#and see their progression into elderhood

[peachypiichi]

is it too much to ask for a sims family tree maker that lets you put pictures of your sims' life stages in it FOR FREE

[alltimefail-sims]

Part 1 Ft. The (in-progress) Living Bonehilda...

Buckle up because this series will have a varying amount of long-winded explanations and timeline word-vomit... but I'm having fun, and I love lore, so I wanted to share my own. Basically, I've been working on fixing the plot holes and lore inconsistencies of some of my favorite sims in The Sims franchise, and I wanted to start with the lovely and vivacious Bonehilda. Fair disclaimer: I don't think that all the lore in the Sims is inconsistent. Some of the lore is likely ongoing or, in my opinion, intentionally vague. However, plot holes and ambiguity drive me crazy, so for my personal saves I had to eliminate speculation and create a timeline that felt clean, consistent, and interesting to me. So, with that being said... let's deep dive!

read more below the cut ↓

Let's start by talking about her life and death. After initial research, it became clear to me that Bonehilda would have lived around the same time as the flirty spirit Claude René Duplantier Guidry (an implied lover/admirer) and the angry, wrathful spirit Temperance (who is highly implied to be her sister), so she most likely would have been a living young adult somewhere between 1910-1920, and died somewhere in the mid to late 1930s as an adult. Why do I believe she died in adulthood, you ask? I think she likely died in adulthood because the one consistent detail across all three iterations of the game she appears in is that she is an adult skeleton, therefore it's only logical to conclude that she died in her adulthood and unfortunately never made it to elderhood.

I've seen some people argue that she is not actually dead, that she never died and did reach elderhood but just evaded death, but I disagree with this because (1) she is not an "elder" skeleton and (2) my eschatological-philosophy-inclined brain interprets eternal-life as either a divine gift or punishment. This is backed up by the fact that, normally, sims do not come back as skeletons but as spirits and living sims who do have eternal life maintain a sim form but are either occults (vampires) or have taken some elixir of life that just maintains their youthful appearance. Ergo, Bonehilda is closer to the Grim Reaper in nature and distinctly different than a previously living sim - she's a seemingly death-defying being that can be summoned from some unknown ether. Could this be the work of a curse? A sacrifice? A ritual she was involved in...willingly or unwillingly? There's no definite answer, but I do have a personal interpretation that I'll save for another day as it involves some other sims we'll take a deep dive into.

All that being said, I wanted to keep her human form consistent with this established timeline because...well...I'm kind of nuts I guess lmao. But I do like the challenge of working with "eras" in my saves because it makes the passage of time feel more realistic and deepens the interpersonal "legacy" roots that I like to create in the game.

Now let's look at her name, which I very much doubt was literally Bonehilda. I think the sims team chose her name to be a play-on-words. For example, I see a sim like Marcus "Flex" being a good example of this. I interpret "Flex" to be more of an acquired nickname due to his fitness prowess, not his actual last name (perhaps it is even a variation of a real last name like Fleck or Fletcher). That being said, after wayyyy too much thought I came to the conclusion that her first name was likely "Brunhilda," a name referencing a Germanic heroic legend, protector, and queen consort; a name that means "armed for battle" (just like our Bonehilda who protects living sims from malicious spirits). I like to think that our Brunhilda commonly just went by Hilda for short during her lifetime. The bone part, in my lore, became a moniker she was known by because, well, she's a skeleton (duh). But more than that, the likely explanation is that stories and legends about her created an unintentional game of telephone - meaning that as time went on and people told tales about her, her name morphed from the real Brun-hilda to Bone-hilda. I mean, it actually makes sense because they're so similar! Plus, I could see her embracing the nickname for its whimsy, as it's clear she has a kind heart and a good sense of humor. For simplicity though, I will continue to refer to her as Bonehilda.

Lastly, I'm going to touch on her personal appearance. We know that when she takes a "human" form (like when she showers if you add her to your household) she has an average body type, green eyes, and red hair, so I kept all those things consistent. Now, personally, when I think of Bonehilda I think of the words "lively," "spirited," and "trendsetter," so right off the bat I chose to make her hair short. Keeping up with desire to be historically-accurate, I imagine she was very into the rising women's suffrage movement of the 1900s and wasn't scared to turn some heads. Plus, I loved how bouncy and beautiful the hair looked and thought the shorter hair fit her face shape better. (It's an added bonus that I've never seen a human makeover of Bonehilda with short hair, so I thought it was a unique choice.)

In my personal lore, the Goth family was the last family she worked for before she died, and they definitely would have paid and treated her well; I've always assumed the Goths to be exceedingly progressive and far ahead of the times. (Side tangent: the Goths are consistently compared to the Landgraabs for good reason, and I've always seen this as old money versus new money, wealthy but with humanitarianism and philanthropy at the core versus wealthy with the intention of hoarding wealth at the cost of or with little regard of others and so on.) Truthfully, I could see the Goths of the early 1900s seeing Bonehilda (and any other staff that worked for them) as more like a part of the family than "paid help." That being the case, they would be generous and ethical, and Bonehilda would therefore have more freedom and means than your typical working-class single woman of the time, so she would be able to keep up with fashion trends/buy nice clothes/keep up with unique haircuts, etc.

