#and I JUST HAD THE WHOLE SYSTEM REPLACED IN 2016! IT'S NOT LIKE A 40 YEAR OLD SYSTEM!

[imwritesometimes]

I gotta be honest bro idk if I have the holidays in me this year like. Here's a can of turkey flavored wet cat food y'all figure it out idk

[broxklynn]

The End Of My Candy Love

Warning!

Alright, so. This post will contain a lot. First of all, it's gonna be really sloppy. I'm very emotional person and I easily get attached to games, movies and stuff. I know it's a bit weird, but yeah, I'm a weird person. Anyway, that's why there's a warning: there's gonna be a lot of sloppiness, grammar mistakes (at least I think so, specially since english isn't my native languange) and it's probably going to be long. So, if you're intrested in reading my thoughts about everything - good luck.

First Adventure

I first heard about "My Candy Love" in 2015, six years ago. So, I was basically a baby (I'm pretty young). And I started playing a year after, I got totally obssesed with Lysander and I fell in love, seriously, haha. I was into writing back then, but I couldn't find any ideas on "what to write?" and MCL gave me just that - inspiration (that's most likely why I'm just a romance freak).

My Story

You know, I was a child so I couldn't really pay for AP, but I always found some kind of way to get them. But then I got my phone I just used money from that, geez, I was nuts. The old AP system was so iconic, looking for Nathaniel, finding Kiki, I'm gonna miss it.

Anyway, I got along with Castiel pretty well (which suprises me 'cause I found about walkthroughs in 2017, like year after, so maybe it was because I was a brat?), but I adored Lysander. Oh, I also loved Ken (I was so sad when he went away) and Nathaniel. After I met Armin, I liked him too.

Again, being a child and playing a game like this I came across all diffrent kinds of emotions. I was laughing, crying, dying from embaressment (this thing with Nath and locker room, aaa) and getting seriously mad (Deborah's arc, Priya, Charlotte). I remember impatiently waiting for new episode to come out or crying my eyes out during Lysander's amnesia plot. Jesus. I loved the way Castiel was teasing Candy, I loved this cute-clumsy Kentin, I loved the old Nathaniel, I loved Armin and most of all - I loved my precious Lysander. I adored the interactions between characters, how funny or cringy they were and how much fun I had. I even like this secret-dating plot even when it got on my nerves. I still remember staying up late to watch videos like "lysander illustrations" and stuff. I also really enjoyed reading MCL manga and I spent hours trying to translate it from Spanish to English or my native languange (funfact: I still haven't finished it! I don't know where to find those mangas) or trying to draw something from the game up ending up terribly failing. Anyway, I was crying during the prom thing, my Candy was so grown-up, I got emotional, haha. So, 40 episode came in. I was pretty excited 'because, me, being extremely naive (I got to say, I've never had a problem with Beemoov before, I started playing MCL in 2016 and Eldarya in 2017, so there were no major issues with them, only the price of PA, I think) thought that my Lysander is going to propose (I was a child, ok?) and maybe, there's going to be a second season with us living together. Haha, how naive I was. Whole episode 40, really got me tearing up, I was a wreck, seriously (When Kentin couldn't take Candy's bra off I lost it or this whole ananas thing in Castiel's route, omg). But I finished it feeling happy. I truly enjoyed spending my time on this game. But, then this whole university thing came out. And the fact, that Lysander, Armin and Kentin won't be with us foe the next season. I spent entire vacation crying (I was a kiddo, ok?) and being mad at everyone. I felt like I got robbed. It was horrible.

"A New Chapter"

I was one of these people who just couldn't accept the change. Not in the world. Never. They stole my Lysander, Kentin and Armin from me and changed AP system to some kind of bullshit. God, I was mad. Really mad. Seeing Castiel was quite nice, but I didn't fill the void of my baby. But, oh, my, God. When I saw Nathaniel I just couldn't believe. I said I was mad? Then I was furious. I really liked the old Nathaniel, he had his own vibe, his backstory, his character and it was just, damn, amazing. But they changed him completely, for what? They wanted the second Castiel? Yeah, they got it. Priya as a love interest was quite a good move, tho. I even though I didn't like her (in highschool or in university) I liked the idea of adding a female interest. But the thing that hurted me, was the fact that Lysander was taking care of the farm. Like, no! He didn't want that. He didn't like the countryside. He had such a potential to become a author and Beemoov didn't let him. God, that broke my heart. Anyway, I didn't spent a single penny on MCLUL, but I have to say - I kinda enjoyed it. You know, it was the guily-pleasure kind of thing. I didn't like it as much as I liked highschool, but there were some good or funny moments. I loved Rayan's kiss scene. I adored Chani. Or Hyun making us watch "Toy Story". Nathaniel's ulgy green hair or all these crazy threesomes. I liked it. Kinda. I hated Nath tho. The ending, hm, it was okay, I guess? I do feel sort of nostalgic thinking about it 'cause I got some nice memories from it, in the end. But yeah, going on.

Love Life

Oh. My. Lord. I was so sceptical about it. Like, I was sure that, at this point they're going to do "My Candy Love Mid-Life Crises" next or some other shit. But in the end, I "kinda" like it. It wasn't good like highschool or fresh like university, but I was nice to see new chapters with our annoying-cringy Candy, that I love (btw, I started playing other otome games and I realized that Candy wasn't that bad). Meeting Eric was nice, even tho, this whole cheating plot really got me ragging. Like, damn, Beemoov, seriously? And if you going this, why not with old LIs? Just kidding. Anyway, I truly enjoyed meeting Dan and Eric, the two of them were quite a characters. I won't forget them, hah. I was happy with single ending, 'cause I think about it as a "open ending" when my Candy can go back to my baby and everything's going to be alright.

Regrets & Complaints

Now, now. Where do I start? AP system was a freaking nightmare. Replacing old Nathaniel with some kind of weird Castiel was a nightmare. Removing Lysander, Nathaniel, Armin and Kentin was a nightmare. Not finishing plots was a nightmare. And why in the whole Love Life I haven't seen Amber once? Why Alexy never mentioned Evan like they're not brothers? Why Castiel doesn't care that I was dating his bestfriend? And why, in the world, after changing the system finding Kiki is so damn easy? Why AP is so expensive? So many questions!

All The Good Times

But, I got to say. I will never forget this bitchy Castiel, cookie-monster Ken following us around. Or cute Nathaniel. Castiel buying Candy some kind of weird McDonald's. Or Lysander's parents exposing him having crush on Candy. Or seeing Kentin kissing Amber (ew). This super akward-funny sex ed lesson. Deborah's arc and losing my shit over it. Or Thomas (this weird child) stalking my Candy and her LI in the park. And Lysander asking us how to hide a body, aaa. Or Armin telling us he loves us. Or Kentin. And Cookie ripping this huge teddybear apart. Or the water fight in Kentin’s spin off. And crushing on Alexy and later on finding out he’s gay. Or spin-the-bottle game and Lysander getting jealous. Or Dake, being a creep for entire game straight. Or guessing what was guy's surnames. And for sure, I will never forget this demonic Kiki dog.

What it worth it?

In the end, yes. Have I ever told you that I want to become a professional writer? Silly dream, I know, but writing is a huge passion of mine, and well, my first story was based off My Candy Love (it is cringy as hell, but I feel kinda nostalgic thinking about it). All these years spending on playing game that I wasn't supposed to be playing was amazing. It was one of the best experiences I had in life and I will never, ever forget that.

What now?

Well, Beemoov is working on a new game and I'm kinda optimistic. I know, it's really naive of me, but I want to believe that they won't f*ck this up, this time. And going back to Sweet Amoris, well, I truly missed this place! And the teachers... And Kiki. I wonder, when it will be released and will Beemoov finally open up about telling us surnames and ages of love interests. Anyway, I want to believe they learnt from their mistakes.

In the end. Thank you, My Candy Love, for creating so many memories. I will be forever grateful. 

(I just re-read this post and it seems like I have really love-hate relationship with this game)

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

At the current moment, this article seems to have been taken down - it may be reinstated, or still available on archived versions of the site.

“Women in Dokowadai village, Maharashtra, reveal the scars of their hysterectomies 
Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

Revealed: India’s mass sterilisation drive

Thousands of women are sacrificing their reproductive systems in a bid to keep their jobs, bringing back memories of the country’s dark history of population control

Heavily sedated and lying on a dirty mattress inside a makeshift tarpaulin tent, Chanda Ravi, 32, gingerly opened her eyes.

The mother-of-three was one of 101 women to have undergone a rushed sterilisation procedure on August 27 at a camp in the central Indian state Chhattisgarh.

Ms Ravi recovered well, but the speed of the procedures – the 101 operations were done in just eight hours – have brought back memories of India's dark history of population control.

Sterilisations are legal in India, and four million were carried out between 2013 and 2014, the last year figures were available.

However, doctors are paid cash incentives to carry out the operations, and this causes some professionals to bypass safety regulations and rush surgeries to earn more money, risking women's health.

Saira Shekh, who had a hysterectomy at the age of 25, is one of many women underwent the procedure prematurely
Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

A doctor is only mandated to safely carry out 35 daily sterilisations under Indian law. Dr Jibnus Ekta, the surgeon who carried out the 101 operations, is now under investigation for exceeding the allowed numbers.

When contacted by The Telegraph, the authorities in Chhattisgarh blamed a backlog of operations due to Covid-19 and said Dr Ekta was the only trained tubectomy surgeon – a procedure that blocks the fallopian tubes – in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, home to one million people.

“This doctor went out of the way to help these poor women and operated [on] them. Instead of being praised, he is now being hounded. Nevertheless, we have initiated the inquiry against him for conducting excess surgeries [than] approved for a day,” the state’s health secretary Alok Shukla told The Telegraph.

Assa Ugray, from Ghodka Rajuri village, Maharashtra, had a hysterectomy aged 29
Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

Nearly 30 sterilisation camps have been held in Surguja this year and 821 operations have been carried out.

In India, tubal litigation operations – known colloquially as tube tying – are done under general and local anesthesia, either via open or keyhole surgery.

In these sterilisation camps, the procedures are done under local anaesthetic, according to the Chief Medical Officer of Surguja district, Dr Poonam Singh Sisodia. They involve using a falope ring to block the fallopian tube, preventing eggs from reaching the uterus where they could be fertilised.

Leading Indian gynaecologist Dr Ifrah Aslam said it was possible to conduct a tubectomy within a little as five minutes, but the quicker the operation the greater the likelihood of complications.

“There are chances of internal bleeding and injury to other organs because safety measures get bypassed in these sterilisation camps,” Dr Aslam said.

In 2014, at least 13 women died after undergoing sterilisations at a health camp in Chhattisgarh. Tubectomy operations were carried out on 83 women in six hours.

There are other, darker still, sterilisation scandals in India's history.

Sugarcane cutters are encouraged to undergo hysterectomies so they will no longer menstruate, allowing them to work every day of the month during the harvest
Simon Townsley/The Telegraph

Back in the mid-1950s, it was the first country in the world to introduce a national family planning programme in an attempt to curb widespread poverty by limiting population growth – then, the average Indian woman had six children.

But, the policy quickly became one of the most hated in India’s history, as police cordoned off poor villages and dragged men to dingy operating tables where their genitals would be cut – whether or not they wanted the operation.

In 1976 alone, the Indian government sterilised 6.2 million men until the campaign was abandoned amidst massive public anger. Despite this legacy, permanent methods of birth control remain popular in India, particularly among poorer, remote communities that do not have regular access to condoms or birth control pills.

But, women now bear almost the entire sterilisation burden, constituting 93 percent of operations, according to 2018 government statistics.

“India is a patriarchal society and the sterilisation program is focused on women, reinforcing those same societal norms,” said Dr Sulakshana Nandi, national joint convener of the People's Health Movement.

“The government has to completely do away with the camp-based approach and ensure routine fixed day services for all those who choose to access contraceptive services.”

Population growth is less of a factor now; the overall fertility rate in India had already fallen to 2.2 children per woman by 2016 – narrowly above the replacement rate of 2.1, the number of births required to maintain a country’s population without migration.

However, women in India also face pressure to undergo equally dangerous hysterectomies – a more complex operation, where the womb is removed – to secure employment.

In the Beed region of the western state of Maharashtra, a staggering 36 per cent of women have undergone the surgery, according to a 2018 study by Maharashtra State Commission for Women.

There are few employment opportunities outside of sugarcane farming for poor women in the Beed. But it is backbreaking work. They are expected to gather 40kg bundles of cane and transport them to factories for processing, working 20-hour days in near 40°C heat, with no days off.

Many farm owners only hire female labourers who have undergone hysterectomies as some women request days off while they are menstruating due to the physical nature of the work, which has caused demand for the procedures, often unregulated, to surge.

While operations are carried out in a hospital rather than a makeshift camp, local activists say doctors again cut corners to maximise profits. The women are typically illiterate and don’t understand the risks involved.

“To save money they will use someone else’s syringe and put it in the next patient,” explained Manisha Tokle, the President of Jagar Pratishthan, an NGO in the Beed region working with sugarcane cutters.

“They will give them cheap painkillers and won’t give them pre and post-op care.”

When The Telegraph visited the house of Asha Ugray, 29, she was lying against the wall of her makeshift dwelling gasping for air. “I have a fever and I can’t move any part of my body because I don’t have the energy to,” heaved Ms Ugray.

“It feels like my whole body vibrates the whole time, I don’t have enough blood in my system and it is hard to breathe.”

Ms Ugray underwent a hysterectomy in the Beed after experiencing debilitating gynaecological pain and her employer wouldn’t grant her time off. Since the operation, she has suffered from internal bleeding, severe abdominal pain which makes it difficult for her to walk, and problems urinating.

In her village of Kasari 15 other women were also experiencing complications after undergoing surgery.

“To meet the demand for contraceptive services, the government must ensure adequate routine and quality services instead of resorting to mass sterilisation camps and unregulated operations,” said Dr Nandi.

“The dangers that mass sterilisations pose to women's lives and health are well known and repeating such violations is criminal.”

[yicruz48]

My Review on the Teen Titans(2016) So Far

Date Written: March/14/2020-March/18/2020

Updated: May/10/2020

[Overall review of Special 1, Annual 1 and Issue #20-40]

My Opinion So Far [Issue #20-40 written by Adam Glass]:

-> In comparison to the first 19 issues of the Teen Titans, issue 20 and on have been bearable.

-> I will reiterate this over and over again; I will never understand why create new characters (Djinn, Roundhouse and Crush) when DC has a perfect stash of characters that Damian is already acquainted with (Colin, Maya, Surren, Maps and Jon). Although, having characters like Red Arrow (Emiko Queen) and Kid Flash (Wallace West) apart of the Teen Titans is understandable.

-> But again, in comparison to last group of Teen Titans [issue #1-19], I favor this group more. The first 19 issues are just literally Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven parenting Damian in Bruce's absence.

-> In my opinion this group is much more balance in terms of heroing experience:

A) Literally new to being a superhero and working in a group: Djinn, Roundhouse and Crush.

B) Still figuring out their place in superhero world: Robin, Red Robin and Kid Flash.

-> I am totally in favor in Kid Flash being considered the “moral compass” of the group. But so far in the Glass’s run haven’t really seen Wallace really prove this.

->It really shows that Glass had no idea or didn’t bother to do research on Emiko. Glass wrote Emiko as a sort-of Damian clone (And we all know Glass doesn’t write Damian well, so a badly-written-Damian-clone). Emiko is much more sarcastic and upbeat type of individual and wasn’t written that way.

->You can also tell Glass didn’t do research on Wallace. Wallace has a love for comics, is actually quite intelligent and is a prodigy engineer, but none of that was really expressed in the 20 issues.

->Crush, AKA Xiomara Rojas is a character besides the core three that I’ve grown to like. She is an empowered latinx Lesbian feminist who could care less what you think of her. But her backstory is rooted in stereotypical and racist beliefs. Her adoptive parents were druggies who were constantly running away from legal issues...ring a bell? Yea, its the common stereotype that latinos are all drug dealers, a stain on society and always run away from the legal ramifications of their actions. As as a latina myself, this was was extremely disappointing to see. 

-> I have a lot of issues with the hyper-focus on Robin, as much as I love Robin content, I feel like like every-other mission the Teen Titan’s have revolves around Robin. I would like to explore Red Arrow, Kid Flash and Roundhouse’s character development more. And I believe writer’s are totally capable of advancing Robin’s character development without the mission being tied to him anyways.

-> I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Robin’s ongoing goal to create a criminal system better than their superhero processors (mainly Batman and Superman) who only arrest criminals in a prison with “a revolving door” which criminals always escape from. Although, I ABSOLUTELY hate how Adam Glass has handled how Robin has gone upon learning the best system.

-> I have to admit, I like how most of the members are comprised of teens that...

A) Been raised/used to kill; Robin, Red Arrow and Djinn.

B) Are related to villainous characters; Robin, Red Arrow, Kid Flash, Djinn and Crush.

In the words of Kid Flash, the Teen Titans are just, “a bunch of screwed up kids,”

-> I strongly dislike the love triangle that Adam Glass (the previous writer) was creating between Robin, Crush and Djinn. I felt like Djinn was just created to mimic the popularity of Damian x Raven and it just lessens the value of characters like Crush and Djinn. (Plus I am on the side that believes that Robin should developing his friendships before developing a romantic interest). Hopefully, Robbie Thompson (New and current writer), will throw that idea in the trash. Although I wouldn't mind Djinn × Crush though😶.

-> Also I hate the connection Adam Glass created between Robin and Roundhouse (Billy Wu). It was soo unnecessary, and he could've found another creative way to get Djinn a trapped in her ring🙄.

-> Love the growing friendship between..

1. Robin and Red Arrow

2. Red Arrow and Crush

3. Kid Flash and Roundhouse

4. Crush and Djinn

5. (Would like to see Robin and Kid Flash’s friendship grow)

-> The build up to "The Other" for over 18 issues [Issue #20-38] was disappointing. I am still trying to understand the villain motivations because it made no sense whatsoever besides the obvious fact that Adam Glass was attempting to give Robin yet another useless redemption arc he didn't need.

-> Excited at the connection between “The Book of the Damned” and Batman #666 ( I will most likely make a post expanding on this). This offers an explanation as to why Damian was suddenly using magic in that one Batman issue and claiming he could take down Superman with magic in another issue.

-> Robin's "Prison", AKA torture chamber. Although it's not out of Damian's character to believe that his father's way of imprisoning villains in Gotham is GREATLY lacking better security, I DO NOT THINK DAMIAN WOULD CREATE A PRISON, much less a torture chamber. Damian does research on ALL the batfamily including his own father, he would know that Bruce attempted something similar  and failed which would make Damian hesitant about creating his own. Instead of developing his character this whole fiasco with the prison just ruined it and gave Damian haters another tool in their arsenal to “prove” Damian is evil (which no, its just bad writing).

-> Yes, I will acknowledge that Robin is not the kindest of the batch. But Blackmailing Black Mask with threatening to put his son's life endanger-even if he was bluffing-would not be something Robin would do. Robin is known to have compassion for children (*cough cough* Batman: Streets of Gotham) and wouldn't use a child as leverage to get his way EVEN if he was desperate.

-> Robin basking in the pain of his prisoners. LIKE EXCUSE ME, WTF. Like Robin does enjoy beating up criminals who deserve it but the way Adam Glass wrote it made it seem like Robin was a sadist and a psychopath.

-> Pissed off they killed Emiko’s development by killing Deathstroke. There really wasn’t any real reason given as to why Emiko “killed” Deathstroke. 

-> Don't get me started on the fight between Red Hood and Robin. JUST DON’T.

But I have hope:

Teen Titans issue #39 and #40 written by Adam Glass and Robbie Thompson.

As you may or may not know, Robbie Thompson has now replaced Adam Glass as a writer. And his first issue he worked on was released February [issue #39] and I've already been seeing some improvements. Robbie will be fully taking over after issue #41.

-> Robin has stepped down as leader. Leadership in the Teen Titans will now be a collaborative approach.

-> The Teen Titans struggling and learning on working as a group instead of working under one leader. They've already failed their first mission as a team without Robin as leader. Which I'll give them a break for, they've recognized how poorly their plan was executed themselves. But this just shows that the writer is demonstrating that the Teen Titan's is still learning how to best work together without a leader.

-> Robbie Thompson is now writing Damian more in character. Instead of writing him off as an asshole for no reason like previous writers.

-> Confirmed Damian went to hell after being killed by Heretic. With an added plus of the Teen Titan’s finally learning a bit more about Robin’s past.

-> Brought up Damian’s ongoing internal struggle of finding his own path that isn’t influenced by his father or his grandfather.

-> I’ve gotta admit, issue #40 has exceeded my low expectations I have set for the past 19 issues.

