#give me my religious insanity in space. literally my favourite thing in the world

[thefirstknife]

*hears Witness refer to themselves as the First Knife*

*eyes Bel*

*slowly backs away*

Welcome to my twisted mind.

Jokes aside, I also saw that ofc! It was also called that in the campaign by the dissenters:

I really enjoy that this got confirmed (either way!). There's been so much speculation on it. I've personally been on and off on the theory that the Witness is the first knife or just a manifestation of it or maybe that the first knife is just a concept, and if the Witness is trying to embody it or not. And so on. It's been really cool speculating and theorycrafting!

But now we know! Well... sort of, still. The Witness certainly believes itself to be the first knife, but is it truly? What does that mean? Does it even matter?

There's a ship you can get for finishing one of the sidequests: The First Knife. It has really cool lore of Mara and Ikora discussing the first knife and its meaning. I'll shorten the lore tab to just their dialogue so it's easier to copy and have at hand:

Mara: "When I first encountered the Witness, I heard it proclaim to me, 'We are the first knife.' It was as if that title held power. Meaning." Ikora: "The apocryphal texts we dug up on the moon, the ones Eris translated, mentioned the knife as a concept." Mara: "And even if we consider that unveiled text as dogmatic propaganda, there may be truth behind the allegory. The knife becomes the metaphor of a concept. A power. A knife that winnows, cutting things into a defined shape." Ikora: "A power that winnowed living beings into Taken. A power Oryx wielded." Mara: "You're wondering if the knife is a title, or a power. Did Oryx wield the power of the Witness like a knife?" Ikora: "The Witness is a manipulator. It distorts the truth to bend the wills of its supplicants. The allegorical fantasy told to us by the Witness paints itself as a monolithic cosmic force. But perhaps that's a shadow cast by the truth." Mara: "A knife is a tool, wielded by another's hand." Ikora: "If the Witness is the knife, as it asserts, then what wields it?" Mara: "The Witness is not a being. It is the culmination of a bleak ethos willed into existence by the nihilistic desires of its creators. Is their will the hand on the knife? Or is there something else?" Ikora: "I don't know."

This about summarises my thoughts on it, the ones I've always had. I'm not sure if there's any other information, maybe in the raid or the raid's lore book, but for now I'll focus on just this.

Mara says what I've always also agreed with: Unveiling is an allegory, but it has shreds of truth. The problem is that we don't know which parts are truth. We could speculate on that to no end. Ikora agrees as well and also asserts what I believe is the confirmation that the Witness wrote it, by calling it the "allegorical fantasy told to us by the Witness." Or at least this is what the characters believe to be true; Ikora also notes how even that could be a part of that truth among the allegories.

They consider it as a possible power, but they also consider it through the concept of it being a knife: a knife is wielded. Is the Witness being wielded by something else? Is it a knife because the species that made the Witness is the hand? Or is there something different? The conclusion is that neither of them know.

The problem, I think, we'll always have here in regards to the Winnower and anything above the Witness is that it will be hard to tell unless this hypothetical other being actually appears. The Witness may believe that it is the knife of the Winnower, but that could just be its interpretation of its own purpose. Essentially, the Witness may hold a religious belief about its place in the universe that simply isn't true, or believe in a being that isn't real. Just because the Witness says "We are the first knife [of the Winnower (?)]," doesn't mean that is the actual truth. It could be! But we simply don't know, and we won't know, until the Winnower appears (if it ever does; even if it is real, it may still not ever appear in person, in lore or the game).

Even if there's any other information, unless that information is from a reputable source (something that isn't the Witness itself or the Witness-aligned factions telling us a story), it will be hard to tell what's the truth. I really like that! I also really like that the first knife is still discussed also as a concept, not just something that the Witness believes it is. At the end of the day, this title represents something and it's the concept of winnowing, cutting things off.

But I do also like that "the first knife" has been addressed and explained. The Witness believes it is the first knife, and depending on more unfathomable cosmic forces, it may or may not really be that thing as something tangible and powerful, or even just as a title. Does the title matter? It does only because it matters to the Witness. At least for now. Until something actually shows up and presents itself as the wielder of the first knife, we will not know for certain.

Currently waiting to see when I can get the raid clear and the raid lore book, maybe for more information!

[serendipityswift]

first impressions of lover

ok i’m going to write down my first impressions to each of the songs; mostly for my own good and to get some of these feelings out 

i forgot that you existed: bop! girl is over everything that’s happened to her. it truly feels like her moving on from reputation. she’s still singing about what she sang about in rep, but it just feels lighter? she’s no longer hurting, she truly can’t give a shit about people who fucked her over anymore. 

fav lyric: in my feelings more than drake, so yeah 

cruel summer: single material if i’ve ever heard one! i swear to god if this is another getaway car situation omg... i fucking love this song so fucking much. like, it doesn’t sound sad, but once you hear the lyrics, damn it hurts. she still thinks she’s bad news, like her loving someone will only hurt that person... yeah, ouch. i think sometimes we forget how hard it must’ve been for her to get together with joe, to allow herself to open up again, but this song really shows it. definitely teared up knowing, even just half, of the situation she was in. 

fav lyric: i don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you / devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes 

lover: one of my immediate favs on the album. for obvious reasons. my first impression was literally just sobbing lmfao, and being happier for her than i’ve ever really been for myself. 

fav lyric: with every guitar string scar on my hand i take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover 

the man: this was one of the song i was most excited for! and she absolutely did not disappoint. like, honestly, looking at her career and the way the media and people perceive her... just imagine if she was a man. look at how fucking successful she is, and the hate she gets, just imagine if she was a man? and it’s things every woman fears, it’s thoughts we all have. the lyrics are so smart and powerful and so, incredibly, true - even if society refuses to admit it. it’s like blank space, but even more mature and just so, insanely smart. also, her use of ‘bitch’ in this song? absolute genius. 

fav lyric: i’m so sick of running as fast as i can, wondering if i’d get there quicker if i was a man / if i was flashing out my dollars, i’d be a bitch not a baller 

the archer: immediately one of my favourite songs she’s ever put out, and still one of my favourites on this album. i’ve never related to a song so much before tbh, like, it may not seem like her saddest song ever, but when it describes everything you’ve been feeling for the last 4 years... it hurts more than any breakup song. the buildup and structure of this song is incredible, and i can’t stress how important it is to me enough. i want to cry every single time i listen to this song sigh, but i’m so grateful to finally have it into words. 

