#banking from 1st March 2021

[vocalsynthbdays]

happy birthday ia(vocaloid 3), vivi(vocaloid 4), merry kohaku(utau), and one(cevio cs) !!! [jan 27]

(ia and vivi)

(merry and one)

IA is a japanese synth developed by 1st PLACE Co., Ltd., and released in 2012. ia is voiced by singer-songwriter Lia, and mostly illustrated by Akasaka Aka, who done all her art apart from her ai song art, which was drawn by Simanerikotton. as well as that, ias ai song english box arts artist is unknown. its a render of a 3d model of ia. ias mmd model was created by mqdl. ia was released for vocaloid 3 on 27 jan 2013, and for vocaloid neo on 7 dec 2013. later, on 27 jun 2014 she was released with her IA ROCKS vb for those same engines. she was then released for cevio with her IA Talk vb on 1 march 2017, and her IA ENGLISH C on 29 june 2018. then for cevio ai, with her IA TALK on 12 mar 2021, and her IA AI SONG and IA AI SONG ENGLISH on 27 oct 2021. shes also available on the mobile vocaloid editor and vocaloid keyboard. ia is a part of 1st PLACE Co., Ltd.'s -ARIA ON THE PLANETES- series.

merry kohaku is a japanese synth created and voiced by Shiogama, and released in 2014. merry is illustrated by sweeper_ms and _kiyomizutera_ i think, with kiyomizutera doing the colouring if i am understanding a post on ms's pixiv correctly.

VIVI (aka Vivian Vu) was announced in 2018. she was to be an english synth with a japanese and chinese bank also, but was cancelled due to legal issues surrounding obtaining a development license. she was being developed by VoMelody (vocadb also lists zero-g as a company shes associated with but im not sure in what way. vomelodys vocadb article just says they were developing her). since vivis banks were never released there is no official way to obtain them, but developer copies were leaked to the public in 2021. vivi is illustrated by hieihirai. i dont know who voiced vivi

the following was very kindly written by my friend who knows nothing about vocal synths:

happy birth ONE (オネ) !! 🍮

one is a cevio released by the company 1st PLACE Co., Ltd, and she was released on january 27, 2015. 🌹

one is a 15 year old girl and she has orange hair. she shares a birthday with her older sister, IA. coincidentally, she also shares a name with her voice provider, ONE, who is a singer. an illustrator called „sidu“ created her character design. 🪣

one is apart of the -ARIA ON THE PLANETS- project, which is a series of umm characters. ☘️

she lives on planet ARIA, which is similar to earth, but with „various life forms that resonate and co-exist together, several of whom raised IA and ONE.“ 🧣

inhabitants of planet aria:

チコー or“Neko-san”, or simply “cat”) is a spirit that lives on ARIA. She is the mother figure of IA & ONE, and has been with them all of their lives before coming to Earth with ONE. ^^

They have a „grandfather“ figure named “Chōrō” (“長老”, meaning "elder") or "Choro no ki” (長老抜き, meaning the "eldest tree)".It was mentioned that he taught ONE and IA all that they know. :3

“フェニックス” (also known as ���Phoenix”, or simply “Nix“ is a singing teacher and a voice trainer for ONE and IA. ^−☆

there‘s also another inhabitant that lives on ARIA but shes so irrelevant shes not even worth mentioning!!! -_-

im done writing for this b shoutout to this website i literally reworded most things and made it shorter https://cevio.fandom.com/wiki/ONE

[coineagle]

Unraveling Bitcoin’s Response to the Federal Reserve’s Inflation Rate

Key Points

The Federal Reserve’s key inflation rate reached 2.1% in September, nearing the target of 2%.

Bitcoin’s value dropped to $69,263.81 due to profit-taking after a recent rally.

The inflation rate in September was 2.1%, according to recent data from the Federal Reserve. This rate is nearing the central bank’s target.

Fed Inflation Rate Analyzed

A report from the Commerce Department on October 31st showed a slight increase in inflation. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the month. This 12-month inflation rate of 2.1% aligns with the Dow Jones projections, suggesting a steady movement toward the Fed’s inflation goals amid ongoing economic assessments.

The PCE data is the Federal Reserve’s main indicator of inflation. Policymakers also closely monitor additional metrics to guide their decisions. The goal of the Feds is to maintain an annual inflation rate of 2%, a target that hasn’t been achieved since February 2021. Core inflation, which currently stands at 2.7%, remains a concern for the Feds.

Impact on the Crypto Market

The release of key inflation data led to profit-taking in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin’s value rallied to $73,000—its highest since March. However, the momentum didn’t last, and the value dropped to $69,263.81. This represented a 4.58% decline over 24 hours. The global crypto market capitalization also fell to $2.33 trillion on November 1st, a 1.75% decrease over 24 hours.

In 2022, Bitcoin’s value fell below $20,000 as the entire market faced a downturn. This was due to concerns over the Federal Reserve’s approach to interest rate increases. However, in 2023, Bitcoin saw a 1% boost following FOMC meetings, with gains reaching 3% after a week.

As the Federal Reserve prepares for its upcoming meeting, there is speculation about further rate reductions. Policymakers anticipate quarter-point decreases in November and December, following a half-percentage-point cut in September. The Fed aims for a policy rate of 3.4% by the end of 2025 and seeks stability at 2.9% through 2026 and 2027. This approach is aimed at achieving a neutral interest rate amid economic headwinds.

[multifandombabesworld]

WWE OC #2 FANFIC/AU

Real Name: Natasha Maria Banks

Ring Name(s): Natasha Bee (formerly; 2012-2014), Tasha Marie (currently; 2014-present)

Nickname(s): Tasha (real life), Tash, Nat, Grape (when she had purple hair), Blue (with blue hair), The Goth Queen, Supernatural Princess, The Bad Guy (formerly)

Born: March 12th, 1994 (age 30)

Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

Billed From: Phoenix, Arizona

Height/Weight: 5’7/125 lbs

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Light Brown (1994-2016), Purple (2016-2023), Blue (2023-present)

Family:

Ariel Banks (mother)

Evan Banks (father)

Stella Venus (younger sister)

Isabelle Hawkins (cousin)

Annabelle Hawkins (cousin)

Bailey Hawkins (cousin)

Jackson Wilson (cousin in law; married to Isabelle)

London and Paris Wilson (cousins; twin daughters of Isabelle and Jackson)

Marcus Wilson (cousin; son of Isabelle and Jackson)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Romantic Interest(s): Austin Theory (boyfriend; 2022-present), Finn Bálor (on screen/tv only; 2014-2016; a little bit of romance in 2018-2019), Unnamed ex boyfriend (2018-2021)

Children: None

Companies/Promotions: SHIMMER (July 7, 2012-March 26, 2014), WWE: NXT (March 27, 2014-July 17, 2016), WWE: Raw (July 18, 2016-April 22, 2019), WWE: Smackdown Live (April 23, 2019-October 13, 2019), WWE: Raw (October 14, 2019-October 8, 2020), WWE: Smackdown Live (October 9, 2020-October 31, 2021), WWE: Raw (November 1, 2021-April 27, 2023), Free Agent (April 28, 2023-February 1, 2024), WWE: Smackdown Live (February 2, 2024-present)

Face/Heel Turns: Face (July 7, 2012-August 14, 2014), Heel (August 15, 2014-June 28, 2016), Face (June 29, 2016-November 14, 2021), Heel (November 15, 2021-January 1, 2023), Tweener (January 2, 2023-February 29, 2024), Face (March 1, 2024-present)

Theme Songs:

First Theme (SHIMMER; 2012-2014)

Second Theme: (2014-2016)

Third Theme: (2016-2022; 2024/current)

Fourth Theme: (2022-2024)

Starts at 39 seconds into video

Tag Teams/Stables: Blood Sisters (with Stella Venus; 2019-2024)

Finisher Moves:

Stunner

Sharpshooter

Superkick

Signature Moves:

Moonsault

Big Boot

Bulldog

Submission Moves: Sharpshooter, Boston Crab, Cloverleaf, Cobra Clutch

Titles Won:

NXT Women’s Championship (NXT Takeover: London 12/16/15 against Bayley & Nia Jax after making Bayley tap to the Sharpshooter) Held for: 108 days (lost to Asuka at NXT Takeover Dallas 4/1/16 after getting knocked out by the Asuka Lock)

Smackdown Women’s Championship (Backlash May 21, 2017 against Naomi after making her tap to the sharpshooter) Held for: 92 days (lost to Natayla at Summerslam August 20, 2017 after tapping to the sharpshooter)

Universal Women’s Championship (Raw 12/23/19 in a 8 women battle royal; won after throwing Cassie Brown over the top rope and becoming the first ever champion) Held for: 105 days (lost to Cassie Brown at Wrestlemania 4/5/20 after getting hit with a chair and then getting hit with the Messysault or Bitchysault at the time) *1st reign*

Universal Women’s Championship (Raw 11/8/21 in a fatal four way elimination match against Aliyah, Natalya, and Dana Brooke; won after eliminating Natayla with a Stunner) Held for: 511 days (lost to Cassie Brown at Wrestlemania 39 4/2/23 after getting hit with a Messysault and getting pinned) *2nd reign*

Other Accomplishments:

Record for the longest reign as Universal Women’s Champion (511 days)

NXT Year-End Award - Female Competitor of the Year (2015)

Medical Conditions/Injuries:

Head Concussion

Facial Contusions (two times in career)

Sprained Ankle

Busted Lip

Torn ACL

Managers: Stella Venus

Has Managed: Finn Bálor, Stella Venus

Friends:

Rhea Ripley

Asuka

Bayley

Dakota Kai (off screen)

Cassie Brown (off screen)

Rosalie (off screen)

Megan Foster (off screen)

Austin Theory

Grayson Waller

Johnny Gargano

Tommaso Ciampa

Candice LeRae (off screen)

Indi Hartwell (off screen)

