#also subtle lams

[afraidparade]

YOU! THE GHOST LORE MAKER!

I am coming so close to making a theory video on your characters, specifically Theo, Gabe, Lam(ashtu) and I guess Pazu (If anything he’s the Co-Star from what I plan).

Why? Why go through all the effort of making a theory video about these characters? It’s a fair question that you might be asking, Uncle Cas. BECAUSE THEY WON’T LEAVE MY BRAIN. Infective Parasitics, I need an exorcism on my brain.

But as for the other reason, it’s cause I don’t think I’ve been THIS invested in lore for a decent year or two! I need to let my theories out, Uncle Cas. The day of reckoning for either me or you is approaching, and that terrifies me more than it will for you.

But anywho! I hope you keep creating cool stuff and expanding these world of yours, and even if my theories fall flat, which odds are that they most definitely will.. then so be it, I’ll just try again, again and again till I strike Gold and Diamond …or die from black lung.- Let’s just see what’ll happen.

So ciao, Uncle Cas, and sorry for the long ask, I am just vibrating at lethal speeds with all sorts of theories. (Free tidbit of lore Mayhaps? :3/j)

WAH- this is so cool and flattering?? i knew a few of you paid attention to the lore but i wouldn’t have guessed anybody followed it to this extent 🥹🥹 this is a good motivator for me to actually put out more lore, sometimes i get too in my own head and think like “nobody actually reads this stuff, why are ya putting so much effort into it”

but i’m very honored and grateful! i do try to drop lots of subtle hints about the characters for inquisitive people to pick up and piece together, and it’s SO HARD to not blab spoilers all the time but it’s very worth it. i honestly can’t tell if you were joking or not about making a theory video but i am always delighted to read peoples’ theories (it’s extra fun when they’re right and i can’t say anything 🤭)

i will reward you for your efforts with an excerpt from the exorcist-focused lore update that WOULD HAVE BEEN FINISHED AGES AGO IF ONLY I WERE NOT ALLERGIC TO WRITING :,) here is a breakdown of the exorcist magic system:

There are three main school of exorcist magic: ritual, runes, and sealing. The three are often used in tandem with each other in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Each of the three major clans specializes in one school; Oath in ritual, Pact in rune, Vow (while active) in sealing.

Ritual Magic:

Powerful techniques that can only be activated under a very specific set of circumstances, hence the rituals. Ritual magic is among the most difficult exorcism techniques to master due to its precise and intricate nature. There are a wide variety of uses for ritual magic, some of which are so miraculous that they are speculated to be mere legend; soul memory retrieval, astral projection, and fate foresight are among the confirmed uses of the technique. The moon and its phases are a key factor for many exorcist rituals, some requiring a specific phase in the lunar cycle in order to take effect. Due to this extreme limitation, ritual magic’s drawback is that it is the least efficient technique among exorcists.

Rune Magic:

While being tethered to the physical plane may appear to be a disadvantage when fighting spectral opponents, exorcists have found a way to use it in their favor. Runes are a complex written language imbued with a magic that is purely physical. It is incompatible with the metaphysical, making it very effective against beings composed entirely of soul energy. Runes are often used to bolster an exorcist’s physical attributes, such as enhancing their senses, strength, or natural ability to heal. They are also useful in both offense and defense against ghosts, as prolonged exposure to rune magic can cause a spirit’s spectral makeup to disperse completely — also known as a complete exorcism. Defense runes tend to be installed in places of safety that are intended to be entirely ghost-free, while offense runes will be etched into weapons or other battle accessories.

Sealing Magic:

A somewhat controversial technique, due to its disregard of cosmic balance by prolonging the presence of excess soul energy trapped in the physical plane. Sealing magic involves binding a disembodied spirit to a physical object, which is effective in both enhancing the spectral properties of an otherwise average object and in detaining dangerous ghosts that are resistant to other exorcism techniques. The most common application of this technique is with weapons; since ghosts appear to suffer the most damage when the attack is inflicted by a fellow ghost, imbuing a weapon with this power is an innovative way to emulate spectral combat. Although it is a significantly slower process, sealing magic is still technically a viable exorcism technique; if a soul is forced to expend its energy either against its will or in efforts to escape confinement, and cannot replenish this energy by feeding, it will eventually die out and extinguish completely — also known as a complete exorcism. However, this process can take years, decades, or even centuries. In addition to the controversies regarding imbalance, sealing magic can also be quite dangerous, furthering its unfavorable reputation. If done incorrectly, a weak seal could create what is essentially a spectral time-bomb, resulting in a volatile ghost erupting from imprisonment and catching anyone in the immediate area by deadly surprise. Additionally, weak seals risk converting entrapment into possession, allowing a ghost to take control of the object it is bound to and corrupt any human that wields it. In an effort to avoid either catastrophe, sealed ghosts that are deemed too powerful are not to be utilized in any way, and are instead left to deteriorate in isolation.

[sanctaignorantia]

A few things I've been thinking about and find subtle links to Death Stranding

Chakras and Death Stranding

This text has content that I took from a book of Reiki handouts that my mother has, so the view of Chakras here is from the viewpoint of Reiki practice.

Chakras are round energy centers and in the East they are seen as whirlpools of energy, little cones (funnels) of spinning energy. They are large, shiny and translucent and, in normal human beings, have a diameter of five to ten centimeters, reaching 20 centimeters in diameter in spiritually developed people.

The size of the Chakras varies according to our energy and spiritual development and can vary according to the individual's energy (positive or negative energy). And each Chakra resonates with a color that derives from its vibration frequency. Each one vibrates with a sound or mantra that corresponds to a musical note and also relates to a natural element: earth, water, fire, air and ether.

In the Oriental view, each Chakra is represented by petals like flowers, depending on the complexity of each one. Ancient writings mention that we have up to 88,000 Chakras throughout our bodies, in other words, we have countless energetically sensitive points, but most of them play a secondary role.

But let's just talk about the 7 main Chakras through which the human aura is connected.

source

The Chakras are responsible for the energy flow in the human body and their main function is to absorb prana, which is the energy coming from the Sun, metabolize it, feed our aura and, finally, emit energy to the outside.

Knowing this, let's talk about Death Stranding, we know that Sam, when he dies in his baby phase, is repatriated by Amelie in his Beach. Amélie "seals" Sam's body with a mark and brings him back to life, causing Sam to gain a peculiar scar and live around without a navel. We're talking about the Umbilical/Sacral Chakra here, and according to the Reiki view this is the second Chakra.

We're going to talk about the other two Chakras that, for me, were also "affected" by the repatriate/shot mark, but let's start with the Umbilical Chakra first.

Name: Svadhishthana Location: Navel area Color: Orange Auric body: Emotional Element: Water Music note: D Mantra: Vam Number of petals: 6

This chakra is for the propagation of the species, in other words, reproduction. Its correct activity makes us love life. It is the Chakra that concentrates the qualities that have to do with sexuality, curiosity, the creative search for material pleasure, a taste for beautiful things, art, emotions and relationships with other people. This chakra is the seat of fears, ghosts and negative fantasies linked to sexuality and behavior towards another sex. If it malfunctions, it can turn life into a small personal "hell" which ends up being reflected in the people we live with and relate to.

Blockages in this Chakra usually result in physical symptoms such as illnesses related to body fluids (larynx, lymph, saliva, bile). Blockages in the sexual center often result in mental symptoms such as fear of physical proximity and disgust for the body, a mania for cleanliness, incomprehension, a mind that is too focused on reason, an excessive emphasis on impulsive feelings, rhythmic disorders, isolation, frigidity, impotence, lack of sexual appetite, fear of falling.

This Chakra together with the first are important and if they function incorrectly the other Chakras won't be able to function properly either.

I could say that due to the size of the damage caused by the shot, not only the Umbilical/Sacral Chakra was affected, but also the Base Chakra(#1) and the Solar Plexus(#2), because all three are located exactly in the center of our body's balance.

So let's look at a basic summary of the other two Chakras (first and third) to complete the analysis.

-> Basic Chakra (first)

Name: Muladhara Location: Base of the spine Colors: Red and black Auric body: Etheric and physical Element: Earth Musical note: C Mantra: Lam Number of petals: 4

It lies between the anus and the sexual organs, on the line of the pelvic girdle. This chakra is open downwards and represents the human being's connection with planet Earth, with the material and physical world. It is linked to our earthly existence, our survival. The more open and elevated this Chakra is, the higher our physical energy (disposition) will be.

