Forrester’s Danny Mu informed ZDNet, “however Lenovo’s new technique is ‘3S’ — Sensible IoT, Sensible Infrastructure and Sensible Vertical, which exhibits its ambition on intelligence. Clever transformation will eat outstanding funding, and Lenovo must find the rising high-profit engine.” CEO Yang Yuanqing acknowledged the realities of the enterprise panorama in Lenovo’s 21 February earnings name: “I would like to consider Lenovo as a mountain climber. As soon as we attain one peak, we instantly take purpose at an excellent larger objective,” he stated. “Getting from one summit to a different one typically means we now have to go down first earlier than we go up. It means we have to develop new instruments, new expertise and uncover a brand new path to achieve new heights. However as soon as we set a objective, we by no means quit.” That climbing wall in Lenovo’s new headquarters is perhaps getting loads of use within the subsequent few years. Download this article as a PDF (free registration required). Charles McLellan visited Beijing courtesy of Lenovo. This text initially appeared on ZDNet. Learn extra about Lenovo Photograph credit score for hero picture: Lenovo Source link

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t-baba · 6 years ago

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Building DApps with Ethereum: Creating, Deploying TNS Tokens

In part 1 of this tutorial series on building DApps with Ethereum, we bootstrapped two versions of a local blockchain for development: a Ganache version, and a full private PoA version.

In this part, we’ll dive right into it and build and deploy our TNS token — the token users will use to vote on proposals in the Story DAO.

Prerequisites

Have a Ganache version up and running, as per the previous part. Alternatively, have any local version of a blockchain running if you’re not following along from the first part, but make sure you can connect to it with tools we’ll need.

We’ll assume you have a working private blockchain and the ability to type commands into its console and the operating system’s terminal via the Terminal app or, on Windows, an app like Git Bash, Console, CMD Prompt, Powershell, etc.

The Basic Dependencies

To develop our application, we can use one of several frameworks and starter kits at our disposal: Dapp, eth-utils, Populus, Embark … and so on. But we’ll go with the current king of the ecosystem, Truffle.

Install it with the following:

npm install -g truffle

This will make the truffle command available everywhere. Now we can start the project with truffle init.

Starting the Token

Let’s get right into it and build our token. It’ll be a somewhat standard cookie-cutter ERC20 token with a twist. (You’ll see which twist lower in this post.) First, we’ll pull in some dependencies. The OpenZeppelin libraries are battle-tested high quality solidity contracts usable for extending and building contracts from.

npm install openzeppelin-solidity

Next, let’s create a new token file:

truffle create contract TNSToken

The default template that truffle generates here is a little out of date, so let’s get it updated:

pragma solidity ^0.4.24; contract TNStoken { constructor() public { } }

Up until now, the constructor of the token contract was supposed to be called the same as the contract itself, but for clarity it was changed to constructor. It should also always have a modifier telling the compiler who is allowed to deploy and interact with this contract (public meaning everyone).

SafeMath

The only Zeppelin contract we’ll be using in this case is their SafeMath contract. In Solidity, we import contracts with the import keyword, while the compiler will generally not require a full path, only a relative one, like so:

pragma solidity ^0.4.24; import "../node_modules/openzeppelin-solidity/contracts/math/SafeMath.sol"; contract TNStoken { using SafeMath for uint256; constructor() public { } }

So, what is SafeMath? Long ago, there was an issue of 184 billion bitcoins being created because of a math problem in code. To prevent issues even remotely similar to these (not that this one in particular is possible in Ethereum), the SafeMath library exists. When two numbers are of the MAX_INT size (i.e. the maximum possible number in an operating system), summing them up would make the value “wrap around” to zero, like a car’s odometer being reset to 0 after reaching 999999 kilometers. So the SafeMath library has functions like these:

/** * @dev Adds two numbers, throws on overflow. */ function add(uint256 a, uint256 b) internal pure returns (uint256 c) { c = a + b; assert(c >= a); return c; }

This function prevents this issue: it checks whether the sum of two numbers is still bigger than each of the two operands.

While it’s not too easy to make such silly mistakes when writing Solidity contracts, it’s still better to be safe than sorry.

By using SafeMath for uint256, we replace the standard uint256 numbers in Solidity (256bit unsigned — a.k.a. positive-only — whole numbers) with these “safe” versions. Instead of summing numbers like this: sum = someBigNumber + someBiggerNumber, we’ll be summing them like this: sum = someBigNumber.add(someBiggerNumber), thereby being safe in our calculations.

ERC20 from Scratch

With our math made safe, we can create our token.

ERC20 is a standard with a well-defined interface, so for reference, let’s add it into the contract. Read about the token standards here.

So the functions that an ERC20 token should have are:

pragma solidity ^0.4.24; import "../node_modules/openzeppelin-solidity/contracts/math/SafeMath.sol"; contract ERC20 { function totalSupply() public view returns (uint256); function balanceOf(address who) public view returns (uint256); function transfer(address to, uint256 value) public returns (bool); event Transfer(address indexed from, address indexed to, uint256 value); function allowance(address owner, address spender) public view returns (uint256); function transferFrom(address from, address to, uint256 value) public returns (bool); function approve(address spender, uint256 value) public returns (bool); event Approval(address indexed owner, address indexed spender, uint256 value); } contract TNStoken { using SafeMath for uint256; constructor() public { } }

This might seem complex, but it’s actually very simple. This is a “directory” of functions our token needs to have, and we’ll build them one by one, explaining what each of them means. Consider the above an interface for our token. We’ll see how and why this is useful when we create the Story DAO application.

Basic balances

Let’s start. A token is actually just a “spreadsheet” in the Ethereum blockchain, like this:

| Name | Amount | |:--|:--| | Bruno | 4000 | | Joe | 5000 | | Anne | 0 | | Mike | 300 |

So let’s create a mapping, which is essentially exactly like a spreadsheet in the contract:

mapping(address => uint256) balances;

According to the interface above, this needs to be accompanied by a balanceOf function, which can read this table:

function balanceOf(address _owner) public view returns (uint256) { return balances[_owner]; }

The function balanceOf accepts one argument: _owner is public (can be used by anyone), is a view function (meaning it’s free to use — does not require a transaction), and returns a uint256 number, the balance of the owner of the address sent in. Everyone’s balance of tokens is publicly readable.

Total supply

Knowing the total supply of the token is important for its users and for coin tracking applications, so let’s define a contract property (variable) to track this and another free function through which to read this:

uint256 totalSupply_; function totalSupply() public view returns (uint256) { return totalSupply_; }

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