What I am Actually Looking Forward to [Upcoming Issues]:

Teen Titans #41 / Teen Titans Annual #2

Written by Adam Glass and Robbie Thompson

-> Finally, we get Batman's involvement in all this. I just hope he doesn't beat up Damian like he did Jason 😒. I’d like to add there was actually foreshadowing for this encounter in Teen Titans #26 (I believe).

-> But the only reason I am looking forward to this because it seems like Robin has been keeping this new group of Teen Titan’s secret (including their base), or at least heavily restricting Batman’s involvement.  

-> And even though I think I know why Damian has been trying to keep this new Teen Titans a secret from Batman (if my theory is correct), I'm curious to hear it myself from him (if the reason is written well).

-> Don't get me wrong, I am pissed that the writers decided Batman is going to fire Robin. Although, I am not against Damian being his own superhero (I actually don’t want Robin to take up the Batman mantle), but I can see DC writers abusing this. Killing his character development and making him evil like they've been foreshadowing in some comics 😒.

-> Although, I am not sure if it's really gonna happen, or Damian got the memo, because Damian appears to wear the Robin outfit in future covers of the Teen Titans.

-> I am excited the current Teen titans getting a glimpse of Batman's and Robin's current strained relationship(maybe even learning more about Robin’s upbringing). The Teen Titans (except Red Arrow) are always criticizing Robin for his way of thinking without questioning the influence to his thinking.

Teen Titans #42

Written by Robbie Thompson

->Batman kicking them out of Mercy Hall?  I am actually kinda of excited for a Teen Titans without a base. 

-> But I wanna know what this means; less oversight by Batman or more?

-> I wonder what will motivate the team to retrieve Robin back into their team? The only one's who actually seem to have some sort of relationship with Robin is Red Arrow and Djinn, besides them, everyone seems to despise Robin

Teen Titans #43

Written by Robbie Thompson

-> We are FINALLY getting a proper reaction from Robin to Nightwing's near death. What we got from Nightwing Annual was definitely not enough.

-> Apparently, Damian goes on a hunt for KGBeast (who shot Dick). Which I don't see as out of character because we all know how much Damian cares for Dick, who is a brother and father figure to Damian (more than Bruce).

-> Hopefully, the Teen Titans don't let him kill or have lethal vengeance against KGBeast because that would just kill his character development 😡. 

->I wonder if this issue will tie in with the Joker War where apparently Dick is suppose to get his memories back. I doubt it, but thought I’d mentioned it.

I've been reading Teen Titans because I've been desperate for new Damian content. But it seems like the comic is finally starting to get interesting with Robbie on board.

I wanted to give you an honest review on what I've thought of the Teen Titans so far just in case you've been on the fence about reading it or not. I've tried not to hold back on my criticism so my review is as honest as it can be.

So I'll leave it to you guys to decide whether you will read it or not.

[nikkoliferous]

He doesn’t bother explaining why he’s here.

This is early on, late May, a few months into the race, but he is already of the belief that he is doing something extraordinary with his presidential campaign — something that’s never been done before. The trouble is describing it. There’s no word for this in modern politics. It is, he believes, “a new way to communicate with the American people” — though he won’t say this until later, and only when asked. Even now, long after he’s put this work at the center of his campaign — at his events, in ads, on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube — he won’t talk about it much. He isn’t sure it’ll work, or if people are “picking up on what we’re trying to do here.” The media, he believes, has always believed, can’t fathom what’s at the heart of this.

So when he arrives at the house, a small mobile home 40 miles outside Montgomery, Alabama, over the Lowndes County line, in one of the poorest places in the country, with five reporters and his own camera crew, he steps through the front door, greets his host, and begins with no clear mention of what he hopes to accomplish here or how it will help him become president.

Pamela Rush, a 49-year-old mother of two, is showing him the problems with her home: the floor tilting visibly to one side, the sheets of plaster peeling off the wall, the broken pipes, the broken cabinetry. He stops in the room where her daughter sleeps. “Do you guys wanna…?” He motions for everyone to come closer. His videographer shuffles forward. On the bedside table, there’s a ventilation machine, the kind used for sleep apnea. A tube of ribbed plastic connects the device to a mask resting on the bedspread, which is patterned cheerily with tiny elephants. Because of mold in the house, Pamela’s daughter needs the device to breathe in her sleep. “How old is she?” the candidate asks. She’s 10. Pamela holds up the mask so he can see up close.

“Show them, not me,” he says, gesturing toward the camera.

She shows the camera the mask.

The visit continues like this. “Show them,” he keeps saying. “Show them.” He speaks only to ask questions, prompting Pamela to “explain” this or that, pointing her to an unseen audience on the other end of his camera lens. It’s like he’s directing his own video — except the video isn’t about him or his campaign or his policy agenda. He is, it seems, somewhere offscreen, an omniscient narrator, felt maybe, but not seen or heard. This is not a public event. There is no crowd. There is no podium, no speech. Mostly, there is silence. The leader of the political revolution — a man who has spent 50 years of his life trying to talk about his ideas — is not saying much at all.

In his first campaign, a third-party bid for US Senate in 1972, he lugged around a 2,000-page, two-volume study by the House Banking and Currency Committee, liberally quoting its findings to the people of Vermont. He spent that year telling anyone who would listen about the fact that a mere 49 banks were trustees of $135 billion and held 768 “interlocking directorships” with 286 of the country’s largest 500 industrial corporations. To him, the phenomenon of interlocking directorships was not arcane or irrelevant to daily life in Vermont. It was an urgent outrage.

In Congress, he developed “the oligarchy speech,” a bleak overview of income inequality in America. The speech became the basis of his public events, his lengthy posts on Facebook, of an entire book — title: The Speech — consisting solely of the transcript of an eight-hour speech he delivered on the floor of the Senate.

And in 2016 — the rallies? The arenas? He had 2,600 in Iowa’s hulking Mid-America Center — largest crowd of the caucus season. He hit every city he could: 5,000 people in Houston, 8,000 in Dallas, 10,000 in Madison, 11,000 in Phoenix, 15,000 in Seattle, 27,500 in Los Angeles, 28,000 in Portland — plus overflow! All those people showing up to hear an hourlong speech they already knew by heart: wages down, median income stalled, one family with more wealth than the bottom 130 million… As he spoke, they’d mouth along to their favorite lines: “Congress does not regulate Wall Street—” “WALL STREET REGULATES CONGRESS,” the crowd would shout back. “Enough is—” “ENOUGH!” they roared. The succession of grim facts — “but let me tell you what is even worse!” he’d say — became a ritual. When a small bird, later identified as a common house finch, once landed on his lectern, an entire stadium full of people cheered wildly, mouths open, their arms raised to the sky, eyes turned upward — not to God, but to the image of the bird and their candidate on the Jumbotron. There was power in the speech. He believed, aides have said, that he was literally changing a generation, person by person, line by line, with every rally.

That was the whole thing — Bernie Sanders, talking.

This is something different.

“Pamela,” he says gently, “why don’t you explain it.”

“And be loud so everyone can hear you…”

Bernie Sanders is sorry for your troubles, but that’s not the reason he’s asking you to talk about them — which he is, everywhere he goes. He wants you to talk about your medical bill — the one you can’t pay. He wants you to talk about losing your house because you got sick. He wants you to talk about the payday loans you took out to keep your kid in school. About the six-figure student debt that’s always on your mind. About living off credit cards, or losing your pension, or working multiple jobs for wages that won’t be enough to support your family.

He would like you to talk about this publicly, in detail, and on camera. He will ask you to do this in front of reporters, or in a room full of strangers at one of his town halls. Of course, the Bernie Digital Team will be there — they are always there — taping your story on camera, or streaming it in real-time to his own mass broadcast system on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. On any given day, he is capable of reaching millions of people.

“Who wants to share their story?” he’ll say. “Don’t be embarrassed. Millions of people are in your boat.”

He has, it turns out, built an entire presidential campaign around an open invitation to speak — to talk plainly about the “reality of life” in this country — to be “loud so everyone can hear.”

His suggestion, by asking you to speak up about your private anxieties, many of them financial, is that you and the millions of people in the proverbial audience will begin to see your struggles not as personal failings, but systemic ones. He is less interested in explicitly presenting solutions than naming the problem — that “we have millions of people in the richest country in the history of the world who are struggling every single day,” which is a phrase he repeats daily, almost like an exhortation, as if to grab the American working class by its shoulders. He doesn’t deal in pity or reassurance. Yes, he’ll give hugs — one arm, from the side, other hand still clutching the mic. But mostly he’ll just listen and nod, gaze lowered. Or he’ll shake his head at the crowd, like can you believe this? And then, from the gut, a clipped scoff, like of course you can believe it. That’s the point. He has heard your story before, because it’s all part of the same story: a broken system, driven by profit and greed, built to reinforce the notion that if you’re bright enough, if you work hard enough, then you can travel the path to the middle class. And if you don’t make it there…well, maybe you’re the problem. And who wants to talk about that?

He believes his presidential campaign can, he says, help people “feel less alone.”

He is trying to change the way people interact with private hardship in this country, which is to say, silently and with self-loathing. He is trying, in as literal a sense as you could imagine, to excise “shame” and “guilt” from the American people. These are not words you hear often in politics, but in interviews this year with the candidate, his wife, and his top advisers, they are central to his strategy to win. He is imagining a presidential campaign that brings people out of alienation and into the political process simply by presenting stories where you might recognize some of your own struggles. He is imagining a voter, he says, who thinks, “I thought it was just me who was struggling to put food on the table. I thought I was the only person. I thought it was all my fault. You mean to say there are millions of people?”

He still has his rallies, but “it’s a different campaign, and we do things differently,” he says. “I can give the greatest speech in the history of the world, but it will not have the significance and the impact that the real-life experience of ordinary Americans will have.” At many of his events, the antiseptic macro focus of the “oligarchy speech” — the anonymous actors on Wall Street, the greed of the American corporation, the rigged system — has been replaced by the most intimate details of someone’s life. The outrage in his voice, a booming rasp amplified across three tiers of an NBA-size venue, is softer now. The arena itself has morphed into a digital platform for one voter’s story.

Show them, he says. Show them, not me.

We understand presidential campaigns, in their most basic form, as a conversation between a candidate and the American people. The conversation is happening all the time, in person and online, directly, indirectly, at every possible scale: It’s a handshake, a speech, a television ad, a sponsored post on Facebook. It’s a policy rollout. It’s the signage at a rally, the way an American flag is steamed and hung just so on a stage. Every dollar of every campaign is spent on shaping or beautifying or amplifying some message from the candidate. Bernie’s first presidential bid, in a sense, was the unprocessed, stripped-down version of that conversation: It was the speech. In terms of the mechanics of the thing, as he put it in late 2016, he wasn’t “reinventing the wheel.”

Four years later, he is attempting to run a presidential campaign that facilitates an entirely different conversation — one between people like Pamela and the American people. The stories he collects and broadcasts across the internet aren’t just voter testimonials produced to validate the campaign or its policies — they’re aimed, in Bernie’s mind, at people validating one another.

After 50 years, this is an unlikely place for the political revolution to land. It’s more human. More empathetic. More personal than what you’d expect from a man who’s willingly played along with his persona as a perma-“outsider” and, as he put it in 2015, “grumpy old guy.”

There’s this idea that Bernie Sanders is “a man of the people who doesn’t like people” — just issues. That’s not exactly right, though the precise balance between the two can be difficult to pin down. “Policy, policy, policy,” says his wife, Jane, who is a strategic partner on her husband’s campaign. “Fight, fight, fight — which is true, but he’s also about people.”

He arrived in Vermont in 1968, full of ideas about movement politics, and began his career by raising his hand at a local third-party meeting. He settled in Stannard, a remote town with no paved roads, populated by fewer than 2o0 people, where he learned to live in isolation. But in politics, he also discovered that he liked talking to strangers about the issues of the day. In the ’80s, he hosted his own public broadcast show as mayor of Burlington. In the footage, unearthed by Politico earlier this year, he can be warm and dryly funny. On the campaign trail in Vermont, he liked to take impromptu walks and kept a pair of trunks in the car in case he passed a swimming hole. In Washington, he kept more to himself. Interviewed in 1991, fellow members of Congress described him as a “homeless waif” with a “holier-than-thou” attitude who “alienates” his potential allies, who “screams and hollers,” one said, “but he is all alone.”

Part of the problem, of course, is that Bernie Sanders is not an open book. He will snap at reporters when they ask him to talk about himself or, god forbid, how he’s changed as a person, because what does that have to do with Medicare for All? “You’re asking about me, and I’M not important,” he once said in an interview. “What’s important are the kinds of policies we need to transform this country. OK?” The conversation was over after six minutes. His interior life, to the extent that it is acknowledged among his campaign staff, is a subject only a few people can address with any authority. A simple question on the subject — have you ever seen him cry? — recently reduced senior aides to various forms of lawyer-speak. “I’ve seen him emotionally affected,” one said after a long pause. Another, as if the question had been unclear and possibly even sinister, said only: “What do you mean?” With Jane, he’ll call from the road to talk about his day, but questions like “How did that make you feel?” are not a part of the discussion. “Oooh, no,” she laughs at the suggestion. “Oh no, no. Yeah, no. He doesn’t do that. No. No. Neeevver.”

He can be harsh with staff — short-tempered and demanding and sometimes rude. “Some people say I am very hard to work with. They say I can be a real son of a bitch. They say I can be nasty, I don't know how to get along with people,” Bernie told his press secretary in 1990, according to a memoir by the former staffer. “Well, maybe there's some truth to it.”

His mood is under careful observation. Aides are always noting things like “He’s in a good mood today.” When he is happy, everyone is happy. When he’s not, everyone is quiet, especially in the SUV, where he will ride shotgun with his iPad, a red Vitaminwater at his side, scrolling through tweets from @BernieSanders, maybe only speaking up to dispassionately observe that people must really care about education in this country because a tweet about education is getting a lot of engagement today. Everyone knows which staffers make him feel most at ease — a special currency on the campaign. Small signs of interpersonal comfort — watching an aide make him laugh, watching another gently brush dandruff from his navy blue blazer — can feel like extraordinary acts of intimacy. In 2016, when discussing the campaign at a bar, some staffers got in the habit of referring to him as “Earl” or “the old man,” because at the end of the day, he is 78 years old. And who would have expected this — the most emotionally driven, intimate, borderline touchy-feely campaign of the 2020 election — from “a real son of a bitch”?

Correction.

“I don’t like the word ‘touchy-feely,’” Bernie Sanders says curtly.

Everyone is sensitive about how to describe this. There’s been a lot of “experimentation” with this, one of his advisers will start to explain — before doubling back to say that, actually, “I think ‘experimentation’ is the wrong word.” There’s no precedent for it. Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren often invite you to consider your story through the lens of their own. Bill Clinton said “I feel your pain,” but he never asked people to reorient the way they feel about their own pain.

Bernie says he is trying to “redefine our value system.” Jane talks about breaking down decades of societal muscle memory: “It seems to be the American way,” she says. “That we all think it’s our fault — instead of recognizing there is a system that is making it unfair for them.” They are, as they see it, trying to dismantle the ideal of “rugged individualism,” an entire era of political thought. Ari Rabin-Havt, a top adviser who travels with the candidate every day, puts it more tangibly: The campaign is a “megaphone” for working people, he says. Briahna Joy Gray, his national press secretary, has likened the effect to “catharsis” from nationwide “gaslighting.” On the podcast she hosts for the campaign, she compares her boss to Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting: the therapist who tells Matt Damon, a young man who was abused by his foster parent, “It’s not your fault. Look at me, son. It’s not your fault… no, no, no, it’s not your fault.”

It really started late this spring, around the time he went to Alabama. The campaign YouTube page started pushing out stories like Pamela’s: a family living without clean drinking water in South Carolina; a family with inadequate low-income housing in San Francisco; workers at Walmart. On Twitter, he asked people to reply with stories of “their most absurd” medical bill. He got 50,000 responses in a week. By the fall, he was holding more town halls than rallies. In rooms from Iowa to Nevada, one person would raise their hand to speak, then another, and another, and another. “Don’t be nervous,” he’d tell the crowd. “You really are among friends.” Not every event has been as affecting as the next. On one trip, he visited a woman’s home in Des Moines to document her problems with contaminated well water. His host happened to be a fan and prepared two trays of homemade brownies for the occasion. Bernie, already late for his next event, declined to eat a brownie and left after 15 minutes. But more often than not, he is an attentive and genuine listener. At one event last month, a woman stood to say that people are “embarrassed if they don’t think they make enough money.” Bernie told her this had been “instilled” by “the system.” The campaign posted footage of the exchange on Instagram. As you watch the video, bold capital lettering runs across the top and bottom of the screen like an emergency weather alert: “THE SYSTEM WANTS YOU TO BE ASHAMED.”

“What we are doing,” he says, “is really speaking to the working class of this country in a way I’m not quite sure any candidate has ever done before.”

Eventually, when asked, he comes to describe this as core to his strategy to win.

“Here’s the gamble,” Bernie says. The gamble is there are millions of working people who don’t vote or consider politics to be relevant to their lives. “And it is a gamble to see whether we can bring those people into the political process,” he says. “One way you do it is to say, ‘You see that guy? He’s YOU. You’re workin’ for $12 an hour, you can’t afford health insurance — so is he. Listen to what he has to say. It’s not Bernie Sanders talking, you know? It’s that guy. Join us.”

And yet, on a Tuesday night, in one moment, the full force of the political revolution, all 50 years of it, came grinding so unquestioningly to a halt by one blocked artery. He will spend two and a half days in the hospital — and he will lie there hooked up to their beeping machines, and he will yell at the doctors when they try to ask him stupid questions, and he will quiz them about health care policy and obsess over what all this would cost without insurance — and there will be a crisis over what to say in the press release and when to say it and if it can wait until Jane is able to deliver the news in person to the seven grandkids before they see it on CNN, and there will be reporters stalking him outside the building, and all sorts of people will want to visit — and for days, he will say over and over again, “I can’t believe I had a heart attack… I can’t imagine how I had a heart attack… I can’t imagine…” like this is a fact he simply cannot accept, because he feels fine as soon as they finish the procedure and because he’s always had terrific “endurance”... Never thought it’d be his heart to cause him problems… Ran a 4:37 mile in high school...!

But not once, in all that chaos and frustration, will he consider dropping out.

ii.

Here is what Pamela explains to Bernie Sanders: that her family bought this mobile home in the ’90s for a trumped-up price of $114,000; that she lives on $1,000 a month; that she still owes $15,000 on the house; the house she fears will harm her daughter’s health; the house where her mother caught pneumonia and died; the house where, “when a storm comes,” she says, “we have to stay in the mobile home and just pray.” He learns that Pamela’s sister was arrested because she couldn’t afford to pay for the county garbage service. Another sister was arrested because she couldn’t afford to buy into the sanitation system. He turns to a reporter in the Alabama heat. “Really something, isn’t it?” he says. He is frowning, jowls gathered slightly at the neck, but there is no shock or judgment in his face. It will become a familiar expression over the summer and fall. He is not always an obviously comforting presence, but there is never judgment.

“So this is where the waste goes?”

Everyone is outside now, around back. Sanders wants to see where the waste goes.

He learns that Pamela, like many residents in Lowndes County, is also “straight-piping” her untreated sewage from the bathroom to her yard. She is here with Catherine Flowers, an activist who has worked with Congress on the pernicious tangle of issues facing Lowndes County: criminalized poverty, environmental degradation, inadequate infrastructure.

He peers down at a line of dark, matted grass where, a few paces from his feet, inches from the base of the trailer, sewage flows via exposed PVC pipes into a shallow open-air trench. “Is this uncommon in this part of the world?” he asks, steering the conversation for his unseen audience, and the cameras swing back to Pamela and Catherine.

The sun is beating down. Bernie rolls up his sleeves and starts talking gravely about how this is the richest country in the history of the world... “Today we’re in Lowndes County, Alabama, in an African-American community,” he is saying. “Tomorrow we’ll be in California in a Latino community, or in West Virginia in a white community, and the stories will be the same.” You can see his bald head turning shades of pink and red. Everyone is sweating. Pamela is talking about her mother’s death. It is not an easy conversation. “This is America,” he is saying.

Back in his Washington headquarters, the digital team is waiting for the footage.

In the supercharged world Bernie inhabits, the decision to stay in the race was considered not only reasonable, but obvious. Here, there is no confusion about “what we’re trying to do here.” The candidate moves amid a swirl of people you would classify uncynically as “true believers.” It’s a lot of passion in one place. The stakes always feel high. But the hard and fast question of whether they can win the nomination is, to a certain extent, supplanted by the general sense that the movement is a just and right cause and, therefore, in the end, the cause will prevail, likely in a shocking fashion when no one anticipates it or believes it can be done, à la Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And so they are always on guard against outside forces — people who will doubt them, or underestimate them, or try to actively destroy them.

This is how things go in “a politics of struggle.”