-> Solar Plexus Chakra (third)

Name: Manipura Location: Mouth of stomach Color: Yellow Auric body: Mental Element: Fire Musical note: E Mantra: Ram Number of petals: 10

It represents the personality and concentrates the qualities of the rational and personal mind, vitality, the will to know and learn, the action of power, the desire to live, communicate and participate. It is the point of connection with other people. This Chakra is the one most closely related to our ego and therefore absorbs a lot of energy from the first two Chakras.

In summary, I find it interesting how I could find a little sense in the location of the Chakras in relation to Sam's injury, and in relation to what the mark of the repatriate represents for him. I don't know if Kojima did this consciously, but there is something that makes sense, for sure.

The center of the human body (CORE)

One of the funniest things for me was realizing that they chose Sam, a guy who doesn't have his "center" complete because of a brand. In other words, metaphorically speaking, Sam has no "balance" at all because his center has been "affected", and yet he is the Man Who Delivers, the guy who stacks things and needs to have good balance and core strength to do what he does.

How to "close the body" to negative energy

In my religion we say that if you want to go somewhere or meet someone and you want to protect yourself from any negative energy that the place or someone might inflict on you, you just have to wear an adhesive plaster on your navel, so this symbolic action will protect you from negative energies, because that's where we receive and donate energy, so it's an open field. There is the possibility of something or someone sucking this energy from us consciously or unconsciously, just as we can lose this energy unconsciously too.

This doesn't literally mean having a closed body, because the expression can mean another type of ritual that leads us to literally close the body, something much more complex than just "covering the navel", but technically it can be said that this is closing a door to things that can affect us.

[laurarolla]

So, regarding Gundam SEED Freedom, I can say that if you are obsessed with ideas like canon, hard science fiction, or thinking you deserve the girl of your dreams because you were taught that you were entitled to such your whole life, you probably won't like this movie. You'll also dislike it if you think eugenics is great, or if you can't handle the occasional animated booty jammed right in the middle of the screen. If you are looking for grounded, this isn't it. Incidentally, I happen to really like this movie.

It's cheesy, melodramatic, and not even remotely subtle. However, its lack of subtlety means that issues people so clearly missed in the original shows nearly 20 years ago are placed front and center, from Shinn being groomed into a weapon by Durandal, to Kira's obsessive need to take everything on himself just making things worse. It was nice to see Lacus (or Lacoos, as the new dub decided to pronounce it for some godforsaken reason) actually show more vulnerablilty. She often lacked opportunities to do that in Destiny especially, as well as the story overall.

Things I really didn't like at all were Lacus's pilot suit, the scene with Lacus and Orphee Lam Tao that reminded me of Cross Ange, and Agnes. Just... all of what Agnes brought to the table. They finally wrote a woman in SEED that I genuinely dislike even after really thinking about it. The extra problem there is that most of her issues were also reflected in Ingrid's subplot, and Ingrid's situation was more in line with the message the movie was focused on. In regards to the villains, they were the kind of jerks that were easy to hate in a fun way, if pretty flat in most cases. Orphee was basically incel space hitler, and Queen Aura is kinda just there as the driving influence. Her story pretty much happened off screen 20 years before the plot even started. The other Black Knights were qualified villains, exactly as evil as needed, but they were not ready to deal with either Shinn's trauma or Athrun's sex drive. I will not provide further details on that.

I suppose for a movie about the value and nature of love, it's not surprising just how dang horny this movie is. Like, I know SEED actually has a surprisingly horny feel to it already, what with the shower scenes, the multiple post sex bedroom moments, the strange music video sequence in the Special Edition of the original series that included scenes of Kira and Fllay having sex while the song Zips was playing... okay, so I guess the movie isn't really off brand at all when it comes to being horny.

Overall, the movie is pretty standard Gundam fare that eventually turns into really absurd spectacle in service to a genuinely wonderful message about the idea of love, individuality, and the freedom to make our own destiny. Is it a great finale to SEED specifically? In some ways, yes, but a central theme of SEED is about the idea of how we need to move away from vengence as our response to pain and instead embrace justice, particularly the restorative kind. That bit gets a little lost in the shuffle, but overall I'd say the movie does right by the characters we first met over 20 years ago.

[mistressmysticsworld]

The Scent of Green Papaya: Gender Roles in Old Vietnamese Society.

The Scent of Green Papaya (Vietnamese title: Mùi đu đủ xanh, French title: L’Odeur de la papaye verte), directed by Vietnamese-French director Trần Anh Hùng, was produced with funding from a French producer. The film portrays the lifestyle of Vietnamese people before and during the Vietnam War (around the 1940s-1970s) and reflects on gender roles in Vietnamese society at that time.

Mùi, an innocent girl from the countryside, has to leave her hometown to work as a servant in the home of a wealthy family whose financial status is deteriorating, located in Saigon, Vietnam. The household includes the father (the wealthy man), the mother (the lady of the house), the grandmother (the wealthy man’s mother), the eldest son Trung, the middle son Lam, and the youngest son Tin. The youngest daughter, Thọ, passed away a long time ago. The middle-aged housemaid is named Tí.

Every day, Mùi leads a simple life and learns from the nature around her with the pure and innocent perspective of a child. An old man named Thuận, who has secretly loved the grandmother since her youth, visits the house every day to gaze at the roof and reminisce about her, with Mùi offering him comfort and companionship.

Ten years later, when Mùi has grown into a twenty-year-old servant, the eldest son Trung decides to dismiss her and send her to work as a servant in the house of his friend, Khuyến. Mùi has secretly loved Khuyến since she was a little girl. Khuyến, also the son of a wealthy family, is a pianist engaged to a woman of his social class named Thu. Their relationship slowly changes as Mùi begins working as a housemaid in Khuyến’s home.

The story unfolds at a slow pace, with no complex plotlines. The film conveys its narrative through artistic elements, sound, and the actors’ subtle expressions, with more than 80% of the storytelling requiring interpretation of the carefully embedded symbols. This unique storytelling style is characteristic of Trần Anh Hùng’s work.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Vietnamese Way of Life — Influence of Chinese Culture in Vietnamese Society

This film reflects Vietnamese society before 1940, when the patriarchal system was still deeply entrenched, manifesting in the way life was organized within households. Since Vietnamese culture has been influenced by Chinese culture, the film subtly reflects the yin-yang energy as per Confucian philosophy.

In this context, balance between male and female energies is necessary to create a warm and harmonious household or society. In the film, the wealthy family’s home is depicted as lacking balance between male and female energies, resulting in a problematic household.

This imbalance is evident from the fact that the wealthy household consists of four males: the father (the wealthy man), the eldest son, the middle son, and the youngest son. The males in the house take no responsibility for anything inside or outside the home, spending most of their time playing music, seeking pleasure outside, and wasting their inherited wealth (the father and eldest son, Trung, often indulging in their desires without concern for the family’s financial status). Midway through the film, the wealthy father, who had behaved properly since the death of his daughter, steals the family’s savings to spend on women, eventually returning home ill and penniless, dying soon after.

Other behaviors also illustrate this imbalance, such as reading leisurely, killing or torturing animals to vent frustrations from a dysfunctional family (the middle son Lam, who is emotionally repressed, often uses anger to solve problems and isolates himself with books), or playing cruel tricks on female servants for amusement (the youngest son Tin, who often harasses the servant Mùi, like urinating in a vase she cleaned or hiding a lizard in it to startle her, causing the vase to break in hopes that Mùi would be punished. However, the lady of the house understands the situation and does not blame Mùi, knowing it was her son’s doing).

In contrast, the women in the household are responsible for domestic duties and earning money. These women include the grandmother, the mother (the lady of the house), and the elderly maid. The film shows that the female energy in the household is weaker than the male energy, with the women being middle-aged to elderly and having less power compared to the younger and middle-aged men who still hold much control.

Additionally, the film portrays the character Thuận, the old man who secretly loves the grandmother, as an outsider with no voice or status to influence or act as he wishes, in stark contrast to the four men in the wealthy family, who have the authority to do whatever they please. The women, meanwhile, lack the power to criticize or condemn any wrongdoing.

Interestingly, the women in the film end up blaming themselves when bad things happen within the family, reflecting the strong presence of patriarchy in both the wealthy family and Vietnamese society at the time.

