#Count Stovall

[masqsims4]

News Around The World

Syndicated States of Strangreix

The hero of the Second Invasion, Ando Stovall, is officially crowned as Vengeance of Strangreix Ando Strangreix. As a teenager, he follows his grandmother's footsteps of becoming a world leader as a teenager and carrying on her legacy of ruling the wealthiest country on Earth. He his joined by his appointed advisor, Crux Fid Strangreix II (uncle), and his partner, Aarom Fid-Drodhoth.

Vengeance Ando does admit to being nervous, going from pauper to lost prince to war hero to king, but feels confident that he has a great support system in not just his court but his people. He claims to be asking for certain changes around the kingdom, with the approval of his court.

The people are happy to be free of tyranny and living under a blood-related monarchy again, but some have expressed their concerns of having a werewolf on the throne. How a Sixam alien prince managed to become a werewolf without dying is sparking some heavy debate around the world.

Strangerville Military State

After the Second Invasion, with the epiphany that Infected citizens could be hiding in plain sight, Strangerville once again has closed its borders until the entire population is genetically vetted as safe. Now that the new Vengeance has declared the Strangerville army independent of any country, the military is now free to conduct its quarantine as it wishes and make many alliances with other countries to bring its military might and scientific resources up to date.

With the loss of the Golden Needle, and Maximus Corp not willing to share its findings just yet, the Strangerville Army is looking to expand its scientific horizons to make an updated vaccine and genetic testing program to eliminate any Infected components of DNA. The current Strangerville research team is looking to move operations to nearby Chestnut Ridge, offering financial stability and environmental and cultural protection to the inhabitants in exchange to building one (1) research outpost. Talks are ongoing.

WhiteTree Forest

The coven is in mourning, switching their white robes to black, as their leader and modern day founder, Setarish WhiteTree, is finally laid to rest. It is customary for the coven to wear mourning clothes for a year, but the new High Witch, Rhomari WhiteTree, encouraged her members to take their time and cast their robes as they see fit. While many are left wondering of the coven's future, nothing seems to have changed on the outside. High Witch Rhomari has not issued any changes in laws, policy or traditions. Life seems to continue as it was for the spellcaster community.

Eighth Bastion

The small kingdom of vampires finds itself in a possible dark era. Both the Grand Count and Founder, Kristopher Lamia, and his son Victor Lamia, were killed in the Second Invasion, which leaves the young Nicolai Lamia as the next Grand Count and ruler. He will be throned and crowned to solidify his position within the next week, which would make him the youngest ruler crowned in history.

The widowed Grand Countess, Juri Uchibayashi-Lamia, will serve as regent until she deems the young Count ready to be a ruler. However, she has passed a new law that had been previously decided by herself and her husband, that next in line was to be decided by the heir's vampiric heritage and status rather than the gender at birth. Having vampiric boys had taken its toll on the previous two Grand Countesses, and Grand Countess Juri is still suffering from complications. The public has embraced this change, and promises to support it in the future.

Seindu Kingdom

The Kingdom of Seindu and the city of Brindleton Bay has always enjoyed an equal standing between royalty and its people. And King Tristiran has decided to proclaim a change in Seindu law to reflect this partnership. He announced that members adopted into the royal family will have the same equal standing in finding a king or queen as those born into the royal family, as long as the adopted share a common ancestor with the royal family. This has opened up discussion for the King's adopted daughter, Princess-honorary Nifsara La Croy, to take the throne if the royal family and the public desire.

Princess-honorary Nifsara has already shown her kindness, wit and dedication to the kingdom. However, the public does seem to favor kings, as queens do not have a good ruling track record and weren't popular with the public. The kingdom favors first born son, Prince Ari Seindu, to be the next king. But as the Prince is still a child, Princess-honorary Nifsara has a head start in proving herself worthy of being the next Seindu Queen.

Factions are beginning to form, and the Crown has constantly reminded everyone to be civil, respectful, and tactful with their support of royal heirs. No hatred or violence will be tolerated. So far, everyone has followed the rules, but favor of the next ruler continues to go to Prince Ari. Once the prince has aged into a teenager will the royal family make it's official proclamation.

Sulani

This morning, the environmental activist group and cultural protection society, The Island Divine, made a bid to the Council of Kings to be recognized as a ruling body of Sulani. The group has been controversial in not just its practices and treatment of its members, but also its aggressive tactics in spreading influence through different countries and cultures. Many rulers are not in favor of this "cult" and don't recognize it at a potential global power.

That being said, many members of different royal factions have joined the Divine's cause. The health brand Honey Clove was aquired by the Divine after it's founder, Princess-herald Miracle Inqai-Beerloith, was roped in through a whirlwind romance. Miracle's older sister, Princess-herald Miriela Beerloith, was a prominent member and financial supporter, until she fell in love and ran away with a non-member, and her reputation was tarnished since.

However, the Divine had been growing in power over the years, with the Sulani Conservation Society merged with them, they had become a growing authority in the island chain. That being said, even the Sulani native population is hesitant to let them become a government body or have royal power over the island. Talks are ongoing between the Council of Kings, the people of Sulani, and the Divine.

Komorebi Empire

After the death of the Fourth Emperor Kiraseindu-Yamaguchi Hanshiro, the country stood in long mourning. The country had also lost its prospective, but abdicated, Princess Ohara Miho, who had joined the fight in the Second Invasion to protect the people who discarded her. In their place, Queen-consort Yamaguchi Mai is holding the throne for the rightful heir of the now independent Komorebi Empire.

The agreement between herself, her husband and Emperor, and abdicated Princess, was for Ohara Miho's daughter, Princess Ohara Nadeshiko, to take the throne instead of her mother as a compromise for Ohara Miho's abdication. With Miho's death, Yamaguchi Mai is honoring this promise over her two children.

The country had grown so content with Yamaguchi Mai's grace and motherly stance that it was proposed to make her the next Empress anyway, which she had objected. Others have proposed that she make her first born son, Prince-consort Yamaguchi Mamori, the next in line, which she has also refused. The factions in Komorebi are growing more restless and tense, but all respect the Regent to act.

Faltal Industries (Oasis Springs) and Maximus Corp (Evergreen Harbor)

Two corporate industries have been recognized as world governing powers and their leaders invited to become part of the Council of Kings. Faltal Industries owner and CEO, Little Faltal, and Maximus Corp CEO Aarnav Gandhi-Maximus, now have seats with powerful world leaders.

Landgrave Little Faltal recently assumed power with their husband's permission. Former Oasis Springs land owner and "last of the Braie", Elrin Braie-Faltal, hadn't been seen since his parent's demise at home as he fought in the First Invasion. And while he did marry Little Faltal and had more children with them, Elrin had not been seen in public or made announcements in person or social media. However, all control of the Braie Industries company and land ownership of Oasis Springs was voluntarily handed over to Little recently, who merged the two companies into Faltal Industries and took control over Oasis Springs. This would be the second time the Faltal family had wrestled control from the Braie family to own all of Oasis Springs. Landgrave Little Faltal has been a controversial figure the world over, but has not responded to any criticism from the public or the royal family.

