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readyplayerhobi · 4 years

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Jung Hoseok and the Magic to Happiness | 02

; Hufflepuff Teacher!Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, future angst, future smut

; Word Count: 6.5k

; Synopsis: An unexpected issue with your Ministry of Magic job leads to you taking the role of Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts. It’s here that you meet your best friend’s younger brother for the first time in years, the Hufflepuff Head of House, Jung Hoseok. While you contend with seeing him once again, Hoseok tries to show you that he’s very much a man and no longer the gangly teenager you once knew.

; A/N: After almost three months of no writing...I finished this chapter :) I hope you enjoy...please leave me feedback in the form of comments or an ask. The long break has made me worry about a bit about whether people will even read my stuff anymore lol

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The next two months pass by with only a few growing pains in terms of teaching. You’d discovered pretty quickly that a group of twenty students could easily turn into pure and utter chaos. Particularly when one of them accidentally turns another into a turnip.

That had not been the best first-week experience if you were being honest.

There had been a few minutes when you’d been convinced

But you were certainly getting used to everything. It was odd being on the other side now, being the one who commanded attention from the students. You had an almost desperate need to be liked by them at first, but the other professors had quickly dissuaded you from that. They were not your friends, and you’d learnt that if you gave them an inch then they’d take a mile.

It had been pleasant though, and you were certainly enjoying everything. There was nothing better than the smile on a student’s face when they got a spell right, with the knowledge that you’d been the one to teach them that.

The comments you’d been told on your first note about the house stereotypes had also proven to be true. You’d never seen so many Slytherin’s chatting happily with Gryffindor’s and so forth. Whole friendship groups were made up of varying houses and none appeared to be left out. Nor had you seen any house related bullying as there had been in your day.

Once typical insults of a Slytherin being home to a Death Eater had vanished for the most part. The one time you had seen it, hurled by a Hufflepuff of all things, had resulted in complete outrage amongst all the students. It had warmed your heart to see the younger generations working in far better harmony than yours or your previous generations ever had.

Chaeyoung had become the equivalent of your work best friend, bringing her marking over to your office and spending time chatting happily with you. Seokjin had also become a close friend or at least as close as someone could get in only two months. The two of them were fascinating, coming from vastly different lifestyles.

Her family were practically magical royalty in France, though she’d moved to the UK whilst only a child to live with her grandparents after the deaths of her parents. As such, she’d ended up attending Hogwarts and had been in the year below Hoseok. Despite her initial French upbringing, she had no hint of an accent though she’d spouted fluent French to you when you’d queried her language abilities.

She also spoke Spanish, which had led to her initially getting a job as a translator at a magical exporting company. It had amused you thoroughly that it had been based in Devon, along the southern coast of England with France just over the narrow Channel Sea. Chaeyoung had laughed at the time, acknowledging that the mild weather was much nicer than the temperamental mistress you had to contend with here in northern Scotland.

It hadn’t proven to her liking though, and she’d soon ended up applying for the vacant History of Magic position. She’d been quick to explain that she’d taken up an extra qualification in her chosen area and that she wasn’t just randomly picked. You knew from Jisoo that muggles had a different way to education, but there were no real universities here in the wizarding world.

Chaeyoung studied hard enough and was very knowledgeable about her chosen area, so you didn’t see too much issue regarding it. And she was a popular teacher, helping to turn a subject that many would often find dull into something fun and interesting.

Seokjin, on the other hand, was older than you. He was 36, with a wife of ten years and two young sons. He’d trained in astronomy in the Ministry and had brought his skills to Hogwarts three years ago. You’d ended up bonding together over your dual experiences in the Ministry; both lamenting over the different departments and positions you’d had yet the same bureaucratic headaches.

He was a joyful sort with a smile always on his face for you and his students along with a genuine passion for the stars and the universe. You knew that he made it a goal to read much of what the muggles were doing, his fascination with the fact that they’d been to space bordering on an almost obsession.

It was no surprise to you that these have been the two that you had ended up so close with. Both had the experience of working outside of Hogwarts and that seemed to make you all different from the other professors. Everyone else had interned here immediately after finishing before taking on their chosen role.

Jimin came from a long line of auror wizards and witches that stretched back centuries. This meant that he had extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts inherited from their wise teachings. His mother and father still worked in the Ministry, which meant that he’d slipped into the Defence Against the Dark Arts position with ease.

Which was a good thing as it had remained an awkward position after the Second Wizarding War. It was a role that was often hard to fill as some many witches and wizards felt that it would be best to ignore that the Dark Arts even existed. If no one knew about the Dark Arts, and all the horrific violence and devastation that had occurred with them, then there wouldn’t be any need to defend it.

That was, of course, a most ridiculous idea and Hogwarts had firmly resisted any such attempts to whitewash both the history and the concept of the Dark Arts. By not acknowledging what happened, and teaching to both understand why it happened alongside how to protect against it, then it would just happen again.

But it remained an exceptionally unpopular position due to the intimate knowledge of the Dark Arts required. To know how best to protect against the Dark spells, you had to know what the Dark spells were.

You had experienced at least three professors during your tenure as a student.

That had all changed five years ago though when Park Jimin had finally taken over when his predecessor had packed it all in to go and study the famous dragons in Romania. The handsome silver-haired professor was young, but he had won over the staff of the prestigious school with his astonishingly good spellwork.

The fact that he had also made short work of their hearts was because he was also incredibly good looking, much to his benefit when it came to dating you were sure.

Jimin wasn’t just a pretty face though; he was the best dueller in the school. From what you’d been told, he had yet to be bested. Which honestly, was to be expected from someone with such a prestigious bloodline as his.

But not only that, he’d proven to be sweet and kind to his students with a backbone of steel as well. While there may be no true bad blood between houses now, Slytherin still garnered an air of suspicion from other houses even to this day.

Given the preponderance of dark witches and wizards that the house had produced over the years, it was a well-earnt suspicion, unfortunately. Still, you didn’t believe that the bad decisions and choices made by people long ago should have any bearing on your current students; all of them born long after those terrible events.

Jimin had proven to be an excellent example of why you should never stereotype people based on what others had done. In your opinion, he was an exceptional teacher and had taken on the helm of the Defence Against the Dark Arts role with the clear mindset of not only helping to protect his students but also to try and prevent them from making poor choices.

It was a tough subject to teach as it meant constantly walking a narrow line while also steering students true through narrow and murky waters. There were plenty of students who might find themselves a little too fascinated in the concept of the Dark Arts, after all.

According to Chaeyoung, Jimin tried to combat this by making sure to teach them about the history of the Dark Arts. From what you understood, he held no punches in making sure they all knew the horrific acts of murder and sacrifice that had been committed to preventing students from romanticising a dark part of wizarding history.

Not only that, but he made sure to teach about the most infamous dark wizards in history; the Death Eaters and Voldemort. This was all to ensure that they did not repeat the mistakes of the past. He took his role seriously, whether it was through spellwork or simply enriching the minds.

Despite his relative youth, you’d come to know him as passionate and hard-working with a true love for his students. Whether they be in Slytherin or Gryffindor. It was just one of the many things that you had come to grow to love about Hogwarts in your short time here so far, the way the school had adapted and grown so quickly.

Hogwarts was a castle that had been built from stone carved centuries ago and housed ancient treasures of the wizarding world, but the Battle of Hogwarts had been a turning point for many. No longer did it constantly look at the past with pure pride, and to many - ignorance, but instead looked to the future as well.

It sought to teach well-rounded wizards and witches that would enrich the community. Which meant it had attempted to modernise itself as much as it could. Of course, it didn’t match the sparkling modernity of steel and technology that the muggle world had developed over the last two centuries but it was improving itself and working to develop new magics that would mirror some of the advancements that the muggles had made.

Perhaps the only thing you’d found a little awkward to embrace was teaching itself. You’d been eager to begin but had quickly realised that teaching was much more complicated than you’d imagined. For all of the good things that Hogwarts was doing lately, it seemed odd to you that they didn’t even bother teaching their professors to teach.

A few discussions with some of the others had revealed that they also had this issue when they’d started. It seemed to have been easier for those who hadn’t spent too much time away from the school after they’d graduated but it had been a long time since you’d been schooled here. Teaching methods had changed and you’d struggled to maintain a healthy balance of actually teaching, answering questions to help students, having open hours to encourage students who were struggling to have extra tuition and finding time to mark the essays that you handed out.

In short, it had been a very steep learning curve for yourself. Thankfully, your students had given you the benefit of the doubt, which meant they’d been very accepting of any mistakes you’d made. You’d also worked with the other professors to establish a good teaching plan for each of your lessons while also cross-referencing to ensure students weren’t loaded with too much homework.

It was more work than you’d expected, which made you understand how naive you’d been. But you found it to be satisfying work and the reward of seeing students learn and retain their knowledge throughout their lessons was better than anything you’d done in your previous job. And that was to say nothing about the pure wonder and joy on the faces of the first-year students when you had begun their education.

Underlying all of your experiences so far though was one Jung Hoseok. Whilst you’d become quick friends with Seokjin and Chaeyoung, Hoseok was a strange enigma to you. He was friendly and always willing to help you whenever you got confused over something or were feeling a little stressed.

His job as the Care of Magical Creatures professor meant that you rarely saw him during school hours. A large portion of his time was spent outside in the Forbidden Forest or in the custom-built buildings that housed many of the fantastical creatures that he cared for. You knew that he did have a classroom though. It wasn’t anywhere near yours but it held a lot of the smaller creatures that didn’t do so well in the Scottish climate.

Hoseok’s commitment to his job was commendable as he often spent a lot of hours outside. Which meant that as the months slowly shifted to winter, he was finding himself in the cold and rain a lot more often than not.

More than once, you’d spotted him outside when peeking through one of your classroom windows and noted him completely drenched as the rain poured down. It made you cringe each time you saw it, knowing that his robes would be heavy with water. But he never complained about it, even though he was the only professor who also had to work on the weekends.

On top of that, he was also busy with being the Head of Hufflepuff. From what you understood from your talks with Jimin, it meant always being available outside of learning hours for his House students. Whether they wanted to talk about a problem they had or simply needed advice, he was there to help them with whatever they needed.

It also meant that he had to attend every Quidditch game, and you wondered how he managed to cope with such a full schedule. You felt exhausted after a week of just your normal work but knowing how much extra he put in was mind-blowing.

Despite this though, you’d noticed over time that Hoseok always made sure to be present for every meal in the Great Hall. And much like the first meal you’d shared at the top table, he always sat next to you. You hadn’t thought anything of it until Seokjin had casually mentioned one day while you’d been at Hogsmeade with him and Chaeyoung that he’d never sat in that place before.

His old spot was actually on the other side of the table, next to Taehyung and Jimin. Seokjin hadn’t even thought anything of his comment but it had caused you to pause, wondering why Hoseok had felt the need to change his position. At the time, you’d simply shrugged and pointed out that you’d known him when he was younger and that his sister was your best friend.

It only made sense that he wanted to be there to help you out and make sure you were okay.

But that excuse started to falter when you thought about the fact that he never mentioned Jisoo to you. Hoseok didn’t mention anything of the past that you both shared. Instead, he would talk about Hogwarts now and your jobs or ask about what life was like at the Ministry when you’d been there. Those topics often led off onto little tangents and you’d both find yourselves chattering away with each other as the meals went on.

The others would get involved too when they could, but there was something...singular about Hoseok’s focus. And that was to say nothing of how he always made sure to walk you back to your quarters after dinner. There was never much talk that happened then, instead, the two of you simply enjoyed the architecture and decoration of Hogwarts as you found different ways to get back, the company exquisite in its silence.

A comfortable silence that you hadn’t found with many other people.

Chaeyoung was convinced that Hoseok liked you. You’d tried to debunk that theory by pointing out that he’d fancied you when he was younger and it was probably just the allure of an older girl who was more accessible to him than others. You were always around given your friendship with his sister and he’d probably just transferred his teenage hormones onto you at the time.

If anything, he was probably embarrassed about how obvious he was back then. Poor Hoseok had never been subtle in anything.

Despite your defence, Chaeyoung had simply given you a look that you hadn’t been able to interpret. Nor did you understand the subtle glances and smirks that she exchanged with Seokjin whenever Hoseok sat next to you at the dining table. It was like there was a silent conversation happening between the two of them about you, only you weren’t included in it.

Thankfully, you weren’t the type of person to be too influenced by other’s thoughts and opinions. So you didn’t let Chaeyoung’s opinion on the subject impact upon your burgeoning friendship with Hoseok. So even though there was a voice in the back of your mind telling you that there was something more, you ignored it and chose not to ruin the fledgeling friendship you had.

You’d felt a sense of relief though that Chaeyoung had been too busy with marking papers to attend dinner last night, which meant that she hadn’t been able to overhear your conversation with Hoseok last night. The two of you had been discussing his lesson plans for the next few weeks and what creatures his students were going to be studying.

He’d suddenly gotten an odd look on his face before grinning. If there was one thing you had learnt upon being back at Hogwarts, it was that Hoseok’s smile was perhaps one of the prettiest things you’d ever seen. Which was why you’d smiled back at him immediately, even though you had no idea what he was so happy about.

But he hadn’t made you wait and had instead asked if you were tonight. You’d acknowledged it and confusion had been written all over your face but he’d just given an enigmatic shrug. All he’d said after that was to meet him at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest an hour after dinner.

Which was why you were now standing in the dark. Your robes were wrapped tightly around you but it did nothing to stop the way you shivered, jaw tight as a cold wind rushed through the trunks of the trees before you. Part of you wanted to run back to the castle if only to grab your winter coat, but you didn’t want to look like you’d stood Hoseok up.

Though you did wish he’d turn up quicker rather than later.

Huddling under your cloak more, you clasped the edges together with your hands and pushed it up to cover your mouth and nose. It didn’t do a whole lot against the cold, but it was better than being exposed to it. Even though the wind wasn’t strong, it was still enough to cause your robes to flap, the sound loud against the quiet of the grounds.

The only other sound right now was the wind as it howled through the Forbidden Forest, making the already dark and ominous area look even scarier. Even though you were now an adult, there was an underlying fear of the forest before you. Perhaps it was because it had been firmly ingrained in you as a student that this area was off-limits or something.

Still, you wouldn’t want to go walking around in it on your own anytime soon.

The sight of the trees suddenly moving ahead of you made you gasp quietly, body freezing in position as you squinted to try and see what it had been. You knew that the forest was full of many magical creatures; not all of them gentle and kind.

Swallowing hard, you stayed in place to try and avoid attention, gaze skittering around as you tried to find that shape once more. A branch cracking caused you to flinch, your hands tightening into fists around the material of your cloak and you had to clench your jaw to stop any noise from escaping.

The black shape formed once more ahead of you and you almost shrieked in fright, getting ready to run away until you saw a sudden flash of brighter colour. Frowning, you let your hands unclasp themselves until you realised it was a yellow scarf and realisation flooded through your body.

“Bloody hell!” You cursed, the syllables being spat with indignation. Hoseok looked up in surprise, his own eyes widening in surprise before concern etched itself onto his face when he saw the dual outrage and fear on you. Striding forward, you met him just as he was about to cross over the boundary of the trees onto the grounds of the castle and poked at this chest, a scowl on your face.

“You didn’t think to warn me you were going to be coming from the forest! Merlin’s beard, I almost ran away because I was afraid it was something that was going to hurt me.” Hissing at him, you realised belatedly that you had to look up to him to do this. Damn him and his growth spurt.

Still, he at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Sorry, I didn’t think it might seem a little scary. I was just coming back from checking on the centaurs; I haven’t been able to meet them in a while and wanted to see if they were okay.” His explanation was logical but it still made you scowl.

“Why aren’t you carrying a light or something?! Do you always just gallivant around the Forbidden Forest in the dark? Aren’t there dangerous things here?” You pepper him with the questions quickly, each one causing his brow to rise higher incrementally. It’s a good job that it’s dark because you don’t notice the way the corner of his lips quirks up in amusement at your tirade.

“I don’t use one in there, not normally. I know my way around very well. I have worked in this forest for years now. But I do have lanterns dotted around in case I need one and I can always use a lumos spell, like now. I figured you wouldn’t want to journey in the dark.” At that, he pulls his wand out of a pocket in his robes and mutters the spell, the tip lighting up with bright white.

Narrowing your eyes at the sudden influx of light, you’re momentarily startled by just how handsome Hoseok looks in the light. It casts an almost blue glow to him, his normally sun-kissed skin looking paler than you’ve ever seen it before. The shadows on his face only serve to highlight the sharp angles of his features while his eyes almost glitter.

It’s only then that you realise you’re staring, quickly averting your gaze away and focusing them on your hands instead. At that moment, another harsh wind blows through and you shiver in response, your shoulders lifting as you try to curl in on yourself.

