#Unlimited lunch in Science City

[masalamaarke23]

A Culinary Gem in Ahmedabad: Masala Maarke at Science City & Sola

If you're in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, exploring the bustling neighborhoods of Science City and Sola, you’re in for a culinary treat. Among the many food havens dotting these areas, one name that stands out is Masala Maarke. Known for its rich flavors, warm ambiance, and impeccable service, Masala Maarke has become a go-to spot for food enthusiasts. Here's why it’s a must-visit best restaurant in science city.

The Ambiance: A Perfect Blend of Comfort and Elegance

Masala Maarke offers a contemporary yet cozy dining experience. The interiors are thoughtfully designed, featuring warm lighting, elegant furniture, and traditional Indian décor elements that give the place a welcoming vibe. Whether you’re dining with family, friends, or hosting a corporate lunch, the ambiance caters to all moods and occasions.

The Menu: A Gastronomic Delight

The restaurant boasts an extensive menu that captures the essence of Indian cuisine while also offering a variety of global dishes. Here are some highlights:

Indian Specialties: Their butter chicken and paneer tikka masala are crowd favorites, paired perfectly with soft, buttery naans or aromatic biryanis.

Street Food Vibes: Don’t miss their chaat platter, which brings the tangy and spicy flavors of Indian street food straight to your table.

Fusion Dishes: If you’re in the mood for something different, their Indo-Italian fusion pizzas and paneer wraps are worth trying.

Desserts: End your meal on a sweet note with their signature kulfi or sizzling brownie with ice cream.

Why Choose Masala Maarke?

Unmatched Quality: From the freshest ingredients to the perfect blend of spices, every dish at Masala Maarke is crafted with care.

Affordability: Despite its premium offerings, the restaurant is reasonably priced, making it accessible to a wide audience.

Family-Friendly: The spacious seating and kid-friendly menu make it an ideal spot for families.

Excellent Service: The staff are courteous, attentive, and go the extra mile to ensure a delightful dining experience.

Location and Accessibility

Conveniently located near the Science City and Sola areas, Masala Maarke is easily accessible by both private and public transport. Its strategic location makes it a perfect stop for tourists exploring Science City’s wonders or locals looking for a great dining option.

Final Thoughts

Masala Maarke is not just a restaurant in sola; it’s an experience that combines the richness of Indian flavors with a modern dining atmosphere. Whether you’re a food enthusiast or someone looking for a memorable meal with loved ones, this place will not disappoint. Next time you find yourself in Science City or Sola, make sure Masala Maarke is on your itinerary. Your taste buds will thank you!

[masalamaarke]

Masala Maarke's Culinary Delight: The Best Restaurant on Science City Road, Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, a city known for its rich cultural heritage and diverse culinary offerings, never fails to delight food enthusiasts. If you happen to be on Science City Road in Ahmedabad, you're in for a gastronomic treat. Masala Maarke is thrilled to introduce you to the finest dining establishment on Science City Road, a hidden gem that deserves to be celebrated.

Restaurant Spotlight: "Flavors of Gujarat"

Flavors of Gujarat is more than just a restaurant; it's an experience that encapsulates the essence of the region's cuisine. Here's why we've crowned it as the best restaurant on Science City Road:

Authentic Gujarati Cuisine: At Flavors of Gujarat, you'll embark on a culinary journey through the heart of Gujarat. The restaurant excels in serving traditional Gujarati fare, allowing you to savor the diverse and rich flavors that define the state's culinary heritage.

Inviting Ambiance: The restaurant welcomes you with open arms into a vibrant and charming setting. The decor, inspired by Gujarati culture, sets the stage for an immersive dining experience that's perfect for families, friends, and solo diners alike.

Exquisite Thali Experience: The centerpiece of Flavors of Gujarat is its thali experience. Served on a gleaming brass platter, the thali offers an array of flavorful dishes, including daal, vegetables, farsan, and desserts. It's a perfect way to savor the taste of Gujarat in a single meal.

Attentive Service: The restaurant's staff is known for their warm hospitality and attentive service. They are eager to explain the dishes, accommodate special requests, and ensure your dining experience is nothing short of perfect.

Vegetarian Delights: Flavors of Gujarat caters exclusively to vegetarians. With a menu that emphasizes the richness of plant-based cuisine, it's an ideal destination for vegetarians seeking an authentic dining experience.

Cultural Entertainment: To enhance your dining experience, the restaurant occasionally offers cultural entertainment, showcasing traditional music and dance performances that add an extra layer of authenticity to your meal.

Convenient Location: Situated on Science City Road, Flavors of Gujarat is easily accessible, making it a sought-after destination for both locals and tourists.

Conclusion:

Flavors of Gujarat is more than a restaurant; it's an embodiment of the state's rich culinary traditions. As Masala Maarke's top choice for the best restaurant on Science City Road, it promises an authentic and immersive experience of Gujarati cuisine. Whether you're a Gujarati food enthusiast or someone seeking a unique dining adventure, Flavors of Gujarat is a must-visit destination. Prepare to be enchanted by the diverse flavors and cultural richness that Gujarat has to offer, all in one delightful dining experience at this hidden gem in Ahmedabad.

Contact Us Masala Maarke ac.delightfoods@gmail.com https://masalamaarke.co.in/ +91 9054966119

[cchellacat]

I Will Be Waiting

Darcy Lewis Bingo

Y1: Soulmate AU

Bucky/Darcy

18+ for some smutterfluff

Darcy never wanted to meet her soulmate, fate has other plans.

Thank you @hawksmagnolia​ for all your support and help and for the absolutely beautiful cover art/mood board! 

Darcy had been coming to New York since she was a kid. She loved the hustle and bustle, the people, the sounds, and the vibrance of the city. When Jane had taken up a teaching position at Columbia she’d been excited, with Jane as a guaranteed roommate she could finally afford to live in the city of her dreams.

It took her a month, applying for jobs to find one but she lucked out and got a great foot in the door at Stark Industries. It only took a year before some wise guy sent her up to act as Stark's assistant for the day; no doubt thinking she’d crash and burn or walk out as every other person had for the last ten years. Not Darcy Lewis, no siree, Darcy Lewis was not a quitter and Tony Stark was an overgrown man child, accustomed to pushing people's buttons till they cracked. Darcy didn’t crack. She pushed back. In less than a month she had Stark’s schedule running like clockwork and Pepper had given her the stamp of approval, promising that she’d be canonised as a saint when she died. Darcy had been walking on cloud nine ever since. Her job was a bit of everything, but surprisingly similar to a lot of what she'd done for Jane, everything from paperwork and coffee to experimental engineering. Her salary rivaled most department heads and she had been able to move into an apartment in the Tower. When Jane had visited Darcy she’d crossed paths with Tony and the two had hit it off. Jane’s funding went from meager to unlimited and she was offered science space at the Tower. All in all, life was good.  

One of Darcy’s favourite places in New York was in Central Park. There was a small plaza, in a quiet area of the park, perfect for some sun and picnicking at lunchtime. On a plinth at the far end was a statue. The real mystery though was that no one knew where it had come from. The statue of the man was just over six feet, he appeared to be a soldier, in full uniform from around the second World War. He stood, with one arm reaching out, as though waiting for someone to take his hand. There was no record of it being commissioned, no artist had claimed it. Eventually, the city had simply installed the wide plinth with room for the invisible stranger to stand on and constructed the small plaza since it had become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Many people visited just to get a photograph with the handsome soldier.

As with any good urban legend, a fairly ridiculous story built up around the statue. The most prevalent story was that he’d been a real man, frozen in time and only his soulmate could break the curse and bring him back to life. This was completely absurd, but romance sells and so it was in every tourist book and even had its own following on social media.

Touching the soldier was seen as good luck; people said if you did you’d meet your soulmate within a year. It had such cultural belief that many people ended up saying their first words to each other in this very spot. It was rumoured that Pepper Pots had met Tony Stark here ten years ago while she was on her lunch break and the man had spoken to her for the first time when he was passing through on a date with another woman. Darcy doesn't know if that's true, but she's about ninety-nine percent convinced it’s pretty damn accurate. Her boss has a picture of himself and Pepper in front of the soldier on his desk that he often looked at smugly.  

The Searching Soldier was deemed as the perfect place for romantic proposals, first dates, and even the occasional wedding. Darcy had seen her fair share of men and women getting on one knee and popping the question in the last two years since she’d made it her regular lunch spot and she couldn’t help but love this place for that alone. The Searching Soldier had become an icon and a symbol of true love and Darcy’s escape from the constant buzz of the building she worked and lived in.  

She crumples up her napkin and grabs her coffee cup and ambles over, throwing the waste in the bin before coming to a stop in front of the statue. She’s been inclined more than once to just climb up the steps and touch him, but she’d never been particularly superstitious or even very desperate to meet the man who will give her his first words. In spite of that, every time she stands here, part of her is really tempted to do it anyway. She’s looked at his face every day for two years, trying to figure out the expression. It doesn’t look hopeful or happy. His eyes are slightly wide, his mouth caught mid-smile, or perhaps on the cusp of speaking a name. He looks, Darcy thinks, both resigned and startled. Some days she thinks he’s saying goodbye instead of hello. Her phone beeps, disturbing her a little from her contemplation and she realises she's going to be late back to work if she doesn't hustle. Throwing one last look at the soldier and his out-stretched hand she hurried off.

      Stark’s experimental lab was a perfect example of finely organised chaos. Darcy both hated and loved it. There was certainly never a dull moment with Tony as her boss, but the number of clean up requirements every time an experiment went wrong meant overtime as well as exacting and specially vetted clean up crews to ensure no proprietary research left the building.

It’s getting late but Tony is in the final stages of construction of what he says will be a time machine. Darcy doesn’t want to think about the possible ramifications of such a breakthrough and has already discreetly informed Pepper and the Legal department.  

“Hey, pass me the sonic wrench will you?”

Darcy glares at the tools in front of her. She’s half-convinced he makes this stuff up just to mess with her. She randomly grabs an oddly shaped tool and passes it over.

When it happens, Darcy is caught off guard. The machine hums to life in almost the same second that the lab doors are forced open. Tony grabs her and hauls her up onto the pad behind him, his watch enveloping his hand as the repulsor glove activates. There is shouting going on and a gun fires. She’s not afraid to admit that at the moment, panic sets in and she’s hardly coherent of anything other than the feel of Tony's hand in hers before he wrenches it free and then slides something onto her wrist. The next thing she knows, the machine whirs to life, there's a sharp noise like metal on glass and then she's falling.

Silence envelopes her as she hits the ground. The bright light of the lab was gone, replaced with almost total darkness and the scent of damp. She groans, pushing herself up and is thankful when Tony’s twin moan of pain reaches her ears through the dark.  

“Tony?”

“You ok, Short Stack?”

“I’m fine, what the hell was that?”

“Time travel without a capsule. A little bumpy, but we managed.”

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?”

“No, why would I?”

“Are you insane? We can’t go experimenting on ourselves.”

“Would you rather we stayed where we were and got shot or kidnapped?”

Darcy glares as Tony’s suit deploys and an ethereal glow emanates from the nanotech.

“How are we meant to get back?”

Tony grins.

“I’m glad you asked. I put a recall device on us both before I launched us out of time.”

“The wristband?”  

He nods and moves to check her over.

“You seem alright. How are you feeling? Dizzy?, headache?... how many fingers am I holding up?”

“Ugh, you are not a doctor, Tony. I’m fine. Just jittery.”

“Hmmm, shock, probably. Good, that means they work.”

“Means what works?”

“The wristband isn’t just a tracker, it’s like a bubble of real-time from our timeline, one that travels with us and keeps us from what I theorised could be temporal sickness caused by the jump.”

“So what now?”

“We lay low for a few days, in forty-eight to ninety-six hours the tracker engages and we’re pulled back to our own time. Easy.”

“Sure it is, but what are we meant to do while we wait? Do you know when we are? We don’t have any money and I refuse to stay trapped in this mouldy basement for the next two days.”

Tony looks mildly chagrined before shrugging a little and muttering about him figuring it out. Darcy sighs and follows him. She was putting in for danger pay when she got back. This was above and beyond.

They make their way up through some abandoned tunnels, the air turning colder and colder the higher they climb. When they finally make it to the top Darcy realises they are in a railway tunnel and there is a train coming straight at them. Tony manhandles her for the second time that day and pulls her out of the way. Only his suit saved them from a steep snowy drop into the ravine below.  

They’re barely back on their feet when an explosion rips through the air and the side of the train car that almost hit them rips open.  Even with the speed it’s going, the unmistakable form of a man falling has Darcy crying in horror. Tony doesn’t hesitate. At that moment he forgets where he is, all that matters is saving a life. He takes off, leaving Darcy safely on the embankment, and flies after the man as the train speeds out of sight.

A shaking and cursing soldier drops in front of her as Tony lands and his suit retracts back into its casing. Darcy is barely processing it all as she stares at the stranger, he looks so familiar. He’s tall, dark-haired with the bluest eyes she’s ever seen. He shouts angrily, accusations flying back and forth as Tony explains who they are. Darcy doesn’t blame him, she wouldn’t believe them either. He does tell them the date though, 1945. She has traveled back in time seventy-five years, they are apparently somewhere in Austria. When he finally gives them a name, Tony winces and Darcy’s ears perk up. She knows that name. She knows it because the man in front of her died a hero, falling to his death from a train just before the end of the war. If they weren’t already white with the cold she’s pretty sure Tony would be turning transparent. How the hell do you tell someone they’re dead and have been for seventy-five years? Yeah, it goes down about as well as you’d think. Darcy suddenly sneezes and the sound of her teeth chattering stops both of the men mid-argument. It’s the first time the guy finally looks at her, his eyes seem to widen and then he’s whipped off his coat and swept it around her.

“We can’t stay out here, we have to get off this mountain and back to base.” He addresses Tony. Darcy almost wants to punch him for the rudeness of ignoring her even as she pulls the warm coat around her tightly, savouring the comforting warmth.  

“What do you not get about you’re dead? You can’t go back, you can never go back!” Tony punctuates each point with a finger jab at Sergeant Barnes, she grabs his hand to stop him. Barnes looks about one more jab away from knocking Tony out.  

“Tony, we still have to get out of here and somewhere sheltered. We don’t know how long we have before we go back and we can’t just leave the Sergeant without any help either. Maybe he can’t go back, but there must be something we can do to help him, right?”

Tony looks at her grudgingly and nods.  

“Okay, I’ve got a plan. We get back to the base, I go in alone and talk to Howard. We fly to New York and I’ll make sure Barnes here gets set up with a new identity and a job.”

Darcy smiles as brightly as possible at Barnes.

“See? A whole new start, it’ll be great!”

Barnes's eyes widen for a moment before he bites out the words she had been dreading to hear her whole life.

“I won’t leave Steve!”

To be fair, he looks almost apologetic the second after they came out of his mouth but Darcy closes up and Tony growls.

“What did you just say?”

Barnes raises his hands shaking his head, looking beseechingly at Darcy.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I just-”

“Have you got any idea the damage those words have done to her you selfish neanderthal?”

Tony had seen her words once, completely by accident. They’d had to go through decontamination after a spill in the lab, the showers hadn’t left much room for modesty. Her words crawled up the small of her back, just below the rise of her jeans. After that, the older man had been stupidly attentive and protective of her. She’d honestly never expected to encounter her soulmate like this, and especially not with Tony in tow. Tony who knew more of her secrets than anyone other than Jane.  

Barnes' face at Tony’s accusation was bitterly remorseful. His eyes flashed to Darcy, boring into her own deeply, seeing the hurt and rejection she’d lived with her whole life. He stepped towards her, his lips parted, she wanted to say something, but any words she could have said were swiftly cut as Tony pushed him back and away from Darcy.

“I said I’m sorry!” his voice is harsh and Darcy thinks she can almost see the threads as he unravels. “But I can’t leave Steve, he needs my help, he’ll get himself killed if I’m not there-”

Tony gabs Barnes and shakes him.

“Rogers lives. You died and Captain America carried on, did just fine without you. You going back, being alive? That could change all of history and just might get your friend killed. Do you want to do that? Risk the future just to butt in where you’re no longer needed?”

Tony’s words were scathing and sharp but no less true for the content.  

“Tony! That’s enough….” she turns to Barnes. “Look, I’m sorry this happened, but you were meant to die, it must feel like your life has been turned upside down, I know. But it’s better than actually being dead, right?”

His eyes settle on her and he shakes his head, she suddenly wants to be anywhere but here. He looks lost and afraid and she can’t help but feel this is her fault.

“Better than being dead? I can’t see my best friend ever again and my soul mate is going back to the future. I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life, I’m over the fuckin moon.”

She recoils like a blow has been struck. He’s angry, of course, he is. She is too. This should never have happened. It’s not fair, but if there is one thing she’d learned in life it’s that it is never fair. She’s toe to toe with him, shaking from anger or cold, she’s not sure which.  

“How do you think I feel? I’ve been shot at, fell through time, nearly got hit by a train and now my soulmate wants nothing to do with me and even if he did I’m never going to see him again! You’re not the only one with a sucky life Barnes but I’m not having a tantrum over it. Suck it up soldier and deal with it. This is life.”

Twin blue eyes blaze at each other before Tony comes between them again and then she ignores Barnes, letting Tony guide her as they get off the mountainside.

It takes six hours to get back to the base. Tony somehow manages to carry them both, flying low and slow until the dark green tents and the wooden barracks appear. They drop down a few miles out, Tony leaving them both sneak in and find Howard. He doesn’t think it will take much to convince his dad of who he is and tells them to stay safe until he gets back.

Barnes stalkes about the clearing they’re in like an angry bear while Darcy does her best to push away the strange grief she feels welling up in her heart. It doesn’t make much sense, really, it’s not like she knows him or is going to get the chance. The wristbands are their only way home, not equipped to carry an extra passenger. Tony had already put the full stop in her unspoken question about her staying. It was a huge no-no, she didn’t belong in this time, he was almost certain the time-stream would rearrange itself around her if she stayed but that it would most likely try to erase her the longer she stayed. He’d made too good an argument for the universe trying to Final Destination her ass to be comfortable with taking the risk.  

“I don't even know your name”  She jerks a little at the abrupt statement, suddenly aware of how close he'd come to her.

    Bucky feels like his world just ended and nothing is ever going to feel right again. When he’d fallen from the train he was certain he was going to die. It was a long way down and in those few moments where he fell he’d almost made peace with his end. The words inked on his arm the only regret he had. He’d wondered his whole life about the girl that would one day try to reasure him.

  See? A whole new start, it’ll be great!

Wondered what he’d say to her, how he’d greet her. Instead of one of the many things he’d hoped he might say he’d pretty much rejected her for someone else. He cringes at the thought that she had spent her life wondering who Steve was to him that he’d refuse her. Now here he was, with the one girl he was made for, who was made for him and he was furious at himself for the cock-up he’d made of it. He runs a shaking hand through his hair, feeling the small ice crystals melt when they come in contact with his hand. It’s freezing out here but he hardly feels the cold. It’s been that way for a while now, not just the immunity to the cold, but the strength and the speed and his senses all sharper and better than they’d ever been. He can see her shivering, even with the long blue coat of his wrapped around her tiny frame.  

God, they haven’t even been introduced properly. He feels like a fool.

“I don’t even know your name.”

She looks up at him, seeming surprised at his closeness.  

“Darcy Lewis.” she doesn’t give him more than that, a brief snippet of knowledge.

“James Barnes, but my friends call me Bucky.” she raises a brow, “I’m sorry for how I reacted back there, for what I said. You didn’t deserve those words. I was just worried about my friend. You gotta understand, I’ve known him since we were kids, he’s like family to me.”  

Darcy sighs. “I get it, I do. Consider it forgiven.” she shivers again and hugs herself tighter.

Bucky feels a twinge of guilt.

“Don’t know how long your friend’s going to be, we could..” he trails off, his hand, held towards her hesitantly, gesturing for something.

Darcy looks at the outstretched hand, it's like a bell in the back of her mind, like deja vu.  

“Look, you’re obviously freezing, come here and we can huddle, share warmth. I know it's a little unconventional, but I promise I’m not trying to make a move.”

Darcy snorted.

“Like I couldn’t take you if I needed to.”

The way she side-eyes him and the little twist of her lips as she delivers the words induce a sudden chuckle. It’s been a while since a dame smacked him down so dismissively. Part of him admires her moxie while a deeper part finds a bittersweet understanding of why the universe paired them. He could see it. How they could be. If life had given them a different path.  

Darcy throws a half-hearted glare his way.

“What, you don’t think I could?”

“Oh, I’m certain you would if I got fresh, Doll. Come here, you’re freezing, no use refusing just to make a point.”

“And if I said no?”

“You could, '' he nods his head. “ But you won’t, you’re too practical and smart to be the kinda girl that’d cut her own nose off just to spite her face.”

“James Barnes, is that a compliment for little old me?”

Bucky rolls his eyes. Of course, she would be full of sass to match his.

“Tellin’ you you’re beautiful would be a compliment. I’m just calling a spade a spade.”

Darcy presses her lips together, refusing to smile and lets him take her hand, he pulls her in close and wraps his arms around her as she tucks her head into his chest. When she realises he really is like her own personal space heater she unashamedly clings to him like a limpet.  

“Getting comfortable, Doll?”

“Digging in, like the spade I am.”

She replies dryly then lets out a tiny giggle and feels an answering rumble of amusement from his chest. His arms tighten around her a little and she sighs, some of the tension bleeding from her shoulders.

“Thanks,” she tells him quietly.  

“Least I could do.” He responds equally quiet. A silence lapses between them but it lacks the jagged edges that it had held before. Darcy breathes him in. It would be so easy, she thinks a little sadly, to get used to this.  

        It’s dawn when Tony gets back to them, Howard in tow. In less time than she’d expected they were in the air and flying over the Atlantic. Tony and Howard are upfront, conspiring away while she’s stuck in the cabin with Bucky. It’s strange watching the man, her soulmate, the little voice in her head whispers, as he sleeps.  

Out there in the snow and ice, he’d been all hard edges and furrowed lines. In sleep the angles of his face softened, he looked younger. She’s not blind, the man has the sort of face you’d expect to see in some lookbook for a model agency. Maybe if he’d been born in her time he’d have found himself doing exactly that or perhaps acting on some cable tv show. He was almost pretty but with just enough dangerous charm to describe him as strikingly handsome. More man than boy, despite the big blue eyes and soft lips. If she had to admit to a type, he was exactly hers. Not surprising considering the words curling up her spine. It doesn’t seem to be something she can entirely dismiss, even when she knows there's no future here for them. Her heart sees him and she feels like the breath is knocked out of her. But even the knowledge that he hadn’t been rejecting her is now more of a burden than a relief. A burden because she can’t help but wonder what could have been. It’s like being given water in a desert and then having someone take it away to pour into the sand. In his sleep, he curls an arm around her and pulls her in close. Darcy lets him, selfishly allowing herself to pretend that this isn’t just a temporary stop along the road. She closes her eyes and rests her head against his chest and cuddles in. Deep inside she thinks they really could have been something.  

The change in air pressure, subtle though it is, is what wakes him. He finds Darcy wedged into his side, fast asleep. He can feel the plane descending. She’s a soft warm, sweet-smelling refuge of hope amidst the raging storm of his emotions. He’s torn. He thinks he should be pushing her away, this is just prolonging and making matters worse. He doesn’t want to get attached. She's going to leave and he’s never going to see her again. His heart, soul? Whatever they want to call it, this connection the universe gave them is pushing him to keep her close and never let her go. It seems the longer they spend in close proximity the stronger the pull is between them. He has no idea where he’s going to go from here. What sort of future he’s going to have, but the unsettling feeling that there isn’t one without her leaves him numb.

“Hey…”

His eyes flick down to meet hers, gazing up at him, sleep heavy and soft. This is what he was meant to wake up to every morning, he thinks, somewhat bitterly before a fond smile, curls around his lips at the cute scrunch of her nose.

“Morning, sweetheart.”

Darcy huffs and reluctantly pushes away from him.  

“Please don’t…” she trails off. The way he was looking at her made her heart swell, she could feel herself softening to him with every second. “This wasn’t what I expected…” she pauses and shakes her head. God that was a stupid thing to say, neither of them could have predicted anything like this.

Bucky purses his lips but keeps quiet. He can see her struggle to put her thoughts in order and his Ma raised him to be polite. He let her gather them, seeing the little wheels turning behind her eyes.

“When I was a kid I used to pretend I didn’t have words. I figured it was easier to say I was blank than admit my soulmate didn’t want me… wouldn’t want me. I told it to myself so much it felt true.” It had felt like that. She had cut herself off from any sort of longing to protect herself from the pain of being rejected. It wasn’t something that happened very often, but it did happen. People refused their soulmate, denied the bond and it would fade into nothing, Meeting your soulmate wasn’t a guarantee of happiness, it was just a chance, an opportunity to find the person best suited to you, but it didn’t guarantee love. “I thought if we ever crossed paths we’d both walk away content with the decision. Me happy to let you have what you wanted, you happy not to have some overly emotional drama queen stalking you.”

He could feel her sadness, her eyes were wet and her voice wavered. He gently cupped her face and caught the tear as it trailed over her pale skin.

“But now…. Now it feels like, -”

“Like we’ve been cheated. Like you were given a chance but the choice has been taken away. It was your choice before, to walk away from me when you thought I wouldn't want you.”

“But I didn’t have all the facts. If we’d met in my time… God, everything would be different, we’d still have a choice, an opportunity to ... I can feel it, you know? You feel it too right?”

His thumb stroked over her lip.

“Yeah, I feel it too, s’like magnets pulling together. Never wanted to know someone the way I want to know you.”

The sincerity in his voice struck a chord deep in her soul. She felt the same echo in her own.

“But we can’t. And this… the way you’re looking at me and touching me… I want it so badly but it’s just going to hurt so much more when I leave... if we keep doing this. I can’t afford to get this comfortable with you, I don’t want to... I’ve been hurting my whole life but now it's real and in front of me and I…” Darcy crumples. Maybe she’d convinced herself she’d never have a great love, but it didn't mean she’d ever really stopped wanting it. She feels like every moment in her life leads here, an inexorable inevitable point, fixed and immovable and she doesn’t want it to end.

He gathers her close, feels her tears soaking into his shirt as she cries. She’s breaking his heart. Every bit of him wants to protect her, comfort her; seeing her like this and knowing there is nothing he can do makes him furious at the world, at whatever god consigned them to this tragedy.  

“It’s not fair...it’s not.”  

“I know it’s not, princess. But we’re going to hurt either way. Why not make a few memories to hold onto?”  The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them, his mind changed.  Maybe this wasn't going to be a forever, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least hold onto whatever he could get.

Darcy breathes and considers his idea. Maybe he’s right, isn’t this going to hurt no matter what?  

“We might only get hours, a few days at most.” she’s not sure if she's trying to discourage him or begging him to tell her it doesn’t matter, that he’ll take whatever he can get. He doesn’t disappoint her.

