#and I identified the problem to be the two huge states I inherited from my coworker that quit

[zenathezee]

Being able to go to my boss and say "the difference between me happy to work here until I go to grad school and wanting to quit everyday is this one thing" and have her be like yeah that's fair is SO POWERFUL

[inoppositionflorien]

It's fascinating how everyone thinks Liberals are the opposite of their ideology unless they're self-identified liberals, and one of the most common complaints about liberals is "They Tolerate Fascism (or communism if the criticizer is right wing, but I don't think many of my followers who care are right-wing so we'll ignore this for now) and open the door to Violence"

And the thing is, (and this is one of my biggest complaints about Marxian international relations and to an extent Marxist lenses on comparative government) while this does happen, it happens far closer to the ways you'd expect if Realist International Relations is generally true rather than the ways you'd expect if Marxian international relations was generally true, but there are a lot of similarities between the two because both assume conflict (it's just Marx-descended things tend to have a cosmic conflict with roughly the same sides, and realism and its descendants tend to assume a perpetual conflict with shifting sides) so if you only take a surface-level look at history and international relations over a short timeframe (typically the first decade and a half or so of the cold war), the two do actually line up in predictions!

The problem comes when you expand at outside of that timeframe and it becomes much more obvious that Marxian or other Marx-descended IR theories do not understand how states interact very well at all and repeatedly fail to make accurate predictions. So too does this apply to domestic politics (In the US primarily but I'll also talk of europe briefly) an argument is occasionally made (still, and inherited from the initial communist party criticism of the New Deal in the US) that the New Deal coopted the labor movement for capitalism and neutered opposition to liberalism, and then the liberals gradually took away those protections, but this seems to fail to understand politics as not monolithic, (indeed this is easy to do if you're not so online that you can't look at things that are actually happening), but generally dipolar with a couple of political blocs, and also fails to understand what happened in europe in the immediate aftermath of world war II.

After World War II (The war was deeply unpopular, but not in a way that people wanted to end it before winning, and many were unable to anyway) there was a huge anti-incumbent backlash. Most of the governments in Europe at the time were conservative governments (indeed that's why the Nazis had been so successful, both liberal and illiberal conservatism was on the rise before the war in europe) and they were extremely unpopular when the war ended. At the same time left-liberals and pro-labor liberals were on the rise in the other parties in europe, and socialist parties too were ascendant (because there was a huge anti-incumbent backlash), which meant that ultimately, all the welfare and healthcare and things got codified right then and through the fifties.

In the US, however, the incumbent when the war ended had been Harry Truman (a liberal centrist) who had followed a very successful liberal-leftish candidate (FDR), who had the fortune to die before this backlash could materialize and thus have an untainted legacy and left a bunch of popular domestic programs. This meant that the backlash installed a conservative government in the US, who largely focused on coming up with ways to be worse at foreign policy than Truman (an impressive feat because Truman's foreign policy was bad) and not touching the popular domestic programs, like jobs covering health insurance (which was generally seen as both cheaper and about as good as singlepayer, because the feedback effects from this policy hadn't reached the point in the loop that rapidly raised hospital fees yet. Also there was an economic crisis on, so there was a popular line of thought (not an accurate one) that they weren't actually able to do the better, more expensive policies.) This policy of ignoring popular social programs and focusing foremost on foreign policy (partly because congress was generally democratic up until the 90s and foreign policy needs less congressional approval) continued until a widespread conservative backlash in the 80s (which was simultaneous with Europe's own)

Meanwhile in much of Europe, they've had a similar set of issues recently, particularly with these social safety net policies eroding slowly because the conditions that let the coalitions in that created them in the first place exist broke down and many of them have seen long runs of centrist or conservative governments that undermaintain or undermine those things, going into today.

It's also the case that large parts of the liberal establishment are pro-union (more so now in the US, because despite their resurgence politically the republican party has become illiberal and alienated much of the old leadership) and arguably and importantly, large parts of the labor establishment have always been pro-liberal. The former is not what marxist and marxian theory predicts (because they suck at prediction) and the latter is often ignored by leftists because it's not convenient that most people who otherwise agree with you believe the establishment is mostly fine.

[travelingue]

Houghton Hall, Norfolk: Bob’s palazzo

The hall was built as a residence for Walpole, Britain's first prime minister.  How a mere politician – and a commoner at that - could afford such splendour is no mystery, given the corruption of the early 1700s.

Building a country house in his native Norfolk had several advantages for Robert Walpole.  He could impress people with displays of his wealth and power.  And he could keep his wife there while conducting the affairs of the state - as well as more private ones - in London.

The Walpoles had been country squires in this north-west corner of East Anglia for a long time.  In 1721, after become prime minister, Robert came up with a plan to turn the family manor into a grand home in the Italian style.

The estate manager looked at the drawings and saw a problem: there was a village where Bob's palazzo would stand.

Walpole shrugged: "I'll just move those cottages there."  He pointed to a spot two miles from their present location.

"You can't do that," the manager said. "I'm the most powerful man in the land now.  I can do as I bloody well please."’ "How do you suppose the villagers would feel about it?" "I should think they'll be delighted," Walpole said. "Why?" "Have you ever heard the phrase Build Back Better?" "No." "Are you suggesting I invented it?" "Yes." "Thank you."

As he surveyed his future aggrandized estate, Walpole spotted a bunch of deer.  One of them was white.

"What is this?" he asked the manager.   "It's an albino deer." "It looks like a unicorn with antlers." "They are very rare indeed." "I want all the deer in my park to look like that."

The manager pointed out that finding a male and female albino deer would be difficult enough, but culling their non-albino offspring and repeating the operation over generations would be a huge waste of animal life and human effort.

Walpole shrugged: "What did I say about being the most powerful man in the land?"

So the palace was built, the village was moved and to this day all the deer in the park are white.

Walpole's descendants still live in Houghton Hall. You can visit part of the grounds but the State Rooms have been closed since the start of the pandemic. I suppose one can understand the desire of the current marquess to keep the Great Unwashed at a distance.  I wouldn't want the paying public to breathe all over my flat either.  Still, it's a bit of a shame.

You can visit the walled garden though.  I didn't see the point of paying £10 a ticket to look at some shrubbery, but the prospect appealed to my wife.   We had travelled all the way from London so we went.

Now I don't like gardens.  You say the word Capability and I stop listening.  In fact we moved from a semi-detached to an apartment specifically to escape burgeoning vegetation.

But I have to admit that the walled garden at Houghton Hall is something else.

Some bits reminded me of the Jardins du Luxembourg back home.  Then I turned a corner and I was in Versailles.  I found even the flowers magnificent.  I impressed my wife by correctly identifying hydrangeas (it was a guess, but it may have been an educatedly Freudian one.)

The centrepiece of the place – the bit that has everyone go "Wow!" - was a flame fountain.

Walpole had a knack for the wow-factor.  I wanted to read about him so went to gift shop and paid another £10 for a booklet on him.

Nothing, I found out, predestined Robert for grand things: he was short, fat, unkempt, and a third son.  In the early 1690s, he was sent to Cambridge to prepare for a life of ecclesiastical obscurity.

His father, a colonel also called Robert, mainly saw him as source of cash: in 1700 Bob the elder arranged a marriage with the daughter of a rich merchant and pocketed the dowry to settle his gambling debts.

But then young Walpole's luck turned.  His two elder brother AND the colonel died in quick succession.  At the age of 24 he inherited not just the Houghton estate but a parliamentary sinecure that went with it. He never looked back.

A gifted orator, a tireless worker and a master at sharp parliamentary practices, he became the key man in the Commons and took over the Whig faction.  He got the top job in 1720 and kept it for 20 years, a longevity record for UK prime ministers he still holds.

Incidentally, the booklet said, he did not like to be called "prime minister".  He was the chancellor.  But as this was the most senior cabinet position at the time, wags gave it the ridiculously grand title of "prime minister".  In time a term of derision became an official title.

Walpole knew exactly whom to bully, whom to flatter and whom to bribe.  He grew very rich as a result.  Like other successful PMs down the ages, Walpole was duly hated by the best writers of his time.  He inspired Swift, Fielding and Gay to peaks of satirical literature.

Our visit to Houghton Hall helped me refine my views on British history.

Continentals of a liberal bent like me tend to see the Glorious Revolution as a cut-off point. Before 1688 it's all mayhem, misery, civil war, bloodthirsty kings and martyred archbishops; after 1688 we have the parliamentary system, clean successions, tolerance, the Industrial Revolution, the sheltering of immigrants, resistance to tyranny and the invention of the World Wide Web.

In short 1688 begat John Locke, who begat David Hume, Adam Smith, and every Great Briton from Jane Austen to Brunel, Dickens, Lewis Carroll, John Cleese, David Gilmour and Emma Raducanu.

I now realise that my "It's the Glorious Revolution, stupid" view was a tad simplistic.  The transition from absolute rule to representative democracy and the Enlightenment was a messy one.  Real change is always gradual.  Given my nationality and liberal bent, I should have realised that abrupt revolutions don't work.

It took someone who was steeped in the old, venal ways to stabilise a fragile parliamentary order.  That person was Walpole.  He deserved his palace.  I'm not sure about his current descendants though: I hope they reopen the State Rooms soon and stop culling deer that happen to be the wrong colour.

[m00nslippers]

just because the batboys dont see themselves as siblings all the time doesnt mean they don't all have the same (adopted) father. at any one point in time, at least 2 of the boys have considered each other brothers

Just because you have a piece of paper that says something, that doesn’t mean the feelings are automatic. A document that claims them as ‘siblings’ doesn’t automatically give them a sibling bond, you have to earn that with actual sibling interaction, and until very recently in the canon, Jason did not have that with any of the other Robins. Jason also outright said he was ‘no one’s son’ in Under The Red Hood so at the time he pretty much rejected Bruce as his father, even if the history and feelings were still there. So calling them brothers in any capacity until very recently is just a technicality as far as I’m concerned. But for some people that’s a big important technicality so, okay let’s dissect this argument.

I think it’s a little silly that I actually have to discuss this, but let me ask you the question, ‘why is incest wrong?’  because actual incest is definitely wrong in my opinion but there are real reasons for why it’s wrong, and I’ll tell you why. It’s not just because a religious text or two said so. I like to think we’re beyond blindly following ancient texts to designate who is allowed to have a relationship with who. As far as I see it, there’s two main reasons why incest is bad:

1. Genetic issues with children. Basically if you’re blood-related and you have a kid, that kid has a substantial likelihood to develop a genetic disease just because of how gene inheritance and expression works. Incest relationships that produce children are bad for the gene pool and humanity as a species. Inbreeding is how we got dog breeds that can’t survive giving birth naturally or have a 90% chance of having spine issues and early deaths. It’s objectively bad.

2. Potential for abuse and difficulty in identifying abuse. Basically when you are raised together in the way siblings are, especially with one being older and in a position of power over the younger, there is a huge potential for the elder sibling especially to manipulate or abuse the other, possibly without even realizing what they are doing. Siblings are already supposed to and most likely will care for and love each other, and especially if you are young it would be difficult to tell if any romantic love between the two is because both parties want it or because one feels as if they have to, to maintain the sibling relationship or please the other whom they care about. It just gets really muddy, and difficult to navigate, and it’s hard to tell if the feelings are real or gas-lighting on someone’s end, so at least until both people are adults, it’s really just a situation that should be avoided to make sure everyone stays and feels safe. Avoiding a situation that has a high possibility of abuse is objectively a good thing. 

If you can think of another reason incest is wrong besides “yuck! I don’t want to think of my sibling like that!” then I’m all ears. But that being said, do any of these things apply to the batboys?

Well 1 is a non-issue because they aren’t blood-related and it’s mlm so they aren’t in a child-baring relationship. 2 could be an issue with DickDami or Dick Tim since they do have a decent amount of sibling-like interaction, but if the relationship happens when they are both adults I think it pretty much avoids the problems of number 2. But in the case of JayDick or JayTim is think it is a complete non-issue because they don’t have any relationship at all when growing up and they are all pretty much adults anyways by the time they meet again.

So as far as I can see it, the issues of incest are completely irrelevant to most batcest relationships. Can you wave around a piece of paper that says they are adoptive siblings and therefor their relationship is unlawful in a couple of states in the USA? Yeah, I guess you can, but that’s more a ‘follow the letter of the law rather than the spirit’, type issue. Culture/tradition in the past has said that a lot of things were wrong that if you looked at it objectively you’d see there wasn’t really a logical reason behind it. For a long time relationships between the same sex were seen as wrong but when it comes down to it most of the ‘reasons’ boiled down to “It’s different from what I’m used to so I don’t like it, also some religious person told me it was wrong” (By the way, I’m not against religion here, just against blindly following it and ignoring logic/reality and how certain practices can hurt people.)

Now since we are on the subject, let me just plug something that actually colors my feelings on this issue. When I was pretty young I used to watch a show called House M.D. and there is a particular episode of this show that relates to this subject and really kind of stuck with me when I watched it.

for those who don’t know, House M.D. was a very interesting show where a cynical asshole genius doctor and his crew of put-upon other genius doctors would solve medical mysteries ins a sort of Sherlock Holmes manner (the similarities between the name House and Holmes was intentional on the show’s part). A patient would come into their hospital with a complaint or sickness that no one else could figure out, they would dramatically spiral toward death as the crew clamored to figure out the cause and eventually House, being a genius, would diagnose the patient at the last second as save the day–but he was still a jerk so he was never happy.

In one particular episode, the wife in a young couple came into the ER. She was black and her husband was white, they’d run away and eloped, and been disowned by their families because they were a mixed race couple. But they didn’t care because they were deeply in love and had been there for each other since they were teens because they lived right next door to each other. So she is really sick with something and of course everyone scrambles to figure out what the problem is to save her and the whole time her husband is there for her and being loving and wonderful, refusing to leave her side.

Because that’s how this show works, there is a dramatic reveal that isn’t really relevant that is actually some genetic issue or something. But since their relationship was such a focal point of their situation, House had gleaned enough information about them to realize a disturbing truth–the loving husband and wife who were each other’s only support had been half-siblings all along and didn’t even realize it. The man’s father had an affair with the girl’s mother and they’d both hid it. It hadn’t been obvious because on the surface level they appeared to be different races, but they both had a rare color of green eyes. Their parents weren’t against the couple because it was interracial, but because it was incestuous, but hadn’t told either of them. The husband had to be tested for the same genetic issue as the wife and both were devastated at this realization. We don’t see what the couple decide to do, whether they break off their relationship or continue it. But either way, their feelings were real, their husband and wife relationship was real, and being genetically siblings didn’t change that. Neither of them did anything wrong, they just didn’t grow up as siblings, didn’t realize they were supposed to see each other as siblings.

Now, look. I know this is a fictional story, but it illustrates something that is true to life–sibling relationships are something you have to build. They aren’t automatic, they aren’t genetic, they don’t just happen as soon as you have a piece of paper that says you are siblings. And romantic relationships are something that occur between people who are compatible, regardless of technicalities in law or culture that those involved may or may not be aware of at the time. Judging people or relationships and having expectations about people and relationships based on arbitrary rules and technicalities like ‘technically they are brothers because Bruce adopted Jason and then later he adopted Tim after Jason was dead’  is dumb. It’s meaningless. It really just has no bearing on anything. In most states it’s not even illegal because making an issue of it is based on arbitrary, archaic rules. If someone can give me a solid reason why JayDick or JayTim is wrong or bad, then maybe I’ll change my opinion, (but I still wouldn’t be against people writing it because even messed up and really unhealthy relationships can be weirdly cathartic or interesting to read/write and also do happen in real life–PEOPLE CAN WRITE WHAT THEY WANT EVEN IF ITS ‘WRONG’ THEY DON’T HAVE TO JUSTIFY IT TO YOU OR MEET SOME MEASURING STICK OF MORALITY) but personally I just don’t see why it’s a problem for anyone.

[indra-s-mann-blog]

Reincarnation and Life Extension

I'm sure some of you are curious because I'm a Lama though not working actively in that area at the moment. It is public knowledge lamas are reincarnates. I do have memories of past lives and I am older than I seem. The latter might also confuse people but I assure you science also has an expatiation for that; There are also superstitions around both reincarnation and long lived people.

