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bewitchingbooktours · 2 months ago

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Black In White by JC Andrijeski - Haunted Halloween Spooktacular

Halloween Fiction - The Chair

by JC Andrijeski

Devon fights…

She fights at first just to be there. Just to…

Keep her eyes open.

If she closes them…

Well, if she closes them for too long, she’ll die.

That should motivate you, Devon…

One of them doesn’t really open, though. Not anymore.

She can hear it.

A steady drip, drip, drip under the bolted down chair where she sits.

She’s… tied. Tied up…

Ankles handcuffed to the front legs. Wrists handcuffed behind her, the chain wrapped through the metal back support of a heavy chair with no padding. She hears the sound, like a light, tapping hammer against her skull.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Each drop hits more liquid.

More liquid every minute.

…a growing pool. It lays below her, mostly under her seat where it drips down from her sliced thigh and the larger gash in her abdomen. It’s already soaked through her black pants. She doesn’t look at the pool…

She doesn’t look at it.

Her elbows touch behind her, trembling.

Well, shaking maybe.

Shock. She must be in shock. The body kind of shock. Some part of her wants to fight or flight… at least until she collapses in front of the sliding glass doors of an emergency room.

They left her here.

Bastards just left. Didn’t even bother to finish her off.

Devon’s eyes drift up, to a metal shop light hanging on a long, half-chewed wire from the ceiling. The ceiling lays high above. Cross-beams with rivets, a broken catwalk. Corrugated tin roof with holes and sheet-metal walls. Cement floor. The expanse and size of it are clear to her suddenly, even in the dark… even with only one eye. It’s a modern-day cavern. An empty, rusted-out ruin.

Warehouse.

Jeez… cliché, much?

The smile doesn’t linger on her swollen lips.

Where, though? Where is she? Should she try yelling? Is it worth it, spending time and energy trying to get the gag off to yell?

She doesn’t have a lot of time. Has to choose wisely.

The warehouse is empty… vast.

She hears doves somewhere. Pigeons? They fuss and coo and rustle feathers against metal and more feathers. The sound comes from up high, echoing down to her. She imagines she sees them, huddled next to framed, dirty, dust-covered windows. Shafts of broken sunlight slant down, illuminating dancing dust motes. None of that light touches her.

It’s quiet. Really damned quiet.

No cars. No voices. No footsteps to echo.

Would anyone hear her, if she yelled?

Probably not, she decides.

Why would they have left her here, alive? She tries to think about this, to make sense of it, then realizes the answer is simple. She doesn’t matter. She is nothing to them. It amused him to leave her alive, so he did.

She’s probably not in the city at all, not anymore.

Her mind finds and scuttles other possibilities. She wastes more time, trying to remember the ride out here, in case she gets a chance to report in. How many of them took her. What they looked like. She didn’t see shit on the drive here, or as they dragged her inside. She tripped a few times. On metal edges, steps, maybe. She didn’t see anything that could help her now.

She’d been terrified.

They whipped the bag off her face…

Nothing but the hanging light, those tools, rough hands…

Screaming.

It went on for a long time.

Questions. She won’t remember those, either.

…she tried to listen. Before that. She tried to…

She hadn’t been trained for this. No one told her this might happen.

First job. Big deal first job, working for the president.

Just a noob. A rook.

A red shirt.

She tries to make a report. To herself. A report on what happened…

…three men forced a black bag over my head at approximately 7:15 am. I’d just reached the edge of the perimeter on our secondary check, at the southeast corner of the UN building on East 42nd and 1st. I was overpowered, drugged, then blindfolded with a bag before being marched down the emergency stairwell I’d been patrolling. They took outside the building through a lower access door, where I was almost immediately shoved in the back of an unmarked van…

Well. Her mind said “unmarked van.”

She remembers a sliding door, the grating sound before it slammed shut with a muffled bang and the snick of a lock. In the movies it’s always an unmarked van...but it could have been some suburban minivan, for all Devon knew.

Maybe with a “My Kid is an Honor Roll Student” bumper sticker…

Distraction. She doesn’t have time for distraction.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

She doesn’t know much about the human body, but she knows it needs blood.

Hers is running out. Too fast.

No one is coming.

They’d cut her…

Christ. How did this happened?

Wrong place, wrong time.

…but she can’t think about that anymore, either.

Her one, good eye scours the space again.

Heavy wooden table. Dirty, covered in tools.

Devon doesn’t want to look at those tools, given that most are covered in her blood. She makes herself stare at them anyway. Some are sharp, sure...most are sharp, rusted, like a horror movie or something from the Tower of London. A few blunter things. She can’t say for sure, but doesn’t think any of them would help her get out of the chair. Not with no hands. Not fast enough.

A spark ignites somewhere in her mind.

Keys.

He’d snorted, staring at her with those hard, slate-like eyes.

He’d been finished. Worked up a sweat. Probably a calorie deficit day for him. Like going to the gym.

Orange-tinged blond hair sweated to his forehead and neck. Face, neck and upper body speckled with small and large red dots, larger patches of the same fluid on the sleeves of his blue t-shirt and his hands. He made a show of wiping those thick, hairy hands on a dirty rag before he left.

She’d already been counting down the minutes.

Maybe he had been, too.

Or maybe the clock had already stopped, from his perspective.

He’d left the keys.

Well… sort of. He’d thrown them across the empty warehouse.

He did that casually, too, tossing them in a high arc, like tossing a bottle opener to a friend at a party.

They went far, though.

Devon heard them land. She hears it again now, a distant thunk in her head as she fights to remember. She hears them skitter across the cement a few feet...or maybe a few yards...like a distant replay.

That bastard grinned at her after he did it. Teeth yellow from smoking. Face broken with a darker scruff than that pale. Blond hair. Between that and his darker roots, he must have bleached his hair, come to think of it.

Distraction.

He threw the keys… that was right before he left.

She thinks she remembers the direction. She thinks…

Devon bites down on her lip. Hard.

The pain forces her eyes (eye?) open once more.

It brings her mind briefly, sharply, back into focus.

You’re not going to just sit here and die, Devon.

You’re not going to play some stupid wait-and-see denial game… like some fatalistic ass, waiting for angelic intervention…

That time, she doesn’t think.

She starts to rock the chair.

She starts to rock it for all she’s worth.

* * *

It’s difficult at first.

Side to side. Baby steps.

Then wider swings.

The legs teeter a few times, chunk down. Make her flinch.

It takes a few, good seconds to get her rhythm down...

Then it’s a little scary. The chair starts to sway for real. Those legs chunk down harder. Land less steadily.

Some part of her still winces back.

Some part of her doesn’t want more pain.

Death, Devon.

Death is worse than a little pain, damn it…

…she makes herself do it, anyway.

When that final rock tips her over the edge, she’s startled. Like some part of her still doesn’t see it coming.

Her body tries to catch it in reflex…

It can’t.

She lands, hard, exhales in a pain-filled grunt.

Moaning, she gasps. Winded. She lays on her side, panting, wasting oxygen, moaning, feeling like she just wants to die. She’s sure she’s broken her arm. It feels like she just hit it with a hammer.

She did, more or less. On purpose.

It feels like an eternity of time she’s wasted.

She can see it now, though. She’s half-laying in it.

That pool of blood. It’s big.

Scary big.

It motivates her.

She starts to writhe inside the bindings of the chair. She tried to pull the chair with her, across the cement floor.

On her side, she can move her body, like a snake. It hurts her abdomen. It hurts enough to distract her from her throbbing leg, from her arm. She can even move the arm under her, but hit hurts like hell.

All of it hurts like… well, it hurts a heck of a lot.

More than anything she cares to remember.

She does it anyway.

She’s going to get across the floor. No matter what.

If they find her dead, she won’t just be sitting in a chair.

She won’t just be sitting over a pool of her own blood.

* * *

At first, she thinks she’s not getting anywhere.

It’s slow. Really slow.

She looks back though, when she has to rest. She sees a smear of blood, coming mostly off of that cut he made in her leg. A lot probably off that hole in her abdomen, too.

She looks forward again, moving.

Writhing. Gasping.

Nothing ever hurt so much.

She’s tired.

She doesn’t want to think about being tired.

She doesn’t want to think about what it might mean.

She’s really damned tired, though.

She fights to see through the one eye. It’s fogged a bit now, not really working right. She blinks, fighting to clear it. It works, but not really.

She can’t get tired.

She can’t...

The first time she snaps out, she realizes she’s been lying there. She doesn’t know how long. Dozing...

Time for a nap, Devon? Really?

