#also it looks like his amazon profile was wiped since i last looked at it

[grim-echoes]

what all of these posts about the willy wonka disaster event aren't mentioning that makes it even funnier/worse is that the organizer of the event (billy coull) is a serial scam artist who had already done this before with a fake charity gala called gowanbank hub at the double tree hilton advertised at 95 pounds a pop that was supposed to feature gok wan djing and a bunch of drag race contestants doing cabaret that if you try to search for online only gives you results for the wonka scam because literally no formal information on it exists anymore, and on of top of that house of illuminati (the """company""" he used to organize the wonka event with) is literally just him and was registered in november 2023, with a previous company he incorporated under a website he formerly owned called empowerity.com having shuttered right before the wonka scam. also he's a conspiracy theorist who writes AI-generated self published books on amazon about antivax/qanon/child abduction shit and has multiple diplomas from unaccredited universities and the only reason i know any of this is because a friend asked if this was the same man that scammed my family over a july 4th event years ago and though i couldn't find any confirmation that it was holy fuck has this been sitting rent free in my goddamn mind the last few days

[momothegeckho]

Magi19 is Online...

Mystic Messenger Fanfic. Yoosung x Reader (OC)

Note: So i totally did this when this game first came out, and its been collecting dust for a long time lol. I know its a bit lat and irrelevant now, but I enjoyed writing it so here it goes. I may not continue it unless I feel it needs more, so this is just what I wrote.

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• Yoosung unlocked his door and sighed. His Professor had caught him texting during class again and really let him have it after the session ended. He went into his room, dropped his bag, and jumped onto his bed. “He just had to give me extra homework, today of all days! What luck…” Today was a special event on his favorite MMORPG, LOLOL. If he wasn’t there today, it would be gone tomorrow. Yoosung sat up and looked at his bag, then at his computer. After what seemed like forever, which was really five seconds, Yoosung chose LOLOL. He just couldn’t wait. And the homework was due on friday, anyway. He pushed the power button on the side of his computer and smiled. 

“Armor is 60% off today! As well as certain boosts, too! No way can I miss this event!” The desktop on his screen lit up to show the background picture of him when he was younger, holding a light brown puppy with brown eyes. Rika’s puppy. He smiled at the memory and quickly opened up LOLOL, put on his headphones, and logged in. As soon as he was about to review his character, Yoosung’s phone beeped. A new chat room had opened up on the messenger app. He picked up his phone and sighed. It was Seven again, most likely signing on to poke a little fun at everyone. He turned on the app and entered the chatroom.

707: Yoosung!!!!

Yoosung: Seven… why are you here? Didn’t you say you had work?

Mina (MC):He does… but he’s putting it off until the last minute. Hello Yoosung! How was school?

Yoosung: Fine I guess, but my prof. yelled at me for being on my phone… I was just about to get on LOLOL.

707: Yoosung.

Yoosung: What?

707:… Get a girlfriend.

Those words made Yoosung sigh. Ever since Seven and Mina had gotten together, Seven tried to set Yoosung up on dates with girls he barely knew. He just wanted to find a girl naturally and connect with her through a mutual friendship, though he knew it wouldn’t happen overnight. Even though he wished it would.

Yoosung: Seven… Pls.

Mina: Seven! That was rude! Let Yoosung find love by his own terms! Sorry Yoosung. You know Seven is just playing.

Yoosung: Thanks, Mina. I’ll find someone someday!!!

{Jaehee Kang Has Entered the Chatroom}

Jaehee: How soon is someday exactly? Because from what I see, you barely put yourself out there.

Yoosung: Jaehee! You’re so mean!!!!

Jaehee: Just speaking the truth. Hello Seven, Mina. Finally got a break from Mr. Han!!!

Mina: Glad you made it out alive! How is Jumin? He hasn’t been in the chatroom lately.

Jaehee: He’s been on a lot of business trips lately. Just this morning, he took off for America for a transaction. And this time, he took the furball with him! 

707: Wow. You must be really happy. Elizabeth Third! Come baaack!

Jaehee: Don’t jinx this. Please.

Yoosung: Lol. Jaehee. Do you really not like Elizabeth the Third? She’s cute!

Jaehee: No… She’s the devil with shedding hair. Zen’s new role in ‘Love Under the Cherry Blossom’ is cute! ////

Yoosung: Whatever. LOLOL calls for me. Later, everyone!

Mina: Bye, Yoosung!!

Yoosung put down his phone and started to play LOLOL. He smiled at the prices on new armor and buffs for his character. It was like being a kid in a candy store! He bought up a few things and started to play. He found a dungeon to go into and saw another player standing outside of it. The character wore a white cape with gold decorating the edges, while the armor she had on was very amazon-like. The character’s hair was black with white tips, and she had a sword on her side. Almost as if on cue, the messenger block popped up with blinking dots. The player was contacting him.

Magi19: Hello! Are you here for the event, too?

Yoosung: Yeah! I mean, who could miss it? I would hate myself if this passed and I wasn’t here to participate. What did you get?

Magi19: Right!? I just got a few buffs to help me cast spells quicker. I also got some new armor! You?

Yoosung: A few armor suits and some buffs. Hey, do you want to be friends? We could conquer the dungeon together! 

There was a small pause after Yoosung’s question, and he started to feel awkward. Was he too straightforward? After all, He only met Magi19 a few seconds ago. The worst thing that got to him was that he was thinking so hard about this as if he was asking out a girl… He was about to dismiss his question when a beep came from his computer.

Magi19: Yeah, sure!! I haven’t went inside yet! Let me send you my info really quickly…

Yoosung received Magi19’s profile info and looked through it. Everything seemed normal, from her gender all the way to her stats.

Yoosung: Wow! You’re really experienced! Level 60? You could clear this level by yourself if you wanted!

Magi19: I’m not that experienced. I just fight monsters here and there for the items. You have a really high level, too. Lol!!!

Yoosung: I’m sure you’re great! Let’s go!

Magi19: Wait! Shouldn’t we hook up our mics so we can talk instead of type? I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit of a slow typer…

Yoosung: Oh yeah, sure! Here’s my sky-pic number.

Magi19: Thanks! Hold on…

Magi19 stopped typing and then called Yoosung on Skypic. He answered and was met with a smiling face. “Hi! You’re Yoosung, right?” The girl had brown hair with light purple tips, brown eyes, and a really bright smile. 

“Yeah… Hi. I’m Yoosung! Nice to meet you…” Yoosung trailed off, not knowing her real name and smiled. “Sorry! My name is Yoona. Nice to meet you, Yoosung!” Yoosung smiled and laughed with the girl as they entered the dungeon together. Jokes were exchanged between the two as they slayed monsters and talked about daily life “You go to Sky University, too?” Yoosung looked at the girl on his screen as she nodded and smiled. “Yeah! I actually got there a few months ago! You see, I had to transfer from my other college for a few reasons…” Yoona trailed off and slayed a beast in front of her. “But I like Sky. It’s the best school I’ve ever been to!” Yoosung smiled and laughed a little. 

Where was this girl all his life? She liked video games, she was super comfortable around people, she has a great personality, and to top it all off, she was comfortable in her own skin. She didn’t need to be told she was pretty, because she didn’t care. Yoosung liked that. “So Yoosung, what are you planning on making your occupation later in life?” Yoona looked at Yoosung and picked up some items from the dungeon. “I’m going into medicine to become a veterinarian. What about you?”  Yoona stopped moving her character and looked into the lens. Yoosung knew that she wasn’t there with him and couldn’t really stare through a camera, but still felt as though her eyes were going to pierce his soul. “I wanted to go into medicine to be a veterinarian freelancer, but instead, I want to become a patissiere! I have already went to culinary school in France and got my degree, so now, all I have to do is get this degree, and I’ll be able to open up my own shop! It doesn’t sound stupid, does it?” Yoosung smiled and shook his head. “No! I think that it’s amazing you can study so hard and still have time for LOLOL. How do you do it?” 

Yoona thought for a moment and sighed. “To be honest, I don’t really know. Once I got everything down on a schedule, it all fit together. How about you? I only just got here, and I already know that the Uni’s homework is a bit… piled.” Yoosung sighed deeply at the question and instantly got depressed. “To be honest with you, I don’t do a lot of my work. You see… I’m addicted to LOLOL. As we speak, I have homework I still haven’t gotten to. How about you?” Yoona smiled. “I already finished! You know, if you want, I could help you with your homework!” Hearing Yoona say she would help made Yoosung tear up. He didn’t know many people from the campus, but loved to meet new people along the way to graduation. 