fav lyric: who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay? / all my heroes die all alone, help me hold onto you / they see right through me, can you see right through me? / all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put me together again / all of my enemies started out friends / cruelty wins in the movies, i’ve got a hundred thrown out speeches i almost said to you 

i think he knows: what a fucking bop omg. the sexual innuendos? yes. combined with the innocence? incredible. a little tongue and cheek, makes me smile and bop along to it. the lust and attraction and just all the cute feelings towards someone that we all know. 

fav lyric: lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh, we can follow the sparks, i’ll drive

miss americana and the heartbreak prince: ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS ON THE ALBUM, ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS OF ALL TIME. i sobbed my eyes out listening to it, sobbing listening to it again. it describes the fear we all felt in 2016, even someone living hours and hours and hours away in nz. the fear we felt for the world and those around us, the anger and fear we still feel every single day. it’s the pain we don’t know how to vocalise, scared we’ll say something wrong and literally get hurt. she’s so brave, this song is so brave. this song is metaphorically, lyrically and sonically incredible. it’s just insane. 

fav lyric: the whole school is rolling fake dice, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes / i’m feeling helpless, the damsels are depressed. boys will be boys then, where are the wise men?  

paper rings: what. a. fucking. bop. i can’t stop smiling and singing along even though idk the lyrics yet. also, all the references to old songs? and lowkey get fearless vibes but idk if i’m just too tired from it being almost 1am. i adore every single thing about this song. it’s realising you feel more for someone than you thought you did, then realising they’re the person you want to be with for the rest of your life. it’s literally everything. also, the stalking on the internet line? as relatable as any deepcut lyric she’s ever written. 

fav lyric: i like shiny things, but i’ll marry you with paper rings / i’m with you even if it makes me blue

cornelia street: i already knew this was coming, but this is 500% one of my favourite fucking songs of all time. sobbed my eyes out. still crying listening to this again for the second time. the references to other songs, the story of us? god. it describes everything you fucking feel when you just feel so damn much for a person. loving someone so much that a city becomes them, the city that she first arrived in single and represented her freedom. it now is him. when you love someone so fucking much that you know if, just if, they leave you; you’ll be broken forever. and it isn’t like every other time, it’s harder and they hold more of you than you ever thought someone could. it’s running because you’re so scared they’ll leave and you’ll lose everything, then coming back because you trust them enough to think that they’ll stay. but you’re still so fucking scared because they truly have all of you. 

fav lyric: i hope i never lose you, hope it never ends, i’d never work cornelia street again / sacred new beginnings that became my religion, listen 

death by a thousand cuts: i was mesmerised by this song. it’s a ‘happy’ sounding sad song. which i love. the juxtaposition of it all. also the entire second verse is literally one of my favourite things i’ve ever heard so tbh that entire verse is my favourite lyric. also, i kind of want someone to sing this as a sad ballad and see what it’s like ahahha 

fav lyric: my heart, my hips, my body, my love, trying to find a part of me that you didn't touch / our country, guess it was a lawless land / why are my fears at the touch of your hands? / paper cut stains from my paper-thin plans / my time, my wine, my spirit, my trust, trying to find a part of me you didn't take up / gave you so much, but it wasn't enough / i'll be alright, it's just a thousand cuts

london boy: ALL THE LONDON AND ENGLISH REFERENCES I CAN’T. as someone that lives in nz, the language she uses is so fucking funny and cute i can’t. also i keep thinking how ed taught her some of these things ahahha. and the nod to p!atd with “don’t threaten me with a good time” is so amazing. her reference to rugby? i’m taking all this luck by taylor and sending it to the all blacks thanks 

fav lyric: doesn't have to be louis v up on bond street just wanna be with you

soon you’ll get better: i already knew what this song was going to be about, but that didn’t stop my heart from literally shattering into a million pieces. andrea is so important to each of us, i cherish the day i met her and held her hand like no other, just imagine what she means to taylor. she was there when taylor had no one, when she felt so alone. andrea is so special, and it is just so fucking unfair that she needs to go through this. i hope, pray, anything that andrea can get better soon, make a full recovery. and i hope her entire family is okay. they’re all so loved, so incredibly loved. but, cancer, i just wish i knew how to beat it and can take all this pain away. i can’t even listen to it a second time right now because i’m too much of a wreck. that’s how much it hurts. i love taylor for sharing this with us. i love that taylor loves us enough to share this with us. 

fav lyric: but who am i supposed to talk to? what am i supposed to do if there is no you? / i’ll paint the kitchen neon, i’ll brighten up the sky, i know i’ll never get it, there’s not a day i don’t try 

false god: this is one of my favourite songs. it’s so perfectly simple. it’s exactly what this album needs. the religious references throughout this album is incredible, and the idea that their love itself is a greater force is so beautiful and incredible. it’s knowing that even though their love isn’t perfect, it’s what they choose. 

fav lyric: and i can't talk to you when you're like this, staring out the window like i’m not your favorite town. i'm new york city. i'd still do it for you, babe / and you can't talk to me when I'm like this, daring you to leave me just so i can try and scare you. you’re the west village. you still do it for me, babe 

you need to calm down: this beat cannot get unstuck from my head once it’s in there. and the music video is one of my favourites of all time, the amount of gay power? legendary. it’s not just about the lgbtq+ community though, it’s about everyone and acceptance and not caring about the shitty views around us, because they’re wrong and they don’t matter. it’s so wonderfully patronising to the ignorant people in the world and i love it. 

fav lyric: you would rather be in the dark ages making that sign, must’ve taken all night 

afterglow: i love this song, and i love how this is at the latter part of the album. it’s fighting knowing they’re the one for you, after knowing they’re your lover and paper rings. it’s taking responsibility for when you fuck up because you can’t stop your mind from spiralling. you can hear the anxiety in the lyrics and the pain knowing you’re hurting someone you love, but you can also hear the surety in the song that they’ll be okay, and that’s so fucking beautiful. 

fav lyric: why’d i have to break what i love so much?