In “a politics of struggle,” as Sanders explains it in a 2015 foreword to his first memoir, setbacks are expected. There will be defeats before there can be the “breakthroughs” few people imagine possible. In a politics of struggle, the goals are “transforming a city, a state, a nation, and maybe the world.” It is already understood that this is “about more than winning an election.”

It’s in this environment that the advent of the heart attack became another motivational “setback.” Ocasio-Cortez decided to endorse. Supporters only hung on tighter. Campaign staffers spoke in grave tones about the “sheer terror” of a world without Bernie. “What is happening right now,” Briahna Joy Gray told her subscribers on the campaign podcast, “is that an old man is carrying the most colossal imaginable weight on his shoulders.” By the time he is back on the trail, the mission of the campaign takes on newly urgent, almost philosophical importance.

He’s in Iowa — a town called Toledo, Tama County, population 2,341 — coaxing people to talk to him about how they feel. “What about health care?” he says at a local civic center, roaming out from behind the podium. “Don’t tell me what I wanna hear! — I want YOU to think about it. Should health care be a human right?” The crowd, not quite warmed up yet, signals a yes. “WHY?” he replies, voice booming. “Who wants to tell me why? Don’t be shy…”

This is his first campaign swing since the heart attack. Five events in 24 hours.

He has to address the age question, of course, so he does. “I've been criticized for being old. I plead guilty. I am old!” he says at his first stop of the trip. Reporters ask him about it. Pundits analyze why it matters. Dr. Oz, the heart surgeon and television host, provides his unsolicited opinion that Bernie’s “protoplasm is strong,” a you-know-it-when-you-see-it term in the medical community for physiological sturdiness. Voters also weigh in, as if to offer reassurance. “Seniors rock!” a woman says at a town hall in Marshalltown, Iowa. Moments later, a middle-aged man raises his hand to tell the candidate that, by age 39, he’d had three heart attacks, a stroke, and a triple-bypass surgery — “and it doesn’t have to get in the way of living, all right?” Bernie takes these remarks in stride, smiling back gamely. He is in a good mood. Though you get the distinct impression that he would rather not be discussing the state of his protoplasm, or himself, at all.

During the town hall in Toledo, Jane and a few staffers can hear Bernie speaking through the walls of an adjacent hold room. She and Ari Rabin-Havt, the deputy who was with Bernie in the hospital through the whole ordeal, are sitting at a small table talking about the heart attack like family members who, maybe years later, are finally able to look back at the whole thing and laugh. Except here, it’s been days, not years. Jane is going into her own Bernie impression: “He’s like, ‘I feel fine. I don’t understand… You’ah tellin’ me I had a heart attack?? I don’t — I, I don’t understand.’”

The thing that bothered him so much about it was the relative smallness of it — like this was needlessly, stupidly about him, “and I’M not important,” remember? What did his aging body, in his mind a vessel of little consequence, have anything to do with the reality that “millions of people in the richest country in the history of the world are struggling every single day”? The answer, of course, is everything: This, like any endeavor in electoral politics, hinges on the will and presence and personality of its leader. The political revolution is no less human or fallible.

And there he was, having to ask for a chair during an event in Las Vegas — he rarely sits on stage — because of chest pains. “Ari, can you do me a favor?” he looked around the room for Rabin-Havt. “Where’s Ari? Get me a chair up here for a moment. I’m going to sit down here.” Staffers found their jobs suddenly transformed. They were dealing with the questions of a health crisis: Should they take him to the hospital? And which hospital? The closer one, or the one with the better cardiology center? But this was Bernie. Everyone knows Bernie. There would be a scene. People would ask for selfies in the waiting room. Reporters would hear about it. They did not want that. It was Rabin-Havt, in the end, who approached the front desk at the urgent care center behind the MGM Grand and discretely flashed his boss’s driver’s license — 09/08/1941, SANDERS, BERNARD — so the nurses would usher him into the back quietly and without delay.

“They're like, ‘Look, we're gonna have to put him in the cath lab,’” Rabin-Havt says. Jane, seated to his right, hasn’t even heard this part of the story yet. So they got him in the cath lab. The doctor asked, how much pain are you in on a scale of 1 to 10, which Bernie rebuffed as a useless question. Then they asked him to please remove his wedding ring. “Really?” he growled, removing the ring. Then they asked for his glasses. And that’s where he drew the line. “JESUS CHRIST! I'm not gonna do that,” he said. That night, Rabin-Havt and another staffer took turns wearing the wedding ring so they wouldn’t lose it. “Oh my god,” Rabin-Havt says. “It was the scariest part.”

The next morning, when Jane arrived from Vermont, she found her husband unchanged. He was talking about how someone without insurance maybe wouldn’t have gone to urgent care at all because of how much it would cost. “That’s his brain,” Jane says. She turns to Rabin-Havt. “Did he say anything to you?” “Not during,” Rabin-Havt says. “The next day when he woke up, he was like, ‘What do you think this is going to cost?’”

His room became the center of activity in the hospital. He held policy discussions with the nurses. He asked the doctors about the hospital's finances. That was a relief, Jane says — to see “the same old Bernie.” Back in Washington, the press team kept obsessive watch over the news coverage, demanding corrections from reporters who described the stent procedure as a “surgery.” There was no surgery, they said breathlessly. It was a procedure! “I’m talking to the doctors,” Jane recalls, “and they’re saying ‘procedure,’ not surgery. It was not a surgery.” Rabin-Havt nods: Not a surgery. Once they finally got the diagnosis — “heart attack” — they needed a statement. So they hunkered down in a hospital break room. The doctors (multiple) started dictating to Rabin-Havt, who tapped out notes on his iPhone. Their first draft was a bit medical — too much jargon. One of the physicians, an English major in college, cut in: “No, no, no — we can do this so the press understands.” So then that doctor tinkered. Once they had their finished product, Rabin-Havt emailed it to the doctors and asked for a formal reply affirming the statement as their own. Proof in writing, presumably, in case of conspiracy theories.

“Yeah, it was fun,” Jane says, laughing. “Well, it was — it was not fun.”

You might wonder, reasonably so, why a 78-year-old man would rather be here, back in Iowa, still doing this, likely at some risk to his health, when he could also just drop out, endorse Elizabeth Warren, and spend his days at the family home on Lake Champlain. Maybe this is especially true if you also believe that Bernie Sanders stands no real shot at winning the Democratic nomination and probably knows it — but will take his diehard supporters, his loyal 15%, a big enough chunk to influence the debate and stay relevant, as far as they can carry him. But then, of course, you would be ruining his good mood and missing the point entirely.

“Honestly,” his wife says, seated at the small table, “I think things are getting worse. Things are getting worse.” By which she means wages, costs, bills, just not knowing if you can keep a roof over your head. “And this is an opportunity. I don't know that the opportunity was there in 2016, where it was so widespread in the same way, the feeling among people of, ‘Wait a minute. We deserve better. This is not OK. The system is completely broken.’ There were some people who saw it in 2016, but it has gotten so much worse over the last two or three years.”

“We’re losing ground as a people. And that angers him,” she laughs dryly, and from the other room, you can hear that he does sound angry — angry about how people go bankrupt for getting “CANC-AH,” angry about our crumbling “IN-FER-STRUCHRR,” angry about his colleagues in Congress who say everyone “LOOOOVES” their private health insurance. “THAT TRUE?”

He is yelling, yes, but Bernie Sanders is “happiest and most comfortable in rooms like this,” Rabin-Havt says, gesturing to the event across the hall. “When you put him in a room full of political hacks — like, phonies — that’s not his room. He’s not going to like it.”

Jane nods. “And he’s going to be gruff.”

“He’s going to be gruff,” Rabin-Havt says, “and he’s not going to know how to deal with it. You put him in a room with real people telling their real stories and—”

“And he’s a different person,” Jane says. “If you have politicians and, uh, media personalities just trying to play gotcha politics or talk about the polls or other candidates — and never asking the real questions about what's affecting the people, he has no time. He has no time.”

Jane, like most everyone around her husband, is a true believer. The two grew up in the same area of Brooklyn — 10 blocks apart, where her father worked as a taxi driver — but they wouldn’t meet until 1980 in Burlington. She was a community organizer. He was running for mayor. She had never heard the name “Bernie Sanders” when she helped organize a debate for the candidates at a Unitarian church in town. “Nobody liked the incumbent mayor in the community groups. Being a good Catholic girl, I greeted him and made sure he was all set up. I didn't even talk to Bernie! But everybody was interested in Bernie. And then I sat in the second row, and I listened to him, and so did the entire Unitarian Church,” she pauses, then continues slowly, “and I felt that he embodied everything I believed in. The first time I heard him speak. And I knew I would be working with him from that moment on.”

There is a stunning intensity in the belief — one made very real by the heart attack, one held firmly by his staff, his wife, by the candidate himself — that if Bernie Sanders isn’t going to be telling the American people these stories, then no other candidate will.

“It was a gut check for a lot of people,” Jane says. “Everybody was thinking cerebrally, ‘well, you know, we'll see how it plays out. The polls don’t seem to be doing that well right now. Who knows whether it's gonna be Biden or Elizabeth or Bernie…’” She waves her hand in the air.

“And then when people — I mean, I felt it very strongly from so many people — when people heard that he had a heart attack, it was like, ‘Oh my god.’ And envisioning, OK, without Bernie's voice, oh my god, this would be a totally different race. It would be a totally…” her voice trails off. “People understand that he's the one that can affect real change…”

“This is not a, uh, an intellectual discussion.”

At some point, the sound of Bernie’s voice from the other room drops out.

Jane goes silent. The staffers go silent.

Everything is abruptly quiet, and there is an instant, a half of a split second, when the mind imagines that maybe something’s happened — and then there’s the sound of Bernie Sanders speaking again.

“Somebody was just asking a question,” Jane explains.

“Oh, OK,” Rabin-Havt says.

“OK.”

iii.

The video team is still rolling outside Pamela’s house.

After about 25 minutes, the visit is over. They are all standing in the front yard — Bernie, Pamela, and Catherine. Two campaign vans are idling silently in the driveway. Both women have dealt with politicians before: Catherine has worked on legislation with US senators, including another presidential candidate, Cory Booker, to address rural wastewater problems. Pamela has testified before a congressional forum on poverty convened by Elizabeth Warren.

“Thank you,” Pamela tells her guest.

“I want to thank YOU,” he replies. And suddenly, there are tears. Catherine is hugging him, and then Pamela is hugging him too and crying into his blue button-down shirt — and then they are all hugging together. “We won’t forget you,” he says. “This is just the beginning.”

After they leave the house, he turns to one of the political reporters with him. “Learning something?” he asks.

The visit is still heavy on his mind. There is some light conversation about the trip — and then you see his face turn to a grimace. The reporter asks about Joe Biden. At this particular juncture in the horserace, there is a thirst for conflict between the two candidates.

“One day at a time…” he responds.

The reporter tries again: “Do you think Biden’s message is resonating in the South?”

“We’ll take it one day at a time, I have no idea. Nor does anyone else.”

He is, of course, annoyed. “You have all heard me rant and rave,” he starts telling the group. “I don’t think that the media is the enemy of the people, that it’s fake news. God knows I don’t think that.”

“But I do think we have to do a better job in looking at issues that impact ordinary people.”

“There are millions of people in this country…”

Later in the day, he relays Pamela’s story to the crowd at his town hall. The following month, his campaign releases a two-and-a-half-minute video about the trip, titled “Trapped.” Eventually, it hits 750,000 views.

In the middle of an interview, he bats back a question to ask one of his own.

“Do you know what it’s like to live —”

He is about to say “paycheck to paycheck,” but he stops himself. As he sees it, the media doesn’t know anything about that. Reporters, even the well-meaning ones, he thinks, don’t have a clue. “I mean, I do,” he says. “I grew up in that family.” His father, a paint salesman, worked hard but never made much money. The family lived in a three-and-a-half-room, rent-controlled apartment in Brooklyn. Both parents died young. As a young politician in Vermont, Sanders had to borrow gas money to campaign. The windshield wipers on his Volkswagen bug didn’t work. He struggled to pay bills. After his swearing-in as mayor of Burlington, he bought his first suit at age 40. He was, in those days, the same voter he’s trying to reach now. His old notebooks, legal pads fished from the archives by a Mother Jones reporter earlier this year, include rambling notes on his inability to do better for himself and his young son. The internal commentary is scathing and unkind. “Not only do I not pay bills every month — ‘What, every month?’ — I am better now than I used to be,” he wrote, “but pretty poor…”

The secret, it turns out, is that in addition to taking this work very seriously, Bernie Sanders also takes it very personally. The secret is that a mostly solitary man — a man who has spent most of his political career on the outskirts, who’s never really fit into someone’s idea of a politician, who’s “cast some lonely votes, fought some lonely fights, mounted some lonely campaigns” — is now trying to win a presidential campaign, maybe his last, by making people feel less alone.

This is his campaign, his theory of change, though he’s done very little to explain it to a wider audience. “I care less about the coverage, in one sense,” he says. “What I care about is that someone turns on the TV, and there’s someone who works at Walmart, or someone from Disney, or McDonald's. And they say, you know, ‘that’s me.’” He wants those people to do the talking: the people who worry about their electric bill. The people who wonder if they can afford to have another kid. People for whom “the idea of taking vacation” — he scoffs as he says the word — “is not even in their imagination even though they work all the time.” In his mind, he was those people.

He is not among the politicians “whose mommies and daddies told them at the country club that they were born to be president,” as he put it last year. He suspects his parents were Democrats, but he isn’t sure — it’s not something they discussed. So he is not drawn to Washington in the usual ways. Which is not to say that he doesn’t have ego. In 2016, staffers watched him adjust with unexpected ease to his new power and popularity: The guy in the middle seat, coach class, was suddenly flying private and showing up to watch the Golden State Warriors play the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7. But he does not have what one former president called “that wretched mania, an itching for the White House.” He is driven by a different compulsion.

You get the sense, without exaggeration, that he will keep doing this for the rest of his life. That he would die before he stops. There are some signs, after the heart attack, that this is playing on his mind. “At the end of the day,” he told his supporters in a seven-minute video he recorded after his release from the hospital, “if you’re gonna look at yourself in the mirror, you’re gonna say, ‘Look, I go around once, I have one life to live. What role do I wanna play?’”

But for the most part, his mood is notably light. His return to the campaign trail, ever since the heart attack, aka “heart incident,” as senior aides refer to it in the press, has been a happy, bordering-on-joyous affair. He starts cracking jokes during his speech. He plays basketball. He hosts his staff at his house in Burlington, demonstrating the best way to build a fire in a tiny stove. He announces plans for his own New Year’s Eve party in Iowa with food, drinks, and live music: “Bernie’s Big New Year’s Bash.” Inexplicably, he ends up dancing at a labor solidarity dinner in New Hampshire. “Our revolution includes dancing!” he declares. And then, to the sound of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” and The Temptations’ “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” he sways his hips from side to side, grinning, and twirls woman after woman across the banquet hall.

The major papers describe this period as a “renaissance” and “resurgence.” In polls conducted since the heart attack, he has either maintained his position or become even more competitive. He has a shot at Iowa. He looks good in Nevada and California. He remains the only candidate with more donations than Donald Trump. And he has some $1.67 million coming in each month from people who have signed up for automatic recurring donations.

On one afternoon in late October, he travels to Brooklyn to do a few interviews.

The plan is to walk up Henry Street to the Brooklyn Promenade, a pedestrian area overlooking the East River and downtown Manhattan, but he makes a turn onto Kane Street instead — spontaneous! — another indication of his good mood, which an aide quickly notes aloud.

He walks a few blocks, greeting passersby, before ducking into Francesco's Pizzeria & Trattoria, where he orders a slice of pepperoni. His staffers also order pepperoni. “See!” Bernie says. “Can’t think for themselves!” Jane shrugs. “Well, I got cheese,” she says.

The guys behind the counter open the oven and pull out a slice of pepperoni, wet and shimmering in its own hot oil. No one is concerned, apparently, about whether pizza is a wise choice three weeks after a stent procedure. Jane doesn’t blink. His staff doesn’t blink. No one blinks. Bernie takes his plate to a corner table, where he sits for a brief interview, giving polite but clipped answers about his decision to stay in the presidential race after the incident.

In one swift hand motion, as if to dispense with this line of inquiry entirely, he lifts the slice from its white paper plate, folds the crust lengthwise, takes a large bite, and swallows.

“This is my life,” he says.

The statement is, for Bernie, as straightforward and uncomplicated as it sounds. Everyone seems to understand this. Of course he should eat pizza. Of course he is still running for president.

“Well,” Jane says a few days later, “I mean, it would be kind of ridiculous if it didn't affect him in some way.”

“I think the way it affected him was, ‘OK, this… This is my mission in life. This is my purpose. I'm here for a reason.’”

On that long flight from Vermont to Las Vegas, she thought about what she should do when she saw him in the hospital. “If he wasn’t doing well,” she thought, she would put her foot down. She would tell him no. “If he was in danger, I would absolutely say, ‘I’m sorry. You can’t.’”

Jane pauses. “But honestly, I don’t know that he would have listened to me.”

[brazilianism]

Brazilian Elections - Let’s talk about  Fernando Haddad

Alright, so. Elections this year and we’re in a big mess, right? The new plot twist to our ever changing political scenario is Fernando Haddad, who happens to be one of the only politicians I actually like, so i’m gonna use this post to talk about his work so y’all can get to know him better since he’s not that famous outside of São Paulo. First of all, for all of you who have no idea what i’m talking about, let me catch you up: Lula (our ex-president) is still, ya know, in jail. For corruption and stuff. We can debate that more thoroughly in another post. Problem is, he wants to run for president again (he wanted before he was arrested already), and technically by some legal standards he might, cause his sentence hasn’t really been contested in every possible court, which is to say that even though his chances of them being overthrown are VERY small, it could still happen and therefore there’s a legal breach there that could allow him to run for president. And bOY is he popular at it - he was leading all the polls around the country these past few months, he was at the lead with nearly 40% of the votes at the last poll (published on the 21st/august). But there has been a debate for months now on whether he’d appoint someone else as a candidate in his place in case the most likely thing happens and he can’t run... And we kinda got the answer a few weeks ago - he didn’t appoint someone else, but he picked his vice president: Haddad, from his own party. Which is to say, in case he is barred from running, Haddad will likely be taking his place. [in the very surprising scenario where Lula DOES run Haddad would not be vice president anymore cause they have a deal with another party and then Manuela D’avila, another ex-candidate for the presidency gets the job cause she’s now supporting Haddad as kinda vice-vice president but that’s a whole other matter). So let’s talk about Fernando Haddad.

Quick background: Haddad is the son of a Lebanese immigrant and graduated in law school (and is a certified lawyer). He's also got a masters degree in economy and a doctorate in philosophy, all at USP, which is like, one of the best universities in Latin america. He’s also a teacher there in Social Sciences and currently a teacher at another private university. In public office, he has been the Minister for Education for 6 years of Lula’s government and Mayor to Brazil’s biggest city, São Paulo, from 2013 to 2016. I’m not saying you need any of those titles to be any good at the job (I mean, just look at Lula I guess) but we sure have to say Haddad came prepared for the fight talking about ground knowledge. 

As the Minister for Education Haddad invested mostly in making the access to universities broader - it was his government that created ProUni (a program that provides government scholarships to poor students in private universities), and re-designed FIES (the financing and credit system for poor students to pay for universities) making it easier for people to pay (less interest rates, more time). During his time we also got 14 new public (free) universities and other kinds of educational centers making the number of available spots go from about 140K to 218K. He was also responsible for reformulating ENEM so that it could start to become a sort of brazilian SAT, now accepted as an entrance test to several universities that all had different tests (and you had to take all of them and pay for all of them if you wanted to apply to multiple places). When he started, Brazil invested about 3,9% of our GDP in education. At the end of his run, we were investing 5,1%. The PISA results showed Brazil among the 3 countries that had evolved the most in education during those years (yeah, we were still pretty low on the rank, but we can’t say it wasn’t working). So education is quite his thing, but that’s not all. 

As a Mayor, Haddad had a clear vision for the city that involved making it more livable - his slogan said “more human”. The ideia is based on studies that say once the citizens have a sense of personal relationship with the place they inhabit the whole area starts to become safer (and also better taken care of, obviously). And that seems obvious but São Paulo had some MAJOR problems of livability. 

