#FACT plus 2018 question paper with answer

[forensicfield]

FACT Plus 2018 Question Paper and Answer

  Download Solved Question Papers of FACT 2018 Forensic Science. FACT Plus 2018 – Section A – General Forensic Science : Download FACT Plus 2018 – Section B – Forensic Physics : Download FACT Plus 2018 – Section B – Cyber Forensics : Download FACT Plus 2018 – Section B – Forensic Ballistics: Download  FACT Plus 2018 – Section B – Questioned Document Examination : Download

[mysticstronomy]

WHY DON’T BLACK HOLES SWALLOW ALL OF SPACE??

Blog#120

Saturday, September 4th, 2021

Welcome back,

Black holes are great at sucking up matter. So great, in fact, that not even light can escape their grasp (hence the name).

But given their talent for consumption, why don't black holes just keep expanding and expanding and simply swallow the Universe? In 2018, one of the world's top physicists came up with a dazzling explanation.

Conveniently, the idea could also unite the two biggest theories in all of physics.

The researcher behind this explanation is none other than Stanford University physicist Leonard Susskind, also known as one of the fathers of string theory.

He gave his two cents on the paradox in a series of papers, which basically suggest that black holes expand by increasing in complexity inwardly – a feature we just don't see connected while watching from afar.

In other words, they expand in, not out. 

Weirder still, this hypothesis might have a parallel in the expansion of our own Universe, which also seems to be growing in a counterintuitive way.

"I think it's a very, very interesting question whether the cosmological growth of space is connected to the growth of some kind of complexity," Susskind was quoted in The Atlantic.

"And whether the cosmic clock, the evolution of the Universe, is connected with the evolution of complexity. There, I don't know the answer."

Susskind might be speculating on the Universe's evolution, but his thoughts on why black holes grow in more than they do out is worth unpacking. Of course, by its very nature, this type of research is theoretical, and not easily verified or disproved through the process of peer review.

But there is some pretty cool idea in here worth unpacking. To do that, we need to go back to basics for a moment. So... hang tight.

Put simply, black holes are dense masses that distort space to the extent that even light lacks the escape velocity required to make an exit.

The first solid theoretical underpinnings for such an object emerged naturally out of the mathematics behind Einstein's general relativity back in 1915. Since then, physical objects matching those predictions have been spotted, often hanging around the centers of galaxies.

A common analogy is to imagine the dimensions of space plus time as a smooth rubber sheet. Much as a heavy object dimples the rubber sheet, mass distorts the geometry of space-time.

The properties of our Universe's rubber sheet means it can form a deep gravity funnel that stretches 'down' without stretching much further 'out'.

Most objects expand 'out' as you add material, not 'in'. So how do we even begin to picture this? Rubber sheets are useful analogies, but only up to a certain point. 

To understand how matter behaves against this super stretchy backdrop, we need to look elsewhere. Luckily, physics has a second rule book on how the Universe works called quantum mechanics, which describes how particles and their forces interact.

The two rule books of general relativity and quantum mechanics don't always agree, though. Small things interpreted through the lens of general relativity don't make much sense. And big things like black holes produce gibberish when the rules of quantum mechanics are applied.

This means we're missing something important – something that would allow us to interpret general relativity's space-bending feature in terms of finite masses and force-mediating particles.

One contender is something called anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence, shortened to Ads/CFT. This is a 'string theory meets four-dimensional space' kind of idea, aiming to bring the best of both quantum mechanics and general relativity together.

Based on its framework, the quantum complexity of a black hole – the number of steps required to return it to a pre-black hole state – is reflected in its volume.

SOURCE: www.sciencealert.com

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, September 8th, 2021)

“WEIRD THINGS ABOUT SPACE!!”

[teacherimagines]

My Tc Diary

Hey y’all. This is my tc diary from 2018 and I decided to post this now in 2020 since I don’t think my identity will be revealed from anyone I know possibly reading this. It was sooooo weird rereading this, seeing what my thought process used to be, and the silly things I thought were important. So much has changed in my life since this phase of my life, but I hope you enjoy!

M/N stands for my name. I am not gender specific in the anecdotes. I am bisexual, and I talk about having three different tcs in here. I just use they/them to talk about them. And when I refer to ‘my tc’ I am talking about my first tc (the one I am crushing on the most). The other two I only talk about in one divided section for each.

*ONE FINAL VERY IMPORTANT NOTE* My teacher crushes were always professional when I was around them, they did absolutely nothing to suggest that they liked me as anything more than just a student. I started writing this because I was crushing on them badly, and I needed a way that I could share the times I was around them that made me happy. I hold a very high respect for my teachers, and I am so grateful that I got to have them in class. I never did/would never try to do anything that would harm/intrude on their careers, relationships, happiness, and personal lives. My relationships with teachers are the way they should be, the fact that I was crushing on them did not get in the way of that.

My Masterlist

-

I was walking out of school today, and my tc was walking behind me. I heard footsteps but I didn’t know it was them! Anyway I walked out the door, and held the door for them, and they thanked me. Their ‘thank you’ sounded so genuine and nice, I nearly had a heart attack.

-

I had my first class with my tc at the beginning of the semester. During the first week of class my tc had to shout out names for attendance because they didn’t know everyone yet. But they knew me. They never said my name during attendance. It just felt good, to have them remember me after meeting them only a couple of times before. Especially because I’m crushing on them super hard.

-

My tc got really excited today in class omg. We are doing a project and we get to pick our topics. So my tc comes up to me like “What is your topic?” And then I told them, my tc got so excited. Their eyes widened a little, and they went into this little rant about how fascinating my topic was. I like to see them being so passionate about something.

-

Someone in my class has a pet snail, and they keep it in a jar and bring it to school. So they go and ask my tc if they want to hold the snail. My tc (seriously) asks ‘does it bite?’ I WAS LIKE ARE YOU FOR REAL RN? I think it was cute because it was such a little snail.

-

My tc helped me write an essay today. They were super helpful, like, I was stuggling so bad, and they just helped me without making me feel like a complete idiot :)

-

OKAY IM SORRY OKAY TEMPTATIONS. I watched my tc put on chapstick today. Trust me, I wouldn’t watch it if they were looking directly at me. They were just staring off into space. *Note from future, I watch them do this quite often lol.

-

My tc said “good morning, M/N.” today! I said good morning back and was really happy. My tc also made a lot of eye contact with me today :o

-

I walk into my classroom today, and there were only two other students sitting at the desks. The class has about twenty students in it, and the bell was about to ring. One of the people in the room says “ooh, there’s a third one.” as I walk in. And my tc laughed and smiled and looked at me.

-

My tc was passing back papers and their arm accidentally bumped mine. Lol I’m dying inside.

-

When my tc lectures, they are very active with and linger their eye contact with every student. And I mean like that’s a good thing, but it makes me nervous when they look at me lol. OKAY BUT LIKE EYE CONTACT IS NOT OKAY. It is okay. But it makes me not okay. Especially when I’m trying to concentrate on the lesson, I just keep thinking back to five minutes ago when their eyes met mine and I felt all gooey in my tummy.

-

Got a paper back and on the top it said ‘good work M/N!’ in my tc’s handwriting. Felt good lol. I literally stared at my name written in their handwriting for like ten minutes. I need to stop. *not from future- I kept ALL of the papers from their class.

-

My tc will always ask the class something opinionated, and they will always make sure that everyone answers the question. And if it is regarding something that has to do with us being comfortable (ex: someone making a joke that is slightly controversial), they just make sure that everyone is really okay, no bs. OMG I FOUND A TEACHER WHO ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT THEIR STUDENTS WELL BEINGS. And I may or may not have a massively obvious crush on them.

-

I saw someone (a student) flirting with my tc today. This person is a MAJOR flirt. I know that they would never actually date my tc so I am not really worried about it. But they interrupt class a lot and flirt with them. IT IS SO OBVIOUS OMG.

-

I was walking in the hall today, and I saw my tc. They looked at me really quickly but as they walked closer they just stared at the floor lol. They do that a lot. Also, on another day, I was standing in the hall talking with my friend and my tc walked passed us. I know they looked at me- even if it was only for a second- I could feel it.

-

How can someone be so alert, friendly, and attractive at the beginning of the school day?

-

Today I was sitting doing my work and my tc comes over to my desk. They ask me how I am doing on the assignment and I said I’m doing okay. They stand by my desk, looking at my paper for what felt like a minute. I felt so awkward so I looked up at them with a face that said ‘need something’? Then they nodded and walked away. Like okayyyyyyy I’m not okay.

-

Every damn time I say ‘thank you’ to my tc they say ‘of course ‘my name.’ AND I AM LITERALLY MELTING RN MELTING

-

My tc learned a few fun facts about me today! Also, almost no one in my class believes in sasquatches (even me), but my tc does. And they got so frustrated because they said that sasquatches are ‘tangible’. Plus, they asked me where I see myself in ten years and I said I have no clue, and they were like ‘okay so you have like what, two years left to figure the rest of your life out?’ THANKS TC THANKS A LOT

-

My tc asked me if I had anything to share with the class today, and I said no lol. They asked another student and they said no too. Lol. Then my tc said ‘I shouldn’t let you all say no to me.’ Haha I’m dead.

-

I saw my tc with their significant other today. I feel really sad, and I really do care about my tc’s happiness, it just makes me sad that I can’t be that kind of special to them.

-

I saw my tc run today. I feel so blessed.

-

My tc said I did really good on writing my essays, and thanked me for handing them in. also—MY TC SMILED AT ME TODAY AND THEY ARE SO CUTE AND THEIR SMILE IS SO CUTE IMMMM DEADDDDD. Their smile was literally like this :)) They don’t usually smile at me, Idk why, but like I am also wondering what put them in such a good mood.

-

My tc gave me a letter today. At first I was like- woah?. Then they told me it was an invitation (from another teacher) for taking a AP course in their subject next school year. I was like ‘ah thank you’ but inside I was screeching (THE LETTER WASNT EVEN PERSONALLY FROM THEM WHY AM I FREAKING OUT??). Even though they won’t be teaching the course (they are moving schools), I want to make them remember me as someone who wants to excel in their subject (so I will take the course, plus I was planning on it already with my guidance counselor). Also, this means that they had a conversation with another teacher about me. So they probably thought of me recommended for me to take AP? This makes me happyyyy :)

So today my tc asked me if I read the letter they gave me. I said yes. They asked if I signed up for AP and I said yes. They got so happy omg- I was like trying to be chill (so were they). They said “that is so good ‘M/N’, you would make a really good fit in that class.” Then they kept smiling at me- I couldn’t concentrate! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY THAT MY HARD WORK IS STARTING TO PAY OFF, AND MY TC IS RECOGNIZING THAT.

-

My tc gave my class a free work period and I was caught up on my work. Usually every night I try to read at least one news article before I go to bed, so I stay up to date on things (ya know, like nerds do). I didn’t get to read last night so I read some news in class. My tc comes over to see what I am doing and asks me “M/N, are you reading the news?” I nodded. Then they said “that is a very good use of your time.” Lol I wasn’t even doing the work they assigned. Then they come over later in class and ask me if I read from The Atlantic. I told them no, and they were like “I think you’d like them, they have very in depth articles. There’s this one a teacher showed me this morning about Donald Trump, and how he won the election, it was really good. You can let me know later if you’re interested in reading it.” I was like OKAY with a big splash of happiness. I want to read the article they suggested, but I was like hesitant to ask them for it, so I am just going to try and find it on my own lol. *NOTE from future, I read this website a lot now because it makes me think of them and it’s like, what if they read this article too?

-

MY TC SNEEZED TODAY AND I WAS LIKE AHHHH

-

I saw my tc in the hallway this morning and they said “good morning M/N.” They were carrying a cup of coffee, and that’s when I got to see how they drink their coffee-with a lot of creamer.

-

OKAY WHAT IS GOING ON? There’s this other teacher I have. My friend says she likes them. I thought I didn’t like them that much, and I expressed that to her. BUT THEN they start giving me this eye contact, and joking during class. And one day they try helping me on an assignment and LITERALLY THEIR ARM WAS TOUCHING MINE. I didn’t want to be rude and move it, and THEY JUST LEFT IT THERE. I have little physical contact with humans- I’m weird like that- I don’t usually like it when people touch me, there’s really no reason for it besides it is what it is. But I was fine in this situation. They also make a lot of conversation with me. Then I saw them in the library and they looked at me and smiled- they are gorgeous. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO THINK ABOUT LIFE ANYMORE. I thought I was only crushing on my original tc, but that’s changing now?¿ I think I take simple situations and go crazy with them, but STILL. So much more has happened between me and this teacher than me and my tc, but I still like my first tc more. ALSO, they bite their lip when they are concentrating on something difficult- I am swooning. *NOTE- I had a dream (rated R) about this teacher. WHATWHATWHAT? Today, I walked passed this tc and it LITERALLY felt like slow motion- and they kept eye contact with me as they walked by.

-

I’m hormonal. There’s this other tc I might have now. They are a different gender than my other two tcs. I like them a lot and I had them in a class before but I never thought of them like this. I realized that I have a lil crush on them today when I passed them in the hall and had some small talk. I thought wow, they’re a good person, they teach really good, they just talked to me like a normal person, and they’re attractive. MY BRAIN IS EXPLODING I HAVE LIKE THREE TCS NOW AND NO ONE IN MY LIFE KNOWS?

-

Today was my last day with my tc :(( it was kind of bittersweet though. They never really gave anyone a formal goodbye, but we did have a good conversation (which is the longest one I have ever had with them). I was on the computer doing a research project for a vacation to Italy. I was exploring around on google maps and they come over and ask me ‘where are you looking at?’ And I say Venice. So I zoom out and show them Italy from a map view, they talked about Italy, and just Europe in general. I then told them that I have been to Paris and London before, and they thought it was cool. Then they told me about their significant other who has traveled to London for a semester at college. Then they told me about their dream vacation to southern France, to see the lilac fields. They said ‘That would be my picturesque vacation.’ I WAS LIKE AWWWW (internally lol). I like flowers a lot, and I am pretty sure my tc knows that bc I wear clothes that have flower print, my backpack and pencil case is flower print too. And now that they told me that they like flowers too- I am just so happy! I have a lot in common with this tc, and it saddens me that this was our last interaction :((

[vernonfielding]

I got hella homies

Story No. 29 of my Season 7 Countdown Project.

Summary: “Boyle says you brought Jocelyn to Shaw's last week.”

Jocelyn meets (most of) the Nine-Nine. Takes place before The Therapist. (Read on AO3.)

She notices Amy Santiago first, because Amy is standing at the bar wearing a full police uniform, and also, she has incredibly shiny hair, and Jocelyn’s always had a thing for brunettes.

Jocelyn pauses at the threshold of Shaw’s, eyes scanning from Amy to the booths that line the walls, until she finds the one loud group sprawled around a table toward the back. She squints, trying to identify Rosa, and that’s when someone slides up behind her and says, “Don’t move.”

Jocelyn bites her lip to keep from grinning. Rosa smells like fresh lemons and leather and just now, bourbon.

“Or what?”

A hand slips onto her hip and squeezes, and Rosa says, “Or you won’t get the first shower tomorrow morning.”

She gives Jocelyn a quick peck on the cheek, and Jocelyn lifts an eyebrow. “You should probably be careful about sneaking up behind people in a cop bar,” she says.

Rosa shrugs. “I just wanted a second alone before you meet everyone.”

