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j0shm0 · 8 months ago

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2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - 63 Laps / 19 'Turns'

I took time out of night since we did not have a "FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRAN PREMIO DEL MADE IN ITALY E DELL'EMILIA-ROMAGNA" in 2023 and went back to watch the 2022 Race to take down some notes about the race and atmosphere at that time.

Sprint Race Weekend (Format was FP1, Quali, FP2, Sprint Quali, Sprint Race, Race)

Sprint Podium (Max, Charles, Sergio)

In 2022 it was the 4th race of the year (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia)

Top 3 Driver standings going into the weekend was Charles, George, Carlos (Max 6th)

Top 3 Driver Standing after the race weekend was Charles, Max, Sergio (only Schumacher, Hulkenberg, Latifi; no points)

Weather all weekend was cold and wet, race day was "Cloudy in a wet and drying track"

Tyre Selection was Inter/Wet, C4, C3, C2

Lewis Hamilton owns Lap Record with a 1:15 set in 2020

"championship leader Charles Leclerc on the front row next to Max Verstappen the world champion"

Max had Fuel System issues in Bahrain and Austraila allowing Charles to have 2 wins

The box on F1TV was Joylon Palmer and Will Buxton

Fastest Pit stop at this time was 2.27sec by RB in Australia

Pierre radio message in formation lap about rain in 20-25mins

Previous winners were Max - 2021, Hamilton- 2020, Schumacher - 2006, Alonso - 2005, Schumacher - 2004

No Imola race from 2007 - 2020 due to poor maintenance and legal battles

Mick Schumacher was the Logan Sargent of 2022 (finishing just outside points but people only talk about the impacts)

Checo and Lando jumped up to 2 and 3 on the start putting Charles in 4th

Daniel spun Carlos and beached him in the gravel of turn 2 (racing incident)

Mick dropped from 10th to 17th after getting spun by himself hitting a puddle on the strips heading into turn 3

Fernando got a whack in his right side pod early on and by lap 7 had a giant hole (Schumacher spun tapped)

Kmag being a defender forever, keeping George behind for multiple laps

By lap 20 everyone moved to the medium tyre; with Daniel down in 18th being the first to try it and say big gains

Esteban 5sec penalty for unsafe release during the pit stops

After pitting top 3 were Max, Perez, Charles

Lap 26 Mick was didn’t make a turn going against Latifi and went through the wet grass on slicks so he spun again

Yuki has been leading the Train in 9th for so long

Daniel pitted on lap 31 for Hard Tyre - could take him to the end if the rain stays away

DRS Enabled Lap 34 with drying track

Pierre putting on a mega defense to keep Lewis locked in 15th

Lap 38 Max was getting close to lapping people in 15th/14th/13th; Completed on Lap 41

Ferrari and Mclaren radio messages opting to stay on Medium Tyre from lap 20 pit O_O

Lando holding 4th with a 23sec gap to Charles in 3rd; Sebastian in 7th 17sec gap to Valterri

Lap 43 Exhaust bracket/valve piece from Latifis Williams could have lead to a safety car potentially

Leclerc pitted lap 50 for Soft Tyres O_O extra point fastest lap

LANDO FASTER AND TRYES COLD OUT OF THE PITS SO CHARLES COMES OUT IN 4th (swapped back following lap)

Perez Lap 51 Max Lap 52 also Soft Tyres since they had huge leads

Charles message lap 52 "Should have gone Mediums"

LAP 53 CHARLES HIT THE SAUSGE CURB IN TURN 15 and hit the wall; pitted for tyres and wing; dropped to 9th

Yuki also passed Sebastian and went up to 6th ^_^

Max, Sergio, Lando Podium; with Max lapping from Lance Stroll in 10th down to 18th

Starting Grid and Constructor standings (even left odd right as is on track)

Finishing position for Drivers and Constructors (1-10 Left/11-20 Right)

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tammyhybrid21 · 4 years ago

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On Villain Impact

SO, Guess who just rewatched UP so that I could further expand on the tea brought up in the post that ask prompted! I mean, and some general comparison moments... with plot and tone and the possible inspirations... BUT--

We're not here to explore Paradise Falls today!

So let's take this in parts so I can give each villain(and one bonus) their dues. Starting with the Pixar villain who first traumatized me in 2009.

Charles Muntz

Sooo first of all, this guy is terrifying.

Like, out of all the villains I'm here to talk about, Muntz has reached that point that there's just... something wrong and broken by the time he actually shows up on screen in his movie. Well, not his movie but-- By the time we meet him, isolation has done a number along with his single minded focus on his goal.

Muntz is... not in a good state of mind AT ALL.

BUT--

I kind of want to take it back for a moment to what triggered this. Because here's the tea-- As we see, throughout the movie with Russel and Kevin, Muntz's find was real. Birb still around even. That skeleton he displayed-- and yet--

They decried it as fake. Something he fabricated. Which hello, here's some of my related tea-- Again, this is basically that whole-- issue of if it doesn't fit with known facts, along with some of the other issues regarding the palaeontology community in general that is-- not quite the same, but--

I have many, many dinosaur issues and some of them come from how long it took people to accept feathered dinosaurs, to the fact that there has been multiple cases of evidence that dinosaurs went extinct much more recently than what we're taught in schools(middle ages, medieval art and designs and just argh--), that are just-- REJECTED. Which even included a report about still images, art and designs that are very dinosaur in nature. Or hell, the comparison of dragon legends to how dinosaur skulls and appearances are--

Not to mention there have been and are still fiascos about dinosaur bones and the whole marrow and blood cells discovered in them. Which instead of maybe assuming that means they're younger than previously assumed they're assuming that means that decay rates are off, which... yeah sure. I don't really have a degree on that, but it sounds wrong when decay has more clear and obvious examples that have been more clearly witnessed, studied-- I mean there's a whole STUDY on decay--

BUT I'M NOT AN EXPERT AND THE EARTH HAS TO BE--

Anyway-- Fossils and bones have-- such a HUGE mess. From exhibits going missing, discoveries passed over time and time again because is "doesn't fit" what was previously know, there's a whole documentary that's one guy trying to explain how there's evidence of specific species actually just being sexual dimorphism and differences in age of just one species and being mocked by the rest of the community for that view--

You know fascinating stuff--

Among other things, like I remember so clearly a documentary that used to be around where they talked about a dig site where there were modern animals preserved with animals from so, so long ago-- along with trying to explain how the very existence of Dinosaur bones and fossils proved that the Great Worldwide Flood happened.

Which-- honestly on the flood, just look at how pretty much every culture has a Great Flood story and that's already proven that something happened. WHICH is all beside the point--

But this-- THIS--

Do you know how much this happens, happened, and still probably will happen in the future?! I mean shit-- people thought the KANGAROO was FAKE NEWS once upon a time. Among-- many other of Australia's animals... also like-- think about weird animals from your own country and imagine in the olden days, sure people could travel, but that didn't mean everyone would or could and just--

How many animals sound fake but then you see them?!

In any case, there's just a very subtle background flow to this movie in that ultimately, the TRUE villains hidden in the story are the Archaeology & Palaeontology communities. Scientists.

Which yeah, deviation from the main point of this post, so now that we have that background detail and rant. What impact does Muntz have as a villain. Well... very clearly he's terrifying. Like, I don't think I can overstate how much I was FREAKED OUT as a baby 11 year old seeing this movie for the first time, with exaggerated memories of fire and trauma and all-- and just-- Muntz is a Pixar villain.

Which yeah--

I don't actually really have to say much in regards to how he lingers and his presence is felt all through how the movie unfolds. Even from before this reveal-- there's that sense of wrongness when you're paying attention and you just think about how the dogs act.

And well-- there's something to be stated about this scene... and how it serves as a good lead in to the next villain I would like to talk about-- But for now...

Muntz' degeneration here is subtle. Traitors, liars, people after his discovery... and some serious isolation induced paranoia.

But the heart of his motivation is that long, long ago disgrace. It's been YEARS, of hunting and trying to find the one thing. Carl's entire lifetime from childhood. His entire goal-- and what a hell of a broken pedestal that creates... but arguably, he's from a somewhat tragic perspective when you actually think how fundamentally broken he's fallen when examining the facts.

From a lauded explorer-- adventurer... to this.

Fearing and calling anyone he meets liars.

Max Mordon

Soooo before anyone says that was an abrupt-- I think that this is the PERFECT place to transition over. Because the one immediately there is... some DRASTIC contrasts between these two, despite well. Some small similar vibes to generals.

Like seriously...

Not precisely the same... but like-- Brown hair, blue eyes... and the general frame of his hair style. Max just missed some of the points and has no moustache or anything. BUT--

Max is also in direct contrast in regards to motivations. At least to the prior villain of Muntz. BUT-- Max is kind of literally the kind of people that Muntz was paranoid about. Which isn't really played for subtly in the movie, which is unfortunate, but to be fair that's a hard thing to play subtle and with all the tropes we've been exposed to nowadays-- BUT--

Max basically fell into the trap of, pedestal to break, along with what I kind of call Scooby logic, in how his presentation gave him away as a villain. And also all the older mentor characters disapproving of him.

Basically he was doomed from the framing.

Which-- isn't really the movie's fault, and in the end I would argue it actually plays to his favour to be so obvious.

Sooo I can also actually focus on other things instead of the fact we all know! Like how THERE'S just... so, so much I could say about Tad's reactions to Max throughout the movie. But that will probably take away from the focus of this rant/analysis. BUT-- Yeah, Max is set up as pretty obviously trouble to EVERYONE but the main characters.

Which... I do have opinions for another rant about how Sara would have in any other context probably noticed his fake sooner-- but Max is... "media circus" and archaeology... and more really his pursuit is-- really, really straight forwards in the context of the movie and even the greater scope.

Max is after immortality, power, and prestige. Puts great pride on his title and claim to be the "Greatest explorer". And much unlike Muntz there is no sign of ANYTHING tragic or forgiving in his background. He wasn't screwed over by the system, rather he's here using the system to screw others other.

ALSO--

Max is savvy as anything.

Like-- I don't think people will quite understand my glee at how RUTHLESS this is. But in a similar vein to Muntz, Max isn't letting anything stand in the way of his goals. Not here-- directing the Odysseus to get rid of Freddy and Tad despite them ostensibly being "no threat", which yeah... not completely for Tad as later that comes back around-- BUT-- Max is just... SAVVY in that sense that he's not taking risks.

BUT then we also get him showing he's... really not as expert as he plays himself. Which sure, the Professor has studied for years, but still-- there's a kind of logic that's just-- well, in the Quipu room and even before entering the ruins... He's just-- not studied enough, or observing enough. Not without blind spots.

BUT--

I also want to for a moment just take a moment to have an aside on this:

I also don't know if this is something that people would notice. But-- when it comes to this moment, Max turns the tables... really quickly. Which half of that is just Mummy being kind of naïve himself here in this moment, like-- of all the decisions... but the other half is SOMETHING clicked in Max's mind on this--

But mostly I want to focus on that expression. He's so damn smug-- like he's got a plan, smug and smooth, ready to try and steal the advantage... and I have... opinions on other nuances that might be hiding in that smile. But-- well, it's just not something that can easily be covered all in this--

BUT

It's these two SIDES. And his clear motivation, that actually makes Max a really, really strong and interesting villain to speculate and think about. ALSO-- On the topic of my prior rant...

Max DEFINITELY is the kind of person who probably-- had the movie not unfolded as it did, just be likely to think Mummy was just "another discovery" and tool to use to boost his own reputation.

But as we all know-- ultimately it all came back down on him and backfired.

Jack Rackham

Is honestly the most bland and kind of... confusing almost part of The Secret of King Midas. Like, I almost get him, but then compared to Max, there's just... Nothing to really work with in terms of fanfiction for missing scenes, alternative takes on the universe and story-- and even for his basic motivation it feels like something is... missing or unexplained. Not quite paid off properly.

But then, a lot of things in the sequel kind of pan out in a weird way that I have... much to grumble on.

"So cute, the power of Midas goes way beyond wealth my dear"

"Midas' power, is the power of the GODS! The power to Rule the World!"

Aaaand then this feels like it doesn't actually get a proper explanation or framing or anything to explain what that even MEANS. It's kind of nebulous to how things pan out and unfold. Also, just in general for movie 2, we didn't see enough of Rackham for him to make a proper impact or landing...

Like, for all the world aside the romance subplot, Rackham's presence in this movie is the MOST FORCED THING. He just feels... incomplete, or like something is missing. And then worse, obligatory. With next to no impact aside a few expressions that only lead to more internal confusion and screaming because WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN?! What was meant to be going on here?

And that stupid, stupid line--

Makes me wonder if there was some other factor supposed to be at play with the collar. Since honestly-- Just the touch of gold doesn't really speak highly to "the power of the gods".

Rackham... in comparison to Max is just-- so empty.

And again...

The last thing that just drives my confusion(along with a conspiracy based on framing, set pieces and other things) is this expression, and specifically who it's aimed at.

Bonus Tiffany & The Archaeological Community

So...

Hot take but-- Movie 2's villain should have been Tiff. Well, halfway anyway... And I have... already mostly ranted on the topic-- But not really enough to truly kind of get over my TRUE frustration. Which has now combined into how nebulous and almost... overloaded movie 2 feels the more I rewatch the rest of it.

BUT LIKE--

If there is one rule that we see time and time again when discoveries are made that challenge things. THEY ARE NOT ACCEPTED. People just like to think, to believe that we know the most about the past already. That there's a strict timeline to everything that happened. And if mythology and stories come into it-- Just for crying out loud--

The issue persists.

People denying anything that challenges the view already established. Up to and including the mishandling of archaeological digs and finds. Destruction of artefacts and we all know that the ones who get the brunt of it are the younger folks, those who're out of the "default" and well... ladies.

Which yeah-- not really surprising because sexism still stands and rings strong... but here...

DESPITE THE PAPYRUS BEING FOUND-- We didn't actually get to see the end result of that... And how it was taken beyond a giant presentation. There would have been authenticators-- people going over every INCH of that thing and then more-- so, so many people who would STILL call it fake.

Since we all know! Magic isn't real, myths didn't happen. So this must be some exaggerated story as well right?

WHICH ALSO-- Arguably this whole angle, the potential of the plot being just-- Driven by this-- It's more in line with the motives that are set up for Tiffany. The BIGGEST DISCOVERY in recent history. And also again, I can talk about some incomplete arcs, because this actually gives EVERYONE that little bit more room to breath.

