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perfect-homemade-chili · 2 months ago

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356 “…Stuff as Dreams are Made of.”

In just the same way as legendary lumbermen might clear out a heavily wooded wilderness to allow such noble community-spirited enterprises as coffeeshops, shopping malls, iHops, saloons and barbershops that specialize in beards to flourish, I am beginning to wonder if the effects of a sage, a truly wise soul, extend far beyond their immediate intercourse and relations. i have peppered much of this blog with fantastical and cheeky elements of fancy, but, seeing beneath the humor, I propose my ideas and private experiences with the upmost sincerity. One such experience - or rather, class of experiences - have, for more than a decade since, left a profound impression on my mind and life-trajectory, on my morals and values as a human being. I once shared acquaintance with a wisest man I’ve ever met—he was more than just the friendly, perfect sagely relation, more than the sum of his advice and company. The fact is, I distinctly remember, even being in his presence—walking around, doing tasks, at leisure, etc—was something sublime, like being in some field of purified energy through which unusual, prophetic and happy circumstances happened. I think it is an experience that anyone who has truly met and exchanged with a saintly figure can attest to, but incredibly hard to pinpoint or describe. I will attempt, for sake of my own sanity and record, to draw some correlations together to paint a picture. Firstly and, as necessary component in framing this concept, one must consider the possibility of what ‘consciousness’ actually is—i do not believe, nor can it be scientifically proven (rather, many suggest the opposite) that it resides in the brain alone. In fact, according to the beliefs of the most credible thinkers and philosophers and mystics, it may be more appropriate to think consciousness does not reside in matter, but matter resides in consciousness—as John Archibald Wheeler, the astrophysicist who coined the term ‘blackhole,’ called—“IT in bit.” The idea that all matter is linked in some inextricable, unfathomable way is an idea that extends to the ends of all fields—call it ‘uncertainty/Heisenberg principle’ (Einstein/Heisenberg, physics), ‘causation,’ (David Hume, modern philosophy, aka fake philosophy—topic for another blog), ‘butterfly effect’ (chaos theory), or described in the characteristic clunky-poetic German fashion, Nietzsche—“…One should use “cause” and “effect” only as pure concepts, that is to say, as conventional fictions for the purpose of designation and communication—not for explanation.” (Beyond Good and Evil, psychology; though specifically he is challenging notions of both freewill and ‘fate.’)

…so, of course, the line of this logic must entertain that the substance of thought is no different. There are some compelling scientific studies in this regard, including the discovery of a strange sea-animal that through maturity settles on the sea-floor and turns into a sponge-plant thing by eating its own brain (suggesting brain is for motor skills only—clever, but I do not agree—probably it is more like a harddrive)—and also some biological anthropological study of apes or monkeys separated by geography suddenly arriving at the same use of some tool without intermediary contact… but I do not remember the source. But even just considering such natural wonders as a flock of birds or a school of tuna moving in concert without colliding like some magical Indian traffic-jam, all seem suggestive of some sort of hive-mind at play. I think most inventions, whether consciously or subconsciously, including works of (good) fiction in the form of ideals, seek to express such realities just beyond the veil of our understanding—and there is no better analogy than the invention of the internet itself, which is literally like some sort of space in shared consciousness. Interestingly, in a particularly convincing case of psychic power I saw online or on TV once, the psychic man describes it almost as if “…tapping into an internet” and he hears the information he seeks.

Now, truthfully, there is no doubt in my mind this phenomenon exists, and is in fact within the reach of most people, though in different degrees. I’ve witnessed it firsthand on numerous occasions —meditation adepts who clear their mind can literally hear the thoughts of others; I believe basic empathy practiced through periods of devoted compassion is an early stage of this natural human ability. There seem marked differences between natural spontaneous shared thoughts and those contrived by own’s self, though this digresses from the purpose of this post. I mention all this because in the recent years since the health decline of that wisest man I’ve ever known, I’ve found it more difficult to connect to Spirit or clarity through prayer or meditation than ever before… as if god has forsaken man. I wonder how much of what I connected to was channeled through the ‘field’ of high-level individuals to begin with. I will close out this post by raising one more curious point—about psychic readings. As someone who has probably wasted maybe close to or more than 12k usd in recent years on this field, here are my conclusions—i do not doubt there exist individuals who are sensitive to such things whether by training, some propensity carried over from a past life, or both—or that the ability to foretell the future or read thoughts are possibly interrelated, as all arts are—but to what extent? I am troubled by the inconsistency and general level of these readings, even from top psychics—at best, I genuinely do not know if they are actually seeing the future, or reading into the fantasies or thoughts of the client at a more basic level. This, coupled by the financial interest and professional pride that prevent honest dialogue or progress in virtually every field, makes me hold these services with reserve, despite my serious belief that much more than we know can be opened by the doors of these ancient practices, windows into subtle metaphysical laws or supermundane facets of existence that have disturbed and riveted every consequential mind since antiquity.

snack 001–chili pistachios. Okay, this is almost not fair. And you can buy them unshelled? In case of a biblical flood, I would build an ark, ditch the animals and take two tons.

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allsaeasonsvaleters · 2 months ago

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Mastering AP Tests Preparation in Dubai and the UAE

The Advanced Placement (AP) program is a prestigious educational initiative that offers high school students the opportunity to earn college credits while still in secondary school. As more students in Dubai and the wider UAE seek to enhance their academic profiles and gain an edge in college admissions, effective ap tests preparation dubai has become crucial. This article will explore strategies and resources available for students in the region looking to excel in their AP exams.

To start, understanding the AP curriculum is vital. AP courses are designed to mirror college-level coursework, providing students with a rigorous academic experience. In Dubai, many international schools offer a variety of AP subjects, ranging from AP Calculus and AP Biology to AP English Literature and AP Psychology. Students should begin their AP journey by selecting courses that align with their academic strengths and future college goals. Consulting with academic advisors can help ensure that students are on the right path.

One of the key components of successful AP tests preparation in Dubai is creating a structured study plan. This plan should incorporate regular study sessions, practice exams, and revision periods. Students should allocate specific times each week to focus on their AP subjects, ensuring they cover all necessary material well before the exam dates. Additionally, utilizing a mix of study methods—such as reading textbooks, attending review sessions, and using online resources—can enhance understanding and retention of information.

In the UAE, numerous tutoring centers and online platforms specialize in AP tests preparation. These resources can provide personalized instruction and targeted practice, catering to the individual needs of students. For example, many tutoring centers in Dubai offer comprehensive AP courses that include interactive lessons, practice tests, and one-on-one support from experienced educators. These programs can be particularly beneficial for students who may struggle with self-study or who need additional help to master complex topics.

Furthermore, forming study groups can be an effective strategy for ap tests preparation uae. Collaborating with peers allows students to discuss challenging concepts, share resources, and quiz each other on key topics. Study groups can also provide motivation and accountability, making the preparation process more enjoyable and less isolating.

In addition to traditional study methods, utilizing online resources can greatly enhance AP tests preparation in Dubai. Websites such as AP Classroom and Khan Academy offer a wealth of practice materials, instructional videos, and diagnostic quizzes that can help students identify their strengths and weaknesses. By integrating these online tools into their study routine, students can create a well-rounded approach to their preparation.

Another essential aspect of AP tests preparation in the UAE is familiarizing oneself with the exam format. Understanding the structure of AP tests, including the types of questions and time constraints, can help students manage their time effectively during the exam. Many practice exams replicate the official testing experience, providing invaluable insights into pacing and question styles. Students should take advantage of these resources to build confidence and reduce test-day anxiety.

As exam day approaches, students should also prioritize their well-being. Adequate rest, nutrition, and stress management techniques are vital for peak performance. Engaging in regular physical activity and practicing mindfulness or relaxation exercises can help maintain a positive mindset and improve focus.

