#Fuel sales in april

[aeonmagnus]

https://newsroom.hasbro.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-announces-til-all-are-one-transformers-40th-anniversary

40 YEARS. ONE LEGACY.

Relive the Magic of the 1984 Animated Series Featuring an Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Table Read with Peter Cullen, Frank Welker and Other Original TRANSFORMERS Voice Actors – Only in Theaters Starting May 15

PAWTUCKET, RI — April 3, 2024 — Hasbro Inc., a leading toy and game company, announced today a special cinema experience to celebrate four decades of the TRANSFORMERS franchise with ‘TIL ALL ARE ONE: TRANSFORMERS 40th ANNIVERSARY EVENT. Honoring the brand’s legacy in bringing continuous action and adventure to fans of all ages, the theatrical event will provide limited screenings of episodes from the classic 1984 animated series “THE TRANSFORMERS.” Screenings will be available in select cinemas across the US, UK and Mexico, along with select territories in Europe, Latin America and Asia starting on Wednesday, May 15. Tickets for the TRANSFORMERS 40th Anniversary Event will go on sale at Transformers40thCinemaEvent.com on Wednesday, April 10 at 9.30am Local Time.

This special cinema experience will take fans back to the very beginning as some of the TRANSFORMERS original voice-over talent, including Peter Cullen (original voice of Optimus Prime) and Frank Welker (original voice of Megatron), team up for the first time in decades to revisit their characters and recreate the enduring magic of the classic 1984 animated series. An exclusive behind-the-scenes table read appears on a split screen for the pilot episode, More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1, followed by a traditional screening of the next three episodes of the series. Fans can experience the original Saturday morning cartoon on the big screen and get a glimpse of its evolution with a sneak peek of the new season of the original animated kids’ series TRANSFORMERS: EARTHSPARK. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate 40 years of TRANSFORMERS action, humor and legacy at an anniversary event that is truly... More Than Meets the Eye!

“For decades, the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons has come to life in movies, comic books, innovative toys, live experiences and digital media, elevating the TRANSFORMERS brand to a global powerhouse franchise with millions of fans around the world. To celebrate 40 years, we’re bringing fans back to where it all started,” said Alyse D’Antuono, Vice President, Global Franchise Strategy & Management, Action Brands at Hasbro. “THE TRANSFORMERS animated series captured the imagination of fans of all ages when it premiered in 1984, introducing a timeless battle between good and evil fueled by action and adventure. Ask any longtime fan, and they can probably tell you where they were when they first heard Optimus Prime’s iconic phrase ‘Autobots, roll out’ or what it felt like when they first converted a bot character into its alt mode. With exclusive content featuring the series’ original voice actors, this theatrical event is truly for our fans and invites audiences to experience the fun that started it all.”

Distributed by Trafalgar Releasing, the global leader in Event Cinema distribution, this is the second time the company has partnered with Hasbro, Inc., following Peppa’s Cinema Party that screened in cinemas worldwide in February 2024.

For the latest information on the TRANSFORMERS franchise, including toys and entertainment, follow @TRANSFORMERSOfficial on Instagram, @TransformersOfficial on Threads, @TRANSFORMERS on Facebook and @TRANSFORMERSOfficial on TikTok #40yearsonelegacy.

[tmbgareok]

Dear John Flansburgh: I remember seeing Higglytown Heroes and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse a couple times on Playhouse Disney when I was a 4-year-old in '06 (and immersed in the TMBG sphere thanks to my mom purchasing Here Come The ABCs in April '05). I'm curious to know: what TV shows do you remember watching as a kid? Love, Charles.

JF: well-I'm old! So my memories are of very curious things from the 60s (and some reruns from the 50s) An early memory is watching a show called Rat Patrol which was a war drama and really not for kids. It seemed very grim but my dad enjoyed it, and I found the dream-like sets filled with smoke and lights and explosions fascinating. On weekends the television was pretty much on from 7am until I went to sleep, and was the background to any playing, or consumed my attention. it seemed like there were a lot of shows with live hosts that introduced various cartoons (Major Mudd in Boston, and national shows like Captain Kangaroo. Not sure if Soupy Sales was all live but that was a very hip show if such a thing is possible. On Saturdays Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner were constantly on, along with shows like Tennessee Tuxedo and Underdog. For a very brief moment the Saturday morning cartoon of Spiderman was broadcast which was riveting and crazy violent. The Banana Splits was popular but for some reason I found it a bit over the top. Later on cartoons like the Wacky Racers, with essentially no story, faded into the Archies, ScoobieDoo and Josie and the Pussycats which I would say were unwatchable except I watched them! And HR Pufinstuf was kind of the existential test of just "leaving it on" as it seemed to be made entirely of nightmare fuel. Sundays were the domain of strange rituals direct from the Boston archdiocese, but Gumby and Davy and Goliath were tolerated as the only stuff for kids. Sadly, I was born too early for Sesame Street. When it arrived I found tremendously appealing even though I was "too old" for it.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Who would like to own a property that's name literally translates to "Fart?" The late owner was a retired, decorated Viet Nam navy veteran from Brooklyn, NYC, who fell in love with the Terlingua, TX Ghost Town. The property is up for sale for $1.3M.

Every year he had a fundraiser to benefit the Fire Department and the EMS, called The Rocket Fuel Party.

Inside the fence is a full-size conning tower of a submarine, a replica of a sailing ship, and a small Statue of Liberty that lights up at night.

The owner's name was Jimmy and he began building a fleet.

He also built a propane-powered volcano and tiki bar to complete the south seas feel.

The submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) was the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. She was the U.S. Navy's second submarine to be named after the thresher shark. On 10 April 1963, Thresher sank during deep-diving tests about 350 km (220 mi) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, killing all 129 crew and shipyard personnel aboard.

That's most of the history of Passing Wind.

The property has fallen into disrepair and needs a new owner to bring it back to life. This is the closest structure that I can see that looks like it was the tiki bar.

Here's the trailer Jimmy must've lived in. It looks to be in good shape from the outside.

And, there's also this building.

The land is 3.44 acres. I guess the new owner would have to be interested in military history enough to want to invest in making an attraction dedicated to it. I have no idea if this would be a tourist destination.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Highway-170-170-Terlingua-TX-79852/2054487857_zpid/?

[your-resident-boat-person]

A BOAT PERSON YEEEEEES BOATS BOATS BOATS BOATS BOATS DO YOU HAVE A REASON FOR LOVING THEM? YOU HAVE A LIST OF FAVS AND THEY ARE GREAT ARE THERE ANY YOUD RECOMMEND PEOPLE LEARN ABOUT OR THAT YOU WANT TO INFODUMP ON SPECIFICALLY SORRY FOR THE CAPS I AM VERY VERY EXCITED

Okay, so, if I had to give a reason for liking ocean liners, the answer is probably that I'm a mega-autist. However, it started in the 5th grade. Like everyone else, Titanic was my gateway drug. That eventually expanded into other ocean liners.

If I had to recommend one to learn more about, it would easily be the SS America.

She had a long and storied 55-year-long career. I highly recommend the documentary by Oceanliner Designs on YouTube. However, I will give an abridged version of her story beneath the cut. It's a thrilling story, so if you're interested, don't read this; go watch his video. Its better:

Designed by the famous naval architect William Francis Gibbs, she was launched on August 31st, 1939. The day before World War II began. She was actually part of FDRs new deal program, meant to help the United States recover from the great depression. Her construction employed thousands of people, and nearly every state contributed to her in some way. She was built to a 3 compartment standard, meaning with 3 of her 14 watertight compartments flooded, shed stay afloat. This is actually better than most modern cruise ships, I might add. She was completed on April 16th, 1940, but given all the U-Boats everywhere, she couldn't exactly serve as a transatlantic liner. So the maiden voyage of this ocean liner was actually a Mediterranean cruise. United States Lines actually painted two giant American flags on each side of her hull, with the text “AMERICA UNITED STATES LINES” in big, bold letters, just in case they somehow did encounter a U-Boat.

America was a neutral country at the time, so that kind of thing was important to advertise. Eventually, the US got pulled into the war, and the SS America was requisitioned as a troopship and renamed the USS West Point. I don't know if this is confirmed, but I suspect that it's because if she were lost in the war, announcing that a ship bearing the name of our country had been lost to enemy action would be a huge blow to morale. When her running mate, the SS United States, was constructed, the US government tried to pressure William Francis Gibbs into giving her a different name for this exact reason. It didn't work. I love him. Anyway, here's a picture of her during her service.

The SS America carries the honor of being one of the few ships to never have a single death occur on board during the war. She might have actually been the only one. Anyway, in 1946, she was returned to United States Lines and renamed back to SS America. This time, when they repainted her back to her civilian colors, they ditched the name and flags on the sides of her hull. (Thank god.) Her career with USL was successful, if uneventful. In 1952, the SS United States was introduced. The Big U was about 267 feet longer, twice the size, and twice the speed. Given that the SS United States is still, to this day, the fastest passenger ship of all time, America had a little bit of trouble keeping up. America's passenger numbers fell after this, but she still had many loyal passengers who preferred her. The SS United States’ interior design was a tad lackluster compared to the SS America.

With rising operating costs and competition from air travel, she was deemed an unnecessary part of the USL fleet. In 1964, they put America up for sale. She was bought by Chandrice Line, which serviced the postwar emigrant run from Europe to Australia and New Zealand.

America was renamed Australis and served them until 1977, when, faced with ever-increasing fuel costs, could no longer compete with air travel. She is remembered to this day by many of the emigrants as being a very happy ship, but Chandrice didn't exactly maintain her very well. On one voyage, part of her hull opened up, and a compartment partially flooded. The crew was unable to fix it, and for the rest of the 3 week voyage, she had an awful list over to one side.

Now comes the most shameful part of her career. In 1978, she was bought by Venture Cruise Lines for 5 million dollars. Seeking to capitalize on nostalgia, they offered 5 day cruises to nowhere. To prepare her for this new role, they repainted her in what was definitely her second-ugliest configuration, and they gave her her old name back.

And then they kinda… stopped. They made no effort to modernize her (a ship constructed in the 1930s), and her interiors were, for lack of a better word, a dump. The swimming pool was full of garbage bags, toilets were overflowing, and there were rats and bugs everywhere. It was a nightmare. Truly, a predecessor to the poop cruise from hell. The passengers on her first cruise actually mutinied, and the ship barely made it past the Statue of Liberty before the captain turned her around. The health inspection board was called in, and they examined the ship. They gave her a score of 6.

Out of a possible 100.

Venture went bust, and America was put up for sale again.

Shockingly, the ones who bought her were Chandrice Line again, for 1 million dollars. Meaning they profited 4 million dollars while also getting their ship back in the process. She was renamed AGAIN to Italis, and her forward funnel was so corroded that it had to be cut off, giving her an extremely ugly and unbalanced profile. Even to the lay person, most can tell at this point that she looked very sad.

