#anyway antonio is rex now

[writerorlion333]

the pain... of renaming a character after posting about them a fuckton.

[evabellasworld]

Storm of the Republic

Chapter 6

AO3 Link | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

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Summary:  When Tup murdered General Tiplar during a battle, Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex dispatched Ahsoka, Fives, and Yara to solve the mystery that was plaguing the Clone Army. Meanwhile, Senator Padme Amidala contacted Commander Fox, Commander Tori, Riyo Chuchi, and Dipper to help her continue investigating the death of Palpatine, suspecting that Dooku was behind the evil plot. But when Dooku send an ISB agent to stop them, the team had to race against time to search for the truth, which could alter the course of the galaxy.

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Arriving at the medical base, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, Fives, Yara, and Tiplee entered the room where they were greeted by Kix, who was watching over Tup’s condition.

“Fives, Yara, what’s happening to me?” Yup asked, realising that he was strapped to his bed.

Fives and Yara exchanged a brief glance with each other as they focused on Tup. “You don’t remember?” the former raised his eyebrows.

“No,” he denied, unsure of what he meant.

“You murdered General Tiplar,” Yara told him the truth, much to his surprise.

“What? No, that’s not possible,” Tup shook his head, as he tried to wriggle free from his current position. “I would never, I could never…”

“Tup, you did,” Fives grabbed his hand, stopping him. He wished it never happened, but unfortunately, there was nothing he or Yara could do to change the past.

“I don’t, I don’t understand,” he expressed his agitation, prompting the medical droid to reach for a syringe beside him. “How could this happen? What’s happening to me, Fives?”

His body was jittering as the medical droid injected the syringe on the right side of his neck, causing him to scream for help three times until his pulse level decreased. Yara looked at her younger brother, crushed by his conditions.

She had never seen him like this before. Usually, Tup was shy and quiet, but he put on a brave face and fared well in battle. The closest thing Yara had seen to Tup’s fearful face was on Umbara, where he was struggling to execute her, along with Fives and Jessy.

Poor Tup, she pitied him. I’ve never seen him like this before.

“What do you think happened?” Rex raised the question to Anakin, who was rubbing the back of his head.

“I wish I knew,” Ahsoka hoped for answers.

He turned to Kix, who was holding a datapad. “Did you check all of his scans?”

“Well, all of his scans are clear,” Kix answered his general. “As far as I can tell, this is combat-related stress. It seems he’s had some sort of breakdown.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Yara slapped her forehead, hearing that from an experienced medic. “Combat-related stress? Is that what you came up with?”

Rex couldn’t believe it either. “Kix, you should know better. We were designed to withstand any stress.”

“I agree,” Fives chimed in, shifting his focus towards them. “He doesn’t seem to remember what happened. It’s like he’s sick, or drugged.”

“Well, it could be a virus, a toxin,” Kix shrugged, speculating about the potential cause of Tup’s odd behaviour. “I can’t be certain.”

Looking at Tup, who was dozed off, Anakin gestured to his team towards the exit. “Let’s talk outside.”

“Yes, master,” Ahsoka acknowledged, as they headed outside the medical bay. As Fives was the last to walk out of the room, the door hissed behind him, prompting Anakin to continue with what he wanted to say back then.

“You mean the enemy could have made him do this?”

“It’s a possibility,” Tiplee shrugged. “There have been rumors that the Empire has been trying to develop an anti-clone virus, biological warfare.”

“It could be possible,” Yara said. “That could explain why Tup killed Master Tiplar on the battlefield.”

“Listen,” Kix calmed them down. “We aren’t equipped for this type of situation. He’ll have to be taken back to Kamino. Only then, you will have your answers.”

Ahsoka shook her head in disagreement. “The Empire shut down the cloning facility on Kamino. Going there wouldn’t be the best idea.”

“I agree with Commander Tano,” Yara acknowledged. “For all we know, the Empire would ambush us there.”

Anakin groaned, figuring out a better solution for Tup. Both of them made a good point. Since he suspected the Empire was behind all of this, it would make perfect sense if they found an alternative treatment for his men instead.

As the Jedi pondered, he thought about Jedi Healer Cinta Kaarim back at base, who could treat her patient. Before that, she helped Commander Tori’s child, Frieda, with her speech therapy and also assisted Obi-Wan with a stomach bug as well. Master Kaarim is our only hope right now.

“I have an idea,” Anakin spoke. “And it’s a superb one.”

“It better be,” Ahsoka crossed her arms, knowing that her master’s plan worked half the time.

“Trust me, Snips, it’s a good idea this time,” he assured his Padawan, placing his hand on her shoulder. “We could send Tup back to base instead. Master Kaarim can handle it from there.”

She smiled at him. “I have to admit, that is a good idea. Besides, Master Kaarim is the only medical doctor we can trust right now.”

Kix nodded in unison with General Skywalker’s solution. “Alright, we’ll send Tup back to base and hopefully, we’ll get answers from there.”

“Can Yara and I come along?” Fives volunteered. “Tup is our friend, and right now, he needs someone to watch his back.”

Anakin and Ahsoka glanced at Rex, who then let out an exhale. “Alright, but everything must be done by the book,” Rex stated. “You both need to stay by his side at all times. I don’t want anymore slip-ups.”

“Yes, sir,” saluted Yara. “We won’t let you down.”

***

Marching through the base, Tori held Frieda as the little girl's eyes wandered around, looking at the Republic soldiers working around the base. Some of them were refuelling their ships for the next battle, while others were walking in and out of the base, reporting their status to their superiors.

“Mama, look,” the child pointed at the Jedi Cruiser hovering above them, making Tori’s lips curled upward.

“That’s a ship up there,” she described to her. “It’s protecting us from the bad guys.”

Hopefully, it’s protecting us, Tori fancied, not wanting Frieda to succumb to cynicism like her.

Tori never felt alone since the Battle of Coruscant. No matter how much she fought in every battle, the galaxy turned their backs on them. No one is coming to save the tide of the war. They had to rely on each other for support instead.

So far, with General Arin Sallis leading the 101st Battalion, their luck seemed to improve. Being an experienced soldier, Arin has proven herself to be an effective leader towards her troops. Despite her strictness, Arin has a soft spot for the clones and children, which shows in her attitude.

Odd Eye could also say the same towards her new general, Erina Almarez-Guttierez. Unlike Arin, however, Erina was temperate and calm, just like how Erhan was. Her partner, General Raul Antonio Gomez, who led the 197th Battalion, was supportive, which depicted the relationship between the two battalions.

The Coruscant Guard is entrusted under the care of Marshal Commander Fox himself, with supervision from General Nara Brinks, who worked for the Galactic Republic long before Palpatine was in office.

Though Nara was hard, Fox got along with his new boss well. She was straightforward with her command and cared about the clones under her wings. As he entered the main headquarters, the elderly Palliduvan woman greeted him with a grandmotherly smile on her face, making Fox feel at ease.

“How’s my favourite commander doing?” she asked him, giving him a hug. “I hope you have plenty of rest for yourself.”

”I’ve rested in an adequate amount, sir,” he said honestly. “Thank you very much.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Riyo spoke, much to Fox’s delight. “He tends to overwork himself too much.”

“You know what they say, old habits die hard,” he teased her, gazing at her with loving eyes. “But what’s this all about, anyway?”

“We intercepted a call from Coruscant,” Arin stepped out of the shadow, her hands guarded behind her. Tori straightened her posture and gave her a salute in respect.

“General Sallis, to what do I owe you for my pleasure?”

The red half-Twi’lek glanced at Frieda and shook her little hands. “Hello darling, how are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” Frieda said, making her beam with joy.

“Anyway,” the general cleared her throat, shifting her focus towards Fox. “Senator Amidala had reached out to us through a secure line. It appears she had requested for Commander Fox’s help.”

Fox’s eyes widened when he heard Padmé’s name mentioned in the briefing, switching him into bodyguard mode. “Senator Amidala had tried to contact me? Is she alright, General? Is she safe?”

“She is, Fox,” Erina comforted him. “But it won’t be long before the Empire finds out. I will play the message for you.”

Gesturing to Arin and Nara, the hijabi woman played the message, though the Naboo senator’s face was not visible. “Commander Fox, if you’ve received this message, then my life is in danger,” Padmé relayed. “Unfortunately, we don’t have time in our hands. Ever since Count Dooku had taken control of the Senate, he had been restricting our rights to exercise as a citizen of the Galactic Empire, including the freedom of speech.”

“With the Chancellor gone, his death has been covered up by the current administration. He promised he will be transparent about the case, but so far, there was nothing mentioned about it so far. There are senators demanding answers on Palpatine’s death, but all Dooku did was to deprive them of their voices.”

“Commander Fox, as someone who was in charge of the case, I need you to return to Coruscant and help me find the murderer of Chancellor Palpatine. The clues that you have found would be useful to connect the dots. This investigation is the only way to defeat Dooku and end this war as soon as possible. Padmé, out.”

As the transmission ended, Fox blinked twice as he tried to process her speech. This is insane, he thought. I have to return to Coruscant to continue the investigation? This is suicide.

“Well, that was intense,” Tori expressed her opinion. “I mean, what are the odds that Foxy has to return to Coruscant undetected?”

“He won’t be alone,” Riyo said. “I’ll be accompanying him on his trip to Coruscant. He needs all the help he can get.”

“Riyo, you shouldn’t-”

“Padmé is my friend, and I’m willing to risk it to help her out. Besides, we can get her out of Coruscant. It’s safer here.”

Fox relented to her determination, knowing that there was nothing he could do to convince her otherwise.

“Tori and Dipper will also join you as well,” Arin disclosed, leaving Fox rolling his eyes in despair.”

“Is that really necessary? I can just take Thire and Hyewon with me instead.”

“They have proven themselves useful before,” Nara defended her choice. “Besides, I’m dispatching the rest of the Coruscant Guard on Hucora with the 212th, 197th, and 666th.”

”So that’s where we’re going,” Odd Eye spoke, crossing her arms.

“Mina, Cody, Raul, and General Kenobi will be here soon,” Erina noted. “They’re currently on an errand.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I guess I’ll tell Dipper everything after this,” Tori shrugged. “So, what’s the plan for getting there?”

“You will be disguised in your civilian attire,” Arin briefed them. “Once you arrive on Coruscant, any form of long-range communication will be cut off.”

“So we’re on our own?” Riyo raised her doubt.

“Unfortunately, yes, Senator, so you’ll have to stick together and make sure your presence isn’t known by Imperial authorities. If compromised, you’ll have to leave as soon as possible, with or without Senator Amidala. Am I understood?”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Fox replied.

“And don’t trust anyone,” Nara advised. “We don’t want any trouble for all of us.”

“I understand, generals,” Tori responded.

[bopinion]

2021 / 24

Aperçu of the Week:

If someone has no fear, then he has no imagination.

(Erich Kästner, German children's book author)

Bad News of the Week:

The research vessel "Polarstern" was underway in the Arctic for a year with an international crew of researchers and scientists last year. "Underway" in a completely new way: the ship allowed itself to be frozen solid and followed the natural path of the ice without influencing its course. The result is a wide range of findings about the North Pole and its surroundings - Santa Claus' elf workshop, by the way, was not found.