In conclusion, effective AP tests preparation in Dubai and the UAE involves a combination of structured study plans, access to quality resources, and a focus on well-being. By leveraging local tutoring options, online platforms, and collaborative study methods, students can maximize their chances of success on AP exams. With dedication and the right strategies, they can achieve their academic goals and open doors to future opportunities in higher education.

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edvancedlearn58 · 10 months ago

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Mastering the AP Gov Exam: The AP Gov Exam Calculator as Your Secret Weapon

As students gear up to conquer the Advanced Placement (AP) Government and Politics (AP Gov) exam, they often seek tools to help them navigate the challenging terrain of this rigorous assessment. Among these tools, the AP Gov Exam Calculator emerges as a secret weapon, providing students with valuable insights and assistance in their exam preparation journey.

The AP Gov Exam Calculator is an indispensable online resource designed to help students estimate their potential scores on the AP Gov exam. Developed by educators or educational organizations, these calculators utilize sophisticated algorithms based on exam format, difficulty level, and scoring rubrics to generate estimated scores. While they do not offer definitive results, they offer students a valuable opportunity to assess their performance and make strategic adjustments to their study approach.

One of the key advantages of the AP Gov Exam Calculator is its user-friendly interface and accessibility. Students can input their responses or scores from practice exams, quizzes, or assignments into the calculator, along with relevant contextual information such as question difficulty or exam format. Within moments, the calculator generates an estimated score, providing students with valuable feedback on their progress and areas for improvement.

The AP Gov Exam Calculator serves as an invaluable tool for goal setting and progress tracking throughout the AP Gov course. By regularly inputting their performance data and comparing it against previous results, students can monitor their academic growth and identify trends over time. This iterative process enables students to set realistic goals and make informed decisions about their study habits, ultimately enhancing their preparedness for the AP exam.

Furthermore, the AP Gov Exam Calculator can help alleviate test anxiety by providing students with a sense of control and predictability over their exam outcomes. By offering estimated scores based on objective criteria, the calculator demystifies the scoring process and empowers students to approach the AP exam with confidence and clarity. This psychological boost can have a significant impact on student performance, enabling them to perform to the best of their abilities on test day.

While the AP Gov Exam Calculator is an invaluable tool for exam preparation, it is important for students to use it in conjunction with other study resources and strategies. As estimations based on algorithms, these scores may not always accurately reflect individual performance on the actual AP exam. Factors such as question interpretation, testing conditions, and exam variability can influence final scores, making it essential for students to supplement their use of the calculator with comprehensive preparation efforts.

In conclusion, the ‘ is a powerful ally in helping students prepare for the AP Gov exam and maximize their chances of success. By providing estimated scores and insights into performance trends, the calculator empowers students to set goals, track progress, and alleviate test anxiety. However, it is important for students to use the calculator as part of a comprehensive study strategy and to approach its results with perspective. With the right approach, the AP Gov Exam Calculator can be a valuable asset in achieving success on the AP exam and beyond.

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swimminginyokohamasrivers · 7 months ago

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Aaaalrighty!

(CW!!! Talk about immoral medical procedures. lobotomies. too much detail. procede with caution.)

So! The transorbital lobotomy (also known as the ice pick lobotomy) was invented by a man named Walter Freeman. Walter Freeman was a psychology who studied under and kind of idolized the inventor of the original lobotomy, António Egas Moniz.

To really understand Walter Freeman's motivations, we need to understand the original lobotomy first, though. Moniz wanted to find a way to treat the mentally ill people that weren't responsive to other types of treatment. So, he went about this by cutting their heads open and removing the part of the brain that was deemed the issue-- the prefrontal cortex, a section of the frontal love that's associated with decision making, problem solving, and controlling stress levels.

He began practicing this procedure on apes and it went absolutely swimmingly. The reports were that these depressed, moody, agitated apes became extremely happy after their procedure, like they were inducted into a "happiness cult" of some sort.

So it began on humans and blah blah blah.

But the original lobotomy isn't the point of this! Back to Walter Freeman!! Freeman saw this stuff about the lobotomy and immediately decided it needed to be available to the extremely mentally ill that were crowding mental institutions at the time (this was arounddd 1945 ish). He began performing regular lobotomies as a job at normal hospitals and such, BUT in the meantime, he was thinking on how he could make lobotomies more accessible.

There was a study that came out, unimportant except for the fact that the person performing the study realized that there was an extremely thin layer of bone in the back of the eye socket that could be broken through quite easily. Freeman read this and knew that would be how he did it.

So, he started working on how to make this procedure.

Essentially, it goes something like this: the operator knocks the patient out with an electric shock because anesthesia was too difficult to get if you're going around from place to place trying to give people these transorbitals.

Then, he'd take a tool that was essentially just an ice pick and stick it back behing the person's eyeball and use a mallet to hammer it a little until it broke through that layer of bone. Then, he'd swish it around in the brain tissue, severing the prefrontal cortex from the rest of the brain, then get a new ice pick and repeat on the other side.

Now, as you can guess, this is. Bad. Not good. Terrible, even.

Freeman was told this by a friend of his who was a genuine lobotomist when he performed this in front of him as a demonstration once he thought he'd perfected the procedure. But Freeman didn't listen and continued to perform them, losing his friend because of it.

There's some more I could say, like how some of the procedures would go terribly wrong, but I'd be rambling.

So! Did you know that?

Hey papa

//@wherenightmeetsdawn

Hi kid- Whats up? *he seems sleepyy*

#tw lobotomy #cw lobotomy #lobotomy #transorbital lobotomy

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toherlover · 7 years ago

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- march 5 -

ap psychology: intelligence & thinking notes

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is-the-primate-vid-cute · 2 years ago

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Via Lincoln Park Zoo: A movie called Gigi & Nate features a live capuchin monkey. While the movie is inspired by a true story, it is important to separate past events from the current and future wellbeing of primates in the entertainment industry and in the wild.

The use of a real capuchin monkey in this movie has serious welfare consequences for not only the individual(s) involved in filming, but the many primates who will be negatively impacted by the unrealistic and harmful notion that primates make suitable pets.

Capuchin monkeys are highly intelligent, emotionally complex, and a long-lived species. They have intricate social systems, demonstrate advanced tool-use, and require dynamic environments to meet their emotional and behavioral needs. Performing primates or those in private homes are unable to thrive.

Most people are unaware that the American Humane, which was previously named The American Humane Association that had been funded by the Screen Actors Guild, had a glaring conflict of interest. It has been criticized for judging the treatment of animals in films by the filming that happens in front of them, not the lengthy training, housing or living conditions of the animals. As a result, animals used in film and television are frequently put in dangerous situations, injured or killed.

Obvious physical harm is not the only form of harm nonhuman animals experience—they suffer psychological damage as well. The long-term damage that is done results in negative and neurotic behaviors and an inability to socially interact with peers. Read more here

- Primarily Primates

Studies from Lincoln Park Zoo’s Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study & Conservation of Apes have repeatedly demonstrated the detrimental effects of primates in unnatural settings. One such study showed that movies like these significantly increase humans’ desires to have primates as personal pets, which also correlates with an increased likelihood in believing the species is not endangered in the wild.

This troublesome combination means that specific populations of wild capuchins are under grave danger due to illegal hunting for the pet trade. The consequences of films like Gigi & Nate should be carefully considered.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has not accepted capuchin monkeys as service animals since 2010 in part due to these concerns. Unlike capuchins, domesticated dogs are able to thrive in private homes and are appropriate species for service animals.

So what can you do to help primates and Take Action With Us?

• Do not support movies or other situations with performing primates as it fuels - and funds - the notion this is acceptable.

• Pause before posting: Stop the cycle and avoid liking or sharing images or videos of primates in unnatural settings.

• Spread the word! Share this post and have conversations with your family and friends about the importance of letting primates be primates.

