#I don’t know anything about 17 CE Rome

[mooseonahunt]

Screaming crying shaking please,, stop asking me super obscure questions about the past,,, I don’t know,,, I’m a history major but I don’t know man,,,

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#180-171)

#180: Fernando Tordo -- Tourada (Portugal 1973)

“Entram guizos, chocas e capotes, E mantilhas pretas, Entram espadas, chifres e derrotes, E alguns poetas, Entram bravos, cravos e dichotes, Porque tudo mais são tretas,”

“Bells, cowbells and capes are coming in, And black mantillas Swords, big horns and defeats are coming in And some poets Brave people, carnations and swear words are coming in Because it's a wheeze at most”

Despite the title ("tourada" translates to bullfight in Portuguese), it's actually a portrait of a revolution in the making. The lyrics were so clever that the censors at the RTP didn’t notice these lyrics were reflecting the current regime.

That’s enough for a 250 appearance for me, but there’s more that makes the song so memorable.

The build with the brass and percussion sets the stage for something important to happen. Sometimes, I do forget I like this song, but listening to it like right now is an experience, like one entering the battlefield.

The last line, "And the intelligent man says that songs are over..." still amuses me, though it's quite cynical in that the intellectuals would eventually not believe in the movement.

Personal ranking: 5th/17 Actual ranking: 10th/17 in Luxembourg

#179: France Gall -- Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Luxembourg 1965)

“Suis-je meilleure, suis-je pire qu’une poupée de salon? Je vois la vie en rose bonbon Poupée de cire, poupée de son”

“Am I better, am I worse than a fashion doll? I see life through bright rosy-tinted glasses Wax doll, sawdust doll”

One of the game-changing songs of Eurovision, in that the general mood shifts from slow-tempo songs to a little bit of pop. The first ten contests had their share of good songs, but seem to blur into each other at points. Afterwards, the song quality rose, and they were better suited to the times.

Beyond the happy orchestral sound is something quite sad—a pretty girl who sings songs without experiencing what they mean. Gainsbourg was quite the songwriter, but it led to a falling out between him and France later on, because of the double meanings of the songs he wrote for her.

The drama related to France Gall and the contest didn't stop there. Kathy Kirby, the runner-up that year, slapped France when she won. Then her boyfriend broke up with her shortly after, and wrote a song that would be the basis of "My Way".

Quite interesting I must say, though I don’t come back to this song often.

Personal and actual ranking: 1st/18 in Naples

#178: Ajda Pekkan -- Petr'oil (Turkey 1980)

"Öyle gururlusun gidemem yanına Girmişsin kim bilir kaç aşığın kanına Dolardan, marktan başka laf çıkmaz dilinden Neler, neler çekiyorum senin elinden"

"You are so proud, I can’t come close to you I wonder who else suffers from your love You speak of nothing but dollars and marks I am so suffering because of you"

My 1980 winner is not only quite groovy and seductive, but also clever.

The 1970s had two major oil crises--one in 1973, and another in 1979. The first one was when OPEC withheld their oil from countries who supported Israel during the Yom Kippur, and the second one when oil production stopped during the Iranian Revolution, resulting in higher prices per barrel. Both resulted in low supply and increased gas prices in the United States; those who grew up during the era were less likely to drive as a result.

Petr'oil takes this issue and anthromorphizes it, as Ajda sings about the troubles of relying oil as a resource and as a partner. The belly-dance music also emphasizes the tension. combined with the percussion and strings on this piece.

While Ajda has since distanced herself from the song, I embrace it in all its charms. Plus it was heavily underrated in its year.

Personal ranking: 1st/19 Actual ranking: 15th/19 in Den Haag

Final Impressions on 1980: This year stands out a bit, for it had a number of songs dealing with a huge number of topics (including Belgium's "Euro-Vision", which made the contest go meta, haha). Alongside it, the production was a bit bare-bones, because of the Netherlands hosting it four years earlier, but it featured quirks such as a representative announcing their country's song, Morocco competing for the only time, and a steel band for the interval!

#177: The Allisons -- Are you sure? (United Kingdom 1961)

“Are you sure you won’t be sorry? Comes tomorrow, you won’t want me Back again to hold you tightly?”

The lyrics are quite smug, in that the Allisons warn the girl who plans to break up with them she might be sorry and alone. Not unlike with "If I Were Sorry", though there's a bit more charm and teasing towards their soon-to-be ex-, whereas the latter feels a bit more arrogant.

That said, it’s upbeat and almost lines up to the musical scene at the time (comparisons to Buddy Holly are not uncommon), and the musical run time just goes by so quickly (in comparison to other entries of the same era)! It's just a breeze.

Personal ranking: 1st/16 Actual ranking: 2nd/16 in Cannes

#176: Vicky Leandros: L'amour est bleu (Luxembourg 1967)

“Bleu, bleu, l'amour est bleu, Berce mon cœur, mon cœur amoureux, Bleu, bleu, l'amour est bleu, Bleu comme le ciel qui joue dans tes yeux.”

“Blue, blue, love is blue, Cradle my heart, my loving heart Blue, blue, love is blue Blue like the sky which play in your eyes."”

I think I first heard this in the intro to Eurovision 2006's semi-final. While the harp motif stood out, I didn't know where it came from. It was until when I watched the contest this song was in, which is strange because it was notable for having a Paul Mauriat cover which became a hit.

One of many classics which featured in 1960s contests, I like the innocence shown through the lyrics, which uses color and imagery to tell about the different cycles of love. The orchestration along the bridge was especially spectacular, as it provided a cinematic feel towards . Vicky’s accent sometimes gets in the way, but she sings this well and should’ve gotten a podium position.

Personal ranking: 2nd/17 Actual ranking: 4th/17 in Vienna

#175: Kaija -- Ullu joy Hullu yö (Finland 1991)

"En edes halunnut sua omistaa En edes leikisti rakastaa Kaksi kulkijaa yhteen osuttiin Yksi yhteinen hetki jaettiin"

"I didn’t even want to own you I didn’t even want to love you We two travellers came across each other Shared one common moment together"

While I was watching Eurovision 1991, I liked the mysterious verses of Hullu yo, but I found the chorus a bit off, because it was punchier and more energetic. It also had that "minor-verse/major chorus" thing going on, which also made me uneasy with the song. With a few listens, I grew to like a bit more, because of its unique sound. It definitely sounds better with the studio cut versus the live, which shows off the failures of RAI's orchestra.

Another thing about the song, beyond its lyrics about a one-night-stand turned into longing feelings, was the choice choreography. Playing out the turmoiled relationship, it's funny to see how provocative it is, and that's after Toto's hilarious pronunciation of the song.

Elements of the live performance aside, it's still a jam which deserved better. Maybe it would've done so in the televote era.

Personal ranking: 7th/22 Actual ranking: 20th/22 in Rome

#174: Francoise Hardy -- L'amour s'en va (Monaco 1963)

“Si ce n’est toi Ce sera moi qui m’en irai L’amour s’en va Et nous n’y pourrons rien changer"

"If it isn’t you It will be me who will go away Love goes away And we can’t change anything about that"

I was happily surprised hearing this for the first time. It was very melancholic, with an interesting structure between the verses and the chorus. The percussion also helps with the latter, and adds a bit of character to the song.

The fact Francoise wrote this classic gem also warmed me up more to the song, especially because she was from the ye-ye generation of singers (which are known for being young and upbeat). Yet she stands and sings her own composition in a serious, almost bored tone, without taking the substance of the song away

(That being said, I really need to listen to more of her songs; I've found a couple a month ago, though there's obviously more...)

Personal ranking: 2nd/16 Actual ranking: 5th/16 in London

#173: ABBA -- Waterloo (Sweden 1974)

“The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself...”

You don’t need me to tell about this, do you? It’s fun and timeless pop, with some cool costumes to boot.

For more interesting stuff for both, the song Waterloo was an actual risk for the contest--they actually had another song for consideration, the folk-influenced Hasta Manana, but turned to this instead. And it worked, of course!

For the clothes, ABBA apparently chose these glam-rock inspired costumes because in Sweden, one wouldn't have to pay additional fees if the costumes won't be used for normal wear. Both Anni-frid and Agnetha look great, nevertheless.

And as of the moment, my favorite ABBA song is "Knowing Me, Knowing You". Despite the poppy tone, it has a moody vibe throughout, and one knows the relationship is going to end on a bad note.

Personal ranking: 2nd/17 Actual ranking: 1st/17 in Brighton

#172: Gigliola Cinquetti -- Si (Italy 1974)

“Sì, dolcemente dissi sì, Per provare un'emozione, Che non ho avuto mai,”

“Yes, I softly said yes, To feel an emotion That I've never had before”

My friend told me an interesting story about the lyrics—whereas the song Gigliola won with tells of a girl waiting to grow older to find true love, Si talks of the girl growing up and taking the plunge. So she interprets Si as a sequel of sorts.

So why does this beat Waterloo, in my opinion?

I like how the song starts—quietly, but with an interesting guitar part. The instrumentation builds well towards the "Si...", at which it gently but certainly blooms towards Gigliola's certainty on going with the man she loves.

The interesting part of it was how the song was censored in Italy because it was seen as "subliminal messaging" for a campaign on a divorce referendum that May. "Si" sounds like an endorsement for the "no" campaign, as it embraces being in love, even if it requires the death of another relationship.

Personal ranking: 1st/17 Actual ranking: 2nd/17 in Brighton

Final Impressions on 1974: Definitely one of the most memorable years in the contest, if only for who won. The rest was a tale of two halves, with the first half being particularly good, and the other half bad (except for Si, as you can tell). And there were Wombles in the interval act, hehe.

#171: Eugent Bushpepa -- Mall (Albania 2018)

“Lot i patharë ndriçojë këtë natë Sonte kumbo prej shpirtit pa fjalë Vetëm një çast dhimbja të më ndalë”

“Lingering tear, light up this night Find your way out, to soothe my soul Just for one day make this pain subside”

Aren’t the lyrics to this so beautiful? They convey Eugent’s desire to be with his loved one so well, in both its pain and beauty.

The music really helps too--while the pre-vamped version was a whole minute longer, it also has a rockier edge to it. The revamped version cuts it down and cleans up the production, but it's still maintains the overall feel throughout.

Eugent is also a talented talented singer, which proved initial odds wrong and got Albania one of its best results! The bridge between the second verse and chorus has a great chord progression (which was given more space in the revamp), and he deserved qualification for that alone. And those high notes.

(Also, he's probably the best dressed guy of his year...good job Eugent, good job.)

Personal ranking: 7th/43 Actual ranking: 11th/26 GF in Lisbon

[blooblooded]

Lee bullies some children

It was only out of paranoia that Lee Harlan did not vape inside of Kip’s apartment. Logically he knew that the chances of it leaving an odor were low to none-- after all, he vaped inside of his own home and never noticed anything. But he used cherry flavored pods and the risk of Kip’s mother coming home, noticing the smell, and confronting her children about it was too great so he always went outside to the landing when he needed a hit of nicotine.

If Police Commissioner Nguyen found out that a 22 year old man was habitually hanging out at her home unsupervised with her children and their friends...it was best not to think about what would happen.

Lee slid the glass door shut behind him to ensure that no vapor could get inside, turned and found that he was not alone. Kip’s youngest friends were out there. Well, not his friends, not really, more like the kids that hung around because they had to. Esther Bellamy’s twin siblings and their friend.

And Marty.

He didn’t know how old any of them were, only that the differences in maturity between them and 18 year old Kip were noticeable. The twins, Eddie and Evangeline, sat in two of the landing’s rickety old deck chairs, pretty and redheaded, unconsciously mimicking each other’s body language. Nervous, quiet Rome sat in another chair. And on the table between chairs was propped a tablet, the screen broadcasting Marty’s face from the mysterious outside land he came from.

They had clearly been chatting amongst themselves but shut up the moment Lee came outside. He smiled at them and projected his will to put them at ease with his presence, then leaned against the railing and took a hit from his vape.

Instantly, there was a problem.

“Are you fucking smoking?” Marty demanded. His accent was strange, round and musical and nothing like anything heard in Eden. 

Lee exhaled. He didn’t understand why this kid had such a personal problem with him. They had met 4 times, and every time, Marty would try to incite him by accusing him of bad intentions. He didn’t trust him and nothing Lee said or did seemed to help. It was strange to not be liked instantly, usually his slight psychic abilities masked him from mistrust. “Relax, I’m vaping.”

Marty’s round face screwed up like it always did when he came across a term he did not understand. Dumb ass kid didn’t even know what vaping was. Where did he come from, that’s what Lee really wanted to know. How was he in contact with people in Eden? It was information he doubted he would ever get due to Marty’s hostility. He exhaled another cloud.

“Can you not do that around people?” said Marty. 

Lee looked at the other teenagers and raised his eyebrows. “Is this bothering you guys?” he asked.

“It’s cool,” said Eddie, who was trying to lean his chair back on two legs.

“Whatever,” said Evangeline.

Rome didn’t say anything. He usually didn’t, it was hard to get more than two words out of him. 

Still, it was all he needed. It wasn’t a no. Nobody ever said no to him. He smiled at Marty and continued to vape, enjoying the expression of pure disgust and anger he was receiving. 

