#containment center delta

[monochromayhem]

Working on his design. Cosmic Knight Kairo is in many respects a standard example of a typical Sheyde who was put into orbit. Much less neurotic than his distant brother Vector, who works containment. His responsibility is to deal with threats outside the hull. Since his biology is plantlike, he has to wear a cooling oxygenated nanosuit, like a second skin to protect him from the vacuum of space. Most aerobic life forms use them.

(This is also the alt form of our Shadow fictive.)

[miraclemaya]

the final episode of the god's teeth playtest actual play came out and i just finished it. what a truly amazing ending to a truly amazing campaign. i need to buy god's teeth when it comes out (which i think shouldn't be much longer than a year)

[azzayofchaos]

Since my other Nether worldbuilding post was received pretty well... I'm back on my bullshit!

This time featuring zoning and biomes of the Neath: Lore below cut

Nether (noun): the formidable hellscape straddling the boundery between the Fragments of the Overworld and Death's Realms.

Derived from Beneath -> Neath -> Neth -> Nether.

The Nether is most easily accessable through outer regions of the nether, regions that are comparatively closed-off, and lacking in biodiversity compared to the Deep Nether where most Neath civilizations are centered.

The Neth is divided into three primary zones, distinguished by altitude and general climates.

The Calfactory Zone: the largest and most icon of the three, the Calfactory zone is blisteringly hot and bone-dry, it's most prominent features are its abundant seas and lakes of magma, and the massive Supermagmas atriums that are common above the magma. In the largest of these atriums, the ceiling may be so high above as to be completely invisible from the ground, obscured by an ever present smog of toxic vapor and minerals formed in the self-generated micro-climates that are generated from the rising heat of the lava that begins to cool at a higher altitude.  

In the Basalt Deltas and other biomes around the edges of these lakes, massive pillars of rock and crystals bulwark the more-visible ceiling. 

The most common of this zone’s biomes is the Crimson woods, home to hearty thermal-philic fungi and plants that grow on the minerals and vapors of the lakes. Many are carnivorous in their lack of access to water or sunlight, and these forests contain many sub-biomes and ecosystems of flourishing life. 

The Wastes are perhaps the most desolate regions of the Neath, irradiated deserts of red-rock, brimstone, and sharp sand. Even the vast majority of nether-folk avoid these deserts due to the leftover radiation that rots and destroys anything that waits too long. The only forms of life are particularly robust lichens and bacteria that are happy to sit by the pools of boiling pools of sulfur and mud and toxic sludge that dot the landscape. Growing within the rocks themselves are colonies of amorphous fungus, called geocorpus molds that get their spores into cracks in the soft netherack and slowly feed on it, a delicacy in nether cuisine. 

The Temperate Zone: Cradled in the heights of the Neath’s atriums and sat bellow the roof is the temperate zones, the rising heat of the zone below begins to cool and forming distinct weather patterns in this zone and leaving it, while still sweltering, a cooler though much more humid climate.

The main biome are the luminescent warped-fungal rainforests that collect the high-rising minerals and odd moisture from the lakes. Liquid is actually precent here, though if it’s not safely filtered through the innards of the various plants and fungi, this water is usually aggressively corrosive, and it is best to shelter from the  acidic precipitation to avoid chemical burns. The nether folk and ender local to these rainforests are suited to deal with these conditions and the ender especially do not have trouble with the extreme pH of the water here like they would in the overworld. The zone is lit almost exclusively by the biolumincense of the organisms there and have often been described as false-stars.

In the Deep Nether, the ceiling may give way, allowing one to pass onto the plateaus of the Nether Roof and the yawning void above. The bedrock of the nether roof is jagged and layered in huge slabs, sometimes broken up my mazes of pillar-like structures and shallow, thermal pools of crystal-clear liquid. The kind you don't want to touch of course. fogs may hang low to the ground, but when its clear, or above the fog, the entire universe seems to spill out into the sky. The nether roof was culturally significant and a source of much knowledge and inspiration in the early days, but I'll get more into that in a later post 0.0

The Rime Zone: Plunge deep enough and one might find themselves bellow the lava beds. Here, where the heat can't quite penetrate, the temperatures will drop rapidly to sub-zero.

Namely, the Rime Zone is made up of the soul valleys, flat steppes of cinder and clotted sand, you can imagine it almost with the blindness effect, a fog that pools by your feet, and a heavier darkness hanging from the sky, it feels massive and endless and claustrophobic all at once. Frost collects as crystals on the irradiated, soul-soaked barrens, and the bones of the massive nether wyrms lie fossilized, breaking up the landscape. The sands are also split with patches of crazing on the ground and vents of blue fire that spills out and sets the sand ablaze.

These same wryms can be found sometimes, ancient things that dig through sand and soft rocks and the magma lakes, far and few between and treated with both fear and reverence.

And in the deepest pits of the Neath are the glowing frozen lakes that are colloquially and rightfully called the Gates to Death, glowing blue from beneath their surfaces. Indeed, any further down and you pass into limbo, the edge of Death's Realms.

Extra Notes??:

Soul sand/soil is tread on carefully or not at all, is one form of remnants from the apocolyspe. Like the general radiated rubble present through the Nether, it's a fault of nuclear fallout. Unlike other areas of radiation, its also been infused with the souls of those who didn't survive the joining of worlds.

This infused quality is also precent in Nether Debris, resulting in a material that takes magic particularly well.

Iron cannot be found in dense veins and crystals like gold or quartz in the nether, but it's a pretty rich mineral a lot of netherack, giving it its ruddy coloring.

Sorry for this massive rant that no one asked for. If you have questions please feel free to send an ask, I may not have an answer yet but I'll certainly come up with one if I can.

I'm also hoping to do a pass on my headcanons about history and culture in the Nether and then we might start talking about character headcanons since this is also an actual AU.

If you read this far, here's some notes on striders and ghast

[serpentface]

Here's a heavily improved Imperial Wardin map, with a focus on climate and geography (uses the Koppen Climate Classification). This is an attempt to infuse pre-existing lore too established to retcon with a degree of realism, but there's only so much I can do.

The majority of the climate falls under the hot mediterranean and semi-arid classification, with small pockets of warm mediterranean and arid climes. The entire region experiences a rainshadow effect from the eastern Blackmane Mountain range, which blocks northeasterly winds from the eastern ocean and starkly divides the Sub-Viper landmass between its humid east and dry west.

Most of the interior is grassland, savannah, and scrub. Savannah heavily coincides with a history of human occupation and controlled burns, and is mostly based around oak. Grassland, scrub, and semi-desert dominates the semi-arid regions. Small pockets of high desert and salt flats occur in the arid zones.

A forest originally spanned much of the north, consisting of predominantly oak. This was gradually eliminated due to multiple factors- a warming climate, low intensity human intervention (hunter-gatherers and pastoralists clearing land with controlled burns), and high intensity exploitation (deforestation for timber). Additional woodlands found along the major riverways have been wholly eliminated by logging within the past several centuries.

The largest remaining span of woodland occurs within and north of the Highlands, and in the sparsely populated northeast, where a major and mostly intact oak forest stretches to the Blackmane mountains. A smaller pocket of woodland occurs in the volcanic highlands of Lobera. Other pockets remain, but are isolated and insignificant on the map.

Most of the geography is flat, divided by a range of hills that are the heavily eroded remains of an ancient mountain range. The highest peaks of this range comprise the contemporary Highlands, which have the highest elevations and coldest climate in the region. This is the only territory that regularly receives snowfall, and is the source of several major rivers. The rest of the range is too low to drastically affect the climate, save for the Red Hills east of the Cholemdi basin, whose rain shadow effect (heavily compounded by the basin's low elevation) renders this valley the hottest and driest part of the region. This range once formed a land bridge across the Viper into Finnerich (though this was prior to anatomically modern humans Existing) with its only remnants being smatterings of islands.