ME!: taylor + panic i’m- they’re two of my favourite artists. this song by itself isn’t my favourite, but in the album, it suddenly all makes sense. this song is actually so catchy and uplifting and makes me smile. and it’s so weird listening to it without the “hey kids! spelling is fun!” ahhaha 

fav lyric: babydoll when it comes to a lover, i promise that you’ll never find another like me 

it’s nice to have a friend: this is so fucking cute i can’t even. i live for the simplicity of this. it’s just everything to me. the instrumental in the middle, the church bell sounds in the back, everything has changed mv vibes. mary’s song vibes. it’s so incredibly unique and special i love it. 

fav lyric: light pink sky up on the roof, sun sinks down, no curfew. 20 questions, we tell the truth

daylight: i’m so fucking proud of her. another song i sobbed my way through. she managed to write 3 years of experiences into less than 5 minutes. the references to red? she knew exactly how that will cut us, and how she once had this idealised, dramatic version of love. when she finally found the real deal, she realised it’s just golden. it’s light and different to anything she could’ve ever even imagined. it reminds me that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, even if i can’t always believe it. even though the darkness felt like 20 years for her, now she only sees daylight. not because things are perfect, but things are better. i can’t imagine a more perfect way for the album to end. 

fav lyric: i’ll tell you the truth but never goodbye / you are what you love / i once believed love would be burning red but it’s golden 

i can’t say whether lover is my favourite album yet, but it’s a special album that’s for sure. every song belongs there, and it tells a story unlike any she’s told before. there’s every spectrum of love on here, and everything just feels so real and personal; because she’s finally found the love she’s been writing about her whole life.  

[commodorecliche]

Gimme all the book recs Please :D

yaaaaaaaaaaaas okay great. i love sharing books i love.  

1. The Thief of Always - Clive BarkerGenre: Dark FantasyBig personal favorite of mine. My father read this to me when I was a kid, and it literally has stuck with me since then. Every now and then I go back and reread it just for fun. It’s a wonderfully spooky little story, accompanied by some really lovely and somewhat off-kilter illustrations. Much like Coraline, it’s a novel that is a fable for children, and a tale of terror for adults.

After a mysterious stranger promises to end his boredom with a trip to the magical Holiday House, ten-year-old Harvey learns that his fun has a high price.

2. House of Leaves - Mark Z. DanielewskiGenre: Postmodernism, horrorHands down an absolute favorite. This is a book I literally recommend to everyone. This is a book that made me viscerally uncomfortable, at times I didn’t even sleep in the same room as it. I made it sleep in the living room. There is nothing overtly terrifying about the book, but its format and its unsettlingly immersive nature will lead you down a road unlike any other. 

In 1997, Johnny Truant has stumbled upon a chest full of scrap papers that had once belonged to a man named Zampono. The papers aren’t just scraps though, they’re a chaotic but detailed transcription of a series called the Navidson Record. The Navidson Record is a series of videos made by a family who has discovered that their new house appears to change dimensions almost daily, it has hallways that shouldn’t exist, doors that should lead outside but instead lead into nothingness. Johnny attempts to re-order and reconstruct Zampono’s papers, and along the way begins to lose himself as well. 

3. The Postmortal - Drew MagaryGenre: Science Fiction, Postmodern DystopiaReally funny, really dark, and full of a surprising amount of morality and humanity in a pre-apocalyptic world. 

Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors.    

4. Horrorstor - Grady HendrixGenre: Comedy, HorrorHonestly this book is just balls to the wall fun. It’s a horror novel that’s laid out like the world’s most messed up IKEA catalog. Spooky at times, ridiculous and funny, at times moving, while also offering great social commentary on consumerism and the the current status of retail workers. 

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking. To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination. 

5. Rant - Chuck PalahniukGenre: Science Fiction, Horror, SatireThis is a book I read several years ago and that I still think about from time to time. I haven’t had time to sit down and reread it, but parts of it still resonate with me today. This is a very peculiar story and it is told in a rather peculiar fashion (it is an oral history, and as such is told in a very conversational way by a number of different characters with a wide variety of thoughts and opinions on the titular Rant. It’s hard to properly describe this book, but let’s just say it’s been in my reread list for a while now. 

Buster “Rant” Casey just may be the most efficient serial killer of our time. A high school rebel, Rant Casey escapes from his small town home for the big city where he becomes the leader of an urban demolition derby called Party Crashing. Rant Casey will die a spectacular highway death, after which his friends gather the testimony needed to build an oral history of his short, violent life. 

6. John Dies at the End - David WongGenre: Comedy, Horror, Dark FantasyHoly god what do I even say about this book? It is just hilariously and marvelously insane. A perfect mix of cosmic fantasy, horror, comedy, and lunacy, and I loved every minute of reading it. I still have the rest of the series lined up to read, too!

The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I’m sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault. 

7. Sphere - Michael CrichtonGenre: Science Fiction, Deep Sea HorrorThis is one I actually JUST finished, and I absolutely adored it. I had a couple small complaints about it, but overall, it was a wonderful read and very engrossing. Plus, I’m always a sucker for deep sea horror. 

A group of American scientists are rushed to a huge vessel that has been discovered resting on the ocean floor in the middle of the South Pacific. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship of phenomenal dimensions, apparently, undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old…. 

8. I, Lucifer - Glen DuncanGenre: Religious Fantasy, Occult FictionThis book is incredibly well researched, thought out, and characterized, as well as funny and extremely thought-provoking. I’d never expected to see a story that would give me a realistic and modern look into the Devil’s side of the story. I especially never expected to see a story that would make the Devil learn what it is to be human, either. All in all just an A+, fantastical read. 

The Prince of Darkness has been given one last shot at redemption, provided he can live out a reasonably blameless life on earth. Highly sceptical, naturally, the Old Dealmaker negotiates a trial period - a summer holiday in a human body, with all the delights of the flesh. The body, however, turns out to be that of Declan Gunn, a depressed writer living in Clerkenwell, interrupted in his bath mid-suicide. Ever the opportunist, and with his main scheme bubbling in the background, Luce takes the chance to tap out a few thoughts - to straighten the biblical record, to celebrate his favourite achievements, to let us know just what it’s like being him. Neither living nor explaining turns out to be as easy as it looks. Beset by distractions, miscalculations and all the natural shocks that flesh is heir to, the Father of Lies slowly begins to learn what it’s like being us. 

9. The Wasp Factory - Iain BanksGenre: Psychological HorrorLook, I want to say this right off the bat. This book is… not for everyone. Trust me when I say this is an extremely dark book with a lot of dark content. I would say that if you have any potential triggers, you may want to message me first and I will give you a better rundown of what all this book entails. This is a true piece of horror fiction. But it’s also incredible. I ate this book up in about two days and it is one of my favorite pieces of dark fiction to date. So yeah, chat with me if you have any concerns, but if you enjoy truly dark fiction, then this is up your alley. 

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I’d disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. That’s my score to date. Three. I haven’t killed anybody for years, and don’t intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through. 

10. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (the whole series, trust me)Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction, Cosmic FantasyJust trust me when I say this is a series that literally everyone should read at least once in their life. They are unflabbably hilarious in a way that only Douglas Adams could be, and they are just truly unique. This series is (rightfully) a classic and shouldn’t be missed. 

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker’s Guide (“A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have”).

11. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks Genre: Zombie horror, Faux HistoryI beg you - do not judge this book by the very terrible movie that was made about it. It is an entirely different animal than that mess of a movie, I promise. World War Z is a masterfully crafted book that details the zombie apocalypse in ways never before done in fiction. The Battle of Yonkers scenes and the testimony of Tomonaga Ijiro still stick in my head to this day. This book is a triumph of horror, ‘history’, and humanity, all balled into a distinctly unique experience. 

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years. 

12. The Raw Shark Texts - Steven HallGenre: Fantasy/Realism, Meta-fiction, MysteryThis is a tough one to put into words. I read this many years ago, and I remember it more as a series of emotional experiences rather than just as a singular plot. Which I think really speaks to its character as a book. This is a book that deals with dissociation, memory loss, our sense of self, how easily we can lose that sense, and our struggle to hold onto or to rediscover the world we know and the people we believe ourselves to be. This book is just… an experience, much like House of Leaves. It’s immersive, and at times quite unsettling. 

Eric Sanderson wakes up in a house he doesn’t recognize, unable to remember anything of his life. All he has left are his diary entries recalling Clio, a perfect love who died under mysterious circumstances, and a house that may contain the secrets to Eric’s prior life. But there may be more to this story, or it may be a different story altogether. With the help of allies found on the fringes of society, Eric embarks on an edge-of-your-seat journey to uncover the truth about himself and to escape the predatory forces that threaten to consume him. 

I think 12 should be good for now! I certainly have more though, if you want them!! 

Bonus, Currently Reading: The Library at Mount Char - Scott HawkinsGenre: Contemporary Fantasy, Horror, Dark FantasyI don’t have a whole lot to say about this yet since I’m not very far into it, but so far it’s been extremely intriguing, and Hawkins’ writing is truly beautiful. 

A missing God. A library with the secrets to the universe. A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away. Carolyn’s not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts. After all, she was a normal American herself once. That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father. 

Bonus 2, Up Next to Read: Dark Matter: A Ghost Story - Michelle PaverGenre: Horror

January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely, and desperate to change his life, so when he’s offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year, Gruhuken, but the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice: stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return–when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark… 

(also if any of y’all have read these, i’d love to hear YOUR thoughts on them too)

[samraclaus]

Do em all boredom sucks

Thank u lets get personal: send me a number 
1: 6 of the songs you listen to most? - Bloom by the paper kites, somebody else by the 1975, beautiful sea from sing street, amnesia by 5sos, tarot by alt-j, and coming up roses from begin again 
2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? - either lily Collins, calum hood or Ezra Miller
3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17. - “…men have integrated feminist values into their lives, whether or not they use the label, and this is also an important barometer of the impact of feminism."
4: What do you think about most? - certain people in my life or sometimes death tbh 
5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?- "me too omg” from Nichole 
6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on? - with 
7: What’s your strangest talent? - I can imitate people and characters really well but they’re always weird voices 
8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence) - girls are beautiful. Boys are confusing but also beautiful. 
9: Ever had a poem or song written about you? - no :/
10: When is the last time you played the air guitar? - literally like an hour ago I do it so often lmao 
11: Do you have any strange phobias? - uhhhh I’m afraid of everything 
12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose? - the only thing that’s been in my nose is a really long qtip at the doctor and never again no thanks that’s scary 
13: What’s your religion? - Islam (not religious tho)
14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? - probably taking a walk or going to the park 
15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? - behind but good candids are the best 
16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band? - either sir sly 
17: What was the last lie you told? - that I was okay and not to worry lmao 
18: Do you believe in karma? - kinda yeah 
19: What does your URL mean? - my name is samra but it gets autocorrected to Santa so it became a meme in my friend group 
20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength? - weakness: I guess my anxiety. Strength: staying positive outwardly 
21: Who is your celebrity crush? - Ezra Miller and calum hood 💕😭
22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping? - no
23: How do you vent your anger? - I either punch things or just yell at everyone 
24: Do you have a collection of anything? - a small collection of mugs!
25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? - hmm both are kinda stressful but I’d probably like video chatting more 
26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become? - not at all 
27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love? - I hate the sound of people chewing. I love the sound of hairdryers and vacuums. They make me sleepy 
28: What’s your biggest “what if”? - what if I died? Or. What if I actually told people how I feel?
29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? - yes to both!!! - 
30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm. - right arm: basket. Left: pillow
31: Smell the air. What do you smell? - nothing really tbh 
32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to? - louder than life 
33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast? - east!
34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender? - Calum lmao 
35: To you, what is the meaning of life? - making the most of the time you have even if you mess up along the way. But for a depressing version: you live and then you die. That’s it
36: Define Art. - anything that you make that represents something and you think is beautiful 
37: Do you believe in luck? - kinda
38: What’s the weather like right now? - warm 
39: What time is it? - 11:39 pm
40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? - not yet 
41: What was the last book you read? - cellist of Sarajevo 
42: Do you like the smell of gasoline? - love it
43: Do you have any nicknames? - my dad calls me samronis and some people call me sam 
44: What was the last film you saw? - uhhhh I think holes (what a night lmao) 
45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? - I broke my arm on my scooter 
46: Have you ever caught a butterfly? - no, I used to think they were kinda scary. I don’t now but still no 
47: Do you have any obsessions right now? - flowers probably 
48: What’s your sexual orientation? - bisexual 
49: Ever had a rumour spread about you? - I think once in middle school, it was really dumb, someone just said that I said something mean about my friend 
50: Do you believe in magic? - not really 
51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? - sometimes, but I usually just let it go cause I feel bad lol 
52: What is your astrological sign? - taurus 
53: Do you save money or spend it? - usually spend :/ 
54: What’s the last thing you purchased?- sour patch kids 
55: Love or lust? - either but love is better 
56: In a relationship? - not right now 
57: How many relationships have you had? - only a couple 
58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue? - no :/
59: Where were you yesterday? - moving back and forth from my old house to my new house
60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? - literally my entire room lmao 
61: Are you wearing socks right now? - always 
62: What’s your favourite animal? - guineas 🐹
63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you? - I actually don’t have one, I just live my life 
64: Where is your best friend? - I have no idea tbh but probably at home 
65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr. - imsograntired (my sister), blushedaesthetic (erin), granterin (other erin), and basically all of my friends tbh 
66: What is your heritage? - Turkish??
67: What were you doing last night at 12AM? - taking a shower and texting sam 
68: What do you think is Satan’s last name? - trump 
69: Biggest turn ons? - personality: humor, sarcasm, if you're a good person, cocky but not too much ya know. Physically: tall, nice hands(hands are so important wow 👀)
70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend? - eh I guess, I try my best to be a good friend 
71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do? - SAVE THE DOG WTF ILL LIVE ON THE STREETS WITH HIM 
72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? - id probably tell people but make sure they don’t freak out too much and have them so funny things with me b) What do you do with your remaining days? Id do things with my family and friends all day every day and travel a bit if I can. Id tell people what I’ve always wanted to tell them without being scared. c) Would you be afraid? - I’m afraid of what happens after death, if it’s simply nothing, that’s what scares me. It’s impossible for someone to think of what it’s like to be absolutely nothing. I won’t even know I’m nothing because I’ll just be gone. But a big fear is how upset my family would be. I would hate to hurt them like that 
73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love. - love 
74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it? - a beautiful sea from sing street 
75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number? - 9203
76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship? - trust, compatibility, not taking everything seriously 
77: How can I win your heart? - be there for me, give me space if I ask for it, talk to me all the time tbh and watch movies with me 
78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?- probably 
79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? - i haven’t made many good ones so I honestly can’t think of any rn 
80: What size shoes do you wear? - 8-9
81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone? - “life is hard when you’re an idiot"
82: What is your favourite word? - UGH I LITERALLY TOLD SULTANA MY FAVORITE WORD YESTERDAY AND I CANT REMEMBER NOW
83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart. - love 
84: What is a saying you say a lot? - what do I even say ever these are so hard 
85: What’s the last song you listened to? - a.m. By 1D 
86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours? - dark green and pastel pink
87: What is your current desktop picture? - a picture of me and my friends 
88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be? - Donald trump 
89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on? - "do you like ___” I’m weird with this question because even when I do like someone a lot, I just get really scared and end up lying and I hate that about myself. I need to be pushed 
90: Turn offs? - not caring about my problems, ignoring me
91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power? - reading minds or flying 
92: where are your parents from? - Bosnia! 
93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? - while my aunt was in the hospital 
94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be? - definitely calum 
95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? - Italy!!
96: Do you have any relatives in jail? - not that I know of 
97: Have you ever thrown up in the car? - yes, and right on my sister too. I had too much mayonnaise :/
98: Ever been on a plane? - yes ugh I hate planes 
99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say - i would be too stressed to talk to the whole world so I have no idea