Her final years with Chandrice were short and uneventful, only lasting 2 years. Chandrice wanted to completely modernize her and have her serve as a modern cruise ship, but this never happened. She then bounced around from owner to owner. First, she was the Noga, intended to become a prison ship. Then she was the Alferdoss, but only the port bow was the Alferdoss, because they only put the name on one side of the hull. So the starboard bow and the stern were still the Noga. She was nearly sold for scrap, but after they scrapped the lifeboats, they defaulted on their payment and pulled out. Then, she was bought by a Thai investment firm, which intended to completely restore her and convert her into a 5-star hotel, much like the Queen Mary had in the 1970s. After a short period of drydocking, it was found that, despite the neglect, her hull was in remarkably good condition. The trip from New Zealand to Phuket, Thailand, was a long and dangerous one. Approximately 100 days. A Ukrainian tug won the contract, and in 1994, they set off…

only to immediately turn around due to the weather. They tried again, and again the weather turned against them. The tow line snapped, and they sent crew aboard to try to reattach it, but it was no use. They were airlifted off by helicopter, and the SS America, now named SS American Star, was set adrift. There was no one aboard, and the ship had no power. Seemingly tired of the years of neglect and mistreatment, the SS America decided to go out on her own terms. She went aground at Playa de Garcey, off the west coast of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. Within 48 hours, the pounding waves broke her in two.

She was declared a total loss and promptly abandoned. The waves quickly ate through the stern, causing it to deteriorate very quickly. The bow, however, remained standing, up until about 2008, when it began collapsing into the sea.

It's difficult to imagine that at one point, this was the grand old lady of the seas.

By 2013, nothing of her was left standing above the surface.

Along with her eye-achingly beautiful appearance, she had an extremely long and storied career. So that's why she's my favorite liner of all time. Most liners only last 25 to 35 years. Hell, the SS United States was only in service for 17 years. The SS America had a 55-year-long career. 74 if you count the time she spent wrecked, as she frequently got visitors. She was a truly outstanding ship, and I'm devastated that she couldn't be preserved. If it's any consolation, Phuket was struck by a major typhoon in 2004, so America was probably doomed regardless. If I could pick one liner from history to undo the fate of and magically preserve, it would EASILY be her.

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Here's Cacoa's bill from our vet visit yesterday. Details about why are here.

Currently my SSDI and the money the state pays my husband for being my caregiver, we have our mortgage and some bills covered. Cost of fuel and food are through the roof and making things more difficult, and yesterday I had to use Care Credit to pay this, which now means I have another bill to pay off.

Please consider commissioning me or purchasing work from my shop. My husband lost his job in April, and it had been covering what the rest didn't. My commissions and sales were being used to pay off debts and reduce the number of bills we have.

My work can be seen below the cut. It starts at $20 for a set of four decorative pins/magnets.

[whispering-about-the-tmnt]

I'm tempted to make a 1970s TMNT AU.

Imagine Splinter watching Mork & Mindy, Dallas, Good Times, The Love Boat, Charlie's Angels, and Three's Company every week.

Imagine Leo being obsessed with all the martial arts movies coming out, and watching "Drunken Master" so many times that Splinter has to scold him for adopting Jackie Chan's fighting style.

Imagine Don watching Martin Cooper present the world's first portable phone... then going on to make a much improved version, himself when he was just twelve years old.

Imagine Raphael going out into the richer parts of the city during the gas crisis and siphoning fuel out of businessmen's cars and putting it into cars in the poorer parts of town.

Imagine Mike filling out those "do you want to be an artist" ads in his comic books and sending them in, hoping to get to be a professional comics artist some day.

Imagine all of the Turtles trekking out into the Blizzard of 1978, completely bundled up to both keep warm and keep from being seen, to help the locals dig their cars and homes out of the snow.

Imagine April's apartment all in shades of avocado and gold, with bean bag chairs and macrame and shag carpet; and her having pin-straight hair but trying out the Farrah Fawcett look, ultimately finding it too labor-intensive.

Imagine Casey Jones with a Tom Selleck mustache and a mullet, riding a Harley-Davidson XR750, and having a massive collection of 8-Tracks.

I mean, the 70s was a fascinating decade. It was a time of rising crime and political turmoil, television was in a state of great flux, there was a gas crisis that brought out the absolute worst in people, New York saw blackouts and arson and unprecedented weather events, the Bronx was compared to a war zone and looked like one... terrorism was on the rise, the music industry was reaching out and stretching its legs, the battle of the sexes was in full swing, gun sales were on the rise... Watergate, Vietnam, the Son of Sam...

It was a hard time, but also an interesting time.

[mariacallous]

If you’re one of the millions of Americans worried about your pocketbooks and the general cost of living, you might have picked up on some good news recently: Inflation has really been cooling off this summer, as long-sticky (and long-lamented) food and energy prices continue to moderate. Some economic indicators remain stubborn, however—and they aren’t likely to abate anytime in the near future, no matter how long the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates high, what tweaks President Joe Biden makes to his trade policy, whether corporations decide themselves to slash prices on certain products, or whether Covid-battered supply chains finally get some long-needed fixes.

Other, grimmer recent headlines help to explain why. Hard rains from a tropical disruption in the Gulf have been battering Florida’s southern regions for days, leading to a rare flash-flood emergency. Another batch of storms is swirling near Texas at the moment and could form into a tropical depression, according to forecasts from the National Hurricane Center. Even if both states end up missing bigger storms now, it’s likely only a matter of time before they’re threatened again: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the United States will see its worst hurricane season in decades this summer.