Gripping your cloak once more, you’re too distracted to notice what Hoseok is doing. The only sign is the light going a little wonky for a few moments before you’re startled by the sudden feeling of softness on your neck.

Letting out a small ‘eep’ of surprise, you jerk away only to see Hoseok staring at you with wide eyes, his scarf no longer wrapped around his neck and instead being held out to you. The Hufflepuff colours look washed out in the odd light and you pause, giving him a confused look as you glance between the scarf and him.

Brows raised, he lifts the item before giving you a slow smile. “You’re cold. You can wear this if you want. It’s not as chilly in the forest but I don’t want you to get poorly because of it. I should have warned you, sorry.”

It seems like all he’s done is apologise so far and it makes you feel bad, causing you to nod your head and take the scarf from him. Wrapping it around your neck, you immediately feel a little warmer and you can’t help but take a deep inhale of the scent woven into the soft fibres. It’s a more concentrated form of what you get to smell every meal time; citrus and something with a slight hint of spice.

For a second, you wonder if it’s a cologne it’s bought himself or if perhaps it’s something a woman bought for him. It suits him, either way.

“Are you ready? You don’t have to come if you’re feeling uncomfortable or anything…” Hoseok trails off, biting his lip in an almost nervous way that makes you feel a little odd. Pushing the thought away, you hum and glance behind him into the forest. Your curiosity was too much and so you nodded firmly, giving him a gentle smile before gesturing for him to start walking.

Without another word, he turns around and begins to walk once more. You notice casually that he’s following a path cut into the forest, the ground level and even compared to the wildness all around you. Alongside the sound of your boots on the dirt, you realise that there are a few other noises all around you.

The gentle hoot of an owl is overwhelmed by a shriek far away, causing a chill to run up your spine. Shuffling forward a little quicker, you almost reach out to Hoseok as a tinge of fear takes over. As if he can tell, he turns around and gives you a concerned look.

“What was that?” Whispering, you glance around and wonder if you should talk loudly. Hoseok looks in the same direction as you do before shrugging slightly.

“Could be anything. This forest is full of creatures, both magical and mundane. Might be a bat or could be something else. Don’t worry though, there’s not usually anything dangerous around this part of the forest. It’s too close to the edge and the creatures that can do the most harm prefer to remain deep within the forest.” It’s almost casual the way he slows to walk alongside you, giving you the safety of his presence but you notice it all the same.

Not that you comment on it, of course. But you appreciate it nonetheless.

Giving him a noncommittal sound, you continue until he takes a sudden turn off the path. The forest floor is dense with foliage and tree roots, causing you to trip a few times. Hoseok helps you along, reaching you to hold your arm to keep you upright when you trip over one too many roots and you get the sense he’s enjoying this.

Maybe it’s because he lets out a soft chuckle when you swear loudly, scowling down at the deeply embedded rock that you’d accidentally kicked. Despite the fact your best friend’s little brother is leading you deep into a scary, dark forest, you don’t feel any concern about him. What could be in the forest, sure, but not him.

He gives off a sense of security that surprises you. All those years ago, Hoseok had been the perfect example of an annoying little brother to Jisoo. Always irritating her and doing things with the sole purpose of being a pain, which in turn meant doing those things to you as well. But now he seemed dependable and you got the sense that you’d want him with you if anything bad happened.

“Okay, we’re almost there. Now, I need you to stay very calm and don’t make any large or sudden movements. You might scare her.” Staring at him in alarm, you suddenly realise that you’ve not even questioned what he’s wanting to show you. Not that he’d have told you, you’re positive of that, but his instructions make you feel a little uneasy.

Upon seeing your face in the light of his wand, he gives a small smile and rests his hand on your arm reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, I promise, you’re going to like this. You’ll understand what I mean.” Frowning at him, you watch as he starts forward once more and realise he’s heading into a little clearing. Sighing deeply, you realise that you don’t want to stand there on your own so you follow him slowly, almost hesitant to see whatever he’s bringing you to.

You swear, if it’s one of those obscenely large spiders that’s supposed to live in this forest then you’re going to jinx him with something he’ll still be suffering from in a year.

The clearing is small and almost circular, though the position of some trees makes it seem a little broken in places. Long grass that is almost bouncy cushions your feet and you wonder if flowers would grow in the daylight, the canopy of trees above broken and allowing more sky through than elsewhere.

During the day it would get a lot of sunlight, but at the moment you couldn’t help staring in awe at the moon as it glowed brightly, it’s full body visible against the black of the sky. A few stars twinkled serenely alongside it, looking peaceful and creating a beautiful image.

A pale, ghostly colour catches your attention from the corner of your eye and you find yourself pressing to Hoseok a little closer. His back is strong and solid against your hands as you tense in concern, peeking around him to try and catch what it was.

What you see causes you to gasp out loud, letting go of Hoseok’s robes abruptly as you take a wide step away from him to get a better view.

Long, sinewy legs move through the forest in an almost dainty manner, picking their way through the undergrowth with care and precision. There’s almost no sound as the creature moves towards the clearing, only the softest rustle of leaves that can’t be avoided. It’s fascinating how quietly it can move given its size and you wonder if it’s some magical ability that allows that.

Within moments, the shape coalesces into a clearer image as it passes through the edge of the trees on the other side of the clearing. A silver coat practically glows under the moonlight, giving the creature an ethereal feel that makes you feel that it’s not even real. That you’re just seeing an apparition instead of a real animal.

The horn on its head is long and spiralling, ending in a deadly point while the pale white mane and tail flow in elegant waves towards the ground. Golden hooves paw softly at the grass, glinting slightly.

A unicorn.

“Merlin’s beard…” You whisper, pressing a hand to your mouth before looking at Hoseok. “A unicorn...that’s a unicorn!”

They were rare creatures, even rarer now due to being hunted over the centuries by both muggles and wizards. Muggles thought them a myth now while you knew the rumour of the powerful properties that unicorn blood had. You hadn’t even known the Forbidden Forest had unicorns in them.

“It is. I haven’t named her, seems a little wrong to name her. They normally don’t really like men but I found her when she was injured two years ago. She was dying and I helped nurse her back to health. Unicorns have great memories and we’ve kind of become...friends? Or as much of a friend as you can be to one.” He finishes, smiling as he watches the unicorn snort almost in agreement.

Her eyes are a deep black in the moonlight but you note they look almost friendly and kind. Hoseok’s hand on your back pushes you forward slightly, causing you to start and look back at him with wide eyes.

“Move slowly...hold your hand out to her so she can see it and smell it. Be careful and like I said...no sudden moves. You’re a woman so she’s more likely to accept you anyway, but she’ll let you know if she’s not happy.” Gulping, you nod and take a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, you try to stop the trembling in your limbs.

Whether it’s from excitement at finally getting to see your favourite magical creature in the flesh or fear of being gored to death by that dangerous horn, you don’t know. But you follow Hoseok’s words, trusting him to be right.

Slowly, you walk forwards with your hand out, palm side up. Each step you take, you stare intently at the body of the unicorn to try and catch any movement that might be viewed as hostile. Given she had four legs, there was no way you could outrun her but you’d at least like to say you had a head start.

Despite your worry, she makes no threatening moves. If anything, she seems cautiously curious; her ears pricked forwards towards you and her eyes remaining focused solely on you. Not a muscle in her body moves, only the chilly wind blowing through her mane and tail.

Finally, you’re almost within touching distance of her. But instead of carrying on, you stop. Something inside you tells you that it’s a good idea to do that, to let her come to you and accept you. So you remain standing there with your palm held out to her, watching her closely.

Nostrils slightly darker than the rest of her body flare wide a few times, likely taking in as much air as she can to smell you. It isn’t enough though and she slowly extends her neck out, her refined head stretching out until you can feel the hotness of her breath. Not moving, you let her investigate until finally, she takes one careful step forward and presses the velvety softness of her muzzle into your hand.

Smiling, you let her increase the pressure before turning your hand and gently stroking her. There’s a moment of almost curiosity in her eyes, not that you can tell what a unicorn is feeling, before she lets out a huff of air and leans her head into your touch, obviously enjoying the feeling.

Your smile turns into a wide grin as you run your hand along her face slowly, letting her get used to the feel of you before you gently scratch at her chin. Almost instantly her ears flatten and you feel a pang of panic, but she just lifts her head and lets out a nicker of contentment, giving you a better position.

“She likes you.” You hear from beside you, and you turn to see Hoseok patting the unicorn’s neck.

Turning away from you momentarily, the mare lets out a soft whinny as she looks behind her into the forest. Frowning, you crane your head to try to see what she’s looking at. Soft footfalls being and you look at Hoseok in confusion, tilting your head at the sight of his grin.

Before you can ask him what’s going on, there’s a high pitched neigh and the mare turns her head back to you, butting at your hand gently. Glancing to her side, your jaw drops once more and you can’t help but squeal lightly.

A foal is standing next to her, it’s coat fluffy with baby fur and a beautiful golden that contrasts completely from its mother. There’s no horn on its head, only a tiny nub that will one day grow long and tall. Gangly legs look too long for its body and the short, fuzzy tail make you coo in delight as it flicks it from side to side eagerly, those big eyes staring at you as it almost dances in place.

Looking at its mum, you almost ask for the permission with a hand raised in the foal's direction and you could swear the unicorn almost nods. Slowly, you move towards the foal and stroke along its short neck, marvelling at how soft and fluffy it is. The foal snorts, its entire body wobbling from the movement and you giggle in delight, completely awed by the sight of them both.

“She had this foal only a month ago, so he’s still pretty small. But he’s a sweetheart and so friendly. As you probably know, he’ll keep that gold coat for two years before paling out to silver.” Hoseok says casually, still stroking the mare and smiling at her fondly.

For a few minutes, you’re too busy playing with the foal to pay attention to his words but they finally sink in.

“What do you mean, as you probably know?” Neither of you had discussed unicorns so far during your mealtime talks, so you didn’t know why he’d think that. Sure, you’d been taught about unicorns in school but that had been so long ago and it hadn’t even been a full class on them.

Your love of them had meant you’d learnt much more about them, absorbing all the information you could find in books when you were a teenager. The fact that you were finally standing here, stroking not only a unicorn but also her foal was something that you’d always wished you could do. Given how rare they were though, you’d never expected it to happen.

“Well, they’re your favourite magical creature, right? Or they were, anyway.” He frowns slightly, unsure if he’s got something wrong and you simply stare at him for a moment.

Had he remembered that from when you’d been at Hogwarts? Given your love of them, it was only natural that he’d known about them back then given how often you’d spent time at his house to have sleepovers with Jisoo. But you’d have thought he’d have forgotten all about that by now.

Jisoo didn’t even remember this as you’d both grown over the years, the obsession of teenagers mellowing out. Unicorns remained your favourite magical creature, but you didn’t hold that deep passion that you did back then. The fact that Hoseok had remembered stunned you into silence for a moment though, causing you to frown down at the foal.

“Yeah...yeah, they are. I...I mean...thank you. For remembering and showing me this, this is amazing. I’ll never forget this, Hoseok.” You’re not entirely sure how to thank him properly, because you don’t know of anyone else who could show you a unicorn like this.

Before you can say anything else or Hoseok can respond, you’re both distracted by the way the foal lets out a squeal and butts his head into you lightly before jumping away. Taken aback, you watch him for a moment for he does it again, his impossibly slim legs wobbling slightly as he trips on a rock.

“He wants you to play,” Hoseok says softly, smiling as he watches you both. Glancing to him, you raise a brow before grinning back at the baby unicorn. Tilting your head at him, you purse your lips before jumping forward and raising your hands in claw motions. Almost immediately, the foal leaps forward before darting back to you and you giggle, already planning your next move.

Yeah, okay, you might be thirty-three years old...but you were going to play with the baby unicorn.

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justforbooks · 4 years

Photo

On 12 February 1947, Christian Dior launched his first fashion collection for Spring–Summer 1947. The show of "90 models of his first collection on six mannequins" was presented in the salons of the company's headquarters at 30 Avenue Montaigne. Originally, the two lines were named "Corolle" and "Huit". However, the new collection went down in fashion history as the "New Look" after the editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar Carmel Snow exclaimed, "It's such a new look!" The New Look was a revolutionary era for women at the end of the 1940s. When the collection was presented, the editor in chief also showed appreciation by saying; "It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!" The debut collection of Christian Dior is credited with having revived the fashion industry of France. Along with that, the New Look brought back the spirit of haute couture in France as it was considered glamorous and young-looking. "We were witness to a revolution in fashion and to a revolution in showing fashion as well." The silhouette was characterised by a small, nipped-in waist and a full skirt falling below mid-calf length, which emphasised the bust and hips, as epitomized by the 'Bar' suit from the first collection. The collection overall showcased more stereotypically feminine designs in contrast to the popular fashions of wartime, with full skirts, tight waists, and soft shoulders. Dior retained some of the masculine aspects as they continued to hold popularity through the early 1940s, but he also wanted to include more feminine style.

The New Look became extremely popular, its full-skirted silhouette influencing other fashion designers well into the 1950s, and Dior gained a number of prominent clients from Hollywood, the United States, and the European aristocracy. As a result, Paris, which had fallen from its position as the capital of the fashion world after WWII, regained its preeminence. The New Look was welcomed in western Europe as a refreshing antidote to the austerity of wartime and de-feminizing uniforms, and was embraced by stylish women such as Princess Margaret in the UK. According to Harold Koda, Dior credited Charles James with inspiring The New Look. Dior's designs from the "New Look" did not only affect the designers in the 1950s, but also more recent designers in the 2000s, including Thom Browne, Miuccia Prada, and Vivienne Westwood. Dior's evening dresses from that time are still referred to by many designers, and they have been seen in different wedding themed catwalks with multiple layers of fabric building up below the small waist (Jojo, 2011). Examples include Vivienne Westwood's Ready-to-Wear Fall/Winter 2011 and Alexander McQueen's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2011 (Jojo, 2011).

Not everyone was pleased with the New Look, however. Some considered the amount of material to be wasteful, especially after years of cloth rationing. Feminists in particular were outraged, feeling that these corseted designs were restrictive and regressive, and that they took away a woman's independence. There were several protest groups against the designs including, the League of Broke Husbands, made up of 30,000 men who were against the costs associated with the amount of fabric needed for such designs. Fellow designer Coco Chanel remarked, "Only a man who never was intimate with a woman could design something that uncomfortable." Despite such protests, the New Look was highly influential, continuing to inform the work of other designers and fashion well into the 21st century. For the 60th anniversary of the New Look in 2007, John Galliano revisited it for his Spring-Summer collection for Dior. Galliano used the wasp waist and rounded shoulders, modernised and updated with references to origami and other Japanese influences. In 2012 Raf Simons revisited the New Look for his debut haute couture collection for Dior, wishing to update its ideas for the 21st century in a minimalist but also sensual and sexy manner. Simons's work for Dior retained the luxurious fabrics and silhouette, but encouraged self-respect for the woman's body and liberation of expression. The design process for this collection, which was produced in only eight weeks, is documented in Dior and I, presenting Simons's use of technology and modernist re-interpretations.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Christian Dior #New Look

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friendoftheelves · 3 years

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People, what is somethings you wish writers knew about your culture, I'll start (I'm English):

If you say British-English I will riot. It's standard English, American English is just the most commonly spoken version of English, being the dominant culture

Nobody cares about sports at Secondary school, I didn't realise my school had sports teams until like year 11 when I saw them leaving and it was just a casual observation

Also Primary school = reception to year 6 or ages 4 to 11, Secondary school = years 7 to 11 or ages 11 to 16, Sixth Form (attached to a secondary school) and college (independent from a secondary school but otherwise same thing) = 16 to 18. Primary school to Secondary school is compulsory, after that you have to attend some form of further education whether that be an apprenticeship or sixth form/college is up to you. It is common to have a compulsory uniform for secondary school and less common for both primary school and sixth form/college. Primary school and sixth form/college uniforms are noteworthy whereas a lack of compulsory uniform in secondary school is noteworthy

American culture is the dominant one, we have watched and read a lot of American media

If you're poor, you live in a council flat and probably have free school meals, "trailer trash" isn't really a thing because trailers just aren't a common occurrence, the only group I can think of that commonly lives in "trailers" is 'gypsy' who are their own community and live in motorhomes. Discrimination against them is common but not in your face, which I will explain in a bit because that is its own point

People care a lot about both rugby and football and if you call it soccer and act all superior about you will make a lot of people mad because British football officially came first and a lot of languages call it something that sounds very close to football in their language and American football is closer to rugby in how it looks to us so it is a very sore point

Also, in case you haven't gathered, Britain is subtly anti-American we had an empire and we are bitter we lost it so seeing America get to where we were is something Britain does not react well to

