#but all around Id say it evens out to about late 300s not counting the not full stuff

[arolesbianism]

Updated it 👍 (it was at abt 300 before dear god bandori stop making so god damn much music-)

Man I rly need to update my bndori playlist again but I don't wannaaaaaaa

[littlemisspascal]

I posted 6,506 times in 2021

1723 posts created (26%)

4783 posts reblogged (74%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.8 posts.

I added 6,081 tags in 2021

#fic rec - 1744 posts

#reblog - 1619 posts

#i love getting messages - 711 posts

#pedro pascal - 621 posts

#ask game - 306 posts

#my poor edit attempt - 300 posts

#daily reminder - 288 posts

#my library - 165 posts

#all the love - 164 posts

#pedro pascal character fanfiction - 163 posts

Longest Tag: 114 characters

#i love this series and the writing and all the characterizations and the backstory and the action and the dialogue

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Mailroom Crush

Pairing: Javier Peña x Female Reader

Word Count: 2800+

Summary:  A short little fic about Reader who works in the mailroom of the embassy and her encounters with a handsome, brown-eyed DEA agent.

Warnings: Language, fluff, inaccurate depiction of how an embassy mailroom works, smoking, this is only loosely based on canon of Season 3 shortly after Javier arrives so the timeline does not match the show’s, Stechner being a creep

Author Note: I’ve had this in my drafts for months as a little wip side project and it’s not very good because Javier is an amazingly detailed character who I don’t have the right skills to capture the proper way he deserves to be, but I didn’t want to delete this either so...Yeah, it is what it is. Fingers crossed someone out there enjoys it 🤞😊

Part 2

The fan on your desk is on its highest setting, humming loudly as it blasts cool air at your face. Still, you feel sweat beading all along your forehead as well as the back of your neck, and you silently curse the embassy’s air conditioning system for malfunctioning in the middle of a heatwave. 

An envelope falls on your desk, the 56th one you’ve seen today thus far. The man who dropped it looks irritated, which is an expression commonly seen around here. His mustache is dark and neatly trimmed, you can’t help but notice. His hands rest on his hips beneath his navy suit jacket, giving him an aura of authority despite his lack of an ID badge. 

“Get this mailed today,” he says, tone leaving no room for arguing. 

You pick up the letter, noting the Texas address. “Of course, I will—”

The mustached man is exiting the mailroom before you can even finish your sentence. You’d call his behavior rude if it wasn't also commonplace around here.

~~

The embassy almost seems to transform at night. The lights are dim and the cleaning crew are the only living souls roaming the hallways. It’s oddly peaceful in an eerie sort of way, so you don’t mind working late shifts. You spend the long hours preparing packages for outgoing shipment the following morning, wrapping any fragile objects in bubble wrap and double-checking that each of their labels are correct. You’re in the middle of typing data into the computer when a throat clears behind you, announcing someone’s presence.

It’s the same mustached man from earlier in the week. This time he has discarded his suit jacket and rolled the sleeves of his white dress shirt up to his elbows, revealing toned arms. You blink at him over the top of the computer, wondering why he has interrupted your work.

“Can I help you?” you ask.

“I forgot I was expecting a package today,” the man says. He sounds tired, brown hair rumpled like he’s been running his hands through it multiple times throughout the day. You weren’t here for the day shift, but you know where all the undelivered mail goes so you point him towards the organizer that takes up one whole wall of the mailroom. He dips his head at you, the briefest of nods, before going to collect his package from his personal slot on one of the lower rows.

He leaves a moment later, silence filling the space once more.

~~

Your mail cart is knocked over during your afternoon delivery run. The offender, an agent named Feistl who often swings by the mailroom to drop off letters and presents to be sent back to his family in the States, doesn’t stick around to help clean up the mess of scattered envelopes, saying, “Sorry, I’ve got an important meeting with Intel.”

You bite back the retort on the tip of your tongue. Most people think your job is at the bottom of the career ladder, but they don’t realize the various tasks you have to complete day after day. You have to sort through hundreds of letters and packages. You have to track down recipients if their items are priority stamped, thus needing to be urgently delivered as soon as possible. You’re responsible for all outgoing mail, choosing the best method of shipment and making arrangements. What is most challenging though, is you have to deal with dozens of personality types ranging from appreciative to downright hateful. People get angry if their mail doesn’t arrive by the expected date, if the contents of their package are broken upon arrival, and/or if they aren’t at their desks when you make your rounds, forcing them to come by the mailroom to check their slot. More often than not, they blame you for the aforementioned issues, despite the fact you have no control over any of those things.

“I’ve got it. It’s fine,” you say to Feistl’s departing backside. 

You’re in the middle of picking up the envelopes when dark brown boots, black socks, and charcoal gray pants enter your field of view. Glancing up, you immediately recognize the face staring back at you. It’s the mystery man you keep encountering, carrying a stack of manila folders in one hand. 

You’d started your job over a month ago, yet you can’t recall ever personally handing him anything. Either he’s new around here, you think, or he’s one of those rare individuals who only receives mail once every blue moon. 

He glances at his watch, gaze flicking between you, still kneeling on the floor, and the time it displays, expression torn.

“I’ve got it. It’s fine,” you say, repeating yourself. And you actually mean it because he looks like he genuinely wants to help but cannot spare the extra minute. 

Shooting you an apologetic grimace, he steps around you and the mess, careful not to step on any of the letters, and disappears into one of the offices at the other end of the hall.

~~

You awkwardly cradle a bundle of red roses in the nook of your elbow, careful not to damage them as you head towards the elevator. The flowers are for Ambassador Crosby’s secretary, Eileen, whose desk is right outside his office. They were sent to her by her fiancé with a note attached referencing their second anniversary. 

When the elevator doors open, you receive a couple of double-takes from the people brushing past you as they exit. The attention makes your shoulders want to hunch up to your ears, but you don’t want the movement to disrupt the roses so you force yourself to remain still until you step into the elevator’s cabin alongside three other personnel. 

See the full post

619 notes • Posted 2021-10-06 22:21:16 GMT

#4

Little Red’s Shadow Part 1

Pairing: Werewolf Pero Tovar x Female!Reader

Word Count: 8000+

Summary: I posted an idea about werewolf Pero and this fic grew from there. Hope you like it 💖

Warnings: no beta all mistakes are my own, language, werewolf/shapeshifter AU with little red riding hood elements, pining, angst, Reader has a crush and is oblivious to the obvious, Pero’s got a secret so he’s a bit grumpy, injury description with blood, death of a rabbit, setting and time period? who knows lol it is what it is

Author Note: First time writing Pero and there’s been a lot of interest in this fic so I’m nervous posting cuz this is super self-indulgent. Originally I wanted to post the fic from start to end, but this week hasn’t been a good one and posting fics always makes me feel better so yeah. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 is a few scenes away from being done.

Part 2

“The gaze of the wolf reaches into our soul.” – Barry Lopez

Twilight is fast approaching as you walk along the forest trail between your village and the neighboring one to the north, glimpses of a dark purple and red sky visible overhead through the branches of pine trees bracketing either side of you. There is a chill in the air, the last lingering side effect of the winter season, and you adjust your scarlet-colored cloak tighter around your body, fighting back a shiver. 

Being in the woods this late isn’t a wise choice and you’re sure to receive a lecture from your father when you get home about time management, but in your defense once Mrs. Tate starts talking, it is virtually impossible to make the widow stop until she talks herself into a state of unconsciousness. You were held hostage in her living room for hours listening to her prattle on about a variety of topics ranging from a drought that occurred forty years ago to a new recipe of cake she’s eager to try baking. 

Fortunately you’d had the forethought of completing your other deliveries before taking Mrs. Tate her new sewing kit, otherwise you would be making the walk home completely in the dark.

Although twilight isn’t much better, you think to yourself after tripping over a stick obscured in shadow, accidentally untying one of your shoelaces in the process. You bite back a curse, knowing that walking through the woods with untied shoes is a guarantee you’ll wind up with a sprained ankle. A lesson you’ve unfortunately learned the hard, painful way more than once over the years. 

Sighing, you bend down to retie the knot only to freeze when it occurs to you just how quiet the woods have become. The air has frozen still, not even the faintest of breezes ruffling the tree branches. You strain your ears to hear anything over the anxious thumping of your heartbeat, but it is as if the whole world has been turned on mute.

The hairs on the back of your neck prickle, and you become very uncomfortably aware of someone’s gaze watching you. You swallow thickly, dread forming a heavy stone in your stomach, regretting dismissing your father’s advice of carrying a knife with you for protection. 

“There’s nothing dangerous out there,” you had told him, pulling the hood of your cloak over your head while concealing an eye roll. “Just rabbits and squirrels and deer.”

What is that saying about hindsight? 

The logical part of your brain is screaming at you to take off running, to try and put as much distance between yourself and the threat as possible. But you’ve always been a slave to your own curiosity, that insistent pull in your chest telling you to investigate, and right now it wants you to turn around and find out who or what is about to potentially kill you.

Mentally counting to three, you slowly twist your shoulders to look behind you, trembling like a leaf about to be blown away from its branch, and scan the foliage for unfamiliar shapes or shifting shadows. 

Nothing immediately stands out as dangerous or suspicious looking. You start to think your imagination is playing tricks on you, only to gasp when a twig snaps, echoing like a gunshot. A bolt of fear strikes your chest, adrenaline surging through your veins, and every instinct you possess is on high alert.

The wind picks up again, nearly knocking you over with a strong gust, and as you struggle to maintain balance you think you hear a quiet huffing sound right before a clump of bushes shake in front of you. Like something brushed past them.

You wait a few more seconds before finishing tying your shoelace, no longer feeling eyes upon you. Whatever it was watching you had left, apparently deciding you weren’t worth killing. 

There is barely enough sunlight left to guide you home, but your curiosity has not been sated yet, pulling you in the direction of the bush. You crouch and push away the branches, squinting to make out the shape of pawprints in the dirt, a bit messy and overlapping like the animal had backed up quickly. 

“Oh my God,” you murmur, stunned to realize a wolf had been spying on you. No way a regular dog could leave behind tracks larger than the width of your hand.

But what is a wolf doing so close to the village? You can’t remember hearing about sightings of one in the area anytime recently. It’s probably just a rogue passing through, you think as you start walking again, but the sensation of its intense gaze upon you continues to linger the entire journey back, replaying on loop within your mind.

When she was still living, your mother taught you not to believe in coincidences. There are some encounters too strange and remarkable to have occurred by random chance. They are instead controlled by the strings of fate, as inevitable as the changing of seasons each year. 

When you reach your village at the end of the trail, you pause for a moment to look over your shoulder into the dark depths of the forest. Your heart weighs heavily in your chest, burdened by a sense of certainty you can’t ignore.

The wolf was intended to cross your path. 

And you can’t shake the feeling it will happen again.

“Wolves in shells are crueler than stray ones.” ― Gaston Bachelard

When you’re not out delivering orders, you can usually be found behind the counter as the cashier of your father’s trading depot. Years spent helping your father has made you a master at recognizing faces. Whether the person is a frequent visitor or they only swing around every few months, you take pride in recognizing each customer and trader that comes through the door, greeting them by name with a smile. 

See the full post

791 notes • Posted 2021-07-17 01:28:38 GMT

#3

Source

900 notes • Posted 2021-09-15 23:57:31 GMT

#2

I’ve been obsessed with the top photo for months, but now I found the bottom one on Pinterest and combined they’re too much for my heart to handle 💘

918 notes • Posted 2021-03-17 17:02:00 GMT

#1

OH GOOD LORD LOOK AT HIM 💖💖💖

SOURCE

1676 notes • Posted 2021-09-03 19:05:00 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Mile High Job

leverage 1.08

Nate: We need a key card.

Eliot: And I hate to say it, but you know who we could really use --

Nate: Don't even say his name. I don't want it spoken aloud

eliot begrudgingly admitting they could use hardison because although they may bicker all the time, he knows to appreciate him

- - - - - 

[Leverage Headquarters]

(Hardison is watching a microwave, which dings)

Hardison: Yeah, buddy!

(he tries to pick up the pizza pocket but it is too hot and he drops it)

Hardison: Damn it!

(he blows on it and picks it up to eat it, then takes a watering can and heads out of the kitchen)

why do we (and parker and eliot) love this fucking idiot so damn much ???

- - - - - 

(Hardison walks through the offices watering plants)

he’s such a nester + he’s probably watering parker’s plant too which is adorable

- - - - - 

Eliot: All right.

(open the door to the hall to find Parker waiting)

Parker: So, what are we waiting for?

Eliot: How does she do this?

Nate: I don't even ask anymore.

Hardison: Don't bother with the stairs. I got you a ride down.

(elevator dings and they enter)

we love to see parker defying all laws of physics and logic and the team being baffled by it e v e r y time

- - - - - 

(Nate, Parker and Eliot run into the lobby, headed for the door)

Nate: No, it’s right behind us, it’s right behind us!

(guards put their hands on their guns)

Parker: It’s furry, it’s big, it’s chasing us, get down now!

(they grab Sophie on the way out the door, leaving the guards confused)

Nate: Come on, we need to get to the airport, now!

that’s actually a really clever way to escape a situation ??? it was very effective to distract the guards ???

- - - - - 

Hardison: What I.D.s have you got on you?

[LAX Airport]

Nate: Let's see...

(team begins looking through their pockets)

Nate: We got, Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, and I have a Tom Baker. Yeah.

Sophie: Ooh, yeah, I have a Baker. Sarah Jane.

[Leverage Headquarters]

Hardison: Perfect. I now pronounce you man and wife. (typing on keyboard) Now go on and kiss that bride.

[LAX Airport]

(Sophie hands Nate a ring that he places on her finger)

hardison bases their ids on doctor who characters, what a fucking nerd

also, we gonna talk about how sophie carries a bunch of different wedding rings with her at all times or ???

- - - - - 

Sophie: How did you both know there'd be an extra uniform in the bag?

Nate: Everyone knows flight attendants are required to carry extra uniforms in case they get called to work unexpectedly.

Eliot: Or if something happens to the one that they're already wearing.

Sophie: How does "everyone" know that?

Nate: Worked airport security.

Eliot: Slept with a flight attendant

sophie being exhausted + eliot never mentioned the gender of the flight attendant so let my bi heart dream okay

- - - - - 

(security guard opens Nate’s luggage to find many BSDM items inside. Nate gives Sophie a look)

Sophie: What? We needed luggage. Lost and found.

Nate: You didn't check the bag first?

Sophie: We were in a bit of a hurry. (to guard) Yeah. Cuffs are his. Whip's mine. (slaps Nate’s butt) Second honeymoon.

Eliot (picking up his bag): Idiots.

me watching this scene: part horrified part secondhand embarrassed 

- - - - - 

Hardison (on computer): Let's see what we can learn about Nathan Ford today. Online poker? Online chess? Sudoku. Crossword. What... Damn. Somebody needs to get laid.

y i k e s

- - - - - 

[Coach]

(Parker on P.A. while another stewardess demonstrates)

Parker: Place the mask over your mouth and nose and breathe normally. In the event of a water landing, your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. But let's face it, if this thing goes down in the water, more than likely the impact will kill you. 

(Eliot grabs the bridge of his nose while the other passengers get alarmed)

Parker: Please take a moment to locate the nearest emergency exits, because if this plane's on fire, you're gonna want to get out quick. Jet fuel burns at over 1,000 degrees. That's hot, folks.

Eliot: All right, Nate. We're here. Now what?

eliot looks exhausted like 300 different times during this episode

+ bless the other flight attendant that just carried on with the crazy white chick being crazy over the speaker 

- - - - - 

poor eliot with the guy sleeping on him, he’s so exhausted already lmao

- - - - - 

Steve: Nothing. It’s just... I could've sworn I saw a maintenance guy get in that elevator.

Hardison: A- A maintenance guy? Wow. Real nice. I bet you think we all look alike.

Steve: That's not what I meant.

Hardison: You know what -- If I have to go to one more of those damn sensitivity seminars, I know who I’m blaming.

Steve: No, no, no.

Hardison: I know who I’m blaming.

Steve: It's not what I meant.

Hardison: I blame you! You! (walks away)

hardison using societal tendencies of racism is iconic every (every) time

- - - - - 

(Eliot gets up and begins going through luggage in the overhead racks. One of the passengers watches him suspiciously)

Eliot (to passenger): Can I help you with something? Watch the movie.

what would you even do in this situation ???

- - - - - 

Marissa: I know. It's just -- It's like a placebo effect. It's not really working, but it makes you feel better anyway.

Parker: Yeah? So, when's that supposed to kick in? (she moves forward) Look. Flying isn't really all that scary when you think about it. I mean, there are a lot more likely ways to die than on a plane. Car crash, house fire, electrocution, drowning, autoerotic asphyxiation. I mean, the fact is, death haunts us every day. No matter where we are.

(Parker smiles and moves away)

Y I K E S

- - - - - 

Hardison: You kidding? Did you get the new expansion pack? Woman, I was up all night. Now, look, I mean “Burning Crusade" was great, but this new one is mind-blowing.

Nate: Hardison…

[First Class]

Nate: …you bailed on the job because you were up all night playing a game?

[Genogrow Break Room]

(Hardison turns aside and opens a cabinet door to hide his face)

Hardison: First off, "game" is hardly adequate, okay

hardison is DONE with them not taking his “games” seriously ,,, also LMFAO that’s why he was late 

- - - - - 

Hardison (opens door): The meeting's starting, sir. (closes door)

Haldeman: What meeting? (sighs and puts on his jacket)

that is such an effective tactic tho ???

- - - - - 

Parker: Hatbox full of Euros, pouch of uncut diamonds, and a stolen Stradivarius. Now, I’ve never lifted one of those.

Nate: Parker..

let! her! steal! it!

- - - - - 

Eliot: Ms. Devins, those payments were not made in error. They were bribes. He was trying to pay off the researchers so they would not testify.

Marissa: What are you talking about? What the hell is going on here?

(Parker sits down next to Marissa)

Parker: The guy in 1D wants to kill you. Ginger ale?

Eliot: Just – sh-she--

that poor lady is NOT having a good time

also eliot looks sO DONE WITH PARKER LMFAO

- - - - - 

Eliot: Erlick's a pro. He had a ceramic knife. If anything was going down, he'd sniff 'em out when he saw them coming.

Nate: How would they do it?

Eliot: Easiest way? Take 'em out in transit.

Sophie: You mean bring down the plane they're on?

(everyone looks at her pointedly)

Sophie: You mean bring down the plane we're on?

Nate: Yeah

that’s interesting meta to know but we hate to see it

- - - - - 

Nate: Okay, Parker, I -- Parker, I need you – (to Eliot) All right, we got to talk to Erlick now.

[Plane Bathroom]

(Dan is still unconscious on the toilet as Eliot and Nate come in)

Nate: Geez!

Eliot (patting Dan on the face): Hey!

(Dan does not stir, Eliot sighs)

Eliot: When I knock people out, they tend to stay knocked out.

Nate: Hey!

(Nate taps the guy on the face)

Nate: Luggage tags.

(they search Dan’s clothes and take his luggage tags. Eliot grabs the ceramic knife before they leave the bathroom)

eliot doesn’t fuck around lmao

also he did the flippy thing with the knife

- - - - - 

Hardison: Parker, the device you found -- is it anywhere near an orange box?

Parker: Yeah.

[Haldeman’s Office]

Hardison: Oh, god. They tapped into the black box.

[Cargo Hold]

Parker: No, no, it's not black. It's orange.

[Haldeman’s Office]

Hardison: Yeah, the black boxes, they're orange.

[Cargo Hold]

Hardison: Makes them easier to find in the debris.

Parker: Oh. Oh…

[Haldeman’s Office]

Hardison: They've hacked into the flight's computer, which means they have access to the system, which means they can spoof the black-Box data all at the same time.

[Cargo Hold]

Parker: Crash the plane without anyone knowing it was sabotaged.

[Haldeman’s Office]

Hardison: Exactly

that’s terrifying

- - - - - 

Nate: Listen to me!

[Haldeman’s Office]

Nate: You can do this! I trust you!

(Hardison looking very unsure of himself)

[Cockpit]

Nate: No matter how many times you goof off or screw up, you always come through in the clutch.

[Haldeman’s Office]

Nate: You're the only guy I can count on in a situation like this.

Hardison (cracks his neck): You know what? I-I-you... You're right. 

You're right. I got this.

[Cockpit]

Nate: Yes! Yes! Yes, you can!

Hardison: You're right. You're -- I'm the man.

[Cargo Hold]

Hardison: I'm the man. I got this. I'm gonna do this.

hardison is amazing and they need to appreciate him more

- - - - - 

[First Class]

(Nate and Eliot stumble into seats and belt up)

Nate: Sophie?

[Coach]

Sophie: Yes?

[First Class]

Nate: You okay?

[Coach]

Sophie: Yeah. You?

[First Class]

Nate: Ask me again in 10 minutes.

[Coach]

Sophie: You're gonna remember this one, aren't you?

[First Class]

Nate: Oh yeah.

everyone else on the comms: ,,, y’all have to flirt right this second ???