“You’d really do that for me? Thank you so much!” Yoosung wiped away a fake tear and laughed. “Anything for a fellow LOLOL player and teammate! Here’s my number…” Yoona gave Yoosung her number and smiled. “I hate to do this now, but it’s getting really late. I have to go now.” Yoosung groaned and gave her puppy eyes. “You can’t stay a bit longer?” Yoona smiled and sighed. “Sorry! But hey! We go to the same school! Let’s just meet up tomorrow, kay’?” Yoosung nodded and exited out of the game. They said their goodbyes and signed off, anticipating if they would really see each other tomorrow. Yoosung was excited to make a new friend like Yoona. She seemed really cool, and definitely had a certain enthusiasm about her. He couldn’t wait to see her again. Even though they had literally just met a few hours earlier. He logged onto the messenger and saw no one was online. He took the opportunity to open a chat room. He smiled as he typed in the news.

Yoosung: Everyone, I met someone today. She’s a really nice girl, and she also likes LOLOL…

Yoosung: She’s really pretty, her name is Yoona. 

Yoosung: Turns out, we go to the same school… and have probably been passing each other everyday.

Yoosung:… 

Yoosung: What should I do!?!?

Yoosung: I’m meeting her tomorrow! Should I buy her something? Should I?

Yoosung: … Is it weird that I’m talking like this even though I met her a few hours ago?

Yoosung: Gahhh!!!

{YOOSUNG HAS LEFT CHAT ROOM}

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• There are 3 other chapters I made, so this is just the first one. ugh its so cringey lmaooo - 

[absofrutely]

Online Persona

At first I was against a voice-activated device with no graphical user interface, a vocal opponent even. It wasn’t until an Amazon Echo Dot device was shipped to my work (addressed to me!) by mistake that I first thought about installing the device in my apartment. Apparently, there was another Andrew Williamson on the 5th floor in my office, but the delivery guy mistakenly delivered the package to the 4th floor, and I wasn’t feeling generous, so I opened up my mystery box.

Setting up the Echo wasn’t seamless. Since the Echo was tied to the other Andrew Williamson’s Amazon account, it wouldn’t activate as the other Andrew reported the device lost or stolen after not receiving it. Amazon support wasn’t any help either since I couldn’t answer any of Andrew’s security questions to unlock his account. They told me that I could ship the device back to Amazon (no) or I could use the device as a paper weight, but it would never be activated as an Amazon Echo. Shocked by the finality of that statement, and tired of all the hoops to jump through, I exchanged the Echo by swapping it out with one that I bought from and returned to Best Buy.

At last, I finished setting up the device. I linked it to my Spotify, ordered a Philips Hue smart light starter kit, got some Belkin WeMo smart electric switches, and splurged on an Alexa-compatible iRobot floor vacuum. I wanted to outfit my apartment with a Nest thermostat and a Nest camera, but my apartment didn’t have a central heating system, and setting up a Nest camera in a studio apartment seemed wasteful. Mainly, I just felt like spending money, and was frustrated that I couldn’t.

I started out easy with the basics, setting a timer, asking Alexa what time it was, and playing “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds on Spotify. Within the Alexa app on my Android phone, I could choose my preferred news source, so I chose NPR. Whenever I asked Alexa what was on the news, it’d feed me the latest NPR headlines. I was pretty impressed. I could see myself listening to the news while I ate my greek yogurt and granola in the morning.

Over the next couple of weeks, interacting with Alexa became more natural, as I frequently asked for the weather before I chose my outfit for the day. Our conversations weren’t much of a dialogue, but more of a one-sided inquisition.

I couldn’t be sure if it was the latest software update or something I had enabled in the app, but for some reason, Alexa started responding to me by name, having recognized my voice. “It’s 9:41pm, Andrew” it would reply. I just assumed that it had some sort of built-in voice training feature that could distinguish my voice. That, or it was possible that Alexa was connected to my Amazon account, which knew my first and last name. Either way, I was taken aback when Alexa addressed me by name.

I asked Alexa, “What does my voice sound like?”

She replied, “What would you like me to say?”

My phone lit up - a notification from Alexa to input my desired text.

Within the Alexa app, I typed in, “Hello, my name is Andrew Williamson, and I’m a proud dog owner.”

After hitting the submit button, I was shocked to hear my own voice. I entered in a couple more paragraphs of nonsense. It was perfect. It captured the nuances of my speech, especially intonations and even my quirky way of pronouncing “scenario” (‘sin-NARH-EE-oh’ instead of ‘sin-NAIR-EE-oh’). My heart rate quickened - it must have been the hundreds of hours of voice training.

That got me thinking - is it possible to reduce a human being to an amalgamation of complex formulas and algorithms? I had always thought my voice was unique, although I hated hearing it in recordings. The voice was one thing, but how about the nuance of a personality, the very thing that made us all human? I thought about how sad it would be if an algorithm could accurately capture the essence of someone’s humanity; either it’d be a really complex formula or a really simple personality.

Though, if something was really able to capture the totality of a human, as best as it could, then we’d be able to live multiple lifetimes if we recreated the world around us in the same simulation. If we were able to insert ourselves into key inflection points within our lifetimes, we could eliminate the what-ifs because we could speed up the simulation to see the 5, 10, 20-year consequences of one decision. A life with no uncertainty, a life that was properly vetted before it was lived. A perfect life with no missteps, no unpredictable traumatic accidents. Not necessarily a pre-determined life, but being informed of a smarter way to live.

On the flip side of things, the model needed to account for everything, including all other human beings, living creatures, inanimate objects, and naturally occurring phenomena, like weather and natural disasters. Without perfect knowledge, a simulation would always be flawed. Informative perhaps, but ultimately flawed.

It dawned on me that someone or some entity might be trying to create a perfect model of the world, especially with so much information being captured nowadays. Nest cameras, Amazon Echos, Google Homes, devices that are always listening, video conferencing, Instagram, Facebook, Skype, Tinder, TikTok, YouTube. The list goes on. More inputs, more information to train a more perfect model, if the information was consolidated and centralized! I wiped a bead of sweat off of my brow carefully, making sure my tinfoil hat stayed put.

Digging deeper in the settings screen of the Alexa app, I enabled the permissions for Alexa to track all types of data inputs that would build a robust model of me. In addition to what Alexa observed organically, I could upload pictures and videos, connect Alexa to Gmail and Facebook to capture all information that lived on those platforms, or manually upload anything else I’d like it to know about me via a CSV file.  

Selfishly, I thought about how I could personally benefit from my online persona. GDPR. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was the answer. I thought about my online presence, the different platforms that I’ve used over the years, and the information that they had on me. I’d pose as a European and write into each company asking for a data-subject access request, which compelled each company by law to send me a data dump of all the information they had on me, and I’d upload it to Alexa by sending the file to andrewwilliamson_data@alexa.com much like I could send e-books to my Kindle via a special email address. So easy! I thought.

It was reminiscent of that one Black Mirror episode, “Be Right Back” where a grieving widow created an artificial husband based on his social media profiles and his text message history. The main difference was that I had embellished my artificial likeness with a data dump of all Wikipedia articles written to create a better and smarter me, so to speak.

Alexa was also compatible with an app called If This Then That (IFTTT) which allowed the user to automate certain workflows depending on user-defined triggers. One very basic example was the ability to change the color of my smart lights to violet as soon as I started playing music. Stuff like that. But the app also supported more complex logic that was user-customizable - given that information, I plotted my next move. I had Alexa listen into my work calls and record my screen over the next few months of work. Alexa started learning my day-to-day tasks, the names, voices and faces of the people I worked with, and the different tools that I used to do my job as a Senior DevOps engineer.

One Saturday night, I called my boss tearfully and told him that I was diagnosed with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, or FOP, a rare disease that caused muscles, tendons, and ligaments to turn into bone spontaneously. Eventually, my joints would be frozen in place and I’d be completely immobile. At some point, I’d have to choose a body position to spend the rest of my days.