Maxxine Dupri

Kairi Sane (off screen)

Cody Rhodes (off screen)

Randy Orton

Kevin Owens

Sami Zayn (off screen)

Finn Bálor

Damien Priest (off screen)

Paige/Saraya (off screen)

Sasha Banks/Mercedes Moné (off screen)

Roman Reigns (off screen)

Seth Rollins (off screen)

Jon Moxley/Dean Ambrose (off screen)

CM Punk (off screen)

Triple H

Stephanie McMahon

Shawn Michaels

Beth Phoenix

Edge

Dominik Mysterio (off screen)

JD McDonagh (off screen)

Jey Uso (off screen)

Jimmy Uso (off screen)

Solo Sikoa (off screen)

Tama Tonga (off screen)

Tonga Loa (off screen)

Nikki Bella

Brie Bella

Naomi

Chelsea Green (off screen)

Liv Morgan (off screen)

Scarlett (off screen)

Trained By:

Matt Bloom

Beth Phoenix

Cassie Brown

Shawn Michaels

WWE Idol(s):

Ashley Massaro

Eddie Guerrero

Beth Phoenix

Edge

Stone Cold Steve Austin

John Cena

Bret “The Hitman” Hart

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart

D-Generation X

Facts:

Tasha grew up watching wrestling and her favorites were Stone Cold, DX, The Harts, and Ashley Massaro

Tasha’s first wrestling event was Summerslam in 2008 when she went with her parents and sister. Ironically, this would be the first PPV/PLE she would win in on the main roster

Tasha is good friends with singer Billie Eilish which is why she used her song “Bad Guy” as a theme

Her signature colors are purple and black and sometimes blue. She always comes out to the ring with a hooded cloak and mask

She is allergic to shellfish and is lactose intolerant

She has wrestled both men and women in her career

She was a cheerleader in high school and also took karate

Tasha doesn’t like any type of seafood mostly because she’s allergic to shellfish

Tasha has knee issues due to her tore acl from a year ago as well as slight ankle issues

She has 7 tattoos and a studded nose piercing

She owns a Siberian husky named Olive who is three years old

Social Medias: tashamariewwe (Instagram), misstashamarie (Twitter), thetashamarie (TikTok) *These aren’t real so don’t look for them*

A/N: Tasha is part of the same fanfic/au as Cassie Brown, can you read about as well. Cassie’s info is on my profile (you might have to scroll a bit to find it). I’ll be publishing about Stella, Megan, Rosalie, and Roxanne soon. Also The Hawkins and Jackson are OCs as well and I might make something for them. I haven’t decided yet.

[thinkinglegal]

Cabinet Nod for Rs 2,000 Crore Funds for Deep Tech Startup

Funds play a significant role in supporting the startups. It allows individuals with innovative and business-oriented mindsets to take risks and invest their time and efforts in startups. Considering this, on 7th March 2024, the Union Cabinet approved over Rs 10,000 crore fund for promoting AI-centred industries. Out of which, close to Rs 2000 crore fund will exclusively be allocated to the AI startups. 

Do you know? Since 2016, after the launch of the Start-up India Scheme by the Government of India, the country has become more friendly for startups and entrepreneurs. Various funds and schemes have been launched throughout the years. In the initial stage of the scheme, IAS officer (now retired) Ramesh Abhishek headed it. He crafted the agenda to foster the growth of startups in India by simplifying regulations, providing funding support, and offering tax benefits. All these steps on the behalf of DPIIT aimed to support the startups. IAS officerRamesh Abhishek was DPIIT's secretary during this time.

This year, for the fund approvals of deep tech policy, numerous ministries especially the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology sought Cabinet’s approval. . IAS officers working in these departments advocated the approval for this fund. 

However, this is not the only startup fund the government has approved. There are numerous funds suggested by policy makers, IAS officers, and top bureaucrats, under the Start-up India scheme that we have covered in this article. Let’s have a look at them! 

Different Funds for Start-ups in India 

Launching flagship programs, start-up India in 2016 is on its journey to create a supportive environment for starting a business, experimenting with ideas, creating job opportunities, and innovating. It has launched several funds for start-ups in India under the able hands of ex IAS officers like Ramesh Abhishek. 

Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund for Startups 

Credit Guarantee Fund is a scheme for startups approved by DPIIT. Under this scheme, eligible startups can apply for collateral-free loans with specified limits.

In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a total corpus of Rs 2,000 crore, a fund to enable greater financial support for startups. At the launch of the startup hub, Ramesh Abhishek, Ex-IAS officer and retired secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), today known as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said about the finalisation of the fund. At the event the IAS officer disclosed the fund limit, eligibility, and benefits. Ramesh Abhishek said; 

“We have finalised the guidelines for the funds. Each startup will be eligible for up to Rs 5 crore loan without any collateral,” 

Ramesh Abhishek, Ex DPIIT Secretary & IAS Officer (Source Article)

Fund of Funds to Encourage Startups

The Fund of Funds scheme for startups was also established in 2016 during the tenure of IAS Officer Ramesh Abhishek. It's 10,000 crore called the mother fund and does not directly allocate the fund to the startups, instead providing capital to SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been given the responsibility to manage the fund of funds. 

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme Introduced in 2021

Startup India seed fund is a crucial fund scheme, as it helps startups in the early stage.

The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) addresses this by offering financial support for stages like proof of concept, prototype development, trials, market entry, and commercialization. 

DPIIT has launched this fund in April 2021. In 2021, IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra was the secretary DPIIT. He became the DPIIT secretary after the tenure of Ramesh Abhishek from 1st March 2016 to 31st July 2019. IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra was DPIIT secretary from 01st August 2019 to 19th June 2021.

[vbvassociateskochi]

52nd GST MEETING MINUTES 07.10.2023

Trade Facilitation measures

Amnesty scheme for appeal filing till 31st January 2024

> Who will it benefit?

Taxable persons

> who could not file an appeal against a demand order passed on or before 31st March 2023

> Whose appeal was rejected since it was not filed within the specified time limit

> How much amount to be pre- deposited?

> 12. 5% of the tax under dispute

> of which 2.5% has to be debited from electronic cash ledger

2.Taxability of Guarantees given to the banks against the credit limits / loans sanctioned by the Company

> Where the guarantee is provided by the directors :The value of the transaction to be treated as zero if there is no consideration paid by the company.

> Where corporate guarantee is provided for related persons including holding company to its subsidiary company :The taxable value of the transaction  shall be 1% of such guarantee or the actual consideration whichever is higher  (Sub-rule (2) in Rule 28 to be inserted for the purpose).

3.Restoration of provisional attachment of property

Proposed amendment to provide that the order passed in Form GSTR DRC -22 shall not be valid for more than one year from the date of order.

Note :No specific written order required

4. Clarification on issues related to Place of Supply

Circulars to be issued to clarify the place of supply related to i) transportation of goods, including by mail or courier, in cases where the location of supplier or the location of recipient of services is outside India; (ii) advertising services and (iii) co-location services.

5. Clarification related to export of services

> To be treated as export of services , the consideration for supply of services to be received in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian rupees wherever permitted by RBI

> Circular to be issued to clarify the admissibility of export remittances received in Special INR Vostro account, as permitted by RBI

Note :  Rupee vostro accounts keeps a foreign entities holding in an Indian Bank in India Rupees and facilitate settlement of transactions in INR.

6. Supplies to Sez unit / sez development on payment of IGST and claiming of refund

Except commodities mentioned in Notification 1/ 2023 dated 31st July 2023, suppliers to Sez units / Sez developers can go for the IGST payment and refund route w.e.f 1st October 2023

Other measures pertaining to law and procedure

> Alignment of provisions of the CGST Act, 2017 with the provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 in respect of Appointment of President and Member of the proposed GST Appellate Tribunals – The eligibility and age criteria has now been specified.

> Amendment to Act and rules to give effect to ISD procedure

> ISD distribution procedure was made mandatory for distribution of Input Services procured by HO.

> In relation to the same amendments has been recommended in Section 2(61) , Section 20 of the CGST Act and Rule 39 of the CGST Rules.

 Rate Changes

1.  Changes in rate of Good

2. Changes in rate of Services

[emblazekochi]

52nd GST MEETING MINUTES 07.10.2023

Trade Facilitation measures

Amnesty scheme for appeal filing till 31st January 2024

> Who will it benefit?

Taxable persons

> who could not file an appeal against a demand order passed on or before 31st March 2023

> Whose appeal was rejected since it was not filed within the specified time limit

> How much amount to be pre- deposited?

> 12. 5% of the tax under dispute

> of which 2.5% has to be debited from electronic cash ledger

2.Taxability of Guarantees given to the banks against the credit limits / loans sanctioned by the Company

> Where the guarantee is provided by the directors :The value of the transaction to be treated as zero if there is no consideration paid by the company.

> Where corporate guarantee is provided for related persons including holding company to its subsidiary company :The taxable value of the transaction  shall be 1% of such guarantee or the actual consideration whichever is higher  (Sub-rule (2) in Rule 28 to be inserted for the purpose).

3.Restoration of provisional attachment of property

Proposed amendment to provide that the order passed in Form GSTR DRC -22 shall not be valid for more than one year from the date of order.

Note :No specific written order required

4. Clarification on issues related to Place of Supply

Circulars to be issued to clarify the place of supply related to i) transportation of goods, including by mail or courier, in cases where the location of supplier or the location of recipient of services is outside India; (ii) advertising services and (iii) co-location services.

5. Clarification related to export of services

> To be treated as export of services , the consideration for supply of services to be received in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian rupees wherever permitted by RBI

> Circular to be issued to clarify the admissibility of export remittances received in Special INR Vostro account, as permitted by RBI

Note :  Rupee vostro accounts keeps a foreign entities holding in an Indian Bank in India Rupees and facilitate settlement of transactions in INR.

