#but this morning when it said there were 200~ without power that still included us so. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

renaerys · 3 years ago

Note

Prompt 50. But Berserk & Boomer😔👉👈💕

50. “I thought you left.”

We’re calling this one Unfortunately, She Impressed Him. This is a pair of characters I love with all my heart in any flavor of relationship and can’t wait to write more of in my ongoing multi-chapter fic Trinity House over on AO3.

This fic is part of a prompt challenge that is now closed to new requests, but you can read all the completed submissions here. Reminder that the challenge is to make everything SFW, so we’re getting creative here.

xxx

Boomer was halfway across the deserted lobby of Faust Keating Rogers, LLP when he realized he’d forgotten his keys at his desk. He groaned aloud because it was 8 p.m. and no one was around to hear him because they had all gone home to their families hours ago like normal people. Boomer didn’t have two to three kids and a house in the suburbs, though, and neither did his boss. The three hour lull reserved for dinner, baths, and bedtimes before the evening work-from-home grind offered him no alternative but to power through. He fully planned to grab take out on his way home and enjoy an episode of whatever was on HBOMax before getting back to the tedious work of reviewing the draft prospectus statement his boss had sent him to proof by tomorrow morning.

Except, his keys were forty floors up and he now had to risk running into her again when he’d managed to slip away so neatly. He’d even removed his tie on the elevator ride down, and now he rubbed his exposed neck, flushed with anxiety over what might happen if she saw him and asked him to stick around to finish the work here.

“Nice going, dumbass,” he lamented as he stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the fortieth floor.

It wasn’t that Boomer disliked his job. In fact, he didn’t mind it at all. It was better than slinging drinks or waiting tables. He had health insurance, a steady paycheck, and a resumé that could proudly display the name of one of the most elite accounting firms in the country. He could pivot his career if he wanted to, as Brick would say. Boomer wasn’t thinking about his next job right now, though. Right now, he was thinking about this one and how his boss was a hard-ass and a workaholic even if she was brilliant, and how there was a one hundred percent chance she would detect him coming back to his desk (which was annoyingly set up right in front of her office so that he could answer her calls, manage her meetings, and deal with whoever passed close enough to her event horizon to get suckered into the latest heinous audit in need of staffing).

There were his traitorous keys sitting on the desk next to the framed picture of his brothers. He glared at them, as if they were a forgotten household item that had developed a supernatural grudge like in those old Japanese folktales he liked to read online. He half expected them to jingle and alert his boss to his presence, just to spite him.

They didn’t, and he slipped them into his pocket as quietly as could be. He released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and took a beat. It was quiet. Most of the offices were dark, save for a few poor souls in the large conference room stuck on the ongoing year-end audit for one of the firm’s most important clients: Unicorn, Inc. His boss’s office was also lit up behind her closed door, but she hadn’t called out to him like she would during the day when he got back from his lunch break hoping for a few minutes to catch up on emails in peace before she dumped more work on him.

This, of course, was odd. The small legion of assistants who had come before Boomer were notorious for their short-term employment working this specific desk. The work was demanding and so was the boss, but there was something else that set her apart from other senior associates in the International Tax Services division, something that seemed to intimidate away any support the higher ups sent her way. Denise a couple desks down had warned Boomer not to bring too many personal effects to the office; chances were he wasn’t going to last long. Boomer had smiled thinly and thanked Denise for her advice, and brought the picture of his brothers in the next morning because he had his pride and Brick told him it was healthy to indulge that once in a while. Brick would certainly know.

So here he was, uncertain. Anxiety over having to sit here for another two hours finishing work and having tepid Doordash delivered pulled him toward the elevator and escape, while that annoying, rare pride demanded he check on his boss and make sure she knew he was here to support her, lest she get the idea that he needed to be fired.

The longer he stood there, indecisive, the greater his curiosity grew. What was she doing in there? It was quiet, even when he strained his Super hearing. He could hear Dean Matheson pouring whiskey a few offices down (that guy had a drinking problem and everyone knew they only kept him around because he had the Unicorn, Inc. account), Adebayo Hansou on a conference call with Dubai that was escalating to profanity, Shelly Kim with her head down and typing away at an Excel spreadsheet like a pro. Their assistants were long gone for the night, but here was Boomer, loitering and indecisive and what is she doing in there not yelling at me when she definitely knows I’m here?

He couldn’t take it anymore. He knocked on the closed door—rap, rap, rap—and called out softly, “Berserk?”

A beat, then: “Come in.”

Finding his boss in upward facing dog while still in her pencil skirt was not a sight Boomer was prepared for. Berserk had her eyes closed as she stretched at a near ninety degree angle and listened to music on her Airpods. Boomer had never seen her with her heels off and her mane of red hair thrown together in a messy bun; it was so casual that it was almost obscene.

“You’re staring.”

Fuck, he was staring and now she was looking right at him down her nose, even though she was the one on the floor. He stood up straighter, unable to help himself when she took that tone that reminded him so much of Brick’s when he was about to criticize, but he didn’t avert his gaze. “Sorry.”

She breathed in deeply through her nose and hoisted herself up into downward dog position. “Why are you here?”

Forgot my keys seemed like a really lame excuse that she’d probably laugh at him for, but he also was not in the habit of making shit up on the spot if he hoped to make people believe him. “I forgot my keys.” He took them from his pocket to show her, as if she might not know what keys are, as a concept.

“Smart locks.” Berserk exhaled and slowly walked her hands back on the yoga mat until she reached her feet and began to swing slowly left and right.

Huh? he almost said like an idiot, until he caught himself. “Don’t think my landlord would approve of me installing that.” Also, those things were like $200 a pop, which was not worth the occasional inconvenience and shame of forgetting his keys and then catching his boss doing yoga in her office after hours.

Berserk made some noncommittal sound like whatever, peasant and slowly uncurled upward one vertebra at a time. Boomer realized he was back to staring again, literally lingering in her door watching her and trying to equate this subdued, casual version of Berserk with the terse, no-nonsense businesswoman he was used to dealing with on a daily basis.

When she finally achieved her full height, she popped her neck. The hair that was too short for her bun fell in around her narrow face in a stylish, athleisure sort of way. The top buttons on her blouse were undone. She wore a small, golden necklace he’d never noticed before because he wasn’t in the habit of checking out his boss. “I thought you left.”

The accusatory nature of her words were totally at odds with her flat tone, only the barest hint of curiosity dangling there at the end, like she expected him to respond.

Oh, she expected him to respond.

Boomer took another step into her office because he was full of poor judgment today. “I forgot my keys.”

At which point he showed her his keys again and also had a mild stroke, because what the fuck are you doing, mate?

Berserk smiled. “Yeah, I got that part.”

Was she laughing at him? He had never heard her laugh before, unless it was at Dean Matheson, that comb-over in denial who, in addition to being a high functioning alcoholic, also had a reputation for throwing associates under the bus when a client wasn’t happy.

Boomer smiled back, because that was what he did when people smiled at him, and ‘people’ now included Berserk, apparently.

“Well, since you’re here,” she said as she padded around to her desk.

Crap, there was the work he was afraid of soliciting from her by remaining in the building. He debated an excuse to give her: picking up dry cleaning? Plausible, but transparent. Meeting up with his brothers? No, she’d probably make him stay all night for the chance to ruin Brick’s plans.

“Thai or Mexican?”

Boomer stared dumbly. He was becoming quite good at that (10,000 hours and you can become an expert at anything, they say). “Huh?”

The yoga must have put Berserk in an exceedingly gracious mood, because she actually repeated her question without getting that look on her face like she was picturing him getting trampled by stampeding monsters. “Thai or Mexican? I don’t have a preference.”

Oh.

Boomer’s stomach picked that time to snarl at him—8 p.m. and still no dinner, the fiend.

Berserk snorted in laughter and fanned herself with her phone. “Jesus. Mexican it is.”

Which was how Boomer found himself on the small sofa tucked in the corner of Berserk’s office, shoes off and belt loosened, with enough tacos, tamales, and rice and beans to feed a small family. He even had a beer from the mini fridge Berserk kept under her desk.

She hadn’t stayed late to work. Well, she had, but only because she didn’t have a reason to go home.

“I just hate getting home to a dark apartment sometimes,” she said in between bites of food. She had her legs tucked up under her on the sofa close enough to brush Boomer’s thigh if he reached to grab the salsa.

“I thought you lived with your sister?”

“Brute got her own place a few months ago. The arrangement was only temporary while she was in between jobs.”

It was weird knowing so little about a person whose whole family had been in Boomer’s inner orbit since childhood. As far as he knew, Berserk wasn’t close to any of her cousins, not even Blossom. Boomer himself had never been more eager to leave a room than when Brat walked into it. Only Butch, Brute, and Buttercup had ever found common ground among each other once the sworn rivalries and blood feuds of their youth gave way to teenage rebellion against their respective overlord fathers and then the slog of adulthood that was inescapable even for a bunch of Supers flying high on Chemical X.

The fact that Boomer had gotten this job surprised him more than anyone. After drifting from restaurant jobs to office temp placements over the last six years, he’d never thought he would dust off his economics degree and land a temp-to-permanent position that seemed way above his qualifications. And he never thought it would be working for a woman he’d most definitely electrocuted in battle at least a dozen times before puberty.

“What?”

Boomer blinked. He’d been staring again, Jesus Christ. “Sorry, I was just thinking… I didn't know that. I’ve been working here for five months and I don’t actually know much about you at all.”

“Hm.”

Her magenta eyes were wine-dark against the murky sky beyond the window forty stories up. Boomer did avert his gaze this time to reach for the salsa, but he didn’t use it.

“I don’t even know why you invited me to stay for dinner in the office if we’re not going to do any work.”

“Why did you stay?”

“For the free food.”

Berserk grinned—the third time she had smiled at him tonight (or ever). He needed to stop counting; he’d be disappointed when it stopped happening tomorrow.

“Don’t get used to it. Much as I appreciate the company now and again, there’s no need for both of us to be stuck here while Matheson’s breathing down the associates’ necks. Can’t have him poaching you out from under me.”

“Well, I don’t work for him; I work for you.”

“It’s sweet how you don’t understand office politics.” She ate a lone slice of avocado with a fork. “He landed Unicorn back when they were early stage, and back when he was still putting in the work to earn his reputation. But since they IPO’d three years ago and make up twenty percent of our revenue now, he’s just another big name coasting by on associate work. You know he regularly schedules client calls and just doesn’t bother to show up? He forgets half the time, and the other half he’s busy playing golf or buying a yacht or whatever the fuck rich, white Boomers do.”

“Well, as a Boomer myself, I can say I’ve spent exactly zero hours buying yachts.”

She chuckled. Fourth time. “Oh, really.”

“Never even thought of yachts. As far as I’m concerned, they’re not even real.”

“Thanks for your expert opinion.”

“Any time.” Boomer turned his body to face her and draped his arm over the back of the sofa. With only the soft light from the floor lamp in the corner, he imagined himself adrift in the darkness, the sky scraper lights nearby stars. It was a lonely thought, one made romantic in the knowledge that she was here too, and he wasn’t actually alone.

“Matheson almost did poach you, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Boomer couldn’t recall exchanging more than a few words with the man.

“When we were filling support positions. Someone recognized you from the news a few years back, when the Cyclops Monster attacked the marina district and you and your brothers took it out. Matheson got it in his head that you’d be able to work at Super speed and help lower his billables.”

“Wow. Maybe you should’ve let him. What do you think the net savings would be in yacht units of measurement?”

Berserk rolled her eyes, but she was smiling again. “I claimed you before he could get the paperwork in.”

Boomer hyper-focused on that word: claimed. He also pointedly ignored it entirely, much in the same way he ignored the new count of five smiles tonight. “Showed him your bending powers, did you?”

Berserk’s Corona bottle turned frosty under her hand in a totally unnecessary, big dick energy display of said powers, and she took another sip. “No. Sharon from HR likes me. And I promised her I wouldn’t fire you after three months like your predecessors.”

Flattered was not how Boomer would describe the feeling of being claimed by Berserk and eluding Matheson’s vampiric clutches. But he was a bit tickled all the same. This was the woman Butch had once described as essentially Brick, if he were constipated all the time.

And then he realized what she was doing. “Hey, you’re sharing things about yourself.”

She clinked her bottle to his, and Boomer shivered at the frosty chill she transferred on contact. “Aw, you figured it out all by yourself.”

“Ha ha.”

She didn’t quite smile, but she did look kind of serene then, content even, as she lay back against the arm of the sofa and yawned. Her gold necklace—just a simple disk with an engraving Boomer could not make out—reflected the lamp light when she moved. It rested just beneath her collarbone, which had suddenly become the single-most interesting part of Berserk, and oh no, was he interested—

“You’re staring again.”

Son of a bitch.

“Sorry,” he said automatically. “I didn’t mean to.”

Hard no. He was not allowed to be any percent attracted to Berserk. First, she was his boss, and there was a cliché here that, while subverted on the gender role spectrum, was still very risky for both of them. Second, she was Berserk, a fellow Super, cousin to his best friend Bubbles and a shrewd, stiletto bitch in Brick’s estimation, which sounded bad. Not that she was bad, or even evil, unless you counted helping rich corporations accurately report their taxes while taking advantage of the many egregious loopholes in the Internal Revenue Code. Which, okay, point taken, but he also worked here and anyway, people should not be deemed good or evil so much as their choices ought to be—

“Are you thinking about fucking me?”

You shrewd, stiletto bitch!

She was smiling again, and Boomer pathetically logged that as the sixth time, although he wasn’t sure he should count it given the overt malice behind it.

Unfortunately, Boomer was, as had been previously established, very bad at making shit up on the fly. So he miserably said, “Yeah.”

“Hm.”

She sipped her beer slowly, and of course he watched. If it was out in the open, as fleeting a bout of insanity as it may have been, at least he could wallow in it without worrying about appearances.

It was the yoga. That fucking upward facing dog, Jesus Christ.

It was more than that too. Over the last few months, he had worked closely with her, watched her navigate the cutthroat halls full of piranhas like Matheson and other account managers, getting herself work on the best clients while managing her juniors with efficiency and professionalism. She was excellent and sharp, and she demanded excellency and sharpness in kind. After years of going it alone or temping for bosses who didn’t care enough even to learn his name, much less provide him with guidance and mentorship, it was an unspeakable relief to work under someone who knew how to rally the troops. Someone who knew how to lead, how to motivate, and how to reward loyalty with loyalty in return. It didn’t hurt that she looked amazing in her daily stilettos, either.

Unfortunately, she impressed him.

“I have some work to get done tonight.” Berserk stood up and smoothed her skirt.

Boomer scrambled to his feet. “Of course! Um.” He began closing food containers and repackaging them in the bags they’d come in, because he was panicking. “I’ll get rid of the trash. Do you want the leftovers in the fridge?”

“You take them. Otherwise my office will smell like a burrito for a week.”

“Okay.” Numbly, Boomer finished packing everything up, while Berserk made her way back to her desk and logged into her computer to check her emails.

Boomer lingered at the door. “I’ll have the prospectus back to you later tonight.”

“Thanks.”

Wow, way to go, stud.

He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

“Boomer?”

“Yeah?”

“Friday is good.”

He stared back at her in expert mode. “Huh?”

Berserk poked her head around the side of her large, external monitor. She was smiling again. Lucky number seven. “For fucking.”

“Okay,” Boomer said.

Okay?!

She pulled back behind her monitor. “I was going to get a cat, but you’ll do much better.”

Because she didn’t like going home to a dark, empty apartment alone. With no one to fuck.

“That was a joke.”

“Yeah, I got that,” he croaked.

Friday is for fucking, he thought, which was delightful alliteration and also completely insane and one hundred percent something he was getting more on board with by the nanosecond.

“See you tomorrow,” she said.

Boomer clutched the leftover Mexican food in his fist. “Okay. Goodnight.”

It took him the time to fly home and put the food away in his small fridge to realize that he had a sort-of date with Berserk lined up for two days from now.

He Y-posed at the window and whooped, “Hell yes!!”

Loud pounding in the floor followed by old Mrs. Cruikshank’s muffled Keep it down! couldn’t bring down his mood.

Boomer leaped onto his threadbare, living room sofa with his work laptop and took to the prospectus with alacrity. He’d send over superior work product and make Berserk’s job just that much easier tomorrow morning.

xxx

If you enjoy my writing, check out more of my fics on AO3, link in my profile. I’m currently updating Trinity House (which has a lot more Berserk and Boomer content, btw!) and The Alchemy of Us. Thanks for reading!

#powerpuff girls #powerpuff girls fanfic #bersoomer #ppg berserk #ppg boomer #september fic prompts #so this turned into a 3k one shot because i love these characters and i couldn't help myself #tfw considering a part 2

30 notes · View notes

chibalein · 4 years ago

Text

Kalafina Live Report: 9+ONE @Kitakyushu - REVISITED

So, this is something I wanted to do for a long time now (almost 3 years to be exact). Back in 2017, when Kalafina was still a thing and times were good, I was lucky enough to live in Japan and able to attend various of Kalafina activities. My first proper concert was their final live of the 9+ONE tour in the city of Kitakyushu/Fukuoka prefecture, in June 2017.

My first live report was certainly different than all the others that followed, less detailed, less emotional so to say. I always wanted to update the whole thing because looking back, there were so many moments during the concert that I - for whatever reason - did not write about enough or not at all. Well, since I have been working at home for quite a while now, I feel like now is the perfect time, as this gives me an amazing reason to be lazy and productive at the same time. Here is my original live report: PART 1 / PART 2

So, a lot of things will certainly stay the same because I just don’t remember enough of the concert, especially about the vocal performance or things the girls have said during the MCs. I will add some other details that I still remember (hopefully correctly), and describe everything a bit nicer too :)

Let’s do it! Long ass report ahead! again

Back then, I was living in Kanagawa prefecture, but I was too late for tickets of the Yokohama or Tokyo lives. I was planning to visit a friend who lived in Fukuoka city at the time and Kalafina’s Kitakyushu concert perfectly fit into my schedule. Luckily, I was able to buy a ticket via convenience store. As I was pretty late, I got a kinda bad seat in the almost very back of the upper floor.

The morning of the live I arrived in the city of Kitakyushu, which is a rather famous port city at the northern tip of Fukuoka prefecture. The historic town Kokura has a beautiful castle, which I visited as well as Moji port. (After reading Hikaru’s blog post where she said that she also went to see the castle, I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t meet her xD). There’s also TOTO Museum, a museum dedicated to the TOTO company, which is famous for inventing those high-tech toilets that Japan is so known for.

I was kind of warned beforehand that the Kalafina good’s sale would attract a ton of people, so I wanted to be there as early as possible. About two hours too early I arrived at Kitakyushu’s Harmony Cinq Soleil Hall and waited along with a handful of other people. Slowly but steadily more and more people would gather, forming an absurdly long line. Not as extreme as the 10th Anniversary good’s line, but still impressive. Luckily, I was standing in some shade, because it was so damn hot and sunny the entire weekend. When the doors finally opened, I am sure there were like 200-300 people waiting to receive those sweet sweet popcorn buckets that were sold as venue exclusive merchandise. In the end, I bought the T-shirt, the key holder, the popcorn and the clear files, but looking back I do regret not buying the notebook. I wanted the popcorn mainly because of the Kitakyushu exclusive sticker - the popcorn itself had the flavor chocolate + soda (I think?), which I remember thinking was the shittiest combo of all flavors they had. It didn’t taste as bad as I thought but I still think it was overpriced. Together with the ticket itself, I ended up spending about 100€, which I thought was a lot, especially as there were people buying the entire collection and even more... hahahaha, oh innocent, naive past me, I didn’t know what was coming to me yet.

(Photo: in front of the venue)

I do love my merch though. I still wear all my Kalafina T-shirts at home, and while in Japan I had the key holder... hold my keys, making it all dirty and bent now lol The popcorn cup is decorating my shelf to this day.

Anyway, after getting my stuff, I went on to walk around, grab something to eat and even made friends with a Japanese girl, sharing our Kalafina love. Later, when people were admitted, probably around 800-900 people were there, quite a view! I saw some foreigners as well, and even made friends with a Philippine girl as well :D

(Photo: merch table at the venue)

(Photo: the stuff I bought)

While entering, staff was handing out little goodie bags, mostly with flyers and ads for other events or the obligatory concert questionnaire. However, that bag included our very own 9+ONE Lights! I took my seat which wasn’t as far from the stage as I thought, but I still would not be able to see the girls’ expressions.

When the concert finally started, a black but transparent screen was lowered (you know it from the 9+ONE DVD) and they started to play an overture version of “Samidare ga sugita koro ni”. Meanwhile we got see a collection of Kalafina’s entire discography, where each title of their songs, even in their respective font if available, was shown and merged into a white cloud, revealing our ladies.

