#ana draws pillars

[avalost]

I am not sure... there was a child you were bringing forth, and your hands... I don't recall.

[tendebill]

drew the ow strike team as paladins of voltron, because i am normal about them :]

(2 other versions and a fucking essay below the cut!)

ok so im gonna give my reasoning for each of them

Reinhardt - the easierst to pick, the Yellow Lion is the most tank-like (besides the Black Lion, but thats cuz Black is the head + torso), also i think the legs of voltron are supposed to be the "pillars" that allow the team to work well, without them the whole thing crumbles (literally). from what i recall from the actual show, the Yellow Paladin is protective and loyal. Rein was the easiest to match up tbh (plus even the color fits lol)

Torbjörn - not my favourite choice, but tbh i dont think any other lion fits him? besides maybe Yellow, but Rein was too perfect so i couldnt give Torb that one. anyway, the Green Lion is the left hand. i consider the legs to be the "pillars" holding up the team, whereas the arms are the actual damage-dealers/the ones that act on what the leader commands. and as Torb is a dps, that fits just fine. hes not quite a leader, so being the left hand instead of the right is good. plus the Green Lion is inquisitive and curious, and since Torb is a genius, that fits just fine too. i thought he would look weird with green, since i associate him with red-orange-yellow the most, but he looks kinda nice

Ana - i was originally gonna make her blue from the get-go, but i thought it'd be silly to make the remaining three switch lions a bunch, so i can get an excuse to draw Gabe and Jack in multiple suits lmao. but Ana starts out as red, the right hand of Voltron, described as the most temperamental and aggressive. it requires a paladin that can keep up with it and works on instinct most of the time. i feel like Ana would have to BECOME the motherly figure for her team, instead of being one from the start. with that i think she would have been a more "lone wolf" type at first, only later on becoming more mindful of her teammates and how much they need her, which would lead to her becoming the paladin of the Blue Lion - a pillar that keeps the team going along with Rein, a vital part, but no longer in a leadership position. i've seen the Blue Lion described as a "free spirit" too, which i think is also perfect for her :3

Jack - for him i had three options, all of which fit him well: blue, red and black. and instead of picking one, i decided he was going to have three different lions :))) for shits and giggles. so he starts out as blue, a free spirit, very versitile (from what i gathered, the Blue Lion doesn't have a specific "thing" it specilizes in, but instead does a little bit of everything, kinda like Jack). i imagine Jack was the middle-man, an integral part of team-building. he would have been the one to push everyone to work together and follow Gabe's lead, but he was content being on the sidelines most of the time. eventually he takes up more responsibility, sees that he's vital for the team and that he can do more working side by side with Gabe, and so he becomes the paladin of the Red Lion, Gabe's right hand man. then he of course slowly grows to be the actual leader, as Gabe's approach changes and he slowly abandons his original role, passing the command over to Jack. and so Jack's last lion is the Black Lion. also i feel like all three lions fit Jack's color scheme pretty well, so that's another win for me hah

Gabe - since he was the original Strike Commander, i thought it only natural that he would be the first to pilot the Black Lion. the pilot needs to be decisive, stay cool in the face of danger and be someone whose men will follow him into battle with no hesitation - all traits that i see Gabriel would have had to have during the first Omnic Crisis. like i mentioned before, Jack eventually becomes his second in command, and then slowly their roles start to shift. Gabe is no longer content in making decisions for the whole team, he probably also becomes more violent and reckless, relying on Jack to keep him in check. he loses his connection with the Black Lion and becomes the paladin of the Red Lion, Jack's right hand man. the traits of Red fit him well too - aggressive, relies on instinct, temperamental, plus i imagine Gabe is the type to want to get things done as quickly as possible, no matter the risk, to save more people faster. plus, again, the colors match up yaaaay!

fun fact: i never finished watching voltron ^^

also i am truthing anahardt and reaper76 as we speak

[questionsonislam]

What is the evidence showing that Imam Ash’ari and Imam Maturidi followed Imam Shafii and Imam Abu Hanifa in Aqidah (creed) and Fiqh?

1. Abu Hanifa’s kalam and fiqh thought was transferred to the Transoxiana region through his students. The teacher line of Maturidi, who received knowledge from scholars belonging to Hanafi madhhab, reaches Abu Hanifa through Imam Muhammad.

It is stated by Abul-Muin an-Nasafi that Maturidi, who is characterized as the person who knows the views of Abu Hanifa best among Hanafi scholars, contributed greatly to the spread of Hanafi madhhab, especially in the field of creed.

In addition, it is shown as a distinctive feature that the scholars in the region are Hanafi in both fiqh and creed. Non-Hanafi scholars such as Tajuddin as-Subki also describe Maturidi as a member of Abu Hanifa’s madhhab.

While classifying the Islamic madhhabs, the basic principles of each madhhab were taken as basis. Differences in opinions other than those basic principles do not constitute an obstacle to belonging to that madhhab.

Abu Hanifa’s distinctive feature regarding the issue is that he describes belief as the confirmation by the heart and makes the distinction between deeds and belief clear. According to him, the faith of a believing believer does not increase or decrease as his deeds increase or decrease.

Although especially Hanafi fiqh scholars consider expressing belief with the tongue necessary as a pillar of belief, the fact that Imam Maturidi complied with Abu Hanifa in this regard, and that he regarded only confirmation by the heart as a pillar of belief shows that he fully followed Abu Hanifa’s creed. The fact that he mentions Abu Hanifa’s work “al-Alim wal-Mutaallim” also shows that he benefited from it.

It is also known that he read Mabsut written by Imam Muhammad ash-Shaybani on fiqh issues.

When his views in Maturidi tafsir are examined, it is seen that he benefited from the views of Abu Hanifa and his close students.

Therefore, Alauddin as-Samarqandi, who annotated Maturidi’s work called “Tawilatul-Quran”, stated that this work was on the way of Abu Hanifa and his students in terms of fiqh methodology and practice.

2. Imam Shafii attended the lessons of Malik b. Anas and was his student until his death. After leaving Madinah, Imam Shafii lived in Baghdad for a while, and during this period, he attended the lessons of Muhammad ash-Shaybani, one of Abu Hanifa’s students, read and debated his works. He supported the views of the Companions of Hadith against Ahl ar-Ray in particular and contributed to their strengthening.

Imam Shafii, who started to form his original thought after going to Egypt, avoided imitating completely the views of his teacher, Imam Malik, to whom he held fast before.

In Imam Shafi’s thought, devotion to divine revelation was accepted as the basic principle. He regards the Sunnah as an inseparable part of revelation along with the verses of the Quran; he argues the necessity of knowing the Arabic language with its subtleties in order to draw conclusions from them. Methodologically, he did not stand close to the science of kalam.

He devoted his life to the science of fiqh; it is reported that he was not pleased to be mentioned with the science of kalam. He criticized Mutazilah, which dealt with and supported the science of kalam in his period.

Contrary to Abu Hanifa, he argued that belief would increase and decrease regarding the issue of “increase and decrease in belief”, which was also an important discussion topic of the period. If belief had a structure that would not increase or decrease, there would be no difference among people in terms of virtue.

The branch of Ahl as-Sunnah kalam extending to Ash’aris emerged after him.

Imam Ash’ari became close to Hanbali madhhab after leaving Mutazilites but he adopted the kalam method of scholars such as Abdullah b. Kullab and Harith al-Muhasibi and provided the development of Ahl as-Sunnah kalam through that intellectual structure. After him, as powerful scholars such as Baqillani, Ibn Furak, and Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini followed his madhhab, it was transformed into a systematic structure called Ash’ariyya and became widespread.

It does not seem possible to talk about Shafii’s contribution to Ash’ari’s kalam system because, as we have briefly explained, Imam Shafii took a stance against the method of kalam.

The fact that the scholars of Shafii madhhab in amal (deeds) adopted Ash’ariyya as the method of kalam related to fiqh caused the mentioning of those two madhhabs together.

Belonging to Ash’ariyya was not limited to Shafii madhhab; it developed in an eclectic structure, including Maliki and Hanbali scholars too.

In conclusion:

- Abu Hanifa was influential on Imam Maturidi and the scholars who were members of Maturidiyya madhhab both in terms of creed and fiqh practice.

- Imam Shafii’s relationship with Ash’ariyya is limited to the belonging of the scholars of Shafii madhhab in fiqh practice.

[2024idpgroup14]

Developing the Experience 

Angelique Shelley (MA Concept Art)

Blog Post #7

Sound

As production in After Effects continued, it became clear that it would make more sense for me to add and composite together the audio. The main reason for this is that the After Effects project file, complete with image sequences from Unreal added up to over 60GB so syncing that between team members could be problematic, especially since I am remote. There was also quite a lot of sickness in the group which I was fortunate enough to avoid.

Ana selected and shared some excellent sounds throughout the project for us to use.

We also received feedback from staff on how we should avoid just sticking sounds straight on but should pay attention to blend them together carefully.

I found that Premiere Pro was far more capable in the sound department than After Effects so exported the final composition from After Effects as an mp4 with a manageable file size that could render in real time in Premiere Pro. To avoid double-compression by encoding to mp4 twice though I decided to edit the sounds over the pre-rendered mp4 and then bring in the processor-intensive after effects file directly into Premiere Pro with the dynamic link at the very end and render that instead. This ensures maximum video quality and ease of editing along the way. 

While it could be argued that our visuals may seem disconnected throughout the video I hoped that the sound could help tie it together with more cohesion. 

After adding the first sounds of rocks banging down and slate grinding and stone chips falling, I noticed that the sound effects seemed laughably ‘small’ compared to the size of the giant heads rotating into position. I found that adding a Bass effect made the sounds sound larger and a Studio Reverb with the equalizer set to custom>great hall with some extra tweaks made it more echoey in between the pillars of the first scene (see fig. 1). 

Fig. 1 A screenshot showing the application of Studio Reverb.

The echoes unfortunately did not extend beyond the audio clip length so although echoing through the clip, ended abruptly. If this was After Effects I would assume that a precomposition of the audio layer would allow the software to echo even where there is no actual audio clip. I found that the premiere version of precompose is called ‘nest���. Indeed this worked as I intended. Duplicating a small audio file, adding it beyond the end of the composition and nesting that too allowed the final audio clip to echo as well.

The sounds now matched the scene far better. The sound links below show the originals and how small they sound in comparison.

I added the sound of wind and calm water to connect the viewer to the scene more as well.

The sound of the clock increasing in speed was a challenge as the speed ramp effect only worked on video instead of audio but I found that I could increase the speed of the whole layer linearly so just duplicated the audio layers, speeding each one up with a fade between them all.