The province Lobera holds a small range of volcanic highlands, composed of a network of mostly dead volcanic craters. The volcano Odatoche is the only active site in the region, though has been dormant for centuries and has not had a major eruption in millenia. The other major geological feature is the Sons of Creation, which is the fabled site of God’s self-sacrifice from which the world was made. This is the eroded range of a very large impact crater, consisting of two impact rings (visible as a circular formation of hills) a ring lake, and an elevated center.

The most fertile land is found in Ephennos, owing to the presence of the Black River and its highly fertile delta (which contains the only major semi-permanent marshes outside of Highland river valleys). This is the second largest river in the region, being a confluence of two major river systems out of the Highlands (the Urbin/Erubin and Troibad/Nedachemi rivers). Erubinnos has the largest river, the Kannethod, which originates in the Blackmane mountains.

Agriculture around some of the other river systems is mostly or entirely dependent on their post-rainy season flooding. The most prominent is the Yellowtail river (flows south past Erub). In the very distant past, this was the longest river in the region, and carved out the Cholemdi basin and reached the sea. In the contemporary, it dries out long before even approaching the sea (though occasionally still floods the basin in abnormally rainy years). The Brilla river system out of the Red Hills (flows to Wardin) reaches the sea year-round, but has been known to run dry in exceptionally severe drought, and irrigation along its length depends on its flooding.

There are very few significant lakes in the region (small lakes are unmarked). The biggest is the volcanic crater lake Aganagarre in Lobera, the Yellowtail lake north of Erub, and the ring lake within the Sons of Creation.

[mysticstronomy]

DID MARS EVER CONTAIN WATER??

Blog#428

Saturday, August 17th, 2024.

Welcome back,

While the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn contain water, Mars remains dry. Despite dozens of space missions, the Red Planet has yet to provide convincing proof that it conceals significant water reserves beneath its surface.

Yet Earth's little cousin hasn't always been so secretive. Various studies have shown that a little over 4 billion years ago, it experienced a "watery" era when lakes, rivers and perhaps even oceans could maintain themselves on its soil. Branching valleys and ancient terrains rich in hydrated clays are evidence of this blissful period of abundance.

Subsequently, the loss of part of the Martian atmosphere led to a reduction in the greenhouse effect followed by a gradual disappearance of water. The question is how long this process lasted and under what conditions. This is what the American Space Agency's (NASA) Curiosity and Perseverance spacecraft have been trying to establish since their arrival in 2012 and 2021 in the Gale and Jezero craters.

"Lakes occupied these depressions 3.5 or 3.6 billion years ago," explained Nicolas Mangold, a director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Laboratory of Planetology and Geosciences in Nantes.

By studying the sedimentary and clay deposits left by the former and exploring the ancient river delta that fed the latter, the aim is to determine whether the climate at the time was wet and cold, or dry and hot. The Perseverance rover is also collecting samples, to be brought back to Earth as part of the MSR mission [Mars Sample Return, NASA-European Space Agency (ESA)]. They should provide precise information."

For the moment, things are hazy. If water has flowed on Mars, where has it gone? Was it sucked up into space with the Martian atmosphere or did some of it remain on site, buried underground? Many teams around the world are working to find answers by searching for clues to its presence other than those offered by polar ice caps and glaciers.

As water cannot remain in a liquid state for long on the surface of Mars, these investigations often consist of spotting recent traces of its passage using instruments placed in orbit. This opens the way to all kinds of controversy about how to interpret observations of this world, whose morphology is radically different from that of Earth. "Some of these controversies, such as those concerning gullies – ravines 1 or 2 kilometers long, discovered by the hundreds along certain landforms in the early 2000s – have finally been settled," said Susan Conway, a CNRS researcher at the Laboratory of Planetology and Geosciences in Nantes.

Her team recently demonstrated in the journal Nature Communications that seasonal deposits of dry ice explain the phenomenon, and not water flows.

Other clues continue to fuel debate and even controversy among scientists. The nature of "equatorial dark flows," the background noise of radar signals suggesting the existence of an underground sea beneath the North Cap, the presence of possible channels in the ejecta of impact craters and the hypothetical formation of "rides" in areas of glacial retreat. If water exists on Mars, it is well camouflaged.

Why not deep underground, frozen in the cryosphere? Or preserved in liquid form in aquifers, or inside the thin film of perchlorate brine that supposedly exists at the base of the permafrost that covers Mars at high latitudes? The Marsis and Sharad radars of the Mars Express (ESA) and MRO (NASA) probes have pinpointed promising regions. And when NASA's Phoenix lander dug a few centimeters into the frozen ground just after it arrived in 2008, it immediately uncovered blocks of water ice – a further reason for hypothesis and speculation.

Originally published on https://www.lemonde.fr

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, August 21st, 2024)

"DID LIFE EXIST ON VENUS??"

[usafphantom2]

SR-71 pilot tells how he was able to RTB after he got lost at Mach 3 because both attitude indicator and heading indicator were unserviceable

SR-71 Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft

The SR-71, unofficially known as the “Blackbird,” is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft. The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966. The US Air Force (USAF) retired its fleet of SR-71s on Jan. 26, 1990.

T-shirts Habubrats 2

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world’s fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. From 80,000 feet, it could survey 100,000 square miles of Earth’s surface per hour.

SR-71 Lost at Mach 3

The following never told story was written by Col Darrell Cobb and given to me by his son Chris, whom I became reacquainted with at the Wheatland Union High School reunion.

‘Decelling, after an extremely valuable take leg over Hanoi, I encountered an emergency and landed in Thailand. Next day my Recovery Team Crew Chief cornered me – – – They were most anxious to get this TAKE to the processing center and no transport is available from Thailand. They told me: “Your malfunction is fixed, but you are legally required to have a NAV SET, and I can provide that for launch in about an hour. HOWEVER, I guarantee the NAV SET will fail about half an hour after level-off speed. Can you get this back to Kadena for them?”

‘I checked the forecast landing weather – CLEAR! I can do this! NAV SET failure degrades Primary Instrument Panels but even if primary FAIL, I’ve got the BACKUP system (called the FRS) – no sweat!!

‘We went and sure enough, 20 minutes after leveling off at speed (locked on the heading home) NAV SET failed. But Primary Flight Instruments also failed. Shortly thereafter all flight instruments OFF FLAGS POPPED UP. Guess what!?!?! I’m on a partial panel at Mach 3 – – LOST!

‘We checked OCEAN STATION DELTA and were about 60 nm left of course. I dropped the right wing 5 degrees for a count of 10 and reentered the needle. Start decel backset distance was 230 nm. Kadena TACAN locked on at 235 nm within 1 degree of inbound track. HOME FREE!

‘So, when you hear that old cliche, you ain’t been lost till you’re lost at Mach 3.’

Partial panel

But what does the term “partial panel” refer to?

Former SR-71 Blackbird pilot Stormy Boudreaux answers the question;

‘The term partial panel refers to instrument flying while the attitude indicator and heading indicator are unserviceable. Without the heading indicator you have to rely on the “whiskey compass” – so named, because it floats in a container of alcohol – for your heading and looking out the window for your attitude. However, the whiskey compass will tell you the heading only when the wings are level or very nearly level.

SR-71 pilot tells how he was able to RTB after he got lost at Mach 3 because both attitude indicator and heading indicator were unserviceable

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 “Skunkworks”

“The pilot has to time his turn because establishing a turn of more than a few degrees of bank causes the floating magnetic card to hang up and freeze inside of the instrument case during the turn until the turn is complete – only after you roll out of your bank and the compass card settles down can you find out your new heading.