6. Supplies to Sez unit / sez development on payment of IGST and claiming of refund

Except commodities mentioned in Notification 1/ 2023 dated 31st July 2023, suppliers to Sez units / Sez developers can go for the IGST payment and refund route w.e.f 1st October 2023

Other measures pertaining to law and procedure

> Alignment of provisions of the CGST Act, 2017 with the provisions of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 in respect of Appointment of President and Member of the proposed GST Appellate Tribunals – The eligibility and age criteria has now been specified.

> Amendment to Act and rules to give effect to ISD procedure

> ISD distribution procedure was made mandatory for distribution of Input Services procured by HO.

> In relation to the same amendments has been recommended in Section 2(61) , Section 20 of the CGST Act and Rule 39 of the CGST Rules.

 Rate Changes

1.  Changes in rate of Good

2. Changes in rate of Services

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil lowers interest rate 50 basis points to 13.25%, 1st cut in 3 years

Decision implies ‘smoothing economic fluctuations,’ ‘fostering full employment without compromising’ price stability, bank says

Brazil’s central bank lowered its interest rate by 50 basis points to 13.25% -- its first rate cut in three years.

"The global environment remains uncertain, with some disinflation at the margin, but in an environment with still high core inflation and resilience in the labor market of many countries," the bank said late Tuesday.

Banco Central Do Brasil last made a rate hike of 50 basis points last August, carrying the rate to 13.75%, the highest since early 2017, and significantly up from a record low of 2% in March 2021.

Continue reading.

[pharawee]

Here's a quick machine-translation of the timeline shown in the image, for those curious about the key dates of legalising same-sex marriage in Thailand (full text under the read more):

The Journey of Equality

2555 (2012)

► Natee Theerarojanaphong filed a complaint after being rejected marriage at Mueang District Office, Chiang Mai Province

►The public sector begins to study and work in protecting families of diverse genders

Proposal for solving problems for establishment same sex family (a term used at that time) was already being talked about in civil society before 2012.

2556 (2013)

► A draft initiative was born. Civil Partnership Act in the government of Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra

► The Law Reform Commission (CRC) together with the civil society sector began Marriage Act (Public Sector)

2557 (2014)

► Coup

2560 (2017)

Civil society organizes IDAHOT Day, presenting Rainbow Family Supported by the World Bank at that time, the Department of Rights and Liberties proposed the Civil Partnership Act. And some civil society members issued a statement of support. Amendments to the Civil and Commercial Code By using the thesis work of Chawinroj Teerapatcharaporn.

2561 (2018)

Public sector holds 10th anniversary event Gender Diversity Rights Day. Submit a proposal for equal marriage to 10 parties. Chawinrot Teerapatcharaporn's equal marriage was used as the main content of Politics using research (draft) drafting equal marriage of Political parties and the public sector.

2563 (2020)

► Permsap and Puangphet filed a petition with the Central Juvenile and Family Court to have the Constitutional Court consider discrimination on the basis of gender from the inability of same-sex marriage to be registered.

► 18 June 2020: Move Forward [*political party] submitted a draft of the Equal Marriage Act to the House of Representatives.

8 July 2020: The Cabinet resolved to approve the draft principles. Marriage Act.

►November 2020: Draft of the Equal Marriage Act puts agenda items into council meetings.

2564 (2021)

►17 Nov. 2021: The Constitutional Court has ruled that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

► 28 Nov. 2021: The "Rainbow Alliance for Equal Marriage" group opens for submissions. Draft of the Equal Marriage Act, public sector, via www.support1448.org (there are 360,000+ names listed).

2565 (2022)

9 Feb. Draft of the Equal Marriage Act. Entering the council for the 1st term. But the council resolved to send it to the Cabinet for study before 60 days.

► March 29, Cabinet voted not to accept the draft Marriage Equality Act.

5 June, Bangkok Narumit Pride parade, calling for equal marriage. June 7, Cabinet proposes the Civil Partnership Act to Parliament.

► 16 June: The House of Representatives passes the draft Marriage Equality Act. Draft of the Civil Partnership Act, Agenda 1, will be considered for Agenda 2 and 3 in the House of Representatives.

2566 (2023)

► 17 Mar: Parliament dissolved.

► 14 May: Elections

4 July: Opening of the House of Representatives.

1 Sep. Draft of the Equal Marriage Act and the Draft Civil Partnership Act. Rejected from the House because it was not taken into consideration by The new Cabinet that can be formed within 60 days after the opening of the new parliament.

► 21 Dec: The House of Representatives accepted the principles of the proposed equal marriage law, 4 bills, for consideration in the first session and appointed an extraordinary committee to consider in Agenda 2 before bringing it back to the meeting to approve the entire version in Agenda 3.

► One more time to propose equal marriage to the House of Representatives.

2567 (2024)

▶ 4 Jan: Start considering the draft Marriage Equality Act.

► 14 Mar: Commissioners, including public sector commissioners and public sector advisors. Consideration of the draft Equal Marriage Act has been completed.

► 27 Mar: Bring the draft bill to the House of Representatives for consideration in Agenda 2 and 3 to go to the Senate within April.

The tweet is great; the graphic is better. The tweet:

The graphic:

[xtruss]

America’s Property Market Suggests Recession is on the Way! As Developers Find Clever Ways to Cut Mortgage Rates, the Fed May Fight Back

— Finance & Economics | Bringing Down the House | March 1st 2023 | Washington, DC

Springtime in America, which is just around the corner, brings many fine traditions. The crack of the bat on baseball diamonds. Children rolling Easter eggs on the White House lawn. Families putting out dusty, old furniture in yard sales. There is, though, one ritual that towers above all others in its sheer financial importance: spring selling season, when the housing market comes to life—or, on rare occasions, fails to do so. It may be the single biggest determinant of the global economic outlook for the rest of this year, with a recession at one end of the spectrum and the softest of landings at the other.

The importance of American housing resides not so much in its absolute size, big though it is at about $45trn in total value. Rather, it serves as a bellwether of the economy’s performance amid rising interest rates. Has the Federal Reserve lifted rates by enough to calm inflation without crushing growth? Has it gone too far? Or, perhaps, not far enough? As one of the earliest and largest sectors to react to changes, the property market offers some answers.

Until the past month, the evidence seemed pretty straightforward. Even before the Fed started jacking up its policy rate, mortgage lenders, anticipating the bank’s tightening, had started charging more. From 3% at the end of 2021, the rate on 30-year fixed mortgages surpassed 7% by October, the highest in more than two decades. Lo and behold, activity quickly tailed off. Buyers stayed on the sidelines. Builders scaled back new construction projects. Sellers trimmed prices.

But recently, signs of an early and largely unexpected rebound have emerged, prompting concerns that higher rates are not having the desired effect. New-home sales jumped in January to a ten-month high. Surveys gauging the confidence of both homebuilders and homebuyers have improved. America’s property companies have reported more visitors to their show homes. “We have seen the momentum build week after week,” notes Sheryl Palmer, chief executive of Taylor Morrison, one of the country’s biggest homebuilders.

The case for optimism is that America’s property market has found a floor. Buyers are returning but the covid-era frenzy is not. A decent spring season could, in theory, allow prices to stabilise and builders to resume construction, boosting growth without stoking inflation. The case for pessimism rests on the idea that the interaction between the property market and inflationary trends is too powerful to ignore: if buyers return to a supply-constrained housing market, price rises will follow. And if the Fed sees that such a rate-sensitive sector as property is not responding to tighter monetary policy, it may judge that it needs to be more hawkish. Unfortunately for America, and the world, the pessimistic case looks more plausible.

Analysts point to a range of factors behind the rebound. After a year of tepid sales, there is pent-up demand. Richer buyers, paying in cash, represent a larger share of the market. Buyers may also be getting used to higher rates: some saw a good deal when mortgage rates fell from north of 7% late last year to 6% in January.

Perhaps most crucially, developers have drawn up a menu of incentives. There is nothing unusual about using discounts when the market falters; the novel element, this time, has been aggressive use of mortgage buydowns through in-house lenders, in effect prepaying some interest on behalf of customers to reduce mortgage rates. This has allowed developers to offer mortgages that seem to emanate from the pre-inflation era of the 2010s. Pulte, a homebuilder, has priced 30-year fixed rates at just 4.25% on some of its nearly complete properties. Toll Brothers, another builder, offers 4.99%. “We learned so much last year on how to address consumer concerns,” says Ms Palmer.

These discounts are a clever bit of financial engineering. John Burns, a property consultant, notes that prepaying 6% of a mortgage upfront, and obtaining lower rates for the rest of its life, works out as big a saving for buyers as cutting home prices by 16% but leaving them with higher rates.

The obvious question is whether such discounts are sustainable. There are two potential snags. Homebuyers would struggle to resell their homes at the same price to buyers not benefiting from mortgage buydowns. As a result, Mr Burns thinks that appraisers may cut contracted home values, which would force sellers to lower prices. Second, buydowns fly in the face of what the Fed has been trying to do: tamping down on property purchases to bring demand and supply into better balance.

Last year Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chairman, spoke of the need for “a bit of a reset” in the property market. In terms of affordability, this reset has further to run. Mortgage payments on new homes now reach nearly 30% of average household income in America, almost double their average in the 2010s. A rise in incomes, a decline in mortgage rates or a decline in house prices would bring affordability back to pre-covid levels. All three have started to happen, but there is a long way to go. Nationally, home prices have fallen by just 4% since their peak in mid-2022, barely eating into their 45% surge during the pandemic, according to the s&p CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.

There is also a more inflexible part to the equation: the supply of housing. Homeowners who have locked in low rates are loth to move. There are just 1.1m existing homes on the market for resale, half the average since the late 1980s. Meanwhile, homebuilders are more prudent than they were two decades ago in the lead-up to the global financial crisis. When the covid buying mania got going, housebuilding ticked up but did not soar, since developers saw the boom as ephemeral. Then, when the market softened, they almost immediately scaled back their activity.