Meanwhile, the heat waves that have enveloped Phoenix are intensifying to the point that some analysts are deeming its latest conditions “a Hurricane Katrina of heat.” Spanning outward, the Midwest and Northeast are projected to get their own extreme heat warnings as early as next week, with energy demand set to skyrocket as people turn on their air conditioners. The country has already seen 11 “billion-dollar disasters” this year, including the tornadoes that slammed Iowa just weeks ago. Meanwhile, the already strapped Federal Emergency Management Agency faces a budgetary crisis, and sales of catastrophe bonds are at an all-time high.

Now, let’s look back at the inflation readings. One of the categories remaining stubbornly high while other indicators shrink? Shelter and housing, natch, as rents and insurance stay hot—and still-elevated interest rates make construction and mortgage costs even more prohibitive. On the energy front, motor fuel may be cheapening, but fuel and electricity for home use are still pricey. Auto insurance remains a driving outlier, as I noted back in April, not least because of insurers hiking premiums for cars in especially disaster-vulnerable regions—like the South, the Southwest, and the coasts.

Look at what else is happening in those very regions when it comes to home insurance: Providers are either retreating from or dramatically heightening their prices in states like California, Texas, Florida, and New Jersey, thanks to their unique susceptibility to climate change. These states have seen supercharged extreme weather events like floods, rain bombs, heat waves, and droughts. National lawmakers fear that the insurance crises there may ultimately wreak havoc on the broader real estate sector—but that’s not the only worst-case scenario they have to worry about.

Agricultural yields for important commodities produced in those states (fruits, nuts, corn, sugar, veggies, wheat) are withering, thanks to punishing heat and soil-nutrition depletion. The supply chains through which these products usually travel are thrown off course at varying points, by storms that disrupt land and sea transportation. Preparation for these varying externalities requires supply-chain middlemen and product sellers to anticipate consequential cost increases down the line—and implement them sooner than later, in order to cover their margins.

You may have noticed some clear standouts among the contributors to May’s inflation: juices and frozen drinks (19.5 percent), along with sugar and related substitutes (6.4 percent). It’s probably not a coincidence that Florida, a significant producer of both oranges and sugar, has seen extensive damage to those exports thanks to extreme weather patterns caused by climate change as well as invasive crop diseases. Economists expect that orange juice prices will stay elevated during this hot, rainy summer.

(Incidentally, climate effects may also be influencing the current trajectory and spread of bird flu across American livestock—and you already know what that means for meat and milk prices.)

It goes beyond groceries, though. It applies to every basic building block of modern life: labor, immigration, travel, and materials for homebuilding, transportation, power generation, and necessary appliances. Climate effects have been disrupting and raising the prices of timber, copper, and rubber; even chocolate prices were skyrocketing not long ago, thanks to climate change impacts on African cocoa bean crops. The outdoor workers supplying such necessities are experiencing adverse health impacts from the brutal weather, and the recent record-breaking influxes of migrants from vulnerable countries—which, overall, have been good for the U.S. economy—are in part a response to climate damages in their home nations.

The climate price hikes show up in other ways as well. There’s a lot of housing near the coasts, in the Gulf regions and Northeast specifically; Americans love their beaches and their big houses. Turns out, even with generous (very generous) monetary backstops from the federal government, it’s expensive to build such elaborate manors and keep having to rebuild them when increasingly intense and frequent storms hit—which is why private insurers don’t want to keep having to deal with that anymore, and the costs are handed off to taxpayers.

When all the economic indicators that take highest priority in Americans’ heads are in such volatile motion thanks to climate change, it may be time to reconsider how traditional economics work and how we perceive their effects. It’s no longer a time when extreme weather was rarer and more predictable; its force and reasoning aren’t beyond our capacity to aptly monitor, but they’re certainly more difficult to track. You can’t stretch out the easiest economic model to fix that. And you can’t keep ignoring the clear links between our current weather hellscape, climate change, and our everyday goods.

Thankfully, some actors are finally, belatedly taking a new approach. The reinsurance company Swiss Re has acknowledged that its industry fails to aptly factor disaster and climate risks into its calculations, and is working to overhaul its equations. Advances in artificial intelligence, energy-intensive though they may be, are helping to improve extreme-weather predictions and risk forecasts. At the state level, insurers are pushing back against local policies that bafflingly forbid them from pricing climate risks into their models, and Florida has new legislation requiring more transparency in the housing market around regional flooding histories. New York legislators are attempting to ban insurers from backstopping the very fossil-fuel industry that’s contributed to so much of their ongoing crisis.

After all, we’re no longer in a world where climate change affects the economy, or where voters prioritizing economic or inflationary concerns are responding to something distinct from climate change—we’re in a world where climate change is the economy.

[darkmaga-retard]

John Ellis

Aug 05, 2024

1. Stock markets tumbled on Monday, with Japanese shares at one point exceeding their 1987 "Black Monday" loss, as fears of a U.S. recession sent investors fleeing from risk while wagering that rate cuts would be needed to rescue growth. The safe haven yen and Swiss franc surged, as crowded carry trades unravelled, sparking speculation that some investors were unloading profitable trades to get money to cover losses elsewhere. Such was the torrent of selling that circuit breakers were triggered on stock exchanges across Asia. (Source: reuters.com)

2. Taiwan stocks ended down 8.4% on Monday, a record slump, with tech stocks including TSMC plunging as investors sold off one of Asia's top performing markets this year, spooked by a poor outlook for global tech stocks and the U.S. economy. The main index shed 1,807.21 points, its worst one-day percentage fall, to close at 19,830.88, the lowest level since April 23. The decline was fuelled by a sell-off in tech, and then spread more broadly as the index dipped below the key 20,000 level. (Source: reuters.com)

