#This is exactly why i did not choose to go into environmental law

[lilybug-02]

Ho boy! -Do I love reading scientific articles about managed retreat, the process by which people are moving from their homes and communities as a way to escape the growing threat of rising sea level and natural disasters. And how the people being most effected are low income or indigenous peoples. And how the US government is oblivious to the social injustice of how they go about it all.

This doesn't make me want to cry my eyes out at all!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #368

“whatever doesn’t kill you, is gonna leave a scar”

Have you ever bought a YouTuber’s merch? My favorite shirt is the Day of the Dead design by Cloak, which is Markiplier's and jacksepticeye's clothing brand. Mom's friend/former co-worker also got me a Ninja Sex Party shirt because she knew I liked them. There are SO MANY YouTubers I wanna support by buying shirts. Do you think oatmeal tastes better when made with water or milk? Milk, 110%. Have you ever left a note in a library book? No. What time of day do you prefer to wash your hair? Morning. Has anyone ever spread lies about you? Yes. Have you ever taken a photograph with a celebrity? If so, did it turn out the way you wanted, or do you wish you could retake it? No. If you could move out of your home country permanently, would you? If so, where would you go? If it didn't mean being so very far from my family, I would love to move to Canada. Is there a celebrity that everyone else seems to love, but you find totally overrated? Why is it that you don’t like them? I legit don't know who's considered currently popular, and I especially don't know who they are as people. If you could volunteer for any charity, which one would you choose? Do you think it’s more important to help humans, or are animal and environmental charities equally important? Something relating to animals, and I think they're both equally important. Do you prefer holidays where you relax, or actually do things? I like a mix. Something chill, but you still do some stuff as a family. Do you think that after we die our spirit is still alive? Yes. Has anybody ever told you that you could be a model? Someone has mistaken me for a model in a picture I once took. It was one of the most flattering things I've ever heard, haha. Do you use different kinds of moisturizer for different body parts? ie. hand lotion for your hands, face cream for your face. Or do you just use one moisturizer for all body parts? Yes. Have you ever felt like you were someone’s rebound? No. Has anybody ever broken up with you over something really pathetic? What was it? Have you ever been dumped in a disrespectful way? (eg. through text, through a friend..) I have 100% been dumped in a very cowardly and disrespectful way; after dating Jason for nearly four years and being very serious, he broke up with me very abruptly over Facebook Messenger. His reason was valid, but at the same time, he NEVER talked to me about it. Apparently my depression was dragging him down. If he'd fucking communicated it, I would have explored new treatment options so goddamn fast. But no, he decided to snap his fingers and disappear. That's exactly WHY it was so traumatic, I think: it was so unexpected and sudden. Did you have a lot of role models as a kid? Animal enthusiasts like Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin for sure. Do you feel like anyone looks up to you? Why or why not? God no. I'm just... not someone to aspire to be like. What was the last thing you found offensive? I'm not sure. Who is the nicest person you know? My mom. Do you feel safe in your country? I feel safe in NC, rather. Like I don't expect an atom bomb or terrorist attack or something in this obscure area. In the U.S.A. itself, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. America is definitely not loved by every other country. Do you feel safe where you live? Not in this city, no. Have you been falsely diagnosed with something by a bad doctor? Yup. Did y'all know I apparently have ADHD? I know, shocking. Have you ever had a doctor refuse to treat you? No. Name the strangest game you’ve ever played (video game or real game): The first Silent Hill, probably. It took a lot of reading to get it. Do you know anyone who has been struck by lightning before? No. Which cartoon character would you want to keep as a pet? Does Stitch count? Or a Pokemon. Do you like marshmallows? Yes. What is your favorite flavor of candy cane? I really like the Jolly Rancher candy canes, I think they are? Have you ever fostered an animal? No. Do you still take hot showers when it’s hot out? Not as hot, but not cold except on very extreme occasions. When writing $ sign, do you draw one line through the S or two? Two. What animal have you always wanted as a pet but couldn’t have? I'm thankful that my parents were pretty open-minded to what pets I really wanted, but one I was never allowed to have was a ferret because of how messy and smelly they are. List three people you’ve had crushes on: Jason, Sara, and Sebastian were probably my biggest crushes. Have you ever thrown up from cramps? No, but god have I felt close. List three people you had a hard time forgiving. Jason, Colleen, and my dad. Who is the most spiritual person you know? Probably my sister's mother-in-law. Would you ever start a vlog? God no, I'd bore people to tears. Are your dreams coming true yet? I mean, I guess in some ways with my mental health. In my deepest depression, what I have now was a dream, even though current me is very discontent with it. Most of my dreams, though? No. Do you struggle with depression? I've been diagnosed with severe depression since 7th grade. Are you haunted by your past? A few things won't leave me alone. What medical conditions do you have? Just a lot. There are even more that are up for debate. I've talked about my diagnosed conditions enough. Do you use a Magic Bullet? No. What does your apron look like? I don’t have one. What are your favorite spicy foods? Hot Cheetos, Takis, hot wings, jalapeno pizza... Man, I love spicy food. Which do you like better: being an adult or being a kid? Being a kid. Were you excited to be a teenager on your thirteenth birthday? I had very mixed feelings. Did you feel insecure in high school? Shit, I still do. Would you ever be friends with someone who was suicidal? What the FUCK is this question? No fucking shit I would be. Someone being suicidal in no way affects who they are as a person. Who was the biggest bully in high school? I don't think there really was one. What was your favorite class in high school? Art. Would you rather have a daughter or a son? If I wanted kids, a daughter. Have you ever written to an advice columnist? No. Have you ever had a doctor not believe what you told him? Maybe? I did however have an employee at the ER the first time I went try to pry out of me that my self-mutilation was for attention, and it wasn't until I insisted about a dozen times that it wasn't that he believed me. It's odd looking back that I got REALLY attached to him during that stay, knowing now that it was absolutely horrible and extremely unhelpful for him to do that. If you’re female, would you feel uncomfortable having a male gynecologist? I would absolutely refuse to have a male one. Do you like Lisa Frank? Yeah, like can you talk about aesthetic. What gives you nightmares? Boy, I wish I could tell you, given how much I have them. Were you ever hospitalized as a child? No. Did you get senior pictures taken? No. What color is your bicycle? I don’t have one. Did you ever have to take home a fake baby in health class? No, thank fuck. Would you rather wear ivory or white on your wedding day? What color will your bridesmaids wear? I'd rather wear black. I think red will be the bridesmaids' color. Would you rather have a swimming pool or trampoline? I want a swimming pool so damn badly so I could exercise my legs without worrying about sweating, and I can stop and rest whenever I want, unlike going walking or something. I don't think my knees could handle a trampoline. Do you think babies are cute? Some, sure. But a lot, not really. Do you dream about the future a lot? Yeah. Do you think about your past a lot? Way too frequently. How good are you at living in the moment? I'm trying to get better at it. Have you ever questioned God’s existence? Yeah. Vanilla frosting or chocolate? Chocolate. What’s your favorite foreign cuisine? I've actually been exploring Italian pasta lately. I'm not a big fan of foreign food that I've tried, though. Have you ever moved to another state? No. Did you do anything productive today? No. .-. Can you say the alphabet backwards? No, actually. Do you like flowers? Of course; does anyone not? Have you ever thought you were gonna die? I didn't care if I did or didn't. What kind of mood are you in today? I was honestly really depressed through most of it. Just health stuff was really getting to me. I just woke up from what was honestly like a four-hour nap and I feel all right, I guess. What are you craving right now? I REALLY want Domino's jalapeno pizza. Is there anyone you would seriously punch right now if you had the chance? No. What is worse, physical or emotional pain? Definitely emotional. Have you ever walked in on somebody doing something… questionable? When Dad still lived with us, I think he might have been watching... you know... on TV when I came into my parents' room for something. Idk for sure though. I didn't ask, and I don't want to know. If you were to make videos on YouTube, what would they be of? Oh god, idk. I don't want to make any. What I'd have most fun with would be reptile education, but I 1.) have literally one snake, 2.) am not extremely educated on a good number of them and don't want to be misleading, and 3.) I would run outta content fast. So, leave it to Snake Discovery, haha. Posting pictures of yourself in a bathing suit on the internet - ok or not? Yes, it's okay????? If you're talking about me personally though, you won't see me dead in a bathing suit picture. Do you typically laugh when somebody falls down? No, I gasp and see if they're okay. What is the most disturbing movie you’ve ever watched? Paranormal Entity. The ending is... a lot. Your opinion of Katy Perry, please? I like a couple of her songs. If you could say anything to your Mom right now… what would it be? "Thank you for absolutely everything."

[maesterkenobi]

how I run my blog

Tagged by: as usual I’ve stolen it from @mynameisanakin  Tagging: no one, i am too lazy and i follow like 14 people so. just do it if you want to.

SPEED: is not my forte. I try my best, but there are several factors that work against me in this aspect: 1) I’m a chronic procrastinator 2) I’m scatterbrained 3) I have more than one blog 4) I almost never write replies that are less than two paragraphs and I want it to make sense and be good and be enjoyable for my partner, so it takes time. I almost never reply the same day (MAYBE on discord, because there my replies are way shorter and it’s mostly to my best friend), and you’re lucky if I reply within a week. I really try to be faster on this blog because I made a promise to myself (and I was doing okay until the whole virus thing happened and I ran into a bunch of personal problems) AND I am keeping a low profile on this blog so it doesn’t get overwhelming. Long story short, if you are looking for a super active daily replies partner, I am not it for you. If you’re okay with waiting for a while but getting more developed stories and longer replies in turn, then we should talk :)

REPLIES: Are on the longer side on this blog. I don’t really have the patience for one liners because they tend to go nowhere and then feel like bread crumbs of randomness all over my blog. They’re okay sometimes, but more often than not they feel like crack. Writing replies is really exhausting for me sometimes, but I try to force myself because I WANT to do it, I’m just having issues concentrating on one thing at a time so it takes me forever.

STARTERS: I don’t write welcoming starters because 8 out of 10 times they get ignored or are so random that they lead nowhere. If someone writes me a welcoming starter, it depends on the content but usually I’ll try to make it work for me and reply. I don’t often like starter calls because most people write absolutely pointless starters. For example they’ll write a paragraph of explaining what their muse did all day (unrelated to my muse), then walk into some random place they’ve never been to (e.g. a shady bar) and suddenly get surprised by my muse being there, and/or, my personal favorite, say something like “what the hell do you want from me”? Which I struggle with for several reasons. One, if you create a setting but don’t bother explaining why we’re there, you put the entire weight of explaining that (aka creating the actual setting) on ME, but you add an additional complication by making it something that I didn’t come up with, so now I have to introduce a world YOU invented with 0 idea of why you chose that particular location in the first place. Second, you put my muse in a situation that makes no sense for them and again force me to explain that, without even giving me a good reason to. And third, I play very different muses, but most of them are going to lose interest in the conversation immediately if the first thing you say to them is rude af. So, yeah, I actually really struggle with most random starters. Please just plot with me and then I will love you forever for writing me a plotted starter that I know will not create 400 questions in my head that I then have to bother you with, which makes me feel like a nuisance. (Or at least keep the setting neutral? Or try to come up with something that seems reasonable for my muse? I always try to do that and when I am unsure, I message the person who liked my starter calls.) Speaking of which, I rarely post starter calls, because.. well, like I just kind of explained, it’s comes with responsibility and work. And I’m lazy.

INBOX: is open for memes at all times, and questions of any kind. I often don’t get notified, so I sometimes see certain messages months later - when that happens, I usually don’t reply anymore if they’re anon because I’ll assume that person forgot or isn’t even around anymore. Sorry about that! It’s an issue I’ve had on several blogs and I don’t know how to fix it. Anon hate is deleted without comment, unless I feel there’s a point in replying to it publicly, or if it’s entertaining. I don’t roleplay via inbox and therefore any “ic” questions or interactions posted in there will be treated as a one-time meme, if I can reply to them at all. Asks of sexual nature from complete strangers will usually be ignored because Obi-Wan isn’t the muse for that at all. As I’ve stated in my rules I only roleplay with mutuals and therefore won’t roleplay with someone I don’t follow, even if they ignore that rule and start rping with me via inbox. I don’t mean to be dismissive, but I have these rules for a reason and I ask that people read and respect them.

SELECTIVITY: I am selective with whom I follow because I have limited time and energy for this blog (and all my blogs) and therefore find it irresponsible and pointless to accept 600 followers and threads when I know I can’t possibly reply to even 10% of them. Before I follow someone (back) I look at their blogs; in particular at their writing (to see if I like their style and their portrayal), their rules (to see what they like/dislike and if our general understanding of the RPC, roleplay, and in a way social interactions in general go well together), and sometimes their OOC posts to get a feeling of how the other person is. (Obviously I also sometimes don’t follow back when I don’t know the muse or fandom at all.) Blog rules and ooc posts can say A LOT about a person, and there are plenty of people in the RPC (in any fandom) that quickly rose to tumblr fame with shiny graphics and fancy formatting and dozens of well-developed verses and headcanons, but they straight up suck as people outside of writing. My rules state very clearly that I discourage hateful comments, mob mentality and callout culture, and unfortunately many “popular” blogs use exactly these tools to execute their power (which comes from being admired for all the wrong reasons). So, I know many people think being selective means you only pick partners with fancy graphics and poetic writing, but for me it actually means I want decent human beings as partners. I don’t give a shit if you format your posts (as long as you cut them) or if you have a blog with a fancy theme, or just a rules google doc, or if you use icons or not. If I like your writing and you seem like a nice and reasonable person, I’m good to go. If you talk to me about dogs I’m even better to go.

WISHLIST: I always try to have one because I find it very helpful when looking for plot ideas with new partners. I will look at yours if you like a plotting call or something too, but I know not everyone has a wishlist~

HONEST NOTE: I’m not a teenager anymore and I’ve been rping for over 14 years. I work with lots of strangers, I study for a job with lots of strangers. I think about philosophical concepts a lot, about morality and human behavior and I’ve come to the conclusion that kindness, empathy and compassion are some of the core values every single person should focus on to make the world a better place. I have no patience and no interest in engaging in the absolute toxic and harmful hate movement that’s taken over this website (and other social media platforms) in whatsoever way. Occasionally I’ll make a salty comment about it, but only because I’ve had it up to here. I am here to enjoy fandom the way I used to, and the way it used to be meant to be enjoyed - not to completely ignore real issues like world politics, economical and environmental crises, in order to entertain witch hunts on people who happen to enjoy a fictional ship that isn’t 300% approved by puritan statutes of the 1600s. I am responsible for the content I seek out online, and so are you. Does it suck when I see something I dislike? Sure. Is it the fault of the person who posted it? No. Especially not when I read their rules first, like I’m supposed to, and they clearly state that the thing I dislike will appear on their blog. And even if they didn’t, it was my choice to go on their blog and look at their content. If you can’t handle taking responsibility for the content you seek out online, then you are probably not old enough to use the internet unsupervised. I am free to write, read, and post on my personal blog whatever I want, as long as I am not breaking the law. Liking a fictional ship that involves an age gap? Not illegal. Liking a fictional ship that involves siblings? Not illegal. Liking a fictional ship in which one party was abusive to the other at some point? Not illegal. Liking a fictional character who killed your fave? Not illegal. It’s fictional. Get over it. And if you really think that seeing fictional characters or ships online that YOU consider “problematic” is hurting people in real life, then you should join those politicians who burn books that are “corrupting the people’s morals and minds”, who ban video games because they “make gamers violent”, and censor songs from the radio because they “present biased views on people of public importance”. Please reflect on your behavior. Destroying someone’s life because they liked something you don’t, telling them to commit suic/ide, ruining their chance of making friends who maybe share their love for a ship or character.. that’s bullying. Some of the cases I’ve seen on here were so severe, they qualify as serious cyberbullying and should be reported to the police. I don’t give a fuck if you hate Rey/lo or Damon Salva/tore, or the Joker. You don’t go and send someone messages telling them to kill themselves because they RP it. Because that is the real crime. And finally, if you feel the need to “educate” someone you consider “problematic” for whatever reason and you actually approach them - make sure you’re actually there to educate and discuss, not to throw an opinion at them and get aggressive when they don’t immediately magically agree. Because chances are they won’t. If you choose to open a dialogue, make sure it IS a fucking dialogue and not a condescending monologue. Learn how to shape an argument, find evidence to back up your claims - because not only will you become better at talking to people in any kind of situation, you’ll also maybe realize that your opinion wasn’t as well-founded as you thought.

[maulionicious-blog]

PRENATAL

Prenatal development, this follows 2 developmental patterns are cephalocaudal pattern and proximidistal pattern. Cephalocaudal pattern growth that proceeds from the head downward. While Proximidistal pattern growth that proceeds from the body outward. The fetus is responsive to stimuli and appears to learn in the womb. Prenatal temperamental differences persist into infancy and childhood, and some aspects of the prenatal sensory environment maybe important to future development. There are risks associated with teratogenic material diseases these include rubella, AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhoea, genital herpes, and CMV. If a mother has poor nutrition, her fetus faces increased risks of stillbirth, low birth weight, and death during the first year of life.