‘So you start your turn and maintain the turn for a predetermined number of minutes or seconds, then roll out to wings level based on time – you let the card stabilize (15-30 seconds) while it sloshes around figuring out where north is again and finally you read your new heading.’

Turning to the new heading as accurately and quickly as possible

Boudreaux concludes;

‘You prefer to turn to the new heading as accurately and quickly as possible- without rolling out and checking too many times because you are moving at 30 miles per minute. A large deviation from the desired heading means you are going in the wrong direction in a hell of a hurry! In this instance, weather was not a factor for visually determining his attitude and bank angle. If this happens in the weather it is an extremely serious emergency.’

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter X Page Habubrats SR-71, Instagram Page SR71Habubrats and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

Photo credit: Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force and NASA

Linda Sheffield Miller

Grew up at Beale Air Force Base, California. I am a Habubrat. Graduated from North Dakota State University. Former Public School Substitute Teacher, (all subjects all grades). Member of the DAR (Daughters of the Revolutionary War). I am interested in History, especially the history of SR-71. Married, Mother of three wonderful daughters and four extremely handsome grandsons. I live near Washington, DC.

@Habubrats71 via X

[voidarchivefiles]

About

This blog was an archive of void posts that contain methods, tips or resources. For void success stories, see my other blog @voidsuccessarchive.

Status: No longer active Posting when I have the time & feel like it

Please read: Important

There's a lot of ways to enter but in the end it's you who puts the power in it. Only take what resonates for you personally. Not all advice or methods may resonate for you and that's okay. That doesn't mean you can't enter as every single one of us is pure consciousness (the void) at our natural state!

Remember to be kind to yourself and don't overconsume information. Consider this place like a library for you to check out only what you need and you don't need to read every single thing. This won't be a comprehensive archive of every single void post on Tumblr, a lot of it stems from things mentioned in success stories (see voidsuccessarchive) & the rest will be things that I think are useful/helpful.

If a particular blog resonates with you and you want more information, check out their blog and master list.

Index

About the void: The I AM state, A basic intro & FAQ

General tips or steps on entering: 1, 2, 3, 4

In-depth advice: 1

Methods: Wim hof breathwork, WBTB reclined sitting (simplified), Theta waves + I AM, Alpha waves, Lucid dreaming, SATS or Wim hof + Shifting hypnosis meditation, Silva centering method

Manifesting methods: Lullaby (OG post), "after all", ROE, intention setting practice

Using resources: Delta waves, guided SATS meditation, revision meditation, DMT activation audio

Guides: Lucid dreaming guide

Other: My posts

How they did it - tips from success stories: loajaydawayda, anon, stxr-kill (using FILD), teenageangeldiaries (SATS/Lullaby), anon, ninisworld444

Motivational posts: For the drowning gang, You already are pure consciousness

Challenges: Roselleworkshop (void challenge, silva challenge), Gorgeouslypink: (3 day void concept, FILD), littlemissprettyprincess (void challenge, new year's wish, santa method), angelria111, trynafindbarbiee, wonyoung challenge, fleurlx (I AM + Living in the end, badass alter ego challenge), prettymindset111, halokisses

[tesalicious2]

Delta Squad Headcanons

Focusing on Advisor

During transport and some missions, Asvisor will wear his dress grays which are actually pitch black so Admirals can distinguish commando squad advisors from the other regular clones (though most have no idea what the black means, just that it is different)

Few of the GAR know about advisors at all and those who do are very high up commanders (when I say GAR, this includes ARC, CTs, regular CCs, literally anyone but the Commandos and the Advisors)

Advisors often work with multiple squads at one time, though their missions usually don’t overlap (ie, two different missions at the same time, not two squads on the same mission)

In the beginning of the war, it was common for multiple squads in the same planet working together and the command center to be very active with Advisors working maps, intel, and avoiding the GAR

The more dangerous missions occur right before or lead to a campaign and no one is the wiser, though its about equal between those that happen before and those that happen during

In one instance, Delta squad was on a LAAT/i heading toward their ship and saw an LAAT/i heading toward the planet carrying troops

The commandos themselves have small ports on them to inject bacta into for damage and internal stress

All that’s needed is to lock a small container of bacta into the port with a click and it auto injects

There is one port per arm and one port on the upper and lower leg, then two on the front and back of their chest below the ribs

These ports are meant for long missions with little rest time, injections are saved until enough damage is accumulated or one major injury

These are inputted at standard age 2 and they all put completely out and given a week recovery before the ports can be used

All commandos have basic medical training, however there are a few specially trained medic commandos that stick to one squad and partner with others for missions

Walon Vau, while a very strict and harsh teacher, did care about Delta squad in his own way

This care continued into the instruction of the Delta squad Advisor CC-01/425

The Advisor program came along about a year after the Commando project began, however they took CC cadets with low physical score and high intelligence and processing to be the candidates

These cadets had essentially no continued combat training since age 2, with only one day a week reserved for it (half day of blasters and half day of sparring)

The rest of the days would be full of strategy, team management, intelligence collecting, map reading, etc. everything they’d need to lead a squad from an ship in orbit safe and sound

(They were never really safe and sound. They were the squads almost guide and half guy in the chair with a smidge of leader and decision maker, any and all failure in any compacity fell to them. Squad failure=their failure and just as harsh of punishment. Death)

Each Mandalorian in charge of a squad would teach a class for the advisors. Though with the amount of mandalorians, only the ones with top ranking squads would get to teach

Walon would often pass up to teach Delta, but a training accident that left three squads out of commission for a week left him and Mird restless

He decided to watch some of these advisors and CC-01/425 caught his eye

He had a look of defiance and a ‘take no shit’ attitude that was perfect for his squad

During that week, Vau rearranged the training system so each day included 3 hours of physical training as well as their full day

During these three hours, Vau had the Deltas study on their own while he took CC-01/425 for personal training

In the beginning, these three hours were spent playing strategy games and gambling, sabaac was a key game. Gambling games were used to teach how to read others who show little and how to weigh risks

He also taught him how to command and care for Mird, since Vau wanted him to learn that responsiblity (also he would get Mird if anything happened to him)

Eventually, these changed into sparring and language studies (ie, mando'a), and taught him a lot of the mandalorian customs that he taught the Deltas (so CC-01/425 could understand how the Deltas think/act and to be competable with them)

Though Vau taught CC-01/425 with the purpose of advising the Deltas, he kept them separate and did not tell them about each other (he does care for CC-01/425 just as much as the Deltas)

This choice was because he cared for CC-01/425, since if CC-01/425 bonded with them as children, his judgments would change based on his past experiences

Keeping them separate kept him unbaised and able to be brutally honest and strict with the Deltas while on missions

The only time they've interacted is on a training mission, which ended in success for the Deltas and the highest score of all the commando groups

Due to Vau's want to prepare CC-01/425 for the Deltas, he modified the Advisors training track, overall improving the quality of troopers; with their intelligence and strategy matching the command track CCs (CCs specialize in large scale attacks, Advisors specialize in small strike teams and stealth missions)

One Advisor can operate and strategize for -at most- 3 Commando Squads before another needs to step in. However, if all the squads are on the same mission, the number rises to 5 squads since the commands go to each squad instead of every member of a squad

There has been a few instances where Advisors have helped/guided GAR troopers on stealth missions. Though the Advisors are referred to a different titles (depending on the mission) and they have never truly made contact with the men they were helping

