#and neither would Panos

[24thmemberkatienolan]

I just KNOW Mapi is laughing at that own goal right now

[cat-mentality]

Not, like, to passar o pano to everything like a fool or to sound too delusional but like.................... the Federation coming up on the last moments to save the day makes sense.

Okay, hear me out.

The whole point of the Federation is to make the Islanders happy, to make sure they enjoy the Island and shut the fuck up about anything else that may be going one.

They have them the eggs. So that they could go around and play house and to make the Island feel like a home so that they didn't try to leave.

They made them fragile, so that they could be used as bait, as they could subtly keep people in line by making it clear that they could take the eggs away as easily as they gave them. I like to think the nightmares are actually real, but that the Federation just decided to act and restore the egg's life and make everything feel like a bad dream (Since we KNOW they can bring the kids back, as seen with Flippa, and also mess up with people's memories).

But even so the Islanders start to hate them. They hate the Federation and they rebel against them, they are neither enjoying the Island or playing nice like the Federation wants them to and that is not acceptable something has to be done.

They try, but they fucking fail every single time, in fact they basically make it worse.

And then the eggs run away and the Islanders go missing.

Of course the Federation will jump ship to save the kids the moment they discover where they may be.

What better way to make the Islanders happy? They were out of control when the kids are missing and blaming the Federation the one time they are actually innocent, the only way to fix it would be to push themselves into the savior role and bring them back

Present the kids with a smile and a subtle "Look at us. Look at us doing what you failed to. You tried to bring them back and you failed, you almost lost them, but we brought them back, we rescued and took care of them, we gave them a extra life, aren't we nice? Aren't we great?", putting themselves as the saviors, as the heroes, as more powerful than the Islanders, as able to take care of them better than they can take care of themselves. (Breaking serious analysis to say: Mother knows best vibes. Literally the Federation is fucking Gothel)

Everything is perfect now! The kids are back, there are new kids for them to love, the Island is as good as new again!

No one has to pay attention to those who are still missing. They are gone! Don't you see, we went to the Island and we didn't find them, they are gone (how fucking tragic that those missing are the loose lines, the worker who they know they can't trust, the experiments who knew too much, the infected islander, the man who couldn't keep himself out of their bussiness), what a tragedy. But focus on the children! They are so weak and fragile now, they need all your attention, you wouldn't want them to be sad would you?

And now this.

Now there is this entity wrecking havoc, putting the children at risk, destroying everything when things are still trying to be fixed.

And the Islanders can't do a fucking thing against him.

But the Federation can. They know they can. But they wait, they wait until the last seconds, they let them try, they let them plot, they let them die.

And when they are desperate, when they are begging for their help, when they have no other choice, that's the moment the Federation comes.

They come and they fix the issue easily.

The heroes, yet again, taking a away the danger, saving the children. Another message "You can't do this without us. You are weak, helpless, what would you do without us? Don't you see? You need us."

Of course the Federation will come and save the day over and over again, they want to make sure the Islanders feel they depend on them.

[astramachina]

WIP questionnaire tag

the indomitable @fortunatetragedy tagged me on this baby while i was away and boy howdy do i love talking about my projects.

diving headfirst into The Singularity Project (codename: T.E.S. CO) for this one, babes.

What’s the first part of your WIP that you created?

The Vibes. Last October I was being harassed by a brain worm (lol) that did not want to become concrete in any way, and the only way I could get it down was by writing "the vibes" of what I wanted. Those vibes included "hazy 60s lounge", "synth", "Panos Cosmatos' style for weird ass stuff", and "burnt orange".

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

What Have You Become by MNQN, but more 80s-fied. And because I feel like it, it's end credits song would be I Remember by Tristam but like... slightly more melancholic.

What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

So far, it'll have to be Verne. Neither hero or villain, he's the protagonist's father, and while he isn't physically in the story (as far as I can tell) he inescapably haunts the narrative. By "saving the world" the only way he thought possible, he doomed his son to a life no one deserves. He's also a silly guy who thinks himself a god (derogatory) and is wanted for several crimes against humanity. Second fave is Mike, our deuteragonist. He's just a guy trying to make a living but his work crush has been acting super weird by knocking back 20+ cans of soda per shift and claiming he can "hear the Mall speaking to him".

What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

Tumblrinas (affectionate, gender neutral) would probably also be reblogging some horror webseries things (SCP, The Walten Files, The Backrooms, etc), as well as more classic horror such as Re-Animator, The Thing, and The Fly.

What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

.......Yes. When the story started to form I struggled with the idea of capturing it in a single medium. I am first and foremost a writer, obvs, but a lot of the story relied heavily on visual storytelling. I eventually decided to turn this into a "multi-media project", which means there's a huge chunk of writing, but there are also segments that can only be experienced through audio and visuals (and maybe some fun ARG-esque puzzles). Three POVs? Each POV has its own timeline and its own medium? Did I embark on a multi-month journey to learn Blender and video editing? Am I still trying to get the story down? The answer is yes. (Help me.)

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Yes. Mike has an anthill because it's the only thing he can keep alive.

How do your characters travel/get around?

In the 1911 portion? Via ship. Ernest Shackleton's ship on its voyage to the Antarctic, to be exact. In the 1981 portion? Via bus. Mike's too broke to afford a car. In the 2021 portion? Via car. [Cy] is the man with the plan... and also the car to drive his crew around.

What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

Mike's journals, which covers the events of 1981 through 1983. This part is the bulk of the entire project, and the part that is mostly told through writing.

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) will you think draw your audience in?

So many morally gray characters. But also morally corrupt characters. And morally confused characters.

I hope you like your monsters goopy, and your effects practical.

Don't worry about the cult swearing they can save the soul of a poor young "confused" man.

The true friends were the transgender allegories we made along the way.

What is the point of Man vs. Machine when the Man knows not what he is.

The worm can talk and it has anxiety. I think it's gay?

What are your hopes for your WIP?

TO COMPLETE IT. LMAO. Mostly I just want to be able to stand up and say "Hey, look what I made! I made it because I wanted to and all my hard work paid off!" But I guess it would also be neat to have some sort of cult following? Would love to see fanart of what people think some of the characters look like! I wanna see fic! Give me fan songs I can blast while I drive! I wanna see certain YouTubers react/try to "solve" it so that I can sit there shaking my head. You know. The usual.

this took way longer than i expected so i'ma quick tag @ap0stle, @kairahara, @wrencatte, and YOU.

[spacecadetspe]

Oct. 8, 2024

There's too much total chaos to put into a single post, but I'll do my best. I hate that I've gone two more weeks without posting, but it's taken me that long to reach a point where I have the time and mental capacity to do anything.

W's birthday was October 1st. I have been trying to dutifully keep up with X about it, making sure I know where and when the party is, along with semi-gentle reminders to get the birthday invitations distributed in a timely manner. His party was the last weekend in September.

W, for his part, was a good sport about it all. He introduced me to someone he calls "Nana," supposedly someone else on K's estranged side of the family, via FaceTime. Neither of us was expecting the other on the call, but it was pleasant enough for an initial introduction. But I was really surprised when Nana showed up at the birthday party. She and her husband, who W refers to as "Grumps," live in the Florida panhandle, and rushed up to attend this little boy's birthday party.

Then I found out why. X had not distributed the children's invitations until the Thursday prior to the party, and only two of W's friends RSVPed that they would be attending. X had empty seats to fill, and K's family and his own estranged sisters filled in the gaps. He explained it to me, hoping I would be kind and let it go, but I knew exactly what needed to be said in the moment.

"You are not allowed to give me shit for planning stuff at the last minute ever again." Short, sweet, and to-the-point. Not enough to verbally castrate him in public, but enough to stand up for myself and tell him I hadn't forgotten about the bullshit he pulled last year.

He conceded with a nod. "Fair enough," he mumbled.

It was an awkward party. There was almost no adult socializing, except with one of the moms of the two kids who attended. She was a lovely mom of four, and we had a great conversation. Everyone else exchanged meaningless pleasantries and then quietly kept to their individual tables.

But I was there for my kid, and he was happy.

That week, we had another visitor show up in the Dream World: a primordial entity, child of Chaos, who refused to tell us his name except in a warped dialect of Astral. Luckily, one of Pasithea's suitors, Matarajin, recognized him. Saisei Kizen, the embodiment of rebirth. Saisei Kizen came to the Dream World in search of the keys Erebus had left behind (but I don't know where they are). He called our world "an affront to the natural order," but refused to elaborate. He just kept insulting us and being destructive. He brought with him an army of yokai, many of which I am still corralling and occasionally dispatching.

I didn't want to kill the embodiment of rebirth, so for the time being, I put him to sleep. But even with him out cold, the stress in the waking world kept mounting. Stress at work, depression at home, and little time to do anything but sleep and eat. And then he woke up. It took Ingrid, me, and both our Epithet Weapons to subdue Saisei Kizen in his deluded state, and even afterwards I could feel the trigger of the last ten years bare its ugly head.

Delusion. I felt despair sink over me, crushing me into the floor. Delusion means they don't care for anything except an echo chamber. Not me, not you; only themselves and their vision of perfection. Something that nearly killed me, and seemed to be cropping up everywhere I looked.

My places of work. My home. My family. I couldn't shake it.

I fled back to the Nekromanteion in search of Panos. But would it be enough? No matter what kind of pain he dealt me, I had to get rid of this pressure inside me, and I didn't know who else to trust.

And then it hit me, and I cried out for help. "Michael."

He was there in an instant, cradling my head in his lap and pouring that harsh holy light into me. He stayed with me while the dream spirits tried to process me. I don't know how well that worked; I'm still having nightmares. Maybe it's just cleaning up and putting out the last few of the fires.

I took Monday off to go to an interview (Praise Mother) and take my dog to the vet. I had intended to go to lessons afterwards, but the vet discovered a mass under her jaw and we had to stay. The stress of thinking about how everything piled up against me was so great that I burst into tears while on the phone with the School's receptionist.

She was lovely, though, and rescheduled all my students but one, who I will see Thursday.

I went home and collapsed in Fortitude's arms, and it was the best thing I could've done.

[imarainosaurss]

An exchange between us.

Hmmmmm, if you lost your memory, ang pinaka una ko sigurong ikwekwento about us ay kung gano ako na inlove sayo. I'll focus on the part na minahal kita kasi I want you to know first kung anong halaga mo sakin. How much I loved you. Sasabihin ko sayo pano ako na in love sayo and how amazing you are. I'll convey my feelings muna before telling you about us. Mag coconfess ako ulit and tell you na I've been interested sayo since nakita kita na I want to sit in silence with you until that wants turned into something more. From just wanting to sit in silence with you, to I want you yo rely to me, to I want to be useful to you hanggang sa want ko to crawl inside you. I'll tell you ny mistakes after that na sinubukan kitang iwan pero hindi ko rin kaya kasi mahal na mahal kita. I'll ask for forgiveness again. Yun lang, the first thing I'd tell you ay kung how much I've loved you kasi I know hindi mo ako maalala and you think na stranger lang ako so hindi kita pipilitin na tanggapin yung story natin pero gusto ko na tanggapin mo yung sa part ko :>

hmm. I would assume na I have my scrapbook ready by that time, if you ever lost your memory and I would have to tell you about us, I'd walk you through by using that. I'll tell you about our relationship talaga. I will tell you how much we loved each other. How we first met and how the feelings still remain. I will tell you how much you mean to me. Kung gaano kita ginatreasure and how your presence was the melody to my every day. If hindi mo parin gud ako makilala, feel ko I'll just have you let you be kasi that would hurt your brain siguro? malay ko ba, pero like, I wouldn't force you. As long as masabi ko sa'yo ang past natin and yung sa akin, I think it's gwaenchana.