Also serves as a bit more of a move on from movie 1 for Tadeo, first his hero(Max), wasn't all he appeared, and now-- the villain is okay, not exactly defined so much, more abstract in the community decrying the evidence. Denying-- Quite likely mishandling the papyrus since it can't really be what it claims.

Actually make the papyrus relevant, along with Sara's journal of notes on the project for more than one scene... and POSSIBLY EXPLAIN THAT LINE FROM RACKHAM.

Power of the Gods... and the mystery of Sara's kind of echo/response line to it.

“There are too many signs that the power of Midas shouldn’t be trifled with, I’m just saying that maybe the collar shouldn’t see the daylight”

We could have even still had that climax, just with some alterations, and let Tiffany come full circle in the theming. Set up and payoff, with even the legend being mirrored. But anyway... yeah.

Just in general, the villains most effective here are the ones who give us more than just that surface level empty sense. That have presence that's felt and echoes throughout the whole MOVIE and story. Which is definitely Muntz and Max, without them something is fundamentally lost.

Meanwhile Rackham is there, but he feels obligatory, without a proper explanation and if you removed him--

Tiffany could have become a mirror to Muntz in a similar way to Max-- BUT also much closer. She's set up PERFECTLY for it as well. Her adoration and eagerness, that bright hope yet. And it would be so easy to still have the main beats be the same-- Without much of an issue of the plot push either.

Rackham's sense of presence in the movie is so... dismal anyway--

And as for that climax. Well, you have to prove every aspect right?

BUT then it wouldn't make sense for Tadeo to make any kind of sacrifice there. To come full circle, it would need to be Tiffany. And the collar ACTUALLY could be sacrificed like in the legend and Tad first assumed.

#THybrid Jones #Pixar #Up(Pixar)#Tadeo Jones #Max Mordon #Rackham(Tadeo Jones)#Tiffany(Tadeo Jones)#Charles Muntz #Villains #This is filled with salt tbh #Because I wanted to RANT #But also I got to expand a bit on some things that bothered me #BUT NOT ALL OF THEM #Because I need to finish a certain fic so I can frame some of my posts properly #There are two moments cherry picked in this post I want to rant further on especially #But only one I'm sort of halfway able to

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atmilliways · 6 years ago

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👻 Nathan!

Okay, so I started with this non-human prompt meme, picked up most of Part I of this from a random prompt that passed by on my dash somewhere to get me started, and drew some ideas for Part III from @spys-art-blog‘s thoughts about godklok stuff. It DOES include Nathan talking to a ghost. It’s also a little like that thing that happened in fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when suddenly Dawn is there, and always has been, and technically that’s new but she’s been retconned into everyone’s memories so no one questions it.

I. Because One Day You May Be Called

It would forever baffle Charles as to how quickly things could go wrong. One minute he was driving along the familiar route between the office and home. The next, he was spinning out of control towards the concrete barrier at the end of the bridge, barely able to glimpse the truck that had decimated the right side of his car. In the short time it took for his hands to let go of the wheel and his car to reach the barrier, he’d managed to bang his head on something and gain a nice little cut along the side of his face.

Then the car hit the barrier. The sudden stop made him imagine the entire world halting on its axis, his stomach lurching and his head spinning even faster now that he was no longer in motion with it. Groaning, he blindly reached out for some kind of surface, only then realizing his glasses had been flung from his face. The blurry interior of the car made him more disoriented, but he managed to locate the window and look up.

A dark shape was rushing towards him, too large to be a person. The truck, his mind supplied simply. The implications of what that rapidly approaching shape meant only clicked when it was a few feet away and he only had enough time to take a sharp breath in understanding.

II. To Meet The Mighty Gods

At first, it came as a shock when he regained consciousness. Okay, Charles thought, so I’m not dead. He felt as though he was floating, which he supposed meant he was safe in a hospital bed, wrapped in a soothing cocoon of pain medication, with medical attention only a call button press away. The second and far more lasting shock came when he opened his eyes.

He actually was floating, cushioned by thin air about ten feet above the scene of the crash. What little he could see of the passenger car left little hope that the body inside was still intact, and yet, when he touched the numb skin of his cheek, there was red on his apparently solid fingertips. How could he bleed if he was already dead?

Everything was eerily silent.

And he felt watched. The clusterfuck of snarled traffic rapidly lost his interest as the feeling intensified, as though eyes were boring into him from several different directions at once, pinning him in place.

Charles whipped his head around, half expecting to see… what? There was nothing. Just a sweeping view of ocean, glittering and blue and deep. The freeway had been built atop steep cliffs, and from where he hovered it seemed that one impatient shrug of the earth was all it would take to tumble the entire ribbon of asphalt and cars into the churning water. Golds, oranges, and reds bled into everything from the setting sun, painting everything but the pale sliver of rising moon with brilliant light. There was no wind, at least where Charles was.

He’d driven home this way hundreds of times. Thousands. Yet, as he hung in the air above his mortal remains, he couldn’t remember ever taking a single moment to appreciate the view.

“It’s beautiful,” he whispered.

IT IS.

He hadn’t realized that he hadn’t been breathing before. Funny what the lack of breath catching in sudden terror could tell you. And had he been straining his eyes looking for whatever was watching him, or did the glints of reddish light catching on the ocean waves form the vague shape of a man?

A man that seemed more real and more imaginary the longer he stared, far away and right there at the same time. Not a man — there was no way, it was too impossible. Whatever it was, it looked down at the wrecked vehicles below with an air of passive satisfaction.

Then it turned it’s terrible gaze upon Charles with decidedly less passivity. Shadows fell across its face like long dark hair, or long strings of seaweed swaying in the current below the water’s surface, and that, Charles knew, was what had been watching him.

It bared it’s shark teeth at him and asked, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Charles opened his mouth, closed it, looked down at the rapidly drying blood on his fingers. “I, ah… I used to be someone,” he mumbled. “Now I’m dead.“

YOU ARE NOTHING.

He found himself nodding. No family. No wife or kids, not even a girlfriend. Not even a pet. Riding a desk in a dead-end job that he’d had since graduating college with a degree in law that he’d never bothered to use, and was too apathetic to leave for anything better. There was no one to miss him, no way to claim that he’d made any sort of positive impression on the world before leaving it. Or even a negative one, for that matter. Nothing.

“Yes,” he agreed quietly.

WOULD YOU CHOSE TO BE MORE?

Charles felt his heart leap at the suggestion, and that seemed to be answer enough. The apparition narrowed its glowing red eyes. It seemed pleased.

SO BE IT.

And suddenly there was wind, twisting and writhing around him like a bed of snakes, as though it had always been there but had been holding still, awaiting orders. The earth flew towards him and the sea rose up, the sun and moon grew huge in the sky, and Charles passed unto utter blackness as reality reknitted itself around him.

III. Deep Within The Ocean

The ghost stood in the center of a cavernous office. Somewhere in the gloom above there were elaborate chandeliers, but most of the lightbulbs were broken and the only light of the setting sun came in weak streams between the boards nailed up over broken windows. It was deathly still, and the air tasted of ash and dust.

He wasn’t sure what he was doing there, or how he knew he was a ghost. The longer he stood there the more he felt as though it was where he belonged. It was a nagging, annoying feeling, as though he had just been about to do something very important but forgotten what it was. Or… hadn’t been told yet?

A sudden crash behind him made him flinch, but just barely.

“CHARLES,” someone roared. A man, very gravelly-voiced and very, very drunk. The ghost was distantly impressed that amidst all that stumbling he was still managing to keep his feet. “CHARLES, it’s me, NATHAN. Where… where the fuck…!”

His dark green eyes fell on the ghost, who felt the impact as a full body jolt because he hadn’t expected to be seen. Apparently the man, Nathan, hadn’t exactly expected to see him either because he swayed to a stop. With one hand — the other still had a tight grip on a bottle of tequila — Nathan pushed long hair out of his face and squinted uncertainly.

“Charles. Is that… You’re here?” Nathan looked up at the ceiling as though the broken chandeliers could offer some sort of explanation, then at his feet, then at his bottle, which he took a swig from. That seemed to strengthen his grasp on the situation. “I mean… You. Are here. Good.” He swayed. “I’ve got… There’s… fuckin’ problems.”

“I see,” the ghost replied, and cleared his throat. “Please, have a seat.” The hand gesture toward the big dust felt perfectly natural, though the ghost hadn’t previously paid much mind to the furniture before that moment. So did walking around the dominating piece of furniture and taking a seat, ignoring, for the moment, that there was a dust cover on the large wingback chair and he sank into it slightly without so much as a crinkle or rustle of fabric.

Nathan trailed after him. Both of the chairs in front of the desks were on their sides, as though the same impact of whatever had blown the now shuttered windows in had knocked them over as well. He gamely put his bottle down and spent a minute clumsily righting one, then dropped into it with a huff and squinted again.

“What was I talking about?”

The ghost folded his hands before him on the dusty wooden surface. “I believe you mentioned having problems.”

Nathan’s dower expression brightened a fraction as he remembered. “Fuck, yeah…” Then his face fell. “It’s all fucked up. All the… money, and… You… We’re broke.”

He retrieved his bottle and sipped from it, shoulders slumped and looking older than the ghost thought he should — not that the ghost knew what his age actually was. But there was a dawning familiarity building up in the back of his mind, like a favorite, nearly forgotten tune just in the edge of hearing.

“It’s hard,” Nathan confided, slumping further towards the desk. “It’s really… hard without you. I don’t know how to do this shit. Press releases and financial… fuckin’… bullshit…”

Yes, the ghost thought, I remember this. Did he, though? Or had the information just arrived his head? He couldn’t remember. Absently, he adjusted his glasses and rubbed his fingertips against the side of his face, tracing a scar that ran from cheekbone to jaw.

It didn’t matter. There was a job to do, and he was the best man for it.

“I’m sure we can sort this out,” Charles said firmly. “Walk me through it.”

IV. And If You’re Not Prepared

Air slammed into his lungs, accompanied by the sting of pins and needles in… well, everything.

Charles remembered reading once that many bodily functions — digestion, for example — were quite painful, but the human nervous system was wired to tell the conscious mind to ignore it. For a moment, he felt every cubic inch of his body, and could ignore none of it.

When the feeling passed and the echoes of his hoarse screams died away, Charles tried to sit up and was gently pushed back down.

“Be still,” a soothing, age-worn voice told him. “The Gods of the Klok have restored you, but at great cost. It will be some time before you are truly whole again.”

Charles allowed himself to fall back into the soft bed, secretly relieved. “What happened,” he croaked.

“They have chosen you to be their champion, and made it so that it has always been so,” the old man told him solemnly.

He remembered the ocean and broken glass.

“You are the Dead Man.”

He remembered talking to something that looked like Nathan, and then remembering who Nathan was after the fact, because… because…

“In time, you will forget that it was any other way.”

V. Your Soul Will Not Be Spared

Thousands of leagues away, in a dragon-shaped mansion hovering miles above sea level, Nathan Explosion woke with his cheek resting on a puddle of tequila-drool. He lifted his head and immediately regretted it.

“Dood, wake up!” Pickles was shaking his shoulder. “Don’t know what you’re doin’ in’ere anyway, it’s still a disaster area in this wing…”

“Wha…?” Nathan squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like they were about two sizes to large for his head, and tried to focus on where ‘in here’ was.

He had been… What had he been doing?

There had been drinking, obviously. And then he’d wandered around, pacing down up and down the halls until he’d arrived at their manager’s office.

“I was. Uh. Talking to Charles about… money?” he guessed. As he said it, the memory solidified somewhat in his head. “Yeah. Money.”

Pickles’ stopped shaking his arm and frowned. “Nat’n, that’s impossible. Ofdensen’s d… He hamburger timed. Remember?”

“But I…” Nathan froze halfway towards wiping the gross spit off his face. He’d just gotten so used to Charles being there all those years that he’d stormed in blind drunk and… passed out and dreamed the whole thing, apparently, because the man was dead. They��d had a funeral pyre and everything; there was no way what he remembered could have actually happened.

Unless it was a ghost, Nathan thought despondently. But what were the chances of that?

While he was still mulling that over, Pickles sighed and shook his head. “Dood, ya really gotta lay off the tequila. Now c’mon, this place ain’t gonna remodel itself. I think I’ve almost got the hang of that circular saw thing…”

#metalocalypse #godklok #charles foster offdensen #nathan explosion #my fic #my fanfiction #my fanfic

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gusgrissom · 7 years ago

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NASA’s Day of Remembrance

In loving memory of the remarkable men and women who gave their lives advancing the frontiers of exploration.

Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964) - Ted was a quiet, dedicated guy with a wry sense of humor and an unbridled passion for flying. In high school he was student body president and had a reputation for standing up to bullies. He rode his bike to work every morning and around the neighborhood with his wife and daughter every evening. Ted loved Danny Kaye and bird-watching and his work in the space program, and dreamed of flying to the moon. He saved countless lives at the cost of his own on the day he died.

Elliot McKay See, Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) - Elliot, previously a naval aviator and General Electric test pilot, was wholly dedicated to being an astronaut. He was close friends with Neil Armstrong and was instrumental in developing plans for lunar missions, such as electrical systems and lighting conditions. El was also kind and humble, with smiling eyes, a deep faith in God, a love for the show Bonanza, and a desire to make a contribution to mankind. The best comedy sketch writer in the astronaut corps.

Charles Arthur “Charlie” Bassett II (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966) - The first thing you’d notice about Charlie was his grin, the brightest smile and the warmest eyes. In addition to being an astronaut, he was a jack of all trades—an amateur chef, a skillful MC, and an avid reader, who loved old cars and watching ballet. He was a strong advocate for education, in both the arts and sciences. He dressed up in a suit and tie for every school visit because kids were the most important in his book. Above all else, Charlie loved flying and dreamed of the moon.

Virgil Ivan “Gus” Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) - One of the original astronauts, the second American in space, the first human to fly in space twice, likely scheduled to be the first man to walk on the moon. Gus earned a reputation as a serious, dedicated astronaut who didn’t say a word unless it was worth saying. He was also a masterful goof—practical jokes, driving too fast, playing Napoleon in the jungle, evading the press by wearing disguises, falling asleep while flying supersonic jets at 35,000 feet... From the start, his fellow astronauts “thought the world of him.” He loved flying more than anything and was beyond proud to serve his country in a way that would allow him to achieve his dreams. To me, he’s more than just a hero. I owe more to Gus than I can put into words, and more as the years go by. Thank you, bubba.