I applied similar effects to all of the above for the wormhole and final scenes, but layering the sounds for the wormhole effect was both fun and challenging (see fig.2).

Fig. 2 A screenshot showing some of the final layers of sound for the wormhole effect.

The music we chose had an ethereal, mysterious and slightly unsettling feel and worked well as a more ambient track that did not draw too much attention to itself and did not overpower the direct environmental sounds such as the rocks or wormhole. I feel that the overarching music helps tie everything together and make it a more harmonious experience.

Fig. 3 Screenshot of final sound composition. 

The Final Composite

References:

allthingssound (2018). de rottende veerboot. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/allthingssound/sounds/425183/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

carmsie (2012). PB It is time.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/carmsie/sounds/168303/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

carmsie (2012). PB Remember Remember v2.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/carmsie/sounds/168305/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

DylanTheFish (2018). Warp Speed.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/DylanTheFish/sounds/454683/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

felix.blume (2023). River bank, waterfall distant loud, lapping water, close recording, bird, subtle cicada in indigenous village Salto Hacha in Amazon rainforest. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/felix.blume/sounds/674104/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

f-r-a-g-i-l-e (2019). Buttery Breakbeat Synth, octave playthrough. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/f-r-a-g-i-l-e/sounds/500662/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

het_HCKM_DS_... (2022). Mortality Boring Death Dying clock tick tock klok tik tak incl 20 Hertz sometimes. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/het_HCKM_DS_huis/sounds/661499/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

Jovica (2008). Pad 006 - Whispering Ears - D4.flac. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Jovica/sounds/52489/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

kernschall (2018). SFX_Stone_Calcit_DeadSea_Avalacne_foot #3-178.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/kernschall/sounds/425017/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

klankbleed (2017). wind gap indoors 001 170305_1100.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/383139/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

Robinhood76 (2021). 10105 big stone crush impact.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Robinhood76/sounds/567840/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

X3nus (2020). Ardanbanapolis Interstellar Hub.flac. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/X3nus/sounds/513487/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

Zimbot (2011). Portal_Continuous_Rumble.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/zimbot/sounds/122972/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]

[lucianbarbu]

November Log

This month I finally got to finish my square(ish) sketchbook. Stared a new one. Thinking of going back to drawing more studies as well.

At the beginning of November, time was of essence in finishing drawing on the four pillars that help keep the Politechnical University Library of Timișoara standing. I was invited by Campus Creativ UPT to make an intervention on the pillars, marking the end of their 2023 project. I tried to approach the campus (which is the oldest campus in town, celebrating 100 years from its first building this year), from two different directions: one in which it is the sum of all buildings, bricks, concrete, wood, installation, pluming, trees and benches, and one that is made out of the people who inhabit them. On the pillar's I compiled the campus residents' first ever drawings, as a homage to the first creation of the physical campus being built a century ago.

Between drawing sessions outside, I walked through the town to paste the Timișoara part of the comics for my project for Simultan's exhibition. So glad I managed to finish this on time, since it was a very complex project to work on. I was slowly preparing for the show's opening on the 16th.

Roger invited me to submit on of my dreams in their Dream Journal, in comic form. This is my submission, it's a dream about a recurring horror house that I keep progressing further down into, with each dream that finds myself there. II chose this one as an excuse to draw the polly pockets that I had to build in order to find the code to escape the area that I was stuck in.

Livia brought the mug that I drew on on Gruni's 4th year birthday ceramics painting workshop. Couldn't be happier with how the lines turned out.

On the weekend of the 17th, the Work Academy opened, a show that is part of Progress: Paradigm Shifts #5, organised by Simultan, curated by Ștefan Tiron and Arne Hendriks. The project provided me with the opportunity to explore installations for the first time. I was stoked to share the exhibition hall with other great local artists such as the guys from Kosmos DIY and their miniature exhibition boxes, Vlad Cadar and his raft and with C4Company's punk improvised set.

Before the month ended, the annual Balamuc Studio Fair took place. This year, Gavril and I joined Ana, Livia and Răzvan as permanent studio members.

[marvelmyriad]

Trailing Ana and Wade wasn't difficult. With the hearing aid he had and Wade's incessant talking, Bucky didn't even have to keep his eyes on them the entire time. It gave him the chance that he needed to get just a little bit ahead. He needed to get to a spot where he'd be able to see all of the people involved in this exchange, making sure that it all played out the way that it needed to. There was still the chance of this guy calling Ana's bluff, and the reality of it was that their entire family was incapable of actually following through with a threat to innocents, let alone children.

After he was able to get behind a pillar that was cast in shadow, he took measured breaths as to not give away his position. Ideally, he wouldn't have to get involved. Ana was more than capable of making this exchange herself, she'd worked with much more difficult circumstances and had come out on top...

No, as soon as he heard that voice, it was Bucky that needed to be worried about. His breath hitched in his throat and his gaze was unfocused towards the wall. He had his back to the meeting taking place and there was an internal battle within his mind over what to make his legs do. He felt if he didn't look, his heart might beat out of his chest. Yet his legs refused to move for a few long moments. He forced himself back to reality and took a couple of uneven breaths, because it was all that he could muster. He had to know. He'd spent so long feeling like he was in limbo, not having any proof one way or another as to what happened to Steve. It had even crossed his mind that HYDRA might have gotten ahold of him, found him in the ocean still alive somehow and did to him what they'd done to Bucky and Ana.

Steeling his nerves, he stepped over just enough so that he could lean the rest of the way in order to get a look at the man now that he was able to be seen in earnest.

The former assassin's heart stilled in his chest as though he was looking at a ghost, and he was. There was no doubt in his mind though, that was his Steve. No amount of trying to rationalize this away was going to be enough.

It occurred to him that they couldn't rule out the possibility that the blonde had been taken by HYDRA, or any other number of groups that were similar enough to make him an active danger. Steve was working for a secret organization, one that dealt in intelligence and hired killers to remove people at someone's whim...and he was a Super Soldier. He was The Super Soldier, having been the only complete success in the entire project. If someone had gotten their hands on him, this was so much worse than they could have imagined.

Bucky took a deep breath. Drawing his gun, he stepped out from behind the pillar enough to get behind the Captain, aimed his gun, and begun moving forward in strides.

"Get on the ground..." he ordered, deadly serious. "Now!"

Steve hadn't really slept the night before. He was too busy preparing...or maybe worrying was the better term. Something about that woman on the phone, the one threatening those kids, the way she called him Stevie, it made his throat tight. Rogers, who normally was always so cool under pressure, had to fight to keep himself from losing it, and even then it hadn't got quite that way.

Luckily...It wasn't going to take too long to get to where he was, and he was able to slip out unnoticed. She had said alone, and he wasn't willing to risk her being serious about the bomb if he showed up with anyone, even without him knowing.

He'd gotten there early, waiting in the warehouse until he heard them show up. His bike was hidden outside behind some old shipping containers. The place gave him the creeps. When he heard movement in the main open space, and started in that direction. Steve wasn't dressed like a SHIELD agent. No, now Steve dawned an outfit much like the one he had worn in his days with the Howling Commandos, but this one more muted, and no white to be found.

Carrying his shield in front of him, the flash drive containing everything they had on it, in one of his belt pouches. When he laid eyes on the room he saw who he could assume was the woman he spoke to on the phone, and Wade next to her. Seeing something in her hand, he clenched his jaw.

"6 AM. Like we agreed." He finally said squared up once he was well into the room, but still a safe distance from her.

[dailytafsirofquran]

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Surah Al-Baqarah Ayah 3

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

3. Who believe in the Ghayb and perform the Salah and spend out of what We have provided for them

The Meaning of Iman

Allah says;

Abu Jafar Ar-Razi said that Al-Ala bin Al-Musayyib bin Rafi narrated from Abu Ishaq that Abu Al-Ahwas said that Abdullah said, "Iman is to trust.''

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said, (who have faith), means they trust.

Also, Ma`mar said that Az-Zuhri said, "Iman is the deeds.''

In addition, Abu Jafar Ar-Razi said that Ar-Rabi bin Anas said that, `They have faith', means, they fear (Allah).

Ibn Jarir (At-Tabari) commented, "The preferred view is that they be described as having faith in the Unseen by the tongue, deed and creed. In this case, fear of Allah is included in the general meaning of Iman, which necessitates following deeds of the tongue by implementation.

Hence, Iman is a general term that includes affirming and believing in Allah, His Books and His Messengers, and realizing this affirmation through adhering to the implications of what the tongue utters and affirms.''

Linguistically, in the absolute sense, Iman merely means trust, and it is used to mean that sometimes in the Qur'an, for instance, Allah the Exalted said, He trusts (yu'minu) in Allah, and trusts (yu'minu) in the believers. (9: 61)

Prophet Yusuf's brothers said to their father,

But you will never believe us even when we speak the truth. (12:17)

Further, the word Iman is sometimes mentioned along with deeds, such as Allah said,

Save those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds. (95:6)

However, when Iman is used in an unrestricted manner, it includes beliefs, deeds, and statements of the tongue. We should state here that Iman increases and decreases.

There are many narrations and Hadiths on this subject, and we discussed them in the beginning of our explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, all favors are from Allah.

Some scholars explained that Iman means Khashyah (fear of Allah). For instance, Allah said; Verily, those who fear their Lord unseen (i.e. they do not see Him, nor His punishment in the Hereafter). (67:12)

Who feared the Most Gracious (Allah) in the Ghayb (unseen) and brought a heart turned in repentance (to Him and absolutely free from every kind of polytheism). (50: 33)

Fear is the core of Iman and knowledge, just as Allah the Exalted said,

It is only those who have knowledge among His servants that fear Allah. (35:28)

The Meaning of Al-Ghayb

As for the meaning of Ghayb here, the Salaf have different explanations of it, all of which are correct, indicating the same general meaning.

For instance, Abu Jafar Ar-Razi quoted Ar-Rabi bin Anas, reporting from Abu Al-Aliyah about Allah's statement, (Those who) have faith in the Ghayb), "They believe in Allah, His angels, Books, Messengers, the Last Day, His Paradise, Fire and in the meeting with Him. They also believe in life after death and in Resurrection. All of this is the Ghayb.''

Qatadah bin Di`amah said similarly.

Sa`id bin Mansur reported from Abdur-Rahman bin Yazid who said, "We were sitting with Abdullah bin Mas`ud when we mentioned the Companions of the Prophet and their deeds being superior to our deeds.

Abdullah said, `The matter of Muhammad was clear for those who saw him. By He other than Whom there is no God, no person will ever acquire a better type of faith than believing in Al-Ghayb.'

He then recited,

Alif Lam Mim. This is the Book, wherein there is no doubt, guidance for the Muttaqin. Those who believe in the Ghayb, until, (the successful).''

Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduwyah and Al-Hakim, in his Mustadrak, recorded this Hadith.

Al-Hakim commented that this Hadith is authentic and that the Two Sheikhs - Al-Bukhari and Muslim - did not collect it, although it meets their criteria.

Ahmad recorded a Hadith with similar meaning from Ibn Muhayriz who said: I said to Abu Jumu`ah, "Narrate a Hadith for us that you heard from the Messenger of Allah.''

He said, "Yes. I will narrate a good Hadith for you.

Once we had lunch with the Messenger of Allah. Abu Ubaydah, who was with us, said, `O Messenger of Allah!

Are people better than us We embraced Islam with you and performed Jihad with you.'

He said,

Yes, those who will come after you, who will believe in me although they did not see me.''

This Hadith has another route collected by Abu Bakr bin Marduwyah in his Tafsir, from Salih bin Jubayr who said: Abu Jumu`ah Al-Ansari, the Companion of the Messenger of Allah, came to Bayt Al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) to perform the prayer. Raja' bin Haywah was with us, so when Abu Jumu`ah finished, we went out to greet him. When he was about to leave, he said, "You have a gift and a right. I will narrate a Hadith for you that I heard from the Messenger of Allah.''

We said, "Do so, and may Allah grant you mercy.''

He said, "We were with the Messenger of Allah, ten people including Mu`adh bin Jabal. We said, "O Messenger of Allah! Are there people who will acquire greater rewards than us We believed in Allah and followed you.'

He said,

What prevents you from doing so, while the Messenger of Allah is among you, bringing you the revelation from heaven There are people who will come after you and who will be given a book between two covers (the Qur'an), and they will believe in it and implement its commands. They have a greater reward than you, even twice as much.''

Allah says; And perform Salah, and spend out of what we have provided for them.

Meaning of Iqamat As-Salah

Ibn Abbas said that, (And perform the Salah), means, "Perform the prayer with all of the obligations that accompany it.''

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn Abbas said, "Iqamat As-Salah means to complete the bowings, prostrations, recitation, humbleness and attendance for the prayer.''

Qatadah said, "Iqamat As-Salah means to preserve punctuality, and the ablution, bowings, and prostrations of the prayer.''

Muqatil bin Hayyan said Iqamat As-Salah means, "To preserve punctuality for it, as well as completing ones purity for it, and completing the bowings, prostrations, recitation of the Qur'an, Tashahhud and blessings for the Prophet. This is Iqamat As-Salah.''

The Meaning of "Spending'' in this Ayah

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said, (And spend out of what We have provided for them) means, "The Zakah due on their wealth.''

As-Suddi said that Abu Malik and Abu Salih narrated from Ibn Abbas, as well as Murrah from Ibn Mas`ud and other Companions of the Messenger of Allah, that, (And spend out of what We have provided for them) means, "A man's spending on his family. This was before the obligation of Zakah was revealed.''

Juwaybir narrated from Ad-Dahhak, "General spending (in charity) was a means of drawing nearer to Allah, according to one's discretion and capability. Until the obligation of charity was revealed in the seven Ayat of Surah Bara’h, were revealed. These abrogated the previous case.''

In many instances, Allah mentioned prayer and spending wealth together.

* Prayer is a right of Allah as well as a form of worshipping Him. It includes singling Him out for one's devotion, praising Him, glorifying Him, supplicating to Him, invoking Him, and it displays one's dependence upon Him.

* Spending is form of kindness towards creatures by giving them what will benefit them, and those people most deserving of this charity are the relatives, the wife, the servants and then the rest of the people. So all types of required charity and required spending are included in Allah's saying, (And spend out of what we have provided for them).

The Two Sahihs recorded that Ibn Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said,

Islam is built upon five (pillars):

* Testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,

* establishing the prayer,

* giving Zakah,

* fasting Ramadan and

* Hajj to the House.

There are many other Hadiths on this subject.

The Meaning of Salah

In the Arabic language, the basic meaning of Salah is supplication. In religious terminology, Salah is used to refer to the acts of bowing and prostration, the remaining specified acts associated with it, specified at certain times, with those known conditions, and the characteristics, and requirements that are well-known about it.

[micaramel]

Artist: Thanasis Totsikas

Venue: Akwa Ibom, Athens

Exhibition Title: The Crucifixion of Thanasis Totsikas

Date: June 15, 2020 – July 10, 2020 and September 10, 2020 – October 10, 2020

Curated By: Maya Tounta

Click here to view slideshow

Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.

Images:

Images courtesy of Akwa Ibom, Athens

Press Release:

In 1985 Thanasis painted a depiction of life’s ladder and titled it The stairway of life. In 1988 he made a sculpture in metal with the same title. I found these in the digital archive of his work a few days ago and called him up to ask about them, but he appeared pretty unenthusiastic, so I let it go. This morning as I sat down to write this text – I had a whole outline for it – it wouldn’t come out. I went back to looking at the 80s ladders. We haven’t reproduced them for you here, but just imagine, these are full of dynamism, strength and forward hope. Now it is more than two decades later, and Thanasis has repainted the ladders in a series of drawings he’s now charged with a very different emotion. In the recent works, a Sisyphus-like figure appears carrying a boulder, bent-over, tired, as if about to collapse on the floor. Thanasis has replaced hope with exhaustion, strength and dynamism with unelected perseverance. The transition leaves one with that feeling of never knowing if you’re well or not, though admittedly you remember, at some point, knowing.

Coming to this thought, I remembered something else I came across in the digital archive – a scan of the backside of a postcard on which Thanasis had scribbled something. I couldn’t totally make out what it said so I sent it to him on Messenger, and he wrote back:

“This is what I’ve written”, he said. “I slowly forget all about life’s ladder…we have sour cherry juice here…it seems like my taste comes from my mother’s side of the family”. “This postcard is from a drawing. I must have forgotten about it. I used to send things like that to the house. Sometimes I’d write in the back. This one reminds me of a (Yannoulis) Chalepas drawing.”

If Thanasis hadn’t painted his Crucifixion, I’d never see those images. I kept thinking about that. That they’re real – autobiographical, as he says, but not necessary. There’s an enormity of feeling that comes with that simple realisation, and it’s hard to know how to speak about it when it concerns another person, someone you don’t know, except for a few conversations and the work of course. The work is the testimony. Then there’s the realisation that you’ll never fully access what lies behind it.

In the exhibition, we are showing 200 or so drawings Thanasis has made in the last couple of years. Most of them depict his Crucifixion, he raised on the cross, being taken down and placed in his mother’s arms. I find it hard to look at them. It’s not so much the violence and the suffering that I find difficult but the sheer quantity of them—the relentless repetition of the pain he gave time to sediment. I also fear people might look past these drawings and pass judgment on Thanasis personally for the amount of suffering to which, he has laid claim. I have a feeling Thanasis might have crucified himself to fulfil an advance sentence he’d come to expect from the outside.

In these last few weeks of self-isolation, I looked at the histories of the Crucifixion as Christian Passion, Roman punishment and subject in art and certain things resonated with the work.

The punishment of the Crucifixion Romans would mainly impose on deserters, murderers, traitors and criminals of humble origin. Depending on their social status, Romans used to place convicts at different heights on the pillar of the cross. The higher their situation, the higher they hung. That was both symbolic like in their annual dog crucifying ceremonies, and practical. A way to ensure that different bodies would end up in the stomachs of different animals. It was typical for bodies not taken down quickly to end up as food for vultures while dogs and other wild animals would feed on the legs of those that hung closer to the ground. Also, death by Crucifixion was often slow and rarely solitary. There are accounts of people speaking to each other on the cross for hours, laughing, spitting at spectators, even singing songs in protest. I can see this irreverence in Thanasis’ drawings as well. When I asked him about why he’s painted his Crucifixion, Thanasis said he had turned aggression he once felt for others inwardly towards himself. In an older interview with Kostas Bitopoulos about an exhibition at Epikentro Gallery in Patra, Thanasis had said then: “I didn’t do it to exalt it. I did it so I could rid myself from it.”

In Christianity, the cross is a handle that God’s frail and light body uses to lift the world. According to the philosopher, mystic and political activist Simone Weil, the cross – one’s personal cross, is a needle that pierces the quivering soul that is like scales out of balance to give it stability. The act of piercing, the suffering, the cross, is what allows each of us individually to realise that we are not the centre of the world. It is the breakdown of our sense of self-importance, of our ego, through the painful but necessary realisation that we’re bound to a force of gravity matched only by grace. For Weil, the original question that supposedly remained unanswered – “Why have you forsaken me?” – was responded in silence. For others, it’s never received a response. Thinking about the Armenian women that were nailed alive upon the cross, the words of Scottish painter Craigie Aitchison come to mind. Aitchison, who must have painted thousands of crucifixion scenes during his life, and who never professed to be particularly religious either, when asked about his enduring interest in the subject had said that he considered: “the Crucifixion the most horrific story he’d ever heard and little more; the ganging up against one person; as long as the world exists one should attempt to recall it.” Aitchison was by all accounts, a charming man who lived his life among animals he loved dearly. For some time, he had canaries living in his studio. They’d made their nest inside an old mattress. Once, the police caught him driving with his Bedlington terrier on his shoulder.

Thinking about a sequence of crucifixions across art history almost exclusively painted by men, I realised that seeing myself as a woman I’d never identified with the figure of Christ. I wondered if other female or female-identifying artists had been able to look past such markers of difference in identity and create representations of him in their way.

The first work that came to my mind was a photograph by American photographer Francesca Woodman, Untitled in which Woodman places the Crucifixion inside her home picturing herself as Christ hanging above the door. As Deborah Garcia says about this work, this unusual depiction of the Crucifixion which has a mise-en-scene quality is characterised by a mundane hierophany that is seldom found in common depictions of the Passion. In the 1977 self-portrait On Being an Angel #1, Woodman has placed the camera above her head producing a distorted image where her lower body disappears. The unusual angle Woodman has used to picture herself in this work reminded me of another depiction of the Crucifixion by artist Salvador Dali, Christ of St John of the Cross, 1951. To create this image, Dali employed Hollywood stuntman Russell Saunders to pose for him suspended from an overhead gantry so that he could study the effect of gravity on his body. Woodman’s photograph reminded me of Dali’s painting because of how they both position the viewer in space but seeing both works alongside each other made me aware of a fundamental difference between them. In January of 1981 Woodman’s body was found in a New York morgue as that of an unidentified young woman. According to witnesses, she had fallen off a building that same morning, and the fall had disfigured her face. Woodman struggled with depression for years. That struggle is visible in her photographs permeated by a thick atmosphere of melancholy, albeit her use of motifs and interpretation of symbols such as that of the Crucifixion is singular like pain is singular and at the same time novel. That embodied experience with the affective reach that it has is not present in Dali’s work which is characterised by a formal intention – a stylistic, distanced contouring of the subject.