…but it scares the shit out of her.

She’s fading. She has to hurry.

She writhes faster across the cement floor, groaning a little from the wounds that have stiffened just enough to remind her she’s been lying there.

She makes it a few more feet.

A few more.

She’ll stop, just for a second.

Needs to rest.

Needs to…

* * *

“Hey! Hey, lady!”

Devon’s head lolls on her neck.

The ground hurts. Something sharp there. Glass?

A nail.

Light in her face.

Really bright.

It’s dark in here. Really dark.

She’s still tied to the chair.

“Whatcha doin’ down there, lady?”

The voice slurs, then laughs. The laugh echoes, a hollow pinging against the metal insides of the cavernous space.

Devon blinks up, unable to shield her eyes from that light. Her wrists are still cuffed to the back of the chair.

She’s still tied to the chair.

Panic fills her.

A memory of that drip, drip, drip…

She fights to speak. “Help,” she whispers.

“Lady, you’re bleeding a lot. Damn. A lot… that’s really fucked up…”

“Help me…” she whispers. “Please… help me…”

She fights to move. Maybe to plead with him.

Maybe just to show him she can’t.

“Hey,” he says. “What you doing in here, lady? What happened to you?”

She has the absurd desire to laugh.

Then to scream at him.

He laughs again, maybe at the look on her face.

Devon feels sick, dizzy. Is this real? Is someone really here? Is she dead? Dreaming on a gurney in some emergency room?

But no. The chair. The chair is still there.

She wouldn’t dream the chair.

He doesn’t seem right, either. High, maybe? Maybe he has a phone.

Then she sees it.

He’s using the phone to look at her. Using the light on the phone…

Hope turns into anxiety, clutching at her chest.

“Please,” she whispers. She fights to make more noise, to speak. She clears her throat, swears she tastes more blood, then fights away the image. “Please,” she says, a little louder. “Please… call someone… please…”

“Call someone?” That off-key laugh. “Who you want me to call? Who done this to you, lady?”

She fights to see him through the bright light. She stares at the phone…

It is maddeningly out of reach.

“Please,” she whispers. “Please… call someone. Please…”

Another voice startles her.

It is louder, deeper.

“What the hell?” it says. “Who are you talking to…?” A longer pause. Then new voice gets close enough to see past the light. “Jesus Christ… Rudy! What the fuck are you doing? Don’t touch her!”

He sounds disgusted. Afraid.

“What are you doing, man?” he says, angrier now. “Get away from her. Seriously, man. That is gross…”

The first one crouches down, so that he’s closer to her.

Devon smells alcohol on his breath, smoke.

The face she sees is young, shockingly so. Younger than either of the voices she thought she heard. She sees rounded cheeks, large eyes with dilated pupils. She can’t make out many features.

He’s like a happy ghost. An apparition.

“Leave her alone, Rudy,” another voice says. “You don’t want to piss off whoever did this to her…”

“Fuck, man!” the first one says. “Chill, okay? She’s bleeding!”

“I know she’s bleeding,” the deeper, angrier-sounding voice says. “Just leave her alone, okay? Leave her there… and don’t touch nothing.”

“We can’t just leave her,” the first voice says. “Can we?”

Devon hears doubt in his voice.

That doubt scares her.

Terrifies her.

“Please,” she says. She fights to make her voice louder. “Please… I have money. I can pay you…”

“Money?” A note of interest grows in the first voice. “How much?”

“A lot…”

“Here? You got it here, lady?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “No. In my bank. But I promise, I––”

“See?” the angry voice says. “She doesn’t have shit. She’ll say anything right now...you can’t believe her, man!”

“No,” Devon pleads. “No… I promise. It’s true…”

“Come on,” the angry voice says. “I ain’t calling no cops. No way.”

“You can call after you leave,” Devon says. “Secret. Won’t tell. Don’t tell them your name…”

“No!” the second one snaps.

He seems to be looking at her, but she can’t see him past that ring of bright light. She can only feel the weight of his stare.

“I’m on parole, lady,” he says. “No offense, but you’re already dead. No one can help you now but God.”

“Keys!” Devon blurts. “Do you see keys? On the ground? Anywhere?”

“Keys?” the first voice pipes, interested again.

Devon realized only then that he’d fallen silent.

“Yes.” Devon nods. She turns back towards him, away from his angry friend, fighting to speak. “Yes. Please look. Please. I’ll say I found them. I promise I will. I won’t tell anyone about either of you…”

“On the floor?”

“No!” the angry voice says. “Come on, Rudy. Let’s go. She’s giving me the creeps.”

“I can look for a minute, man. Chill.”

“She’s already dead.”

“One minute. Chill, man.”

Devon sees the first one, the one with the phone, wandering around the empty space. She cranes her head and her right eye towards the flickers of light and reflection on random metal surfaces as he shines his phone screen around, aiming it at different spots on the cement floor.

A few seconds later, he lets out a jubilant laugh.

It echoes up to the metal rafters, bouncing against the walls of Devon’s head.

“Hey! I see ‘em! I see your keys, lady!”

“Here,” she manages. “Please… bring them here, Rudy… please…”

Angry guy mutters.

Clothes rustle somewhere over where she lays, like he’s folding his arms, or maybe shoving his hands into his pockets. The material is light, noisy, like a windbreaker or maybe a nylon jacket.

“Bitch knows your name, man,” he says.

“Whose fault is that?” Rudy says cheerfully.

Devon hears a jangling sound as he scoops up the keys. Like music.

She listens as he brings them over to her.

She hears footsteps…

Then his face is near hers again, grinning like he just won a prize.

“You want ‘em by your hand, lady?”

“Uncuff me. Please.”

“No, Rudy!” the second voice snaps. “Leave the bitch her keys, and you did your good deed. Let’s get the hell out of here. Now. Before someone sees us and figures what you did.”

The first one leans down, placing the keys clumsily in her fingers behind her back. Devon reaches for the slick ring. Grasps hold of cold metal with all of her might. She gasps, fighting tears, even as the kid whispers in her ear.

“Sorry, lady,” he tells her. The smell of his breath still makes her wince. Pot smoke and cheap booze. “Sorry. I hope you get out of here okay…”

“Call,” she begs him, whispering back. “Please, when you get out of here… just… call someone. Even with the keys, I won’t have time, Rudy. I won’t get out of here in time… please call someone for help…”

He grins at her again.

Devon only sees emptiness in those hazel eyes.

She never gets a good look at his face. All she sees are those hazel irises blackened by too much pupil. Teeth that glow nearly florescent behind the blue-white panel of his smartphone.

“Please, Rudy,” she pleads, her voice a shadow now. “Please. Help me. Don’t leave me here to die… please… I don’t know where I am…”

But it’s dark inside her cave again.

They’ve already gone.

* * *

She loops the key ring through two of her fingers.

Grips it there. Wills it to stay.

Using her free fingers, she feels over the surface of the cuff, looking for the hole. A notched opening, a tiny square merged with a tiny rectangle. She finds it on one cuff. Holds a finger there.

How much time does she have?

An hour? Maybe two?

When did they pick her up?

When did he ask the last question?

How long had it been since he stuck that knife in her thigh? He left it there, for awhile. It might have bled less then, with the knife in it. He left it sticking out of her, until he was ready to leave…

She gasped, gripping the key with all of her strength as she fought it closer to that tiny, odd-shaped hole.

There are other keys on the loop of metal, though.

Three keys. One for each set of cuffs.

Is she holding the right one?

33.333% chance that she’s holding the right one.

She prays. Like a child, she prays it’s the right key. As if that will solve all of her problems. As if that’s going to end it.

She won’t drop the keys.

That much she knows.

She won’t drop them.

Adrenaline, feeding her blood. Maybe killing her faster. Maybe giving her just enough for a last try at life.

She positions that first key over the hole. It goes in. She could cry with relief. She grips it, though. She grips it tight. She twists. She twists it… carefully. It won’t unlock. It won’t move.

Her hands are slick. Wet. Hot. She’s doing it wrong.

Wrong? Or is it the wrong key?

She fights with it. Wills it to open.

Wrong key.

Her mind screams it. It screams it in the dark, pointing at a ticking clock, at the drips of blood she can no longer hear coming out of her thigh and out of that wound in her belly.

Focus.

She bites her lip again, tasting more blood.

Next key.

66.66666% chance that this one is right.

Process of elimination. Odds keep getting better.

Better for one.

Worse for the other.

She’s out of time.

Time…

* * *

It is the third key.

100% chance of being correct.

Even so, when the lock twists, she almost cries out in delirious relief.

