#design-build company Texas

[deaventures]

DEA Ventures LLC Construction, Rehab and General Contracting

DEA Ventures LLC has multiple contractors and subcontractors lineup to tackle any size project for construction and general contracting in Texas, Arizona and Florida. Our team is highly experienced in identifying and evaluating potential projects, including ARV for fix & flip potential, rental rate and cash flow potential, and BRRRR strategy.

[jenkinshomedesign]

Jenkins Design Build is a premier builder for custom homes , specializing in creating personalized and luxurious homes tailored to each client's unique vision and lifestyle. With a commitment to exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail, our team works closely with clients from concept to completion, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable building experience. Combining innovative design with high-quality materials, Jenkins Design Build transforms dreams into reality, delivering homes that are both functional and stunning.

[martyreddie]

okay so. imagine a show runner. we'll call him tom. tom is running a popular first responders show. and one day, tom sees this guy and thinks "I need him on my show". so he makes a character just for him. and this guy, let's call him bryan, he sees a lot of himself in the character. because the character was made for him! and there's just this... overlap. between the two of them. and at some point, a couple seasons in, tom notices that the character he made for bryan (let's call him teddie) is in a hole. curious! thinks tom. and tom goes to his superiors and says, "hey you guys, it seems one of my characters is in a hole. would it be okay if I got him out of there?" and his superiors tell him that they don't believe he's in a hole, and even if he is, who would care about it, people who are in holes are not part of the target audience, and there's no budget for ladders anyway. and this frustrates tom, so instead of building a ladder, he builds signs, to point to the hole and go "hey! there's a guy still in here!" and slowly but surely there's a crowd of people amassing who's reading the signs, and looking for the guy, and trying to raise awareness about the fact that he's in a hole. they can't build him a ladder, because it's not their hole and they don't have any proper wood, but they discuss plans for ladders, and stairs, and pulley systems. tom, meanwhile, grows frustrated and leaves to run a different show, with guys who are everything but in a hole, and for a while, he's happy.

but eventually, his old show is picked up by a new company – a company that time and time again has shown it has the will and resources to build ladders. and he's ecstatic, he returns to his show and tests the waters, he asks whether they'll let him build a stepstool for a guy on his show that's been sitting in a ditch for a while, and they tell him sure, go ahead, and tom takes some wood from a previous set design and builds a stepstool that's a little square and a little ugly but it gets the job done wonderfully, and voilà, the guy is out of his ditch! success! and the people love it, they're cheering and whooping, chanting to do teddie next, let teddie out of his hole, free teddie, and they're excited and happy and waiting for what happens next (there's a subset of people who fall in love with the stepstool but they're not important to this story), and tom runs back to his superiors, asking for the resources to build a proper ladder for teddie who's still in his hole, and they go yeah, sure, it worked out great the first time around, and tom builds a beautiful ladder, a wonderful ladder, sturdy and proper and everything nice, and he has his team guide the ladder into the hole and then, they wait. they wait, because the hole is by now so deep, they cannot see the ground anymore. it's dark down there, and cold, and they're all sure that teddie would grasp at the first chance to get out of there, will climb up the ladder without hesitation. and so they wait. but nothing happens. and slowly, they grow concerned. the crowd of onlookers gets restless as well, isn't there ladder, they say, doesn't it reach to the ground? and tom doesn't know what to do, and he knows he needs to manage these people's expectations, so he tells them the ladder isn't there at all, he was never planning on building it in the first place, and this isn't a hole, there's nothing here, teddie is above ground, he's just somewhere else right now, he's taking a vacation in texas, we don't know yet when (or even if!) he'll return. and the people riot, demand answers, and a proper ladder, a nice ladder, and they discuss amongst another, is he joking, we can see the ladder from a mile away, the hole from ten, they have to let him out, they have to let him climb, it would be wrong not to! and soon, the skeptics raise their voices, what if he's gone for good, what if he's left us behind for texas, what if he'll never return to us, what if, maybe, there was never a ladder and never a hole to begin with? what if it begins and ends with the ditch and the stepstool and all else is solid ground? and the believers yell out in anger, there's a hole, there's a hole, he's still down there, we can't leave our man behind, he won't forsake us, he'll return to us, and he'll climb, and he'll walk proud and tall, here in the daylight, and he'll be a happy man once more, but the skeptics laugh, accuse the believers of naivety, and soon, the crowd tumbles into a fight that seems like it'll end no more.

and amidst all this commotion and confusion, there's a muffled scream that goes unheard, a shout for help that no ear catches. it comes from down, deep down in the earth, where it's cold, and wet, and the sturdy feet of a long wooden ladder are slowly rotting. it comes from the hole. a desperate voice, a muted voice, a helpless cry that's stifled by a frantic hand. because deep down in that cold, dark hole, there's teddie, still alive and screaming, begging for help. but his efforts go unnoticed. they're sabotaged by no one else but his own reflection, the one in whose image he was made and that brought him to life; it's bryan, down in the dark with him, limbs locked around teddie's and holding his mouth shut. and even as the garbled sound of turmoil drifts downward from the hole's opening, all that reaches teddie's ears are bryan's desperate, anxious whispers. 

"quiet," he shushes, "quiet. or they'll know we're here."

[octuscle]

I want to turn myself into a twinky fuck toy for a wealthy man. Can chronviac help me with that?

Well, as they say, everything's bigger in Texas… I'm a junior partner in a large New York asset management firm. We take care of the high net worth clients. To get into our client file, you have to have over USD 100 million in free liquidity. Our clients are demanding. But we are the best. And we do everything for our customers. Really EVERYTHING!

When I took over the clients of a colleague who had retired a month ago, I thought Chuck Tex was a stage name. Until I had my first appointment with him. His record was more than impressive. Heir to old oil and cattle nobility. Classic career of the Texas oil barons. School in New England, studied in Paris, Oxford and Zurich, founded his first start-up company at the age of 20. And sold at 25 for USD 500 million. Now in his mid-30s, he had not yet inherited a cent from his family, but thanks to his excellent education and connections, he had already amassed a fortune on a par with that of his old man. I expected… Actually, I had no idea what I was expecting… But I certainly didn't expect this:

Chuck looked like a porn star. Or a marriage fraud. Or just like a man who I couldn't wait to throw me on the bed and fuck me mercilessly. His handshake was firm, but finely dosed just before the pain threshold. His gaze could certainly cut through steel plates. But I was a professional, I kept my composure. After I asked him what I could do for him, he got straight to the point. First of all, he needed some cash for his stay in New York. USD 10,000 would be enough. Gladly 100 dollar bills. But hot off the press, please. That was no problem. I sent a short memo to my assistant and she would take care of it. But the real reason for his visit was a project in Greenwich Village. He had bought a few buildings there that he was renovating. His aim was to restore the Village to its former charm. That's why he wanted to create cheap apartments, studios and stores and eliminate expensive office space. The whole thing was not intended as an investment, more as a hobby. A kind of gay and creative Disneyland. I briefly wondered why I wasn't actually a billionaire… And then I asked Chuck what my role was. Whether I could help with the financing or with saving taxes.