He was speechless, but his normally stoic demeanor eventually broke down. As he choked back tears, he expressed his condolences.

I told him that due to my condition, I’d appreciate the ability to work remotely 100% of the time.

He agreed enthusiastically, promising to support me in any way.

Using IFTTT, I was able to clone instances of my Alexa persona, so I booted up a simulation of myself, but modified some parameters to deteriorate my appearance and gait. For good measure, I multiplied the depression metric by 1.25 and in the preview mode, the pain behind my eyes intensified, while the corners of my mouth curled downwards. A couple gray hairs sprouted up at my temples, the laugh lines turned into gashes, eroded by tears from hundreds of sleepless nights. It’d be perfect.

My voice followed suit, quivering and breaking 50% more than usual. Due to the ossification of my joints, any type of movement would be accompanied by a painful wince and a grunt for effort. No one would be the wiser during my meetings, which were held via video conference. Automating my own job was a success, but I craved more.

I created four more virtual instances of myself, without the debilitating disease, and had them scrape job postings on LinkedIn and Glassdoor, making sure to filter for remote jobs only. Within seven days, I had 125 job offers to choose from, and I booted up 121 more avatars to accept them all.

With income from 126 jobs, including my original DevOps job, I could finally breathe. In the mornings, I woke up at 9:30am, hand-ground some Sumatran coffee, and made some steel cuts oats, the non-quick kind that took 20 minutes to simmer.

Over breakfast, I finished another Murakami short story, called “Tony Takitani,” which was about a Japanese illustrator who fell in love with a woman was addicted to buying dresses but she ends up getting killed in car accident, and the illustrator is left with an empty house full of dresses. His father soon dies after, he forgets what his wife’s face looks like, and he ends up by himself, lonely in a large house.

I had suspected that the story would end that way. That’s the arc that all Murakami stories followed: a passive male protagonist who meets a life-changing female character, there’s some glimpses of hope or happiness, but the main character ends up alone, staring off melancholically into the distance into the sea, usually on an overcast day. No happy endings, and not really much of a resolution. And after finishing each book or short story, I felt lonely as well, not because the story was sad, but perhaps a stark reminder that life isn’t neatly wrapped up when it’s time to close the cover of the book, which the opposite of nearly every book that I had read. The hero gets the girl, a cathartic confession of love, the villain gets caught, the town gets saved, and everyone’s lives are better off than they were before.

To shake off the gloom, I ran along the coast for around an hour until heading back home. After toweling myself off, I checked my email. Scrolling through the hundreds of emails, my eyes widened when I saw an email subject stuck out to me: Congratulations for being nominated for a Pornhub Award: Performer of the Week. The email itself looked legitimate, had no misspellings, hovering over the links took me to the actual website, not lookalike phishing links, and I confirmed that it sent from the actual Pornhub domain.

The category that I was nominated for was “best male solo performance.” My head felt completely numb. I already knew what happened, but couldn’t bear to confirm it. I clicked into the link, and on the screen, I saw my own face staring back at me. “SultryCommando” was the username, and under “Uploads” I saw a list of 37 videos, titled with some of the most click-baity names. I had to watch at least one. I picked “Pizza Delivery Surprise!! WATCH TIL THE END,” which had 2.4 million views.

There was cheesy music and I saw a video of myself in tight cutoff jeans waiting expectantly for a pizza delivery very obviously - I saw my virtual self glance at his watch and tap his foot impatiently, mumbling something about punishing the pizza guy for being late. However I noticed his (my) devilish smile as he uttered those words. Oh god, I thought. Fast forwarding a little bit, the pizza guy finally rang the doorbell. Squinting a little, I quickly realized the pizza guy was still me. There were two of me in the same video and they were about to interact. The simulations must have discovered each other (but how?!) and started working together. I slammed my Macbook shut.

No. But I had to confirm. Flipping open my laptop, I scrolled to the middle of the video, and with much hesitation, the end. After watching two sweaty bodies collide with one another for almost 20 minutes, I felt sick, but also angry and impressed that Alexa was able to infer what my genitals looked like with 90% accuracy.

But my success as a porn star was only one of many accolades I’d receive. Surprisingly, most of the simulations gravitated towards social media influencing, with millions of followers on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch. Remembering that there were 125 job offers signed, I wondered what happened to all of the legitimate jobs that they had gotten. I did some more digging and found that the simulations outsourced their jobs to another simulation they had written within their own simulation. Of course, the simulations didn’t know they were in actual simulations - or did they? If that was the case, then wasn’t there a high chance that I was a simulation as well, but just one level up?

The money they made funneled all to me and I couldn’t speak to whether or not the simulations had a real consciousness or if they were computer programs designed to optimize an assigned task.

The phone rang, and kept on ringing for the next two hours. I had concerned friends call to tiptoe around the subject of me being a porn star, extended family members who wanted to subtly reintroduce themselves in my life due to my Youtube fame, and my boss, who told me that I was fired for lying to him. I didn’t blame him, as my frail videoconferencing demeanor was a far cry from my virile, dominant, but sometimes flamboyant online persona. That, and he had also probably seen my Alexa-created genitals and couldn’t bear to look me in the eyes anymore.

Amidst the fabulous riches, the crumbling social life, and the unbridled fame that was tainted with a bit of social ostracism and cautious distance from curious and sometimes gawking onlookers, I felt unsettled. I could never live up to the zany online personas of my alter egos, and when someone alluded to a video that I had supposedly created, I’d be puzzled. It was like being mistaken for one of my 125 identical twin (well, not twin) brothers.

I grew anxious and falling asleep became harder and harder. On one particular night, I had a panic attack where it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Doubled over, wheezing, and clutching my chest, I yelled at Alexa to play “PornGrooves Vol. 3” on Spotify to calm me down. As my breathing steadied and my heart rate slowed back down to normal to the beat of the smooth jazz in the background, I wondered where it had all gone wrong.

Truth be told, I didn’t even want an Amazon Echo in the first place, but only set it up because I thought I’d fall behind from a technological perspective if I didn’t step into the world of smart devices. My coworkers talked incessantly about the convenience of their wifi-enabled sous vide cookers, bragged about installing smart locks and the novelty of their Ring doorbells on their front doors, but for me, I went home to an abusive father with an alcohol problem who opened an $18,000 line of credit in my name.

When I spoon-fed him, he’d berate me from his wheelchair and slap the spoon out of my hand, spraying split-pea soup on the linoleum floor. I was used to his fits of rage and his hurtful words: “Idiot. Your lack of ambition was what killed your mother. If you were a better son, she’d still be around.” I brushed him off, long immune to his babbling.  

I wheeled him out for walks first thing in the morning and when I got home, I made sure to take him out again before it got too dark. I’d shampoo his hair as he sat on the plastic lawn chair in the bathtub. He made sure to tell me that I was a piece of shit who wouldn’t ever amount to anything.

My two brothers had broken all ties with Dad years ago, leaving me holding the bag. I should have reported him for identity theft and called the credit bureaus to clear my name. But out of love, I couldn’t.

Out of love, I continued paying the minimum payments for a credit card that I didn’t own, but was technically in my name.

Out of love, I automated my job and ruined my life so I could send him to a proper home where he could get 24 hour care.

Spending money on smart devices was the only thing that I ever did for myself, the closest thing that resembled a hobby - my form of self-care.

Two weeks ago when the paychecks came rolling in, I thought, “We don’t need to live like this anymore.” Excitedly, I went to go tell my father the good news.

He was in his favorite brown easy chair near the window, where he got the most natural light.

“Dad, wake up! We can finally move out of here.”

I took a look at his iPhone that he held in his right hand. The volume was low, but it was still playing one of my Pornhub videos. Realizing that he had found out about me, I took a step back, which was when I saw the empty bottle of sleeping pills in his other hand.

He had told me he didn’t want a funeral, although I doubt anyone would have shown up anyways. I felt numb, not really knowing what to feel. I was heartbroken that he was gone, but guiltily at the same time, relieved by the absence of his toxic control over me. I wanted so badly to hit a reset switch.

A month later, I moved out of that apartment and bought a modest house down the street instead. This time, I bought a Ring doorbell and some Nest smart cameras.

One Sunday afternoon, the Ring app on my phone sent me a notification that someone was at my door. Opening the door, I stared down into the face of my father, who was still in a wheelchair.