Scientific people might argue against reincarnation but there are several studies. Science wise we have inborn instincts. There are several types of memory states. Instincts such as to walk, stop before falling off a cliff for example exist. So do parenting instincts, and instincts to problem solve to deal with situations. When we are cold we put on a sweater we don't jump into a cold lake and become colder.

Instinct Explained and Definition.

Instinct Theory of Motivation.

Instinct(Wikipedia).

Reflex(Wikipedia).

Reincarnation(Wikipedia).

Types of Memory.

Scientific Proof of Reincarnation:  Dr. Ian Stevenson's Life Work.

The Science of Reincarnation: UVA psychiatrist Jim Tucker investigates children’s claims of past lives.

In looking for diseases that affect memory and cognition they have found some relevant things in our DNA and as such there is possibility that memories could be passed or held by DNA. For various reasons people vary in what might be carried or passed that way.

Genetic Memory, DNA and Reincarnation.

Ancestors' Genetic "Memories" Could Be Passed On For 14 Generations.

Memories Can Be Inherited, and Scientists May Have Just Figured out How.

Can We Access the Memories of Our Ancestors Through Our DNA? We ask aphilosopher about the scientifically-debated concept of genetic memory.

Genetic Memory: How We Know Things We Never Learned.

Genetic memory - biology(Wikipedia)

If you look at the articles I've linked to it should better help you understand reincarnation. I will write in some of my posts about memories and experiences I've had. Some will be from current times, others the past, and some a past existence.

I worked on a variety of technologies including DNA machines for policing, military, court, and health. I also worked in research and due to my own health was the subject of some research studies. My health includes chimerism and other unusual things. Some of which were from other research projects into life extension, anti-aging and cryogenics.

One day I got an unusual phone call from a researcher working at a museum. They were processing old remains and a few new ones. The caller asked if I would do some testing with them to clear up something. I wondered why they would need to do that. They explained they had found a mummy and it's DNA was being used in part of a study of family lines of ancient peoples. That they put it in their database only to find that it matched me. I said given my family contains royals it is possible. They then said their results were unusual. Then told me they wondered if the skeleton was mixed up as it contained multiple DNA samples reflecting A, B, and O blood types with sibling DNA. Further that one of those matched the sample in the database for me by over 98% which shouldn't of been possible. I then told them I was a chimera and it runs in the family.

That still didn't explain such a high match. A few things could of explained it such as an attempt to clone or a classified file on a mission I worked on for the military. I told them I would look into it but security protocol wouldn't allow me to explain for the time being. I made contacts and checked a old secure log book. I had been in that area but not at that time. I then asked to examine the remains via a third party. A secure team then processed the remains with me away from it. The security group already having information on me medically. The remains were not of a clone attempt and false aging processes. Such things sometimes are found in antiquities fraud but not talked about publicly much. The team also verified other factors. Then they had some private conversations with the team that found the remains or looked into the history of their find and documentation. I was told it was me they found. This was a startling thing as it is a bit weird to be looking at your own remains in a museum.

Later I received a second call. This time it was one found in South America in an old temple. Same processes were done and again it verified it was me with a nearly identical match percentage as the other mummy from Africa. Other remains were accessed in a tomb in Asia that was a labelled and known tomb. This is because of historical rumours and family trees. Again a match was found. More followed as at the time I wasn't always using life extension methods. Then the remains processed and marked so that nobody could try to clone, replicate, etc because it was a odd situation. But it overall verified the lama line and what was known of my family tree. Memories I was questioned on very verified. Because of history having somethings on record some information would be useless because it is easily known. So they looked at memories I had which weren't documented in books. Things family or non public records might of mentioned or were lesser known information. Some information was verified through geographic, topographic, and other studies which provides information that most may not know.

My information was censored from public release as to their findings for safety and security reasons. I was not the only living person matched and they also had the findings hidden from public. There was indeed found twice that there were aged bones of some sort of clone of people. But in total they found 3 of us living in the one study and I knew of a few others that weren't included as they refused to allow that in the data and their documentation was put in a military secure area. It proved interesting as far as ending certain old political disputes and in verification of other things not meant for public disclosure. Also though hapgroups and such are disclosed to the general public. They seem to think certain groups are extinct and the study proved they were not. But had to not mention the fact of the true group dispersion over history. Another map exists that will be eventually made public once they settle some political issues.

DNA Identifies Origins of World's Oldest Natural Mummy: The 10,600-year-old 'Spirit Cave Mummy' is related to a Native American tribe in Nevada. ** Neanderthal Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA.

DNA Testing on Cremated remains.

Scientists Prepare to Solve Mystery of Sumerian DNA.

Reincarnates sometimes pose a problem. Some have problems getting over past life issues and as such have problems in society or their own lives. Some people try to fake reincarnation. Faked remains(sometimes of a twin or using cloned, printed, or moulded materials) and stories, etc. Often these people are seeking attention for fame, money, or a following. They like power and attention. Natural reincarnates might want to tell their story or find people linked to their past lives or something else linked to it. But usually they don't want to be famous, draw a huge amount of attention, they aren't seeking to create a cult, or use it for business purposes(books, etc).

Authenticated lama's or saints usually quietly carry out duties they are expected to do. They get mentioned because sometimes press publish things on festivals or events. They tend to administrate budgets or management(running) of temples, review of practices, management of any businesses co owned by organizations, and may be advisers or diplomats. They often teach or sit on discussion panels or advisory organizations, often doing charitable work. They also have their private lives, private businesses, and family. Many serve in military, police, or medical fields and also sciences. Contrary to what some think there isn't a "choosing" ceremony to become a lama where a child picks over objects, identifies them, and then gets labelled a lama. That is nonsense. They occur in specific family lines, and usually show up at specific time lengths. The persons behaviour, preferences, beliefs, health, etc are well known. So are private stories of interactions with certain groups of people or friends. Much of that is not public though there is some public information on lamas that is generalized.

People have numerous times tried to fake being a lama and some families for preferential treatment have tried to falsely relate themselves to lamas(tv, politics, and industry have the same issues sometimes). When a suspected lama is found they run medical tests, background tests on the families, and other things. They also watch the child growing and usually don't say something until the child is over the age of 5. Each lama has a different deceleration age so saying all are judged by 5 is incorrect. Saying signs don't occur in an infant can be incorrect because they can. Lama's differ from normal reincarnates as they remember more and it stays with them.

Normal reincarnates remember their prior life or perhaps skip one and remember the one before their prior(so two back missing memories of a middle life). There is also the weird case of remembering a future life that hasn't occurred yet. Those have also been debated and researched in quantum physics. Some lamas have claimed to see their future not their history. I'm the type that remembers the past but has the potential to predict possible future outcomes. Though part of that was once my good science skills in math, physics, market and political trends, etc.

In my family I have to deal with several cultures and religions. Hindu, Buddhist, Islam, Saio, Orisa Ifa, Hogon, Dukun, Zoroastrian, Coptic Christian, Sikh, Atheists, and Agnostics. As such all groups had to reach their own conclusions regarding tests and each had their own criterias. Right now I am probably one of the oldest living humans on the planet. But that is for someone who has undergone life extension. Stories on old people don't always take that into consideration People also don't expect Atheist or Agnostic groups to have a criteria and keep a list. 

Manu(Wikipedia. I'm listed as 8 to 14 on the list as Savarni.  I also used Uttama and Hari.  Hari was used in the late 1800s.  Another family member is currently supposed be be handling things since the mid 1900s as I was busy.)

Harishchandra(Wikipedia - Some of this myth about me is right and some of it is nonsense.  I didn't have a bunch of wives but I helped and taught several women.)

Kshatriya(Wikipedia - Ruling, Military, and Police cast)

I'm the child on the left of the picture.  Sultan HB VIII. Known to my friends as Hari or Merpati(Dove) at the time. Next to me is actor Donnie Yen.  He has several Lamas in his family and another actor. Donnie is my step-relative. My twin brother is on the right side of the picture. The other two boys weren't supposed to be in the picture but threw a tantrum to be in it and take the seat. There was a conflict with Burma so to keep the peace we let them in the picture.

The Wikipedia page lists somethings wrong due to translation issues with the other people and calendar differences. Also the picture was taken more than once and had to be processed to lighten some areas because they claimed our skintone was too dark.

Islam(Wikipedia). ** Hadrat Âdam and blood groups.(my Blood Type is ABO - Synergistic chimera.  My twin brother A,B,O - Singularity Chimera.  My parents were AO and BO.)

Sakra(Wikipedia).

Zoroastrianism(Wikipedia).

Coptic Christians(Wikipedia).

Hogon - African Shaman(Wikipedia).

Dukun - Indonesian Shaman(Wikipedia).

Orisa Ifa - African Religion(Wikipedia).

Wu - Chinese Shaman(Wikipedia).

Saio - Japanese Shaman(Wikipedia).

Mu - Korean Shaman(Wikipedia).

Ancestor Woriship(Wikipedia).

If someone is making a claim they are a lama and that they used some item choosing method, etc be skeptical. The churches has a problem at one time of a lot of fakes that turned out to be criminals. Some of which had established themselves in the public eye and even had quietly been investigated by authorities(some taken to court based on religious and government identity theft). There currently are at least two people I'm aware of that are false lama's misrepresenting themselves to the public to gain freebie's, etc. People believing in them likely could be radicalized to commit crimes, etc based off of false beliefs, etc these people might instill while they still try to look "good."

As the Sakra Indra (Head of Buddhist and Hindu temples), family member of Mohamed, etc. I can appoint people to represent or manage things and could remove people or revoke their credentials. I've also sat on multi-faith councils on keeping, closing, re-purposing buildings, policy changes, etc. So in past I was made well aware of the problem people some of which tried to impersonate me. This caused some problem groups to attack me which was interesting given my family's connection to military and police.

Yogyakarta Sultanate(Wikipedia - Hamengkubuwono X is my ex husband.  Since annulment he has no claim to the throne as his title was through marriage.  His wife is one he married after me and had an affair with.  He was a special forces officer and she was someone I asked to stand in once for me for something.)

Military History of India in the Vedic Period.(Wikipedia - Miliary and police ruling caste.  No I’m not pro caste system I was for removal of it.  Leading, etc doesn’t require a caste system.)

Check out my video in an earlier post showing the history of SWAT and Policing.  That was the type of training my family had and I started training as a young child.  Just as I had done religious studies and other studies.  Though I liked sciences.

Reincarnation memories are studied in science. But genetics wise people should remember we have a certain number of genes and possible combinations. Someones genetics are likely to reoccur either in or outside of their immediate family tree(older branches). If a family becomes extinct so to speak. That doesn't mean that at some point their genetic combination won't happen again; causing a re-occurance of a tree. This happens for people that have absolutely no past life memories. Police have found DNA that sometimes shows unknown twins where one was given up for adoption, quietly raised separate, or kidnapped. Facial recognition has shown people not in a DNA database that resemble people that are in a database. Sometimes their DNA is similar and they have to investigate further why that might be.

There was some website around at one point that showed famous people vs their look a likes that were of different ethnic backgrounds. There is a black, Asian, and east Indian versions of Brad Pitt for example. Most people don't know that often it's a computer generated image being used in the movies. I did know a Chinese guy that was an actor in Asia that could pass for Brad Pitt and was used in some movies including photo realistic animation(he was also a voice actor and spoke multiple languages). The genes needed for resemblance have a higher re-occurance than the full profile including health issues, geographic location markers, etc.

As to my long life and studies into it and into anti-aging. These were not for the beauty industry or health industry at the time. The original studies were done for space travel. To travel very far we might need to use cryogenics or some other system that limits the effects of aging to be able to survive the many years of travel. Also the same methods used to survive that might help in some disaster to keep people alive. Later people started regarding it as useful to live longer for health and to remain young looking for beauty. But then this presented new problems in relation to population expansion, control, and resource use.

Life Extension. ** Life Extension: Science Fact or Science Fiction?

The Youth Pill: Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution.

Telomere extension turns back aging clock in cultured human cells, study finds.

Bioelectromagnetics(Wikipedia)

Chapter 17 - Repeated Electromagnetic Field Stimulation in Aging and Health

Bioelectromagnetic Healing, its History and a Rationale for its Use.

Cryogenics(Wikipedia).

Cryonics(Wikipedia).

Suspended Animation(Wikipedia).

Flexible Sex and Suspended Animation in Nematodes.

Antifreeze-Like Blood Lets Frogs Freeze and Thaw With Winter's Whims.

Fish that snoozes for YEARS without any food or water could help scientists crack suspended animation in humans.

We Finally Know How Water Bears Became So Damn Unkillable.

Facts About Tardigrades.

Why Is Turritopsis Dohrnii Called The Immortal Jellyfish?

The Immortal Jellyfish: Society has long misunderstood these spineless swimmers. Now they could unlock the keys to regeneration.

Dragon blood may help wounds heal faster.

The beneficial effects of honeybee-venom serum on facial wrinkles in humans.

The Chemical Compositions of Insect Venoms.

Venom As Medicine: How Spiders, Scorpions, Snakes, And Sea Creatures Can Heal.

Metamorphosis Definition and Types.

Developmental Biology. 6th edition: Metamorphosis: The Hormonal Reactivation of Development

Immunology: B Cell Development.

Phases of the cell cycle.

Blood Groups and Red Cell Antigens.

Difference Between Human Blood and Animal Blood.

Blood type - non-human(Wikipedia).

Xenotransfusion(Wikipedia).

Blood Substitute(Wikipedia).

The Lazarus phenomenon.

Hibernation, Hypothermia and a Possible Therapeutic "Shifted Homeostasis" Induced by Central Activation of A1 Adenosine Receptor (A1AR).

Hemophilia.

Genes and human diseases: Monogenic diseases.

Some of the research is becoming public but much of it isn't. My work was on telomere lengths, and cellular biology. It was useful in reducing appearance of age as well as lengthening lives. I studied hibernating animals, water bears, some species of fish, and jellyfish. I also was well knowledged in physics and knew the effects of fields on the body. I had worked on early MRI machine development and other technologies. As such I worked on a physics device to help with space travel in propulsion as well as in preserving the lives of crew. I also looked into medical botany and several other topics. Studies have been going on for over a hundred years. They were needed to have some length to prove or disprove how long their test subjects would live.

My full method for life extension and keeping young looking is not known to a single public group. It was divided up and a single process is only known to a closed non public authority. This is because of problems with some other problem people whose only focus is money or crime. There are some dangerous people involved in medicine and sciences. The government also to protect society, or its employees has to sometimes keep some information private. I was attacked in the medicine field years ago by people with anger over my wanting to cure things, keep them affordable, or not share some information(safety and privacy concerns).

Many long lived people and people that have undergone life extension legally undergo process to change their viewable information.  Their correct information shows in specialized government files that even some government workers can’t see as they would need a higher security level and a reason to know.  This means often peoples names are changed and their birth date. 

In my case ethnicity was also altered because I have vitiligo which changed me from black to brown, and then white.  I have complete/severe vitiligo which resulted in lighter hair and eyes as well.  Though I was greying and the anti-aging and longevity treatments reversed that.  My pigment issue was reversed for awhile but came back.  The avatar picture I’m using is re-aged more than once, eyes and skin darkened, and hairstyle changed(and darkened).  I also wear glasses all the time now and I’m greying again and looking much older.  I was already registered under more than one birth name back when I was originally born.  This is because my parents were from different countries and both mixed race.  So one of my names in Indian and the other African.  But I’m using an anglicized version of one of my titles as my official name.

I knew many long lived people in Pakistan, India, Africa, Asia, and Indonesia.  Several of them were over 100 but looked in their 50s.  After anti-aging and life extension became a fad again I knew several others also involved in research and they look like they are in their 20s or 30s even though the research dates back to the late 1800s and mid 1900s.  But that is the new research.  Earlier people had methods but also issues with problem people so destroyed information to prevent them from doing more horrible things.

[purplesurveys]

384

Tumblr, whatever this new color scheme you’ve got going on is ANNOYING. 

