#Seattle's Most Dangerous Tourist

[chronicallyonlinewriter]

screaming into megaphone

GIVE US A TOMMY PHOTO, YOU COWARDS

[afeelgoodblog]

#075 - The Best News of Last Week - February 27, 2023

🐈 - Do you know Gacek, the most famous cat in Poland?

Hey there! It's Erica here, and I'm excited to share with you some of the most uplifting news stories of the week. In a world that can sometimes seem filled with negativity, it's important to focus on the positive and find inspiration in the good things that are happening around us. Let's dive into this week's collection of wholesome news!

1. 8-year-old boy missing from Washington state for 8 months is found in Missouri

A boy who has been missing from Washington state since at least mid-June was found safe in Missouri, the FBI office in Seattle said Tuesday.

Authorities said 8-year-old Breadson John had vanished by June 17, when a welfare check at his home in Vancouver, Washington, just across the state line from Oregon, determined his absence.

2. World’s biggest four-day working week trial hailed a ‘major breakthrough’

The trial of a four-day working week in the UK, the largest of its kind in the world, has been celebrated as a “major breakthrough” after the majority of participating companies announced their intention to continue with the shorter week.

The trial, which ran for six months from June last year, required firms to reduce their working hours for all employees by 20 per cent without any reduction in wages.

At least 56 out of the 61 companies confirmed they will continue with the four-day working week, while 18 of them have made the policy a permanent change.

3. This dying baby turtle survived after drifting 4,000 miles to Ireland

A family strolling on a beach in Ireland earlier this month spotted a seafarer that had washed up on the rocks. Less than a year old, the female loggerhead survived a months-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, teeming with dangers including predators and plastic. Although she was still alive, the turtle was dehydrated, massively underweight.

They called her Cróga, the Irish word for “brave.” After finding Cróga in the northwestern part of Ireland, the family called a few groups that rehabilitate whales and dolphins. There, Cróga’s rehabilitation began.

4. A Hernando toddler found alive after being missing for nearly 24 hours

A 2-year-old boy was lost in the Florida woods for 24 hours. Everyone feared the worst. Hundreds of volunteers came out to look for him.

One volunteer came to a fork in a field: right or left? He trusted his gut, went left and soon heard a whimper. It was the little boy, crying but in good health.

I found something interesting while reading this article: If you are part of a SAR team looking for a child to not only call their name but also that they aren’t in trouble. Young children sometimes hide from potential rescuers because they’re afraid they’ll get in trouble.

5. German man remains free of the HIV virus years after receiving stem cell treatment.

Researchers are announcing that a 53-year-old man in Germany has been cured of HIV.

Referred to as "the Dusseldorf patient" to protect his privacy, researchers said he is the fifth confirmed case of an HIV cure. Although the details of his successful treatment were first announced at a conference in 2019, researchers could not confirm he had been officially cured at that time. Today, researchers announced the Dusseldorf patient still has no detectable virus in his body, even after stopping his HIV medication four years ago.

6. South Korea court recognises same-sex couple rights for first time

A South Korean court has for the first time recognised the rights of a same-sex couple in the country. In a landmark ruling, the Seoul High Court found a government health insurer did owe coverage to the spouse of a customer after the firm withdrew it when it found out the pair were gay.

The men had held a wedding ceremony in 2019, but same-sex marriage is not recognised in South Korea.

Activists say the ruling is a leap forward for LGBT rights in the country.

7. A fat cat has become the top-rated tourist attraction in a Polish city with a perfect 5-star average on Google Maps

A fat black-and-white cat called Gacek has become the top-rated tourist attraction in the Polish city of Szczecin.

Gacek has a perfect five-star rating on Google Maps. His name, pronounced gats-ek, means "long-eared bat" in Polish. Gacek first drew international attention when he appeared in a YouTube documentary in 2020

- - -

That's it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Let's carry the positivity into next week and keep spreading the good news!

[freebooter4ever]

So im still exhausted. I keep making dumb mistakes and doing stupid shit like leaving charging cords at work or at home. My coordination is gone, im tripping and knocking into things. My eyes feel sore??? All i want to do anymore is lie down and try to sleep. :/

I think i was running on pure adrenaline last week...and now that 'panic' mode is done my body is paying me back for all the stress. :( i barely slept the entire time i was traveling, i regularly drove for like 10+ hrs on next to no sleep which...yeah. I know. Dangerous. The constant tension of whether or not snow was going to make my next route passable, and worry over keeping other people's schedules. And then to get to my grandparents house and to find out they're not moving till may and the 'end of march' deadline was an arbitrary schedule that didnt actually matter. Im not mad, i cant be mad at them they're moving which is stress enough, im just...mourning my exhaustion and inability to function lol. Had they let me wait even one more month the snow and the insane storms would have been gone.

Anyway, just thinking about that feeling of 'safety' or 'comfort' and how precious a thing it is for me (and my sleep) . After my anxiety started growing worse it takes a LOT for me to feel 'safe' with someone or somewhere. My italian grandparent's house would be one, nick's sister's house would be another. And then my friends house in the mountains of oregon, who are just the kindest, most generous people. The two nights i spent there were literally the only times i slept last week.

Back in the fall of 2018, six months after grandpa died and still unemployed, i helped grandma travel by train to ohio, flew back to seattle, stayed with sanjeev for a week ish, and then started south to los angeles because i literally couldnt think of anywhere else to go. And these friends in oregon - they were off traveling at the time - let me stay in their house for over a week. I was so scared about the future, i was still grieving and feeling like a total ghost, still processing my dad's very friendly comment (when i asked him why he hadn't offered to let me stay in his house after i flew back from ohio) about how if i couldn't afford to house myself i deserved to be homeless.

(honestly that wasn't even the part that bothered me - i knew that about my dad from the time when i was a kid and he would point out homeless people to me and jokingly say 'that will be you as an artist!'. Instead of instilling fear in me though this backfired and all my charity work in high school dealt with homeless shelters lol. But no, the part that bothered me was how he tacked another comment onto the end - that life 'couldn't go back to how it was'. THAT was when i broke down crying in front of him because i think stupid me still genuinely believed that if i moved back to seattle my dad would go back to being my best friend and it'd be us against the world again.)(i saw him for five minutes in sac last week - he refused to even have lunch with us)

Instead in 2018 i was anchorless, emotionally disconnected from reality, and instead of comdemning me like everybody else in my family, my friends were like 'dont worry about it, the house is empty, please use it.' And i did! I was nervous at first. But then i started exploring the area - went to a bunch of state parks out in the middle of nowhere hidden in the high desert. Ended up LOVING one of them and collected those tacky tourist maps and just scribbled all my observations and tips on the best roads to drive/things to do/see onto the margins. And i collected all the brochures and compiled a kind of guide, and left it on the counter just in case my friends hadn't found that particular area to explore yet. And sure enough, they hadn't! To this day they still talk about how happy they were to have all these suggestions and things to see, and how that particular area is now one of their favorite places to visit. So what im saying is that's the only place i got any rest last week. Also those pancakes. I need to make those pancakes.

Anyway i'm just so fucking tired, man. This is the second 'vacation' where i've come back more exhausted than when i left, i think i need to do something differently. (also fuck you dad, five years in LA and not homeless once)

[naturecoaster]

Lillian Allen: A 1900s Woman of Adventure Who Helped Grow Dade City

Have you ever noticed the “Muller Apartments” on Meridian when driving to Dade City? The architecture is graceful and timeless, part of a contribution of sixty-five structures that were designed and constructed by Lillian L. “Lilly” Sparks Allen, and her second husband, Frank P. Allen. Lilly contributed to the architecture, culture, and hospitality of Dade City, but her story begins with risk, danger, and adventure... Lilly Sparks was born August 16, 1876, to Benjamin and Carrie Sparks in Ashland, Wisconsin. She had nine siblings. One can only speculate on why (and perhaps how) her adventurous family migrated from Wisconsin to Chico, Washington when Lilly was eleven. They platted a homestead and Lilly continued her schooling at the Manette Peninsula School. Getting to School by Guided Canoe The only way to travel to her school was by water so her parents arranged for the grandson of Chief Seattle of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes, Moses, to escort Lilly and her brother to school and back each day by dug-out canoe. On one of their canoe rides home from school, a sudden storm overturned the canoe. Moses was able to save Lilly, but her brother drowned. An example of the dugout canoe that Moses Seattle piloted to take Lillian Sparks Allen and her brother to school in Washington State. Image courtesy of https://depositphotos.com Lilly explained, “I learned many things…that Indians were not savages, and if you shook hands with them and were kind, they would give you baskets, beads, and the most wonderful shells.” At age 22, Lilly married forty-two-year-old James E. “Sam” Crawford in Kitsap County, Washington. From all indications, they had a cohesive and loving marriage, operating an insurance and real estate business. Sam died in 1918 with no other heirs, so Lilly inherited ample property and resources. Lillian Allen Valued Serving Her Community Lillian "Lilly" Sparks Crawford Allen Abrams in 1954. During her marriage to Crawford and after his death, Lilly was also active in local government, serving as the first woman in the state of Washington to hold a public office. She was also the only woman in the Lion’s Club, receiving an honorable lifetime membership due to her assisting a member who was very ill. On May 3, 1920, Lilly married Frank P. Allen, age 48, at the Baptist Parsonage of King County, Washington. They had met from their mutual interests in real estate, and they soon decided to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure by moving to Dade City, Florida. Lilly and Frank Allen moved to Dade City Florida in the early 1920s This second chapter of Lilly’s remarkable life paralleled the huge real estate building frontier in 1920s Florida. Literally traveling from what was then the most northwestern point to the most southeastern portion of the continental United States, the courageous couple began their new life together, creating homes, subdivisions, and even commercial buildings that can be seen in Dade City’s historic downtown today. Lilly and Frank Allen were partners in erecting or remodeling sixty-five buildings in Dade City including the Miller apartments and the Highland’s Motor Company building. The Allen Mill and Lumber Company, Miller Apartments, Allen Subdivision, and Highland's Motor Company were all Built by Lilly and Frank Allen By 1924, the couple opened the Allen Mill and Lumber Company on Fifth Street next to the old ice plant that now houses TECO in Dade City and hosted an open house. Lilly Allen was a qualified bookkeeper and partner, designing some of her own construction projects such as a four-room bungalow. The initial office was at the Allen residence but as their enterprise expanded, the old commissary building of the tourist camp next door, was converted and she served as secretary of the firm. Images courtesy of fivay.org and Gail Stout. Advertisements in the “Dade City Banner” mention that the mill perfected building techniques such as the use of sheetrock, hollow core bricks, and bungalow architectural styles. With what appeared to be incredible luck, they sold the Allen Mill and Lumber Company in 1925 before the real estate bust in 1926 and continued to build houses for a few additional years. “The Miami Herald” reported, “Mr. and Mrs. Frank P. Alen, former owners of the Allen Mill & Lumber Company, a thriving business institution in Dade City, gave a charming farewell banquet to their employees, last Saturday at Frank’s Café in Dade City.” (now Olio’s Restaurant) In 1923, they were in a partnership with R.A. Snyder for real estate in Dade City, and by 1926, Frank formed a real estate partnership with R.H. Sumner entitled “R.H. Sumner-F.P. Allen and did quite a bit of buying, selling, and developing. Lilly Allen and Frank P. Allen divorced in 1930. Frank moved to Pensacola, Florida where he continued as a prolific builder of bungalow-style homes. By 1935, Frank was stricken ill, and moved back to Eugene, Oregon to convalesce. He died on August 23, 1939. The Crescent Theater, which Lilly Allen managed while it added equipment for screening talking pictures! Image courtesy of fivay.org The Dade City Banner did a front-page acknowledgment of Frank Allen’s death on September 8, 1939, stating “Mr. Allen has many friends in Dade City who regret to hear of his death. He was a very prominent citizen during his several years of residence in Dade City.” His design styles still linger, the article said that he (Allen) planned and built 65 houses during 1924 and 1925, as “he was particularly interested in planning houses to conserve space and introduced the style here of built-in features. Several subdivisions in Dade City bear his name…” Lilly remained in Dade City until 1945 and was incredibly active with many aspects of the community while she continued to manage holdings and rentals. She was the president of the Crescent Theater Company on 5th Street, managing it while it was closed for installation of the latest equipment for talking pictures. Lilly Allen was an Entrepreneur and Humanitarian who Contributed to Dade City The Dade City Tourist Booth that Lilly manned to help welcome visitors to the area. Image courtesy of fivay.org Lilly manned the newly built Chamber of Commerce Information Booth on Meridian as the new highways were being built. She was very active with the ‘Good Will and Cooperation Club’ to sponsor social events and assist needy folks. She lobbied for clean-up and housing for the African American community with the Dade City Woman’s Club in 1929, hosting the May Day event that same year, and being active in the Civic League. She was named secretary of the Tourist Club as they advocated for a recreational center. In 1938, she was a board member of the Chamber of Commerce as they worked on how to deal with the problems of wandering cattle in the city during open range. In 1941, she was proposed as a candidate for city commissioner. An active bridge club member, Lilly Allen appears on the registry for social events and was a well-respected citizen and Dade City businesswoman for twenty-five years. Lilly Allen was an incredible entrepreneur, humanitarian, survivor, and even a historian! We sure are grateful for all her contributions to Dade City. Read the full article