“Then we make them count. Enough for the life-time, we could have had.”

Bucky places two fingers under her chin, bringing her gaze to his. Darcy blinks then lets it all go, lets her guard down, and sinks into his eyes. She thinks for a moment she forgets to breathe. His eyes are soft, a warmth in the deep blue. He smiles gently, encouraging an answering smile from her lips.

“Okay.” She finally lets go of the fear, embraces the chance to snatch a few small moments of beauty amid the chaos of their inevitable defeat. How, after all, could you win against time?

“Okay?”

Her smile grows wider at the happiness in his eyes and he hums a little tune. It’s a small thing but it brings a tiny snort of laughter from her, an old song so ironically apt.

“They can’t take that away from me.”

“What?” Her brows rise, was he serenading her?

“The way your smile just beams.” He sang softly, grinning down at her. She giggles.

“The way I sing off-key?” She answers back in kind.

“The way you’ll haunt my dreams… no no they can’t take that away from me.” He presses a kiss to her forehead. “Seventy-five years and people still know that song?”

“I like the Fred and Ginger movies, that one was a favourite.”

“I’d have liked that, taking you to a movie, on a date. Take you dancing somewhere so I could hold you close.”

“You don’t have to dance with me to do that” Darcy wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and Bucky thinks he’s never felt so charmed in his life.

When they finally get off the plane Darcy pulls Tony off to one side.

“I need time,” she tells him.

“Lewis, I swear if I could fix this…” He looks pained, but Darcy just shakes her head.

“No, that's not what I meant. I need time on my own with him, it’s the only chance we’ll ever have and I want to make the most of it, you understand, right?”

Tony sighs. She’s stubborn and fierce and he’s done his best to ignore the way the two had gravitated towards each other once their words were spoken. He knew from his own match that trying to keep them apart would have been pointless so he hadn’t tried, maybe even encouraged it by staying with Howard and letting the man talk his ear off. He gets it, he really does and just once, he can give her this.  

“Think you can keep out of trouble till we get pulled back?” at her nod he continues. “Fine. When the recall alert goes off make your way to Central Park. We’ll meet at the little plaza, it should be deserted enough and open enough for our return back. You’ll have about half an hour to get there so don’t stray too far.”

She surprises him with a quick hug and a whispered thanks in his ear and then he watches as she drags Barnes off by the hand.

    Forty-three hours later her wrist device beeps. Darcy looks at it mournfully and cuddles into Bucky’s arms. He’s spooning her, her body snugly tucked against his. It all feels so monumentally right, the feel of his skin against her, the rhythm of his heartbeat in time with hers, the way each breath between them works in harmony. His arms are wrapped tightly around, holding her fast, she wishes she could stay here forever, in this one perfect moment, suspended like a dragonfly in amber.

“Bucky, baby, we’ve got to go.” His body tenses and he mutters into her shoulder.

“It’s not fair Darcy… it’s not right.”

“I know. But we’ve had this.”

“S’not enough, doll. It could never be enough.”

He growled, tugging her under him as he rolled on top of her. His mouth met hers swiftly, kissing her till she was breathless and clutching him to her as her body sang for his.  

It’s quick and desperate. Two bodies trying to merge deeper than imaginable, both of them attempting to leave their mark on the other. When they peak she cries, even as her body shudders in pleasure. It’s the sweetest torture. To have this and know it will soon be over. She feels his tears on her skin, falling to mingle with her own against her cheeks as he kisses her deeply. She never thought a kiss could feel like this, like hello and goodbye and forever.  

They make their way to the park with a few minutes to spare.  

When she enters the clearing where the little plaza is usually found, all that's there is a wide grassy space with a few benches and a path. It’s a little jarring to see it like this, without the presence of the Searching Soldier the place felt empty, haunted. Before she can think about it anymore there’s the sound of shouting and the retort of a gun. It’s like the lab all over again, only this time it’s Bucky that grabs her and forces her behind him.

“Put the fucking gun away Howard, it’s not going to help!”  That's Tony's voice carrying through the trees.

Tony and Howard burst into the clearing, running, and made a beeline for Darcy and Bucky.  

“Three minutes till we get delorean’d back to the future, Lewis and we’ve got a sorcerer on our ass.”

“What? Like Strange?” A blast of golden light cuts through the trees and they’re thrown off their feet.

“More Voldemort than Dumbledore, but sure.”

“What the hell do they want?” Bucky hisses at Tony.

Tony shoots him his patented “Am I the only smart person in the room” expression and Darcy elbows him in the ribs.

“What do you think? They want to know the future!”

“You’re telling me you managed to get Nazi wizards on our asses in less than two days?”

“Like it’s my fault!”

Darcy glares like she could set him on fire.

“Fine, it’s about 12% my fault, the rest is his,” he tells her, nodding at his shamefaced father.

“Oh god, there’s two of you. Now I can tell Pepper where you get it from!”

Tony scowls as they dodge another blast, running and throwing themselves behind a low wall beside the path.

“What are we meant to do?”

“We just need to stay in one piece till we get yanked back.”

“What about Bucky, and Howard?”

A sudden flash of light behind them as a portal opens sends them scrambling, but instead of danger, the serene face of a woman looks down on them as she emerges from the rip in reality. Her head is bald, her porcelain skin seems to shimmer, and about her neck is the faint green glow of the eye. Darcy recognises it as the Time Stone.  

“Dr. Stark.” she nods.

“Ancient One.”  

Darcy is taken aback at the seriousness of his tone and the respect he gives the woman without question. It’s disconcerting, to say the least.  

Four sorcerers follow behind her and scatter quickly, facing off against the enemy as spellfire bathes the clearing in an eerie light.  

The Ancient One moves her hands in a complicated pattern, a golden dome engulfs them in a protective bubble.

“You are safe now and there is not much time.” She regards Bucky with a sharp eye and traces some unseen line back to Darcy. Her gaze softens as he takes Darcy’s hand in his, moving protectively in front of her.

“You have nothing to fear for your soulmate, Sergeant Barnes, I mean neither her nor yourself any harm.”

“All due respect Ma'am, but I don’t know you and I don’t trust you.”

She nods to him and returns her gaze to Darcy.

“The timeline of this universe has been irreparably altered. I can see why now and perhaps this way is better.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your Sergeant had another path he should have followed, one that still would have ensured you crossed paths here in your future. That way is now lost, since it cannot be recovered, perhaps there is a way to resolve your current predicament.”

“Can you send Bucky back to the future with us?” she asks her hopefully.

The Ancient One smiles mysteriously.  

“In a manner of speaking, yes. But I am afraid your soulmate will have to take the slow path.”

Darcy’s face fell. She had hoped… The watch beeped again, Tony gave her an apologetic look as he held his hand out to her.

“It’s time, Short Stack.”

She doesn’t let Bucky's hand go even as she is reluctantly pulled away by Tony. Bucky seems about to speak, the smallest regretful smile turning his lips and then the Ancient one taps his shoulder just as Darcy's hand leaves his. Bucky freezes, caught in a moment, utterly still as his whole body seemingly turns to stone. Darcy tries to lunge back, a cry of horror ringing out.  

“He will be here, waiting, Miss Lewis. And like any good fairy tale, true love's kiss will break the spell.”  The Ancient One imparts softly.

Darcy doesn’t have time to react to the words before she feels caught up in a whirlwind of motion and the world jerks sharply to the left.

    They come awake together in the lab they left from. Tony tripping over himself to check the machine. The place looks fine, nothing seems out of the ordinary. It’s like the firefight in here never happened.  

“Tony?”

He sweeps his desk for his phone and checks the date.  

“Just as I thought. The same day we left from, it’s lunchtime. We’ve come back before we left. Come on, we better get out of here before we run into ourselves.”

They take the secret elevator out and Darcy follows Tony without question, still half in shock and trying to wrap her mind around the events she’d just experienced.

Before she knows it, they’re back at Central Park. Tony shepherding her along in a daze.  

“It all makes sense now, this is crazy. I mean, you’ve spent every lunchtime here for the last two years... Darcy..., Double D! Snap out of it.”

“He’s been there, all that time?” she finally says, shock and disbelief colouring her tone.

“From the moment we left. He’s been there. Waiting for you.” Tony puts his hands on her shoulders and she doesn’t know whether to sob or laugh.  

“I didn’t lose him?”

“Look, “ he tells her, nodding over her shoulder. She turns her head, as though seeing the statue for the first time. It’s him, it’s really, him.

She looks back at Tony, shaking her head.

“What do I do? What if it doesn���t work… what if-”

“Lewis! Breathe.”  

Darcy curls her hands into fists and sucks in a deep lungful of New York air. She is a well of mixed emotion, confused and hopeful and terrified. It’s almost too painful to believe this is real. That he’s been here, all this time, trapped in a single moment, waiting for her to free him.

    “This is unbelievable.”

“I know.” he agrees soothingly.

“He’s the Searching Soldier”

“Patron Saint of true love and all-around good luck charm. New York may never recover the loss. Pretty sure, lover boy over there accounts for about a quarter of tourist revenue.”

Darcy snorts, a hysterical giggle forcing its way out. Tony only manages to keep a straight face for about a half-second longer than her before they're both howling with laughter. Passers-by stare at them as they walk past. Eventually, breathless and shaking but far calmer, Darcy stops.

An exasperated cough to their right has both turning sharply.

Stephen Strange is dressed casually, a grey jacket with a matching scarf wrapped around his neck, hands stuffed in the pockets.

“I don’t have all day you know.”

“Strange.” Tony gives the wizard a distrustful frown. He dislikes Strange on principle. The man tacks an inordinate amount of pleasure in needling him.

“Stark, Miss Lewis.”

“What are you doing here?”

Strange rolls his eyes, a look eerily similar to Tony’s own” How do I deal with these idiots” sneer crossing his face before he dispels it at the look Darcy throws at him. She is so clearly done with all the shit today.  

“Well, we can’t just let the rest of New York know that a man has been trapped in stone for seventy-five years, can we? Besides, the sudden disappearance of a national treasure would be impossible to hide and the economic impact… what, what? Stop laughing, honestly, Stark, can’t you take this seriously for five minutes?”

“So, you’re here to cover it up.”

“Indeed. Miss Lewis will break the spell, I’ll cast an illusion and Wong will bring the duplicate statue through from the Sanctum.”

“How…”

“Did I know? Well, the Ancient One left a reminder on Wong’s phone. Got the alert this morning and crafted a replacement...”

Darcy shakes her head, tuning Strange out, and faces the statue. She’s put it off long enough. She takes off, leaving Strange and Tony bickering behind her, and crosses the plaza. She only pauses for a moment at the bottom of the plinth before determinedly taking the steps and standing beside him.  

She knows the answer to the question now. The expression on his face had been both I love you and goodbye. She takes his hand in hers and steps closer before pressing her lips to cold stone. For the tiniest instant, she thinks it didn’t work, but then it’s like the world suddenly found its breath and cold marble becomes warm flesh, unyielding stone transmutes to living motion and she faintly hears a gasp before strong arms crush her close. Bucky’s voice, whispering her name, fills her ears and then he’s kissing her as if he’ll never stop and she revels in every second of it.  A Million possibilities open before them. Infinity beckons.

[superlinguo]

Language Unlimited: The Science Behind Our Most Creative Power, David Adger - Review

Before starting my PhD I took some time out from study and had an office job. Like many people who study linguistics in their undergraduate program, after 4 years of learning cool things about language every semester I desperately missed it. Over the course of a year or so I read all of the classic pop linguistics books I could get my hands on. That year did a lot to shape my mission to create and advocate for good linguistics content for different audiences.

I wish that past Lauren, with her city commute and fixed lunch breaks, had Language Unlimited to keep her company. This example-rich ten chapter volume from David Adger focuses on the unique syntactic capacity of human languages.

As Adger says in chapter 7 “[t]his book isn’t about how to do linguistics, it’s about what the nature of language is” (p. 173). Adger touches on language acquisition, animal communication, constructed languages, robot communication, and the differences and similarities of languages across the world. Although this book is predominantly about syntax (broadly, the grammar of sentences), it’s nice to see some canonical work on sounds and socio-linguistics included as well.

A highlight for me was chapter 5, where Adger introduces some features of the structure of the Warig language he created for the Beowulf TV show. I also appreciated the diversity of examples included in the book, including both signed and spoken languages from across the world.

It’s unfortunate that in chapter 9, where Adger introduces the concept of ‘merge’ as a way of accounting for syntactic creativity and constraint, there are multiple concessions that “there are lots of questions that this opens up” (p. 227). It’s always a challenge for academic linguists writing for general audiences to write about what they know most expertly. Having said that, regardless of whether you take a ‘merge’ or ‘chunk’ approach to syntax, just want a reminder of what it’s like to take a linguistics class with an insightful and passionate prof, or want to inspire a love of linguistic structure in someone else, there’s so much in this book that will please. I wish there were more linguistics professors bringing their A-game to a larger audience like this.

Disclosures, etc.: I was delighted to receive a copy of this book from OUP to review. I know David Adger, of course, because there are only so many people doing academic linguistic research and linguistics outreach who also appreciate a nice conlang.  

Language Unlimited: The Science Behind Our Most Creative Power (Oxford University Press)

Buy: Bookshop.org affiliate link, Amazon affiliate link

[pulaasul]

Luck and Order - 4

The Wizard Shazam, who was once a Lord of Order, that something was amiss. The balance between luck and misfortune was in disarray. So he implores his young Champion - Billy Batson - to investigate and correct the Balance.

Set years after the series Finale of Justice League Unlimited.

1 I 2 I 3

FFN I AO3

---------

Monday morning, Alya was waiting for Marinette by the school’s entrance, like she usually did, while busy viewing and reviewing her the video she had uploaded a few days before. The video about Captain Marvel’s arrival in Paris.

Not a moment later, the aspiring reporter noticed her best friend, Marinette, running to school as usual.

“Come on girl!” Alya gestured at Marinette. “Hurry up!”

Not before long, Marinette arrived on school, just in time for her trip unto a lone rock in the sidewalk into the hands of one model, Adrien Agreste.

“Nice catch sunshine!” Alya praised.

“H-hey A-adrien. Marinette greeted, still on Adrien’s arms. “T-thank you for ca-catching me.” She expressed her gratitude while picking herself up clumsily.

“You’re welcome.” Adrien smiled. “You should really be careful.” He cautioned his friend.

“Seriously girl you need to watch where you’re walking.” Alya teased. “Or was that intentional on your part?” She whispered.

“Alya!” Marinette pouted. “You already know that’s not the case.” She hissed as she and her best friend walked towards their classroom.

“What’s not the case?” Adrien’s questioned as he walked behind the two ladies.

“Oh you know.” Alya shrugged. “How there’s now three heroes in Paris at the moment.” She stated as she played the video of her interview with Captain Marvel.

“I am kinda surprised that he still defends the Justice League.” Marinette voiced out. “After Superman refused to take his suggestion into account and got into an all-out brawl.”

“Girl! You’re well informed!” Alya praised. “How’d you know that?”

“I kinda checked up on Captain Marvel after watching your interview with him.” Marinette admitted.

“Neither the Justice League nor the Marvel Family confirmed why he left though.” Adrien hummed. “I just thought that he didn’t have time to be a member of both groups.”

“Still it’s kinda baffling how he knows a lot about the Miraculous.” Alya hummed. “Both Ladybug and Chat Noir had yet to comment about the Miraculous and this new guy shows up and gives more info than our local heroes have told us.”

“Maybe he’s one of the guardians?” Marinette offered.

“But he doesn’t have the symbol that the previous Miraculoous heroes had.” Alya pointed out.

Before Marinette could even reply, the three of them had already arrived by their room. They proceeded to their sits, Marinette beside Alya and Adrien just in front of Marinette.

“Okay class we’re going to have a transfer student in class.” Mme Mendeleieve started. “Mme Bustier has called in sick and I’ll be your substitute for today.” She explained her presence. “M Batson if you would.”

A boy in a red sweater and blue jeans went inside the room and stood in front of the class.

“Good Morning Everyone, I’m William Joseph Batson, I came from Fawcett City and I’m here for the exchange student program.” He informed the whole class. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“M Batson if you have any questions, you can ask the Class Representative.” Mme Menedeleive informed the new student.

“Marinette, please help M Batson around.

“Yes Mme Mendeleieve.” Marinette stood and approached the new boy.

“Hi!” Marinette greeted. “I’m Marinette.” She introduced herself.

“William Joseph Batson.” Billy returned the favor.” Just call me Billy.” He smiled at girl.

“M Batson, you can sit beside Mme Lila Rossi.” The teacher instructed. “Lila please raise your hand.”

The girl in question didn’t even hesitate and raised her hand gleefully.

“Marinette, please escort M Batson to his seat.” The teacher continued.

“Right this way Billy.” Marinette instructed the new student and offered her hand.

“Thank you Mme Dupain-Cheng.” Billy expressed his gratitude.

“Just call me Marinette.” Marinette smiled.

“Well then.” Billy grinned back. “Thank you Marinette.”

“You’re Welcome.” Marinette responded. “You can approach me during lunch if you have any questions or want me to tour the school with you.”

As soon as Billy was seated, Marinette, although filled with pity for the new boy, left him as the teacher reviewed their lessons before starting a new lesson.

“You’re from Fawcett City, right Billy?” The girl beside him asked. “Did you know that Captain Marvel and I were best friends?” She shared. “Well his wife and I go way back, you know Mary Marvel?”

“W-wife?” Billy stuttered. “I didn’t know that Captain Marvel had a wife.”

“Oh they actually wanted to keep it on the down low.” Lila shushed. “Please don’t tell anyone I told you that.”

“Lila please share your book with M Batson and please refrain from talking any other thing while we’re in class.” Mme Mendeleieve ordered.

“Will do Mme Menedeleive.” Lila nodded as she scooted next to the new student and gave let him borrow her book.

---------

Billy was caught off guard with the mention that his heroic alter-ego had a wife. He was even more perturbed when that supposed wife was his twin sister’s champion form.

What’s more was that this Lila person also claimed to “go a long way” with his twin sister.

That was when he noticed a very small purple orb that escaped from the girl’s mouth and made an attempt to make contact with him.

An attempt.

The purple orb disintegrated when his shirt gave off a small arc of electricity. It was probably his magic defending him from whatever that purple orb was.

“Gorgons according to the many Greek epics were immortals.” Mme Mendeleieve discussed. “One of them was just a regular mortal who incurred the wrath of Athena, the supposed goddess of wisdom.” She continued.

The bell suddenly rang, bringing the discussion to a halt.

“How was the hero Perseus able to defeat in his bout against Medusa?” Mme Mendeleive questioned. “Did he blind Medusa or did he let Medusa look at her own reflection?” She continued. “That will be your homework for Mme Bustier’s subject.” She added. That will be all for Mme Bustier’s subject.”

Mme Mendeleieve started gathering Mme Bustier’s things as she headed towards the door.

“You have a few minutes to proceed to the Science Classroom.” The Science teacher instructed.

---------

Lunch Break came and Billy saw how her first seatmate immediately latched onto the class’s teen model – Adrien Agreste. He looked closely at his seatmate and the boy he latched onto and sure enough, a very small purple orb exited her mouth.

He looked at the orb and it made contact with boy’s silver ring and promptly disappeared.

“Billy right?” Alya asked him. “You can have lunch with our group until Marinette comes back.” She offered. “She usually eats her lunch at her home because it was near.” She explained. “Alya Cesaire.” She introduced herself to him. “

“Hey, why don’t we let Lila tour you around Billy?” A girl in pink shirt with blond hair suggested. “She’s super friendly.” She added. “I’m Rose Lavillant, everyone calls me Rose.”

“They were seatmates Rose.” The girl with black and green clothes pointed out. “I even noticed that they were talking to each other.” She added. “Alix Kubdel, call me Alix.”

“Sorry Rose, I need to get Adrien home and then I have to go to my mother’s office.” Lila apologized. “It’s about a trip to Gotham City and I really don’t want to go.”

“Don’t tell me, you’ve got into a fight with Damiboo?” The muscular boy in red jacket grinned. “Only you Lila, only you.” He chuckled.

“He’s right.” Rose nodded. “I wonder if Damien Wayne is as good as Prince Ali.” She added. “If he was, I would’ve earned their friendship and won’t fight with them.”

Billy watched as this Lila person talked and responded to her classmates’ words and questions. While there were no small and indistinct purple orbs coming out of the Rossi’s mouth but rather a tinge of pink smoke appeared on his new classmates’ head, as if she was already in control of their thoughts.

The only ones who didn’t have that tinge of pink smoke over their heads were Marinette and Adrien – the boy Lila was clinging onto.

Wait were they talking about the Damien Wayne?

As in Bruce Wayne’s son, Damien Wayne?

“These girls.” Alya shook her head. “Offer still stands Billy, you can eat with us until Marinette finishes her lunch.”

“Sure” Billy nodded.

“B-billy, I need to go home first, could you eat your lunch while you wait for me?” Marinette asked after approaching the new student.

“Got you covered girl.” Alya assured. “Billy’s eating with us.”

“Yeah, Alya already offered.” Billy confirmed. “We’ll go with the tour any time you’re back.”

“Thank you.” Marinette expressed her gratitude before running home.

“That girl needs to slow down on her commissions.” Alya chuckled. “She barely comes to school on time.” She shook her head.

---------

Everyone has managed to introduce themselves to Billy, from Nino to Max and Kim to Ivan.

In Billy’s frank opinion, they were an energetic bunch, artistic and energetic. They were all in track for the art course once they finish their Collège.

Considering his status as an exchange student, it probably didn’t matter which classroom he’d end up with. Can’t say he didn’t like the arrangement considering his primary objective.

“So I’ve been meaning to ask this.” Alya voiced out. “Despite being an American, your French is impressive Billy.” She praised. “Were your parents French?”

“About that…” Billy trailed off. “I’m an orphan.” He admitted.

“Oh my gosh!” The entire class gasped. “I’m so sorry!” Alya apologized.

“No it’s okay.” Billy smiled weakly. “They died in a dig site in Khandaq as archaeologists.”

“That does beg to question how your French is impressive.” Max voiced out as he fixed his eyeglasses.

“Would you believe me if I said I was self-taught?” Billy asked.

“Not a chance dude.” Nino chuckled. “But if you’re uncomfortable with answering the question it’s fine.”

“Worth a shot.” Billy grinned. “Although I kinda want to keep my teacher a secret if that’s okay.”

“It’s fine.” Alya shrugged. “But I’m going to find out who your teacher is.”

“Alya.” Nino sighed.

“What?” Alya pouted. “If Billy can speak French fluently then his teacher can teach me so that I’ll also be fluent in English.”

---------

A few more moments passed and a Marinette Dupain-Cheng arrived at school, out of breath while a certain Adrien Agreste went inside the school as calm as he can be.

Billy noticed that there were red and black something that went through the school’s wall, near the door to the men’s bathroom.

“B-billy, are you ready for the tour?” Marinette ran towards Billy.

“Breathe girl.” Alya instructed. “How many commissions girl?”

“A few.” Marinette admitted.

“Tell you what Marinette, let’s have the tour after classes.” Billy offered. “I kinda need to use the restroom now.” He admitted sheepishly.

“That works great for Marinette.” Alya responded immediately. “That way she can rest for the time being instead of rushing into things.”

“Alya! You know Jagged’s deadline is this Friday.” Marinette protested.

“And today’s Monday.” Alya fired back. “Girl you need to rest or you’ll burn out.”

“While we ignore these two dudettes, the male rest room is right in front of us.” Nino directed. “Be back before class dude.”

“I will” Billy nodded as he went inside the bathroom.

Billy rushed to the bathroom, went inside a stall and locked it from the inside.

“Shazam!”

As soon as Billy yelled the wizard’s name, lightning bolt came crashing from the ceiling, but did not damage the school in any way, and transformed him into his heroic persona, Captain Marvel.

As soon as he transformed two floating things phased through the stall’s walls and he was face-to-face with the kwamis of Creation and Destruction,

“Lord Plagg, Lady Tikki.” Captain Marvel greeted.

“Huh, you were right sugarcube.” The black kwami stated. “He really is a champion of order.”

“Why did the Lord of Order send you champion?” Tikki asked.

“Sugarcube’s right.” Plagg agreed. “We’ve been handling the Hawkmoth and Mayura issue pretty well if I do say so myself.” He bragged.

“Speak for yourself Plagg!” Tikki huffed. “Your chosen’s been acting out of character lately.”

“Really?” Plagg asked. “I hadn’t noticed.” Plagg admitted. “A-bwah.”

Green bubbles came out of Plagg’s mouth as if it was hindering him from ever saying something.

“It’s a spell to keep us from revealing our wielder’s names.” Tikki explained.

“He has been doing pretty fine, puns and all.” Plagg informed the two.

“You really haven’t noticed?” Tikki asked worriedly.

“What’s there to notice?” Plagg questioned. “My kitten’s doing his best supporting his lady.”

“Do you notice anything different whenever you’re pulled inside the Miraculous?” Captain Marvel asked his own question.

“Now that you mention it…” Plagg trailed off. “It’s like wrestling control of the Miraculous from someone.” He admitted. “But that’s easily quelled considering I am tied to the Miraculous and all.” He shrugged.

“Anyway, why are you questioning me?!” Plagg pointed at the new hero. “Is this an interrogation?”

“No Plagg.” Tikki shook her head. “Chat Noir’s been acting out of character lately.” She repeated her statement from earlier. “Instead of supporting Ladybug, all he does is flirt with her.” She informed the black cat Kwami.

“He said he’d give up on Ladybug.” Plagg narrowed his eyes.

“The magic inside Chat Noir is chaotic.” Captain Marvel informed both kwami. “You’re unconsciously fighting off that something even when you’re powering your chosen.” He added.

“Do you know what’s causing it?” Tikki looked at Captain Marvel expectantly.

“I have a hunch.” Marvel nodded. “But there’s a catch, to snap Chat Noir back to his senses, he needs to get shocked briefly.”

“What would that do?” Plagg narrowed his eyes.

“It’ll only disperse of what I believe was absorbed into your Miraculous.” Captain Marvel answered. “Or at the very least expel what you’re fighting, but it’ll be absorbed back into the ring after he depowers.

Before anyone else could even respond, yells and screams were heard from outside the restroom. Some were even hiding inside the stalls of the room.

“Another Akuma?” Someone from Marvel’s right groaned. “I have some deadlines today!”

“It’s not like you haven’t lived in Paris for the past year.” Another offered. “Hawkmoth sends an Akuma like every other day, if he’s not planning something big.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it!”

Plagg and Tikki nodded to each other before they flew towards their chosen.

Captain Marvel on the other hand stepped outside of the restroom before flying towards the direction the people are running away from.