Therefore, the lady of the house feels compelled to bring in a new servant, the young Mùi, to restore the household’s balance. For the lady, Mùi is more than just a servant; she becomes a replacement for the daughter she lost to illness many years ago. The lady even admits that having Mùi in the family has helped heal her emotionally from her previously unhappy life.

Additionally, the household comes to view Mùi as a “daughter” of the family in a way. The lady once believed that Lam (the middle son) might fall in love with Mùi and take her as his wife, but he does not, instead moving away to pursue a secluded life writing books, possibly signifying that he sees her as a sister. Another significant event is when Trung (the eldest son) dismisses Mùi and sends her to work as a servant in the home of his friend Khuyến, which parallels the tradition in Chinese or Vietnamese culture where a daughter marries into her husband’s household.

Thus, the roles of daughter, bride, and servant in this film are almost indistinguishable, as serving, pleasing, and supporting fathers, brothers, and husbands are still considered the duties of women in Asian culture.

Mui’s Social Status Progression through Film Symbols

At the age of 20, Mùi moves to work at Khuyen’s home, a pianist who lives alone, with occasional visits from his fiancée, Thu. Mùi’s daily routine consists of cooking, cleaning, checking the house, polishing shoes, and mending Khuyen’s clothes. Everything she does is filled with love and willingness, as if she were already his wife.

In contrast, Thu represents a modern woman who disdains traditional domestic roles. She enjoys nightlife and prefers dining out (even though Mùi prepares meals for them, Thu insists on Khuyen taking her out). She also openly invites Khuyen into his bedroom for sex, even when Khuyen appears reluctant, reflecting her modern, forward-thinking approach to relationships.

Thu brings a vase to Khuyen, which symbolizes her assertiveness in the relationship. This can be interpreted as Thu offering herself, her love, and her body too openly, which, from a male perspective, can make a man feel as though he has “lost his masculinity” or his natural role as the pursuer. Khuyen’s indifferent response to the vase, telling her, “It’s broken,” reflects his lack of care or interest in Thu’s affections or her body, which she persistently offers to him. Thu tries to dismiss this rejection by laughing, attempting to cover her disappointment.

Meanwhile, Mùi’s simple life in Khuyen’s home slowly nurtures his growing affection for her. Mùi begins to sense Khuyen’s feelings through his drawings on his music sheets. This shows that Mùi’s presence occupies his thoughts, even during his work. However, Mùi understands her status as a servant, knowing that her feelings for Khuyen, and his for her, are seemingly impossible.

Mùi’s struggle to suppress her feelings is symbolized in the scene where she extinguishes a burning mosquito coil to prevent the fire from spreading, representing her attempt to quell the emotions stirring within her.

The roles of being the “dominant one” and the “submassive one” become clearer in the scene where Mùi dresses beautifully in a red outfit. This shows that no matter how hard she tries to suppress her feelings, she is pleased to know that Khuyến has positive feelings toward her. Her happiness is reflected in her appearance, wearing makeup and lipstick, symbolizing her heightened sexual emotions. However, at the same time, she feels fear toward him, knowing she is merely a servant and a woman with no rights or ability to confront Khuyến.

This feeling is illustrated when Khuyến notices that she has applied lipstick. He behaves like a predator stalking its prey, slowly creeping up on her. When Mùi becomes aware of this, she quickly runs away to hide in fear and paranoia. Khuyến then searches for her around the house, but when they meet, Mùi exhibits submission out of fear and embarrassment. This causes Khuyến to stop pursuing her, as he does not want to frighten her.

The fast, pounding music expresses Khuyến’s anger when his fiancée touches his head playfully. It is well-known that in Southeast Asian cultures, especially among men, the head is considered sacred, and it is a tradition that women should not touch it without permission. If they do, it is seen as disrespectful and a sign of elevating themselves above the man.

Khuyến’s fiancée, however, is a high-society woman, representing a modern woman raised in Western culture. She is outspoken, direct, and bold in expressing her thoughts. Her clothing is also modern, made from expensive fabrics and designed stylishly.

In stark contrast, Mùi is mostly silent throughout the story, only speaking when ordered by her employer or when necessary to respond. She remains quiet, never questioning or resisting anything. She continues to dress in the traditional Vietnamese áo dài, with a clean, makeup-free face, and her long black hair neatly braided.

In contrast, when Mùi enters the room, Khuyến switches to playing soft, graceful music, revealing his hidden affection for her. His feelings for her are tender, both sexually and romantically. This is immediately recognized by Tu, who secretly watches from the window and realizes that Khuyến, her fiancé, has shifted his affections to another woman. Even though Khuyến tries to suppress his feelings, he ultimately decides to approach Mùi in her bedroom, where she does not resist but simply bows her head in acceptance of what is to come.

Thus, Mui represents a woman completely under a patriarchal system, without even realizing it. She is also a symbol of the idealized Asian woman — submissive, humble, gentle, and compliant, a homemaker who respects all men, regardless of age or whether they violate her. Mùi never demands any rights over her own body, as if she does not know that she has those rights, molded by the societal norms of that time.

When Tu realizes that Mùi has taken her place in Khuyến’s heart, she destroys everything in Khuyến’s house, including breaking her own vase and removing her engagement ring before leaving. Mùi is slapped hard by Tu, forcing her to run and hide in her bedroom, deeply upset. When Khuyến sees the wreckage, he shows no reaction, as if he had expected it and understood Tu’s rage.

Tu’s actions reflect her anger at not being chosen by her lover and her defeat by the deeply rooted patriarchal culture in Asia, even though Western influences were already present in Vietnamese society at that time.

Khuyến later approaches Mui in her room and hands her a beginner’s Vietnamese lesson book, symbolizing his offering her the opportunity to become his chosen wife. This also reflects the male authority of that era, where men were the ones to teach and provide opportunities for women.

After Mùi practices reading and writing Vietnamese for a while, with Khuyến as her teacher, she becomes a woman who can finally express her voice without needing anyone to prompt her. In the final scene, she reads a book to Khuyến and their child in her womb.

Mùi, now wearing a yellow maternity dress, exudes the radiance of motherhood — gentle, warm, and peaceful. She represents a woman in a patriarchal society who has accepted its rules. Despite the hardships, she lives calmly and accepts the course of life, ultimately finding the life she had long desired.

[beatricebidelaire]

for me book jacques will always have that mysterious, unknown vibe but mysterious in a subtle way, that blatantly hiding, not publicly known to be a mysterious and ambiguous entity but more the type to hide in plain sight, quietly blending in. doesn't draw attention to himself. in the shadows but not obvious about it. atwq profile cards with lemony covering his face versus jacques just being a silhouette comes to mind. he's quiet and calm and he does things in the shadows.

of course, considering jacques's first appearance in the book - and arguably the only appearance, if we don't count the meeting in the unauthorized autobiography - in the vile village he's far from the word calm and i'm aware of that but that still somehow doesn't change my impression. while i can argue that it's extraordinary circumstances in which he can no longer stay calm, i mean that's reasonable, i also in a way think that, perhaps jacques is usually quite outwardly projecting the quiet and calm image and he is more the silent and shy type, at least in front of strangers / compared to his siblings, but also beneath that he's far more agitated and panicky, maybe. but he keeps that down most of the time because he doesn't want others (mainly his younger siblings) to worry, because he thinks he has to keep calm for their sake. appears as if he's sort of got things under control, that he can solve problems for them.

if you think about the constant pressure he must be facing - his youngest brother has always been a troublemaker in VFD's eyes, a more of a rebellious sort, someone perhaps the VFD as a whole are not keen to help out after being declared an arsonist. but J helped L go on the lam, and continued to work to collect information to prove L's innocence. i think despite the general impression of J's loyalty to VFD in comparison to his siblings, there are probably quite a few things that he's working alone on, just on his own and probably not something the others would approve of. for family. L in this case, specifically. not that he won't protect K if needed but K's position in the VFD is different from L's, and J and K also have some kind of complicated relationship even if they do care for each other, very much. anyway it's just, a lot. in general. so maybe there's a lot of agitation underneath the calm surface, all of which all surfacing up at the final moments.

but also, since possibly making himself appear collected and calm is for his siblings sake so they won't worry, and thinking that he needs to be the one to protect them instead of being a burden on them, then maybe he will especially feel the need to maintain this image in front of L.