GAR troopers rarely work with Commandos, due to the animosity between the groups (especially the ARC troopers). During those times, Commando squads will defer to their Advisor rather than the ranking officer, even if the officer is a nat-born

Delta has drawn the short end of the stick the most and often find themselves working around the GAR, keeping their mission secret

There were a few training sessions were the CCs would work a Commando squad, these would often end in longer mission times and lower success rates

Vau often enjoyed watching these sessions and would have CC-01/425 analyze what the CCs were doing wrong to improve his strategies

Vau would also take Delta to watch other Commando squads training sessions to see how different squads act during a mission. He would also have them watch CTs completing sims to see the difference in techniques and approaches

Though, Vau doesn't let them interact with the non-Mandalorian trainers. This is not because of anything about them but rather Vau knows from experience that the trainers care little for improving the individual troopers but just that their numbers are met

Vau is particular with who his troopers interact with (trainer wise), not letting them interact with trainers such as Dred Priest. Despite this strictness, Delta works with Skirata's Commandos very often and will let the Nulls teach the Deltas when he goes to train with CC-01/425

The Commando barracks are on a completely separate building on Kamino with their own sim and training areas for them to learn without the distractions of the CTs and other CCs, though the Advisors are kept on the same building as the Commandos

I'm already on a part 2, who knew Tumblr had a character limit?

[livingforstars]

The X-ray Timing Explorer - January 3rd, 1996.

"Launched December 30th, 1995 on a Delta rocket, the X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE) watched the sky for rapid changes in X-rays. XTE carried three separate X-ray telescopes. The Proportional Counter Array (PCA) and the High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment (HEXTE) provided the best timing information in the widest X-ray energy range that was available at the time. It was planned that they would observe stellar systems that contain black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs, as well as study the X-ray properties of the centers of active galaxies. XTE's All Sky Monitor (ASM) scanned the sky every 90 minutes to find new X-ray transients and track the variability of old ones. XTE had a planned life time of two years."

[ninemelodies]

i think planet of the oods has some of my favorite ten & donna interactions like. it starts out with donna being SO excited and a little nervous about being on an alien planet for the first time and ten sharing that no, that feeling never really goes away, not even for him, and that’s what he keeps traveling.

and then they get outside and it’s freezing and the doctor is still rambling bc he’s so excited that donna is so excited. and he turns around and she’s gone back inside to get a coat. she makes fun of the TARDIS, again. and oh, theh bicker back and forth about her coat for a little bit but they’re having fun and laughing as they trek across the snow.

until. they find an ood dying. now the doctor knows who these creatures are, but donna has no idea. the only alien she’s met has been the doctor (and the racnoss) and the doctor looks human, acts mostly human, but this. this is something completely different. and she reacts that way, falling back on old human prejudices. she calls the ood an it and comments on how different it is.

and the doctor just. redirects her, with “donna, not now,” and “he’s an ood, and he���s a he, not an it.”and donna learns. and the doctor asks her to comfort delta-50 and she does! no questions asked. she tells him her name and about the doctor and that the doctor is here to help, and she shows no fear in approaching this ood that just SNARLED at her, just so she can close his eyes so he can rest peacefully.

and then. she turns around and tells the doctor he’s full of shit for saying that the last thing controlling the ood was literally satan. and the doctor doesn’t correct her. (not think i think it would’ve mattered if he HAD) and then the doctor let’s her ramble when he’s showing off the physic paper. sure, he’s giving her a look that screams “shut up, you’re making it worse. please stop.” but donna already told him once he wouldn’t be telling her to be quiet.

and then they get assigned married by the marketing lady.

and then that whole marketing meeting with the doctor looking vaguely unimpressed and donna just listening and then. donna being SO mind-blown about being in 4126 and about the fact that humans have survived so long and spread so far. and she asks, “we’re everywhere. is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” and the doctor tells the truth, “sometimes, i wonder.” and then they see how many ood distribution centers there are and donna’s next question is “don’t the ood get a say in this?” and donna asks! she talks to the ood, she knows there’s no way they were born like this and she wants to know how they feel about it.

but then they have that conversation in the container. the doctor reminds donna that all-in-all, this isn’t so different from her time, to which donna vehemently disagrees. “who do you think made your clothes,” the doctor shoots back. and donna has to know he’s right, at least a little bit, but she gets onto him for it.

“is that why you keep humans around?” she asks, “not so you can show them the wonders of the universe, but so you can take cheap shots?” and the doctor apologizes, and donna tells him don’t because she knows he’s right, but he won’t talk to her like that, and then she calls him spaceman, because she’s not angry with him like that.

and then in the warehouse, she gets locked in that shipping container with all those ood and she’s so frightened. and the doctor knows that she’s okay as soon as he hears her yelling, and he drags his feet to get the guards to stop and open the container. he tells them that they better let her out of they’ll be on the receiving end of donna’s ire.

but as soon as she gets out and confirms that she’s safe and the doctor’s safe, her next question is about the ood. “never mind me,” she says. “what about them?”

then with the solana, donna wants so much to believe that the people of earth wouldn’t stand for this if they knew how the ood were being treated, but the solana says the same thing as the doctor. “i didn’t ask.” “they don’t ask.” and it’s all the same thing and donna knows it even though she hates it.

and then the doctor gives solana the chance to help. to be the person who asks and to stand up and make a change and she doesn’t. and the doctor and donna are so disappointed, but they have work to do.

through this the doctor can hear the ood song, even if he’s not paying attention. and it’s got to be so sad and awful to deal with, yet he does it alone. and when the doctor asks, donna agrees to hear it, and he warns her how sad it is. and she listens anyway, and it overwhelms her, and she asks him to take it away and he does and she apologizes for not being strong enough, for not standing with him, because she knows and says as much that he can hear it all the time.

then they learn what the company is doing and they’re both so angry, so upset. donna understands what it means that the company is cutting off the ood hindbrain, and she realizes that the universe and time and space isn’t as grand as she made it out to be. it’s just as terrible as she told him it was originally. and she says she wants to go home, and the doctor looks so upset.

and then they get captured together. locked to a pole at the mercy of the company. and donna is the one who realizes that the ood weren’t born to serve, they weren’t going willingly without protest, it was that the ood were docile creatures. they HAD to be because they are born with their brain in their hand.

even as they’re trying to escape they’re bickering. because donna is scared and sometimes that what she does when she’s scared. but the doctor takes it in stride. they find the main ood brain, and together, the doctor and donna confirm what is happening and what needs to happen.

and when mr. halpen has a gun and is pointing it at them, the doctor makes sure to pull donna behind him, out of the way.

this post got so long but i care them SO MUCH they way they show affection through bickering and the way they bounce off each other like that and the way donna is so much smarter and brilliant and kind and compassionate than she believes herself to be, even when she hides it under her crass facade.

[android-and-ale]

The Herald of Surprise - sequel to Replicator Roulette

Guess who stumbled sideways into starting an occasionally updated new series!

One (1) Daily Shoulder Pat is still my top priority. I'm almost at the halfway point with my beloved 9000 Vulcan OC's on their totally innocent botany ship! I still plan on updating that at least biweekly, more often when I have the chance.

This story (and now a new series!) exists because @celestialvoyeur gifted me with a fanart response to Replicator Roulette. I immediately wrote this story in response to her fanart. Now there are two pieces of her original art in both stories, and a third illustrated story in the works!

The plan is for the "Panic at the Disco" series to be mostly self-contained stories with a shared cast, rolling out whenever I have the time.

I'm posting this with artwork from Replicator Roulette, because @celestialvoyeur's incredible original art for The Herald of Surprise is either too spicy for Tumblr (because butts) or too much of a spoiler.