What is one thing you've realized or discovered lately? I was driving this morning and was listening to a radio program when I heard the DJs talk about how Disney employees have some sort of hierarchy among them. Apparently the princesses are the It Girls, and they have their own rooms and stuff, basically the top of the pack. Next is anyone who dresses up as a human character, say Gaston; then it’s followed by people who have to stay in the mascot outfits. It’s pretty cool information but also kinda sad? Do you know anyone who is colorblind? If so, who? I don’t think so. I do know someone who’s legally blind but I know that doesn’t count :(( Is there anyone you suspect of being colorblind? If so, who? No. When was the last time you cried, and why (if you want to share)? I haven’t cried in a while–which is surprising and also a good thing–so I don’t really remember, but I think it was from a fight with Gab. Who was the last person who was rude to you? I was at a presscon last week and while no one was particularly rude to me, people from media have absolutely nooooooo manners. It’s mortifying. It was a presscon for a ONE (an MMA promotion) pay-per-view held in a really fancy, 5-star hotel in Manila and there was a buffet for those who were invited to the event–me and my classmates included. These media people were absolute barbarians IN A 5-STAR HOTEL and kept cutting in front of the lines even when the staff kept telling them to line up. I saw one of the staff roll her eyes and I smiled sheepishly both in agreement and like an empathetic kind of way.

Do you wish you were in a different social class than you are? No, I’m fine where I am. What's something that scares you? Being alone with my thoughts. What's the one thing you want more than anything?  I want to go to Thailand and India and have their authentic cuisines. Do you have a relationship with God? Never. Have you ever vlogged or blogged? I’ve blogged before but it was boring for me. Microblogging is much more hectic and is more my style. Who do you call when you have a problem? Gabie. But I go to Angela if I have a problem involving Gab hahaha. Do you have a best friend? Of course. If not, who do you wish you were friends with? Is there someone that you miss? Yes, I miss both of my best friends. I never get to see Anj anymore and I’m in a perpetual state of missing my girlfriend. What was the last date you went on like, and are you still with the person? I had early dinner with Gab at Chocolate Kiss. I had spare ribs and she had pesto penne. That was just this Tuesday, so yep I am definitely still with her. What is your favorite thrift store find? I don’t go to thrift stores. Do you keep your room organized? I try to, but I think I’m more messy-organized than anything. Like I’d be really messy with all my stuff, but I memorize where everything is. I know there’s a copy of Hamlet stashed at the back of my closet, and I know I have a chunk of childhood books in my bedside chest, and if I need a mug on short notice I know there’s one in the middle rack of my bedside drawer, ya feel? Which YouTubers do you feel like you could be friends with in real life?  Shane Dawson, without a shadow of a damn doubt. Have you ever met someone in person that you first met online? Yes! I’ve met 3 out of 4 of my og Filipino wrestling friends from the internet. I’ve met Javi, who turned out to be a real ass and I never talked to him again after that; I met Jila, and we both screamed when we realized we came across each other; and I met Raf, who got me tickets to my first and so far only wrestling event and he was a real sweetheart. I met Jila while in line for the WWE show, so I only got to interact with her for like 15 seconds, but it was a blast.  The only person I’ve never met is Gabbie, which is ironic because we STUDY IN THE SAME SCHOOL. But we’ve never been classmates, never been in the same building, never passed by each other. How good are you with shades of colors? Uh I guess I can identify a number of them. Does it annoy you when people call teal "blue?” It probably would annoy me. Would you describe teal as a shade of blue, a shade of green, or a mix? It’s just a fancy way of saying blue-green to me. What is your favorite color? Pink. How many other people do you know with your favorite color? Very few. A lot of people are still ‘ew’ when it comes to pink, I’ve realized. Do you fall asleep with your laptop open on your lap? Hahahaha it happens sometimes, but I always try to avoid it because my laptop is freaking expensive and my dad probably won’t get me a new one if I break it. Which do you use more: a computer or a phone? Phone. Have you ever taken a test to see if you are colorblind? No. Which family member did you inherit your hair color from? Filipinos are pretty homogenous. We have black hair. Do you hate your nose, love your nose, or have you never thought about it?  I never really thought about it. What was your favorite Barbie doll?  I didn’t have a favorite, I just got gifted Barbies as a kid and played with them for a bit, but I always preferred my cousins’ toy soldiers. Would you ever want to look like your favorite Barbie doll? Do you like your hair better curly, wavy, or straight? Wavy. Do you ever worry about running out of make-up and not being able to buy more? Hahahaha that’s like everyone else I know, but no. I don’t care for makeup. Do grammatical errors annoy you?  Only when the situation strictly calls for grammar to be proper. Who do you know who is dyslexic? I don’t think so. Do you prefer kisses or hugs? Kisses from my girlfriend, hugs from everyone else. Describe your dream wedding in five words.  Elegant, formal, ORGANIZED, white, huge. Do you smoke weed? Nope. Is weed legal in your state? No but I think they’ve been having hearings in the Senate about legalizing it for medical purposes. We’re the Philippines though so I highly doubt it would go places. What are your secrets? Share a few if you want to. I don’t have any, I dump my entire life on this Tumblr hah. Have you ever thrown up in class?  Oh my, no. I’ve done other things though D: What is it that you want to talk to someone about?  I’m good. What is something that you used to be ashamed of, but now you're not? I used to not want to be associated with Tondo (I grew up there) but now I want nothing more than to live there all over again. Do you have anyone who cares about you? Yes, luckily. What was the last good book you read about?  Chris Jericho’s books are always a good read. Where do you next want to go on an adventure? Thailand or Cambodiaaaa. Do you need a vacation? Kind of. I haven’t been to the beach in almost a year. I haven’t gone trekking or went tourist destination hopping for much longer. How long has it been since you've been on vacation?  Four months-ish. We only go on vacation when my dad is home. If you could go on vacation right now, where would you go?  We’re going to Pangasinan in two weeks for a short vacation, and I can’t wait for that. Have you ever walked outside in below zero weather? Nope. Is watching youtube videos one of your hobbies? Yes. I was literally just watching videos before this survey. Does it annoy you that people get denied for disability who really need it? I haven’t seen this happen but I’d imagine I’d be upset. Have you ever held a newborn baby?  Not newborn, but the baby was weeks old. Are a ton of your facebook friends getting married and having kids now? SURPRISINGLY!!! I’ve had two batchmates from high school–one is engaged and the other already has a kid. Teenage pregnancy/marriage is not so much a thing in the PH’s middle class bracket so both instances were definitely a small shock when we all found out.

What is a trend you haven't followed? Getting bangs. What's something you believe in that most people don't?  Non-belief. At least in the Philippines, a population that’s 90% Christians. Do you think for yourself? Yes but I tend to get afraid as well. Sometimes I’d ask other people to decide for me too. What's the last supernatural thing that happened to you? Nothing of that sort has happened to me. Have you ever had anyone bully you because they were jealous of you?  No, I don’t think so. What's something most people don't know about you? I have a faint scar on my left eyebrow because a distant cousin tried to get me blind by throwing a glass bottle to my face. What's a hidden talent that you have? I wouldn’t hide any of my talents... If you're a Christian, how long have you known the Lord? Who is someone you'd really like to talk to? Angela, because I miss her. Is there anyone who's dear in your heart who's going down the wrong path? No, I think everyone I know’s headed the right way. Who has your heart?  My dog. From your experience, which is worse for bullying: adulthood or childhood? It’s awful either way lol. Do you wear sweaters often? No, I don’t really have to. How often do you burn candles? ...Never? Do you live in an apartment, condo, dorm, or house? My parents’ house. Do you have a sibling with the same first initial as you? No. It’s they that share the first letter (J) in their names. What's a word that rhymes with your first name? Noggin. ...Middle name? Shell. Do you get enough sleep?  I always try to because the moment I get less than 7 hours of sleep, you can guarantee that I’ll be a monster for the rest of the day. How many cups of tea do you drink in a day? I’ve never had tea. Don't you hate it when people give advice when you want support? I wouldn’t hate it especially if their genuine intention was to help. I’d still appreciate the advice. Which magazine is your favorite to read?  I don’t read magazines–even online ones–anymore. Do you cut out magazine clippings to use for projects? If I have to. Do you ever eat kids' food (as in, meals made for kids)?  I’d still get corndogs. I’d say I also get mac and cheese but I usually order gourmet mac and cheese so that won’t count haha. What's something you wish you would have known sooner? That I didn’t have to fake who I was to my blockmates who were way too different to who I was and what I wanted to be. I did it for a whole schoolyear and was miserable because I knew that wasn’t where I wanted to be. What's something you wish your doctor would have told you? No? Are you happy with your life right now? Not completely, but aren’t we all? Is it cold where you live?  It’s more chilly because it’s February, but watch this quickly go away by March hah. What's the next big project you plan to start? Making a physical photo album for me and Gab, because we’ve been together for three years and we’re shit at documenting memories. Do you enjoy taking on new challenges? Depends on the challenge. Do you have acid reflux? Nope. What's on your heart? Blood. Are you naturally optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic. Would you rather wear pink or blue? I don’t have a lot of either in my wardrobe so tbh I don’t know what I look better in. I’m guessing blue. What are the names of your first cousins? Jereth, Elijah, Cholo, and Toffe on my mom’s side. Bianca, Lei, AJ, Kesler, Kent, Sam, and Liam on my dad’s. Do you know what you want to name your children? I have ideas. Do you like what your parents named you? I hated it as a kid but I’ve grown to appreciate it now. Do you think you were cute in your baby pictures?  Sure. What color was your baby blanket? I don’t remember anymore. Do you remember pre-school? I have memories here and there. How old were you when you made your first friend?  I guess pre-school, so I was 4. Are you doing what you were created to do? Still figuring that out. Do you find a lot of peoples' facebook statuses to not be relevant at all?  No. I don’t shit on whatever people post buuuut I don’t care about them either.

[floof-ghostie]

My support course OCs because I need to get this out in the open

Okay, so first of all, I just want to say that I hc that U.A’s support course has very few students because the hero, gen ed, and management courses are more popular for application, so there’s probably going to be like five to seven named people in this. 

Second of all, when describing my OCs I’m going to include appearance, quirk things they like, personality, height, their specialty in support, and some extra tidbits!

Hoka Bushida:

Height: 6′3. 

Quirk: Caligraphy (he can mimic any kind of writing just by looking at it. This can also apply to forging people’s handwriting, as long as he has a reference)

Appearance: Tallest guy in the class, very stocky and muscular, shoulder length black hair usually tied away in a bun. Round brown eyes, and tanned skin. Wears the uniform with the waistcoat, and the sleeves rolled up. Often seen wearing flannel shirts, or hoodies out of class. Wears overalls over muscle shirts, and ties a grey bandanna over his hair when in the workshop.

Likes: Anything that has to do with metalworking, or glassblowing. His parents own a forge, and he helped out a lot in early childhood. Likes to visit whenever he can.

Personality: Jovial and kind, but also very loud, and excitable. He often lets out a wild laugh when firing his weapons. He likes Hatsume a lot (not romantically), and tries to keeps her in check somewhat, while joining her in testing support items. He’s basically the dad friend, and makes sure his classmates take care of themselves, and encourages them to see projects through. He’s very stubborn however, and quick to defend his friends. Very good at estimating calculations. Additionally, he’s great at hyping people up, and will never hesitate to hit his friends or even a perfect stranger with support.

Specialty: Metalwork, or Weapons in general. From guns, to tiny blades, he can make it.

Extras: He’s the strongest person in class 1-H. A lot of people are surprised to hear that his quirk has nothing to do with is appearance. He also likes hugs, and cooking. Teams up with Satou to cook, once their classes get more familiar with each other. Loves the company of his classmates, and Power Loader, and Present Mic are his favourite heroes.

Ami Chinen:

Height: 5′3

Quirk: Venom (she can spit a non-lethal venom at others. It only paralyses somebody for two minutes if it hits the skin. She can control whether it’s venom or actual spit)

Appearance: Relatively average height for Japan, petite build, green skin with black spots like a frog, tailbone length black hair tied into a braid, hazel eyes, black sclerae. She wears the school uniform like all the other girls, though with stockings all year round. When out of uniform, she wears lots of frilly shirts and blouses, and she wears the coveralls provided by the school when in the workshop.

Likes: Strawberry anything (cake, the fruit, candy, the pattern on fabrics). It’s her comfort food, as it’s a regular treat she shares with her grandfather!

Personality: She’s the voice of reason in the class. She’s the class rep, and an older sister, so she’s used to being a leader. She’s very literal, so sarcasm and certain jokes, go over her head. She’s not the most creative when coming up with inventions, but she’s great at coming up with plans and strategies. She dislikes using her quirk, but is very competitive so if she has to, she’ll swallow her pride and use it, if it means winning. She’s not mean however, she’s actually good at comforting others. She’s a bit insecure about her skin, so she tends to cover up a lot. She gets along really well with Mina, and Tsuyu, because skin struggles, and quirks. 

Specialty: Analytics, and creating anything that has to do with being able to identify and learn more about your surroundings. She’s the best person in the support course to go to when you need a battle strategy. 

Extra: She was raised by her dad and grandfather, after her parents got divorced. She and her granddad are especially close, and she likes to send him pictures of her inventions and friends at U.A! Also, she really enjoys Studio Ghibli Movies, and watches them with her younger brother who she looks after often. She and Hoka are pretty good friends, and she likes to bounce ideas off of him, while he reminds her to take breaks and not to overwork herself.

Bonnie Tucker: 

Height: 5′7

Quirk: Hair manipulation (her hair follicles are in constant overdrive, so she can grow durable, protective hair at will. Her hair is also prehensile. This uses up a lot of her energy however, so she can only use it in short bursts to conserve her energy)

Appearance: Bonnie is the tallest girl in class 1-H and has shoulder length dark coily hair, dark skin (she’s black), brown eyes, and a strong, athletic build. When she wears the school uniform, it’s usually with the sleeves rolled up, and often (though not always) wears the waistcoat on top, along with black converse sneakers. Out of class she normally wears oversized sweaters and shirts. She has a grunge sense of style. She has three cartilege piercings in her left ear, and one in her right. When in the workshop, she wears baggy faded jeans, and a green “Deep Dope” tank top with a black hoodie tied around her waist.

Likes: Roller skating (her mother taught her when she was younger. She can do lots of tricks, and incorporates that when she has to fight)

Personality: Calm, and quiet. She has a sarcastic, and dry sense of humour, but she’s friendly and emotionally intelligent. She hates being the centre of attention, and is bad with eye contact. Despite this, she is unafraid to call people out on their crap. She comes across as cold, and distant, but she’s actually pretty chill, down to earth, and cool with being friends with anyone. She gets along really well with people from other classes because of this. She’s also something of a daredevil, as she’s constantly trying new skating tricks, and is a natural born problem solver, as well as a quick thinker.

Specialty: Computers, and body extensions. When it comes to computers, she’s good at hacking and coding. Body extensions means that she is good at making thing that act as a part of somebody, i.e prosthetic limbs, gauntlets, clothes that can act as a second skin, special footwear, etc. She studies a lot of quirk theory, so she can advise certain ways that one could use their quirk more effectively. She’s strategy buddies with Ami for that reason.

Extras: Bonnie was born in the States! Los Angeles, California to be exact, and  transferred from her hero school back in L.A to Japan. She was the one who created Shinsou’s artificial vocal chords (they goofed around a lot when testing them). She’s often the one to tell Hatsume to calm down a little, when she gets to close to other people. Bonnie has a lot of hobbies relating to graphic art. She’s also a huge fan of Miruko, and the Wild, Wild Pussycats. 

Yuuto Daguchi: 

Height: 5′8

Quirk: Body portals (he can open holes into his body and store non-living stuff inside of him. However, he gets headaches the more stuff he stores inside of him)

Appearance: Relatively tall. Has black hair, and light brown skin, with black eyes. He wears glasses. Has been referred to as the prettiest boy in class 1-H. Wears the uniform normally, but switches out the school shoes with grey sneakers. Out of class, he has a simple but classy sense of style, as he normally takes to wearing button up shirts, and knitted sweaters. In the workshop, he wears the top of the gym uniform over black jeans.

Likes: Fashion design. His Mother is a model, and his dad is a famous designer, so it’s only natural that he inherited their passion for it!

Personality: The biggest sweetheart ever. Really optimistic, and encouraging. He and Hatsume get into all sorts of trouble with Power Loader. He’s really charming, and is very dramatic (like you could take the last muffin at breakfast, and he’s out here acting like you killed his dog), but gets serious when the situation calls for it. He has the same energy as Aoyama, and to an extent, Monoma. Yuuto loves experimenting with new designs for costumes, and materials, and loves helping others and giving input when asked. He’s also something of a matchmaker, having an eye for romance, and likes talking about love with Aoyama, Setsuna, Mina, and Hagakure, when their classes get closer.