This is good for builders’ balance-sheets, leaving them with chunky cash positions. But it is bad news for everyone else. Investment in residential construction fell by a fifth in real terms last year. It appears set to fall further this year. Strikingly, despite the nascent rebound in demand, new starts have so far fallen. Dhaval Joshi of bca Research notes that similar-sized declines in housing investment have almost always presaged recessions in the past. Robert Dietz of the National Association of Home Builders shares this concern: “You’ve never really had a time where there have been price declines and a significant decline in residential investment, and a recession has not happened.”

This runs counter to the hope in financial markets that America can steer clear of a downturn, and counter to the hope in the property market that the worst is already behind it. Firms, economists and investors have learned to be wary of inflation head-fakes over the past two years: short-lived bouts of receding inflation that give way to a reassertion of price pressures. The housing recovery may also prove to be a head-fake, with the sector on a weaker footing than it appears and the Fed compelled to keep rates higher for longer. A lot is riding on the spring selling season. ■

[indusviva]

IndusViva Back in Business - indusviva

After the long struggle, finally, on 26th July 2021, the Hon’ble High Court of Telangana passed an interim order on the writ petition that was filed by IndusViva Healthsciences Pvt. Ltd., directing to de-freeze all the bank accounts and not interfere with the organization’s day-to-day operations. Moreover, the court had set aside an impugned Preventive Detention order on the key people of the company on 27th September 2021.

 Who are IndusViva, and what do they do?

 IndusViva is a Direct Selling company that started its journey in 2014 with only 1 product. In 2021, they are the proud owner of 5 world-class ayurvedic health promoter products manufactured under the licence of the Department of Ayush. They are the first Direct Selling company in India to start their operations in the ‘Motherland of Direct Selling’, United States of America and also expanded in multiple continents with their exclusive product, iVed. Although they haven’t started operating in many countries, the customer base is prevalent all over the globe. IndusViva has set the best example in the industry by marching up from nowhere to be one of India's top ten Direct Selling companies. Other companies in that list are more than fifteen years old, but this organization did it in only six years. 

 IndusViva is a company that rose to its feet when the whole world, including the Direct Selling industry, was entirely under lockdown due to the deadly pandemic. After the 1st phase, they completely digitalized their business strategy from physical to virtual; empowered the distributors by training them with several digital tools through virtual meetings. Even though they have faced extensive damage, they still managed to have nearly the same turnover as the previous year. They had a total turnover of approximately INR 1450 crores in 7 years, out of which nearly half was paid to the direct sellers as commission for selling the products and almost 200 crores to the Central and State Govt. as various taxes like GST, Income Tax, TDS etc. They sell their products through a direct selling/multi-level marketing model, a legitimate economic activity per Consumer Protection Act 2019, and Govt. of India-issued Direct Selling Guidelines, 2016. The Government is on the verge of issuing Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021. Though the Govt. of India and NITI Aayog publicly stated multiple times that the Direct Selling industry is a scope for the coming days and this industry can accommodate the opportunity-seeking youth of the country, but the steps initiated by them till now are not enough to protect the interest of the young job aspirants and the companies who are ready to provide the opportunities. Due to the lack of such clarity and proper education on the part of the law enforcement agencies, the future of the young aspirants and the companies are in darkness. Therefore, the Government has to come up with more clarity to protect their interest and the interest of the consumers. 

[vilaspatelvlogs]

1 मार्च से बदल जाएंगे आप से जुड़े कई नियम, आम-खास सब पर पड़ेगा बदलाव का असर

1 मार्च से बदल जाएंगे आप से जुड़े कई नियम, आम-खास सब पर पड़ेगा बदलाव का असर

लखनऊ: 1 मार्च 2021 से आम दैनिक जीवन से जुड़े कई नियम बदलने जा रहे हैं. इसमें गैस सिलेंडर की कीमत, बैंक में लेनदेन से जुड़े नियम शामिल हैं. आइए जानते हैं होने जा रहे बदलाव के बारे में.  यह भी देखें –  Viral Video: बच्चे ने किया शानदार डांस, देखकर आप भी हो जाएंगे फैन यूपी में खुलने जा रहे हैं प्राइमरी स्कूल1 मार्च 2021 से उत्तर प्रदेश में कक्षा एक से पांच तक के सभी प्राइमरी स्कूल एक मार्च से खुलने…

[alienoresimagines]

Keep Marching On (I'll Carry You Home) | Denver "Bull" Randleman x Gender Neutral Medic!Reader

A/N: This was requested by @embersjanuary with the prompt “Oh, don’t cry. I hate it when you cry.” and a shy kiss although I'm afraid that last part got lost in the way 😅 Also this is for @tvserie-s-world because for one it's Bull and our convo about Johnny and Bull's S/O inspired me a lot ❤❤

Taglist :@murphyism @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant @mavysnavy @wexhappyxfew @justwant-samu-ass @embersjanuary@order-of-river-phoenix @inglourious-imagines @liebegott @tvserie-s-world @warrior-healer @holdingforgeneralhugs

Words count: 1926

Posted : 20/12/2021

TW : Swearing, Death, Blood, Heavy angst

Navigation

-----

Bastogne was hell. There were no other words for it. Blood was staining the snow as well as your dreams crimson. Shattered hope and screams tore out of your throat.

You had thought it was over though. You’d thought they'd send you back to Mourmelon but, of course, there was no such thing as being relieved. No rest for the brave. And so, you and Easy Company kept marching on, as soldiers do.

Leaving Rachamps with weariness in your bones, you barely felt a thing. Too numb from everything, you simply acted on autopilot while guided by Bull's gentle hand on the small of your back. Your anchor through everything.

In the church, you had sat next to each other as you both got lost in your thoughts. However, his hand had never left your knee and your hand had played with his hair absentmindedly while you listened to the choir. In the end, you had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and only then did he himself fall asleep. For a short moment, you had been in heaven.

-

All around you, soldiers were silently cheering for the end of the war in Europe. They were leaving Bastogne where it belonged. In nightmares and terrifying tales of bravery for the world to gape on like people would stick themselves to the glass in an aquarium. Did the war even have a meaning for those people? Or was it all just an attraction? Would they care about the young men, the kids, bleeding to death? Or would they be disgusted by the sight of the blood that was shed for them? A too loud to be genuine laugh drew you out of your thoughts. Good. You could not afford to get lost in dark thoughts like these any longer. The men still needed you.

Heaving a tired sigh, you got up from where you were sitting and gave Bull an apologetic smile before you trotted to the men you knew had suffered injuries. Not enough to send them to the aid station and then back home but enough that it needed caring. As you were going through the ranks, tending to wounds, the whispers made themselves at home near your ears until they were the only sound you heard.

We're crossing the Rhine, war will be over soon.

Germans will surrender sooner than later!

We'll be home soon enough.

Maybe we'll make it!

It sounded a lot like when the Germans would pause in their shelling, waiting for you to come out and take care of your wounded to crush you right after. Nevertheless, hope was like Persephone's pomegranate. One taste and you'll stay in hope's realm until German shells destroyed the floor beneath your feet.

So you let yourself be drawn in.

-

You prepared yourself for the patrol in silence, folding bandages with Johnny next to you. You'd depart in a few hours and the air all around you hung heavy as the silence stretched on.

Finally, the hours rolled on until it was almost time to go to the bank of the river.

Wiping nonexistent sweat on your trousers, you got up and before you went out the door, you offered a small smile to the man next to you who only gave a nod. Sometimes, you wondered when you'd learned to see through Johnny's eye rolls and comments to peer at the man beneath these stone barricades.

Grazing the walls to your destination, you came to a halt in front of a building. You entered quietly, fearing to wake some of them up but were surprised to see most of the 1st platoon men awake. Bull took notice of you immediately and, with a barely-there upturn of his lips but a valley of love in his eyes, raised an arm, silently inviting you. None of the men spoke to you except some greetings to which you replied absent-mindedly. You were all so tired and wound up over this patrol, even those who weren't going. Settling at his side, you let out a sigh as you nestled your face in the crook of his neck. His thumb drew circles on your biceps and his lips pressed on the crown of your head lightly. Your eyes closed, the tension in your shoulder fleeing at his touch.

Time, however, wasn't on your side and before you knew it, you had to go join the rest of your group at the river. Bull seemed as reluctant to let you go as you were if the way his arm tightened around your shoulders was anything to go by. You slowly pulled back but stayed crouched down to look at him in the eyes.

"You be safe out there." He whispered in the space separating you, his eyes searching yours while still bearing this intensity that made you weak in the knees. The smile that stretched your lips was a cheeky one, a cheekiness that you didn't particularly feel in your bones if you were honest with yourself.

"Always am." Your reply came anyway. As you were about to leave, you stopped in your tracks before you hesitantly pressed your lips to Bull's. It was just a light press of your lips, one could barely think of it as a kiss at all but you were well aware of the pair of eyes burning your back.

Seconds later you were in the street, the cold biting your hands and senses overwhelmed with Bull.

Bull's warmth. Bull's scent.

It was awful. This feeling that you might never see him again and neither of you would've been aware this was the last time until your next life. The urge to run back and kiss him breathless was only tamed by the reflection of the moon on the water.

---

Jackson was dead. A kid you had known since Toccoa. His life had just slipped through your fingers as he desperately screamed and writhed in agony. It was an amazing thing. How fragile life was. How merciless this world could be.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw Eugene take his helmet off. Not daring to meet your comrade's eyes, you keep your head down and your hands on your lap, nails printing half-moons in your palms.

The silence was eerie for a few seconds as you fought the scream trying to escape your throat.

Martin took the blanket hanging off Skinny's shoulder before silently making his way to the fallen. The green fabric covered Jackson's body, one of your hands adjusting it numbly as you stared blankly at the ground. You owlishly blinked when two soldiers picked the stretcher up and took it away. Life slowly came back into the room as Death left it and men started to move again, their heads bowed in defeat.