Edward Higgins “Ed” White II (November 14, 1930 – January 27, 1967) - Ed, our Dwarde, was an All-American boy in the truest sense. With his red hair and huge grin, his near-Olympian superhuman strength, his deep laugh and poetic soul, it was impossible not to love him. He performed the first American spacewalk and was a natural born leader. In the words of a fellow astronaut, people “instinctively felt better” just being around Ed. A beautiful man with a beautiful heart. A runner, a loving husband and father, a true friend to anyone who needed one.

Roger Bruce Chaffee (February 15, 1935 – January 27, 1967) - One of the sweetest, brightest men to ever join the space program. Roger was intelligent but modest, practical but a dreamer and an optimist, an incredible engineer. Responsible and kind and fun and devoted to his family and his career. He had bright eyes and a playful smirk and boundless excitement towards his first spaceflight and the program as a whole. Roger was a pioneer in every sense of the word. He already had his eyes and his big, passionate heart set on Mars.

Edward Galen “Ed” Givens, Jr. (January 5, 1930 – June 6, 1967) - Ed, known as Galen to his family and Give to friends from the Naval Academy, was everything you could want in an astronaut. Flight was his first and utmost passion. He helped develop the AMU (later used by astronauts during spacewalks) and served on the support crews for Apollo 1 and 7. He was incredibly close to his parents and devoted to his wife, their four children, and his “girlfriend,” a Dalmatian named Cleo. He was a talented pilot, a generous, motivated man, and an astronaut.

Clifton Curtis “C.C.” Williams, Jr. (September 26, 1932 – October 5, 1967) - C.C. was a tall, funny, gregarious Marine from Alabama, with a puppy named Lord Percy Plushbottom and “an unbelievable amount of faith” in God. For a time he was the first and only bachelor in the astronaut corps, until he met his wife Beth and they started a family. Though he only had a short time with them, he passed his philosophy for life down to his daughters—“work hard, be dedicated to your goals, and have a sense of humor.”

Michael James “Mike” Adams (May 5, 1930 – November 15, 1967) - Mike was an Air Force pilot who flew combat missions in Korea and served as an aerospace research pilot before joining the MOL program and qualifying for astronaut status on his final flight. He was quiet and serious, but had a sharp, deadpan sense of humor. He was a theater star in high school and dabbled in music throughout his life, including taking up accordion. Most of all he loved old cars, hunting, and flying his planes.

Robert Henry “Bob” Lawrence, Jr. (October 2, 1935 – December 8, 1967) - Bob was a remarkable and incredibly talented young pilot who joined the MOL program after serving as an Air Force flight instructor and test pilot. He was also a brilliant mind with an early interest in science, graduating from high school at 16 and later earning a PhD in Physical Chemistry. His test pilot work later contributed to development of the space shuttle. He had a soft spot for animals, was a talented piano player, and loved fast cars and fast planes. Bob was the first African American astronaut, and humble yet proud of his accomplishments and his position as a role model for young black kids across the country.

Francis Richard “Dick” Scobee (May 19, 1939 – January 28, 1986) - Dick, or Scob, was the definition of the word ‘perseverance.’ Hard work and dedication throughout school, his military service in Vietnam, and test pilot career led to his selection as an astronaut and shuttle commander. He was an extremely down-to-earth, kind, and genuine man. Flying was his passion and he was a remarkable leader and inspiration for his crew and everyone who knew him. “We have new worlds to build.”

Michael John “Mike” Smith (April 30, 1945 – January 28, 1986) - Mike was curious about everything—he was handy, could build anything, taught himself to sew, loved flying and dreamed of becoming either a Blue Angel or an astronaut. He drove fast and loved Carly Simon and ran along the river in Southern Maryland and was beyond excited for his first space flight. Mike kept an H.G. Wells quote on his dresser: “For man, there is no rest and no ending. He must go on--conquest beyond conquest... And when he has conquered all the depths of space and all the mysteries of time, still he will be but beginning.”

Ellison Shoji “El” Onizuka (June 24, 1946 – January 28, 1986) - Born in Hawaii, El was the first Asian American astronaut to fly in space and was always proud of his roots. He was fascinated by aerospace from a young age, and when El set his mind to something, he got it done. He was committed to sharing his experiences with students in Hawaii and encouraging kids to follow their dreams as he did.

Judith Arlene “Judy” Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) - Judy was one of the first women in space and the first Jewish American to fly in space. She was gifted in school, a classical pianist, a perfectionist but fun and headstrong. She had a crush on Tom Selleck. Her friends called her a live-wire and an astronaut’s astronaut. Her legacy lives on through her passion for education and science and the lives she touched.

Ronald Erwin “Ron” McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) - Ron had a brilliant mind and an equally beautiful soul. Before becoming an astronaut, he was an MIT graduate and nationally-renowned physicist. While studying for his PhD, Ron was mugged and lost two years worth of data. He immediately went to work and recollected all of it in less than a year. His drive was incredible. He was the second African-American to fly in space, a black belt in taekwondo, and loved jazz and playing saxophone.

Gregory Bruce “Greg” Jarvis (August 24, 1944 – January 28, 1986) - Greg’s passion and excitement in the space program was palpable. His enthusiasm for everything else in life was just as evident—backpacking, rafting, skiing, surfing, marathons, and especially cycling. He was quiet but friendly, a dedicated engineer with an untiring work ethic powered by endless energy. Greg’s big smile and genuine thoughtfulness impacted hundreds of lives throughout his own.

Sharon Christa McAuliffe (September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) - Christa's excitement towards her first space flight was infectious. Chosen to fly on the shuttle as part of the Teacher in Space program, Christa exemplified all the best things about education and learning. She was an inspiration not just for children, but fellow teachers and adults across the country. She loved teaching and her students and her family. She became close with Greg Jarvis, the other civilian on the flight crew. Christa was fun and magnetic, and left a lasting legacy on spaceflight and education.

Manley Lanier “Sonny” Carter, Jr. (August 15, 1947 – April 5, 1991) - Before joining the astronaut corps, Sonny (also known to friends as Billy Bob) played professional soccer while attending medical school. He was a Boy Scout, a wrestling champion, and loved the L.A. Dodgers. He helped develop space-walking techniques during his six years at NASA and was well-loved within the Astronaut Office.

Richard Douglas “Rick” Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) - Rick, above all else, was devoted to his God, his family, and his crew. His faith informed every aspect of his life and he was beyond honored to lead such an incredible group of people. He went out of his way to make sure everyone he met walked away with a smile on their face. Rick’s kindness, generosity, and faith cannot be overstated. His favorite Bible verse was Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” Jesus was real to him.

William Cameron “Willie” McCool (September 23, 1961 – February 1, 2003) - Willie was one of the most energetic and upbeat astronauts in a crew of enthusiastic people. He changed his name from Willy to Willie because of how much he loved Willie Mays. He was an incredible athlete who loved competition. He was equally dedicated to his job, getting things done and helping others in any way he could. Willie loved his wife and their three sons, he wrote poetry, he ran on air. He touched an incredible number of lives with his selflessness and drive throughout his life. His life wasn’t easy, but it was good, and he made it good for those around him.

David McDowell “Dave” Brown (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003) - Dave was a genuine Renaissance Man, a “humble overachiever.” A doctor, a gymnast, a pilot, a filmmaker, a cyclist, a former circus performer, an astronaut. He was extremely close to his parents and Duggins, his Labrador Retriever and best friend. His enthusiasm for spaceflight was contagious and inspired not only the rest of the crew but everyone he met. He filmed everything the STS-107 crew did together and planned on making a video of their time together.

Kalpana “K.C.” Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) - Growing up in India, K.C. was inspired by her older brother and was set on becoming a pilot. She was quiet but brilliant and unwaveringly optimistic. Her smile lit up the room and she had a brain “the size of a planet.” K.C. was funny and loving and appreciated every moment she had with her family, with her crew, and in space. One night before the flight, she and her husband hosted the crew and their families for dinner and had a fashion show with all the crew children dressed up in her Indian clothes and jewelry.

Michael Phillip “Mike” Anderson (December 25, 1959 – February 1, 2003) - Mike was soft-spoken, sweet guy with a bright smile and an even brighter mind. He had an insatiable curiosity in science, in chemistry and computers and spaceflight. He always dreamed of becoming an astronaut. As a kid, he wore goggles while mowing lawns to protect his eyes because an eye injury could prevent him from flying someday. Mike started a bible study along with Rick and had an abiding faith in God. He loved his wife and two daughters more than anything.

Laurel Blair Salton Clark (March 10, 1961 – February 1, 2003) - Laurel was a natural-born explorer—hiking, diving, submarines, helicopters, and then the space shuttle. One of eight siblings, she was also a medical doctor, a wife, and a mother. Her optimism and excitement about spaceflight carried over into her enthusiasm for children and education. She buoyed the spirit of the crew throughout their many delays and setbacks, always uplifting and ready to share her passion. In her last letter home to family, she wrote, “Thanks to many of you who have supported me and my adventures throughout the years... I hope you could feel the positive energy that beamed to the whole planet as we glided over our shared planet.”

Ilan Ramon (June 20, 1954 – February 1, 2003) - Ilan was the first Israeli astronaut. The son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, he was extremely proud and humble to represent Israelis and Jews across the world. He ate kosher food during his shuttle flight, carried a Torah scroll from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and prayed the Shema when they flew over Jerusalem. Ilan was warm, always smiling, “a twinkle was always in [his] eye,” and had an incredibly loving family. He didn’t eat breakfast, just coffee.

“If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.” -Gus Grissom

Ad astra per aspera.

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northelypark · 7 years ago

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Hey, I hope your hellish weekend is going A-Okay(tm). Just think, what would Clive do in bad times? Destroy London. Nevermind, bad example. But I hope this ask makes you feel better 👍 2, 7, 8, 13, 15, 22, 24, 25 and 30~

2 - What time of day do you think is the best to write?

My schedule is a bit weird, so I write whenever I can find the time, whether it be early morning, late afternoon, or after midnight. I don’t think a particular time of day is better than any other. As long as it’s quiet and I can relax without any pressing schoolwork or other obligations I need to worry about right at that moment, I’m good to go.

7 - Which character that you’ve written is most like yourself?

Probably Amelia because she’s 1) the protagonist and 2) written in the first person, so a lot of my personality, thoughts, and feelings have gone into her development. Even before writing Lamplight Letters, there were some similarities between me and her character in Eternal Diva: we’re both introverts, both loners to an extent, both always thinking and asking questions, and both have blonde hair and owlish eyes (more as a kid, as an adult I just have tired, serial killer eyes). It’s funny because even as I’ve shaped Amelia with my own personality, she’s also shaped me. I had only a passing interest in chess before writing L^3 and now I love chess and have started (very, very slowly) to sharpen my skills and better appreciate the game and its history, in general.

8 - Which character is your favorite to write? Why?

The main four are all fun to write for different reasons. Amelia because she’s a lot like me and I can relate to many of her experiences, at least in how she deals with them.

Gemma is fun because her dialogue is always so spontaneous - I can really get creative with it and have her say things the other three would never say. Gemma interacting with everyone is also a blast to write because she’s the heart of the group, the one who keeps everyone from retreating into their thoughts.

Clive because of the challenges his character presents, knowing what’s he’s been through and where he’s eventually headed and how that connects to who he is in the story currently. Writing him is always intimidating, especially because I have to write him through Amelia’s eyes instead of getting directly into his head. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface with him, a lot that the reader (and Amelia) can only guess at. It’s difficult, but fun, especially when I get to write his more dorky, softer side that emerges with his close family and friends.

And Bernard because he’s Bernard. He always gets the best dialogue and I always have too much fun writing it as I cackle, wishing I could be as snarky and deadpan as him in real life.

13 - Which authors or styles do you try to emulate in your writing?

I think every author I’ve read has rubbed off on me one way or another. Every book has left its own impression on my skills, shaping my writing style over the years. There are also quite a few authors in particular who I’ve intentionally emulated (and who’ve also undoubtedly influenced me well beyond of what I’m aware). Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, Trenton Lee Stewart, C.S. Lewis, Lemony Snicket, J.K, Rowling, and Richard Addams to name a few.

For Lamplight Letters, I’ve tried to write in a style that seems like it would fit with the Layton world. An older style, with what I hope is more of a timeless feel. Though writing in first person, I also like to incorporate some modern elements like a few stream-of-conscious moments for intense situations and playing around with sentence structure to mimic how Amelia might think in a particular situation. I also try to keep the idea in mind that Amelia is telling the story after a number of years, as if she’s looking back as an adult which would explain why the style is maybe a bit more polished and mature than it might otherwise be for a 14-year-old.

15 - How do you plan your writing?

It’s hard to know where the process begins and ends because in planning out one chapter I’m also planning for future chapters by throwing in hints and foreshadowing and set-ups for conflicts and consequences to come so it’s more like a never-ending chain of dominoes I have to keep from spiraling out of control, especially now as I near the end with a lot of the set-up behind me and tons of big reveals ready to go off like bombs in upcoming chapters that all need to be carefully managed.

But. Anyway. I start with a rough outline of a chapter, just a brief little summary and how it fits into the story at large. This I roll around in my head for awhile, adding this or that until I’m ready to write a proper outline. I’m not a huge outline person, as in I don’t go for the long, detailed outlines. There’s got to be some spontaneity to the process, as well, so I try to keep my outlines to the basics - the big events in the chapter that have to happen and that will move the story along. If I happen to think of a really clever piece of dialogue or a little character moment along the way I’ll throw that in so I won’t forget. Once I have the outline I’ll either start on the rough draft or do some research depending on the chapter itself.

I also have several extra documents with important information, research, detailed summaries of all of the mysteries, how they connect, and every single reference to them in the story so I know exactly what the characters know. Wow, I’m tired now.

22 - Do you listen to music when you write?

I’ll listen to music when I draw, but I can’t do it when I write. I like to have silence save for my fan. Music is important during the planning process, though. I like to go for walks and listen to music that has helped inspire the story and just let the ideas flow. I actually plotted the initial (very rough) outline for the ending of Lamplight Letters this way. That was an intense walk.