I actually think na the only thing that can destroy a relationship is yourself. If nag cheat ka that's because may something sayo, if liar ka that's because may something din sayo. Everything is rooted into ourself, nasa mentality natin lahat. If you're someone na not fixed, of course hindi rin magiging fix ang relationship mo. If hindi ka healed from something then expect na it will haunt you and maapektohan ang partner mo. If you don't love yourself then don't expect na you truly love someone or even know the definition of love. Everything starts and ends from you. I think ang factor talaga na nakakasira ng relationship ay ang mental health natin pero it's still up to you kung pano mo siya i act or i behave. Factor lang yan

One of a few I think would be complacency? If you are referring to factors, I think that would be one. for others kasi, like base sa nakikita ko, sa first we put so much time and effort but by the time na you have this person na, you stop doing things for them kasi you get too "comfortable" na with the idea na you already have them. complacent in a way na you are fine with each other pero deep down kay hindi na kayo happy? neither of you talk it out, which may hurt the relationship. Alam mo yunnn? paano ba. like, change is constant yes, but you don't do things that makes that person feel loved anymore- pwede siya makaignite ng insecurities which will gradually affect that person so is the relationship din. they will feel undervalued and neglected.

I think out of the three questions ito ang pinaka madali sagutin pero it's something na I don't I wanna go through. If I lose you this time. I'll never forget you BWHAHAHHA. Everything about you, your face, your expressions, your voice, your personality, just everything about you. If I lose you this time I think I'll be stuck haunted by the ghost of you since I can see you in everything and anything. I would never love and look at anyone else the way I do to you. Those things na ginawa natin together will be gate keep by me. Alam ko if I lose you this time, final na yun, and you know that I'll continue living my life. Siguro I'll get married and have kids pero I want you to know that even if taht shits happened, I still don't think na I'll ever get over you. Alam ko ang mga bagay na dapat kong gawin pero alam ko rin na kahit gawin ko yun, I can't force myself to be fully present in that future kasi bga I'm stuck here haunted by you. I'll see you in the wind, in the clouds, in the breaze, in the warm of the sun, the brightest blue sky, actually everything is you. When I close my eyes, it's still you. Moving on from you is impossible even if I'm already in the future that I've originally planned. I already gave you everything, my mind, body and soul. If mawala ka sakin, wala na talagang matitira. Even if I smile, laugh or something at other people, it still wouldn't never come close from those things na I shared to you. I really don't wanna look at anything else ngayon na nanjan ka na. Ayaw ko narin isipin ang iba ngayon. I think nakaka relate na ako sa daylight bi Taylor BWHAHAHHAA. Pano ba naman eh you have me, mind, body, and soul. Even if I lose you din no, I wouldn't want to forget you. You are my everything at 19 to present, you are not just an experience. Even if it'll kill me by remembering you, I'll still choose to die over and over again just to see a glimpse of you. I love you so much and it's true

everything about you would be so hard to forget. it wouldn't just be a single thing, but the entirety of your essence. your laughter, the way your laughter lights up even my dullest-boring days, the feeling of being understood completely by you. it's the way you effortlessly make my world brighter, leaving an unfading mark sa aking life. the memories we've created and our shared dreams. your warmth and the shade of your eyes. that feeling of "home" na nararamdaman ko sa presence mo. the way you believed in me when no one did. I would never love anyone the way I love you, iniiyakan ko nalang minsan yung thought na sana hindi ka lang phase sa buhay ko, you will never be. if ever na mawala ka from me, chapters close dili na ako mag entertain ng questions. lahat ng mga ginawa natin. I will really see you in everything. mapapa "what about the plans we made?" nalang talaga ako. you're not just a part of my life po, you are the very heart of it kaya losing you would mean losing my sanity rin haha.

[fusrodie]

@le-cat-nipp

TYet we are still free to debate over argumentation we are usin, so u do with mine as i do with urs. You put ur opinion out there and i disagree with ur statement. As I mention many times, ethan's main objective was to retrive Rose, not engage in a fight, unless he isn't push to do so. He was fully aware of danger he is goin to meet. As u insist that they were controlled by megamycete, then u should be aware they couldn't be reason with

Therefore there was no other way than to kill em. Beside I don't understand how u can put equal mark between self defence and murder. Murder is when u have intention to kill, in ethans case he wanted to protect himself. Cool motive, still murder quote won't cut out here. And I don't say them villains were didn't have any good qualities, but its not enough. In Ethan's case i just can't see how his intentions to save his daughter would be twisted as bad.

But yeah, I guess we will never agree on this subject, because for me ethan's character is as simple as this. He went trough hell twice, he want his family safe. I m not goin to debate on it any longer, i don't see point cause, as u said neither of us will be convinced.

look, I'm going to be very, very blunt with you and then we're going to put a rock over this. to call this whole exchange a "debate" would imply both of us are listening and answering accordingly. that is not the case. I presented you with arguments and you ignored them. I pointed out inconsistencies in your arguments and you went on a tangent to find something else. not a debate, you're just really hanging on to your opinion and parroting over the same things without taking mine into consideration. cool, have fun with that. I definitely would have taken your point of view into consideration if there was something there in the first place that you had really refuted me on. I can't really tell if you're doing this on purpose or something I said got lost in translation, but considering you aren't really bringing anything new to the table we're going to call it quits here. I teach people to read and write for a living, but I couldn't be arsed to do it for free for a stranger on the internet. feel free to check the Ethan Winters debacle tag on my blog if you ever feel like giving my arguments a proper read.

all that being said, if you ever feel like actually debating something, I'm game and the channel will remain open. I expect there will still be DLC to come for the game so hopefully we'll get some new lore peppered in for further experimentation with :)

now, quick recap of my entire point: Ethan showed no compassion towards the suffering of people in the village, Ethan wouldn't see past his own pain and squandered other people's emotions because they weren't human enough in his eyes. Ethan is a huge hypocrite because not only was he driven by the same motivation as them (because the game's underlying theme is family), he was also quite literally the same as them. Ethan does not get a free pass because he's the protag. we call that "passar pano" where I'm from and it's a really bad look on everyone. Ethan's suffering isn't more important than the years of torture and experimentation the lords and the village went through. Ethan's one day of fresh loss can't be quantified, let alone be compared to horrors untold that Miranda unleashed on an entire community over the course of a century because she, too, was trying to save her daughter. Ethan will now watch from the afterlife as the daughter he killed so many to save is treated exactly the same as he treated them. Ethan got exactly what he deserved.

[eve-of-halloween]

so poly had a son who was so frail he had to get his altmode deactivated to live. And neither shockwave or megatron thought of just getting rid of him. An accident with a mad forge is easy to arrange.

Id you think poly wouldnt KILL a forge to protect their child. You dont know Poly. And Poly never left Panos side for long when ge was a sparkling. They knew better than anyone that Megatron or their own carrier was more than disappointed with Pano. And Poly knows just how opportunistic Shockwave is.

Unlike sone bots, Poly wouldnt hesitate to take the shot. Be ut against a forge, their carrier, overlord or even Megatron himself.

It would be very very unlikely to successfully trick poly that it was an accident and carrier protocals would make poly something even a forge would fear.

You do not touch their offspring.

As for if Megatron would do something like that only @pastelpaperplanes could say. But shockwave isnt dumb and would not want to set off poly. Or Poly will go from an asset to an enemy and that would turn Nex against the cause as well.

[architectuul]

The Greek Experiment

The first initiative for an architecture exhibition within the Venice Biennale was taken by La Biennale di Venezia in 1975 when Vittorio Gregotti was appointed as a director of Visual Arts. Since his appointment three major exhibitions were organised between 1975 and 1978 and finally in 1980 the Architecture department got detached from the Art Biennale and became independent under the presidency of Giuseppe Galasso (1979-1982), who appointed Paolo Portoghesi as director. 

Read also “What Fundamentals? Revisiting Treasures in Disguise” and “The Introverted Seismograph”

It was that year when the 1st International Architecture Exhibition was held in Venice titled La presenza del passato. During the first 15 years there were no national pavilions participating to the Biennale, until its 5th edition in 1996 under the curation of Austrian architect Hans Hollein, who decided to follow the standards of the Visual Arts Biennale and hosted national participations for the first time. 

Since then, most of the national pavilions throughout the years have attempted to demonstrate each country’s architecture history and special qualities by responding to each year’s curatorial agenda. However, very often there have been cases when architecture itself was 'overshadowed' by a socio-political condition (e.g a war, a revolution, a natural disaster, an economic crisis, etc.) affecting one or multiple countries. In these cases, national pavilions became bold statements and curators used them as pretext to express their ideas responding to the emergent condition. In the past two decades the European economy has suffered from a deep recession followed by a migrant crisis which triggered a general instability across the continent. As a result, Architecture Biennale reflected both on a national and an international level on these cases examining how the profession and built environment have been affected by these conditions.

Since 2010 Greece faced a great recession and among other countries has suffered extreme austerity measures that led ultimately to a humanitarian crisis. On top of that, the turmoil in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq pushed migrant flows towards Europe through Greece result into a refugee crisis after 2012. Within this context in the 13th Architecture Biennale curated by David Chipperfield under the theme Common Ground Athens was brought to the spotlight. As a response to the Greek crisis and economic meltdown, Panos Dragonas and Anna Skiada, the curators of the Greek pavilion, tried to address issues like the Athenian living standards and the deteriorating quality of public space focusing mainly on the typology of the Athenian apartment building, the fragmentation and decay of Athenian public space which led to the need to redefine the priorities of architectural design. In the following Biennale in 2014 under the topic Fundamentals by Rem Koolhaas, the appointed commissioner Yannis Aesopos shifted the focus from the ongoing crisis to tourism, examining how it has influenced the country’s modernisation through constructed tourism landscape.

One year later, on top of the economic crisis, Greece had to face immigration flows from Syria and Middle East which affected dramatically the economy and society. At the end of the same year, the Ministry of Environment and Energy appointed the Association of Greek Architects – Greek Union of Architects for the first time as commissioner of the Greek Pavilion for the 15th Architecture Biennale under the topic Reporting from the Front by Alejandro Aravena. At the beginning of 2016 with only 5 months remaining till the Biennale’s opening, the Association launched an open call for ideas and a few days later held an open conference where all contributors could present their ideas and proposals. In the following days, as there was neither agenda nor structure for the project's management, the Association announced that the preparation of the curatorial proposal and pavilion structure would be determined collectively through an open dialogue between the participants. 

After the first meetings in which over 200 architects participated, smaller groups were formed and assigned with different tasks in order to manage Press and Communication, Pavilion’s Design, Sponsorships, Events and Catalogue’s editing. The different teams were supposed to work closely and come together once per week to brief all participants on the project's progress. Through this process the curatorial team had the chance to ‘re-discover collective procedures, the participatory spirit, the unification, the consultation (…) and democracy through an on-going dialogue which did not stop at physical presence but extended to the Internet framework of communication’. Five months later, while the initial conference attracted more than 200 architects, after an extensive process only 140 participants managed to follow up until the end and make it to the pavilion’s opening in May.