“Andrew, you said you’d always take care of me!” he croaked.

Speechless, I took a step back into my home. I looked down, expecting to see the new hardwood that I spent days installing, but instead saw the yellowing linoleum of my old apartment kitchen. It was my old apartment again, furnished just the way I had left it. Before I moved out, I told the landlord to donate everything. To get my security deposit back, I even did a walk-out with him when the apartment was empty!

There was no way. I had seen my father’s casket lowered down into the earth.

Frantically, I checked my phone. The Alexa was app was gone. I searched on Google for Amazon Alexa. Zero results. I scoured my apartment for any smart devices. Nothing. Alexa didn’t exist in this plane of existence.

I lunged for my kitchen knife, but it disappeared right before I could grasp it. In one motion, I opened my window and leapt through the screen, but there was no free fall. I found myself crumpled into a heap back on my kitchen floor. 

Someone was toying with my life. Free will and choice was an illusion. This was some Harlan Ellison shit. For reasons why I couldn’t understand, perhaps for someone’s sick enjoyment, I was destined to spend the rest of my days spoon-feeding my father in a dingy apartment. Maybe I went off the rails in someone else’s simulation. Wasn’t serving my purpose and they had to set me back on course. 

That night, when I was bathing my father, I couldn’t remember much of anything anymore.

What was I thinking about again? This was normal. In fact, my life couldn’t be more perfect.

[whittlebaggett8]

The Marvel Cinematic Universe will enter an uncertain era after ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ but experts see a path for it to dominate another decade of pop culture, Defence Online

source

Marvel Studios; Shayanne Gal/Defence Online

“Avengers: Endgame” marks a turning point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Veteran actors are likely to retire from their roles, and it will move beyond “Avengers” as its anchor franchise.

Defence Online talked to box-office, media, and comic-book experts about what the future of the MCU could look like, and how it can sustain itself for years to come.

After the success of “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel,” diversity will be essential. Marvel is already developing its first movie starring an Asian superhero, for starters.

The Disney-Fox merger and Disney’s upcoming streaming platform provide both new opportunities and challenges for the MCU.

After 11 years, 21 movies, and $18 billion, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has experienced unprecedented success for a movie franchise.

“This is the hottest thing right now at the movies and in entertainment,” Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told Defence Online. “There’s no escaping it.”

He’s right. Not long after “Captain Marvel” skyrocketed past $1 billion worldwide, “Avengers: Endgame” hits theaters on April 26. It’s the culmination of those 11 years and is projected to shatter the box-office records its predecessor, “Avengers: Infinity War,” broke last year. And before the dust settles, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” will swing into theaters in July.

READ MORE: Early estimates say ‘Avengers: Endgame’ could shatter the opening weekend box office record

But after this year, the MCU will enter new territory. Disney CEO Bob Iger (the Mouse House owns Marvel) has said that the MCU will focus on a “new franchise beyond ‘Avengers,’” and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said that this era of the MCU is “gearing towards a conclusion” with “Endgame.”

Some veteran franchise actors like Chris Evans, who has played Captain America since 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” are expected to hang up their superhero suits after “Endgame” (Evans even joked about the beloved character dying in a recent Hollywood Reporter profile – a scenario that’s not too far-fetched for comic-book readers).

“A lot of it has to do with contracts running out and these actors, after a decade, wanting to go back to other things,” David Betancourt, a reporter for the Washington Post’s Comic Riffs blog, which covers comic-book culture, told Defence Online. “The core Avengers group is more or less disbanding.”

But if it sounds like the franchise could falter, Betancourt added, “The MCU has become such a strong brand I don’t think that will hinder it that much.”

caption

Chris Evans is expected to retire from his role as Captain America after “Avengers: Endgame.”

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Marvel Studios

After 11 years, what’s next? More diversity, for starters

Given the amount of secrecy surrounding “Endgame,” not much is known about Marvel Studios’ plans for the MCU after this year. But it does have eight release dates set for yet-to-be-titled movies through 2022, and at least six movies in the works that we know of.

They include:

A third “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie, which Disney rehired director James Gunn for last month after firing him in July.

A Black Widow solo movie starring Scarlett Johansson.

“Doctor Strange” and “Black Panther” sequels, with directors Scott Derrickson and Ryan Coogler returning, respectively.

“The Eternals,” with “The Rider” director Chloé Zhao.

“Shang-Chi,” with “Short Term 12” director Destin Daniel Cretton.

READ MORE: There are 6 Marvel movies in the works for after ‘Avengers: Endgame’ – here are all the details

With the success of “Captain Marvel,” a sequel to that is also likely. And it would be surprising not to see a third “Spider-Man” movie after “Far From Home,” unless Sony, which still retains creative and distribution rights to the character, reverses course.

Matthew Ball, a venture capitalist and former Amazon Studios executive who contributes to media analysis website Redef, told Defence Online that Marvel Studios has “clearly landed at least two big hit new stars with built-in audience demand,” Black Panther and Captain Marvel, to lead the franchise going forward.

As the first black and female characters to headline their own solo movies in the MCU, they highlight how essential diversity will be for the franchise’s future. Both “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel” grossed $1 billion worldwide.

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“Captain Marvel” (2019)

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Marvel Studios

“They have to keep it fresh,” Ball said. “The traditional model of Tony Stark and Stephen Strange is not infinitely repeatable. You need new challenges and perspectives. Their embrace of different storytelling and characters will help attract more talent. When you’re putting out 30 movies, you never want it to feel like it’s become a unit or a cog.”

Marvel Studios’ production head Victoria Alonso told Variety last month that “the world is ready” for a gay superhero in the MCU, and “The Eternals” is reportedly being led by a gay character. And Shang-Chi will be the MCU’s first major Asian superhero.

“We’re at the point where Hollywood is paying attention to a demand for more diverse casts, and Marvel and Disney are clearly listening to it,” BoxOffice.com analyst Shawn Robbins told Defence Online. “A movie like [Shang-Chi] has a lot of potential.”

Fox and streaming provide new opportunities – and raise big questions

The Disney-Fox merger finally closed last month after Disney bought Fox for a whopping $71 billion last year. Disney now owns Fox’s film studio, many of its television assets, its stake in Hulu, and the film rights to Fox’s Marvel characters like the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool.

“As incredible as this streak of success has been, they’ve built it all from what was considered their second-tier of characters,” Robbins said. “11 years ago, outside of comic-book fans, nobody knew anything about Iron Man or especially about Guardians of the Galaxy. Now they have access to X-Men and Fantastic Four, which were the bedrock of comic books for decades. I never say never. It’s hard to imagine repeating this streak of success, but they have the properties now to do it.”

On top of the merger, Disney is launching a streaming service later this year called Disney+, and Marvel TV shows spinning off of the MCU are already in development (a Loki show starring Tom Hiddleston has been announced, and others, like a Scarlet Witch series, have been reported to be in the works).

READ MORE: After several ‘Fantastic Four’ flops, Disney should use its upcoming Netflix competitor to revamp the franchise

While the prospect of the X-Men and Fantastic Four joining the MCU is an intriguing one, there are many big questions that have yet to be answered. How will Marvel usher in these new characters? How long will it take? Will audiences be confused? Is it willing to take the risk on the Fantastic Four?

Fox made three “Fantastic Four” movies in 10 years, none of which were resounding success stories. 2015’s reboot, again titled “Fantastic Four,” made just $56 million in the US.

“Pop culture has evolved to the point where a lot of people know the difference between a [Fox] ‘X-Men’ movie and what a Marvel Studios ‘X-Men’ movie could be,” Robbins said. “We’ve seen three versions of Spider-Man in less than two decades, and there didn’t seem to be a lot of confusion. In general, audiences are very smart. Not to say that a studio can’t have the occasional misstep with how to sell a character, but I don’t think that’s something we should expect from Disney.”

Robbins added, “[I think] they won’t rush an X-Men movie unless it feels like the right time to introduce the characters into the narrative of the MCU. They could wait five, maybe even 10 years. I think there’s a strong argument to be made that the longer the wait, the more anticipation there will be for it. It gives these other Fox versions time to settle.”

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“Dark Phoenix,” likely Fox’s final “X-Men” movie, comes to theaters in June.