24 - Do you prefer first or third person? Why?

Both. Both is good. I think first-person is easier to write, because you have that direct connection with the protagonist, while with third-person there’s a bit more distance. First person also has more of an intensity to it, especially if you choose to write in the present tense. Third-person, though, can be more versatile and it’s easier to switch between characters. I think if I ever wrote an L^3 sequel I might write in third-person and include chapters from the perspectives of all of the main four, instead of just Amelia. (I know, I know. Why am I thinking about this? Focus, brain. Still 14 more chapters to write).

25 - How do you defeat writers’ block?

I just try to keep writing. If there’s a particular part of a chapter that’s proving to be a stumbling block, I’ll write the poorest, quickest excuse for a scene and move on. Once I’ve got the rough draft completed, I’ll come back to it. Seeing it in the context of the whole chapter somehow makes it less intimidating. An example would be the scene in chapter 25 where Amelia summarizes part of the tournament and the whirlwind of matches she plays. That scene took forever because of the research that went into it and also just the struggle of making it flow smoothly. But instead of agonizing over it, I wrote a terribly sketchy collection of paragraphs that provided adequate if not clunky transition and moved on to something not as difficult that bolstered my confidence and made it easier to return to that bad section.

30 - What’s your favorite part about writing?

That’s a hard one. I love writing in general, so it’s hard to break it down and find that one element that sticks out more than the rest. I love creating and developing characters and worlds and storylines, bringing them all to life, the satisfaction of finding just the right word to use, looking back and seeing how my skills have grown, sharing my stories with others and hearing about the impact they’ve had. I also love using writing to explore my own thoughts and feelings, to ask questions I can’t really ask anywhere else and to help me make sense of things I struggle with in my own life. I also love thinking of new ideas and planning new chapters and the hours of enjoyment that can bring. Also, meeting other writers, finding new inspiration…etc. Think I could write a book about it all ;)

#thanks friendo ;)#a nice break from schoolwork

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msuniquepearl · 4 years ago

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The Peroxide Gardening Phenomenon

He unabashedly begins his stories in newspapers, magazines and online by proclaiming, “This will be the most phenomenal article you will ever read.” He claims to have cured his own cancer, to have removed his own warts and to be the most robust 82-year-old on the planet — ever since he discovered the miracle solution known as hydrogen peroxide.

Bill Munro immediately grabbed my attention with a story titled “Gardening with H2O2” in Acres U.S.A., the highly respected farming journal from Austin, Texas. In 13 years of applying hydrogen peroxide to his gardens, Munro said he has experienced better yields, faster seed germination and far fewer insect infestations.

“Try it,” he said during our phone interview from his home in Michigan. “The peroxide will change the way you garden forever. If you let it, it will even change your life.”

If you type the phrase “Bill Munro peroxide” into Google on the Internet, you’ll quickly come up with all sorts of articles that talk about his experiences curing his cancer by inhaling hydrogen peroxide several times daily. He cites a book titled Hydrogen Peroxide: The Medical Miracle by Dr. William Campbell Douglas, and offers detailed instructions for using this commonly available liquid to improve your health. Much of the traditional medical community doesn’t seem to put much stock in hydrogen peroxide as a health aid except as an antiseptic, but it is known that white blood cells do produce small amounts of hydrogen peroxide in our bodies to help fight infection and disease. Even the skeptics say inhaling hydrogen peroxide probably won’t hurt you if you decide to give it a try.

For our purposes, however, we were most interested in Munro’s gardening claims, all of which appear to be true.

Extra Oxygen Makes Magic

Readily available in drugstores and supermarkets in familiar brown bottles that block light, hydrogen peroxide is simply water (H2O) with an extra oxygen molecule that is loosely attached to form H2O2. That extra oxygen is highly unstable in the solution and vaporizes easily upon contact with other substances, thereby accounting for the fizzing that occurs whenever hydrogen peroxide touches your skin. The 3 percent solution most commonly sold in stores is widely used to clean cuts and abrasions in pets and humans, and for numerous other cleaning and sterilization applications around the home. The federal Food and Drug Admini- stration has approved hydrogen peroxide to be used for “aseptic” packaging in the food industry, and many people use H2O2 as an environmentally friendly alternative to chlorine in pools and, especially, hot tubs.

That same oxidation action that keeps water clean apparently also has a positive impact in horticulture. Numerous hydrogen peroxide manufacturers recommend soaking seeds in H2O2 prior to planting to speed germination rates. Watering with hydrogen peroxide is also recommended to help keep fungal and bacterial diseases at bay. Most instructions call for diluting the 3 percent solution to a few tablespoons per quart of water prior to soaking your seeds or spraying your plants.

Munro’s instructions are quite different. He uses an 8 percent solution, which he produces by diluting the 40 percent solution that he purchases at hair-salon supply stores.

Once all those veggies have grown you might just have to start storing them in an underground root cellar so they stay fresh longer.

“This was just trial-and-error on my part,” he said. “Having no prior knowledge of what strength to use, I started my experiments with 8 percent and the plants didn’t die. I’ve stuck with the 8 percent ever since. At some percentage, I’m sure, the peroxide could burn the plants, but I can assure you that at 8 percent it doesn’t.”

Munro said he soaks many seeds in peroxide prior to planting and has found germination rates to be as much as 50 percent faster. Depending on the seeds, he’ll soak them anywhere from a few hours to overnight. He said he sprays all seedling roots and their planting holes, and also sprays all trees, shrubs and his lawn. He said his only fertilizer is the ash from his wood stove, and his water is from his own well.

The seed soaking doesn’t work for everything — especially beans — but he said it works really well for potatoes, corn, squash, cucumbers and radishes.

“I’ve got one of the best gardens around,” he said. “You can ask anyone who has seen it.”

Munro has plenty of fans, including Acres U.S.A. founder Charles Walters and online journalist Joyce Morrison, author of the web site http://NewsWithViews.com.

“Although we have never met in person, Bill Munro and I have talked over the phone and e-mailed for several years, and I have never known Bill to tell me anything that was not well-researched,” Morrison said.

Recent experiments conducted in Australia also support some of Munro’s theories about hydrogen peroxide. Researchers reportedly included peroxide in the drip-irrigation systems for crops of zucchini, which in turn produced 29 percent more fruits weighing 25 percent more than the fruits produced without hydrogen peroxide treatment. Yields of soybean pods increased 82 to 96 percent compared to crops that were not treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Fewer Insects in the Garden

Yields and germination rates aside, Munro’s most compelling claim about hydro-gen peroxide in the garden concerns insect infestations.

“I started spraying just about everything that was green in my yard with the peroxide, and the results were a huge surprise to my wife and me,” said Munro. “We had no mosquitoes or other flying bugs in our yard. There were a few ladybugs, but they were few and far between. I don’t think the peroxide did any harm to the ladybugs, but since there are so few other insects for them to eat, the ladybugs just don’t come around.”

According to Rene Larose, a retired microbiologist from Manchester, Conn., hydrogen peroxide does reduce insect populations — not by eliminating adult insects, but by oxidizing and killing their eggs and larvae. Larose developed and owns U.S. patent 6455075, defined as “a method for control of insects on plant tissue, which includes applying a solution that includes hydrogen peroxide to the plant tissue.”

The hydrogen peroxide in Larose’s formulations has a concentration of 0.05 to 3 percent and includes other proprietary ingredients such as acetic acid and phosphoric acid.

“These other ingredients add to the efficiency of the hydrogen peroxide,” said Larose, who formed a company in Glastonbury, Conn., known as BioSafe Systems LLC that is now run by his son, Robert. “Hydrogen peroxide is capable of doing everything (Munro) said it can do. Our products simply increase the efficiency. I can tell you that it’s not snake oil. It’s just as good as it sounds.”

BioSafe produces several products for the horticulture, farming, turf, food and sanitation industries. All of the products are billed as environmentally friendly and many are certified as organic by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), which now sanctions most mainstream organic lawn and garden products. Oxidate, for example, is sold as a broad-spectrum bactericide and fungicide, but the peroxide-based product also has the side effect of adding oxygen to the leaves of plants and to the soil.

“We don’t really talk about the beneficial side effects of the products, because the FDA is very strict about what claims you can make,” said Larose. “But everything grows better in the presence of extra oxygen. That’s basic botany. In Latin America, farmers spray this product from airplanes as a fungicide on crops, and they can stand in the field while the plane passes overhead. They aren’t using any pesticides and their yields are greatly improved.”

Where Has This Been All Our Lives?

The question, obviously, is that if a product as common as hydrogen peroxide offers so many benefits in the garden, why hasn’t everyone been utilizing it for years? Why isn’t BioSafe a household name brand after 11 years in the marketplace?

“That’s what we want to know,” said Larose, with a laugh. “I can tell you that the EPA loves us because the products are 100 percent, absolutely safe alternatives. I can tell you that science gives you perfectly rational explanations for how this works. But I can also tell you that the chemical companies don’t like this because of course it cuts into what they’re doing. The universities don’t like this because they didn’t develop the concept.”

Munro agrees. He theorizes that in a world driven by profit, the economic powers have little motivation to promote something as inexpensive and commonplace as hydrogen peroxide.

Our disclaimer is that we don’t have any personal experience with peroxide in the garden. We’ll be trying our own dilutions of H2O2 as well as some of the BioSafe products this season right along with many of you, and we’ll report back to readers in a future issue. We’ll experiment with different percentages of peroxide in seed soaking and also spraying of plants, and we’ll compare the results with seeds and plants that are not treated with peroxide. We also hope to hear right away from anyone with personal experiences with peroxide and related products.

It is important to use hydrogen peroxide with caution, testing it on limited crops prior to spraying the entire yard and garden, and to only use pure H2O2 or “food grade” formulations. Some brands of peroxide may contain harmful byproducts.

Another important consideration is dilution of the peroxide when the percentage is higher than 8 percent. Concentrated peroxide of 35 or 40 percent is highly corrosive and would certainly be harmful to plants and soil.

“Anyone ought to see what works for him or her,” said Munro, the outspoken octogenarian whose instructions can be found all over the Internet. “I think people need to see that this works for themselves.”

#garden #gardening #peroxide #vegetables #flowers

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damnthatnoise · 5 years ago

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Darko The Super | Of Dogs & Devils | An Interview

Hip Hop has long been about bravado, skill, and how your personality can capture and pull the listener in even further than just your skillset. There have been many an MC who’s personality sometimes outshined the lyrical prowess for better or worse, but when I sit back and think of some of my favorite MC’s growing up (Redman, Slick Rick, Kool Keith, E-40, and Del to name a few) the personality often was near cartoonish with no real effort from the MC to make it appear that way. Enter MC Darko The Super who since first coming across his music via Already Dead Tapes has oozed oddball personality, and ever evolving skills as an MC. Darko is no joke rapper though, instead he is adept at delivering some stark reality raps littered with glints of humor we often use to cope with the pain of existence.

Fresh off delivering one of my personal favorites last year in the form of Card Tricks For Dogs, he returns with his friend Steel Tipped Dove to give us The Devil Defeated, and makes a claim as one of the indie hiphop scenes freshest, most colorful, and promising voices making music.

You can order the digital, cassette and SUPER vinyl copies of The Devil Defeated here, as well as all Darko The Super Items.

The Devil Defeated by Darko The Super & steel tipped dove

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Damn That Noise: Darko The Super. What’s the origin of that name and what’s it come to mean to you now?

Darko: I think Darko The Super was my gamertag on Xbox Live before it was my official artist alias. I did two albums as Evan Darko after I seen Donnie Darko in high school. It had a big impact on adolescent me. The Super comes from another big influence on me at the time, MF Doom. My favorite song my senior year was "Dead Bent". I thought the ending of Operation Doomsday was really cool. The way it let you decide between hero or villain. I was big into vigilante justice at the time. I wanted to be like my favorite superheroes. So that's where the name came from. Nowadays it's just a name. More people know me as Darko than my real name these days, so it'd be silly to change it. Name's don't define you. It doesn't matter much to me. Though I like it.

DTN: You’ve had a pretty prolific young career given that you’ve dropped 10+ projects since 2011, but when we were taking recently you said you’ve just now started to feel like you now know your voice. What’s changed in the last couple of years to get you to that place?

Darko: Since 2011 I may have done nearly 100 albums. Most haven't lasted. I've deleted and erased most of my material pre 2014 from the face of the internet. (If anyone has a Loser CD, please destroy it.) I put out 10 albums in 2018 alone. All better than the previous. "Watered Down Demon Fuzz" from 2017 is the album I truly found my voice on. I listened back to "Oh, No! It's Darko" for nostalgic purposes and it seems more like a comedy album than anything, and not that good of a comedy album either. I was 18 when I made the first album I put on cd and gave to everyone at shows when I was starting to go out and perform. It was called Loser, inspired by Beck. Next cd I made was a compilation, also terrible, but somehow it's going for $75 on Discogs. I personally don't like anything prior to 2016. "Carve a Happy Face on my Tombstone" had a few good songs. Those were transformative years. My perspective on life has changed severely. It's hard to be happy with things you create when you're not even happy with who you are. I think in finding myself, I found my voice too. Life will always be a mystery. But at least I'm more comfortable in my own skin at the moment. Therefore more comfortable in my art.

DTN: Why erase the evidence of growth though? If anything that could show folks the rapid progression of Darko?

Darko: I'd prefer to leave a better first impression. Maybe I'm too insecure to show people my progression. It's also just a matter of that not being the way I feel anymore as far as the way I wrote back then.

DTN: Your style is a bit unorthodox in that you kind of dance all over the pocket of the beats, and your inflections seem to change at the drop of a hat. I know E-40 and DOOM are a couple favorites of yours but who else’s impressed a young Darko and helped give us the man we have now? Who made you say “I think this is something I want to do!!”?