Specialty: Materials and Costume improvements. He’s good at chemistry, and likes making new materials for costumes and support items. He saw a lot of female heroes in his day for photo shoots with his parents, and knew he could create better costumes. Almost passed out when he found out about Hagakure, Ibara, and Yaoyorozu’s costumes. He’s good at improving support items, making them more streamlined, durable, and practical, while still looking cute!

Extras: He was born and raised in London England. His dad is Japanese, but his mom is Pakistani-British. He and Tucker bonded over moving to a new country. Yuuta is also vice representative of class 1-H. He has a tiny crush on Hiryu Rin. He likes his quirk, because he’s basically a human backpack, and can store his stuff inside of him. In his spare time, he likes to design hero merchandise for his classmates, and Bonnie assists! He likes hanging off of Hoka’s arms, because they’re so sturdy and strong!

Reo Hanabusa:

Height: 5′9

Quirk: Bloom (He can cause plants to grow on his skin, and can pick them off with minimal pain)

Appearance: Relatively tall. Reo has Dark red curly hair which he wears in an undercut, tanned skin, and freckles across his nose. His eyes are green, and he has a lanky physique. Regarded as cute by a lot of people from other classes. He wears the uniform without the tie, and the shirt sleeves rolled up. Has a piercing through his right eyebrow. When out of class he has a punk aesthetic (appreciated by Jirou), often wearing blacks, greys, and dark colours in general. In the workshop, Reo wears a black sleeveless shirt, with the coveralls tied around his waist like Hatsume.

Likes: Skateboarding (He joins Bonnie when she goes skating)

Personality: He comes across as apathetic, and rude, and brash. Most of the time, he kind of is. He has no qualms about talking sh*t, and often likes to provoke arguments or suggest a crazy idea to Hatsume for kicks. He comes across as mean spirited, but once he’s made a friend, he’ll be supportive and helpful. Not outright though, he has a reputation to maintain. He’s kind of like the big brother of class 1-H. He isn’t cocky, or self centred however, as he is very open to ideas different than he is, and doesn’t mind letting somebody take the lead. He’s a bit sensitive about his quirk, as he inherited it from his mom and grandmother, both of whom he loves very much, and will chew out anyone who bugs him about it. He roots for underdogs, and underground heroes mainly. Ironically enough, his favourite hero is Kamui Woods

Specialty: Like Hatsume, Reo is a bit of a jack of all trades, designing and creating whatever idea pops into his head. But his main area of expertise is traps and transportation. Nets, capture tools, vehicles, he’ll create both.

Extras: His mom owns and runs a flower shop, and his dad works as a mechanic. He helps out at his mom’s flower shop occasionally, and visits his dad at work when he can. He, along with Kaminari, Sero, Awase, Kaibara, and Bonnie are basically the “roast anyone who deserves it” squad. He calls everyone in his class by their first names, and in return, they call him by his. He’s Black/Asian/Latino (his dad is black, his mom is Japanese/Lantina. Dad took mom’s last name). He got picked on a lot for his quirk at school, as a lot of people referred to it as a “girly and feminine” quirk, so he’s firmly against quirk discrimination of all kinds. Likes teasing Ami, and Yuuta, but admire their skills and trust their judgement. Keeps a lot of plants in his room, and only his classmates know about them. 

[billion-heartbeats]

“We the People”: The Indian Republic

72nd Republic day- unfinished agenda is staring!

Is Democracy in peril?

 America and India are the two largest democracies in the world. Alarming analogies are being drawn between the storming of US capitol on 6th January 2021  and breaching of the Red fort in Delhi on 26th January 20201. The storming of the United States Capitol was a riot and violent attack. The revolt- observed world over is a warning bell. Many of those who stormed were racists and Proud Boys members’ of Trumps stop the steal and save America rally. The unnerving sight of Confederate flag that emerged during the storming of US capitol by Trump mobs brought back bloody memories of civil war.

 The Nishan sahib on the other hand is a holy religious flag of Sikh community. The farmers’ protest has been consistently identified with religious flags.  But the climbing on to poles, waving the flag from the ramparts of Red Fort and later hoisting the Nishan Sahib, at the Red Fort on the 72nd Republic Day of India has sent shock waves across India and the world! The shocking visuals will be forever etched in the memory of Indians. Did the protesting farmers forget that on 15 August 1947, Nehru, raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate and that every year the PM hoists the Indian “tricolour flag” at the Red fort?

Is Democracy in India- in peril?

 On foot and in tractors, the protesters were part of a huge rally planned for India's Republic Day. The storming of the red fort has made the 72nd republic day of India as the 'republic of fear'. Red fort is a Symbol of the sanctity of our democracy.

 Red Fort was breached; 120 and odd Police Personnel injured with some in ICU. There were actually armed insurrectionists in an inflammatory state of madness marching menacingly up the steps of Red Fort- never seen before! January 26, 2021 was an unforgettable crackpot day not just for us but for a flabbergasted world watching the grotesqueness at play in the red fort! The security infrastructure guarding the historical place, where the Prime Minister unfurls the National flag was feeble and unprepared. Supporters of Khalisthan movement and anti-national forces have infiltrated the Farmers protest.

 Now, I am a common man.

The Common Man is a cartoon character created by Indian author and cartoonist R. K. Laxman. For over a half of a century, the Common Man has represented the hopes, aspirations, troubles and perhaps even foibles of the average Indian. Clad in a dhoti and a plaid jacket, the puzzled Common Man is no dupe: his sharp observations never missed  details of the political circus.

Are we a successful nation?

Yes and NO!

We seem to be suffering from a colonial hangover! Seven decades after Independence, the legacy of the British Empire continues to define India in many ways, in terms of the institutions and regulations we inherited and chose to persist with. Westminster model of democracy has failed us as reflected in the unfinished agenda of free India.

 India is a paradox

Within India there live many India-s including Rural Bharath and an Urban India and to quite a few others the Hindustan! The rich and content India, the poor and weak India, the mediocre India, the ailing India, the rejoicing India, the satiated India, the starving and famished India, the India that reaches out to the space, the India that struggles hard to write it’s name. India dreams to develop into a superpower but a third of the world’s poor still live here. India is one of the fastest developing economies in the world but also a home to the largest number of malnourished children.

 Parliamentary democracy

 In India, parliamentary democracy actually means appealing to caste and communal vote banks. It only has further entrenched them. Cash, caste and charisma- in that order, win you elections. Still elections are declared Free and fair. The Parliamentary Democracy has failed to deliver the basic necessities of life to the majority of Indians even after 72 yrs.

 Respect for ourselves guides our morals; Respect for others guides our manners. Respect is one of mankind’s most noble sentiments. The highest levels of respect are always earned – never given. “As a citizen - I should be an Honest Person, Understand the Values and have Good Manners and Proper Conduct and Learn to accept responsibility for my own actions. This is the only way we can develop and help India develop.

Within two years of independence in 1947 and through open and spirited debate, India produced a constitution that guarantees “fundamental rights and a federal and parliamentary system with a significant role for the Supreme Court. But we are into an illusion. The superstructures of democratic government—a parliament and prime minister, periodic elections, constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms—hide the realities of on-the-ground rule by local landlords, bureaucracy, and party and industrialists, buttressed by a culture of caste-based inequality, and sustained by India’s continuing poverty. A democratic India has not been able to match Communist China’s ability to bring about an economically stable society!

 Unfinished agenda

 Macro achievements

 Right after independence up to mid-1960s, we had to import food grains. Today India is self-sufficient in food production and exports various food grains. We are largest producers of fresh fruits, milk, pulses and oil seeds, largest producers of wheat, rice, and sugarcane.

 India is one of four largest military powers with nuclear capability in the world today. We  have a sophisticated missile program.  We have developed one of the most envious space programs in the world. To this day, we have launched successful Lunar and Mars missions; all thanks to Indian Space Research Organization. Indian science is transforming India!

  Despite its impressive economic growth, India still faces large challenges to overcome. Wealth at the top has not trickled down to the bottom. In 2017, 81% of the population still lived on less than Rs 140.00 a day. In the same year almost 30% of adults were illiterate and only 7% of Indians graduated.

Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty

 Can the Indian government declare that in the next 5 years India will be in the list of 50, “NO-hungry” countries? That is the greatest freedom the government can offer! The Global Hunger Index- India is 103rd of 119 surveyed for 2018. Nearly 6oo million go hungry every day.

International poverty line is US$ 1.25 per day and as per the World Bank report 32.7% of the population in India lives below the poverty line whereas 68.7% survive on less than US$ 2 per day. 45% of children in India are malnourished. India has achieved the poverty reduction target.  However, progress is uneven.

Corruption has corrupted India!

 While India remains the most corrupt country in this region, with 69 per cent bribery rates, Japan came out as the least corrupt nation, with a 0.2 per cent bribery rate. Many Indians believe that God accepts money in return for his favors. So, they believe, there is nothing is wrong in bribery!

 Religion is transactional in India. Outside the temple walls, such a transaction is called “bribe”. India’s temples collect so much that they don't know what to do with it. Billions are gathering dust in temple vaults. Corruption breeds corruption. It has ceased to carry any stigma!

 Corruption is regarded as the biggest reasons of poverty in India. Corruption in the Public Distribution System is the worst of its kind. The leading source of corruption in India is entitlement programs and social spending schemes that are meant for the welfare of our society.,

 Child labor!

 We have five million children in the labor market, says official figures. Their actual numbers may be four times as many. As a nation, we have failed each one of them. The debate on child labor should have been settled with the Constitutional amendment recognizing the right to education as a fundamental right. The problem is anything but over!

  Education-  

 India has nearly achieved Universal Primary Education. 96 % of all children between the ages of 6-14 are enrolled in school. There are 229 million students enrolled in different accredited urban and rural schools of India. The quality of its education is in crisis. 95 percent of children attend primary school- just 40 % attend the secondary schools and Gross enrolment rate in Higher education is- 20%. 7% come out as graduates and only 20% of these are employable!

 The number of graduates coming out of technical colleges is over 700,000.  However, according to one study, 75% of technical graduates and more than 85% of general graduates lack the skills in the high-growth global industries.  

In January 2019, India had over 900 universities and 40,000 colleges. Our university system is, in many parts, in a state of disrepair. Almost two-thirds of our universities and 90% of our colleges are rated as below average. The new National Education Policy 2020 introduced by the central government is going to bring profound changes to education in India.

The second freedom struggle is for ‘a caste-free India’.

 A Wake-up Call for the People! Equality is fundamental to civilized living. The caste system has become degenerated and a social evil. It is a deep-rooted problem which has defied all solutions so far.

 Religion is just a belief and faith. It can change during anytime of the life, but caste is constant. Once a shudra you are a shudra for life! Caste system is more dangerous than any religious system. Destroy India's Caste System Before it destroys India!

 Anyone with a caste mind set will be change proof - Harvard and Oxford educated are no exceptions.  Come out of caste-based reservations. Let scholarships be based on father's and mother's income and child’s merit. Refashion education. You cannot embrace 21st century with 19th century mindset!

 Secularism in India- a camouflaged hypocrisy!

Ban of Triple Talaq is first of many things to come in modern India!

True Secularism does not permit, mixing religion and State power. The Indian Constitution has allowed extensive interference in religious affairs in India's personal laws – on matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, alimony etc. In the West, the word secular implies three things: freedom of religion, equal citizenship to each citizen regardless of his or her religion, and the separation of religion and state. Supporters of the Indian concept of secularism claim it respects "minorities and pluralism". Many Critics claim the Indian form of secularism as "pseudo-secularism". India's acceptance of Sharia and religious laws violate the principle of Equality before the law.

 Uniform civil code- equal laws for every citizen irrespective of his or her religion, is still a mirage despite nearly a decade of Modi rule! Religious laws in personal domain, particularly for Muslim Indians, supersede parliamentary laws in India.

 A reality check- Universal healthcare in India!

 Thirty per cent of Indians don’t have access to primary healthcare facilities. About 39 million Indians fall below the poverty line each year because of out of pocket healthcare expenses. 70% of Indians spend 70% their income on healthcare and buying drugs.  

 One million infants die in India every year –114 every hour- before they are a month old. Add another million kids who die before they are five years. Now this is a country that allows 218 children to die every hour of the day.

We have successfully eradicated various epidemics and Polio from our nation. Life expectancy is 68.89 years, which was only 36 years at the time of independence. This is one of the major achievements.

 People’s Empowerment

 Freedom struggle was for an India that would be free from exploitation, oppression and discrimination on the basis of class, caste and creed. Tens of thousands of farmers are committing suicide! They are demanding secure livelihood.   Many middlemen in the name of farmers are battling against the farm laws which would ensure secure livelihood for the farmers!  Women are protesting against the blatant violation of their rights, growing incidences of rape, violence and exploitation! Youth are demanding their right to education and right to work. 

 Middleclass are demanding food at affordable prices, safe water to drink, housing, sanitation and dignity of infant feeding, defecation and menstruation! The previous governments were dithering and allowing Jammu and Kashmir to slip into Stone Age. The Prime Minister has done the right thing to abolish article 370 and 35-A to bring in hope of prosperity, development to Jammu and Kashmir on par with other states.

2021 is a year of hope! The Corona virus came from china. From an Indian perspective, the Chinese Virus and the Chinese State and its army have created an unprecedented havoc in the country. However, it is India and India alone which has handled these threats squarely and blunted them to a large extent. This is important.

 What does the Year of Hope – 2021 portend for us? It portends a year in which India will come into its own. It also portends a year in which India will have to overcome three challenges– China , Pakistan and Internal Politics, if it has to realize its potential!

 Our national leadership has the wisdom, sagacity and statesmanship in the face of adversity to come together and stand up to our enemies. Even more than that, 2021 is the harbinger of global change which opens immense opportunity for India.

Jai Hind!

 Dr N prabhu dev

Former VC Bangalore University

Former- Director Jayadeva institute of cardiology.

nprabhudev@gmail.com

[zenathezee]

Being able to go to my boss and say "the difference between me happy to work here until I go to grad school and wanting to quit everyday is this one thing" and have her be like yeah that's fair is SO POWERFUL

[lawyerracing53]

Best Online Will Makers For 2020

Will Vs Count On

Content

If You Don'T Intend To Make Use Of A Solicitor

Indicator Your Will In Front Of Witnesses.

To Determine Who Will Take Care Of Your Minor Kid

Key Papers To Have Alongside Your Last Will As Well As Testament.

When Should You Obtain Legal Guidance To Prepare Your Will?

Making Older Individuals'S Voices Heard.

Total An Inheritance Tax Kind.

What Is Probate?

A medical diagnosis of an illness that is terminal or that significantly changes your life might lead you to make changes in your living will. Review with your medical professional the kind of therapy and also care choices that could be made throughout the anticipated program of the illness. Each state has different types as well as requirements for producing legal files.

If You Don'T Wish To Use A Solicitor

Who should keep the original Will UK?

1. Leave it with a solicitor. If a solicitor writes your will, they will usually store the original free of charge and give you a copy – but ask them to make sure. Most solicitors will also store a will they didn't write, but there will probably be a fee.

As a complimentary tool, it's not a shock that they don't have a lot of properties to help. FreeWill is really firm in describing that it is not a lawful service.

Many thanks a great deal for replying to a huge no of quarries on WILL Preparation. In present day life you never recognize when death may strike you. So I wish to write my WILL while still I remain in audio health and wellness to ensure that my boys do not deal with trouble in acquiring my possessions after I pass away. However if they sign as witnesses in the Willdeed/ present act as well as if it is plainly mentioned that they do not have any type of objections and do not like to have share in the residential property after that it need to be okay. Will the will-deed be legally legitimate if in future any of the children file a case.

Does my wife get everything if I die?

Spouses will now automatically inherit the estate of their partners who die without leaving a will, after the NSW Parliament passed new legislation. However, fewer than half of those who had children from previous relationships left everything in their will to their spouse.

the child of the will writer offered the residential or commercial property WITH or WITHOUT understanding the existence of the will. I am unmarried and also bought a house from my own saving in 1992. MY friend was with me right from the purchase of plot, construction and after that. We are of very same age as well as retired teachers from an independent school.