Maximus Corp has recently gained official power over Evergreen Harbor once the Golden Needle, the last remnants of Strangreix presence, was wiped out in the Second Invasion. The founder and former CEO, Cyrox McClure-Maximus, was previously listed among the dead of the Second Invasion, despite signing up for it and not being there. The revision was made after his wife, Tibia Maximus, explained that he attempted to personally invade Sulani to "kill all the mermaids." However, he suffered natural causes once they arrived, and the plot never came to be. Control over the company was given to heiress, Giuliana Maximus, who then passed it to her more business savvy husband, Aarav Gandhi. Gandhi had promised to put the company back on its more productive course of genetic testing, genetic therapy, vaccines and medicine, rather than its founding purpose of "killing all the mermaids," which he and his family publicly denounced. With Gandhi as head of the company, which now is the ruling power over Evergreen Harbor, this makes him the first human "king" in over eight hundred years.

New Sixam Empire, the Braieforma Alliance, the Tartosa Duchy

Even with the heavy loses and new changes in power, the territories have been peaceful and life goes on as normal.

[epuiseeparmedia]

Finally some good news!

The judge on the federal case awarded in part Cristiano’s motion for attorney fees.

Stovall and co. will have to reimburse Cristiano $334 637.50 in attorney fees.

She said Cristiano’s should have move to dismiss sooner which sounds like revisionism as until they received the lvmpd files containing them, they were actively trying not to use the football leaks papers in the litigation.

Anyway at first glance it’s good this order came before Ronaldo has to file his appeal brief, it gives his case more weight. I am petty enough to notice it is about the amount Mayorga received from their prior agreement. If she is not bankrolled by someone else, and not counting what Der Spiegel paid us for the exclusivity, she lost big time today.

I wonder if the yellow press will comment on it in today’s edition lol.

Here’s the link :

[larryland]

Berkshire Theatre Group Announces Casting for 2019 Season

Berkshire Theatre Group Announces Casting for 2019 Season

At the Fitzpatrick Main Stage

The Skin of Our Teeth

by Thornton Wilder directed by David Auburn

at The Fitzpatrick Main Stage

BTG’s Stockbridge Campus, 83 East Main Street Running: July 11–August 3

Casting:

Lauren Baez, Woman

Lynnette Freeman, Fortune Teller

Marcus Gladney, Henry

Harriet Harris, Mrs. Antrobus

Danny Johnson, Mr. Antrobus

Ralph Petillo, Man

Marjie Shrimpton, Woman

Claire Saunders,…

[arrestdujour]

Daniel Bradley Stovall

Blise, ID Age: 34 Arrest Date: Tue 5/3 Time: 1:09 PM Status: OUT

Charge Count: 2 Agency Severity Charge Statute Type Meridian City Police Department M Theft-Commit by Alteration, Transfer or Removal of Label or Price Tag I18-4624 Criminal Charge Meridian City Police Department M 1st Offense Trespass - Failure to Depart I18-7008(3)(a)(i)(2) Criminal Charge

[follow4followokr]

Why You Need A Good Energy Markets Technical Forecaster?

Forty percent of Latinos, 29% of Blacks, 22% of CHL and 16% of "other Asians" reside in neighborhoods with the greatest barriers to health care, characterized by high proportions of non-U.S. Research in Motion broke up through It's high of the day at $61.25 Tuesday morning. Day Trading: In this kind of trading the trader does not hold a position over night, he sells the shares on the same day he purchased them. Netlist Inc. (NLST) - NLST continues to offer nice trading opportunities but the the boutique was testing $5.00-$5.10 support Tuesday afternoon. Short term support is located at $6 as well as $5.10. I will be adding more stock to my long term portfolio when the stock closed back over the 200 day moving average located at $65.93. I will be adding more RIMM to my long term portfolio when the stock closes back above this level. It's so much more fun!

Some of the improved features being offered with the cool tickers are: dynamic interactive speed and direction control, auto starting features as soon as Windows starts, sound alerts at the time of hitting of the lowest and highest prices, simple, unobtrusive and intuitive application features, smooth scrolling, support of more fonts, visual alerts and pop-ups. Resistance is located at $62.35 and Support is at $61.25 & $60.65. The next major resistance level is located at $7.50. The next major resistance level to watch out for is located at $113. Support is located between $4.60-$4.70 while resistance is at $5.39 & $6.09. Resistance on ABK is located at $1.03 as well as $1.13. Research shows that the better educated people have cut back, but younger people, who are perhaps not so well educated, are still puffing away. Well which formula do you use? A close above the 50 day would be bullish, a close below the 10 day would be bearish. This area is very important and if the stock can close over the 50 day, I would expect further upside.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) - AMD stock soared after Intel Corp (INTC) agreed to settle their dispute. Netlist Inc. (NLST) - NLST soared Wednesday on no news. DryShips, Inc. (DRYS) - DRYS was up with a number of the bulk shipping stocks on Wednesday. Below is a list of stocks that are worth watching for November 18, 2009. Also, check out some of the Biggest stock Gainers of the Day. Below is a list of stocks that are worth watching for November 12, 2009. Also, check out some of the Biggest stock Gainers of the Day. Below is a list of stocks that are worth watching for November 17, 2009. Also, check out some of the Biggest stock Gainers of the Day. Daily Finan. Bull 3X Shs(ETF)(FAS) - After closing slightly above the 50 day moving average on Wednesday, the weak stock market caused FAS to tank below the 10 day moving average on Thursday. Daily Finan. Bull 3X Shs(ETF)(FAS) - FAS violated Wednesday's support of $77.81 but appears to be holding steady. LVS appears to be holding the 50 day moving average nicely.

Thursday and will be closed through the Boxing Day holiday on Dec. 26. Boxing Day is observed in the U.K. If NLST can trade back up above $6, the day traders will be rushing back in. In this scenario, you have the right to buy or sell a trade. 4 Investment Ideas to Start Your Own Forex Trade! In the list of ideas that we have for you today, the digital products such as music, courses, and templates prove to be the ideal choice. Don't fall for it and have some patience, after all, patience counts. We look for the IoT business to have opportunities in the Edge computing, wireless connectivity and USB-C categories. The management of the business must not forget that the stocks that the company holds are the prospective cost or the profit that the company is going to make in the near future. This time around, the market’s weakness in the run-up to the vote “is being driven by the renewed surge in COVID-19 and what it portends for future GDP/EPS growth,” Stovall said, referring to gross domestic product and earnings per share.

[instagoodkvi]

Questions Concerning The Cheapskate Blog?

Levkovich additionally says it would not be surprising to see the quickly rising boutiques near me pull back in the brand new year. Levkovich. That would be like e-commerce, or Amazon, which is up 80% for the year. The Nasdaq is 44% higher for the 12 months. Stovall and different strategists say it would not be shocking to see a pullback in the early a part of the new year, however he and others count on the market to end the 12 months larger. When you assume cryptocurrencies goes to observe an identical trajectory as the internet, we seem like we’re in about 12 months 1994 compared to the internet. If what you are doing isn’t working as efficiently as you'll prefer it to, it is probably time to strive one thing new together with your advertising and marketing. Called the Welcome Stamp, the visa, which launched in mid-July, gives non-nationals a 12-month residency permit while working remotely for an overseas employer.