               When I realized prenatal, I really don’t know if this past is real that I remember or not because before I come into this world I started seeing pink path flowing through the clouds of what I see it depicts that makes me travel at that time I was like watching from what just I saw passes me by. I don’t know if these are real or that was inside my head but from what i see that looks like stars maybe a nebula of some kind galaxies. When I was born I thought it was like a space shuttle which I was riding but that’s it that is how I end up either I imagine that or it was like I saw how I really travel from that part and even so I choose to forget it.

INFANCY  

In infancy, many were able to say first words or other making sounds like cooing and anything that the baby emotion has express. The humans are born with adaptive reflexes that help them survive. Automatically sucking any object that enters the mouth, disappear in infancy or childhood. Primitive reflexes controlled by the less sophisticated parts of the brain. Sensorimotor stage, infants use information from their senses and motor actions to learn about the world. Object Permanence understanding that objects continue to exist when they can’t be seen. The infant has attachment things to the parents to identify his or her parents.

I didn’t remember what I do but I experience how difficult I was since my first guardian abused me then my parents forced me to go in Tagum were my grandparents can take care of me while my parents can do their work on their own. I was lucky and happy which leads to me being naughty and I was a difficult child to handle. From that past I was never recognized who are my parents was because all I know my parents are my grandparents thought they were real to me. And from that day I was quiet and suddenly would be different than any other day.

 EARLY CHILDHOOD

           The measuring intelligence an assumption in studying differences in intelligence is that these differences can be measured. The first tests led by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon to identify children who might have difficulty in school. This intelligence was later called Intelligence Quotient (IQ). The intelligence of child affects the influences in the family it depends how they raised their child. Parenting styles differ in temperament themselves, so, just like their children; they vary in how they respond to situations. The four types of parenting styles are permissive parenting style, authoritarian parenting type, authoritative parenting type, and uninvolved parenting style.

             When I was elementary student I was a running around person until they set new rules for me. My parents were became permissive or strict in general term, they intended to bring me after class hours in the tutorial centre to guide me through my topics and some of that I became a nuisance to others who were studying there too I suppose that I never learn anything that days. It may be different from today because I realized that studying is important and I learn through their reasons why my parents are so very strict to me. As of today I realize something that even when in difficult struggle, can be trying harder again to accomplish once goal.

      MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

           Physical and cognitive changes the way for being a middle childhood. Many children participate in such clubs like sports, arts, and etc. This has intellectual interest about their health, fitness, and academic performances were concerned. The cognitive changes which term for their language on how they initialize their potential to make it in time. Achievement tests are designed to assess specific information learned in school. The relationships of parents and also friends are important to keep the bonds together and strong no matter the problems are and their child and friends help to sustain their courage to do so in the end.    

           Middle child hood for me is about the pressure and sometimes I ignore the mistakes I did but I never well go around. I focus more on ignoring stuff playing a gadget my prioritize time that I did than studying. I never concern about my health and fitness, I always drink soda and eating junk foods. I had friends before, friends that see u one time then ignore me instantly, only cares when I am bullied by my classmate then they come and when the problem solves they’re gone. Parents can courage to their child something more and something wonderful to be great.  

 ADOLESCENCE

           Adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood. They’re puberty changes as primary and secondary sex characteristics, which their hormone as menarche which is the beginning of menstrual cycles. Adolescent sexuality can be so tempting and there are risks factor which led to sexual situation. Teens nowadays engaged in sexual activities were often seeing on television shows like the Pretty Little Liars. An adolescent learns and changes their gender identity as they confirm themselves gay, lesbians, and bisexuals. Most of the teens engaged in drugs, alcohol, and tobacco which of them bring out the curiosity of teenagers are sensation seeking.

           As I experience there are things which is evolving around me my sexual characteristics that I don’t understand which leads me to confusion. After that when I saw some television shows that romantic love scene how to proper court someone and make fell in love. Creating sexual desires in their dream longing for someone to be loved and that is how is. I tried to be gay for a contest which I had someone make up for me and quite a lot of fun to give laughter for everyone in just a nick of a time. I am into alcohol but not a strong one; I usually drink if there is an occasion going on with my parent’s permission.

EARLY ADULTHOOD      

           Primary aging occurs most of them develop gray hair, wrinkles, and changes in visual acuity. While Secondary aging is the product of environmental influences, health habits, or disease, and it is neither inevitable nor experienced by all adults. Health habits shows the detection of illness can see what kind of illness is and can determine can be prevent it or not. Sexual Transmitted Disease which the humans never use contraceptives to protect from it and they were getting from it through sexual intercourse. Most intimate partners’ abuses which due to most reasons are jealousy of having their partners seeing someone. Career development focused on adapting to the workplace, managing career transitions, and pursuing personal goals through employment.

             I may develop gray hair but I always thought of something that an illness which of the disease may try to kill me in the only way to die but I always thought the diabetes is the reason why I die. I will never know which would be so my fate will be decided which one of the diseases. I had always doubt about my lifestyle and I am getting obese more than ever. Career development for me is different, imagine where would I be sitting and seeing I help people. I really dream about not only becoming a RPm but maybe becoming an air force pilot someday.

     MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

            Most of men and women having osteoporosis resulting in reduced bone mass and more brittle and porous bones. Vision and hearing can be sudden changes for adulthood which began to decrease the retina and person’s overall sensitivity to light waves. Health and Wellness can be so devastating when it comes to illnesses which started by imbalance diet or any hobbies like smoking that lead to lung cancer. Memory function drawing conclusions about memory rarely include middle-aged people. They were being generosity is their care, give what they can give for their grandkids. They struggle long enough to survive from their illness.

             I really imagine that what could be waiting for me if I suffer an illness which is different from early adulthood of mine. I should be hardly and slowing to move my body as I was beginning to had crack bones of mine with its sound. As I imagine a lot what would be the life of me in 60 years age of me look like exactly. I can be grown old, grumpy, and sad living in home for the aged or even live with grandkids of my own. It is really hard that thinking way more about it is just never ever will happen if I just don’t let it.  

 LATE ADULTHOOD

           Life expectancy and longevity improvements in these variables among the elderly themselves over the past several decades are responsible for changes in the expected lifespans of adults in their 60s and beyond. General slowing the biggest single behavioural effect of age-related physical changes is a general slowing down. Wisdom and creativity elders might have some advantages over the young because of their accumulation of knowledge and skills. Wisdom reflects understanding of “universal truths” or basic laws or patterns. Life satisfaction or a sense of well-being is also an important component of successful aging. Religious beliefs are the component of religious coping involves people’s beliefs and attitudes.

             Life can be full of surprises when realize about something that can be precious to our love ones and we expands our life expectancy to experience more and thank God that we exist long lives today and some of old of us can be slow to stimuli. We do believe our own will to find out how our experiences can show to others how we make it and offer as a good advice to others that may help to guide others away from dangerous paths they never cross. Life of our existence is constant and I would say that it is okay for me to live this life, I owe it to the end of my last breathe for I shall die happy person. Religious gives you the morality and the spirituality which gives the inner peace of our mind and channels our prayer to our God.

[earth2craig-blog]

Design Thinking 210,Task 1: Altered Reality

Introduction:

Hello there reader. Yes, I’m addressing you as an individual. You may be my lecturer here to read and evaluate what I have written for this task or you might be a fellow student or you may be none of these... Perhaps you found that this post might be interesting to read. Because of the public nature of this medium, I feel it is important to provide context: 

~Task 1: Rewriting the history of the world. In a written piece, re-imagine the history of the world. Identify one historical reality that you would like to eliminate from the history of the world. This should be a historical occurrence that lead – in your mind – to a problem that exists within our current world order. Imagine what the world would be like if this historical event/occurrence never took place.~

What this task is asking me to do is fix a problem with the world by changing/eliminating one “historical occurrence...This should be a historical occurrence that lead – in your mind – to a problem that exists within our current world order.” The phrase “in your mind” is important for you as the reader to keep in mind. This is my opinion, and my opinion is formed on my narrow context of the world, based on my experience and the experiences of those closest to me. I can not in any capacity claim that I’m an authoritative figure that can claim to know what’s best (I am a student and still learning how the world works). Another disclaimer, I will be writing this in a very informal manner as this is what is most comfortable when expressing my opinion and tackling this task in a creative manner.

Chapter 1:

So... on to the actual task. I found the instructions of this task a little difficult to follow, because I don’t think changing one historical occurrence by itself will fix a singular problem. I think “a problem that exists” exists because of a multitude of reasons instead of just one. The world is complex after all.

Also, it would be easy to say, “I wish Hitler never came into power”, but, I think actually that that history has some significance in shaping our views as a society. That may sound insensitive. What I mean is that bad experiences can shape us into better people. Just as an individual can learn through, for example, being bullied (not trying to liken genocide to school ground bullying, obviously very different scales of hatred). Being bullied is obviously something as an individual you don’t want to experience, but, through being bullied as an individual you can learn not to bully by being able to empathize with anyone you interact with. And as an individual, you can also learn how to stand up for yourself when subjected to conflict. So Hitler is someone we look back on and say to ourselves, “lets not be that guy”, and “lets not let that Hitler guy push us around”.

I definitely don’t perceive the world as a perfect place, there are a lot of problems, but although it’s easy to say: “I wish this thing was different”, changing and fixing problems can only be done as a group through effective dialogue and in a lot of ways, the world is growing and changing for the better (although progress can feel incredibly slow). This dialogue is where I would like to focus my attention.

If we think of any problem in the world: the wealth gap, homophobia, racism, sexism, etc. All these varying problems are made up of ideology. It is clear that people can have very opposing beliefs. The problem, I think, is that we aren’t effectively taught how to communicate or empathize with one another... And so the problem that I will be addressing is the educational system, throughout the world.

Chapter 2

Now that I have (finally) identified the problem that I want to change, I’ll go into greater detail of why I think our educational system currently is problematic. All our conflicts are based on ideology. As children, we are in a state of learning how the world works, and we learn how the world works through our family’s ideals, interacting with our friends, religion, what we are taught in school, the media we interact with and even the products that we buy. We can interact with ideals both in an active and passive state, aware or unaware. We can be taught ideology that can be... for lack of a better word, wrong and then proceed to never question it.

Out of all the ways that we as children learn how to interpret and interact with the world, what is the lowest common denominator, a common practice we engage in that can be altered. We can’t choose our family, religion is (supposedly?) a freedom of choice no one has the right to alter, media is created by individuals usually with the purpose of selling you either an ideal, narrative or a product, often by creating a false ideal (buying a Starbucks coffee makes you a charitable or environmentally conscious person when in reality you are still just consuming selfishly for the sake of consuming or convenience)... School is an artificial system quite literally designed to shape us. It’s something your parents most likely went to, it’s where future media creators, entrepreneurs, designers and even politicians learn the tools necessary (hopefully) in order for them to know what they are doing.

But, the educational system doesn’t adapt or change easily. The educational system can be influenced or corrupted (depending on your viewpoint) by religion, by families not liking what is taught or even by governments promoting propaganda in our history... With so many varying ideologies, and for a person to be well informed enough to decide what is right or wrong, you need to be subjected to everything, but instead, what we learn is designed to be learnt and everything else can seem censored.

Chapter 3

Here’s what I believe based on my experience of school. I think school fails at teaching us to be good, ethical people. It doesn’t teach us to be bad people directly through what is being taught, it just is such a passive experience that how we are taught doesn’t have much effect. My role in school was always as a passive listener. I listened, and listened, and listened some more to my teachers. And when no teachers were present, kids reverted to engaging in questionable ideological practices, essentially bullying or behaving in an unsuitable manner in order to feel accepted. It’s not as if teachers don’t tell us not to bully, and it is very clearly stated in the school rules. We have classes like Life Orientation where we do talk about “not doing drugs” only to later be offered some by a fellow Life Orientation classmate. The teaching of ideals, the theory of ideals, the effects, all of it need more of a focus and needs to somehow be more active  and engaging, more exercise based and maybe even taught earlier.

Most of us would have seen a video somewhere of kids being tested in social experiments. It could be that a kid is given a marshmallow, and if they avoid eating it, they will get another one. Or the experiment where there are two children, and only one of them is given a plate of treats, and that kid can decide whether to share or not. That could be a practical example of how to investigate how to treat others based on how we want to be treated. And from there it empowers a child to talk about how they feel on the matter. If we just listen, we don’t have a voice. Now don’t get me wrong, being able to listen is obviously an important skill to have as well, especially in order to empathize and understand others, but there needs to be a back and forth open dialogue between everyone, not just one person imparting all of their ideals onto a group of people.

Outside of school, we have rules and laws. Things like don’t pollute and don’t speed. We all as people know that doing these things is wrong. But to me, it feels like that the bad behavior in school follows us out of it, because I see people very comfortably dropping their waste on the ground instead of disposing of it properly, and I’ve seen traffic enforcer cars break speed limits or drive in an unsafe manner for seemingly no justifiable reason other than because they can.

If we can just do what we like, say what we like because we can, without taking into consideration others, it’s just a recipe for disaster.

Chapter 4

Where did it all go wrong? Honestly. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly, educational systems have been around for a long time. I think the safest argument to make is when capitalism started to take hold, when the shift from an individual identifying as a producer or creator became the individual rather identifying themselves as a consumer. I blame the first Industrial Revolution for this most of all because the change was so massive. It gave power to the wealthy, those that owned methods of production, and gave those with only their ability to provide labor a distinct disadvantage. It also alienated us from one another. Instead of us taking pride in creating something of value and meaning and not to mention with good intentions for others to enjoy... we now justify us exploiting workers - by having them do an immense amount of labor for little pay, as well as by substantially increasing the price of the product for the most profit - as “fair”. This is a very selfish way to think, and it shows. When someone pollutes, that’s selfish. When someone speeds, that’s selfish. When someone bullies, that’s selfish. There is no consideration of the other person or people.

Furthermore, now that the gap between the wealthy and the less wealthy is so large, there is an interest by the wealthy to maintain this power. Education is the one defense we have against the powerful and wealthy imposing their ideals on us. Where we learn needs to be neutral and take into consideration everyone’s feelings and circumstances so that we can then actively discuss solutions to our problems and actively improve the world.

Conclusion

The positive I often hear about the Industrial Revolution is about how beneficial it was to advancing medicine and technology. But I think that people will, even without the selfish desire to have a better quality of life than others, achieve advancing areas of life by taking pride and having a sense of genuine enjoyment in what they do. 

Taking pride in what you do, enjoying what you do and doing it to improve the lives of others, if that was our focus instead, that to me sounds like a Utopian Society.

One more thing I’d like to add is that we at all times need to be open minded and the practice of being open minded, of challenging the way we think and feel, that needs to be encouraged in this Utopian educational system through an open dialogue. In any society, that is necessary to ensure no ruling class or ruling power can either oppress or control others.

[sdvbrsb]

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[missjennabell]

7 Questions Answered by a 7 Year Vegetarian

I’ve officially been a vegetarian for 7 years and I thought I would take this time to reflect and answer 7 questions which I am often asked… Hopefully some of you may find this information helpful in guiding your own dietary journey! Note that this is my personal experience.

Why did you choose to become a vegetarian?

Good question (: I was 15 years old and somehow on the internet I came across a very frightening video about factory farming. I had no idea this type of abuse was going on in the world and decided in that moment I was never going to eat meat again. The biggest obstacle of course was the fact that I lived with my family and my mum cooked most of our meals, so at first it was a pretty big inconvenience. However my mother is a wonderful woman and she made an effort to cook the meat separate from the main dish or helped me find alternatives which is amazing. Also we were living in Australia at the time which I think made the transition a bit easier since I found this type of diet to be more common there than in Alberta.

How have your reasons for being vegetarian changed since you first started?

Even better question. My reasons for being a vegetarian today have changed significantly. I started out my journey being motivated mainly by ethical reasons. As I have become more educated, I have realized that being a vegetarian has much greater impacts on the world than just ethics. First off, the environmental damage caused by the meat industry absolutely blew me away. Just by cutting meat out of my diet I learned that my carbon footprint decreased astronomically (if you’re interested in learning more about this please message me - it’s actually incredibly interesting science). Secondly, I have learned about the health benefits of a plant-based diet. I can honestly say that my mind and body feel extremely healthy and I have never once missed meat!

Do you ever “cheat”?

I wouldn’t really call it “cheating” because for me the motivation is simply to reduce my intake of meat as much as possible - but of course still maintaining a happy life. I will occasionally (maybe 3 or 4 times a month) eat fish and other seafood because I really enjoy it and the environmental impact of eating these animals is much lower than others. Also a couple of times I have accidentally eaten meat - mostly due to Spanish translation problems LOL - but life goes on.

What advice do you have for anyone considering vegetarianism?

I think there is a very common misconception that becoming a vegetarian means you have to go cold-turkey (pun intended lol). There is no law written saying that you must never eat meat again. The whole point of becoming vegetarian, whether it’s for health, ethical or environmental reasons is just simply to reduce overall meat consumption. It’s your life and your own journey. If you want to be a vegetarian but you just absolutely LOVE steak and could not imagine your life without it, then eat a steak a couple times a month! There are different labels such as flexitarian or semi-vegetarian which defines someone who eats mostly a plant based diet with the occasional inclusion of meat. These diets are becoming really popular and I think that it’s a really great compromise.