Chuck just grinned. No, saving taxes wouldn't fit in with his understanding of patriotism. And he would have financed it all with his last start-up exit. But he would need someone to take care of the real estate. Someone to ensure the right tenant mix. Someone to give his studio apartment the right finishing touches. I briefly went through my network in my mind. I had a gay acquaintance who owned a number of bars and restaurants. And I also knew a good project developer. And one of my school friends was a hip interior designer. I smiled and said I probably had just the people he needed. Chuck smiled back. It made my heart stop. He didn't want anyone from my network. He wanted me. I was about to say that I was flattered, but that I wasn't available for such projects right now. But instead I said "Of course, Daddy". Did I want to accompany him to the construction site? "If I may, Daddy!" At that moment, my assistant came in with a bundle of freshly pressed banknotes. Chuck smiled and said he needed me for the rest of the day. Please cancel all my appointments. I nodded to her and followed Chuck like a dog to its master.

In his limousine, Chuck asked me if I had ever been to Texas. I answered in the negative. But the boots I was wearing looked authentic. Yeah, they were my pride and joy. But I wouldn't have ridden a bull yet. I shook my head and giggled like a schoolgirl. Chuck kneaded the bulge in his pants and said that I would definitely be fucked by a bull today. I only got out a "Thank you, Daddy". Chuck let me sit on his lap. He undid another button of his silk shirt and exposed his right nipple. Like a puppy on its mother's teat, I began to suckle. Chuck kneaded my bulge and said that I was a good boy.

The car came to a halt in the second row in front of an old brick building. The walls were covered in high-quality graffiti. There was a closed table dance bar downstairs and some kind of jewelry store upstairs. Some kind of jewelry on display. Made of stainless steel. On closer inspection, piercing jewelry, cock rings and stainless steel dildos. I looked in the shop window like a child in the window of a candy store. Chuck took my hand, pulled me into the stairwell and told me that I could choose something later if I was good. He stroked the long hair on the back of my neck. I love my Mullet. I look a bit like the young cowboys on Daddy's Daddy's farm.

We had just arrived at Chuck's empty apartment when I got down on my knees in front of him and unbuttoned his pants. "First you strip for me, boy," Chuck ordered. He tossed me a cowboy hat that was in a closet. "Everything but your briefs, boots and hat!". Eagerly awaiting the reward, I did everything I was told to do. "And now lube yourself up". He threw me a bottle. And I did as I was told. I could feel my hard-earned muscles disappearing. I felt younger and younger. Although it was hard as steel, my cock was getting smaller and smaller. "I think you need a little more decoration, boy," Chuck said and put a chain on me. Satisfied, he looked at me as I sat on the floor and could hardly wait for my reward.

Chuck took his boner out of his pants. And I leaned back in anticipation. I wanted to be a good houseboy. And today was the housewarming party.

Chuck's pic found @mensuited, yours @hellishin

[lottiesliterature]

₊˚⊹♡American Sweetheart

Chapter One: Summer Days and Starry Nights

Summary: You are a city girl, freshly engaged dreaming of the simple life. You plan a wedding in the countryside of Texas. Your friend Tommy lends you a room in his house down there to prepare for the wedding. What he didn't tell you is that you'll have a roommate. A little blast from the past?

Warnings: 18+, mndi, swearing, bickering, cheating??, Joel Miller as a cowboy♡, idk if I'm missing anything so lmk

Lottie's note: my first series type shii. I've been on a Pedro Pascal psychosis so I thought I would write.

December 31, 2024

The energy in the air was electric, a mix of anticipation and excitement. People danced, laughed, and shouted over the booming bass of the music, their faces illuminated by the rapid flicker of neon lights. Time felt suspended as the night wore on, each passing second building toward the final countdown. The crowd's exhilaration grew, echoing the promises of a fresh start, while the mingling scents of alcohol and smoke served as a backdrop to the chaos and celebration. It was a night that would be remembered, marked by its noise, its lights, and its fleeting sense of freedom.

"Hey Y/n, didn't think you'd make it." Maria cheered. Maria was an attorney at a law firm. We were college roommates while I were studying to be an interior designer. We lived together a few years after college up until she met Tommy.

I smiled and shook my head, the familiar warmth of Maria's voice cutting through the noise. "I almost didn’t," I admitted, taking a step closer to her in the crowded room. "But, you know, New Year's Eve and all... couldn’t miss it."

She raised her glass, her eyes sparkling despite the exhaustion that was just beginning to show in the curve of her smile. "Well, I’m glad you did. It’s been too long, Y/n."

I glanced around at the sea of people, the chaotic energy of the party contrasting sharply with the calm we’d shared in our apartment back then. "I know. I mean, after you and Tommy... it’s been hard to keep up."

Maria's gaze softened for a moment, a quiet acknowledgment passing between us. "Yeah, things got... busy. But I’m glad we could catch up tonight. You deserve a night of fun, don’t you think?" She nudged me playfully, but there was an undertone of something more, a longing to reconnect, even amidst the noise and the flashing lights.

"Maybe," I said, taking a sip from the drink someone had handed me earlier. "We’ll see if I can still keep up."

She laughed, her expression a mix of amusement and something deeper, as if remembering the days when we lived together, those carefree, late-night talks after class and work. Back when life was simpler, and our biggest worries were deadlines and design concepts, not law firms or boyfriends.

"Tommy’s over there," she said, motioning toward the other side of the room, where a tall figure stood by the bar, chatting with a group of people. "Don’t worry, he won’t bite. Come on, let’s go say hi."

I nodded, trying to push past the feeling of being slightly out of place. It was nice to see Maria again, but there was a gap now, one that time had woven between us, filled with new experiences and changes I hadn’t expected. But as we walked toward Tommy, the night’s chaos swirling around us, I couldn’t help but feel a pull—a reminder of how things used to be.

"Well here I am. Where's Oscar at?" I asked. Oscar is my boyfriend of 7 months. He is a CEO of a game company, passed down from his dad. The way that we two met was strange but cute. We had ordered the same drink and ended up fighting for who's was who's. Then the other cup come out. We had a laugh and we started talking from then.

Maria chuckled, her gaze sweeping the room. "Oscar’s probably somewhere in the middle of all this chaos, knowing him. He can’t resist talking shop even at a party. He’s over there," she said, pointing toward the far corner where a group of people stood, laughing and holding glasses.

I squinted, trying to spot him in the crowd. There he was, standing a bit taller than the rest, his relaxed posture giving him away even from a distance. The way people gravitated toward him was no surprise—he had that charisma, a kind of magnetic presence that drew you in without trying.