Raising to your feet, you rested your hand on Eugene's shoulder for a fleeting moment and hoped it was as reassuring for him as it was for you. Then your feet took you to the door, passing Johnny who put an arm over your shoulder, probably sensing the emotional distress you were suffering from and guided you.

"Here kid, I'll accompany you." You offered a small smile that he didn't return, his lips pursed but his touch gentle. Once you were outside, you focused on the ground below your feet, the moon illuminating the snow. You trusted Johnny would take you somewhere safe.

"It's not your fault y'know." It was hard to tell which one of you was the most surprised at your words, although Johnny's barely shown it. A beat passed in silence as you kept walking.

"It's not your fault either. You're a fucking good medic." A sad smile stretched your lips and you could feel the familiar burn in your eyes that made you blink desperately to avoid the tears.

"Thanks." You choked out before coughing the lump in your throat.

Opening your mouth to say something else, you quickly decided otherwise when you saw the silhouette cutting the horizon. So caught up in your thoughts, you hadn't realized Johnny had taken you to 1st platoon.

It was a matter of seconds before you crashed into Bull's form, burying your face in his chest as tears swell in your eyes. His arms closed on you like a protecting wall.

"What happened ?" The question was directed to Johnny although his lips were close to your ear, his hands rubbing circles on your back.

"We brought back two prisoners but we lost Jackson."

The rest of the conversations passed over your head, your thoughts so awfully loud it felt as though they were echoing through your brain.

"Darlin'?" This word, spoken with so much concern and wrapped in tenderness like velvet, was enough to break the dam holding your emotions. Tears flowed from your eyes, ugly sobs tore through you.

“Oh, don’t cry. I hate it when you cry.” His voice was thick and yet barely above a whisper. Rocking you to the sides, he took off your helmet with one hand whilst the other drew circles on your back in a comforting motion. Bull rested his cheek on the top of your head and closed his eyes, his heart breaking even more when you fisted your hands in his coat.

Every now and then he planted a kiss on the top of your head until he felt your form stop shaking in his hold.

"What do you need ?" He would never force you to explain anything. If you just wanted him to hold you in silence he'd do it in a heartbeat. If you wanted him to listen he'd have the most understanding ear. And if you wanted to act like nothing ever happened, you knew you could do that too, for all he wouldn't like it. Maybe that was why the words seemed to fly out of your mouth.

"I can't save them, Bull. I try my best, I promise but it's just... it's not enough. It's never enough and now so many died and I couldn't help them-" Another wave of fresh tears interrupted you and Bull took a shuddering breath, one tear falling on his own cheek.

"Oh, darling." He sighed sadly. "You're the greatest medic there is in the whole 101st airborne."

"Doesn't feel like it." Your voice was muffled by his coat but he heard the defeat in it all the same.

"I know, sweetheart. But don't forget all the lives you saved. No one blames you for anything but we all are grateful for ya. Trust in that. And if you don't then trust in me because I trust in you." The gigantic doubt you were feeling enveloping you, the world was silent but for Bull's heartbeat in your ear.

Steady and strong. Alive.

Shakily, you exhaled and nodded in his chest as you felt yourself fall lax in his embrace.

"Okay." There was no confidence in the single word that passed your lips. All of your walls had come crumbling down from within and no amount of bravado would ever make them tall again.

You were a medic. You fixed bleeding limbs and shattered bones. But what was there to fix in a bleeding heart and a shattered soul? Was it even something that could be healed or were you meant to dance around it and walk on broken glass?

The warm hands on your back, their warmth felt even through your uniform told you the answer. The kisses in your hair roared a thousand words.

I'd lift you and carry you home.

[thinkinglegal]

Cabinet Nod for Rs 2,000 Crore Funds for Deep Tech Startup

Funds play a significant role in supporting the startups. It allows individuals with innovative and business-oriented mindsets to take risks and invest their time and efforts in startups. Considering this, on 7th March 2024, the Union Cabinet approved over Rs 10,000 crore fund for promoting AI-centred industries. Out of which, close to Rs 2000 crore fund will exclusively be allocated to the AI startups.

Do you know? Since 2016, after the launch of the Start-up India Scheme by the Government of India, the country has become more friendly for startups and entrepreneurs. Various funds and schemes have been launched throughout the years. In the initial stage of the scheme, IAS officer (now retired) Ramesh Abhishek headed it. He crafted the agenda to foster the growth of startups in India by simplifying regulations, providing funding support, and offering tax benefits. All these steps on the behalf of DPIIT aimed to support the startups. IAS officerRamesh Abhishek was DPIIT’s secretary during this time.

This year, for the fund approvals of deep tech policy, numerous ministries especially the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology sought Cabinet’s approval. . IAS officers working in these departments advocated the approval for this fund.

However, this is not the only startup fund the government has approved. There are numerous funds suggested by policy makers, IAS officers, and top bureaucrats, under the Start-up India scheme that we have covered in this article. Let’s have a look at them!

Different Funds for Start-ups in India

Launching flagship programs, start-up India in 2016 is on its journey to create a supportive environment for starting a business, experimenting with ideas, creating job opportunities, and innovating. It has launched several funds for start-ups in India under the able hands of ex IAS officers like Ramesh Abhishek.

Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund for Startups

Credit Guarantee Fund is a scheme for startups approved by DPIIT. Under this scheme, eligible startups can apply for collateral-free loans with specified limits.

In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a total corpus of Rs 2,000 crore, a fund to enable greater financial support for startups. At the launch of the startup hub, Ramesh Abhishek, Ex-IAS officer and retired secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), today known as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said about the finalisation of the fund. At the event the IAS officer disclosed the fund limit, eligibility, and benefits. Ramesh Abhishek said;

“We have finalised the guidelines for the funds. Each startup will be eligible for up to Rs 5 crore loan without any collateral,”

Ramesh Abhishek, Ex DPIIT Secretary & IAS Officer (Source Article)

Fund of Funds to Encourage Startups

The Fund of Funds scheme for startups was also established in 2016 during the tenure of IAS Officer Ramesh Abhishek. It’s 10,000 crore called the mother fund and does not directly allocate the fund to the startups, instead providing capital to SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been given the responsibility to manage the fund of funds.

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme Introduced in 2021

Startup India seed fund is a crucial fund scheme, as it helps startups in the early stage.

The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) addresses this by offering financial support for stages like proof of concept, prototype development, trials, market entry, and commercialization.

DPIIT has launched this fund in April 2021. In 2021, IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra was the secretary DPIIT. He became the DPIIT secretary after the tenure of Ramesh Abhishek from 1st March 2016 to 31st July 2019. IAS officer Guruprasad Mohapatra was DPIIT secretary from 01st August 2019 to 19th June 2021.

Benefits of Start-up India’s Funds

Retired and current DPIIT secretary, IAS officers, and officials such as Ramesh Abhishek, Amitabh Kant, Rajesh Singh etc have highlighted the benefits of Start-up India numerous types. One quote by Amitabh Kant defines the initiatives’ benefits perfectly.

‘If such an environment had existed during my time, I would have become a startup entrepreneur instead of appearing for the IAS exam’

Amitabh Kant, ex-NITI Aayog CEO, IAS Officer

The flagship program Start-up India offers various support to promote this startup ecosystem and encourage entrepreneurship. Here are some key benefits of it.

Access to Funding

Startup India offers various funding options through schemes like the Fund of Funds, Seed Fund, Credit Guarantee Scheme fund, Domain-specific Centres of Excellence etc. Numerous notable IAS officers contributed in implementing these policies that help startups access the capital hassle-free and on time.

Bridges Gaps of Funding

The flagship scheme funding bridges the gap between early-stage funding and later rounds, crucial for scaling the business operations. Through the start-up India funds, any of the startups can easily seek financial support at any stage. In-above mentioned quote the IAS officer Amitabh Kant emphasised this concept.

Mentorship and Guidance

Start-up India doesn’t only provide funding but also offers guidance and mentorship. Under this scheme, notable personalities including IAS officers, CEO, investors, conduct various online and offline seminars and workshops to promote the start-up ecosystem.

Fund is a critical need for startups that determine the success or failure of the startup ideas. Start-up India scheme, top individuals working as IAS officers, bureaucrats, CEO are responsible to boost and encourage every start-up effort by advocating, advertising, and implementing these funds.

Conclusion

The Rs. 10,000 crore fund aims to play a significant role in the world of AI development. The special allocation of Rs 2,000 funds to startups is remarkable in boosting new companies and innovative minds to experiment with artificial intelligence.

This fund along with the flagship program Start-up India can benefit the several AI startups to grow sustainably.

In 2024, start-up India completed 8 years and achieved great success. It introduced various funds under the guidance of various notable IAS officers such as Ramesh Abhishek, Guruprasad Mohapatra, Anurag Jain, and others.

From 24th April 2023, IAS officer Rajesh Kumar Singh is the DPIIT secretary and leading several programmes including the Start-up India.

[here4stars]

Love Reading: ♡Earth signs ♡

21 March 2021

Love Reading: ♡Earth signs ♡

Initials: F, C, A, X, & D

Songs: Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode and Mr. Loverman by Ricky Montgomery

Other: Bandaids, nausea/abdominal pain, the color orange, the beach, Suave Men (specifically SPORT) body/hair wash, soy sauce, skin care/sunscreen (or maybe just pale skin), AirPods 1st gen. and AirPod pros, 6 months or less separation, and sulking.

Hi earth signs!!! ♡ This message is very very specific. And for some reason I kept getting this message is for earth sign women (as their sun sign, not in their rising and moon) particularly.