Learn more about other steps you can take here:

https://www.lpzoo.org/take-action-with-us-let-primates-be-primates/

#gigi and nate #primates are not pets #primates are not employees #mod E #cruel primate vid

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sierraraeck · 4 years ago

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Daylight

Spencer x GN! Reader

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Summary: After a long time without answers and your relationship ending on rocky terms, you run into Spencer and can finally put things to rest. Part one.

The prompt from @veraiconcos Fic Writer Challenge was “If I asked you to stay, would you?” This is bolded within the fic.

Category: Angst. Just pure angst.

Warnings: Cussing. Mention of normal CM stuff. Suggestive content.

Word Count: 5.5k

A/N: This was initially a songfic and now it’s not, however it was still inspired by the song “Daylight” by Maroon 5. If you wanna give that a quick listen, go for it, if not, that’s chill too. Also, I tried to make this gender neutral, but if I did not, please let me know what I need to correct.

Internal dialogue

Flashback

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

In one word, complicated.

Yes, that was a cliche and overused, but there was really no better way to describe your relationship with Spencer. Unless of course people preferred terms like arduous, intricate, convoluted, twisted, entangled, or your personal favorite, fucked up. Although, that might be a little harsh. Kind of. It was complicated.

And things continued on that path when you waltzed into the San Jose precinct, ready to defend your client against none other than the BAU.

Despite being 28, you were already one of the most successful defense attorneys in the state, and had already had a couple run-ins with the FBI. Luckily, none of those had been against the ‘all-powerful’ behavioral analysis unit, and you were able to wrangle out some wins, or at least, the best you could have hoped for given the circumstances. This time, a man, Brayden Lee, had been arrested as a suspect for a series of strangulations, all of the victims tall, blonde, college athletes. Looking over his case and the amount of evidence against him, you felt sure that you could manage a favorable deal.

But now, your strides faltered as you saw the team of profilers standing around in a circle, speaking in hushed voices, immediately turning around to watch you in. Well, it wasn’t necessarily them that teetered your confidence, it was more like him. And that damn hair.

You were at your older brother’s graduation. A small, skinny kid with moppy brown curls walked across the stage, the gown he was wearing clearly three sizes too big for him. He looked really young, about your age, which immediately interested you.

“Spencer Reid,” the announcer called. He accepted his diploma, moved his tassel from one side to the other, and plopped right back down in his seat.

You just stared at him from your place high up in the bleachers, almost missing your brother as he walked across the stage. You clapped and cheered, but you still couldn’t tear your eyes from the strange kid who’d walked across moments before him. When the ceremony was over, you asked your brother who he was, and all he gave you was a shrug and an arched eyebrow. That was not exactly the answer you were looking for. So you took it upon yourself, being the awkwardly brave kid you were at 12, to find him and learn more. You ended up taking him home after the ceremony, and that was that. You still remember the dopey smile he gave you as he hopped out of the backseat, a smile that you would miss for three more years.

You tried to compose yourself as you avoided eye contact with any of them, marching toward the interrogation room to have some time alone with your client. But it had never been this hard to concentrate before.

Snap out of it. It’s been four fucking years, six if you really think about it, so you need to get it together. This man, the one right in front of your face, needs your help.

So you did just that. As a lawyer, you had to have intense focus, so you made yourself hone in on that skill. The two older men of the team came in to have quite the nice chat with you and your client, but it ended fairly close to how you predicted. He would be let off, for now, but you would have to stay on call in case they found more evidence of your client’s guilt. You ushered Brayden out of the station and into a cab, telling him that you’d be in touch if anything else came up and to keep a low profile.

You were ready to be done, but had to make sure there weren’t any other loopholes or things they weren’t telling you before you could leave. You trudged back into the precinct, expecting to talk to the two men you saw earlier, but found that once-nerdy boy you used to know waiting for you. Not to say he wasn’t still nerdy, you were sure he was, but he’d definitely changed since the last time you saw him.

You tried to act as professional as possible, “Is there anything else that I need to know about this case and your evidence against my client?” Honestly, you were shocked at how calm your voice sounded.

“As long as you’ve heard about his recent purchases and easy access to the material used to strangle these women, no,” he responded, just as casually.

“Okay great, and nothing else in the profile I should be aware of?”

“Nope.”

“Alright then,” you said, turning on your heels to walk out.

“That’s it?” Spencer’s tone suddenly sounded confused, even accusatory, which was such a stark contrast to the smoothe, gentle voice you remembered.

You were at the local library studying for your midterms before the holiday break. No one really went there anymore, and there were a ton of good research tools available, so it was the perfect quiet study spot. Well, mostly quiet, that was, until the ever-so-irritating ping of books being checked out was going off non-stop. You’d had enough, so you shot over your shoulder, “Jesus, how many books do you need?”

The pinging immediately stopped, and you heard a small, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to bother you.”

It wasn’t a lot, but something about that voice seemed familiar. You turned fully around to see those piercing gold eyes staring at you, and you recognized those curls.

“No way. You’re the kid who graduated high school at age twelve! I remember you,” you blurted before really thinking.

“Yeah. Hey (y/n),” he said.

“I’m so sorry I snapped at you like that…”

“Spencer,” he filled in, after hearing you hiss like a snake, trying to jog your memory of his name.

“Spencer! Sorry about that, I’m just kinda stressed about my exams,” you explained.

“It’s okay, I understand,” Spencer replied, gesturing to his ever-growing pile of books.

You inquired about how things were going for him, and he told you all about how his first year and a half in college had been, already obtaining his bachelor’s in mathematics.

“That’s so impressive. Think you could help me?” you said in a somewhat mocking tone.

Of course, he took you seriously, not picking up on the half-joke. “Sure.”

Although, you were thrilled he offered, and the two of you spent the next couple of hours talking about high school and college classes, your seemingly easy math compared to his, and him helping you with any other subject you needed help with, like AP biology and psychology. At the end of the night, you gave him your phone number, trying to cover up your little crush with a joke about needing his help as you rushed out into the freezing night air.

He never used it.

“Yeah. That’s it,” you shot over your shoulder.

“(y/n), hold on, I-” he started.

“Doctor Reid, they need you in the conference room,” some lady said. Now that caught your attention. You spun back around to look at him with raised eyebrows. His mouth was slightly agape, and his eyes flitted between you and the lady who told him he was needed.

“What are you waiting for, Doctor,” you sneered. He let out a sigh, giving you one last pointed look before turning away. You didn’t even know people called him ‘doctor’ now.

You returned home, hoping that the case would get cleared up easily, that they’d find a different culprit and you wouldn’t have to risk that floodgate of emotions bursting open. No such luck. They found Brayden at the scene of the crime, literally in the middle of digging up an old victim to do god knows what with, and took him back into custody. When you got back to the precinct, you told your client not to say a word, and asked what the charges were and if he was going to be transferred in the meantime. The answers to your questions were not in your favor, and you had one of the worst client-lawyer conversations you'd ever experienced. The man wouldn’t tell you a damn thing, and if he didn’t tell you anything, then you couldn’t help him. Of course, it was your job to try and help him as best as you could, but you whole-heartedly believed he was guilty too, which didn’t help you keep the right mindset. Plus, your heart was pounding into your ears for more reasons than being across the table from a serial killer.

Focus, please, you begged yourself. And you did, for a while, but it became a futile effort. At one point you just wanted to say ‘fuck this shit, lock him up’ and leave, you were that desperate.

When it was all over and the station was getting everything together in order to transfer him to a holding facility, you tried to slip out the doors and wait outside. Only moments after, though, you heard the door squeak back open.

“(y/n),” Spencer started.

“I’m sorry,” you quickly interjected. You had been contemplating for the last day or so if you needed to apologize, and just figured you would, if not for your sake, for your clients’. I mean, they would probably end up testifying at some point, not like that was the main thought going through your mind, but you convinced yourself it was. “I shouldn’t have conducted myself like that earlier. It was unprofessional and you were just trying to talk to me.”