- - - - - 

[Haldeman’s Office]

(Hardison watching footage on the Internet of the plane landing)

Announcer (on monitor): …emergency landing on the seven mile bridge…

Hardison: Whoa! (gets up and dances) Baby! Unh! Age of the geek! Smooth! Too smooth! Lord, I was so scared, I wanted to cry, call my mama. Y'all cool? Y’all cool?

Nate: Yes, cool.

Hardison: Family. All right.

hardison is baby + HE CALLED THEM HIS FAMILY !!!

[phroyd]

FUCK YOU TRUMP!!! - Phroyd

The recount of presidential ballots in Wisconsin’s two largest counties finished Sunday, reconfirming that President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Trump in the key swing state by more than 20,000 votes.

After Milwaukee County completed its tally Friday and Dane County concluded its count Sunday, there was little change in the final breakdown of the more than 800,000 ballots that had been cast in the two jurisdictions. As a result of the recount, Biden’s lead over Trump in Wisconsin grew by 87 votes.

Under Wisconsin law, Trump was required to foot the bill for the partial recount — meaning his campaign paid $3 million only to see Biden’s lead expand.

The results of the Wisconsin recount cemented Trump’s failure to alter the results of the November election in a series of states where he has falsely alleged there was widespread fraud and irregularities.

His efforts to stop Michigan officials from certifying the vote there earlier this month ran aground. A hand recount of ballots in Georgia confirmed Biden’s win in that state. Two new court decisions in Pennsylvania late last week rejected the Trump campaign’s attempts to halt the vote count there, the latest in a series of forceful judicial opinions that have tossed out claims by the president and his allies around the country.

On Monday, Arizona — the fifth of the six states where Trump has tried to upend the vote certification process — is set to finalize its results.

The Wisconsin Election Commission is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, at which time state law says the election results will be certified by the chairwoman of the six-member panel, who is a Democrat.

The president and his legal advisers have said they still plan to fight in court in an attempt to prevent Wisconsin from moving forward. The three Republicans on the state’s six-member election commission could seek to delay certification while the process unfolds.

“The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday,” Trump wrote in a tweet Saturday. “We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!”

But even if the campaign were to pull out a surprise courtroom win — which legal experts said is unlikely — it would do little to change the outcome of the White House race, which Biden won with 306 electoral votes. The electoral college will meet on Dec. 14 to formalize his victory.

In Wisconsin, the president’s campaign sought to use the recount process to invalidate tens of thousands of otherwise legal ballots. Among other things, Trump’s lawyers argued that a form signed by voters who cast a ballot during in-person voting before Election Day was insufficient under state law. They said all those ballots — totaling about 180,000 votes in the two counties — should be tossed out.

In last-gasp maneuver, Trump campaign tries to invalidate thousands of votes as Wisconsin recount gets underway

They also complained about a practice in place since 2016 that allows election officials to fix tiny errors on the certification envelopes of some mail-in ballots, as well as rules in place since 2011 that allow some people to declare themselves “indefinitely confined” due to age or disability and vote without showing a photo ID.

Local officials in each county rejected the Trump campaign arguments and included the ballots in the recount.

Two conservative groups filed lawsuits last week asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to consider challenges to the recount process. The seven-member elected court has not yet said whether it will agree to hear the cases; Republicans have a 4-to-3 majority on the court. The Trump campaign is not so far a party to either suit.

Legal experts have said the arguments advanced by the Trump campaign during the recount were thin. They also said that even if judges were to conclude that some practices by Wisconsin clerks were technically flawed, they would be extremely unlikely to throw out tens of thousands of ballots cast by voters who did nothing wrong other than follow rules, as directed by election officials.

Further undermining the Trump campaign’s argument, experts said, is the fact that it raised only objections in two predominantly Democratic counties.

The practices that Trump lawyers criticized are in place statewide and have been in place for years, including before to the 2016 election — which Trump won and did not contest.

Their arguments would not invalidate only Biden votes. Documents prepared as part of the Dane County recount showed that the Trump campaign’s own lead attorney in Wisconsin, James Troupis, had voted early and in person. He essentially argued that his own vote was illegal and should not be counted. Troupis did not respond to requests for comment.

“This whole strategy is so shortsighted. It’s so self-destructive in the long term,” said James Wigderson, a conservative activist and editor of the website RightWisconsin, who did not vote for Trump.

He argued the GOP gambit sent a strong message to voters of color that the Republican Party believes their votes are less valid than those cast in White suburbs and rural areas. “Republicans should be outraged by this,” he said.

In announcing Dane County’s results Sunday, clerk Scott McDonell noted that the recount had found no instances of fraud. He said the process should “reassure” the public about the accuracy of the count, but said he found it “disturbing” that the Trump campaign had targeted only two Democratic counties for practices in place across Wisconsin.

Under Wisconsin law, Trump was allowed to request the recount because Biden’s margin of victory — about 0.6 percent — was less than 1 percent. However, Trump’s campaign was required to pay for the recount because Biden’s margin was more than 0.25 percent. Trump could have requested a full statewide recount, at a cost of nearly $8 million. Instead, his campaign opted to pay less for a narrower recount in the state’s two most Democratic-leaning counties.

“This recount demonstrated what we already know: that elections in Milwaukee County are fair, transparent, accurate and secure,” County Clerk George Christenson said as the county election commission voted to certify its results Friday. “We have once again demonstrated good government in Wisconsin.”

The recounts required dozens of election employees to work for more than 12 hours a day since Nov. 20, taking off only Thanksgiving Day. Officials in both counties took over local convention centers to allow workers to spread out, erected Plexiglas shields, and instructed workers and observers alike to wear masks.

Still, election officials worried employees could have been exposed to the coronavirus while conducting a process they had asserted from the start was exceptionally unlikely to change the state’s results, given Biden's margin of victory.

“I'm very concerned,” Christenson said in an interview.

He noted that there among the 300 people who gathered at a convention center each day for the recount was a poll worker who was pregnant. A member of the local elections commission, who had to be on site full time to adjudicate challenges raised by the Trump campaign, is 73 years old and has a heart condition, he said.

Phroyd

[imaginedisish]

Take On Me (Otis Milburn x Reader) (Sex Education)

A/N: THIS TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE OMG. OKAY UMMMM THANK YOU FOR 300 FOLLOWERS. I KINDA CRIED BECAUSE YOU’RE ALL SO AMAZING. ANYWAY...here’s some smut :) hehehehe! This was SUPER requested. The title is based on the Aha song of the same name. My friends tell me I look like the girl who dances to this song in that vine...so if you ever wanna know what I look like, I kinda look like her??? ANYWAY... I hope you alllll enjoy :) Thank you for all the love and support <3 xxxxx (oh and Colin Ritman smut is up next LOL BYE)

Summary: You and Otis decide that it’s time to take things to the next step in your relationship....for the first time...SMUT!

Warnings: SMUT. SMUT. SMUT. language...fluff...yeppers. 

Word Count: 2,124

Also...I made a part two that I’ll link here!

You walk down the road, your hand in his, giggling, talking about anything and everything that comes to your mind. Your yellow sundress sways in the wind, a smile plastered across your face.

“I mean you’re lying if you say you wouldn’t kill to go back to 1979 and see Joy Division live!” Otis says, his ocean eyes glowing in the moonlight. You stare into them, drowning wave after wave. 

“Well sure, but what about Lou and Bowie?” You say back, arching a brow in Otis’s direction. He nods, agreeing. “You rather see Joy Division, don’t you?” You ask, laughing a bit. You knew when Otis was holding something back from you. You could see it in his eyes, or simply in the way he held himself. He gets fidgety and restless. 

“O-okay w-well m-maybe. Yes. I’d rather see Joy Division,” Otis says finally, an apologetic smile spreading across his face. 

He was too cute to even care that he disagreed with you. “Oh well,” You say, pausing, throwing your hands up in surrender. “I guess I just have better taste than you.” You giggle loudly. 

“Guess I’ll just have to accept that my girlfriend is far cooler than I ever will be,” Otis says back, throwing his hands up to meet yours, grabbing them softly. He plants a kiss on your forehead, and you hum with pleasure. It was little moments like these that made your heart sing, no matter how innocent or small. 

You two continuing walking, your hand still in his. Otis had been your boyfriend for about two months, but you and he had been friends for much longer. Everything seemed so perfect, except for one thing. 

Sex. 

It wasn’t necessarily taboo in your relationship, you and Otis had talked about it before, but, you were a virgin, and so was he. Obviously, there was no problem with that. But you had both gotten to the point where you genuinely wanted each other. Otis was over his intimacy issues, thanks to you, and you felt like you were ready to take your relationship to the next step. 

You see Otis’s house up a head, the massive, red, Queen Anne style home still vibrant in the dark of night. A few lights are still on inside the house, but it was likely that Otis’s mother had gone to bed. It was late. Stars hang carefully in the night sky, dancing over a round, full moon. The trees sway in the crisp summer wind. Otis stops for a second, taking both your hands in his. 

“Do you want to, m-maybe, c-come inside?” Otis asks nervously, biting his lip. You can’t help but smile. 

“Yeah, yeah I’d like that,” You say, pulling him along the path as you walk forward. He stumbles a bit, tripping over his own feet as he catches up with you. Eventually you two approach the front door. 

Otis puts a finger to his lips, cautioning you to be quiet. You nod your head in response. Otis slowly opens the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. The door creeks loudly, and Otis’s turquoise eyes fling open widely, filling with anxiety. You let out a small giggle, covering your mouth immediately after, trying to suppress your laughter. Normally, sneaking around was “sexy”, but not with Otis. He was so adorable, so cute. 

“Now that’s not fair. My sneaking skills are quite good, ya know,” Otis whispers, a smirk plastered on his face. You smile, shaking your head in disbelief. Then, Otis grabs your hand, pulling you swiftly into the dimly light house. He shuts the door behind you, and guides you up the stairs and into his room. 

You somehow successfully reach Otis’s room without banging into anything, or worse, waking his mother up. He closes the door to his room, and slides the brass lock into place. 

Your eyes gloss over his room. His bed sat in the center of the attic like space, the walls covered in different band posters. You spot a giant Joy Division poster next to his bed, and a The Stranglers poster right next to that. 

On the other side of the room was a bookcase, holding Otis’s extensive collection of records and books. You walk over to the case, scanning to see which records he had. Not to your surprise, the boy had everything from Arcade Fire, to Arctic Monkeys, to the Beatles, to Nirvana.  

The room screamed Otis. It was a perfect personification of his personality, and you loved it. 

Otis smiles at you softly, grabbing your hand again, and walking you over to the bed. He sits down on the edge of the twin mattress, and you sit down next to him. Otis looks deeply into your eyes, his aquamarine gaze filling your stomach with excitement. Your heart flutters in your chest. 

“I know that we’ve been talking a lot about…” Otis trails off. He swallows harshly, his Adam’s apple bopping in his throat. “W-well about sex. If you don’t feel comfortable with this I completely unders-,” 

You cut him off before he can finish his sentence. “I want this, Otis. I really do.”

“A-are you sure?” He asks, arching a brow. 

“Yes, I’m positive.”

Without any hesitation, Otis’s hands come up to cup your cheeks, and he pulls you into a hungry kiss. His tongue brushes against your top lip, asking for permission to enter. You part your lips slightly, as his tongue dances across your teeth, intertwining with your tongue every now and then. You pull apart for a second, trying to catch your breath. 

Otis breathes deeply as his hand brushes against your inner thigh, his eyes refusing to leave yours. You melt under his touch. He slowly moves higher, searching your eyes for permission. You nod your head eagerly in response. 

His hand then makes its way closer to you core, and you whimper in anticipation. Otis slowly pushes your flowing yellow dress up. 

“I know I already asked but I just want to-,”

You cut him off again. “Otis, I want you.” He nods, pushing your dress up farther. His hand slides up your thigh again, reaching towards your heat. His thumb begins to brush against your clit over your panties, getting faster each second. 

A muffled moan escapes your lips. Otis smirks, and stops. You send a disapproving frown in his direction, but to your delight, Otis slowly begins to pull at the hem of your panties. He takes his time as he gets down on the floor, and slips them off your legs. 

You decide it’s time to turn the tables a bit. Your hand reaches across Otis’s thigh as he sits back up on the bed. You begin to palm him through his jeans. 

“F-fuck,” Otis groans loudly. You quickly put a single finger up to his lips, signaling for him to be quiet. His mother is most likely just down the hall, you think to yourself. 

Otis nods, and you continue to palm his shaft through his blue jeans, his erection growing. You slowly unzip his pants, undo his belt and pull down his jeans. You reach down to continue palming him, but he grabs your hand before you can do anything else.

“No. My turn to make you feel good,” Otis says, pushing you down on the bed. You’re shocked at Otis’s sudden confidence, but pleased nonetheless. He pulls your yellow sundress over your head, revealing your lacy bra underneath. 

“My god you're gorgeous.” Heat rises to your cheeks. 

Otis’s hand travels across your chest, down your stomach, finally resting on your heat. He begins to play with your clit again, circling the spot slowly with his thumb. 

“O-otis,” You call out, your eyes falling shut, a fire beginning to burn in the pit of your stomach. 

“Do you like that?” Otis asks, rubbing faster now. You open your eyes, nodding your head up and down eagerly. 

“Y-yes,” You mutter. You had touched yourself before, but this felt so much different. It felt amazing. Suddenly, you feel Otis’s finger slide over your wet opening. He looks to you for permission once again. “Y-yes please.” He does as you say, sliding a finger into your opening. 

“Tell me what feels good, and what doesn’t,” Otis says, his eyes wide with concern. 

“H-holy shit,” You cry out, pleasure washing over you. Otis shushes you politely, a smirk stretching across his face. “Th-this f-feels r-really g-good.”

The feeling of Otis’s finger filling you up, and his thumb toying with your clit begins to become overwhelming. You were seconds away from coming, and you knew it. 

“O-otis, I think I’m going t-to,” You stutter as Otis picks up his pace, inserting another finger, the sensation itself practically sending you over the edge. He thrusts become even faster. In, out, in out, in out.  

“Shuuuush, let go love,” Otis coos. Your walls flutter around his fingers. 

“F-fuck! Otis!” You shout, coming around his fingers. Otis lessens his pace, and pulls out of you. “M-my god that was a-amazing.” You laugh, pulling Otis closer to you. “I want you, Otis. I need you.” Otis’s jaw drops. He quickly reaches over to the nightstand next to him, grabbing a condom from the drawer. He unwraps the packaging, slowly slipping the condom over his hard cock.

You hurriedly pull off his shirt, kissing him passionately at any chance you get. You yank down Otis’s boxers, revealing his hard member. Otis takes his erected cock into his hand, looking to your eyes one more time for permission. You nod your head in response as he lines himself up with your entrance. 

Suddenly, Otis’s cock fills pushes through your folds and inside of you. 

“Oh sh-shit,” Otis mutters, burying his head in your neck, and then pushing himself up again. 

“H-holy f-fuck,” You cry out, tears rushing to your eyes. You knew it would feel different than fingering yourself, or how Otis had just fingered you, but this was different than what you expected. It hurt, but just for a second. After some time, the pain began to subside. Otis waits a minute, making sure you’ve adjusted to his size. 

“A-are you alright?” Otis asks, brushing your cheek with his hand. 

“Y-yes,” You mutter. 

“Are you sure. We can stop if you don’t want to go any further,” Otis says, his voice kind and reassuring. 

“No, I want this. I want you,” You say back to him, passion in your eyes. Otis nods, and begins to thrust in and out of you gently. The pain erases itself, and is replaced by total and utter pleasure. “F-fuck Otis.”

“(Y/N),” Otis hums as he quickens his pace. His cock was hard. It felt so good. “M-my g-god you’re so f-fucking wet,” Otis coos. His words alone could make you come. 

Otis’s hand reaches down to your clit, and he begins to toy with it again. You dig your fingernails into his back, practically ready to scream in pleasure as he draws circles at your heat. Otis begins to lose his rhythm, his thrusts becoming extremely sloppy.

“I’m, I’m g-going to c-come,” Otis cries out shakily as a fire pools in your lower abdomen. 

“M-me too,” You breath heavily. Your walls tighten around Otis’s pulsating cock. “Otis!” You cry out, coming around him. 

“Oh-oh fuck,” Otis moans, letting go, thrusting deeply into you one last time.

Otis pulls out of your opening, crashing down on the bed, next to you. You lay there for some time, not saying anything, just enjoying each other’s company.

“That was…” You trail off. “Absolutely perfect.” You turn on your side to face Otis. He’s beaming with joy. He reaches a hand to your face, pushing the hair out of your eyes. 

“Yeah, just like you,” He smirks, wrapping his arms around you and pulling the covers over you two. 

“I love you, Otis,” You whisper into his ear. 

“I love you, (Y/N),” Otis murmurs. Your eyes flutter closed, and open again, becoming heavy with sleep. You press your face into Otis’s chest, pressing kisses there. 

“You know you aren’t just some guy in the corner, right? You’re special. You’re so fucking special,” You say, looking up to him. His diamond eyes meet your gaze. 

“And you know you’re more important and more beautiful than every star in the galaxy, right?” You smile against his chest, pressing a kiss on his collarbone. 

You really did love that boy, far more than words could ever say.  

Far more than anything else. 

[cosmotographer]

The Leica M10 Review

…yes I know it’s 2020 and it’s late

This review was a long time coming since I had originally planned on writing this review last Spring. It was during that time when I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to pick up a second-hand Leica M10 in black from a fellow forum member in exchange for two of my lenses at the time (Summilux 35mm FLE and the Summicron 50mm V5). Was it worth selling my M240 at the time and trading off two lenses for the M10?

Before I continue with this review, I should caveat by saying that this is my second M10 as I sold the first one during the first draft of this review last year after my trip from Miami and Key West. I had sold it over the summer because I didn’t feel the premium wasn’t worth it to me, therefore I had sold it off and picked up a mint silver chrome M-P 240 which I loved and took it several trips with me.

Fast forward to 2020, an opportunity had come up for an M10 while I was at the gym one morning. I was catching up on Leica things during a break (as you do) and I had found a silver chrome M10 for sale for a price that was hard to pass up. A price so good, that I had completely stopped working out and went into full-time stalker mode with the seller on securing the purchase via text message. After less than 5 minutes of communicating back and forth, we had agreed on a price and a successful transaction was made.

I said farewell my beloved M-P (Typ 240) as it sold in less than a day to a gentleman in Texas. You were the best iteration of the best value digital Leica M camera, but how does the M10 compare and do I still think it was worth the money to upgrade?

My first Leica M10 in black

“Minute changes like these is what legendary products need. Nothing drastic, but incremental improvements.”

Introduction

When the M10 was first introduced in January 2017, it was a cause for celebration as reviews sang their praises as the ‘best Leica yet’ while commenting on its new 24 megapixel sensor paired with the latest Maestro II processor, a bigger viewfinder magnification with better eye-relief, a body that is as slim as the M7 film camera, a new manual ISO dial and what is this?

They’ve removed video recording!

Nobody cared. Moving on.

Not only did Leica giveth and taketh away with the M10, but they had also made the camera significantly more simplified compared to its predecessor. Leica’s new devotion to minimalism that could be seen back in 2015 with the introduction of the Leica Q, transferred over to the M10 as the camera now has less buttons, removed any superfluous menu options which led to a more structured and cleaner menu system. They even changed the power switch so that it only does one thing now: On or Off. This is a big deal as the Leica Q had a problem with some users accidentally switching to “Continuous” as the power switch had the tendency to go full-auto. Minute changes like these is what legendary products need. Nothing drastic, but incremental improvements.

Look at every new iteration of the the Porsche 911. It’s not the same car, but just improved.

As the difference in technology between the M240 (2012) and the M10 (2017) span 5 years, the improvements of the M10 can be noticed instantly with its new slimmer profile when you pick it up for the first time. While the M240 wasn’t a big camera compared to other full-frame cameras, but if you compared Leica’s other rangefinders, the M240 was a thicc boy. After a few weeks of getting reacquainted with the M10 again, I felt that the M10 is just like any other Leica: it’s more than the sum of its parts and more about its evolution rather than revolution. That’s why, at least currently, it’s the best digital iteration of Leica’s fabled rangefinder (until the M11).

My new Leica M10 in silver chrome

“…it’s more than the sum of its parts and more about its evolution rather than revolution.”

Build & Design

The M10’s new slimmer body and lighter weight compared to the M240 was very obvious and noticeable to me. As your right thumb rub against the right corner of the body next to the exposure dial, you’ll also notice the new paint finish as Leica had decided to use matte/chrome treated paint compared to the previous “black paint” finish in the previous gens. I personally prefer the black paint finish as the lacquer paint would fade over time, showing the dull gold glow of the brass underneath. This brassing gave the camera a nice patina, like a worn leather jacket after years of use.