(Photo: stage before the concert started)

They started with “Samidare ga sugita koro ni”. I remember it being good and nice, but I was never really fond of that song, even though it has grown on me a bit. We all clapped along and had our fun.

It continued with “misterioso”, also a song that has grown on me over time. While everyone was staying seated and enjoying themselves before, all the dudes in the arena seats jumped to their feet, being an upbeat song and stuff. I was grateful for the upper floor to have stayed seated almost the entire time, because being so far away was shitty enough and I didn’t want to spend 2 hours standing.

Anyhow, this song revealed some flaws in either the acoustics of the hall or the mixing of the sound technicians (I guess the latter?). Wakana was uncomfortably loud most of the time, drowning out the other two, but especially Hikaru - in some songs more than in others and more often than not when she wasn’t in the lead too. Some of her notes simply made me cringe. Hikaru on the other hand seemed to be feeling the exhaustion of the tour. On many occasions, she sounded tired, especially when it came to hit those high or long notes. The band didn’t help either, they also drowned out many parts of the singing... Maybe it was just this venue though and luckily, the 10th Anniversary wasn’t like this. Then again, I only attended acoustic lives or lives without band after that, so who knows how they sound when there is no DVD recording going on XD

Next was “Lacrimosa”, and this time Wakana wasn’t being as cringy as before. Poor Hikaru doing nothing for most of the time. One cool moment was that short pause after their “LA-CRI-MO-SA” part, right before the final chorus. The stage turned deep red with the girls reaching out to the audience. When you don’t know that this is coming, it’s an incredibly powerful move.

I don’t remember what they said during MC#1, other than greeting the audience and the usual “We hope you have fun” stuff. I do remember Hikaru welcoming us to the Harmony Cinq Kitakyushu Soleil Hall, by saying the entire name of the hall, and then saying something along the lines of “Thank god I didn’t trip over my tongue” (it’s a lot harder to say that name in Japanese, I give it to her lol).

They proceeded to introduce “Ashita no Keshiki”, a song that is not performed often, also because it’s a song that is mainly sung by Wakana. It was a beautiful performance, which was a little bit ruined by Hikaru. If you thought that she sounds strained and tired in the 9+ONE DVD version, well, imagine her like 5 concerts after that performance. Still great though, I came to love that song a lot.

“Hikaru no senritsu” was equally ok, but Hikaru again kind of screwed up her short “ashita wo kanadete” towards the end of the song. She probably just didn’t hit the note correctly, but to me it sounded as if she screwed up the timing, because I didn’t even her the first word or so.

With “Mirai”, Kalafina finally started to move around, so far they had stayed glued to their positions. They waved and interacted with the audience, cheering us on to cheer them on. I did enjoy the performance and the overall atmosphere, although “Mirai” belongs to my most disliked of all Kalafina songs.

In MC#2, they talked about “Ashita no Keshiki” a bit, together with their first album and how this is the first time performing in Kitakyushu (and not Fukuoka city). Since this is Wakana’s home prefecture, she proceeded to talk about her favorite Udon and Ramen restaurants (I think it was also about the restaurant chain West) and other specialties of Fukuoka.

The next song was “Oblivious”, also a song I was really looking forward to. As you know, this time Hikaru decided to sing her first lines in her high head voice (probably because she just can’t do it “regularly” anymore). I thought and still think it’s lovely, as it gives the song a much more mysterious opening and it’s also quite closer to the original to be honest. Wakana and the band drowned out Keiko for most of the time, with Hikaru and her high voice coming to the party later too. The acoustics were really weird that day...

“storia” was as usual, nothing special and not a song that really stands out to me anymore.

I was more looking forward to “Gogatsu no Mahou”, which is also a song I came to appreciate more over time. I adore the bridge section after the chorus, especially Wakana’s “habataku kotori no” and that one super high moment, so I really tried to focus on that particular part of the song. It was great!

With “consolation”, finally a darker and fiercer song made its debut and while I don’t really remember the performance itself anymore, I do remember the stage production. Basically, they packed out those lights and illuminations that they have been hiding so far and blasted us with them. Hikaru was pretty quiet though. Keiko on the hand appeared to have problems with her earpiece, and at some point she was frantically waving to the technicians backstage.

Wakana took it upon herself to dominate “To the beginning” as well, but we got some action on stage at least, since the girls stayed glued to their positions most of the timea again.

In MC#3, Keiko talked about how every live performance as well as their unique harmony is important to them (quite ironic after Wakana was actively trying to make Keiko NOT be heard lol). The following song was special in a sense that there would be NO harmony. Back then, when Kalafina received the song for the first time (or before recording, not sure), they even asked Kajiura Yuki whether this is correct or even intentional.

With “Haru wo matsu” we got our obligatory ballad. While I was never really fond of the song, I think it’s sweet and yes, their missing harmony gives it quite a refreshing vibe. Keiko sounded pretty much like in the 9+ONE DVD, but it was so strange to hear her cutesy voice live and so clearly... she sounded like an entirely different person XD Hikaru, for the first time actually, could finally shine, as we could HEAR her. She didn’t deliver as good as she probably could have, but still it was a very pretty performance.

Now, we were reaching the spot on their setlist that would differ at each venue. Before the concert, I checked out all setlists from the previous lives to see whether there were any patterns or which songs were most likely to be performed (again). It seemed like they took 4-5 songs and repeated them over the course of the tour, which is why I had my hopes high for “Hikaru furu” or “Kimi no gin no niwa”. But interestingly they chose a song they hadn’t performed yet (please correct if I’m wrong here), which was “Ring your bell”.

“Ring your bell” is very high on my list of all-time disliked Kalafina songs (I just can’t seem to escape that song...). But I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they started the song as an acoustic version, very much like the performance during their Arena Live. It stayed acoustic until after the first chorus, then the band joined too. I like this half-half version over the “normal” version, because it’s an amazing moment when you don’t expect the loud and cheerful opening of “Ring your bell” to suddenly fill the stage. The overall harmony of band and singers came together again and the acoustics were finally so much cleaner and nicer. The audience rose to their feet and even some dedicated dudes on my loser floor stood up to cheer them on. However, Wakana’s final high-pitched “ring your BELL” was incredibly cringy and breathy, one of the main reasons I hate the song so much.

Anyway, Kalafina got their break to change costumes and we got an AMAZING performance by the band that played some BGM of the anime “Kubikiri Cycle”. To this day, I don’t know what exact song they played and for the love of god, please SOMEONE TELL ME. I know it was fairly uptempo and rather dark... help pls XD

So far, the stage production was pretty much boring and simple. Other than some light effects, nothing really happened, we just had that huge curtain as background. Now, we finally got ACTION. Well, at least for the eye. They lifted the curtain and revealed those huge, impressing statues of Kalafina’s silhouettes, mostly made out of their past live outfits. I could have spent a long time checking out every part of this artwork, trying to recognize what dresses from which live they used and what not. Now that I watched the DVD, I know where Kalafina was standing, but at the time I didn’t see them AT ALL. The music played the overture and suddenly Keiko was on stage with the other two following her. To me it looked like they stepped THROUGH the middle silhouette, but turns out they were just standing in front of it - they were so far away, I couldn’t differ between them and the clothes behind them lol

(Photo: Hikaru’s “silhouette” with her outfits)

Well, I think I already gave you my opinion on those new dresses... At the time, both Keiko and Wakana looked kinda cool and pretty shiny, but even though I could see jack shit from so far away, I knew that Hikaru’s outfit was a disappointment. Her fucking pants and skirt or whatever that is... XD

I was incredibly looking forward to “Märchen”, as now it became one of my all-time favorite songs. But back then I was especially amazed by the song during their release event of the single in April. I wanted to hear this live again so badly and well... I did, but it wasn’t as good as the release event. Again, Hikaru sounded tired and Keiko and Wakana were fighting about who could be louder than the band. Keiko drowned out Hikaru most of the time... During the middle section we saw their Kala-dance, which I already got to witness during the release event. However, I was pleased to see that they decided to spice things up by showing background animations. It looked like they danced in sinc with themselves, it was truly impressive and such a refreshing use of video. This, as well as the later “Magia” performance made this concert/tour truly stand out and I am glad that they could take their creativity to a new level. I wish they would have continued to do so much more later on.

So, let’s talk about “Magia”. Holy shit, what a performance. The screen from the very beginning was lowered, intro was played, forest was shown, you know it guys. In sync with their live singing, they showed this fucking amazing pre-recorded bits of Kalafina and as I didn’t see this coming, it absolutely blew my mind. It was a psychedelic wtf show with cinema feeling all over the place and for once, the acoustics were actually good. Especially the instrumental part was... I don’t know what it was, but HOLY. SHIT. Truly guys, it was so cool. If there ever was an interview on that particurly performance I would love to read it to how Kalafina thought about this one and how the creation process went. When Keiko stepped in front of the screen it just added to her overall cool demeanor. When the screen was lifted again, we got a little sneak peak of the microphone stands in back.

(Photo: Keiko’s “silhouette” with her costumes)

Which were of course used for “Kyrie”. The DVD version is truly one of my favorite performances of that song and in Kitakyushu it was pretty cool too, especially with their small but effective arm movements. Keiko’s final long-ass “kyrie” was amazing and fairly unexpected from my side. Also some fat light show and big bass sounds, which I am always appreciating.

Next up was “heavenly blue” and here they tried to interact with the crowd once more. I like this song mostly for the kajiurago bridge and I always focus especially on Wakana’s super high “so na” (or whatever), while Keiko is going low at the same time. Wakana was too loud again though, but by now their overall performance and acoustics improved quite a lot.

“One Light” once again activated the crowd, especially Hikaru went crazy here. The atmosphere was amazing and you could just feel that everyone was fired up, singing along and having fun. Everyone just screamed when Hikaru sang “boku wa yukeru”, so cool.

MC#4 was about band introduction. Konno Hitoshi and Sakurada weren’t present if I remember correctly, which was a shame... but then again, I wouldn’t know the difference lol

The last song of the block was their new single at the time, “Into the world”. It was really beautiful, Hikaru finally sang more clearly. A good performance, very similar to the ones I would see from that point on.

We got a little break again, as Kalafina traditionally fake-ended the concert. While the audience was clapping, it took about 5 minutes or so for them to return. But first, the screen was lowered again, and some text, together with the intro for “Ongaku” finally told us to switch on our 9+ONE Lights. Everyone did so and boy, what a sight! Even from so far in the back, the lights in the dark hall looked so great! While of course hundreds and hundreds of people were present, you don’t really get a sense of that sheer number when you focus on the stage the entire time. I looked around and with so many lights illuminating the hall, you truly get a feeling of how many people actually are here with you.

Kalafina returned with their plain, but nevertheless cool black outfits, wearing the little lights themselves and standing on a mini-stage. The song played out as usual, but this time, as Konno Hitoshi wasn’t present and the other violin guy played his solo different than usual. Don’t ask me how it differed, I really don’t remember, but I liked that version a lot more. We got a new cool background too.

“blaze” pretty much business as usual.

(Photo: Wakana’s “silhouette” with her outfits, sorry for the bad quality)

MC#5 was about Hikaru and her beloved sales corner, where she mainly introduced the Kalafina produced goods like Keiko’s pink dumbbell and her bath salt (I think). She talked about the 9+ONE Lights and that they do not produce new lights for each concert, but re-use them every time. That was supposed to increase to sense of unity and connection between them and the fans as well as among the fans themselves, “carrying the fire of every fan and concert to the next” or something like this. As Kalafina had upcoming concerts in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Hikaru said that they would bring the lights to international fans too, so “don’t take them home!”. Well... I guess my ten years of studying Japanese at this point must have failed me in that particular instance because I truly don’t know what she said or meant. I unfortunately ended up taking the ring home. #guiltybutnotguilty #sue me

I think this is also where they talked about the big silhouettes we have seen in the earlier block and that they used dresses from previous performances to decorate them. They then turned around, facing the wall and imitated the poses of the silhouettes - it was super funny and crowd laughed and cheered. I think they lifted the screen of this stained glass pattern to show the silhouettes for direct comparison. (Correct me if I am wrong, but I think they cut out this conversation from the DVD? Not sure, too lazy to check).

We sadly arrived the final song of the setlist, which again should differ at each venue. What song would it be? I hoped for songs like “sprinter” or “Yume no daichi”, as those were among the songs they had already performed during the tour.

Well, back then, they had announced their new single “Hyakka Ryouran”, but it wasn’t released yet (I think we only knew some bits of the chorus at the time). Funnily, I talked about that with the girls I had met prior to admittance, something like “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if Kalafina performed Hyakka Ryouran as surprise encore?”. I mean, they were no strangers to performing songs that haven’t been officially released yet, see “Into the World” during the Arena Live. But, you know... I thought that would be unlikely, because why should they?

BUT NOT THEY ACTUALLY DID IT! Keiko was like: “Ah, which song will be the final song... Well, how about our new single?”, and the crowd LOST IT. I lost it too XD Seriously, no one could handle that. Anyway, now that I know the full version by heart, it’s hard to describe how I felt back then. Listening to a song for the first time is always an experience, but it makes it hard to remember when you can’t listen to it again and again. I tried to focus on every aspect of the song, and remember it as being “dark”, due to Keiko’s deep intro, “fast” and “rock-like”, fitting into the samurai setting of the anime with its flute elements. I still couldn’t believe my luck though and afterwards, the crowd cheered and cheered.

Now the concert should have been over, but instead they entered MC#6. They talked about the first sing of the night “Samidare ga sugita koro ni”. Apparently, they pretty much have never performed this one live, except once during a fanclub-only event. For this tour they wanted to sing this song “for everyone”, as it is such a bright and warm piece.

So, for whatever reason, Kalafina decided to perform “Samidare ga sugita koro ni” AGAIN. However, this time they emphazised that bright feeling of connected hearts and unity by making us turn on our One Lights and wave along with the rhythm. Everyone loudly sang with them, especially during the “lalala” part towards the end. It was so much fun to listen to Kalafina, to the audience around me and singing along too, all while watching this amazing light show that we were creating ourselves. It was even better and much more carefree than the first performance. Still can’t believe my luck that of all venues of the 9+ONE tour, I got to attend to most unique one.

After that, the band was introduced again, they all held hands and thanked the audience for coming. But just before they wanted to bow, Wakana suddenly sobbed (so loud that I actually heard it lol), trying to wipe away tears. Being in her home prefecture, I figured she was just so overwhelmed by her emotions. Each of the three said some final words and with that the concert and the domestic 9+ONE tour ended.

I proceeded to take photos of the stage, as we were still able to see the big silhouettes. However, staff members appeared and told everyone to stop taking pictures and get the fuck out, probably to stop people from “spoiling” the concert before the DVD release or copyright or whatever. Well, thankfully I already took like 3 photos and managed to sneakily take another one, in order to have a close shot of each silhouette (which is why the third photo of Wakana’s statue is not a close-up like the other too). I left the building, returned to Fukuoka city and 2 days later back to Kanagawa.

-------------------------------------------------

Despite the sound issues, it was truly a great live experience. 9+ONE would be, along with the 10th Anni, my only “real” Kalafina concert experience, as all the other concerts I attended would either be acoustic or without live band. I am so thankful that I managed to seize the opportunity and attend this live, especially in Wakana’s home. Writing this report again made me remember all those feelings I had back then, now they make me both happy and sad.

Anyway, I hoped you like my updated report!

#kalafina #9+ONE #live #live report #revisited #a bit more details #talk about overdue #fukuoka #never forget

14 notes · View notes

anabelkay · 5 years ago

Photo

Anabelkay’s TOG Read & Draw #7

(VOTE IN THE INSTA COMMENTS) The winner from HoF pgs 201-400 was #4! “His breath caught, harsh enough that she looked over her shoulder. But his eyes weren’t on her face. Or the water. They were on her bare back.” I really wanted to convey the scene without showing her scars, and instead through the emotion on their faces.

❤ Now go read the next top 3 below the cut & vote on which one you want me to draw!

HEIR OF FIRE Pgs. 401 - 565 – Top 3 moments! NOTE – I did NOT include the carranam scene because I’ll likely do a separate full painting for that one day. J

1. “Aelin Galathynius smiled at her, hand still outreached. ‘Get up,’ the princess said. Celaena reached across the earth between them and brushed her fingers against Aelin’s. And arose.”

This parallel to the scene in the first book, MY HEART.

2. “’Aelin,’ he murmured, and it wasn’t a reprimand, or a thank-you, but … a prayer. ‘Aelin,’ he whispered again, grinning, and kissed her brow before he dropped to both knees before her.

SJM has a thing for writing men dropping to their knees before powerful women and honestly that’s my religion.

3. “He looked at his friend, perhaps for the last time, and said what he had always known, from the moment they’d met, when he’d understood that the prince was his brother in soul. ‘I love you.’”

WHEN will my BABY Dorian STOP SUFFERING??? PLEASE.

Bonus: “Asterin had swaggered into the mess hall that morning, well aware that she was lethal as all hell.” Do I need to say anything here? No. Asterin is my soul sister.

GO VOTE IN THE COMMENTS❤❤❤! (closes 11am PST on Thurs 10/17)

Quick recap of how this works: for every ~200 pages I read, I post my 3 favorite moments from that stretch, and you all vote at my instagram on which of the 3 you want me to sketch! Voting will be open 24 hours – comment on the insta post to vote, or reblog here with your vote! I’ll post the finished sketch once I hit my next 200 page mark, along with the next round of reactions/voting – rinse & repeat!

PREVIOUS: HoF 201-400 NEXT: HOF 401-565 Masterlist post here! insta . website (commission info here) . please do not repost, use, or edit any of my art in any way without my written permission. reblogs appreciated ❤

#throne of glass #rowaelin #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn #sj maas #sarah j maas #aelin ashryver galathynius #aelin ashryver whitethorn galathynius #heir of fire #HOF #tog fanart #rowaelin fanart #anabelkay #my art #dorian havilliard #chaol westfall #fantasy art #fantasy illustration #aedion ashryver

896 notes · View notes

newstfionline · 4 years ago

Text

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Biden’s Infrastructure Push Spurs a Flurry of Lobbying in Congress (NYT) Members of Congress have begun a frenzy of lobbying to ensure that their pet projects and policy priorities are included in President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan, eager to shape what could be one of the most substantial public works investments in a generation. Officials across the country are dusting off lists of construction projects and social programs, hoping to secure their piece of a plan aimed at addressing what the administration estimates is at least $1 trillion worth of backlogged infrastructure improvements, as well as economic and racial inequities that have existed for decades. “My phone is blowing up,” Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, said in an interview. Nearly every lawmaker “can point to a road or a bridge or an airport” in his or her district that is in dire need of repair.

Truck seized over ‘munitions of war,’ 5 forgotten bullets (AP) Gerardo Serrano ticked off the border crossing agents by taking some photos on his phone. So they took his pickup truck and held onto it for more than two years. Only after Serrano filed a federal lawsuit did he get back his Ford F-250. Now he wants the Supreme Court to step in and require a prompt court hearing as a matter of constitutional fairness whenever federal officials take someone’s property under civil forfeiture law. The justices could consider his case when they meet privately on Friday. It’s a corner of the larger forfeiture issue, when federal, state or local officials take someone’s property, without ever having to prove that it has been used for illicit purposes. Since 2000, governments have acquired at least $68.8 billion in forfeited property, according to the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm that represents Serrano and tracks seizures. The group says the number “drastically underestimates forfeiture’s true scope” because not all states provide data. Serrano’s troubles stemmed from some pictures he took along the way of a long trip from his home in Tyner, Kentucky, to visit relatives, including a dying aunt, in Zaragosa, Mexico. The photo-taking attracted the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Eagle Pass, Texas. When Serrano refused to hand over the password to his phone, the agents went through the 2014 silver pickup truck in great detail. They justified its seizure by saying they found “munitions of war” inside—five forgotten bullets, though no gun. Told to park the truck, he said, he complained a bit before one agent reached into the pickup, opened the door, unfastened Serrano’s seat belt and yanked him out of the vehicle. “I got rights, I got constitutional rights and he snaps back at me, ‘You don’t have no rights here. I’m sick and tired of hearing about your rights.’ That took me aback,” Serrano said.

