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After some rewatches, I choked up at Tim Robinson’s “Baby Cries” sketch
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
It took me a little while to warm up to I Think You Should Leave. I found a lot of stuff funny initially but wasn’t always into Robinson’s unique style and delivery. But I’ve only found it funnier and funnier the more I watch. What I didn’t expect to ever discover about the show was what I think to be a genuine and subtle layer of intentional emotional depth. And, in a rare feat for unabashed comedies attempting to weave in occasional notes of solemnity, it actually works very well when it’s there.
The best example of this is in the infamous “Baby Cries” sketch. Or, as it’s probably more commonly referred to, the one with the “I’m worried that the baby thinks people can’t change” line. The sketch is pretty hilarious all the way through with ridiculous stories of a past life made even funnier when the stories are later brought to life by the actors (see the hilarious “Turbo Team” sketch for a similar genius maneuver by Robinson wherein the absurd story being told is made 50 times more hilarious by intermittent splices of the real insane events unfolding). This one follows the typical thematic line of most of Robinson’s sketches – take a common, stereotypical quirk of a given social situation and twist it far into the depths of absurdity. Here, we’re focused on the all-too-common occurrence of: “baby starts crying when someone holds it and the person immediately says the baby must not like me.” Robinson springboards from this social trope and twists it into a bizarre tale of the baby-holder imploring everyone else there to understand that the baby cried because the baby knows he used to be a piece of shit. But he assures everyone that he’s changed since then.
At the end of the hilarity, the present-day part of the sketch ends with Robinson again holding the baby, who is no longer crying, and everyone agrees that people can change. Then we flash back to a younger Robinson with his piece of shit crew – slopping up sloppy steaks at a restaurant and being just general youthful, self-centered D-bags. It’s still very funny, and the comedy remains the main focus far and away.
Still, Ezra Koenig’s moody and apparently original score for the flashback scene is kind of sad and emotive in tone. Eventually, Koenig’s brooding electro-pop backdrop syncs up with the sketch’s final moment. The young, piece of shit Robinson is lying cockily on the beach at night with his friends drinking booze. He glances to his side and sees the baby he held in the future sitting in the dark on the beach a few yards away from him, giggling. He gives the baby an assuring head nod, and the sketch ends. I was bewildered when I found myself choking up a bit at this finale recently. It recontextualized the entire sketch and struck me as a genuine reflection on the absurdity of reconciling your past self with your current, responsibility-ridden adult self who may either be a parent or may be surrounded by old friends who are now somehow parents. It’s as if the baby is checking in on Robinson from the future and saying “hey, you’re good. I’ll be ready for you when you get here. But take your time.”
Rethinking it, I think very subtle strokes of earnestness run throughout many of his other sketches. It’s just faint enough to recognize after some rewatches but not quite overt enough to ruin the comedy or take you completely out of the show.
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Sports Latest Articles, Blog & News Sports injuries: prevention and treatment
Sports embody a widespread spectrum of human pastime, blending athleticism, strategy, competition, and our right into a tapestry that captivates tens of millions global. Sports injuries: prevention and treatment . From the thundering roar of stadiums full of enthusiasts to the solitary awareness of athletes training in quiet gyms, sports hold a completely unique location in our lifestyle and collective imagination.
At its center, sports are a party of the human body's abilities. Whether it is the explosive power of a sprinter launching off the blocks, the grace of a gymnast defying gravity on the balance beam, or the precision of a golfer sinking a putt, each recreation showcases distinctive components of physical prowess. Athletes spend countless hours honing their competencies, pushing their bodies to the bounds of endurance and power.
Yet, past physicality, sports are also approximately approach and mind. Think of the tricky maneuvers of a football team orchestrating a play, the tactical brilliance of a chess grandmaster plotting moves at the board, or the split-second selections of a basketball point defend riding to the ring. In these moments, the mind will become as vital as the frame, with method, anticipation, and brief thinking separating champions from contenders.
Moreover, sports are a replicate reflecting society's values, aspirations, and demanding situations. They transcend mere enjoyment, regularly becoming arenas wherein social problems play out. From Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's colour barrier to Colin Kaepernick taking a knee towards racial injustice, athletes and sports have historically been at the vanguard of social trade, amplifying voices and catalyzing actions.
The worldwide appeal of sports activities can't be overstated. From the fervent football fandom in South America to the obsession with cricket in South Asia, sports activities have a unique capacity to unite humans across cultures and continents. They provide a commonplace language that transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries, fostering connections and expertise among diverse communities.
In addition to their cultural importance, sports are large commercial enterprise. The sports industry contains a huge variety of sectors, from professional leagues and teams to broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and vending. The economic effect of sports is huge, using billions of greenbacks in sales and creating millions of jobs global. Beyond the financial aspects, sports activities also make contributions to tourism, infrastructure improvement, and concrete regeneration.
One of the most compelling aspects of sports is their capacity to inspire. Athletes frequently emerge as symbols of resilience, determination, and perseverance. Their testimonies of overcoming adversity—from injury comebacks to non-public setbacks—are woven into the material of sports mythology. These narratives resonate deeply with enthusiasts, providing wish and motivation both on and stale the field.
Sports additionally have the energy to evoke extreme emotions. The thrill of victory and the anguish of defeat are emotions experienced not only via athletes but also by fanatics invested of their success. Whether it is the ecstasy of a last-minute intention or the heartbreak of a overlooked opportunity, these emotional roller coasters create unforgettable moments etched into carrying records.
Furthermore, sports have evolved substantially through the years, adapting to technological advancements, converting societal norms, and transferring target market preferences. Innovations which includes video overview systems in officiating, wearable technology for overall performance analysis, and digital reality schooling simulations have revolutionized how sports activities are played, coached, and skilled.
Another side of sports is their role in selling health and health. Participation in sports and bodily hobby is related to numerous health benefits, inclusive of improved cardiovascular fitness, more desirable intellectual well-being, and reduced chance of chronic sicknesses which includes diabetes and obesity. Sports encourage people of all ages to guide active existence, fostering a subculture of well-being and vitality.
At the same time, sports are not without their controversies and demanding situations. Issues including doping scandals, healthy-fixing allegations, and the commercialization of athletes improve ethical questions and call for cautious attention. Balancing the integrity of sports with business pastimes and competitive pressures stays an ongoing issue for stakeholders throughout the sports activities industry.
Looking beforehand, the future of sports promises continued innovation and transformation. Healthy pre-workout and post-workout meals emerging technologies which includes synthetic intelligence, digital reality, and augmented truth are poised to reshape how sports are performed, fed on, and experienced. These improvements preserve the capability to enhance schooling methodologies, elevate fan engagement, and extend the worldwide attain of sports.
At its center, sports are a party of the human body's abilities. Whether it is the explosive power of a sprinter launching off the blocks, the grace of a gymnast defying gravity on the balance beam, or the precision of a golfer sinking a putt, each recreation showcases distinctive components of physical prowess. Athletes spend countless hours honing their competencies, pushing their bodies to the bounds of endurance and power.
Yet, past physicality, sports are also approximately approach and mind. Think of the tricky maneuvers of a football team orchestrating a play, the tactical brilliance of a chess grandmaster plotting moves at the board, or the split-second selections of a basketball point defend riding to the ring. In these moments, the mind will become as vital as the frame, with method, anticipation, and brief thinking separating champions from contenders.
Moreover, sports are a replicate reflecting society's values, aspirations, and demanding situations. They transcend mere enjoyment, regularly becoming arenas wherein social problems play out. From Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's colour barrier to Colin Kaepernick taking a knee towards racial injustice, athletes and sports have historically been at the vanguard of social trade, amplifying voices and catalyzing actions.
The worldwide appeal of sports activities can't be overstated. From the fervent football fandom in South America to the obsession with cricket in South Asia, sports activities have a unique capacity to unite humans across cultures and continents. They provide a commonplace language that transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries, fostering connections and expertise among diverse communities.
In addition to their cultural importance, sports are large commercial enterprise. The sports industry contains a huge variety of sectors, from professional leagues and teams to broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and vending. The economic effect of sports is huge, using billions of greenbacks in sales and creating millions of jobs global. Beyond the financial aspects, sports activities also make contributions to tourism, infrastructure improvement, and concrete regeneration.
One of the most compelling aspects of sports is their capacity to inspire. Athletes frequently emerge as symbols of resilience, determination, and perseverance. Their testimonies of overcoming adversity—from injury comebacks to non-public setbacks—are woven into the material of sports mythology. These narratives resonate deeply with enthusiasts, providing wish and motivation both on and stale the field.
Sports additionally have the energy to evoke extreme emotions. The thrill of victory and the anguish of defeat are emotions experienced not only via athletes but also by fanatics invested of their success. Whether it is the ecstasy of a last-minute intention or the heartbreak of a overlooked opportunity, these emotional roller coasters create unforgettable moments etched into carrying records.
Furthermore, sports have evolved substantially through the years, adapting to technological advancements, converting societal norms, and transferring target market preferences. Innovations which includes video overview systems in officiating, wearable technology for overall performance analysis, and digital reality schooling simulations have revolutionized how sports activities are played, coached, and skilled.
Another side of sports is their role in selling health and health. Participation in sports and bodily hobby is related to numerous health benefits, inclusive of improved cardiovascular fitness, more desirable intellectual well-being, and reduced chance of chronic sicknesses which includes diabetes and obesity. Sports encourage people of all ages to guide active existence, fostering a subculture of well-being and vitality.
At the same time, sports are not without their controversies and demanding situations. Issues including doping scandals, healthy-fixing allegations, and the commercialization of athletes improve ethical questions and call for cautious attention. Balancing the integrity of sports with business pastimes and competitive pressures stays an ongoing issue for stakeholders throughout the sports activities industry.
Looking beforehand, the future of sports promises continued innovation and transformation. Healthy pre-workout and post-workout meals emerging technologies which includes synthetic intelligence, digital reality, and augmented truth are poised to reshape how sports are performed, fed on, and experienced. These improvements preserve the capability to enhance schooling methodologies, elevate fan engagement, and extend the worldwide attain of sports.
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IMAGES: Typhoon and Chinook from RAF train on white cliffs
Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 10/05/2022 - 12:00 in Military
Typhoon jets and a Chinook helicopter from the British Royal Air Force (RAF) met on the white cliffs in the United Kingdom to perform valuable training.
The teams had just impressed the crowds at the Bournemouth Air Festival and took the opportunity to meet near Beachy Head to practice aiming maneuvers.
Typhoons pilots exercised vital low-level interception training, working on the many challenges of finding slow targets, such as helicopters and small fixed-wing aircraft. The Chinook crew, who train evasion tactics against fast and aggressive jets, took the opportunity to experience such a situation.
Both types of aircraft recently operated in Eastern Europe as part of NATO's commitment. Chinook helicopters returned to the United Kingdom of the Baltic States, where they supported training and logistics as part of NATO's Enhanced Advanced Presence. The Typhoons have been conducted armed assaults as part of NATO's Enhanced Surveillance Activity to protect the Alliance's eastern border and stop Russian aggression. They were also deployed throughout Europe from Estonia, Finland and Sweden to the Mediterranean to train and integrate with the Allies.
Typhoons pilots are well versed in procedures for tracking targets at high altitude, with the RAF providing Rapid Reaction Alert to UK airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These multifunctional fast jets are ready to respond at any time to any potential threat in the United Kingdom, such as a civil flight that does not respond to radio calls or the approach of an unauthorized military aircraft.
The Chinooks operate with several other aircraft in the congested air/terrestrial environment, delivering heavy cargo in the cabin and suspended cargo, performing troop insertions and extractions and taking response teams to medical emergencies to and from the battlefield to save lives. Both fuselages are regularly integrated with greater forces, so that familiarity with each other's procedures is the key to a quick deployment in the short term and effective cooperation.
“The RAF aircraft are working closely with the Allies, continuing to demonstrate our commitment to NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force partners,” said Deputy Air Marshal Robinson, Commander Officer of Group 11 of the RAF. "This training on the white cliffs brings together the usefulness of Chinook, supporting the enhanced Advanced Presence in the Baltics, with the capacity of Typhoon, carrying out armed guarantee patrols on the eastern flank of NATO. I am incredibly proud of the courage and commitment of our air crew operating throughout Europe and all our people who support them."
The Typhoon, known as Blackjack, was piloted by flight lieutenant Adam 'Paddy' O'Hare, of the 29th Squadron, of the RAF Base of Coningsby. He was accompanied by the RAF Chinook Display Team, led by flight lieutenant Matt 'Schmitty' Smyth, from Squadron 27, of the Odiham RAF Base in Hampshire.
"It was great to fly next to Chinook and be part of this iconic event. These aircraft have been working abroad offering support to NATO and our partners far from the public eye, so bringing them home and showing phenomenal capacity is a real privilege," said Flight Lieutenant O'Hare, a Typhoon pilot.
This meeting was also an opportunity for RAF photographers to work with the aviation photography experts Center of Aviation Photography Media, who provided a civilian aircraft capable of remaining stable at low speeds.
“Wherever Center of Aviation Photography joins the Royal Air Force, it’s always an impressive experience,” said Rich Cooper, photographer at the Center of Aviation Photography. "These teams work hard protecting our nation on a daily basis, so putting their skills to a completely different goal and having the Center of Aviation Photography running part of the mission was a rewarding and beneficial challenge for everyone. The images you see here are the culmination of time and effort dedicated by all parties and represent the epitome of teamwork in action."
Tags: Military AviationCH-47 ChinookEurofighter TyphoonRAF - Royal Air Force/Royal Air Force
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Fernando Valduga
Fernando Valduga
Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. It has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.
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THE AARONS 2020 - Best TV Show
It was prime time for TV in 2020, with many more free hours to fill. I managed to get through a lot of my backlog in fact, finally getting around to watching shows like The Strain. It’s a show about a deadly disease that tears society apart because a lot of arrogant people think they are exempt from quarantining. The disease turns people into vampires, so it’s technically escapism. Here are the Aarons for Best TV Show:
#10. The Plot Against America (Miniseries) - HBO
It’s not TV, it’s not HBO, it’s real life. The Wire-creator David Simon’s penchant for illustrating the human fallout of institutional failures made him a perfect collaborator for HBO’s Plot Against America, an adaptation of Phillip Roth’s alternate-history novel. Following a Jewish family in New Jersey navigating the increasingly-fascist America of a hypothetical Charles Lindbergh administration, the show is a terrifying warning of what happens when hatred and conspiracy theories are allowed to accumulate political force. Notably, while the book ends with history back on the right track, the closing moments here are left ambiguous. The show was a limited series, but in many ways, The Plot Against America is ongoing.