It dawned on him that he desired to make Marty angry at him. The novelty of pissing off someone who was thousands of miles away and helpless to do anything about it was good. Getting away with doing things he knew was wrong always gave him a little thrill, it was one of the reasons that he had been enjoying hanging out with Kip and all his underage friends so much. Not because he had any ill will towards them or wanted to harm them, but because he found it funny that he could if he wanted to. Most of their parents were powerful people, a police commissioner, a career capitalist, a member of the intelligentsia: all people he hated on principle. If he wanted to, he could really hurt them. Not that he wanted to. He wouldn’t. But he could.

This was different. Marty was just a fat little teenager on a screen. He had no power over Lee. He was not responsible for any of his suffering, his poverty, his frustration. The only thing Marty had was the inability to be influenced by his psychic abilities. The only thing he could do was watch. Lee thought about all the things he could make Marty watch. He felt the sudden and unnatural urge to hurt him.

There was no reason for that. Lee liked to think of himself as a good person. Still, this urge grew inside his heart.

“What are you guys doing out here?” he asked them. He pointed at a soda bottle one of them had drunk. “Playing spin the bottle? That puts Marty at a disadvantage.” It was just a little joke but he watched the twins’ pale faces blush and Rome’s posture change. He knew he had made them uncomfortable. “Kidding, kidding, sorry. Really, what are you talking about out here all by yourselves?”

“You should go away,” said Marty. His wavy black hair seemed to puff up as he grew angrier. 

Eddie was the first to grow comfortable again. He leaned his chair back on two legs and held onto the table to balance himself. “We’re just talking about homework,” he said. He and his sister looked semi inhuman in the way that all genetically modified people looked to Lee. Artificials. The elite shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure that their children would be beautiful, that unlike Lee, they would never have to worry about bad eyesight or crooked teeth. The Bellamy children all had clear, almost translucent skin and tall graceful bodies. Looking at them stirred up those old feelings of resentment at the knowledge that some people had a leg up on life from day one. He would always be treated differently than them. “We have papers due on social studies. I’m writing about the Prison District and stuff, you know. Jail. I’m going to ask Ms. Nguyen about it so I can get an A.”

The thought of the Prison District caused Lee to feel a chill down his neck and the short hairs there stand on end. Unbidden, he remembered the face of his mother; her sly smile and strong jaw resembled his own in his memories. But what memories did he really have of her? Few and far between. She had hung herself in her own cell when he was 12 years old, not long after being arrested, the reality of a life in a cage had been too much for her to bear and she had made the choice to evade that fate. 

At 17, he had contemplated that choice as well. He took a drag on his vape to clear his head.

“Just ask Kip,” said Evangeline, so curt and unpleasant for a girl her age. “Don’t you remember Kip getting arrested in July when he spray painted that building?”

“That doesn’t count, Vega bailed him out before anyone even knew that happened.”

“It does too count, if you got arrested even for five minutes you would be crying like a baby. Kip’s good at talking about that kind of stuff.”

Silent, Rome sat there and picked at one of his fingernails. On the little screen, Marty rolled his big black eyes.

Lee considered ways of endearing himself to these children. He wanted to know that he was not a threat, that they could trust him so that they would not betray him to any adult figures in their lives. At this point, he could not risk it. He had to stay close to Kip, after all the work he had put in with the kid, he couldn’t just throw that away. He needed-- Yancey needed-- him so that Eden could become a better place. At the end of the school year, Mayor Malena would make a speech in the School District, and Kip’s cooperation would allow the United People’s  Liberation Front to eradicate him and open Eden up for actual representation, not representation from a tyrant. For that to happen, he had to keep Kip on his side, and for //that// to happen, he had to keep Kip’s friends on his side.

Eddie Bellamy was still leaning his chair back and Lee felt the urge to stick out his foot and knock the chair leg so that he fell over. Instead, he smiled in a way that was open and disarming and tried to remember what he had learned in his Investigative Journalism course about building trust and credibility.

“I’ve been to prison,” he said, casual as anything. “I was in prison for 6 months.”

They all looked at him. Was this too much too fast? Or did teenagers think stuff like that was cool? He certainly had, at that age.

“Why were you in prison?” asked Marty, almost immediately.

Lee shrugged. “Because the system is unfair and oppressive. It discriminates against people who are poor.”

“Qu’est ce que ca-- What does that mean? That doesn’t mean anything, what did you--”

“Cool,” said Eddie. He took a handheld tablet out of his pocket. “OK so I don’t even need to talk to Ms. Nguyen, I can like, just talk to you and get this paper done before the weekend. Was it terrible? How was the food? Kip said they have to shower with everyone else in prison, did you have to do that? I would hate that.”

“Why are you even talking to this guy?” snapped Marty. “He just told you he was in prison, they don’t just send guys there on vacation! Can you listen to me for once, I wish that someone would just listen to me for once. Quit talking to him, he’s like 40 years old, you can just make things up and write them down, whatever he says is probably just as made up!”

“Can you calm down for once?” asked Evangeline. “Why are you always shouting?”

“Why would anyone even lie about something like that?” Eddie said blandly, typing on his tablet. “Let me think of some questions for you, Lee.”

Marty ground his teeth. “Rome,” he said pointedly. “Do you want to say something about this? Maybe about what you’ve been messaging me about this guy in private? Huh?”

It was clear that the heir to Prosperity Inc. did not like being around Lee, but was too anxious to say anything. He started to breathe in a fast, funny way. Lee raised his eyebrows at him and then looked at Marty. He smiled. It was a crooked smile because he could never afford to get braces. Marty’s face turned red.

“Do you really think I’m 40?” he asked him. “Really? You think I look like I’m 40? That hurts.”

The only response was a string of what was probably curses in the kid’s own language, and then the screen went white as he turned it off in a fit of temper.

Making him angry was pretty funny.

##

The next step was easy. Lee and Kip were in a computer lab, designing posters for an upcoming UPLF meeting. Due to the nature of what they talked about, Lee sometimes felt anxious about advertising the organization, but Yancey assured him it was fine. After all, they needed more people. More bodies.

Kip got frustrated by little things. He could not figure out how to rotate text the right way and was jiggling his leg. The small repetitive movements put Lee even more on edge. He put down his coffee and leaned over Kip’s workspace so that their shoulders touched, then took the mouse from him and fixed the poster easily. 

“Thanks,” said Kip, who didn’t move away when Lee touched him. “I just don’t really understand art.”

“That’s OK. There’s nothing to get.”

“Yeah.” Kip kept jiggling his leg. He smelled like body odor. Lately he had been neglecting personal hygiene. Lee couldn’t imagine such a thing. He spent upwards of an hour getting ready every morning.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Marty and his round little musical language. What did those words mean? In Eden they were taught that the land outside of the 10 Colonies was uninhabitable, but that was clearly just another lie. Clearly there were people there, people with civilization. Civilization both unlike and like the one in Eden. Marty had mentioned a revolution, a civil war, while arguing with Kip, and Lee had felt his blood run hot.

He wanted to know that it was possible.

He wanted to know that the world could change.

And then, there was that part of him that was fascinated by Marty. Like the differences and similarities between Eden and the strange land that Marty came from, the two of them had their own similarities and differences. Such vivid similarities. Such stark differences. It wasn’t normal for a man in his twenties to feel curiosity towards a teenager, but Lee knew that his intentions were not inappropriate. He was, after all, a good person. He just wanted to know more. He wanted to prod, just a little bit, to get a reaction.

Kip was typing a short informative blurb for the poster but had misspelled the word commodification. Lee moved his hands away again so that he could correct him. “You don’t have that kid Marty’s contact info, do you?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Would you send it to me?”

The long pause that followed reminded Lee that this was a weird request. It hinged upon his assumption that Kip would do anything he asked him to, no matter how absurd, how obscene. Infatuation was a powerful motivator but the desire to protect others was a key part of how Kip Nguyen positioned himself in the world.

Another long second. Kip pulled out his communicator and typed into it. Lee’s own device pinged with a long string of numbers that did not match any in Eden.

He realized how much power he had over this young man. It was something he was unused to, but something that he wanted more of.

“Why--” Kip furrowed his brows, then looked back at his screen. “Why do you want to talk to Marty? I thought he didn’t like you.”

It was that obvious.

The truth was the best option in this situation. “I want to talk to him about the place he lives. I think they’ve accomplished the same thing we’re trying to do. They killed their oppressors, they made things fair for everyone who lives there. Can you imagine that? I want to know how they were able to do it so that I know we can do it. I just want to hear about a place that did it first.”

Kip was no longer jiggling his leg. He was spaced out, unfocused out of nowhere. Whenever he got this way, his expression turned flat and his eyes went glassy. Over the last few months, Lee had realized that Kip spaced out all the time, mostly when he felt stressed. He almost felt bad. 

Was he putting too much pressure on Kip? Despite knowing that he was using him, he liked him a lot. He liked how outrageously passionate and articulate Kip was and wished that he could have been the same way at 18. At 18, Lee had been dweeby and ineloquent, still held back by the grief of losing his mother and the horror of what he had endured during his incarceration. He did not want to ever take away Kip’s ‘spark’.

“You good?” he asked carefully. 

Kip shook himself. He clicked aimlessly on the keyboard. “Yeah. It’s just-- I don’t think Marty is very happy. You’d think that in a society where everything is fair, everyone would be happy.”

“It’s more important that everything is fair than for everyone to be happy.”

“Right. Yeah, I know. I mean, I know that. It’s stupid, I don’t know why I was thinking about that.” Kip deleted the strings of gibberish he had just typed, then turned so that he could face Lee. He was smiling but everything else was off, like he was forcing himself to look normal. “Marty’s weird. If you bother him or something, Ayda’s probably going to come after me, so can you-- can you be cool when you talk to him? I really don’t want Ayda getting mad at me, Case will get mad if Ayda’s mad. You know? Please just be cool.”

Lee put a hand on Kip’s shoulder to reassure him and projected his will in his direction. You think everything is OK, he thought. You think everything is just fine. You don’t think that anything is wrong. Then he gave Kip a few pats. “When have I ever not been cool?” he asked.

######

He waited a few days before calling Marty. It was the week before he had a long paper due, and he had his deadline on an editorial in the student paper. Life had to come first. His life was busy, between classwork, his job, and his position in the UPLF. So many responsibilities. Lee just didn’t have the time to call anyone, he barely even had time to sleep at night. The loans he had taken out to cover his school bills, combined with the measly wages he earned from writing were hardly enough for survival. Every day was a struggle, and in that struggle he had little time to think about a foreign teenager who hated him.

On Sunday afternoon, he had a little time. Lee’s editor at the student paper had messaged him with the revisions they wanted and he just didn’t have it in him to open his word document and read over everything he had screwed up. They liked him there, they just didn’t like his work. He could make people like him, that was easy. Making people like his ideas, making people like his vision of a better future in Eden, that was harder. He thought about Marty and the place he lived. He thought about Marty’s better future.

That was real. He could talk to someone who had lived through a revolution, who had entered a socialist society, and figure out what worked. He could write about what worked.

Certainly it would be easier than coming up with ideas on his own.

Lee reclined on his couch. It was the only real furniture in his studio apartment, apart from his bed. He often slept there. It was one of those rare occasions that he had not gotten dressed for the day, since he had not gone out anywhere he only wore a pair of thin sweatpants and a meat-packer’s union T shirt. He had not groomed his hair nor his beard and was wearing his old glasses. It did not make him feel good about himself. When he did not dress up and take care of himself, it reminded him that he was mediocre-- average frame, crooked teeth, mousy brown hair, brown eyes. Nothing special. 

When there was nobody around to see him or talk to him, when he was alone, he was reminded of his mediocrity. The emptiness of it.

He pulled out his communication device and opened up the message where Kip had sent him Marty’s strange number. Again, he wondered how someone from the outside was in contact with Eden. Who else knew about this? What kind of trouble would West Agapama be in if the government caught wind of his daughters collaborating with outsiders? It was likely that Marty was only in contact with them due to Agapama’s alleged smuggling activities. While he shipped items from Eden to the Colonies of Serenity and Green River, it had always been rumored that his trucks ended up elsewhere.

Lee lingered on that number. He pressed it.

His screen flashed white a few times as his device connected to one that was hundreds of miles away. 

Marty answered after only a few rings. Wherever he was, he was outside, because Lee could see blue sky and the blackness of the Rift. He could see trees, real trees, growing in the wild. Marty’s fluffy black  hair was covered by a knit hat and he had a scarf pulled up to his nose. His cheeks were pink, perhaps affected by the cold air. When he saw who had called him, his black eyes went so wide that Lee could see the reflection of the kid’s communication device in them. “Ah, merde!” exclaimed Marty in a high pitch of surprise. “Comment as-tu--”

“Est-ce que ca-va, Mari?” A harsh female voice from off camera. Marty spluttered something in response and retreated a few steps, looking over his shoulder as he went. He got his back up against a tree and then glared daggers into his camera.

“Hi,” Lee said mildly, distracted by the landscape and Marty’s strange clothes. He had never been cold before, not really. He tried to imagine it. The temperature in Eden was regulated carefully to keep everyone comfortable.

Marty pulled the scarf away from his lower face with a quick, aggressive motion. “How the fuck did you get this number?” he demanded. “What made you think it’s a good idea to call me? Oh my god, you are a freak. I’m telling Ayda that you called me, you fucking psychopath, what is wrong with you?”

It was amazing that someone could switch between languages like that. Marty’s voice even changed when he spoke his own language, he lowered it when he spoke English. Lee smiled at him and tried to project his will, although he knew it would be hopeless on the other side of a screen. You want to talk to me, you want to talk to me, he thought.