Should the U.S. boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China? (Washington Post) As if there aren’t enough sources of Sino-U.S. friction already, an emerging new irritant may soon outpace the rest: the growing calls for a boycott of Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympics. The games are still 10 months away. But it’s not too early for the event to turn into a flash point. Critics of China’s ruling Communist Party—including a coalition of more than 180 human rights organizations—argue that the regime’s record of human rights abuses and geopolitical malfeasance ought to deprive it of the right to burnish its image with a spectacle like the Olympics. “Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Olympics in 2015, the same year it cracked down on lawyers and activists across China,” Chinese human rights lawyer Teng Biao wrote earlier this year. “Since then, it has detained journalists; harassed and attacked activists and dissidents even outside China’s borders; shut down nongovernmental organizations; demolished Christian churches, Tibetan temples and Muslim mosques; persecuted, sometimes to death, believers in Falun Gong; and sharply increased its control of media, the Internet, universities and publishers.” An Olympic boycott has become a popular cause among Republicans. Major sporting events—and especially international spectacles like the Olympics—always bear a political dimension.

‘Huge’ explosion rocks St. Vincent as volcano keeps erupting (AP) La Soufriere volcano fired an enormous amount of ash and hot gas early Monday in the biggest explosive eruption yet since volcanic activity began on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent late last week, with officials worried about the lives of those who have refused to evacuate. Experts called it a “huge explosion” that generated pyroclastic flows down the volcano’s south and southwest flanks. “It’s destroying everything in its path,” Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, told The Associated Press. “Anybody who would have not heeded the evacuation, they need to get out immediately.” The ongoing volcanic activity has threatened water and food supplies, with the government forced to drill for fresh water and distribute it via trucks. “We cannot put tarpaulin over a river,” said Garth Saunders, minister of the island’s water and sewer authority, referring to the impossibility of trying to protect current water sources from ongoing falling ash.

Colombia’s cartels target Europe (The Guardian) At 5 am on a chilly Tuesday morning last month, 1,600 police officers and balaclava-wearing special forces, bristling with arms and battering rams, were ordered into action around the Belgian port city of Antwerp. More than 200 addresses were raided in what was the largest police operation ever conducted in the country and potentially one of the most significant moves yet against the increasingly powerful narco-gangs of western Europe. An incredible 27 tonnes of cocaine have been seized on Antwerp’s quays, in container ships and safe houses, with an estimated value of €1.4bn (£1.2bn), and many arrests have been made. It has been hailed as a mighty blow against what Belgian federal prosecutor Frédéric Van Leeuw calls “a world where morality has totally disappeared”, but Operation Sky has also highlighted a chilling development. Europe has eclipsed the US as the Colombian cartels’ favoured market, because of higher prices and much lower risks posed by European governments in terms of interdiction, extradition and seizure of assets. Jeremy McDermott, a former British army officer who is now executive director of the thinktank InSight Crime, said a kilogram of cocaine in the US is worth up to $28,000 wholesale but that rises to $40,000 on average in Europe, and nearly $80,000 in some parts of Europe. “It is more money for less risk. I see a deliberate decision by some of the top-level Colombian traffickers, based on sources who sat in a series of meetings in 2005-6, where the business decisions were made,” McDermott said. “It is a business no-brainer.”

Conservative Ex-Banker Headed to Victory in Presidential Election in Ecuador (NYT) Guillermo Lasso, a 66-year-old conservative former banker, was set to win Ecuador’s presidential election and beat out Andrés Arauz, a 36-year-old leftist handpicked by former President Rafael Correa. With more than 94 percent of the votes counted after 10 p.m., Mr. Lasso had 52 percent compared with Mr. Arauz’s 47.32 percent, according to the Electoral Council official counting system in Ecuador. Mr. Arauz conceded defeat. The vote signaled a desire, at least among some, to shift right following years in which Mr. Correa has held sway over the country.

England reopens with pints pulled, shopping sprees and hair cuts (Reuters) People queued up outside retailers across England on Monday to release their pent-up shopping fever and some grabbed a midnight pint or even an early haircut as England’s shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown. After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening was a “major step” towards freedom but urged people to behave responsibly as the coronavirus was still a threat. Getting people spending again is crucial for Britain’s recovery after official data showed that 2020 was the worst year for its economy in more than three centuries with a 9.8% decline in gross domestic product.

Tropical Cyclone Seroja flattens Australian town (Washington Post) A tropical cyclone battered Australia’s west coast Sunday night and into Monday, destroying homes and leaving thousands without electricity. Severe wind gusts of up to 105 miles per hour tore houses apart and sent debris flying all over Kalbarri, a coastal tourist town of 1,350 people in Western Australia. Authorities estimated some 70 percent of the town’s buildings were damaged. Drone footage from the scene showed dozens of homes with their roofs ripped off. Power lines were down and roads were littered with shards of metal and other debris. Cyclone Seroja made landfall as a category three storm at about 8 p.m. local time on Sunday between the towns of Kalbarri and Gregory. Cyclones of such intensity rarely travel this far south in Australia, and towns outside the cyclone belt are not usually built to withstand the devastating conditions.

Muslims navigate restrictions in the second pandemic Ramadan (AP) For Ramadan this year, Magdy Hafez has been longing to reclaim a cherished ritual: performing the nighttime group prayers called taraweeh at the mosque once again. Last year, the coronavirus upended the 68-year-old Egyptian’s routine of going to the mosque to perform those prayers, traditional during Islam’s holiest month. The pandemic had disrupted Islamic worship the world over, including in Egypt where mosques were closed to worshippers last Ramadan. Ramadan, which begins this week, comes as much of the world has been hit by an intense new coronavirus wave. For many Muslims navigating restrictions, that means hopes of a better Ramadan than last year have been dashed with the surge in infection rates though regulations vary in different countries. A time for fasting, worship and charity, Ramadan is also when people typically congregate for prayers, gather around festive meals to break their daylong fast, throng cafes and exchange visits. Once again, some countries are imposing new restrictions.

Iran blames Israel for sabotage at Natanz nuclear site (AP) Iran on Monday blamed Israel for a sabotage attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged the centrifuges it uses to enrich uranium there, warning that it would take revenge for the assault. The comments by Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh represent the first official accusation leveled against Israel for the incident Sunday that cut power across the facility. Israel has not directly claimed responsibility for the attack. However, suspicion fell immediately on it as Israeli media widely reported that a devastating cyberattack orchestrated by Israel caused the blackout. If Israel was responsible, it would further heighten tensions between the two nations, already engaged in a shadow conflict across the wider Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met Sunday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, has vowed to do everything in his power to stop the nuclear deal. According to US intelligence officials, it could take more than nine months to resume enrichment in the nuclear facility.

Abductions and Torture Rattle Uganda (NYT) Armed men in white minivans without license plates picked up people off the streets or from their homes. Those snatched were taken to prisons, police stations and military barracks where they say they were hooded, drugged and beaten—some left to stand in cellars filled with water up to their chests. The fear is still so palpable in the capital, Kampala, that many others have gone into hiding or left the country. Three months after Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, won a sixth five-year term in office in the most fiercely contested election in years, his government appears to be intent on breaking the back of the political opposition. His principal challenger, Bobi Wine, a magnetic musician-turned-lawmaker who galvanized youthful crowds of supporters, is now largely confined to his house in Kampala. Mr. Wine’s party said on Friday that 623 members, supporters and elected officials have been seized from the streets and arrested in recent weeks, many of them tortured.

Prince Philip’s mourners in the South Pacific (Foreign Policy) The death of Prince Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, triggered mourning rituals across the country over the weekend. The mourning is not only reserved for the United Kingdom—on one of Vanuatu’s islands, Tanna, hundreds of members of a local tribe have long venerated Prince Philip as akin to a god, and are preparing to mourn his passing. Although it’s unclear how the Prince Philip Movement began, it is believed to have taken root in the 1970s—given life by the royal couple’s visit in 1974. Key to the movement is the belief that Prince Philip is one with the tribe, and fulfilled a prophecy of a tribesman who had found a powerful wife overseas and “would return some day, either in person or in spiritual form,” Kirk Huffman, an anthropologist, told the BBC.

#headlines #news

3 notes · View notes

dippedanddripped · 4 years ago

Link

One cannot look back on 2001 R&B/hip-hop without paying homage to the fits, the fits, the fits! Designer monogrammed wigs, bedazzled denim from head to toe, the occasional inexplicable trend (Nelly, looking at you), and, of course, Destiny's Child never leaving the house without three glamorous variations of the same fabric.

"[Hip-hop fashion] was creative and custom," says Derek Lee, former stylist to R&B icon, Aaliyah. "It wasn't driven totally by designers, you could still show up with some street stuff and it'd be acceptable." Lee, who styled the beloved singer from 1996 to 2001, pioneered the "sensual tomboy" aesthetic, central to today's fashion landscape, and evident in the wardrobes of R&B stars like Ciara, Teyana Taylor and Rihanna.

Lee recalled his own customizing experiences, adding glitz to streetwear pieces for the late singer. "We were flying to Paris and I'd be bedazzling Enyce sweatsuits for Aaliyah," he explains. Lee paid homage to fellow stylist June Ambrose for her work with Missy Elliott in further establishing the craze surrounding bedazzled pieces.

Ambrose, who styled over 200 music videos, was Missy's right-hand woman, costume designing for every major Missy Elliott production including "Get Ur Freak On," "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," "One Minute Man," and "Lose Control." She was a go-to designer for R&B/hip-hop heavyweights including Diddy, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, and currently works as a creative director for Puma.

"We didn't have a point of reference that came before us," explains Ambrose. "We took the risk for the future." The "Rain" designer discussed the role of late '90s to early '00s designers as trailblazers, bursting through barriers between high-end labels and R&B/hip-hop culture. "I bridged high fashion with urban music," says Ambrose, "What felt so rebellious was taking a high fashion piece, and still keeping the same demeanor and swag that you wore in your neighborhood."

Dionne Alexander, the hairstylist behind Lil Kim's monogrammed wigs and Mary J. Blige's '90s updo's, agrees. "Look how free we are here," Alexander says. "It was very exciting, we were able to be extremely creative and we had to pull it from within. We didn't have Instagram, we had to go out and get magazines.

Tre Major, hairstylist to legendary celebrities including Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle and Naomi Campbell, says the early '00s was "the best" era for fashion and hip-hop. "I was like an architect on the outside," Major explained. "Building the visuals, landscaping and making it gorgeous." Major was responsible for ushering in the lace-front wig into the world of R&B/hip-hop. "[The other stylists] were just geek because they never seen anything like it," says Major. "Now you can find a lace front wig on every corner, every boutique, every website."

On the 20th anniversary of this iconic, enduring year in fashion, Billboard caught up with the architects of the era, June Ambrose, Derek Lee, Tre Major and Dionne Alexander, to discuss some of the most memorable looks in '01 R&B/hip-hop and how these moments shaped the culture for decades to come.

Missy Elliott's Rhinestones, "Get Ur Freak On" Courtesy Photo Missy Elliott "Get Ur Freak On"

Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On" bedazzled denim

In '01, rhinestones were all the craze, and we have June Ambrose to thank. "It was all about making Missy a rock star," says Ambrose. "I got her hooked on rhinestones -- and once that happened, forget about it." The 200-time music video stylist says the glittering look from Missy's Dave Meyers directed video was meant to create a dichotomy between Elvis-like glamour and sportswear. "The jean jacket silhouette was very comfortable and relatable to her, but taking a Bootsy Collins over the top approach is what made it really tangible and special."

Aaliyah's Catsuit, "More Than A Woman" Courtesy Photo Aaliyah "More Than A Woman"

Aaliyah's "More Than A Woman" Chanel catsuit

Aaliyah's Dapper Dan-designed faux Chanel catsuit from the "More Than a Woman" video is one of the late singer's most iconic moments. "I knew that it was going to be a feature, that it would be striking, if it was different from anything she has done before," says Lee. The decision to choose Chanel was a step away from edgier brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli, which the sweet singer was typically dressed in. But why not have Chanel design the piece themselves? "[The major brands] didn't want to be associated with rap music and this street culture," explains Lee, "That's why we had to create our own stuff or have it knocked off by [Dapper] Dan." When Aaliyah saw the design, Lee says she was feeling it. "I had decided to move Aaliyah into almost a cartoon character," he tells Billboard. "I was going down to Little Tokyo and getting all these anime books and had this entire idea."

Lil Kim Steve Wood/Shutterstock Lil Kim photographed at the Versace Haute couture show, Spring /Summer 2001 in Paris, France.

Lil Kim's monogrammed wigs

Monogrammed tresses have popped up on the heads of the rap's most iconic first ladies, including Nicki Minaj and Cardi B -- but similar to countless other signature hip-hop trends, it started with Lil Kim as the blueprint, and hairstylist Dionne Alexander the architect. "The inspiration totally comes from [Lil Kim] and who she is," says Alexander, the mastermind behind Lil Kim's Versace wig and equally iconic blue Chanel wig. "It was such a flow of creative energy, like a power that was coming through."

Alexander recalls coloring the Chanel wig Lil Kim wore for Manhattan File Magazine late into the night, until 5:00 in the morning. "I went to the art store and got trace paper and created the logo, then I cut it out." And her secret? Black magic marker. "With the Versace wig," Alexander says, "She called me and left this message on my machine that I literally kept for years. She went nuts, and it was the same with the Chanel."

Alexander says the present-day response to both wigs is surprising. "It's more of a buzz now than it was then. I'm so shocked at how many people call me about it now."

Outkast "So Fresh, So Clean" Courtesy Photo Outkast "So Fresh, So Clean"

Outkast's 'So Fresh' and 'So Clean' looks

The evolution of men's fashion in hip-hop is inextricably linked to the genius duo best known as Outkast. The pair defied longstanding tropes of how rappers were expected to present themselves and sent the media into frequent frenzies, with their delightfully shocking red carpet looks. In the "So Fresh, So Clean" music video, the eccentric Georgian duo rock a myriad of hairstyles, from a sleek, flipped perm, to a combed out, asymmetrical afro.

"That's some Southernplayalistic s--t right there," says Lee, in reference to the pair's '01 look. Alexander says Andre 3000 and Big Boi "revolutionized male confidence" through their unapologetic expression of creativity. Of Andre 3000, Major says, "He took a real gamble and went for it, just being his true artistic self and everyone loved it."

Macy Gray Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect Macy Gray arriving at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York City on Sept. 6, 2001.

Macy Gray's Vocal Dress at the MTV Video Music Awards

It was the dress seen (and read) around the world. Macy Gray, a performer known for her unconventional style and music, decided to transform her award show dress into a walking billboard. "That was totally Macy's idea, I just had to execute it," says Ambrose, the designer of Macy's immortal dress. "Working with Macy Gray was so much fun because she was an anomaly," Ambrose remembers. "In that moment, it was important that she sold albums, and she had she wanted to capitalize on the moment. It's like, where's the return on the investment? I'm getting hair and makeup and spending money on wardrobe. Is it gonna help me sell records? We wanted to just make sure that it did."

Destiny's Child "Survivor" Courtesy Photo Destiny's Child "Survivor"

Destiny's Child's coordinated camo

There are few things more memorable about the late '90s and early '00s than DC3's coordinated looks. Whether it was award shows, music videos or MTV appearances, you caught the trio out and about without perfect coordination. "Tina Knowles strikes again," says Ambrose, of Beyonce's mother and the group's resident designer. "Utilitarian was such a celebration of being tough and dominant," Ambrose explained. "It showed females in military can be sexy, that it's not just a man's game." Major drew comparisons to another always coordinated, ever-influential girl group. "Every time I looked at them, I saw the modern day Supremes," he said. "Everyone wanted to follow the camouflage trend."

Nelly Charles Sykes/Shutterstock Nelly photographed on Sept. 7, 2001.

Nelly's inexplicable face band-aid and double headbands

There are countless rumors circulating the World Wide Web about the explanation behind Nelly's little white Band-Aid and criss-crossed headbands. But regardless of the backstory, Nelly's creative face accessory was all people could talk about. "He created his own thing, like a left-eye kind of moment," says Major, who remembered considering rocking a Band-Aid himself. Ambrose says the bandage symbolized a "thug badge of honor," as iconic to Nelly as eye black is to football players.

Alicia Keys Anthony Barboza/Getty Images Alicia Keys photographed in New York in 2001.

Alicia Keys' beads and cornrows

Before Alicia Keys arrived on the scene, cornrows and beads were seldom seen in mainstream music. Ambrose, who styled Alicia in the early years of her career says the pianist extraordinaire's team always kept her identity in mind. "We wanted to always keep a sense of that New York girl and celebrate all the things that that spoke to her Blackness," says Ambrose. Not only was Alicia's hair aesthetically striking, it also played a roll in representation of Black women's natural tresses. "Universally, it told other young Black girls and it's okay to wear your braids and your beads," explained Ambrose. "That this isn't a Bo Derek moment, this is an African moment."

Mary J. Blige "Family Affair" Courtesy Photo Mary J. Blige "Family Affair"

Mary J. Blige's avant-garde "Family Affair" wigs

It's hard to say what part of the "Family Affair" experience was most unforgettable. Was it the futuristic outfits? Iconic choreographed moves? The fact that Mary basically invented three new words? In the world of fashion, it was most definitely the wigs. Tre Major, Mary's long-time hairstylist, says the chart-topping singer was ever-evolving, setting trend after trend along the way.

"I gave her edge and femininity," says Major. "I named that wig the Marvin Martian," Major says of Mary's salt and pepper avant-garde wig, a nod to the Looney Tunes character. Major says he custom made the wig on the R&B diva, since her head was "so small" compared to the mannequins. "She was the best muse because she was so daring," he explains. "She trusted me."

#missy elliott #june ambrose #derek lee #nelly #hiphop fashion #tre major #streetwear blog #fashion blog

2 notes · View notes

justasparkwritings · 4 years ago

Text

Codename Cupid: Chapter 11

Previous: Tailing Taehyung

Pairing: Min Yoongi X OFC

Genre: Angst, Secret AgentAU, AgentAU, Government Agent AU

Rating: PG15

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: Swearing, Kissing, Mentions of Consensual Sex

Summary: The final part of Suga’s��orders are carried out.

Codename Another Shot at Love Pt. 4

Winter After Graduation

December and January passed without much to report. That being said, everything that OT7 had planned went swimmingly, with one singular exception.

The dinner at the Lee estate had sent a wave of insecurity through Euna, which made it easy for Yoongi to feign ignorance when he began, deliberately, to pull away from her.

The first few weeks after dinner were filled with Yoongi convincing Euna that he was going to stay, that he was all in, that he wanted to be with her. She believed him, and by believing him, started the early drafts of their futures together. He hated the deception, the lies he strung together as easily as breathing, the files and documents charting his deception updated daily by Hoseok.

Hoseok had the unpleasant task of transcribing all conversation and interactions between marks and members of OT7, his specialized training and exceptional hearing made his job easy. Yoongi was instructed to record everything, except sex or any hooking up that went down. Being in charge of most of the tech, he wielded his glasses and watch, set to record when they were on his person, set to turn off when they couldn’t detect his body heat. He could manually turn them off, a button on his watch near the band allowed him to with ease. He’d only fucked up once or twice, not recording when Cupid spilled important info, which angered Namjoon to no end. They weren’t amateurs, Yoongi should know better. Regardless, everyday Hobi transcribed the conversations between Yoongi and Cupid, adding more to the list and charts of the lies being told.

“Jun-Seo said that Jimin wanted to send you something, a welcome to the gang, gift,” Euna said over dinner.

Surprised and pouting, Yoongi responded, “A gift?”

“Knowing Jun-Seo and Jimin, it’s probably a Dae-Seong voodoo doll,” Euna shrugged.

“Okay, did they want to drop it off or give it to you?” Yoongi shrugged it off.

“Jimin wants to have dinner, the four of us,” Euna told him, sipping her wine.

Nodding again, Yoongi asked, “How do you feel about that?”

“I would rather not,” Euna said.

“Then we won’t.”

“Isn’t it part of being a family?” She asked, unsure what the protocol of a functioning family was.

“Having dinner? Didn’t we just witness Guadalcanal? You think the troops wanted to hang with the natives after they slaughtered them?” Yoongi scoffed. He hated how docile Cupid was towards her family, always doing what she thought was right, rarely what she wanted.

“Eh, it wasn’t that bad,” Euna responded.

“You’re shitting me,” Yoongi’s eyes were wide. “War is not normal, I mean, besides Iraq and Afghanistan, that’s normal.”

“No, I’m not. We’ve had far worse, that one was honestly, average. At least my mom made it through the entire meal, and no one broke a glass or threw a plate at Dae. They weren’t on their best behavior, but it was better than most meals we share,” Euna informed him.

“That’s toxic, psychotic, that’s fucking horrifying, Euna. You don’t have to put up with that.” Yoongi took her hand in his while she watched her roll her eyes.

“Didn’t you know that, though?” She snapped.

“Know what?”

“The Lee family, and Lee Enterprises, breeds nothing but toxicity and wages psychological warfare on every member of the inner circle. That’s why no one leaves,” Euna’s temper continued to flare throughout the night, sleeping as far from Yoongi as possible, barely acknowledging him as he slipped from her home the next morning.