[whitepolaris]

Roche Harbor: Company Town

With trees being plentiful in the Pacific Northwest, it's easy to see why most houses built there in the nineteenth century were made of wood. But there are drawbacks to relying on wood for construction: Buildings could be only as high as four stories, and there was always the danger of fire. Several cities that relied heavily on wood alone-including Seattle-would burn down, sometimes more than once.

The alternative construction materials were stone and brick. Stone was easy to find and quarry, and there was plenty of clay to make bricks. But until the late 1800s, the mortar necessary to hold them together had to be imported. Mortar was made from quicklime, created by burning limestone in a very furnace. There were many limestone deposits in Washington, but the only the purest limestone would do, and that was hard to find.

Prospectors found small but pure limestone deposits in 1881, and in 1886 John McMillin formed the Tacoma and Roche Harbor Lime Company on vast limestone deposits found at Roche Harbor. A company town grew up around the lime plant; it had its own school, stores, housing, and utilities. Like most company towns, it paid its workers in scrip instead of money, but unlike in other company towns, the company kept prices in its stores down by buying in bulk and passing the savings on to the workers. Company housing was also a step above what other workers could afford in Seattle.

When the line deposits ran out, the Tacoma and Roche Harbor Lime Company ceased operation and the main reason for Roche Harbor's existence went away too. Underbrush and trees grew over the remains of the warehouses, and the docks were torn down or left to rot. All that was left was several kilns, loading docks, and the rotting Roche Harbor wharves.

In 1957, the Tarte family bought the property, rebuilt some of the wharves, and reopened the place as the Roche Harbor & Resort. In the last decade, Roche Harbor has undergone many changes, becoming a stopover for yacht owners and summer tourists. In 2007, the Roche Harbor Resort continues to make improvements around the remnants of the old lime works. Today you can get a map of the historic village at the front desk of the Hotel de Haro and conduct your own walking tour of the area.

[elopez7228]

Scenic Route 24/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774 

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

Gripping the steering wheel, Syed inhaled deeply. Her heart was beating wildly out of pace.

I only did my duty she repeated to herself—her new mantra. Kylo was getting sloppy and it was my duty to alert Snoke.

She wondered how she was going to explain herself, to convince the others. It had been six years since she joined the Knights of Ren: Skylar, Saul, Shakti, Kelsi, and Tyra.

They were more than colleagues, more than friends. They were almost like brothers and sisters, with their conflicts, their arguments, their crazy pranks,  their terrifyingly close calls, and—if she was being honest—the occasional make out session.

Above all, they had one constant rule: Kylo Ren was their leader and they would sacrifice everything for him if needed.

It's not betrayal. I’m doing my duty. It was him, Kylo Ren, who was betraying his mentor and his mission. He put FORCE in danger for a pair of pretty eyes.

He had always been overly impulsive and capricious. Syed admired that, most of the time. They were alike in that regard. They loved passionately, hated passionately, and they lived without compromise. It was all or nothing. But this time, Kylo has gone too far.

As for herself, now that she had dared to contact Hux directly, she could no longer go back. She had crossed the point of return. Kylo Ren would suffer for his choices at Snoke’s hand, he would be humiliated...and then? Then he would shred her to pieces. He had underestimated the consequences of his actions, but she would not commit the same mistake. He would kill her. Or would have her killed.

By taking a stand against him, she had just lost the right to peace of mind. He could spend every day and night getting revenge...unless she acted first. Trying not to panic, she calmed herself enough to unlock her phone.

*

Rey gripped the leash tightly, for fear of losing BB8 as she navigated the pre-marked trails. On the other end, BB8 trotted along happily, wagging her tail with excitement.

Mammoth was an absolute tourist trap, full of geysers more than anything else. Rey had become accustomed to seeing them within the park, but they were still geological marvels in their own right, a fascinating spectacle of hot water cascading against a bed of immaculately calcified rock to form an overflowing basin. Rey took a few photos while Maz stepped aside to take an incoming call. When she returned, Rey was sure that something was wrong as soon as she saw Maz’s concerned expression.

“Rey, I just received a call from a fellow hitchhiker who is willing to split a ride with me. I’d posted a request on a travel forum online.”

“Okay?” Rey nodded, unsure of what she was asking for.

“They’re going all the way from Bozeman to Seattle but they leave tomorrow morning.”

“Oh...” Rey’s face fell even as she tried to understand. “Is this good news or bad news, then?”

“Well,” Maz sighed, a hint of embarrassment in her voice, “it’s good news for me, I’ll be able to go almost all the way up to the Canadian border. But as for the concert...”

“Oh?” Rey managed, her vocabulary coming up a bit short. “You’re going to have to leave me already...”

“It’s alright, Rey, don’t worry. I can refuse the ride. We can go to the concert together, I can see it’s very important to you.”

Rey shook her head, forcing herself to smile. “No, Maz, you have to make it to that car. Life on the road is unpredictable and you can’t afford to pass up a good opportunity like this.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” Rey said as firmly as she could, “you need to get to Bozeman and I can take you there.”

Maz opened her mouth to refuse but Rey interjected. “Come on, I insist. It’s not like I have anything better to do. I would rather not walk around alone for the rest of the day. You need be in Bozeman tomorrow morning so it’s best if we leave now and spend the night there.”

In the end, they finished walking along the marked trail before finding their way back to the Falcon.

Rey froze in her tracks as soon as they arrived. There it was again, the same charcoal grey SUV she had seen next to the river, now sitting motionless in the visitor parking.

It could have been mere coincidence. After all, weren’t there plenty of high-end vehicles out here in the park? Only one way to find out.

Syed jumped when Rey knocked on the driver-side window, eyes widening  in surprise when she recognized the face on the other side. But she quickly schooled her features into a more neutral expression.

“Hello, Rey. Having fun?”

Rey offered no greeting in return.

“Are you following me?” she demanded instead, staring the other woman down with flinty eyes.

It would have been a ridiculous question, even a paranoid one, had it not been the case. Syed seemed taken aback.

“Following you? What for?”

“You tell me. I saw your car at the river, and I told myself it looked familiar but it was probably a coincidence. But you were at Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring too, weren’t you? Either this is an incredible coincidence or you’ve been chasing me. So you tell me why.”

“Yellowstone is always worth the trip,” Syed hissed through gritted teeth. “You think I came all the way out here just because of you?”

Rey crossed her arms.

“Oh, really? You had a concert yesterday. Did you really ditch your job to come play tourist?”

“It’s a free country, I can go wherever I please. Kylo didn’t need me for a while so I took the day off.”

“Did he put you up to this?”

Syed paused to take a breath. She’d been caught red-handed, her cover blown and her mission compromised. But the tables had turned too, she was no longer on Kylo’s side even though Rey was still the target. She had to handle this carefully...no use in hiding, Rey was on to her. It was time to switch to subtler tactics.

“Okay, fine. Look, Kylo was worried about you.” She admitted, sounding sincerely embarrassed even to her own ears. “You told him a woman was following you and trying to steal your car. He just wanted to make sure nothing happened to you, that’s all.”

At that, Rey’s arms fell limply to her sides. She had been expecting more denial, or a fight, really anything but this kind of sincerity.

“No...but, I—“ she stammered, “that—that’s not a reason!”

Sensing her weakness, Syed played the ultimate card...by saying exactly nothing. She pursed her lips and gave Rey a chagrined look, wordlessly conveying the misfortune of the unintended situation in her had found themselves in.

Rey was speechless. She didn’t khnow whether to be furious or grateful. Was he really tracking her to keep her safe? Wasn’t she the one who asked for help—could she really blame him for this? She really didn’t know.

Maz placed a gentle hand on her arm. “Rey,” she sighed, “we really have to get going. Come, let’s go.”

She led Rey a little further away before turning to wave Syed off. “Sorry about the misunderstanding. Give our regards to Ben, won’t you? Bye!”

Syed watched them walk away with a polite smile on her face, before suddenly  collapsing into a boneless heap at the steering wheel. She buried her face in her hands and rerouted into nervous laughter.

Fuck. She’d come within inches of an outright disaster. Her whole plan was ruined, not that it mattered now. She had bigger things at stake. If she could give Snoke what he wanted, to hell with the other FORCE agents. She could become the new master of the Knights of Ren. She would recruit new members and start over. No way she would trust anyone who had been loyal to Kylo. All of them were unpredictable...she wouldn’t spend every waking hour of the next few years wondering which one of them would betray her next.

She was so heartbroken that she lost the battle with the bile rising in her throat. She got out of the car to throw up.

Why was she like this, wasn’t this what she wanted? Why was she cracking under the pressure now, when she had been through worse before?

Rhetorical questions. She knew exactly why. She knew that by actively going against Kylo’s orders like this that they would be through. Everything would be lost, their history, their connection, their respect. It didn’t matter how strong it had gotten over the years. After this betrayal, he would look at her only in disdain.

He wouldn’t love her anymore. The would only be hate.

Syed leaned against the car for support as another wave of nausea overtook her.

Fortunately, Rey and her companion saw nothing of this as Maz continued to lead the way to the Millenium Falcon, far from the SUV and its owner.

“Rey,” Maz began, “I don’t know what’s going on between you and this Ben, Kylo, or whatever his name is. Did someone really try to steal your car?”

“Yes,” Rey nodded. “It’s true.” And Ben asking Syed to keep an eye on her was likely the truth as well. Wasn’t she the one who called him in the middle of the night from a campsite, demanding his protection? Could she really fault him for taking it so seriously?  

Maz looked up at her with a worried expression. “I wish I could tell you that I would join you for the concert after what just happened...it’s a tough call to leave you with such an eccentric man involved. But I think I would be the last person you need if you really want to get through this.”

Rey cocked her head to one side in confusion.