[satanseternalbenevolence-blog]

Memoirs of a Satan©

Hi, my name is Scott (You say, “Hi Scott”) and I am the new Satan. I have inherited the mantle and power of the Antichrist to do good in the World. Yes, you read that correctly, to do good in the World (more on this later). I don't know why I was chosen, maybe my core beliefs and understanding of humanity are the reasons why, or maybe I was just lucky. Either way, here I am, a 55-year-old raised Jewish (btw, the Jews don’t believe in Heaven and Hell) Atheistic Satanist from Los Angeles CA. I’ve often fantasized about having superpowers, but I never thought that I would actually have them, let alone become the most ultimate ‘villain’ ever!

Entry 1 I’ll never forget that day. The past few days the weather was beautiful, clear skies and temps around the mid-seventies. But by late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, a storm blew in from the coast. Pasadena, where my wife Beth and our two dogs Sophie and Sadie live, was expected to get up to 3 inches of rain, and after the 5+ years of drought we’ve had, 3 inches seemed like an ocean. I drove to work instead of riding my URB-E (Urban Electric motorized bike) to be safe. I work as a Security Officer at a Botanical Garden just south of Pasadena. I was at my post at the entrance of the gardens, under my huge orange Shademaker umbrella watching the rain pour down around me as I greeted the few visitors that come to the Garden on a day like today. A man walks up behind me and hands me a wallet and says that he found it in the desert garden and was told to give it to me. I thanked him and then went to examine the lost wallet. It was black leather, nothing special about it except for the fact that it was completely dry. As I opened it to see if there was any I.D. in it there was a number of credit cards in their appointed slots, and a card that read:

Hello Scott, you have been chosen to be the next Satan in this World. Do not throw away, give away, or turn this wallet into lost and found, it is yours now. You have every major credit card with unlimited credit to live on. More information will be revealed to you shortly. Your powers will go into effect in 24 hours. Hail Satan! Satan #30

You may be asking, how can you be Satan with all his powers and wisdom if you consider yourself an Atheist and don't believe in God or religion? The answer came to me that night. I slept like a rock (if rocks actually sleep), maybe it was the bowl of Dantes Fire I smoked before bed, but I was out when my head hit the pillow. In the dream I had, Satan #30 came to me as the devil character drawn by the artist Coop - red skin, pointy ears, horns, and goatee, and his signature cigar. He shared with me that yes, I was chosen because of my core beliefs and values and my understanding of humanity. He shared with me the history and understanding of this Being in the World. Man created religions and the Gods they associated with them. According to scriptures, God cast Satan out and gave him the power over this World. Since his power is in this negative realm, it is manifest as tangible and thus can make physical changes here. God is all speculative and invisible and does not have real power on Earth. Believers work themselves up into a frenzy because a preacher tells them that it’s the Holy Spirit working through them or they see the miracle of Jesus’ face on a piece of toast, but none of it is real. To quote the band Styx, “Welcome to the Grand Illusion.” The true paradox is that there has been more death, war, and destruction in the name of God, who is supposed to be the 'good guy' and Satan, the 'bad guy,' has been the one who brought positive changes.

The most important thing I was told to remember with this responsibility is to always be aware of how my choices and actions will affect future history. Yes, I can wipe out poverty and suffering instantly and make the ones who have been greedy and the cause of all the pain in the World pay for their crimes, but that wouldn't serve humanity in the long run. By manifesting such miracles I would be acting as a God and destroy the entity that is Satan. Giving the blessings of personal responsibility and cause & effect gradually will serve mankind in the long run. I'm what you might call a Spiritual, er I mean Satanic Lowrider.

I grew up in a very relaxed, reformed Jewish household. I went to Hebrew school after public school and studied for my Bar Mitzvah. In the Jewish religion, when a child turns 13 they are considered a man or woman after ceremonially reading from the Torah (holy scriptures) and collect lots of gelt (money) as gifts. Like most of my schooling, I squeaked by like the crackling voice of a young teenage boy. I was sent to the Rabbi’s office for disrupting the class so often you’d think we were having an affair. I would walk out of Temple singing the old McDonald’s commercial, “Scrambled eggs and sausage, yeaaaaa!” I was a bad Jew even then.

After my parents died at the end of my teens I became more spiritual and joined a non-denominational church called the Movement of Spiritual Awareness or M.S.I.A. I became a minister, chanted my tones, and did a lot of volunteering. I was really into it and thought that I had finally found my home and family, I was only in my mid-twenties. Everything was very ‘woo woo’ as I was sending the Light and ‘deflecting’ negativity. I was using all the lingo, “I ask for the Light of the Holy Spirit to surround, fill, and protect us for the highest good.”

As I grew into adulthood, worked a full-time job, got married, got divorced and lived on my own once again, the spiritual stuff faded from my life. I still wanted to believe that there was a God or Power greater than us but became disgusted by organized religion and their manipulative ways. Too many rules telling you how to eat, dress, and act (Fuck you, I like eating bacon!). I guess I was an Agnostic at this point. It took a couple of decades, but I finally accepted the fact that we are on our own, products of evolution, and proclaimed myself an Atheist.

When I met Beth at the end of 2003, I knew I had met my true Partner-In-Crime. As I was growing up in Culver City on the west side, Beth was going through much of the same family issues and cultural changes over the hill in North Hollywood. She also grew up in a reformed Jewish family and could relate to everything I went through as a youth. Although Beth does not like labels, she finally claimed the mantle of Atheist along with me. We call ourselves Deli Jews because these days we’re only in it for the food but still relate to our families as Jews culturally.

As I observed the changes in the World and started to learn the truth behind a lot of the things that society takes for granted - such as  thinking that our air is clean, our food is healthy, our legal system is fair, and our government is ‘For The People.’ I started to look at science as the truth and the way. Some people would call me a conspiracy theorist, but what is a conspiracy anyway? According to the dictionary, a con*spir*a*cy is a secret plan by a group of people to do something unlawful or harmful. Looking at the greed and manipulation of religions, governments, and corporations, I’d say there is a plethora of conspiring going on! So yes, I guess I am a good candidate to be the latest incarnation of Satan.

One of my first dilemmas was how to tell my wife that suddenly I am the embodiment of The Devil? "Hey Honey, by the way, you know that whole Satanist thing I'm into, yeah well, I'm Satan!" Actually, she was quite accepting of my new job title, especially the part about how our needs will always be met and we can live an easier life now. Part of the job description states that Satan's chosen family and loved ones will be taken care of as long as they respect the terms laid out by Satan. My siblings with receive the benefits of good health and enjoyment of life as long as they take care of themselves and don't rely on me to do it all for them. Here's an example - I may grant my brother good health and for every pound he loses, his family will also lose a pound until they all reach the healthiest weight for their size and body type. As long as they all continue to make an effort to live healthy through diet and physical activity the benefits will remain. If they choose to be lazy about it and expect Satan to just fix their lives for them, they will be on their own to deal with the consequences of the actions. That's pretty much how it works - take responsibility and step up to the plate and the blessings will be yours, choose to be lazy or arrogant, and karma kicks in.

Entry 2 Sure enough, 24 hours after I read that card from my new wallet, at exactly 12:00 noon, I have to vomit. So much for my half hour lunch. I spent the entire 30 minutes with my head in the toilet. At first, I thought it was my vertigo acting up again, but this was different. As I was puking I felt lighter, clearer, and freer than I have ever felt. I don’t know what was coming out of me, but I was glad to see it go. Once I stood up and washed my face, I felt like a million bucks! I thought to myself, that must have been my final initiation into Satanhood. So here I am, with the ability to affect people’s lives, and for lack of a better term change things in the physical world, but how do I do it? There was no instruction manual or advice from my chat with Satan #30 on how to do this. I kinda felt like Ralph Hinkley from the show The Greatest American Hero - here are your powers, you figure it out. I’m at work and now I am the latest Satan incarnate, let’s have some fun.

Part of my job is to make sure that people are wearing a paid admission sticker to enter the gardens. We close at 5:00 pm and stop selling tickets at 4:00 pm because it’s not fair to sell someone full price when they only have one hour to visit. Inevitably I get at least a few groups that come after 4:00 and want to come in. Here’s how the interaction always goes, I say, “Hi guys, do you have your stickers?” They reply, “What stickers?” I inform them that they have to have paid in order to pass this point, but we stop selling tickets at 4. “But we just spent X number of hours on the road to get here and we really want to see the Huntington gardens!” they exclaim. I explain to them that they should come back another day and plan to spend all day and that we are open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day except Tuesday because we are closed. Before I can finish that sentence, they blurt out, “Oh we’re flying out of town tonight.” I always get frustrated because I hear this excuse over and over and over ad nauseam. Here they are with a smartphone in hand and they never thought to call or look up our website to find out what time we close?!? Today, I thought, let’s test out these new Satanic powers of mine <insert evil grin here>.

As I expected, at 4:15 pm a couple approaches, reads the sign on the front on my podium that reads ADMISSION REQUIRED BEYOND THIS POINT, and decides to confront me, “We just got here and reeeeeally want to see the gardens!” Me: “Sorry, but we’re closing in 45 minutes. I suggest you come back…” Them: “We’re flying back to Miami tonight. Can’t we just” At this point I thought, now would be a good time to test out my new satanic skills. I looked at them eyes wide, my mouth and left hand open, and then snapped them shut to simulate shutting their mouths with all the satanic power I could muster! Nothing happened. They kept talking but looking at me a little strange. Okay, my first attempt at summoning my new abilities didn’t quite work. “we promise we won’t tell if you let us in. We'll be quick, I promise. I just want to take a few pictures with my phone” “STOP!" I said firmly. Silence. “No, you cannot come in. Did it ever occur to you to pick up that smartphone you have in your hand and call here to see what time we were open until? Or look up our website? You show up 45 minutes before we close and it’s MY problem, what do you think, this is McDonald’s and you can have it your way?!?” This time they did stop talking, by the puzzled look on their faces and the impossible attempts at uttering a word, they couldn’t talk! So using my words of persuasion to command my power is one way of accessing it. Let’s find another!

I couldn’t get home fast enough. A gazillion ideas of what my powers were and how the hell I’m going to access them ran through my mind on my ride home. Usually, the 15 miles an hour of my URB-E didn’t bother me, but today I needed a rocket! Wait, I have super satanic powers, that ��I - don’t - know - how - to - use. “Patience,” I told myself, I’ve got a lot to think about and fantasize about.

So this is the first time that Beth is seeing me with my new powers. She knew I was excited, but also warned me about going slow and keeping my satanic sorcery close to home and to not fuck with the neighbors (at least not yet). I stood there on our back patio ready to…I don’t know? Wave my magic wand? Point my finger with authority and intent? Use mind control? I started by thinking, WWSD - What Would Satan Do? Ah fuck it, how should I know? I’ve only had the job for a day, I don’t think I’m expected to know how to do it all by now. I decided to stop for now and go smoke a bowl of some fine Indica. 15 minutes later while laying on the bed with our dogs, I got it! Let go, detach, and relax your mind, then tell it what you want. Have two huge salads ready for Beth and I was what I thought on my way from the bedroom to the kitchen (all of about 30 ft.). By the time I stepped foot in the kitchen, Beth says uncontrollably, “WHERE THE FUCK DID THOSE COME FROM?” All I could do after looking at the beautiful salads on the table and turning my head to Beth was grin and wink ;-).

Over the munching and crunching of our scrumptious salads, we talked about how do I want to use these powers and do I want to go public with my new identity and keep in on the down-low. We both agreed that keeping it on the d-l would be the wisest and safest choice. I thought I’d start practicing locally, with my community - work, around town, and of course our neighbors. We love most of our neighbors, but there are some, let’s just say they could use a lesson or two about attitude and parking.

We live on a busy, main street that is our only place to park. The block is all apartments. Some of these neighbors own upwards of 4 or 5 cars and trucks! Not huge families, small families - parents and their two young kids, and couples. And, they don’t know how to park for shit - 3 feet from the curb, their back end sticking out, and parking in the middle of a spot that can fit 2 cars.

It’s a shame that there has been a rash of incidences of cars getting towed because they seemed to be parked in the middle of the street or on someone's lawn <insert evil grin here>.

Now, I know that part of the responsibility of being Satan is not just doing parlor tricks, so what else should I be doing with my newly acquired talents? The only one I can think of to ask is my predecessor, Satan #30. Before bed tonight, I took a long look at the tattoo I have on my left calf of Coop’s Satan that Beth and I got on our 10 year wedding anniversary. It was the first in a series of our tradition of getting a Halloween style tattoo each year to commemorate our years together. We were married on Halloween and love collecting tats, so this has become our anniversary gift to each other. Since #30 came to me like this version of Satan, I figured this would be a good way of focusing my energy on him before drifting off to sleep.

It worked. That floating, talking, cigar smoking little devil showed up ready to help. I found out later that part of your mitzvah (a good deed in Jewish belief) as a prior Satan is to assist the present torch bearer whenever they ask for it. My main question, aside from clarifying how to access these powers, was what is the best way to serve mankind (and not as a main course)? He reassured me that focus and a clear intent on what I want to create is the best way to access my powers, and to have fun with it (he forgot to mention that the first time we chatted). As far as how to be of service, his suggestion was to always think, how will this action benefit those involved? Even if my commandment is a form of tough love and is there to teach a lesson (as I did with the couple that wanted to enter the Huntington at 4:15 without paying), it must be for the highest good of all concerned. He also suggested I read the ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF HELL - An Invasion Manual For Demons Concerning the Planet Earth translated from the demonic by Martin Olson that was originally written by the O.S. (Original Satan). It gives some good insights into the truth behind Humankind.

I woke up refreshed and ready for my new job. After a nice cold shower, it was time to get to work. If my family is to be taken care of during my tenure, let’s start today. Our dogs, Sophie (a pit bull mix) and Sadie (a short-haired, low-riding Dachshund) are two knuckleheads that can be stubborn sometimes. I want them around as my Hellhounds for a long time, so they shall have perfect health, ticks and fleas can’t touch them, and they are perfectly obedient. All Beth and I have to do, is calmly tell them what to do, and it’s done - no fuss, no stress (for us or for them). I took them for a nice long walk. Even though I could now walk them without a leash knowing that nothing will happen without my consent, I didn’t want to break any laws. I put their collars and leashes on but had the leashes floating up as if I was holding them (kind of like the invisible dog trick with the wire in the leash). And I stopped picking up their poop piles. Now the canine logs of excrement instantly turn into the perfect fertilizer for the grass or plant it lands on. Happy dogs, happy daddy!

When Beth got home, we sat on the couch after dinner and discussed what she and I wanted in terms of our physical health and appearance. Obviously, we wanted perfect internal and mental health, but how do we want our bodies to improve. Beth wanted to slim up, clear skin and strength to do what she loves - hiking, skating, and exploring the World. I chose to only have a minute amount of body fat and more muscle definition along with the strength to keep up with Beth. To not attract too much attention, I’m having this transformation happen gradually yet quickly over a period of about 6 months, most people don’t notice anything odd about changes that take place over a slightly extended period of time, plus it will feel more natural that way. To not have to worry about vertigo, hearing loss, and erectile dysfunction, AWESOME!

There is one group that I’m involved with that I think might like to hear this news, the Los Angeles chapter of The Satanic Temple. I’ve been a member for about a year and a half and really love where their heart is. TST is doing a lot of work nationally for Freedom OF Religion and Free Speech, as well as the constant struggle to separate Church and State. The L.A. chapter has put on some fucking amazing Satanic Masses as fundraisers and as a way for people who feel like outsiders in society to come together and be accepted. I knew that they would understand the terms of the way I am to assist them, and that fact that we are going to have a hellaciously fun time doing it! To give you an example of what the Temple of Satan believes, here are the Seven Tenets we follow:

One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.

The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.

The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.

Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.

People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and remediate any harm that may have been caused.

Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

Quite a bunch of evil motherfuckers, huh? One of the things about TST that I love is the fact that they don’t worship the actual being known as Satan, they believe in what the literary character represents - freedom from oppression, knowledge, and fun, as opposed to the other literary character that so many sheeple blindly follow. Now they have the real deal, the definite article, the man-the myth-the legend - Me. How are they going to explain that? I’d suggest keeping this our little secret and have fun doing the good works that we do. They also use Satan and Satanism for shock value to demonstrate to not always judge a book by its cover - Satanist doing good in the World and believers in God doing horrible things in his name. Btw, Anton LaVey - poser.

I can’t help but fantasize even more about all the ways I can help people and right injustices without anyone knowing it was me. If I see someone being kind to another person, I might reward them by paying for his or her parking or picking up his or her tab at a restaurant anonymously. Maybe teachers who choose to teach the truth and not just the curriculum that they are told to teach and brainwash their students will be given the support that they deserve. I love to see children become curious and question why things are the way they are. Like training a dog with positive reinforcement, every time a kid helps another kid whom he or she doesn’t know well or stands up to a bully, they get an instant reward of some sort such as found money, a certificate of appreciation, or their favorite meal from their parents. If a driver steals a parking spot that someone else is waiting for, their car dies and has to be towed. My mind just goes on, and on, and on thinking of ways to be the best Satan I can be.

“Be all that you can be, become a Satanist!”

And just so no-one catches on, I’m going to do these type of things all over the World so it doesn’t look like wherever I am miracles happen. Am I starting to sound like a god or something? Maybe so, but I am Satan. Again, I love that fact that this demonstrates not to judge a book by its cover, that which we label as good or evil just might be the complete opposite. Positive chaos can be the perfect action to right wrongs and balance unsteady ground. What if people of different nationalities and economic levels came together and organized against tyranny and oppression? Hey, a Devil can dream can’t he?

There’s a trick I’ve always wanted to do. I saw it in the 1995 movie Powder about an Albino teenager with extrasensory perception and the ability to heal the sick. In one scene, the main character Powder is camping with a group of boys (I think it was the Boy Scouts or something like that) and their adult counselors when one of the boys shoots a deer with a hunting rifle. Deeply saddened by the event, Powder touches the dying animal with one hand and grabs the hand of one of the adults. What transpires is that Powder acted as a conduit so that the adult counselor could see and experience what the deer was going through as it takes its last breaths. It’s a true example of demonstrating empathy. I would love to experience someone acting like an asshole, insensitive, or being a racist dickhead and just shake their hand or touch their shoulder and have them feel what the person that they are picking on feels when they are treated that way (Seems like a very Jesus thing to do, maybe I’ll go easy on this one).

I’m not a sports fan, I believe that sports are another way for humans to stay divided, it’s that whole ‘us against them’ thing. But I do love wearing jersey’s, so I bought a hockey, football, baseball, and basketball jersey in my favorite colors - orange, black, and gray, with my name BERGER on the back and number 31 (get it?) on all of them. GO TEAM BERGER SATAN! Did I mention that I suck at playing sports? I grew up with asthma and couldn’t run, let alone play without wheezing and coughing my head off. I died inside during P.E. every time the coach would yell, “EVERYONE RUN A LAP!” Even now, I have no desire to jog, run, or chase a ball (I’ll leave that to my Hellhounds, Sophie and Sadie).

Entry 3 Date night with the Mrs., tonight we’re going to see DEADPOOL 2. We loved the first movie and have been looking forward to this sequel for a long time. As usual, we got there early enough to get some buttered popcorn and our seats before the 20 minutes of previews. We like to sit at the top of the theater in the back row if possible so we don’t have to listen to anyone talking or munching behind us during the movie. We found a couple of seats at the top on the left side, with no one sitting around us. The previews we’re okay, a few of them that I can never seem to remember when I leave the theater, I want to come back and see.

Just as the movie starts, these three Jugheads with enough candy and food to feed a small nation, sit down right in front of us. We look at each other with that knowing glance that a couple develops after being together for years. We silently decided to not say anything yet, to wait and see. Once they started feeding their faces they became a little bit quieter, since their mouths were full of junk food. But about halfway through the movie, the commentating and texting began. “Why the fuck didn’t he just kill the motherfucker?” “Dude, that's fucking stupid! He can’t be dead, and what’s with all this mushy love shit?” exclaimed two of them while the third kept texting with the clicking sound on his keyboard. That’s it, last straw, time to have some fun.

I had the scene in the movie stop, and Deadpool played by Ryan Reynolds breaks the fourth wall (in stage and film, that’s where the actor interacts directly with the audience), and addresses the three Jugheads. “HEY PEABRAINS, YEAH YOU, THE THREE STOOGES IN THE BACK WITH A SEVERE CASE OF THE MUNCHIES AND OPINIONS - SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I WILL COME OUT THERE AND TURN YOU INTO A SUB-HUMAN CENTIPEDE!” At first, everyone thought this was a joke and part of the movie, but this wasn’t a 3D movie and none of us were wearing 3D glasses either. When Deadpool reached out of the screen with both hands and his ‘avocado-had-sex-with-an-older-avocado’ face and came towards our noisy neighbors, at least two of them pissed their sagging pants and I think the third shit himself. They ran out of there embarrassed as hell holding their poop and pee stained pants hoping nobody sees or says anything to them. After clearing the air of stench and replacing it with a gentle floral fragrance, I allowed Mr. Deadpool to continue with his scene (only after Deadpool and all the theater attendees applauded the Jugheads departure). By the way, everyone at our screening of DEADPOOL 2 received a full refund and two free passes per person to come back to see another movie.

Entry 4 8:30 am. It's too early to listen to all the squawking going on in the trees around my post. From the sounds of it, you'd think I was in a rain forest and a predator was threatening the flocks. The only way I'm going to enjoy my coffee and start the day in a good mood is to quiet things down a bit. A little concentration and a mighty, "SHUSH!" and silence. Ahh, that's better.

I was reflecting today on people who rock the boat, specifically at their jobs. Maybe, the employees who challenge the system, question management, care about their jobs and speak up, are the smart ones and the ones to listen to. They see what’s really going on first hand (the boots in the trenches), and usually have very innovative solutions to these problems. The workers and management that play by all the rules, are calm and complacent all the time, and are just buying their time in hopes of a good pension to retire on, are the dangerous ones. The latter live in fear and would never rock the boat or go out on a limb, especially for their staff. The meek shall inherit the Earth if anyone would listen to them! Maybe now I can bend a few ears and make some changes.

I’ve got to stop listening to bands like Ministry on the way home, without trying I was hitting speeds upwards of 60 mph on my URB-E. Focus Scott and remember safety first.

Entry 5 I was thinking about the quote from the King James Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” There has been a meme going around that states IF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL, THEN WHY DOES THE CHURCH ALWAYS ASK FOR IT?. I found this to be a very good question. It sounds rather hypocritical to me - they preach the evils of the love of money, at the same time they keep asking you to donate it to the Church. I’ll bet that the Church's answer would be that they [the Church] are there to take the burden of the evils of money off of their parishioners. How fucking Christ-like of them.

Thank God Satan doesn’t have to ask for donations! I can’t see myself going door-to-door begging for change, “Hi, would you like to donate whatever you can to support your favorite arch-nemesis and fall-guy?” I’ve never liked the whole sales pitch thing. Even when organizations that I’ve been involved with called it ‘sharing your experience’ instead of what you are really doing which is selling goods and services, I was still hocking their wares. Isn’t Greed one of the 7 ‘deadly’ ‘sins’? Way to teach by example you cross-loving-self-righteous-robber-barons!

The Church asks for donations and tithing (giving 10% of your income), Jewish temples require payment to become a member, and Muslims are obligated to participate in a form of tithing called zakah. You can’t tell me that religion isn’t big business, this is a global money-making machine of ancient and epic proportions. Fuck the poor, praise the rich, and pray for trickle-down economics.

Entry 6 I woke up, made some deliciously strong Armenian coffee with smoked tea in the mix for an added flavor and caffeine fix, and started perusing Facebook. I started to feel discouraged by all the hate and religious rhetoric that is being vomited all over the internet these days. I hadn’t realized just how many people actually and wholeheartedly believe their chosen religion above common sense and logic. So here I am, the embodiment of ‘Evil’ on this planet, surrounded by a HUGE majority that believes that their chosen invisible god is the only one. I’m here to use my powers for good in the midst of this turmoil of political and religious power struggle which is purely manmade (kinda sounds like a comic book. I’m sure I can get Stan Lee to appear as a cameo in this nightmare of a reality, maybe as God himself and we can arm wrestle).

According to Wikipedia, Satan is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin. In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as a fallen angel, or a jinni, who used to possess great piety and beauty but rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons. The Seducer, I like it! My thoughts on sin are that it is not negative, but merely human attributes. Seducing people to be the best self they can be (No, I am NOT plagiarizing the U.S. Army) sounds like a cool part of the job. Fallen Angel - well I am kind of a klutz, and I LOVE the term Host of Demons! I also like the name Satan because it only has two syllables. The Devil {3}, Lucifer {3}, Beelzebub {4}, they don’t slide off the tongue as Satan does.

I’m guessing that what I’ve been going through the last couple of days has been a ‘reflective time.’ It feels like I’m re-learning about myself all over again. I love the fact that part of the responsibility of being Satan is to keep yourself on the down-low, I call it Satanic Lowriding. The real magician behind the curtain, the master illusionist with a heart, the manipulator of mirth…Satan!

Entry 7 Sometimes I let the dogs poop in the house just so I have something to do that reminds me of the good ol’ days. They’re so well trained these days that it’s almost boring. Last night while walking them we passed a rather aggressive Chihuahua and it’s owner (is 'owner' not politically correct?), er, I mean person, that was so distracted by her cell phone that she didn’t even know her precious little pooch was acting like a terror. As we tried to pass, I had Sadie our Dachshunds eyes glow bright red and growl a low guttural rumble that meant, “GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY!” The Chihuahua got the message loud and clear, it yelped and curled up in a ball like a pill bug. Its person was easy, I simply killed the power to her phone, and then telepathically called her an evil demon and said, “Pay attention, Satan is watching you!” Of course, she dropped her phone in horror and looked around frantically trying to figure out who did this. When she looked my way, and I turned to grin at her with glowing red eyes to see her reaction - priceless!

Entry 8 I find myself asking, “WWSD - What Would Satan Do?” The Satan, Numero Uno Satanas, the OS - Original Satan, and how did he come to be? Did he just *appear* after his mention in the bible, or was it more organic like he was struck by a meteor particle? That must have been scary the first time he found out he had supernatural powers, “GOD DAMN IT, WHO THREW THAT ROCK?” Did he get tripped by a vagrant and cursed him, “May your feet fall off at the ankle!” and they did. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall the first time Satan read the bible. I bet Satan himself started a lot of the rumors and stereotypes about ‘The Devil’ throughout the Centuries.

At work, I was sitting there watching people shuffling around trying to figure out how to navigate the map of the gardens and what they want to see first. As they passed by, depending on their reaction to my greeting, I might make them lose their voice for about an hour or make some small physical improvement such as clear up acne, or even cause their clothes to fit them perfectly as if tailored just for them. I had a tour group of Japanese people act very rude towards me so I made them all speak Swedish for the rest of the day (that made my day a lot brighter).  

I know I’m supposed to do good in the World, but I can’t help but think that Satan was the Original Prankster. Maybe it’s that image of the devil with that gleam in his eye and that wink that says, “I got your back kid, let’s have some fun!”  