Hi huns🍯🐝, it seems like haven’t been doing well lately. I’m seeing that you seem to practice different ways to manifest things, almost like you’re dipping your toes into Wicca, but are still fearful of the power it may hold. I sense that you are scared of doing spells, because you feel that you will attract bad spirits or negative energy, which is understandable! There’s spells you can do without having to feel completely exposed and vulnerable to other energies and spirits (dm if you’d like a spell that I would pick out for you ♡ almost like a fortune.) But that’s not what I wanted to bring up. Your guides want me to tell you that in order for your manifestations to work, you have to actually believe in yourself and imagine your manifestations while writing them down, saying them in a mirror, drawing them (whatever technique you use!) The whole point of manifesting things is attracting what you deserve, and if you feel like you don’t deserve something deep down inside, then how will it come to you?

I’m not someone who sugar coats things, so please know that my wording may seem harsh but it’s for you to understand the energy and tone I’m receiving. ♡

I’m am just going to tell you flat out though, someone from your past is coming back. It seems like there’s no stopping this person from trying to talk to you, they just need to come up with ways to do it. They’re taking their time, but their energy is very rushed. They’re like, “I have to get this done, I have to get this done, but how?” 

You had a struggle with their person in the past, almost like they saw it as a power struggle. In reality they were just hot headed and immature. This person in the past was very possessive over you, and got jealous easily. It’s almost like they blamed you if another guy was looking at you or being nice to you. This person is very lively and adventurous, they’re really down for anything. It seems like this person would swim in a stormy sea if you asked them to. And it also seems that they’re willing to swim through a stormy sea just to be with you. I keep getting that to be with you was almost a struggle for them, because you felt like you weren’t good enough for them. 

Also side note, but some of you are looking for heartbreak songs/playlists so if you find one on Apple Music let me know too! ♡

You feel rejected, without actually being rejected which must be very painful to think and feel. I want to let you in on a little secret though, it’s all in your head. It’s your mind making your biggest fears come to life so that you feel heartbroken. It’s your inner self’s shield for when you think the real rejection will come. But that heartbreak is not coming, so you broke your heart for nothing huns. There is nothing to do now, besides heal. It seems like you often debate how you would approach this person for when they come back, like you imagine what the conversation would be like. You also debate if you should use your heart or head when they come back, use both! Also, it seems like you want them back greatly, but you also want to tear them a new one. You want to be like, “I love you I love you I love you, so you should never leave me!” And then the other part of you wants to be like, “fuck off, YOU broke my heart!” (Hair flip) Just remember to say how you truly feel, but use both of your head and heart for when they come back. You’re also debating if you should give them another chance, and it may because you to meet someone new, but it could also be that you’re scared that things won’t be the same between you two. I see that you’re clinging onto old memories with them. But a commitment will come with this person, it could marriage, engagement, or maybe moving in with this person! But with this person, a new beginning will come, and it seems like both of you will be more nurturing to each other, you will be more reliable to each other. I see that both of you wanted this connection in the past, but you both were being wish washy with each other. 

I see that you both bring out each other’s inner child. I just got that sometimes in public you act like fools, don’t do that (some people get annoyed by this.) But you both still have romantic feelings for eachtoher so don’t worry. This person is not only a past relationship you had in this life, but from another past life as well, so that could be why you feel like you’re missing something without them. (I AM NOT SAYING THEYRE YOUR SOUL MATE OR TWIN FLAME THOSE TERMS ARE MOSTLY USED BY PEOPLE WHO TRY TO MAKE BANK OFF OF VULNERABLE PEOPLE!!) But it seems like you see each other as worth the wait. You both are like, “No matter how long they take to come back to me, my heart will always belong to them.” 

You need to let loose a little though, but keep your boundaries as they should always be there out of respect for yourself. You have start feeling  and knowing that you deserve the ultimate happiness in many forms. You have this thing about you where if you’re not as accomplished, educated, or beautiful as others then you don’t deserve what they have. LIKE BITCH YOU DESERVE THAT SHIT TOO!!! YOURE BEAUTIFUL!!! YOURE SMART!!!! YOU GOT THINGS GOING ON!!!! YOU GOT THIS!!!! ♡♡♡ YOURE STRONG! YOU GOT A WHOLE ASS PERSON WILLING TO FIGHT POSEIDON AND ALL HIS STANK ASS FISH FRIENDS JUST TO TALK TO YOU!!!! You have potential for everything you want to accomplish and receive in life, you need to let the good thoughts grow and pour a shit ton of pesticides on the bad ones. Banish them back to the depths of your bag/purse that has all of those nasty ass crumbs that get under your nails when you’re digging around for your keys or a pen. 

I also am getting that you’re scared of intimate moments because you may be self conscious of yourself. And for some it’s your body, but for other’s you’re scared of odors. LISTEN ok, i’m going to tell you a little something, YOU DO NOT SMELL. And sex smells nasty anyways for various reasons. There’s literally songs written about it 🙄 so chill with the negative Nancy thoughts. You’re always thinking about the negative, stop already. Is there any part of your life where your negative thoughts don’t take over??? Also it seems like you have a limitless amount of emotions, so please make sure to express them when you need to, it’ll make you feel a lot better. 

Also if you were planning on being cold to this person, don’t because this person is going to throw that same energy back expect you’ll be like 👁👄👁(Stay Alive by BEXEY vibezzz here.) Because though this person is willing to fight for you, they’re not going to fight with you. Pick and choose your battles. Keep in mind that every little argument breaks the foundation in your connection. Also it seems that one of you or maybe both of you have family problems and you tend to take your frustrations out on the other person through fighting. You might also be seeing a lot signs that come in the forms of numbers (i.e. 212, 777, 123 and so on), also symbols. Maybe your person really likes strawberries and now there’s strawberries showing up. 

Thank you for letting me read for you huns ♡✨🌸 Dm for a reading $5 (Venmo). You will get this amount of information (possibly more!) ♡♡♡

[jackdawyt]

Your bird is back with another Dragon Age 4 News Update!  🐦

For the first time this year, I’m doing a massive monthly news recap of everything we learned about Dragon Age 4 going forward (JUST) in the month of March, because slap my arse and call me Andraste, this month was huge for Dragon Age 4 updates, we’ve got a lot of exciting info to get into!

(Romance Tweets)

Calling all romance fans, you can bank on Dragon Age 4 to fulfil all of your intimate desires, perhaps even more so than the previous games. Jon Renish, Foundation Programming Area Director working on the next Dragon Age had a few things to say whilst watching a romance scene script read through:  

“Don't want to alarm anyone, but I'm starting to think 'Dragon Age' games might be a bit randy.” (March 3rd)

‘Randy’, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means ‘sexually arousing’ and ‘exciting.’ So, we can prepare for that, whatever that is! Jon continues his tweet thread with:

“Well now it's all sad and sweet and emotional. I was not prepared for this rollercoaster.”

In true BioWare fashion, we’re going to have a lot of sexy times, however, brought together with moving and character developing moments – y’know, the ups and downs of the romance as the relationship builds and grows throughout the entire game experience.  

“Oh, nothing like that.  Just watching a script read through.”

Jon confirms that this was indeed a script read through, as we can tell reviewing a potential romance scene. As a romance advocate myself, I am very interested in the direction romances will be going in for Dragon Age 4. That is something that I will especially be keeping my eyes on. 

(E3/EA Play 2020 Update)

EA Play and E3 2020 are generally the most expected places to see a new Dragon Age 4 reveal trailer.

E3 2020 has been cancelled due to the current outbreak, however, we’ve yet to be updated on the status of EA Play 2020. Of course, it is most certainly cancelled since the tickets for the show were supposed to drop this March. But, we still don’t know what will replace the show.  

The teams behind E3 2020 are supposedly working on a digital showcase to display new announcements that would’ve been revealed on stage. We can only assume that EA will follow suite and do the same for EA Play, making it a digital show, like Nintendo’s Direct conferences.  

Regardless, this is something that we’re going to have to wait and see until EA speak out, and when they do, I’ll be sure to cover that in a news update. I feel we could have a Dragon Age 4 reveal, with an expected release of 2022/2023, but with everyone hectic right now, I’m unsure.  

(C Virus Update)

Speaking of hectic... with the current outbreak, EA have spoken and shared a statement about health and safety during these times:  

(March 13th) “These are challenging times for everyone.  We’re working to look after our employees and their families, and make sure we’re doing the right and responsible things to fight this pandemic illness.”

Thankfully, everyone working at BioWare have been asked to work from home. Justin Masse, Experience Designer working on the next Dragon Age tweeted he’s “working from home until April 1st", confirming the length of this situation.

According to Crystal McCord, Associate Producer of Performance Capture and VO, working at home has been very productive for the team at BioWare as they have “exceeded all expectations.” 

So, it’s great knowing that despite the crazy situation in the world right now, BioWare developers are staying safe, working from home and progressing hugely on the next Dragon Age title!  

(Slack Server)

(March 13th) While Mark Darrah was working from home, he tweeted a picture regarding his tiling progression, as he’s currently redesigning aspects of his home. However, in the very corner of Darrah’s picture lies a laptop screen with a Slack Server revealing many Dragon Age development secrets!  

The server shows plenty of channels for the BioWare developers regarding specific work notes on all aspects of progression. A large amount of the channels are abbreviated to “MOR_” - which is most certainly shortened from ‘Morrison’, Dragon Age 4’s current project title as we know.

This list of the channels are endless, and I could spend forever looking into what exactly they all refer to regarding the production of the next Dragon Age game. We have one channel called ‘mor_announcement’ - does this hint at a new trailer to soon be showed off, or is it an old channel since The Dread Wolf Rises teaser? Are they planning an upcoming announcement? Surely, they would be right? Is that anytime soon?  

Another channel is called ‘mor_da_week’ which from what I can assume stands for Dragon Age week? We have a Dragon Age Day created by the fans and made offical by BioWare, but a Dragon Age week, that’s something I’ve never heard of...  