As for her makeup - I am actually super happy with how it looks, so that likely won't change. Her blush is intense, but that's pretty accurate for the time period she lived in. I went with a paler, more natural lip than the movie-starlet red that was coming into style because I wanted her to have a demure, youthful look. I also went with a thin brow, but I do think it could be more "filled in" to suit the dramatic eyebrow look which was rising in popularity at this time. Lastly, the beautiful dress she's currently in is not staying as it reads too 1930s to me. My goal is to find an older looking maid's outfit to put her in that suits a 1915s-1920s look better.

I know this may come off like a lot of unnecessary thought and information for a seemingly silly, throwaway sim. However, I would argue that Bonehilda has appeared in 3/4 of the sims games... so as a long-running character she deserves attention and a consistent lore. As we continue this deep-dive series, she'll be connected to more of my personal favorite sims... so I'm really excited to share more with you guys!

I hope you all enjoyed Part 1! I don't know how many more parts there will be, but if you read all of this, know that I appreciate you and I'm so glad you're here!

Until next time... happy lore exploring, curious cats!

[soapver4]

Gardening in a Stone Economy

Remake + ○●-Severance hybrid idea: A data science enthusiast is economically compelled to settle for a Go job in her alternate reality, where costs for higher-level computational processing like her original specialty are exorbitant due to resource depletion, AlphaGo and the like have not been invented and organizations resort to mind-control headsets that translate the logic in mundane onscreen work to gameplay logic. These headsets fortuitously use materials not yet in scarcity in that world. The closer the work meets end goals and procedural standards, the better the mentally displayed Go game progresses. The purpose of the translation is two-fold: 1) achieve watertight protection of commercial secrecy and 2) boost employee motivation in a compact, non-graphics-intensive manner.

But since even Go experts may falter on bad-hair days, work protocols limit employees to a small range of moves for each narrowly defined game scenario, which means office jobs still induce yawns regardless of one's fondness of Go. Worse, workers spend years in Go academies only to face potential skill attrition in autonomous analytical and strategic thinking and in solution creativity as they work round the clock in this manner until elderhood.

Intelligence and knowledge perish sooner than one's capacity for altruism, provided the will for the latter lasts. Faced with the same bleak circumstances, some strive to rise above their station in life in a self-determined sense by not only enduring the grind with increasing grit (as far as self-care permits) and rallying around their teams but also extending comradeship and empathy to everyone, whereas some help themselves Misaeng villain-style to what they see as substitute additional compensation: corporate moneys and female playthings.

The heroine stoically sticks to the former approach, Misaeng hero-style. Her spiritual counsel is a set of principles from her data science days:

Garbage in, Garbage out: How much do you trust ethical decision-making founded on empty stomachs, sleep-deprived brains and hatred-consumed memories? Don't ill-treat yourself yet expect to be unfailingly seen as a good grid conqueror. Don't ill-treat your co-workers yet expect unfailing support from them when you slip into a needy position. (But don't expect sympathy either if you cite your reception of ill treatment as justification for your ill treatment of someone. When people are struggling to escape your claws, they do not have the cognitive bandwidth to analyze your personal history.)

Actionable Insights: Endlessly regurgitating negative experiences you are powerless to redress through yourself or through others perpetuates the pain, although perpetual flashbacks are sometimes passive phenomena individuals are powerless to stop. Look out for facts you can act on. For example, do you feel more irritable as the night thickens? How about investing in a cozy LED lamp to boost your enemy-encircling efficiency after dusk? Does your brain come alive during the dull workday only during lunch? How about snacking on colorful berries as you move your stones?

Watch out for Outliers: See beyond immediate gratification and momentary bruises to the ego for the full picture. While do-no-gooders collect future lawsuits, festering grudges, and other ticking time-bombs, you plot your narrowing financial distance to your dreams for each day of hardship or plot your growing insights into multifaceted human nature for each negotiation on fair game allocation.

Mindful Annotation: A small act of kindness can be a quick glow-up and perk-me-up. A small thought for others can be respite from the prison of your own anxieties. In contrast, don't you ever wonder why various screen characters pursue evil as a vocation only to look perpetually stressed and on the guard? What begin as petty comparison and moderate insecurity in those series blow up into messy huge schemes and constant paranoia. Real-life victims may believe, too, that their thirst for justice outlasts perpetrators' feelings of dominion and thrill. Moreover, workplace guidelines and public discourse are increasing on honest stone laborers' side.

Self-care and self-improvement do not imply surrendering to an unhealthy work-life arrangement. The ending reminds us of this as the heroine runs along rooftops above congested streets to submit a labor reform petition on time. We see in parallel a sequence of her leaping between roofs and another of Misaeng's protagonist doing nearly the same, except that a wide anti-suicide net visibly hangs between her roofs. There is no shame in valuing her life.

[echoweaver]

Intro to Echo in Time

Warning: This post is Big and Wordy, now with 75% more words.

