#he has integrity like youve never even seen | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thewholeavocado · 1 year ago

Text

I need to go to bed but I wanted to write some thoughts down.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want in life and happiness, or at least for the next 5-10 years. Its sort of funny because a lot of what I desire has been reflected in what I enjoy being around and what I read.

I definitely have a loose 5 year plan, including paying off debt, getting married, starting a family, ect.

But part of it also is to embrace the softness and joys of life.

I want to have a family, one that I've always wanted that's full of love, kindness, and understanding. A family that hold you accountable but loves you unconditionally. A family that enjoys your presence and appreciates the efforts you make.

I want to be a stay-at-home mom so I can provide, love, and teach my kids all day. I can teach them the ways of the world and explore with them, teaching them to kind and thoughtful humans, while having fun. We can squish in the mud in the garden while I teach them about the natural world and how we can take care and appreciate it. We can cook and bake together and find silly things to do to surprise their dad when he gets back.

I want to find the joys in living a simple life for a while and enjoy having a garden in the warm months. I want to preserve our work and efforts by freezing and canning good, wholesome food that will sustain us in the winter and while the cycle starts anew. I want to bake my own bread every week and have the house smell like heaven. I want to have a flower garden and have fresh cut flowers every week, as well as helping the bees. Bonus points if we have some chickens to wander around and provide eggs for breakfast and desserts.

I want to have a nice, clean, safe house so full of joy and laughter. I want it to be a place of solace and refuge, with lots of sunlight streaming through the lace curtains. I want to have people over to join for dinner or lunch, and maybe have the neighbors over for a picnic lunch while the kids play in the yard.

I want to wake up early and make pancakes to surprise the family. I want to see my future spouse's sleepy face and have soft kisses while I make sure I don't get distracted and burn my hard work. I'll recruit him in slicing some fruit so we can say we're being healthy as I finish up the pancakes and help get the kids set up.

I want the house to be filled with music. I still want to teach while I raise a young family and give music lessons to local kids for cheap. I want my own children to appreciate music and the joy it brings as I practice for my quartet and be involved in a community orchestra.

I mostly want a soft life filled with joy and love. Domestic bliss.

I know it won't always be easy and things are challenging, I'm not delusional of that

I'm excited of having a family of my very own, and one that we can treat each other right. One that isn't built on arguments, lies, and abuse.

I'm excited that this sort of life, even a fraction of it, is actually possible and maybe obtainable within the next 5-10 years.

#guys I've had it hard for so long #and i know none of this is easy #but like things have been getting better and better since i moved out #all im missing is a partner in crime #i sincerely think my significant other is going to be my life partner #hes just so good #hes the most kind caring wonderful and virtuous person ive ever met #he has integrity like youve never even seen #i always thought id be in a lukewarm relationship at best #im just so happy and excited to see what things bring #i jusr want to be happy in life #well give back to the community toi and do some volunteer work #and be active in our church #we can be mentors for young people #i will eventually return to teaching #i might sub on the occasion #but I'm excited to see how these next few years pan out #cottagecore #domestic bliss #5 year plan #sorry its 1 am but I'm feeling a lot #and wed have the cutest blonde kids with blue and green eyes #theyd have the most shaped noses too lmao #sorry i love him so much #and I really think he's my forever person #so its been rattling around in the brain #tw abuse #i grew up in an abusive household #Feeling some things tonight boys #ive been just so happy lately and the best is yet to come

0 notes

thatdeadaquarius · 2 years ago

Note

This is riding off the language stuff in sagau but I just cant get it out of my head a reader who uses tumblr slang every once in a while. like they meet the Traveller and they're like "Omg I'm so cheesed to meet you!!" And the Traveller is just like "???" meanwhile Paimon integrates that into her vocabulary. And then maybe at some point, if the reader has a vision they're like "MAIMING AND BITING YOU" "THAT'S IT! I'M SENDING YOU TO EEBY DEEBY!" while their poor teammates are so confused. Just imagine going over to ppl like Razor, Klee, Chongyun and going "Awwww my lil scrunglos"

Just a very chaotic reader in general lmao

HEY WASSUP ANON

MY BRO THIS IS SO OLD BY NOW IM SO SORRY LMAO- SO ANYWAY HELLO!!! A DESSERT FOR UR PATIENCE 🍨🍧🛐

FOR WAITING SO LONG HERE IS SUM ASS WRITINF MY FRIEND HOPE U GET SMTH OUTTA IT

Bro imma be honest i missed out on some slang on tumblr bc i was off of it for awhile before i refreshed this old blog

So my reaction to these slang words (except for scrunglies/scrunglos ik that one) is just as confused but also its rlly funny that im in the same situation as them LMAO 😭

☆

I would think honestly, even if ur doin it on purpose,

I feel like some slang or refs r too ingrained into my soul to not make

So i would just accidentally use slang/memes, esp around funny ppl like Kaeya or Beidou, and then just give up eventually 💀

♤

So i stg everytime Xiao shows up in a event or smth it surprises me everytime lol

With his teleporting ability i would guess that if ur just chillin around Liyue anytime, Xiao just… shows up lol

Tea with Zhongli? Oh jesus Xiao’s here now.

Watching Xinyan and Yunjin play? Hes on the roof.

Picking ingredients with Xiangling to help her cook yall some amazing food?

Hes in the tree u were just picking Sunsettias in-

◇

So ur in Mondstadt, and ur like,

“oh well no Xiao here, huh kinda feels weird now”

eventually ur dumbass trips over nothing and goes tumbling down a hill, u know, as u do

Ur at the bottom like, 💀

And its kinda hot and ur tired, and r selfaware of ur own goofiness so u just-

“I can see the end of the horizon, is this an internal dialouge-”

Xiao comes around the hill ur splayed at the bottom of.

UR STARTLED BC WTF MONDSTADT?? XIAO??? SO U JUST

“HATSUNE MIKU-”

CRYING-

AND XIAOS LIKE-

“??? No. It’s me. Xiao. The Yaksha Adeptus, my liege?”

HAHFLAHHAHA

AND HE KEEPS ASKING U WHO HATSUNE MIKU IS THE WHOLE WAY BACK TO THE CITY AS HE ESCORTS U LFMAO

♧

U see those scary ruin machines the ones with the fucking legs in Sumeru,

Cyno is ur bodyguard for the day,

And at first he doesn’t see it, like its behind him, but it just like came around a corner, so it hasnt locked in on yall yet

(i headcanon that even if u r the Creator, these are machines, and dont have the sentience to even be self-aware let alone process wtf u are, ig if Khaeynriah made hella AI that is aware maybe it could fathom u)

◇

And u try to warn him but not scare him, so

“CYNO.

CYNO, THE HORSE IS HERE-”

Cue Cyno like

“A horse??? In the desert, Greatest Lord what the fu-”

Almost gets stomped on 😭 rip.

♡

U see Scara for the first time and u befriend him

Ur the only god besides Nahida he’s ok with aw

and one day he’s bodyguarding u around Sumeru

He gets a little too into it and goes ham on several ruin machines

Like full on elmo burning anarchy meme, he's literally cackling floating above the pile of flaming metal-

And ur just clapping like: “that’s my skrunkly :) <3"

He literally interrupts his own cackle, its the most expressive youve ever seen him

😶 😑 😶 ?????¿¿¿??¡¡?!!

HE WILL NOT STOP HARASSING U ABOUT WHAT IT MEANT LMAO

U usually define the words/memes as best u can but u specifically just call him that and never explain LOL

☆

🎵 HI. ITS ME. IM THE PROBLEM ITS ME. 🎵

SO SORRY ANON MY BEAUTY- I HOPE U CAN FORGIVE ME FOR TAKING SO LONG 🙏

I dont even mean just replying with a real thing^

I probably couldve posted ur ask w/o even adding onto it tbh

I dont think its anywhere near as chaotic as what u described but ya boy isnt the good at writing 😔

so i just focused on the memes 🤲

Have a good week anon :O !!