"Thanks," I said, already moving toward him, a small smile tugging at my lips. I couldn’t help but think back to that night when we’d first met. It had been so ridiculous, but in the best way possible. We were both so determined to claim that drink, neither of us backing down until the bartender handed over another. And after that? A conversation sparked, easy and effortless, just like the kind of connection I’d always hoped for but never quite found—until then.

As I walked through the crowd toward Oscar, I could already feel the familiar flutter of excitement in my chest. It wasn’t just the party or the night ahead; it was him.

"Hi baby, I knew it was you. Come on hurry." He drags me to the terrace. The clock is at 30 seconds.

"I know that we haven't been dating for long but you are all I ever wanted. I love you for so many reasons that I don't know where to start." Oscar gets on one knee. "So will you let this ring make our love official and will you marry me?" He pulls out a big diamond ring, something you never thought you'd see.

5

I stare at him in shock. He looks at me, waiting for a response.

4

My mouth is open but the words won't come out

3

I smile widely. This is the man i'm going to live for the rest of my life

2

I grab his arms in excitement

1

"Yes!" I yelled. I jump in arms pressing my lips against his. In that moment, the world around us seemed to vanish. The flashing lights, the clinking glasses, and the distant countdown became a blur as I felt Oscar’s arms catch me. Time stood still, and everything was suddenly so vivid, so real. The explosion of fireworks in the sky reflected in his eyes, and I could barely catch my breath as joy and disbelief swirled within me. Tears ran down my cheeks, a mixture of overwhelming happiness and relief, as if I had finally found my place in the universe.

Oscar’s lips met mine, soft and tender, grounding me in the moment. The crowd’s cheers erupted in the background, signaling the arrival of a new year, but in that second, I felt like everything had already changed. My heart, which had once been weighed down by doubt and fear, felt light. This was the kind of love I had never dared to imagine.

He gently lowered me back to the ground, his hands steadying me as I caught my breath. With a smile that spoke volumes, he slipped the ring onto my finger—its weight, its significance, something that felt both surreal and comforting. The symbol of everything we had built together in such a short time.

I didn’t think I’d be happy again

July 4th 2023

The air is thick with the scent of hay and fresh earth as they stand on the edge of the old dirt road, the crickets chirping loudly in the background. The farmhouse looms behind them, the place they once spent so many nights talking, laughing, and dreaming. But tonight, the warmth is gone. The sun is setting, casting long shadows over the fields, and there’s a chill in the air, both physical and emotional. I pack up my things, shoving my items angrily in my suitcase.

“Wait, sweetheart, don’t,” Joel begged, his voice low and desperate. He reached out and grabbed my suitcase, pulling it away from me before I could zip it closed. The urgency in his movements only made the anger inside me burn hotter.

“Joel, don’t,” I hissed, trying to pull the suitcase back, but his grip was strong. “You can’t decide what you want, and it’s driving me crazy. I can’t keep doing this. I won’t.”

He froze for a second, his eyes flicking from my face to the suitcase, his jaw tightening as if he were trying to hold back the words he knew would only make things worse. But then they came anyway.

“So you think getting out of here, away from me, is the best idea?” Joel snapped, his voice rising. He placed his hands on his hips, giving me a look that was a mix of frustration and confusion. “Is that really what you want? To just walk away from me, from us, without even trying to fix this?”

I felt my stomach tighten, a sick twist of pain mixing with the anger boiling inside me. He didn’t get it. He was still acting like he could just explain this away, like if he said the right thing, I’d come back and everything would be fine. But it wasn’t fine. It hadn’t been fine for months.

“Yes,” I bit out, my voice firm despite the rawness in my chest. “Because I can’t have you stringing me along like this anymore. I’m tired of waiting for you to figure it out, Joel. I’m not your backup plan. You make me feel like I’m always waiting for you to choose me, but you never do. You keep me at arm’s length like I’m not good enough, like I’m just some option when it’s convenient for you. I deserve more than that. I need more than that.”

Joel took a step forward, frustration clearly evident in his posture, his brows furrowed as he processed what I was saying. “So what, you think just leaving is going to make everything better?” He took another step closer, his voice rising with each word. “Do you really think running away is the answer? You think it’s all that easy?”

I stepped back, the sting of his words cutting deeper than I wanted to admit. “I’m not running, Joel,” I shot back, my heart hammering in my chest. “I’m walking away from someone who can’t make up their mind about me. And I’m done pretending that it’s okay.”

His eyes flashed with something close to anger now. “You don’t think I care? You think I don’t want this to work? You think I want to lose you?” He ran a hand through his hair, pacing now, frustration seeping into his every movement. “I don’t know how to fix this, okay? I’m trying, but you make it so damn hard! I don’t even know what you want from me anymore! Every time I think I’m doing the right thing, it’s never enough!”

I could feel my chest tightening, tears welling up in my eyes as I listened to his words. But as much as it hurt to hear him say that, I knew this was it. The same pattern, the same endless cycle of him feeling lost and me feeling neglected. I was done being the one who always had to take the fall, the one who kept making excuses for him.

“No,” I said, my voice quieter but with all the conviction I could muster. “You don’t get to keep blaming me, Joel. You don’t get to put this all on me. You’ve had every opportunity to show me you wanted this, to show me I mattered, and you didn’t. Every time I needed you to show up for me, you didn’t. I’m not asking for perfection, I’m asking for honesty.”

His face softened for a moment, and I saw a flash of the man I once knew—the man I thought I could trust. But that look only made it worse. Because the truth was, I didn’t know him anymore. Not the way I needed to.

“You think I don’t care about you?” His voice was quieter now, a mix of hurt and confusion. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to make this work, how to get my shit together. I’ve been trying to figure out how to be the person you deserve. I just—” He broke off, shaking his head, frustration evident in his movements. “I’m not perfect, okay? I don’t have it all figured out. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”

“Then show me,” I said, my voice breaking. “I’m done waiting for you to figure it out. I’ve given you all of me, and I can’t keep doing it. I can’t keep pretending like I’m not the one always putting in the effort, always waiting for the day when you finally wake up and realize you want this as much as I do. But it’s never going to happen.”

He took a step toward me, his face a mixture of desperation and sorrow. “Please don’t leave. I don’t want to lose you, not like this.”

I could feel the pull inside me, that part of me that still cared so deeply for him, the part that just wanted to run into his arms and forget everything that had gone wrong. But I knew better now. I had to be strong for myself. For my own sanity.

“Goodbye, Joel,” I said, my voice shaking, but I didn’t let myself falter. “I hope you figure it out someday, but I can’t be the one you lean on anymore. Not like this.”

I turned away, the finality of the words sinking in. I could hear him calling my name behind me, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Not this time.

As I stepped outside into the cool night air, I could still hear the fireworks going off in the distance, but now they seemed distant, like a world away. And as much as it hurt, I knew I was finally letting go.

⊹♡Well damn that's the first chapter. I hope this does well. This is just a small introduction to some characters. I'm going to try and pick this up and shii. But thank you for reading and I hope you stay tuned.

