#Great America Eclipse

[yhebrew]

Moving Into Day Seven first

April 5, 2024, Torah Parshah “Sh’mini’ (Eighth) is right on. Eight is also the letter Chaf meaning, life, beginning. The Scripture readings this week are very timely to the generation in which we live. We are beginning a time in history that many believe is called Day Seven. Yes, scholars believe we are past the year 6000 from Adam being created on Day Six. Yes, Day Six holds the years 5000 –…

[recursive360]

Brain Damage / Eclipse

Pink floyd

[groanings-of-a-dying-empire]

April 8th isn't the end of the world, buut... 👀

[psyworks]

Great North American Eclipse 2024 🌑🌞🌚🌛🪐🔭🌌🌟

Great North American Eclipse 2024 🌑🌞🌚🌛🪐🔭🌌🌟#psyworks #solareclipse #greatnorthamericaneclipse #nasa #elpaso #sun #moon #eclipse #space #spaceart #spacephotography

[brojames-glorytogodvideos]

Sign from Heaven? Two Great American Eclipses Mark "X" Across USA

April the 8th, a total eclipse will cross the United States moving from south to north, from Texas to Maine - almost seven years after another total eclipse crossed the USA in 2017 going from west to east, from Oregon all the way across the country to South Carolina. That 2017 eclipse was the first path of totality to cross America from coast to coast since 1918, almost a century before, 99 years before. So a total eclipse is very rare, and yet here we have two total eclipses marking a large "X" across the United States in less than seven years. Is this a sign from Heaven? Jesus said in the last days, "Great signs shall there be from Heaven. There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars." Luke 21:11 & 25 - For centuries people have considered eclipses to be momentous in some way. In these two very rare eclipses crisscrossing each other - Is Almighty God drawing a dark mark of judgment across the heart of America from top to bottom and from coast to coast?

Website GloryToGodVideos.com

[wizzard890]

okay so picture this.

You're a man named Jim Steinman. You are one of the most prolific songwriters of the 80s. In your spirit, output and essence, you are eternally popping a wheelie on a motorcycle while a hot half-naked woman clings to you and bats wheel in the sky above.

You wrote a song in which Meatloaf plays a hideously disfigured hunk who steals a nubile lady back to his crumbling manor and introduces her to the pleasures of magic lesbian group sex.

You wrote a song in which Celine Dion sings as Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, dancing with Cathy's corpse on a beach in the moonlight; a scene which you, Jim Steinman, believe should have been in the book. (The moors of Wuthering Heights are landlocked, but you, Jim Steinman, are too fucking real to care about that.)

You wrote the song for the opening scene of the movie Streets of Fire, in which evil leatherdaddy Willem Dafoe leads his malefic motorcycle crew into a concert to abduct Diane Lane while she's wearing a skintight satin jumpsuit.

You wrote a song in which Bonnie Tyler wanders a haunted boarding school as literal demon twinks gyrate at her out of the fog.

There is no peak of goth camp that you, Jim Steinman, have not summited, no horny energy you have not tapped. They say that Alexander the Great wept when he saw there were no more worlds to conquer. But you, Jim Steinman, are not Alexander the Great. You, Jim Steinman, are better. You, Jim Steinman, have vision.

You take your most successful song, the song everyone knows, the most big-haired, white dress, gothic arches, doves flying, possessed choir boys chanting, bombastic song you have, and think: what if this, but with vampires.

And so you change the lyrics to be about death and infinity and a powerful bloodsucking lord seducing a girl who is ALL ABOUT IT, and then toss off a whole musical for this song to be the centerpiece to, and the musical is bad but it's also a weird hit that's been staged in fourteen countries and revived seven times, because nothing has ever whipped as campily, as ridiculously, as perfectly as this:

It never takes off in America. A prophet is without honor in his own land. But that doesn't matter. How could it matter? You are perhaps the most creatively self-actualized man who has ever lived. Look at that vampire. He's coming in hot and a hundred Venetian nuns gave their lives to make his ludicrously capacious lace sleeves. Look at that girl. She was born in a fog machine. She wore her best red velvet cape. She's down bad. She's singing Total Eclipse of the Heart the whole time.

You are Jim Steinman, and you have reached apotheosis.

