#Rowing Machine for Sale

[spinboosttrend]

Revolutionizing Workouts: The Magnetic Stationary Bike with Heart Rate Integration

In the realm of fitness, innovation is the key to keeping workouts fresh, engaging, and effective. One such innovation that has been gaining traction in recent years is the integration of heart rate monitoring technology into stationary bikes. Among the myriad of fitness equipment available today, the Magnetic Stationary Bike with Heart Rate stands out as a trendsetter, offering users a comprehensive and insightful approach to their workouts.

Traditional stationary bikes have long been a staple in both home and commercial gyms, providing an excellent cardiovascular workout. However, they often lack the ability to track vital performance metrics such as heart rate, which is crucial for optimizing training intensity and monitoring progress. This is where the Magnetic Stationary Bike with Heart Rate shines, offering users real-time feedback on their heart rate throughout their workout sessions.

One of the key features of these bikes is their use of magnetic resistance, which provides a smooth and quiet riding experience. Unlike traditional friction-based resistance systems, magnetic resistance allows for precise control over the intensity of the workout, making it suitable for users of all fitness levels. Whether you're looking to engage in a leisurely ride or a high-intensity interval training session, the Magnetic Stationary Bike with Heart Rate can accommodate your needs.

What sets this type of stationary bike apart is its integration of heart rate monitoring technology. Equipped with built-in sensors or compatible with wearable heart rate monitors, these bikes allow users to track their heart rate in real-time, providing valuable insights into their cardiovascular health and fitness level. By monitoring their heart rate during exercise, users can ensure that they are working out at the appropriate intensity to achieve their fitness goals effectively.

For those seeking a premium fitness experience, there are models available from top brands such as Technogym Artis Bike and Life Fitness Elevation Recumbent Bike that offer advanced features and sleek designs. These bikes combine cutting-edge technology with ergonomic design to provide users with the ultimate workout experience.

Moreover, for individuals looking to build a comprehensive home gym setup, the Magnetic Stationary Bike with Heart Rate can be complemented with other versatile equipment such as the 4-In-1 Folding Rowing Machine for Home Gym. This allows users to diversify their workouts and target different muscle groups for a well-rounded fitness regimen.

Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a fitness enthusiast looking to elevate your workouts, the Magnetic Stationary Bike with Heart Rate is a game-changer. With its combination of magnetic resistance, heart rate monitoring technology, and sleek design, it's no wonder that these bikes are becoming increasingly popular among fitness enthusiasts. Experience the future of fitness and take your workouts to the next level with a Magnetic Stationary Bike with Heart Rate today!

For those interested in purchasing quality fitness equipment like Rowing Machines for sale in Oregon or exploring the latest trends in the fitness industry, visit spinboosttrend.com to stay ahead of the curve.

[anarchywoofwoof]

i feel like i'm going to vomit

raytheon, who is a salesperson on behalf of agony and death, casually unfolded their disgusting, exploitative blueprint of human destruction in their latest earnings call. raytheon executives, in suits soaked with the blood and sweat of global suffering, gaped at the "opportunity" unfolding re: the ongoing war crimes and horrific brutality being carried out Palestine.

while Palestinians watch everything they've ever loved get turned to rubble, raytheon stockholders see dollars in destruction, profit in pain, and business blooming on the battlefield. imagine, turning the tremors of traumatized, suffering people into a system of fuel for your war machine - this is their normal. this is the shit that sales people at raytheon live for 9 hours a day and then go home and sleep at night.

history bleeds from the pages of raytheon's diary, filled with tales of technologized terror, largely carried out against minority peoples with little means to fight back or defend themselves. tales where human lives are turned into rows and columns on spreadsheets and civilizations’ calamities are converted into cold, hard cash trails.

meanwhile, the boardroom buzzes and swarms with heartless vultures, circling the globe, eyes peeled for the next plot of despair to descend upon, beaks ready to peck at the literal carrion of communities in conflict.

oh, and Biden's Defense Secretary was on the Board

“see a benefit,” they have the fucking audacity to say, as if the orchestras of war are trumpeting some sort of symphony of success for their gross and disgusting contributions. raytheon's portfolios pulsate with the rhythms of air strikes and raids, and their balance sheets boom with the bass of bombs dropping on communities that have been traumatized so many times over that they have nothing left to give.

in the tragedy of others, raytheon finds triumph. in the heartbeats silenced by their symphonies of destruction, they find the rhythm of their entire revenue stream.

the engine of exploitation, oiled with oppression and fueled by the flames of conflict, roars at the center of raytheon's profit model. call it out when you see it: capitalism is incompatible with the preservation of human life.

[x]

[wannaeatramyeon]

Goo Kim x Reader: One Night

G/N. Crazy Stupid Love Emma Stone/Ryan Gosling scene but make it Lookism. Masterlists

"Are you nervous?" Goo murmurs, a smile tugs at his lips when he feels you trembling.

He peers down at you and pauses. His hand, having worked its way under your top and caressing your bare skin - stops.

Tonight, you have aimed for sexy and sensual. It worked well. Fake it until you make it, and you made it when this handsome blonde at the bar invited you back to his apartment for a night of debauchery.

But your mask slips. It's hard to keep it on, y'know. When you are both half naked, about to be even more naked, there's nowhere left to hide.

Your nervousness comes out as a snort, because duh and you think some of your previous sexy and sensual points are deducted.

"Yeah," you respond with an awkward giggle. Then your mouth runs before your single brain cell can.

"- Also, something has been digging into my back all this time," Goo waggles his eyebrows at you suggestively, "No. Definitely not. I think it's a spring or something or I don't know... crumbs? Have you been eating in bed? Either way I think this is the most uncomfortable mattress I've ever laid on. Your silk bed sheets are something else though - who even has silk bed sheets? It's like something from the 80s along with waterbeds but god they feel so fucking great on my legs."

Goo is stunned into silence momentarily before he barks out a laugh.

He rolls off you and onto the left side on the bed, full body wriggling around slightly, experiencing the silk bed sheets for himself and chuckles.

"Sweetheart, you're right. And I've always hated this mattress." He sighs, adding, "I got conned by fucking influencers."

You whip your head towards him and give him a look, "Influencers?! What. Is this those fancy brands that I've been seeing them shill all over my social media-"

Goo turns towards you, a pout on his lips and eyebrows pinched together in a pitiful expression. "Yep. I've hated it since the first night."

"Then why didn't you return it!"

He shrugs and you laugh, your previous nervousness dissipating.

"I always wondered what idiot would fall for those."

"Hey!"

A brief moment of silence then-

"Did you buy these sheets from an infomercial or something?"

"Excuse me!" Goo shuffles, angles himself so he's fully facing you. Head held up by the palm of his hand and resting his elbow on the mattress.

There's mischief, life in his face that wasn't there earlier tonight. "Sue me. I have money to spend, sometimes I can't sleep, and those sales people sell things so well."

You let out another unrefined snort, amused by this guy.

Suddenly finding there's so much personality, a touch of vulnerability revealed in that statement, behind the expensive glasses, his tailored suit and his muscled body.

"Wanna see what other crap I've bought?"

.

.

You both wander around his apartment, which turned out to be a huge fucking penthouse now that he has the light on and is giving you a guided tour, in your underwear. 

Goo, no shame and expanses of skin on show, and you follow closely behind with his silk sheets wrapped loosely around your body.

He gestures at what you assume to be a coffee machine sitting proudly on his kitchen countertop. All sleek and stainless steel with dials and buttons on every surface.

"I can't even use this thing. I've had it for 2 years."

"Look," Goo opens an overhead kitchen cupboard, gesticulating like he's going to perform a magic trick, and dramatically shows you rows and rows of trendy kitchen gadgets, no doubt also purchased during moments of insomnia. Pizza scissors, spiralizer, bread maker, air fryer, pressure cooker.

"Never used."

"This," he points at the far wall, and you squint, barely making out a framed art piece of the ugliest monkey face you have ever seen. But hey, art is subjective, right-

"-is an NFT. I bought that too."