EXCERPT:

Michael held up the PADD as though Tilly hadn’t just been trying to hide it from her. On it, a golden tanned human lay face down, naked but for the boxer briefs pulled just under the curve of his ample ass. 

The text on the brief’s wide band was a repeating loop of ‘ ENTERpriseENTERpriseENTER ’ with the word ‘ ENTER ’ perfectly centered between his luscious cheeks. One hand invitingly grabbed his own ass while the other pushed the briefs down his thighs. The shot was tight enough that it only showed him from the shoulders to the thighs, though there was a hint of a possible Starfleet Delta tattoo on his left cheek, obscured under his hand. 

“That’s a nice Starfleet officer with a great ass and adorable dimples,” Tilly smirked, “Your present looks amazing on him.” 

Michael glared at her. “You are not helping.” 

“I’m proud of Spock. He’s been hot enough to pull someone with an ass like that for a few years.” She raised her voice, talking over Michael’s indignant scoff. “Thanks to a little push from Erica, now he’s got the confidence to make it happen.” 

“This isn’t what I intended.”

“Oh I know what you intended.” Tilly rolled her eyes. “But that’s a you-problem, baby. Christmas presents are supposed to be about love.” She grinned at the screen. “From the looks of this our holly jolly Santa Spock came down somebody’s chimney on Christmas Eve.” She rubbed a finger over the mostly obscured Starfleet Delta tattoo. “I hope that for all it was a very good night.”

Michael pushed Tilly off the bed.

[livewireatalanta]

task 001. muse dossier NADIA ATALANTA; "LIVE WIRE"

Dragged by the wind / Taken by the stars / Carried with the madness and scars. -"Dark Matter", Les Friction **art credit: Vietnamese Holy Beasts by Xuân Lam

BASICS.

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄. Huỳnn Loan Phượng The name on Nadia's birth certificate is her family name, Huỳnn, her middle name, Loan and her given name, Phượng. The luan is a deified bird across East Asian mythology, often representing an omen of peace to come and virtue. The phượng hoàng (pictured in the banner art of this post) is commonly referred to as the "Chinese phoenix," a composite creature made up several birds (which often change) and other animals. Its body represents celestial bodies and the 5 fundamental colors of its feathers represent the 5 virtues of Confucius. While it does not bear many similarities to the Western phoenix, there is an association with fire, as it is said to have been born of the sun and is commonly depicted with a fireball. It is a positive symbol, often an omen of peace, prosperity, and happiness, but also represents loyalty and honesty.

Nadia Atalanta Growing up in middle America in the late eighties/nineties meant that Nadia was encouraged to pick an "American" name that was "easier" for American teachers and friends to pronounce. Nadia was chosen from a list of names her first grade teacher had (a little dated, as she believes "Nadia" was there due to the popularity of Nadia Comăneci in the seventies). Atalanta was the call sign given to Nadia when she joined MTF Delta-5. In Greek mythology, Atalanta is associated with Jason and the Argonauts and was a disciple of Artemis. Prior to those adventures, she refused to marry unless her suitor could best her in a footrace.

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒. None. Some of the more childish members of MTF Xi-13 took to calling her "Nads." She provides her current surname, "Atalanta," when asked her preference. (She will be rolling her eyes at all of their new call signs and will probably be huffy about responding to "Live Wire.") If you call her Nadia, well...you had better be Dying Breed.

𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌. Levy Tran

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒. A long-healed scar around the left side of her chin not quite reaching her bottom lip; a deep scar that looks like gouged claw marks at the center of her abdomen and trailing off toward her left hip; an uneven circle of puncture scars around her right shoulder that sure does look like something bit her...but what has a mouth that large? She's usually seen with her shoulder-length hair done in twin French braids, tight, down the back of her head. When not in tactical or field gear, she's likely to be wearing a sweatshirt or flannel that doesn't seem to fit right, too large and for a more masculine frame (these items belonged to her brother).

𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐒 / 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒. She has two piercings in both ear lobes but rarely wears anything in them. No tattoos, despite Levy Tran's extensive artwork. Nadia is still living by the regulations of MTF Delta-6 and undercover best practices.

𝐀𝐆𝐄 / 𝐃.𝐎.𝐁. 38 / January 25, 1985

𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂. Aquarius Sun, Scorpio Moon, Taurus Rising. All Nadia knows is that she’s an Aquarius and that makes her an air sign. Anything beyond that is out of her range.

𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍. A suburb of Rockford, Illinois. She usually just says "Chicago," because it's easier.

𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘. Mother, deceased 2011 Father, resides in Boston Brother, deceased 2017 Nadia's father left when she was a child and she has had no contact with him since. Her mother died of complications from lung cancer in 2011. Her brother, Mark, was her twin. They were recruited into the Foundation together and shared an apartment (when Nadia was home). He was a researcher primarily focused on habitation of anamolies in containtment. His death was the result of a fatal containment breach and the official ruling is that Mark's lack of adherence to protocol caused said breach. As you may imagine, Nadia does not believe this and has tried to discover anything she can about the incident.

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐒. Cis woman; she/her/hers 

𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘. Bisexual

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒. Single. Never married. Dare you to ask a second follow up.

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒. Level-headed, just, resourceful

𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐒. Stubborn, defensive, sarcastic

𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒. Unnerving eye contact, going barefoot in private quarters, wearing her brother's clothes, a weakness for high-end body and hair care products, usually has a packet of some kind of candy on her person and will be pulling it out to snack on noisily during boring meetings, prefers Dr Pepper to coffee but makes an exception for Barb's vanilla caramel lattes, seems like a smoker but really only does it socially or when peer pressured in the field or when trying to annoy Dying Breed by stealing his cigarette, generally eats like a teenaged boy (in taste and quantity), as of late has been relying on misuse of prescription medication to sleep more

𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐒. Watching documentaries, doing puzzles (of all kinds), strength and combat training, running outdoors, reading historical books (nonfiction and fiction alike), visiting fine art or natural history museums

𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒 (𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄). none.

THE FOUNDATION.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄. Ranked Corporal as MTF Operative with MTF Chi-00

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍(𝐒).  Operative with Decommissioning Department (2023 - 2024) MTF Operative (Corporal); MTF Xi-13: Sequere Nos (2019 - 2023) MTF Operative (Sergeant); MTF Delta-5: Front Runners (2008 - 2019)

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓: Decommissioning Department Nadia has only been with the Decomissioning Department for a few months. Prior to this post, she was on 8 months of medical leave due to injuries sustained during the incident with SCP-192001-01 while with MTF XI-13.

𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒 / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒: Fluent/conversational in several languages (English, Vietnamese, Latin, Spanish, Greek; Cantonese, French, German, Italian), hand-to-hand combat, knife/blade combat, basic firearms, basic SERE skills, undercover work

EXTRAS.

𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘. Nadia was recruited into The Foundation directly out of upper-education, concurrent with her brother, Mark, in the greater Chicago metro area. Both Nadia and Mark excelled quickly, she in field work and infiltration and he in research and containment. Mark would eventually become respected within the Experimental Containment Research group and Nadia would be assigned to Mobile Task Force: Delta-5: “Front Runners.”

The majority of her career was spent with Delta-5. There, she proved intelligent, adept, and obedient. She expressed a deep satisfaction for the work within MTF Delta-5 and it has been reported from multiple supervisors throughout this time that Nadia was one of the brightest operatives they had seen in an age. The general consensus was that she would achieve MTF Commander at an exceptionally young age.