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

OK Guys. I get the skepticism esp after the Knuckles disaster, but we also need to keep in mind "this is a trailer that won't spoil literally everything about the movie." ESPECIALLY in regards to GUN. They're not gonna put in the trailer "the military shot a little girl and that's why Shadow is mad so Sonic is going to never work with them ever." That's a great way to get parents to bring their kids to the theater, especially in America. (/s)

It's WAY more effective as a plot twist halfway through, where Sonic thinks that he's finally being accepted onto Earth via working with the government only to find out that they're exploiting him and Shadow the same. I can't guarantee this is gonna happen obviously but it's like a 90% chance just knowing how, like. writing works.

Esp considering the government has not had a good track record in the last two movies, I dunno if they'd do a heel-face turn into "actually they were always right" in the movie where a little girl needs to get shot by the government.

And I'm not gonna say "trust and form a parasocial relationship with a film director" but we should keep in mind that Jeff Fowler got his start working on Shadow's title game and has stated in interviews that he understands how important Shadow's backstory is to his character. Not to mention how the internet has been exploding the last two years with enthusiasm over this story actually getting shown onscreen, enough that a studio would fucking notice at the very least that this is what the people want. I can't guarantee they'll actually listen, but saying that they're absolutely not because "Sonic was in a GUN helicopter in the trailer" is insane. Especially with the fact that GUN is not with Sonic when he goes to Eggman. We just see Team Sonic alone meeting with Stone, and I will bet you it's because there's no way in hell GUN would let them near him, what with the Robotnik connections to the ARK.

Also the Gerald thing is rather worrying, esp with the lack of shit they gave Pachacamac in the miniseries, but honestly I think that was just a marketing push of "Jim Carrey will be playing TWO characters!!!" Considering he's only seen in one trailer scene AT the ARK (where all of Gerald's technology was and, more importantly, where the Eclipse cannon he needs someone to set off is) AND we know from movie 2's credits scene that there was a fifty-year timeskip, I severely doubt that's the real Gerald who's just completely unaffected by his granddaughter being murdered.

And ofc there's things to be concerned about in the trailer. The lack of Rouge for instance– I obviously keep posting my theory that Krysten Ritter's character will be her undercover but the fact we don't know how much time she'd actually have with Shadow, if at ALL, is worrying. The fact that Rouge might not be here period. The weird pacing of the Knuckles show and the fear that could bleed over into the movie. But there's also stuff to get excited about– the epic fight scene choreography, the brief glimpse we got of Maria and Shadow's bond. Reeves's voice actually fits Shadow and at least from what the trailer showed us it looks like the Green Hills storyline is taking a backseat to the action and mystery of Project Shadow.

tl;dr guys calm down for like five minutes. if the movie sucks in december we can riot then. right now let's just band together against mufasa

[scrunckled-idiot]

April 8th. the loss of a great man. an actor. a theatre performer. a director. a teacher. and most notably, our soldier.

may he fly high and punch god in the face.

god bless this wonderful man. amen

07

Saluting The Fallen (Team Fortress 2 OST #33) || Metal Fortress Final Remix (youtube.com)

there is also a solar eclipse in America today, which just makes this so much better.

[justlookfrightened]

'I Wanna Be Like You'

Filling a prompt from @goddess47: A new rookie has broken one of Jack's rookie records and Jack finds he's really upset; Bitty offers comfort.

The puck thwacked against the tape on Jack’s stick just as he drew it back, and Jack fired it toward the net in one motion, sending the frozen rubber disc sailing over the goalie’s right shoulder and into the back of the net.

In an instant, Willie was embracing him against the boards while Poots and Connie skated in to join the celebration.

Hold on for another thirty seconds, and the game would be theirs.

Sure, it was a meaningless game at the end of another lost season, at least for the Falconers. The best that could be said about it was that the team was playing spoiler, ruining the Blue Jackets bid for the last playoff spot in the east.

Well. They wouldn’t have beaten Carolina in Round One anyway.

The buzzer sounded and Jack started to join the team as they filed down the tunnel towards the dressing room, stopping when one of the broadcast producers plucked at the sleeve of his sweater.

“Number two star,” the producer said.