Marty’s expression turned to disgust. “You’re staring at me,” he said. “I’m hanging up and then I’m going to figure out what I’m gonna do to you.”

“Wait, wait wait wait,” Lee laughed. “I just want to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Just talk to me. Five minutes. What’s five minutes?”

“I don’t want to talk to you. Who gave you my number?”

“Kip.”

For a second, Marty’s face fell, his eyes darted to the side and he sniffed. Then he looked back at Lee and sneered. All of it was posturing, him trying to act big when he was just a little kid. Lee was familiar with the need to make oneself something that you are not. “Kip, huh?” said Marty. He exhaled through his mouth and his breath fogged. “Kip. Right, Kip is in love with you, of course he would do something shitty to me if he thought it would get him on your dick. Fuck you, and fuck him too.”

“Wow. Sort of inappropriate, don’t you think?”

Marty pulled his scarf back up over the lower half of his face, probably to mask his expression more than because of the cold. Small white specks were falling around him, landing on his hat and getting stuck on his eyelashes. “Inappropriate? Like you care. Inappropriate is you calling me when there’s nobody else around. Why is that, huh? You’re scared I’m going to tell Ayda’s dad you’ve been giving her alcohol? You know what he’s gonna do to you? He’ll peel off all your skin and break your teeth with a hammer and castrate you before killing you. You’re trying to manipulate me. You can’t trick me, you think you’re so smart but you can’t fool me.”

Teenagers were so stupid. They all thought that they had the world figured out but their brains weren’t even finished developing. Lee kept his face pleasant. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. I just want to talk to you about your life. I promise I’m not manipulating anyone, all your friends like me, I don’t know why you don’t. Can I just ask you a few questions?” He noted that they had already been speaking far longer than five minutes. 

“‘On the wrong foot’, I don’t even know what that means,” replied Marty. He paused, thinking, and blinked away some of the white flakes that were falling on him. Snow? “I know for a fact that not everyone likes you. I’m not talking to you, I’m not telling you anything about my life because that’s weird. You’re weird, this is over, don’t call me again because I am blocking you, you creep.”

“Aw, come on, I just--”

The screen went black.

He had to laugh. 

###

He had promised to buy Kip and his friends liquor and came through. Lee did not enjoy drinking much. At this point in his life, the novelty had worn off, and he found that drinking excessively dulled his senses too much for his taste. But teenagers were in to that kind of thing, and he knew that it would further endear himself to Kip, so he had complied.

About two hours into the night, Lee started to wonder if he had made a really terrible mistake. 

They were all drunk. Well, except for Kip’s little sister, who didn’t touch the stuff. They were all drunk and the dawning realization of exactly how much trouble he was going to be in if anyone found out was starting to make Lee scared.

He watched as Ayda, Esther, and Rosaline sat sprawled in front of the television, clumsily playing a video game. They giggled as they repeatedly drove a virtual cart off the side of a brightly colored bridge, not seeming to care or realize that they were doing the same thing over and over again. Casey and Kassidy were sharing the same chair, Casey with her long legs twisted over Kassidy’s as she braided her hair. Casey’s eyes were half closed. Kip sat next to Lee on the couch, jabbering idiotically about something that Lee was not really paying attention to. The younger kids were off by themselves, he really wasn’t sure.

And Marty.

Marty’s little blue hologram face was visible on Ayda’s communication device. Every now and then, he would glance over at Lee and give him a poisonous glare.

It could be worse, Lee thought to himself, as he held on to his own barely touched drink for dear life. It could be worse. Nothing bad had happened, and most of them were well behaved, Still, he couldn’t help but think about how West Agapama would skin him alive and smash his face in with a hammer if he found out that his girls were getting drunk in the presence of a grown man, He wasn’t going to find out though. There was no way he could find out.

Well. There was one way. Lee looked over at Marty and their eyes met. Marty widened his eyes threateningly.

“That’s why it’s not fair,” he heard Kip say loudly. “It’s not fair. I don’t want to take all these stupid elective courses, just to graduate. Why are-- why are they making me do that? Just to graduate? When, when am I ever gonna have to know about bio-electrical engineering, huh? Did you have to do that, Lee? These stupid classes, did you have to take them?” He was slurring badly and his face was sweaty, his buggy eyes were completely unfocused. Alcohol interacted badly with his medication. Kip sat very close to Lee, pressing his knee against the side of his leg. “Did you?”

Lee quickly moved his leg away from Kip. “I don’t know,” he said.

Kip looked like he was about to lean his head against his shoulder. Under other circumstances, he might have let him, but with all of Kip’s friends around, the risk of one of them thinking poorly of him due to Kip’s intoxication was too great. Lee got off the couch and stood up, thinking about how sweaty and uncharacteristically nervous he was. This was different from a couple beers. If one of them got sick or hurt, he was going to be in serious trouble.

The apartment was trashed, with soda bottles and food all over the floor. At some point, Casey had shriekingly spilled her drink on the carpet, leaving a stain. It was only 8pm. Kip had said that his mother would be at work until late the next day, but Lee kept imagining Dana Nguyen walking in to all this. He paced around.

On the floor, Ayda put down her controller, then pulled herself up. Beside her, Esther and Rosaline had started to kiss, but Lee didn’t let his eyes linger on them for too long. God knew that he did not want to see a couple of horny teenagers drunkenly make out, he didn’t want to be responsible for that. Ayda wobbled on her feet for a second like she was going to fall.

“Can you make me another drink?” she asked. Her long dark hair was in tangles and her eyes were unfocused as Kip’s.

Lee tried to make his face appear calm and not anxious, thinking about how badly he had fucked up. What was he doing with his life? This wasn’t worth it. “How about some water?”

“I want another drink,” Ayda whined.

Marty’s big black eyes were fixated on Lee. “What do you think would happen if I called Ayda’s dad right now?” he asked, in his round little accent. 

“Ha ha,” said Lee, humourlessly, imagining his own death.

“It feels like you’re about to try and molest someone. I just want you to know that I know Ayda’s dad’s number. So you don’t, you know, try to molest someone.”

“That’s a really dark thing for someone your age to be thinking about.”

“Ugh, Marty, gross,” said Ayda.

Over on the chair, Kassidy yelped as Casey sleepily pulled her hair a little too hard to tie off one braid. It made Lee flinch. He saw Esther and Rosaline get up and head towards Kassidy’s bedroom, giggling and still tangled up with one another. Best not to think about it. Lee became determined to regain control of the situation.

He looked at Ayda and put a hand on her shoulder in what he thought was an authoritative way. The action made Marty’s fluffy hair stick up. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll make you another drink if you go hang out with Kip. And give me your communicator so I can talk to Marty.”

“No. No, no, no!” said Marty, as Ayda complied and handed her device over. “Ayda, you stupid bitch!” But it was too late, she was not listening to him and had already flopped on the couch next to Kip, who seemed happy enough to have a new victim to talk at.

Lee took off his glasses and wiped the smudges on his shirt. He wanted Marty to be able to see his whole face and tell that he was being sincere. The kid seemed bad at reading expressions. Some people just couldn’t do it. He held up the device that connected Marty from his part of the world, so far away. Marty glared at him, but didn’t switch off his camera. Of course he didn’t-- he did not want to risk being separated from his friends. It was a profoundly lonely existence and Lee knew that he could exploit that.

“So,” he said, walking across the living room and to the Nguyens’ small kitchen. He lowered his voice even though he didn’t need to; nobody was paying attention to him. “I’m the first to admit that I made an accidental mistake.”

“That’s funny,” said Marty. “Because I feel like buying liquor and bringing it to Kip’s apartment is hard to do by accident.”

“It’s actually very normal for teenagers to party like this,” Lee kept his tone formal and educational so that Marty could not tell that he was scared. “It’s actually good that I’m here so that if something bad happens, I can do something about it.”

“You’re stupid on top of being a pervert. Give Ayda’s comm back to her.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Casey slump over on Kassidy, falling asleep. For all her big talk, it seemed as though she was a lightweight. Kassidy, whose hair was only half braided, appeared uncomfortable and awkward, but she didn’t try to move away. Lee made sure that the camera was facing away so that Marty could not see Casey passing out.

He looked at Marty. “I just want to make sure you’re not going to do something you regret later.”

“I could say the same thing to you.”

Lee gritted his teeth.

“Normal people don’t try to get teenagers drunk.”

On the couch, Kip said something that made Ayda laugh loudly, and her high state of emotion filled the apartment. An ease, or a lightness passed through Lee’s body. Even at his best, his psychic abilities would never match Ayda’s, he would never be able to affect people the way that she could. He shook off the warm, euphoric feeling that attached to him, wanting to stay clear headed.

He wanted to vape to calm his nerves, but knew that would enrage Marty further. “I’m actually only 22 so--”

“Ew.”

“Look, I’m just trying to reassure you that I have no bad intentions. I’m Kip’s friend, that’s it, it’s nothing more than that. I want to support him, he’s been through a lot.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

“What do you want, you want me to promise that I would never do anything to hurt Kip? I’ll promise you, if you promise that you aren’t going to tell anyone’s parents. Do you know how mad they’ll all be at you if you did that? Everyone would stop talking to you.”

Judging from the expression of anger blooming on Marty’s face, he had struck a nerve. Hurt. Reality. But before Marty could make his undoubtedly biting retort, their conversation was interrupted. Eddie Bellamy approached from behind Lee and touched his elbow, startling him.

“Oh! What--” Lee spun around to face him, almost dropping the communication device in the process. He fumbled to keep his grip on it. Embarrassed to have been surprised so easily, Lee struggled to keep smiling, and pulled his glasses back on. “What? What do you want?” In his slightly tipsy, frightened state, he found it more difficult to stay pleasant around Artificials, and his discomfort around them was harder to hide.

“Uh…” Eddie’s pale face was flushed and he was wobbly on his feet. Lee’s heart rate skyrocketed as his body sensed an imminent disaster before his mind did. “I think Rome needs help. He’s throwing up.”

Lee’s fingers tightened around the communication device as terror flooded him. Forget taking a hammer to the face. Richard Prospas would string him up on a meat hook if anything happened to his kid. Terrible stories about the violence that company had perpetrated came swirling back to him. This was it. This was the bad thing that he knew was going to happen. It was his fault for assuming that if the younger kids sequestered themselves off out of sight, they wouldn’t be able to get in trouble.

“Oh, fuck you, Harlan.” Marty sounded scared and angry, presumably worried about his little crush. “Fuck you.”

Eddie’s lizard eyes shifted down towards the floor and he wobbled again. Lee reached out to hold onto his shoulder, suddenly worried that he would fall. “Yeah. He’s kinda freaking out, I think he had too much to drink.”

“I don’t think I gave you guys anything to drink,” Lee said through his gritted teeth. “You wanna tell me about that?”

“Uh…” Eddie blinked stupidly and Lee had to resist the urge to shake him. Usually Esther and her siblings acted like they were so superior than he was, so now, seeing one of them act so weak and stupid, Lee had to bite down his instinct to lash out. “Yeah. Rome brought some stuff from home, we didn’t want to be left out. I mean, we didn’t drink a lot, I think, we just-- can you go check on him? We don’t know what to do.”

The last thing that Lee wanted to do was go deal with a vomiting 14 year old, but there was no other option. This was what he had been scared of. He had told Marty that he was a responsible adult, and now he had to act like one. How hard could it be to make sure that some kid didn’t have alcohol poisoning and then bully him into not snitching?

This was his own fault. He had put himself in this situation where he had to act as a responsible adult, so he had to follow it through.

His voice seemed to come from outside of himself. “OK,” he said, very calmly. “I’m glad you came and got me. Why don’t you go hang out with your sister in Commissioner Nguyen’s room for now?”

“Eddie,” Marty said angrily. “Don’t leave Rome alone with this freak. I mean it, I don’t understand why you don’t believe me when I tell you that he hates you guys. He hates you. He hates Artificials. Don’t leave Rome alone with this guy.”

Eddie looked from Marty to Lee. Lee smiled at him tightly and patted him on the shoulder. You trust me, he thought. You trust me, you trust me. “Uh…” Eddie said, wavering.

“Oh my god,” exclaimed Marty. “You’re all so fucking stupid. Eddie, do not--”

It was too easy for Lee to turn off Ayda’s communicator and banish Marty from the apartment, leaving him in his isolated far-away land. Easy as anything. If the kid wasn’t so irritating, it would almost be sad. At any rate, Esther’s little brother was not about to cause any problem, a combination of childish pliability and Lee’s psychic suggestions saw to that. He watched him wobble off to Commissioner Nguyen’s bedroom to be with his sister, just as had been suggested. Easy. Easy as anything.

The communicator went down on the kitchen table. No doubt Marty would be frantically calling Kip, and if that did not work, Kassidy. He would not have any luck with either though. Lee sighed, pushed his hair out of his face, then went to the bathroom to see exactly what was going on.

#####

The next call came a week or so later. Lee had been expecting to talk to Marty again, he just hadn’t expected that Marty would be the one to call him. That was the kind of thing you couldn’t plan for. He looked at the light flashing on his slim metal communication device for a moment, then answered it, unable to hide the surprise on his face.

“What’s up?” he asked, like he was talking to a friend, instead of to a little kid who hated his guts.