“That’s sweet,” Jocelyn says. She knows Rosa will hate that, and sure enough, Rosa frowns and grimaces.

“C’mon,” she says, and tugs at Jocelyn’s hand.

Jocelyn had picked the right table, and she’s able to identify everyone else even before Rosa makes the introductions. Charles has an open, friendly face and kind eyes, and he’s wearing a tan button-down shirt and the dullest brown tie Jocelyn’s ever seen. Terry is massive and very handsome, but it’s the suspenders that give him away. Amy has re-joined the table and is sitting beside her husband. Jake is the last one she places, because she’s having trouble reconciling this man with the goofy grin and laughing eyes with the obsessed, sleep-deprived, manic detective Rosa described working with on a recent murder investigation. 

“Everyone, this is Jocelyn,” Rosa says. “Don’t be weird to her.”

“Hurtful,” Jake says, but he’s smiling, He has an arm slung around Amy’s shoulders, and he leans over the table and reaches toward Jocelyn to shake hands. “You have neat hair.”

“That was weird,” Rosa says.

+++

Jocelyn’s politics swing way left and she’s definitely never dated a cop before. But Rosa is confident and assertive and Jocelyn finds that extremely attractive, and to be honest, the fact that she carries a gun is weirdly hot. She is eagerly anticipating the day she finally gets to see Rosa in uniform.

She knows the past year hasn’t been easy, since Rosa came out to her parents. Jocelyn’s glad she did it -- to be honest, she doesn’t date people who aren’t out anymore. She gets why people stay closeted, she really does. But Jocelyn has been out since middle school and even at age 14 she knew that if someone couldn’t handle who she was, that person wasn’t worth the trouble. Now she’s 38, and she won’t be anyone’s secret.

So yeah, this feels good, squeezed into a booth at the back of a dingy cop bar with Rosa and her friends. Jake and Charles are shout-singing to Taylor Swift and Amy is pretending to be embarrassed but obviously loving it. Terry tells the table in general that he’s texting his wife that he’ll be home in time to put the twins to bed. And Rosa is definitely sitting closer to Jocelyn than she needs to, one hand on Jocelyn’s knee under the table.

+++

The invitation to join Rosa at Shaw’s came out of nowhere, which has been pretty standard. They’ve been dating a little over three months, and for most of that time Rosa’s been on the murder case with Jake, which means a lot of their dates have been spontaneous and pretty casual. (Rosa also has canceled a lot, which ordinarily would be a deal-breaker for Jocelyn, but Rosa did warn her that a detective’s life can be chaotic.)

Jocelyn got the text as she was leaving her frosting and highlighting class, the last of the day, and wondering if she should see if Rosa was free for dinner. She answered yes immediately and did a literal 180 to catch a train to Prospect Heights. Jocelyn has been dying to meet Rosa’s coworkers, who are clearly the most important people in her life given how much she talks about them. Which, honestly, isn’t a lot, but still about five times more than anyone else.

Still, she was a little afraid that the night would be all cop talk. But the Nine-Nine takes her by surprise. Ten minutes after she’s met them Charles has taken out a stack of actual printed photos of his son Nikolaj and is asking Jocelyn if she’s ever had Latvian beetroot soup, and then Terry has to show her photos (on his phone, like a normal person) of his daughters. After that Jocelyn can’t resist sharing a photo of her niece, who’s just eight months old and sadly lives on the other side of the country.

Then Amy asks her about cosmetology school and says that Jake is right, that her hair is neat.

“I’ve always wanted to try short hair but I’m afraid I don’t have the face for it,” Amy says.

“You should come by the school some time for a consultation,” Jocelyn says, tilting her head to imagine a look for Amy. “I could totally cut it for you.”

“No way!” Jake says firmly, mouth gone suddenly all pouty.

Jocelyn feels a punch of knee-jerk rage, that this guy would dare tell his wife what she can and can’t do with her hair. She opens her mouth, ready to lay into him.

And then Jake says, “You said I could cut your hair if you ever decided to go short!”

Amy rolls her eyes. “No, you are not allowed to cut my hair with the paper cutter at work. We’ve talked about this.”

“My wife is the worst,” Jake says in a whine. But he’s smiling and his eyes have gone all crinkly in the corners, and Amy tips her face up to his and kisses the corner of his mouth.

“Sorry, babe,” she says.

So Jocelyn decides that Jake and Amy are adorable and she wishes she could have been at their wedding, which Rosa said was the most romantic shit she’s ever seen, and that was after the bomb scare.

After a second round, Jocelyn asks if the captain ever joins them for drinks and Amy says, “I wish” in a dreamy sort of voice, and then she and Charles launch into a story about Holt single-handedly saving Shaw’s by drinking himself sick on Charbonnay. 

“Cabernet?” Jocelyn says.

“No,” Rosa says, looking like the very thought of that particular alcohol is going to give her a hangover. Jocelyn drops the subject.

“When do I get to meet him?” she says instead.

“Holt?” Rosa shrugs. “He’s not very social.”

“Are you kidding?” Charles calls out from Rosa’s other side. He leans over the table to address Jocelyn. “Captain Holt and Kevin love Rosa. I bet they’d have you over for Kevin’s famous white rice. I’m dying to try it but I’m not allowed in their home after last year’s tofu incident.”

Jocelyn has so many questions. “What’s the tofu-”

“Don’t ask,” Rosa says. “We should go.”

Everyone ends up leaving at once. Outside the bar, Charles gives Jocelyn a too-long hug, and Terry tells her he’s so glad they met and then seems to tear up a little and walks away in a hurry. Amy’s goodbye handshake is bone-crushing but her smile is genuine.

Jake pulls Jocelyn aside while Amy and Rosa are discussing a murder case and, improbably, blood-sniffing flies. He tells her in a hushed voice that he’s never seen Rosa happier in a relationship, and then he makes her swear to never tell Rosa he said that. (Jake also calls her Jackie, but he’s so friendly about it that she instantly forgives him.)

Rosa walks her home, and they hold hands and Jocelyn gushes about how great her coworkers are. “I wasn’t expecting to like a bunch of NYPD cops so much,” she says.

It’s dark out and Rosa is pretty inscrutable at all times anyway. But as they pass under a streetlamp, Jocelyn’s pretty sure she sees the smallest quirk of a smile.

“Yeah,” Rosa says, “they’re not bad, I guess.”

Jocelyn laughs. She recognizes high praise from her girlfriend when she hears it.

“Speaking of not bad,” Jocelyn says, and pauses, tugging at Rosa’s hand to make her stop too. She slips her arms around Rosa’s waist, and Rosa gives her another of those half-smiles and lifts a hand up to Jocelyn’s face. When they kiss, Rosa’s lips are full and soft and warm, and the slide of her tongue is electric. Jocelyn closes her eyes and hums a little, and Rosa strokes a thumb along her jawline, to the pulse point behind her ear. Her other hand curls around Jocelyn’s neck to pull her closer.

They’re both a little breathless when they break apart. Rosa’s eyes are so dark they’re almost black, but there’s a spark of something fond and joyful in them. She reaches up to brush aside the bangs that have slipped over Jocelyn’s forehead.

“They’re right,” she says, “your hair is neat.”

Jocelyn laughs out loud, and Rosa’s laughing too when they kiss again.

End Notes:

Title is from Feed the Beast (Bash Brothers).

Another massive thank you to @exploding-snapple, who put together a most amazing timeline of Season 6 without which I would have been totally lost trying to figure out the timing of this story. According to her timeline, Rosa and Jocelyn would have started dating around late December/early January of 2018-19. So by the time Jocelyn met everyone (in early April) they would have been dating about three months. (If that’s wrong for some reason, blame my math, not explodingsnapple’s timeline.)

Interestingly, much of their early dating would have taken place during The Crime Scene, which must have been intense, and perhaps influenced Jocelyn’s eventual frustration that Rosa consistently prioritizes her job over her girlfriend. (Canon is fun!)

I purposefully had Rosa sharing quite a bit of personal info about her coworkers with Jocelyn, which I realize runs counter to the Rosa we know. But my thinking is that Rosa really, really likes Jocelyn, and is maybe making an effort to be open with her. Plus, I think Rosa really loves her Nine-Nine family and would maybe want to talk about them, at this point in her life. Anyway, obviously that’s all open to interpretation.

[crashdevlin]

Wishverse- How’d You Know?

Wishverse- How’d you know?

Author’s Note: Hard Ten Masterlist, Wishverse Masterlist

Summary: Y/n reorients herself in 2018, ‘meets’ Dean to set up their event, and finally gets Charlie to believe her.

Pairing(s): Dean X Plus size!Reader

Word Count: 2928

Warnings: mentions of prostitution… and that’s it.

You slept through the night. You’d almost forgotten what it felt like. You showered and put on light makeup. You didn’t need makeup. Your skin quality was actually amazing compared to the skin on the face you left in 2019 and Dean was going to smile that lovely smile at you, no matter what. You made breakfast for you and Charlie and ate in silence as she watched you. “How’s Bohemian Rhapsody do at the box office?” she finally asked.

“It did all right. Does all right. Sixty-something percent on Rottentomatoes. It was just too broad. Like, it was awesome, I really liked how they portrayed Mary Austin and Freddie, but it was just… they were trying to fit too much into two hours, you know? I liked it, though, and Rami Malek got a Golden Globe for it.”

“Crimes of Grindelwald?”

You grimaced. “You’re gonna watch it no matter what I say.”

“Yeah, but I wanna know!” she exclaimed, leaning closer.

You sighed. “She fucked with the canon, or they fucked with her canon and she let them. JK really should have put her foot down and said, ‘No, Nagini was a fuckin’ snake, not a Korean animagus’. The only really good part of it was Jude Law as Dumbledore, though, they really didn’t even allude to the fact that he was in love with Grindelwald.”

“Yeah, but we knew that Warner Brothers wasn’t going to let… they didn’t let him be gay, at all?” she asked, upset.

“I mean, Warner Brothers pretty much said that it wasn’t important to his character and the movie was really about Newt, anyway, so it wasn’t that important.” You sighed. “Anyway, Crimes of Grindelwald did good because it was a Harry Potter movie, but, objectively, Bohemian Rhapsody was a better movie.”

She smiled. “If this is real… I’m gonna need you to remember some lotto numbers.”

“Charlie, if you wanted money, we both know you have the skills to get it.” You shrugged. “You know I don’t play the lotto. I won’t remember any of the megamillions numbers.”

“Okay, well… try.”

You rolled your eyes and sighed. “I’m going out at 1:30.”

“To meet the whore?”

“Yeah, to meet… to meet with Dean.”

“And Dean is the better one, right?”

“Charlie… just stop, okay? You still don’t really believe me.” You sighed. “Dean’s the one who’s gonna take me to Maw-maw’s for Thanksgiving. That’s all you need to know for now, okay?”

“What, I’m not allowed to be worried about you?”

“You can be worried all you want, but…” You shrugged. “Everything’s fine, Charlie. I promise.”