♡

Cheers,

🌒🌧🌊 💀Aquarius ♒️🌌🌘

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

409 notes · View notes

cinderellakinnie · 2 years ago

Text

wait actually i want to talk about pronoun circle scenes in tv shows

bc like personally i have weird feelings abt pronoun circles but i also know a lot of people who find them incredibly good and useful

anyway i understand that they do this to appeal to straight audiences and a lot of queer tv shows or movies or whatever (that ive seen, im definitely forgetting things) are about a normal person who has only recently discovered the lgbt+ community and so theyre still normal and like every other straight person and have only ever known straight people but they venture into their first queer space and discover gasp a pronoun circle!!!!

and everyone in it is using neopronouns (with the subtext that this is freak behavior) and stating their sexuality (and sometimes also their ethnicity) and theyre always saying long words that our dear sweet normal protagonist has never heard before like genderfluid or trisexual and theyll go into the specificities of how these things affect them personally and youre kind of supposed to believe that theyre weirdo freaks (in a bad way)

and maybe theres one person who uses she/her pronouns and is a lesbian or he/him pronouns and hes gay and thats the other normal person who the protagonist is able to be friends

and like once id love for someone to pull aside the new person and be like hey we support you, of course, but you have to also support us, we are the same community, please learn more of our history

and like i havent been in a pronoun circle outside of like class in a few years but my experience with pronoun circles has not at all been what the tv shows are putting forth

my experience has been being the last person to say your pronouns, and everyone else has used she/her or he/him and you realise that this isnt a safe place to use your real pronouns so you misgender yourself

or being the only person to use they/them at the start of the circle and then realising that youve set yourself up to not only be misgendered for the rest of the semester but also that you have shouted from the rooftop that youre a weirdo freak and that noone will see you as a person anymore

anyway im aware that its a big deal that they're even being used at all in media but like idk its still a bit upsetting when the only times your gender is being represented is in a montage to show why youre a freak destroying the integrity of the actual normal members of the lgbt+ community

TLDR pronoun circles in tv shows that are used as a means to point out how unnatural non binary people are, are completely inaccurate to my experience as an actual non binary person

#im aware that there are other worse things out there #especially at the moment with the queer community #its just something that annoys me is all #especially bc like i use he/they those are my actual preffered pronouns #but i also am not particularly out in real life #so i use they/them and im STILL getting misgenderex #as someone who has been out since they were quite young as well i know that im in a different position to other people #who realised later on #anyway long read i know but i have feelings abt this actually

0 notes

thewebcomicsreview · 6 years ago

Note

please do in fact make a comparison between homestuck and naruto now that youve mentioned it i need to read it

Honestly, I don’t want to read the entirety of Naruto for this, but the more I think about it the weirder the comparison gets. Homestuck has an infamously bad opening and then gets really good around Act 4, stays really good for a while, and then crashes hard. Naruto starts off great, and then slowly putters out as Kishimoto runs out of ideas (and hands!). I think the first year or so of Naruto is legitimately great, and is starts puttering out around the Chuunin exams

I think this is legitimately the best first page of any comic ever (even though it’s technically the second page). There’s just so much in these two panels. You’ve got the ninja village, you’ve got the most striking visual image in the whole series with ninja Mount Rushmore, and there’s a kid drawing dicks on it and laughing maniacally. You learn so much about Naruto’s character, his world, and his relationship to that world in a single page with no real dialogue. It’s excellent.

Now, granted, this chapter also introduces a crystal ball that can scry on students, which you’d think would come in handy later and is never seen again, but still. Good opening effort.

dustybins said to thewebcomicsreview:

oh man do you wanna shit on Naruto? together even? like how Chakra Natures, an integral part of the setting and something constantly used in combat is largely unexplained til like two thirds of thew way into the manga? about how the big climactic battle is with an enemy that appears from no where has no character and is of little consequence after she is beaten? about how Sasuke's whole arc becomes a FARCE after the timeskip? how about the HUGE disservice that the manga does to its characters?

A smarter nerd than I did exactly that, and it’s a good video if you’re in to that kind of thing. But there’s maybe another anime that’s a better comparison

youtube

Bleach was only slightly less popular than Naruto at its peak, and was one of the last anime I was really into as I transitions from “high-school weeaboo” to “college student who fell out of anime immediately after joining the anime club but that’s where my friends are so okay I guess”. While Naruto started great and slowly declined, Bleach followed a more Homestuck trajectory

Initially, Bleach was a lighthearted monster-of-the-week story about anime ghostbusters. The plot was kind of meandering, but it was carried by fun characters and a humorous tone.

Then it introduced a bunch of kind of alien characters, about a dozen weridos, and their society. The series took on a darker tone, and this arc, the Soul Society arc, lasted as long as everything before it put together. People went nuts for it. And they especially went nuts for the Shinigami, and started making what we’d call Shinigamisonas (Shimisonas? Chimichangas?) today. And they were helped in that endeavor because the Shinigami as a concept were very modular. If you made a Shimisona, you basically filled out a character sheet with information like which of the thirteen groups of them you were in, which would indicate what your characters basic powers were

and then you’d get to the cool shit like the number of Katanas you had. (In Bleach, instead of characters themselves going super saiyan, their katanas did, which is the raddest idea ever, so everyone got to make three with an evolving concept). You had structure, but not so much structure as to limit your creativity.

Bleach kind of lucked into that aspect, but Hussie’s big genius idea for marketing Homestuck, moreso evan than the shirts, was leaning in super hard to this idea. Troll blood color, classpect, even stuff like “what you put in your Kernalsprite” that didn’t catch on, were all intentionally made modular so that you could more easily make fanfics and personas (Hussie says this explicitly in one of the books). I doubt he pulled it from Bleach, but the same idea turned up.

Anyway, Bleach made the transition to a dark battle shonen, Shinigami were massively popular, and the Soul Society arc is widely beloved by nerds of a certain age to this day. If the Ghostbusters stuff was Acts 1-4 of Homestuck, the Soul Society was Act 5.

youtube

But there was a problem.The Ghostbusters stuff set up a ghost called Grand Fisher as the main bad guy. He’s leading a bunch of ghosts, he killed Ichigo’s mom, Ichigo is the protagonist. Boom. Obviously, the guy who’s the strongest guy around who killed the protagonists’ beloved guardians was going to be the bad guy, right?

But then Shinigami got cool so they spent time on that and Ichigo was explicitly more powerful than any ghost about their powerups before the ending, so Grand Fisher can’t be the bad guy since Ichigo would squish him, so he’s out. He ultimately gets defeated by someone else who also has a beef with him but is in no way shape or form a protagonist

There’s a new villain, Aizen, and he’s got a new evil plan, but it doesn’t affect Ichigo at all and he kind of doesn’t give a shit about it.

So there’s no narrative momentum anymore. Ichigo is going to fight the new bad guy because he’s the new bad guy, but there’s no in-story reason for it, and also once he does the story will be over, and it’s a really popular cash cow. You know what that means!

youtube

Pointless

Fucking

Around!

Elements of worldbuilding were brought up and expanded upon, like “Wow, the Shinigami created artificial people for fun and now wants to kill them all! How villainous! How are we going to resolve this?!” and the answer being “lol vampires”

This is where teen me tapped out. The Mod Soul storyline, itself a filler arc, is aborted in favor of forty-odd episodes of vampires that never get mentioned again because it was a filler arc while the anime desperately waited in vain for something to happen in the manga. The Homestuck equivalent would be Openbound, but Homestuck is worse because at least you knew at the time that Vampires wouldn’t be important later

So you got less of the slow decline of Naruto or My Hero Academia or most popular long-running series, and more of the series getting bigger and more popular until suddenly crashing completely because something was broken on a fundamental level that was preventing the protagonists and antagonists from ever actually coming into conflict

This scene, in Act 7, four minutes before the end of the series, is the first time in the entirety of Homestuck that a main character interacts with the main bad guy.of Homestuck.

Of course, the economics of Shounen Jump meant that Bleach could stay collapsing longer than Homestuck did, but once Ichigo killed the Vasto Lorde, which was right before the Soul Society arc even started, the die was cast and the series was doomed. Likewise, once Lord English usurped Bec Noir as the main bad guy of Homestuck, the story was broken on a fundamental level, and while Hussie going up his own ass about metanarrative didn’t help matters, nothing would have. Once Bec Noir left the medium, the story slowly died, like it was infected with some kind of slow-acting disease where the host body kills itself. I’m blanking on what the metaphor is I’m looking for. Help me out, Karkat.

PCG: AND UNLIKE A NORMAL DISEASE, IT WOULDN'T GRADUALLY KILL ITS HOST FROM WITHIN PCG: THE CANCER LEFT THE BODY PCG: CHASED OUT, AS IF BY AN IMMUNE SYSTEM. PCG: BUT THE PROBLEM IS PCG: IT WASN'T ANY LESS DEADLY ON THE OUTSIDE PCG: AND NO LESS DETERMINED TO FINISH THE JOB.

PCG: SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE IT COULD BE PCG: WHAT'S WAITING FOR US AT THE END OF THE COUNTDOWN. PCG: JACK WAS EXPELLED FROM YOUR SESSION SOMEHOW PCG: HE THEN METHODICALLY DESTROYED ALL OUR PLANETS, PROSPIT AND DERSE, AND TRIED TO WIPE US ALL OUT PCG: SO THAT WE COULDN'T DO THE SAME THING TO HIM AGAIN PCG: BUT HE WAS ALWAYS SAVING HIS TRUE TARGET FOR LAST PCG: THE ONE HE HATED MOST. PCG: JACK WAS THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF THE DISEASE ALL ALONG.

PCG: NOIR IS THE CANCER.

PCG: IT'S HIM.