Marty’s face was pink and angry. His eyebrows were so furrowed that his eyes had become black slits. Wherever he was, he was inside, perhaps in his bedroom. It was difficult to make note of his surroundings, since he had his face so close to his camera that his blackheads were visible. “You’re gonna leave Rome alone from now on,” he said, in what was probably the meanest voice he could muster, but his pubescent voice kept cracking humorously. “And I know you’re not gonna listen to me, but if you freak him out one more time, I’m going to call Ayda’s dad.”

Again with the empty threats. Marty was never going to call Ayda’s dad. He kept saying that he would, but had still not ante’d up. If he did that, if he followed through, he would lose all his friends. Loneliness was a stronger motivator than anger. Loneliness was even stronger than fear.

It was still early evening. Comfortable on his shitty couch, Lee was back in his sweatpants and a t- shirt. “What are you talking about?” he asked, laughing, but he knew what Marty was talking about. 

“Don’t play stupid. Rome told me that you were bothering him when he was sick the other night, and that you called social services on his family. Why would you do that? You know that social worker pulled him out of class, asked him a ton of questions, then called his dad? Why would you do that? Are you stupid? What’s even wrong with you that would make you do that?”

The amount of care that Marty had for his friends, for people that he would never meet in person, was almost touching. Lee pushed his own hair back so that he would not appear so scruffy. He hated to think that someone would see him not looking his best, but there wasn’t anything for it now. “Right. I’m sure that in whatever backwards place you’re from, they never taught you about mandated reporting--”

“--I I know what that is--”

“-- but since I’m an adult, it’s actually my responsibility to report it to the proper authorities if I believe that a child is in danger. You understand that, right? You understand that I’m just trying to help.”

“Oh, tu essaies d'aider.” Marty’s face grew more pink as he got so angry he forgot how to speak in English. “Don’t mess with my head. You know what you did.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, then.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a habitual gesture he hated because it made him appear dweeby, but was unable to break.

“Tell me that you’re going to leave everybody alone, even if you won’t leave Kip alone. You don’t understand what you did.”

Oh, Lee understood, and that’s why he had contacted social services in the first place. He took a hit off his vape pen, because he knew that irritated Marty, and felt the nicotine simultaneously calm and invigorate his body. “I think it’s interesting that you were calling me names for just being in the same room as your little friends, and now when I’ve been a responsible adult who has reached out to other adults because I’m worried about, oh, I don’t know, about how it looks like a kid is getting beaten at home, you’re still not happy. How am I the bad guy? What’s your problem with me? All I ever do is try to help people.”

“I understand what Rome’s going through. You don’t.” He said it so defensively that it took Lee by surprise. All this time, he had assumed that Marty had a crush on his quiet friend. He had not imagined that instead, Marty might relate to him. He had not imagined that someone as hostile and outspoken as Marty might see a piece of himself in passive, nervous Rome Prospas.

That was a piece of information that Marty should not have revealed. So much of his strange life in a far away Colony in the North was obscured by his hostility, but Lee’s curiosity about it could not be sated. It seemed that even under a socialist revolution, the lives of normal people could still be painful. Children there still had lives where they were not safe at home. It was something that could not be fixed by grand ideas. He exhaled a cloud of vapor. “Do you have parents?”

It looked like Marty regretted revealing so much of himself, even if it had been meant as a hateful jab. Much of the pink drained from his face. “I’m not telling you that.”

“You’re right. I don’t know anything about having a family that doesn’t treat me right,” Lee continued. Maybe if he opened up about his own life, he could gain a little trust. Even at this point, it was possible to do that. “I never had a dad. My mom killed herself when she got sent to prison. I was 12. She wasn’t the best mom, but I was still sad when she died. She loved me a lot.  I miss her a lot. What about you?”

A flash of connection. For a second, Marty stopped scowling and his eyes were once again large and black. 

In that moment, Lee could see that they were the same.

He continued, as carefully as he could, looking for cues. “She got pregnant with me when she was really young. Sometimes she didn’t know how to take care of me. I’d go to school in dirty clothes and stuff, that’s when social services got involved. They helped Mom learn how to take care of me better.”

Marty was still staring at him and it looked like the wheels of memory were turning in his head. Lee had him, he had found a weak spot, the soft underbelly.

“I remember the day they took me away from her, though, right before they took her to jail. I think about that every day.” He had not expected himself to be replaying the most traumatic moment of his life for the sake of connecting with this surly preteen, but there he was. His mother had refused to let go of him, he had been so scared. That one moment of fear and unfairness had propelled Lee Harlan through the next decade, and he had held on to that memory through every terrible thing that had happened to him since.

“I--” Marty opened his mouth like he wanted to respond, then seemed to remember exactly who he was talking to.

Gently, prying, Lee tried again. “You look like you want to talk about your mom.”

The small, fleeting moment of connection ended. Blood rose to the high points in Marty’s face again. “No. Don’t try to distract me. I don’t care about you, I don’t care about your life.  I called you to tell you that if you even breathe in Rome’s direction one more time, I’m not even kidding, I’m contacting Ayda’s dad. You know, like a mandated reporter, or whatever you called it. He will kill you. You can keep perving on Kip all you want, I don’t really care, but if you mess with anyone else, I’m gonna get you. You’re gonna get what you deserve.”

“Not if I get you first,” Lee said blandly. “What do you deserve?”

The screen of his communication device went white. Marty was gone, disconnected. All his bravado, his childish little threats, for nothing. Lee was not scared of him. If he was truly going to do something, if he truly had it in him to call West Agapama, he would have done it already. Deep down, Marty did not want to do it.

Whatever it was, fear or some sense of connection, or perhaps obsession, would not allow him to do anything.

And Lee knew that he could use that to his advantage.

[motorcyclegear101]

Best Motorcycle Touring Boots – Guaranteed

Welcome to our touring and commuting boots gear guide. Listed below are our top five picks for the best motorcycle touring boots available today. This is me based on our riding, our research, and our expert opinion to address the specific needs that a touring and commuting rider has.

We know that you need a boot that’s going to protect you in the event of a crash but you also need to be protected from the elements and you need all the comfort for an all-day ride.

Whether you’re tackling long distances over a short amount of time, or you’re simply riding back and forth to the office and you’re going to be wearing these boots all day long it’s got to work for your style of riding.

What we have on the table in a variety of different boots for you to choose from, whether you’re just starting out into your adventure as a motorcyclist, or you’re a returning rider that’s looking to replace that old pair of your favorites in your closet. We’ve got offerings to discuss for both of you.

Tour Master Solution

Alpinestars Roam 2 WP

Alpinestars Web GTX

Dainese TRQ Tour Gore-tex Boots

Daytona Road Star GTX

Remember this any part of a larger guide series at Motorcycle Gear 101 from boots, jackets, helmets, gloves. We’ve got 17 different gear guides to help you navigate your journey through all the new apparel, as well as the returning favorites from previous years at Motorcycle Gear 101.

Tour Master Solution

iFrame is not supported!

These are coming in around the $130 dollar price point and these are your classic American touring boots from Tour Master. What you have is a full hypora waterproof liner with leather construction and t is an air version available.

The air version will give you increased mesh but you’re still getting the waterproof liner in both versions of this.

The real story with the Tour Master boot is that it’s available in a wide option, so if you’re looking at all the European boots and you’re thinking those are just too narrow for my wider foot you can go with the wide option from Tour Master which bumps you up to a double E width.

If you want to take a look at something else in Tour Master or take a step up in Tour Master consider the Epic Out dry. The epic out dry will give you the out dry laminated waterproof protection as well as it’s will get you up into a CE rated boot. You’re getting increases in both protection from an impact standpoint, as well as from the elements.

.

Read More ▼

The solution 2.0 and the original tourmaster solution boots have been some of the most popular waterproof boot styles that we’ve sold at Motorcycle Gear 101. The Tour Master solution 2.0 has been out for a little while now we’ve had a chance to really put it through its paces. Try it on, see how it fits, how it feels, how long it lasts and we’ve been really impressed. The best thing about them is the price. These boots are not going to break the bank, they retail for a hundred and nineteen bucks. They’re a really really valuable boot for the money, definitely very impressed. The other thing that’s really attractive about solution 2.0 is it will work for such a huge variety of riders. Whether you’re a commuter that’s on the bike every day, or if you’re planning a longer trip w you don’t know what kind of weather you’re going to encounter the Tour Master Solution 2.0 is going to work just great. Even this style of boot can work well for a sportbike guy if you’re not looking for the ultimate protection and not going to the track all the time the solution 2.0 is a great option for you. One thing that I really like about it, obviously it has a built-in high-pora membrane that is waterproof, that’s the key feature for it. If you open the boot up you’ll see t’s a velcro flap that covers the main zipper. Ther’s a Velcro on the end of the zipper as well, just kind of holds the zipper pull up in place. Then you will see the internal waterproof membrane, the gusset underneath the zipper extends pretty much all the way to the top of the boot. What that does for you is it prevents water from coming in behind the zipper and even if you were to ride through some big puddles w water is washing up over your feet as long as that water doesn’t get over the top of the boot and run down inside these are going to do a great job keeping your feet dry. High pora has some really neat properties, it not only keeps water out it’s also a fairly breathable material. So for those warmer days when your feet might be getting a little hotter it does a fairly good job breathing and allowing your foot to breathe so it’s not super hot. I will say with any waterproof boot if it’s 90 degrees out in the middle of summer your feet are probably going to get a little toasty. But you know, the flip side of that is if you do get caught in the rain they’re going to keep your feet nice and dry. In cold weather obviously it helps block a bit more wind and keep your feet nice and warm inside the boot. The inside is lined with a nice soft material, they do have what they call their techno DI thermoplastic heel cup and toe counter. You’ve got a heel cup around the back that is inside the boot for some protection. The toe box is reinforced as well, it’s going to keep it nice and comfortable when you’re shifting but also add some protection if you were to go down and tumble and hit the front of your foot on something, that’s going to help reinforce that area. It has some built-in armor on over the ankle bones, that’s important for not only impact protection but for abrasion resistance. Obviously the leather does a good job but if you were to go down it’s going to help prevent any wear or damage to your ankle and your foot. The sole of the boot you have some nice tread design. I really like the sole of the solution tubes because they’re really comfortable off the bike. If you’re like me and you ride some events, or whether it’s a bike night or some kind of open house or a charity fundraiser type of event when you’re riding and then you’re off the bike and you’re walking around for hours, the last thing you need is a really stiff uncomfortable boot that’s really hurting your feet all day long. These boots are going to give you really sure footing but they’re also fairly flexible so you can walk around in comfort. The footbed that that use inside these is orthopedic, has some arch support in it and also absorbs the vibration. So if your bike has a little bit of buzz and the foot pecks or anything these are going to help absorb that. It’s a very comfortable boot, as far as sizing goes I pretty much always wear a size 10 or a 44, no different with the solution 2. They are just right I would say if you’re kind of in-between sizes, especially if you have a slightly wide foot you probably want to go up a size. I typically take a size 10 sometimes I have to go up to a 10 and a half in tennis shoes depending on the width but on these particular ones I find that I can wear the size 10 and they fit just right. They are very comfortable as far as flexibility goes, you can walk around as all day long in comfort in the solution 2.0, and again you can’t beat that price for under $120 bucks you’re getting a fully-featured waterproof motorcycle boot.

Check Out Todays Best Deals

Alpinestars Roam 2 WP

iFrame is not supported!

Getting up into our first CE rated boot is the Alpinestars Rome 2 Air and WP

You have two different offerings, you’ve got the air version or the WP version at around the $170 to $180 price point. The real story is for you touring riders that don’t want a waterproof boot, this is the only available boot on the table for a nonwaterproof version.

If you go with the air version the Rome twos completely open, you get masses amounts of air pushing through or you can go with the waterproof version. At around the hundred and seven hundred eighty dollar price point, this is your three-quarter touring commuter boot from Alpinestars, and it’s getting you up into that world of CE rated protection.

.

Read More ▼

Classic Italian style with touring and waterproof functionality, this is the Alpinestars Roam 2. Since the previous update to the Alpinestars Roam 2, you’re going to clearly notice the style has become a bit more contemporary. Still classic, still three to four seasons, still waterproof again you have some accent stitching, the elastication and the bellows have changed. They are a little bit higher in the back, it might be a little bit more comfortable but again big TPR up top adding to a more contemporary style. I like the fact that they have not changed the price, I like the fact it’s still CE rated from Alpinestars, real meat and potatoes within their touring boot line. Again the fact it’s a little sporty means it maybe expands the range to an American audience that rides a multitude of different bikes. It still has microfiber in it’s upper it’s going to do a lot of things really well and again get a quick peek at it this is the original Rome only some minor style changes since 2014. If we look at it and you bring it back in what I’m going to show you is the profile of the foot and the profile of the foot is really going to be more of an American footbed. Again staying in line with what Alpine stars typically do. Size-wise you don’t have to worry about it they’re going to fit an American last again they’ve been doing it for a long time. Remember we talked about the elasticated bellows for comfort, notice dual recess shift panel on the inside to interface on both sides with the controls On your bike. We already talked about some of the accent stitching they add it to the boot. Two buckles design up on the left or velcro and now you have a big TPR pull and notice when I open this up you’re going to see ‘s my gator that’s w my waterproofing stops so the waterproofing is going to come up about two-thirds of the way again step in those puddles ride all day you should be pretty good to go as long as you have a good interface with your pants. Again you rotate to the back you can see more accent stitching a nice big heel counter and again those elasticated bellows that go all the way up. They also redesigned the reflectivity a little bit giving you the Alpinestars logo, again tying everything together. You do have ankle support, you do have a heel cockpit which is beefy. I would love to see them beefier up but again under $200 you really have to make some trade-offs at some point. For me it’s been debated on the insert inside of the office I think the toe got a little bit more low-profile, other folks think that it’s a little bit more of the same but again it’s Alpinestars taking steps forward to try to improve their product again going from the Roam boot to the Roam 2. It has the same soles last year, it’s the same sole we’ve seen it’s a high grip anti-slip sole. Again really no reason to change it and it’s going to have that same stiffness scale of about seven and a half to eight, really for more long-distance multi-season touring riding.