You could tell that she didn’t believe you. She didn’t think you were fine, she didn’t think that everything was going to be fine or was fine, but you knew. You knew that there was only good that could come of your wish, no matter what she or anyone else thought about wish universes.

~~~~~~~~~~

You heard the Impala before you saw it. Dean’s prized Chevy with the huge engine announced his arrival in the Biggerson’s parking lot and you ordered a round of pie before he walked in. Your phone went off with a text from Dean’s work number asking where you were in the restaurant and you shot a text back telling him where to find you. You took a deep breath as the bell over the door went ‘ding’ and your eyes shot to him. He was wearing his brown hiking boots with a grey tee and a red and blue checkered plaid under a dark blue canvas coat. He looked like heaven as he approached.

“Hey. I’m Dean.”

“I know,” you responded, immediately, before looking down. “I-I mean… of course you are. Why else would a guy who looks like you walk up to my table?” You gestured at the other side of the table, reminding yourself that Dean wouldn’t want you if you were flustered and blushy. Not the introvert you were before Sam got a hold of you. You had to be the you that you were with Charlie, the you you were when you met Dean. “Have a seat. I, uh, ordered you a slice of apple. I hope you don’t mind.”

He smirked as he took the seat across the table from you. “You’re the take charge type, then?”

You chuckled. “I like to think of it as being proactive. I mean, I am just trying to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

“Hey, I got no problems with a woman who knows what she wants and makes it happen,” he said as the server dropped a slice of apple pie in front of each of you. “So, this is your first time hiring from Bobby’s Boys. You ever done this kinda thing before?” He pulled a fork out of the wrapped up napkin and dug it into the pie crust.

“Loaded question, Dean,” you answered, honestly, mimicking his motions. “Suffice it to say, I know what I’m doing.”

He nodded, not questioning you further about your experience. “All right, so… you said, Thanksgiving weekend; you just need someone to give you the boyfriend experience?”

“Pretty much boils down to my extended family are terrible people who’ve spent the last several years of my life making me feel horrible for being the only one in the family who’s bigger than a size six and I thought I might be able to avoid some of their suppressive bullshit if I brought a very attractive man home for the holiday.”

“All right. Family can suck. I got that. So, I, uh, got this questionnaire for you to fill out. First part’s a bunch of information ‘bout you, like if you got any allergies and what you do for work, best friend’s name, religious beliefs and shit. The second part’s about the fake me. Where you want me to say I work, how we should say we met, all that.” He pulled the papers out of his coat pocket where they had become a crinkled mess, and smoothed it out against the table. “If you want to fill it out now, that'd be awesome. So we could go over anything that's problematic.”

You pulled a pen and immediately went to work on it. You’d filled this out before, so it wasn’t something you were nervous about. You talked about your answers as you wrote them and Dean nodded, making little comments around mouthfuls of pie and black coffee. “We’re gonna tell ‘em you’re a mechanic, is that okay?”

He licked his lips and nodded. “I’m great with cars. How’d you know?”

You smiled and looked up into his brilliant green eyes. “With a car like the one you rode in on, you either know your way around an engine or you’ve got a damn fine mechanic, yourself.”

His eyes sparkled as he smiled, brightly. “You know about cars?”

You shrugged. “Little bit. My old best friend taught me some stuff. Enough to know a classic Impala when I see one, anyway.” You suppressed the urge to smirk at his look of intrigue as you looked back down at the questionnaire. “And since we’re saying you’re a mechanic, we can say we met when my clutch started slipping.”

“You drive an automatic or a manual?”

“Currently, I drive an auto but that’s just because Ford didn’t have the car I wanted in a manual.”

“Not a lot of folks can drive a stick, anymore.”

“Oh, I’m great at driving a stick,” you let yourself smirk then and looked up at him through your eyelashes. He returned the smirk and chuckled. You had to remind yourself that you weren’t throwing yourself at him, that if you made this about sex, then you’d just be a normal client and you’d lose all chance of being something more. “Too bad that’s not what I’m hiring you for,” you finished, dropping your eyes back to the paper.

“Yeah. Too bad.”

When you finished the questionnaires, you slid them across the table and excused yourself to go pay the bill. When Dean approached the counter, you handed him a small styrofoam container. “Chocolate cream pie,” you winked as you started toward the parking lot.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said, following you.

“Well, I got it for myself and then I thought better of it. I do not need more pie.” You stopped in front of the Impala, blatantly ogling it as you walked a slow circle around the edge of it. Dean smirked at the look on your face as he opened the door and set the to-go box in the middle of the bench seat. “What is she? A ‘67, ‘68?”

“‘67.”

“She still got the 327 four barrel?”

Shock filled Dean’s face and his jaw hung slack for a second before he licked his lips. “No, uh… I put a 502 big block in her a few months ago. More than doubled her horsepower.”

“Oh, that’s why she’s so loud.” You ran your over the roof and looked in the window. “You treat her like a queen, don’t you? This is what a classic car’s supposed to look like.”

“Huh. You, uh, know a little bit about cars?”

You chuckled, making your way around the hood to stand in front of Dean, looking up into his eyes. “My friend, the one who taught me about cars, he was a Chevy-head. Honestly, I’ve always been a Ford fan, but he was really enthusiastic and… fuck, the sixties Impalas were sex on wheels.”

“Sometimes literally.” His eyebrows jumped up suggestively and you bit your lip, stepping closer to him without conscious thought. He smiled, softly. “There’s… somethin’ ‘bout you, y/n. I’m lookin’ forward to workin’ with you.”

“Technically, you’ll be working for me,” you teased, leaning back against the door of the Impala and smiling up at him.

He stepped closer, licked his bottom lip in between his teeth and bit into it. It made your body warm up and you swallowed to remedy your suddenly dry throat. “Well, then…” He put his hands on your shoulders and leaned down to look into your eyes. The look in his eyes was one you recognized and your heart was pounding at the thought that your plan to woo him was working so well. “I can’t wait to meet your family, princess.”

Your reaction to the nickname was instant, grabbing his coat and pressing your lips to his. He went with it, just like he had the night of the Christmas party, but this time he had no reason to pull away. One of his hands slid down to your hip and the other buried in your hair as he slipped his tongue into your mouth and pressed you into the cold metal of his car. You ran your hands up to his neck and pulled him closer, your tongue brushing across his, dancing across the air you were breathing together.

You didn’t want to stop, but your brain suddenly remembered that you didn’t want to sleep with him, yet. Well, you wanted to, but you had to wait. With every ounce of your self-control, you pulled back, breathing heavily. You looked at your feet. “Sorry. Didn’t, uh, plan that.” You chuckled and bit your lip. “So, how much do I owe you for the makeout session?”

He laughed and stepped back. “It’s on the house. We’ll call it payment for the pie.” You smiled and nodded, side-stepping away from him to head for your car. “I’ll call you after I talk to Bobby!” he called after you.

“Sounds good, Dean!” you called back, sliding into your driver’s seat and pulling out of the parking lot. You didn’t miss the way he followed you with his eyes until he couldn’t see you anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sam, it’s like… have you ever met a chick that just… ticks all the boxes?” Dean was trying to refrain from a chick-flick moment, but how he was feeling about y/n after just one meeting was… unique. Sam looked up from the paperwork he was filling out for Bobby with an incredulous look. “Dude, she bought me pie. No prompting, she suggested pie.” Dean nodded enthusiastically and dropped into a chair next to Sam’s desk. “And she knows cars. She tried to downplay it, but she knew that a ‘67 Impala comes stock with a 327 four barrel engine. That’s not something somebody just knows unless they know. She practically drooled all over my baby, dude, and she’s real pretty. Way prettier than she thinks she is.”

He let out a dreamy sigh and ran his hand through his hair. “It’s like she knows me. She’s kinda… perfect, and she’s an amazing kisser! A lot of chicks are afraid to go for it, but she was… fucking exuberant.”

“That’s a big word, Dean,” Sam said, amused.

Dean shrugged. “I’ve been working on that book of crosswords Kate gave me for my birthday.”

“I was sure you would’ve thrown that away.”

“Nah. I’m getting pretty okay at ‘em. Anyway, this chick… she’s amazing and I get to spend an entire weekend with her, for work. I mean, if this ain’t the best part of the job, I don’t know what is.”

“The money is the best part of the job, Dean. It’s the only real reason for the job.”

“For you, maybe. Oh, man, and she doesn’t want to pay for sex. She really just wants to have me pretend to be her boyfriend without gettin’ fucked.”

“But she let you kiss her?”

“Nah, she kissed me… but I’m pretty sure she just got overwhelmed by my charm,” he said, with a cocky smile. “Seriously, what kind of woman calls up an escort service and really just wants someone to escort her somewhere?”

“One who’s too introverted to get her own dates? Or women who think they aren’t very attractive?”

“Yeah, probably something like that. She said she wouldn’t feel right paying for it. So, she’s got morals but she doesn’t make me feel immoral. I don’t know how that works, but it fuckin’ does.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, Dean. You get to get out of Kate’s tofu Thanksgiving because you’re going on a job and you get a boatload of money and you don’t even have to perform. You just have to fawn over the woman. You’re doing that for free, right now.”

“I know, Sammy! This is gonna be the easiest three thousand bucks I’ve ever made!”

Sam took a deep breath and looked pointedly at his paperwork. “Good for you. Can I finish this please?”

Dean rolled his eyes and stood. “Yeah, yeah.” He sighed and licked his lips. “You gonna be okay doing Thanksgiving without me, huh?”

Sam nodded. “I’ll have Dad and Kate and Adam to distract me, Dean. And I’ve totally been clean long enough to deal with other people drinking some dinner wine, dude. Don’t worry about it.”

“And you’ll call And-”

“I’ll call Andy if I have any issues. Don’t worry about it. Go enjoy yourself with the… woman who ticks all your boxes,” Sam dismissed.

Dean couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face at the thought of y/n. “You know what, little brother? I definitely will. Have fun with your paperwork.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday came and the stock app on your phone alerted you to the massive jump in Roman Industries stock price. It was a little past 1pm when Charlie called you. “Are you a witch?!”

“No, Char, I told you I’m-” You closed the door to your office to keep your assistant, Deedee, from hearing your conversation.

“You have to tell me if you have a timeturner because there’s so much that I would want to fix, but that probably wouldn’t be a good idea because ‘Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time, Harry’ and I-”

“Charlie, I didn’t do this.”

“Are you sure you’re not some kind of fae or elf or something because-”

“Charlie!”

There was a moment of silence. “I’m sorry. I’m just… sorry.”

“I’m not a fairy or an elf or a witch, and the awful things already happened, but I am here with a plan to save Buckbeak and Sirius, so to speak.”

“What awful things? What happened that you wished away?”

You took a deep breath, relief washing over you. “You believe me? Like, no doubts, anymore?”

“No! No doubts. Okay? I believe you and I’m kinda jealous of your fantasy fiction life right now, but I’m also super worried because you’re not the kind of person to wish away a whole freaking timeline, so it must’ve been superbad, so spill!”

You shook your head. “Look, it’s eight months of baggage to unpack, and I’m not doing it over the phone while you’re on your lunch break. I’ll tell you all about it when you get home tonight, okay?”

She sighed, heavily. “Okay, I guess.”

“Go eat your lunch. Love ya, Char. Bye.” You hung up your phone and smiled. You were finally going to be able to talk to someone about your situation!

You walked into the apartment at 5:23 and sat down on the couch. You were having to redo work you did eight months ago and it was wearing on you. Charlie walked in the door at 5:46, set her laptop bag on the table by the door and flopped down next to you, pulling the remote control out of your hand and turning off the distraction of the television.

“Tell me everything. Go!”

KITCHEN SINK TAGS @heyitscam99 @wonderlandfandomkingdom @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mrs-meghan-winchester @henrymorganme @lonely-skys @allykat2108 @mogaruke @flamencodiva

SUPERNATURAL TAGS @letsby @mrswhozeewhatsis @adoptdontshoppets @spnskinnyballs @deansenwackles @gayspacenerd

HARD TEN TAGS @bamby0304 @rasax45 @shamelesslydean @sculptorofbeginnings @mirandaaustin93 @dolphincliffs

[planetoban]

Savin’s Answers from Twitter, Part 5!

Pretty much done with the backlog; this post covers tweets from November 2018 through May 2019

As always, tweets are in order from most to least recent, and answers may not 100% true/canon since things are bound to change during production of the sequel. Text is unedited save for formatting; in a few places I added [comments] for context.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Also: If you’re going to ask Savin something, please be respectful and appropriate. He’s a person just like you and me.

-

@NekoItoi: Will the bluray be released for Region A or solely region B? As I really want to finally own Oban in hd

@EiffelSavin: The bluray will be crowdfunded and region free

(x)

@Helloworld1012: Maybe U could get a adventures of young Aikka series funded

@EiffelSavin: Actually we're developping both a sequel and a spinof, which would reveal a lot about Aikka's past...

(x)

[talking about rick]

@Antarasis: Pretty metalhead.  👍 And losing your ability to pursue your #1 passion is such a heavy hitting topic. Was interesting to see a character confronted with it. Especially to see an admirable character give in to anger because of helplessness and make him act unpleasant/unlikable.

@EiffelSavin: I agree. Characters that are not just plain black and white are very interresting to follow.

(x)

@Helloworld1012: out of curiosity, Do U [Savin and Thomas] prefer the Eva & Jordan romantic pairing and prefer that Eva & Jordan be a couple or the Eva & Aikka romantic  pairing & prefer that Eva & Aikka become a couple? I heard from a discord chat that U both have different views in

‏@Helloworld1012: who Eva should end up with. And do Romantically pair Eva with one of them.

@EiffelSavin: I don't remember disagreeing with Thomas over this and would rather leave the choice to the audience - both relationships are important ! This being said, the question of who Eva likes most may resurface in the sequel, if we get to make it...

(x)

@Xanidos43: is it still possible to get the newsletter? i would love to support and buy the blu ray upon release.

@EiffelSavin: There will be more newsletters to come. For now just register on the bluray page of the http://obanstarracers.com  website

(x)

@Helloworld1012: Hey I’ve noticed for quite a while, that Aikka and Eva in the concept art physically look to be about the same age, please give us this one hint. Is the fact that Eva and Aikka look physically the same age in the concept art have something to do with the plot or OSR

@Helloworld1012: 2? Or is it just because you and @Thomasintokyo just wanted to show what Eva and Aikka could possible look like when their older?

@EiffelSavin: One possible direction for the sequel is for it to take place a few years after the original show. Hence the concept art. But this is still under discussion and would also depend on who finances the series

(x)

@Antarasis: Can we have a show about poor Muir, haha? Oh god, if I'd have the time I'd so make a parody show about Muir. There should be Muirs in Skyrim instead of mudcrabs. And Muir should get a skin in FightCrab. x'D Aaah, the potential of Muir. Please don't commit suizide, little crab.

@EiffelSavin: I could easily imagine a series about the adventures of "young muir"(!) Not sure we could get it funded though ☺️

(x)

@AldrenMcneal: Hi there! i recently watched an Oban Star Racers video and found out a potential sequel was in the works. i found your twitter and realized it was announced back in 2017. How much progress have you made since then? Do you have the story planned out? Thanks!‏

@EiffelSavin: The story is planned out but we need investors - and time as well, since we're all involved in other projects too. Hopefully a successful bluray release we'll help refocuss everyone's energy

(x)

@Bfahome: I heard rumors in the past that there's a "full" version of Oban's English opening, "Never Say Never".  Are those rumors true and, if so, who would be the ones to have it?  Would it even exist still?

@EiffelSavin: I'm not sure about this. I think the only version I ever heard was the opening version. For your info our US partners felt very strongly about using that song.  I gave my OK because it was pretty catchy, even though the op credits were created to match Yoko Kanno's title song.

(x)

@EiffelSavin: Thanks a lot to the 1000+ #obanstarracers fans who took the time to answer our little survey. Here's what you answered to one of the first question asked. Among the alien racers, it seems Spirit made quite an impression #animation #anime #surveys #jetix #nhkbs #toowam

@MattGiusti: The lack of Sul on this list is very sad.

@EiffelSavin;: Sul came right after and would certainly have fared better if the question was who's your favorite alien character. Bear in mind that the list of choices here included some of the main characters of the show, like Jordan and Aikka and that one could only give a single answer.

@rhodanum: I'm quite surprised at how high Spirit ranked (higher than Stan, Don and Maya!) and that Jordan ranked higher than Aikka. The latter is especially surprising, given the gigantic number of fanworks (fanart, fanfic) featuring Aikka or Aikka x Eva, compared to Jordan or Jordan x Eva

@EiffelSavin: Aikka ranked first in some territories but overall Jordan came first - among the voters at least. I would be interesting to see if female and male voters voted equally - or predominantly - for one or the other...

(x) (x)

@GabrielAubry2: What happened to Prince Aikka after he returns to Nourasia? Won’t the Crogs on the planet be angry at what he did on Oban?

@EiffelSavin: Good question indeed but bear in mind their leader crashed on Oban and that there were fierce rivalries between the rest of chiefs. This must have slowed them somehow. Plus there's a new Avatar! 🙂

(x)

@RakkuBoi: ust took the survey. It's probably asking for too much but one idea I expressed was the possibility of including autographes. Maybe on the art cards that might be included? Your's or @Thomasintokyo would be AMAZING.