“It’s an important scheme,” says Mr. Adam-Smith, 54. “Prior to the pandemic, nobody had actually realized how nicely working remotely could perform. Lastly, you want to organize a purchase listing of nice businesses you wish to own or add to. Traditional businesses are great stabilizers for a diversified portfolio. So, you positively need some high-progress stocks in your portfolio. It’s not that prime-growth stocks don’t promote off in a market crash, however they recuperate extra shortly and rally more furiously after a crash. Data by YCharts. A three-year inventory price chart on 5 development stocks. The common residence value within the U.K. In current months, we've seen them discounted by $50 off their list value, and so they remain a strong decide at that worth. In a typical wire service deal at present, the stemming vendor receives 20 percent of the sale price, as well as the wire service- FTD, 1-800-Flowers as well as Teleflora are the sector’s huge three- maintains 7 percent.

[beesandbooks1]

ScallyWagAThon Wrap Up!

Check out the Twitter account for the ScallyWagAThon here!

Prompt 1: Aye Aye Captain! – Dread Pirate Arcanist by Shami Stovall

For this prompt I needed to choose a book with two “i”s in the title. Already on my TBR for the month due to the Witchy Readathon, I decided to do some double dipping with Dread Pirate Arcanist, the second book in the Frith Chronicles. This book was awesome! They spent quite a bit of time at sea, chasing down a ship called Third Abyss full of master arcanists whose eldrin were all maneating beasts. Terrifying and exciting all at once!

Prompt 2: Bawdy Songs – Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

The second prompt I followed was for a book featuring a romance in it. Seafire barely had romance in it. I picked it for this prompt because I saw in some reviews that there was a romance with mixed feelings around it, but I wouldn’t call a few kisses in the heat of a moment a romance. I suppose in the sequel it’s possible those kisses will turn into conversations, attraction, or a real relationship. At least a couple of side characters definitely had a romance going on!

Prompt 3: Washed Ashore – The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

For this prompt I had to pick a book published 3+ years ago and so I selected this one, the only contemporary novel on my list! I adored this book, and I absolutely am glad I included it. The story was a lovely refreshment compared to the historical fiction, fantasy, and futuristic elements in the other three books I picked. Though not strictly about pirates, mermaids, or any other sea theme the fact that the contemporary does incorporate imagery from mermaids and pirates was enough to satisfy me.

Prompt 4: Black Sails – Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

This prompt required a book with a black cover. Cover based prompts usually put me off of readathons, considering the majority of books I read and have access to are ebooks and I don’t spend a lot of time caring about those covers. But in my dedication for this readathon I did pick Blackhearts, which has a black cover and a ship in a bottle on it. Boy this book was surprising! I new it was a romance based on Blackbeard’s youth but it was honestly so easy to forget it was supposed to be about Edward Teach; it reads like a straight romance novel without the happy ending!

Bonus book: Deep Sea Legend – Caught by Kimberley Cale

In keeping with my theme of sea books, I decided that since I also read Caught this week (admittedly for a blog tour not strictly for this readathon) I should count it! Caught is a romance between a mermaid and a human and Greek mythology plays heavily into it, so I figured that this prompt worked for it.

So there we have it! I read five books for ScallyWagAThon this week! Crazy, I know. This readathon was so fun though, and the Twitter account had prompts and questions and games on it throughout the week! I definitely want o participate in it again!

[lenosity]

Quotes That Celebrate Teamwork, Hard Work, and Collaboration

Incredible things happen when teamwork happens. When everyone on the team is equally invested in the overall purpose and goal, you’ll find yourself working faster, finding mistakes more easily, and innovating better.

1. "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller

2. "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." – Henry Ford

3. "Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up." – Oliver Wendell Holmes

4. "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." – Isaac Newton

5. "No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it." – H.E. Luccock

6. "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." – Andrew Carnegie

7. "It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." – Charles Darwin

8. "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." – Henry Ford

9. "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." – Michael Jordan

10. "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." – Phil Jackson

11. "The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison." – James Cash Penney

12. "Politeness is the poison of collaboration." – Edwin Land

13. "Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life." – Amy Poehler

14. "Effectively, change is almost impossible without industry-wide collaboration, cooperation, and consensus." – Simon Mainwaring

15. "Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability." – Patrick Lencioni

16. "You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins." – Jim Stovall

17. "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime." – Babe Ruth

18. "There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others." – George Shinn

19. "It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed." –Napolean Hill

20. "The whole is other than the sum of the parts." – Kurt Koffka

21. "A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skills of others." – Norman Shidle

22. "The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team." – Lewis B. Ergen

23. "Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." – Vince Lombardi

24. "One piece of log creates a small fire, adequate to warm you up, add just a few more pieces to blast an immense bonfire, large enough to warm up your entire circle of friends; needless to say that individuality counts but teamwork dynamites." – Jin Kwon

25. "No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team." – Reid Hoffman

For more action content, check out www.lenosity.com.

[lexstovall]

WHO: Lex Stovall 

WHAT: -

WHEN: 1/31, late night

TRIGGER WARNING: anxiety attack, minor suicidal ideation

Lying came easy to her. Almost as naturally as breathing. 

Usually it was little white lies: I’m fine, I don’t hurt, I’m okay, I don’t want to cease to exist on this Earth. The last thought made her flinch a little, cheek twitching up and features pinching together as she looked down on the papers on her desk. She was right in that she’d already been approached to teach one of those mandatory classes. All that was left was to talk to Amira, sign the papers, and they would give her more work. 

Eyes shifted over the pile of papers on her desk as she contemplated the pros and cons of more work. Pinching her bottom lip between two fingers, picking at the thin skin there-- she didn’t hear the door open, forgetting that she had scheduled a meeting with one of the girls in class who seemed to be struggling. 

Looking up when the student was right at her desk, she put on a polite smile, though it faltered when she realizing that this girl had changed her clothes from earlier. The v-neck was a little lower than she remembered, and Lex pushed the thoughts away. It was a dangerous road to go down, even if the temptation was there. Something about the taboo of it all excited her in the back of her mind, just as it always had, but the dominant set her jaw and continued on as if she hadn’t noticed the way the other was looking her over. 

The meeting went by without event, though the student did brush her fingers over Lex’s when she was handing back her paper, and that was enough for Lex to realize that this could easily fall back into previous patterns. Saying a polite, but quick goodbye, she retreated back towards the lounge to send off a quick text to Amira saying that she’d be late. 

The conversation was easy, and a relief in the face of her own thoughts. Even if she was actively trying to chase them off with the happiness she felt when her phone lit up with Amira’s name. But there was still something deeper, a fear of this being so real that there were several times that she didn’t text back immediately. And refused her when she offered to come up. Any other time, she would have loved to pull the submissive into her arms and lose herself in the warmth.