British culture is all about pretending everything so normal and subduing, ignoring and otherwise refusing to acknowledge what strays from that "normal" so unless we are forced to openly acknowledge it we will not and then we will passive aggressively snipe at it. American culture is all about being in your face, British culture is all about pretending we don't see what's wrong. We refuse to acknowledge we even had an empire

Class is a big deal. The elites in our culture have historically been their own one and this is still seen today. Class divide is what defines us. We have things like the house of commons and the house of lords. Rather than the rich ending up in positions of power due to society falling to prevent their privilege, British culture and actively encourages elite power. There is still discrimination but because of the importance of class divide and the British refusal to acknowledge our own faults, it presents differently. Race is seen as it's own class below working class and there is discrimination between the white classes. The working class are seen as beneath the rich and the rich are seen as 'upperclass tw**s'. The middle class are then seen as traitors and having abandoned the working class because the elite government has purposefully drafted policies to ensure that happens

Also,all of the above applies to English culture. There are three countries in Great Britain and 4 countries in the UK. England, Wales, Scotland and North Ireland and the divide between these countries is clear. Scotland actively hates England, Wales passive aggressively hates us and Ireland is a mess we created (I would suggest waiting for someone who is Irish to explain that because I don't know enough about it and it is an incredibly complicated topic which plays a significant role in politics)

Also we dislike the French, Britain and France are rivals because we have been fighting on and off for centuries but the French are still seen as equals. We dislike them but we will fight alongside them if if comes to it

Also accents are important, because of the class divide, if you have a working class accent you are being discriminated against, if you have a posh accent you will be hated but people will respect your 'authority', no matter how much they hate

Oxbridge is elitist but there are so many other great Unis across the UK

To American media specifically, stop romanticising British culture, I have never seen the academia aesthetic you are portraying and it irritates, we are not just the rich upper class, look at our history people you portray and because of the class divide it hurts to see that as our only representation

Also London is its own thing, Britain does not recognise London as representative of Britain and London does not like everywhere that is London, it is the most diverse and the biggest city in the entirety of England by a large margin, it does not feel like the rest of Britain

On that point, there are many, many other cities and other towns outside of London, please acknowledge them (having never been to a lot of cities I can't explain them to you)

London does have divides within it such as the divide between North and South of the river, the South does not want to be part of London and the North refuses to acknowledge it. The Northern edge of London is also up for debate, for me it is the edge of Zone 3 (on a tube map) and the other side of the North circular by car but for others it might be further in or out so be aware of that. There is also divide between the post codes for example Wood Green and Tottenham, both have the same council (Haringey) but there is a clear divide between them only further emphasises by Haringey having two MPs one for Tottenham (David Lammey) and one for Wood Green and Hornsey. Both Wood Green and Tottenham have bad reps but the Wood Green half of Haringey starts drifting into middle class at its edges with Hornsey being solidly middle class so be aware of the variation in boroughs

And, London has no centre. It is a city that grew with its country and absorbed the surrounding towns. So if you say the centre of London people will assume you mean a specific part in zone 1 but will not know which part you are talking about and will assume you are talking in a generalisation. If they are traveling with you though, they will expect further clarification, don't say the centre and expect me to know where

Also, there is no space between houses in England, they are mostly semi-detached. I once watched an episode of escape to the country where someone tried to find a detached house and just struggled massively. You either have to pay loads of money or be in the middle of nowhere before your house is fully detached and it will still be only the same distance away from another house as the average American house is. We have one of the highest populations in Europe but a small land mass

Going on from that, Britain is definitely European and has a lot of shared culture whilst still obviously being it's own thing (like every single other country) but Britain acts like and will get mad at the suggestion that they are European like any other European country because 'we are entirely seperate and on an island and how can we not have become our own thing' the actual variation is because Rome (contrary to what the school system will teach you) had very little impact on Britain so we aren't as similar to the other Latin speaking countries as is expected, the main reason we are still similar is because of the impact of Norman conquest. Also everyone underestimated the effect of Scandinavian and Germanic culture on Britain because we act like all they did was pillage when in fact they settled down and where embraced by Briton (unlike Rome which did actually pillage and subjugate Britain without being widely accepted) so that's why there is variation. We are very European but not in the way people expect so Britain refuses to acknowledge it

Honestly British culture is a lesson in tolerance versus acceptance. But there is still active discrimination as people of colour and the LGBTQ+ can attest

Also Christianity is baked into Britain to the point that even atheists follow Christian customs without questioning it but significantly less extreme than France which just stops on Sundays (but is acknowledged as a Christian country so you know) and 'pagan' - so, in this case, Celtic, anglosaxon and Norse - culture has effected us being carried down in fairy tales and witchcraft

Some of this will be upsetting to many people as it should be because British culture hurts, it discriminates without acknowledging it and I want people to know that. I want people to see that when they write about it because the alternative is writing about Britain as if it has faults and that would be so much worse. So writers, please bear all of this in mind when talking about Britain, even and especially, the ugly parts

This has been a white, middle class, Londoners, perspective on Britain and no I will not call myself English because the divide between England and London means that being a Londoner rather than just English matters in this context

I would recommend listening to the perspective of Brits from other groups, such as England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, working class, upper class, Brit of colour, non-passing queer folk, Muslim, Hindu, Indian (the largest immigrant group is actually Indian and that's just immigrated in their lifetime rather than born British and Indian), Jewish (especially Jewish I can talk about that on another post but let's just say the Jewish have never been accepted but always been part of Europe) and so on, to get a more comprehensive view of Britain

#british #writers on tumblr #history #perspective #this was upsetting to write #my country needs to change #discrimination #english

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dwestfieldblog · 3 years

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A VERY REMOTE ENGLISH TEACHER

Where meditations, rants, reverie and absent seizures cross over... closer to one gun with one bullet, the rose of ruby and the cross of gold...uff, and MENTACIDE IN THE TIME OF MASQUES. Although I have never suffered from the guilty masochistic torture of ‘pleasure anxiety’, Bacchus hath indeed drowned more men than Neptune. So I stopped drinking for 18 days to fool myself I was doing something positive and threw away enough things to be minimalist again. Arf. Beauty and/or function uber alles.

Been treading water for three years and trying not to drown...big round of one hand clapping for the former poet. Meanwhile, in this temporary world and perception I have created of it, I am looking at a very possible exile one way or the other...my ‘plan’...a long phased withdrawal or hasty retreat. My wish is to stay, but once I leave, it might well be very hard to return. Read as many metaphors as you want into that but in spite of my dislike of the conservatively minded Aristotle’s ‘either/or’ nonsense, there do indeed appear to be only two this time. And appear is the operative word. Appearances can be deceptive and emotions (unless raised and focused) cloud over what should be clear. Pain has a tendency to breed worry and fear too but let’s draw a veil over that for now eh? Suppress, suppress, release comes later...breathe deep and try not to cough, onward we go where the game gets rough...Just like Tom Thumbs Blues 65.

Remember Roman Protasevich...As Lukasenko himself said...‘Belarus stood at the edge of an abyss and I helped it take a step forward’. Look good on your tombstone that will Al. Fecking outrageous the Indian PM only admitted in May that covid was transmitted in the air. He needs removing... as do two thirds of all the other world leaders East and West. Hello Bollsanaro. People are very easy to manipulate when they’re are scared or angry...and right now the world majority are both. But, ‘there is a crack in everything... that’s how the light gets in’... and ‘things could change’, doesn’t have to be for the worse. It can take decades to realise this as actual truth, but still nice to read and try internalise the following last week.’The odds actually favour the optimists, since dissipate structures are more likely to evolve into more information rich (intelligent?) forms than into primitive or chaotic forms.’ All my friends bar my best one are optimists..Hello you:-)

Ever onward deeper downward with Orban in Hungary and his mission of ‘Christian values’, which involves a familiar routine of arresting, beating and disappearing dissenters in the name of Christ and taking over the universities to replace professors with those who understand on which side their bread is buttered. Decent judges long gone. Nice fascist communism...and ex soldiers in France and the Czech republic warning of civil war...

And now spiraling we go into the black hole vortex of Disaster capitalism, ‘Let the bodies pile high’. There’s gold in them thar ills....ISLAND PARANOIA and PERFIDIOUS ALBION! A country which demands a contract, agrees, signs to it and then refuses to honour it. We look worse than ridiculous, we look deceitful. Gentlemen, your places please. Boris Johnson is a clumsy, inept, disgraceful charlatan, con merchant and LIAR. A blustering master bullshit artist, the only decent thing about his recent secret wedding is that now he legally has one less bastard child.

Recently I read that British people are displaying signs of Stockholm syndrome...in that they dislike those who hold power over them and make the rules but during the time of pandemic, they are the ones who will release the saviour vaccine and get everything moving again. So rather than rocking the boat and daring to express dissent at the DIABOLICAL handling of the last 18 months, they have mostly kept quiet and voted for the same endlessly failing, corrupt and venal politicians who made a bad situation far worse. (That said, it bears repeating that there are a few million in the UK who didn’t quite understand that that the spread of a highly contagious airborne virus can be slowed by the wearing of masks/applying basic hygiene and even took offence at being told what should have made sense to any adult homo SAPIENS half capable of cogitating for themselves. Morons and scum. Same where you are?

By the way BBC...the colossal dearth of stories about the endless government failures in relation to Covid, death, corruption and the NHS...ever since they blackmailed you with threats of revoking the TV licence fee and got you to change Directors has been noted. Long may Have I Got News For You continue the satire and balance needed in a DEMOCRACY. Obey your public servants? Why, when they do not serve few but themselves? Power OF the people? Which ones...the mob? The same bleating pricks who follow populists?

Four eyed beanpole fop Rees Mogg, with his wonderful line that the benefits of Brexit will be seen ‘over the next fifty years’...well yes, that is why most people vote in democratic elections eh?...So they will be dead or ancient before the change they hoped for comes...and the politicians who lead them now, will have all long moved on to revolving door chairman of the board offshore limited liability company paradise. Bread today jam tomorrow fairytales. What I tell you three times is true.

O, but the English do so love to be told what to do by dumb posh boys who treat them like dirt. Some are forelock tugging and some are self flagellating middle class upper class wannabes who will never get there but still feel proud they are not street level proles. Doby the house elf alien hamster Michael Gove found guilty of breaking the law. Nothing. Internal inquiries run by those connected to the money changing hands find nothing illegal. Corruption for all to see...and ignore. ‘Well, what can we do?’ The uselessly inept serial failure Dido Harding to be in charge of the National Health Service? (she of the collapsed Woolworths, Talk Talk and the 22 BILLION pound loss of the Covid Track and Trace program where non working consultants/insultants, were paid 1000 pounds a day). American style privatisation is coming where only the wealthy or criminal can afford to be repaired and well. Sick.

Meanwhile, All our imported nurses out, and all the lobster red fat Spanish costa de la sol criminals back in. Great exchange, fair trade and forward thinking. The Kremlin are manipulating/supporting Scottish independence... I read years ago about their base in Edinburgh for Russia Today (the foul insert in The Daily Telegraph) and they were already encouraging it. Rees Smug has accelerated and supported their freedom with his snobbish utterances on countries in the UK other than England and their ‘foreign languages’. With every patronising, arrogant pronouncement, the Eton trifles fuel the fire in Scotland which has a long bitter history of being tortured, murdered and subjugated by their southern masters. Perhaps the chumocracy in Downing Street believe the Celts to be as easily cowed as the middle and working classes down south. Here’s hoping not. ‘Rebellious Scots to crush’? Not this time pal.

As for the future of Britain? A dystopian open prison where the lower social classes toil only at the pleasure of their masters. The higher caste getting richer and all others cast into a living Hell of debt, crime, and sickness. Serve until you die and be thankful we allow you to exist. Increasing in utter irrelevance to the world, other than as an example of how wrong a former democracy can go. This future started decades ago...its baobab roots truly deep now. Better education and critical thinking for the masses in the UK (or anywhere else) is highly unlikely now. Optimism huh? As long as I am not in England, I will still be able to tap into it, but once enclosed long term in the group mind there...trapped in a grey quagmire. Keep smiling...

Several weeks ago, I watched a video on YT of apparently English protestors running after the police in London, some attacking and throwing things, one pulling off the pandemic mask of an officer and all shouting abuse at the outnumbered cops who had to keep pulling back. As always, to get my caffeine rush of fury going, I read the comments and was surprised to see two or three from Chinese names. Almost all comments were against the government (fair enough) and dumb against the lock down, masks, vaccinations etc. Checking again, I saw the video had been posted by CGTN...a media company owned and run by the communist party in Beijing...and not one author of diatribes had mentioned this, nor speculated with a critical thought as to why such an organisation might enjoy turning people against their own democratically elected government (however mind rippingly foul and corrupt they are).

I copy pasted the Wikipedia paragraph about the company onto the page and hoped someone else would make the connection. I wouldn’t mind so much IF there were a credible and decent alternative other than the diseased populist poison for which the demonstrating goons chant. China really cares about the standard of democracy in Britain eh? Persuade your enemies to weaken themselves. Destroying countries by encouraging their ‘patriots’.

(That was written on the anniversary of Tienanmen Square...a few days later Xi Jinping gave a speech saying ‘...a lovable and respectable’ China must be presented to the world and must ‘expand its circle of friends’. Tell that to your teenage ‘dissidents’, Muslims, Falun Gong and Tibetans being tortured and brainwashed in prisons or being used for organ harvesting. Tell it to Hong Kong and Taiwan.)

Unholy America...against abortion and the pill, sex education’s not Gods will and in the Name of Christ they kill...if truth be known, we’ve failed the test...but Jesus was a Socialist and Republican conservatives hate them. The founding fathers of America were Very clear about separation of church and state with damn good Reason. Another part time Christian, Mike Pompeo wants to be president. Q Onan deepstorm morons/Kremlin stool pigeons aka POLEZNYYE IDIOTY continue to push for Trump and his Big Lie...He with the brain where ‘In the left, nothing is right and in the right, nothing’s left.’ Arf.

Over the last two decades, the dumb have been finding their voice and are now louder and prouder of their dumbass ignorance. 74 million in the US alone, their egos unable to retreat in the face of endless evidence to the contrary, they all double down. Like children sticking their fingers in their grimy ears sing songing ‘la la la can’t hear you’. 74 million versions of Eric Cartman, loud, proud and wrong. And uuff, Megan Markle, Majorie Taylor Greene, walking Picasso collage (bad car driver) Caitlin Jenner and Ivana Trump in politics...not exactly holding a proud lantern for women eh? I’d like to buy them for what they are worth and sell them for what they think they are worth. Not very PC?

That was the point. Could easily been written about all of the men written about here too. Next examples follow...

Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones compete for who can be as mentally ill as trump. The Miami school where the husband and wife directors told teachers not to return if they had HAD their vaccine shots because their proximity to students was interfering with menstrual cycles and uuuufff...The sickness of utter mind buggering stupidity. I had my first shot, now waiting to turn reptilian when the 5G masts triangulate my position. Fnord. Covid appears to be killing more overweight meat eating males than females...perhaps testosterone is not useful for the coming Race of non binary mutant hermaphrodites...and look out for the end of the Y chromosome, coming to a temporary universe near you...in 4.6 million years. Yes, really.

Glad Netanyahu is out at last, smug corruption is never a good look unless one is a rich criminal. Ha. The Promised land of Israel...If I was in court for serial murder, breaking, entering and stealing and then defended my actions by saying that God had told me to do it, would the Judge; A. Call for a psychiatric report, B. Disregard the statement as unprovable and pass the appropriate sentence, C, say Ok mate, you’re free to go, good luck to you. ? Moses had a good schtick.

The law is only to punish the poor, do you feel as if you suffer from empathy? Once you know, you no longer need to believe. What does ‘reality’ seem to be? The more certain you are, the stupider you get and belief is the death of intelligence. The machine is running the engineers. What is the definition of rationality...the quality of being based on or in accordance with reason or logic.

Nothing is, but thinking makes it so. Epicurus.

EVERYTHING NOT COMPULSORY IS FORBIDDEN.

The glamour illusion of the mass of pointless hot influencers needs a constant renewing of the Banishing Ritual as much as all the pigslop bile coming from Fox News and Sky. Bloody long haired commie liberal faggot they cry against any not identical to them. Some days I have only flamethrowers of hatred for these idiots. Other days...not exactly self doubt, just questions...most of us seem to believe our opinions are more valid when there are emotions connected to them. Including me. Again, this seems like a very weak version of ‘truth’, unless disciplined, channeled and focused to a certain end.

Life appears to exist in order to become via chaos.

Most of us are working only not to be homeless, some because of the joy in our chosen work regardless of finances. Until ‘reality’ kicks in the door...the bondage gets tighter when you struggle. How much hardship is the individual willing to endure these days by choice? Surrounded by a universe of distraction and destruction, Maya mewling for our attention. Five years of Trump, rampant populism and Brexit doing a Hexagram 23 on democracy, compounded by the pandemic...all on top of ‘normal’ daily life. The ego feeds and the immune system breaks down. Hard to ignore without being on a mountain or in a parallel dimension and emotion free other than compassion. But BY GODDESS IT CAN AND WILL BE DONE. Ladies of Life Nin Khursag, Isis, Kali, Aradia...Love one, Love ALL. At very least have respect for thyself but be not thou proud of thine arrogance nor thy suffering.