What kinds of health benefits have you noticed since becoming a vegetarian?

Honestly I’m not exactly sure because I’ve been following this diet for so long that I can’t remember what it was like when I did eat meat. I do remember having pretty bad skin before going vegetarian. It could be a combination of coming out of puberty as well lol but after making the diet change I do remember my skin clearing up. Today my skin is quite nice (yay!). I have loads of energy and generally feel good in my body. I will say that I do think I have a bit of an iron deficiency however, but this is quite common for women in general. I think the biggest health benefit has been the overall shift in my worldview! I am very conscious about the things I choose to consume and I feel better knowing that I am playing a big role in helping combat climate change in one of the best ways I can.

Have you ever considered going vegan?

I actually was vegan for just over two years! It was a very interesting experience. For those who do not know, a vegan is someone who does not eat anything from animals - so no meat, dairy, eggs and sometimes even honey. I would say that I ate the healthiest when I was vegan mainly because I had to prepare pretty much everything myself from scratch. I was aware of basically every ingredient going into my body. The most challenging part was when I would get invited out to eat or to some sort of event because they usually did not have vegan options. I am a very social person, so eventually I gave up the vegan diet just because I hated feeling like a burden to others. I do still try to reduce my intake of eggs and dairy for environmental reasons, but will likely never go “full” vegan again.

What are some healthy and delicious vegetarian meals which I could easily incorporate into my life?

Two breakfast ideas:

Oatmeal loaded with nut butter, dried cranberries, some sort of fruit (I like blueberries), bananas, cinnamon and a little milk (I use almond milk)

Bagel with avocado, tomato, lettuce, fried egg, cheese and if you really miss bacon you can put some vegetarian bacon on there (yes there is veggie bacon, and yes it is delicious)

Two lunch ideas:

“Buddha bowl” with quinoa, spinach, kidney beans, almonds, dried cranberries, mango, lima beans, goat cheese and balsamic dressing

Greek pasta salad with hummus and naan bread. Recipe: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-greek-pasta-salad/ 

Two dinner ideas:

Red curry with chickpeas, sweet potato, spinach, tomatoes, coconut milk, spices, rice… a good recipe:  https://thevegan8.com/2016/09/21/sweet-potato-chickpea-and-spinach-coconut-curry/

Tacos with refried beans or pinto beans, guacamole, tomato, cabbage, cheddar cheese, sour cream and if you want a replacement for ground meat Yves has an awesome “veggie ground” available at any grocery store

[ipanemaa2]

does roberto like to go to concerts ? what's his favorite artist or band ? has he introduced brazilian movies and music to his friends ? what about politics ? is he publicly against trump ? is he an activist ? what about the positioning of the brazilian community in the united states that support bolsonaro ? how does he feel about tony stark's imperialistic character ? & is he active on social media ?

random character questions ,  always accepting .

                                                CONCERTS —— -  roberto enjoys them ,  but that doesn’t go to say he’s actively at them ,  set aside the fact he probably never misses rock in rio or coachella   (  & you can guarantee he’s going dressed up to make sure he’s the best looking one there ) .    he likely occasionally makes appearances at music awards ,  but all that aside ,  he likely won’t go to a specific artist’s concert unless someone invites him .   he didn’t go to many when he was a kid either ,  which would play a role in why despite enjoying them ,  he’s not exactly enthusiastic about them .

                                               MADONNA .  he’s really fond of 80s music alongside many other things .   legião urbana ,  dianna ross ,  mj ,  prince ,  cyndi lauper —— -  all artists he loves ,  but in terms of being shamelessly bold  &  outspoken alongside their music ,  madonna tops the charts .    she had   /   has a way of showing off her confidence   &   that she’s aware of exactly where she stands ,    &   quite frankly ,   bobby loves controversial figures .    take in the fact that he himself is one .    he’s listening to material girl   &   papa don’t preach on his way to crash his own funeral .

                                              bobby’s likely had more friends watch novelas with him than movies .    during his time here ,   especially when he was younger ,   unless it was on one of his short term trips to brazil ,   he likely wasn’t hearing much about new movies or music there just because there isn’t much exposure to it here .    of course that changes later on but when bobby first got here he definitely did not have those connections to brazilian media   (  technically he arrived here in the 80s ,   but if we’re goin with his current age being his early mid - twenties as comic books know no time ,   the internet was definitely not so big   &   broad then as it is now  ) .    so aside from when he was actually there ,   globo   &   it’s novelas were his closest things to anything really .    of course ,   movies   &   music he already knew ,   he would share .    legiâo urbana is again on that list for music ,     &  he’d be a fan of old sambas   (  influenced by his mom who i’ve gotta write a meta on cause as i’ve developed more ideas for her   &   emmanuel’s characters  ) .    he’s introduced his friends to songs by chico buarque   &   cartola ,   alongside alceu valença   &   elba ramalho   (  who i know they sing forro   &   not samba but let’s throw them in  ) .    i’m not very familiar with brazilian movies   /   haven’t watched many myself to add them to this list but city of god is probably one he had his friends watch one night ,   considering how popular it also got here ,   it was an easy one .

                                              he is VERY political   &   he is very well informed with politics as a whole .    there’s really no way he would be able to entirely remove himself from it considering his father was a big political figure ,   but his own growth into it was slow .    when he first starts becoming an attention within the news   &   inherits da costa international ,   he would want nothing to do with the subject .    during that specific time   &   rise he really wanted to detach himself from the image of his father   &   that was one quick way to link him instead .    it wound up being a repulsive topic   &   one he was absolutely disgusted with .    this same time he wouldn’t exactly consider himself an  ‘ activist ’  of any sort either   (    &   truthfully ,   he probably never will use the term in reference of himself even though his actions may as well deem him one  ) .    he wasn’t very outspoken on issues though sympathetic with them ,   it was more so a thing he’d occasionally speak about as he does have a very strong intolerance towards various issues despite his desire to maintain himself out of certain lights in the media .

                                              now ,  as he gets more mature ,   bobby’s view on many things encounter a rather drastic change ,   a lot of matters he becomes conflicted on   (  his own perception of his father being one of them  ) .    it’s when he becomes outspoken with politics   &   stating his own thoughts   &   views on things :  policies ,   laws   &   ideas ,   etc .    inevitably ,   despite being a political figure ,   he’s one of influence ,   like his dad was   (  not to undermine that ,   his dad was the type of person to have backhanded tricks   &   work a lot under the table ,     &   bobby’s driven by ambition much like emmanuel   &   is very much capable of acting the same way if for other motives   &   under a pretense of being  ‘ a different story ’  ) .    politics is also heavily one of the reasons bobby becomes a very controversial figure .  he isn’t emotional about it as one might expect ,   if anything roberto shows himself off to be very cold blooded when one the topic of any political issue even if there are things that anger him   &   get him riled .    he can’t go around punching people or things as he normally would here —— -   though trump is one of the things he’d leave clear he’d like to make an exception on .

which is where trouble sets ,   because bobby’s gonna have to meet with trump quite a bit ,  but we’ll get to that .

he simultaneously begins being a bit more outspoken towards social issues during this .    he’s not the person who entirely   /   100% agrees with the popular views of subjects   /   matters ,     &   absolutely refuses to align himself with any movement or label even if he does work besides them often to combat   &   speak out on things he deems intolerable .

he does ,   to many’s surprise ,   chip in quite a bit about environmental issues .

he can’t go around punching people or things as he normally would here —— -   though trump is one of the things he’d leave clear he’d like to make an exception on.

                                             he’s pretty vocal on his dislike of trump from the start   &   it quickly goes from him making general witty   /   cynical   /   sarcastic remarks to actually touching on the matter of politic itself with the man .    trump most definitely wouldn’t miss the opportunity to acknowledge the fact that bobby is technically running a terrorist organization   ( even if he did turn it over to be resourceful   &   no longer considers it such ,   they’ve still got a pretty big focus with shit such as pretty heavy weaponry sO )     &   pointing out the matter that bobby could very much be   /   become a threat .    &   obviously when he’s running something so big   &   potent ,   if he’s taking or just handling some of that stuff on american soil ,   he’s gonna have to have a few settlements   /   discussions with the government   &   trump’s administration .    reports come out tense   &   he’s always got a witty thing to say about it ,   end of the day he’s really damn close to becoming an enemy of the state .    more so due to the fact he absolutely refuses to cooperate with the government in any manner .

                                              bobby’s already fed up with trump so by the time bolsonaro rolls in nothing’s really pretty about it .    he hops into the discussion much quicker   &   he’s definitely more involved ,   but when it comes to dealing with brazilians in the united states that support bolsonaro   &   his thoughts   /   positions on them —— -  beto’s gonna see really quick that sad truth   &   reality of the matter is that aside from a possible single outlier ,   they’re all very ,  very ignorant .    he’s not going to be the one to waste his time   &   energy on them when it’s quite obvious off the bat that there’s really nothing one can argue with them   (    &   bobby does believe that a valid reason can be brought up solely on the term of politic by those who support bolsonaro ,   but he doesn’t believe any of it can it outweigh the stuff he’s said   &   done .    inevitably when that’s the case he’s willing to sit down   &   speak on the subject ,   with all his distaste   &   disagreement ,   but the majority of the times it isn’t .    so he’s not going to waste his breath  ) .    are his own opinions out   &   known ?    yes .    is he going to continue speaking about it ?    yes .    but is he going to surround himself with people who are ignorant ,     &   willingly choose to continue to be so when they have the opportunity to sit down   &   educate themselves ?    no .    he’ll point out the hypocrisy in it ,   as most of these brazilians are actively against trump who is much less in comparison to bolsonaro ,     &   he’ll more than likely leave it to that rather than compromising his wellbeing with said people .

                                              answering the social media question before the tony stark one —— -  he’s on it but his activity is very sporadic   &   it’s all too common of him to be in some feud with someone .    when he’s active ,   it tends to be more so on twitter ,   but there are times he’ll be barely present there if present at all .    &   he does have an instagram where sometimes you might get a nice picture from him ,   but not too often .

                                              NOW ,   his thoughts on tony stark .  i think this can get interesting ,   & i think it should be taken into account how damn close roberto is to being much the same .    the man he was raised by   &   looked up to ,   his father ,   was tyrannical ,   extremely ambitious ,    &   inevitably ,    very imperialistic .    roberto took up a lot after him ,   whether that be for better or worse ,   especially in terms of ambition   (  charles xavier once wrote a card   /   letter   /   thingy about roberto even stating he believed roberto would wind up a villain   &   especially made a point of his ambition driving it —— -    &   while he was being unfair to make such a presumption when roberto was just a kid ,     &   truly did want to do what’s right ,   it really wasn’t a presumption without roots .    roberto had ,   by that point ,   shown some pretty nasty behavior ,   despite in all his efforts to be on the right end ,   despite the fact that more often than not he was on the right end of things  ) .    if it really wasn’t for roberto having some better sense of morals ,     &   factors   /   traits i really do believe were drawn from his mother rather than his father ,   he would be on the same foot over that matter .    alas ,  one of the few times i’ll be mentioning New Avengers on this blog ,   but even mariah hill made a matter of pointing out his ambition   &   having it be one of the many basis for her certainty that before long he’d wind up an enemy as well after he took over A.I.M.

                                              now ,   setting that down —— -    roberto’s aware of this matter about himself .      &   he’s aware of the nature of tony’s own character .    there’s a certain apathy to it .    there are things about tony he admires ,   from perspectives of business ,   mechanics   &   engineering ,   but he doesn’t see tony as being on this pedestal   (  which he at first perhaps ever slightly did  ) .    he had a slight admiration   /  appreciation for the avengers as a whole before joining the team himself ,   but while he was in there that definitely died .    in terms of tony ,  when roberto leaves the team telling steve that he wouldn’t go after friends ,   regardless of what they had done ,   tony was definitely one of those specified people he’s referring to .      &   he definitely left on better terms   &   a better view of tony than he did with steve .    but he also left with the knowledge of his own similarities with tony .

                                              so tl;dr ,  to summarize it —— -  roberto has a certain respect for tony ,   he is not approving of many of his characteristics   /   behaviors   /   manners ,   nor okay with many of them .    they don’t quite alter his views   /   opinions of tony ,   however ,   because he doesn’t really have many expectations of him ,  aside from expecting him to step up should some serious world - threatening issue come along ,   cause that’s kind of all their thing ,  isn’t it ?

                                             when it comes to terms of his own relationship with tony ,   there’s a certain line he won’t overstep nor allow to be overstepped .    you won’t really see him mentioning tony   &   he’ll usually dodge anything asked of him .    but he’s a person roberto can ,     &   will ,   inevitably ,   work alongside   &   with .    he might pitch a good word in about him on the very rare chance .    but he won’t be sitting down for a beer with him unless there’s a very good reason to .

[mrfunnybonearchives]

A drabble companion piece to this wonderful artwork for the equally wonderful @maximum-overboner . We heard about your recent trials in life, so hopefully, these little gifts can put on a smile on your sweet face! 

Papyrus stared at his computer screen, fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling just slightly in hesitation. This was it. The big moment. He had wanted to be a real writer, to make an impact, to have fans. He had them now, and one of them—his biggest fan—needed him. Needed his stories! His fantastical tales of pleasure and brilliant escapism! After all this fan had done for him, he couldn’t let them down. He just couldn’t! 

There was only one thing to do. 

He had to write them a saucy fiction of their own. 

With a deep breath (because all REAL writers took deep, dramatic breaths before every masterpiece), Papyrus adjusted the hip beanie on his skull, and got to work. 

‘IT WAS AN AVERAGE DAY IN THE CITY OF COCKSWORTH.’

Oh. Maybe average was the wrong word. Good things weren’t average. They were great! Like Papyrus! He quickly typed away to correct the error. 

BUT NOT IN THE BORING WAY! IN THE “THINGS ARE REALLY NICE BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE HANDSOME AND FAMOUS DR.PEPYRUS” KIND OF WAY! AFTER ALL, HE WAS VERY SENSUAL AND BRILLIANT AND SAVED AT LEAST 5 PEOPLE A DAY WITH HIS FANTASTIC ABILITY TO MAKE SEX. 10 ON SATURDAYS! WOWIE!’

That was a pretty impressive number, he thought. People could have sex that many times a day, right? Oh well, he’d look all of that up later.

‘HE COULD TAKE ON ANY CASE! BIG BOOBIES, SMALL BOOBIES, BOUNCY BUMS OR EVEN REALLY BIG MUSCLES! EVERYONE AGREED THAT THE GREAT DR.PEPYRUS COULD CURE ANYONE. ANYONE, EXCEPT...HER.’

This, this was good. He was building suspense. Surely, his readers would be leaning in right about now, holding their breath in anticipation! Papyrus really had become a great classic novelist! Someone they would probably teach his books in classes. Adult classes. Filled with beautiful, sexy people who would find his book equally beautiful and sexy. 

‘YES. HER. THE BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED...OVERBONER!’

His fan had a weird pen-name, but it would have to do, for the sake of the story.

‘SHE WAS TOO FANTASTIC FOR ANY ONE MAN TO CONTAIN. MANY HAD TRIED AND FAILED IN THE PRESENCE OF SUCH MAGNIFICENCE! IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST HER VOLUPTUOUS CURVES AND LIMPID POOLS OF’— 

Papyrus paused. He didn’t actually know what his fan looked like, which was a challenge. But one he was willing to face! He would just have to improvise, that was all. 

—’COLORED EYES. ALLURINGLY COLORED EYES, IN FACT, AND HER SWEET SUGARED LIPS, WHICH WERE SWEET BECAUSE SHE HAD JUST EATEN A DONUT AND GOT SUGAR ON THEM, HENCE THE PHRASE. AND HER HARI! HER HAIR FELL DOWN IN CASCADING WAVES, BUT NOT NECESSARILY LONG WAVES, THEY COULD HAVE BEEN SHORT WAVES, TOO. REGARDLESS, THEY CASCADED, AND GLISTENED ALL SHINY LIKE HUMAN HAIR DID IN THOSE FANCY SHAMPOO COMMERCIALS.’

Yes, that would be fantastic imagery! The thought of his fan in the shower, however, made Papyrus a bit nervous. In a nice way. He took a sip of his organic environmentally-responsible coffee (because real writers also always drank coffee) to calm his nerves. He had to focus, after all! Even if the idea of water droplets dripping down his fans back, her eyes closed in a serene expression while the shower drizzled over her soft, pretty body, was a very, VERY nice thought—

No! He had to focus! He had a job to do! 

‘DR.PEPYRUS KNEW THAT SHE WOULDN’T BE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER PATIENT, OH NO! SHE WAS SPECIAL, AND SO WOULD NEED SPECIAL, PENIS VARIETY TREATMENT! HE DECIDED THAT HE COULDN’T JUST SHOW UP IN HIS REGULAR LAB COAT FOR THEIR APPOINTMENT. HE HAD TO WEAR SOMETHING DASHING! DARING! SOMETHING THAT WOULD MAKE HER REALIZE THAT HE WAS ALSO AS GREAT AS HER AND THAT THEY COULD HAVE REALLY, REALLY GREAT SEX TO FIX EVERYTHING THAT WAS WRONG!’