But since the fight, Lex’s thoughts had started to take a turn, similar to where they were before Christmas. Before Ilse. Before-- She could see the patterns forming within her own actions, and it terrified her. Just like the relationship itself was starting to terrify her. She was the one who always fucked everything up, and being afraid of forever was where it started. The words people had said to her months ago started to filter thought again. Closing her eyes tight, she ignored the beeping of the microwave and left the room, walking quickly back to her office and locking the door. 

Instead of sinking into her chair, she sat on the floor behind the desk and brought her knees to her chest, taking a few deep breaths to combat the sudden, faster pumping of her heart. She pressed two fingers to her neck, counting the beats and trying to feel for something erratic or worrying that meant she would have to go to the hospital. The complete and overwhelming fear of heart attack started to consume her thoughts, everything else becoming background noise to her fear, even though it was there swirling and increasing it exponentially. 

She lost count of the beats, and eventually just gave up, holding herself tighter and willing it it stop, and completely forgetting everything she’d talked about with others before--- on how to make this better. There was the all consuming wish and yearning for Amira or Ilse to be there, and fear, despair, self-hatred.

When she was finally able to calm down enough to text Amira back, it was hours later, telling her she was going to come home now. No work had been done. Standing on shaky legs, she looked around the room and wondered when she’d be normal.

[rosesrosesdeath]

Poem for Aalon

The light in your front room is wonderful when the curtains are open.

The view from your back window changes with the weather: rain puddles on the roof of the red brick building sometimes

Wind ruffles the branches of trees

The garden your landlady tends

Pots and bushes and well-segmented sections

blooms in sun.

You open and shut the window to try and let in breezes and we hear the noise of the shitty neighbors who drink and leave trash on the roof.

Your touch makes me feel safe.

Your hips sway and you say “this is in my wheelhouse”

When a song you know comes on.

You removed the gray from your beard but I remember

Exactly where it was.

It will be back.

We both like the foodie shows;

I am always too stoned when we watch the action movies to understand what is happening.

I listen to your running patter about actors

About which disco stars got shorted by their studios

About television shows featuring either grand dames or superheroines or groups of women friends.

I will know it all eventually if you show me.

I know the Stovall Sisters now

I know She-Ra.

You have lent me three umbrellas.

The old church spits water out of its gutters in a downpour

I stand there looking like an idiot at it

Until you grab me by the waist &

Then I am sugar in hot butter.

Cheese and egg sandwiches with the cheese cooked hot in the middle of the thin package of scrambled egg

folded smartly into a square.

French toast with the challah from Friday.

Mushroom risotto.

Miles and miles of coffee drips across your small table

(My hands are clumsy, sorry, sorry).

Your hands on me pull me into the earth.

I am used to the dent in one side of your mattress.

Every time I come over

Creakingly walk up the three flights of stairs

Listen to music

Get fed

Get pulled into bed

I leave feeling like the things I worry about are as small as the house sparrows under the eaves.

The smell of you in the morning is musky salty sweet and you wrap around me better than the quilt I have at home.

Your mouth tastes like sourdough when my eyes aren’t open yet and I kiss you with half my face against the pillow.

I have told you I love to get filled with your cum, right ?

I love to get filled with your cum.

Take my holes take them take me

Bend me over with my hands against the wall or braced on furniture

As we murmur, moan, call back and forth how good it feels

How deep

How hot.

I want to walk around art museums and gardens and see beautiful things

Before more of the world goes to shit

But more than that I want to count the dark neat black hairs on your shoulder and wrap my arms around your hips and pull.

The weight of you on me, in me

Makes me live in another world.

I could say silly things here about starlight

About the pressure at the bottom of the ocean

About the warmth at the center of a burrow

(The way you kiss me is exactly how I like being kissed.)

Whatever

You know what I mean.

Your eyes are so big and the lashes that frame them are pretty

Your eyes are such a glowing deep shade of brown

Brown: a river in autumn rich with the tannins from fallen leaves

Brown: a pot of well-made vegetable stock

Like the dark varnishes on antique wood.

The knives you gave me are sharp; the brown sugar bear does his job.

Thank you

You make me happier.

You are like the clouds in a coral sunset.

Happy birthday.

[theworldsmosthatedakacr7]

Legal implications of warrant seeking Cristiano Ronaldo’s DNA

This is a worthy and detailed read for all of you who wonder where the case is standing at, and what are the possible outcomes for it. 

Michael McCann is SI’s legal analyst. He is also Associate Dean of the University of New Hampshire School of Law and editor and co-author of The Oxford Handbook of American Sports Law and Court Justice: The Inside Story of My Battle Against the NCAA.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation into whether Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo raped a woman in a penthouse at the Palms Casino Resort in June 2009 has become an international legal matter.

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, authorities in Law Vegas have issued a warrant that, if enforced, would compel Ronaldo to provide a DNA sample. The DNA sample would be compared to DNA found on the dress of his accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, on the night of the alleged incident in question. Given that Ronaldo works and spends much of the year living in Italy, Las Vegas authorities are attempting to convince the Italian legal system to execute the warrant. This situation raises a number of procedural issues and is unlikely to be resolved soon.

Here's a closer look at where the re-opened criminal investigation into Ronaldo stands and what the latest developments mean:

BRIEF PRIMER ON THE RAPE ALLEGATIONS

Last September, Mayorga, a Nevada resident, sued Ronaldo for battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and nine other claims in Clark County District Court. Mayorga’s complaint, as authored by attorney Leslie Stovall, alleges that Mayorga met Ronaldo at the Rain Nightclub in the Palms on the evening of Friday, June 12, 2009. Ronaldo then invited Mayorga and others up to his penthouse suite. While in one of the suite’s bathrooms, Mayorga claims that Ronaldo exposed himself and then committed anal rape on her. Mayorga also recalls Ronaldo apologizing to her afterwards.

Hours later, Mayorga reported the incident to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). She identified Ronaldo as the rapist. Mayorga also sought hospital care for rectal injuries and trauma. Several weeks later, a detective from the LVMPD interviewed Mayorga. Mayorga suggests that the detective advocated more than listened, discouraging her from pursuing the matter further. The detective, Mayorga recalls, warned her that if she went public with her accusation, she would be depicted as trying to extort money from a popular and affluent soccer star.

The extent to which the police probed the incident is unclear; Mayorga’s complaint suggests the investigation was hardly thorough and seemed designed to obfuscate the situation. In fact, Mayorga contends that an unidentified person in the LVMPD collaborated with representatives of Ronaldo to diminish the chances of an exhaustive inquiry. One thing is clear: Ronaldo was not charged with a crime.

The combination of (alleged) sexual assault and indifference, if not obstruction, from law enforcement caused Mayorga to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Mayorga also retained an attorney, whose name has only been identified by the pseudonym Mary Smith. The attorney allegedly advised Mayorga to sign a settlement agreement with Ronaldo and encouraged her to put the incident behind her. The agreement called for Ronaldo to pay Mayorga $375,000. In exchange, Mayorga contractually relinquished any legal claims she may have had against Ronaldo. In addition, Mayorga agreed to permanently delete any electronic and written evidence and name every person with whom she had confided about the incident.