After the scientific evaluation, the first results of the "Mosaic" mission are now being made public step by step. And unfortunately, they are anything but positive. The extent of the ice in the summer of 2020 was only half of what it was decades ago, says Markus Rex of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), who led the expedition at the time, on Tuesday during an interim review eight months after the end of the expedition. At the same time, the ice was only half as thick as it was almost 130 years ago. In the fall of 2020, the ice closed much later than ever before.

What does that mean? Only the evaluation of the next few years will show whether the year-round Arctic sea ice can still be saved, Rex said. He warned that should the summer Arctic become ice-free, it could trigger "uncontrolled cascades." Triggering the tipping point that leads to the disappearance of summer sea ice in the Arctic is probably imminent. And is probably unstoppable at all. For the first time an aspect of global warming reaches the point of no return. Unfortunately, I have a hard time hoping that mankind will learn from this and draw the necessary consequences in time.

P.S.: The arch-conservative regime favorite Ebrahim Raeissi has won the Iranian presidential election. That this result was to be expected doesn't make it any better.

Good News of the Week:

Great news from the G7 summit in Cornwall last week: The world's seven leading industrial nations - or rather the Western world's, since otherwise China would have to be on board after all - have actually agreed that internationally active digital corporations will in future have to pay a minimum tax worldwide on their sales in the respective regional sales markets.

It is remarkable that Joe Biden went along with this, since he could have limited himself to symbolic politics - "U.S. America is back in its established structures and alliances". Moreover, this decision is exclusively to the economic disadvantage of U.S. companies, because at last Amazon, Apple, Disney, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Netflix in particular must contribute their fair share to a social (!) market economy.

Un-fun fact: of all people, the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, has been able to count himself so poor in recent years, according to a leak from the tax authorities, that he was actually entitled to a few thousand US dollars in "child bonuses". In the true sense of the word, this can only be called perverse. It's good that such dodges will soon be a thing of the past, at least internationally.

P.S.: The fact that the Portuguese UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was elected for a second term is a good sign. In the last five years, this 72-year-old political oldie has been able to put the emphasis on future issues (climate change, youth, immigration, digitization, de-escalation, etc.) and not just manage the status quo, like his predecessor Ban Ki-moon. Good luck for the next five years!

Personal happy moment of the week:

The day before yesterday my big daughter found out her grades from her Abitur (qualification granted at the end of secondary education allowing to go to an university). With three positive results: on the one hand she has enough points in her horror-subject mathematics not to have to take the so-called Nachprüfung (Re-examination) to reach the obligatory minimum. Secondly, her average is good enough to be able to start her chosen subject of political science at university without having to wait a semester, since she has easily reached the "numerus clausus" level - even if she first takes a "voluntary social year" in a kindergarten anyway. Finally, both mean that she has now made it: school is finally behind her. School's out forever!

P.S.: The fact that and above all how Germany won last night in the European soccer championship against the reigning European champions Portugal gives hope in our soccer-crazy country that our team can free itself from the role of the underdog.

I couldn't care less...

...that the reigning world champions France only managed a draw against underdog Hungary. At least this keeps the tournament more exciting for us.

As I write this...

...I continue to suffer from temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius, as I have for the last week. Much too warm for this time of the year. And not good for nature. And I'm at least one tiny part of nature.

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, October 26

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover Story: Death Mysteries -- Whitney Houston autopsy cover-up; Kenny Rogers’ body is missing 

Page 2: Reba McEntire’s new romance with Rex Linn convinced Kelly Clarkson she needed to walk away from her unhappy marriage -- while Reba’s love life was heating up Kelly’s relationship with husband Brandon Blackstock who is Reba’s former stepson was hitting the rocks and Kelly remained very close with Reba and Reba would tell her how happy Rex had made her

Page 3: Control freak Tom Cruise is a basket case after he couldn’t charm Cher into leaving their steamy fling out of her upcoming memoir and the image-conscious actor was so panicky over Cher spilling their sexy secrets that he personally called her -- they had a strong physical attraction when they met at a White House event back in the ‘80s and eventually they hooked up and it was very hot and very intense and over in a matter of weeks but it left a nice impression on Cher so she only has good things to say about their relationship but what happened between them could prove very embarrassing if it got out and Tom doesn’t want that to happen -- unfortunately for Tom Cher wouldn’t say anything about what she intends to write and wouldn’t promise to leave Tom out and that’s made Tom even more paranoid and he’s wondering if he’s going to have to take legal action

Page 4: Kanye West is keeping a secret divorce diary to use against wife Kim Kardashian and its potential dishy dirt has her famous family quaking in their boots -- Kanye’s convinced Kim’s about the kick him to the curb and is putting together collateral to crush her and her family is the couple spirals into a $2.2 billion divorce, Jennifer Garner at 48 is flaunting her best body ever and her motivation is to compete with ex-husband Ben Affleck’s 32-year-old girlfriend Ana de Armas because Jen was tired of hearing how Ben’s fallen head over heels for Ana and wanted to remind him what he’s missing -- Jen’s always been very confident of her looks but she decided to step out of mom mode to remind everyone how hot she still is 

Page 5: Devastated Lisa Marie Presley has been relying on an old pal Smashing Pumpkins rocker Billy Corgan to repair her shattered life in the wake of the suicide of her son -- Lisa Marie and Billy were spotted together at Graceland not long ago and he’s been a huge source of support for her -- though they were rumored to have had a romance in 2018 Billy’s fully committed to his baby mama fashion designer Chloe Mendel and Lisa Marie would like nothing better for them to make beautiful music again but she knows he’s taken and she needs his friendship more than ever. 

Page 6: Ambitious anchor Gayle King is calling the shots at CBS This Morning after executive producer Diana Miller quit in the latest backstage shake-up; there was tension between Gayle and Diana and now Diana is gone -- it’s like the show gave Gayle the keys to the car and even if she runs it into a ditch the network gives her more power -- Gayle also clashed with former co-host Norah O’Donnell who successfully snagged the anchor chair at CBS Evening News but Norah hasn’t wowed in the ratings and it’s a matter of time before Gayle gets the coveted job 

Page 7: The mystery over the fate of country great Kenny Rogers’ body has left his own family members in the dark -- sources close to the singer said he’d been cremated while others charged his body is still on ice and Kenny’s body is missing as far as most people are concerned and there’s no place fans can go and pay their respects -- it’s most likely he’s been cremated and the ashes have yet to be scattered but there have also been whispers in certain circles that he could have been cryogenically frozen to preserve his body for a later date, many of Hollywood’s biggest names are abandoning Tinseltown to escape the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapsing entertainment industry -- Julia Roberts hightailing it to San Francisco and Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson getting citizenship in Greece and Pierce Brosnan put his Malibu mansion on the market and Jim Cameron is peddling his prized L.A. compound

Page 8: Frustrated Jon Stewart’s plans to reinvent himself as the next Steven Spielberg have flopped and he’s pretty unhappy about it and he wants to be viewed as a respected serious filmmaker but he’s hit more roadblocks than he ever saw as a comedian or talk show host -- he was left fuming when Irresistible his latest outing as a director was met by mediocre reviews and limited to pay-per-view and streaming services last summer even with box office draw and best buddy Steve Carell in the cast -- he could snap his fingers and get any TV project but he’s setting his sights much higher and he’s walked away from millions of dollars to go back to TV because he wants to prove he is a creative force in the film industry 

Page 9: Frustrated Brad Pitt is threatening to have ex Angelina Jolie dragged to jail if she refuses to end her harassment campaign against him and hash out a divorce and custody agreement and he’s had it with Angie’s intimidation tactics and is fed up with being labeled a bad dad and it’s no exaggeration to say Brad’s scared of Angie and he wants professional witnesses around them at all times when he attempts to see their children but for Brad though it would be the ultimate revenge to see Angie led away in handcuffs, Nashville legend Travis Tritt is trying to keep up with country music’s up-and-comers by getting a lift from plastic surgery and recent photos show the 57-year-old almost unrecognizable with a line-free face and skin as tight as a drum -- Travis is getting ready to put out his first album of new music in more than ten years and it’s hard to blame the guy when he’s completing against singers 30 years younger 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Julia Garner got a touch-up on the Staten Island set of Inventing Anna, Reverend Run visited a mural of slain Run-DMC bandmate Jam Master Jay in NYC’s Hollis Queens, Vanessa Paradis and daughter Lily-Rose Depp in Paris

Page 11: Lovestruck Chrissy Metz is already talking marriage and babies with newly unveiled beau Bradley Collins but she has a history of falling for guys fast which has previously been a recipe for heartbreak and while nobody’s doubting Bradley’s intentions there’s a lot of confusion about why they kept their romance totally hidden until now, the devastating fire that tore through Rachael Ray’s home has made her reassess her life and she and husband John Cusimano are now considering adopting a baby -- losing so many of their possessions in the fire made them realize they weren’t all that important anyway so they bulldozed the house and are rebuilding and the word is they’ll add a nursery

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Danny Trejo cuddled a rescue pup (picture), Lizzo is the first plus-sized Black woman to ever grace the cover of Vogue but pulling off the shoot was a challenge with most designers unable to find clothes that fit her, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are very private and they’re livid with Lance Bass after he confirmed that they had another baby, when he was NBC’s biggest star Matt Lauer conducted almost every high-profile interview and now editors and doing a lot of cropping and zooming to preserve archived footage while removing Matt 

Page 14: Crime 

Page 15: Rock guitar god Eddie Van Halen who tragically died after a brave battle with cancer wanted to be buried with one of his Frankenstrat guitars that he created to define his signature sound -- Eddie felt like he owed his whole life to that instrument and he loved that thing as much as his family, Perez Hilton dished he kissed notorious skirt-chaser John Mayer in a New York nightclub and the lip-lock happened right in front of John’s then girlfriend Jessica Simpson who didn’t seem to know whether she was incredibly embarrassed or really turned on

Page 16: Cover Story -- explosive new autopsy evidence proves superstar Whitney Houston didn’t have to die -- eight years after she passed mysteries about her final moments and blatant blunders at the death scene point to murder and a shocking coverup and now investigators are demanding a new probe into the 2012 tragedy in a Los Angeles hotel bathroom and for Whitney’s body to be exhumed -- a private eye believes the autopsy proves Whitney was murdered but the case was never pursued because she was dismissed as a druggie and she was marginalized by law enforcement as a dead drug user 

Page 18: American Life

Page 19: Horror movie legend John Saxon’s family started battling over his fortune even before he passed on July 25 -- in legal papers filed in May his son Antonio claimed the actor’s third wife Gloria Martel had been pocketing money against John’s wishes, Netflix faces criminal charges in Texas over the controversial film Cuties -- according to court documents a Tyler County grand jury indicted Netflix claiming it knowingly promoted visual material that depicts the lewd exhibition of the private parts of a clothed or partially clothed child younger than 18 -- Netflix said in a statement that Cuties is a social commentary about the sexualization of young children and this charge is without merit 