That tips you over the edge.

You cackle and cackle, doubled over and holding onto him for balance.

.

.

There's a dusty segway sitting pitifully in the corner of an unused spare room.

You jump out from round a corner, LED mask on your face and flashing a menacing red - "Boo!"and Goo actually jumps.

A lonely treadmill, placed beneath one of those fancy sit-stand desk catches your eye.  Goo smirks, "Babe, I don't even have a desk job."

Instead of spending all night tangled in his silk bedsheets together, Goo jogs down memory lane of sleepless nights and impulse buys with you by his side.

Your laughter starts to tinge all his memories.

Your good natured ribbing and mocking.

His hyena cackle joins yours, and he wonders when was the last time he was able to laugh with someone. Has he ever spent an entire night talking to someone like this?

"Ask me something personal." He requests, both now lying on his uncomfortable bed. You in his arms, hair tickling his chin.

"What do you want from life?"

"To make money."

"Why?"

"I want to be rich."

"Why?"

"Well, who doesn't want to be rich, sweetheart."

"Yeah but why do you?"

Goo remembers running errands, doing anything to earn some money. Anything for a price. His cousin calling in his services, and he happily beat up some middle schoolers to help him (and who was it again, Tabasco?) out.

He doesn't really know where his thirst for money making has come from. Maybe there's some deep set trauma from his life pre-juvie or some shit he should pay a therapist to decipher but alas.

He tells you this, all this and more. At some point, his head is the one lying on your chest and you absentmindedly stroke through his blonde locks, humming noises of encouragement, listening to his words.

Weird, Goo thinks, when he finally drifts off to sleep with you snoring gently beside him. 

The morning sun already filters through the blinds, and the hustle and bustle of Seoul has started to pick up.

How comfortable this feels. How natural your connection with him is. How this is the spark people dream about, and somehow it has hit him when he wasn’t looking for anything more.

That someone as different to him as you are, that is only ever supposed to be company for a few hours, a night at best, could spell trouble. Raise his hackles, send his alarms blaring.

When he's usually the walking red flag.

Because you’ve got him thinking. A lot. That shrewd brain hidden behind playfulness has been whirring; wondering about what happens if you become a regular fixture.

Maybe you might doom him, in the end. Maybe this will lead to a dead end and nothing more.

But he's curious enough, the spark is shining brightly enough, to see where else you might lead him to too.

[snapthistiger]

exercise 07202024

bike ride to the gym

8 x 10 incline sit ups

3 x 10 pec machine

3 x 10 lat raise

3 x 10 low row

30 minutes on the step mill

bike ride to my Mom's then home

the gym workers received Hershey kisses

my Mom was sleeping. visited with my niece.

peanut butter toast for lunch

picked up a couple of grocery things on special at Kroger. some of their specials are more complicated than necessary. you have to buy 6 of certain items to get the sale price. i think they want you to make a mistake and pay the regular price instead of getting the sale price.

15 inches over the average rainfall year to date. rain predicted for most of next week

top right = bright sunshine this morning

top left = Peanut contemplating life

hope you have a peaceful afternoon and evening..

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2023: Day 18 - Blueprints

Crovan's Gate Works is Home to many Blueprints:

Crovan’s Gate Works is one of, if not the, largest steamworks in the United Kingdom – and the single best equipped. It services steam locomotives from all four of Sodor’s railways, as well as engines from across the country and further. Many of the engines who appeared in the infamous ‘The Great Race’ movie – especially those from Europe – were actually engines being overhauled at Crovan’s Gate when Mattel sent people to do research for the film. The works has machines that can make any part needed for an engine on the Fat Controller’s railway, and beyond – but that’s not all they have.

In a dark, slightly dusty room underneath the main offices, there are filing cabinets. Row upon row of the things which stretch out through the basement. And in these filing cabinets are the blueprints. There are thousands of these blueprints carefully sorted and filed away in this room. Everything from the designs of the A1X Terrier through to the Streamlined Coronation class. It’s all in this one room.

And it was originally the folly of Sir Topham Hatt I, back in 1897.

When he was the CME of the Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Light Railway (TK&ELR), Topham Hatt began collecting old blueprints. Some people collect stamps, others collect coins – but Topham collected blueprints. He had already copied many of the Great Western’s blueprints during his time as an apprentice at Swindon Works, and these he kept with new plans sent to him by his friend William Stanier in his office.

When building the TK&ELR Coffee Pot engines, he consulted a huge number of blueprints, trying to find something he could build considering the extremely low amount of resources he was allocated. And he did utilise some ideas from the various blueprints he had acquired – specifically a redrawing of the ‘blueprints’ used for the Novelty from the Rainhill trials… only the blueprints Hatt had were extremely well-drawn fakes, which did a bit of messing with the exhaust system. Topham Hatt mixed these blueprints with several others, but the exhaust system became infamous for spewing out dirty brown water.

This led to Topham Hatt deciding that the best way to avoid such an embarrassment in the future was to get more blueprints. He managed to bargain the blueprints of almost every engine he ever bought into the deal, with one notable exception: Henry.

Henry was built using stolen blueprints which were muddled and half-right. Hatt never managed to nab the stolen blueprints for himself, which made diagnosing Henry all the more difficult. It was actually Richard Hatt – Topham’s great grandson – who found the formerly stolen blueprints. He managed to find them in a garage sale!

Percy was another engine whose blueprints did not fully arrive with the engine. The warehouse Hatt bought him from had a grand total of around 59% of his original blueprints, with the other 41% being scattered across the West Country, the Midlands and Wales. If you can believe it, Topham Hatt went on the hunt for these blueprints all throughout the 1930s, and was able to snag the last one from the wreck of a bombed house in Cardiff in 1941.

When British Railways was formed in 1948, the now Sir Topham Hatt utilised his new position on the board of the company to gain access to every blueprint British Railways had under its control. Carriages, trucks, engines – even railway adjacent lorries, ships and buses all had blueprints that Sir Topham was able to have copied and sent to Crovan’s Gate. These were all placed in a special room and have been updated since.

Sir Charles Topham Hatt also added to this collection – but for a very different reason. In the 1960s, as Sodor gained more independence – and more diesels – it became increasingly clear that the island had to repair its engines on its own. To this end, Sir Charles began having copies of engines he bought sent to Sodor so that in the event of repairs, the works at Crovan’s Gate would be able to use the original blueprints before beginning the overhaul, saving time and allowing the workers to know what parts the engine might need. Sir Charles also had updated blueprints of all of his engines drafted, as many of his older engines had been heavily modified since arriving (such as Edward, Henry and Gordon), meaning that new, accurate blueprints were required. The first of these would be Edward’s when he went in for an overhaul after his ‘Exploit’ in 1965.

Today, there are thousands of blueprints kept at Crovan’s Gate Works, with new ones added each year. These are often copies of blueprints for locomotives built outside of the UK, as it is believed that Crovan’s Gate Works has a copy of the designs for every British locomotive, carriage, and wagon to have ever run – bar those which never had blueprints.

Back to Master Post

[black-arcana]

HALESTORM's LZZY HALE And JOE HOTTINGER Announce 'The Living Room Sessions' 2025 Tour

Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of Grammy-winning hard rock band HALESTORM have announced an intimate tour featuring the two of them performing acoustic, stripped down versions of HALESTORM favorites and the music that has inspired the band. Dubbed "Halestorm's Lzzy And Joe: The Living Room Sessions", the tour consists of 12 dates in January 2025. A full list of dates is below.

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Thursday, October 24 at 10:00 a.m. local time and end on Thursday, October 24 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code "2025FREAKS" to access tickets before the general public. Check back here on Thursday for ticketing links to individual shows. General on-sale will be Friday, October 25 at 10 a.m. local time.

To give fans a taste of what’s to come at the shows, today Lzzy and Joe posted a sneak preview of a performance of "The Silence".