Mayorga now insists that the settlement agreement is unenforceable. She argues that her compromised mental and emotional state at the time she signed the agreement prove she signed it without the sufficient legal capacity to do so. Mayorga also insists that Ronaldo failed to meet a condition of the agreement, namely the requirement that he personally read a letter from Mayorga.

Through his own statements and those of his attorneys, Ronaldo categorically denies Mayorga’s claim that he raped her. He acknowledges that he had a sexual encounter with Mayorga but insists that it was consensual. In addition, and as explained in a previous analysis of the case, courts are often unwilling to void a settlement. It remains to be seen if Mayorga will be able to acquire a sufficient amount of admissible evidence and credible testimony to prove her allegations.

ROLE OF THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

While Mayorga’s lawsuit faces hurdles, the LVMPD need not rely on the lawsuit’s success in order to assess the criminal law implications of Mayorga’s allegations. To that end, the police department has re-opened its investigation into whether Ronaldo committed sexual assault. Sexual assault would be a serious felony charge under Nevada law. A conviction for it would carry a life sentence, with a chance of parole after 10 or 15 years depending on bodily harm suffered by the victim.

One might be skeptical of the LVMPD’s new investigation given the department’s supposedly middling inquiry back in 2009. However, the LVMPD is now under completely different leadership. Also, Mayorga going public with her claims, both in terms of her lawsuit and her high-profile interview with German outlet Der Spiegel, implicitly places pressure on the police to conduct a substantive probe.

In addition, it’s not too late for the LVMPD to investigate Ronaldo and, potentially, charge him with a crime. Under current Nevada law, the statute of limitations for sexual assault is 20 years. This means that a sexual assault that occurred in Las Vegas at some point since 1999 could conceivably lead to charges.

DIFFICULTIES IN INVESTIGATING RONALDO

There are several reasons to suggest that Ronaldo will not be charged with a crime.

First, it does not appear that law enforcement, after hearing from Mayorga in 2009, believed that Ronaldo committed a crime. Not only were charges not brought, but if Mayorga’s depiction of her interactions with police officers is accurate, her conversations did not propel the LVMPD to look much further into the matter. It’s unclear if this reticence related to law enforcement having uncertainty or doubts about Mayorga. Alternatively, the officers may have felt discomfort with the idea of investigating a celebrity like Ronaldo. Or perhaps they doubted that rape could be proven in this instance. Regardless of the accompanying explanation(s), the fact that charges were not brought in 2009 is an encouraging sign for Ronaldo.

Second, cases usually become more difficult to prosecute the longer time passes. This alleged incident took place almost a decade ago. The delay presents logistical barriers for prosecutors, who would ultimately need to convince jurors, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Ronaldo committed a crime. Some of the witnesses, including those who were with Ronaldo and Mayorga on the night in question, might no longer be available. Alternatively, they may be available but no longer recall what happened. Along those lines, our ability to accurately recall events usually worsens as those events recede into memory.

It’s also not clear to what extent text, email and other types of electronic evidence have been preserved. This is especially problematic for the LVMPD given that Mayorga agreed in the settlement to destroy evidence. To be clear, the passage of time does not preclude a successful prosecution–for example, in 2018 jurors in Pennsylvania convicted comedian Bill Cosby on three counts of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004–but it adds a hurdle.

Third, Ronaldo is far outside of the reach of the LVMPD, whose jurisdiction is the City of Las Vegas and Clark County. While the Extradition Clause of the U.S. Constitution (as found in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2) obligates states to deliver fugitives to other states, the clause has no impact on other countries. Ronaldo can only be compelled to cooperate if a court where he is located mandates it.

While LVMPD officers obviously do not need Ronaldo’s cooperation in order to seek charges against him, their inability to speak with him could make it harder to assess the reliability of the accusation. Police would prefer to interview Ronaldo to determine whether his explanation seems believable and is logically consistent. They would also like to compare statements by Mayorga and Ronaldo and assess areas of discrepancies.

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE POLICE’S INTEREST IN A DNA SAMPLE—AND WHY RONALDO MIGHT NEVER HAVE TO PROVIDE ONE

A search warrant issued for Ronaldo’s DNA means that a Las Vegas court has approved a request by the LVMPD. A judge or magistrate has agreed with the police that there is probable cause to believe that a crime took place and that Ronaldo’s DNA is relevant evidence. This development also means there is a written affidavit, which is most likely sealed, setting forth evidence that supports the necessity of a search warrant for Ronaldo’s DNA.

A search warrant for Ronaldo’s DNA does not necessarily mean that law enforcement believes Ronaldo committed a crime. In fact, a DNA match might only corroborate what Ronaldo already acknowledges: that he had a sexual encounter with Mayorga. If the DNA doesn’t match, then Ronaldo’s defense would be bolstered. He and his attorneys would insist that Mayorga must have had sexual relations with at least one additional person, whom they would presumably blame for Mayorga’s injuries. From that lens, Ronaldo may have more to gain than to lose by supplying a DNA sample.

Nonetheless, Ronaldo’s attorneys might still be wary of their client turning over his DNA. For one, they could have privacy concerns about sharing Ronaldo’s DNA. While procedures for the taking, handling and movement of a DNA sample from Italy to Las Vegas would presumably be well-designed, there is always the possibility of a leak or breach. Ronaldo’s genetic information would likely be of high value. DNA results can reveal, among other sensitive things, an increased chance of developing certain diseases. For a marquee athlete such as Ronaldo, any insights as to his health and prognosis would be valuable to his employers, prospective employers, the betting community and media companies that profit from writing about him.

A DNA sample could also be used for other law enforcement purposes related to Ronaldo. Even if the DNA sample does not implicate him with respect to Mayorga, it could conceivably be shared by the LVMPD with other law enforcement entities that investigate Ronaldo.

For those reasons, Ronaldo might not voluntarily comply with a request to provide his DNA. This presents a procedural problem for the LVMPD since it lacks jurisdiction to execute the warrant in Turin, Italy. An Italian court would need to approve the warrant. In doing so, the Italian court would need to ensure that it adheres to Italian law for search warrants. In the U.S., a search warrant must satisfy privacy considerations set forth in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and must also be filed in good faith by a law enforcement officer and be based on reliable information that supplies probable cause. In determining the lawfulness of the request, an Italian judge would instead refer to the Italian Constitution, which contains several privacy provisions, as well as to other Italian laws.

If Ronaldo’s attorneys object to the Las Vegas warrant, they will argue that the warrant does not comport with Italian law. They might also contend that the warrant is motivated by media sensationalism and by political opportunism on the part of American authorities to pursue a well-known foreign national.

IF RONALDO IS CHARGED WITH A CRIME, EXTRADITION LAW BECOMES RELEVANT

At this preliminary stage of the police’s investigation, there is no indication that Ronaldo will be charged with a crime. In fact, as explained above, there are several reasons to be skeptical that Ronaldo will face charges.

If, however, Ronaldo is charged, the next question would be whether he would travel to the U.S. He could voluntarily return to Las Vegas and defend himself, presumably with top attorneys at his side. Or he could take the more risk averse approach. If so, he would likely use every tool possible to avoid having to appear in the U.S.