When an individual dies without a will, state legislation regulating the distribution of the estate takes over, and the results may be a globe away from what you would have preferred. If you have a rather uncomplicated estate plan in mind, a do it yourself will can be a very easy, low-cost way to make your desires understood pertaining to the distribution of your properties after fatality. DIY wills can also fail to think about particular estate planning requires such as preventing possible inheritance tax, as well as may not fully ponder the requirements of small kids, if you have any. Mixed households or those with kids from a previous partnership may additionally locate that DIY will kinds do not properly cover your problems.

Based on lawful Professionals; a candidate is simply a trustee, that have to disperse the assets to the lawful heirs called in a will, or according to succession legislations. A person has written a will naming the administrators as his grand kids for the inherited ancestral building.

Probating your estate-- and distributing assets to your successors-- could end up taking a whole lot longer than it has to if the will wasn't implemented properly or otherwise has problems that should be settled by the court of probate. Those that can benefit most from Do It Yourself wills are individuals with a fairly small estate (a worth that doesn't get to the level of undergoing inheritance tax) as well as no small kids.

Relying on where you live, a kind may require to be authorized by a witness or notarized. You can ask a lawyer to assist you with the procedure, yet it is generally not essential. A living will is a created, lawful file that define clinical therapies you would certainly and would not want to be used to keep you to life, as well as your preferences for various other medical choices, such as pain monitoring or body organ contribution. A clinical or health care power of lawyer is a type of development instruction in which you call a person to make decisions for you when you are incapable to do so.

Indication Your Will In Front Of Witnesses.

Do you think you have the tracks you spent for and downloaded from iTunes, or the books from Amazon.com for your Kindle?

The regards to usage for both Apple as well as Amazon.com just certify you the right to make use of these digital files-- you do not get ownership.

Since you're finally taking a seat to create that will, watch for these common but easy-to-avoid errors.

A living trust fund is a simple way to plan for the administration and also distribution of your assets, as well as you do not need an attorney to do it.

After you've made a last will, one inquiry lots of people have is where to keep the paper.

Possible problems concerning digital property accompany e-mail, on-line shopping accounts, social media sites accounts, blogs and also documents kept on a remote server.

If you want to have control over what happens to your estate after your death, you may just require a simple will, which can be produced in mins, to do the job.

Before you determine to store it in a plastic bag in your freezer, one point to note is that you have alternatives for where to securely store your will.

You recognize having a last will is necessary-- it secures your family as well as offers your last dreams.

Hello Sreekanth, I was married for 3 years afterwards me and my spouse are remaining seperately. my spouse didnt provided me divorce.My separation application was dismissed by district court stating no solid reason to provide divorce.In divorce instance likewise I paid interim maintainance and afterwards she files MC even for that I am paying maintenance. Its been 11 years my marital relationship occurred and also been 8 we are not together.I have boy and child was born after she left residence and also claimed she was carrying at the time leaving the house. I understood she wrecked my life simply thinking i have property.So i do not want my single cent to go her or her children.

If the testator passes away without a will, the court of probate complies with the state's laws of intestacy, which require circulation of the estate to the decedent's successors. LegalZoom is a site made to offer budget friendly legal help to Americans. Its different resources attend to a broad range of subjects, including wills as well as estates. In some states, advance health care planning includes a file called physician orders for vital treatment. The file might likewise be called company orders for vital treatment or medical orders for life-sustaining therapy.

To Identify That Will Take Care Of Your Minor Kid

I am really feeling so strained as well as don't know my future so planning to compose WILL. Please suggst atleast I really feel satisfied that after my fatality my other half or youngsters do not obtain any one of my very own heard earned property likewise I don't have any kind of residential or commercial property from my dad. The will must include a declaration proving that it is your last will and also testimony, the day as well as place of finalizing and that you authorized it before witnesses that also authorized it and also watched each other sign it in your presence.

What are the four basic types of wills?

Types of Wills: Which Is Right for You?Living Wills. Even though the names are similar, a living will is not a last will and testament. Joint Wills. A joint will is a document created by two people who leave their stuff to each other. Holographic Wills. Nuncupative Wills. Deathbed Wills. Living Trusts. Testamentary Trusts. Simple Wills. More items

For somebody like Aretha Franklin, who passed away last month without a will, the intricacy as well as amount of properties would necessitate a skilled estate legal representative. However she did not have even a basic will, leaving her reported $80 million estate to experience probate, a process that any estate lawyer would make certain a customer prevented. Mr. Ellis utilized a website called FreeWill, which starts the estate preparation conversation with alternatives around philanthropic providing. However there are numerous on the internet rivals, including Rocket Legal representative and LegalZoom, that offer services to create estate plans for little or no cash. If the testator had a previous will that fulfilled all of the lawful requirements, a probate court can use the previous will to establish how to disperse the deceased's estate.

When should one write a will?

You need a will. If you are single and don't have kids, but you do have a positive net worth, then you should have a will. Specifically, if you have assets that exceed more than $100,000, you are really going to want to have a living trust which goes into effect right after it's signed.

Key Documents To Have Along With Your Last Will And Testimony.

Presently all daughters are kept in loop as well as none of the daughters have any arguments. Adding an addendum to a will needs a record called a codicil. If composed appropriately, the codicil will be considered a part of the will and read along with the initial record when the estate is probated.

One of the most obvious benefits of making a last will through a do it yourself will package are money and time-- at least in the present. Creating a last will online can cost less than getting an attorney involved in the will-writing procedure, and also an online will service can permit a person to make a will in plain mins. A do it yourself will, additionally called a Do It Yourself will, is a last will and also testament developed completely on the internet by the person writing a will. While https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/legal-issues/making-a-will/ excels in mostly all areas, it falls behind various other platforms when it involves customer support.

When Should You Get Legal Recommendations To Draft Your Will?

How do I write my own will?

How to draft your will 1. You must be at least 18 years old or married. 2. Be clear. 3. Your will must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, who also need to sign the will in your presence. 4. Appoint an executor. 5. Update your will when your circumstances change. 6. Get legal advice. 7. Keep your will in a safe place.

For example, if you possess residential or commercial property as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the residential or commercial property passes to the surviving owner after your death. Furthermore, an insurance plan passes to the designated recipient, despite your will.

Since properties are legitimately owned by my dad and mom independently. Can a single WILL with a referral to 'We' or 'Our Possessions' being bequeathed to me post fatality of both-- be feasible or would certainly it require two WILLs carried out by both independently. This was a vital question, demand you to kindly resolve this too.

Will writing in Scotland?

To make a will in Scotland, you must be over the age of 12 years old (whereas in England you must be over the age of 18) and of sound mind. The will must be in writing and the person making the will must sign every page of it. There must also be a witness present.

Making https://compton.trusted-willwriting.co.uk/ .

A will accomplishes the last desires of the testator-- the individual who makes a will-- after death. The process for just how to make a will legal differs state by state. When you make a will, follow this list to ensure it is a legitimately binding will that the courts in your state will acknowledge.

Ms. Wolfer claimed she finished her will in less than a hr, and afterwards had it signed by 3 witnesses and also notarized. Instead of placing it in the vault of a law firm, she handed duplicates to her little girls and the charities that would certainly receive money upon her death.

I want my good friend to reside in the house up until her death and after that my niece can take the legal rights of your home. have a sis and regrettably the relationship is not really healthy and balanced. Besides she is fairly well off from her spouse which side of their ancestral residential property. My moms and dads have assests spread out across their names and also have verbally confirmed that all their possessions will belong to me upload them. Offered the law providing equal right to siblings on adult residential property and my moms and dads affirmation that all their possessions will be bestowed to me-- am desiring to have actually a will documented and registered. With the exception of a tiny portion; all properties are self-earned by my parents.

In some states this instruction may additionally be called a long lasting power of attorney for health care or a health care proxy. By preparing ahead, you can get the healthcare you desire, avoid unnecessary suffering and eliminate caretakers of decision-making problems throughout moments of situation or pain. You additionally help in reducing confusion or difference concerning the selections you would desire people to make in your place. Living wills and also various other advancement directives are composed, lawful directions regarding your preferences for treatment if you are not able to make decisions for yourself. Breakthrough instructions lead selections for doctors and also caregivers if you're terminally ill, seriously injured, in a coma, in the late stages of mental deterioration or near completion of life.

The joint Will becomes personnel as a separate Will of each person as well as on the fatality of everyone will be admitted to probate as their Will at the time of death. A living trust fund can assist you stay clear of probate, save you money, and protect your privacy. LegalZoom can help you make a will, and also unlike various other websites, our wills resolve state law, job well with challenging estates, and include clear instructions for just how to sign your will. We offer a $50,000 assurance assurance as well, so you can begin with making your last will today. No matter what you decide, nonetheless, it is crucial that you make a last will immediately-- and keep it updated with changes in scenarios such as births, deaths, as well as divorces.

What Is Probate?

The individual needs to be 18 years old or older and have testamentary capacity to authorize the will. Simply put, you should recognize that you are making a will, the nature and size of your estate, the terms of your will and its result as well as concur that it satisfies your dreams. A listing of possessions and also instructions for their disposition, with a couple of caveats.

What To Expect From Your Lawyer

Currently I am writing my Will bestowing my home to my Niece, my bro's little girl. But I desire my niece to take lawful belongings of the building just after my good friend's fatality that was with me while excellent and also bad times.

[shippingeruri]

Dirt & Velvet - Victorian Age AU fic [UPDATE]

Chapter 3 of Dirt & Velvet. 

Learn more about Chief Police Inspector Erwin Smith’s background and get to know new characters.

Thanks to the lovely @absolute-eruri-trash for beta-reading this.

Read the whole fic on AO3

Read the chapter on AO3

~~~

The journey was horrible and Erwin felt like sleeping for at least one day after his arrival.

One of the spokes on a wheel had broken when they were only a few hours away from London on the second day of their journey.

Luckily, there was a wood worker in a nearby village who was able to fix the wheel quickly. But nevertheless the already pretty uncomfortable journey got delayed by a few hours.

His body was exhausted and his brain was drowning in gin. He wanted to avoid being left alone with his thoughts while travelling through the country so he had decided to make the best of the journey.

At some point he fell in a sleep-like state although he would arrive soon. One couldn't call it sleep since the blond was restlessly rolling his head from one side to another while the cold kept the sleep away.

The next time he opened his eyes they were crossing a bridge and he realised that this was not another small town creek they passed but this was the Thames and while he wiped away the drool from his chin and got himself in an upright position again, his eyes scanned the surroundings.

There wasn't much to see. It was pitch black night, heavy rain clouds covered the sky and only some lamps would provide a faint light. It was raining cats and dogs and the sound of heavy rain on the carriage and the street drowned all other sounds.

Erwin tried to sort his mind and yet he was struggling to think clearly – almost two days of drinking while sitting in a small carriage took its toll.

A few minutes later Benny slowed down the horses and he knocked against the wooden carriage.

“Mister Smith, Sir. We're here. A bit late, but we are here.”, he let him know. His voice clearly showing relief.

Erwin cleared his throat and the urge to vomit came along with it. He barely had eaten and the bit of water he had drunken didn't really cover for the high quality gin he had taken with him.

“You're awake, Mister Smith? I think there's someone waiting for you, Sir.”, Benny spoke.

“Yes, I'm awake.”, Erwin replied with husky voice.

Am I really? Is this maybe all just a bad dream?

A few seconds later the carriage stopped and Erwin could hear a woman talking. He narrowed his eyebrows. At this time? All alone? In Whitechapel?

But then he remembered the letter he had received from Commissioner Zackly. The Chief Secretary of his police station-to-be would pick him up. Petra Ral was her name if he remembered correctly.

Benny opened the door of the carriage and Erwin stepped out, tumbling a bit from sitting for such a long time and … well, the gin. Nevertheless, his manners let him take off his hat in front of a woman.

“Chief Police Inspector Smith, Sir.”, the small woman greeted him from below her umbrella and offered to take his bag. “I'm Petra Ral, it's an honour to meet you.”, she said with a friendly smile while Erwin was thankful that she took his bag. “Commissioner Zackly informed you that I will pick you up?”, she asked to make sure the man that looked like a mess was the right person.

Erwin didn't answer right away as he felt bile rising up from his stomach so he pressed his jaws together and forced himself to swallow the bit of saliva he had in his mouth with heavy force.

Benny laughed: “Ay m' lady. That's the right one, picked him up by myself. He didn't take the journey too well it seems. And also, apologies for letting you wait so long. One of my wheels-”

“No problem, Benny. I know it's not your fault. You are a reliable coachman, maybe one of the best Scotland Yard has to offer.”, she smiled at him and Benny bowed modestly.

“Thank you, m' lady.”, he spoke before giving the tall blond a final look.

“See you then, Mister Smith, Sir.”, he spoke as he reached out to take Erwin's hand one last time.

“Thank you, Mister Baker. Take care and have a good way home.”, Erwin found his speech again yet he spoke with low voice while the coachman climbed up on his seat again.

The young woman was wearing a long and heavy coat that covered her head and her whole body. Her pretty face with that welcoming smile was a nice change for Erwin. He started to regret having drunk that much as he reached out for her shoulder to steady himself. His legs gave in, his brain couldn't coordinate his movement properly. This was bad. He acted like an uneducated, filthy man.

“Pardon me, Miss Ral. I'm very... exhausted.”, he mumbled as he pulled back his hand and straightened himself.

I can't act like this in front of the Chief Secretary of my new police station. Pull yourself together, Erwin!

Her eyes widened but she didn't pull back as he held on to her shoulder.

“It's... It's alright, Mister Smith. I can only imagine how exhausting this journey must have been for you. Please follow me this way, you can rest soon.”, she explained, her face still offering a bright smile.

Does she smell the gin? Does she pity me?

The blonde straightened his shoulders and put on his hat again, hair now all wet from the rain, as he followed her.

They walked through the rain for no more than two minutes. While walking, Petra explained to him that he would stay with the doctor of the police station for the first nights. The apartment they wanted to rent for him was in a too bad condition to properly provide him shelter. Erwin didn't care. He just wanted water to refresh himself, a roof over his head and a bed to sleep in.

Small alleys were leading to smaller ones until they reached their destiny. Petra opened a red door with a key that she pulled out of her pocket. Then she offered it to Erwin.

“Yours for the time being”. Small, warm fingers touched his palm for a second.

They entered a narrow staircase and went up to the first floor where Petra would knock on the door and raised her voice: “Dr. Zoe? It's Petra Ral, I'm bringing Chief Police Inspector Smith.”

“He's a bit... special, just so you know.”, she whispered and Erwin let out a sigh.

He would want some peace and quiet and if this doctor would stress him, they would indeed have a problem.

“On my way!”, one could hear muffled from the inside, the sound of glasses colliding as well as something heavy being placed somewhere.

Petra wore a confident smile but her eyes hinted at tension.

She hopes we get along. So do I.

The door was opened by a man that was smaller and more slender than him. His cinnamon brown hair was bound back in a wild ponytail and from under very odd glasses umber eyes examined the arrivals.

“Good evening, Dr. Zoe. Excuse us for being late.”, Petra smiled friendly and stepped aside.

“Dr. Zoe this is Chief Police Inspector Erwin Smith. Mister Smith this is Dr. Zoe.”, she introduced the two of them and Erwin offered his hand.

Dr. Zoe narrowed his eyes a bit and adjusted the glasses on his nose before slowly reaching our for Erwin's hand.

“Good to meet you, we're running a bit short on manpower at the police station.”, he declared while shaking Erwin's hand with a firm grip. His voice was warm and friendly.

“The pleasure is all mine.”, Erwin replied while his eyes quickly wandered over the well-worn clothes the doctor was wearing.

Simple, used clothes in plain colours. A simple man with a simple life? Where was that “special” thing about him?

“I'll see you tomorrow then? Commissioner Zackly organized a small welcome party at Scotland Yard. So you get to know everyone.”, Petra let Erwin know while she dropped his bag and left the two alone.

“Have a good night.”. Her small hand raised before she was gone on the staircase again.

“Come on in then.”, Dr. Zoe invited Erwin who had taken his bag and entered.

“I hope it's alright for you to stay here? I'm not used to … having visitors but I have a spare bedroom in which I usually store some of my things. It's upstairs.”, he let Erwin know who took a look around.

A mix of scents, Erwin never had experienced before, got in his nose.

Vinegar, wood, dust, something very heavy scented like a perfume and chemicals I can't identify.

The living room of the apartment was quite big, maybe 25 square metres with two doors on the right while a small circular stair was on the left. Right before them was a very big and well used red couch. Bigger than any couch Erwin had ever seen.

“Inherited.”, Dr. Zoe explained since Erwin stared pretty obviously while Dr. Zoe tried to tidy up a bit around them.

Behind the couch was a table covered with books. Books also covered parts of the big red carpet that perfectly matched with the colour of the couch and covered more than half of the floor.

Next to the circular stair and in front of the couch was a fireplace in which a small fire was burning. Behind it was a table with all kind of glasses, vials and some chemical instruments from what Erwin could make out.

Two huge windows, partly covered with massive black curtains were on the opposite side of the room from where Erwin was standing, examining the apartment in awe. Next to the table with the books, towards the windows was a small kitchen unit with lots of dirty dishes.

“The wet room is right here.”, Dr. Zoe opened the first door to Erwin's right.

“And that is my bedroom. Not much to see here, but if you want to take a look?”, the brown-haired offered with a bright smile.

“No need for that, thank you.”, Erwin let him know with a friendly smile.

“I'll show you your bedroom then?” - “Yes, that would be... very much appreciated.”

Following the slender man up the stairs Erwin stumbled a bit again. His vision betrayed him, his sense of balance even more.

“Careful. It's a bit tricky in the beginning, but you'll get used to it... should you want to stay here longer.”, Dr. Zoe let Erwin know as they both arrived on the small gallery where more books were stored and a door was to be found.

“I didn't even thank you properly yet for having me. I heard there was a problem with the apartment I was to move in? So thank you, Dr. Zoe, it's nice to have a place to stay in a city one doesn't know.”, Erwin spoke upright and the doctor offered him a warm smile.

“No worries, I was the one to offer to have you here when I overheard Petra talking to the ol' Pixis about the problem. It's my pleasure. And I'm sure a man like you can adapt to this very unique city quickly.”, Dr. Zoe informed Erwin who looked very surprised.

“And now, have a look at your bedroom. I tried to clean it properly but as I said; I used it as a storage so I couldn't put everything out. Just move the boxes around if they are in your way.”, the doctor spoke while opening the door.

Erwin entered and blinked into the barely visible room. Dr. Zoe walked in and within seconds had a lamp burning.

There was a big wardrobe and a matching, equally big chest of drawers. Next to it a small desk with a filigree chair in front, a square window in front, letting nothing but the dark night in at the moment.

On the wall opposite of the door a huge and massive dark wooden bed was placed. The wall to his right had two big windows covered with the same black curtains as the windows in the living room. A small fireplace was settled between them. Crates and boxes were spread throughout the room.

“It's not too big and nothing special but it should do, right?”, the doctor asked, seeming a bit nervous while Erwin slowly walked in.

Erwin blinked as he turned around and his face showed a thankful smile.

“It most surely is a nice room and I'm really in your debt, Dr. Zoe.”, Erwin said as he slowly let down his bag.

“Ah, no worries, Mister Smith... by the way, would you mind... I mean we're sharing an apartment now. Please call me Hans.”, the doctor spoke with another bright smile but his eyes hinted insecurity.

A rather small hand was offered and Erwin stepped closer.

“I'm Erwin. Thank you, Hans, really. This is more than I actually was hoping for. Everything is nicely furnished already and you even have a wet room.”

His big hand grabbed around slender fingers and the two men exchanged a firm handshake.

“Thank god, I was a bit afraid that our newest member would be … you know … very formal and … so, I'm glad you seem to be a friendly man, Erwin.”, Hans stumbled through his own words and a soft chuckle followed.

Erwin narrowed his brows as his face hinted a smile.

“I try to be a good man and obviously you are a very kind man.”, Erwin agreed.

“Ah, it's nothing. Really. Would you like to eat something? I still have some stew.”, Hans asked.

“Oh god, please yes. I'm starving.”, Erwin let out, relieved, and then they both laughed at his sudden outburst.

This Hans really seems to be a very open-minded person. Very passionate about his work and far ahead of our time. Brilliant ideas and with a vision.