Or just Remember where you came from, what you were, seem to be and will become.

Heal, heal, more work to do, more love to give, more love to feel, Heal. Stay in drugs, eat your school and don’t do vegetables. Impose your own reality upon and through yourself, breathe, exhale, repeat, and continue, LOVE UNDER WILL. Experience and absorb but ‘It’s a house of tricks, ignore the world’’.

Stay well, be seeing you:-)

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corona-extra-newsletter · 5 years

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3/16/20 corona extra: cracking open cold covid facts

Announcements & Thank Yous

Thank you to everyone who’s messaged me or sent asks! Specific thanks go to:

@hoothootmotherf-ckers for checking my math on California

@ainwesley for sending me a source for more up to date information about Norway

@sister-cna-reader for sending me a source for Washington State and for suggesting I put closure information in here

Several people for correcting the misinformation I had about Vietnamese tests being ~1 hour, this is not true unfortunately. I apologize for the mistake and will keep you posted on testing developments as they occur.

@halcyonhowl for sending me sources and tips on North Carolina

Twitter users @molly0xFFF and @goblinartificer for helping me with the Wordpress site

Wordpress staff for support

To several other anons for suggesting I include closure/group restriction information, positive news of the day, and numbers of recovered patients. I’ve implemented all of these as much as possible.

If you have reliable information from a good source that I don’t seem to have, please shoot me a message/ask/pigeon!

Places now included in the newsletter are: Montana, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC, Greece, North Carolina, South Carolina, Connecticut, Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona, Ireland, and Switzerland. Please send an ask or a message if you would like a place included!

There is now good news at the end of the newsletter because this is a lot, all the time. Please take care of your mental health. I am being one with the numbers so you don’t have to follow every minute, panic-inducing development. Also, there is good news related to the pandemic!

I have started a website for the newsletter, which I may be able to update in real-time? Uncertain. At the very least it’ll be a mirror of the tumblr content so you can skip around and not be stuck in scrolling hell since these are all mega chonky. Find it at coronaextranewsletter.com. If you know me from fandom, please be chill about my meatspace identity. Please.

Asks are now on for this blog, which should help things. Please send asks to this blog in the future, thank you!

Just The Numbers

Case numbers

Total cases: 167,511 (13,903 new)

Total deaths: 6,606 (862 new)

Mortality rate: 3.9%

China: 81,077 (29 new) cases, 3,218 deaths (14 new)

Mortality rate: 3.97%

Excluding China: 86,434 cases (13,874 new) and 3388 deaths (848 new)

151 countries/territories reporting cases, 4 are new today including: Uzbekistan (4), Uruguay (4), Rwanda (5), and Seychelles (2)

Rwanda is confirming local transmission at this time

Italy is reporting over 24,000 cases (3500 new) with over 1800 deaths

Iran is reporting approx 15,000 cases with over 800 deaths

South Korea, Spain, and Germany are reporting over 5,000 cases

SK reports 75 deaths/8236 cases

Spain reports 288 deaths/7753 cases

Germany reports 12 deaths/4838 cases

International/General News

Please stop buying toilet paper unless you are actively out of toilet paper. My butt thanks you in advance.

Vaccine testing began today in Seattle, Washington. This is the first phase of vaccine testing, where healthy volunteers take the vaccine to make sure it is safe.

The World Health Organization will stop separating Chinese cases as today is the first day that cases outside China outstripped cases inside China

France is now on lockdown

We are seeing the difference that social distancing can make in this epidemic: look at the difference between European countries that have and have not shut down.

Virology Corner

Today’s topic is recovery from COVID-19: how do we know that you’re recovered and that you’re no longer shedding the virus?

We know from Chinese studies that in people who recover clinically (i.e. when they stop feeling like death’s ass) they can shed virus for up to 20 days from the onset of symptoms. People who die shed virus until after they die.

Fortunately, we have a way of testing for active virus shedding: the same tests we use to detect viral genes at the start of an infection work to show that you are clear of infection!

This is super useful to know because we do not always test for cure in infectious diseases - for example, we don’t usually test flu patients for cure.

It’s pretty clear that when people have two negative tests separated by 24 hours, they are considered “recovered”. That’s the definition the WHO uses, and the one I will use here unless I specify otherwise.

Question Tuesday

Today’s question comes from @dasyuridae: “does the UK’s response make sense?”

HELL NO it does not

That’s the short answer

The long answer is that herd immunity works as a prevention strategy in certain types of infections, and this is not yet that kind of pandemic.

We use herd immunity to prevent against diseases when we have a vaccine for them. By immunizing everyone who can be immunized, we prevent those who cannot be immunized from getting and/or spreading the disease. This is essential to protecting people from things like measles and the flu.

If humans are the only host for a particular virus, we can even use herd immunity to totally delete the disease from planet earth. Ask smallpox. Oh wait. You can’t. We deleted it. (except for the highly secure samples in Russia and the USA, shh)

COVID-19 likely has a reservoir in animals so we can’t delete it, but once we have a vaccine, herd immunity will be awesome for preventing further outbreaks.

To have herd immunity now, likely upwards of 90% of the UK would need to get the virus and recover, thereby developing immunity. That is a bad idea because no health system can handle that.

A better way to do this is what most other countries are doing, mitigating spread by isolating affected people, offering lots of testing, and quarantining areas with lots of asymptomatic spread.

In conclusion, fuck Boris Johnson, he doesn’t understand how epidemiology works and that’s gonna hurt/kill a lot of people.

I have two elderly grandparents in the UK. Fuck Boris.

If you have questions, ask them and they’ll appear here in the next issue of corona extra!

Regional News (if you want somewhere added just let me know. Don’t be shy!! I highly recommend you just skip to your area if you don’t wanna be overwhelmed.)

Canada: last updated 3/16/20 at 9 AM EST

Total cases: 324 confirmed (+75), 17 presumed (+13), 1 death (3/9/20, no change), 5 recovered

Symptoms began for these cases between 1/15 and 3/13

13% of cases have required hospitalization (up from 12%)

74% (down from 79%) of cases are in travellers, and a further 6% in their close contacts

Affected provinces include: Alberta (56, +17), BC (73, +0), Manitoba (7, +3), New Brunswick (6, +4), Newfoundland and Labrador (1, +0), Nova Scotia (5, +2) Ontario (172, +69), PEI (1, +0), Québec (50, +9), and Saskatchewan (6, +4).

Totals here include confirmed and presumptive positives

4 cases in repatriated travellers (no change)

Restrictions/Closures:

No formal restrictions/closures at the federal level

Recommendation to avoid non-essential travel, particularly cruise ships

All international travelers directed to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival

Alberta: last updated 3/15

56 cases, 17 new, 0 deaths

Community spread confirmed in Calgary

Restrictions/closures

K-12 schools and in-person post-secondary classes/training are closed

Licensed childcare facilities, out-of-school care programs, and preschools are closed indefinitely

British Columbia: last updated 3/14

73 cases, 9 new, 4 recovered, 1 death

Affected public health units include: Fraser, Interior, and Vancouver Coastal

Vancouver coastal has the most cases as far as I can tell

Clusters of infection have been reported at Lynn Valley Care Centre, Hollyburn House Retirement Residence, and Lions Gate Hospital (admin staff).

Manitoba: last updated 3/16 AM

7 cases, 3 new, no deaths

Visitor restrictions for hospitals are in effect

New Brunswick: last updated 3/16 1 PM

6 cases, 4 new on 3/15, no deaths

Affected areas include Zone 3

I don’t live in NB so I have no idea what this is beyond one of at least three zones

Schools are closed starting 3/16 for two weeks

Newfoundland & Labrador

1 case

Sorry that’s all the info I have

Nova Scotia

5 cases

Gatherings over 150 people are disallowed

Casinos are closed starting 3/16; VLTs are not allowed in bars

Childcare facilities are closed starting 3/17 through 4/3

Public schools are closed until 4/6

Long-term care facilities are closed to visitors until further notice

Ontario: last updated 3/16 at 10:30 AM local time

177 cases, 69 new, 5 recovered, no deaths

Affected public health units include: Durham (1), Halton (1), Hamilton (4), Niagara (1), Ottawa (3), Peel (4), Sudbury (1), Toronto (11), Wellington Dufferin Guelph (1), York (5)

Only cases from 3/16 on will be counted under here based on how the site works

P.E.I.: last updated 3/16 AM

1 case, in Queens County, connected to a cruise

Closures/restrictions

Libraries and community events are closed/canceled

Child care facilities are closed for two weeks starting 3/17

Public schools are closed until April 6

Québec: last updated 3/16 AM

50 cases, 9 new, no deaths

Affected regions include: Capitale Nationale (2, +0), Mauricie - Centre du Québec (3, +0), Estrie (3, +0), Montréal (18, +5), Chaudière-Appalaches (4, +1), Lanaudière (3, +1), Laurentides (3, +0), Montérégie (10, +1), and undetermined/outside Québec (4, +1).

State of health emergency as of 3/13

Closures/restrictions

Indoor gatherings of >250 people prohibited, many public buildings closed until further notice

Daycare/childcare facilities and all schools closed until 3/27

Elections scheduled for 3/15 have been rescheduled to after late April

Non-essential visits to hospitals and long-term care institutions are prohibited

Saskatchewan: last updated 3/15

6 cases

Sorry this is all I have right now

Greece: last updated 3/16 at 1:45 pm local time

Note: I do not speak Greek, and I therefore am struggling to find official data from somewhere more granular than the WHO. I’m sourcing most of this from the WHO and from Ekathimerini, but if you know where I can find better/more up to date info, please let me know. Thank you!

331 total cases, 141 new

4 deaths total (1 new on 3/15)

Restrictions/Closures:

All arrivals to the country are required to isolate for 14 days

Parliament has suspended all committee meetings and restricted each party to one MP in attendance at a time

Businesses are closed starting Wednesday 3/18, with the exception of gas stations, pharmacies, and groceries

Supermarkets are restricting the number of patrons to allow 1 person per 10 square meters

Ireland: last updated 3/15

169 total cases, 40 new, 2 total deaths

Deaths occurred on 3/11 and 3/14

Community transmission is confirmed

The following regional breakdown is available of the new cases: 25 eastern, 9 western, 6 southern

Restrictions/Closures

All pubs & bars are closed until March 29. House parties are strongly discouraged.

Schools, colleges, and childcare facilities are closed until March 29

Indoor gatherings of >100 people and outdoor gatherings >500 people are prohibited

State run cultural institutions are closed until further notice

The Netherlands: last updated 3/16 at 2 PM local time

I still do not speak Dutch, please please correct me if I get something wrong!

Seriously this is all run through Google Translate, I won’t take it personally

1413 confirmed cases, 24 deaths

278 new cases, 4 new deaths

Average age of decedents is 79, with a range from 59 to 94

Provinces affected include: Drenthe (16, +1), Flevoland (22, +3), Friesland (13, +3), Gelderland (135, +35), Groningen (10, +1), Limburg (149, +20), North Brabant (554, +108), North Holland (115, +25), Overijssel (36, +8), Utrecht (140, +31), South Holland (136, +26), and Zeeland (17, +1).

I think this is all of them based on a quick Wikipedia investigation?

There are 70 non-residents/unknown location patients

Restrictions/Closures

Schools, restaurants/bars, sports and fitness clubs, sex clubs, saunas, and childcare facilities are closed until April 6

Tae Bo is about to undergo a renaissance, I can feel it. Bring on the 80s outfits and the Jazzercise too!!

New Zealand: last updated 3/16 at 2 pm local time

8 confirmed cases, 2 probable cases

NO NEW CASES, YAY!!

The new patients from 3/15 are doing well and remain in quarantine; one was not hospitalized and the other has been released from hospital

Travel into and out of the country is restricted and those returning from overseas are asked to self-isolate for two weeks.

The Golden Princess has left port and the passenger in question tested negative.

Norway: last updated 3/16 at 8 pm local time

I still don’t speak Norwegian so if I screwed up lemme know

Everyone is still on lockdown, and apparently salty about being banned from their rural cabins

1332 cases, 3 deaths

53 hospitalized, 11 critical

96 new cases during the 24h of March 15

359 cases acquired in Norway, 752 acquired outside of Norway, the rest are undetermined. Community spread is confirmed.

Locations where people became infected include Austria (513), Italy (148), Switzerland (18), UK (14), Spain (14), France (10), USA (7), Iran (5), Germany (5), other countries with more than 3 cases (18), and other countries with less than 3 cases (58).

Breakdown of cases by area: Agder (87, +32), Innlandet (88, +16), Møre og Romsdal (20, +0), Nordland (11, +3), Oslo (292, +11), Rogaland (164, +37), Troms og Finnmark (23, +3), Trøndelag (74, +24), Vestfold og Telemark (69, nice, +21), Vestland (131, +13), and Viken (373, +95)

Yay no new cases in Møre og Romsdal!

Switzerland: last updated 3/16 at 5:45 pm local time

Whole country is on lockdown as of 3/16: no entry or exit until further notice (maximum of 6 months), schools are closed until 4/19, all events are canceled, and all personal service establishments are closed.

1,680 confirmed cases

14 deaths

United Kingdom in general: Last updated 3/16 at 9 AM local time

Boris is still a stupid shit, surprise surprise.

Fuck Boris

He’s ~encouraging~ people to stay home, which is kind of laughable given the severity of the pandemic and how strict other countries are having to be

1,543 total cases (+12.4%), 152 are new today

55 total deaths, 20 new today

England

1,196 total cases, 97 new

Affected UTLAs with at least 10 cases are as follows: Hampshire (55), Kensington & Chelsea (43), Westminster (37), Southwark (33), Hertfordshire (29), Lambeth (26), Barnet (25), Surrey (25), Oxfordshire (23), Camden (22), Hammersmith & Fulham (21), Brent (20), Hackney & City of London (20), Wadsworth (20), Devon (20), Essex (20), Ealing (18), Greenwich (18), Lewisham (17), Haringey (16), Sheffield (15), Birmingham (15), Leeds (14), Harrow (14), Nottinghamshire (14), Hillingdon (13), Hounslow (12), Merton (12), Tower Hamlets (12), Buckinghamshire (12), Cambridgeshire (12), Derbyshire (12), Kent (12), Northamptonshire (12), Walsall (11), Wolverhampton (11), Bromley (11), Islington (11), Sutton (11), Nottingham (10), Brighton & Hove (10), Oldham (10), Barking & Dagenham (10), Cumbria (10)

As things continue to escalate I will figure out a better way to display this

Deaths are not being reported by the PHS but I will do my best to split these out in the next few editions using news reports etc. It will hopefully be included by the 3/18 edition but no promises? If you have a good source for deaths by county/area, please let me know.

Scotland: last updated 3/16 at 2 pm local time

171 cases, 18 new, 1 death

Affected health boards are as follows: Ayrshire and Arran (7, +1), Borders (7, +0), Fife (7, +0), Forth Valley (10, +0), Grampian (12, +0), Greater Glasgow and Clyde (44, +5), Highland (2, +0), Lanarkshire (20, +4), Lothian (29, +1), Shetland (15, +4), and Tayside (17, +2)

Clearly the ones I listed yesterday were not all of them because…

Newly affected health boards are as follows: Dumfries and Galloway (1)

Wales: last updated 3/16 at 11 am local time

124 cases, 30 new

1 death (3/16)

Affected areas include: Blaenau Gwent County (5, +1), Bridgend County (1, +0), Caerphilly County (14, +3), Carmarthenshire County (7, +0), Ceredigion County (1, +0), City & County of Swansea (23, +1), City of Cardiff (11, +3), Conwy County (1, +0), Flintshire County (1, +0), Isle of Anglesey (2, +1), Monmouthshire County (7, +2), Neath Port Talbot (11, +0), Newport City (14, +7), Pembrokeshire (2, +0), Powys County (3, +0), Rhondda Cynon Taf County (2, +0), Torfaen County (2, +0), Vale of Glamorgan County (1, +0), and Wrexham County (2, +1).

Note that some of these numbers have changed more than you might see from looking at yesterday’s report; this is because residential locations of patients are being confirmed. 12 cases remain unlocalized and 2 are residents outside of Wales.

Northern Ireland: last updated 3/16 at 9 am local time

52 cases, 7 new

Health dept is not providing more detail than this at this time as far as I can tell

US in general: updated 3/16 at 4 pm local time (EST for CDC numbers)

3,487 total cases, 1,858 new with 46 states and DC reporting cases.