@EiffelSavin: Point noted 😉

(x)

@kueekueeng: from a fan who's been waiting for years, is "The 2 Queens"  movie ever going to be released?‏

@EiffelSavin: Finding funding on the French market as proven more difficult than anticipated but we haven't given up and have also started working on an animated series adaptation, possibly with a more "radical" artistic direction. More news hopefully soon...

(x)

@SonicMrgame2017: Which program you guys used for animation?

@EiffelSavin: Here are the programs the team used for the animation: Pencils (well sharpened), large and thin Erasers, and most important: thousands and thousands of sheets of Paper 😉

@SonicMrgame2017: Yeah, but, the animation was done in cels or you guys used some kind of digital ink? PD: Respects!!!! I love handrawn animation

@EiffelSavin: Oban used digital paint and compositing. When we produced the series it was the very last days of painted cells in Japan, where it lasted longer than in other countries. I think the last series that used painted cells was "Sazae-san". 🙂

(x)

@quantum_cuboid: QUESTION. Can you give us any insight as to which characters will make a return in the OSR sequel? There were many good characters, and a few that make me wonder whatever happened to them!

@EiffelSavin: I'll give you one: Eva (!) 😉 For the rest I prefer to keep quiet for now but feel free to make suggestions ☺️

(x)

[note: this thread is originally in French and I used Google Translate]

@supalinocelosu: So it was the authors directly who led the # ObanStarRacers

@ EiffelSavin: I think that should be the norm but apparently no ... I was also present during the English dubbing in Vancouver. But this time there was a director of English voices. I was commenting but not directly the direction of US actors

(x)

@theinmaskedboy: Could you clarify a doubt sir? 1) What happened with him when he arrived on the earth, because at the end of the galactic race he did not mention again .. 2) There are some loose ends in history, like the crow .. Was he eliminated from the race? or just leave?

@EiffelSavin: Spirit did not make it to the final 3 so he was eliminated & returned to his home planet. Regarding Rick, his job was done so he went back home too. We had crazy plans of making a sequel with him starring as a private PI (!)  Who knows we may reuse that in 1 form or another

(x)

@Taibhse_Designs: Now this is a beauty to see, any concept art for the whizzing arrow or other paint job ideas other than the bunny exist that never made it to print?

@EiffelSavin: yes. We did more than 10 paint job tests before going for the actual ones :) That certainly could be something for the new art book.

(x)

@Taibhse_Designs: I have the original DVDs still in good condition with the cardboard sleeve, I atleast rewatch the entire series once a year and would love a Blu-ray version. Would love to see some stats on the ships like actual scale, measurements, or official heights of the characters.Taibhse Designs added,

@EiffelSavin: That could be a cool extra actually, or something to add to a new art book. If you join the Oban Bluray Project newsletter on http://obanstarracers.com  we'll soon ask you about the type of features and goodies you'd like to have.

(x)

@TheRealZentron: The 1080p 4:3 version is the most crisp out of the three, but I like the cinematic scope of the 16:9, I just wish it was as crisp! Still, can't wait until the Blu-Ray comes out, hopefully it will be available to and playable in the UK!

@EiffelSavin: The bluray will be, for the first time, in the original rate of 24f/s and will be zone free‏

@TheRealZentron: That's great to hear Savin, thanks for the info! I'll sure to place my order once available, it'll sure be good watching OSR HD on my 70" 4K TV! Will the set also include the original Molly Star-Racer trailer in HD or the regular SD?

@EiffelSavin: I'm working on this. The pb is to get the rights to the music. In all cases it will be sd as it was produced that way but we'll try to upscale it in the best possible way from the best source available.

(x)

[Original question deleted]

@EiffelSavin: That was my notes, yes: Maya cut off from her family because of her choice to become a racer with Don, and Don having old parents that died early. Thus no grand parents for Eve to turn 2. But since we never go beyond that in the story, U can make up your own idea on backstory 🙂

(x)

@LovesOban: Please tell me because I’ve been obsessing over this, but even though he wouldn’t be as skilled as Aikka, Cannan or a Nourasian knight in martial arts, & Even though in 2082 DW isn’t the most athletic & even though DW is more brains than brawn & doesn’t have brute strength, in

@EiffelSavin: Don Wei is not a "big man" but he's determined and has grown quite tough, at least since Maya's death. Do you remember the first time he meets Rick and his biker buddies in the middle of the desert?  He stands up to them pretty well, doesn't he?

(x)

@HG_Alsmyr: are you going to have Thomas Romain join you for the Ōban sequel by chance?

@EiffelSavin: Yes. We've already started to collaborate on the sequel and spinoff projects. Working together again was very touching actually 🙂

(x)

[melvilleclimateemergency-blog]

Full responses of Melville Candidates

I asked candidates for Melville Mayor and Councilor the following 2 questions:

1) Do you accept that human-induced climate change is a major threat to the world's ecosystems and to human society?

2) Do you support the declaration of a climate emergency by the City of Melville?

When sufficient contact details were provided I attempted to contact candidates by email (at least twice), by SMS, phone call and phone message over 1 week.

Their full responses are below. Responses are listed in the order that I received them. I am publishing these based on the assumption that candidates would want their full responses made public - so that any subtleties to their response are not glossed over. However, if any candidates want their responses removed from this page, they should contact me and I will do so immediately.

In the case of Patricia Phelan, her rating is based on her lack of response as well as several public comments and statements she has made - particularly on Facebook.

SEAN AYRES:

“ Dear Andrew Thank you for your email and I appreciate your passion for the environment. I've done research on our current position and I think Melville already has a very clear policy of acknowledging climate change and reducing its own impact (www.melvillecity.com.au/waste-and-environment/environmental-sustainability/climate-change). The City is signed up to the Planet Footprint Environmental Scorekeeping Service to track greenhouse emissions. We are also one of only 4 local governments in WA signed up to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (https://www.melvillecity.com.au/waste-and-environment/environmental-sustainability/melville-s-emissions). The City is gradually reducing its footprint through renewable energy installations and reducing power use. Advice to Melville residents to reduce their impact is also easily available. The City of Melville is also leading the way in sustainability, with the Urban Forest strategy, a responsible system of waste management after recently changing to FOGO bins, and runs many environmental restoration programs. With such a strong existing plan, I'm satisfied with the City's approach and its efforts to make real change. Kind regards Sean Ayres

I acknowledge that climate change is a real threat and believe that the City of Melville has a role to play in the effort of reducing emissions globally. I disagree that a declaration of a climate emergency is necessarily the best way to act on this issue. I'm keen to hear proposals that will improve Melville moving forward and hope you stay in touch with council in the future. Kind regards Sean Ayres ”

GAVIN WAUGH:

“Hi Andrew

Thank You for taking the time to contact me

Yes and yes

f I get elected I will be expecting you to be knocking on my door with practical ideas capable of being implemented by Local Government.I do have my own environmental improvement ideas but there is always room for improvement so trading ideas may help us both.I look forward to meeting you after the election.Best wishes in your quest.

Gavin WaughBull Creek  Leeming WardCity of Melville”

KATY MAIR:

“ Hi Andrew My reply is yes to both questions? Best wishes “

GEORGE GEAR:

“ Hi Andrew, This is an easy one - yes and yes. Regards, George “

ADAM HEWBER:

“Dear AndrewI believe that a good councillor and a good council, will put the community first in all its deliberation. The three R’s ( Rates, Roads, and Rubbish) , are important, and community and road safety must be high on the agenda, but nothing is as important as embracing the challenges of dealing with a rapidly changing environment that can be expected to increase the occurrence and severity of weather events.The Melville City is relatively fortunate to be far enough away from the coast, and yet close enough to have the benefit of a sea breeze in the summer heat. Previous Melville City councils have done a reasonable job in the past to protect our foreshores, open spaces and parklands for the future.  This must continue, and where possible new and innovative ideas must now be employed to replace some of the trees that are removed when infill projects are planned. The time has come where innovative ideas could produce roof top gardens, urban forest and wildlife corridors. If the best currently available science is used, our city could continue to be recognised as one of the most progressive cities in Australia, as has occurred in the past.Now in answer to your question.1) Do you accept that human-induced climate change is a major threat to the world's ecosystems and to human society?Answer: Yes, I do. There needs to be a real effort to reduce burning coal and gas for energy consumption. The transition to Solar power is a slow process, however I believe clean energy is the future.  2) Do you support the declaration of a climate emergency by the City of Melville?Answer: Yes, I do. I believe that the city should not only declare a climate emergency, but also plan how the city can achieve a mission neutral state by 2025.I hope you will agree with some of my statements. If you can assist in promoting these ideas and help in any way, I would greatly appreciate it.Kind regards“

TOMAS FITZGERALD

“ Hi Andrew, Thanks for this message, and the opportunity to respond. 1) Do you accept that human-induced climate change is a major threat to the world's ecosystems and to human society? Yes, I accept the consistent and rigorous scientific evidence that human activity is changing the climate, rapidly, in a way that represents a clear threat to a sustainable environment. 2) Do you support the declaration of a climate emergency by the City of Melville? I would support such a declaration if it came with real, concrete action to reduce carbon emissions in the city. I would not support such a declaration if it was merely a rhetorical device that papers over the status quo. To be clear, we are facing a climate emergency. We need to elect councillors who accept the facts on this, and who will act accordingly. I will be focused on taking action. Thank you for getting in contact, and in particular thanks for the link to www.caceonline.org, which sets out what steps councils can take to reduce their carbon emissions after making such a declaration. I will read that with great interest. Yours sincerely, Tomas Fitzgerald “

JILLIAN HORTON

“ Hi Andrew, Thank you for your email. I am running for the ward of Bateman,  Kardinya and Murdoch in the soon Council elections. I do believe the science is clear, that we are in human made climate change which is threatening plants, animals and humans, plus the ecosystems we all live in. If I  am elected I want to bring a strong focus to council on ways the city of Melville can reduce emissions and help the environment.  I would support a declaration of a climate emergency and actions to help mitigate it. Kind regards, Dr. Jillian Horton Candidate for Bateman, Kardinya and Murdoch. “

GARY CRAWFORD

"Good morning Andrew,

While I freely acknowledge the importance of the environmental issue  I have had considerable experience of the operation of the Melville council over the past 6/ 8 years and in particular how Silcox ( together with the substantial support of the vast majority of his management team ) and the Aubrey cabal created an illusion of being a responsible local govt authority while running their own agenda  -  this City has suffered from being run in a feudal manner by a punitive duopoly.This council over the past 2 years has had the most complaints to the Local Govt standards panel  -  the over whelming majority of those complaints directed against our independent councillors.Is the metro council with the most complaints in a 3 year period registered with the Dept of Local Govt   -  and had over 900 service complaints ( from residents / ratepayers ) registered thru its own system.I suspect you are too young to have much knowledge of WA Inc  -  I was one of the players that helped reveal to the WA community what had been going on.Be it on a somewhat smaller scale we have a repeat here in Melville  -  hence my dubbing our situation as Melville Inc.So Andrew, I can to report that our Melville council is a very long way from being honest, open and transparent but they have shown themselves to be very capable of strong punitive action against ratepayers who have dared speak out.For the last 4 years I have been campaigning for an open public inquiry into Melville  -  it is now history that we got nothing of the sort  -  we got a sham of  Department  ‘ authorised ‘ inquiry  -  I came away from my April 2018 meeting with the 2 authorised inquiry officers with a longer list of what they were NOT going to investigate than what they were.Thank you for responding and in turn later today I will look at your petition.

Kind regards,Gary Crawford  “

DANTE GIACOMIN

“ Hi Andrew Thank you for your e-mail. I can tell you are very passionate about the topic. With regards to question 1 I believe natural climate change is also at play. I don't believe anything we do will stop that so we are going to have to find ways to adapt to minimise the effects. I don't support the Council declaring a climate emergency.  Australians have already done a lot of heavy lifting and incurred extra expense in the process. When I moved to Perth thirty years ago petrol contained lead and Western Australia had the oldest vehicle fleet in the country.  When I wiped the inside of my car window at the end of the week there was a black film and I had been breathing in that pollution all week. There was no recycling bins and everything went to the tip. WA now has a very new fuel efficient fleet. My 4 year old car is very efficient and when I wipe the inside of my window it is clean. Very little goes into my general rubbish bin and I have a full recycling bin each week. Those are just two things that have changed in my micro climate. The world's biggest polluter, the USA, has withdrawn from the Paris treaty and the five countries responsible for most of the plastic going into the oceans are all north of Australia. We should be putting pressure on those countries to adopt measures to cut down on pollution. It is the turn of the populations of those countries to make serious changes. I support any measure to make that happen. Kind regards Dante Giacomin RN CMHNCandidate for Bull Creek Leeming ward “

MARGARET SANDFORD

“ Yes and Yes.What concrete actions do you expect City of Melville to take? Regards,                                                                          Margaret Sandford “

GLYNIS BARBER

“ Hi Andrew,It is without doubt that human-induced climate change is a threat to our Earth. I advocate to be a good role model concerning reducing waste, reducing or eliminating plastic and reducing my carbon footprint. As a teacher - I know the threat of climate change is at the forefront of my students thoughts. And we owe it to the next generation to be actively involved in reducing climate change and protecting our precious ecosystems. If elected by the residents of Bicton, Attadale & Alfred Cove, I will support our Melville Council in their efforts to  educate the community on the effects of climate change. I will actively promote this. Kind regardsGlynis Barber “

JAMES BYRNES

“Hi Andrew,As discussed suggest also organise to meet with candidates Gary Crawford and Margaret Sandford.I am still waiting for Marie Curtis contact details, she is local to you in leeming and will forward once I have them.Looking again at fremantle as an example, they formed a Fremantle Youth Network  - a group of 15 or so and a petition was not required.Kind regardsJames“

PETER BEST

“Yes And Yes“

MATTHEW WOODALL

“ Hi Andrew, Apologies I thought I had responded to this but perhaps my answer was a little unclear. 1. Yes, I accept that human-induced climate change is a major threat to the world's ecosystems and to human society. 2. At this stage I do not support the declaration of a 'climate emergency' by the City of Melville, however I will continue to push for the City of Melville, and its residents and ratepayers, to take practical and effective steps to reduce our impact on the environment. Kind regards, Matt Woodall “

TIM BARLING

“ Hi Corey,Thanks for following up. Been following the science, the political debate 😑and a climate change activist since before the Montreal Protocol so yes to both!Warm Regards,Tim”

TONY STOKES

“ Hi Andrew, I honestly missed your email. Absolutely YES to both questions. Quite a lot that Melville Council has done already is conducive to your beliefs, I would imagine. Roll-ON Renewables. Kind Regards, Tony Stokes (BKM Ward). “

JOHN WATTERS

“ Thanks for the email Andrew. The delayed response has been due to me needing to find out more on Question 2, particularly from speaking with one of the Councils who have done so. In regards to the responses to your questions; 1. I do accept. 2. I can apply a level of 'in principle' support, but can't fully commit at this stage. I need to be more informed on the actions required around this. I appreciated the link, but it did not complete my understanding. I would be interested to know the views of the 6 Councillors who are currently not up for election from 2017 (4 year terms) given their more privileged access to the inner workings of council which is not readily available to candidates.   I trust this assists. Regards John “

JENNIFER SPANBROEK

“Good Morning Andrew

I apologise profusely for emailing you so very late.Bull Creek and Leeming have been under-represented for a number of years now and this lack of representation is what incited me to run for council.The many residents I have spoken to have a number of concerns and my priority, if I am successful, is to give them a voice and assist as much as possible.The most pressing concerns are closer to home with regard to many local issues that are affecting them now eg traffic on Farrington Road, construction of Roe 8/9, safer and secure neighbourhoods, urban infilling, protection of open spaces, no urban development of Melville Glades Golf Club.I have also been actively involved in Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) for City of Melville as a committee member and event co-ordinator for nearly 5 years. In this capacity there are also many concerns that are put forward to me and I would like to do a lot more for the community in this regard.I am also very strong on the need to assist our seniors with improved connections and social groups. The better we are all connected the more quickly we become aware of everyone and everything around us.  I am co-ordinating two events for NHW next week, details as follows:Wednesday 2 October, 2019Bull Creek Shopping CentreNHW Information Session10am – 1pmSunday 6 October, 2019Farrington Fayre Shopping CentreNHW Information Session (Bob Taddeo will be helping)10am – 2pmPlease come down and see us. I would like to meet you and any of your supporters. We will have quite a bit of information that you may also be interested in.Bull Creek Community Centre (back of the Bull Creek Library) are holding a coffee, chat morning for anyone wishing to attend on Friday 4 October, 2019 from 9:30am. This is a part of the Chorus Community and I will be there as well to enjoy a cuppa with anyone in attendance. Let’s get connected. Hope you can make it.Thank you for your interest in emailing me and hope to see you soon.