She’d half-convinced herself it would be wrong. She’d half convinced herself it would be the match that fell in the snow…

To Build a Fire.

…but it turned, and she felt the metal fall away, and let out that cry, waking the doves in their high rafters.

She felt the cuff fall open and then she could move her arms.

Not broken, after all. Just hurt a lot.

Still gripping the keys, she moved like a geriatric. She didn’t pull her arms. Even with her hurt abdomen, she pulled her body forward, dragging her arms after her.

She still held those damned keys.

She might never put them down. Ever.

No time to waste.

She dragged her arms forward, crying, in spite of herself.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

She leaned forward. Fumbling in the dark. Dark like no light ever existed.

But that’s not quite true, either.

She can see an orange light… through those dirty windows above the sheet metal walls. She can smell the dirt on the cement floor, and piss, and she can see that light.

She’s not dead yet.

Left leg first. Maybe because it feels urgent. It’s the leg that got stabbed. She has to get it free. Now. Right now.

She fumbles for the hole. Finds it.

She kept the key in the lock of the cuffs that had locked her wrists to the back of the chair. It dangled from her wrist on the hand that didn’t look for the keyhole that still held her to the metal chair.

66.6666% chance of being correct on the first try.

That time, it worked on the first try.

She freed that leg and groaned, holding onto the last key, key number three, the one that would finally free her from the chair. She gripped it tightly in her fingers. She held it as she gripped her free ankle, tears running down her face.

Thinking. How to move her body. She fell apart from the chair strangely that time, still tied to it, but at a weird angle now.

She tries to think her way through where she is.

She tries to rewind her way back through the dark.

Wrists free. Fall forward.

Left leg free, fall to the side.

She wraps around herself, dragging the chair. It makes a hollow, scraping sound as it grates across the cement floor. The sound echoes. She pants, and that echoes, too. She feels a nail there, something she shouldn’t step on.

She’s still gripping the key.

The last key. The final key. She holds it like the holy grail, gripping it with fear in her wet, hot, throbbing hand.

The answer to her final problem.

She may never let it go.

100% chance of being right.

Black In White

Quentin Black Mystery

Book One

JC Andrijeski

Genre: Urban Fantasy Mystery Romance

Publisher: White Sun Press

Date of Publication: September 9, 2015

ISBN: ISBN-13: 978-1545436714

ISBN-10: 1545436711

ASIN: B01554ZHH6

Number of pages: 268

Word Count: 76,755

Cover Artist: Damonza

Tagline: Meet Quentin Black: Private Investigator. Psychic. Possible murderer.

Book Description:

Gifted with an uncanny sense about people, psychologist Miri Fox works as a profiler for the San Francisco police. When her best friend, homicide detective Nick Tanaka, thinks he's finally nailed the serial murderer known as the "Wedding Killer," she agrees to check him out, using her gift to discover the truth.

But the suspect, Quentin Black, isn't anything like Miri expects.

He claims to be hunting the killer too, and the longer Miri talks to him, the more determined she becomes to uncover his secrets.

When he confronts her about the nature of her peculiar "insight," Miri gets pulled into Black's bizarre world, and embroiled in a game of cat and mouse with a deadly killer--who might just be Black himself.

Worse, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to Black, a complication she doesn't need with a best friend who's a homicide cop and a boyfriend in intelligence.

Can Miriam see a way out or is her future covered in Black?

THE QUENTIN BLACK MYSTERY SERIES encompasses a number of dark, gritty paranormal mystery arcs with science fiction elements, starring brilliant and mysterious Quentin Black and forensic psychologist Miriam Fox. For fans of realistic paranormal mysteries with romantic elements, the series spans continents and dimensions as Black solves crimes, takes on other races and tries to keep his and Miri's true identities secret to keep them both alive.

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/jcKdbAYADcY

Amazon

Excerpt:

I tilted my head, still smiling, but letting my puzzlement show.

“Why are you talking to me at all?” I asked finally.

“Why shouldn’t I talk to you?” he said. “I’ve already told you that you’re the first person to walk in here that I thought might be worth my attempting to communicate.”

“Because I’m female?” I said.

“Because you seem to be less of a fool than the rest of them,” he corrected me at once.

“But you said Nick had a mind?”

“I said he had a mind of sorts. Not the same thing at all. Although, given the nature of his intellect, he has undoubtedly chosen the right profession for himself.”

I smiled again. “I’m sure that will be quite a relief for him.”

I heard laughter in the earpiece that time, right before Nick spoke up.

“See if he’ll tell you his name,” he said to me.

“Certainly, if you really want to know,” the suspect said, before I could voice the question aloud.

“My name is Black. Quentin Black. Middle initial, R.”

I stared at him, still recovering from the fact that he’d seemingly heard Nick give me an instruction through the earpiece.

Clearly, he wanted me to know he’d heard it, too.

“You heard that?” I said to him.

“Good ear, yes?” he said. Smiling, he gave me a more cryptic, yet borderline predatory look.

“Less good with you, however. Significantly less good.”

He paused, studying my face with eyes full of meaning.

I almost got the sense he was waiting for me to reply—or maybe just to react.

When I didn’t, he leaned back in the chair, making another of those graceful, flowing gestures with his hand.

“I find that… fascinating, doc. Quite intriguing. Perhaps that is crossing a boundary with you again, however? To mention that?”

I paused on his words, then decided to dismiss them.

“Is that a real name?” I said. “Quentin Black. That doesn’t sound real. It sounds fake.”

“Real is all subjective, is it not?”

“So it’s not real, then?”

“Depends on what you mean.”

“Is it your legal name?”

“Again, depends on what you mean.”

“I mean, could you look it up in a database and actually get a hit somewhere?”

“How would I know that?” he said, making an innocent gesture with his hands, again within the limits of the metal cuffs.

Realizing I wasn’t going to get any more from him on that line of questioning, I changed direction. “What does the ‘R’ stand for?” I said.

“Rayne.”

“Quentin Rayne Black?” I repeated back to him, still not hiding my disbelief.

“Would you believe me if I said my parents had a sense of whimsy?” he asked me.

“No,” I said.

“Would you believe that I do, then?”

I snorted a laugh, in spite of myself. I heard it echoed through the earpiece, although I heard a few curses coming from that direction, too.

I shook my head at the suspect himself, but less in a “no” that time.

“Yes,” I conceded finally. “So it is a made-up name, then?”

The man calling himself Quentin Black only returned my smile. His eyes once again looked shrewd, less thoughtful and more openly calculating.

Even so, his weird comment about “listening” came back to me.

Truthfully, he was looking at me as if he were listening very hard.

The thought made me slightly nervous.

About the Author:

JC Andrijeski is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of gritty, character-driven, “real”-feeling paranormal mysteries and apocalyptic fiction. Her books have strong romance subplots, found families, and often a metaphysical bent. JC has a background in journalism, history and politics, and loves hiking, people watching, yoga, meditation, weird tourist destinations, the beach, coffee, birds, snails, and tacos. She grew up in the Bay Area of California, but travels extensively and has lived abroad in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and from coast to coast in the continental United States. She’s now living and writing full-time in Hollister, California.

Website: https://jcandrijeski.com

Newsletter: https://geni.us/JCA-Newsletter

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jcandrijeski

Amazon: https://geni.us/JCA-Amazon

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jc-andrijeski

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JCAndrijeski

FB Book Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thelightsanctuary

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jcandrijeski/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jcandrijeski

Mastodon: https://wandering.shop/@jcandrijeski

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jcandrijeski

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jcandrijeski.bsky.social

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cyberfell-redux · 4 months ago

Text

~ Welcome to Grillby's Bar and Grill ~ The Hot Spot Where Even Rivals Chill

In the lowers where the people of New Ebott are cold to each other, there's one last place when the heat is always on - Grillby's.

Grillby, neon pink blaze of the bar, is the legendary owner and namesake of the place. A joint known for cheap drinks and unparalleled hospitality, Grillby runs a tight ship that keeps the drinks cold and the tensions nice and low.

What We Offer:

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Remember: unruly behavior is not just frowned upon—it will be extinguished by our security team swiftly and severely.

Location: 42nd Street, Lower New Ebott; right across from the 7th line's last stop.

Dress Code: Come as you are, but remember— no troublemakers.

Hours: Open 24/7, Bar service Tuesday - Sunday 5pm to 1am.

Grillby says: “Keep it hot, but keep it cool.”