3. Earlier today, South Korea's stock market marked its worst session since the global financial crisis of 2008, with trading curbs activated for the first time in four years, as tech stocks slumped amid U.S. recession fears. The benchmark KOSPI stock index ended the session down 8.8% at 2,441.55, its biggest percentage fall since Oct. 24, 2008. During the session, the KOSPI fell as much as 10.8%, triggering circuit breakers for the first time since March 2020, which are trading curbs activated when the index falls or rises more than 8% and halts trading of stocks and derivatives for 20 minutes. (Source: reuters.com)

4. A closely watched measure of expected US stock market turbulence surged to its highest level in almost four years today as a global stock sell-off gathered pace. The Vix index of expected volatility in the S&P 500 — commonly known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — rose to as much as 41.8 points by morning in London to its highest level since November 2020, breaking above an intraday peak in March 2023 following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The Vix measures the price of options that enable investors to profit from swings in the S&P 500. (Source: ft.com)

5. U.S. pension funds are beginning to explore investments around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, a move that could expose millions of former teachers, police officers, firefighters and other retirees to the wild ups and downs of a largely unregulated financial product. In at least five states, industry lobbyists have aggressively hawked the idea, aiming to woo local lawmakers with the promise that digital assets can deliver sky-high profits — often without fully acknowledging the possible risks. The emerging sales campaign contrasts with the broad warnings in Washington that investing in cryptocurrency could leave retirees’ life savings vulnerable to “fraud, theft and loss.” (Source: washingtonpost.com)

6. After more than a decade as a recurring tea-time conversation topic, the delay in retirement is nearing reality in China, set to impact over 500 million workers as the country grapples with a rapidly aging population. The five-year reform blueprint, released last month following a key Communist Party gathering, includes a commitment to raise the retirement age. According to the resolution adopted at the Third Plenum of the party’s 20th Central Committee, China will gradually increase the statutory retirement age based on the principle of “voluntary participation with appropriate flexibility.” For the first time, a key policy document outlines the principles of the reform, fueling expectations that the decade-long initiative will soon be implemented. (Source: caixinglobal.com)

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Sorry in advance for this long ask.

So I've noticed with kpop that most of them just go with whatever the hype or narrative fed to them is. This includes the fans or even the groups themselves.

No matter how annoying ARMYs are, I actually feel they do this slightly less than the core kpop stans because so many armys start off as locals but still within the BTS nexus also we have so many dumb narratives that just get baked into the fandom. VMin being soulmates, Jungkook being the golden maknae, Bighit being 'different' from other KPop labels, Jimin being the king of fanservice, Namjoon and Yoongi being the best at rap (so presumably over Hobi) - all this is just bs with little basis in reality. Within kpop, things are even worse imo - literally sometimes it feels like they don't listen to songs, they just decide whether things are good based on concepts or vibes or some superficial crap like that.

Anyway, so the Jungkook is the golden maknae thing, the one who will breakout narrative has been pushed for ages. The reality is that the entire maknae line is somewhat recognised among the GP and pretty popular overall. If Like Crazy had the same push as Seven, it would have done the same or better. But for better or worse, JK is the chosen one. And the reason JK acts so bratty is because he knows this too. At his core I don't think JK is a bad guy but being positioned as "the one" for years and then being actively told so by 🛴 and Bang PD now has just fueled his negative traits. The latent bratty and cocky vibes just went up exponentially during the seven promo.

I also think JK got the gist of what fans were saying about his interviews and BB Hot #1 acceptance from last week and perhaps about the preferential treatment because this week he's been doing a lot of damage control. Oh I'm so surprised I won Mnet, omg you guys I /never/ expected to win Inkigayo. He acted so weird for BB #1 but suddenly he's back to good ol' humble Jungkook. Suddenly Jimin's commenting on his lives. Tae's coming to visit him at the music show. Look how happy the members are for his success everyone. Meanwhile JK does multiple lives almost everyday this week. Seems like he's going overdrive cleaning up all the missteps from last week.

Jimin is starting to piss me tf off as well. Who keeps laughing while they are getting whipped and humiliated? A fool. He wasn't always like this but I think Bighit's harsh contract and the other members gaslighting him with fake concern and love have trapped Jimin into this zombie puppet state. I just wish he leaves Bighit. They don't care about him. They care about their chosen golden maknae and he knows it but he stays there like a fool. The mistreatment has been going on for a long time so he could have left years ago before Bighit became this powerful Hybe but he chose to spend his time drinking and being unmotivated. Although I also think its the company's fault for not motivating him. Maybe he has PTSD that Hybe is using to manipulate his behavior, in addition to his harsh contract, and that's why he played along with JK on lives to do fanservice.

***

How odd. Did you actually mean to send this ask to me? Because the way this is written reads exactly like how I'd expect a solo stan to think. And you can't possibly have sent this to me, expecting me to take you seriously.

Anyway, I'm not sure what's happened in the last week for me to be receiving the barrage of weird asks I've been getting. Did one of you suddenly stumble on my blog and send it around a GC or something? Jung Kook got #1 on the Billboard Hot100 last week but it's not like it was unexpected. I mean, I did say shortly after Jimin's achievement in early April that others in the maknae-line will possibly achieve a Hot 100 too, and that was before we knew Seven was coming, that it was an English release that would get the PET treatment, that D2C sales were banned and Hybe America got involved meaning it would get even more support. So, that can't be the reason y'all are this animated. Really, nothing unexpected has happened so I don't understand why y'all are so agitated you've taken a liking to my inbox recently.