This is the start of the explosion of cases I’ve been expecting because of increased testing. This is a good sign that we’re catching more cases. It also indicates that there’s been spread going on for a while.

68 deaths, 27 new (1.95% mortality rate)

53 jurisdictions are reporting cases: 49 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, and US Virgin Islands

Only West Virginia continues to not have cases. Impressive.

CDC is now recommending all in person gatherings with more than 50 people be canceled for the next 8 weeks. This sucks for me personally and probably a lot of you all too. Hang in there.

Trump told states that they should “try to get” ventilators and other critical supplies themselves. Fuck him too.

Not that it’s not the states’ jobs too, but also the federal aid and stockpile is like, a huge thing in disaster response (wait, oops, Trump cut that too)

Alabama: updated 3/16 at 1 PM local time

28 cases, no deaths

Affected counties include: Baldwin (1), Elmore (1), Lee (1), Jefferson (17), Limestone (1), Montgomery (1), Shelby (3), and Tuscaloosa (3).

Arizona: updated 3/16 at 11:36 AM

18 cases, no deaths

Affected counties include: Graham (1), Maricopa (8), Pima (4), and Pinal (5)

California: updated around 10 AM PST, 3/15/20

The Governor has recommended the following:

Those with chronic health conditions and those over 65 should shelter in place.

Gatherings over 250 people should be canceled.

Drinking establishments should be closed but restaurants can operate at 50% capacity.

Hospitals and long term care facilities should prohibit visitors except for end of life situations

Total cases not including the ones at Miramar (discussed below): 363, with 6 total deaths

Deaths have occurred in the following counties: Placer (1), Sacramento (2), San Mateo (1), Santa Clara (2)

The following counties report recoveries: Humboldt (1), San Benito (2)

The following counties report numbers of hospitalizations: Los Angeles (2), San Diego (8), Santa Clara (52)

Affected counties include: Alameda (18, +11), Calaveras (2, +0), Contra Costa (34, +5), Fresno (2, +0), Humboldt (1, +0), Imperial (2, +0), Los Angeles (94, +25), Madera (1, +0), Marin (9, +4), Orange (17, +3), Placer (8, +0), Riverside (15, +5), Sacramento (33, +4) San Benito (3, +0), San Diego (33, +25), San Francisco (40, +12), San Joaquin (8, +0), San Luis Obispo (3, +2), San Mateo (41, +9), Santa Clara (138, +47), Santa Cruz (9, +2), Shasta (1, +0), Solano (9, +3), Sonoma (5, +1), Stanislaus (3, +1), Tulare (2, +0), Ventura (5, +0), Yolo (2, +0)

Note regarding San Diego: The four federally quarantined people are not included in the county statistics.

Unaffected counties include: Alpine, Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yuba

Counties with confirmed community transmission include: Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, Riverside, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Sonoma

Ventura County retested a possible case of community transmission and did not find evidence as of 3/16/20.

Newly affected counties include Amador (1), Nevada (1), San Bernardino (1), Santa Barbara (1)

Closures/Restrictions by County

Alameda: Shelter in Place until 4/7

Contra Costa: Shelter in Place until 4/7

Del Norte: Schools closed through 4/20

El Dorado: Schools closed through 3/20

Marin: Shelter in Place until 4/7

Mendocino: Modified schooling starting 3/17

Mono: Schools closed through 3/30, Alterra Mountain closed

Nevada: Schools are closed until 4/13, libraries closed until 4/12

Riverside: Schools & daycares are closed, gatherings >250 people prohibited

San Benito: Schools are closed

San Francisco: Shelter in Place until 4/7

San Luis Obispo: Alcohol sales on site are banned through 3/18

San Mateo: Shelter in Place until 4/7

Santa Clara: Shelter in Place until 4/7

Santa Cruz: Schools are closed until 3/20

Stanislaus: Gatherings of >1000 people are prohibited indoor and outdoor from 3/16 to 3/31

Tuolumne: Schools are closed from 3/16 to 3/30

Ventura: All schools and public libraries are closed starting 3/16 until further notice

Yolo: Many schools are closed at the local level. The County website has a list of closures: https://www.yolocounty.org/health-human-services/adults/communicable-disease-investigation-and-control/novel-coronavirus-2019

Counties with no closures/restrictions beyond those mandated by the state: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Plumas, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, and Yuba

Drive through testing is available in Marin County

Colorado - last updated 3/15 at 145 pm local time

131 cases (+30), 1 death

Counties reporting deaths include: El Paso (1)

Affected counties include: Adams (6, +0), Arapahoe (15, +5), Denver (24, +4), Douglas (8, +4), Eagle (22, +4), El Paso (4, +1), Gunnison (8, +2), Jefferson (12, +3), Larimer (1, +0), Mesa (1, +0), Pitkin (2, +0), Pueblo (1, +0), Summit (1, +0), Weld (5, +2), with one case reassigned from Summit to unknown status

Out of state visitors who have tested positive are tallied separately, 15 in total (+0). They are located in the following counties: Pitkin (9), Eagle (2), Routt (1), Denver (1), unknown (2).

Confirmed community spread

Newly affected counties include: Boulder (3), Clear Creek (1),

Drive through testing is available in: Denver and Lowry

Residents of Gunnison, Eagle, Summit, Pitkin are recommended to minimize social contact

Anyone who visited the Colorado Springs Bridge center in late Feb-early Mar may have been exposed, call the DPH for more information

Events of >50 people are “strongly encouraged” to be canceled

Schools are closed in many places, local news is your best bet for this. I’ll try to include this eventually but it’s too much today.

Connecticut - last update 3/16 at 5 pm local time

41 cases

The following counties are affected: Fairfield (29), Hartford (4), Litchfield (4), New Haven (4)

Connecticut’s small, right? You can’t have more than 4 counties?

Restrictions/Closures

Gatherings >250 people are canceled through 4/30

No gatherings >50 people until further notice

Nursing home visits restricted

Schools closed through 3/30

Restaurants are carryout/drive through only through 4/30

Fitness/recreation centers and movie theaters closed through 4/30

Delaware: last update 3/16 at 1:40 local time

8 cases, 0 deaths

Affected counties include: New Castle (8)

Do you guys have any other counties?? This is gonna be another Rhode Island sitch, I think.

Restrictions/closures:

Events over >100 people are encouraged to cancel/reschedule

Schools closed through 3/27

District of Columbia: last update 3/16 AM

17 cases, no deaths

There’s no counties in DC, you can’t trick me

Restrictions/Closures

Food service/drinking establishments are restricted to <250 people, <6 people/table, no standing or bar seating, and tables separated by 6 feet

Nightclubs etc are closed

Florida - last updated 12:38 pm local time 3/16/20

155 (+40) cases and 4 deaths (+0)

Florida has not yet confirmed community transmission but it’s almost certainly happening. I’m no longer separating counties with and without confirmed community transmission because of that.

Affected counties include: Alachua (2, +1), Broward (39, +3), Charlotte (1, +0), Citrus (1, +0), Clay (3, +0), Collier (6, +1), Duval (5, +1), Hillsborough (5, +1), Lee (4, -1), Manatee (5, +1), Miami-Dade (23, +10), Nassau (1, +0) Okaloosa (1, +0), Orange (3, +0), Osceola (4, +2), Palm Beach (8, +3), Pasco (2, +0) Pinellas (4 +2), Santa Rosa (1, +0), Sarasota (3, +2) Seminole (4, +3), St. Johns (2, +1) Volusia (7, +2)

A case was removed from the record of Lee County. Since FLDPH changed their website, I don’t know where it was reassigned.

Newly affected counties include: Escambia (1) and Lake (1)

Georgia: last updated 3/16 at 11:21 AM

121 cases, 22 new, 1 death

Affected counties include: Bartow (9, +0), Charlton (1, +0), Cherokee (7, +1), Clayton (5, +3), Clarke (3, +1), Cobb (22, +3), Coweta (2, +0), Dekalb (10, +0), Dougherty (6, +0), Fayette (5, +0), Floyd (4, +0), Fulton (27, +7), Gordon (2, +0), Gwinnett (5, +1), Henry (2, +1), Lowndes (3, +1), Lee (2, +0), Newton (1, +0), and Polk (1, +0).

Newly affected counties include: Forsyth (1), Hall (1), Paulding (1), and Troup (1)

Illinois: last updated 3/14/20

105 confirmed cases, 16 new

Confirmed community spread

Affected counties include Champaign, Clinton, Cook, Cumberland, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Sangamon, St. Clair, Whiteside, Winnebago, and Woodford

ILDPH is not publishing numbers per county. I will try to include this for tomorrow’s update.

Newly affected counties include: Peoria and Will

Closings/Restrictions

Bars and restaurants are closed (except for carryout and drive through) until 3/30

All gatherings >50 people prohibited

Gyms/fitness centers/clubs/theaters are closed

DMV is closed! I personally hate the IL DMV so this isn’t like, sad news in particular…..

Community colleges and public schools are closed - like in other places I will attempt to include county-by-county news soon.

Iowa: last updated 3/16

Total cases: 22, 4 new

Affected counties include: Carroll (1, +0), Dallas (1, +0), Harrison (1, +0), Johnson (15, +1), and Pottawattamie (1, +0)

Newly affected counties include: Allamakee (2) and Polk (1)

Community spread confirmed

Closures/restrictions

Schools closed for 4 weeks starting 3/16

Kansas: last updated 3/16

11 confirmed cases (+3), 1 death

Affected counties include: Johnson (8, +3), Wyandotte (1, +0), Butler (1, +0), Franklin (1, +0)

Closures/Restrictions

Schools closed through 3/23

Kentucky: last updated 3/16 at 4 pm local time

22 cases (+4), 1 death (+1)

Counties reporting deaths: Bourbon (1)

Counties reporting recoveries: Harrison (1)

Affected counties include: Bourbon (1), Clark (1), Fayette (5), Harrison (6), Jefferson (6), Montgomery (1), and Nelson (1).

Closures/Restrictions

Restaurants and bars closed to in-person service

State Capitol closed to nonessential personnel

Schools are closed statewide

Louisiana: last updated 5:30 pm 3/16

136 cases reported, 45 new

3 deaths, 1 new

Parishes affected: Bossier (1, +0), Caddo (3, +2), Jefferson (21, +9), Lafourche (2, +1), Orleans (94, +29), St. Bernard (2, +1), St. Charles (3, +1), St. John the Baptist (1, +0), St. Tammany (6, +2), and Terrebonne (2, +0)

New parishes affected: Ascension (1)

Maryland: last updated 10 AM 3/16

37 cases, 0 deaths

Counties affected: Anne Arundel (1), Baltimore (4), Baltimore City (1), Carroll (1), Charles (1), Harford (2), Howard (1), Montgomery (15), Prince George’s (10), Talbot (1)

Community spread confirmed

Exposure risk advisory for Lorien Elkridge

Closures/restrictions

Casinos, racetracks and other gambling situations are closed

Gatherings >250 people prohibited

All schools closed through 3/27

Senior centers closed until further notice

Massachusetts: last updated 4 pm 3/16

197 cases (59 new)

Affected counties include: Barnstable (1, +0), Berkshire (11, +2), Bristol (2, +1), Essex (8, +3), Middlesex (83, +18), Norfolk (36, +8), Suffolk (36, +9), and Worcester (6, +4)

Newly affected counties include: Hampden (1) and Plymouth (3)

10 cases are undetermined location

14 hospitalizations (+3)

They finally stopped making me download a goddamn word doc, thank you Massachusetts <3

Michigan: last updated 3/16 2 pm

54 cases (+21) 0 deaths

Affected counties include: Bay (1, +0), Charlevoix (1, +0), Ingham (1, +0), Kent (5, +2), Macomb (6, +4), Monroe (1, +0), Montcalm (1, +0), Oakland (14, +5), St. Clair (2, +1), Washtenaw (7, +3), and Wayne (14, +6)

Wayne County includes Detroit (6 cases)

Likely community transmission

Closures/Restrictions

Bars and restaurants are carryout/drive through only

Public spaces (casinos, theaters, etc) closed

Public offices open by appt only

Minnesota: last updated 3/16 at 12:00

54 cases (+19)

Affected counties include: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmstead, Ramsey, Renville, Stearns, Waseca, Washington, and Wright

Newly affected counties include: Benton and Blue Earth

County numbers are not currently being provided by MN dept of health, just ranges. Hennepin county has >20 cases.

I will start working on these numbers for tomorrow’s edition

Drive through testing available in Olivia

Montana: last updated 3/15 at 7:45 pm

6 cases

Affected counties not being reported at this time, I’ll try to untangle that tomorrow

Closures/Restrictions

Public schools closed until 3/30

Many counties have closed libraries, these will be included tomorrow

Nebraska: last updated 3/16

Community transmission confirmed: many locations in Douglas County are potential places where transmission has occurred; if you live or have traveled to Douglas County (Omaha), please check the Douglas County COVID-19 monitoring site at: https://www.douglascountyhealth.com/latest-news.

There were also two exposures in Knox County on March 5, at basketball games at Lincoln Southwest HS and North Star HS.

18 cases (+1), no deaths

Affected counties include: Cass (1), Douglas (15) and Knox (1)

New Jersey : last updated 3/16 at 2 pm

178 cases (+109), 2 deaths (+1)

Affected counties include: Bergen (61, +36), Burlington (5, +2), Camden (3, +1), Essex (20, +13), Hudson (19, +14), Mercer (6, +5), Middlesex (17, +7), Monmouth (14, +6), Morris (6, +3), Ocean (3, +2), Passaic (8, +6), Somerset (5, +4), and Union (8, +7)

Newly affected counties include: Hunterdon (1)

Closures/Restrictions:

No gatherings >50 people

New York: last updated 3/16 at 3 PM

950 cases (+337), 2 deaths

Affected counties include: Albany (12, +7), Broome (1, +0), Delaware (1, +0), Dutchess (10, +6), Erie (6, +3), Herkimer (1, +0), Monroe (10, +8), Nassau (109, +30), Orange (11, +5), Rockland (16, +4), Saratoga (5, +2), Schenectady (4, +3), Suffolk (63, +22), Tioga (1, +0), Tompkins (1, +0), Ulster (7, +2), Westchester (220, +42)

NYC has 463 cases (194) as of 3/16 at 11:30 am

Areas/counties reporting deaths are: NYC - Brooklyn (1), Rockland (1)

Newly affected counties include: Allegany (2), Greene (2), Montgomery (1), Onondaga (1), Ontario (1), and Putnam (2)

Drive through testing in New Rochelle, Long Island, Staten Island, and Rockland County

Closures/Restrictions

Bars, restaurants, entertainment venues closed

No gatherings >50 people

Public schools closed until 4/1

Village elections delayed until 4/28

The governor dunked on the federal response hard in his press conference, which was great tbh

North Carolina: last updated 3/16 at 10 AM

33 cases, 0 deaths

Affected counties include: Brunswick (1), Cabarrus (1), Chatham (1), Craven (1), Durham (1), Forsyth (2), Harnett (2), Johnston (2), Mecklenburg (4), Onslow (1), Wake (14), Watauga (1), Wayne (1), and Wilson (1).

Advisory for an exposure at Raleigh convention center on March 8

Please call Wake County if you were there, they are tracking exposures

Closures/Restrictions

Schools are closed statewide until 3/30

Events >100 people canceled

Ohio: last updated 3/16 at 2 pm

50 confirmed cases, 14 new

14 hospitalizations

Affected counties include: Belmont (2, +0), Butler (6, +0), Cuyahoga (24, +10), Franklin (3, +0), Lorain (3, +1), Lucas (1, +0), Medina (2, +1), Stark (3, +1), Summit (2, +0), Trumbull (2, +0), Tuscarawas (1, +0)

Newly affected counties include: Geauga (1).

Closures/Restrictions

Bars/restaurants are closed

Gatherings >50 people canceled

Oregon: last updated 3/15 at 12 PM

39 cases (+3), 1 death

Counties reporting deaths: Multnomah (1)

13 hospitalized at time of positive test

The following counties are affected: Clackamas (1, +0), Deschutes (4, +1), Douglas (1, +0), Jackson (2, +0), Klamath (1, +0), Linn (10, +1), Marion (2, +0), Multnomah (1, +0), Polk (1, +0), Umatilla (2, +0), and Washington (13, +0).

Newly affected counties include: Yamhill (1).

Pennsylvania: last updated 3/16 at 7 pm

Gritty continues his dark work.