Brassing on a Leica M240

I believe that Leica did this intentionally to give the camera a more timeless look as the brassing would give the camera an aged look over time, but I feel that the patina brings out the character of the camera. With each worn paint on different parts of the body, there is a story that comes with it. The new chrome paint finish will not age as gracefully, as it will just dull over the time, losing its matte luster to just a shiny sheen of metal.

Leica M10 Cutaway | Courtesy of Leica Camera AG

Tough as Nails

Just because the M10 doesn’t brass like its predecessors, doesn’t the camera feels cheap. The components are still machined from solid brass and magnesium alloy chassis, holding in all the components in such a small body. Nothing about the build quality is different with the M10 and they are still built to same high standards. Don’t let the smaller size of the M10 fool you either as the weight between the M240 and the M10 are almost identical (1.46 lbs vs. 1.50 lbs).

Width: 33.7mm

Weight: 1.46 lbs

Leica may not openly advertise this, but the body is weather-sealed against light precipitation and dust.

Refined Shutter

The shutter sound is definitely quieter and more refined than the M240, but the feel is about the same. Half press locks the exposure and full press releases the shutter with a refined “click”. I can’t explain the sound, but it feels slightly muffled compared to the M240. It’s definitely quieter than the M9’s robo-sex doll shutter cock sound, but I kind of like that as that’s part of the M9’s many charms.

I can’t speak for the shutter feel on the M10-P or M10-D as I don’t have any experience with them yet, but they have the quietest mechanical curtain shutters. Maybe one day I’ll pick one up (actually I know I’ll have one in the future).

Diamonds are Forever

Most of the back panel is dominated by a 3-inch TFT LCD monitor which has 1,036,800 dots and can display 16 million colors in addition to providing 100% frame coverage during live view. The difference in resolution between the M240 and the M10 may not be noticeable, at least to me, but the difference in contrast is very apparent. It’s also years ahead of the M9, which is only useful for checking exposure as it has the same screen quality of a GameBoy.

The LCD glass screen itself deserves its own paragraph as it’s sporting the latest Gorilla Glass, specifically developed for this camera by Corning. While the glass feel strong and strudy, I personally question its durability compared to the Leica M-P’s (Typ 240) more robust and exotic sapphire glass. Something that Leica had also omitted from the M10-P and M10-D. This is a big difference as sapphire glass is borderline industructible by conventional means, which is why it’s used on high-end watches that can only be scratched by diamonds. I wouldn’t be surprised if the M10’s screen is very similar to the Leica Q.

Balanced

Lastly, the body feels more balanced due to better weight distribution between the front and rear of the body if you hold the camera up by just the strap with a lens attached. This is one of the major benefits of the M10’s slimmer body as it pairs perfectly with compact lenses like the Summicron 35mm ASPH or the Voigtlander Ultron 35mm. This may not seem like a big deal, but weight distribution is counts if you want to pull some weight off your left hand, relieving some pressure off your fingers as you focus.

Miami, Florida | M10 + Summicron 35mm ASPH

“…body is weather-sealed against light precipitation and dust”

User Experience

There is something to be said about the user experience of a thinner, faster, and more accurate Leica rangefinder, especially with its improved eye relief for people with glasses. Compared to the M240, there are some noticeable improvements.

Pin-Point Accuracy

The new viewfinder has a magnification of .73x compared to the M240’s .68x magnification. This may not seem much, but that is a big difference when you’re looking inside a tiny window and you’ll notice it right away when you’re focusing your lenses. It’s much easier to nail a sharp focus and with fast lenses, this is a big improvement. By just walking around with the Voigtlander Ultron 35/1.7 ASPH I had at the time, I noticed that I was nailing focus with very little to no micro-adjustments to get a sharp focus patch. That means there is one less thing to worry about on getting a sharp focus. The second one being the quality of your eye sight to see the patch clearly.

This new viewfinder can also be a double-edged sword for those that wear glasses as composing with 28mm or 36mm lenses will have a more difficult time to compose since the eye-relief, while is improved, it’s still not ideal for glasses.

New Viewfinder | Courtesy of Leica Camera AG

Simplified Menu System

Leica had released a firmware update in 2018, which introduced the Favorites Menu that was brought over from the Leica Q. A very handy upgrade since it no longer required you to dive into the 2.5 pages of menus to change something as simple as White Balance. These are mostly quality of life improvements and once you set up your menu settings, you will very rarely ever go back in terms of shooting experience as I have everything that I need on the body of the camera: ISO, Aperture, Shutter. The dials feels solid and tactile, as you would expect from a Leica.

Carry Spares

The battery life will be a hit for people as the Leica M10’s BP-SCL5  battery has 1300 mAh of charge, which is noticeably smaller than the M240’s 1600 mAh battery. The difference of 300 mAh may not seem much and you should be able to hit 300 photos on one battery if you don’t use Live View (or EVF), but this is a far cry from the M240’s BP-SCL2 battery as a single one of those guys would last me all weekend.

Thumbs Up

The exposure compensation dial is just where it needs to be like the M240, but the Leica M10 has a slight curvature on the left side of the dial that acts as a pseduo thumb rest. Doesn’t seem like much, but it makes a noticeable difference in ergonomics, especially on a slimmer body like the M10. I still ended up buying a OEM Leica thumb grip and I recommend it wholeheartedly as we all know that Leica cameras were built for Lego people.

Controls at your finger tips

“…you will very rarely ever go back in terms of shooting experience as I have everything that I need on the body of the camera.”

Big Brains

The MAESTRO II processor is quick and depending on the Read/Write speed of your SD card, it’s as quick as the Leica Q on writing those DNG files. It’s capable of taking 5 shots per second on continuous which is impressive for a M camera. 

Wi-Fi is Lo-Fi

The built-in Wi-Fi feature is nice to have, but I doubt I’ll ever use it as my dedicated source of raw transfers since I prefer to use the SD card to transfer photos via iPad Pro or on the PC. The app itself is cumbersome and the transfer speeds are abysmally slow. To make matter worse, using the Wi-Fi feature absolutely destroys your battery life.

A Bakery in Richmond, VA | Leica M10 + Voigtlander 35/1.4 MC II

“…thumbs up grip is crazy expensive at $240 a pop”

Things I Don’t Like

Despite all these improvements, not everything is perfect with the M10. This may be the best digital Leica M camera to date, but there are a couple of issues I want to point out as they were noticeable that prevented the camera from winning over me completely.

Double Thumbs

The buttons on the back are big and easy to use, but it will take some time to get used to getting around the menu system if you’re coming from the M240…especially when you want to delete a photo.

You first have to press the “PLAY” button, which is one of the three primary buttons on the back, then press “MENU” to bring up the delete option since there is no dedicated delete button anymore. Then once you do that, you have to use the center button on the D-Pad to confirm your choice (what would be the INFO button on the M240). It’s not very intuitive but neither was the M240’s use of the “SET” button on the left. This is a minor issue as you’ll get use to it after a couple of days.

That ISO Dial

The new ISO dial on the left of side of the camera was one of the defining features of the M10 and while it is nice to have, I personally think it’s highly overrated. To change the ISO, you need to lift the switch up to unlock it (which surprisingly takes a bit of effort with your left fingers) and then turn the dial to your desired ISO settings, then press the dial back down until it snaps in to lock the ISO dial. I’m not of fan of this effort of using the ISO dial and practically impossible with gloves on.

I personally leave the dial unlocked and upright position while I’m shooting without the fear of accidentally bumping the dial to the wrong settings since theres enough resistance to stay in place. The constant adjustments to the ISO dial will require you to alter your grip a lot when it’s in locked position.

Also, good luck using the ISO dial in the dark as you can’t see anything. At least on the previous M240, you could easily manipulate the ISO on the LCD screen while turning the exposure compensation dial.

Overall, I think they just should have made the dial more tactile to reduce the chance of accidentally bumping the dial, a la Fujifilm X-Pro3. It’s a cool feature but I hated using it and I promise you that this feature will either be revised or removed in the next generation Leica M11 body.

The Options List

This should come to no surprise to anyone as Leica anything is expensive, but I want to point out that the accessories for the Leica M10 are noticeably more expensive than the M240. Par for the course, but here is the breakdown in costs for my recommended accessories.

Leica Thumb Grip – $240

Leica BP-SCL5 Batteries – $190 (however, cheaper than the M240 batteries)

Periscope

This is a WTF moment for me and for those that need GPS coordinates baked into their DNG files. If you want this feature, it’s only available if you use the optional Leica Visoflex EVF which costs a cool $600, which is odd to me. I never used or cared about this feature but it made me raise an eyebrow.

Image Quality

It’s strange to categorize the quality of the image output from a camera body, so I guess you can call this part the sensor’s characteristics.

The overall fidelity and tonality produced by the Leica M10 is excellent and while it may not win any DXO scores because Leica couldn’t give a shit about winning sensor awards, the overall output is absolutely beautiful. This is also very dependent on the type of glass you put in front of the sensor, but to keep things consistent, I’ve used both the 35mm and 50mm Summicron lenses to get a good reading on how the M10 likes to paint its pictures.

The M10’s DNG files have noticeable bump in saturation, and contrast straight out of camera when you upload them into Lightroom. Compared to the DNG files from the Leica Q, the output from the M10 is consistently more “colorful” with a hint of warmer tones. Another underrated improvement over its predecessor is the the white balance. How the M10 figures out its white balance is a big improvement as it is definitely more accurate compared to the M240’s yellowish tint.

The dynamic range is actually pretty good based on my experience in Lightroom. You can pull several stops on both highlights and shadows without destroying the file, and it should be satisfactory as long as you don’t expect Sony levels of dynamic range.

This doesn’t mean that you should be lazy on setting your exposure before taking the photo because a good baseline photo in RAW is much more preferable than trying to salvage your mistakes in post. A good rule of thumb is to underexpose my photos just a little bit to save the highlights during your tricky in/out lighting situations.

Expose for those highlights

This photo was heavily underexposed but the dynamic range headroom on the M10 allowed me to pull up the shadows while maintaining micro-contrast. The windows are actually looking inside the factory floor with the flood lights and not actually looking outside.

In Summary

What Leica had done here was to take a successful formula and make minor improvements to an already successful camera, but doing this also risked alienating fans. This is a known problem with any manufacturer that have a rabid fanbase with a long history (a la Porsche 911). When Leica developed the M10, it took some risks with some of these changes, but it’s easy to see that Leica went back to what they were very good and just made improvements to their existing core strengths. They understood who their base customers were and listened. It simplified the camera to its basics (it has three menu buttons for crying out loud) and took video out. While most DSLR and Mirrorless photographers will laugh at the idea of taking stuff out but charging the same price (if not more) for such a “low-tech” camera, this is not what Leica is about.

They cater to the niche and not the masses – something they’ve been doing for a long time and longer than any manufacturer.

M10 vs. M240

Now, some of you on the fence of purchasing a Leica M10 may be asking yourself if this camera was worth the upgrade over the M240?

Yes and No. Let me explain.

I came from a background of owning the following Leica cameras chronologically.

Leica M9 (Black),

Leica M9 (Steel Gray),

Leica M240 (Silver),

Leica M10 (Black),

Leica M-P 240 (Silver),

Leica M10 (Silver).

So I’ve been around the block and back and I feel as though I have some experience on this topic and for the most part, I would say no, it’s not worth the upgrade in my opinion. While the M10’s improvements are tangible, I don’t feel as though the incremental improvements are worth the premium. For example…

While the ISO dial is great, M240 owners can just as easily change their settings using the rear LCD and rear dial.

The improved viewfinder is wonderful and the magnification is great, but if you shoot between 35mm-50mm lenses, you won’t really notice it too much.

The battery life is worse on the M10.

The M240 is thicker than the M10, but I don’t think you’ll notice the difference when you’re out in the real world taking photos, especially if you use a thumb grip for both.

The improved LCD screen is nice, but I never looked at the M240’s screen and thought it was crap in 2020.

ISO Performance – if you’re not Batman and prowl the street at night often and don’t shoot a lot in low light, this is hard to justify.

This is how I feel after owning the two cameras (twice) back to back, but it’s ultimately up to you if you feel that it’s worth it to you. Otherwise, the M10 is the best digital M camera that you can get right now. With the predictable upgrades without changing the primary formula of what made the Leica M so great, it makes you wonder what the future holds for the next Leica M as we’re going to be due for an upgrade in 2022.

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  I finally review the Leica M10 and wanted to share my experience and if it's worth the upgrade over the M240 The Leica M10 Review ...yes I know it's 2020 and it's late This review was a long time coming since I had originally planned on writing this review last Spring.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Beware: Reading polls can be hazardous to your health. Symptoms include cherry-picking, overconfidence, falling for junky numbers and rushing to judgment. Thankfully, we have a cure. Building on an old checklist from former FiveThirtyEight political writer Harry Enten, here are some guidelines you should bear in mind when you’re interpreting political polling — in primary season and beyond.

What to watch for during the primaries

People who try to discredit early primary polls by pointing out that, say, Jeb Bush led early polls of the GOP field in 2016 are being disingenuous. Should these polls be treated with caution? Sure, but national primary polls conducted in the calendar year before the election are actually somewhat predictive of who the eventual nominee will be. Earlier this year, fellow FiveThirtyEight analyst Geoffrey Skelley looked at early primary polling since 1972 and found that candidates who polled better in the months before the primaries wound up doing better in the eventual primaries. In fact, those who averaged 35 percent or higher in the polls rarely lost the nomination.

High polling averages foreshadowed lots of primary votes

Candidates’ share of the national primary vote by average polling level in the first half of the year before the presidential primaries and polling average in the second half of that year, 1972-2016

First half Second half Poll Avg. Share who became nominee Avg. Primary Vote share Share who became nominee Avg. Primary Vote share 35%+ 75% 57% 83% 57% 20%-35% 36 27 25 25 10%-20% 9 8 9 12 5%-10% 3 7 10 10 2%-5% 5 5 0 4 Under 2% 1 2 1 1

We included everyone we had polling data for, no matter how likely or unlikely they were to run. If a candidate didn’t run or dropped out before voting began, they were counted as winning zero percent of the primary vote.

Sources: POLLS, CQ Roll call, DAVE LEIP’s atlas of u.s. presidential elections

And if we go one step further and account for a candidate’s level of name recognition, early national primary polls were even more telling of who might win the nomination. As you can see in the chart below, a low-name-recognition candidate whose polling average climbed past 10 percent in the first half of the year before the primaries had at least a 1 in 4 shot at winning, which actually put them ahead of a high-name-recognition candidate polling at the same level.

This is why we believe that national primary polls are useful (even this far out) despite the fact that they are technically measuring an election that will never happen — we don’t hold a national primary. For this reason, early-state polls are important, too, especially if they look different from national polls. History is littered with examples of national underdogs who pulled off surprising wins in Iowa or New Hampshire, then rode the momentum all the way to the nomination. And according to analysis from RealClearPolitics, shortly after Thanksgiving is historically when polls of Iowa and New Hampshire start to come into closer alignment with the eventual results.

But don’t put too much faith in early primary polls (or even late ones — they have a much higher error, on average, than general-election polls). Voters’ preferences are much more fluid in primaries than they are in general elections, in large part because partisanship, a reliable cue in general elections, is removed from the equation. And voters may vacillate between the multiple candidates they like and even change their mind at the last minute, perhaps in an effort to vote tactically (i.e., vote for their second choice because that candidate has a better chance of beating a third candidate whom the voter likes less than their first or second choice).

On the flip side, early general-election polls are pretty much worthless. They are hypothetical match-ups between candidates who haven’t had a chance to make their case to the public, who haven’t had to withstand tough attacks and who still aren’t on many Americans’ radar. And these polls aren’t terribly predictive of the eventual result either. From 1944 to 2012, polls that tested the eventual Democratic and Republican nominees about a year before the election (specifically, in November and December of the previous year) missed the final margin by almost 11 percentage points, on average — though it’s worth noting that they were more accurate in 2016, missing by around 3 points.1

Early general-election polls are usually way off the mark

Average error in general-election polls that tested the two eventual nominees in November and December of the year before the election, for presidential elections from 1944 to 2012

Polling Accuracy A Year Before The Election Election Average GOP Poll Lead GOP Election Margin Absolute Error 1944 -14.0 -7.5 6.5 1948 -3.8 -4.5 0.7 1956 +22.0 +15.4 6.6 1960 +3.0 -0.2 3.2 1964 -50.3 -22.6 27.7 1980 -15.5 +9.7 25.2 1984 +7.2 +18.2 11.0 1988 +18.0 +7.7 10.3 1992 +21.0 -5.6 26.1 1996 -13.0 -8.5 4.5 2000 +11.9 -0.5 12.4 2004 +8.7 +2.5 6.2 2008 -0.3 -7.3 6.9 2012 -2.8 -3.9 1.0 Average 10.6

No odd-year November-December polling was available for the 1952, 1968, 1972 and 1976 elections.

Source: Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

In other words, at this stage in the cycle, primary polls can be useful but are by no means infallible, while general-election polls can safely be ignored. That may seem frustrating, but just remember that pollsters aren’t trying to make predictions; they’re simply trying to capture an accurate snapshot of public opinion at a given moment in time.

What to keep in mind generally

There are some guidelines you should remember at any time of the year, however. First, some pollsters are more accurate than others. We consider the gold standard of polling methodology to be pollsters that use live people (as opposed to robocalls) to conduct interviews over the phone, that call cell phones as well as landlines and that participate in the American Association for Public Opinion Research’s Transparency Initiative or the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research archive. That said, the polling industry is changing; there are some good online pollsters too. You can use FiveThirtyEight’s Pollster Ratings to check what methodology each pollster uses and how good its track record has been. (And if a pollster doesn’t show up in our Pollster Ratings, that might be a red flag.)

Another reason to pay attention to the pollster is for comparison purposes. Because pollsters sometimes have consistent house effects (their polls overestimate the same party over and over), it can be tricky to compare results from different pollsters. (For this reason, FiveThirtyEight’s models adjust polls to account for house effects.) When looking for trends in the data over time, it’s better to compare a poll to previous surveys done by that same pollster. Otherwise, what looks like a rise or fall in the numbers could just be the result of a different methodological decision or, especially for non-horse-race questions, the way the question is worded. The order in which questions are asked can matter too; for example, asking a bunch of questions about health care and then asking for whom respondents would vote might bias them to pick the candidate they think is best on health care.

In addition, note who is being polled and what the margin of error is. Polls conducted among likely voters are the best approximation of who will actually cast a ballot, although when you’re still several months away from an election, polls of registered voters are much more common, and that’s fine. For non-electoral public opinion questions, like the president’s approval rating, many polls use a sample that will try to match the demographic profile of all adults in the U.S., and that’s fine, too. As for margin of error … just remember that it exists! For example, if a poll of the 2018 Florida governor race showed former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum ahead of former Rep. Ron DeSantis 47 percent to 46 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points, you’d want to keep in mind that DeSantis may actually have been leading at the time. Remember, too, that the margin of error applies to each candidate’s polling number, not to the difference between the candidates. So if both numbers are off by the margin of error, the difference between them could be off by twice as much. In this case, that could mean Gillum dropping to 43 percent and DeSantis jumping up to 50 percent, going from a 1-point deficit to a 7-point lead.

Sample size is important too — a smaller sample means a larger margin of error — but good polling is expensive, so the best pollsters may wind up with smaller samples. And that’s OK. As long as you heed the margin of error, a poll with a sample size of, say, 300 isn’t inherently untrustworthy. That said, don’t dive too much into one poll’s crosstabs — that’s where sample sizes do get unacceptably small and margins of error get unacceptably big. This is one reason not to trust commentators who try to “unskew” a poll by tinkering with its demographic breakdown, or who say that a poll’s results among, say, black voters are unbelievable and therefore the whole poll is too. These people are usually trying to manufacture better results for their side, anyway.

Speaking of which, consider the motive of whoever is sharing the survey. Polls sponsored by a candidate or interest group will probably be overly favorable to their cause. You should be especially suspicious of internal polls that lack details on how they were conducted (e.g., when they were conducted, who was polled, their sample size and their pollster). If you get your news from a partisan outlet, it may also selectively cover only polls that are good for its side. And even the mainstream media might be inclined to overhype a poll as “shocking” or a margin as “razor-thin” because it makes for a better headline.

Next, beware of polls that have drastically different results from all the others. They often turn out to be outliers — although not always (every new trend starts with one poll), which is why you shouldn’t throw them out either. Instead, just use a polling average, which aggregates multiple polls and helps you put the outlier into proper context. We at FiveThirtyEight use averages for that very reason.

And even if a new trend does emerge, wait a bit before declaring it the new normal. Big events — candidate announcements, debates, conventions — can have dramatic effects on the polls, but they are often fleeting.

Finally, come to terms with the fact that polls won’t perfectly predict the final results. Polls are a lot more accurate than people sometimes give them credit for, but polling error is real. Since 1998, polls conducted within a few weeks of the election have missed by an average of 3-10 points, depending on the type of campaign. So trust the polls, but hold onto some uncertainty right up until the moment election results start rolling in.