This raises the issue of extradition. The U.S. has an extradition treaty with Italy and also one with Ronaldo’s home country, Portugal. Further, the U.S. and the European Union negotiated an extradition treaty in 2003. While these are detailed agreements, they expressly restrict the ability of one country to force a foreign national to enter its jurisdiction and stand trial. Most crucially, a country can only “force” a defendant to appear if a judge in the country in which the defendant is located approves the request. In other words, a Las Vegas judge can’t unilaterally compel Ronaldo to leave Italy and travel to the U.S. An Italian judge would also need to consent. Under the relevant extradition treaties, an offense is only extraditable if it punishable under the laws of both the requesting country and the requested country and if the maximum period of penalty exceeds one year (a sexual assault charge would qualify). Extradition requires other steps as well, including involvement by the U.S. State Department.

If charged with a crime, Ronaldo would presumably contest extradition. He would attempt to persuade an Italian judge that the charge is politically-motivated. Ronaldo would stress that the LVMPD investigated him in 2009 and took no action at that time. Being charged a decade after an already-investigated incident, Ronaldo would contend, more than coincidentally follows his accuser becoming a public figure. To that end, Ronaldo would note that the Clark County district attorney who would prosecute him is an elected official. Likewise, Ronaldo’s attorneys might assert that the same charge, if brought in Italy, would be time-barred under Italian law and thus should not be extraditable (the persuasiveness of that type of argument would depend on the severity of the charge and any relevant Italian statutes of limitation).

In the still-unlikely event that Ronaldo is criminally charged, and if he then refuses to appear in court, don’t expect him to be tried in absentia. Nevada law makes clear that a criminal defendant must be present at different points in the trial process (Italian law also disfavors trials in absentia, reasoning that that they violate a defendant’s right to a fair trial). Las Vegas prosecutors would need to wait out any extradition process.

[orbemnews]

Biden at 100 days: Hottest stock market since JFK The S&P 500 is up 8.6% since the market close on January 20, the final day of the Trump presidency. That means President Joe Biden is on track for the strongest stock market performance during a new president’s first 100 days since John F. Kennedy in 1961, according to CFRA Research. The Biden rally squeaks past the 8.4% jump during the first 100 days of the Obama presidency and is well above the 5% increase in the months following former President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Friday will mark Biden’s 100th full day in office, not counting Inauguration Day. Presidents tend to get more credit — and more blame — than they deserve when it comes to the stock market’s performance. Still, the historic gains at the start of the Biden era add to a sense of optimism about America’s economic recovery from a once-in-a-century pandemic. “If the stock market is any indication, Wall Street appears to approve of President Biden’s attempts to corral the Covid-19 crisis and stimulate the economy,” Sam Stovall, CFRA’s chief investment strategist, told CNN Business. That approval is all the more striking because Trump, who viewed the Dow as a barometer of his success, warned repeatedly during the 2020 campaign that the market would implode if Americans failed to reelect him. Between last August and October alone, Trump sent six tweets saying markets would outright “crash” if Biden were elected. Those crashes have yet to occur. “I’m not sure presidents make very good market analysts, not just Trump,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. Uncle Sam to the rescue The US stock market recovered from the pandemic long before the election, boosted by unprecedented support from the Federal Reserve and Congress. Markets gathered momentum last fall as nightmare election chaos scenarios were avoided. Wall Street, like Main Street, cheered vaccine breakthrough announcements in November that helped fuel the Dow’s best month since January 1987. Stocks continued to rally in 2021 as the rapid rollout of vaccines that Biden presided over raised hopes for an economic boom. At the same time, Uncle Sam is still providing massive amounts of aid. Congress enacted Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan last month and could be poised to pass trillions more in spending later this year. And the Federal Reserve is keeping its foot on the pedal, with rock-bottom interest rates and tens of billions of dollars of monthly bond purchases. Best since FDR? The Biden rally looks even more historic if measured from the close of trading on January 19. By that measure, the S&P 500 is up more than 10% during Biden’s first 100 days in office. That would mark the strongest gain during the start of any presidential term (not just first term) since 1932 under FDR when the S&P 500 skyrocketed 104.4%, according to Frederick. “It’s pretty remarkable,” Frederick said of the historic gains. “FDR’s is a record that will never be beaten.” The strong start to the Biden era adds to the run of market success under Democratic presidents — despite concerns about higher taxes. “There is a belief out there, that is absolutely incorrect, that markets do better under Republicans,” Frederick said. “It’s completely wrong.” Since 1932, the S&P 500 is up 734% under Democrats, but just 370% during Republican tenures, according to Frederick. The overheating risk History suggests the stock market has a very good chance of finishing the year in the green. Since 1932, only during President Richard Nixon’s first year in the White House did the S&P 500 end the year in the red after rising during the first 100 days of a presidential term, Frederick said. But there are risks the market could cool off. The biggest concern is that inflation rears its ugly head after so many years of moderate price increases. Inflation hawks warn that the unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus, on top of the reopening of the economy, will cause prices to surge. Although the Fed has promised to look past temporary price spikes, a significant return of inflation would force the central bank to rapidly raise interest rates — removing one of the foundations of the market rally and perhaps derailing the economic recovery. Another worry is higher taxes. Markets briefly tumbled last week on concerns over sharply higher capital gains taxes to pay for Biden’s ambitious agenda. It’s too soon to know whether those tax rates will go up and by how much. The White House is also moving to unwind some of the Trump tax cuts that juiced the stock market in 2017 and 2018. Biden has called for raising the corporate tax rate from the current level of 21% to 28%. Frederick urged investors not to overreact to tax hike proposals and predicted they will likely get “watered down” along the way. And he suggested the market can live with modestly higher corporate taxes. “We probably have room for tax rates to go a little higher,” Frederick said. Source link Orbem News #Biden #Bidenat100days:HotteststockmarketsinceJFK-CNN #days #Hottest #investing #JFK #market #stock

[larryland]

by Macey Levin

  The Berkshire Theatre Group’s world premiere production of Kathleen Clark’s What We May Be has a few problems, the major one being the script itself.  Clark, the author of the highly regarded Southern Comforts and Secrets of a Soccer Mom, has thrown together a script that is more superficial than fully realized.

  A small community theatre in Hill, New Jersey, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary but has been informed that their lease is not being renewed.  This particular evening they are presenting a series of four one-act plays for which the audience has voted.  The majority of What We May Be is those plays which are truly insubstantial.  Though there are backstage scenes interspersed we learn very little about any of the characters preventing the audience from developing a relationship with them.  All we know in passing is that Hal Polick (Count Stovall), one of the actors, is a cardiologist and that Glen Geer (Carson Elrod), president of the organization, lives alone.  We can tell through the ages of the cast members how long they have been involved in theatre.  That’s not enough.

  The plays, one of which is “Let’s Live a Little,” a title of one of Ms. Clark’s full-length plays, the others being “Seeing is Believing,” “The Writer’s Conference,” and “Emma’s Journey,” are more skits or short sitcoms rather than full works, though within a 90-minute production you can’t develop 4 one-act plays; they could have more substance, however, if they were further explored.