Lzzy states: "With this tour, we're inviting our fans to experience what it would be like hanging with Joe and me in our living room: picking up instruments, telling stories, chatting about songs that helped shaped us as a band and brought us to where we are today."

Joe adds: "Back when we decided to quit our day jobs and make music our full-time endeavor, Lzzy and I would play music wherever we could, and sometimes that meant playing acoustic covers in any bar or restaurant that would have us. That time really allowed us to develop our playing skills and dig into songwriting, and it really set the groundwork for what HALESTORM is today."

"Halestorm's Lzzy And Joe: The Living Room Sessions" 2025 tour dates:

Jan. 08 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop Jan. 10 - Bloomington, IL - Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts Jan. 11 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Theatre Jan. 13 - Springfield, MO - Gillioz Theatre Jan. 14 - Little Rock, AR - The Hall Jan. 16 - Chattanooga, TN - The Signal Jan. 17 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Live Jan. 19 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall Jan. 21 - Savannah, GA - District Live at Plant Riverside District Jan. 22 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall Jan. 24 - Springfield, MA - Aria Ballroom/MGM Springfield Jan. 25 - South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

In a September 2024 interview with PK of Louisville, Kentucky's ALT 105.1 radio station, Lzzy spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for HALESTORM's follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead" album. Lzzy said: "We've had three separate sessions in the studio with — we're making a record with [producer] Dave Cobb. And he's actually a huge closet metal fan, and so he's really excited. And so we're making this great music, but we're constantly touring. So we've had, like, three different sessions in the studio. We're probably — what? — 70, 80, maybe, percent there. We have a studio in our house and so I'm doing a lot of the finishing touches on vocals and sewing everything up, doing solos and all that. And then we get back in in December to just say, 'Okay, this is good.' And then, yeah. And then there we are. So we're excited about it. We really are."

Cobb has shared in nine Grammy wins, including four for "Best Americana Album" and three for "Best Country Album". He's also been named "Producer Of The Year" by the Country Music Awards, the Americana Music Association (twice) and the Music Row Awards, and has been a Grammy nominee in the category.

HALESTORM and I PREVAIL recently embarked on summer 2024 co-headlining tour. Produced by Live Nation, the trek kicked off on July 9 in Raleigh and ran through August 17 in Las Vegas. HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD and FIT FOR A KING served as support. The tour was also the catalyst and the creative spark for HALESTORM and I PREVAIL's collaborative track "Can U See Me In The Dark?", which was released in June.

"Back From The Dead" has tallied over 100 million streams worldwide. Rolling Stone called the title track "a biting but cathartic howler about overcoming all obstacles," and that song as well as "The Steeple" marked their fifth and sixth number ones at rock radio, respectively. Associated Press said the album "will definitely be in the running for best hard rock/metal album of the year." Their previous album, "Vicious", earned the band their second Grammy nomination, for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for the song "Uncomfortable", the band's fourth #1 at rock radio, and led Loudwire to name HALESTORM "Rock Artist Of The Decade" in 2019.

Fronted by Lzzy with Arejay, Hottinger and bass player Josh Smith, HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".

[mehriigss]

Which rottmnt turtle are you?

Raph:

- Forgot to turn off the oven

- Everyday is chest gym day

- Afraid of their own shadow

- Angle with a shotgun

- Dies if a single proton of peanut touches them

- Good boy(™)

- Uses the same underwear two days in a row to save water

- Didn't know how to use the #blacklivesmatter but used it anyway because black lives matter

- Can and will be convinced the earth is flat

- Sleeps with 173913 plushies

- Somehow father figure

Donnie:

- Sales baked goods

- Banned from Texas

- Chaotic awful

- Nows your IP and will use it against you

- Can and will convince someone that the earth is flat

- Disappeared three days but no one noticed

- Emotionally constipated

- Invests mony in cryptocurrency

- A U T I S M

- Is secretly coquette

- 1# Most wanted criminal 2023

Mikey:

- Makes naked furry drawings and places them in the fridge

- "Don't know don't care"

- Has used the #blacklivesmatter for the good

- A minor

- Noticed they were gone

- Menance to society

- Licks the frosting of the cupcakes and puts them back in the fridge

- Eats ice cream with their bare hands

- Bts stand

- Likes eco

Leo:

- Makes deez nuts jokes

- Depressed

- Would wear a "blue label" T-shirt

- "Prison's just an expensive escape room"

- Moonwalks their way in and out of trouble

- Makes yo mama jokes

- Sleep is optional

- Would put cheese sauce in the washing machine instead of soap

- Walking meme

- Feminist

- Could and did dropkick a child

- Spanish or vanish

[rayshippouuchiha]

Alrighty! Please excuse the poor lighting.

Behold!

There was a sale of Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in the Dappled ombres so I bought 3 skeins of 4 colors and the last skein of the blue. The aqua blanket is a diagonal granny stitch, the pink is the classic granny stitch, the yellow is a C2C (corner-to-corner) stitch, and the purple is a simple V stitch. They all have a single crochet stitch in however many rows needed to get the blankets to a similar size. The void photo-bombing is my youngest boy, Wilson. The blue blanket is in the Alpine stitch, which I love love love! Especially in the fluffy blanket, chenille, and velvet yarns. The duck I made with leftover purple yarn to test out a newly bought pattern for a commission from my husband's coworker. I'm planning to make more coordinating ducks for the other 3 blankets.

I finished this blanket during a weekend trip up to NY with a side trip to CT with my mother to visit family. We drove, so I had a lot of time on my hands to work on this. I included a close up of the yarn so you can see the colors better. My mom so loved the yarn too, I gave her the reminder of the last skein. She's got plans now. The yarn, which is acrylic medium weight, has been in my hoard since A.C. Moore closed. I'm trying to use up some yarn before buying any more.

I have another one almost done in blue, aqua, and lime green also Bernat Baby Blanket yarn. It's not done yet since I need to sew another liner in the shape of a ball and stuff it with polyfil to make it machine washer friendly. The pattern is from Moogly's squish line and can be found on her blog and YouTube channel.

Give me a sec and I'll share photos of the two projects on my hook currently. I just learned there's a 10 image limit per post.😆

holy fucking hell babe. All of these are so goddamn gorgeous and the octopus?? to die for. seriously never let anyone tell you that you're not making art cause goddamn

[shaanks]

I wrote something. Lmfao. It was initially just meant to kind of expand on my text post from earlier, but it turned into a little ficlet so I figured I'd share it. Why not, right?

fem!oc x Eustass Kid. sfw, cw: memory loss, unreality. (everything will be tagged in the actual tags section for blacklisting purposes)

word count - 2392

genres: hurt/comfort, horror if you squint, fluff towards the end, modern AU for the aesthetic lmfao.

**

There was a sound like an explosion, the blare of a car horn wailing over screaming metal, the scent of rubber hot and acrid in the air. In the light of the vending machine, Av jumped, whirling around, air catching in her throat only to find—nothing.

The street behind her was empty, devoid of everything but the blinking yellow of a streetlight, and the gentle pattering of rain. The asphalt was pristine, the clean lines slick with rain shone gold in the intermittent light, the sidewalk empty of trash, of age, of anything that might suggest human interaction.

Av craned her neck, head half-turned away from the bright white glow of the machine, looking up at the apartments around her. Neat, identical rows, 10 across, 10 high. All of the windows were darkened, the curtains drawn; each balcony held one or two suggestions of an occupant—a hanging plant here, a chair there, the peek of a bike seat or a laundry line extended across the space, but it was impersonal. Nondescript. A facsimile of habitation, without any indication of personhood, of decision, of individuality.

She looked down, frowning at her shoes, the light of the vending machine ever-present in her periphery. Her sneakers, at least, looked old. Well-worn, if a little plain, the white soles marked with dirt and use. She could see that the shoelaces were wet from the rain, could feel the water soaking through the threadbare canvas, her fingertips grasping at her jacket sleeves in absent concern. That was real. She felt real. Beneath her the ground felt solid, her face felt cool and damp in the slight breeze.