Yeah, that’s it

#heecawroo #Naruto #Bleach #Homestuck #Honestly that's the best meta joke in all of Homestuck #And it wasn't even on purpose

87 notes · View notes

lawlightfan42069 · 8 years ago

Note

iyo when you write non-straight characters should you specify their sexuality/gender? I mean I'm personally a very 'not into labels at all' person for my own sexuality but support ppl who do find comfort in labels. but when I write I also tend to go toward the 'he just loves who he loves !!!' that sounded stupid but idk how to explain it.. so... like I was wondering why you feel strongly about explicitly stating someone's queerness instead of it being implied (at least u come off as that sorta)

i do definitely feel like that so!! i happen to have a lot of feelings about this so get ready for a Long Ramble. this is a precaution before ive even started typing i just know im gonna write a lot

i think before we start saying anything, we’ve got to acknowledge the difference between people who say that they dont like labels, and writing characters who Don’t Like Labels™. pointing out the problems of the latter is not a condemnation of the former. if someone rly doesnt feel like labeling their sexuality or gender, thats totally alright. the difference between these two is the person is a nuanced, multifaceted human being who may have lots of personal reasons for feeling that way, while the second is a fictional character that is Created and informed by cultural views of the creator. a person is not “created” by one single author and characters arent like…real living agents that have their Own Free Will, they are what their creators make of them. anyway i just feel like this is a rly important distinction that gets lost often!! i’m also more willing to look favorably on someone who self describes that way writing characters based on their own experiences, bc this perspective is inherently different from a straight person writing these sorts of characters. but moving on.

whats also important to understand, beyond writing characters, is how being openly not straight is shunned. queer people are not allowed to Exist as openly queer and they have not been allowed historically. even these days among people who consider themselves progressive, you’ll often hear that “its alright if someone is gay but do they have to shove it in my face all the time.” this attitude isnt somehow formed in vacuum, but created in a society that treats been openly queer as a taboo. we aren’t allowed to be open about our sexualities the way straight people are. we can’t acknowledge that we’re queer lest someone tells us to Stop Shoving It In Their Face (not missing the irony as we’re surrounded by 400 billboards of hetero couples everywhere). i dont wan’t to delve into other aspects of discrimination and get too off track here, i just want to focus on how being Openly queer is treated as a taboo, particularly among people who still want to call themselves ‘accepting.’ the only way society allows queer people to exist is if they never remind anyone, Ever that they are not straight.

this is Integral to understanding why the i Don’t Like Labels characters are so frustrating. the unwillingness to Explicitly talk about queer people carries over quite handily to media. the same faux progressive people that demand queer people never talk about being queer bc its Too Much Information, will praise queer coded characters that hint at their sexuality but never confirm it. the reason these characters are written is not to genuinely explore why someone might feel uncomfortable with applying labels to themselves, but to appease people who will accept queerness as long as they never have to acknowledge it. this way, u can court queer people interested in representation And people who might like the story but will be uncomfortable with explicit queerness. its an attempt for writers to cash in on peoples desires for interesting queer characters without ever actually fully committing to representing them. you dont get to claim to support queer people if ur also out there providing comfort for peoples homophobia. you cant have a foot in both doors.

describing queer experiences without calling them queer means that youre okay with this story as long as u dont acknowledge it as something Explicitly not straight and like…why?? why is it suddenly not okay when u take that bundle of experiences and use the word that theyre defining?? theres Weight behind using words like bi, gay, lesbian and if u reject them are u Really okay with lgbtq people? or are you okay with them Despite the fact that theyre lgbtq and not because you take into account theyre lgbtq. acceptance is not tolerating people Despite something, its acknowledging it and validating it as an okay thing to be. especially when it is something that historically Not been validated as okay. dismantling structural systems of queerphobia does not go about by ignoring queerphobia…shit this doesnt just fade away by chance, it takes active work. and part of this active work is Acknowledging Peoples Queerness As Something that is okay Out In The Open. the You in this isnt directed at you anon, just people who have these sentiments.

throwing vague statements like ‘they just love who they love’ Also creates this level of ambiguity. you might say “well why do u need the certainty when ur describing what is at the very least, something obviously very not straight” and to that i say youd be fucking surprised at how goddamn hard straight people will try to erase the queerness out of a character. like i’m going to use a game called life is strange as a example. i’ll give some background: in the game, the main character max can romance both chloe and warren. note that max is not one of those blank state wholly customisable bioware-esque player characters, she has a personality outside of the choices u make. anyway, the conclusion that is Logically drawn from this is that she is most likely bisexual. or at the very least in some way, not straight. and Yet i have seen discussions that say “she doesnt have a set sexuality it just depends on the playthrough so shes not rly a Queer Character.” even more than that, ive seen people that saw “well even in the chloe one shes not necessarily gay or bi maybe shes just Making an Exception for chloe bc their relationship transcends sexuality” and like ??? Why??? why cant she just be bi?? even when given a queer romance, why do u try and interpret it in a way that sets her up as straight?? ive seen people say “its not a romance its just something that Transcends Words” as if this is… mutually exclusive from being a romance. like… Why doesnt this happen when hetero relationships are depicted?? ive literally never seen someone say “u know, maybe hes not attracted to women and just Making an Exception so hes not straight” why dont u see people try to erase the romance aspect out of hetero romances by claiming their relationship is “Beyond Words.” this treatment is 1000% only ever afforded to queer characters. this attempt to play off romance as not rly romantic is only done to queer characters, even if its done subconsciously. people will Refuse to accept a character is queer as fuck if you dodge around it, because heteronormativity is so ingrained in every interaction that even obviously queer characters get filtered through this lens. the problem with this isnt necessarily apparent until u look at it within historical context, where queer people are repeatedly not allowed to be openly queer. these arent isolated incidents, but manifestations of the idea that queer people shouldnt ever be open about their sexuality. youve got to tackle the discomfort that people have with words like gay/lesbian/bi/etc

i think this particular character trope wouldnt bother me so much if it wasnt like… the only narrative ever present. time and time again, i have to see characters proclaim that they dont like labels while never once even hearing people breathe the word bisexual. if it existed alongside characters who were explicitly queer it would be less frustrating But its literally one of the few ways (semi positive attempts at least) queer characters are ever portrayed. this is particularly true for bisexual characters lmao like… yes…theres people who dont like labels…but theres also millions of bi people that just wanna see a fucking bi character Talk about being bi and all we ever get is a vague “i dont like labels” (that is often never explored further than that and treated as a throwaway line anyway). is creating characters who say that a genuine attempt to characterize someones struggles with labels or is it just a way to avoid saying the word Bisexual.

same with queer romance in media. its only ever Okay if u just hint at it- see dumbledore being gay. see- the korrasami thing (though i dont fault the writers for this bc they pushed hard for what they got, its issues with the network). why are queer people relegated to drawn out stares that May imply something while straight characters are allowed to get into explicit relationships. when u create ambiguous characters that May be interpreted as straight (even if youve really gotta stretch) ur prefer to maintain the negative “neutral” of the heteronormative status quo and allow homophobes to live with their views unchallenged more than u care about addressing queerness in characters.

its not a coincidence that we dont do this to straight romance or straight characters. this is particularly important for queer kids!! its good to see queer characters out there being openly queer. while me and u can often pick up on queer themes and narratives, a 8 year old is not going to get that. especially when theyve been conditioned to see straight romance as the only feasible choice. they wont realize the character youre writing is gay or bi or whatever Because they havent been exposed to the connotations we associate w certain phrases. its so important for queer kids to see queer characters Owning that theyre queer. its especially importantly to normalize words like gay or bi or pan. being gay is often Extremely hypersexualized (which is why so many people will tell u they dont care what u do in the bedroom bc they can only picture queerness is a sexual context) so when u Dont treat these words as things only adults can say, u help get rid of the stigma surrounding them. u help remove the idea that being queer is inappropriate for kids to hear about and that the only possible aspect to being queer is sexual.

anyway this has been Quite the Ramble but the point is that yes, we need to write more characters who are absolutely explicit about their sexuality and move away from the expectation that queer people need to create euphemisms to comfort homophobes desires to never hear about queerness.

#LONG POST #VERY LONG POST #man...u rly got me going #theres a lot of reasons why labels are important in the first place but man this is truly long enough as this is #i hope i didnt get too rambly and my point still stands i try to stop myself from going off on tangents #anon #ask

13 notes · View notes

eddiejpoplar · 6 years ago

Text

The Porsche Tech Who’s Been Wrenching Since Before the 911 Was Born

Porsche Cars North America recently gave out its newly created Technician Tenure Award to 126 of its certified technicians who boast 20 or more years of service. One’s dedication, though, particularly stood out: Larry Moulton, 74, was recognized as having the longest run—56 years—of any Porsche dealership tech in the U.S. He’s spent his entire career with Porsche in Salt Lake City—including 53 years with Strong Auto Group. For perspective, consider that the 911 had not even hit the market when he began working in 1962. We spoke with him about the differences, similarities, and cultural shifts he’s witnessed during a career with apparently no end soon in sight.

Automobile Magazine: How did this adventure begin?

Larry Moulton: I had hot rods and whatever, and when I got out of high school, I started getting into sports cars. Volkswagens and Porsches were my interest, so I went to the VW-Porsche dealer. I started two weeks out of high school, 1962. I was lucky enough to start working on the Porsches, 356s, with the other fella that was there.