“Listen,” Maz said in a serious tone, all traces of a smile gone from her face. She straightened to her full height as she continued. “You’re not a damsel in distress. You don’t need a strong man to protect you, or some sort of fairy godmother. Get out of that mindset. You are strong and brave in your own right. You’ve travelled all this way alone and you’ve even faced a bear alone. You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone.”

“But I—“ Rey began before Maz interrupted her again. “You’re feeling fragile because of the emotional trauma you’ve endured. That’s normal. It’s perfectly natural to want to be comforted, to be reassured, after what happened to you. But that’s no reason to fall for the first man who is interested. If you want someone, stay with them because you want them, not because you need them. Do you understand?”

Rey pursed her lips. It was an awkward conversation to have. She felt like Maz was undressing her somehow, seeing past her paper-thin defenses, straight into her soul, and laying bare the years of lies and self-persuasion. She hated this. Being drilled into and cracked open, being hit exactly where it hurt. She acquiesced, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Don’t make any rash decisions.” Maz continued still. “Don’t hang on to people like lifelines. That makes you dependent. Dependence leads to an unbalanced relationship. What Ben did to you, having you followed without your consent, was to put you in a gilded cage. And you played the part of the princess in need. That’s not a relationship. You deserve better than that, Rey.”

“What am I supposed to do then?” Asked Rey, her voice on the verge of breaking.

“It’s not my place to tell you. Listen to your heart. Decide for yourself what is important, what is necessary or tolerable, or not tolerable at all. And then make a decision. Act on it, and move forward.”

Sensing her friend’s unhappiness, BB8 leapt up onto her hind legs, nuzzling Rey’s leg and begging to be cuddled. It made Rey smile, despite her tears.

“An unhappy princess, a crazy adventure, an adorable sidekick...it’s all here. I guess that makes you my fairy godmother, doesn’t  it?”

Maz rolled her eyes. “Very well,” she said, holding her hands out as if to cast a magic spell, “by the powers vested in me as you fairy godmother,” she intoned solemnly, “I hereby declare you, Rey Jakku, free of your own personal prison! You may dance and shout “fuck” all night if you want to, amen.”

She didn’t know if it was the magic spell or the power of self-determination, but suddenly Rey felt a million times lighter. She couldn’t help laughing. Once again, this strange little woman had hurt her in the best way, tearing her false hopes and convictions into shreds in order to face the unknown. But she was right. Rey didn’t owe anything to anyone. Who was she afraid of displeasing now tat she no longer fit the description of the pretty little city girl she had built up for herself? It was her choice.

As for Ben Solo, what he want from her? What did he think she could bring him? If he thought she was just a fragile plaything, he was sorely mistaken.

And as for the concert...she would see.

“All aboard!” Rey announced as she carried BB8 to the back seat. “We have two hours to get to Bozeman and that’ll give us just enough time to look for a place to stay tonight.”

“I know the perfect motel,” Maz agreed. “My treat. I know this detour is for me ans it’s the least I can do. How about a real mattress, and a real shower with quality shampoo? How does that sound?”

That sounded amazing.

The Millenium Falcon soared past the northern entrance of the park, merging onto I-89 towards Bozeman.

Rey searched for Syed’s SUV in the rear view mirror, but it never appeared.

Was she finally free?

[jacquelinep21]

(I wrote this email to my grandmother, aunt, and uncle last week and felt pretty good with how it turned out so decided to publish it here.) 

Friday, May 1st, 2020

Coucou !

I’ve been wanting to write you for a while now, I even started a draft and wrote about ¾’s of it, had to stop to make dinner, and then never finished it. Maybe I was overthinking how I wanted to get the writing perfect when I should’ve just sent something to say hello, give you an update, and check-in that all was well with you. Mieux vaut tard que jamais.

How to describe everything and nothing that has happened since mid-March? Both on a personal level and on a “what’s the situation in France” level?

Personally, I’ve been cooking, both familiar recipes, and trying new ones such as Chickpea Curry, Mushroom-Stuffed Eggplant, One-Pan Wine Braised Chicken with Artichoke Hearts, Shakshuka, Spanish Tortilla, Roasted Red Pepper Cheese Toast, Peanut Butter Chile Sauce drizzled over broccoli and rice, Butternut Squash & Shallot Hash w/Poached Eggs, and a couple others. Let me admit, some were successes, others...will have to be adjusted and reattempted. Not to mention there are days when not having a dishwasher gets to be exhausting.

I still have multiple school projects that I have been working on, both group and individual. My classes were already supposed to end mid-April even before this all started, so it didn’t change much and most classes didn’t have any online classes, as the projects were more important and already put in place. I have three more to turn in before grades are due mid-May, and now the first part of my thesis is due one month later, at the end of June. Productivity has been difficult, as there are days that I feel like I need to do things for me, rather than sitting on my computer switching between reading the news and trying to do school work, but I’ve gotten a little better at it. My job, checking guests into apartments, and working in the office, is obviously non-existent, and likely will be until at least September, but because of the government's chômage partiel or temporary/partial unemployment of over 10 million people in France, I’m still getting 90% of my salary, which I am very thankful for.

What I have been doing for pleasure these days is listening to podcasts, my favorite being Spilled Milk, which I discovered in September when I was doing the grape harvest, a comedy show about food recorded in Seattle. I was taking a photograph or two a day with my dad’s 1984 Minolta 35mm film camera but ran out of film and can’t find a viable way to get more. I’ve been reading every day, finished two books so far, and have started a third. We’ve been watching movies and TV shows, such as Breaking Bad, the Jason Bourne trilogies, Charade, Star Wars, and others I’ve put off watching until now. Something I never thought I would do was a virtual dance/fitness classes but they have been a great source of dopamine and just physical movement. There are also weekly video chats with either Benjamin or I’s friends, which has been especially nice when we can reunite multiple time zones all in one call. My friend that works at Politico’s audio department asked if I’d be interested in recording an audio-diary twice a week as part of a project they’re working on of different people’s experiences during lockdown so I’ve been contributing to that (though not sure what’s become of the project so far). The most coincidental thing that has happened to me during confinement is changing the channel on the TV maybe the second week into the lockdown, as the Prime Minister’s press conference was ending (otherwise we hardly ever watch the TV), to a different channel only to see someone that looked vaguely familiar, and then see the street we live on. We soon figured out the people across the street we had seen filming once or twice were making a documentary on the lockdown. I contacted them after we finished watching the episode and they asked if I was interested in being interviewed. So that happened, haha. I don’t believe it’s possible to stream the episode outside of Europe so I’ve included the video here, it’s in English.

There are of course the daily musings outside the window to see what the neighbors across the street are doing or what is happening on the street below. Avenue de Saint-Ouen has calmed since this all began but it still is busier than I would’ve expected, both with cars and people, not resembling photos you may have seen of an eerily empty Paris. Sundays are the exception, when I can almost clearly hear what someone is saying on their balcony across the way, where the joggers' loud steps hitting the pavement echoes as they try to reach home before their 10am curfew, and the church bells ring telling us the time. The typical characters I can see on their balconies every day include the bald man that drinks his cup of coffee while smoking his morning cigarette, the retired man on the top floor that tends to his potted herbs that dangle over the balcony railing, or his neighbors that have two young boys that run back and forth. The weather has been clearer than any Parisian spring I’ve seen and the temperatures even got to the high 70’s last week but have now dropped and the clouds are back. We are allowed to walk for up to one hour within a 1km radius of our address, as long as we have a form, now available to download on our phones, filled out, otherwise there can be fines, though I have only seen police officers stop people twice.

So what is the situation in France right now? As of Thursday night, 24,376 people have died from Covid-19 in France, 26,283 people are currently hospitalized (551 less than the day before) and 4,019 are in the ICU (188 less than the day before). On May 11th, the lockdown will be lifted to a certain extent, but many restrictions will still be in place. Starting May 7th each département, kind of like a county, will either be classified red or green, depending on multiple factors, and this can change the severity of the rules after May 11th. Preschools, elementary schools, and daycares can reopen, on a voluntary basis by each family, so those in need that cannot do online learning and depend on the meals can return to school under certain hygiene measures. Public transportation will increase slightly but not back to the normal frequency, masks will be obligatory, every other seat must be left empty, employeurs are encouraged the adjust hours of employees that have to return to work to avoid rush hour, and that those not commuting to and from work should avoid public transportation during these hours. We will be able to leave the house without filling out a form, as long as it’s less than 100km from our address. Farther than this (62 miles) we will need to have a legitimate reason, such as professional or imperative family needs. No meetings, private or public, of more than ten people. Individual sports any time of day (currently in Paris jogging isn’t permitted between 10am and 7pm) but no team sports. Libraries and small museums may reopen while abiding by hygiene procedures. Parks may reopen but if considered dangerous, such as in Paris, they may remain closed. Most businesses can reopen, except restaurants, bars, cafés, large museums, movie theaters, concert venues, or theaters, while controlling the number of people in the business and customers may be turned away if they aren’t wearing a mask. Farmers markets may reopen as well. Malls may or may not reopen, depending on their size. Working from home is still strongly encouraged. The government hopes to test 700,000 people a week, though who can get tested isn’t clear. If you test positive you must self isolate for 14 days either at your residence or an allocated hotel, and teams of people will attempt to get in contact with those who may have been infected by said persons to get tested. An app is also in development to track this but is also highly controversial and will have to be voted on by parliament. Masks will be distributed by employeurs, by schools, to nonprofits for those in need, social action centers, and La Poste has set up a website where they can be bought, the government paying for part of the costs. The second phase in which things could change is June 2nd.

Voilà, I think that’s everything. I would love to hear from you when you can write back. Miss you and thinking of you.

Love,

Melissa

P.S. Some recent Articles/Blogs/Newsletters/Podcasts that are Paris related:

David Lebovitz's May 2020 Newsletter

When Cookies Fly and Other Tales of Staying Entertained During Quarantine

Lettre Recommandé: Notes from France by Lauren Collins

Podcast: Documenting confinement in Paris, checking in with the French psyche, May Day history (interview with the couple making the documentary that I was featured in briefly among other interesting things.)

The New Paris Podcast: Paris in Confinement

The Earful Tower Podcast: What does Paris look like in lockdown? (he has recorded several episodes about what has been going on, this is just a more recent one, light-hearted)

The Street That Still Offers Paris Hope

Denuded of Tourists, Paris Reveals Its Old Beating Heart

France 24's English Coverage of the France Lockdown (a great news outlet in English with a more French perspective of whats going on in France with articles and videos)

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Arctic records its hottest temperature ever (CBS News) Alarming heat scorched Siberia on Saturday as the small town of Verkhoyansk (67.5°N latitude) reached 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 32 degrees above the normal high temperature. If verified, this is likely the hottest temperature ever recorded in Siberia and also the hottest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle. The town is 3,000 miles east of Moscow and further north than even Fairbanks, Alaska. On Friday, the city of Caribou, Maine, tied an all-time record at 96 degrees Fahrenheit and was once again well into the 90s on Saturday. To put this into perspective, the city of Miami, Florida, has only reached 100 degrees one time since the city began keeping temperature records in 1896. Verkhoyansk is typically one of the coldest spots on Earth. This past November, the area reached nearly 60 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.

‘A new and dangerous phase’ for the coronavirus? (NYT) The coronavirus pandemic is entering “a new and dangerous phase,” a top official at the World Health Organization warned. A virus once defined by shifting epicenters is now distinguished by wide and expanding scope: Eighty-one countries have seen a growth in new cases over the past two weeks. Only 36 have seen declines. Beijing and Seoul have had a recent surge; in Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arizona, daily counts of new cases reached their highest levels so far of the pandemic this week. Texas has seen confirmed cases double in the past month. Some businesses are now readjusting their reopening plans.