Imma list some of my favorite projects. For starters, Haddad changed the lightning of a big part of the city to LED lamps (they’re way brighter so the sense of safety is enhanced cause no dark alleys and stuff AND they’re more efficient so we also started saving energy) [x]. Then he created bike lanes and more bus corridors to make public transport faster and so that people could actually use BIKES in the damn city without too many risks (the number of people who use bikes here grew over 60% in a couple of years, who could have guessed it [x]). He then reduced the speed limits for several streets and speed lanes. That was MASSIVELY impopular, but he said he didn’t care if people hated him as long as it worked in the long run - and, lol, it did. With all of that he reduced accidents and deaths on traffic in the city by 15% overall and by half in specific areas [x] [x], and most interestingly: São Paulo dropped over fifty fucking places on international traffic ranks (which is over 10 times what ANY other brazilian city varied in the ranks those years so there’s no blaming it on any external factors) [x] . Yeah, Haddad started to solve traffic, which is arguably the thing everyone hates the most in this city. People spending less time in traffic start spending more time at leisure - no matter, he closed important avenues on Sundays so that people could use that space, public space, for fun, and anybody who’s been at Paulista on a Sunday nowadays will have seen how damn awesome that place became. He also regulated and stimulated Carnaval as a street party that is now country-famous (do y’all remember how nearly nobody ever considered spending Carnaval in São Paulo a cool thing before 2012? yeah. and people come to the city now just for that and spend a whole lot of money here cause of it [x]). Then he created our very first fucking city tour program with buses and all (man, biggest city in the country and we didn’t have a city tour bus for tourists, what the fuck). He did the first actual Floods Tackling project that involved actually mapping the floods and acting directly on them with more cleaning of the streets and even smart-monitored sewers and trash cans at some places [x]. He created LGBT support centers and was responsible for putting the São Paulo Pride Parade (one of the biggest in the world) on the official government calendars (and as minister for education he was responsible for trying to implement an anti-homophobia program involving educating and orienting teachers to deal with these situations) [x] . He tackled the drug problem (especially the crack-cocaine problem) downtown by offering support (food, housing, medical and psychological assistance, and actual jobs) to addicts - a lot of people were against “giving money to drug addicts”, but again, it worked, and I have a whole post about this here. He created a program to stimulate recycling food at the big open markets and to ensure that organic food was served in the local schools every week. He helped open several tech centers that allowed for people to take tech and coding courses and use 3D printers and other stuff for free or at low prices [x]. Still want more culture? He created public cinemas at poor areas (that showed all kinds of movies, local ones, international ones, all in theaters as good as the paid kind) and created a whole institution to stimulate film making in São Paulo, SPCINE [x] [x]. Oh, and he started a project to take the names of our previous dictators and torturers off the street names (cause yeah we had that) and replace them with, well, decent people [x]. 

Not enough to have some cool ass projects? K, we can discuss his economy as mayor. Cause not only Haddad was innovative as fuck as said above, he also made the city’s finances as good as ever - and I mean it, cause he renegotiated our historical debts to the federal government and reviewed several contracts to companies AND created an agency to investigate corruption scandals regaining several millions into our vaults [x] [x], in a way that by the end of his government we had over 40 billion less in debt [x], 2-3 billion in store and had our investment rate (you know the thing that Brazil kept being lowered at? by international agencies? those grades and stuff?] raised. Oh yeah, and he got like 95% of what he promised in his campaign done [x]. 

And I said all of this so I can exemplify why I like Haddad - it’s not about one or two individual projects, it’s about the way he thinks as a whole. He thinks ahead and he thinks based on actual science - without forgetting a human side of it all. All of his unpopular and polemic measures had positive results - they went miles away from common sense, but it didn’t matter for him cause scientific studies had showed it would work (and it did! what a fucking surprise!). Of couse, that made him the most hated mayor by some people cause all he does is just so weird, right? and he never cared, multiple times he mentioned he didn’t mind being unpopular if it was the right thing for the city. And he was in fact unpopular cause of that (and cause of his party, obviously). He left office leaving contracts signed for about 7 years ahead. He didn’t even have high hopes of being reelected by then, but he left stuff ready to work for the next government (likely an opposition one) anyway. Cause that’s what you do if you’re a decent politician, but it’s so damn rare to see this kind of attitude here. Haddad looked at cold hard facts, saw a city that could use a lot of change in several areas, made a plan and went ahead with it knowing that a lot of people would hate him for it but that in the end it could actively change how we live - and he was right. By the end of it, people did have a different relationship with the city. 

Haddad showed me in both his public offices that he doesn’t have the small mind of most our politicians that seem to only be able to think about things that can happen every 4 years, nor only about things that will be popular for the sake of being popular without being right. And that’s just what I want from a politician. Seems so simple, and yet it’s nearly impossible to find. So that’s why he’s a politician i’m not afraid to support. 

To close this off i’m gonna leave y’all with links to articles from the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times (portuguese here) and The Wire complimenting his time as mayor too so english readers can get some more opinions AND here an Haddad article (in portuguese) that I like if you want to see more of him (especially his views of Brazilian politics), cause this doesn’t even cover all his interesting projects.  Here’s also an interview with him in english, and here here and here some in portuguese for people who want to get a better sense of him and his government plan. Feel free to ask more questions about his projects, I’ll try to get to them when I have time.

[eugene-my-love]

@mostlydaydreaming. we were limited to the number of pages we could write. i could have gone on for so much longer

This is my argument paper from writing 2 I took in the spring. Enjoy!!

Singin’ in the Rain:

Putting Smiles on Faces for More than 60 Years

Kandace Feorene

“I like old movies too! My favorite oldie is Pulp Fiction/Forrest Gump.” These are the words every classic film lover despises. My blood boils every time I hear similar phrases. The bubbling is new, yes, I will admit that, but it is genuine. I got into classic movies in July of last year, and I hope I never see the light at the end of this sometimes black and white, sometimes silent tunnel. Movies have been around for over 100 years, and the golden age of them is just that, golden! It started when the talkies were introduced in 1927, and there was no stopping them from there. That is of course until television came along and put an end to it slowly but surely (but let’s not open up that wound). Yes, films still have a significant role in today’s world, but the 30s, 40s, and early 50s were special to the industry. The studio system was roaring as though it would never end. Great characters who deliver beautiful words were the focus in the movies. Good stories were prominent because they couldn’t blow up buildings. The movie musical was big and beautiful being filmed on huge studio lots. There were many made in the golden era of Hollywood, but the best musical and movie ever made is Singin’ in the Rain.

If you’ve never seen it, get a hold of it as soon as possible and watch it. Make sure there are no distractions around. Tell people around you to be quiet. This masterpiece demands your undivided attention. Also, if you haven’t seen it, the title is referencing the title number. I would agree that not all old movies are accessible to most audiences. Some are slow and boring, as are some today. But Singin’ in the Rain is the best example of how people can enjoy movies that are over 60 years old. It is a classic in the true sense of the word.

Singin’ in the Rain was released in 1952 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and is number one on the American Film Institute’s (AFI’s) list of Greatest Movie Musicals of all Time (American Film Institute, 2006) and number five on their list of 100 Greatest American Films of All Time (American Film Institute, 2007). It was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989 (its first year) for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” (Library of Congress). Starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds, with supporting cast members Jean Hagen, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role as the screeching star, and Millard Mitchell, the plot is simple: “talkies” are introduced into Hollywood, and a fictional silent film production company (Monumental Pictures) must convert. Their problem is Lina Lamont, a gorgeous star whose voice rivals nails on a chalkboard. Laughs ensue as producer R. F. Simpson tries to hold on to Lina’s star status through filming her first talking picture, The Dueling Cavalier. Monumental Pictures replaces Lina’s voice with Kathy’s. Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds was 19 while filming Kathy Selden’s journey from, in the words of Don Lockwood, “humble player” to star. Life imitated art after the picture was released, because Singin’ was Reynold’s breakout role.

Classics are hard to define, but easy to recognize. Singin’ in the Rain is, obviously, also the best classic movie ever made. The title number is often regarded as the most recognized dance sequence in all of film. Audiences appreciate it even more when they learn that Kelly had a fever of 103 while filming it (Ward Kelly, 2016). The script is unlike most musicals. The lines are witty and smart. One of my favorites is when a member of the publicity department says “Lina, you’re a beautiful woman—audiences think you’ve got the voice to match. The studio’s got to keep their stars from looking ridiculous at any cost.” O’Connor’s character responds with “No one’s got that much money” (Comden and Green). There is a story, and it interests the audience. Most musicals just have some scenes in between numbers that distract from the singing and dancing, but the scenes and numbers combine beautifully to create the perfect film that never skips a beat. The story is also educational. Writers Betty “Comden and her long-time writing partner, Adolf Green, interviewed washed-up silent film actors, read old magazines and viewed archival films during their writing process” (Laffel, 1992). So, the comical situations throughout the movie are true on top of hilarious. Jean Hagen’s comedic timing is gold. Similarly, Donald O’Connor’s, who won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, humor is never distracting from the story. His iconic Make ‘Em laugh number makes audiences of all ages light up. The 17-minute Broadway Melody number is a sight to behold. The colors are bright and exciting. The sets provide for lavish sequences. Each dance number, choreographed and staged by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, is special in its own right and doesn’t let you take your eyes off the screen. “Each draws from a different technical and aesthetic base: the traditions of lyrical ballet, modern dance, theatrical dancing, exaggeratedly hackneyed tap, familiar social dances, Euro-western folk steps, and a light feathery tap style form an elaborate grammar, the breadth and mastery of which was unique to dance” (La Pointe-Crump, 2004, 66). Kelly and O’Connor’s tap sequence Moses Supposes is very often regarded as the best tap number on film. Singin’ created a star out of Reynolds. She had no previous dancing experience, so Kelly had to teach her from scratch. She was a gymnast, so she knew a little bit about physically working hard, but dance is a whole other ballgame when it comes to technique. Future EGOT recipient Rita Moreno was also a player in the film’s success playing the “Zip Girl of the screen” Zelda Zanders (Comden & Green). Its influence is startling. Let’s take me, a pessimist. I want to sing in the rain now. A self-proclaimed pessimist is happy when it rains because I can play the song and sing along to the greatest classic film ever made.

I am not the only one in the world who has been impacted significantly by this glorious movie. I have met others online who share my thoughts. We talk occasionally, and they were nice enough to give me quotes on their thoughts on the film. Sherrie (2018) perfectly summarizes why people should watch it:

“I think it is the perfect introduction to movie musicals. It’s the first time I really appreciated all the time and skill that went into them. Most modern type musicals are mostly sung (and many auto-tuned) with maybe a few simple dance steps put in. Singin’ in the Rain is just a showcase of “triple threat” performers tied together by a brilliantly written script managing to combine heart and humor without being dated. The supporting characters are solid and memorable. The musical numbers are so well put together sometimes I’ll just watch them back to back and marvel at how all these came from the same movie. This coming from someone who, with a few exceptions, didn’t even like most old movie musicals.”

Sherrie mentions the most amazing feat of this film: the fact that there are so many iconic numbers. Almost all of them are extremely recognizable to people. The title number is the obvious one. It is the most recognizable dance number in all of film, and for good reason. Kelly exudes joy and love, and even though the steps are some of the easiest for a skilled dancer, he makes each special with a different splash in a puddle or shrug of his shoulders. My other friend Lena (2018) explains a concept that is talked about a lot with Singin’:

 “It’s special to me because it was my first introduction to Old Hollywood movies. My family is full of movie buffs, and Old Hollywood movies are a staple for references we all make. When I was ten, my mom told me she thought I was old enough to appreciate it. I don’t think I’d ever laughed so hard at a movie up until that point! The colors, the music, the humor, the romance, it all got to me! Its quality and story still hold up to this day! And it stuck because Old Hollywood is a huge part of my life now, and it’s all because of Singin’ in the Rain!”

If you were to ask people what their first Old Hollywood movie was, a good amount would say Singin’ in the Rain. I showed the film to my best friend a couple of months ago (it was her first Old Hollywood film too) even though she insisted on not watching it. When it was over, she just stared at the screen and apologized to me for saying she did not want to try it. It really is the perfect combination of most genres. There is humor, romance, drama, singing, dancing, and even a little bit of action! If you want to start watching classic films, there is no better movie to introduce you to them while meeting your needs of different movie genres.

The film earns the title of best picture ever made for not just what you see on film, but for the dedication that went on behind the camera as well. The film was directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, and the witty screenplay was written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who were legends in their field. Singin’ was Kelly’s second directing venture. He and Donen directed On the Town in 1949, which was a huge success. MGM was happy to see the two team up again since On the Town resulted in a healthy profit. Kelly was involved in practically every aspect of filming. Rita Moreno (2013) remembers filming, "I visited the set every single day. I did maybe, oh, a week and a half's worth of work on that show. But I visited all the sets every single day.” She only had a few scenes, so she could spend her time observing a legend creating his masterpiece. Kelly even had input in the wardrobe. For the iconic Broadway Melody sequence, he cheated the despised Hays Code, which was the code movies had to follow so films were family friendly. He told the wardrobe department to put slits in Cyd Charisse’s bright green flapper dress because a dancer’s lines should be seen (Ward Kelly, 2016). The slits disobeyed the Hayes Code’s rules on how short a dress can be, but since the material met the requirements, the censors couldn’t touch it. It is worth noting that Charisse had given birth just a few months before shooting her scenes. Kelly’s directing style was unique. He wanted the camera to dance along with the dancers, so the audience didn’t miss a single move. This is evident in Kelly’s part in Broadway Melody before he dances with Charisse. As an audience member, you feel as though you are dancing with him. Kelly’s service in the photographic unit in the Navy gave him the opportunity to explore the filmmaking process. Before the Navy, he was mostly interested in choreography, but after leaving the service, his interests in the movie making process as a whole grew. The Broadway Melody sequence is 14 minutes long. The studio had no problem with the number, since Kelly’s An American in Paris won best picture the year before. An American in Paris had a 17-minute-long ballet sequence, also directed by Kelly, that is also spectacular and should be watched by everyone. Kelly wanted Donald O’Connor for the part of Cosmo Brown. Rita Moreno (2014) said she once told Kelly, “I hope finally people will recognize what a great talent this man is, and he said that’s precisely why I had him in the film.” For his solo number, the film was lost so he had to do the whole energetic sequence again. Since he smoked many packs a day, he had to rest for a few days because the tricks took so much out of him.

This film has brought so much happiness into my life, and I know it will do so for others. If you are sad, the song, dances, and jokes will bring out of your slump. If you are happy, it will enhance your mood. Adolph Green once said, "You know what's wonderful. To be somewhere strange in a foreign country where no one knows you and to be introduced as the people who wrote Singin' in the Rain and to watch the people smile. It's a favorite film the world over. There and here people are always telling us that the family sits together to watch it” (as cited in Laffel, 1992). This quote was from the 90s, but it is due to this day. The dialogue, performances, music, and moves make Singin’ in the Rain the greatest motion picture of all time.

[patriotsnet]

Are There More Democrats Or Republicans Registered To Vote

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/are-there-more-democrats-or-republicans-registered-to-vote/

Are There More Democrats Or Republicans Registered To Vote

New York City Voters Shifted From Republican Or Independent To Democratic Party Ahead Of Primary

More Republicans registered to vote than Democrats

Voters

The Democratic Party in New York has consistently grown its voter base over the years and has also drawn previously party-unaffiliated and Republican voters to its ranks. In the last year alone, more than 88,000 voters who either had no party registration or were registered with the Republican Party switched their affiliation to the Democrats, potentially creating a new bloc of voters that candidates may seek to woo in races such as the crowded and competitive primary contest to replace term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio.

According to data from the state voter file analyzed by Prime New York, a political consulting firm, 67,965 unaffiliated voters and 20,528 Republicans joined the Democratic Party, for a total of 88,493 new Democrats. In that same period, 20,136 Democrats switched over to the Republican Party.

Just 209 voters from the Republican and Democratic Parties gave up their party affiliation and became so-called blank or independent voters.

New York has a closed primary system, where only those with a party affiliation can vote in party primary elections. With 3.7 million registered Democrats in the city as of February 21, compared to just over 566,000 Republicans and about 1.08 million independents, the Democratic primaries all but decide the winner of the general election as well, at least for almost all citywide, boroughwide, and district-specific seats.

Political Party Strength In Us States

Political party strength in U.S. states is the level of representation of the various political parties in the United States in each statewide elective office providing legislators to the state and to the U.S. Congress and electing the executives at the state ” rel=”nofollow”>U.S. state governor) and national level.

Can I Register To Vote If I Don’t Have A Fixed Address

Yes. If you don’t have a fixed residence or are homeless and otherwise qualified to vote in Delaware, you may register by completing the proper registration form. If registering in-person you must provide two pieces of identification containing your name. Additionally, one of the pieces must include the address that you listed on the application. The address can be a shelter, agency or another location where you receive your mail.

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First How Many Of The Newly Registered Democrats Are Breathing

Still undecided and want to become more politically aware? How many republicans switch to democrat as compared to democrats switching to republican, in public and in office. From this point on, democrats stuck with this stance â favoring federally funded social programs and benefits â while republicans were gradually driven to. First, it could foster greater confidence among republican. Allow registered voters to indicate a party preference when registering to vote;

Biggest Influencers: Democrats Or Republicans

To understand who influences politics, you can easily find out who the wealthy support. For example, the Walton family, the owners of the retail giant Walmart, has traditionally donated to Republican candidates. Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmarts founder, hasnt strayed from that too much. That is, until the 2008 election. In 2008 and 2016 the Walton family donated to Hilary Clintons campaign.

She isnt the only person from a wealthy family to change tradition where politics are concerned either. Many of the younger individuals in Americas richest families have begun to sway from their familys political associations as well. Below youll find the affiliation and overall net worth of the top 10 richest families in America.

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Will More Republicans Die From Covid Than Democrats

| 509 opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.Influencer2 mo People lie, right and left. Youre looking not at a number comparing those immunized or not immunized against voter rolls, but asking two questions at random, what party do you affiliate with, and do you plan to get vaccinated.Either way, its a brain dead question. More people would die regardless. Lets say that 45% between both parties is only 30% of Americans , thats enough to fall short of the unknown number that we would need to reach for herd immunity, which to the best of my knowledge no country has reached yet to find that sweet spot.It will simply mutate more and more and recircle the globe again and again. Which honestly is fine by me. The panic and blow to the economy were worse than the virus. Maybe sars-cov-3 will be more exciting though. I was in panic mode until there were more concrete numbers a few months in with cov-2.You also have to figure that if a virus becomes too deadly it wipes itself out as the hosts for that virus die faster than they can transmit it, like ebola, some strains of flu or dysentery. Im not too concerned as me and my family caught it already, and kind of figured on this sticking around like the flu. 0|0

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Americas Top 10 Richest Families

Walton;Republican; The family owns the Walmart corporation.;The Walton family fortune is estimated to be about $130 billion.

Koch;Republican; Businessmen, owners of Koch Industries, a manufacturing company.;Koch brothers have a net worth of about $41 billion each .

;Republican; Own the Mars candy company.;The three children of founder Forrest Mars are worth about $78 billion together.

Cargill-MacMillan;Republican; The Cargill-MacMillan family owns 90 percent of the largest privately-owned corporation in the U.S.;The family, as a whole, is worth about $49 billion.

Cox;Democrat; The Cox family owns a number of auto consumer sites and services . They have an estimated net worth of $41 billion.

Johnson ;Republican; The Johnson family is known for their cleaning products and hygiene products.;They are valued at $30 billion.

Pritzker;Both; Founders of Hyatt.;The family has a combined value of $29 billion in 2017.

Johnson ;Republican; Overseers at Fidelity, ensuring the cash of millions of Americans.;The family has a combined net worth of $28.5 billion.

Hearst;Republican; The Hearst family owns one of Americas largest media companies.;The family is valued at $28 billion.

Duncan;Republican; The Duncan family works mostly with oil and pipelines.;The family is valued at about $21.5 billion.

Also Check: Republicans And Democrats Switch Platforms

Poring Over Party Registration

This is not the best of times for the Democratic Party. No White House; no Senate; no House of Representatives; and a clear minority of governorships and state legislatures in their possession. Yet the Democrats approach this falls midterm elections with an advantage in one key aspect of the political process their strength in states where voters register by party.

Altogether, there are 31 states with party registration; in the others, such as Virginia, voters register without reference to party. Among the party registration states are some of the nations most populous: California, New York, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona, and Massachusetts.

The basic facts: In 19 states and the District, there are more registered Democrats than Republicans. In 12 states, there are more registered Republicans than Democrats. In aggregate, 40% of all voters in party registration states are Democrats, 29% are Republicans, and 28% are independents. Nationally, the Democratic advantage in the party registration states approaches 12 million.

Still, Republican Donald Trump found a route to victory in 2016 that went through the party registration states. He scored a near sweep of those where there were more Republicans than Democrats, winning 11 of the 12, while also taking six of the 19 states where there were more Democrats than Republicans a group that included the pivotal battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Chart 1 And Table : Nationwide Party Registration Trends Since 2000

More than 8 million Ohioans registered to vote November 3

Since 2000, the nationwide proportion of registered Democratic and Republican voters in party registration states have both gone down, while the percentage of registered independents has steadily grown. The latter has nearly reached the nationwide percentage of registered Republicans, which has long been second nationally to the Democrats. Altogether, the combined number of registered Democrats and Republicans, which was 77% in October 2000, is now down to 69%, while the proportion of registered independents over the same period has increased from 22% to 28%.