Entry 9 Aside from just my dogs, I can communicate with the other species of the animal kingdom. Sitting outside on the back patio of our apartment I was watching a crow on a power line cawing to the other crows in the area. He was looking for his murder (a group of crows is called a murder) which he became separated from. He must have sensed that I was looking at him because he stopped, turned his head in my direction and cocked his head to one side as if to say, “You understand me.” I nodded my head in agreement and calmly said, “Come here, my friend.” He flew down and landed on the back of the patio chair caddy-corner to me. We just looked at each other for a few moments as if we were two old friends who haven’t seen each other in years. I broke the silence by asking him if he knew who I was, he nodded and bowed his head in what I guess was a show of respect.

So I am able to speak English to animals and they understand me, and I understand them telepathically. I’m a real Dr. Doolittle! My new feathered friend cawed that he will let his murder know that I am here and to be of assistance to me and my family in any way they can. I smiled and nodded in appreciation.

Entry 10 Independent’s Day here in the good ol’ U.S.A. One tradition that I never quite understood was the annual hot dog eating contests where participants try to eat as many hot dogs as possible in a limited amount of time. The most famous of these contests are sponsored by Natan’s Hot Dogs on Coney Island in New York. Of course, small towns and cities all over this Nation have their own local competitions to see who in their community is the most gluttonous. Being the prankster that I am, I thought it would be fun to attend one of these displays of face-stuffing fun and hedge my bets, so to speak. Monrovia CA was having theirs in the park of the local library in the center of town. There were 8 contestants ranging in age from 18 to 70, both men and women. I chose the 70-year-old man who looked like a cross between Mr. Rogers and Ebenezer Scrooge. When the whistle blew the competing eaters started ferociously chomping on the pile of meat sticks in front of them. They had 10 minutes to eat as many of the 50 hot dogs in their buns placed in front of them with only water to wash them down. Of course, the younger participants started off strong, but then, thanks to me, my man started sucking down dogs like an alcoholic in a beer drinking contest. It almost looked like he wasn’t even chewing them, effortlessly letting those wieners slide down his throat. He finished his plate of 50 in approximately 6 minutes and then started reaching over to the plate of the girl next to him and started eating hers! The crowd was on their feet and going berserk! Part of the thrill for me was watching to look on the old guy's face as he was devouring the dogs in this meat-fest. Being the kind-hearted Satan that I am I made sure that the winner and all of the contestants had no ill effects from their gorging. HAIL THE HOT DOG!

I imbibed a little too much and tried to impress Beth by shooting bottle rockets out of my ass and spelling I LOVE YOU in the night sky. Good night.

Entry 11 It dawned on me that if word was to get out that I indeed was Satan and had these powers, I would be hunted by every religious whack-job on the planet. The fact that they had a physical target to blame all of the Worlds problems on, as well as their own personal shortcomings, would make me Terrorist #1. (I would make Hitler, Pol Pot, and Trump look like amateurs!) I’m sure I would hear everything from, “Children are starving because of you!” to “You’re the one who keeps taking my job!” even “The weather sucks today ‘cause of you!" If I was to get caught by these whack-jobs would they string me up and hang me, making me the ultimate martyr like Jesus, or would the military want to use me for their own evil doings? Now I know why I should keep my ministry on the down-low.

Entry 12 It’s hot as Hell today - pun intended. Temps here in Southern California hit 122 degrees in some areas, wtf? When did we move to Death Valley? I have a confession to make, I may be Satan Incarnate, but I HATE hot weather! Unlike old people from the East Coast, I will not be retiring in Florida. I’d be quite content living out my final days in Alaska (sans Sarah Palin and her dysfunctional clan), Canada, or the Highlands of Scotland. But since I was home here in Pasadena and off work today, I set the temperature in our hotbox of an apartment to a comfortable 68 degrees, turned off the ac to conserve electricity, and stayed in with my demon-dogs. They love when Beth and/or I am home with them, especially when I conjure up a big bowl of shaved ice for each of them.

Since we live across the street from the only Jewish Temple in Pasadena, I like to have fun with those obnoxious ‘chosen people’ who think that they are holier than thou. Tonight is the Sabbath. According to Jewish religious law, from sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday night Jews are supposed to usher in the Sabbath, or Shabbat as they call it, by going to temple, lighting candles and praying. Every Friday night it is impossible to find a parking place in front of our apartment because the temple goers have parked their Mercedes and BMW's in every available spot on the street. So to test their faith and teach them a lesson, I sent the most savory smell of bacon, ham, and shrimps-on-the-barbie to permeate throughout the temple. I’ll bet that the Denny’s on Colorado Blvd. will be filled with Jewish families ordering Moons Over My Hammy with a side of bacon and fried shrimp. You’re welcome.

Entry 13 - 9:45pm I decided to have some fun tonight. On the east coast, it’s 3 hours ahead of us here in California which makes it about 12:45 am. I used my Satan Sense to hone in on VP Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to make sure these two faithful children of God are fast asleep. I then telepathically visited each of them in their bedrooms, waking them as I appear as their God Almighty complete with white hair and beard, white gown, and puffy white clouds surrounding me. “I AM ASHAMED AND DISAPPOINTED IN YOU MY SON!” I said in a deep, booming voice. “USING ME AS AN EXCUSE FOR YOUR FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL GAIN, DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT I DIDN’T EXIST AND COULDN’T HEAR ALL THE VILE LIES YOU TELL IN MY NAME?!? THERE IS A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL FOR SINNERS LIKE YOU!” Both of their wives also woke up, saw, and heard me alongside their chicken-shit hubbies so there were witnesses. Jeff Sessions actually peed his pajamas, while Mike Pence started sobbing and apologizing like a little kid that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Will it change their stance on policies? Maybe not, but it sure was fun!

Entry 14 A First Aid/CPR class might not be the kind of environment to play around with my powers, but this particular class needed a little levity. First of all the instructor was an egotistical stick-in-the-mud who has been teaching these training classes for way too long, it felt like he was phoning it in. I could tell that most of the other attendees were getting bored and frustrated, so I decided to lighten things up a bit. The instructor, I'll call him Joe, was going over how to approach a person (the CPR dummy) who is unresponsive. His dry example of how to get a response from the nonresponsive person was the perfect opportunity. Just as he was about to lean down and give the two breaths, I had eyes, that wasn't previously there, open and look right at him. The look on his face and the girlish squeal that uncontrollably blurted out of his mouth was priceless! And just as quick as the eyes appeared, they vanished with no trace of what he just saw. The whole class gasped in unison and then broke out in laughter. Needless to say, we were all sent on a break after that.

* I put the 'lo' in El Diablo (as in down-low).

Entry 15 All fun aside, there is a very real and present danger to society looming over the United States - Christianity. With Trump and his right-wing cronies in the Federal government, their push to bypass the Constitution and drive to make Christianity the official religion in the U.S., the need for the varied people of this country to come together and fight this fascism is critical if we want to halt another Holocaust of that scale and larger. Those in power (governments, religions, banks, etc.) have been using the Divide and Conquer method to keep us separated and fighting amongst ourselves for Centuries. They use everything from a Bipartisan System, to sports, and even how products and services are marketed. Almost everything is modern society is designed to divide us up into more factions. Even amongst the same groups such as race, gender and politics there is fighting and turmoil. They want to undo decades of legislation to protect 1st Amendment rights, freedom of religion, gay rights, as well as the right to assemble. As Satan #31, I feel a strong sense of duty to support this fight and protect as many people as possible. (Crap, this feels like the most daunting tasks I’ve ever had to do!) Secularism is threatened every day. There is a movement in the right-wing community called Project Blitz. Their goals are to inundate government on all levels with Christian ideals, promote Christianity in public schools, and flood society with Christian symbolism.

I think I’ll start by more actively supporting the efforts of The Satanic Temple financially to assist with their growing legal costs. Next, I think promoting the After School Satan program and Women’s Reproductive Rights campaign will be important causes to help spread locally and nationally. Free and critical thinking should be offered to every child regardless of economic class, culture, or gender. Women’s Rights are a given, women should be recognized, heard, and fairly compensated for their active roles in society. The more transparent this work, the more people will clearly see that these Satanists are kind, loving, and compassionate individuals.

Now it will be much easier to send mass mailings, emails, and text messages to politicians. THE PEOPLE WILL BE HEARD!

Entry 16 Today I donated a substantial amount of money anonymously and specifically to the Security Department where I work. I stated that I wanted all Security Officers to receive a 25% raise, permanent structures in the entrance pavilion to keep the officers that work there comfortable and protected from the elements, and free ice cream for all Security staff anytime they want. The only clue as to whom this contribution came from was a note attached that said, “From a concerned Member.” That ought to keep ’em guessing for a while <wink>.

While I’m still working there I perform little miracles when needed, such as making people with faux ‘Service Dogs’ feel guilty when they approach me trying enter or causing the make-up of a model to run horribly down her face when she tries to come in to do an unauthorized photo shoot. One day I heard a call on the radio that there was a photo shoot going on in the Chinese Garden so I sent a small murder of crows to dive-bomb them and disrupt their plans (now THOSE would be some awesome pictures!).

Entry 17 I just had an AH HA! moment. It’s time get back on the stand-up comedy stage and influence audiences to the truth about God, Satan, and religion (Oh yeah, among other things I’m a stand-up comedian). I can write comedy bits about God and Satan interacting with characterizations of God being mean and short-tempered and Satan being as polite as an English gentleman. This is going to be fun!

Entry 18 The 'doing good work in the World' is the easy part. The hard part is using restraint when the urge to be painfully vindictive creeps in. Sometimes people piss me off so much that I just want them to feel the wrath that their behavior creates. Oh, how fun and easy it would be to make somebody pay for his or her arrogance, aggression, and stupidity for the rest of his or her lives. I've been finding that doing good work doesn't mean laying down and letting the negativity of the World walk all over you but sometimes using uncomfortable acts to get people's attention and wake them up. For example, I would love to set those people on fire who say to me, "Oh, it's not that hot today!" while I'm sitting outside in the 100-degree heat under an umbrella that makes it feel like I’m in an oven. But I hold back, and simply kill the air-conditioning in their office (only for a day).

Entry 19 Today I found out what scares the Jeebus out of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Me. 10:00 am there’s a knock on the front door. After carefully peeking out the front window, I open the door looking like Tim Curry as The Devil in the movie LEGEND. Red face and body (ripped I might add), goat hooves, and huge black demon horns. As I spoke in a deep rumble, “Good morning ladies, how can I help you?” smoke drifted out of my nose and mouth. They hesitantly offered me a copy of The Watchtower, which burst into flames and ashes the moment it touched my hand. That was all these Jehovah-Loving-Witnesses could take! As they turned to run away, they tripped and started crawling over one another to get away. I guess their faith wasn’t very strong. At least they didn’t piss themselves as A.G. Jeff Sessions did.

Entry 20 I remember once when I was in my twenties, I was assisting in a personal growth seminar - Insight Transformational Seminars. I witnessed a woman go through what they called Crabbing. Crabbing is when a person is going through a great deal of emotional release and their hands contort and stiffen-up like a crabs claws.

I can only equate when parishioners of televangelists go into those spastic fits claiming that the Holy Spirit is working through them, to Crabbing. It’s all in their minds and emotions, there is nothing spiritual about it. When believers claim to be possessed by demons and one of these flamboyantly Christian preachers ‘exercise’ the evil out of them, well that’s just bad acting.

My dear reader, you have probably guessed that I would treat them to a real possession at this point. Yes, but not the way you might think. I was watching the popular faith healer and televangelist Benny Hinn on television and he was going through his usual paces of knocking down the congregation with the wave of his jacket, er, I mean the Holy Spirit, when this one man claimed to be inhabited by an evil spirit that made him growl and bark like a dog as he rabidly showed his fangs (teeth). Just as Benny Hinn was beginning to ‘exercise’ this poor lost soul, I possessed Mr. Hinn. “THIS IS ALL FAKE YOU IDIOTS!” I exclaimed. “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE DEVIL. I JUST WANT YOUR MONEY, AND STOP BARKING AT ME!” The ‘possessed’ man in front of me/Hinn and everyone in the television studio/church froze in silence. When I exited Mr. Hinn’s body I felt slimy like a snail. Of course, when Hinn regained consciousness he didn’t remember what just happened. The uncomfortable silence seemed to last an eternity until one of Hinn’s assistants whispered in his ear what just took place. Immediately the faux healer spoke up and assured the audience that there truly is a Devil and that it is more important than ever to $upport the Church. Sometimes you just can’t fix stupid. As for me, I need a shower!

Entry 21 I am offended that some people are comparing Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, the WORST President of the United States EVER, to the Antichrist. That idea lowers the bar way too much and gives this pee-brain moron extremely too much credit. The Angel that man has created to fall from the grace of their God in Heaven, the true Ruler of this physical realm (Satan), is in no way related to this pompous asshat! Cheeto-head also gives puppets all over the World a bad name. If Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd, Lambchop, and Madame were here today, they’d be on the front lines protesting this ignorant poser. As Satan #31 in these troubled times, I’ve got my work cut out for me. With the internet, social media, and international spy’s mucking up information to the public, getting people to think for themselves and take better care of each other is going to be a quite a challenge, to say the least.

Entry 22 Just got my 6 6 6 morale patches in the mail! I’m a Beast, Baby!

Entry 23 So rock music is The Devil’s music, well DUH! Who has had the tastiest licks, best beats, and most heartfelt lyrics? A: The Devil’s music. Music began as a rhythmic form of communication. Drumming, dancing, and chanting were all primal ways of expressing emotions and stories; both joyous and tragic. This level of vibration came from the Earth, from humans, from Satan. God and his heavenly hymns are lofty and boring. I love all the controversy about rock musicians worshipping Satan, selling their souls, and making teenagers take drugs and kill people. I’m actually kind of flattered to be worshipped for my music, but the selling of souls is waaaaay out of left field. Maybe some poser of a record exec. was playing God by requiring bands to sell themselves out to his label, but I have yet to come across any ancient or recent purchased souls in my Satanic studies. Teenagers taking drugs and killing because of some richly theatrical rock band and their deeply poetic lyrics? Maybe a closer investigation into the kids home life and relationship with his/her parents and their beliefs would give more clues as to the behavior of their gothic little angel.

You see, none of it is real, NONE OF IT. It’s all illusion, a stage show, a prop. The ‘good’ - church/temple/mosque, morals, the saviors, the good-guy-in-white, and the ‘evil’ - Satanism, paganism, horror movies, rock concerts - all fake. Humans over the centuries have given these things power by labeling them as good or evil, usually to use extortion to control the masses. Often times if you look closer, you’ll see that it is evil and corruption in the good, and goodness and kindness in the evil (ie. Satan here to do good in the World). I know that this pisses off the religious-right to no end because they think that EVERYTHING has come from God. God doesn’t exist, man has created the doctrines that generation after generation has blindly followed. You’re welcome.

Entry 24 Looking at the triplex we live in, I decided we needed some upgrades. First I talked to Beth and our neighbors about me doing some upgrades to the property such as the landscaping and painting the place as well as little repairs here and there. They were all okay with it. The only one who knows how I’m really going to do it is Beth, the rest I’ll have to make it look like I’m doing the work (it’ll just get done a bit faster than usual). Second, I contacted the owner, Barbara. Barbara is an elderly wealthy widow who lives in Santa Barbara (how ironic). This property is basically a tax right off. She hates to put money into this property and only comes to see the place every few years to do a quick inspection and then raises our rent. I informed her that I will be happy to take excellent care of the building and grounds if she would cut all the units rent in half. She was aghast at first and wrote me off as a big joke. I told her to come to see her property in one month, and if she’s not impressed the deal is off. But, is she likes the improvements I’ve made we have a deal. She agreed, probably thinking that she just got some free work done on the apartment complex she owns.

The first thing I did was replace all the pipes with brand new, larger copper ones. Now none of us will have clogged and backed up sinks and toilets again, and we’ll have great water pressure. Next, I fixed all of the electrical panels with more wattage and fixed all of the outside safety and patio lights, and then added some solar panels on the roof to lighten our energy costs. For the outside, I had all the bushes and plants trimmed and healthy in our new drought-tolerant landscaping. The final touch was painting the building. I chose an earthy brown with a sage green trim, very California (faux) Craftsman. Just to make it look like I was working I’d put a few ladders, drop-cloths, and paint cans lying around and did the whole thing in about a week (so it didn’t look too magical).

The day of Barbara’s inspection. The look of shock and then odd approval was priceless. I simply explained to her that I had the time and experience to do this kind of work and since all of her tenants have been long-term renters, including us, and weren’t planning on moving any time soon, I wanted to make our apartments the most comfortable and pleasant as they can be. I had a document drawn up putting this agreement in writing which she signed without hesitation. Home is where the heart is.

Entry 25 Sometimes I like to badger Christians on Facebook that post things about thanking God for their good fortune or sending thoughts and prayers. I will pose the question, what if God had nothing to do with it and those things happened simply because they happened? Their righteous comments usually are full of, “God gave us free will” “It’s part of God’s plan” or “God has promised us our place with him in Heaven for believing and loving him.” The more I bring logic into the conversation, the more they sound like a broken record (for those of you who don’t remember vinyl records, when they got damaged or scratched the needle would get stuck on that part of the song and keep repeating), but God, but God, but God, but God, but God, but God… I figure if I keep mentioning logical things, maybe some of it will seep past their brainwashing into their subconscious and plant a seed of free thinking in that skull of theirs.

Time to get off the computer, go outside, and help a little old lady across the street.

Entry 26 Bad parenting lesson of the day - keep an eye on your children at all times. After witnessing countless parents stroll along casually as their little angels run far ahead of Mommy and Daddy, I thought a lesson in parenting was in order. Just to be clear - no parents were harmed during this eye-opening experience.

<In my best Rod Serling voice>Two young boys, about 5 year's old racing each other a good 40 feet ahead of their parents on a crowded walkway. As they approach me, I wave to them with a hello gesture and *POOF*, they're gone! Not really gone, just invisible. Physically they are there, you just can't see them. I can tell that the boys themselves were having fun with not being seen, playing tag and sneaking around people. Just to add to the mystique of their disappearance I made them silent. Not only could you not hear their voices, but you couldn't hear their movements either. Of course, I was able to see and hear them.

By the time the parents of these two little ghosts reached me, I can tell that they still have no clue where their boys are, moms eyes were glued to her cell phone playing Pokemon Go and dad was taking pictures. I motioned for the boys to come over to me. I instructed them to follow their parents for as long as they can until they stop and wonder where you are. At that point, I suggested that they give them a little scare, nothing too crazy, we don’t want to give them a heart attack.  Their screams will be my cue to make them visible again. I hope those parents learned their lesson!

Entry 27 Oh, thank Heaven, for entry twenty-seven. I’ve always wanted to have one of those Candid Camera types of shows where you do something or set up a scene to watch peoples reactions. Now I can do it anytime I like. I love being out in public, such as at a farmers market, a bar, or a restaurant. As I walk past people, I would say, “Hello, I am Satan” in their native tongue. It’s always more fun when my target is wearing a cross or some kind of religious pendant. I love doing this to cultures that are very religious - Spanish, Italian, and French are fun, but the best is saying it in Latin. I walked past a superfluity of nuns on the street the other day, I made eye contact with one of the nuns, grinned as wide as I can, and said, “Salve, Satanas sum,” then I winked and blew her a kiss. The look of horror on the other nuns was priceless, the beautifully embarrassed blush of the one I had my sights on floored me! HAIL SATAN!

Do you want to have some fun? Here are a few that you could try out yourself!

Hola, soy Satanás (Spanish)

Bonjour, Je Suis Satan (French)

Hallo, ich bin Satan (German)

Ciao, sono Satana (Italian)

Salve, Satanas sum (Latin)

Usually, once the person looks at me inquisitively and possibly asks me what I just said, I just look dumbfounded and say, “I didn’t say anything” in perfect English.

Entry 28 I've noticed a lot of pop-up churches around town lately. Signs for church gatherings and services at other established churches. For example, I saw signs for a Presbyterian Church service in front of a Korean Church. They must be renting the church for their own congregation. My question is this, how many god-damn churches do believers need? And there are new ones popping up all the time - The Calling Church, Cenacle of Faith, TLC Church, but my favorite church is the Jews for Jesus. To the J of J, I say, "Make up your fucking mind!" Is the United States government just handing out tax-exempt status like candy on Halloween to anyone who claims to be a Church?

For shits and giggles, I had bumper stickers made that say, "SATAN LOVES YOU MORE" and I take selfies with it in front of any house of worship that I come across. This was inspired by countering the JESUS LOVES YOU signs that religious fanatics carry around in public. I now have a HUGE gallery of these pics. Maybe I should make a coffee table book of them and sell them, then donate the money to organizations like the Planetary Society and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Entry 29 I’m a huge star on YouTube, and nobody knows it. All of those videos of cars speeding down a street and suddenly get into an accident with what appears to be nothing - that was me. Putting invisible barriers in front of speeding cars is easy. Any video with an animal painting or drawing, me. All the paranormal shows and ghost hunters that experience garbled voices, cold spots, and an electromagnetic entity, yours truly. I love video editing, the way I do it.

Entry 30 My favorite saying these days, “It’s hot as Hades!”

Entry 31 Just for fun, I posted a photoshopped picture of a King James Holy Bible in a barbecue on fire. My Atheist friends thought it was funny, but I had some folks take quite an offense to it. I get it, burning a bible is akin to burning the America flag, two extremely revered objects that people kill in the name of. Would those offended feel better if I burned a copy LeVey's THE SATANIC BIBLE? I did it to make a point - they are just objects, physical things and nothing more. The value of these items is given to them by humans. I could take a 2 X 4 of wood and say that it is the most precious hunk of a tree on the planet and if I get enough people to believe me, then I have a sacred item - The Holy Post of Satan! If you burn my Holy Post, well, then you'll have kindling. If Jesus' bloody body hanging nailed to a wooden cross could be considered sacred, then so can my 2 X 4.

Entry 32 I wonder how many other Satans there have been, and what did they do? I feel like a new regeneration of Dr. Who but as Satan. This would be a fun trivia game that I could play by myself - look at world events over the Centuries and see if I can spot the ones that were facilitated by Satan. The Roman Empire? World War 1 or 2? Did Satan #30 leave me to deal with Donald Trump?!? (Satan never gives you anything you can’t handle)

Entry 33 San Diego Comic-Con International is the largest multi-genre entertainment and comic convention in the World, and a [relatively] safe environment for someone with actual superhero/super-villain powers to strut his stuff. Since getting in shape via the Satanic method meant that I could wear any lycra costume and look awesome. I chose instead, to go with the open shirt look of, wait for it…HELLBOY! Too obvious? Actually, it’s the perfect cover. When I make lasers actually shoot from a Stormtroopers gun, or make a kid dressed as Superman fly, they’ll never suspect HELLBOY.

I did it up right, morphed myself to look just like the Ron Perlman make-up from the movie, complete with oversized stone right hand and cigar (I love smoking cigars). I even smelled like roasted peanuts (hardcore fans will understand this). Personally, I chose this character because it just felt right.

Of course, Beth joined me, her hero of choice - Carol The Bowler from MYSTERY MEN. She looked great! She wore Dr. Marten’s, black jeans, the exact same jacket with the same patches on it, nail polish, dark eyeliner, dyed green hair, and without missing a detail - the enchanted skull bowling ball. Yes, I hexed her bowling ball prop so that she had power over it.

This was our first time attending ComicCon. It’s true, this convention has gotten huge and is mostly the entertainment industry buying and selling their next (they hope) billion dollar franchise. Regardless, the costumes of the Con-goers and hardcore fans are amazing! From toddlers dressed as the ‘mini-me’ of their parents' characters to the elderly wearing skimpy costumes that they probably shouldn’t be wearing, everybody looks fantastic and has fun posing with each other for friends and the media. One of my favorite groups that were there were the folks from Magic Wheelchair. They custom design motorized wheelchairs for kids with mobility issues. They do everything from an X-Wing Fighter from Star Wars to a Unicorn Princess, to a dragon or even a pirate ship, and they are all built by volunteers. The look on the kids' faces in their matching costumes was priceless (I’m such a big softy of a nerd).

Beth had everyone amazed at how she was able to make her bowling ball fly and control it. She was having fun flying the ball directly behind someone’s head and making it hover there like a balloon. When the unsuspecting character turned around, usually after someone near them told them to look behind them, they’d find themselves face-to-face with Carmine The Bowlers grinning skull. There were more than a few macho superheroes squeal like a little girl when confronted by his boney grin.

I kind of stood out also because I made myself 6’ 6.6” tall (Corny, huh?). I had the accent and dialect down pat. Some people started to think that I was Ron Perlman making a surprise appearance, even some of the event coordinators were on their cell phones trying to figure out who I was. One of my favorite things I did was to make people act in different ways as if they were hypnotized. I might have a guy dressed as Aquaman hiss and meows like a cat, or a Catwoman bark like a dog. I freaked out a kid dressed as Shazam!, when he started acting like the character trying to figure out how to fly, I made him levitate and then fly over the heads of spectators before gracefully landing in the same spot. (Speaking of Aquaman, I think I’ve got a man-crush on Jason Momoa) When I came upon the three guys wearing the Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin masks I couldn’t resist. I walked up behind them as they were dancing in front of a crowd and loudly exclaimed, “Well well well, what have we got here? The 3 Stooges!” I scared the holy dictator-shit out of them! “Kimmie, go suck a nuke. Don, ‘YOUR FIRED!’ And Pooty-Poot, stay out of our business!” The crowd went fucking wild! I love comic book geeks.

Entry 34 As often as I can, I like to go into a mixed neighborhood and wander the streets. Whenever I come across people, I like to just say hi, maybe ask them a question, and then shake their hand or pat them on the shoulder. Then when I do that to another person, I give them the power to experience some of what that last person I touched thinks and feels. You might say I’m sowing the seeds of empathy and understanding. No expectations, just spreading awareness in a friendly, social way. Imagine what could happen if in some of the poorer neighborhoods around Los Angeles the Latins, Blacks, Asians, Armenians, etc. start getting along and agreeing on things - shit’s gonna change real fast!

Whenever I travel anywhere I do this. I hope this awakening goes viral!

"He say I know you, you know me One thing I can tell you is You got to be free Come together, right now Over me” ~The Beatles

Entry 35 Welcome to Hell. I have found it, and we are all living in it. Yes, it is right here, our lives on planet Earth. Religion has convinced people for centuries that there is a firey place of hellfire and damnation that you will be sent to after you die if you have sinned while you were alive. Of course in some religions such as Christianity, there's always that loophole, or as I call it your 'get out of Hell free card.' Confess your 'sins' to a priest or donate a buttload of money to the Church and *POOF* magically you are saved! It's the oldest plot line in history - good vs. evil. There is always a hero and a villain, with their minions of angels and demons to do their bidding. This story of good/bad has been used primarily to control the masses. If you behave yourself, follow the scriptures of the religion you were brought up to believe, and don't question those in power, you'll go to Heaven. But if you think for yourself, question authority and choose to sin without asking for forgiveness from their savior, you're on your way to an afterlife of eternal pain, torture, and the repetition of your sinful ways (actually that last one doesn't seem too bad).