J and L have a lot of similarities - both being journalists at dp, both investigate things and can arguably be called investigators in a sense, and they're both noir detectives in my heart. they even write similarly (see J's letter in the unauthorized autobiography). they have the similar kinds of mysteriousness and ambiguity. i wouldn't say L idolized J but in some way he does see him as a role model of some kind, possibly. and J is probably aware of that. so he make efforts to keep up his image.

i want to say again that i do not think L idolized J but also the silhouette thing - doesn't that remind you of someone else in the books? beatrice, perhaps. who is, also, in some way ... idealized after her death. i know i'm using two different verbs here but, one is his older brother and the other his lover so. anyway. beamony dynamic before beatrice's death is interesting because we don't really get to see it, and i've speculated about this subject before, of whether L did see the real Beatrice or more of an idealized image of her at that time, or was it something that's related to how he copes with dealing with her death. (i think my favorite interpretation is what mayo said in the tags here, about him being more in love with the real beatrice when she's there and more in love with the idealized version of beatrice when she's further away)

but like, back to jacques. and silhouettes parallels of beatrice and jacques. J's older brother image, dependable and reliable and calm and a bit mysterious (in an older brother way), i mean obvs L's aware J is more than that just like i'm sure he knows B is more than that, but also it's complicated and knowing the complicated parts still doesn't mean one sees the whole picture but at the same time, J himself is partly the reason that L sees him that way because the image he feels like he needs to maintain in front of L and hence he tries to shove down his own, worries and agitation and all that, maybe. i'm rambling and this is very incoherent i just have some, ideas floating around but it's hard to pieces into logical sentences i'm going to end the post here

[posttexasstressdisorder]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/06/28/gravitational-wave-background-nanograv

The mind-bending finding suggests that everything around us is constantly being roiled by low-frequency gravitational waves

By Joel Achenbach and 

Victoria Jaggard

June 28, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. EDT

The very fabric of the cosmos is constantly being roiled and rumpled all around us, according to multiple international teams of scientists that have independently found compelling evidence for long-theorized space-time waves.

The claim that telescopes across the planet have seen signs of a “gravitational wave background” has sent a thrill through the astrophysics community, which has been buzzing for days in anticipation of the papers that were unveiled late Wednesday. The discovery seems to affirm an astounding implication of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that until now has been far too subtle to detect.

In Einstein’s reimagined universe, space is not serenely empty, and time does not march smoothly forward. Instead, the powerful gravitational interactions of massive objects — including supermassive black holes — regularly ripple the fabric of space and time. The picture that emerges is a universe that looks like a choppy sea, churned by violent events that happened over the course of the past 13 billion-plus years.

The gravitational wave background, as described by the astrophysicists, does not put any torque on everyday human existence. There is not a weight-loss discovery in here somewhere. A burble of gravitational waves cannot explain why some days you feel out of sorts. But it does offer potential insight into the physical reality we all inhabit.

“What we measure is the Earth kind of moving in this sea. It’s bobbing around — and it’s not just bobbing up and down, its bobbing in all directions,” said Michael Lam, an astrophysicist at the SETI Institute and a member of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), a team largely based in North America. The NANOGrav team released the findings in five papers that were published Wednesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Teams in Europe, India, Australia and China also observed the phenomenon and planned to post their studies at the same time. The simultaneous release of papers from far-flung and competitive teams using similar methodology came only after some scientific diplomacy that ensured no group tried to scoop the rest of the astrophysical community.

“We’ve been on a mission for the last 15 years to find a low-pitch hum of gravitational waves resounding throughout the universe and washing through our galaxy to warp space-time in a measurable way,” NANOGrav chair Stephen Taylor of Vanderbilt University said at a news briefing Tuesday.

“We’re very happy to announce that our hard work has paid off.”

Discovery from dead stars

The feat builds on previous discoveries of things in the universe that are invisible to the naked eye — pulsars. A pulsar is a type of neutron star, the ultradense remnant of a dead star. It is called a pulsar because it spins rapidly, hundredsof revolutions per second, and emits radio waves in a steady pulse. Pulsars were discovered only in the 1960s, not long after the invention of large radio telescopes.

NANOGrav gathered data from 68 pulsars using the Green Bank Telescope in rural West Virginia, the 27 telescopes of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico, and the now-defunctArecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

The pulses from these bizarre objects reach telescopes on Earth at such predictable frequencies that they serve as cosmic timepieces, nearly as accurate as today’s most advanced atomic clocks, said Chiara Mingarelli, an astrophysicist at Yale and a member of the NANOGrav team.

Theorists believed that low-frequency gravitational waves could throw off the arrival of pulsar signals. Such low-frequency ripples can have crests separated by years, so the search for subtle swells in the sea of space-timerequired patience. The deviation in the pulsar data is so slight that it took 15 years of observations to come up with solid evidence of these gravitational waves, Mingarelli said.

The NANOGrav team had previously published reports with preliminary suggestions that the background exists, but had said more time was necessary to boost confidence that the signal was real and not just noise.

“Even devising the experiment was a huge mental leap,” Mingarelli said.

The existence of gravitational waves is not in dispute. In 2016, scientists announced that their ambitious four-decade experiment called LIGO, for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, had detected waves from the merger of two black holes. But the newly announced waves are not one-shot wonders, and theorists are noodling the many potential explanations for why the cosmic sea ripples in such a fashion.

Supermassive black holes are the favored explanation.

Most galaxies are home to supermassive black holes in or near their central region. These black holes certainly deserve the “supermassive” label: They typically have the equivalent mass of millions or even billions of suns. By contrast, “stellar mass” black holes are pipsqueaks, with masses akin to 10 or 20 or 30 suns.

Galaxies rarely collide, but the universe is vast, there are many billions of galaxies, and they have had plenty of time to drift into one another. During a galactic meetup, theorists say, the supermassive black holesat the cores of the two galaxiesfirst will do a gravitational dance. They can orbit each other for millions of years, Lam said. This pairing is known as a supermassive black hole binary.

The swirling dance disturbs the fabric of space-time sufficiently to generate very low-frequency gravitational waves that travel across the universe at the speed of light, scientists believe. Over time, energy leaks from the dance party, as it were, and the supermassive black holes ease closer together, their orbital period shortening to just a few decades. At that point, the wavelengths begin to reach the frequencies detectable by NANOGrav, Lam said.

“So at this point in our measurements, we cannot definitively state what sources are producing the gravitational wave background signal,” NANOGrav team member Luke Kelley, an astrophysicist at the University of California at Berkeley, said at the Tuesday news briefing. However, he said, the data is a compelling match for theoretical predictions.

Theorists are “having fun” coming up with other possible sources for the low-frequency signal, he added. But “if it’s not coming from supermassive black hole binaries, we would need to come up with some explanation of where those supermassive black holes are hiding, and why we’re not seeing their gravitational waves.”

A new astronomical era

No matter the signal’s source, the announcement of a gravitational wave background represents a milestone in the embryonic field of gravitational wave astronomy.

Just as some astronomers use different wavelengths of light to probe the cosmos, they can now look for different types of gravitational waves. The low-frequency waves announced Wednesday wouldn’t be detectable by LIGO, and the opposite is also true: NANOGrav and similar efforts using pulsars could not detect the kind ofhigh-frequency waves from the unimaginably violent stellar-mass black hole mergers seen by LIGO.

Lam said the next goal is to pair specific gravitational waves with potential supermassive black hole binaries detected through more traditional forms of astronomy. In other words, rather than just saying we’re picking up signs of lots of waves, the astronomers could say this particular wave right here came from that place over there.

The announcement carries an echo of another milestone in the history of cosmology. In 1965, two physicists at Bell Labsreported that they had detected the signal of something previously theorized: the cosmic microwave background radiation. That residual glow offered landmark evidence that the universe was created by the big bang.

Maura McLaughlin, co-director of the NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center, said at the Tuesday briefing that the next step will be for the international teams to combine their independent data into one “uber data set” that should show an even clearer signal of the gravitational wave background — and maybe even the first detection of a supermassive black hole binary.

“We’re opening up a completely new window … on the gravitational wave universe,” she said.

The work, she said,should offer deeper insight into the ways galaxies form and evolve. It might even reveal exotic new physics that would alter our fundamental understanding of the cosmos: “It should be really, really exciting.”

[ladyeckland28]

The Elevator Game is a modern urban legend that has captivated the imagination of many, blending elements of thrill, fear, and curiosity. It is said to be a ritual that, if performed correctly, allows the participant to access another dimension. Originating from South Korea, this eerie game has spread worldwide, often being discussed on forums, social media, and horror websites.