Woodman’s intimate and embodied approach to showing suffering brings to mind not only the words of Aitchison and Weil who suffered from migraines that kept her in bed for days and who had written about this experience as a basis for her philosophy – but also Ana Mendieta’ work. Mendieta created a series of works in response to the rape and murder of Sara Ann Otten in 1973. In one performance she covered herself in blood recreating the victim’s poses as they were described in newspaper articles. Mendieta has said that all her works are in some sense a personal response to issues she cannot see herself responding to theoretically. Mendieta used blood like it is used in rituals of the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria but did not subscribe to one religion. In her notebook from 1980, she stated: “my art is grounded in the belief of one universal energy which runs through everything: from insect to man, from man to spectre, from spectre to plant from plant to galaxy. My works are the irrigation veins of this universal fluid. Through them ascend the ancestral sap, the original beliefs, the primordial accumulations, the unconscious thoughts that animate the world”.

Text by Maya Tounta

  Thanasis Totsikas (born 1951) lives and works in Nikaia, Larissa. He is a skilled luthier, cutler and autobody-repair technician. This expertness has shaped his artistic practice and has been present in his work since his first solo presentation at Desmos Gallery in 1982. His prolific career has included participations at the Venice Biennale and Documenta. His artworks, expressive of a way of life more than the outcome of vocation, often incorporate objects and materials from his every day as diverse as mud and reeds and a Ducati motorcycle.

Link: Thanasis Totsikas at Akwa Ibom

The post Thanasis Totsikas at Akwa Ibom first appeared on Contemporary Art Daily.

from Contemporary Art Daily https://bit.ly/3jdiKcI

[the-gunslock]

Hiver 2 - Gunslock

This is the story of how I got this title months ago, and why I stuck with it.

At the dawn of a new day, Hiver and her two Hunter clanmates, Selene and Reyla, were off to seek their allies in the Tower Courtyard, joking the whole way. They are immortal, but they love to make every second count.

“…Hawthorne went ‘Dead Orbit?’ and I was like–”

“Gunslock.”

They heard someone shout. All of them got confused and tried to find the source of the call. Turns out it was two Hunters who were loitering near the railings, looking at Hiver’s fireteam. They approach them. Selene, although confused, decides whatever they have to do for the day is more important than these two.

“Uhm. Can we help you?” She asks in annoyance, hoping to get it over with soon.

“Yeah, this one Warlock here…she made a name for herself around her fellow Strike fireteams. You, as Hunters, oughta be ashamed of it.” One of the Hunters, an Awoken, replies to them, scratching his chin, voice full of venom.

“What does Gunslock even mean.” Hiver questions flatly.

“It means,” the second one steps up, replying beneath his rusty greenish Prodigal Mask, “that you’re doing a better job at being a Gunslinger than actual Gunslingers.”

Hiver’s hand unconsciously floats over her thigh where her cannon is stored.  “A… Gunslinger… Warlock?”

“Ya think just because you got a Cayde’s fancy Hand Cannon,” He points towards her replica of the Ace of Spades,��“and can shoot some heads, it means you can try to step into our turf?” He asks, his body language smug and accusatory. It almost feels like a challenge.

“I’m better than them?” Hiver turns to her friends, puzzled. “…Am I better than you? I know I was revived a bit earlier, but…” Both shrug. Hiver turns back at the Hunter, eyebrow raised.

They trade looks, impatient. The Awoken one transmats on his white Floating Cowl helmet and makes a proposition. “How about a showdown, smartass? Braytech, Mars, one hour. Bring your best cannon.”

Hiver shrugs at this situation. “Sure, I think. Just gotta do our thing here at the Tower.”

The Hunters transmat away, into their ships. The clanmates go get their bounties and soon they’re also on their ships, on their merry way to Mars.

“An actual ‘standoff’. I thought these only existed in fiction.” Trinity, Hiver’s Ghost, comments, bobbing beside her in the ship’s cockpit.

“Something’s not right. They felt crooked to me.” Reyla states, thinking out loud. “These guys are weird. Hiver, be careful.”

Trinity looks at Hiver in worrying. “Do you girls mind watching my back?” The Warlock indulges, arms behind her seat’s headrest.

“Sure. I’ll keep them on the other side of my scope.” Reyla replies, loading her Long Shadow sniper.

“Selene?”

“I’ll do the best I can.” The other Hunter loads a clip into her Jade Rabbit scout rifle. “Joan,” she whispers to her own Ghost. “Patch through to Ana. Send that footage, tell her that this could be dangerous. Just in case.”

They exist Slipspace and quickly enters Mars’ orbit. The three guardians meet in front of the BrayTech Futurescape, right beside Rasputin’s Escalation Protocol pillar. Ana is looking on from inside her headquarters with her optic enhancements.

Hiver, laid back, left hand on her belt and right one near her thigh, is facing the first Guardian, the one with the Prodigal Mask. His stance was alert, almost predatory, and his gauntlets were crude, with metal crooked and bent in all directions; If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought it was just improvised armor. 

However, her miserable Crucible matches made her aware that these bent blades were a piece of Exotic armor – Shards of Galanor. On his leg, a black gun with green lights, one she didn’t immediately recognize.

But she had a hunch. One that gave the duel higher stakes if she was right.

Trinity was out of sight, playing an old, pre-Golden Age song. Intense, instrumental, said to be a theme of a famous movie about duels of old Hunters. Perched in the unused trains to the east, Reyla sat with her sniper at the ready. Peeking from around a corner, Selene was ready to run in at any sign of danger.

The Hunter’s companion was nowhere to be seen. Hiver’s Eye of Another World helmet highlighted an enemy behind her, so she could only assume it was him, and not some stray Hive Acolyte. Escalation Protocol was not active. It seems they went a great length to clear out the showdown area.

The music only got more intense as time went on, and the Hunter spoke.

“You shouldn’t get that close, lady.”

“I’m like ten meters away from you.” Hiver said, her hand begging to draw Ace at any moment.

“No.”

The other Hunter, using his crisp-white Sixth Coyote vest, has managed to quickly close the gap behind the Warlock, putting her in a full Nelson hold.

She can’t move.

He’ll probably break her shoulders or neck. She silently panics for a while, while her clanmates are listening in on the comms, trying to understand just what is going on.

The first Hunter takes some steps towards them and takes his gun, fiddling with it. “Looking for his cannon too, are ya? You do not know what you’re getting into by going after ‘every Hand Cannon that exists.’” He said, nodding at her leg where Ace was holstered. “Think you could convince that foolish rat with his little game at the Tower into turning a blind eye to your ‘collecting’? He prolly did.”

He twirls his bulky gun in his hand before turning it towards the Warlock’s head. It reeks of death.

“But we didn’t. You’re gonna have to get this one eventually. And when you do… you’re sealing the deal of who you really are… Dredgen.”

Trinity sends a sign to Reyla. At the same time she shoots the cannon out of the Hunter’s hand, Hiver unleashes a Thunderstrike out of her hands into her captor, who is staggered and lets her go. She elbows him in the face and notices the Prodigal Hunter leaping into the air, channeling Solar energy to his knives. The white-armored hunter behind her is trying to grab ahold of her again, this time with his knife in hand.

Selene jumps out of cover and manages to shoot his chest with Jade Rabbit and cause him to flinch, giving Hiver the chance to blink forward as the Prodigal Hunter launches his Blade Barrage, mistakenly hitting and killing his ally.

Mirroring Cayde’s performance in the Prison of Elders, Hiver uses her blink momentum to slide under the airborne hunter and shoot him in the chest and throat with Ace, causing him to lose all chance of a smooth landing and crashing near his friend, almost dead.

The Warlock catches her breath and examines the Prodigal’s gun as she walks past. She recognizes its luminescent, arcane smoke. The otherworldly fear that this one gun represented – just now pointed towards her.

Thorn.

It’s back. She didn’t even know.

She holsters Ace and walks up to their bodies. The first Hunter, who wore white armor themed after the Trials of the Nine, laid deceased and his body bled from where the Prodigal Hunter’s knives hit. The other wasn’t dead, but was choking and struggling to breathe.

“Shadow.” She said, her voice full of spite over almost ending all her lives to the hand of two insane, power-hungry vermin.

He coughs. “Yeah… So what?” He tries getting up, but simply doesn’t have the strength. “You think yourself a hero, like… like the Man with the Golden Gun?” He points towards his fallen Thorn. “D’you dare to use the Dark… if it meant you got what you wanted?”

Hiver remained silent. He continues. “You two… are just as foolish. We… we do. It’s… heh– incredible. Addicting. And… there’s…” wheeze “so many more. You think… you can out-shoot us all?”

Having enough of this man, Hiver plants a foot on his chest and puts one of Ace’s bullets through his head. She twirls it and puts it back on her leg. Even though she has that wish to grant herself – she doesn’t dare touch the Shadow’s Thorn. Her connection to the Light feels rotten by even coming near it.

Reyla and Selene are slowly coming to rendezvous, guns still in hand. Ana has contacted the Vanguard and is reporting the situation to them. Trinity pops out of transmat near Hiver’s chest. “You know, they are Guardians too. They can just come back after you if they have Ghosts.”

With that, the squad hears the characteristic summoning of a Golden Gun. They all look back to see the bandits’ Ghosts being destroyed in two fiery explosions, the last one shattering the corrupted cannon on the ground.

Looking around, they spot the source. A meddling Gunslinger, wearing battered, outdated armor. But he stood with pride, and it showed, even though his face was covered by his visor. And, under it, perhaps a layer of satisfaction.

“Warlock. Hunters.” He greeted. His voice was deep, almost guttural. She greeted back with a thankful nod.

“Hello.”

The Hunter eyed the ashen bullet-hole that his Golden Gun left on the ground where Thorn was. He quickly turned to the fireteam, and all he uttered was a slow, very clear “Nice work”.

The Fireteam was ready to leave it at that and go on with their day.

That is until the Gunslinger turned around to leave and, under the swooshing motion of his tattered cloak, the women spotted the glint of a golden hand cannon on his leg.

[avalost]

Also a wee lil Selene for @herearedragons for @secret-st-waidwen-exchange - thank you so much for setting up this event, it was so fun to take part in it!

[eden-rosebct]

Updates

The central concept now is based around story-telling, nostalgia and vulnerability. The goal is to start conversations about people that we miss. Through this using the spaces as an emotional cue to reflect. 

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”-Brene Brown

To do this we plan to collect stories and illustrations. Not only from the anonymous public but from ourselves and our peers as well. The idea is to think of someone you miss and draw out a space/ floor plan to represent the space that person existed in. 