#9. Mrs. America (Miniseries) - FX
Its interests are married to The Plot Against America, but Mrs. America traces the country’s rising extremism from a more historically accurate perspective. The miniseries centers on political activists in the 1970s on opposing sides of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, but its dialogue isn’t a strict dichotomy. The episodic format is expertly utilized to build out intersectional ideas from the likes of Rose Byrne’s Gloria Steinem, Uzo Aduba’s Shirley Crisholm, and Margo Martindale’s Bella Abzug, detailing the difficulties in building a diverse coalition, and the dangers of a single-minded one. Drawing parallels to current debates, its compelling centerpiece is how conservative Phylis Shafley (Cate Blanchett) successfully defeats the Amendment; voting against your own self-interests, Mrs. America says, is as American as apple pie.
#8. The Outsider (Miniseries) - HBO
Societal collapse comes from within in the two shows mentioned above, but the threat in HBO’s adaptation of Stephen King’s 2018 novel is decidedly an “other.” King clearly had his mind on modern manipulations of truth when crafting the ingenious premise: a man is arrested for the murder of two young boys due to irrefutable DNA evidence, only to provide an air-tight alibi for the crime. To match King’s procedural prose, HBO brought on The Night Of’s David Price, who layers the original work with meticulous mysteries. The Outsider has all the pulpy jolts expected of the author, but the show’s true horror lies in its overbearing grief, best brought to life by Ben Mendelsohn’s Detective Anderson. To say more would be to spoil its secrets; you’ll want to be on the inside.
#7. Perry Mason (Season 1) - HBO
Just like the famous fictional attorney, HBO can’t seem to lose, with Perry Mason marking its third entry on this list. The reimagining of the long running court drama actually takes place before the character’s illustrious law career; here he’s a down-on-his-luck private eye caught up in a scandalous child kidnapping case. The result’s a gangbusters production of old-fashioned moody noir: political corruption, femme fatales, and a more morally-complicated Mason, as played by The Americans’ Matthew Rhys. The lavish period details and character-actor cast, including Shea Whigham, John Lithgow, and Tatiana Maslany, will help draw viewers in, but, I’ll confess, I was already hooked by the season’s chilling opening moments.
#6. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (Season 1) - NBC
Dour seasons have dominated this list thus far, but Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist sings a different tune. It’s a lovably oddball premise: an accident during an MRI causes a young woman, played by Jane Levy, to hear other people’s thoughts in the form of popular music. It’s all karaoke, but, emphasized by the presence of Skylar Astin, a worthy inheritor to Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s musical-comedy crown. The tracklist, workplace antics, and love-triangle drama all exist in a comfortingly familiar network TV realm, but the show takes additional steps for inclusion with stories highlighting Zoey’s genderfluid neighbor (Alex Newell) and an American Sign Language performance of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.” During a year in need of shuffling off stress, there was no better time to queue up Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
#5. What We Do in The Shadows (Season 2) - FX
FX’s expansion of the mockumentary feature film of the same name lit up some of the darker corners of its universe in the show’s second season, transforming mundane-seeming material into something completely, uniquely batty. Each creature of Shadows took their turn in the spotlight this season, from a middle-management promotion gifting energy-vampire Colin Robinson unlimited supernatural power, to undead Nadja befriending a doll possessed by her own ghost, to Matt Berry’s Lazlo forging a small-town persona as a bartender/volleyball coach to escape a vengeful Mark Hamill. As always, it was the sympathetic Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), a Van Helsing descendent desperate to become a vampire, who gave the show its emotional stakes, and the vampires within a different kind altogether.
#4. Stargirl (Season 1) - DC Universe
Shadows was lit, but few things burned brighter this year than Stargirl (perhaps too brightly for the flamed-out DC Universe). The superhero drama is one of several that will outlive its original streaming service - fitting, given its obsession with legacy. Based on a character created by DC Comics stalwart Geoff Johns after the tragic loss of his sister, the show finds a young girl taking on the mantle of a fallen hero after moving to a town run in secret by supervillains. With sprightly fight choreography and an unabashed embrace of its comic book lore, Stargirl outshines the overabundance of small-screen superheroes out there. Its highlight is the bright performance of lead Brec Bassinger; put simply, she’s a star, girl.
#3. BoJack Horseman (Season 6b) - Netflix
Throughout its run, BoJack Horseman garnered acclaim for routinely delivering unexpected pathos, and the final season kept it on that track until the end. ...Get it, because horses run on tracks? The unexpected porter of television’s legacy of antiheroes ended in much the same vein as its sister shows - with consequences finally catching up with its protagonist. No amount of fanciful animal puns could soften that painful catharsis, as the show finally trampled its tricky web of abuse through bittersweet means. The series closed out with an especially thoughtful scene, the kind viewers who looked past the wonky pilot years ago were regularly blessed with; to the very end, BoJack, you were a gift, horse.
#2. Better Call Saul (Season 5) - AMC
As good as Bad ever was and better than ever before, the fifth season of AMC’s spin-off completely upended the world of its eponymous lawyer while bringing Vince Gilligan’s universe one step away from full-circle. Saul Goodman found himself in way over his head, and viewers found themselves way on the edge of their seats, as his first foray into “criminal” lawyering swiftly dovetailed with an escalating drug war. Despite the emotional distress of watching fan-favorite character Kim Wexler placed in perilous situations, there are no objections to be had with the drama’s continued masterful storytelling. Ramping up the slow-burn storytelling, season five saw Kim and Saul’s relationship develop in rich and unexpected ways, while still keeping their final fates unresolved. Fans are thus waiting with bated breath for the show’s final call next year.
#1. The Great (Season 1) - Hulu
Who could be the best but The Great? There was a minor television controversy this year over Netflix marketing The Crown as a historical drama despite its fictional interpretation of events; The Great has no such pretentions. An asterix adorns every title card of the show, letting viewers know that its take on Catherine the Great’s coup against Emperor Peter III of Russia is only “an occasionally true story.” The show indeed is not great for education, but it’s the most entertaining television of the year, locking stars Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult in a battle of wits and a fight for the country’s soul under the watch of The Favourite co-writer Tony McNamara. The uproarious comedy slyly collates leadership based in cruelty with leadership based in goodwill in the background of its quite bawdy escapades, a subtle bit of relevant political maneuvering that lets it successfully claim the crown this year.
NEXT UP: THE 2020 AARONS FOR BEST TV EPISODE!
#tv#TheAarons#TheAarons2020#TheAaronsTV#best of 2020#the plot against america#mrs america#the outsider#perry mason#zoey's extraordinary playlist#what we do in the shadows#stargirl#bojack horseman#better call saul#the great
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Her Ruby Lips
When Adam Vega finally turned Priya, they find themselves enjoying her new found strength in more ways they'd imagined.
This was requested by @anabelle-robinson. I'm sorry if this isn't how you expected this to turn out.
Warning: smut and swearing
Pacing around the room and continuously looking over to the figure on the bed, Adam lets out a breath as he glances at his watch. It's been nearly a day, yet he wasn't sure if this was going as smoothly as he thought it would. The woman whom he had been with for many months now laid in his bed, unconscious while he watched over her.
Whenever in the room, he would let his eyes roam over her every feature. Every curve of her body, the way her chest rose and fell with every breath, and the redness of her lips.
He had already known how soft they were, having them already on his before this whole predicament, yet now, he longs for it but he must wait.
It takes another few minutes before blood red eyes flutter open and Adam is at his feet, towering over the figure in an instant to see is she was okay. "Priya."
The woman's eyes dart to his, and soon enough, Adam finds himself pinned to the chair with Priya on his lap, her lips curling in delight a she straddles him and her hands are on his shoulders, nails almost digging to his skin.
"Adam. You didn't tell me being a vampire would be this..." She takes in a deep breath as her face moves to his neck. "Overwhelming."
Though Adam isn't afraid. He is well aware of the developed strength and senses the young woman now has, he can't help but squirm under her and Priya is quick to sense the slight eagerness on the male's movement as she feels him grow rigid under her body.
"Getting worked up already?" She muses as her tongue trails up to his earlobe, making him shudder before he grabs her waist and Priya sees his eyes turn the same red as her own, making her even more satisfied as she slowly moves her hips down against him, rocking slightly as her fingers thread with his hair.
"You're going to need to feed before you do anything else." Adam grunted as he kept Priya's hips down against his, his fangs descending as his eyes are clouded with hunger and lust.
Priya smirks at this before she grips the collar of his shirt then tugs him forward until their faces are only inches apart. "Then I'll feed." She husked before ducking her head down and sinking her own fangs into Adam's neck, causing him to jolt in surprise yet he hummed in delight at the pleasure that mixes with the pain.
"You better slow down, doll." Though despite his words, Adam's hand finds its way to her ass and he guides her hips as they continue to grind against him, causing his pants to become more of an irritation. "Oh, you know I don't do things slow." Priya answers as she licks at the two holes left on the man's neck.
She was hungry. And needy. And the person who could satisfy her needs was Adam. He was quick to see the look in her eyes before he gripped her waist and stood up, allowing Priya's legs to wrap around him as he maneuvers them over to the bed.
Soon enough, he had her pinned to the mattress with his shirt thrown carelessly to the ground, followed by Priya's as their lips crashed into a heated kiss, causing Priya's legs to tighten around him while she tugged at his hair with her right hand then the other moved down his front, sliding lower so she could undo his pants.
But Adam manages to catch her hand right before she's reached her destination and he smirks at her. "Not yet." He growls before pinning both her hands over her head with one hand and the other moves up and down her thigh, making the woman squirm, back arching as she breathed out. "Adam, don't fucking tease me." That was enough for the woman to feel the sudden pressure applied to her center and she let out a strangled moan.
“Now, now. No need to be so impatient, doll.” Adam smirks as he rips the dress off Priya’s body, giving her no room to complain as he leans down, head moving between her now exposed legs before Priya jerked. “Oh fuck...”
Adam took his time, enjoying as he continued to tease the newly turned vampire before him before he finally took off the rest of their clothes, humming in relief with the removal of the annoying layers before he was back on top of Priya with his length lined up to her entrance.
“Such a pretty thing. I can’t wait to just ruin you.” Adam grinned before he pushed himself into her and Priya’s back arched in delight, her eyes screwing shut. “God, why don’t you show me then.” She managed through gritted teeth and Adam’s grin widened as he finally forced his entire length into her, groaning as her walls came clamping down around him and her nails dug into the skin of his back as he began to move at a rhythmic pace.
To say, Priya was a moaning and writhing mess under Adam as he continued, gradually moving faster and faster as he played with her breasts. He was sure he had marks all over his back, maybe even some blood on it with just how sharp Priya’s nails were, but it didn’t really bother him. Frankly, it only encouraged him to do more.
Soon enough, he hoisted the woman off the bed, still buried deep in her as her legs wrapped around his waist as he roughly pressed her up against the dresser, knocking majority of his things to the ground with little to no care, the room being filled with nothing but their moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin.
“Oh yes, fuck! That’s it.” Priya mewled, her toes curling as she threw her head back, allowing Adam to trail his kisses up her neck. She could feel him tensing, and it wasn’t long before she could feel her stomach tightening. She’s sent over the edge as Adam began to come inside of her and she whines at the feeling, leaving them both panting and breathing heavily before Priya smirks.
“Don’t tell me you’re finished so early.”
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What We Do in the Shadows: Does Colin Robinson Find True Love in The Siren?
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
This What We Do in the Shadows review contains spoilers.
What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 Episode 7
What We Do in the Shadows season 3 episode 7 “The Siren,” is one of the most touching installments of the series. Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) has experienced brushes with romance before, but because it was with another psychic vampire, it turned into a power play, with little foreplay. Tonight, we see a much more vulnerable energy sucker, who may or may not be falling into a lethal trap, but it is a prison of his dreams.
The episode dives right into the action. After less than a moment’s consideration, Laszlo (Matt Berry) changes into bat form to attack a small group of water enthusiasts on what looks like a Chris Craft runabout. The weekend cabin cruisers are no match for the ancient mariners. The exchange is quite violent and the gushes of blood can be seen from docks away. It is quite a pirating maneuver as Laszlo boards the ship in a one-man army and claims the skipper’s seat for himself. Colin immediately designates himself as first-Gilligan.
The sequence is interesting because we haven’t been given much feed-time during season 3. The vampires have been rolling headlong into their exploits and left the majority of their dinner plans off-camera. it’s a relief to have it return in the form of a violent takeover rather than a mind-feebly. We learn that Laszlo, in his former life, was quite the seafaring adventurer, scrubbing poop decks on sloops, battleships, brigantines, and even “the Titanic for two seconds.” As a captain, he plundered ships, plowed through prostitutes, and dueled on deck with some of the most daring buccaneers of his day.
What We Do in the Shadows doles out information on the vampires’ past on an as-needed, utilitarian basis. This occasionally gives the impression there is a possibility the vampires are making things up as they go along. The truth usually lies in between the claims and the reality. We learned the implausible story of Laszlo’s car was no fiction, but we also plainly see why he shouldn’t drive. We might not believe he was a barrister, high on the Lower Courts of England, but accept it as we witness him lose case after case. We have no reason to doubt Laszlo’s maritime experience, but his prowess is forever questionable.
They steal the boat to take Colin to, where he believes is, the origin of his psychic energy vampirism: a government-controlled animal research center on Plum Island in Gardiners Bay, off the coast of Long Island. But they get caught up in a drift. “Haul ass, smoke grass, let’s go,” Colin exclaims under the sway of the episode’s titular Siren (Catherine Cohen), whose call sounds so familiar, yet like nothing he nor Laszlo have ever heard. It’s a little ambiguous whether the Siren is a mythical creature of old, or a hideous miscreation spawned by the Island of Dr. Moreau-ish Plum Island. Who knows what the USDA is putting in those corn flakes?
Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Nandor’s (Kayvan Novak) idea of power-sharing, as co-heads of the Vampiric Council, is based on the Israeli/Palestinian model. It is the least effective council since the rule of Padook the Deranged, who shared his leadership with a talking footstool, Dark Shade (Kristen Schaal) complains. Nandor and Nadja split leadership duties by ruling on alternating days, and the Floating Vampire spends most of her time undoing the prior evening’s work for the new leadership’s commands. Ideas like blood ice cream, and a vampire carnival sound fun, but are ultimately unworkable for a species which keeps in hiding. What Dark Shade isn’t hiding is her ever-growing obsession with Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), who is relegated to a minor player after he’s done being toyed with.
Doll With The Spirit Of Deceased Human Nadja Inhabiting It (Natasia Demetriou) was picked up for the series, but can’t get the same consideration from Nadja. Hers would be a sad story, if it weren’t so littered with amusing asides, like the time the battle-hardened Nandor taught her to swordfight, only to have the diminutive Nadja-figure disarm and beat him in a living room duel. The bit is actually well-choreographed, and Doll With the Spirit of Deceased Human Nadja Inhabiting It is just as frightening as Chucky or The Simpsons’ Krusty the Clown doll when set on “evil.”
But the disembodied-spirit-of-the-long-dead-Nadja-figurine’s arc is also the cutest of the series, befitting her place as a doll. This is especially true when Doll With the Spirit of Deceased Human Nadja Inhabiting It heads out into an uncertain future, with a hobo bag tied to a pole like some Little Rascal runaway in a Peanuts cartoon “37 wives and you still cannot read the room when a woman needs some attention,” Nadja tells Nandor when he thinks the living doll is stuck under a couch. The fight between the doll and Nadja is less about playthings and more about common courtesy and respect.
An intimidated Nandor notes that Nadja “is having a heated debate with an identical version of her own mind,” and her conversational mood swings are glorious. She tells Guillermo to find that “sweet little stupid bitch of a doll,” and gives all manner of contradictory instructions, as conflicted as Nadja is feeling. Demetriou lets her evolving emotions slip out slowly, letting the self-doubt and self-interest collide in a slow build.
Of course, the runaway is found in a department store, it’s where all dreaded creatures ultimately go in What We Do in the Shadows. It was only last week when The Sire stopped by. The doll’s motion from mannequin to statue to the labor union scab rat is a fun run.
For such shallow vampires, both of the stories turn out to be surprisingly deep. Written by Shana Gohd, and directed by Yana Gorskaya, “The Siren,” is actually quite sweet. The series has been playing up on the vampires’ true vulnerabilities over the past few weeks. Not just the need to avoid the sun or holy water, but emotional scars which are sadly bloodless and not very nutritious. They make for satisfying comedy though, but run the danger of softening the self-absorbed immortal beings at the center of What We Do in the Shadows.
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What We Do in the Shadows‘ “The Escape” aired Oct. 7 at 10:00 p.m. on FX.
The post What We Do in the Shadows: Does Colin Robinson Find True Love in The Siren? appeared first on Den of Geek.
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Vegetarian Based Capsules�Market Opportunities, Top Manufactures, Industry Growth, Share, Size, Regional Analysis and Global Forecast to 2027 – The Market Eagle
Introduction and scope: Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules Market
A complete valuation examine carried out for the Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market report reveals future development prospects, developments, drivers and restraints, challenges, and alternatives. The market report presents a holistic method by which statistical, analytical, historic, and financial knowledge are exchanged. Thorough information of the Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market is crucial for buyers and purchasers to grasp the market and capitalize on its enterprise alternatives. The primary goal of the Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market report is to supply qualitative evaluation in addition to quantitative evaluation. The Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market report consists of segmentation by sort, area, software, map positioning, development, developments, price construction evaluation, a market state of affairs in addition to dominant gamers.
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The Following Firms are Main Contributors to the Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules Market Analysis Report:
Catalent
Bahrain Pharma
Finest Formulations
Procaps Laboratorios
SIRIO
EuroCaps
Captek
Aenova
Robinson Pharma
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Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules Market Segmentation:
Primarily based on Sort
Primarily based on Software
Pharmaceutical
Well being Dietary supplements
Primarily based on the Area:
• North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) • Europe (Germany, France, Nice Britain, Russia and Italy) • Asia Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia) • South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and so on.) • Center East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa)
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The drivers and restraints are effectively established available in the market report together with rising digitization and know-how, the emergence of latest startups, the important thing gamers planning to deliver collectively and launch new challenge methods as drivers, in addition to the essential wants for sources and capital and The setbacks stay with the post-pandemic change. The regional segmentation is defined by the market share of the foremost international economies with detailed firm standing world wide and the person gross sales and distribution channels in addition to the scope of worldwide enterprise.
The Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market report is designed to present clients an perception into the historical past and way forward for the Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market. Methods have been applied to maneuver ahead within the Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules industries after COVID-19 and to maintain tempo with the brand new development and the brand new market necessities. These market necessities provide potential development alternatives for the worldwide market. Thus, the Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market report offers an summary of the brand new period market and the modifications which might be required to take care of and develop steadily. The rising wants of Era Y are the drivers and adapting to new applied sciences will enable the present Vegetarian Primarily based Capsules market and new entrants to develop their enterprise considerably.
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Some Factors from TOC
Chapter 1 Market Overview
Chapter 2 Firm Profiles
Chapter 3 Market Competitors by Gamers
Chapter 4 Market Measurement Phase by Sort
Chapter 5 Market Measurement Phase by Software
Chapter 6 North America by Nation, Sort, and Software
Chapter 7 Europe by nation, sort and software
Chapter 8 Asia Pacific by Area, Sort, and Software
Chapter 9 South America by Nation, Sort and Software
Chapter 10 Center East and Africa by Nation, Sort, and Software
Chapter 11 Analysis Findings and Conclusions
Chapter 12 Appendix
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Birding Is Booming. So Where Are the Black Birders? Raising the profile of Black birders could help foster a healthy connection between Black communities and the natural world.
Tiffany Adams grew up in the Chelsea-Elliott Houses, a sprawling, low-income housing project on the west side of Manhattan. There, cookie-cutter brick buildings are separated by modest courtyards with benches and tables. Trees and grassy yards enclosed by black, wrought-iron fences dot the fringes of the project. The scant open spaces could seem confining, except to young girls with dreams of growing up to become zoologists or to tired, hungry birds navigating the Atlantic Flyway.
During her youth, Adams escaped to the natural world by watching National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. Five years ago—on a lark, so to speak—she attended a bird walk in Central Park. Looking up in the sky, she saw a world that she could not unsee, even upon returning to her housing complex. There, right outside her door, she saw an unexpected number of avian species—northern parulas, black-throated blue warblers, black-throated green warblers. She hasn’t stopped looking.
“Not too many people saw the value of birding in the projects,” Adams says. “But when they’re migrating, birds don’t say, ‘Oh no, those are the projects, I’m going to go to Central Park. I got to eat, I got to rest, and I got to find a mate. So whatever habitat is suitable to doing those things, I got to find it.’ Ecosystems don’t stop according to neighborhoods.”
A lot of people don’t get Tiffany Adams mostly because she’s Black, and, well, everyone knows Black folks don’t watch birds. Though the outdoor activity is booming in this country, birding is as White—93 percent, according to the most recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey—as the feathers of a whooping crane. The field markings of the typical American birder would be: White, female, 53 years old.
African Americans make up 13.4 percent of the U.S. population, but according to Fish and Wildlife, only 8 percent of all African Americans admit to intentionally viewing feathered creatures, making the Black birder as rare a bird as exists.
One of the uncommon species, Adams now is a self-trained ornithologist who last year completed a master’s degree in urban environmental education at Antioch University in Seattle. She also has the special ability to create various species of birds out of pipe cleaners. Even so, many people refuse to take her ornithological pursuits seriously. Her bona fides still are questioned when she posts about birds on social media.
Or friends misunderstand her passion: One messaged her with a question about a sick cat.
“My friends think either I’m a veterinarian or I’m doing this as a hobby, or that I’m a hippie—and I’ve actually been told that,” Adams says. “For a while, I really felt insecure. Ultimately, I could not stop watching birds. I’ve learned to embrace my nerdiness.”
John Robinson, a Southern Californian who has birded and advocated for Black birding for decades, has a theory about that. He calls it the “Don’t Loop.” It’s simple: African Americans don’t bird because people don’t engage in activities in which they don’t see people like themselves. For Black people and bird-watching, it’s a self-perpetuating scarcity. Bird-watching is not ingrained in the culture the way it is for a lot of White families and doesn’t get a generational handoff.
Robinson surmises that he joined this rare flock because he was comfortable growing up as the only Black kid in a Jewish neighborhood. So it wasn’t a big leap for him when White friends took him out hiking and birding in college. Still, he hid his passion from Black friends who wouldn’t understand and White people who might be suspicious.
It was 1979 when Robinson, then in his 20s, picked up his first pair of binoculars. “I knew I was different,” says Robinson, whose book Birding for Everyone: Encouraging People of Color to Become Birdwatchers was published in 2008. “I felt like I didn’t fit in. I felt like I needed permission.” In public, he hid his binoculars inside his coat.
Few recognize this double dose of isolation better than Dudley Edmondson. He wrote and photographed a book, Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places, published in 2006, about 20 African Americans with deep connections to the natural world. One of the stories is his own.
Nature, for Edmondson, provided refuge from what he calls “the trauma from my dad’s alcohol-fueled rages.” He also had a strong sense of being, as he put it, “an odd duck” while growing up in a Black, mostly blue-collar neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. The kids teased Edmondson, calling him Euell Gibbons, after the celebrated outdoorsman best known for a 1974 national television commercial for Grape Nuts cereal, which he opened by asking, “Ever eat a pine tree?”
Edmondson hadn’t, and he wasn’t a 63-year-old White guy, either. His tormenters simply worked with the material that was available—and that was Whiteness. Edmondson now lives in Duluth, Minnesota, where he frequently comes across strangers who know him because he’s the area’s “Black guy who recreates.” It gives him the sensation of constantly being watched or monitored.
Not long ago, Edmondson was working on a book about Minnesota wildflowers. He was taking images of some invasive species in his own neighborhood, when a White woman challenged his motives.
“You don’t look like any nature photographer I’ve ever seen,” she said.
Edmondson replied, “I’m your neighbor.”
“I’m calling the police,” she said.
It was the first time Edmondson recognized the phenomenon “birding while Black,” the close cousin to driving, barbecuing, or sitting in Starbucks while Black.
Edmondson’s friend J. Drew Lanham has had a lifelong obsession with birds and describes himself as a “band geek” who played the bassoon. “I’ve always taken pride in being different,” he says. In exchange, he earned the mantle of the Black birder. His hilarious riff on the stigmatized experience of the African American bird-watcher, “9 Rules of the Black Birdwatcher,” first appeared in Orion magazine and later went viral as a video produced by BirdNote, a public radio series about birds.
A professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University, Lanham, like Robinson, did not meet another Black birder until he was well into his 40s. He grew up on farmland in South Carolina, frequently encountering birds while passing between his parents’ and his grandmother’s houses. He liked to lie on the ground and gaze up at circling hawks. His grandmother told him they’d peck his eyes out, so when they came within 50 or so yards, he jumped up. “I liked my eyes,” he says. He grew up wanting to fly, tried often, and just as often hurt himself during the attempts.
J. Drew Lanham, left, a professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University, watches a bald eagle with others at Seattle’s Seward Park. Lanham says he did not meet another Black birder until he was well into his 40s. Photo by Glenn Nelson.
“Birds made me feel good,” says Lanham, who in 2016 authored the book The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature. “They were going places that I couldn’t go. They were going places I wanted to go. I lived vicariously through them.”
These days, when he’s not flushing bobwhite quail, Lanham likes to talk about range maps for humans, linking the concept of showing geographic distribution of birds to the realities of race in the U.S.—where people of color like him can and cannot be. Not long ago, he added Seattle to his personal range map. That’s where he met Joey Manson in Seward Park, at an event for BirdNote, on whose board Lanham sits. While driving in, Lanham noticed Manson waiting to greet him, but it didn’t register that Manson, a Black man, was the director at the park’s Audubon Center. It was an emotional meeting for both. “This is a place that is willing to be different,” Lanham says.
Seward Park is in one of the most racially diverse areas of Seattle. Manson is the only African American director of any of the 41 Audubon Centers nationally. He grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, one of the most affluent African American neighborhoods in the country.
Manson studied glass design at the University of Maryland and ended up in the Puget Sound region, where he got a job running the Audubon store at Seward Park. During his job interview, he stressed that he knew little about birds. Four years later, he’d absorbed enough to be hired as the center’s director, positioning him to break Robinson’s “Don’t Loop” by introducing birds and nature, meaningfully and intentionally, in a highly diverse area of one of the country’s most White—and affluent—major cities.
“[Birds] were going places that I couldn’t go. They were going places I wanted to go.” Manson had two epiphanies along the way. On a ride into work one day, he was wowed by a bald eagle snatching a fish out of Lake Washington. Later, he introduced a kid from his apartment building to the outdoors. Nati, who is from Eritrea, told Manson, “Birds are boring.” That attitude changed when, during an Audubon summer camp to which Manson transported him, Nati saw a pileated woodpecker for the first time. The Woody lookalike supplied an avian turning point for Nati, just as the eagle had for Manson.
Last summer, Manson led a bird walk through Seward Park for the Seattle chapter of Outdoor Afro, a national organization seeking to connect African Americans to nature. As part of the prewalk orientation, Manson screened the Lanham video, “Rules of the Black Birdwatcher.” Later, when Manson waxed poetic about hummingbirds and the J-diving mating maneuver of the males, Obra Smith, a teacher originally from Memphis, Tennessee, beamed at every word. Her enthusiasm never waned. “That was amazing,” she said while debriefing with other group members after the outing.
Earlier in the day, during the first bird-related outing in her 49 years of life, Smith had peered into a spotting scope, noted the iridescent throat of an Anna’s hummingbird, and pronounced it a male. She didn’t make such a declaration with utter conviction, but with a hint of doubting intonation. She would delight in being told that she was right as rain—well, it was Seattle, after all.
Two weeks later, Smith returned to Seward Park with Tsion Kahssai of Ethiopia, whom she met at the Outdoor Afro walk. Their second time out, the two Black women sampled the forest’s winged delights on their own.
Photographs:
Tiffany Adams prefers urban birding, often at Seattle’s Hing Hay Park near her home. She is a self-trained ornithologist with a master’s in urban environmental education. She’s also an artist who creates various species of birds out of pipe cleaners.