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The cast works hard though the acting sometimes seems to be labored rather than instinctive.  Each of them plays a theatre company member plus parts in the various plays.  Due to the relative brevity of each play the characters cannot be developed.  Penny Fuller as Lucinda Royal Scott is the self-appointed doyenne of the company who casts herself in each show.  She does yeoman work in her five roles with the assorted characterizations.  The other actors – Elrod, Stovall,  Carla Duren,  Samantha Hill and Dee Hoty also bring credibility to their respective portrayals.

  Randall Parsons’ set reveals the backstage areas of the Fitzpatrick creating the environment for the offstage squabbles and ultimate camaraderie.  The four plays are suggested by several set pieces… tables, chairs, etc.   The lighting by Alan C. Edwards complements the tone of the plays and focuses attention on specific playing areas.  Laura Churba’s costumes are indicative of the various characters’ personalities.

  Gregg Edelman’s direction works for the dialogue scenes but some of his staging, especially at the opening, is static and not balanced.  Though advertised as a comedy the hearty laughs are very few and very far between.  Perhaps his actors are trying too hard.  He, too, seems to be handicapped by the script.

  Ms. Clark should give some consideration to expanding one or two of the playlets and retire the remaining script.

  What We May Be by Kathleen Clark; Directed by Gregg Edelman; Cast: Carla Duren (Colleen Haran) Carson Elrod (Glen Geer) Penny Fuller (Lucinda Royal Scott) Samantha Hill (Summer Oliver) Dee Hoty (Joan Stem) Count Stovall (Hal Polick); Scenic Designer: Randall Parsons; Costume Designer: Laurie Churba; Lighting Designer: Alan C. Edwards; Resident Composer/Sound Designer: Scott Killian; Stage Manager: Jason Weixelman; Running time: 90 minutes; no intermission; From 8/8/19; Closing 8/31/19; Berkshire Theatre Group Fitzpatrick Main Stage, Stockbridge, MA, www.berkshiretheatregroup.org or 413-997-4444

REVIEW: “What We May Be” at the Berkshire Theatre Group by Macey Levin The Berkshire Theatre Group’s world premiere production of Kathleen Clark’s What We May Be…

[dipulb3]

The global chip shortage has come for iPads and Macs

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/the-global-chip-shortage-has-come-for-ipads-and-macs/

The global chip shortage has come for iPads and Macs

What’s happening: Apple (AAPL) just had a massive quarter thanks to sales of new iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, with revenue nearly hitting $90 billion. Sales of iPhones reached nearly $48 billion, a 65% increase over the same quarter last year, as consumers continued shelling out the big bucks to upgrade to Apple’s first 5G smartphone lineup.

But that wave of demand is now coming up against major supply chain issues resulting from the pandemic. In a call with analysts, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said that the company expects revenue will be $3 billion to $4 billion lower this quarter thanks to “supply constraints.”

That includes problems procuring chips, which are expected to affect the production of iPad and Macs.

“We’ll have some challenges in there, and challenges in meeting the demand that we’ve got,” CEO Tim Cook said on the call. Apple shares are still up nearly 3% in premarket trading.

Remember: Carmakers were among the first to sound the alarm about a shortage of microchips, which forced companies including General Motors (GM), Hyundai (HYMTF), Ford (F) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) to temporarily shut down plants.

On Wednesday, Ford warned that the chip shortage will get worse before it gets better, and will likely cut 2021 profits by about $2.5 billion.

Now, even top tech companies are dealing with the fallout.

Samsung (SSNLF) told analysts on its earnings call Thursday that it’s working hard to rebalance production to reduce shortages of semiconductors and other key parts, which could weigh on sales of products like smartphones.

Big picture: While the pain has spread from autos to consumer electronics, it won’t stop there. In a research note published last week, Goldman Sachs said that 169 US industries embed semiconductors in their products. The bank said its “working assumption” is that there will be a 20% average shortfall of computer chips for those affected.

The problem isn’t going away anytime soon.

“Because of the proprietary technologies, specialized machinery, and economics of scale needed to produce any given type of computer chip or component — and because many of the mature facilities are already operating near full capacity — the imbalance is likely to persist into the fall and possibly into 2022,” the bank’s analysts wrote.

Investor insight: Wall Street is tracking how shortages could hurt corporate earnings, but it’s also trying to puzzle out what they mean for inflation, which is being closely monitored by central banks. A reduction in supply, as fewer cars and tablets are produced, could contribute to higher prices.

Goldman Sachs thinks the price of affected products could rise by 0.7% to 3% this year, providing a “temporary” boost to inflation readings.

Biden at 100 days: Hottest stock market since JFK

The Biden bust that the Trump campaign warned of has morphed into a Biden boom, my Appradab Business colleague Matt Egan reports.

See here: The S&P 500 is up 8.6% since the market close on Jan. 20, the final day of the Trump presidency. That means President Joe Biden is on track for the strongest stock market performance during a new president’s first 100 days since John F. Kennedy in 1961, according to CFRA Research.

The Biden rally squeaks past the 8.4% jump during the first 100 days of the Obama presidency and is well above the 5% increase in the months following former President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Friday will mark Biden’s 100th full day in office, not counting Inauguration Day.

Presidents tend to get more credit — and more blame — than they deserve when it comes to the stock market’s performance. Still, the historic gains at the start of the Biden era add to a sense of optimism about America’s recovery from a once-in-a-century pandemic.

“If the stock market is any indication, Wall Street appears to approve of President Biden’s attempts to corral the Covid-19 crisis and stimulate the economy,” Sam Stovall, CFRA’s chief investment strategist, told Appradab Business.

Remember: The US stock market recovered from the pandemic long before the election, boosted by unprecedented support from the Federal Reserve and Congress. Markets gathered momentum last fall as election chaos scenarios were avoided. Wall Street, like Main Street, cheered vaccine breakthrough announcements in November that helped fuel the Dow’s best month since January 1987.

Stocks have continued to rally in 2021 as the rapid rollout of vaccines raises hopes for an economic boom.

History suggests the stock market has a good chance of finishing the year in the green. Since 1932, only once did the S&P 500 end the year in the red after rising during the first 100 days of a presidential term, according to Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

But that will require investors to continue to shrug off concerns about the virus, inflation and higher taxes. In a speech before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Biden reiterated his intention to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for trillions of dollars in fresh spending on infrastructure and education.

“It’s time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1% of Americans to pay their fair share,” he said.

The Declaration of Independence is going public

A copy of the Declaration of Independence will hit the sizzling collectibles market just in time for the Fourth of July — and unlike other rare items up for sale, you don’t have to be a millionaire to own a piece of it.

Rally, a trading app for classic cars, baseball cards and other memorabilia, will next month offer 80,000 shares to the public of a copy of the Declaration of Independence printed in July 1776.

The item is one of just 20 copies from that period that are in private hands. It was previously displayed at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Each share will cost just $25, making it a $2 million initial public offering.

The IPO comes during a surge of interest in collectibles, with everything from art to sneakers to sports cards skyrocketing in value. A LeBron James rookie card sold for a record $5.2 million earlier this week. And the explosion of digital certificates for art and collectibles known as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, has been grabbing headlines.