Injuries at protests draw scrutiny to use of police weaponry (AP) In law enforcement, they’re referred to as “nonlethal” tools for dealing with demonstrations that turn unruly: rubber bullets, pepper spray, batons, flash-bangs. Protesters in Denver arrived at the hospital with injuries from police projectiles that caused one person to lose an eye and left three other people with permanent eye damage, said Prem Subramanian, a physician who operated on some victims following demonstrations late last month. “They weren’t accused of any crime, and they came in with devastating eye injuries,” Subramanian said, adding that he was so upset about it that he complained to city officials, who promised to investigate any abuses. “We’re learning the consequences of using these weapons.” He said the injuries rivaled what he saw treating shrapnel damage to eyes of soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center who were injured by explosives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rubber bullets and similar projectiles have damaged eyes or blinded at least 20 individuals from ages 16 to 59, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, since protests began over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Statues toppled throughout US in protests against racism (AP) Protesters tore down more statues across the United States, expanding the razing in a San Francisco park to the writer of America’s national anthem and the general who won the country’s Civil War that ended widespread slavery. In Seattle, pre-dawn violence erupted Saturday in a protest zone largely abandoned by police, where one person was fatally shot and another critically injured. On the East Coast, more statues honoring Confederates who tried to break away from the United States more than 150 years ago were toppled. The statues are falling amid continuing anti-racism demonstrations following the May 25 police killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, the African American man who died after a white police officers pressed his knee on his neck and whose death galvanized protesters around the globe to rally against police brutality and racism.

End of Venezuela’s Oil Fortune Looms Over Maduro’s Regime (Bloomberg) Oil revenue, the financial lifeline of Venezuela, is quickly drying up, adding to the growing instability of Nicolas Maduro’s embattled regime. Crude exports that once accounted for 95% of foreign currency inflow to the country tumbled by almost half this month, after hitting a 73-year low in May. The plunge comes as U.S. sanctions continue to target Venezuela, home of the world’s largest oil reserves. Maduro’s regime is already plagued by a humanitarian crisis aggravated by the global pandemic that’s sapping domestic demand for fuels. There’s only one more oil tanker expected to load for the remaining 12 days of the month, documents show. Venezuela used to load two vessels per day two years ago before financial sanctions were imposed. Oil storage tanks in the country are nearly full, forcing operators to shut in production to levels not seen since the end of the Second World War. It’s next to impossible to sell crude to foreign buyers with most oil vessels booked to export crude forced to cancel due to the Trump administration’s sanctions.

Latin America’s Virus Villains (NYT) Of all the schemes that have siphoned resources from Latin American countries fighting the coronavirus, the body bag conspiracy might be the most brazen. Last month, prosecutors in Ecuador announced they had identified a criminal ring that had colluded with health officials to win a contract selling body bags to hospitals at 13 times the real price. Then one of the men implicated, Daniel Salcedo, fled Ecuador in a small plane that crashed in Peru. Mr. Salcedo is now recovering in the custody of the Ecuador police. Even as Latin America has emerged as an epicenter of the pandemic, with deaths and infections soaring, efforts to contain the crisis have been undermined by a litany of corruption scandals. Dozens of public officials and local entrepreneurs stand accused of exploiting the crisis for personal enrichment by peddling influence to price-gouge hospitals and governments for medical supplies, including masks, sanitizer and ventilators. Some of the gear was so flawed that it was rendered useless—and may have contributed to even more sickness and death. Investigations into fraud have reached the highest levels of government. The former Bolivian health minister is under house arrest awaiting trial on corruption charges after the ministry paid an intermediary millions more than the going rate for 170 ventilators—which didn’t even work properly.

Greece extends lockdown of refugee camps as it allows tourists to return (Washington Post) Tourists from many countries can now roam free in Greece. But Saturday, the government extended a lockdown of the country’s refugee camps until early July—a move it said is necessary to keep the overcrowded accommodations virus-free. Refugee advocates have criticized the restrictions, extended on World Refugee Day, as an erosion of rights and the wrong approach to keeping people safe. Over 32,000 refugees are housed on Greek islands in accommodations originally built for less than one-fifth the current number of occupants. Thousands more are housed on the mainland. Greek authorities have been moving some asylum seekers out of the island camps and into the mainland facilities but are also ordering out around 11,000 refugees already in the temporary accommodations, leaving thousands on the brink of homelessness amid a pandemic.

India reports record rise in coronavirus cases; Delhi cancels all medical staff leave (Reuters) India reported a record jump in coronavirus infections on Saturday, a day after the government in the capital New Delhi ordered hospitals to cancel any leave and have workers return to duty immediately. India saw an increase of 14,516 COVID-19 cases, the health ministry said, taking the total to 395,047 with 12,948 deaths. A number of countries continue to evacuate their citizens from India, amid concerns hospitals in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai may be overwhelmed. Ireland became the latest country to warn its citizens that medical assistance may become difficult with India’s sharp spike in cases and urged them to consider making use of a series of evacuation flights in the next few weeks.

China claims valley where Indian, Chinese soldiers brawled (AP) China said the Galwan Valley high up in the Himalayan border region where Chinese and Indian troops engaged in a deadly brawl this week falls entirely within China, boldly renewing claims on the disputed area as the Asian giants continued using military and diplomatic channels to try to reduce tensions on Saturday. The confrontation in the Galwan Valley, part of the disputed Ladakh region along the Himalayan frontier, was the deadliest between the two countries in 45 years. India blames China for instigating the fight by developing infrastructure in the valley, which it said was a breach of the agreement of what area remained in dispute. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman blamed incursions by Indian troops in the area from early May for a midnight clash on Monday that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. China has not said whether it suffered any casualties.

Trying to beat back coronavirus, New Zealand locks out foreign workers (Washington Post) Jeus Joaquin helped New Zealand beat back the coronavirus as the nation’s confirmed cases gradually fell to zero in May. During New Zealand’s 49-day lockdown, the 34-year-old emergency department nurse treated covid-19 patients at Thames Hospital, on the country’s North Island. Essential workers such as him were lauded as heroes as New Zealand’s international prestige soared. But the win against the virus came at a cost, and Joaquin is among those paying it. His wife and two toddlers are stuck in the Philippines, where the family is from. They are among an estimated 10,000 foreign workers and family members of citizens and permanent residents who were blocked from returning to New Zealand when the country closed its border. It’s now extremely difficult for anyone but a New Zealand citizen—and a few select foreigners—to get into the country, despite the government’s pledges to assist families locked out.

Egypt has a legitimate right to intervene in Libya, Sisi says (Reuters) Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday said his country has a legitimate right to intervene in neighbouring Libya and ordered his army to be ready to carry out any mission outside the country, if necessary.

[paullicino]

Point Roberts

Taken from and generously funded by my Patreon.

“Who else is doing a landing?” asked the customs officer. Someone put their hand up as well as me. Someone else had just had their documents completed. Another person responded affirmatively to every single question asked, including the one about landing, because she was either confused or just wanted to beat the queue.

There wasn’t much of a queue to beat. The waiting room of the border crossing was the size of a living room. On the other side of a broad counter, half a dozen Canadian immigration officers sat around desks, quietly typing away as if they were doing any other job in the world.

* * *

A landing is a formal arrival in Canada. It marks your change of immigration status. Of course, to arrive in Canada, a person must first be outside of Canada. Fortunately, even though Canada is the second-largest country in the world, I was pretty near the edge of it.

I was near a  very weird edge of it.

But before I tell you about Point Roberts, I should probably tell you about the corner of British Columbia called the Lower Mainland. Vancouver and its surrounding settlements are all within twenty miles of the United States, making a trip to a different country a very quick, even spontaneous affair. If you’re a Canadian, you can even cross this border without being photographed, fingerprinted or interviewed. Then, suddenly, you’re in the land of Different.

And the land of Different presents all sorts of possibilities, possibilities with substantial economic considerations. Gasoline is much cheaper. Electronics often are, too. International shipping and distribution are no longer relevant, as you become the importer of your own goods. And, in Washington State, firearms are readily available and long guns can be bought by American citizens without need of any permit, or by “non-immigrant aliens” if they spend a hundred and fifty dollars getting a state ID, a hunting license and an Alien Firearms License.

If I stayed in Washington State and got those documents could buy this Barratt rifle that takes bullets half an inch in diameter and which can hit targets almost two miles away. I just called the gun shop to check. They said yes.

The economic pull of the United States pulls Lower Mainlanders south a lot. They order packages to special shipping centers just across the border, then rush back with them. They fill up their cars. They head to shopping malls and department stores. They find everything that’s Different.

This can sometimes create weird problems for distribution. Why even bother to try to sell your product in the Lower Mainland when so many of the customers there are going to come to your country to get it? Why even ship it?

Americans are  pulled the other way by the relative strength of their dollar. Right now, those dollars stretch 33% further. They drive up to eat, to camp, to study and to buy medications, including insulin. For someone in Seattle, it’s an easy day trip. For someone closer, it’s barely an afternoon.

As a European, I know that there’s a different version of this strange symbiosis in so many places. Scandinavia has its jokes about who is buying alcohol from which country. British travellers head to France for cheap wine and cigarettes. Italy and France... argue about fashion.

Weird things happen at borders. Weird things. It’s a weird thing to divide the world so arbitrarily and it creates weird behaviours. You walk a short distance and reality is suddenly different. Or you are different. Or both.

* * *

All this contributes to Point Roberts being a weird, weird corner of the world. History is geography, particularly if Britain is involved and, in a classically British move, the Oregon Treaty of 1846 drew a big and broad line across western North America at the 49th Parallel. It divided the continent between the UK and the US. Broad strokes are rarely wise and not only were there some subsequent arguments over who owned which islands (during which a pig was tragically killed), there was also the issue of a piece of land two miles long, jutting south out of Canada.

It’s ours, said the United States. We’re keeping it. They filled it up with soldiers and it became a stopping-off point for travellers headed elsewhere. It would be a little over fifty years before settlers had permission to make their homes there and then the 20th Century would see a gradual influx of immigrants from… Canada.

Point Roberts is full of Canadians. Not completely, but significantly. They own holiday homes. They own boats. They are visiting to collect packages. They are visiting to buy gasoline. They are visiting for the summer. Meanwhile, the Americans there have no hospital, no dentist, no public transport and no high school. They have a lighthouse. They have an airfield. They have a single border crossing through which all traffic must come and go. They assume you’ll have a car.

I walked across it, but not before a man on a bicycle beat me to it, pedalling off into the United States to never be seen again. A sign told pedestrians to follow little painted footprints up to an office door and a man inside asked why I was visiting his country. I had to tell him that I wasn’t and to kick me out.

* * *

Flagpoling is the act of leaving Canada and returning to validate a new visa or, in my case, Permanent Residence documents. I could, in theory, also book an appointment somewhere in Canada to validate my documents but the waiting time for this is long and if you want to be seen within sixty days you must classify as urgent.

People flagpole at the US border all the time. They flagpole at Peace Arch, the fancy monument between British Columbia and Washington. They flagpole at Niagara Falls. They flagpole at Lewiston, Ontario or Sault Ste Marie.

The thing is, all those border crossings are busy. They’re full of tourists and travellers and guards and security. In Point Roberts, one bored man in an office stamped my passport, gave it back to me and told me to walk back around the small building he worked in to the other small building that the Canadians worked in. His colleagues talked about a party that was happening later.

I looked south. A long, bare road ran all the way down to the sea. There were no barriers anywhere. I could just… walk off. The man continued to be bored. Do you need to escort me, I asked him?