And there’s just plenty of channels referring to Dragon Age 4’s current development, there’s even a bad design ideas thread, an ask Mark anything chat, approvals on key aspects of the game, marketing assets, and so on!  

It’s a gold mine of tidbits, orchestrated by none other than Mark Darrah, the Executive Producer on Dragon Age. He has once more tweeted a cheeky little tease that may appear mundane, passing a blind eye to it, however, when you take some time and actually look at what he’s posted, it reveals a nug-ton of info we can speculate on.

(New Associate Producer / Jobs)

Illustrator and Creative Professional “Mad Bee” has returned to work at BioWare, they previously worked on Anthem as an Art Quality Analyst. However, this time around, they are an Associate Producer, most likely working on Dragon Age 4. 

And, following that, BioWare are currently hiring! I’ve seen this news piece get quite the few news articles, but I figured I could break this one down better, rest in peace PC Gamer.

So, indeed BioWare are hiring for many roles at the company, the most prominent role is a ‘Technical Director’ for ‘the next major title in one of BioWare’s most prestigious franchises.’  

Considering Mike Gamble, the new project lead for the next Mass Effect game tweeted this hiring out, I’d assume this position is needed for the Mass Effect team who are also in Edmonton, opposite the Dragon Age team.  

What’s most concerning about this job listing relating to the future of Mass Effect is that, according to the job requirements, the applicant needs to have experience ‘developing, debugging and optimizing AAA multiplayer games on PC or console.’  

To throw away my suspicion that Mass Effect or Dragon Age are going to have a heavy multiplayer experience, I looked at the other job listings located at Edmonton’s studio and I discovered other job listings, like an Engine Programmer which require the same experience of developing and debugging games, however, without the multiplayer element.  

So, perhaps BioWare have two teams, one working on the main single player element and the other working on the much smaller multiplayer aspect? I’d be naive to not reiterate the fact that future BioWare games are going to be live service, however, we still don’t know to what extent that will look like.  

(Tevinter Nights)

Patrick Weekes teased that Dragon Age 4 is most certainly in Tevinter following there Tevinter Nights Book plug, however, Patrick still calls the next Dragon Age game an unannounced project? Which I don’t understand because The Dread Wolf Rises teaser trailer at The Game Awards 2018 most certainly confirmed that a new Dragon Age game is currently in production and has been announced.

Unless Patrick is calling it ‘still-unannounced' because they’re planning an announcement soon...

I feel like Patrick is just joking at the fact that the next game is most certainly set in Tevinter, considering PC Gamer made an article a while back stating that Dragon Age 4 is set in Tevinter based on the Tevinter Nights book reveal, it made plenty of the BioWare staff and community laugh at their credulous Journalism. So, it could just be that.  

Anyhow, March has actually been an amazing month to be a Dragon Age fan! We had the final issue of Blue Wraith and the release of the anthological Tevinter Nights!

Tevinter Nights dropped plenty of story hints for the future of Dragon Age. I was lucky enough to receive an early copy, as of which, I’ve created plenty of content regarding all of the story threads uncovered in the novel that you should check out once you’ve read the book for yourself, I’ve still got more to content to come from Tevinter Nights too!  

However, if you have not read it and very much care about the future of Dragon Age, which if you’re watching this video, you most likely do. So, you should go and read this book because we learn A LOT going forward for the future narrative of Dragon Age. The book is a huge spring board for the next game, so go and read it!  

(Blue Wraith)

The final issue of Blue Wraith launched and as much as I enjoyed it, the comic ended on a cliff-hanger!

The lead writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir are hopeful for another comic to come, stating:

The two also spoke in a comic-centred interview by Deconstructing Comics about the direction of their entire Dragon Age comics. That since Knight Errant, their comics are created to prepare for a hypothetical Dragon Age 4, but not as a prologue or a plot for the next game. Nunzio suggested that fans should instead look at Tevinter Nights.

Nunzio shared on BSN Forums that hopefully the wait for the next comic won’t be as long as last time. Dragon Age: Deception came out through October – December of 2018, whereas Blue Wraith came out through January – March of 2020. So, perhaps the next comic run could come mid-2021.

(Future Books/Comics)

Speaking of future books and comics, just after I finished Blue Wraith and Tevinter Nights, I was asking myself what’s next to look forward to regarding Dragon Age content. However, on March 23rd we got not one, but two book announcements coming later this year.

Dropping on the 13th of October, BioWare are revealing a new development book, charting the legendary game studio's first 25 years in a massive retrospective hardcover book at $39.99. Perhaps we’ll learn more about Dragon Age 4’s previous iteration, project Joplin?  

Following that, on October 27th, the five Dragon Age graphic novels are being put into a massive collection for $29.99.

This book collects Dragon Age: The Silent Grove #1-6, Dragon Age: Those Who Speak #1-3, Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #1-3, Dragon Age: Magekiller #1-5, and Dragon Age: Knight Errant #1-5.

But not Deception & Blue Wraith? Potentially they’ve left these two out because Dark Horse wish to progress with these comics, foreshadowing more comics in the future to come?  

(Reddit Leak)

Moving on to a slightly weird, and most certainly fake-but-take-it-as-you-will-update... we have a reddit leak showing many upcoming games release dates, with some actually being accurate. Dragon Age 4 is listed here, and according to this leak, it’s releasing the 15th of November, 2020. Again, most certainly fake, but take it as you will.  

Speaking of fake leaks, a 2018 leak for Dragon Age 4’s contents has resurfaced, and oh boy is this thing fake. I feel like dissecting this thing as a separate video just for a laugh, but tell me down below if that’s a good idea or not.  

With that, that’s all the updates we had in March! We’re three, almost four months into 2020, as crazy as this year has been so far. I’ve already created plenty previous news updates, so if you need to be caught up to date, or you’ve missed an update, or you’re just stuck inside and need something to put your mind at ease - I have a news playlist with every single major update regarding Dragon Age 4’s development, so be sure to check that out. 

I hope you all are holding up okay and staying safe, distract yourself by telling me some of your own hopes for the next Dragon Age game, it can be anything you'd like to see! Personally, I'd love to see Vaea make any appearance in DA4!

[fcbayern]

Hallo! Hope you are well! I love your blog and it’s made me really want to understand and get into Bundesliga. How can I know everything I need to know about Bayern so I’m up to date and understand what’s happening within the team? I hope this makes sense? Danke!

hi anon! i’m so sorry it took me so long to reply to this. this week’s been so busy already.

i guess the internet is a good place to start for your research :) of course wikipedia itself is not a bad source, but if you really want to get information, look at the bottom of the wikipedia page for all the teams in the bundesliga, and get the info from the sources there. that’s what wikipedia uses to write their articles, so that should give you even more insight into the bundesliga and its teams, and rules, etc than you already get from the wikipedia article itself.

i’ll try and sum up the most basic info for you - that i know - and if you have any other questions, feel free to send me another message and maybe we can get into more detail:

bundesliga is the highest “class” / tier that you can play in, in germany. it is divided into 2 different tiers: 1. bundesliga and 2. bundesliga.

1. bundesliga consists of 18 teams.

for the upcoming seasons - currently in alphabetical order because the new season doesn’t start until the 18th of September - these are the teams:

DSC Arminia Bielefeld

FC Augsburg

Bayer Leverkusen

FC Bayern München

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Eintracht Frankfurt

1. SC Freiburg

Hertha BSC Berlin

TSG Hoffenheim

1. FC Köln

1. FSV Main 05

Red Bull Leipzig

FC Schalke 04

VfB Stuttgart

Union Berlin

Werder Bremen

VfL Wolfsburg

Arminia Bielefeld were promoted from 2nd league, where they ended up in first place in the season of 2019/2020. The second team that was promoted is VfB Stuttgart. In exchange for these two teams being promoted, two teams have to be relegated. In the season of 2019/2020 those two teams were SC Paderborn 07 and Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Back to the Bundesliga Basics:

The Bundesliga stands under the umbrella of “DFB”, or Deutscher Fußball Bund (German Football Association), which was founded in 1900. In 1904 the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) was founded, which is basically the big boss of football. They keep an eye on a number of football associations across the world and also set up the Men’s and Women’s World Cup. DFB joined the FIFA right away in 1904, and in 1954 DFB also joined the UEFA, which is an acronym for Union des Associations Européennes de Football and therefor takes care of all things football in Europe. Self-explanatory.

UEFA wasn’t founded until 1954 because... things happened in Europe in the 30s and 40s.

During the time of the Nazi regime the DFB was dismantled in 1940 and it didn’t pick up again until 1950, when the Federal German Republic was reformed, and the West German football associations decided to get the DFB back up and running. They re-joined FIFA in 1954, and, as mentioned before, also joined UEFA that same year.

The Bundesliga how we know it, however, was not actually a thing until 28. Juli 1962, starting with the season of 1963/1964. Before that there were a number of clubs and associations throughout Germany who all kind of played side by side, and eventually in the 30s the idea of a “Reichsliga” (league of the German Reich) was brought up, where a certain number of teams would play and one would end up winning the title. Kind of what we do now.

And then the war happened.

And in between the end of that and the 60s, obviously they had brought some ideas back to the table, had tried to figure out a more competitive way and to bring football closer to the people.

In 1962 the idea of the Bundesliga was founded. 16 teams were to play each other in one league, competing against each other. 5 from “Oberliga Süd”, 5 from “Oberliga West”, 3 from “Oberliga Nord”, 2 from “Oberliga Südwest” and one from the Berlin City League - the Western part of Berlin, of course.

They had a super complicated system in place to figure out which teams would eventually be allowed to be the “founding fathers” of the Bundesliga. It had to do with economics, they ended up coming up with a weird system for who gets how many points for winning their own league, adding those up, multiplying, and then somehow they ended up with 16 teams... don’t ask me how, I have dyscalculia, I don’t understand their way of thinking at all. Maybe there was some voodoo involved, God knows, honestly.

