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whump-a-la-mode · 4 years ago

Text

Villainsicle | Part 10

Okay so I know I said I was going to write backstory. But hear me out. I forgot.

On this episode: Will Medic ever make a good choice. Will Villain ever get comfort? Like, ever? Probably not!

Taglist:

@whatwhumpcomments

@sola-whumping

@professional-idiocy

@trappedgoose-in-a-writblr-room

@literally-just-kirby

@teachunks

CW//Superhero whump, villain whumpee, conditioned whumpee, drugging, dehumanization, restraints, muzzles, choke chains, collars, pet whump (kinda), conditioning, forced sedation, just an absolutely unhealthy amount of caffeine

Medic watched as Villain calmed.

They sat on a chair, a simple plastic one, near their patient’s bedside as the various scattered monitors reported on the situation. On the left, the heart rate monitor diligently beeped as a nervous, rapid heartbeat turned to one far more steady. On the other side of the room, the breathing monitor reported much of the same-- shallow breaths grew deeper, slower.

The doctor kept their gaze fixed on those displays until their readings were to their liking. Until they were certain that their patient was asleep.

They glanced over to the bed, in the center of the room. Its occupant’s skin was nearly pale enough to blend in with the white sheets on which they lay. Ever so slightly, they twitched in their sleep, struggling unconsciously against the padded restraints securing their wrists to the bed frame. Such a measure was likely unnecessary, but it meant that Medic had one less concern. Their already-weakened patient wouldn’t be going anywhere, not anytime soon.

With a sigh, they braced their hands against their thighs and stood.

They hadn’t been especially concerned about Villain’s escape in the first place. The captive had learnt their lesson from their earlier escape attempts, certainly, and their weakened, nervous state didn’t hurt. Besides, the base was built as a maze. Any escape attempt wouldn’t go very far.

This wasn’t about that, though.

Medic took one last glance at the monitors before pushing open the steel door to the room, not so much as bothering to lock it. It was late--far past midnight, at this point. Far past the hour at which the others retired to their quarters. The only other waking souls in the building would be the few scattered guards, and perhaps Leader, pacing in their office.

That wouldn’t be a problem, though.

Ensuring that their footsteps stayed quiet, Medic moved through the labyrinthine halls. They passed their quarters, and Leader’s office, moving further and further into the base’s core. They did not stop until turning down a barren hallway, at which point they at last halted, before a door marked with little more than a simple plate.

“Lab,” it was labelled.

It had been too long since they’d been able to visit. In the early days of the resistance, it was where they had spent nearly every last second of their time. Now, there were far too many injuries to treat. Far too many reports to make. They hardly had time to sleep, much less time to return to their old stomping ground.

Medic slid a key into the lock, and entered.

The room was barren. Other than the thin layer of dust that seemed to coat every surface, it was immaculately clean. Every last device had been put away, secured in the various meticulously labelled cupboards. The only object remaining on the tables was a computer-- a simple laptop.

The only thing Medic had taken with them.

They sat at a chair before the computer, prying it open. Some of the dust had even managed to sip in beneath the device’s lid, coating the screen and keyboard. A quick swipe of the hand sent it, flying off into the air.

The laptop groaned for a moment, fighting to start up. When, at last, it did so, a familiar screensaver illuminated Medic’s face.

“Property of Organization. Unauthorized Use Is Unlawful.”

It was almost nostalgic.

They entered their password, smiling as the desktop appeared before them, scattered with folders and files and memos. Selecting the right one was almost muscle memory.

Again, the computer whirred, struggling to remember the contents of the old file. After a few seconds of waiting, at last, the video sprung onto the screen.

Medic had no concern about Villain’s escape. No, they knew such a thing was impossible. This was why they had waited for them to fall asleep. So they wouldn’t see this.

It was going to be a long night, they knew that. The black coffee they had drank would ensure Medic would be awake for all of it-- the Secobarbital they had mixed in Villain’s food would ensure the exact opposite.

The video was old, its file having been passed between far too many computers and flashdrives. The quality was starting to fray around the edges.

Medic couldn’t care less.

They pressed play, and after a moment of digital whining, the first video began.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Counselor looked up as, with a thud, a cup was placed on the table in front of them. The smell of coffee overwhelmed their senses a moment later.

“It’s decaf.” Hero’s voice came. “You look like you could use the sleep.”

“Thank you.” Counselor smiled, picking up the still-scorching coffee and taking a sip, even as it threatened to burn their tongue. It was black, without a hint of sugar or milk-- not the way they usually took it, but right now, they could hardly care less.

Hero sat down across the table from them, a can of Sprite in hand, in place of his own coffee. Sweat glued their bangs to their forehead.

“You okay?” They raised a brow at Counselor.

“Hm? Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” They tried at another smile, though this one came off far weaker. “Where have you been? I’ve hardly seen you.”

“Leader’s had me off on missions. Four in a row. I’d be lying if I said I’m not tired, too.”

“You just got back from one?” Counselor guessed, raising a brow.

“How did you know?”

“You look like you just ran a marathon.”

“Oh.” Hero laughed. “Yeah... I guess. What, uh, what are you up to? Leader said you’ve been sitting here for like, three hours.”

“You talked to them?”

“Yeah? Is... there something up with that?”

Counselor shook their head.

“No. I’m just- I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

“Maybe, then... It’s time to put the folders down and get some rest.”

Hero’s gaze turned to the manila yellow folders spread out in front of Counselor-- some marked with coffee stains on the edges.

“What’s in those, anyways?”

“Uh..” Counselor flipped through the folders; closing some, sliding them about, shifting papers between them, before finally flipping one of the folders around so that it faced Hero. “It’s about Villain.”

With those words, they flushed. They’d hardly been able to think about anything else but their captive, recently, and they had to admit that it was verging on becoming an obsession.

Hero pulled the folder closer, opening it and examining the papers within. There were hardly any. Most consisted of printed-out screenshots of security camera footage, or transcripts of radio communications, or emails.

“Leader isn’t really the record-keeping type.” Counselor began. “I think you know that. We have some stuff, though. Most of it is just kinda random, stuff we used once and then shoved in a box somewhere. This is all the records I’ve been able to find, about them. About Villain. We’ve only seen them a couple times, though... There’s not all too much to go off of.”

Hero furrowed their brow.

“Have you been able to find anything in these? I don’t, I mean I don’t want to be rude, but-- Counselor, these kind of all look like crap. There’s nothing here,”

Counselor flushed again, chuckling under their breath.

“I know. That’s the thing.” They dragged the folder back towards themself, flipping it back around. “I know we don’t really keep records, but, I thought there’d be something to go off of.”

“Is there something you’re... looking for?”

“I guess.” They closed the folder, putting it atop the rest of the manila files. “I mean, what do we know about them? Really. That’s not a rhetorical question.”

“Uhh...” Hero looked as though a light bulb had gone off above their head. “You have a good point. I mean... their name is Villain. They control technology. Uhh, they had people with them? Sometimes? Like, two of them.”

“And that’s it.” Counselor sighed. “We don’t know where they came from. We don’t know who they work for.”

“Do you...” Hero lowered their voice. “Do you think they work for Supervillain?”

“I guess it’s possible.” They dipped their head. “That’s the problem. We have no way of knowing. We don’t really know anything about them. I don’t... I don’t know how I’m supposed to help them. If I don’t know anything about them.”

“Help them?”

Counselor shook their head.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I- Help them with what?”

Counselor bit the inside of their cheek.

“They’re sick. Or something like that. There’s something wrong with them. They collapsed, the other day. Leader has given Medic full medical custody-- permission to do whatever they think is necessary. I want to help but... I don’t know how to help someone who may as well be a ghost.”

They’d expected a sympathetic nod, or some quiet words. They hadn’t expected Hero to push their chair back from the table.

“Well,” Hero began, “Who would know? Where do we start?”

“I-” The words woke Counselor up more than any coffee ever could. “I guess Villain would know. Unless they’re some kind of amnesiac, they’ve got to know their own past, right?”

“Right.”

“And then... Leader? Maybe? They seem to act so weird around Villain. Maybe they know something we don’t?”

“Makes sense to me. How about I talk to Leader, and you talk to Villain?”

“Well,” Counselor widened their eyes, averting their gaze, “I don’t know if Villain... I don’t know if they trust me. I don’t think they do. I can try, but...”

“Well, you won’t gain their trust by sitting here.” Hero raised a brow. “I’ll talk to Leader. You earn Villain’s trust. Okay?”

“Okay, uh, okay!”

The two stood at the same time. Counselor turned to leave, ignoring their coffee, but was stopped by Hero’s words:

“We’ll go do that, after you get some sleep.”

By the way they spoke it, Counselor knew that the demand was nonnegotiable.

“Fine.” They sighed. “Tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow. Sleep well, Counselor.”

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The video began.

Medic couldn’t say they recognized the person the screen depicted-- they had probably seen them before, once or twice, but their name eluded them.

They stood, straight-backed and grinning, in a room made of white tile on floor, walls, and ceiling. Their attire was confident-- they wore no armor or guards of any kind.

The only equipment they had was a leash.

The strip of leather attached to a collar-- one made of metal links, chained together, with inwards-facing spikes around the whole circumference. The choke chain was looped around the neck of a far less confident looking person, their jaw gritted against a muzzle and their eyes practically blazing with raging flame. The fact that their arms were tightly bound behind their back did not stop their attempts at struggling-- they yanked and growled against their bindings, despite wincing every time the spikes of the collar tore at their flesh.

“Hello.” The presenter smiled, as if they didn’t notice the grappling of their captive. Medic’s Latin skills were somewhat rusty, but they could still understand the speech, for the most part. “And welcome. If you’re watching this, then you have very likely found yourself assigned as a new handler for our Assets program.

Now, I understand that there has been considerable confusion regarding this program.”

The prisoner attempted to trip the presenter. A quick tug on the sharpened collar around their neck quickly stopped the attempt. Throughout, the presenter did not so much as break eye contact with the camera.

“The Asset program is a new endeavor. So far, we have had considerable success with various test cases. As such, Supervillain has advised that we expand our efforts.

As you are probably aware, the process of creating an Enhanced person is very complicated, and does not always work as planned. Unfortunately, not all those who go through the program end up being entirely themselves, or entirely loyal to Organization. Before, this was not a problem. However, now that we have lost the capability of creating new Enhanced, at least for the time being, we must work with what we have.”

With the hand that did not hold the leash, the presenter grabbed directly at their captive’s collar-- on the outside, where there were no spikes. They dragged them closer by their neck, until they were looking at the camera. The prisoner whined in pain against their muzzle, clearly struggling to breathe.

“Some of these Enhanced turn to our side easily, with enough incentive. Others, unfortunately, are far more stubborn. They are the focus of the Asset program.

Through the program, these unusable prisoners can be turned into valuable soldiers. Several victories have already been attributed to them.

I understand that this likely seems like quite the daunting task. But, in all truth, an Asset can be trained as easily as any dog. Through this video series, I will demonstrate how this can be done.”

With a smile, the presenter moved towards the camera.

“I’ll talk to you again in the next video. Bye!”

The video froze, and after a moment of whirring, another video appeared in its place. Medic clicked play.

#whump #whumpblr #whump community #hero villain whump #villain whumpee #conditioned whumpee #pet whump #powered whumpee #villainsicle #superhero villain #hero villain trope

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 5 years ago

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HASO “Leading the Witness.”

Alright guys, this is going on longer than I thought and way more detailed as well but its been interesting. Also I am sorry for the late update, my boss has me rolling quarters at work so I am trying to do that and write this in between.

Thank you to my discord member Eddi for the testing logs he wrote and that I am using as evidence in this story. He deserves all the credit for the well thought out and executed test logs.

WARNING: Graphic depictions of blood, gore, bodily mutilation and mentions of suicide. The Steel eye project development is very graphic, so if you wish to read, please skip the test logs, which will be bolded.

The room spun around him, and he took a few long, deep breaths hoping that it would stop.

He wast sure he could survive another few hours of this.

He wasn’t sure at all

He was sweating, and his body throbbed all over. Clammy hands gripped the sides of his chair as he sat straight backed in his seat. A line of cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck. Blood had long since drained from his face, and he wondered if he looked as sick as he felt half expecting the bailiff to walk over with a bucket or something. A part of him fancied he could feel every eye in the room staring at him. The prosecution was still talking, but he could barely hear them as his head spun around and around in circles, ears ringing.

The lights pulsed.

He jerked out of it as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He looked up, confused for a moment as he tried to figure out where he was, the room was partially tilted and it took him a moment to realise that he was slumped slightly to the side. Waffles had her head in his lap whimpering very softly.

“Adam, adam are you ok, do you need to step out.”

He lifted his head and turned to look at Admiral Kelly, who now sat beside him, a hand on his shoulder.

His ears were still ringing but not enough to realise that the court had stopped.

The lead judge had held up a hand to the prosecution and was looking directly at him.

Well… at least now the blood was rushing back to his head, and he could feel his ears burning, “Is everything alright, council?” The judge asked, “Does your witness need to step out.”

The lawyers turned to look at him, hints of both concern and concealed annoyance on their faces.

They looked at him expectantly.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, “No your honor. My apologies.”

His voice was surprisingly strong for someone who felt like he was about to pass out. The judge didn’t seem too annoyed at him, and looked on with some measure of concern. They whispered something to the nearby bailiff and then motioned the council to continue.

Admiral Kelly didn’t move seats keeping one hand on his shoulder. The bailiff walked over after things had started up again and sat next to them for a moment, “If you need to step out.” He whispered, “Take the side door to your right and someone will let you back in.”

He nodded, “Ill be alright, but…. Thank you.”

The man nodded and stood returning to the front of the room.

“As you can see, their first attempts at creating a proper drug cocktail to dull the pain of direct neural interface, was a complete disaster. Dr. Gladstone, assuming you were forced to use drugs instead of subdermal implants, how would you have gone about this? What is the proper procedure dictated by ethical state law.”

“Drug trials can take months to years, we test them on animals, rats monkeys and even inject them into synthetically grown human tissues and tube grown organs before we even test on animals. Each phase of testing can take up to eighteen months in clinical trials, and if the drug proves to be wrong we start over again.”

“Have you ever done phased drug testing on human subjects.”

“No, certainly not.”

“But of course they continued. May the prosecution present Experimental log 32 for For consideration by the court.”

Experimental log #32:

Over the past experiments we have been testing multiple drug mixtures to try and reduce the pain induced by the Direct neural interface our most recent tests have involved morphine much to our resident doctors discouragement it is one of the few drugs we have found capable of suppressing the pain induced by the direct neural interface. This test involves the use of an automatic dispenser controlled by the pain sensors in the arm.

The subject, as before has been sedated for the implantation of the test augmetic. This time however the drug reservoir has a direct link to the bloodstream.

-recording break-

The subject seems to be stable and moving around without much interference, although slightly lethargic and a little dopy due to the drugs.

We made sure to remove the augmetic well before the drug reservoir ran out. This seems to be successful and stable Several more tests are to be made to confirm this before moving on to the next stage.

“Dr, do you happen to know the laws in relation to the regulation and use of morphine during testing?”

The doctor nodded, “Morphine is heavily regulated even on the research level owing to its additive properties. Only doctors are allowed to prescribe it, and even then, the morphine dosages are regulated and reviewed by an internal board of directors. There is a cutoff point for the amount of morphine allowed for personal use,and the amount of morphine allowed for medical use. This cap can be broken if the board of directors determines the patient is terminal and in extreme pain.”

“How about for research purposes.”

“You can’t research with morphine, and you certainly cannot give it to a patient with no prior history of injury, or other medical conditions.”

“Thank you doctor, the prosecution wishes to present experimental log 34 to consideration.”

Experiential log #34:

Our continued experimentation has lead to the conclusion that stronger chemicals may be required to reduce the pain, one subjects auto-dispensary caused an overdose When the subject spent some time prodding and poking at the implant site it caused excruciating pain that was responded to by the auto dispensary by flooding the body with over 500milligrams of morphine. A stronger painkiller would mean lower doses are required thus avoiding an overdose. Despite our team's medical advisors continuing protests.

Prosecution turned to the judges, “You see here your honor that instead of considering the ethical questionability of their actions, they determined to use more morphine despite the overdose and even extend the use to even more potent drugs. These are not the actions of scientists who were considering ethics, or even the value of human life.”

“Objection your honor on conjecture about the thoughts of my client.”

The judge waved a hand, “It may pass.”

The defence took a seat.

The prosecution adjusted her tie, “Three people died as a result of these tests your honor. Marvin Dess, William Moseratt and Angela Vilgrin. Not once were the tests paused or delayed. Instead, they moved onto the next phase of testing.”

Adam was starting to feel a little better now. He wasn’t sweating so much and he had finally managed to even out his breathing.

“The prosecution would like to present experimental log 28.”

Experimental log #28

Calibration of the arm mounted augmetic seemed to proceed without error or difficulty, The drugs delivered through the internal reservoir developed by Dr. Nkosi renders the subject inured against the supposed pain induced by the augmetic. The primary tests we will be administering are of the use of high strength servo motors to power the augmeitc, reducing its weight and increasing the power behind the subjects rapid motions.

-Recording break-

The Reaction of the servo motors and torsion cables was far too extreme delivering significant damage and trauma to the subject, Further testing will have to be done and fine tuning of the suits will be needed.

Adam knew what was coming and tried to close his eyes and block out the sounds as the next visual log was projected before him.

Audio-visual log transcript:

The subject appears bleary and unresponsive. The augmentic is mounted on their right arm, supposedly their dominant one according to the research notes. The subject is drawn to attention by the scientist administering light taping on their cheek. Upon raising their arm the subject appears a little shocked at the size of the augmetic and the fact it is connected directly to an external power source, questioning the scientist on this who confirms it is just an experimental version. The augmetic appears to only be active on the elbow joint. The scientist appears to be requesting the subject extend his arm in an attempt to punch an invisible foe. Upon doing so the augmetic appears to cause an extreme reaction of force, resulting in not only damage to the subjects musculature, but outright stripping the subjects muscle tissues away from the bones, the pins seem to be functioning as anchor points as the subjects skin and muscles are removed from the skeletal structure. Functionally stripping the flesh away from the skeleton in a manner that can only be described as ‘glove like’. It appears that this area also contained the drug delivery interface as part way through the emergency removal of the upper section of the augmetic, the subject seemed to come out of the semi stupor and begin to register the damage done to themselves, screaming and becoming violent. It was only after the subject was re-drugged with the remaining contents of the drug reservoir that they calmed down.