“Do you need to be escorted?” he asked. “Are you a danger?”

I walked out. I was in the United States and there was nothing between me and the rest of it. There was, I guess, a chance for the bored man to pursue me if I dashed south. There was also only two miles of land for me to flee too. The range of a high caliber rifle round.

There were hardly any cars. There were hardly any people. There was hardly any anything, just like there never has been.

* * *

I re-entered the United States later that day and I can tell you that Point Roberts has a thousand residents, three places to eat, a couple of gas stations, no sidewalks and a shitty fisherman statue that looks like a budget Gandalf. Most license plates I saw were Canadian. The most developed and impressive structure is a marina. There were hardly any shops. There were hardly any facilities. There was hardly any anything, not even that cyclist, just roads leading into trees and quiet, sleeping houses.

A few more of those are being built. I bet they’ll be sold to Canadians.

While I was there, the sun went down. It plunged into the Pacific and the sky was all dark grey clouds and the distant yellow mottling of tankers, ferries and island towns. I saw a working lighthouse, which I have never before seen in my life, and I discovered it was little more than scaffolding and a lamp. I didn’t care. I’d never seen a lighthouse in person before.

I’d been sick that morning. I hadn’t slept much because I had been expecting to go to Point Roberts, which I’d never done before, to flagpole, which I’d never done before, then hopefully complete my Permanent Residence process, which I’d never done before. When I’d started that process, I was told it might take as little as six to nine months. It had been more than two years and I had received two rejection letters, as well as an email from my lawyer saying this was a big mistake.

My mind had turned everything over and then my stomach had decided to do that, too.

* * *

But as I had crossed straight back into Canada after that flagpoling, nothing at all was happening. Everyone, everywhere was bored. A Canadian border guard asked my why I was entering his country. He scribbled “PR” on a slip of yellow paper that was mostly full of questions about what firearms I might have, maybe which states they were from or what licenses I held.

British Columbia is weird not only because of its ongoing economic symbiosis with Washington State, nor because of the curious exclave of Point Roberts, but also because it cuts off Alaska from the rest of the US. A lot of people like to hunt in Alaska. A lot of people try to bring their guns from other parts of the United States into Alaska through British Columbia. British Columbia doesn’t really like this but it does allow it if those guns and their method of transport fit very, very specific criteria.

It’s the complete opposite to asking for ninety days residence and a twenty dollar hunting license.

Once again, I could apparently have just walked off, back into Canada, but instead I ended up in that living room-sized waiting area. A family sat to my left. Someone who did nothing but read a book the entire time sat to my right. A picture of the Queen of England was mounted dead ahead. That probably wasn’t necessary.

The officer asking who else was landing left the room and she was replaced by a grumpy man who called me up. I showed him what documents I had and he asked me what visa I had with me. I listed the items I’d been posted.

“I can see what you have,” he said. “I don’t need you to tell me what I can already see.” But I didn’t have anything else. Nobody had issued me anything the last time I’d entered Canada and nobody had really cared after hearing that I was waiting for these Permanent Residence documents to arrive, the ones I was laying out now.

The grumpy man made me sign and initial my papers, stating that I hadn’t suddenly committed crimes and forgotten to tell them or got married and forgotten to tell them or had children and forgotten to tell them and yes yes everything was spelled correctly. He took the papers away and joined the other people who were typing quietly at their desks.

A balding man walking in and asked everyone in the room if they’d been seen by an officer. Everyone said yes. “You’re all waiting so patiently?” He asked. “Thank you!”

He walked out.

For some reason, I took a picture of myself. I took it to see if I was suddenly different, but found no signs of this. The Queen stared at me. I sat there in silence. There was no noise and no smell and no movement. I played Peggle nervously on my phone, because at the US border they don’t like you to have your phone out. Nobody here gave a damn. A large TV showed soundless sports recaps.

The grumpy man called my name. He had stapled one of my documents into my passport on what was the shonkiest, most ramshackle way. It was infinitely folded. He had signed and dated it. I will never forget his name.

He gave me a piece of paper with numbers to call to register for health care and social security. My Permanent Resident card would be mailed to me and reach me hopefully two to three weeks after my landing date of September 21st, 2019.

I stood there.

“Do you have any questions?” he asked.

“Is that it?”

He looked up at the room. “Who’s next?”

[tabletopinfinities]

Seattle Random Encounters Table

Some bonus content for this week - an appendix to the campaign outline featuring random encounters for the city of Seattle (or adaptable for other urban fantasy games). Because I personally love a good random encounter table. Available below the cut and also added to the Seattle campaign outline.

APPENDIX: SEATTLE RANDOM ENCOUNTERS TABLE

For those times when you want a potential complication to throw at the party, or when you want to add some improvised flavor to a street or travel scene, either roll 1d100 or choose off the list below. Not all items will make sense for all neighborhoods or times of day; use your own discretion.

Tourists: A group of tourists taking pictures. They may or may not be American.

Police Officer: A police officer, either on foot or on a bicycle, doing a routine patrol. If the PCs “look suspicious,” they run the risk of being questioned.

Construction: The road or sidewalk is blocked by another luxury apartment building under construction.

Drunk Bros: A small gaggle of young drunk men are stumbling down the sidewalk towards the PCs. They may be nothing but a harmless nuisance, but could be dangerous to visibly marginalized people.

Large Event: A marathon, parade, festival, block party, open-air concert, or other event is taking place nearby - expect crowds, closed streets, police or security presence, and/or traffic.

Common Bird: One or a flock of pigeons, seagulls, crows, ducks, geese, sparrows, swallows, or similar birds are flying nearby. If it’s summer, the crows might caw at and dive-bomb anyone who gets too close to their nests.

Common Animal: A squirrel, rat, cat (stray, shy, or a friendly sidewalk cat), dog (with owner or otherwise), or other common urban animal crosses the PCs’ path.

Reporters: A TV news crew is on the scene, or possibly several covering a major event. If the PCs aren’t careful, they might find themselves on the 6 o'clock news.

Wraith: One of the unquiet dead is manifesting in the area, possibly unnoticed by the PCs. They could be observing a loved one, dealing with a fetter, or trying to help or hinder the PCs for reasons of their own.

Homeless Person: One or a small group of homeless people are on the street nearby, sleeping, begging for change, or otherwise doing their best to exist. They’re friendly if approached, and might even have information on recent events in the area, or come to the PCs’ aid if they’re in danger.

Accident: A traffic accident happened recently. Crashed cars are blocking the road and/or sidewalk, and if the police and fire department aren’t on the scene yet, they will be shortly.

Side Passage: The PCs notice an alley, hillside stairway, or path through nearby vegetation that they didn’t notice before. It might offer a shortcut or a way to lose pursuers, but it might also lead someplace strange and liminal.

Street Performer: Someone is on the sidewalk singing, dancing, freestyling, painting, reciting poetry, or otherwise making art. They’d probably be appreciative of a tip.

Evangelists: Mormon missionaries, Christian Scientists, Hare Krishnas, O.T.L. proselytizers, cultists, or other religious types are trying to spread their good word and giving out pamphlets.

Aquatic Animals: If the PCs are near a lake or river, they might see beavers, salmon, or even river otters. In the Sound, seals, sea lions, or, uncommonly, orcas.

Crime Scene: An area has been roped off with police tape, and the cops are on the scene investigating. Hopefully it has nothing to do with the PCs, but they might stumble into the wrong place at the wrong time and wind up getting questioned.

Vampire: One of the Kindred stalks the night nearby. The PCs might stumble upon them feeding, or even become their intended prey. It could also be one of the Kuei-Jin or Laibon instead.

Belligerent Man: A man, probably struggling with mental illness and homelessness, is wandering down the sidewalk and into the street shouting and throwing things around. While likely not harmful, he can be startling or unsettling. He might also serve as a convenient distraction.

Downed Tree: A tree has gone down in the area, due to storms, disease, or hillside erosion - or is in danger of falling on the PCs right now. It might smash cars, block streets, and take out power lines.

Oddity: Some strange phenomenon is happening nearby - mysterious lights, odd noises or music, or movement in the shadows. There could be a mundane explanation, but it might be something supernatural.

Nosy Rich People: The PCs are being watched with suspicion by someone very concerned about street crime, property values, and the quality of their neighborhood. If they appear suspicious, out-of-place, or just too weird, they risk getting confronted, having the cops called on them, and/or being posted about on Nextdoor.

Uncommon Bird: A hawk, owl, bald eagle, backyard chicken wandering the streets, great blue heron (if near water), hummingbird, Stellar’s jay, pileated woodpecker, or other not-commonly-seen bird is nearby. Passers-by may try and point it out to the PCs.

Uncommon Animal: A raccoon, coyote, group of goats grazing on weeds, deer, or other animals that make themselves scarce or aren’t often in the city are nearby. They likely aren’t dangerous, but may attack if provoked.

Manhunt: Police are out in force searching the area for someone, with patrol cars, helicopters, and canine units. Anything suspicious that the PCs are doing risks drawing their attention, but the noise and chaos also makes a good distraction.

Traffic: For whatever reason - rush hour, accident, sporting event, street closures, bridge up, just because - traffic is particularly snarled in the area. If the PCs aren’t traveling on foot, they can expect significant delays.

Convention: A comics/anime/gaming convention is in town this weekend, leaking cosplayers and other nerds onto the streets.

Bygone: A Bygone is roaming nearby, potentially causing a scene or endangering the public if it’s large and highly visible. Could Marauders have set it loose to cause havoc? Can it be rescued?

Power Outage: A downed power line or other incident has left the streets dark. It could be a couple blocks or even the whole neighborhood.

High Winds: A windstorm is moving in, bringing danger from sudden gusts, falling trees and branches, downed power lines, and torrential rain.

Ride the Ducks: One of the “Ride the Ducks” amphibious vehicles is passing through, blasting music and patter through its loudspeakers. It could also be another obnoxiously twee tourist vehicle, like a brewery tour tandem bicycle. Local PCs are appropriately disgusted.

Werewolf: One of the Garou, or perhaps another Changing Breed, is nearby. They are probably in homid form, so the PCs won’t recognize them as such unless they’re on the lookout. They may cross paths with the PCs as they search for a cairn/node or try to take down Wyrm minions/Nephandi, either as friend or rival.

Students: A large quantity of students are in the area - school just got out, college tours, frat parties, or foreign exchange students sightseeing.

Protest: A protest is happening nearby, anything from a small political or labor demonstration all the way up to a major walkout, strike, or May Day protest. Police and news teams will be on the scene accordingly.

Rare Animal: A bear, cougar, or other wild animal not usually found in the city is wandering around. Potentially very hazardous.

Snow: If it’s during the winter months, snow is falling. If it’s not during the winter months, something very strange is happening. Even if it doesn’t stick, it attracts delighted Seattleites to come outside and look at it. If it does stick, the PCs will have some serious issues getting around the city.

Friendly Tradition Mage: The PCs see a mage who will be friendly towards them - this could be someone already introduced in the campaign, a background character who hasn’t appeared, a random stranger who can lend a helping hand, or someone to be determined by one of the players.

Friendly Technocrat

Friendly Orphan

Friendly Disparate

Friendly Sleeper

Hostile Tradition Mage: One of the PC’s enemies is nearby - either plotting from the shadows, heading for a confrontation, or so far unaware and hopefully able to be avoided.

Hostile Technocrat

Hostile Orphan

Hostile Disparate

Hostile Sleeper

Marauder: A wild mage is nearby - they may be making a vulgar display of themselves, or their presence may only be felt by the PCs taking their backlash.