### The Rules and Ritual

The rules of the Elevator Game are specific and must be followed meticulously. The participant must enter a building with at least ten floors and ensure they are alone in the elevator throughout the ritual. The sequence of button presses is as follows:

1. Enter the elevator and press the button for the 4th floor.

2. Without getting out, press the button for the 2nd floor.

3. Press the button for the 6th floor.

4. Press the button for the 2nd floor again.

5. Press the button for the 10th floor.

6. Press the button for the 5th floor.

Upon reaching the 5th floor, a young woman may enter the elevator. It is crucial not to look at or speak to her. Finally, the participant must press the button for the 1st floor. If the elevator ascends to the 10th floor instead, the ritual is successful, and the participant is said to have entered another dimension. If the elevator descends to the 1st floor, the participant must exit immediately and not look back.

### The Other Dimension

Accounts of what lies in this alternate dimension vary, but common themes include a world similar to ours with subtle, eerie differences. Some say it is a place devoid of human life, with an ominous red cross visible in the distance. Others describe a sense of dread and an overwhelming feeling of being watched. This parallel world is said to be disorienting and potentially dangerous, with the only escape being the precise reversal of the elevator sequence.

### Origins and Popularity

The origins of the Elevator Game are somewhat nebulous, but it gained widespread attention in the early 2010s, particularly on the internet. Its popularity surged after being linked to the mysterious death of Elisa Lam in 2013, whose strange behavior in an elevator before her disappearance was captured on security footage and went viral. Though no evidence connects Lam to the Elevator Game, the eerie parallels fueled public fascination.

### Psychological Impact and Cultural Significance

The Elevator Game taps into deep-seated fears and curiosities about the unknown and the otherworldly. It also reflects a cultural fascination with rituals and the thin boundary between our reality and the supernatural. For some, the game is a thrilling, albeit frightening, exploration of the unknown. For others, it serves as a cautionary tale about meddling with forces beyond human comprehension.

### Conclusion

The Elevator Game remains a potent urban legend, illustrating the power of folklore in the digital age. It embodies the human desire to explore the mysterious and the forbidden, while also serving as a reminder of the potential consequences of such explorations. Whether viewed as a mere game, a psychological experiment, or a genuine ritual, the Elevator Game continues to intrigue and terrify those who dare to contemplate its existence.

[munson-blurbs]

bug, the latest chapter of LAM is my roman empire!!!!! i’ve been loving all the chapters so far but that one is my favorite 😭 jealous!eddie has me on a goddamn chokehold. please tell me we’ll be seeing more of him now that a new character is unlocked..... hi, ben 🫣

also, my favorite thing about all the slowburn is the SUBTLE TOUCH!!!!! the way eddie’s always trying to get near the reader (whether it be consciously or subconsciously) is driving me crazy. it’s so good ❤️

can’t wait for all the next chapters!!!!!

We will definitely be seeing more of Ben (much to Eddie's chagrin). And we're definitely not letting Eddie get away with being an asshole.

Subtle touches? Whatever do you mean? Maybe Eddie's just a touchy-feely guy! Maybe there's no burgeoning feelings that he can't explain. Maybe he and Heiress are just two BFFs who don't wanna kiss each other at all 💁🏼‍♀️ la di dah.

[burlveneer-music]

Peace Flag Ensemble - Astral Plains - jazzy New Age, RIYL Gondwana Records

Peace Flag Ensemble are a free jazz collective from Saskatchewan. Their sophomore LP, Astral Plains, arrives July 18 via We Are Busy Bodies. The group’s 2021 debut Noteland was described as “akin to getting stuck in a sensory deprivation tank with Keith Jarrett.” By contrast Astral Plains opens up, offering spacious and blue-sky arrangements and production. Perhaps it’s closer to laying in a prairie field looking for animals in the clouds with Mark Hollis. Peace Flag Ensemble brings together a curious range of artistic backgrounds from studied players to left-field experimentalists. Their recordings are a pastiche of improvisation, composition, and collage. Centered around Jon Neher’s piano improvisations and Travis Packer’s electric bass, Astral Plains sees the collective expanded in both size and sound with the addition of percussionist Michael Thievin and contributions from guests including Patrick Shiroishi and Nick Walters. It was produced and mixed by ambient artist Michael Scott Dawson, who also provides subtle electronics, guitars, and field recordings. Paul Gutheil and Dalton Lam, on saxophone and trumpet respectively, provide linear and melodic passages tempered by restraint. They also allow Dawson to recontextualize their contributions through effects and tape manipulation. The result is a nuanced and joyous record that finds clarity through experimentation. This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

[greaseonmymouth]

memes

I was tagged in some memes in the past couple of months and never got around to them, but here we go

find the word tag

I was tagged by @mslanna who gave me the words stone, beat, gold and fire. snippets are from the current and ongoing romance novel wip, out of sequence

stone

The mood in the Baron’s Dining Room was a tangible discomfort; Mitchell was stone-faced, Hasheim was avoiding looking anyone in the face, Oliver was his usual self except for the part where he studiously avoided so much as looking at Hasheim, and everyone else was either tiptoeing or putting on a fake cheer. John’s hunger was instantly replaced with a faint nausea.

beat

John wasn’t expecting Mitchell to look so tired. There wasn’t any hostility in his expression, just exhaustion, and maybe something that looked like sadness. John’s heart skipped a tiny beat.

gold

Mitchell hated how good John looked. His stupid new haircut suited his stupid face stupidly well and that new jumper he’d chosen and was currently wearing was a lush shade of green with a subtle golden shimmer that up close probably amplified his hazel eyes. The other new jumper was an equally lush dark brown in a mottled pattern that faded into a dark green at the cuffs and bottom hem, and looked like something Mitchell had seen on instagram at one point or other. The whole thing was enraging.

fire

He filled a plate with finger sandwiches and poured himself cup of tea—fragrant roiboos with a splash of milk—before joining the others. There was a fire in the fireplace and a comfy chair by it; Mitchell turned it round so it faced the other guys. “Hi,” he sighed, dropping himself into the chair. This way his back was to John so he wouldn’t have to look at him.

I'm not tagging anybody to do this meme, but if you do want to, here are your words: dark, season, rain, open

Get to know people better meme

I was tagged by @foxesonstilts for this one

1. Three ships: very into Kirk/Spock currently, Crowley/Aziraphale (obviously), and Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne (shh I revisited an ao3 rabbit hole)

2. First ever ship: probably James Potter/Sirius Black but it didn't last long. blame one particular fan artist who was posting art of them together on tegnebordet.dk in approximately 2001.

3. Last song: Yws Gwynedd - Deryn Du

4. Last movie: Barbie

5. Currently reading: Seven Devils by Laura Lam & Elizabeth May

6. Currently watching: Nothing really - I'm two episodes into Deadloch but I'm not actively watching it as such. I just finished s1 of Star Trek the original series and I'm taking a break before I continue with s2 because damn 30 episodes per season is a little much, even for me.

And there's Good Omens, which I also just finished and I think I will rewatch very very soon

7. Currently consuming: nothing - I had chocolate but I've finished it off a few hours ago and I need to get up and make dinner in a bit

8. Currently craving: a good night's SLEEP

[project1939]

200 Films of 1952

Film number 183: Hunted (aka, The Stranger in Between)

Release date: March 17th, 1952 

Studio: Independent Artists, British Film Makers 

Genre: noir/ thriller 

Director: Charles Crichton 

Producer: Julian Wintle 

Actors: Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, Elizabeth Sellars, Kay Walsh 

Plot Summary: Chris Lloyd has just murdered his wife's boss in a rage after discovering she was having an affair with him. While fleeing the scene, he collides with a young boy who is also on the run because of an abusive foster father. The two become odd companions on the lam, trying to escape the police and get to northern England where Lloyd’s brother lives. 

My Rating (out of five stars): ***½  

This was a well-acted, visually distinct, unusual noir, but it was not without its flaws. I think my expectations were too high, because I ended up a little disappointed with it. I found it pretty far-fetched, and as time went on it became more cloyingly sentimental than I anticipated. It’s not a bad film by any means; I just wasn't as moved by it as I thought I might be. (minor spoilers)

The Good: 

Dirk Bogarde. He was fabulous in this. He had to spend most of the film at a 9 or 10 on the emotional scale, but he was able to convey those heightened, almost hysterical emotions well. From fear, to anger, to love and concern for the boy... he excelled. 