But what had made that sound? Another glance behind her confirmed the space to be empty still, and she hadn’t heard anything else. No voices raised in alarm, no distant car alarms blared to life, jostled by the impact—or what she had assumed must have been one. The night seemed undisturbed, save for the pounding of her heartbeat, just a little too loud in her ears.

Worrying at her lip, she turned back towards the glass display case, eyes flickering along the rows of drinks for sale. Black coffee with sugar, black coffee with no sugar, coffee with cream, with sweet cream. Six different energy drinks, a glass bottle of 7-UP that looked like it was from 30 years ago, and a solitary bottle of unlabeled water.

Surely that sound had been important, hadn’t it? It had been real enough to make her ears ring, to spike adrenaline through her like a live-wire.

Black coffee with sugar, black coffee with no sugar, coffee with cream—

Av frowned deeper, digging around in her pocket for the soft pack of cigarettes and her lighter. She was forgetting something, she knew she was, something that fluttered infuriatingly around the edges of her mind like a disoriented moth. She slotted the cigarette between her lips, the paper filter sticking slightly from the damp, the flame of the lighter momentarily adding a heat and warmth to the night that felt almost alien.

Smoke filled her lungs, hot and acrid like burnt rubber.

Six different energy drinks, a glass bottle of 7-UP that looked like it was from 30 years ago—

Inhale, exhale, plumes of breath and smoke that rose from her lips towards the dreary, impenetrable darkness of the sky above her, towards clouds that roiled thick and heavy with rain and nothing else. Surely, she thought, nothing else, although part of her knew that even when she’d tilted her head up to examine the apartment building, she’d been careful not to look any higher.

The worn rubber of her sneakers tap tap tapped against the sidewalk, making small wet spattering sounds as the movement displaced a puddle, and still she stood, smoking, making no decisions.

‘I should be cold,’ she thought, exhaling again, flicking ashes onto the street in a move that felt almost spiteful against the unnatural perfection upon which she stood. ‘How long have I been out here? What time is it?’

Her body shook a little, though she felt no colder than she had moments ago. She couldn’t bring herself to speak, her voice stopped in her throat—by disuse, perhaps. Or by fear.

The sound of sizzling brought her attention momentarily to the present, as a fat droplet of water fell, extinguishing her cigarette halfway through. Av took it from between her lips and stared at it. It felt...cruel. Intentional, perhaps. Irrationally, she wondered whether the street itself hadn’t responded to the slight bit of ash by extinguishing its source. Something about that wording made her shiver again, and she glanced around for a trash can, somewhere appropriate to throw it away, but of course, the street was devoid of any such thing.

A desire welled up inside her to simply throw it on the ground, to grind the ash and paper and unused tobacco into the sidewalk just to see what would happen...but in the end she thought better of it, and tucked it into her pocket instead. Her clothes would probably stink, but that was okay, she could just hang them out to dry.

Hang them out to dry. Out to dry.

Black coffee with sugar, black coffee with no sugar—

Did she have a clothes line? A balcony? She couldn’t remember for some reason. Had she even locked the door on her way out?

Av glanced around, the bright blue-white of the vending machine blinding in her periphery. Did she live on this street? Had she walked far to get here?

Was one of these nondescript apartments hers?

—the blare of a car horn wailing over screaming metal, six different energy drinks, a glass bottle of 7-UP that looked like it was from 30 years ago—

The sound was deafening, the smell of coffee like cigarette smoke like burned rubber like asphalt like hot metal stinging her nose and she squeezed her eyes shut, tepid fingertips curling into fists over her ears, she wanted to scream, to run, but she couldn’t remember where she lived, where to go, the sky pressed down on the wet asphalt and the white-blue burned out the gold of the street light and the darkness was bright bright bright through her eyelids and—

“You okay?”

Av yelped, her voice tearing free of a throat that felt like musty old paper, as she whipped around towards the sound. The voice.

There was a man standing about ten feet away from her, the campus buildings behind him looking ghostly and pallid in the blue-white of the vending machine light. Av blinked, the ghosts of a car horn, of a flashing yellow light, of melted rubber and blank apartments and a roiling dark sky fading from her mind like a half-remembered dream.

They were at school, she thought, the words wafting over her mind like a cool breeze, like rain. School. University? He was an adult, at least, and she felt like she must be one.

The man had retreated several steps at her startled sound, and he raised his hands slightly in placation before tugging at the straps of his backpack, pulling them tight in a motion that seemed too absent to have been intentional. He was nervous?

‘Most people get nervous when strange women linger by vending machines and scream when you address them, I’d wager,’ she thought, sighing with something between exasperation and relief.

The sound was normal enough to lower the man’s hackles. He was awfully tall, and seemed aware of it, ducking his head slightly and squinting into the light of the vending machines to see her better. Golden-orange eyes flickered in the light like traffic lights, on and off, on and off as he took a tentative step towards her. Calculating, like he was trying to make himself seem less threatening, like he didn’t want to spook her further.

It had been too long since he’d spoken to her, too long that she’d just been staring at him with distant, distracted eyes, but the startled noise had done little to awaken her actual voice. It was an effort, like raising an anchor from the bottom of the sea, to answer him, the words sounding willowy and thin in her ears.

“Ah yeah—sorry. Long day,” Av rasped softly, gesturing around. The big guy grinned a little, droplets of water falling from thick, red hair, and she found herself frowning again.

“Figured,” He said, tilting his head slightly, watching her expression carefully before continuing, “stopped by chem to bring you lunch and they said you didn’t show. S’not like you,” He paused, tilting his head the other way, and she felt her heart begin to race.

She knew him. They had classes together, he was bringing her lunch. Friend? Brother? Boyfriend? She felt her cheeks heat up at that last, glancing over him, and decided perhaps that must be the case. He’d closed the distance at some point when she’d been digging through her memory for clues, and she almost jumped when he smudged a thumb over her cheek, running a raindrop across the blush. Would have jumped, in fact, if the motion hadn’t seemed so tender, so intimately familiar.

“I don’t remember why I’m out here, Kid,” his name fell from her lips without thinking, more muscle memory than conscious thought, that willowy quality of her voice accompanied by embarrassment, by a fear that made her feel small.

He didn’t answer her for a long moment, those strange golden-hued eyes flickering intently over her expression. If he felt anything beyond concern, he gave no indication of it, instead lifting his hand from her cheek to ruffle it through her hair. Eustass Kid was warm. She sighed into the contact. Maybe she had been cold before. Maybe there just hadn’t been enough contrast to notice.

Eustass Kid. Black coffee no sugar. Black coffee with sugar. Black coffee with c—

“Hey hey,” he finally said, pushing her hair back from her forehead, tipping her head up to look at him in the process. The sky behind him loomed, too dark, too thick with clouds, wrong in a way that she couldn’t settle upon.

They were at university. She was taking a chemistry class. This was her boyfriend.

Six different energy drinks, a 7-UP b—

Her eyes settled back on his, her hand moving to grasp at his shirt and she breathed. Breathed.

Kid seemed to mull over his words, rolling them around in his mouth as he tried to find the right order, the right tone. He opened his mouth, thought better of it, closed it again, and then sighed softly, running his thumb over her forehead now, in an arc up into her hair.

“Doc said this was gonna be a shitty day. This time of year’s probably gonna suck for a while.” His voice sounded rough too, she noted, his expression pinching into a grimace around the words he seemed reluctant to say.

A scar, still angry and red and new, dipped jagged over his eye, down onto his cheek, spilling like red paint into her vision. How had she not seen that before? Had it always been there? She raised her hand from his shirt, fingertips ghosting up towards his face. He made no move to stop her, just watched until her hand was close enough to lean into, his skin warm against her palm.

There was a sound like an explosion, the blare of a car horn wailing over screaming metal—

Av’s face crumpled as she stroked her thumb over the scar.

“Because of the accident.” she whispered, her voice soft and wet like pattering rain.

“Yeah,” he kissed her palm. She nodded.