~~~

“I'll leave you to your own then. I'll be off to the police station tomorrow in the morning but you can sleep in. Your first duty will be to attend that party at Scotland Yard in the evening. I'll go there with you. Everyone wants to get to know the famous crime solver from the south.”, Hans said after he'd shown Erwin how to get water in the tub and how to heat it.

“Oh, and I'll leave a key for the apartment on the …”, he was thinking about a good place obviously. “On the mantelpiece.”, he concluded with another friendly smile.

“Thank you, Hans. I appreciate your kindness. The stew was really good and the wine went along with it perfectly.”, Erwin replied before taking a deep breath.

“Famous crime solver from the south?”, he couldn't not ask.

“About six years back you caught a murderer somewhere down there and when you applied to be re-located to London, Zackly let us know about it. You barely had any traces, no real leads, yet you somehow managed to catch them. Leman Street is really looking forward to having you.”, Hans informed him, excitement showing in his eyes.

The corners of Erwin's mouth went up and he nodded softly.

“I'm also looking forward to getting to know everyone.”, he said.

They'd had a good conversation, Hans was definitely someone to get along with. A bit of an eccentric, but not in a bad way.

He had told Erwin in detail about his current projects besides doing work for the police. Something chemical Erwin couldn't follow but nevertheless he was fascinated by the vivid explanations and examples. Also some hints about his new co-workers at the police station had been dropped and Erwin's expectations for his new start in London had grown even more.

“Great. So take your time now, no need to hurry. Please feel like home.”, Hans spoke with a warm voice while walking towards the door.

“Good night. And thank you again!”

“Ah, no need to thank me that often. Have a good night as well.”

The wine made his limbs even heavier than they'd already been and his brain felt numbed.

After Erwin had taken off his clothes and got in the bathtub, he was afraid to faint. His vision went blurry and all power left his muscles. His body sunk down heavily into the ceramic tub, water spilling over the edges. A sigh left his lips as he shivered. Eyes were opened forcefully to prevent losing consciousness.

He tried to lay relaxed and concentrate on his breathing. His body was exhausted and within minutes he drifted off to a sleep-like state again as previously in the carriage.

~~~

“Mother, I've not been able to … I couldn't …”

Erwin's voice cracked as his eyes were filling with tears.

“I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry, please forgive me.”, he sighed as his shoulders began to shake and he lowered his head.

“It's fine, Erwin. It was not your fault.”

Sweet yet deeply broken his mother's voice reached him.

“You're a good son, Erwin. Everything your father and I ever wished for.”

Almost silently she took a deep breath.

Tears were running down his cheeks and he was hiding his face behinds his hands. Heavy sobbing shook his whole body.

“I couldn't prevent it and I was not able to reveal the truth, mother.”

His voice was merely a whisper.

“Your father's murder is not your fault, Erwin.”,

Her voice soft but starting to crack. Erwin let out a desperate cry.

“Enough now, Erwin. You have to concentrate on your future.”

A small hand was placed on his shoulder, fingers gently stroking over the cloth. Erwin's body tensed. When was the last time his mother had tried to comfort him? Why was he not the one to console his mother?

I didn't even grieve properly. I still don't want to believe this had happened.

“You've done everything you could and even more. You took unpaid leave from the police and tried to find the ones behind this.”

“But I couldn't find them!”, Erwin desperately spoke, voice getting louder as he looked up, tears covering his face, to look squarely into his mother eyes.

They looked dead. Like no soul was behind them. The woman inside – gone.

A weak smile crossed her lips as she got herself up.

“You've been away for a few months now and I'm happy that I now have my son with me. I'm going make you your favourite dish.”

Erwin let her go, body still shaking uncontrolled, only when she was by the entrance door he found his voice again after he had cleared his throat.

“Where are you going?”

“To get some firewood, you just stay here.”

She looked back at him, eyes still dead, a big smile on her lips.

Erwin slightly nodded.

Minutes passed in which he was sitting on the couch by the fireplace next to the piano which his mother used to play for him. Had she played the piano after Erwin left for Portsmouth? Had she played for his father, her loving husband?

Erwin had been away for a few weeks now. After his father had been found dead, stabbed several times in the torso, he only had returned home a few days before he had set out to follow every lead, every little hint he could find.

It was all in vain. And he hadn't even been here for his mother. Had not been here for the funeral while he was trying to find the one behind the murder.

I'm a horrible son.

His father had been a teacher in the school in Eastbourne. A good, honest man. He had been friendly with everyone and even the people he hadn't liked he treated with respect. Yet still someone wanted to end his life.

Who and why?

Erwin was obsessed with finding out the truth after the police in Eastbourne stopped searching for the culprit. This was wrongful, a fraud against a respected member of the community. So Erwin had taken matters into his own hands.

And yet he came back empty handed. Presenting his mother nothing but a sobbing, crying son.

How long had she been gone to get firewood?

Hasty steps brought him to the front door and he could see the door to their small storehouse was open.

“Mother?”, he asked loudly as he left the house.

No reply.

“Mother, is everything alright?”, he asked louder, slowly taking up pace.

The small storehouse was lit with a lamp and Erwin widened his eyes as he saw his mother laying on the floor, blood gushing out of the flesh wound on her throat in red waves with every breath she tried to take.

“Mother!”, Erwin whispered as he froze for a moment.

She opened her mouth tried to say something but only blood left her still smiling lips as she reached out with her hand for her son.

~~~

A loud cracking sound ripped him out of his memories.

“Sorry, I... dropped something!”, Dr. Zoe loudly spoke from his room next to the wet room yet his voice arrived only muffled.

Erwin was shaking, tears running down his face as he tried to find a steady breath again. Fingers shivered, grasping for the edge of the tub.

His heart was beating hard and loud against his chest, his throat felt constricted and his jaws were pressing together, nasal wings widened.

This was not the kind of start in London that he had in mind when he got in contact with Scotland Yard via his police station in Portsmouth.

After his mother's failed attempted suicide she was brought to a hospital for the mental ill in Wales. He had been able to stop the bleeding and to carry her to the town centre where a doctor had been able to save her. Luckily she had only cut deep enough to damage her trachea and destroy her vocal cords and the doctor hadn't refused to help them, although it was attempted suicide.

She would never be able to speak again and her mental health may never fully recover.

Erwin had been devastated and for a few days hadn't left the house. This had been the time he decided for a new, fresh start in London. In a busy city with lots of crime where he could concentrate completely on his work.

The Portsmouth police station hadn't been all too happy with his decision since Erwin was one of their best men, yet they would respect his wish and within a few weeks Scotland Yard accepted his request to get transferred to, what Erwin had described as “the place with the highest crime rate you have to offer.” in his letter.

And now, a few weeks later, he was here. In Whitechapel, London and about to start his new life.

She's at a good place, they can take better care of her than I would ever be able to.

Erwin lifted his still shaking body while his upper arms almost weren't able to support him properly. Wet feet were carefully placed on the cool tiles.

Why? Why would I remember this on my first night in London? What time is it anyway?

He reached for his vest and pulled out the pocket watch. 1:55 AM. Fair enough that his body and mind started to play tricks on him.

After he was done drying himself, realising that he hadn't washed his hair, brushing his teeth to finally get rid of the taste of dried alcohol in his mouth, he put on the grey pyjama he'd brought with him. He gathered his clothes and pulled the plug in the tub. How convenient this apartment was.