“It’s fine. I probably deserved it,” he acknowledged.

“Probably, but that’s all in the past and I should have left it there,” you concluded. You both stood in absolute silence until it became too much to bear. You decided you’d at least try to act natural, “So how have things been since the last time I saw you?”

Spencer looked at you with surprised eyes, but answered with, “They’ve been interesting. There always seems to be a new case. How about you?”

“Same. Just one after the other, but it’s nice knowing I’m helping people,” you added.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

Come on, what else can you throw out there? “Uh, so, they call you ‘doctor’ now?”

He offered a small laugh. “Yeah, they do. When I started, you know, I was much younger than anyone else in the bureau-”

“Still are,” you interjected.

He continued, “-true, but one of my mentors, who’s gone now, told people to call me that and I guess it just stuck.”

“Well, it sounds nice.”

“Thanks. I hear you are doing pretty well yourself, getting national mentions and such,” he stated.

You raised your eyebrows, “You heard about that?” A year or so back you got recognized as the top rising talent in your field of work, but you didn’t think that news would make it to the other coast. Unless he was specifically looking for that information…

“Yeah, I did. The FBI likes to keep tabs on people that might cause them the most trouble in a case, you being one of them.”

“Seriously?” You were astonished. The FBI was keeping tabs on you? “Why?”

“Just in case they get tired of opposing you and would rather work with you,” he shrugged, “But you seem to be having fun opposing right now.”

You let a smile reach the surface at that. “That obvious, huh?”

“I’m a profiler. Plus, you’ve always had a thing for opposing the ‘overbearing’ power and sticking up for the little guy.”

That was a little too close to home. You knew he meant that in more ways than one, and you couldn’t help but think about that god-awful night when you were just two kids trying to take a walk in the moonlight. The night that solidified your friendship.

It happened so fast. All you did was walk away for a second to throw your trash away, but that was all it took for the boys to pounce. Spencer had been attending CalTech for three years, and you were there to pop into the chemistry class, which you conveniently had with Spencer. Those other 20 year olds hated you and Spencer for the sole reason that you were two nerdy 17 year olds that were making them look bad. They’d already gotten in a few good punches before you returned, but when you did, you were livid. They were holding Spencer up while taking turns at him. You worked quickly, setting your phone to record before stepping in between one of the boys and Spencer. You hadn’t intended on getting caught in the crossfire, but you did, landing yourself a pretty bruise on your cheek for the next two weeks. You yelled at them about how they were assaulting a minor and how you now had all of their faces on tape, along with some other legal shit. One of them smashed your phone and went for another punch, but you kicked him in the throat before he could get to you, putting him flat on his ass. He tapped out, and you later found out he’d gotten whiplash from how he landed on the ground. They ran off, and when you turned around, Spencer collapsed in your arms. He was littered with cuts, blood, and already developing bruises. You took him back to his dorm and cleaned him up, spending the night before figuring out how to recover the footage. Once you did, you showed it to the board members, effectively expelling the boys and bringing them up on charges for assault. They got convicted, and no one screwed with either of you again. That was the moment you really decided to become a lawyer.

“Yeah, I guess I have,” you murmured. Brayden was brought out in cuffs and shoved into the back of a squad car, which was your cue to get moving. You had a full case on your hands.

You turned to leave, but as you did, Spencer stopped you. “Hey, would you maybe want to catch up later?”

You didn’t remember him ever being so bold before, and were caught off guard by the question. You stumbled out, “Uh, what did you have in mind?”

“Just … coffee, maybe?”

“Sure,” you said, and immediately saw Spencer’s shoulders relax. “Do you still remember where Arnette’s is?”

“Of course,” he responded. That used to be your favorite go-to spot.

“Alright then. I should be done with this at around eight,” you said, hopping into your car before he could respond. The officer with Brayden had already sped away, and you needed to stay close behind.

The whole drive you kicked yourself for saying yes. You were getting over him. You had gotten over him. And you loved Jordan and couldn’t help feeling like this was somehow betraying him. Plus, why should you be meeting him to catch up? He hadn’t been interested in that for five years! I mean, you put everything into making your relationship work. Sure, you were realistic that it wouldn’t last, but he could have at least tried.

You had it planned out. You would keep in touch until you could go out and visit him during the summer for Fourth of July during your sophomore year of college. The next year, he’d visit you, and the one after that, you’d visit him and so on. But that was the problem. There was no ‘so on.’ You visited him for the second time and that was it. And pretty soon, you could barely get him to pick up the damn phone. The last thing you heard from him was that he was pretty busy starting out with the BAU, along with an unanswered text wondering how his first case went.

But, you already agreed, so you might as well just see what happens.

You threw on some nice, non-work clothes and drove to the little shop on the corner. God you felt like a teenager.

It was just before eight and Spencer was already there waiting for you. Of course he was.

You took a deep breath, reminding yourself that this was supposed to be two people who used to care about each other, and honestly still do, just catching up. Simply talking. About the present, no need to worry about the past.

“Hey, (y/n).” You always liked the way he said your name with welcoming confidence.

“Hey,” you replied. He opened the door for you and you shuffled in. With no surprise, you were the only two in there, and he went ahead and ordered for both of you, remembering what you wanted with ease. You gave him a bit of a confused look as you waited for your drinks.

“What?” he asked, clearly uncomfortable by your staring.

“Nothing, it’s just that you remember my order, that’s all.”

“I do have a really good memory,” he reminded you.

“Yeah, but you also told me once that that only went for visuals, and your eidetic memory didn’t really work on audio,” you quipped.

“That’s true. I guess some things just stick. Plus, it’s not like you made it hard on me. You always ordered the same thing.”

You laughed a little, “I guess that’s true.”

You grabbed your drinks and left the hole-in-the-wall, autopilot kicking in, taking you both along the path that went around the park. Spencer sighed.

“Hm?” you questioned.

“Just, you know, thinking,” he said, brows furrowed.

“About what?”

“How we used to do this all the time. You’d finish your high school classes, drive over to CalTech for chemistry, and then afterward we’d stop by for coffee and a walk,” his voice sounded like he was in a dream, and he looked into the night air as if there was some answer or memory floating around out there. You guessed there was a memory floating around out here.

“Yeah those were crazy years,” you recalled. “I felt like I was constantly on the move and everything was happening all at once and I had all of this stuff I needed to get done. But this was always a nice place where I could clear my head and forget all of that.” That feeling was starting to return as you kept walking, the sticky air of California clinging to your skin.

“It was nice. I miss those days sometimes,” he said.

What is he getting at? “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

You walked in silence for a while, but you could see Spencer’s posture tense up more with each step. There was something on his mind and he wasn’t telling you.

“What is it?”

“What is what?” he acted bewildered.

“What’s on your mind?” He tried to shrug it off and deny it, but you knew him better than that. It might have been a while, but some things, like he said, just stick. And the way his body acted when he was thinking was one of them. “Don’t even try that. I know when there is something bothering you, now out with it.”

“Who is it?” That was all he offered and it was your turn to be confused.

“Huh?”

“Who has the other one?” he said, voice a bit harsher than before, motioning to the gold ring around your finger.

“His name is Jordan.”

“Jordan, huh?”

“Yep.”

“What does he do?” Spencer inquired.

“He’s also a lawyer. We actually met in law school,” you answered somewhat hesitant. You still didn’t know what he was getting at, if anything.

“Oh. Nice.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” your attitude starting to flare up.

“Absolutely nothing. Just not what I thought,” he stated with a bit of an edge to his voice.

“What did you think?” You were trying not to get offended by whatever he was implying, but you couldn’t help it. He asks me to catch up just to make passive aggressive criticisms?

“I don’t know. Not that, I guess.”

At this point, you wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. “Well, you know, you could have changed that,” you replied in the same passive aggressive manner.

“What would you have wanted me to do?” his voice was raising, obviously picking up on what you were putting down.