#Lore #Grillby #Grillby's #CyberFell #CyberFell Redux #CF! Grillby

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duncanstewartsblog · 11 months ago

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Life of Oharu

This was the first time hearing of the film Life of Oharu and when reading the synopsis of the film about a woman going back through her life as she first started as the daughter of a samurai eventually getting banned from kyoto due to her love being of lower rank than herself and without having the consent of her father to be together. From this initial synopsis, I was like dang this sounds very interesting and I relatively liked Ugetsu so I thought it would be right around the same in my liking of the film but I actually am sad to say I think this is my least favorite of the films we have watched so far throughout the class.

Starting off the main thing I found as not really liking was that of how slow the film was. I know the film is a drama so there has to be dramatic things to happen and they do happen rather quickly but the beginning of the film feels very dragged to me. I would say the plot of the film truly starts around like the 42nd mark which may not seem too bad but to me it felt so slow and to the point where I was about to fall asleep.

However, the main thing I will give props to for this film is its treatment of women. During the period the film takes place in, the film really shows how women throughout were seen completely as property. The one scene that really sticks out to me is that of when the man is looking for a woman who fits the description the lord wants in Kyoto. There are many many women who are sitting there waiting their turn to see if they’re just what he wants, almost like a cinderella situation with the glass slipper. But it feels so much worse because he points out all of these details of these women like one of them being nearly perfect but has a mole. As a person with a mole, I find this offensive. (I’m joking) This treatment of women is further shoved down our throat when the father says to Oharu you are finally forgiven because she just happens to have the right facial characteristics for the lord and will be his concubine. Everything about it feels almost like sex trafficking or prostitution and the man being her godfather just because he helped find her for the messenger feels even weirder.

Overall, this one scene with all of the potential women stood out to me but it felt just generally very slow to get through which I didn’t enjoy as much but I guess if dramas are your thing I would recommend it to you. Rating: B

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dreadwhoop · 1 year ago

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Reviewing the All Elite Wrestling personnel 2023 Edition (Part 1) -

General statistics (taken from https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-roster as of 01/10/23) -

For this first part I decided to take everyone’s overall record and calculate with a little adjustments as outlined below:

+2 points for a win -1 point for a loss +1 point for every 3 matches (leftovers will be 0.3 or 0.6) 0 for draws Tiebreakers will be decided if possible (former champions, number of matches, being on the 1st year list, and such) Non-AEW Accomplishments not regarded (this includes ROH Titles) Some Faction definitions are refined by personal choice Career Records only

This doesn’t factor in jobbers or people off this list and have no wins let alone official records. This also doesn’t take into account promo skills or how long they’ve been in the company. I’ve tiered it in terms of every ‘tens’ such as those with a score of 20-29.6 or 30-39.6 to illustrate a sort of 'group’ these wrestlers sit in. It’s clearly not perfect but it does highlight how higher positives scores should fair against lower positive scores when matched up, especially champions. Don’t take it too seriously of course - it’s something I like to dabble in for the sake of my own curiousity and amusement. There is some truth to it though. Just think of it as a ballpark reason to how AEW is promoting certain people and trying to instill credibility into their tenure. Onwards!

=====2023 Version===

Jon Moxley | BCC | 122-22-1 | 145 | Former 3x AEW World Champion, Former AEW International Champion | 270.3 | 4th/2nd/1st/1st SAME Orange Cassidy | Best Friends | 123-32-2 | 157 | Former AEW International Champion | 266.3 | 36th/16th/7th/2nd UP Max Caster | The Acclaimed | 103-36 | 139 | Reigning AEW World Trios Champion, Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 216.3 | —/31st/11th/3rd UP Darby Allin | --- | 101-36-1 | 138 | Former 2x AEW TNT Champion | 212 | 29th/10th/13th/4th UP Jack Perry | --- | 97-47-1 | 145 | Former FTW Champion | 195.3 | 21st/1st/3rd/5th DOWN Nyla Rose | --- | 96-46 | 142 | Former AEW Women's World Champion | 193.3 | 15th/13th/2nd/6th DOWN Hikaru Shida | --- | 88-22 | 110 | Former 2x AEW Women's World Champion | 190.6 | 5th/8th/8th/7th UP Rey Fenix | Death Triangle | 89-46 | 135 | Reigning AEW International Champion, Former AEW World Tag Team Champion, Former AEW World Trios Champion | 177 | 12th/3rd/18th/8th UP Evil Uno | Dark Order | 87-40 | 127 | --- | 176.3 | 23rd/15th/10th/9th UP Penta El Zero M | Death Triangle | 90-52 | 142 | Former AEW World Tag Team Champion, Former AEW World Trios Champion | 175.3 | 25th/7th/9th/10th DOWN

Powerhouse Hobbs | --- | 83-28 | 111 | Former AEW TNT Champion | 175 | 68th/43rd/30th/11th UP Anthony Bowens | The Acclaimed | 83-33 | 116 | Reigning AEW World Trios Champion, Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 171.6 | —/52nd/38th/12th UP Colten Gunn | Bullet Club Gold | 77-14 | 91 | Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 170.3 | —/37th/17th/13th UP John Silver | Dark Order | 85-42 | 127 | --- | 170.3 | 70th/64th/19th/14th UP Wardlow | --- | 76-12 | 88 | Former 3x AEW TNT Champion | 169.3 | 54th/53rd/15th/15th SAME Preston Vance | La Faccion Ingobernable | 81-34 | 115 | --- | 166.3 | 63rd/23rd/4th/16th DOWN Austin Gunn | Bullet Club Gold | 74-16 | 90 | Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 162 | 42nd/35th/21st/17th UP Luchasaurus | --- | 77-31 | 108 | Former AEW TNT Champion, Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 159 | 13th/6th/6th/18th DOWN Dante Martin | Top Flight | 81-45 | 126 | --- | 159 | —/61st/25th/19th UP Ricky Starks | --- | 74-24 | 98 | Owen Hart Cup Winner, Former FTW Champion | 156.6 | 45th/30th/28th/20th UP

Matt Jackson | The Elite | 78-38 | 116 | Former 2x AEW World Tag Team Champion, Former 2x AEW World Trios Champion | 156.6 | 9th/12th/20th/21st DOWN Nick Jackson | The Elite | 78-38 | 116 | Former 2x AEW World Tag Team Champion, Former 2x AEW World Trios Champion | 156.6 | 9th/14th/22nd/21st UP Chuck Taylor | Best Friends | 77-47 | 124 | --- | 148.3 | 8th/19th/26th/23rd UP Tay Melo | --- | 67-15 | 82 | --- | 146.3 | 64th/22nd/16th/24th DOWN Adam Page | The Elite | 70-27-1 | 98 | Former AEW World Champion, Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 145.6 | 7th/17th/23rd/25th DOWN Alex Reynolds | Dark Order | 77-51 | 128 | --- | 145.6 | 70th/67th/32nd/26th UP Kenny Omega | The Elite | 69-26-1 | 96 | Former AEW World Champion, Former AEW World Tag Team Champion, Former 2x AEW World Trios Champion | 144 | 1st/5th/24th/27th DOWN Kris Statlander | Best Friends | 67-20 | 87 | Reigning AEW TBS Champion | 143 | 54th/45th/31st/28th UP Billy Gunn | The Acclaimed | 64-15 | 79 | Reigning AEW World Trios Champion | 139.3 | —/—/29th/29th SAME Scorpio Sky | --- | 64-19 | 83 | Former 2x AEW TNT Champion, Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 136.6 | 3rd/9th/14th/30th DOWN

Thunder Rosa | --- | 61-10 | 71 | Former AEW Women's World Champion | 135.6 | —/27th/12th/31st DOWN Lance Archer | --- | 62-15 | 77 | --- | 134.6 | 24th/20th/27th/32nd DOWN Sammy Guevara | Don Callis Family | 70-45 | 115 | Former 3x AEW TNT Champion | 133.3 | 30th/57th/39th/33rd UP Cash Wheeler | FTR | 62-20-1 | 83 | Reigning 2x AEW World Tag Team Champion | 131.6 | 40th/41st/34th/34th SAME Dax Harwood | FTR | 64-28-1 | 93 | Reigning 2x AEW World Tag Team Champion | 131 | 40th/44th/35th/35th SAME Eddie Kingston | --- | 63-25 | 88 | --- | 130.3 | 64th/38th/43rd/36th UP Chris Jericho | --- | 64-32-1 | 97 | Former AEW World Champion | 128.3 | 14th/25th/36th/37th DOWN Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. | --- | 66-39 | 105 | Former AEW Women's World Champion, Owen Hart Cup Winner | 128 | 32nd/32nd/41st/38th UP Trent Beretta | Best Friends | 69-52-1 | 122 | --- | 126.6 | 6th/40th/44th/39th UP Stu Grayson | --- | 60-23 | 83 | --- | 124.6 | 20th/11th/--/40th DOWN