Anon, I have nothing to tell you except that if you had any self-awareness, you'd realize what's happening to you and take a clean break away from everything k-pop for a good long while. Not even just BTS, cause this, especially that last paragraph, all reads like it was written by someone who has gotten completely sucked in. And you need to get out.

[girlactionfigure]

🔅Thu - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

🔸Today is the Fast of Esther, in preparation for Purim on Sunday.

🔻Air attacks on Israeli civilians.. none since last evening.

▪️CEASEFIRE LEAKS.. senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan: "Israel refused to accept the organization's proposal for a cease-fire agreement”.

▪️ISLAMIC RESISTANCE IRAQ ATTACKS TEL AVIV POWER PLAN (NOT).. The Islamic resistance of Iraq took responsibility tonight for the attack on the power plant in Tel Aviv. No such attack is known. No such power plant exists. This does not mean they are not firing suicide drones at Israel, it means they are not making it to Israel.

▪️COUNTER-TERROR - TULKARM.. Large IDF force entry, firefight, drone strike.

▪️SHIPPING EXEC SAYS.. President of the largest oil trading company in the world: "The shipping industry consumes an additional 100,000 barrels per day of fuel to sail the longer distances necessary to avoid crossing the Red Sea."

▪️HOSPITAL OPERATION CONTINUES.. IDF spokesperson: Since the start of the operation at the Shifa hospital, IDF forces have killed more than 140 terrorists in the hospital complex, 50 of which in the last day. Yesterday it was reported that the number of terrorists captured in the hospital exceeded 300.

Gazans report that the operation continues and that IDF forces attacked and destroyed the "A-Takhasi" building inside the hospital complex.

▪️NIGHT TRAIN.. the Ministry of Transportation decided to restore the night train line from the north to central Israel - starting on April 1.

▪️GERMAN AMBASSADOR SAYS.. "Germany will consider any decision on the sale of arms to Israel; a military operation in Rafah is almost unthinkable from our point of view.” (( in other words, give up on the hostages? ))

▪️PM SAYS.. Prime Minister Netanyahu conversation with US President Biden: "It is impossible to defeat Hamas without the IDF entering the Gaza Strip. In our last conversation I told him: It is impossible to complete the victory without the IDF entering Rafah, and this is to eliminate the remnant The Hamas battalions. We will do the same this time as well."

[linuxgamenews]

Discover the Massive Content Update for Slay the Princess

Slay the Princess content update releases free for the horror visual novel game on Linux, Steam Deck, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the incredible skill of Black Tabby Games, this experience is truly unforgettable. Available on Steam, GOG, and Humble Store with 97% Overwhelmingly Positive reviews. Slay the Princess just rolled out a massive content update, it's something you don't want to miss! Developed by Black Tabby, the same folks who brought us "Scarlet Hollow," this title has really turned heads with its unique blend of surreal horror visual novel and engaging storytelling. Now, it's back with even more to offer. First off, let's talk about the free content update for Slay the Princess. It's a substantial expansion of the endgame content. Imagine more animations that bring the eerie world to life and over 3,000 words of additional dialogue. That means more choices, more depth to your interactions, and a richer experience overall on Linux and Steam Deck. And the icing on the cake? Some epic orchestral tracks recorded by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Trust me, they add a whole new level of intensity to those climactic moments.

Slay the Princess NOW offers a free content update

While the content update release – you can also buy Slay the Princess at a 20% discount during the Steam Midweek Madness sale. If that's not a deal, I don't know what is. And it gets better. The game is also part of the "Cabins in the Woods" bundle on Steam, alongside "Inscryption" and "What Remains of Edith Finch" Proton. All three titles have their unique twist on cabin-themed settings, and you can get them at an additional 10% off. That's a deal that's hard to pass up. Slay the Princess isn't just another typical title with a free content update. It challenges you in unexpected ways. Voiced by Jonathan Sims (yep, the guy from The Magnus Archives) and Nichole Goodnight, the story sucks you right in. The premise seems simple – enter a cabin, pick up a dagger, and confront the Princess. But trust me, it's anything but simple. Each choice you make leads you down new, often startling paths. The Princess isn't just a static character; she evolves with every encounter, making each playthrough unique. The love and support from the community have been Overwhelmingly Positive. Tony Howard-Arias, the lead writer, expressed heartfelt thanks to everyone who's played, shared, and created content around this title. Your enthusiasm is what fuels these updates and expansions. So, if you're looking for something that's a bit off the beaten path, with its content update, offering a blend of horror, mystery, and immersive storytelling, Slay the Princess is a must-try. And there's no better time than now, with the new content and these killer deals. The free content update is live on Steam for Linux, Steam Deck (playable), Mac, and Windows PC, priced at $17.99 USD / £15.29 / 17,99€ (with the 20% discount) until April 8th. Regular price on GOG and Humble Store.

[kp777]

By Jessica Corbett

Common Dreams

April 19, 2024

Campaigners urged the president to "keep listening to the millions of young, people of color, and working-class voters who are demanding climate policy that meets the moment."

The youth-led Sunrise Movement on Thursday celebrated Bloombergreporting that "White House officials have renewed discussions about potentially declaring a national climate emergency."

The Wednesday revelation came just two days after six young activists were arrested outside Vice President Kamala Harris' Los Angeles, California home to increase pressure on the Biden administration to make such a declaration, which would unlock various federal powers to combat the fossil fuel-driven global crisis.