There’s room for all of us was the motto which had inspired the Greek participation. However, there were times during the process when the collective body couldn’t agree or decide collectively. There were times when individual voices were calling for a sabotage of the Biennale or suggesting for a bold statement to raise awareness regarding the refugees. There were even times when the collective was split, and the polyphony was creating confusion and chaos. Within the preparation period thousands of emails have been exchanged between participants and hundreds of hours were spent on web and live meetings in order for 140 people to conclude on complicated theoretical and technical issues. We quarrelled, we made it up, we quarrelled again. We were disappointed, we took fresh courage. During that lengthy and draining process some people left the group, while others who met for the first time became friends and work partners and there were even cases of people who were opposed or confronted during the overheated debates. It was definitely a difficult and challenging procedure which pushed most participants to their limits.

Only a few days before the opening the Pavilion was not ready and the number of participants who voluntarily would travel to Venice was not confirmed. A number of scheduled events was at risk and the funding had become a major issue while at the same time capital controls introduced in June in Greece made the situation even more complicated. Finally, the pavilion was completed just on time and some participants managed to get the funding and sponsorships to travel and organise their events in Venice. However, even within the 7-month period of the Biennale the collective had several arguments and numerous issues kept coming up. 

Most participants ended up having bittersweet memories of their participation, but we could all agree that it was a useful experience through which certain lessons have been learnt especially on horizontal, non-hierarchical bodies and how they operate. There are definitely limitations in such schemes and balance is hard to be achieved between the individual and the collective. We could all agree that we would do a lot of things differently next time, however #ThisisACo_op was a very representative approach expressing the spirit and challenges of the time in a very critical moment for Greece.

♯ThisIsACo_op

The title of the Greek entry at the 15th Venice Architectural Biennale - ♯ThisIsACo_op - attempts to give expression to the nature of the process by means of which this participation has been realised, and also to express its basic argument on the importance of collective, co-operative, and democratic action. The choice of the title arose for an additional reason: as a reversal of the familiar hashtag ♯ThisIsACoup, which predominated on the internet after the frustration of the will of the overwhelming majority of the Greek people in the referendum of 5/7/2015, when it said ‘OCHI’ to the proposals of the creditors (the European Union and International Monetary Fund) for the imposition on Greece of new and extreme policies of austerity. 

The logic of the use of the title as a hashtag is a further expression of an endeavour by means of which, as is the case with a hashtag, many different apprehensions people, and situations give rise to a common resultant, express themselves in the same space, and make up a unified body.

***

VAB 08: Dimitris Grozopoulos

Dimitris Grozopoulos is an Architect and Urban Designer. He studied Architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and holds a Master’s in Landscape & Urbanism from Kingston University London. After his graduation he has been teaching at the Master programme in Kingston University and has participated in crits and design workshops. His work has been featured in magazines, conferences and exhibitions such Architecture Drawing Prize exhibition at Sir John Soane’s Museum in London (2018), Future Architecture Platform programme (2017), Venice Architecture Biennale (2016), 3rd Think-Space Unconference in Zagreb (2013), etc. His main interest is focused on urban decay, regeneration strategies and brownfield sites. Within the last few years, he has been involved in several architecture and masterplan projects as well as in in numerous international competitions.

[beingatoaster]

"She's alive and unhurt. Badly frightened, and she does know what us being there meant, so she's very upset. I did tell her the diviner was coming. That calmed her down."

That gave Ilias a start. He had wanted to make sure she was all right, of course, or as all right as she could be, alive and unharmed. It hadn't occurred to him that his presence might be a comfort to her as well. Though, come to think of it, who else might come for her? He knew that Panos had had a sister, but she had died in the plagues only a few years past, as had Panos' wife. Panos had never spoken of any other family in the city, and neither had Tasoula. He might truly be the person she knew most well right now.

Instead of bolstering him, that thought made his eager steps falter. Ilias was a solitary man by his own choice. He had never dreamed of being the head of a household, having children or even servants to support. A woman to love, perhaps, but 'wife' was still wound about with too many layers of meaning for him to imagine taking one. He hadn't the first idea of how to support a frightened, grieving child.

Well, there were doubtless more distant kin that would step up. Flores was one of the most common names in Cliffhaven; Panos had to have relatives, even if they hadn't been close.

Hey Ilias, hey Ilias, guess what >>

[incblackbird]

What are your top 20 horror movies of the 21st century?

I devided this in two parts to make a point of how much better the 2010′s have become when it comes to the horror genre. also, I couldn’t stick to 20, I’m sorry. there’s too many good movies ;) : 2000’s: 1.     Let the right one in (2008, Tomas Alfredson) 2.     Drag Me to Hell (2008, Sam Raimi)3.     Funny Games (2007, Michael Haneke)4.     The Host (2006, Bong Joon Ho)5.     Pan’s Labirynth (2006, Guillermo Del Toro) 6.     Thirst (2009, Park Chan Wook)7.     Martyrs (2008, Pascal Laugier)8.     The Others (2001, Alejandro Amenebar)9.     The Descent (2005, Neil Marshall)10.   Planet Terror (2007, Robert Rodriguez) 11.   Eden Lake (2008, James Watkins)12.   American Psycho (2000, Mary Harron)13.   Wolf creek (2005, Greg McLean) 14.   Saw (2004, James Wan)15.   Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008, Darren Lynn Bousman)2010′s: 1.      Hereditary (2018, Ari Aster) 2.      The Skin I live in (2011, Pedro Almodovar)3.      A Ghost Story (2017, David Lowery) 4.      A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014, Ana Lily Amirpour) 5.      Midsommar (2019, Ari Aster) 6.      Under the Silver Lake (2018, David Robert Mitchell) 7.      The Witch (2017, Robert Eggers) 8.      The Neon Demon (2016, Nicolas Winding Refn)9.      Incident in a Ghostland (2018, Pascal Laugier)10.   The Editor (2014, Adam Brooks & Matthew Kennedy) 11.   The Bad Batch (2017, Ana Lily Amirpour) 12.   Green Room (2015, Jeremy Saulnier)13.   The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2018, Yorgos Lanthimos)14.   It Follows (2014, David Robert Mitchell) 15.   Hush (2016, Mike Flanagan)16.   Under the Shadow (2016, Babak Navari)17.   The Cabin in the Woods (2012, Drew Goddard)18.   Split (2017, M. Night Shyamalan)19.   Possum (2018, Matthew Holness)20.   Crimson Peak (2015, Guillermo Del Toro)21.   Before I wake (2015, Mike Flanagan)22.   Ghost Stories (2017, Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman)23.   Mandy (2018, Panos Cosmatos)24.   Get Out (2017, Jordan Peele)25.   The Babadook (2014, Jennifer Kent)Btw, I haven’t had a chance to see either Robert Eggers’ the lighthouse or Jennifer Kent’s the Nightingale, otherwise they probably would have made the cut. And Yes, I have seen ‘Bird Box’ and ‘a Quiet Place’ and neither of them come even close to making the cut… I will never understand the hype around them...

[perversiions]

Each post for two of our adorable ships!

              ┏                           This is just a little preface that’s literally me praising our muses.                                     FIRST OF ALL, how dare they be this adorable.                         Second of all, this post is so long but it’s worth it because i believe                                                   this is vital info for their ships.                                           Rambling is over. Please enjoy, friend. :))                                                                                                                                        ┛

              FOR RAVEN x PANOS / @two-midnightmercs​ x                                                  @perversiions

Who’s more likely to find who wearing their clothes?: Panos is definitely more likely to catch Raven wearing his clothesWho initiates hand holding?: PanosWho likes having their hair washed by who?: … they both like their hair washed by each otherWho likes to slow dance?: Panos. His obnoxious ass will disrupt anything she’s doing just to danceMuse that’s more likely to fall asleep with their head in the others lap?: RavenMuse that does all the cuddling in a blanket fort?: Panos can’t even make a blanket fort…. but he can cuddle pretty well.Who hogs most of the covers at night?: It’s pretty much a tug of war but at the end of the night, he usually lets Raven winMuse who nuzzles the others shoulder to get them to give them a head rub?: RavenHow do they share a desert? Two forks or one?: two… it’s an olympic sport to see who can finish it firstWho gets jealous more easily?: Panos and it isn’t a “I don’t trust you” thing, it’s more of a “I don’t trust THEM”Who gets angered more easily?: Panos… How do they go to sleep at night?: Start off cuddling but end up on opposite sides of the bed. Honestly, everyone needs their space.Who gets the most shoulder rubs?: Raven, of course! What are their arguments/fights like? How often do they fight?: Do they fight? It’s more of a thing where Panos gets pissed and Raven just tells him to suck it up, and he does.Who is more likely to throw things in fights?: Neither.How do they make it up to each other/apologize after an argument?: Just… get over it. Take time for themselves and apologize.Do they have nicknames for each other?: Yes; Panos’ for Raven is Pretty Lady… and idiot comes to mind for Panos from Raven.Caring for each other while ill, how does the other muse go about it?: Soup and sleep, for sure. Getting whatever they need in that time.Who’s more likely to be patching the others wound?: It’s give and take with them. One gets injured in a mission the other helps. Panos gets hurt doing God knows what and Raven’ll be there.Muse that says ‘I told you so’, after they come home from the beach and other muse is burnt to a crisp while whining how bad it hurts for not listening and putting on sunblock after the other muse repeatedly told them they’d get burnt?: RAVEN; although Panos doesn’t really burn but like, it’s the aura of the situation so yeah… Raven would definitely be like “Yeah… told you so.”Your otp has a newborn baby, who gets up in the middle of the night when he/she cries?: Panos and he would be INSISTENT that Raven stay in bed.Your muse’s reaction to finding the others crying about something? And how do they make them feel better?: Panos would sit next to her, put an arm around her if she’d let him, and wait until she wants to talk. Talking (well, signing) usually always help in situations like that he’s found.What would they be like as parents?: This is CANON but they’re the family that doesn’t quite fit in to the suburban neighborhood that they’ve just moved into. At PTA meetings, they’ll just talk shit and gossip amongst each other.What would they have been like as childhood sweethearts?: they’d be the “alternative” kids who skip school together to go to the museum or the park to just makeout.Who initiates taking a bath together?: They both do! Bunch of saps.The place they most likely accidentally fell asleep together?: The couch, kitchen table, the bar stools at the kitchen island…. wherever they can get it to be honest.