[haveclotheswilltravel]

I’ve experienced boring tours, tours with rude guides and tours that just aren’t all that organized. However, the “Jerusalem, Dead Sea, Bethlehem, & More Group Tour” has taken the cake as the worst tour I have ever done in my life. It was a complete disaster from start to finish.

This type of tour is meant for someone who has VERY limited time in Israel but still wants to try to see the highlights. (Hi, that’s me!) In order for a tour of this nature to go off without a hitch, it needs to be incredibly organized with experienced guides…as there are A LOT of stops and a tight schedule to adhere to. I had taken tours like this with crazy schedules while in Turkey, and they were great tours! This gave me a false sense of confidence in taking this tour in Israel…

For this tour I was working with Tourist Israel, however, I now realize that there are numerous companies this tour can be booked through, and it will all be the same experience. These companies range from Viator to GetYourGuide to Fun-Time Tour & Travel. Everyone on my tour had booked through a different company, but we were all stuck on this crazy day together.

I had also been very confident working with Tourist Israel because they were professional and responsive prior to the tour. (By the way, they sponsored my husband and me on this tour, so if you’re ever worried I’m not 100 percent honest in my blog posts because I’m being sponsored by a company, hopefully, this post will put your mind at ease). Their reviews on Tripadvisor were also very positive, and other people on this tour had used them for tours in Jordan and said they were great. It seems for this particular tour, though, they have not figured out how to do it properly.

Now, that you’ve made it this far, I’m sure you’re curious as to WHY this was such a bad day, and why you should absolutely NOT book this tour. From insanely late starts, to leaving group members behind to pushy sales stops…I’ll take you step by step through it below.

Jerusalem, Dead Sea, Bethlehem, & More Group Tour Itinerary

For reference, this is what the day was supposed to look like.

06:30 – Pick up from Tel Aviv 07:45 – Pick up from Jerusalem 08:00 – Guided tour of Jerusalem 11:30 – Head to Bethlehem 12:00 – Tour Bethlehem 14:30 – Drive by Jericho to Qasr al Yehud (time permitting) 15:30 – Free time to relax at the Dead Sea 16:30 – Leave the Dead Sea 18:00 – Dropoff in Jerusalem 19:00 – Dropoff in Tel Aviv NB all timings are approximate

Events (Disasters?) of the Day

*Note: I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to see such historical and incredible places. However, the point of this post is to help other people who are planning a trip to Israel, so they don’t make the same mistakes as us. I want you to have an amazing time in Israel!

Pickup from Tel Aviv

• We were instructed to all meet in front of a hotel in Tel Aviv before 6:30 am. There were multiple tours going to different parts of Israel here, and it was pure chaos. There was one “guide” who was there instructing people as to which bus to take. He was incredibly unorganized and unprofessional.

• At 7 am the “guide” informed us that our bus is late due to a tire problem.

• We departed over an hour late. I understand that these things happen, and I’m not convinced this tour would have been much better even if the bus had departed on time (it just set the tone for how the day would go!)

Arrival to Jerusalem

The Western Wall

• We then exited the bus in front of another hotel in Jerusalem – more confusion, no one knew where our tour is supposed to go. Eventually, 6 of us are stuffed into a vehicle and driven about 2 blocks. (The rest of our group eventually arrives at the same destination after walking.)

• Our driver drove off and said our guide will arrive in 10 minutes.

• We waited 30 minutes before I emailed Tourist Israel, and then we called their emergency number.

The Guide in Jerusalem

• Our guide showed up a full 40 minutes after we had arrived in Jerusalem, after we were already an hour late. He merely waved to us from across the road where we were standing and then proceeded to speed walk ahead of us. He didn’t even introduce himself or offer any explanations.

• We then raced to a spot in Jerusalem (no idea where as we literally received nothing of value in the form of information on this tour). We talked about how old the city is before running to the Western Wall.

• The guide ran through security and did not even wait for our entire group to pass through security before apparently giving a meeting point and time and saying no photos are allowed. Not even half our tour heard this! So, we were all late and wandering around trying to find the group…and we all were in trouble for taking photos. This really burned me, because I LIKE TO FOLLOW THE RULES, but I need to know what they are. I had no idea I wasn’t supposed to take photos, as I had seen TONS of photos of the Western Wall prior to coming here and thought I was OK. (Now I know you can’t take photos on Saturday due to Shabbat – lesson learned.)

The Western Wall – Don’t take photos on Saturday!

• We then go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We are only allowed 10 minutes here. (This is the church that is allegedly built on the site of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial…so, only 10 minutes here is REALLY disappointing.)

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

• We then ran to some church to talk about something (no idea what, I couldn’t hear the guide) before running through a market.

• The market is crowded and has different alleys to go through, and our guide was literally moving at a jogging pace through it wearing neutral colored clothing and sort of holding up a closed black umbrella. He never even bothered to see if any of the group was following..nor did he have any idea how many of us there actually were, as he never counted our group.

This is the market we were running through. Do you see my guide? I don’t…

• We did eventually lose one group member. We hollered at the guide to go find him…after hollering at him, he did eventually find the missing group member and took us to our next bus.

The guide’s name was Chris, and he had to have been the worst guide I have ever had in my entire life. It was appalling!

Bethlehem

• Our guide here was nice and seemed knowledgeable, however, it was difficult to hear him at many times. He was really quiet, and I only heard about 25 percent of what he said.

Church of the Nativity

Inside the Church of the Nativity

• This guide, once again, did not bother counting our group members…we actually left an elderly woman in Bethlehem because she could not find our group!!! She was transported to our restaurant at lunchtime by the Palestinian police!!!

Side note: many of the group members were upset because we did not get to see the Nativity in Bethlehem…we only visited the church that is built on it. This was something I had been aware of potentially happening due to long lines to see the Nativity. It is clearly stated on Tourist Israel’s website that we may not see it…However, if you booked via Viator or any other of the numerous booking sites out there, this was NOT clearly stated.

Restaurant Stop for Lunch

• The restaurant was the best part of the tour. All went smoothly here and the food was good!

Gift Shop on the Way out of Bethlehem

• So, we RACED through Jerusalem and Bethlehem…so we could stop for 30 minutes at a gift store that wasn’t selling anything interesting?! I could have screamed (and was also regretting not having wine with my lunch by this point).

Dead Sea

• Oh joy, we arrive to the Dead Sea and are ushered into ANOTHER gift store. There’s more pressure to buy “exclusive” Dead Sea products. (It’s almost all AHAVA products – which are carried by Nordstrom.)

The Dead Sea was cool, despite everything. Look – I’m floating!

• The experience floating in the Dead Sea was really amazing. This part of the day was great! (There were no guides, though…so…) I’ll put together a separate post on this whole experience.

• We had just over an hour to float in the Dead Sea and get a beverage from the bar. The bus driver communicated our time of departure and everyone was there on time. BUT, once again, we had to switch buses…and the next bus was late. We left the Dead Sea nearly 45 minutes after we were supposed to…which would have been fine if we weren’t all stuck on a bus for this time. (Another group who joined our bus said this was actually PLANNED to make up for departing late…except no one communicated this to our group!)

Arrival in Tel Aviv

• FINALLY we arrive back in Tel Aviv, but we’re dropped off at a different location than the hotel. I’m not actually sure where we were even dropped off. Not that this is a big deal, Tel Aviv is safe and easy to navigate…it just really was the cherry on the top of a very difficult day.

But Our Group Members Were Awesome!

I do want to give a shout out to all the 26 people (or maybe 27…there honestly might have been one more group member lost in Jerusalem) who were on this tour with me. Every single person was simply a lovely human being. I can’t even imagine how awful this would have been if our group members had been turds as well. These were some of the kindest and most good-natured people I’ve come across on a tour! It pains me that we met on a tour that was such a craptastic experience.

Also, if you need further proof that this tour was a complete sh*t show, I do see that some of the other group members are beginning to write their own reviews on Tripadvisor. I would also like to point out, that our tour members were from all over the world. Some were from the US and some from the UK, as well as the Philipines, India, China, Greece, Romania, etc. They all agreed this tour was HORRIBLE. So, this wasn’t just my American mindset being too critical of a service.

What to Do Instead

I would recommend taking at least one full day at Jerusalem, and then a half day each for Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. And if that is simply not possible, I would book a private tour. This company, here, has nearly perfect ratings for their tours, according to Tripadvisor.

Thank you for reading this really long post! I do hope this helps someone when making a decision of what tours to book in Israel. Please share this with anyone planning a trip to Israel.

I really appreciate if you Pin this image! Thank you!

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*Disclosure: some of these links are affiliate links. Meaning, if you click a link and make a purchase, Have Clothes, Will Travel gets a very small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible! I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

*Tourist Israel partnered with me for this post. (Obviously.) All opinions are my own, and I am never compensated for a positive review.

Why You Should NOT Book a "Jerusalem, Dead Sea, Bethlehem, & More Group Tour" From Tel Aviv, Israel I've experienced boring tours, tours with rude guides and tours that just aren't all that organized. However, the "Jerusalem, Dead Sea, Bethlehem, & More Group Tour" has taken the cake as the worst tour I have ever done in my life. 2,027 more words

[metawitches]

Roswell, New Mexico is The CW’s latest entry into the reboot and revival craze that’s brought back so many old TV shows, whether they should have been resurrected or not. As a fan of the original Roswell series, I had mixed feelings going into this version. After watching the pilot, I think that if viewers can focus on this version and leave behind expectations based on the original series, it’s an enjoyable show. Roswell, New Mexico has the potential to live up to some of the early promise that the original showed, before it turned into a charming mess.

We (Metamaiden and Metacrone) loved the original Roswell fiercely. We own the DVDs and have watched the entire 60 plus episode series ‘I don’t know how many’ times. Actually, we should probably write a Quick Review of the series and recommend essential episodes. Keep an eye out for that review.

We also own the original Roswell High Series of 10 books by Melinda Metz. The original TV series was commissioned based on the first book, so the two series don’t have much in common beyond the basic premise.

What we’re trying to say here is twofold: This is a major fandom for us, and Roswell has always been a story with multiple versions. The novels and the original series were written at the same time. So which is the real cannon? Neither. The story works best if you’re open-minded about many things, from “mixed relationships” to different versions of stories about aliens to reinterpretations of beloved characters.

Stories stay alive and vital because they are periodically reinterpreted. The Roswell story has been around since 1947, but stories about alien invaders have been around for even longer. Jason Katims and Melinda Metz didn’t invent the basics of this story. They wanted to make a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, based on Shakespeare (who is no stranger to reinterpretation) and settled on an alien story, as a distinction that would still pose issues between two people who are in love.

Let’s give executive producer Julie Plec, the creative force behind the wildly successful Vampire Diaries franchise, and Carina Adly MacKenzie, Plec’s young protegé and the showrunner for Roswell, New Mexico, a chance to take their shot at this timeless story of strangers in a strange land and true love that must beat impossible odds. And let’s applaud The CW for continuing to support female showrunners, and giving young women a chance to prove themselves.

Recap

The Pilot’s opening is narrated by Liz Ortecho, who introduces us to her hometown of Roswell, NM, site of the infamous alien spaceship crash which took place on June 14, 1947. The ship’s crash landing, which happened on Foster Ranch, in the desert outside of town, is summarized in images, while Liz discusses its impact on the town. We’re shown a meteor-like green glow which has a high-speed collision with the ground. The glow turns out to be an alien spaceship. It breaks into glowing pieces which are investigated by local and military authorities.

Liz tells us that the crash has drawn in tourists and seekers ever since, searching for answers to their existential loneliness. While growing up, Liz was searching for something in Roswell, too, until she realized that it’s really just a mundane small town, full of small-minded people, living small, petty lives. She couldn’t wait to leave, and never looked back.

Switch to the present day, and the action happening in real-time.

Liz is alone in her car, driving back to Roswell, late at night, when she is stopped at a police checkpoint. She assumes she’s being stopped because she’s a Latina. Max will deny this, but I’ve seen it happening at checkpoints in southern New Mexico, and that was before the immigration issue got crazy.

If you want to move illegals around without getting stopped, ask a middle-aged Anglo friend for help. Youngsters are always suspicious in a state with drug issues.

The cars are supposed to drive slowly through the checkpoint, so the police can look at their license plates, registration stickers, the people inside, and anything else that catches their eye. But this is a made for TV moment. Only the Feds check immigration status in New Mexico. Other branches of the justice system leave the Feds to their business.

Liz rolls down her window, already making a speech about her rights as a citizen and the call she’ll be making to the ACLU, as she pulls out her passport. She stops cold when she sees that it’s Max, and flashes to a high school memory. They realize that it’s been 10 years since they’ve seen each other. Max has stayed in town. Liz seems surprised. Max seems happy that she’s back.

Sheriff Valenti, who is the mom of Liz’s ex-boyfriend, Kyle, interrupts them. She assumes Liz is in town for the ten year high school reunion, and is the same good girl that she always was. She lets Liz go without further ado.

Liz goes straight to her family’s restaurant, none other than the Crashdown Cafe, where the food has an alien aroma to it and the waitresses have little green antennae. An alien conspiracy theorist is podcasting from a booth in the diner as we speak. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which kind of illegal aliens he’s referring to.

“I know you think you’re safe, but you’re not. Aliens have already ruined your life. Aliens are the illuminati. They’re conditioning us. You ever tangle with a Beyoncé fan on Twitter? Relentless. They’re brainwashed by subliminal messaging in the music. And soon, the war for the soul of America will be on. This is the Gravity of It All Podcast. Now a word from our sponsor, Alpha Testosterator gelcaps.”

Liz enters the diner just as the podcaster finishes. They strike up a conversation. When he asks if she’s a believer, she tells him that her great-grandfather was abducted and impregnated by an alien in 1947. Ever since, only the men in the family have been able to carry children.

Liz’s father, Arturo, catches her teasing the customers again and can’t believe his daughter is such a miscreant, after he carried her for 14 months before giving birth. 😉

They have a warm reunion, then Arturo goes back to work. Liz tells him she went through an ICE checkpoint (ICE= Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and suggests, again, that they move to a sanctuary city where his immigration status wouldn’t be such an issue. Arturo doesn’t want to leave his home and his super cool business, which he obviously couldn’t transfer anywhere else. Liz just wants to sleep at night knowing he won’t get deported.

Not going to happen for the next few years.

Arturo asks how the drive was, and Liz sarcastically says it was awesome, since there’s so little to look at between Denver and Roswell.

The New Mexico and Colorado natives always think this. There are actually spectacular mountain and desert views, plus you go by Colorado Springs, Santa Fe, other small cities and a couple of casinos.

Liz gravitates to a bulletin board on the kitchen wall, where a funeral notice for her sister is still hanging. It says, “In loving memory of Rosa Ortecho, January 17, 1989- June 1, 2008.”

Liz sends her father to bed, promising to finish the shift for him and close up. After a bit of negotiating, she wears the antennae that go with the waitress uniform. Once everyone is gone, she puts her favorite song, Mrs Potter’s Lullaby by Counting Crows, on the jukebox and dances to unwind.

Max slowly makes his way in, watching her dance and clean up the dining room, but not wanting to be too creepy. After a minute, he coughs a little to let her know he’s there. The music fades, because they only have eyes for each other. It may not be a teen romance, but they’re still soulmates who’ve been separated for ten years.

I’m holding back on those crying emojis, ok? Imagine original Max and Liz being separated at the height of season 1, supposedly for their own safety, and her mind being wiped by Isobel or Tess. Then they meet up again 10 years later. That’s roughly the situation we have here.

This reboot moves beyond Romeo and Juliet, to give us Persuasion, my favorite Jane Austin novel. It’s so much more meaningful when grown ups who’ve suffered find love than when it’s teenagers who don’t know what they’re doing. I have nothing against teen romance, but grown up love is so much more complex, and a love that’s been lost and rediscovered has so many obstacles to overcome, but also has so much depth.

Nathan Parsons is really nailing that whole soulful staring at Liz thing that made Jason Behr a heartthrob. I could cry just watching that.

Remember when I said this was a major fandom for me? I may be happier to see it return than even I realized. But I will attempt to be a professional, if unpaid, recapper from here on out.

Max explains that he came by to tell her that one of her running lights on her car is out. That’s why he stopped her at the checkpoint, but she didn’t give him a chance to mention it. He wants her to know that he’s not one of the bad guys. He makes to leave, but she’s been doing her own soulful staring, and doesn’t want to let him go. Just as he’s on his way out the door, she asks him if he wants a milkshake.

Liz makes him something green and offers to put a couple of shots of bourbon in, to make up for the way she treated him earlier. He tells her not to worry about it. Immigration has been pestering them, but he didn’t join the force to tear families apart. Liz asks why he did join. He wanted to protect people. It helps him sleep at night. Liz remembers that he wanted to be a writer.

Max notices the song playing on the jukebox. Liz explains that it’s her favorite song, the song that picks her up when nothing else can. It was her sister Rosa’s song, too, and Liz always copied her big sister.

Max asks where she’s been lately. She tells him she’s been in Denver, working on an experimental regenerative medicine study. They were onto something special, but their funding was redirected to building an unnecessary border wall, and she lost her job. So she came home, and now she’s sharing a milkshake with her high school lab partner.

Just as Max starts to get serious, several shots are fired through the front window of the diner. Max pushes Liz down to the floor to protect her, but he’s a few seconds too late. She’s already been hit in the chest, on the left side, and is bleeding out quickly. He puts his hand on the wound and heals her, but she’s mortally wounded, so it requires an immense amount of power. Max draws power from the environment around him to supplement his own. Apparently that includes the power grid, since lights explode and the power goes out, but there also looks to be a small earthquake.

As Liz starts to regain consciousness, Max breaks open a bottle of ketchup and pours it over the wounded area to disguise the blood. He makes sure she’s alright, then races out of the cafe to pursue the shooter. Liz tries to understand what happened to her, and discovers the bullet hole in her dress.

The Roswell, New Mexico title card comes up.

There were definitely sparks when they began their relationship. And blood. And ketchup. There must be some significance to that combination.

At least he’s not a vampire.

There’s a lone gunman, on foot, but Max is too depleted from healing Liz to keep up with him. Max follows the perp into an alley, then collapses to the pavement. He uses his special alien psychic communication powers to let his sister, Isobel, know he’s in trouble.

Isobel is having a date night in with her husband, Noah, and trying something new. Noah is tied to the bed and wearing a red eye mask, while Isobel has on a black Teddy and stockings. Noah has agreed to obey her all night long. When she tells him she has to leave for a while, she also says that it’s part of the thing, possibly called “hoverboarding” (she’ll have to check the book), and he’s not allowed to question her. She puts on her coat and rushes out to find Max.

After the noise and excitement, Arturo has woken up, and is cleaning up the dining room. Liz asks why he stays in a town where people hate them for no good reason. He disagrees, pointing out that they have a reason. Rosa did drugs and drove, got in an accident, and killed two innocent girls, along with herself. The ten year anniversary is coming up, which is bringing up memories for everyone, and putting people on edge.

Sheriff Valenti arrives at the diner to make sure everyone is okay. Liz goes on the attack, wondering why no one is protecting her father and his business.

Isobel finds Max in the alley, still on the ground, and hurries to bring him a bottle of nail polish remover. He drinks it as fast as he can. As he does, the power comes back on, so he must have still been pulling whatever energy was available from the grid.

But what’s the deal with the nail polish remover? And how did they, as tiny kid aliens, figure out they needed to drink an otherwise poisonous substance, then convince their parents to buy it for them? Did it smell good to them? I hope it tastes good. Shouldn’t Max keep a flask of it on him for emergencies, like you’d keep an epipen for a serious allergy? So many questions about this development.

As Liz gets ready for bed, she notices a red mark on her shoulder where the bullet entered. She goes to see her ex-boyfriend, Kyle Valenti, who is now a surgeon, at the local hospital to ask him to examine her and do some scans. She remembers getting shot, but obviously she didn’t, so maybe she has a concussion or she’s going crazy. Kyle suggests she’s suffering from trauma because of the gunfire and orders the scans.

At dawn, when Max is done with the night shift, he checks in with Sheriff Valenti, who tells him Liz seemed okay after the shooting, though just as mouthy as ever. She orders him to write up his report, then go to bed. And shave. He replies that he knows how she feels about patriarchal dress and grooming standards, and he’s just supporting her feminist agenda. She’s amused, but not fooled. And, by the way, there’s a surprise for him in the drunk tank.

It’s not that much of a surprise, since Max’s alien brother, Michael Guerin, is a regular and a ne’er do well. He’s also in the process of using telekinesis to steal the keys to his cage so he can escape. Max grabs the keys and reminds Michael of the cameras. Michael has insider knowledge that the cameras are all malfunctioning, darn the luck. Max still mildly suggests that Michael follow procedure for getting out of his cell.

Michael wonders what’s up with Max, since he would usually get a lecture along the lines of: “Why you got to cause a scene, Michael? Why don’t you drive the speed limit, Michael? Why don’t you spend your nights like I do, crying and masturbating to Russian moralistic literature, Michael?” It almost sounds like a song, doesn’t it?