“Uh, I don’t know, how about respond to one goddamned text?”

“I tried.”

“Not really. And then you just went dark,” you spat.

“You seemed to be fine with that. You moved on pretty quickly,” he hissed, not even bothering to look at you.

“Why do you think that is, genius? I visited you, and then you stopped answering my calls. You stopped responding to my texts. I basically never heard from you again, and then the next thing I know, your showing up on my fucking tv, in California for a case, and you don’t even reach out. You didn’t even ask to meet up anywhere, not even stop by to say hey. Nothing. You did nothing once your job swallowed you up whole. I know what that’s like and it’s hard, believe me, I’m a lawyer for Chrissake, but I found the time. Plus, for all I knew, you had already found someone else, so I wasn’t going to wait around for the guy who seemed to love me much less than I loved him.” By the end, you were yelling, and thanking the stars above you that no one was around to hear it.

“You’re right,” he whispered after a while.

You were stunned, and could only manage a small, “What?”

“You’re right,” he repeated. “I should have put in more effort. I don’t know, (y/n), I wish I had a better answer for you but I don’t. I was young, and stupid, and I didn’t know what I was doing. I let my insecurities get in the way of us, and I will never be able to forgive myself for that.”

“What?” It was seriously the only thing going through your mind, however, you were able to force out, “Insecurities?”

“Yeah. I was worried that because I was away, you were going to tire of me, that you weren’t going to want to stay in a relationship. I thought that maybe, by being ‘tied’ to me, so to speak, that I was holding you back, which we promised each other we would never do. We said that we would never get in the way of the other’s dream, and I wondered if maybe I was going to do that to you. I just … I had all of these doubts, so I panicked. I stopped responding. And I was so wrong to do that.”

Now that he’d said them, they sounded like some of the same doubts he expressed to you the night before he left.

“What time is your flight?”

“Seven, which means I have to be there by six, which means I have to be leaving here by four-thirty at the latest,” he recited. He had all of his stuff piled by the door, which was hardly anything at all. You were in his hotel room because his house was soon to be taken over by a young couple, since he’d be living in Massachusetts, and his mother was in a mental facility. You’d just come back from visiting her, which left Spencer in tears.

You ate dinner while playing chess, which he effectively beat you at. You were actually pretty good at it, but no match for his math-based brain. You snuggled into bed next to him, willing yourself to keep it together because the last thing you wanted to do was spend your last night with him an emotional wreck. He queued up a movie, but neither of you paid any attention to it. His arm was draped around your shoulders and yours were clasped around his waist.

Spencer’s hand lazily circled your back until it moved with purpose down to your thigh. He continued his lazy patterns when you looked up at him, a question in your eyes.

You’d been with Spencer for over a year, and recalled your first time. You were ready before he was, which came as no surprise, but that didn’t stop the nerves from racing through your head. But if you thought you were nervous, you had no idea what was going through Spencer’s head. He later told you that he was absolutely terrified because he didn’t want to do something wrong, and he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, and he didn’t want you to think less of him because of his body style, and a million other things that he was scared about. That’s how you accidentally said the ‘L’ word. “Spencer Reid, I would never judge you and you could never scare me away. I love you and your body and your brain, and you are not going to do something wrong, not like I’d know because we are both new to this and are doing it together. Understand?”

He gave you a shy smile. “I do.”

Now though, it was very different. Comfortable, confident, safe.

“Can I have you?” he asked, “All of you, one last time?”

You leaned up to kiss him, and he sighed when you pulled away. You looked him straight in the eyes, “I’m all yours.”

And you were. You felt like you always had been and probably always would be, and could only hope that he felt a fraction of the same. Your bodies pushed and pulled in perfect unison, fitting together as if you were two pieces of a puzzle, specifically crafted for the other.

You returned to your curled up position beside him, and you couldn’t hold it in anymore. The tears silently flowed out of your eyes, but you couldn’t make yourself peel your arms away from him long enough to wipe them away. You attempted to sob without making a sound, knowing that if Spencer saw you crying, it would make him cry, and he couldn’t cry because it would make you cry more, splitting you right in half. It didn’t matter how quiet you were being about it, because when you looked up at Spencer, you saw the same silent tears glistening on his cheeks. It was only then that you pulled your hands from around him and brushed away his tears.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring the mood down,” you apologized. “This is supposed to be exciting. You’re going to the best school in the country to get your PhD.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, moving his hands up and down your arms, “Sometimes, I wonder if I’m making the right decision.”

This took you by surprise. He’d always seemed confident about this, passionate about furthering his education. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just don’t want to complicate things for anyone. For my mother. For you.”

“If I asked you to stay, would you?” You knew it was unfair, but it was the only thing you could think to say. The only thing you wanted to say. You needed him, and it was sickening wondering if soon, he might not need you. He stared at you dumbfoundedly, so you quickly covered it up with, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. You are about to start a whole new part of your life, and you should go, pursue your dreams with the best education this country can offer. I don’t wanna get in the way of that.”

You repositioned yourself back on his chest, and started to drift off to sleep when you felt him sigh. You lazily peered up at him, meeting his restless eyes. “Spence, you need to sleep.”

“I can sleep on the plane. I need this more,” he said, smiling at you. You tried to stay awake like you knew Spencer would, but to no avail. You did, however, wake up to him getting ready to leave. He kissed you goodbye, and you held yourself together until he’d walked out, the door shutting with a definite ‘click.’

All the air had been stripped from your lungs and you felt like you couldn’t breathe, like you’d never again without him by your side. You cried yourself back to sleep, willing this all to be one giant nightmare, but when you woke, he was gone. And you felt completely numb. So while you may have been two pieces of a puzzle, aiming to create the same beautiful picture, you no longer fit together.

You felt yourself starting to get flushed from constantly going in and out of anger then feeling bad and forgiving. It was exhausting, and probably part of the reason things didn’t work out between the two of you. That didn’t mean you loved him any less, though. He was, in fact, your first love, and you guess people were right about that stuff being more powerful and affecting you longer. Hell, you walked into the precinct for a total of three seconds before he was affecting you all over again!

You took a deep breath in before saying, “I guess we both made mistakes and wished we would have handled things differently.”

“What would you have handled differently?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“When I saw that you were in California for a case, instead of … doing what I did, I should have been the one who reached out. I could have just asked you then what was going through your mind and what was going on between us. Who knows how that might have changed things? But, I was petty,” you gave a cold laugh, “I guess I still am sometimes, huh?”

You had definitely been acting that way lately. You felt guilty and ashamed about it, but in that moment of anger four years ago, knowing that Spencer was out there ignoring you, you sent him a hurtful message and then blocked his number. Only a week or so prior, you’d met Jordan who was clearly hitting on you, and you were so firm about moving on that you asked him out. He eagerly agreed, and the rest was history. Or, at least, you thought was history.

Spencer shrugged and dodged the somewhat rhetorical question. “We can’t really dwell on that now.”

You knew he didn’t really mean that, considering he was the type of person who dwelled, but he was right. You were engaged to a great guy and soon to be married. This, Spencer, was something you were just going to have to come to terms with, something you realized you hadn’t come to terms with yet.

You’d been walking so absentmindedly next to him that you hardly noticed you were outside of a hotel. He stopped just outside the lobby entrance and turned to face you.

“Walk you to your room?” you offered. What the fuck did you just say? Why did you say that? You can’t say things like that. Stop it.

Spencer gave you that small, closed lip smile of his which immediately ended your inner scolding, and nodded, holding the door open for you. You walked up the stairs together in silence. When you reached his door, instead of getting out his card, he leaned his back up against the heavy wood.

“Alright, well, it was nice catching up, and I wish you safe travels in the morning,” you said, turning to leave. He quickly reached out and grabbed your hand, stopping you in your tracks, and you spun around to face him.

“If I asked you to stay, would you?” Those words pierced through your ears, ringing all too familiar from when it was you who said them.