Brian Cage | Mogul Embassy | 61-27 | 88 | Former FTW Champion | 124.3 | 45th/21st/48th/41st UP Ruby Soho | The Outcasts | 58-18 | 76 | --- | 123.3 | —/100th/49th/42nd UP Matt Hardy | --- | 61-34 | 95 | --- | 119.6 | 54th/55th/53rd/43rd UP Ortiz | ---| 59-35 | 94 | --- | 114.3 | 27th/50th/42nd/44th DOWN Red Velvet | --- | 56-25 | 81 | --- | 114 | —/36th/33rd/45th DOWN Isiah Kassidy | --- | 67-65 | 132 | --- | 113 | 51st/49th/51st/46th UP Pac | Death Triangle | 53-25-2 | 80 | Former AEW International Champion, Former AEW World Trios Champion | 107.6 | 45th/51st/47th/47th SAME The Blade | BBB | 61-54 | 115 | --- | 106.3 | 18th/24th/37th/48th DOWN Anna Jay | --- | 54-30 | 84 | --- | 106 | 61st/80th/40th/49th DOWN Bryan Danielson | BCC | 48-12-2 | 62 | --- | 104.6 | —/103rd/66th/50th UP

MJF | --- | 48-14-1 | 63 | Reigning AEW World Champion, 4x Dynamite Diamond Ring Winner | 103 | 22nd/42nd/64th/51st UP Toni Storm | --- | 47-15 | 62 | Former 2x AEW Women's World Champion | 99.6 | —/—/87th/52nd UP Shawn Spears | --- | 48-24 | 72 | --- | 96 | 16th/29th/45th/53rd DOWN The Butcher | BBB | 54-45 | 99 | --- | 96 | 18th/34th/46th/54th DOWN QT Marshall | QTV | 57-58 | 115 | --- | 94.3 | 34th/26th/59th/55th UP Abadon | --- | 41-3 | 44 | --- | 93.6 | 57th/63rd/54th/56th DOWN Emi Sakura | --- | 54-52 | 106 | --- | 91.3 | —/83rd/73rd/57th UP Matt Sydal | --- | 49-35 | 84 | --- | 91 | —/60th/56th/58th DOWN Wheeler Yuta | BCC | 49-36 | 85 | --- | 90.3 | —/—/71st/59th UP Marq Quen | --- | 53-52 | 105 | --- | 89 | 53rd/46th/55th/60th DOWN

Ethan Page | --- | 46-28 | 74 | --- | 88.6 | —/65th/68th/61st UP Hook | --- | 38-1 | 39 | Reigning 2x FTW Champion | 88 | —/—/88th/62nd UP Diamante | --- | 48-37 | 85 | AEW Women's Tag Team Cup Winner | 87.3 | —/—/—/63rd NEW Mike Santana | --- | 44-26 | 70 | --- | 85.3 | 27th/47th/52nd/64th DOWN Claudio Castagnoli | BCC | 40-13 | 53 | --- | 84.6 | —/—/107th/65th UP Serena Deeb | --- | 39-10 | 49 | --- | 84.3 | 72nd/78th/61st/66th DOWN Riho | --- | 40-15 | 55 | Former AEW Women's World Champion | 83.3 | 35th/70th/64th/67th DOWN Dustin Rhodes | --- | 40-17 | 57 | --- | 82 | 17th/39th/67th/68th DOWN Penelope Ford | --- | 41-21 | 62 | --- | 81.6 | 39th/48th/63rd/69th DOWN Julia Hart | House of Black | 38-13 | 51 | --- | 80 | —/—/—/70th NEW

Athena | --- | 35-7 | 42 | --- | 77 | —/—/106th/71st UP Marina Shafir | --- | 39-21 | 60 | --- | 77 | —/—/—/72nd NEW Colt Cabana | --- | 41-28 | 69 | --- | 77 | 36th/28th/57th/73rd DOWN Daniel Garcia | --- | 43-38 | 81 | --- | 75 | —/—/77th/74th UP Leyla Hirsch | --- | 36-14 | 50 | --- | 74.6 | —/66th/60th/75th DOWN Malakai Black | House of Black | 34-8 | 42 | Former AEW World Trios Champion | 74 | —/88th/86th/76th UP Adam Cole | --- | 34-9-1 | 44 | Owen Hart Cup Winner | 73.6 | —/91st/70th/77th DOWN Griff Garrison | --- | 42-37 | 79 | --- | 73.3 | —/59th/62nd/78th DOWN Tony Nese | Varsity Athletes | 37-22 | 59 | --- | 71.6 | —/—/74th/79th DOWN Kip Sabian | --- | 39-30 | 69 | --- | 71 | 26th/68th/85th/80th UP

The Bunny | BBB | 36-21 | 57 | --- | 70 | 32nd/69th/69th/81st DOWN Jay Lethal | --- | 36-23 | 59 | --- | 68.6 | —/—/83rd/82nd UP Swerve Stickland | Mogul Embassy | 33-17 | 50 | Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 65.6 | —/—/89th/83rd UP Angelo Parker | --- | 35-24 | 59 | --- | 65.6 | —/86th/76th/84th DOWN Keith Lee | --- | 30-8 | 38 | Former AEW World Tag Team Champion | 64.6 | —/—/84th/85th DOWN Brody King | House of Black | 30-10 | 40 | Former AEW World Trios Champion | 63.3 | —/—/98th/86th UP Miro | --- | 28-4 | 32 | Former AEW TNT Champion | 62.6 | 68th/62nd/75th/87th DOWN Konosuke Takeshita | Don Callis Family | 30-13 | 43 | --- | 14.3 | 61.3 | —/—/—/88th NEW Matt Menard | --- | 34-28 | 62 | --- | 60.6 | —/86th/81st/89th DOWN Christopher Daniels | --- | 35-32 | 67 | --- | 60.3 | 44th/56th/71st/90th DOWN

Willow Nightingale | --- | 32-27 | 59 | Owen Hart Cup Winner | 56.6 | —/—/—/91st NEW Skye Blue | --- | 41-59 | 100 | --- | 56.3 | —/—/—/92nd NEW Angelico | SAP | 38-53 | 91 | --- | 53.3 | 59th/71st/78th/93rd DOWN Jamie Hayter | --- | 28-21 | 49 | Former AEW Women's World Champion | 51.3 | —/102nd/101st/94th UP Samoa Joe | --- | 23-7 | 30 | Former 2x AEW TNT Champion | 49 | —/—/109th/95th UP Anthony Ogogo | --- | 21-1 | 22 | --- | 48.3 | —/93rd/82nd/96th DOWN Sting | --- | 20-0 | 20 | --- | 46.6 | —/89th/99th/97th UP Lee Moriarty | --- | 28-28 | 56 | --- | 46.6 | —/—/97th/98th DOWN Buddy Matthews | House of Black | 21-9 | 30 | Former AEW World Trios Champion | 43 | —/—/102nd/99th UP Darius Martin | Top Flight | 25-24 | 49 | --- | 42.3 | —/90th/100th/100th SAME

Lee Johnson | --- | 33-53 | 86 | --- | 41.6 | —/82nd/90th/101st DOWN Andrade El Idolo | La Faccion Ingobernable | 20-11 | 31 | --- | 39.3 | —/96th/93rd/102nd DOWN Jake Hager | --- | 24-25 | 49 | --- | 39.3 | 52nd/74th/91st/103rd DOWN Josh Woods | Varsity Athletes | 20-13 | 33 | --- | 38 | —/—/—/104th NEW Juice Robinson | Bullet Club Gold | 18-7 | 25 | --- | 37.3 |—/—/—/105th NEW Mercedes Martinez | --- | 17-7 | 24 | --- | 35 | —/—/94th/106th DOWN Brock Anderson | --- | 19-15 | 34 | --- | 34.3 | —/—/94th/107th DOWN Christian Cage | --- | 18-12 | 30 | Reigning AEW TNT Champion | 34 | —/81st/92nd/108th DOWN Jay White | Bullet Club Gold | 15-3 | 18 | --- | 33 | —/—/—/109th NEW Kiera Hogan | --- | 19-17 | 36 | --- | 33 | —/—/—/110th NEW