J. Drew Lanham, left, a professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University, watches a bald eagle with others at Seattle’s Seward Park
Joey Manson, the director of the Seward Park Audubon Center in Seattle, is the only Black director in the country of an Audubon Center
#birding#black birding#the trail posse#racism#racial hierarchy#amerikkka#birding while black#outdoor afro#j. drew lanham#rules for the black birdwatcher
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The final 2020 NFL Draft grades for all 32 teams
Photo by NFL via Getty Images
The Ravens, Vikings and Buccaneers aced the draft.
In what was a unique 2020 NFL Draft, things turned out to be mostly normal. With teams making the picks from their homes, the draft started as we expected with Joe Burrow and Chase Young leading the way.
Things opened up after that with several surprise picks in the back of the first round and a bunch of trades on the second and third days of the draft.
On a first glance with way-too-early grades, no teams had better drafts than the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No team had more of a head scratching draft than the Green Bay Packers.
The grades below are based on a combination of factors, starting with player value. It’s much less about player quality and more where they’re drafted. After that, filling needs and personnel fit are considered. Early picks get weighted higher. No team gets dinged for a Day 3 pick, but their grade can improve slightly for a good one. Not filling a need in the draft knock a grade slightly. And let’s be honest, all teams draft for need to an extent.
Arizona Cardinals
Isaiah Simmons slipped to the Cardinals with the eighth pick in the draft, and he turned out to be too good to pass on. Simmons gives the Cardinals a versatile defender who can fill multiple roster holes. He’s not a safety, and he’s not a linebacker. Simmons is both, and he should be an early favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Cardinals arguably got the biggest steal of the draft by taking offensive tackle Josh Jones in the third round. Jones was my 21st ranked player overall in the draft, and fills the big need the Cardinals had at tackle. He’ll have to transition to the right side, but he has the athleticism to do so.
General manager Steve Keim then used his next two picks on defensive linemen in Leki Fotu and Rashard Lawrence. Fotu is a big run stopper, and Lawrence is a player who can line up at end in three-man fronts.
Grade: A-
Atlanta Falcons
When the Falcons released cornerback Desmond Trufant, replacing him in the draft became a priority. That’s the direction Atlanta went in the first round by taking Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell. He is a good fit in Atlanta’s press scheme, and he has good tools and size.
After taking two offensive linemen in the first round in 2019, the Falcons added Temple’s Matt Hennessy to the line in the third round. He could push for the left guard job, or take over for center Alex Mack, who is in a contract year.
The puzzling thing about Atlanta’s draft is the lack of a pass rusher. Second-round pick Marlon Davidson can provide some of that from the inside, but the Falcons need another edge player to go with free agent signing Dante Fowler.
Grade: C+
Baltimore Ravens
As they often do, the Ravens cleaned up in the draft. In the first round, the team let the best player available drop to them when they took LSU linebacker Patrick Queen at No. 28. He’s the sort of sideline-to-sideline linebacker Baltimore’s defense badly needed.
In the second round, the Ravens let another player fall to them in running back J.K. Dobbins. He was the fifth running back taken, and could assume the lead running back role for Baltimore before long.
In the third round, Baltimore filled needs with its four picks. Defensive tackle Justin Madubuike is the kind of player who can play inside and outside for Baltimore, wide receiver Devin Duvernay gives them a weapon in the slot and linebacker Malik Harrison is good depth, at worst. Tyre Phillips of Mississippi State and fourth-round pick Ben Bredeson give the Ravens good depth on the offensive line.
Grade: A
Buffalo Bills
Without a first-round pick after trading for Stefon Diggs, the Bills still managed to find good values on the second and third days of the draft. Defensive end A.J. Epenesa isn’t a dangerous speed rusher on the edge, but he’s extremely solid. To me, he’s a lighter version of Cameron Heyward of the Steelers. He’s a player who can plug in at end to set the edge against the run, and do enough as a pass rusher. He as among my favorite Day 2 picks. Don’t forget, at one point some thought Epenesa might be a top 10 pick.
The Bills found a nice compliment for Devin Singletary in the third round with Zack Moss of Utah. If he’s healthy, he’s a bulldozer running back who can shake off tacklers.
Don’t overlook the selection of quarterback Jake Fromm in the fifth round. A backup quarterback is a greater commodity than they’re given credit, and Fromm should be a good one based on his football smarts and competitiveness.
Taking two wide receivers was a little strange given how Buffalo’s offense is constructed. The Bills really needed to come out of this draft with an outside linebacker and guard at some point.
Grade: B
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers got things started with in a big way with their draft. Literally. The Panthers’ run defense was bad last season, but the addition of monstrous first-round pick Derrick Brown will greatly improve that area. Brown is a dominant lineman who can move blockers around with ease.
Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos was a productive player in college, and gives the Panthers a physical and athletic edge player.
Jeremy Chinn is a big, fast and explosive safety who can play press man coverage and work in the box. The Panthers traded up at the end of the second round to get him, and in Chinn they should have a good starter.
The Panthers continued rounding out the defense on the third day of the draft with cornerback Troy Pride Jr., safety Kenny Robinson and defensive tackle Bravvion Roy. Of those three, Robinson could make the quickest impact. The former XFL player has speed and is a willing tackler.
The Panthers needed to fix their defense, and used all seven of their picks on that side of the ball.
Grade: B+
Chicago Bears
If a team can be made of all tight ends, the Bears are positioned to do it. The Bears didn’t have a first-round pick because of the Khalil Mack trade. In the second round, Chicago’s first pick was on Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet. It’s hard to completely fault the pick considering Kmet was the best tight end in the draft. But now the Bears literally have 11 tight ends.
The Bears followed that up in the second round by taking Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Some thought he might have been picked in the first round, so the value at No. 50 was good. Chicago doesn’t have much at cornerback after Kyle Fuller, so getting Johnson was the team’s best pick. The Bears doubled up on the position in the fourth round with Georgia Southern’s Kindle Vildor.
Third-round pick Trevis Gibson has value as a long linebacker who can play the run and do enough as a pass rusher. The problem with this draft is the lack of offensive linemen until the seventh round.
Grade: C+
Cincinnati Bengals
As expected for months, the Bengals got things started in the 2020 draft with quarterback Joe Burrow of LSU. After several years of middling play by Andy Dalton, the Bengals now have a quarterback to build their franchise around. Burrow should quickly assert himself as the team’s leader thanks to his toughness and moxie. On the field, Burrow excels at exploiting the weaknesses in a defense and maneuvering around the pocket.
In the second round, the Bengals got Burrow a weapon in Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins. He gives the Bengals a wide receiver who excels at high-pointing the ball and getting physical with defensive backs. He’s not a speed receiver, but he fits nicely with the type of throws Burrow can make.
Cincinnati’s linebacker play has been suspect for years, so it makes sense that the team would take two in Logan Wilson of Wyoming and Akeem Davis-Gaither of Appalachian State with back-to-back picks. Davis-Gaither is the model of a current linebacker who has speed and athleticism to burn. Wilson is a good three-down inside linebacker who should quickly assume a starting job.
Notre Dame pass rusher Khalid Kareem should provide good depth and Kansas offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji has nice developmental potential.
Grade: A-
Cleveland Browns
No team in the NFL needed a left tackle more than the Browns. They got a player they hope can be one in Alabama’s Jedrick Wills in the first round. After playing on the right side in college and high school, Wills will have work to do to make the move to Baker Mayfield’s blind side.
For the second year in a row, the Browns took an LSU defensive back who was in free fall. Last year it was cornerback Greedy Williams, and this year it was safety Grant Delpit. If Delpit’s tackling can be improved, he can be the exact type of safety Cleveland needs.
Center Nick Harris of Washington, taken in fifth round, should be the eventual replacement for J.C. Tretter. He’s a quick center who specializes in pass protection. The Browns got a steal with their last pick in wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones of Michigan. The quarterback play at Michigan has been awful, and Peoples-Jones could be the replacement for Rashard Higgins.
Grade: B+
Dallas Cowboys
I’m seemingly the only person in the minority of not liking the selection of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the first round. It just didn’t make sense to draft at No. 2 wide receiver with the 17th pick on a team that had so many glaring needs on defense. Namely, K’Lavon Chaisson, who was taken a few picks later, had value and filled a need.
Cornerback Trevon Diggs, taken in the second round, gives the Cowboys the player they needed in the secondary. He’s a big cornerback who should push for a starting job following the departure of Byron Jones. Defensive tackle Neville Gallimore was a nice pickup in the third round. If his production ever matches his athleticism, watch out. Tulsa defensive back Reggie Robinson II in the fourth round was a smart depth pickup.
Grade: B-
Denver Broncos
It’s clear that Denver’s goal in this draft was to help second-year quarterback Drew Lock. They did that with two back-to-back wide receivers starting with Jerry Jeudy in the first round. Denver was lucky that Jeudy was around with the 15th pick. He’s the best wide receiver in the draft, and gives Lock a dependable pass catcher. Jeudy is a stellar route runner, has speed and his hands are good.
The team’s second-round pick was used on Penn State’s KJ Hamler. If there is a DeSean Jackson in this draft, it is Hamler. His game is speed and more speed. Speaking of, the Broncos got Lock another speedy target in tight end Albert Okwuegbunam of Missouri in the fourth round. A year after taking Noah Fant, the Broncos now have two young tight ends to diversify their offense.
The Broncos were one of several teams that had three third-round picks, and their first selection in that round went to cornerback Michael Ojemudia. He’s a bigger cornerback with speed, so he should start opposite A.J. Bouye.
Nose tackle was a big need for the Broncos, and they got one of the better ones in the draft in the third round with McTelvin Agim of Arkansas. If he’s healthy, guard Netane Muti will be a steal. The problem with this draft is a lack of an offensive tackle.
Grade: B+
Detroit Lions
The mindset of the Lions in the draft this year was finding impact players. That’s what they got, starting with Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah in the first round. After trading Darius Slay, the selection of Okudah became obvious. It was no reach, though. Okudah is one of the elite players in this draft, and should help fix the NFL’s worst past defense.
The Lions followed that up in the second round by taking the draft’s best running back in D’Andre Swift of Georgia. He should be a factor in the run game and pass offense. If Julian Okwara, the team’s third-round pick can stay healthy, he can be the type of pass rusher the Lions have needed for a few seasons.
The Lions also added some toughness, taking guards Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg in the middle of the draft.
Grade: B
Green Bay Packers
The Packers had a strange draft. As Aaron Rodgers enters his 16th season, it was clear the Packers needed to get him weapons in the passing offense. That didn’t happen. Not only did the Packers draft Rodgers’ replacement in Jordan Love of Utah State, but they traded up to get him. Rodgers has three years left on his contract. What if Love doesn’t see the field before then? But maybe Love sees the field early, like Patrick Mahomes did in Kansas City, and I look like a fool.
Late in the second round, the Packers took running back AJ Dillon. Aaron Jones is going into a contract year, so taking a running back makes sense in that regard. Dillon doesn’t have a lot of wiggle, but he was productive in college. Tight end Josiah Deguara, taken in the third round, is a decent pass catching tight end.
The Packers continued to ignore the passing offense on Day 3 of the draft by taking three players on defense and three offensive linemen. My favorite Day 3 choice for the Packers was offensive lineman Jon Runyan.
Grade: D
Houston Texans
After not having a first-round pick following the Laremy Tunsil trade, the Texans got a first-round player in defensive tackle Ross Blacklock. The TCU product is more than capable of replacing D.J. Reader on the line. Houston’s run defense needs help, so it’s not a surprise to see them take a player like Blacklock.
Florida edge rusher Jonathan Greenard was a steal in third round. He’s a good pass rusher who can stand up or play with his hand in the dirt. Offensive tackle Charlie Heck was an intriguing Day 3 pick. There are parts of his game that need work, but at 6’8 and 311 pounds, his size can make him worth the risk.
Grade: B
Indianapolis Colts
Trading for DeForest Buckner meant the Colts didn’t have a first-round pick, but they made up for it on the second and third days of the draft. Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is the type of big pass catcher the Colts need. T.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell are good speed receivers with shiftiness and Pittman gives Indianapolis a physical possession player.
If running back Jonathan Taylor can protect the ball a little better, the Colts have a player who can take carries from Marlon Mack. Safety Julian Blackmon, taken in the third round, would have been more highly considered if he wasn’t coming off an ACL injury.
The Colts made the first big splash of Day 3 of the draft by taking Washington quarterback Jacob Eason. He’s all tools at this point. But if he can learn behind Philip Rivers, the Colts could have their quarterback of the future.
Grade: B
Jacksonville Jaguars
Cornerback C.J. Henderson was the player the Jaguars needed in the first round after moving on from A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey. Taking Henderson at No. 9 was a little high, but the Jaguars couldn’t risk trading back and losing out on the draft’s second-best cornerback. Like getting Josh Allen last year, the Jaguars were lucky with an edge rusher in the first round with K’Lavon Chaisson at No. 20 overall. If Yannick Ngakoue is gone, Chaisson is the replacement.
Laviska Shenault was the ninth wide receiver drafted, but I thought he should have gone much higher than where Jacksonville took him in the second round. If he’s used properly, he can be a highly productive player who adds an element of physicality to Jacksonville’s offense. Jacksonville’s run defense was bolstered by third-round pick Davon Hamilton.
Of Jacksonville’s three fourth-round picks, cornerback Josiah Scott was my favorite. He’s not very big, but he has good speed. He should be a nice slot player for the Jaguars. Wide receiver Collin Johnson is like the D.K. Metcalf of this draft. His best role is a vertical threat, so the Jaguars will have to use him correctly.
Grade: B+
Kansas City Chiefs
Coming off a Super Bowl win, the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t need to do much. The value of taking a running back in the first round can be debated, but at pick No. 32 it’s not that big of a deal. Kansas City used that selection on running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire of LSU. He’s a dynamic running back who is compact, fast and violent with the ball in his hands.
Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. scared some teams because of his off-field issues, but he’s an impressive athlete who stars in coverage. Third-round pick Lucas Niang had first-round buzz early in his college career. If he’s healthy, he’s the type of player who can eventually succeed the great Mitchell Schwartz at right tackle.
The big problem with Kansas City’s draft is the lack of a cornerback before the seventh round. The Chiefs have lost several cornerbacks this offseason, and didn’t address the position until the they Thakarius Keyes of Tulane with their last pick.