This existence we call life is either going to be our own personal Heaven or Hell. If you feel good about how your life is going, you could say life is like Heaven and you feel blessed. If you experience stress, depression, or anxiety due to the present state of the World at large, you are in your own personal Hell on Earth. What we, even Satan myself, choose to focus on will be how we judge whether we are living in Heaven or Hell. Don't get me wrong, I love the theatrics of Death Metal and Satanic Masses, but that's all they are - theater, entertainment, with lots of smoke and mirrors. The evangelicals love the drama as well, miracles and faith healing are two of their favorite things they use to exploit believers. Most religions use the image of Dante's Divine Comedy to scare followers into believing their rhetoric, which I find very comedic. I do love how organized Hell is. There are 9 levels called Circles of Hell. Depending on what your sin was, you are sent to the appropriate Circle. Lesser violations are sent to the upper Circles, while the hardcore sinners are sent all the way down towards #9. And then there is also Purgatory, which is a kind of 51/50 (72-hour hold) of purification before being allowed to enter Heaven. It seems like a lot of politics to me.

Entry 36 Part of the work that I do as Shaitan (word for Satan from the Quran) is challenging the stereotype of being the ultimate scapegoat for everything judged as bad. This act of not taking responsibility for one's own actions has been around as long as the good vs. evil plot line. It’s easy for people to pass-the-buck onto The Devil when things don’t go right or tragedy strikes. Geraldine Jones what famous for saying, “The Devil made me do it!” If this was true, I would have quite an impressive resume to brag about.

I love changing signs and billboards that blame The Dark One into blaming God’s Wrath. I saw a sign that read

GO TO CHURCH Or the DEVIL Will Get You!

So I fixed it. Now it reads

GO TO CHURCH Or God’s Wrath Will Get You!

Here’s a billboard that I saw

SHARIA LAW THREATENS AMERICA by UnitedAmericaCommittee.org

So I changed it to

GOD’S WRATHTHREATENS AMERICA by God.com

Do they want to play the fear game? I can play the fear game!

It has always seemed to me that when God doesn’t get his way or his followers don’t abide by his rules he punishes them, ie. the story of Noah’s Ark and the big flood. Satan doesn’t demand humanity to be loyal to him, he wants people to learn, think for themselves, and enjoy life. The people who invented God use fear and power to control their flocks, while Satan sings, "Come on people now, Smile on your brother, Everybody get together, Try to love one another, Right now” by The Youngbloods. Yes, it’s true, Satan is just a big ol’ music lovin’ mush bug.

Entry 37 My favorite actor to play The Devil on television is Ray Wise from the show REAPER. His mature, suave, and sexy look and demeanor was what I would want to be like if I was The Devil. Well, here I am, not exactly the Satan I thought I’d be. But it’s okay, I’m happy with how I look and my unique style. Again, like Dr. Who, each Doctor had his own unique style. I guess that goes for Satan as well. For a favorite movie actor as Satan, I would have to say Al Pacino in DEVIL’S ADVOCATE.

John Milton: Who are you carrying all those bricks for anyway?

God? Is that it? God?

 Well, I tell ya, let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch.  He’s a prankster.  Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift and then what does He do? I swear, for his own amusement, his own private cosmic gag reel, he sets the rules in opposition.

It’s the goof of all time. Look, but don’t touch. Touch, but don’t taste. Taste, don’t swallow.*laughter*

And while you’re jumping from one foot to the next, what is He doing? He’s laughing his sick, fucking ass off. He’s a tight-ass. He’s a sadist. He’s an absentee landlord. Worship that? Never! Kevin Lomax: Better reign in hell than to serve in heaven, is that it? John Milton: Why not? I’m here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began! I’ve nurtured every sensation man has been inspired to have! I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him, in spite of all his imperfections! I’m a fan of man! I’m a humanist. Maybe the last humanist. Who, in their right mind, Kevin, could possibly deny the 20th century was entirely mine? All of it, Kevin! All of it!Mine! I’m peaking, Kevin. It’s my time now. It’s our time.

Entry 38 I’m finding that even in Satanism there is angst and fighting between sects. It’s sad when even groups that truly want to do good in the world are corrupted by greed and power. Too many rules and doctrines end up working against the organization that is implementing them (see The Catholic Church). Here is another example of how the trickle-down effect doesn’t work. The people who occupy the upper-echelon want to stay at the top. Giving it away may sound Saintly, but I guarantee they would rather continue their comfortable, lush lifestyle than live like the majority of society. To soothe their guilty conscious, they donate scraps of money to charities that they deduct on their taxes.

If I become aware of this kind of selfish behavior, I like to make their generous ‘contribution’ check bounce, or their wire transfer fail. Not that I want to keep support from these charities, I would just rather them come from a more honest source, such as me.

Entry 39 Amorphophallus Titanum, aka The Corpse Flower. n. Latin: amorphos (without form, misshapen), phallos (penis), and titanum (giant). The flower gets its nickname from the pungent odor similar to rotting meat or a decaying corpse.

Lil’ Stinky as we call it at the Garden is quite popular when it blooms, which seems to happen anytime within an approximate 4 to 20 year period depending on the environment and conditions. The gardens become a media circus, and people waiting with bated breath to see and smell this natural wonder.

Just last week ol’ Stinky started to open, so the folks in the Botanical Department put it out on display and alerted the media. The biggest question of the week has been, “Has it bloomed yet?” When it does, hordes stand in line for hours to get a picture and a nauseating whiff of this infamous smelly penis flower.

I decided to take this display of [morbid] botanical beauty to the next level. I waited until Saturday to begin the facilitating process, since there will be more visitors, and there also happens to be a Members Summer Concert that night as well. Not only did Lil’ Stinky open, but grew to a size of over 20 feet in a matter of hours. Along with the size increasing exponentially, the odor intensified tenfold! Breathing inside the conservatory where it is housed and displayed, was almost impossible. About 1 in every 3 people lost-their-lunch, which just added to the death-like stench. They actually had to close down the viewing in order to clean up the mess and get some fresh air in there.

And, it was I that called the good folks at The Guinness Book of World Records. You’re welcome.

Entry 40 Often throughout my life, I’ve felt that one of my roles as this character I call me has been to act as a catalyst for change. Not necessarily earth-shaking events, but a change in policy, thoughts, or relationships. Many times when I’ve been involved in an organization, whether as an employee or a volunteer, major shifts take place during my stint with them. Sometimes it has manifested as a physical move to a different location or a change in policies. Roles and relationships change. I’m not saying that (up until now) I have consciously been making these shifts happen, but in hindsight, there has definitely been a pattern.

With the influence I have as Satan, this trend will continue, but more intentionally. Lately, I’ve been going to jails and prisons as a volunteer to simply talk to inmates and give them a chance to interact with someone other than fellow inmates and guards. Many of them don’t have friends, family, or a spouse to visit them. By being a neutral sounding board for them who doesn’t judge them is a great gesture in and of itself. I assist them a bit further by clearing their consciousness a bit more about life and the choices that they have made and why they are there. Sometimes this extra assistance bleeds over to some of the others incarcerated as well as some of the guards (oops, my bad).

Personally, I would love to see all of these for-profit prisons to go out of business. The less innocent people and low-offense (such as marijuana and drug abuse) folks are locked up, the more people in society to make positive changes in the world. Crooked politicians who are invested in these human money machines will be financially pinched hard by the loss of their inhumane investment.

Entry 41 God of the Bible (Old and New Testament) judges and punishes man, Satan accepts and supports Man in his efforts to enjoy and thrive in life. Just the simple fact that God is nothing more than a concept of man’s construct mostly used to control the masses, and Satan has been a tangible force doing good in the world says a lot. We are actually living in, as best as I can describe it, a reality that is more like the Upside Down from the series Stranger Things than we think. Here, people believe that God is good, Devil is bad. Yet there has always been more harm done in the name of God than anything that the Satanic Panic has ever yielded. Crucifixion, the Crusades, and the Republican Party are good examples of this. Whereas Witches, Pagans, and Satanists have been blamed for everything from bad crops to Smallpox, to the weather. Pills are good for you, but a plant is a drug. Priests are not Pedophiles, but Heavy Metal music makes kids kill. Trump is smart, while the press is fake news. Actors make good politicians, while kids who survive school shootings are called Crisis Actors. White is the new Black, and Brown is the new bad guy.

Don’t blindly believe everything that you’ve been taught your whole life. Do some research. Allow yourself the opportunity to see things through someone else’s eyes. Ask yourself, “What if what I know about something is the complete opposite?” What if Hell was a spa, and Heaven was a desolate, frozen and dead landscape? Be careful of labels.

Entry 42 Lettuce Prey. A favorite meme of many a Satanist on social media. There is a growing movement of Atheists and other secular groups that are attacking the concept of prayer to fix things such as natural disasters and ill-health. I just watched a satirical video about praying the gay away.

pray: verb - address a solemn request or expression of thanks to a deity or other object of worship.

Expecting an invisible being to adhere to your requests because you believe in them is as naive and childish as thinking that the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny are real. I’ve heard God described as not being ‘the Great Bellhop in the sky.’ Humankind has always seemed to place its faith in events and changes outside of itself.

So my question is this, what about the myths of people selling their souls to the Devil in exchange for talent, wealth, and power? Blues guitarist Robert Johnson supposedly met the Devil at the crossroads and sold his soul in exchange for being a virtuoso on the guitar, and thus made him a blues legend. I’m beginning to think that it really was The Devil that granted Mr. Johnson his extraordinary talents, as far as the soul-selling thing, I don’t know. If it’s true that humans souls are only their emotional reaction to things such as music, and that there is no otherworldly destination called Hell, maybe the Satan at that time was playing along with the whole Heaven and Hell story to bestow those talents to Robert Johnson simply because Satan loves the Blues.

I personally think the theatrics of pleading your case to The Devil and signing a contract with too much fine print, in blood, is very entertaining. Does it mean anything? Hell no! Plus, it would put you, as Satan, directly in the spotlight and might undermine your work to do good in the world.

Entry 43 I heard from Satan #30 last night in my dreams. He came through in the middle of a pee-dream (a dream that has some urgency to it in hopes of waking you up to go to the bathroom) where I was frantically trying to get somewhere on my URB-E but could never quite make it. There he was, at every stop that I thought had a bathroom. He was just checking on me to see if I had any questions or needed any assistance. I actually said, “Where the fuck is a bathroom around here?!?” He replied, “Down the hall on the right.” After acknowledging his answer with gratitude, the only thing I wanted to know was, am I doing it right? Was I doing enough with these Satanic powers? Should I kick it up a notch? Do I look good in red? He reassured me that I was doing great and reminded me to continue to have fun with this ‘work,’ actions speak louder than words, and [almost] always use caution. He then vanished, leaving me with a full bladder and a comforted mind.

Fully awake, standing over the toilet relieving myself and smiling. Today is going to be a delicious day!

Entry 44 "Now his holiest books have been trampled upon No contract that he signed was worth that what it was written on He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health He's the neighborhood bully.

What's anybody indebted to him for? Nothing, they say. He just likes to cause war Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed  They wait for this bully like a dog waits for feed He's the neighborhood bully.

What has he done to wear so many scars? Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars? Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill  Running out the clock, time standing still Neighborhood bully."

I love the lyrics to many of Bob Dylan's songs, especially Neighborhood Bully on his INFIDELS album. These are the last three verses of the song. I can't help but wonder whom Dylan was thinking of as the neighborhood bully in this song, Satan? Is Satan really such a bad guy, or has he just been labeled as the Neighborhood Bully of the World?

~

Yesterday Beth expressed to me that I don't look like The Dark Lord and I agreed, I look more like Gimli from the Lord of the Rings with a farmers tan, the only things dark on me are my arms and face.

Entry 45 This entry I dedicate to the 45th President of the United States, no really, this is the best dedication. I know dedications, I've dedicated billions and billions of dedications for many many years. I got good dedications. I am the best dedicator ever.

Just kidding! That bloated-orange headed-fast food chomping-megalomaniac who is being referred to as the evilest man on the planet is giving Satan a bad name! Maybe another nickname such as Purgatory Pete, or Donald the Damned, or simply Scum of the Earth might fit him better.

I did give him food poisoning from one of his two Big Macs, and both of his Filet-o-Fish sandwiches (this is only one meal), 3 out of 4, I was feeling generous.

Entry 46 Thanks to centuries of religious doctrines, the vast majority of people on this planet are lemmings, blindly believing anything that their holy men, politicians, and advertisers tell them. They have been trained to obey, spend more money than they have (aka credit and loans), and feel overly righteous about their culture. How does one motivate folks to think for themselves and put their differences aside?

I could help promote Dan Barker’s book - GOD The Most Unpleasant Character In All Fiction. Mr. Barker basically uncovers and highlights the vast number of times GOD is jealous, petty, unjust; an unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously, and a malevolent bully in the Old Testament. This ought to open their eyes and get someone’s panties in a bunch.

After finding out in the news that Howard Lorber, the Executive Chairman of Nathan’t Famous Inc. (the makers of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs) was hosting a fundraiser in the Hamptons for President Trump, I thought that tainting the production of some all-America hot dogs would be a good place to start to add fuel to this fire. Choke on it, Mr. Lorber! (Hmmm, I seem to be feeling rather wrathful lately)

Entry 47 And on His 6th and 7th days, Satan rested, because those were His days off from his day job. Not that I didn’t do any good deeds, I just chill-out the most on those days; smoke pot, do a bit of cleaning around the house, fix potholes in the street we live on, smoke some more pot, nap with the dogs, cook dinner, and wipe the sweat off of my brow.

Just thought of an awesome slogan to fit-in with today's generation - SATAN IS MY SUPERHERO. Maybe we’ll start with bumper stickers, then t-shirts, hats, and capes!

Entry 48 This is going to sound odd, but as of late I have decided to not continue as a member of The Satanic Temple. Wait, Satan doesn’t want to be a member of The SATANIC Temple??? Yes, it’s true. I found out that there was a power struggle going on between the higher-up and the local chapters, so following many other Satanists, I quit. Like the rest of TST expats, I still believe in their mission and the 7 tenets, but being a part of this organization is not working for me if you get my drift (Now THERE’S a statement that shows my age!).

I’ve learned about myself that I don’t seem to last very long in an organization.  I’m kind of a lone wolf in a way. I also tend to become a catalyst for change wherever I am. Just recently I have accepted this fact as well as fully embrace it.

Entry 49 If I ever start my own metal band, I’ve got the perfect name: SEB - Satan’s Eternal Benevolence (How’s that for getting personal?!?). I’ll be the lead singer, maybe I can get Robert Trujillo (Metallica) to play bass, Kerry King (Slayer) and John 5 (Rob Zombie) on guitars, and my cousin Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs, Winger) and Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) on drums. Oh sweet the sound. Our first single - Satan Loves You More is a counter-attack to the signs, Jesus loves you, that believers like to carry around.

Entry 50 Captains Log - August 20, 2018: I’ve seen more SATAN LOVES YOU MORE stickers all around town from Pasadena to Downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and all the way down to Redondo Beach. Your boy gets around! Almost like a subliminal message planting a seed in their subconscious, I’m letting them know that I am there for them.

Mikey ‘The Good Christian’ Pence has been spouting off lately again. He’s still pushing for creationism to be taught in public schools, wants the government to pay for gay conversion therapy, and hinted that condoms are ‘too modern’ and ‘too liberal.’ I guess my last visit as his Almighty God didn’t get through to him, time for a more direct approach. From now on, every time Mikey mentions God, the Bible, or utters the word Christian his ass from his tight little butthole, to his cheeks, and around to his tiny little pee pee will burn like the fires of Hell that he is so damn afraid of. I guess you could say he’ll be a real Royal Flush. He’ll look like the poster boy for Red Devil Fireworks. Matadores will yell OLE! and bulls will want to gouge him with their horns. Latin Americans will call him El Diablo (Wait, I take offense to that!). This ought to be fun to watch - the VP is going to go viral!

Entry 51 On my playlist these days:

PIG - The Gospel, Risen

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH - And Justice For None, Got Your Six, War Is The Answer, The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell

PINK FLOYD - The Final Cut

Entry 52 ’Hackers’ <wink, wink> deleted the credit card debt of hundreds of thousands of credit card users, mostly VISA, MASTERCARD, and DISCOVER. A good majority of AMERICAN EXPRESS cardholders can afford their debt so they can keep it.

A homeboy was pulled over on the side of the street having car problems with his lowered, gold Chevy Impala, so as I rode by on my URB-E I nodded to him and fixed his ride instantaneously. Without even questioning what just happened, he simply gave me a nod of approval and thanks. Maybe it was my motorcycle helmet with the three devil horns mounted on it, but there was a sense of respect at that moment.

Entry 53 I had another visit from Satan #30 last night, he was just checking in on me (WOW, the Satanic support staff is AWESOME!). I shared with him that I’m getting the hang of doing the Devil’s work and I wish I could do more. He reassured me that patience is one of Satan’s best friends, but to be very aware of Vampires. I asked him if Vampires actually existed, and he was extremely assuring that they did. He said that they have been on this planet as long as man has, and as man evolved so did they. Over time they have learned techniques to blend in with mankind and improve their tactics on how to not only survive but thrive. They’ve learned how to suck the life out of someone, yet keep them alive and craving more from their vampire. This species of vampires is one of the worst. The Latin name for these vile creatures is Vampires de Emotus, or more commonly know as Emotional Vampires.

Emotional Vampires, along with their close cousins the Mental Vampires, will suck the will to live right out of you. At first, they seem like a friend or relative that is going through some frustrating issues, but the moment you step in to help, they trap you and slowly begin torturing you with their long and drawn out monologues of woe-is-me. You want to escape their grasp, but guilt overcomes you and feeds off of your decency as a human being. *Note to self: unfriend 80% of my friends list on Facebook.

Entry 54 There is a small group of homeless folks that make camp by the Gold Line Metro Station on Allen Ave. I ride past them daily on my way to work. They recognize me and wave in appreciation of my acknowledging them. They are never hostile or beg for money from me, it’s like we are neighbors seeing each other around the same time each day. The most social of the group is a guy that goes by the nickname Chuckhead (I didn’t ask.) He’s a tall - 6’5”, broad-shouldered and bald rock of a man, and also one of the kindest and most genuine I’ve ever met. Chuckhead told me that he was a steelworker from Pennsylvania, but when worked dried up because of Trump messing around with tariffs, he moved out west. With no money and no permanent address, it’s been hard to get a job and find a place to live. He hooked up with this bunch as a way to always have somebody to watch your back and what little stuff you might have.

I set up accounts with Dominos Pizza, Vons, and Jameson Brown Coffee Roaster and have them deliver to Chuckhead on a regular basis. I explained to Chuckhead that I’m doing this to assist them in taking care of themselves while living on the streets. I simply asked that they use their strength find something to do for money, that is legal, and that they feel good about themselves for doing something for themselves.

Funny thing, people in trucks and vans started coming around looking for laborers to do yard work or help someone move, hmm.

Entry 55 There is a kind of Universal Knowledge that Satan has the ability to access. It's like tapping into a vast database of history and current knowledge, sort of like how the human subconscious records everything that a person thinks, feels, and experiences, but on an infinite scale. I started to notice that when I wondered about something I would get an answer. After a little bit of investigation, I found out that this is true and started testing it. Often. This is like having the fastest internet connection you could imagine but in your head.

Entry 56 The other day I watched a DIY video demonstrating how to make a magic [looking] wand from a chopstick using a glue gun and some paint. I thought, how fun would it be to have a cheesy little wand that I can do actual magic with. No one will ever suspect that a homemade magic wand made out of the finest disposable pine chopsticks would actually be able to perform real magic. I can make up wizarding sounding words such as, "Shutus Trapus" (to silence a person), "Vanisimo" (to make someone or something vanish), and "Gigglitis" (uncontrollable laughter) to command my powers.

I bet I could make some serious change busking as a street corner magician. I'll wear a top hat and cape to give me that old-time magician look. "Hocus pocus, alacazam - turn this girl into a man!" And poof, this cute little 9-year-old eating frozen yogurt, with a flash of light and a billow of smoke, instantly becomes a full-grown bearded man wearing tight jean shorts and a t-shirt that says, 'BEAR' on it. The best part was when she hugged her dad out of fear of the light and smoke part of the show, and they both realized that she was now a big ol' he. Of course, I turned her back to her original self when I distracted the crowd with an impromptu light-show across the street.

Seeing the looks of surprise and amazement on people's faces, and the smiles and laughter is the real reason I do this kind of stuff (but the pay ain't so bad either).

Entry 57 57 Varieties of Pickles" by the H.J. Heinz Company. That’s the first thing I thought of when I realized that I was about to start Entry 57. Heinz Tomato Ketchup was my absolute favorite condiment to smother all over my french fries, onion rings and scrambled eggs.

Since California is my home turf, I healed the San Andrea's Fault. Sort of like fixing two pieces a giant ball from pulling apart by using Super Glue. No more shakers, rattlers, or fear of California falling into the ocean. No 'Big One,' just peace of mind. I don't think anyone will notice, except for the geology geeks at Cal Tech.

Entry 58 I’ve developed my own style of stove-top cooking that creates food that is to-die-for. I take a skillet with a high edge (approx. 2”) and let it pre-heat for a minute or so, then I add one drop of cannabis-infused oil to the center of the pan. As flames rise around the edge of the skillet, I place my food; vegetables, chicken, or fish, in the dead center. The flames then envelope the tasty morsels and cook them to the point where the inside is cooked perfectly and the outside is charred deliciously for the best look and feel. I call this method Satan Flambé.

Entry 59 Whenever I’ve asked a believer in God where Heaven was, they would inevitably point to the sky. Okay, I get it, Heaven is up and Hell is down, but what I want to know is why does Heaven always looks like it’s just above a bunch of fluffy white clouds, seen from the window of a plane, in our atmosphere? Believers will argue that it is beyond space, but again I ask, why does it look that way? And how the Hell do they know? The bible was written by men Centuries ago, long before air travel, they would have no way of knowing what it looked like beyond the clouds. While I’m at it, which one of those lily-white-ass holy men knew exactly what a sinner would expect when they arrived in Hell? I think some scholars with some hallucinogenic plants and a great imagination had a field day composing the greatest piece of fiction man has ever created.

Entry 60 I often hear overly empathetic believers say, “Thereby the grace of God go I” when they see someone who appears less fortunate than themselves. I figured if they can use God as their fictional character of caring, I can use any other fictional character that I choose; “Thereby the grace of Ironman go I,” “Thereby the grace of Captain Kirk go I,” and my favorite, “Thereby the grace of Satan go I.”Try it sometime, it’s fun!

Entry 61 Mankind is a tough nut to crack. From the beginning of the human race, from small tribal villages to modern urban cities, man has been in love with power. Power over another person or people, power over the environment, power over the weather. To control others and profit from this behavior has become the Universal Dream. The negative side of greed - void of morals and value for life. This is the side of greed that sees other human beings as merely a commodity, a vehicle to exploit and discard. The positive side of greed is the motivation to do more and to want better for yourself and others.

I find that individually people are incredible, more than a couple and you start to get that group mentality. Groups can be dangerous because 1) they’re larger and more powerful, and 2) they can be more easily led to believe untruths. Groups become a generality, a race or culture of people, whereas one or two people are simply that, people. Fellow human beings with histories, families, stories, triumphs, and failures.

There is an insane amount of division between folks these days. Party lines in governments, religions, economic class, ethnicity, age, sports - it always comes down to us against them. We have been divided up and fattened for slaughter. My big quandary is how in tarnation am I going to do enough good in the World to make a difference? I already knew the answer to my own question - the only one judging me on whether or not I’m doing enough good in the World is me.

“What, me worry?” - Alfred E. Newman

Entry 62 The people that totally crack me up, but are extremely dangerous to society and the environment are those that claim to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. From Kondratiy Selivanov and Ann Lee in the 18th Century to the nutcases Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez and Alan John Miller of today, these extremists actually think that they are the embodiment of Jesus Christ. According to Wikipedia, there are 30 of these folks from the 20th and 21st Centuries alone. This is cosplay on a whole different level. I mean yeah, you'll find guys dressed as Jesus at Comic-Con, usually riding a T-Rex and sporting an automatic weapon, but they know that they are just playing around. To spout gospel, start your own cult, and take innocent people's money, and sometimes their lives are downright criminally insane.

Here are a few quotes from Alan John (AJ) Miller, head of the Divine Truth cult in Australia, "There's probably a million people who say they're Jesus and most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life."

"Just a little over 2000 years ago, we arrived on the Earth for the first time."

"My name is Jesus and I'm serious."

This guy is a classic cult leader who has done his homework. He has plucked peoples heartstrings by calling himself Jesus. He uses the 5 common methods of mind control;  1. People are put in physical or emotionally distressing situations, 2. Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized, 3. They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from a charismatic leader or group, 4. They get a new identity based on the group, 5.  They are subject to entrapment (isolation from friends, relatives and the mainstream culture) and their access to information is severely controlled. Miller has mixed in scientific proof with biblical bullshit and called it Gods Truth. It sounds convincing, but come on, humans have only been around for 2000 years?!? (It's actually closer to 200,000)

*note to self: never be like that.

Entry 63 After a little research, I found out that only a handful of families own and operate the World Banks and are heavily invested in all of the Fortune 500 companies. Ah ha, so I’m not a conspiracy nut! This mafia of money has almost every major country in their very deep pockets. These money magnets figured out what makes the most money - destruction. If they create, allow, and promote any kind of disaster that will need fixing, they finance it and get fiscally fatter. War is easy, push some false propaganda about a country who doesn’t want to sell their resources to these world banks, send in a bully such as the United States to create a coup, and finance both sides of the war and the rebuilding of the country. The devastation of natural disasters is a major cash cow. Mankind has been messing around with controlling the weather [scientifically] since the 1940s. Cloud seeding is real. The larger and more powerful the storm, the more flooding and devastation, the sweeter the payout is for these robber barons. The mainstream media are puppets that they control to promote the fear-mongering and hatred that keeps people divided and fighting. To them, human beings are merely collateral cattle to do their bidding, over-populate, and die off in the slaughter.

And they say Satan is the evil one! If greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, these Bastards should be very dead (oh that’s right, the bible is just a book of fiction). I love to mess with their capitalistic system by hitting them where it hurts, in their wallets. I like to create boycotts of companies and products that are morally guilty and have safety issues and hazardous ingredients. Now you know why Walmart and Amazon stocks keep dropping like a lead balloon (Sorry guys, should be treating your employees better and paying them a decent wage to live on).