‘HE KNEW EXACTLY WHICH OUTFIT TO CHOOSE: A SHORT AND TIGHT BLACK DRESS, FISH NET STOCKINGS (VERY SEXY!), HIGH-HEELS THAT WERE VERY FLATTERING FOR HIS LEGS AND, OF COURSE, HIS LAB COAT! BECAUSE EVERY HANDSOME AND SENSUAL DOCTORS WORE THEIR LAB COATS! IT WAS A SAFETY PRECAUTION AFTER ALL. AND DR.PEPYRUS WAS ALWAYS VERY SAFE AND FOLLOWED THE RULES! UNLIKE HIS LAZY BROTHER.’ 

Uh oh. Papyrus couldn’t remember if he’d ever mentioned Dr.Pepyrus having a brother. Maybe that was something that could be explored more in another sequel, but for now, he wanted to make sure the story stayed on track. 

‘BUT WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT HIM. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT OVERBONER AND DR.PEPYRUS. GETTING BACK TO THEM, WHEN THE TALL, DEVIOUSLY GOOD LOOKING SKELETON DOCTOR WALKED INTO THE ROOM, HIS JAW DROPPED! METAPHORICALLY OF COURSE. IT COULDN’T ACTUALLY UNHINGE, BECAUSE THAT WASN’T VERY SEXY. UNLESS IT IS, IN WHICH CASE, HE CAN! BUT HE DIDN’T HERE.’ 

‘ANYWAY, IT DROPPED BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DR.PEPYRUS’S LIFE...HE WAS IN LOVE!’ 

Wowie! What a plot twist! To think, his character, the carefully developed Dr.Pepyrus, had found his true love! Papyrus was almost moved to sentimental tears. 

‘YES! IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT! AS SOON AS OVERBONER SAW HIM IN HIS VERY FLATTERING DRESS AND HEELS, SHE HAD TO HAVE HIM RIGHT AWAY! IT WAS THE SAME FOR DR.PEPYRUS, IT FELT LIKE A BIG HOLE HAD BEEN FILLED INSIDE HIS CHEST, LIKE HOW A PENIS WOULD FILL A VAGINA, AND THAT IT WOULD POP OPEN FROM BEING SO FULL!  ‘SHE GIGGLED. IT WAS THE SOUND OF ANGELS PLAYING TINY INSTRUMENTS, BECAUSE THE ANGELS WERE TINY TOO, AND CHUBBY, WITH LITTLE HEART ARROWS ON THEIR BACK LIKE THE HUMANS DRAW ON VALENTINES DAY. DR.PEPYRUS DIDN’T WASTE ANY TIME. IT WAS HARD TO GET ON ONE KNEE IN HEELS SO HE LIFTED HIS LEG INSTEAD, PUSHING HIS DRESS UP IN A VERY CLASSY BUT APPEALING MANNER.’

“OVERBONER!” HE GASPED! “I’VE NEVER MET ANYONE LIKE YOU BEFORE! AND I’VE MET LOTS OF HUMANS! I NEVER WANT TO BE WITHOUT YOU EVER AGAIN. WILL YOU MARRY ME?’ 

 “BUT YOU’RE A SKELETON!” OVERBONER GASPED TOO, BUT MORE DAINTILY. “THE LAW FORBADES US TO MARRY!” 

Oh, this was so tragic! These two characters obviously loved each other and had fantastic chemistry, but social constraints would forever try to keep them apart. Papyrus could no longer stop the tears from welling up in his sockets. He wiped them with a fancy handkerchief he kept for these precise moments. This had to be his best work yet! It would probably get made into a movie, and win lots of Oscars. Maybe he’d become a movie star after this, and he could be both a talented writer AND actor. A double whammy! 

“I DON’T GIVE A HECK ABOUT THE LAW! WE’LL RUN AWAY AND GET MARRIED...TO PLUTO!” 

OVERBONER GASPED; AGAIN! “THE PLANET?”

“I DON’T KNOW, THERE’S STILL SOME DEBATE OVER THAT, BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER WHEN YOU’RE MY WHOLE WORLD ANYWAY!”

THAT WAS A VERY SMOOTH LINE, AND OVERBONER WAS INSTANTLY SWOONED! SHE HAD TO FAN HERSELF, BECAUSE THE DR.PEPYRUS WAS SIMPLY TOO HOT! 

“OH, DR.PEPYRUS! YOU’RE SIMPLY TOO HOT!” 

SEE?

“I WOULD LOVE TO MARRY YOU, BUT YOU SEE...I CAN’T.” 

Papyrus took a deep breath, relishing this moment. This would be it, this would be the scene that his fans talked about for years to come. What drama! What a twist! How on earth could she say no to the Great Dr.Pepyrus? 

His readers would be sitting on the edge of their seat! He would get letters covered in adoration scented tears of how moved and emotional his writing had made them! That poor Steven guy wasn’t going to be such a popular writer after this. Maybe Papyrus should send him some flowers to make amends. 

“BUT OVERBONER, MY LOVE! WHY NOT?” DR.PEPYRUS LOOKED VERY HURT. UNDERSTANDABLY HURT. YOU DO NOT TURN DOWN THE SKELETON! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. 

OVERBONER LOOKED AWAY IN DRAMATIC SHAME. “THE TRUTH IS...I’M A VIRIGN! AND IN THE CITY OF COCKSWORTH, IT’S AGAINST THE LAW FOR A VIRGIN TO GET MARRIED!”

IT WAS TRUE. DR.PEPYRUS HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT. ONLY BECAUSE HE HAD A LOT OF OTHER THINGS ON HIS PLATE, OF COURSE, HE DIDN’T NORMALLY FORGET THINGS. HE WAS VERY INTELLIGENT. VERY DOCTOR-Y. 

AND AS A DOCTOR, HE KNEW JUST WHAT TO DO!

“NEVER FEAR, MY DEAR!” DR.PEPYRUS THREW OVERBONER ONTO THE LUXURIOUS ROMANTIC BED THAT WAS FOR SOME REASON IN THE EXAM ROOM, AND SMILED IN A WAY THAT MADE OVERBONER WEAK IN THE KNEES. WHICH WAS OK, BECAUSE SHE WAS LAYING DOWN AT THIS POINT, ANYWAY. 

“FOR YOU SEE, I HAVE A PHD IN VIRGINS! I’LL CURE YOU, AND THEN WE’LL GET MARRIED, AND HAVE MORE SEX AFTER THAT! DO YOU WANT KIDS? HOW MANY? WE MIGHT HAVE TO ADOPT. NEVERMIND, WE’LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER!”

“OH, YES!” OVERBONER CRIED, SPREADING HER LEGS AND THROWING HER ARMS AROUND THE STRONG SHOULDERS OF DR.PEPYRUS. “KISS ME NOW! THEN TAKE ME TO YOUR ISLAND OASIS OF PLEASURE!”

“OK!”

AND SO, THEY’

“heh. phd. good one, paps.” 

Papyrus jumped, startled by his brothers’ sudden appearance, and tried to push the shorter skeleton away. “SANS! I TOLD YOU NOT TO READ OVER MY SHOULDER ANYMORE! THIS IS FOR A FAN, DON’T LOOK!”

Sans, to his credit, did little to actually move. 

“aw, s’nice of ya. how does it end?” 

“I CAN’T TELL YOU THAT! IT WOULD RUIN THE SURPRISE!”

A shrug, and Sans leaned against the desk, making himself comfortable. “fair enough. guess i can read it for myself.” 

“NO! ARGH.” Papyrus huffed and folded his arms. He considered his options, and supposed that, if it was JUST Sans, he would spoil the ending a bit. Just to get him to leave. “FINE, FINE, I’LL TELL YOU! THEY HAVE A PASSIONATE NIGHT OF...UH...PASSION, AND THEN GET MARRIED THE NEXT MORNING IN A ROSE GARDEN. SHE WEARS A REALLY PRETTY DRESS!! AND SO DOES THE GREAT DR.PEPYRUS!! BECAUSE HE DESVERES TO LOOK VERY PRETTY, TOO. THEY STAY HAPPILY MARRIED FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES AND HAVE TWO CHILDREN, ONE WHO’S NAMED DR.PEPYRUS JR!”

“cute.” Sans nodded, his grin stretching along the edges in amusement. He jutted a thumb towards the computer screen. “what about the other kid? what’s their name?”

“...SAMS.” 

There was a pause. The moment stretched between them, Sans staring with an infuriatingly casual expression, and for a moment Papyrus was tempted to take the name back. Had it been weird to name a character somewhat after his own brother? He squirmed a little in his seat. It wasn’t supposed to be weird! It just felt right! A Papyrus always needed a Sans, and so Dr.Pepyrus Jr needed a Sams! 

Oh! Maybe it was because Sams wasn’t a Doctor, too. That could be fixed. Maybe he could be the nurse! Papyrus opened his mouth to let his brother know he would rectify the mistake, but Sans began to chuckling before he ever had the chance. 

“that’s, uh...heh, paps, that’s a real nice choice. dr.pepyrus jr and sams, eh? bet they’ll take that city by storm.” 

“THEY WILL!” Papyrus beamed, bouncing just a little. “THEY’LL HAVE ALL SORTS OF ADVENTURES! THEY’LL WORK TOGETHER, AND BUILD SNOWMEN—”

“and misspell the sign on a librarby?”

“THAT WAS ONE TIME SANS!” 

Another chuckle. Sans gave his brothers shoulders a little pat. “it’ll be great. sure she’ll love it.” 

“OF COURSE SHE WILL! IT’S FROM ME, AFTER ALL!” 

And with that, Papyrus went back to work.

[3parts]

77 hours down in ME:A since... Friday? I think. I’ve been playing a lot, school holidays landed at exactly the right time.

Impressions under the cut.

I’ve got 100% on Veold and Eos, and finished the first visit to Havarl, and landed on Kadara for the first time last night. Only completed Liam’s loyalty mission. Slept with Liam and Peebee with no further interest in either, haven’t decided between Vetra and Jaal for my main squeeze. I still really want to kiss Drack, but in lieu I would like an extra party slot so I can take Vetra, Jaal and Drack with me everywhere because they are the BEST.

The game is...

Quite buggy. I notice this mostly in conversations. While facial animations can be awful, they’re not too frequent. More often I get shit like the camera cutting off half of Sara’s face because it was set at male PC height; conversations repeating, especially quest convos that don’t acknowledge the quest is done and sometimes that the PC and NPC are in a totally different area; subtitles coming up for conversations out of earshot and overriding the subtitles for a convo happening right next to me. I’ve had one instance of zooming into a conversation only for the NPC to not say anything and no buttons coming up for me, and no way to exit, leaving me having to force close the game, and as I recall a few people had that problem in DA:I. Also, I’m learning that while the game encourages exploring, you had better not explore an area important to a quest before you get that quest because the fucking game won’t notice and you’ll get it all kinds of confused.

Environmental design can be... pretty bad. I like open world games. I do. I know a lot of people want smaller worlds with better stories, but I think that if the team thought they had the ability to write good, tight stories, that’s where their focus would already be. They don’t (as we can see), so we get something they do feel they’re good at. Except... sometimes, they’re really not. Kett bases that you open up to find a single crate inside are not good design. They’re not good for fighting, and they’re not good for usi8ng the space to tell a story, unless that story is that kett are stupid and wasteful. Lots of random crates scattered around might be fine for cover, but they tell me nothing about the world you’re trying to immerse me in. Give me a reason for the crates. The rooms with beds and table and chairs are interesting, I can learn from that. But a base full of kett that give them no living quarters? Explain to me why it’s there. Give me a data pad about this being a heavily guarded storage facility because the Cardinal’s second favourite set of robes are there and they’re too sacred for the angara to get their hands on. Tell me what the big circular poundy platforms are for and a reason for me to blow them up. COME ON. Add in lots of floating items, like entire rocky spires standing on nothing, and I think they could have used a bit more time to go over everything. 

The kett are becoming more interesting enemies, I’m liking this story arc, but I am still waiting to see if they can maintain it ad pull it off. I like the idea of competing factions, and the idea that our Archon is breaking the rules. I want to learn more about their history and operations in other parts of Andromeda.

I’m currently nursing a theory that by switching on the Vaults, we’re making the Scourge worse, and this is going to have major consequences later. I’m wondering if the kett are trying to find a way to shut it down to reduce the Scourge, or if they receive some benefit from it. I presume the Archon wants to find Remnant DNA to play with, but little evidence of Kett/Scourge interactions so far.

Also, the Scourge is a shitty name for it. Also shitty: the Vortex, the Nexus, some others that I can’t remember because I just woke up. They’re boring. They’re unmemorable. They feel like the first idea you had, you kept. Do better.

Also, the planets are boring. Ice planet, desert planet, jungle planet (also doubling as perpetual-darkness planet) All we’re missing is the underwater planet for the full set, and that SUCKS. This is BORING. You get to play with alien fucking worlds and this is the best you can do? At least make the sand blue or something, come on. And copy-pasting animals from one VASTLY different world and environment to another? Bad, bad look. Why are the animals on Eos also on Voeld? How did they get there? How did they adapt? Why can’t I rescan them to learn about the interesting adaptations that made them able to survive across so many environments, because right now? This is boring. 

I don’t like the lack of quick-save, and I hate not being able to save on main missions, especially as auto-saves don’t seem to happen all that often.

I have a lot of complaints, obviously, but I am enjoying it. I like the Nomad, I like that the capital of Voeld, the world of Australian-accented Angara, is called Estraaja - that made me laugh out loud. I like my team. Special shout out to Vetra and Cora, my favouritest ladies in Mass Effect, up there with Tali and Kasumi. Cora was described to me as Miranda 2.0 and HOW DARE YOU. Cora needs a very long hug and to be adopted officially into the Ryder family because she is my big sister now. I like that I have no idea where this thing with Scott is going (I told him the truth about their dad and Habitat 7 and OOPS). I like just rolling across the world, fighting everything that I see and accidentally starting new quests that tell me more about the world and the people in it. I like a lot of the rando NPCs I’ve met. Even if the quest is just a ‘Kill X’ or ‘Fetch #’, I don’t mind because the reasoning why gives me new information. I like the angara, they’re very cool people and I want the other five thousand pages of their law books now, please. I really liked Vivienne’s VA as the Moshae, she has great range. Jaal is adorable and I love him too, and I want to know so much more about Vetra, and flirting with her leaves me swooning every time. Flirting with Suvi is also WONDERFUL, Ryder’s lines are GREAT. I know there have been IRL issues with the VA and I get if people avoid playing female Ryder for it, but her voice is great and has really got me into the character. I like pretty much everyone on the Tempest bar Peebee, who annoys the shit out of me (which may be the intent. Not a critique of her writing, I know people like that IRL and they annoy me too), and having to choose between Gil and Kallo BROKE MY HEART. Please don’t do that again, game.

I’m playing Engineer with all tech abilities (overload, incinerate, the remnant drone) and some points thrown in combat to reduce weapon weight and add survivability and holsters. I don’t like being limited to three active abilities at all. I would rather have three offensive and three defensive, at least. I’m probably going to shove some points into tactical cloak and start switching between tech for all offence and infiltrator for more defensive styles, because MAN, stuff like the Architects really fuck me up, and I never get to enjoy fights with enemies like fiends because they seem to auto-target me (even if I haven’t attacked and my squadmates have) and I spend the entire fight just running in circles while my squad does the damage. Fuck biotics. Why play mage when you can play rogue?

Oh, and the UI is really bad. Navigating menus is ridiculous, and the R&D interface is so bad. No way to compare what you’re putting points or crafting unless you already have it equipped, so have fun writing down or memorising the stats of each weapon while you try to figure out what’s best. And then they don’t tell you that there’s another tier after the first five, so you get to do it again!

I’m having fun, though rereading everything it seems to be in spite of myself. Oh well. Time to put in another few hours before I have to go get groceries.

[tienganhfree]

Bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh cơ bản dành cho người mới bắt đầu

Những bài nghe tiếng Anh cơ bản? Những bài nghe tiếng Anh cho người mới bắt đầu? Những bài nghe tiếng Anh đơn giản? Bạn chỉ cần search những cụm từ này là sẽ ra vô vàn bài tập để bạn có thể luyện nghe tiếng Anh mà không sợ thiếu nguồn học. Step Up mang đến cho bạn những bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh dưới đây để bạn cải thiện kỹ năng nghe tiếng Anh nhé!

Có những cách luyện nghe tiếng Anh cực kỳ hay ho và dễ dàng để cho bạn luyện tập thường xuyên việc nghe tiếng Anh như những bài nghe tiếng Anh cơ bản học tiếng Anh qua bài hát, qua các ứng dụng hoặc phần mềm luyện nghe tiếng Anh. Nếu bạn thuộc trình độ cơ bản, hãy bắt đầu với những bài nghe tiếng Anh cho người mới bắt đầu nhé. Cùng làm những bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh dưới đây nhé!

BÀI TẬP LUYỆN NGHE TIẾNG ANH CƠ BẢN

Bài tập nghe tiếng Anh cơ bản đến nâng cao sẽ rất cần thiết để phân chia trình độ nghe cho bạn. Cùng đến với những chủ đề bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh dưới đây nhé: 

Chủ đề 1: Bài tập nghe tiếng Anh chủ đề A picnic by the river

Link 

W: This is a good spot. Let’s stop and have our picnic next to the river.