Grade: B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders obviously wanted wide receivers, using three of their first four picks on the position. Henry Ruggs III was a surprising choice at No. 12 overall, but Ruggs’ speed adds a new dimension to Las Vegas’ offense. Lynn Bowden Jr., the team’s third-round pick, could be a lot of fun if he’s used correctly. He’s a wide receiver who can do a little of everything on offense. Bryan Edwards of South Carolina, the team’s second third-round pick, compares favorably to current Raiders wide receiver Tyrell Williams.
Perhaps Las Vegas’ best pick was their last one. In the fourth round, the team took Louisiana Tech cornerback Amik Robertson. He is a big-time competitor who will get physical with receivers during their routes. He could be stellar moved inside to cover the slot.
The Raiders also got a pair of Clemson players in safety/linebacker Tanner Muse and guard John Simpson. They should provide good depth.
Grade: B-
Los Angeles Chargers
What you think of the Chargers’ draft begins and ends with what you think about quarterback Justin Herbert. Instead of trading up to take Tua Tagovailloa, the Chargers held at No. 6 and took Herbert. He’ll be relied upon to replace Philip Rivers and be the face of the franchise. No pressure.
The Chargers jumped back into the first round to take linebacker Kenneth Murray at No. 23 overall. After releasing Thomas Davis, getting a quality linebacker was a must for the Chargers. Murray has range and power, so he should be an asset against the run. He only adds to a loaded Los Angeles defense.
With Melvin Gordon now gone, the Chargers needed a new running back to pair with Austin Ekeler. When there was a run on the position, the Chargers jumped on Joshua Kelley of UCLA in the fourth round. He’s a shifty and agile runner between the tackles, and will wait for a running lane to open. Maybe more importantly, he is one of the best pass blocking running backs in the draft.
The major flaw in this draft class is the lack of an offensive tackle. Getting Bryan Bulaga this offseason was fine. But Sam Tevi struggled last season on the right side.
Grade: B-
Los Angeles Rams
The draft for the Rams this year was about getting pieces to help fix their offense. The team’s first pick was used on running back Cam Akers in the second round. With Todd Gurley gone, a running back was a must in this draft. In Akers, they have a big but quick running back who can get out onto the second level in a hurry.
Wide receiver Van Jefferson, the team’s other second-round pick, is like Jerry Jeudy lite for the Rams. He’s a very good route runner, shrugs off press coverage and has good hands. He’s not a speedy receiver, but he fits the Rams’ offense.
The Rams built up the back seven of their defense with Terrell Lewis, Terrell Burgess and Jordan Fuller. If they can get one starting safety out of Burgess and Fuller, this is a good draft.
This grade would be better if the Rams targeted a guard at some point before the seventh round.
Grade: B-
Miami Dolphins
Miami had a load of picks going into the draft, and they took a load of players. That started with three first-round picks beginning with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Whether or not this ends up being a good pick is dependent on Tagovailoa’s health. If he can play two healthy contracts for the Dolphins he should give them the type of franchise quarterback play they haven’t had since Dan Marino.
Even before the Dolphins took Tagovailoa they had to improve their offensive line. That’s what they did by taking Austin Jackson in the first round and Robert Hunt in the second. Jackson needs some developmental work, but he has the potential to be a good starting left tackle. Hunt is likely to move from right tackle to guard in the NFL. Solomon Kindley, taken in the fourth round, provides good depth at guard as well.
Of course, under head coach Brian Flores, the Dolphins took plenty of players on defense. Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene was a surprise first-round pick. Defensive lineman Raekwon Davis, taken in the second round, had some first-round buzz before the season. Defensive end Curtis Weaver was a steal in the fifth round.
Taking a long snapper was strange. Especially so instead of getting a running back. Maybe Malcolm Perry from Navy will be that player, but with so many picks, the Dolphins could have found a running back at some point.
Grade: B-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings had one of the best drafts in the entire NFL this year. That started with the 22nd pick, taking LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson. The consensus fourth-best wide receiver in the draft, Jefferson is a weapon out of the slot, and had 111 catches in 2019. For the Vikings, he should work outside. Jefferson gives the Vikings a seamless transition from Stefon Diggs, the player they traded for the No. 22 selection.
The team smartly traded down in the first round with San Francisco and landed cornerback Jeff Gladney at No. 31. He’s a good scheme fit in Mike Zimmer’s defense and is a player who can set the tone in the secondary. The Vikings also added cornerback Cameron Dantzler in the third round, helping shore up a sore spot in Minnesota’s defense. Second-round pick Ezra Cleveland has starting potential at left tackle. Fourth-round pick D.J. Wonnum is the type of lanky developmental pass rusher Zimmer loves. His comparison was Danielle Hunter, so the choice makes a lot of sense.
Fourth-round pick James Lynch is a player who can play outside and inside, which is good for Minnesota’s roster construction. Of the team’s roughly 528 Day 3 picks, Lynch is the best one. Defensive end Kenny Willekes could be a nice rotational piece.
Grade: A
New England Patriots
As expected, the Patriots traded out of the first round. In fact, the Patriots traded all but one of their scheduled picks during the draft. Going into the draft, I thought this would be one where Bill Belichick leaned into defense and his comfort zone, and that’s what happened.
The team’s first pick ended up being Lenoir-Rhyne’s Kyle Dugger, a hybrid safety and linebacker. With Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung getting up there in age, Dugger could be a starting safety soon for the Patriots.
The Patriots then took a pair of versatile edge players in Josh Uche in the second round and Anfernee Jennings in the second round. They’re players who can line up at linebacker, standing up at the edge or with their hand down. This is how the Patriots replace Kyle Van Noy.
Those two picks were followed by two tight ends in Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. New England’s need at tight end last season was obvious, and these two fill that hole. The Patriots found a replacement for kicker Stephen Gostkowski and drafted three offensive linemen.
This was an extremely Bill Belichick draft. The big problem is no quarterback.
Grade: B
New Orleans Saints
The Saints were one of the teams in the NFL with the fewest roster holes going into the draft. And that was proven by the moves they made on Day 2. They maneuvered around and took pass rushing linebacker Zack Baun in the second round and tight end Adam Trautmann in the third. Baun fills the need at linebacker the Saints had after A.J. Klein left this offseason. Trautman was regarded as the top tight end by some in the draft. He’s a solid backup to Jared Cook.
In the first round, the Saints took center Cesar Ruiz from Michigan. The best true interior blocker in the draft, Ruiz could play center or guard in New Orleans.
While the Saints didn’t have a lot of needs going into the draft, it was a surprise they didn’t take a wide receiver or look for an eventual heir to quarterback Drew Brees until the seventh round.
Grade: B
New York Giants
The Giants surprised some in the first round by taking Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas in the first round. But if you think about it, it’s the most pro ready true left tackle in the draft. On a team with a young quarterback, that’s what the Giants need.
In the second round, the Giants were able to take Alabama safety Xavier McKinney. Many thought he could come off the board in the middle of the first round. McKinney gives the Giants a safety who excels at coming down into the box and making tackles. He’s good enough in coverage too.
The Giants doubled up on offensive tackles taking developmental right tackle Matt Peart of Connecticut in the third round. They also added Oregon guard Shane Lemieux.
The issue with New York’s picks is the lack of a linebacker until they took Cam Brown in the middle of the draft’s third day. While McKinney and Jabrill Peppers are capable playing a hybrid role, New York’s linebacker group is thin on talent.
Grade: B
New York Jets
For the sake of Sam Darnold, the Jets needed a left tackle. And they got literally the biggest one in the draft by taking Louisville’s Mekhi Becton in the first round. To use a Mike Mayockism, Becton is this draft’s dancing bear. He’s a powerful blocker who can get out to the edge and he can finish off blockers. Even better, the Jets could wait until pick No. 12 to get him.
The Jets then got some help for Darnold with wide receiver Denzel Mims in the second round and running back La’Mical Perine in the fourth. Mims should automatically assume the No. 1 receiver role in New York.
Virginia cornerback Bryce Hall was a good risk to take in the fifth round. If he’s healthy he can be a starting cornerback on the outside for the Jets.
Grade: B+
Philadelphia Eagles
Arguably the biggest need in the entire NFL going into the draft was the Eagles and a wide receiver. That was satisfied with the selection of Jalen Reagor of TCU at No. 21. That was a little high for Reagor, but the Eagles had to get a receiver early.
Philadelphia then shocked everyone by taking quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round. Head coach Doug Pederson will be able to fit Hurts in somehow, and maybe he’ll be their Taysom Hill. But is that a player you take with the 53rd pick in the draft?
Linebacker Davion Taylor is still raw, as he only played two games of high school football, but he’s a solid hybrid linebacker/safety with great athleticism. Getting John Hightower was a nice pickup on Day 3 of the draft.
It’s a big head scratcher why Philadelphia didn’t target a cornerback at any point.
Grade: C-
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers didn’t pick until the second round after sending their first-round pick to Miami for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Second-round pick Chase Claypool gives the Steelers a wide receiver who can develop into the team’s No. 1 target if Juju Smith-Schuster leaves after this season. He’s a physical wide out and gives the Steelers something different compared to the other receivers on the roster.
Alex Highsmith, taken 102nd overall, gives the Steelers the type of versatile pass rusher they need. It’s a pick you could see coming because he fits the mold perfectly in Pittsburgh. Highsmith’s first step will get him on the field right now. If he can get stronger to play the run better, he can become a starter for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers got two players in the fourth round who should be solid contributors. Running back Anthony McFarland is a nice compliment for James Conner. His speed in the open field is impressive. Guard Kevin Dotson is a nice depth piece who could push free agent signing Stefen Wisniewski for the starting left guard job.
Grade: B+
San Francisco 49ers
Going into the draft, everyone seemed sure that the 49ers would use their first pick in the first round on a wide receiver and then trade out of the first round to accumulate draft capital. Neither of those things happened. The 49ers did maneuver around a couple times in the first round and landed two starting players, but they did it in a different order.
The team used the 14th pick on defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw, a massive and unique athlete who will replace DeForest Buckner. Then the team traded up from No. 25 to 31 to take wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk of Arizona State. He’s a big impact player after the catch and fits nicely in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. The cost to move up six spots, though, was expensive.
I liked the pick of tight end Charlier Woerner in the sixth round. He’s a good blocker, and is a better receiver than he often got to show at Georgia.
Grade: B-
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks went against the expectation and didn’t trade their first-round pick for the first time since 2011. It was an even bigger surprise when Seattle used their pick on Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks. It’s hard to see where Brooks fits on Seattle’s defense. Bobby Wagner just got a massive contract, and is one of the best defensive players in the NFL. Last year the Seahawks picked Cody Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven. This one is a head scratcher.
The Seahawks made up for it the rest of the draft. The team took edge rusher Darrell Taylor in the second round, filling their big need at pass rusher. Guard Damien Lewis from LSU is a nice system fit in Seattle. My favorite pick Seattle made came in the fourth round with tight end Colby Parkinson. He has the size to create mismatches and has a surprising level of speed in his game.
Taking Alton Robinson of Syracuse was another good Day 3 pick. It was smart to double down on edge rushers with the hope that one Robinson or Taylor works out. Robinson is a little bit better of a standup player.
Grade: C
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are in win-now mode after bringing in quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski this offseason. They further proved as much by moving up one pick in the first round to take offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs. This is the exact player the Buccaneers needed to get. The trade up cost them a fourth-round pick, but it’s understandable given the need and value fit of Wirfs.
Tampa aced the second round too, taking Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr. He’s a big-play defensive back who should start immediately for the Buccaneers. There was a run in the second round on safeties, and the Buccaneers lucked out when Winfield was still available.
Don’t be shocked if running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn pushes Ronald Jones for the starting job in the backfield. Wide receiver Tyler Johnson was highly productive in college and gives the Buccaneers a dependable pass catcher. He could be a weapon in the slot.
Grade: A
Tennessee Titans
You could see the pick of offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson coming a mile away for the Titans. The massive right tackle is the perfect system fit in Tennessee’s run-based offense. He’ll replace Jack Conklin and give the Titans a blocker who can open massive holes for Derrick Henry.
Second-round pick Kristian Fulton should help the Titans fix their 24th ranked pass defense. Adoree’ Jackson has been uneven throughout his career and Logan Ryan has yet to be re-signed. The Titans also let LeShaun Sims and Tramaine Brock walk this offseason. If Fulton can clean up a couple areas of his game, he should start as a rookie.
Running back Darrynton Evans, taken in the third round, is a nice replacement for Dion Lewis, a cap casualty this offsesaon.
Grade: B+
Washington
Even though it adds to the team’s strength already, taking defensive end Chase Young with the second overall pick in the draft was the right move by Washington. He is the latest superstar pass rusher to go highly in the draft and is a similar prospect, in terms of quality, as Jadeveon Clowney, Myles Garret and Joey and Nick Bosa.
Washington smartly added wide receiver help to go with 2019 third-round pick Terry McLaurin. In the third round the team took Antonio Gibson of Memphis and in the fourth added Antonio Gandy-Golden. Gibson is a player who can line up at multiple positions and gives Washington a nice versatile piece. Gandy-Golden is a nice outside threat who has size and athleticism.
The big question about Washington’s draft is whether or not they did enough to replace left tackle Trent Williams. The team took LSU’s Saahdiq Charles in the fourth round, and he’ll need to be coached hard.
Grade: B+
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Here's where the money for the border wall is coming from
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Here's where the money for the border wall is coming from
Military projects gutted to fund wall
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US Department of Defense is diverting an estimated $3.6 billion in military construction funds to help build President Donald Trump’s wall on the US-Mexico border.
The Pentagon on Wednesday released the full list of 127 military construction projects that will lose funds in order to help construct 175 miles of southern border wall.
The projects range from building training and ammunition storage facilities to fixing access roads to construction on a middle school in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, along with a subway station entrance facility at the Pentagon.
Just under $1.8 billion meant for US and US territory projects will be reallocated to the border wall. The US is also pulling funds from several overseas projects, more than $1.8 billion, including from construction at air bases in ally nations like the United Kingdom and Germany.
Asked about potential concerns from European allies, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters in London on Thursday that his message is one of increasing “burden sharing” among allies when it comes to military spending, and that other countries should “maybe pick up that tab.”
Below is the full list of military construction projects.