Nephandus: A Nephandus is nearby or magickally interfering with the PCs. They could even be walking the street on some mundane task and bump into the PCs without planning to.

Mummy: The Undying are rare in the world, but Seattle’s status as a major port means it sees more than most cities. One is nearby serving the divine balance or pursuing a personal goal.

Changeling: One of the half-human, half-fairy changelings is nearby. As unpredictable as the faerie tales say, they could be curious wanderers, tricksters, or outright monsters.

Hunter: One of the Imbued is nearby, a Sleeper aware of the supernatural terrors that lurk in the world and empowered to fight them. They could be out on an unrelated mission, or they could even be hunting the PCs as evil sorcerors.

Sunny Day: The skies are blue and clear. During the spring and summer, this means everyone will be out on the streets and soaking up the warmth in parks.

Drizzle: The stereotypical Seattle day. Light rain falls throughout the day, just barely enough to soak clothes, but relentless nevertheless.

Paradox: The marks of Paradox are nearby – a strange phenomenon, charged crackle in the air, or even a Paradox Spirit manifested. This could mean that a mage nearby has suffered backlash or it could be the result of a much older event.

Fire: A nearby building or area of brush has caught fire. Fire engines are either on scene or on their way, people are coming out of buildings to look, and the air is filling with smoke.

Shifting Earth: A mudslide has washed out a hill, a sinkhole has opened up, or underground construction has caused a building downtown to sink into infill.

Local Eccentric: A beloved (or disliked) neighborhood figure is out on the streets. Their eccentricity could come from dress, behavior, feeding birds, or something else entirely. They are likely a Sleeper, although they could be more than they seem.

Celebrity: The PCs see a celebrity they recognize – a local author or musician, an actor in town for a production, or someone else they idolize but don’t know personally.

Shooting: A drive-by shooting, gunplay on the streets, or a lone shooter. The PCs are hopefully not the ones being targeted, but they may end up in the crossfire.

Assault: Someone physically assaults the PCs on the streets or they witness an assault occurring. It could be a random encounter or it could be someone with a grudge against the PCs.

Mugging: Someone attacks one of the PCs and tries to steal their valuables, likely at gunpoint. Is it worth the risk of Paradox to fight back? What if they steal something with magic properties?

Spirit: A spirit is manifesting nearby, managing its affairs, or perhaps trying to contact the PCs to enlist their aid. Not all spirits communicate verbally, or are friendly for that matter.

Street Salesperson: Someone is trying to sell the PCs something – religious texts, flowers, their new mixtape. They’re remarkably persistent.

Vigilante: Someone is patrolling the streets dressed like a costumed superhero. If the PCs are acting suspiciously, they might be risking a faceful of pepper spray and a citizen’s arrest.

Free Money: The PCs find a wallet or some stray bills lying on the ground.

O.T.L. Initiate: The O.T.L. rarely go far from Queen Anne if they can avoid it. The sigils on their clothing clearly identify them as an initiate, and they attract some looks from passers-by. If outside the neighborhood it might be a dire errand, they could be tracking the PCs, or they could just be out shopping.

Shallowing: The Gauntlet is thin here, whether as a result of location, lunar conjunctions, mythic resonance, tampering, or something else. Magick is easier to perform and spirits and wraiths may try and cross over.

Hardened Gauntlet: The Gauntlet here is thicker than normal, even for a large city. This could be the result of a ward, Technocratic influence, or the machinations of the Weaver. Magick is harder to cast, if not almost impossible.

Bright Resonance: The resonance in this area is happy, loving, warm, or some other positive emotion. This is a place where good things have happened.

Dark Resonance: This is a place where bad things have happened. The atmosphere is fearful, cold, sad, or otherwise negative. Entities with sinister motives may try to take advantage of this.

Node: A powerful node is nearby, either one hitherto unknown to the PCs or one they just coincidentally happen to be in the neighborhood of. In a large city, it’s likely someone’s already claimed it, but they may be willing to share.

Tass: A stockpile of Quintessence has accumulated here, seemingly free for the PCs’ taking.

UFO: Something unknown flashes across the sky or hovers close before flitting away – or perhaps the PCs even have an encounter. How they interpret what they see and experience will depend on their frame of reference, from extraterrestrials to angelic visitation.

Drone: A drone is hovering above the PCs. It could be a mundane hobbyist, but can they take that risk? Is the Technocracy observing them through it anyway?

Heightened Surveillance: Security cameras, guards, or other magickal forms of surveillance – this area is being closely watched. If the PCs don’t go around they risk being captured on film and run through the Technocracy’s databases, but they might not be able to avoid it.

Abandoned Artifact: Someone has abandoned something magickal and the PCs stumble upon it. It could be the property of an Orphan mage living on the streets who had to pack up in a hurry. It might even be cursed.

Tent City: A homeless encampment takes up a nearby empty field or parking lot, either sanctioned or unsanctioned. If the PCs need allies in a hurry, a friendly Orphan or two are probably among the residents. Conversely, the Technocracy could be sweeping it for undesirables.

Steiner’s Robot: One of Steiner’s robotic creations is nearby scavenging for parts. If not around Magnuson Park, what’s brought it out so far?

Mystical Sigil: A piece of graffiti, sticker, poster, arrangement of twigs, etc., nearby, is clearly part of a spell. What purpose does it serve, and does the creator even know that they’re engaging in real magick?

Ward: Something is protecting the area from interference, from spirits, hostile mages, or others who might wish the ward’s creator harm. Who placed the ward or what is it protecting?

Good Omen: A four-leaf clover, a shooting star, a rainbow, a butterfly landing on your hand, having exact change – whatever it is, it’s a good sign.

Bad Omen: A black dog watching you, walking under a ladder, seeing your doppelganger, your watch stopping – bad luck is coming up.

Familiar: The PCs see a familiar roaming around – perhaps under orders from its master, perhaps separated from its master and seeking help.

Suspicious Lurker: Someone or something unknown is following the PCs, lurking in nearby shadows or underbrush, or perhaps something is simply setting off their magickal danger warnings.

Powerful Resonance: The air in this spot fairly crackles with dynamism – some great magick or important event has left a lasting impact on this place.

Convenient Coincidence: Something unexpectedly goes the PCs’ way – a friend appears when they need a hand, a passing bus cuts off their pursuers, the billboard overhead gives them the exact inspiration they need.

Misfortune: Something befalls the PCs – a twisted ankle, a flat tire, their cell phone is out of batteries, their wallet is missing.

Green Spot: The PCs have found one of the many small parks, overgrown lots, and other verdant areas that litter Seattle. It could offer a chance to take a break, a hiding spot, or a source of power for nature mages.

Farmer’s Market: The neighborhood’s weekly farmer’s market is going on, taking up the streets and sidewalks for a couple blocks or occupying a parking lot. A good opportunity to lose a pursuer in the stalls and bustling crowds, or just to buy some fresh seasonal produce.

Unseen Helper: Someone or something moves to help the PCs, either from the shadows or remotely, using magick or other powers. Their identity and motives are currently unknown.

Awakening: The PCs see someone acting erratically, and it soon becomes clear they’re having their magickal Awakening. Do they step in to help? Or stay out of the way?

Homeless Encampment: A small group of tents have been set up nearby in a small lot or precarious spots near the freeway. If the PCs need help, the inhabitants can likely come to their aid.

No Reception: The PCs’ cell phones and/or other electronic devices have lost their signal. Hopefully it wasn’t a bad time…

Thunderstorm: Torrential rain, thunder and lightning – Seattle thunderstorms are rare but dramatic. Calling down lightning in this weather will be easy for a trained mage.

Rainstorm: Far from the typical Seattle drizzle, water pours from the sky and the gutters turn into rivers. Traffic slows down as visibility is reduced and accidents occur.

Fog: A heavy fog has rolled in to settle down until the winds blow it away. It might even be a reprise of the infamous stink fog of January 2015.

Smoke: In summer, the smoke from wildfires in the surrounding countryside often blankets the city, covering it in a thin haze and irritating eyes and throats. Outside of the fire season, this might mean a building is on fire nearby.

Heat Wave: Seattle is in the grip of either unseasonably hot weather or a dangerous summer heat wave. Beaches and forest parks are crowded and fans run in windows all night as people try to cope in a city without widespread air conditioning.

Magic/k?: The PCs witness someone doing something strange with results that could just be coincidence – but could easily be magick.

Impossible Space: Something – perhaps Correspondence magick – has twisted space nearby in physically impossible ways. A car that carries too many people on the inside, streets that turn back around on themselves, a building where going in the front entrance just takes you immediately out the back.

Time Disjunction: Either the PCs are experiencing déjà vu or something has gone wrong with the timestream – it could just be a moment temporarily looping, or parts of the future or past comingling. It could be a vision or omen, a Time spell, or a nasty Paradox backlash.

[diaryoffline-goingonline]

Dear Diary,

I had the best weekend in Seattle. I never felt more alive than being in a different state, in a city filled with tourist, and places to visits all the way around. I met new people and tried new things. The food there was incredible and i could honestly keep eating everything i could’ve wanted there and felt great about it. Most of the time we walked around the city to get to our destination and it felt free just being able to have control of my own journey and destination. I visited the space needle, the Museum of pop culture, walked around attractions. Theres a lot that i did, but one of the most amazing things was meeting him. I took an amazing ghost tour and met a new group of people and they were amazing. After that we decided to go clubbing and it took us three tries to get the right spot. I was careless free in the club and i never felt so at ease and like myself. That’s where i met him, MF, and my trip became about a boy. I know i know, i was working on myself and fuck guys and all of that, but i met him and im not going to deny it right off the back, i like him. We danced, we talked, sparks flew. It was like a scene from a movie. It was incredible. He came home with me to the hotel. Again, yes i know, girl he could’ve been dangerous!, girl you could’ve died!, girl why would you invite a stranger over!!!!!, but i did and i don’t regret it. He was a gentlemen and i felt safe even though he was a stranger. We laid together for the rest of the night and just stared into each other eyes (literally) like i said, movie scene. Want to know what happened after? HE SAID HE WANTED TO GO ON A DATE! Literally we were out all night, talking, dancing, kissing, making love, eating, and after no sleep we were going on a date! How crazy is that?! We got coffee as we walked around and i pretend to be a tour guide for him as if i lived there and not him. We went down to the market place and found an antique store and looked around. We then went to the aquarium and while we were there he would wrap his arms around me and i fit like a glove. I felt so incredibly safe and comfortable that i never wanted to leave his arms or that place. We had lunch and after that it was time to go home. He lived there and i had to come back to California. What a poetic tragedy right? Girl meets boy in a big city on her last day there, he’s a dream fever and does all the things together in one day instead of over the course of months, end up really liking each other, and then girl has to leave to a different state the very next day. Like i said, its like it came from a movie scene, but it was real life. My real life. My movie. My book. I wonder what the next chapter will look like.

Update you soon, Hopefully. xx

-C.F.

[parttimeslave]

Red on Travelling

He hates it.

Not the sights themselves, no no, he adores all that - the Goldengate, the Space Needle, the foreign city streets littered with nice food and strange locals, the whole shebang - that's pretty neat.

No. It's getting to those places that irks him. The cars, the busses, and especially the plane rides. God.

He was in the underground all his life, and then he's sprung up to the surface and he sees the beautiful sky - scattered with clouds and sun rays and beautiful colors and twilight and stars and - wait. Is that star moving?

Yes, sweetie, that's a plane.

What?

A huge hunk of metal that fuckin flies through the air, moving passengers to and from the massive continents on the surface.

Red blinks. Well, he can't fault the humans for making use of the atmosphere that they have access to, right? He shrugs it off as another odd human thing.