M: Good idea. Walking always makes me hungry. I’m ready for lunch.

W: We can sit here on the grass. Oh no! Someone forgot to throw these empty paper bags away. There is litter everywhere!

M: Why do people always leave litter around? It’s not a nice thing to do. It spoils other people’s picnics.

W: I think they are lazy. Or maybe they just don’t care. Look, there are some empty cans and glass bottles under that tree, too.

M: People should clean up before they leave, and not leave litter lying around.

W: That’s right. Well, after our picnic, let’s pick up all the litter we can and take it out of here.

M: OK! And next week, let’s come back with friends and pick up some more.

W: Good idea!

Chủ đề 2: Bài tập nghe tiếng Anh chủ đề Let’s recycle

Link

M: Hi, Jane! Have you heard about the new laws to help people recycle?

W: I heard about them on the news last night. I don’t think I like them.

M: The government wants to keep the environment clean by recycling paper, metal, and glass instead of throwing these things away.

W: But who wants to pay an extra 50 cents each time you buy a cup of coffee? That’s a lot of

money!

M: 50 cents? It’s only five cents extra for a paper cup.

W: I thought it was 50 cents!

M: No, it’s only five cents. Don’t worry. And you can get your money back when you return the cup.

W: That’s fair. Well, maybe the government is right, after all. I’ll return all the paper coffee cups I use from now on.

M: Good! We all need to recycle. It helps to keep the environment clean.

Chủ đề 3: Bài tập nghe tiếng Anh chủ đề Growing roses

Link

M: Excuse me, ma’am. I have a problem with my rose bush. It used to produce a lot of pink roses. But now it doesn’t produce any flowers at all.

W: I see. That does seem like a problem. Do the leaves on the plant look healthy?

M: Not really. The leaves used to be very green. Now, most of them have turned brown.

W: Well, I think your rose bush needs some fertilizer.

M: OK. What sort of fertilizer do you think I should

use?

W: This liquid fertilizer is very good. It will help make your rose leaves green again. Then the plant should produce roses quite soon. The fertilizer costs about ten dollars.

M: How long will it take for my rose bush to recover?

W: About two weeks, I think.

M: Great. I’ll take it. Thank you so much for your help.

W: You’re welcome!

Chủ đề 4: A hiking trip

Link

M: Hi, Anne! Did you sign up for the trip on Saturday?

W: What trip is that? I didn’t know there was a trip on Saturday.

M: The hiking club is going to Bear Mountain. The bus drops us off at the bottom, and we’re going to hike until we get to a cabin halfway up the mountain.

W: That sounds really great! Where can I sign up?

M: Go and see Jennifer. She’ll help you sign up.

W: What activity will we do when we get to the cabin on the mountain?

M: Well, it takes seven hours to hike to the cabin, so it will be late by the time we arrive. After we unpack, we’ll start a campfire. Then we can sing, eat, and tell stories around the fire. The following day we’ll leave at dawn and hike to the top of the mountain. After we take pictures, we’ll hike back down. If we have time, we might go swimming in the lake on the mountain!

W: Those sound like really fun activities, and I can’t wait to go!

Chủ đề 5: Save the turtles

Link

M: Have you heard about the plan to save turtles in

Mexico?

W: No. What is the story?

M: Turtles are in danger of becoming extinct around the world. Every year, thousands of turtles lay eggs on the beach. After the turtles lay their eggs in the sand, people come along and take them.

W: I suppose the people like eating turtle eggs.

M: Exactly. Turtles are beginning to stay away from certain places, now. There are fewer and fewer of them left. There is a new project in Mexico to save these eggs. Then turtles will not become extinct. I think it’s a very good project.

W: Is there anything we can do to help?

M: I’m going to call the Environmental Protection hotline. They might have some information about the project to help save turtles in Mexico.

W: They might even have a brochure. Let’s find the website on my computer. Oh, here it is. The address is www.enviro.com. There’s plenty of information here.

M: Great! Let’s see what we can do to help save turtles

in Mexico.

Chủ đề 6: The perfect gift

Link

W: Hello, and welcome to Robuck’s. How may I help you?

M: I would like to buy my wife a home appliance for her birthday.

W: What sort of appliance are you looking for, sir?

M: I think a dishwasher might be the perfect gift because it will help with the housework.

W: Oh yes, dishwashers are very useful. This one here is our most popular model.

M: How does it work?

W: It’s very simple. First, collect your dirty dishes and scrape off the leftover food into the garbage can. Then, rinse the dishes in the sink. Put glasses,

cups, and cutlery on the top rack. Plates, bowls, and pots go face down on the bottom rack. Then, fill this compartment with detergent and close the door. Next, choose the wash cycle, and finally, press the start button. You’ll have sparkling clean dishes in 45 minutes!

M: That sounds easy to use. I think my wife will

really like it. How much does it cost?

W: You’re lucky, sir! It’s on sale this week for $400.

M: Great, I’ll take it!

Chủ đề 7: A big responsibility

Link

B : Mom, can I get a puppy?

W: No, Billy. Taking care of a pet is a big responsibility.

B : I promise to take good care of him, and you won’t have to remind me to do things for him.

W: A dog isn’t a toy that you play with for awhile. He will be part of our life for the next 10 or 20 years. He is a living creature.

B : I understand that, Mom. I promise to feed him every morning and take him for walks every afternoon.

W: That’s part of the responsibility, but there’s more. He needs a license and has to go to the vet to get shots. A dog also needs companionship. You can’t go off with your friends and leave him locked up in the house all day.

B : I understand, Mom. I have almost $100 in the bank so I can pay for his license and shots now.

W: There are other expenses, too. Dog food is rather expensive.

B : Well, I have my job mowing lawns and I’ll get a newspaper route.

W: I think we should discuss this with your father when he gets home. This is a family decision.

B : OK, Mom. Thanks!

Chủ đề 8: Ants, ants, everywhere

Link 

G : Hello, Mrs. Wilson. How are you?

W: I’m worried, Brianna. Thousands of ants are all over my patio!

G : That’s quite a problem.

W: What’s worse is that my daughter’s birthday party is in a few days and I wanted to have it on the patio.

G : Why don’t you call an exterminator?

W: I would, but I don’t want all those hazardous chemicals around my children. It’s harmful and unhealthy. I also don’t want dangerous substances to seep into the garden.

G : I usually don’t have problems with ants, and I don’t use any chemicals.

W: What’s your secret?

G : Well, ants are difficult to control, so I planted a lot of mint plants near my deck. I also use cinnamon and cayenne pepper. I just sprinkle them around the places I don’t want ants. Some people have tried it and said it worked. Others said that they needed to try something else.

W: I think it’s worth a try. I would rather use cinnamon and mint around my patio than some hazardous chemicals. Besides, I don’t mind having the ants in the yard. I simply don’t want them coming to the birthday party. Would you mind helping me?

G : It would be a pleasure. I have a lot of cinnamon at home and I can run to the store to get the plants for you.

W: Thank you, Brianna. You’re such a thoughtful person.

Chủ đề 9: The Nobel prize

Link

W: One of the greatest achievements in the world is to win the Nobel Prize. It has been given to people since 1901. There are prizes for physics, chemistry, and medicine. There are also prizes for literature, economics, and peace. The Nobel Prize is named after Alfred Nobel. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1833. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1866. Dynamite is used in mining, construction, and war. Before he died, he wrote that all of his money should be used to create the Nobel Prize. He died in 1896. The first prize was given in 1901. Each prize has three parts: a diploma, a gold medal, and money. The money has increased since 1980. It is now ten million Swedish crowns. This is about one million euros. How are the winners chosen? Five committees secretly meet to pick the winners. The Nobel Prize for Economics is the only one that is not decided that way. That is because it was created in 1956 by the Bank of Sweden in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. The Bank of Sweden decides who gets the Nobel Prize for Economics. Since 1901, over 750 people have won the Nobel Prize.

Những bài tập nghe tiếng Anh cơ bản hay bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh nâng cao trên đã khiến bạn cảm thấy hứng thú với việc luyện nghe tiếng Anh chưa? Những bài luyện nghe tiếng Anh thực sự là một công cụ hữu ích dành cho bạn đó. Bạn có thể tìm thêm những bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh trong sách hoặc phần mềm tiếng Anh nhé. Chinh phục kỹ năng nghe tiếng Anh thực sự không quá khó phải không? Nào bây giờ chúng ta cùng tìm hiểu các cách thực hành đối với bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh sao cho tối ưu và hiệu quả nhất nhé!

Thực hành những bài nghe tiếng Anh cơ bản cho người mới bắt đầu

Hãy bắt đầu với những bài nghe tiếng Anh đơn giản vì khi bạn là người mới bắt đầu, hãy học một cách từ từ. Bạn sẽ không cảm thấy choáng ngợp với những bài nghe tiếng Anh đơn giản đâu. 

Bước 1: Bước 1: Nghe đoạn hội thoại

Không xem transcript của những bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh ngay từ bước đầu. Hãy nghe thử một lần trước để nhận biết sơ qua cái mình đang nghe. Đọc trước sẽ không giúp bạn cải thiện kỹ năng nghe Tiếng Anh của bạn.

Bước 2: Nghe và ghi nhanh từ mới

Với những bài nghe tiếng Anh cho người mới bắt đầu hay thậm chí nâng cao hơn thì đều có những từ mới mà bạn chưa biết. Lần nghe thử thứ hai này đối với những bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh thì hãy cố gắng tìm từ mới và ghi chúng ra nhé. 

Bước 3: Đọc transcript

Bạn nên đọc nội dung hội thoại để giúp bạn sau khi bạn đã nghe hết. Đừng mở Nội dung Hội thoại trước khi nghe file audio nhé. Đồng thời tra nghĩa từ mới mỗi khi bắt đầu làm bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh nha.

Trên đây là những bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh mà Step Up mang đến cho bạn. Nếu bạn muốn kết hợp việc học từ vựng tiếng Anh với phát triển kỹ năng nghe tiếng Anh thì Hack Não 1500 là sự lựa chọn vô cùng hoàn hảo! Phương pháp học tiếng Anh sáng tạo và mới lạ với âm thanh tương tự, truyện chêm, shadowing,… cùng app Hack Não với vô vàn file nghe và video dạy bạn cách phát âm và cải thiện kỹ năng nói. 

Xem ngay sách Hack Não 1500 từ tiếng Anh – Nạp siêu tốc 1500 từ vựng và cụm từ trong 50 ngày.

  Tìm hiểu ngay

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Cuối cùng, Tiếng Anh Free chúc bạn sớm đạt kết quả như mình mong muốn.

Bài viết Bài tập luyện nghe tiếng Anh cơ bản dành cho người mới bắt đầu đã xuất hiện đầu tiên vào ngày Tiếng Anh Free.

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[rolandfontana]

How Do Prosecutors Get Sentencing So Wrong?

James Doyle

In a recent New York Times op ed piece , James Forman, Jr. and Sarah Lustbader pose the question, “What can we do to shrink our prison population, the world’s largest?”

Their essay’s title, “Every D.A. in America Should Open a Sentence Review Unit,” provides one answer.

Forman and Lustbader don’t offer this step as a panacea.  They recognize that there is no “silver bullet” solution to the U.S. incarceration crisis.

But they do argue that building a Sentence Review capacity is one place to start.

When enlightened prosecutors are forming Conviction Integrity Units to reassess old convictions, initiating Sentence Review Units to re-examine distended sentences would save money, and lead to the release of prisoners who are no longer dangerous.

It’s a very good idea, even if the problem is not as simple as it might seem.

In many states a D.A. who has identified a grotesquely excessive sentence has no procedural avenue available for cutting the sentence. New legal tools will have to be developed.

There is also the question of what a different D.A. —one who is inclined to abuse the power to incentivize witnesses—might be tempted to do with a rich pool of inmate applicants who are serving life terms when that D.A. is handed the keys to the new process.

Neither of those problems is insurmountable; they are complications to work through.

But I do want to pose a question—as a supplement to Forman’s and Lustbader’s query, not as a challenge to it.

One More Question

If we cut the prison population by reviewing old sentences and releasing prisoners, how do we avoid quickly replacing them?

Don’t we have to work to understand why the horrific sentences were imposed in the first place? Why our predecessors zigged when we know that they should have zagged?

For me, the best way to approach this question is to take a few pages from the books of medicine and aviation and follow every finding of an unjust sentence with an all-stakeholders’ forward-looking, non-blaming learning review, focused on avoiding repetition.

When a D.A. uncovers a mistaken sentence it should be treated as a “Sentinel Event”—as an opportunity to learn by mobilizing the perspectives of all ranks, in all of the professional roles implicated: cops, prosecutors, defenders, probation offices and courts.

And we should hear from the victims, from the communities the sentences were designed to protect, and from the researchers who marshal the data relevant to the decisions and their aftermaths. (It wouldn’t hurt to hear from the defendants too.)

Justifying that effort requires clearing away some dead wood—shedding some simplistic answers to how we got to where we find ourselves today.

We’re Not Just Smarter Now

There is a tendency to see the recent bipartisan recognition of exaggerated sentences as just one more chapter in The Progress of Mankind.

But before we stop at “We are smart now; they were stupid then.” we should recognize that if they were stupid, they got stupid.

For once, my elderly defender’s memories of The Old Days are verified by the data.

When I first practiced in the District of Columbia in the mid-1970’s I immediately began representing people charged with serious, often violent, crimes.

If you did the work, you had a realistic shot at saving clients from lengthy prison sentences.

There were programs a judge could send them to in the community. The Federal Youth Corrections Act and the Narcotic Addicts’ Recovery Act presented nuanced (although not exactly attractive or effective) options, and it was several years before a client of mine was whacked with a substantial term. There was a mandatory minimum sentence for murder: that was about it.

A glance at The Sentencing Project’s compelling graphic representation of U.S. Sentencing Trends is all that’s needed for you to see that the people doing the sentencing then were doing better than most enlightened progressives are proposing to do now in avoiding mass incarceration.

Mass incarceration was something the system learned how to do. How did that happen?

The Laws Didn’t Make Us Do It

The media have agreed that we face a catastrophic crisis in mass incarceration, and we are being treated to a swelling chorus of ex-presidents, and remorseful prosecution agencies all agreeing that we have a disaster on our hands.

The ensemble harmonizes flawlessly on the anthem: “The Law Made Us Do It!”

Like Hell it did.

“The Law” gave you the tools to do it with, but you are the ones who choose to pick up the tools and to use them.

Unless we all face up to that fact and understand why the choices these actors made seemed like good ideas to them at the time, they (or their successors) will, after a fleeting interval, just do it all again.

My prediction is that we will find that there was a moment in almost every case that a new Sentencing Review Unit identifies when human actors in the criminal justice system had a choice about whom to arrest, what to charge, which forum (state or federal) to bring the charge in, or what sentencing provision to invoke.

The prevailing version of the etiology of mass incarceration imagines that some legislator, prosecutor, or judge sat and pondered the interaction of various substantive criminal law goals such as punishment, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation, and decided on a legislative scheme, a prosecutorial strategy, or a sentence.

Next, they picked a number based on a careful policy calculation, then put it in a mandatory guideline or minimum sentence.

What we actually face is the work product of hard-pressed cops, lawyers, probation officers, and judges trying to get through their days. They were not driven by ideological commitments or racist theories. But they were under pressure—from the politicians and the media, from their caseloads, the docket lists, their peers, and administrators thirsty for “outputs.”

They didn’t set out to do extraordinary harm to individual minority defendants; it’s worse than that. The fact is they didn’t care enough about any individual minority defendant to target one.

They barely saw them.

These players were seeking their own safety as much as they are seeking anything, and their strongest allegiance was to the path of least resistance.

They wanted to get to get rid of the damned case without a trial, and to move on to the next one. Then, tomorrow, they would be able to handle that next case in the same way, as long as they managed to preserve the “going rate” today.

Long prison sentences were a weapon in their daily struggles, not their goal.

Mass incarceration was not produced by a clap of legislative thunder; it was produced by a process of drift—even if that process was assisted by new legislative levers.

Each day’s longer sentence became the new departure point for the next day’s— which, in turn, was just a little bit longer. So, the new prisoner would be there to be counted next year too.

Who brought that about? Everybody.

The D.A. Didn’t Act Alone

There is plenty of social science indicating that prosecutors’ behavior was the most powerful driver of the incarceration trend. Put that together with the reality that prosecutorial initiative is the most direct way to get things moving now, and the Forman and Lustbader route makes pragmatic sense.

But unjust sentences were not the product of prosecutors working alone; they are system errors.

New Sentence Reviews will find individual cases where a prosecutor decided on an extreme sentence and rammed it through. But more often, an extreme sentence involves acts (and omissions) from across the range of criminal justice operators involved in a case.

Each participant in a sentencing—cop, probation officer, prosecutor, defender, judge—makes choices that affect everyone else’s work.

And all of these players are buffeted simultaneously by external environmental factors: caseloads rise, budgets fall, treatment programs close, spasmodic media pressure ratchets up, options narrow.

Sentences may be driven by prosecutors, but they are also influenced by defenders. For example, a recent study makes clear that the Bronx Defenders’ self-consciously “holistic” approach managed to significantly bend the incarceration curve downwards.