Darko: Murdoc and MyGrane McNastee from Orlando, Florida were a couple of the first independent rappers I got into from watching the Wake Up Show freestyles on Youtube. They were big influences on me. From there I got into MF Doom, Madlib, and J Dilla. During the datpiff era, I got really into Charles Hamilton's mixtapes. I was a big fan of a web series around that time called Internet Celebrities. Through them I found out about Das Racist. I remember listening to them for the first time on MySpace. I saw Big Baby Gandhi in a video with them. Later on his Debut would become one of my favorite albums. I was really into going on hip hop blogs. I remember watching Open Mike Eagle rap "Qualifiers" in a laundromat and having my mind blown. He told me Serengeti was his favorite rapper which had me watching every Kenny Dennis video I could find. Dennehy became my favorite album. I got into Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire from seeing the Last Huzzah video with Das Racist, El-P, Despot, and Danny Brown. That's still my favorite posse cut. From checking out rap battles I got into Soul Khan who I remember posting about Homeboy Sandman's album The Good Sun. Blogs also got me listening to every Blu song. Her Favorite Color was something special to me. All those artists were huge in developing my approach. Nowadays my favorite rappers of all time are E-40, Serengeti, and Kool Keith

DTN: Card Tricks for Dogs feels like your most fully formed artistic statement yet and The Devil Defeated feels like the exclamation point showing folks you’re a real force. What helped bring those two records to life?

Darko: Both albums took a long time to come together, which usually isn't the case for me. I remember writing some of those Card Tricks for Dogs tracks while on vacation with my girlfriend and her family. I had tons of beats from my good friend and longtime collaborator Phil Ford aka BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat) loaded on my phone for those trips. I started it shortly after meeting Steel Tipped Dove for the first time. I released an album of his on my label and he offered to mix and master some tracks for me. So this was the first solo album of mine I let someone else do all the mixing for. I took my time with it and let it come together naturally. I believe everything happens at it's own time. As for The Devil Defeated, that album started out as a project called Contemplating Lonely Stuff, inspired by a Serengeti lyric. It was for the most part produced by Height Keech and Steel Tipped Dove. Eventually I decided to do albums with each of them separately. The album with Dove was pretty far along in the process and originally I wanted to call it "Playing Skee-Ball With Zev Love X" but we both agreed that was kinda corny and not many people would get what we were referencing. Then I heard the news of Daniel Johnston passing away, who is a hero of mine. I listened to nothing but Daniel for a few days straight and a few lyrics in particular stuck out to me. The one that landed was "The Devil Defeated" another possibility was My Yolk is Heavy. Me and Dove made over 20 songs for this album and eventually narrowed it down to the most cohesive project we could. We'll be doing a follow up of course. That's in the works now. I'm very proud of this album. My favorite track is a story I wrote based on a song called "Suzy's Face" by my favorite punk band, The Spits. I had to convince Dove on that one. There's another track I tried to convince him about too, but that will never see the light of day since I ended up agreeing with him.

DTN: You’ve has a chance to work with a lot of interesting and well loved folks. How the hell did the tracks with Lil’B, Charles Hamilton, Denmark Vessey and others come about?

Darko: I did an album called “Thank You BasedGod” dedicated to Lil B. I produced a track for him way back in 2014. He reached out to me after TYBG and offered to do a track together. So I sent him a couple Steel Tipped Dove beats and he chose the one that ended up on the album. Later I saw Charles Hamilton posting about doing features. I sent him the Lil B track since that’s a dream collaboration of mine. Lil B is a big Charles Hamilton fan, and they’re both internet gurus of their eras. Charles conquered the blog era by releasing tons of free albums on his own blog, landing on all the mixtape sites. Lil B mastered social media and became a marketing genius, even transpiring music. I’m proud to say the first time they worked together was with me. As for getting Denmark Vessey on the album, he had already worked with Dove and toured with my good friends, The Difference Machine. I was the one who showed them his album Buy Muy Drugs while I was out in Atlanta for a week. That album’s my favorite of the decade. He had posted about doing features so I sent him an email and made it happen.

DTN: You’ve released a lot of projects via Already Dead Tapes as well as starting UDDTBA. What is the connection with ADT and why start your own label? What have you learned from ADT and how has the played into how you run your label?

Darko: Already Dead Tapes taught me everything I need to know about running a record label. I met them in 2014 when I sent over my latest at the time “Oh, No! It’s Darko.” They were nice enough to release that on cassette. Soon after they invited me to play their weekend long festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I brought along ialive and we booked our first tour. Staying in Kalamazoo at the Knights Inn we recorded an album together and formed the now infamous duo The Hell Hole Store. From there we’ve played the Already Dead fest every year and I’ve released quite a few albums on Already Dead Tapes. U Don’t Deserve This Beautiful Art was grown out of wanting to support my friends and artists I admire. I brought on my best buds Steel Tipped Dove and Harvey Cliff to help me run things. Now the sky’s the limit.

DTN: “Suzy” is life a very interesting record as is “lo-fi princess” off of The Devil Defeated. You mentioned the influence for “Suzy” came from another artists song...how’d this end up on your record and why? Also what’s the idea behind “Lo-Fi..”?

Darko: During my commute one day I listened to The Spits first self titled album. I hadn’t played it in a while and instantly remembered why they’re the best. One song in particular stuck with me throughout that ride, “Suzy’s Face”. I decided to write a song building off of their track. Almost like taking a short story and creating a movie. I tried to describe in detail about why someone would shoot Suzy in the face at a high school dance. So that’s what I came up with. Lo-fi princess 2 is a sequel to the original from “Watered Down Demon Fuzz” both love songs to my girlfriend, Alora. I liked the phrase cos it reminded me of “Bow-tie Daddy” by Frank Zappa. Now that I think of it, an actual Lo-fi princess would be an anime babe trapped in the track art of a SoundCloud beat. We’d have to defeat the chill hop brigade to save her.

DTN: You and iAlive have a really dope chemistry and have two very different styles but similar energies that work so well off of each other. What makes that partnership work and why’d you guys want to keep it going after the one hotel infused brainstorming session?

Card Tricks For Dogs by Darko The Super & BLKrKRT

Darko: We kept it going cos there were more hotel sessions to be had. On tour you’re on the highway with a lot of time on your hands. That’s where most of our songs and ideas come from. We set up shop where ever we’re staying and start to bring these ideas to life. The people seem to like us and we enjoy performing together. That’s what keeps the hell hole going. We survive off friendship and fun times.

DTN: Okay sir Darko. You can only eat at two fast food places for the next year because you lost a bet. Where you going??

Darko: Obviously Taco Bell is numero uno, I’m a big Taco Bell enthusiast. Next would be Wendy’s, best fast food burgers by me, and they got those spicy nuggets. Plus I heard their salads are good too, which I would need a salad every now and then. I don’t think this is too far off from my normal diet. Worst thing that could happen is I have a heart attack. But I’m on that path anyway. Maybe I’ll start exercising. Maybe.

DTN: What are you picking if you only have Thor and Spider-Man as costumes for Halloween?!

Darko: Spider-Man of course. I could pull off a husky Spider-Man. Family Guy made it look good. I’d need the fake muscles for Thor. Fake muscles never look good. I don’t have the luxurious hair either.

DTN: What’s the writing process like for you?! Do you let the beat decide the direction? Do you have an idea or some lyrics written and you locate a beat that fits?

Darko: Either or. Writing always comes to me. It’s second nature. If it doesn’t come to me, I don’t write. That’s all there is to it. I only write when I’m inspired. That’s an easy way to go about it. My number one thing is creativity, I don’t wanna be complex or even an intellectual. I want my lyrics to be universally understood.

DTN: So what’s next on the horizon for Darko The Super?

Darko: Next up I’m working on an album with skits from a comedian friend of mine. He does tons of great characters and videos as Hot Talent Buffet. I think he’s a comedic genius. I’m also working on an album sampling nothing but my favorite band 10cc, titled “Strawberry Studios Jam ‘72” and another album sampling one of my favorite songwriters, Dean Friedman. The Dean and I have a 7” record on the way with my remix of his classic “McDonald’s Girl” on the B side with the original on the A side. I have a couple other collaborative albums coming along. The artist they’re with wants me to hold off announcing it until they’re ready, but I will say it’s a dream collaboration and I’m very excited for it.

_____________________________________________________________________

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verywellgirl-blog · 8 years ago

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10 best novels of psychology at all times!

1. Jack London "Martin Eden"

The most unusual novel by Jack London. A novel that blew the minds of several generations of young people of different countries, possessed his almost Nietzschean idea of the "strong man" to overcome any obstacles. Now, of course, Nietzschean motifs are no longer relevant, but the idea is still a noble... A real man is not afraid of difficulties, do not commit treachery, do not retreat before the enemy, and always ready to protect the woman he loves. Sounds corny? But not for the timeless heroes of Jack London.

2. Fyodor Dostoevsky — "The Idiot"

"Idiot" is one of the most famous novels of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the pinnacle of his prose. Translated into hundreds of languages, and the film adaptation of this tragic and poignant stories have been appearing almost since the birth of cinema and to this day, and among the filmmakers who dared to offer their version of such masters as Ivan pyrev, Akira Kurosawa, Andrzej Wajda and many others. In his work Dostoevsky wanted to portray a positively beautiful man. "It is more difficult that there is nothing in the world, - he admitted. - All writers, not just ours, but even all the European, who has neither taken the picture is positively beautiful, - fold. Because this task is immense". This task the writer has realized that opposing human evil and hatred passionate and restless soul of Prince Myshkin, who is called an idiot, but whose mouth speaketh the truth: "compassion is the main and maybe the only law of life for all mankind."

3. Leo Tolstoy — "Anna Karenina"

In a world where a strong tradition, ruled by unwavering prejudices and stereotypes, where the feelings are made to keep control, trouble to those who dare to listen to your heart. It is the heart that does not know the rules, and the result can be absolutely unpredictable. The greatest story of impossible love that destroys habitual representations about the relations between men and women is revealed in the pages of "Anna Karenina". The novel was repeatedly filmed, the role of Anna Karenina, played by Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh and Sophie Marceau — favorite actress of millions. But only by reading the original, you will be able to decide, like whether rebel Anna at least one of them...

4. Chuck Palahniuk — Fight club

"Fight club" – the famous novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Everyone remembers the film directed by David Fincher with brad pitt in the lead role? It is in this book. This novel, the calling, a novel written in spite of everything and against all odds, it describes a generation of embittered people who have lost the idea of what is possible and what is not, where good and evil are, who are they themselves and those around them. The Palahniuk calls his "Fight club" novel "the Great Gatsby". What are they – these Gatsby of the late twentieth century?

5. James Joyce — "Ulysses"

James Joyce, the great Irish writer, classic and at the same time the destroyer of classics, with its canons, the person who more than anyone owe their birth to a new literary schools and trends of the twentieth century. The novel "Ulysses" (1922) - the main work of the writer, determined the development of the art of prose, and not just recognized as the best, most important novel in the history of this genre. According to the author, "Ulysses" is a story about a day spent with one layman from one small European town - includes all the literature with all its styles and techniques of writing and expressed all that the art can tell about a person.

6. Mikhail Sholokhov — "And Quiet Flows The Don"

"The quiet don" - the novel that made author - Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov - world fame and the title of Nobel prize winner; a large-scale epic, narrating the tragic events in Russia's history, of human fate, crippled fratricidal massacre of love that passed all tests. Hard to find in Russian literature of the XX century, product of "the Quiet don" by the scale of covered events and levels of understanding of reality and freedom of storytelling.

7. Gregory David Roberts — "Shantaram"

One of the most striking novels of the early XXI century. This refracted in literary form, the confession of a man who managed to escape from the abyss and survive, rammed all the bestseller lists and earned rave comparisons with the works of the best writers of modern times, from Melville to Hemingway. Like the author, the hero of this novel many years hiding from the law. Stripped after the divorce, parental rights, he was addicted to drugs, committed a series of robberies and was sentenced by the Australian court to nineteen years imprisonment. Fled in the second year of prison, he reached Bombay, where he was a forger and a smuggler, running guns and participated in the dismantling of the Indian mafia, and found her true love again to lose it again to find...

8. Ayn Rand — "Atlas shrugged"

"Atlas shrugged" is the Central work of Russian writer abroad Ayn Rand, translated into many languages and had a huge impact on the minds of several generations of readers. Kind of combining fantasy and realism, utopia and dystopia, romantic heroism and radiant grotesque, the author is very new not only puts the eternal in Russian literature "accursed questions" offers answers - sharp, paradoxical in many respects controversial.

9. Charles Dickens — "Dombey and son"

One of the saddest and psychologically profound novels of Dickens. The novel, which he mercilessly exposes the soul renewaltracker bourgeois, devoid of human feelings and obsessive greed. This is Mr. Dombey - a very respectable man, who never violates the rules of morality. So why is his respectability, his idea of duty, honor and integrity are ruining the lives of all his relatives and even his own? Dickens does not give a direct answer to this question - but the story of the daughter of Mr Dombey, Florence and her beloved Walter Gaye - the native of a simple working family, these true representatives of the new perspective on life, which includes not only debt, but also the senses inspires the reader with hope for the future.

10. William Golding — "Lord of the flies"

In front of you pearl of the creative legacy of William Golding. "Lord of the flies". Grotesque dystopia, "black Robinson Crusoe" and the novel is a warning... "The spire". A historical novel and a philosophical story, exploring the secret maze of the soul, possessed "a thirst for creation"... Read and re-read again and again and again...

#intresting #books #life #sport #fashion

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clockworkwand · 8 years ago

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Headcanon: BMP 1- Yandere Princes continuation please, in when MC try to escape or leave country (catch a plane to somewhere else) with her baby to run away from the Princes.

A/N- BOO! Did I scare ya? I hope you guys like this ^_^

______________

Edward- I stared out the window of the taxi as a wave of nausea began to pass over me. I do not know if it is car sickness or morning sickness. I felt the baby kick my stomach in protest as I took my phone out my pocket. Maybe I can get my mind off the nausea by playing some phone games?

I noticed a news article talking about the new princess or prince of Charles kingdom. There was a bunch of speculation around the gender and possible names of the newest heir. I put my hand on my stomach with a sad expression. The whole world seemed to be excited about the arrival of this baby; however, I could not be. Everytime I look at my stomach, or feel the baby kick I cannot help but think about him…

Fear was the only thing I could feel when I thought about him.

The world’s sweetest prince had a dark side that he kept well hidden. The roses and sweet talk was a great disguise for his black hole of a heart. The man kept me locked up in the castle and refused to let me escape. He told the press and everyone else that I was sick due to the pregnancy, and was on bed rest.

It was all lies.

There was nothing wrong with me. I could move around just fine. If anything the nausea was bad. I noticed unread messages from the rose prince.