His attempts to block out the sound do not stop him from hearing the hydraulic hiss, the tight whirr, and the horrific cracking popping noise as flesh is torn from bone. The screaming echoed around in his head. His heart was beating at a million miles an hour. Sweat poured down his back and neck and in between his shoulder blades. Flashes of red sky cut before his vision, the sound of gunfire and the smell of ash.

Admiral kelly squeezed his shoulder hard bringing him back. The dog was halfway in his lap her head pressed against him, and the Bailiff from earlier was on his other side steadying him as his body seemed prone to leaning to one side.

He took a few very deep breaths.

A few of the judges were watching him, but they didn’t stop the proceedings this time. Most of them just looked like they wanted an excuse to look away.

“Your honors, this is not the last log in the series. Even after the catastrophic failure, they continue to implant the steel ee pieces onto test subjects without prior testing in a controlled environment. I believe we have been making realistic ballistic dummies for the past thousand years. I am sure there is something that could have been done.”

Adam was fading.

The lights were growing up in his vision, turning everything around him white.

The defence stood, “THe defence calls for recess, your honors.”

There was a pause, “Recess granted. You have thirty minutes.”

The room burst into a flurry of murmurs and movement. Admiral Kelly leaned forward hands on his arms, “Adam, you should get up, walk around a bit.”

He nodded and stood feeling the world tip around him as he did. With one hand he gripped heavily onto the back of the pews and staggered forward out of the room. Waffles followed after him whining and whimpering. He waved admiral Kelly off him as he wobbled his way down the hall and burst through the outside door and into open air. He took a deep long breath and leaned against the wall trying to choke down the bile that welled into his throat.

“You alright here buddy.”

Blinking owlishly, he turned to the side to see a man leaning against the wall on the other side of the door.

“You don’t look so good, Cigarette?” He asked offering a pack of the things towards him.

Adam waved a hand, “I don’t smoke but, thanks anyway.”

The man shrugged and lit up puffing a billow of smoke into the air, “You know breathing exercises.”

Adam blinked and nodded, “Yeah.”

“Don't forget to do them. It will help.”

Adam rubbed a hand across his forehead breathing slowly.

“You seem to know a lot about this. Am i that easy to see through?”

The man shook his head “I was a soldier during the panasian war, I know what PTSD looks like.”

“My father fought in the Panasian war.”

The man nodded, “Better get back inside while you still have some color, boy.”

He did as told. He didn’t know the man but something about his calm demeanor and understanding was nice, and he stepped back inside patting waffles on the head as he walked back towards the courtroom.

He sat down before anyone else was there just yet and rested his head in his hands breathing slowly and evenly. The room slowly filled up again, and before he really knew it, things were back in session.

“The prosecution would like to present Experimental log 31”

He closed his eyes and began to count slowly breathing in and out, in and out.”

Experimental log #31

This test is the first among the replacement for servo motors for hydraulics The system was far slower and makes use of a combination of fast extension pistons and slower extension ones for combination. The test is the same as before a simple arm extension in the guise of a punch. However the augmetic will also include the shoulder. We have increased the dosage of the painkiller as so to prevent the increased implantation volume from inducing a negative reaction in the subject. -Recording break-

The reaction from the hydraulics was stronger than expected, and the delay and stack up of orders has caused significant issues. A halt override taken directly from the nerve system needs to be implemented.

He squeezed his eyes tight shut

Audio-visual log transcript:

The subject appears to be only semi responsive, appearing to function at a 12 on the GCS, Only held there by the active responsiveness of their motor function. This appears to fade somewhat when the subject is given physical stimuli by the scientist in the form of a light slap on the cheek. Bringing the subject back to consciousness. The subject is then encouraged to make the punching action as prior experiments. The subject does so, the fast reaction of the piston seems to achieve the scientist's goal, However the long extension piston appeared to continue extending. This continued, dragging the subjects arm outwards, dislocating the subjects shoulder, then elbow as well as wrist. The subject appeared to be distressed at this, however not unduly in pain. The scientist having stepped back to observe the outcome of events. The extension of the piston continued beyond tolerable human limits. The piston continues to extend despite the protests of the subject and attempts at removing it. The extension continued forcefully separating the subjects limbs at both the elbow and shoulder joint, ripping tendon and muscle as well as ligament structures, fully separating the limb in to two parts and away from the body. It is at this point the subject began to scream in terror and panic till the researcher sedated the subject.

A door opened at the back of the courtroom as a few more people stepped out. Adam sat there on the bench, his head tilted back and staring at the ceiling breathing even and slowly as light and color swirled around them. He could what speaking, but didn’t really hear what was being said.

He just had to keep himself together.

“....Log 35 to the court.”

Experimental log #35

Continued experimentation indicates that a combination of servo motors, torsion cables and hydraulics are likely to result in the desired effect. Since the previous experiments a stop override has been implemented in to the systems. This prevents the hydraulics from continuing to extend despite the users body having ceased movement. This should result in the desired movement structures. We are moving on from the single arm testing considering the current functionality and strength amplification satisfactory. The current test is simply to get the two lower limb implants to function in tandem with walking. We have had to once again increase the level of drugs in the users system to prevent the reaction to the pain induced by the interfacing devices.

-Recording break-

While the system is capable of walking, the addition of hydraulics have caused the system to be heavier and more cumbersome than intended. Additional servo motors and possible leaf springs for artificial support tendons will have to be added to prevent the augmetics from lagging behind their users.

“Objection your honor…. The court has seen enough….. This is simply…”

“Objection denied council. The evidence stands. If you must you may leave the room.”

“But members of the audience…”

“Can step out if they need to.”

Audio-visual Log transcript:

The subject once again appears to be somewhat unresponsive. This ceases when the scientist provides a physical interaction with the subject, tapping them on the shoulder. The subject appears to be somewhat disoriented. Upon being prompted to walk the subject beings to walk without much in the way of impediment, though seeming to tug at the augments as if they are holding the subject back. The subject is then prompted to move at a might higher speed. Running if possible. The subject manages this for two steps before the continued pulling against the augmetic and movement against the interface needles appears to pull the subject’s leg free, removing large sections of the subjects muscle tissues and nerves along with it. The subject seems to be disturbed, if not in pain. Likely due to the drug reservoir and input mounted on the subjects arm. The subject however seems to be announcing that they can no longer move their legs as the researcher requested. The subject is then sedated and recording ends.

Adam is being held up again by Admiral kelly his body tilting widely sideways and he is having trouble finding the orientation of the room.”

“.... experimental log 38 as a demonstration of the scientists moving development far too quickly.”

Experimental Log #38

Increased response time in the legs combined with the introduction of support springs within the armour have reduced that movement restrictions of the armour and made it much harder for the user to ‘pull away’ from the armor, this combined with several additional straps and metal binding to keep the users legs attached directly to the augmetics have solved several of the most recent problems. The newest set of experiments are moving on to vertical movement, focusing on the subjects ability to jump and move around obstacle strewn environments.

-Recording break-

It appears the engineers did not calibrate the hydraulics and other systems to function as shock absorbers, but rather only as force amplification devices. Meaning that impact shock is taken fully by the users body, This would normally not be an issue, however with the additional force and weight provided by the augmetic seems to cause issues upon landing.

Audio-visual Log transcript:

The subject is suffering the same symptoms as prior subjects, low levels of function and unresponsiveness. Once the subject is roused from the stupor via an open handed impact to the cheek, delivered by the researcher, they are directed to attempt an obstacle course. The subject seems to have little trouble with the primary obstacles, clearing them with little effort, however their recovery from each obstacle appears to be ungainly and improper. The subject is then presented with a three meter high wall and instructed to go over it. Rather than scaling it as expected the subject simply jumped over the wall, exhibiting far more mobility and control than prior subjects in experiments. However upon landing the subjects legs appear to buckle and collapse under them, folding at several points that do not have joints. Indicating shattering of the bones. The subject seems unphased by the injury, Pointing it out to the researcher and asking if that is normal. This indicates that the drugs being used are of a high enough dosage and strength to suppress not only extreme pain but the shock reaction of the body.

He can feel another person holding him up from the other side, but mutters that he is ok when anyone asks. E just keeps counting and breathing counting and breathing knowing that it has to be over soon. He just needs to hold himself together

Experimental log #42

The final tests regarding midriff functionality have been completed, with shockingly low failure or complications compared to prior testing phases, we are putting this down to our own excellent ongoing improvements of the system. This final text is a sequential system test where a single subject will be required to use each individual part in sequence to ensure that no errors are likely to occur during the whole body testing or further complications are likely to occur.

-break in recording-

The subject suffered no ill effects due to the armour itself. However the subject seemed to become agitated and seemed to be suffering ill effects until they were returned to the augmetics. So long as prolonged exposure to the augmetics is not an ongoing factor we do not see an issue with this.

“These testings had immense costs and horrific side effects to those who participated. Many of these men and women seen here are not functional or alive to testify in court as to what happened, however, the prosecution would like to call Admiral Vir to the stand as a representative of those who could not be here today, and s a member of the steel eye operation himself to ive the court a little idea about what this experiment did to people even when fully operational.”

Adam was still feeling light headed but even then he still knew what this was. This is what he was here for. Thi was the moment he had come to be a part of, the moment that he was here to help all those soldiers and test subjects used by steel eye.

Admiral Kelly stood with him as he made it to his feet, but he brushed off her hand and walked towards the witness stand. The judge stopped him on his way up.

“Are you well enough to testify Admiral?”

“This is why I came, your honor. Even if I had to crawl through a field of glass to get here.”

The courtroom murmured as he was sworn in, and he sat down feeling the eyes of the entire room on him.

He was still sweating and light headed.

“State your name for the record.”

“Adam Allen Vir.”

“And what is your position in the UNSC.”

“I am Fleet admiral of the UNSC space armada on loan to the GA.”

“And what branch?”

“Originally the air division. I trained at the Aerial combat academy as a fighter and shuttle pilot before being a member of the crew on the enterprise.”

“And how did you end up on Anin.”

“The Enterprise was being decommissioned for some wok, so I offered to go to Anin and be part of the war effort against the Drev.”

“And as a fighter pilot, you didn’t see much time on the ground.”

“No ma’am, I was primarily air support at that time.”

His voice was strong and hard, and the longer he talked the straighter he sat. he had to do this for them. He would NOT fall apart now.

“How did you end up on the ground forces then, Admiral.”

“Volcanic activity, ma’am, they call it the dark season when ash chokes the ai miles into the sky. It isn’t safe to land a ship or fly a jet in such conditions, so my vehicle was grounded. By that time the war was going badly and they needed every man they could get.”

“Were you trained for ground combat, Admiral.”

“Yes at the academy we were trained in ground combat though not as extensively.”

“And you lost your leg to a Drev.”

He reached down hand to his leg remembering the screaming of a red sky above, “Yes, I did.”

“What happened after that?”

“I ended up in a triage tent in out forward operating base. There was no medicine because all our supplies had been used up.”

“Would you say that you were delirious during that time.”

The defence stood quickly “Objection your honor. Leading the witness.”

“Dismissed, council.” The judge said, waving a hand.

“There were no painkillers, ma’am, so maybe. If not delirious than I was at least not in a right state of mind. I remember floating halfway in between being conscious and unconscious. I was in so much pain its…. Had to describe.” His voice wavered before he had it back on track shoring it up and strengthening it with memories of the men and women waiting back at the rehabilitation center.

“And at this time you were approached by Admiral Ablemen about the steel eye project?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“And did he detail any specifics.”

He paused thought for a moment trying to remember back into memories that he really didn’t want to foster, “Not…. really. It's hard to remember but I…. I remember him saying that we could help him win the war. I remember him saying that when I woke up I would be a new man. He gave us the choice to go home or serve the UNSC one last time.”

“In your opinion, would you have said yes had you been more conscious.”

“Objection based on conjecture your honor.”

“Objection accepted.”

Adam paused and the mn let him continue, “Wat DO you remember about what happened to you.”

“I…. remember pain and….. Anger. I was never really all there during the steel eye project. I remember feeling invincible, like I could do anything but at the same time, hazy. I remember getting orders and going out, and then nothing after that.”

“Did they tell you there would be rugs involved.”

“No ma’am.”

“And after the war was over, what happened. How did all of this affect you?”

He paused and struggled to speak for a moment, opening his mouth and then closing, “I…. have never been so hopeless in my entire life. I tried to get help with the Veterans association but my claim was denied. I…. went through withdrawals…. Horrible horrible drug withdrawals where I. I was in so much pain, I just….”He paused then lifted his head to look up at th courtroom making eye contact with them. His voice was as strong as ever “I wanted to die, and I would have done it if I hadn’t had a good support system in my family. After a few months my brother got me in contact with a group of people who got ahold of my service dog, and I was able to heal.”

“Does what happened still affect you”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“In what ways.”

“I still have long term PTSD, and while it is controlled and I am no longer on medication, I still have bad days. Days where I can’t move or think, days where the quietest nosies send me into a panic.”

“Were you ever compensated for your injuries, Admiral.”

He paused again and shook his head, “No ma’am, I never received help.”

“Thank you admiral, you may be seated.”

He stood, his head was clear and his hands were dry. He stepped down from the podium with his chin raised and his back straight returning to his seat. He had done it. He had done what he needed to do and the only thing that was lft was to survive the rest of the trail.

He could do that.

He survived operation steel eye didn’t he?

So he could certainly survive this.

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rocknrollarticles · 4 years ago

Text

The Artwoods Story

The Artwoods’ 100 Oxford Street is a UK compilation album released in 1983 that features a four-page booklet (pictured above) that tells the band’s story, written by guitarist Derek Griffiths.

Since there's a limit on the number of photos that can be added to one post, I'll be reblogging this a couple times until I have all the info up. To see this post with all the info added in reblogs, click here.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy Derek’s words as much as I do!

Transcript under the cut (main text + Record Mirror article from page three's rightmost side)

“ It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when the Artwoods came into being because everything just seemed to evolve naturally. The one date however that does stick in my mind is the 1st October 1964 which is the date I turned professional, thus depriving the accountancy profession of a valuable addition to its ranks! But seriously, one must go back to previous events in order to trace the history of the group.

I first met Jon Lord at a party in West Hampstead when he was a drama student at The Central School of Speech & Drama. He was introduced to me by Don Wilson whose claim to fame was his membership of the famous skiffle group Dickie Bishop & His Sidekicks. They had had a hit years previously with "No Other Baby But You", and Don now ran a band on a semi-pro basis called Red Bludd's Bluesicians in which I played guitar. Well, I say we were called this, but only when we were fortunate enough to cop an R&B gig. We used to play The Flamingo Allnighter and lots of U.S. air bases. The rest of the time we played weddings and tennis club dances as The Don Wilson Quartet! Jon Lord was brought in on piano and was a very valuable addition especially as he could get his hands around a little jazz and all the old standards. Jon used to ring me at work and interrupt my vouching of sales ledger invoices in order to discuss the coming weekends gigs. We would bubble with excitement at the approach of an R&B gig as we really hated all the weddings and barmitzvahs.

Around this time Don made a very important policy decision and we suddenly became the proud owners of a Lowrey Holiday organ for Jon to play. Shortly after this Don contrived to drive the band-wagon into the back of a lorry on the North Circular, doing himself considerable mischief in the process. This brought about the unfortunate end of Don's career with us, but not before he had masterminded an important merger of two local bands.

For some time we had been aware, and not a little envious, of The Art Wood Combo led by none other than Art Wood himself. His band underwent a split at that time and Red Bludd's Bluesicians, alias The Don Wilson Quartet, were neatly grafted on. We really felt we were moving into the big league by doing this as Art not only had more work than us but, wait for it, used to sing with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated with Charlie Watts on drums and Cyril Davies on harmonica! The next problem was a replacement for Don, and this was solved by stealing the bass player from another local group The Roadrunners, a good looking cove who went by the name of Malcolm Pool. The offer and acceptance of the gig were transacted in a pub car park somewhere in West Drayton staring into the murky waters of the Grand Union Canal clutching pints of local bitter (Fullers?). (Authors note: drugs had not been invented at this stage, as far as most groups were concerned, apart from the odd pill to keep one awake on an all nighter!)

The next personnel change took place some time in 1964 and this involved the retirement of drummer Reg Dunnage, who did not want to turn pro. Auditions were held in London and lots of drummers attended. However it was more or less a foregone conclusion that Keef Hartley would get the job. You see we'd already decided that what The Artwoods needed above all else was a Liverpool drummer! Unfortunately none came to the audition, but Keef hailed from Preston which was near enough for us. Keef had previously played with Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, replacing Ringo Starr in the process (heady stuff this), and Freddy Starr & The Midnighters. Both were such influential bands of their time that these credentials combined with Keef's quasi Liverpool accent (at least to our ears) provided him with a faultless pedigree.

So that was it, the line-up that would take us through to 1967 when Colin Martin eventually replaced Keef Hartley on drums.

For a while we worked as The Art Wood Combo but then decided it was hipper to drop the Combo and become The Artwoods.

The period when The Artwoods were operating was one of musical change when groups went from recording and performing other writers' material to writing their own. In fact the last year of the group's existence was 1967 which heralded the arrival of "Hendrix", "Flower-Power". "Festivals" and experimental use of mind expanding drugs! 1966/67 were particularly exciting years to be based in London and every night would be spent in one of the many clubs which had recently sprung up. The Ad Lib, The Scotch of St. James, The Cromwellian, Blaises and of course The Speakeasy to mention a few. Many of these we played in and the trick was to be well known enough not to have to pay the entrance fee on nights off. Any night you could be sure to meet your mates "down The Speak" and it became the unofficial market place for rock musicians.