Jack nodded, waited for Montblanc, the goalie, to take his turn and salute the crowd as number three star, then skated out and raised his stick to the Providence crowd’s cheers.

Willie, who had scored the first goal and gotten the primary assist on the third — Jack’s goal — was waiting to go out as first star.

“You mind waiting here a minute?” the producer asked as Jack tried again to go to the dressing room.

He was tired, his shoulder hurt and his gear was starting to feel uncomfortably clammy. He didn’t know why they would want him for the post-game on-ice interview; that was the first star’s job, although sometimes it got passed to the second star if the first one was new to North America and wasn’t comfortable speaking in English.

That wasn’t the case for Willie, though. Matty Wilson had been drafted by the Falconers in the first round last summer, a product of Minnesota who had moved to Canada in high school to play major juniors. He wasn’t huge for a hockey player, but he was compact and strong, with a powerful first step and a cannon of a shot. He also had the good looks and winning personality that meant he was likely to be the next face of the Falconers.

That was fine with Jack. A decade into an NHL career that he had thought wouldn’t happen at all, Jack was ready to pass the torch. And Willie had had a good season. A great season for a rookie.

Valerie, the broadcaster who did the rink-side interviews, positioned herself between Willie and Jack at the boards.

“Congratulations, Matty!” she said. “With your goal and assist tonight, you have 65 points for the season, a new record for a Falconers rookie.”

“Thanks,” Willie beamed. “It’s been a great season, and I’ve learned so much and developed so much more as a player.”

“Do you know who set the previous rookie scoring record for the Falconers?” Valerie asked, turning to Jack.

Because of course. Jack had set the previous rookie record, at 64 points.

Valerie explained that in case anyone in the arena had missed the point, while Jack offered congratulations to Willie.

He meant his congratulations. It was a huge accomplishment, something that wouldn’t have happened without Willie playing almost every game of the season, without him playing serious minutes in those games, without him becoming a very real scoring threat nearly every shift.

Almost like Jack, who had eclipsed his rookie point total five times in the last 10 years, but not this year.

Willie thanked Jack, and went on to say, “It’s a real honor to be mentioned with Jack, let alone play on the same line. I can only hope to have a career like his.”

Then they were headed down the tunnel side by side, Jack working to make sure he didn’t have a sour expression on his face.

Bitty was still up when Jack let himself in the back door of the house they’d bought three years ago. That was when Jack had signed his last contract, the one with the no-movement clause, and he and Bitty had agreed it was time to think about raising a family. No kids yet, but Bitty adored the dog they’d adopted two weeks after moving in.

The house wasn’t far from downtown Providence, but it was on a big enough lot for Bitty to have a large garden with room left over for an eventual play structure, and, maybe someday, a tiny rink in the winter. Bitty loved it because it backed up to the water, and the kitchen had marvelous natural light for taping his cooking segments.

Jack liked it because he could go out on the back deck at night, and it was magnificently quiet.

“Nice goal in the third,” Bitty said, looking up from his laptop on the kitchen table. “Protein shake is in the fridge.”

“Thanks,” Jack said, letting one word serve as answer for both things Bitty told him. “Puck go out yet?”

Puck lifted his head from the rug in front of the sink when he heard his name.

“Not yet,” Bitty said.

“Come on, chiot,” Jack said, still carrying the tumbler with his shake.

He stood on the deck while Puck sniffed around the yard, watched the dog’s ears prick forward when a rabbit passed by on the far side of the fence, gazed out at the bay. This was better, right? Better than being a rookie, wondering how his career would turn out? He had a home, and a husband (and a dog) who loved him, they were planning to raise a kid or two or three together, his name was on the Stanley Cup twice … this was better. 

Better than having his whole life ahead of him? Better than having his face on all the billboards and the sides of buses. Well, yes, for that part. Even though he was still on some billboards. 

Some things were worse. The way his shoulder hurt after a hard game. The ache he was starting to feel in his hips every day when he got out of bed. How intentional he had to be to recover from one game and be ready for the next.

“Jack?”

He hadn’t heard Bitty come out behind him. Jack looked over to see his husband wrapped in old oversized hoodie, wearing flannel pajama pants and fuzzy slippers, carrying a steaming mug of what smelled like chamomile.