Arriving at work the next day, Yoongi and the OT7 team spent an additional week tracing the longevity of careers at Enterprises, as well as tracking hirings, firings and workers who just disappeared from records.

“Who’s been there the longest?” Namjoon asked, files scattered across the conference table, writing strewn on the glass between offices. He was growing tired, a sign from the cold he’d acquired running a surveillance mission with their recent acquisition, a trainee ready to be put into the field.

“Not including the Lee family, that would include a somewhat distant Vanderbilt relative, a Henry Claypoole,” Yoongi said.

“Not a Korean?” Seokjin asked.

“No, the Lee’s didn’t rise into prominence until, well, it looks like the late 80s, when they did a market sample and it became apparent that an Asian-American owned company would serve better in the future than another fortune 500 owned by a white family, that and Vietnam had ended and American sentiment towards Asians of all kind was changing,” Namjoon responded.

“Once the Civil Rights Act passed, and the government continued to allow Asians immigrate, opinions were changing.” Yoongi added.

“It wasn’t that long after Vietnam though,” Seokjin was skeptical.

“It didn’t go over well, they hadn’t gone public until the early 2000s, so it balanced out. It was pretty hush-hush until the mid 90s when Claypoole died.” Namjoon pulled up the paperwork, passing it to Jin.

“Still, Vietnam, AIDs, their investors were okay with this?”

“At the heart of the Lee business model, is a relentless grab for power. They were making ins with the wealthiest families in Asia, Europe, UAE, Middle East and South America. There wasn’t a royal family or billionaire who hadn’t put their money in,” Namjoon told the men.

Curious, Seokjin asked, “Before it was Lee Enterprises, what was it called?”

“Claypoole & Lee Enterprises,” Hoseok responded. He’d forged a few older documents with their old insignia and water mark.

“CLE?” Jin had looked at their old stocks, comparing them to other companies when he was in college. They were a fickle company, always hard to pin down or predict.

“Yes,” Hoseok answered again.

“They changed their name?” Jin confirmed.

“It was a complete rebranding to help with their demographics, but it also made sense once Claypoole was six feet under.” Namjoon replied.

“The less American, the better?” Jin clarified.

“Exactly, better for the global image,” Namjoon adjusted his glasses before running a hand through his hair. Dark and quaffed, it fell back into place in gently swoops.

“Claypoole worked in the bank from day one,” Yoongi addressed the three men.

“Claypoole was just a figurehead, the original chairman of the board while Lee and his crew ran the company,” Namjoon said.

“How do their hiring practices measure up?” Hoseok asked, he spent zero time reading and understanding the internal workings of the company unless he has to write in a specific person’s voice.

“They accept applicants in pools, hiring in spring/summer, train in fall, then reevaluate the following spring. Their classes or cohorts are no more than ten people, with a few exceptions based on the market demands and company growth. Some years, specifically at the beginning of the tech boom, they hired fifty people, other years, six. It is fairly unpredictable,” Namjoon passed around another set of documents.

“The most tenured staff has been there for thirty years,” Yoongi said sipping his coffee.

“Yoongi, you haven’t had to sign an NDA?” Hoseok asked.

“No.”

“What about retention?”

“No one talks about retention. It wasn’t in my contract at all, no blind clauses or double language.”

“Has anyone left in the year you’ve been there?”

“Not that I’ve seen. No one talks about contracts or negotiation outside of the speculation of what will happen come May.”

“Their plans for negotiating contracts also vary by years spent, first years going through a level of hell that slowly descends as you work your way up the ladder,” Yoongi informed.

“Why would they want people to stay?” Hoseok asked.

“They’re all complicit? They knowingly are committing felonies, so staying means no one can hold it against them?” Yoongi suggested.

“An entire company of 200 people, all insider trading? All embezzling? That’s inconceivable,” Namjoon was unsure how realistic the possibility was.

“An entire company, minus one,” Jin whispered.

“Yoongi, how is our Cupid doing?” Hoseok smirked.

“She wants to move in,” Yoongi muttered.

“What?” Seokjin yelled.

“Yeah, oh, and her clothes have begun to infiltrate my closet,” Yoongi sipped his iced americano, his own making, a product of the espresso machine he had begged Namjoon to buy. The coffee ice cubes, a stupid idea from a pop-up video, had turned Yoongi’s favorite addiction into a godly experience.

“She wants to move in, with you?” Hoseok was shocked.

“Fuck off,” Snapped Yoongi.

“What else?” Namjoon asked.

“She’s been calling a lot, at random times in the day. She’s got snacks in her apartment for me, like really niche stuff. She bought a thousand-dollar bottle of whiskey for me, bought me a pair of silk pajamas that cost near $550. The worst of it all, and I swear, I swear, she’s developing an impregnation kink.”

Namjoon and Hoseok laughed, doubling over to hold their sides as they became consumed by the idea.

“Seriously?” Hoseok gasped.

“Whatever happened at that dinner has her scared shitless,” Seokjin remained calm, though the shock etched into his ageless features. “She’s never wanted kids.”

“Which is why it’s concerning,” Yoongi said.

“You stopped using condoms?” Namjoon dropped the laughter to stare at Yoongi. “Don’t tell me you stopped using-

Yoongi’s eyes widen, cheeks tinting pink as he blushes. “No, no, that’s how I know she’s developing this, obsession. She very vocally, wants my fucking seed.”

“Does she ask you not to use one?” Hoseok inquired.

“Yeah and tells me I can take it off and I don’t need to because she’s on birth control, which she isn’t.”

“Pull out?” Hoseok suggested.

“Oh yeah, the second least successful method to avoid pregnancy,” Namjoon laughed again.

“You can tell her you don’t want STI’s,” Jin offered.

“She’ll ask if I’m sleeping with other people,” Yoongi had gone through every option, there was no good solution. He pissed off Cupid, or he put himself at risk. Unwanted pregnancy was not how he was going to start off his mid-twenties. Fatherhood was not on the table, especially not with someone he at his core, didn’t love.

“Are you?” Jin wondered.

Rolling his eyes, “When would I have the time?”

“You’ve always been a one partner kind of guy,” Hoseok responded.

Confusion in his eyes, Yoongi tilted his head. “What does that even mean?”

“Just that-

“Yoongi, start distancing yourself, as gradually as possible,” Namjoon redirected.

“Roger that.”

It was a cliché, become a horrible partner to get the other person to break up with you so you didn’t have to. It’s even more of a cliché for the person hoping to be dumped to revert back to their pre-relationship behavior in order to get their partner to dislike them, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, that was exactly what Yoongi did. Frankly, he didn’t have to try very hard, though, to get Euna to be hurt by him.

Introverted in nature, he began by closing himself off to her, cancelling plans, bailing at the last second. He became withholding of sex and general intimacy, being standoffish when she tried to get him to open up, annoyed when she tried to use her wiles against him. He tapped into all the flaws past partners had accused him of and let them run wild.

It was slow at first, building up Cupid’s resentment towards him, for every step away from her he took, she took three more towards him. Her internet searches became solely based on ways to keep Yoongi, entrapment through a hole in the condom, or preying on him after a night of drinking. She lost all sense of what was acceptable, what was normal, and spun out completely. Cupid tried to track his phone, bought burners to call and catfish him, put extra security in place in his corner of Lee Enterprises to ensure she had eyes on him all day. Paranoia and obsession have no place in a healthy, stable relationship, but Yoongi couldn’t fault her for feeling both towards him.

The final straw, on Yoongi’s end, was a confrontation the night following Cupid’s weekly family dinner.

“Why didn’t you come to dinner? Who were you with?” Cupid demanded when she called Yoongi.

“I told you, I have a deadline and Matthew needs the plans before the market opens on Monday,” Yoongi reminded her.

“You’re not at work,” She snapped.

Calmly, Yoongi exhaled, “I’m at my apartment.”

“Why are you lying to me,” It wasn’t a question, but an accusation.

“I’m not lying, Euna, I am at home working,” Yoongi answered.

“Why don’t you ever come to dinner?”

“You said I didn’t have to, after the first one,” Yoongi reminded her.

Cupid scoffed, as if that was a true reason. “Jimin’s there, and recently, Dae’s wife has been making an appearance.”

“I would prefer to not engage with your family unless I have to. It blurs the lines of work and personal –

“But you’re dating me! You’re fucking me, you’re in love with me.” She rattled off, “Why does my family have to be the problem? What’s really going on?”

“What do you mean?” Yoongi was already tired of the conversation.

“You’ve been acting weird for months. You don’t want to sleep with me, you hardly stay over, you’re distant and weird,” Accusation after accusation, Yoongi had made a list himself of what she could potentially throw at him.

“I have been going through a lot, can’t you understand that?”

Scoffing again, Cupid responded. “You’ve been going through a lot? What about me?”

“Euna, I know I’ve been shit, I just-

“You don’t love me anymore, do you?” Bingo.

“What?” Yoongi feigned hurt.

“You’re not denying it,” She snapped.

“Do you really think that?”

“Yes, Yoongi, I do. I think you used me to get into good graces with the company so you can move up the ladder. Now that you’ve got some traction, you fucking don’t care about me or our relationship.”

“That’s crazy! When have I ever shown any sign of wanting to move up the corporate ladder? It wasn’t my idea to fall into bed with you, Euna, your mother set this up,” The angrier he pretended to be, the faster this would be over.

“Why are you acting like this if you’re still in love with me?” She demanded to know.

“I told you, works been chaotic and I –

“If work’s chaotic, why not tell me? I can change that.”

He held in a laugh, “That would be like nepotism but worse.”

“Are you saying this to make me feel better?” She asked, voice softening.

“Euna,” If only she could see him, eyes closed, glasses on his desk, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He was tired. Tired of Euna, tired of working at this company, tired of lying. He didn’t often burn out on missions, but this had taken him to his edge.

“You don’t want to have sex, you don’t want me in your space, you cancel plans, you never answer my calls. Yoongi, are you cheating on me?”

“What?”

“You are, aren’t you?” She could feel the tears breaking through, the resolve of anger she had disappearing.

Yoongi took a deep breath, knowing she was going to throw up whatever she could until it stuck.

“Euna, stop,” Yoongi sighed.

“Then tell me what’s going on,” She whispered.

He had to say it, he had to otherwise this fight would continue on, resulting in an in person confrontation. “We should break up.”

The silence on the other end was worse than her screaming at him.

“What?” Her voice was still soft, a heartbroken whisper.

“We want really different things, and I don’t know if I can or will ever be able to give you what you need. I’m sorry, Euna, I am,” Yoongi said. He wasn’t a heartbreaker, he loved fiercely and passionately. But Cupid was a mark, plain and simple.

“Fuck you, Yoongi,” She spit.

“I’m sorry, Euna,” He laid on the apology.

“You had my heart,” She sniffled.

“I know,” He sighed.

“And you stomped on it, ran it over with an 18-wheeler, and threw it into a blender. Fuck. You.” Cupid was back to anger, coursing through her like lava down the side of Kilauea.

“I’m sorry,” He repeated.

“I want my stuff back, and I want you to put in your transfer at Lee Enterprises,” Her voice was fueled by anger and sudden heartache.

“A what?” Yoongi was shocked.

“Transfer, you can’t work under me after this,” She had switched to business mode. There was one thing Yoongi had remained impressed by, and that was Cupid’s ability to put the job over everything else, everyone else, not because she had to, because she wanted to.

“That’s unlawful,” Yoongi warned.

“I don’t care.”

“Euna,” He pleased.

“Transfer, or I will fire you.” An ultimatum, something she never wanted to be faced with.

“You can’t –

“Don’t. Test. Me.”

“Okay, I’ll do it Monday,” Yoongi compromised.

“You can send my stuff back, I don’t want to see you.” Cupid hung up. In her home, she threw her phone against the wall, watching it rebound onto the carpet before she fell to the floor, tears abounding. How many heartbreaks could she withstand? How many tears would fall at the emotions of another man, breaking her spirit? In some deep recesses of her subconscious, Dae-Seong’s words played through without a scratch. Maybe he’d been right.

Yoongi texted OT7, who no doubt had already known through the rapid transcription Hobi was almost certainly completing, or through listening to the fight go down. The receipts would show that Yoongi had followed orders as directed, he completed his mission, his mark had been hit. Hook, line and heartbreak. Looking at the calendar, he laughed darkly. Of course, he would break up with her days before Valentine’s Day.

Next: Codename The Mochi of It All

4 notes · View notes

thekillerssluts · 5 years ago

Photo

For Arcade Fire and Preservation Hall, Kanaval Ball is a Carnival party with a purpose

Growing up in Houston, future Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler wasn’t impressed by his admittedly erroneous concept of Carnival.

“It never occurred to me to go to Mardi Gras,” Butler recalled recently. “It was never on my list of things I had to do in my life. In Houston, you think it’s more a spring break-y vibe, where people come to do Jell-O shots. Bourbon Street was more the picture you’d have of it.”

After he and Régine Chassagne, his bandmate and wife, moved to New Orleans in 2014, they discovered that the spiritual and cultural roots of Carnival run deep, just as they do in Haiti, Chassagne’s ancestral home.

They wanted to be involved. So in 2018, they partnered with Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall to found Krewe du Kanaval, a blend of New Orleans and Haitian Carnival traditions.

Kanaval is both celebratory and philanthropic. The celebratory aspect will dominate Friday’s Kanaval Costume Ball at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts.

The theater will be transformed into an immersive experience of sights, sounds and dancing. Butler and Chassagne’s genre-splicing indie-rock band, Arcade Fire, is this year’s headliner, performing for the first time since the conclusion of the “Everything Now” tour in 2018.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is also on the bill, along with Haitian acts Michael Brun, Jillionaire of Major Lazer, Lakou Mizik and Pierre Kwenders.

The Kanaval ball is open to the public. Costumes, the more festive and colorful the better, are “strongly encouraged.” Show time is 8 p.m. Both general admission and reserved seat tickets are available, priced at $85 to $120.

Kanaval’s 2020 king and queen, respectively, are master Congolese drummer and dancer Titos Sompa and rapper, chef and Loyola University instructor Mia “Mia X” Young.

Last year, Krewe du Kanaval hosted a mini-festival in Armstrong Park. There is no such public festival this year. Instead, krewe members will march in the musically themed Krewe of Freret parade on Saturday afternoon along the traditional Uptown route.

A mutual predisposition for parading forged the alliance between Arcade Fire and Preservation Hall that led to Kanaval.

Members of the two bands first crossed paths during a parade on the grounds of the Coachella festival in southern California several years ago. After Butler and Chassagne bought a house Uptown, they befriended Jaffe, who became their New Orleans guide.

In 2016, they teamed up for the David Bowie memorial march that attracted thousands of onlookers and shut down swaths of the French Quarter. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band opened shows for Arcade Fire on the “Everything Now” arena tour, parading through audiences to a boxing ring-like stage.

New Orleans’ similarities to Haiti, including a shared affinity for parading, appealed to Butler and Chassagne.

“When we started coming to New Orleans, we saw the connections to Haiti are so numerous and deep,” Butler said. “That’s part of what drew us.”

The frequent boil water advisories and power outages in New Orleans also reminded them of Haiti. Butler joked that “we call New Orleans ‘Haiti with Whole Foods.’”

They in turn introduced Preservation Hall to Haiti, where the musicians found kindred spirits and distant cousins.

“The amazing thing is how familiar Haiti felt to every band member,” Jaffe said. “Several members of our band had an emotional reaction to being there.”

That Butler and Chassagne are not from New Orleans but have become outspoken advocates for the city’s music and culture reminds Jaffe of his parents, Allan and Sandra Jaffe, the founders of Preservation Hall.

“My parents weren’t from New Orleans – they were from Pennsylvania,” Jaffe said. “The perspective and appreciation they had was a reason Preservation Hall got started. They had a perception that insiders and residents don’t always have. We don’t always appreciate things that are so amazing, because they are our normal.”

Krewe du Kanaval is a non-profit. Proceeds from membership dues and the ball benefit KANPE, a foundation Chassagne co-founded that helps poor, rural families and communities in Haiti’s Central Plateau region with health, education, agricultural, entrepreneurial and infrastructure initiatives, and the Preservation Hall Foundation’s mission to protect, preserve and perpetuate traditional New Orleans jazz and culture.

Thus, Kanaval is a party “with a spirit and purpose,” Chassagne said. “It’s not a party that you take from, but a party that you give to.”

In New Orleans, “that’s not unusual, the idea of celebrating and it having a purpose,” Jaffe said. “That was something that Win and Régine and I spoke about a lot when we started Kanaval. How this had to capture that spirit of New Orleans, that connection to faith and spirituality and celebration and purpose.”

They discerned a spiritual component from the outset. The night Butler, Chassagne and Jaffe decided to launch Kanaval, they drove past Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar on Tchoupitoulas Street. A feeling came over Butler that they should stop and go in.

Inside, they encountered musician Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, chief of the North Side Skull and Bone Gang, whose Mardi Gras morning ramble through Treme and the 7th Ward is a 200-year-old tradition.

“He’s at the center of the preservation of Creole culture, one of the deepest people I’ve ever met,” Butler said of Barnes. “I’m not a hippy-dippy person at all – my dad is a scientist – but what can I can say about that?"

Kanaval is only in its third year. Butler, Chassagne and Jaffe hope it grows and attracts broad community support. Anyone who can’t afford to join the krewe can still be involved as a volunteer.

“Our goal is long-term,” Butler said. “The more people that can come and take this over…the goal is for us to put our energy into it and have it take on a life of its own.”

Meanwhile, Chassagne said, “we can be a megaphone.”

Especially at the Kanaval Ball. For all the diverse talents of its members, many of whom are Canadian, can Arcade Fire play a credible “Mardi Gras Mambo”?

“We can play anything,” Chassagne said without hesitation.

Jaffe concurs: “They are the best cover band that I’ve ever seen. When they played with Boy George (of ‘80s band Culture Club) in London, my mind was blown. It sounded like karaoke, like Boy George was singing over the record.”

Between Arcade Fire, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the various Haitian acts, the Kanaval Ball is likely to generate an energy all its own.

“You know how difficult it is to describe a second-line to someone not from New Orleans – you’ve got to have the experience,” Jaffe said. “That’s sort of Kanaval.

“You have to put your fate in the hands of the universe. It’s going to be alright. It’s going to be amazing.”

#Arcade Fire #interview #regine chassagne #Win Butler

31 notes · View notes

thesummerstorms · 4 years ago

Text

So my district's response to Covid so far:

Teachers and staff will be expected to self-screen their temperatures before arriving to campus. Parents enrolling their children will be given "screening questions", as will parents coming to campus to pick up their student early. Students' temperatures will not be taken.

I purchased my own infrared thermometer and a pulse oximeter, both in the interest of daily self screening, and in the belief that I am very likely to contract the virus if school opens without dramatic changes to the plan .

Hand sanitizer will be available on campus... at main entrances to the building. As of right now, there is no plan to purchase hand sanitizer for classroom use.

I am stockpiling my own hand sanitizer, from my own salary, instead of paying off debt or purchasing household items or entertainment.

Students will be encouraged to wash their hands. Teachers will be responsible for instructing them on handwashing the first day of school.

I am awaiting email clarification if our classroom sinks will be provided soap this year, or if there's some way that any of the sinks accessible to students could be altered to use hot water. I am also advocating for the hand dryers to be replaced by paper towels.

Students will be encouraged to sneeze into a tissue or their elbow. No mention has been made of the school providing tissue.

I have a few boxes I had bought in February in my cabinet at school, and am planning on asking my relatives to purchase Kleenex for me in lieu of any birthday celebration in August (along with hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes if possible).

The schools will be "regularly deep cleaned". No mention of specifics, of who will be cleaning between classes, when cleaning between classes is expected to occur if we maintain a normal schedule as has been stated.

I am stockpiling sanitizing wipes whenever and however I can get them, though I don't think I'll have enough to sanitize high touch areas or even all used desks between classes. Technically, I am not supposed to have said sanitizer in the classroom due to allergy concerns.

It has been decided social distancing is not possible. Plexiglass barriers or sneeze guards will not be provided. Students will be encouraged to frequently wash their hands instead.

I have put my 32 desks in front-facing rows. I will move my desk as far away from the sink as I can manage, and pray.

Students over the age of 10 will be required to wear face masks if so ordered by Governor Abbott. The district refuses to commit one way or the other when asked if elementary school students will be made to wear PPE or if masking will continue when Governor Abbott's order expires.

My mother is sewing me cloth face masks, and I have ordered my own face shields from Amazon. I'm praying it will be enough, even though the mask protects students from me, not the other way around.

I pray that my administration doesn't try to shame me out of wearing PPE in the name of "normalcy for the children".