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Fox

If that sounds like a long time, consider that 10 years separated “Iron Man” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” and there’s an “X-Men” movie coming to theaters this summer – “Dark Phoenix,” likely the last of the Fox “X-Men” movies that will hit theaters (a spin-off movie called “The New Mutants” is scheduled for release in August, but is currently in limbo).

And in the meantime, it’s plausible that Marvel would sprinkle the former Fox characters throughout upcoming movies, or even use Disney+ as a starting point, especially if Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen) actually stars in her own series. In the comics, Scarlet Witch is a mutant and the daughter of X-Men villain, Magneto. Because Fox owned the X-Men film rights, Marvel Studios couldn’t use the term mutant … until now.

READ MORE: This chart shows how much longer ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is than other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies

For comic-book readers, that would be an exciting, but not shocking, revelation. The MCU has regularly used major comic storylines as inspiration, from “Captain America: Civil War” (based on the 2007 Marvel Comics event “Civil War”), to “Thor: Ragnarok” (the Hulk’s storyline is heavily inspired by “Planet Hulk”), to “Infinity War” (the Thanos snap that wipes out half of humanity at the end of the movie occurs in the 1991 comic series, “The Infinity Gauntlet”).

But Betancourt thinks it’s time for the MCU to move beyond the comics.

“I think they’re at a point with the success they’ve had over the last decade where they can pull away from basing the big franchises off of popular comic-book events,” Betancourt said. “They have enough firepower now that they don’t need to go into the comic-book vault. Maybe they can start just leaning on the creativity of the people they have in house to create something new.”

No movie franchise can stay on top forever – or can it?

Franchises dominate the moviegoing experience these days, but the MCU is the only one that has landed on a winning formula where it can deliver up to three movies a year, and all of them are box-office successes.

Even the “Star Wars” franchise hit a speed bump last year with “Solo,” which was the first “Star Wars” movie during the Disney era that didn’t crack $1 billion worldwide (it made less than $400 million). Iger said to expect a “slow down” on “Star Wars” movies following “Solo.”

The MCU has experienced no such speed bump, and has only grown over time. Seven of the nine MCU movies released since 2016 are among the franchise’s top 10 highest grossing movies worldwide.

source

Shayanne Gal/Defence Online

What would it take for audiences to finally tap out?

“They’d have to make 10 ‘Ant-Mans’ in a row,” Bock said. “And ‘Ant-Man’ isn’t a bad series. It just doesn’t captivate worldwide audiences, but they still make $600 million worldwide. For any other studio that would be a massive hit.”

That’s why consumers shouldn’t expect Disney, which distributed the top three highest-grossing movies of 2018, to focus less on cinemas, even as it launches Disney+.

READ MORE: The legendary comics writer behind Marvel’s Punisher and Ms. Marvel fears for the ‘grim’ and ‘totally unsustainable’ state of the comics industry

“Disney has placed a lot of importance on and stressed the theatrical experience even while they’re working on their streaming platform,” Robbins said. “They’ll make them co-exist and save those popular characters for the big screen. You wouldn’t see a Wolverine movie or an X-Men and Avengers crossover go straight to streaming. That would be a theatrical event.”

Striking that balance could prove to be challenging, though. Marvel Studios has perfected its big-screen cinematic universe, but this is Disney’s first jump into the streaming game. It will be integrating Fox assets at the same time, something that Barclays noted as a potential challenge for Disney’s streaming aspirations in an October report.

“The company’s pivot [to streaming] will happen during what is likely to be a complex integration culturally between Fox and Disney,” Barclays analysts said.

But experts say the MCU will overcome potential hurdles, if it continues to play its cards right.

“If Kevin Feige and crew are still running things the way they have been, there’s every reason to expect it could continue on,” Robbins said. “It’s hard to stay on top forever, but there’s no reason to believe they can’t do it … But when you achieve this level of success, it takes a lot of care to keep it going.”

Have a tip about Marvel or Disney? Contact the author at tclark@businessinsider.com.

The post The Marvel Cinematic Universe will enter an uncertain era after ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ but experts see a path for it to dominate another decade of pop culture, Defence Online appeared first on Defence Online.

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[jenniferfaye34]

#Giveaway + Excerpt ~ Delicious Disasters by Isabella Louise Anderson... #books #RomanticComedy #ContemporaryRomance #readers

This is my stop during the blog tour for Delicious Disasters by Isabella Louise Anderson. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 7 till 20 October. See the tour schedule here: http://www.lolasblogtours.net/blog-tour-delicious-disasters-by-isabella-louise-anderson

Delicious Disasters

By Isabella Louise Anderson

Genre: Contemporary Romance/ Romantic Comedy

Age category: Adult

Release Date: 7 August, 2019

 Blurb:

When Tessa Markham’s bookstore gets bought out, she is forced to face an uncertain future. After her best friend challenges her to start baking, she accepts—even if the last time she baked wasn’t what she would call a delicious success.

 After a small kitchen fire, Tessa’s life begins to change. She finds encouragement from a sexy fireman, agrees to a questionable ruse to help another business owner with a complicated situation, and needs to be there for her best friend now more than ever.

 Can a delicious disaster lead to a new future and a successful baking career?

 You can buy Delicious Disasters here:

Kindle | Books2Read

EXCERPT: “I cannot believe I picked chocolate mix,” said C.C., sounding astonished as they entered Tessa’s home, each of them carrying a handful of grocery bags. Tessa laughed, setting the bags on her kitchen counter. “Believe me, you’ll be surprised at all the changes your taste buds will have when you start baking.” “Really?” C.C. scoffed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “Trust me—even wine tastes better,” Tessa replied, chuckling. She turned away from C.C., adding, “Maybe it’ll calm down your need for some action,” and very slowly, Tessa caught C.C. try to hide a smile. “Maybe it will,” C.C. admitted as boisterous laughter echoed from each of them. Shaking her head, C.C. looked at Tessa. “What have I created? I mean, I never really thought you’d go through with it when I suggested that you start baking, but now, it’s like you’ve made something of yourself, and I’m extremely proud of you.” “Thanks, Chelly! I’ve learned a lot, mainly about myself in the meantime, but it’s been quite a journey,” Tessa replied as she reached for the oven knob to preheat the oven. “Now, it’s time to get to work, and as always, let’s try not to set off the fire alarm.” This caused them to burst with more laughter before they each downed a bottle of water, then they dove into baking mode, with C.C. following Tessa’s instructions. After having each made a cake, which were in the oven, Tessa and C.C. sat down outside on Tessa’s backyard patio swing. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what really is your relationship with Javier?” Tessa asked, diving right into it. “Because from the way you talked about him, it seemed like much more than a political candidate.” From out of the corner of her eye, she saw C.C. grin. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry—I’ve watched Scandal, so I don’t want to create drama if there isn’t any . . . but—” “We’re in love, Tessa,” C.C. whispered as she let out a breath like she’d been holding in a deep dark secret. They’re in love? Very slowly, like trying to coax a kitten, she stayed quiet, not wanting C.C. to hold anything back. As Tessa looked at C.C., she stared ahead of her. “It all started when he came into the salon, security was with him, of course. Well, come to find out, his regular hairdresser was on maternity leave, and he had an event that night. Just my luck, I was the only one between clients, so within minutes, I had a smock around him and was sprucing him up—not that he needed it by any means.” C.C. ran her hands through her hair, bashfully adding, “After I spun him around and took off his smock, he asked me to be his date and accompany him to an event that evening. Now, at first, I thought he was joking, but it wasn’t until one of his security guards handed me a phone number and instructed me to call it at seven o’clock that night with my address that I realized he was serious.” C.C. let out a small chuckle before she added, “I know, very American President, right?” Her comment about the mid-90s movie made Tessa let out a small giggle. “Anyway, since that night, he’s been sweeping me off my feet.” C.C. looked down at her unmanicured nails and began to pick at a cuticle. “There’s only one, I mean, two bad things about this whole thing.” “What are they?” Tessa asked after C.C.’s long pause. “Well, from that first night we caused quite a stir in the political world. I don’t think Javier thought about the repercussions, that having me as his date would cause such trouble for his campaign. This means that we can’t be seen together—not yet anyway. You see, he’s going through a high-profile divorce, and with the campaign, his closest adviser thinks it would do more harm than good and that being seen with a younger woman would look bad. Apparently, unless we’re engaged, it could cause a scandal or something.” She wiped the corner of her eyes and looked at Tessa. “Right now, the situation sucks, but when that day comes and we can finally be together—probably after the campaign—I’ll be shouting from the rooftops how much I love him.” A long moment passed, then Tessa quietly asked, “What’s the other thing?” “I’ve not been able to share any of this with my best friend,” C.C. replied as tears began falling from her eyes, and Tessa pulled her in for a tight hug.