The rush has been triggered in part by central bank policy, which Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated Wednesday was not changing any time soon. With interest rates at rock bottom, investors are looking for ever more creative places to park their cash.

“People are trying to get protection from the debasement of their dollars,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “They want to be in things with limited supply and that have the perception of value in the eyes of many.”

Up next

Altria (MO), Carlyle Group (CG), Caterpillar (CAT), Comcast (CCZ), Domino’s Pizza (DMPZF), Hershey Foods (HSY), Kraft Heinz (KHC), Mastercard (MA), McDonald’s (MCD), Merck (MKGAF) and Molson Coors (TAP) report results before US markets open. Amazon (AMZN), Twitter (TWTR) and US Steel (X) follow after the close.

Also today: The first look at US gross domestic product for the first three months of the year posts at 8:30 a.m. ET, along with initial unemployment claims for last week.

Coming tomorrow: Chevron (CVX) and ExxonMobil (XOM) close out a big week of earnings from oil producers.

[lexstovall]

WHO: Lex Stovall

WHAT: a bath surrounded by her thoughts.

WHEN: Early morning 10/1/2019

TRIGGERS: Suicidal ideation, pills, transphobia, homophobic slurs.

It took her more than a few hours to get up from her desk, staring down at the dark-stained wood and desk calendar, willing it to speak to her, show her some form of a sign to tell her to get up and go back home. A glance to the clock told it was well past the end of her shift, just shy of four am, when she finally stood, shrugged on her jacket and made her way down to catch a cab back to the apartment. The emptiness that had been weighing on her was, thankfully, filled with the warmth of Daya and her siblings. It was a constant reminder that home could feel like home again.

It wasn’t just the lack of promotion that was affecting her so badly. This heaviness on her shoulders, pulling her down into the earth, had been there for as long as she could remember. The fog in her thoughts, the haziness drowning out everything. There were times in her life where the density of the dark clouds seemed to grow, threatening to choke her on her own pain. It’d been a few years since she’d clawed her way out of her last episode, right at the end of her internship. If she was being completely and totally honest with herself, she could see this coming from the moment she and Noah broke things off. What a monster she was, to take someone so beautiful and so lovely and break them beyond repair. To crush them under heel and leave their heart broken and bloody.

As if on autopilot, she made the journey home from the hospital, to find, once again thankfully, that her new roommates were asleep and the house quiet. Her first instinct was to go for something heavy to drink, so she did, before she even slid off her heels. Two glasses down of amber liquid, and she made her way back to the bedroom and connected bathroom to run herself a hot bath to soothe the ache in her limbs. The memory of her date with Amira played in repeat in her mind, but there was no joy in it, the clouds choking out all semblance of smiles.

Her limbs moved of their own accord as she put the bottle of pills on the edge of the tub, a habit she hadn’t broken yet since she’d gotten the prescription for the aches in her joints and nerves. Then she sank down into the hot water, relishing in the scald against her skin, without so much as a hiss against the heat.

And she was alone with her thoughts once again. If someone were on the outside looking into her life, they would say she had everything. That life was perfect. Being in it, though? She felt more broken and damaged than she had been in some time. It wasn’t the promotion. It wasn’t the budding relationship with Amira, or the events that had nearly left her giving up on it. It wasn’t the trauma of the Nameless. It wasn’t the claim dissolution.

It was something that had been festering in her mind since she was a young girl, fighting to be herself in a boy’s body. It was there from the first time her mother shaved her head and told her to man up. It was there when they burned her clothes. When her father punched her across the temple and told her that they wouldn’t “raise no fairy” and she’d snapped back that if anything, they could at least raise a woman. Or when she’d been beat during break in middle school ( bloody and broken nose, chipped tooth ) and the teachers who saw it let it happen because she needed to be taught a lesson about not upsetting the status quo.

The bombarding of her own thoughts left her with silent tears rolling down her cheeks that she quickly rubbed away, embarrassed even with no one watching. She shouldn’t be upset. She had good things going on in her life, and her past didn’t change that. Amira was wonderful to her and what she had with her made her happier than she’d been in a long time, despite the anxiety that was so obviously driving them both. There was no reason to be drowning this hard in her thoughts, and no reason to be this… sad. 

Even without the promotion, she had a wonderful job. Wonderful ( her mouth twisted as she thought on the right word ) ...friends, who were around sometimes. Not that she’d ever thought about telling them about her struggles or why existing made her feel heavy. Lex certainly didn’t have it as bad off as some in the city. She had money and would never have to worry about when the next meal would be, would never have to count coins to make fare. And yet?

Her eyes drifted to the bottle sitting on the edge of the bathtub, already feeling the effects of the two glasses she’d had not too long ago. It would be so easy. So. Damn. Easy. And she wouldn’t feel like this anymore. She wouldn’t feel like she had to drag herself out of bed. Or wear a fake smile so others wouldn’t worry about her. She wouldn’t have to go through all of the motions to keep up appearances. No more burying her pain under wine and Vicodin. It wouldn’t take much, she knew that, just from experience in the hospital. And it would be sweet relief.

Long, deft fingers reached out for the bottle and she hesitated in opening it.

Would it be sweet relief for the people she’d leave behind? A sob wracked through her body, bringing attention to the tears that were staining her cheeks, to her stuffy nose caused by the crying--- she brought the pill bottle to her face, holding it with two hands and digging it into her forehead. Letting out a soft cry of frustration, she chucked the bottle across the bathroom, unable to push herself to that.

Not only was she a monster who left people completely torn asunder, she was a coward, too. There was no relief in this, only crippling guilt. Her knees at her chest, she held her face in her hands and just cried and sobbed, until her head ached and she couldn’t breathe through her nose. When she just couldn’t push out any more tears, she leaned back into the now lukewarm water and sunk underneath the surface, holding her breath for as long as she could stand it.

The pills were forgotten when she finally stepped out of the bathtub, at almost seven in the morning, and she trudged along to her bed. She laid awake unable to sleep or escape the darkness in her thoughts until it was time to get up and make breakfast for the kids and coffee for Daya and herself. She was quiet, red-rimmed eyes and dark circles the only remnant of her episode a few hours before.

[digimmortality-archive]

Below, you’ll find links to all of my permanent starter calls, sorted by canon or original character. If you’d rather like this post instead of liking them individually, you can to be counted as liking ALL of them. Subject matter warnings are listed on each individual post, if that is something you need to see before interacting. 

As always, this is mutuals only!

canons:

abby griffin

f’nor

fred burkle

joan watson

kai parker

kara danvers

kara stanton

kate reed

lena luthor

logan pierce

michael cole

root

samaritan

stiles stilinski

topher brink

trini crystal

original characters:

alyssa montgomery

aruna charan

asurael

avery lucas

cameron mccormick

daisy hardwick

donovan crayford

dylan abernathy

eli mariano

eliana dupont

estela tavares

gavin fischer

grayson hauser

isaac harding

jac miller

jasper davis

joey belmont

katia boystov

ke’aslas

kiana razavi

lex stovall

mason kinzer

mitchell calloway

oliver ward

owen rebours

rosana naceri

rowan knight

roya veisi

savina

siya parekh