     FOR X x ADALINE / @two-midnightmercs​ x @biiscione​

Who’s more likely to find who wearing their clothes?: Adaline wearing X’s shirts uwuWho initiates hand holding?: I would say it’s 50/50Who likes having their hair washed by who?: They both do! It’s really inconvenient in the shower… but they try!Who likes to slow dance?: X. Ada lacks any sort of hand-eye coordination with her tall ass but will indulge X because… she loves him SO much.Muse that’s more likely to fall asleep with their head in the others lap?: Adaline; it’s a guilty pleasureMuse that does all the cuddling in a blanket fort?: X; he’d be the one to think of making a blanket fort in the first place.Who hogs most of the covers at night?: X! Adaline hates feeling warm so she’ll gladly give her side of the blanket to him.Muse who nuzzles the others shoulder to get them to give them a head rub?: Without a question, Ada.How do they share a desert? Two forks or one?: Well, two forks but they’ll try to feed each other.Who gets jealous more easily?: They’re so comfortable with each other and confident in one another… it’s hard to think they’d get jealous at all. But it’d be Adaline but only for like a split second and because of her disordered thinking.Who gets angered more easily?: X but it’s more frustration than anger.How do they go to sleep at night?: Adaline needs a fan on, yes, even in winter. They love to cuddle but each of them get hot (from Ada’s obnoxiously high body heat) that they end up parting and sleeping on opposite sidesWho gets the most shoulder rubs?: X because Ada knows he’s constantly under stress and tries her best to help him, even if he just needs a masseuse. What are there arguments/fights like? How often do they fight?: They’re both melodramatic but they don’t really fight. It’s more like stern glances and laughing about things.Who is more likely to throw things in fights?: X? How do they make it up to each other/apologize after an argument?: MAKEUP SEX; no but honestly, they end up over-apologizing to one another.Do they have nicknames for each other?: They both call each other adorable pet names. It’s ridiculousCaring for each other while ill, how does the other muse go about it?: X FAWNS over Ada. She loves it so much. Whatever she needs, he gets. Who’s more likely to be patching the others wound?: Adaline. Because of his line of work, she’s always bandaging scrapes and icing bruises but she still needs to get used to the more graphic wounds.Muse that says ‘I told you so’, after they come home from the beach and other muse is burnt to a crisp while whining how bad it hurts for not listening and putting on sunblock after the other muse repeatedly told them they’d get burnt?: Adaline; she loves X’s confidence but sometimes, it gets to his head. It’s okay. She doesn’t mind taking care of his burnt ass :))Your otp has a newborn baby, who gets up in the middle of the night when he/she cries?: Adaline would INSIST but X would take over and force her to get some rest.Your muse’s of the otp reaction to finding the others crying about something? And how do they make them feel better?: Wipes the tears from his cheeks and presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. She adores him and feels his pain. Adaline would stay by his side as long as he needs her.What would they be like as parents?: The most loving, doting parents. Coming from two notoriously love-inclined cultures, they’d just fawn over their children. Discipline wouldn’t come easy to them but that’s okay. I bet their kids would be pretty well-behaved.What would they have been like as childhood sweethearts? Star-crossed lovers, writing poetry to one another and sneaking out late at night to watch the stars.Who initiates taking a bath together?: Adaline; she’ll try fitting her tall self into the tub with X like a cat trying to fit in a box.The place they most likely accidentally fell asleep together?: outside on the porch swing, couple of ol’ souls

[scribblesofabeloved]

Greetings for surpassing your junior years!

Wherein you discovered lesser rest yet

Yet full or jeers

Now get ready to present your very best

Trust me to choose Humanities and Social Sciences

For you will overcome not just a paper, but even a life test

In here, creative writing can move you into different ambiances

This is also where counseling and social work collaborate

As well as Philosophy let you learn in few glances

If you’re also fond of participating in a debate,

Have fun in speaking and thinking critically

So take HUMSS now, mate!

WELCOME DEAR!

It’s my pleasure to be with you here in my so-called “hood”. So maybe you’ll gonna ask if what is this for. Actually, I was just busy jotting down my ideas until I realized that I have to quit wasting time since this is for a scheduled task. (Hahaha!)

Anyway, let me introduce myself first.

My name is Camille and I’m 17. I’m in grade 12 right now and taking Humanities and Social Sciences strand under the academic track. Be joyful kid, because I’ll be your “not-so-pretty-but-just-tall” advocate for this time!! But before anything else, I want you to be informed about this blog.

This isn’t about your favorite love quotes

This isn’t a site for online dating so stop browsing on my account!

We’ll gonna learn how to become a good student here. (Believe me)

This is a serious business so I’ll be letting you to grab your daily dosage of happy pill right now. Hurry!

Now count 1 to 10 and we’ll gonna start!

So, what is it?

Under the academic track there are four main strands, namely Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Accountancy and Business Management (ABM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) and General Acadmic Strand (GAS).

If you’re one of a kind having a deep passion towards literary, communication skills, psychology, counseling and law, well, welcome to the club! You’re maybe one of us–having creative minds, passionate souls and soft cinnamon hearts (the last word isn’t a joke!) because those things belong to HUMSS. Dealing with the subjects and lessons within this strand wasn’t difficult, neither easy too. All you have to possess are the following, in order for you to survive:

Two cups of patience (one for yourself and the other for your teachers (oops)

An abundant supply of papers and pens (those are tools for survival!)

ENOUGH self-esteem

A very courageous heart with a deep breath and an immortal soul

LOVE (since it conquers all. even your seatmate)

On the other hand, it is so enjoyable to study HUMSS since it really discuss about humans, society, politics and everything in it. Hey I’ll be sharing you some of my stories about being a HUMSS student for you to find out why did I choose HUMSS and why must you should do the same thing.

“Simula ng Huli” the making

I have the best pals

The first one was the called “best”

Next was only “pal”

In our Contemporary and E-Tech subjects, we had been given a task by our teachers to create our 10-minute short film. We decided to create something different since our fellow classmates agreed to come up with horror films. We made a drama out of a spoken poetry. We do not have dialogues instead we act the scenes that the poem portray.

Share some?

The story began when a Senior High School girl, Marisol, decided to step outside her shell. From an introvert, she made friends with some other people. Now, just like the usual scenarios, they made memories and shared struggles as well. But the sad thing happened then when many of her friends chose to part ways and everything about there friendship ruined. The story ended not in a blissful one, thus, remained melancholic.

The Sample Script

Pero siguro kailangan ko na nga talagang maniwala Maniwala na nasasaktan na ako at kailangan ko nang sumuko Dahil mahirap nang maibalik yung mga parte ng pinunit na pahina nitong bawat kabanata ng ating istorya Mahirap nang manatili sa isang sulok habang naaalala kung pano lang kayo nagparanas ng ligaya pero nagpalit din ng sugat na kailanman ay di na nga mabubura Pero Salamat parin, Salamat sa pagbibigay ng aral sakin na hindi lahat ng nagdudulot ng kasiyahan ay mananatili kailanman Siguro ito na nga ang panahon para matanggap kong ito na..

Ang Simula ng Huli

NOW, LET”S ESCAPE FROM REALITY!

Let us now talk about creative writing

What comes in your mind when hearing it?

Did you know that it is more of thinking?

Writing your thoughts might have spirit!

All you have to do is to hold a pen and sit

So you people with imaginations as high as a mountain’s peak,

Here is where you really fit

In the real world, let us come out and sneak!

It isn’t just about writing guys. It’s actually more on about thinking creatively and separating yourself from this world. And if you will gonna ask if what can I use to describe Creative Writing subject, I’ll just answer you with one word and would expound it..

AMAZEMENT! 

Now, ponder of what does being amazed means and you will be able to understand what message you’re intended to receive right now. Just kidding.

Creative writing subject is a break from the real routine of this world. Maybe in a newspaper, it is the feature page. It is the desert in a heavy main course. It is the apple of a pie and can be the water break of your practice. But it doesn’t mean that you’ll have to forget about your self and the society where you belong. No. Creative writing only wants us to breathe and pause amidst the fast run of a train. It wants us to have a short break while watching a long and annoying TV program. To sum it all, it intends to let us escape for a while in this real world through our own imaginations wherein we’re able to create our own world.

To share some, the most unforgettable moment during our creative writing subject was when we’re asked by our teacher to write our own ending of a particular story. Moreover, we wrote also our own short story inspired by a song. But it did not end there, because we usually ought to make a role play out of those stories. Amazing. Aside of those, writing or composing poems with different rhyme scheme is one of my favorite activities too. 

To learn isn’t just the goal of this subject, but rather, to make our experiences alive.

”Experience is the best teacher” as the cliche goes, because in my own perception it really gave us the grades. (HAHAHA!) I mean, our experiences and the emotions within those always lead us to a better piece of a story or stunning lines of a poem. This is the reason why many loves this subject. (including our teacher, yay!)

Oh, speaking of experiences, let me share you my great travel ever!

Three Days In the Paradise!

If you are lonely,

Keep in mind that you are best

And made splendidly!

Last June, I and the worship team members of our church had gone to a vacation. From San Jose del Monte Bulacan, it took us 4 hours and 20 minutes to arrive at Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. We spent our first day in Simple Life Resort.

The pool’s water wasn’t very strong with chemical contents since it came from the mountain brook. The staffs were very cheerful, the entrance fee was only 20php while the cottage rent costs 100php to 1000php and that made us stayed there until 7 in the evening. 

Simple Life Resort

The “Batanes of The East” and the Lighthouse in Aurora

After an enjoyable swimming and bonding, we headed our way to Dingalan Aurora. The travel time was only 1 hour and 5 minutes. That was the place where we’re really going to stay until the third day of our vacation. The people welcomed us in a certain beach resort  and they were very friendly. There, we had rented two cottages. 

The sea was so tidy  and the waves were very calm that’s why we almost lived there. Incidentally also, we’re fortunate to witness the opening of the town feast happened. The boats made up of flamboyant colors with patrons and bands paraded on the sea. 

I and my fellow youths together with our youth leader also did not let the day passed without even visiting the famous white beach resort in Dingalan. We did not actually went there for swimming, but for mountain climbing. It took us about 25 minutes riding a boat from the island where we’re staying in to the white beach resort, and so we’re welcomed by an abundance of jellyfish. It took us almost 30 minutes climbing the two famous mountains in Aurora. But even though my heart almost fell on my soles, the mountain view did not disappoint me. It actually made my breathe away! Believe me, my tears fell when I saw how beautiful and wonderful the scene was when we reached the peak of the second mountain (which was my favorite also), the so-called “Batanes of the East”. The temperature wasn’t that high that time that’s why we really enjoyed our climb. The mountain was still full of green tall trees and the ocean behind us was said to be a part of the Pacific ocean. I almost cry aloud when I thought how Great God is. The aesthetic made me realize that if God alone shaped these majestic things, how special we are, since we were the most important in all His creations.

Humanities and Social Sciences is perfect for your run, 

It isn’t as harsh as a bullet of a gun

But just as bright as the splendid sun

Now trust me because for sure, you’ll really have fun!

Hey! I hope that I inspired you and encourage you as well as you read through. If you’re still confused about the strand that you’ll be taking for your Senior Years, keep in mind that you have always to follow your passion. 

In HUMSS, maybe you’re not going to study numbers, but you will know the importance of those. You’re not going to balance an equation, but you will learn how to find equality and justice despite of the world’s realities. You’re not going to compute for a product’s value, but you will know how to value one’s life and the society’s products. So if you want to become a future world changer, having a passion for humanities and looking forward to a better society, be one of us! Choose HUMSS. 