Check Out Todays Best Deals

Alpinestars Web GTX

iFrame is not supported!

The Alpinestars Web GTX boot is your entry-level gore-tex boot European styling but really around the $250 dollar price point, you’re now getting into gore-tex. If you’re not familiar gore-tex it is guaranteed waterproof, but that’s only half the story.

The real magic with gore-tex is its breathability so if you’re riding this in the warmer months your feet are sweating all that moisture on the inside is whipped out and that is what you’re getting when you get that bump into gore-tex.

You’re still getting full European style with this, CE protection from the boot and this boot is are available in a size up to a size 50 so you have a larger range of sizes from a European-style boot.

The last two boots that we have in the table, this is getting you up in the world of premium offerings. First, we had the Dainese TRQ Tour gore-tex boots.

.

Read More ▼

This is the new web GTX CE rated touring commuting gore-tex around that $300 mark. We saw them refine the web GTX over last year’s model, the key WITH theme is protection and comfort so again you’re going to see a more refined style from the previous version. A little bit more contemporary when you compare the old version to the new but the three big call-outs areas as such. First, on the previous version of the Web GTX, you can see the profile the toe box is a little bit high, folks we’re having a tougher time depending on your bike getting it under your controls. They’ve streamlined it on this Web GTX new version, what they’ve also done is they’ve given you flex now on the backside of the boot. What you’re going to see are elasticated bellows that go all the way up compared to the previous version and they even give you a wider cutaway at the top if you have a beefier calf, again all about ergonomics. The last thing from comfort is the ease of entry and exit. If we look at the inside of the boot they’re both medial entry and exit points, remember, it’s a gore-tex booth waterproof breathable. Guaranteed for life with full gore-tex lining which is the top of the food chain. On the new version, you’re going to see how it’s a full stretch panel that goes all the way down with this zip, so depending on the width of your foot or your soccer your ankle it is easier to get on and off. It is still a YKK zip and they’ve also given you a three notch cutaway versus a single notch cutaway and that’s going to ease and flex when you’re walking around on the boot. The price went up a little bit but for the new version it is more functional it is easier on yet they made some changes that look a little different now. The style factor may or may not be your cup of tea, I like they went a little bit more contemporary with it, but again, in the food chain, you’re looking at a big step up over something like the Newland but again that mono fuse is going to be that more aggressive step up. We get back into the boot itself let’s talk about sizing. American cut from Alpinestars no surprises, it is plenty wide enough for the American footbed. You will notice it has a little bit more of a shine to it, this year when it was matt on the previous version. Classic but contemporary, stitching on the lateral side just from a style standpoint. They changed the TPU dual recess. again the same coverage. It doesn’t have the A-star logo a little bit more muted, a little bit more mature. Moving back on the side you’re going to see exposed angle protection. TPU in the ankle on the medial and lateral side, nice reinforcement at the toe box and then the heels is still very stiff and strong with a nice big heel counter that comes up from this vulcanized rubber sole. The sole on the web GTX has not changed, they didn’t screw with it, it worked last time and they’re sticking to their guns. Notice if we go on the flex scale it is about a seven, seven and a half out of ten. I look at it as a great touring and commuter boot because I think it’s beefy enough to support you on your bike but you really don’t want to walk around in it all day it’s not going to be that whole put it under jeans and wear it at work all day kind of boot. The sole is an anti-slip sole from Alpinestars. Vulcanized rubber reinforced and again no heel count or toe counter on this boot. Maybe they beefed it up on the next version of the web. We talked about the gore-tex side of things, gore-tex, waterproof, breathable and guaranteed for life. They invented the waterproof membrane, what that means is that mother nature can’t get any water in you’re not going to get wet and if you sweat a lot. All that sweat evaporates out from the full-grain leather exterior out through the boot and it’s going to give you the best chance to stay comfortable versus getting clammy or getting overly sweaty. Notice that Gator comes all the way up and it is a microfiber mesh toward the top, again to wick sweat away along your calf. They even give you a seal that comes around just kind of creating a full closure at the top of the boot. Remember the Newland is the baby brother to this boot, the mono fuse is the more tech-inspired aggressive step up, again slight increase in price is the new web GTX gore-tex from Alpinestars. A staple of their collection just under that $300 mark.

Check Out Todays Best Deals

Dainese TRQ Tour Gore-tex Boots

iFrame is not supported!

These are probably my personal favorite, this is your euro tech offering on the table. What you have is all the DNA of a sport boot but with the creature comforts, you’d expect from a touring boot.

Full gore-tex lining, rear entry easy and easy out adjustability of the calves to create a better fit better comfort but you’re getting all the DNA of Dainese sport boot. You’re getting lateral protection down the side with a hinge system.

You’ve got full bracing, TPU reinforcements at the heel and then a reinforced toe box. Again it’s that combination of touring as well as sport for around the $330 dollar price point. That’s going to set the Dainese TRQ’s apart and this is probably my favorite personal pick on the table.

.

Read More ▼

New in the Dainese collection is the Dainese TRQ Tour Gore-tex boot. Gore-tex, what does that mean? Gore-tex is lifetime guaranteed waterproof and breathable and gore-tex is the most breathable of any of the waterproof-breathable fabrics. Dainese has D-dry, some of the other manufacturers have their proprietary waterproof breathable material, Gore-tex invented it 50 years ago and gore-tex has perfected it. They set the standards something like nine billion pores per square inch, what does that mean? No amount of water or precipitation or snow or rain can get in from the outside when your foot sweats in longer distance riding scenarios your foot can breathe. That perspiration will evaporate out through those tiny pores, they are one-way pores and that water vapor will escape without any water molecules being able to come in. You’ll notice before I jump into some of the other features that the perforation schemes along the cowhide leather are not going to flow air directly to your foot It vents directly to that built-in gore-tex liner to allow for water vapor to escape. But just because they have this light perforation it’s going to lie your foot to breathe better but it’s not going to add the ability for any outside water to get. Let’s look at the outer construction. As I mentioned this touring boot has full-grain cowhide, you’re going to get Dainese D-stone material which is an extremely abrasion-resistant ballistic woven nylon fabric that has stretch built into it. They make a D-stone jacket, UCD stones showing up in some of their high-end garments, gloves, boots again it’s in an area for comfort but it’s just as strong as any of the abrasion-resistant to the leather. The other thing you’re going to notice the inside and outside of this boot have thermoplastic. This is called the D-axial system, the D-axial system is a race level feature that you see on all of the race boots. Whether it’s an inside or outside boot it’s on the TRQ Tour and what it does is it creates this hinge, it protects your ankle they’re sliders on the outside of the boot but having this hinge that goes all the way up the shin it creates an anti-torsion zone. What that does is keeps your foot from twisting. It’s going to keep you from having that radial or spiral break if you get into a crash situation and your ankle basically to twist without your leg twisting. It’s going to give you extra protection. It and makes sense to talk about shin protection. You have a shin hard part that wraps all the way around. It’s thermoplastic, it is reinforced, it is soft behind it and it’s reflective. One of the most common injuries in a crash situation is your foot slipping off the footpeg and your footpeg smashing into your tibia and breaking your shin. This is going to give you that extra level protection from the high boot. As you move down the front you have an elasticated panel for comfort we also talked about this perforation which doesn’t flow air but it allows the gore-tex membrane to breathe. The top of the shift pad is nylon and it wraps all the way around. It’s stylized, it’s texturized, again, it just ties in really nicely with the detail level it Dainese puts and everything. This is a lot of boot for the price tag, I would venture to say this boot is probably best suited for long-distance, multi-season touring scenarios but with the amount of external protection you could probably stretch this boot onto a track day even though it doesn’t have some of the sliders on the toe As you move to the inside you’re going to see you know the D-axial system comes down,. you have more thermoplastic that wraps around. It creates this great ankle cup, heel cup that wraps around the back to the eventual heel counter which is in a double reinforced hard part to guard against crushing from the back. I want to talk about this thermoplastic element that’s on the back of the boot. If you looked at it you would notice it has a different texture to it. It’s a non-scratch grip area to allow you to grip the inside of your bike, it’s really a control feature that’s built-in. As we move to the back we talked about the Dainese logo on the heel counter. You will notice it’s the main connection zipper, it goes all the way down the back with a stretch D-stone gusset. Behind this gusset this is gore-tex as well, we all know that zippers create weak points for waterproofing. You will notice you have this big Gator behind it that lives behind the weak point zipper. The other thing I want to talk about is the adjustability factor. A lot of guys have different size calves, I have thin calves, some guys have these huge ham hock legs that go all the way down. They’re always worried about getting into their gray suit or getting in and out of boots. Once you set the settings on these boots the zipper allows you to get it in and out quickly, but what I want to show you is its adjustability built-in on both sides. So if you’re a guy that has really big calves you’re going to set it on both sides and give yourself that extra room. That’s going to create a larger diameter for entry to the boot at the midpoint of your calf. To get in and out you’re still using that to make the boot loose and get right out of it but what you’re going to do is if you’re a guy like me let’s thinner cast I can come in and I can really tighten this guy up all the way around the back of my calf and shorten the diameter. Its adjustability factor is a key factor and the whole thing you have to remember when a boot is designed for long-distance touring it really needs to be comfortable. The inside of this boot is a mixture of a fleece lining as well as the jersey lining which creates air pockets, it keeps you cool, it wicks moisture away, it traps a barrier of air to keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This truly is a four-season boot. At the bottom, you’re going to notice a skywalk sole. It’s a non-slip anti-oil sole that has a high degree of grip, it’s very security it’s also very comfortable and it does a great deal of shock absorption. The skywalk is a third party sole manufacturer that’s all they do, it’s the Rolls-Royce of souls within the motorcycle or boot world and Dainese has partnered with them for some of their boots. The skywalk is the best option for comfort and durability in the longer term. As we look at the outside boot again the D-axial system comes down with the slider with another hard part slider on the outside of the ankle. So all in for around the $299 priced point, you have a gore-tex touring boot with a lot of extra functionality and a lot of protection, it has the beauty and the style and the RNDthat goes into all Dainese products. I’m a fan of this guy and I think it’s going to stay on toe-to-toe with a lot of things that we recommend at Motorcycle Gear 101 that are going to be geared towards your high-end sport or sport touring crowd.

Check Out Todays Best Deals

Daytona Road Star GTX

iFrame is not supported!

Last but not least we have the Daytona Road star GTX. This is your super euro premium offering around the $450 price point, this is maximum comfort with maximum protection. Dual entry along the side dual cuff for extra comfort, you’ve got adjustability at the back of the calf, full leather construction with full gore-tex.

You’ve got a lug sole with this, it is very comfortable to walk around in all day but it’s still going to be rigid enough to give you maximum feedback when you’re on the bike.

The final note with these is they are available in the wider width, much like the Tour Masters. If you have a wider footbed you can consider the wider options from Daytona in the premium world if the rest of the offerings are just too narrow for you.

if you’re looking at the Daytona and you’re thinking I like this I just don’t want the full height option, they have introduced the Aero sports GTX which is all the same DNA just in a shorter boot.

.