Satnam Singh | --- | 14-4 | 18 | --- | 30 | —/—/113th/111th UP Yuka Sakazaki | --- | 14-7 | 21 | --- | 28 | 75th/85th/103rd/112th DOWN Jeff Hardy | --- | 14-9 | 23 | --- | 26.6 | —/—/105th/113th DOWN Mr. Brodie Lee | Dark Order | 11-3 | 14 | Former AEW TNT Champion | 23.6 31st/{Deceased} N/A/{Deceased} N/A/{Deceased} N/A Kyle Fletcher | --- | 13-10 | 23 | --- | 23.6 | —/—/—/115th NEW Nick Comoroto | --- | 25-52 | 77 | --- | 23.6 | —/76th/96th/116th DOWN Rush | La Faccion Ingobernable | 13-12 | 25 | --- | 22.3 | —/—/—/117th NEW Parker Boudreaux | Mogul Embassy | 10-2 | 12 | --- | 22 | —/—/108th/118th DOWN Jeff Jarrett | 13-14 | 27 | --- | 21 | —/—/—/119th NEW Danhausen | Best Friends | 11-8 | 19 | --- | 20.3 | —/—/112th/120th DOWN

Taya Valkyrie | --- | 11-8 | 19 | --- | 20.3 | —/—/—/121st NEW Ari Daivari | Varsity Athletes | 16-26 | 42 | --- | 20 | —/—/—/122nd NEW Big Bill | --- | 13-16 | 29 | --- | 19.6 | —/—/—/123rd NEW Saraya | The Outcasts | 9-3 | 12 | Reigning AEW Women's World Champion | 19 | —/—/120th/124th DOWN Mark Briscoe | --- | 8-0 | 8 | --- | 18.6 | —/—/—/125th NEW Kyle O'Reilly | --- | 9-4 | 13 | --- | 18.3 | —/—/104th/126th DOWN Mark Davis | --- | 9-7 | 16 | --- | 16.3 | —/—/—/127th NEW Zack Clayton | --- | 12-21 | 33 | --- | 14 | —/—/—/128th NEW Matt Taven | --- | 6-3 | 9 | --- | 12 | —/—/—/129th NEW Leila Grey | --- | 11-21 | 32 | --- | 11.6 | —/—/—/130th NEW

Action Andretti | --- | 10-18 | 28 | --- | 11.3 | —/—/—/131st NEW Roderick Strong | --- | 5-2 | 7 | --- | 10.3 | —/—/—/132nd NEW Mike Bennett | --- | 5-3 | 8 | --- | 9.6 | —/—/—/133rd NEW Paul Wight | --- | 4-0 | 4 | --- | 9.3 | —/96th/111th/134th DOWN Nick Wayne | --- | 4-3 | 7 | --- | 7.3 | —/—/—/135th NEW AR Fox | --- | 8-17 | 25 | --- | 7.3 | —/—/—/136th NEW Johnny TV | QTV | 4-4 | 8 | --- | 6.6 | —/—/—/137th NEW Aaron Solo | QTV | 25-81 | 106 | --- | 4.3 | —/92nd/116th/138th DOWN Harley Cameron | QTV | 2-1 | 3 | --- | 4 | —/—/—/139th NEW Bandido | --- | 4-8 | 12 | --- | 4 | —/—/—/140th NEW

Michael Nakazawa | The Elite | 7-19 | 26 | --- | 3.6 | 73rd/101st/115th/141st DOWN Paige Vanzant | --- | 1-0 | 1 | --- | 2.3 | —/—/117th/142nd DOWN Shawn Dean | --- | 15-51 | 66 | --- | 1 | —/107th/119th/143rd DOWN Brandon Cutler | The Elite | 14-49-2 | 65 | --- | 0.6 | 78th/104th/127th/144th DOWN Madison Rayne | --- | 4-14 | 18 | --- | 0 | —/—/117th/145th DOWN Mr. Brodie Lee Jr. | Dark Order | 0-0 | 0 | --- | 0 | —/—/120th/146th DOWN Jose the Assistant | La Faccion Ingobernable | 0-0 | 0 | --- | 0 | —/—/—/146th NEW Prince Nana | Mogul Embassy | 0-0 | 0 | --- | 0 | —/—/—/146th NEW Stokely Hathaway | --- | 0-2 | 2 | --- | -1.3 | —/—/120th/149th DOWN Sonjay Dutt | --- | 0-2 | 2 | --- | -1.3 | —/—/120th/149th DOWN

Mark Sterling | --- | 0-3 | 3 | --- | -2 | —/—/126th/151st DOWN Rebel | --- | 1-10 | 11 | --- | -4.3 | —/105th/128th/152nd DOWN Komander | --- | 1-10 | 11 | --- | -4.3 | —/—/—/153rd NEW Luther | SAP | 13-63 | 76 | --- | -11.6 | 58th/95th/129th/154th DOWN Peter Avalon | --- | 14-72-2 | 88 | --- | -14.6 | 79th/106th/131st/155th DOWN Serpentico | SAP | 14-125 | 139 | --- | -50.6 | —/—/132nd/156th DOWN

#aew #all elite wrestling #personal opinion

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sport333 · 1 year ago

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Bae Ji-hwan also defeated multi-hit Cy Young Award pitcher

Bae Ji-hwan (24, Pittsburgh Pirates) regained his batting sense against great pitcher Jack Greinke (40, Kansas City Royals), who won the Cy Young Award.

Bae Ji-hwan started as the first batter and center fielder in the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) visit game against the Kansas City Royals at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on the 29th (Korea Standard Time) and played with two hits and one run in five at-bats.

His season batting average increased from 0.237 to 0.240 (59 hits in 246 at bats).

The Pittsburgh Pirates were ranked in the order of Bae Ji-hwan (center fielder), Kibrien Hayes (third baseman), Andrew McCutchin (nominated hitter), Joshua Palacios (left fielder), Endy Rodriguez (catcher), Jack Swinsky (right fielder), Riover Peguero (second baseman), Alfonso Rivas (first baseman), and Alika Williams (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Johan Oviedo.

Kansas City faced off with M.J. Melendez (left fielder), Bobby Witt Jr. (shortstop), Freddie Perez (catcher), Michael Mash (second baseman), Nelson Velasquez (right fielder), Drew Waters (nominated hitter), Matt Beatty (first baseman), Matt Duffy (third baseman) and Kyle Isbel (center fielder). Greinke was the starting pitcher.

Attention was focused on the showdown between Bae Ji-hwan and Greinke. Greinke is a great pitcher with 224 wins in his career. In 2009, he experienced a brilliant career, winning the American League Cy Young Award, and once built the strongest 1-2-3 starting lineup in the LA Dodgers with Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays) and Clayton Kershaw.

He is likely to enter the Hall of Fame after retirement, but he has been sluggish this season with 1 win, 12 losses, and an ERA of 5.28. It was a game that seemed to have a good chance for Bae Ji-hwan, a rookie this season.

Bae Ji-hwan, who started as the leadoff hitter in the top of the first inning, hit Greinke's 71.7 mph (115.4 km) curve and sent the ball next to the shortstop. Shortstop Wit Jr. flew himself but failed to catch the ball at once, and Bae Ji-hwan has already arrived at first base in the meantime.

Bae Ji-hwan, who took the lead again in the top of the third inning after scoring one run in the second inning, pushed a four-seam fastball toward his body in the second pitch and dropped the ball on the left-field line. Bae Ji-hwan, who ran as fast as he could after hitting the ball, reached second base with ease.

14th multi-hit this season. It was the 9th game since the Minnesota Twins match on the 19th and the 14th time this season. It was also the first time in 4 games since the Chicago Cubs match on the 25th. Bae Ji-hwan homered on a double by Hayes, a follow-up hitter.

He was able to dig home with ease when he hit a double by a follow-up hitter Hay. 42nd goal of the season.

After that, he couldn't get on base additionally. In the fifth inning, he stepped down with a grounder to second base, and in the seventh inning, he stepped down with a fly ball to center field against changed pitcher Taylor Hearn. In the ninth inning, Carlos Hernandez also stepped down with a ground ball to end the game.

The result was a clean sweep of Pittsburgh. Unlike Greinke's early dismissal with six hits, two walks, two strikeouts and two runs in 4⅔ innings, Pittsburgh starter Oviedo blocked the Kansas City lineup. He threw 112 pitches in nine innings and had only two hits. He won his first career shutout with two walks and five strikeouts. It's the eighth win (13 losses) of the season. The ERA was also lowered from 4.46 to 4.20.

Pittsburgh, which broke its second straight loss, maintained its fourth place in the Central League with 59 wins and 73 losses. On the other hand, Kansas City, which has lost four consecutive games, remained at the bottom of the AL Central District with 41 wins and 92 losses.