We propose to do this through the distribution and collection of postcards. These postcards will provide a curated data response. Due to challenges from our previous project we established a system to collect raw data that would be more useful for us to interpret and share. 

For this first data collection, we wanted to restrict the type of response we received so as to streamline the creation process. By using the nets and limited lines for writing, this formally restricted people into only including the essentials. We then went on to hand out and collect postcards from Uni peers, Friends, Parents, Lecturers etc. The more diverse stories the better. 

Using Fusion 360 we modeled the current rooms based off the floor plans into models. From here we exported the outlines of the room as a North East isometric view PDF. This was then converted into illustrator and coloured using our scheme of purple and orange. Fusion 360 also allowed us to create the nets for the laser cutter to make the physical models. In partnership with the laser labs technician we were able to adjust the Kerf/ tolerance of the laser. This eliminated the use for glue and proceedingly provides a more efficient construction. 

Ordering NFC tags and sensors our plan is to create a screen based interactive story sharing experience. 

Our plan is to create physical models of the collected rooms and use them as a direct feedback to the user. With this in mind our goal is to collect, model and transcribe at least 50 stories. From here using the sensors, and playing around with the idea of an immediate responsive installation. 

Though plans may change, our main goal is to collect and share stories about the people we miss and the spaces they existed in. 

Possible Directions

As for the direction we want to go in with this data, we have discussed creating a public interactive installation. This is inspired by Joseph Michael’s Auckland Live brief and will involve one of the screens in either the engineering building or Aotea Square. The installation will utilise tactile interaction (with the models) and a reactive screen-based aspect.

The rooms will be distributed around the public area and people are encouraged to bring the models up to a platform in front of the screen. When placed on the platform, the corresponding model will show up on the screen and be able to be interacted with. This, we believe, will be an effective method of sharing the stories we collect and provoking thought about the people we miss. 

We believe this tactile approach will be advantageous as we noted that all of our past testers immediately wanted to play with and take apart the models. Hence, the tactile response is important to the interaction. 

For this interaction, we are prototyping NFC tag reading to distinguish the different rooms- linking the stories with the models. 

Feedback plan

As our narrative is a universal one; the feelings surrounding loss and nostalgia, our audience is the general public. We also want to explore the vulnerability brought about by sharing an intimate story anonymously.

In our testing, we will endeavour to keep that anonymity for our testers. 

A diverse audience is our main goal. Everyone we believe has a story and misses someone or a space. In this case for us, it means that our general audience is anyone; anyone seeking vulnerability and connection.

We propose to continue collecting qualitative data from people, through the use of postcards to anonymously collect curated responses. Note that our qualitative data means we are collecting stories in the form of not only words but also illustration.

This includes testing of the layout of the postcards, the nets and how effective this is for us when interpreting them into 3D models. We will also be testing the responses themselves, any noticeable trends/outliers. Testing how people remember spaces will help further our discovery of connection. 

We decided on this format because the subjectiveness of this topic. Everyone has their own stories and we hope to evoke a personal response that is free from quantitative restraints. 

We will also be testing the output method with some of the people who have submitted stories. This is to ensure that they are comfortable with our interpretation of their drawings and stories in the installation itself. We believe this sort of feedback is important for such a personal topic as we need to respect the vulnerability of those submitting their stories and it will help to make our piece more collaborative. 

This raw story data will be directly used as our main artifact. We are collecting stories of people’s memories of other people and spaces. Directly interpreting the feedback responses to represent our greater narrative.   

References 

Tracey Emin (2014) City Art Sydney: The Distance of Your Heart

http://www.cityartsydney.com.au/artwork/the-distance-of-your-heart

Jacqueline Hagan, Karl Eschbach, Nestor Rodriguez (2008) Center for Migration Studies of New York: U.S. Deportation Policy, Family Separation, and Circular Migration

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00114.x

Michael G. MacLean, Lara E. Embry, Ana Mari Cauce (1999) JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY: HOMELESS ADOLESCENTS’ PATHS TO SEPARATION FROM FAMILY COMPARISON OF FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS, PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT, AND VICTIMISATION

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/%28SICI%291520-6629%28199903%2927%3A2%3C179%3A%3AAID-JCOP5%3E3.0.CO%3B2-S

Olivia Hobman (October, 2017) Auckland Live: Pastel City https://vimeo.com/245585937

Strange Planet (@nathanwpylestrangeplanet) • Instagram photos and videos. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2019, from https://www.instagram.com/p/BuoeuYcgrXA/

Jay Roach (2010) Dinner for Schmucks

Art gallery exhibition : From pillars to posts, Project another country 

Eden Pilbrow (2018) Silo https://eden-rosebct.tumblr.com/post/174988847117/final-moments

Eden Pilbrow (2018) aRcde https://eden-rosebct.tumblr.com/post/179501828607/final-result

https://core-electronics.com.au/tutorials/making-boxes-with-fusion-360-for-laser-cutting-tutorial.html

[feisty-mary]

A King and a Duchess: Thoughts on TRR Book 3, Chapter 2

I don’t usually write detailed reviews of TRR chapters aside from screenshots of my playthrough with some comments. But I’ve had tons of feelings since the lackluster pilot and now even chapter two is a disappointment, so I decided I might as well summarize what I think and get it off my chest once and for all.

Note that this post will be peppered with links to my other posts, since I usually write down my thoughts immediately after finishing a chapter so I don’t forget them. It won’t be necessary to open the links to follow what I say here (unless otherwise noted), but please feel free to visit them for screenshots and additional insights.

1.    We finally have the names of the likely enemies of the Crown!

It’s always frustrated me how Liam dances around the issue and says absolutely nothing to his future bride and Queen about the enemies of the monarchy. I understand he can’t (especially if you’re not romancing him), but that doesn’t make it less annoying. It’s a relief to finally get some clues about who they might actually be in this chapter.

According to Bastien, there are three suspects:

    a. Liberation Core. Anti-monarchists, have grown more outspoken in their criticisms against the Crown.

    b. Sons of Earth. Newer faction. Pro-trade, in favor of bigger concessions.

    c. Nevrakis Family. Olivia’s parents were part of an attempted coup.

I reckon Francesco (the Italian ambassador) is part of the Sons of Earth, since he’s been pushing for Cordonia to grant Italian artists more access to Cordonian market. I don’t think they necessarily want to overthrow the government; I imagine they’re mostly businessmen who want a big share of the market for their own benefit. If this is the case, I think we can conclude that they will be the last people who will want instability in Cordonia, since an uncertain environment is bad for business.

Liberation Core sounds the most obvious culprit at the moment, since the videos from the assassin explicitly say that they want to shift the power from the monarchs to the citizens. I wonder if this is a call to change the form of government from monarchy to democracy?

I’ve already said that I have some faith in Olivia’s friendship with Liam. However, it’s her Aunt Lucretia that I’m very wary of (the one who left her to fend for herself after her parents passed away). In this chapter Olivia seems fiercely determined to support Liam, but that’s not necessarily true for the rest of her family, is it? Where has Aunt Lucretia been all these years?

Coup d’état is defined as “a sudden and decisive action in politics, especially one resulting in a change of government illegally or by force” (Dictionary.com, 2018). It’s interesting that this was what Olivia’s parents were involved in, and this is also in part what the assassin in the video threatens to do if Liam doesn’t abdicate the throne (“the palace halls will flow with the blood of tyrants”).

I’m not drawing conclusions from the points above yet, though I admit I’m frustrated that Constantine never dealt with the potential threat in Olivia. If I remember right, Olivia’s parents died when she was around 6 or 7, so this coup d’état must have happened some twenty years ago by this time in canon. The fact that this problem still haunts Liam now that he’s already king is… well, very disappointing.

2.   The enemies of the Crown publicly threaten Liam’s life again in this chapter, but everyone pretends everything is okay. 

Everyone includes but is not limited to Ana and Donnie (the media), Bertrand (who calls the entire thing “a PR miracle” if you don’t botch it up), and even Liam himself, who doesn’t discuss the assassin’s video with MC, but invites her to soak in goddamn bathtub instead (if you’re romancing him). I personally bought Liam’s diamond scene, and except for the two lines where Liam asks MC how she feels after what happened, they don’t dwell much on the video message from the enemies and then continue acting as if it’s really not that important.

Excuse my French but, uhm, what the fuck?

3.   To Ana’s and Donnie’s credit, they don’t pull their punches when they ask Liam what he plans on doing following the demands of the enemies of the Crown. (You might want to open this link in another tab for context.)

“And what about their demands, King Liam? Given everything that’s happened over the past few days, are you thinking of stepping down?”

They go right for the jugular with this question. And Liam, oh my dear Liam disappoints spectacularly in this one. Here he “pauses to gather his thoughts”, and then it’s basically MC who takes over and sends a message on Liam’s behalf.

My question is: Why? Why does it have to be MC who has to do all the talking, when the question is very clearly addressed to Liam, the actual King of Cordonia? Granted, in my playthrough my MC is romancing Liam and is thus his future wife and future Queen of Cordonia. ‘Future’ being the operative term. Why does she get to speak on his behalf, and why are we given the impression that her words instead of the King’s are enough to assuage the fears of the media and the public? Who the hell even is she? If I were a citizen of Cordonia, why would I believe this person in the first place?

I’m incredibly upset by this sequence, because we’ve been told since Book 2 that Liam has to earn his reign in order to regain his kingdom. In this scene, though, after he supposedly pauses to gather his thoughts, his only words are:

“She’s right. I have no intention of giving in to their demands.”

It gets even worse when you remember how much they’ve been emphasizing that there needs to be a display of strength following the assassination attempt during the Homecoming Ball. And like we’ve been told since Book 1, appearances are everything. In this scene, Liam is supposed to show that he isn’t unruffled by the assassination attempt. He’s supposed to show his constituents that he’s a leader they can look to for guidance, a pillar they can lean on in times of chaos and confusion. It’s supposed to be an opportunity for him to start proving himself to the public.

But no. Instead the writers give the spotlight to MC, and it’s her who gives a strong message that appears enough to alleviate the worries of the public (based at least on the reaction of the media).

This just didn’t work for me. I understand that the writers must have wanted for players to have some input in the direction the dialogues are supposed to take, but to me this greatly undermined Liam as the King. This guy was brought up to be a prince, and then eventually the ruler of his own kingdom. His reign has just been threatened publicly, twice, in the span of barely a week. Is this really all he has to say about the matter? “She’s right. I have no intention of giving in to their demands”?