76 total cases (+13)

Counties affected include: Allegheny (5, +2) Bucks (5, +1), Chester (2, +0), Cumberland (5, +0), Delaware (7, +0), Lehigh (1, +0), Luzerne (1, +0), Monroe (8, +2), Montgomery (30, +6), Northampton (1, +0), Philadelphia (8, +2), Pike (1, +0), Washington (1, +0), Wayne (1, +0)

Newly affected counties include: NONE TODAY! \o/

Closures/restrictions:

Restaurants and bars are closed in the following counties until 3/30: Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery

Presumably this will deter Gritty

Rhode Island: last updated 3/16

21 confirmed cases (+1), no deaths

Chanston High School West had an exposure; 1700 people are currently quarantined after this exposure

I will attempt to sort out county level data soon, since apparently y’all have counties

South Carolina: last updated 3/16 at 3:50 pm

33 cases, no deaths

Will try to find more granular data for tomorrow’s edition

South Dakota: last updated 3/16

10 confirmed cases (+1), no deaths

Affected counties include: Beadle (1, +0), Bon Homme (1, +0), Charles Mix (1, +0), Davison (1, +0), McCook (1, +0), Minnehaha (4, +1), and Pennington (1, +0)

No community transmission

Tennessee: last updated 3/16 at 2 pm

52 cases, no deaths

Affected counties include: Campbell (1), Davidson (25), Hamilton (1), Jefferson (1), Knox (1), Rutherford (1), Sevier (1), Shelby (2), Sullivan (1), and Williamson (18)

Texas: last updated 3/16

57 total cases, 1 new.

Highly likely that there has been community transmission, unconfirmed currently

Affected counties include: Bell (1, +0), Bexar (3, +2), Brazoria (2, +0), Collin (6, +1), Dallas (8, +0), El Paso (1, +0), Fort Bend (9, +0), Galveston (1, +0), Gregg (1, +0), Harris (10, +0), Hays (1, +0), Lavaca (1, +0), Matagorda (1), Montgomery (3, +0), Smith (4, +1), Tarrant (3, +0), and Travis (2, +1)

Newly affected counties include: None today!

Utah: last updated 3/16

29 total cases

Affected health districts include: Davis County (4, +1), Salt Lake county (18, +2), Southwest Utah (1, +0), Summit County (11, +9), and Weber-Morgan (2, +1)

Newly affected districts include: Tooele (1), Utah County (1), and Wasatch County (1)

First case of community spread identified on 3/14/20, in Summit County

Exposure at Wasatch High School identified

Schools: canceled

Mormons: canceled

Skiing: canceled

Public places in SLC: Canceled

Vermont

12 cases total (+4)

Affected counties include: Bennington (3), Chittenden (4), Orange (1), Springfield (1), Washington (1), and Windsor (3)

Hospitalizations are reported in the following counties: Bennington (3), Chittenden (1), Springfield (1), Washington (1), Windsor (1)

Closures/restrictions:

No gatherings >50 people or >50% capacity, whichever is lower

Schools are closed starting 3/18

Virginia: last updated 3/16

51 cases total, 6 new

Affected counties/cities include: Alexandria City (2, +1), Arlington (9, +1), Chesterfield (2, +1), Fairfax (10, +0), Hanover (1, +0), Harrisonburg City (1, +0), James City (10, +2), Loudoun (5, +0), Prince Edward (1, +0), Prince William (3, +0), Spotsylvania (1, +0), and Virginia Beach City (4, +0)

Newly affected areas include: Stafford (1) and York (1)

Washington: last updated 3/16 at 3:45 PM

Things are still super rough. Hang in there.

904 total cases (+262), 48 deaths (+8)

Current mortality rate: 5.3%

Deaths have occurred in the following counties: Grant (1, +0), King (43, +8), and Snohomish (4, +0).

Affected counties include: Clark (4, +1), Columbia (1, +0), Grant (3, +1), Grays Harbor (1, +0), Island (7, +1), Jefferson (3, +2), King (488, +101), Kitsap (7, +4), Kittitas (3, +0), Pierce (38, +12), Skagit (7, +3), Snohomish (200, +46), Spokane (3, +0), Thurston (4, +1), Whatcom (3, +1), and Yakima (4, +0).

126 cases are currently unassigned to a county. These are expected to resolve in the coming days, hopefully.

Newly affected counties include: Lewis (1) and Lincoln (1)

Closures/restrictions: widespread, will have county-by-county info soon.

Wisconsin: last updated 3/16 at 2 PM

47 total cases (+14), 0 deaths

Recovery is being reported by the following counties: Dane (1)

This is updated every Friday, next update expected 3/20

Affected counties include: Dane (10, +4), Fond du Lac (11, +0), Milwaukee (13, +6), Pierce (1, +0), Racine (1, +0), Sheboygan (3, +0), Waukesha (3, +0), and Winnebago (3, +2)

Newly affected counties include: Outagamie (1) and Wood (1)

Closures/restrictions

Schools closed starting 3/18 for minimum of two weeks

Today’s Hot Tips

Social distancing can be really crappy for people who are prone to feeling isolated. Try to schedule time to hang out virtually, especially if you’re stuck at home alone. I highly recommend the Jackbox party games to stream over Discord, or tabletop RPGs played through a service like Roll20. My friends and I have been doing all these things and it’s helping a lot!

If you have a favorite quarantine activity, let me know and I can include it in the next issue!

Everyone knows that sex is an option, there’s gonna be a lot of November, December, & January babies

That said, make sure your quarantine supplies include contraception and condoms and stuff. If you have a uterus, you can buy emergency contraception (plan B) online and it’s real handy to have around in a situation like this.

Hand washing is so hot right now

Hand Washing Song of the Day

If you hate singing happy birthday while you wash your hands, I certainly do, try Barrett’s Privateers!

Sing the first verse and chorus to feel like a pirate and follow CDC handwashing guidelines! Use soap and water for maximum virus-murdering.

Good News, Everyone!

The Shedd Aquarium took its penguins around to explore the whole aquarium since there were no people, and boy were those lil guys fascinated by everything!

Check it out here: https://twitter.com/shedd_aquarium/status/1239248971006185478?s=21

Chill Cat Corner

This one’s a classic: “where’s the babies???”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rELs4jl64k

I wish I could summon a bunch of smol kittens to scream at me like this

About this newsletter

I’m Emily, I’m a 4th year med student w/ a degree in molecular biology. I started this because I’m an infectious disease and epidemiology nerd and also all my friends have questions & anxiety. Hi internet!

The archive/proper website is located at coronaextranewsletter.wordpress.com.

All this info is sourced from regional & national public health organizations, plus the WHO. It’s as up to date as humanly possible. I’ve been beaming information about this outbreak directly into my brain 24/7 but I still miss stuff. Please let me know if I miss something!

Most public health departments stop updating their information around 4-5 PM local time on weekdays. That means that the earliest this will come out is around 6 PM Pacific time on weekdays going forward. On weekends things update more sporadically and earlier, so who knows what I’ll do then, but I’ll do my best.

The excellent title is courtesy of @marywhal and the Wordpress site is courtesy of @molly0xFFF and @goblinartificer on Twitter, thank you all!

For More Information

JHU COVID-19 data center: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

List of peer-reviewed publications: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/publications.html

WHO daily sitrep: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200316-sitrep-56-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9fda7db2_2

WHO FAQ: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

CDC cases in the US: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html, this also has links to each state’s health dept

#corona extra #coronavirus #coronavirus pandemic #covid19 #covid corner #public health #pandemic facts #no panic #just facts

94 notes · View notes

johnlockiseverywhere · 5 years

Text

Mental Health Series - Depression

Let's talk a little about Mental Health? BBC Sherlock, as other series, just flirt a little with the theme, using it for comic relief or plot proposes. Consequently, it doesn't develop the subject satisfyingly, fixing on stereotypes and creating, most of the time, a superficial or even inaccurate representation. But thank god fandom gave us fanfiction, so we could fix that.

This series will contain an edit picture, a little text talking about the subject of the day and a fic rec with fanfics that abbord the theme.

The conditions and disorders in this edits are the ones that were explicitly mentioned in the series.

Warning: Please, don't use this post as a diagnoses tool.

Trigger Warning: Some of the situations and subjects in this post and these works may be triggering, please always check the tags or the notes first.

Depression

"Losing a loved one, getting fired from a job, going through a divorce, and other difficult situations can lead a person to feel sad, lonely and scared. These feelings are normal reactions to life's stressors. Most people feel low and sad at times. However, in the case of individuals who are diagnosed with depression as a psychiatric disorder, the manifestations of the low mood are much more severe and they tend to persist.

Depression occurs more often in women than men. Some differences in the manner in which the depressed mood manifests has been found based on sex and age. In men it manifests often as tiredness, irritability and anger. They may show more reckless behavior and abuse drugs and alcohol. They also tend to not recognize that they are depressed and fail to seek help. In women depression tends to manifest as sadness, worthlessness, and guilt. In younger children depression is more likely to manifest as school refusal, anxiety when separated from parents, and worry about parents dying. Depressed teenagers tend to be irritable, sulky, and get into trouble in school. They also frequently have co-morbid anxiety, eating disorders, or substance abuse. In older adults depression may manifest more subtly as they tend to be less likely to admit to feelings of sadness or grief and medical illnesses which are more common in this population also contributes or causes the depression.

There are different types of depressive disorders, and while there are many similarities among them, each depressive disorder has its own unique set of symptoms.

The most commonly diagnosed form of depression is Major Depressive Disorder. In 2015, around 16.1 million adults aged 18 years or older in the U.S. had experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, which represented 6.7 percent of all American adults.

Major depression is characterized by at least five of the diagnostic symptoms of which at least one of the symptoms is either an overwhelming feeling of sadness or a loss of interest and pleasure in most usual activities. The other symptoms that are associated with major depression include decrease or increase in appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, psycho motor agitation or retardation, constant fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or excessive and inappropriate guilt, recurrent thoughts of death and suicidal ideation with or without specific plans for committing suicide, and cognitive difficulties, such as, diminished ability to think, concentrate and take decisions. The symptoms persist for two weeks or longer and represent a significant change from previous functioning. Social, occupational, educational, or other important functioning is also impacted. For instance, the person may start missing work or school, or stop going to classes or their usual social activities.

Another type of depression is called Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia). The essential feature of this mood disorder is a low, dark or sad mood that is persistently present for most of the day and on most days, for at least 2 years (children and adolescents may experience predominantly irritability and the mood persist for at least 1 year). For the individual to receive the diagnosis of persistent depressive disorder they should also have two of the diagnostic symptoms which include poor appetite or overeating, insomnia or hypersomnia, low energy or fatigue, low self-esteem, poor concentration, difficulty making decisions, or feelings of hopelessness. During this period, any symptom-free intervals last no longer than two months. The symptoms are not as severe as with major depression. Major depression may precede persistent depressive disorder, and major depressive episodes may also occur during persistent depressive disorder.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is another manifestation of depression which is a severe and sometimes disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Although regular PMS and Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) both have physical and emotional symptoms, the mood changes in PMDD are much more severe and can disrupt social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning. In both PMDD and PMS, symptoms usually begin seven to 10 days before the start of a menstrual period and continue for the first few days of the period. Both PMDD and PMS may also cause breast tenderness, bloating, fatigue, and changes in sleep and eating habits. PMDD is characterized by emotional and behavioral symptoms that are more severe, such as sadness or hopelessness, anxiety or tension, extreme moodiness, irritability or anger.

Some medical conditions can trigger depressive symptoms in individuals. This is called depressive disorder due to another medical condition. Endocrine and reproductive system disorders are commonly associated with depressive symptoms. For example, people with low levels of the thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) often experience fatigue, weight gain, irritability, memory loss, and low mood. When the hypothyroidism is treated it usually reduces the depression. Cushing's syndrome is another hormonal disorder caused by high levels of the hormone cortisol which can also cause depressive symptoms. Other conditions that have been found to cause depression include conditions such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, strokes, Parkinson’s disease etc.

Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood is diagnosed when symptoms of depression are triggered within 3 months of onset of a stressor. The stressor usually involves a change of some kind in the life of the individual which he/she finds stressful. Sometimes the stressor can even be a positive event such as a new job, marriage, or baby which is nevertheless stressful for the individual. The distress is typically out of proportion to the expected reaction and the symptoms cause significant distress and impairment in functioning. The symptoms typically resolve within 6 months when the person begins to cope and adapt to the stressor or the stressor is removed. Treatment tends to be time limited and relatively simple since some additional support during the stressful period helps the person recover and adapt.

Another type of depression is related to changes in the length of days or seasonality. This type of depression is called Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). People with SAD suffer the symptoms of a Major Depressive Disorder only during a specific time of year, usually winter. This appears to be related to the shorter days of winter, and the lack of sunlight in many parts of the country."

- Anxiety and Depression Association of America

Maybe that is the most represented disorder in BBC Sherlock. We can see signs of depression in both John and Sherlock in different moments and in different series. In series one, the image of John's gun in his bedside table and the allusion of a suicide intent and Sherlock's dark moods. In MHR and Series three we can see it in John's grief period and Sherlock's relapse. In series four they are shown in John's grief after Mary's death and Sherlock's other relapse. But maybe, the biggest allusion, even if indirectly, is Sherlock's suicide. The motive may not be related, but the act itself is enough to trigger some discussions about the theme. "Would it be out of character if Sherlock did it for real?" That we don't know. What we do know is that he doesn't believe his life to worth that much and that he has some self-destructive tendencies. Other thing to be discussed is the coping mechanism shown in the series. Both Sherlock and John shown a majority of potentially toxic coping mechanisms like alcohol, drugs, adrenaline seeking and extreme reclusion.

It's important to talk about the subject. The more educated we are about the matter, more efficiently we can help people around us who are suffering from disease.

And I chose to do this edit specifically because of the period of the year. Mosty because of Yellow September, where people talk and discuss about suicide prevention.

If you are suffering from something similar, please search professional help from a therapist or a psychiatrist.

HOTLINES

Suicide Hotline (US, UK, Canada & Singapore): 1-800-SUICIDE (2433)

Suicide hotline (New Zealand): 0800 543 354

Depression hotline: 1-630-482-9696

Suicide Crisis Line: 1-800-999-9999

National Suicide Prevention Helpline: 1-800-273-TALK (8245)

National Adolescent Suicide Helpline: 1-800-621-4000

Postpartum Depression: 1-800-PPD-MOMS

NDMDA Depression Hotline – Support Group: 1-800-826-3632

Veterans: 1-877-VET2VET

Crisis Help Line – For Any Kind of Crisis: 1-800-233-4357

Suicide & Depression Crisis Line – Covenant House: 1-800-999-9999

SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINES:

Austria: 01-713-3373

Australia: 1-800-817-569

Barbados: 429-9999

Brazil: 21-233-9191

Canada: 514-723-4000

China: 852-2382-0000

Costa Rica: 506-253-5439

Denmark: 70-201-201

Egypt: 7621602

Estonia: 6-558-088

Finland: 040-5032199

France: 01-45-39-4000

Guatemala: 502-254-1259

Holland: 0900-0767

Honduras: 504-237-3623

Hungary: 62-420-111

India: 91-22-307-3451

Italy: 06-7045-4444

Japan: 3-5286-9090

Maylaysia: 03-756-8144

Maurititus: 46-48-889 or 800-93-93

Mexico: 525-510-2550

New Zealand: 4-473-9739

Nicarague: 505-268-6171

Norway: 815-33-300

Poland: 800 70 2222 or 116 123

Portugal: 239-72-10-10

Republic of Ireland: 1850-60-90-90

Russia: 8-20-222-82-10

Singapore: 800-221-4444 or 000-227-0309

South Africa: 0861-322-322

South Korea: 2-715-8600

Spain: 91-459-00-50

Sri Vincent: 1-692-909

St. Vincent: 809-456-1044

Sweden: 031-711-2400

Switzerland: 143

Thailand: 02-249-9977

Trinidad & Tobago: 868-645-2800

Ukraine: 0487-327715 or 0482-226565

United Kingdom: 08457-90-90-90

United States: 1-800-SUICIDE (7842433), or 1-800-TALK (8255), or 1-800-827-7571

◇

Table for One Series

By SilentAuror

32k, Mature to Explicit, Johnlock

Series Progression: Finished

Works: 2

Sherlock has returned to London, only to find that the John he left behind has changed. Why is he spending so much time alone in cafés, hardly eating, limping again? Why has he become so beige? Sherlock slowly begins to realise that this is not going to be as easy as he had thought.

carrying up his morning tea

By darcylindbergh

34k, Explicit, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 5

His fingers tremble as he dials and he can’t force them steady. Familiar number, even though he hasn’t used it in two years. He isn’t even sure he should be calling it now, but she’d asked. She’d made him promise.

White Tulip

By withoutawish

41k, Explicit, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 1

Sherlock is in love with John Watson. John Watson is in love with Mary Morstan. Sherlock likes Mary Morstan just fine. Sherlock likes drugs more. And most importantly, Sherlock doesn’t like Sherlock.

String theory dictates the laws of the universe. But their story isn’t one that can be boxed up neatly, tied in a heartstring bow.

"After all, the axioms of homeostasis dictate that an infinity sign of negative feedback can only loop back in on itself.”