The barriers against delivering that sort of advocacy will face tomorrow’s defender even after the Sentencing Review Unit has corrected yesterday’s sentence.

In some jurisdictions, probation’s presentence reports might fill any information gap left by hard-pressed defenders: they could outline the “fit” between the defendant’s history, the available programs, and the community’s safety.

But even that report can be influenced by the absence of defender input, and the likelihood of a probation officer compiling a useful alternative to “longer is better” can be decimated by caseload and resource issues.

Any judges who might have been inclined to resist prosecutors’ extreme sentencing demands faced an asymmetrical risk. If the defendant was Kalief Browder, who would likely never have committed a future serious crime, no one would ever know that he should not have been locked up, and the judge was safe.

But if the defendant was released over the prosecutors’ objections and turned out to be Willie Horton, then the sentencing judge would be toast.

Recent attacks by “enlightened” media outlets such as the Washington Post (editorializing against sentence reviews) and the Boston Globe (attacking D.A. Rachel Rollins with individual horror stories) make it clear that threat will be a background condition of future sentencing proceedings too.

It will turn out that many of the horrific sentences uncovered by Sentencing Review Units were imposed without much thought at all. One function of the draconian sentence is to sustain the “going rate”—to project a credible threat that leverages guilty pleas in an overwhelmed system and keeps the line moving.

If tomorrow’s docket is the deluge that yesterday’s was, yesterday’s solutions will continue to exert their pull. Besides, how can we give this guy only three years when we gave yesterday’s five?

It Isn’t Fixed

No one is about to step forward and say “Let’s try mass incarceration again”; the strategy is renounced even by William Barr who did say it back then.

Because we now encounter the incarceration crisis as a genuinely mass phenomenon it is sometimes hard to remember that it was built one prisoner (and one prison year) at a time.

A Sentencing Review Unit can do crucial work in correcting injustices. But we ought to remember what is an axiom to the people who work in the field of public safety: Nothing is ever permanently “fixed”; your “fix” is under attack by its environment the moment it you put it in place.

Prosecutors’ Sentence Review Units will be most important if they can be harbingers of a cultural shift in criminal justice toward a new collaboration—toward a practice community in which everyone accepts individual responsibility for a just collective outcome and works continuously (and together) to reach that goal.

For D.A.’s to say “We made a mistake in this sentencing” will signal a new commitment to the recognition that longer is not better in sentencing.

For D.A.’s to say “We want to work together to learn how and why this mistake was made” will signal—to the staff, and to the community—a determined commitment to avoiding repeating the mistake tomorrow.

Learning reviews of bad sentences will show us that there are conditions to be changed, influences to be counteracted, things we can do differently. This would be a good place to get to work.

James M. Doyle is a Boston defense lawyer and author, and a frequent contributor to The Crime Report. He welcomes readers’ comments.

How Do Prosecutors Get Sentencing So Wrong? syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

[ozma914]

Chapter One of Coming Attractions

Ever since we got Coming Attractions up on the website (www.markrhunter.com), I've been meaning to share the entire first chapter, which introduces both main characters and, I think, gives a taste of what's to come. You can also see chapter one on various booksellers' websites, but I thought it was worthwhile to have it right here, where people can check it out if they choose. This is exactly as it appears in print, including the opening materials.

After this I plan to go back to a semi-regular post about writing, such as creating characters, inspiration, setting, and such, starting with how they relate to the creation of Coming Attractions itself. Hey, I was bored. (Kidding! I've got a lot of issues, but boredom is not one of them.)

Remember, whenever you don't read a first chapter, the second chapter doesn't get its pages. (I think that's the line from It's a Wonderful Life. Something like that.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coming Attractions

Mark R. Hunter

Other titles by Mark R. Hunter

Non-fiction:

Images of America: Albion and Noble County

Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or So With the Albion Fire Department

Slightly Off the Mark

Hoosier Hysterical: How the West Became the Midwest Without Moving At All

Fiction:

Storm Chaser

Storm Chaser Shorts

The Notorious Ian Grant

The No-Campfire Girls

Radio Red

Copyright © 2018 Mark R. Hunter

All rights reserved.

Edited by Emily Hunter

Cover by Emily Hunter

This book is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and events in this book are either are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. No popcorn was harmed in the making of this novel.

For book extras and additional books by the author, please visit: www.MarkRHunter.com

In loving memory of

Linda Taylor

Jean Coonts Stroud

Special thanks to the Auburn-Garrett Drive-In;

The drive-in movie theaters still upholding the tradition;

And all the drive-ins of our youth: especially, for me, the High-Vue of Kendallville, Indiana

Coming Attractions

Mark R. Hunter

CHAPTER ONE

Maddie saw trouble ahead as soon as she stepped off the company airplane.

The kid standing in the terminal held a slab of cardboard before him like a shield, with her name plastered in red across its surface. Maybe he was attempting to hide the fact that, beneath the wrinkled black suit coat, he wore a white T-shirt that should have been washed at least two meals ago. More likely he feared missing her, since a quick study of the shaggy haired young man told her he held little stock in appearances.

"Madison McKinley?" He gave her an equally appraising scan.

Stopping before him, she deliberately looked right and left. The closest other people stood at least two hundred feet away, gathered around the airport's gift shop. "Maddie."

Taking that as encouragement, he smiled. "Tupper. Welcome to Fort Wayne!" He still held the sign up.

"Tupper?"

"That's my name—well, my middle name, and that's what I go by. My mother sold Tupperware, and she's pretty hardcore. I don’t know if they still hold Tupperware parties, but if you want her to set one up—"

"I doubt I'll be here that long." Maddie tried not to judge people by appearances, but Tupper looked for all the world like Shaggy from the Scooby Doo cartoon series—without the goatee. Under other circumstances she might have been tempted to smile. "Tupper, were you expecting a company plane?"

"Oh, sure. I've been with the company over a week now."

"And did anyone get off the plane besides me?"

His brow knitted in concentration. "Nope."

"Then do you really believe the sign is necessary?"

Face reddening, Tupper dropped the cardboard. "Sorry."

“Trash can, Tupper—let's keep our planet clean." She blushed a little, herself—it wasn’t fair to take her mood out on him.

When Tupper turned to throw the sign away, Maddie realized he wore a fairly nice pair of navy slacks—and white sneakers. "Are you, by chance, related to one of the partners?"

"I'm Mr. Quincy's great-nephew—how did you know?"

"Family resemblance." Maddie despised lying, but saw no reason to hurt someone's feelings. Nepotism could be a powerful force—why else would this kid be hired by the stuffiest law firm in Boston? "You were to bring a car?"

"This way." Tupper turned, paused, then whirled around. "Did you have luggage?"

"I'm a woman, Tupper." This time she did smile.

He frowned.

"That means yes. Two bags."

After retrieving her luggage, Tupper led the way into the warmth of a sunny June midafternoon. "You'll love Fort Wayne. They have an orchestra, a zoo, a mall, three rivers ..." He trailed off, thinking.

"It seemed a bit small from the air." The poor guy might hurt himself if his brain doesn’t cool down.

"Well, it's the second largest city in Indiana."

As they walked across the crowded parking lot a breeze swirled the folds of Maddie's skirt and blew blonde strands of hair across her face. "Large by Indiana standards? Not a telling argument."

"But you come from Boston. Indiana's a lot bigger than Massachusetts."

"In square miles, maybe," Maddie murmured under her breath. She almost ran into Tupper when he skidded to a halt. "Where's the car?"

"Right here." He pointed to a deep purple Chrysler van.

She stared, trying to fend off a wave of nostalgia for her Porsche. "I asked for a sedan."

"Yeah, you traded up—isn't that great?" He produced a key ring from his pocket and pushed the unlock button. "It's got a digital audio system, sliding doors on both sides, an environmental readout, and you gotta love the color. It's a real love machine."

Such a statement could only come from a member of the Scooby Gang. Maddie stared at him, hands on hips, but held her temper—after all, her temper got her here to begin with. "I realize you've been by yourself here, but since you arrived with just two jobs—to get me a hotel room and a car—could it be that difficult?"

"I didn't actually arrive—I grew up west of here, in New Haven." He noticed her expression, and stumbled backward. "Um, there's a car show at the Memorial Coliseum—by the way, we have a Memorial Coliseum—and Jay Leno's going to be there and all the rental cars were taken and this is the only—"

"Tupper, Calm down." Maddie took him by the shoulder, which made the younger man flinch. "Maybe this is for the best. Don't people going to drive-in movies often take vans?"

He blinked at her. "Yeah, sure. I like to back my truck in, when I'm not working. Why?"

Oh, dear—He didn't know why she'd been sent. "Because I've never visited one, and I might have some free time while I'm here."

Tupper brightened instantly. "The best one in Indiana is about an hour north of Fort Wayne—you'll love it."

She very much doubted that. "Tupper, do you know why I'm here?"

"Um—" He paused, trying to focus. "To expand the agency's influence into business dealings in the Midwest."

"Which means?"

"Got me." He shrugged. "This is my first assignment since I visited Uncle Quincy, but he said it was real important, so I figure I'm on the fast track."

Uncle Quincy? What an image—like Luciano Pavarotti breakdancing. "You are, indeed." Maddie decided she liked the kid, after all. She couldn't help thinking of him as a kid, although he couldn't be more than five years younger than her, and he seemed sincere in his desire to help. Besides, in his own way he was exiled here, just like her. "Do you have transportation?"

“My truck—oh, you mean here?” He gestured to a yellow Volkswagen Beetle parked beside the van. Inside, a girl with spiked green hair waved, then went back to studying her eyebrow ring in the rear view mirror. How entirely appropriate.

"Tupper, you've obviously been working hard. Why don't you take a day or two off? Visit with your family, take a short break, and contact me at the hotel later."

"Really? Wow, thanks! I needed to take off for my part time job soon, anyway." He started to hop into the Beetle, but paused when she called his name.

"It might be helpful to have the information packet your great-uncle promised me. Not to mention the van keys."

"Oh!" Tupper handed her the keys and gestured toward the van. "There's a folder on the passenger seat with maps, directions, your reservation, and a really big book about John Adams. He's my ancestor, you know. I think he was governor, or something."

"Possibly the genes have thinned out since then." Ignoring his puzzled expression, she climbed into the van.

"Well, if you like to go to the drive-in you'll probably see me there. Take it easy!" The Bug roared away.

After a moment Maddie got back out, opened the rear door, and threw in the luggage Tupper had abandoned on the pavement. Sincere he may be, competent he may not.

Maddie spent some time reading the directions and comparing them to the maps. Smiling despite herself, she also leafed through the biography of John Adams. Inside the front cover she found a short inscription: "John Adams called himself obnoxious and unpopular—but he got the job done. Quincy."

Adam Quincy had been named for the second President, and according to rumor was a distant relative. Maddie considered John Adams a role model for his courage and perseverance, but that, and their occupation, was all she and Quincy had in common. Leave it to the law firm's founder to turn a gift into a subtle reminder of who was in charge.

She spotted some brochures in the folder. Tupper apparently thought her job involved sightseeing: He’d enclosed something about every tourist destination in northeast Indiana, from zoos and state parks to an Old Jail Museum. And a drive-in movie theater.

The colorful advertisement declared this to be the 50th anniversary of the High View Drive-In. Two features for the whole family every night, all summer long, plus weekend showings in the spring and fall. Photos showed happy families who munched on popcorn and other snacks while watching the latest flick from the comfort of their automobiles.

Maddie studied every detail, every letter, and then determined the hotel would not, after all, be her next destination. It was getting close to dusk. She had a van, and other than being a bit overdressed for the movies she should go unnoticed.

Yes, a visit to the drive-in was clearly in order. After all, she well remembered one of the first rules from law school: Know your enemy.

Despite her black mood on the airplane, the weather and the masses of greenery Maddie passed during her drive north cheered her a bit. She’d believed as a child that a field was a dirt lot for baseball, and the biggest patch of plant life no more than a Boston city park. Her preteen mind couldn’t have imagined these expanses of woods, or unlimited stretches of young corn and wheat.

It was cool enough to shut down the air conditioner and crack the windows, an act that would horrify her hairstylist. Considering the obscene amounts of money she paid the man, by now he should have come up with a wave that would last through a tornado.

She missed him. She missed her Porsche mechanic, her personal assistant, the doorman, and all the partners with their custom tailored suits, ten dollar cigars, and condescending attitudes. No matter how important this assignment, everyone knew it was punishment. She must prove herself all over again if she ever expected a corner office and her pick of cases.

A few miles after turning onto a two lane highway she spotted the sign, a gaudy red and yellow monstrosity guaranteed to attract attention. The top formed an arrow pointing toward the metal framework of the movie screen, and below the arrow stood a sign advertising a Pixar animated movie and a teen comedy.

To Maddie's surprise half a dozen cars already lined the drive. A van similar to hers waited first behind the closed gate to the ticket booth, with the adult occupants of the other vehicles gathered around it. They looked like they were having a conference, or maybe a tailgate party. A dozen young people, from teens to toddlers, played in a grassy area between the drive and a red fence that surrounded the property.

Maddie stopped behind the last vehicle, wincing at the crunch of gravel beneath her wheels. Clearly, Indiana needed to invest in more asphalt. After the dust cleared, she opened her windows all the way to admit the scent of freshly mowed grass and a far off barbecue, then shut off the engine. Country music played from the pickup in front of her, but it was the sound of kids screaming that made her stiffen.

She scanned around the lawn until certain they were screams of glee, not pain. Why didn’t these parents pay closer attention to their children? Wouldn't it be safer to keep them in their cars, instead of wandering around where they could get hit, or fall, or be bitten by snakes or rabid bunnies or something? Not to mention all the strangers.

Well, she must be the only stranger here, considering everyone else still gathered around the one vehicle. The scene would make someone nostalgic, if that someone held memories of going to the movies. Maddie remembered only a few trips to a more traditional theater.

She’d been led to believe little local support remained for the drive-in, making a buyout easy. Except for one lonely old house along the drive-in property, the surrounding land consisted of farm fields and small tracts of woods, most optioned by the development company her firm represented.

The drive-in's owner remained the holdout, and by bad luck his property made up the bull’s-eye in the tract of land the developer needed. The better his business, the harder her job—and here people already waited, on a weeknight, no less.

Perhaps this made up the hardcore locals with nothing better to do. You couldn't make profit margin with six customers a day.

That optimistic thought faded when an old station wagon pulled up behind her van, pumping rock and roll into the air, as a full house gyrated inside.

With a sigh, Maddie examined the customers. Their dress consisted of shorts or blue jeans, and tank tops or printed tees. She glanced down at her silk print dress, and determined not to leave the van under any circumstances. The average person might not know the difference between her expensive outfit and something from an outlet store, but she would still stand out.

Soon adults began to saunter back toward their own vehicles, while the kids ran, jumping and shouting, to join them. She held her breath until she was sure none of the children would trip or get hit by a car door, then turned to see a woman move the gate aside and climb into the ticket booth. Maddie switched the engine on and wondered if kid movies had changed much since "The Little Mermaid".

Soon Maddie caught sight of the ticket price, painted on the whitewashed side of the ticket booth, and took a sharp breath. It was a third of what she’d expect to pay in downtown Boston. How in the world could this man stay in business, with prices so low? The popcorn must be a dollar a kernel.

The ticket taker held an animated conversation with everyone in line, but managed to keep customers moving until Maddie stopped before her. Then the woman, who wore a white T-shirt proclaiming "The High View—50 years and counting,” did a double take and leaned in for a closer look.

"You're a little overdressed for the movies, ain't ya, hon?"

"The philharmonic was sold out." Maddie gritted her teeth, although she’d expected this reaction.

Now the woman leaned closer, to take in the clean, empty interior of the van. "Just you?"

"Is that all right?"

The woman arched an eyebrow. "Okay by me, just kinda unusual. Why go see a movie by yourself?"

"My boyfriend plays in the philharmonic."

"Well ..." With a shake of her head, the woman handed Maddie a ticket stub, then rattled off an FM radio frequency. "Enjoy the show. Oh! I almost forgot." She gave Maddie a bumper sticker.

Beneath a red, white and blue drawing of the movie screen, colorful letters spelled out: "Save the High View! Half a Century and Counting."

The woman leaned forward and hissed, "Some big company out east wants to turn it into an airport!"

"Oh, my."

"Don't worry, we'll fight 'em and win. You have a good time now, hon."

"Thank you," Maddie answered automatically. As she drove through the lot, she saw similar stickers on all the parked vehicles. The other van, she noted, differed from hers in only two ways: It was black instead of deep purple, and sported stickers on the back and side windows. As she passed it she saw a pair of bright hazel eyes regard her curiously through the rear view mirror, and wondered whether it was because of the twin transportation, or because she drove the only auto in the lot without a show of support pasted on every surface.

Where to park? In the middle of the lot sat a low concrete block structure painted white, with two doors on each side: one for a restroom and another for an entrance to the snack area. Maddie had no intention of abandoning her nutrition plan. Still, she could imagine a need for the restroom if, for some reason, she decided to stay through both movies.

Of course she would stay. She needed to know as much as possible about this business, in order to get it shut down. The best place for her would be at the corner closest to the women's restroom, but, ironically, the other purple van had already staked it out. Maddie settled for a spot at the other front corner.