She still couldn’t remember much about the street, about the car that had swerved into them, about the hours and days in the hospital. Just the sound of the car horn, the way the tires had screeched and bled acrid smoke into the night air, the way not one light had turned on in the balconies overhead.

The doctors had said that memory loss was common in cases like this, with head injuries, with sudden traumatic events. The symptoms would fade, she’d been assured. Routines would help. Familiar scenery. A return to normalcy. All these things would speed her recovery. And yet, as with everything else, she still couldn’t quite remember how long they said it would take.

Her therapist had suggested grounding exercises for when she got lost, or her mind began to race, but the only thing she seemed capable of remembering with any consistency was the stupid vending machine outside of the dorms.

Kid followed her gaze to the faded offerings behind the glass, expression twisting into something half amused as he knocked against it with his knuckle, releasing her head to do so.

“S’funny, you’d think they’d restock the fucking thing eventually,” he said, the gravel of his voice low, thoughtful. “Hasn’t had anything in it since we’ve been here except—”

“A solitary bottle of unlabeled water,” Av supplied, grimacing a little at how practiced and robotic it sounded, but Kid just laughed.

“Yeah, that. Couldn’t even spring for some fuckin Dasani,” he muttered, fumbling in his pocket for a second before retrieving his wallet. He fished out a crumpled dollar bill and fed it into the old machine, fighting with it for a moment before it finally accepted the offering. The sound it made when he hit the button was like grinding metal and she tensed at the sound; wordlessly, he pulled her against his large frame, and this time when she breathed there was no hint of burning rubber or wet asphalt. He plucked the water bottle from the basin when the thing finally decided to relinquish it, and pressed it into her hands with a flourish.

“Bone apple teeth,” Kid intoned, grinning as if to show off his, and it was so absurd in that moment that she laughed, breath pluming up towards the sky. His grinned widened, clearly pleased that the joke had landed—relieved to hear the warmth in that sound.

“C’mon,” he squeezed her, turning her away from the blue-white light of the vending machine, towards the comforting darkness of the night. “Let’s go, it’s fuckin freezing out.”

Av, fingers blissfully cool around the water bottle, smiled back. “Yeah.”

**

[miracletails]

you seem to really like puyo puyo. and it seems to have an actual story as well. how do you think one would get into it?

I absolutely LOVE Puyo Puyo, I'll gladly help you out!! This is going to be a very long post, because I really really have a lot to say!! So under the read more:

Personally, game-wise I think for newcomers, Puyo Pop Fever is a fun easy starting point, it's very short and I'd say pretty newcomer friendly!

Puyo Pop Fever (PC) (Abandonware link, go ham)

This game is fairly light on story, however is the start of the Sega era of the franchise, so you could consider it as a soft reboot, very short and fun. It's one of the few games that have an official english version, as half of the franchise is JP only. The game oozes charm!!!

The story mode this game has is basically an arcade mode, Easy mode(Run Run Course) is 3 stages, Normal mode(Waku Waku Course) is 8 Stages, same with Hard mode (Hara Hara Course)

If you're looking to try some of the games that are officially translated, and still up for purchase, Puyo Puyo Tetris is a pretty good place to start!

Puyo Puyo Tetris (PC) - Steam [Also available on Switch and Ps4! That's for the english releases, there's 3DS/WiiU/PSVita versions, but those are JP only]

There's a sale going on, so you can get it for a pretty good price, nice starting point, although if you don't know any character, you might miss what some things mean. GREAT game, pretty fun! A lot longer than Fever as well, story mode is a fun time! (Great with friends!)

Story mode is something you don't have to do on one sitting, it's stage based, so if the arcade-y story mode of Fever is not your thing, then this might be better for you!

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (PC) - Steam [Also available on Switch/PS5/Xbox]

This one is also on sale atm! This one is somewhat of a direct sequel to PPT2, however characters act as if they don't know eachother, plot stuffs. It adds more modes, more characters, more balanced-ish in the Puyo v Tetris matchup, personally play it more than PPT1. Still a great game! (ALSO great with friends!!!) (Basically better than PPT1 but if you care about story do both)

Story mode is stage based once again! Has a bunch of side stuff, pretty fun!

Puyo Puyo Sun (PC) [Abandonware link, go ham]*

This is a fan translation, worth checking out, another fun time with silly character interactions, story mode is arcade-y! Each mode has it's own protag, very fun!!

Puyo Puyo Champions [PC] - Steam [Also available on Switch/PS4]*

This game has No Story Whatsoever, this was originally a game for people to use on tournaments, has a bunch of challenges for single player stuff, basically Puyo reduced to it's bare basics, has only Tsu and Fever as ruleset! It's very cheap. Like, Very Very cheap. It's on sale too, so depends on if you want something just to vibe.

Puyo Puyo Tsu [SNES] - Nintendo Switch Online [Also on many consoles but hey official release for free, technically]

It's not translated, but a very fun game, there's an english patch online if you look for it, I recommend looking for that to enjoy the silly cutscenes, fun game, revolutionary for the Falling Block Puzzle Genre!!!

SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo 2 [Switch]

Thought I'd also add this, it's the same as the previous mentioned, however it's a port of the Arcade version of the game! A nice option tbh!

SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo [Switch]

Similarly to the last one, enhanced port of the original arcade Puyo Puyo 1, it has an english translation too! Much more dificult IMO due to early game weirdness, no offsetting/countering, pieces kinda lock in into rows, a lot of technical stuffs ya know! It's a completely different ruleset and beast tbh

Puyo 1 bonus:

Kirby's Avalanche/Kirby's Ghost Trap [SNES] - Nintendo Switch Online

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine [SEGA Genesis/Megadrive] - Nintendo Switch Online+

These two are just Puyo 1 reskinned for different consoles, so thought I'd add them!!

So, now to get into games that are Not officially translated:

Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary (NDS/Wii/PSP/3DS/PS3) - [English Fan Translation Available for the NDS Version]*

My personal favorite game of the franchise, every character in the roster has their own story mode, lots of unlockables such as music, alt voices, modes, characters. Has a BIG selection of modes and genuinely some of the best features, such as an Endless mode for practicing, that helps you to know where your chain trigger is + how long it'd be, AND let's you rewind time to fix mistakes and such.

Story mode is more arcade-y too, each match on the story allows you to pick what ruleset you want to play, very very comfy! Has a bunch of silly gimmicky modes

It's my favorite game, so so SO good.

There's a fan translation made by @/presicemuseum for the NDS version, worth checking out if you're interested on the stories featured.

Now, quick rundown of what games have fan translations that might be worth checking out as well!!!

Super Nazo Puyo - Rulue's Roux (SNES) : GREAT GAME, focused on a single player experience that's more of solving puzzles, I 100% recommend it. Recent fav tbh.

Puyo Puyo 7 (Wii) : Recently re-translated to have more accurate dialogue, a fun lil game, have to go through it again for funsies! Introduction of the Current(? KINDA?) Puyo protag, Ringo!!

Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary (NDS) : Pretty neat game, fun story and interactions! Similar to 20th with having various different rulesets, def also worth checking out!!!

Puyo Puyo Fever Chu! (PS2) : Partial translation, all of the story modes have been translated, by far one of, if not, the most lore heavy Puyo game, pretty interesting and fun! One of the few games to have the gimmick of being able to use items for matches!

For other fan translated Puyo media, I recommend looking at:

@/Precisemuseum : They have translations for the Light Novels released, as well have been making several patched, some being part of the previously mentioned, definitely worth checking out. They also have a page dedicated to translations made by other people, very useful.

@/primptownlibrary : They also have translations for some of the light novels, worth checking out as well!!! Not as active, but def go take a look

@/nenilein : They have many translations for several Puyo media, such as character profiles, audio dramas, and other info directly related to the series!

Either way, I hope this helps you out!! I am a massive fan of this series and love talking about it, am always here to help and give input o((>ω< ))o

I hope I made enough sense!! English is not my native language so sometimes I might mess up my wording :')

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-Fi prompt from KemiKitty:

id enjoy hearing about concerts and ticket money if you want

Referencing my “how does this make money/how does this lose money” in this post.