It was also the days before huge amounts of equipment took over. Equipment meant road-crew and trucks and in turn financial hardship. This simple equation has been the downfall of many bands over the years. We used to travel in a 15 cwt van together with all the gear-no roadies, just us. It's amusing to recall but after recording the TV show "Ready, Steady, Go" (in Kingsway in those days?) one would be besieged by autograph hunters on the way to the van with the gear. Even really 'big groups of the day like The Zombies would hump their own equipment and apologetically place an amp on the ground in order to sign an autograph! Because it was financially viable to travel to small clubs in this way, we would often average 6 or 7 nights a week, every week, on the road. A bad month would probably mean less than twenty gigs. This meant we were living, sleeping and eating in close, and I mean close, proximity. You really found out who your friends were.

The subject of equipment is an interesting one as it really distinguishes the bands then from those of today. The average pub band of today would carry more equipment than we did. As I've already mentioned we were quick to realise that we could elevate ourselves musically by investing in a proper electric organ as opposed to a Vox Continental or Farfisa that many groups used. Consequently the group purchased a Lowrey Holiday and we thought this alone would provide us with the Booker T and Jimmy Smith sound.

What we failed to realize was that we also needed a Leslie cabinet with a special built-in rotor to get that "wobbly" sound. Our friend and mentor Graham Bond, the legendary organist/saxophonist, was quick to point out the error of our ways one night when we were gigging at Klooks Kleek in West Hampstead. We groaned inwardly when we discovered the extra cost and humping involved, but it had to be bought. We were fortunate very early on to score a deal with Selmers, who provided us with free amps and P.A., but we had to make the trek to Theobalds Road once a week to get it all serviced as they were not as reliable in those days. I used a Selmer Zodiac 50 watt amp and Malcolm had Goliath bass cabinets with a stereo amp.

The P.A. comprised two 4 x 12 cabinets and a 100 watt amp! When we toured Poland we played in vast auditoria and linked our system with the Vox system being used on tour by Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas. This meant we were pumping out no more than 300 watts which is laughable by today's standards. Although it would never have compared in quality, I can remember standing at the back of extremely large halls and being able to hear clearly all the words Billy J sang. One day in 1963 Alexis Korner sent me off foraging in and around Charing Cross Road for a new guitar, with instructions to mention his name whereupon I would receive a discount of 10%. Previously I played a Burns Trisonic (collectors will appreciate this model did not have "Wild Dog" treble) but fancied owning a Gibson ES335 as favoured by many blues players. Sure enough one was hanging invitingly in the window of Lew Davis's shop.

I ended up paying £135 and still use it regularly today although its value has multiplied five fold. Malcolm came with me that day and bought an Epiphone bass, the same colour and shape as my guitar. For years we looked like matching book-ends on either end of the group! Keef started off using a Rodgers drum kit, but somewhere along the line changed to, I think, Ludwig. There was no out-front mixing as is common today, just the P.A. amp on stage with the vocalist. Primitive I know, but everything revolved around bands being able to travel economically with their gear and perform at small clubs anywhere in Britain. The college circuit was much sought after and provided the icing on the cake while package tours were not necessarily well paid. We did our first with P. J. Proby and got £25 per night (for the lot of us) and we had to pay for our own accommodation!

I have already mentioned "Ready, Steady, Go" a show on which we appeared on more than one occasion. The original format called for groups to mime to their records but after a time it was decided that it would become "live" and that the show would be re-titled "Ready Steady Goes Live". We were proud to be picked for the first "live" show and learnt the news via a telephone call to our agent in London from a phone box high in the Pennines. We managed a drunken war-dance of celebration round the phone box believing that this meant we'd really cracked it. As I remember the first show we did featured Tom Jones (complete with lucky rabbits foot) miming to "It's Not Unusual", The Kinks, Donovan and Adam Faith's Roulettes playing live (without Adam). We were promoting our first single "Sweet Mary" and I would put the date at around late 1964.

Our first recording deal was with a subsidiary of Southern Music Publishing called Iver Productions and I reckon that would have been mid 1964. Southern had a four track studio in the basement of their offices in Denmark Street ("The Street") and getting the gear downstairs, especially the organ, was "murder". Our first producer was Terry Kennedy and we recorded several tracks with him. Without going too deeply into all the details of recording techniques of the period, one tended to compensate for the lack of tracking facilities available, by attempting to duplicate the live excitement. In many ways it was a frustrating experience particularly for ambitious guitar-players. I was a Steve Cropper freak and I knew as a musician that a lot of his sound on record resulted from him working his amplifier hard in the studio— thus the speaker would emit the sound he was used to on stage. In Britain however, engineers would say "You don't need to play loud man, we can turn you up on the desk". The result was a weedy, thin guitar sound. From way back I'd been experimenting with "feed back" on stage and I really had to dig my heels in about the guitar sound in the studio. Once when I turned my amp up to give it a bit of "wellie" on a solo the engineer bounded out of the control room screaming that the level would bust his microphones!

Sometime during the career of The Artwoods it was decided that we should graduate to a better studio. This was arranged by Mike Vernon who also became our producer. Our records had all been released through the Decca Record Co. and Mike was a staff producer with them. Mike w also an authority on "The Blues" and the relationship led to our only single chart record "I Take What I Want" a cover of a Sam & Dave U.S. R&B hit. Mike was also producing John Mayall at the time and it seemed only natural that Mike and The Artwoods should team up. From this point on we recorded at the Decca studio in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, but I can't honestly say it did any more for us than our previous efforts in the Southern Music basement, although we could now indulge ourselves in the comparative luxury of the eight track studio. Later on, towards the end of the groups life we were signed by Jack Baverstock at Philips Records who was looking for a group to cash in on the thirties-style gangster craze which had been triggered off by the film "Bonnie & Clyde". As a result we changed our name to "St. Valentines Day Massacre" and released a single of the old Bing Crosby hit "Brother Can You Spare A Dime?" It was an ill- fated venture, which I would prefer not to dwell on, virtually signalling the end of the band apart from a few heavy-hearted gigs with a changed line-up.

Before that though, there were many great times to remember, and a fair number of gigs that were memorable in one way or another.

One of our favourite gigs was Eel Pie Island which we regularly played once a month; in fact we held the attendance record there for a while until the ageing blues artist Jesse Fuller took it from us. Eel Pie Island is literally an island in the middle of the River Thames at Twickenham and there's never been a gig like it since. It was an Edwardian ballroom originally I believe, that achieved notoriety in the 50's with the Trad Jazz boom. At that time, an overloaded chain ferry was used to convey the crowd across the river, but during the 60's a small bridge was in existence although it was only wide enough to take the promoter Art Chisnall's mini van. He had to make three separate trips across with the gear strapped to the roof and hanging out the back doors.

The audiences were exceptional for those times and I don't know where they all came from... very much like art students and very much more like the 70's than 60's. Long hair predominated and this was before 'hippies' had officially been invented! If you can imagine a ramshackle wooden ballroom, bursting at the seams, condensation pouring from the walls, the audience on each others shoulders leaping up and down, the sprung dance floor bending alarmingly in the middle, in the summer couples strolling outside and lounging on the river bank ... all this and not a disc jockey in sight! One other bonus was that it was a “free” house and therefore sold many different types of beer— we always favoured Newcastle Brown. Back on the 'mainland' afterwards it was always riotous packing the gear into the truck. I don't know how he managed it but one night Malcolm drove our truck over the support band's guitar which happened to be lying about, thus breaking the neck. I'll never forget the shocked look on that poor guitarist's face as Malcolm smoothly slipped the van into gear, apologised and drove off in that order!

No trip up north was complete without stopping at the famed Blue Boar on the M1 for a "grease-up" on the way home. I do not refer to truck lubrication but to a particular rock'n'roll delicacy known as “full-house”. This comprised double egg, sausage, chips, beans, tomatoes, fried slice, tea, and (if you were man enough) toast. It was considered a Herculean task to break successfully the 10 bob' (50p) barrier-all served on wobbly cardboard plates that doubled as items to sign autographs on for the self service waitresses.

Waitress: What band are you?

Me: You won't have heard of us.

Waitress: Oh go on, tell us.

Me: OK. The Artwoods.

Waitress: Never 'eard of you!

It was everybody’s dream to walk into the Blue Boar just as their hit of the moment was playing on the Juke Box.

One time we were chosen to represent the twentieth century at the centenary celebrations of the State of Monte Carlo— a most lavish affair which the aristocracy and dignatories of Europe attended. Princess Grace and Prince Ranier were the hosts and people like Gina Lollobrigida and the like were there. The ball was held in the famous Casino at Monte Carlo and we stayed in an opulent hotel called The Hermitage, I think. All I can remember is that we all had single rooms (a rare luxury) which were massive, and you could have pitched a tent under one of the bath towels, they were so big. After this we jetted off up to Paris where we played next door to the Moulin Rouge at a club called The Locomotive.

Whilst we were there we were taken out by our friend Mae Mercer, the American lady blues singer who we backed in England. She lived in Paris and took us out to Memphis Slim's club where we all set about drinking like it was going out of style. At the end there was an embarrassing scene concerning the bill with the result that Mae ended up in tears. Whilst we were bumbling about in an alcoholic stupor, an upright looking gentleman put his arm round Mae to comfort her and a wallet appeared magically from his inside pocket. Without further ado the bill was despatched and we later learned that our anonymous benefactor was none other than Peter O'Toole who was busy in the street outside filming 'Night Of The Generals' and was an old buddy of Mae's.

One Boxing Day we loaded up with turkey sandwiches and Xmas pudding and headed off for a gig down in Devon or Cornwall somewhere. We arrived to find the club closed and boarded up, and as usual we were broke. Naturally we were livid, checked into an hotel and located the promoter who lived with his mum. Next morning we drove round to where he lived and burst our way past his confused mum. We found him in his bedroom nervously cowering against some fruit machines which he collected. He had no money so we forced him to empty his damned machines with the result that we drove back to London with 50 quids' worth of 'tanners' (approx 22p for the younger reader!)

Whilst on the subject of disasters I suppose I am duty bound to mention Denmark. The first time we went there we caught the ferry to the continent, drove up through Germany, then caught another ferry to Denmark. There was no promoter to meet us when we arrived so all we could do was drive to Copenhagen and check in at the Grand Hotel. It cost us an arm and a leg but at least we got a good nights sleep after being awake for nearly two days travelling. The next day we made a few phone calls and finally tracked down the promoter. He said: "Didn't you get my telegram cancelling the tour?" We politely said no we hadn't and what did he intend doing with us? He checked us into another hotel (cheaper of course) and set about booking us at places that were similar to English coffee bars and youth clubs. We made enough to survive on and paved the way to more successful tours of that country. In fact by now we had Colin Martin on drums and were pursuing a much more adventurous musical policy and writing our own material. It was just right for Denmark who had taken Hendrix to their hearts to name but one, and we subsequently became quite big there in 1967.

The Artwoods achieved modest success-a minor hit single in "I Take What I Want", but we worked constantly, travelled abroad, had fantastic fun and made a living doing so. We had seven single releases, one album, and one EP, and we broadcast both on radio and TV many times. We did stage tours such as the P. J. Proby tour and covered most aspects of "show-biz" apart from actually making a movie. It was the era when bands still had to prove themselves as a live act before being offered a recording contract. now frequently happens of course that an act can become huge record sellers without so much as venturing to do a live gig.

So what happened to everyone? Well Art returned to his former occupation as a commercial artist and finds some time to fit in free-lance work between accompanying brother Ron Wood on raving excursions between Rolling Stones gigs. Malcolm moved into the same field as Art and they now work in the same building. Both of them gig occasionally on a semi-pro basis although Malcolm spent some time playing with Jon Hiseman's Colosseum and Don Partridge in the early 70's. Jon Lord became famous with Deep Purple and Whitesnake as did Keef Hartley with John Mayall and various bands of his own. Colin Martin is now a BBC Radio producer of repute. I played in various bands such as Lucas and The Mike Cotton Sound, Colin Blunstone's band, Dog Soldier (with Keef again), before I somehow drifted into studio and theatre work. Recently I formed an R'n'B band called the G.B. Blues Company, and it's great to be back on the road again. ”

Derek Griffiths.

Clipping from Record Mirror on June 5, 1965, by Norman Jopling.

“We aim to excite!” … say the Art Woods

Just for the record, the Art Woods aren't a part of Epping Forest. In fact they're a group of five interesting young men, named after the group's leader Art Wood. They also happen to be one of the most realistic groups on the scene.

For a start, they are the awkward position of having a large following, a club residency but no hit record. Secondly. they don't mind pandering to commercial tastes, even though they have been hailed as one of the most authentic R & B groups in the land.

NO PULL

“But authentic R&B just isn't pulling the crowds any more,” says Art. “The audiences want to be excited, not to be lectured on what is 'good' and what is 'bad'. Although there was a time when you could spend half an hour on one number with long solos by everybody, it didn't last long. And although there are some clubs like that still, most of them want something fresh and new.

“And we try to cater for them. We like authentic R&B, but we also like playing everything and anything else. So far, our two discs haven't meant a light. Of course we'd love a hit. But we're lucky enough to make a good living without one.”

DISCS

The Art Woods latest disc is "Oh My Love" and the one before that “Sweet Mary”. Of them Little Walter has said that he couldn't believe any white group could sing and play the blues like they do.

Line-up of the group is Art Wood, leader. vocalist and harmonica. Derek Griffiths, lead guitar, Jon Lord, organ and piano. Malcolm Pool— base guitar, and Keef Hartley on drums. The boys use a specially adapted Lowrie organ, and get a sound that's really different.

But even if the boys sometimes become depressed about no hits records, they should remember groups like Cliff Bennett, the Barron-Knights, the Rockin' Berries and the Yardbirds, and how long THEY waited before they had a hit!

N.J.

#the artwoods #the art woods #art wood #derek griffiths #malcolm pool #jon lord #keef hartley #colin martin #100 oxford street #the 100 club #articles #liner notes #newspaper clippings #record mirror #my posts

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jarofrebuke-transcripts · 4 years ago

Text

Jar of Rebuke Episode 11 Unofficial Transcript

Season 1 Episode 11: Observations B

INTRO

The following audio recording is classified documentation for case [audio distortion]

GIA

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what that was. This equipment is in dire need of upgrades. This is Dr. Gia Castillo. The following audio recording is classified documentation for case H57. The subject has proven to be a bit... stubborn? Annoying? Well perhaps “difficult” is the best word. Ideally things would just go smoothly so that I could get back to what I was actually hired to do. I have a PhD in zoology, I have spent thousands of dollars for my education and title, but this? This? This is asinine, this is absolutely ludicrous, this is flat out stupid. There's no reason for this much time, effort, and money to be spent on Todd's little pet project. I was hired to examine how pollution and radiation could lead to the creation of these creatures, from afar. The local deer population for example? All of that research was led by me from my lab. Processing the radioactivity readings, exposure rates, things that could have led to the possible creation of the not-dear? In my professional opinion, is quite solid. And now? Now I'm playing babysitter to some… thing that Todd told me to watch over via nanny cam because he's too scared to. I have to play lab partner with something that never even earned its degree, yet still gets the title? I'll have to edit all of that out.

Today the subject took that hellhound on a walk after breakfast, which was then followed by some time watching television, a shower and then a frantic phone call. I won't know who it called until after a system synced tonight to pick up all the data from its phone and audio journal but it exhibited clear behavior and body language of being in quite a panic. It sat down and had started to record a session in its audio journal. While the audio journaling has remained as consistent as before, there have been some changes in its other behaviors. My recent findings have shown that the subject has been quite resistant to Dr. Daman’s sessions as of late. By the sound of its complaints and also of Dr. Daman's reports, the resistance is only worsening. Which led to another observer being brought in not too long ago- Mr. Zimmer. Now that I have the utter displeasure of working with him, my luck only continues to sour. Anyways, through the audio files and also the footage from the cameras, we are seeing signs of something else for us to look into. It taking in that hellhound as a pet of all things was both simultaneously surprising but also not too out of character for what we have seen previously. Creatures like those tend to be drawn to one another. But now there appears to be a third creature of sorts wandering around that particular home. We need to look further into what's captured on our recordings. The subject has mentioned to Dr. Daman seeing shadows around its home so that may be a good start for us. With that hellhound, Grove I believe it's taken to calling it, the team has agreed that it's best if that creature isn't around to further influence the subject. Of course the influence isn't intentional on the hellhound’s part per se, but the subject's empathy towards other supernatural creatures has only amplified since taking it in. That puts quite a hindrance on the goal that we were given by Todd, so it needs to go.

Dr. Daman suggested perhaps staging a sort of “running away from home” that pets tend to do. That may be our best course of action but putting this into action will take more time and planning. And we have also tried to get rid of those black-eyed children that keep tapping on its door. A bit of pest control as Todd calls it but well, in Mr. Zimmer's words- like roaches they don't die easily and they will come back. They seem to become only more adamant about being let into the subject's house. After the subject's investigation of those melon head children in the woods, Todd has decided that it'd be best to attempt to round them up and bring them in as well. Too dangerous to leave them out, he claims. Eating people seems to be the line, but Todd has shown no concern with the creature our subject encountered out in the river. I believe he has a certain disdain for creatures with child-like forms, at least that's a theme I've observed.

[door opens] Ah, what brings me the pleasure of your company?

LIAM

Ah, Gia, hello! I just came to check in and see how we were doing today, do a check in with the patient. How is it doing today?

GIA

That is Dr. Castillo, Mr. Zimmer. It just sat down to record a session of the audio journal. It was rather wise for Dr. Daman to encourage that, giving us a clear look into its thoughts. Of course what exactly it's saying I won't know until later tonight once the cloud collects the data, though it just got off of the phone with someone and has been pacing around the room quite nervously while talking.

LIAM

Fascinating. It's always so adamant about the supposed feelings it has. If I didn't know any better, I would say that it's practically human in every way! Look at it- the stress, the agitation. You know, the way that it so often curls into itself in our sessions truly is human. If only it knew the truth.

GIA

We're here to see how long we can keep the truth from it. I know you're using this to satiate personal curiosities, Mr. Zimmer, but we do have a goal to attain, and we must treat this as if we only have one shot at it.

LIAM

Oh of course, of course. But you can't tell me it's not incredibly curious. It acts so human and doesn't even think for a second that it might not be? Even though it's experienced death, well, far more times than it can count. I've seen it's so-called medical files. Dr. Rahal must really stretch his brain to figure out how to explain it all in a way that doesn't tip it off. And the fact that its body scars like a human body does is also fascinating.

GIA

Considering that Dr. Rahal is being kept on a need to know basis with this case, of course he must get a bit creative with his explanations.