AM: How quickly did things evolve?

LM: There were a [couple of service bays] devoted to Porsche, and they had one full-time master mechanic that came in from Germany . . . then the 911 showed up. The first one I’d seen of those, it was a 1965, ’66 model. And then we got 911s and 912s, and things just slowly progressed, [and] we got three stalls.

AM: What’s the most memorable job that’s come your way?

LM: Oh boy, that’d be a good question. One I remember well: A fella bought a ’76 911 Turbo, and he decided he was gonna throw it on the Bonneville Salt Flats and set a world record. He left the huge tires on it, which don’t work on salt. He did something to boost the turbo up, and I kept telling him, “At least run race gas,” and he didn’t, so it made it a half a mile and burned a hole right through the side of a cylinder.

AM: How difficult is it to stay up to speed as the cars change?

LM: You go to an engine or electrical school, and six months later you need to go to another one ’cause there’s some other layer, technology, or they’re adding this or doing that. It’s the whole industry moving so fast. You’re continually learning and training.

AM: What’s come along where you said, I never thought I’d see the day?

LM: The [dual-clutch] transmissions. That was a big thing, and then when the Cayenne came out, it changed everything. Instead of having the shop full of sports cars, all of a sudden you’ve got six SUVs and two sports cars. It changed the whole outlook and demographic of the product at that point for me.

AM: Speaking of that, how have customers changed?

LM: Back in the day, if you will, people would buy these cars and they were just enthusiasts. [They’d] keep the car for 30 years, and now a lot of the people will lease them, drive them for two years, and then they’ll come back and it’s, “Oh, I want a brand-new GT2 Turbo now instead of the regular Turbo.” [The] products change so fast; if you want the fastest Porsche, you’re gonna have to change every year.

AM: Has that impacted your client relationships?

LM: Yeah, but we still have customers that have driven nothing but Porsches for 20, 30 years. [One will] come in and say, “Oh, I got another new one,” but then I have some customers who still have the 912 they bought in 1968. You get both sides. I guess it’s different and the same in a way. We still talk to a lot of the old-time customers that have been around a long time.

AM: What advice do you give to someone interested in a career as a technician?

LM: Pick a product that’s exclusive; just don’t pick your run-of-the-mill domestic. If you’re gonna make a real success out of it, you need to specialize. You need to be a Porsche guy or an Audi guy. The opportunities are so much greater, and quite honestly you make a lot more money if you can specialize.

AM: What’s your favorite model?

LM: As far as the modern cars go, I like the Cayman GTS with a PDK transmission. It’s a real driver’s car, and it’s got a lot of soul. I’d like to have my ’58 Speedster back. Or an ’84 Carrera, something like that.

AM: What’s been the most difficult model to work on?

LM: Just in general, the 964 Turbo. Everything was so [tightly packaged]. The one with the most technology is the new Panamera. It’s just like two worlds. A guy I work with, we had a 356 with a bit of a clutch problem, and I had to take the engine in and out about nine times before he was happy. Some of those things, it was a real challenge, but you didn’t care how long it took. You just wanted it right.

AM: Tools have changed quite a lot as well; is the job easier today?

LM: No, it’s more difficult. The days of the carburetor and the points are long gone. Everything on the car is integrated. All the computers talk to each other. It’s a difficult job, and for someone new to come in off the street, that’s quite a daunting task.

AM: Do you have tricks to remember everything you’ve learned?

LM: I don’t keep track of it. I remember the old cars; you just kind of keep it straight. I work with a guy named Randy Yates. We’ve worked together for 35 years. So we can just say, “You remember this?” Or, “You’ve seen that.” It really helps.

IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger 6

0 notes

jonathanbelloblog · 6 years ago

Text

The Porsche Tech Who’s Been Wrenching Since Before the 911 Was Born

Automobile Magazine: How did this adventure begin?

AM: How quickly did things evolve?

AM: What’s the most memorable job that’s come your way?

AM: How difficult is it to stay up to speed as the cars change?

AM: What’s come along where you said, I never thought I’d see the day?

AM: Speaking of that, how have customers changed?

AM: Has that impacted your client relationships?

AM: What advice do you give to someone interested in a career as a technician?

AM: What’s your favorite model?

AM: What’s been the most difficult model to work on?

AM: Tools have changed quite a lot as well; is the job easier today?

AM: Do you have tricks to remember everything you’ve learned?

IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4

0 notes

jesusvasser · 6 years ago

Text

The Porsche Tech Who’s Been Wrenching Since Before the 911 Was Born

Automobile Magazine: How did this adventure begin?

AM: How quickly did things evolve?

AM: What’s the most memorable job that’s come your way?

AM: How difficult is it to stay up to speed as the cars change?

AM: What’s come along where you said, I never thought I’d see the day?

AM: Speaking of that, how have customers changed?

AM: Has that impacted your client relationships?

AM: What advice do you give to someone interested in a career as a technician?

AM: What’s your favorite model?

AM: What’s been the most difficult model to work on?

AM: Tools have changed quite a lot as well; is the job easier today?

AM: Do you have tricks to remember everything you’ve learned?

IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk WP Feed 4

0 notes

ethelbertpaul444-blog · 7 years ago

Text

It’s Time for an RSS Revival

The modern web contains no shortage of frights, from ubiquitous ad trackers to all-consuming platforms to YouTube notes, generally. Unfortunately, there &# x27; s no panacea for what ails this internet we &# x27; ve built. But anyone sicken of black-box algorithm ensure what the hell are you encounter online at least has a respite, one that &# x27; s been there all along but has often disappeared ignored. Tired of Twitter? Facebook fatigued? It &# x27; s time to intelligence back to RSS. For many of you, that means attaining a permutation for Digg Reader, which proceeded the action of the phantom this month. Or perhaps you haven &# x27; t applied RSS since five years ago, when Google Reader, the beloved firehose of word headlines got the axe. For others, it wants figuring out what the heck an RSS feed is still in first place–we &# x27; ll get to that in merely a hour. And some of “youve already” moved on to the next clause in your Feedly queue. No matter what your current disposition, though, in this age of algorithmic overreach there &# x27; s something profoundly filling about noting tales beyond what your loudest Titter follows shared, or that Facebook &# x27; s News Feed optimized into your life. And lots of tools that can get you there. Cue RSS RSS expressed support for Genuinely Simple Syndication( or Rich Site Summary) and it was first seamed into the tapestry of the open network around the turn of the millennium. Its aim is straightforward: to make it easy to track updates of the levels of a established website in a standardized format. In practice, and for your purposes, that implies it can give you a thorough, regularly updated look at all of the information contained your favorite sites publish throughout the day. Judge of it as the ultimate aggregator; every morsel from every beginning you care about, fed instantly to you. Or, more commonly, fed to you through an intermediary known as an RSS feed reader, software that helps you squabble all of those disparate headlines into something remotely manageable. &# x27; We &# x27; re trying to keep occasions as the latter are .&# x27 ;P TAGEND Ben Wolf, The Old Reader The difference between getting bulletin from an RSS reader and going it from Facebook or Twitter or Nuzzel or Apple News is a bit like the difference between a Vegas buffet and an a la carte menu. In either occasion, you judge what you actually want to down. But the buffet gives you a entire world of the possibility of you otherwise might never have seen. “There are several approachings to connecting to report. Social experienced pretty interesting at first, but when you mix social and algorithmic, you can easily get into these sound illusions, or areas where you don &# x27; t inevitably feel 100 percentage in control of the algorithm, ” enunciates Edwin Khodabakchian, cofounder and CEO of favourite RSS reader Feedly. “A tool like Feedly gives you a more transparent and controllable course to connect to the information you need.” With 14 million users, Feedly is most important RSS reader on world markets. And it &# x27; s easy to see why; it &# x27; s as feature-full as one could hope for, and has been around since 2008.( It likewise inherited a sizeable gob of Google Reader &# x27; s jilted gathering .) It &# x27; s far from your only alternative, though. All RSS readers perform within the same basic summarize. You tell them what RSS feeds you &# x27 ;d like to follow — The New York Times , tell, or WIRED–and they compile every new headline those areas churn out, offering anything from a snippet of information to the full narration, depending on how much the publisher grants. Each settles a slightly different spin on the process from there. Feedly, for instance, has for the last two years gravitated toward being a tool for investigate rather than passive amusement. That &# x27; s partly in response to pulpits chewing the open entanglement. “If you go after entertainment, you &# x27; re not vying against other reader bulletin implements. You &# x27; re actually competing with Instagram and other things beings do to kill time, ” alleges Khodabakchian. “On the other paw, if you think of this as an knowledge implement, or investigate aide, we learn a huge and increasing demand for that.” Still, Feedly has slew to volunteer casual users. It has a clean user interface, and the free account of its service gives you follow 100 sources, categorized into up to three feeds–think News, Sports, Humor, or wherever your interests lie. It likewise shows how favourite each narrative is, both on Feedly and across many social networks, to give you a sense of what people are reading without making that information prescribe what you identify. Paid accounts–of which Feedly has about 100,000 — get you more feeds and integrations, faster modernizes, and better tools for teams. For more of a throwback suffer, you are able to try The Old Reader, which deprives down the RSS reader ordeal while still highlighting a social component. “In periods of progression, we &# x27; re collected from another perspective, ” alleges Ben Wolf, whose Levee Labs acquired The Old Reader in 2013. “We &# x27; re trying to keep thoughts as they were.” For the million or so Old Reader users, that entails not many bells and whistles. Even the mechanism to add brand-new feeds feelings only a touching more onerous than you &# x27; ll find abroad. But formerly you do get accurately coordinated, it &# x27; s a fast and glowing experience, and if you are able persuasion some acquaintances to participate, its social features will help you cut through the jumble. Most of all, there &# x27; s not much to get in the way of the headlines, which is what you came for in the first place. Power consumers, meanwhile, might try Inoreader, which provides for for free many of the features–unlimited feeds and tags, and some key integrations–Feedly funds for paying histories. “I would say that at the moment Feedly is ahead of us in terms of mass request design seem and UX, which is something we will try to tackle with our upcoming redesign, ” mentions Victor Stankov, Inoreader &# x27; s business development manager. “Hardcore morons enjoy us behavior more than Feedly.” And those are just three options of many. The item being: In 2018, it &# x27; s easy to find an RSS reader out there that suits your needs. Which, in hindsight, is no small-time miracle. Throwback Five years ago, when Wolf made over The Old Reader, he offered a prescient insight: “How long will it be before your Facebook stream is so full of promoted content, outlandish algorithmic decisions, and tracking cookie based patronizing go-cart remembrances that you earned &# x27; t be coming any helpful report, ” Wolf wrote. “For as little as $60, a business can promote a page to Facebook customers. It won &# x27; t be long before your word feed is worthless.” Which, well, here we are. Not merely that, but two-thirds of Americans get at least some of their information from social media, according to a recent Pew Research Center study, leaving traditional sources behind. &# x27; RSS readers have not only existed in the age of social media, but are driving more and more attention back to themselves .&# x27 ;P TAGEND Victor Stankov, Inoreader The platformization of the web has claimed countless victims, RSS readers included. Google Reader &# x27; s 2013 collapse was a major blow; the company offed it in favor of “products to address each customer &# x27; s interest with the correct information at the right time via the most suitable entails, ” as it Google executive Richard Gingras put it at the time. In other oaths, giving Google Now decide what the hell are you want. And the popular Digg Reader, which was born in response to that shuttering, closed its entrances this week after a roughly four-year run. Despite those setbacks, though, RSS has persisted. “I can &# x27; t genuinely explain it, I would have made given all the abuse it &# x27; s taken over its first year that it would be stumbling a good deal worse, ” alleges programmer Dave Winer, who helped originate RSS. It owes that resilience in part thanks to social media burnout. Stankov alleges rummage traffic to Inoreader has virtually double-dealing since 2015, all organically. “RSS readers have not only survived in the era of social media, but are driving more and more attention back to themselves, as parties are realizing the pitfalls” of relying too much on Facebook and others, Stankov says. RSS readers undoubtedly have their own shortcomings as well. The firehose approaching is very easy to overwhelm, peculiarly when multiple shops all publish the same bulletin at the same experience. There are various solutions to this; Stankov drawn attention to filtering tools that help you skip the things you don &# x27; t am worried about, while Wolf announces The Old Reader has experimented with implements to help highlight precisely one fib when there are dozens of near-identicals. Different publishers likewise volunteer RSS feeds of varyingly helpful units. The New York Times and The Ringer , for instance, offer granular preferences to facilitate focus on the topics you care about, while others offer either simply one big-hearted hodgepodge or strangely sparse revises. Sites that publish infrequently can easily get lost in the concoction. And multimedia factors sometimes don &# x27; t cross the transom; FiveThirtyEight recently operated a entertaining, interactive trade war game that RSS couldn &# x27; t parse. The readers all have establishes to cure cope with these issues to differing positions , where possible; it &# x27; s time such matters of how many hours you want to waste mold your RSS bonsai. “Social media has mass request because it is simple to understand and use, with little to no provokes implied for the user, ” pronounces Stankov. “RSS is entire different activity, where the main goal is for the end user to research and find prized information sources, as well as occasionally clean up the bulletin feed from insignificant noise.”( Those who want a rightfully passive know outside of Facebook and Twitter might look instead to aggregators like Apple News or Flipboard, or even Texture, which for $10 a month gives you full issues of dozens of magazine entitles to flip through .) Even with negligible tweaking, though, returning to RSS this week offered up a few amusing surprises I never would have viewed otherwise: the Yankees getting in disturbance for player beer-foam prowes; an American contending for the world chess championship; the latest on Ben Affleck &# x27; s hilariously oversized back tattoo. These aren &# x27; t the floors everyone is reading. But they &# x27; re the ones I want to read. RSS Evolution While RSS readers volunteer a temple from the algorithmic coming, they &# x27; re likewise not opposed to using algorithm of their own, as they continue to evolve and recapture relevance. That &# x27; s not quite existing conflicts it might seem. “Machines can have a big capacity in helping understand the information, so algorithms can be very useful, but for that they have to be transparent and the user has to feel in control, ” responds Khodabakchian. “What &# x27; s missing today with the black-box algorithms is where they look over your shoulder, and don &# x27; t cartel you to be able to tell what &# x27; s right.” With its focus on professional users, Feedly hopes AI can better connect customers with niche experts. Wolf, very, touts AI as a lane to better signal standout storeys. “I anticipate algorithms are immense, ” Wolf announces. “I imagine their own problems is when the algorithms is under the responsibility of marketing companies.” And despite Digg Reader &# x27; s die, brand-new RSS tools continue to come online. Even Winer has re-entered the fraca, this week pioneering feedbase, a database of feeds that realise it easy to envision what others subscribe to, ideally causing invention and an even more open approaching. “I thought it might be a good time to try to add an important peculiarity to RSS that was always part of the perception, dynamic subscription inventories, ” Winer says. Still, the lasting plea of RSS remains the personas that haven &# x27; t changed: the unfiltered viewpoint of the open network, and the opportunities to oblige your own decisions about what the hell are you find there. “The most amazing thing to me about RSS is that no one certainly went away from it, ” articulates Wolf. “It still exists. Somehow through all of this. It &# x27; s crazy, in a way, that when you go away from RSS and then come back to it, it &# x27; s all still there.” Related Video Business How to Fight the Bad Logic of the Internet | Argument Clinic There’s a lot of bad reasoning out there. WIRED’s Jason Tanz explains how to distinguish and fight the dumbest polemics online. Read more: https :// www.wired.com/ floor/ rss-readers-feedly-inoreader-old-reader / http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/06/05/its-time-for-an-rss-revival/

0 notes

trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

Text

Devin Nunes Is the Emblematic Republican Hack of the Trump Era

The sickest thing about the Trump era isnt Donald Trump himself, but the way the Republican Party has completely corrupted itself to be his servant. The media love to highlight Republican Never Trumpers, and there are many in the pundit class. But not in the politician class. Out of nearly 300 Republican legislators in Washington, exactly one has been courageous enough to call Trump the shyster he so obviously is: Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake. But hes wimping out by retiring.

On the other side, the competition for Best Supporting Actor for the Man Who Lies Every Time He Speaks is intense. Youd have to rate Mike Pence high, but nobody cares what the vice president says or doesany VP, but especially this one. Paul Ryan is way up there, if only for that single sycophantic adjective exquisite (applied to Trumps leadership) after they enacted the tax bill.

But I think its clear that the Oscar goes to Devin Nunes, because his corruption has consequences. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has a serious job. Its a panel that has existed for nearly half a century, and it came into being to safeguard the republic against abuses of power by intelligence agencies. If youve never heard of Otis Pike, the Democratic congressman from Long Island, go Google him. He was exactly what a legislator in a democracy was supposed to be.

The founding mission of the House and Senate intel committees was to protect American citizens against abuses of power by intelligence agencies. Thats a noble goal; the kind of thing the government exists to do.

Nunes has corrupted that mission completely. Hes changed it from citizens to citizen, because his intelligence committee is in the business of protecting one citizen: Trump.

In January, he pushed out the release of a memo that was obviously designed to shield Trump and that totally broke committee tradition and protocol. Then last Friday, his committee released its final report on the collusion question, and guess what? It found no evidence of collusion, because it chose not to interview anybody who might have had evidence of collusion.

On Sunday on Meet the Press, former FBI Director James Comey called the committee report on a wreck. It wrecked the committee, and it damaged relationships with the [U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court], the intelligence communities, he said. Other former intelligence officials, like John McLaughlin on MSNBC Sunday afternoon, agreed that Nunes has politicized the committee in ways hed never seen in 40 years.