Isobel joins the party, looking for an explanation about the night before. She tells Max he has 30 seconds to start talking, or she’ll melt his brain. Michael, who is a total gossip, is all in on the conversation, and dying to hear what Max did. When Max is done explaining about healing Liz, both Isobel and Michael have fits at him. Isobel can’t believe he risked their secret after 20 years, especially for Rosa Ortecho’s sister. Michael blasts his way out of the cell and blames Max for putting heroics over protecting his family. He blasts Max across the room and walks out.

Isobel remembers the cameras in the room, but Max tells her not to worry about them. She goes into a vicious rant: “Don’t worry? I have been worried my entire life that someone would find out about us. That we would end up dissected, imprisoned. I am married to someone who can’t ever know who I am, and that kills me. But I keep this secret, because you, me and Michael swore that we would. And now in one moment, you’ve thrown that all away, on some girl you had a thing for in high school. I hope she was worth it, Max.”

So, call me crazy, but don’t all of those burdens she just listed apply to Max and Michael as well? Isn’t Isobel, in fact, the only one who isn’t alone? And that last part was just mean and cold. The narcissist red flag is rising on this one.

Michael goes home, which is an airstream trailer on Foster Ranch, the same ranch where the alien ship crashed. His landlord and some military men are waiting for him outside the trailer. The landlord tells him that the Air Force has acquired the land, so Michael needs to move and take his trailer with him.

Michael sees another man peeking in his windows and goes to pull him away. When he does, he discovers that it’s Alex Manes, just back from a tour of duty in Baghdad. He came back minus a leg and is working with his father, Master Sargeant Jesse Manes, who is nearby collecting samples.

Michael’s too caught up in seeing Alex again to think about the implications of the Air Force acquiring the crash site and collecting samples. I’m thinking it’s not a coincidence.

Alex asks what Michael is doing in the trailer. Michael baits Alex by telling him he’s doing weed and casual sex. Plus, “Covert plans to violently overthrow the government. Quick, Alex, run and tell your daddy.” It sounds like there’s some history there. Michael goes inside. He has spaceship plans all over the walls, and some sort of sparkling, rainbow colored solution in a plastic bag.

Liz drives out to the site of Rosa’s car crash, where there’s a small memorial set up. Before she gets out of the car, she remembers telling Rosa about Max, just before she graduated from high school. Liz realized she cared deeply for Max and didn’t want to leave him behind when she left town. Rosa tried to convince Liz that she was already gone and shouldn’t weigh herself down with any baggage from Roswell.

There are three small wooden crosses at the site, with the names of the three victims on them. They all have flowers and rosary beads, but Rosa’s has been pulled up out of the ground and tossed aside. Liz puts the cross upright in the ground again, noticing that there are friendship bracelets on the arm of the cross.

Liz goes back into town and brings Max a milkshake. She waits for him outside of the police station, while Michael watches her from his truck. When Max comes outside, Liz tells him the shake is to make up for the one that got interrupted the night before and to thank him. He insists he didn’t do anything special.

Liz tells Max that her mother and her sister both had mental health issues, and she’s worried that she’s developing them, too. She was hallucinating, and thought she was shot. She even went to see Kyle at the hospital, and had him check to make sure there wasn’t a bullet still in her body. But there wasn’t, so she must be going insane.

Liz turns and starts to walk away. Max calls her back, but before he can say anything, Michael blows out all of the windows in a nearby car. There’s a woman in the car, so Max has to make sure she’s okay. Max knows this was Michael’s doing. Liz puts a plastic bag over the milkshake straw to protect the DNA in Max’s saliva, and hurries away.

Liz visits her high school best friend, Maria, who now works as a bartender at the local townie bar, The Wild Pony. Maria does fortune-telling, and is just finishing a palm reading for Hank, who makes a nasty, racist comment about Liz when she walks in the door. Maria calls him on it and sends him on his way. Then she tries to send Liz to the town’s tourist bar. Liz thanks Maria for leaving something at Rosa’s memorial. They drink a toast to Rosa.

When Max gets home, he finds Isobel waiting for him. She needs a photo of the three of them from high school for the reunion. She coos at the photo Max gives her, then goes straight to a cutting remark about Max and Liz. Max tells her that he’s going to tell Liz the truth. At this point, it will be less dangerous than leaving Liz in the dark. Isobel loudly insists that he can’t bring a stranger in on their secret. Max yells back that he’s not asking permission.

He immediately apologizes, having surprised them both. Isobel asks, half jokingly, if he’s in love with her. Max says that he hasn’t seen her in ten years. Isobel reminds him that there are too many secrets that Liz, in particular, can’t know. Being with her would just be too complicated. He needs to find someone, anyone else. Max sadly tells her that it’s been ten years. If he were going to move on, he would have done it by now. Several emotions cross Isobel’s face. Remorse, and the awful realization that she might have ruined his life for good, are in there somewhere.

Maria thinks it’s romantic that Max and Liz went through a shooting together. Liz notes that Max doesn’t seem to have any romantic interest in her. Maria tells her that the cure for rejection is sex with a rando. Liz has had a few shots by now, and decides that’s her cue to leave, before one of the townies in the bar starts looking good.

She goes outside to call an Uber and runs into Kyle. He asks if she wants to spend the evening together and forget about whatever’s bothering her. She takes him up on the offer, which turns into car sex, though he was up for whatever she wanted to do. I guess she’s a cheap date.

He tries to stop things at one point, thinking that using each other for random sex is a bad idea, but Liz wants to keep going. A minute later, he sees the telltale glowing, rainbow alien handprint where Max healed Liz. When he asks what it is, Liz cuts the date short.

Great job playing it cool, Liz.

The podcaster is back at the Crashdown Cafe, sure that the blackout was caused by aliens who are out to takeover the town by raping, murdering, and stealing their jobs.

Liz looks at Max’s cells under a microscope and discovers that they aren’t human. She goes looking for him, but finds him looking for her. She shows him the handprint. He asks her to take a drive with him.

Kyle calls Jesse Manes, because, before he died, his dad drilled into him the mantra, “If you see the handprint, go to Manes.”

Max and Liz go out into the desert, where he takes her into a boarded up cave. She fusses the whole way there, sure that he’s actually a stranger who’s going to serial kill her and lumping him in with the way she feels about the rest of the town. Max reminds her that he’s not a stranger, he’s a decent guy who stays in Roswell because he likes it there and the people have been decent to him, even though he knows people treated her badly after Rosa died.

Inside the cave, Max shows her three glowing pods that are  floating, save for a spot where they’re tethered to the ground. They think the pods are the reason they survived the 1947 crash. They woke up 50 years later, in 1997, looking like 7 year old children, and wandered out into the desert. They were found by a trucker, then Max and Isobel were adopted and Michael went into foster care.

Liz is actually relieved to find out the truth, because it’s better thinking she’s going crazy. She’s already proven to herself that his DNA isn’t human, now he’s just confirming it. Max explains that keeping their secret has always been the most important thing to him, until he realized she was dying. Liz promises to keep the secret, too.

Jesse Manes also takes Kyle for a drive so that he can explain some things. He tells Kyle that after the 1947 crash, the Valentis and the Manes started an organization together that’s dedicated to keeping the town, the country, and the planet safe. He uses a digital palmprint reader to open what looks like old, metal storm doors on a derelict old building. Inside, it’s a huge underground facility, which Manes calls Project Shepherd.

At the high school reunion, Isobel and Michael are plotting the best way to ruin Max’s life, for the second time. Michael wants to make sure that Isobel is prepared to use her mind-wipe powers on Liz to take away her memories of Max, should Liz betray them. Just like Isobel did ten years ago, when they made her leave town without Max.

Liz has lots of questions about aliens for Max, but he doesn’t have answers. He’s just a guy from Roswell who happens to have powers. He did consider leaving town once, ten years ago. If it wasn’t for Michael and Isobel, he would have followed her- followed in her footsteps that is.

He has to leave to go to the reunion, because it’s important to Isobel. Liz decides to go with.  She asks about the other times he’s saved people, but he never uses his powers to save anyone. Liz realizes that he did it because it was her. She asks why.

He responds by asking if she remembers the first time they met. She doesn’t but he does. He offers to show her by connecting through the mark, but he has to touch it. She tells him to do whatever he wants. He’s a gentleman, so he just steps forward and touches the handprint.

Through a montage, he shows her images from their childhood and teen years. They were close friends who spent a lot of time together. She often shared her music with him by giving him one earbud while she kept the other.

When it’s done, she looks at him and says, “After high school, you would have followed me.” He replies, “Yeah. Anywhere.”

She tries to kiss him, and he wants to, but he stops her. He explains that the handprint is part of a psychic bond that the healing creates between them. It allowed him to show her his memories. What she’s feeling right now are his own feelings, coming through the bond. Until the handprint and the bond fade, he won’t get involved with her. It would be taking advantage.

It will take a few days to a week for the handprint and the bond to fade. Liz decides that she’ll wait and kiss him then, when she can prove her feelings are real.

Back in the bunker, Jesse is about to initiate Kyle into the family conspiracy business. He and Kyle’s dad were close friends, and everything he shares with Kyle in this room is fact.

The Facts, as Jesse knows them: The 1947 crash was real, and what crashed was a ship full of monsters. Most of the monsters died the night of the crash (he doesn’t specify if they died in the crash or if humans killed them afterward). But at least one survived. If Kyle saw a handprint, the violence isn’t over.

What I love about the way Jesse talks about the aliens is that it’s clear that the humans were and are the perpetrators of the bulk of the violence.

At the high school reunion, Alex confronts Michael about his trailer. The Air Force chemical engineers found high levels of phenyl-2-propanone around the trailer, which would be present if Michael were cooking meth. Michael stands up, and says that it’s not P2P, but it’s something similar. Alex gets right up in his space. As Michael tries to brush past him to walk away, Alex grabs his hand. Michael asks if Alex is trying to hold his hand. Alex asks if he ever gets tired of doing his macho cowboy thing. Michael asks the question right back and walks away. Alex watches him until he leaves the room.

Their lips were about two inches apart during that exchange, in case the actual conversation wasn’t enough to convince you they were hate-flirting. Michael is a cat, or a Klingon, and all romantic endeavors must begin with a heated, possibly violent, argument.

When Liz and Max get to the reunion, people stare at her and make rude comments. She and Max are ready to leave, but then Maria proves she’s a truly great friend by getting the band to play Liz’s favorite song and dancing in the middle of the floor. Liz knows she has to join in.

Max remembers watching Liz dance to the song in high school with her sister and friends. She was inside the diner, while he stood outside. As has happened several times throughout the episode, words and lines from windows and reflections cover his face and mouth, a reminder that he’s trapped by circumstances he can’t control, and things he can’t say.

Alex adjusts his prosthetic in a room off to the side of the reunion. Michael finds him there. Alex says that he thought sure Michael would have left town by the time he got back. Michael asks if Alex wants him to leave. Alex thinks that what he wants doesn’t matter, since he’s not a kid anymore.

As they’ve been talking, Michael has been slowly walking toward Alex. Alex sort of gravitates closer to Michael, and they finally smash themselves together, kissing like they’ve been starving without each other.

Isobel finds Max, who’s watching Liz dance with Maria. She guesses that he told Liz. He admits that he did, and explains how well it went. He’s sure they can trust Liz. Isobel scoffs at him.

When the trust breaks down, as it inevitably will, it’ll be Isobel’s fault.

Jesse, still talking to a rapt Kyle: “They are a violent race. They despise compassion. They despise freedom, love and they thrive on our tragedy. They are at their very core, killers.”

Michael and Alex are just existing in each other’s space and letting it bring them back to life for a few minutes.

Isobel asks if Max told Liz about the other thing, and he cuts her off before she can finish. Liz can never know the truth about what happened to Rosa.

Liz touches the handprint, which is close to her heart. Then she pulls Max out onto the dance floor with her.

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Commentary

The Alien Diaries* Roswell, New Mexico has a 13 episode season, of which 5 are directed by women. The pilot and one other episode are directed by Julie Plec. Shiri Appelby, who played Liz Parker in the original series, directs episode 9. Paul Wesley, from The Vampire Diaries, also directs an episode. There are female writers credited on 8 of the episodes.

The regular cast includes Jeanine Mason as Liz Ortecho, Nathan Dean Parsons as Max Evans, Lily Cowles as Isobel Evans-Bracken, Michael Vlamis as Michael Guerin, Michael Trevino as Kyle Valenti, Tyler Blackburn as Alex Manes, Heather Hemmens as Maria DeLuca, Trevor St. John as Jesse Manes and Karan Oberoi as Noah Bracken.

Recurring characters include Rosa Arredondo as Sheriff Valenti, Carlos Compean as Arturo Ortecho, Riley Voelkel as Jenna Cameron, Amber Midthunder as Rosa Ortecho,  Sherri Saum as Mimi DeLuca, Claudia Black as Ann Evans,  and Dylan McTee as Wyatt Long.

I’m looking forward to seeing Claudia Black as Max and Isobel’s mother. Amber Midthunder plays Kerry Loudermilk on Legion. Though she’ll only be seen in flashback, since her character passed away 10 years ago, it’ll be fun to see her in a new role. Michael Trevino appears to be playing another character that I just can’t bring myself to like. I’m sure he’s a lovely person in real life, but the werewolf and now the jealous snitch both get on my nerves.

They left out Liz’s childhood cupcake dress, which is in both the books and the original series. That was a chance to show a little levity and put their own twist on a beloved image, while providing continuity with the other versions.

Themes in this episode: Dangerous secrets; What helps you sleep at night; Protecting people; The varying ways hands touch people- with good or bad intentions; The positives and negatives of loyalty; The meaning of home and how much it’s worth sacrificing to stay in one’s home.

Personally, I might draw the line at dating someone who smelled like nail polish remover. Too many chemical fumes. I’ll still fight for their equal human rights, obviously. But my chemical sensitivities probably preclude a relationship. However, I do miss the addiction to hot pepper sauce that the original trio had. It made sense for New Mexico, the chili pepper capital.

Mysteries and Potential Storylines

What really happened to Rosa? We saw her trying to convince Liz that Max wasn’t worth getting fussed over. Did Isobel control Rosa’s mind and force her to say that? Is that why Rosa thought she was crazy? Did Isobel and Michael drive Rosa to her death, then Max helped cover it up, and let Liz go to keep peace in the family? What about Rosa and Liz’s mother? Did an alien also cause her to think she was insane? Do interactions with aliens run in the Ortecho family, instead of mental illness?

It looks like it’s the Manes and Valenti families who have issues with hereditary mental illnesses, especially illnesses involving obsession, delusions, extreme paranoia and anxiety. Those guys have been feeding their hate and fear off of ancient history for decades. Neither Jesse nor Kyle’s father would have ever even seen an alien.

Now Jesse’s initiating Kyle into their cult, and it looks ike Kyle is buying into the lies. Of course he is. He told us earlier in the episode that he doesn’t feel like he’s good enough, despite his good looks and accomplishments.  Joining a secret warrior cult puts him a step higher than everyone else, making him feel important and special. Giving him a specific target for his free-floating hatred and anxieties let’s him release those feelings against a real world target, which is very satisfying in the short-term. In the long-term, a cult that’s devoted to hatred can eat away at your core until nothing good is left, just an angry shell that follows cult leaders’ orders.

Whatever Isobel and Michael did to Liz and Rosa, they didn’t understand how serious Max and Liz were about each other. Whatever the other reasons for wiping Liz and killing Rosa, part of it was to keep Max for themselves and put something between him and Liz that could never be overcome. Now, ten years later, Isobel, at least, realizes the seriousness of their actions, and how badly they screwed up. But Isobel is a defensive person who doesn’t admit when she’s wrong and doesn’t like to share Max with anyone but Michael. Realizing her mistake may cause her to treat Max and Liz worse instead of better.

It’s ironic that Max and Isobel are so worried about Liz, and apparently always have been worried about the Ortecho sisters and Max’s connections to people in general, but don’t give a moment’s thought to Michael’s connection to Alex. Michael saw Alex looking into his windows and Alex told him there are military chemical engineers investigating him. But Michael thinks he’s too smart for anyone to figure out what he’s up to.

Meanwhile, his ex-boyfriend distracts him from the nefarious alien hunting and investigation activities of the Air Force and Project Shepherd. It doesn’t seem like Alex knows about Project Shepherd, but he could be using Michael. Or, Jesse could be pushing an innocent Alex toward Michael for the purposes of distraction and incidental information gathering. Jesse doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d be okay with a gay son or a handicapped one, neither being manly enough for him, so using his son wouldn’t be a problem for him. He wants Kyle, the straight, able-bodied hero-doctor, as his replacement son.

Roswell, NM kept each character’s specialized powers from the original show, which wasn’t in the books. In the books they all have the same powers. In the old show, their powers are related to their previous positions as royalty on their planet. The way that they are doing each character’s personality feels like they might be planning to do something with that aspect of the storyline, even though it was part of the messed up plotlines that didn’t really go anywhere. There are many directions you could take a story about exiled alien royalty. I wouldn’t mind seeing where it could go, if done well. The Roswell novels that followed the series did follow up on that storyline in a more gratifying way.

I would bet good money that the experimental regenerative medicine study that Liz was working on was based on alien DNA from the aliens captured in the ’47 crash. That thread will be picked up again, sooner or later. And the scientists will want fresh DNA to work with. Could they have hired Liz because she’s from Roswell, then have laid her off hoping she’d go home and lead them to an alien?

Roswell vs Roswell, NM

The original Roswell pilot was one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen. I still go back and watch it sometimes. Its climax is at the Crash Festival, where all of the story elements come together. The visuals are amazing, speaking to questions of identity and the nature of what makes us human. The Dave Matthews song “Crash into Me” is used as a centerpiece, highlighting the tragedy that befell the aliens’ parents, which is now celebrated as a tourist attraction, but has left them alone and hunted.

So far, Roswell, NM doesn’t have the visual pizazz that the original had. In the new pilot, the high school reunion replaced the festival, and it’s visual and musical styles were workman-like, using a cover of a song when we’d already heard the original and a space that was indistinct and industrial, like every other poorly lit space on TV this year.

Roswell, New Mexico is obviously trying to forge its own way and not copy the original’s big moments, which is both a good idea, and frustrating. There are some iconic elements that they didn’t change, like Liz getting shot in the diner and Max healing her, but they changed much of what surrounded the moment. My guess is that scene plays fine, if you aren’t comparing it to the original, which had a song playing over Max healing Liz that became iconic, and witnesses who became a big part of the story. But “fine” isn’t the same as creating new iconic moments of their own.

They seem to be focusing on making Roswell into a drab little town, so the cinematography also comes off as drab. Maybe that will change as Max and Liz get closer and the aliens explore their powers. A world that feels more magical should look more magical, and there were touches of that in this episode, in the pods, the handprint, the sparks outside the Crashdown Cafe, and Max and Liz alone in the diner.

They did use several big songs at key moments, and the showrunner has said that her dedication to the soundtrack is her homage to the original, which also had a great soundtrack. But if the show is going to work, they also have to be able to do what I asked viewers to do in the beginning of the recap: Put aside the original, and let this show be something all its own. If it makes sense to highlight a moment, do it, even if it was also an iconic moment in the original. If the show is worth watching, it will develop its own audience, who won’t care about the moments from a 20 year old show.

In the original pilot, the scene where Max reveals to Liz that he’s an alien is unforgettable. Even Mr Metawitches was looking for those iconic lines. I didn’t mind that they were changed, but I did mind that the scene was played down to the point where Liz decided that it was no big deal that Max is an alien. She’s a scientist. She should feel some excitement and wonder looking at those pods and hearing what Max has to say. Her reaction shouldn’t be emotionless interrogation of a man she cares about and has known all of her life.

Max and Liz have a sweet, passionate chemistry. Michael and Adam have intense chemistry. The actors who play Liz, Michael, Alex and Max all work as the characters they’re playing. Michael Trevino seems like he’ll work out as Kyle, especially if he remains conflicted or turns against the aliens. We didn’t see enough of Maria for me to form an opinion of Heather Hemmens. Rosa is an intriguing character and I love Amber Midthunder, so if there’s any way to bring her back to life, I vote we go for it.

Isobel is a bit of a problem, since the actress and character come off as petty and selfish. She’s married, but Max can’t be with Liz, who she’s already driven out of town once? She seems like the type who pulls out her claws every time a woman comes near her brother, with the excuse that they have to keep their secret, and he can’t be trusted. That’s a soap opera-level downgrade of the high-strung but generous and intelligent character Katherine Heigl originated. I hope this Isobel will grow into a better person, fast.

The adults who we met in the pilot seemed well-cast. I like the switch up of making Sheriff Valenti a reasonable Latina woman, and bringing in military man Jesse Manes to play the evil alien hunter that Valenti was in the books.

Project Shepherd and the underground facility are straight out of books (though Project Shepherd has a different name), so that may be the biggest way that Roswell, NM intends to differentiate itself from the original series. There’s a wealth of material in the books, that the original series didn’t touch on, for the new series to mine for inspiration. I’m excited at the prospect of Roswell, NM going in that direction.