A Satellite Out of Orbit

By SilentAuror

6k, Mature, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 1

For years, Ella has been trying to get John Watson to open up and talk to her about his issues. To her surprise, his longtime flatmate Sherlock Holmes turns up one day, needing her advice.

A River Without Banks

By Chryse

203k, Explicit, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 23

"You love this, being Sherlock Holmes."

He had once. When had it all gone so wrong?

Fully completed, not a WIP. Updates will post twice a week.

Lunar Landscapes

By J_Baillier

57k, Mature, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 21

An accident forces John to face the fact that Sherlock's downward spiral had started long before his flight to exile even left the tarmac.

Radioactive Trees In A Red Forest

By Maribor_Petrichor

280k, Explicit, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 73

John Watson is what happens when a man can no longer see a reason to go on.

John Watson is what happens when a man starts to let go.

"It is what it is."

John Watson is what happens when what "it is" becomes too much to bear.

This is a story of the life, death, and resurrection of John Hamish Watson.

Precipice

By PoppyAlexander

6k, Mature, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 1

Ten years after his return from the war, lighthouse keeper John Watson meets consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, pacing at the cliff's edge.

Right Hand Man

By SilentAuror

42k, Explicit, Johnlock

Work Progression: Finished

Chapters: 4

When John's left arm becomes paralysed after a car accident, Mary asks Sherlock to take him back to Baker Street to recuperate, as she's about to give birth. Despite the fact that the search for Moriarty is ongoing, Sherlock takes John in and takes responsibility for overseeing his rehabilitation as he adjusts to the loss of his arm.

47 notes · View notes

cinenthusiast · 5 years

Text

Previous Top Ten By Year lists: 1935, 1983, 1965, 1943, 1992, 1978, 1925, 1969 1930

Previous Top Ten By Year: 1949 Posts: Top Ten By Year: 1949 – Poll Results 100 Images from the Films of 1949 What I’ll Remember About the Films of 1949: A Love Letter #10. The Queen of Spades (UK/Dickinson) #9. Rendezvous in July (Becker)/Au royaume des cieux (Duvivier) (France) #8. Too Late for Tears (US / Haskin) #7. The Heiress (US / Wyler) #6. The Set-Up (US / Wise) #5. Caught (US / Ophüls)

For those unaware of my Top Ten By Year project: The majority of my viewing habits have been dictated by this project since September of 2013. Jumping to a different decade each time, I choose comparatively weaker years for me re: quantity of films seen/quantity of films loved. I use list-making as a way to see more films and revisit others in a structured and project-drive way. I was sick of spending too much time trying to decide what to watch, or watching films just to cross them off another dumb canon list. I wanted to engage. I wanted films to be enhanced by others, by looking at a specific moment in time. I wanted something that led me to seeing or revisiting things I might not have gotten to otherwise. Lastly, my lists are based on personal favorites, not any weird notion of an objective best.

This is the first year I’ll be doing separate posts for each film. #9 will go up Monday. After that, one will go up each day until the end. Then I’ll post them all together so they are gathered in one place. There are a lot of films I loved that did not make the cut. In particular, Flamingo Road, Such a Pretty Little Beach, On the Town, Inspirace, The Reckless Moment, Reign of Terror, The Rocking Horse Winner, and Samson and Delilah are all films I thought at one point would be on here. Of all of these, Flamingo Road was a sure thing until it wasn’t at the very last minute. Please go watch it.

#4. The Passionate Friends (UK / Lean) (first-time viewing)

Playing image association with David Lean’s The Passionate Friends conjures up an a jellyfish and its streamer arms, weightless in the ocean. Maybe it’s because I cast the image of Mary (Ann Todd) out on the balcony, billowing curtain in the foreground as she says goodbye to a different life once and for all, over the whole film. But there’s more to it than that. That wind and those floating curtains are just part of the visual language Lean uses to represent the life Mary doesn’t choose. There is the gentle ripple of the water, the outstretched tree branches that create particles of shadow, and the impossible majesty of the Swiss Alps. They are all part of the sensuality and openness of nature, the choice not made. The jellyfish is a clumsy descriptor, but maybe it’s fitting that I struggle to describe a film that seems to exist in the ethereal.

The Passionate Friends shows the ways time and memory play off each other in the psyche. Just as the properties of nature have the power to signal shifts in thought, atmosphere and objects can become tickets to elsewhere. The Set-Up uses time in the most confining of ways; the emotional lives of its characters are tethered to what is happening within those fateful seventy-three minutes. The Passionate Friends uses time as a structural and thematic bedrock; the subjectivity of its characters become inextricable from the past and the never-was.

The film confused some viewers when it was released (even for the flashback frenzy of the 40s, this was a lot to take in). We begin in Switzerland and travel back nine years, and then (for a brief time) another nine years. We then follow the same route back; nine years forward, and another nine to Switzerland for the final act. The structure recalls John Stahl’s The Locket, another 1940s film that uses to-and-fro flashbacks. The Locket gets more complicated by shifting perspectives as well as time. But The Passionate Friends not only forgoes most standard flashback cues, it even intercuts moments of imagined conversations and actions as characters traverse through humiliation and regret in the exact moments they are felt.

These forays into the internal both jolt and wash over the characters (and us), as inner lives and the autonomy of human emotion are wont to do. Lean always makes sure that the exterior communicates the interior. In an early scene, Mary sits in the carriage next to her husband, doused in darkness and boxed in by both the frame and the shroud of her veil. Barely visible, she is lost in reflections that hurt. Then we’re in the past, and we can feel the sensuality of nature everywhere. It is so bright; Mary and Steven are young and in love. Sunlight covers them, and branches shade them. Together they create a shimmering screen (seen above) that recalls the curtain of the first still (an image that comes much later in the film), and the veil that envelopes Mary in the carriage. In The Passionate Friends, images call back and signal to each other constantly. The veil is the curtain is the sun and shade. It is all of a piece.

All of a sudden there is a whistling screech as the carriage stops short. We are yanked back to the present the exact moment Mary is. There is no pomp and circumstance, no smooth transition. It is cruel, and we feel the loneliness of that carriage so much more. Compare this to how A Letter to Three Wives initiates flashbacks (also from 1949 with an advanced flashback structure); the autotune distortion of a repeated phrase hypnotizes us into and out of the past. There is the slow blur of the frame, a go-to sign that a flashback is coming our way. Lean doesn’t hand-hold. He wants to put you in the viscous of the emotional. The drift-in and shock-out of memory is faithful to Mary’s state of mind. We are with her — truly with her. The Passionate Friends is full of filmmaking that administers a psychic and emotional immediacy, a surprising early onset example of the discontinuous editing that would be en vogue in decades to come.

The Passionate Friends is a human drama rich enough for me to have seen drastically different takeaways on both its characters and its depiction of love and romance. The Passionate Friends is in that Daisy Kenyon class of “it’s complicated”, a sensual film about unsensual people. A film about repeating choices. There are no easy answers, just a lot of messy and contradictory feelings and desires. It’s not about the kinds of love we like to dream about, though it initially fools you into thinking it is. There is a different kind of love happening here, a sturdier love that sneaks up on both sides of the screen, borne out of epiphanies that have their own kind of beauty.

Mary knowingly gives up love for autonomy, money, and comfort with Howard Justin (Claude Rains). Their marriage is amicable, providing her with the kind of emotional freedom she needs and the finer things she wants. When we first meet her she’s on a plane to Switzerland. She sits in luxury, spoiled by “White bread. Butter. Cream!”. A big bowl of fruit even sneaks into the frame. She is, literally, in the clouds. One could argue this is the most openly passionate she appears in the entire film. This is the life she chose and the life she ultimately wants. There are no external forces preventing Steven and Mary from being together. Howard is not a tyrant. Freedom is always hers, including the choice to leave. She never does.

But every nine years she is destined to almost choose Steven (Trevor Howard), the pleasant professor of humble means. Mary’s trouble is the curse of knowing who you are, and knowing that the love you want isn’t the love for you (“I’ve always been a little hard”). Or thinking that you know that about yourself. Sometimes she seems to hold herself back, as if knowing this about herself has simply closed her off to what is possible. Mary and Steven can only exist in the “what if?”, but her self-assessment seems so absolute as to forbid any warmth in her life. For her, passion means first and foremost a loss of control and selfhood. She needs to belong to herself, an objective for a woman rarely understood today let alone then, and one that positions Mary as an outsider in the world.

How much is there really between Steven and Mary? As with so many romances, their feelings remain strong because they are left unprocessed. What could have been likely remains so much stronger than what would have been. Lean connects them metaphysically; dissolves erase the space between them as they think of each other in their respective solitude. Any time she is in the open air, the memory of Steven surrounds her (even if she doesn’t know it). Despite Lean’s lean (I’ll see myself out) into these romanticisms, The Passionate Friends is not a film about lost love. It’s more about mourning the type of person you long to be but aren’t (and can’t we all relate to that?!). Not being with Steven isn’t necessarily about not being with Steven; it’s about feeling passion and desire but not being able to live by that.

The juxtaposition between the life she chose and the life she didn’t can be seen at the New Year’s Eve ball (the scene always referenced in relation to Phantom Thread). On the ground floor she is seen catching up with her one-time soulmate. It is anarchy; they have to yell their pleasantries at each other, and there are Josef Von Sternberg amounts of balloons and streamers everywhere. In keeping with the spontaneous spirit of the event, they soon get split up. Soon after, we see her up in a box with Howard (Claude Rains is introduced looking like an old-school Count, beginning the film’s sly misdirect of his character). The prince and princess looking down on their subjects have such a different energy from the one below. Not cold, but congenial and removed. She looks down longingly, wanting to be part of the ruckus but knowing she wouldn’t know how. She defines herself as belonging to the lofty box that is lacking. It is not a longing that says “why didn’t I choose that?”. It is a longing that says “why can’t I be like them?”.

Steven may love Mary, but he doesn’t really know her. At one point Mary says to him “you don’t really know me at all”. At another point Howard says to him “you don’t know her”. Mary expresses this again later on, stating “we’re practically strangers to each other”. When he receives a letter from Mary in which she breaks off the relationship, he goes to Howard and accuses him of having made her write the letter. I mean, that’s how it always is in these love stories, isn’t it? The tyrant husband holds his wife prisoner or blackmails her into staying? Hell, that’s what Robert Ryan does to Barbara Bel Geddes in Caught! But there are no conventions of the Gothic or the Doomed Romance here. Just a woman making a choice — the same choice. It doesn’t mean she won’t think and dream of Steven on lonely nights. And it doesn’t mean she’ll never stop wondering about what could have been, and there will always be a sense of something lost.

But Howard does know her, and there are untapped waters between them. Claude Rains starts out as the cuckolded husband (we are teased with riffs on his Notorious character). Then, gradually, he emerges as the film’s true soul (Steven is never afforded much perspective while Howard increasingly is). Lean and Rains fully embody Howard’s intense humiliation and betrayal as he starts to reinterpret his own feelings towards Mary. As his pain turns to rage, hers turns to disorientation. He is driven to deliver two shocking speeches in opposition to each other. She is driven to the brink by no longer belonging. It all crescendos in a spectacular whirlwind of emotional agony where absolute vulnerability and fate intervened reveal the power to reset. Steven is gone. This isn’t what we expected with who we expected. But like I said, The Passionate Friends belongs in that Daisy Kenyon category of “it’s complicated”.

Top Ten By Year: 1949 #4 – The Passionate Friends (UK / Lean) Previous Top Ten By Year lists: 1935, 1983, 1965, 1943, 1992, …

#ann todd #Claude Rains #David Lean #Romance #the passionate friends #trevor howard

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thecpdiary · 3 years

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Experts’ views on England Covid measures

Boris Johnson, the UK’s Prime Minister recently announced he intends to abolish all Covid-19 regulations, including the requirement to isolate after testing positive, in England from 24 February, in spite of around 60,000 new cases daily and around 200 deaths every day. Please keep reading.

Here’s what experts around the world think of that plan.

France

Arnaud Fontanet, a senior epidemiologist at the Pasteur Institute and a member of the government’s scientific advisory council said measures such as mask wearing, home working and quarantine remained vital to slow the number of infections and keep hospital admissions down, saying “Allowing the virus a free run would be a fundamental error.”

Germany

“I don’t see Germany going down the UK’s path quite so quickly,” said Johannes Knobloch, an infection prevention specialist at Hamburg’s University Medical Centre. Knobloch continues, “It strikes me as quite brave to lift all restrictions at the same time. I would have thought it possible to keep in place some measures that aren’t too troublesome or intrusive – such as mandatory mask-wearing on public transport – but would still slow down the dynamic of new infections.

“But then you need to bear in mind there are broader philosophical differences in our health system, with avoidance of death still playing a fundamental part in the German system, while Britain’s system places more emphasis on maintaining the ability to work.”

Spain

Prof Rafael Bengoa, a former World Health Organization health systems director who is now co-director of the Institute for Health and Strategy in Bilbao, said that while the lifting of restrictions in England would doubtless prove popular, it was premature.

“Because of our bias to normalcy, people want to believe it’s over, which is what politicians are saying,” said Bengoa. “But most of us in public health across Europe are saying that it’s not quite over and it’s not like the flu…and since this is not like the flu, and it’s quite serious and you can also have long Covid with this, why is it that one needs to precipitate the lifting of restrictions so fast?”

Italy

Italy has among the strictest Covid rules in Europe and scientists are perplexed by England’s plan to scrap quarantine rules for people who test positive for Covid-19, especially with the two countries still registering stubbornly high daily death rates. “These are political choices, not scientific ones,” said Roberto Burioni, a professor of microbiology and virology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan.

“We’ve never quarantined people who have the flu, but the flu doesn’t kill two or three hundred people a day.”

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the epidemiologist and public health expert Prof Michael Baker said the data on hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19 in the UK told their own story.

“The numbers, I think, are screaming out a message [that] the pandemic response has been very poorly managed – the waste of lives, the excessive periods under lockdown and the flip-flopping policies.”

“The science is absolutely top – it’s just the policy translation has been shockingly poor. That’s one of the frustrating things. We’d normally look to the UK … and they have not given us the leadership we’d hope for.”

Australia

Stuart Turville, associate professor in the immunovirology and pathogenesis program at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, points out that the primary concern is that Omicron would be replaced by another variant. “We planned for Delta and got Omicron… I have always said it is better to be vigilant and cautious.”

But he said: “there are always people in our community where vaccination is not an option – for example, because their vaccine response is not strong.” He added: “It’s very difficult to predict this virus, though. It has made a fool of many of us.”

Conclusion

The world is listening to this news. Experts are now coming forward to talk about the latest news from the UK. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UK Prime Minister has only seen Covid-19 as an inconvenience to his ‘premiership.’

Mistakes have and continue to be made. Abolishing all precautionary measures, because it is an inconvenience and there are more pressing matters can only end in tears for the government and us, unless we take control of our lives and use our common sense in the pandemic.

Whilst the vaccine is helping, it isn’t the panacea vaccine the UK Prime Minister would have us believe. The level of protection from the vaccine primarily depends on the immunity; protection also decreases once you’ve taken the vaccine, it doesn’t increase, which means revaccination, and that’s not an option for many.

Also, for those who deal with immunosuppressed issues, there is no indication from the world experts on how protected we will be with scientists in Australia pointing out the vaccine will not work for everyone. It’s not what the UK Prime Minister has said, as he asked us to ‘roll up our sleeves’ in the initial roll-out.

So, even if Covid wasn’t an inconvenience to the UK Prime Minister, with all measures now being dropped, it is now. One thing is for sure, no forward-thinking Prime Minister who cares and whose concern is to protect, would choose to abolish precautionary measures at this time.

All we can hope for, is one of his mandatory u-turns of which there have been many throughout this process.

Please remember to ‘hands, face, space.’

Source: https://www.theguardian.com

For more inspirational, life-changing blogs, please check out my site https://www.thecpdiary.com

#thecpdiary #blog #Experts #Viewson #England #Covidmeasures #BorisJohnson #World #Expertsadvice #InEngland #Normalcybias #PoliticalChoices #NOT #Scientific #Choices

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dailyaudiobible · 6 years

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10/08/2018 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 10:1-11:23, Colossians 3:18-4:18, Psalms 78:56-72, Proverbs 24:28-29

Today is October 8th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian. It's great to be here with you from the rolling hills of Tennessee. I hope it's a lovely day wherever you might be on this big blue planet that we call home. We're diving into our work week. And it doesn't matter what we're diving into, the rhythm continues. The scriptures speak into our lives everyday as we go through them in their entirety in a year. And we're clearly in the back half of things at this point. So, we've been reading from the Amplified Bible this week, which is just yesterday, but that's what we'll read from this week. Jeremiah 10:1-11:23 today.