In 2017, Mark  entered into a routine encounter with an anomaly that would prove fatal. Officially, the Foundation maintains that failure to adhere to protocol led to Mark’s death. Nadia vehemently disagrees, as Mark was always meticulous. Directly following his death, inquiries were made and the initial decision was upheld. Nadia has refused to accept the Foundation’s explanation. Most information and files related to his death and the incident have been expunged and data-locked.

Following 3 months of leave, Nadia returned to active duty. Her discipline had collapsed and her behavior became erratic and dangerous. There were numerous disciplinary warnings and write-ups, culminating in the incident with a member of  GoI-004: “Church of the Broken God,” where Nadia deliberately sabotaged her cover to enter into an unprovoked physical altercation. She was reassigned to Mobile Task Force Xi-13: “Sequere Nos” as a consequence. There was a successful, largely uneventful year with MTF Xi-13 – and then the encounter with SCP-19-2001-1.

Nadia’s assignment has been in flux for the past year since the encounter with SCP-192001-01. Directly following the incident, she was remanded to 6 months of medical leave. An additional 3 months of mental health leave was recommended, but Nadia declined. Since returning from leave, she has been working in the Department of Decommissions.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. Paragon, Fallen Nadia used to be an exemplar within the Mobile Task Forces, particularly MTF Delta-5. She rose through ranks fast and easy, enjoying her work and eager to gain her own command. That's all in shambles, now, but it if your character has been through MTFs, they may have heard about Atalanta, or any of her triumphs from the earlier days. If not, there's still the chance that your character worked with MTF Xi-13 and could have encountered the current shade of Nadia. Personal Project Nadia is still desperate to find out exactly what happened to her brother. I can definitely see her picking the brains of anyone who might have information, whether about that specific incident or just containment and breaches in general. Hand-to-Hand When she's not avoiding everyone in her room, Nadia will likely be training in the gym facilities. While she prefers to train solo, she also loves to spar and practice combat. If your character is a fighter, or would like to be, they could potentially cross on the mat. Wilderness Scouts Nadia has not joined the Walking Club (Seriously?), but she is often wandering through the wooded area around the base. While she is absolutely looking for solitude on these treks (with the rare exception being made for Dying Breed), your character could encounter her and, if they're quiet, they may just be allowed to walk with her.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 / 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒. Action Girl, Aloof Dark-Haired Girl, Angsty Surviving Twin, Braids of Action, Chosen Zero, Deadpan Snarking, Final Girl, Haunted Hero, Ice Queen/Defrosting the Ice Queen, The Paragon Always Rebels, Seeker, Showing Up Chauvinists, Tsundere, Twin Telepathy

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒. Alanna of Trebond (Song of the Lioness Quartet), Veronica Mars (eponymous), Jessica Jones (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn 99), Megara (Hercules, 1997), Jyn Erso (Rogue One), Dana Scully (The X-Files), Rogue (The X-Men)

𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒.

[palilalia]

PAL-087 Ava Mendoza LP/CD

"The Circular Train"

Ava Mendoza has never made an album quite as personal as her second solo full-length, The Circular Train. Through her decades of collaborations with Nels Cline, Carla Bozulich, William Parker, Fred Frith, Matana Roberts, and Mick Barr — plus years leading her power trio Unnatural Ways and playing in Bill Orcutt’s quartet — the guitarist’s name has become synonymous with virtuoso technique, raw passion, and visceral resonance, a player pushing the edges of the guitar’s possibilities. Along the way, from 2007 to 2023, Mendoza was writing these slow-burning, incandescent songs. The Circular Train is comprised solely of her single-tracked guitar playing and, on two songs, her corporeal singing. Her first solo LP of original material since relocating from California to New York City a decade ago, much of The Circular Train was honed amid pandemic years that clarified the virtues of slowing down. This expressive avant-rock is a definitive introduction to one of the most uncompromising and inquisitive visions in creative music. Mendoza’s thrilling melange of free jazz, blues, noise, classical training, and blazing experimental rock’n’roll all coheres with ecstatic feedback, with picking and solos that crest with shimmer. Sometimes she sounds like a one-woman Sonic Youth with guttural and poised vocals that equally evoke Patti Smith and blues greats like Jessie Mae Hemphill. Conceptually, The Circular Train is presented as a psychogeographical train ride through certain of Mendoza’s musical homelands. The songs draw on ancestral and recent familial memories, notably of her parents’ roots in mining towns — in her father’s home country of Bolivia and mother’s hometown of Butte, Montana, each country with its own history of colonialism, racism, forced labor, the eradication of culture and the subsequent excavation of it. These adventurous songs were composed in cars and planes, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, in Los Angeles and upstate New York — which is to say in motion. “Ride to Cerro Rico,” named for the mountain and silver mine at the center of Potosi, Bolivia, was inspired by Mendoza’s great grandmother’s life there in a Quechua mining family. “Dust From the Mines” drew from that history as well as Mendoza’s familial lineage of miners in Montana, building up to stunning swaths of shredded iridescence. “Pink River Dolphins” was inspired by a visit to the Amazon rainforest, swimming with dolphins alongside her father — the pink bufeos that inhabit both Bolivia and Columbia — and the song is dedicated to the memory of Mendoza’s late friend, the Colombian-American trumpeter jaimie branch. They shared a fascination with those intelligent and agile creatures who often communicate by echolocation. “Make a sound, it comes back around,” Mendoza sings, and later, “Echo, echo/The answer in a sound,” evoking what branch knew well: through music we navigate life. The Circular Train contains one cover, “Irene, Goodnight,” composed by Gussie Lord Davis and popularized by Leadbelly; Mendoza has been performing it for over 20 years. Almost as deeply embedded in her repertoire is the penultimate track, “The Shadow Song.” “Treat your shadow kind and it might treat you good,” Mendoza sings on this song that she’s been reworking for over a decade, an emblem of devotion. “Treat your shadow kind and it might treat you right,” she repeats, becoming a blues mantra. What is a shadow self if not one’s secret world, which, once laid bare, awaits an echo, a return? — JENN PELLY 

[wanderinginksplot]

What to watch during the ongoing WGA strike

As the WGA strike keeps going, put the pressure where it belongs: on big companies, not the writers working for better conditions.

While we wait for new content (after an equitable agreement), here are some lesser-known movies, along with the (US) streaming services where they can be found. Feel free to add on with a title, short description, and where it can be found!

(Television show version here!)

Films listed under the cut!

Netflix:

The Gray Man (2022) - Rated R. A CIA spook known only as Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling) is assigned to kill a former Sierra member... only to find himself at the center of a conspiracy. At the same time, he becomes the target of a sadistic ex-CIA mercenary (Chris Evans).

Genre: Action/thriller. There are likely to be more Gray Man films coming in the near future, along with a television show based on Chris Evans's chillingly villainous Lloyd Hansen.

Rocky (1976) - Rated PG. Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) is a washed-up boxer who works as a Mafia enforcer. He gets an unexpected chance at glory when boxer Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wants to fight an unknown.

Genre: Drama/sports. If you don't know the story behind Rocky, it's almost as good as the movie itself!

The Imitation Game (2014) - Rated PG-13. The story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), particularly his work in World War II to decode Enigma transmissions intercepted from the Axis powers.

Genre: Biographical drama. The Imitation Game is the story of Alan Turing's life, both triumphs and tragedies. It contains themes of hidden homosexuality, cruel and unusual punishment, and suicide.

Max:

Triple Frontier (2019) - Rated R. An ex-Delta Force soldier (Oscar Isaac) asks his prior teammates to come on one final mission, with the promise of an incredible payout.

Genre: Action/adventure. Triple Frontier is a typical action/adventure movie with some interesting effects and a cast (Isaac, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, and Garrett Hedlund) that elevates it a little further.