Jon Whiteley as Robbie, the boy. What a little actor! Shockingly, he didn’t overplay things like many young actors do. His more subtle style was really effective in a gritty realistic film. 

The look of the film. It was a classic noir with a darker palette, many shadows, unvarnished locations, and lots of scenes at night. There was also some cool camerawork and many interesting shot compositions. 

The real-life locations used were a highlight for me, especially in the factory town of Stoke. Those smokestacks and the skyline in general were so striking. 

The story was unique, which made it quite intriguing, especially in the earlier parts. 

I appreciated the way the film just jumped right into the action, and we as viewers had to catch up. We didn’t know who Chris or Robbie were or their back stories- a little patience was needed before we started getting some answers.  

I liked that the ending left some things unanswered. We don't fully know what happened between Chris and Robbie long term.

The Bad: 

Despite its grungy aesthetic of an ugly reality, it was kind of a preposterous story. Why a wanted criminal would drag a little boy all over the country with him is crazy, even if the writing does its best to explain it. 

As the film went on it got too sentimental for me. By the end, I was more annoyed than moved. It wasn’t as overly sentimental as most movies with kids in them, but it was still too much for my taste.  

The musical score was a big part of why it started feeling too melodramatic and saccharine to me. I wasn’t a fan. 

I never fully understood why the boy would want to be with Chris? Yes, he didn’t whip him like his foster dad, but he yelled at him a lot and dragged him around in a really rough manner through mud and pouring rain, and he was a murderer!

Sometimes all the running got to be a bit much. There were scenes through the city, though fields, through smaller towns, through mud, through streams, through mountains... 

I’m sure the film just didn’t want to broach the subject, but when the police were totally confused about why a man would want to run off with a young boy... it stretched believability. Again, though, I’m sure it's an idea the filmmakers just did not want to put in the audience's head. 

[caosdangsuy]

Reality TV show "2 Days 1 Night" Vietnam: Is it just an entertaining reality show or does it have many meaningful messages?

The reality TV show "2 Days 1 Night" (Vietnamese name: "2 Ngày 1 Đêm") was copyrighted by Vie Network from the Korean program "1 Night 2 Days" and aired its first episode on June 19, 2022.

In the beginning, the media audience did not have too many expectations for the program when there were too many reality TV shows that were copyrighted to Vietnam but were not completed, making the audience extremely disappointed. However, through the first broadcast episodes, 2 Days 1 Night has completely attracted the audience with a special format and brought its unique impressions of Vietnam.

2 Days 1 Night brings together 6 main members including Truong Giang, Kieu Minh Tuan, Le Duong Bao Lam, Cris Phan, Ngo Kien Huy, Hieuthuhai, and special guests through episodes including models, actors, singers, artists, and rappers like H'Hen Nie, Song Luan, Isaac, Bray, etc. Members and guests will divide into 2 teams and complete the challenges to receive benefits such as eating well, and sleeping well or suffering punishments such as eating poorly or sleeping poorly. Through many broadcast episodes, the show always brings many emotions to the audience because of the humor of the members and guests or the love and team spirit that the players have for each other. From being doubted by the audience, 2 Days 1 Night has become a spiritual dish every weekend for the audience, always appearing on the trending charts on YouTube.

However, laughter is not the only thing that the show 2 Days 1 Night brings to the audience.

"After watching 2 Days 1 Night, I just want to travel"?

Although 2 Days 1 Night is not a purely tourism program, it highlights the majestic beauty of the landscape in Vietnam's tourist destinations through expensive scenes. Each journey of "2 Days 1 Night" has stops in different provinces and cities, taking audiences to explore the S-shaped country at a series of locations, historical sites, and scenic spots spanning three regions of the country. Audiences can experience wonderful scenery, as well as learn more about the culture, art, specialties, history, and people of each locality. The program has helped promote the image of tourism in Vietnam smartly and skillfully not only to introduce it to Vietnamese audiences but also to foreign tourists. After watching 2 Days 1 Night, audiences will certainly not have a headache about where to travel, but instead about which province to go to explore.

2 Days 1 Night and the message of environmental protection.

Not only stopping at smartly promoting tourist destinations, 2 Days 1 Night also cleverly integrates messages about environmental protection. Through episodes filmed in the mountains, the cast had natural conversations to bring the message "plant trees to create forests, balance the ecosystem, prevent floods and erosion…"

The subtle actions of guests are also recorded by the program to send the message of maintaining hygiene in public places.

Image of members and guests picking up trash with soldiers at Ly Son beach and message.

2 Days 1 Night is a good example of how reality TV shows can have a big impact on social media users. Not only for entertainment, the program also incorporates elements of promoting Vietnam tourism as well as cleverly integrating meaningful messages and has been successful and received positive feedback from viewers.

Reference list

Đan, T 2022, ‘Vì sao 2 Ngày 1 Đêm ngày càng thu hút khán giả Việt?’, kenh14.vn, viewed <https://kenh14.vn/vi-sao-2-ngay-1-dem-ngay-cang-thu-hut-khan-gia-viet-20220903180453889.chn>.

Khánh, A 2023, ‘Nhìn lại hành trình ’2 ngày 1 đêm’ mùa 2: “Xem show muốn đi du lịch”!’, Báo Người Lao Động Online, viewed <https://nld.com.vn/nhin-lai-hanh-trinh-2-ngay-1-dem-mua-2-xem-show-muon-di-du-lich-196231210175352751.htm>.

Lục, D 2022, ‘2 ngày 1 đêm và thông điệp bảo vệ môi trường’, www.phunuonline.com.vn, viewed <https://www.phunuonline.com.vn/2-ngay-1-dem-va-thong-diep-bao-ve-moi-truong-a1474128.html>.

Nguyễn, L 2023a, ‘’2 Ngày 1 Đêm’: Hơn cả một show truyền hình Việt hóa!’, VieZ.vn, viewed 3 June 2024, <https://viez.vn/2-ngay-1-dem-hon-ca-mot-show-truyen-hinh-viet-hoa-vkjl7wUrzsWZ.html>.

Nguyễn, L 2023b, ‘2 Ngày 1 Đêm: Giá trị thật tạo nên tình cảm thật’, VieZ.vn, viewed 3 June 2024, <https://viez.vn/2-ngay-1-dem-gia-tri-that-tao-nen-tinh-cam-that-OA68TDSRkUr4.html>.

Quỳnh, M 2023, ‘HÀNH TRÌNH “2 NGÀY 1 ĐÊM” TẠI DI SẢN VĂN HÓA THẾ GIỚI MỸ SƠN’, https://disanvanhoamyson.vn/, viewed <https://disanvanhoamyson.vn/tin-tuc/hanh-trinh-2-ngay-1-dem-tai-di-san-van-hoa-the-gioi-my-son.html>.

[plywoodsinchennai]

Enhance the Beauty of Your Workspace with Digital Laminates

Introduction

In today's fast-paced world, the aesthetics of a workspace play a crucial role in enhancing productivity and creating a positive atmosphere for employees. One innovative solution that has gained significant popularity in recent years is the use of digital laminates. These versatile materials offer a wide range of design options and practical benefits, making them ideal for enhancing the beauty of any workspace.

Why invest in Digital Laminates?

Be it a commercial or residential setup, the key reasons to invest in laminate sheets for surfacing requirements are their unparalleled aesthetic appeal and durability. Moreover, they come in countless designs, have many possible applications, and are remarkably easy to maintain. The digital laminates from Lakshmi Timbers and Plywood also have a scratch-resistant and antibacterial surface, among many other distinctions.

How to Transform Office Spaces

Here are some of the many ways that you can use digital laminate sheet to bring life into your office decor:

Meeting Spaces

Digital laminate sheets from Lakshmi Timbers and Plywood present a fresh and impactful way to transform meeting spaces. Lighter-toned laminate sheets with uniform patterns are perfect for transforming walls and tables and creating ideal settings to hold meetings with staff and clients.

Waiting Areas

Your waiting area is not just a place for your customers to sit and wait, it also says a lot about the quality of your operations. That is why it always pays to go with the trending approach of using digital laminates to transform waiting areas into visual spectacles. Choose digital laminate sheets that contrast your waiting area’s colour theme, or consider our range of glossy laminates.