Page 20: Suzanne Somers recently cheated death when she and husband Alan Hamel fell down a flight of stairs at their Palm Springs home and although Alan wasn’t seriously injured the terrifying spill left Suzanne in agony with two displaced vertebrae and forced her to undergo delicate neck surgery but she said the surgery went off without a hitch and promised she is on the mend, Hollywood Hookups -- Sofia Richie has unfollowed Scott Disick on Instagram, Zac Efron hopes to marry Vanessa Valladares, Sharon Stone and Mindy Kaling are both on the market 

Page 21: Twelve years after she was placed under conservatorship Britney Spears remains unable to sign her own name on official documents -- Britney recently made moves asking to allow a different financial group to step in and help run her life as well as gain more freedom but lawyer Andrew Wallet said Britney to this day does not have the capacity to sign documents and make decisions for herself and she is susceptible to undue influences, the audience for the Saturday Night Live season premiere came away with more than just a few yuks they also received $150 because to get around New York State pandemic guidelines SNL gave each guest a parting gift of $150 paychecks as if they were employees, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may soon have a new neighbor in heavy metal maniac Tommy Lee -- the drummer was recently spotted checking out a $2.3 million three-acre plot next to the rogue royals’ $14 million home in Montecito and he was obviously pumped about living there but building the tattooed rocker’s home would mean tons of truck traffic and hopefully Harry and Meghan don’t get upset with the building work he’s planning 

Page 22: ABC is reeling from a barrage of allegations from employees and on-air talent who’ve blasted it as a toxic and racist working environment -- the network which is owned by the family-friendly Walt Disney Corporation was rocked when Sunny Hostin the popular co-host of The View accused company executives of institutional and personal racism in her memoir and in later interviews about the book

Page 26: Lonely country singer Kenny Chesney is looking to find a new ladylove and is talking about finally settling down for good -- he is unhappily single after his eight-year relationship with model Mary Nolan hit the rocks -- he spends all the time he’s not on the road at his island paradise in Antigua but he misses having a partner and he’s even asked pals Matthew McConaughey and Richard Branson to play matchmaker 

Page 28: America is preparing for World War III as China amps up war games in the South Pacific and readies plans to invade U.S. allies -- military insiders warn China and Russia and their tyrannical accomplices in Iran and North Korea and Syria and Turkey are bracing to launch a coordinated attack against America and the west that could end in nuclear disaster 

Page 36: Health Watch 

Page 38: Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood has traded in his debauched days of sex drugs and rock ‘n’ roll for knitting, Rod Stewart revealed there’s a deep freeze between him and former close pal Elton John and that Elton refused his attempts to that things out -- the two ‘70s icons had been friends for decades before Rod blasted Elton’s biopic and his most recent music tour -- when Rod realized he was in the doghouse he tried to bait Elton with a bone for his kids by inviting Elton’s boys Zachary and Elijah to come play soccer with his sons Alistair and Aiden only to be greeted with the sounds of silence 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- The Christian Siriano collection 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Sophie Okonedo in Ratched 

Page 47: Odd List 

[theexecutionerssong]

It’s recap of the end of the year party time (with pics)! under the cut because I ramble a lot as usual. 

First they gave us SKAM France pillows when we got there so we could sit as comfortably as possible on the floor of the venue. There were about 400 people and it was a tight fit! While we were waiting, they played songs from s3 and 4, everyone was already getting emotional.

The afternoon started with speeches from the execs and David as usual before getting the cast on stage - Assa, Coline, Lula, Maxence, Philippine, Théo, Léo, Robin, Gigi, Moussa, Edouard, Aliénor and later Laïs who was late - and then they showed us a tribute video with iconic scenes of season 3 and 4, in which they included tweets and fanarts by the fans, like testimonies, reactions, etc, everyone was a mess of tears after that.

Then David asked every member of the cast how had their lives changed because of Skam. I filmed this part, link to the video is in the source at the bottom of this post. David hadn’t warned them they would have to answer that question so they weren’t prepared and many got emotional - poor Maxence who went first was a mess. Niels finally got here so he was asked the same question, Antonio too and David answered his own question. A lot of thank yous were exchanged and I’m sorry not sorry about my sniffling in the background of the video but I can’t see people cry and not cry too. The overall message was that they are all proud of what they have done because they can see what an impact the series had just by seeing us in front of them half crying half smiling, as well as with the overwhelming amount of messages they’ve been receiving for months. I really loved what David said about refusing programs that don’t show diversity, that we should stand our ground on this and say no to programs with only white characters or straight couples. That they told one story, but we can and should tell all the others.

Then the crew was called on stage, Jérémy and the editing team to talk a bit, before they showed us the bloopers. That’s when I stopped filming, the room was in the dark anyway and you all saw the bloopers on Youtube by now. Assa tried to leave the stage completely and hide ahah. The cast hadn’t seen them before and there must have been some inside jokes going on because they would laugh WAY LOUDER than us at some stuff. Maxence got so shy about the “I’m ticklish Daviiid” part while everyone was so fond :’) there were a few fond headshakes at Axel’s laughing too.

Then we played a game, a fan would go against one member of the cast and the first to answer the question would win the point. The questions were about the 4 seasons and David called actors who weren’t necessarily in the season just to check if they had paid attention / watched it at all but we DESTROYED THEM. We won so easily, it was hilarious. They got 4 questions right first. The questions ranged from who was Emma dressed as at the halloween party in s1 to what day and exact time did the trailer for s3 dropped. Theo is the worst loser in history, Lula is SO COMPETITIVE, Moussa tried to intimidate the fan that went against him and Coline tried to take her mic, while Niels got his question right and literally jumped in the air, he scared me sdfghjklkj. I was really into it so I didn’t film. But here are a few pics - I haven’t posted them anywhere else so DO NOT repost them. Please.

Then there was a little Q&A, questions were about if they had watched other remakes, why is Arthur’s ig on private and Maxence’s role in The House Of Gaunt - can’t believe there’s going to be a screening at the Grand Rex, I’m so fucking proud, this is HUGE!!!! I filmed parts of this too but not everything because it was questions we had heard before.

We took a lil break to drink and get a bit of fresh air after that before coming back inside. Laïs and Assa were on stage in the dark - keep in my mind we hadn’t seen Laïs before then so we were like ???? IS THAT LAIS?? When did he get here, what’s happening? - and they danced. Beautiful, adorable, show stopping, spectacular, emotional, out of this world. David teased Laïs for being late and asked him the same question about how Skam changed his life or not. I filmed all that. 

David then called a fan on stage to share her story. Skam France saved her life. Really. It was extremely emotional. She was so strong, despite shaking so bad. We kept asking that they gave her a hug but David, Niels, Assa and Laïs who were on stage said they would hug her only once she was done talking. They wanted to let her say everything she had to say. Lots, lots of tears then. Niels took Assa under his arm because she was trying hard to keep it together for the fan’s sake. They gave her the biggest, tightest hug when she was done. I didn’t film because it was almost too personal, y’know? Sure she went on stage but her story still feels private, so I felt wrong about filming. I took a few pics though.

Then there was the concert! Coline was singing and playing the piano and guitar, while Léo and Edouard were playing the guitar and the bass. Lula and Gigi joined for the harmonies during Get Lucky and Remember. They sang Get Lucky by the Daft Punk, Fête de Trop by Eddy de Pretto (featured in s3), Unknown by Jacob Banks (featured in s4), Remember by Seinabo Sey and Jacob Banks (featured in s3) and an original song called Menthe à l’eau inspired by Demi Lovato’s overdose (Coline is a big fan). Most of the cast was standing/kneeling to the side of stage to watch and then you had Maxence right in the middle of the fans, hyping the crowd and jumping around. I didn’t film more than my ig stories because my hands were shaking too much but I’ve posted a few pics before, have some again

And then came the last goodbyes with everyone on stage, including cast and crew and I filmed all that. We were all holding our breaths for a potential announcement but they only said thank you, we love you, we’ll be in touch. I could barely hold my camera. And then Zina by Babylone, the music from the last clip of s4 started playing and Coline melted into Maxence arms crying, Assa was holding back tears, they all started hugging and then leaving the stage one by one, the lights went up and we all looked at each others like…  so this is it uh. We were not fairing very well, let me tell you. Fans were hugging and drying each other’s tears, I was hugged so tight by people I didn’t even know two months ago and it was just… It was a lot of love. So much love.

Before going outside, they gave us a poster signed by the cast. I stayed in the lobby a bit to look at the BTS pictures I posted before. There was a stand thingy where we could take pics with the Skam Logo and quotes. Maxence saw fans were taking pics there and just jumped in the middle to photobomb them azedfghjk 

We then went outside to talk with the cast and crew for a while but the security whisked them away quite quickly so we didn’t have that much time. We had maybe 30 minutes outside with everyone. I went around to take pics and thank them a last time. I’ve posted most of those already.

Niels, David, Jérémy, Coline, Robin, Moussa and Gigi stayed longer, I don’t know why the security didn’t asked them to leave. I had a chat with Jérémy that I want to share because it really struck me. He was wondering if it was true that Skam France was the only remake that does this kind of event. He was so surprised, because and I quote “but how can we not give back just a little bit when you give us so much? I’m just the editor, and you’re here talking with me.” According to him, it’s a feeling shared by everyone in the cast and crew, no matter their role on the show, fans are always happy to see them and talk and ask questions, and they are deeply appreciative of that. Not just the actor, but the crew too. He was extremely grateful and appreciative. And I loved that, because it’s so true, they don’t have to. I’m not saying they other remakes should do this. I’m seeing that I’m baffled the Skam France team considers this normal. They didn’t have to do all this, the screenings, the party. It was for us. Because they don’t know how to thank us.

I took the bus home while holding the pillow they gave us against my chest, not a care in the wolrd about who would see me. I was completely emotionally drained, but happy, and thankful for this amazing cast and crew, all the love that kept pouring out of everywhere during the afternoon. They gave us so much. I saw people on Tumblr and Twitter who were disappointed that they weren’t announcements or more bts content but… this was a party for the fans, a way to celebrate the success of seasons 3 and 4, the only way they found to tell us thank you. It wasn’t a press conference. It was magical. So many smiles. So much laughter. Such tight hugs. It was way more than enough for me.