“Where are you my sweet princess?” “Are you mad at me for what I said?” “I did not mean it my rose goddess.” “Come back wherever you are.” “I miss you.” “I need you.” “Come back before you regret it.”

I gulped nervously as I turned off my phone and went back to staring out the window. I secretly thanked Louis for helping me escape. He really did not want to do so since it involved going against Edward; however, he knew better than anyone else what exactly happened behind closed doors. I swore to never say who helped me.

I will miss him.

My phone went off loudly in my pocket and I took it out to see a new text message from Edward.

“Did you really think that the princess of a nation would not have a gps on her just in case she was kidnapped? Turn around.”

I froze before turning around to see a familiar black car tailing us.

Wilfred- “I want daddy,” echoed through my head as I gazed down at the blonde haired boy that looked like an identical miniature version of the prince. His blue eyes shined brightly with tears as he rested his head on my knees. His bottom lip stuck out as he wrapped his arms around my legs. “I want home,” he whispered as the flood gates opened.

I rested my hand on his back and began to rub circles as he soaked my knees with tears. His small body began to shake and a sigh slipped my lips.

“Someone needs a nap,” I said as I picked up the boy and he rested his small head on my shoulder, “we are going to go on a little vacation and I bet you will love it. There is a bunch of beaches, parks, and so many other fun things.” He grabbed my shirt with his small hands as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

I sighed as I gazed out the window to see a plane beginning to descend. We were so close to leaving this dreaded country to an unknown destination far away from the reign of the Spencer family.

I heard a group of young woman squealing and talking as they read the newest gossip magazine. The front page article showcased the scandalous pictures of Wilfred snogging with other woman. The girls were making remarks about how beautiful the other woman were and how they pitied the princess.

I closed my eyes as I ran my fingers through the young blonde boy’s hair.

“Daddy coming?” the boy asked.

I nodded my head and lied, “yeah, he will be going there too when he is done working.” The boy looked at me like I just gave him a huge lollipop. The toddler eventually began to fall asleep as the passengers on the plane began to exit and we got ready to board.

“Time to wake up,” I whispered into the boy’s ear as he opened his eyes. He got off my lap as I stood him. I held his hand as we walked onto the line to board the plane. I had our tickets out as the young boy let go of my hand and decided to hold onto my leg instead. I showed my ticket to the woman who froze.

“Can you step to the side for a moment,” the woman said and I gave her a confused look but did as I was told. What is going on? She picked up her walkie talkie and said something quickly before giving me a nervous smile.

“CLAU!” the boy exclaimed and I nearly jumped out my skin as I turned to where the boy was staring. Claude stared at us with a stern expression.

Glenn- I covered my bulging stomach as I relaxed in the train seat. It felt as if something was crawling on my stomach as I felt the baby began to kick. I rested my eyes as I hoped the baby would begin to calm down. Is it as if the baby did not want to leave Oriens, or his father…

I just could not stay any longer.

I tried to stay as long as I could, but I could not survive with the constant fear. The stress it was causing could have negative impact on the baby, and I did not want to risk anything bad happening. I love the baby, but I despise its father.

I thought everything would be okay eventually, that the incident with Yu was a one time thing. No more cheating, and no more violence.

That quickly was proven wrong

He became more possessive over time and I noticed some signs that hinted he never stopped having an affair. It was not until I saw him naked in OUR bed with another woman that I realized I was right and it was too late. I started planning on leaving quickly after that; however, the pregnancy made it hard. With all eyes on me, I never had any time alone to actually act.

Glenn hardly left me alone unless he was with her or doing other princely duties, and I was locked inside the castle like Rapunzel.

It was a miracle that I was able to slip away just now. There was a party at the castle, and Glenn was talking to the other princes. I excused myself for a minute and ran for it with the help of Roberto who also was trying to sneak away.

None of the other princes knew exactly what was going on at home. I told Roberto that I needed some time of freedom, and he became excited at the idea. I eventually snuck away from the prince and to the train where I am now.

Without thinking I went to grab my phone but froze when I remembered I left it in the castle. It felt strange to not have a phone anymore. I rubbed my knuckles against the seat of the train anxiously as I heard some phones go off simultaneously and whispers echo through the cabin. They were all talking about the same thing– the princess of Oriens was missing.

Roberto- Is it even possible to escape the grasp of Roberto with Alberto on his side? The master of sneaking away and the king of capturing the master. Alberto probably had a tracking device surgically attached to me and my daughter.

My daughter… I do not even consider her to be our daughter anymore.

The girl is too innocent to be related to a bastard like Roberto. It felt as if something was crawling on my skin as I thought about the prince. I felt someone pull my sleeve and looked down to see the toddler in the stroller gazing at me with a curious look.

“Dada!” the young girl called, “game!” I gave her a curious look. She was daddy’s little girl. Roberto may have been a abusive cheating jerk, but he was also an amazing father. I guess that is because he is a child at heart.

“The bus will be here soon, and we will be going on a long trip,” I whispered to the girl who looked at me like I was crazy before peering behind me and laughing. With a confused expression I turned around and gasped. Walking toward us was Roberto himself.

My heart broke at the sound I heard next, “MAMA!” I turned to see Alberto picking up the toddler who began crying and screaming as I jumped up.

“I’m sorry,” Alberto tried to say; however, her screams overshadowed his words. I reached toward her but stopped when I heard Roberto call my name.

Keith- I should have known, oh god I should have known. I read the text message twice before looking up to see the pilot walking to the head of the aisle with a confused expression.

“The plane is going to be delayed from take off,” he stated calmly, “just stay calm as we figure out what is going on.” My baby girl sat down next to me with curious eyes as she continued to drink her bottle. She was oblivious to the dangerous world that she was born into. All she cared about was the bottle in her mouth. The baby did not realize the troubles that led the two of us to this plane ride, and I hope she never will have to understand it.

I looked down at my phone to see the message from the mysterious number stating, “watch what is about to happen next.”

I looked sadly at the baby as I knew what was about to happen. Two muscular men walked onto the plane whispering into a small microphone. I prayed that my lousy disguise was good enough to trick them.

I avoided looking up, but I could not help myself as my eyes met with familiar brown ones. My heart dropped as he gave me a sad look. The butler turned toward the two men and whispered something before they exited the plane. I glanced down at the girl. Her eyelids were growing heavy as she forced herself to stay awake.

“I’m sorry MC,” Luke’s voice whispered beside me from the aisle, “I didn’t want to do this, but–”

“I understand,” I whispered in response as a loud voice echoed the cabin.

“MC!” the prince’s familiar roar rang through me like a gunshot, “I found you my princess, now let’s go home.”

Joshua- The toddler could not stop moving in my arms as we waited on line in the airport. He wanted to get down and run around, but I could not allow it. We were so close to leaving this god forsaken country and getting far away from the mad prince. I would have left earlier if it was not for all the procedures that I had to go through– why were they so obsessed with paperwork?

Five people in front of us.

I had to get fake identification for both the child and I to get this far, and freedom was just in our grasp. Eventually he buried his tearful face into my shoulder.

Now four people.

I rubbed his back as he began to calm down. It was almost time for his nap anyway. Hopefully he can sleep the whole plane ride.

Three people.

I cannot wait to see my parents’ reactions to seeing their grandson. It will not last long since he will surely come looking there for me. Would my parents be in danger because of me?

Two people.

I wonder what he will think about the Oriens, I thought as I looked at the boy in my arms, I can bring him to all my favourite places that I went to as a kid. Seeing his innocent reactions to the new culture would be amazing.

One person to go.

The man in front of us began searching for his ticket in all of his pockets with a panicked expression. He muttered some swear words under his breath as he began to look through his carry on.

“Mama,” the boy cried in a whisper, “food.”

“I will give you some food when we get on the plane, okay?” I smiled down at her as he nodded his head and covered his stomach with his hand.

Our turn.

I handed the woman the two tickets and walked towards the plane as relief washed over me. I know this is not the end, but it was close enough.

I walked through the plane doors and quickly found our seats and placed him down. I handed him snacks as my phone went off in my pocket. I pulled out my phone to see a text from an unknown number.

“Look out your window.” I peered outside the window to see a black limo pull up beside the plane. The door opened revealing a purple haired man.

#be my princess #be my princess party #voltage games #voltage inc #voltage headcanon #prince edward #prince wilfred #prince glenn #prince roberto #prince joshua #prince keith #edward levaincois #wilfred a. spencer #glenn casiraghi #roberto button #joshua lieben #keith alford

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celebritylive · 5 years ago

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Taylor Hicks has a new perspective on life after surviving the deadly Tennessee tornadoes.

The season 5 American Idol winner tells PEOPLE he was watching television at his Nashville home early Tuesday morning when he went through the “traumatic” ordeal that he says felt like a near-death experience.

“This tornado seemed like it came out of nowhere,” he explains. “I remember looking outside my window and there was so much lightning, and then the power went off.”

Hicks, 43, describes the way the power went off as “eerie,” explaining that “it was not a flickering outage. It went off immediately in a blink of an eye, that’s when I knew I needed to get into a safe place.”

The singer rushed down to his garage for safety, where he witnessed “huge pieces of debris flying 100 feet in the air” through a window, and quickly realized that a tornado was ravaging through his community.

“I could feel the whole house completely shake and I just had to get into the crawl space and I held on,” he recalls. “I heard the debris. I heard the train sound. I held on for dear life.”

“There for a moment, it’s almost like I went through temporary insanity because it’s such a traumatic experience because you don’t know at that point where the storm is tracking,” he continues.

RELATED: ‘We Are #NashvilleStrong’: How Celebs Are Helping Music City Following Devastating Tornadoes

During that time, Hicks says he had a surprisingly calm mentality even though he was by himself and preparing for the worst.

“You know what’s interesting — the spiritual aspect of going through it alone,” he explains. “Everyone goes to heaven alone. You’re standing and waiting to get into the pearly gates but everyone stands alone when doing that.”

“When you’re in a life and death experience it’s a very solace mindset,” Hicks continues. “I think what my mind did during those nine seconds is check out. You would almost rather your mind be in a different place than what you’re going through.”

“That’s the closest anyone can get to death,” he adds. “I guess the mind prepares you for death and I think that’s what my mind was doing. I just remember saying, ‘Oh God, Oh God.’ I said a prayer.”

After the winds subsided and the storm had passed, the American Idol alum went outside to survey the damage and check on his neighbors. Surprisingly, he recalls, the skies were clear but debris covered his entire neighborhood.

“There were trees snapped,” Hicks says. “My roof is damaged. My patio furniture was in a tree three blocks from me … Halfway down my alleyway buildings had collapsed and roofs were missing.”

RELATED: Country Stars Raise Nearly $400K for Tennessee Tornado Relief in Nashville Telethon

As Hicks prepares to rebuild his roof and community, he says the terrifying experience has left a lasting impact on the way he views life.

“It puts things into perspective on your life and how small we are in the grand scheme of things,” he explains. “Since this has happened I’ve done it every day. Things could be worse. You’re just lucky to live another day. Whatever happens in that day is insignificant to what it could have been.”

The longtime Nashville resident also admits that he can’t help but feel a sense of guilt for surviving the storm, while so many others tragically lost their lives.

“You think about the people who were lost in this tornado too,” he says. “You stand there alive but then you immediately see within 100 yards there was death. That’s where you put things into perspective and you ask ‘What about those that were lost and why you — why did you survive?'”

“I’m just happy to be here on the planet,” he adds. “I’m also very sad and my heart goes out to the people who have lost their lives and all their belongings. Everything can be rebuilt except loss of life.”

RELATED VIDEO: Carrie Underwood’s Husband Hid with Sons During Nashville Tornados as Country Stars Mark Themselves Safe

A total of 24 people were killed across four different counties in the state, according to CNN, and the Nashville Fire Department said the tornado collapsed 48 structures around the city, including schools, businesses, and the popular concert venue Basement East.

Like Hicks, many stars have spoken out about the devastating damage and even made donations to help the victims. Some of those celebrities include Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon, Connie Britton, Dolly Parton, Cassadee Pope, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, and Gavin DeGraw.

On April 17, Hicks is scheduled to perform at the Lyric Theater in Alabama and is planning to donate a portion of the show’s proceeds to a local volunteer organization called Hands On Nashville.

To learn more about how you can help those affected by the Tennessee tornadoes, click here.

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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Tales From the Teenage Cancel Culture

A few weeks ago, Neelam, a high school senior, was sitting in class at her Catholic school in Chicago. After her teacher left the room, a classmate began playing “Bump N’ Grind,” an R. Kelly song.

Neelam, 17, had recently watched the documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” with her mother. She said it had been “emotional to take in as a black woman.”

Neelam asked the boy and his cluster of friends to stop playing the track, but he shrugged off the request. “‘It’s just a song,’” she said he replied. “‘We understand he’s in jail and known for being a pedophile, but I still like his music.’”

She was appalled. They were in a class about social justice. They had spent the afternoon talking about Catholicism, the common good and morality. The song continued to play.

That classmate, who is white, had done things in the past that Neelam described as problematic, like casually using racist slurs — not name-calling — among friends. After class, she decided he was “canceled,” at least to her.

Her decision didn’t stay private; she told a friend that week that she had canceled him. She told her mother too. She said that this meant she would avoid speaking or engaging with him in the future, that she didn’t care to hear what he had to say, because he wouldn’t change his mind and was beyond reason.

“When it comes to cancel culture, it’s a way to take away someone’s power and call out the individual for being problematic in a situation,” Neelam said. “I don’t think it’s being sensitive. I think it’s just having a sense of being observant and aware of what’s going on around you.”

The term “canceled” “sort of spawned from YouTube,” said Ben, a high school junior in Providence, R.I. (Because of their age and the situations involved, The New York Times has granted partial anonymity to some people. We have confirmed details with parents or schoolmates.)

He talked about the YouTuber James Charles, who was canceled by the platform’s beauty community in May after some drama with his mentor, Tati Westbrook, also a YouTuber, and a vitamin entrepreneur. That was a big cancellation, widely covered, that helped popularize the term. Teenagers often bring it up.

Ben, 17, said that people should be held accountable for their actions, whether they’re famous or not, but that canceling someone “takes away the option for them to learn from their mistakes and kind of alienates them.”

His school doesn’t have much bullying, he said, and the word carries a gentler meaning in its hallways, used in passing to tease friends. Often, the joke extends beyond people. One week, after students were debating the safety of e-cigarettes and vaping, some declared that Juul was canceled.