Kind RegardsJennifer Spanbroek”

NICK PAZOLLI

“ Dear Mr Carruthers, As agreed in our phone conversation, I provide the following responses to your questions on the basis that all my comments are published in any communications with your petitioners. I take as given that your claims in your email as to your intent and petition numbers are true and not false statements. Also you have committed to providing me with access &/or a copy of all correspondence / comments you may release to your petitioners as a result of your questions. Question 1: My personal belief is that, on the balance of probabilities, the current science supports the view that human-induced climate change is a threat to human society. I am not in a position to state with any certainty as to whether the extent of that threat is properly classified as “major” and what is defined by your statement of “world’s ecosystems”. Question 2: No Councillor or Councillor candidate can give unequivocal support for the declaration of a climate emergency in the City of Melville or any other issue for that matter. To do so ahead of the presentation of a report and motions to the Council would require such a Councillor to declare a conflict of interest under the Local Government Act and possibly having to abstain from debating and voting on such motions on the basis that the Councillor has a pre-determined, publicly declared, position or bias on the issue. If I am elected and a report / motion comes before Council on the declaration of a climate emergency, then I will give such a report / motion the proper consideration at that time, without any pre-determined position or bias. In addition to the above responses, I must also express my disappointment in your expressed disinterest in any of the many major issues that have impacted the citizens of the City of Melville over the past decade including: - Building of a wave park (now cancelled) that would have resulted in an environmentally damaging, semi-industrial installation on our precious foreshore.- Excessive building heights and dwelling densities for developments in Canning Bridge resulting in significant traffic congestion & environmental impacts.- City of Melville land speculation activities putting ratepayers’ funds at risk.- Lack of effective community consultation on major projects and community issues.- The need for stronger political leadership on Council. You and your petitioners as citizens of the City have a responsibility to take a broad citizens’ view of the issues that impact our community and to exercise their democratic rights to make an informed vote. Regards Nick Pazolli “

RUSSELL AUBREY

“Andrew,

Thank you for your email which I have just received because it was sent to my private email. In such matters, when requested to respond to petitions, I cannot respond as MAyor of the City of Melville without the endorsement of the council.

As a resident of the city you may choose to put your petition to the city for endorsement using the appropriate format.

If you wish to seek assistance in doing this please feel free to make an appointment for me to assist you to start the process.

Best wishes

Russell”

ANN ROBERTS

“Hi Andrew

It is great that you are so passionate and active regarding campaigning for climate change awareness. In the meantime we can keep greening the suburbs, increasing the urban canopy, provide bike-friendly lanes, provide local area transport using electric vehicles and encourage recycling etc. What actions would you consider to be of benefit in tackling climate change at a local government level?

Hi again. I will get to petition today after work as haven’t had access to pc and email. I was thinking too about City of Melville installing more pv solar panels too although WA news is reporting our electricity grid soon will be unable to support increasing generation of electricity from solar panels. My home has both solar pv panels and solar hot water (my husband was an engineer with a solar hot water company.

Cheers

Ann”

[forensicfield]

FACT Plus - Forensic Ballistics QnA (2018)

FACT Plus – Forensic Ballistics QnA (2018)

(more…)

[veilingofthesun]

I was tagged by @askyfullofcomets to do the 11 questions game. Thank you!

The Game: Answer the questions, create your own 11 questions, and tag 11 people!

The Questions

1. What was your favourite cultural experience in 2018?(like a concert, movie, piece of theatre, exibition etc…)

I’ve been going back and forth many times concerning this question. I’ve had so many great musical theatre experiences last year. But since the question was experience, I think I’ll go with Malmö Operas touring production of Godspell coming to my home town. My sister and I didn’t know much about it, but musicals doesn’t really come to our town, so of course we had to go. And I absolutely don’t regret it. The whole experience was fantastic. Just the feeling of seeing a professional musical in my hometown was really special. The fact that I could just go and see a musical on a saturday evening without having to travel anywhere was really nice.The young ensemble were all so talented and they were such a tight knit group with amazing chemistry. And their joy of performing (spelglädje, as we say in Swedish) was like something I’ve never seen before. It was also made special by the fact on the row before us sat a bunch of teenagers from the theatre program at a loal high school. And their joy and excitement of seeing a professional musical performed by young people was contagious. They were so happy and into everything. I really liked Godspell, although it was not my favourite musical that I saw last year, but it was my favourite experience.

Honorary mention goes to the two concerts I saw with my favourite trio Michael Jansson, Sara Lehmann and Oscar Pierrou Lindén. They work so well together and have amazing chemistry. They are also so warm, funny and they make their concerts really intimate and personal. Their concerts also gave me wonderful versions of Waving through a window (Dear Evan Hansen), Sleeping (Once) and She used to be mine (Waitress) among many other things..

Plus Så som i himmelen, of course. It’s an amazing musical. And experiencing an original Swedish musical is always exciting. The content we have gotten is amazing, multiple tv interviews and performances, two trailers, lots of other clips posted and of course, a cast recording. We usually don’t get that amount of content, so it’s been extra special...

2. What are you most excited for in 2019?

Malmö Opera’s production of Matilda the musical, without a doubt. I’ve been excited about it ever since they announced it over a year ago and the cast, both children and adults, seem fantastic. The casting for this production is spot on. A lot of the people I hoped for are playing the parts I was hoping they would play.. The fact that it’s produced by my favourite theatre is also a big plus:) I’m a huge Matilda fan, so this will be really special. I’m hoping that I will get to see all the three Matildas. I’ve always wanted to see a complete team of Matildas, but it has never been possible (for many reasons) when I’ve seen the West End production.

3.  Do you like your first name?

I guess so. I like it more nowadays. Emma has been a really popular name for many years here in Sweden. So there’s always been lots of Emmas around, especially at school and at activities. So I’d be Emma number three or four... It bothered me back then, but now it doesn’t bother me anymore.

4. What do you consider to be your best quality?

Hmm. Probably that I can stay very calm in a stressful situation and handle a lot of things going on at the same time.

5. What’s your favourite piece of clothing?

My yellow blanket coat that my friend bought at a second hand store in England (because she thought of me straight away when she saw it) and somehow managed to stuff into her luggage to bring it with her home. I love it so much, it’s both beautiful and comfortable. And I was so surprised and happy when I opened the package, so I associate it with great things:)

6. What is the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to?

Hmmm, that’s a hard question... But I think I’m gonna go with Neptuni Åkrar (Fields of Neptune) It’s a nature reserve in Sweden, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Especially in the summer when the viper's bugloss blooms, it’s stunning. You can see really beautiful sunsets there too.  It’s a really special place.

Also, the castle and it’s surroundings in my hometown. It’s such a beautiful and peaceful place. I never tire of the castle and the park. Looking at it and spending time there never gets old and boring.

The Strahov library in Prague is absolutely beautiful too. (Yes, I’m a library nerd. I love looking at different libraries) I had seen pictures of it, but seeing it in real life was absolutely breathtaking. We’d been walking up to the Strahov Monastery(to look at the beautiful views of Prague) and luckily we arrived with some time to spare before they closed the library for lunch.if we hadn’t made it, the people with me would have had to wait there for an hour, lol. You’re not allowed in to the library itself, but you can see it really well from openings in the wall. I didn’t want to leave, lol.

7. How many places have you lived in? 

Just one. I love my little corner of Sweden. It’s small and it’s location is a bit off. Which is hard when you want to see musicals. But otherwise I love it, it’s old with a lot of history, by the sea and you’re always close to nature. Big cities are fun to visit, but I don’t have to live in one..

8. What was the last thing that made you really happy?

This video, because I’m sad and so excited about every little Matilda Malmö thing I can find...And it’s the first look at the three Matildas..

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Malmö Opera (@malmoopera) on Jan 21, 2019 at 4:33am PST

9. What was the last song you listened to? 

Wear it like a crown by Rebekka Karijord

10. Who is your biggest inspiration?

Margaret Atwood. My unrealistic far fetched dream job has always been an author. I love the way she writes, her use of the language is incredible. It’s so beautiful, real, poetic and flowing. It’s hard to explain it, but her writing is very powerful. I get so immersed in her writing. I also admire her for her strength, for going her own way, fighting for what she belives in and using her books to create awareness and start a debate. Plus she’s 79 and is not slowing down at all.

11. If you could travel in time for one day, would you? And to when would you travel?

This was hard... I have never really thought about time travelling. So I guess the answer is no.

My questions:

1. Favourite book?

2. Dream trip?

3. What sound do you love?

4. Do you have any special talents?

5. What was your favourite subject in school?

6. Which movies could you watch over and over and never get tired of?

7. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and who was it to?

8. What is your favourite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?

9. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

10. Do you like your handwriting?

11. Do you collect anything and why?

I’m tagging: @tearsoftenderness @thecitykeepsevolving @miyacantdecide @mrs-tap-toes @mabra44 @amaliatheartist @kugirocks @reginarosenberg @guest-speller @starlene @midnightmaravders

[under-the-lake]

Crimes of Grindelwald - First Impressions

WARNING: THIS PAPER IS FULL TO THE BRIM WITH SPOILERS

I went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Crimes of Grindelwald on 14th November, when it was released in Switzerland. I had read quite a lot about it before, had asked a lot of questions (see this paper for them; it was written before the final trailer was out: http://under-the-lake.tumblr.com/post/176871006891/it-has-to-be-you-fantastic-beasts-the-second ), and got some answers and quite a number of new questions. Here’s a first and short delivery of my mind ramblings, but I need to see the film a couple more times to have all the details ready for a deeper delve into it.

The title of that first paper on Crimes of Grindelwald was It Has to Be You. I was sort of gutted because it seemed that this series was going to be The Chosen One  all over again, but IT IS NOT, which makes me very happy. I liked the film, and I’m curious to see how the plot develops from here. I thought there would be more plot development, but actually this second film is preparing the Chessboard for the real action, I guess, narrowing the focus and clarifying loyalties and challenges.

The Crimes of Grindelwald  (CoG) is, on the whole, the start of the Real Thing. Only the start, mind. Seeing the trailers and all the online theorising made me think that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was only some sort of prologue to the other four films. After having seen CoG, I reckon it’s right. If we compare with Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring, Fantastic Beasts was the first 500 pages, until the Company reaches Rivendell, and CoG is the bit from Rivendell to Lothlórien and  the journey on the Anduin to the Falls of Rauros. So a bit slow, but setting everything that needs to be set for the rest of the plot to actually get going smoothly.

The film starts at MACUSA (and NOT the American Ministry of Magic, as stated in the film and unfortunately in the script as well- it was not canon), with Grindelwald being moved to Europe for trial. A couple of things happen here that were sort of easy to figure out would: Grindelwald escapes (that was obvious), with the help of Abernathy (which wasn’t obvious for everyone, I guess), and he has the Elder Wand and a pendant that holds some kind of blood-coloured moving liquid. You might ask why I thought Abernathy was going to betray MACUSA. Well, Abernathy (pic below) was always too oily towards Percival Graves not to be the local Pettigrew, wasn’t he.

Grindelwald’s pendant is a bit weird, at the beginning, because it apparently serves Abernathy to save his own life when he puts it into his mouth? Of course, later in the film we learn what it is, namely a blood pact of nonaggression between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, that they made when meeting in Godric’s Hollow, 30 or so years before. So THAT is the reason why Dumbledore cannot attack Grindelwald. Unless he destroys it, which we can guess he’ll end up doing because otherwise the Chocolate Frog Cards and A History of Magic are lying. Newt’s Niffler sees to the pendant’s being stolen from Grindelwald during that Germania-type meeting in the Cimetière du Père Lachaise at the end of the film, that is so reminiscent of gatherings of Nazi or Fascists during the rise of extremist governments after WW1.

I LOVE Newt’s basement. Just LOVE it. Even that Kelpie I was so very skeptical about. Those animals are great. I’d have loved to see more of them, and also more of the baby Nifflers, but they are all cute. The funniest, though, must be the Augurey, particularly because of the interaction it has with Jacob. Bunty, on the other hand, is just a flat version of Lavender Brown, and doesn’t seem to fill any role in the film. Is she going to be there later? Meh, for the moment I couldn’t care less.

About the new creatures we see in the film, they are really cool. Apart from the Matagots. I mean not the creatures per se, but the way it is so obvious they are CGI compared to the rest, which are brilliant work.

The Kelpie is great, but I still don’t get how Newt can have domesticated it as an underwater creature. It goes against all the lore and even against his own book. Or is it that it’s one more creature he’s nurturing back to health? Still, they tend to eat humans, Keplies do.

The star of the creature show, apart from the Niffler, who’s discreet but capital, is the Zouwu (see picture above), a sort of Chinese dragon, that Newt frees from his chains and that becomes a valuable ally. It is really amazing.

Now Queenie and Jacob. Well, that was sort of foreseeable, wasn’t it? I mean that they end up together. I (and other people online as well) had thought that since the Swooping Evil Venom used at the end of the first film didn’t really Obliviate people but only erased bad memories, Jacob couldn’t have lost his, since they weren’t bad. The last scene in his bakery at the end of the first film is clear enough about that. What is a bit far-fetched to me is the fact that Queenie thinks it obligatory to charm Jacob to make him follow her. Why? Because he wouldn’t leave his flourishing business? He does love her, so much so that he doesn’t want her to risk her liberty for him. She says it’s because of the laws: in the USA, relationships of any kind between the magical community and Muggles are strictly forbidden, and thus a marriage would end up with Queenie in prison and Jacob properly Obliviated (this time).

The use of a spell to enchant her lover reminds me a bit of Merope Gaunt, I must say, with the minor difference that Tom Riddle Sr. didn’t love Merope, and therefore her using a potion (yeh I know, Queenie used a spell) is more ‘understandable’. Plus, if the couple actually travels to Europe, why not marry there where the laws aren’t that primitive? Queenie suggests it, at some point, but Jacob still refuses. This is a complete mystery to me, I must admit. I mean the logic doesn’t fit.

BUT. If there was one of the four heroes who should rally Grindelwald, I thought it would have been Queenie, because she’s got a different sense of right and wrong, because she’s got that weakness when it comes to feelings, and because, on a more ‘evidence’ point of view, her head is straight under Grindelwald’s logo in the San Diego 2018 ComicCon poster. IT WAS QUEENIE. I’m glad she does. We’ll see how it gets going though, I’m rather curious about her future. Will she realise that whatever Grindelwald’s promises, Jacob is not part of them? And how come she doesn’t read his mind? Is Grindelwald using Occlumency against her? But she’s not a canon legilimens, whatever Rowling tries to explain about that. She can’t access people’s hidden stuff. Hmm…

However, I don’t think, as many reports do, that Queenie has turned evil. I reckon she’s only desperate to get above those MACUSA laws that prevent her marrying Jacob. She doesn’t think much, though, does she. Yet she’s been showing wit and presence of mind in the first film, where she plays an instrumental part in saving her friends: when she blackmailed that MACUSA official to get Jacob back, and helping the lot out of the building inside her suitcase. She knows how to use her charms with some cleverness and à-propos. So why the ruddy hell does she let herself draw in by Grindelwald? Why doesn’t she question his statements, while she knows who he is perfectly well? This is really weird. I mean she’d be the perfect character to show that it’s not because someone looks like the local Betty Boop she is a peabrain, and can do nothing of her life but be idle. She’d be superbe at that. Maybe she will, in the end, because she needs to travel through darkness to find her own light. Maybe we’ll have a spy again. Maybe… dunno. Maybe she’ll just stay with Grindelwald. Hope not, though.