“You okay?” Bitty asked. “Puck should be ready to come in by now.”

“Ouais,” Jack said. He sighed and looked up at the sky, imagining the stars he knew were there from the nights he had spent at the family cabin in Nova Scotia. “Sorry. Just … thinking.”

“About what?” Bitty said, coming to stand right next to Jack, so that when Jack lifted his arm it settled naturally around Bitty’s shoulders, pulling him even more closely to Jack’s side.

“Willie. Matty Wilson. He broke the Falconers rookie scoring record tonight.”

“I saw,” Bitty said. “Is that what’s got you down, that he broke your record?”

“It sounds stupid when you say it like that,” Jack said.

“No, sweet pea, I didn’t mean —”

“No, I know you didn’t,” Jack said. “It’s just, it’s not the record, really. Records are made to be broken. It’s a cliche, but it’s true. I didn’t expect it to last forever.”

“But you didn’t expect to score the goal that let someone break it?”

“I didn’t even know,” Jack said, with a little huff. “I’m his captain. I should have known. I mean, I knew he was having a great season, I knew he was close, but … maybe I didn’t want to know? I didn’t know when I set my record.”

“That’s because the previous record was like, forty points or something,” Bitty said. “You didn’t break that record, you obliterated it.”

“And we had so much success early on,” Jack said. “Then these last few years have been tough. I wanted to stay around until the team gets better again, until we have a chance … but I don’t know if I can. Did you hear him, Bits? Saying that he hopes he has a career like I’ve had? Like it’s over?”

“I’m pretty sure he didn’t actually say that,” Bitty said.

“Maybe not,” Jack acquiesced. “But the implication was there.”

Bitty hummed a noncommittal response.

“I guess I was just remembering what it was like, back when I was a rookie,” Jack said. “I was so worried about everything. I thought I’d ruined everything and would never play in the league, but I did … and I was afraid I’d ruin it again and there would be no more chances.

“And we were new, too, you and me — really, maybe not the best idea for either of us, timing wise, but we made it work,” Jack said.

“That we did,” Bitty said, nuzzling a little into Jack’s shoulder.

“Once we got to the end of the season, and made the playoffs, it felt like — like anything was possible,” Jack said. “And once I retire, it won’t be anymore.”

“No,” Bitty said. “It won’t. Every choice you make — every choice everyone makes — closes off other choices. We bought this house, not the one in Warwick. I went to Samwell, not Georgia. Sometimes we miss out on things just because we got older, or because things don’t go our way. I hate to have to admit this, Jack, but I will never be an Olympic figure skater. And you will never be an NCAA hockey champion. Even though you deserved that so much more than me.”

“You deserved it,” Jack protested.

“I’m not saying I didn’t.” Bitty answered. “But you did too, more than I did. … I don’t know what I’m saying, really. Just that, no one gets everything they want, and I don’t think anyone’s life is really easy, not when you know them well enough to really know. But I hope you don’t have too many regrets. Not about your career, at least.”

“No,” Jack said. “Not about my career. Not about us, or our life, either. I could never have imagined this when I was growing up. It’s just — I got jealous, I think. I got jealous, because Willie still has everything ahead of him, and that feeling that everything is possible. And I remember how exhilarating that was, and how scary. Why did I waste my time being scared? Why didn’t I enjoy it more?”

Jack felt Bitty shrug.

“Because it is scary, when you don’t know how it all turns out,” he said. “People forget that part. Somebody saying they want to be like you — that’s a compliment, Jack. Take the win.”

“I guess,” Jack said. “You’re right. I know you’re right.”

He turned to kiss the side of Bitty’s head briefly.

“And I know I got lucky,” he said, before releasing his husband and calling the dog, who had been sniffing at the bottom of the fence in hopes of finding another rabbit.

“And I know one more thing,” Jack added, as the three of them turned towards the door. “Willie won’t get to win a Stanley Cup his first year. I guess I’ll always have that.”

Bitty shook his head as Jack waited for him to enter the kitchen first. 

“That’s the spirit,” Bitty said. “Is there anything you won’t turn into a competition?