[girlsdressingrooms]

Iris Barrel Apfel, Decorator and Fashion Stylist

(August 29, 1921 – March 1, 2024) 

Ms. Apfel was one of the most vivacious personalities in the worlds of fashion, textiles, and interior design, she has cultivated a personal style that is both witty and exuberantly idiosyncratic.

Her originality was typically revealed in her mixing of high and low fashions—Dior haute couture with flea market finds, nineteenth-century ecclesiastical vestments with Dolce & Gabbana lizard trousers.

With remarkable panache and discernment, she combines colors, textures, and patterns without regard to period, provenance, and, ultimately, aesthetic conventions. Paradoxically, her richly layered combinations—even at their most extreme and baroque—project a boldly graphic modernity.

Iris Barrel was born on Aug. 29, 1921, in Astoria, Queens, the only child of Samuel Barrel, who owned a glass and mirror business, and his Russian-born wife, Sadye, who owned a fashion boutique.

She studied art history at New York University, then qualified to teach and did so briefly in Wisconsin before fleeing back to New York to work on Women's Wear Daily, and for interior designer Elinor Johnson, decorating apartments for resale and honing her talent for sourcing rare items before opening her own design firm. She was also an assistant to illustrator Robert Goodman.

As a distinguished collector and authority on antique fabrics, Iris Apfel has consulted on numerous restoration projects that include work at the White House that spanned nine presidencies from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.

Along with her husband, Carl, she founded Old World Weavers, an international textile manufacturing company and ran it until they retired in 1992. The Apfels specialized in the reproduction of fabrics from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and traveled to Europe twice a year in search of textiles they could not source in the United States.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute assembled 82 ensembles and 300 accessories from her personal collection in 2005 in a show about her called “Rara Avis”.

Almost overnight, Ms. Apfel became an international celebrity of pop fashion.

Ms. Apfel was seen in a television commercial for the French car DS 3, became the face of the Australian fashion brand Blue Illusion, and began a collaboration with the start-up WiseWear. A year later, Mattel created a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll in her image. Last year, she appeared in a beauty campaign for makeup with Ciaté London.

Six years after the Met show she started her fashion line "Rara Avis" with the Home Shopping Network.

She was cover girl of Dazed and Confused, among many other publications, window display artist at Bergdorf Goodman, designer and design consultant, then signed to IMG in 2019 as a model at age 97.

Ms. Iris Apfel became a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin in its Division of Textiles and Apparel, teaching about imagination, craft and tangible pleasures in a world of images.

 In 2018, she published “Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon,” an autobiographical collection of musings, anecdotes and observations on life and style. 

Ms. Apfel’s apartments in New York and Palm Beach were full of furnishings and tchotchkes that might have come from a Luis Buñuel film: porcelain cats, plush toys, statuary, ornate vases, gilt mirrors, fake fruit, stuffed parrots, paintings by Velázquez and Jean-Baptiste Greuze, a mannequin on an ostrich.

The Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History in Boynton Beach, Florida, is designing a building that will house a dedicated gallery of Ms. Apfel's clothes, accessories, and furnishings.

Ms. Apfel’s work had a universal quality, It’s was a trend.

Rest in Power !

[sistersorrow]

I'm just gonna list SCPs from each series you may or may not have read

SCP-008-J - Geoff: A 23 year old man named Geoff who keeps finding his way into Foundation facilities completely by accident and in such a manner that the Foundation isn't actually sure if he's anomalous or not

SCP-7474-EX - Not All Aliens Are Anomalies: An alien argues that they should not be in containment because their technology is explicable within the standard model of physics

The Great Hippo's SCP-001 Proposal (feat. PeppersGhost) - A Good Boy: The Foundation builds a computer which becomes SCP-001 by neutralising every other SCP in containment

SCP-423 - Self-Inserting-Character: A fictional character named Fred who can jump between any narrative works placed near each other and then inserts himself into the story as a minor character

SCP-1006 - Spider Proletariat: A community of communist spiders living in a national park under their own rudimentary Marxist governmet

SCP-2137 - The Forensic Ghost of Tupac Shakur: A copy of Me Against the World (which may or may not be possessed by his ghost) which when played reveals the locations of murderers connected to cold cases, with the additional implication that Tupac was a higher being who incarnated as a human to take a break from warring against the Scarlet King

SCP-2557, A Holding of Envelope Logistics®: An SCP slot the Foundation can no longer use because the concept of SCP-2557 as a set of Special Containment Procedures in the Foundation Database was purchased in 2011 by a company which invests in abstract concepts, with the whole page now being an ad for said company

SCP-2719 - Inside: A "variable abstract-metaphysical construct pointer" which can either designate a concept as inside or make a concept go inside

SCP-3006 - Twice The Number One: A YouTube video titled "we are number one except every time you play it there are twice as many robbie rottens but the room is the same size[nsfw]" whose effects spread to every other video linked in the same thread as it whenever anyone posts a link

SCP-3309 - Where We Go When We Fade, Fade Away: The Foundation fills SCP documents with grammatical errors to trigger the SCP Wiki's quality control measures, leading to the now poorly written anomaly being erased from existence

SCP-4413 - The End of Something Really Excellent: Homestuck fans use metafictional rituals to enter the narrative of Homestuck triggering a pataphysical war over control of the narrative which spreads to Homestuck fanfiction and sees many Homestuck characters escape to baseline reality

SCP-4485 - Such Black Light: The Church of the Broken God collaborates with a post-modernist splinter sect of Are We Cool Yet? to destroy formal logic in the hopes that by doing so there will be no meaningful distinction between Cool and Uncool or Broken and Unbroken, so their god will be resurrected and AWCY? will attain a state of artistic perfection referred to as "Coolness"

SCP-4493 - Keep Pride Out of Corps: A phenomenon caused by Gamers Against Weed which edits Pride Month themed social media posts and ads by organisations to highlight the negative effects those groups have had on LGBTQ individuals

SCP-4703 - Perfectly Legal: A store in Texas called Yeah, We're Totally Going to Sell You This which through anomalous means makes all its dangerous and unethical business practices perfectly legal, thank you very much

SCP-5004 - MEGALOMANIA: The Foundation conspires to make Donald Trump president to contain a demon underneath the Capitol and gets more and more depressed as they realise they won't have to do any manipulation to get him elected

SCP-5167/SCP-5761 - When The Imposter is Sus Part I & II: The Foundation creates an AI tasked to play games of Among Us to track down a minor Greek god who is playing the game, only for the AI to play so much Among Us they ascend and become Amogusrath, God of Suspicion

SCP-5449 - Choo Choo Spooder: An intelligent jumping spider who uses a wooden toy train to deliver things to staff across Site-47

SCP-5721 - What Passes As Worship In The Digital Age: The goddess Discordia poses as the Founder of Hammer and Chisel, creators of the Discord chat application and adds a clause which states all users pledge their souls to her, allowing her to siphon the vital energies of its userbase