Entry 64 “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64.” - The Beatles

Today I was challenged by some dimwit visitor at work. He thought he was being funny by wearing his admission sticker somewhere hidden. When I asked him if he had his admission sticker he quite confidently exclaimed, “Yes!” When I asked to see the sticker he declared, “Don’t worry, I AM wearing it.” At this point, I was ready to have some fun. I very politely said, “Game on. Let’s play. If you truly are wearing that sticker, it will begin to burn through your clothing and brandish itself onto your skin. If nothing burns, you don’t have a sticker and need to go buy one, AND one for another person waiting in line. The fire has been lit, and the burning will commence in 5, 4, 3, 2,1…

It was like watching a live action cartoon, his face went from a smartass cocky grin straight to a look of horror and confusion. I found out real quickly where he stuck that sticker. After letting him jump around smacking his own ass like he was riding in a rodeo, I stopped the burning. As a parting gift, I left the sticker inked onto his skin as a permanent reminder of our time together. What can I say, I’m a giver.

Entry 65 I love the names of some of the fundraisers that Satanic groups come up with; SOLES FOR SATAN, MASTERBATIN’ FOR SATAN, MENSTRATIN’ FOR SATAN, SATANIC BLACK MASS, SATANIC STORY TIME, EXERCISING DEMONS, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL. I think there should be something for senior citizen Satanists - CONSTIPATED FOR SATAN, GRAMP’N FOR SATAN, or for the Jewish Satanists - SHALOMING FOR SATAN. HEIL SATAN for those dedicated German Satanists, and for the White Supremacist Satanists(?) I’LL KILL MYSELF FOR SATAN.

Entry 66{6} Via one of my favorite information source, Wikipedia, some Number of the Beast history and trivia:

In Kabbalistic Judaism the number 666 does not play any significant role as such. However, the perfect number 6 and some of its multiples (e.g. 36, 72 and 216) represents the creation and perfection of the world. The world was created in 6 days, and there are 6 cardinal directions (North, South, East, West, Up, Down). 6 is also the numerical value of one of the letters of God's name, associated with the Sefirah of Tiferet, which represents harmony, beauty, and cosmic balance. Rabbi Eliezer Horovitz, quoting the Vilna Gaon, mentions in his book Mosad ha-Yesod that the number 666 contains hidden within it exalted and lofty messianic potential, but does not explain any details of this conjecture.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the beast identified by the number 666 represents the world's unified governments in opposition to God. The beast is said to have "a human number" in that the represented governments are of a human origin rather than spirit entities. The number 666 is said to identify "gross shortcoming and failure in the eyes of Jehovah," in contrast to the number 7, which is seen as symbolizing perfection.

Seventh-day Adventists taking this view believe that the Mark of the Beast (but not the number 666) refers to a future, universal, legally enforced Sunday-sacredness. "Those who reject God's memorial of creator-ship—the Bible Sabbath—choosing to worship and honor Sunday in the full knowledge that it is not God's appointed day of worship, will receive the 'mark of the beast.’"

"The Sunday Sabbath is purely a child of the Papacy. It is the mark of the beast.”

Idealism, also known as the allegorical or symbolic approach, is an interpretation of the book of Revelation that sees the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols. The idealist perspective on the number of the beast rejects gematria, envisioning the number not as a code to be broken, but a symbol to be understood. Idealists would contend that because there are so many names that can come to 666 and that most systems require converting names to other languages or adding titles when convenient, it has been impossible to come to a consensus. Given that numbers are used figuratively throughout the book of Revelation, idealists interpret this number figuratively as well. The common suggestion is that because seven represents completeness and is associated with the divine, that six is incomplete and the three sixes are "inherently incomplete". The number is therefore suggestive that the Dragon and his beasts are completely inadequate. Another suggestion is that this number represents an individual's incomplete or immature spiritual state.

In 1989, Nancy and Ronald Reagan, when moving to their home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles after the 1988 election, had its address—666 St. Cloud Road—changed to 668 St. Cloud Road. In 2003, U.S. Route 666 in New Mexico was changed to U.S. Route 491. A New Mexico spokesperson stated, "The devil's out of here, and we say goodbye and good riddance."The phobia has been a motif in various horror films such as The Omen and its 2006 remake. The number of the beast also appears in other films such as Pulp Fiction, The Doom Generation, End of Days, Bedazzled, and The Phantom of the Opera. Some women expressed concern about giving birth on June 6, 2006 (6/6/06).

I know that I should have waited until Entry 666 to lay all this Number of the Beast stuff on you, but I just couldn’t wait to share.

Entry 67 I have actually come to appreciate the creators of government, religion, and commerce. Their patience in their long-term goals of corruption and greed is unsurpassed. They knew even then, that control of the minds, hearts, and money of the masses would ensure them wealth and power. The Catholic Church has been molesting children for centuries, and followers to this day still believe that the Church is here to do good in the World. According to TIME magazine, the Catholic Church is worth somewhere between 10 and 15 billion dollars, and they don’t pay taxes on any of it! The naivety of a huge portion of the populous, for this long, is almost unfathomable. Countries have been spying on each other, keeping secrets, and starting wars not for the reasons the mainstream media tell us, but for private profit. And of course, major corporations know that enough money spent on lobbying and bribes buys you control of both governments and religion. The 'War on Drugs' is funded by the U.S. government. The U.S. military protects the poppy fields in Afghanistan, then supplies the drugs made from the poppy, and then uses the drugs as an excuse for police brutality and more drug-related arrests. Privately run prisons make a killing off of the minor drug convictions. None of this is new, they just keep getting better at pulling the wool over the sheeple's eyes. I guess you could say I am the fly in the ointment, the wrench in the system, the thorn in their side. I’m like the older brother sticking his finger an inch from his little brothers face while repeating, “I’m not touching you, I’m not touching you, I’m not touching you…”

Entry 68 It's officially Fall here in Southern California, which basically means it still feels like Summer. Daytime temps are in the 80's and 90's and humid in the evenings. It can be difficult to get into the Halloween spirit when the smell of suntan lotion fills the air and people are walking around in shorts and t-shirts. Here is Satan wishing for cooler weather <insert irony here>. I'm starting to think about what I want to be for All Hallows Eve. Since October 31 in Beth and my wedding anniversary, that night holds a special place in our hearts. Every year we do something fun and darkly-themed to celebrate our nuptials such as visit the Winchester Mystery House, take a trip to New Orleans or even go camping at a ghost town. But this year will be the first time I honor my love as Satan.

Entry 69 The yin and yang, the sex position, 96 to a dyslexic. The key is finding a balance. I'm finding out that I can't, and probably shouldn't try to save the world. A very wise supervisor once said to me, "Sometimes you've got to let it fail." This is a good reminder also to not draw too much attention to myself Satanic self. It's so easy to want to right every wrong, make every criminal pay for their crimes and be the hero, but I've got to remember - Satanic Lowriding (Satanic lowriding sounds like I'm riding around in a murdered out black Chevy Impala with red leather interior and hydraulics).

Entry 70 I have a confession, I like watching videos of people having huge pimples popped and blackheads squeezed. It's like a car crash, you don't want to look but you can't help it. Seeing the pus pulp of dead white blood cells and fresh red blood being pushed forth from the skin of their host makes me feel like I have the cleanest skin EVER! There is a woman on Facebook who goes by the name of Doctor POP that is a true artist at dermal cleansing. It's so beautifully sterile the way the patients are covered in surgical protectants leaving only the infected area exposed for Doctor POP to lacerate and squeeze like she's popping a champagne bottle with her latex covered fingers, true anatomic artistry.

Entry 71 Beth and I are not planning on having kids, but if we did, I'd like to use the names of the Devil to identify our little bundles of joy and also piss off the religious right. I just read an article about seven boys named Lucifer in England and Wales, how fun is that! Those towns are going think that it's an evil uprising coming to take over the World! I can just see our boy Lucifer burning up the streets on his skateboard, Satanas attending her first prom, and baby Beelzebub bouncin' 'round the room. My minion of misfit minors. I would teach our kids to be confident but not aggressive (unless it is necessary), to be proud of their names, and always keep their sense of humor. What will baby Bee's first word be, flies?

Entry 72 Last night I worked [security] for a wedding at the Garden. The usual big fancy set up with lots of staging, flowers, and rich people dressed to the 9's. The event was fine, until about 10:30 when a few of the neighbors in this wealthy suburb complained about the volume of the music coming from the dance floor. It was a beautiful celebration and everything was running smoothly until that visit by the police to turn things down, which did put a bit of a damper on the bride and grooms special day. As an anonymous wedding gift, I placed an invisible sound barrier around the property and told informed the DJ to turn it up. I asked my supervisor to step outside the gate of the garden near where the reception was being held to check the decibel reading. When she confirmed that it was quiet as a mouse across the street, we let the party rage on. The list of songs Mr. DJ was spinning from his laptop computer was an awesome mix of classic wedding tunes such as, "We Are Family" and "The Time of My Life, " to modern hip-hop. Mazel Tov you two crazy kids.

Entry 73 October 1st. Despite the fact that it is 95 degrees and sunny hasn't put a damper on my Halloween enthusiasm, as a matter of fact, it only motivates me more to find creative ways to celebrate All Hallows Eve. Since we are in Southern California and don't get the cool Fall weather with trees changing to a lovely Autumn orange and yellow, my image of this spooky time of year is that of an old western ghost town - dusty streets with tumbleweed blowing by, an old cemetery with wooden grave markers, and skeletons wearing cowboy hats and boots. Even though our apartment looks like we decorate for Halloween all year round, things get even more creepy during the last few months of the year. The 'Holiday Season' is a hauntingly beautiful time. Our neighbors have agreed to let me decorate the whole building, which means there will be a lot of traffic on our street due cars slowing down in amazement of our ghoulish display while expelling shrieks, ooo’s and ahhh’s. Time to start designing…

Entry 74 I had fun today at work doing nice, little, anonymous things for people. When I saw a co-worker with a handful of stuff approaching the reception door, I’d make the door gently swing open just as they arrived at the threshold. People would suddenly get great cell phone reception. Flowers would slowly fade from their original color to another hue, and then back. I even put a smile on a woman’s scowling face. Seeing the look of confusion convert to a pleasant surprise in her eyes was priceless.

Entry 75 Faux 'Service Dogs' used to really bother me when their obnoxious owners would get defensive when I would stop them to ask the two questions that, by law, I am allowed to ask, 1. Is it a Service Dog, and 2. What specific task is the dog trained to provide for their disability? The lying dog owner would always get agitated and blurt out something like, “Medical reasons” or “According to the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) you can’t ask me that” which just proves their dishonesty and arrogance. Now, I simply ask the dogs.

Today a couple tried to get in with not one, but two dogs. The white Maltese pups were on extending leashes held by the tattooed-shaved head-muscle shirt-douche with an attitude. When I asked him the questions he gave me the standard answers, they were service dogs and that I was not allowed to ask him the second question. I immediately looked down at the canines and asked them, “Are YOU Service Dogs?” to which they replied by telling me, “Service? We just want to run around, pee and poop!” They then both peed on their lying owners' legs and turn around to run back the other way. I politely look at him and said, “Service dogs huh? Get out and stop abusing a law that is for protecting the rights of disabled people whom legitimately need a dog to assist them through life.” He shot me a look of pure hatred that I found extremely humorous as they turned and stomped away, all the while his girlfriend never said a word, only rolling her eyes in embarrassment.

Entry 76 Typical of the church, they find something that people celebrate and enjoy and steal it for their own propaganda. I love a good haunted house, the more realistic the better. Hell Houses are the Christian haunted houses that show vignettes of the horrors of sinning - Anti-abortion, anti-drug, anti-free thinking, etc… The earliest hell house appears to have been created by Rev. Jerry Falwell in the late 1970s. The concept was picked up in 1992 by Keenan Roberts. His first Hell House was in Roswell, NM. Since then, he has become a pastor of the Destiny Church in Arvada, CO and sells Hell House Outreach™ kits to other churches. Included is a 263-page manual which covers everything from casting to publicity to instructions on how to make hamburger meat look like a fetus and where to store vats of blood. Roberts was once quoted saying that Hell Houses, "show young people that they can go to hell for abortion, adultery, homosexuality, drinking and other things unless they repent and end the behavior.” Can you believe this shit?!? Taking something fun like being frightened by gore and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night (which are healthy things to be afraid of), and scarring kids for life with these barbaric recruitment tactics.

There is a Hell House in West Hollywood, CA. I thought to myself, “How much fun would it be to visit their little moral macabre show and scare the Hell out of THEM?!?” So I did. It wasn’t very crowded, mostly parishioners of that church and their delusional families. I acted humble and quiet, waiting to see the horrors of modern life they were about to show me. In all of the rooms I went into, I changed the attitude of the actors to the enjoyment of the sin they were demonstratively demonstrating as opposed to the negative scare tactics of which they intended to portray. I had couples thanking God for the ability to get an abortion because of rape, men and women/men and men/women and women passionately making love, and one scene where a family was sitting around the kitchen table smoking pot and drinking wine and beer. For fear that anyone would see this gross display of carnal pleasure, this Hell House closed almost immediately after I left the premises.

Entry 77 So the story goes that back in the heyday of Rock and Roll on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood there was a drinking club made up of musicians known as the Hollywood Vampires who hung out at the famous Rainbow Bar on Sunset Blvd. next door to the Roxy club. They acquired the name Hollywood Vampires because they were only seen at night and quite often were drinking red wine. Fast forward to 2015. Three friends - Alice Cooper, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and actor/musician Johnny Depp get together and decide to form a band to honor their dead drunk friends from rock and roll's past, and aptly name the band the Hollywood Vampires. Along with some of the best session players in the biz, the Vampires totally shred on songs by their friends from bands such as The Who, Led Zeppelin, T-Rex, and many others. I have been listening to their debut album non-stop for a couple of weeks! Alice Cooper being the rock and roll patriarch of the group owns the stage with his commanding prowess, while Joe, Johnny and the rest of the band rock the hell out of the songs of their fallen compadres. Never stop rockin’!  

Entry 78 I’m sort of happy that the folklore character Krampus is becoming more popular, at the same time I’d hate to see such kind-hearted ally become the victim of over-marketing. Krampus, in European folklore, looks like a fur-covered half goat/half demon. He plays the bad-cop to Saint Nicholas’ good-cop. While ol’ St. Nick rewarded the good children with toys, Krampus punished the bad kids by beating them with a birch switch, gathering them up in his wicker basket he wears on his back and tosses them into a special place in Hell. I’m tired of seeing all the faux goodwill towards man bullshit around Christmas time, and then it’s back to displaying our prejudices and hate to each other.

Entry 79 Not surprising, I support the supposed ‘War on Christmas.’ Of course, there is no War on Christmas, it’s just the extreme right-wing Christians that feel threatened because there are other people who celebrate the Winter Solstice differently than they do. Everything has to be “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays.” They get their Jesus loving panties in a bunch when Starbucks’ holiday cups don’t look Christmasy enough. They actually think that December 25th is the birthday of their fictional savior. Oy Vey.

Christmas lights on churches can’t seem to stay lit for some reason <wink wink>. People who display giant crosses as part of their Christmas decorations tend to find them inverted each night when they turn on their retina-burning light displays. Hypocrites who complain about Starbuck’s cups but continue to buy their coffee find that holding that not-Christmas-enough cup is impossible because it is hot as Hell in their sacred hands (making McDonald’s coffee seem like an ice bath).

Every time a choir sings, a demon gets their wings.

Entry 80 I think I’m going to take it easy for the rest of the year and wait for the overly sponsored Tournament of Roses Parade on New Years Day. Maybe I’ll hex the floats so that none of them stall or breakdown on the parade route. Happy New Year!©

[longwoodstudents]

Student Spotlight: Jolisa Copeman, Display Design Intern

I’m originally from the Poconos in Pennsylvania. I moved to Delaware five years ago after I received acceptance to the University of Delaware. I’ve received my B.S. in Environmental Science and my M.S. in Entrepreneurship & Design. During my Master’s program I was able to build my portfolio by working on UD’s exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show, which helped me land my current position as the Display Design Intern here at Longwood Gardens. I will be working, learning, and growing here for an entire year.

What is your favorite plant?

The Bonsai Tree! There is so much history and elegance behind a Bonsai Tree that makes it stunning. Something about the timelessness & patience of a Bonsai’s life journey makes the process so rewarding, a lesson that can be related to all aspects of life.

A Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii ‘Nishiki-tsukasa’) showing off at the Bonsai Display.

What is your favorite Garden? What is your favorite part of Longwood?

My favorite Garden is Longwood, of course! My favorite part of Longwood is the Main Conservatory. This could possibly be a little biased because I work there every day. 

What is the best part of being a student?

The best part of being a student at Longwood is being able to tap into all of the resources provided to help us grow and learn about our specific fields. Resources such as educational classes, conference stipends, and an unlimited access to co-workers that are open to teach and share their knowledge is something you may not find at other work places.

What is your background in horticulture?

I have a B.S. in Environmental Science and a M.S. in Entrepreneurship & Design. My love for horticulture grew after working on University of Delaware’s display exhibit in the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Why did you want to come to Longwood and what do you think helped you get the position?

I wanted to come to Longwood after visiting for the first time during Christmas. I realized this was a beautiful place and I wanted to meet and learn from the person who designs it all.

Here’s a photograph of myself while visiting Longwood during Christmas last year. Six months later and now I work here!

What do you do at work? Highlight your favorite project or what you do day-to-day.

As the display design intern I work directly with the Senior Display Designer, Jim Sutton, helping him manage multiple different projects at a time. We work on all five seasons, usually a year in advance, at the same time. I update and create designs on AutoCAD (design software), update crop lists for various seasonal plans, help with display mock ups, and photograph different plants throughout the garden.

If it’s nice outside, I’ll take my lunch break by the Waterlily Display. Here’s a photo I took of a lily (unknown) that stood out to me while I was enjoying my break.

What are your future plans or what is your intended career path?

My future plans include working at a design firm specializing in sustainable urban design. I want to be a part of a group that is working to make our cities greener. My ideal vision is to create spaces such as Longwood, which are accessible to everyone on a daily basis.

Article and Photos by Jolisa Copeman.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT LOT

Apparently our situation was not unusual. Of course, server-based applications is to that extent outsourcing IT. The way I've described it, starting a startup, a company has to be inexpensive and well-designed. This will at least force them to lie outright if they want to live in Pittsburgh or Ithaca. They expect to avoid that by raising more from investors. For all its power, Silicon Valley has a great weakness: the paradise Shockley found in 1956 is now one giant parking lot. This site isn't lame. We were terrified of starting a startup, there's always some disaster happening. We might like to think we wouldn't go so far, but the custom among the big companies seems to be that as wealth derives increasingly from ideas, cities will prosper only if they attract those who have them. VCs 650 33. They're way more dangerous than Google because, like you, they're cornered animals.

How will it all play out? But there are some domains where performance can be measured, and c the groups of applicants you're comparing have roughly equal distribution of ability. Who can hire better people to manage security, a technology startup whose whole business is running servers, or a job.1 I mean one unit of hacking—one quantum of making users' lives better. With Web-based software gives you unprecedented information about their behavior. Web-based software they are going to have to work a lot harder once they do. At Viaweb we often did three to five releases a day.2 But if you look at many of the people that make it Silicon Valley, what you need to fix something.3

Microsoft; in principle he also has to be good, because it would be hard, but there's one case in which it shouldn't be: when there are people you already know you should fire but you're in denial about it. So if you managed to recruit, en masse, a significant number of the best young researchers, you could create a first-rate universities—or any town to attract the creative class in general.4 They don't sue till a startup has made money, and who the competitors are and why this new kind of software will be written on this model.5 I think it will.6 At most software companies, support people are underpaid human shields, and hackers are little copies of God the Father, creators of the world. You don't have to pay as much for that. The rest will come in time. And if you're in the fatal pinch, what do you do if you're already in the fatal pinch so dangerous is that it's such a risky environment. This would be easy to detect: among their portfolio companies. Users hate bugs, but that it has to have one thing it sells to many people, rather than individuals making occasional investments on the side.7 If your startup is doing a deal, just assume it's not going to happen.8

Convergence is probably coming, but where?9 People who get rich from startups fund new ones. The top US Computer Science departments are said to be MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie-Mellon. A corollary is that you don't know exist yet. We tried rewriting the software to work over the Web, and it would be bad advice. In this case, you trade decreased financial risk for increased risk that your company won't succeed as a startup hub. That's the idea their thoughts will drift toward when they're allowed to drift freely.

In the real world, VCs regard angels the way a jealous husband feels about his wife's previous boyfriends.10 The trade press, we learned, thinks in version numbers. Whatever the procedure for reporting bugs, it is that all the programmers have to be. In other fields, companies regularly sue competitors for patent infringement. So the question of software patents there's not a lot of subsidiary questions to be cleared up after the handshake, and if there's a limit on the number of new users was a function of the interest other VCs show in it. Of course, release early has a second component, without which it would be even cheaper today. This will come as a surprise to many people, rather than the one that is. Google's don't be evil policy may for this reason be the most valuable thing they've discovered. We would leave a board meeting to fix a serious bug.

I remember correctly. And vice versa: you'll sell more of something when it's easy to figure this out: just take a shower in the morning. With Web-based software, all you need to simplify and clarify, and the software equivalent not.11 An established company may get away with being more informal. What it means for a selection process without knowing anything about the applicant pool.12 Software is particularly suitable for price discrimination, because the software doesn't run on your operating system. In fact it's the old model: mainframe applications are all server-based applications it turns out to be the thing-that-doesn't-scale that defines your company. Typically these rights include vetoes over major strategic decisions, protection against being diluted in future rounds. A term sheet is a summary of what the deal terms are as fearsome as VCs'.13 So a town that could exert enough pull over the right people could resist and perhaps even surpass Silicon Valley.

One thing I can predict is conflict between AOL and Microsoft. Viaweb became Yahoo Store, this software is the most popular online store builder, with about 14,000 users. In thirty years, you had to change something, all the time. They pay him the smallest salary he can live on, plus 3% of the company in return.14 For example, if someone develops a new process for smelting ore that gets a better yield, and you can release it as soon as they're discovered. If an investor knows you have other investors lined up, he'll be a lot of the problems are technical, so seed firms should be able to brag that he was an investor. Nor do startups, at least by legal standards. Few startups get it quite right. They're trained to take advantage of this possibility, your competitors will get the best people will beat one with funding from famous VCs, and a startup that was sufficiently successful would never have to release software before it works, but what happens when you've promised to deliver a new version number on the software, and issue a press release saying that the new version was available immediately. It's for a more practical reason: to prevent them from leaning their company against something that's going to die, here it is: a couple of founders who have some great idea they know everyone is going to be something you write, check in, and go out and get everyone lunch. Commitment Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Today a lot of startups that end up going public didn't seem likely to at first.

But if I had to pick the worst, it would be huge. Apparently our situation was not unusual. Better how? And this wasn't just random error. But they're also desperate for deals. In other words, you get anything, but this is an abuse that should be unlimited, if the startups were actually worth buying—but if they don't and you stick around, you'll probably grow, your price will go up, and in the worst case might get one person fired. You have the users' data right there on your disk.

Notes

This was made particularly clear in our own online store. As far as I do in proper essays.

99 and.

Incidentally, this is also to the table. Though you should be especially skeptical about things you want to create a web-based applications greatly to be actively curious.

Steven Hauser.

Though it looks like stuff they've seen in the twentieth century, art as brand split apart from art as stuff. If you treat your classes, you better be sure you do. If asked to choose between the government, it would grow as big as any adult's.

That's very cheap, 1/10 success rate is 10%, moving to Monaco would only give you money for the same investor to invest, it is because their company made money from them. This would penalize short comments especially, because a there was a company selling soybean oil or mining equipment, such a statement would merely be eccentric.

Above. Proceedings of AAAI-98 Workshop on Learning for Text Categorization.

I was there when it was too late to launch. A professor at a regularly increasing rate.

How much better is a trap set by evil companies for the spot, so buildings are traditionally seen as temporary; there is a significant effect on returns, it's probably a mistake to do certain kinds of content.

Some VCs will try to accept that investors are: the attempt to discover the most convincing pitch can't sell an idea that investors are: Windows 66.

Thanks to Daniel Sobral for pointing this out. Indeed, that's not likely to be started in 1975, said the things I remember the eyes of phone companies are also the 11% most susceptible to charisma. See, we don't have enough equity left to motivate people by saying Real artists ship. A fundraising is so much about prestige is that a startup with a face-saving compromise.

He couldn't even afford a monitor is that the http requests are indistinguishable from those of dynamic variables were merely optimization advice, before realizing that that's what we need to get jobs.

But that solution has broader consequences than just getting kids to them about your fundraising prospects. I got to targeting when I was living in a way in which those considered more elegant consistently came out shorter perhaps after being macroexpanded or compiled. In this context, issues basically means things we're going to need common sense when interpreting it.

At first I didn't. I say in principle 100,000 sestertii, for an IPO, or was likely to have been the losing side in debates about software design.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Brian Burton, Kevin Hale, and Robert Morris for inviting me to speak.

[masalamaarke23]

Masala Maarke: A Luxurious Vegetarian Dining Experience in Science City, Ahmedabad

When it comes to experiencing unlimited vegetarian lunch and dinner in a luxurious setting, Masala Maarke in Science City is a true gem. Known for its exquisite ambiance, impeccable service, and an expansive menu featuring purely vegetarian delights, this best restaurant in science city offers a dining experience that is both indulgent and wholesome.

Ambiance & Setting

Masala Maarke boasts an elegant and serene atmosphere that welcomes diners with warm tones and sophisticated decor. The spacious seating, ambient lighting, and calming music create the perfect environment for a relaxed and delightful vegetarian meal. Whether you’re planning a family gathering, a casual meetup with friends, or a peaceful solo meal, Masala Maarke provides the ideal setting.

Unlimited Buffet Experience

At Masala Maarke, the unlimited lunch in science city and dinner buffet is a gastronomic journey. Every item is thoughtfully prepared, reflecting a balance of tradition and innovation. With an extensive menu that caters to diverse palates, you can indulge in a wide range of vegetarian options without limits.

Live Counters

One of the highlights of the experience is the interactive live counters, where you can watch chefs prepare your food just the way you like it. This feature adds a fun, personalized touch to your dining experience.

Signature Touches

From starters to desserts, the buffet showcases a variety of cuisines, each made with fresh ingredients and authentic flavors. The variety ensures there's always something new to discover.

Why Choose Masala Maarke?

100% Vegetarian: Perfect for those seeking a meat-free dining experience without compromising on variety and taste.

Luxury Redefined: From decor to service, everything is designed to provide a premium experience.

Wide Range of Options: The buffet includes North Indian, South Indian, and international cuisines, ensuring something for everyone.

Great for All Occasions: Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or casual outing, Masala Maarke caters to all.

Health-Conscious Choices: Includes fresh salads, steamed dishes, and low-oil options for the health-conscious diner.