[rebeccahpedersen]

Must-Read Real Estate Headlines

TorontoRealtyBlog

I don’t usually do this – post the creative content of others; there’s already enough of that on Facebook, where every news feed is a “share” of an existing online article.

But over the weekend, each of the major Toronto newspapers (save for the Sun, but I did say “major”) had a piece on the Toronto real estate market that was different from the usual recap or roundup, and offered some insight and commentary.

I want to show you those three articles today, and comment briefly, then add a fourth article which sums up the plight of mankind’s future.  Yes, really, it does.  You won’t want to miss it…

Wow, I’m really dating myself with that photo above, aren’t I?

When I think “news,” I still think newspapers.

But honestly, raise your hand if you still subscribe to a print copy of a major newspaper that is delivered to your door each and every morning?

I thought I would forever, but when my Globe & Mail subscription expired earlier this year, and it stopped coming, it made me realize that I don’t read it anymore.  I used to read the paper religiously every day on the stairmaster at the gym.

You know how every gym you’ve ever been to has “that guy,” and “the lady that does this or that;” a host of characters that you see on a regular basis and stand out because of an odd trait?  Well I was the insane-o who had a stack of dailies in hand and whipped through them like Rainman, scattering the discarded papers around the base of my machine, all the while, flicking sweat.

When I was done, wet newsprint formed a circle around the stairmaster like a candles surround a pentagram in a lunatic’s house.

I guess that’s not the only thing the lunatic and I have in common…

In any event, my 17-year relationship with the stairmaster ended two years ago, and low-and-behold, I no longer had a need for newspapers.

That, and I find the news to be incredibly depressing.  I can’t read anything in Section-A; I get depressed, disheartened, angry, and frustrated.  People, and politics.  What else is new…

And while I’m fully aware that we can get the newspaper on the Internet now, it’s just not the same thing.  My fingers aren’t black and smudgy after reading online articles, and I miss that!

But whether in print, or online, without fail – there is always going to be a real estate article, bi-daily at the least, in all of the major newspapers.

This weekend provided us with some interesting content.

One of my favourite columnists has always been Marcus Gee, and the fact that he regularly takes Kathleen Wynne to task only makes me like him more.

Gee wrote the following column over the weekend:

“Toronto’s Falling House Prices Signal A Return To Sanity”

What I like about this column is that it’s a somewhat more down-to-earth look at the recent drop in real estate prices than what we’re accustomed to seeing.

I’ve long opined that most newspaper articles about real estate (specifically those not written by a columnist) seek to draw people into the content with the most shocking headlines possible, and as a result, three metrics – price, sales, and listings, are used interchangeably to discuss “the market.”

A headline might read, “Real estate reeling with a 20% drop,” but that 20% could refer to month-over-month, or, year-over-year, as well as any of price, sales, or listings.

Many articles out there today are agenda-driven, and that’s why you see reporters using whichever of the price, sales, or listings metric is the most sexy.  If sales are down 54% year-over-year, but only 14% month-over-month, then use the former, especially if prices are still up year-over-year.

In the above article, Mr. Gee makes zero mention of a single percentage, nor does a number – any digit, appear in the column.

While I disagree with Mr. Gee’s underlying conclusion that the market won’t quickly rebound, and/or that this “dip” is more pronounced, I appreciate the upside that he’s bringing to light.  In fact, all three of the articles this weekend were written as though a drop in prices were a good thing.

But the part about the article that I appreciate the most was drawing attention to the effect a real estate decline would have on the government’s pocket book, and the potential fallout.

Have a read:

“Governments, too, will be forced to change their ways. Toronto’s, for one, has come to rely on the hundreds of millions of dollars it collects every year from a tax on land transfers.

Officials have been warning with rising urgency that the city is in for a reckoning if that windfall should dry up.

Now that it looks as though it might, city politicians will face pressure either to find other sources of revenue or to trim the city’s expenses – all to the good, either way.”

It’s actually quite scary to think what could happen if land transfer tax were to decline significantly at both the municipal and federal levels.