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msclaritea · 1 year ago

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Zegler began her career starring in several musicals while attending the Immaculate Conception High School, including playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2016), Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2017), Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street (2018), and Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical (2019). For all four performances, she received Metro Award nominations in the Actress in a Leading Role category. Her other roles include Serena in Legally Blonde, Cosette in Les Misérables, and Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Zegler's YouTube channel has been active since July 2015 and has received attention." As of 2022, Zegler's video of herself singing "Shallow", from A Star Is Born, has garnered over 12.2 million views on Twitter.

In January 2018, director Steven Spielberg posted an open casting call via Twitter for a new film adaptation of West Side Story. Zegler, then 16 years old, responded to the casting call tweets with videos of herself singing "Tonight" and "I Feel Pretty"; she had performed the role at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in 2017. Zegler was selected from over 30,000 applicants for the role of Maria, marking her film debut.

Capacity

Auditorium: 1,367

Drapkin Cabaret & Lounge: 42/60/80

Black Box Theater: 49

Black box theaters have their roots in the American avant-garde of the early 20th century. The black box theaters became popular and increasingly widespread in the 1960s as rehearsal spaces. Almost any large room can be transformed into a "black box" with the aid of paint or curtains, making black box theaters an easily accessible option for theater artists. Sets are simple and small and costs are lower, appealing to nonprofit and low-income artists or companies. The black box is also considered by many to be a place where more "pure" theatre can be explored, with the most human and least technical elements in focus.

The concept of a building designed for flexible staging techniques can be attributed to Swiss designer Adolphe Appia, circa 1921. The invention of such a stage instigated a half-century of innovations in the relationship between audience and performers.

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xtruss · 1 year ago

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Seven Projects to Reclaim NYC Space From Cars

New York’s first public realm officer is working to shepherd plans in each of the city’s five boroughs that will make it greener and more hospitable to walkers and bikers.

— CityLab | Design | Bloomberg | By Tope Alake | July 11, 2023

A rendering of the plan for Greeley Square in Manhattan. Source: “New” New York Panel

New York City is moving forward with plans to expand many of its pandemic-era efforts to make streets more accessible to pedestrians and bikers.

The changes are being shepherded through with the help of the city’s first public realm officer, Ya-Ting Liu, who has identified priority projects in each of the five boroughs. These projects, which tap some of the $375 million in funding earmarked to make the city “cleaner and greener,” include more pedestrian plazas on congested streets, wider sidewalks and expanded public space, such as an area below the Manhattan side of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

Liu is one of just a handful of public realm officers in major US cities tasked with repurposing public space, improving access to transit and making alternative transportation options like biking more accessible. The creation of the role in New York City was championed by community groups that found city agencies too difficult and time-consuming to navigate.

A rendering of the plan for the famed shopping corridor on Fifth Avenue. Source: "New" New York Panel

“To have a new sort of czar of public space is something that we felt has been needed for a long time because it’s really complicated to get these kinds of public realm works done,” said Samara Karasyk, president of Hudson Square Business Improvement District. It took her group a decade to rebuild an industrial Hudson Street in lower Manhattan into a pedestrian-friendly boulevard. She’s hoping Liu will make the next phase of her project – and others throughout the city – easier and faster.

Liu is also charged with helping to bring equity to projects across neighborhoods and boroughs. “The pandemic has really put into sharp focus how important and critical it is to have vibrant and inclusive public spaces,” she said.

Here’s a look at some of the initial projects her office is helping to move from planning to completion.

The view north from West 25th Street and Broadway after public space and street safety improvements.Source: New York City Department of Transportation.

Manhattan, Broadway Vision and The Arches

The first phase of Mayor Eric Adams’ “Broadway Vision Plan” was completed in June, aimed at creating a larger car-free area in midtown Manhattan. It adds two new plazas and a two-way bike lane along Broadway from West 25th Street to West 32nd Street. The project also extends curbs and widens crosswalks to make it easier for cars and trucks to do pickups and drop-offs without blocking traffic. Once completed, the project will stretch about 2.8 miles, from Union Square to Columbus Circle.

In the meantime, a one-acre park called “The Arches” opened in May at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge with skating, basketball, pickleball and seating. It’s named after 53 of the structure’s historic arches and is in a busy section of Chinatown. Public access to the area has been closed because of renovations that started in 2010. The nonprofit organization Gotham Park advocated for redevelopment, including a planned reopening of the Brooklyn Banks skate park, to bring parity with public space that is available under the more affluent and less diverse Brooklyn side of the bridge.

Public space under the Brooklyn Bridge. Source: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

Another Manhattan-based project is aimed at revitalizing Fifth Avenue, from Bryant Park at 42nd Street to Central Park at 59th Street, to add tree plantings, wider sidewalks and additional lighting to the famed shopping corridor. The project is scheduled to be completed within two years.

Brooklyn, Underhill Plaza and Broadway Junction

A new pedestrian plaza on Underhill Avenue in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn is the first step in transforming the corridor that leads to Prospect Park into a bike boulevard. It’s part of a broader plan to expand the open streets program that has partially closed Underhill and Vanderbilt Avenues to car traffic since the pandemic and created space for activities like outdoor yoga classes. The upgrades have helped businesses and local artists by creating inviting, less chaotic space for people to explore their neighborhood — a contrast to the bustle on nearby Atlantic Avenue, said Jackson Chabot, a director at Open Plans.

Mayor Adams and the MTA in May announced investments in public space, street safety and accessibility upgrades around the Broadway Junction subway station in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood. Source: Caroline Willis/Mayoral Photography Office

New York City also recently announced a $500 million investment in the Broadway Junction transit hub to make the station accessible and stimulate economic growth in East New York. Five subway and six bus lines, along with the Long Island Railroad, intersect at the station.

Plans include seven new elevators and escalators, two nearby pedestrian plazas, plantings and vending areas. The station has long been ignored and an upgrade has been overdue, Chabot said. Nearby housing, office and retail space are also expected to go up around the station. The city expects to break ground in 2027 and finish the project in 2030.

Queens, Jamaica Avenue

A stretch of Jamaica Avenue in Queens from 160th Street to Union Hall Street now has granite blocks, tables, chairs and planters aimed at encouraging people to sit, eat, read and meet friends. The stretch of the avenue from Sutphin Boulevard to Merrick Boulevard is getting wider sidewalks, extended curbs and elevated crosswalks. On Queens Boulevard, the city added barriers to extend the protected bike lane.

The new Street Seat on Jamaica Avenue, between 160th Street and Union Hall Street. Source: New York City Department of Transportation

The Bronx, Willis Avenue

Upgrades for Willis Avenue between East 147th Street and Bergen Avenue in the Bronx will include a two-way bike lane separated from traffic and other streetscaping. “The Bronx has incredibly high rates of traffic violence, and outside of its few major parks it is also devoid of neighborhood green space,” Chabot said. “This is a perfect example of equitable investment in public space that will benefit people whether they are commuting, shopping, or just looking to hang out.”

Staten Island, Minthorne Street

In Staten Island, there will be permanent improvements to the Minthorne Street Open Street, turning it into a space shared by cars and pedestrians. The boulevard will connect to the Bay Street public realm improvements at Tompkinsville Park and a new plaza at Central Avenue.

Looking For Inspiration

In addition to the plans already in place, Liu said her team will tap ideas already in place in urban centers like Mexico City, Seattle and Cambridge, Massachusetts. “The importance of creating beautiful, vibrant, inclusive spaces is really important to the quality of life and our city’s economic recovery across all five boroughs.”

It’s a welcome change for advocates who worked to get Liu’s position created. “Most New Yorkers don’t have very large places to live in, so the parks, plazas and the sidewalks are our living rooms,” Karasyk said.

#New York City #Manhattan #Shepherd Plans #Hospitable For Walkers & Bikers #Brooklyn #Queens #Bronx #Staten Island #Mexico City Seattle and Cambridge Massachusetts #Tompkinsville Park #Sutphin & Merrick Boulevards #East New York #Brooklyn Bridge

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khabritukda1 · 2 years ago

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The HEAD OF THE GOVERNMENT - PRIME MINISTER

A prime minister, cabinet chief or premier is the leader of the executive branch of government and the head of the cabinet, typically in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In these systems, the prime minister acts as the head of government, rather than the head of state, and works under a monarch in a democratic constitutional monarchy or a president in a republican form of government.