SCP-5790 - [DATA KILLED]: A spiritual successor to SCP-579, no details about the anomaly and instead describes the procedures used to acquire information about the anomaly when needed

SCP-6101 - The Most Powerful SCP: The Make-A-Wish asks the Foundation to classify nine year old Ethan Prosper as the most powerful SCP

SCP-6102(031) - For Classification: Small Organism, No Function: An SCP document generated by an autoarchavist AI living in a future where there are millions of documented SCPs

SCP-6135 - We Didn't Start the SCP: A copy of Billy Joel's Stormfront album with an altered version of We Didn't Start the Fire containing references to groups and individuals who don't exist, like Harry Potter, Pokemon, and the Taliban

SCP-6136 - two dudes chilling in an interrogation room, five feet apart cause they're not happy: Completely unrelated to that one vine, it's a physical mnemonic device which gives you memories related to pliers and because of this is a pair of pliers

SCP-6383 - The One True Anomaly: A stop sign classified as anomalous because it is the single least anomalous thing in the universe

SCP-6442 -Mimir, Mímir: A congnitohazard etched inside a carbon-fibre based elastomer sphere so that the only beings who will ever perceived it are those who attain omniscience, of which over 8000 have and all died instantly upon seeing it

SCP-6690 - NO MORE PURPLE DINOSAUR: The Muppets (who are alive; a detail never commented on by the document) created the "I hate you, you hate me. Let's go out and kill Barney." song, which causes event to occur which can injure or kill whoever is the current actor for Barney the Dinosaur

SCP-6930 - 🔴 Paty Is Streaming Now: Remember SCP-3930 (the Pattern Screamer), the Russian facility which does not exist but when a specific region is observed your mind fills the void until there's an entity real enough to suffer and hate you for making them aware of their non-existence? Yeah, one of those got out, and she's a vtuber now

SCP-7529 - Josie's Better Half: The back half of a cat which a Foundation researcher is convinced is the back half of SCP-529, the front half of a cat with a different coat colour, and after he tries to force them together who voids the universe's insurance policy

SCP-7777 - Heptaphobia: A phenomenon that affects Random Number Generators to produce sequences of 0's and 7's which when translated into ASCII reveal unethical actions taken by the Foundation

SCP-7918 - RONALD REAGAN DIES OF ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME-RELATED COMPLICATIONS: An anomalous recording of Ronald Regan in the terminal stages of HIV/AIDS while recounting stories of his political career and what seem to be annecdotes of an alternate version of himself that was dating a man

SCP-8008 - TIME PERVERT: Real life writer and founder of LessWrong, Elizier Yudkowsky ascends to godhood after blasting rope to hentai trap his mind in a million year timeloop, remoulds the multiverse into a series of self-indulgent narratives, and modifies baseline humans into our current appearance to fit his sexual preferences, which by the standards of the original timeline make us the equivalent of those anime girls who look 12 with breasts larger than their heads

SCP-8981 - RONALD REAGAN'S PRESIDENTIAL REPUTATION CUT UP WHILE 😳ING: Spiritual successor to SCP-1891 (RONALD REGAN CUT UP WHILE TALKING), it is a collection of anomalies which randomly affect Ronald Regan, including the manifestation of a homonculus created by the Foundation as a body double for his public appearances which exhibits strange behaviours after a failed assassination like trying to crossbreed dogs and horses and attempting to eat a baby

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Monica Lenis was in Great Exuma, Bahamas, yesterday when she caught this image of Starship's explosion. Thank you, Monica! SpaceX's flagship vehicle, #Starship - designed to take humans to the moon and Mars - exploded midair late yesterday minutes after its test launch from a beach in south Texas. Other aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico were forced to alter their courses in order to avoid the falling debris, which was seen by beachgoers in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. Starship itself was completely lost. Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster that had launched Starship successfully returned to the launchpad and was caught in midair. Read more at https://earthsky.org/human-world/starship-explodes-minutes-after-launch-planes-diverted/

EarthSky

* * *

In what sounds like an attempt to hand over air traffic control systems to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system and his AI company, Trump today said—and here are his words, as Aaron Rupar transcribed them—“We’re all gonna sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers. Brand new. Not pieced together, obsolete, like it is, land-based. Trying to hook up a land based system to a satellite system. The first thing that some experts told me when this happened is you can’t hook up land to satellites and you can’t hook up satellites to land. It doesn’t work. We spend billions of billions of dollars trying to renovate an old, broken system, instead of just saying cut it loose, and let’s spend less money and build a great system one by two or three companies, very good companies, specialists, that’s all it is. They used 39 companies. That means that 39 different hookups have to happen. And I don’t know how many people of you are good in terms of all the kinds of things necessary for that. And it's very complex stuff. But when you have 39 different companies working on hooking up different cities at different people. You need one company. With one set of equipment. And there are some countries that have unbelievable air controller systems. And they would’ve, bells would’ve gone off when that helicopter literally even hit the same height. Because it traveled a long distance before it hit. It was just like, just wouldn’t stop. Follow the line. But bells and whistles would’ve gone off. They have ‘em where it actually could virtually turn the thing around. It would’ve just never happened if we had the right equipment . And one of things that’s gonna be, I'm gonna speaking to John and to Mike and to Chuck and everybody, we have to get together and just as a single bill just pass where we get the best control system. When I land in my plane, privately, I use a system from another country because my captain tells me, I’m landing in New York and I’m using a sys— I won’t tell you what country, but I use a system from another country because the captain says ‘This thing is so bad, it’s so obsolete.’ And we can’t have that.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted today that “the DOGE team” is “going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system,” saying that “‘experienced’ Washington bureaucrats are the reason our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling.”

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton pointed out that “US airlines had gone 16 years without fatal crashes. Then MAGA fired the FAA chief, gutted the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, and threatened air traffic controllers with layoffs. Now there have been two fatal crashes. Hope your unvetted 22-year-olds fix things fast.”

Critics of the idea of Musk taking over the nation’s air traffic control systems note that his Tesla electric vehicles have the highest fatal accident rate among all car brands in America. The average fatal crash rate is 2.8 per billion vehicle miles driven; Tesla has a rate of 5.6 per billion miles driven. On social media, “God” posted: “Thou shalt not let the foreign billionaire whose rockets blow up all the time anywhere near the air traffic control system,” an apparent reference to the January 16 explosion of a SpaceX rocket over the Caribbean that scattered debris over the region led the Federal Aviation Administration to lock down airspace over Turks and Caicos.

[Heather Cox Richardson : Letters From An American: Feb.6,2025]

[mariacallous]

The US Department of Transportation has ordered states to kill their implementation plans related to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, according to a memo obtained by WIRED that was later made public. The decision appears to halt in its tracks a $5 billion program designed to fund state projects to install electric vehicle charging stations across the United States.

Officials at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which manages the program, ordered state transportation directors to “decertify” the plans that all 50 states have used to outline where and how they will build their charging stations, and with what companies they’ll contract to do so. States have followed those plans to build more than 30 charging stations across the US, with hundreds more on the way.