According to Bloomberg:

Top advisers to President Joe Biden have recently resumed talks about the merits of such a move, which could be used to curtail crude exports, suspend offshore drilling, and curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because a final decision has not been made. White House advisers are divided over the idea of declaring a climate emergency, with some saying it wouldn't provide Biden with enough newfound authority to make substantial changes, the people said. Others, however, argue such an announcement would galvanize climate-minded voters.

"The pressure is working. Let's keep it up," Sunrise said on social media, highlighting some of what Biden—who claimed last year that "practically speaking," he had already declared a national climate emergency—could do with a real declaration.

Sunrise wasn't alone in welcoming the news. The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) Action said that "we've BEEN calling for a climate emergency!! Now, the White House is considering declaring one."

The group urged Biden to "keep listening to the millions of young, people of color, and working-class voters who are demanding climate policy that meets the moment."

As Biden and Harris have campaigned for reelection in November—when they are expected to face former Republican President Donald Trump, whose plan for the planet is "drill, baby, drill"—the Democrats have encountered intense pressure from campaigners including members of CPD and Sunrise to step up their climate actions.

"I'm on the frontlines raising my voice for my Black and Latine families and friends, because I know that we deserve to have affordable housing and healthcare, we deserve an administration who will fight for us, but instead of declaring a climate emergency, we are seeing Biden and Harris expand oil and gas production to record levels," 18-year-old Ariela Lara, who was arrested at Harris' house, said Monday.

Climate campaigners have praised the Biden administration for parts of the Inflation Reduction Act and a recent pause on liquefied natural gas exports but blasted the president for skipping last year's United Nations summit, continuing fossil fuel lease sales, and enabling the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Willow oil project, and construction of the nation's largest offshore oil terminal.

[theworstfoundingfathers]

Who is the worst founding father? Round 5: Henry Laurens vs James Monroe

Henry Laurens (March 6, 1724 [O.S. February 24, 1723] – December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as its president. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and, as president, presided over its passage.

Laurens had earned great wealth as a partner in the largest slave-trading house in North America, Austin and Laurens. In the 1750s alone, this Charleston firm oversaw the sale of more than 8,000 enslaved Africans.

Laurens’ oldest son, Colonel John Laurens, was killed in 1782 in the Battle of the Combahee River, as one of the last casualties of the Revolutionary War. He had supported enlisting and freeing slaves for the war effort and suggested to his father that he begin with the 40 he stood to inherit. He had urged his father to free the family’s slaves, but although conflicted, Henry Laurens never manumitted his 260 slaves.

---

James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, and diplomat who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He is perhaps best known for issuing the Monroe Doctrine, a policy of opposing European colonialism in the Americas while effectively asserting U.S. dominance, empire, and hegemony in the hemisphere. He also served as governor of Virginia, a member of the United States Senate, U.S. ambassador to France and Britain, the seventh Secretary of State, and the eighth Secretary of War.

As president, Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and banned slavery from territories north of the 36°30′ parallel. 

Monroe sold his small Virginia plantation in 1783 to enter law and politics. He owned multiple properties over the course of his lifetime, but his plantations were never profitable. Although he owned much more land and many more slaves, and speculated in property, he was rarely on site to oversee the operations. Overseers treated the slaves harshly to force production, but the plantations barely broke even. Monroe incurred debts by his lavish and expensive lifestyle and often sold property (including slaves) to pay them off. 

Two years into his presidency, Monroe faced an economic crisis known as the Panic of 1819, the first major depression to hit the country since the ratification of the Constitution. The severity of the economic downturn in the U.S. was compounded by excessive speculation in public lands, fueled by the unrestrained issue of paper money from banks and business concerns.

Before the onset of the Panic of 1819, business leaders had called on Congress to increase tariff rates to address the negative balance of trade and help struggling industries. Monroe declined to call a special session of Congress to address the economy. When Congress finally reconvened in December 1819, Monroe requested an increase in the tariff but declined to recommend specific rates. Congress would not raise tariff rates until the passage of the Tariff of 1824. The panic resulted in high unemployment and an increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures, and provoked popular resentment against banking and business enterprises.

The collapse of the Federalists left Monroe with no organized opposition at the end of his first term, and he ran for reelection unopposed. A single elector from New Hampshire, William Plumer, cast a vote for John Quincy Adams, preventing a unanimous vote in the Electoral College. He did so because he thought Monroe was incompetent. 

[solarpunkbusiness]

startup opportunity? only as a business at scale

Gold recycling up 9 per cent in 2023

At 3,644.4 tonnes, gold mining in 2023 reached its second-highest level ever after the record year of 2018. Total gold production rose by 3 per cent compared to the previous year, only one third of which was due to mine production. The other two thirds are attrubutable to strong growth in gold recycling, up 9 per cent year-on-year in 2023. However, last year’s increased momentum in the more climate and environmentally friendly recovery of gold, which further increased over the first months of 2024, is only subordinately due to growing environmental awareness.

High gold price and liquidity bottlenecks fuel recycling

Of the 350.8 tonnes of gold recycled in the first quarter of 2024, a significant part came from China, where the economic after-effects of 2023 are still leading to above-average sales of gold jewellery by private households. Recycling volumes increased more slowly in other Asian countries such as India. Europe and the US saw hardly any private sales of scrap gold to improve household liquidity. Rather, it was the sharp rise in the gold price that proved the main motivation to sell jewellery. Since the gold price rally picked up in March and April, the World Gold Council’s market experts forecast a strong increase in the sale of scrap gold and therefore in recycling in the coming months.