In parliamentary systems based on the Westminster system, the prime minister is the effective head of government and oversees the executive power. In these systems, the head of state or their official representative (such as a monarch, president or governor-general) typically holds a symbolic position, although they may have reserve powers. In modern times, it is customary for the premier to be a member of parliament or its lower chamber, though not always, and is responsible for ensuring the successful passage of bills along with other cabinet members. In certain monarchies, the monarch retains the authority to exercise executive powers, also known as the royal prerogative, without the approval of parliament.

The Role Of Prime Minister

As we are all aware, the head of the government is the premier, who oversees all the regulations and authorities. The Indian President has the authority to call upon any individual who has the backing of a majority of the House of Representatives to establish a central or federal government at the national level and wield its powers, subject to eligibility. The Prime Minister selects members of the Council of Ministers and designates them as President. They also constitute the central group of ministers, recognized as the Cabinet, that are accountable for the major functions and departments of the Government of India.

The Prime Minister supports and counsels the President in assigning responsibilities to the various departments and offices under the Government of India (Business Development) Regulations, 1961. The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for coordinating this work.

Duties and Responsibilities of Prime Minister -

The Head of Government supervises the functioning of the Executive and supervises the implementation of the Government Program. The Chief ensures coherence in the European Union-related issues addressed and assessed by the Government. Should the Head of Government be incapable of carrying out their duties, they shall be assumed by the appointed Deputy Head, or if unavailable, by the longest-serving Cabinet member.

Forms The Government — The Constitution clearly specifies that the President must consider the Prime Minister’s counsel when selecting ministers. Prior to the enactment of the 42nd Amendment Act in 1976, the President traditionally adhered to the conventions of parliamentary democracy by heading the Prime Minister’s advice.

Chairman of the Cabinet — In the capacity of the Cabinet’s leader, the Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet assemblies and determines the topics for discussion. Should there be any discord among the ministers during the Cabinet meetings, the Prime Minister has the power to implement his verdict. He supervises the timetable of the Cabinet meetings and has the freedom to authorise or reject proposals for Cabinet discussions.

Leader of The Lok Sabha — In India, the Prime Minister serves as the leader of Lok Sabha, whereas in England, the Prime Minister delegates the responsibility to a colleague to ease their workload, but retains overall accountability. The Indian Prime Minister is tasked with announcing all major policy modifications.

Spokesman of Government Policy — He is the key spokesperson of the Government for both internal and external affairs. His role in shaping the comprehensive strategy is crucial. He represents India in various global and Commonwealth gatherings. Jawaharlal frequently embarked on foreign visits to discuss international agreements and pacts.

How Prime Minister Got Elected?

The Prime Minister is elected through an electoral process by the Members of Parliament. The Government leader is chosen by the party that secures the maximum number of seats out of the 545 available in Lok Sabha. As per Article 75 of the Constitution, the President is responsible for appointing the Prime Minister, but only after the leader of the majority party in Lok Sabha has been identified as such. However, if no party manages to secure a clear majority in Lok Sabha, the President may exercise their own judgement in appointing the Prime Minister.

The Premier can be chosen from a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha Nevertheless, if the selected individual is not a member of either House of the Parliament, they must be elected to either House within six months of their appointment.

In keeping with the parliamentary system of governance, the President is obliged to name the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Premier.

However, if no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the President may exercise their discretion in selecting and appointing the Premier.

In such a circumstance, the President usually designates the leader of the largest party or coalition in the Lok Sabha as the Premier and urges them to obtain a vote of confidence in the House within a month.

The Function and Power Of Prime Minister

Prime ministers possess numerous functions and authorities which enable them to lead their country in an efficient and effective manner. Here are a few points regarding the power of the prime minister. In the Indian constitution, the prime minister is mentioned in only four articles namely 74, 75, 78, and 366.

They provide recommendations to the President concerning the selection of ministers. The appointment of ministers by the President solely depends on the proposal made by the Prime Minister.

They allocate and reallocate ministers to specific departments.

In the event of disagreement, they can request the resignation of a minister or recommend to the President to dismiss them.

The Prime Minister chairs the sessions of the Council of Ministers and their decisions are influenced by their own decisions.

They preside over the Council of Ministers and exert their influence over their decisions.

They guide, direct, control, and organise the work of all ministries. They can dissolve the Council of Ministers upon leaving office.

The Prime Minister holds the position of the chairperson of the Council of Ministers.

Prime Minister Power Restriction

Just like the normal people Prime minister have also restriction in his life whether it is regarding the use of power or responsibilities , so here are some points regarding it

No confidence Motion: Under a parliamentary system of government, members have the authority to withdraw their confidence if they feel that the Prime Minister is not performing satisfactorily or not meeting their objectives. In such a scenario, the Prime Minister is obliged to resign. The Prime Minister’s concern about losing power restricts their actions.

On the Party’s Agenda: The Prime Minister’s political party has a set of beliefs and a political program that they want to enforce. Consequently, the Prime Minister cannot act outside the stated policies of their party.

Advice from the Head of the Nation: The Head of the Nation may occasionally offer guidance to the Prime Minister on specific issues. They can draw the Prime Minister’s attention to urgent concerns that are affecting the country. In this regard, the Prime Minister’s actions are constrained by the Head of the Nation.

Public Perception: Public opinion can have an impact on the Prime Minister’s decisions. This can happen if the Prime Minister proposes policies that the public perceives as harmful to their interests. Furthermore, the Prime Minister may not want negative publicity in the media. Therefore, they are bound by public opinion.

Prime Minister Resignation

The Cabinet ceases to exist by default when the Prime Minister passes away or resigns. Without an Indian Prime Minister, the Cabinet cannot be formed. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who must have a majority in the House of Commons. If a Director resigns, the President appoints a replacement following the Premier's recommendations.

Conclusion and list of prime minister

The Cabinet automatically disbands upon the death or resignation of the Prime Minister. If an Indian Prime Minister is absent, there can be no Cabinet. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who must have a majority in the House of Commons. Whenever a Director resigns, the President fills any vacancies in accordance with the Prime Minister’s advice.

List of Prime Minister

Jawahar lal Nehru ( 1947 to 1964 )

2. Gulzari Lal Nanda (1964 to 1964)

3. Lal Bahadur Shastri ( 1964 to 1966)

4. Gulzari Lal Nanda (1966 to 1966)

5. Indira Gandhi ( 1966 to 1977)

6. Moraji Desai ( 1977 to 1979 )

7. Charan singh ( 1979 to 1980 )

8. Indira Gandhi ( 1980 to 1984 )

9. Rajiv Gandhi ( 1984 to 1989 )

10. V.P Singh ( 1989 to 1990 )

11. Chandra Sekhar ( 1990 to 1991 )

12. P.V Narishima Rao ( 1991 to 1996 )

13. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ( 1996 to 1996 )

14. H.D Deve Gowda ( 1996 to 1997 )

15. Inder Kumar Gujral ( 1997 to 1998 )

16. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ( 1998 to 2004 )

17. Manmohan Singh ( 2004 to 2014 )

18. Narendra Modi ( 2014 till up to date )

About Narendra Modi

On 30th May 2019, Shri Narendra Modi was sworn in for his second term as India’s Prime Minister. He is the first Prime Minister to be born after India gained Independence and had previously served in the same capacity from 2014 to 2019. Shri Modi’s tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat from October 2001 to May 2014 is the longest in the state’s history.

In both the 2014 and 2019 Parliamentary elections, Shri Modi led the Bharatiya Janata Party to unprecedented victories with absolute majorities. The last time a political party secured such a clear majority was in 1984.

Shri Modi has brought about a significant transformation in governance with his slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, which endorses inclusive, development-oriented, and corruption-free governance. The Prime Minister has worked with remarkable speed and scale to ensure the last-mile delivery of schemes and services, as part of his vision of Antyodaya. International organisations have acknowledged India’s progress in poverty eradication under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. This is due to a range of measures for the upliftment of the poor taken by the Central Government.

India now boasts the world’s largest healthcare program, Ayushman Bharat, which provides high-quality and affordable healthcare to over 50 crore Indians, including the poor and neo-middle class.

Narendra Modi is a people’s leader, dedicated to resolving their issues and improving their quality of life. There is nothing more satisfying for him than being among the citizens, sharing in their happiness, and easing their troubles. His strong bond with the people in person is reinforced by a robust online presence. He is recognized as the most technology-savvy head of state in India, using the internet to connect with individuals and bring about positive changes. He is highly active on various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SoundCloud, LinkedIn, Weibo, and others.

For more knowledge please visit Khabri Tukda website, also follow our social media pages and never miss to watch our shorts and long videos on YouTube Channel.

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