[reality-detective]

The Great American Solar Eclipse of the Crucifixion of America

On 4/8/2024, there will be a Total Solar Eclipse over the U.S. whose path will intersect with the first “Great American Eclipse”, of 8/21/2017, near the city of Carbondale, whose logo is a blatant representation of the meeting of the two Eclipses. (Carbon has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons)

The eclipses are separated by a span of 6 years, 6 months, 6 weeks, 6 days. On the day of the second Eclipse, the Society of Jesus, whose emblem is a Solar Eclipse with the three nails of the crucifixion, will be 176,606 days since its official founding date. 🤔

[lizmindpalace]

So you know that we had an eclipse in North America today and I saw a post about the brothers never actually observing an eclipse before and I had to write this.

-

"I don't get what's the fuss with this moon thing, the damn thing is there all day and night long every day, every year".

Lucifer's fingers rubbed his closed eyes as a sigh left his body, it was always the same thing when it came to his young brothers.

"We do not have a sun, idiot, that's what makes the trick", the yawny voice of the youngest of the seven uttered with a notable tone of annoyance, his eyes were closed but had they been opened, a roll in them would show how much irritant he found his older brother's words. 

"I find it romantic". Asmodeus sighed, "Satan told me all about human beliefs in legends and books. It's like a kiss between two lovers separated in time and distance, so they can only see each other once in a lifetime and share a love kiss".

Another sigh and a giggle followed that statement, however, the effect those words had left in the group made them stay quiet ever since they had been informed about the assignment regarding the 2024 solar eclipse up in the human world. Lucifer had been mesmerized for a while, but it was the first one to notice the thoughts going through his brothers' minds.

"No..."

"It should be a great occasion to visit the human world and get to see MC!"

Lucifer sighed once more, as he would usually do when they were around. 

"Yes!" The other five shouted. 

"And there will be food!"

"Wait, wait... hold on, you're not actually thinking on kissing MC? Are ya? Cus I'm not gonna allow it, no way under my watch".

"You're so predictable as always, loool". Leviathen mocked.

"Im not! I mean if someone had to do it, then it'd have to be the great Mammon, for I was her first ". 

"Can you please stop talking about being the first as suggesting intercourse and clarify it's all about a pact and you were the first just because you're the most stupid of us?" Satan rolled his eyes.

"Hey whadayamean by that? Show some respect to your older brother, besides..."

"Stop all of you" the eldest nagged at them. "This is no time to avoid your responsibilities, and certainly it's no time for interrupting MC's daily occupations, furthermore..."

The buzz of a phone interrupted his course of thought, his sharp gaze led him to Mammon, and his body, as it was an automatic response, he took the phone from his grasp despite his complaints, however, he was surprised to see, it had not solved the issue and all his brothers had stopped paying attention to him, as their attention had been drawn by the device in their hands. 

Another buzz coming from his pocket finally made him look at the screen of his phone:

 >>> It's crazy, I remember that back in primary school my science book said this year there would be a solar eclipse, and I was like "I'll be more than 20!, That's a long time from here". And the time is here, guys. I'm so excited.

The message had started a discussion with replies from his six brothers, that didn't lack enthusiasm.

>>> I know you cannot be here, yet, I got something for you. 

Lucifer pulled up the attached picture and he smiled as in her hand, there were seven pairs of funny glasses that were probably made of cardboard, and each one was in a different colour. His smile grew wider as he saw every pair had a handwritten word in it: their names.

>>> It's some kind of silly souvenir. I'll give them to you once we get to see each other again. I wish you were here.

A feeling of dread and nostalgia struck the eldest and a sigh escaped his lips again, although immediately afterwards he felt a persistent gaze on him.

"Lucifer", his brothers harmonised, and he stopped himself from rolling his eyes at them, just because he knew he could use his pleads to get a double benefit. 

"Only if you guarantee that you'll improve your grades". 

The six of them nodded in agreement, a tiny accomplice smile bloomed in their faces. That was the first benefit he acknowledged their little trip would bring as consequence. 

Only a few seconds after the door had been knocked at, it opened. A shocked expression followed by the brightest of smiles they had ever known welcomed them; a warm embrace was the cherry on top. That was definitely the second benefit he had foreseen. 