Front Desk

They say the first impression is the last impression. That stands true for the effect your front desk has on your visitors and customers. The key is again to contrast the laminate colour choice with that of the general theme of the space. Most spaces do well with rich wooden laminates such as wood grain suede and wood grain texture, whereas white is often the general colour theme.

Workstations

For workstations, select laminates that promote a calm and focused environment. Neutral colors and subtle textures work well in this setting, helping employees stay productive and engaged throughout the day.

Advantages of Using Digital Laminates in Workspace Design

Digital laminates provide numerous advantages over traditional materials when it comes to workspace design. Firstly, they offer unparalleled design flexibility, allowing you to choose from a vast array of colors, patterns, and textures to create a unique look for your workspace. Additionally, digital laminates are highly durable and resistant to scratches, stains, and fading, ensuring that your workspace maintains its aesthetic appeal for years to come.

Choosing the Right Digital Laminates for Your Workspace

When selecting digital laminates for your workspace, it's essential to consider factors such as color scheme, texture, and overall design theme. in Lakshmi Timbers and Plywood we have an Plethora design and Colour variants in Digital Laminates Sheets.

Maintenance Tips for Digital Laminates

To ensure that your digital laminates retain their beauty and functionality, it's essential to follow proper maintenance practices. Regularly clean the laminates with a mild detergent and soft cloth to remove dust and dirt buildup. Avoid using abrasive cleaners or harsh chemicals, as these can damage the laminate surface.

Conclusion

If you are in search of high-quality digital laminates for your work space, look no further than Lakshmi Timbers and Plywood, Laminates. As one of the top laminates supplier in Chennai, we offer a wide range of world-class laminates, including decorative laminates, that can help you transform your interiors. To discuss your requirements and get answers to all your questions about digital laminate sheets and decorative laminates for commercial application, including prices, call 98407 28393 or email us at plywoodsinchennai@gmail.com. You can also fill out our contact form, and our team of experts will contact you shortly.

FAQs

Can digital laminates be used in high-traffic areas of the workspace? Yes, digital laminates are highly durable and resistant to wear and tear, making them suitable for use in high-traffic areas such as corridors and common areas.

Are digital laminates environmentally friendly? Many digital laminates are manufactured using sustainable materials and processes, making them an eco-friendly choice for workspace design.

Can digital laminates be customized to fit specific design requirements? Absolutely! Digital laminates can be customized in terms of color, pattern, and texture to meet the unique design needs of any workspace.

How do digital laminates compare to other materials such as wood or stone? While wood and stone offer a natural aesthetic, digital laminates provide greater design flexibility and durability at a fraction of the cost.

What is the lifespan of digital laminates? With proper maintenance, digital laminates can last for many years, making them a long-term investment in the beauty and functionality of your workspace.

[fantastica-daily]

Nobody’s Home Movie Review

“The lights are on, but nobody’s home” is an old expression that indicates a person who seems alright on the outside but has a short circuit inside their mind. The term “nobody’s home” can be taken as an abbreviation of the euphemism or it can simply be taken literally. That’s why the film title Nobody’s Home is so clever—it means all that and more.

When Theodora (Louisa Erlich, who also wrote the screenplay) learns that her boyfriend Luca (Julio Lourido) is about to be discharged from the mental institution where they are both admitted, she escapes and heads out into the world with him. While on the lam, insecure Theodora manipulates and mind-fucks Luca in order to keep him under her control; in so doing, she guides him back to his childhood home, where his mother was murdered. They enter the house, thinking nobody’s home, but they are mistaken. After a bloody confrontation with the current homeowner, a sudden knock on the door sends the rattled pair spiraling. Once the strangers enter the home, the intruders are forced into a dangerous, confusing night of games that are fraught with lies and double-crosses.

Nobody’s Home is a twisty thriller that takes place in a single location and is reminiscent of movies like The Desperate Hours, Funny Games, and such, but it’s more subtle in that it’s not a home invasion or horror movie—though it does share some elements with those genres. Its no-name cast and modest budget may keep some streaming surfers at bay, but Nobody’s Home definitely deserves to be seen. It’s a pleasant surprise that turns its perceived deficiencies into pluses. Director Michelle Bossy does a fantastic job of keeping the camera and the characters on the move even in close quarters, while the actors each embody their characters with earnest realism.

The world premiere is at the Dances With Films festival on December 3rd, 2023, at Regal Union Square on Broadway in New York. Look for it streaming sometime in 2024.

= = =

S.L. Wilson

[helaenology]

that dog won’t hunt | call of duty: modern warefare

simon “ghost” riley/reader — Wild West!au (1880’s) not-so-cute meet cute but also enemies to lovers 👀 maybe a part 2 MAYBE.

content. non-canon, time period correct sexism (fem!reader), alcohol, violence, bounty hunting?

author’s note. was originally gonna be a erron black fic but changed it halfway through lol (1.374k)

The whiskey burns in you the same way it would a furnace. Molten liquid kindles your gullet like a well-weathered smithy— eloquently so. Not very often would you find yourself leant over a frequented bar top, with an old fashioned sat barren in your hand. You’ve never travelled so far out past the desert, long hours on the road under the hot sun were just grovelling for a quick rest at a settlement. The small town of Armadillo was your stopping point, it was fairly empty excluding a few elderly locals— it seemed vacant of any further problems.

Pushing open the saloon doors you quickly took notice of the occupants inside. Four middle aged to senior gentlemen sat in the corner playing a calm game of poker, one man sat at the bar chatting with the bartender that was polishing a glass, a woman draped over the edge of a stairwell watching for easy game to satisfy her needs and lastly another young looking boy sat playing a gentle tune on a piano.

Sauntering up to the bartender, with only a soothing glass of whiskey in your mind— you fail to make notice of the concealed figure of another occupant in the saloon.

Flagging down the bar hand, you repeat your order to them in a gruff tone. Throat taut with hours of lacking use, you cough to clear your voice. The barkeep smirks while pouring your glass.

“You’ve been travelling long? We don’t usually get new customers here.”

Tossing over a coin as payment, you scoff humorlessly. “You don’t know the half of it, I’ve come from up north through that late storm.”

He grimaces, moustache pulling upwards as he slides the lucre towards his apron before pocketing it. You quickly down the liquor with a subtle wince before urging the bartender with another coin to refill the glass which he does so diligently, movement behind you emerges and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Quickly you tense up in case of harm of the sort but ultimately subsides as another gentleman scooches up beside you.

It’s evident that he is quite drunk as stumbles to stand up right before gesturing to the server for another drink. As the barkeep turns around to prepare the drink, you briefly look at your latest companion. It appears it’s one of the younger men that you saw earlier playing poker, his face is clearer now— and it’s not pretty. Unfortunately he takes notice of your staring and turns to face you. He blinks slowly, cat-like as if he was trying to make out your face in his head before opening his riotous mouth.

“Have we met before? Ya look familiar”

Your face stays stoical but unease builds up inside your gut. Have they got you on the lam out here too?

“No, I’m not from around here at all— I haven’t even been this far south before.” You state, technically it’s not a lie but this varmint doesn’t need to know that.

“Are ya sure? I mean.. ya look real familiar, have I bedded ya before?”

Your face contorts with disposition, of course that’s where his mind goes to— adequate in amour-propre means you lack dignity in others.

“No, I’m not in that line of work, sad to say, perhaps you're confusing me for someone else” You try to move the conversation beyond your apparent.. identity. Just as this bonehead is about to question you again, the doors of the saloon retch open. Faint creaking of the floorboards grows louder as well as metal rattling of spurs sync along with steps of another dweller. They draw closer and you unconsciously start to feel distress again.

As the other individual that was sitting quietly at the bar leaves, another sits down alongside you and your buzzing fool. The new bar-goer pulls out a revolver from a leather holster tight across his thigh before sitting, you can hear the hide crease as he does. He drops several coins on top of the bar table before speaking.

“Whiskey. Neat.” He speaks slowly, a gravelling husk-filled voice. He has an accent that is much too foreign to here. You turn slightly to see him, assess this apparent danger that is causing your heart to race.

He wears a mask that covers the lower half of his face, a Stetson hat that covers his head. Casual attire and a blackened vest with a multi-coloured bandana wrapped around his neck. Covered practically head-to-toe you wonder if he also is a distant traveller like you, but then— what if he’s followed you here? As you fight mental beasts in your head, the fool sitting next to you turns his attention to the new man at the bar.