Note: Based on active registered voters in states where the number of active and inactive registrants is listed. In the election-eve 2000, 2008, and 2016 entries, Independents include a comparatively small number of registered miscellaneous voters who do not fit into a particular category. Percentages do not add to 100 since the small percentage of registered third party voters is not included.

Richard Wingers monthly newsletter, Ballot Access News, for election-eve party registration numbers in 2000, 2008, and 2016; the websites of state election offices for July 2018.

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At Least 60 Afghans And 13 Us Service Members Killed By Suicide Bombers And Gunmen Outside Kabul Airport: Us Officials

Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. At least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops were killed, Afghan and U.S. officials said.

Republicans Could Make A Difference In Tuesdays Preliminary Election In A Race This Close Every Vote And Every Constituency However Small Counts

Nobody would ever confuse Boston with a Republican stronghold; the city hasnt elected a GOP mayor since the 1920s, and these days the party almost never bothers even to run a candidate in mayoral or city council elections. This year, all five major candidates are Democrats.

Still, almost half of Bostons voters backed Republican Charlie Baker for governor in 2018. Even Donald Trump won 45,000 votes in the city, about 15 percent of the electorate, with clusters of support in South Dorchester, West Roxbury, and South Boston.

With this years preliminary mayoral campaign entering its final days, and polls predicting an extremely close race, those numbers loom large. Boston might not have enough Republicans or Republican-leaning voters to actually elect a mayor but its still a rich, often-overlooked trove of votes that could help boost one of those Democrats.

Openly courting Republican votes, of course, carries risk, since it could antagonize far more numerous Democrats. But Republicans are choosing sides, in ways that reflect their own divisions.

Nassour is openly supporting Andrea Campbell for mayor. As for how her Republican fellows will vote, she said that she encourages them, ven if you cant get a candidate who is exactly like you in all policies, its important to find a candidate who represents the character of the person youd like to see in office.

Marcela García can be reached at . Follow her on Twitter .

Read Also: How Many States Are Controlled By Republicans

Turnout Patterns Across States Show Large Increases And Notable Shifts

National turnout shifts between 2016 and 2020 were broadly evident across individual states. Turnout rose in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C. .

Among the states with double-digit turnout gains was the swing state of Arizona, where turnout rose from 60% to 72%. New Jersey increased turnout from 61% to 78%, giving it the highest 2020 turnout rate of all states. Similarly, all but nine states showed turnout gains for their 18- to 29-year-old populations

Most notable are turnout shifts among white non-college and white college graduate populations. Only six states registered 2016-to-2020 turnout drops for non-college white voters, whereas 15 states showed such drops for white college graduates. In all but 11 states, turnout gains were greater for non-college white voters than for college-educated white voters. And particularly relevant for the 2020 election, both Michigan and Wisconsin registered turnout gains for non-college white voters and declines for college-educated white voters.

Back to top

Florida Republicans Close Voter Registration Gap With Democrats

The gap between Floridas registered Democrats and Republicans, which has been steadily closing nearly every year since 2012, is a few thousand voters away from the GOP pulling ahead for the first time in state history.

Despite two decades of Republican dominance on a statewide level, Democrats in Florida have managed to maintain their edge in the number of registered voters. But that lead is now down to about 24,000, according to data from the Florida Department of State far from the 558,000-voter-advantage Democrats had nearly a decade ago.

There are about 5.1 million Republicans and just slightly more Democrats listed in state data showing active voters as of Aug. 31. There are about 3.8 million voters registered without party affiliation and about 250,000 who registered with minor parties.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz said that, despite the narrowed gap, hes feeling good. Part of what motivated him to run the party was the lack of infrastructure Democrats had, he said. Since hes taken over, the partys been making an active effort to set up a statewide voter registration system that operates year-round.

Diaz pointed to the 2008 and 2012 boom Democrats had in registered voters, which he attributed to the Florida campaigns of Barack Obamas successful runs for president and his reelection. But when those campaign officials left, they took their resources with them and the statewide party lost ground.

Don’t Miss: What Is The Lapel Pin The Republicans Are Wearing

Republicans Narrow Voter Registration Gap In Swing States

There are still more people registered as Democrats than Republicans in the battleground states of Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, but Republicans have been gaining ground.

There are multiple forces at play: Republicans are making strides with registering voters, the two-party system is losing its appeal especially with young people and Democrats are being purged from the rolls as they either move out of those states or arent showing up at the polls.

The people who have been removed from the file since are more Democrats than Republicans, said Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart, a nonprofit politics data firm. Overwhelmingly, those people didnt vote in 2016. What that tells you is these are people who had already either moved from the state or already died prior to November 2016, and they just hadnt been removed at that point.

The latest national CBS News Battleground Tracker poll shows Joe Biden with a 10-point lead among likely voters, but that lead narrows to within the margin of error in several key states, meaning the race could come down to who shows up at the polls on or before Election Day.

Who Is Richer Democrats Or Republicans The Answer Probably Wont Surprise You

by Jenny Smedraon ~

Which of the two political parties has more money, Democrats or Republicans? Most would rush to say Republicans due to the partys ideas towards tax and money. In fact, polls have shown about 60 percent of the American people believe Republicans favor the rich. But how true is that? Assignment help;can help you write about the issue but read our post first.

Read Also: Which States Are For Trump

Are There More Democrats Than Republicans In The United States

I have been thinking about the Democratic Party and whether or not its members are more numerous than the opposing faction.

Evidence to suggest this is the case:

This party is expected to win the popular vote for president seven out of eight times since 1992. Please don’t say “this hasn’t happened yet”. If this bothers you, say 6 out of 7.

The party has received 51.9 percent of the votes cast in presidential elections from 1992 to 2016 for it or its opponent, the Republican Party. This shows that 2012 was the mean election in popular vote as of 2016.

Party registration in states that register by party says this same thing.

Trump’s approval has not gone above 50 percent ever as president on 538.

A plurality of Americans consistently supported impeachment by 2 to 5 points while it was happening.

This suggests that the partisan lean the American electorate is about D+4. I believe that it might be closer to D+5 now for various reasons and the fact that 2012 was the mean result. This can get a little bit fuzzy because of independents.

If we look at opinion polling, Gallup has collated party affiliation polls back to 2004. The most recent poll at the time of writing gives a D+11 advantage. Looking just at the net Republican/Democrat advantage, ignoring Independents, we can create the graph below – with positive percentages representing a Democrat lead, and negative percentages representing a Republican lead.

To give a theoretical perspective on this:

When Was The Republican And Democratic Parties Formed

Do more registered voters and mail in ballot requests favor democrats or republicans?

The Democratic Party was founded by Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren on January 8, 1828, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was the United States seventh president but the first democratic President.

The Democratic Partys shocking emergence can be linked to the countrys anti-federalist factions. It was during that time the United States of America gained independence from British colonial masters.

The anti-federalist factions, which democrats originated from, were also grouped into the Democrat-Republican party. This was done in 1792 by James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and other federalists influential opponents.

On the other hand, the Republican Party is pretty much younger than the Democratic Party. It was formed in 1854 by anti-slavery modernizers and activists.

The republicans were against the expansion of slavery in Western territories. They fought hard to protect African Americans rights after the civil war.

The Republican Party is often known as GOP. The meaning is Grand Old Party. The first Republican President was Abraham Lincoln. From Lincolns emergence, Republican Party started gaining ground in America.

Also Check: Why Do Republicans Hate Ted Cruz

Florida Republicans Close Registration Gap With Democrats To Historically Narrow Margin

Floridas Republicans have narrowed the voter registration gap behind Democrats to historically close levels in the final tally of voters before the Nov. 3 election.

Democrats hold only a 134,000-voter lead over Republicans in the nations largest swing state, according to a Thursday report from the Florida Department of State that shows how many active registered voters registered in time to participate in the 2020 general election. Four years ago, when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 113,000 votes, Democrats held a 327,000-voter edge.

There are more than 14.4 million active registered voters in Florida.

Democrats in 1980 boasted twice as many registered voters than Republicans, but the gap between the two parties has steadily closed. Democrats saw a boost in their registrations during the 2008 election of President Barack Obama, but Republicans have regained that ground in subsequent years.

Florida Democrats had hoped to reverse the trend in 2020. Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum at one point aimed to register or re-engage 1 million voters.

Republicans crowed Thursday that their strategy would lead to victories on Nov. 3

Florida Democrats, meanwhile, have been talking up Democrats’ early turnout numbers in returned vote-by-mail ballots this election cycle.

[chrysanthe0-blog]

WRITE LEFT - contextualizing the LA in slavery

In May 2017, I published a zine called ‘write left: selections and reflections from the author’s late night #WikipediaWanderings.’ It contains 3 essays inspired by my amateur research into the history of southern California. Here is the first piece.

Recently, my partner was given the opportunity to spend some time in the South. Neither of us were familiar with the area, and we didn’t know what he should expect. We’d heard a tale of two regions. The first view was defined by one of its namesakes - Southern hospitality, where people on the street give you a friendly hello, strangers welcomed you into their home with open arms and a pitcher of sweet tea, a genteel demeanor in strong contrast to the fast-paced city nature of “the North”.

We were quicker to think of the South in the other light, one brought about from its history as the American epicenter of enslavement, debasement and cruelty that is the chattel slave system of Africans/ African-Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. Where people still proudly flew Confederate flags as if oblivious to the pain and turmoil of black life that that symbol represented. We could tell that the foundations of racism and hatred ran deep, and my partner (white but woke) wondered about walking amongst them.

Of course, we were judging from afar, as we lived in California, the biggest blue state in the nation. Racism was, is and continues to oppressively dictate the lives of people of color in our great state; for a small sampling see pernicious ICE raids & LAPD targeting of black and brown bodies. But the South! Didn’t the systematic barbarity of the transatlantic slave trade take evil to a whole ‘nother level?  

As if I could point the finger away from the land I live.

I recall vividly when my 5th grade teacher told our class that America (which I’d only ever been taught to see as the best most freedomest nation ever) was responsible and must account for 2 great evils in its history: how we treated Africans/ African-Americans and the indigenous people of this land**. I don’t mean to minimize the destruction of life methodically achieved through the Southern slavery system, but why am I so quick to bring up one evil, and not that which has been wrought upon the first peoples of this nation?

As an Angelena, I too live in a land that has enslaved members of another race and assumed their inferiority. That this has been perpetrated by the 3 powers that claimed their rule over this land - Spain, Mexico, and finally the U.S. - does not lessen our culpability in owning up to this past.

It was under Spanish rule that in 1799 Padre Antonio de la Concepcion Horra reported, “The treatment shown to the Indians is the most cruel I have ever read in history. For the slightest things, they receive heavy flogging, are shackeled and put in the stocks, and treated with so much cruelty that they are kept whole days without water.” In elementary school in California, children learn about the Spanish missions, making their own replica and going on a field trip to visit the historical site. What is often missing from the lesson is how they were built with Indian labor, with the express purpose of converting Native Americans to Catholicism, after which the native people of the land were forced to live within the settlements and work for the Spanish. Runaways and rebels were punished harshly, but throughout this period, Native Americans resisted their colonizers through uprisings and other attempts to achieve their freedom from bondage.

It was under Mexican rule that the missions and other large land estates were awarded to wealthy ranchos, who counted on the native population as their labor force. Native Americans had no choice but to enter this pact; if they did not, their villages would be raided and their labor would be taken by force anyway. Going further, in 1846, Mexico’s Assembly passed resolutions calling for funding to locate and demolish Indian villages.

It was under American rule where in 1850 state legislators legalized white custody of Indian minors and prisoner leasing. Ten years later, they legalized the “indenture” of “any Indian,” which triggered an increase in violent kidnappings of Indian people. As one lawyer at the time put it “Los Angeles had its slave mart [and] thousands of honest, useful people were absolutely destroyed in this way.”

And during this whole time, the Native American population fell at an incredible rate, further decimated by the onslaught of European diseases. This point is important, because sadly, one of the main reasons our public education fails to acknowledge our genocide of Native Americans is because America has so totally accomplished its goal of annihilation of indigenous people.

Or as comedian Solomon Georgio puts it: “The Native Americans as a people have suffered the worse genocide in human history. Some may say, hey Solomon what about the Holocaust? And I wouldn’t take that away from anyone, the Holocaust was a terrible, terrible tragedy.  However…I have seen 10 or more Jewish people in the same room. I haven’t seen 10 Native Americans…in my life. They used to live right here.”

In Mexico, self-identified indigenous people make up 21.5% of the population. In Canada, it’s 4.2%. In USA, the indigenous population is only 1.4% of the general population. The USA has been the most systematically cutthroat in ending the lives of its native peoples, and as a result, it is possible in today’s world to not be visibly reminded of their presence.

But it is our duty to empathize, feel into their struggle, and most importantly act in solidarity with these communities. Here is an incomplete list of concrete steps we can take today, most local to the Los Angeles area:

- We can support indigenous-led movements such as the movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline and divestment efforts from banks that support the destruction of Native American land. In June 2017, LA City Council, pressured by the indigenous-led Divest L.A. movement, voted unanimously to divest over $40 million in investments from Wells Fargo.

- We can pressure LA City Council to follow the example of other cities and turn Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples Day, as well as formally recognize the genocide of the Native American people. In August 2017, LA did just that, replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

- We can join the new petition to decolonize our children’s education when it comes to learning about the Spanish missions, recentering the narrative to focus on “the impact and daily life of the native population within these missions.” The 2nd CA Indian Curriculum Summit happened at Sacramento State on October 2017, with the purpose to “provide 3rd and 4th grade teachers with California Indian vetted replacement units that address Common Core Standards.”

- We can use our money to support Native American stories, media and art, such as film festivals like LA Skins Fest. The next LA Skins Fest happens annually in November at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Find out more at www.laskinsfest.com.

As expected, my partner survived the South. What he saw was appalling - “Drunk Lives Matter” on a T-shirt, a man trying to start a fight as my partner booed a parade’s Confederate flag. But peeking into that world through him, made me think about mine. We can’t even get it right in CA, a state that prides itself on its “progressive values”. For the indigenous people of this land, and for us, the descendants of settlers, who are committed to living by our values and fighting for the liberation of all peoples, it’s time to act. Let’s start locally, in the place that we’re in, with the hope that everyone else is thinking the same.

**Shoutout to Mr. Sig for keeping it real! Although - only 2 evils? The Chinese laborers of the nineteenth century, Japanese families forced into internment camps during WW2, Latino youth of the ‘Zoot Suit Riots’ and many other marginalized groups beg to differ…

References “Demographics of Canada.” Wikipedia “Demographics of Mexico.” Wikipedia “Demographics of the United States.” Wikipedia “A History of American Indians in California.” Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California. National Park Service. November 17, 2004 “History of Enslavement of Indigenous Peoples in California.” Wikipedia “History of Los Angeles.” Wikipedia  Madley, Benjamin. “It’s time to acknowledge the genocide of California’s Indians.” Los Angeles Times. May 22, 2016 “Repeal, Replace and Reframe the 4th Grade Mission Project.” California Indian Curriculum. Sacramento State. “Solomon Georgio Stand-Up 02/10/15 - Conan on TBS”

[stoweboyd]

Looking Back: Reviewing 2017 Predictions

Here’s the recap of last year’s predictions. See this year’s predictions, here.

Below, the prediction indented, my comments follow. Bolding is from the original post:

1. Work chat will continue to dominate the market for enterprise ‘collaboration’, and AI-based ‘team members’ with deep learning skill sets will become commonplace, building on chatbot models of interaction but assuming larger roles in project management, development, marketing, and HR. Slack is acquired by Amazon for $35 billion, and loosely integrated into AWS.

Got the first part right.  Many, many bots are in use, so kinda good on that. Slack was NOT acquired by Amazon or anyone else in 2017.

2. The hottest business trend of 2017 will be AI-based ‘driverless management’, displacing Holocracy and other management ‘business operating systems’ fads. AI will play a significantly larger role in areas that human cognitive biases are most problematic, like hiring and promotion, decision support, and ensuring diversity, equality, and well-being in the workplace. (Daemon (via Daniel Saurez) meets the workplace.) Several unknown start-ups will lead this new exploding sector.

I was just too early with this, although the driverless management trend is heating up.

3. Following Trump’s proposed withdrawal of US supporting NATO troops in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, Vladimir Putin’s Russia will occupy some part of the Baltics, like the Latgale region of Latvia, which is ~40% ethnic Russian. Mike Pence resigns as Vice President following major disagreements with Trump on the Baltics and NATO. Trump nominates Elaine Chao as Vice President, his Secretary of Transportation, and she is appointed in October, the first woman and first Asian American to serve in that role.

This move by Putin didn’t happen, but joint military exercises in Belarus involved as many as 100,000 Russian troops. Russia rejects Ukrainian assertions that most of the troops were left in place.

4. North Korea will fire a rocket that hits Kodiak Island in Alaska, although it carries only a conventional warhead. Kim Jong-un says the rocket was supposed to have crashed in the ocean before landfall, but many believe it was on track to hit Anchorage.

This has not happened, but the degree of staging up to a new war state with North Korea has been fairly terrifying. NK can now hit all continental US with nuclear warheads, experts agree.

5. Trump raises massive trade barriers to Chinese goods, sparking a trade war that damages both countries’ economies. This is in part because of an inability to get China to – in effect – take control of North Korea, but also as part of an attempt by US and European companies to make China’s markets more open: a second Opium War.

Trump’s trade war has been minimized by the conventional GOP buffer zone around him now. Score that a miss.

6. Britain begins that actual process of Brexit in mid 2017, leading Scotland to a referendum in favor of leaving the UK and applying to the EU for membership.

Yes, they did start the process.

7. The US Congress will pass legislation in early 2017 to repeal Obamacare, but defers any implementation until 2018 at the earliest, because they can’t agree on how it will be replaced or by what approach. Trump proposes a single payer system as a companion to a radical restructuring of the tax code, as he had hinted in his campaign, and falls into open discord with the establishment wing of the GOP.

Trump and company were unable to repeal ACA, but they did sneak a repeal of the individual mandate into the tax cut bill, so I’d say that a mixed result.

8. Driverless car fleets are rolled out by various car companies (Ford, Chrysler, Tesla, etc.) and car hailing platforms (Uber, Lyft, etc.). Car ownership in major urban areas continues to decline, and many municipalities create partnerships with fleet owners to augment conventional mass transportation solutions. The value of New York City taxi medallions drops over 75%.

A little early on the rollout of car fleets, but it’s coming soon. We’ve only seen small pilots in 2017. But the taxi medallions fell like a rock in 2017.

9. Amazon will buy Snapchat, and announce a new take on augmented reality glasses, picking up where Google dropped the ball years ago. Building on the success of Alexa-based Echo devices, Kindle, Fire TV, Amazon Prime, and the growing popularity of Snapchat, Amazon Eyes are the hit of Christmas 2017, with over 50 million ordered in November and December.

Amazon did announce Echo-enabled glasses are coming, but they haven’t shipped them in 2017. Snapchat has not been acquired.

10. The war in Syria comes to a Korean War-like end, with a partition of the country into various regions, and a unceasing belligerence on all parts. It is clearly a shadow war between factions backed by the West, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, and Russia. The stalemate here is a reflection of the reappraisal of loyalties and goals of the shadow players, more than the aims of the Syrian government and the insurgents. Bashar al-Assad rules a rump state of western Syrian, with much of the rest of ‘Syria’ in shambles.

Looks like the end state accelerated faster than I imagined, because of close work between Russia and US to crush ISIS, along with the complicity of Iran.

11. Hillary Clinton files for divorce from Bill Clinton in March 2017, and assumes the role of president of Harvard University, two weeks later.

Didn’t happen.

12. Marine Le Pen loses an unexpectedly close run-off with François Fillon, but the close election pulled Fillon and his Republicans farther right than in recent decades.

Emmanuel Macron didn’t even have a political party at the start of 2017, so that was a real surprise. The collapse of the conventional parties is the real story, and Le Pen did get to a direct election for the presidency, and lost, which is part of my prediction.

13. Oprah announces that she intends to run for President in the next election.

Still possible?

14. Angela Merkel narrowly wins reelection, after wide-spread controversy of scandals uncovered by leaks generally attributed to Putin’s brigade of hackers.

A few scandals, but mostly growing concerns about immigration and the direction for Europe: this one I got right.

15. Barack Obama joins Andreessen Horowitz as a partner, and leads a round funding AdjectiveNoun (fictitious, note), one of the most promising ‘driverless management’ startups. He also comes out in support of Oprah Winfrey’s candidacy.

Obama seems content to take it easy, and hasn’t decided what to do aside from writing some books.