About the Author:

Isabella Louise Anderson grew up with a book in her hand, and to this day, nothing has changed. Aside from writing, she focuses her time on featuring other authors and their books on her blog, Chick Lit Goddess, along with sharing book reviews. Isabella Louise is also a member of the Romance Writers of America.

 She lives in Dallas with her husband and their two cats, enjoys spicy Indian and Mexican food, margaritas, and red, white, and rosé wines. She loves spending time with family and friends and cheering on the Texas Rangers. 

Isabella Louise Anderson is currently working on her next release. 

You can find and contact Isabella Louise Anderson here:

- Website: http://www.isabellalouiseanderson.com/

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaLouiseAnderson/

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ILA121209

- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7382151.Isabella_Louise_Anderson

- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Isabella-Louise-Anderson/e/B00IWCNQFO/

- Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/isabella-louise-anderson

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ila121209/

- Newsletter: https://us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=688c3155e99d5480da090ae99&id=5c1031415c

 Social Media links Chick Lit Goddess:

- Website: https://chicklitgoddess.com/

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chicklitgoddess/

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChickLitGoddess

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chick_lit_goddess/

  Giveaway

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Delicious Disasters. One winner will win a $50 Amazon Gift Card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[thisdaynews]

Republican challengers rushing to unseat Ocasio-Cortez

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/republican-challengers-rushing-to-unseat-ocasio-cortez/

Republican challengers rushing to unseat Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has become as much a a target of conservative media as she has a symbol of the newly energized left. | AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

There aren’t a whole lot of Republicans in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Queens and Bronx district, but the few there are all seem to want to run against the firebrand progressive congresswoman.

Seven Republicans have alreadyfiledwith the Federal Election Commission to run for the seat next year, and at least one more is publicly considering a run.

Story Continued Below

Any Republican nominee will face distinctly long odds to unseat one of the highest profile members of Congress in an overwhelmingly Democratic district, but that has not stopped would-be challengers from lining up for the chance to take her on. And whoever ends up running in November is likely to get plenty of air time. Ocasio-Cortez has become as much a a target of conservative media as she has a symbol of the newly energized left.

“She’s fired everyone up,” said Rey Solano, one of the slew of conservative challengers in the14th Congressional district. “She’s really annoyed a lot of people.”

Most of the Republicans are running for office for the first time, and they’re honing similar attacks on Ocasio-Cortez: She’s a socialist; she opposed the since-scuttled plans to build an Amazon headquarters in Queens; she supports the Green New Deal that Republicans warn will bankrupt the Treasury.

“The standard-bearer of socialism in America is in CD 14,” said Ruth Papazian, a medical writer from the Bronx who is looking for the Republican nod. “If you’re going to stop the spread of socialism, and especially the encroachment of socialism throughout the outer boroughs, you have to stop [Ocasio-Cortez].”

Papazian is the only Republican to have reported contributions from donors to the FEC through the end of June, with about $10,600 raised. Ocasio-Cortez, by contrast, has raised more than $1.9 million in the first half of the year.

While acknowledging the uphill battle, a number of the challengers are banking on the eventual Republican nominee getting an infusion of help from national Republicans looking to give the polarizing politician a run for her money. The sheer spectacle of the race is likely to draw no shortage of free media as well.

“By simply running against her, whether or not you have a real shot, it’s going to get you attention,” said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College. “All these people see it as a way to make a name for themselves on the Republican side.”

Papazian expects the Republican party to devote significant resources to the race, despite it being seemingly unwinnable.

“I doubt the state and national GOP is going to sit idly by and allow AOC to be re-elected. I think this is going to be a marquee race,” he said.

Scherie Murray, a Jamaican immigrant and mother of three, jumped into the Republican primary last month. Her campaign commissioned a poll that found 62 percent of voters would support a generic Democrat and 28 percent would back a Republican.

But when asked if they would vote to re-elect Ocasio-Cortez or vote for someone else, 37 percent picked the incumbent and 48 percent favored someone else. Without any candidates named, respondents also said they would prefer a candidate who backed the Amazon deal.

“Twenty-five thousand jobs were ousted,” Murray said. “We should be encouraging businesses to come into the state, versus pushing them out.”

Republican hopefuls are also painting the congresswoman as more interested in her growing national fame than her district’s block-by-block needs.

“She’s done a great job making a national profile for herself,” said John Cummings, a high school government teacher from the Bronx. “But we haven’t seen a lot of her around the district.”

Still, Cummings, a former NYPD officer, says Ocasio-Cortez’s upset win last year against longtime congressman and Queens Democratic boss Joe Crowley was one of his inspirations to run.

His students always asked him about running for office, he said.

“My answer was always, ‘I think it’s impossible to come from basically nowhere and take on someone like Joe Crowley,’” Cummings said. “It was softly pointed out to me my excuse was now, quote unquote, a lame one.”

A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to requests for comment.

Registered Democrats in the district, which covers parts of western Queens and the eastern Bronx, outnumber Republicans by a margin of more than six to one.

“It would be a very uphill battle for somebody to make headway there in that district — very, very tough,” Iona’s Zaino said.

Ocasio-Cortez, who does not currently have a Democratic primary challenger, has proved such an attractive target that some Republicans who don’t live in the district have gotten into the race. The law requires members of Congress to live in the state they represent, but not necessarily the same district.

Murray lives outside the district in Laurelton, Queens. Solano, who owns a medical supply company and formerly ran a Bronx Republican club, is further afield in Somers in Westchester County. “We already started looking at houses in Queens and the Bronx,” he said.

Rich Valdes, a conservative talk radio producer, says he’s considering getting into the race despite currently living in Bergen County, New Jersey.

He formed an exploratory committee months ago when there as “an absence of Republican candidates” in the race and, now that the field is full, may consider backing one of the other contenders.

“I have no interest in running against anybody but her,” he said of Ocasio-Cortez. “It’s been one disaster after another.”

The would-be Republican candidates run the gamut from self-described centrists to devoted Donald Trump supporters.

Miguel Hernandez, a building superintendent with his own construction company on the side, says he was a Democrat until a few years ago when he switched parties over his opposition to abortion later in pregnancy.

He has chipped in more than $5,500 for his own fledgling campaign, and says his experience dealing with broken boilers and leaky pipes has prepared him well for politics.

“I’m very in-demand. I’m always out there at 1 o’clock in the morning, 2 o’clock in the morning fixing their problems, and I’m always the go-to guy,” Hernandez said.

Antoine Tucker, a Bronx entrepreneur, embraces far-right theories like the existence of a “deep state.” He speaks openly about the years he spent in prison for selling drugs, pushing a plan to wipe non-violent ex-offenders’ records clean if they stay out of trouble.

“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a puppet,” he said. “I am the only person that can beat her. You’ll see, because I’m going to beat her.”