Whoo! I actually really enjoy talking about money flow like this. Digging into examples like this helps with understanding the interconnectedness of the economic systems we inhabit, and with why things cost What They Do.

Disclaimer: I have not worked in this industry. I just majored in business, watch a lot of documentaries/video essays, and like to break down business and economic topics. When I got to performances, I try to figure these things out as an observer (dinner theater from watching Lindsey Sterling before she got super famous, more Traditional concerts at Staller Performing Arts center, Broadway shows) and asking questions of tour guides when at places like the Vienna Opera House.

Our Example: A moderately popular performer, in an enclosed performance space with a stage, fixed seating, and food service.

Let us consider a performer of middling popularity. They go on tours, but only in the lower 48 states, not yet internationally. They do single nights at an independent venue, which has either dinner tables or rows of audience seating. Let's say... 350 seats, in a middle-sized city, with $30/ticket on average, with wiggle room depending on seating, VIP passes, and discounts (groupons, senior, military, annual passes, etc).

So, who is getting paid, and who is paying?

Money coming into the venue, tied directly to this one event:

Tickets The people who came to this concert are paying for the tickets. 350 seats, at an average of $30/ticket, that's about $10,500. Most of this money does not go to the venue, but may pass through it, or leave a cut with it. (Depends on the ticketing software; we're saying this is an independent venue, not part of the ticketmaster situation, so it's a maybe.)

Food and drink The venue sells snacks, possibly full meals, if it's a dinner-and-show location. It may sell alcohol. It almost definitely sells drinks, maybe has vending machines if nothing else. If attendees cannot bring their own food and drink, and don't want to leave the building so they don't miss the show, then the venue can mark up the food they sell.

Merchandise Dependent on the type of merch and the venue, this may be a flat fee, where the performer puts down a few hundred dollars up front to set up a table for after the concert, or it might be taking a small cut of whatever is sold that night. They might not charge anything, but we'll include it as a likely avenue of income. I can see some kinder venues waiving the fee for newer, up-and-coming artists, but generally you can assume that the venue will take a cut.

Money flowing out of the venue, tied directly to this one event:

The Performer and their team The ticket costs will go primarily to the performer, their backup dancers/singers/band, their manager, and whatever fund they have for things other than wages, like a tour bus rental fee, the label, the driver, the night's post-concert laundry costs, and so on. The chances of all that money going to a single performer is very low; you can generally assume they have backup, management, additional costs, and someone pulling the strings. There are exceptions, like unaffiliated stand-up comedians or other, genuinely solo acts, but for the type of event I'm outlining, these are all contributing factors. Performers may bring their own lighting/sound techs. The venue also might provide their own. For a larger venue, I'd assume both are involved; one who knows the concert's program, and one who knows the venue's setup.

Venue staff The ushers, lighting/sound technicians, the bar staff, the cook, the janitor, security, and anyone else who is working night-of is getting paid. We can equate their pay to the money coming in from specifically the food and drink sales, along with tips for the waitstaff in particular. By this, I mean that the correlation is such that, should sales fall, the corresponding cut in costs is employee labor (the bar staff and cooks), rather than the performers (whose costs are calculated in relation to the money they bring in relating to the ticket sales).

Food and Drink Raw ingredients for the food, wholesale costs for the liquor, napkins, single-use straws, and so on.

Printed Programs Someone has to print the little booklet that tells you who's performing tonight, who's performing for the next few months, and anything else you need to know. If it's a big-name cultural center, they may even include some interviews! But ink is expensive, and that's a lot of paper.

Money coming into the venue, not connected to the specific event:

Advertising Does the venue have posters around for local businesses? For insurance companies? For upcoming events? Someone is paying them for that. Does the venue intersperse the pre-show music over the speakers with the occasional ad spot? Someone is paying them for that. Does the venue have ads in the program booklet? Someone is paying them for that. For a really, really large venue, the kind with dozens or hundreds of employees and massive lighting/sound setups, they are liable to get most of their income from advertising.

Government Grants and Private Donations Depending on the venue, they may donations or grants. This is more likely to apply to a university/community performing arts center than a for-profit dinner theater, but it's a possibility.

Merchandise The venue may have merch that is unrelated to the performance of the night. A historic or novelty location is most likely to have success with this, selling beer glasses with their logo or a t-shirt with 'home of the [band from several decades ago]' printed across the front.

Money flowing out of the venue, not connected to the specific event:

Administrative/Overhead Employees Management, bookkeeping, legal, marketing, and so on.

Utilities Electricity, water, sewage, gas, telecomm, and so on.

Taxes, Licenses, Fees Sales tax, property tax, liquor license, etc.

Mortgage or lease The venue's business owner is not necessarily the one to own the property outright. They may pay rent to a property owner, or mortgage to the bank.

Maintenance - Building Codes Any large building is going to need plumbers, glass techs, electricians, roofers, and so on coming by with regularity. (This part, I actually do know; I used to do repairs dispatching, and you'd be amazed how frequently a big box store needs someone to come by about the toilets.)

Maintenance - Venue Codes There are certain things that an entertainment venue needs to do that other businesses... don't. Namely, fire safety. It's a huge deal. Staying up to code can be expensive, especially if you need to get your backstage/wing curtains chemically treated again, which can be anywhere from one to five years, or the next time someone spills water on it. (That's the main reason open containers of liquids aren't allowed backstage.)

Marketing Just like people pay the venue to advertise, the venue pays for others to advertise it. This could be in the local newspaper or online, but if a given performer isn't someone semi-famous on tour that has a following, then something else needs to draw in a regular paying crowd.

Miscellaneous Overhead There is a lot of overhead for any business of moderate size that has its costs spread out over the year. This includes hiring an accountant for tax season, purchasing uniforms for employees, replacing cutlery and plates and furniture as it wears out or gets lost, repainting the walls every few years, office supplies when the printer for the programs wears out, and so on.

Is this everything? Almost definitely not.

But, hopefully, I've untangled a few things that you may not have considered before.

Those tickets and drinks you bought cover a lot more than just the performer!

...unless it's through ticketmaster, in which case it's probably just the monopoly.

----

If you enjoyed this post, please support me on ko-fi! You can also prompt me for a business/econ topic of your choice here.

[randrvending]

The Ultimate Vending Adventure: Rowe Machines in the Heart of Las Vegas

R & R Vending is a Las Vegas based full line vending company that provide traditional vending service. We provide snack service, soda service, healthy snacks and hot beverage service  through the use of top brand name commercial vending  machines.  We use the highest quality state-of-the-art vending machines from commercial manufactures like Vendo, Dixie Narco, Royal and Automatic Products.

So, whether you're a local or a visitor, let Rowe Vending Machines be your go-to source for satisfying snacks and refreshing beverages in the entertainment capital of the world.

[the-faramir]

Extinction Curse Session 2024/04/03

Buffy, in her adamantine dragon form, flew the party safely back to Willowside. After they had touched down on the circus grounds, Buffy reverted back to her original vending machine form.

"Well," Midori exclaimed as she pulled out her healer's tools and a roll of silvery adhesive bandages, "let's get to patchin' ev'ryone up." She pulled off a length of bandage with a loud ripping sound.

After Midori had healed the party's wounds, they all slept for the night and then made their daily preparations. The Circus of Wayward Wonders will perform tonight!

Midori left for the town square to advertise and sell tickets. The others ran errands, rehearsed acts, and helped set up for the night.

Ticket sales were brisk, considering the food crisis that enveloped the town. The stands would be full! With their share of tonight's income, the party went shopping.

Midori upgraded her rapier with a Greater Striking rune. The others similarly upgraded their equipment in wake of yesterday's resounding defeat at the hands of the xulgath dinosaur riders. Next time, the party will be better prepared!