[leafticket]

hi!!!! it’s been a while. idk how many ppl have rly been following my updates n stuff (not that there have been too many anyways LMAO) but things have been A Lot 4 me lately (as is the case 4 everyone these days obviously) so i haven’t been sharing my progress on madeira At All Whatsoever. but im gonna try to recap as much as i can in this post since i last shared (day 3 i think? wild) cuz i rly wanna make an effort to document this!!

this is what my map looks like as of today! here’s what’s what and who’s who:

islanders: charlise and antonio (starters); norma, rex, and winnie (housing plot challenge but i met norma on a mystery tour); raymond (campsite); freya and zucker (met on mystery tours); and mathilda and hopper (moved in naturally)! rizzo also showed up at my campsite one time but I uh. didn’t l*ke him so i left him there and didn’t invite him to my island JDHSKDHSKHDD 😔 it was cruel of me but i don’t regret it

amenities: museum, nook’s cranny, able sisters, campsite, airport, and upgraded residential services! also two bridges!

i don’t remember if i ever posted a screenshot of my map from my first few days of playing but if i did u might notice that charlise and i both moved our houses! hers was blocking the way of a horizontal bridge so i shifted her a bit to the right so she wouldn’t be as close to the river anymore. i moved my own house to make room for more islander housing plots and i decided to go on a cliff where i could be near the ocean! i love it a lot but it’s kinda tedious to use a ladder every time i wanna go up or down JDHSKDJDJ but im gonna invest in an incline soon i think

here r some pics of my house! it’s a huge wip cuz i haven’t been good abt grinding for bells 😔 but it’s coming along i guess

the left hand pic is what it looks like from the outside! initially my roof was green but i switched it to red to match the door better. idk how to change the exterior of my house like i think i have to unlock it somehow? but this is kinda ugly so i hope i can do it soon

the middle pic is my living room! the art hanging on the walls is a thing from work that means a lot to me 🥺 and the right pic is my bedroom! i wanna put some art on the walls here too — school spirit stuff cuz im a nerd and a dumbass hehe. wish i had more / better furniture but i rly like the size and feel of each of these rooms

i kinda hate that i had no choice but to put a room in the back, if it were up to me i wouldve donenit on the side or smth cuz i hate back rooms tbh. when i get more rooms im probably gonna move my room to a side one and use this room for smth else but i haven’t figured it out yet

im Terrible @ interior design in animal crossing like i just keep putting everything along the walls and saying fuck it 😔 so hopefully i get better furniture and stuff soon cuz she is looking ROUGH!

some ideas for other rooms: art studio / gallery upstairs; a music room and a kitchen or bathroom along with my bedroom on the main floor; a space-themed room or like an indoor garden or smth in the basement! :”~)

and now for some other updates:

i bought nintendo switch online and ive done some island hopping w a few irl pals! i have soooo many ppl (irl and online) i wanna play w omg im just scared 2 ask 🤡

special chars ive encountered: cj, flick, sahara, gulliver (i would die for him), wisp, daisy mae, celeste, and queen ISABELLE! also zipper but he doesn’t rly count lol. speaking of which i am SO tired of eggs it’s tew much!

im now in the tarantula business babey!!!!!!!!!!!!

Norma got sick one day and the next day I found a face mask in able sisters JDJFKSHFKJ

Raymond tried to move out on me and i REFUSED! to let him out of my sight. he’s stuck w me forever... i love him (but like. in a chill way. not like some of what ive been hearing abt cuzzzz... 😬)

project k is um. Slow. cuz im also trying to figure out my house and also my life has been in some Shambles Lately Lemme Tell You. but im working on it lol.. right now im @ a 2 star rating and im despondent like i have no room to put more outdoor furniture, i like having weeds cuz i think they look pretty and natural, i hate fences, and planting flowers takes too much effort so like. guess kk will never come cuz im stubborn and also an idiot 😌

FINALLY! LAST BUT NOT LEAST! here’s a video of isabelle singing my town tune (which is the same as it is in new leaf: my favorite part of the london cast recording of “practically perfect” from the mary poppins musical. i am fucking crazy but im free). anyways let me tell u seeing her sing this STRAIGHT UP brought me to tears cuz i was so Delighted and Charmed so i hope it makes u delighted and charmed too (but maybe not tearful abt it unless u want to be!) :”~) until next time!

[shoot-me-with-a-crayon]

for the number ask one, 1-50

ooh, anon. you are one curious piece of shit.

1. I have one, but it’s pretty stupid and I've only had it like idk 3 or 4 times? But basically its set in a setting that kinda reminds me of the city on Tatooine in star wars. and me and my bro(in the dream we always look how we looked when we were like 6-7 lmao), and we’re just running around apparently being chased by a t-rex? I'm not sure bc i could never turn around to look but my bro seemed adamant about it being a t-rex,  we run into a building and it has this weird fucker who idk how to describe(I just looked it up and the weird thing in my dream kinda looked like Watto from star wars, aka this fucker:

) anyways we go into a building with this fucker in it and he’s just like “Hey stay here and you’ll be safe ;)” and me and my bro are just like “OK WE TRUST U” and then he proceeds to try and feed us to some fuckin raptor or something and then me and my bro run away. And then we continue to run and run through his building being snapped at by raptor lookin fuckers when we run through. Then at some point we see our mom, and we run towards her but we can never reach her. The dream just ends when we’re like 5 feet away from her. ??? the first time i had this dream i was fuckin 6 or 7 and i fell asleep in my bed and woke up sitting at the counter in our kitchen at the time and in one of those tall stools, with a glass of water in front of me, the kitchen light was on , and i was alone??? How did i get there?? How did i get the milk?? How did I turn on the light?? Who knows.

2. Apples or bananas.

3. Definitely Sweet

4. This sounds stupid, but I'm only moderately spooked of the dark tbh(and that's why i have two nightlights in my room ;D)

5. Uh according to google a pickle is both a fruit and vegetable, but ima just say my least favorite vegetable is a pickle.

6. Uuuhhhhhhh probably Pop Art(i had to look up art movements for this shit)

7. Yes, i do drink milk.

8. I’m assuming I'm not allowed to include fanfics so lemme go grab the last book i read(which i read 2 months ago.. whoops) fuck the last book i read was The Twisted Ones,,, “ ”That’s not Charlie.” ”

9. Depends

10. Hm.. I’d have to say probably learning that my mom’s dad, GPa(aka what we call him) died four days after i was born..

11. Honestly, my Dad. and honestly, as sad as this sounds, he probably affected me in the worst way possible.

12. Oohhhh, I actually thought about this last night lmao. For dogs, probably either a Husky, a Black Lab, or an Australian Shephard. And for cats, probably a Siamese, a Turkish Angora, or a Japanese Bobtail. :)

13. Awwww!! Ok ok ok, so 5-Yertle, 4-Turt, 3-Turtie, 2- dudeski/rainbow(my girlfriend has a turtle and she named him rainbow, but she renamed him to be dudeski now, and honestly i just love those names), 1-Crush.

14. Probably an art teacher tbh.

15. Dakota and Frank. I just really hate those names and all the people I've met with those names suck so far. And i just slightly dislike anybody with the names Andrew and Katherine, idk why tho lmao.

16. Either F or Y

17. Piano, ukulele, and anything percussion related lmao.

18. Maggie(

19. A spoopy ghost >:D

20. Of the three I've only ever had fish, but id fuckin LOVE to have a snake :0

21. Both.

22. Atm i really like Forget Me Nots :)

23. Neither.

24. Uh not really lmao

25. Uhm kinda.

26. There's been a lot dude

27. I collect gemstones and pins :)

28. 4.

29. I once slept all day and woke up at around 11:40 PM :)

30. In my room alone(and not including the stickers on my walls, uhh 6(technically 7)

31. Never. I still do. ;)

32. Skittles, Starbursts, and Airheads.

33. Either pie or brownies.

34. Yeah, i haven't really used it tho.. But it’s a Canon EOS Rebel Gii i think? Whatever it’s this thing:

35. Ye, currently I have a necklace w/ a golden Freddy dog tag on it one of my brothers bought me, i have a hair tie on my left wrist(i count it as jewelry >:|), a cute lil bracelet on my right arm, and a cute lil silver ring on my left ring finger(it refuses to fit on any other finger, even on my right hand. It fuckin refuses and idk why lmao)

36. Sunset

37. With headphones

38. Well my fav show rn(since im still a kid lmao) is definitely Queer Eye

39. I have two fav spots. The first is in my room, and it’s at the head of my “bed”(im sleeping on a mattress on the floor until we can afford to get me an actual bed lol), where my desk is and i sit on the floor with my feet under the desk while I lean back into my pillows. The other spot is on our couch in the living room, on one end of the couch there isn't a back or an arm rest, and almost right next to it is a window with a fan in it that we always keep on(sitting there is especially comfy bc it’s been sat on so much there's a giant soft indent there and the fan blows in cool air and it’s just great.)

40. cold(only bc when i’m cold i have an excuse to wear my hoodie and wrap my blanket around myself lol)

41. I… i dont have any good jokes :(

42. Well it’s not the weirdest thing but once i saw two boys naruto running past me while at school.

43. CD.

44. My girlfriend and my friend Antonio :(

45. Japan and my shitty fuckin household ;D.

46. We had one who would sub for almost every fuckin class i think. And she had a kid who went to the middle school i was going to at the time(she was in my grade and was really nice tbh), but she really sucked? Liked she would sub for our choir class and basically ignore us the entire time, and she subbed for my science class for an entire quarter of the school year last year, and she basically fucked up our entire routine in hat class and when our teacher came back we couldn't even fix our shit while the actual fuckin teacher was back. Jfc, i just don't like that sub tbh,,

47. Not really

48. Idk, but i believe in ghosts so uh,

49. I’ll describe BOTH! >:D ok so first, family.

My oldest bro, he’s 20 and borderline autistic, we get in fights a lot but he can actually be real nice(never tell him i said that tho).

My second oldest bro, hes 18(turning 19 in 14 days), really nice and fuckin hilarious, and probably my fav of my brothers, also he works at McDonalds :).

My third oldest bro, he’s 15(turning 16 in 5 days :0) kinda mean, ok no really mean, and very bratty, very annoying, and very dramatic, he is good at writing tho.

My dad(ew), he’s in his 50s, a huge dick, deserves nothing but sadness(in my opinion), yells a lot, just an overall asshole.

My mom(yay), in her 40s, really nice :D, really funny!, a huge dork, deserves nothing but love and happiness, she’s basically our best friend while also bein a strict and good mom

Now my pETS!! :DDDD.

Pepper, a very fluffy black and white adult kitty boye, can be v angry, but also can be v nice, you never know which he is until you pet him.

Dirty, a gray and white adult kitty boye, very nice and deserves all the pets and cuddles.

Smokie, gray kitten boye, very sneaky, very annoying, i hardly ever see him nowadays :(.

Mama, a black(with a lil bit of white) adult kitty, not an actual mom, just really fat and has worms, easily spooked(it’s sad lmao), loves to be pet but also loves to bite u when u pet her.

Runner,(my fav) a black adult kitty who’s really sweet and deserves the fuckin universe, he learned to run before he learned to walk, v nice and sweet

Anyways

50. HAHAHAHAH. No.

OK IM DONE! This took too long lmao whoops

[bthenoise]

Noise Exclusive: Celebrate 15 Years of Hawthorne Heights with Their New Music Video And Tour Announcement

Photo by: Kat Nijmeddin

Where were you 15 years ago? For most of you, we imagine you were on Myspace rearranging your Top 8, checking your photo comments and changing your profile song from Usher’s “My Boo” to the newfound “screamo” band Hawthorne Heights and their game-changing track “Ohio Is For Lovers.”