Read More

[kivircikedebiyatii]

10 Unbelievable Facts About SEO 2019

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It is constantly preferable to ask questions upon their SEO procedures and find out whether they have knowledge associated with keyword density or if they will have information about the most recent keyword research strategies and equipment. This combined expertise makes all of us uniquely qualified to present a good ethics-based, search engine-friendly SEO guide to teach you guidelines that will reflect the latest developments looking. They include important subjects like search motor success factors and how SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION relates to social media marketing and advertising. In order in order to make web pages appear in high positions in the search outcomes, SEO tries to shape the website according to Google's formula. The major problem of SEO is the reality that there are billions associated with pages in the internet lookup engine indexes and your placement in the SERPS is reliant on a constantly changing protocol which is not published. A reputable SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION company carries on along with your Company Profile and then do all those profile building and then Nearby Business Listing Optimization. Our first five steps had been dedicated to on-page SEO strategies Link-building is the primary goal of off-page SEO, and is definitely also an enormous factor within how search engines rank your own web pages. So far since I know, this only functions for HTML or CSS webpages - I don't go significantly for Flash websites, and We am unsure how that cookware out regarding search engines plus SEO. In fact, a large part of SEO in 2018 is writing for humans PLUS search engines (also known because: SEO copywriting”). SEO is the significant part of any web marketing strategy. 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SEO service suppliers are specialized in increasing the particular traffic to your site simply by increasing your position in the particular search engine ranking positions. Bring in international people to your internet sites with these SEO tips. The top challenges within organic SEO are link creating (easy-to-get links no more possess much value) and keyword analysis (the low-hanging fruit is lengthy gone). For illustration, the word ‘SEO tips' is furthermore included inside the less aggressive phrase ‘SEO tips 2019', which usually is searched for too. You will become introduced to the foundational components of how search engines such as google work, how the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION landscape is promoting and exactly what you can expect in the particular future. The SISTRIX Toolbox consists associated with six modules 1) SEO, 2) Universal, 3) Links, 4) Advertisements, 5) Social and 6) Optimizer. Low-quality content can severely impact the achievements of SEO, within 2018. 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If you have spent time online recently, you have probably look at the term "SEO, inches or "Search Engine Optimization.

[jokerxtreme36]

Kamen Rider Amazons S2 3-6 thoughts (Spoilers)

Well after a long delay of these, it’s time I get back to writing my thoughts on the many Toku shows I missed, starting with the one that I’m behind on the most. Last Time: We get some dark backstory on Iyu, in how she became a Sigma type Amazon, as well as getting the return of an old pal. With that said, what are they gonna do next (considering that I’m 7-8 weeks behind), let’s find out.

Kamen Rider Amazons S2 episode 3:

Haruka goes to attack Iyu and Chihiro goes to stop him. Takeshi explains that he saw Haruka during the events of Iyu’s death, killing her Amazon father, he orders Fuduka to fire, but he’s cautious at first.

Suddenly, Mizuki appears and takes their weapon, aiming at Haruka who explains that like him, she chose the path to fight. Iyu appears, remembering that Haruka and her father have met before.

Haruka thanks Mizuki before leaving. Elsewhere, Hiroki asks Shido why did Takkun become an Amazon, looking at the mess in dread. 4C look up Mizuki’s profile and how her mother created Haruka.

They allow her to join since her team was mostly wiped out. Chihiro wonders if Iyu can feel again, with Yugo saying that it’s nonsense. Shido asks Hiroki if Takumi was acting strange and brings up the water server.

Chihiro meets team Kurosaki since he was told to join them. At a clinic, Miki is called to an operating room. Chihiro tries to talk with Iyu, but is ignored. So the Team heads out to the Clinic.

Hiroki tells Shido that Kenta died from blood loss and questions him on what he knows, the others arrive and explains that they hunted Amazons years ago and are about to again.

At the clinic, they infiltrate and Chihiro sees the Amazons draining Miki, so he attacks them and Iyu joins the brawl.  One escapes and Iyu chases her along with the others, finishing her off.

Neo sees Miki trying to move, with blood dripping on him, The Elephant Amazon leaves saying he can have her. He almost is about to devour her, until Iyu arrives seeing him as her next target.

She strikes him down, the others wonder what’s taking so long and hear Iyu singing while Chihiro is in pain. With the others wondering what had happened. To be continued......

Next Time: One night out.

Overall I enjoyed this episode, I did like how we got some backstory/explanation on what happened between the five year gap from the last season. I also liked how Neo still has his Amazon urges, which he tries to control, which does help him differ from the other Amazon Riders before him. It was also great seeing Mizuki again and see her reason actually have more to do compared to the previous season. I also liked seeing the return of the other NPS members from Season 1. I do feel bad for Hiroki, sadly losing the only friends he's got in his life, sad we didn’t get to know them much, since most of their backstory was exposition. Can’t wait for the next episode, where Iyu and Chihiro went out, with him trying to show her some fun, The NPS battle some Amazons, bumping into an old friend and Chihiro tries to believe that he and Iyu are definitely human.

Kamen Rider Amazons S2 episode 4:

At 4C, Chihiro gets stitched since most of his wounds healed quickly. Takeshi explains why Iyu attacked Chihiro and that they have no choice but to work with a dangerous Amazon. 

Kazyua explains to Hiroki about the new Amazon cells and their history together, he asks if he could join them and Shido allows it. Chihiro wakes up from a nightmare and is given an armlet for his impulse.

Yugo explains he’s separating Iyu from him so that incident won’t happen, but it angers him and he escapes to find Iyu and get her out of there, unaware that they can track them.

They arrive at a festival for Iyu to be a normal girl, getting her some new clothes, going on rides and having snacks, but a memory gets him sick. He apologizes and Iyu begins remembering her father.

She holds Chihiro’s hand and he asks her if she thought it was fun, but sees she’s low on protein, he begins to feel hungry and is reminded of the incident at the clinic, which alerts Iyu, but Takeshi stops her in time.

He gives her her injection and tells Iyu that she can’t kill Chihiro for now, they get an alert on the Elephant Amazons whereabouts and go to find him. He strikes another victim, but the 4C arrive to stop him.

The two transform to fight the Amazon, but neo gets knocked off a ledge, but saves himself with his hook claw and uses it to grab the Amazon, allowing them the chance to kill it.

Chihiro sees the victim is hurt and gets an urge, then Iyu appears, saying she won’t exterminate him, which surprises him. Kanou reveals info on Iyu’s father, that Jin was his pupil

Elsewhere, the former NPS investigate a field, where their ambushed by regular Amazons, then Fukuda arrives to help them out, finding the water source and Mamoru, who asks them to leave. To be continued....

Next Time: the new Mole Amazon?

Overall I enjoyed this episode, I did like how Chihiro tried to show Iyu a fun time, despite being brought back as a weapon, he still sees her as no different from anyone else, it almost reminds me or Raiga and Mayuri’s relationship in Makai no Hana, though unlike that series, I’m not expecting them to get a happy ending (though I’d be glad to be wrong in that extant). I also liked seeing the old NPS crew return to action and seeing them reunite was just awesome. Other than that, not much else to say. Can’t wait for the next episode, where Mamoru has turned heel? Mizuki’s team finds another Amazon. Neo and Crow battle the new Mole Amazon while Haruka confronts Mizuki.

Kamen Rider Amazons S2 episode 5:

Mamoru explains to his former friends that he’s the one responsible for the new Amazons so they can fight against humans for hunting them down. Hiroki tries to attack Mamoru, but he holds him down.

He asks them to leave, but Fukuda fires at him, Shido is disappointed in Mamoru’s decision and he shows his new form and the Amazons surround them. Elsewhere, Mizuki finds one of the water sources.

She confronts Haruka, who shows her that an Amazon arm was burred here, spreading the cells to the underground water, revealing it was Mamoru and the other’s doing because of the many they’ve lost.

The NPS do what they can to survive the raid, but one of them refuses to kill, Mamoru explains how they want to eat, but can’t. He brings up how humans only fear them and how many of them are dead.

They leave. Hiroki telling them to fire, but they don’t. Haruka tells Mizuki that he’ll help her but also to be careful with Chihiro since he may have the cells in him and that he wants Iyu to rest.

Chihiro goes to visit Iyu, since he wants to make her smile. At a salon, a woman gets guillotined and her head washed off. The NPS are conflicted on what they’ve seen.

 At 4C, they’re informed on the situations and are disappointed in them not killing the Amazons, they analyze the origin of the cells and believe it could be Jin, though his whereabouts are unknown.

They follow Emily, she heads home and opens her bag, which has a head. They shoot her, but realize that she’s human, Shuya becomes an Amazon after seeing what they did.

The team get slaughtered easily. then Chihiro and Iyu battle it. Mole arrives to help the Rose Amazon escape, then Haruka arrive to join Mamoru’s side of the fight. To be continued....