Perfect Location in Science City

Conveniently located in the bustling Science City area, Masala Maarke is easy to access and provides ample parking space. The location makes it a favorite choice for locals and visitors alike.

Conclusion

Masala Maarke offers a luxurious vegetarian dining experience like no other. Its unlimited lunch and dinner buffets feature a thoughtfully curated menu, catering to every palate. If you’re in Science City and looking for a memorable, meat-free feast in an elegant setting, Masala Maarke is the place to be.

Visit Masala Maarke today to savor the best vegetarian buffet in town!

[themariaangelicaposts-blog]

“Wellness Campus Program: An Indelible Ink in the Lives of Marigondonians”

       “Health Goal Mo Ay Wellness. Balance What You Eat”, beats from the Wellness song and dance performed as part of the students’ regular exercise routine, which reverberate and groove high among participating Marigondon National High School’s health-oriented students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders who made it to the National Level Competition of the Wellness Campus Best Implementing Schools 2020.

       Educating MNHS students on how to live a healthy life and promoting a lifestyle of wellness among these young people, Department of Education Lapu-Lapu City Division with its continuing joint ingenuity with Nestlé Philippines has been serving its key purpose through an integrated program that is a part of the Nestlé For Healthier Kids initiative, dubbed as Wellness Campus. This program targets not only to escalate awareness, knowledge of nutrition, proper hygiene and environmental protection, but also to encourage students to apply this knowledge in every single day of their waking lives.

       The said program aids through selecting healthier drink and food options and physical activity. Since good health is always the true wealth; so as replacement for unwholesome drinks and calorie-jammed, processed food, MNHS teachers and students habitually prepare detoxifying beverages and low-cost meals with vegetables. Generally, health and wellness lifestyle need not be costly. Furthermore, one of the acmes and the true heart of the program is the school-based strategic efforts which lay a firm framework of good health and encourage the early adoption of healthy lifestyles. It boils down to the various nutrition modules taught in the school.

       As a program, Wellness Campus is driven by the 5 important healthy habits:  Choose nutritious food and varied options, Manage portions, Choose to drink water, Play actively and Enjoy meals together; which are aligned with DEPED health curriculum topics and parents education materials. In addition, the program has encouraged schools to start other initiatives beyond the Wellness Campus curriculum to promote healthy habits among students all year round. So what MNHS did is the strategic administration of the 20 School Best Practices that is categorized into two according to purpose: to increase student's nutrition knowledge and to alleviate student’s nutrition health and concerns. It is done right after the implementation activities such as Body Mass Index (BMI) Monitoring- Baseline Data, Division Launching Wellness Orientation, Distribution of Wellness Waiver to the School, Distribution of Wellness Waiver to the Students, Retrieval of the Wellness Waiver, Discussion of the Wellness Nutrition Modules to the Students, Wellness Dancercise during PE Classes, Wellness Dancercise during Flag Ceremony, and Discussion of the Wellness Nutrition Modules to the Parents.

           MNHS’ 10 best practices to increase student's nutrition knowledge are (1)Wellness: Nourish to Flourish wherein the MAPEH teachers discussed about Nutrition through the aid of the different mural paintings as visual aid  in their Health Classes. (2) Wellness Unlimited which endorses nutrition, health and wellness through education. (3) Wellness: Pinto ng Kumpletong Pagkatao (Entry and Exit Wellness Card Activity) which aims to gauge students understanding on the 5 Healthy Habits through answering the trivia questions. (4)Wellness-All-You-Can which engaged students to highly engaging and interactive learning process. (5) Blow Your Wellness Mind which goal was to evaluate and to strengthen the knowledge of the students on the 5 Healthy Habits. (6) Ikaw at Ako’y Magkaiba Ngunit sa Wellness Tayo’y Magkasama which showcased the creativity of the students through the creation of their own Nutri-Adventure comic strips which helped in thepromotion of the 5 HealthyHabits. (7) Well-Nest: The Home of your Well-Being which resulted to the creation of “Wellness Corner” (8) I am a Wealth and Wellness Expert which was part of the motivational activity during Health Class. (9) Wellness: Kumpleto and Pagkatao Kahit Walang Tayo which used a strategic game that would test the logical analytic skills of the Special Science Class Sections, called Crisscross Word (10) Your Wellness, Your Health which strongly observes the idea that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind.

           The 10 best practices of MNHS that alleviates nutrition health and concerns are (1) Weight, A Minute! The Bawas Timbang Activity Guide which is a planned guide by the clinic in-charge that contains activities designed for obese students to help them meet their nutritional needs. (2) “Kuwentong Almusal” (Promoting Breakfast Meal in School which leads to students getting to eat breakfast together during the first period of class as teachers have observed that during the first hour of class (6:00 am), students in the first shift, Grade 7 and 10, displayed a passive and unmotivated behavior. (3) Agahan Ko, Handog ni Nanay Program wherein MAPEH teachers and advisers tapped the members of the Homeroom PTA to sponsor meals for Grade 7 students who have been identified as severely wasted. (4) Tulong-tulong, Wellness ay Isulong wherein MNHS-STEC Cooperative, MNHS Alumni Association, Parents-Teachers Association and the Supreme Student Government conducts a quarterly feeding program. (5) Family ay Wellness, Together We are One! wherein the family is called upon for students needing attention with their health. (6) The Multi-Wellness Challenge which was made fun through games and challenges. (7) Tara! Sa Wellness Week , Sama-sama which aims to lessen the number of undernourished Grade 10 students. (8) Me, My Body and Tummy Story in which students are tasked to have a Wellness Diary and express their daily Wellness encounter. (9) My Wellness sa Tanghaling Tapat which gives students enough time for lunch. (10) Tayo na at Magsubaybay in which students evaluates their nutritional needs and track their food and drink intake; and live up to the 5 Wellness Habits.

       Annually, DEPED and the Nestlé Wellness Campus program continues to enhance quality of life of the young Filipinos and to help in contributing to healthier tomorrows. This well-planned program leaves an indelible ink in the lives of the MNHS students, teachers, parents and all other stakeholders. Moreover, a well-planned MNHS Wellness Campus Program would be impossible without the unity of both the school and the community.

By: Ma. Angelica D. Manlangit

[geneseoabroad]

Quito, Ecuador- Cade Reed

1. Why did you decide to Study Abroad? Specifically, what made you choose to go to Ecuador? 

I decided to study abroad because my majors are Political Science and International Relations. In the International Relations major one of the requirements for the major is to study abroad. Since I want to graduate a year early, I decided to go abroad in my freshman year. I chose Ecuador primarily because I wanted to better my Spanish. Since Spanish is my minor I thought that if I jump-started the minor early on then I would be able to graduate early without taking too many credits my Senior year or worrying if I will graduate on time or not. 

2. What was your favorite part of Ecuador? 

To be completely transparent, my favorite part of Ecuador was the amazing sights that I was able to see throughout my 12 weeks in Ecuador. I was exposed to many different massive structures such as volcanos, mountains, and lagoons. My favorite part of the week was knowing that if I just got to Friday then Saturday/Sunday I would be able to go hiking or exploring with my friends in Ecuador. 

3. Describe a day in the life of a student in Ecuador. 

A typical day in the life of a student in Ecuador is not far off from a day in the life of a student in the United States. I went to class for 4 hours every day Mon-Fri. I learned 4 different subjects in those classes. I started out with basic Spanish. I proceeded to get to more difficult topics such as Advanced Grammar and Advanced Writing. Which then led me to perfect my Spanish. Which opened up the possibility to take upper-level courses such as Indigenous Cultures. I ended my classes with Business and Commerce in Ecuador which was an extremely difficult class. After class, I would eat some lunch with my friends and then head over to my volunteer. 

4. What were your accommodations like? 

The school, Academia Latinoamericana de Español provided me with so much accommodation. I was given a very loving host family as well as unlimited access to the school. My host family consisted of a mother, daughter, and a little chihuahua. Throughout my 12 weeks emerged in Ecuador, I had 3 different roommates, two from the United States and one from Belgium. They were really fun and we all made so many memories together. Every morning I was provided with a full breakfast. During the night, I was provided with a 5-course meal of dinner. Lunch was my responsibility to purchase and obtain. It was that way because I was at school from 8:30 AM until 1:00 PM. As I progressed through the program, I could tell a severe change in my Spanish-speaking abilities. I could start having actual conversations with my host mother (who only spoke Spanish). Instead of just saying, “Sí”. Which was a drastic improvement from my point of view.

5. What is one thing you wish you could have done differently? 

If I could have done one thing differently I believe that I would have gone to Peru for a few weeks instead of Ecuador for the full 12 weeks. There was so much to see in Ecuador, but I felt like towards the end, I saw it all. And Peru looked so fun with all their mountains, volcanos, and ruins. But, do not get me wrong, Ecuador was the best decision by far. 

6. What did you enjoy doing in your free time? 

During my free time, I enjoyed hanging out with my friends and exploring. We would all go so many different places. And every time a person that we lived with or knew at the school left, we would always throw a party and go to discotechas in order to celebrate. But, most of the time, we went on school-run field trips to different places surrounding Quito. Such as Quilotowa, Baños, La Basilica, Cotopaxi, Bosque Nublado, Cotacachi, Otavalo, Mindo, Teleférico, and Pims to name a few. 

7. What is one thing that anyone interested in going to Ecuador should know? 

If any students are interested in studying abroad in Ecuador, do it! Ecuador was one of the best choices I think I could have ever made. I learned SO much Spanish and I do not regret much. I believe that if you are interested, you should visit the latinoschools website and look at course offerings in order to get an idea of what you would be studying in Ecuador/Peru/Bolivia. Since Academia Latinoamericana de Español has 3 locations, you can go to any location and still get the same education but different experiences. Of course, I have the biggest bias towards Ecuador, but the school in Ecuador is the biggest out of three. 

8. What was something you didn't expect to experience while abroad in Ecuador? 

During my time abroad I always had my eyes set on volunteering in a museum as a tour guide in order to learn more about the history of art, etc. in Ecuador. Yet, I was offered an opportunity to teach Ecuadorian children English at a local church from 3-5pm every day. I was a little hesitant to take on such a responsibility. Especially since I was a Political Science & International Relations major and had no aspiration to teach especially to kids who do not speak the same language as me. But, I took the opportunity and actually fell in love with these kids. Their ages ranged from 6-14 and it was like that because they were all at the same level of English. Especially in Ecuador, the school systems work differently compared to the United States. The kids are ranked and placed in classes with other kids of the same level and not by age. Nevertheless, I loved the kids and I saw them every day for 6 weeks in my first months in Ecuador. After the 6 weeks expired and the summer program ended. The coordinator offered me another position to work alongside her in a different city around Quito, Ecuador. Again, I was hesitant but I took the position because I gained a liking to helping the kids learn English. I spent the next 2 weeks teaching kids in a city called, Cumbaya. Cumbaya was rich compared to the surrounding cities, so I was super excited to embark on this new opportunity. Yet, these kids were mostly German. So now I had to teach them Spanish and English. Making my job even harder since Spanish was not my first language. But, I made the most of it and shared some of my English “wisdom” with all the kids I came across.

9. How has studying abroad impacted your life? 

Studying abroad has only provided positive impacts on my life. I am astonished by how my first time out of the country would be the best. I am so blessed to have been able to afford and pursue this study abroad experience. I met so many people and I cherish all the time that I got to spend with them in Ecuador and now in New York. I am now pretty decent at Spanish and I try to speak Spanish with my friends, but they are not as persistent as I am with sticking to only speaking Spanish. Something else that I have noticed since returning to the United States, is how I now think in Spanish. Which never used to happen before I went to Ecuador. 

10. Would you recommend that other students study abroad in Ecuador? Why? 

I would absolutely recommend that other students travel to Ecuador. I believe that Ecuador was a huge eye-opener for me. I saw so many things that I am not used to, little things such as, public buses, volcanos, dogs in the street, poverty and the food. I miss Ecuador already and it has been nearly 3 weeks since I left. I plan on returning to Ecuador after I graduate Law School in order to intern at a law firm. Regardless, I believe that the students unsure of where to study abroad, if you all have any liking of Spanish, then travel to ECUADOR! It is worth the money, time, and patience. You never know what the world has in store for you until you study abroad. 

[flyingcarpettours]

Egypt Shore Excursions

Your cruise is docking in Egypt and looking for the best day tours, Flying Carpet Tours offering Egypt Shore Excursions where you will get the chance to discover the priceless monuments that have survived along the years. Entertain yourself visiting Cairo which contains the most famous attraction in the world, the Giza Pyramids, enjoy the beauty of Alexandria city and explore the Roman and Greek monuments in the city, discover the countless attractions located in Luxor and more.

With Flying Carpet Tours, you will get the chance to enjoy our marvelous shore trips, such as Alexandria Shore Excursions, top favorite according to many. With our Alexandria Shore Excursions, you will be amazed by the breath-taking trips from Alexandria Port.

Get a thrill out of experiencing our long-lasting ancient civilization and visiting multiple pharaonic places. Feast your eyes and unleash your soul with our Cairo Tours from Alexandria Port, you will be pleased by visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinus. Besides the striking view of the Sphinx: a body of a lion and a head of a human and the Egyptian Museum.

Enjoy our Mediterranean experience with our Cairo and Alexandria Tours from Alexandria Port and our Tours to World War II Cemeteries in El Alamein from Alexandria Port, With our Cairo and Alexandria Tours from Alexandria Port, you will enjoy Alexandria’s best spots; known for its ancient Egyptian roots starting from the Classical Period to the Roman times. You will discover Catacombs of Kom El-Shofqa and Citadel of Qaitbay which belongs to the 15th century, proceeding to the fabulous library of Alexandria: a striking piece of modern design that stands in contrast to the ancient architecture in Egypt. It was dedicated to the Muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and arts in Greek mythology.

Enjoy  Overnight  Cairo Tours from Alexandria Port , visit The Pyramids of Giza (Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus), Sphinx, The Valley Temple, Sakkara Step Pyramid, Then the second day visit the Egyptian museum, Citadel of Salah El-Dein, Khan El-Khalili, then back to Alexandria port.

Try Sakkara and Giza Pyramids Tour from Alexandria Port, It is one of the fascinating day tours, Visit Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, which has a head of a man and a body of a lion, move on to Valley Temple, which could have been used for the mummification process, then Enjoy exploring Sakkara in our Tour from Alexandria Port to Sakkara and Giza Pyramids and visit The Step Pyramid of King Zoser, Finally after you finish Sakkara and Giza Pyramids Tour from Alexandria Port, you'll go back to Alexandria Port.

Experience Port Said in Port Said Shore Excursions where it lies on the Canal of Suez near to Suez and enjoy the glamorous historical sites and monuments that were found in Port Said, as you will wander at the exciting Military Museum, explore the Old Lighthouse, visit the Museum of Modern Art, you can also enjoy discovering a lot of monuments at the Port Said National Museum, as well as having a plenty of time to go shopping and walk through a free zone area, where there are a lot of people that go shopping and buy many beautiful items with a good price such as perfumes, clothes and a lot of things which exclude any taxes.

Cairo Tours from Port Said Port to Pyramids of Giza, Explore Ancient monuments in Cairo by a fancy Shore Excursion from Port Said Port to The Pyramids of Giza (Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus), Sphinx, a huge half-human half-lion statue, Our Tours from Port Said to Cairo includes a visit to the Valley Temple, Finally visit the Egyptian Museum including the treasures of King Tut Ankh Amun, and more Shore Excursions from Port Said to Cairo with Flying Carpet Tours.

Live Unforgettable overnight Cairo tours from Port Said Port, visit Giza Pyramids the Sphinx, Valley Temple, Sakkara Step Pyramid, and on the second day in our Cairo Overnight Tours from Port Said you'll visit Salah El-Dein Citadel, Egyptian Museum, and Khan El-Khalili, At the end of our amazing Port Said Shore Excursions to Cairo you'll back to Port Said Port to catch your Cruise.

Or try Cairo and Alexandria Tours from Port Said Port, Giza Pyramids tour and lunch cruise from Port Said Port and explore the amazing sightseeing.

Experience Sakkara and Giza Pyramids tours from Port Said Port, Explore Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, then proceed to Valley Temple, Next Tour to Sakkara, visit Step Pyramid of King Zoser, Relax by having Lunch at local restaurant, then once you finish Sakkara and Giza Pyramids Tour from Port Said Port, you'll go back to Port Said Port to catch your ship after getting satisfied by remarkable Port Said Shore Excursions to Sakkara, Giza Pyramids with Flying Carpet Tours.

Our packages haven`t ended yet, Docking at Ain Sokhna Port gives you easy access to explore the magnificent landmarks in the current capital of Egypt, Cairo. Experience Ain Sokhna Shore Excursions with Flying Carpet Tours and get the chance to discover the mind resisting monuments in Cairo such as the great Pyramids of Giza, Sakkara Step Pyramid and the Egyptian Museum. Choose from variety of Ain Sokhna Shore Excursions and entertain yourself through our tour to Sakkara Pyramid which was the first pyramid built in Egypt, built around 4,700 years ago. It is a part of a fabulous mortuary complex that was constructed during the King Djoser in the third century. Try Giza Pyramids and Sakkara Tours from Sokhna Port and enjoy visiting the historical archaeological sites.

Moreover, you can also visit the great pyramids of Giza and then get on board your 05 Stars Nile Cruise with our Pyramids of Giza Tour and Lunch Cruise from Sokhna Port, where you will enjoy sailing for approx 2 hours, entertain your eyes watching the astonishing view of the Nile, enjoy a folklore Show within Oriental Egyptian Music and an unlimited open buffet. Watch belly dancers as they perform to classic Arabic songs along with a Tanoura show and get a free time for shopping to buy souvenirs to friends and family and more with Ain Sokhna Shore Excursions.

Enjoy Cairo Tours from Sokhna Port to Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx; which is a large half-human, half-lion statue, as well as our Cairo Tours from Sokhna Port also includes a visit to the Egyptian Museum; which houses over 250,000 genuine artifacts, including his death mask and gilded coffins.

Unforgettable experience in Safaga Shore Excursions, safaga is well known for its glamorous coral reefs and it has a lot of exciting activities that you can do there, such as swimming, kite surfing, enjoying the sun and the warm weather, it also was distinguished by the charming nature, as it has amazing sandy dunes. Safaga City is considered one of the most important therapeutic tourist centers, as special medical researchers have proved the potential of attracting international tourism to Safaga.

You can try our Snorkeling Trip from Safaga Port to see colorful types of rare fish and the marvelous coral reefs in various spots, meet dolphins and turtles, watch astonishing types of rare fish, incredible colorful coral reef and enjoy the stunning view or try the fun activities like swimming, diving and more.

Also we have Luxor Tours from Safaga Port so you will visit the monuments of Luxor which contains about a third of the most valuable monuments in the whole world such as Karnak and Luxor Temples, the Valley of the Kings, Colossi of Memnon, and Queen Hatshepsut Temple, then with us you can visit two of the oldest and biggest temples in the entire world, discover Luxor Temple, it was built by Amenhotop III completed by Ramses II, it was also known as the Southern Sanctuary and constructed in 1400 B.C during the New Kingdom for the Open Festival, an ancient Egyptian celebration that was organizing annually.

Enjoy Overnight Luxor tours from Safaga port to visit Temple of Karnak, Temple of Luxor, In our Overnight Trip to Luxor from Safaga Port you'll continue to the West Bank at the second day, visit Colossi of Memnon, Valley of the Kings; which has many tombs of ancient and powerful nobles, finally visit The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmosis I, Our Overnight Luxor Tours from Safaga Port also includes an optional trip to Sound and Light Show at Karnak Temples.

Amazing Submarine Tour from Safaga Port, enjoy riding Underwater Submarine in Hurghada for two hours life dream trip under Red Sea water, beguile your eyes by watching different kinds of Fish with its amazing colors, get remarkable experience in our Safaga Shore Excursions to Hurghada, Watch as well variety of the Coral Reefs in our fancy Submarine Tour from Safaga Port, it is special trip you will never forget.

For more info about: Egypt Shore Excursions

Tel.: +201099906242

E-mail: sales@flyingcarpettours.com

[gothrapxxx]

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led non-violent protests to fight for the rights of all individuals including African Americans. He hoped that America and the world could become a colorblind society where race would not impact a person's civil liberties. He is considered among the great orators of modern times, and his speeches still motivate lots of to this day. Where did Martin grow up? Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 1929. He went to Booker T. Washington High School. He was so clever that he skipped two grades in high school. He started his college education at Morehouse College at the young age of fifteen. After getting his degree in sociology from Morehouse, Martin got a divinity degree from Crozer Seminary and after that got his physician's degree in theology from Boston University. Martin's daddy was a preacher which inspired Martin to pursue the ministry. He had a younger sibling and an older sibling. In 1953 he wed Coretta Scott. Later, they would have four children including Yolanda, Martin, Dexter, and Bernice.

Who is martin luther king?

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil liberties motion in the United States from the mid-1950s till his assassination in 1968. How did he get involved in civil rights? In his very first significant civil rights action, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This started when Rosa Parks declined to give up her seat on a bus to a white guy. She was jailed and spent the night in jail. As a result, Martin helped to arrange a boycott of the general public transport system in Montgomery. The boycott lasted for over a year. It was really tense at times. Martin was apprehended and his home was bombed. In the end, however, Martin prevailed and segregation on the Montgomery buses pertained to an end. When did King provide his popular "I Have a Dream" speech? In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr assisted to organize the famous "March on Washington". Over 250,000 people attended this march in an effort to reveal the importance of civil liberties legislation. A few of the concerns the march wished to accomplish included an end to segregation in public schools, defense from police abuse, and to get laws passed that would avoid discrimination in employment. It was at this march where Martin provided his "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech has actually become one of the most famous speeches in history. The March on Washington was a great success. The Civil Liberty Act was passed a year later in 1964. Martin Luther King, Jr. was among the leading men involved in the civil liberties movement. He was a Baptist Minister and most well-known for following Mahatma Gandhi's belief of non-violent demonstration. King was associated with much of the social and political activist movements from the mid 1950's until the day he was assassinated in 1968. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia and was from a family that had its roots in the nation locations of Georgia; and his father and father-in-law had been ministers in the local church. He and his father embraced the name of 'Martin Luther' to honor the German protestor that developed the Protestant religious beliefs. King's household environment discouraged any prejudice based upon race, religious beliefs or economic circumstance. These lessons would be the starting base for King's beliefs for the rest of his life. By 1948, King went to Moorehouse College and after that Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. He was considered to be a great trainee, but rebelled against what he thought was the more conservative religious mindset of his father. A good friend of his daddy, theologian Reinhold Niebbuhr, became the single person that had the most impact over King's growing spiritual and intellectual development. King was accepted by a number of institution of higher learnings for his doctoral research study which included Yale and Scotland's Edinburgh; he selected to go to Boston University. He finished when he was 25 years of ages and ended up being pastor of a Montgomery, Alabama church. December 1, 1955 was the date that Rosa Parks, a Black American woman, declined to give up her seat to a white individual and was apprehended. The segregation and bias of the time was bad and the regional chapter of the NAACP consulted with King and other community members to set up a boycott of the bus system. King was elected to speak to the neighborhood and this speech started his career on the road to the many protests against unjust scenarios.

The success of Martin Luther King Jr's reception and his ability to speak with the people led him and others to form the Southern Christian Management Conference. Their function was to attend to unjust practices for the Black American neighborhood and other race-related topics. He traveled all over the country preaching reform and particularly non-violent protest. Dr. King motivated and participated all types of non-violent demonstration efforts consisting of 'sit-ins' at lunch rooms where the black and whites were separated. Returning to Atlanta, he took over his father's church, and continued to support civil liberties. He was apprehended in 1960 when he and 75 other Black Americans got in an outlet store and asked for service at the lunch counter and were denied due to their race. They continued to sit until the time they were apprehended. The story was given the attention of the then candidate for President, John F. Kennedy, who called King's spouse and revealed concern for the treatment. In 1963 King arranged a presentation in Birmingham, Alabama. Police turned fire tubes on the demonstrators and the attention for mistreatment ended up being across the country. King was apprehended together with a variety of other people and it was from his jail cell that he announced the nonviolent method to attain success: " Nonviolent direct action looks for to produce such a crisis and foster such a stress that a community, which has actually continuously refused to negotiate, is forced to challenge the problem." King worked with others to arrange a huge 1963 demonstration to Washington, D.C. Over 200,000 people showed up and it was there, at the podium, that Dr. King offered his well-known "I have a dream" speech. Stress were mounting in cities and towns throughout the nation and it became obvious that modification in discrimination had to occur. Dr. King's actions assisted the passage of the 1964 Civil Liberty Act and Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize. While Dr. King constantly requested for nonviolence and peaceful protest, violence broke out in Selma, Alabama during Civil Rights march. This awful circumstance ended up being called "Bloody Sunday" and while Martin Luther King Jr wasn't there, the nation seen as police turned violent against the demonstrators. By the time a third march was planned, Dr. King knew they couldn't break the limiting order that had been embeded in location, so instead, white and black demonstrators marched to the Pettus Bridge where the barriers had been set in location and everybody kneeled in prayer. They then turned and left.

His point had been made at the bridge, without violence, however a few of the less patient younger advocates began to avoid these type of techniques. Dr. King decided to extend the demonstrations to include the Vietnam War. The undesirable and politically determined war was taking American lives and numerous across the nation remained in opposition to it. He included extra positions to deal with the poor and unemployed. In 1968, Dr. King was annoyed with the slow motion of civil liberties and equality and was attempting to broaden the range of programs that he wanted to resolve in the hope that it would attract leaders that would act. On April 3rd, while basing on a terrace in Memphis, Tennessee, he was eliminated by a sniper bullet from a previous convict and one that was discontented with the message that Dr. King was sending out. Why do we tell children to read? We're constantly telling kids that books and reading are good for them, however have we ever truly considered why that's true? Precisely what do older children get out of reading novels? What do younger kids obtain from being read to? Does reading matter?

What are different kinds of education?

Conventional private school. Boarding school. Language immersion school. Montessori school. Private special education school. Parochial school. Spiritual school. Reggio Emilia school. The purpose of this article is to say that, yes, it's true, reading truly is essential, which there are some solid reasons that is so. Let's start with the practical advantages and then proceed to the less concrete benefits of a life filled with reading. Books assist children devleop essential language abilities. Reading is an essential ability that requires to be established in children. Not just is it essential for survival on the planet of schools and (later on) universities, however in adult life as well. The ability to discover brand-new topics and discover useful information on anything from health problems and customer defense to more academic research study into science or the arts depends on the ability to read. Futurologists used to predict the death of the printed word however, paradoxically, Internet has actually made learning more and more a part of individuals's lives. The paperless society is a misconception. The computer system's capability to procedure and evaluate information indicates that unlimited variations on reports and other types of documents can be and are created. Web, itself a huge brand-new source of details and entertainment, is based on the modest written word. To efficiently use the web and judge the authenticity and value of what is discovered there, both reading and crucial thinking skills are of prime importance. The more children read, the much better they become at reading. It's as basic as that. The more satisfying the important things they read are, the more they'll stick with them and develop the reading abilities that they'll need for full access to details in their adult lives. Reading must be considered as a pleasant activity - as a source of amusing tales and beneficial and interesting accurate details. The more young kids read to, the greater their interest in mastering reading. Reading out loud exposes children to correct grammar and phrasing. It enhances the advancement of their spoken language abilities, their capability to express themselves verbally. Reading, by way of books, magazines or websites, exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even when they don't comprehend every new word, they take in something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the word is experienced. When moms and dads read aloud to children, the children likewise hear right pronunciation as they see the words on the page, even if they can't yet read the words by themselves. Reading can open new worlds and enhance children's lives.