LIAM

And based on those little audio journals, we may need to make sure that the good doctor isn't getting too soft with the patient. We don't have the luxury to empathize with the creature.

GIA

Would you empathize with it even if we did have the luxury?

LIAM

Hmm that's quite an excellent question, though I'm inclined to say no...

GIA

Which does not surprise me, given your reputation. Now if you would excuse me, Mr. Zimmer, I would like to resume my examinations. I'll forward you my notes and findings once I'm done.

LIAM

Of course, of course, doctor. I'll send over my notes from my most recent session with it to you and Dr. Daman at my next convenience. Talk to you later, Gia.

GIA

He is going to break our subject before we can find another one. Bringing him into this project was a ridiculous idea. I get that we're here to see just how human this creature has become, but you can see humanity without shattering one's mental stability. Anyways, this would imply that the creature has become human at all. It's still what it was before just with a human shell. Nothing will change what the creature is no matter how it looks or acts. I'll have to edit all of that out as well.

The subject has now taken to rocking slightly in its seat as it records. Something new that it picked up. There's various reasons that people rock back and forth but if it's picked this up from witnessing someone do this that would make sense. Dr. Daman encouraged it to engage more within the community of Wichton, mostly so we could see how it would socialize, but we didn't expect it to have so much success in doing so. The primary documented friends that it's made have been a few residents in town, primarily a Darius Chapman and a Holly Darling. Also it is reconnecting with its old lab partner, Dr. Milo Lomax, who had never been told the full truth hence why they were separated as lab partners. It has also been spending time with a research scientist from another department, uh, Dr. Jamie Everett. I'm not sure how much she has been briefed on the situation. With the amount of employees here who have been left in the dark on the true nature of this case it's safer to assume that she doesn't know, but I cannot say that for certain. I will need to reach out to Todd to see how deeply, if at all, Dr. Everett is involved.

That hellhound has been sniffing around its house quite a bit lately. Whether it's just part of more canine behavior or if it's more of the cryptid nature, I am not sure. Whatever it may be it's getting in the way of my view. Has it spotted the camera? It couldn't have, it's still just a dog! [clicking sounds] Oh, no, okay. All right, uh well, this is, this is bad. The subject has found the camera! How did this happen, this is... I have to inform Todd immediately, this is not damage control that we can afford to handle poorly! Damn it.

OUTRO

Jar of Rebuke is created and produced by Casper Oliver. Dr. Gia Castillo is voiced by Vanessa Rosengrant. Mr. Liam Zimmer is voiced by Andy “Pixel” Smith. Credits are read by Ashley Craft who has created the podcast official graphics. Episode was edited by Chelsea Finley. Episode was written by Casper Oliver and Jenny O'Sullivan. Music was created by Luke Menniss, spelled m-e-n-n-i-s-s who you can find and support on bandcamp, spotify, and twitch. Follow us on social media for updates. If you've been enjoying us please consider leaving a rating, review or comment wherever you tune in. You can also support us on patreon or pod hero by following the links in our episode description. And special thanks to our patreon supporters Tristan, Perry, Devin, Becky, Nico, Danny and Joyce.

#jar of rebuke #jar of rebuke podcast #jor podcast #jar of rebuke transcripts

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dailyaudiobible · 4 years ago

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02/19/2021 DAB Transcript

Leviticus 7:28-9:6, Mark 3:31-4:25, Psalms 37:12-29, Proverbs 10:5

Today is the 19th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we round the corner here. We’re at the end of another week just about and we’ve transitioned into two new books this week and we’re getting’ moved into those and enjoying that. So, let’s…let's continue…let's continue with the journey. We’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. Leviticus chapter 7 verse 28 through 9 verse 6.

Commentary:

Okay. Let's…well…let's talk about harvest today. Jesus talked about it. And, you know, harvest…harvest is definitely a scriptural…a scriptural term that Jesus talks about, being the Lord of the harvest or sending workers, the laborers are few to go into the harvest. So, this is definitely a scriptural term but it’s…it's an agricultural term as well. We understand that seedtime and harvest that's…that's how we get our food. And, so, if you are a farmer you want to seed to go into the soil, you want it to…to yield fully to its full potential, and we understand these things. So, Jesus is talking about different kinds of soil that the seed gets planted into and depending on the kind of soil really dictates the kind of harvest. So, the seed can be awesome seed but planted in not so awesome soil it's not gonna be an awesome harvest, but good seed planted in good soil does produce a great harvest. Jesus was teaching this in a story, in story form, in parable form, as He often did. And it's easy enough, and this is a popular…popular enough parable that we sort of understand the lay of the land. And Jesus was pretty explicit in giving an interpretation of the parable that He had given. We all want that 100-fold harvest, right? We all want a bountiful harvest in our lives. Maybe we need to start thinking about gardening. Maybe this is the point in our journey through the year and our journey in life that we need to turn inward and see our heart, see our hearts as a field of soil. What kind of soil is there? Because whatever kind of soil is there is going to dictate the harvest, no matter how good the seed is. So, God is nourishing us through His word every day here as we take this journey through the Bible. This is good seed we could say, but are we, are our hearts good soil for this good seed. So, if the seed falls and cannot take roots then it’s just gonna lay there on the surface and it's gonna get snatched away. If…if our hearts are hard and stony and difficult, then there's nowhere for the seed to take root. And if we’re just distracted and anxious and full of worry or we’re just distracted and chasing other things, other desires…well…then the soil of our heart is thorny and it's gonna choke the seed out. We can understand this. We can even…we should be able to visualize this. We’ve seen rocky ground we’ve seen thorny ground. Like, we should understand this and we can even visualize how difficult it would be for a bountiful harvest to grow under those conditions. If our hearts are in that condition than they are not going to yield the bountiful harvest, we are hoping for. In other words, God’s gonna do His part here, but we have some gardening to do. We have our part. Our role to play in. And maybe it's time to dig up the stony ground and do away with the thorn bushes and make ourselves fertile and ready for anything that God wants to bring in this adventure that we call life, this dance that we are in together with Him.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank You. Thank You for this wisdom. It's very clear. It's abundantly clear. We know the hard places in our lives. We know the thorny places in our lives. We know the shallow places in our lives. And we just need help. We need You to guide us and show us how to become good soil. So, come Holy Spirit as we contemplate this, as we consider, as we meditate upon this, show us the areas in our heart that need some gardening. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, and that is indeed a website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here in a virtual community like ours. That's where the Global Campfire burns day and night. No matter where we are in the world we can reach out. Of course, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app all of this is available as well. So, be familiar. If you don't have the app yet a make sure you go to your app store, get the Daily Audio Bible app and download that. And it is…it is the most comprehensive way of entering into community and moving through the Scriptures that we have. It kinda keeps track of where we are on our journey. And as we move through the different sections of the Bible we get to see that we have accomplished that section of the Bible. So, just be familiar and check that out.

Check out the community section. Of course, this can be done at the Daily Audio Bible website or in the app. Check out the Community section. That’s where the Prayer Wall is and it’s such a centerpiece, such a foundational part of who we are as a community, that we accept each other, we understand that we are all in process, that we…we…we are all under renovation, that this is a process and that we have to have an incredible amount of grace for each other. Can you imagine how much grace our Father has on any given one day for His children. So, the least we can do is offer grace to each other. And we do that so well by accepting each other where we are and being willing to just walk a stretch of road together, pray for one another, shoulder each other's burdens. And one of the places to do that is at the Prayer Wall in the Community section. So, be familiar with that.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if this mission to have a Global Campfire, that we can step out of the chaos and have at least one place in life that's an oasis that we can count on every day than we can step into that place and just get our head screwed on straight, right? Just get our heart reoriented to God through the Scriptures. If that is life-giving than thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage, at dailyaudiobible.com, If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement 877-942-4253 is the number to dial or you can just hit the Hotline button, the little red button up at the top in the Daily Audio Bible app and share from there no matter where you are in the world.

And that is it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

H family it's Mica I haven't called for over a year. So much as has happened I could never catch you up in about a minute and 30 seconds; however, I…I did really need you guys help. You’re the closest thing I have to a family for a long long time. And I’ve spent a year homeless and been in a domestic violence shelter and lost all my stuff add my car and I was put in jail and you name it. Right now I'm out because of an injury from work and because there's some hold up and misunderstanding about the last time I was on unemployment. I am waiting for the determination so that I can get my workman's comp and things like that because I was injured back on January 7th. I haven't been working since. I've been borrowing money from people and leaning on people and I am just tired of it. I need I…need things to go right and I need __ things to stay away from me. Most of all I…I need to be right with God again and I need a family too. Please family help me __.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Natalie. I'm calling because I just wanted to leave a quick prayer for… I've been listening to a lot of the prayers of the people and I just wanted to just do a little prayer for each and every person. I may not know the name or the…where you're from but I know we are all connected in God’s family and the spirit of God is with us and…and He can intercede on our behalf. So, heavenly Father I thank You Lord this day for each and every person who's called in who had a prayer or who had a concern Father. You tell us Lord Jesus that Lord we are connected as a family and we can come boldly before Your throne to ask for mercy in our times of need oh God. Father I pray for those that are sick Lord. There was one gentleman who said he had a heart attack, and he was struggling…they diagnosed him with bipolar Father and we…we…we come against that Father because we know Lord God that You are the author and finisher of our faith and we know that by Your stripes we are healed Father and I pray for healing on those people Father God. What man says is one thing but what God says the final authority. Father I pray for those people that are struggling with their jobs, with their families, those that are not saved Lord. I ask Lord God that You Father God Lord You said that we just need to plant the seed and You would do the growing Father. Father I pray over those people Lord Jesus that have…have…have been one Young lady said that her…her Father committed suicide in December of 2020. Father I pray for peace in that family Lord Jesus. Father You said that You would work all things together for the good of those that love You and are called according to Your purpose. And, so, I pray Father God that everything that we go through in our lives, everything that she is going through and her families going through that Lord You would…You would receive the glory from at all. You said what the enemy meant for evil You will turn it around...

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is Ethan of Ashburnham MA in the USA. I have a prayer request that I've been meaning to ask for…for a long time. I have a friend his name is Chris he's going through some sort of crisis that I won't go into detail here. He…he's walked away from Christ and truth be told I am really scared for his future. I know I shouldn't be. I'm not responsible for his future but I am. I just…without Christ there's this void in him that he's trying to fill with everything money can buy, physical items, but as we all know those don't fill us up. And also, I'm starting to become concerned that this is becoming an unhealthy relationship for me. I feel like I have to be in his life to just try and bring him back to Christ but that's not my responsibility. I shouldn't be doing that and subjecting myself. Please pray for my friend Chris. God knows who I'm talking about. He's been my dear friend for over 15 years, and he was one of the few people I thought with absolute certainty would never abandon me during a time in middle school when I thought nobody liked me. He's been one of my closest friends for over 15 years and I'm heartbroken of the way that he's becoming but I choose to trust in Christ and His strength.

Hi guys this is Margaret from Southern California. I'm calling in for Tiffany and Tony of Cleveland. Tiffany had called again asking prayer for joy after the loss of her daughter Gianna. And I remember your original first call and my heart sank because I can relate to this loss of your precious daughter. I lost my baby girl 11 years ago. She was a full-term stillborn baby girl, 9-pound beautiful baby and I delivered her still. And I know she went to heaven when she was in my tummy but at the time, I couldn't see straight for anything and I absolutely lost all joy. And I just want to encourage you guys that God has brought me alone and my husband so far these past 11 years and we truly have joy. We feel that God has done everything for us and as far as healing and mending our hearts and giving us more children after that and…but mostly I think that He's giving us a perspective of knowing that she's in heaven and we're going to be with her again. And I want to encourage you guys. Gianna, you're going to be with her again. And one day down on earth is one day closer to heaven for eternity and perfection with Jesus and I just can't wait for that day. And I just want you guys so badly to be able to experience that. And you know what, it may not be tomorrow but just keep…keep on keeping on and have that faith that the Lord will deliver you from this despair. I love you friends.

Good morning DAB family today is the 16th day of February and I'm just sitting in my car. I just finished listening to Daily Audio Bible for the 15th. Again, Brian it's just amazing listening to you. So, this is Janet from…from the UK and I'm just calling to ask for prayer for my mom. It's been 2 weeks. She's been diagnosed with breast cancer. And even though she lives in America I live in the UK I do have a sister and brother that's in the US also but they're not really active in her life and she's literally at the house by herself, but thanks be to God we do have friends that are taking care, helping to take care of her. But I’m going to try to go over to the UK. So, I'm asking for prayers, journey mercies as I leave from the UK to go to America to help take care of my mom. And I also pray for my mom because she has like diabetes and all these other stuff that…other combabilities as they call it. But I'm asking for prayer because I know I have the best…I have the best family, the most prayerful family powerful in prayer. So, I'm asking family that you help me pray that God will see us through, that He would just give us one day at a time as He normally does and that we’ll appreciate it and that my mom would be OK. Thanks family. Thank you so much for your prayers. God bless.

Hi family this is Melissa from Albertville Alabama. Brian, Jill, and Ezekiel bless you for all that you do for the body of Christ. I have a…a…a couple of prayer requests. And my sisters pastor his name is Darrell Davis his son was shot and he's not doing well, and he's developed Covid. Please pray for that family. And my nephew Elijah, I've called in several times. He has alopecia and he’s suffering from mental illness. He has left home and said he didn't want to anything to do with our family or God. He’s somewhere in California. We have no idea where he is. Please pray for him. Kingdom Seeker Daniel, Lord your call. I'm praying for you brother. I'm praying. God is so able. My sister who has metastatic breast cancer I didn't catch your name. God knows who you are. You said you had a compression fracture, I think. I'm praying for you. Jeremy Neph, please call if you can let us know how you're doing. So many calls have been so heavy on my heart. Just y'all just keep praying. Don't stop praying. God has us. I'm going through some health issues right now. I can't even go to church. But God is good. I love you family. You all keep us prayed up. Bye-bye.

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alexandras-adventures · 4 years ago

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Transcript for Tech Addiction: Part 1

Hi, I’m Alexandra and I am the creator of Alexandra’s Adventures. I want to explore different topics, learn new things and share my discoveries with all of you. I hope you enjoy the episode.

Hello everyone! Welcome to the first episode of Alexandra’s Adventures. If you’re listening to this podcast, you have probably already heard the trailer, but if you missed it, I’ll give you a recap. I’m Alexandra, your host, and I want to explore different topics and share my thoughts and feelings with all of you. In today’s episode, we are exploring tech addiction, how to recognize it, and what we can do to help ourselves.

Just a little disclaimer - I am by no means an expert in the fields of psychology or technology. If you feel like tech addiction is a serious problem for you, please seek out a profession for appropriate help. I am just a regular gal looking into tech addiction and sharing my thoughts and personal experiences.

Now on to the topic of the day - Tech addiction

What exactly is tech addiction?

The academic definition I found essentially defines technology addiction as frequent and obsessive technology related behavior, which is increasingly practiced despite the negative consequences to the user of the technology. Now that was kind of a long definition, so a shorter and more simple definition I found was that technology addiction is an over-dependence on technology.

Now that we know what tech addiction is, how do we recognize it in ourselves? Now if you relate to the main example I am about to give, it does not mean you have a tech addiction, it is just something I recognize that affects me and makes me realize how much time I spend using technology. And it makes me debate whether or not I do in fact have a technology addiction.

Every time your phone vibrates - are you tempted to look at it? Do you pick it up? Maybe you don’t keep it on silent, does the sound that goes off make you look at it? If you have a smart watch, it will more than likely make a noise or vibrate depending on the settings you have when you get a notification, which can be a distraction. Do you look at it everytime it buzzes or alerts you?

Now, I am able to resist looking at my phone every time. However, I will admit I look at my watch pretty much every time it vibrates when I am wearing it, because it will alert me when I get an email, but it also alerts me to stand once an hour or when I get a notification from snapchat or another app.

This can be a distraction, but there are ways you can help yourself and try to limit the amount of times you do look at it or pick it up. The simple answer people would give you is to turn off your phone and to not wear your watch, but for some of us, this isn’t an option. My phone is one of the main ways to contact me, and I need to be able to answer the phone if I get an important phone call. I also wear my watch for health reasons. It tracks my steps and exercise as well as my heart rate. And it also reminds me to stand up and walk around. So, one of the main things I suggest is to silence or put these devices on vibrate or do not disturb. Now if you put your phone on do not disturb mode, you can make it so certain numbers can call and break through that, like your emergency contacts. Another thing you can do is go into your settings and turn off notifications for apps you don’t need or don’t want to receive notifications from. This limits the amount of notifications you get in a day, which limits the number of disturbances that will occur. And I promise you, it may seem like a small step, but it will help.

One of the features on my phone that has helped me recognize the amount of time I spend on it and encourages me to use it less is the screen time feature. If you have an iPhone, there is a new feature that you can turn on to track your screen time and phone usage. Now when I say new, I mean within the last year or so, not last month. The feature will actually track how long you spend on certain apps and just clicking to see your homescreen. However, users are able to turn this feature off. So it’s only useful and helpful, if you are willing to use it.

I have been collecting data on this over the past week or so to share with you all to kind of help explain how this feature helps me. I have been averaging about 6 hours and 30 minutes of screen time per day. The majority of the time I spend on my phone tends to be split into three categories which are social, information and reading, and creativity. Which makes sense, I check my social media daily, I love to read, so I have various book apps on my phone. And the creativity category is mostly made up from me working on this podcast.

One of the cool things that is tracked is pick ups. It tracks how many times you pick up your phone, and what time your first pickup was that day. For me, my first pick up is generally around 8:30 in the morning when my alarm goes off. Sometimes it is earlier if I wake up and check the time, because I currently use my phone as my alarm clock. For example, today I checked the data and expected to see 8/8:30 AM, but I was surprised that my first pick up was 3:40 in the morning. However, I then remembered that I actually woke up in the middle of the night and plugged my phone in when I realized I hadn’t already. The data I have collected has also put the amount of times I pick up my phone between 70 to 90 times a day, which does seem like a lot to me.