[artstropicalokinawa]

不親切なバー、あるいはワシリエフの食堂 ―――あるいは、食とアートの関係をめぐる考古学

数年前パリで、３つのカクテルを用意したバーを、アートのプロジェクトとして1日だけオープンした。場所は通常そうした目的で使われる場所ではなく、レジデンスや展示などのための施設だった。グラスにはそれぞれキーワードを印刷した短冊状の紙が添えられていて、それを手がかりに、共同体というテーマについて参加者どうしの議論が生まれるのではないかと期待していた。カクテルは、それぞれ独自の視点で共同体についての考察を行なった、モーリス・ブランショ、アルフォンソ・リンギス、エドゥアール・グリッサンの名前を冠することにした。グリッサンと名付けられたカクテルを片手に、目に止まったキーワードについて、無防備に語り始めるようなことがあったのだとすれば、内容の如何にかかわらずそれはそれで素晴らしいことではなかっただろうか。アートの世界で、飲食を提供する場面に出合うことは珍しいことではなくなりつつある。オープニング・パーティーなどそれをこそを目的としたものはもちろんだが、��ロジェクトや作品そのものに調理や飲食が組み込まれていたり、展示やディスカッションに併設するかたちでそうした場が設けられていることもある。今日のこうした傾向を考えるとき、まず真先に思い浮かぶのはリクリット・ティラバーニャではないだろうか。1990年代から始まった展示スペースでの調理、提供、飲食は、今日の同様の活動に大きな地盤を与えることになったはずだ。食とアートというと、三度祝福された男、トリマルキオーの催した饗宴から、その下流のささやかな美食などを想起するかもしれないが、もちろんここで触れている傾向はそれとは関係がない。かつてドクメンタで、エルブジという三つ星レストランがアーティストとして取り上げられたことがあったが、そのアップデートできていない食への視線に象徴されるように、そのときのドクメンタは稀に見る低調なものだった。リクリットの関係で言えば、ニコラ・ブリオーによって提起された関係性に注目した理解が大きな後ろ盾になっていたと考えること無理のないことではないだろう。ブリオーに対しては、クレア・ビショップらによる批判もすでに消化済みだが、あえていえば、ビショップは楽しいはずの食事の場や酒宴の場だからこそ生まれ出る対立や拒絶を理解していない。しかし、リクリットを想起した人の多くは、少し間をおいて、あるいは即座に、ゴードン・マッタ-クラークがニューヨークに開いたレストランのプロジェクト、FOODを想起したのではないだろうか。FOODの様子はドキュメンタリー映像で確認できるが、より飲食の提供という業態自体に焦点が置かれているとはいえ、ほとんどリクリットのパッタイを調理する場と変わらないことに驚かされる。マッタ-クラークのような業態そのものとしての取り組みは、たとえばアリギエロ・ボエッティがカブールに開いたホテル、One Hotelにも見出すことができるだろう。だがもちろん、マッタ-クラークもボエッティも、業態そのもののコピーだけを見ていたわけではない。そうした業態に入ってこそ初めて、後の、ある種の抽象化ともいえるリクリットの活動も可能になったはずだ。彼らが呼吸していたものは、ブリオーの混乱したテキストよりも、旧ソ連の拘禁状態の市民たちが、共同キッチンに見出していた自由を扱った、イリヤ、エミリアのカバコフ夫妻の作品を考えればわかりやすいだろう。冒頭で触れ��バーが、共同キッチンを目指すものであることは覆い隠すことはできない。そしてこうしたある種の経験の、さらに向こうを遠望するとき、ロシア出身の��家、マリー・ワシリエフが自身のアトリエを解放して開いたという食堂が姿を表してくる。第一次大戦下、困窮するアーティストの胃袋を満たすために開かれた食堂は、主宰した本人の思惑を超えて大きなものになりつつある。ワシリエフの食堂には様々な人が足を運んでいたが、『突然炎の如く』の原作者アンリ=ピエール・ロシェもその一人だった。パブロ・ピカソをガートルード・スタインに引き合わせたその人物は、ミュンヘンの宇宙サークルの常連でもあり、当然そこで出会っていたフランチェスカ・ツ・レーヴェントローの話を、ワシリエフの食堂ではないにしろ、パリのどこかでマルセル・デュシャンに囁いたに違いない。独身者によって裸にされた花嫁が、フランチェスカだということもありえないことではない。第一次世界大戦下、灯火管制厳しいなか、クラブとしての営業許可が幸いして夜半まで賑やかだったという食堂は、第一次世界大戦の終結とともに幕を閉じるが、世界はそのとき既に、今日の世界を先駆ける、スペインに汚名を着せた流感の感染に染まりつつあった。いずれにしても、対立や拒絶だけでないものを生み出していたワシリエフの食堂の意味は、もはや無視できないものはいうまでもない。おそらくビショップだって、きっとそんなことは十分に承知しているはず。さあ、冒頭の共同体のバーに戻ろう。このプロジェクトは、そこに滞在していたアーティストに誘われたものだったのだが、実はその場所こそかつてワシリエフの食堂があった場所だった。何かの因縁なのかもしれないしそうではないのかもしれない。けれども、いつからかバーという形態のプロジェクトに手を出していた人間にとって、この偶然は、手にしたカクテルの名前を再び想起させてくれる。時代を隔てて、ワシリエフ、マッタ-クラーク、ボエッティ、カバコフ、リクリットを抱えるその共同体は、おそらくますます多くの人々を包み込んでいくことになるだろう。

The bar without hospitality, or Vassilieff's canteen ―――Or archeology on the relationship between food and art

A few years ago, in Paris, I opened a bar for one day as an art project, in which only I served three kinds of cocktail. The place is never used for such purpose, but for residencies and exhibitions for artists. Each glass has been pasted some strips of paper with printed keywords, and I expected, those words would lead to discussions among participants about the theme, that is, community. I put on each cocktail the names of Maurice Blanchot, Alphonso Lingis and Édouard Glissant. They are all the person who considered the community from their own viewpoints. If someone had a cocktail named Glissant in ones' hand and started to talk about the keywords that caught her or his eye, wouldn't it be fantastic, regardless of its content? In the art world, it becomes not uncommon to encounter food and drink scenes. Of course, like opening parties, there is something like that is an end of itself. But there is also something like that cooking, eating and drinking are incorporated in art projects or art expressions, or,  accompanying exhibitions or discussion events, special venues are installed for them. When considering today's these trends, the first thing that comes to your mind would be Rirkrit Tiravanija. Cooking, serving, eating and drinking in the exhibition space, which began in the 1990s, certainly have provided a great background for similar activities today. When it comes to the relationship with food and art, you might recall the feast of Trimalchio, who is the man blessed three times, and the modest gastronomy being an extension of it, but of course, the tendencies mentioned here have nothing to do with it. Once, in Documenta, a three-star restaurant called El Bulli was featured as an artist, but it meant unupdated understanding on food as art activism, for that reason, that Documenta, unusually, became to be seen as not impressive one. As for Rirkrit, it's not unreasonable to think that the relationship-focused understanding raised by Nicolas Bourriaud was a major backing. Criticism on Bourriaud by Claire Bishop and others has already been digested, but if you dare, Bishop does not understand the conflicts and rejections raising sometimes in the fun dining and the happy banquet halls. But many who recalled Rirkrit might have recalled, after a short while, or immediately, Gordon Matta-Clark's restaurant project, FOOD, in New York. We can see the state of FOOD in the documentary video, but it is surprising that it is almost the same atmosphere as the place where Rirkrit's Pad Thai is cooked, although the focus is on the business itself of providing food and drink. Efforts as a format itself, like Matta-Clark, can also be found, for example, in One Hotel, which opened by Alighiero Boetti in Kabul. But of course, neither Matta-Clark nor Boetti was thinking of just only rebuilding the format itself. Of course, only after entering such a business format would it be possible to carry out activities of Rirkrit and so on, which can be said to be a kind of abstraction. The work of Emilia and Ilya Kabakov, which dealt with the freedom that the detained citizens in the former Soviet found in the communal kitchen, makes us possible to understand what they were breathing, than thinking about Bourriaud's confusing text. It cannot be obscured that the bar mentioned at the beginning wants to be this communal kitchen. And as we look further into this kind of past activities, we end up a canteen that Russian painter Marie Vassilieff has opened at her atelier. The canteen, which was opened during the First World War to fill the stomach of a poor artist, is becoming larger and larger than the intension of its owner. Although various people visited Vasirieffe's canteen, one of them was Henri-Pierre Roche, the author of the original story of "Jules et Jim" was one of them. Although that man who introduced Pablo Picasso to Gertrude Stein was also a regular in the Munich cosmic circle, and of course, the story about Franziska zu Reventlow who he met there, would be whispered to Marcel Duchamp in somewhere in Paris, if not in Vassilieff's canteen. It's not impossible that La Mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires was Franziska. Under the strict blackout control during World War I, the canteen was lively until midnight owing to the business license as a club, fortunately, but it closed with the end of the war. But already then, the world had started being stained with the Spain-flu infection that soiled the name of Spain, which was the forerunner of today's pandemic. In any case, it goes without saying that the meaning of Vassilieff's canteen, which produced more than just conflicts and rejections, can no longer be ignored. Perhaps even Bishop would be well aware of that. Now let's get back to the beginning, the bar of communities. Although the project was invited by the artist who was staying there, interestingly, it was actually the place where Vasillieff's canteen used to be. It may or may not be the fate of something. But for the man who has been working on a project in the form of a bar sometimes, this coincidence reminds of the name of cocktails of that bar. Over time, the community of Vassilieff, Matta-Clark, Boetti, Kabakov, and Rirkrit will probably envelope more and more people.

O bar sem hospitalidade, ou a cantina de Vassilieff −――Ou arqueologia sobre a relação entre comida e arte

Há alguns anos, em Paris, abri um bar por um dia como projeto de arte, no qual apenas servi três tipos de coquetéis.　 O local nunca é utilizado para aquele propósito, mas para residências e exposições de artistas.　 Em cada copo foram coladas algumas tiras de papel com palavras-chave impressas, e eu esperava que essas palavras levassem a discussões entre os participantes sobre o tema, ou seja, comunidade. Coloquei em cada coquetel os nomes de Maurice Blanchot, Alphonso Lingis e Édouard Glissant, todos eles que consideravam a comunidade a partir de seus próprios pontos de vista. Se alguém tivesse um coquetel chamado Glissant na mão e começasse a falar sobre as palavras-chave que chamam a atenção dela ou dele, não seria fantástico, independente do conteúdo? No mundo da arte, não é incomum encontrar cenas de comida e bebida. Claro que, como as festas de abertura, há algo assim é um fim em si mesmo. Mas também há algo como cozinhar, comer e beber são incorporados a projetos de arte ou expressões artísticas, ou, acompanhando exposições ou eventos de discussão, locais especiais são instalado para eles. Ao considerar essas tendências de hoje, a primeira coisa que vem à sua mente é Rirkrit Tiravanija. Cozinhar, servir, comer e beber no espaço de exposição, que começou na década de 1990, certamente proporcionou um grande pano de fundo para atividades semelhantes hoje. No que diz respeito à relação com comida e arte, você deve se lembrar da festa de Trimalchio, que é o homem abençoado três vezes, e a modesta gastronomia sendo uma extensão disso, mas é claro, as tendências aqui mencionadas têm nada a ver comisso.O que se refere à relação com a comida e a arte, você deve se lembrar da festa do Tolmarquio, que foi abençoado três vezes, ou a gastronomia hoje é a jusante, mas é claro que as tendências aqui mencionadas nada têm a ver com isso. Certa vez, na Documenta, um restaurante três estrelas chamado El Bulli apareceu como artista, mas isso significou um entendimento desatualizado sobre a comida como ativismo de arte, por isso, que ista Documenta, excepcionalmente, passou a ser vista como não impressionante. Quanto a Rirkrit, não é absurdo pensar que o entendimento focado no relacionamento levantado por Nicolas Bourriaud foi um grande apoio. As críticas ao Bourriaud por Claire Bishop e outros já foram digeridas, mas se você ousar, Bishop não entende os conflitos e rejeições que às vezes surgem nos jantares divertidos e nos salões de banquetes felizes. Mas muitos que se lembraram de Rirkrit podem ter se lembrado, depois de um curto período, ou imediatamente, do projeto de restaurante de Gordon Matta-Clark, FOOD, em Nova York. Podemos ver o estado de FOOD no vídeo documentário, mas é surpreendente que seja quase o mesmo atmosfera do lugar onde o Pad Thai da Rirkrit é cozinhado, embora o foco esteja no próprio negócio de fornecimento de comida e bebida. Esforços como o próprio formato, como Matta-Clark, também podem ser encontrados, por exemplo, no One Hotel, que foi inaugurado por Alighiero Boetti em Cabul. Mas é claro, nem Matta-Clark nem Boetti pensavam em apenas reconstruir o próprio formato.É claro que só depois de entrar em tal formato de negócios seria possível realizar atividades de Rirkrit e assim por diante, e isto pode ser considerado uma espécie de abstração. O trabalho de Emilia e Ilya Kabakov, que tratou da liberdade que os cidadãos detidos no ex-soviete encontraram na cozinha comunitária, nos permite entender o que eles respiravam, do que pensar no texto confuso de Bourriaud. Não se pode obscurecer que o bar mencionado no início quer ser uma cozinha comunitária. E quando olhamos mais de perto esses tipos de atividades passadas, acabamos em uma cantina que a pintora russa Marie Vassilieff abriu em seu estúdio. A cantina, que foi aberta durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial para encher o estômago de um artista pobre, está ficando cada vez maior que a intenção de seu dono. Embora várias pessoas tenham visitado a cantina de Vasirieffe, uma delas foi Henri-Pierre Roche, o autor da história original de "Jules et Jim" foi uma delas. Embora aquele homem que apresentou Pablo Picasso a Gertrude Stein também fosse um regular no círculo cósmico de Munique e, claro, a história sobre Franziska zu Reventlow que ele conheceu lá, seria sussurrada a Marcel Duchamp em algum lugar de Paris, se não no da cantina de Vassilieff. Não é impossível que La Mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires fosse Franziska. Sob o estrito controle do blackout durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, a cantina ficou animada até a meia-noite devido à licença comercial como clube, felizmente, mas fechou com o fim da guerra. Mas já, então, o mundo tinha começado a ser manchado com a infecção da gripe espanhola que sujou o nome da Espanha, que foi o precursor da pandemia de hoje. Em todo o caso, nem é preciso dizer que o sentido da cantina de Vassilieff, que mais do que conflitos e rejeições produziu, não pode mais ser ignorado. Talvez até Bishop saiba disso. Agora vamos voltar ao início, o bar das comunidades. Embora o projeto tenha sido convidado pelo artista que estava hospedado lá, curiosamente, era na verdade o lugar onde costumava ser a cantina de Vasillieff. Pode ou não ser o destino de algo. Mas para o homem que às vezes vem trabalhando em um projeto em forma de bar, essa coincidência o lembra do nome de coquetéis daquele bar. Com o tempo, a comunidade de Vassilieff, Matta-Clark, Boetti, Kabakov e Rirkrit provavelmente envolverá mais e mais pessoas.