Inspired by The Aldbergs by @cloudberry-sims​, I'm trying out a Sims 3 twist on Morbid's Ultimate Decades Challenge. This starts in the 14th Century (anywhere, I assume, but I'm going with the white American default of medieval England) and progresses through time with a strict ratio of sim days to the year. Gameplay changes to fit historic events. The beginning is going to suck because life expectancy in the 1300s was ass, particularly infant mortality. And whoever survives will get to roll again to die in the Black Plague. This is a game where you need a hierarchy of heirs.

I hate telling stories where everything is bland and nobody faces any challenges. After 13 years, I have the mechanics of The Sims down, and I can mitigate almost anything the game throws at me. I have to make bad things happen on my own, and I'm terrible at that because I get too attached to my characters. So I shall hand over responsibility for tragedy to a very cruel 20-sided die and a whole bunch of probability calculations.

Modifications from Morbid's Challenge

Lifespan and Survival

I was compelled to do my own research in to medieval life expectancy, and my probabilities came out different from Morbid's. I also am going to trim the sim day to real year ratio to 3days/year instead of 4 days/year. That leaves me with:

1. Childbirth

Chance of mother's death in childbirth: 5% (1 in 20) Chance of newborn death: 20% (3 in 20)

2. Baby: 4 days to age 16 months, chance of death at age-up 25% (4 in 20)

3. Toddler: 14 days to age 6, chance of death at age-up 15% (5 in 20)

4. Child: 18 days to age 12, chance of death at age-up 10% (2 in 20)

5. Teen: 18 days to age 18, chance of death at age-up 10% (2 in 20)

6. YA: 36 days to age 30, chance of death at age-up 20% (4 in 20)

7. Adult: 45 days to age 45, death chance 20% (4 in 20)

8. Elder: 30 days to age 55, at which point death is handed off to the game's randomizer.

The reasoning here is that my research indicates that infant mortality was 48%, or roughly half. Of the people who survived to childhood, half of them made it to age 55. In my games, it's not uncommon for sims to live 10 days after their official end-of-lifespan, so I think that should get us a close enough simulation. I think we're unlikely to get the long-tail of people who lived to be really comparatively old like 75.

Also, I moved the Elder transition to age 45 because sims can have babies in their Adult stage, so it seemed reasonable to put the transition at menopause. This means that Elderhood starts in mid-life, and I AM AN Elder. I comfort myself that I’m using the Aging mod, and my Elders are not going to hunch over their canes immediately.

What's really disturbing is that those numbers are KINDER than Morbid's rolls. EEK. Also, Morbid’s lifespan is longer than mine, so it may even out a bit.

Racism

Look, I know that miscegenation was a big deal until close to modern days, but I just don't want to deal, ok? I don't want to screw with making all my sims white or creating castes of different skintones who are allowed to marry each other and are only allowed in certain careers. I can deal with 25% of my sims surviving to a really-young lifespan target. I'm using mechanics for sexism and heterosexism and economic castes. But encoding racism into my mechanics just makes me feel queasy. This is just going to be a multicolored version of medieval England. All simulations give something up.

Lifestyle

I'm a huge agriculture simulation nerd. (You should see me play Minecraft.) I've already looked up what foods were available in medieval England. I'm using Cooking Overhaul and Ani's Hunting Mod. Unfortunately, the only grain available in the game is corn, and I haven't found a mod that adds any other plantable grains. So we'll just pretend corn is oats or rye, and I can use Ani's food processor as a millstone to grind corn into flour.

I'm not sure how much of subsistence will be much of a story in between births and deaths, but I'll have plenty of fun playing it :).

Inheritance and Location

I was done with sticking to one lot in Sims challenges since back in the Pinstar days. I just don't know why the community got so attached to, "Buy a 64x64 lot and stay there for 10 generations," as the foundation for so many challenges. I've never been willing to stick to one lot or one world. I play my games too in-depth, and I suck at building.

More importantly, I've done enough of defining a family line by the last name. In Morbid's challenge, male inheritance means that the heir must be male and the girls will be married off with dowries. If the heir dies, a male cousin can inherit and so on. This all makes perfect sense. I just don't think I need to define the heir of my story as the literal heir of the household wealth. I intend to pick whatever surviving child I want. When that child is female, the story will move into a new active household when she marries. After over a decade of Samples and Wonderlands, I'm interested in telling stories about those who leave, not just those who stay behind.

The Foundress

Last but not least, meet Emmaline Weaver.

Since she's a woman, her surname won't last very long.

Her traits are random rolled to be: Coward, Hydrophobic, Proper, Gatherer, and Light Sleeper

Those traits naturally resolved into a backstory for me, and I've had a lot of fun with her so far.

I want you to know that this is the first game I've ever played where the Proper trait was so big a deal. That curtsy greeting is the CUTEST THING EVAR.

[emzchaos]

L I F E  S T A G E S  C A S  C H A L L E N G E  by @someone-elsa

Create a sim in all of their life stages. Or use a sim you’ve created before and create their other life stages. Or use a sim born in game or a premade.

In addition to the six life stages you can create in CAS, you can add your own (like a tween for example, also maybe they don’t even live to the elderhood?). You can write their life story if you wish or let us guess.

Wesley was kind of the end choice. She is my most progressed one. I tried to give you a look into her life a little more with how she was growing up. Sadly I have come to hate Elder Wesley and deem her illegal from this day onwards.