[Here’s what Barack Obama has to say about cancel culture.]

It took some time for L to understand that she had been canceled. She was 15 and had just returned to a school she used to attend. “All the friends I had previously had through middle school completely cut me off,” she said. “Ignored me, blocked me on everything, would not look at me.”

Months went by. Toward the end of sophomore year, she reached out over Instagram to a former friend, asking why people were not talking to her. It was lunchtime; the person she asked was sitting in the cafeteria with lots of people and so they all piled on. It was like an avalanche, L said.

Within a few minutes she got a torrent of direct messages from the former friend on Instagram, relaying what they had said. One said she was a mooch. One said she was annoying and petty. One person said that she had ruined her self-esteem. Another said that L was an emotional leech who was thirsty for validation.

“This put me in a situation where I thought I had done all these things,” L said. “I was bad. I deserved what was happening.”

Two years have passed since then. “You can do something stupid when you’re 15, say one thing and 10 years later that shapes how people perceive you,” she said. “We all do cringey things and make dumb mistakes and whatever. But social media’s existence has brought that into a place where people can take something you did back then and make it who you are now.”

In her junior year, L said, things got better. Still, that rush of messages and that social isolation have left a lasting impact. “I’m very prone to questioning everything I do,” she said. “‘Is this annoying someone?’ ‘Is this upsetting someone?’”

“I have issues with trusting perfectly normal things,” she said. “That sense of me being some sort of monster, terrible person, burden to everyone, has stayed with me to some extent. There’s still this sort of lingering sense of: What if I am?”

Alex is 17, and she hears the word “canceled” every day at her high school outside Atlanta. It can be a joke, but it can also suggest that an offending person won’t be tolerated again. Alex thinks of it as a permanent label. “Now they’ll forever be thought of as that action, not for the person they are,” she said.

“It’s not like you’ll sit away from them at lunch or something,” she said. “It’s just a lingering thought in the back of your mind, a negative connotation.”

During a mock trial practice a couple of weeks before a big competition, the song “Act Up” by City Girls was playing. One of Alex’s teammates, who is of Indian descent, rapped along with the lyrics, which include a racist slur.

The students, who until that point had been chatty because their teacher wasn’t in the room, went silent. “I was the only black person in the room,” Alex said.

Alex and another friend on the team explained to their teammate why he shouldn’t have used that word. “We’re a team, so we can’t have tension exist there,” she said.

He said he understood why they were uncomfortable but that it wouldn’t necessarily prevent him from using it again when singing along. He wouldn’t take it back.

“You’re canceled, sis,” her friend told the teammate. It was partially to lighten the mood, but also partly serious.

“It’s a joke, but still, we understand you have that opinion now and we’re not going to get closer,” Alex said.

Despite his initial tough stance, the teammate didn’t rap the word again, and Alex said that he had remained respectful during practice. The team took ninth and 11th place at the competition.

It was orientation day for freshmen at Sarah Lawrence College, where one new student was unnerved by a social justice group’s presentation. The presenters discussed pronoun use and called on the entering freshmen to “‘battle heteronormativity and cisgender language,’” the student said.

Even if you accidentally misgendered someone, the new students were told, you needed to be either called out or called in. (“Called in” means to be gently led to understand your error; call-outs are more aggressive.) The presenters emphasized that the impact on the person who was misgendered was what mattered, regardless of the intent of the person who had misgendered them.

The freshman thought back to a time when her father had misgendered a friend of hers. Her father had asked her to apologize on his behalf. She did. “‘I only get mad when people intentionally try to misgender me because they feel like they have to correct who I am,’” she recalled her friend saying.

Sarah Lawrence has fewer than 1,500 undergraduates. One upperclassman she became friends with said that she had been canceled in her own freshman year.

But, this upperclassman said, the politics enforced through cancellation don’t always fit neatly into the social dynamics of college.

“I think where it loses me, we’re taking these systems that are applying huge abstract ideas of identity’s role and we’re shrinking it into these interpersonal, one-on-one, liberal arts things,” the upperclassman said.

Among the upperclassman’s friend group now, the idea of cancellation is “basically a joke.” Too many people had been canceled. At a recent party the upperclassman had attended, one guy said, “‘If you haven’t been canceled, you’re canceled.’”

One night during Mike’s freshman year at a New York state college, he and a group of friends were headed to a party downtown. As they were waiting for their Uber, someone cracked a political joke, and then the casual conversation turned confrontational. One of Mike’s friends asked his roommate, D, if he was a Trump supporter.

D had a history of making the group uncomfortable. Mike and their mutual friend Phoebe said that he would made sexist, homophobic and racist remarks in past hangouts.

D said he did support the president — an anomaly in their liberal friend group — and “blew up” at the friend who asked the question. When the friend tried to change the subject, he became more upset. Mike stepped between the two to defuse the situation. “He got in my friend’s face, and that was the last straw,” Mike said.

He tried to cool D down; it didn’t work. D called Mike a homophobic slur, multiple times. The group split up. Mike didn’t return to his dorm that night, staying at a friend’s place instead.

“Even before this, we could tell, if I weren’t roommates with him, we wouldn’t have been friends,” Mike said. “So that was the breaking point for me, him saying that when I was sticking up for him.”

D left an apology note on Mike’s desk, which mostly tried to “justify his actions,” Mike said. “That set in my mind that he didn’t really feel bad about what he did,” he said. “He just felt bad for himself, that he would be looked at in a different light.”

A couple of days later, Phoebe, Mike and D sat down and D repeated the apology. Phoebe and Mike heard him out but said it didn’t clear him of wrongdoing and that he would have to demonstrate that he was different now. Both said that while D appeared sad about losing his friends, tearing up during their discussion, he didn’t show remorse.

Other friends didn’t accept the apology. “We wouldn’t tolerate it anymore, we cut him out of our lives,” Phoebe said.

Thus canceled, D moved from sadness to frustration and anger, Phoebe said. He grew “very bitter,” Phoebe said. She noticed that he had unfollowed and blocked the group on Snapchat and other social media a few weeks later.

“He did feel bullied by this whole canceled idea,” she said. “But in this case, no one felt bad doing it, because he didn’t really take responsibility for a lot of the things he said.”

Mike, though, still lives with D. He had signed on to live with him before the ordeal. They don’t speak. D has stopped acknowledging Mike and most everyone from their old group. “I’m definitely not living with him next year,” Mike said.

Phoebe managed to keep things civil. “Every time we see him, I still say hi,” she said. Sometimes, but not always, he nods or says hi back.

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judgepaper19-blog · 6 years ago

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The Linc - Ed Oliver’s visit in Philadelphia didn’t go well?

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Eagles Draft Rumors: Ed Oliver leaves bad impression - Inside The Iggles One potential target the Eagles may consider trading up for is a defensive tackle in Ed Oliver, who the team welcomed to their facility this past Tuesday. But Philadelphia ended up coming away unimpressed after their meeting with the University of Houston product. Oliver tested poorly during his team interviews, a team source tells Inside The Iggles with direct knowledge of the situation. The results could impact Philadelphia’s interest in the defensive tackle.

Why the Eagles will trade up for a defensive lineman - BGN If you’re Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas, your history tells you that being aggressive pays off. Graham, Cox, and Ngata were huge hits. The Ravens stayed put and landed Suggs, but he was the 10th overall pick and the first edge defender drafted. And Derek Barnett was the end result of being aggressive and trading Sam Bradford on the eve of the season starting, which catapulted Carson Wentz to starting. Meanwhile the one time they moved back and took a DL, he sucked. So when the Eagles move up to take a defensive end or tackle, I not only won’t be surprised, I’ll be expecting it.

Finding the Right First Round Fit - BGN Radio John Stolnis and Brandon Lee Gowton mull over options at #25 overall, discuss needs entering the draft, debate trade up scenarios, and ask who was the best Eagles’ draft pick of all-time! Presented by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Eagles 2019 NFL Draft preview: Wide receiver - PhillyVoice Howie Roseman has stated on multiple occasions that he believes that wide receivers take a year or two to develop. By taking Marquise Brown while already stacked at wide receiver, the Eagles could be patient with his growth, as opposed to throwing him to the wolves like they did in 2015 with Agholor. Brown has slot/outside receiver versatility, so he could take over in the slot for Agholor in 2020, and eventually for Jackson on the outside. In the meantime, if he is ready to produce as a rookie, then great, opposing defensive coordinators will to have to worry about an offense that can put both Brown and Jackson on the field at the same time. On the downside with Brown, because he is so small, durability concerns will always persist, and as it is, he’s still recovering from surgery to repair Lisfranc injury.

What About NT? - Iggles Blitz Do the Eagles need to draft a NT? The team has shown a lot of interest in pass-rushing DTs, but not so much with big guys. In today’s NFL, you don’t need mammoth DTs who can hold the point, play after play. You do need DTs that can play the run effectively. As Jernigan did. And Bennie Logan before him. Interestingly, both are still available as free agents. The Eagles could sign one of them, or some other veteran, after the draft. Once May 7th comes, you can sign free agents and not have it affect the compensatory pick formula. I think that is why there has been so little movement in the past couple of weeks. Teams are focused on the draft, but also hesitant to sign players until May. I do expect some signings around the draft. Not all teams are going to be in the hunt for comp picks so they don’t all have a reason to wait.

Eagles fans, once again you are recognized as the best - PE.com Eagles fans, since the time I started covering this football team in 1987, have been nothing if in love with their football team. They are passionate, they are invested, they are beyond loyal, they are educated, and they have opinions. And they aren’t afraid to express themselves. Eagles fans are loud, yes, and thank goodness for that, because we’ve seen for decades how Eagles fans take over road stadiums and turn it into a pro-midnight green venue. And now it’s out there for everyone to digest, thanks to Manning: The Linc is a tough place for opposing teams. That’s just a fact.

Re-drafting the First Round of the 2018 NFL Draft - Sports Illustrated 32. Eagles: Phillip Lindsay, RB, Colorado (ACTUAL PICK: RAVENS TRADED UP, DRAFTED QB LAMAR JACKSON). Yeah, I know, I know. The Eagles don’t take running backs in the first round. This guy is special, though, and saves them some trouble down the line shifting backups and assets around just to get by.

Eagles have intriguing depth at WR beyond Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor - NBCSP CJ2 was a seventh-round pick of the Packers in 2013 and is 30 years old, so kind of unusual for a camp body. He bounced around with the Packers, Browns, Vikings, Panthers and Jets, piling up 60 catches for 834 yards and two TDs in three seasons in Minnesota. Charles Johnson spent this past winter with the Orlando Apollos of the AAF, where he caught 45 passes for 687 yards. In a game against the Commanders, he had seven catches for 192 yards and a touchdown from Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert. Keep an eye on Johnson. The Eagles gave him a $25,000 workout bonus, which is a sign that they really wanted him.

NFL draft: Ben Fennell breaks down tight-end prospects - Daily News THE SLEEPER: Trevon Wesco, West Virginia — “He had a great week at the Senior Bowl, but wasn’t a big part of West Virginia’s passing game last year. They used a lot of ‘10’ personnel [1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WR], so he wasn’t on the field a lot. Caught just 26 passes. Was used on very simple routes. Pop passes, things like that. So people are questioning what he can do at the next level. But he’s someone who has a chance to be a better pro [than he was college player]. Projection is a big part of the draft process with guys like Wesco. There are just things he wasn’t asked to do in college. It’s not that he can’t do them. He just wasn’t asked to do them. So teams have to figure out whether he can do them at the next level. He’s definitely one of the top blockers in the class. Just like Hockenson and Tommy Sweeney from Boston College. A guy you can seal off backside defensive ends with and really add some mismatches in the run game because of his ability to block.’’

Despite size, wide receiver Marquise Brown’s speed fits a changing NFL - ESPN “Once he got the ball in his hands, it was over,” said his mother, Shannon James. “He was really tiny, always smaller than everyone else. But he moved like lightning once he got that ball. He never stopped from there.” Even with a few roadblocks in his way. He created cone drills on his own to hone his speed for an entire year when no scholarships came after high school. He operated a roller coaster appropriately named “Full Throttle” to help make ends meet while in junior college. And he arrived at Oklahoma weighing an unbelievably light 144 pounds. ”I’ve learned to appreciate everything,” he said. “I’m living in the moment, just having fun.” Having fun. Going fast.

The perception/production gap: WRs and TEs - PFF Zach Ertz and Kelce have each been in the league for six years, with Kelce missing his entire rookie 2013 to injury. So in 11 chances they’ve had for a win here, they have … 11 wins. Despite being drafted second and third at the position in 2018, they still improved on it, finishing first and second. Other than Kelce going from TE6 to TE8 in 2014-2015, they’ve held steady or improved their position from one year to the next every year of their careers. There’s not much more room for them to climb now, as the two are going first and second in early ADP among tight ends, but there’s every reason to expect them to finish at or near those levels again.

Tim Tebow struggling at Triple-A - PFT Unfortunately, Tebow has moved up to Triple-A this year, and the early returns are ugly. The stats for the Syracuse Mets, Tebow’s team, tell the story. He’s last on the team with a .120 batting average, last with a .185 on-base percentage and last with a .200 slugging percentage. He has struck out a team-high 10 times and hasn’t hit a home run. “He’s still learning how to hit some of this pitching,” Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco told ESPN. “I mean, these guys are throwing 97, 98 miles per hour. They’re spinning the baseball. He’s making some adjustments.”

5 NFL teams that could use a 1st-round pick on Duke QB Daniel Jones - SB Nation The 17th overall selection appears to be Jones’ terminus if the latest rumblings are correct. Adding a young quarterback, any young quarterback, is paramount to Pat Shurmur’s second year at the helm in New York. While Eli Manning was acceptable last season — his efficiency numbers were significantly higher than his career averages, though still not great — he’s also 38 years old and winding down a Giants tenure that’s been equal parts incredible and incredibly frustrating. Jones could be the answer if he lasts into the latter half of the draft. But that would presume the team isn’t interested in Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who is the most commonly mocked pick for New York at No. 6. There are plenty of game-changing defenders who would be available with the club’s first selection, including the kind of pass-rushing presence who could offset the departure of Olivier Vernon. General manager Dave Gettleman could target one of those players to rebuild the league’s 24th-ranked defense while hoping Jones (or Missouri’s Drew Lock) slides to him at No. 17. The Giants could also trade up a few spots from No. 17, though the QB-hungry teams ahead of him (Broncos, Dolphins, Washington) may be uninterested in his offer. Plus, the Giants have a connection with drafting Duke quarterbacks and the number 17 — even though it’s not a good connection.