All the old concrete speaker posts stood empty. Didn’t the ticket taker say something about a radio frequency? Dialing it in produced a crooning Norah Jones, but Maddie assumed she had the right place, left it on, and began watching the incoming traffic.

She made some quick calculations, based on the ticket price, the average number of people per car, and the cost of electricity, payroll, and other overhead. She factored in snacks, then cut food profit in half when she noticed many of the moviegoers brought their own. Despite that, by the time the sun disappeared behind a low, distant cloud bank, the place had already broken even. When the first preview for upcoming movies appeared, it was turning a profit.

On a weeknight. Not good at all.

Maddie sat back, paying little attention to the ads. She leaned forward again when a group of teens walked by, loaded down with nachos, popcorn, and soda. Her stomach began a low, rumbling litany of complaints. When did she last eat? Not dinner. Not lunch, come to think of it, except for a bag of peanuts on the plane.

So much for staying in the car. So much for her diet, unless the snack bar featured something no one she saw had purchased. But it was now too dark for anyone to notice her style of dress, and this could be the perfect opportunity to investigate the operation further. After all, she was here on a job, and if she wanted to erase her black marks with the company she needed to perform it well.

That determination lasted until she reached the door to the snack bar, and realized her miscalculation. Of course it was too dark to see her dress, and the expensive style of her blonde tresses, and the opal necklace and charm bracelet—outside. Inside, fluorescent light made it bright as day.

But with the movie starting, nobody stood before the long counter with its popcorn machine, soda fountain, and snack rack. At least, nobody until she came in one way while, at the same moment, a man burst through the opposite door.

They both froze, regarding each other. She recognized the twinkling hazel eyes and the sandy, disheveled hair at once, although he looked taller when out from behind the wheel. He wore jeans and a white T-shirt with the all too familiar drive-in logo on it, along with the words "Drive-Ins are for Cars, not Planes". Admirably muscled arms clutched an empty popcorn bucket.

The man smiled, flashing teeth so perfect it brought back memories of the thousands of dollars Maddie sunk into her orthodonture, and walked toward her. Of their own volition Maddie's legs also moved, until they met in front of the cash register.

"Are you lost?" His baritone voice sent a jolt up her spine, and suddenly exile in Indiana didn't seem so bad.

"I'm ... um ..." She glanced around to remind herself where she was. "I’m looking for healthy food."

"You are lost." He smiled again. "I meant you don't look like the drive-in type."

If you're the drive-in type, Maddie thought, get me a season ticket. "It was spur of the moment." True enough.

"I've been there." He held a hand out. "Logan. Logan Chandler."

She felt her hand enveloped in his warmth. His touch, firm but gentle, made her catch her breath. She tried to stutter out her name, and found she couldn't remember.

"Maddie!" someone else called.

The idea of anyone in Indiana knowing her came as such a shock that Maddie pulled her hand away and turned, almost backing into the wall. Behind the counter, swathed in an apron that didn't completely cover the drive-in emblem on his white T-shirt, a wild haired young man grinned at her.

"Tupper?"

"I told you we'd meet again if you came to the drive-in. This is my part time job."

Uh oh. Maddie glanced at Logan, who turned from her to Tupper with a raised eyebrow. While Tupper didn't know everything about her mission, it would be easy to put two and two together.

"I guess I assumed you’re not from around here at all," Logan said, eyeing her dress.

"Tupper and I just met today." Good, the truth. But Maddie couldn't grasp where to go from there. "It's a long story, and the movie's started."

"But you know each other?"

"Absolutely." Again, true enough.

Tupper pitched in, "We're like old friends, dude."

"Okay." Smiling again, Logan grandly gestured Maddie forward. "I just need to replace some spilled popcorn. After you."

What? Oh. She turned to Tupper, determined to get out of there before he gave her away. Logan might be a lost Greek god, but she couldn't afford to get involved with him, especially after the last fiasco in her love life. "Perrier?"

"Huh?" Tupper stared at her, open mouthed. "I don't know Spanish."

Behind her, Logan chuckled, making her even more aware of his presence.

"Do you serve any bottled water?" In truth, Maddie craved some decent coffee, but she had a feeling her definition of “decent” wouldn’t fit here.

"Oh!" Tupper grabbed a bottle of water with a brand name she didn't recognize. "This is local. It comes out of a spring well right by a church."

"And a cemetery," Logan offered. She looked back to find him grinning wickedly. "Imagine that."

She did, but took the bottle anyway. "Is there anything to eat that doesn't involve large amounts of sugar or carbohydrates?"

"Uh—" Tupper glanced around wildly. "No."

"Get her some of the world famous popcorn, Tupper," Logan said. "On me."

"Popcorn on you." For some reason Tupper found that amusing, and chuckled as he scooped the white kernels up.

“No salt or butter, please." Maddie felt a touch on her arm, and turned to see Logan smiling yet again.

"No salt or butter? That's cardboard."

Could she make herself look any more out of place? "I'm twenty-nine years old.” When he gave her a questioning look, she added, “I can’t eat whatever I want, not anymore." As if she ever could.

He raked his gaze over Maddie, making her gulp and shiver. "You don't have an ounce of fat on you."

That was a compliment, she assumed. Maddie didn’t have an ounce of fat, not even on her chest—or at least, that had been her ex-fiancé’s biting comment. "I plan to keep it that way. How do you—" Now it was her turn to look him over, from broad chest to white Reeboks, and she gulped again. "—um, stay in such good shape?"

"Hey, I don't eat this way all the time—it's a treat. If you don't treat yourself, how do you know what you're missing?"

"A look at the nutrition label tells me what I'm missing." Desperate to get away—she was much too attracted to this man, no doubt a rebound effect—she grabbed a bag of chocolate covered peanuts from the rack and slapped it down next to the water. "There. Four hundred calories."

"I'm humbled," Logan told her. "You might try sprinkling them on the popcorn."

"Thank you." She shoved a fifty into Tupper's hands and told him to keep the change, which made his eyes pop. "I'll remember you on my next trip to the scales."

"Wait—" Logan held his hand out, but became distracted when Tupper called his name.

"Say, that's a great idea. Chocolate covered popcorn, M&M popcorn, popcorn with nougats—it could be the next taste sensation."

Logan held out his empty popcorn tub. "Remember that one time when I told you to use your imagination? I take it back."

Maddie took the opportunity to sneak out the door, and hurried into the blackness before Logan could catch her. If he said anything remotely connected to getting to know her better, she would melt like the hot butter he kept talking about, and the whole nightmare of dating someone connected to her work would start all over again.

Shivering, she dropped the water and candy into her purse. Balancing the popcorn in one hand, she pulled open the van's door. What a relief to be away from that man—she'd never been so instantly affected by the opposite sex before, not even her ex-fiancé. With considerable relief, she sank into the driver's seat.

Or, more accurately, she sank onto the small body that occupied the driver's seat.

Two high voices shrieked. Maddie also gave a yell and leaped out, ready to run as her imagination conjured Munchkin muggers. But her purse caught on the empty speaker post, and she managed only to spin around.

In the hazy darkness, broken by the flickering reflection from the big screen, Maddie made out two small, round sets of eyes peering at her from inside the van. In the instant that followed, she realized this was not her van and that somehow, miraculously, she still held the popcorn without a single kernel spilled.

Then a much larger body plowed into her. She slammed down onto the hard turf, while someone else fell heavily on top of her.

In addition to the website, there's a list of where our books are available here:

https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/2018/12/coming-attractions-is-e-booking-all.html

[terryblount]

Crackdown 3 – Campaign Review

The past four months paint a bleak picture of the big-budget gaming scene as players had to endure a long series of major disappointments. Games that have been overstimulating our salivary glands for months – or even years – since their announcement only seemed to drive the wedge between publishers and us as consumers deeper and deeper. It was also no secret that long-time fans of Microsoft’s classic, Crackdown IP branded the third instalment as yet another game that missed the bar in terms of fan expectations.

It was therefore with a sense of wariness that I installed my review copy of Crackdown 3 since the current state of the AAA scene has been likened to a dumpster fire by many. Adding to my reluctance was the fact that I never played the previous games, which ruled out any sentimental attachment I might have had to the series as a whole. Ironically, Crackdown 3 turned out to be a game that I think was lambasted due to being a product of its context rather than a lack of quality.

“Quack, quack motherducker!” Apparently it is some sort of long-running gag in the series. Don’t ask me.

I am not saying that fans of this series have no reason to be upset; it has been nearly nine years since the previous game after all. However, as a player experiencing Crackdown 3 in isolation from its roots (and with curbed enthusiasm), I really had fun with it. It has no ambition to be original, nor does try to convey a compelling narrative, but what it can offer to players is a hearty sandbox experience that never tries to overreach itself.

Join the crew, Terry’s crew!

The game plays out in a world where super criminals have given rise to super mercenaries for hire thanks to an organisation simply called ‘The Agency.’ With the power of cybernetic and genetic enhancements, The Agency has ushered in a new age of peace keepers where a single ‘Agent’ can represent the military advantage of a one man army. As in the previous two games, The Agency has once again been summoned into a metropolis (called ‘New Providence’ this time round) where the power of corrupt bureaucrats has grown beyond the reach of the law.

This time the focal point of corruption lies within a super corporation named ‘Terra Nova,’ and it is up to Terry Crews… I mean Commander Jaxon and his squad to overthrow the establishment from within. In a style that is virtually identical to Middle Eath: Shadow or Mordor/War, the aim is not to kick down the front door and open fire on the person sitting behind the desk. Instead, Terra Nova must be destroyed using the one, true antidote for tyrants: Anarchy.

The leader of Terra Nova, Elizabeth Niemand. The final boss.

As such, the player will spend their time unleashing all kinds of hell on processing facilities, freeing the local resistance militia, and recapturing outposts all while mowing down masses of hired thugs. You do this until the commanders of each division get mad enough to face you head-on, at which point the opportunity presents itself to strike at the head of the snake. Once all of the lessor bosses have been blasted to kingdom come, the time will come to move against the leader of Terra Nova itself.

That weird feeling of Déjà vu

Shadow of Mordor/War is not the only book that Crackdown 3 has borrowed a few pages from. In fact, virtually all of the gameplay mechanics will feel extremely familiar to anyone that has so much as touched a sandbox or open-world game in the last ten years. Fans from Saint’s Row, Grand Theft Auto, Infamous and even Far Cry will all find something they instantly recognise within Crackdown 3’s gameplay mechanics.

Much like Shadow of War/Mordor you can even gather bits of intel on the bosses, and defeating one makes a path up to those in the higher hierarchies.

Still, the most obvious pedigree would have to be Just Cause 3 both in terms of how the game plays, and equally within the structure of the objectives. Crackdown 3 similarly puts you at the edge of the game’s world, and lets you tackle goals and activities in any order of your choosing. The player can spend an hour blowing up chemical plants manufacturing a green goop called Chimera, and then switch freely to liberating resistance soldiers who could offer additional support against the pesky local militia.

All that matters is results, and I never felt pressured to focus on one particular path. Yet, the thing is, I can list so many other games off the top of my head doing the very same thing, and this is perhaps Crackdown 3’s biggest weakness. Instead of being the stylish, next-gen, sci-fi epic that would be a more authentic continuation of 2010’s Crackdown 2, this game’s identity faces a real risk of disappearing beneath all of its more generic elements.

Why would you NOT want to play as Terry Crews!?!?!?

As I mentioned, there is not a whole lot going on in terms of the story which might make many of the tasks seem superficial, if not somewhat repetitive. The city of New Providence is small when compared to some of the dizzying, colossal sandboxes from modern entries in this genre. As such, you don’t exactly pick out an objective, stock up, and take a long trip to where you carry out your tactically-planned mission. You blow up one stronghold, before literally walking to the next one where you just rinse and repeat.

I can likewise agree with the haters that this game never fully realises its visual potential (without digressing into whether or not Crackdown 3 was visually downgraded). The world is characterised by that sterile feeling of a game engine more interested in keeping the frame rate up as opposed to depicting a lush, full environment. The developers, Sumo Digital, even removed those iconic, cel-shaded aesthetics that have always defined the visual identity of this series. This all adds up to a game that just does not have the eye-candy worthy of a nine-year wait.

I thought you said you liked it?

In spite of all this, Crackdown 3 really began to grow on me once I noticed several small, yet significant ways in which the game made an effort to keep things tight and polished. Even if the narrative fades into the background, and the gameplay never innovates beyond what is familiar to the genre, Crackdown 3 is still really good at what it does. The action is slick, volatile and it just works for a AAA title that you expect to have Terry Crews in the lead.

Good for crushing enemies or blowing up pumps!

Take the gun play for example. Here Crackdown 3 lays emphasis on the thrill of momentum and agility, so there is the option of an auto-lock on mechanic. Just bring anything into the gun’s sights, and the designated target will automatically remain locked on while you are free to jump and dash around the battlefield like a kangaroo on opioids.

It is not just purely for style though, since movement is a crucial defensive manoeuvre against the ruthless, hit-scanning AI. The game eagerly throws large numbers at the player once the fight begins, so those moves serve the purpose of making you an impossibly lively target to hit. Moreover, just one strike from the later bosses is enough to take a meaty chunk off your health bar, so getting good at dodging projectiles is anything but a wasted skill.

Agent + mining facility = flames.

The guns are also really fun even if the arsenal at the player’s disposal is not exactly vast. Each gun has been tailored for maximum efficiency towards a specific enemy type which prevents the player from just going in guns blazing. Chemical weapons are virtually useless against refinery workers in hazmat suits, but once you start bringing out the incendiary charges and explosive weapons, the fight suddenly shifts in your favour. This forms a welcome aspect of sub-strategy in addition to the already frenzy combat lighting up your screen.

On top of all this, just because I think Sumo Digital did not fully replicate the visual potential of this series does not mean the game is ugly. On the contrary, the environment is still unmistakably colourful and vibrant, and Crackdown 3’s physics engine is anything but shy when it comes to flashy, thunderous explosions. A distinctive visual style has also been worked into the vehicles and the architecture so, overall, the game is rather easy on the eyes.

Not much in the way of draw distance, but the game can be beautiful when it wants to.

Everything is more fun with friends… or not

Regrettably, I never got a chance to play the multiplayer so my apologies for not being able to comment on that. This is because, firstly, the upload speed of my shoddy internet will only end with me hurling my controller and, secondly, you need an Xbox Gold membership. Besides, in between Anthem and Apex Legends coming out within the same month, will anybody even be playing this?

It behooves me to mention that the multiplayer aspect of Crackdown 3 is called “Wrecking Zone” due to the physics-heavy gameplay mechanics. Much like Warmonger, which came out way back when PhysX cards were still a thing, the player is able to use super realistic, environmental destruction as an active advantage during gameplay. Feel like raising an entire building to the ground to flush your opponent out from hiding? Go for it. Feel like blasting a hole in the wall for a quick getaway? Sure!

Microsoft, however, does the physics calculations for you on the cloud, so you don’t have to stress about bringing the frame rate of your PC or Xbox One to its knees. Let me know how it is if you get a chance to play the multiplayer (or if you would REALLY like a review of it).

Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate

So the dissatisfaction of fans is not entirely misplaced, and I had a blast playing through the relatively short campaign, but where does that leave you making your way through this review? Well, my final opinion is that Crackdown 3 cannot be called a bad game in spite of a few superficial flaws. I am truly disappointed that they did not squeeze more of the sweet visual juices from the Unreal Engine 4, and Terry Crews was hopelessly underused as a leading character.

The agency car you can summon at any time. Once you earn some additional driving skill points it turns into a buggy.

Yet, I just ended up having so much fun because, again, this game just focuses on a near flawless execution of its core gameplay. The action and movement are based on an intuitive control scheme that will have you feeling like a total juggernaut in no time, and the environments make up for their lack in visual fidelity through the level of thought that has been put into their design. The more skilled I became at running and gunning, the more rewarding the overall experience became because the game had no trouble making me look like such a badass.

Crackdown 3 therefore makes for the perfect game to play over weekends when you just want to blow stuff up without having to sift through intricate narrative webs or plot twists. If you already have a Game Pass subscription, or you have a sweet tooth for the more anarchic flavour of sandbox games, play this as soon as possible. For avid fans of the first two entries and newcomers alike, perhaps waiting a bit until the price comes down would be best, but you might just end up liking it lot.

Fast and furious combat

Easy to master

Rewarding exploration

Collectable hunting

Voice acting and sound

Somewhat bland world

Limited story depth

Repetitive in moments

Mediocre graphics

        Playtime: 10 hours total. For the single player campaign

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM – Played using an Xbox One Controller

Crackdown 3 – Campaign Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[cristinajourdanqp]

Can a Vegan Go Keto?

Absolutely! Anyone can go keto, including vegans. They might not be able to stay vegan, but they can certainly go keto. Nothing stopping them. The more the merrier.

Jokes aside. Can someone go keto while remaining vegan?

That’s a tougher problem. Not intractable. But real tough.

Why is it so hard?