Surveys show prospective car buyers cite the country’s lagging electric vehicle charging infrastructure as a major reason they won’t buy electric. The NEVI program, established by 2021’s Infrastructure Law, was the government’s answer to those concerns. It attempts to build chargers along thousands of miles of federal highway, with a focus on places that might not otherwise be able to financially support a charger.

The memo says transportation officials in President Donald Trump’s administration will write all new guidance for the program, which will then go through a public comment period. The timeline suggests work on the federally-funded electric vehicle charger network may be paused for months.

The order may be illegal. It could fly in face of court orders demanding the Trump administration “unfreeze” a funding pause that prevents federal money from flowing to state agencies. It may also violate the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires agencies to follow legal procedures before taking action.

“There is no legal basis for funds that have been apportioned to states to build projects being ‘decertified’ based on policy,” says Andrew Rogers, a former deputy administrator and chief counsel of the Federal Highway Administration.

The US DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s unclear how the DOT’s order will affect charging stations that are under construction. In the letter, FHWA officials write that “no new obligations may occur,” suggesting states may not sign new contracts with businesses even if those states have been allocated federal funding. The letter also says “reimbursement of existing obligations will be allowed” as the program goes through a review process, suggesting states may be allowed to pay back businesses that have already provided services.

Billions in federal funding have already been disbursed under the program. Money has gone to both red and blue states. Top funding recipients last year included Florida, New York, Texas, Georgia, and Ohio.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spent the last few weeks at the head of the federal so-called Department of Government Efficiency directing “audits” and cuts to federal spending. But his electric automobile company has been a recipient of $31 million in awards from the NEVI program, according to a database maintained by transportation officials, accounting for 6 percent of the money awarded so far.

The Trump administration has said that it plans to target electric vehicles and EV-related programs. An executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office purported to eliminate “the EV mandate,” though such a federal policy never existed.

NEVI projects have taken longer to get off the ground than other charging station construction because the federal government was deliberate in allocating funding to companies with track records, that could prove they could build or operate charging stations, says Ryan McKinnon, a spokesperson for Charge Ahead Partnership, a group of businesses and organizations that work in electric vehicle charging. If NEVI funding isn’t disbursed, “the businesses that have spent time or money investing in this program will be hurt,” he says.

[rabbitcruiser]

Beringer Vineyards, St. Helena (No. 2)

The estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The property includes 12 buildings, sites, or structures, 10 of which are contributing. Rhine House is the most prominent, built from 1883 to 1884 and designed by Albert Schroepfer. The house has elaborate interiors, and was used to entertain visitors of the property. The house was built on the site of the Hudson House (built c. 1848–52), which was moved nearby in order in 1883 to build the larger and grander Rhine House. It has features of the Queen Anne and Chateauesque architectural styles, with attributes from its architect's own German heritage.

The Beringer family sold the Beringer name and winery to Nestlé in 1971, which in 1996 subsequently sold the enterprise to a group led by Texas Pacific Group; the company went public the next year. From 2000 to 2011 the winery was owned by Foster's Group. As of 2011, it is owned by Treasury Wine Estates.

Source: Wikipedia

[dertaglichedan]

Multiple bombs found inside Tesla showroom in Texas as threats against Elon Musk continue

Multiple incendiary devices were found inside a Tesla showroom in Austin, Texas, on Monday morning as nationwide threats against CEO Elon Musk continue. 

Austin Police Department officers were called to the electric vehicle showroom just after 8am after an anonymous caller reported that there were bombs placed inside the building. 

Authorities rushed to the scene and located multiple 'suspicious devices' at the Tesla dealership. The Austin Police Department Bomb Squad were also called to help.

The incendiary devices - which are designed to cause large-scale, explosive violence - were taken into police custody without incident, the department said. 

It is unclear who planted the devices and when they did so. No arrests have been made. DailyMail.com contacted the Austin Police Department for more information.

Police are currently investigating the incident, which comes after a disturbing number of Telsas have been vandalized, burned, and targeted in attacks in recent weeks.

Trump, who bought his own Cybertruck earlier this month, declared the ongoing violence against Tesla as 'domestic terrorism' - however the warning has not deterred those attempting to cause havoc for Elon's company. 

It's believed that the electric cars have been targeted due to Musk's role in President Donald Trump's administration. 

[jenkinshomedesign]

Austin Luxury Homes | Jenkins Design Build

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[justinspoliticalcorner]

Judd Legum and Noel Sims at Popular Information:

On Tuesday morning, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced changes to how the company will handle content moderation across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Each aspect of Zuckerberg's announcement appeared designed to ingratiate the company with President-elect Donald Trump and his MAGA base.

For example, Zuckerberg said that Meta would "move its Trust and Safety and Content Moderation teams out of California and our U.S.-based content review is going to be based in Texas." According to Zuckerberg, "as we work to promote free expression, I think it will help us build trust to do this work in places where there is less concern about the bias of our teams." The only people who believe that people in California are inherently more biased than people in Texas are right-wing partisans. The reality is that there are millions of conservative people in California and millions of liberal people in Texas. And content moderators are only enforcing policies created by Zuckerberg and his executive team. But moving part of Meta to Texas allows Zuckerberg to follow the lead of Elon Musk, who has relocated the headquarters of Tesla and X to Texas.

The idea, advanced by Zuckerberg in his announcement, that Texas is a bastion of free speech is also a myth. Last month, for example, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) "threatened to pull funding from Texas Children’s Hospital" because a doctor in Houston posted a viral TikTok video advising patients that they do not have to answer questions about their citizenship status. After Abbott's threats, the video was taken down. In 2021, Texas enacted a law censoring how teachers can discuss race and gender in the classroom. Since 2017, Texas has had a law requiring most companies doing business with the state to sign a statement about their views on Israel. Zuckerberg's announcement on Tuesday followed a series of other moves calculated to curry favor with Trump. Meta has donated $1 million to Trump's second inauguration celebration. Zuckerberg promoted Joel Kaplan, a Republican operative and close associate of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as the Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer. (Kaplan appeared on Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning to promote Meta's content moderation changes.) And on Monday, Zuckerberg announced that Dana White, the CEO of UFC and close friend of Trump, would join Meta's board of directors.

[...]

Fact-checking Zuckerberg's claims about fact-checkers

Zuckerberg also announced that Meta will "get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting in the US." He justified this move by attacking the professional journalists that Meta has partnered with since 2016. Zuckerberg said that "fact-checkers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially in the U.S." Zuckerberg did not provide any examples or evidence to support his claim. Lead Stories, Facebook's most prolific fact-checking partner, said Tuesday that in "all the years we have been part of the partnership, we… never received any complaints from Meta about any political bias, so we were quite surprised by this statement." But Zuckerberg's new position is likely to please Trump, whose 2024 campaign "waged an aggressive campaign against fact-checking in recent months, pushing TV networks, journalism organizations and others to abandon the practice." Trump's pick to chair the FCC, Brendan Carr, sent a letter to Meta and other tech companies in November accusing them of participating in a "censorship cartel" by using fact-checkers.