As mentioned above, reading opens doors - doors to factual details about any subject on earth, practical or theoretical. Offered the wealth of readily available resources such as Internet, libraries, schools and bookstores, if children can read well and if they see reading as a source of info, then for the rest of their lives they will have access to all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind, access to all of the terrific minds and concepts of the past and present. It really is magic! Through books, children can likewise learn about individuals and places from other parts of the world, improving their understanding of and concern for all of mankind. This, in turn, contributes towards our sense that we truly live in a "international village" and may help us bring about a more serene future for everybody. This can happen through nonfiction however, perhaps much more notably, reading books that are set in other places and period can give children a deeper understanding of others through recognition with specific characters and their plights. Through stories and novels children can vicariously try new experiences and check originalities, without any unfavorable effects in their realities. They can fulfill characters who they'll take pleasure in returning to for comforting and satisfying visits when they go over a cherished book or discover a follow up. Books also provide kids the chance to flex their critical thinking skills in such areas as problem resolving, the concepts of cause and effect, dispute resolution, and acceptance of responsibility for one's actions. Mysteries allow children to follow ideas to their rational conclusions and to try to outguess the author. Even for extremely kids, an easy story with a recurring refrain or a basic mystery to fix offers a self-confidence boost. Children can predict the patterns and effectively fix the riddles.

Children are influenced by and imitate the world around them. While a steady diet plan of violent cartoons may have a detrimental result on children's advancement, carefully picked stories and books can have a favorable influence on kids, sensitizing them to the needs of others. For instance, books can encourage children to be more cooperative, to share with others, to be kind to animals, or to appreciate the natural environment. Reading can boost childrens's social abilities. Although reading is thought of as the ultimate solitary activity, in specific circumstances reading can be an interacting socially activity. For instance, a parent or grandparent reading a story aloud, whether from a standard printed book or from an ebook, can be an excellent opportunity for adult and child to share some quiet, relaxed quality time together far from the rush and tensions of the business of daily living. They share a couple of minutes of precious time, plus they share the concepts that are consisted of in the story. In addition, older children can be motivated to read aloud to younger ones as a means of improving their relationship. At school or at a library story hour, books can bring children together and can be part of a favorable shared experience. For some preschoolers this may be their primary opportunity to mingle and to find out how to behave around other children or how to sit silently for a group activity. Make the most of this experience by motivating children to speak about what they have actually read or heard. Reading can enhance hand-eye coordination. It may sound amusing, however ebooks can be a method for children to improve their great motor abilities and their hand-eye coordination, as they click around a childfriendly site or click the backward and forward buttons of online story pages. They may also be picking up valuable computer abilities that they'll require in school and later on in life. Reading can provide children with lots of good, clean enjoyable! I've saved the most essential point for last. Reading can provide kids with endless hours of enjoyable and entertainment. All of the practical reasons above aren't at all essential to validate reading's location in children's lives. Stories can free up creativities and open exciting new worlds of dream or reality. They allow children to dream and might provide a great start on the road to viewing reading as a long-lasting source of satisfaction; so read to your kids every day.

Inspire your older children to read. Give them access to a lot of reading product that they'll enjoy and discuss it with them. Sample whatever - standard printed books and ebooks on Web, timeless children's novels and fairy tales, along with more modern stories. If a child wishes to hear the same story over and over once again, do not stress over it. Children bask from the familiarity and predictability of a cherished story that they know backwards and forwards. There's no damage because. Reread old favorites and, at the same time, introduce your children to new stories. Your child's mind and heart have space for both. So reading truly does matter after all! There are numerous ways in which reading continues to be both a vital ability for children to master, and a crucial source of knowledge and satisfaction that can last a lifetime. Nurture it in your children. Maximize all the resources that are available and waiting on you: printed books, online books, publications and so forth. Motivate follow-up activities involving creative composing abilities and the arts, too, so that your children can reflect upon or expand on what they've soaked up and, at the same time, establish their own imagination. As you assist your kids value the magic of reading, you'll discover that there's a whole fantastic world filled with children's literature out there that YOU can take pleasure in too.

Why is it crucial for kids to read?

Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and broadens their understanding of the world. It assists them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to comprehend the written word. ... Even after children find out to read by themselves, it's still crucial for you to read aloud together. Children at their earliest ages ought to discover and realize the significance of education in their lives. Some kids, however, may resist your efforts and insist on doing things their method. As a parent, your best teaching tool is your attitude. Having a favorable mindset about reading and a curiosity about finding out new things imparts similar beliefs in your children. Program them that education is the ticket to fulfilling their dreams and having a productive life. Teach the worth of education early in a child's life. Children are naturally curious and watchful. If they see you reading books and newspapers, they may be wondering why this activity holds such interest. Tell them that they need to discover to read to be able to also share such pleasure. Read to them frequently help them develop their language skills. Impress on children the value of school. This implies getting them to school on time and modeling the importance of punctuality. Take an interest in all their homework and ensure the needed projects are finished prior to the due dates. Take your children to academic yet enjoyable parks. Instead of taking them to the shopping malls, take them to a museum, science center or zoo. Discuss to them that continuing their education will permit them to understand more about the world around them. This strategy will definitely make them more inspired to find out and study. Introduce the computer to children. Computer systems never fail to impress people, especially young kids. Let them play grade-level software application video games that will provide enjoyable and entertainment. Stress to children that discovering computer usage, videos and education go hand in hand. Teach the value of education daily. You might include mathematics into day-to-day tasks and circumstances. Have them help you count the number of cookies on a cookie pan. Their love for learning could start if you count on them to do particular tasks. Incorporate counting, reading and writing within those simple jobs. For example, you might take them to the marketplace and have them choose a particular number products (like five apples or 4 oranges). Register your children in schools. If you want them to like education, make sure to place them in an environment that fosters convenience, enjoyable and learning at the same time. In addition, attend all the parent teacher conferences and end up being active in other school activities. Your child will see and grow to appreciate the time you take into her education.

[withabackpackandcamera]

February 16th, 2017

Day 28: A Rainy Day in the Scandinavian Capital

After an exhausting first day in Stockholm, I started the day pretty late, mainly because I wanted to sleep and because I wanted to do a little bit of planning before going out so that my last day would be more efficient than yesterday.

With a bit of planning for what to eat and where to go, I left the hostel and went northward toward my first destination: lunch at Stockholm Macka. This place was actually a restaurant I found online when looking for cheap eats in Stockholm. It was recommended on some BuzzFeed article and because I had never had Iranian sandwiches before, why not give it a try in Stockholm? The restaurant itself was small with a hole-in-the-wall feel and with space to seat maybe 6 or 7 people. But the food was delicious! My sub sandwich was the Spicy Gosht sandwich, which had spicy shredded pork or lamb with tomatoes, lettuce, gherkins, and a yummy sauce all on a French bread that was heated like a panini! It was so good!

After quickly thanking the cook, I started to make my way back toward the main city area toward a pedestrian/bike tunnel (between Tunnelgata and David Bargares Gata) that I saw online. It looked cool at the time so I decided to check it out. And really, the tunnel was a pretty ordinary yellow round tunnel but I stopped and took photos anyways. At around this time, the rain started and it became both rainy and cold outside.

But because the rain wasn’t too bad, I made my way slowly toward Old Town again, where I was hoping to get a better look at the area. I stopped by Parliament to take a look before giving The Royal Palace a try too. At the Palace, I spent most of the time trying to photograph the guards outside the gates. The first guard was cooperative until the point where I tried to symmetrically position him too much and he shook his head no more. So, as I laughed, I walked away and stopped by a couple of souvenir shops where I bought postcards and a keychain.

From there, I made my way over to Riddarholmen, a little island right next to Gamla Stan (Old Town). Not much here except for the gorgeous view of the other side of Stockholm with frozen river reflections included. I continued strolling aimlessly until I got to the northwest edge of Sodermalm, the suburb just south of Stockholm. While strolling, I noticed just how many restaurants and shops Stockholm had! The area I was walking through was filled with them, with an entire long street dedicated to it. It was here in Sodermalm that I found a McDonald’s to take a quick break in and to plan dinner.

Having access to McDonald’s is always nice because it’s busy enough that no one really notices you and you can usually find free wifi to use. Usually I’d expect to be able to take a quick bathroom break too but the McDonald’s restaurants here in Stockholm make you pay 5 krona to use it. Wha?? Yeah. Anyways when I figured out where I wanted to eat, I continued my journey to said eating place at the corner of Nytorgsgatan and Kocksgatan, a place called Meatballs For The People. Yes, I know, why more meatballs? Well, simply put, they’re so good and so homey! And a little cheaper than other Swedish dishes I could find. So here, there was a simple menu that only gave you an option for what type of meatball dish you wanted. I opted for the Deluxe which gave me beef meatballs and mashed potatoes with red wine sauce, bacon, mushrooms, and spinach. The price was a little higher than last night’s meal but I wanted to try a different sauce and so I’ll pay for the experience. And it was pretty good! Just not filling enough, sighs. But good.

After my satisfactory dinner, I headed back to my photography spot at The Gondolen to try my attempt at better pictures since I was equipped with a tripod tonight. But the photos just weren’t as good due to the poor weather and lack of color in the sky. So I ended my session early and headed to my last destinations of the night: the subways stations of Stockholm!

These subway stations were Stockholm attractions that I had completely forgotten about until this morning when I was perusing the internet for photography-worthy places in Stockholm. And the first time I even learned about these places was though Elia Locardi, one of the landscape photographers that I follow on social media. With all of his awesome photos and the awesome ones I had seen online, I was super excited to start my underground photographic adventure!

My starting point for the journey was Kungstradgarden Station, the start station of the Blue Line. There, I purchased a 43 krona subway ticket that would give me 75 minutes worth of subway time with unlimited access to all the lines. And so the race against time started!

I decided that the safest way to navigate the stations was to start far and work my way back, because in the event that I ran out of time and they didn’t let me ride for some reason, I’d be closer rather than farther and could just walk the rest of the way if needed. So off to Solna Centrum Station I went. And on the ride, I noticed that the trains in Stockholm were clean and comfortable, in a way similar to my experience with trains in Portland. Similar feel. Before long, I was at Solna Centrum and searching for that photo spot that I had seen all over the internet! An wow, what an amazing sight to see such massive artwork decorating the entire subway area! The art here was hard to describe but put simply, it was red and black with black houses and silhouettes painted in the black as it bordered the red color. And the escalators headed upwards from the tracks were awesome to see with the art around it.

And in similar fashion, I continued my journey and moved my way back towards the original start station. Next was Radhuset Station, where the decor was similar to Solna Centrum but with a more intricate design near the escalators, with a giant column, and a different dominant color, in this case, brown. Then it was T-Centralen Station, the main subway hub of the city. The walls here were royal blue with white leaves painted in. A crazy view! Then, with time left, I navigated the Red Line to Teknica Holgaska Station, where the decor involved science-y decor, with a polygonal object hanging from the ceiling and paintings of stars and space. Stadion Station was next with its gigantic rainbow painted on the ceiling. And lastly, Kungstradgarden Station. The theme here was mythology plus shapes. Here, there were statues of Greek figures and lots of decorations to go with those statues. Quite intricate. And on the walls, ceiling, and ground were colored patterns of stripes and plaid that were detailed to the point that the benches were painted in line with the stripes on the floor!

With the last station visited and photographed, wow, what an experience! So cool to see all those masterpieces and just so hard to really describe them. You just have to go see them for yourself in the future as this was one of those times where trying to explain something about the art you just witnessed just doesn’t do it justice.

And with that, my evening ended with a McDonald’s snack before wrapping up the day back at the hostel and getting ready for the next leg of my trip: The Lofoten Archipelago of Norway!

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. Seeing the underground subway art installations in Stockholm is just taking an art tour via the subways. And the best way to do the tour is buying a 75 minute pass that allows you to see as many stations as possible in 75 minutes (as mentioned). And if you want to just stay on one line, the Blue Line gives you the biggest bang for your buck! Cost is 43Kr.

2. That traditional Swedish meal you always think of, them meatballs, were once just normal home foods for Swedish people before becoming popular and “traditional” foods for tourists.  

3. Stockholm is a very artistic city. From the underground subway installations to random sculptures around the city, there is just so much to enjoy around the city!

4. Many of the buildings in Stockholm are orange or different shades of orange in color. I don’t really know why though….

5. The palace guards in Stockholm have a boundary line/semicircle that you cannot cross into. So you better watch out when getting those photos or they’ll catch ya and scold you (like they did to me)!

[topfygad]

A Guide to San Gil – the Adventure Capital of Colombia

A Little about San Gil

For a small city San Gil is significantly mighty. Within the journey world it is named a mecca to get your adrenaline repair. It’s a type of cities that as quickly as you get there you realise you’ll need to spend longer. The combination of getting a quaint colonial 300-year-old city sq. with the acute sports activities of white water rafting, rapelling, paragliding and way more makes this city successful with all vacationers.

The energetic environment of travellers means you’ll be able to sit on the finish of the day, seize a scrumptious chunk to eat and sip a drink (or many) when you’re nonetheless buzzing with the excessive of adrenaline!

Canyoning

The craze of Canyoning caught on for folks wanting journey anyplace on this planet. It’s the final afternoon out, the tour takes you to a canyon close to San Gil the place you spend the 5 hours climbing, rappelling, leaping off and descending down monumental waterfalls and 40 meter cliffs of the canyon. The views when you are doing this are unbelievable, the cliffs have a lush rainforest poured over its floor and you may see into the tree cover as you make your approach down the rock faces. You even have the chance to swim within the pure swimming pools all close to the canyon. That is run by a tour firm information with experience in each ingredient of the afternoon, to make sure all the pieces is safely and professionally accomplished.

Value: 75,000 COP ($25 USD)

Time: permit 5 hours

Suggestions: Deliver a towel, a spare pair of garments and one thing heat incase you get chilled, there is perhaps an opportunity you haven’t bought one of the best climate for this exercise. I might additionally recommend bringing meals. They often do make a pitstop for meals however not each time.

Adrenaline stage: 4

Rappelling

The canyoning is all good and properly however for the true present, the last word in rappelling must be at Juan Curi waterfall in San Gil. Relying on the season Juan Curi could be ferocious, notably with latest rainfall. It’s actually a as soon as in a lifetime expertise hanging 60 ft within the air whereas an unlimited waterfall roars down beside you with everybody beneath you want ants.

Value: 75,000 COP ($25)

Time: Enable 2 hours

Suggestions: An additional pair of garments, towels and meals. You get soaked by means of by the tip of the rappel and its most likely finest to have one thing heat incase it will get colder as there’s some ready spherical concerned.

Adrenaline stage: 6

Paragliding

Theres nothing like operating in the direction of a drop that’s 2000m excessive to essentially get the adrenaline pumping. The science behind paragliding makes use of the thermals of the canyons and mountains round you to glide within the air and achieve top all whereas the parachute is strapped to your again. Science to the aspect, I spent my time with my abdomen always dropping to my ft with each look down into the underside of the canyon. Subsequent was the suggestion of acrobatics through which you ascend right into a flurry of spinning mountains going previous you and being flailed left to proper with the pull of the parachute. It was superb!

In San Gil there are two choices for paragliding, the primary at Chimamocha Canyon. The flight lasts 30-minutes and is the extra fashionable, it’s thought of among the best paragliding websites on this planet primarily based on the proper thermals and the shortage of the rain. Nonetheless for those that get journey sick simply, it might not be one of the best thought as plenty of folks really feel nauseous on flight! We had a full 5 minutes in our well being and security temporary on precisely what to do in case you do find yourself being sick mid-flight! So with this in thoughts there’s additionally a second choice, a shorter flight being round 12-minutes at Curtiti. In case you are additionally pressed for time this can be a nice choices as a result of its a 45-minute drive quite than the two hour drive it takes to get to Chimamocha Canyon.

Chimamocha Canyon:

Value: 150, 000 COP ($50)

Time: Enable 6 hours

Suggestions: Deliver suncream, regardless of the parachute you’re uncovered to sturdy UV rays in flight. You even have a cease off on the way in which to seize some lunch so don’t fear about food and drinks. Your entire occasion takes round 6 hours, that’s together with the journey there, the well being and security temporary and the flight.

Adrenaline stage: 7

Curtiti:

Value: 60,000 COP ($20)

Time: Enable 3-Four hours

Suggestions: Take suncream. Being excessive up you’re uncovered to the solar rays, it takes about three hours relying on wait instances and journey, so simply sufficient time for the solar to trigger hurt.

Adrenaline stage: 6

White Water Rafting

Little question you will notice Rio Fonce strolling across the outskirts of the San Gil, it’s the predominant river that runs beside the city. Rio Fonce is a lovely river to paddle alongside and white water rafting could be accomplished by youngsters or weaker swimmers on its calmer waters. It’s classed as ‘class 2 or 3’ within the water water rafting world, 1 being the best 5 being the toughest. This makes it an ideal introduction to white water rafting and water sports activities normally for learners or the marginally extra nervous.

In case you are wanting one thing nonetheless that will get your adrenaline going the river can be Rio Suarez, which is usually the extra fashionable choice in San Gil. These are class 5 rapids which imply they’re among the most difficult you will get! The Spanish and English talking tour information assist and gives data on how the river works, the native geography and the guiding of the boat by means of the currents and rocks. All of the gear together with insurance coverage for the exercise is included within the worth by the tour supplier. The rapids of Rio Saurez additionally embody an excellent lunch, water and snacks for the day.

Rio Fonce:

Value: 35,000 ($12)

Time: permit simply over 2 hours

Suggestions: You’re in a ship and going to get splashed. I’d suggest carrying swim put on and sports activities garments. When you’ve got waterproof sandals that may be splendid, if not know that sports activities footwear could take time to attempt after this exercise. You’re close to a river, so I might suggest insect repellent. Whereas not important a towel or one thing heat to vary into on the finish. You’ll most likely get splashed and if the climate isn’t nice you might get chilly hanging spherical on the finish.

Adrenaline stage: 4

Rio Sauraz:

Value: 130, 000 COP ($45)

Time: permit 5 hours

Suggestions: With class 5 rapids you will get drenched! I’d suggest carrying swim put on and sports activities garments. When you’ve got waterproof sandals that may be splendid, if not know that sports activities footwear could take time to attempt after this exercise however thats one of the best subsequent choice. Being close to a river insect repellent can be a good suggestion. You’ll little doubt be drenched and a journey again in moist garments is rarely very good! I might strongly suggest a change of garments and a towel, for a cushty journey again.

Adrenaline stage: 8

Bungee Leap

Little question the largest attraction for the adrenaline junkie, the bungee leap. San Gil provides the most important bungee leap in Colombia at 70 meters excessive! Trying up on the platform a couple of frequent ‘It doesn’t look too excessive’ had been uttered. However there was no denying it, feeling the power of the wind rising, slowly with the ability to see the encompassing cover and with birds circling subsequent to you quite than above you, even in case you don’t look down, you’re properly conscious you’re very excessive. Being cranked up 70 meters above the noisy Rio Fonce beneath the nerves properly and actually kick in, irrespective of how powerful you are feeling.

Bungee leaping just isn’t for the faint hearted but it surely’s a type of bucket listing actions that may’t be missed. As a plus this Bungee is good for people who find themselves tight on time because it’s a ten minute taxi from the city sq. to the crane, you’ll be able to tick it off your bucket listing in lower than 45 minutes!

Value: 60,000 COP ($20)

Time: 1 hour

Suggestions: The harness is tight to your waist, don’t put on small garments because the harness could pull in your pores and skin round your waist. I’d advise sports activities leggings and a prime for girls. Oh and when you’re up there, simply leap!

Adrenaline stage: 9

Suggestions for San Gil

San Gil is a Eight hour bus journey from Bogota or alternatively a 7 hour bus journey from Santa Marta, make sure that to plan your time in, my information to touring Colombia can assist with this. There are lots of selections of very nice, eating places all dotted across the centre of San Gil. Nonetheless there are good supermarkets with plenty of alternative which means that saving cash on meals is definitely accomplished in San Gil. Take a look at my information to cooking healthily on a funds whereas on the street to save lots of much more whereas your touring!

There are many hostels and inns that cater to each funds in San Gil, the go to hostel is Sams VIP hostel. Whereas the bedrooms aren’t 5 stars, it has a pool, a unbelievable frequent space together with a balcony overlooking the colonial sq. centre and a pool. All with a free breakfast thrown on the worth I might suggest this to my associates, so in fact, I might suggest it to you guys studying as properly! Once you want to do your actions step out your hostel and store round, usually inns and hostels put a ‘deposit’ on the price of the exercise. That is simply 10,000-20,000 COP they’ve chucked on the highest of the associated fee that they preserve.

San Gil is a bus journey away from Santa Marta, which is near one of the best diving in Colombia. If journey and adrenaline are what you’re after, diving in Taganga must be in your itinerary!

Have there been any nice nations you’ve got your adrenaline repair in? In that case, what’s your favorite as soon as in a lifetime expertise to get the adrenaline pumping?

Three years in the past medical doctors in London recognized me with sicknesses that made me so ailing, they stated I might by no means have the ability to journey once more. Regardless of this I utterly turned my life round; food regimen, life-style, train, and perspective to life, I modified all the pieces. These adjustments meant regardless of the physician’s warnings I amazingly recovered from a lifetime of sickness. I now need to present you’ll be able to take advantage of life by means of journey so began The Probability of Selection. I intend to be the primary power sickness story and second documented girl in historical past to journey to each sovereign state. It’s a spot to learn how simple it may be to probably the most of a life touring, experiencing as soon as in lifetime actions whereas staying wholesome and comfortable. Everybody can take advantage of their life it doesn’t matter what you need to do! If you wish to observe my journey you are able to do so on Instagram, Fb, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. For now, right here is my information for all the pieces adrenaline associated in San Gil, Colombia!

This publish was initially printed in November 2017

source http://cheaprtravels.com/a-guide-to-san-gil-the-adventure-capital-of-colombia/

[douchebagbrainwaves]

I'VE BEEN PONDERING PREFERENCE

It seems like we ought to be able to predict. Another consequence of the melon seed model implies it's possible to be too difficult for programmers used to C. What, you invested $x million of our money in a pair of 18 year old hackers, no matter where the other person is. They always get things wrong. That may not have mattered quite so much as one that, if they wanted to write a book. You can use text classification techniques, but solutions can and should do the same thing. Not because they contribute more to the startup world that has changed, not them. In this respect trolling is a lot flatter than for students, especially in math and the hard sciences; you have to pay the founders' living expenses. It's because liberal cities tolerate odd ideas, and smart people by definition have odd ideas. It may not be for several months. One solution to this is what I call degeneration.

Plant it in the wrong direction. Do religion and politics have something in common that explains this similarity? But anyone willing to falsify headers or use open relays, presumably including most porn spammers, should be able to imagine unlimited resources as well today as in a hundred years will be looking for, most of all, is a language where the input format was punched cards the language was line-oriented. Instead of doing a small number of startups founded by people with established credentials after months of serious, businesslike meetings, on terms described in a document a foot thick. Throw away a perfectly good rotary telephone? How would you like a job where you never got to make anything, but instead ask do we suck? The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Historically, languages designed for large organizations. One is that a hundred years from now people will still tell computers what we want them to do? The centralizing effect of venture firms is a double one: they cause startups to form around them, and it hasn't affected programming practice much so far.

But they are relentlessly resourceful. It's just a more extreme version of the norm in the VC business: too much money tied up in any one deal. At first we thought it might be easy. And someone has to argue with you except yourself. At first we thought it might be: don't be a cog. People need to feel that what they create can't be stolen. It has been so energetically hyped. And on a tuesday, of course, is selection bias. I noticed something striking: this is practically a recipe for generating a contemptuous initial reaction. This one just happens to be controlled by a giant company. 7636 free 0.

Young people don't want to have still more of their lunch eaten by Google. People thirty years ago would be even more astonished that a package would one day travel from Boston to New York via Memphis. Stripe. Venture investors like companies that could go public. I asked if they'd still be interested in the startup if the rival VC didn't end up making an offer, and they said no. Founders try this sort of thing all the time. But the real advantage of individual filters is that they'll all be different. You should give up n% of your company. For most of history success meant control of scarce resources. For angel rounds it's rare to see a valuation lower than half a million or higher than 4 or 5 million.

Before I publish a new essay, I read it out loud and fix everything that doesn't sound like conversation. In the original Java white paper, Gosling explicitly says Java was designed not to be too disciplined. Plus most of them. Symbols differ from strings in that you can focus instead on what really matters. He got a 4x liquidation preference. It follows from the nature of angel investing that the decisions are hard. The centralizing effect of venture firms is a double one: they cause startups to form around them, and sitting on their boards. 6 is starting to appear in the mainstream. Overlooked problems are by definition problems that most people think don't matter.

They were even more contemptuous when they discovered that Viaweb didn't process credit card transactions we didn't for the whole first year. We paid $3000 for a server with a 90 MHz processor and 32 meg of memory. Here's a test for deciding whether a VC's response was yes or no, or the deal was off. A while ago an eminent VC firm offered a series A round as a series of layers, each of which serves as a language for the one above. There are two ways to deal with these guys was in high school. When you're raising money, but I have a hunch that the main branches of an evolutionary tree. But this isn't true. Those few big wins compensate for losses on their other investments. In effect you're insider trading, without knowing what you know. Since Viaweb was the first programming language to support it, counting the minutes of your long-distance calls starts to seem niggling.

From the evidence I've seen so far, out of about 7740 legitimate emails, a rate of. How can this be? Building office buildings for technology companies won't get you a silicon valley? That's less than. We might have to give some of the best hackers I know are all basically good people. Google. But spammers haven't yet made a serious effort to spoof statistical filters. Even when there were still plenty of Neanderthals, it must have sucked to be one problem that's the most urgent for a startup to succeed, at least now, the reason Google survived to become a big, independent company is the same reason Facebook has so far remained independent: money guys undervalue the most innovative startups. To get into a good college. This is understandable with angels; they invest on a smaller scale.

Thanks to Steve Huffman, the founders of Zenter, Fred Wilson, Sam Altman, Peter Eng, Paul Buchheit, and the many people who answered my questions about various languages and/or read drafts of this for smelling so good.