An unexpected third arose when they were reunited in the local park, all of them surrounding a bench under a tree; the blue sky suddenly was losing brightness, it was as it was getting cloudy, but no clouds were around, it felt different, it was an odd kind of darkness. The birds started flying towards their homes, and they went quiet, the sunlight was soon hidden by the moon. The pretty spring day had turned into night for a moment. Lucifer looked at his brothers, impressed by the phenomena, he also stared at his human and her excited smile. 

It was a brief spectacle, but it felt magical; a shiver ran down his spine as the solar ring was drowned in darkness, it sort of reminded him to when he had fallen out of grace but in a better sense, despite being so old, he had never lived such a show of the immensity of nature... everyone, including his six demon brothers, was admiring in awe at the sun being swallowed by the moon, while wearing their black glasses, while a person with a speaker explained the science behind it. 

When the sun shone again over their heads, the girl opened up their arms to hug them, a hug which all of them returned.

For some reason they were grateful to be alive in that precise point of time where all they had got to know each other, to spend time with one another, they were all glad to witness the event of the century together. 

[yhebrew]

Patterns That 'Try' Us!

Coming Eclipse do signal heavens events. Flood year was 1334. October 14 eclipse was 134. Next Tetrad 2032-2033... Eclipses are like bookends.

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!  YHWH 13 Attributes Exo 34:7  showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative effects of the parents’ offenses to be experienced by their children and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations.”  Moses saw God…

[recursive360]

Total Eclipse Iron Maiden 1982 Live

[whencyclopedia]

American Revolution

The American Revolution (1765-1789) was a period of political upheaval in the Thirteen Colonies of British North America. Initially a protest over parliamentary taxes, it blossomed into a rebellion and led, ultimately, to the birth of the United States. Rooted in the ideas of the Enlightenment, the Revolution played an important role in the emergence of modern Western democracies.

Origins: Parliament & the American Identity

In February 1763, the Seven Years' War – or the French and Indian War as the North American theater was called – came to an end. As part of the peace agreement, the vanquished Kingdom of France ceded its colony of New France (Canada) as well as all its colonial territory east of the Mississippi River to its victorious rival, Great Britain. While this left Britain as the dominant colonial power in North America, this newfound supremacy came at a cost, namely a massive war debt. To offset the debt, the British Parliament decided to levy new taxes on the Thirteen Colonies along the eastern seaboard of North America. Much of the war had been fought defending these colonies, after all, and Parliament decided that the colonists should help shoulder the empire's financial burden.

Prior to this decision, Parliament had adhered to an unofficial policy of 'salutary neglect' when dealing with the American colonies. This meant that, despite their royal governors, the colonies were largely left to manage their own affairs, with colonial legislatures overseeing governance and taxation. The influence of these legislatures often equaled if not eclipsed the power of the colony's royally appointed governor. Due to differing foundational and developmental circumstances, each colony maintained its own identity – the Puritan society of New England, the Dutch origins of New York, and the tobacco economy of Virginia, for example, all influenced the formation of their colonial identities. Despite viewing themselves as separate from one another, the colonies were loosely bound by their shared ties to Britain and had united in common defense multiple times during the last century of colonial wars.

At the same time, the American colonists considered themselves Britons, and proudly so. After the Glorious Revolution of 1689, and the constitutional reforms that went with it, the British were viewed as the freest people in the world; they were guaranteed a right to representative government (Parliament) as well as the right to self-taxation. The colonists believed that these 'rights of Englishmen' extended to them, as befitting of their English blood and allegiance to the English king; indeed, many of these rights were echoed in the colonies' own charters. The idea that Parliament could directly tax the colonies, therefore, went against this notion; since no Americans were represented in Parliament, Parliament had no constitutional authority to tax them (i.e. taxation without representation). Parliament, of course, disagreed, arguing that the Americans were virtually represented, as was the case with the thousands of Englishmen who owned no property and could not vote. It was this fundamental disagreement over the Americans' rights and liberties – expressed in the guise of taxation – that lay at the heart of the American Revolution and the birth of the United States.

Continue reading...

[beardedmrbean]

Some pretty light news here. If they actually manage this it could be a great help for folks in food deserts.