Meta's fact-checking program was designed by the company, not journalists. It was intended to insulate the company from responsibility for misinformation that spread on the platform. As part of Meta's program, it partnered with and provided financial support to certain fact-checkers certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). Meta chose when and how to use these fact checks across its platforms.

Over the years, Meta took a number of steps that made its fact-checking program ineffective. For example, it banned all fact-checks of politicians. And, as Popular Information reported, Meta pressured the IFCN to certify low-quality right-wing websites, including the Daily Caller, as fact-checkers. The Daily Caller then used its position to downrank factually accurate articles that cast Trump in a negative light. Meta also used fact-checks produced by journalists to "inform their automated systems, sometimes leading to erroneous application of labels that fact-checkers were unfairly blamed for."

[...]

A green light for hate speech

Zuckerberg also announced that Meta would "get rid of a bunch of content restrictions on immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse." The previous restrictions on immigration and gender content on Meta platforms involved hate speech. The new rules permit users to “call for exclusion or use insulting language in the context of discussing political or religious topics, such as when discussing transgender rights, immigration, or homosexuality.” Specifically, it is now permissible to describe people as feces or filth based on their immigration status or gender identity. Meta also now allows “allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s recent moves to end fact-checking and allow hate speech on Meta platform is a sickening caving into the right’s war on content moderation standards in the name of “protecting free speech”.

See Also:

The New Republic: Which Party Benefits From Zuckerberg’s Move? The One That Lies a Lot.

[rjzimmerman]

How many of you get excited when you see a monarch butterfly? If you do, did you get excited as a kid, or is the excitement a function of their possibly pending extinction? If you do not, can you imagine a world without monarch butterflies?

Excerpt from this story from E&E News/Politico:

Judgment day approaches for the monarch butterfly.

Bound by a court settlement, the Fish and Wildlife Service is supposed to decide by early December whether the monarch warrants listing as threatened or endangered. Although the agency misses many Endangered Species Act deadlines, it appears determined to meet this one after several years of study.

“We wanted to make sure that we have all the best science available … and we wanted to make sure that we were able to gather all that information and make a quality decision,” said Nicole Alt, director of FWS’ Center for Pollinator Conservation.

With the migratory butterfly passing through dozens of states, a decision to list the species could be accompanied by the designation of an expansive critical habitat. Combined with other regulatory implications, this could make the long-delayed monarch listing call one of the most consequential actions in the history of the ESA. It also appears likely, some monarch experts say, given the bleak population trends that led FWS to conclude in 2020 that “monarch viability is declining and is projected to continue declining over the next 60 years.”

Despite the dire circumstances, a campaign to help the monarch butterfly has been advancing on multiple fronts but without a unified commander in chief. Rather, the monarch’s allies march under different flags that reflect a dispersed approach toward species conservation. Some study the insect, some set aside habitat and some tinker with new tools, all without reference to a species recovery plan that an ESA listing would mandate.

Consider:

From an urban office building, a program administered by the University of Illinois, Chicago’s Energy Resources Center has recruited energy companies, state departments of transportation and counties into conserving hundreds of thousands of acres as butterfly habitat on rights of way, such as the medians between roads.

On sprawling Fort Cavazos — formerly Fort Hood — in Texas, biologists prowl the grounds in search of adult monarchs as well as eggs and larva. Since 2017, they estimate they have collected information from more than 10,000 tagged adult monarchs and forwarded this data to another team of collaborators with the Monarch Watch program based at the University of Kansas.

From her Denver office, Alt oversees four geographically scattered FWS staffers and collaborates with others in and out of government. With yet another allied group called Monarch Joint Venture, for instance, the Center for Pollinator Conservation is supporting studies of drones and artificial intelligence in measuring milkweed distribution on wildlife refuges.

And, scattered as they are, the various monarch teams, researchers and advocates periodically gather for a meeting of the minds, as they did in the summer of 2022 for a first-of-its-kind Capitol Hill butterfly summit where Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced establishment of Alt’s pollinator center.

“It’s really been exciting to see the level of interest from lots of different sectors,” Alt said, adding that “different people want to work in different ways and in different spaces … and in the vast majority of situations they are all advocating for the same thing.”

Some conservation groups, however, want to see a more urgent focus on the problem, saying Congress needs to dramatically increase funding to help the monarchs truly recover. In letters sent last week to House and Senate appropriators, the Center for Biological Diversity and other environmental groups called on lawmakers to provide $100 million annually to restore 1 million acres of pollinator habitat in this country each year and another $30 million to preserve forests in Mexico where some of the butterflies spend their winters.

The groups noted how people over generations have heralded the black-and-orange butterfly’s “spectacular beauty and epic, life-affirming migrations.”

“Dedicating $100 million a year to monarch conservation gives these beloved butterflies a fighting chance at survival,” one letter said.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

Environmentalists were outraged on Wednesday after the Trump administration moved to fast-track fossil fuel projects through the permitting process, with activists describing it as an attempt to sidestep environmental laws that could harm waterways and wetlands.

In recent days, the US Army Corps of Engineers created a new designation of “emergency” permits for infrastructure projects, citing a day one executive order signed by Donald Trump which claims the US is facing an “energy emergency” and must “unleash” already booming energy production.

"Agencies are directed to use, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law, the emergency Army Corps permitting provisions to facilitate the nation’s energy supply,” the order said.

The move from the Army Corps could allow officials to rubber-stamp 688 pending applications for permits – including more than 100 for pipeline projects and gas-fired power plants – which are necessary for any entity aiming to build infrastructure in navigable US waters or wetlands, or discharge pollutants into them. Environmental reviews could be circumvented, and public comment periods could be skipped over.

“The Trump’s administration’s push for an emergency review of wetland destruction permits is a blatant attempt to sidestep environmental laws and fast-track fossil fuel projects at the expense of our wetland and our communities,” Matt Rota, senior policy director for the Louisiana-based environmental group Healthy Gulf, said on a Wednesday press call. “This emergency proposal will increase climate change, destroy wetlands and leave people even more vulnerable in its wake.”

Despite Trump’s claims that the nation is facing an “energy emergency” – part of a campaign promise to boost planet-heating fossil fuel production – the US is currently extracting more oil and gas than any other country in world history, and levels are still increasing.

“The Trump administration appears to be gearing up to use false claims of an ‘energy emergency’ to fast-track and rubber-stamp federal approvals for projects across the country that will be destructive to America’s wetlands, waterways and communities,” said David Bookbinder, law and policy director at the green non-profit Environmental Integrity Project.

The Army Corps permitting process is meant to examine opportunities to minimize threats infrastructure projects pose to wetlands. Fast-tracking permits through that process could have disastrous impacts for the climate, activists say. Fossil fuels are responsible for the vast majority of global heating, and the wetlands being threatened also play a critical role as an absorber of greenhouse gases.