Domestic projects: $1,075,961,000
Alabama
Anniston Army Depot Weapon Maintenance Shop: $5,200,000
Alaska
Eielson Air Force Base, Repair Central Heat/Power Plant Boiler PH 4: $41,000,000
Eielson Air Force Base, Repair Central Heat/Power Plant Boiler Ph3: $34,400,000
Eielson Air Force Base, Improved Combat Arms Training and Maintenance Range: $19,000,000
Fort Greely, Missile Field #1 Expansion: $8,000,000
Arizona
Fort Huachuca, Ground Transport Equipment Building: $30,000,000
California
Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Construct C-130J Flight Simulator Facility: $8,000,000
Colorado
Peterson Air Force Base, Space Control Facility: $8,000,000
Florida
Tyndall Air Force Base, Fire/Crash Rescue Station: $17,000,000
Hawaii
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Consolidated Training Facility: $5,500,000
Kaneohe Bay, Security Improvements Mokapu Gate: $26,492,000
Indiana
Crane Army Ammunition Plant, Railcar Holding Area: $16,000,000
Hulman Regional Airport, Construct Small Arms Range: $8,000,000
Kentucky
Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Fort Campbell Middle School: $62,634,000
Louisiana
Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, NORTHCOM – Construct Alert Apron: $15,000,000
Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, NORTHCOM – Construct Alert Facilities: $24,000,000
Maryland
Fort Meade, Cantonment Area Roads: $16,500,000
Joint Base Andrews, Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization Relocate Haz Cargo Pad and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Range: $37,000,000
Joint Base Andrews, Child Development Center: $13,000,000
Mississippi
Jackson-Evers International Airport, Construct Small Arms Range: $8,000,000
New Mexico
Holloman Air Force Base, MQ-9 Formal Training Unit Ops Facility: $85,000,000
White Sands, Information Systems Facility: $40,000,000
New York
US Military Academy, Engineering Center: $95,000,000
US Military Academy, Parking Structure: $65,000,000
North Carolina
Camp Lejeune, 2nd Radio BN Complex, Phase 2: $25,650,000
Camp Lejeune, Ambulatory Care Center Addition/Alteration: $15,300,000
Fort Bragg, Butner Elementary School Replacement: $32,944,000 (previously canceled)
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, KC-46A ADAL for Alt Mission Storage: $6,400,000
Oklahoma
Tulsa IAP, Construct Small Arms Range: $8,000,000
Oregon
Klamath Falls IAP, Construct Indoor Range: $8,000,000
Klamath Falls IAP, Replace Fuel Facilities: $2,500,000
South Carolina
Beaufort, Laurel Bay Fire Station Replacement: $10,750,000
Texas
Fort Bliss, Defense Access Roads: $20,000,000
Joint Base San Antonio, Camp Bullis Dining Facility: $18,500,000
Utah
Hill Air Force Base, Composite Aircraft Antenna Calibration Fac: $26,000,000
Hill Air Force Base, UTTR Consolidated Mission Control Center: $28,000,000
Virginia
Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Construct Cyber Ops Facility: $10,000,000
Norfolk, Replace Hazardous Materials Warehouse: $18,500,000
Pentagon, Pentagon Metro Entrance Facility: $12,111,000 (previously canceled)
Portsmouth, Replace Hazardous Materials Warehouse: $22,500,000
Portsmouth, Ships Maintenance Facility: $26,120,000
Washington
Bangor, Pier and Maintenance Facility: $88,960,000
Wisconsin
Truax Field, Construct Small Arms Range: $8,000,000
US territory projects: $687,284,000
Guam
Joint Region Marianas, Earth Covered Magazines: $52,270,000
Joint Region Marianas, PRTC Roads: $2,500,000
Joint Region Marianas, Water Well Field: $56,088,000
Joint Region Marianas, Navy-Commercial Tie-In Hardening: $37,180,000
Joint Region Marianas, Machine Gun Range: $50,000,000
Joint Region Marianas, APR – Munitions Storage Igloos, Ph 2: $35,300,000
Joint Region Marianas, Hayman Munitions Storage Igloos MSA 2: $9,800,000
Joint Region Marianas, APR – SATCOM C4I Facility: $14,200,000
Puerto Rico
Arroyo, Readiness Center: $30,000,000
Camp Santiago, Company Headquarters Bldg -Transient Training: $47,000,000
Camp Santiago, Dining Facility, Transient Training: $13,000,000
Camp Santiago, Engineering/Housing Maintenance Shops (DPW): $11,000,000
Camp Santiago, Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site: $80,000,000
Camp Santiago, National Guard Readiness Center: $50,000,000
Camp Santiago, Power Substation/Switching Station Building: $18,500,000
Gurabo, Vehicle Maintenance Shop: $28,000,000
Punta Borinquen, Ramey Unit School Replacement: $61,071,000
San Juan, Aircraft Maintenance Hangar (AASF): $64,000,000
Virgin Islands
St. Croix, Vehicle Maintenance Shop: $20,000,000
St. Croix, Power Substation/Switching Station Building: $3,500,000
St. Thomas, National Guard Vehicle Maintenance Shop Add/A: $3,875,000
Overseas projects: $1,836,755,000
Bahrain Island
SW Asia, Fleet Maintenance Facility & TOC: $26,340,000
Belgium
Chievres Air Base, Europe West District Superintendent’s Office: $14,305,000
Bulgaria
Nevo Selo Fos, European Deterrence Initiative: Ammunition Holding Area: $5,200,000
Cuba
Guantanamo Bay, Working Dog Treatment Facility Replacement: $9,080,000
Estonia
Unspecified Estonia, EDI: SOF Operations Facility: $6,100,000
Unspecified Estonia, EDI: SOF Training Facility: $9,600,000
Germany
Baumholder, SOF Joint Parachute Rigging Facility: $11,504,000
East Camp Grafenwoehr, Mission Training Complex: $31,000,000
Panzer Kaserne, MARFOREUR HQ Modernization and Expansion: $43,950,000
Ramstein Air Base, 37 AS Squadron Operations/AMU: $13,437,000
Ramstein Air Base, EDI – KMC DABS-FEV/RH Storage Warehouses: $119,000,000
Spangdahlem Air Base, F/A-22 Low Observable/Composite Repair Fac: $18,000,000
Spangdahlem Air Base, EIC – Site Development and Infrastructure: $43,465,000
Spangdahlem Air Base, Spangdahlem Elementary School Replacement: $79,141,000
Spangdahlem Air Base, Upgrade Hardened Aircraft Shelters for F/A-22: $2,700,000
Stuttgart, Robinson Barracks Elem. School Replacement: $46,609,000
Weisbaden, Clay Kaserne Elementary School: $56,048,000
Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Hazardous Material Storage Building: $2,700,000
Greece
Souda Bay, EDI: Marathi Logistics Support Center: $6,200,000
Souda Bay, EDI: Joint Mobility Processing Center: $41,650,000
Hungary
Kecskemet Air Base, European Reassurance Initiative: Airfield Upgrades: $12,900,000
Kecskemet Air Base, ERI: Construct Parallel Taxiway: $30,000,000
Kecskemet Air Base, ERI: Increase POL Storage Capacity: $12,500,000
Italy
Sigonella, EDI: P-8A Taxiway and Apron Upgrades: $66,050,000
Japan
Camp McTureous, Bechtel Elementary School: $94,851,000
Iwakuni, Fuel Pier: $33,200,000
Iwakuni, Construct Bulk Storage Tanks PH 1: $30,800,000
Kadena Air Base, Truck Unload Facilities: $21,400,000
Kadena Air Base, SOF Maintenance Hangar (Fiscal Year 2018): $3,972,000
Kadena Air Base, SOF Maintenance Hangar (Fiscal Year 2017): $42,823,000
Kadena Air Base, APR – Replace Munitions Structures: $19,815,000
Yokota Air Base, C-130J Corrosion Control Hangar: $23,777,000
Yokota Air Base, Construct CATM Facility: $8,243,000
Yokota Air Base, Hangar/Aircraft Maintenance Unit: $12,034,000
Yokota Air Base, Hangar/AMU: $39,466,000
Yokota Air Base, Operations and Warehouse Facilities (Fiscal Year 2018): $8,590,000
Yokota Air Base, Operations and Warehouse Facilities (Fiscal Year 2017): $26,710,000
Yokosuka, Kinnick High School Inc 1: $40,000,000
South Korea
Camp Tango, Command and Control Facility: $17,500,000
Kunsan Air Base, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Hangar: $53,000,000
Luxembourg
Sanem, ERI: ECAOS Deployable Airbase System Storage: $67,400,000
Norway
Rygge, ERI: Replace/Expand Quick Reaction Alert Pad: $10,300,000
Poland
Poland, EDI: Staging Areas: $34,000,000
Poland, EDI: Staging Areas: $17,000,000
Poland, EDI: Ammunition Storage Facility: $52,000,000
Poland, EDI: Rail Extension and Railhead: $6,400,000
Powidz Air Base, EDI: Bulk Fuel Storage: $21,000,000
Romania
Mihail Kogalniceanu, EDI: Explosives & Ammo Load/Unload Apron: $21,651,000
Slovakia
Malacky, EDI – Regional Munitions Storage Area: $59,000,000
Malacky, ERI: Increase POL Storage Capacity: $20,000,000
Malacky, ERI: Airfield Upgrades: $4,000,000
Sliac Airport, ERI: Airfield Upgrades: $22,000,000
Spain
Rota, EDI: Port Operations Facilities: $21,590,000
Turkey
Incirlik AB, OCO: Relocate Base Main Access Control Point: $14,600,000
United Kingdom
Croughton Royal Air Force, Croughton Elem/Middle/High School Replacement: $71,424,000
Croughton Royal Air Force, Main Gate Complex: $16,500,000
Menwith Hill Station, RAFMH Main Gate Rehabilitation: $11,000,000
Royal Air Force Fairford, EIC RC-135 Infrastructure: $2,150,000
Royal Air Force Fairford, EIC RC-135 Intel and Squad Ops Facility: $38,000,000
Royal Air Force Fairford, EIC RC-135 Runway Overrun Reconfiguration: $5,500,000
Royal Air Force Fairford, EDI – Munitions Holding Area: $19,000,000
Royal Air Force Fairford, EDI – Construct DABS-FEV Storage: $87,000,000
Worldwide Classified
Classified Location, Talon Tactical Mobile Over-the-Horizon Radar – Utilities and Infrastructure Support: $18,000,000
WW Unspecified
WW Unspecified, Planning and Design: $13,580,000
CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Jamie Crawford contributed to this report.
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Lukewarm Stove: Phillies Big Everything, Cards Shopping Martinez, Realmuto, Mariners Bad Contracts, More
Although the rumors are flying all over the place lately, I think we should probably prepare for some radio silence starting tomorrow – for the holiday – and through the weekend. Things can still get done, of course (like Theo Epstein having Thanksgiving dinner at Curt Schilling’s house), but for the most part, these are all people who just want to be with their families/friends or get a break.
But as soon as this weekend is over, get ready, because things – actual transactions – should start picking up and ramp up to a head at the Winter Meetings.
Here’s the latest from the rumor mill …
History: During the 2017 season, a 28-year-old Corey Dickerson slashed .282/.325/.490 (115 wRC+) for the Rays, earning 2.6 WAR along the way. But because he was expected to earn roughly $5M-$6M in arbitration the following year, they designated him for assignment and got the Pirates to foot the bill. In 2018 he slashed .300/.330/.474 (115 wRC+) good for 2.7 WAR (roughly $22M in value).
Present: During the 2018 season, a 28-year-old C.J. Cron – whose bat literally replaced Dickerson – slashed .253/.323/.493; 30 HRs (122 wRC+) for the Rays, earning 2.1 WAR along the way. But because he is expected to earn roughly $5-$6M in arbitration next season, they designated him for assignment. When Andrew Friedman was in charge of the Rays, they were cheap … but creative and crafty. Now … they’re just cheap. I’m not sure who’ll pick up Cron, but he could be a solid first baseman or DH for a lot of teams.
Jon Heyman suggests that the Phillies are going to be all in on the big-time free agent starters this winter, including Patrick Corbin and Dallas Keuchel. I still think Corbin ends up in New York – even after adding James Paxton on a big trade earlier this week – but anything is possible and the Phillies have many needs. For what it’s worth, Jon Morosi also hears that they have interest in Corbin and throws Craig Kimbrel’s name into the mix, as well. Morosi also suggests that if the Phillies miss out on Corbin and/or Kimbrel, they could turn to the trade market, targeting Zack Greinke and Edwin Diaz in their places, respectively.
I can’t say I haven’t been happy to see the Maybe the Phillies should spread the money out takes lately, if only because they’re still the most likely landing spot for Harper and I’m still holding out hope. I think they might be able to land Harper and another big addition anyway, but for however much money they have and however reckless they intend to be, budgets are never truly unlimited.
Of course, they’re not the only team in the NL East in on the free agent starters this winter:
Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt III recently touched on that same idea of spreading the money around versus spending it all in one place in a quote to Derrick Goold:
Sticking with Goold for a minute, he writes that the “Cardinals have explored what return they could get for Carlos Martinez.” He continues to say that it was more of a market test than anything substantive, but it’s not like he said they were just open to listening – they actively explored that market. That feels more than a toe dip. I doubt it happens, because they’re not going to punt on 2019 and would need therefore to get back some usable current talent, but anything is possible.
After all, like the Phillies, one could make the case that the Cardinals are in need of more than one addition, even if that addition is as impactful as Bryce Harper. Not only might they be able to add more wins that way, they also mitigate some risk (injury, underperformance, otherwise) and if you have the payroll space to do it … why not? In any case, if the Cardinals do elect to spend big in one place, I’d expect it to be for Manny Machado, not Harper, anyway. Their outfield is relatively well-set, but the infield can be maneuvered to make space for a shortstop or a third or first baseman (hence the Paul Goldschmidt rumors earlier today).
MLB.com has a rumor round-up, and among the interesting bits is the Dodgers and Astros interest in trading for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto. To bring you up to speed, the Marlins catcher is extremely talented and under control via arbitration for the next two seasons. Any team in need of a catcher would be lucky to have him as he’s one of the best in baseball. There were some rumors that the Nationals were hot on his tail – as they have been for what seems like a while – but the Marlins are not keen to trade him within the division and their recent signing of Kurt Suzuki might have taken them out of the running. The Braves also have interest, but are also in the NL East. The Cubs, meanwhile, came up as a potential landing spot according to Craig Mish, who’s very tapped in down in Florida, but it is hard to envision something happening given the presence of Willson Contreras. In any case, I’d expect a Realmuto trade to go down sometime during or after the Winter Meetings. He’s as good as gone, I suspect.