See, in case you forgot, 2004 was pretty much the year things took off for “scene” culture with teenage angst soundtracks such as Senses Fail’s Let It Enfold You, Taking Back Sunday’s Where You Want To Be, The Used’s In Love And Death, and of course, Hawthorne Height’s smash breakout debut The Silence In Black And White.

Now that nearly two decades have passed since the release of their beloved album, JT Woodruff and company are looking to celebrate the memories with a special 15-year-anniversary tour featuring longtime friends Emery and, on select dates, Oh, Sleeper. 

Talking about the sure-to-be-nostalgic upcoming trek which just added dates on the West Coast, Woodruff shared his excitement with The Noise saying, “We played our first ever show in California with Emery in the summer of 2004, so it just felt right to add some dates over on the best coast. Our fans out there have been some of the strongest throughout the years, so we really felt like we need to play this album for them again.” 

Woodruff went on to add, “Staying together for 15 years is quite an accomplishment for a band from a tiny town in Ohio, so we are trying to make it last forever. Our fans have been so wonderful and that is what matters to us most...so we need to try to play as many dates in our favorite cities as possible. It’s going to be a magical night of memories and friendship. I hope our fans wear their old shirts and really make a night of it. Of course, we couldn’t forget our favorite cities in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. We are trying to pack it all into such a tiny timeframe, which means no off days, and all fun.   Can’t wait to see everyone and let it rip.”    

In addition to adding West Coast dates to their can’t miss 15-year-anniversary tour, Hawthorne Heights has also premiered a brand new music video for their Bad Frequencies track “Starlighter (Echo, Utah).” 

Talking about the new video, which once again shows Woodruff’s love for all things California, he says, "Since this song is about how much I hate winter, I really wanted to film footage of some of our favorite fans in California having fun. I want to run as far as I can from that snowy night in Echo, Utah...and I always want to run back to California anyway. The song is about having no regrets and always looking forward to the next stop in your life. Crank it up and stay out of the snow. Palm trees forever.”

To check out Hawthorne Heights’ brand new music video to get you ready for their highly anticipated summer tour which will also see Emery celebrate 15 years of The Weak’s End, be sure to look below. Afterward, to grab tickets to see the band, head here.

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED TOUR DATES:

06/06 – Cincinnati, OH @ 20th Century Theatre 06/07 – Columbus. OH @ Skully’s Music Diner 06/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Museum (Vans Warped Tour) 06/09 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater 06/10 – Indianapolis, In @ The Hi- Fi 06/11 – Springfield, MO @ The Riff 06/12 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street 06/13 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall 06/14 – Wichita, KS @ Wave 06/15 – Lincoln, NE @ Royal Grove

NEW TOUR DATES:

August 15 –The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA August 16 – The Roxy - Los Angeles, CA August 17 – Garden Amphitheater - Garden Grove, CA August 18 – The Irenic - San Diego, CA August 19 – The Boardwalk - Orangevale, CA August 20 – Full Circle Brewery - Fresno, CA August 21 – Backstage Bar - Las Vegas, NV August 22 – Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ August 23 – Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM August 24 – Jake’s Backroom - Lubbock, TX August 25 – Trees - Dallas, TX August 26 – Empire Garage - Austin, TX August 27 – Scout Bar - Houston, TX August 28 – Paper Tiger - San Antonio, TX

[ginasneesby]

NYC October 4th - Junior

My last full day and I had done a lot of walking surrounded by high buildings, so for a change I decided to head to Central Park. I had signed up the day before for a citibike, boris bike for New York, and all the museums are around the park so I thought I could cycle from museum to museum and check out the park in between. I walked for a bit initially as near the entrance they have a carousel and the zoo, but the zoo was a bit expensive (and not sure I like the idea of a little zoo in a park, I mean how big can the cages be?) So I watched the carousel for a bit and then made my way to the nearest bike pick up. Cycling round the park was not quite what I thought it would be, of course it makes sense that the cycle lane is separate from the walking bit, especially as there's large areas of water. So although I was in the park, I wasn't able to stop at all the bits I was expecting to see. Either way, a lovely gentle cycle round the eastern edge up to the north where they were turning the swimming pool into an ice rink and a beautiful meer where I stopped for a bit to take pictures and check out the map. I then spotted the name of the next section of park/cycle lane; 'the great hill'... Not looking forward to this bit. I was heading to the museum of natural history which was part way down the west side, which felt like it was all up hill! So I struggled along, and eventually got to where I wanted to be (I had to get off and walk for a bit on the great hill, but then a boris bike has few gears and is heavy!)

The museum of natural history was great, I had looked up the top ten things to do as I was short of time and wanted to get around, but actually managed to get to every room for at least a quick glance. The lay out was not the best, you went to one end and had to come back on yourself to get to the other end, and there was a planetarium bit that I couldn't get to from any way.

They suggested:

Dynamic Earth Globe

The Dzanga-Sangha Rainforest

The Blue Whale

Giant Sequoia (15000 years old but they cut it down anyway)

Dioramas

Chinese Wedding Chair

Colossal Olmec Head

The Reticulated Python

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Pterosaur skeletons

I finally did find my way to the globe bit where we watched a video on the Big Bang voiced by Liam Neeson (a man who is known for his knowledge of the Big Bang). I'm a fan of a good museum, but most of the old artefacts were replicas as the originals were still in their countries, however, they made up for it with the largest fossil collection in the country. Some of the fossils were amazing, they had whole dinosaurs and creatures which basically showed every stage of evolution; incredible. I grabbed a big plate of falafel and rice from a van outside (cheap, massive and really tasty) and found my way to another citibike.

My next stop was the metropolitan museum of art on the other side of the park, I needed to come out of the park to find the bike park which meant cycling along the roads. Trying to slip through the traffic, while every person who needs to stop just stops and put on their four way flashers, my little bell was not up to the task. Cab drivers are the same all world over, whether black or yellow, they will still move between lanes with no indication and beep you if you don't move. So I swiftly dropped off my bike and walked the rest of the way to The Met. Now this museum is enormous! I heard something like if you spend 4 minutes on each thing you would spend hundreds of years trying to see it all. It's laid out in a way that helps you skip through, if you want to be in a section longer there's loads to see but otherwise you can carry on the pathway and just see the main sites. Again, I looked up the top things to see and raced around trying to see it all before closing time!

The Temple of Dendur

Medieval Sculpture Hall

King Henry VIII’s Armor

Chinese Buddhist Sculpture

The Astor Chinese Garden Court

Greek Terracotta Vases

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze

Self portrait with a straw hat by Vincent Van Gogh

The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer by Edgar Degas

Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Antonio Canova

More of these things seemed to be the real thing, especially the paintings so that was kinda awesome to see the actual artwork. The temple of dendur was very cool, built around 15bc and given to the museum in the 1970's, it has some graffiti from the 1800's from european visitors. The Astor Chinese garden was also really nice, hidden away down a corridor and with a glass roof to fill it with natural light, an area of tranquility in a busy museum. There was a whole section with American history and much like their buildings, it's not very old but they do try and pretend they have some history.

I went up the the Guggenheim afterwards, but I'm not really fussed with that sort of art, so I took some pics and stepped inside just to say I had been in, and then went back into the park to check out the inner pedestrian bits. I walked around the Jackie Onassis reservoir, across the great lawn, around the open air theatre, belvedere castle and through the Shakespeare garden. The lake is the most recognisable part of the park, with row boats and the boat house, but also the bow bridge across the middle and large Bethesda fountain along the edge. I was very tempted to start singing Enchanted songs, everyone would know the words/dance moves and join in right?! Strawberry fields is a small garden which was built as a tribute to John Lennon, along the line of the street where he died, it was originally going to have a plant from every country in the world, but obvs some would not survive a New York winter; so it's got some plants and an 'imagine' mosaic.

By this point I was exhausted, I had been cycling up and down hills which was tiring enough but also museums bloody love their stairs! I took a wander down 'the mall' in Central Park which is another really recognisable bit, with straight road and benches along the side, found a van that did crepes and grabbed something very chocolatey and a cup of tea. I climbed to the top of a large piece of schist and sat looking across the park and buildings along the edge deciding whether to just go straight home to bed or not!

I decided not! It was my last night after all and I hadn't even been up the Empire State Building yet, I mean really! So I jumped on the subway, went straight there and headed up, like Rockefeller the whole process took longer than expected with security, queues and lifts etc. The sun had gone down by the time I got up which was great as I'd seen the day time view from top of the rock so got a brilliant night time view with all the city lit up. I nipped onto a Wendy's at the bottom of the building, not one we have at home but still basically burger and chips and toyed with the idea of going to get the Staten Island ferry. I had heard it was free and takes half an hour over and half hour back but you get some really great views of night time skyline and I could say I've been to Staten Island, even if only to get onto the ferry back. But I was just too tired, I was already on the subway which would take me home and I'd have to go past it to go down... so I just got off and crawled to bed.

Steps (peddles?): 36258

Money I would have spent: $75

Number of legit dinosaurs I saw: around 30

[ashantiyana]

Okay, now I can do the character development post

This was made by @unblockingwritersblock by the way

This is for my OC Louise Breaux, which the OC is based off of the show Hetalia... 

Basics:

1: How/Why was your character named?

Louise Breaux is based off the state Louisiana (which is the state I live in). Louisiana was named after King Louis XIV. Of course, I decided to make Louisiana a woman, because... I don’t know, I just felt more comfortable that way, I just felt like it. Louise was the closest I could get to Louis, so I went with it. Now Breaux... I’m not gonna lie, I forgot. There was something about the surname that caught my eye that just mixed into what Louisiana is, which, ironically, there is a bridge called Breaux Bridge. Huh...

2. If they had a nickname, how did it originate?

To be honest... I never made one. Now I need to think about nicknames...

3. How many languages can they speak?

This is going to be a hard one. You see, Louisiana is very diverse, so we’re going to have to mention brief timelines in history in order to cover everything. Which means, yay, FUN FACTS!

Fun facts:

1. Louisiana, or how it was called La Louisiane at the time, was not owned by France first. Spain actually had possession of Louisiana, but never populated. When France came in, he thought no one had taken it. Thus making Louisiana a “French” colony. And I say “French” because, come on, Spain had first dibs. Granted, they didn’t give enough attention to Louisiana, which I don’t exactly blame them considering that they had other colonies and were busy colonizing other pieces of land, but...

2. Now, since Spain didn’t colonize Louisiana, that means that Louisiana is just French... Right? No. Now we’re going all the way to right before the French and Indian War ended, when France knew he was going to lose, but didn’t want England to get his hands on Louisiana, or, more importantly, New Orleans. That’s rights, the Treaty of Fontainebleau, where France and Spain secretly makes a treaty where Spain gets all of Louisiana and New Orleans. So now, Spain has possession of Louisiana. Pfft, it'll still look French...... Right? It WOULD if SoMeBoDy would learn how to NOT light New Orleans on fire! So now, New Orleans is destroyed... And Spain has to rebuild it... And this is why the French Quarter doesn’t look French, any questions? Gosh darn it Antonio...