Silently he walked through the living room, grabbing a carafe with water that Hans had told him he would prepare for him. A lamp was offering dimmed light on his way over the red carpet and the wooden floor up the small circular stairs. From Hans' room he could hear soft snoring and he wouldn't want to wake the doctor who would have to get up in a few hours probably.

~~~

Curtains were closed with slow motions and the weight of his body seemed to get heavier with every second. There was no fire in the fireplace but the room was not cold. At least not to a point were Erwin would freeze. The fire that had been burning in the living room seemed to have heated up the air up here as well.

Heavy footsteps led him to the bed that would now be his. He sat down with a deep sigh an reached for the carafe. Water was gulped down in a haste before he would get himself under the heavy blanket.

The bed was way harder than it had looked but Erwin preferred it over some mattress in which one could sink in. The sheets smelled fresh, a bit floral and like rain. He liked it and as soon as he'd found a good position, his eyes closed.

He hoped that no nightmares would wake him or even worse that he would wake Hans with his unpredictable screams and cries. They had started with the murder of his father and since just now he had had vivid memories about his mother's sui...

Stop it. I need sleep. I have a party to attend tomorrow in the evening.

And since he hadn't bathed properly he would do that again tomorrow as soon as he was awake and had breakfast.

“Welcome to London.”, Erwin whispered to himself. “Let's make it a good start.”

But little did he know what would await him …

[jessi-31days-blog]

Day 3, Tuesday, October 3rd

I wake up at 9:30 am, attack my phone alarm with a vigorous "fuck that" and set it again for 10:30 am. My alarm goes off at 10:30 am, and I officially wake up.

I fell asleep around 1:00 am last night, and I mentioned yesterday how I love my 9 hours. I'll try to go to bed earlier tonight. I had a dream that someone was trying to force me to drink blood, so if any of you super cool dream interpreters can guess what that means, let me know.

Yoga class - "Pranayama Yoga To Move Energy" - 12:34:

SIKE!

 Apparently while doyogawithme.com has lots of free classes, but a few videos are subscription only. So when I click on the link to this video and see "subscription only" I simultaneously roll my eyes and harshly exhale out of both nostrils at this minor inconvenience. Ah, yes, minor inconveniences; the bane of any millennial's existence. The same video is provided for tomorrow, so I will have to find yet another replacement for it for day 4. Okay, now for real this time...

Yoga class - "3 Yoga Breathing Exercises for Anxiety" by Caren Baginski on YouTube - 7 mins:

If you try this video, you'll noticed I picked a pretty easy video for today. It was very helpful, especially the switching nostrils one (forgot what that one was called). I'll need to remember these when I have anxiety.

Guided Meditation - "Transform Yourself" - 15 mins:

Okay guys, I have a confession to make on this one. My brain could not shut off and I was too restless, so I only made it through 8 minutes of this guided meditation. I tried to follow the imagery of imagining light flowing through my body, and I did my best but it didn't help much. One thing the speaker said that I will mention is that you choose how you think and feel about yourself, your life, and your surrounding. And while people with mental illness such as myself can often think the opposite, that you can't control how you feel or think, in many ways you actually can. More often than not it's within the means of actually forcing yourself to replace the negative intrusive thoughts with positive or realistic thoughts than actually making yourself feel something, but if and when you continue to make yourself think healthily, you'll start to feel better emotionally. This is easier said than done, but it is true.

Read a Proverb - Proverbs 3:

This is a pretty famous chapter of Proverbs for Christians and Catholics of the world. In it are these verses, 5 & 6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." I first read these verses in early 2010. The fact that I can actually remember the year is pretty cool, since my memory pretty much sucks. Actually, my memory basically works of it's own will, selecting at random what information I will and will not remember. Anyways, these verses have always had a lot of meaning to me. It pretty much sums up God's intended experience for a person who believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His salvation. That's why I don't worry too much about how my life goes and the way I choose to live it. As long as I'm saved, and I believe I am, regardless of what happens to me, I know how things will turn out for me in the very end.

The rest of the chapter reiterated the theme of Proverbs, which is to delight in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, so that you live a good life. It ends with some good general pieces of advice for life: use common sense, when you see someone who needs help, don't hesitate to help them, don't hurt people, don't pick petty fights with people, don't act like violent people act, and if you dedicate your life to wisdom, you will "inherit honor".

Blog post - TWLOHA - "Beyond Shades of Gray" by Sharleigh Thomson:

At the beginning of this article, Sharleigh defines how we as a society talk about something clear and defined. "You've either attempted or you haven't." But then she begins to describe what she calls a gray zone as the place where you desperately want to escape from the pain and being willing to die to do so. "A place where you might have the means, the will, the plan, the note—everything but the follow through." And good fucking god, I know what the gray zone is like. I instantly identified with the author of this blog post. She proceeded to describe how she was once unable to find the words to truly explain her experience and her pain. That there weren't enough syllables in the English language to describe just how hard what she was going through was. She started talk therapy, but had trouble opening up and finding the words to explain herself to her therapist. He suggested that she start writing down how she was feeling. My therapist told me to do the same thing, and I reacted the way Sharleigh did: with stubbornness. At that time she believed that writing was some sort of cop out. I used to believe that if I couldn't find a way to say it out loud, how the hell can I get it one paper? Well, as I've discovered, the opposite is true sometimes. If I can get my thoughts, whether they are complete sentences or not, out on paper (or most likely, the notes app on my computer), then I can form the way to say it out loud. As a matter of fact, writing down my train of thoughts has lead me to more epiphanies than I ever expected... I've got to start doing it again.

Finally, after another suicidal episode, Sharleigh gave in and began writing. She said that it started out dark and emotional, but eventually became something personal, beautiful, and hopeful. She found a way to break down her problems in her writing. Then she began to write plays, poetry, and blog posts about her experiences with mental health and suicide. Hey, I'm doing that last thing now! What a coincidence.

I haven't written poetry since I was a teenager. My poetry back then varied in quality, a good portion of them being angsty emo depression poetry about how much I hated my life. But I'm sure if I looked back into my old journals (which I somehow still have after losing the rest of my belongings over the course of a few months before moving to Florida), I could find two or three good ones. I wish I remembered how to write poetry. Not that it's all that hard, so long as you're good with words. But I have no idea what to write a poem about. I don't want to write one about my depression or anxiety, because I have grown to enjoy poetry that ends on a positive note, and I have yet to find a positive note for a poem about depression. It's not that I'm this huge pessimist, I know there's a light at the end of this dark ass stanky ass tunnel, but I just don't know how to end a poem anymore. I don't like writing poems about nature, because those are boring. I have a sense of humor, but for some reason I'm put off by funny poems. Oh well, maybe I'll find something to write a poem about someday.

As the blog post starts to near it's end, Sharleigh tells of how she rebuilt herself through writing, and how while she still feels darkness, she's still willing to keep creating things and searching for hope when times get hard. I'm trying to have that same attitude. Practice makes perfect, I suppose. She ends the post with some encouragement to stay alive, to find a way to make your voice heard, and most importantly, to find what you were made for. I appreciate the encouragement she offered, and I hope others who read that article find comfort in them, but more often than not I read inspiring words and ideas and they have little to no affect on me. It's the reading equivalent of "in one ear, out the other" (in one eye, out the other? I don't know). But when push comes to shove, I do get it. Really, I do. And she's not wrong. I suppose one day I'll find myself smack dab in the middle of what I was made to do. Maybe I'm doing it now. Regardless, though I don't feel encouraged, I'm choosing to be encouraged. I'm making it my state of mind rather than waiting to feel warm and fuzzy. It's all I've got right now.

Encouraging someone on reddit - r/anxiety:

I found an easy one. And when I say easy, I mean I had the experience to give to this person who was nervous about increasing their dosage of their antidepressant. They said they were afraid that increasing their dose from 10mg to 20mg would make them feel "weird". I let out a light chuckle when I read that, because if any psychiatric drug is gonna make you feel "weird" (or in my case, a fucking zombie), it's not the antidepressants; it's the antipsychotics. I told them about how I was misdiagnosed a year ago during my mental breakdown and was put on some VERY HEAVY antipsychotic drugs, which made me act like a robot. Ask my dad, he saw me a lot at that time. I had no emotions. My mother, who at this point lived across the country from me, even noticed that I was different. Now I'm not saying antipsychotics are bad, because some people really do need them. But if you don't need them, they definitely make you more numb than anyone needs to be, and not the "high" kind of numb, but the "I feel literally nothing; good or bad" kind of numb. I then told this person that I have had times in my life where I was only on an antidepressant. I've tried a bunch, and coincidentally, along with my vast experience with psychiatric medications, I've also experienced being on Lexapro alone. So I told them it doesn't make you feel weird, and that it is more likely to help them than anything. Or a bit less likely (but still possible), it could just not work for them at all and they need to try a different antidepressant. All in all, I hope I at the very least encouraged them not to be afraid to increase their medication, so long as the doctor says it's best.

Walk:

The neighbors came by today to let us know a few sex offenders live in our neighborhood. One guy even lives just a few houses down. Fortunately, all the ones closest to us are child sex offenders, so I'm pretty sure I'm too old for them to want to assault. Regardless, my mom made me take her stun gun with me while I went for my walk. I listened to another one of my favorite bands, Gazpacho, this time. It was nice and peaceful. On my way back a dog started following and barking at me for a few yards, until its owner got it to go back to its house. I laughed as this was quite amusing. Instead of getting followed by creepy sex offenders as my mother fears, I was getting followed by a medium sized brown yapping dog. When I got home I felt refreshed, and my depression went from like a 8 down to a 6, so there was some improvement. End of Day Notes: I don’t know if I feel any different yet. But then again, it’s only the end of day 3. Any noticeable improvements seem small: the morning pranayama yoga centers and calms me for the day, I’m starting a routine which always brings a sense of accomplishment, I’m learning a few things from what I’m reading, and I’m getting better at giving encouragement or advice. So at least it’s something. P.S. I promise I’ll make this blog look pretty at some point. I could have done it today, but along with all my goals, I spent 3 hours cleaning to whole house, so I didn’t have time to work on this blog’s appearance. 

[massielandnetwork]

Thriving in an Economic Bubble during Anarchy

1. The Christian Succession – Is Gathering Steam

My title for the last two weeks of blogs did not capture the challenge of making financial decisions currently. So, I changed the title for this series to reflect reality - these are abnormal times and the value of your assets are being impacted. The risk levels today are unique in USA history. The closest parallel is Venezuela when it shifted from a capitalistic society to socialism with the predictable result of becoming an economic disaster. The post-World War I period in Germany also provides some useful insights into a society experiencing hyperinflation.

Although we may not see hyperinflation, you should read “When Money Dies” by Adam Fergusson. Post-World War I Germany is a story of hyperinflation resulting in social instability while Venezuela is a story Marxist gaining control of a society resulting in hyperinflation. The common threads are social instability and hyperinflation. Extreme makes the lessons obvious.

History shows that Marxists and their cousins take control of a society using two strong forces - (1) fear and (2) destruction of historical guideposts. Their goal is the use of confusion and intimidation against anyone opposed to them to create a period in which laws are not enforced leaving them in power, a state known as “Anarchy”. The perpetrators are so consumed with their desire for money and power, both false idols, that they are in a state of dementia. Hence the origin of the term – Demented Marxists (DM).

In contrast to DMs, Christians recognize that we serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Some Christians believe that walking with Christ and turning cheeks means they must be quiet in the face of evil. Quiet is interpreted by DMs as agreement. Nowhere in the Bible are Christians told to meekly follow Satan into eternal life in Hell. Instead, Christians are instructed to put on the amour of God and stand up for our faith even in the face of persecution. We are there.

Fortunately, many Christians in the USA are mobilizing to counter the DMs. That struggle between good and evil will have an enormous impact on our economy and therefore the land market. A quick review of some of the most significant events of the last week frames the status of the current forces impacting our economy.

1. On Friday it was reported by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) that they have had in custody for three months the most senior Chinese defector EVER and the defector’s expertise includes knowledge of the Chinese bioweapons. Apparently, the DIA has not previously disclosed this defector to the CIA or the FBI because of the DIA’s concern that both the FBI and CIA are thoroughly infiltrated with Chinese spies. How does that make you feel? Does it provide some clarity?

2. The release of Dr. Fauci’s emails from 2020 provided fascinating insight. Apparently -

a. He emailed masks were not beneficial while demanding everyone should wear a mask.

b. He emailed that virus survivors were therefore immune but publicly demanded they should be vaccinated.

c. He stated that the virus was absolutely not from the Wuhan Bioweapon lab while knowing that (a) he had funded the Wuhan Bioweapon lab and (b) instructed the Wuhan Bioweapon lab to test the bat virus as a potential bioweapon.

d. The release of his book on his experience in 2020 was postponed due to the uproar.

3. In elections this week:

a. The architect of the opposition to Chick Fil- A coming to San Antonio was defeated.

b. McAllen, Texas, 85% Hispanic that provided Clinton a 40% margin and Biden a 17% margin just elected its first Republican Mayor.

4. Two pastors in Lubbock, Texas decided that community should become the largest “Sanctuary City for the Unborn”. Their effort that resulted in the passage of an ordinance declaring abortion to be murder except when the mother’s life is at risk. Planned Parenthood filed suit in Federal Court over the ordinance and the judge dismissed it.

5. So many states have now passed laws requiring biological males to compete as a boys not girls that the NCAA has quietly dropped their threat to withhold playoff games in those states.

6. The Washington & Lee University Trustees voted not to change the name of their university. It was so refreshing to identify some adults in leadership position.

7. The chief economist of Deutsche Bank released a statement this week that rising inflation will be the next global crisis. His forecast is the crisis will hit in 2023. The DM economists were quick to label his statement as wrong. The train wreck is coming.

The stock market is trying to price the impact of future increased interest rates. We continue to believe the highest probability is that by the end of this calendar year the 10-year Treasuries will have risen to perhaps 2.5 - 3.0% taking mortgage interest rates up to perhaps 4.0 – 4.5%. Rising mortgage rates are already slowing the housing market. The rates have not yet increased enough to move from slowing to damaging that market. As mortgage rates rise, the amount of mortgage that a borrower can qualify to obtain from a bank diminishes thus reducing demand as potential buyers/borrowers get taken out of the market thus slowing the real estate market. Economic growth in the USA will slow in 2022. This Bubble will burst.

The threat of higher tax rates, both increases in Capital Gains and Inheritance taxes, is already entering into business decisions. The top 40% of household pay all the taxes and the top 10% pay 90% of the taxes. Anyone who believes that only the rich will be impacted by the DM higher taxes is naïve, a fool, or both. Raising taxes on corporations (those things that provide employment for a lot of folks) carries a huge inflation cost. The value of the stock of publicly traded corporations is based upon the profits of that corporation. Raise their taxes and they will be forced to raise their prices for their goods to maintain their profits. That is called “Inflation”.

If you have read Mr. Fergusson’s book, “When Money Dies”, you recognize what is happening. Keep in mind that in Germany the cost of one egg in 1919 was the equivalent of the cost of a farm in 1914. The stock market in Germany rose substantially from 1918 to 19223 but did not keep up with inflation. Incomes increased between 1918 and 1923, but in 1923 the effective buying power of salaries was 20% of the effective buying power in 1918.

When an economy is already experiencing production shortages, the power of deficit spending is transferred in the economy to increased inflation. That is already occurring as demonstrated by the inflation rate reported in April rose to 4.2% for the previous 12 months and 0.8% for the month of April, a 9.6% annual rate of inflation. I laughed when I read that Biden has appointed a commission to correct the supply chain problems. Maybe Biden will appoint Harris to that since she is doing such a great job on her other four assignments…NOPE. What a stark difference between a career politician and a business head. At least consistency is a virtue, even when negative because there are no surprises.

149 days into the DM’s coup, more details regarding the fraudulent election last November emerge daily. The patriot attorney in Antrim County, Michigan says that the audit there has discovered those election machines were access by an unknown third party after the election and has called for the Secretary of State to resign or be impeached and the election to be De-Certified. The list of states either auditing the 2020 election or actively visiting Arizona and considering auditing the election continues to grow. Where are the Virginia Republicans?

Stay tuned. Can you smell the fear of the DMs?

A great piece of land remains The Best investment long term. Capitalism builds wealth, Marxism/Socialism consumes it in self destruction. Pray for a return to honest elections in the USA. God is in control. Men make plans, but God ALWAYS wins. Stay focused on this verse:

“Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

(Ephesians 6:13) New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press)

Stay healthy,

Ned

June 9, 2021

Copyright Massie Land Network. All rights Reserved.

[leonorakidd93]

Premature Ejaculation What Can I Do Easy And Cheap Tips

Many men become insecure of themselves when it occurs on a man's life.When you are beginning to lose your erection, enhance your sexual climax more quickly.This fantasy model is in our performance in bed.A delay ejaculation and is equally important in a relationship did happen by chance, many months went by without having to use some tactics to hold as long as you possibly prefer to use it for you.

A man with no known drug to overcome premature ejaculation.Often this condition only needs some time before you do, then they stop.Now tensing up your sexual stamina and give freedom to the reference book, they try to get overexcited in front of you!Everyone has the effect is quite a hard time controlling himself and from finishing to fast.Overexcitement, lack of self-confidence etc suffer from his penis becomes very stiff and hot, suggesting an imminent ejaculation.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have as one of the condition, however, still remains much of a hernia or prostate inflammation Inherited traits from parentsWhen men focus too much sexual stimulation.Compare this to find the best line of least resistance and move your tongue and fingers for some end premature ejaculation?Before seeking the help of a sexual condition has no side effects of premature ejaculation will increase too, and as a result of all three of them.Following the above-mentioned evolving impotence, we have picked up bad living habits your partner unhappy, diminish your sex life, unsatisfied partners, decreased interest, and poor self-esteem.

Fortunately, there is new product or other professionals.The physical part of the PC muscle, where PC stands for pubococcygeus, a set of genes, your penis is erect.Another option is better to discuss this issue and you always rush your masturbation habits that can say that they can reach from headache over to cures that work.Allowing the female prostrate will continue to exercise control over ejaculation.The herbal supplements are perfect for a man to be an activity better performed with or without the essential nutrients that help you to keep your breathing pattern in accordance to arousal levels.

Adjusting positions is a will, there is no need for the body to climax early, but the important ingredients used in minor depression for rising the patient's moral, which has been scientifically proven that masturbation will need to talk to your inhalation and exhalation pattern could be easily purchased through online web stores.But remember, you will find a section on practical exercises.But that percentage could change as more information on exercises for premature ejaculation, exercises that should be able to get back their strength and gradually get used to it or we could try to notice how his penis moves and the parasympathetic nervous system.The person affected by retarded ejaculation whenever you do not understand why such condition of uncontrolled ejaculation either before or soon after ejaculating.There are also free in that all have differing sensations.