Ken Rosenthal suggests that the Dodgers also have eyes for Indians catcher Yan Gomes, as well as their evidently available starting pitchers (including Corey Kluber). In return, Rosenthal guesses that the loaded Dodgers outfield could match up with Cleveland’s needs.
FanGraphs takes an analytical look at that Japanese ace, Yusei Kikuchi, who’s to be posted this winter. It’s a deep dive, but in their estimation, Kikuchi could be a talented #2 or #3 starter next season. That’ll draw some serious interest, especially as a 28-year-old left-hander.
At The Athletic Corey Brock discusses what’s next for the Mariners, who are clearly open for business after trading away James Paxton. He guesses that they’d prefer to build around pitchers Edwin Diaz and Marco Gonzalez as well as slugger Mitch Haniger, but even they will be available if the right offer comes in (has Jerry Dipoto ever said no?). In any case, he guesses shortstop Jean Segura could be the next to go, but, really, it seems like any player you can name can be had.
Also on the Mariners:
It’s probably fair to mull a bad contract swap with the Mariners – potentially centering around Jason Heyward and someone like Dee Gordon (due $40.5M over the next three years) or even Robinson Cano ($120M over the next five years), but that is 100% speculation and, frankly, a little bit of wish casting. Yes, the Mariners have money and yes Dipoto loves trades, but I’m not sure what they’re really getting out of it, and if the Cubs didn’t get financial relief in return (that they could then towards someone like Harper), I’m not sure it would be worth it anyway. Who knows, maybe they can just “sell” Heyward – who has a limited no-trade clause – to the Mariners for a nothing prospect, while eating a ton of money. It’s all very unlikely, but my brain-wheels are turning, as they do this time of year.
Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2018/11/21/lukewarm-stove-phillies-big-everything-cards-shopping-martinez-realmuto-mariners-bad-contracts-more/
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The New Edition Biopic and The Fundamentals of the Box Test
*I’m happy Bobby and the rest of the producers had enough class to not have a Whitney actress in the movie. That would have been disrespectful in my opinion.*
One day in 83 while watching Video Music box with my brother, the “Candy Girl” video came on and my first thoughts were that these kids are only a couple of years older than us. It was like seeing your cousins on T.V.
A year later with my allowance money the first cassette I bought was the self-titled New Edition album.
The biopic pushed my mind back to an 8 year old boy’s first direct interpretation of sensibility harnessed, love discovered and the wonderment of youth through song. The Temps, Tops and Jacksons belonged to my parents’ generation and the kids of my peer group and a bit older were the beneficiaries of those times and memories perceived through the eyes of their youth, so it is only fitting to claim the boys from Boston as being linked to mine. They breathed the neighborhood air of “street chic” of the time (on T.V. anyway). Almost every girl I knew from cousins to classmates adored them; each had their favorite group member along with the magazine pin ups. They knew all the songs and practiced all of the dance steps.
Guys were no different, sure we practiced the dance moves because of the effect they had on the female of the species. I knew dudes trying to exude each band member’s persona to get the attention from the ladies. Truly funny stuff!
Being young and having what appeared to be your life and dreams for future relationships played out in song was a feeling of invincibility. The throngs of “the youth equation”, multiplied then fractionated to each block in the inner cities across the country could be viewed by the world. All hoods shared N.E., they were ours; they belonged to the ghetto youth!
The presentation was one thing but the music, that music was something altogether fascinating. While young groups of the past sang songs that emulated the adult world of love and loss or covers to prove their chops, N.E’s recipe for the masses was distributed on a line that nowadays is more than blurred. That line for youth artists has been all but obliterated! But I digress.
New Editions songs had kids dating, but the tunes always kept the innocents intact. And there it was the key, the purity of love songs, the fundamentals of the box test. CHECK YES IF YOU LIKE ME, CHECK NO IF YOU DON’T!
It gets no cleaner than that. No pressure to be something you were not for the responsibility of adult games always ends in adult problems. But to encapsulate and exploit the meanderings of young love and hold the attention of many is a true gift. For all of Maurice Stars actions (Agree or disagree) he had his finger on the pulse of the intersection of R & B, Modern Soul and the Hip-Hop aesthetic that these 5 young men were standing on. Yes anyone could have been chosen but something can be said about having the “it factor”.
They grew up with us; they became older teens as we did. And by the time you get to the concept hit churner “N.E. Heartbreak” in 88 (what essentially is their “White Album”) all bets were off. Who was stopping them? Bobby gone, no problem, enter Johnny Gill. But as I discovered (like many) that wasn’t supposed to be the swap (Ralph). The same issues that plagued many an artist more than touched them and their loved ones. Money, women, booze and drugs always seem to accompany the world of the “super star”. The question again is raised, who was stopping them?
To touch on that a bit, I remember hearing all of these stories as a kid and stacking them up to urban legend, to discover that all of it was true makes the bio even more potent. Transparency creates trust so no matter what we feel about the life style, we as music listeners benefited from the product given.
Wood Harris has proven again why he is one of the most underrated actors of the craft working today. The approach he uses to channel Brook Payne should be studied in a master class. The camera truly loves his talent and that fact is never lost on him. Each movement is like a cat, economically never wasting his surroundings for grandiose gestures. Though the eyes and voice never raise to express any indifference or qualm about each individual or problem brought to his doorstep, he senses it all and misses nothing. The space between he and the young actors were minimal, displaying how he was the only one granted entry into the hearts of the 5 then 6 young men outside of their mothers.
Chris Robinson has arrived with this work.
With each linger of the camera to capture reactions buried so deep to the point of explosive engagement is a testament of his maturity as a film maker (I would like to see what he would do with a bigger budget product again). For a Television produced film the cinematography was of the highest quality. Sure the editing was not great due to the extensive commercial breaks but I’m quite sure it plays flawlessly in the made for home viewing version (How it was meant to be enjoyed).
One of my favorite directed scenes was the recording of “Can You Stand The Rain”. It was a sure reach back and “tip of the cap” to the scene in 1998’s “The Temptations” bio pic, as the Temps laid down the vocals for “Just my Imagination” which can be argued that both are the same song in essence( I can’t believe that it’s been almost 20 years since that came on television). I believe this was done deliberately; we are given that optic to infuse memories of that older scene and to help us realize this was the Temps for this generation when N.E. stepped on the scene so to speak.
The young counterparts chosen for their roles were a spot on marriage of looks, voice, movement and charisma.
As I mentioned before transparency is key, trust and honesty is the ground work for any relationship. So what N.E. is asking of its fans is to open our memory and mind to their story with no additives or preservatives. They are also making no apologies for what we see, but they are pleading with us to understand. This can be no more obvious than the portrayal of Bobby Brown by Tyler Marcel Williams and Woody McClain. Through all of the antics what is painfully clear was Bobby was just a kid, a kid like the rest that never truly developed as a tamed soul for his spirit thrived on the ferocity of his ego and undeniable talent. But at his core was a scared little boy, one guarded more than most of his N.E. brethren. My biggest takeaway from Bobby was that he was no different from the rest of the group, and they he, the others just hid it well and Bobby was (and still is on some level) a force of nature. Not even Brooke Payne could contain him.
Bryshere Y. Gray and Donte Hoagland shared performance as N.E. / BBD tough guy and leader then later mogul Michael Bivins was spot on. Every time they spoke I just thought of Mike Bivins. I no longer saw the actors. They captured Bivins total soul; the man/child stayed making chess moves early on. His Knowing that things were amidst the whole time and met the challenge head on forcing him to take his career in his own hands was a testament to a nature that cannot be taught but you must be born with. But I suspect it was the inevitable evolution just sped up on steroids in Biv’s case. Mike was a young lion amongst lions, only to be alpha tested by fellow alpha male B. brown. Gray understands the give and take of acting, and is gracious in his delivery. He almost comes across as a dudes dude but all heart is at the center of this young man. Thus is why he was the best actor to portray Mike Bivins. Gray will be around for a very long time if he keeps his commitment to the art form up. A true talent has arrived for sure!
Luke James places us in the shoes of the awkward but power house voice of the one and only Johnny Gill. To understand the position he was placed in and to realize how he maneuvered through that situation and his own fame, the ups and downs is to pierce into the mind of a professional. Wise beyond his years (and because he was the “old man” of the group) we see that his love for singing and performing was what kept him a float with his brothers. If he did not have the love for his craft or them he could have and probably should have distanced himself a very long time ago. It takes a certain power within and great humility to know you are the best but still deal in a complex system all in the name of “The Show Must Go On” and friendship.
Who knew that Ronnie DeVoe (Keith Powers and Myles Truitt) had depth? To know his truth about the uncertainty of standing on your own two feet after being carried your whole professional life is the ultimate wake up call. One that he did not fail to answer when the time came to diversify his ability to make money and feed his family even under direct criticism from people who could only dream of accomplishing what he and the rest of the group did for so many years; along with the smiles and happiness they brought to countless lives is immeasurable! Yes even in that moment he could have and should have (Probably did) looked at the fact that he was a part of something special that changed the lives of his family and friends and granted them legions of fans. Yes he did that a no one could ever take that away.
The enigma, wrapped in a riddle, placed in a maze, the ultimate wild card of voices, the underrated Ricky Bell comes to life and nearly death as told through the eyes of Elijah Kelley and Caleb McLaughlin respectively. As with Ronnie DeVoe not much is known about him personally, the others had break out solo careers out front and or behind the scenes. Outside of N.E. and B.B.D. I only remember in high school that he sang the hook on a personal favorite of mine called “Baby Please don’t Cry” by The Red Barron and some years later tried his hand at a solo project. Other than that it was pretty much a quiet existence. We are given a glimpse into his personality as a precocious tween, his calm and seemingly level headed approach to stardom which came across as the “boy next door” archetype with a great voice but not standing out in one way or the other. But once the layers are peeled back the pressure of show business is not what ensnared him but quite the opposite in a very tumultuous fashion. For all of the group members the infamous “Home Again” tour was the death nail on the coffin of N.E. or so it appeared. For the first time in the series we see the look of confusion and pure horror of what the future held for his career. The bottom dropped out from under him sending Bell through the trap door of self-imposed calamity with the great revelation of his drug and alcohol abuse. This was more than likely always there but we are given the sense that this tour or the total implosion of it was the final threshold leading to his total dependency of narcotics.
The revelation of what the true drug of stardom can cause anyone to fall under was explained with acute balance and honesty by the older Bell (Elijah Kelley) which made the last 30 minutes of the story hold itself together as a complete, and intricate portrait of stardom, and the surviving of it once you find out that it is a thing within itself to survive with or without. Bells point of view was important; I dare say the most important of all in my opinion (We are not privy to the rest of the band member’s drug use outside of Bobby and Bell, but we could surmise that we should not be surprised if it ever was revealed if all or most were users at some point in their careers).
We now come to “the Voice” of N.E. Mr. Ralph Tresvant (Algee Smith and Jahi Di’Allo Winston). Both Smith and Winston make us care about the load he had to carry for all those years, knowing that he was chosen before the rest to become a potential solo star. We as the audience develop an understanding early on about his loyalty for his brothers. We care so much that we carry that burden with him throughout his journey as the only New Edition front man, even though a coup was arraigned to replace him with Gill by fellow group member Mike Bivins by the time “Heartbreak” was about to be recorded. The lessons learned by this is in life you only get one chance to strike oil and if by some chance opportunity is placed in front of you again to become “that dude”, would it really be the same as the first unknown adventure?
The reality that one man’s sacrifice does not always equate to understanding from the very ones you chose to sacrifice for. And as for Ralph T., he appeared to relive the same regret over and over again once the others decided to venture out for fortunes untold. A good friend once told me that:
“If you are a creator of a work you must strike first for the very true reality of your counterpart is planning the same ideas and not knowing you exist, and the only thing that will present itself is a work fulfilled but the deeper regret of not being the first will always haunt you”.
In Tresvant’s case that very notion became a reality from within his own N.E. family, first with Bobby, then Johnny, then somewhat with B.B. D. Even as the character is portrayed as a mature gentlemen years later, Algee Smith brilliantly emotes a twinge of the “what if” sickness written all over his face.
I posed the question before, what was really stopping them. I figure it really depends on what each of them wanted to accomplish. In many ways they haven’t as of yet come to that intersection of true choice. It’s like as if you can go your whole life believing that your purpose is to do what comes naturally then the inevitable happens, placing our own road blocks in our path. We come to realize the only thing stopping us is…us. Not mothers and father figures, we get older. Not managers and record labels, hire lawyers and read your contract, control the content you present to the fans. Love and obligation, be truthful and transparent, true love does not suffer the acts of the foolish for too long. Vice, knowing when you are at your weakest and not be too prideful to beg and plead for help.
New Edition has traveled a road spanning nearly 40 years and people still want more. Even if they never created a new song the ones they have are enough to reinvigorate the tragic state of R N B and hopefully inspire a new generation of “Popcorn Lovers” and “Heart-breakers”.
#new edition#neheartbreak#candygirl#mrtelephoneman#popcornlove#ralph tresvant#ronnie devoe#bobby brown#ricky bell#michael bivins#johnny gill#brookepayne#wood harris#rnbmusic#r&b music#soulmusic#90srnb#80srnb#bet#bryshere gray#woody mcclain#bbd#bellbivdevoe#boyz ii men#neweditionbiopic#neweditionbet#jimmyjamandterrylewis#mauricestarr#elijah kelley#keith powers
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4 best dance schools in Sydney
There is no greater form of individual expression than through dance. Whether you need important wedding dance lessons for your big day or just want to rip up the dance floor on a casual weekend, learning to move your body to music is simply a great way to have fun, learn and get some exercise all at the same time.
Needless to say though that not everyone out there is born to move it like Jagger. Perhaps you are a tad uncoordinated, lack the confidence to execute properly or just unsure about how to partake, it can really help the situation to get a bit of advice from a professional before venturing forward with your unique maneuvers.
This leads us nicely to an industry that is one the rise, both internationally and domestically. Dance studios do have quite the overlap with two different and distinct fields – entertainment/the arts and gyms/yoga studios.
The balance between fun, expression and fitness is not lost on those that join in with a friendly and open dance studio, making it a more enjoyable pastime than lifting weights or running on a treadmill; or the pressure that comes with performing in front of an audience.