Read More ▼

You’ve waited for it and we have it these are the Daytona Road star GTX. Top of the food chain apex predator from a gore-tex multi-season touring boot fashion. Handmade in Bavaria, family-owned company and all they do is make boots. This is a multi-season boot that’s a four-season boot that has the gore-tex waterproof breathable liner baked in nonremovable so you’re getting the best breathability along with the best waterproofing from Mother Nature and you’re getting a premium level of protection. I’m going to walk through all the features and break this down from the inside out in a bit but keep in mind this is a boot using full-grain leather, gore-tex, aramid or kevlar reinforcements and it even has kangaroo leather in the elasticated panels. Again, phenomenal top of the food chain close to that $500. mark I’ll tell you what this boot won’t do so full season really designed as a road touring boots. But when you think about it, there’s a lot of protection baked in but you don’t see some of the overarching external hard parts that you’d get from a true off-road boot. So guys do some light dual sporting but if you’re really going to start pushing it off-road I think that t’s more off-road oriented boots or what I would consider adventure-oriented boots that have more external protection for you so keep that in mind. Let’s talk briefly about fit and then I’ll dive into some of the nuances. I find the fit of Daytona in the smaller size to run a little bit large and they start to even up as you go through the mix. don’t assume that you’re a 43 in your size boots and you’re going to be a 43 in Daytona’s. I actually am about a nine and a half shoe, I tend to wear a 43 and something like an Alpinestars or a CD in Daytona I was a 42 and 42 homes right in our 9 and 1/2 so use that size chart. I will tell you they’re extremely comfortable, they also come in wide sizes so yes this is that one of the few boots that come in that I believe Triple E or double E wide size for you guys that have a wider footbed. Very comfortable, very anatomical, they also make that M-star version which has the raised heel It’s going to be a normal footbed from a sizing standpoint on Daytona and remember you should be fine just use the size chart. Thinking through it I will tell you that my riding experience in these, I liked how they feel from a control and feedback standpoint. I find them not to be the stiffest boots I’ve worn I give them about a seven and a half on the stiffness scale but I find them to be very comfortable in the footbed and as you walk. Remember there is a ladies version girls called the lady star GTX, very similar feature set. The outer shell is going to be hydrophobic full-grain cowhide, remember cowhide goes with gore-tex because it breathes better hydrophobic means it’s anti-water so water will repel right off of the treatment that’s that DWR on the outer shell. It will need to be replaced over time but remember the waterproof breathability is the gore-tex liner that is baked in. Some of the other features include dual reinforced shift panel, no surprises there. A low-profile toe with a lot of TPU, that’s built-in there to give you great crush support in the toe. Moving on our way back you’re going to see an additional layer of textile for abrasion resistance in the heel and the ankle cockpit. Moving up TPU baked in on the inside, you don’t see it from the outside because it is a classically styled boot. On the lateral side on the outside, a medial side, on the inside and it has a huge shin panel. TPU baked in very comfortable behind it has nice padding but again to protect your shin and against impact from a footpeg. I did mention it earlier. Kangaroo leather, supple kangaroo level leather for stretch in the instep. It is also on the backside as well with that nice reflective paneling and look at the way the back heel comes up still low-profile heel but a nice big counter there as well. If we look at it ther’s a different zipper configuration that you’re used to seeing in Daytona and that ties in with kind of the fitment scheme. Now if you look at it on the front the reason that this is curved is that a curved zipper has a tendency to stop in a crash situation, it’s not going to go down all the way it gives you a better chance for it staying up. Again the MSTAR for men is going to have a fully covered zipper but it is a big coiled YKK zipper that goes all the way up. On the inside you’re going to see a short zipper, again you’d use both zippers at the same time to get in and out but I find that you could probably get away with just using one but my commentary on this is that this zipper is really the second zipper when you’re putting them on you use. Do the tougher zipper first and use this straight shot zipper straight up from the backside or from the inside rather on the medial side to get in and out. The nice part that you can’t see as we finish off the outer shell of this bad boy is thers going to be Kevlar and aramid reinforced panels in the toe as well as the low and lateral side of the heel and around towards the inside. Heat transfer an additional abrasion resistance you can take a bad spill at 90 miles an hour skid on the side of these bad boys and you’re not going to get that heat transferred to your foot you’re going to do the additional abrasion resistance of the Kevlar which adds to the slide ability of this boot. Again, that’s the thought process in a handmade boot from Bavaria, from a boot company that just makes boots again I think they made 80 thousand powers of boots last year for the entire world and that’s it. Top of the food chain Rolls Royce touring boots. Moving into the guts let’s talk about why you’d use these two zippers but let’s go in one step further. Let’s fold this inside down you can see the padded backside of your shift panel now I have an inner bootie design now it’s not a removable inner bootie but it afords you some flexibility. The first thing you’re going to notice is that it’s suede across the top, it’s extremely comfortable whether you’re wearing a high sock or a short sock if this touches your skin is beautiful and your gore-tex liner with the gator that goes all the way up and has a nice stretch to it here’s your waterproofing. It’s completely double-walled from the outside. The cool part about this is think about your textile touring pants that might have an internal Gator or a waterproof liner. You could put that inside and put the outer boot over it then put your main pant leg down along the outside essentially creating four walls of protection from water getting in in really nasty weather climates. What they do this a lot in Europe is you could wear a leather touring Road pant inside the boot and then you could put the outer shell of the boot up outside of it, again creating that double gator design. The other cool part is that you have the elasticated bellows. We haven’t seen many manufacturers do this, but what you have in the back are these wings along the Achilles tendon. What it allows you to do when you put the leather of your pant inside the boot, whether you have a really beefy muscular calf or whether you’re putting a gator of your textile pant you have the ability to do it through the velcro and adjust how many circumferences you have for your leg. You can really adjust the way this is set up so that not only is it comfortable but you have plenty of room to get either your pant or a bigger more muscular calf inside the boot which is a really nice touch. If I look inside you’re going to notice thers wicking gore-tex liner, again soft at the top, soft throughout and that’s going to have a very basic shock absorbing footbed. I haven’t really hit on steel reinforced sole, I talked about it was a seven and a half on the stiff scale so it really doesn’t take much to break in it’s not an overly stiff boot but provides you with great feedback and it’s low profile enough. Reinforced composite sole with that steel shank and there’s a latex shock absorbing layer that goes all the way around the entire footbed and has two purposes, The first is it’s going to create vibration dampening so it’s a shock-absorbing when you’re walking on the boot and you’re sitting on the pegs. The other thing is that late that latex layer on the bottom allows for an additional layer of waterproofing between the sole the insole and the gore-tex liner so that’s going to get again give you another additional layer of protection from the outside elements. Remember you’re buying a boot like this that overtime is going to hold up, it’s an heirloom product it’s really widely regarded as a multi-season product that should last you season after season after season one cared for properly. To finishing things off you’re going to see on the bottom, it is a touring non-slip style oil-resistant stole from Daytona. Low-profile design but it has a great grip on it. Notice thers a little bit of an instep cut away to interface with your footpegs as well. I talked about the inner liner which you could always add your upgraded shock absorbing DR. Scholl’s to it if you really want to go that way, it’s very basic but again it’s very much reinforced. There’s a TPU liner for shock absorbing and with steel reinforcement, if you look hard on the inside of the boot. From a care and maintenance standpoint remember you never want to dry a wet boot from a direct heat source and I talked about the DWR on the outside like a nick wax that you could apply at a later date. If it starts to wear off but the gore-tex will always be waterproof. Again don’t use an oil, you’re never going to want to oil these because oil can clog the gore-tex membrane. Your best bet is that if it’s wet on the inside stuff it with newspaper, let it dry at room temperature and if it’s caked with mud on the outside give it a quick rinse and let it air dry. That’s the best way to care for a super premium high-end boots such as this using full grain leather from Daytona. And that my friends is going to conclude our touring and commuter boots gear guide. But remember, this is only the start of your journey.

Check Out Todays Best Deals

The post Best Motorcycle Touring Boots – Guaranteed appeared first on Motorcycle Gear 101.

[brightly-painted-canvas]

Francesco Gabbani - Italia 21 (translation and explanation)

So, this song was deleted from YT last week and I was very upset, since it’s one of those older songs from Francesco that made me instantly like him. I knew that it needed both a translation and a ‘paraphrase’ (like you would with a Latin version in high school LOL) to fully understand it and that took me SO LONG. It was very hard and I believe it’s still not complete yet: there’s something I still don’t get. But! The most is done and I hope you’ll like it!

This is “Italia 21″ (Italy 21).

I’m not sure if this song was already traslated, I’m just gonna post my version :D I’m not a professional translator so there might be some mistakes. I just hope to convey the message of the song to non-Italian speakers.

Uno. Pane e vino certo non ci manca Due. Neanche il sole in quest’Italia santa Tre. Una penisola col tacco a spillo Quattro. Tutti parlano, ci manca solamente il grillo One. We surely don’t lack bread and wine Two. Nor we lack the sun, in this holy Italy Three. A peninsula wearing an high heel Four. Everybody talks, last thing we need is the cricket

Notes:

- Bread, wine and sun are what Italy is known for in the entire world. So it’s religion, that’s why the ‘holy’ adjective. - Italy is said to be shaped like a boot. We also call the southern regions in Apulia “tacco” (heel). I believe the “high heel” reference is related to fashion, another thing we are known for worldwide. - We have a common saying: “Il paese è piccolo, la gente mormora” (it’s a small town, people talk) which means that basically in small communities everyone knows everything and always voices their opinions. Italy is pretty much like a big “small town” and everyone always likes to talk. We’re very good at talking and having all kind of opinions. - The “grillo” (cricket) reference is what made me instantly fall in love with this song right during the first listening. It’s pure genius. It has a double meaning: the first is related to the Jiminy Cricket (or Talking Cricket), a character from famous Italian author Carlo Collodi’s book “Pinocchio”. It basically says that since everybody likes to talk already, we really don’t need to hear from the Talking Cricket, known for being Pinocchio’s conscience and dispenser of good advices, but never listened to. The second reference I believe it’s about Beppe Grillo, infamous ex-comedian and now leader of political movement “Movimento Cinque Stelle” (the links lead to Wikipedia, if you’re curious about them). The most interesting thing is noticing how Francesco made a subtle criticism of this (known for being loud and obnoxious) politician by using a word play and a very ironic and cultured reference.

Cinque. San Gennaro, grazie che ci Sei! Sette. Senza di te che numeri giocherei? Otto. La nazione piscia controvento Nove. Ma noi siamo tutti fieri del Risorgimento Five. St. Januarius, thanks for exSIXting! Seven. Without you, which numbers would I bet? Eight. The nation pisses upwind Nine. But we are all proud of our Risorgimento Notes:

- St. Januarius is a very important saint in the Italian culture, especially in the Neapolitan area. The “number betting” thing is related to another popular tradition (mainly in Naples, I believe) consisting in praying the Saint to suggestions about which numbers to play at the Lottery. - Number six of this list is the “sei” at the end of the first line. Once again a word play: the word “six” is written and pronounced exactly like the second person singular of the “be” (essere) verb. - Another saying: “Chi piscia controvento si bagna i pantaloni” (who pisses upwind wets his own pants), which means “never take challenges too big for you”. Related to Italy I believe it may mean that we consider our nation much bigger and more influential than how it actually is and we take challenges way bigger than our real potential. Why is that? - Because we are conditioned by our long, rich history and heroical past. One example above all might have been Ancient Rome or the Reinaissance period, but Francesco wisely chose the Risorgimento: when Italy was reunited under the same flag and monarchy after a series of wars, battles and campaigns against foreign occupation. Why is that? Maybe once again to be very ironical about Italians being actually proud of being united in one country, since there are still a lot of differences and fights between North and South.

Dieci. Chi svolta il mese con il contagocce Undici. A chi la polpa e a chi le bucce Dodici. Per fortuna arriva il 1° maggio Tredici. Abbiamo tante, tante fave ma non c’è il formaggio

Ten. Those who turn the month in dribs and drabs Eleven. Some get the pulp and some the peels Twelve. Luckily, the 1st of May always arrives Thirteen. We’ve got lots and lots of beans but we haven’t got the cheese

Notes:

- “Svoltare il mese con il contagocce” (turning the month with the tear dropper) and “a chi la polpa e a chi le bucce” are there to express how the economy has a lot of flaws in Italy, especially in the relation between riches (who has got the “pulp”, the money and wellness) and poors (the ones having difficulties gaining enough to live by, month after month). - The 1st of May is International Work Day and it’s an holiday. It’s also sometimes used as a “middle point” during the working year. - Fave e pecorino (broad beans and sheep cheese) is a typical dish of Central Italy and Rome in particular. It’s a 1st of May tradition to eat them together, especially because since it’s an holiday and it’s Spring, people used to go have trips and pic-nics in the countryside, where they bought beans and cheese directly from the farmers. Francesco is using the dish as another way of saying we’ve got the side dish (vegetable or beans), the theories and good words, but we haven’t got the main course (the cheese), what matters.

Quattordici. C’è chi magna e non fa una piega Quindici. Ma alla fine cosa ce ne frega? Sedici. Tutti fermi, inizia la partita Diciassette porta sfiga. Il corno in terra, cazzo! E’ già finita

Fourteen. There’s who eats and doesn’t bat an eye Fifteen. But in the end who cares? Sixteen. Everyone stay still, the game is on Seventeen brings bad luck. The lucky horn on the floor, fuck! It’s already over

Notes:

- I am having some difficulties pin-pointing where the first sentence is from. It looks like another saying (”magna” is generally the dialect version of “mangia” and it’s mostly associated with Roman dialect) but I’ve never heard anything similar (it might be because I am from Northern Italy, tho). Anyway “non fare una piega” litterally translates to “don’t make a wrinkle” and it’s used both to say that something makes complete sense or that someone has absolute no reaction to something. So basically who eats (presumably those rich people from the previous verse?) doesn’t care about anything/anyone else and/or no one questions it. - “Cosa ce ne frega” is, imho, the best way to describe the Italian attitude toward problems. It basically means “what do WE care?” with a very personal connotation. How do you solve unsolvable (or very hard) problems? Whatever, who cares anyway... not our business. - Italians love football and that’s common knowledge. To quote Winston Churchill: “Italians lose wars as if they were football matches, and football matches as if they were wars.” So true, Winston. - We are also very supertitious. The cornetto is one of the many objects believed to be lucky charms. I have no idea why you have to put it on the ground, tho? (Neapolitans, explain please!). The number 17 is also believed to be very unlucky (that’s why you need a corno to nullify its powers. But while you complete the rituals, you get distracted and the match ends!)

Diciotto. Viva l’Italia col microfono in mano Diciannove. Canto anch’io che sono un italiano Venti. Un bel bicchiere di rosso e due pennette Ventuno. Due cazzeggi all’osteria e un Tressette (Osteria numero sette! *paraponzi ponzi pò* Il salame piace a fette dammela a me, biondina dammela a me, biondà!)