Until you suggest going on one.

You've already enticed him with the clam chowder of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Griffith's Observatory in LA (appealing to his nerd side, you sly dog, you), and, oh hoo hoo, the roaring night life that Las Vegas has to offer.

The glint in his eyelights is unmistakable, so you start planning a trip for two up the West Coast of the US.

You run up to him one day with a whole folder of ideas and travel guides and coupons for the most popular tourist attractions in a number of cities. He makes playful mockery of your organisation, and pulls you into his lap to look through the folder with you. He's already outlining his favorites (there's a whole section just on Las Vegas Strip clubs), when you get to the end of the folder and there are flight details and quotes where you've highlighted the cheapest options.

His permagrin falters a bit. He completely forgot he had to get on a plane to do this. He remembers his first time seeing one, streaking ungracefully across the night sky, and his socket twitches. But he looks down at your smiling face, no worry or fear whatsoever, only excitement. He knew you'd done this before, you flew a lot and nothing had happened, ever. And, like a scared child gaining reassurance from a parent, he shoves his doubt aside and tells you to go ahead and book it.

The day comes and you've taken it upon yourself to drag both of you out of bed at 3am to be ready for the airport shuttle to pick you up at 4am sharp. He groans like he's been woken from death, whereas in reality he's hardly slept at all. One part insomnia, one part excitement, and one hundred parts suppressed anxiety.

The nag sits with him where his stomach would be as he watches his bags go along the conveyor belt behind the lady in the nice uniform, as he listens to you explain that they go into the plane well before anyone boards. He goes through security and the anxiety grows when he has to separate from you to go through a special security check for monsters. He growls low at the guard who jokes about his teeth being dangerous weapons, not in the mood for humour for once. But, he heeds your advice to just comply with these guys and avoid trouble. He meets you after the check and slides an arm around you, reluctant to let you go again.

You lead him to the gate, nice and early, and sit him down while you go and get you two some food. He calms down somewhat as he bathes his sub-par airport fries in mustard and laughs when you shush his jokes about bombs and hijacking.

At your cue, because he's been tuning out the annoying voice over the intercom, you both line up to board. He's fine as he goes through the gate, over the skybridge and into the plane, distracted by analysing the engineering of everything. You almost think you'll have to stop him from touching the control panel for the skybridge, but he just lingers over it curiously as he waits for the passengers in front of him to board.

His huge frame only just fits through the rows of seats, and you would find it comical if you couldn't feel the annoyance radiating from him, the poor soul.

He pushes his way into a window seat, and you take the middle seat next to the stranger in the aisle. He complains to you at full volume, and your only response is that this is how it is unless you wanna pay for first class. He tries to just pull you into his lap again, but you have to tell him no because the flight attendant will tell you off, and that he needs to put his seat belt on. Rattling bones seem to scare the stranger in the row you share, so you try to calm him by taking his hand and intertwining your fingers with his. You point out the window at the wing of the plane, and, in an effort to distract him again, you tell him to watch it as you take off. You even ask him about how he thinks the plane flies, hoping to get him talking about physics (even though you usually don't understand a word of it), but he only mutters something about pressure and the fuck-off huge engines.

His breathing is short and strained. If anything, he can't stand the waiting - he just wants to go. Why are we standing at the gate for thirty minutes? Come on, glowy wand guy, wave the fuckin things so we can go. He scoffs at the shitty rave down on the tarmac.

He sits, rigid in his seat as the plane taxis to the runway. The flight attendants are doing their rehearsed safety demonstration, and because you've flown a lot before you're only half paying attention, but you notice Red is watching intently. His eyelights dart to the exits, and you have to grip his hand to try and ground him again. You're guessing that he wants out, and you're very right.

Red has never been more desperate to teleport in his life.

Really the only thing stopping him is you, that grip of your hand on his phalanges is what's keeping him here, attached to this godforsaken machine. He closes his sockets as the plane lines itself up, but they snap back open when he feels himself start rocketing forward. He's desperate not to lose face and scream, so he clenches his jaw and almost breaks the armrest with a death grip instead.  He looks over at you, expecting you to be as shocked as he was, but you're not. All you've done is plant your feet more firmly to the ground and leaned back in your seat. You lean over to him to hug his arm and take a look out the window. He follows your gaze just as the plane plane rises from the runway and he gasps unwittingly, feeling his bones resist the sudden lift. He watches the ground fly swiftly away, and his vision is filled with the sudden aerial view of the city. He falls silent, and his fear is replaced with a strange mix of awe and adrenaline(or the monster equivalent.) he'd never been 50 feet above sea level before, let alone soaring through the fuckin air. He watched as things became smaller and smaller, until he could no longer pick out specific streets or cars, and it just became landscape under him.

The plane speeds through the air, and you point to the wings again to remind him to watch them. As the pilot makes slight adjustments to the aircraft’s trajectory, the parts of the wings are shifting and whirring, moving the plane up or down. His eyelights gaze over the mechanisms curiously, trying to glimpse the machinery beyond the metal plates. He listens to you explain that the tail of the plane probably does the same thing, moving the plane side to side instead. You aren't exactly fluent in flight mechanics, in fact you find yourself wondering just how planes actually fly, so you only offer the basics. Which you realise are probably also wrong.

The rest of the flight is easy. He inhales his tiny plane meal and asks for seconds, downs the free booze, and, surprisingly, there's only minimal grumbling about not being able to smoke anywhere on the plane. He doesn't mind the long hours of being sedimentary, he does that at home every chance he gets anyway. You do notice, however, that he hardly ever takes his eyes off the plane window. Not even to watch his movie, or when you cuddle into his side for a nap.

When you ask him why, he responds semi-jokingly that he's checking the fuckin thing’s still flying. You chuckle and pat him reassuringly, but his eyelights go straight back to the carpet of clouds beyond.

You explain to him the landing procedure beforehand so he has some idea of it before it happens. There's gonna be a big thunk, maybe two, but it's okay it just the wheels hitting the tarmac. Then the guy's gonna pull the break so we can slow down as we come into the airport.

He nods, but he still grips the armrest like it owes him money as the plane glides back down to Earth. He shoves his way off the plane as soon as he's able, basically dragging you at his heels. You give the affronted passengers a few apologetic looks, but you know it's better for everyone as soon as he's in the terminal.

You feel his breathing even out as he exits the skybridge and finds solidarity again, nothing holding him up except the earth itself. He glances down at you when you give him a reassuring kiss, telling him that the hard part’s over and now the fun begins. He chuckles, and though you don't know it yet, but he's completely serious when he says he's upgrading all your future tickets to First Class.

[andimthedad]

Amazon Spheres

[Scene: we’re touristing Seattle.]

Beth: [age 9] “I don’t know why they are called the Amazon Spheres. I think Amazon Orbs would sound so much better.”

Me: “I don’t know if ‘orbs’ sounds better than ‘spheres’.”

Beth: “I am glad they’re not called the Amazon Balls. That would be weird.”

Mom: “Good thing they made three of them. If they had only made two, people definitely would have called them Balls.”

Luke: [age 13] “Why?” [gets it] “Ohhhhhhh.”

Mom: “A place called ‘Amazon Testicles’ probably wouldn’t attract the same kind of visitors.”

Me: “Hmmm... in ancient mythology, the Amazons were a tribe of female warriors, so the phrase ‘Amazon Testicles’ could mean something totally different. Like trophy scalping.”

Beth: [has been rolling her eyes] “Could we please stop saying ‘testicles’ in public? Maybe talk about something else? Maybe... where are we going now?”

Mom: “We’re going to Top Pot Doughnuts. It’s just a couple of blocks up.”

Luke: “From balls, to nuts!”

Me: “Welcome to Seattle, I guess.”

(Edit: since posting this, I’ve been informed that many Seattle locals refer to these things as Bezos’ Balls, after Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO.)

We spent a few days in Seattle, seeing things like...

The Space Needle, photographed here with its orthopedic gear. I think it will be relieved to take this stuff off soon.

Chihuly Garden and Glass, where I almost knocked something really expensive off a table in the gift shop. Almost.

Archie McPhee in all its craziness. We toured the Rubber Chicken Museum, and I bought hand soap. Archie is here on Tumblr at @archiemcphee.

The Pike’s Place Gum Wall, where Luke made a contribution to the wall somewhere on the right side of this shot. Truly, this photo does not justly convey the sheer breadth and public health dangers of the many chewed rubbery confections that are on display in this unique... uh... work of art.... 

And of course a panorama shot of the Seattle skyline as seen from an Argosy boat cruise. That’s the Space Needle on the far left. The weather was beautiful that day.

We also saw other places like the aquarium and the zoo, and most importantly, some relatives I hadn’t seen in years. No, they were not in either the aquarium or the zoo.

This trip certainly beat the only other time I was in Seattle, when a poorly timed connecting flight stranded us at Sea-Tac, and my wife and I ended up sleeping inside the terminal so we wouldn’t miss the rescheduled flight early the next morning. That was probably not the best way to meet Seattle, although I understand from locals that it is not that unusual.

What have you done in Seattle?

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Reopening brings more coronavirus cases (NYT) The warning that echoed ominously for weeks is becoming a reality: Once states begin to reopen, a surge in coronavirus cases will follow. Thousands of Americans have been sickened by the virus in new outbreaks, particularly in the Sun Belt and the West. As of Friday, coronavirus cases were climbing in 22 states amid reopenings. Arizona, Texas and Florida are reporting their highest case numbers yet. California and Washington have reopened in a more incremental way, but have still seen an uptick in cases.

Coronavirus survival comes with a $1.1 million, 181-page price tag (Seattle Times) Remember Michael Flor, the longest-hospitalized COVID-19 patient who, when he unexpectedly did not die, was jokingly dubbed “the miracle child?” Now they can also call him the million-dollar baby. Flor, 70, who came so close to death in the spring that a night-shift nurse held a phone to his ear while his wife and kids said their final goodbyes, is recovering nicely these days at his home in West Seattle. But he says his heart almost failed a second time when he got the bill from his health care odyssey the other day. The total tab for his bout with the coronavirus: $1.1 million. $1,122,501.04, to be exact. All in one bill that’s more like a book because it runs to 181 pages. The bill is technically an explanation of charges, and because Flor has insurance including Medicare, he won’t have to pay the vast majority of it. But for now it’s got him and his family and friends marveling at the extreme expense, and bizarre economics, of American health care.

Protests focus on over-policing. But under-policing is also deadly. (Washington Post) By the time he was 18, Jay had already been shot twice. And he’d learned a lesson about how to keep himself safe in his high-crime New York neighborhood: He was always armed. Jay (a pseudonym we gave him to protect his identity) had little faith that the police would ever bring his assailants to justice—or that they could protect him from future attacks. “I just [know] where [my enemies] live and . . . the gang, I know that they be over there. . . . I gotta carry it in bad places.” As the protests sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of officers in Minneapolis have continued, fervent calls to “defund the police”—or even abolish departments altogether—have quickly risen to the top of some reformers’ wish lists. This push seems aimed at addressing the dangers of over-policing: not just obvious abuses like Floyd’s death but also heavy-handed law enforcement responses in communities of color to minor offenses, such as loitering, drinking in public or panhandling. But a great deal of scholarship has demonstrated that under-policing also leaves residents feeling perpetually underserved and unsafe. Residents of distressed urban neighborhoods have complained about ineffective policing for centuries, including officers’ rudeness, slow response times and lack of empathy for crime victims. Some residents of high-crime neighborhoods have long concluded that police are either incapable of keeping them safe or unwilling to do so—and a small subset of repeat offenders, like Jay and others we spoke to, have discarded the criminal justice system entirely as a viable mechanism for settling trivial disputes with enemies, opting instead to literally take matters into their own hands. The result is that many black and brown communities now suffer from the worst of all worlds: over-aggressive police behavior in frequent encounters with residents, coupled with the inability of law enforcement to effectively protect public safety. But defunding police departments would address only one side of this problem. And the real, and significant, dangers of under-policing would just get worse in the neighborhoods that most need the police to improve—not disappear.