Wouldn’t it have worked better if Liam, as King of Cordonia, had taken the lead and sent a message to bring his people together, assure them that all is well? That’s literally his job. Ana’s and Donnie’s question isn’t something that should have caught him by surprise – not after that botched up assassination attempt. Couldn’t MC have just rallied behind him, said something in support of his statement, as a Duchess and/or future queen? 

This entire scene was just ridiculous. I know the entire premise of TRR banks on a lot of suspension of disbelief, but they really did Liam’s character dirty with this one. 

4.   Madeleine will be our new press secretary! 

I’m surprised but at the same time I’m not? Back in Book 2, even Justin himself remarked that Madeleine was really good at handling the press. Which was when I started lowkey shipping them. I still do; you can fight me. 

I know a lot of people dislike Madeleine, but I’ve grown to really like her. Like I’ve said here, I think she will be perfect for this role, considering her upbringing and her knowledge about Cordonia. I’m not sure how we will convince her to help us, though. I know she does want power, so maybe we’ll make some concessions? A higher position? I for one am not entirely opposed to the idea. You can hate her guts all you want, but even Liam and her mother Adelaide have both acknowledged that Madeleine will make a good queen.

I’m also thankful and happy that they decided to take this route with respect to her character development. I wholeheartedly acknowledge that Madeleine hasn’t been the most pleasant person since we first met her in Book 1. But in making her MC’s press secretary and thus an ally, the writers will have more room to explore who she is: what her motivations are, how she has dealt with Leo’s abdication and her being cast aside, her relationship with her mother and Regina, what she feels about Liam and his decision to choose MC in her place, etc. The writers will add more depth to her character instead of simply writing her off as another evil, power- hungry woman. I for one am keenly looking forward to what she’ll bring to the table once she becomes our ally.

=================================

I’ve never done this ‘thoughts on a TRR chapter’ thing before so my ideas are divided between several posts. I’m adding links to those related to this one. I have already mentioned some of them in the text above.

Enemies of the Crown | Truth behind the Death of Olivia’s Parents | Questions We Need to Ask Ourselves Post-TRR Book 3, Chapter 2 | King Liam, MC, and Answering the Press | Madeleine as MC’s Press Secretary

[devsash]

Mind Games - Part 1

Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

Temple of Earth, Deepholm

Mehe started awake with a gasp. The whispering that had plagued his dreams persisted for a moment longer before gradually fading. The voices came more frequently now, lasting longer each time. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he peered blearily at the pouch nearby. The vial rested within it, untouched since the day he had removed it.

Sitting up, he grimaced at the aches and pains from sleeping on the uneven rocky floor. The Aqua Caverns were quiet at this time of night, devoid of the organised chaos as the Earthen Ring busied themselves clearing out the Temple.

Ever since the defeat of the Twilight's Hammer and the restoration of the World Pillar, the shamans were engaged in honouring their promise to the Stonemother and leaving the elemental plane of Deepholm for Azeroth. Mehe himself was scheduled to return to Orgrimmar later today.

The Sin'dorei's lips thinned as another stream of whispers wound its way into his consciousness.

It was just as he feared. The magic within the droplet from the Sunwell was too badly tainted from the ambient Void energy. There was no other choice; it had to be destroyed. Doing so would be a bloody dangerous feat though. He only dared attempt it away from Deepholm. Perhaps it was best if he left right now and saw to it before anything worse happened.

He stretched before climbing to his feet. Shaking his cloak out, he clasped it once more around his shoulders, sheathing his bow on his back. He briefly inspected his daggers before returning them up his sleeves and glanced at the various vials and elixirs in his pouch. Everything seemed pretty much in order.

Faerdrel, though, would be worried if he left without a word.

Glancing around, he stepped towards a draenei Earthen Ring shaman seated on the floor nearby. “Bal’a dash, shaman. Have you seen Miss Embershade?”

She glanced up at him, the dim light glinting off her curving horns. “No, I haven’t,” she said in halting Orcish. “She left earlier, but I can give her a message if you wish.”

“Hmm.” Mehe glanced towards the main chamber of the temple. “Tell her Ranger Meheaaris is returning to Durotar in advance. I’ve something to see to there.”

The draenei inclined her head. “I will inform her when she returns.”

“Thank you.” Mehe nodded curtly at her before striding towards the portal to Orgrimmar.

Pools of Arlithrien, Teldrassil

Carefully hefting the bundle in his arms, Reianas Starmane straightened, allowing the shadows cloaking him from sight to fall away. They streaked from him like black droplets, racing through the grass towards the darkened trees as he approached the lone moonwell.

He glanced regretfully at the motes of darkness still clinging to his form. Despite Mehe’s repeated reassurances, they discomfited him, like he had been permanently tainted somehow.

Setting down the bundle, he seated himself by the moonwell, brushing aside the stray blue strands of hair that fell into his eyes. He pulled out the rolls of felcoth stowed within the package and lowered it into the enchanted waters. Upon contact, the black corruption in the fabric leeched away into pristine silver. Lifting it back out, he meticulously inspected the newly cleansed mooncloth for lingering impurities before nodding in satisfaction. He set it aside and drew out more felcloth to repeat the process.

He was used to this, the precision and care required for the purification of the holy cloth. He had done this so many times during his days as a tailor while his sisters attended to their priestly duties. It seemed ironic that he had come full circle since. After all, what else was he supposed to do during this ‘leave of absence’? The clergy evidently did not want him in their ranks any longer.

Anas’s lips tightened. He shook his head, banishing these unpleasant thoughts as he lifted out the last of the mooncloth.

There. That should be enough for him to make a new set of robes befitting a priestess of Elune.

Folding the fabric neatly, he returned it to the bundle before glancing around. The tranquil lapping from the moonwell and the gentle sounds of the forest were soothing in their own way, a different serenity from the atmosphere of Darnassus. It probably would not hurt if he tarried awhile longer.

He reached into the bundle and withdrew his sketchbook. Flipping to an empty page, he plucked his pencil from behind his ear and began idly sketching Mehe, basking in the peace and allowing his thoughts to drift.

His beloved had not been at their usual meeting place two nights ago in the Barrens. Despite being deep in Horde territory, Anas had waited for him all night until dawn. The Kaldorei was finally forced to leave when the denizens of the savannah began to stir for the day. There was still no word from Mehe, which worried him.

He scrutinised the sketch, his brow furrowed. The Sin’dorei’s likeness was slowly emerging from the strokes of his pencil, but there was something a bit off with the shape of his jaw. He corrected it before beaming in satisfaction. Much better.

As he drew the scout’s ponytail, Anas wondered what had happened to Mehe. It was not like him to simply vanish without a word. If it were not for this ongoing faction war, he would try making contact with the Sin'dorei somehow. As it stood though, he simply had no idea how to get any news about Mehe without putting them both in danger.

“Ishnu-alah, brother,” a nearby voice murmured unexpectedly.

Anas started, glancing up at once. Recognition dawned upon him and he relaxed, smiling at the newcomer. “Oh, it’s you, Sae. What are you doing out here?”

Saeverean Shadowfang returned the smile, his amber eyes crinkling at the corners. “Oh, you know me. I like being out in nature. It’s peaceful.”

Anas chuckled. “For a moment there, I thought you were one of the furbolgs. You gave me such a start.”

“I was passing through and thought I’d stop and say hello.” The druid stepped closer, absently flicking his silver hair over his shoulder. “You’re drawing something new? What is it?”

“Oh, just sketching to pass the time really. I mostly came out here for those.” Anas pointed at the bundle of mooncloth with his pencil.

Saeverean glanced at the cloth before looking back at the book in Anas’s hands. “May I see?” he asked, holding a hand out.

“Of course. It’s not finished yet though,” Anas said, offering the book to the other Kaldorei.

The druid accepted it, his brow knitting as he peered down at the sketch of Mehe. “A Sin’dorei?” he asked mildly.

Anas nodded. “I haven’t seen him for some time now. I’m worried about him.”

“A friend of yours then?” Saeverean questioned, handing the book back.

“More than a friend,” Anas murmured, his cheeks growing warm. He bent over the sketchbook, resuming his work.

“Really? You and a Sin’dorei man?” Saeverean sighed as he stepped up to sit beside Anas. “What have you been getting yourself into, brother?”

“What’s wrong with liking a Sin’dorei man?” Anas peered at him reproachfully. “Mehe’s a wonderful person. He saved me from the Shadow more than once. He’s even teaching me how to contr--”

“The Shadow?” Saeverean interrupted, his frown deepening. “Is this why you’re out here in the middle of Gnarlpine territory instead of attending to your duties in the Temple?”

“The Priesthood has me on indefinite leave.” Anas glanced away, the corners of his lips tugging down in unhappiness. Taking a deep breath, he returned his gaze to the drawing. “They’re probably justified, seeing that I can’t heal anymore with Elune’s light. I was thinking of just going back to my tailoring instead. Hence the mooncloth,” he said, attempting to keep his voice light.

“Anas--” the druid began, a note of pity in his voice, but the erstwhile priest shook his head at once.

“I wanted some peace and quiet away from Darnassus as well,” he said, attempting to change the subject. “It’s nice out here, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Saeverean agreed, though his sympathetic expression remained. “I’m sorry. I know how much it meant to you.”

Anas’s pencil paused again. “I don’t want to talk about it, Sae,” he said in a quiet voice, studiously avoiding the druid’s gaze.

Saeverean nodded, glancing back at the sketchbook. “Tell me more about this Mehe. How did you meet him?”

“In Dragonblight, during the campaign in Northrend.” Anas grinned. “He’d been bitten by one of the local wildlife, so I healed him. He seemed rather upset about it at first when he woke up.” He chuckled at the memory.

Saeverean’s eyes followed Anas’s sweeping pencil across the page with interest. “I see. He’s a soldier then?”

“A Ranger for the Farstriders,” Anas said, detailing Mehe’s sweeping eyebrows.

“And you’re sure he can be trusted?” Saeverean asked doubtfully.

Anas glanced over the sketch with a critical eye. “I’ve met him many times now and he’s given me no cause to doubt him,” he said, carefully marking the Sin’dorei’s freckles on his nose and cheeks.

The druid was silent for awhile. "Sheronda doesn't know, does she?"

Anas shook his head. "Neither does Shuvi."

"Oh, Shuvi." Saeverean waved a hand dismissively. "When it comes to this, we both know she's nothing like Sheronda. I wouldn't put it past that one if she kicked you out of Darnassus for being involved with a man, let alone a Sin'dorei--"

"Sheronda wouldn't do that," Anas said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

The druid levelled a piercing gaze at the younger Kaldorei. "Anas," he said slowly, "You do remember what she did when you--"

"Maybe it'll be different this time," Anas said. He shook his head, trying to stifle the painful memories brought up by Saeverean’s words. "She's my sister, she wouldn't--"

A loud crack split the air before them, startling the duo. Saeverean was on his feet in an instant, a low growl emanating from the back of his throat.