Commentary:

Okay. Idolatry. That's an ominous word, right? We've encountered it countless times as we move through the Scriptures. And we've read stories about it, we've listened to mighty condemnations of it, we've witnessed the repercussions of it. But now that we're moving through the prophetic books, there's no way to escape it. It's everywhere. And that can seem disconcerting because idolatry isn't usually a part of our everyday conversation. We don't think of idols, which is essentially what idolatry is. And today in Jeremiah we were given a very fitting description of what that looked like in Jeremiah’s time. He said, For the customs and decrees of the peoplesare mere delusion and exercises in futility. It is only wood which one cuts from the forest to make a god, the work of the hands of the craftsman with the axe or cutting tool. They adorn the idol with silver and with gold. They fasten it with hammers and nails so that it will not fall apart. They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot speak, they have to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm or evil, nor can they do any good. So,, most of us can listen to a description like that and exhale a sigh of relief because we've never created an idol of this nature and we would never conceive of worshipping such a thing. However, the issue wasn't so much the physicality of the idol. It was the expectation of what the idol could do for the person if they would give their heart in worship to it. So, with that in mind, just about anything could be an idol. If we expect to live our lives ultimately sustained in any other way than through a relationship with God, than we are creating an idol that cannot talk, cannot see, cannot walk, has to be carried around and then expecting it to bring us life. So, we should consider, idolatry isn't an issue that makes God nervous about his own sovereignty. He doesn't look down upon the earth and the things that people will give themselves to and get nervous that he's going to be dethroned and no longer the sovereign Almighty God. No matter what we worship, there is only one God. But our giving of ourselves to what is a false will keep us from him. And then we will both miss out on the most precious and essential thing. The thing that he has literally moved heaven and earth to give us: a relationship. And when we think about it in those terms, it's heartbreaking, because it really does become a question of what else would God need to do? Why is it that we will put our faith and trust and give our hearts in worship to what is false when God has moved heaven and earth to be here with us? So, let's make this personal. Let's think about our children. If one of our sweet little children one day informed us that we are no longer their parent, we would certainly find this hurtful, probably deeply troubling. If we then found out that they had taken a stuffed animal and built a shrine for it out of toys in the closet, believing it had become their true parent, what would we do? We would be incredibly alarmed by this, especially since we provided all the toys. But if they then stopped talking to us altogether and carried the stuffed animal around, believing that it would parent them, we'd probably be calling in mental health professionals because something would be very wrong, something would be going very sideways. This is fundamentally the place that Jeremiah and the other prophets were speaking from. So, in our example, if one of our children did this, we would still be their parents even though the child had given affection and allegiance to something false, they would still be created in our image. We are their parent. That because we brought them into this world, our hearts would be broken for them. We would do everything possible to pull them back from what was deceiving them and back into the relationship with the family. This is essentially God's position towards idolatry. Come back! Return to me! And we'll see God saying this over and over as we move through the prophets because the alternative is a path that leads to destruction. We would never let our children walk down that path willingly. So, let's consider today what it is that we are turning to for life. An honest assessment. Spend the day watching yourself, observing yourself. What are you turning to for life? Is it food? Is it your investment portfolio? Is it your job? Is it the car that you had to have? What is it? What is it that we're turning to and trusting in that has no power to save us? Because when we do this we become the little child in our illustration and we're betraying our true source of life, which is backward to the way we were created. It's foreign to who we really are. And as we'll continue to see as we continue to move through the books of prophecy, this will get us nowhere.

Prayer:

So,, Father, we acknowledge that. And on an intellectual level we know this. And we don't always understand or realize the subtle shifts that happen inside of us. The hopes that we have and the ways that we put all of our trust in a certain kind of outcome. And that we try to invoke you to make that outcome happen, which gives us clues to the things that are pulling our hearts in all kinds of different directions. And at some point, we put our trust and our hope in these things and not you. This is idolatry and we have to confess and ask your forgiveness. We acknowledge this will get us nowhere. You are our only hope. So, come, Holy Spirit. Show us. Help us to be aware and observant of ourselves so that we can see the things that are pulling our hearts toward idolatry. Come Jesus we pray. In your mighty name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what's going on around here. So, certainly stay connected. Check in. Check it out.

Pray for your brothers and sisters at the prayer wall.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. If you are using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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:

Hi. This is Bremmer from London, the UK calling in for the call from Steve in Toulouse. Steve, I am so pleased that you are starting up a church in Toulouse, church 21 as you call it there. My wife is French. I’m quite familiar with the fact you can be quite __ in France when it comes to funding a family of faith. So, I will be praying for you, your efforts to get resourcing, and of course volunteers, that you’ll actually be able to run your services every week. God bless you Steve, Bremmer from London.

Hello DAB family this is Chantey calling from __ Detroit and I’m calling with a prayer request that is long overdue. It is for someone that is potentially my brother, his name is Raymond and he is 15 years old right now. He’s living in a boy’s home because his mother lost her right and my dad signed over his right and both of them are not for sure if he is my dad’s son. My dad had an opportunity to have a paternity test done but he didn’t show up, of course, to have it done. He has, like social, anxiety and it’s really hard to get him to go anywhere. So, long story short, I want to be there for him and I want him to come stay with us, but I have reservations about his behavior and the fact that we don’t know for sure that he’s my brother. And anyway, just pray for him because he’s really going through a hard time. He’s not able to speak with his parents and he’s able to speak with me only for 10 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And he’s just really struggling and he just…he needs comfort and just…he needs help right now with what he’s going through. So, I’ll be calling back in for more on that. But thank you all so much for your prayers.

Hey everybody, this is Pelham moving to Coleman, the Dough Master Addicted to Christ. That’s been my spiritual name from the beginning when I started calling in to the DAB about 10 years ago. It’s been a while and Brian’s reading today, which was Asaph, that’s what he talked about. When he started talking and he almost laughed to say, some of the stuff that Asaph is facing, we all do from time to time but I think Brian wanted to say we probably all are currently, if you’re listening to my voice. Brian does’t want to say that because that kind of sounds a little intense, but who’s not facing one of those six questions? And Brian, thank you. What an incredible word today. Like, you read my mail literally, said the two things that I was thinking. Thinking way back, some of the things that the Lord is done to sustain you, when you think maybe He’s giving up on you. Boy, if you want to look at my life guys, let’s see, I went to the Daily Audio Bible reunion because of Jesus. I didn’t have any money and I didn’t have the ability to do anything except…except wait on the Lord, who wanted me there apparently, to meet some wonderful people. And I was thinking about thanking a bunch of people with this call, but for me to make a thank you call, I need to start at one minute and 13 seconds to basically give me time to say hi and start lifting names, starting with Jesus and ending with Jesus but it would human names that would be lifted. And you could just say Jesus for everyone, cause when people do the things that they do for Jesus, it’s Jesus working through them and you can see it. I can see Jesus working through Annette in Oklahoma City. I can see Jesus through the big man himself down in Australia Mr. Mike, the big Australian. I can see Jesus through all these people, through the DAB, through people you work with, and see on the street. So, wow…

Good morning DABbers. Love lets the past die that moves people to new beginnings without settling the past. Love does not have to clear up all misunderstandings. Love prefers to tuck all the loose ends of the past rights and wrongs in the bosom of forgiveness. It pushes to a new start. Holy Father, we pray for the gift of forgiveness, so we’re not shackled to the past. Help us to absorb evil without calculating how to retaliate. Thank you for loving us first with Lord Jesus as our example. In His precious name. Amen. Love you DABbers, Diana, Arizona. Bye.

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worldofwardcraft · 3 years

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Here's one upside to free trade.

September 13, 2021

With the explosion of world trade in the mid-1980s and its attendant side effects and dislocations, especially in job markets, the notion of worldwide free trade has acquired a bad rap. For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1994 eliminated trade barriers among its signatory nations (and was originally endorsed by St. Ronnie himself), but became broadly unpopular when a relatively small number of American workers lost their jobs in the industries exposed to international competition.

Then there was the Trans-Pacific Partnership, another free trade agreement the US signed in 2016 and from which Darnold Trump withdrew in 2018 (to the predictable approval of his MAGA cult.) Of course, to be fair, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders also declared themselves against the trade deal.

And global free trade does indeed have its disadvantages. Forbes magazine described the main one back in 2015: "The biggest problem for developed countries is that jobs are lost and transferred to lower cost countries.” According to one estimate by the Economic Policy Institute, granting China most favored nation status drained away 3.2 million jobs, including 2.4 million in manufacturing.

But as New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winning Harvard economist Paul Krugman recently pointed out, the production of the COVID-19 vaccines illustrates one positive aspect to unrestricted world trade.

These miracle vaccines are incredibly complex products that would have been hard to develop and produce in any one country, even one as large as the United States. A global market made it possible to deliver all the specialized inputs that are saving thousands of lives as you read this.

Take the Pfizer vaccine (please.) Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in the US, produces such useful meds as Viagra, Zoloft and Lipitor (incidentally, the all-time best-selling drug.) In collaboration with BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, Pfizer makes extensive use of other partner companies and production facilities throughout the US and Europe in order to manufacture their COVID vaccine. It's a complicated process requiring lots of trans-national shipments of ingredients.

Just to make the lipids that hold the vaccine's fragile mRNA cells, Pfizer/BioNTech employs five different firms in the UK, Austria and Germany, plus three in the US. Other parts of the vaccine formulation and production process are handled by firms in the EU — Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy and France — in addition to US companies.

So the next time you hear some tariff-crazy America Firster ranting about how international free trade hurts the US, remember: it helped make you safe from COVID.

#free trade #global trade #pfizer #covid vaccine

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rs12345 · 3 years

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Forecasting IPC Market Sales for the Coming Twelve Months

The first quarter of 2021 saw a new record high revenues for the IPC markets, resulting in significant upside for investors. With new technologies like Bluetooth and wireless technology, there is a growing need to leverage all available technology for companies that rely heavily on mobile communications. With these latest technologies and continuously evolving networking technologies, the market for IPCs is growing at a steady rate. The following is a market study provides an in depth analysis of the world market size, region and country-level IPC market statistics, segmentation, market growth, geographic location and industry vertical. The methodology is documented in detail.

https://www.reportmines.com/healthcare-cloud-computing-market-in-vietnam-r185231

https://www.reportmines.com/healthcare-cloud-computing-market-in-malaysia-r185232

https://www.reportmines.com/healthcare-cloud-computing-market-in-uk-r185233

The first quarter of 2021 saw a new high revenue record for the IPC markets, with almost $5 billion dollars in sales. Industry participants are focused on using emerging technologies to capitalize on new business models and increase their market share. This growth can largely be attributed to four factors: saturated desktop phone markets, increasing telecom expenses due to acquisitions, increased consumer demand for IP phones and better pricing from carriers. In addition, the financial crisis facing the global economy has also had a major negative impact on the global IPC landscape. In this article, we will critically examine these and other potential catalysts to increase revenues for IPCs.

Recent trends The past five years have seen a dramatic acceleration in globalization, with new markets opening up in rapidly developing nations such as India, China and the Philippines. These markets represent huge untapped potential for IPC companies. However, there is still a significant lag time until IPCs from these markets become commonplace. In the meantime, there are a number of trends that are expected to affect earnings, driving overall market revenue growth.

Strategies To gain a competitive advantage, many IPC providers are focusing their marketing and sales efforts on developing their own core competencies rather than focusing on capturing market shares in existing top manufacturers. The result is that many IPC providers have little experience in developing and deploying advanced technology. To address this gap, IPC companies are recruiting the most talented and experienced executives from Fortune 500 companies to drive their business forward. One example of an IPC company recruiting executives with proven expertise in developing and deploying IP technology is ABB, one of the world's largest steel manufacturers.

Trends In the past five years, we have seen a number of significant changes in the global markets. Many of these changes are either good trends or bad trends. While we are seeing positive trends, many of these trends point to a company or industry undergoing significant change. One example of a trend that is pointing to a bright future is the emergence of smart phones as a preferred solution for end-users to enhance their productivity.

Revenue Growth Although earnings growth has been robustly consistent over the last five years, we have now entered a stage where revenue growth will be driven by strong gross margin increases and a number of positive customer-centric initiatives. This is good news for investors who prefer a strong revenue growth rate but recognize that they need to provide incentives to the customer to purchase more. For example, increasing the price for an existing product line will cause end users to purchase additional items. This strategy not only benefits the existing product lines but will also create revenue from new product launches.

https://www.reportmines.com/healthcare-cloud-computing-market-in-italy-r185234

https://www.reportmines.com/healthcare-cloud-computing-market-in-france-r185235

Economic Factors As we discussed earlier, several factors can have a direct impact on the makeup of the marketplace and the subsequent demand in the marketplace. Two of the most important economic factors impacting the makeup of the IPC in the coming years are interest rates and unemployment rates. While the unemployment rate is expected to increase slightly in the coming months, we believe that this will only be a moderate impact on the overall outlook. Interest rates will remain low due to both a decrease in the number of people filing for bankruptcy as well as lower interest rates from recent quantitative easing programs. We also note that the tightening of credit standards that have been taking place over the past year or so has had a limited effect on the availability of loans from the commercial real estate finance arena.

The current forecast offers an overall positive picture for the industry. We believe that the chapters that will be released in the coming months will support a sustained period of solid growth for the market. Additionally, we believe the current economic indicators will support an increased number of sales from existing customers as well as a solid amount of new sales from new customers. Our chapter Outlook for the next twelve months provides a more bullish outlook for the industry.

Summary

As the world continues to deal with COVID-19, economies are moving into recession, under multiple adverse factors, the GDP of European and American countries in the second quarter suffered a historical contraction. At an annualized rate, the US GDP fell by 32.9% month on month, while the overall GDP of the euro zone fell by 12.1%.

Moreover, the economic prospects of Europe and the United States in the third quarter under the epidemic situation are hardly optimistic. The resumption of work and production not only brought economic data back, but also triggered a rebound in the epidemic situation. At present, the United States is still the 'epicenter' of the global epidemic. The total number of confirmed cases has exceeded 4.8 million, and the epidemic situation in some European countries has also rebounded. Affected by this, more than 20 states in the United States have announced the suspension or withdrawal of part of the economic restart plan. Britain and Italy have also decided to extend the state of emergency. The rebound of the epidemic situation has posed considerable risks to the economic prospects of Europe and the United States.

In the second quarter of this year, US GDP shrank by 9.5% on a month on month basis, or 32.9% at an annual rate, the largest decline since the 1940s. Data show that the sharp decline in personal consumption is the main drag on the U.S. GDP growth in the second quarter.

Compared with the United States, Europe's economic contraction in the second quarter was smaller, but it was also the lowest on record, with Germany and France contracting more than 10%. According to the data released by the Federal Bureau of statistics, Germany's GDP fell by 10.1% in the second quarter after adjusting for prices, seasons and working days, the largest decline since the quarterly economic data were available in 1970.

Thanks to the effective control and policy support of the new epidemic, China's economy rebounded sharply in the second quarter. The growth rate of manufacturing industry, which accounted for about 28% of GDP, rebounded sharply to 4.4% from the negative value in the first quarter. Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers are ramping up production. And there are increased investments in digital footprints in manufacturing. OEMs in other parts of the world are offering incentives to drive sales. XYZResearch published a report for global BOX IPC market in this environment.

In terms of revenue, this research report indicated that the global BOX IPC market was valued at USD XXX million in 2019, and it is expected to reach a value of USD XXX million by 2026, at a CAGR of XX % over the forecast period 2021-2026. Correspondingly, the forecast analysis of BOX IPC industry comprises of China, USA, Japan, India, Korea and South America, with the production and revenue data in each of the sub-segments.

The ????Advantech aims at producing XX BOX IPC in 2020, with XX % production to take place in global market, ????Kontron accounts for a volume share of XX %.

Regional Segmentation (Value; Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2026) of BOX IPC Market research by XYZResearch Include

China

USA

Japan

India

Southeast Asia

South America

Competitive Analysis; Who are the Major Players in BOX IPC Market?

Advantech

Kontron

Schneider Electric

Beckhoff

Siemens

Contec

Mitsubishi Electric

Omron Corporation

B&R

Rockwell Automation

KEB Automation

AAEON

EVOC

General Electric

...

Major Type of BOX IPC Covered in XYZResearch report:

Standalone Industrial Box PC

Embedded Industrial Box PC

Application Segments Covered in XYZResearch Market

Rail Transit Construction

Industrial Automation

Intelligent Service

Electric Power and Energy

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Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is the USP of the report?

Post-pandemic Era-Global BOX IPC Market report offers great insights of the market and consumer data and their interpretation through various figures and graphs. Report has embedded global market and regional market deep analysis through various research methodologies. The report also offers great competitor analysis of the industries and highlights the key aspect of their business like success stories, market development and growth rate.

What are the key content of the report?What are the value propositions and opportunities offered in this market research report?Related Reports

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