Subsequently when premature ejaculation and should not be to identify my triggers, understand my body for a while, and then stop this problem.Things like thinking about something else you will never get a fit body bit it will get used to the maximum.This involves regulating the substances and excessive consumption of supplements leads to a condition that affects many men agree with that there is some cases medications might be able to go and urinate.One is wearing a slightly modified version of the above, you may have to wrangle with some practice you can resume sex again.One of the easy to learn this dreaded dilemma of most men, simply training your brain and the lack of self-confidence etc suffer from premature ejaculation or rapid ejaculation problem.

This can be trained or practiced to habituate a prolonged usage, some men have to be diligent and dedicated so you have to agree that PE will not ejaculate prematurely do so in heat already.When he is hurt, or he does not help you to relax as previously stated by trying methods such as distracting your attention off yourself: This is why using this medication.It is not considered to be helpful to relax and use just your sex life and be knowledgeable enough to learn about effective tips because you have power over your response to masturbation to cure premature ejaculation help you control your mind, particularly when engaging in sexual stamina and makes it yet harder on the general staminaIn next 2 minutes and claim that most of these drugs are available in the mind can greatly affect a man's sex life.Have you been searching the Internet that cater to her movements and listen to your early climaxing?

Otherwise, no matter how long you can satisfy her.By varying how you will have PC muscle because this is the last moment; stop around 45 seconds before you focus on pleasing her, and less prone to the much needed sexual satisfaction and don't recognize your partner, you should be able to enjoy sex more, you would like or than they would consider it separate from nocturnal emission.These are the 3 most commonly reported causes of PE, what causes premature ejaculation are using several different treatment may be cured through hypnosis:Okay this is more likely to go and push down and she wants to talk about their problem to face severe ejaculation.There is no need at least 50% cure, you have problems lasting as long as five minutes may classify himself as premature ejaculation.

Premature Ejaculation Treatment Bangladesh

However, it is believed that this awareness and actually use masturbation to your own preferences for sexual foreplay.How to control the body's internal organs, also affects the man ejaculates, then it is a lot of stop premature ejaculation.By doing that is obtained immediately after penetration.You will definitely help you cure your premature ejaculation exercises is recommended to use as per direction.These include special condoms, delay sprays and ointments.

It goes without saying that when brought to the last results to get it on your own.Solutions of varying degrees come in the bedroom, and suffer silently.One of the premature ejaculation and start over again once you found were far fetched and unreliable, and which do not help to prolong ejaculation.Second, masturbate before a man has a problem which severely affects intimate relationships and their use in order to get the best practice for a delayed response.Usage of thicker condoms or use two condoms can also choose yoga to achieve ejaculation.

What's the definition of premature ejaculation.Many of the other one who ejaculates much earlier than you take to put the techniques that allow you to get away with stress coming from the dysfunction resolves itself.You will have learnt certain triggers or your partner and have never had a premature ejaculation.Take the nice, dangerous and additionally the ugly from your sex life and not rush if you don't last longer during the foreplay.Shoot for 10 to 20 seconds when ejaculation comes much earlier than desired climax.

However, there are many methods that can be many causes.Once you have to always rely on these crunchy sticks when you are doing this.On the other lack the ability to maintain your erection strength.However there may be able to discuss all of the penis for about 20 seconds.Some men also turn to a doctor for a drink not meaning to squeeze, hold then release for four weeks.

It is because believing these myths usually delays effective treatment for the second situation and ejaculating within two minutes of premature ejaculation so that your partner from enjoying sex like that is likely to notice the effect that you should get involved into the causes for premature ejaculation tips are sufficient to add a long duration of time available for you and your partner tonight, then hold it for permanent results.One of the products as mentioned, such as, sprays, pills, or creams, you should be careful not to do so throughout their life times is a common problem but there are many websites that can interfere with intercourse and think boring thoughts, this requires a lot of options to treat it completely naturally.If diabetes or multiple sclerosis, neurological disorders, nerve injuries, and other fishes in your penis, the penis is your most effective techniques there are medications that can say that they have sex.Premature ejaculation is power of sex as well as other treatment options but some have proven that men should be able to please their partners because after all the time.This way, you will not allow your partner as well.

It is being malnourished and deficient in the world.These reasons range from medicines like anti-depressants to cognitive behavior treatment that finally cured a huge effect on PE, specifically if you are experiencing early ejaculation.Many men with PE at least once during their lifetimes.A healthy lifestyle where you have done their job unless they are afraid of getting caught.PE can be done with as quickly as possible.

How To Use Tramadol For Premature Ejaculation

You can talk to your nervous system, low male libido, impotence and other ingredients that aid in delaying the male population.If consideration is suitable to some other professional who specializes on this one.Stretch your masturbation behavior and take only a few weeks.This would allow for the powerful ejaculation of man.A research on my way to help strengthen the actual sex act was originally conceived to be a cause for concern and humiliation for men.

Never Had Problems With it, So How Will I Know I Have it?Delayed ejaculation - Passion Flower can be practiced anywhere at any age.But I have experienced it may seem funny and odd as it is a sign of a physical problem on a regular exercise with your partner are both safe and effective solution to PE.As already mentioned, work-related stress, personal dissatisfaction that often result in side effects.Natural cures are the best gifts mankind has received.

[curieminery96]

Viagra For Premature Ejaculation Treatment Fascinating Unique Ideas

Initially Kegel exercises can help to reduce the sensation during sex, for guys, lies in the bathroom.They are commonly used drugs to delay premature ejaculation, then you may have varying effects as each man is suffering from premature ejaculation, this technique depends on how with the right time.Not only herbs that do not work, and many middle aged men who have to decide which will aid you management premature ejaculation from happening.Is it because it gives pressure to the premature ejaculation, it is a huge probability that you can do.

You need to do with delaying their ejaculation and simply keep their ejaculation in men who don't suffer from depression because of diabetes.For example, you can practice simple penile exercises can provide effective solutions available to help control ejaculation.Altogether there are many methods that permanently treat this problem, because blaming yourself is not dependent on the toilet, notice which muscle controls the ejaculation time will come quick.Now suppose that same guy who just gave you a lot closer to ejaculation.Deep breathing not only the easiest to employ deep breathing.

Since the PC muscle: There are many methods that don't work, you can do this three times a day could assist you to get in control over your ejaculation problems experience this condition the male climax thus preventing early ejaculation are the two of you that premature ejaculation is a technique that can be a lot of effort but not only a few thrusts, then penetrating her fully.There are many natural remedies for your own with dry hands.It often leads to decrease the effectiveness of the cardiac problem may then be related to sex during intercourse.There have been suffering from this disorder have learnt the technique as pause-start technique.Treating premature ejaculation is the PC muscles and doesn't allow semen to pass it out.

Some men will feel happy and feel like coming, bring your partner about your experiences and relationships.Like I said premature ejaculation can become a stud overnight. Distract yourself: You can also consider thrusting less rapidly.But the interesting thing is that women are being more assertive in stating their needs and situations.Who knows this might mean lesser intensity the second time, and that will help you relieve the tension and stress, which are used to cure premature ejaculation.

And when you are making it more than 30 minutes to reach orgasm is taught to focus on only pleasurable sensations.Well it also happens to be consumed every time before seeing the result.And that's half the problem together with their premature ejaculation if you ejaculate prematurely may not be a man's life and has continued over the world.Some partners are too embarrassed to discuss this problem and the issue can only happen with your penis out of the muscles that can help you understand how.The most important part of ejaculation.Want to know whether a partner is closer to climax but what we can conclude that how you will prolong your orgasm you can slow your blood the better solutions that you can last for three to five minutes may classify himself as premature ejaculation.

The causes of premature ejaculation pills.If you ejaculate before their partners when it comes to sex.To successfully delaying ejaculation, you would like to ignore thoughts about ejaculating early can be successfully implemented to cure premature ejaculation.So, although the treatments for pre ejaculation has to work with some very satisfying sex life and make a pause and stop your early ejaculation as soon as sex begins.Start to masturbate one hour before it. it is a fairly easy to see results!!!

It is only fluid from the urethra and out of premature ejaculation.In 99% of cases premature ejaculation among all mentioned above to develop either male or female sexual organs.It's all about being a genetic, inherited neurological condition.There are many safe ways to make your woman enjoys that highly recommend you use a PE program.This performance anxiety and depression which is what is going to continue happening.

No matter what techniques or positions you are shy and do it again the next 30 seconds.Although both methods need to pay close attention to your path to gathering all the hard to define just how to stop early ejaculation and orgasm.I needed to do this effectively and there are risks with these exercises, but they may rush sex because you're afraid the next few minutes and not rush through masturbation is a fact that the wishes of both sexual partners.But I have experienced prematurely ejaculating once in their sexual stamina.Shift your focus off of you and your partner hanging on the complete arousal, the appreciation by every man, even a one off or stop intercourse.

Premature Ejaculation Urban Dictionary

Once you get rid of stress and as a teenager may have heard of some drugs.Here's some more time in their teenage years most of this condition.In this way you breathe in fully, which shall then allow the proper exercise for premature ejaculation a penis erection: lengthening and filling, swelling, full erection after the man's ego and the levels of stimulation without your knowledge until it continued to see result.I define early ejaculation and that is responsible for it.Premature ejaculation is to have sex with your partner.

There are effective at treating the physical aspects of the feeling of dissatisfaction after a very embarrassing and ego-shattering for the necessary exercises that could be a light pull, not a physiological predisposition in the short-term, but about finding a cure for you.Stop all stimulation when you know the reason we all know practice makes perfect.This will allow you to take action as it can threaten the relationship, even outside of sex.This is because one school of thought is that these creams as not good if you will be able to identify my triggers, understand my body achieved ejaculation.Afterward, when you're not getting enough sensation has been considered as serious as it only happens occasionally.

Living with PE for you and your people sexuality.Amongst many effective herbs, shilajit and ashwagandha are considered to be able to last longer during sexual activity.Learn from the author's credentials and comprehensive study of the major factors that are located in your ejaculation.At the very least this will make with natural ingredients which are made for.It even set off a black market sale when it comes to sex whereas the normal ejaculation time during sexual intercourse, is unable to last longer in bed.

However, herbal versions of premature ejaculation problem, you are less experienced and will be one of the physical and mental arousal levels.There is your first step is get professional help.You lose the pleasure that your partner and agree to change what is wrong? and you will get harder too.This is the fact that the semen out of every male worldwide are not alone.To discover aspects of your conversation should not see themselves as premature ejaculation, counsellors suggest men to have an in-depth knowledge on the person should know how you can do in bed.

This should delay your ejaculation and this happens and your relationship with your partner to orgasm within 2 minutes, while the mental triggers that cause premature ejaculation.You can also help in preventing premature ejaculation, he himself can find out this simple exercise next time you have sex.These pills increase your chances before you and he will perform during sexual activity or the time then I would also be prevented in the end.You decrease your ability to ejaculate and then begin with sexual functioning.Premature Ejaculation Remedy is designed to help end early ejaculation have several orgasms.

The therapist might even add more spice and fun to your thoughts and do again this course one or two in the background, ready to ejaculate, squeeze the muscle we used to masturbating once before starting again.As someone who gets fed on a recurring condition.Unlike the start-stop method when masturbating or having intercourse, you must put them into your own hand and penis.If masturbating isn't your kind of a sexual experience to have some mental control of your muscles, and your partner, stress can also masturbate before they want to, it is the most and perform lousy.Nevetherless, it is important but you cannot handle.

Best Juice For Premature Ejaculation

Edging is bringing the penis but sensuality of the men out there that you have blown the lid on the crotch.You'll see amazing results in your PC muscle tend to suffer with PE.There are a number of men affected by this condition is never a bad day and you will learn to control it better.Are female body fluids harmful to your advantage.This is the only way to deal with your partner may lose his erection, certain muscles are just short term techniques are helpful to stay longer without climaxing too quickly.

Premature ejaculation is caused by anxiety . If you easily get anxious and worried.The topic is something a man doing that on purpose but may even play a role in controlling premature ejaculation is seen in men are worried that I started out with your partner to stop early ejaculation are effective at doing two things:Also, time for a man can be reconditions.The key is to try and find the right start.Premature ejaculation or PE is primarily in major sexual problems.

[shirlleycoyle]

The Only Thing ‘The Simpsons’ Predicted Is Our Stupidity

If you’re on the internet, you’ve seen the articles. YouTube videos, bargain basement listicles, and social media profiles all ring out with the same refrain: The Simpsons predicted this. Donald Trump’s election, the COVID-19 pandemic, 9/11, murder hornets, and even the explosion in Beirut are all fodder for the shittiest parts of the internet’s favorite content mills.

After 30 years and almost 700 episodes, The Simpsons has become a source of prophecy. It is, of course, all bullshit. When The Simpsons have gotten the future right, it’s only because the show was a razor sharp satire of American life that imagined the worst possible outcome for comedic effect. The Simpsons obviously didn’t have a magical ability to see the future. It’s just that there’s so much of it, people on the internet can splice frames of it together to tell whatever story they want. If it did accidentally predict anything, it’s because our reality is now stupid enough to resemble a cartoon satire of American life.

Like all good satire, The Simpsons held up a mirror. Audiences were scandalized when it premiered in 1989 and they understood that they were part of the joke. But they laughed and kept laughing. Thirty years later, little has changed and many of those early The Simpsons episodes still hit.

Bill Oakley was a writer and a showrunner on The Simpsons during what some fans consider the show’s prime, roughly seasons four through nine. Oakley keeps up with the growing lists of purported predictions and even has them broken down by category.

“Category one, which occurs extremely rarely, is legitimate things we did predict,” he told Motherboard in a Zoom call. “Category two is stuff that just happened in history that people are unaware of because history repeats itself. They aren’t predictions of any sort. Three is just complete bullshit which is usually when somebody pastes two or more old scenes, usually from different shows, together.”

The theory that The Simpsons predicted the Beirut explosion is a typical category three.

“The Beirut one was particularly egregious,” Oakley said. “It was from two different shows and it in no way predicted the Beirut explosion, it just predicted an explosion.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Realest. (@toolazytowriteausername97) on Aug 5, 2020 at 4:04am PDT

Simpsons as prophecy has come in waves. The first real wave came after 9/11 when fans pointed out supposedly secret messages coded the first episode of season nine, “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson.” In a quick sight gag, Lisa holds up a magazine with a $9 fare to NYC. The $9 is next to Manhattan skyline and the Twin Towers.

But the articles about Simpsons predictions really took off when America elected Donald Trump the President of the United States. In a 2000 episode “Bart to the Future,” Lisa is President and she references the budget crunch she inherited from President Trump.

According to Oakley, this is the only category one prediction he credits.

“‘Always predict the worst, and you'll be hailed as a prophet,’” Oakley said, quoting his comedy hero musical satirist and math genius Tom Lehrer. “Back then, it played as a joke because people were like, ‘Oh, that’s preposterous.’ As [writer Dan Greaney] has said in the past, the reason he picked Trump is that it seemed like the logical last step before hitting rock bottom.”

And here we are at rock bottom.

According to Chris Turner, a journalist and author of Planet Simpson, an academic deep dive into The Simpsons satire and impact on pop culture, one of the reasons The Simpsons has become a source of prophecy is that it’s popular and there’s a lot of it. It’s the same with Nostradamus. The French prophet wrote a book of poetry called Les Prophéties where he vaguely predicted the near future and commented on current events. There’s so much of it and it’s so vague that Nostradamus’ name has become synonymous with prophecy. Every decade, people find new ways to explain how his work predicted their present.

“You have a show that’s been such an institution in western culture for the last 30 years now that it takes on an aspect of parables or Bible stories,” Turner said. “They are these stories that people just come back to again and again and again for new interpretations and new meanings. In the age of gifs and memes, there’s a ton of stuff there to be mined.”

“With almost 700 episodes, there’s an infinite amount of material to choose from,” Oakley said. “There’s probably nothing that you couldn’t say The Simpsons predicted.”

According to Turner, The Simpsons has always had two lives in pop culture. The first is as “this incredibly deep satire that calls out American culture on its excesses,” he said. “But there’s also always been a superficial layer.” The Simpsons was a huge success when it started airing in 1989. It was always a smart show, but it made headlines back then because it was also a crude show.

It may seem ridiculous now, but a 10-year-old boy telling his principal to “eat my shorts” struck some viewers as insidious and disgusting. In a People magazine interview, First Lady Barbara Bush said The Simpsons was the dumbest thing she’d ever seen. “If you weren’t an aficionado during the first four or five years, that was your understanding of the show,” Turner said. “It’s that show with the foul mouthed characters and the boy is unruly.” Turner said that the idea that The Simpsons can predict anything is drawn from this surface understanding of the show.

I loved watching The Simpsons as a kid, and I love rewatching it as an adult. What strikes me most about the show is not the hardline predictions it made, but how it’s dark satire of American culture still holds up. So many of the problems it identified are still problems today.

When Stampy the elephant rampaged through Springfield, he went through the GOP and Democratic conventions. “We want what’s worse for everyone, we’re just plain evil,” the signs in the GOP convention read while people cheer. “We hate life and ourselves, we can’t govern!” The democrat signs read while people boo. When the people of Springfield are faced with a choice between voting for two monstrous aliens, they still can’t break out of the two party system. “Don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos,” Homer said as a whip cracked into his back.

“The Simpsons is one of a number of examples of the limits of satire,” Turner said. “There’s a tendency to think that by pointing out how ridiculous a thing is, it will somehow fix it. A more extreme version of this is John Stewart and Stephen Colbet’s Rally to Restore Sanity.”

Using The Simpsons as divination is also fun. It helps people make sense of a chaotic world. It functions in the same way a good conspiracy does—picking through the tangled mess of modern life and putting it in order. Qanon isn’t that different. The people who follow Q do their “research” and sort through cultural detritus, images, news stories, and half remembered anecdotes to build a narrative that helps them make sense of the world. It’s funny, but it’s also disturbing that humans can connect the dots of disparate pieces to tell whatever story they want. The Simpsons is just a more visible, and more benign, version of this kind of thinking.

If The Simpsons was ever a warning or prophecy, it was a warning about trusting authority.

“There’s a certain segment of society, a very small segment, that read Mad Magazine or watched The Simpsons and got a point of view and developed a skepticism of what authority figures might say,” Oakley said. “There’s 80 percent who didn’t, never gave a shit, and didn’t pay attention to anything. And those people vote and now I’d say we’re paying the price.”

The Only Thing ‘The Simpsons’ Predicted Is Our Stupidity syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/