Parasite (2019) - Rated R. The Kim family struggles to make ends meet until Ki-woo is referred to tutor a rich teenager. Through manipulation and daring, the entire Kim family ends up employed by the unknowing Park family.

Genre: Black comedy/thriller. Full of fascinating dynamics and an interesting look at divisions of wealth in South Korea, it's clear to see why Parasite gained such acclaim.

Casablanca (1942) - Rated PG. Casablanca, Morocco is a popular departure point for people fleeing the Nazis. Jaded nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) must decide whether to risk his life to help his ex (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband escape.

Genre: Romance/drama. Casablanca is considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made. If you haven't seen it, try it. Keep an eye out for dry humor and the way the director uses shadows to keep the black and white film interesting!

Ex Machina (2014) - Rated R. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) wins an office lottery to help the company's CEO (Oscar Isaac) test his new AI (Alicia Vikander).

Genre: Sci-fi/psychological thriller. With incredible effects, a labyrinthine plot, and uncomfortable questions about what makes us human, it's easy to see why Ex Machina is considered one of the best sci-fi films of the last decade.

Hulu:

The Last Action Hero (1993) - Rated PG-13. Film fan Danny (Austin O'Brien) goes to see the latest in his favorite franchise, he finds himself pulled into the movie, working alongside his hero Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzeneggar).

Genre: Fantasy/action/satire. Think of every action trope you associate with Arnold Schwarzeneggar, mix it with a vibe like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and add some self-aware humor, and you have The Last Action Hero. This is not a popular film among internet aggregators, but I enjoyed it!

Palm Springs (2020) - Rated R. Reluctant maid of honor Sarah (Cristin Milioti) is fascinated by a wedding guest (Andy Samberg) who seems to know more than he should. When she follows him from the wedding, she finds herself stuck with him in a time loop.

Genre: Sci-fi/rom-com. Though Palm Springs has some real COVID-19 quarantine vibes, the plot keeps it from feeling like a time capsule.

Whiplash (2014) - Rated R. Talented drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is identified for an elite jazz band by sadistic and manipulative conductor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons).

Genre: Drama. Though Whiplash is not a horror movie, it is partially produced by Blumhouse Productions. That darkness really shines through in Fletcher's abusive behavior.

Role Models (2008) - Rated R. After a disastrous, drunken day at work, Danny (Paul Rudd) is assigned community service in a big brother program. He is assigned to awkward teenager Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and accompanies him during his favorite activity: LARPing.

Genre: Humor. Though Role Models can get a little close to cringe comedy, it's got enough genuine humor and heart to get away with it... and even be a little sweet.

Amazon Prime:

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - Rated R. An author tells the story of Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the owner of a once-grand hotel in the former country of Zubrowka, using several frame stories.

Genre: Drama. Wes Anderson's films have a very characteristic style. The Grand Budapest Hotel features stunning sets, a ton of cameos, and enough quirky humor to keep you entertained!

Hot Fuzz (2007) - Rated R. London police officer Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is reassigned to the small town of Sandford. He's frustrated by the small town at first, but a string of murders make him suspect something more is going on...

Genre: Action/comedy. Hot Fuzz is the second installment of the Cornetto Trilogy. It is a satirical look at the cop film genre - and thus has a lot of overdramatic violence - but it manages to stand on its own at the same time.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) - Rated PG. Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are two teens more interested in their band than their studies. But if they don't pass their history final, Ted will be sent to military school. A mysterious stranger gives them a time machine, sending them off to write the best essay of all time!

Genre: Comedy/sci-fi. If you're used to Keanu Reeves as a broody hero, you're in for a shock and a treat to see him at his surfer/stoner/slacker best!

The Iron Giant (1999) - Rated PG. In 1957, 9-year-old Hogarth Hughes finds a 50-foot tall robot in the woods. He befriends the giant and the two work to evade the government, who suspect it is an attack on the United States.

Genre: Family/adventure. The Iron Giant is one of the most recognizable and emotional animated films of the 1990s - extra impressive considering it's a Warner Bros film that came out in the middle of the Disney Renaissance!

Disney+

The Boondock Saints (1999) - Rated R. Irish Catholic brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) living in 1990s Boston are sick of the crime on the streets. They decide to take matters into their own hands.

Genre: Crime/drama. The Boondock Saints has low scores on almost every film aggregator site, but is widely considered a cult classic. (Edit: warnings for insensitive portrayal of homosexuality and transgenderism.)

Feel free to reblog this and add your own lesser-known film suggestions! Support the WGA strike!

The Reluctant Dragon (1941) - Rated G. Robert Benchley wants to sell a movie idea to Walt Disney. As he searches for Walt, he wanders through the studio and sees how many of the magical movie effects are done.

Genre: Family/fantasy. I'll admit, this film was included on purpose. Not because it's amazing (it's interesting at best), but because of the story behind it. The Reluctant Dragon was released three weeks after the majority of the animators went on strike. (And most of the "workers" in the film are actually actors, another sore spot.) Disney fired all of the strikers before eventually agreeing to let them unionize and rehiring those who wished to return. (You can read more about the strike here.)

[usafphantom2]

XB-70 Valkyrie

XB-70 Valkyrie in Cruise Configuration

The No. 1 XB-70A (62-0001) is viewed from above in cruise configuration with the wing tips drooped for improved controllability.

The XB-70 Valkyrie, with a planned cruise speed of Mach 3 and operating altitude of 70,000 feet, was to be the ultimate high-altitude, high-speed manned strategic bomber. Events, however, would cause it to play a far different role in the history of aviation.

To achieve Mach 3 performance, the XB-70 was designed to “ride” its own shock wave, much as a surfer rides an ocean wave. The resulting shape used a delta wing on a slab-sided fuselage that contained the six jet engines that powered the aircraft. The outer wing panels were hinged. During take off, landing, and subsonic flight, they remained in the horizontal position. This feature increased the amount of lift produced, improving the lift-to-drag ratio. Once the aircraft was supersonic, the wing panels would be hinged downward. Changing the position of the wing panels reduced the drag caused by the wingtips interacted with the inlet shock wave. The repositioned wingtips also reduced the area behind the airplane’s center of gravity, which reduced trim drag. The downturned outer panels also provided more vertical surface to improve directional stability at high Mach numbers. Attached to the delta was a long, thin forward fuselage. Behind the cockpit were two large canards, which acted as control surfaces.

XB-70: World's Largest Experimental Aircraft in the 1960s.

The figure standing on the ramp provides a size comparison with the XB-70A aircraft.

As impressive a technological feat as the XB-70 represented, the aircraft was under development at a time when the future of the manned bomber was uncertain. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, many believed that manned aircraft were obsolete, and the future belonged to missiles. As a result, the Kennedy Administration ended plans to deploy the B-70. Two experimental XB-70A prototypes were under construction at North American Aviation when the program was canceled.

At the same time there was growing interest in an American supersonic transport (SST). Jet airliners had cut flight times by more than half in comparison to propeller-powered aircraft. A Mach 2 or 3 SST would make a similar improvement over the new subsonic jet airliners. The Flight Research Center (FRC-now the Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA.) had several SST studies underway during the early 1960s. NASA’s Douglas F5D-1 was used for landing studies, a North American F-100C was modified to simulate SST handling qualities, a North American A-5A was used to simulate an SST for tests of the air traffic control system, and a Lockheed JetStar was modified as an in-flight SST simulator.

On the Ramp: XB-70

The XB-70A is shown parked on a ramp at Edwards, California, in 1967.

The XB-70 Valkyrie seemed to be a perfect testbed for SST research. It was the same size as the projected SST designs, and used similar structural materials, such as brazed stainless steel honeycomb and titanium. Thus, the XB-70A’s role changed from a manned bomber prototype to one of the most remarkable research aircraft ever flown.