The feature also tracks the number of notifications I get in a day. One of the days I tracked, I was shocked to see that I had received 111 notifications by 11 PM. As of recording this episode, I have gotten 99 notifications, but I have only picked up my phone 82 times today. So I call this a win, since that means I probably didn’t spend as much time on my phone than I thought.

So, one of my suggestions to all of you is that if you want to limit the amount of time you spend on your phone and you have an iPhone, enable the screen time feature and keep an eye on the data. It will help you identify what apps you spend the most time on, which can help you decide if you should delete the app or set a timer to help limit how much time you spend on it. Which I have done and I think it helps. And every week the screen time feature sends you a notification on what your average time was for the week and whether it went up or down, and when it goes down, it definitely makes me feel better. I get so excited to see when it says things like “you’re screen time went down by 14% this week” and even though that is a low percentage, I am still happy because that means I have used my phone less and spent less time on it, which means I was probably doing other things I enjoy or doing work.

Now your screen time in general being high is not automatically a bad thing. Some people only have access to a phone as their main technology, so it would make sense that their time would be higher, especially during a time like now with the pandemic. Many people are attending zoom meetings for work or zoom happy hours to stay connected with friends, so we are all spending more time using technology whether we want to or not.

I will say for me, my time on my phone tends to be divided. I won’t say it is always a distraction, because I do use it for work purposes throughout the day. But I will admit I use it to help take breaks. It has taken me awhile to realize that I can’t just work all day and not take a break because that just doesn’t work for me, it’s not good for me. So I will sometimes set a five minute timer and play a game on my phone or just get up and walk around or listen to a song or two. Which in the end, definitely helps me stay more focused when I need to get work done.

Now on that note, this is going to be the end of this episode. Tune in for the next podcast where we will continue our conversation on tech addiction.

Hey, Thanks for listening to our first episode. This was my first podcast episode ever, and I am happy I got to share it with all of you! Don’t forget to follow or subscribe to the podcast on whatever listening platform you use, so you can stay up to date with the latest episodes. Also, you can now follow us on instagram at alexandras_amazing_adventures. See you next time for another fun adventure.

Thanks again for exploring with me today! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about today’s episode, or ideas for what you want to hear in future episodes, you can dm me on instagram at alexandras_amazing_adventures or you can leave a voice message on our anchor profile!

#alexandrasadventures #alexandrasadventurespodcast #alexandrasadventurestranscripts #podcast #Spotify #Pocket Casts #applepodcasts #breaker #googlepodcasts #transcript #transcripts #RadioPublic #episode 1 #tech addiction #technology addiction #technology

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foreverlogical · 5 years ago

Link

There’s a right way to reopen America’s schools. It requires a clear-eyed look at the data. It demands a balanced discussion of the benefits and costs — to students, parents and educators.

And it looks very little like the path America is on.

“We really run the risk of drowning out balance by having this be ‘the people who want to reopen’ vs. ‘the people who don’t want to reopen,’” says Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University who has spent the past several months tracking coronavirus.

Oster, the author of two bestselling books taking a data-driven to parenting and pregnancy, counts herself among those in the “reopen the schools” camp. She worries that keeping schools closed will hurt kids’ education, hurt the economy, hurt parents—especially moms—and widen the inequities that the pandemic is already causing.

But when it comes to how we re-open, that’s another matter. “Florida has said its schools will open in the first weeks of August,” she says. “That’s three or four weeks from now. That’s crazy,” said Oster. “Based on where we are now, if Florida just opens the doors to schools and has everybody back in a normal way, just with a few masks, then a bunch of people are going to have Covid.”

“We’re telling places, ‘Open your schools! Open your schools!’ Like, with what money? Schools don’t have the money to do what they’re supposed to in a basic setting, let alone in this moment,” said Oster. “I look at the bills and run some of this stuff at Brown. I look at the money we’re going to spend on disinfecting wipes. And it’s millions of dollars — on wipes! I mean, this is expensive for a highly funded Ivy League university. Forget about it for a rural school.”

Since early May, Oster has been sorting through the data about coronavirus at Covid-Explained, a website she launched with other academics and medical experts to give normal people a clear reading of what we really do and don’t know about the virus. She concedes that there is a risk to reopening schools—there is a risk to keeping them closed, too. And she acknowledges the high stakes of that decision can seem daunting.

“One of the things I try to remind people is that we make those calculations all the time,” said Oster. We allow people to drive their cars and to have swimming pools and do all kinds of stuff we know to be risky, and which — in the case of driving cars — have risks to other people. As a society, we allow some of those tradeoffs, even though we might not be thinking about them in exactly this way.”

So, what would need to happen to safely reopen schools — and how far are we from making that happen? On Thursday, Oster spoke to POLITICO about all of this. A transcript of the conversation is below, edited for length and clarity.

Zack Stanton: Let’s start here: What is the case for reopening schools?

Emily Oster: The positive case for reopening schools is that kids learn better in school — quite a lot better. That’s one piece of it. In this experience, we’ve seen pretty large learning losses from kids not being in school. And those losses are disproportionately felt by lower-income students and students with fewer with fewer resources. So for the same reasons we worry about the “summer slump,” there’s now many months of summer slump, and the idea of a whole year of summer slump is pretty problematic. The second piece is that unless kids are at school, it’s difficult for parents to work, and that’s going to make it harder to reopen other aspects of the economy.

Stanton: You’re a professor of economics. From an economist’s viewpoint, how do you measure the costs and benefits of reopening schools?

Oster: It’s very, very hard. I just gave you the case for reopening, but I think there’s a case for staying closed, which is largely rooted in public health — and, in particular, concerns about health risks for staff, who are at a much higher risk than students — and the general sense that if schools open, there will be more movement around, and that may itself trigger more cases. That’s the cost side.

From an economist’s standpoint, we want to take this seriously. How large are the potential health risks? What does the evidence say? How large are the potential benefits in terms of, say, long-term impact on kids, as well as immediate impact on their parents and the economy? Think about how to weigh those things. Part of what makes this difficult — and part of why people find economists unpalatable in these discussions — is that ultimately all of those trade-offs are going to involve saying, “I’m willing to take this risk with someone’s health in order to have these other benefits.” That is a viscerally uncomfortable thing to say — and I also find that uncomfortable. I’m a person in addition to being an economist. But one of the things I try to remind people is that we make those calculations all the time. We allow people to drive their cars and to have swimming pools and do all kinds of stuff we know to be risky, and which — in the case of driving cars — have risks to other people. As a society, we allow some of those tradeoffs, even though we might not be thinking about them in exactly this way.

Stanton: You’ve written two books about data-based parenting. Part of your approach is being a parent and economist who’s willing to read the data and take calculated risks. But when it comes to reopening schools, it’s not just the risks for your child, it’s every child in town. Does that change the way you approach this conversation?

Oster: Yeah. So I think there’s actually two conversations we can have. One is the conversation policymakers are having. As they make choices, they are facing those tradeoffs, and ideally, they are thinking about those tradeoffs not from the standpoint of, “What is good for my kid,” but “What is good for the kids and the adults and the public health situation?” Absorbing all of those things. Some of what I’m saying here relies on the idea that we’re weighing those tradeoffs not just as parents.

Now, part of what’s odd is that I am also making all these choices as an individual. I’m thinking about what to do with my kid, both in terms of what is safe for them, but also what is safe for the broader world. It’s harder to think about than sleep-training [a baby], where either you sleep-train or you don’t, and the person experiencing that is you and all the people experiencing the repercussions are in your house.

Stanton: Now, it’s like you’re sleep-training a baby, but everyone in town is waking up throughout the night.

Oster: Exactly.

Stanton: Schools are the default childcare system for most kids ages 4–18. What does life in America look like come fall if schools don’t open up?

Oster: I’m not sure. I think it depends a lot on what we mean by “don’t open up.” The things I’ve seen districts talk about range from classes being totally online, to in-person two or three days a week, to “bring them all back and hope for the best.” New York City announced that kids are going to be in school between 1–3 days a week. For some families, those other days are going to be covered by parents. I think we’ll see more people, particularly women, slowing down their return to the labor force or moving to part-time. There will be some economy-wide implications around that, particularly for women. There are also families in which it is not an option to go part-time, whether financially or for some other reason. We’re going to see a bunch of kids who go to school, and then on the “off” days, go to home daycare or other childcare. There are very significant public health concerns around that. If your whole thing is, “I want the kids to be in a ‘pod’ in school, because that’s the safest thing,” and then on the other two or three days of the week, they’re in random other ‘pods’ of childcare or in a home daycare with an elderly caregiver and a bunch of kids rotating through, that’s actually substantially more risky. We haven’t really thought about what the alternatives are, and how those may be costly in the same kind of ways.

Stanton: You recently wrote a piece for the Atlantic on the quality of the data about the safety of schools reopening. How good is the data that we do have?

Oster: Terrible. Very bad. Let me caveat that: It is increasingly clear that the ways in which Covid impacts kids health-wise are fairly limited. Most kids don’t get especially sick. It’s not that they can’t get sick, but they tend to have mild infections and infection rates tend to be lower. That’s the piece where the data has come to some conclusion and has been reasonably good. But on the broader questions — When you open schools, how much transmission will there be? Will they be sources of infection? Are there going to be big clusters? — our data is very, very poor.

The data from Europe is pretty encouraging. They reopened schools. And, of course, they’ve seen cases of Covid, but for the most part, they haven’t seen schools as major vectors of infection. At the same time, the school situation in Europe is very different than in the U.S. They took many more precautions. The classrooms were socially distant. There was a lot of mask wearing. Also, Europe is a different place than America. So that data is helpful, but in a lot of ways, it’s hard to learn from. In the U.S., there are some settings we could learn from, like early childcare centers that have stayed open. I tried to collect a little bit of data about that, but actually our evidence is really poor. The way that states and official reports come out, it’s very difficult to use the data. Even the small amount of information they are putting out is actually not sufficient to make any decisions with, because it doesn't contain enough of the right pieces of data. It’s very bad.

Stanton: I imagine that there’ll be some concern about making policy decisions when the data we do have is questionable at best.

Oster: Yeah. What would be great is if states were doing a better job tracking childcare settings. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the importance of summer camps, too. Early childcare centers are good to track, but it’s not exactly the same age range. A lot of places have opened summer camps; that’s a place you could track. But again, it’s not enough to just say — I’ve seen some things in the media like, “There was an outbreak. There were some cases of this at a camp.” That’s good to know. But what we would like to understand is, say there are 40 cases, how many kids were there? What precautions were they taking? What is happening in all the other camps? We don't just want to report on the one case where this happened.

Stanton: Do you know which state is planning to reopen its schools first?

Oster: So, Florida has said its schools will open in the first weeks of August. That’s three or four weeks from now. That’s crazy.

Stanton: Florida’s done a pretty miserable job of managing coronavirus.

Oster: Very bad.

Stanton: Are you concerned with Florida as the test case here — that they’ll come back ahead of most other states, and if things go poorly, it’ll deter schools elsewhere from reopening?

Oster: Yeah. I think it could go in directions. But based on where we are now, if Florida just opens the doors to schools and has everybody back in a normal way, just with a few masks, then a bunch of people are going to have Covid. And just to be clear, that may have nothing to do with the fact that they were in school, it’s just that a lot of people have Covid in Florida, and there will be some spread in school because there’ll be some spread everywhere. We’re gonna see that.

It’s very irresponsible to do this in the middle of an enormous outbreak without appropriate precautions. And I am worried that then people will say, ‘Look, we can’t reopen schools safely anywhere.’ Here in Rhode Island, we’re doing the most testing in the nation. The share of people testing positive is about one percent. At the moment, we have like 35 people with Covid in hospitals in the whole state. To say that we’re going to look at Florida and say, “They reopened the schools and look what happened. We shouldn't reopen them at the end of August.” [pause] It’s bad. This whole thing is really — it’s like there’s so little oversight and leadership, and so few resources. And the other piece that’s really frustrating is we’re telling places, “Open your schools! Open your schools!” Like, with what money? Schools don’t have the money to do what they’re supposed to in a basic setting, let alone in this moment.

Stanton: Yeah, the School Superintendents Association estimated that an average school district — something like 3,600 students, eight buildings and 300-some staff — would need $1.8 million just to meet basic reopening needs, like PPE or deep cleaning or —

Oster: Hand sanitizer! We’re doing this at universities, and I look at the bills and run some of this stuff at Brown. I look at the money we’re going to spend on disinfecting wipes. And it’s millions of dollars — on wipes! I mean, this is expensive for a highly funded Ivy League university. Forget about it for a rural school.

Stanton: In thinking about reopening schools, when you break it down into the component parts that are required for that to happen, it’s difficult to imagine figuring out all the moving parts in time. Kids riding school buses: how does that work? Cafeterias and school lunches?

Oster: And recess.

Stanton: Music classes, with kids singing aloud or breathing hot air through instruments?

Oster: Yeah, no singing.

Stanton: Or gym class. Or water fountains. I could go on and on. How do you think through all of that — the component parts of reopening schools?

Oster: One of the things I’ve been emphasizing is a need to decide some big-picture things — what we’re going to do — and then try to tackle these individually. I think what’s very overwhelming for people in these discussions is that we are sort of simultaneously discussing the question of, “Should we reopen, and in what broad sense?” And questions like, “What about the buses?” Really, those questions need to be sequenced. You need to say, we’re going to open two days a week, five days a week, not at all — whatever it is. Make some decision there, and then move on to these individual things. Until you have a basic plan, it is very hard for all the individual pieces to come together. If I’m thinking about buses, that is dependent on whether there are five days of buses or two days of buses or no buses. You need a basic framework and then you’ve just gotta tick through these as much as we can.

Stanton: When it comes to things like students wearing masks, we��ve all seen these viral videos of adults having hissy fits in Costco or Wal-Mart —

Oster: Or Trader Joe's.

Stanton: — after being denied entry or service because they refused to wear a mask. It’s easy to imagine an amplified trend of that this fall if and when a student or parent is denied entry into a public school unless they wear a mask. Given that some people are refusing to do even the most basic things you'd want them to do to combat coronavirus, what makes you confident that we will be able to do the more complicated and nuanced aspects of this that are needed for schools to open?

Oster: I wouldn't say I’m confident. I’m not confident. [Laughs] The thing that schools have that is different from some of these other cases is the ability to enforce. Look at something like vaccines. I’ve done a little bit of work on vaccination compliance in California. California has a pretty significant anti-vax population. And the vaccination rates were going down, down, down. Schools basically said, ‘You should be vaccinated, but if you write down on a piece of paper that you don’t feel like it, we’ll let you out of it.’ That was the standard policy. And then after the [2014-2015] Disneyland measles outbreak, California passed a very stringent vaccination law, which said basically, ‘If you don’t have your vaccine, you either don’t go to school, or we’ll call up a doctor and schedule all of your vaccines.’ And vaccination compliance rates went up immediately. If you tell people you can't enter a public school unless you get vaccinated, yes, a few people are going to be the vaccination equivalent of the guy in Trader Joe’s who refuses to wear a mask to get his Brussels sprouts.

What’s potentially more problematic is individual school districts. People have written to me: “What do you suggest I do? The school superintendent in my district thinks the coronavirus is a hoax.” Well, if that’s the case, then I don't see how you’re going to get people to wear masks, because it’s not a problem with the people; it’s a problem with the leadership. That’s the piece I’m more worried about.

Stanton: So let’s say that schools are mostly safe to reopen, but not perfect. Who should be making the cost-benefit calculus as to whether a school or district reopens? Teachers? Parents? Districts? States? The Trump administration?

Oster: Not last one. At the end of the day, this decision is going to need to be made by probably some combination of the of the state and the school administration. But one of the pieces that’s really missing from a lot of the discussion at this point is input from teachers. There’s a lot of teachers’ groups — unions, yes, but not just unions — who feel like basically these choices are being made for them. And they’re very nervous. I do see the perspective of the administrators, which is, ‘We’re trying to think about everybody, and we don't have time to fight.’ But there is a point to listening and hearing people’s concerns, and also trying to make teachers and staff understand the ways in which, hopefully, we will be protecting them. I’ve been pushing for routine [coronavirus] testing for teachers. Spread among teachers in a school is probably more important than spread from kids to teachers, based on what we know.

Stanton: Within the last couple of days, there have been reports that the White House is planning to release its own guidelines for school reopenings —

Oster: God only knows what that will involve.

Stanton: — and saying the CDC’s guidelines are too restrictive. The CDC director said it was “not the intent of the CDC to be used as a rationale to keep schools closed.” What are the risks of school reopenings getting politicized?

Oster: As these things get politicized, the ability to have a balanced discussion about it deteriorates. I’ve found that even in the last couple of days. I am basically more pro-school reopening than some people, but I’m trying very hard to sort of take a balanced view. Yes, it’s important for kids and the economy, but we need to be very careful to do it safely.

But I’m finding myself being like, “Oh my God. The person agreeing with me is Donald Trump. That’s not a comfortable place.” And they’ve taken like a totally different, less-nuanced approach — like we have to just reopen at all costs.

We really run the risk of drowning out balance by having this be “the people who want to reopen” vs. “the people who don’t want to reopen.” I think we could all agree that schools are important. I think our question is, how are we balancing these risks and benefits? But that’s not the president’s question.

Stanton: How concerned are you about the way that this whole experience will imprint on kids for the long term?

Oster: My big concerns really revolve around kids who are in lower-income circumstances, who are going to experience learning losses and the sort of trauma associated with just how difficult some pieces of these last few months have been. And kids who lost family members — there’s a lot going on there. Certainly, there’s some increased anxiety in kids; I suspect that is manageable, and probably people are feeling it more now than they will in the long term. But I think if we don't open, if we don’t have good schooling next year, things are going to be worse.

Stanton: Final question: What’s your advice to a parent who wants their child to return to school, but is really nervous and unsure about all of this?

Oster: The main thing I would say is this: If your kid is healthy and not immunocompromised, then the risks to them are really quite low. And if you are healthy and not immunocompromised and relatively young, the risk to you is also pretty low. We really don't have a lot of examples where kids are the index case in a household. In that sense, the data is reassuring.

But the other thing I would tell people is that even within your family, you have to make a choice you’re comfortable with. And if you feel like you are not comfortable with your kid going back to school, and you think you can manage it at home, that is a totally legitimate choice and one you should feel comfortable making.