Back in January, McLaughlin, who once ran the CIA, tweeted: FISA warrants typically are big thick documents, 50-60 pages. If the Nunes memo about one is just 4 pages, you can bet its a carefully picked bowl of cherries. Made all the more dishonest by holding back the minority rebuttal memo. A real debate needs both. Someone fears that. I think we know who that someone is. The same someone Nunes is out to protect.

I cant say exactly whats motivating the guy. But heres a little hint. He represents a district in Californias Central Valley that abuts Fresno. The Cook Political Report rates it R+8, which means its a pretty Republican district, but not an overwhelmingly safe one. He has a serious Democratic opponent this year, a former prosecutor named Andrew Janz, who has raised $1.4 million in the last year.

But Nunes has raised morea lot more: around $2.5 million. Howd he do it? Heres how the Washington Examiner put it this month: Rep. Devin Nunes, a once-obscure Republican congressman from Californias rural Central Valley, saw his fundraising spike during the first quarter of the year as his steady antagonism of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation turned him into a national folk hero on the right.

So there it is. It would be one thing if Nunes chaired the transportation committee. In that case, having sold his soul to Donald Trump wouldnt really matter. But now, the oversight of the nations intelligence agencies is governed by the committee chairmans ability to raise gobs of right-wing money from people who are out to protect Trump.

And thats why the Oscar goes to Nunes. If theres one chairmanship in the House of Representatives thats supposed to be in theory somewhat apolitical, its the intel committee. Its officially called the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and that word select means that the leaders of both parties individually choose the members. In theory, theyre supposed to pick people who have demonstrated in their House career that theyre not totally political animals.

John Boehners choice of Nunes is one of his worst decisions as speaker. But just as Nunes was selected, he can also be unselected any time the speaker wants. Paul Ryan could fire him today. As Mieke Eoyang wrote in Politico recently, Ryan, who is retiring and thus free to act with something resembling integrity in his final days, should fire Nunes immediately. She lays out the whole bizarre history of Nunes capitulation to Trump, which started during the transition and got really weird when Trump accused Barack Obama of wiretapping him.

Ryan wont do that, of course. Hes too much of a coward to do anything that would unsettle Trump, as hes proven time and time again. That job will be up to the voters of Californias 22nd Congressional District. Larry Sabato just downgraded the district from safe Republican to likely Republican.

One of the signal glories of the Democrats taking back the House would be seeing Adam Schiff take over the chairmanship of the intel committee, bumping Nunes down to the powerless minority. But it would be even sweeter if Central Valley voters returned him to private life. Hes probably already earned a nice future on Fox News, but at least he couldnt do any actual harm there.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/devin-nunes-is-the-emblematic-republican-hack-of-the-trump-era

from Viral News HQ https://ift.tt/2H1O1LP via Viral News HQ

#IFTTT #Viral News HQ

0 notes

foursprouthealth-blog · 7 years ago

Text

What You've Always Wanted to Know About Supplements

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/what-youve-always-wanted-to-know-about-supplements/

What You've Always Wanted to Know About Supplements

Not a day goes by when I don’t see an article claiming some new supplement will change my life. Take this for better sleep! Try that for less anxiety! This is definitely missing from your morning routine. This little pill fixed that crazy-famous celebrity’s super-relatable problem. Trade in everything and try this single supplement superhero!

Is your head spinning yet? Mine is. And my pantry is overflowing with so many tinctures, powders, and cure-all pills that I could honestly open my own holistic pharmacy. From digestive aids to stress reducers to sleep inducers to who the heck knows what that is or what it’s for, there’s no shortage of supplements that can supposedly help with, well, everything.

While it’s important to get to know supplements and what they’re really good for (PSA: don’t believe everything you read), there’s another burning question that’s always on my mind: What’s the best way to take supplements in the first place?

Sure, popping pills is fast and convenient. And yes, mixing powders with smoothies certainly helps mask less than desirable flavors (cough cough, ashwagandha). But does the way I’m ingesting them really make a difference?

What Are Supplements?

For those who have yet to go buck wild adding every vitamin, mineral, adaptogen, protein powder, and magic elixir to your Amazon cart, supplements are products aimed at enhancing (also known as supplementing) your diet. From herbs to amino acids to enzymes to everything in-between, they come in various forms, like capsules, tablets, powders, and even energy bars.

Still not ringing a bell?

It’s likely someone recommended vitamin C or echinacea last time you had a cold, or suggested probiotics when you complained about your out-of-whack gut. Ever taken vitamin D when you were SAD? Or fish oil for that healthy heart? What about adding protein powder to your post-workout smoothie? Yep, all supplements.

Should I Be Taking Them?

In 2004, one in 10 adults reported taking herbal supplements. As of 2016, 71 percent of adults in the U.S.—more than 170 million!—reported taking dietary supplements. As people become increasingly interested in optimal health, curiosity about all-natural remedies, healing diets, and other holistic measures has piqued.

And while the best way to fuel your body is with a healthy diet, supplements can be a great way to give yourself a boost. (Read: Supplements should be complementary to a healthy lifestyle, not used as band-aids for not-so-healthy ones.) But the best way to figure out what you need isn’t surfing the internet.

“I recommend two things,” says Josh Axe, D.N.M., C.N.S., D.C., and founder of Ancient Nutrition and DrAxe.com. “One, be an advocate for your own health. Do your research on any concerns or conditions you may have so that you understand what may help most.”

OK, maybe surfing the internet isn’t such a bad idea. Just make sure any “facts” you find are actually that—and that they’re backed by science.

“Second, I recommend working with a like-minded medical practitioner,” he says. “Your chosen professional should be able to understand the effectiveness and interactions of any supplements you may be (or want to start) taking, and will be able to examine your medical history, symptoms, and any relevant tests to custom-design a supplement program for you, should they suggest you could benefit from it.”

That said, consultations and tests don’t come cheap. So if you’re looking to keep things simple, Dr. Axe says that he’s seen positive results when people take the following supplement staples. But as always, check with your doctor first before filling your shopping cart:

Probiotics: These gut-friendly microorganisms have a slew of benefits, like improving the immune system, preventing and treating gastrointestinal issues, and supporting skin health.

Vitamin D: While you may think that reaching for vitamin C is the way to go when it comes to colds, vitamin D is actually where it’s at. It’s also been shown to help treat depression and strengthen our bones.

Protein Powder: You’re likely no stranger to this well-known post-workout powder. Not only does it help smoothies taste like milkshakes, but it also may help our muscles recover and potentially promote a healthy body weight.

Turmeric: Golden latte, anyone? This medicinal herb (and popular spice) is anti-inflammatory and may even help treat cancer.

Where Do I Buy Them?

If you’ve ever wandered down the aisles of health foods stores in search of a supplement, you know how overwhelming it can be. Tinctures, tablets, powders, capsules… all with varying doses, sold by countless brands, with prices all over the board, and mixed into so many combos that you end up cross-eyed. I often leave with several bottles and jars and more confused (and broke) than ever.

And it’s not just me. Even health professionals find picking the right supplement tricky.

“This is one of the hardest things to tackle,” says Tara Coleman, a clinical nutritionist who started her career as a chemist in the biopharmaceutical industry. “Supplement companies are regulated as food rather than drugs so they don’t follow the same rigorous testing and verification that our pharmaceuticals do.”

Case in point: A review done by Vox in 2016 showed that more than 850 dietary supplements contained illegal and/or hidden ingredients. Gulp. These included banned drugs, pharmaceuticals like anti-depressants, and other chemicals that have never been tested on humans. Double gulp.

While I’m not convinced we should abandon supplements entirely, I am convinced that buying them from a reputable company is the best way to ensure supplement safety—and effectiveness.

“Products that are available at reputable retail locations (Whole Foods, for example) will often go through a rigorous compliance review,” Dr. Axe says. “Products with outside certifications (like USDA certified organic) would also go through more testing. I like to give Whole Foods as a baseline because its standards for manufactured supplements are even stricter than the FDA’s.”

As for online shopping… not so much.

“I would be concerned about products available only online (either through the company’s own website or a marketplace reseller, such as Amazon) or late-night infomercial products,” Dr. Axe adds. “These tend to have the most issues with quality, compliance, and adulteration.”

Another pro tip: Look for third-party verification, which is a stamp of approval from a company with expertise in quality assessment that is not associated with the manufacturer. Good ones to look for include United States Pharmacopeia (USP), NSF International, and Consumer Lab.

“Companies that choose to put themselves through additional testing to prove the quality or potency do so at their own expense,” Coleman says. “Typically this is a sign of integrity and transparency and speaks highly of the company.”

As for the way we take them, that’s a little simpler—and less scary. (Phew.)

The Best Way to Take Supplements

I love adding powders to smoothies and lattes, will occasionally (and begrudgingly) down a tincture, and have been known to swallow up to 10 pills at once (don’t worry, just herbal). My choices have mostly been based on flavor and convenience and less so because I thought the way I consumed them actually mattered.

Does it?