[tieflingkisser]

Sudan war: Army and RSF both profiting from smuggling of vital goods

Sudan's warring parties are both involved in the smuggling of food, fuel, medicine and Starlink internet devices

Fighters from Sudan’s two warring parties are exploiting the ongoing conflict to profit from the smuggling and sale of vital goods including food, fuel and medicine.  Under the pretence of confiscating their enemy’s supplies, associates of both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war since April last year, are also looting merchants, robbing civilians, accepting bribes and imposing levies on goods at roadside checkpoints. According to multiple sources, officers and soldiers from the army and RSF are directly involved in the smuggling of an array of goods, as well as in renting Starlink satellite internet devices to civilians in areas in which access to the internet has been cut.  Sudanese traders, local eyewitnesses and businesspeople all spoke to Middle East Eye about this wartime economy, as the one-year anniversary of the conflict approaches on 15 April. The war has displaced over eight million people and the current humanitarian situation in many parts of Sudan is dire, with children dying every day and 25 million suffering from hunger or malnutrition.

[...]

Another trader who spoke to MEE confirmed that the warring parties are responsible for the food markets that exist in the areas they control.   “The RSF is bringing in the food it needs through South Sudan, Chad and CAR to the areas it controls, especially in Darfur and Kordofan, while its soldiers are trading food and other supplies widely,” Mahmoud Hussien, a trader from Gedarif told MEE. Hussien said that army officers are involved in smuggling food and groceries from Ethiopia or Egypt, which border army-controlled areas in eastern and northern Sudan.

[...]

Alhadi Mohamed, another trader, told MEE that he brought groceries from Ethiopia to Ad-Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile state, but that an army checkpoint outside the city had confiscated the shipment, accusing him of helping the RSF. “They clearly looted me,” Mohamed said, “with the excuse being that I’m supporting the RSF, which is totally incorrect as I’m a normal trader and I brought these items from Ethiopia like the other traders. But this hasn’t just happened to me, it’s happened to others as well.

[...]

With the internet cut in some parts of Sudan (accusations of blame have been thrown around by both sides), Starlink satellite internet devices, which are made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, have also become part of illicit trading networks. Zain telecommunication company has succeeded in restoring the network in Port Sudan and other states in the east and north of Sudan controlled by the army, promising that coverage will return to the entire country soon.  An eyewitness from el-Gezira state said that the RSF has exploited the internet blackout –for which many blame the paramilitary group – to trade in Starlink devices, which can deliver broadband internet via satellite and are the only form of communication in the state right now.

[i-am-purplexed]

Scene break teaser for chapter 5!

A Full House-El: Luthorcorp’s Surprising New Business Partner.

The Edge of Tomorrow - April 16th, 2016

Article by Mike Young

History is rife with examples of companies that reached just that bit too far, people who promised just that bit too much and were unable to back up their claims. Companies that made one fatal mistake, and realized too late just how rickety their lofty towers were. Blockbuster refused to buy Netflix; Kodak refused to shift into the digital camera industry; Palm PDA’s thought that cell phones were a ‘fad’ and refused to buy into it. And, most recently; House El Incorporated has partnered with LuthorCorp.

House El Incorporated, more commonly known as ‘Elco,’ is a newer business in the tech scene. Launching late in 2012, Elco’s claim to fame is their alien outlook on the industry - literally. They broke into the scene with the Icon One, a cellular phone that has rapidly risen in popularity due to its slim size, large battery life, and processing power. The phone is quite literally decades ahead of the market, for a rather simple reason -

It uses alien technology to get there. The company’s CEO, a young woman named Kara Zor-El, is famously Kryptonian; she has founded her company on technology from beyond the stars, and aims to win the big bucks by monopolizing her hold on tech leagues beyond our development.

That would be a remarkably efficient way to climb to the top of the tech industry, if the Icon hadn’t been swiftly surrounded in scandal; its power source and method of transmission required strenuous testing before it could be introduced to the market. Testing that the phone is still going through four years later - the Icon has hit the market, but many experienced voices in the sector believe that such leaps in technology may be a bit beyond humanity’s reach.

Elco hasn’t released a new item since, apparently frightened by how seriously Earth takes the safety of its citizens. The Icon has rapidly faded from the public eye, a lack of innovation meaning newer phones have taken its spot on the stage. Now, the company is promising something entirely different: infinite energy! If that sounds a bit fantastical to you, you aren’t alone. Ms. Zor-El recently held a meeting with several automobile companies; Ford, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen were all intrigued by the promise of new engines to run electric cars on - engines that could provide limitless power with no need for fuel or recharging. We spoke to one member of the Ford board of directors, who was at the meeting, and he was less than enthused by the idea.

“She’s promising something that just isn’t there,” Richard Mietz told us, at The Edge of Tomorrow. “The engine she mentions is still in the labs; I would be interested in seeing more but [Ms. Zor-El] isn’t willing to share the fine details. She wants promises and contracts, but refuses investment - I don’t think she understands how things are done here. Currently, all we know is that there may or may not be an engine, it may or may not work - and she wants people to buy it as soon as it hits the market. I’m not sold.”

Other sources in the industry say the same - Elco’s ‘Waveform Resonance Engine’ is expected to take just as long, if not longer than the Icon to verify and test before it can hit the market. With the declining sales of the Icon and Elcos lack of income, most analysts expect the company to go under within the next two years.

Luckily for them, a new company seems rather eager to jump onto the sinking ship.

---

Nothing quite like some sleezy right-leaning media to shine perspective on things, hm? Bit of a delay for this chapter as I started a new job recently, hopefully chapter 6 will come quicker.