I was tagged by two really amazing people @amelettes & @erosims 

My tag victims @pink-chevalier, @kalopsiia-sims @cyazurai @cynfulsimmer @simchievous @saps-sims @simsulate and anyone else who sees this.

[varicoseveinsclinic1-blog]

How to treat and prevent varicose veins

Varicose veins are usually present in the superficial region of the skin in the legs. These veins turn into enlarged and twisted forms due to several causative factors. So, the changes in the veins are quite evident over time. Along with the enlargement of the veins, the respective patient might also feel and see swollen legs, itching, and bruising. These symptoms help the individual to see the change and consult the varicose veins treatment specialist before it’s too late.

How to treat varicose veins?

With the rise in the advancements of medical technology and techniques utilized in the field of medicine, several treatments are added from time to time that ensures the best possible results for the patients. Some of these treatments comprise surgeries in them, whereas others are non-surgery based treatments. Here are various types of varicose veins treatment that helps to get rid of varicose veins.

Ayurveda

The ancient time treatment solutions help in reducing the symptoms associated with varicose veins over the period of time. Some of the natural herbs such as Brahmi prove to be highly beneficial in bringing the veins functioning and thickness back to normal.

Practicing self-care

This is one of the essential steps that you need to take for achieving the best results from the efforts put daily. This is one of the natural cures for varicose veins. So, it’s important to focus on yourself and take care of the body.

Stocking with compression effect

Your veins too need the guidance to stay healthy when out of the track, isn’t it? Compression stockings play a crucial role in diminishing varicose veins over a period of time and ensure that the functioning is carried out in a successful manner. The blood flow to and from the varicose veins is improved within an appreciating period. 

Surgical procedure

These procedures are used extensively in cases of severe varicose veins among patients. The pain and recovery are higher than the latest varicose veins treatment options. Such surgical procedures include Endoscopic vein surgery, Ambulatory phlebectomy, and Sclerotherapy, to name a few. Each of these surgical procedures is chosen according to the current health status of the patients.

Laser treatments

These modern day non-surgical therapies prove to be very useful for patients who do not want to undergo the surgical options for varicose veins treatment. The post-operative pain in the area after the treatment is completed, and the required recovery time is much lower when compared to the surgical options. Also, patients need not worry about the complications associated with the procedure. The advanced procedures help in keeping the patients motivated and heal at a faster pace, thus resuming back to the normal routine.

It’s important to consult the varicose veins specialist at the right time to avoid the progression of the varicose veins. If you find the symptoms or any abnormalities in your legs, then its highly recommended to search and consult a specialist for the right diagnosis followed by treatment of the condition. One must remember to provide as much details as possible regarding the condition to the doctor. Also, clarifying the doubts related to the varicose veins treatment is of utmost importance for every patient, thus ensuring the success of treatment.

How to prevent varicose veins?

Prevention of a medical condition is of utmost importance to avoid facing the consequences. This helps in staying fit and healthy throughout life, especially in the stage of elderhood. Here are some of the most effective varicose veins prevention tips that are useful for the individual in different stages of life.

Stay active

Exercising regularly and taking the right measures to keep the body in the range of the normal weight is an important step to get rid of varicose veins. Also, you need to have at least moderate activity throughout the day to avoid sitting or standing for long period of time. Eventually, you can increase your pace to achieve even better results.

Maintain weight

Your weight can be a significant factor in the start and development of the varicose veins. Make regular efforts to maintain your weight. Also, checking your weight regularly like after every two weeks to keep track of the weight variation.

Leg exercises

Learning and performing exercises strengthening leg exercises will prove to be highly beneficial for the proper functioning of the legs. These are the exercises where you need to lift your legs alternatively in a few sets. In other type of set, you need to perform the exercise with both legs at the same time. This will prevent blood clotting and promote the smooth functioning of blood vessels in the legs.  

Build eating habits wisely

You need to make smart decisions while choosing the items in your diet. This will help you in fuelling your body with the right ingredients. If you are currently choosing unhealthy habits, then you need to get ahead with the positive changes in your diet quickly. This useful varicose veins prevention tip to see the best results over time.

Keep changing your current position

If you keep sitting or standing for long, then you need to observe the patterns and take quick action on it, before it’s too late. Just walk around even for a few minutes and save yourself from being affected with varicose veins.

Consult a specialist

Are you worried if you have chances of attracting varicose veins in the sooner times? Then, you must prioritize consultation with a varicose veins specialist to keep yourself on the safer side. The recommendation of the medical experts will help you to stay on the right track and avoid these issues as much as possible.

Thus, varicose veins can affect any individual based on different factors. So, it’s important to get diagnosed and treated under the guidance of the medical specialist. Also, implementation of the prevention measures concerning the varicose veins must be prioritized for the best results. If you are presently facing troubles related to varicose veins, then book an appointment with Varicose Veins Clinic today and live a healthy life ever after. 

[aldero-riverside]

@simspressionism said: Haha my sims don’t even get ill at all :D they just don’t want us to make progress :)

Curse these sims and their refusal to let us progress! Except in the next round where everyone gets sick and now the whole ‘hood is infested.