The XB-70A number 1 (62-001) made its first flight from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base, CA, on Sept. 21, 1964. Tests of the XB-70’s airworthiness occurred throughout 1964 and 1965 by North American and Air Force test pilots. The Flight Research Center prepared its instrument package. Although intended to cruise at Mach 3, the first XB-70 was found to have poor directional stability above Mach 2.5, and only made a single flight above Mach 3. Despite the problems, the early flights provided data on a number of issues facing SST designers. These included aircraft noise, operational problems, control system design, comparison of wind tunnel predictions with actual flight data, and high-altitude, clear-air turbulence.

NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, wind-tunnel studies led engineers at North American Aviation in Downey, CA, to build the second XB-70A (62-207) with an added 5 degrees of dihedral on the wings. This aircraft made its first flight on July 17, 1965. The changes resulted in much better handling, and the second XB-70 achieved Mach 3 for the first time on Jan. 3, 1966. The aircraft made a total of nine Mach 3 flights by June.

At the same time, a joint agreement was signed between NASA and the Air Force to use the second XB-70A prototype for high-speed research flights in support of the SST program, selected due to its better aerodynamics, inlet controls, and a much superior instrument package, compared to the first aircraft. The NASA research flights were to begin in mid-June, once the North American Aviation Phase I tests of the vehicle’s airworthiness were completed. NASA research pilot Joe Walker was selected as the project pilot. The flights were to evaluate the aircraft on typical SST flight profiles, and to study the problems of sonic booms on overland flights.

These plans went awry on June 8, 1966, when the second XB-70 crashed following a midair collision with NASA’s F-104N chase plane. Joe Walker, F-104N pilot, died in the accident. North American test pilot Al White ejected from the XB-70 in his escape capsule, but received serious injuries in the process. Co-pilot Maj. Carl Cross, who was making his first flight in the XB-70, was unable to eject and died in the crash.

The deaths of Walker and Cross, and the destruction of the second XB-70 had major consequences for the research program. The second XB-70 had been selected for the Phase II tests, which were to be conducted jointly by NASA and the Air Force. With this aircraft now destroyed, only the first aircraft was available. Given the aircraft’s shortcomings, the Air Force began to doubt that it would be able to meet the Phase II test goals.

The first XB-70 was undergoing maintenance and modifications at the time of the accident to its sister ship. It did not fly again until Nov. 3, 1966. Col. Joe Cotton piloted it, while NASA research pilot Fitzhugh Fulton served as co-pilot. The flight reached a top speed of Mach 2.1. Between November 1966 and the end of January 1967, a total of 11 joint Air Force/NASA research flights occurred. Cotton, Fulton, and Van H. Shepard of North American Aviation were crewmen on these flights. A top speed of Mach 2.57 was the highest attained during the remainder of the XB-70 program.

These flights were made as part of the National Sonic Boom Program. The XB-70 flew at differing altitudes, Mach numbers, and weights over an instrumented test range at Edwards. The “boom carpet” area was determined and the overpressure measured on two specially constructed housing units. The tests showed that a large aircraft, such as the XB-70 or the projected SST, could generate overpressures high enough to cause damage. Moreover, when the XB-70 made a turn, its shock waves converged, and often doubled the overpressure on the ground.

Following these tests, the XB-70 was grounded for maintenance that lasted 2 1/2 months. The Air Force had concluded by that point that the XB-70 program should be turned over to NASA as soon as possible. FRC director Paul Bikle and Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) commander Maj. Gen. Hugh Manson created a joint FRC/AFFTC XB-70 operating committee on March 15, 1967. This was patterned on similar committees established for the X-15 and lifting bodies. The NASA XB-70 program continued to receive Air Force assistance, in terms of aircraft support and Air Force test pilots.

The first NASA XB-70 flight occurred on April 25, 1967, by Fulton and Cotton. By the end of March 1968, another 12 research flights had been completed. The pilots included Fulton, Cotton, and Shepard, as well as Lt. Col. Emil Sturmthal and NASA research pilot Don Mallick. The flights acquired data to correlate with an Ames ground-based SST simulator and the JetStar in-flight SST simulator at FRC. Other XB-70 research goals were to measure its structural response to turbulence; determine the aircraft’s handling qualities during landings; and investigate boundary layer noise, inlet performance, and structural dynamics, including fuselage bending and canard flight loads.

The XB-70 underwent modifications after a final flight on March 21, 1968. During research flights, the XB-70 pilots had frequently experienced trim changes and buffeting during high-speed, high-altitude flights. These resulted from clear-air turbulence and rapidly changing atmospheric temperatures. For a specialized research aircraft, these characteristics were little more than annoying; on a commercial SST, however, they would be uncomfortable for the passengers, increase the pilots’ workload, and shorten the structural fatigue life of the SST.

XB-70A Rolls Out After Landing

The XB-70A No. 1 is shown rolling out after landing, employing drag chutes to slow down.

The XB-70 was fitted with two small vanes for the Identically Located Acceleration and Force (ILAF) experiment. The vanes rotated 12 degrees at a rate of up to 8 cycles per second. This induced a structural vibration in the XB-70 at a known frequency and amplitude. The XB-70’s accelerometers detected the disturbances, then signaled the aircraft’s stability augmentation system to damp out the motion. When XB-70 research flights resumed on June 11, 1968, the ILAF proved its ability to reduce the effects of turbulence and atmospheric temperature changes.

Despite the accomplishments of the XB-70, time was running out for the research program. NASA had reached an agreement with the Air Force to fly research missions with a pair of YF-12As and a “YF-12C,” which was actually an SR-71. These represented a far more advanced technology than that of the XB-70. In all, the two XB-70s had logged 1 hour and 48 minutes of Mach 3 flight time. A YF-12 could log this much Mach 3 time in a single flight.

The final XB-70 research flight occurred on Feb. 4, 1969. Fulton and Sturmthal made a subsonic structural dynamics test and ferry flight. The XB-70 took off from Edwards and flew to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, where the aircraft was put on display at the Air Force Museum. The first XB-70 made 83 flights totaling 160 hours and 16 minutes, while the second XB-70 logged 46 flights in its brief life, totaling 92 hours and 22 minutes.

@kadonkey via X

[lboogie1906]

Mary Hatwood Futrell (born May 24, 1940) was an educator and the fourth person of color to become President of the National Education Association. She was born in Altavista, Virginia to Josephine, a domestic and factory worker, and her father, a construction worker, who died of kidney disease when she was four years old.

Her teachers presented her with an envelope containing an informal scholarship, collected from local churches, businesses, and individuals, in the amount of $1,500.

At Virginia State College, she became a cheerleader, as well as a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She graduated with a BA in Business Education. She became part of the first Black teaching staff at George Washington High School in Alexandria. In 1967, facing strong opposition, she did not win a seat, but challenged the election in court and won.

She earned her MA in Secondary Education from George Washington University. She was elected President of the Education Association of Alexandria. She became the first African American president of the Virginia Education Association.

She married Donald Futrell (1977) a physical education teacher and coach. She was elected to the board of the NEA. She took the full-time position of secretary-treasurer for the NEA.

She was elected President of the organization. People magazine named her “one of the most powerful Black women in America.” She became the associate director of the Center for the Study of Education and National Development at George Washington University while earning her Ph.D.

She was named Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She founded Education International and was the first president of the organization. She holds more than twenty honorary degrees. She has published numerous articles and journals in numerous quarterlies on education reform and policies and has received dozens of awards. She serves as Professor Emerita for Education Policy at George Washington University. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #deltasigmatheta