“Spence-” you started. And then his lips were on yours. Those sweet, soft lips. It had always been so natural between the two of you, and you felt his tongue bypass yours as you pushed further into the kiss. Then you remembered where, and when, you were, no longer that hopelessly devoted kid but an adult with a wonderful man waiting for you when you got home. You pulled away. “Spence-”

“I would have said yes, you know,” he confessed. The question must have been etched on your face, because he continued, “When you asked me that night, given the chance, I would have said yes.”

His words stung, and your whole body ached from rehashing old feelings, to igniting new ones, to the guilt of what just happened weighing on you so heavily you might just crumble beneath it. You murmured out, “Why didn’t you?”

“I thought you were right. I thought I was doing the right thing. Out of all the mistakes I’ve made, all the regrets I have, you, (y/n) (y/l/n), are my biggest one.” His honey brown eyes peered right into yours, like he was looking at something far greater than just your eyes, and repeated, “So right now, if I asked you to stay with me, would you?”

It was too much to handle. After all the time you’d spent wishing he was still yours, he finally could be, but you could no longer be his. Tears were streaming down your face as they once did, the first time you lost him, and you choked out, “I can’t.”

One More Night

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foreverlogical · 4 years ago

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — As the world races to find a vaccine and a treatment for COVID-19, there is seemingly no antidote in sight for the burgeoning outbreak of coronavirus conspiracy theories, hoaxes, anti-mask myths and sham cures.

The phenomenon, unfolding largely on social media, escalated this week when President Donald Trump retweeted a false video about an anti-malaria drug being a cure for the virus and it was revealed that Russian intelligence is spreading disinformation about the crisis through English-language websites.

Experts worry the torrent of bad information is dangerously undermining efforts to slow the virus, whose death toll in the U.S. hit 150,000 Wednesday, by far the highest in the world, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Over a half-million people have died in the rest of the world.

Hard-hit Florida reported 216 deaths, breaking the single-day record it set a day earlier. Texas confirmed 313 additional deaths, pushing its total to 6,190, while South Carolina’s death toll passed 1,500 this week, more than doubling over the past month. In Georgia, hospitalizations have more than doubled since July 1.

“It is a real challenge in terms of trying to get the message to the public about what they can really do to protect themselves and what the facts are behind the problem,” said Michael Osterholm, head of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

He said the fear is that “people are putting themselves in harm’s way because they don’t believe the virus is something they have to deal with.”

Rather than fade away in the face of new evidence, the claims have flourished, fed by mixed messages from officials, transmitted by social media, amplified by leaders like Trump and mutating when confronted with contradictory facts.

“You don’t need masks. There is a cure,” Dr. Stella Immanuel promised in a video that promoted hydroxychloroquine. “You don’t need people to be locked down.”

The truth: Federal regulators last month revoked their authorization of the drug as an emergency treatment amid growing evidence it doesn’t work and can have deadly side effects. Even if it were effective, it wouldn’t negate the need for masks and other measures to contain the outbreak.

None of that stopped Trump, who has repeatedly praised the drug, from retweeting the video. Twitter and Facebook began removing the video Monday for violating policies on COVID-19 misinformation, but it had already been seen more than 20 million times.

Many of the claims in Immanuel’s video are widely disputed by medical experts. She has made even more bizarre pronouncements in the past, saying that cysts, fibroids and some other conditions can be caused by having sex with demons, that McDonald’s and Pokemon promote witchcraft, that alien DNA is used in medical treatments, and that half-human “reptilians” work in the government.

Other baseless theories and hoaxes have alleged that the virus isn’t real or that it’s a bioweapon created by the U.S. or its adversaries. One hoax from the outbreak’s early months claimed new 5G towers were spreading the virus through microwaves. Another popular story held that Microsoft founder Bill Gates plans to use COVID-19 vaccines to implant microchips in all 7 billion people on the planet.

Then there are the political theories — that doctors, journalists and federal officials are conspiring to lie about the threat of the virus to hurt Trump politically.

Social media has amplified the claims and helped believers find each other. The flood of misinformation has posed a challenge for Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, which have found themselves accused of censorship for taking down virus misinformation.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned about Immanuel’s video during an often-contentious congressional hearing Wednesday.

“We did take it down because it violates our policies,” Zuckerberg said.

U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat leading the hearing, responded by noting that 20 million people saw the video before Facebook acted.

“Doesn’t that suggest that your platform is so big, that even with the right policies in place, you can’t contain deadly content?” Cicilline asked Zuckerberg.

It wasn’t the first video containing misinformation about the virus, and experts say it’s not likely to be the last.

A professionally made 26-minute video that alleges the government’s top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, manufactured the virus and shipped it to China was watched more than 8 million times before the platforms took action. The video, titled “Plandemic,” also warned that masks could make you sick — the false claim Facebook cited when it removed the video down from its site.

Judy Mikovits, the discredited doctor behind “Plandemic,” had been set to appear on the show “America This Week” on the Sinclair Broadcast Group. But the company, which operates TV stations in 81 U.S. markets, canned the segment, saying it was “not appropriate” to air.

This week, U.S. government officials speaking on condition of anonymity cited what they said was a clear link between Russian intelligence and websites with stories designed to spread disinformation on the coronavirus in the West. Russian officials rejected the accusations.

Of all the bizarre and myriad claims about the virus, those regarding masks are proving to be among the most stubborn.

New York City resident Carlos Lopez said he wears a mask when required to do so but doesn’t believe it is necessary.

“They’re politicizing it as a tool,” he said. “I think it’s more to try to get Trump to lose. It’s more a scare tactic.”

He is in the minority. A recent AP/NORC poll said 3 in 4 Americans — Democrats and Republicans alike — support a national mask mandate.

Still, mask skeptics are a vocal minority and have come together to create social media pages where many false claims about mask safety are shared. Facebook has removed some of the pages — such as the group Unmasking America!, which had nearly 10,000 members — but others remain.

Early in the pandemic, medical authorities themselves were the source of much confusion regarding masks. In February, officials like the U.S. surgeon general urged Americans not to stockpile masks because they were needed by medical personnel and might not be effective in everyday situations.

Public health officials changed their tune when it became apparent that the virus could spread among people showing no symptoms.

Yet Trump remained reluctant to use a mask, mocked his rival Joe Biden for wearing one and suggested people might be covering their faces just to hurt him politically. He did an abrupt about-face this month, claiming that he had always supported masks — then later retweeted Immanuel’s video against masks.

The mixed signals hurt, Fauci acknowledged in an interview with NPR this month.

“The message early on became confusing,” he said.

Many of the claims around masks allege harmful effects, such as blocked oxygen flow or even a greater chance of infection. The claims have been widely debunked by doctors.

Dr. Maitiu O Tuathail of Ireland grew so concerned about mask misinformation he posted an online video of himself comfortably wearing a mask while measuring his oxygen levels. The video has been viewed more than 20 million times.

“While face masks don’t lower your oxygen levels. COVID definitely does,” he warned.

Yet trusted medical authorities are often being dismissed by those who say requiring people to wear masks is a step toward authoritarianism.

“Unless you make a stand, you will be wearing a mask for the rest of your life,” tweeted Simon Dolan, a British businessman who has sued the government over its COVID-19 restrictions.

Trump’s reluctant, ambivalent and late embrace of masks hasn’t convinced some of his strongest supporters, who have concocted ever more elaborate theories to explain his change of heart. Some say he was actually speaking in code and doesn’t really support masks.

O Tuathail witnessed just how unshakable COVID-19 misinformation can be when, after broadcasting his video, he received emails from people who said he cheated or didn’t wear the mask long enough to feel the negative effects.

That’s not surprising, according to University of Central Florida psychology professor Chrysalis Wright, who studies misinformation. She said conspiracy theory believers often engage in mental gymnastics to make their beliefs conform with reality.