16. Microsoft acquires Salesforce for $75 billion. Marc Benioff leaves to run philanthropy (amid discussions of political ambitions).

Didn’t happen, but still could.

17. Apple acquires Tesla for $75 billion. Tim Cook announces retirement, Elon Musk becomes CEO.

Now that the iPhone X is starting to look like a dud, this might become more realistic. But it didn’t happen.

18. Despite inaction by the US Federal Government, and chaos in the EPA and Energy Department, CO2 levels continue to fall worldwide. Environmental groups suggest that we may have turned the corner on energy in 2017, because solar is now cheaper than other energy sources in most places in the world. However, global temperatures continues to rise, and many models show that it might take 1000 years to reduce global temperatures.

Alas, we hit record levels of CO2 in the atmosphere in 2017. But solar is falling in price, leading to more coal power plants to close.

19. California and San Francisco, with support from Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and other platform companies, announced a project to convert increasingly unneeded parking lots to small ‘park villages’ with dense, micro-apartment developments, for low-income and homeless residents. Trump-sponsored infrastructure funds are directed to US micro-building factories and a new California Construction Corps, which is strongly supported by both Democrats and Republicans. The state’s program is seen as a blueprint for the rest of the country.

This was far too hopeful. None of this has happened, and Trump -- despite his infrastructure mumbo-jumbo -- is cutting funding that might be used for projects like ‘park villages’.

20. Michael Bloomberg announces plans to create a third ‘Pragmatist’ party, based on economic conservatism and social liberalism, and rapidly attracts a large minority of GOP and Democratic legislators in Washington who have been whipsawed by the 2016 elections, and by the growing discord in both major parties over the future of their platforms. Some project that the Pragmatists could gain as many as 30% of the seats in the House, and as many as 10 governorships in coming years. Bloomberg announces his plans to run for President.

It may be more reasonable to imagine Steven Bannon starting an independent run for the White House. But at this point it doesn’t seem that Bloomberg is planning a run.

On the whole, I did fairly badly, really. None of my acquisitions came together, North Korea didn’t bomb us, the Clintons didn’t divorce, CO2 levels continue to rise. And of course, astride the year like Godzilla was Trump, and I made very few predictions about him, and those I did were really off. I don’t think we realized how bizarroland it was going to get.

Even though my results were lousy, I am taking another run at it, in Some Predictions, 2018. 

[gethealthy18-blog]

Telomeres: Can They Reduce Aging and Improve Longevity?

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/news/telomeres-can-they-reduce-aging-and-improve-longevity/

Telomeres: Can They Reduce Aging and Improve Longevity?

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]

I’ve talked about aging on the podcast and how we have some control over how it ultimately goes down. But today I want to talk about telomeres and how they affect aging. Telomeres are an interesting piece of the aging puzzle that shows we have more control over our age (biologically at least!) than we thought.

What Are Telomeres?

If you think back to high school biology class you may remember that our genetic material is arranged on a twisted “ladder” of DNA called chromosomes (or a DNA strand). At the end of each chromosome is a little bit of DNA that protects the genetic data and makes it possible for cell division. These telomeres act like caps on the end of the chromosome. The caps are often compared to the tips of the shoelaces. These tips protect the shoelace from fraying much like telomeres protect DNA from “fraying” or becoming mixed up.

But as human cells divide the telomeres get shorter and shorter. When the DNA is replicated, RNA (DNA messengers) attach at slightly different spot, shortening the telomeres. Eventually this makes the cell unable to divide. When this happens it causes cell death or inactivity.

In 1933, Barbara McClintock (the first woman to receive an unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) noticed something interesting about DNA. She hypothesized that there were some kind of chromosome ends but kept it stable.

In the 1970s other researchers, including Elizabeth Blackburn (who later won a Nobel prize for her work) discovered telomeres.

How Telomeres Affect the Aging Process

Telomeres have an interesting connection to aging. More specifically, how long they are reflects how old the body is biologically. What research found was that short telomeres are linked to aging, cancer, and other diseases.

In fact, the largest study to date found that shorter than average telomere length was associated with a higher risk of mortality (even after controlling for lifestyle factors that are known to shorten telomere length). Those with the shortest telomeres were 23 percent more likely to die within 3 years. Telomeres shortening is also associated with lowered immune system, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases.

But researchers don’t know for sure if telomere length actually causes aging or if it’s only a sign of aging. In either case though, telomere length is an interesting and telling sign of health.

But it’s not just that telomere shortening occurs as we age or that shortened telomeres show that we’re aging faster than other people. What’s really amazing is that telomere length can change. Telomeres can become longer, essentially stopping or reversing premature aging.

Therefore, aging, and how we age isn’t just a matter of luck or genetics. We have the ability to choose how we age by the way we treat our telomeres. In essence, what the study of telomeres shows us is that what we eat and how we live affect the way our cells renew, for better or worse.

Telomere Length in Children

Interestingly, children have been known to have short telomeres due to some life events that cause stress.

In fact, research shows that the higher a mom’s prenatal stress, the shorter the baby’s telomeres length is.

Other early stressors (such as neglect) at home are one of the strongest indicators of shorter telomeres length. This is because these early stressors follow children into adulthood, potentially causing chronic stress.

There’s a lot of other research on this topic:

Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that father loss (through death, divorce, or incarceration) is significantly associated with shorter telomeres, especially in boys.

A 2017 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that shorter sleep durations were associated with shorter telomeres in children.

A 2017 review published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that early stress may cause early aging and age-related disease in children.

Whether telomere length causes aging or the other way around, this evidence in children shows that in any case, telomere length is an important sign of health. While some of this evidence is bleak, it’s encouraging to know that even children with early stressors that shorten their telomeres can improve their health and even lengthen their telomeres with healthy lifestyle choices later.

Are My Telomeres Long Enough?

Obviously, we can’t tell how long our telomeres are just by looking in the mirror. But there is a way to find out. A service called TeloYears will measure your telomere length and give you your results so you can see how much work you need to do. They’ll also include some tips for lengthening your telomeres.

Telomerase: Lengthening Telomeres

Researchers who discovered telomeres also discovered telomerase, an enzyme that helps lengthen telomeres. Telomerase is active in germ cells, embryonic stem cells, and certain white blood cells.

Newer research shows that telomerase activity in the body has a direct effect on telomere length. A 2010 study found that mice engineered to have low telomerase aged faster. When telomerase was replaced, mice become more healthy.

However, other research also shows that telomerase has a downside too. This research shows that cancer cells may require telomerase for growth. In other words, the lack of telomerase as we age may actually be protective against cancer.

That being said, there are no studies showing that the kinds of activities (healthy lifestyle choices) that help natural production of telomerase cause cancer. And in many cases, these activities have been shown to be protective against cancer risk. So, it seems that gene therapy with telomerase is potentially a bad idea. But improving our natural ability to produce it is probably a good thing.

Elizabeth Blackburn, along with health psychologist Elissa Epel, in their book The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer, agree. They recommend healthy lifestyle choices to support longer telomeres and a longer “health-span.”

According to Blackburn and Epel, a health-span is the part of a lifespan that a person is disease-free. This is a term I hear more and more from the experts I interview like Valter Longo and others.

How to Improve Longevity (With Telomeres)

Artificially boosting telomerase levels in the body may not be the answer, but we can optimize the body so it produces the right amount of telomerase naturally. Here are some tips based on the best research:

Reduce Stress

We already know how important relaxation and de-stressing is for our health, but here’s another reason to make it a priority. According to the APA, stress is one of the most consistent predictors of shorter telomere length.

A 2004 study found that women caring for ill children (compared to women caring for healthy children) had significantly shorter telomeres.

African American boys from stressful home environments had telomeres 40 percent shorter than peers in non-stressful situations, according to a 2016 paper.

A 2016 review found a small but significant decrease in telomeres length due to stress but warn it could be because of publication bias. It also notes that long-term “chronic” stress may have a larger impact and should be studied.

Finding a daily activity for reducing stress can go a long way to improving overall health, and maybe telomere length too! Here are some ideas:

Take a daily walk – Gentle exercise is a great way to reduce stress and has the added benefit of building a stronger body. Just aim to break a light sweat if you’re just starting out.

Eat a healthy diet of antioxidant-rich foods – Antioxidants help fight inflammation and oxidative stress. Whole 30 or the Wahls Protocol might be a great place to start, or just double the serving of veggies on every plate!

Get enough sleep – Sleep is important for both adults and children. Here are 6 ways to get better sleep.

Avoid toxins – The indoor air at home is sometimes the worst culprit!

Choose whatever activity that makes you feel relaxed (and you’ll actually do!).

As moms, we tend to put ourselves last, but research is piling up that shows it’s just as important for us to have stress-reducing activities in our days as it is to eat healthy food!

Exercise

Exercise is important for a healthy life, but it turns out, it may have an effect on telomere length too. In one 2015 study published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, the more a person exercised the longer their telomeres were. However, even just 10-15 minutes of exercise has an effect on telomere length.

Exercise is hard to do when it’s not fun though. Check out these fun ways to exercise as a family.

Diet

Diet is one of the biggest factors in a healthy life, so it’s not surprising that it can also affect telomere length.

One 2014 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found a connection between sugar-sweetened soda and short telomeres. Artificially sweetened sodas didn’t have the same connection. (To clarify, soda of either kind isn’t a great choice for anyone trying to be healthy!)

There are also many studies showing that adequate levels of vitamins and minerals help keep telomeres long. Some vitamins and mineral that are important for longer telomeres include:

Vitamin D – In a 2007 study, women who had higher vitamin D levels had longer telomeres. Vitamin D is also an anti-inflammatory, reducing oxidative stress.

Magnesium – A 2012 study found that magnesium stabilizes DNA and promotes DNA replication and transcription. It also increased telomere length.

Vitamin K2 – A 2008 study found that intake of vitamin K2 increased longevity.

Folate – A 2009 study found that folate was important for maintenance of DNA integrity and DNA methylation (which affect telomeres length).

B12 – Adequate B12 levels were associated with telomeres’ length in a 2016 study.

Additionally, a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that antioxidants are important for reducing oxidative stress (and chronic inflammation) which can lead to telomere shortening.

A final note: Supplements were helpful in improving telomere length, but antioxidant-rich foods were better as sources of vitamin C and E. Proof you can’t out supplement a poor diet!

Telomeres: Bottom Line

Telomere length is an important indicator of overall health and biological age. Luckily there are some lifestyle choices we can make to optimize telomere length and avoid premature aging. Ultimately, genetics are not set in stone and can be manipulated with a healthy lifestyle (for the better!)

Do you think your telomeres are shorter than they should be? Why?

This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Ann Shippy, who is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and a certified Functional Medicine physician with a thriving practice in Austin, Texas. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.

Sources:

Shammas, M. A. (2011, January). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3370421/

Mozes, A. (2012, November 08). DNA ‘Telomere’ Length Tied to Aging, Death Risk. Retrieved from http://consumer.healthday.com/senior-citizen-information-31/misc-aging-news-10/dna-telomere-length-tied-to-aging-death-risk-670426.html

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/chronic-stress.aspx

McLanahan, S., Schneper, L., Garfinkel, I., Brooks-Gunn, J., Notterman, D., & Colter Mitchell. (2017, July 18). Father Loss and Child Telomere Length. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2017/07/14/peds.2016-3245

James, S., McLanahan, S., Brooks-Gunn, J., Mitchell, C., Schneper, L., Wagner, B., & Notterman, D. A. (2017, August). Sleep Duration and Telomere Length in Children. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28602380

Stress-related telomere length in children: A systematic review. (2017, April 02). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395616304022

Callaway, E. (2010, November 28). Telomerase reverses ageing process. Retrieved from http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101128/full/news.2010.635.html

Greider, C. W. (1998, January 06). Telomerase activity, cell proliferation, and?cancer. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/95/1/90

 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/chronic-stress.aspx

Epel, E. S., Blackburn, E. H., Lin, J., Dhabhar, F. S., Adler, N. E., Morrow, J. D., & Cawthon, R. M. (2004, December 07). Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/101/49/17312.long

Hobcraft, J., McLanahan, S. S., Siegel, S. R., Berg, A., Brooks-Gunn, J., Garfinkel, I., . . . Colter Mitchell. (2014, April 22). Social disadvantage, genetic sensitivity, and children’s telomere length. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/111/16/5944.abstract

Perceived stress and telomere length: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and methodologic considerations for advancing the field. (2016, February 04). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088915911630023X

Loprinzi, P. D., Loenneke, J. P., & Blackburn, E. H. (2015, November). Movement-Based Behaviors and Leukocyte Telomere Length among US Adults. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25970659

Soda and Cell Aging: Associations Between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Healthy Adults From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302151?journalCode=ajph

R., V., A., G., P, J., D., . . . A. (2007, November 01). Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women | The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Oxford Academic. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/86/5/1420/4651027

N., K., R., L., & J. (2008, April 01). Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg) | The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Oxford Academic. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/87/4/985/4633405

Rowe, W. J. (n.d.). Correcting magnesium deficiencies may prolong life. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22379366

P., L., C., M., D., A., . . . J. (2009, May 20). Telomere Length in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Is Associated with Folate Status in Men | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/139/7/1273/4670470

Shin, C., & Baik, I. (2016, January). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4731864/

X., Q., P., G, C., C., R., . . . H. (2009, March 11). Multivitamin use and telomere length in women | The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | Oxford Academic. Retrieved from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/6/1857.full

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/424385/telomeres/

[youngonescast]

Prez Would Save Us Part 2: Smiley vs Corndog

Last week we discussed how a more than 40 year old comic wound up being creepily prescient about modern politics. But that isn’t the half of the story, or perhaps exactly half depending on who you ask. In 2015 Prez v2 was released by DC and cancelled quickly thereafter, if you read the previous article you Know why. Written by Mark Russell, penciled by Ben Caldwell, inked by Mark Morales, and colored by Jeremy Lawson. A whirlwind tour-de-force of modern politics it managed to slam, lambaste, and eviscerate the state of modern politics based on one simple premise: In 2036 the government allows people to vote in elections via Twitter. If Prez v1 is any indication of the oracular power of the Prez brand just be ready for that to actually happen. Through the doing we get the President we need, Beth Ross, ambiguously brown teenager. But it isn’t that simple. It’s never that simple.

Prez opens with a political party in disarray, you might even recognize the type from 2016, who have lost their sitting President ‘The Pectsecutioner’ who has just posted a personal ad offering what seems to be BDSM services at name your price. They can’t find a good replacement candidate who doesn’t have too many old selfies or is closeted to fit the bill. Their choice is between someone who betrays core values of the party or someone completely boring. They settle on the dumbest of two choices. Sounds f a m i l i a r. It’s worth noting, of course, that this was before the most recent primaries. The election is held and due to a dark horse candidate championed by the hacktivist group Anonymous no one gets enough votes to win the election. Hacking has a big impact on this whole story in fact, just like hacking had a huge impact on the 2016 election only by the Russians.

Weird

This dark horse candidate is our protagonist, Beth, who has recently been rocketed by internet stardom to take Ohio as a write-in candidate: Corndog Girl. Her claim to fame is having her luxurious braid dipped in a deep-fryer. Beth is 19 and her father is dying of a virus that the failing health-care system refuses to fix so she has to run a SickStarter that isn’t making the four million dollars needed to save his life. Gosh, health-care anxiety, wonder what that’s like. She tries to go onto a game show where the challenges are life threatening. A contestant seeking to bring his family over the gigantic border wall is forced to shoot himself in the leg through a loaf of bread to win the money. That’s a damning indictment of game shows. She doesn’t make it onto the show because no one expected him to win. Her father dies.

So it is with the senate in a dead tie, with Beth getting one vote, that everything begins to crumble. Senators begin voting for Beth to convince the Presidential candidates to bribe them with favors. Whole NASAs are auctioned off, Senators are actually getting whipped by the majority whip, naval bases for landlocked states, shark aquariums, and in the end previous abstain vote from Delaware goes to Beth Ross and she becomes president. Chaos engulfs the Senate. And one aging 50+ year old Preston Rickard, whom no one has heard of, whose contributions were erased from the history books, yes, Prez himself, scoops up Beth in a helicopter and tells her the only way she’s going to survive is if she has a Vice-President that no one wants in office.

And during all of this there he stands, the great enemy, Boss. F-ing. Smiley. No longer content to be the only emoji-faced icon of greed and destruction he is the leader of a shadowy cabal of CEOs with names like Pharma-Duke(Great Dane), Grizzly Tobacco(Angry Bear), Sassy Pork(Pig), and Senor Corn(Corn and it’s Monsanto) and faces to go with. He’s also now the CEO of Amazon. It’s really explicit. Smiley is a shipping and distribution company that makes nothing themselves, nothing but time. This cabal seeks to extort the government, gets de-regulation passed through bribery. They withhold the vaccine for the virus that killed Beth’s father. In a move that echoes the present trouble we are having surrounding gene patenting, Boss Smiley makes a play at copywriting the genomes of all living things.

It’s more difficult to discuss Prez v2 than v1 because there is so much more going on. Far from decompressed every page bursts forth with content and Prez v1 wasn’t a slouch about that either. Ubiquitous holographic advertisement provides context to this fleshed out and well developed world. Debate style television programming is shown lampooning partisan TV again and again, skewering the traditionally conservative talking points of suggesting that the poor receiving benefits are using them improperly or how the deregulation of heavy industry is framed behind bills that seem to protect the consumer. While everything is over the top dystopian fare it all rings incredibly true to the American experience.

Such as the so called ‘Beanbag Warfare’ program, a system of drones that polices the globe killing thousands of people indiscriminately while the operators sit in their chairs with identifiable game controllers. The drone bombing we engage in presently spun out to it’s First Person Shooter logical extreme. That alone would be a harrowing bit of commentary but it doesn’t end there! The military industrial complex invents a new autonomous drone to replace the drone operators with AI and ‘lo and behold the War Beast drone gains sapience and becomes a born again Christian named Tina. It’s a wonderful look into the concepts of AI personhood. This series cannot be recommended enough.

Of course, cancelled halfway through its intended run we never get to see how Beth manages to turn the country around. There are tons of plot-threads left dangling, so much unresolved. It’s a damn shame. In this, one of the most politically volatile times in recent history, we could really use such scathing, bold, and heartfelt critique of the problems that lie festering in the soul of America, the horrors and complicity we as the electorate choose to turn our faces away from, the problems Beth Ross would confront head-on. This comic is all of the things described and so much more. Prez would save us, if only we let her.

Find out more about teen superheroes in our podcast Here.

Or at any of the places you may already listen to podcasts: Apple Podcasts Google Play Stitcher

Written by Everett Christensen, Young One’s Lead Editor

Cover art: Jules 

Images:  PREZ #1-6 W:Mark Russell, P:Ben Caldwell, I:Mark Morales, C:Jeremy Lawson, L: Travis Lanham

[ifcomp]

Announcing the IFComp Colossal Fund

Everybody, we'd like to introduce you to the Colossal Fund, IFComp's new cash prize pool. Colossal Fund, this is everybody. Say hi!

Granted, it's not all that colossal at the moment, but we hope you can help us with that. Let us explain...

As you know, IFComp prizes are donated by you, the generous patrons of the IF community. In past years, we've usually had a small handful of cash prizes and a much larger assortment of books, games, art objects, snacks, and other miscellaneous items. (Plus a few prizes on special terms such as the Golden Banana.)

If you're a software engineer with a full-time job, writing IF for fun, then the difference between a $200 cash prize and a cool book isn't very important. But that doesn't describe all IF fans! We see games by students, by up-and-coming indie game designers, by freelance writers, by all sorts of people.

So we'd like to offer a larger and broader pool of cash prizes. Not a giant payout for the top winner, but modest prizes for everyone who does well.

It remains the case that all IFComp prizes come from donations. But as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, IFTF can run a more effective fundraiser than the usual IFComp "hey, please donate" announcement. So that's what we're doing! Launching a fundraiser for the Colossal Fund. Our fundraising target is $6000.

You now have a whole barrel of questions, which we will endeavor to answer.

How do I donate? Go to IFComp.org and push the big blue Paypal button on the front page, under the Colossal Fund header.

Is my donation tax-deductible? Yes, to the extent allowed by law. (Consult a tax professional, that's all we can say.)

What happens to my donation? We will place 80% of cash donations in the Colossal Fund. The other 20% will go support IFTF's management of IFComp.

Wait, 20% to "overhead"? What does that mean? Hosting fees for the IFComp server. Our lawyer's advice on managing IFComp as part of a nonprofit. Renting our PO box. That sort of thing.

Does the Colossal Fund replace the usual IFComp prize list? No! These cash prizes will be in addition to the usual IFComp prize list. Please visit this page to donate objects and services as prizes.

Who gets cash prizes? The top two-thirds of entries. If there are 60 entries in this year's IFComp, then the top 40 will get cash prizes.