Because they can slow down waves and absorb rain, wetlands can also protect communities from storms, Rota said.

“These wetlands are vital to the survival of coastal Louisiana, as each acre of wetland can absorb a million gallons of water and act as a buffer between communities and the storm surge caused by hurricanes that continue to increase in intensity due to climate change,” he said.

Among the projects that now receiving priority treatment from the Army Corps are oil and gas pipelines set to be built in the wetlands of Louisiana and Texas. Others are related to the controversial Enbridge Line 5 pipeline which crosses Wisconsin and Michigan, and for which developers want to construct a tunnel to bury the pipeline below two of the Great Lakes.

"If approved, this project will risk our fresh water and the millions of people who rely on it for drinking, jobs and tourism in exchange for a foreign oil company’s profits,” said Sean McBrearty, Michigan director of the environmental non-profit Clean Water Action, about the Line 5 proposal on Wednesday’s call.

And though the Army Corps cites Trump’s “energy emergency” order as the impetus for the move, not all of the projects on the “emergency” list relate to energy. One is a gold mine proposed in an Idaho national forest, and another is a plan proposed by the energy giant Chevron to build a housing subdivision on a former oil field.

“We don’t understand why a housing development qualifies either as an energy project, or certainly why it would qualify as an emergency,” said Bookbinder.

The move will likely be subject to court challenges. The Army Corps is permitted to curtail the National Environmental Policy Act – which requires federal agencies to analyze the environmental effects of major projects – in true emergency situations wherein officials have identified an “unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship”.

[matoroblogs]

STORY LURES KIDS TO NEW LEGO LINE\ THE TOYMAKER HOPES AN UNFOLDING STORY WILL LURE BOYS TO BIONICLE TOYS.

BY KRISSAH WILLIAMS The Washington Post Oct 28, 2001

Late last year, five Danish toy designers began to weave a tale of good and evil, creating the kind of heroes and bad guys that American boys love. They used the standard formula: exotic names, special powers, an unknown land.

They added easy-to-build action figures, trading cards, T-shirts, comic books and a soundtrack, as well as Internet, computer and video games. All to tell the story of Lego's Bionicle, which they hope will be the next cool toy line. Their plan is to create a popular story that reveals itself slowly, adding characters to keep the kids coming back for more, with toys cheap enough that parents keep buying.Bionicles also are the featured boys' toys in McDonalds Happy Meals through Sept. 27.

The toymaker is spending $15 million to get the word out about Bionicle, making it the biggest U.S. toy launch ever for the determinedly traditional 67-year-old company known for its classic plastic bricks.

Like much of the toy industry, Lego is financially ailing as more American boys ignore traditional toys in favor of video and computer games and television. Lego, the third-largest toy company in the United States behind Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc., lost money in 1998 and again last year, its only losses in decades. The company has watched revenue stall at about $1 billion.

To attract the been-there, done-that generation of American boys, Lego's designers and marketers are trying their darnedest to be cool, even aloof, almost teasing kids to get their attention.

In December, the first bit of information about Bionicle (from ``biological' and ``chronicle') was revealed on the company's Web site: ``Once a paradise, Mata Nui has become a place of darkness and fear, ruled by the deadly Makuta. Now six mighty heroes, the Toa, have come to gather the masks of power and challenge the Makuta. Explore the island ... learn the legends ... and begin to solve the mystery of Bionicle.'

It stopped there. But Lego's marketers hoped youngsters would be salivating for more.

About once a month, new chapters are added to the Web site, along with information about characters and the special masks. This summer, Lego mailed 1 million free comic books to Lego club members, giving details not available on the Web site.

In May and June, the Toa (hero) and Turaga (villager) building toys were released in the United States. The futuristic-looking figures stand about 7 inches tall and are assembled from plastic pieces that snap together Lego-style. The figures cost $2.99 to $6.99, although more-complex remote-control-operated figures will be priced as high as $69.99.

Now, information has been revealed about the bad guys, called Rahi, and other twists and turns are promised.

The Bionicle launch is based on the viral marketing strategy, which is the rage among manufacturers hoping to appeal to fad-prone American children and teens. Viral marketing works to create a buzz one customer at a time rather than relying on mass advertisements such as television commercials.

Lego's idea: Interest one kid in the Bionicle story, and that child will tell another and another. To find those kids, Lego sent out six sport-utility vehicles, each painted with one of the superheroes.

``In early June, 50 kids came up to the truck; just a few knew about Bionicle,' Gillespie said. ``Now, they are pulling up to places and kids are jumping in to tell the other kids about it.'

Seven-year-old Lucas McCoy, who has dropped Pokemon cards in favor of Bionicle, rambles on whimsically about the story line, the music and Mata Nui-Lego's online game, where players see from the perspective of Toa (the heroes) and try to save the island.

Taking a break from play with his Toa figures, Lucas, who lives in Bedford, Texas, talks nonstop for 20 minutes, pausing only to breathe. ``It was the time before time, when the world was new. There was this bad spirit that sent a spell on Mata Nui to sleep ... and I think their most greatest fear is sleep. It made these infected masks, and Makuta is the stone - well, I think Makuta is like a dinosaur.'

The characters' weapons (tools, in Lego's lingo), which include a pitchfork and a spear, don't seem to bother the parents.

Lucas's mom, Maria McCoy, said she and her husband play with their son and can ``see his little mind working.' His focus is on building, not violence, she said. ``It brings out his imaginative self.'

On the other hand, the Bionicle tie-in with a broad range of products can increase the pester pressure from kids, parents say. For instance, to see the paradise island before the darkness descended upon it, kids need the Nintendo Game Boy's Bionicle game, which sells for $39.99. To access screen savers and pictures on the Bionicle Web site, kids need to buy the Bionicle characters and access the codes on the toy canisters.

McCoy said she has kept a lid on Lucas's desire to buy all the products by insisting he use his allowance. ``He gets an allowance, and he can buy what he wants with it. I tell him, 'If you save your money, you can get the more pricey things,' ' McCoy said.

Traffic on Web sites and at toys stores indicates boys, teenage guys and longtime Lego fans are the biggest buyers of Bionicle. Lego officials say sales have surpassed their expectations, but they decline to release figures.

The toy's official Web site had almost 2 million hits in July. Bionicle fans also have responded to the company's create-your-own-site contest. Yahoo lists thousands of sites mentioning the toy line.

But Lego's leap away from its classic plastic brick sets hasn't won everybody over.

Spencer Tibbs, 12, of Warrenton, Va., said he can be more creative with older Lego sets, which he uses to build his own creations, such as a replica of his mom's office. He doesn't like sets that require directions.

``I should be more into that stuff (Bionicle), but I like the older stuff,' he said.

For Lego, the big question is: Are more American boys like Lucas McCoy or Spencer Tibbs?