A portal materialised and a familiar figure almost tumbled out. It was Fae, her eyes wild. “Anas, you have to come quick!” she cried. “It’s Mehe, he’s--”

“How dare you set foot in our lands, Sin’dorei?” Saeverean spat, silver fur rippling across his face.

“Wait,” Anas said, resting a hand on the druid’s shoulder. “She’s with me.”

Saeverean paused, throwing him a side-eyed glance. “Odd company you keep these days, brother,” he said in Common, the fur receding from his skin.

“She’s a friend of Mehe’s,” Anas replied firmly in the same language. “I’d prefer it if she came to no harm here.” He glanced at the Sin’dorei woman. “This is my friend, Saeverean Shadowfang,” he said in Darnassian. “Sae, this is Miss Faerdrel Embershade.”

Sae offered her a brief nod. “Pleased to meet you,” he said stiffly.

“Pleasure’s all mine.” Fae glanced at Anas. “You should come see this,” she said, gesturing at the portal behind her.

Anas closed his book, returning his pencil behind his ear. “I need to get this to the city first,” he said, gesturing at the bundle of mooncloth, but Fae shook her head.

“No time. You must come now.”

Anas paused, a wave of unease overtaking him. “Is Mehe in trouble? We were supposed to meet, but he never showed up.”

She nodded grimly. “I don’t think he’d have trusted anyone else for this.”

Anas nodded, stowing his sketchbook away with the mooncloth. He hefted the bundle, glancing at Saeverean. “Would you mind taking these ba--?”

“I’m coming with you, brother,” the druid said at once, placing a hand resolutely on Anas’s shoulder. “Besides, I’d like to see this Mehe for myself.”

Fae’s green eyes narrowed at once in suspicion at the other Kaldorei’s words.

“It’s okay, Miss Embershade,” Anas said reassuringly. “Sae’s a good person. I can vouch for him.”

The Sin’dorei nodded reluctantly. “Okay, love. Come on then,” she said, waving at the portal.

Balancing the bundle of cloth, Anas took a deep breath, attempting to calm his nerves before stepping through the portal, Saeverean close at his back.

@fae-of-the-people @saeverean

[bigyack-com]

Air Canada to Layoff 16,500 Employees; Reduce Q2 Capacity by 85-90%

Air Canada is to reduce capacity for Q2 2020 by 85%-90% compared to last year, and will place 15,200 members of its unionized workforce on Off Duty Status and furlough about 1,300 managers. The workplace reductions will be effective on or about 3 April 2020 and are intended to be temporary. "The unpredictable extent and duration of the COVID19 pandemic requires a significant overall response," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive. "To furlough such a large proportion of our employees is an extremely painful decision but one we are required to take given our dramatically smaller operations for the next while. It will help ensure that Air Canada can manage through this crisis that is affecting airlines everywhere. We believe that the temporary nature of these reductions, many achieved through voluntary programs, combined with other mitigation measures, will position us to restore regular operations as soon as the situation improves ... I understand and regret the impact this will have upon our employees and their families. I thank all of our employees, as well as union leaders, for working with us constructively to quickly implement these measures."

In addition to the temporary workforce reductions, other measures implemented by Air Canada include: - A company-wide cost reduction and capital deferral program, targeting at least $500 million. - Drawing down operating lines of credit of approximately $1 billion, to provide additional liquidity. - Mr. Rovinescu, Air Canada's President & Chief Executive Officer, and Michael Rousseau, Air Canada's Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer, have agreed to forgo 100% of their salary. Senior Executives will forgo between 25% - 50% of their salary while members of Air Canada's Board of Directors have agreed to a 25% reduction. All other Air Canada managers will have their salaries reduced 10% for the entire Second Quarter. Air Canada intends to continue to serve a small number of international and U.S. trans-border destinations from select Canadian cities after 1 April 2020 in addition to a reduced network in Canada. The airline says it will also continue to operate special international flights in collaboration with the Government of Canada to repatriate Canadians abroad as well as cargo-only flights to ensure the continued movement of essential goods, including medical supplies. See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Air Canada, Canada. Headlines: CapitaLand Appoints Kevin Goh as CEO - Lodging  Relais & Châteaux Adds First Hotel in Bangkok to Collection  Airlines Could Burn Through US$61 Billion of Cash Reserves in Q2  Marriott Warns Millions of Guests About Security Breach  Airbnb to Support Hosts During COVID19 Crisis  Vietnam Airlines Launches Cargo-Only Flights  774-Room Grand Richmond Convention Hotel in Nonthaburi Closes for Two Months  Sindhorn Midtown Bangkok Opens Tower with 49 Serviced Residences  Air Canada to Layoff 16,500 Employees; Reduce Q2 Capacity by 85-90%  Qatar Airways Launches Belly-Hold Cargo Flights to Six Destinations in China  Vietnam Airlines Closes Airport Lounges  RevPAR of Hotels in USA Forecast to Drop 50.6% in 2020  Delta Retains Cargo Tender and Acceptance Capabilities at Tokyo-Narita  Airbus Pauses Majority of Production in Spain  Vietnam Airlines to Reduce Frequency of Domestic Flights  WHO Launches COVID19 WhatsApp Service in Arabic, French and Spanish  Qatar Airways' FFP Offers 12-Month Tier Extension  Etihad Cargo Using Boeing 787-10 Aircraft as Freighters  Air Canada Continues COVID19 Repatriation Flights  Airbus Flies Over 4 Million More Face Masks to Europe  American Airlines Reduces Capacity Further  Hilton to Take Over 1,080-Room Hotel on Orchard Road, Singapore  AirAsia Suspending Most Flights Across Network  Asia Pacific Airlines Carried 17 Million Passengers in February  SIA to Issue S$5.3b in New Equity and Raise Up To S$9.7b via MCB  Qatar Airways Expands Flights to Australia to Help Get People Home  Virgin Atlantic Operates First Ever Cargo-Only Charter  IATA Calls for Urgent Financial Relief from European Governments  Bombardier Suspends 'All Non-Essential Work' in Canada  ANA Partners Skyscanner; Achieves IATA NDC Level 3  COVID19: 75 Million Travel and Tourism Jobs at Immediate Risk  Air Cargo Supply Lines Must Remain Open  American to Operate Repatriation Flights from Honduras and Brazil  Air Canada Launches Cargo Flights to Europe  Air New Zealand Ramps Up Cargo Operations  AirAsia Updates Rebooking Policy  Embraer Helping to Combat COVID19 in Brazil  Thai Airways Cancels Flights to Australia, Europe and Regionally  Tokyo 2020 to Take Place in 2021  Air Canada Organises Two Extra Flights from Quito, Ecuador  Korean Air Execs Take Pay Cut; Airline to Use Passenger Planes for Cargo  Aviation: IATA Calls on Governments to Give More Support  American Airlines Closes Lounges, Changes In-Flight Service and Seating  France's Daily Hotel Occupancy Plummets to Just 3.3%  A400M Delivers Critically-Needed Mask Supplies to Spain  Air Canada to Operate Six Special Flights to Barcelona, Lima and Quito  Bangkok Airways to Close All Airport Lounges  UAE to Ban ALL Passenger Flights for Two Weeks  Etihad Airways Suspends Transit Travel Through Abu Dhabi  Hong Kong's Airport Authority Launches New HK$1 Billion Relief Package  Ryan Jette Joins Capella Singapore as Executive Chef  Austrian Airlines Extends Flight Suspension to 19 April  Singapore Airlines to Ground 138 of 147 Aircraft  COVID19: Sabre to Cut Costs by US$200 Million  JR Central Opens Overseas Online Reseravtions for Shinkansen  Emirates to Suspend Most Passenger Flights  United Airlines Makes Further Reductions to International Schedule  Airbus to Partially Resume Production in France and Spain  IATA Thanks Regulators for Flexibility, Urges Others to Follow Suit  American Airlines Extends Change Fee Waivers Through May  China Airlines Asks All Passengers to Wear Face Masks  Vietnam Airlines to Suspend ALL International Flights  Air Astana and FlyArystan to Suspend ALL Flights  Thai Airways Offers Rebooking or Voucher Option on Tickets ex-UK  Etihad Offers Credit to Travellers Who Wish to Cancel Flights  AAPA Calls on Governments to Help Aviation Industry  American Airlines to Operate Cargo-Only Flights to Frankfurt, Germany  Bangkok Airways Makes Ticket Changes More Flexible  Thai Airways and Thai Smile Waive Ticket Change Fee on Domestic Flights in April  Qantas to Suspend ALL Scheduled International Flights Until at Least June  Marriott Reports COVID19 Impact on Global RevPAR  Air Canada to Reduce Int. Network from 101 Airports to 6  Mitsubishi SpaceJet M90 FTV10 Completes Maiden Flight  Thai Airways Appoints Chakkrit Parapuntakul as Acting President  Delta to Make Significant Capacity Reductions; Park Over Half of Fleet  Airlines Disappointed with EC Guidelines on EU261  Singapore Airlines Reduces Capacity; Warns of More Cuts to Come  Airbus Pauses Production in France and Spain  Banyan Tree Finds Treasure in Myanmar  Vietnam Airlines Suspends Flights to France and Malaysia  South East Asia Needs to Urgently Scale-Up Fight Against COVID19  Air Cargo Essential to Fight Against COVID19 Pandemic  Bangkok Airways Increases COVID19 Screening in Samui, Sukhothai and Trat  United Airlines Cuts International Flights by 85%  APG Airlines Joins IATA and Receives IOSA Certification  Accor Signs 24-Pool Villa Resort in Phuket, Thailand  Thai Airways Updates Flexible Fare Rules on Tickets Booked in UK and Ireland  Air New Zealand to Reduce Capacity by 85%  Finnair to Cut Capacity by 90%  Qantas / Jetstar to Cut International Capacity by 90%  Cathay Pacific Reports February Traffic; Will Reduce Capacity by 90%  Sabre Appoints Otto Gergye as VP/RGM North Asia - Travel Solutions Airline Sales  137 Pillars Appoints Anne Arrowsmith as Corporate GM  Oakwood Appoints Lina Abdullah as RGM  Hong Kong Welcomed Just 199,000 Visitor Arrivals in February  SAS to Halt Most Traffic; Layoff 90% of Workforce  HKIA Handled 1.9m Pax and 18,005 Flight Movements in February  Singapore Airlines Waives Rebooking Fees  American Airlines Suspends All Remaining Flights to Asia  EC Needs to Suspend 80-20 Airport Slots Rule Until October  Vietnam Airlines to Transport Passengers from Europe to Vietnam  Etihad Airways Suspends More Flights  Pictures from Miss International Queen 2020 in Pattaya, Thailand  IATA Reacts to US Ban on Travellers from Europe  Finnair Cancels All Flights to USA and Delhi, India  Qatar Airways Offers FFP Tier Status Extension  Ansat Helicopters Approved to Carry Neonatal Medical Module  American Airlines Outlines Changes to Europe and South America Flights  Eric Martel to Return to Bombardier as President and CEO  Okura Prestige Bangkok Launches Thai Residents Promotion  Finalists from Canada, Italy and UK Selected for Airbus GEDC Diversity Award  COVID19: US Bans ALL Travel from Europe  Vietnam Airlines to Reduce Flights to Europe  WTTC Postpones Global Summit in Cancun, Mexico  COVID19: AirAsia Adds Flexibility for Passengers to Change Tickets  Stephane Gras Appointed GM of Two Four Seasons Hotels in France  Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Downtown Dubai Opens Onsen Spa  Akaryn Hotels & Resorts Launches Travel Trade Promotion  CAAS Implements New Measures for Business Jets Flying to Singapore  COVID19: Thai Airways to Cancel Italy Flights  Accor to Take Over Historic Carton House in Ireland  Vietnam Airlines to Check Temperature of All Passengers Departing Europe  Rosaviatsiya Certifies Emergency Flotation System on Ansat Helicopters  Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi Airports Increase COVID19 Surveillance  Etihad Airways to Launch Daily Flights to Vienna, Austria  Heathrow Introduces New Charges for Night Time Flights  Pictures from Miss International Queen 2020 in Pattaya, Thailand  North Wales Tourism - Interview with Jim Jones, CEO  Dusit Launches Special Travel Trade Rates  COVID19: Cebu Pacific Changes Rebooking Policy  Montara Hospitality Unveils Details of Tri Vananda Wellness Project in Phuket  Qatar Airways Launches More Flexible Booking Policy for Travellers  Thai Airways Causes Confusion with COVID19 Certificate Requirement  ACI Reveals World's Best Airports for Customer Experience  Marriott Opens First Aloft Hotel in Bali, Indonesia  Thai Airways Cancels International Flights in Asia and Europe  Bangkok Airways Makes Major Changes to Domestic and Int. Flight Schedules  Air Astana Makes Changes to Int. Flight Schedules  Finnair to Increase Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel  Airbus to Showcase A220, A350-900 and H145 at Wings India  Women's and Men's Rugby Africa Cup 2020 to Take Place at Same Time  Pictures from Miss International Queen 2020 in Pattaya, Thailand  IATA Updates Analysis of Financial Impact of COVID19 Outbreak  Capella Launches New Hotel Brand  15,000 Athletes Expected at Laguna Phuket Marathon 2020  Starlux Airlines Signs Distribution Agreement with Sabre  Korean Air Expands Temperature Checks to All Flights Departing Incheon  IDeaS Launches RevPlan  Singapore Airlines Cargo Renews CEIV Pharma Certification; Expands Network  Accor Opens Mövenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc  Saving the Elephants of Thailand - Interview with John Roberts, GTAEF  Aviation: COVID19 Hits January Passenger Demand  Aman to Launch New Hotel Brand  SITA Looks at How 5G Will Help to Transform Airports  COVID19: Finnair Makes Major Changes to Network and Resources  Air Cargo Demand Down 3.3% in January  British Airways Trials Autonomous Electric Mobility Devices at JFK  American Express GBT Appoints Mike Qualantone as Chief Revenue Officer  Thai Airways Extends Ticket Change Fee Waiver to More Flights  SilkAir to Suspend Hiroshima Flights Indefinitely  FlyArystan to Launch 8 Routes from New Karaganda Base  Aerobility to Expand Fleet with Former MOD Vigilant T1 Gliders  CWT Appoints David Pitts as VP Revenue and Global Supplier Management  COVID19: British Airways Launches Book with Confidence Policy  Bombardier Offers 4G In-Cabin Wi-Fi as Retrofit on Learjet Aircraft  Thai Airways Reports 2019 Operating Results  Universal Avionics' ClearVision EFVS with SkyLens HWD Certified by EASA  Minor to Operate Clinique La Prairie's First Medical Spa Outside of Europe  Royal Thai Navy Wins Elephant Boat Race for Second Year  IATA Requests Global Suspension of Slot Rules Due to COVID19 Outbreak  Pictures from Elephant Boat Race and Bangkok River Festival 2020  Hilton to Open Garden Inn Hotel at Adventure Parc Snowdonia, North Wales  HK7s and Singapore Sevens Rescheduled  Sustainable Inspiration from Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones in North Wales  Phuket to Host Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020 in June  Thailand: Did Strength of Thai Baht Affect Number of Arrivals from UK in 2019?  Seaplanes in Thailand? Interview with Dennis Keller, CBO of Siam Seaplane  Future of Airline Distribution and NDC - Interview with Yanik Hoyles, IATA  Cambodia Airways Interview with Lucian Hsing, Commercial Director  HD Videos and Interviews  Podcasts from HD Video Interviews  Travel Trade Shows in 2019, 2020 and 2021  High-Res Picture Galleries  Travel News Asia - Latest Travel Industry News  Read the full article