3. After the Civil War, Europe was having trouble with food and government. Now, if you paid attention to your history class, you’d know who’s coming next. THAAAAAAT’S RIGHT, THE IRISH, GERMANS, AND ITALIANS!! Now, sub-fun fact: During this time, 1/5 of Louisiana actually spoke German. So I can imagine Louise, even though speaking German in Louisiana pretty much ended after World War 1 due to hate, to still memorize some German and know some Italian as well

4. wAIT I FORGOT SOMETHING!! We need to go back to colonization. When the French first came some Italians got on the ship with them, so some Italians were there too! Can’t believe I forgot that

5. Now, this doesn’t change much buuuut... I wanna talk about Mardi Gras for a sec. So, Mardi Gras has been a state holiday for years now, it’s tradition. However, let me just drop some information. Mardi Gras came after the Civil War. The South was kind of having a violence spree, and so, to keep everything calm, the government brought Mardi Gras in to keep the peace, I guess. So, around a decade after Louisiana began celebrating Mardi Gras, guess who decided to drop by? Russia. Well, the Duke of Russia. But anyways, now Louisiana pretty much has royalty coming to them to celebrate with them, and so in honor, they make the Krewe of Rex. Just thought I brought in that fun fact

I probably forgot some information, but the point is, Louisiana is extremely diverse, so the amount of languages she speaks definitely isn’t just one. Oh, and one more thing. European French, Canadian French and Cajun French are technically three different types of... French’s? Let me explain. If you were to put a Louisianian who speaks Cajun French (a transparent language but I wanna learn), a Canadian who speaks French (and originates from Canada and learned French from Canada) and a person from Europe who speaks French, they will understand each other, but with difficulty because their words will get mixed up and it’ll sound a bit different. It’s not like French and German because those are two completely different languages, but some nouns, and maybe a few verbs are going to be different. I can pull up something that gives an example of this, but let’s not extend this anymore.

4. What is the extent of their education? 

Um.... This is hard, because remember, Louise represents Louisiana as a whole, so of course she went to college but... For what? If each state and country and province that exists as an immortal representation of it exists, what would they major in college for? Would they need to go to college, more importantly, when discussing how long it takes for them to grow up... This is something I need to think about

5. Where do they live?

Now, I could have a smart mouth and say, “Oh, she lives in Louisiana, DUH!” But, like everything else, it’s more complicated. Now, her original home, which was originally the capital before the Civil War was New Orleans, so I can definitely see her living in New Orleans. But the current capital is Baton Rouge, not to mention that, technically, she would have to work with politics, making Washington D.C. another choice. But I’ve always thought of her to live in the Greater New Orleans area, where all of the action was and where a lot celebrating was going on, so her home probably is in New Orleans, but moves to Baton Rouge whenever she’s needed, and flies to Washington D.C. when needed and probably lives with Alfred (America).

6. How close are they to their family?

She’s probably very close to them, some closer than others, because think about it, she has, what, 49 other siblings (the United States of America)? So some she’s probably close to, but not close enough to drop deep personal information and some she’s that close that she feel like she can trust them with such information. Now, I’m not going to say specifically who, because I don’t know all of them, how could I, but I have some ideas of some that she is already close to.

7. Do they have pets?

Yes. While I was researching and looking around, I found one dog where the breed originated from Louisiana, so she probably would have a dog

8. Are all the characters names easy to understand, pronounce, and are mostly different from all the other names throughout the story?

Okay, I have MANY OCs, but I would prefer to pay attention to one at a time, so I’m not doing all of them... yet.

Louise Breaux. For the most part, the name is easy to understand. The only confusing part to some might be the “-eaux” at the end (it makes an O sound). Is it extremely original? No, and here’s why. Unlike many of my other OCs (Namir Hawthorne, Clementine Hawthorne), she is, more the most part, normal. Yeah, she represents Louisiana and she’s technically immortal until Louisiana itself dies out, but she's still living ordinarily, so she has an ordinary name that wouldn’t stand out too much for the rest of society.

9. Is the cast of characters diverse and interesting?

Okay, I can see that for the rest of my OCs I’ll have to have them packed into one for this. But like I said, Louisiana is a very diverse state, especially New Orleans, so it has an interesting history. So there’s no cast of characters (because I have no one to RP with) but it is still diverse and interesting nonetheless.

10. Do you have an acceptable mix of men/women and of different ethnicity in ratio of how large your cast is? Why/why not?

.... Okay, Louise is my only OC for Hetalia. This might be the right time to explain why. No matter where you go, a place is always going to have some history behind it, some sort of importance, and not only that, but there’s SO MUCH of it. Not even I have found everything yet and I have been researching Louisiana’s history for TWO YEARS! So it brings to the point that making a character that is a representation of a named piece of land enriched with history isn’t easy. In fact, it’s extremely difficult because of the fact that even the appearance has to be accurate, and that’s what I’m still not finished doing yet because I don’t feel her appearance is accurate enough.

I would continue but it’s 9:50 where I am, so I’m guessing that if I even try to finish this in one night, I’ll be up all night and I assured myself I would go to bed earlier in order to do stuff tomorrow. Don’t know if I’m actually doing them, but still.

So yeah... 1/4

Oh, and here’s the link

[studentofrhetoric-blog]

Part 1, Thursday, April 13th, 2017

International News:

--- "The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to end its 13-year-long peacekeeping mission in Haiti and replace it with a smaller police, which would be drawn down after two years as the country boosts its own force. The peacekeeping mission, one of the longest-running in the world and known as MINUSTAH, has been dogged by controversies, including the introduction of cholera to the island and sexual abuse claims. The 15-member Security Council acknowledged the completion of Haiti's presidential election, along with the inauguration of its new president, as a "major milestone towards stabilization" in the Caribbean country. "What we now need is a newly configured mission which is focused on the rule of law and human rights in Haiti," British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said on his way into the meeting. "Peacekeepers do fantastic work but they are very expensive and they should be used only when needed," Rycroft said. "We strongly support the ending of this mission turning it into something else. And I think we'll see the same thing elsewhere." The shutdown of the $346 million mission, recommended by U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, comes as the United States looks to cut its funding of U.N. peacekeeping. Washington is the largest contributor, paying 28.5 percent of the total budget."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-haiti-idUSKBN17F230?il=0

--- "A U.S.-led air strike mistakenly killed 18 members of a Kurdish and Arab militia backed by Washington south of the Syrian city of Tabqa, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The U.S.-led coalition forces struck the position on Tuesday after another partner in the fight wrongly told them its was occupied by Islamic State militants, the Pentagon said, underlining the complex nature of the conflict. "The target location was actually a forward Syrian Democratic Forces fighting position," the statement added...The SDF said its leadership was working with the coalition to investigate the incident and prevent it from happening again. "In the area of military operations near Tabqa and as a result of error, a painful incident took place" causing several casualties, the SDF said in a statement."

Source:  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-air-strike-idUSKBN17F1OT?il=0

--- "Global chemical weapons investigators have gone to Turkey to collect samples as part of an inquiry into an alleged chemical weapons attack in neighbouring Syria last week that killed 87 people. The fact-finding mission was sent by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague to gather bio-metric samples and interview survivors, sources told Reuters on Thursday...Samples taken from the poison gas site in Syria's Idlib governorate tested positive for the nerve agent sarin, the British delegation at the OPCW said on Thursday. "UK scientists have analysed samples taken from Khan Sheikhoun. These have tested positive for the nerve agent sarin, or a sarin-like substance," the delegation said during a special session on Syria at the OPCW in The Hague. The UK result confirmed earlier testing by Turkish authorities that concluded that sarin had been used for the first time on a large scale in Syria's civil war since 2013. The OPCW mission will determine whether chemical weapons were used, but is not mandated to assign blame. Its findings, expected in 3-4 weeks, will be passed to a joint United Nations-OPCW investigation tasked with identifying individuals or institutions responsible for using chemical weapons."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-chemicalweapons-idUSKBN17F0TP?il=0

--- "Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said an alleged poison gas attack blamed on his government last week in Idlib province was "100 percent fabrication" used to justify a U.S. air strike, news agency AFP reported on Thursday. Syria's military had given up all its chemical weapons in 2013 after an agreement made at the time, and would not have used them anyway, AFP quoted Assad as saying in an interview."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-assad-idUSKBN17F1NE?il=0

--- "China would step up its protection of North Korea should the isolated state halt its nuclear program, an editorial in a state-backed newspaper said on Thursday, as Beijing tries to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula..."As soon as the North Korea complies with China's declared advice and suspends nuclear activities... China will actively work to protect the security of a denuclearized North Korean nation and regime," said the editorial in the Global Times, which is published by the People's Daily, the Communist party's official paper...China's foreign ministry on Wednesday reiterated Beijing's position of calming the situation via a "dual suspension" of North Korea's nuclear tests and the United States' joint military drills with South Korea."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-china-paper-idUSKBN17F0GD?il=0

--- "China's foreign minister Wang Yi said Thursday military force cannot resolve the situation on the Korean peninsula and he expects an opportunity to return to talks will arise amid current tension. Wang, speaking to reporters following a meeting with the Palestinian foreign minister in Beijing, also said that whoever provoked the North Korea situation would have to assume historical responsibility for it."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-china-minister-idUSKBN17F0MN?il=0

--- "An arson attempt left very minor damage at the Paris building where French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has her headquarters, a police source said, and Le Pen accused leftist groups of the attack. The police source said the ground floor of the central Paris building was targeted and graffiti mentioning Le Pen's National Front was found nearby. The source said the damage - to a door and a doormat, according to news agency AFP - was likely to be the result of a criminal act and not an accident. The party's premises are higher up in the building. Interior Minister Matthias Fekl condemned the attack. "These are unacceptable acts, the democratic debate must take place in the ballot box," Fekl told RTL radio, without giving any details about the attack itself. "We have been in touch with the National Front candidate's team since last night and will see with them if it is necessary to strengthen security procedures.""