Part of what’s hard about this is everybody’s managing this for the first time, and it is sort of like this macrocosm of other parenting things. It’s like, “How could you make that choice? What are you, afraid of the coronavirus?” Yeah! I’m afraid of the coronavirus! It should be OK to say, “Yes, I am uncomfortable. This does not work for my family.” Just like some of us are going to say, “You know, I’ve thought about this, and I think the best thing for my family is for my kids to go back to school.” I think we have to try to be nice to each other. That’s my message: Try to be nice to each other.

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mystt · 6 years ago

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so a lot of you guys know that ive been on the contrapoints hate train for a long while. she consistently has really bad takes and even worse optics, and has a hard time responding to criticism in ways that arent weird cryptic bullshit. even beyond all that, i just dont like her content substantively or stylistically, which is clearly aimed at trying to convert centrist dudebros. because of that, shes basically the most visible single person on the left online right now. it’s important, CRITICAL even, that the things she says be put in proper context lest someone with less knowledge than her (im not at all denying that shes a smart woman) get the wrong impression of these still fairly new topics. however.

after watching this video made by vaush (a controversial rising star of the youtube left whose style i find very refreshing), i think im starting to have a bit of a change of heart. i think its important to document this thoroughly considering how much (well deserved) shit ive given natalie in the past. here, vaush is covering a portion of a patron stream that natalie did in which she addresses this most recent round of contra-versy. transcripts of it have been circulating, but i feel like they dont properly capture the way in which this topic was addressed.

this post got REALLY REALLY long, so im going to leave the rest under a cut.

natalie is obviously taking this recent bout of hate incredibly hard, to the point where she’s questioning whether or not she can continue making content. let me be clear. i have a lot of personal gripes with natalie and her content, but i think this would be a MASSIVE net negative for the trans community. despite her many shortcomings, she has acted as a gateway, an extended hand to those who don’t understand us, and i think it’s obvious that she’s very successful at it. we NEED people like her to be our liaison. and is she perfect? no, absolutely not. in a perfect world there would be many trans people just as successful as her giving all sorts of different views on what it means to be trans. but right now she’s the best we got, and i do think we could do much, MUCH worse.

apparently, people have been picking apart every single thing she says, using certain turns of phrase to paint her as a terf, or even alt-right/reactionary. ive personally never seen anyone state this, nor do i agree with those who do. but just because i havent seen it personally doesn’t mean that it doesnt happen. that shit needs to STOP. NOW. because if you genuinely believe those things, you are frankly a fucking idiot. yes, she has a tendency to say certain things in her videos and certain things in her other correspondence, but never ONCE has she indicated that she’s anywhere NEAR a terf or a reactionary. saying that she is and using it as a cudgel to abuse her makes you the lowest of the low. if you want a terf reactionary trans woman, blaire white is literally right there!!! like for fucks sake.

now, whether or not she’s a truscum/transmed is a little more dubious. she has a hard time saying outright that she isnt, but in public she at least nominally supports nb ppl. in the video linked above, she at one point states that nonbinary people ARE part of the trans community, which is definitely a step in the right direction. i just wish that if she really did support nonbinary ppl outright, she wouldn’t muddy that with her own weird personal anecdotes and support of nb-phobes.

this is a good point to address the actual meat of this controversy, the inclusion of buck angel in her most recent video. buck angel is a reprehensible piece of shit. contra clings so desperately to this idea of him being a trans elder. i guess he was the first trans man contra ever saw, and the first trans person she ever saw who passed, and this fundamentally changed how she viewed trans people. thats great for her, but he’s a relic of a bygone time and frankly he needs to get with the program. she said she’ll do better to vet the people she includes in her videos, and that’s great and all. but, she didn’t actually address the vile things that buck angel has done/said. like i said earlier, i don’t think she’s nb-phobic, but i do think she has this tendency to not properly address the concerns of her nb viewers, which is incredibly frustrating.

not so frustrating, however, that i felt the need to go to all of natalie’s professional friends and demand that they totally denounce her and sever all ties. this, right here, is an actual example of cancel culture, except this time we’re doing it to one of our own. and not just one of our own, maybe one of the most important community members and advocates that we have. i have a lot of gripes with natalie, as you’ve seen, but NOTHING she’s done requires that we ruin her life. and this savagery she’s receiving is ruining her life, no doubt about it. she’s slipping back into alcoholism, is incredibly depressed, and constantly on the verge of tears over an INSANELY undeserved amount of hate. i don’t know about yall, but i can’t watch natalie talk in this segment without the empathetic and sympathetic part of my brain telling me that something is very, VERY wrong with the position that i’ve taken.

i feel embarrassed to have thrown myself in with this lot that’s trying to destroy a woman’s life because she isn’t perfect. i feel ashamed that ive spent all this time and energy hating a woman who i really only know not through engaging with her content directly, but by looking at screenshots in twitter threads. and i feel very frustrated that now i cant be critical of one of the most visible members of our community because a bunch of savages are trying to destroy her. this whole situation sucks for EVERYONE.

#contrapoints #i doubt anyone will read all of this and i dont blame them #its just. ive talked a lot of shit about this lady and i feel its only right to defend her when she needs defending

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friendlycybird · 6 years ago

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Season 2 Reactions - part 2

Got about halfway through the season for the last post, let’s just jump right in for this one, huh?

61. So. At this point, Do Not Open was still the scariest episode of TMA to me. It just, in terms of sheer NOPE, FUCK THAT, it was yet to be beaten. I thought, for a moment I thought, that getting answers about the coffin would...help. It did not. It did the exact opposite because now I know exactly what would have happened to Joshua if he’d been a little less smart except oh wait I DON’T because WHERE THE FUCK DO THOSE STAIRS LEAD AND WHAT WAS SCRATCHING AND MOANING AND JUST NO. NOPE. Text Alone Can Not Express The Amount of Pure <b> NOPE </b>

62. Okay, I was excited enough for another Gertrude episode, but when I realized the other old lady was Mary Keay I was through the fucking roof. I also realized something about Gerard because of this episode. Well, less a realization and more...a theory? Maybe? But. The entire reason Gerard was implicated in his mother’s death is because of the mutilation. Multiple patches of skin removed and marked. When we meet Mary Keay in Pageturner, she is covered in writing head-to-toe, and then in this episode, we learn that removing a piece of skin and using the correct sanskirt writing is a way to bind the deceased. We also learn that it’s very difficult, especially if you’ve never done it before. What all that says to me is that Gerard tried, again and again and again to bring his mother back, to bind her, and he eventually succeeded, only to eventually be accused of murder for his efforts.

63. Fucking. Shadows.

64. Forgive my amusement at Jon’s *profound* irritation at this statement. I just. I don’t know I think it’s hilarious? A fucking Mummy, and it’s the worst of all words as far as Jon’s concerned, and I love it.

65. Hey, remember how I said a couple episodes ago that Do Not Open *was* the scariest episode in the series? All that Nope-ing I did about the coffin? That was nothing. Nothing compared to *this*. This episode hit me right where I live and hit me hard. Like, I loved the beginning. I still love it. I expected this to be one of my favorite episodes, but instead I never want to listen to it again. Every word of the opening five or so minutes of Tessa Winters spouting philosophy on...technology and humanity and the mind and the statement about there being nothing Binary about people just gave me all sort of joy - and then we find out what she went through. And. I can’t. I just. Can’t. I can’t deal with that and I’m not sure I can accept her conclusions no matter how much I agree with it and. Someday I’m gonna go back to this episode, and I’m gonna properly challenge...a lot about myself. But for now I’ve ranked it as Scariest Episode and have no definite plans to return. If anything in this series ever scares me more...I...well I don’t know.

66. I’m not sure of the spelling of the name of the reoccurring dealer from this episode, but his episodes are always...I always come away with the impression that he’s in over his head?

67. It was strange, thinking of Agnes as an adult instead of as a creepy child. Of course, I knew about the Agnes that died when the tree came down in Burned Out but...I don’t know. For all that we’ve learned about The Lightless Flame there’s still a lot I at least still don’t know.

68. I was kinda sad when we found out Joseph Russo died after giving this statement, I liked him. He seemed to have such genuine enthusiasm for the Institute and the paranormal...as a Gravity Falls fan characters like that hold a special place in my heart.

69. Okay, terrifying Spider Experiment aside, the beginning. The beginning of this episode with Martin bringing Jon some tea and carefully trying to nudge him to communicate with Tim and...I love Martin okay? That said, a quick glance through the transcript reminds me that Annabelle Cane is still out there, quite possibly with a nineteen-strong army of...who knows the fuck what. And that’s just. Freaky.

70. You know, Mary Keay talked in episode 62 about a time before Leitner started his collection, and then in this episode it comes up that perhaps a few books outright escaped his attention altogether. Which...before this, they were marked. Leitner may not have gotten to be the guardian he fancied himself but his name became a warning when you open a book not to go on. The idea that not every danger was marked though...unsettling.

71. Disappearances on the London Underground, a near-miss with becoming one of those disappearances and this woman gives the most matter-of-fact statement ever. Like, she’s completely immune to what I would imagine would be inevitable trauma. Something’s up there.

72. I keep feeling like we’ve seen the shopfront marked only with what it does before but I can only think of a season 3 episode where this also happened right now? Regardless, the thing about this episode I can’t get over is the fingers. Like, the pile of fingers but also the fact that they *grow back*

73. I love Basira

74. Y’know, it scares me a little that the real Jonathan Sims said in the season 2 Q+A he didn’t have to research this episode at all because of his own experience with not sleeping.

75. Another look at Mike. I wonder what he had to gain from taking Grant. He saw a moment of true courage, conquering a phobia to help his brother. Was it that? Or was it just the fear?

76. I genuinely enjoy the dynamic between Jon and Melanie, and given the events of season 3, I hope to see more of them with their new situation.

77. I think I guessed the premise of this episode from the title.

78. A second statement in a row with the same premise. Took a lot to get the truth across to Jon.

79. My impression of the opening of this episode was that Tim was worried Jon would hurt someone else and Martin was worried Jon would hurt himself. Meanwhile, Not!Sasha is the creepiest fucking thing ever.

80. All the mysteries solved, all the answers about Lore, even Elias showing his true colors at the end - all that stood out to me from this episode was the confirmation that Sasha’s dead. I spent the whole season in denial, hoping that...maybe they’d save her somehow. I forgot what genre I was dealing with and I really ought to have known better but having it...stated, so bluntly... it...remember earlier this season? The relief when we heard the words that Jane Prentis was dead? This was the opposite of that.

#Cybird Says Things #about TMA #The Magnus Archives

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weice-queen-schnee · 7 years ago

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What if Weiss was the one who found Jaune training to Pyrrha's video, instead of Ruby? (drabble)

The chill of the night air seeped intoWeiss’ bones, through her sleeping bag, rousing the girl from herslumber. “Hmph, some use you are,” she grumbled, looking down atthe bedroll she was curled up in. She laid her head back down andclosed her eyes, eager for more sleep but it was no use. She wassolidly awake.

Weiss looked around at the campsitethey had set up. Nora and Ren were sleeping soundly near the almostburnt out fire. In their sleep, they had hands stretched out towardseach other, but not quite meeting. She couldn’t help but smilewarmly at the sight. Even if they wouldn’t admit anything, the worldneeded all the love it could manage right now.

She looked over to Jaune’s sleepingbag only to find it empty. The briefest feeling of panic came overher as she shot up, preparing for the worst until she remembered thathe was probably just keeping watch. For all of his shortcomings whenthey first met, he had made significant growth both as a huntsman andas a friend since then. She sighed and laid back down, closing hereyes and shivering under the cold in a stubborn attempt to go back tosleep out of sheer spite. The cold was winning.

Weiss sat back up and looked aroundagain. It was odd for Jaune not to say anything if she was clearlyawake. She took another glance around and panic crept back in whenshe noticed that Jaune wasn’t even near the campsite. Did someoneget to him? No, he would have made some kind of noise. Did heabandon us? No, how can I even think that. Say what you will abouthim, he’s loyal. She quietlycrawled out of her sleeping bag and walked to the edge of their camp,a faint sound in the distance grabbing her attention.

Shefollowed the sounds, getting clearer with every step she took. Grunts and the swish of a blade. It sounded like Jaune practicing. Quietly, she approached until she could see her new partner andconfirm her suspicions. It was Jaune alright, but she heard anothervoice. A voice that sent a chill down her spine and froze her in hertracks.

“Alright, Jaune, just like wepracticed. Follow these instructions. Shield up.” Pyrrha’s voicecut through the night air like a knife. “Keep your grip tight. Don’t forget to keep your front foot forward. Ready? Go.” Jaunetook a step forward and swung with Crocea Mors. “Again!” Another step forward with another swing. “And again.” This timehe spun around with the blade sending a ripple of air through thetall grass before kneeling down and panting for breath.

This was no longer quietly watching ateammate practice. This had become something else, something thatmade her feel much worse, like she had defiled something sacred. Shedidn’t belong here, this wasn’t something meant for her but shecouldn’t bring herself to leave.

“Okay. Now, assuming you aren’tcheating, we can take a break.” Jaune stood back up and closed hiseyes for just a brief moment. “I know this can be frustrating,”Pyrrha continued with Jaune turning towards his scroll to look at herrecording. “And it can feel like so much effort to progress such asmall amount, but I want you to know that I’m proud of you. I’venever met someone so determined to better themselves. You’ve grownso much since we started training. And I know this is just thebeginning.”

A wave of guilt crashed into Weiss. It was one thing to watch Jaune practice. It was a completelydifferent thing to watch him honor Pyrrha’s memory through a trainingrecording she made for him. But this…this was more than that. This was eavesdropping on a private memorial. She turned away andstarted to walk away, desperately trying to be as silent as humanlypossible.

“Jaune, I-I…” the recordingcontinued. “I want you to know that I’m just happy to be a part ofyour life. I’ll always be here for you, Jaune.” Weiss felt thesting of the cold hit her face as the cool night air hit the tearsrunning down her cheeks. She couldn’t leave. She couldn’t move. All she could do was drop to her knees and cry silent tears. Itwasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that Pyrrha was taken from them. Itwasn’t fair that Jaune had to shoulder this burden.

The recording automatically rewoundand Jaune continued running through his exercises He made it throughthe second set of sword slashes before he stopped, pausing the videoon his scroll and listening. Weiss could be heard crying deeper intothe treeline. “Weiss? Weiss, is that you?” The heiressdesperately tried to compose herself as she had done many times as achild. “Yes, Jaune. I didn’t see you at camp, so I went to lookfor you.” Her face was like iron, the tears dried from her face,but her eyes were still red.

“Why were you awa-wait, were youcrying?” he asked, concern painted on his face as he instinctivelytook a step towards her. “No! I was just…” she trailed off,looking at Jaune. There was no sadness in his eyes, only worry forher. More and more, he kept proving himself to be the leader Ozpinthought he would be. “Yes. I…I overheard your recordingand…and…”

“You miss her too, huh?” he asked,giving her a comforting smile and leaning back against a tree. “It’shard, waking up and not seeing her there. Not being able to talk toher, tell her about my day. Did you know she’d ask me, if I didn’ttell her what my day was like? Even on the boring days. Or the oneswhere we already spent the whole day together in class.” He lookeddown to the ground and gave a small laugh. “It’s funny…all thesigns were there, I just never saw them, you know?”

Weiss tried to respond, but all shecould do was look at him sadly as her tears started to flow softlyonce more. “I wanted to give up, after the fight at Beacon. Ithought, if Pyrrha couldn’t make it, how could I? But I thoughtabout the last time I wanted to give up. Do you remember? Back whenCardin threatened to get me expelled because of my transcripts? Butshe made sure I kept going. So that’s what I’m going to do. Keepmoving forward. It’s what she would have wanted.”

“Jaune, I-” she began. “Youdon’t have to say anything, Weiss,” he interjected. “I know thissort of thing isn’t exactly your strong suit, and that’s ok. I’m…I’m making my peace with it. I figure so long as I have mysword and shield and I keep going, she’s still with me. She’s stillwith all of us.”

The two sat in silence for a fewminutes before Weiss returned a weak smile to Jaune. “I’m sorry Iintruded.” “Oh, don’t worry about it. I was going to bestopping soon anyway. What are you doing up anyway?” “I wascold…it woke me up,” she pouted. “I thought you Atlesians wereused to the cold,” he quipped, giving her a big grin. She gave hima glare but rolled her eyes, relenting to his cheeriness. “Comeon, let’s get back to camp,” he said, getting up from the tree hewas leaning against. “Oh, and Weiss? Don’t tell Ren and Noraabout this yet? They’re still grieving pretty hard.”

#sterlingmoonstone #Weiss drabble #reblog if you'd like just give me credit

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hybrisanaideia · 7 years ago

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The Silver Tree: What you need to know

Ok, now that I’ve completed my fairly comprehensive transcription of The Silver Tree and my run-through, it’s time. The reckoning y’all have awaited or not is here.

So as a preface, I’m not terribly concerned with how the game used to be. It’s changed after all, and for those of you who see this and played it at some point: it’s completely free now. All that lovely Fate locked content has been freed for perusal, so long as you have the persistence to grind it out.

Now for the meat of the post: the general gameplay.

Silver Tree is a text-based browser game very much like Fallen London, though there are some notable differences. However, don’t get worried. ST ultimately isn’t as complex mechanically as Fallen London can get, and pairing that with effectively unlimited actions (you have 1000 and they refresh) means you won’t have to worry about screwing yourself over.

First off, there’s no direct currency like Echoes. Instead think of it more as bartering and trading, since ultimately the sort of stuff you end up trading and spending to get ahead are used as such. You’ll have 2 types of “goods” to use, Trust and concrete objects like secrets, bribes, or gifts. It’s fairly easy to earn both since there’s no real punishment for failing, however you might want to keep some things in mind.

· Trust exists to be spent. Don’t worry about spending it, since unlike Fallen London it’s not nightmarish to grind it back out.

· You have three People you can have Trust to spend with: The Princess, the Khan, and the Interpreter. Once you reach 20 Trust with an individual you are as highly esteemed as possible, but you aren’t capped at 20. You can continue to earn Trust via various methods to hoard larger amounts of Trust.