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Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/4/14/18310204/eagles-news-ed-oliver-visit-philadelphia-didnt-go-well-defensive-tackle-houston-nfl-draft-rumors-dt

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joyexcelll-blog · 7 years ago

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Someone once said ‘Time flies, but memories last forever‘.

Another year, another memories added to the brain. Another beautiful moments, which will be with us as long as I am alive. Time is very amazing sometimes I feel it moves very slowly but is passes very quickly. We humans are very intelligent, we invent methods to count time so that we can keep track of our lives and check how we use our time. As Benjamin Franklin said

If you love your life then do not squander time

for that’s the stuff life is made of

So if after some years ( or many years) I want to track my life in the year 2017, I can come back at this post. Here are some things below, which left an impact in my life and may be it will continue-

1. Starting Doctoral Study : Ooh big decision, last year exactly at this time I came in Mumbai for my doctoral study. One year passes, lot of experiences. I came to know why people like Da vinci and Bruce Lee said ‘ Knowing is not enough ;we must apply, being willing is not enough; we must do‘. I felt during my start I may know lot of bookish things but how much can i do in laboratory. I felt there is a big gap between knowing and doing. I also feel, doctoral studies are not for the most intelligent persons but for most persistent persons. During this year I have met some of the wonderful minds in the world of chemistry from Prof. K.C. Nicolaou to Prof. Peter Seeberger. They make me realise people become great not just because of their work but also for their humbleness. I hope meeting with these people will continue and I will keep learning from them so that I can do my job in a better way.

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2. Starting Blog- a magical decision : I never thought I could write something on a global platform, although I love reading from my childhood. But as some people say, ‘some things just happen in life, you may not know it’s value at that time but someday you will realize’ . It was one of those things for me, starting my own blog was one of best decisions I have ever taken. It is one of those things which I really do for myself with no expectations from others, though it feels good when others appreciate or even criticise. At this moment I am 6 months old in blogging and not a huge number of people read my posts but as I said I don’t have any expectations, I will carry on as long as I love it. So from the new year I will try to to write on more interesting topics ( that’s the best thing here, you can write anything you like) also I joined medium few days back so it’s a bonus for me as I get another platform to read and publish my posts. Hope 2018 will be a great year for my blog.

3. Books- my best friends this year : If I have to say my best habit till now, it is this- Reading Books. I have learned more in last two years than in my entire lifetime at college and school. I didn’t had any plans for which books to read this year but I have read some amazing books. 5 books which I loved this year are-

The Power of Habit- by Charles Duhigg

So good they can’t ignore you- by Cal Newport

Deep Work- by Cal Newport

Rich Dad Poor Dad- by Robert Kiyosaki

The Gita- by Roopa Pai

I am very hopefull this list will increase next year.

4. Apps- can really change one’s life : We are living in age of information, where everyday lot of inventions occuring. A simple idea and anyone can be millionaire. According to a stats there are approx. 1,252,777 total apps in the App store and as many 60000 apps are adding each month also this number is increasing each day, So among these huge number of apps I have found one which think is really innovative and very useful specially for those people who want to grow their knowledge but don’t have much time to read. Blinkist is such an app ( made in Germany) which summarises a book and tell you the key points of the book in just four minutes beautifully (they called it Big Ideas in small packages). Though It is not entirely free but first month is free, give it a try. It is choosen as the best i-tunes app of this year. Also linkedIn which I have known for last three years but it’s actual value now I am realizing. It is far more useful than I used to think. You can connect with best peoples in your field ( also other) and share your views and much more.

5. Health Conscious- You may call it showoff but I love it: What is the one thing that you have to live with no matter where you are, in which situation you are – it is your body. Probably everyone knows it and understands it’s value but as someone says ‘knowing is not enough, you must do’ . This year I have taken it bit more seriously and started running and going to gym. You may read about the benefits of exercise but just once experience it, you will love it. I have got a very nice sentence, nurturing body-mind-soul. The journey begins this year and to be continued……..

6. Travelling: One benefit of being a graduate student is you get to see new places frequently. I have never travelled like this year . I visited Tarkarli (a small village popular it’s beaches) earlier this year followed by Mahabaleswar and Lonavala at the end of year. It make me realise why ancient people travel in search of knowledge.

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7. Humanity-yes it still exists: In this era when people are becoming more and more materialistic and self-centric thanks to some people who teach people humans are superior because of humanity. Few months back I have written about an incredible man Vijayan- who despite being a tea seller show us no obstacle can stop you if only you are strong enough. Read his story in case you miss it Click here .

I have met with some amazing people this year and made some good friends who strengthen my faith in humanity. We need more people like that, hopefully I will meet more of them in 2018.

It is being a wonderful year with all the lessons I learned either from good or bad experiences, which will surely help me improving my life. Looking ahead for an exciting year 2018.

May the sweet magic of christmas not only fills your heart and soul but also spreads to your dears. Wishing you and your family a christmas filled with fun and joy.

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018 IN ADVANCE. Love you all♥

2017- A year in Review. Someone once said 'Time flies, but memories last forever'. Another year, another memories added to the brain.

#apps #blog #humanity #review #Year end

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vdbstore-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on Vintage Designer Handbags Online | Vintage Preowned Chanel Luxury Designer Brands Bags & Accessories

New Post has been published on http://vintagedesignerhandbagsonline.com/come-together-how-rave-returned-to-the-cultural-mix-society/

Come together! How rave returned to the cultural mix | Society

Before the May bank holiday in 1992, Castlemorton Common in the Malvern Hills was chiefly known only to walkers keen to hike through its 600 acres of unspoilt, unenclosed land. After that bank holiday, however, it became known as the site of Britain’s biggest-ever illegal rave.

Partygoers arrived in such numbers that Castlemorton featured on TV and in the newspapers – which brought more revellers. In the end, an estimated 20,000 people flocked to the site. By the Tuesday, it had induced moral panic in the Daily Mail: “A walk through the hippy encampment was like walking into a scene from the Mad Max movies. Zombie-like youngsters on drugs walked aimlessly through the mobile shanty town or danced to the pounding beat,” it reported. By 1994, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act was passed, with the now infamous ruling against parties playing music “characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”.

Twenty-five years after Castlemorton, rave is back in the pop culture mix. The aesthetic, culture and sound has trickled down to everything from the growth of the festival to the concept of chill-out, to your DayGlo wallet, clubbing scenes in Girls, a weekend in Ibiza and the Kirakira app’s sparkles. Most people might not be regularly indulging in four-day parties but, in 2017, rave’s cultural legacy extends far and wide.

Castlemorton 1992 … the Malvern Hills beauty spot became the site of Britain’s bigest illegal rave. Photograph: Murray Sanders/ANL/Rex/Shutterstock

“Artists see it as a halcyon age,” says Seb Wheeler, head of digital at dance and clubbing magazine Mixmag. “I’m 29 and acid house started in the late 80s, so that’s my whole lifetime of dance music to explore … There are dance music legends that you will hear from your older brother or your parents and you’re like: ‘I’m going to check that out,’ and head down a wormhole on YouTube or a specialised playlist on Spotify.” Wheeler points to Bicep, the dance music duo, as the act most influenced by the rave sound, which itself developed from acid house roots in Chicago. Since 2008, the duo’s Feel My Bicep blog has brought their favourite tracks from the genre to other fans. These fans will soon also be able to watch the story unfold: Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting, is working on a TV series, Ibiza87, about the roots of the movement. Matthew Collin’s upcoming Rave On, meanwhile, is a follow-up to his acid house book Altered State, telling the story of how rave went from underground to ubiquity.

Fashion brands including Charles Jeffrey, Molly Goddard, Christopher Shannon and Comme des Garçons – more known for conceptual experimentation than clothes for the dance floor – have all brought rave to the catwalk. The latter’s menswear show was a highlight of the SS18 season, with young men dancing, coloured lights and clothes made of neon glittery fabric last seen on Camden Lock market stalls in the 90s. Meanwhile, Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, currently fashion’s golden boy, staged his spring collection in St Petersburg’s first-ever rave venue. He also published a zine with 90s images of teenagers on the rave scene in Russia, at clubs such as Tunnel.

Elrow party, Glastonbury 2017. Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian

For these designers, rave is inspiring as an authentic youth culture. Goddard says she was influenced to turn her SS17 show into a rave from watching videos of raves at Lewisham library and thinking about her own youth going out to “parties in Hackney Wick and posh clubs in Mayfair”. Shannon’s sportswear aesthetic is influenced by the Joe Bloggs and Naf Naf clothes he saw his older brothers wear going out dancing. “I can remember wearing an acid house T-shirt on a school trip and getting told off,” he says. “Even if I didn’t understand it, [rave] taught me about clothes’ ability to antagonise things.”

Artists are also exploring rave. Jeremy Deller uses rave’s smiley face repeatedly in his work, and his Bless This Acid House posters are almost as popular as the Strong and Stable My Arse versions in households prone to making arty liberal statements. As part of Frieze art fair in October, Jarvis Cocker staged his Dancefloor Meditations, a kind of lecture-meets-disco with lasers, 808s and total darkness.

Nav Haq, the curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, staged an exhibition on the impact of rave, Energy Flash, last year. He says the period is relevant now because it shows what we are lacking: rave is typically seen as the last genuine subculture. “It’s hard to see something emerging in the same way now. People talk about the digital realm but that’s difficult because it gets corporatised very quickly. Youth movements emerge through things that happen in the world – the riots in 1968, the recession in the late 80s and early 90s. We’re in a similar period of time, but we have not been able to create that movement somehow.”

Jeremy Deller’s Joy in People at the Hayward Gallery, London. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian

As with any subculture, rave has become mythologised. It is remembered as a scene where community was key and money was insignificant, but that was not the case for long. The popularity of ecstasy had repercussions beyond breaking down barriers on the dancefloor – it brought with it organised crime. By the 90s, drug dealers with baseball bats were found at rave mecca The Haçienda and rising security bills contributed to the club’s closure. Rave going mainstream spawned opportunists ready to cash in, too. Wheeler points to Tony Colston-Hayter, the Sunrise rave promoter – and later fraudster. “This is a weekend youth culture,” he told an interviewer at the time. “A city banker can shed his suit, put on his dungarees, dance all Saturday night away.” Parties such as his – that do not fit the narrative of rave as cultural disrupter – have their own legacy in clubs as business: see the phenomenon of Elrow, a party organiser from Barcelona that will host 132 events globally this year, reaching an audience of 1.7 million people. In a recent article, Resident Advisor called it “the world’s most popular clubbing brand”.

The Facebook page Humans of the Sesh was started in 2015 by two friends calling themselves Brown Sauce and Grand Feen. It is dedicated to detailing the bantz around the house party, the after party and impromptu bender, all under the umbrella of the “sesh”. Brown Sauce, though, is convinced his fun will never live up to what he sees calcified in grainy images of ravers. “There is a massive feeling that everyone went to a great party but we were too late,” he says. “Our idea of a good party – the huge speakers, the warehouse space – is based on the idea of a rave, even if you don’t know what a rave is. There’s a nostalgia to that era even if you weren’t around then.”

There are some trying to make their own versions on the free party scene, working against how corporate the mainstream nightlife scene has become by going back to the ideology of rave. Scum Tek, the collective that organised the “Scumoween” party in 2015 that ended in confrontation with the police, has members from the original scene, and an anti-establishment feel. A Vice documentary last year, Locked Off, told the story of various collectives that aim to put on illegal parties around the country in disused warehouses and squats, a cat-and-mouse game between organisers and the police. Footage shows teenagers dancing to a backdrop of lasers, jumpers tied around their naked torsos, dummies in the mouths – convincing facsimiles of the ones in the original rave pictures but for the balloons of Nitrous Oxide. “It’s not simply a bunch of guys with a bunch of speakers in a field,” says a partygoer at one point. “It’s bringing people together in a way that nothing else really does.”

The political backdrop of rave will feel familiar to the young people of today. It’s one of a less-than-stable Conservative prime minister (John Major then, now Theresa May) who reached power through a resignation; a crash in recent memory (1987 then, 2008 now); high levels of youth unemployment (800,000 18-to-24-year-olds in the early 90s, around 850,000 16-to-24-year-olds in 2016), and general unrest expressed through riots and demonstrations (the 1990 poll tax riots; the Brexit and Grenfell Tower protests). “People will always create music to escape when they’re skint and there’s a Tory government inflicting spending cuts,” says Wheeler. “It’s a form of rebellion.”

Clubbers at Raindance, 1991. Photograph: UniversalImagesGroup/UIG via Getty Images

Will Stronge is trying to fuse the anger of disenfranchised young people with the desire to dance. The theorist found himself in the spotlight in September when the concept of Acid Corbynism – coined by Jeremy Gilbert and fleshed out by Matt Phull and Stronge – went viral. While the Acid Corbynism event at the Labour Party conference looked closer to Peep Show’s Rainbow Rhythms than a Spiral Tribe rave, the theory is interesting. Taking acid house as one of its bases – a scene where the collective ruled and everyone was welcome on the dancefloor – Stronge and Phull argue that encouraging similar values now could upset the establishment in a joyful way. “The ecstatic moments on the dancefloor tie into what it is to be a person, a person [who is] part of a community,” Stronge says. “Dance music as a collective experience means it’s already political, but it’s whether or not you can maintain that political experience as part of a larger cultural project.”

Stronge, 27, who is off to a six hour Erol Alkan DJ gig after I speak to him, is far from nostalgic. In an article for Red Pepper magazine, he namechecks contemporary musicians including Jam City and the Circadian Rhythms record label as signs that something is happening. Circadian Rhythms even apparently pepper their radio show with shout-outs to Diane Abbott. Stronge believes a genuine subculture could emerge from this scene – one that could outsmart the corporate world’s tendency to jump on anything young people flock to. “This is a call to say, ‘Let’s find ways that youth culture can become counterculture.’ How do we not make the mistakes so our revolutions aren’t sold back to us?” he says. “At its core, dance culture is where we can have individual pleasure through collectivity.” Or, in the words of Jarvis Cocker at Dancefloor Meditations, “Having fun is the most profound form of protest there is.”

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