How big will the cash prizes be? That depends on how much money is donated. We have a formula! See below. In rough numbers, the prizes will range from a few hundred dollars down to ten dollars.

How will the cash prizes be distributed? Via PayPal. If you can't accept PayPal, we can mail a US check to a US address. If that doesn't work for you, or if you wish to decline the cash prize, we will roll the money into next year's prize fund.

And now, the formula...

The underlying formula is (x-1)2 -- a down-curving segment of a parabola. That seems like a nice curve; doesn't drop off too fast, bottoms out nicely. Easy to integrate.

Then we want a minimum prize value ($10), so we add a constant: (x-1)2+m.

We're stretching that curve horizontally (to reach the top two-thirds of the entries) and vertically (depending on the size of the prize fund). So the formula is really a(bx-c)2+m, but I can hear your eyes glazing over so I'm keeping it simple. The graph above lets you eyeball the numbers.

The exact values -- again, assuming we have 60 IFComp entries and reach our fundraising goal:

1: $331.80 11: $189.49 21: $88.43 31: $28.61 2: $315.71 12: $177.53 22: $80.59 32: $24.90 3: $300.04 13: $165.98 23: $73.16 33: $21.60 4: $284.78 14: $154.84 24: $66.15 34: $18.71 5: $269.93 15: $144.11 25: $59.55 35: $16.24 6: $255.49 16: $133.80 26: $53.36 36: $14.18 7: $241.46 17: $123.90 27: $47.59 37: $12.53 8: $227.85 18: $114.41 28: $42.23 38: $11.29 9: $214.65 19: $105.34 29: $37.28 39: $10.46 10: $201.86 20: $96.68 30: $32.74 40: $10.05

The sum of these numbers is $4800, which is 80% of our $6000 goal. (Again, the other 20% goes to support IFTF operations.)

If you want to see the math, run this Python script. It lets you adjust all the assumptions by setting various command-line options.

Now, I bet you have even more questions.

Why is there a minimum prize? Because sending someone $2.50 by Paypal is annoying, not gratifying.

Why is there a cutoff at 40th place? (That is, two-thirds of the way down the IFComp results tally.) We don't want people to enter lazy two-minute IF games just to pick up an easy ten bucks. Typically you need a score of 4.5 to 5.0 to reach the two-thirds mark. So this scheme will reward entries which are at least trying to be good.

What if you raise more than $6000? All donations beyond that will go to fund IFTF operations.

What if you raise less than $6000? We'll still put 80% of donations into the Colossal Fund, and distribute it according to the formula. For example, if we raise $3000, then the prize fund will be $2400. The top cash prize will then be $156 and the numbers will curve down to the $10 minimum.

What if IFComp has way more than 60 entries? Then the money will be spread out over more winners. It doesn't break the system. (If the entry slate looks really huge, we might adjust our fundraising goal.)

What if you raise less than $500? Below $500, we can't guarantee the minimum prizes ($10 for roughly 40 entries). In that case we will look at the situation and adjust the numbers to suit.

Obviously the formula is arbitrary. There are a lot of formulas we could have chosen. I picked this quadratic and then twiddled the constants until the numbers felt right to everybody. Our considerations:

We were inspired by Etienne Vouga's 2015 donation of a cash prize pool, $1000 distributed among the top 40 entries. Of course, we got more mathy about it.

The maximum prize of $330 is comparable to the top cash prize in previous years (usually around $250). We don't want to change IFComp too much too fast. If the Colossal Fund works out, we'll think about doing a larger fundraiser next year.

The mid-range prizes are still pretty good ($95 for 20th place). That will encourage authors to enter even if they don't expect to win. We hope it will also encourage experimentation and unusual new IF ideas.

Our curve is fairly shallow. That is, the difference between one place and the next is never large. We don't want someone to feel like they lost out on $100 just because their game came in 8th instead of 7th.

You might reasonably ask why we're doing a big fundraiser, but not increasing the top cash prize by very much. Ultimately, IFComp's goal is to encourage more new IF. We feel the best way to do that is a broad distribution of modest prizes, not a few very large ones.

If you have further questions, please contact us at ifcomp@ifcomp.org. And thanks for your support!

[drcolumbosnotepad]

Muhammad Ali | Michael J. Fox | Pope Saint John Paul II | Maurice White | Charles Schultz

Muhammad Ali  (January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016)

“Float like a butterfly sting like a bee – his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.”

When we think of boxing we only think of one name - that man is Muhammad Ali. Quite simply, the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T). Though he was before my time (even the heyday of 90′s boxing was before my time - sorry to make you feel old), his name persisted in the history books and Guinness World Records and became something of a legendary figure much like how Bruce Lee was (see Bruce Lee post) It was until I decided to watch some old youtube clips with some friends did I realise how incredible this man was. I’m writing this after witnessing Roger Federer’s truly amazing resurgence as an 35 year old elder statesman in tennis and cementing his position as the G.O.A.T in his sport. His boxing wins in his twilight years - brashly and sensationally named Rumble in the Jungle (1974) and Thriller in Manilla (1975) were just that. 

Muhammad Ali became equally famous for popularising the trash talk - hilarious and brutal at the same time. Something we hear from Premier League football managers and cocky rappers endlessly. His death in 2016 crowned off what became the obituary year - it is unlikely we’ll ever see a force like him again.

Rumble in the Jungle (1974)

For more of Muhammad Ali’s amazing collection of quotes and trash talking see here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2016/06/03/muhammad-ali-best-quotes-boxing/85370850/ 

Michael J Fox

Back to the Future (1985)

Think of the 80′s and you’ll think of Spielberg, Cold War and Back to the Future and Michael J Fox. Is there a better icon for the teenager everybody wanted to be than Marty McFly? The confident kid that made us fellow short kids proud, there was always that crack in the voice in times of standing up to Biff and that wide eyed bewilderment to Doc Brown’s crazy antics that made him feel even more relatable. Although Back to the Future is the movie he’ll always be remembered for - and quite rightly, it’s a classic. Teen Wolf holds a special place in my heart. Also check out his episode on Curb Your Enthusiasm which became one of my favourites on the whole show. Here’s an additional video of Marty McFly’s Chuck Berry tribute: RIP

Pope Saint John Paul II  (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005)

If there’s one Pope that people will remember in the modern age, it’s Pope John Paul II. The first Polish pope whose youthfulness reignited a call towards faith and virtues to your fellow man. He became the second most travelled Pope in history following Pope Pius IX and warmed relations between peoples of the world during some patchy moments in history. No matter what your religious affiliation, we still all aspire for the same virtues and betterment of our fellow man and woman. Something that Pope John Paul II represented with his whole self.

Maurice White  (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016)

Some call Earth, Wind & Fire cheesy, I call them inspiring (I mean just look at those dance moves!). Their lead singer, Maurice White died during the obituary year of 2016 and left behind a catalogue of funky soulful gold, just as pop music is turning its fickle head in that direction again. I’ll leave ‘September’  here, their finest hit, complete joyful nostalgia composed in one song with the continual sixth chords as its pulsing beat. Genius.

Charles Schulz  (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000)

If there’s someone who understood kids so well - their innocence, their humour, their cruelty and their genius, it was Charles Schultz - a man who was essentially a child at heart. There’s this biting wit in Peanuts which I grew up reading in the comics section of the newspapers that I’ve only grown to appreciate with an element of world-weariness. The themes can be depressing, but always with an uplifting message. We can all learn from Charlie Brown, the heart and soul of Peanuts - a lovable loser who no matter how many times he’s failed, keeps getting up and trying again. 

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) was first christened shaking palsy or paralysis agitans by Dr James Parkinson in 1817 in his ‘An Essay on the Shaking Palsy’ which came from his observations walking down a London street which was a regular habit of his – something that Charles Dickens would do some forty years later. The sheer opportunism and raw curiosity of James Parkinson to approach and follow up on the six cases mentioned in the essay is quite something. In doing so he managed to make a medical breakthrough by diagnosing a new condition. Parkinson’s contribution to this condition was made permanent being renamed in his honour by the revered neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot. Nowadays Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is something that is ubiquitous in medicine affecting 4-20 per 100,000 each year in the UK, being twice as common in men with the mean age of diagnosis of 65 years. Yet our understanding of the disease is something we have known in the past few decades. First, PD constitutes one disease of the spectrum of Parkinsonian disorders (Parkinsonism) – which are neurodegenerative, movement disorders. Parkinsonism consists of a cardinal triad: • Tremor – worse at rest/ stressed or tired. Pill rolling in nature between thumb and forefinger (see link below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-t4RTQ0EsM

• Rigidity/ Hypertonia – clasp knife/ cogwheel rigidity during rapid pronation/supination. (see linkbelow)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xxe2WWWoYI 

• Bradykinesia/ Hypokinesia – slowness in initiating movement and repetitive actions – slow blink rate, slow arm swing, shuffling gait etc. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j86omOwx0Hk

Figure 1: Parkinsonian syndrome subdivisions

We will discuss the most common cause of Parkinsonism – Parkinson’s Disease

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurogenerative condition caused by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. The cause of PD is unknown but certain genetic mutations in the PINK1, PARKIN or alpha synuclein genes have been attributed. In rare cases PD can be caused by MPTP, a prodrug of the neurotoxin MPP+ a drug which can be found in drugs such as desmethylprodine and recreational drugs. PD has historically been considered a motor disease linked to degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. However, because of new research that this theory isn’t so clear cut - now we know that are numerous symptoms which affect multiple, non-dopaminergic neuronal cells which we will not mention here. Dopaminergic neurons The loss of dopaminergic neurons in PD is selective in the midbrain where it particularly affects the substantia nigra pars compacta (80-90%), ventral tegmental area (40%). This loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta  is the reason for deficiency in the striatum (made up of two brain regions: the caudate and putamen.

Figure 2: Neuroanatomy of the striatum 

https://beyondthedish.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/basal-ganglia.jpg

Figure 3: Neuroanatomy of the Ventral-Tegmental area

http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_03/d_03_cr/d_03_cr_que/d_03_cr_que_1a.jpg

  Therefore, the pathway most affected  is the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway which leads to the disruption of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway. This in turn leads to the disruption of the control of motor functions with the classic PD motor triad of: rest tremor/ bradykinesia (or akinesia) and rigidity. The reasoning for this is dopamine is necessary for stimulating the cortex and initiating movement, with low dopamine levels – there is low movement. As a rule of thumb, over 50% of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia pars compacta need to degenerate before symptoms appear – this is an oversimplication of course, specific areas are affected and the striatal dopamine levels need to be considered as well.

Figure 4: Nigrostriatal pathway

https://journeywithparkinsons.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/nigrostriatal-pathway.jpg

In death of dopaminergic cells, Lewy bodies which are eosinophilic cells comprised of alpha synuclein protein replace them. Another disease characterised by Lewy bodies such as Lewy body dementia (which the late Robin Williams had).

Figure 5: Lewy bodies

There are other dopaminergic systems affected ranging from the CNS to the gut which can lead to other symptoms such as anosmia (loss of smell)

Figure 6: Pigmented substantia nigra

Basal ganglia motor circuit model

The basal ganglia is a collection of part of the brain: made up of the striatum (caudate and putamen), globus pallidus, ventral pallidum, substantia nigra and subthalamic nucleus. that controls movement and connects to the motor cortex. It is this circuit that the pathology of PD derives from.

Figure 7: Basal ganglia motor circuit

http://physiologyonline.physiology.org/content/nips/17/2/51/F2.large.jpg?width=800&height=600&carousel=1 

This model proposes the striatum, the major input region of the basal ganglia is connected to the major output region: the globus pallidus (internal part) and the substantia nigra* (pars reticulata) by a direct pathway – considered to be D1 receptor dependent; and by an indirect pathway – considered to be D2 receptor dependent that has synaptic connections with the globus pallidus (external part) and the subthalamic nucleus.

* The substantia nigra is divided into two regions: pars reticulata – receives signals from the striatum and relays messages to the thalamus via GABA. Pars compacta – relays messages to the striatum via dopamine

In normal subjects, dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra act to excite inhibitory neurons in the direct pathway and inhibit the excitatory influence of the indirect pathway.

In PD dopamine depletion leads to overactivity in the globus pallidus (internal part) and substantia nigra (pars reticulata) with excess inhibition of the thalamus and reduced activation of cortical motor regions which translate into the development of parkinsonian features.

HOWEVER this model has many errors, while the hypoactivity of the direct pathway has been confirmed by research , the hyperactivity of the indirect pathway remains a subject of debate. Given recent research reporting larger amounts of collateralisation between both pathways in primates than that reported for rodent basal ganglia, the clear distinction between the two pathways is called into scrutiny. Also, recent studies show motor, associative and limbic territories within the basal ganglia territories are separated by functional areas and not physical sharp boundaries. The difficulty of PD is that there isn’t a blanket one size fits all way approach since there are different subgroups and different aetiologies. So far there are 3 different clinical categories to classify PD patients: those responding well to levodopa ~15%, those who do not ~15%, and those whose initial good response diminishes with time ~70%. Future research is needed in this area.

Clinical features

The diagnosis of PD relies heavily on clinical examination with TWO different situations needing to be distinguished whether the examination is early in progression or later. The clinical examination and history cannot diagnose PD with 100% certainty – it is said in theory the only way to confirm a diagnosis of PD is by autopsy (which of course is a little too late). However, the prediction of the pathological findings with high certainty. PD is usually asymmetrical, characterised by the presence of akinesia and rigidity, often associated with rest tremor and is responsive to dopaminergic treatment. Motor symptoms The cardinal feature of PD is akinesia – difficulty in initiating a movement which can be measured by increased reaction time. Bradykinesia or hypokinesia is less specific than akinesia. Akinesia is also influenced by decreased motivation and mood and is thus a complex symptom whose origin is not strictly sensorimotor but also psychological. In clinical practice, these symptoms are revealed by reduced arm swing when walking, micrographia, difficult execution of fine movements e.g. fishing a coin out of pocket) The patient’s face is unexpressive, walking is slow and the feet are not raised sufficiently. Rigidity – detectable in distal joints  e.g. wrist. Cogwheel rigidity – parkinsonian rigidity is plastic giving way in a series of small jerks. This rigidity can be increased following the Froment manoeuvre – active mobilisation of the contralateral limb. Lead pipe rigidity must be distinguished from pyramidal (clasp knife) rigidity and oppositional rigidity (gegenhalten) the latter being provoked or increased by movements and owing to diffuse cerebral lesions. Rest tremor – usually first symptom noticed by patient. Regular (4-6Hz frequency) and increases with emotional and mental stress (e.g. counting backwards) and when patient is walking. Postural instability – is non-specific, absent early in disease particularly in younger patients. Often the consequence of non-dopaminergic brain lesions as seen in patients with Parkinson plus syndromes. Motor symptoms in advanced PD patients can also result from non-dopaminergic lesions called axial symptoms because they evolve around the body’s central axis. Nine typical axial symptoms can be distinguished: memory impairment (subcorticofrontal syndrome), abnormal ocular movements, nuchal rigidity, dysarthria, swallowing difficulties, posture abnormalities, sphincter problems, postural instability, and abnormal gait. In addition, autonomic symptoms – sexual dysfunction, constipation, orthostatic hypotension, seborrhoea (overactive sebaceous glands) and sleep disturbances may be present.

Tests for diagnosing PD • Sequential movements (for instance drinking which associates grasping a glass followed by flexion of the elbow) or concomitant movements (executing two movements at the same time in different limbs) are altered.

• The Wisconsin Card Sorting test is used to assess executive function which is heavily affected in PD where the patient is told to match cards of different patterns and form a sense of order without being told the pattern.

• Hypometria or incomplete movement is revealed by alternate movements of the extremities. • Response to levodopa since motor symptoms result from the degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway. • Four further tests may contribute to the diagnosis: neuropsychological examination, ocular movement recording, cystamanometry, brain MRI. Non-motor symptoms • Depression – most common psychiatric symptom of PD • Apathy – decreased motivation • Cognitive impairment – 40% of all PD patients develop dementia, a rate ~6x higher than in healthy individual matched for age. Subcortical type of cognitive impairment characterised by a dysexecutive syndrome including attention deficits, cognitive slowing and decreased concentration abilities. Moderate memory impairment can be observed defined by a retrieval deficit rather than an impairment in information storage. • Most if not all patients suffer from insomnia. Causes are multifactorial. Nocturnal akinesia often associated with painful dystonia (usually during bouts of severe anxiety) is a major contributive factor. • REM sleep behaviour disorder is a pathological sleep structure (parasomnia) characterised by the loss of REM sleep muscle atonia allowing patients to physically act out their dreams which are often violent. Vocalisations (talking, shouting, threats) and abnormal movements (waving arms or legs about, falling out of bed, violent outbursts are present. Excessive daytime sleepiness affects up to 50% of PD patients – likely to be a combination of the disease process and antiparkinsonian drugs. Diagnosis of sleep disorders may be achieved by polysomnography to quantify the length of insomnia periods, to evaluate potential dangers derived from daytime sleepiness and sudden onset sleep and the confirm the existence and the semiology of REM sleep behaviour disorder. • Autonomic dysfunction results mainly from reduced sympathetic noradrenergic innervation of the heart and baroreflex failure (nucleus vagus lesions). Symptoms only tend to become severe in late disease stages. Treatment with dopaminergic agents – which induce peripheral vasodilation may exacerbate orthostatic dysfunction but is rarely the main contributor.  GI dysfunction manifests as impaired swallowing, impaired gastric motility and constipation. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the mesenteric plexus causing colonic sympathetic denervation is one of the underlying mechanisms for constipation. Constipation does not respond well to dopaminergic treatment suggesting non-dopaminergic mechanisms are also implicated. • Urogenital symptoms include impaired bladder function leading to urinary emergencies and incontinence. Patients suffer either from hypoactive bladder or hyperactive bladder most commonly. Hypoactive bladder is correlated with nigrostriatal denervation since physiological basal ganglia output has an overall inhibitory effect on the micturition reflex is decreased in PD. • Sexual dysfunction affects up to two thirds of PD patients. Erectile dysfunction may occur. Libido can be reduced but can be enhanced by antiparkinsonian dopaminergic medications dopamine agonists which can result in hypersexuality which is part of the dopaminergic dysregulation syndrome. • Sensory symptoms – can be distinguished into painful cramps related to ‘off’ period dystonia and diffuse painful sensations also usually associated with off periods. The cerebral structures involved in altered pain processing are poorly characterised but may comprise mesencephalic dopaminergic projections to the caudal thalamus. • Other symptoms include: mask like facies, flexed posture, micrographia, drooling of saliva

Treatment of Parkinson’s disease

Figure 8: Decision pathway for drug treatment

Figure 9: Combination treatment 

Antiparkinsonian agents

Dopaminergic agents are the drugs that are most effective in improving the motor deficits of PD and include levodopa, dopamine agonists and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitors. There are a cocktail of drugs available that are the source of a lot of confusion – we will go through each class in turn. Currently the management of PD consists of delaying treatment until the onset of disabling symptoms then to introduce a dopamine receptor agonist. If the patient is elderly, then levodopa is sometimes used as an initial treatment. The rationale for this was because treatments available were considered symptomatic only and incapable in modifying the course of the disease. However more recent research has shown that there are novel approaches in the management of PD with treatments initiated available upon diagnosis.

Dopamine receptor agonists

• Bromocriptine • Ropinirole • Cabergoline • Apomorphone Two groups: ergot (fungal) and non-ergot Ergot derived dopamine receptor agonists (bromocriptine, cabergoline) have been associated with pulmonary, retroperitoneal and pericardial fibrosis. Non-ergot agonists (apomorphine, ropinirole) Similar side effect profile of levodopa due to dopaminergic related symptoms: nausea, vomiting, postural hypotension but with a higher rate of peripheral oedema, somnolence and hallucinations especially in the elderly An echocardiogram, ESR, creatinine and CXR should be obtained prior to treatment with close monitoring. Side effects: Dopamine receptor agonists have the potential to cause impulse control disorders and behavioural abnormalities such as obsessive traits and hypersexuality (more dopamine to seek out more risky behaviour) and excessive daytime somnolence. Nasal congestion and postural hypotension are also seen in some patients. There is a significantly reduced risk for the motor complications in comparison to levodopa. Antioxidant activity because of their hydroxylated benzyl ring structure

Levodopa

Levodopa was the first treatment developed for PD and is considered the gold-standard of treatment where the efficacy of all other drugs are measured against. Dopamine cannot cross the blood-brain barrier but the precursor levodopa can where it is converted to dopamine in the brain by dopa decarboxylase. It is usually combined with a decarboxylase inhibitor e.g. carbidopa, benserazide to prevent PERIPHERAL metabolism of levodopa to dopamine. This in turn increases absorption up to 10% and decreases side effects such as dyskinesia (involuntary writhing movements) and palpitations (peripheral metabolism of dopamine into adrenaline or noradrenaline

Side effects of levodopa include on-off effect: on periods complicated by dyskinesias (side effect of levodopa) and off periods (side effect of PD) dry mouth, anorexia, palpitations, postural hypotension, psychosis, drowsiness

There is reduced effectiveness with time ~2 years. 70% of patients develop motor complications within 6 years of initiation of the drug and wearing off there is the re-emergence of dopamine related symptoms which requires careful monitoring of the dosage and frequency. Because of this limited effective period, the other drugs in the inventory for PD treatment often work by delaying the need for levodopa. In neuroleptic (antipsychotic drugs) induced parkinsonism there is no use of levodopa

MAO-B (Monoamine Oxidase-B) inhibitors

• Selegiline • Rasagiline Two compounds of the porpargylamine group: selegiline and rasagiline are both irreversible MAO-B inhibitors. They work by the breaking down of dopamine secreted by the dopaminergic neurons. Selegiline patients with levodopa vs levodopa patients with placebo were found to have a significantly slower decline, less wearing off, on off and freezing but more dyskinesias.