· Since the three characters you can earn Trust from are nearly always at cross-purposes or flat out disdain/hate one another, you can be blocked from going through certain choices due to having too much Trust with the wrong person. Just keep the locked option in mind while you look for a way to spend that pesky Trust, since it’ll still be there afterwards.

· There’s three types of concrete goods: Bribes, Gifts, and Secrets. You’ll spend these in various ways, but most importantly you’ll be spending these in large quantities to level up. Keep an eye out for options to spend them to raise your level in your qualities. Some options will be locked if you level too much before you stumble across them however.

Secondly, there’s nothing close to the Menaces you find in Fallen London. The closest you get is called Suspicion, and it’s represented by an image of a shady looking camel giving you the evil eye. Too much or too little suspicion can lock you out of advancing, but it’s both very easy to reduce or increase.

The quickest way to quickly raise Suspicion is to find a task you’re almost certain to fail, and check your failure. If it nets you Suspicion to fail, then hammer away until you have the amount you need. The quickest way to reduce Suspicion is to pick various options to spend concrete goods to reduce it. It can take a little while if you don’t have a lot of goods on you, but it’s not intensive.

Finally, there’s a quality you can gain via making progress in some of the key storylines called “The time of the day.” Keep an eye on it, because when you hit “nighttime” you’re immediately taken to a new page where you have a variety of options. It’s kinda like payday in Fallen London, but here you have the option to get various goods, trade X good for Y good, wipe out Suspicion, or level up. You mostly need to watch it if you’re banking on leveling up via its options, since there’s no way to go back to grind out enough goods once you’re there.

That’s pretty much all you need to know about the general gameplay, so now onto “story mechanics.”

Silver Tree is absolutely riddled with major storylines, but ultimately there’s 4 you have to complete: The Official Mission, The Covert Mission, The Silver Tree, and The Khan and his Daughter. Options to advance these will pop up as you gain more progress in the storylines, and they can frequently cross-over with one another in content. Once you have a certain amount of progress you’ll no longer find options to advance, as you need to decide the outcome of what you did with your findings. Be sure to have 20 Trust with each character before advancing to the final decision in order to maximize available options.

· Special note for The Official Mission and The Covert Mission. They’re linked together mechanically as well as storywise, so you have to complete progress in both to get to the final decisions. Be careful of doing so if you’re not quite ready for the end, since you trigger it by doing so.

And that’s really all you need to know to play. Silver Tree is a very forgiving and leisurely game, where you can play at your own pace. I do advise having a general idea of “what I want for the ending” unless you’re experiencing this for the first time. There’s 11 unlockable endings in the finale, and you cannot redo or see any other ending than the one you pick. If you wish to see a different ending you have to make a new character.

Have fun with it, go wild! And be sure to chat about your character’s exploits!

http://silvertree.storynexus.com/s

edit: read more was added since apparently it won’t show up in the tag otherwise

#fallen london #the silver tree

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writing-in-the-tiny-house · 4 years ago

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BookWise Publishing, with Karen Christoffersen

A special thanks to Karen Christoffersen!

www.bookwisepublishing.com

[email protected]

She does free 30 minute consultations!

Become a patron to Writing in the Tiny House today.

patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse

The following is a transcript of this episode. The complete transcript can be found on the show’s website.

Devin Davis: If you are looking to do a book on your own, then you need to get to know Karen Christoffersen owner of Book-wise Publishing. She assisted me in doing my first two books and she is actually our guest today on Writing in the Tiny House. Hello. Hello. Hello, and welcome to the show. Welcome back to Writing in the Tiny House.

[00:00:49] I am your host Devin Davis, and I am the guy living in the tiny house who is here to show you ways to get that novel written. Even if you are the busiest person in the whole world. And today we have a special guest. And before I do a really big introduction, let's go ahead and meet her. This is Karen Christoffersen. She is a producer and the owner of Book-wise Publishing.

[00:01:18] Karen Christoffersen: Hi Devin. I'm so excited to be able to do this with the Writing in the Tiny House. I thought that the title of your podcast was delightful. And so the fact that you've invited me to be on it is, is an honor.

[00:01:35]Devin Davis: I have known Karen for, forever, it seems. Her son and I are very good friends. And back in my early twenties, when I wrote my first book As Magic Shifts, it was Karen who did all of the heavy lifting to get it published and to produce it and to clean it up and to move all of the moving parts to form this cohesive picture we call a book. And the first book I wrote As Magic Shifts was published under CMS publishing, which at the time was owned by Karen Christoffersen, and then later she moved to Book-wise Publishing. And my second book, The Witch's Pupil was published under Book-wise.

[00:02:25] Karen Christoffersen: Book-wise publishing was started back in 2006 when there was a company called Book-wise and Company owned by Richard Paul Evans, number one New York times bestselling author, and several partners who decided they wanted to create a publishing arm. And they called it Book-wise Publishing and came to me and asked me, because I'm a producer, if I would produce a hundred books for a hundred new authors. As a producer, all we do is start a project and finish it. I was doing television commercials, radio commercials, motion pictures. I was doing all kinds of production as a producer, but I'd done two non-fiction books for Richard. It's a piece of cake, you know, you start, you finish. And so I said, sure, I can do that. And of course, my dad taught me never to say no. He said, just go out and find out how to do it. And so I ended up surrounding myself with a lot of really talented people: editors and illustrators and designers and all kinds of people actively involved in the publishing industry locally and nationally.

[00:03:39] And they made me look very good. And I coordinated everything. And so I've been doing that since 2007, 'cause we started that the second year and after a year and a half, Richard decided that, and by the way, Richard was only doing endorsements. He wasn't doing anything. I was operating the business alone. And after a year and a half, he decided he really didn't want the liability anymore. I'm pretty sure that's why. And besides he had his irons in so many fires at the time, he was just going gangbusters, doing all kinds of things. And he sold it to me for a dollar. The branding alone for Book-wise Publishing was worth $20,000. Plus, you know, there were other parts to the company that had value. And so I said, sure, I'll do that. It did take me because there were a hundred authors and then they added another 50 when they added a program called Write-Wise. So I had 150 authors that I was responsible for producing their books.

[00:04:43]And out of the $5,000 they paid, I only got 1300 to work on their books. So it took me a couple of years to get the company in the black, but obviously not all of those hundred and 50 authors came back and finished your books. So I eventually just continued doing more and more and more until today.

[00:05:07]Devin Davis: Karen has been doing this for more than 14 years, and she has produced more than 500 books, anything from paper back ,to hard back, to board books, to tub books, to eBooks and audio books.She ha s a team of talent that can do it all and can do all of the things. And so she has become a very valuable resource for anybody who wishes to self publish.

[00:05:38] Karen Christoffersen: My goal is to make my authors as happy as I possibly can. So when I put that book in their hands, it's like putting that baby in her mother's arms. It's a moment of just pure joy, and that's what I look for.

[00:05:53]

[00:05:53] Devin Davis: So Karen estimates that the expense of producing a book is about $3,000. My personal estimation is closer to $5,000. And many authors get a book finished, they write it, they edit it and they go through the entire huge process of getting a manuscript ready. And now it's printed, or it is available to order in the ebook form or whatever, they have this finished product, but many of them just don't know what to do next.

[00:06:26]Karen Christoffersen: If we can just get authors atuned to the fact that this is a small business. The startup business is tough and you have to build and you have to stick with it. Well, a book is like that as well. You have to be on there every day. You know, write a blog, do a newsletter. You must have a website. Websites are very inexpensive to do now. The hard part is selling it.

[00:06:54] So if people start off from the beginning, I remember Richard Evans told me, he said if I had started collecting email addresses when The Christmas Box first came out, he said, I've had millions of names, but he didn't start collecting addresses for like 10 years. And so that's one thing that I can't convince enough authors to do is to go out there and start building that list.

[00:07:21] Tell your friends to share. Tell your friends to send this to their friends and ask your friends if you can have their email address.

[00:07:29]Devin Davis: So where to get started. The process of writing a book has so many steps and so many different professionals to bring in on board to the project that it is so easy to lose track of what you need to do. It is easy to lose your steam and it is easy to lose focus. So, what Karen has put together is called the Book-wise Publishing Boiler Plate and she passed this document onto me.

[00:07:59] It is updated regularly. The one that I have was current as of July 7th, 2021. And it goes through and outlines step by step, the different things that you need to do in the writing process to produce a book, to get to that finish line of having a book. And then we move on a little bit to marketing after that.

[00:08:27] So if you are interested in the Book-wise Publishing Boiler Plate document, go ahead and email me. My email is [email protected]. And I will be able to send that to you so that you can see what Book-wise Publishing has put together. As far as that is concerned.

[00:08:49] Karen Christoffersen: One thing I think is really important is that if you are a serious writer, if you're serious about completing a book, you need two books, you need your book, but you also need a journal. And write in your journal every day what you do, whether you write 10 pages, whether you call so-and-so who knows an editor or an agent or whatever is happening in your book life, keep a journal of it because you're going to want to refer back to that sometime. And you will have valuable information that you don't even know was valuable at the time you received it. So two books.

[00:09:29]Devin Davis: Sometimes as business owners and as people who are creative, we failed to see the importance of record keeping. So with different things like this with having your manuscript that you are working on and then keeping track of the things that you did to progress that manuscript that can serve you in many different ways. It can show you, first of all, exactly how you did it so that you can do it again when you move on to your second manuscript. It can also serve as kind of a force to lift you up. If you are feeling down, if you are feeling unmotivated, you can look back to the specific days where you pushed through and did a lot and accomplished a lot, and had a really successful day, as far as production goes, and you can replicate what you did to get past that and to do it again. And so record keeping is very, very important in a small business, not only just the financial side, but also what you have done for production.

[00:10:42] With me, I have my book, well, my two books. I now have two books, two manuscripts that I'm working on. I also have this podcast that I need to keep track of. With the podcast, I don't keep track of all of the notes that I have taken for each episode, but I definitely have a planner because this is a regular release schedule. And so I need to be organized and I need to think ahead.

[00:11:08] And if I ever want to have days off, it means that I need to get things done beforehand to earn those days off or to prepare for them. So with books, I have done the book writing before I know how to do that. And I know the people that I need to get ahold of for the next steps, because I've done that too. And I never did keep a second journal, but I also recommend doing that just as Karen pointed out.

[00:11:36]But also something, another thing that Karen does, and this was surprising to me, Karen has an entire career built around producing and around marketing. And so Karen has spent her entire adult life writing the short stuff, saying impactful things in a very short amount of time, because in marketing, you don't have pages and pages to build or to develop.

[00:12:06] You get to hit them hard and you get to say the important things in a good, meaningful way right away. And so Karen writes the short stuff. With my books, she wrote the blurbs on the back of the covers because she's good at that. And she knows how to do the small things well. And so when she moves on to share with me something else that you will hear here in a second, I was completely surprised and delighted by this little gift that she shares.

[00:12:44] Karen Christoffersen: I was going to read to you just a little thing. 'Cause I don't write books.

[00:12:48] I do a lot of writing, but I don't write books because I have too much work to do just editing. I decided to write as what I call a fictionalized narrative based on true events. And I bring other people in like, you know, the boy in my neighborhood who was my friend and his quote from his point of view, what he sees happening in my life.

[00:13:13] But I thought it might be fun just to read a tiny little excerpt. So I would like your response to these four short paragraphs. You're ready for this?

[00:13:25] Okay. Now I grew up in a trailer in a tiny home and and I had a sister who played Elvis Presley all the time.

[00:13:34] And my big brother, 12 years older than me. He looked like Elvis Presley. I thought Elvis was my brother. And I liked big words. This is when I was five years old. But even when I was five years old, I liked big words. So this is four paragraphs for inspiration for you guys.

[00:13:52]Butch was my friend. He was about 10 or 11, and I was five. Butch had a dog named Gunner. He was a big German shepherd, mostly black, but he had a lot of golden fur in his face and he was beautiful. He was bigger than me, probably twice my size, a happy dog, always looked like he was grinning, kind of like me. Dad called me a grinning idiot.

[00:14:15]Butch had to keep him on a long rope because we didn't have fences. So Gunner had to be leashed when we were at school. And I lived right on Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So it was a nasty road. I remember riding the school bus home one day. And as we got to our stop right in front of our trailer park, there was a dark something in the middle of the road, a ways in front of the bus.

[00:14:37]I didn't think anything about it at the time, but when we walked to our trailers, I noticed Butch was looking around and couldn't find Gunner. He called him, and Gunner would always come when he heard Butch call but not this time. And then I knew what that black thing in the middle of the road was.

[00:14:55] And I was sick at heart, sick to my stomach, and didn't know what to do. Butch and his dad dug a hole near the back of their trailer space I remember it was in the spring because the wild flowers were in bloom and I picked a bunch to put on his grave. Butch was pretty stoic. I liked that word.

[00:15:12] It meant strong and quiet-like I loved big words, even as a child. I knew he was hurting, but he didn't have to show it. I liked that. He could hurt inside, but he didn't have to show everybody and make a fuss. At my house, someone was always making a fuss. That kind of quiet strength really impressed me. I wanted to be like that, but I was a girl and girls, well, we're usually not the epitome of quiet strength.

[00:15:40] The role model I had at the time was just the opposite. I remember standing there as Butch's dad shoveled dirt into the hole, singing quietly to myself, "You ain't nothing but a hound dog crying all the time, nothing but a hound dog." It was my requiem for Gunner. He was a good dog, a loyal and loving one. Died on Route 66, just east of Albuquerque.

[00:16:06] And that is my tiny excerpt from my narrative. And I wanted to write it in such a way that my kids would actually read it. And so I bring this up because anybody out there who is thinking about writing the book and thinks they can't write a book. Well, I thought I couldn't write a book, but I I'm starting to think I might be able to, because I read a few of these pieces to my children and they liked them and ask for more.

[00:16:38]Devin Davis: So there you have it. Anyone can write a story. And a lot of us want to write some form of memoir, either for ourselves, for our lives or for a loved one. Like Caroline Nadine Helsing did in one of those previous episodes. And you should. And it is fun to bring focus to the idea of a fictional narrative based on real events and how that can be just fine and a beautiful way to do your own narrative or your own memoir or the memoir of a loved one.

[00:17:14] It can be fun. It can be entertaining. It can be more memorable that way. If you choose to incorporate those elements as well, just as Karen is choosing to do with her own personal memoirs. I know that I will, when I do my own stuff later on in life, I'm not interested in writing a memoir today. But if you are interested in reaching out to Book-wise Publishing, do their website at www.bookwisepublishing.com. And if you want to reach out to Karen Kristofferson herself, her email is [email protected]. It has three Z's in a row. Uh, I will include that email address and a link to the website in the notes of the show.

[00:18:03] Also, again, referring back to the boiler plate document. If you want to get a hold of that, feel free to reach out to me. My email address is [email protected]. And I would be able to send that over to you.

[00:18:18]That's it for today. A big shout out to my patrons who help make this show what it is. If you wish to become a patron, you will get early access to this content, you could get an additional episode every month and you could spend quality time with me over some private chat features in Discord.

[00:18:35] Just go to patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse to sign up to become a patron today. Also, be sure to follow me on social media. On Instagram I am @authordevindavis, on Twitter I am @authordevind. And thank you so much for listening. Be sure to be on the lookout for next week's episode, where we will be hearing from author AJ Mac, who wrote The Gem State Siege during NaNoWriMo last year. So that is coming up next week. Thank you so much, guys. Have fun writing.

Check out this episode!

#writing #writer #author #fiction #am writing #wip

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dailyaudiobible · 5 years ago

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06/22/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 3:1-4:17, Acts 14:8-28, Psalms 140:1-13, Proverbs 17:22

Today is the 22nd the day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I'm Brian it's great to be here with you today as we move into our time together around the Global Campfire and around the Scriptures. We’re in the book of second Kings. We haven’t been there long but we’re moving into the book of second Kings. And we spent a good…good-ish amount of time in the northern kingdom of Israel and their kings as well as the prophet…prophets Elijah and Elisha and we’ll continue with that. We’ll continue in the north and we’ll continue with the prophetic voice of Elisha today. Second Kings chapter 3 verse 1 through 4 verse 17.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we are on mission with the apostle Paul at this point in the book of Acts and they move through a city called Lystra and they preach and there is a healing. People witness this. They start freaking out and they decide that Paul and his companion Barnabas at this point, that they are gods that have come down in human form and they need to be worshiped. And, so, they're doing everything that they can, and they decide that Barnabas is actually Zeus and Paul is Hermes. And, so, there…there happens to be a temple to Zeus. So, they’re like going to the priest and…and saying “hey. Zeus is in town. Like he’s showed up in town in human form.” And, so, they’re bringing bulls out. They’re gonna do these sacrifices to the…to Paul and Barnabas. And, of course, Paul and Barnabas are like trying to stop everybody and are like, “hang on a second. We’re just humans like you. We’ve come here to tell you about the living God.” And, so, they begin to share the gospel, but the people still are convinced that they’re Zeus and Hermes. And, so, there like still trying to do the sacrifices until…until some Jewish people from nearby cities come in and they know who Paul is. And. so, they start to turn the crowd. And the next thing we know, Paul is stoned and left for dead. That…that’s the story of the early church. Like these are the stories of the early church. This is how things came to be. And, so, Paul went from being a God to being stoned to death and left for dead, as it appears, on the same day, which shows you a bit of the mob mentality at work, like how quickly people can be pulled together in one direction, even with a complete false word, a false story or declaration. People come around the stores. And, so, that's what happened. At first, they are absolutely convinced that the gods are among them, until the seeds of this story from the Jewish people spread through the crowd which turns the crowd murderous. That's not a new concept. Obviously, it’s an old concept because we’re reading it out of the Bible. So, we’re reading a story that’s a couple thousand years old. But this kind of behavior has always been going on. And it's interesting. On the one level it's interesting how compelling a narrative can be, like how concrete some sort of narrative can be when it pulls people together and ushers them to move in the same direction for a period of time. That can be for great good and for great evil. Often, it's for great evil, especially when there’s a mob involved like this. And we’ve seen these kinds of things in our lifetimes, but that…it's not new. Like this has always been happening. We have to admit that this is not unlike the mob mentality that ultimately condemned Jesus to the cross. So, we can see some pretty significantly negative things can happen when people are swept together without the whole story. And we have to look into our own lives at the way that we get swept into things the same way. And at times we get swept into things against our brothers and sisters in the Lord and people's lives get damaged or destroyed in the process.