“As a rule of thumb, the order of bioavailability (meaning your body can actually use it) typically goes liquid or tincture, powder, and then capsules,” Coleman says.

But there doesn’t seem to be a huge—or scientifically proven—difference.

“Many sources claim that a liquid-based supplement is the most ideal for absorption, but that type of assumption has yet to be proven,” Dr. Axe says. “Typically, how you take a supplement depends on how much your body may need or be able to use. For example, a protein powder scoop would typically have to be divided into 30+ capsules for you to get the same amount in one serving.”

Protein powder capsules? Maybe not such a great way to give your body what it needs. But for something like ashwagandha, which is often consumed in small servings (typically no more than a teaspoon) and doesn’t have the best taste, capsules are just fine. And considering many supplements require prolonged use to see the benefits, bioavailability may not actually be so important—depending on your needs.

As with most health-related things, it’s also about you assessing your own lifestyle and needs. Not everyone can stomach the bitter taste of tinctures, and similarly, not everyone wants to (or can) swallow numerous pills. In fact, some may not even be able to stomach pills.

“The downside to capsules is that there is a small percentage of people that may not react well to the material that the capsule is made from,” Coleman says.

And while the material of supplement capsules—and our ability to digest them—is widely contested, it’s something to watch out for (says someone who actually showed signs of inflammation in their stomach, which their gastroenterologist guessed was from all those supplements).

So yes, there are a few things to consider, but really it comes down to—surprise, surprise—you. And once you’ve picked your poison (slash method of choice), here are few supplemental tips to keep in mind:

To help break up clumps—which is a common frustration when using powders—use a blender, milk frother, or shaker bottle (like a Blender Bottle). They’re easy, fast, and (almost) lump-free.

Mix tinctures with eight ounces of water or a splash of juice to help subdue the flavor. That said, if you’re a ‘rip off the band-aid’ kind of person, there’s no harm in going straight down the hatch, Coleman says.

If you’re worried about the material capsules are made from, sprinkle the contents into liquid and drink them instead. (Though Dr. Axe says that modern supplement capsules are more easily digestible and break down within seconds.)

With some supplements, what you take them with actually matters. Fat-soluble vitamins, for example, need fat present to be fully absorbed. Vitamin C also helps iron absorb, so they should be taken together. Calcium, on the other hand, can compete with iron, so calcium supplements should be taken a few hours after an iron-rich meal.

Additionally, some supplements can negatively interact with medication, making them less effective, and in some cases, even dangerous.

Have I mentioned that consulting a health professional is really helpful?

The Takeaway

Unfortunately, supplements simply aren’t that simple. To get the most out of them, you need to understand what they can actually do and how to best integrate them into your life. And because each supplement is different, as is each individual taking it, it’s best to get guidance from a health professional as opposed to trusting the internet.

But I know that’s easier said than done. So when it comes to supplements, make sure to buy the good stuff—from the brands that make it well—and make sure to thoroughly investigate before popping any pills or sipping any super drinks.

#Health

0 notes

foursprout-blog · 7 years ago

Text

What You've Always Wanted to Know About Supplements

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/what-youve-always-wanted-to-know-about-supplements/

What You've Always Wanted to Know About Supplements

What Are Supplements?

Still not ringing a bell?

Should I Be Taking Them?

OK, maybe surfing the internet isn’t such a bad idea. Just make sure any “facts” you find are actually that—and that they’re backed by science.

Probiotics: These gut-friendly microorganisms have a slew of benefits, like improving the immune system, preventing and treating gastrointestinal issues, and supporting skin health.

Turmeric: Golden latte, anyone? This medicinal herb (and popular spice) is anti-inflammatory and may even help treat cancer.

Where Do I Buy Them?

And it’s not just me. Even health professionals find picking the right supplement tricky.

While I’m not convinced we should abandon supplements entirely, I am convinced that buying them from a reputable company is the best way to ensure supplement safety—and effectiveness.

As for online shopping… not so much.

As for the way we take them, that’s a little simpler—and less scary. (Phew.)

The Best Way to Take Supplements

Does it?

“As a rule of thumb, the order of bioavailability (meaning your body can actually use it) typically goes liquid or tincture, powder, and then capsules,” Coleman says.

But there doesn’t seem to be a huge—or scientifically proven—difference.

“The downside to capsules is that there is a small percentage of people that may not react well to the material that the capsule is made from,” Coleman says.

To help break up clumps—which is a common frustration when using powders—use a blender, milk frother, or shaker bottle (like a Blender Bottle). They’re easy, fast, and (almost) lump-free.

Additionally, some supplements can negatively interact with medication, making them less effective, and in some cases, even dangerous.

Have I mentioned that consulting a health professional is really helpful?

The Takeaway

#Health

0 notes

exactlydecaffeinatedprince-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Will Trump's Management Agree The Dictators?

Computers and related electronic resources have related to play a main role in learning. HIS initial job was in sea insurance in the Area but after three years he joined a regional paper as a reporter and proceeded to the BBC where he did work in the file public library. It provides you a great deal to deal with as well as I also really feel that this could be a comforting book for people along with life threating sickness. Looking for recipes, I picked up Alicia's Silverstone's" The Kind Diet regimen" as well as that practically modified my lifestyle. A latest Washington Post short article described this well: This is the all-natural dynamic whereby market economies become wealthier as performance strengthens. This is actually challenging to rise to a setting from leadership in any institution or in any kind of society. She performed such a remarkable task precisely representing life in the south after the public war. This is a publication regarding a number of the many things I have actually loved very most in life: my spouse, Paul Kid; los angeles belle France; and the various delights from preparing food and consuming. Intimate spiritlessness apart, Kishino, like Tomita, says he appreciates his energetic singular everyday life. Prior to you head out as well as discover the lifestyle instructor qualification system that matches you best, take a few days to comprehend exactly what life mentoring is actually (and also exactly what lifestyle coaching is actually not ), understand the plans, as well as most importantly, get a deeper understanding from exactly what you wish out of this profession. As opposed to brand-new areas, he wants to find out brand new methods from carrying out and believing, specifically in the business of clean technologies for a far better quality of life. The mechanical animals they believed meaningless are demonstrating noticeably non-mindless actions, sometimes acting (and looking) quite individual. You can easily also receive involved with a lot of organizations, featuring the Polaris Task, Not for Sale and the Project to Finish Human Trafficking, which are all functioning to put an end to modern-day restraint. So that is actually no surprise that Invader looked unlike everything that had happened before - where previous movie monsters looked like guys in rubber matches, Scott hired developer Human Resources Giger to make a truly eerie critter in his signature biomechanical design. Considering that steward have been actually educated on exactly how place this, our company are actually asked to offer services to assist police at the Super Dish each year, as well as annually individuals acquire apprehended for individual trafficking. That sounds like a lot of carbohydrates as well as I prepped all of this prior to completely reading this post but this emerges to be just 25 Web Carbs so I believe that is actually pretty good. The Apple Check out is actually the ideal-- as well as truly the just-- choice if you wish a physical fitness tracker that can easily stand in for your iPhone in a dash. Past life regression seemed therefore flaky to me prior to reading these the real world regressions and progress. Her advocacy for females's civil rights worldwide has succeeded support coming from a diverse following of over an one-fourth from a thousand influencers, consisting of Arianna Huffington, actress Nazanin Boniadi, star Taye Diggs, TELEVISION hold Montel Williams, Style UK publisher Laura Bailey and British pop performer Kim Wilde. He said: Our team possess proof that even in the individual genome, 40 per cent of our DNA is virus-like, and it has been actually integrated during the course of our evolution. The human body is thus exceptionally sophisticated that I doubt our team'll ever possess a definite solution on the greatest feasible diet plan. The story line is actually constantly therefore believable - the characters so developed (I possess a great image in my thoughts as I read these). and if you have actually journeyed the world Daniel Silva brings areas youve been to life again - also locations you've never been. Yet as he arrives at the end from his days he knows that his life possesses some structure, some significance, even, because this is actually laid outed due to the females he has actually understood and also loved. The S7 catches the kind of pictures you may upload to Instagram along with a ridiculous but proud #nofilter. In reading through Frederick's anecdotal it absolutely educates you regarding the lifestyle inside slavery and also just how strong the belief of an individual could be to escape the evil of the planet. Howevered, our company do not need to wait till independent cars are capable of handling all type of trips without human treatment. I should not have actually presumed that bariatric surgical procedure possessed the same insurance policy benefits as various other surgical treatments. Douglas participates in Truck Gogh, and does an excellent work, if only the remainder of the actors were just as good as him, this would be a wonderful flick. I got to know Lucy Barton the manner in which I are familiar with individuals in my lifestyle - one story each time. In the 1980s, Amaradio was actually Equitable Lifestyle Affirmation's highest-producing agent. He responded along with a project from' allowing and also censorship' that is at the centre of constitutionals rights accusations: trying to buy out Globovisión and also subjecting this to heavy greats for claimed journalistic predisposition. Right now as a teen, his moments of this lifestyle have wiped out the memories from his previous lifestyle, however not just before his mommy tape-recorded the details, and also researched - which led her to learn that her child resided in a past life. Recently, several posters for Fate 2 appeared online, birthing the very same logo design that Bungie introduced today. Read Full Article for Fair treatment, which simply opened on April 6, teaches survivors of sexual activity contraband to seek careers in law. Listed below, after that, is another necessary think about our ability to reside a purposeful lifestyle: We need to be willing to stay in a genuine means, one that permits our company to show who our experts genuinely are actually - even if this has nerve. Yet Workplace as needed is a Windows-only component; this continues to be to become seen whether it is going to be on call to Mac consumers when the upcoming model of Workplace for Mac computer is actually discharged. Kislyak resided in the Oval Workplace recently, though the White Property failed to broadcast this fact.