About Obliviation…. I didn’t know that it also meant ‘removing only the bad memories off the head’. That sounds weird. So what the Swooping Evil Venom does is wipe off bad memories. That’s what Newt says in his suitcase to Jacob, in the first film (scene 46). Later, when the whole of New York needs to be Obliviated, he suggests the use of that same venom. If everyone in New York had their bad memories wiped off, that means they are starting a completely new life based only on their good memories from the whole of their lives. That’s a bit harsh, like a memory genocide. I mean imagine the whole city waking up and not knowing what bad things had happened, who is your foe or why you can’t get to do something you wanted? Plus, I’m sure that some people had good memories related to seeing creatures in Central Park or things like that. So they would still remember them. This isn’t canon Obliviation, and furthermore, doesn’t stick to the USA law that says wipe off ALL memories of magic from Muggles, not only the good ones. Mind you, how would it have looked like if they had been really Obliviated? A whole city of strangers? Big Loophole, I reckon. Which brings us back to Jacob’s situation. He apparently hasn’t forgotten about everything. But how could you say that being chased off by an Erumpent across Central Park could be a good memory? Yet Jacob hasn’t forgotten about them magical rhinos, since we can see Erumpent pastries in his bakery window display. This is all very strange. Kikimora suggested that actually after the canning factory (that sucks all the life out of him), having such an adventure can’t be a bad memory. I reckon she’s got a point here :P

Leta. Hm…. Well, she sacrifices herself in the end. Is that going to provide some kind of protection to the Scamander brothers? Or was it only because she couldn’t make up her mind between them or between light and darkness? Or because she was feeling too guilty? However, I’m glad that she’s not related to Credence, and that the Lestrange thing is something different. Leta is a complex character, and I’d have liked her to develop a bit more in the future films. It seems like a waste, for the moment.

Now there’s one question, from one snake to another. The Maledictus is Credence’s friend (or whatever you want to call that relationship of two scarred souls). She doesn’t really have a part to play in this film, but I guess that she’s not there for nothing, because of her name, for one. Nagini. That’s Voldemort’s pet snake, that Wormtail milked to feed him when he was trying to survive in Goblet of Fire, which makes me wonder, by the way: how can a snake be milked, unless the final transformation the Maledictus goes through is not complete, and that at the moment of transforming she is with a baby and breastfeeding. Plus, she’d be over 90 years old when Voldy uses her. That’s a lot of interrogations. And second, she’s been separated from Credence at the end of the film, because he was once again lured by Grindelwald, who claims he knows his true identity. She can’t just see him go and that’s it, can she. Third, HOW THE BLOODY HELL COME that seeing this, she would end up joining Voldemort? HOW?

Credence… well. He’s alive, no big deal there, and starting to control both his Obscurus and his magic. He’s joined that weirdo circus because it was travelling to Paris, and he knew there were answers to his quest about his true identity on the Old Continent. He knew about that half-elf, Irma, who had taken care of him on his journey to New York when he was a baby (so it must have been around 1904, right?), so he goes looking for her with the Maledictus after they escape from the circus. Now I don’t get it why he’s drawn to her. Why are they escaping together? Maybe only because they’re both outcasts, and both being in an abusive environment they can’t stand.

Then there’s this Ministry of Magic (MoM) bloke who took the job to track him down and kill him (the job that was offered to Newt but which he flatly refused - You’ve never met a monster you couldn’t love), but he kills Irma instead. Like WHAT? Why? So that she wouldn’t tell him the truth? As if she knew it. We learn later in the film that Credence is the baby she delivered to MaryLou Barebone in New York, but that is should have been little Corvus Lestrange, who was apparently killed by Leta herself on the journey, because she swapped the babies (her brother Corvus was whining too much, and she couldn’t stand it anymore, so she swapped it with another baby, but then the boat sank).

That Ministry bloke is apparently secretly working for Grindelwald because the MoM policies are too soft (see scene under the bridge). So he probably was afraid that Irma’s hugging Credence would lessen his powers since love and family are -again- the remedy to the curse of the Obscurial…

In the end we learn, via the fact that Credence is having a baby Phoenix first (twice in the film, actually), but then because Grindelwald tells him, that he’s actually Dumbledore’s brother Aurelius. Right. I think I’ll keep that discussion for the second batch of reflections, because it needs a bit of digging. Still, I couldn’t resist adding a picture of the cover of the Crimes of Grindelwald screenplay, where it is obvious that a phoenix (or two) are hiding.

Flamel. Something weird about him. ‘We don’t keep food in the house.’ WHAT? Of course he and Pernelle are rich enough with the Stone not to have to cook themselves, but seeing how Flamel moves, I can’t imagine him rambling around Paris to go to restaurants thrice a day. Even climbing into a motor might be something of a challenge. Some could argue the Flamels don’t need to eat. Yeh. Well, since when does Immortality and Wealth dispense you from eating? That’s not consistent with the story around the Stone, be it only the glimpse we see in Philosopher’s Stone or the reality of the alchemical achievement. I’m a bit disappointed in the part the character has to play. Just a safe home for Yusuf to recover and have his water dragon parasite removed from his eye, and that’s about it? We do get a glimpse of the Philosopher’s Stone, and yes, Flamel has some kind of Palantir he uses to see what happens outside, and yes he’s at the Père Lachaise for the final scene, but still I’m like so that’s it right? meh.

We go back to Hogwarts. The young Newt is played amazingly well, given that he had to match Eddie Redmayne. Well done Joshua Shea (and David Yates for casting him and not using visual effects to make Redmayne look younger)! Apart from the pinch when you see Hogwarts appear from above with the Dark Lake and all, it’s nothing special. Leta takes a tour, which leads her to speak with Dumbledore and this dialogue is probably the one worthy of attention during all the Hogwarts sequences (apart from ‘would you like a cup of tea’ in the end) - and adds to the ‘why did you kill her?’ question.

Young McGonagall is completely out of character. Sounds like she’s been taken straight from Cursed Sh***... that was a disappointment. She’d never behave as she does in this scene.

And I still haven’t got over the fact that Dumbledore is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. No explanation is given in the film. I’m annoyed.

The French Ministry of Magic is accessed via a fountain. As said in my previous paper, I was wondering how people would be entering it in a non conspicuous way, because apart from shrinking themselves in the middle of the street and jumping into the plumbing… well. Apparently they vanish and the fountain sprouts some kind of railings? Come on people, this is a heavy breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Muggles wouldn’t see people disappearing?? No way. It is already bizarre enough at King’s Cross. Second thing is that again, the location tag on the screen reads ‘French Ministry of Magic’. Well, that’s not in accordance with what it is called everywhere else, namely Le Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France’. Why??

Same question in the USA: Why, in the name of Merlin’s most baggy pants, is MACUSA referred to as ‘American Ministry of Magic’? First of all, America is a continent, not a country. Referring to it as ‘American’ (YES, I know it’s common to do that but it still irks me) means that there are no other countries that can claim to be American in all three subcontinents. Try and tell Canadians that they don’t live in America, or Brazilians, or Mexicans. That’s not right. Well. If we set this ‘detail’ aside, the name of the United-Statesian Ministry of Magic is The Magical Congress of the United States of America, and NOT The American Ministry of Magic. Rowling made it quite plain in all her writings on Pottermore, for instance. So why WHY change that now? It only makes canon void of sense and nomenclature confusing.

Apparently, there’s a whole Wizarding layer to Paris, unlike London or New York, that you can enter via a statue of a woman sitting on a column (pic above). The Paris you enter has exactly the same map as the Muggle one, but it’s a parallel Paris. A bit weird, but probably the only way to manage a magical travelling circus without having to make yourself unplottable. Mind you, the Hogwarts Express can’t be seen by Muggles. So why couldn’t the same technique be used on a circus?

I’ll save Grindelwald, the raven and the Lestrange vault for my second piece, as well as Newt, Tina and Dumbledore, I think. I thought I’d leave the Deathly Hallows for the second bit too, but no. WHERE ARE THEY? They are everywhere from the title of the film to all the artwork by MinaLima, but not once are they mentioned in the film. Apart from the Elder Wand, in the hands of Grindelwald. Like the Potter films. Me. Is. Lost.

Many people around me or online have been complaining that this film had killed the wizarding world. Well I reckon it hasn’t, quite the contrary. It’s embedding Hogwarts in the Wizarding World, and not the other way round, folks. Rowling always stated that the Fantastic Beasts series would not be a children’s film series. She also often spoke about this as an allegory of the Interwar period, meaning the rise of extremism in Europe, culminating in WW2. It’s not a fairy tale, and not meant to be so.

Some more questions remain unanswered from before, or some details from this film, regarding the things discussed - or rather said - in this bit of writing:

Why didn’t Grindelwald kill the MoM official at the beginning, and ‘only’ made him fall into the Hudson river?

How come people can Apparate on the Hogwarts Bridge while all sources tell us you cannot Apparate on the grounds?

Why is a bloke called Travers the head of the MoM delegation sent to Hogwarts?

Why is the man replacing Newt to track down Credence so ambiguous? What’s his real role?

What’s Credence’s real family tree? Is he Dumbledore’s brother or half-brother? What’s the story behind this?

Phoenixes come to the Dumbledore family members when in dire need of help. Are there two phoenixes or is the one that comes to Credence actually already Fawkes?

So many questions, and so many more to come... when I get time enough to write the second part of this. Happy thinking, and please comment below with your own thoughts, agreements, disagreements, etc...!

Sources

Rowling, J. K. (2016). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Original Screenplay. Little Brown, London, UK.

Rowling, J. K. (2018). Fantastic Beasts - The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay. Little Brown, London, UK.

[pinersharing]

Mr deep fake

His advice? We need to question what we see.Ī video of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appearing to talk about how Facebook ’controls the future’ via stolen user data - notably on Instagram. He then showed how the two halves of the merged video looked when separated. One example of a Deepfake is the video issued by actor Jordan Peele in which he used real footage of Barack Obama merged with his own impression of Obama to issue a warning against Deepfake videos. High profile Deepfake examples are not hard to find. In fact, the same Deepfake machine learning and synthesizing techniques can be used to fake voices. Plus, GANs can fake other data besides photos and video. This makes Deepfake an ever more potent threat. Two neural networks are used to compete with each other in learning the characteristics of a training set (for instance, photographs of faces) and then generating new data with the same characteristics (new 'photographs').īecause such a network keeps testing the images it creates against the training set, the fake images become increasingly convincing. This is another kind of specialized machine learning system. That data can then be processed in order to create a Deepfake video through a GAN (Generative Adversarial Network). For instance, an AI can gather data on your physical movements. It's capable of learning from unstructured data - such as the human face. Deep learning is an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) method which uses multiple layers of machine learning algorithms to extract progressively higher-level features from raw input. Efune said he didn’t respond to Taylor’s messages.Deepfake videos are a portmanteau word - 'deep' from 'deep learning' and 'fake', obviously, from 'fake'. Taylor emailed both papers protesting the removal, but Times of Israel Opinion Editor Miriam Herschlag said she rebuffed him after he failed to prove his identity. “We’re not a counterintelligence operation,” Algemeiner Editor-in-chief Dovid Efune said, although he noted that the paper had introduced new safeguards since.Īfter Reuters began asking about Taylor, The Algemeiner and the Times of Israel deleted his work. He didn’t ask for payment, they said, and they didn’t take aggressive steps to vet his identity. The University of Birmingham said in a statement it could not find “any record of this individual using these details.” Editors at the Jerusalem Post and The Algemeiner say they published Taylor after he pitched them stories cold over email. Taylor appears to have had no online presence until he started writing articles in late December. Reuters was alerted to Taylor by London academic Mazen Masri, who drew international attention in late 2018 when he helped launch an Israeli lawsuit against the surveillance company NSO on behalf of alleged Mexican victims of the company’s phone hacking technology.ĭeepfakes like Taylor are dangerous because they can help build “a totally untraceable identity,” said Dan Brahmy, whose Israel-based startup Cyabra specializes in detecting such images.īrahmy said investigators chasing the origin of such photos are left “searching for a needle in a haystack – except the needle doesn’t exist.” phone number he supplied to editors drew an automated error message and he didn’t respond to messages left at the Gmail address he used for correspondence. Who is behind Taylor isn’t known to Reuters. And experts in deceptive imagery used state-of-the-art forensic analysis programs to determine that Taylor’s profile photo is a hyper-realistic forgery - a “deepfake.” Two newspapers that published his work say they have tried and failed to confirm his identity. He has no obvious online footprint beyond an account on the question-and-answer site Quora, where he was active for two days in March. His university says it has no record of him. The catch? Oliver Taylor seems to be an elaborate fiction. His half dozen freelance editorials and blog posts reveal an active interest in anti-Semitism and Jewish affairs, with bylines in the Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel. Online profiles describe him as a coffee lover and politics junkie who was raised in a traditional Jewish home. The digital inconsistencies were one of several indicators used by experts to determine that Taylor was an online mirage. The heat map, which was produced using one of Cyabra's algorithms, highlights areas of suspected computer manipulation. A combination photograph showing an image purporting to be of British student and freelance writer Oliver Taylor (L) and a heat map of the same photograph produced by Tel Aviv-based deepfake detection company Cyabra is seen in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters.

[scifigeneration]

A decade of commercial space travel – what’s next?

by Joel Wooten

A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Feb. 6, 2018. AP Photo/ John Raoux

In many industries, a decade is barely enough time to cause dramatic change unless something disruptive comes along – a new technology, business model or service design. The space industry has recently been enjoying all three.

But 10 years ago, none of those innovations were guaranteed. In fact, on Sept. 28, 2008, an entire company watched and hoped as their flagship product attempted a final launch after three failures. With cash running low, this was the last shot. Over 21,000 kilograms of kerosene and liquid oxygen ignited and powered two booster stages off the launchpad.

This first official picture of the Soviet satellite Sputnik I was issued in Moscow Oct. 9, 1957. The satellite measured 1 foot, 11 inches and weighed 184 pounds. The Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit, on Oct. 4, 1957. AP Photo/TASS

When that Falcon 1 rocket successfully reached orbit and the company secured a subsequent contract with NASA, SpaceX had survived its ‘startup dip’. That milestone – the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit – ignited a new space industry that is changing our world, on this planet and beyond. What has happened in the intervening years, and what does it mean going forward?

While scientists are busy developing new technologies that address the countless technical problems of space, there is another segment of researchers, including myself, studying the business angle and the operations issues facing this new industry. In a recent paper, my colleague Christopher Tang and I investigate the questions firms need to answer in order to create a sustainable space industry and make it possible for humans to establish extraterrestrial bases, mine asteroids and extend space travel – all while governments play an increasingly smaller role in funding space enterprises. We believe these business solutions may hold the less-glamorous key to unlocking the galaxy.

The new global space industry

When the Soviet Union launched their Sputnik program, putting a satellite in orbit in 1957, they kicked off a race to space fueled by international competition and Cold War fears. The Soviet Union and the United States played the primary roles, stringing together a series of “firsts” for the record books. The first chapter of the space race culminated with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing which required massive public investment, on the order of US$25.4 billion, almost $200 billion in today’s dollars.

Competition characterized this early portion of space history. Eventually, that evolved into collaboration, with the International Space Station being a stellar example, as governments worked toward shared goals. Now, we’ve entered a new phase – openness – with private, commercial companies leading the way.

The industry for spacecraft and satellite launches is becoming more commercialized, due, in part, to shrinking government budgets. According to a report from the investment firm Space Angels, a record 120 venture capital firms invested over $3.9 billion in private space enterprises last year. The space industry is also becoming global, no longer dominated by the Cold War rivals, the United States and USSR.

In 2018 to date, there have been 72 orbital launches, an average of two per week, from launch pads in China, Russia, India, Japan, French Guinea, New Zealand and the U.S.

The uptick in orbital launches of actual rockets as well as spacecraft launches, which includes satellites and probes launched from space, coincides with this openness over the past decade.