“People only want to hear what they already think they know,” she said.

___

Associated Press writers Beatrice Dupuy in New York, Eric Tucker in Washington, and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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newstfionline · 5 years ago

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Quarantine Blues and the Power of a Jigsaw Puzzle (Worldcrunch) A sudden rush of stress, trouble sleeping or eating, overwhelming feelings of helplessness, general fatigue. Does it sound familiar? With approximately half the world still forced to live in lockdown, old and new psychological disorders are a widely diffused side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent study led by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 45% of Americans feel the current health crisis had impacted their mental health. In France, Le Figaro reported this week that 74% of adults in a recent survey developed sleeping disorders and 34% showed signs of psychological distress. Humans are social animals, and while we can acknowledge that our modern digital tools are providing instant links in the face of our respective quarantines, we are also seeing how crucial in-person interaction and stimuli are to the human experience. Alongside the more severe threats to our emotional state is a seemingly less menacing effect: boredom. There is a fine line between enjoying some spare time to do nothing and repeatedly having nothing to do, especially when we yearn for distraction from the current uncertainty of the outside world. Board games that were piling up dust in the basement are seeing the light of day again and solo players indeed are able to play across the computer screen with friends and strangers. Similarly, the lockdown has created one of the highest recorded demand for jigsaw puzzles, a pastime whose time had seemed to have passed two or three generations ago. The American Puzzle Warehouse reported a jump of 2,000% in business compared to the same period last year. When the world seems to fall apart, putting back pieces together could be the ultimate satisfaction.

Coronavirus could erode global fight against other diseases (AP) Lavina D’Souza hasn’t been able to collect her government-supplied anti-HIV medication since the abrupt lockdown of India’s 1.3 billion people last month during the coronavirus outbreak. Marooned in a small city away from her home in Mumbai, the medicine she needs to manage her disease has run out. The 43-year-old is afraid that her immune system will crash: “Any disease, the coronavirus or something else, I’ll fall sick faster.” As the world focuses on the pandemic, experts fear losing ground in the long fight against other infectious diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis and cholera that kill millions every year. Also at risk are decadeslong efforts that allowed the World Health Organization to set target dates for eradicating malaria, polio and other illnesses. With the coronavirus overwhelming hospitals, redirecting medical staff, causing supply shortages and suspending health services, “our greatest fear” is resources for other diseases being diverted and depleted, said Dr. John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

IMF warns of social unrest (Foreign Policy) The International Monetary Fund has warned of social unrest developing in countries where coronavirus prevention measures are seen as insufficient or unfair to poorer workers. The IMF said that although governments have taken swift action to inject stimulus funds into their economies, even more money would be needed once the crisis subsides. The organization expects global public debt to rise by 13 percent in 2020 to almost 96 percent of global gross domestic product.

After Coronavirus, Colleges Worry: Will Students Come Back? (NYT) For years, Claire McCarville dreamed of going to college in New York or Los Angeles, and was thrilled last month to get accepted to selective schools in both places. But earlier this month, she sent a $300 deposit to Arizona State University, a 15-minute drive from her home in Phoenix. “It made more sense,” she said, “in light of the virus.” Across the country, students like Ms. McCarville are rethinking their choices in a world altered by the pandemic. And universities, concerned about the potential for shrinking enrollment and lost revenue, are making a wave of decisions in response that could profoundly alter the landscape of higher education for years to come. Lucrative spring sports seasons have been canceled, room and board payments have been refunded, and students at some schools are demanding hefty tuition discounts for what they see as a lost spring term. Other revenue sources like study abroad programs and campus bookstores have dried up, and federal research funding is threatened. Some institutions are projecting $100 million losses for the spring, and many are now bracing for an even bigger financial hit in the fall, when some are planning for the possibility of having to continue remote classes.

‘Pretty Catastrophic’ Month for Retailers (NYT) Retail sales plunged in March, offering a grim snapshot of the coronavirus outbreak’s effect on consumer spending, as businesses shuttered from coast to coast and wary shoppers restricted their spending. Total sales, which include retail purchases in stores and online as well as money spent at bars and restaurants, fell 8.7 percent from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The decline was by far the largest in the nearly three decades the government has tracked the data. Even that bleak figure doesn’t capture the full impact of the sudden economic freeze on the retail industry. Most states didn’t shut down nonessential businesses until late March or early April, meaning data for the current month could be worse still. “It was a pretty catastrophic drop-off in that back half of the month,” said Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst at Forrester Research. She said April “may be one of the worst months ever.”

Now Arriving at La Guardia Airport: One Passenger (NYT) Jim Mack had made several trips to New York City before, but had never been the only passenger on a commercial jet landing at a deserted La Guardia Airport. Instead of shuffling into the madhouse that is Terminal B on a typical weeknight, Mr. Mack was greeted by an eerie silence. “It felt like it was either closed or I had landed in the wrong terminal,” he said. He had flown from Tampa, Fla.--just him and a Southwest Airlines crew--and now he was striding up the concourse toward baggage claim. The only luggage on the carousel was his. The lone Uber driver was waiting for him. The coronavirus pandemic has unraveled air travel in the United States and turned some of the world’s busiest airports into giant voids. The nation’s air-traffic system is still functioning. But airlines have slashed their schedules, and even on the dwindling number of remaining flights very few seats are filled.

As Danish schools reopen, some worried parents are keeping their children home (Washington Post) The children pressed down on a hand sanitizer dispenser and kept a safe distance from one another as they filed into Ellebjerg School in central Copenhagen on Thursday. But while they settled into their lessons, with a new limit of 10 students per room, some of their classmates remained at home, their families resistant to participating in what they see as a public policy experiment. Denmark this week became the first country in Europe to reopen schools--nursery and primary up to fifth grade--as a start to lifting a coronavirus lockdown imposed on March 12. Although the country has reported 6,879 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 309 deaths, new infections have been decreasing since a peak on April 1, giving the government confidence that a cautious reopening was possible. But thousands of families are opposed to sending their kids back to school so quickly. It’s unclear whether the same opposition will arise in other countries as they try to pivot from more than a month of restrictive measures aimed at slowing the pandemic’s spread. Officials are weighing the negatives of distance learning, which can exacerbate inequality, and the reality that many parents won’t be able to return to work if their children are still home--a point that Denmark’s prime minister specifically noted Wednesday in a surprise visit to a school here.

At least 668 sailors infected after coronavirus outbreak aboard French aircraft carrier, Defense Ministry says (Washington Post) Nearly a third of the crew aboard a French aircraft carrier and its support vessels have tested positive for coronavirus, the country’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday. As test results from 1,767 sailors on the Charles de Gaulle and other ships within its battle group continue to arrive, at least 668 have contracted the virus, officials said. More than 30 are now being treated in the hospital with one person in intensive care, Agence France-Presse reported. In the meantime, the rest of the crew has been quarantined at a military base in the French port city of Toulon.

Germany to ease lockdown (Foreign Policy) Germany is following the lead of its southern neighbor Austria by preparing to ease its lockdown measures. Starting May 4, Germany will begin reopening smaller shops and allowing schools to reopen, with priority given to final-year students. Hairdressers will also be allowed to open, but larger gathering points like bars, restaurants, and cinemas would still be banned. German Chancellor Angela Merkel played down talk of larger scale reopening, saying Germany had achieved merely a “fragile intermediate success” in its battle against the coronavirus.

China tries to revive economy but consumer engine sputters (AP) China, where the coronavirus pandemic started in December, is cautiously trying to get back to business, but it’s not easy when many millions of workers are wary of spending much or even going out. Factories and shops nationwide shut down starting in late January. Millions of families were told to stay home under unprecedented controls that have been copied by the United States, Europe and India. The ruling Communist Party says the outbreak, which had killed more than 3,340 people among more than 82,341 confirmed cases as of Thursday, is under control. But the damage to Chinese lives and the economy is lingering. Truck salesman Zhang Hu is living the dilemma holding back the recovery. The 27-year-old from the central city of Zhengzhou has gone back to work, but with few people looking to buy 20-ton trucks, his income has fallen by half. Like many millions of others, he is pinching pennies.