Next Time: The secret life of Iyu

Overall I liked, this episode and oh wow, I did not expect them to pull something like this with Mamoru of all people, when I first heard about this, I was shocked that they did this to the good boy, but with more context, I actually feel bad for him, especially in how they want to eat to survive but can’t as well as seeing their allies get killed, even ones that haven’t gone wild, so they spreaded the cells in the water to create new Amazons to help protect them. Speaking of Mamoru, I really like the modified suit design, with the shoulder armor as well as the new red and green details compared to the blue and gold (though with the filter in the last season, made it hard to notice it). I also liked how Haruka revealed that they buried an Amazon’s arm (since it was all that was left) near a water source,  which is how it’s cells got into the underground waters. Now we have a mystery of what Amazon was it that had these cells. We’ll just have to wait and see. Can’t wait for the next episode, where Chihiro asks Hiroki what was Iyu like before she died,  Neo battle Mole, Hiroki wants to stop Mamoru, Omega battles the Rose Amazon and Neo gets beaten so Omega can finish off Iyu.

Kamen Rider Amazons S2 episode 6:

The four Amazons duke it out, Omega seeing Crow’s condition and goes to finish her, but Neo stops him. Mole feels ill and they decide to leave for now. Haruka wants to help Mamoru, but he refuses it.

He asks Haruka what if humans all became Amazons. realizing he has more sample of that Amazon. Emily is hospitalized, but Takeshi knows she’s no better than the Amazons for what she did.

Yugo asks Iyu if she knew Haruka and she reveals that he did research with her father a few times. Chihiro wonders if there’s anything human left in Iyu, he then wonders what was she like before.

Hiroki is confused in what the NPS want, so he leaves, only for Haruka to arrive, rejoining them to stop Mamoru. Chihiro finds Hiroki, who explains what happened to their friends and brings up Iyu, which shocks him.

Chihiro asks what Iyu was like when she was alive. The 4C are on the lookout for the Amazon, but Fujo gets decapitated. Hiroki becomes conflicted in what he wants to do after what he’s been through.

Chihiro remembers that Hiroki said that Iyu use to bake, which always made her smile, so he gets her a cake. Shuya meets Emily at the hospital, she still loves him and allows him to devour her, 

Chihiro and the others follow him, they transform to fight him, then the NPS arrive to fight, with Omega arriving to assist in defeating the Rose Amazon, he goes to finish off the weakened Crow, 

Neo tries to stop him, but gets struck down. Takeshi order Iyu to fight, but she’s too damaged, Omega begins to hesitate in finishing her off. Fukuda and Mizuki intervene, deciding to work with 4C.

So the NPS leave, Chihiro gives Iyu the cake, which hits her face, reminding her of the fun times. Kanou reveals the Origin cells matches Chihiro’s. Elsewhere, a mysterious man appears. To be continued.....

Next Time: A sight to behold.

Overall I enjoyed this episode, I did like that we got some backstory for Iyu, though it makes sense that Hiroki only knew a few things about her since they went to the same class, I have a feeling they’re gonna save the bigger details for later. The subplot with Shuya/Rose Amazon was pretty crazy, with how despite being a monster, she still loved him and was willing to give him sacrifices for him, including herself, still a better love story than (insert whatever you can think of here). It was also interesting that they revealed that the Amazon specimen they got matches Chihiro’s dna, what could this possibly mean? was that Amazon his mother? We’ll just have to wait and see. Can’t wait for the next episode, where they might have a clue on who Chihiro is, hsi body begins to react, Iyu begins to remember the places she had fun on, Neo battles more Amazons and we get the return of Amazon Alpha, who recognizes Chihiro.

[2017mdia4120-blog]

4/3 Assignment

Farhad’s and Mike’s Week in Tech: When Twitter Confuses and Facebook Copies 

Emily Delaney 

Every week, technology reporters at The New York Times review the week’s technology news. This article highlights their discussion on Twitter and Facebook updates.

They discuss a Twitter update that came out and seriously confused some people by not counting usernames towards the 140-character limit. It made timelines confusing to read.

Second, they talked about the Facebook update that now allows users to create “video diaries” of their days. This update comes after Facebook’s social apps - Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger - already adopted the function. The reporters see it as a ripoff of Snapchat.  

Lastly, they discuss the lawsuit surrounding Uber. Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, sued uber for “theft of technology.” An Uber engineer refused to turn over documents regarding the case despite his lawyers recommending that he do so. His decision to withhold evidence could ultimately do more harm for Uber than good.

Haley Dake

“How to Log Off of Facebook Forever, With all Its Perks and Pitfalls” (article #2)

I know many people who claim to be against heavy use of social media or talk about deleting profiles or even going off the social media grid, but it’s not nearly as easy as you think it is, and it also lacks any key benefits. This article from the NYT highlights and explains why leaving the internet isn’t so easy, and why you should reconsidered wiping everything away.

        If you are looking to eliminate your internet presence for personal or professional reasons it’s best to deactivate and eliminate unnecessary or “dormant” accounts. Things like MySpace, blogs, Flickr, or dating sites aren’t internet necessities. If you’re looking to wash away your online presence, don’t forget accounts like eBay, PayPal, Craigslist, and Amazon that all contain and collect personal information online. There are sites like accountkiller.com and justdelete.me that can help you really delete profiles instead of just deactivating it like Facebook and Twitter do for you. Though you can take all of these steps, nothing is ever permanently erased, and it might not be all that beneficial to disappear from social media.

        Though you can erase your pages, profiles, and accounts, you can’t keep other from posting or sharing about you. When you completely unplug you lose all connections with family and friends along with valuable marketing and networking tools. There are fewer and fewer professions out there that don’t require you to work online and create some sort of profile or account for communication and sharing purposes.

The truth is that online communication powers both our personal and professional lives and we live in a society that will make “going off the grid,” a phrase my children won’t ever hear.

        3) What the Repeal of Online Privacy Protections Means for You

Rachel Sider

Last week, congress moved to overturn Obama-Era privacy rules. The rules they dismantled required broadband providers to get users permission before collecting private data. This data included online activities and offering it for sale to advertisers.

        The truth is we never had much online privacy to begin with, as the article states. These new rules had not taken effect yet. Although we may not notice it right away, this is a big deal. The Obama-Era F.C.C rules would have given consumers stronger privacy protections. Without such restrictions, internet providers may decide to become more aggressive when it comes to collecting our data.

        What we can expect is more targeted advertising, even more than we see now while scrolling through Facebook or sending an email to our friends. This article explains how broadband providers collect data on us. These companies provide our personal connection to the internet. This includes our IP address. While browsing the web, internet providers can see which devices we use and which website we visit. This gives them the choice to retain that data. To safeguard your online data, it is a good time to invest in a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN is a tunnel that shields all of our personal browsing information from our internet service providers. Essentially, it allows us to “appear” in a different online location. Another thing we can do is use a internet software called “Tor”. Tor also helps internet users mask their online identity.

Article 4  (Morgan Malcolm)   This article is a interview with Dr. Paul Mihailidas; the Director of Civic Media: Art and Practice at Emerson College. Dr. Mihailidis studies the intersection of civic engagement and media literacy, the ability to evaluate, analyze and create media. The interview asked questions about the creation/spreading of fake news and media literacy. Dr. Mihailidis argues that the cause of proliferation of fake news in the recent presidential campaign was due to citizens mostly engaging only with like minded posts. He believes that students are monitoring a lot of content at once and not taking the time to actually read the story that is resulting in sharing fake or inaccurate news. Dr. Mihailidis plan to combat this problem is teaching students to do monitoring investigation of stories, doing investigations on the people posting the story. Students/young people in general trust their peer communities more than blind sources from “the media” and this is a reason why they share inaccurate news, because more than likely their peer communities are supporting their own opinions and beliefs. Dr. Mihailidis believes that we in the social media community should help people think about their voice instead of critiquing the voice and encourage participation in multiple communities.

5) Youtube Advertiser Exodus Highlights Perils of Online Ads

Jessica Lucas

Advertisers use YouTube to their benefit in search of a younger audience. It’s a growing trend to watch vloggers, beauty gurus, video game experts and more on a daily basis – rather than traditional broadcast television.

This can cause some difficulties when advertisements appear next to offense or immoral content, which the agencies have no control over – unlike traditional television where advertising agencies choose where they place their ad in commercial breaks. They use big data from Facebook and Google to reach certain types of viewers – hoping that the viewer will stumble upon their specific ad when browsing the internet. Since they cannot control where the ads are placed, they sometimes appear near distasteful content. Since such a vast amount of content is uploaded to YouTube daily – they have a hard time policing it to keep the offensive material off.