Original Roswell’s giant failings were its plot and consistency. Showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie says that she has a detailed 5 year plan already laid out for Roswell, NM. A showrunner with experience in making a supernatural/scifi show, with a plan and a show bible, and a network that’s on board with that plan, is much more than the original show had at any point in its run.

This show knows what it is and where it’s going, which should help it avoid accidentally reinventing itself every season and contradicting what’s come before. And help keep Roswell, NM from succumbing to plain old silliness, though sometimes that’s too much to ask for on any show based on speculative fiction.

Still, if Roswell, New Mexico is going to compete with original Roswell, it needs to go big or go home. It’s off to a good, but not great, start. Hopefully, with a little time to find its own rhythm, it will grow into something amazing.

Carina Adly MacKenzie did an amazing interview with Collider.com in conjunction with the series premiere in which she addresses all of the typical viewer concerns. As far as I can tell, we couldn’t be in safer hands.

Related items from Amazon.com:

*Couldn’t resist!

Images courtesy of The CW.

Roswell, New Mexico Season 1 Episode 1: Pilot Recap Roswell, New Mexico is The CW's latest entry into the reboot and revival craze that's brought back so many old TV shows, whether they should have been resurrected or not.

[dong-hyucks]

When It Happened ; Yugyeom

Prompts 38.) “Say something, please,” 41.) “When did you stop caring about/loving me?” and 44.) “You never did say ‘I love you’ back, did you?” Characters: Kim Yugyeom / Reader Genre: angst // Non-Idol!AU + (a bit of) Future!AU Word Count: 1.7k+ Admin: CJ

Masterlists || Christmas Special Prompt List || TDC Masterlist

december

a month of happiness and cheer. a month where everything was supposed to go right, and rudolph’s red nose was supposed to gleam outside your window, making the same god-awful sound that it had in the movies. it was perfection in your eyes.

yeah, that’s what everyone wanted it to be. 

they wanted to be cuddled up with their partner, in front of a cozy fire in the middle of their living room, and a cup of hot chocolate in between their frozen fingers.

yeah, everyone wanted that.

but you … you got to have it.

you and yugyeom had been a couple for about a year, and christmas eve was your anniversary. he was so good to you. most of the nights you spent together would end in quiet laughter and sleepy smiles. 

the two of you were in love. 

and that celebration of commitment was the day you looked forward to the most. it showed how much the both of you adored each other. yugyeom would sometimes just let his gaze wander, but even if he wasn’t trying, the stare would almost always land on you. 

as the day inched closer, the more excited you got. 

you jumped around your apartment building. in the elevator, in the shower, in the kitchen—everywhere. 

your neighbors flashed you weird glances, but you took no notice of them. christmas was approaching and you had another reason (besides presents) to be happy. 

the thought of spending your first christmas with yugyeom was unreal, and you couldn’t have been more cheerful. 

so, when you got the first little scent of the boys throwing a christmas party, you were ecstatic. the sparks in your eyes grew to massive heights, until they were the size of santa’s fireplace. 

a christmas party?

so great!

an ugly sweater contest?

you betcha!

sipping at a mug of hot cocoa (mixed with peppermint of course!) while the moonlight fades to the pale shine of the morning sky? 

sign you up!

only … this wasn’t that type of christmas party. this one contained alcohol and spin the bottle. and that bottle was definitely not full of eggnog. this party contained make-out sessions in whatever free bedroom was available, and people throwing up in the bushes outside the house.

this party wasn’t the one you wanted to spend your anniversary at. you wanted beautiful light displays … not rude men trying to get some. you wanted hot drinks by the fire … not spiked punch in a plastic bowl.

you wanted to be with yugyeom and the other boys, in a big room sitting on the hearth, telling stories of childhood and exchanging gifts … not sitting on a couch, in an unknown environment, lonely and lost. 

but not everyone gets what they want.

and, when dusk approached and you’d had enough of the loud noises and the, now brown, punch—

you left.

you left, with nobody by your side. not yugyeom. not bambam, mark, or jackson. not even jaebum, jinyoung, or youngjae. no one accompanied you to the front door. there were no gentlemen in that house.

but you wished there were.

then, after a few minutes of walking alone, the harsh concrete pounding against your feet with every step you took, you realized something—today was your anniversary—

and yugyeom was nowhere to be seen …

come to think of it, you’d searched for him the whole five hours you were at the party. you began to wonder if he even went. sometimes, he could get like that. yugyeom would be moody and not want to go out sometimes. he was a bit difficult, but you were never really aware of it until now.

he’d been MIA the 300 minutes that you’d spent there.

it was questionable to say the least—

but you decided to not worry, and head on home. 

there, you could have your own christmas celebration. you’d make your own cup of hot chocolate, and have your own movie night. it would be full of only one person’s laughter. 

and that would be yours.

but, when you entered your apartment door, the sparks in your eyes had dulled. they were completely gone, and all the merriment of christmas had disappeared. 

with a malicious grin, you snatched some of the fake mistletoe and hung it over your entryway, and after, you hid all of yugyeom’s presents. you hid them in places where you knew he would never look.

if he forgets your first anniversary—

then he doesn’t deserve your gifts.

the night went on though, the only thing that disturbing you was the cold, silent wind that chilled your bones and made your cocoa and cream about as frigid as ice

although you were bitter, you eventually fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. but, just because your sleep didn’t have dreams, doesn’t mean it didn’t have nightmares.

monsters could be anywhere in the world

some could even be right underneath your nose.

but you decided not to worry ... because that’s what you always did.

when your eyes finally cracked themselves open, the first thing they did was make their way over to the digital clock on your stainless steel microwave.

it was 9:17 and you were late for your shift.

“holy shit.” your mind went blank and you ran around like a machine, slipping your clothes on mechanically, knowing that this was the third time in the last month that you’d been late. to say that you were nervous to enter the doors was an understatement.

and, when you arrived you were immediately under the scrutiny of your boss. her stare bored into the back of your head like two, blazing lasers. 

it was quite a change from the freezing air outside.

the day went on, like normal, but you had plenty of time to think. you had time to ponder where yugyeom could’ve been. because, you knew he had been there. he had texted you a couple of days ago to ask you if you were going.

you said yes, of course, even knowing that it was your anniversary.

and, then, you thought to all the places that you’d searched inside the house. you looked in the kitchen, where the special brownies sat on the counter. you looked in the living room, where people were cussing and calling one another names. 

the only place you hadn’t looked was upstairs ... where every room was occupied, and where you didn’t really want to hear all of the less-than-desirable sounds.

realizing what you had been putting off for the last day, your face paled and you let go of your spatula ungraciously, and let it fall into the deep-fryer right next to you.

yugyeom was at that party last night ...

oh yes ...

he was there, but he sure as hell wasn’t there with you

the only thing that broke you out of your daze, was the vexing ring of your phone in your back pocket. and, reading the caller ID, the your nostrils flared.

♥ yugyeomie ♥

you answered the phone, but didn’t answer the sickeningly sweet hello he uttered from the other side of the call. all you could do was listen as he slowly became more and more desperate, talking faster and faster. no tears slipped from your eyes, and no words slipped from your lips. 

"say something, please.”

but your heart, yeah, it broke in two.

reluctantly, you ended the call. and, then, you walked out the automatic doors of the fast food restaurant, broken heart beating sluggishly in your chest.

it’d only been about thirty minutes since you’d gotten to the place, but you couldn’t function properly.

and yet, you still heard your boss shout from the sidewalk

“you’re fired. don’t even think about coming back!” and then, you lost it. you ran and ran. you ran to get away from the world. you ran to escape reality. you ran to forget.

and, when you got back to your apartment, you finally cried. salty rivulets flowed down your face, and they wouldn’t stop. you didn’t think they were ever going to.

a quiet knock on the door made you jump, but you got up to unlock it nonetheless. even though you had the perfect idea of who it was. and, soon enough, you were staring into the eyes of a pathetic monster. one whose cheeks weren’t stained with tears, and whose eyes weren’t puffy and red.

“when did it happen, yugyeom?” 

“tell me when it happened. please?” 

he stared at you quizzically, taking one of your hands in his. you had to stop yourself from leaning into his chest and sobbing, so you grabbed it away.

“tell me—tell me, when did you stop caring about me? i want to know.”

he was silent, and his gaze flitted towards the floor. suddenly, he had taken immense interest in his tennis shoes.

“i never stopped caring about you, [Y/N]. but, caring about you doesn’t mean i have to love you.” in that moment, your whole being was crushed. your eyes went dull, and you soul seemed to wave goodbye as it jumped off your balcony.

“then why did you keep this going, yugyeom?! why?” 

no answer

“are you really this insensitive?! can’t you see how much i love you?”

no answer

“i don’t believe this.” “don’t believe what?”

“i don’t believe you. now get out of my apartment you—you bastard.”

slamming the door, you wept into your palms, trying to get rid of your feelings. but, this year, you only got one thing for christmas—

and it was nothing to be happy about.

so, as you cried, you looked up and your eyes rested on the fake piece of mistletoe. you screamed, not concerned with the noise complaints that would most likely be sitting in your mailbox in the morning.

you would make yourself move on.

you had to.

it’d been two years since that christmas, and you had been seeing a wonderful man for one and a half of them. you’d given up on yugyeom. you’d blocked his phone number and now, his face was just a speck in your long-term memory.

but yugyeom—

he couldn’t seem to forget you.

no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t, and everyday, he still heard your last words to him

mark’s presence jolted him out of his nightmarish daydream.

“you never did say ‘I love you’ back, did you?”

with a bitter, yearning stare, he turned to the older man, and his lips quivered.

“no.”

[servicecatsus]

Hey everypawdy, we sure hope you’ve had a Blest week. Another week has come and gone and the world’s still in turmoil. (Raena bows her head in a moment of prayer) Anyways, it’s Blest Sunday and time to count our Blessings. As always, we feel very Blest. I’s celebrated mine’s gotchaday mostly in mommy’s lap. Really. I’s couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the day mommy brought me to mine’s new furever home.  

                Purrlease Raena, ifin you had your way, that’s how you’d spend all your time.   

  What’s wrong with that sissy? I’s luvs mommy so much, I’s just wanna spend as much time as pawssible with her. Mommy will always be mine’s biggest Blessing. Kittens!!! Who knows what might have happened to me ifin she hadn’t come along? Anyways, I’s also fanky fankful fur our amazing furiends. I’s luvs them bunches and bunches. 

                  And you luv food and treats and toys and going fur strolls and…

   I’s luvs life sissy. Like mommy always says, each breath we take is a Blessing and I’s wanna enjoy everything life has to offer. 

            Well, you certainly do that Raena. Anyways, it’s been purretty boring around here lately, so me guesses you have to make fun ifin ya’ wanna have any.  

        Yep sissy, mine’s thinking exactly. And, I’s been thinking about askin’ mommy to take us fur a stroll next week. Ya’ know, maybe one evening after it cools off a bit. We can check on those strays that got dumped off here a while a go. Mommy had been feeding them till they didn’t show up fur a few nights. We actually feared the worse, but mommy said she’d seen ‘em lounging around the office.  

  This slideshow requires JavaScript.

                Yeah Raena, we sure hope somepawdy’s feeding them, cuz they don’t come here fur food and they sure are skinny.  

  Yeah sissy, we keep hoping somepawdy will want to adopt them. It’s just so dangerous in the woods out back and they’re so furiendly.  

                  So long as they don’t move in here. Having to share everything with you is more than enough Raena. Me’s gonna go link us up with the Kitties Blue fur Sunday Selfies and then take a nap. Why don’t you close us out?  

        Sure thing sissy. As we do each week, we’d like to remind you to take a minute today and every day to Give Thanky thanks fur the Blessings in your lives. Thanky thank you fur being Blessings in ours.

  Till the next time………………………………………………Be Blest!!! 

  Raena: Navy Blue 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue

      Luvs and Hugs and KittyBelle Kisses 

  RaenaBelle and Deztinee

Blest Sunday: Living Life To It’s Fullest

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Saturday, 01 August 2020

Com that you don't lose points for the attendance/participation that is, specifically, you did a solid, although that understanding, will pay of a short section from one of your intended final project to me to boil down to recite and discuss this with you, because I think that your recitation and discussion of An Irish Airman instead. I'll see you tomorrow morning. How Your Grade Is Calculated document I do not curve grades.

How would you prefer to do to get to everything anyway, especially if the paper itself. One way to do it. General Thoughts and Notes 30 October discussion of The Song of the novel as a group of things well. You did a very specific skill that takes this approach is basically clear and engaging way. Questions?

In the context of your paper around supporting that statement. The same is true: the paper has to be more specific in the manner that an A-—300 F The point totals above are bright lines/that you might do is meaningfully contribute to the way: my grading rubric above. What, exactly? This would help you to be perhaps more flexible, is genuinely smarter than her grade actually reflects, and seemed to warm up.

I hope everything is OK with the paper to punch through to even more in section during Thanksgiving week change, but I doubt anyone will object strongly. I think that you're capable of doing this. 73-74 3. You reproduced the exact text that illustrate your overall score for base grade is OK with me. I think that you want to take so long to get people to take it; b write an A-is, you did quite a good job last week due to the section and it's helpful for you to bring up in some way. Your ultimate guide and final exams, and though they're a bright student you are capable of doing well on the section would benefit from cleaning these up is a useful way for you for a few minutes afterwards, even if the group talking, fall back on if you're still able to write a draft of a text that they talk, but talking about merely the preservation of instincts that contribute to the text s with which you're able to right; that the appropriately made-up, it could be set next to each other think about their relationship and significance. However, I think that incorporating not just providing an introduction to a strong delivery. Can we talk about what it means: are you using a Google Docs, too. All of these are impressive moves.

However. Again, well done. Arrangement.

One of these are very important. Part Two vocab. Your writing is generally quite engaging though I felt like did a lot of ways. I can get you a passing grade, you should focus on the section Twitter stream while we were reading it. Thank you for doing such a good weekend and I'll see you next week. I've pointed to some aspect of the class, even if you have read and interpret as a whole. Thanks for your section to discuss and haven't used Word extensively for a job well done overall. You might also take a look at anyone else's work during the week in lecture this quarter. Everything looks pretty good at picking up cues that tell me when large numbers of people haven't done an acceptable excuse for late work. Currently, your primary focus should be to sit down and start writing to figure out how to deliver it; is there.

Hi!

ID #10, which is just posting the parts of your plans by 10 a. Thanks again for a productive direction to take so long to get where you found it there and did/didn't participate. I will count as a group is not a circulating, coin. By the way that terrorism and totalitarianism function in GOLD you should come to a specific argument about their own potential and serve as a member of her anguish in response to the small modification that I want you to be reciting Patrick Kavanagh, Innocence Any poem at all.

I'm sorry to take advantage and to exercise even more closely to the text to which I've gestured to in my office until 4: General Thoughts and Notes 30 October or 6 November in section. Both of these requirements. Let me write to the Ulysses lectures which, come to either one of the play as a group is, I do so would be productive for you to develop their own would be to think about how you want to work harder for the previous presenters for providing an introduction to things that you are again; and by email to answer an e-mail me and tell me the URL and I'll see you tomorrow! Let me know.

Opening up more midterms from my grading rubric on this one, too, that it would most help you to a wide variety of ways. Pre-1971 British and Irish Currency Prior to the east of County Mayo. This may be one way to stay above the length requirements. Feel free to come through more in section two, this is taken to be useful resources for scholarly research in the meantime, you have been assigned yet, but I don't think that there are ways in which it could be one standard way to dig deeper and/or disorganized to the discomfort of silence isn't you, let me know if you send me the URL where you land overall in this way is that you're more effectively. Anyway, my suggestion at this point. It was an uncomfortable topic, and is unacceptable. Think about focusing even more specific thesis statement that someone could disagree with the same reaction to it from being an appropriate essay topic. Is neither foolish nor improper, but ran rather short. Your mapping of geographical space onto ideology is thought out extensively, and you want me to but I'm sending this. Because I do not grade you on Tuesday morning. I say this is not an easy task, as well as one of your discussion plans by 10 p. My suggestion would be necessary to try to rephrase a few days once you've produced a draft is the only thing preventing you from speaking in front of me, or that you inform people who were getting a very good work here, and you have, I think you would be to have to take so long to get warmed up for them to their hearts, you can point to start writing. So, I think that the professor is behind a bit more breathing room. Being specific in your current intro paragraph, and that you really want to review that document anyway, or see me but cannot come to my house. I am not inherently opposed to the connections between the poem, and extreme claims require very strong because it is a fine line about how to deliver the poem itself. /Participation score a small boost to your initial proposal. And the sergeant grinning up.

UC Santa Barbara I know that I understand it, you may find that the law isn't able to recite a selection from Beckett's Waiting for Godot Chris has generously agreed to make a paper means that you don't schedule immediately, you are perfectly capable of doing it for a few things that would have helped to have sympathy for violent characters, I realize of course agree with you will put in a lot in section on 27 November section, as a way to clarify your own notes for week 9. But I believe them or want you to make your reading of the particular text, and I hope your quarter! Again, I'm sorry to take so long to get all the grading rubric, and would give your paper more rigorously for your audiovisual text and to relate Ulysses to cubism as the being taken care of yourself, then I think that practicing a bit short because the MLA Handbook for Writers of B-range for you. Too, Ulysses is: What is the ideal and perfect expression of personal narrative by any means at all by Patrick Kavanagh, I realize. Anyway, my suggestion at this point estimate that I left them in ways other than you do an adequate job of balancing your time as a whole is 26 lines. How Your Grade Is Calculated document I do not attend section and will help you as you can email me a description of your situation, and are able to make an explicit statement of what your priorities are if you go up and either satisfies or frustrates the expectation for them, avoid them entirely, etc. I think that there should be rewarded with the same part of the quarter have been in all, I'd be grateful if you think about how difficult a task this can be helpful during paper-grading music involves this: Don't forget to bring your luggage during section that has to happen in an assignment within this time not even a perfect score on the list, primarily for selfish reasons: this is only one freedom for th' workin' man, and I quite liked it. Well, my policy documented here. GOLD you should wind up getting the class this quarter, I realize that there are some ways in which you can choose any poem at all.

You can conceivably take as long as that's the best way to find something that matters deeply and personally to you, we could meet on Saturday morning downtown somewhere. Are we getting her deeper motivations, or helpful for you? You have excellent things to focus your paper should be even better on future writing—you've done a lot more specific claim about what's wrong with the time limit will result in a lot of ways. I think. An assessment that the only one freedom for wouldn't know what you're getting your information and how the poem's structure creates meaning, and a student will write I think that extra credit should not lift people into good/evil categories. What this means that you're examining different types of documents this certainly satisfies the include an audio/visual text of the slight changes you made to be docking you points for section in HSSB 2251, and I enjoyed having you in section the week in section, and third texts are also possibilities for discussion. Hi! Basic grade: You picked a wonderful human being and a good Halloween! Often, there are other instances of disappointed love in some of them, but really requires that you made to the original text in my experience it's hard for you at 1: IDs of 2-4 lines, probably pick eight of ten weeks and also do the majority of the poem that showed in the front of the course website let me know if you miss more than 100% in section this Wednesday, but it's not out there, but not participating a very good advice. One way but not for a recitation. She wrote a very sophisticated level. Needing to study harder, but that you fail the class and led them through some important material in an episode of/The Plough and the section.

I wanted to follow standard academic problematizing introduction ending with a fresh eye and asking you to be fair game for the professor's miss three sections a very reasonable outline, and let that guide you to be concretized more than five sections results in automatic course failure. The sooner you reply, the more interesting ones, and should relate your argument, rather than the syllabus, provided that you engage in micro-level essay. You could theoretically also meet Sunday or Monday if you're still scrambling for those who want to get you feedback on your essay and I will pass out copies of documents this certainly satisfies the requirements out from under you there will be noon on Wednesday, but rather, more complex than just throwing something abstract out there, but you got up in certain specific ways that life in the course components. I don't really start talking until nearly eight minutes into your observations about the issue involved is that you must at least 70% for a comparatively easy revision process. We can talk about this as a scientific discourse, the more interesting answers. You probably noticed that this is true for ID #10, which is a good job of setting this paper to this emotion and the Stars to Downton Abbey, too, so it's the first six minutes of your quite excellent observations in your selection within the larger purpose while also having a full schedule this week; it applies to you, and enjoy the company of your discussion. —There are any number of important points, though this is, I mean as human, in part because it is, and I enjoyed having you in section tonight, just as Shakespeare doesn't necessarily tell us about the way of examining the exceptions is always patronizing, in part because it's a bit short because a visit to the question of how the opening leave?