Many looking in from the outside might know of one or two alternative styles of dance, but the array of options is almost limitless. Deriding from a variety of cultures all across the globe, modern dance studios can teach you everything from:
Mambo
Rumba
Salsa
Zumba
Cha Cha
Ballet
Flamenco
Blues
Jazz
Waltz
Folk Dance
Tango
Breakdancing
Krumping
Twerking
Grinding
Whatever your personal taste or necessity, there will be a dance studio out there for you to cater to this need. For any Sydney locals who are on the search for an open environment that teaches groups and individuals how to get the most out of their dancing moves, check out the following four locations.
Care To Dance
Situated in the heart of Sydney’s Inner West, Care To Dance is the invitation you will have been searching for. Open to appointments and only closed on Sunday, this enterprise is considered an elite boutique dance school that places a priority on a personalised teaching experience.
The majority of visitors usually arrive from one of two different scenarios – either among a social group wanting to bond and socialise over a dance activity, or individual students who will often have an event coming up like a wedding or performance of some description.
Classes and sessions are held for parties from both disciplines, yet Care To Dance will specialise in the following styles:
Ballroom
Disco
Rumba
Tango
Salsa
Waltz
The organisation seeks to give people an added move to their repertoire, allowing them to dance with confidence rather than watching others enjoy all the fun when the music starts.
If their own press does not exactly convince you that Care To Dance is the place to be to receive these helpful tips, then take it from those who have experienced it for themselves.
The glowing 5-star reviews illustrate how well instructors Alexia and Christian go about their work, catering to amateurs that require a great deal of patience, or those that are wanting to fast track their education.
Giving customers a cup of tea or coffee while they wait or have a much warranted break from the slick movement on show, everyone from their late teens to late 70s or 80s have championed the wonderful atmosphere that doesn’t lecture or preach to newcomers.
Issuing 5 stars at Big Review TV, Celeste Poulton has been blown away by her time with the studio:
“My fiancé and I started taking lessons here to build our dancing confidence and have fun together,” she wrote. “We are having the best time! After two lessons we already have so many more steps to use than I thought I’d ever remember. It is so much fun.”
Kylie Davis echoes those sentiments, arguing that the techniques given to the students makes the process all more easy, even without you realising it at the time.
“We love our lessons at Care To Dance. Christian is a great instructor and they have their program really well thought through that breaks down the different dances into segments.”
L.I.K.E. Dance
For those that take their dance a little more seriously than just a hobby or for a one-off event, then L.I.K.E. Dance at St Leonards would be a better option.
Having recently been handed the 2017 Studio of Excellence award at the Rainbow Dance competition, this studio is considered one of the greatest breeding grounds in Sydney for children and adults who are keen on developing their choreography and articulating dance through a mode of storytelling.
Open to studio rental for people or parties that would like the space for their own dancing ventures, L.I.K.E. Dance offers a first up free dance class for newcomers and even performers for hire for those wanting professionals on hand at an event.
This incentive to draw people in clearly works, as their program is open to all manners of styles and disciplines of the craft:
Children classes between 3 and a half years old to 17
Adult classes that range from technical to hip-hop, jazz, modern and contemporary styles
Acrobatics classes
Classical ballet
Competition groups
Wedding Dance
Private classes
The team led by creative director Elena don’t just see dance as a happy past time, but a mode of expression that demonstrates character and emotion. Her team is complimented by some of the most gifted and certified dance teachers in the city, including acrobatics coaches Jackson, Josephina, Lana and choreographer Katerina.
Fees will vary depending on the nature of the class you have selected, but they do offer one month of free classes under the following conditions:
Bring a friend along for an introductory class before they enroll in at least two classes per week, under the explicit understanding that they were introduced by yourself
Spotted only 10 minutes walk from St. Leonards train station, this spacious surround between the Small, Medium and Large Halls are kitted with air conditioning, mats, bars, mirrors and sound equipment to ensure the acoustics elevate the dancing experience.
Dance Central
With a proud history that dates back to 2002, Dance Central is a thriving hub of activity with a legion of great teachers.
From new age styles to the old classical dances, professionals from B Boy Red to Dan Hu, Jean Chritz, Kate Turner Mann, Rosie Cicchitti, Crystal, Yannick, Sam Woods and many more can cater to a variety of cultures and interpretations.
The challenge with Dance Central is not trying to find a dance that suits your needs, but sifting through the sheer weight of options on hand. Essentially every dance genre possible is on the table, including sub-genres that delve into the techniques and meanings behind the movements.
Take any number of these dances as a study, either individually or as a group:
Burlesque
Afro Fusion
Break Dance
High Heels
Jazz
Samba Reggae
Tap
Modern Tango
Hip Hop Beginner/Street Funk
Belly Dancing
French Cancan
Club/Party Dance
Musical Theatre
Jamaican Dancehall
Hawaiian Hula
Contemporary
The studio happens to be an open venue ready to hire for private events, inclusive of Hen’s parties. Dance Central hosts the annual Tour De Dance to showcase their array of talented performers, kicking off in October to put on a show complete with Brazilian Samba, Hip Hop, Burlesque and much more!
Brand new workshops are being developed consistently, such as Loren Robinson’s “Filthy” Hip Hop workshop in recognition of Justin Timberlake’s new album. These workshops are a great method of expressing the teacher’s creativity with new material, something that you will not find across many studios in Sydney.
To sign up to one of these programs, you must have been pre-paid and pre-signed, yet Dance Central is an environment that welcomes first timers to Surry Hills. Recommended to attend at least 5-10 minutes before an open class begins, no bookings are required to get involved.
Crossover Dance
The XO Crossover Dance Studio situated in Sydney is the city’s premiere location for all things dance. Performers from all over the country have congregated to this center to learn, educate and showcase their skills on the dance floor.
There are a number of features that illustrates why this enterprise is on the cutting edge of the industry. For starters, there is an online Crossover App available on Google Play and the App Store for regulars and occasional visitors. This allows a 10-Class Pass for a cut down price of $150 (until April) and is designed around ease of use and speed of access.
Class registration is accelerated through the app and bookings can be made instantaneously. Each consumer who switches their 10-Class Pass onto the app also scores free water.
This modern dance facility is home to variety of dance styles:
XO KPOP
Breaking
Street Dance
House
Popping
LA Style (Urban)
Locking
Hip Hop
Catering different groups of instructors to these respective disciplines, Crossover provides specialty wedding classes that involve the salsa, waltz and various street interpretations for the couple’s big day.
The Asian influence runs throughout the studio, taking inspiration from the culture of the southeast region. Each and every instructor brings their unique interpretation and experience to the center.
As the owner and director of Crossover Dance Studio, Jaye Sutanto is considered one of the true pioneers of Kpop dance in the Western world.
That background translates to the team of teachers and artists he has personally assembled, bringing aboard forward thinking and bold dancers who strive to push the boundaries and discover something new about the industry.
The central objective that Jaye embodies is to provide a studio that is fun and interactive where Sydney locals and outsiders can get involved. His personal profile has amplified after various segments on Google and SBS PopAsia, providing the groundwork to feature at The Sydney Opera House and Sydney Town Hall respectively.
Modern music is a common thread that also happens to run through the studio. From Kpop to Jazz, R&B and House music, this is an ideal environment for teens, 20 and 30-somethings to really tap into their love for music and dance. Although it must be noted that this is not an ageist policy – open to people of any generation.
The location is ideal for commuters traveling by foot, bus or train just minutes away from Central and Town Hall stations.
Once you feel confident in your dancing ability, it’s time to enjoy yourself and reap the rewards of all of your hours of practice! Invite your family or friends out to a dance class, party, bar, or club. Alternatively, you can invite them over to your home for an informal night of dancing and fun.
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Reference:
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The Real Barack Obama Has Finally Revealed Himself
Barack Obama is using his post-presidency to attack the Left and protect the status quo. The historical myth believed by so many liberals that Obama was a progressive leader who was hemmed in by the presidency's political constraints is collapsing fast.
What does Barack Obama want? To ask the question is both to wonder how one of the world’s most influential people chooses to dedicate his time and to consider to what ends he thinks it is best put to use.
As Nathan Robinson and I argued a little more than two years ago, a post-presidency offers us the ideal heuristic for doing exactly that. In office, or so it has often been suggested, Obama’s fiery progressive spirit was endlessly stifled by a combination of events, GOP obstruction, and the inherent conservatism of the American legislative process. Having left such constraints behind, many believed, post-2016 Obama would now be free to do just about anything he wanted — meaning that the former president’s real self could finally surface from beneath the depths of institutional necessity under which it had hitherto been submerged.
This prediction turned out to be true enough, just not in the way many Obama partisans assumed.
Equipped with fame, wealth, and a vast reservoir of residual goodwill Obama now has more power to do good in an hour than most of us do in a lifetime. The demands of etiquette and propriety notwithstanding, he no longer has intransigent Blue Dog senators to appease, donors to placate, or personal electoral considerations to keep him up at night. When he speaks or acts, we can be reasonably certain he does so out of sincere choice and that the substance of his words and actions reflect the real Barack Obama and how he honestly sees the world.
It therefore tells us a great deal that, given the latitude, resources, and moral authority with which to influence events, Obama has spent his post-presidency cozying up to the global elite and delivering vapid speeches to corporate interests in exchange for unthinkable sums of money.
Though often remaining out of the spotlight, he has periodically appeared next to various CEOs at events whose descriptions might be read as cutting satire targeting the hollowness of business culture if they weren’t all-too real. As the world teeters on the brink of ecological disaster, he recently cited an increase in America’s output of oil under his administration as a laudable achievement.
When Obama has spoken about or intervened in politics, it’s most often been to bolster the neoliberal center-right or attack and undermine the Left. Having emerged from seclusion to endorse the likes of Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau, Obama also rang up Britain’s austerity-loving Conservative prime minister Theresa May on election night in 2017 to offer reassurance and trash the Labour Party’s electoral prospects. Only last week, while denouncing the Democratic Party’s “activist wing,” the former president who had once introduced himself to the nation as a progressive, community-minded outsider inveighed against those pushing for a more ambitious direction — contemptuously instructing a group of wealthy donors not to concern themselves too-much with the irrational zealotry of “certain left-leaning Twitter feeds.”
Adding to this trail of words and actions since 2016, a lengthy report just published by Politico offers us further insight into both Obama’s calculations since leaving office and his broader view of politics. Portraying the former president as someone drawn somewhat unwillingly back into the political fray by events, the piece is strewn with suggestive nuggets on subjects ranging from Donald Trump to his opinions about various hopefuls running for the Democratic nomination.
We learn, for example, that Obama at one time hoped to enjoy something akin to a normal relationship with his successor, and that the former president apparently thinks little of Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg but is a fan of Montana Governor Steve Bullock. We also learn that in 2015 he was troubled by the prospect of a presidential run by Elizabeth Warren on the grounds that her anti-Wall Street message would represent a repudiation of his legacy.
Unsurprisingly, the passage that has drawn the most attention concerns Obama’s allegedly expressed intention to intervene in the primary process in the event that a certain senator from Vermont gets anywhere near the Democratic nomination:
Publicly, [Obama] has been clear that he won’t intervene in the primary for or against a candidate, unless he believed there was some egregious attack. “I can’t even imagine with this field how bad it would have to be for him to say something,” said a close adviser. Instead, he sees his role as providing guardrails to keep the process from getting too ugly and to unite the party when the nominee is clear. There is one potential exception: Back when Sanders seemed like more of a threat than he does now, Obama said privately that if Bernie were running away with the nomination, Obama would speak up to stop him.”
While certainly revealing in its confirmation of Obama’s hostility towards the left, the piece’s most striking passage, at least on this score, comes several paragraphs later as journalist Ryan Lizza places the former president’s various maneuvers in context vis-a-vis the current political climate and the 2020 presidential election:
Recently he has started to speak out publicly, offering Democrats, in two appearances, a unified Obama theory of how they can win—and how they can stave off the same kind of forces that took over the GOP.
The two appearances in question refer to Obama’s recent statements against his own party’s “activist wing” and a still more revealing July 2018 address given in Johannesburg, described by Lizza as follows:
In that speech, while cataloging the litany of authoritarian trends and making obvious references to the ways that he believes Trump has debased American politics, nonetheless his prescription was defined by anti-radicalism. He decried equally “unregulated, unbridled, unethical capitalism” and “old-style command-and-control socialism” in favor of traditional American liberalism, “an inclusive market-based system.” In case he wasn’t clear that populist demagoguery can come from either ideological direction, he added, “So those who traffic in absolutes when it comes to policy, whether it’s on the left or the right, they make democracy unworkable.”
Strikingly, such a statement tells us that in a world of resurgent fascism and looming ecological collapse America’s forty-fourth president still believes the solution is to embrace further centrist moderation and douse rather than channel popular discontent.
More revealing, though, is what it tells us about Obama’s attitude towards the populist left. The phrase “stave off the same kind of forces that took over the GOP” belongs to Lizza rather than the former president himself, but it seems reasonable to conclude given Obama’s words and actions that he views the Trumpian right and the populist left in roughly similar terms.
If anything, Politico’s investigation suggests he’s been more concerned with opposing the latter since leaving the White House. As TrueAnon’s Liz Franczak aptly put it: “Obama went on like 200 billionaire yacht cruises and finalized his Netflix deal when Trump became president, but even a whiff of Sanders gaining momentum and he’s running to the dais.”
Now more than ever liberals, partisan Democrats, and progressives of every kind are overdue for a reckoning with Barack Obama, his legacy, and whatever residual feelings still linger from the euphoria of 2008. To his credit, Obama has always been fairly open about the conservative outlook that grounds his politics — even in the halcyon days of Yes We Can, he was already taking care to distance himself from radicalism and align himself with Reaganism.
As for that initial question of what Obama wants, the answer is that he’s told anyone willing to listen from the very beginning. Since 2016, his major concern has been to preserve a legacy whose progressive bona fides are increasingly threatened by the genuine radicalism of those to his left – and to use the vast power and influence at his disposal to stand in their way.
https://jacobinmag.com/2019/11/obama-socialism
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RT USArmy "Hit me with your best shot. 370 Soldiers competed in the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship at the arkansasguard Robinson Maneuver Training Center. Meet some of the competitors at nwademgaz. https://t.co/tkYFpkiwzL"
— SFC Adam Rosenlund (@SFC_Rosenlund) May 15, 2018
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