Schedules, including four minute passing periods where all 1000+ students are in the halls fighting to use the same three bathrooms at the same time, and including lunches where grade levels eat in groups of roughly 300 at a time, will not be altered.

I try to avoid thinking about this one. I'm afraid. I will probably be eating in my car, if I eat or drink of campus at all.

Students whose parents are uncomfortable have the option of at-home all online learning.

I regret the fact that the district has refused to offer any at-home option to staff whatsoever, and that their unsafe plan was deliberately released after the last day I could exit my contract with no penalty, even though I know the odds of my finding remote work to pay rent were low.

I regret that I trusted them to come up with some way to at least try to protect us.

I try to come to terms with the fact that I, a Type 1 Diabetic, am now at extreme risk for catching Covid and for possible hospitalization or death. It isn't as if I have another way to pay the bills.

Students with "Covid like" symptoms are expected to stay home. If a nurse checks a child and finds they have a fever, the parent will be "expected to immediately take them home", as if I haven't had students come to school dosed up on Tylenol because their parent has to work, or sent a child to the nurse for vomiting on the floor first period only for the to remain at school all day with no phone calls answered and arrive promptly again for first period the next morning.

I wonder if my school nurse, in her 50s and diabetic, will return this year. I wonder if she has the flexibility of a choice.

If a student is confirmed to have Covid, only the parts of the school the student regularly accesses will be closed and only for 5 days of "deep cleaning".

I think about students skipping in wrong-grade-level bathrooms, fixing each other's hair, play-fighting, sneaking snacks, taking selfies .

I wonder about the cafeteria. The gym. The band hall. The hallways a student need to be in, but wandered down anyway because they hate going to their science class, or because they wanted to talk to a friend. I wonder about lockers.

I wonder if the district ever actually intends to address what will happen if a teacher comes down with Covid. If we'll be paid when we run out of sick days or if we'll have to hope we took the disability insurance and it will pay our bills.

I wonder how other classes are supposed to continue, knowing another child likely now has the virus, somewhere else in the school, and doesn't know.

I wonder if we'll even be able to get a Covid test and see our results in five days.

I wonder how many times my hall will be shut down.

I wonder if our custodians, hourly workers with 30 minutes or less per room, will get hazard pay. I wonder about our food service workers.

And a bonus:

Parents flood the social media of the district.

Some are angry, and demand information on how they can get an exemption to the masking order for their child "because a mask is more dangerous for kids than the virus". Danger to teachers is not mentioned.

The inevitable people wanting a "refund on their taxes" if the school is forced to close flood the comments. No one talks about the expense of providing technology to the students who are remote learning and don't have their own. Or about what the costs will be when multiple teachers become too sick to teach, especially of we can't find subs.

So many people question why teachers think they're better than "other essential workers". I wonder if those parents will contribute to the classroom supplies this year, or if on top of my own sanitizer and PPE, I will still be expected to use my salary for pencils and paper. I wonder how many of those parents have been locked in a room with no windows and thirty year old ventilation for an hour at a time, tightly packed with 30 other people whose infection status they do not know. How many of them do so for seven groups of thirty people, for seven consecutive hours.

People threaten to leave the district if any restrictions are placed whatsoever on sports, music, the things their kids "need". I think about a student athlete getting sick and permanently scarring their lungs too badly to play. About the coach with the new baby son. About our elderly choir teacher. I think I might be relieved if the parents followed through.

People tell us that there's never life without any risk, so we should stop whining and get on with life. I wonder how many of them are considering buying a $200 filter for their work place, on the off chance it makes them and their children the slightest bit safer. How many are spending their own salary to clean their own work places, on their own PPE.

I wonder how many are telling their children the virus is a hoax, and how many twelve year olds will think it's "funny" to aggravate their teachers by purposefully being unsafe this year. I wonder how many will get sick.

I wonder how many parents would notice or care if I got sick, if I , a type one diabetic with no other financial means, was hospitalized or died. I wonder how many would just be angry at the disruption to their lives.

I start preparing myself for the likelihood I will get sick.

I wonder why no one with the power to fix this, to even mitigate it, seems to care.

5 notes · View notes

promptsforthestrugglingauthor · 5 years ago

Text

Aaaaaand three years later...

Hello friends! This morning I discovered that three years have already passed from the first time I completed a draft of my major WIP, The Left Behind.

(Look! Evidence! Social media is occasionally good for something! And, yes, I do tragically still use Facebook)

I’m a bit shocked it’s both already and only been three years. I’ve grown incredibly as a writer in the meantime. I’ve also barely begun on the third draft at this point. So, I thought that it just might be nice to put a little something of self-reflection and a note of the journey so far. Maybe because it might help some of you guys to see how I do things (although I don’t fully recommend following my process) and also to be able to remember in the future what the hell I actually did once the memories are inevitably blurred. I’ll, of course, put all that babbling under this lovely little read more so I don’t consume your dash!

Alrighty! So, draft one:

Armed with a few pages of scattered half-development over the series of a few years, I had very little plan. I’d spent a majority of my recent writing producing fanfiction, primarily one-shots, and had never completed more than three, maybe four full chapters in one piece. To say a full novel seemed out of my reach was an overstatement. I’d tried to write The Left Behind once or twice before, and had set it aside for a number of reasons; it felt dry and cliched, stiff and melodramatic (and of course it did! I was all of thirteen when I’d dreamt it up, and most of the media I consumed and adored was edgy and over the top and coarse, but for some reason when it was my creation, it was stale). On a quick bit of passion and a late New Year’s Resolution, I set about to take another crack at it.

I changed the opening scene for what must have been the third or fourth time, finally willing to allow myself to part from previous conceptions of what I had to include, because it had been in my original plans. Realizing I didn’t have to be trapped by my past ideas was refreshing; this was one of the major things I learned through this draft, one I still remind myself to make peace with often.

I nearly quit after the fourth chapter, because I didn’t like the way it was going and I felt frustrated with where it was going. After complaining to a few family members (also recreational writers), I was able to digest a piece of advice I’d heard over and over; don’t edit until you’re done. This doesn’t work for everyone, but it let me write without being hung up on my story. It let me change my mind mid-draft and simply write with the change as though it had never occurred, simply leaving a consistency to repair for the next draft. Or, as I like to always say “It’s a problem for Later Me.”

Draft one took me roughly nineteen months to complete. It was an astounding feeling. The story was bare, inconsistent, and totaled 50,000 words and change. But it was amazing. It still is amazing, really. I managed to write most of it between classes, often in 200 to 500 word bursts.

I didn’t really get back to working on The Left Behind again for another five or six months.

Which leads us into draft two:

To be frank, I consider draft one an extended outline...especially considering that I simply never finished an outline. My “outline” is more of a semi-organized word/idea vomit, and sheet of story related jargon. My intention for draft two was to bulk the story up, establish more consistency, and polish my style, themes, and plot. Having already managed one draft, I assumed that a second one would be a quick endeavor; surely, I only really took so long because I was learning! Right?

Wrong.

One of the major things I learned in draft two is an unshakable truth: I’m never going to be the writer who churns out thousands of words in one sitting. I charted my word count every single day during draft two, and there were probably no more than 10 days where I wrote over 1000 words in general, let alone in The Left Behind. I agonized over it for a bit, but I’m pretty much over it by now. I carefully craft my words, so of course it’ll take long. It’s like a tapestry, a long, intricate work that needs time to do right.

Of course, I’d be a liar if I said draft two isn’t riddled with flaws.

But it is so much better. The overall writing style finally felt like a decent balance between internal monologue and imagery and storytelling. Some of the lines I wrote are truly beautiful and powerful and inspiring. I read it back and there are only a few scenes or moments or phrases that I find disengaging and lame.

Draft two took me twenty-two months to complete, and clocked in at over one hundred thousand words. It also made me feel some incredible euphoria for months straight when I truly hit my stride, which, naturally, led to an aching burnout once I forced myself to take a break from it.

I’m frankly still recovering from it, and from the depressive spell I had in the meantime. I can’t properly determine how much time passed between drafts, because I kept attempting to pick up draft three and failing to do much actual work.

Which brings us around to draft three:

Draft three is in progress. I’ve figured out my best method for re-outlining: an in-depth re-read of the previous draft, a variety of notes per chapter, a collective overall list of desires for the next draft, and a lot of index cards to scribble plot points on, so as to better move around and reorganize and remove them. (I’ll be making a larger post about this eventually! Just going to give myself more time to get further acquainted with editing and all first)

I’m learning how to edit. I’m starting to understand that my major problem with editing and outlines is the visual clutter of it all, and I’m working around it. I’m loving polishing words and themes and characters. I was primarily going to focus on cutting my word count a good deal, but I’ve decided to throw that out the window in favor of making a great story. As it turns out, my prior draft’s word count is actually even a bit short as many similar novels go, which brings me comfort!

I left the story alone for too long, and returning to it is a breath of fresh air. It truly feels like part of my soul is back. I don’t know if it’s because my depression is getting better, or if my depression is getting better because of it. Either way, I’m glad. And I’m excited. I can’t wait more than anything to share with you guys that the work is complete and ready to be published. I can’t wait to mark my calendar, to finally say that I’ve did it and to keep doing it. (It’s a four book series, so there’s not an option of giving up anyhow aha!)

So it’s been three years. I’ve learned a done a lot. Some writers may have done much more in that time. Many have done less. That’s okay with me. I really, truly believe that The Left Behind is something big, something breathtaking. Hopefully it won’t take too many more years to be able to prove it to you all.

#emmy talks about herself #emmy babbles about herself #the left behind #writing update #reflection #writing process #tw depression #depression mention #long post

81 notes · View notes

scotianostra · 5 years ago

Photo

On July 22nd 1298 William Wallace's army was routed at The Battle of Falkirk.

With the phenomenal success of Stirling Bridge under his belt, Sir William Wallace, Guardian of the Realm of Scotland, continued his campaign of guerrilla warfare upon the Northern English counties.

While being remembered as a warrior Wallace was also active in trying to restore trade between Scotland and Europe which had been nearly halted by English efforts. In a remarkable letter, we now know as "The Lübeck letter" tried to persuade German cities (Hamburg and Lübeck) to restore trade with the Scots declaring that “through battle, the Scots have been freed from the tyranny of the English"

Throughout the rest of 1297, Wallace ravaged the Border land of England for corn and cattle. Such a turn of events wrenched Edward I back from his negotiations in France with King Philip. He transferred his headquarters to York. Now he would hammer the Scots. Feudal dues were called upon. Crossbowmen from Gascony and Welsh archers were recruited. So were foot soldiers from Ireland to serve in the English campaign.

De Warrenne, the Earl of Surrey and Sussex having failed at Stirling to stop Wallace, forced Edward to march north himself. He assembled at York the largest invasion force to enter Scotland since the days of Agricola. It consisted of perhaps as many as 2,500 heavily armoured knights and at least 12,500 infantry. Eight earls joined Edward: the Marshal, the Constable, Ralph de Monthemer, Arundel, Guy of Warwick and the young Earls of Lancaster and Pembroke, each bringing their own large contingents of minor knights and infantry, swelling his host to a monstrous size. By June Edwards army were at Roxburgh, but Wallace would have had his spies watching the English army, and would not be drawn into a full scale battle on Edwards terms.

Unfortunately for Scotland the French had come to an uneasy peace with England and The Auld Alliance could not be invoked, we stood alone against a battle hardened army, ripe from plundering the continent.

But the English army was not without its problems, the fleet that should have provisioned it had been delayed by weather. It was undisciplined. Welsh archers quarrelled viciously with Gasons, and sickness raddled its splendid chivalry. At Kirkliston, near Linlithgow, Edward decided to fall back on Edinburgh, where he might calm and feed his mutinous men.

One of the stories goes that when a few ships did get through, they were only carrying two hundred barrels of wine, which were then issued to Welsh soldiers. The Welsh got drunk and rioted, so Edward sent in his household knights to restore order. Eighty Welshmen were killed, along with eighteen priests who had tried to mediate.

This story comes from the quill of the chronicler Walter of Guisborough, a "notable fantasist" when it came to Welsh affairs. The actual evidence tells a different story. In July 1298 seventeen supply ships from Yorkshire arrived at Berwick. Only five of these reached the army at Kirkliston before the battle. Now if we know anything about the English it is how good they were at recording everything, the purse strings were tight and it all had to be accounted for, there are records that still exist telling us what actually made it to Edwards army. reads as follows:63 quarters of malt, 7 meat carcasses, 250 quarters of oats, 725 quarters of wheat.

As you can see, there was no wine; certainly not 200 barrels of the stuff, to the exclusion of all else. It also doubtful that anyone would have been stupid enough to issue wine to the infantry on empty stomachs. The above supplies have been calculated as enough to feed 20,000 men for a week.

While we don't know how many Scots Wallace had at his command that day he is thought to have not been willing to meet the English in open battle, his tactics, used by Bruce years later, were Guerrilla warfare, small battalions of men hitting targets and what they couldn't carry away they destroyed, what is now called a scorched earth policy, Wallace had to try and starve Edwards force, hence the supply ships being so important.

Edwards army is also said to have had problems with defence, and again numbers back this up, many Welsh had headed home, 195 within a month according to their records, far more worrying were the infantry numbers that were dwindling. For the period up to 20 July infantry numbers reached a peak of 25,781. In the next 24 hours - before the battle - there was a drop of over 3000 to 22,497. It seems desertion was reaching chronic levels, and the battle occurred just in time to prevent the army falling apart.

Nobody knows why Wallace was drawn into a full on fight on this day in 1298, some say his army were "itching" for a fight and with the enemy in sight would have been arguing with Wallace, possibly sensing he was losing the morale he may have given in and given them what they wanted. Perhaps he also thought the English army were hungry and unruly. So on 21st July, Wallace led his army forward to meet the English. In the early dawn of the following morning scouting parties from the two opposing forces met each other near Falkirk, heralding the opening of battle.

Wallace had heard of the troubles in Edwards Army and had planned a night attack upon the English camp, but two ignoble peers, jealous of his power, went to the English King’s side and warned him. These traitors, unnamed, told Edward where Wallace was encamped in the forest near Falkirk and told of Wallace’s position and intended tactics.“Thanks be to God, who hath hitherto extricated me from every peril!, exclaimed Edward. “I shall go forth to meet them”.

Wallace had badly misjudged the fighting condition of the English army, but he came to the field well prepared. He realised that his infantry must defeat Edward’s cavalry and this had not happened for centuries. With the experience of Stirling Bridge behind him this seemed possible, although it was a rare event in medieval warfare of that period. He had trained his ferocious and hearty soldiers to fight in four tight box or oval formations, schitrons. However Wallace’s formations hadn’t yet mastered moving in unison, as Bruce would do later on. They stood in one defensive position and tried to hold out. In addition to the front row of spear points, the unit was further protected by two more rows (triple rows) of the twelve foot spears, pointing outwards, the front rows kneeling whilst those behind stood. All around the marching ground were stakes, murder holes and ropes tied to the stakes to trip up English horses.

By an unusual twist of historical fate, Edward also came to Falkirk with new tactics. He had learned from bitter experience in his Welsh Wars of the devastating firepower of the south Welsh longbowmen; and despite the cost and difficulty of dealing with the Celtic Welsh and their constant quarrelling with the English, he now included large numbers of them (for a price) in his army and began to use them as part of his coordinated battle plan. It would set the tone of English battle tactics for the next two centuries and serve the English remarkably well in France during the One Hundred Years War.

On St. Magdalen’s day, 22 July, the army came in sight of the Scot’s position.The English heavy cavalry was the greatest threat to the Scottish force and accordingly Wallace adopted a defensive formation. Drawing his men up on firm ground fronted by a stream and a marsh, he configured his army into four densely packed schiltrons (phalanx rings). Each man was armed with a four metre spear which collectively provided an impenetrable barrier to a cavalry attack. Further protection was achieved by a placing a palisade of sharpened stakes around the formations. Wallace placed his archers between each schiltron and put his small cavalry contingent to the rear.

The English approached from the south in the traditional three battle formation. The vanguard, which included a significant cavalry component, was led jointly by Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. The middle guard was under Antony Bek, Bishop of Durham with Ralph Bassett as his deputy. The rear guard was under the Edward I himself.

Despite the dominant Scottish position, the English were keen to attack. The two Earls dismissed the stream across the battlefield as insubstantial and advanced on the Scottish centre. However, whilst the stream may have been small, it was surrounded by boggy ground which was quite unsuitable for cavalry. The advance of the vanguard was thus slowed and slewed right.

Seeing the vanguard move to the right, the Bishop of Durham cautiously moved his middle guard to the left to open the opportunity of a co-ordinated attack on the Scottish flanks. However, he was wary of sending his cavalry component forward given the dominant Scottish position. His caution was vigorously opposed by his deputy, Ralph Bassett, who led his cavalry forward regardless. Bassett's cavalry likewise found their attack defused by the bog but their advance was threatening enough to scare off the Scottish cavalry who fled the field without engaging. However, both English cavalry formations had lost their speed and were unable to penetrate the densely packed schiltrons. Instead they turned upon the Scottish archers who, with no cavalry force to protect them and being outside of the schiltrons, were slaughtered. Their leader, John Stewart, died alongside his men.

Having witnessed his cavalry failing to make an impression of the schiltrons, Edward I sounded the recall. With his Knights recovered to his own lines, he advanced his archers - Crossbowmen from Gascony and Longbowmen from Wales and the Marches - to attack the schiltrons. The massed, static Scottish formations formed the perfect target and heavy casualties were inflicted. Crucially their ranks were thinned and the wall of spears, that hereto had so effectively kept the English cavalry at bay, started to have gaps.

The English cavalry, now reformed, charged against the depleted and now ineffective schiltrons. They smashed into the Scottish formations which broke into rout. The English followed cutting them down with one English Chronicler recording "they fell like blossoms in an orchard when the fruit has ripened". Casualty numbers are unknown but, for the Scottish forces, are likely to have been extensive.

With his army destroyed and his reputation in ruins, Wallace escaped the battlefield. He would spend the next seven years mounting a guerrilla war against the English but in reality his power was broken. In 1305 he was betrayed to the English by John de Menteith, a Scottish Knight. After a show trial at Westminster, he was hung, drawn and quartered in Smithfield.

The Battle of Falkirk was significant in that it saw the destruction of the Scottish army in the field and heavy Scottish casualties but, due to the escape of the Scottish nobility, failed to have the long term decisive outcome sought. For awhile Robert the Bruce was hopeful that Edward I would look to him for another King to fill the Scottish throne. However Edward had no intentions of appointing any new King in Scotland and accordingly Robert rebelled in 1306 starting a campaign that would see Scottish victory at Bannockburn,the Declaration of Arbroath and English recognition of the independence of Scotland in 1328, it would be a long 30 years though.

#Scotland #scottisih #Scottish Battle #Battle of Falkirk #History #Sir William Wallace

28 notes · View notes

superwolfiestar · 5 years ago

Text

Super Caballeros Rewritten Ch.8

A little up the road from where the heroes were travelling was a decent sized army guarding the path. It consisted of 200 beagles guards. "Alright men," shouted the commander of the small army. "We got a couple of two plumbers here to foil Zeus's plan. Our job here is to not let them get any further. Stand your ground and let's break these two skulls." The army stationed there roared in agreement as they prepared for the incoming invasion. They saw the impending fight coming up ahead when they spotted the small army.

"This is it Jose," Panchito clenched both fists looking ready for a fight. "There is no turning back. This battle will probably alarm everyone in the Darklands including King Zeus himself. Everyone besides the boy princess is the enemy." Jose clenched his fists, also ready to fight off whatever approached his way with his magic.

"I'm ready." Said Jose as they ran up towards the small army and then stopped a few feet away from the horde of bad guys.

"This is your last chance you perky scum," said the Beagle commander, getting ready to signal his beagles army to attack. "Turn back now and we will spare your lives. There is no hope for you against our mighty army, or against the might of Zeus himself."

"We'll see about that," both of them replied, equipping their flower power up, which gave them the power to throw fireballs from their hands.

The Beagle commander sighed and then ordered the army to attack. Without thinking, they decided to play around with the fire power up and see what abilities it had.

"Hmm," Jose thought. "I wonder what happens if I do this." Jose made a stance which allowed him to cast out his first fireball, and instantly burnt down a Beagle trying to attack him. The rest of the beagles troops then stopped in its tracks, realizing what Jose had just done.

"Mhmmm," said Panchito sniffing the air. "I love the smell of roasted Beagle in the morning, or whatever time it is. With that darn dark clouds in the way it's so hard to keep track of time here."

"Alright I get the joke," Jose said impatiently. "In case you haven't noticed, we have a battle to win here."