@simminginsilence said: She is ADORABLE!!!! <3

Evil, but adorable. ♡_♡

@foxglovesims​ said: Haha that’s too funny xD 

Puberty hit this boy instantly. XD

@sims2simmies said: Gaming at its finest.

A+ gaming is calming and relaxing. :D

sims2simmies said: Lol but that simmie doesn’t want to.

I know, it’s great. XD But morally I’m like: Why Javan, why do you this?! This isn’t how I raised you! (Then promptly go back to laughing like a mad person.)

@crystaldollhouse​ said: RIP I’m so sorry for your loss :( I’ve never experienced the death of a hood myself, despite doing practically everything on the don’t-do-it list. Glad that you managed to save most of the sims though!

I usually get bored of a ‘hood after a couple of years so if it is corrupted, it’s usually still not showing yet and I’ve left the neighbourhood behind. So I honestly haven’t had many ‘hoods corrupt and die either.

(And for that reason, Aldero Riverside is going nowhere. My attachment has only lasted a year. How dare it die before at least 2 years like every other ‘hood! XD)

crystaldollhouse said: That gif is how I feel any time something goes even a little bit wrong!

Haha, same! Our tempers are clearly quite scary when activated.

crystaldollhouse said: I feel like a terrible sim parent when my toddlers escape outside, when it’s snowing it’s so bad :P

Me too, unless they have supervision of an adult/teen. 

@littleblondesim said: aaaaaaaaaaaah, why technology have to hate you right nowwwwwwww 

My sims was just the start. We’ve had so much break recently it’s ridiculous. ¬.¬

littleblondesim said: Boo about loosing the neighborhood, but yay that you were able to extract most of the sims! Rebuilding can be sort of fun, too, as (at least me to) I learned what I liked and didn’t like about the old neighborhood. :)

I don’t mind a new neighbourhood - I actually have a plan on how to story tell the corruption into the ‘hood - but I’m that player who much prefers the playing with the sims and can only take building in small amounts. 

Endless. Building.

littleblondesim said: Oooh, a Romance vampire sounds fun. No pressure to complete a LTW before elderhood because there isn’t one!

They are! My first ever vampire was a romance sim, and she and completed all the LTWs, then went onto the popularity ones. Now I really want to play with a vampire...

littleblondesim said: I didn’t know about the home vs. community lot woohoo loophole. Very interesting! I’ll have to keep that in mind. :) 

It’s one of those loopholes I try not to use to make it challenging, but definitely nice to know. :D

littleblondesim said: Teal and Olivia are definitely sisters! I love when the game throws things like that. :) 

The Linscott/Webb/Topaz lot definitely have some interesting genes amongst themselves. (I kind of forget Olivia and Keith are related because they don’t look like siblings. It’s probably why I don’t have them interact all that much.)

littleblondesim said: Oooooh, I totally see the naming theme for the Burrises now! Do you have any other themes in the neighborhood? 

My naming method is either random as heck or themes so I have a few in the ‘hood right now. They’ll probably fade eventually because some of gen 2 will start new themes for gen 3 to inherit. Gen 1 started:

Burris: Biblical names, or names with “N” or “J” at the start. Flores: Spanish names generally. Chadwick quads: Names that were supposedly “old fashioned names” when I googled names at the time. Hitchworth: Pokemon references. (To explain: Pokemon “Pearl” was the name one of the fifth generation games. “Brock” was a gym leader from the first games. “Ash” is the main character from the cartoon/anime.) Linscott/Webb/Topaz/Opal lot: Tree/nature meaning names, or bird names. Two of the last names coincidentally are crystals.

littleblondesim said: so cute!

The one time where talking to yourself isn’t seen as crazy! :D

[foursproutwealth-blog]

Keep Going. This Too Shall Pass.

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/keep-going-this-too-shall-pass/

Keep Going. This Too Shall Pass.

Authored by Doug “Uncola” Lynn via TheTollOnline.com,

Like the weather when a storm approaches, or as the seasons turn, or waves pounding on a shoreline, any deviations are measured and compared by speed and intensity.  The same can be said for headlines:  Omnibus, discouraged Deplorables, rumors of war, prospects of peace, economic bubbles, fluctuating markets, and political intrigue.  Round and round it goes; when it ends, nobody knows. It’s a time of transition; and when traveling over mountaintops, through valleys, and on rough seas, no one has all of the answers.

Even when looking at maps.

The books, “Generations” (1992) and “The Fourth Turning“ (1997), were written by the historians William Strauss and Neil Howe. These recent explorers identified recorded cycles of history and categorized them across multiple cultures and eras.  In both books, historical timelines were analyzed and populations were correlated to specific life-cycles labeled as generational types.  Strauss and Howe additionally addressed the concept of time in the context of both circular and linear perspectives and defined what is called a “saeculum” as a “long human life” measuring roughly 80 to 90 years.  Every saeculum is comprised of four turnings, each lasting around 20 years.

Just as there are four seasons consisting of spring, summer, fall and winter, there are also four phases of a human life represented in childhood, young adulthood, middle age and elderhood.  As each phase of human life represents approximately 20 years, so is each generational archetype identified within the historical cycles, or turnings, as follows.