You all know I don’t like Kathleen Wynne, and you can agree or disagree.  But one thing is for certain: she will not be replacing lost revenue from provincial land transfer tax by making cuts to expenditures!  She’ll find a new tax – probably create one out of thin air, and at the very least, it gives you and your friends a cool new drinking game to play.  “What tax will the Liberals invent next?”

In the city of Toronto, things could get really dire if LTT were to dry up.  A friend of mine who works in investment banking told me before David Miller implemented the municipal land transfer tax, “If they don’t bring this tax in, Toronto could literally be on the brink of bankruptcy.  Cities rarely ever go bankrupt, but Toronto would be on the edge.”

–

In the Toronto Star, we read an unusually positive headline, about a negative take on the real estate market.

Tess Kalinowski penned the following:

“Toronto’s Market Housing Downturn May Have An Upside”

The idea is that some good must come out of a decline.

Individuals, government, society in general must learn from this.

I’ve always said, and I’ll explain in more detail with respect to the fourth article, that people often ignore the exponential world population growth when looking at causes of decreased supply and increased demand in hot real estate markets.

In this article, we got a great line:

“In the 1950s, Canadians consumed about 300 sq. ft. of space per person. Today it is about 1,000 sq.ft.”

It opened the door to a conversation about urban planning, which is where the government should be spending their time, along with analyzing fiscal policy with respect to interest rates, and mortgage regulations.

The government has acted as though a coin has only one side, and has only sought to “cool the market” by decreasing demand through policy changes, when all the while, increasing demand is the more unpopular tails side of the coin that very few people ever call.

It’s well beyond “time” for the government to start focusing on supply, or lack thereof.

–

Garry Marr of the Financial Post, who in my opinion, has long been a real estate bear, wrote a piece on the weekend that I thought was long overdue:

“Collapse In Toronto Home Prices May Pressure Ottawa To Hold Off Tightening”

I know that columnists and journalists don’t get to write their own headlines, so I won’t fault Mr. Marr for the word “collapse,” which I think is the very definition of hyperbole.

But the idea that the recent drop in prices must call into question further meddling, tinkering, or updating (depending on where you stand) of lending standards and regulations is one that should have been brought to the forefront weeks ago.

Kathleen Wynne was quoted as saying, “Cool, not kill” with respect to the housing market, and if that’s really the case, then we first need to define “cool,” percentage-wise, and then look at what has transpired already.

The market has cooled, no doubt about it.  And as the second article above shows, a lot more people are asking questions of themselves, and the market, who might not have done so earlier this year.

So are more policy changes really needed?

Should we really implement a 200 basis-point “stress test” for uninsured borrowers?

When the government implemented a similar policy in 2016 with respect to insured borrowers, the policy had zero effect on the market, and once again, those in the government tasked with cooling the market had egg on their face.

But those insured mortgages are backed by tax-payers!  I can see how they have a horse in that race.

For uninsured borrowers, does the government really need to step in and protect people from themselves?

Keep an eye on this story over the coming months, as those who thought we might see another interest rate hike in September, are now changing their tune.

–

Last, but certainly not least, an article that was sent to me by over a dozen blog readers and friends, some of them who sent this out of disgust, and some who sent it because they know how I feel about “kids today.”

“Millennial Pens Open Letter, Says Toronto Real Estate Prices Too High”

This is probably the dumbest thing I have read in a year, and it underscores the ignorance, arrogance, entitlement, and delusion of today’s youth.

I’m 36-years-old, turning 37 next month.

I was told by a very nice lady in my office, who is in her mid-60’s, “Davey, every generation thinks the generation behind them is going to end the the world.  And not one of them remembers when they themselves were being blamed by the generation ahead of them.”

Truer words may never have been spoken.

It’s like recreational golf: you always think the group ahead of you is playing slow, and the group ahead of you is playing up your a$$.

So am I being hypocritical if I ignore all of this, and label today’s young 20-somethings as those who will end the world?

Read the letter, it’s just insane.

The girl who wrote a letter to a city is ignoring so many important things that she probably wasn’t taught in school, such as basic economics, and supply and demand.

But what about a simple understanding of the world’s population growth?  The world has doubled in size since 1971, and the Greater Toronto Area’s population has doubled since 1982.

But her letter, and the quotes from her interview with Global News, make her sound like the lazy, clueless, dreaming, irrational, unreasonable millennial that the entire group, unfairly, gets categorized as.

“I’m still living at home and all my friends are as well and it’s hard. The market isn’t letting us become independent people that we thought 10 years ago we would be at this age.”

You’re 23-years-old.

Living at home is “hard” for you?  I suppose life in your parents’ basement, paying no rent, having zero expenses, full access to groceries and things you never thought you’d pay for like toothpaste, is “hard?”

You thought you would be a certain type of person when you were 13-years-old, and now that you haven’t achieved that, you think it’s “hard?”

When I was 13-years-old, I thought I was going to be a multi-millionaire by the time I was 23-years-old.  I thought I was going to own a yacht, a plane, be married to a supermodel, and light cigars off burning $100 bills.  But that’s because I was 13-years-old.

“Whenever I picture my life and my future, I pictured it with a house and a backyard.”

No kidding, eh?

You’re 23-years-old, and you’ve already given up the possibility that one day you’ll own a house, like a very, very small percentage of the population?

Folks, come on!  Tell me I’m being unfair here!

But this girl is completely out to lunch!

The arrogance of her, probably working a 9-5 job and eating avocado toast with friends by 5:30pm at a swanky downtown pub, to think that the city owes her something.  Her life has been a fantasy up to this point, and now that she’s actually out in the working world, and has to work, she’s telling the rest of us how entitled she is?

It’s “Toronto’s” fault that she can’t afford to buy a house with a backyard.

“Toronto” is a city.  It’s made up of people.  People are consumers.  Consumers buy and sell.  Products and services are bought and sold.  Supply and demand create prices for products and services.

She’s looking for a boogey-man, the same one her dad checked for under her bed no more than ten years ago, and she won’t seem to consider that the explanation for market conditions is more simple.

“It was fun while it lasted Toronto, but it’s time for us to leave.  Why does it seem to us millennials that you don’t want us here?”

Oh poor you.  You poor millennial!  Toronto doesn’t want you!

Who the hell gave this national coverage?

I’m living proof that any idiot can put his or her thoughts on the Internet, but to give this young lady a forum on Toronto Storeys, and then for Global News to pick it up, is just insane.

“…it’s just too expensive to live here now. That first family home we always dreamed of owning in North York, or off Eglinton…”

Are you kidding?