杉田 敦 / ATSUSHI SUGITA

美術批評。文章や発言だけでなく、プロジェクトや展示、キュレーション、アクションもある意味で批評として取り組む。素粒子物理学、認知科学などの研究から、美術のフィールドへ。この経歴はよい表現をすれば旅、節度ある表現では迷走、現実的には徘徊と言えそう。2017年のARTiTでの連載の書籍化に励みつつ、次の連載もそろそろ始まります。Amazonでひとつ星の評価をいただいている『静穏の書』は渾身の一冊…

Art critic. For me, not only texts and remarks, but also art projects, exhibitions, curations, and any other actions have the meaning as criticism in a sense. Moving from research on elementary particles and cognitive science to contemporary art. This career path can be said "travel" in favourable expressions, "losing way" in modest, and "roaming" in realistic. Although working hard to make the serialization of ARTiT in 2017 into a book, the next serialization is also about to begin. In the book, titled de-desassossego, which has been rated one star in Amazon, all my thoughts are condensed...

Crítico de arte. Para mim, não apenas textos e comentários, mas também projetos de arte, exposições, curadorias e quaisquer outras ações têm o significado de crítica em certo sentido. Mudança da pesquisa sobre partículas elementares e ciências cognitivas para a arte contemporânea. Essa carreira pode ser chamada de "viagem" em expressões favoráveis, "perdendo o rumo" em modesta e "perambular" em realística. Embora trabalhe duro para transformar a serialização do ARTiT em 2017 em um livro, a próxima serialização também está prestes a começar. No livro, intitulado de-desassossego, que foi classificado como uma estrela na Amazon, todos os meus pensamentos estão condensados...

[phgq]

Caring for your mental health amid pandemic

#PHnews: Caring for your mental health amid pandemic

MANILA – The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic has upended the lives of everyone in ways unimaginable. It has affected not only the working class hit hard by pandemic shutdowns but also the youth.

Jennie (not her real name), 20, never imagined herself being depressed and seeking psychiatric help.

These are scenes she said she would only see in the movies.

She said she used to be jolly, friendly, sociable, and talkative whenever she is with her friends, but the stay-at-home orders imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic changed her.

She would experience sleepless nights, nightmares, panic attacks, and would sometimes lose her appetite and focus.

“Overthinker po ako. Parang konting bagay iniisip ko na kaagad kaya ang parang nangyayari hindi ako makapag-focus kasi wala akong magawa within the home, parang nabuburyong, na bo-bored kasi as a teenager parang gusto naming laging nasa labas (I am an overthinker. It's like I think a lot over little things and so I cannot focus because I cannot do anything inside our house. I became really bored because as a teenager, I always want to go out),” Jennie said.

‘It was nothing at first’

In the early days of the quarantine rules, Jennie said she was coping well with boredom.

The regular face-to-face classes were canceled and they switched to online learning.

As days became months, she started to feel different in a way that she can neither explain nor understand.

“Hindi ko siya napansin nung una pero nung parang wala na kaming magawa within the home, yun, hindi ko alam kung sakin lang siya me effect pero parang stressful siya in a way na hindi ko na alam gagawin ko, parang hindi ko na alam pano mag-focus (it never bothered me at first, it's just that we could not do anything about it at home, then the days became stressful. I don’t know what to do and I don’t know how to focus),” she said.

Jennie said she tried to divert her attention.

She played online games, read books, watched movies online but lose interest in them after some time.

Everything became just so boring and annoying, she said.

When anxiety strikes out of the blue, she said she loses control of herself.

“Pag umaatake anxiety hindi ako makapag focus, like pag gagawa ako ng school works, parang bigla na lang akong kinakabahan, parang yung me presentation or report ka sa harap ng classroom na lahat sila parang nakatingin sa’yo (when anxiety strikes, I lose my focus. It’s like in the middle of doing schoolwork, I become too nervous. It’s the feeling you have when you are reporting in front of a class. All eyes are on you),” Jennie said.

She said it came to a point when she couldn’t breathe anymore.

Opening up

Jennie then decided to tell her parents about how she feels. They told her it was normal, it was nothing and advised her to make herself busy.

The little changes, she said, started to become obvious when her grandparents started noticing her crying more often, sometimes even in the middle of the night.

“Nakikita nila na may changes sa’kin. Dati kasi nung nag-start ito, una akala lang namin na nagpa-palpitate ako dahil sa kape kasi mahilig talaga ako sa kape parang everyday nakakatatlong beses ako dati, pero dumating sa point na every time na nafi-feel ko na ina-anxiety ako, kailangan ko siya i-release through crying tapos everyday siya nangyayari, nang walang dahilan (They started noticing the changes in me. At first, we thought that my palpitations were due to coffee since I drink three cups a day. But it came to a point that I felt the need to release my anxiety and so I would cry every day),” she said.

She said she only feels relieved every time she cries.

Seeking professional help

Then her parents, she said, decided to bring her to a psychiatrist to seek professional help.

The psychiatrist said she has depression.

“Nung nagpa-check ako ang sabi kasi ng doctor is yun nga may depression ako, dati kasi nung di ko pa alam, bago pa yung releasing through crying ang ginagawa ko is nagka-cut ako ng wrist, napunta po sa ganon na point tapos di ko alam na ginagawa ko pala yon, pero that time nung ginagawa ko siya parang umo-okay ako, dumating sa point na ganon (The doctor said I have depression. Before my checkup, even before the ‘crying to release’ situation, what I do is I cut my wrist. I came to that point that I was already doing that because it makes me feel okay),” Jennie said.

The doctor has prescribed some anti-depressant medicines and told her to visit the clinic regularly.

Currently, Jennie said her doctor served like her “human diary” and makes her realize and explain things and situations she could not understand.

Hotline calls

The National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in September said there has been a significant increase in monthly hotline calls regarding depression, with numbers rising from 80 calls in the pre-lockdown days to nearly 400.

NCMH data show that globally, the most vulnerable age group is 15-29.

In case you know of someone who is in the same situation, the NCMH said it helps to let them know that they are not alone and that you care for them.

It is also important that someone is with them in case they are in immediate danger.

The NCMH has a 24/7 NCMH Crisis Hotline 1553. The agency can also be reached through 0917 899 8727(USAP), and/or 7-989-8727 (USAP) in case someone needs to seek professional help. (PNA)

  ***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Caring for your mental health amid pandemic." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1120784 (accessed November 05, 2020 at 05:07AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Caring for your mental health amid pandemic." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1120784 (archived).

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New top story from Time: These Heroes Went Above and Beyond in 2019

From a 9-year-old boy who wanted no kid to go hungry to a high-school coach who reached out to an armed student, here are TIME’s heroes of 2019.

Defenders of Notre Dame

William Daniels—Panos for TIMELaurent Prades, left, and Antoine-Marie Préaut on Nov. 29

As flames leaped from the roof of Notre Dame cathedral on April 15, those who knew its innermost secrets ventured into the pitch darkness of the smoke-filled nave. Their aim: to rescue some of the most valuable treasures in all of Christianity. “There was no electricity, there was a lot of water, there were alarms going off,” says Antoine-Marie Préaut, conservator of historic monuments in the Paris region, remembering the moment he entered the cathedral with Notre Dame’s operational director, Laurent Prades, and a group of firefighters. “The atmosphere was apocalyptic.”

Millions across the world watched aghast as fire shot from the medieval masterpiece in the heart of Paris. Less visible was how close Notre Dame came to total collapse, and how narrowly its treasures were saved.

About 400 firefighters battled the flames for more than nine hours—some climbing the staircase in its north tower, despite the danger of being trapped, to keep the cathedral’s set of 13-ton bells from falling and potentially bringing down the towers and the entire cathedral with them. The roof was already almost gone. “I found a situation that was completely catastrophic,” says Jérôme D., a firefighter who climbed to the top, and who cannot be named in full, per the rules of Paris’ fire brigade.

Préaut and Prades were so focused on rescuing the relics that they tuned out the chaos. Then they heard a giant noise as the spire crashed into the nave, collapsing the roof. Inside the cathedral, the fire now raged at ground level. “We felt utterly powerless,” Prades says. “But then everything happened very, very quickly. We lost all sense of time.”

Amid darkness and flames, the men fumbled to unlock a strongbox in a back chapel. Inside were Notre Dame’s most precious relics—including the Crown of Thorns that worshippers believe Christ wore to his Crucifixion, as well as pieces of wood and a nail believed to be from the True Cross. The two became part of a human chain, passing the priceless items to safety. “We told the firefighters, ‘Take everything you can carry,'” says Préaut, 38. “They were shouting at us, ‘Get out, get out!'”

Toward midnight, police finally escorted Préaut to city hall, where the relics were locked up for safekeeping. As their van crossed a bridge over the Seine, Préaut was stunned to see crowds jamming the entire area. “There were thousands and thousands of people just standing on the street silently, in shock,” he says. “I had the impression like it was the end of the world.”

Indeed, that night was the end of an era for a tight-knit group that had worked together for years at Notre Dame. As the months have gone by, the memory has weighed on Prades, 44, who has been at Notre Dame for more than 20 years. Préaut still has trouble sleeping. “There is a trauma from the event itself, from the hours that I spent in the cathedral,” Prades says. “There is also the trauma of knowing what might have happened.”