Soon, the time arrived for the show to begin! Midori strode out to the center ring in the darkness of the big top, casting the cantrip to project her voice magically and, for good measure, casting another cantrip to provide her with musical accompaniment. The spotlight lit her up and she started her introduction.

"ANNNNNNNNND NOW, because you ignored us as we landed on your shoreline but you let us set up in town anyhow, we present to you the only REAL circus show in the Inner Sea: the CIRCUS OF WAYWARD WONDERS!

"Tonight, we have some special guests. Some VIPs who are visiting from far, far away. I would like to personally welcome them here tonight!

"I'm Midori, your AB-solutely a-DOR-able ringmaster, and I will be—"

A wolf whistle and a "Yow!" from opposite sides of the stands interrupted her monologue.

"Yes, yes, I know ya all love me, but ya gotta stop sendin' me flowers, your hotel keys, and the skulls of my enemies. They won't work. I'm married to the circus!"

Midori's banter elicited some chuckles from the audience.

"So I will be introducing to you all of the exciting, death-defying, mind-warping (did I say exciting?), and thrilling acts that are to come! Just remember, for your safety, to keep your arms and legs close to your bodies, and that the first two rows are the SPASH ZONE! You'll see what I mean when Zookdar performs, so get your complimentary oilcloths ready. They're under your chairs!

"So hold on tightly! Your ticket paid for the whole seat BUT YOU'LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE!!"

The band started up the music and Midori sang:

🎶🎶🎶

Thank you for coming to the grandest show in town,

Where wonders await and smiles replace every frown.

A spectacle of colors, where magic and reality blend,

Axel's birds take flight, with sweets they descend.

The Dwarven Throwers, stout and brave,

They soar through the air, the audience they crave.

Elizia's serpents, a dance so divine,

With Mr. Tickles, they twist and entwine.

Hear the music, feel the beat, in your heart,

Magical Myrrie plays her part, a symphony to start.

The Feather-Fall Five, acrobats so fine,

On trapeze and tightrope their skills will shine

In the center ring, the lights shine bright,

Every act, a story, every performer a sight.

The circus is more than a mere delight,

It's a world of wonder, taking flight.

So gather 'round, the show's about to begin,

The Circus of Wayward Wonders, where dreams spin.

The ringmaster's song, a call to all who hear,

"Come join the wonder, come join the cheer!"

🎶🎶🎶

First came Axel, clad in a black top hat and cape, who performed very well tonight; his birds flew in synchronized formations and successfully delivered small treats to the hungry children in the audience.

Next came The Dwarven Throwers who formed a living ballista and launched each other across the big top.

Then Elizia Pumperknickel and her anaconda, Mr. Tickles, emerged with several dancing snakes.

Magical Myrrie, in a marching band uniform and bare feet, took the center ring, playing music on her flute while a violin and trumpet floated through the air behind her, providing accompaniment.

More and more acts followed, building excitement and anticipation. Before long, the time came for the grand finale. Midori strode to the center ring, her voice amplified and her magical musical accompaniment playing.

"My good beings from Golarion and beyond!" Midori's voice boomed throughout the big top. "I present to you: the grand finale!"

Before the planned act could get underway, however, a loud ripping sound reverberated through the tent. Looking upward, all could see claws slashing through the big top roof! Immediately, winged dinosaurs with xulgath riders burst through.

Through the commotion, some shouts from the crowd stood out: "What are those?" "Quetzalcoatluses!" "Are they real?" "Oh, those are clearly created with illusion magic."

One of the riders, a xulgath herd-tender trained in dinosaur care and riding, lit up a flask of alchemist's fire and threw it at the performers, missing its target but setting fire to the side wall of the tent.

Galon shouted, "To arms! Repel the attackers!" He then activated his flight magic and took to the air to get closer to the flying intruders.

Midori's musical accompaniment changed with her mood into an angry, defiant, metal anthem with guitars and percussion. Her voice continued to boom across the circus tent as she shouted, "Xulgaths? Attackin' us on our own turf? Are we gonna put up with that?"

The circus performers and audience responded as one: "NO!"

Midori then sang to inspire courage in her allies:

🎶🎶🎶

We're not gonna take it!

No, we ain't gonna take it!

We're not gonna take it anymore!

🎶🎶🎶

The crowd cheered! Some in the audience feared for their lives, while others thought the battle was all part of the act.

One of the xulgath riders turned to another and asked in Draconic, "<Why are they singing?>" The other simply shrugged.

Stuck on the ground while all the action was in the air, Midori inhaled deeply and let loose a bone-rattling scream like that of a banshee meant to cause painful vibrations at one of the flying dinosaurs, which swerved out of the way just in the nick of time.

Standing next to Midori, Lysander cast a spell to rip the spirit out of another dinosaur, causing it to screech in pain.

The dinosaurs swooped at the party to attack, but most of the attacks missed. Unfortunately, one flask of alchemist's fire hit Midori, burning her and setting her on fire!

Up in the air, Galon deftly flew up to a dinosaur, unleashing a flurry of blows.

Buffy's metallic voice shouted, "MIDORI, FLY!"

Granted the gift of flight, Midori flew upwards to flank the dinosaur Galon had just attacked, extinguishing the flames that were licking at her jacket in the process. Unnoticed, the stirring of the air currents served to fan the flames that were beginning to take hold in the tent walls.

Again, Midori inspired courage:

🎶🎶🎶

We've got the right to choose, and

There ain't no way we'll lose it

This is our life, this is our song

We'll fight the powers that be, just

Don't pick on our destiny, 'cause

You don't know us, you don't belong

🎶🎶🎶

She followed up with a rapier strike at the dinosaur, landing a blow easily and causing a great deal of damage. "Ha ha! Yeah, take it all, bitch!"

Lysander joined in, gesturing to the audience and singing a lingering composition with a courageous anthem. The audience, taking his cue, started singing along with the chorus.

🎶🎶🎶

We're not gonna take it

No, we ain't gonna take it

We're not gonna take it anymore

🎶🎶🎶

Galon steeled himself, focusing in concentration, shouting louder and louder as his energies built up around him like yellow flames. He released Wronged Monk's Wrath on the flying enemies, burning them and lighting them on fire, eliciting oohs and ahhs from the audience. One dinosaur fell into a heap on the ground with its rider.

"Careful, Galon," Midori protested, "you singed my fur with that one!"

Buffy sent out some soothing magic to Galon and Midori to keep them in the battle.

"Thanks, Buffy!"

Midori continued the song:

🎶🎶🎶

Woah-oh-oh

Woah-oh-oh

We're right (yeah)

We're free (yeah)

We'll fight (yeah)

You'll see (yeah)

🎶🎶🎶

Two more strikes from her rapier, and the dinosaur was down! "That's right! You don't mess with us!"

Buffy changed form into an adamantine dragon, then used her breath weapon to torch dinosaurs and xulgaths alike. The crowd went wild with thunderous applause!

One of the riders pointed at Buffy and shouted in Draconic, "<Take down their support!>"

Two of the dinosaurs swooped down at the automaton, but Lysander jumped in with a martyr's intervention to take the hits instead. However, the effort was not enough as Buffy took enough damage to revert to her original form and shut down.

"Buffy, no!" Galon followed the dinosaurs downward, taking a few bites and slashes in the process, but with another combination of punches, he took out one of the riders.

Midori, noticing that Galon was bleeding much more than he should, pulled a healing potion from her bandolier and flew down to offer it to him. "Comin' to ya with some health, Galon!"

McBuffington, Buffy's faery dragon companion and a much faster flier than Midori, intercepted the potion, flew to the unconscious Buffy, and poured it into her coin slot. The audience laughed at the antics.

As Buffy stood up from the ground,  Midori exclaimed, "What? Automatons can use potions? Sorry, my bad!"

Buffy healed Galon better than the potion would have, but the nearest xulgath put an end to that, quickly knocking her out again.

Pulling together in a final push, the party took out another enemy and fought the last two foes bloody.