Owning a home in North York?

You’re a child.

Assuming you have a job – the adults that you work with, who have slaved for two decades longer than you – they have no chance at affording a $2.5M house in North York.  So why are you lamenting that you can’t afford a house in Roncesvalles?

“Maybe it will be better for us. To own land far away from this busy city, where we focus too much on our screens and less on what the great outdoors has to offer.”

Oh great, there’s an even better idea.

Now she thinks she can move up north, teach kite-boarding, and make enough to support herself long term.  Although I’m pretty sure Trudeau’s government will prop her up, so maybe she’s onto something here…

“But you can’t get rid of us for good. Our careers are still largely here in the city. Maybe soon our bosses won’t be able to afford their rent either, and we will all move up north.  And then you’ll have no one. You’ll be forced to lower your absurd home prices. And you’ll be asking us all to come back.”

Wait, you just said you’re moving up north to teach canoeing.  What’s happening?  Wait – your bosses are moving up north, and I guess the TD Towers will too?  In fact, every single industry in Toronto will move up north?

Then “Toronto” will lower his or her prices?

If this is who is going to lead us into the future, then we’re all doomed.

Anyways, those first three articles were encouraging, right?

The post Must-Read Real Estate Headlines appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

Originated from http://ift.tt/2gWkpb6

[rebeccahpedersen]

Must-Read Real Estate Headlines

TorontoRealtyBlog

I don’t usually do this – post the creative content of others; there’s already enough of that on Facebook, where every news feed is a “share” of an existing online article.

But over the weekend, each of the major Toronto newspapers (save for the Sun, but I did say “major”) had a piece on the Toronto real estate market that was different from the usual recap or roundup, and offered some insight and commentary.

I want to show you those three articles today, and comment briefly, then add a fourth article which sums up the plight of mankind’s future.  Yes, really, it does.  You won’t want to miss it…

Wow, I’m really dating myself with that photo above, aren’t I?

When I think “news,” I still think newspapers.

But honestly, raise your hand if you still subscribe to a print copy of a major newspaper that is delivered to your door each and every morning?

I thought I would forever, but when my Globe & Mail subscription expired earlier this year, and it stopped coming, it made me realize that I don’t read it anymore.  I used to read the paper religiously every day on the stairmaster at the gym.

You know how every gym you’ve ever been to has “that guy,” and “the lady that does this or that;” a host of characters that you see on a regular basis and stand out because of an odd trait?  Well I was the insane-o who had a stack of dailies in hand and whipped through them like Rainman, scattering the discarded papers around the base of my machine, all the while, flicking sweat.

When I was done, wet newsprint formed a circle around the stairmaster like a candles surround a pentagram in a lunatic’s house.

I guess that’s not the only thing the lunatic and I have in common…

In any event, my 17-year relationship with the stairmaster ended two years ago, and low-and-behold, I no longer had a need for newspapers.

That, and I find the news to be incredibly depressing.  I can’t read anything in Section-A; I get depressed, disheartened, angry, and frustrated.  People, and politics.  What else is new…

And while I’m fully aware that we can get the newspaper on the Internet now, it’s just not the same thing.  My fingers aren’t black and smudgy after reading online articles, and I miss that!

But whether in print, or online, without fail – there is always going to be a real estate article, bi-daily at the least, in all of the major newspapers.

This weekend provided us with some interesting content.

One of my favourite columnists has always been Marcus Gee, and the fact that he regularly takes Kathleen Wynne to task only makes me like him more.

Gee wrote the following column over the weekend:

“Toronto’s Falling House Prices Signal A Return To Sanity”

What I like about this column is that it’s a somewhat more down-to-earth look at the recent drop in real estate prices than what we’re accustomed to seeing.

I’ve long opined that most newspaper articles about real estate (specifically those not written by a columnist) seek to draw people into the content with the most shocking headlines possible, and as a result, three metrics – price, sales, and listings, are used interchangeably to discuss “the market.”

A headline might read, “Real estate reeling with a 20% drop,” but that 20% could refer to month-over-month, or, year-over-year, as well as any of price, sales, or listings.

Many articles out there today are agenda-driven, and that’s why you see reporters using whichever of the price, sales, or listings metric is the most sexy.  If sales are down 54% year-over-year, but only 14% month-over-month, then use the former, especially if prices are still up year-over-year.

In the above article, Mr. Gee makes zero mention of a single percentage, nor does a number – any digit, appear in the column.

While I disagree with Mr. Gee’s underlying conclusion that the market won’t quickly rebound, and/or that this “dip” is more pronounced, I appreciate the upside that he’s bringing to light.  In fact, all three of the articles this weekend were written as though a drop in prices were a good thing.

But the part about the article that I appreciate the most was drawing attention to the effect a real estate decline would have on the government’s pocket book, and the potential fallout.

Have a read:

“Governments, too, will be forced to change their ways. Toronto’s, for one, has come to rely on the hundreds of millions of dollars it collects every year from a tax on land transfers.

Officials have been warning with rising urgency that the city is in for a reckoning if that windfall should dry up.

Now that it looks as though it might, city politicians will face pressure either to find other sources of revenue or to trim the city’s expenses – all to the good, either way.”

It’s actually quite scary to think what could happen if land transfer tax were to decline significantly at both the municipal and federal levels.

You all know I don’t like Kathleen Wynne, and you can agree or disagree.  But one thing is for certain: she will not be replacing lost revenue from provincial land transfer tax by making cuts to expenditures!  She’ll find a new tax – probably create one out of thin air, and at the very least, it gives you and your friends a cool new drinking game to play.  “What tax will the Liberals invent next?”

In the city of Toronto, things could get really dire if LTT were to dry up.  A friend of mine who works in investment banking told me before David Miller implemented the municipal land transfer tax, “If they don’t bring this tax in, Toronto could literally be on the brink of bankruptcy.  Cities rarely ever go bankrupt, but Toronto would be on the edge.”

–

In the Toronto Star, we read an unusually positive headline, about a negative take on the real estate market.

Tess Kalinowski penned the following:

“Toronto’s Market Housing Downturn May Have An Upside”

The idea is that some good must come out of a decline.

Individuals, government, society in general must learn from this.

I’ve always said, and I’ll explain in more detail with respect to the fourth article, that people often ignore the exponential world population growth when looking at causes of decreased supply and increased demand in hot real estate markets.

In this article, we got a great line:

“In the 1950s, Canadians consumed about 300 sq. ft. of space per person. Today it is about 1,000 sq.ft.”