The two men are among a handful of people who have spent months working in trailers in the cathedral’s backyard, helping to prepare for the mammoth reconstruction ahead. The treasures and relics have been moved to a safe room within the Louvre Museum, and Notre Dame is wrapped in scaffolding and plastic. It will be shut perhaps until 2024, while its roof and spire are rebuilt. Until then, its ravaged state is a daily reminder of that terrifying night. “We would be happy to turn the page, to recover and go back to normal life,” Préaut says. When that time comes, the relics will go home, to their place of honor in a cathedral that, against the odds, still stands. —VW

A boy who helped change the law on school-lunch debt

Courtesy Kylie KirkpatrickRyan Kyote used his saved allowance to pay off his grade’s lunch-money debt

Nine-year-old Ryan Kyote was eating breakfast at home in Napa, Calif., when he saw the news: an Indiana school had taken a 6-year-old’s meal when her lunch account didn’t have enough money. Kyote asked if that could happen to his friends. When his mom contacted the school district to find out, she learned that students at schools in their district had, all told, as much as $25,000 in lunch debt. Although the district says it never penalized students who owed, Kyote decided to use his saved allowance to pay off his grade’s debt, about $74—­becoming the face of a movement to end lunch-money debt. When California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill in October that banned “lunch shaming,” or giving worse food to students with debt, he thanked Kyote for his “empathy and his courage” in raising awareness of the issue. “Heroes,” Kyote points out, “come in all ages.” —M. Carlisle

A one-man crew amid the flood

Courtesy Angela ChandlerSatchel Smith worked over 30 hours straight at Homewood Suites during Tropical Depression Imelda in Beaumont, Texas in Sept.

It was supposed to rain for only a few hours. When then 21-year-old Lamar University student Satchel Smith got to his job at Homewood Suites in Beaumont, Texas, on Sept. 18, he planned to leave promptly when his eight-hour shift was done; he had class in the morning. But the rain didn’t stop. By nightfall, Tropical Depression Imelda had flooded the highway. No one could reach—or leave—the hotel, and Smith was the only employee there to tend to the hotel’s roughly 90 guests.

According to the Texas Tribune, Imelda dropped up to 43 in. of rain in parts of southeast Texas and caused flooding that killed five people. But inside the hotel, Smith didn’t panic. He answered the phone as it rang all night. In the morning, people started looking for breakfast. Despite not knowing how to cook, Smith raided the kitchen and made sure everyone got a hot meal. The storm set off the fire alarm; he ushered tired guests out and back into the building.

Angela Chandler, an educator from Nacogdoches, Texas, was one of those guests. She had come to Beaumont for a business trip and was already nervous about being away from home. But as she watched Smith, she suddenly felt grateful. “Satchel was in and out of the kitchen, answering the phone, taking care of guests with a smile on his face,” she says. “And I looked at him and realized, ‘That baby is only a year older than my son.'” She was floored by his composure, and shared her observation on social media.

As the day ticked on, it became clear Smith would also have to cook dinner. By then the guests had started pitching in. Helping him cook and clean, they made chicken and pasta. A few people walked food and water out to truckers stranded on the highway. Someone brought out playing cards.

“We all came together. They made sure I was all right; I made sure that they were all right,” Smith recalls. Finally, another employee was able to get through the water in a monster truck to relieve him.

He had worked over 30 hours straight, and stayed awake the entire time.

Chandler’s post about Smith’s steadfastness quickly went viral. While he says it’s nice to be recognized, Smith adds, “I kind of feel like I was just doing my job.” —M. Carlisle

A bus driver who brought kids in from the cold

YoutubeNicole Chamberlain, a bus driver in Waukesha, Wis., brought two kids in as temperatures fell on Nov. 11

As temperatures fell below 20°F on Nov. 11, Nicole Chamberlain, a bus driver in Waukesha, Wis., peered through her windshield and saw two children wandering alone outside, headed toward a busy intersection. “They were upset, frazzled,” says Chamberlain, 44, who pulled her bus over and called out to them. When the ­children—a 2-year-old girl and her 6-year-old ­brother—came bounding over, Chamberlain realized neither was wearing a coat and the girl had on only a T-shirt and a diaper. “It was mind-­blowing,” says Chamberlain, who was captured on the bus’s surveillance cameras wrapping her coat around the toddler’s bare legs. Chamberlain stayed with the children until police arrived, along with the children’s grandmother, who was babysitting when they darted out of the house. “It’s nice to have a feel-good story to share,” says Chamberlain. After a fellow driver tipped off a local news station to the story, strangers from all over the country agreed. “You saw something amiss and chose to step up to prevent a potential tragedy,” one wrote on her Facebook page. “I hope your example inspires others.” —M. Chan

A coach who embraced an armed student

Jordan Murph—Sports Illustrated/Getty ImagesParkrose High School football and track coach Keanon Lowe in Portland on June 25

When a distressed student appeared before him, armed with a shotgun, Keanon Lowe had no time to think. The football and track coach at Parkrose High School in Portland, Ore., lunged for the firearm, as students knocked over desks in panic. “It was a very surreal moment,” Lowe says, “all the kids screaming for their lives.” After a tug-of-war that seemed to last forever, Lowe, 27, wrestled the gun out of the student’s grasp. Then, in an unexpected move, he pulled the student in for a hug. “I didn’t see an evil kid,” Lowe says. “I saw a kid that was going through a lot.”

The student, identified by authorities as 19-year-old Angel Granados-Diaz, had been suicidal for several months, according to prosecutors, when he took the loaded and legally bought shotgun to school on May 17. Before Lowe intervened, the teen had already tried killing himself outside a bathroom, but the shotgun did not discharge. “What he needed was a shoulder to cry on and someone to hug him,” says Lowe, who has been coaching and serving as the school’s security guard for the past two years. “I don’t know the last time he got a hug.” While Granados-Diaz resisted the embrace at first and tried shoving Lowe away, the coach’s comforting words soon softened him. “I told him that I cared about him and that I was there for him and I was there to save him,” Lowe says. “He was surprised that I had said that. He said, ‘You do?’ and looked me right in my face. I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ He gave in to the hug, and that made a huge difference.”

Lowe and Granados-Diaz were strangers until then, but they held their embrace for at least 20 seconds, as Lowe passed the shotgun to another teacher. The moment, captured by a security camera, moved tens of thousands of people who saw it on social media. “No one would have batted an eye if he responded more aggressively,” says the school’s principal, Molly Ouche. “But he had compassion.”

For his bravery and kindness, Lowe was awarded a civilian medal of heroism from Portland’s police chief, and the city’s mayor declared May 29 to be “Coach Keanon Lowe Day of Recognition.” The accolades have been humbling and overwhelming, says Lowe, who played football at the University of Oregon. But he’s ready to move on, mostly so Granados-Diaz can do the same. On Oct. 10, Granados-Diaz pleaded guilty to having a loaded firearm in public and was sentenced to 36 months of formal probation, which includes mental-health treatment. According to prosecutors, his gun was loaded with only one round, meant for himself. It was evident that day that the student was “fighting demons,” Lowe says.

“This was just one moment in my life that’s not going to define me,” he adds. “And it’s not going to define Angel as well.” —M. Chan

A woman who kept dozens of dogs safe during Hurricane Dorian

ZumaChella Phillips has run Pawtcake Refuge in Nassau since 2015

Chella Phillips has lived in the Bahamas since 2004, and she knows what a storm can do. When Hurricane Dorian barreled toward her home, she got to work. Phillips has run Nassau’s Pawtcake Refuge, which cares for homeless dogs, out of her home since 2015. She had 82 dogs there already but searched out more. By the time Dorian arrived, she was hunkering down in her three-­bedroom house with 97 dogs, and she dashed off a quick Facebook post about the mayhem. Then she lost power. It was only after Phillips emerged that she learned her post had gone viral. Nassau was largely spared, but the storm devastated the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama, killing scores of people and leaving many with a sense of hopelessness. Her story had become a bit of positive news to hang onto, drawing thousands of messages from around the world. “I [said], ‘Why are people so impressed about this?’” she says. “Anybody who cares about these animals would have done that.” Still, she’s grateful for the extra attention on the dogs: in the week after Dorian, Phillips sent 68 to homes or rescue groups in the U.S. —M. Carlisle

This article is part of TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year package. Read more from the issue and sign up for the Inside TIME newsletter to be the first to see our cover every week.

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

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Tainted Dreams

Part 2 - Cancelled Everything

Leni finally was admitted off the hospital and was allowed to go home after about two weeks of being under the observation of the hospital. Salvacion and Bongbong assisted her as they headed to the car, Lourdes waited for them at home.

Despite Bongbong's immense care and presence since Leni woke up, she still found it hard to recall his value to her before she got caught in an accident. She couldn't remember anything, she doesn't feel anything special for him and it clearly contradicts with the way her mother talks about how in love they were before. He was no special to her and it irks her.

Bongbong assisted Lourdes with serving the meals as soon as they arrived home, Leni changed her clothes upstairs and went back down, rested at the living room's couch with her mother when she suddenly noticed the baby strollers at the corner of the room that seemed to be so new with all the plastics and tags attached in it.

"Ma, ano yon? Bakit may dalawang stroller?" She asked out of curiosity. "Sinong may baby?" She followed and it took all their attention that eventually turned into a deafening silence as they looked at each other. They felt torn whether to tell her about it already or not.

Salvacion sat close to her making her wonder what was going on. Bongbong's chest started to pound strongly as he thought about the possible reaction of Leni once she discovers about their loss.

Her mother looked at Bongbong and took a deep breath before she began to speak. "'Nak... Hindi ko alam kung natatandaan mo pero para 'yan sa kambal niyo ni Bongbong." She stated.

Leni was surprised for a moment to know that she has a child with him. "May mga baby kami?" A small smile grew on her lips. "Nasaan sila?" She looked around excited to see them and it broke them to see her hyped about their kids.

"Anak, kase..." Salvacion called her attention, she looked back at her. "Wala na sila." She hardly spilled, Lourdes became slightly teary to witness her sister knowing about her loss.

Leni chuckled weakly feeling a bit lost. "Panong wala na sila?" She asked and looked at them seeking for an answer, Salvacion sighed. "Bong, nasaan yung mga anak natin? Ano bang sinasabi niyo? Pwede bang linawin niyo?" She started to feel irk in confusion.

"Leni, you were pregnant with our twins when you got caught in an accident." Bongbong took over as he saw Salvacion struggling to speak. Leni started to formulate a hint about what they were saying and her disappointment slowly manifested on her face.

"Naging at risk yung buhay mo at buhay ng mga bata nung naaksidente ka kaya... We had to choose... I had to tell the doctor who to prioritize." Bongbong followed. "And you didn't choose the kids?" She sounded so displeased.

"Leni-" "God!" She cussed and looked away on disbelief. "Leni. It's okay..." Salvacion tried to keep her together. "Hindi, ma! Hindi okay!" The fury and devastation swarmed her chest, her eyes were glistened by her tears.

Bongbong completely saw it coming, it wasn't easy to accept it and he knew it would be tough for Leni to know about it. She started to palpitate by the sudden extreme emotion.

"Leni..." He tried to calm her down but he just got welcomed by a slap on his face causing a sudden stun. "How can you let our children go?!" She felt so distraught that she blamed it all to him. "Leni, calm down. Kakalabas mo lang ng ospital." Her mom interrupts but the tension was too strong.

"Ano?!" She hit his chest. "I'm sorry." He responded and bowed his head in guilt. "Sorry? Maibabalik ba niyan yung mga anak ko?! Anong klaseng ama ka, Bong?!" She refuted. "I didn't have a choice." He replied feeling so guilty. "I can't lose you," he followed and looked at her with his sad eyes. She bawled in such despair over her loss, she wasn't even ready for it. "Bakit? Sana ako nalang yung nawala. Bakit sila pa?" She weeped.