As the remaining dinosaur and rider fled, Midori belted out a final verse at them:

🎶🎶🎶

We're not gonna take it (come on!)

No, we ain't gonna take it (you're all worthless and weak)

We're not gonna take it anymore (now drop and give me 20)

🎶🎶🎶

With the attackers gone and the notes of the final verse fading, the remaining audience jumped to their feet, exploding into applause and cheers.

An elf in the stands turned to his partner. "Quite the show! I'll be looking forward to the next performance to see how they top this one!"

His partner replied, "Mm, yes, quite."

Midori ran to Lysander and gave him a victory double-high-five, but just then the big top collapsed around them into a pile of ash and burnt wooden poles. Fortunately, nobody was injured by the debris, but all Midori could do was survey the devastation, her ears twitching and her mouth agape with shock.

Xulgath riders image copyright © 2020 Paizo Inc.

We’re Not Gonna Take It lyrics © Universal Tunes, Snidest Music Co.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Bethy is a member of her school's fuckass competitive marching band. And this damn school is managed by the biggest idiots I've ever heard about so it's just hell.

Listen to the shit day she's gone through. She still isn't back btw.

The driver meant to pick her up for school, gets lost like every damn day and arrive 15-20 minutes late when she should be here before 7, and as a result, gets to the school too late for Bethy to get breakfast.

The cafeteria is only opened 15 minutes before class begins in the morning. Class starts at 7:45 AM. Bethy never gets to school on time.

Bethy has to then sit through a 7-hour school day.

She then has to sit through 4 hours of marching band practice, except for days where they have away-games, in which case it's only 2 hours.

School ended at 3. She had to practice for 2 hours today.

They then get on the busses to a school 2 hours away for a football game.

The adults in charge of this shit show were supposed to stop somewhere to feed the kids before getting there... and didn't, two away-games in a row now. And it's not as if they can bring dinner with them because they don't have lockers at school and have to carry everything around all day long. When it changed administration, the council voted to get rid of lockers cuz it was too much work to assign them and track the locks. No one has the means to travel with food meant to last that long outside a fridge cuz they have to carry all their equipment themselves.

The opposing school didn't have any food or drinks for sale, or even vending machines, so Bethy's gone since lunch without food or drink.

Mom even sent her $10 through PayPal but they don't intend to stop anywhere on the way back apparently. So, Bethy is expected to be back at the school at midnight now, and Dave has to go and get her. And she will have done 12 hours without food or water.

Every time I hear anything about the damn adults in charge if this shit factory I want to scream.

The bitch in the office loses shit all the time. Student brings in a doctor's note? She loses it and just marks them as an unexcused absence. Student needs a replacement charger for their school laptop? She takes the old one and gives them a new one, then loses the old one and claims they have to pay her for it or else. Student needs to leave early for a doctor's appointment? She somehow loses the paperwork the guardian signed in order to take the kid out early and claims the kid was truant. Every damn week it's something new about this bitch and somehow despite all the reports, she's still working there.

Many of the teachers are just fucking assholes and shouldn't be allowed near children. Bethy wears jeans and baggy hoodies and has grown men and women trying to claim she's dressed inappropriately because she has wider hips than her classmates and has a better figure than half of them.

The marching band kids are expected to stay for hours upon hours after school and don't even get something as simple as food. They ain't getting home until 8 or 9 PM half the week but y'all can't feed them. If they don't come with money for the snack machine, they're fucked.

Yet Bethy is so excited to be there and participate.

[snapthistiger]

exercise 07102024

bike ride to work

8 x 10 incline sit ups

3 x 10 pec machine

3 x 10 lat raise

3 x 10 low row

30 minutes on the step mill

3 x 10 cable press

3 x 10 cable row

worked lifeguard job 8a to noon

bike ride to my Mom's, the library, the city business center, Kroger, then home

the gym workers received mini Hershey bars

work was ok. watched swimmers for 2 hours and then cleaning for 2 hours. i picked up work shifts on Thursday and Saturday

visited with my Mom and the sitter and they were doing well. my Mom has recently said she is hearing music when no music is playing

returned 1 book from my Mom and picked up 2 new books for her

payed the utility bill at the city business center

picked up the sale paper at Kroger

top left = competition pool with only 1 swimmer in the left lane

bottom = beautiful clouds and sky

today brought to you by the color blue

hope you have a peaceful afternoon and evening..

[xtruss]

The Talk of the Town: Jackie Robinson’s Second Job

By day, he played second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. By night, he sold televisions in Queens.

— By John Graham and Rex Lardner | Published: January 1, 1950 | September 3, 2023

Jackie Robinson, March 4, 1946. Photograph By Bill Chaplis/Associated Press

On learning that Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ second baseman, is spending Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings each week as a television-set salesman in the Sunset Appliance Store in Rego Park, Queens, we hurried over to the place to see how he is making out. From a talk we had with Joseph Rudnick, president of Sunset, just before Robinson appeared, we learned that he is making out fine. Rudnick, a small, alert-looking man, graying at the temples, whom we found in an office on a balcony at the rear of the store, informed us that the accomplished young man had been working there, on a salary-and-commission basis, for five weeks, and that if he liked, he could work there forever, the year around. “Business booming like wildfire since Jackie came,” Rudnick told us, looking down at a throng milling about among television sets, washing machines, and refrigerators. “Sports fans flocking in here,” he said with satisfaction. “Young persons, curious about the National League’s Most Valuable Player and one of the best base-stealers since Max Carey. Jackie signs baseballs for them and explains about the double steal. Since he’s been here, he’s sold sets to Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson, among others. The newsreel people shot him selling a set to a customer. He’s a natural salesman, with a natural modesty that appeals to buyers. The salesman wrapped up in himself makes a very small package. Campanella, Hodges, and Barney dropped by to wish him luck. Campanella’s his roomy. There’s Jackie now! With his business agent.” Robinson and a bigger, more strapping man with a florid face were making their way along the floor, the big man in the lead. “He’ll be right up,” Rudnick said. “Hangs his coat here. One other thing we do,” he went on, “when a bar buys a television set, we send Gene Stanlee over to the bar—the wrestler. Mr. America.”

Robinson and his manager for radio and television appearances came up, and we were introduced, learning that the latter’s name is Harry Solow. “Jackie don’t have to lay awake nights worrying about his condition, bucking that mob three times a week,” Solow said. Rudnick told us that Solow also manages Joe Franklin and Symphony Sid, and Solow explained that they are radio personalities. “Jackie’s all lined up for his own radio program,” he continued. “He’s mostly interested in boys’ work, though. Spends all his spare time at the Harlem Y.M.C.A.” “How I keep in shape is playing games with kids,” Robinson said in a well-modulated voice. “When I quit baseball, I intend to give it full time.” We learned that the Robinsons have a television set with a sixteen-inch screen and that their only child, three-year-old Jackie, Jr., likes Howdy Doody, Mr. I. Magination, and Farmer Gray better than anything else on video. As Robinson was about to go down to the main floor, it occurred to us to ask him if he’d developed any special sales technique. He looked surprised and replied that he didn’t think so. “If a customer is going to buy a set, he’s going to buy it,” he said philosophically. “You can’t twist his arm.” “On the other hand,” Rudnick observed, “the right angle for a salesman is the try-angle.”

We bade Rudnick and Solow goodbye and followed Robinson downstairs. A short man in a heavy overcoat got him first. He wanted to see a twelve-inch set. “There’s a bunch of them in the basement,” Robinson told him. “All playing at once.” He led the man down to the basement. We followed. It was quite dark there, but we could make out rows and rows of sets and see customers being herded from one model to another by spirited salesmen. Robinson conducted his man to a twelve-inch set, turned it on, adjusted the picture, and in rather a shout, to get his voice above the hubbub of the amplifiers, named the price and outlined the guarantee. “I like it!” the man hollered. “Could my wife work it—all those knobs?” “A child could work it,” said Robinson, and it was a deal. ♦

— Published in the print edition of the January 7, 1950, The New Yorker Issue, with the headline “Success.”