U.S. Navy complains of harassment in Persian Gulf (Foreign Policy) The U.S. Navy said Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels conducted “dangerous and provocative” approaches to U.S. Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf in a statement on Wednesday. The U.S. Fifth Fleet said it was in international waters and carrying out exercises when the boats approached. Iran has yet to respond to the U.S. statement.

Australia to send aid to Fiji after cyclone tears across Pacific (Reuters) Australia is to send humanitarian aid to Fiji after a tropical cyclone caused widespread destruction across the Pacific, Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne said on Thursday. Cyclone Harold, a category five storm, lashed several island nations in the Pacific last week, killing dozens of people, flooding towns and leaving many homeless. In Fiji, thousands of people remain without electricity, aid agencies say, and many need immediate assistance.

#headlines #news

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sophiejoedwards · 5 years ago

Text

Reflections

February-March 2020

After being given our module brief I wasn’t quite sure where to begin, my first instinct is to make, create, explore and experiment with materials to discover my 3D outcomes and context often corresponds to the work retrospectively, however I had to change this way of thinking, and bring myself out of this comfort zone. I started asking myself questions about artwork in general. What am I interested in? What do I want to know more about?

One of the best galleries we visited in Lisbon has stuck in my mind. For days of looking in galleries I was repeatedly thinking how within a gallery space it’s sometimes difficult for me to connect to intangible art in this sort of setting, there is a separation between you and the artwork. Installations are different, due to the sensory nature of some installations, I feel like it’s sometimes easier to connect to this sort of art. I often find interactive and playful art more engaging as it removes this distance between the viewer and the artwork and is easier to connect with due to it often having a multi sensory appeal. One of the best galleries we visited in Lisbon (in my opinion) was Modo De Uso. You are handed a playful ‘handbook’ guide to each artwork where Claire de Santa Coloma has written a suggestion guide to how to approach and respond to the artwork with her drawings used as reference “If you made it this far, thank you. The artist is now responsible for your level of satisfaction”. Rather than being a passive onlooker the artist encourages you to connect to the artwork discovering it’s sensory appeal. As humans we like to look at art because it simultaneously affects our senses, our thoughts, and our emotions and ___’s encouragement to embrace the sensory-tactile element of his artwork certainly heightened the overall experience for me and my friends. I’m also intrigued by the ability of this installation to be able to transmit the same message to diverse groups of people through the tangibility of the work.

To better understand my personal position my research has begun by asking general straightforward questions like :

Why do we appreciate art? Where does this appreciation come from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beastly-behavior/201709/why-do-humans-make-art

Is art about beauty? - Connection to the natural world/ connection of a visual stimulus with an inner emotional state - argued that this comes from evolution- and the attraction .

Appreciation also comes from knowledge and experience that is common between the artist and the audience. Art capitalizes on specific stored memories and associations in the brain of the observer. Further still, the ability to make and use tools, a skill that began in apes and exploded in hominids, requires a great deal of visual and tactile memory.

Art induces visual recall of past events or emotions - Art capitalizes on specific stored memories and associations in the brain of the observer. Visual memory was important to survival

Visual representations and expression - memories, life, culture

Art aids in communication and education - evolutionary visual aids - a language of their own

Some scientists have suggested that art helps us to bond as groups; and that the brain is programmed to notice and enjoy simple patterns PATTERN RECOGNITION. The human brain is constantly looking for familiar patterns, to impose meaning on a complex world.

Where does this leave contemporary or abstract art? Ability to use visual representations to induce memory recall or visual understanding.

Art invites us to contemplate outside the box, and explore and better understand ideas we weren’t conscious of before? (Salvador Dali) to i.e through depicting bizarre worlds, subconscious states/ unreal and illusory depictions.

: In developing his general theory about how humans decide what they like or dislike, he lines up evidence to show that what people believe about a work of art is crucial to the way they feel about it.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/jun/20/modern-art-all-in-mind

The value of art !? "Traditional art is about what is in the world; more modern works are about the very process of representation," he writes. "An appreciation of much of modern art therefore requires specific expertise. Any dope can marvel at a Rembrandt, but only an elite few can make any sense of a work such as Sherrie Levine's Fountain (After Marcel Duchamp), and so only an elite few are going to enjoy it."

According to Bloom, someone who invests heavily in abstract art and explains that they simply love the shapes and colours is only telling half the story. He believes that the psychological patterns described in "signalling theory" apply to the purchase of modern art. In other words, a rich man or woman tries to distinguish themselves from the pack by spending money on the right thing. "Any schmoe can buy, and appreciate, a pretty painting, while spending millions of dollars on abstract art might display a combination of wealth and discernment," writes Bloom.

I also fully expect that artistic talent would have eventually been transferred from our culture to our genes. After all, during a million or two years of natural selection, artistic ability was likely to confer some advantage on those that had it. This advantage could have come in the form of increased social standing as a leader in the hunt, a prolific teacher of skills, and so on.

Does appreciation of art- or an artistic eye run in genes ?

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/sep/19/born-creative-study-brain-hemingway

In highly creative individuals this connectivity is thought to be especially widespread in the brain, which may be down to genes that play a role in the development of pathways between different areas. These genes reduce inhibition of emotions and memory, meaning that more information reaches the level of consciousness.

So, are we born creative or not? While factors such as upbringing play a crucial role in your brain's development, the work done by scientists in Scandinavia, Germany and the US has shown that having the right genetic makeup can make your brain more inclined towards creative thinking. The rest of us have to "learn" to be creative.

Context is key - One study showed that people liked paintings less if they thought they were made by a computer rather than a human artist, even when the pictures were actually identical.

How our brains process visual information is not the only factor to consider.

Scientific studies indicate that we derive more or less pleasure depending on what we know about the subject. This applies to our enjoyment of, for example, food and drink as well as art. - So when we identify and understand a piece of art we connect to it better

STIMULATING SENSES

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/how-do-we-understand-abstract-art/zhkvxyc

think of a project and an idea for the theory and context as opposed to a 3D outcome, my initial urges are to create, make and explore materials and see what comes of this, instead I began by asking myself some questions about the artworks that interest me, specifically the type of artwork. Firstly I wanted to create a series of videos using this little plastic toy children’s pottery wheel to throw functional pots in unusual places, like the underground or on the top of a mountain. I liked the idea of a playful performance piece then began thinking about participatory artwork and how members of the public could take part in this piece. I also liked the idea of filming in the wilderness, responding to ‘site and place’ by throwing vessels using clay collected from a specific place, filming this vessel being created in this specific place, drawing attention to this direct connectivity between the land and the artwork and the maker. (in a dream land I also imagined it being wood fired at this location and eating food from this vessel that was gathered/found/ foraged. To go full cycle.

Playful nature of Bruce Mclean

“Art has become very serious, I think it should be something more enjoyable”

https://olafureliasson.net/archive/artwork/WEK108821/moon

https://library.bathspa.ac.uk/items/eds/edsglr/edsgcl.499406627?query=participatory+art&resultsUri=items%3Fquery%3Dparticipatory%2Bart%26checkbox%3Deverything%26facet%255B0%255D%3DEdsRecordOptions%253A%2522IsFullText%2522%26target%3Deds&facet%5B0%5D=EdsRecordOptions%3A%22IsFullText%22&target=eds

http://www.moonmoonmoonmoon.com/#sphere

https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9781137033642

A group of people to be directly engaged in a creative process

Inspiration | exchange |unknown outcome

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/participatory-art

https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&u=bsuc&id=GALE%7CA544635325&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ebsco JEREMY DELLER

http://innovacion-soci.webs.upv.es/index.php/social-cartography

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