Eighteen. Long live Italy with a microphone in the hand Nineteen. I sing I’m an Italian as well Twenty. One fine glass of red (wine) and some penne Twentyone. Some messing around at the pub and a round of Tressette (Pub number seven! *paraponzi ponzi pò* Salami is good cut in slices give it to me, pretty blonde girl give it to me, blondie!)

Notes:

- Pretty sure the “Italia con il microfono in mano” is a reference to Sanremo, the most famous singing competition in Italy. It may also mean in general everything that has to do with Italian music, tho. Something along the line of “long live Italian music!”, even though his relationship with the industry at the time wasn’t the best and he had struggles surfacing as an artist. Would he ever imagine, at the time, that he would win Sanremo two years in a row? Bless you, Francesco. - A quote from the famous “L’italiano” song by Toto Cutugno. Just like “Italia 21″ that song too was an attempt to describe Italy and the Italians from within. Another fun fact: Toto is the last Italian singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest. Is this a lot of foreshadowing or not? (Maybe too much!) - A glass of wine and pasta. What’s better? Here’s a quick and easy prescription to happiness, by every Italian ever. - “Cazzeggio” is litterally “a thing done with one’s dick” and means messing around, having fun with friends by basically doing nothing. Tressette is a popular card game in Italy. - What follows is something we call stornello, a type of folk song which basically has a standard melody and ever changing lyrics. They are usually very funny, irreverent and sexual. “La canzone delle osterie” is famous everywhere and Francesco used it to end the song in the most carefree way. - He rhymed “sette” with “fette” but I really don’t know how to explain if “salami is good cut in slices” is a sexual reference. Salami can definitely be associated with something sexual (c’mon...) but I have no clue about the rest. I’m an innocent soul XD - “Give it to me” is DEFINITELY sexual. Especially referred to a pretty blonde girl XD That too is usually part of the standard stornello lyrics ;)

Wow, this took SO LONG. I hope it helped understand this song in depth, even though something is still obscure even to me, after translating and spending a lot of time looking things up on the internet. Have fun find other interpretations, maybe? ;)

[morganh1066-blog]

why the historicity of the jesus character is poor

did the jesus character really exist?

keep in mind that i'm not saying that this character 100% didn't exist. i'm saying that it's extremely unlikely due to the lack of credible evidence. it is fallacious to say that because something is possible that it is therefore probable. i'll answer this in multiple posts, and they will be a bit long, but give it some patience, and i'll describe it in as much depth as i can.

historically the question on the historicity isn't anything new, there have been a number of people who have doubted the credibility of the proposed data. the scholarly research into the idea that the jesus character wasn't real goes back to the 1700s with Volney and Dupuis. There's also Bauer, Remsberg, W.B. Smith, Arthur Drews, Couchoud, Bolland, Allegro, GA Wells, Richard Carrier, Robert Price, Thomas Brodie, and Doherty

the main point is that *there is absolutely no direct evidence or primary sources for the character. * it never wrote anything, no one who met the character wrote anything about it, thus all of the proposed evidence is secondary at best and hearsay.

the people i have communicated with have brought up a number of people's writing as "proof." in particular:

Mara Bar Serapion (prisoner awaiting execution), Clement of Rome, 2 Clement4, Ignatius, Josephus  (Jewish historian), Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Didache, Barnabas,  Shepherd of Hermas,  Fragments of Papias,  Tacitus (Roman historian),  Lucian  (Greek satirist), Justin Martyr,  Aristides,  Athenagoras,  Theophilus of Antioch,  Quadratus,  Aristo of Pella, Phlegon (freed slave who wrote histories), Melito of Sardis, Diognetus, Gospel of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, Epistula Apostolorum, Celsus  (Roman philosopher), Pliny the Younger (Roman politician), Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Truth, Apocryphon of John, Treatise, Suetonius, Thallus, gospels: Matt, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and the reference to tiberius

first off, the gospels themselves are not valid forms of biography.

_"Paul did not write the letters to Timothy to Titus or several others published under his name; and it is unlikely that the apostles Matthew, James, Jude, Peter and John had anything to do with the canonical books ascribed to them."_ -- Michael D. Coogan, Professor of religious studies at Stonehill College (Bible Review, June 1994)

_"The Gospel authors were Jews writing within the midrashic tradition and intended their stories to be read as interpretive narratives, not historical accounts."_ -- Bishop Shelby Spong, Liberating the Gospels

_"Other scholars have concluded that the Bible is the product of a purely human endeavor, that the identity of the authors is forever lost and that their work has been largely obliterated by centuries of translation and editing."_ -- Jeffery L. Sheler, “Who Wrote the Bible,” (U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 10, 1990)

_"Yet today, there are few Biblical scholars– from liberal skeptics to conservative evangelicals- who believe that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John actually wrote the Gospels. Nowhere do the writers of the texts identify themselves by name or claim unambiguously to have known or traveled with Jesus."_ -- Jeffery L. Sheler, “The Four Gospels,” (U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 10, 1990)

_"The bottom line is we really don’t know for sure who wrote the Gospels."_ -- Jerome Neyrey, of the Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Mass. in “The Four Gospels,” (U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 10, 1990)

_"So unreliable were the Gospel accounts that 'we can now know almost nothing concerning the life and personality of Jesus.' "_ -- Rudolf Bultmann, University of Marburg, the foremost Protestant scholar in the field in 1926

_"The gospels are very peculiar types of literature. They’re not biographies."_ -- Paula Fredriksen, Professor and historian of early Christianity, Boston University (in the PBS documentary, From Jesus to Christ, aired in 1998)

_"The gospels are not eyewitness accounts."_ -- Allen D. Callahan, Associate Professor of New Testament, Harvard Divinity School

the other very important fact is that there is no contemporaneous historical account of the jesus character. there are first century historians that never mention the jesus character at all:

*seneca*: 4bce-65ce *pliny the elder*: 23-79 *quintilian*: 39-96 *epictetus*: 55-135 *martial*: 38-103 *juvenal*: 55-127 *plutarch*: 46-119 *philo-judaeus*: 15bce-50ce

some of the dead sea scrolls were contemporaneous and they don't mention the character either.

next i’ll discuss the books of the new testament.

================================

here is the list of the books in the new testament:

_*writer       book*_ *matt*       matt *mark*      mark *luke*       luke                   acts *john*       john                   I john                   II john                   III john                   revelation *peter*     I peter                   II peter *james*    james *jude*       jude *paul*       romans                   philipians                   I timothy                   II timothy                   I corinthians                   II corinthians                   colossians                   titus                   I thessalonians                   II thessalonians                   philemon                   galatians                   ephesians *undetermined*    hebrews

note that paul appears to have written pretty much half of these books and according to *galatians 1:11-12* he clearly states that he didn't get this information from a man, but rather from revelation.

*matt*: not able to confirm author. _written in the 80s_. (ehrman, lost christianities: the battles for scripture and the faiths we never knew [oup2003], p235) no original manuscripts are in existence. could not have been an eyewitness as written far after the supposed death (einar thomassen, " 'forgery' in the new testament," in the invention of sacred tradition, ed. james r lewis and olav hammer [cambridge: cambridge university press, 2007], p141)

*mark*: not able to confirm author. _written 70-75._  no original manuscripts are in existence. not an eyewitness as per matt reference

*luke, acts*: not able to confirm author. _written in the 80s._ no original manuscripts are in existence.not an eyewitness as per matt reference

*john, I john, II john, III john, revelation*: not able to confirm author. however it is the only gospel that gives a clue that the actual author could have been john (john 21:20-24). _written in the 90s._ no original manuscripts are in existence. not an eyewitness as per matt reference.

*I peter, II peter*: not able to confirm author. _written about 80-90_ [Stanton, Graham. Eerdmans Commentary of the Bible. Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 2003.]  considered to be "wisdom literature."  Many scholars are convinced that Peter was not the author. (Achtemeier, Paul. Peter 1 Hermeneia. Fortress Press. 1996)  authorship of 1 Peter remains contested. (Travis B. Williams (1 November 2012). Persecution in 1 Peter: Differentiating and Contextualizing Early Christian Suffering. BRILL. pp. 28–. ISBN 978-90-04-24189-3. Retrieved 1 April 2013.)

*james*: not able to confirm author, considered to be pseudonymous. considered to be written in the last 1st and first 2nd century ("Epistle of James". Early Christian Writings. Retrieved 16 May 2012.) _The earliest extant manuscripts of James usually date to the mid-to-late third century._ (McCartney, Dan G (2009). Robert W Yarbrough and Robert H Stein, ed. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: James. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.)

*jude*: _written at the end of the 1st century_. Although some scholars consider the letter a pseudonymous work written between the end of the 1st century and the first quarter of the 2nd century, arguing from the references to the apostles (jude 17&18), and tradition (jude 3). and the book's competent Greek style, conservative scholars date it between 66 to 90 (Norman Perrin, (1974) The New Testament: An Introduction, p. 260 and Bauckham,RJ (1986), Word Biblical Commentary, Vol.50, Word (UK) Ltd. p.16-17)

*attributed to paul*: romans, philipians,  I timothy,  II timothy, I corinthians, II corinthians, colossians, titus, I thessalonians, II thessalonians, philemon, galatians, ephesians. thessalonians is usually dated to 49 ce, but later ones are mid 60s. paul, by his own witness was not an eye-witness of the jesus character as stated in galatians 1:11-12. no originals are in existence. the earliest are some from 200 (Ehrman, Bart (2005) Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, Harper SanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-073817-0. page 60)

*hebrews*: author unknown. _written around 80_. no original manuscript is in existence.

bruze metzger wrote: *"none of the original documents is extant, and the existing copies differ from one another."* (Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, 1992) the earliest manuscripts date back to 125 to 400, and none of those are originals.

incidentally, bart ehrman considers that  11 or more books out of the 27 books of the new testament were written as forgeries and that the "New Testament books attributed to Jesus’ disciples could not have been written by them because they were illiterate." the article continues to say that ehrman believes that _"Many of the New Testament’s forgeries were manufactured by early Christian leaders trying to settle theological feuds."_ (*"Half of New Testament forged, Bible scholar says".* CNN. 2011. retrieved 1 25 14)

ehrman continues to say that these are the forged books: Acts of the Apostles, First Epistle of Peter, Second Epistle of Peter, Epistle of James, Epistle of Jude, First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy, Epistle of Paul to Titus, Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, and the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians.

thus from this information, with no original documents in existence, none of the manuscripts is a primary source for the sole purpose of evaluating the historicity of the jesus character.

next, i'll show the "proofs" outside of the bible

==========================

now regarding the "proofs" outside of the bible that people have frequently presented to me:

1    Mara Bar Serapion (prisoner awaiting execution) 2    Clement of Rome 3    2 Clement4 4    Ignatius 5    Josephus  (Jewish historian) 6    Polycarp 7    Martyrdom of Polycarp 8    Didache 9    Barnabas 10    Shepherd of Hermas 11    Fragments of Papias 12    Tacitus (Roman historian) 13    Lucian  (Greek satirist) 14    Justin Martyr 15    Aristides 16    Athenagoras 17    Theophilus of Antioch 18    Quadratus 19    Aristo of Pella 20    Phlegon (freed slave who wrote histories) 21    Melito of Sardis 22    Diognetus 23    Gospel of Peter 24    Apocalypse of Peter 25    Epistula Apostolorum 26    Celsus  (Roman philosopher) 27    Pliny the Younger (Roman politician) 28    Gospel of Thomas 29    Gospel of Truth 30    Apocryphon of John 31    Treatise. 32    Suetonius 33    Thallus

gospels: 34    Matt 35    Mark 36    Luke 37    John 38    Paul

39    reference to tiberius

what's also important is to not fall into the fallacy of mistaking *quantity over quality.* this is akin to two wrongs making a right. it needs to be *quality over quantity.*

so let's start with #39, tiberius:

that someone says another person lived during the time of the supposed character but that the person never wrote about the character is not proof. you have to have the writing about the character for there to actually be contemporaneous evidence. until then it's just claimed contemporaneous _*existence.*_  NOT evidence.

and let's go to 34-38. the gospels. and paul.

These are a few of the quotes regarding the gospels as non-historical accounts like i had mentioned before:

_"The Gospel authors were Jews writing within the midrashic tradition and intended their stories to be read as interpretive narratives, not historical accounts."_ -- Bishop Shelby Spong, Liberating the Gospels

_"The gospels are very peculiar types of literature. They’re not biographies."_ -- Paula Fredriksen, Professor and historian of early Christianity, Boston University (in the PBS documentary, From Jesus to Christ, aired in 1998)

_"The gospels are not eyewitness accounts."_ -- Allen D. Callahan, Associate Professor of New Testament, Harvard Divinity School

_"the gospels are very peculiar types of literature. they're not biographies. I mean, there are all sorts of details about jesus that they're simply not interested in giving us. they are a kind of religious advertisement. what they do is proclaim their individual author's interpretation of the christian message through the device of using jesus of nazareth as a spokesperson for the evangelists's position"_ -- religious scholar and historian (paula fredriksen, pbs, "paula fredriksen: religious advertisements," accessed 2/4/12)

gospel "proof":

#34: *matt*: not able to confirm author. _written in the 80s_. (ehrman, lost christianities: the battles for scripture and the faiths we never knew [oup2003], p235) no original manuscripts are in existence. could not have been an eyewitness as written far after the supposed death (einar thomassen, " 'forgery' in the new testament," in the invention of sacred tradition, ed. james r lewis and olav hammer [cambridge: cambridge university press, 2007], p141)

#35: *mark*: not able to confirm author. _written 70-75._  no original manuscripts are in existence. not an eyewitness as per matt reference

#36: *luke, acts*: not able to confirm author. _written in the 80s._ no original manuscripts are in existence.not an eyewitness as per matt reference

#37: *john, I john, II john, III john, revelation*: not able to confirm author. however it is the only gospel that gives a clue that the actual author could have been john (john 21:20-24). _written in the 90s._ no original manuscripts are in existence. not an eyewitness as per matt reference.