Eventually they had their 16 winners from the aforementioned leagues:

Oberliga Süd: Eintracht Frankfurt, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, TSV 1860 München, VfB Stuttgart Oberliga Nord: Eintracht Braunschweig, Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV Oberliga West: Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln, Meidericher SV, Preußen Münster, FC Schalke 04 Oberliga Südwest: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Saarbrücken Stadtliga Berlin: Hertha BSC Berlin

In 1963 this “Bundesliga” wasn’t a pro-league, though. And there were a ton of rules in place that would probably make you go “huh?” these days... or maybe you’d think they are great rules and they need to make a comeback. A transfer, for example, could only cost up to 50.000 German Mark (roughly 25.564,50€ / $30.149,62).

Until 1967 you also weren’t allowed to sign more than three players from another team for the upcoming season.

At some point it was decided that football players would also have the benefits of a full-time worker, if they decided on football as a career, and not just something they did on the side.

When East and West Germany were reunited in 1989 / the early 90s, that’s when the Bundesliga really became more of a commercial success not just in Germany, but also throughout non-German Europe and the rest of the world. Which is also largely due to Germany winning the World Cup in 1990, and the European title in 1996, but the Bundesliga was also specifically marketed to popular media. In 1991 the German Football Association of the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Fußball-Verband der DDR) - the East German football association - joined DFB. Thus Germany was one again, not just on paper, but also in football.

Another thing that helped the popularity of the Bundesliga was the fact that in the 90s at least one Bundesliga club reached a European championship semi-final. In 1997 Borussia Dortmund won the Champions League, in 1996 Bayern München won the Europapokal, in 1997 Schalke 04 won the UEFA-Pokal. And in the following championships at least one German team reached the final of said competitions.

Let’s jump to the 2000s!

Since 2000 FC Bayern München has won the Bundesliga 13 times. The other winners were: Borussia Dortmund (2002, 2011, 2012), Werder Bremen (2004), VfB Stuttgart (2007) and VfL Wolfsburg (2009). Bayern München is also the only Bundesliga team in the 2000s to win the Champions League: 2013 and 2020.

After all that knowledge, here’s some random facts and numbers that you might find interesting:

- since it was founded in 1963, a total of 56 teams have played in Germany’s highest league - until the season of 2017/2018 Hamburger SV was part of the 1. Bundesliga for 55 seasons, which was a record. Now Werder Bremen holds this record, with 56 seasons to their name - Bayer Leverkusen holds the nickname of “Vizekusen” (Vice-Kusen), and they were at one point regarded as the “ever-second”, always getting close to the top, but never reaching it - Karl-Heinz Körbel has the most Bundesliga appearances: 602 - for Eintracht Frankfurt. He never lost a final with Frankfurt and was never relegated. - Bernd Stöber was the youngest coach in the season of 1976/1977 a t just 24 years, 1 month and 17 days old. - Brazil is the best-represented nation after Germany, with 159 Bundesliga exports (159), followed by Denmark (129), Austria (119), Croatia (118) and Poland (109). - in the season of 2019/2020 Thomas Müller had the most assists: 21. - retired football player Gerd Müller, whose active career was between 1965-1979, holds the record for the most goals: 365. - Otto Rehhagel holds the record for most matches as a manager: 832.

Now let’s go back to where we started: the season of 2020/2021.

As mentioned above, the 1. Bundesliga has 18 teams. To get you up-to-date I’ll give you some more info on each team, that you might find useful!

DSC Arminia Bielefeld: - founded: May 3rd 1905 - manager: Uwe Neuhaus - stadium: SchücoArena

FC Augsburg: - founded: August 8th 1907 - manager: Heiko Herrlich - stadium: WWK Arena

Bayer 04 Leverkusen: - founded: July 1st 1904 -> rebranded to current name on April 1st 1999 - manager: Peter Bosz - stadium: BayArena

FC Bayern München: - founded: February 27th 1900 - manager: Hansi Flick - stadium: Allianz Arena

Borussia Dortmund: - founded: December 19th 1909 - manager: Lucien Favre - stadium: Signal Iduna Park

Borussia Mönchengladbach: - founded: August 1st 1900 - manager: Marco Rose - stadium: BORUSSIA-PARK

Eintracht Frankfurt: - founded: March 8th 1899 - manager: Adi Hütter - stadium: Deutsche Bank Park

SC Freiburg: - founded: May 30th 1904 - manager: Christian Streich - stadium: Schwarzwald-Stadion

Hertha BSC Berlin: - founded: July 25th 1892 - manager: Bruno Labbadia - stadium: Olympiastadion Berlin

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: - founded: July 1st 1899 - manager: Sebastian Hoeneß - stadium: Prezero-Arena

1. FC Köln: - founded: February 13th 1948 - manager: Markus Gisdol - RheinEnergieSTADION

1. FSV Mainz 05: - founded: March 16th 1905 - manager: Achim Beierlorzer - stadium: OPEL ARENA

Red Bull Leipzig: - founded: May 19th 2009 - manager: Julian Nagelsmann - Red Bull Arena

FC Schalke 04: - founded: May 4th 1904 - manager: David Wagner - stadium: VELTINS-Arena

VfB Stuttgart: - founded: September 9th 1893 - manager: Pellegrino Matarazzo - Mercedes-Benz Arena

1. FC Union Berlin: - founded: January 20th 1966 (originally 1906) - manager: Urs Fischer - stadium: Stadion An der Alten Försterei

SV Werder Bremen: - founded: February 4th 1899 - manager: Florian Kohfeldt - stadium: Weserstadion

VfL Wolfsburg: - fonded: September 12th 1945 -> rebranded to current name on January 16th 2001 - manager: Oliver Glasner - stadium: Volkswagen Arena

Maybe, to get a feeling for each club, you can check out each club’s YouTube account. Through that you should be able to find their other social media, or just by simply googling the team name:

Arminia Bielefeld ● FC Augsburg ● Bayer 04 Leverkusen ● FC Bayern München  ● Borussia Dortmund ● Borussia Mönchengladbach ● Eintracht Frankfurt ● 1. SC Freiburg ● Hertha BSC Berlin ● TSG Hoffenheim ● 1. FC Köln ● 1. FSV Main 05 ● Red Bull Leipzig ● FC Schalke 04 ● VfB Stuttgart ● Union Berlin ● Werder Bremen ● VfL Wolfsburg

Each football team has 11 players on the pitch. For the new season in 2019 it was decided that instead of 18 players, each team would be allowed to have 20 players in total - which means 9 substitute players on the bench.

During each season a team can win three main cups (the ones that everyone cares about the most, let’s be real): DFB-Pokal, Meistertitel (Bundesliga winner) and Champions League trophy. The last of which is not a German tournament / cup to be won, so I’ll leave that out for now.

DFB Pokal:

The DFB-Pokal is a German knockout competition, starting out with 64 teams. 36 teams are from the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, the top four finishers of the third league are automatically added to the list. 21 slots are given to the cup winners of regional football associations, and the remaining 3 slots are given to the regional associations with the most men’s teams.

Direct quote from Wikipedia, which in turn got their information from here: for the first round, the 64 teams are split into two pots of 32. One pot contains the 18 teams from the previous season of the Bundesliga and the top 14 teams from the previous season of the 2. Bundesliga. The other pot contains the bottom 4 teams from the previous season of the 2. Bundesliga, the top 4 teams from the previous season of the 3. Liga and the 24 amateur teams that qualified through regional football tournaments. Teams from one pot are drawn against teams from the other pot. Since 1982, teams from the pot containing amateur teams have played the game at home.For the second round, the teams are again divided into two pots according to the same principles. Depending on the results of the first round, the pots might not be equal in terms of number. Teams from one pot are drawn against teams from the other pot until one pot is empty. The remaining teams are then drawn against each other with the team first drawn playing the game at home.For the remaining rounds, other than the final, the teams are drawn from one pot. Since 1985 the final has been held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Meistertitel:

The Meistertitel is rewarded to the team that comes out on top on the last match-day of the season. Of course it can be calculated whether other teams can still catch up - points-wise - but the Meisterschale is not rewarded until the season is over. The current record-holder of most Bundesliga wins is FC Bayern München (29), followed by Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach (5) and Werder Bremen (4) in second and third place.

With the first three Bundesliga wins a team gets a gold star to put on their jersey, with five wins they get a second, ten wins is a third, twenty wins is a forth star. On top of that, the reigning Bundesliga champion gets to wear the Bundesliga logo in gold color on their sleeve.

And that’s that on that.

I don’t know what language you’re fluent in, but here are some football apps that you might enjoy using, to be on track with the upcoming season:

OneFootball

Kicker App

Bundesliga App

11 Freunde App

Amazon Bundesliga Radio

each team’s individual app for updates and news

You can also check out @bundesliga_en on Instagram and Twitter.

One last info for you, so you can jump right into it on the first day of the new Bundesliga season (fixtures are never really 100% until a day or two before the match is supposed to be, so this is preliminary): here is the link for the schedule of the upcoming 1. Bundesliga season.

You can also check out the 2. Bundesliga schedule, because it’s super interesting down there in the second league as well! I highly recommend it (keep your fingers crossed for Paderborn for me!).

I think that’s about everything I can tell you. This reply is already faaaaaaaaar too long, and I apologize! If you have any questions or want me to elaborate, feel free to send me another message.

Have the best time getting used to the Bundesliga, and welcome to the family!

Sources - with more info - under the cut:

fun facts: https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/easter-eggs-surprising-facts-and-figures-you-may-not-know-3798

team information / schedule: https://www.dfb.de/bundesliga/spieltagtabelle/

team information / schedule (2nd source): https://www.kicker.de/dfb-pokal/spieltag

general information: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu%C3%9Fball-Bundesliga

app suggestions: https://www.smartmobil.de/magazin/fussball-apps

explanation for how the DFB-Pokal: https://web.archive.org/web/20090609211623/https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=460546