The generations experience each turning according their life stage; and the Seasons (i.e. order of Turnings # 1 -4) are identified by each generation as they reach middle-age.  Amazingly, history shows a consistent pattern in how the generations both cause and affect historical events.  The patterns develop based upon how each generation interacts with the other and documented consistencies are delineated by the authors.

In America, since the end of the late sixteenth-century, there have been four full “cycles” (i.e. saeculums) as follows:

1.) Colonial Cycle

2.) Revolutionary Cycle

3.) Civil War Cycle

4.) World War Cycle

In every Fourth-Turning, or Crisis period, within all of the above saeculums, American society experienced great upheavals and war.   Moreover, like progressively burgeoning tsunamis rising and crashing upon the sands of time, each consecutive American Fourth-Turning Crisis was more devastating than the last.

America’s last crisis occurred during the years of 1929 through 1945; a turbulent transition period whereby the nation experienced a financial crash, a great depression and a world war.

Now it’s our turn.  Time’s up.  According to Neil Howe, this current Fourth Turning began in September 2008 and is projected to last until around 2030.

All we can do ride it out the best we can. Trying to individually affect a Fourth Turning would be like lassoing the wind or reversing an ocean’s tide.  It can’t be done.  With this in mind, it is best for us prepare and adapt by battening down our hatches and adjusting our sails.

Whether we are climbing mountains, descending into valleys, or being tossed about on stormy seas, know that the Presidency of Donald J. Trump is a storm.  By accident or design, he has shaken the foundations of geopolitics in ways few could have forecasted less than two years ago.

Although I am first and foremost a Better-than-Hillaryite, I was always cautiously optimistic about Trump. This does not make me a Trumpster, per se. I’ve called him the Oompah Loompah Man, a Reality TV Star, the Orange One, etc., and I’ve previously written about him as the manifestation of one of the following three possibilities:

1.) The Real Thing

2.) Serving the agenda of the global financial elite unwittingly

3.) Controlled opposition as a Judas Goat or Trojan Horse

Time reveals everything; and people are known by their actions, not by their words.  The same can be said for events.

Much has transpired in American politics over the past year and a lot of it has been good for Trump voters. Yet, in his recent Omnibus signing speech, Trump acted like a man in a hurry, with more important things on his mind. Obviously, his signature on that steaming pile of shit pissed off a lot of former Deplorables, including one of his most avid advocates, Ann Coulter.

What was Trump thinking?  He signed his name while sounding like Br’er’ Rabbit pleading not to be thrown into the brier-patch.  Trump wanted the military funded.  And now it appears he desires to build The Wall, as a priority of national security, using the defense budget.

Did Br’er Rabbit Trump, outsmart the Establishment’s Tar-Baby?  Or do the globalists have photos of Stormy Daniels spanking him in his underwear?  Could it be the swamp is too muckedand the mountains too high for a lone, art-of-the-deal making, 6-level-chess playing, billionaire wizard and his staff?

What’s going on?

Transitions.

Appearances are not always what they seem and Occam’s Razor, at times, loses its edge.  But, if past history is any guide, it may not be wise to underestimate Trump; even if paying for the $1.3 trillion Omnibus Bill will be like America’s children climbing Mt. Everest in bare feet.

Multiple forces have been aligned against Trump from the moment he first rode down his escalator in 2015 to announce his candidacy for president.  And now, every day, he’s still here driving all of my sworn enemies batshit crazy, one Tweet at a time.

The famous underworld attorney extraordinaire, Roy Cohn, in a 1984 interview claimed Trump was the closest thing to a genius he had ever met in his life.  Thirty-two years after that statement by Cohn, Trump became President of the United States while being outspent two to one, against a rabidly hostile media, in opposition to colluding officials in the United States’ FBI, DoJ, and State Department; plus, with zero support from all Democrats and a significant percentage of Republicans.

Transitions, indeed. Tightrope walking is more like it.

Today, Trump stands high up on the mountain in the middle of a political blizzard.  He is surrounded by the gale force winds of a phony Russian election hacking narrative, a sinister special council investigation, and allegations ranging from obstruction of justice to being spanked by porn star with a Forbes magazine.

I couldn’t make that shit up if I tried.

Now, according to a report in Politico (hardly a conservative publication), a majority of Americans believe the Deep State manipulates U.S. policies:

The majority of the country believes a group of unelected government and military officials secretly manipulate national policy, according to a Monmouth Poll released Monday.

Of the 803 adults polled, 27 percent said they believe the unelected group known as the deep state definitely exists. An additional 47 percent said it probably exists. Sixteen percent said it probably does not exist and 5 percent said they believe it definitely does not exist.

Although most people may consider the Deep State as the “administrative state”, or the “establishment”, one wonders how many of the sheeple would have been half-awakened if not for Trump. I say “half-awakened” because most know nothing of the round table groups as referred to by the historian, Carroll Quigley, or the secret societies as referenced by former president John F. Kennedy.  This means the majority of Americans remain naïve, controlled, and at the whim of True Power.

But what about Trump?

Our president is either who he professes to be, or he is not. You either trust him, or you don’t. It could be he is playing the power game the best he can and prioritizing actualities that we can’t see for purposes we don’t know; or he’s puppet, or imbecilic sell-out leading us down to a dead-end on the primrose path.