#38: *attributed to paul*: romans, philipians,  I timothy,  II timothy, I corinthians, II corinthians, colossians, titus, I thessalonians, II thessalonians, philemon, galatians, ephesians. thessalonians is usually dated to 49 ce, but later ones are mid 60s. paul, by his own witness was not an eye-witness of the jesus character as stated in galatians 1:11-12. no originals are in existence. the earliest are some from 200 (Ehrman, Bart (2005) Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, Harper SanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-073817-0. page 60)

the gospels make no mention that the name of the gospel was written by that person. these are written far after the death of the jesus character, and thus is hearsay. none of these people ever met the jesus character.

hearsay is not credible evidence.

and now on to #1-#33 non-biblical "proofs:"

*#1:* Mara Bar Serapion (prisoner awaiting execution).  the reference to the "crucifixion" was written 73 AD does not show direct evidence but just proves that people talked about it. he could have been talking about santa claus, but that doesn't mean it would be true.

*#2:* Clement of Rome. his papacy was between 92-99. he never met the character.

*#3:* 2 Clement4. this character is in the new testament. modern scholars believe 2 clement is written around 95-140 by an anonymous author.

*#4:* Ignatius. never met the jesus character. (from 98 to 117)

*#5:* Josephus  (Jewish historian). born after the supposed death of the characer. never met the jesus character. this only confirms that christians existed. this is not direct evidence; it is hearsay

*#6:* Polycarp. was a 2nd-century Christian bishop of Smyrna. never met the character.

*#7:* Martyrdom of Polycarp. from 155-160. this is well outside the life of the supposed jesus character. it just proves that christians existed.

*#8:* Didache.  late first and early 2nd century.

*#9:* Barnabas. never anywhere does it say that barnabas met the jesus character. and amusingly, there's another book called, the "gospel of barnabas" which is a post-medieval manuscript that says that the jesus character wasn't even the son of god and that it never died on the cross. dating on it is disputed, but it's post-medieval

*#10:* Shepherd of Hermas.  first or second century. in the document it never states that the character ever met the jesus character.

*#11:* Fragments of Papias. who died in AD 155. never met the jesus character.

*#12:* Tacitus (Roman historian) 56-133. born after the supposed death of the characer. never met the jesus character. this only again confirms that christians existed. this is not direct evidence; it is hearsay. rafael lataster writes, _"it is interesting that the name 'jesus', 'jesus son of joseph' or 'jesus of nazareth' is never used, and that this is tacitus' only supposed reference to jesus."_  he continues, _"though 'Annals' covers the period of rome's history from around 14ce to 66ce no other mention is made of 'jesus christ'."_ ehrman references this as well in "did jesus exist, p54. lataster, p61.

Tacitus writes in annals, book 15, chapter 44, *written 116 ad:* _“Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”_

*most importantly tacitus was born 20 years after the supposed death of the character and lived 2000 miles away and wrote the passage in 116. So as for the two sentences attributed to tacitus' to be a source to without a doubt to clinch it for the jesus character to actually exist, it's not going to be with tacitus.*

notice also that it was *written 116 ad.* this is almost 100 years after the supposed death of the jesus character. We have no primary sources for Tacitus only *copies or copies* that were *written centuries later.* To suggest that these are word for word copies of the original are absurd considering the considerable christian forgeries during that time.

This passage is also not any different or a more credible source for the jesus character than for me writing in 2014 on Mormonism, "the great golden plates were delivered unto joseph smith as told by moroni" just because i went to school 23.5 miles away from palmyra new york doesn't make it any more plausible.

johannes weiss, the german theologian wrote, _*“Assuredly there were the general lines of even a purely fictitious Christian tradition already laid down about the year 100; Tacitus may therefore draw upon this tradition” *_

german theologian david strauss wrote that the earliest christian communities reworded the gospels to suit local prejudices. hegel noted that christian doctrine kept changing to suit power hierarchy. forgery in the early church was rampant and nothing new.

the contradictions are rampant with regard to the completely missing mention of christianity in book 5 chapters 8 through 10 of the annals that describe judea at the supposed time of the jesus character. *they make no mention of the crucifiction of the jesus character as described in the dubious book 15 chapter 44 two sentences.*

What's more is in the annals of chapters 8-10 makes not even a mention of christians, christianity or the jesus character at all.  and all of these references are from writings that are not primary sources as the originals are no longer extant and all we have are copies of copies.

In the tacitus' histories book 5.2-5 he rationalies the greek-roman myths by believing that zeus and kronos were kings. So we're not particularly dealing with someone who could separate fact from fiction.

and with these glaring contradictions, we can thoroughly question the credibility of the claim that the *mere two sentences* attributed to tacitus in any way corroborates anything about the life of a jesus figure's historicity.

We still have no contemporary sources for the existence of the jesus character, nothing written by the character, and especially nothing written about the tons of people that flocked to the character whether or not the character was miraculous or not.

*we want evidence; distinct, obvious, uncompromised evidence.* That is a reasonable request. we want evidence not based on hearsay accounts or ambiguous and slightly dubious sources. Evidence that is not just being argued to fit a narrative that is devoid of any contemporary evidence. then I will change my opinion. but until then, it doesn't matter at all how many times you bang the drum of an appeal to authority or populace or through abusive ad hom call those that require unabiguous evidence "delusional."

*#13:* Lucian  (Greek satirist). *lucian (Greek satirist)* -- 125-180. born after the supposed death of the characer. never met the jesus character. this once again only confirms that christians existed. this is not direct evidence; it is hearsay.

*#14:* Justin Martyr. 100 – 165 Ad. he never met the jesus character.

*#15:* Aristides. do you mean "aristides the athenian"  who was born in the 2nd century ad or do you mean aelius aristides (117-181)? neither of these people met the jesus character.

*#16:* Athenagoras.  born 133 ad in greece. never met the character.

*#17:* Theophilus of Antioch. died around 183-185. never met the jesus character.

*#18:* Quadratus. again, born way late in the first century, and died 129. never met the jesus character. *#19:* Aristo of Pella.  from 100-160, who is only known because of a mention by eusebius.

*#20:* Phlegon (freed slave who wrote histories).  who lived in the 2nd century AD. born after the supposed death of the characer. never met the jesus character.

*#21:* Melito of Sardis. mid 2nd century.

*#22:* Diognetus. late 2nd century.

*#23:* Gospel of Peter.  this is actually in the bible, so it's not, "outside the new testament." *I peter, II peter*: not able to confirm author. _written about 80-90_ [Stanton, Graham. Eerdmans Commentary of the Bible. Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 2003.]  considered to be "wisdom literature."  Many scholars are convinced that Peter was not the author. (Achtemeier, Paul. Peter 1 Hermeneia. Fortress Press. 1996)  authorship of 1 Peter remains contested. (Travis B. Williams (1 November 2012). Persecution in 1 Peter: Differentiating and Contextualizing Early Christian Suffering. BRILL. pp. 28–. ISBN 978-90-04-24189-3. Retrieved 1 April 2013.)

*#24:* Apocalypse of Peter.  this is from the 2nd century. way after the death of the supposed character. this does not corroborate anything.

*#25:* Epistula Apostolorum. also from the 2nd century.

*#26:* Celsus  (Roman philosopher). 2nd-century Greek philosopher. born after the supposed death of the character. never met the jesus character. this is not direct evidence; it is hearsay

*#27:* Pliny the Younger (Roman politician). 61-112 born after the supposed death of the character. never met the jesus character. this is not direct evidence; it is hearsay.

*#28:* Gospel of Thomas. Heretical Writings Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Truth, Apocryphon of John, and Treatise on resurrection. this is very nice, but most scholars state that thomas was written in the second century.

*#29:* Gospel of Truth. Was written in greek probably between 140 and 180 by valentinian gnostics. (Attridge, Harold W. and MacRae, George W. "The Gospel of Truth (Introduction and Translation)". The Nag Hammadi Library, James M. Robinson (ed.), pp. 38-51.)  the text puts "error" in personified form. and says that the jesus character was sent down by god to remove ignorance. error grew angry that the jesus character confounded scribes and teachers and nailed the jesus character to a tree. bit of a different story there.

*#30:* Apocryphon of John. written in 185. it was referred to by irenaeus in "adversus haereses" and stated that teachers in the 2nd century were producing an "an indescribable number of secret and illegitimate writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish people, who are ignorant of the true scriptures" (adversus haereses 1.20.1 and Pagels 2003:96)

*#31:* Treatise. not exactly sure what this is referring to. the book of acts refers to the gospel of luke as "the former treatise." if this is the case, it is not non-biblical. luke and acts do not have a confirmed author. _written in the 80s._ no original manuscripts are in existence.not an eyewitness as per matt reference.

*#32:* Suetonius.  aside from seutonius not being a contemporary of the jesus character, only wrote, "since the jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of chrestus, he expelled them from rome." (seutonius and jc rolfe, the lives of the caesars, vol 2[london: heinemann, 1914, life of claudius 25.4]) chrestus is a greek name, meaning "the good," so does not necessarily have to refer to the jesus character. note that christians are also not specified, though many early christians were undoubtedly jews. this passage offers little to no information about the jesus of nazareth character.

*#33:* Thallus. lived in the third century. born after the supposed death of the character. never met the jesus character. it's just a reference that 9th century christian chronologer george syncellus wrote, "Thallus calls this darkness an eclipse of the Sun in the third book of his Histories."  this is ultimately not non-christian reference as syncellus wrote it.

nothing in the dead sea scrolls, btw, which actually was contemporaneous!

and lastly the talmud which some christians reference:  there are a number of reference to various character called "jesus" (specifically from the "gemara") which may or may not reference the jesus character of nazareth. the gemara is actually from the 5th or 6th century which is 400-500 years after the death of the supposed character. there are other jesuses refered to in josephus as well, such as , "jesus ben pandira," jesus bar phabet,” and “jesus bar gamaliel." the name “jesus” was a very common name. nothing to directly connect to the jesus of nazareth character.

there is no additive truths here, that the more fractional truths add up to an actual truth. you can have a bunch of people pretending that santa claus was real and the more people saying it's true doesn't make it any more true due the the fallacy of appealing to populace.  don't mistake quantity over quality and make two wrongs make a right.

and that something must have been amazing to cause people to write so much after the fact is not evidence either. it just made it an ad hoc popular idea. and evidence from silence is still silence not evidence.

there's also a quote from historian robert wilken:

_"when christianity gained control of the roman empire it suppressed the writings of its critics and even cast them into flames."_ (robert louis wilken, the christians as the romans saw them, [new haven, ct: yale university press, 2003] p xvi)

so there's some censorship for ya of critics of christianity. what they complained about we'll never know either.

next i will discuss the problem of the jesus character not fullfilling the prophecies. these are not at all related to proofs for the historical existence of the jesus character but internal criticism (relating just within the bible itself).

=============================

this is the last post of why the evidence (or lack of evidence) suggest that the jesus character very likely didn't exist. these are not at all related to proofs for the historical existence of the jesus character but internal criticism (relating just within the bible itself).

as for if the character even fulfilled the prophecies that's another problem and let's go over that, too:

and according to the jews, the jesus character doesn't fulfill the prophecies. specifically, the bible says he will:    Build the Third Temple -- *Ezekiel 37:26-28*    Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel -- *Isaiah 43:5-6*    Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." -- *Isaiah 2:4*    Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world ― on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" -- *Zechariah 14:9*

If an individual fails to fulfill even one of these conditions, then he cannot be the Messiah. none of these has been fulfilled.

and that this deity which cannot support any burden of proof of itself either sends this message of a mortal son to illiterate bronze age idiots instead of people who could actually make written testimony of it like china for example.

Sin is an imaginary disease that was invented to sell you an imaginary cure. it's the essence of marketing. and the outlandish cures are snake oil cures.

even the old testament doesn't allow for the scapegoat: Deut 24:16 states "Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin."

Exodus 32:30-34 shows that the deity refuses to make a scapegoat of moses:  The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

ezekiel 18:1-4 shows that the deity refuses to make scapegoats, each shall take responsibility for their actions:  "guilty he word of the Lord came to me:  “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die."

and then of course there's the point that the jesus character was a total commie, " sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven." *luke 18:22, mark 10:21, matt 19:21. *

horrible family values of the jesus character: _"... i have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother in law and one's foes will be members of one's own household"_ -- matt 10:35-36; luke 12:52-53

more horrible family values of the jesus character: _"whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me"_ -- matt 10:37

and even more bad family values of leaving one's own family: _"another said, 'i will follow you lord; but let me first say farewell to those at home.' jesus said to him 'no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of god"_ -- luke 9:61-62

we all are a better example of this so-called savior who wants people to abandon their family.

and great forgotten teachings that no one follows: _".. anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery"_ -- matt 5:32; 19:9; mark 10:11-12; luke 16:18

this immoral character is not only not likely to be real, but is an horrible example of any kind of idol one should ever follow.

and after all of that, 1 cor 15:14, _"... if christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."_