Tourists dip their toes in water as top Mexican beach getaway reopens (Reuters) Foreign visitors have begun to trickle back to the white sands and warm waters of Mexico’s Caribbean coast as its popular beaches gradually reopen to tourism with new sanitary measures in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “I’ve been stuck in New York City in my apartment for three months, so I decided that on the beach somewhere open was probably a good call,” said web designer Sam Leon, 31, after arriving Saturday at the airport of famed resort town Cancun. Others were similarly undeterred, even as Mexico reported record infection levels in recent days and in certain areas is at the peak of the pandemic.

Bolivian schoolteacher gives virtual classes as superhero (AP) Sometimes, Jorge Manolo Villarroel is Spiderman. Sometimes, he’s the Flash, or the Green Lantern. But he’s always a teacher—one who lives out his childhood dreams by dressing up as superheroes for the locked-down students who attend his virtual classes. His classes have become so popular that siblings fight for the laptop screen to learn from this costumed teacher. They, in turn, often offer him tech help. At 33, Villarroel speaks with the passion of a child. His modest room is filled with the masks and costumes of his characters, along with images of Christ, several Roman Catholic saints, revolutionary Che Guevara and his parents. Villarroel, who lives in a poorer neighborhood of the Bolivian capital, teaches art at the San Ignacio Catholic School in a wealthier area. His students range from 9 to 14 years old.

Yankee go home: What does moving troops out of Germany mean? (AP) After more than a year of thinly-veiled threats to start pulling U.S. troops out of Germany unless Berlin increases its defense spending, President Donald Trump appears to be proceeding with a hardball approach, planning to cut the U.S. military contingent by more than 25%. About 34,500 American troops are stationed in Germany—50,000 including civilian Department of Defense employees—and the plan Trump reportedly signed off on last week envisions reducing active-duty personnel to 25,000 by September, with further cuts possible. But as details of the still-unannounced plan trickle out, there’s growing concerns it will do more to harm the U.S.’s own global military readiness and the NATO alliance than punish Germany. The decision was not discussed with Germany or other NATO members, and Congress was not officially informed—prompting a letter from 22 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee urging a rethink.

Delhi to use 500 railway coaches as hospital facilities to fight coronavirus (Reuters) India’s federal government said on Sunday it will provide New Delhi’s city authorities with 500 railway coaches that will be equipped to care for coronavirus patients, after a surge in the number of cases led to a shortage of hospital beds.

China reports 57 new cases, highest daily number in 2 months (AP) China on Sunday reported its highest daily total of new coronavirus cases in two months after the capital’s biggest wholesale food market was shut down following a resurgence in local infections. The Xinfadi market on Beijing’s southeastern side was closed Saturday and neighboring residential compounds locked down after more than 50 people in the capital tested positive for the coronavirus. They were the first confirmed cases in 50 days in the city of 20 million people. Authorities locked down 11 residential communities near the Xinfadi market. Police installed white fencing to seal off a road leading to a cluster of apartment buildings.

Kim Jong Un’s sister threatens S. Korea with military action (AP) The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened military action against South Korea as she bashed Seoul on Saturday over declining bilateral relations and its inability to stop activists from floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Describing South Korea as an “enemy,” Kim Yo Jong repeated an earlier threat she had made by saying Seoul will soon witness the collapse of a “useless” inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong. Kim, who is first vice department director of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, said she would leave it to North Korea’s military leaders to carry out the next step of retaliation against the South. Kim’s harsh rhetoric demonstrates her elevated status in North Korea’s leadership. Already seen as the most powerful woman in the country and her brother’s closest confidant, state media recently confirmed that she is now in charge of relations with South Korea.

Thai entrepreneur connects Michelin bistros to those in need (AP) Natalie Bin Narkprasart’s business was in Paris. But she was locked down by COVID-19 restrictions and stuck in Thailand. Her heart was in Thailand, too—and it ached for her compatriots who were suffering in the pandemic. So she recruited a network of volunteers, including Michelin-starred chefs, to help those in her homeland whose already modest incomes were shattered by the pandemic restrictions. Her group, COVID Thailand Aid, says it has reached more than 30,000 people in more than 100 locations with care packages and freshly cooked food.

Kids around the world are out of school. Millions of girls might not go back. (Washington Post) She was 13 when the Ebola virus struck her country, shuttering schools across Sierra Leone. The closures lasted nine months, but Mari Kalokoh could not return to the classroom for years. Global shutdowns have pushed approximately 1.5 billion students out of school since March, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, including 111 million girls in the world’s least developed countries. The disruptions are projected to end or seriously delay the education of 10 million secondary-school age girls. Parents in more traditionally conservative nations tend to prioritize the education of their sons, experts say. In West and Central Africa, 73 percent of boys older than 15 can read, compared with 60 percent of girls in the same age group. So when families lose income, they’re more likely to stretch the budget on schooling for boys, said Laila Gad, UNICEF’s representative in Liberia, a former Ebola hotspot. Remote learning, she added, is especially burdensome for girls, who are frequently expected to shoulder more cooking, cleaning and babysitting.

Pope appeals for end to Libyan civil war (Reuters) Pope Francis appealed on Sunday for both sides in the Libyan civil war to seek peace, urging the international community to facilitate talks and protect refugees and migrants he said were victims of cruelty. In an impassioned plea during his noon address in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said he was pained by the situation in Libya, which has had no stable central authority since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown by NATO-backed rebels in 2011. For more than five years Libya has had rival parliaments and governments in the east and the west, with streets often controlled by armed groups and sporadic fighting.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT THE OTHER 95% OF THE RECESSION

That's a striking departure from the past. You can make is not to make the original Silicon Valley. I now mention to every startup we fund: that it's better, initially, to make a billion dollars a year. If you make something users want. They're fuel for the fire that starts with liking the founders. Jerry Yang in New York, which attracts a lot of work implementing process scheduling within Scheme 48. Convince yourself that your startup is how other VCs feel about it. The company is spending more now than it did in the last 40.

The most diffident person would be puzzled and even slightly contemptuous if they told a VC one plus one is two, because they dislike other big tourist destinations: San Francisco, or Boston, or Seattle. By honest I don't mean to disparage Yahoo. Smart people will go wherever other smart people are really cool. And put this kind of bug is the hardest to find, and also New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. You have to be in it yet. But I don't think we would have started a startup to be rejected by all the VCs except the best ones were languages designed for their own authors to use, and a Web browser. And that seems bad for everyone. You can no longer guess what will work; you have to keep out the biggest developer of all: the government. Programmers are unlike many types of workers in that the best suppliers won't even sell to you, the greatest danger of being hard to sell to, the people who would have responded to the spam. That's a completely different voice and manner talking to a live audience makes you think of new things, but because an ASP that does lose people's data will be in giving them additional funding. This was not a factor in Shockley's day, because VC funds didn't exist.

Technological progress means making things do more of what we want. I can't read most anymore, because they have some skill you need and you worry you won't find anyone else. Mihalko, everything was different. Above that threshold, software purchases generally had to be delivered. What I learned from meeting Sama is that the winning model for most applications will be purely server-based software, surprisingly, is continuations. Your software changes gradually and continuously. And you know what surprises must have awaited them. This essay is derived from a talk at Defcon 2005. If you try convincing investors before you've convinced yourself, you'll be wasting both your time. The reason tablets are going to get whatever they want. It does whatever you tell it.

[qraydeavister]

parc central residences price

Most of the talk in the American political world with regards to Mexico is about illegal immigration, a divisive and highly partisan issue. Democrats and Republicans should put politics aside for the time being and focus our national resources and attention on the highly volatile and ultra-violent situation in Mexico. Mass graves of the victims of barbaric cartels are being discovered almost daily in areas just south of our border, and there is evidence that the brutal violence and drug trade from the Mexican cartels is no longer unique to Mexico.

In 2010, with eight murders a day, the world's most dangerous city was not located in the Middle East, South America or Africa; rather, it was located just miles from our border town El Paso, Texas in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The violence that the people of this city experience daily is almost incomprehensible: gang rapes, beheadings, dismemberment and brutal torture are a frequent reminder of the power of the cartel. Even more disturbing is the recent development that members of the notorious Los Zetas cartel are kidnapping men and forcing them to fight to the death in a forum similar to that of Ancient Rome.

American and global indifference toward the situation in Mexico is clearly evidenced by the 22 million tourists who visited Mexico in the past year. If the media was investing the kind of attention that this story truly deserves this number would be considerably less; it is a fallacy that the tourist areas are safe from the cruelty of the cartel. parc central residence developer  Acapulco is a prime example of a gorgeous Mexican resort city that has transformed into a battleground for the warring gangs. On January 9th, 2011 police in the Benito Juarez area of Acapulco discovered three bodies hanging from a bridge on Highway 95. Cancun and Cozumel are now a critical port of entry for the Mexican cartel's global drug trade; Tijuana continues to be an incredibly dangerous tourist city in large part due to the power of the local Tijuana Cartel.

Luckily, up to this point, fears of spill-over violence into the United States have largely not come to fruition. However, in just recent weeks the influence of those involved in the Mexican drug trade has dramatically expanded. We have just learned that the Los Zetas cartel have expanded their drug operations to Guatemala and almost certainly will expand into the rest of Central America, if they have not already begun operations.

The Zetas are not alone in expanding their criminal enterprise; the Sinaloa gangs as well as the Zetas are actively involved in the transportation of cocaine from Columbia to a pseudo-headquarters in Mexico. Organized crime expanding into Central America is extremely unsettling because many of these countries already possess some of the highest rates of criminal activity in the world. This lawlessness undoubtedly breeds the kind of brash and brutal behavior that the cartel needs to employ in order to accomplish their economic motives.

The United States is not immune to the influence of the cartel; in late April Mexican authorities arrested ten El Paso residents in Ciudad Juarez in connection with drug trafficking. States such as New Mexico, Arizona and Texas have witnessed an influx of violent crime as a result of the cartel. Yet, it is not only these border states that face a threat from the Mexican drug menace. The Tijuana cartel has created a base of operations in Seattle and Anchorage, Alaska. Other cartels have a base in Buffalo, and Atlanta has become a major hub for cocaine trafficking. Thankfully, the extreme violence in Mexico has not extended into the United States, yet...

Our politicians and media outlets, with the exception of those in border states, have said virtually nothing of substance in regards to the danger that the cartels pose to the United States and our interests abroad. It is not to our advantage to have our neighbor to the south embroiled in a drug war that claims the lives of more than one thousand people each month. As Americans, we are justifiably outraged when we witness a totalitarian dictator murdering his own people in the streets. However, why does our collective anger rise only when citizens are murdered at the hands of their own governments?

A porous border, inadequate funding for law enforcement and a close proximity to extreme violence, is a sure recipe for a potentially devastating future clash with the cartels in our cities. I would argue that the cartel is so well-armed and funded, that with the exception of Al-Qaeda, they pose the greatest threat to our homeland since the end of the Cold War. It is my hope that we, as Americans, recognize the real danger that exists so very close to home before we have an organized and powerful cartel operating in nearly every major city in America.