It opened the door to a conversation about urban planning, which is where the government should be spending their time, along with analyzing fiscal policy with respect to interest rates, and mortgage regulations.

The government has acted as though a coin has only one side, and has only sought to “cool the market” by decreasing demand through policy changes, when all the while, increasing demand is the more unpopular tails side of the coin that very few people ever call.

It’s well beyond “time” for the government to start focusing on supply, or lack thereof.

–

Garry Marr of the Financial Post, who in my opinion, has long been a real estate bear, wrote a piece on the weekend that I thought was long overdue:

“Collapse In Toronto Home Prices May Pressure Ottawa To Hold Off Tightening”

I know that columnists and journalists don’t get to write their own headlines, so I won’t fault Mr. Marr for the word “collapse,” which I think is the very definition of hyperbole.

But the idea that the recent drop in prices must call into question further meddling, tinkering, or updating (depending on where you stand) of lending standards and regulations is one that should have been brought to the forefront weeks ago.

Kathleen Wynne was quoted as saying, “Cool, not kill” with respect to the housing market, and if that’s really the case, then we first need to define “cool,” percentage-wise, and then look at what has transpired already.

The market has cooled, no doubt about it.  And as the second article above shows, a lot more people are asking questions of themselves, and the market, who might not have done so earlier this year.

So are more policy changes really needed?

Should we really implement a 200 basis-point “stress test” for uninsured borrowers?

When the government implemented a similar policy in 2016 with respect to insured borrowers, the policy had zero effect on the market, and once again, those in the government tasked with cooling the market had egg on their face.

But those insured mortgages are backed by tax-payers!  I can see how they have a horse in that race.

For uninsured borrowers, does the government really need to step in and protect people from themselves?

Keep an eye on this story over the coming months, as those who thought we might see another interest rate hike in September, are now changing their tune.

–

Last, but certainly not least, an article that was sent to me by over a dozen blog readers and friends, some of them who sent this out of disgust, and some who sent it because they know how I feel about “kids today.”

“Millennial Pens Open Letter, Says Toronto Real Estate Prices Too High”

This is probably the dumbest thing I have read in a year, and it underscores the ignorance, arrogance, entitlement, and delusion of today’s youth.

I’m 36-years-old, turning 37 next month.

I was told by a very nice lady in my office, who is in her mid-60’s, “Davey, every generation thinks the generation behind them is going to end the the world.  And not one of them remembers when they themselves were being blamed by the generation ahead of them.”

Truer words may never have been spoken.

It’s like recreational golf: you always think the group ahead of you is playing slow, and the group ahead of you is playing up your a$$.

So am I being hypocritical if I ignore all of this, and label today’s young 20-somethings as those who will end the world?

Read the letter, it’s just insane.

The girl who wrote a letter to a city is ignoring so many important things that she probably wasn’t taught in school, such as basic economics, and supply and demand.

But what about a simple understanding of the world’s population growth?  The world has doubled in size since 1971, and the Greater Toronto Area’s population has doubled since 1982.

But her letter, and the quotes from her interview with Global News, make her sound like the lazy, clueless, dreaming, irrational, unreasonable millennial that the entire group, unfairly, gets categorized as.

“I’m still living at home and all my friends are as well and it’s hard. The market isn’t letting us become independent people that we thought 10 years ago we would be at this age.”

You’re 23-years-old.

Living at home is “hard” for you?  I suppose life in your parents’ basement, paying no rent, having zero expenses, full access to groceries and things you never thought you’d pay for like toothpaste, is “hard?”

You thought you would be a certain type of person when you were 13-years-old, and now that you haven’t achieved that, you think it’s “hard?”

When I was 13-years-old, I thought I was going to be a multi-millionaire by the time I was 23-years-old.  I thought I was going to own a yacht, a plane, be married to a supermodel, and light cigars off burning $100 bills.  But that’s because I was 13-years-old.

“Whenever I picture my life and my future, I pictured it with a house and a backyard.”

No kidding, eh?

You’re 23-years-old, and you’ve already given up the possibility that one day you’ll own a house, like a very, very small percentage of the population?

Folks, come on!  Tell me I’m being unfair here!

But this girl is completely out to lunch!

The arrogance of her, probably working a 9-5 job and eating avocado toast with friends by 5:30pm at a swanky downtown pub, to think that the city owes her something.  Her life has been a fantasy up to this point, and now that she’s actually out in the working world, and has to work, she’s telling the rest of us how entitled she is?

It’s “Toronto’s” fault that she can’t afford to buy a house with a backyard.

“Toronto” is a city.  It’s made up of people.  People are consumers.  Consumers buy and sell.  Products and services are bought and sold.  Supply and demand create prices for products and services.

She’s looking for a boogey-man, the same one her dad checked for under her bed no more than ten years ago, and she won’t seem to consider that the explanation for market conditions is more simple.

“It was fun while it lasted Toronto, but it’s time for us to leave.  Why does it seem to us millennials that you don’t want us here?”

Oh poor you.  You poor millennial!  Toronto doesn’t want you!

Who the hell gave this national coverage?

I’m living proof that any idiot can put his or her thoughts on the Internet, but to give this young lady a forum on Toronto Storeys, and then for Global News to pick it up, is just insane.

“…it’s just too expensive to live here now. That first family home we always dreamed of owning in North York, or off Eglinton…”

Are you kidding?

Owning a home in North York?

You’re a child.

Assuming you have a job – the adults that you work with, who have slaved for two decades longer than you – they have no chance at affording a $2.5M house in North York.  So why are you lamenting that you can’t afford a house in Roncesvalles?

“Maybe it will be better for us. To own land far away from this busy city, where we focus too much on our screens and less on what the great outdoors has to offer.”

Oh great, there’s an even better idea.

Now she thinks she can move up north, teach kite-boarding, and make enough to support herself long term.  Although I’m pretty sure Trudeau’s government will prop her up, so maybe she’s onto something here…

“But you can’t get rid of us for good. Our careers are still largely here in the city. Maybe soon our bosses won’t be able to afford their rent either, and we will all move up north.  And then you’ll have no one. You’ll be forced to lower your absurd home prices. And you’ll be asking us all to come back.”

Wait, you just said you’re moving up north to teach canoeing.  What’s happening?  Wait – your bosses are moving up north, and I guess the TD Towers will too?  In fact, every single industry in Toronto will move up north?

Then “Toronto” will lower his or her prices?

If this is who is going to lead us into the future, then we’re all doomed.

Anyways, those first three articles were encouraging, right?

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