“Why ‘ave ya got that mask on? You hidin’ from someone mister?”

You can’t help but flinch as the drunken idiot speaks, you contemplate reaching over and grabbing the gun sat atop the table and shoot him in the head, and then your own.

“No. It’s for work, protection.”

“Ah, and what is it you do for work that requires a mask and guns mister?”

The dunce snorts after his question, like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever said.

“Casual work. Bounty hunting.”

The air goes still, you even think the young boy playing piano stops suddenly that’s how quiet it is. Instantly your throat goes dryer than it was before your drink, and you regret ever stepping in this miserable bar. You look quickly for means to escape, perhaps through this backdoor— as soon as you locate it at least. In your mindless thoughts, the man you failed to notice when walking in makes himself present by laying his grimy hand atop your already tense shoulder. He leans in over you and places a smudged piece of paper in front of you. It reads your name, and a large sum underneath, along with a poorly drawn portrait of yourself.

“I’m afraid I’m gonna have to take this one off your hands Ghost. You understand, I'm sure.” The voice trails out behind you, the grip on your shoulder getting tighter.

As “Ghost” turns to face this new character that has found themselves at this practically now empty bar as everyone with a right sense of mind has slipped out quietly to ensure their lives, the drunkard once again opens his mouth.

“That’s where I recognised you from dolly! You’re a wanted girl you are!”

In a sense of distraction, you quickly try to stand up and make a run for it— only to run towards another man standing behind you, holding a shotgun. It appears that you were also distracted enough to not consider that these bounty hunters did not have backup of any sorts.

Stunned by your attempted escape, the second unnamed bounty hunter quickly jumps to turn around and grab you again but in time meets his demise as “Ghost” quickly grabs his revolver and fires it straight into the back of the other man’s head. The second attacker receives the same treatment as he was also caught off guard by the first gunshot.

You scream before you can think for yourself, eyes now shut tightly as blood sprayed over the already grimy walls— now fearing for your life even more.

For a beat, nothing happens. Just the two gunshots ringing out. The fool, once again is the first to break the silence by a loud guffaw of shock, of course the death of two men in front of him was enough to sober him up right. He turns to face Ghost from his seat and slaps him on the shoulder— almost proudly.

“Good on you bounty hunter, protecting those in need!”

He stands suddenly, stretches his arms up over his head in mock surrender and begins stumbling towards the front entrance. You watch in shock as he does so, this fool treating this situation as if he does it every week.

“Don’t be a git now Soap, I’ll come fetch you from the sheriff’s tomorrow morning once you sober up” Ghost says while holstering his weapon. He steps up over the fresh corpse and over to you.

“We should probably get on out of here doll, I saw the back door when I walked in.”

[brasilconspiracao]

“No one will enter the New World Order unless he or she will make a pledge to worship Lucifer. No one will enter the New Age unless he will take a LUCIFERIAN Initiation.” - David Spangler

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Realizing the New Age

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(Quoted from "Reflections on the Christ," 1978 ed., Chapter IV, pgs 44-45)

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Magickal Stories - Lam

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The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology

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Being a Planetary Citizen – at One within the All https://planetarycitizens.net

Findhorn Foundation and the United Nations With 30 years of formal association with the United Nations, we continue to be a learning environment and model for holistic living, actively supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals https://www.findhorn.org/about-us/association-findhorn-united-nations-for-holistic-learning/4

A COP26 Message from the Subtle Realms, via David Spangler - We interrupt this Humanity Rising 12-day broadcast on COP 26 to hear a message from David Spangler, Founder of the Lorian’s and spiritual advisor to Findhorn Foundation and Community. https://integralcity.com/2021/11/05/a-cop26-message-from-the-subtle-realms-via-david-spangler/

In 1973, UN Secretary-General U Thant and New Age activist Donald Keys founded Planetary Citizens. This organization is now a UN-recognized non-governmental organization, "devoted to preparing people for the coming of the new culture." https://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception_United_Nations_New_Age_Findhorn

Planetary Citizens and the Findhorn Foundation are just two of the organizations connected to the United Nations that teach blatant New Age, Earth worship, and Luciferian doctrine. Keys wrote this in One Earth: The New Age groups are focusing and entering a new stage—a world related stage. They are becoming mature enough to begin to shoulder some of the load of humanity's burden.iii David Spangler, co-director and spokesperson for the Findhorn Foundation explains the organization’s Luciferian views: The true light of Lucifer cannot be seen through sorrow, through darkness, through rejection. The true light of this great being can only be recognized when one’s own eyes can see with the light of the Christ, the light of the inner sun. Lucifer works within each of us to bring us to wholeness, and as we move into a New Age, which is the age of man’s wholeness... Lucifer prepares man in all ways for the experience of Christhood and the Christ prepares man for the experience of God...the light that reveals to us the path to the Christ comes from Lucifer. He is the light giver. He is aptly named the Morning Star because it is his light that heralds for man the dawn of a greater consciousness...He stands no longer as the tester or the tempter but as the great initiator, the one who hands the soul over to the Christ and from the Christ on into ever greater realms (emphasis added). David Spangler also gives a clearly satanic understanding of Scripture: We can take all the scriptures and all the teachings and all the tablets and all the laws, and all the marshmallows and have a jolly good bonfire and marshmallow roast, because that is all they are worth. The Temple of Understanding The Temple of Understanding (TOU) is a non-governmental organization with the goal of promoting understanding between religions. Founded by Juliet Hollister in 1960, the TOU endorses tolerance and "respect for religious pluralism" through its many international courses and programs.

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"PlanetaryCitizens.net's mission is to create, expose and nurture positive change in the world. We hope to give you pertinent information and relevant facts in the process. Donald Keys, speech writer for U Thant in the 60s, coined the phrase Planetary Citizen on the way to creating The New World Alliance. The Occupy Movement, a global announcement of disastisfaction in leadership and a call for change, could be seen as a call for planetary citizens. Numerous groups and organizations are adopting the 12-sector model, illustrated here, as a means toward self-organization." [1] In 1970 the UN held a "Conference on Human Survival" which was chaired by Lester Pearson with funding coming from the Kettering Foundation. With funds left over from this conference Planetary Citizens was initiated. [2] Another collaborative project Planetary Citizens helped launch is “The Planetary Initiative for the World We Choose.” “The original inviters of the Planetary Initiative were the leaders of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, the Club of Rome, Global Education Associates, the United Nations Association of New South Wales, and of course, Planetary Citizens.” [...]

Board of Directors (October 1975) Accessed May 2012: [4] Keith Alleyne, Alfred G. Brauch, Betsie Carter-Haar, Phil Gibbs, Matthew Haai, Anthony Hixon, Mark Horowitz, Jeff Kamen, Laraine Mai, Martha McDougle, Fred Rosenzveig, Stephen B. Shafer, David Spangler, Geir V. Vilhjalmsjon TREASURER - George A. Christie SECRETARY - David Genhon COUNSEL - Charles Teiry REGISTRAR - Donald F. Keys Honorary Chairmen - Norman Cousins, U Thant 1909-1974

Advisory Council (October 1975) Accessed May 2012: [5]Saul Mendlovitz - chairRoy Amara, Richard E. Andre, Isaac Asimov, Archie J. Bahm, Richard Baker-Roshi, E. Alice Beard, Humberto Blanco, F. E. Boaten, Theodore Brameld, Noel J. Brown, William J. Butler, Peter Caddy, Sri Chinmoy, Andrew A. D. Clarke, David Steindl-Rast, Rene Dubos, J. Duncan Edmonds, Martin Ennals, Roger H. Evans, James Fadiman, Richard Fall, Jerome D. Frank, Johan Galtung, Denis A. Goulet, Alyce Green, S. Spencer Grin, Willis W. Harman, Robert J. Havighimt, Theodore M. Hesburgh, Richard Hudson, Ervin Laszlo, James D. Lenhari, Robert Jay Lifton, Mahavishnu, John McLaughlin, Edgar D. Mitchell, Henry E. Niles, Glenn A. Olds, Alan Paton, V. Madhusudan Reddy, E.F. Schumacher, Russell L. Schweickart, Philippe de Seynes, Salty Swing Shelley, Sir John Sinclair, Harold Taylor, William Irwin Thompson, Erling A. Thunberg, James G. Vargiu, Rene V.L Wadlow, Geshe Wangyal, Lucy Law Webster

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