Rasagiline – is a relatively selective irreversible MAO-B inhibitor, it is ~10-15 times more potent than selegiline. 

COMT (Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase) inhibitors • Entacapone • Tolcapone COMT: enzyme involved in breakdown of dopamine therefore may be used as an adjunct to levodopa therapy especially in patients with established PD. This is because most levodopa is still metabolised in the gut by COMT which produces 3-O-methyldopa. Therefore, COMT inhibition increases levodopa absorption and improves the drug kinetics by increasing its bioavailability and elimination half life. This allows more stable levodopa plasma levels to be obtained via the oral route and hence more sustained brain dopaminergic stimulation to be attained.

Entacapone is a selective, reversible COMT inhibitor, it does not cross the blood brain barrier and acts primarily in the gut. Why entacopone is so effective is because it increases both the peripheral and the central availability of levodopa. It is particularly effective in patients with wearing off type motor fluctuations and produces an increase in the on time and decrease in the off time. However, the most troubling side effect is dyskinesia which reflects central dopaminergic activity. Stavelo ® combination of levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone in one tablet.

Antimuscarinics • Procyclidine • Benzotropine • Trihexyphenidyl (benzhexol) Before levodopa was discovered to treat PD, antimuscarinic drugs were used to treat the symptoms of PD. Antimuscarinics work by blocking cholinergic receptors. Normally dopamine levels and acetylcholine levels are in equilibrium in the body but because of decreased dopamine levels in PD, acetylcholine levels increase. Nowadays they are used to treat drug induced parkinsonism rather than idiopathic PD, help tremor and rigidity. Studies have shown that there are improvements in bradykinesia and rigidity though at the expense of impaired cognitive function. In drug-induced parkinsonism, motor symptoms are generally rapid onset and bilateral with rigidity and rest tremor being uncommon

Amantadine Antiviral drug, mechanism is not fully understood, most likely increases dopamine release and inhibits its uptake at dopaminergic synapses Side effects – ataxia, slurred speech, confusion, dizziness, livedo reticularis

Figure 10: Diagram showing the mechanism of action of Parkinson's drugs

Motor complications

Dyskinesias are typically choreiform – occasionally dystonic involuntary movements induced predominantly by exposure to levodopa or other short acting dopaminergic drugs. Monitoring of the dru Management of non-motor complications Depression and to some extent apathy/ anhedonia may respond to tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Pramipexole may be useful as an antidepressant separate from its action to improve the motor features of PD. Additional anxiolytics may be required for patients with anxiety and panic attacks. Hallucinations if due to drugs usually respond to a reduction in dose. In some patients, this is difficult due to the re-emergence of motor features. Alternatively hallucinations may respond to clozapine or quetiapine. Hallucinations are an important symptom of diffuse Lewy body disease and its emergence early in the course of PD is a risk factor for dementia. In terms of improving nighttime sleep and daytime alterness in PD, improving sleep hygiene, treating nocturnal motor problems, better management of nocturia, modifying medication, and the use of modafinil in patients with refractory daytime drowsiness. Viagra or apomorphine can manage the sexual dysfunction associated with PD. Bladder problems may be treated with oxybutynin, tolterodine or amitriptyline in  patients with concomitant depression. Siolorrhea and drooling is often the result of reduced frequency of swallowing and may be helped simply by chewing gum or sucking sweets. Anticholinergics may be used but with consideration of side effects. Botulinum toxin can be used for refractory cases. Constipation and orthostatic hypotension are less common and are seen more often in the elderly population. Constipation usually responds to standard treatments including increased fluid, bowel training timing of evacuation to the patient being on and increased fibre intake. Symptomatic orthostatic hypotension may respond to simple advice regarding postural change, maintain hydration, the use of pressure stockings, antidiuretic hormone, midodrine or fludrocortisone.

Non medical management

Surgery Since the discovery of dopamine depletion and the subsequent introduction of oral levodopa and deep brain stimulation, surgery such as thalamotomy posteroventral pallidotomy, subthalamotomy  have become a less attractive option.  have been reported following this procedure however. DBS – Benabid first proposed this technique as a treatment based on high frequency stimulation as means of confirming the target site for an ablative lesion.

Other/future treatment options

As seen there is currently no cure for PD, only management for symptoms however novel techniques being researched into a more complete treatment of PD include:  Cell therapy – fetal nigral transplantation Growth factors – Glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has attracted interested given its capacity to protect or rescue dopaminergic neurons in tissue culture and in MPTP treated monkeys. Coenzyme Q10 Creatine Antiapoptotic drugs

References

Schapira A, Hartmann A & Agid Yves. Parkinsonian Disorders in Clinical Practice. Wiley Blackwell. 2009. 

[lenixsocial]

Touched A Nerve...

Trump To Propose Medicare Cuts

Well, I haven't posted a long-form rant in awhile. But this hits far too close to home to ignore.

Let me say this: Beginning in 2007-08, I began experiencing a set of symptoms that felt like simple muscle fatigue, except that I was utterly depleted some days. I'd work 40-50 hours a week, sometimes more, selling electronics and later mattresses. I loved my job. Even after all those years, and all that crap I dealt with, I loved my job. They were always fair to me, and I gained the respect and admiration of everyone who worked there. I became known as a bit of a problem solver, a troubleshooter.

Everything seemed to be going well, then I started falling asleep on the sales floor, while speaking to customers. This happened ten, perhaps fifteen times, and then I also began to fall over, randomly. It was about this time that during sleep one night, I awoke unable to breathe. Thinking this was temporary, I tried propping myself up and all sorts of things. I finally just sat in a chair and slept. In fact, that was the only position I could breathe in (aside from standing).

Freaking out, my primary care doctor sent me to a specialist who ran two sleep studies and determined that I had obstructive sleep apnea. But that's not all... The apnea was the first diagnosis in a tree of diagnoses. Shortly after this, the specialist took X-rays of my chest and determined I had bilateral diaphragm paralysis (or for those who need a refresher: the muscle that stimulates your lungs to inhale and exhale) does not work on me, anymore. This means I have the appearance outwardly of "seething" or "in discomfort" as I use my pectoral and back muscles to compensate and force out deeper breaths (my normal resting ones are very shallow).

I continued to work. I'm a liberal, but I was brought up in a very conservative family, and in a very conservative area. My father taught me that you don't take welfare unless you need it. I felt I could still work, and didn't need it. Plus, I also figured that it'd take months to be approved, and my wife and I and our financial situation wasn't going to take any kind of hit like that. One person working is not easy to live off of. I continued going to doctors to treat these strange maladies that seemed to creep up overnight.

My specialist decided to send me to a neurologist who in turn sent me to two more, as they all had more experience than the one previous. Finally ending with who I see now. He took blood tests, ran them twice to make sure, sent them to two different labs, and came up with a conclusion. "You have Pompe Disease" he said to me. I had no idea what that was. Some vague inkling only from reading it on WebMD. I came home and did research. It's a form of muscular dystrophy, autosomal and recessive. My parents both gave me the mutated and deleted alleles that combined to give me this.

The disease (or rather the late onset variant I have) has a whole host of things that can occur such as: tongue enlargement, hearing loss, muscle wasting, limb-girdle muscle loss, paralyzed diaphragm, sleep apnea... you get the picture. Less than 60,000 people have it, and it's considered rare and an orphan disease.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. When I first got diagnosed, I was still working 40+ hours a week, selling beds. By this point my fellow associates were plainly aware of my disability (as was management), and I was given a chair to rest on, and assistance putting stock away, and almost every other task. I felt I could still work. Then came July 31st 2016. A day I will always recall. On that day, like any other I stood at the cash register and my right leg burned like fire, then went numb. Not asleep. Numb. I couldn't feel it at all. It was in the middle of a sales rush and I couldn't move to help people. I managed to grab onto chairs, walls, doorframes -- whatever was around -- and pull myself on one good leg back to the office. I called management and had my direct manager and another one hoist me up and basically carry me out to the car, as my wife had come to get me.

Several weeks of therapy, and a EMP test (shoving needles into your body and shocking you ...yeah it's as fun as it sounds) and applying for short term disability through my employer yielded the recommendation that I be put on Lumizyme, the genetic replacement therapy that is used to treat Pompe. I felt lousy. Pretty much daily. Bored, alone, scared.

I applied for Social Security and got approved and quit my job of 14 years so I could fight this thing. There's no cure for it. It slowly turns every skeletal muscle in your body to sludge. It makes it so you lose the ability to move without aid of a wheelchair, and in a final act of terribleness, it suffocates you or drowns you in your own fluids. It's not pretty.

After three failed tests to get myself into a study (everything would've been free), I was told I needed to begin therapy ASAP. I did this. Lumizyme costs close to $220,000 a year without insurance. You also have to take the therapy for the rest of your life. Bi-Weekly. With my wife's plan it's taken down to $6,400. That's still out of my ability to pay off, so we're getting help for assistance programs. I can only imagine what this would be like for someone WITHOUT insurance.

Anyhow, the treatments are fine. 8 hour sessions sitting around making sure the genetic therapy (dispensed into the arm through an IV) doesn't randomly kill me. Then comes a week of ups and downs. The day after I feel exhausted and depleted, and don't want to exert myself much. The day after that I typically have a lot more energy, then the next four are a steady downturn. All sorts of weird pains and burning flushes, heat flashes, night sweats, cold chills, dizziness, nausea, weakness, migraines. So debilitating that I can't do anything and end up napping in my chair because it's literally all I can do.

Now, I have massive digestion issues. They thought they saw a gallstone but it disappeared and now, after seeing a GI doctor, he determined that a endoscopy would be best to see why my GERD is so bad. Nothing seems to control it despite me being on a fairly rigorous battery of control meds.

Yes, I have so much medical debt I can't keep on top of it. I'll likely have to file bankruptcy to clear all of it. My wife and I manage (if but barely) to live month to month off of SS and her checks from being a cashier 40+ hours a week. If I could go to work; trust me I would. I loved helping people. I loved fixing problems, I loved learning and selling. I loved my coworkers and customers. I miss the daily contact more than anything...but I'm wobbly on my legs, my center of balance is all off, I depend on the cane, but I can't stand without an object to lean into because I can't breathe adequately. I have strings of days where I get disgustingly sick, and some days I spend more time in the bathroom than I do in the living room. I'm a liability. I'm a fall risk, I get random sweats, my shoulders and back muscles ache so bad after washing dishes for ten minutes, there's no way I could stand up for an eight hour shift. It's piercing, gnashing, burning pain. It's muscles dying.

Ask yourself this, GOP: if you lump everyone in as "cheats", that the system is being taken advantage of, then what of us who depend on this? Who have cancer? Who are on death's doorstep? Take a step back and ask yourself: Do I have a right to take away access to affordable healthcare do I have the right to take away money that these people need to survive...to pay their massive debt they've incurred? Not everyone is a real estate magnate and owns eight golf courses and a fucking private island or a yacht.

And I'm not worthless because I'm not in that sect. You need to stop playing games with programs that don't cost you a damn thing in order to find pet projects like a xenophobic border wall or a multi million dollar arms deal. These programs are essential. Not everybody is faking, not everyone is taking advantage of it. And not every disability is the same, or is readily visible.

As for me? I will continue getting the treatments I need to continue living, despite all the side effects they're causing me and hope to all hell that I don't lose the income I'm getting that's keeping me afloat.

[team-skull-admin]

My favorite 40 games of all-time

Made an arbitrary list of my favorite games of all-time cause I wanted to figure out where Breath of the Wild is on it. It’s, uh, pretty high. Assload of text below the break.

40: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow I'm not the world's biggest Symphony of the Night fan (outside of the incredible soundtrack) and I think this is where Iga's seamless platformers found their footing.

39: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger I love goofy, experimental games like this and Far Cry: Blood Dragon, but I think the schtick in this (an unreliable narrator bragging about their heroic exploits) works better than Blood Dragon's dorky 80s nostalgia.

38: Rayman Origins A beautiful platformer with incredible level design. The music for the diabolical secret level is seared into my memory.

37: Cibele A short, story-centric indie game that captures the essence of playing MMOs in the mid-2000s and long-distance relationships. The awkward conversations in this game made me think about my WoW years for an entire weekend.

36: Mario Kart Wii It's not technically the "best" Mario Kart, but I actually enjoyed the motorcycles and I have fond memories of crushing my brother while we downed beers and talked shit.

35: Guild of Dungeoneering I'm usually not super into "We made X game, but added CARDS!" even though I love card games, but they nailed the loop here. I vaguely remember one of the decks being super busted, though.

34: Tropico 4 Adding a political slant to Sim City by making you the leader of a banana republic was just the slant to that formula I was looking for, and I lost a weekend circa New Year's '13 just delving into this hard.

33: Gran Turismo 2 My brother bought a PS1 off a friend when they upgraded to a PS2, and I grabbed a copy of this cheaply at the local EB Games. Once I wrapped my mind around the simulation, upgrading cars and havin fun with them here might have more to do with me being somewhat of a car person than anything else.

32: Metal Gear Solid 4 I should really put the whole series on here, but MGS4 deserves special note for making the core stealth actually fun and somehow tying all the loose ends of the insane plot together while dialing up the insanity even further.

31: Sim City 2000 I figured out how to make a 50,000 person city when I was like, 8. I still have no fucking idea how I did this. It took me till my 20s to crack 100k.

30: Pokemon Black/White People are torn on this game, but the contentious design decision to hide the old Pokemon in the postgame made every new encounter incredibly exciting in a way the series hadn't been since the orignals. The writing also shows signs of the maturity that Sun/Moon would follow through with.

29: Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 I think most would deride this series as a soulless Pokemon cash-grab on the surface, but they're actually roguelikes with a crazy monster breeding system and the most rote of stories to get you into the core loop of exploring new keys to breed ever crazier monsters.

28: Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Diablo 3 vanilla's reliance on the auction house created design issues that were hard to look past, but Blizzard abandoning it for the expansion made the game into an incredible dungeon crawler. I never laddered, but had fun for hundreds of hours chasing loot with friends.

27: Fallout 3 I'll never forget the feeling of walking out of the vault for the first time, and feeling like I could go anywhere. I also think this is the only Bethesda game that regularly pays off when exploring - weird shit like the Republic of Dave or the man stuck in the tree are fantastic rewards for poking at the less inhabited edges of the map.

26: Bassin's Black Bass featuring Hank Parker I'm honestly wondering if the rest of the world has picked up on this game's low-key genius since I saw it for 15 bucks at a retro game store recently, but this game's arcadey fishing is incredibly satisfying and snappy. It has some major, obvious, irritating mechanical issues, but the core gameplay loop is so good I don't care.

25: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor I still remember my nemesis. This motherfucker was right at the beginning of the game, inside the first quest area, and was like level 5 or 6, but had a defensive ability that made it harder for me to gank him easily. So he killed me. Twice. And leveled up each time, becoming a level 12 badass who could literally sniff me out when I hid. But he was weak to fire, and I lured him to a campfire and set him ablaze, getting my revenge.

24: Super Metroid I feel like most people would have this game higher on the list, but I think the controls are floaty and Meridia is overly confusing. The rest of the game is incredible and I can't believe they pulled it off on a Super Nintendo.

23: Pokemon Sun/Moon After XY and ORAS were disapointments I was cool on Pokemon, but Sun/Moon challenged a ton of series conventions and got a lot right in the process. I can't believe how deftly this game handles dysfunctional families.

22: A Link Between Worlds This was Nintendo's hit at what was to come with Zelda - a smart, experimental take on the franchise that's easily its best 2d outing.

21: Muramasa: The Demon Blade Vanillaware's magnum opus, a gorgeous Metroidvania where everything is hand-painted. The combat's loop of mixing launchers with sword management is also incredibly fun, if not particularly deep. But fuck I loved looking at it so much and it felt good.

20: The Walking Dead Only time a video game made me cry.

19: Banjo-Kazooie The only 3d collect-a-thon platformer from that era that still holds up, it combines cheeky humor and an incredible soundtrack to craft a world that's always surprising.

18: Borderlands 2 is better crafted, but I enjoyed the dry wit and more grounded guns of the first. I've replayed this like 4 times and I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a blast each time.

17: Doom (2016) Apparently the secret to making this license work in a modern context is to give Halo combat arenas a healthy dose of cocaine and play Meshuggah riffs over it. It so fucking works.

16: Saints Row: The Third I think the writing in GTA is usually sophomoric at best and its attempts at commentary are eye-roll worthy, but having a game say "FUCK IT" and just Mel Brooks that experience is such a wonderful idea. It's also hard to pull off, and SR3 totally sticks the landing (unlike the sequel).

15: Super Mario World The best traditional Mario game. I replayed it recently, and it struck me how much secret exits add to the level design versus 3, and how freed Koji Kondo is by the new hardware. The castle music's classical overture sticks out.

14: Monster Hunter 4 I liked Monster Hunter 3's various iterations but I hated swimming. Taking out swimming and replacing it  with mounting was enough for me to sink hundreds of hours. I actively avoided getting Generations because I knew it would interfere with school.

13: Mario Golf (GBC) The perfect portable game. Golf works well on the platform, and adding basic RPG hooks was enough to make a rote story totally engaging.

12: Super Mario Maker I think the real triumph of Mario Maker isn't the levels (which are usually terrible), it's how Nintendo imparted the feeling of being creative in such an easily digestible and satisfying way. It's an achievement that ascends past Mario design (which still works here) into something greater and more profound.

11: Hearthstone I fucking hate this game and I keep playing it because the Arena is like literal fucking crack and every time I have an opponent at 1 life and they beat me they can eat fucking dicks.

10: Super Mario RPG Clever writing and a strange world grabbed me way harder than Intelligent System's later Paper Mario games. It's too easy and doesn't look as slick now, but the writing still holds up.

09: Mass Effect Trilogy You can't really separate these, as the experience that makes Mass Effect great was carrying your Shepard and their decisions from one game to the next. Everyone will remember Garrus, Wrex, and co. Shame about the ending.

08: Tetris I am weirdly good at Tetris. I know what a T-Spin is. I sank hundreds of hours into it on Facebook. I don't regret it.

07: Persona 4 Describe a game to me as a mix of a J-RPG and a slice-of-life anime and I'll run to the hills, so the fact this game's sharp, mature writing and "just one more day" calendar mechanic combined into one of my favorite games of all-time is a shock. They also put in Pokemon with fucking demons, how cool is that shit?

06: Ocarina of Time I can't believe this game came out in 1998. The world is still fun to traverse, and the dungeon design (especially as an adult) still holds up at the top of action-adventure puzzle design.

05: Magic: the Gathering I wish it was less expensive otherwise it'd be higher.

04: Breath of the Wild I can't believe Nintendo reinvented the wheel so well that I'm putting the game so high on the list. Every design decision in this game is carefully considered to make exploring this iteration of Hyrule that much more satisfying. And its incredibly clever chemistry engine, where every object in the game has chemical properties that can be manipulated as well as physics, creates a ton of emergent gameplay scenarios where you're constantly asking "Can I do that?" and the game almost never lets you down.

03: World of Warcraft Sometimes I regret the 4000 hours I spent in Azeroth, but I'd have a hard time giving up the friends I made there. I could probably shred and like, speak another language though.

02: Pokemon Red I was the perfect age for Pokemon mania, and the fact that the core game was literally designed to appeal to me didn't help. I still love collecting the things and min/maxing ways to beat the Elite 4 with minimal grinding.

01: Mega Man X I think this is literally the perfect platformer. Moving X feels incredible. There's nothing in any of the levels I think is out of place. The soundtrack is a masterpiece. And the game's hidden secret is so insane you'd probably call bullshit on any kid who told it to you at recess. I'm really glad the rest of the world picked up on it after Arin Hanson did a Sequelitis about it, because I've been beating this drum for decades.