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-fn-fire-idUSKBN17F0R5?il=0

--- "U.S.-backed forces fighting Islamic State in Syria launched a new phase of their offensive on Thursday, a statement said, but they have not yet begun to attack the militant group's stronghold of Raqqa city in an apparent delay in the operation. The multi-phased campaign by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance made up of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighting groups, was launched in November and aims ultimately to drive the jihadists from Raqqa, their de facto Syrian capital. Officials in the Kurdish YPG militia, a powerful component of the SDF, said last month that assaults on Raqqa city itself would start in early or mid-April. But the fourth phase of the campaign aims to clear Islamic State pockets from the countryside north of the city, the SDF statement said. It did not say when the assault on Raqqa itself would begin. "We aim to liberate dozens of villages in the Wadi Jallab area and the northern countryside ... and clear the last obstacles in front of us to pave the way for the operation to liberate Raqqa city," it said. The SDF have closed in on Raqqa from the north, east and west."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-raqqa-idUSKBN17F11I?il=0

--- "Poland is working on regulations that would allow it to detain asylum seekers in border camps, the interior minister said on Thursday, arguing such a policy has served Hungary well despite it being criticized by the United Nations. Poland, Hungary and other central European EU member states are opposed to an European Commission plan to distribute migrants from Africa and the Middle East across the bloc. But unlike Hungary, Poland - a country which issued over a million work permits for neighboring Ukrainians last year - has not seen thousands of migrants from Africa and Middle East storm its borders. "My task is to assure the safety of Poles. We must be also prepared for this bad scenario, which I hope will not happen," Blaszczak told state television. "The bad scenario is a wave of migration that could sweep across Poland." Asked on Radio Zet if Blaszczak would place migrants in camps made from shipping containers behind barbed wire, he replied: "This is an idea for an emergency situation which has worked well in Hungary." Hungary, one of the focal points of Europe's migration crisis since 2015, last month approved a law to detain migrants in border camps, a step which the United Nations said violated EU law and would have a "terrible physical and psychological impact" on asylum seekers."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-poland-camps-idUSKBN17F1I2?il=0

Domestic & International News:

--- "U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday "things will work out fine" between the United States and Russia, a day after he said U.S.-Russian relations may be at an all-time low. "Things will work out fine between the U.S.A. and Russia. At the right time everyone will come to their senses & there will be lasting peace!" Trump said in a note on Twitter."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKBN17F1R9?il=0

Domestic News:

--- "The U.S. State Department will maintain a hiring freeze imposed shortly after President Donald Trump took office, even though it was lifted for the rest of the federal government, according to a memo seen by Reuters and a notice to staff. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson informed State Department employees of the decision in a brief memo on Wednesday. A notice to staff on the hiring freeze was also updated on the State Department's website. The decision to keep the hiring freeze comes as Tillerson reviews a reorganization of the agency, which will include staff cuts over several years, two State Department officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Although the Office of Management and Budget lifted the federal hiring freeze effective April 12, 2017, the Department will maintain its hiring freeze in effect for the present time. Any change to this policy will be notified promptly," according to the internal memo obtained by Reuters. A notice to staff on the State Department's website was updated on Wednesday and read: "At this time, the Department's current hiring freeze guidance remains in effect including with respect to hiring under a Family Member Appointment (FMA) or Temporary Appointment.""

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-tillerson-idUSKBN17F1QW?il=0

[marklovejoy1-blog]

2017 NFL Season

I have been watching NFL Network to see the NFL Scouting Combine and that's new to me this year as well as College Pro Days. I've watched the drama known as Free Agency unfold and teams that were expected to make big splashes whereas teams you'd think would wait until the last minute of the raging war, and the trades that went down. A team that was a huge leader in free agency was the defending Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots. They signed CB Stephon Gilmore without waiting and paid him handsomely which is rare. They traded the #32 overall pick in the 1st round for WR Brandon Cooks from the New Orleans Saints also threw in a 3rd round pick, essentially trading 3rd round picks with them. Also, trading for TE Dwayne Allen from the Indianapolis Colts to replace TE Martellus Bennett who demanded too much money from the Patriots. Also, they traded for DE/DT Kony Ealy from the Carolina Panthers to try and fill the role of Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long, both left in free agency. Signing RB Rex Burkhead is a mystery to me since they already have a loaded backfield with Dion Lewis and James White. Rex possesses the same skill set that Lewis and White have, they lost Legarette Blount to free agency. He was listed as signing with the Green Bay Packers but is listed a free agent now. If you were going to replace Blount, the ideal and best option would be to sign an Eddie Lacy or Jamaal Charles. Lacy signed with the Seattle Seahawks instead. The resigning of Dont'a Hightower was huge for this defense. Losing CB Logan Ryan to the Tennessee Titans was a huge loss for us, but he wanted to chase money and have the chance to become a teams #1 CB. Malcom Butler was tagged with the Franchise Tag, he's a restricted free agent whom was trying to get a long term deal signed with the New Orleans Saints. That hasn't happened, he's designated as a 1st Round tender, meaning any team can offer him a contract and if the Patriots don't match it, that team would forfeit their 1st Round pick. Example, even though the Patriots traded away the #32 overall pick, the New Orleans Saints would have had to give the Patriots the #11 overall pick. I don't understand why they didn't sign a long term deal with Malcom Butter to begin with? They lost their #2 CB Logan Ryan so having Butler slip to the #2 CB position and Gilmore can stay at #1. That would take the pressure off Butler with the likes of Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, and other big name receivers playing the #1 WR position. With Logan Ryan's departure it not only took away the teams #2 CB, Ryan can play slot/nickel, and dime packages too. The secondary looks better than last year, especially with Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung playing over the top. I believe the Patriots did this because they wanted the CB's to match up 1 on 1 with the #1 WR's so that they didn't have to double team anyone and essentially taking someone off their coverage to help take over the top. McCourty can now play true centerfielder and match up with the TE's and Chung can play the run and also cover a TE in 2 TE packages. The Saints should of just made the deal with Butler a go because they're going to draft a CB with that #11th overall pick now. And what I don't understand about Butler's 1st round tender placed on him since he's an undrafted CB out of West Alabama? He made that interception in the Super Bowl to seal the deal but let's be honest, the defense was shutting down Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch at the goal line anyway. And the league is depleted with franchise QB's and this upcoming draft solidifies the class coming out isn't known or scouted by the pro's as franchise material. The New England Patriots are sitting on 2 gems, QB's Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brisette. Garoppolo is entering his final year and is in his contract year, giving that QB Tom Brady is still the starting franchise QB, the Patriots could and should move him to the likes of the Cleveland Browns, get the #12 overall pick and a few mid to late rounds. Jimmy Garoppolo has already won 2 Super Bowls with the Patriots sitting behind Tom Brady, he has a chance to become a teams starting franchise QB, no doubt that he has all the tools and skills to run a team. If they want to keep Garoppolo they have Jacoby Brissett also that is a dual threat QB, but coach loves this guy, the Patriots don't normally have 3 QB's on the depth chart. Jacoby Brissett has some work to do to become a franchise QB, after seeing him last year, I believe he has what it takes. Why don't the Browns push for him? They wouldn't have to give up a 1st rounder for him, they took a trade that landed them QB Brock Osweiler and a 2nd round pick. The Cleveland Browns swallowed $12M just to take a 2nd round pick. Pretty bold. Use that 2nd round pick and a couple mid round picks to get Brissett and use the #1 and #12 picks on positions of need to build around Jacoby Brissett. Hue Jackson would love to have a dual threat QB in the AFC North since they don't have a dual threat QB in that division, imagine all the possibilities? Whether it be Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett I believe as a football fan and someone with knowledge of front office skills, this is a no brained, a win-win for both organizations. The Browns will get their QB and the Patriots can get in the 1st or 2nd round again because they don't have those picks due to trades. And a win-win for the QB's, they have Super Bowl rings now, playing backup QB and now they can lead a team of their own. And the Patriots can add to the corps of players either on offense or defense. The Patriots are set with the roster they have but can draft players who can fit their system and not have to hurry on picking people. I know that Bill loves to trade out of the 1st round when he has pick #32 but he can turn that 1 pick into a few 2nd,3rd, and 4th rounders. I would Draft a CB in the 2nd or 3rd round to add depth. But if the secondary they have now sticks together and Week 1 they're still there this #1 scoring defense just got better, now they can be Top 5 against the pass and Top 5 against the run. These are just a few things I've been thinking about.

[the-telegraph-sport-yahoopa-blog]

Premier League transfer news and rumours: live - Patrick van Aanholt joins Crystal Palace ahead of deadline day

Follow all the latest Premier League transfer coverage here and check out these stories from elsewhere on the Telegraph site:

Dimitri Payet rejoins Marseille from West Ham for £25m

​Live: Arsenal transfer news and rumours

Live: Man Utd transfer news and rumours

Live: Liverpool transfer news and rumours

Live: Chelsea transfer news and rumours

The top 100 targets in the January transfer window

  10:25AM

Holt the back page

#CPFC are delighted to announce the signing of @pvanaanholt on a four-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee! #WelcomePatrick ���� pic.twitter.com/aw357Wtcoj

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) January 30, 2017

Our man Luke Edwards had reported the news of Patrick van Aanholt's £9m move last Friday.

10:22AM

High demands

A new car every time he scores? Foot-long sandwiches for the price of a six-inch? The secret recipe for Nando's Lemon and Herb Peri Peri sauce?

What is it that Carl Jenkinson wants? The full back has had next to no playing time at Arsenal this season and yet won't leave.

Credit: rex

Crystal Palace recently had an offer accepted, but Jenkinson has so far not been able to agree personal terms and now Arsene Wenger says the transfer looks unlikely to happen this month: "There is no news at all. We are still open, because we have many players in that position, but at the moment it doesn’t look like something will happen."

10:03AM

News from Sunderland

This just in from our man in the north-east, Luke Edwards:

Sunderland manager David Moyes is close to a breakthrough in the transfer market as Everton pair Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo head to Wearside for a medical.

Moyes has been in regular contact with Everton this month over the potential signings of James McCarthy and Tom Cleverley, but after missing out on those targets, he will instead bring in two different players from Goodison Park.

Neither Oviedo or Gibson have managed to hold down a regular first team spot at Everton this season and unless there are any last-minute hitches, both should complete their moves before Tuesday’s deadline.

Darron (don't call him Darren) Gibson Credit: rex

Sunderland are also set to raise their offer for Leicester City striker Leonardo Ulloa to £6m after they had a bid of £3m rejected over the weekend.

A long term injury to Victor Anichebe this month has altered Moyes transfer plans and he feels he needs to add a striker to his squad as the team are overly reliant on Jermain Defoe.

The signings of Oviedo and Gibson will take the number of players at Sunderland, who Moyes has previously worked with at Everton, to five after he also offered contracts to Steven Pienaar, Anichebe and Joleon Lescott.

David Moyes loves signing Everton players Credit: russell cheyne

Gibson will fill a hole in the centre of midfield, which has been a concern for the Black Cats all season, while Oviedo will replace Patrick van Aanholt at left back, who is set to complete a £14m move to Crystal Palace in the next 48 hours.

Moyes had previously warned Sunderland supporters that the players he signed this month would not greatly improve his squad.

That was a reaction to the disappointment at learning that neither Robbie Brady or Phil Jagielka wanted to move to Wearside this month, although the sale of Van Aanholt has at least given the former Everton and Manchester United manager more money to play with.

The Scot had been told in November that he would not have the sort of transfer budget he had envisaged when he took the job back in July because of a dire financial situation and owner Ellis Short’s desire to sell the club.

9:57AM

And Zen there was one

Tony Pulis has been holding his West Brom press conference (standing up as he bizarrely always does) this morning and has categorically ruled out a move for Branislav Ivanovic.

Asked about the Chelsea defender, Pulis said: "Ivanovic? That’s a definite no."

Which seems to leave Zenit St Petersburg as the only option left for Ivanovic.

Pulis also spoke about his interest in Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, pouring cold water on that move as well.

"Callum Wilson - I’ve been told he might be available, I rang the manager up and was told no so that’s not going to happen."