"Ate... We had no choice, you can have another child pero we can't have another you." Malou supported Bongbong's side in low key.

"Okay? So ano? Gawa nalang tayo ng bagong anak? Hindi ganon 'yon. Hindi lang basta ganon 'yon!" She cried in anger and glared at Bongbong. "Hindi kase ikaw ang nagbubuntis, hindi ikaw yung nagdadala ng bata sa tiyan mo ng nine months kaya hindi mo alam kung gaano kasakit mawalan ng anak Bong!" She blamed it all to him, he didn't know how to respond but it breaks him.

"Leni, hindi lang naman ikaw yung nawalan. Anak ko rin naman-"

"Exactly! Anak mo rin sila pero hinayaan mo silang mawala nang hindi man lang nila naranasan mamulat sa mundo, God." She cried and broke down to her mother.

"Leni, I'm sorry-" "Hindi ko kailangan ng sorry mo!"

"I just can't afford to lose you-"

"Hindi mababalik ng sorry mo yung nawala saakin." Her teeth clenched in extreme emotions, she pushed him away as he attempted to tame her down, she ran upstairs and locked herself alone.

She cried so hard as she buried her face into the pillow. She couldn't explain how distraught she felt with the loss of their twins and despite that she knew there is no one liable for the tragedy, she just felt so loaded up with agonies that she had to blame it all to someone and Bongbong was the unlucky one.

Due to this, Leni found it harder to recall her feelings for Bongbong. In fact, disappointment overshadowed the tiny memories of her love for him imprinted on her mind.

—

The next days have been rough for Bongbong with Leni avoiding him on purpose. She won't join him for meals, she won't allow him to sleep beside him at night, in respect, he slept at their room's sofa in order to keep a distance as what she wants and look over her at night. She really avoided him and it made him feel so alone. He missed her, he missed the old Leni that loved him back.

Leni woke up early in the morning and went down to the dining room seeing Bongbong just about to finish preparing for breakfast.

"Good morning, mahal. Kain ka na. Nagluto ako ng sunny side up tsaka hotdogs wrapped in bacon." He happily greeted her. There was no trace of amusement on her face. "Nasaan sila mama?" She asked. "Ah, maaga sila umalis. Magpapacheck up daw si tita, sumasakit kase yung rayuma niya. Kain ka na." He responded.

She approached the table and looked at the foods he cooked but as she looked at her, she didn't seem to be very amused. "Mamaya nalang ako kakain." She responded and immediately turned away neglecting what could Bongbong feel.

"Iinom ka pa ng mga gamot mo, di pwedeng walang laman yung tiyan mo." He worried for her. He held her shoulders playfully and guided her to her seat but instead of finding his sweet gesture as something nice, it just got her annoyed. "Ayokong kumain." She stated. "Hindi pupwede, kailangan mong magka-energy." He laid a plate and served her some foods.

"Okay lang ako. Hindi ako gutom." She insisted. "Masarap toh, favorite mo yung hotdogs wrapped in bacon diba? Mainit pa." He happily served her but she seemed to feel out of control.

"Bong, wag na. Hindi talaga ako gutom." She tried to keep herself together. Salvacion entered the house just in time when Leni lost herself.

"Sabi ko ayoko diba?! Mahirap ba intindihin yon?!" She yelled at him startling them. "Teka, anong nangyayari?!" Salvacion felt alarmed with the sudden raising of voice, neither Bongbong or Leni answered, hence, Leni walked to her room.

Her mom looked at Bongbong and had a hint that it was Leni's issue. "Hayaan mo na, kausapin ko nalang. Kumain ka na muna." She told him before she followed her daughter back to her room.

She knocked on her door before she entered the room and sat beside her daughter. "'Nak... May problema ba?" She asked and rubbed her back, Leni sighed soundly. "Sorry ma. Naguguluhan lang ako, I feel so lost. Minsan naiinis ako, nawawala ako sa mood dahil wala akong maintindihan." She explained vaguely.

"It's okay, Leni. Naiintindihan naman namin pero I just hope you don't get too harsh on Bongbong. Napapansin ko kase lately na napapadalas yung paninigaw mo sakanya. Remember, ikakasal na kayo soon, hindi pwedeng ganyan ang relasyon niyo." She pointed out making Leni feel the urge to confess what has been running on her mind for the past few days.

She took a deep breath before confessing. "Ma..." She struggled, "I know it's a big deal pero... I don't wanna get married to Bongbong." She spilled making Salvacion drop her jaw for a moment. "Anak?" She uttered in surprise. "It's not that I don't- I mean- hindi sa ayokong pakasalan siya pero ma, I'm trying to remember everything, lahat ng sinasabi niyo na mahal na mahal namin ang isa't isa pero it's been like three weeks pero wala parin akong nararamdaman. Ayokong ikasal sakanya ng ganito yung nararamdaman ko." She tried to explain her concern.

"Anak, kase... You do know na masasaktan si Bongbong once na i-call off mo yung wedding niyo, di ba?" She asked assuring she is fully aware of the consequences. "Nasabi mo na ba sakanya yang bagay na yan?" She followed.

"Di ko alam kung pano sasabihin sakanya e. Nasasaktuhan lagi na nawawala ako sa mood or nawawalan ako ng lakas ng loob i-open up sakanya." She confided. "Pero ma... I don't wanna marry him... or anyone." She made up her mind, little did they know that Bongbong was hearing their conversation from the other side of the room and it breaks him to hear that the woman that she loved the most, the woman that she dreamt of marrying no longer wants to marry him. His world slowed down as he continued to listen to their conversation, it was the thing he has been afraid of ever since he fell in love with her — he feared that one day, she'll no longer love him as much as he loves her — hence then, he couldn't blame her and the essence of their marriage would be useless if he forces her to do so, he has no choice but to understand her situation.

He knocked on the door weakly and looked at them with sad eyes. Salvacion stood up and decided to leave to give them privacy as they talk.

"I'm sorry." Leni immediately apologized after feeling so bad for yelling at him, he just smiled weakly to conceal that he was hurting. "Nahihirapan lang ako i-control yung emotion ko lately, sorry talaga." She followed. Silence swarmed between them, Leni had the urge to hug him to make him feel at ease. He rested his chin lightly atop of her head as his palms patted on her back, it took Bongbong a while before he was able to begin speaking what was running on his head.

"If you don't want to marry me yet, I understand." He brought straight to the point, it startled Leni upon hearing him bring it up, she realized that she overheard her conversation with her mother. She painstakingly withdrew from the hug and looked up to him feeling so bad.

"I'm sorry—"

"No, it's okay. Naintindihan ko. You don't have to be sorry." He interrupts and looked at her, she could vividly see that he was hurting through his eyes, she didn't know how she was able to see through him but she felt it.

"Bong..." She exhaled sharply finding it hard to explain. "It's not that I don't want to marry you... Naninibago lang ako, naguguluhan, wala akong matandaan. Pakiramdam ko hindi pa ako handa magpakasal sayo. Siguro bago ako maaksidente, handa na ako pero iba na ngayon, Bong. Sana maintindihan mo—"

"I do. I understand if you want to call off the wedding. Hindi ko rin naman gusto na pilitin kang pakasalan ako kung hindi ka pa handa." He retorted and kissed her hands as he looked into her eyes. "Kaya ko naman maghintay hanggang sa maging handa ka na..." He assured but it was a tough job for him. "Basta ipangako mo lang sana na hindi mo ako iiwan and I'll be okay." He pleaded fearing he'd lose her anytime. Leni felt so touched with how Bongbong values her yet, she still struggled to recall the feelings she used to have for him.

"Pangako." She stated for the sake of relieving him. His eyes went teary as he looked into her face, "Salamat, mahal." He smiled vulnerably and kissed her forehead before he wrapped her around his arms.

Leni felt at ease with his arms around her, despite that she still couldn't recall all the feelings they had before, she knew there was something in him that makes her feel so right.

—

The next night came, Bongbong brought the medicines that Leni has to take for the night before they go to sleep. She just got out of the shower with her pink silk night dress covered up with her pink robe, it was inevitable for him not to be amused by her that he didn't realize that he was staring at her for quite some time already.

"Bong?" She called his attention. "Ah-, ha?" He chuckled upon realizing. "Sorry, I uhm... You just... You look so beautiful." He complimented making her blush, she chuckled weakly. "Ayun na nga pala yung mga gamot mo. Wag mo kalimutan inumin ha?" He pointed at the side table.

"Okay," she replied and nodded. After seeing her drink all her medicines, Bongbong prepped himself up to sleep at the sofa while Leni felt bothered as she watched him take the limited space of the couch to sleep on while she enjoys the hug space of the bed.

"Gusto mo dito ka nalang?" She asked shyly, it made him startled for a moment. "No, I'm okay here. Make yourself comfortable." He smiled. "Ayaw mo ba akong katabi?" She followed, it took him sometime before he was able to respond. "Okay lang ba sa'yo?" He felt so happy upon hearing her invitation. She moved herself to the side to give enough space for him to sleep on beside her as she tapped the bed.

A bright smile sprouted from his lips as he walks to the bed, he missed sleeping beside her. Leni smiled sweetly at him as he laid down on the bed, he gazed into her beautiful face and just got lost. "I missed you." He confessed.

"Good night, mahal." He stated and kissed her forehead. She looked into his eyes, "Good night." She replied but instead of breaking away from him, she just felt so attached, she felt like making it up to him. She began to ghost his neck with her soft kisses and it came up to him like a surprise.

Her ghosting intensified, her hand rested on his jaw, next thing he knows, she was already sitting on top of him weakly grounding him as she transitioned her ghosting to kissing his lips gently.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He worried that she might not be ready for it yet, he worried that she might still be weak to do it but she nodded. Her heavy breaths tackled his face as she resumed kissing him gently whilst her hands cupping his face. As their lips brushed with each other, he had his palms rested on the arch of her waist.

Nobody could ever explained how much he missed the touch of her lips, he missed everything about her and being able to be kissed by her again was just magical.

Their kissing intensified, Leni seeming to get eager with things, Bongbong gently reciprocated her kisses making her feel how much he missed her.

"I love you," he managed to utter in between their kisses as he untied her robe and took it off leaving her with her silk pink spaghetti night dress. It made them feel more on fire.

Leni's breaths turned heavy, Bongbong's chest pounded loudly as it became more vivid to him how her warmth was felt on his pelvis as she sat on top of him. His hands caressed her bare thighs and moved up to beneath her skirt but just when he was about to touch her, Salvacion knocked on their door causing an interruption.

Leni and Bongbong stared at each other after the sudden stop, they chuckled. "'Nak?" Salvacion called from the other side. They knew they had to stop.

"Next time," Leni uttered sweetly and grinned at him. "Okay po, mahal." Bongbong chuckled. Leni got back her robe on and opened the door.

"Nainom mo na ba yung gamot mo?" Salvacion had to make sure. "Opo, ma." She smiled at her, Salvacion was amused to see Bongbong finally sleeping on the same bed, he smiled at her hinting her something. "Well, anyways. I just wanna make sure. Good night sainyo." She bid and left them.

Upon closing the door, Leni and Bongbong looked at each other, they chuckled upon realizing how they just got lost for a moment back there.

"Tulog ka na, baka pagod ka." She stated as she laid beside him. "Okay, ikaw rin. You need to recover so much energy." He replied and positioned himself to sleep. Leni suddenly hugged him, it surprised him but it was just so sweet of her. He missed it, he badly did.