More governments, firms and even amateurs engage in various spacecraft launches than ever before. With more entities involved, innovation has flourished. As Roberson notes in Digital Trends, “Private, commercial spaceflight. Even lunar exploration, mining, and colonization – it’s suddenly all on the table, making the race for space today more vital than it has felt in years.”

Worldwide launches into space. Orbital launches include manned and unmanned spaceships launched into orbital flight from Earth. Spacecraft launches include all vehicles such as spaceships, satellites and probes launched from Earth or space. Wooten, J. and C. Tang (2018) Operations in space, Decision Sciences; Space Launch Report (Kyle 2017); Spacecraft Encyclopedia (Lafleur 2017), CC BY-ND

One can see this vitality plainly in the news. On Sept. 21, Japan announced that two of its unmanned rovers, dubbed Minerva-II-1, had landed on a small, distant asteroid. For perspective, the scale of this landing is similar to hitting a 6-centimeter target from 20,000 kilometers away. And earlier this year, people around the world watched in awe as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket successfully launched and – more impressively – returned its two boosters to a landing pad in a synchronized ballet of epic proportions.

Challenges and opportunities

Amidst the growth of capital, firms and knowledge, both researchers and practitioners must figure out how entities should manage their daily operations, organize their supply chain and develop sustainable operations in space. This is complicated by the hurdles space poses: distance, gravity, inhospitable environments and information scarcity.

One of the greatest challenges involves actually getting the things people want in space, into space. Manufacturing everything on Earth and then launching it with rockets is expensive and restrictive. A company called Made In Space is taking a different approach by maintaining an additive manufacturing facility on the International Space Station and 3D printing right in space. Tools, spare parts and medical devices for the crew can all be created on demand. The benefits include more flexibility and better inventory management on the space station. In addition, certain products can be produced better in space than on Earth, such as pure optical fiber.

How should companies determine the value of manufacturing in space? Where should capacity be built and how should it be scaled up? The figure below breaks up the origin and destination of goods between Earth and space and arranges products into quadrants. Humans have mastered the lower left quadrant, made on Earth – for use on Earth. Moving clockwise from there, each quadrant introduces new challenges, for which we have less and less expertise.

A framework of Earth-space operations. Wooten, J. and C. Tang (2018) Operations in Space, Decision Sciences, CC BY-ND

I first became interested in this particular problem as I listened to a panel of robotics experts discuss building a colony on Mars (in our third quadrant). You can’t build the structures on Earth and easily send them to Mars, so you must manufacture there. But putting human builders in that extreme environment is equally problematic. Essentially, an entirely new mode of production using robots and automation in an advance envoy may be required.

Resources in space

You might wonder where one gets the materials for manufacturing in space, but there is actually an abundance of resources: Metals for manufacturing can be found within asteroids, water for rocket fuel is frozen as ice on planets and moons, and rare elements like helium-3 for energy are embedded in the crust of the moon. If we brought that particular isotope back to Earth, we could eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels.

As demonstrated by the recent Minerva-II-1 asteroid landing, people are acquiring the technical know-how to locate and navigate to these materials. But extraction and transport are open questions.

How do these cases change the economics in the space industry? Already, companies like Planetary Resources, Moon Express, Deep Space Industries, and Asterank are organizing to address these opportunities. And scholars are beginning to outline how to navigate questions of property rights, exploitation and partnerships.

Threats from space junk

A computer-generated image of objects in Earth orbit that are currently being tracked. Approximately 95 percent of the objects in this illustration are orbital debris – not functional satellites. The dots represent the current location of each item. The orbital debris dots are scaled according to the image size of the graphic to optimize their visibility and are not scaled to Earth. NASA

The movie “Gravity” opens with a Russian satellite exploding, which sets off a chain reaction of destruction thanks to debris hitting a space shuttle, the Hubble telescope, and part of the International Space Station. The sequence, while not perfectly plausible as written, is a very real phenomenon. In fact, in 2013, a Russian satellite disintegrated when it was hit with fragments from a Chinese satellite that exploded in 2007. Known as the Kessler effect, the danger from the 500,000-plus pieces of space debris has already gotten some attention in public policy circles. How should one prevent, reduce or mitigate this risk? Quantifying the environmental impact of the space industry and addressing sustainable operations is still to come.

NASA scientist Mark Matney is seen through a fist-sized hole in a 3-inch thick piece of aluminum at Johnson Space Center’s orbital debris program lab. The hole was created by a thumb-size piece of material hitting the metal at very high speed simulating possible damage from space junk. AP Photo/Pat Sullivan

What’s next?

It’s true that space is becoming just another place to do business. There are companies that will handle the logistics of getting your destined-for-space module on board a rocket; there are companies that will fly those rockets to the International Space Station; and there are others that can make a replacement part once there.

What comes next? In one sense, it’s anybody’s guess, but all signs point to this new industry forging ahead. A new breakthrough could alter the speed, but the course seems set: exploring farther away from home, whether that’s the moon, asteroids or Mars. It’s hard to believe that 10 years ago, SpaceX launches were yet to be successful. Today, a vibrant private sector consists of scores of companies working on everything from commercial spacecraft and rocket propulsion to space mining and food production. The next step is working to solidify the business practices and mature the industry.

Standing in a large hall at the University of Pittsburgh as part of the White House Frontiers Conference, I see the future. Wrapped around my head are state-of-the-art virtual reality goggles. I’m looking at the surface of Mars. Every detail is immediate and crisp. This is not just a video game or an aimless exercise. The scientific community has poured resources into such efforts because exploration is preceded by information. And who knows, maybe 10 years from now, someone will be standing on the actual surface of Mars.

About The Author:

Joel Wooten is Assistant Professor of Management Science at the University of South Carolina

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

[thebrewstorian]

Beer history makers: a panel of stories

In conjunction with the not-really-new anymore beer history exhibit “Barley, Barrels, Bottles, & Brews: 200 Years of Oregon Beer" at the Oregon Historical Society, there have been lots of fun events, including a Sunday afternoon talk with panelists Teri Fahrendorf, Fred Bowman, and Jerome Chicvara, all important in the story of beer history, and moderated by exhibit curator Lori Erickson. The weather was uncharacteristically sunny in Portland today, so the full room was even more impressive.

I never tire of these stories, and while I’ve heard many before because I’ve interviewed both Bowman and Fahrendorf (http://bit.ly/ohbaoh), I diligently took notes on the talk and then thought some deep-ish thoughts. 

A slight digression on memory and story ... The great thing about stories is that they are never the same. I’m not suggesting that people change their stories, but that the stories change as people remember/repeat them and change depending on who the people are with. I’m co-teaching an oral history class this term for the Honors College and our reading next week is called “Memory and Remembering in Oral History" by Alistair Thomson if you want to read it (http://bit.ly/2DaAgf8). Thomson write about many interesting things, including performance of the “memory story,” the biology and neurology of remembering, and the subjectivity of the interview relationship. He also says that "each act of recall is itself a new experience” and that "storytelling is a tool for creating identity, for making sense of our existence.” There can be a personal joy or catharsis in remembering, but oral histories are also an interesting glimpse into cultural and social memories.

The oral historian can bring photos to prompt memories or have family members present to provide some date recall assistance, but people have to be willing to try and remember. Additionally, we are more likely to remember the details of things that are culturally or personally significant and "encode" them; ultimately, these personal memories are linked to the broader cultural narrative. 

I also happened to hear a great interview last week on the Longform podcast with Malcolm Gladwell. At the end of the interview, Gladwell talked about how important stories are for the “flavor” or “texture” that they add to the history, making the details more real and emotional. But he was concerned that our focus on "hard facts" (e.g. dates and proper names) is coming at the expense of us believing people’s stories. It is folly for us to get hung up on the repetition of those facts because the emotion of an interview isn’t dependent on dates/names (things that can be determined using other sources), rather the purpose of an oral history is the connection you have with the person, the trust you cultivate, and the special “historical record” you create together.

So this was all swimming around in my head.

Although I’d never met Chicvara, elements of his story were familiar and complemented what I knew from other interviews I’d conducted. Chicvara left Illinois in 1978 - during a terrible winter - with hopes of opening a vineyard in Oregon. He didn't have deep enough financial pockets to make that work, but he did know from drinking Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, and imports what good beer was and that people liked good beer. He talked with winemaker (then BridgePort Brewing founder) Dick Ponzi, who suggested that he raise money from friends and family to open a brewery. Ponzi said that with the introduction of "brew pubs" a big change was coming. Chicvara got a job at a distributor to learn mechanics of selling beer (how to explain it to the distributors). He recalled a story about how Fritz Maytag used to send 60 cases of Anchor Steam's Christmas beer with the warning that they’s best not sell anything before December 1st because November wasn’t Christmas! Chicvara said he felt like The Godfather allocating precious beer resources. That brew pub law Ponzi mentioned was really important, as Chicvara learned in his work, because distributors weren’t interested in microbreweries or pushing their stock to new clients; they needed to be able to self-distribute to survive and grow. 

But what about Full Sail? Chicvara and his wife took some scouting trips throughout Oregon to visit new breweries and think about the market. They travelled to Ashland and Bend; but he really liked Eugene and his wife liked Hood River. You know how the story ends... Yes, in Hood River. At that point there was 35% unemployment - it was a desolate timber town but it had good water. They had been selling stock for about five years when they met with staff at the Oregon Resource and Technology Development Corp, which was conceived of as an office to use lottery money to support tech companies. They convinced them to loan them the final $250,000 to get the company started; Full Sail was the first success out of that program when they paid off the loan! Convincing the fruit growers that a microbrewery in an empty fruit cannery could turn economy around was a harder sell, but we also know how that story ends. One more fun story that stands out: Chicvara brewed beer once at Full Sail; before he was completely done Dave Logsdon (#1 home brewer of the year) took over and told him to go talk to people about the brewery on the phone. Chicvara left Full Sail when it became employee owned and went to work for Maletis Beverage (the internet said he retired in 2018??).  

I said there were other stories I have heard, but I heard them in a new way in this panel. One that felt meaningful in a different way was Fahrendorf's story about her "Road Brewer on Pink Boots tour" and how a list of women brewers turned into an international educational support and mentoring program. The first in-person meet-up was at the 2008 Craft Brewers Conference, where they decided to have a "ladies luncheon." They invited 60 women brewers and 6 beer writers, something that had never happened before. Male journalists wanted to come, but Fahrendorf was steadfast that this needed to be just women because none of them knew what it would be like to be in that room. How would the dynamic change without male voices? It was around then that Fahrendorf realized she had a "male communication style" - she speaks in statements - and that she didn’t know how to talk to women! Ironic, right?

Another story I may have heard, but forgot was one from Bowman about starting Portland Brewing. When Jim Goodwin, Art Larrance, and Bowman deiced to open a brewery, they looked for a consultant to hire. They went with Bert Grant, who had a brewery in the old opera house in Yakima. They drove up to Yakima for a meeting  and left with consulting agreement - plus a license to brew Grant's beer in Oregon. Part of the agreement was that Bowman would go to Yakima for a month on weekends to learn how a commercial brewing operation operated. In this old opera house there was a basement, which was where they stored the 800 pound super sacks of malt. The practice was to carry two five-pound buckets up to the second floor, where they would be ground and used to make beer. When Bowman arrived for the first weekend shift the guy who answered the door welcomed him as the new “bucket elevator.”

These three are wonderful storytellers, so time for questions was limited. However... as a librarian I always want to share questions that might turn into research topics, so here you go:

Is the Oregon wine industry operational and profitable because they drink a lot of Oregon beer? 

How hard is it to distribute internationally? 

What is the state of the market and future? Fahrendorf said that she thought there was plenty of space for community brew pubs where people made a living wage (not a mansion wage). 

Are there queer / trans brewers and a community to support them?

What was the role of UC Davis in brewing education? 

What was the pub owner's role in promotion of microbreweries?  

“Barley, Barrels, Bottles, & Brews: 200 Years of Oregon Beer" is open through June 9 - so go see it! There is also a new semi-permanent exhibit opening at OHS in February, “Experience Oregon,” on the history of Oregon (all of it). Also, remember OHS has a research library for all your archives needs, lots online at Oregon encyclopedia etc, and other super exhibits.

So... in conclusion... The beauty of stories is that they change each time they are told and we hear them. The beauty of archives is that they save stories and paper documents. The beauty of historical societies and research libraries is that they bring communities inside on a sunny Sunday.

[thatishogwash]

Saying Hello

KuroDai Week 2018 May 7, Day Two: Getting Together / Post Break-up AO3

Daichi put his hands into his jacket pockets as he exited the hotel they were staying at for Spring High.  It was an uncharastically cool night for spring but after being in a stuffy room with his entire team the cold breeze against his face felt soothing.  He let out a yawn that cracked his jaw as he glanced around the outside of the hotel, his hand wrapping around his phone to pull it out when he saw the tall silhouette of someone leaning against the corner of the building, shadowed from the street lamps that were just flickering on even though the sun was still setting.

Daichi felt a grin pull at his face as he recognized the lean form and the bright red jacket  and pants.

“Are you trying to look suspicious?”  Daichi asked as he approached the other teen.  He thought maybe one of them should be disappointed, sad or even angry but both of them were grinning widely at the other.

Kuroo stood up straight and took a quick step before Daichi was suddenly engulfed in a hug.  It was unexpected but welcomed just the same as Daichi circled his own arms around Kuroo’s back, hugging the other teen tightly.  With their height differences Daichi’s face was buried in Kuroo’s neck.  Kuroo’s arms were wrapped around Daichi’s shoulders, head bent down to press his nose right behind Daichi’s ear.

Before Daichi could really question it Kuroo was pulling back, not before his hand gently ran over the back of Daichi’s neck.  He stepped back, releasing Daichi completely before looking away and even in the growing darkness Daichi could see the light dusting of pink on Kuroo’s tanned cheeks.  Kuroo’s embarrassment made Daichi’s own face turn red but he laughed it off.

Daichi hadn’t been sure how this meeting would go.  When he got a text from Kuroo he had been partially surprised but more so in the fact that he half expected Kuroo to text him.  One of them had lost at Spring High to the other, one of their high school volleyball careers was coming to a close earlier than they expected but no one would be able to tell by looking at them.  Just like in the game itself there was mutual respect there and the knowledge that they both tried their hardest, gave it their all and scraped for every point and save they could.

There was a little bit of heartache on both their sides, Daichi knew that.  He thought it might have more to do with the fact that this was their last year, they would never have a battle of the garbage dump again.  They would never have this moment again and that made the atmosphere heavy.  But there was also the future opened up wide in front of them.

Which reminded Daichi.

“Here.”  Daichi’s grin widened as he pulled out the piece of paper he had specifically brought in the hopes of pushing it into Kuroo’s face.  Kuroo’s long fingers took the paper, glancing up at Daichi’s face before unfolding the paper and reading what was neatly typed up on it.  Daichi wished he could have done a whole fake-out routine but he was too excited, to happy for the nearing future to pretend otherwise.

“You got it?  You got in!”  Kuroo was hugging Daichi again, both of them laughing and grinning as the paper was wrinkled in Kuroo’s overexcited grip.  “Holy shit Dai, you got a full sports scholarship.”  Kuroo’s wide eyes were on the paper so he missed the darkening of Daichi’s cheeks at the nickname.

Kuroo called him Dai in texts, only switching to Sawamura when Daichi was being purposefully obtuse or challenging.  That was another thing that had happened after their first practice match and well after their training camp.  Being rivals with Kuroo was instinctual but being friends with Kuroo?  Easiest thing in Daichi’s short life.