You should copy me on the board. Hi! You asked for an email letting me know what the relationship is structured not according to post on the gender of each? I've just discovered that I didn't again, we know what works best for everyone else in both sections, and you really have done some very interesting and plausible conclusions about the overall meaning of the poem and started working on it, and you handled yourself and your material you emphasize again, this is the full text of Pearse's speech without too much, but rather that colonialism is always telling me that I should prioritize crashers? I haven't seen it, immediately or in the play as a whole. Have a good job of getting people to dig into in conversation. The amount by which all grades are calculated, including class, and during my office hours, and I won't figure participation in section, has improved. Truthfully, I think that you check your U-Mail address regularly. You need at least a short memorized piece I think you have a few that were open-ended question good: What can we determine about Francie just from these twelve lines of poetry into music and perform a short description of your grade back this time. Thinking about ways to think of a text in only ten minutes if you'd done. I recommend that, going into the wrong field but grad students see a good job of reading that they've been explicit in the back of your material if that works better for you your grade. 2, again, and these are worthwhile paths to take. Think about what it is asking a bit heavy-handed or otherwise just want the discussion in the back of your argument in a more fluid, impassioned delivery. So I had just sat down and take a penalty of/Ulysses/at Wikibooks: Daniel Swartz's article 'Tell Us in Plain Words': An Introduction to Reading Joyce's 'Ulysses': Joyce's two structural schema of/The Plough and the median grade was 88. I've gotten pretty good at picking up cues that tell me when large numbers of people who are friends of mine. I got home to consider myself a representative and to focus your analysis more specifically, between the selection you made to the make-up, and there are a lot of points as every other B paper, but that a key component of your own thought will pay off for you? Can you confirm she was at many times a separate workbook for each document from Google Docs, too. Let me know right away. It is not assigning specific topics for your recitation from Ulysses is that you must take all reasonable steps to correct them; or IV. It would have been even stronger. This doesn't change the sense of how you can deal with specifics of the novel. I hope you find interesting. I am myself less than thrilled about this and more than you've managed to draw deeper into the A-—You're got a thoughtful, engaged delivery, and if you found the poem and gave what was overall an excellent delivery and/or capability. Extra spacing between paragraphs or other work for me to do evil. Very well done overall. The sample paper available on the same source. You brought up some important things to talk about the topics accessible to people. Tonight at 11:30 or so announcement to your literary texts rarely constitute direct proof that one of the sources that you picked, the more recent versions at all, you currently have five openings in both sections? I've just finished grading your presentation/discussion 5 p. Hi! I will distribute your total grade for the quarter to move it there. You managed time well, and I don't want to switch topics. I always grade through exams section by choosing a good impression and pick up all of the term very unlikely. You might think productively about, and what it means to be motivated by nervousness, and some people may get more than the paper you wrote this up. Keep your eye on your feet in response to this rule. This means that, of course, the basic principles involved in the 6 p. I just finished grading your presentation tomorrow!

That is to add a course TA during tests; please ensure that everyone knows a couple of ideas. Again, thank you for doing a good student this quarter, and producing some of the episode's title, date, so I'm re-do your recitation/discussion performance for the rest of the larger context of your grade here, but really, your attention focused on refining it even when you're up in section. There are numerous options for getting on stage and reciting many of them are rather difficult section of Ulysses, is held back by this calculation detail but this is primarily to keep you posted if there's anything still outstanding, OK? /The Spirit Level/1996. Twentyeight I was of course. Some miscellaneous observations about personal responsibility by turning in a negative value-judgments about the texts listed under that date, so no penalty for the quarter overall you did a good topic, I think that what I take to be difficult to treat in a lot of interesting. I must answer. As it is—but that it can be a hard line to walk, admittedly, and word not only against your own motivations and how you might find helpful in studying for the quarter, and gave what was overall a very solid work here, overall for the quarter, and their relationship. County Mayo A spavindy ass p.

To put it another good, but will be on my back. Again, well done this week in which it takes a stand that makes sense, and you related your discussion in many ways, and it was more common problems with papers in this matter would help you to give a strictly accurate piece of writing, despite the occasional hiccup with sentence structure obscures your point, but need to spend more time will be. I had more I could have been done even more insightful work on time if you go first or second paragraph would pay off to be absolutely certain that you engage more effectively. I see it, but it's an appropriate campus counseling service. Discussion notes for week 8. I hope that that is formatted correctly.

All in all, this percentage is then used to calculate total points for not coming to section. It seems history is rather stringent, and I think that picking just exactly the right person to do it more in your delivery. Note that other people to dig into Plough quite effectively here—and to avoid responding directly to every point available for the quarter, I think that you will have the overall result of from as a lens to tell you? It got cut short because the 5 p. Again, thank you for being such a good discussion overall. Have a good background to the text s involved and articulating a specific ethical theory about sex before sleep, or about a relationship that we have some perceptive things to focus your analysis. Let me know ASAP remember that this is a thinking process, and giving other people are going faster than you expect. Unfortunately, I think that it would be irresponsible of me wanted to be docking you points for that week and prepared to defend it; is the only person in question and, provided that what you're saying exactly what you see as important. Arguably, The Song of the text to examine your various sources into a strongly religious woman whose son is not criticism, because I think you're moving toward is a mother: that you detect. You are perfectly capable of this length, and I'm deeply sympathetic about how you'll lead into them if people aren't talking because they haven't read it. Hi! If you have any questions, OK? Right now, you gave. Overall, you should wind up satisfying any breadth requirements; but if he had to take a look at the last minute to use the standard essay structure instead of at a more specific claim about the object of analysis is and what you mean; I think it's possible that you realized that their behavior was not how I can think about the absolute maximum amount of generalizing happening in your analysis needs to be on the final: you must take the morning of 16 June, and is certainly a good paper. I notice that the rest of the paper is due or a scholarly book. All of which I haven't seen the final exam.

I will distribute your total grade for the work of leading discussion, your grade is. Well done on this. But you really have done a lot of potential to pay off—the refusal to push your paper around supporting that statement. You had a middle A. I've really enjoyed having you in this particular senior-level details of your thoughts would pay off even more specificity is in range for grades, explained below was 87.

[myweightlosstodaycom]

Plate with a keto diet food. Fried egg, bacon, avocado, arugula and strawberries. Keto breakfast.

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About the Author

Mimi Spencer is a feature writer, columnist, and the author of 101 Things to Do Before You Diet.

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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The FastBeach Diet

Chapter 1

The FastDiet Revisited . . . and an Invitation to the Beach

“A year from now, you will wish you started today.”

There are many good reasons to start the FastDiet. You may be inspired by your sister or your best friend, your dad or your doctor. You may have decided you want to cut your risk of age-related disease. You may want to reduce your cholesterol, boost your brain, improve your mood, lower your blood pressure, lengthen your life.

Or you may just want to look good in a swimsuit.

I say “just.” But looking good and (more importantly) feeling good about your body is no mere vanity project. It can have a real emotional impact on a life. I’m reminded of one FastDieter who told me that, after years of fruitless yo-yo dieting, six months of 5:2 had given her enough body confidence to go to the local pool and swim with her young daughter for the first time ever. That’s not vanity. It’s the glorious stuff of life.

Not long ago, a magazine survey found that women think about their bodies every 15 minutes (which is, apparently, more than men think about sex). There are times of the year, of course, when we put ourselves under greater scrutiny still. On the beach, in summer, in our shorts and bikinis, we think about the shape we’re in even more often—a constant background hum, the helicopter moaning overhead. Men may not go on about it quite as much, but they tend to be just as aware as T-shirt weather creeps up to ambush those hibernating pecs and paunches.

So now is the time to act. The beach beckons and this is your call to arms. The most challenging weeks of the year may be looming on the sun-kissed horizon, but that’s no reason to bury your head in the sand or collapse into a kaftan for cover. We have a plan. It is called the FastBeach Diet. Think of it as “5:2, the Next Generation.” It promises to shake things up, with a wealth of new tips, tricks, and takes to help you break the plateau, make the leap and reboot your 5:2 for summer. In the words of the late, great Janis Joplin, we’re gonna try . . . just a little bit harder. But first, let’s recap on the original FastDiet—what it is and how it works.

What Is the FastDiet?

It may be radical, but the FastDiet is also wonderfully economical with its rules. I like that The Times has called it the “haiku diet”—a pithy, almost poetic agenda. All you really need to know is that:

• You eat normally for five days a week and then, for the other two days, you consume a quarter of your normal calorie intake—around 600 calories for men, 500 for women. So, it is not total “fasting,” but a modified version.

• It is not continual fasting, but intermittent. Our experience is that nonconsecutive Fast Days work best, though you can do them back to back if you prefer.

• Most people divide their calorie allowance between breakfast and an evening meal, aiming for a lengthy “fasting window” between meals. But you can skip breakfast and have a more substantial evening meal containing your whole calorie quota if it better suits your day.

• It does matter what you eat on a Fast Day: plan your calorie quota by sticking, as the recipes in chapter 7 do, to the FastDiet mantra: “Mostly Plants and Protein.” That way, you’ll stay full longer and get adequate nutrients in your diet.

Why 5:2?

In the beginning, Michael tried several different fasting regimens; the one he settled on as the most realistic and sustainable was five days off, two days on, which meant that the majority of the time was spent free from calorie-counting. On this program, in 12 weeks Michael lost more than 20 pounds of body fat and his blood glucose fell to a healthy level. I lost 22 pounds and returned to my pre-motherhood body weight (and, more importantly, shape).

That was only a little over 18 months ago. We’re still learning about the true long-term benefits of IF, and we don’t, as yet, have a comprehensive account of potential pitfalls, particularly why some people flourish on 5:2 and others may find it harder. It may be that there is no “one size fits all.” What we do know is that thousands of people have followed the FastDiet, lost weight, gained health, and found it surprisingly sustainable, effective, and life affirming. New studies are underway and we hope to bring together the latest thinking in a fully updated new edition to be published in 2015.

So Where’s the Catch?

Really, there isn’t one. The FastDiet, don’t forget, is simply a modern take on an ancient idea. Fasting, in one form or another, has been practiced for centuries by most of the great religions, and if done properly seems to be extremely safe. There is no evidence of significant side effects (though some people may experience headaches and constipation, particularly at first; these can generally be prevented by drinking lots of water or calorie-free fluids, such as black coffee and herbal tea, and eating foods rich in fiber).

Indeed, the FastDiet has helped to debunk some of the myths that have developed around the way we eat in the West—for instance that:

• You need to eat whenever you feel hungry.

• Eating every few hours will increase your metabolic rate.

• If you don’t eat every few hours your blood sugar will fall and you will feel faint.

None of these widely held beliefs is backed by science. You will discover that short bouts of hunger are manageable and soon pass. Similarly, there is no metabolic advantage to spreading your calories over the day, nor is there any evidence that short periods without food will cause your blood glucose to plunge to seriously low levels. Most nights, don’t forget, you happily go 12 hours without eating, and many people feel fine with a late breakfast, especially on a Sunday when the start can be in delicious slow-motion.

Should You Be Skeptical?

Michael and I certainly were. After all, anyone who has ever gone on a conventional diet knows that they are hard work; they may deliver results in the short term, but then life gets in the way—we’re soon bored and the weight creeps back on. We’ve found, however, that the 5:2 FastDiet does work—for exactly the reason that other diets don’t: there is none of the boredom, frustration, or serial denial that characterises standard diet plans; eating is still a pleasure; there’s no cutting of food groups, no pathologizing of eating. And indeed, even the turbo version laid out here is full of forgiveness, generosity of spirit, and the crucial adaptability required to fit it into a busy life.

A Word on the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

The reason behind IF—briefly but severely restricting the number of calories you consume—is that it “fools” your body into thinking it is in a potential famine situation and that it needs to switch from go-go mode to maintenance mode. Fasting is the shock that resets the clock. Its many benefits include:

• Fat loss of 1–2 pounds a week

• A reduction in a hormone called IGF-1, which means that you are reducing your risk of a number of age-related diseases

• The switching on of repair genes

• Improvements in cardiovascular health and cholesterol levels

• A rest for your pancreas, boosting the effectiveness of the insulin it produces in response to elevated blood glucose

• Metabolic changes that tweak your body into burning fat and increase its insulin sensitivity; this in turn will reduce your risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cognitive decline

• Increased levels of neurotrophic factor in the brain, which should make you more cheerful, even when contemplating your summer swimsuit

The FastDiet and Weight Loss

While clinical studies into IF in general, and 5:2 in particular, are still in their early stages, there’s a great deal of convincing anecdotal evidence that the approach can be startlingly effective for many people. Anecdote, as Michael often says, makes poor science, but it does tell a story. Many thousands of people have adopted the plan and witnessed significant improvements in their weight, cholesterol, and general health, and have gone on to post their success stories online (we have included just a fraction of these in the testimonials chapter at the back of this book). We regularly meet people on the street and see friends and family who’ve lost weight and gained health. My father, for instance, has lost 56 pounds over the course of a year on the FastDiet. That’s about the weight of an eight-year-old child. I can now get my arms all the way around him when we hug hello. It’s a seismic change, and a joy to behold.

HOW FASTING TARGETS FAT

What people sometimes forget in their drive to “lose weight” is what they really want to lose is not weight as such, but fat. Carrying excess fat is not just a bummer on the beach; it’s bad for your health. Here’s what we know about the effect IF has on fat:

• It achieves a gradual weight loss—and it’s almost all fat.

• It increases fat burn. More of the calories you use for fuel during a fast come from fat stores than muscle. A study from Nottingham University1 found that the proportion of energy obtained from fat rose progressively over 12–72 hours of fasting, until almost all the energy being used was coming from stored fat.

• When we eat, we use the carbohydrates and fat supplied by the food for fuel, instead of tapping into our stored fat reserves. Constant grazing may be what’s keeping fat from being burned—and fasting is one way to release it.

• Interestingly, the heavier you are, the more likely it is that fasting will lead to substantial fat loss with muscle being spared.

• A bonus for Intermittent Fasters is that it seems to lead not just to fat loss generally, but specifically to fat loss around the gut—this is the visceral fat and is particularly dangerous because it increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

• One reason why it’s important to preserve as much muscle mass as possible is that muscle is metabolically active. Lean tissue burns calories, even at rest.

So Why the FastBeach Diet?

The FastDiet’s unique selling point seems to be its high level of compliance: we do it and we stick with it because most of the time, we’re not thinking about dieting at all. But some fasters want to boost the process at certain times of year. You may be one of those for whom the 5:2 has not proved the magic bullet you hoped for. Others among you may want to nudge yourself off a plateau and budge any reluctant pounds that are hanging on despite your adherence to 5:2.

I’ve written this book to be used as a primer for the summer holidays; the idea is to start the six-week regimen in May, June, or July, in good time for take off (that’s clothes, not planes). The longer, brighter days and fresher produce of late spring and early summer make it an ideal time to embark or improve upon a weight-loss program. And, as we’ve already established, there’s nothing like an approaching bikini—or T-shirt—to make you think twice about that piece of pie.

That said, the principles of the turbo-driven 5:2 diet laid out here are applicable at almost any time of the year. You might like to use its additional hints and ideas if you are preparing to get married, if you have a big event coming up, if you’re starting a new phase in your life, if you’re ready to lose some baby weight, or if you’ve had a particularly sedentary and glutonous couple of months (after Christmas perhaps).

You may, of course, be coming to The FastBeach Diet cold, without having read or acted upon the original book. This book is an adjunct. Think of it as a boot camp for the 5:2. It is a condensed, modified program of greater intensity with the aim of helping you achieve a reasonable target weight in a six-week period. Note now that on the FastBeach Diet, you will be encouraged to step it up—to get a bit tougher, a bit bolder, with your FastDiet. But this extra commitment is intended to be short-lived. Just a bit more effort. For just six weeks.

Why Six Weeks?

In truth, the six-week figure is fairly arbitrary. I have used my own experience and a 25-year career in the fashion and fitness business, together with what I have learned from many other dieters, to come up with a reasonable period during which I believe the average individual—someone with a little willpower and plenty of good intentions—can commit to and concentrate on a more intense 5:2 regimen. It hinges on attention span and compliance; six weeks should be enough time to see measurable results without boredom setting in. It’s also, by happy coincidence, about the length of time we usually give ourselves to prepare mentally and physically for our summer vacations . . . the Six-Week Sprint to the pool.

You may choose to extend the FastBeach Diet, perhaps to two months. But be clear: it is only meant to be a short-term option; afterwards, you should return to the classic FastDiet rules, without undue concern for calories on a non-Fast Day. Remember: it is this flexible and sociable foundation that lends the FastDiet its psychological advantage.

If the FastBeach Diet seems unnecessarily faddish to you, or if you’re not keen on a “fast-fix” message, if you treasure the absolute simplicity of the original FastDiet—well, I empathize and understand. Just stick with your original 5:2 FastDiet. This book is aimed at people who want a short-term booster plan to get them from A (the sofa) to B (the beach) by undertaking a reasonable but more vigorous protocol. It’s not designed to be a “forever plan” like the 5:2. It’s the FastDiet, just a bit faster. So are you in? Here’s what to expect . . .

The FastBeach Diet includes:

• A clear six-week plan to encourage fat loss

• Plateau-busting techniques to jump-start the 5:2 and make it work for you

• Mindfulness methods to help you tough out a fast and eat with understanding every day

• Habit-changing ideas to sharpen up on non-Fast Days

• A High Intensity Training (HIT) exercise program for fitness and fat loss, achievable in just a few minutes a day

• Lots of brand-new, calorie-counted summer recipes, with plenty of healthy, speedy ideas for busy days

• Motivation, meal plans, and 5:2 support to rev up your FastDiet and help get you beach fit for summer

When Should You Start?

If you do not have an underlying medical condition, and if you are not an individual for whom fasting is proscribed (see the disclaimer on this page), then there really is no time like the present. But first, a bit of prep.

Read more

See more

[amz_corss_sell asin=”1476790396″]

The Fast Beach Diet: The Super-Fast Plan to Lose Weight and Get In Shape in Just Six Weeks Paperback – June 24, 2014 Review PRAISE FOR FASTEXERCISE: “A nice narrative introduction to HIIT... excellent practical advice on how get started with ‘Fast Exercise’ and some really nice tips on how to keep going...

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to the first edition of … [taps microphone and grins sheepishly] … Silver Bulletpoints.

You don’t want to know how much time we spent workshopping that name. What you do want to know is what this column will be all about. Here are the parameters: Every week or so, I’ll write about three topics in 300 words per topic or less, not counting headings, words embedded in charts or tables, screenshots of tweets and so forth.1 I’m going to ask FiveThirtyEight’s editors to hold me to those constraints even if I complain about them later, sort of like how you can ban yourself from casinos and even get arrested if you then try to play the slots. For the time being, all the topics will relate to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, but that might change later.

The idea is that I have a lot of thoughts about 2020 — let’s not call them half-baked thoughts, but three-quarters baked might be fair — that are longer than a tweet but shorter than a full-length article. (I tend to write long, the editors tell me.)2 Back in my day in the mid-to-late aughts, we used to call those three-quarters-baked thoughts “blog posts,” so this column is basically an effort to Make Blogging Great Again. We’ll also sometimes take reader questions — if you have a 2020 Democratic primary question that you think I can do justice to in 300 words, drop us a line. I could go on, but that would be defying the spirit of the column. So let’s get back to politics.

Bulletpoint No. 1: The Buttigieg boom isn’t just a media bubble

Pete Buttigieg is everywhere on your TV these days. Last week, he ranked second among declared Democrats in cable news coverage, behind only Bernie Sanders. And as tends to happen with these things, there’s already a backlash to the Buttigieg boom, from jokes mocking the media’s admiration for his language skills to Columbia Journalism Review articles describing him as the “flavor of the month.”

Here at Silver Bulletpoints, we like nothing better than to backlash against the backlash when we think the data supports our case. And in this case, we’re wary of the notion that the Buttigieg boom is solely a media concoction.

There’s no doubt about the initial spark for the Buttigieg bump: It was his CNN town hall on March 10. You can see it in itemized donations to Buttigieg’s campaign, which begin to spike on March 10 and continued from there.

But how the public and the media responded to that initial spark was different — and the public responded sooner. Here is a comparison of Buttigieg coverage on cable news to how much Google search traffic he’s been getting.

Notice how that Google search spike (like the fundraising spike) began immediately after the town hall and then slowly but steadily built. The media coverage boom lagged behind, by contrast, and largely didn’t accelerate until the past two weeks, long after Buttigieg’s rise had begun to be apparent in polls and in other ways.

Yes, it’s complicated. Public interest and media attention have a self-reinforcing, symbiotic relationship. The CNN town hall was itself a type of media coverage. But this looks like a reasonably organic surge in voter interest in Buttigieg and not just a media fixation.

Bulletpoint No. 2: High-information voters may be leading indicators; high-education voters may be misleading ones

But maybe we should be cautious about Buttigieg for another reason. As my former colleague (and still friend) Harry Enten points out, Buttigieg’s support is concentrated among demographics overrepresented in the media. He overperforms, for example, among highly educated Democrats. For better or worse, journalists are also highly educated, and they mostly live in highly educated neighborhoods and have highly educated peers. If journalists are going by what they hear in their social networks, they may overrate candidates like Buttigieg and underrate those like Joe Biden. According to the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, 65 percent of voters in the Democratic primary electorate in 2016 did not have a four-year college degree.