Also having edible convenience store food is nice, not everyone has Wawa to lean on lol

Submitted by @jaycethepancake

That would be nice, I did like their dorito coated cheese thingies when I had them tho. ___________________________

If social media has made the world feel smaller by connecting us to users all over the world, it’s also made us well aware of what we’re missing here in the United States — and nothing gives us that FOMO feeling like seeing footage of the fabulous 7-Eleven stores of Japan. 

These Japanese convenience stores (or konbini, as they’re called) boast snacks, beverages, and on-the-go meals that put America’s hot dog rollers to shame: onigiri, fried chicken, sushi, egg sandwiches, fresh cakes and pastries, mochi, and an array of hot bar items, to name a few. With our envy reaching a fever pitch, there’s been a renewed effort to get our 7-Elevens up to par — meaning we might soon get a taste of konbini treats here at home. 

Even if you sip Slurpees on the regular, you might be surprised to learn that 7-Eleven, despite being founded in Texas, is a Japanese-owned company. In the 1970s, 7-Eleven opened its first locations in Japan, where the formula proved to be so successful that the operation utterly eclipsed its United States counterpart. By 2005, Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd., owned by Seven & I Holdings, acquired full ownership of the brand.

Since then, Japan has upped its konbini game ceaselessly. Because it offers satisfying food at affordable prices, it’s part of the culture in ways that our minimarts fail to live up to. Thus, the company is considering lending that secret sauce to 7-Eleven’s US locations.  ____________________

This could be a game changer for folks, very cool. I look forward to seeing if they can pull it off.

[youcalledmebabe]

some of the most thought provoking bits I read in Looking For The Good War + a few thoughts

“Fish stories, tall tales, exaggerations—war has always had an uneasy relationship with the truth.”

“But once soldiers become symbols, abstractions available for political ends, we deny them the very humanity we claim to celebrate.”

“It is much easier to tell a sentimental war story with a happy ending, in which valor eclipses causes and reconciliation triumphs over everything—a comedy, in other words—than it is to tell another, unsentimental kind of story.” <- this is like the tldr of Points. so much easier to ride off into the sunset playing baseball and leave the Germans as worthy foes than to check out what comes after or reckon with the inhumanity in people that are a lot like us.

“Sometimes the veteran’s problem is that he remembers all too well.”

Quoting from The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit: “It is as necessary to forget it now as it was to learn it in the first place. They ought to begin wars with a course in basic training and end them with a course in basic forgetting.”

“[McNamara’s] story illustrates many things: the slipperiness of beginnings and ends, the refusal of war to stand still long enough to be shaped into a coherent story, the ambient fog that obscures causes and consequences as well as ends and means. It also testifies to the dubious efficacy of the quest for resolution or absolution.” <- thought a lot about parachute infantry and how it resists narrative in so many ways, and how that makes it a more honest portrayal of war than band of brothers.

“Only gradually did the worship of the veterans of World War II begin to reflect the antidemocratic impulse Emerson insisted lay behind hero worship, by allowing us to celebrate an archetype of stoic humility rather than a readily identifiable individual. The practice of making soldiers larger than life dominates our culture today and effectively prevents true empathy. World War II veterans gradually became objects of generation who no longer needed the reality, the complexity, the ambivalence—in short, the humanity—that Pyle and others bestowed on them during the war. This is the real erasure of the fiftieth anniversary mythology…” <- to me this is what happened to dick winters. the show dick and the dick you learn about seeking outside material are a symbol and a human being respectively. but also I do think BoB did a great job in granting humanity to many of the characters (Joe and Web especially). so I’m of two minds about it.

overall this was an incredibly interesting read. honestly a must for the consumer of World War Two mythology. Ambrose gets wacked a bunch (yay) and Sledge’s memoir is brought up as an example of the unsentimental war story. I would LOVE to hear the author’s thoughts on parachute infantry. the book really added a lot of nuance to my understanding of the immediate post war culture in America and how much the mythology has obscured the reality. there’s also a section of recommended reading at the end that I’m very excited to dive into. and this bonus excerpt has planted the seed of my next project, the joedyssey:

“The warrior’s solitude becomes the chief subject of the Odyssey, which traces the circuitous homeward path of Odysseus cast adrift in a postwar world of isolation.”