"Oh right." Panchito said casting his own fireball which burned a Beagle. "Would you like turtle bisque instead?" Jose then face palmed himself recognizing how stupid the joke was.

The Beagle commander looked at the two dead troops then looked at both of the plumber birds. "I had enough of this delay. ATTACK and FINISH them off!" Without hesitation, the army charged and the plumbers biggest fight was about to commence.

Panchito and Jose strategy was to backpedal and take out the troops one by one since they were faster backwards than any of them that was running forwards. They had defeated about 40 Beagle Guards when they realized they were getting exhausted and that they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Jose then made a growling sound as he realized the plumber would be done for. "There has to be a way to make this end quicker." He thought as he went back to his casting stance, he then stood there longer than when he cast a fireball and realized something. More fireballs were coming out in rapid succession, almost the same fire rate as a semi-automatic pistol, which was quickly depleting the remaining members of the small army that they were fighting.

"Meu amor!" yelled Jose since Panchito was on the opposite side of the road that he was on. "Hold down the fireball casting stance. It takes them out much quicker." Without hesitation, Panchito did what his lover told and realized the results were the same, more and more fireballs kept coming out, quickly slaying out the troops he was facing as well.

"Yeah take that you whelps." Panchito said in a mocking manner. "Who's the scum now?"

The commander of the beagles army looked in horror as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. More and more troops were slain by them. He could hear the blood curdling screams as they were being burned away. He could hear "AAAHHH!" and "SOMEONE HELP US!" as if it were being repeatedly played on a recorded over and over again. "I can't believe this," said the commander in a defeated tone. "I've got to sound the alarm."

The commander retreated to the castle immediately, with them close behind. "You think you two won?" angrily questioned the commander who was still bitter over the defeat of all his troops.

"You've only gotten a taste of the might of our army. Why don't you try handling all of us!" The commander was about to sounded the alarm. But lucky, both Panchito and Jose threw a fireball at him finishing him off just in time. "You…won't…survive" The commander spoke as he then fell to the ground.

The plumber Birds looked at the dead Beagle commander with no hint of remorse. The insignias that he wore on his jacket looked like rankings for how many adversaries he had slain over the years, with the true purpose of intending to expand Zeus's empire. They then look at Zeus’s Castle.

"Ready Jose?" asked Panchito giving a small smile of confidence.

"Ready meu amor," said Jose looking at the archers with a hero's look, unnerved, unbent, and unbroken by the threat that surrounds them. They began run forward to the castle. Where the guards are holding the arrow with fire as they are reading to shoot them.

The beagles guards archers had fired their bows, with the arrows after the brothers as fast as bullets being fired from a gun. The two plumber had to do cartwheels in order to dodge the rain of arrows. Jose was able to dodge them all successfully. However, one of the arrows hit Panchito in the stomach, causing him to fall down on the ground.

"PANCHITO!" cried Jose as he saw his lover fall to the ground, tears coming out of Joses eyes.

"It's a alright Jose." Panchito said softly as pulled out another flower. Soon, he jumped back up to his feet, feeling one hundred percent again, and tossing the arrow that had hit him into the lava before.

"That's impossible," said one of the Beagles archers. "No one could have survived that no matter the willpower." The archers quickly tried to retrieve their next arrow to short. With the delay in reloading, they took their opportunity to take down some of the archers on the roof. With some of the archers down, the Beagle master archer wasted no time commanding the rest of his archers to hurry up and fire. The Beagle archers that remained fired their second arrow, with Panchito and Jose easily dodging them. Concentrating their attacks on the archers, they fired their fireballs at the archers again. More Beagle archers were defeated, some crashing into the lava moat pit below.

With the last of the archers disposed of. Jose took the opportunity to put down the master archer. "Ughhhhh." Croaked the master archer as all he could think of to do was to fall on the bridge below him, shattering the bridge, piece by piece that connected the Darklands to the castle.

"Jose," Panchito said running towards the bridge. "We have to move now." Panchito and Jose had to jump where the bridge was not destroyed in order to gain access to the other side.

They were making their way to the other side. With one more leap the plumbers attempted to make it to the other side. Jose successfully made it because of his tall jump. However Panchito could see he wouldn't be able to make it as he was only able to grab the edge.

"Ay dio mio," thought Panchito hanging on for dear of life. "If I let go, I become a roasted rooster."

Jose then grabbed his lover’s hand and safely pulled him out of danger. "I got ya Panchito." They then embraced in a romantic kiss. "That's twice I thought I lost him," thought Jose trying to wipe the tears from his face.

"Zeus will pay for this." The Bird Plumbers than kicked the doors to Zeus's castle open. They then traversed the lava pits and the thwomps in order to gain access to the main part of the castle. Random castle patrols always found them but they met a grisly end as they were no match for them. They explored the castle trying to find the boy princess. They checked every rooms, kitchen, and even the dungeon, but no avail. They even check the tallest tower but the door of the entrance was lock and it need a key to be open. They then reached the final room, the throne room. Where they were certain think that the boy princess are being held in.

"The final battle mi amor." Panchito said turning the knob to open the door. "The final step towards reaching the sweet end."

Music:

Bowser Lava Lake Keep - Super Mario 3D World

#ducktales 2017 #mariotales au #super caballeros rewritten #super caballeros rewritten fanfic #super caballeros #super caballeros fanfic #fanfic

2 notes · View notes

newstfionline · 4 years ago

Text

Friday, March 26, 2021

Border crossings strain resources in Rio Grande Valley (AP) Elmer Maldonado spent a week in immigration custody with his 1-year-old son after crossing the Rio Grande through Texas to request asylum. One night, the Honduran father and son slept on the dirt under a bridge shivering from the cold temperatures at an intake site where large groups of migrants turn themselves in to Border Patrol officers. His experience illustrates a cycle that is repeating itself thousands of times a week amid a dramatic rise in migrant children and families at the U.S.-Mexico border: They arrive in the middle of the night by the dozens and are kept at outdoor intake sites, then taken to overcrowded detention facilities well past the 72-hour court-imposed limit. From there, the families are either released into the U.S. or expelled to Mexico, the lucky ones dropped off at a COVID-19 testing site with documents. Children traveling without their parents go to federal shelters that are also quickly filling up. The process is largely out of the public eye. The Associated Press has not been allowed in any of the Border Patrol facilities. Journalists are often limited by authorities even when going to the banks of the Rio Grande to witness the process and talk to immigrants.

Capitol fencing removed 77 days after deadly riot (USA Today) An imposing fence-line strung with razor wire has been removed from the outer perimeter of the U.S. Capitol complex, more than two months after the deadly siege. Capitol Police said Wednesday that local streets blocked by the network of barriers also had been re-opened to traffic, though authorities said they are prepared to “quickly ramp up security at a moment’s notice, if needed.” An inner-perimeter fence around the actual Capitol building will remain in place while police and lawmakers continue to hash out a long-term security plan.

US saw estimated 4,000 extra murders in 2020 amid surge in daily gun violence (Guardian) For exactly a year during the pandemic, the United States did not see a single high-profile public mass shooting. But a surge in daily gun violence contributed to an estimated 4,000 additional murders throughout 2020, in what experts warn will probably be the worst single-year increase in murders on record. Early estimates suggest the US may have seen at least 4,000 more murders last year than in 2019, and potentially as many as 5,000 more, according to projections based on FBI data, though complete official statistics will not be available until the fall. Many of the homicides are concentrated in communities of color that have historically seen the worst burden of daily gun violence, including in Philadelphia, St Louis, Chicago and Oakland.

In Myanmar, a New Resistance Rises (NYT) In a jungle in the borderlands of Myanmar, the troops sweated through basic training. They learned how to load a rifle, pull the pin of a hand grenade and assemble a firebomb. These cadets are not members of Myanmar’s military, which seized power last month and quickly imposed a battlefield brutality on the country’s populace. Instead, they are an eclectic corps of students, activists and ordinary office workers who believe that fighting back is the only way to defeat one of the world’s most ruthless armed forces. After weeks of peaceful protests, the frontline of Myanmar’s resistance to the Feb. 1 coup is mobilizing into a kind of guerrilla force. In the cities, protesters have built barricades to protect neighborhoods from military incursions and learned how to make smoke bombs on the internet. In the forests, they are training in basic warfare techniques and plotting to sabotage military-linked facilities. The opposition is a defensive response to the military’s mounting reign of terror. The Tatmadaw has cracked down on peaceful protesters and unarmed bystanders alike, killing at least 275 people since the coup, according to a monitoring group.

Torch relay for Tokyo Olympics kicks off its 121-day journey (AP) The torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Olympics began its 121-day journey across Japan on Thursday and is headed toward the opening ceremony in Tokyo on July 23. The relay began in northeastern Fukushima prefecture, the area that was devastated by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. About 18,000 died in the tragedy. About 10,000 runners are expected to take part, with the relay touching Japan’s 47 prefectures.

Taiwan beefing up its defenses (South China Morning Post) Taiwan has begun mass production of a long-range missile and is developing three other models, a senior official said on Thursday, in a rare admission of efforts to develop strike capacity amid growing pressure from mainland China. The island’s armed forces are in the middle of a modernization program to offer a more effective deterrent, including the ability to hit back at bases deep within mainland China in the event of a conflict.

Some Australians return home as others evacuated in floods crisis (Reuters) Australians hit by devastating floodwaters began returning to their homes on Thursday as skies cleared and authorities accelerated clean-up efforts, though fresh evacuation orders were issued in some areas where water levels were still rising. Relentless rains for five straight days—the worst downpour in more than half a century—burst river banks, inundating homes, roads, bridges and farms and cutting off entire towns in Australia’s east. More than 40,000 people were forced to move to safe zones and two men were killed after their cars became trapped in floodwaters. Water continued to flow from overloaded dams and rivers on Thursday, particularly in New South Wales state, leading authorities to urge caution. Major flooding also continues in Sydney’s western suburbs of North Richmond and Windsor, while fresh evacuation orders were issued for some areas in the centre of the state.

One man’s mission offers Beirut neighbourhood a vision of hope after blast (Reuters) The sheer scale of the destruction in Beirut’s Karantina district after the massive explosion at the port last August made rebuilding a daunting feat. That was where Marc Torbey El Helou, a charity worker, came in. The low-income neighbourhood was one of the closest to the blast that killed 200 people. It stands across from the giant, mutilated grain silo that has become a symbol of the tragedy. Helou decided a day after the explosion to dedicate himself, and the aid group he runs, to rebuilding the neighbourhood. Just removing the rubble required 300 truckloads. Some buildings needed immediate help to stop them collapsing. Helou says the same of Karantina’s residents. “There were children here who would not laugh or play for months.” Helou’s charity, Offre Joie (Joy of Giving), has repaired Lebanese districts hit by war and violence since 1985. “Unfortunately, it means we have the experience for this,” said Helou, 33, who has used a wheelchair since a diving accident in 2016. With the Lebanese state hollowed out by decades of corruption and failure, it fell to aid groups and volunteers like Helou to rebuild the city. Offre Joie took on six blocks in Karantina and nearby. That includes the homes of about 350 families. More than seven months after the explosion, one of the largest non-nuclear detonations on record, many residents have yet to return. But the streets are bustling with life again, and the buildings never looked so good. The charity’s budget was trapped in the bank thanks to controls imposed during Lebanon’s financial crisis. But donations poured in from abroad: up to three million dollars in cash, construction material and containers full of food. Thousands of volunteers also came, including engineers and psychologists.

Musical Chairs But The Song Never Ends (NYT) Four elections in two years have failed to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the necessary 61 seats to form a coalition government with a majority in Parliament. With more than 90% of Wednesday’s vote counted, Netanyahu’s right-wing alliance had 52 seats and his opponents had 56. And the gridlock extends beyond the election. Administrative stagnation has left Israel without a national budget for two consecutive years in the middle of a pandemic, and with several key Civil Service posts unstaffed. The idea that the political deadlock paralyzing the country isn’t going to get better, and in fact appears to have gotten worse, has Israelis pondering the viability of their electoral system, the functionality of their government and whether the divisions between the country’s various politics—secular and devout, right-wing and leftist, Jewish and Arab—have made the nation unmanageable. A Tel Aviv-based analyst said Israel isn’t yet a failed state, like Lebanon, because it still has institutions. “But there is definitely erosion,” she said. “Not having a budget for two years—this is really dangerous.”

Saudi official denies threat to harm UN Khashoggi investigator (Reuters) A senior Saudi official denied on Thursday he had threatened to harm the human rights expert who led the U.N. investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after the United Nations confirmed the expert’s account of the threat. Agnes Callamard, the U.N. expert on summary killings, has said that a Saudi official threatened at a Jan. 2020 meeting in Geneva that she would be “taken care of” if she was not reined in following her investigation into the journalist’s murder. She said the remark was interpreted by U.N. officials as a “death threat”. The United Nations confirmed her account on Wednesday, describing the remark as a “threat”. Neither Callamard nor the United Nations has identified the Saudi official who made the remark. However, the head of Saudi Arabia’s human rights commission, Awwad Alawwad, identified himself as the official on Thursday, while denying he had intended any threat.

Stuck ship in Egypt’s Suez Canal imperils shipping worldwide (Washington Post) A skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said. The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. In the time since, efforts to free the ship using dredgers, digging and the aid of high tides have yet to push the container vessel aside—affecting billions of dollars’ worth of cargo. Overall, famed shipping journal Lloyd’s List estimates each day the Suez Canal is closed disrupts over $9 billion worth of goods that should be passing through the waterway. A quarter of all Suez Canal traffic a day comes from container ships like the Ever Given, the journal said. “Blocking something like the Suez Canal really sets in motion a number of dominos toppling each other over,” said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Denmark-based SeaIntelligence Consulting. “The effect is not only going to be the simple, immediate one with cargo being delayed over the next few weeks, but will actually have repercussions several months down the line for the supply chain.”

#headlines #news

2 notes · View notes

thechasefiles · 5 years ago

Text

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 26/11/2019

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Tueday, November 26th, 2019. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

PAC GRILLS EX-MANAGER – The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had lots of questions for former quality assurance manager at the Transport Board, Sylvan Codrington, yesterday, but for chairman Bishop Joseph Atherley his answers were mainly “vague”. However, Codrington, who worked at the state-owned agency for 45 years, 13 as quality assurance manager, was definitive about the thousands of dollars shelled out by the board for parts for buses that continued to break down after they were serviced and fitted with parts. He also expressed his past frustration at being unable to take some actions he considered within his purview. For example, he spoke of a $1.7 million bill for transmissions for 14 buses, and yet those same buses encountered repeated breakdowns. (DN)

CONSULTANTS HIRING AT TRANSPORT BOARD QUESTIONED – Shocked! That’s how the former Quality Assurance Manager at the Transport Board Sylvan Codrington said he felt after learning that Trinidadian David Bartholomew had been hired as a consultant at the state-owned enterprise. Speaking before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament this afternoon, Codrington said he was surprised Bartholomew was given the job as he had served in a different capacity while working in Trinidad. He made the admission after PAC chairman Reverend Joseph Atherley asked him whether he believed it was an error to engage Bartholomew’s services as a consultant. The Trinidadian was hired by the Transport Board in March 2016 on an initial six-month contract, to undertake the repair of 200 defective buses.. Codrington revealed that his duty as Quality Assurance Manager was to oversee all the engineering aspects for the Transport Board. “When he came to Barbados as the consultant I was taken aback because when I visited the Trinidadian Bus Company he was deputy engineer with that company. Then months after I heard he was a consultant with us, so I was shocked,” replied Codrington, who was QA manager from 2005 to 2018 . When further questioned by Atherley about his perception of Bartholomew’s effectiveness in the role, Codrington said, “It wasn’t coming over to me very clear as to what he was seeing because he was in one capacity and then he went into another capacity and operating as a consultant.” Despite those views, Codrington said he worked closely with Bartholomew. He said there was a spirit of cooperation between them even though from time to time “they had their differences with the engineering aspects of things”. However, Codrington took issue with certain notes which Bartholomew made in respect of the operations of the Quality Assurance Department. In a report handed over to the management of the Transport Board, Bartholomew claimed that personnel from the Transport Board’s Quality Assurance team had not visited service providers for an extended period and that there appeared to be a casual approach to the repair and return of buses. “That is incorrect,” Codrington emphatically stated. Bartholomew also suggested that the QA department lacked “the managerial and administrative skills needed to effectively monitor and manage the units at the external service providers…” But in rebuttal, Codrington said while he had a staff of 30 persons working in that department, only five were sufficiently trained. He said there was also a need for more staff. Codrington, who worked with the Transport Board for 46 years before retiring on December 31, 2018, denied that the QA department, which he managed, circumvented operating procedures at any time during his tenure. “We did not circumvent any operating procedures. Not to my knowledge,” he contended. In fact, Codrington said he considered his time in charge of the QA department a success noting that there over 100 buses in service, a far cry from the less than 70 in operation now. “It was a success. Based on my knowledge and when I left office I had something looking like 115 or so buses on the road and now that I am out of office I was made to understand that there 50 and 70 [buses] and they aren’t making it into the hundreds at all,” Codrington said. (BT)

PAYBACK FOR POWER OUTAGES STILL POSSIBLE – The utility regulator is giving the assurance that investigations are being carried out regarding the recent power outages, and “an appropriate action” will then be taken regarding compensation. This comes amidst increasing calls from residents and business operators for the Barbados Light & Power Company (BL&P) to pay consumers for two consecutive days of power blackouts last week. Information Specialist with the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) Nekaelia Hutchinson-Holder was not in a position to say if customers would definitely be credited for the break in service, or when. However, she pointed out that there was a process that affected customers had to go through. “Investigations are still ongoing as to the circumstances surrounding the electricity outages,” said Hutchinson-Holder. “As a result, appropriate action with regard to claims will be determined following an examination of the nature and cause of the outages,” she said. On Monday morning November 18 around 7:29, the BL&P’s approximately 130,000 customers were left without electricity for most of the day. While about 50 per cent of the power had been restored around 3 p.m. many remained with electrical power up until 11 p.m. when the full restoration was completed. The following day, the power went off and due to load sharing, customers then witnessed intermittent outages, which were compounded by water outages. The BL&P blamed contaminated fuel and aging generators for the disruption in service, which took individuals and businesses by surprise. The board of the electric utility company was asked to meet on the matter of compensation, but officials promised to speak to customers on that issue at a later date. In a brief statement, Hutchinson-Holder told Barbados TODAY the claims process for the BL&P included the completion of the Guaranteed Standards of Service Claim form on the BL&P website. “The form should be completed and returned to the BL&P’s customer service office at Garrison Hill, St Michael within three months of the date of the event giving rise to the claim,” she said. “The utility must then be given 14 business days to address the claim. If the customer is not satisfied with the outcome, they may contact the Fair Trading Commission for assistance. The Standards of Service, which outline each standard and the corresponding compensation when the standard is breached, may be accessed at the Utility Regulation link at www.ftc.gov.bb. Compensation is generally given in the form of a credit on the customer’s account,” she added. She also pointed out that in the case where an outage arises due to circumstances outside of the utility’s control, the utility company would be exempt from the Standards of Service requirements. (BT)

REVERSE TAX CREDIT COMING – Lower income Barbadians will soon be on the receiving end of a Government policy intended to offset some of the burden being borne by citizens under the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT), according to a top economic advisor to Government. Chief Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment Ambassador Dr Clyde Mascoll, while addressing the congregation at St Luke’s Anglican Church over the weekend revealed the reverse tax credit promised in the PM’s March 2019 budget speech would be honoured next month. The tax credits amount to $1300 for Barbadians earning less than $25,000 a year and according to Mascoll, have been made possible because of Government’s ability to stabilise the economy in a short time. This, he argued allowed Government to “re-engineer a few things”, allowing those at the bottom of the “economic barrel” to benefit from “unprecedented tax relief” since July this year. The economic advisor however indicated that the reverse tax credit could not be distributed monthly, hence why it is being disbursed as a $1300 lump sum payment. “It can’t be given monthly, so you may not have seen the immediate effects, but starting this month, Barbadians earning less than $25,000 a year will all receive a reverse tax credit to the tune of $1300, but that could not have been granted immediately,” Mascoll said during the service at which the officials of the Barbados Trust Loan Fund were the special guests. He added: “What is also happening that people are not realising is that we do other transfers to help the poor. The reason why we decided to pay university fees for Barbadians is because only the poor would be affected. So when you start to repay university fees you again start giving opportunities to the poor.” Amid the benefits being given to low income citizens, Mascoll stressed workers were not the burden-bearers of Government’s intensive austerity programme. Instead, he claimed commercial banks, insurance companies and large bond investors were making the greatest sacrifices. He added that the country has been able to stay above the line in interest payments to external creditors totalling $500 million a year. In addition to the cash being given during the yuletide season, Mascoll promised that other social services would be improved, including garbage collection and public transportation. “We also decided apart from education we had to rectify the social sectors because we were experiencing some difficulties in terms of garbage collection. But I am here to tell you that will soon be solved, because the trucks have been purchased. Last year at this same time we only had 12 garbage trucks and we now have 22 working,” said the economic advisor. (BT)