This is essentially the words coming out of the Psalms today. So, going back even further, way further than the book of Acts. “Those who surround me proudly rear their heads. May the mischief of their lips engulf them. May burning coals fall on the. May they be thrown into the fire into miry pits never to rise. May slanderers not be established in the land. May disaster hunt down the violent. I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise your name and the upright live in your presence.” It’s like this kind of thing has always been going on, causing at minimum mischief and maximum total destruction to the lives of people in their path. It’s part of the Old Testament story. It’s part of the New Testament story. It’s part of the early church story. It’s still part of the church story. And we have to watch ourselves because it's really, really easy to get swept up into worshiping God for what He's doing through someone and then trying to destroy that someone because it turns out they’re a human being after all and not God. So there are times that we just…we need to keep our eyes on our own lives and the path that we are walking, and not get swept into someone else's story that's getting stirred up. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves, “yeah, that might be tasty to get into, but is that my battle? Is that even something I have anything to do with whatsoever? Am I getting involved to be seen here? Like, what's going on? Am I being invited to be an agent of the good to be Jesus in this situation or is it that I simply want my opinion expressed? What good can come from my involvement? These are good questions for the times that we are in and the times that we are going into. And as we navigate, may we remember the proverb today; “a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Let's not be agents dispensing crushing blows to people's lives. Instead, let's hear the first part of the proverb; “a cheerful heart is good medicine.” So, we can take that on board in our own lives and say, “okay. Whatever it takes I've got to find a way to maintain a cheerful heart. That’s medicine for me. But I also need to spread, like in every way that I can I need to promote a cheerful heart so that we all might experience this good medicine instead of being swept up into things that will only crush people and eventually crush us.

Prayer:

Father, we come into that and consider that. And it brings up all kinds of different scenarios and situations that we've experienced in our lives, times that we’ve hurt people, times that we've been crushed, times that even with our own brothers and sisters we’ve been at odds and swept into things we had no business being involved in and people got hurt. And this was…this was never Your way for us. So, Holy Spirit come and show us what it looks like to maintain a cheerful heart and made it become good medicine in our souls. And as we are transformed may that spill out into the world so that we aren’t being swept into anything, we aren’t crushing anybody. Rather, we are about the business of restoring things. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus. we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base and its…it's a website on the Internet. It's the…its home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And, so, stay tuned and stay connected.

Check out the Initiatives section for…for things that are going on around here.

Check out the Community section. That’s where the Prayer Wall lives. It’s always happening. It's always on. You can always reach out for prayer. You can always reach out in prayer there at the Prayer Wall. And there's different links there to get connected on the different social media channels that we’re involved in. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There's a link on the homepage. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your partnership as we move into the summertime. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if you prefer, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app which is little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning everybody. For as high as the heavens are above the earth so is His steadfast love towards those who fear Him. Yesterday was a very upsetting day for us. Some of you will know from the Friend’s page. Our little ginger cat Loki went missing. He’d been __ too so where really concerned as the day and night was ticking on. He’d been gone nearly 20 hours and is very unlike Loki. I cried out to the Lord as we do, and I was listening to worship and they were singing about trust. And I said to the Lord, “I trust you Lord.” I didn’t have an outcome in my mind or in my heart, but I simply said I will trust you. It wasn’t long after that declaration that Peter went out searching again and little Loki appeared very thin, quite unwell. He’s just gone to the vet. But he was home. I’m so thankful to God. What’s precious to us is precious to Him. His love is…it just melts me. His care for us. The little things in life with all that’s going on in the world He was concerned enough about my heartbreaking over the…the gift of a pet he gave to me. And His love abounded towards us. Thank you so much. This is God’s Smile here sending my love and drying my eyes. Bye-bye everybody.

Hello this is Gloria from Uganda here in __. I’m really really very grateful for this Daily Audio Bible app and __ podcast. And I’m really really really very grateful because I had desire to study a Bible plan at the start of the year but I couldn’t go with the flow but I’m very excited and I’m really enjoying hope to review all the previous messages. I’m really really blessed thank you very much Brian. Thank you very much China. We…we love you. We…we ask you to pray for us. The situation and the pandemic with most of the people all around. And the closest family to me and all unemployed right now and it puts me in a state whereby I have to look after my family of 12 people. My mom and my dad are not working, and I really really puts me in a very very very difficult position right now. But I trust God and with your messages I believe my faith is going to rise higher and I’m gonna…I’m gonna…I’m gonna go through this __ first and with your messages I believe I will…I will move forward I will believe and I will grow. Thank you very much. We do really really appreciate it and ask you to pray for us. My job __ business is really slow, and I pray that our business visions and people came back __ because many of our staff were laid off because of the pandemic. And I also pray to get an increase in salary because I got a promotion, but __ an increase in salary. I need to have a family of 12 people behind me. Thank you very much. Thanks a lot.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family this is Pam from Shasta County California and I am calling in for Patricia in New Orleans. And Patricia, I just want to pray for you. Heavenly Father thank You so much for Your goodness and Your mercy and Your love and thank You for how much You love Patricia. Thank You for her heart, thank You for her passion, thank You for her strength. Father I just pray in Jesus name right now that You would ease her pain Father. I pray for relief. I pray for healing in Jesus’ name that You would just pour Your healing out over her and that she would get immediate relief from this pain. Father, thank You for who she is Lord and who You are in her life. Father thank You that You are so close to her. I pray that she has people around her that are loving her and are helping her Father and are praying for her. And help us all to remember pray for her and everyone here and we thank You for Your goodness. We thank You for Your mercy. And thank You for Your healing in Jesus’ name.

[singing starts] Lord bless you and keep you make his face shine upon you be gracious to you. Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. May his favor be upon you for a thousand generations your family your children their children their children. May His presence come before you and behind you and beside you all around you and within you he is with you he is with you. In the morning in the evening in the coming and the going in your weeping and rejoicing he is for you he is for you. He’s for you he is for you he is for you he is for you he is for you he is for you he is. [singing ends] Just a sweet reminder DAB family. This is Abba’s Grace and He shines. Amen. Amen!

This is Vickie calling from Southern Oregon and I have been listening now for a few months and really enjoying reading Brian and I’m also enjoying the prayer community. Thank you so much. I’ve been struggling trying to call and not having the courage to do that. My son is an adult and having problems. He’s severely mentally ill and he’s also strung out on drugs. And I recently moved him out to Oregon trying to save his life and now I’m feeling overwhelmed and not really knowing how to help and it’s disrupting my life and, you know, risking my career and my home. So, I could use some prayer. His name is Eddie. Thank you.

Hi this is Brooke Right from Omaha Nebraska. I just want to pray for my mom because my grandma who came to take care of everybody, she…I don’t remember how long ago…is leaving tomorrow afternoon and my mom just had a major surgery taking out her…in which she had to take out her womb. A womb is a place with the babies come. So, it was very painful. She has a lot ohwees. She has to go on a walk twice a day which is kinda good for my dog Ella which I would show you but this is a recording not a video. And, well, just want to pray for my mom, my brothers and my dad because he’s in masters. Probably have a lot of more….no… wait…just quite a few maybe five which is…we count it quite a few…more…like five more chores a day because we have a garden that has like snow peas and tons of other things. So, yeah, alright I don’t have much longer on this call so I’m just gonna leave. Bye. Brooke Right.

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is God’s Light out in Portland Oregon, and it’s been some time. I’m responding from Ben in Columbus who called back in…maybe the 12th of June or probably even before that. His message was there on the 12th of June and I…I believe he was speaking to me and I was so taken aback that I needed to allow a couple callers in and hear a couple more prayer request just to confirm that he was speaking to me. I have tried to submit prayer requests and haven’t…and having…and fallen short and felt silly for doing it. I’ve really…I’m in a bad spot right now financially, physically, mentally, spiritually. Everything’s under attack and I have lost everything. I’ve lost my home, my children, my ex-wife. I’m soon to have another child, which I’m ecstatic about. So, the grieving process comes and goes with excitement but…but for the most part this grief and humiliation is following me. And if you could pray for me and I would…I would greatly appreciate it. I’ve been following the Daily Audio Bible since 2011 pretty much every day and I’m just so thankful for this community and thankful for you as my family. I’m very thankful to have you. Please stay strong and I pray for all of you.

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canaryatlaw · 7 years ago

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anyway. today, for a day where I didn’t leave my apartment, was about as good as they can get. I woke up at 12:14 pm (my late alarm was set for 1 pm), and I had cookies for breakfast because I mean they have oats and raisins in them they’re basically healthy. I didn't want to start studying secured transactions because secured transactions sucks, so I went back to making remedies flash cards to get through the rest of the outline I’ve been using. After a while of doing that, I wanted to get my stuff ready for the interview, so I spent a while doing that, and then I was combing through the emails trying to find an address and I was like FUCK I don’t know where I’m going so I emailed them and they were like “oh no sorry it’s just a phone interview” to which I was just like OH okay good that makes my life that much easier, I can be in my pajamas and have my laptop in front of me with information about the job in front of me in case I need to access it. So I was not upset about this development. I went back to doing remedies flashcards until the interview time, and sometime in there I got an email from my legal drafting professor with my graded final assignment attached. And I was just like, okay, deep breaths, don’t be upset you can handle this whatever it is it’s just gonna be and it’ll be fine. so I open it, and I’m looking at the point breakdown and seeing that I got all the points on most of them, and then I scroll to the bottom and see a 47 (out of 50) and I was legit like, wait, was this assignment actually out of 100?? because I couldn’t believe I did that well after an entire semester of getting like, half of the points on assignments. but here it is, in front of me, complete with comments from my professor talking about how great it was. my last assignment was 10 out of 20, and this one was 47 out of 50. guys, I was so overwhelmed I actually started crying. The feeling of relief was so immense. I was literally preparing myself not to get upset about getting a bad grade on an assignment that I poured my heart and soul into because this is the work I want to do, but I’d been doing so badly on the assignment I just had no faith that there was going to be anything good. I was telling myself that if I end up with one C on my transcript it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, even if it knocked down my GPA and class rank (which we all know I’m very protective of). I was so ready for it to be bad, but then it was good. so good, like, best grade I’ve ever gotten on a legal writing assignment ever. I felt so vindicated. I was beginning to doubt myself over my bad grades in this case. I was beginning to think that maybe I wasn’t a good writer after all, that motion that my supervisor thought was excellent was just a fluke, maybe I just suck at all of this. But I worked really hard on this assignment. I spent hours pouring through cases trying to find the right ones to use, and I found them, I found the best arguments, and I knew it was great but I still felt like it wouldn't get a good grade. but it did, and honestly, I was just so happy that it happened. So I took a while just being happy about that haha which was definitely justified. Got ready for the phone interview though, and sure enough at 4:30 I got the phone call. I had been poking around their website earlier in the day, and I found out the lady who was doing the interview is actually an alum of my law school, and my school is super big on alumni hiring newly graduated students and bringing them into the fold, so that was definitely good news. So I answered the call and I started talking, she was telling me about the company, basically they help other companies follow legal regulations they have to follow by apply technology to make the systems better, and basically this would be applying legal analysis skills to data and text and bringing out the ways to best comply with regulations, so that all seems cool and interesting. I definitely owned up to not knowing all that much about the field but I was ready to learn, and they were like that’s really fine we know a lot of people aren’t going to have experience and we’re just looking for someone who's willing to learn, and I was like okay perfect, because that made it seem like they’re actually considering hiring me (lol) because I kind of thought they were gonna do a preliminary interview and be like okay yeah she doesn’t know what she’s doing we can’t hire her 😂 but apparently not! Interviews always get me though, because when they have questions like “tell me about a time you worked on a team” or questions like that about stuff I’ve done in the past I’m like, entirely unable to think of any examples, and because my brain is so good at bs-ing, I end up coming out with these almost totally fabricated stories haha like it’ll be roughly based on something that happened just with completely changed circumstances to fit whatever the question was, and I hate doing it but it just happens when I can’t think of anything! And not gonna lie, my bs stories are pretty good. I told a totally fabricated version of taking charge of my legal writing team project first year (the one that was a total dumpsterfire, but that’s okay), I talked about hanging out with my sister when she was younger and trying to balance how much of a parent I was to her and how much responsibility I had with my parents when they would be like “it’s too late why didn’t you put her to bed” and I was like “because it’s not my job??” which did more or less actually happen, just not quite in the way described. She did ask what I’ve done that I was most proud of, and really all I could think of was forming the TWLOHA UChapter my senior year of undergrad so I talked about that and she sounded like, really impressed and touched by the answer haha. when she asked about what my weakness are I was basically like “well if I’m doing something that’s not engaging my brain it can be hard for me to stay interested in it” and she was like “wow, that’s probably the best answer to that question I’ve ever heard, because everyone always tries to turn it into a strength and I really appreciate that you didn’t do that” haha so there were lots of brownie points being scored all around, so that was good. We set up a *tentative* second phone interview for Monday, saying she’d send final say about it later today, so I took that as a good sign for sure haha. I just felt like everything went really well with it. It was funny at the end when she started talking about salary and was like “we really can only start you at $45K, and that’s not negotiable, so if that’s a dealbreaker for you then now would be to say it” and I was like 😂😂😂😂 honestly my salary expectations are basically “you pay me” because I’ve been working my ass off for so long with no compensation, so I will happily take whatever amount of money they will give me. And it’s not like that’s even an absurdly low number?? it’s pretty much par for the course in most public interest law jobs so I was cool with that, I guess with some areas of law that have six figure starting salaries there would be an expectation of there to be more but like, really, that’s not something that’s really going to be a dealbreaker for me. So yeah, it all went well and a little while later I got an email confirming the second interview for Monday, so this is all very good! It’s funny, because I’ve made more progress towards an Illinois based job in the past few days than I’ve had in literally months of sending out applications everywhere and not getting any response, but now I’m here with two very solid job prospects. The New York job is still going to be the first choice because it is what I *actually* want to do, but if that doesn’t work out I’m glad to have solid prospects that I wouldn’t totally hate. So yeah, all good stuff. For a while after getting off the phone I looked through the remedies flashcards for errors and reading over them, I’m not very concerned about this class despite the fact that I was way more interested in my twitter feed while legends was on than actually paying attention, because it’s really just a mix of contracts and torts and I already know those pretty well and I can cram the rest in, so I’m not concerned really because it’s stuff I already understand the concepts of, not like secured transactions that might as well be in another language. Then I only have civil rights, which I’m really not concerned about, but I will have to put some effort into prepping because it’s open book, so I’ll need to make an outline for it and read through all my case briefs because there were some cases I never actually read (whoops, blame senioritis) so I’ll know what cases to go to after reading a fact pattern, but that shouldn’t be too hard. I worked until a little after 7 before finishing up, made some dinner and got ready to watch Arrow. It was interesting, because I had literally no interest in the main plot with Oliver and Anatoly and Diaz, but I really liked the stuff with Quentin and black siren, along with the NTA stuff so like, everything except the main character 😂😂 but I mean the writers did that to themselves really. Katie Cassidy’s acting has really just been knocking it out of the park, her complexity in how you can see Black Siren having warring emotions is so well done, like honestly she deserves a fucking Emmy for this part. It’s so obvious that she is in it deep as far as caring about Quentin goes, and she knows it too, and when they had the scene at the end when Quentin talks about losing his Laurel and sometimes doing bad things for good reasons I basically died, they’re so fucking pure and I just love it so much and if they kill Quentin in the finale and just bring Sara in for his funeral I’m gonna be so fucking mad at them. I liked the NTA stuff too, they had some pretty awesome scenes, blowing up that truck with the drugs in it was pretty epic, so props to them for actually dealing with the problems right now, lol. I have to complain about the scene at the end though where Oliver gets “arrested” because like......it’s not like he was a fugitive they were trying to hunt down, they couldn’t done that at literally any point?? and then Diaz was like “don’t even think about bail” when he was already fucking out on bail and that comment makes zero sense???? then the tv was like “he was arrested for violating his bail” which is just like.....how exactly did he do that?? what are you even saying that he did to justify this?? and you suddenly care about bail conditions when you clearly didn’t when Oliver went out of state for Barry and Iris’ wedding (not leaving the state is a pretty basic bail condition legit everywhere in the US)??? So I had a lot of issues with that like, 30 seconds of a scene, so just IMAGINE how fun I’m going to be next week when there’s an entire trial for me to complain about and protest that they’re fucking it up?????? And yes, I am going to be insufferable the entire damn time because that’s who I am and I’m not giving that up, dammit. So I will be pointing out every single inaccuracy in the entire damn episode. I will say though, based on the preview, the appearance of Tommy potentially would be a game changer that could definitely help me feel better about the episode as a whole. So yeah, we’ll have to see how that goes. Didn’t have anything else to watch so I went back to Game of Thrones. I would probably find it more interesting if I had any idea who half of these characters are and how they play into the overall plot, and believe me I’m trying, but there are just people popping up left and right and I have no clue who they are. Also, I’m not really a fan of all the sex/nudity and gore in all of it, like it’s really graphic and like, that’s just not something I enjoy seeing, and constantly seeing people half naked or wholly naked just feels uncomfortable to me, so 🤷🏻‍♀️ I of course do enjoy other aspects of the show though and will probably keep watching for the time being, anyway. I witnessed the arrival of Brienne of Trath who was pretty damn bad ass, so I definitely appreciate her and I feel like I will do so for quite some time. When that episode was over I watched the news a bit before starting to get ready for bed. I should probably mention that somewhere in here I stumbled upon the video of a performance of one of the songs from the new Mean Girls musical on one of the late shows, and holy fuck man, I am obsessed with this song. I’ve literally had it on repeat all fucking day, lol. It’s called “I’d Rather Be Me” (and as you can see I changed my header on here to it already) and you can get it on iTunes and it’s basically the best thing I’ve ever heard, so I highly recommend that. And yeah, that about wraps up today. I know I said I was in a shitty mood earlier but I am feeling someone better after writing this post, so that’s good. Tomorrow I have PT at 2:30 but nothing else really, so it’ll probably just be more studying like I should be doing, good stuff. Alright, it’s past 1 am so I should be getting to bed now. Goodnight sweeties. Have a good one.

#daily journal #April 2018 #it's been April forever

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