Call me quixotic, but I remain cautiously hopeful.  I remain so in spite of the warhawk John Bolton, Trump’s new war cabinet, and his latest hardliner stance with Russia.  Why?  Well, similar to the way I rejected solipsism in college for fear of being too lonely, I now refuse to despair over Trump’s personality swings because I enjoy the view.

Is he controlled opposition? Or controlled demolition?

Either way, I have nothing to lose and nowhere else I’d rather be at this time.  There’s not one damn thing I can do to prevent Russian bombs so I will , instead, wait patiently for the imminent Inspector General’s report; which is said to contain some pure TNT.

What a panoramic scene that will be.

Will the revelations of Michael Horwitz’s report turn the tide for Trump and make America great again? Hope springs eternal.  Or, it could be the global elite will trick Trump into cannonading the Cossacks in order to conclude any conversations on corruption in our country.  Who knows? The elite bankers could also crash the economy, like Kondratieff and Elliot Grand Supercycle waves, on history’s rocky shore; leaving Trump in a rumpled heap right next to the bleached white bones of Herbert Hoover.

The winter of this Fourth Turning’s discontent will undoubtedly deliver war and economic turmoil; and not necessarily in that order.  But what will ensue?  Constitutional Law or tyranny?

Time reveals all things; and, what happens after the release of the Inspector General’s report will be very telling.  Why? Because transitions are roads to revelations.

So keep going, watch, and see.

On the way, however, look for any false flags and know this:  Tyranny wants you controlled or dead; it is, in fact, right behind you, and up just ahead.  It also really, really, really wants your guns.  If you don’t believe me, just look behind to see how fast we’ve traveled from Parkland, Florida to a full repeal of the Second Amendment.

Winter is here.  A chill is in the air.

[foursprout-blog]

Keep Going. This Too Shall Pass.

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/keep-going-this-too-shall-pass/

Keep Going. This Too Shall Pass.

Authored by Doug “Uncola” Lynn via TheTollOnline.com,

Like the weather when a storm approaches, or as the seasons turn, or waves pounding on a shoreline, any deviations are measured and compared by speed and intensity.  The same can be said for headlines:  Omnibus, discouraged Deplorables, rumors of war, prospects of peace, economic bubbles, fluctuating markets, and political intrigue.  Round and round it goes; when it ends, nobody knows. It’s a time of transition; and when traveling over mountaintops, through valleys, and on rough seas, no one has all of the answers.

Even when looking at maps.

The books, “Generations” (1992) and “The Fourth Turning“ (1997), were written by the historians William Strauss and Neil Howe. These recent explorers identified recorded cycles of history and categorized them across multiple cultures and eras.  In both books, historical timelines were analyzed and populations were correlated to specific life-cycles labeled as generational types.  Strauss and Howe additionally addressed the concept of time in the context of both circular and linear perspectives and defined what is called a “saeculum” as a “long human life” measuring roughly 80 to 90 years.  Every saeculum is comprised of four turnings, each lasting around 20 years.

Just as there are four seasons consisting of spring, summer, fall and winter, there are also four phases of a human life represented in childhood, young adulthood, middle age and elderhood.  As each phase of human life represents approximately 20 years, so is each generational archetype identified within the historical cycles, or turnings, as follows.

The generations experience each turning according their life stage; and the Seasons (i.e. order of Turnings # 1 -4) are identified by each generation as they reach middle-age.  Amazingly, history shows a consistent pattern in how the generations both cause and affect historical events.  The patterns develop based upon how each generation interacts with the other and documented consistencies are delineated by the authors.

In America, since the end of the late sixteenth-century, there have been four full “cycles” (i.e. saeculums) as follows:

1.) Colonial Cycle

2.) Revolutionary Cycle

3.) Civil War Cycle

4.) World War Cycle

In every Fourth-Turning, or Crisis period, within all of the above saeculums, American society experienced great upheavals and war.   Moreover, like progressively burgeoning tsunamis rising and crashing upon the sands of time, each consecutive American Fourth-Turning Crisis was more devastating than the last.

America’s last crisis occurred during the years of 1929 through 1945; a turbulent transition period whereby the nation experienced a financial crash, a great depression and a world war.

Now it’s our turn.  Time’s up.  According to Neil Howe, this current Fourth Turning began in September 2008 and is projected to last until around 2030.

All we can do ride it out the best we can. Trying to individually affect a Fourth Turning would be like lassoing the wind or reversing an ocean’s tide.  It can’t be done.  With this in mind, it is best for us prepare and adapt by battening down our hatches and adjusting our sails.

Whether we are climbing mountains, descending into valleys, or being tossed about on stormy seas, know that the Presidency of Donald J. Trump is a storm.  By accident or design, he has shaken the foundations of geopolitics in ways few could have forecasted less than two years ago.

Although I am first and foremost a Better-than-Hillaryite, I was always cautiously optimistic about Trump. This does not make me a Trumpster, per se. I’ve called him the Oompah Loompah Man, a Reality TV Star, the Orange One, etc., and I’ve previously written about him as the manifestation of one of the following three possibilities:

1.) The Real Thing

2.) Serving the agenda of the global financial elite unwittingly

3.) Controlled opposition as a Judas Goat or Trojan Horse

Time reveals everything; and people are known by their actions, not by their words.  The same can be said for events.