“I talked to the recruiter after our game with Shiratorizawa, I didn’t think anything would really come of it.”  Daichi rubbed his neck in embarrassment after they had stepped back once again from their impromptu hug.  Daichi shoved his free hand into his pocket because he really wanted to pull Kuroo close again.

Daichi had acknowledged his crush on the other captain early on.  He wasn’t going to the same college as Kuroo because of him, though Kuroo being there was a nice bonus.  It had one of the best programs for the area he wanted to study and a fantastic volleyball team that showed a real promising future.

“Of course he’d want you, look at what you’ve accomplished with Karasuno, the flightless crows.”  Kuroo smirked at the nickname.  Somehow when Kuroo said it it no longer sounded like an insult, but instead became something more.  After all, Nekoma was known as a failing powerhouse too and look how far they came.

“Everyone knows it’s because of the others, I’ve hardly done anything.”  Daichi shrugged.  He hoped he didn’t disappoint too many people when he joined the volleyball team at his new school.  He was looking forward to battling on the same side as Kuroo.

“Daichi.”  Kuroo’s face was unusually serious as he stepped forward, forcing Daichi to lift his chin to look up at him.  Most of the time this would annoy Daichi, but right now it made his heart pound faster.  “What everyone knows is that you are the backbone of your team.  Yeah that weird duo and the power of Tanaka and Asahi, plus my own prodigy and the rest of the team helps too but you keep them afloat.  You filled in the holes so they could do all their fancy plays.  You kept their spirits up when all hope seemed lost.”  Kuroo’s fingers were feather soft against the still healing bruise on Daichi’s face.  It was cool out but Kuroo’s fingers were ice cold, a nice relief on Daichi’s suddenly heated skin.

“They are going to be even bigger monsters next year, they’ll give Nekoma a run for their money.”  Daichi couldn’t help but grin as Kuroo laughed, his hand falling away.

“How are you going to be so competitive when we are on the same team next year?”  Daichi felt a thrill run up his spine at the thought.  One of them would be leaving the tournament today while the other continued on but Daichi’s thoughts were suddenly consumed with training and practicing on the same side of the net with Kuroo.

“You’ll have to show me around Tokyo.”  Daichi said instead of answering.  They would always be competitive but he thought it might shift when they graduated high school and went to the same college.

“What a drag.”  Kuroo’s smirk was wide and made Daichi push him away.  When had they gotten so close?

“We should be heading back.”  Daichi glanced back at the door just in time to feel something soft and slightly chapped brush his cheek.  He turned back to look up at Kuroo with wide eyes.  “Did you just-”

“No!”  Kuroo was stepping back rapidly, hand over his mouth as if his own lips had betrayed him.

“A kiss on the cheek?  Felt like something my grandmother would do.”  Daichi felt light and giddy as he laughed at Kuroo’s shocked face.  He had moments where he thought Kuroo might feel the same way but it was difficult to convey tone through text.  He had no idea if he was flirty with everyone because he had no point of reference.  Just asking would have been awkward and he never had to nerve to do anything about it.

“Sawamura!”  Kuroo covered his eyes as he turned away.  Daichi caught his sleeve, pulling him back and laughing again as Kuroo groaned and hid his face in Daichi’s neck.  Daichi patted his hair consolingly.

“There, there.”  Daichi turned his head and gave Kuroo’s cheek a soft peck.  “Better?”  Kuroo groaned loudly, and dramatically, which only caused Daichi to laugh harder.

“I’m transferring schools.”  Kuroo complained even as he shifted closer, hands curling into the fabric of Daichi’s black jacket.  “Changing my name, dying my hair-”

“It would be even more of a disaster then.”  Daichi said conversationally, grinning up at Kuroo as he pulled back enough to give Daichi the stink eye.

“I was aiming for your mouth but you turned your head.”  Kuroo was pouting which was ridiculous.  More ridiculous was how adorable Daichi found it.

“Shouldn’t you ask permission before kissing someone?”  Daichi scolded him lightly.  Some of the embarrassment was falling away from Kuroo as he caught on that Daichi was teasing him because yes, he returned those feelings and maybe he’d enjoy a real kiss also.

“Can I kiss you?”  Kuroo asked.

“Absolutely not.”  Daichi deadpanned.  Kuroo made a disgruntled face before Daichi pulled him down to kiss him.

It was Daichi’s first kiss, though it might take years for him to ever admit that to Kuroo.  It was Daichi’s turn to be embarrassed as their noses hit each other and their teeth clicked painfully.  Daichi cringed, getting ready to pull back when Kuroo’s hand gently cupped the back of Daichi’s head, tilting his head to the side slightly before coming in more carefully.

That kiss was definitely better than its predecessors.  It was soft and carefully, and Daichi could feel Kuroo’s smirk against his own lips but for once that didn’t make Daichi feel the need to wipe it off his face.  He kissed it instead, gently placing a kiss on Kuroo’s top lip, an apology for the teasing he had endured and a soft kiss on his bottom lip, another apology for the slightly painful first kiss.

Someone cleared their throat and both teens jumped apart.

“It’s getting late.”  Ukai’s raspy tone was harsh but there was amusement in the tilt of his chin and the upwards corners of his mouth.

“Sorry!”  Both of them apologized, bowing deeply to Ukai who snorted as he pulled out a cigarette.

“Didn’t Takeda ask you to not smoke in front of us very impressionable youth, sir?”  Daichi asked and he could feel Kuroo’s shocked eyes on him for his cheek.  Ukai’s eyes narrowed as he put the cigarette in between his teeth.

“How about you go inside and we both pretend none of this ever happened?”  Ukai asked.

“Yes sir.”  Daichi grinned up at Kuroo, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before walking quickly inside, not wanting to push his luck any further.

Daichi was halfway to his room when his phone beeped from his pocket.  It was a picture of Kuroo holding Daichi’s acceptance letter, holding it ransom until Daichi would visit him once Spring High was over so they could tour their new college together, perhaps go apartment shopping.

Sometimes Daichi’s heart felt heavy with the sheer amount of possibilities waiting in his future but knowing Kuroo was going to be there made him feel lighter.

[fmtpextended]

Books Are Like Onions Podcast

So I did a scary thing today. I officially launched the first episode of my new podcast, Books Are Like Onions.

What is it, exactly? Well, it’s a podcast about writing and techniques used in building your craft. It’s a lot like this blog, except that it’s shorter and has more examples worked into it, plus you can listen to it while driving. (Please don’t ever attempt to download it or read the show notes for it while driving though--that could never result in anything good.) I’d like to think it’s helpful, but take a listen anyway and let me know what you think. I’m new to this whole podcasting bit but would love to hear your ideas for topics and tips for improving it. Because it’s so new, it’s currently only available through my website, but I’m diligently working on getting it uploaded to iTunes and Google Play as well, so it should be available through those apps soon.

Here’s a sneak peek at the first episode:

What Is Technical Writing? (2:02)

Technical writing is often attributed to items like manuals and textbooks, or other books that explain complicated topics. But the main purpose of any technical piece is to give the reader insight about a particular concept or product in a way that's easy to understand. Fiction writing shares that approach; starting with a solid foundation for a plot gives you the best base for a strong and compelling story. Without it, your story will always fall flat, no matter how many times you rework it.

To build that foundation, here are a few basic questions to ask about your main character:

What do they want?

What, or who, stands in their way?

What lies are they telling themselves that have hindered their success in achieving their goals?

Your answers will provide the basic structure for their character arc, which will keep you from getting derailed from that path.

Further resources on developing character arcs are given in this episode and are also listed at the bottom of this post.

Presentation and Structure (3:38)

In technical writing, structure is everything. Placement and presentation of information can make the difference between that information being helpful or confusing. In fiction writing, structure of a story is key to its success, and worldbuilding can help get you there.

Here are the main questions for worldbuilding:

Where does the story take place?

Are there any laws or rules bound to it?

What’s the weather like, and how does it change?

How large is each location in the story, and if there are multiple locations, how to they relate to one another?

What kind of structures and materials are found in the world?

Example in the podcast: An excerpt from Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

Identifying an Audience (6:18)

Whether you’re writing a technical piece or a fictional one, you need to be aware of the subset of people you’re writing for. Doing so allows you to present the story in a way they identify most easily with.

Example in the podcast: When I was asked to create software manuals while working at a medical supply company

Being able to transcribe a technical process onto paper is a skill that many struggle with. This stems from a disconnect between the knowledge that the author has about the process and the audience for which they’re writing. But learning that skill can be beneficial to fiction writing. With an audience in mind, it becomes clearer which elements need to be further explained and which you can leave out, thereby allowing you to hit on topics that relate most closely to your target readers.

Example in the podcast: Learning the hard way about needing to plan for audience, which resulted in mismatched elements and roadblocks in my early attempts at writing

Applying Research (8:25)

In technical writing, research allows you to have a much better understanding of your subject matter, which means you can more easily translate that information to those reading it. In fiction writing, it can add depth and a layer of realism that your story might not have otherwise had.

Example in the podcast: How I've applied research to my current series, The Porcelain Souls, and what kind of impact that's had

Research is crucial to the execution of a story. While fiction does give you certain liberties to bend the rules, I recommend weaving in the most prominent facts and historic elements where they apply to give your piece a sound backbone for everything else that follows. The amount of work you put into your research will show, and readers won’t hesitate to call you out on any flaws.

The full show notes, a list of all the resources mentioned in the blog, and the actual audio file for the episode can be found here: https://rachellemnshaw.com/podcast/2018/4/7/episode-1-technical-writing-and-adapting-it-to-the-world-of-fiction

Happy listening!

[liammackenna]

The year is 2018, and LIAM MACKENNA is a 27 year old musician and an overall happy guy.

BACKGROUND

liam and his twin sister caitriona were born to one of ireland’s most popular and well loved singers, siobhan diorain (and her band’s drummer), in 1991. the twins were a product of a short fling, which siobhan came clean about as soon as she started showing. she was single at the time and only 23 years old, but it’s the 90′s damn it. she could damn well still be successful in both career and motherhood on her own. she was fiercely adamant about that fact.

siobhan mackenna was a good mother. a damn good mother. she went above and beyond for her kids, already knowing their life would be harder just by virtue of who she was. if one of her babies was sick, she’d cancel the string of interviews she had set for the day, even if it made her PR want to pull their hair out. if they felt lonely she’d skip out on the gala she was supposed to schmooze at just to have a night in with them. still, she couldn’t make everything better.

the twins grew up in the spotlight. from the moment they were born, that was the life they knew. it wasn’t a bad childhood, per say. it was actually rather good. just a bright one, a noisy one. and as much as their mother tried to protect them from it, nearly every time they stepped out of their home or whatever hotel they were staying at on tour there was a camera there. though it did nothing but make the twins closer than they ever would have been living a normal life. after all, the only ones who understood what it was like to grow up under the scrutiny of the lens were each other.  

while cait found herself as comfortable a spot as she could in the spotlight, smiling an ear to ear grin at every reporter and paparazzi, the constant attention made liam far more bashful, far more shy. he stuck nearby his mother when he could and his sister was never too far away. 

despite how shy he was, the public ate up any coverage they could get on siobhan and her two “utterly adorable” kids. they quickly became ireland’s sweethearts, nearly overnight, with the public following their every move. papers and magazines had more baby pictures than the twins’ own mother did, despite the fact she often made most of her life public to avoid the paparazzi prying; a photo of the twins not sixth months old being carried by siobhan as she sang to them- another of liam, one, being taught how to play the piano while seated on his mother’s lap- footage of the twins sixth birthday at the zoo because cait was desperate to go. them, enthralled by how tall a giraffe actually was-  more footage of the twins on a day at the park, seven, cait having climbed a tree and accidentally kicked off her shoe in the process and liam climbing up after her to return it (she’d later start attempting to drop pinecones on him from above while he read: “look, i’m just trying to be smart like you. i’m testing newton’s theory of gravity. good news, it still works.”)

thing was, as much as liam grew up around a camera, he was surrounded by music at every corner. he found some solace in that. he didn’t spend much time with his father growing up, being on the road with his mother as he was, but every time the twins did stop to stay for a few months with him he would always teach them the way around instruments. some of liam’s only friends outside of his sister were his mother’s band mates and crew hands and they’d teach him some more. and then there was his mother who was always happy to answer any question he had about her own career. he took a shining to it. his sister didn’t. but then again, they were only twins. they weren’t carbon copies of each other.

the twins were both home schooled but in between lessons liam would catch up with learning how to play, to write, to make music. by the time he was sixteen he’d mastered both the guitar and the violin. and like his mother he had some vocals worth talking about, though he was a lot shier about those. 

when he was seventeen his mother had begun working on her latest album and, after what seemed to him like an out of the blue move she asked him for his advice on a song she was having some tough writer’s block on. even more shocking to him, she was so pleased with his input she asked him a couple of months later to collaborate with her on something new, a fun project that would just be the two of them this time instead of her usual team.

as soon as their collaboration was released, liam began receiving even more attention than he ever had growing up from the public and the press. but it wasn’t over his mere existence this time. people hadn’t even known he could so much as play twinkle little star. people were actually taking a liking to the sound he was putting forward; gentle and soft but mysterious and nuanced and alluring. something far beyond his years.

honestly, liam had never considered being a musician as an option for his future. and he was still unsure about it even as the press started putting questions out of whether or not he’d do anything more with what he started. but with the encouragement of his mother and the support of his sister, he decided he really had nothing to lose. his first solo piece was released when he was eighteen.

THE PRESENT

when liam and his sister really started making identities of their own, they both took their father’s name. it’s only a stage name, on their birth records they’re both still listed as the diorain twins but they wanted to forge something that wasn’t riding on the coattails of their mother’s name.

despite growing up in the spotlight and skyrocketing into fame like he had, liam’s become quite skilled at avoiding the cameras and unwanted press. he likes to focus on the music mostly and never posts too much on social media. which only helps with the whole mysterious persona people tend to read into his music. 

he’s basically the kind of person to post a photo of some majestic view of the woods or something and disappear for another three months offline.

he’s incredibly camera shy. will never take a selfie unless a fan asks or his sister forces him into one.

he’s like...if hozier, ed sheeran and james bay had a music baby.

he is...prone to small bouts of anxiety and panic attacks just from his exposure to the limelight for most of his life but it’s nothing that isn’t manageable. it usually gets worse during long days of just interviews as he often gets flustered and shy while talking about himself so he tends to keep those to a minimum.

he’s literally. the worst at taking a compliment.  liam: has won a handful of grammy’s, brits and BETs and an oscar also liam: is a blush machine when anyone so much as says they like his music. he’s still shocked any of this is real tbh.

whenever he plays a show he prefers for it to be a smaller, more intimate affair. even as famous as he is, he still plays more cafes and small venues than he does stadiums. to date, he’s only played 8 stadiums. but he plays for people a lot.

cait went off to be an advocate for animal rights and conservation programs, so he often helps her out in her own endeavors when he can.

he is still very much a mama’s boy.

he adopted a dog. his sister made him do it (so he says). it is a giant anatolian shepherd and he loves the big goof as much as they love him. their name is dodger. they usually get way more post time on liam’s social media than anything he’s actually up to as a musician.

there’s a mystery woman (@auroravnott). no one’s ever managed to get close to guessing who it is and liam’s very careful about not giving away too many details when they make an occasional appearance his social media (he can’t not show her off tbh) but everyone has their assumptions.

in terms of collaborating, liam enjoys taking on some of the more out there projects. he’s done a few film scores in recent years and has even voice acted for a few friends of his for animations and video games and the like. the one thing he will never do is act on screen. he’s...not a fan of the camera.

currently living it up in LA for the next few months hey. he likes warm weather. europe is too rainy for him.

though he’s more casual, more of a homebody and isn’t necessarily so into the party scene around the city. if he were to ever go to any huge party for famous people or a gala it would be because either his mom or his sister dragged him as their plus one.

his aesthetic is just. soft TM. or like...farmer’s market hot TM. jeans and plaid and cardigans and just simple t-shirts. he’s never too overly put together unless someone forced him to do it.