WOMEN’S CHOICE FOR MORE CHILDREN – Women have the power of choice to determine if they want children or not. Executive director of the Barbados Family Planning Association (BFPA), Anderson Langdon, said that in the 21st century, women should not be pressured into having children merely to prop up national insurance coverage and retirement funds. He was speaking against the background of statements made by Minister of Home Affairs last week when 64 people were inducted as citizens of Barbados. Hinkson said then the National Insurance Scheme and Pension Scheme were on the verge of collapsing due to the island’s low birth rate. (DN)

GREAT HOPE FOR GHANAIAN NURSES – Nurses coming from Ghana to work at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and other public health care facilities are experienced and highly certified in specialty areas. This assurance came from the Executive Chairman of the QEH Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland who said that the nurses being recruited to start work from January 2020 were equipped with post basic qualifications. The hospital chief and a team of local health authorities recently returned from Ghana where they interviewed over 100 Ghanaian nurses. “We are really pleased with the quality of nurses that we saw in Ghana. They are solid nurses and I think they would be a complement to the nursing team that we have here. “We are going to get the opportunity to bring nurses in with specialist skills. And what is wonderful, is because it is a government-to-government programme they are coming to work with us, they are going to be having the same salaries and conditions of work as Barbadian nurses. “I understand that people have said that they are going to be paid different and better, that is not the case, that would be an industrial relations nightmare. There is a scale for nursing and it would be based on your years of experience and qualification,” she said. Speaking to members of the media following the hospital’s 55th Anniversary Service, held at QEH’s Chapel, this morning, Bynoe-Sutherland also indicated that Ghanaian nurses would receive a gratuity instead of a pension. “But as you have heard from the nursing fraternity, we need hundreds of nurses, so we don’t have enough of a throughput of local nurses. We are going to have to continue to supplement until we are able to get our basic and post basic programming up to provide the numbers that we require,” Bynoe-Sutherland added. Last Friday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Jerome Walcott signed an agreement for the recruitment of 120 nurses from Ghana. The agreement was signed when Prime Minister Mia Mottley paid a courtesy call on President Nana Akufo-Addo in Ghana. (BT)

REPUBLIC MEETING FALLS THROUGH – The latest meeting to resolve the dispute involving staff at Republic Bank did not come off yesterday. Management and staff of the bank had converged at the Labour Department in Warrens, St Michael, along with deputy general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Dwaine Paul, before 10 a.m. Both parties remained tight-lipped before the meeting was scheduled to begin, with Republic’s managing director Anthony Clerk declining comment and Paul saying he preferred to speak after the meeting. However, the meeting never took place as it was reported that Minister of Labour Colin Jordan was unavailable. (DN)

PSVS GIVE NOD TO TWO-MONTH TRIAL – The Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) is not opposed to the recent decision by the Transport Authority to enforce the controversial five-minute rule for a trial period of two months. The body’s chairman Kenneth Kenny Best told Barbados TODAY while the decision had been accepted by its members, he was hoping that once the 60-day trial was over the authority would uphold its promise to share the information with permit holders of public service vehicles (PSVs). Just over a week ago, the Transport Authority informed PSV owners whose vehicles utilize the Constitution River Terminal (CRT) that they would be limited to using the loading bays five minutes in peak hours and ten minutes during off-peak hours. In a letter circulated to owners, the authority gave the assurance that data would be collected during that period and a report would be prepared and made available to PSV permit holders on its findings and recommendations. Best said he was satisfied that the authority had listened to some of APTO’s suggestions. “We put forward some proposals and after the meeting with APTO and AOPT [Alliance Owners of Public Transport], everyone came up with similar ideas for the improvement of the sector. “Some of our suggestions were taken into consideration because at one point it was a blanket five-minute rule and then we were able to get them to change it to peak and off-peak periods,” Best said.

“I would hope that the information and the data would be shared, so I am looking for that day to come so we would know where we’re at going forward.” Back in September, upset and irate PSV operators staged a protest following the authority’s decision to restrict their loading times in the CRT’s bays to just five minutes. A few days later the authority’s chairman Ian Estwick said following discussions, a decision had been taken to extend the loading time to ten minutes during off-peak hours ((5 a.m. to 6 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.) He pointed out that the five-minute rule during peak hours (6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.) would remain. Surprisingly though, Best said APTO members had accepted the authority’s most recent decision without much fuss. “We have had no complaints thus far. I don’t know if the other association had complaints but I haven’t had any complaints at all,” he said. Efforts to reach public relations officer for AOPT Mark Haynes proved unsuccessful. (BT)

DO MORE TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, CARIBBEAN URGED – Caribbean countries are being urged to do more to deal with the issue of violence against women as the region Monday joins the global community in observing International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In a statement, the UN Women Multi-Country Office (MCO) Caribbean Representative Alison McLean said research conducted in the Caribbean in the past two years reinforced that violence against women and girls (VAWG) including rape is so entrenched and normalised that both men and women have a high tolerance for its manifestations. She said notwithstanding women’s well-known and often-touted gains in public life and the introduction of laws, policies and initiatives to promote women’s equality, prevailing socio-cultural attitudes that perpetuate unequal and hierarchical power relations reinforcing notions of female subordination and male domination, mitigate against these gains and in turn fuel VAWG. The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women campaign is focusing on rape as a specific form of harm committed against women and girls, in times of peace or war. The UN System’s 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls activities is taking place under the global theme Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape. McLean said that the UN Women-supported research, which is available for four Caribbean countries to date, shows non-partner sexual violence (NPSV) which includes rape, attempted rape, unwanted sexual touching, and sexual harassment, is reported at significantly higher rates than intimate partner sexual violence and a significant risk factor is being young. In Guyana, most women reporting sexual IPV reported being forced to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to and nearly as many women reported having sexual intercourse with their partner because they were afraid to refuse. On the other hand, one in every five women in Guyana reported non-partner sexual abuse in their lifetime; with a significant number experiencing this abuse before the age of 18. One-fifth of Jamaican women reported being sexually abused before reaching 18 years of age. Further one in seven women reported that their first sexual experience was before the age of 15 years. Under Jamaican law, the age of consent is 16 years old; any sexual intercourse under that age is statutory rape. The Suriname GBV prevalence survey revealed that the prevalence of NPSV among all women is almost double that of sexual IPV/intimate partner violence. In Trinidad and Tobago, the prevalence of NPSV is almost four times higher than that of sexual IPV. McLean said that without reliable and relevant data, it is not possible to adequately treat, reduce and prevent violence against women and girls. “UN Women has invested significantly in supporting member states in strengthening capacities to fill the data gaps on violence against women and girls. Working with regional partners, the Caribbean Development Bank and CARICOM, we developed the CARICOM Prevalence Survey Model. “The CARICOM Model is based on the long-tested global World Health Organization (WHO) model which is considered internationally to be the best practice for national, population-based studies on prevalence data on GBV.” She said this CARICOM model also “allows us to capture information on the consequences of GBV for women, their children and families, women’s help-seeking behaviours and risk and protective factors for violence. It allows in a real way for the voices of women and girls to be heard.” She said national-level efforts should seek to de-stigmatize the experience of intimate partner violence and to shift gender norms and roles in order to create a society in which violence against women is openly rejected and firmly addressed. Information on where women seek help and where they do not, should inform how services to support victims should be designed and located. Data on women’s and girls’ vulnerabilities, partner characteristics and other socio-demographic factors should guide how to prevent and respond to this violence,” she said. The MCO Caribbean Representative said UN Women, along with other UN agencies will be using the data gathered from these surveys to support national efforts to prevent intimate partner violence through school-based and community-based initiatives; including working with men and boys through Batterer Intervention and Prevention programmes and private sector initiatives that prevent work-related spillovers of family violence to create safe spaces at work. (BT)

MONEY NO PROBLEM FOR QUALITY DATA – Lawmakers were today warned not to allow the state of the economy to jeopardize the country’s chances of having quality and up-to-date information so better decisions can be made at all levels. Francisco Javier Urra, the Inter-American Development Bank’s Chief of Operations for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean suggested that the hemispheric bank would provide the funds to help nations gather reliable data. Urra was speaking at the opening of the Caribbean thematic conference: Managing a Statistical Organization in Times of Change at UN House on Monday. Acknowledging that Barbados was currently undergoing an International Monetary Fund-backed (IMF) programme, Urra said it was now common for the IDB, which is also providing support, to have regular discussions with Government about making “strategic choices about budget allocation”. He declared: “We at the IDB, we believe that undermining the capacity of a country to have solid and accessible data would be a terrible mistake.” Stressing the importance of timely statistics for “good decision-making”, the IDB official said poverty and other issues facing the region were becoming more complex, required “good data” in order to find solutions. Urea said: “This is why for policymakers, for high-level officials, for those who try to enable policies that are cross-cutting, having that ground it is almost like a beacon in this time of austerity and this time of information and fake news. “So the role of having strong statistical offices is more relevant than ever.” Over the last two decades, the bank had provided $60 million (US$30 million) in the form of loans and technical assistance for the region’s statistical development. Barbados is in line for an $80 million (US$40 million) IDB loan to help modernize the public sector, including the upgrading of the Barbados Statistical Service (BSS). Praising Government for its modernization efforts, Urra disclosed that the loan should be approved by Wednesday. But he pointed out that while Barbados and other Caribbean countries performed “relatively well” in a number of areas of development when compared to Latin America and other countries, there was a lack of quality data, which he described as a “complicated situation”. Declaring that adequate data “goes beyond the walls” of the national statistical departments in the region, Urra said the IDB was willing to work closer with those agencies so they could help to strengthen the data collecting capacity of ministries and other agencies. Pointing to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) as an example of an institution that was lacking critical data, Urra pointed out that without critical statistics it would be difficult for the island’s main medical institution to get technical assistance from some development partners. While the digitisation of the BSS has started, the agency’s work has been set back by a lack of money and manpower. BSS director Aubrey Browne said the last modernization exercise ended two years ago with recommendations for a change in the agency’s organizational structure so that several units would produce statistics to be fed into a national digital database which would then be available to the public. Browne said: “One of the things we really have to work on now is developing a release calendar for the release of statistics. “We still have a way to go in terms of that development and the main challenge is [not] having the available resources to support the statistical organizations. “As you would be aware we are still operating under an IMF programme so we are having challenges in allocating resources. That is the main challenge we are facing at this time. “So right now we are operating at less than optimal situation.” Browne give an assurance that Government was moving with alacrity to sort out the BSS’s issues. Statistician with the CDB Dindial Ramrattan warned that demands from residents were constantly increasing, and if officials were not ready to deliver timely and adequate data they would have to contend with “fake news” and incorrect use of available information. Adding that the increased data demand was also driving increased scrutiny, and that technology was changing the way information was being shared, he said national data collecting agencies should operate in a timely and efficient manner by being “proactive, reactive and responsive”. The CDB official also urged Caribbean countries to learn from each other, development partners and the rest of the world, as he called for a change in mindset “where we are more social in how we deal with our matters, recognizing that social media, while our best friend with free marketing and free publicity, is also our biggest critic that is not always with accurate facts”. (BT)

FOUR MAIN REASONS WHY YOUTH CAUGHT IN CRIME WEB – With more than six out of ten ex-convicts caught in a criminal justice revolving door, the Government’s top crime researcher and a panel of experts worry that an “unforgiving society”, childhood trauma, drug abuse and mental health issues work to keep young people trapped in a life of crime and violence. Director of the Criminal Justice Planning and Research Unit, Cheryl Willoughby, expressing concern at the rate at which people who had been jailed end up back behind bars also noted that many employers appear to punish ex-cons after they’ve paid their debt to society – by refusing to hire them. She said: “The recidivism rate is now over 65%, and in our research, we found that substance abuse problems were among the factors contributing to this, along with mental health issues that they were being treated for in prison but they stopped after they were released. “Another matter that concerns us is when we look at unemployment of ex-offenders, 70 per cent of employers said they never employed anyone who went to prison, and 50 per cent said they would not employ anyone who had gone to prison.” Willoughby was among experts appearing in a Barbados Society of Psychologists’ panel discussion on Preventing Youth Violence at the Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union’s Harcourt Lewis Centre. Principal Consultant at the Potter Centre, Toney Olton blamed a lack of job opportunities for ex-prisoners on an “unforgiving society”. He added: “A lot of places are asking for Police Certificates of Character as well, and if the Certificate of Character does not expose the person’s past, someone in the community will call and let the employer know the person has a criminal record, which jeopardises them in the job.” But the experts agreed there was little attempt to get to the real root of youth violence and crime or seek to understand the psychological issues behind the rising tide of homicides and assaults. Olton said: “All learning has an emotional basis. In today’s society, the busyness of parents and guardians means that they are spending less time with their children, and have replaced affection and guidance with material things. “Many of our children also experience abuse and neglect fuelled by frustrated and emotionally unintelligent parents and the fragmentation of the family unit.” In comparing the violence to a volcano, Olton declared: “Once the lava is spitting, there is a lot going on under the surface; and in this case, the lava we are not seeing are feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, feelings of abandonment, unresourcefulness, sadness, depression, resentment and anger.” Primary Coordinator at the Substance Abuse Foundation, Allison Gotip, said while the majority of her clients were between the ages of 18 and 35, two children aged 13 and 15 are now on her list. Childhood trauma, such as abuse in all its forms, tended to lead to addiction, violent behaviour or even suicide, she said, expressing concern that children were not allowed to express their emotions freely and there was still too much of a stigma attached to mental health issues in Barbados. Gotip said: “We must allow our children to have a voice, to start listening to them and have meaningful conversations with them. “We have also found that when people come into our facilities in the throes of addiction, they have a lot of undiagnosed mental illnesses because there is a stigma to having mental illnesses over here. “So with all that suppression, along with domestic violence, divorce and separation, a lot of children deal with these, and statistics show that those who have experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences are more likely to commit suicide or suffer with depression.” Dr Sherri-Ann Catwell, the Senior Registrar at Ward C4 of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said most of her patients had experienced a traumatic situation in their home. She told the audience: “A lot of these people came from families with a lot of interpersonal conflict, had bad relationships with peers, were exposed to abuse or drugs, and there was an association between suicide attempts and violent behaviour when exposed to drugs early.” Some of the solutions the panel identified entailed getting parents and grandparents involved in discussions on why their charges were acting out, since the behaviour was often fuelled by what they experienced in the home, or unresolved trauma the parents or grandparents themselves had never addressed. Olton also suggested a greater emphasis on emotional intelligence, that is, helping people to understand what influenced their behaviour and showing them more appropriate ways to deal with the challenges they faced. (BT)

EDEN LODGE PRIMARY DEFACED – Students of the Eden Lodge Primary School had to be temporarily relocated this morning after offensive graffiti was discovered on several walls of the school. The Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) was called in and the school given a security sweep, while students were housed at a nearby church. After conducting investigations, members of the RBPF gave the all clear for students to re-enter the school around 10:43 a.m. Officials from the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training have covered the graffiti temporarily. The Ministry plans to have the walls repainted this weekend. (BGIS)

ST PHILIP MAN SLAIN IN SHOOTING INCIDENT IN ‘VIETNAM’ – Barbados TODAY now understands the residence is that of his two-year-old son and the child’s mother, 41-year-old Nichole Alleyne which he visited from time to time. Efforts to speak with Alleyne were unsuccessful as she was finally resting after enduring a sleepless night. A close relative and neighbour informed Barbados TODAY the incident occurred during the night, when most people were sleeping. The source however was awakened by what sounded like someone “killing a centipede with a shoe”. Residents later found out it was the sound of numerous bullets being fired. At the end of the gunshots, Scarboro was left dead at the residence where a four-year-old girl, a 21-year-old woman and their mother also lived. “The youngest child wasn’t able to see what occurred, but the girl that is four saw everything, and even when the officers came they said she would need counselling,” the source recalled, while indicating it was extremely difficult to get them to sleep after the commotion. Residents however indicated they knew very little about the dead father, who they saw in the area sometimes. At his Farm Road home in the same parish, a male middle-aged male answered the door. While declining to identify himself, he indicated that none of Scarboro’s family members were at home and he did not know the young man well. Next door, one woman said she did not know the young man well but was shocked to hear of his passing. (BT)

ACCUSED MUST ALLOW FINGERPRINTING – Allegations that a 42-year-old man robbed another at gunpoint while on Glendairy Road have resulted in remand time at Dodds prison. Matthew Mortimer Phillips, of Lennox Avenue, Goodland, Black Road, St Michael is accused of robbing Rommell Nanton of $15,000 in jewelry on October 18. The jewelry comprised a chain and pendant as well as a ring. The unemployed man was not required to plead to the indictable charge before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant today. He is also charged with using a firearm on the same date in commission of the crime. Before he was remanded, the magistrate imposed an order that Phillips allows lawmen to fingerprint him. Phillips will reappear before the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on December 23. (BT)

SURETY TO FORFEIT BAIL MONEY – Not only did a woman who absconded from court lose her freedom for the next few weeks but her surety now has one month to pay half of the bail amount or she too will find herself behind bars. “Ms Marshall has been missing from the court for a long time. It took a new charge sheet to get her back here,” Station Sergeant Cameron Gibbons told the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today about the accused Kesha Melissa Fiona Marshall. The 33-year-old, of Dunscombe, St Thomas had been before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant on two offences allegedly committed on April 25, 2017 – refusing to leave the premises of Savings Plus Supermarket when told to do so by a person in authority and assaulting Selvin Lovell causing him bodily harm. She had been on $3,000 bail since her first appearance after denying the charges. The accused however, appeared in the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on November 22 on a theft charge to which she entered a not guilty plea. She was again granted $3,000 bail but it was revealed that warrants had been issued for her for failing to attend court on the pending matters. “When I came to court last Friday and they said I missed court . . . but I was in prison until last year May,” Marshall told the magistrate. However, a check of the court’s records showed that she had not been before court since July 2018. “You were given the date of July 20, 2018. You were not in prison then,” Cuffy-Sargeant said even as the accused’s surety said that she would like to say something. The surety explained that she had only come to court today because she had been informed that Marshall had missed a March date last year. But the magistrate pointed out that it was now November 25 and “You are coming here . . . for a date in March 2018? She is your responsibility as a surety. She has been MIA (missing in action) since July 20, 2018. The bail sum is $3,000 you have to pay half of that.” The magistrate then gave the surety a month to pay the court $1,500 or spend three months in prison. The accused Marshall meantime was remanded to Dodds to reappear before Cuffy-Sargeant on December 20. (BT)

PATIENT STEALS DOC’S PHONE – Sticky-fingered glaucoma patient Paul Devon Francis has been placed on a bond for the next 12 months for stealing a cellular phone belonging to a health care official at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. If the convicted No. 12 George Street, Belleville, St Michael resident breaches the order imposed on him today by Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant, he will spend six months in prison. The complainant Kristen Da Silva had completed an examination on Francis when she left the patient room for talks with the doctor. On return to the room she noticed Francis closing his bag near to the area where she had left her $3, 260 cellular phone. Thinking nothing of his actions at the time, she gave him his six months appointment, and continued performing her duties. It wasn’t until sometime later that Da Silva realised that her electronic device was missing. The matter was reported after she was unable to locate it despite checks. “She is the doctor that check my eye cause I have glaucoma. I ain’t no tief. I ain’t know why I get in that deh. I should have never taken it. She had leniency on me, so I don’t know how you can deal with it. I suppose to have another appointment at the hospital to check my glaucoma. I won’t let it happen again because it ain’t me,” the convicted man said. The police report said that Francis admitted that he had sold the device and purchased a pair of slippers and a phone with the money. The stolen phone was recovered. “At least I feel good that she get back her phone,” Francis said prompting the magistrate to tell him that he was missing the point. “No ma’am I should not have taken up it”. (BT)