[questir-a]

It’s hard, trying to keep oneself together when there are revolutions on the horizon.

Ata was the first to learn of his struggle, the first to accept him. His father was the pillar of their little family, the softer of his parents, Mongke’s first teacher.  To learn of his death so late is... unbearable. Fire doesn’t comfort him anymore—it reminds him of the time ata showed him wondrous fire shows at night to tell stories of far-off lands and brave warriors. Instead, he turns his attention on his mother.

He tries to be with ana as much as possible. How lonely she must’ve been, to lose her son and husband within two years? Mongke is ashamed of himself. He should’ve been there for her, he shouldn’t have left. But his mother—she waves off his guilt and concern as if they’re nothing. She asks about his adventures, the stories he has to tell.

“You get that from your father, you know?” she says one day while skinning her latest kill for dinner.

Mongke blinks from his stupor and turns to look at his mother. “What?” 

Ana stops her skinning and sighs. She wipes off the blood on her arms and turns to face her son. “That softness. That willingness to reach out. To share yourself with others.”

He squirms uncomfortably in his seat. “Then what do I have from you?”

It’s his mother’s turn to blink before she barks out a laugh. “You got my rage. And stubbornness—your father loved to complain about that. You also got a little of my mischief.”

Mongke blanches. “You...?”

She smirks. “The only reason why we managed to raise you was because you weren’t as bad as I was.”

He wants to ask her what she did, but decides against it. It’s best not knowing the kind of mischief his mother got into.

“... I’m sorry, ana.” Mongke finally says after a stretch of silence. “I—”

“No more fussing about the past,” she scolds, jabbing her knife in his direction. “What’s done is done, koghun. Your father died a warrior of the Steppe, a hero.” Her eyes are cast down now. “At least Nhaama is watching over him, filling his days with all... all the songs he ever wanted to sing.”

Her voice trembles. Mongke reaches out to gently lower the knife in his mother’s hand and pulls her into an embrace. Tears start prickling at their eyes. Sometimes, he forgets how fragile his mother’s heart is.

She’s the first to pull away and cup his face. Her smile is tremulous when it tugs at her lips. “Ata would be so proud of you, Mongke. You’ve become a good man. I can’t believe my koghun has become so strong.”

Mongke sniffles, feeling overwhelmed.

“Ana...”

“And if the Qestiri cannot see how far you’ve come,” she continues as her expression hardens with barely restrained wrath, “then they are blind as well as deaf. I will fight that little smug khan and show him his place.”

Mongke scrunches his face in exasperation. “Ana, no.”

“Why not? I am your mother and you have no reign over me, child.”

Mongke whines. “Ana.”

She relents with an overdramatic sigh and draws away to continue her skinning. “Soft! Just like your father!” His mother complains. At once, he knows she’s teasing and he snorts in reply. “Anyway, go visit your father again today. Bring him the flowers I’ve gathered over there.”

Ana points to a tied bundle of wildflowers sitting on the cot to the side. Mongke obediently gets up and retrieves the bundle. Just as he’s about to head out, he pauses and stares at the flowers.

“Ana, are these...?”

“The same ones you used to put on his head everyday when you were a babe.” Her silhouette remains the same strong back he’s known, even if her voice is deadened by sorrow. “Now go.”

He nods. “Yes, ana.”

Mongke leaves, his arms tightening a fraction around the bundle.

[freelanews-blog]

NPFL: Lobi, Kano Pillars, Heartland Continue Push for Playoff Spots

Champions Lobi Stars push to qualify for the Playoff of the 2018/19 season of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) yielded dividend Thursday as they grabbed a valuable away point against Rivers United in Port Harcourt. The Makurdi team got the curtain raiser in the 56th as Kunle Odunlami scored an own goal in the midst of intense pressure. But five minutes later, Adebambo restored parity for the Rivers State owned side. Lobi remain second in the Group A standing behind leaders Rangers FC on 31 points from 20 games. Enyimba who also drew goalless away to Remo Stars in Sagamu is third on 30 points. Elsewhere in the Thursday clashes in the Nigerian topflight, Wikki Tourists defeated Kwara United 2-1 with Williams Ukeme and Abdullahi Musa scoring the goals. Isah Magaji scored Kwara United’s consolatory goal 14 minutes from time. In Group B, Kano Pillars claimed a valuable 1-0 away victory against already relegated Yobe Desert Stars in Damaturu. Adamu Hassan got the winner in the 10th minute. However, it was same sad story for another home team as Heartland defeated FC IfeanyiUbah 2-1 in their oriental derby clash in Nnewi. Chinonso Okonkwo scored Heartland’s lead in the 38th minute with Uche Oguchi doubling the advantage eight minutes after the break. Chibuike Ezeh put one back for the home team 19 minutes from time. Go Round FC also boosted their survival hopes with a 1-1 draw against Plateau United. Chiebonam Nwogbaga put the hosts ahead in the 41st minute, while Kabiru Umar netted the equaliser for Plateau United in the 63rd minute. In Lafia, Nasarawa United won all three points with a 2-1 victory against Gombe United. Adesina Thomas and Anas Yusuf were the goal scorers for Nasarawa United with Adamu Mohammed finding the back of the net for Gombe United MATCH-DAY 20 Remo 0-0 Enyimba Yobe 0-1 K’ Pillars Rivers Utd 1-1 Lobi Wikki 2-1 Kwara Utd Go-Round 1-1 Plateau Utd IfeanyiUbah 1-2 Heartland Nasarawa 2-1 Gombe Utd Katsina Utd 3-1 Sunshine Read the full article