Much has transpired in American politics over the past year and a lot of it has been good for Trump voters. Yet, in his recent Omnibus signing speech, Trump acted like a man in a hurry, with more important things on his mind. Obviously, his signature on that steaming pile of shit pissed off a lot of former Deplorables, including one of his most avid advocates, Ann Coulter.

What was Trump thinking?  He signed his name while sounding like Br’er’ Rabbit pleading not to be thrown into the brier-patch.  Trump wanted the military funded.  And now it appears he desires to build The Wall, as a priority of national security, using the defense budget.

Did Br’er Rabbit Trump, outsmart the Establishment’s Tar-Baby?  Or do the globalists have photos of Stormy Daniels spanking him in his underwear?  Could it be the swamp is too muckedand the mountains too high for a lone, art-of-the-deal making, 6-level-chess playing, billionaire wizard and his staff?

What’s going on?

Transitions.

Appearances are not always what they seem and Occam’s Razor, at times, loses its edge.  But, if past history is any guide, it may not be wise to underestimate Trump; even if paying for the $1.3 trillion Omnibus Bill will be like America’s children climbing Mt. Everest in bare feet.

Multiple forces have been aligned against Trump from the moment he first rode down his escalator in 2015 to announce his candidacy for president.  And now, every day, he’s still here driving all of my sworn enemies batshit crazy, one Tweet at a time.

The famous underworld attorney extraordinaire, Roy Cohn, in a 1984 interview claimed Trump was the closest thing to a genius he had ever met in his life.  Thirty-two years after that statement by Cohn, Trump became President of the United States while being outspent two to one, against a rabidly hostile media, in opposition to colluding officials in the United States’ FBI, DoJ, and State Department; plus, with zero support from all Democrats and a significant percentage of Republicans.

Transitions, indeed. Tightrope walking is more like it.

Today, Trump stands high up on the mountain in the middle of a political blizzard.  He is surrounded by the gale force winds of a phony Russian election hacking narrative, a sinister special council investigation, and allegations ranging from obstruction of justice to being spanked by porn star with a Forbes magazine.

I couldn’t make that shit up if I tried.

Now, according to a report in Politico (hardly a conservative publication), a majority of Americans believe the Deep State manipulates U.S. policies:

The majority of the country believes a group of unelected government and military officials secretly manipulate national policy, according to a Monmouth Poll released Monday.

Of the 803 adults polled, 27 percent said they believe the unelected group known as the deep state definitely exists. An additional 47 percent said it probably exists. Sixteen percent said it probably does not exist and 5 percent said they believe it definitely does not exist.

Although most people may consider the Deep State as the “administrative state”, or the “establishment”, one wonders how many of the sheeple would have been half-awakened if not for Trump. I say “half-awakened” because most know nothing of the round table groups as referred to by the historian, Carroll Quigley, or the secret societies as referenced by former president John F. Kennedy.  This means the majority of Americans remain naïve, controlled, and at the whim of True Power.

But what about Trump?

Our president is either who he professes to be, or he is not. You either trust him, or you don’t. It could be he is playing the power game the best he can and prioritizing actualities that we can’t see for purposes we don’t know; or he’s puppet, or imbecilic sell-out leading us down to a dead-end on the primrose path.

Call me quixotic, but I remain cautiously hopeful.  I remain so in spite of the warhawk John Bolton, Trump’s new war cabinet, and his latest hardliner stance with Russia.  Why?  Well, similar to the way I rejected solipsism in college for fear of being too lonely, I now refuse to despair over Trump’s personality swings because I enjoy the view.

Is he controlled opposition? Or controlled demolition?

Either way, I have nothing to lose and nowhere else I’d rather be at this time.  There’s not one damn thing I can do to prevent Russian bombs so I will , instead, wait patiently for the imminent Inspector General’s report; which is said to contain some pure TNT.

What a panoramic scene that will be.

Will the revelations of Michael Horwitz’s report turn the tide for Trump and make America great again? Hope springs eternal.  Or, it could be the global elite will trick Trump into cannonading the Cossacks in order to conclude any conversations on corruption in our country.  Who knows? The elite bankers could also crash the economy, like Kondratieff and Elliot Grand Supercycle waves, on history’s rocky shore; leaving Trump in a rumpled heap right next to the bleached white bones of Herbert Hoover.

The winter of this Fourth Turning’s discontent will undoubtedly deliver war and economic turmoil; and not necessarily in that order.  But what will ensue?  Constitutional Law or tyranny?

Time reveals all things; and, what happens after the release of the Inspector General’s report will be very telling.  Why? Because transitions are roads to revelations.

So keep going, watch, and see.

On the way, however, look for any false flags and know this:  Tyranny wants you controlled or dead; it is, in fact, right behind you, and up just ahead.  It also really, really, really wants your guns.  If you don’t believe me, just look behind to see how fast we’ve traveled from Parkland, Florida to a full repeal of the Second Amendment.

Winter is here.  A chill is in the air.