ARCHER SUBJECTED TO RACIAL ABUSE – New Zealand Cricket says it will apologise to Jofra Archer after the fast bowler received “racial insults” from a member of the crowd following his dismissal during the first Test against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. Archer made 30 from 50 balls on the final afternoon of the match, but was unable to prevent New Zealand from sealing an innings-and-65-run win to go 1-0 up in the two-match series. However, that achievement was overshadowed shortly after the finish, when Archer tweeted about the treatment he had received as he left the field at the end of his innings. He said: “A bit disturbing hearing racial insults today whilst battling to help save my team, the crowd was been amazing this week except for that one guy, @TheBarmyArmy was good as usual also.” In a statement, NZC said that the perpetrator had not been located, but that the board would be in touch with Archer to apologise. “New Zealand Cricket will be contacting, and apologising to English fast bowler Jofra Archer, who was racially abused by a spectator as he left the field at the conclusion of the first Test at Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui,” read the statement. “Although security providers at the venue were unable to locate the perpetrator, NZC will be examining CCTV footage and making further inquiries tomorrow in an endeavour to identify the man responsible. “NZC has zero tolerance towards abusive or offensive language at any of its venues and will refer any developments in the case to police. “It will contact Mr Archer tomorrow to apologise for the unacceptable experience, and to promise increased vigilance in the matter when the teams next meet in Hamilton.” Archer later confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the abuser had been a solitary New Zealand spectator, making comments “about the colour of my skin”. He also claimed that the same person appeared to have contacted him via Instagram with further insults. “I don’t think it would happen in England,” Archer said. It was a tough match for England, but particularly Archer, who was required to bowl a marathon spell of 42 overs in New Zealand’s solitary innings, and came in for criticism for an at-times lethargic display. He picked up a solitary wicket, that of BJ Watling who top-scored with 205, but also served a reminder of his menacing attributes when he struck Henry Nicholls a heavy blow to the helmet on the second evening. The ECB later confirmed that an investigation into the incident was ongoing, in conjunction with NZC, “NZC and ECB ensure that clear guidelines are in place at every venue so that watching a cricket match is safe and enjoyable for everyone,” said the ECB in a statement. “Whilst this is a relatively isolated incident there is absolutely no place for anti-social or racist behaviour within the game and it is vitally important that all spectators feel able to come forward to report such behaviour and feel safe in doing so.” (BT)

WALES, ELLERTON WINS SET UP FINAL DATE – Weymouth Wales emphatically booked their spot in next Sunday’s Capelli Super Cup final after a pulsating 3-1 win over arch-rivals Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) in their semi-final clash on Sunday night at the Wildey Turf. Wales have had the longest and arguably most difficult route to the final, but saved their best performance to date for the clash with the BDFSP, with goals from Romario Harewood, Shaquille Boyce and Walton Burrowes settling the matter for the Carrington Village side. In the other semi-final, Crane and Equipment Ellerton prevailed over difficult playing conditions and earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the University of the West Indies (UWI) Blackbirds. (DN)

KOLIJ SWEEP THE POOL – The Kolij Lions didn’t seem to miss top swimmers Danielle Titus and Nkosi Dunwoody. Without the two who are now competing under the SMS Cougars banner after helping the Lions to several triumphs in the pool, Harrison College secured the girls’ and boys’ titles during the finals of the Secondary Inter-School Swimming Championships at the Aquatic Centre yesterday. They took the girls title with 273 points and were followed by Christ Church Foundation and The St Michael School with 176 and 165 points, respectively. The boys reigned supreme with 540 points, Queen’s College placed second with 327 and St Michael finished third with 311 points. (DN)

SLUICE GATE OPENING: BEACH TO BE CLOSED – The sluice gate at the Graeme Hall Swamp, Christ Church, will be opened on Tuesday. The Ministry of Environment and National Beautification says this is necessary to reduce the high water levels and to re-balance the swamp. As a result, Worthing Beach will be closed to the public from 6 p.m. tomorrow, until noon Wednesday. Red flags, which indicate no swimming, will be in place along the beach, and bathers are asked to adhere to the flags and any other signs erected by the National Conservation Commission. (BGIS)

UBER LOSES LICENCE TO OPERATE IN LONDON- Uber will not be granted a new licence to operate in London after repeated safety failures, Transport for London (TfL) has said. The regulator said the taxi app was not "fit and proper" as a licence holder, despite having made a number of positive changes to its operations. Uber initially lost its licence in 2017 but was granted two extensions, the most recent of which expires on Monday. The firm will appeal and can continue to operate during that process. London is one of Uber's top five markets globally and it has about 45,000 drivers in the city. Overall, there are 126,000 licensed private hire and black cabs in the capital. If its appeal is unsuccessful, some think Uber drivers would move over to rival ride-sharing firms such as Bolt and Kapten."There would be competition that would fill that void quite quickly," Fiona Cincotta, a market analyst at City Index told the BBC. TfL said it had identified a "pattern of failures" in London that placed passenger safety at risk. These included a change to Uber's systems which allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts. It meant there were at least 14,000 fraudulent trips in London in late 2018 and early 2019, TfL said. The regulator also found dismissed or suspended drivers had been able to create Uber accounts and carry passengers. In one example, a driver was able to continue working for Uber, despite the fact his private hire licence had been revoked after he was cautioned for distributing indecent images of children. Helen Chapman, director of licensing at TfL, said: "While we recognise Uber has made improvements, it is unacceptable that Uber has allowed passengers to get into minicabs with drivers who are potentially unlicensed and uninsured." London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "I know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users, but their safety is the paramount concern. Regulations are there to keep Londoners safe." (BBC)

There are 36 days left in the year Shalom! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps #bajannewscaps #newsinanutshell

1 note · View note

masaru2042 · 6 years ago

Text

Hey, Elon, I got a Proposition!

Someone asked me to answer this on Quora, and well, I actually do have an answer for it! And it’s pretty awesome.

I’m smiling because I’m actually trying to answer this myself.

And no, I’m not kidding. YES YOU CAN DO THIS, AND I’VE NOW GOT THE NUMBERS TO PROVE IT! I racked this with a good mechanical friend of mine, and another who maintains the boiler at his job. Basically, I’ve consulted people who know what they’re doing.

Basically, I decided to take a fictional locomotive from a very famous children’s story and see if I can stuff a bunch of Tesla battery modules up its tender, and add regenerative braking to said locomotive. Which actually would be better than the dynamic braking used by diesels today. One reason is how regenerative braking works when it comes to shoving a bunch of Tesla batteries up said locomotive’s tender. Though we can do half and half. And granted the locomotive has air brakes, we can just do regenerative blended braking.

On top of…converting said locomotive into a waste vegetable oil burner…which is an actual thing and two steam locomotives currently burn waste vegetable oil.

WVO is wasted cooking oil, namely veggie oil that restaurants use and then must dispose of after they use it. Using waste veggie oil actually saves on water, water that you have to add to cooking oil to even get it to be properly converted into biodiesel. Basically, frying a whole pot of chicken does the work for you. You just need to strain all the stuff you don’t want from the oil and use a fuel injector and atomizer in the firebox to spray the WVO fuel in.

And the fireman’s duties are now to adjust how much is being atomized, as well as the occasional dumping of sand in the firebox which helps keep the fire tubes unclogged. And said dumping of sand is literally not that much. It’s a little bucket and the guy has a small spade and plops a small scoop in.

The two locomotives that are the first to be converted to WVO are the GCR No. 4960 which is a Mikado 2–8–2, and the GCR No. 29 which is a Consolidated 2–8–0. Both locomotives do not use coal at all, only the wasted cooking oil that the restaurants ran by the park’s railways throw out, and for water, only snow melt is used.

Basically these two locomotives that run on the Grand Canyon Railway are carbon neutral burning locomotives. They are THAT clean. They actually did try various other fuel, including diesel! Yes, those two locomotives…burned diesel in their fireboxes once!

So the locomotive in question for this particular experiment that will answer your question is the fabled Gresley 4–6–2 Pacific prototype A0. Said locomotive does not exist in life, but on paper. However, a reverend by the name of Wilbur Awdry made this prototype exist in his book series.

I’m talking about Gordon. The posh, snobbish, galloping, blue sausage himself.

I’ve had fun with this guy. I chose him because of his rather unique attributes and a certain race that though he did lose due to plot convenience and I’m gonna call it that because every boilerman I’ve either spoken with or read in blogs who have looked at the footage from the movie The Great Race all said that Gordon actually had the capacity to defeat the SNCF BB 9003…an electric locomotive that had a top speed of 200 miles per hour. All Gordon needed was a little streamlining to do it. Apparently Gresley built the first steam locomotive that runs on pure awesome.

Basically, Gordon is mainline high speed passenger train material. He always was, but now it’s like…move over Mallard level of high speed. So it would be feasible and possibly even very likely that for the future of the Northwestern Railway, upgrades to Gordon would be required to meet ever changing timetable demands.

And luckily for Sir Topham Hatt, upgrades are easy thanks to him being a prototype. It’s easier to interchange his parts than it would be for a mainline model.

This is why I chose Gordon for this little experiment. Also we’ve got a lot of specs on the guy. And a few possible Gresley-drawn blueprints of the actual, but never built A0. Which included his boiler PSI, and this is important…and that PSI is closer to an A3 than an A1. A1s had 210psi, and Gordon had 220psi. And I have a feeling it might be higher than that…given the performance he gave during that movie and the fact that even with all those problems, he was more than capable of traveling from Knapford to…somewhere close to Manchester…BOTH WAYS!

I’m going with the theorized 250 psi for Gordon.

The other reason for choosing Gordon is well, the weight of the locomotive. The locomotive that is Gordon is around 103 to maybe 105 tons. Very light weight compared to American locomotives of the same Pacific wheel arrangement. This is again key because lighter weight means less fuel and water used, and higher speeds. You want this. Total weight including the tender, Gordon’s around 160 tons. I’m intending to give him two tenders…because…well…where else is he gonna store 67 Tesla Model S battery modules? So, he’ll probably top out a little over 200 tons.

And now you know why he’s often made fun of due to his weight.

Don’t look at me like that, Gordon. You know you’re a fat ass.

Ahem...

This moves you closer to the goal of making a feasible steam locomotive.

Next, we get to the fuel as well as exhaust. They go hand and hand. To reduce fuel and water consumption in steam engines running in Britain, Gresley class locomotives and others had installed in their smoke boxes a new type of blast pipe called the Kylchap exhaust. This cuts down on fuel consumption and also cuts down on water. Adding two of these to the smoke box doubles the output of the locomotive. This is why the Flying Scotsman has two chimneys (funnels) instead of one.

So, let’s apply that to Gordon’s smoke box. Which as you can see, I’ve done in the image. The elongated chimney is similar to that of the Scotsman. So now, he’ll burn less fuel and use up less water, which allows him to run even longer. Couple that with converting him over to a waste veggie oil burner…we’ve just made Gordon into a carbon neutral steam engine. So, we’re one step closer to making Gordon a practical steam engine that can go anywhere he wants without people having a hissy fit over fires he might cause or soot, or whatever. Essentially, he stops being an insurance nightmare and he becomes officially green technology.

Now we’ve run into the issue that people often will point out about steam engines. Why we switched from steam to diesel. Or specifically from external combustion to internal combustion. Steam engines, although they are cool to see, convert only 10% of the heat they make into energy for movement. The rest is thrown up into the air through the smoke box. And in Gordon’s case, he probably uses 50% of that wasted heat to talk about how absolutely special he is. Well, we don’t want him to do that, we want to Gordon to get the most energy out of his heat.

American steam engines solve this problem with a feed water heating system. Ambient temperature water is taken from the tender, into an injector which is then fed up into a bonnet over the firebox that is heated using the exhausted heat, the exhausted heat is around 1400ºF, and that heats the water to over boiling…and then it goes into another injector that pumps that into the boiler. This maintains the temperature in the boiler, which you want, uses the wasted heat that would just go up into the air…to preheat the feed water from the tender and prevent boiler shock, which you also want.

This also again conserves fuel, and it’s steam powered.

Gresley attempted to apply this interesting thing to his A1 Pacifics, specifically Gordon’s now scrapped brother White Knight.

Unfortunately, the benefits gained through this system were lost thanks to high maintenance of the system itself. So, Gresley opted out of the feed water heater system and used a system that does the same thing, but uses less parts to do it with. So Gordon has an exhaust steam injector. It basically does the same thing, still heating the feed water from Gordon’s tender with the exhausted steam inside his smoke box, and then dumping that heated water into Gordon’s boiler.

And again, it’s all steam powered, so it uses the excess heat that normally would be lost to the sky, into making our locomotive more efficient. The drawback is when we’re firing Gordon up, that to heat the water, we need live steam rather than exhaust steam. This is was an issue with the exhaust steam injectors, and we’ll solve with our little Tesla powered heating system.

But we’re still not there.

Let’s go into the other reason why steam engines are not very efficient…having to each morning light the firebox in order to slowly bring Gordon’s boiler temperature up to proper steam pressure in order to make him move. You cannot rush this. Depending on boiler size, you are supposed to take anywhere from 3 hours to 6 hours or even 8 hours to slowly bring a steam engine under steam. And again, they use live steam to heat the boiler, which makes bring Gordon fully under steam a slow process.

To do it faster, you risk boiler integrity and Gordon’s boiler explodes. You don’t want that. I don’t think he’d appreciate his intestines flying everywhere.

Picture Source: The-ARC-Minister

That is still disturbing to look at.

You have to be careful when hand firing a steam engine and raising steam. How did we fix this problem before? Well, various workshops and roundhouses would have an external boiler that would preboil water and then put it into the steam engine while it’s resting over night.

Did any of you Thomas fans ever wonder why the steam engines were just ready to go in the morning like magic? It’s because Tidmoth Sheds has an external boiler to introduce live team into them so that they won’t have to wait for the guy who hand fires them in the morning to slowly bring them fully under steam. And hand firing a steam engine is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!

There have been cases of crew members maintaining temperature of the steam engine while spending a night somewhere by burning what all they could in the steam engine so they didn’t have to worry about slowly raising steam. They just never extinguished the firebox.

We’re gonna go a different route with Gordon. And this is where Tesla comes in.

This is also how Gordon can get his dynamic braking, or rather regenerative braking because that’s better for Gordon than dynamic braking, and still serves the same purpose. And well with regenerative, you can still employ dynamic braking.

Gordon and his brothers and cousins don’t use air brakes like American steam engines do, they use vacuum braking. It’s why to make the Flying Scotsman street legal, they had to install air braking on top of the American loud chime whistle, bell, and high intensity headlamp.

We’re gonna rip Gordon’s vacuum brakes out and shove blended/regenerative braking in. But to do that, he needs a mechanism to power these brakes. Steam provided that mechanism at first, and yes he does have a dynamo, but that’s only good for powering the lights.

Don’t worry, he won’t mind if we rip something out of him. Back in 1939, Hatt had William Stanier, yes THAT William Stanier, rip Gordon’s Gresley conjugated valve gear and replaced it with a 2 cylinder Walschaerts valve gear. It actually increased Gordon’s tractive effort. Again, another good thing!

Let’s shove a bunch of Tesla car battery modules up Gordon’s tender. About maybe 67 should be enough. Yeah, we need two tenders. The numbers we ran to fully power Gordon with Tesla modules required basically 100 of those modules in his tender. But we’re turning Gordon into a hybrid, not a fully electric steam locomotive. We want enough to maintain boiler temperature during idling and when he’s tucked snugly in his shed. And enough to power his dynamic/regenerative braking, and perhaps enough to help in powering the coaches he pulls.

This is a Tesla Model S module.

We’re gonna shove 67 of those up Gordon’s tender to create a battery powered preheater to his water and help insulate his boiler to retain heat when he’s all snuggled up in his shed. We’re gonna make a big electric blanket for Gordon so he won’t have to wake up with a cold boiler anymore.

We’re wanting to make Gordon practical. And well, we have. In reality, there is a railway which have steam engines that use a variant that I’m describing for Gordon.

Brienz Rothorn Railway is a railway in Switzerland and the steam locomotives are rather unique. They are a real world example of the modern steam locomotive and how we can create a modern railway using steam locomotives. Which includes something that I’m gonna put in Gordon, a way to preboil water using electricity from a battery installed in the locomotive itself which cuts the time of slowly raising Gordon to steam, pretty much turning 8 hours to 1.

In fact, it takes about 30 minutes to an hour to get a diesel engine revved up for service as well, which is why railways such as Norfolk and Southern are implementing a similar system for their diesels so that they can be up and running even faster especially during freezing cold weather. We’re just doing this for Gordon. And why Tesla? Does electric semi-truck tell you anything? Of course our real world Tony Stark would want to see if it’s possible to run a steam engine using his batteries.

Even if it’s a publicity stunt.

So, we have our steam engine, we have a way to make said steam engine carbon neutral. We have ways to make said steam engine more efficient using both the technology that was invented at the time of Gordon’s construction, and today. And now we have a way to not only insulate Gordon’s boiler to prevent heat lost during idling or when we’ve tucked him to bed at night as well as making sure he has his coffee in the morning so he can be up and ready.

So what’s the point of having the batteries for Gordon’s electric boiler blanket if we can just hook the big guy up to Norfolk and Southern’s SLEEPER system instead? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind having a power cord sticking out of his tender some times. Those batteries power the new advanced braking.

So let’s go ahead and rip out that braking system and replace it with a new one.

I suspect that modern NWR would have replaced the vacuum brakes of its steam engines with air brakes at least. Because those things became obsolete in the 70s. We’re giving Gordon regenerative braking. Regenerative braking is something that was applied to a steam locomotive one time. General Motors created four types of steam locomotives, all were scrapped…utilizing electric turbines!

Meet Jawn Henry! The electric steam turbine locomotive. And if it weren’t for dieselization, we would have continued researching to improve this massive behemoth.

Yeah, the same thing they used to make power in a power plant, they decided to put that in a locomotive. And on top of that, they had regenerative braking. My friend in this project, since we’re using Tesla, and this is Elon we’re talking about…suggested shoving 3.5 Model S Tesla motors up Gordon’s bogey, which will coincide with the regenerative and blended braking.

I suggested Gordon doesn’t need this, BUT we are also thinking about possible breakdowns that might happen en route. So…yeah…Gordon switching over to his 3.5 Model S motors might be a good thing? But then if we do have the 3.5 Model S motors, why do we need Gordon? Well, unfortunately, the numbers we ran only say the motors are powerful enough to move Gordon himself, not the train he pulls. And certainly not at the speed we need him to be at. The motors act like attaching a diesel to the back of Gordon’s tender.

Um, example A? I think Gordon would much rather have Tesla motors in his bogey than Paxton shoving against his tender when he breaks down.

The purpose there is for potential mechanical issues, power to the coaches, and powering regenerative braking to Gordon.

The system, much like a system in a hybrid car, monitors idling time Gordon has verses running time, and during down time switching between firebox heat and battery heat. While still keeping the pilot light going so Gordon’s not using his fuel up. And in the mornings all you have to do is light Gordon’s firebox, but he’s pretty much at a good head of steam to start off already thanks to the preheated water.

And the 3.5 Model S motors provide power to the regenerative and blended braking which I suggest to my buddy whom I had this rather long discussion with. Regenerative braking coupled with the motors actually charges the batteries. So every time Gordon applies the brakes, he’s charging his heating blanket.

And this is how we turn a steam engine into something possibly practical.

Maybe.

In conclusion, we’ve reduced the steam engine’s carbon footprint with the WVO fuel, reduced the amount of fuel and water it uses with the Kylchap exhaust system, maximized the conversion of wasted heat from the engine with exhaust steam injector, gave the steam engine an electric blanket to sleep under at night, and coffee in the morning which makes the time the steam engine takes to get started a lot less. And with that electric blanket, we’ve now given it a proper regenerative/blended braking system and secondary “get out of dodge” method just in case the engine brakes down during an excursion. Because we don’t want the engine to tie up the line.

And now Gordon doesn’t have to listen to all those mechanically inclined people telling him what a literal waste of energy he is.

This was an exercise that we did when we were bored and there was nothing on TV.

I’m sure someone can come along and possibly suggest something better than this.

And if you’re really curious, we did run the numbers for if we just say…let’s get rid of Gordon’s firebox altogether and make him a completely electric steam engine. You know how many battery modules we would need to shove up Gordon’s tender to make that a possibility? About 100 or more. It’s why I told him that it’ll be better if Gordon was a hybrid. It’s just not practical to power up a steam engine using lithium batteries.

So we’re supplementing Gordon’s power with WVO and the batteries. Adding the electric traction motors…aka the 3.5 Model S motors. And using electric motors to supplement the steam power, allowing the boiler to run at lower PSI and fuel input rates, and increase overall efficiency.

I think we got a steam locomotive even the diesels will be jealous of. Yay?

All we need to do is get Tesla involved.

Remember, this is just a fun theory we worked out, and I’m still tweaking it as I go as I discover new things about modern steam power.

HEY, ELON! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO INVEST IN THE MOST ADVANCED AI IN THE WORLD...THAT’S LITERALLY CAPABLE OF ABSTRACT THOUGHT?! We call him Gordon Gresley.

#elon musk #Tesla #Gordon #gordon the big engine #steam locomotive #tesla battery

37 notes · View notes