On the hunt for reinforcements, Pulis admitted he has endured a frustrating month with a number of targets opting for bigger clubs, most notably Morgan Schneiderlin.

"If you look at the players we have targeted, they’ve gone to clubs more established at the top end," he said.

"What we’ve got to do is make sure the players we do bring in are the right players. We’ve got to be ever so careful about what we bring in, we’re desperate to bring players in, the chairman and the Chinese owners. It’s frustrating, but life’s frustrating."

9:46AM

All quiet at the top

Don't tell my colleague running our Arsenal transfer blog, but Arsene Wenger has essentially just handed said journalist his P45. Redundancy beckons.

"It's been a very quiet January. We have a big squad and are not in any need to buy and players," said Wenger.

"That is the same generally for the other big teams too - they all have big squads so that's why they will all be quiet. 

"You have to have a need to buy players but numbers and quality-wise, we have the strength and we now have to do what we can with that."

So I guess that means our Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea transfer blogs are also redundant. Please don't tell the boss.

9:36AM

I Beg you, let me leave

Let us move onto the Chelsea goalkeeper situation, which has been popping up regularly in recent weeks. Our Football News Correspondent Matt Law filed this piece last Friday on a potential move for Sevilla keeperSalvatore Sirigu. Here is a snippet:

Chelsea are still working on signing a goalkeeper before the transfer window shuts with Salvatore Sirigu emerging as an alternative to Craig Gordon if Celtic hold firm.

Celtic have rejected a bid in the region of £3 million for Gordon from Chelsea, but the 34-year-old is considering requesting a move and the Premier League leaders are prepared to slightly increase their offer.

But Gordon may be denied the chance to double his wages at Stamford Bridge if Celtic maintain he is not for sale, with Sirigu believed to be interesting Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte.

Conte has made it clear that Asmir Begovic can only join Bournemouth before Tuesday night’s deadline if Chelsea secure a replacement.

Sirigu, who was part of Conte’s Italy squad at Euro 2016, is on loan at Sevilla from Paris Saint-Germain but the Italian has not been playing for the Spanish club.

Begovic played for Chelsea in yesterday's FA Cup triumph over Brentford, but he made his feelings clear after the match: "I have spoken with the boss - we are quite open about it, he knows I am desperate to play, and that’s all it is really.

"If he can make it happen for me he will. That is something that is going to be sorted out in the next couple of days. I’m 29 – 30 in the summer – and feel fantastic and in great shape. It would be a waste not to play and show people what I can do."

9:19AM

Moyes on the hunt

We've already heard of Sunderland's interest in Leonardo Ulloa but, according to "people in the know", David Moyes is on the hunt for a fair few more new faces before he goes to bed tomorrow night.

With Patrick van Aanholt on the verge of departing the Stadium of Light for Crystal Palace, Moyes has supposedly identified Celtic teenager Kieran Tierney as his No 1 left-back target.

The Daily Express reports that Sunderland sent a "senior scout" to watch the 19-year-old last weekend... before dashing the hopes and dreams of the club's fans by then revealing that Celtic are likely to refuse all January bids for him.

Meanwhile, Phil McNulty of the BBC, says Moyes is also hoping to raid (because any manager signing someone from their former club must be deemed to be "raiding" them) Everton for Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo.

Both players have been little more than fringe figures this campaign, leaving Gibson plenty of time to wonder whether life would have been easier if his parents had gone for the traditional spelling of Darren rather than opting for the Gaelic equivalent.

8:45AM

Mooy money, Mooy problems

Who knows anything about Aaron Mooy? I'm going to level with you, I had never heard of him until five minutes ago. Thanks to the Internet I can now tell you the following story of his life:

- Born in Sydney, the Australia international used to get up at 5am to watch Craig Moore and Tony Vidmar play for Rangers. - He headed across the globe aged 16 to join Bolton Wanderers' Academy. - He then played for St Mirren, Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne City, before unexpectedly moving to the latter's sister club Manchester City last summer and then immediately heading to Huddersfield on loan.

Credit: getty images

Up to speed? Jolly good. Anyway, the latest news is that an unnamed Championship side have attempted to sign the 26-year-old midfielder for £8.75m - an audacious bid that City threw back in the unnamed Championship side's face. That is piffling small change to their UAE owners.

And that's about it. Apologies to Huddersfield fans for my total ignorance. It will be interesting to see if he moves full time should Huddersfield gain promotion to the Premier League or whether Pep Guardiola has any plans for him.

Oh and far more importantly, does anyone have any idea how to pronounce his surname? Moy? Mooey? Moo?

8:23AM

All Bran

Everything was going swimmingly for Chelsea stalwart Branislav Ivanovic. The Serbian had been a mainstay of the Blues defence since moving to Stamford Bridge in 2008, but then Antonio Conte came along.

Out of the starting XI and with only FA Cup appearances to look forward to, Ivanovic appears to have decided that enough is enough and he is out of there. Which leaves him two options: Zenit St Petersburg and West Brom. Russia or the Midlands.

In a rather nice farewell, Ivanovic came off the bench on Sunday to score in their 4-0 win over Brentford. That is expected to be his last match for the club, with a move due to be finalised today or tomorrow.

So, for one last time I give you this gem. Geoff Shreeves, it's over to you to show what breaking a player's heart looks like on live TV.

7:52AM

Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael and...

How much would you say Leonardo Ulloa is worth?

Pro: He is a proven goalscorer, he is a Premier League champion, he has never come close to playing for Argentina so will never get injured on international duty, he has an interesting goatee.

Con: He isn't that good, he has a bizarre goatee.

No one seems quite sure what his market value is. Spanish side Alaves had a £5.5m offer turned down earlier this month, while Leicester want £10m for him, despite the fact that he is 30 and has started just one Premier League game this season.

Sunderland attempted to sign him at the end of the summer and David Moyes is reportedly keen on giving it another crack. But how much should he spend? 

According to the Mail on Sunday, Moyes is preparing to offer £5m, while the Sun on Sunday suggest it could be £11m... which is £1m more than Leicester want. Maths.

7:29AM

Heading east

So, apparently Wayne Rooney is planning on taking his novelty St George's Cross duvet cover to an unspecified Chinese club at an unspecified time in the future to play in the Chinese Super League - potentially in the next four weeks.

"The next four weeks?" I hear you ask. Yes, because the Chinese transfer window doesn't close until the end of February, the sneaky so-and-sos.

Which is all well and good, but is Rooney actually going to move there? Here are the facts/"facts": - He will earn between £900,000 to £1million per week if he moves. - There is no specific club interested in him. The interest simply comes from the entire entity of China.

Asked about the potential move yesterday, Jose Mourinho said: "The only player that I am aware of a possibility to leave, and I am waiting for Jan 31 to know what really is going on, is Ashley Young, a player that I would love to keep. If I could choose, yes definitely, he will stay with us."

Which is a pretty dull quote when compared to this one from the Daily Mirror and comes courtesy of "an expat in China", who warns life there will be "lonely" for Wayne's wife Coleen: "It sounds glamorous but it can be very claustrophobic, particularly in the city centre apartments and hotels. The hardest thing is being so far away from your loved ones – she won’t be able to pop round to her mum’s for a cup of tea."

6:57AM

Au revoir

In what is almost guaranteed to be the biggest move involving a Premier League club this January, it was announced late last night that Dimitri Payet is back at Marseille.

Something suggests West Ham chairman David Sullivan isn't enamoured by the player's behaviour.

The club would like to place on record its sincere disappointment that Dimitri Payet did not show the same commitment and respect to West Ham United that the club and fans showed him, particularly when it rewarded him with a lucrative new five-and-a-half-year deal only last year.

I would like to make it clear that we have no financial need to sell our best players and that the decision to allow Payet to leave was in accordance with the wishes of the manager and the interests of squad unity. To be frank, my board and I would have preferred for him to have stayed in order to make an example of him, as no player is bigger than the club.

I am confident that with the quality of the players we have brought in during January already, the squad will be stronger at the end of this transfer window than it was at the start.

6:38AM

Movers and shakers

Oh, hi there. There are less than 41 hours remaining of this transfer window. The excitement, the anticipation and the joy... of having this whole charade come to an end is palpable.

Until then, feel free to spend some time with me where I will bring you all the latest transfer news from the Premier League. This will be split into two categories: 1. Actual real-life transfers (expect few of these, and for it to mainly involve mid- and lower-table teams. 2. Gossip and speculation (expect an inordinate amount of these, almost solely focusing on the top six).

Appetite whet? Let's begin with our overnight round-up courtesy of Chief Football Correspondent Jason Burt. This very much fits into the first category.

Southampton in double move

Southampton are closing in on a deal to sign Napoli forward Manolo Gabbiadini for £17 million.

Southampton have reportedly agreed to pay an initial £13.6 million with the rest made up in bonuses. The Italian club would also be entitled to a sell-on fee. 

Manolo Gabbiadini could be on the move to the English south coast Credit: getty images

Southampton are also in discussion with Spartak Moscow over signing defender Serdar Tasci on loan. The 29-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, has made just nine appearances for the Russian side this season. 

Queens Park Rangers have agreed a £300,000 deal with Bristol City to sign midfielder Luke Freeman.

Leeds United want to sign West Ham United striker Ashley Fletcher on loan.

Stoke’s Bojan heads to Mainz

Stoke City forward Bojan Krkic has joined the Bundesliga club Mainz on loan for the rest of the season.

The 26-year-old Barcelona product joined Stoke for £3 million in the summer of 2014 and made an instant impact in the Potteries. Bojan scored 15 goals in 59 Stoke appearances, but has fallen out of favour under Mark Hughes this season and made only five Premier League starts.

Bojan Krkic's time in Stoke is over, for this season at least Credit: rex

“It is an honour for me that Mainz 05 gives me the opportunity to prove myself in another European top league,” Bojan told the German club’s official website yesterday evening. 

Defour hints at Burnley exit 

Burnley midfielder Steven Defour has admitted that he cannot offer any long-term assurances over his future with the club.

The Belgian international, who has also played for Standard Liège and Porto, arrived at Turf Moor in an £8 million deal from Anderlecht last summer to inject some much-needed guile into Sean Dyche’s squad but has been linked with a move to China by his agent.

Steven Defour scored a worldie for Burnley at the weekend Credit: rex

“I can’t say I’m staying here forever,” said Defour. “If there’s a big proposal in China, or elsewhere, even in England, which would be good for the club and me then we should think about it.”

Bruce back in for Rhodes

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is ready to make a renewed move for Middlesbrough striker Jordan Rhodes with an £8 million bid.

Bruce will rival Sheffield Wednesday in the race to sign the Scotland international and test Middlesbrough with an improved offer in the next 24 hours.

Jordan Rhodes is a wanted man Credit: rex

Rhodes, 26, was left out of the Boro squad on Saturday for their 1-0 victory over Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup as speculation continues. Villa are also working on a deal for Swansea City defender Neil Taylor, with Ghana international Jordan Ayew possibly going in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are signing Villa’s £5 million midfielder Aaron Tshibola on loan for the remainder of the season.