For one, the most protein-rich vegan foods also happen to be relatively high in carbohydrates—the very macronutrient you need to limit on keto. You could load up on a complex blend of legumes and rice to obtain adequate protein containing all the essential amino acids, but you’d end up overdoing it on carbohydrates and knocking yourself out of ketosis. Protein is extremely important and hard to obtain on a normal vegan diet. It’s even harder on a keto vegan diet.

Two, the easiest vegan sources of fat and protein—nuts and seeds—aren’t meant to be staple foods. No one should base their diet on nuts for a few reasons.

Excessive omega-6. Most nuts are very high in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that most modern people consume too much of already. This will throw your omega-3:omega-6 ratio out of whack.

Excessive calories. Nuts can just disappear down your gullet. The ability to consume entire sackfuls of nuts in a single sitting without having to remove the shells is a modern aberration, one we’re not really prepared as an organism to regulate.

Carbs. When you start getting into the “several handful” range, the carb content of nuts adds up. It’s not enough carbs to disrupt a normal eater, but it can ruin ketosis.

Anti-nutrients. Nuts and seeds can’t run from predators, so they employ biological warfare to dissuade animals from eating them, manufacturing anti-nutrient compounds that impair nutrient absorption. This isn’t a deal breaker. We’ve adapted to many of these compounds, and I even think it’s likely that some of these anti-nutrients, like phytate, offer hormetic benefits in smaller doses. But if you’re eating enough almonds to satisfy your protein requirements, you’re overdoing it.

(And yes, in certain parts of the year, the Hadza of East Africa consume the bulk of their calories from the mongongo nut, but you’re not Hadza. It’s a different genetic situation, a different lifestyle, a different microbiome. The Hadza also eat thousands of calories of wild honey each day when it’s available. You lining up to do that, too?)

Successfully implementing a vegan keto diet requires the resolution of those two main problems. You need complete protein without all the carbs that beans entail, and you need a reliable source of fat without all the omega-6 fatty acids nuts and seeds entail.

For the protein, you have a few options.

Consider some concessions. Compare the spirit of your commitment to the “letter of the law” approach. The following will make your journey far more enjoyable, nutrient-dense, and sustainable.

1.Consider eating eggs from a trusted source (even yourself).

You can usually go on Craigslist and find a local source of pastured chicken eggs. Simply introduce yourself and ask to see their operation. I mean, it’s not like the hobby farmer who considers her hens members of the family is going to give those birds a bad life. Go see for yourself, then eat the eggs.

Heck, why not take the plunge and raise your own chickens? If you have the space, do it. You know yourself. You know you’ll do it without cruelty. You’ll give them a good, happy life. You won’t “cull” the non-producers.

A regular intake of pastured eggs will give you most of the nutrients you’re missing out on as a keto vegan—like choline, omega-3s, iron, and zinc, not to mention high quality animal protein.

If you’re worried about the whole eggs/heart disease myth, know that it’s exactly that—a myth. The most recent evidence suggests that any relationship between egg consumption and health issues stems from “a dietary pattern often accompanying high egg intake and/or the cluster of other risk factors in people with high egg consumption,” not the eggs themselves.

2. Still not willing to eat eggs? Consider eating bivalves.

Most evidence suggests that bivalves—oysters and mussels—have no central nervous system capable of registering pain and are not mobile, and  that the farming practices used to grow them are environmentally friendly.

They’re incredibly nutrient-dense with many of the nutrients vegans miss out on. Oysters in particular will give you all the zinc and iron you need, plus a good amount of omega-3. Mussels are loaded with protein, omega-3s, and micronutrients.

3. If bivalves are out, you’ll need some protein powders.

Low-carb plant foods dense with protein just don’t really exist. And no, broccoli doesn’t actually have more protein than steak. Protein powders that extract the protein from plant sources and leave behind most of the fat and carbohydrates, however, do exist.

The obvious animal-based choices like whey or egg are out. The best bet seems to be a mix of rice, pea, and hemp protein powders.

Rice protein powder is almost complete with all the essential amino acids (those we can’t manufacture in our bodies and must get from outside sources), but it’s low in lysine. Rice protein powder did perform admirably compared to whey protein in one study among weight lifting adults, but they weren’t on vegan diets, and the rest of their diets probably contained plenty of animal protein to make up for any missing amino acids. Here’s one to try.

Pea protein powder has plenty of lysine to make up for what’s missing in rice protein. Here’s a good one.

Hemp protein is complete and usually comes with a nice dose of micronutrients, including magnesium, prebiotic fiber, and omega-3s, but it’s lower in protein than rice and pea protein powder, so I wouldn’t rely exclusively on it. Try this one.

For the fat, you have many options that aren’t excessively high in omega-6 fats.

Eat lots of avocado and avocado oil. These are mostly monounsaturated fat. I hear there’s a pretty great vegan ranch dressing made with avocado oil on the market.

Eat coconut. An excellent source of healthy saturated fat, coconut and its constituents like coconut oil and coconut butter are essentials for the vegan-keto pantry. A spoonful of coconut butter is one of my go-to snacks, and it’s totally keto-friendly.

Eat olives and olive oil. This is mostly monounsaturated fat. Just make sure you’re buying actual olive oil.

Eat macadamia nuts. Again, mostly monounsaturated. Great for snacks.

Eat hemp seeds. Fairly high in omega-6, but it’s balanced with a large dose of omega-3 and some of the omega-6 is anti-inflammatory GLA. The complete protein, prebiotic fiber, and loads of magnesium don’t hurt either.

Eat red palm oil. Palm oil gets a bad rap, as most Southeast Asian palm production impedes on dwindling orangutan habitats. The majority of red palm oil—the unrefined version higher in micronutrients—comes from sustainable palm farms that don’t impact orangutan populations. Mostly saturated fat.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and all the other ones higher in omega-6. Eat nuts (and seeds) of all kinds, just not to the exclusion of everything else. There is such a thing as too many nuts, as I explained earlier.

No matter what you eat, you’ll need to take supplements.

Choline: The higher your fat intake, the more choline your liver needs to process it all. Choline is most abundant in animal foods that you aren’t eating, like liver and egg yolks. A good vegan source of choline is sunflower lecithin.

Creatine: Creatine monohydrate is cheap, safe, and effective. You should take it, because you’re not getting it from your food; the best sources of creatine are red meat and fish. Far more than a “weight lifting supplement,” creatine has been shown to improve both muscular and cognitive function in vegetarians.

Carnosine: Not many know about carnosine. It’s another meat-based nutrient that improves mood, enhances endurance, and serves as a brain antioxidant. Though we can make it in our bodies, studies show that vegans and vegetarians have fairly low levels and supplementation can help.

Taurine: Taurine is similar to carnosine—though it’s not essential (we make it, just probably not enough), it appears only in animal foods and plays a major yet under-appreciated role in preventing death and disease. Easy supplement.

B12: You just need B12. There’s no way around it, unless you don’t mind your central nervous system going haywire.

Don’t assume you’re replete in B12 unless you’ve taken the latest assays, which are more sensitive than normal serum B12 tests. According to normal serum tests, 52% of vegans and 7% of vegetarians are deficient. According to the newer, more sensitive tests, 92% of vegans and 77% of vegetarians have low levels of the active form of vitamin B12. Don’t take a chance with this stuff; it’s critical. Here’s a good one.

Algal oil: Since you can’t take fish oil, and you don’t want to rely on inefficient elongation of ALA into the more effective omega-3s DHA and EPA, you should take algal oil. Algae is where most marine life gets its DHA and EPA. It’s totally vegan-friendly, and studies show it improves blood lipids and increases blood levels of EPA. Here’s one.

Those are the big things to worry about. Once you’ve them all squared away, the rest is easy: just eat delicious whole plant foods.

You’d better like avocados and coconut.

You’d better eat tons of non-starchy vegetables: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other above-ground vegetables.

Eat mushrooms. They aren’t vegetables, but you can treat them like it.

You can even eat fruit, so long as you choose the lower-sugar ones and moderate your intake. Berries are perfect. Watermelon and cantaloupe are surprisingly low in sugar.

Incorporate seaweed into your life. Kelp in your soups, nori sheets as snacks. Great source of minerals like iodine.

Oh, and grab a copy of Accidental Paleo, a paleo vegetarian cookbook with a good number of vegan recipes.

Can you be a perfectly healthy whole-foods vegan keto dieter? Probably not. There are just too many limitations. But if you make a few concessions, include a few supplements, and accept that vegan purity is neither necessary nor desirable (particularly for keto eating), you can get very good results.

If you have any questions about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask down below in the comment section. I’ll do my best to address them in a later post.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

[fishermariawo]

Can a Vegan Go Keto?

Absolutely! Anyone can go keto, including vegans. They might not be able to stay vegan, but they can certainly go keto. Nothing stopping them. The more the merrier.

Jokes aside. Can someone go keto while remaining vegan?

That’s a tougher problem. Not intractable. But real tough.

Why is it so hard?

For one, the most protein-rich vegan foods also happen to be relatively high in carbohydrates—the very macronutrient you need to limit on keto. You could load up on a complex blend of legumes and rice to obtain adequate protein containing all the essential amino acids, but you’d end up overdoing it on carbohydrates and knocking yourself out of ketosis. Protein is extremely important and hard to obtain on a normal vegan diet. It’s even harder on a keto vegan diet.

Two, the easiest vegan sources of fat and protein—nuts and seeds—aren’t meant to be staple foods. No one should base their diet on nuts for a few reasons.

Excessive omega-6. Most nuts are very high in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that most modern people consume too much of already. This will throw your omega-3:omega-6 ratio out of whack.

Excessive calories. Nuts can just disappear down your gullet. The ability to consume entire sackfuls of nuts in a single sitting without having to remove the shells is a modern aberration, one we’re not really prepared as an organism to regulate.

Carbs. When you start getting into the “several handful” range, the carb content of nuts adds up. It’s not enough carbs to disrupt a normal eater, but it can ruin ketosis.

Anti-nutrients. Nuts and seeds can’t run from predators, so they employ biological warfare to dissuade animals from eating them, manufacturing anti-nutrient compounds that impair nutrient absorption. This isn’t a deal breaker. We’ve adapted to many of these compounds, and I even think it’s likely that some of these anti-nutrients, like phytate, offer hormetic benefits in smaller doses. But if you’re eating enough almonds to satisfy your protein requirements, you’re overdoing it.

(And yes, in certain parts of the year, the Hadza of East Africa consume the bulk of their calories from the mongongo nut, but you’re not Hadza. It’s a different genetic situation, a different lifestyle, a different microbiome. The Hadza also eat thousands of calories of wild honey each day when it’s available. You lining up to do that, too?)

Successfully implementing a vegan keto diet requires the resolution of those two main problems. You need complete protein without all the carbs that beans entail, and you need a reliable source of fat without all the omega-6 fatty acids nuts and seeds entail.

For the protein, you have a few options.

Consider some concessions. Compare the spirit of your commitment to the “letter of the law” approach. The following will make your journey far more enjoyable, nutrient-dense, and sustainable.

1.Consider eating eggs from a trusted source (even yourself).

You can usually go on Craigslist and find a local source of pastured chicken eggs. Simply introduce yourself and ask to see their operation. I mean, it’s not like the hobby farmer who considers her hens members of the family is going to give those birds a bad life. Go see for yourself, then eat the eggs.

Heck, why not take the plunge and raise your own chickens? If you have the space, do it. You know yourself. You know you’ll do it without cruelty. You’ll give them a good, happy life. You won’t “cull” the non-producers.

A regular intake of pastured eggs will give you most of the nutrients you’re missing out on as a keto vegan—like choline, omega-3s, iron, and zinc, not to mention high quality animal protein.

If you’re worried about the whole eggs/heart disease myth, know that it’s exactly that—a myth. The most recent evidence suggests that any relationship between egg consumption and health issues stems from “a dietary pattern often accompanying high egg intake and/or the cluster of other risk factors in people with high egg consumption,” not the eggs themselves.

2. Still not willing to eat eggs? Consider eating bivalves.

Most evidence suggests that bivalves—oysters and mussels—have no central nervous system capable of registering pain and are not mobile, and  that the farming practices used to grow them are environmentally friendly.

They’re incredibly nutrient-dense with many of the nutrients vegans miss out on. Oysters in particular will give you all the zinc and iron you need, plus a good amount of omega-3. Mussels are loaded with protein, omega-3s, and micronutrients.

3. If bivalves are out, you’ll need some protein powders.

Low-carb plant foods dense with protein just don’t really exist. And no, broccoli doesn’t actually have more protein than steak. Protein powders that extract the protein from plant sources and leave behind most of the fat and carbohydrates, however, do exist.

The obvious animal-based choices like whey or egg are out. The best bet seems to be a mix of rice, pea, and hemp protein powders.

Rice protein powder is almost complete with all the essential amino acids (those we can’t manufacture in our bodies and must get from outside sources), but it’s low in lysine. Rice protein powder did perform admirably compared to whey protein in one study among weight lifting adults, but they weren’t on vegan diets, and the rest of their diets probably contained plenty of animal protein to make up for any missing amino acids. Here’s one to try.

Pea protein powder has plenty of lysine to make up for what’s missing in rice protein. Here’s a good one.

Hemp protein is complete and usually comes with a nice dose of micronutrients, including magnesium, prebiotic fiber, and omega-3s, but it’s lower in protein than rice and pea protein powder, so I wouldn’t rely exclusively on it. Try this one.

For the fat, you have many options that aren’t excessively high in omega-6 fats.

Eat lots of avocado and avocado oil. These are mostly monounsaturated fat. I hear there’s a pretty great vegan ranch dressing made with avocado oil on the market.

Eat coconut. An excellent source of healthy saturated fat, coconut and its constituents like coconut oil and coconut butter are essentials for the vegan-keto pantry. A spoonful of coconut butter is one of my go-to snacks, and it’s totally keto-friendly.

Eat olives and olive oil. This is mostly monounsaturated fat. Just make sure you’re buying actual olive oil.

Eat macadamia nuts. Again, mostly monounsaturated. Great for snacks.

Eat hemp seeds. Fairly high in omega-6, but it’s balanced with a large dose of omega-3 and some of the omega-6 is anti-inflammatory GLA. The complete protein, prebiotic fiber, and loads of magnesium don’t hurt either.

Eat red palm oil. Palm oil gets a bad rap, as most Southeast Asian palm production impedes on dwindling orangutan habitats. The majority of red palm oil—the unrefined version higher in micronutrients—comes from sustainable palm farms that don’t impact orangutan populations. Mostly saturated fat.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and all the other ones higher in omega-6. Eat nuts (and seeds) of all kinds, just not to the exclusion of everything else. There is such a thing as too many nuts, as I explained earlier.

No matter what you eat, you’ll need to take supplements.

Choline: The higher your fat intake, the more choline your liver needs to process it all. Choline is most abundant in animal foods that you aren’t eating, like liver and egg yolks. A good vegan source of choline is sunflower lecithin.

Creatine: Creatine monohydrate is cheap, safe, and effective. You should take it, because you’re not getting it from your food; the best sources of creatine are red meat and fish. Far more than a “weight lifting supplement,” creatine has been shown to improve both muscular and cognitive function in vegetarians.

Carnosine: Not many know about carnosine. It’s another meat-based nutrient that improves mood, enhances endurance, and serves as a brain antioxidant. Though we can make it in our bodies, studies show that vegans and vegetarians have fairly low levels and supplementation can help.

Taurine: Taurine is similar to carnosine—though it’s not essential (we make it, just probably not enough), it appears only in animal foods and plays a major yet under-appreciated role in preventing death and disease. Easy supplement.

B12: You just need B12. There’s no way around it, unless you don’t mind your central nervous system going haywire.

Don’t assume you’re replete in B12 unless you’ve taken the latest assays, which are more sensitive than normal serum B12 tests. According to normal serum tests, 52% of vegans and 7% of vegetarians are deficient. According to the newer, more sensitive tests, 92% of vegans and 77% of vegetarians have low levels of the active form of vitamin B12. Don’t take a chance with this stuff; it’s critical. Here’s a good one.

Algal oil: Since you can’t take fish oil, and you don’t want to rely on inefficient elongation of ALA into the more effective omega-3s DHA and EPA, you should take algal oil. Algae is where most marine life gets its DHA and EPA. It’s totally vegan-friendly, and studies show it improves blood lipids and increases blood levels of EPA. Here’s one.

Those are the big things to worry about. Once you’ve them all squared away, the rest is easy: just eat delicious whole plant foods.

You’d better like avocados and coconut.

You’d better eat tons of non-starchy vegetables: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other above-ground vegetables.

Eat mushrooms. They aren’t vegetables, but you can treat them like it.

You can even eat fruit, so long as you choose the lower-sugar ones and moderate your intake. Berries are perfect. Watermelon and cantaloupe are surprisingly low in sugar.

Incorporate seaweed into your life. Kelp in your soups, nori sheets as snacks. Great source of minerals like iodine.

Oh, and grab a copy of Accidental Paleo, a paleo vegetarian cookbook with a good number of vegan recipes.

Can you be a perfectly healthy whole-foods vegan keto dieter? Probably not. There are just too many limitations. But if you make a few concessions, include a few supplements, and accept that vegan purity is neither necessary nor desirable (particularly for keto eating), you can get very good results.

If you have any questions about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask down below in the comment section. I’ll do my best to address them in a later post.

Thanks for reading, everyone!