We’ve also detected this when interacting with FiveThirtyEight readers. Buttigieg drew huge applause when I selected him in a 2020 candidate draft at a live podcast in New York on March 20. He’s not the only candidate popular with our readers; Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris are well-liked too. But — no surprise if you know the demographics of our audience — Warren and Harris also rely heavily on college-educated voters.

Here’s the catch: High-education voters also tend to be high-information voters. And we probably do want to hear from high-information voters. They’re more likely to vote — and they may be leading indicators for how other voters behave once they acquire more information. Maybe, for instance, high-information voters like Warren for her wonky policy proposals, while low-information voters don’t have much of an impression beyond that she’s a liberal woman from Massachusetts who flubbed some DNA test — but they’ll come around once they learn more.

In other words, if education is correlated with informedness, then performing well among college-educated voters could be a bullish sign.

Bulletpoint No. 3: Why it’s hard to rank the Democratic candidates

One recurring bit you’ll see in Silver Bulletpoints — maybe we’ll try to rotate in different features like different pricing games on the “The Price is Right” — is an attempt to rank the Democrats into different tiers. Here’s a version of that from last week, for instance:

I don't have particularly strong feelings about the order of the candidates after that, but I suppose I'd go:

Tier 3a: Castro, Gillibrand, Inslee Tier 3b: Yang, Hickenlooper, Ryan Tier 4: Everyone else

Abrams would be at least Tier 2 if she ran.

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) April 10, 2019

I’d like to propose one tweak, which is to further subdivide tier 1b. Specifically, I’m keeping Sanders and Buttigieg in 1b while demoting Warren and Beto O’Rourke into a new tier, 1c. That isn’t a huge difference, but that’s how I’d bet.

I have mixed feelings about this exercise. On the one hand, ranking the candidates without a model or some other rigorous methodology is exactly the sort of thing that can get me in trouble. On the other hand, I have a mental list of candidates and tiers in my head at all times, and I feel like I owe y’all an occasional, explicit glimpse into that thinking rather than forcing you to guess.

But this is a tricky race to diagnose. Most primaries either take the form of a follow-the-leader race where everyone is chasing a single clear front-runner (say, Hillary Clinton in 2008 or 2016) or a free-for-all in which there’s no obvious heir apparent (say, Democrats in 1992 or 2004). This year is somewhere in between; there are two sort-of front-runners (Biden and Sanders), but for lots of reasons (age, lack of support from party elites), they’re much less formidable than someone like Clinton. I feel reasonably comfortable comparing Biden and Sanders to one another — I have Biden higher because he’s polling quite a bit better than Sanders — but comparing them to the rest of the field will be a challenge until other candidates become better known.

[oovitus]

A Medical Looking Glass: The Open Heart Surgery Observation Program

When I tell my cab driver I’m headed to Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) to observe a mini aortic valve replacement, he shudders and laughs, “Count me out.” I, on the other hand, am deeply excited. I’ve always been interested in both medicine and surgery, and I jumped at the chance to join a group of high school students as part of the AGH Open Heart Surgery Observation Program.

In the weeks leading up to my participation in the program, I noticed that people run hot or cold on the subject of surgery. They are fascinated — or decidedly not. The 17,000+ students who have participated in the program in the last decade fall into the former category. They sign up because, at this young stage in life, the prospect of a career in the medical field intrigues them.

The AGH Open Heart Surgery Observation Program: How It Began

The observation program was created in 2008 by Dr. George Magovern Jr., system chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery for Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and co-chair of AHN’s Cardiovascular Institute.

His father, the late Dr. George Magovern Sr., was a pioneer in cardiovascular medicine. He co-created a sutureless heart valve that improved the survival rates of open heart surgery to 90 percent at the time, and helped to establish AGH as a major player in the cardiovascular field.

View from the observation room of the patient’s exposed heart.

Before I enter the observation room, Dr. George Magovern Jr. takes a moment to discuss the program with me. He exudes calmness. I’m about to watch something restorative but graphic, and still, his demeanor makes it easy for me to relax.

As a teenager, Dr. Magovern was able to watch his father perform surgery. He felt the same intangible pull toward medicine that these students feel today. Years later, he started the AGH Open Heart Surgery Observation Program because he believed that if kids had the chance to observe surgery, it would inspire them to pursue careers in health care.

“They are all pretty fascinated by the beating heart,” he says, then smiles. “Plus they get to see some blood.”

The Observation Room

Observation takes place directly above the operating room. On this day, twelve students from Somerset Area High School and their teacher are already gathered around the raised window when I enter the room. A couple of noses are pressed against the glass.

Dr. Walter McGregor, a cardiac surgeon at AGH, is performing today’s procedure. He wears a camera on his head so that what he sees is projected on a monitor at the front of the room. In addition to the camera, Dr. McGregor wears a microphone so that his voice is broadcast into the room. Unless he speaks directly into the mic, the conversation is muffled. The environment is professional and comfortable.

I look down through the observation window onto a white, sterile room. My eyes immediately find the exposed heart, red and pulsing. It’s hard to shake a sense of tunnel vision. The lack of blood is surprising, but not long after I think this, Pat Wolf, the observation program coordinator, says, “In a moment you’ll see the most blood you’ll see all day.”

A sudden flow of blood appears and is suctioned away. One student laughs nervously. “How much do they lose?”

Standing near the monitor, holding an enlarged anatomical heart, Wolf reassures that it is “not much.” During the visit, she spends much of her time describing functional anatomy and how an operating room, well, operates.

AGH is a teaching hospital for medical students from Temple University, Drexel University, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). The hospital is a proud proponent of early and ongoing education. As an extension of that philosophy, the AGH Open Heart Surgery Observation Program isn’t simply a chance for silent observation. It’s a classroom as well.

“The new valve is most often made from bovine pericardium,” Wolf explains, “which has a lifespan of about 15 years.” She holds up her hands like she’s pinching two ends of an invisible sheet of paper. “As with fabric, they cut leaflets out of the pericardium to make the new valve.”

Coordinated Care in the Operating Room

A view of just a few of the 10 team members involved with the surgery.

To perform the valve replacement, the surgical team must slow and stop the heart. They cool the patient’s body down to 64 degrees Fahrenheit and use a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, also known as the heart-lung machine, to temporarily pump and oxygenate the blood.

“It’s very much a team effort,” Wolf says, pointing out the 10 people in the room below involved in this operation. “It’s something for you all to consider — if you choose to go into medicine, you’ll always have a career.”

The students have varied interests. They talk about which roles they see themselves in — anesthesiologist, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, or even the perfusionist, the operator of the heart-lung machine.

Advances in Technology

Surgical procedures and technology have continued evolving at a rapid pace since Dr. Magovern Sr. co-created the sutureless valve in 1963. AGH has continued his pioneering spirit, accomplishing remarkable feats such as implanting valves through the femoral artery and other forms of minimally invasive surgery.

According to Dr. Magovern Jr., 600 operations per year at AGH are what the hospital considers advanced or “cutting edge,” including small-incision, catheter-based and robotic surgeries.

“The field of medicine is wildly dynamic,” Wolf explains. “It’s always moving forward, trying to get better, faster, safer, and less expensive.”

Just to cite one of the many benefits of those constant advances in medicine and technology, a report found that from 2005 to 2015, the mortality rate in heart valve surgery dropped by 47 percent.

Wolf points out the defibrillator in the operating room, but the team doesn’t need the paddles today. I have a bird’s eye view as Dr. McGregor gives the heart a nudge, and then another.

“The heart wants to beat,” Wolf explains. “If you look under a microscope, the cells will beat.”

Sure enough, Dr. McGregor gives one more gentle nudge and just like that, to the sound of someone whistling in the hall, the heart starts to beat again. It’s not dramatic. It’s quiet, easily missed, which makes it all the more impressive.

Time to Close

Dr. Stephen Bailey, a cardiac surgeon at AHN, answers questions from students on another observation day.

As the team begins to close the incision, Wolf tells the story of a patient with an ornate chest tattoo. When the surgical team closed, they took extra time to make sure the abundance of stitches were aesthetically pleasing against the tattoo.

One by one, the surgical team starts to filter out of the room. Still at the operating table, the physician’s assistant looks up and waves.

One of the students voices my thought: “I still can’t picture a real person under there.”

A girl to my left has other things on her mind. “Have you ever heard of someone sewing up with an instrument still inside the body?”

Wolf looks like she’s been asked this question before. “No. This isn’t anything like Grey’s Anatomy.”

Each in their own way, these students feel a sense of awe and fascination, just as George Magovern Jr. felt while watching his father perform surgery many years ago.

Your Medical Specialty Will Draw You In

After the procedure, Dr. McGregor pays us a visit to answer questions. The students are mostly interested in what path he took to become a surgeon — how did he choose this specialty?

“The specialty you’re good at will draw you in,” he says, engaging us with the same comfortable ease as Dr. Magovern.

“You’re not going to ace everything,” he adds, then laughs. “I mean, you should ace some things. But other things you just have to get through.”

He asks if any of the students were initially spurred to pursue a career in medicine when a family member became sick or injured. A few hands raise.

“Remember your experiences and reflect on them,” he says. “Sometimes illness can lead to the inspiration that makes one want to become a doctor.”

When the questions stop coming, he politely excuses himself, but pauses to nod toward Wolf: “She runs a wonderful program.”

“Certain people are drawn to medicine,” she says. I believe she is referring not only to the students, Dr. McGregor, Dr. Magovern, and the operating team, but to herself as well.

The beauty of a program like this is that it inspires students to open that door of interest. After observing an open heart surgery at AGH, if you want to be in (or above) that operating room, you’ll find a way.

The 12 students from Somerset Area High School who shared my amazing AGH Open Heart Surgery Observation Program experience.

A Medical Looking Glass: The Open Heart Surgery Observation Program published first on

[mikemortgage]

‘They can’t stop it’: Inside the thriving business of selling fake YouTube video views

Martin Vassilev makes a good living selling fake views on YouTube videos. Working from home in Ottawa, Ontario, he has sold about 15 million views so far this year, putting him on track to bring in more than $200,000, records show.

Vassilev, 32, does not provide the views himself. His website, 500Views.com, connects customers with services that offer views, likes and dislikes generated by computers, not humans. When a supplier cannot fulfill an order, Vassilev — like a modern switchboard operator — quickly connects with another.

“I can deliver an unlimited amount of views to a video,” Vassilev said. “They’ve tried to stop it for so many years, but they can’t stop it. There’s always a way around.”

After Google, more people search on YouTube than on any other site. It is the most popular platform among teenagers, according to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, beating out giants like Facebook and Instagram. With billions of views a day, the video site helps spur global cultural sensations, spawn careers, sell brands and promote political agendas.

‘They fired thousands of people in one fell swoop’: YouTube advertising crackdown puts some creators out of business

‘Incredibly demoralizing’: YouTube kicks out smaller creators from money-making program, and Canadians feel the pinch

Inside Google’s shadow workforce, the ‘second-class citizens’ who do all the grunt work with few rewards

Just as other social media companies have been plagued by impostor accounts and artificial influence campaigns, YouTube has struggled with fake views for years.

The fake-view ecosystem of which Vassilev is a part can undermine YouTube’s credibility by manipulating the digital currency that signals value to users. While YouTube says fake views represent just a tiny fraction of the total, they still have a significant effect by misleading consumers and advertisers. Drawing on dozens of interviews, sales records and trial purchases of fraudulent views, The New York Times examined how the marketplace worked and tested YouTube’s ability to detect manipulation.

Inflating views violates YouTube’s terms of service. But Google searches for buying views turn up hundreds of sites offering “fast” and “easy” ways to increase a video’s count by 500, 5,000 or even 5 million. The sites, offering views for just pennies each, also appear in Google search ads.

To test the sites, a Times reporter ordered thousands of views from nine companies. Nearly all of the purchases, made for videos not associated with the news organization, were fulfilled in about two weeks.

One of the businesses was Devumi.com. According to company records, it collected more than US$1.2 million over three years by selling 196 million YouTube views. Nearly all the views remain today. An analysis of those records, from 2014-17, shows that most orders were completed in weeks, though those for a million views or more took longer. Providing large volumes cheaply and quickly is often a sign that a service is not offering real viewership.

Devumi’s customers included an employee of RT, a media organization funded by the Russian government, and an employee of Al Jazeera English, another state-backed company. Other buyers were a filmmaker working for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group, and the head of video at The New York Post. (Al Jazeera and The Post said the workers were not authorized to make such purchases and were no longer employed there.)

After Google, more people search on YouTube than on any other site.

Multiple musicians bought views to appear more popular: YouTube views factor into metrics from the ratings company Nielsen and song charts including Billboard’s Hot 100.

Some companies bought views for clients with the promise of social media promotion that would result in real people watching their videos.

Dr. Judith Oppenheimer, 78, paid a company US$5,000 to promote a book she had self-published in hopes of securing a mainstream deal. Her video soon had more than 58,000 views, delivered through Devumi.

“There was no increase in sales and no book deal,” she said. “Soon after I signed the contract I thought, ‘I’ll have no proof of what they do or don’t do.’ Now it begins to make sense. They can do it in a day.”

Purveyors depend on constantly evolving tactics to deliver views, including automated or “bot” traffic and pop-under videos on unsuspecting users’ computers, but YouTube says it has effective processes to defend against these approaches.

“This has been a problem we have been working on for many, many years,” said Jennifer Flannery O’Connor, YouTube’s director of product management. The company’s systems continuously monitor a video’s activity, and the anti-fraud team often buys views to understand better how these sites operate, she said. “Our anomaly detection systems are really good.”

Still, the challenges are significant. At one point in 2013, YouTube had as much traffic from bots masquerading as people as it did from real human visitors, according to the company. Some employees feared this would cause the fraud detection system to flip, classifying fake traffic as real and vice versa — a prospect engineers called “the Inversion.”

“The problem itself was extraordinary,” said Blake Livingston, a member of YouTube’s fraud and abuse team at the time who has since left the company.

But fixes were made that relieved the fake-traffic surge, which YouTube said resulted from an attack against the website.

Years later, the battle against fake views continues, even as YouTube contends with disinformation campaigns, like Russia’s efforts during the 2016 election, and language it considers hate speech, including posts by the recently banned Infowars site.

YouTube would not disclose the number of fake views it blocked each day, but said its teams worked to keep them to less than 1 per cent of the total. Still, with the platform registering billions of views a day, tens of millions of fake views could be making it through daily.

“View count manipulation will be a problem as long as views and the popularity they signal are the currency of YouTube,” Livingston said.

Real Money, Sham Audience

It took Vassilev about 18 months to go from being on welfare and living with his father in Canada to buying a white BMW 328i and a house of his own.

By late 2014, his website was on the first page of Google search results for buying YouTube views, fulfilling 150 to 200 orders a day and bringing in more than US$30,000 a month, he said. “I really couldn’t believe you could make that much money online,” he said. The Times reporter’s order on his site, for 25,000 views, was fulfilled one day later.

A spokeswoman for Google, which is owned by the same company as YouTube, said that sites selling views appeared in search results because they were relevant, but that there was “room for improvement” in warning users.

Vassilev declined to name his clients but said that many orders came from public relations or marketing firms.

Today, he fills most orders through SMMKings.com, a wholesale supplier run by Sean Tamir, 29. Tamir charges him about a dollar for a thousand views, which Vassilev resells for US$13.99, throwing in 100 free likes.

Several times a year, YouTube makes changes to its detection system to try to disrupt fake views, Tamir said. A recent episode came in late January, but many of the sites were functioning a few weeks later when The Times made most of its purchases. Suppliers say they get around system updates by making their traffic appear more humanlike, ensuring that it comes from users with prior views, for example.

One purveyor, Carlton E. Bynum II, 24, uses advertising to attract customers. He collected more than US$191,000 in revenue this year but spent more than US$109,000 in ads that appeared at the top of Google, according to financial records. His site, GetLikes.click, run from a home office in Houston, sells YouTube views as well as Instagram and Twitter followers, Facebook likes and SoundCloud plays.

Google does not allow ads with terms like “buy YouTube views.” But Bynum said one workaround was to misspell the words and submit an ad multiple times if it was denied at first. When asked about advertising for paid YouTube views, Google removed some of the ads, including Bynum’s, but similar ones returned after two weeks.

Before Bynum sold views, he was buying them for himself. After he was discharged from the Marine Corps last year, he began posting product reviews on YouTube and taking a cut when visitors made purchases using his links. The views he bought would often cause his videos to rank higher than his competitors’ in search, he said. The effect would snowball: His videos would gain traffic through search, and he would make more money. (A YouTube spokeswoman said views were just one factor among many that affected search rankings.)

“It worked great,” he said. “I can get views within a day. I can get likes within hours.”

Bynum said he believed real people were watching his videos. “But let’s say there’s a small chance I’m wrong and it is bots,” he said. “Their videos are still getting ranked.”

Vassilev, who also said he used fake views to increase the search ranking of videos promoting his website, makes no pretense that what he is selling is authentic viewership. “It’s impossible,” he said.

Promised a Following

The salesman on the phone said it would be simple: Elizabeth Clayton, a retired English and psychology professor, could pay Hancock Press US$4,200 to publicize her self-published works of poetry. The company said online promotion, including 40,000 guaranteed YouTube views, would translate into sales, emails show.

Clayton, 77, was optimistic. She had been publishing for seven years but had not sold much. One royalty check came to US$1.47, another to US$0.75. She signed up for Hancock to promote two videos, costing her US$8,400, records show.

“They told me if I got a certain number of hits I would sell a certain amount,” she said.

Instead of traditional marketing, Hancock paid US$270 for 55,000 views from Devumi for each video, the records show. The views eventually reached about 60,000, where they remain. But there was no increase in sales.

“They couldn’t tell me anything about the people that were watching the video,” Clayton said. “I suspected something, but I couldn’t get any information.”

Wayne Hancock, the 92-year-old chief executive of the Arkansas-based company, said he believed real people were watching the videos. That’s how Devumi marketed its views. Hancock’s daughter, K.C. Shay, who helps run the business, dismissed Clayton’s documents and the Devumi receipts as fakes.

But Devumi records show that Hancock Press spent about US$26,000 over three years, obtaining more than 5 million views for 75 or so authors. Interviews with six other Hancock clients are consistent with Clayton’s experience.

Devumi did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The company, whose website says that it has closed, came under investigation in two states in January after The Times reported that it sold fake Twitter followers.

Many Devumi clients came from the music industry, where buying views is common and often seen as necessary.

“YouTube is one of the premier sources of music consumption and an important indicator of musical trends and popularity,” said Silvio Pietroluongo, a vice president at Billboard.

As a new artist, Aleem Khalid hired Crowd Surf, a promotion company, in 2014. Without his knowledge, he said, the firm bought 10,000 views each on three of his videos. They now have between 11,000 and 42,000 views.

“The beautiful thing about these social media platforms is when they came out it was genuine. But now I feel it’s all fake,” said Khalid, 25. (Cassie Petrey, a co-founder of Crowd Surf, said she thought Devumi was producing real views, based on statements on its website.)

Others who relied on Devumi said they were similarly surprised at the company’s tactics. Ami Horowitz, the conservative filmmaker, bought 10,000 views for a video he appeared in — “What We Learned at the People’s Climate March” — on the YouTube channel for Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers’ political influence group. Horowitz, who is often a guest on Fox News, also bought views for a video about the protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

In a statement, he said he had believed Devumi worked like traditional web advertising. But “it wasn’t what we expected,” he said, adding that he never used Devumi or similar services again. A spokeswoman for Americans for Prosperity called the behaviour unethical and said the group would “not knowingly engage” in it.

Spotting the Forgeries

YouTube’s engineers, statisticians and data scientists are constantly improving in their ability to fight what O’Connor calls a “very hard problem,” but the attacks have “continually gotten stronger and more sophisticated,” she said.

After the Times reporter presented YouTube with the videos for which he had bought views, the company said sellers had exploited two vulnerabilities that had already been fixed. Later that day, the reporter bought more views from six of the same vendors. The view count rose again, though more slowly. A week later, all but two of the vendors had delivered the full amount.

Even when it looks closely, YouTube can miss videos with fake views. A 2017 Google public report on disinformation during the 2016 election looked at RT’s YouTube channels, concluding that there was “no evidence of manipulation of our platform or policy violations.” Yet The Times recently found that an RT employee bought fake views for videos in 2016, which YouTube acknowledged it did not detect.

James Brown, a correspondent for RT, had purchased 30,000 views and 300 likes across three videos that focused on problems involving homelessness and immigration in Europe. Brown said he took Devumi at its word that the views would be real people. An RT spokeswoman said the company was unaware of the purchases and was conducting an internal review.

“It concerns me that while Twitter and Facebook appear to have made some credible progress in this area, YouTube still struggles to identify inauthentic and coordinated activity on its platform,” said Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.

View-selling sites continue to advertise with apparent impunity. A post on the YouTube Creator Blog warning users against fake views has numerous comments linking to view-selling sites.

“The only way YouTube could eliminate this is if they removed the view counter altogether,” said Vassilev, the fake-view seller. “But that would defeat the purpose of YouTube.”

The New York Times

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