It's a wonderful tip to improve at least one or two to fundamental factories, yet I wouldn't trouble carrying on to automation or much higher unless you really possess the extra financing (significance don't lose your life savings on that) as well as you know you possess the supply room to deal with the boosted production. Our company phone this key persistence." While you hang around, you are actually not putting your lifestyle on hold or losing time expecting one thing to happen. I try to aim for 2. That is actually the most organic thing a human can possibly do, and also this merely really feels correct to stroll in the woods along with nature. That is actually a moment where you possess enthusiasm or even electrical power over your very own life in a planet that usually leaves you powerless. Individual traffickers do work in a variety from techniques, and also kidnapping is just one of all of them, details Sara Elizabeth Dill, director of criminal compensation standards and policy at the American Pub Organization Offender Compensation Area. Individual Dairy 4 Human Children - A volunteer-driven aggregate to sustain sensible as well as risk-free distribution of benefactor milk. Guide returns and forth eventually exposing Cora's life with its own ordeals and also tribulations.

0 notes

politicalfilth-blog · 8 years ago

Text

The Most Powerful Family You’ve Never Heard Of

We Are Change

Article via The Anti-Media by Alex Thomas

History is full of powerful families that have left their mark on the political and economic systems of their age. During the Italian Renaissance, there were the Borgias and Medicis. In the United States, a number of families have realized America is not only the land of opportunity but also the land of wealth and dynastic power. We’ve had the Astors and Rockefellers, and even the Rothschilds have a foothold in the American power system.

More recently, the Koch brothers have drawn attention to themselves, and though Charles and David generally try to avoid the spotlight, their fingerprints are all over the political system. Apparently, it’s tough to be the mysterious Wizard of Oz when you’ve bankrolled half the politicians in the Emerald City. Though they’ve historically backed Republicans, the pair has also opposed President Trump. Only last week, when the administration’s Obamacare repeal died before a vote, it was brought down by the Freedom Caucus, a group of congressmen loyal to the Freedom Partners, a political arm of the billionaires.

However, under the Trump administration, a new family is entering the generally cemented world of D.C. power-grabbing. The Mercer family is headed by Robert Mercer, who the New Yorker characterized as “a reclusive Long Island hedge-fund manager, who has become a major force behind the Trump Presidency.” And while Mercer is still a relatively new face on the scene, he’s been building his influence for several years. Like a brilliant chess player, he has been placing his pieces exactly where they can inflict the most damage.

The Mercer patriarch is constantly described as “a brilliant but reclusive computer scientist.” He made a considerable portion of his wealth as CEO of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies. In their profile of him, The Guardian wrote that Mercer “very rarely speaks in public and never to journalists.”

I asked a handful of D.C. contacts, people usually quite willing to talk to me as a journalist, for more information about the family and was met with a wave of the hand or a refusal to go on record — even to be quoted as an anonymous source.

As The Guardian noted, Mercer is a hard man to find, and so “to gauge his beliefs you have to look at where he channels his money.” Last week, the family appeared at a conference in Washington D.C. sponsored by the Heartland Institute, an organization they pumped over $5 million into between 2008 and 2015. It is best known for its efforts to deny climate change. The Washington Post sent reporters to that conference, but unsurprisingly, the Mercers (Robert and his daughter Rebekah) refused interviews.

In their report, the Post noted a number of familiar and prominent faces in the audience, including Myron Ebell, a scientist who has become the go-to man for climate change denial. Ebell even led President Trump’s EPA transition team.

Mercer was influential in putting President Trump in the White House, pumping millions into GOP super PACs. The New Yorker’s profile of him even paints him as a man who endorses the sort of fringe theories that are common on alt-right sites like Infowars or Gateway Pundit.

A colleague stated that “Mercer insisted at a staff luncheon that Clinton had participated in a secret drug-running scheme with the C.I.A” (though the C.I.A. has played a role in drug schemes in the past, evidence of this particular theory is shaky at best). In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Trump declared, “The Mercers are incredible people who truly love this country and go all out to protect America and everything it stands for.”

The Mercers’ success arises from the family’s ability to invest their money in the most strategic pockets and come out big. While most Democrats and old school conservatives were busy funding think tanks and pumping their cash into candidates, the Mercers put their money into Breitbart, the news organization that has become synonymous with the Trump presidency.

The Wall Street Journal reported that shortly after Steve Bannon met Mercer, “Mr. Bannon drew up a business plan and term sheet under which the Mercer family bought nearly 50% of Breitbart News for $10 million.” Bannon is the former chair of Breitbart news and now a top White House strategist who is widely seen as the most powerful man in Washington.

For further reading after @NewYorker Robert Mercer profile (https://t.co/9hSqt7XGLy) check this @levinecarrie piece: https://t.co/zwhDYYN0oV pic.twitter.com/9WK3k4UMU4

— Public Integrity (@Publici) March 18, 2017

Despite their hefty backing, Breitbart has struggled to be recognized as a legitimate news organization in Washington DC. Though they have a number of very talented reporters, their top correspondent in the capitol is seen by many traditional journalists as a bad joke. On Monday, Breitbart was passed over for a Congressional press pass, which would have minted them as big league.

Politico reported that the reason for the Committee of Correspondents’ denial was “members were not satisfied with the information provided thus far regarding the right-wing website’s connections to the White House and the Republican mega-donor family the Mercers.”

Nevertheless, it seems the Mercer family’s influence in Washington is only beginning. Amid the rise of populism, they have funded all the right players. With their funding of climate change denial, they are eager to see regulations rolled back.

Under President Trump, there’s a fair chance that will happen.

They put their money behind Breitbart, which is among the most powerful news outlets in the nation and has the ear of the White House. The Washington Post reported that the family had pumped millions into The Media Research Center, which is a right-leaning media watchdog. They’ve contributed to The Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation — both conservative think tanks with huge influences on politicians. If the family continues to play their hand this well, they’re sure to continue shaking up Washington D.C.

Creative Commons / Anti-Media / Report a typo

The post The Most Powerful Family You’ve Never Heard Of appeared first on We Are Change.

from We Are Change https://wearechange.org/powerful-family-youve-never-heard/

#We are Change #We Are Change

0 notes

viralhottopics · 8 years ago

Text

Homeland recap: season six, episode two The Man in the Basement

Week two, and classic Homeland is back. Everyone has something to hide as Sekou explains the cash under his mattress, Saad reveals his criminal past and Carrie flatly denies her friends in high places

Spoiler alert: this blog is published after Homeland airs in the US. Only read on if youve watched series six episode two.

No wonder Carrie took offence at Ottos small potatoes dig about her new legal venture. She must have been biting her tongue hard, trying not to reveal that she was essentially dictating Americas future foreign policy in the Middle East all this time. This means shell be butting heads with Dar Adal again soon, which can only be good for the show. However solid the intel on Iranian nukes turns out to be, it felt like the old Homeland was back this week.

Because if you feel it this calling to be an independent American the time to rise up is now. Now!

Theres a strange smell in the basement and an even stranger man. Quinn gazes vacantly at the ceiling, living off tinned food while listening to conspiracy channels. Carrie has to handle his vast list of prescription meds. When she tries to get him to take his anti-seizure medication, a coffee mug is launched at her in response. No good deed goes unpunished.

She calls Max in to babysit, but theres only so much he can do. When Quinn heads out to load up on booze at the local bodega he has a grand mal seizure. Against medical advice, he returns to Carries house without being checked out in hospital. Hes lost a great deal, but his stubbornness remains intact.

It might get you votes, but God forbid it makes you think you know what youre doing.

Dar Adal takes President-elect Elizabeth Keanes Chief-of-staff Rob Hemmis to lunch at a location thick with symbolism. Its the restaurant he was in when the Twin Towers came down they pulled in choking New Yorkers through their doors that day. Its a great story. Not one word of it is true but Dar delivers it like a seasoned Broadway ham.

It is his gentle way of reminding Hemmis why they do what they do. Less gently, he calls the President-elects credentials into question. A mother with a son killed in action thats her CV. Unkind? Absolutely, but we live in dangerous times. He tells Hemmis theres intel that the Iranians are cheating on the nuclear deal, running a parallel program with North Korea outside the country with the help of financier Farhad Nafisi. Mossad will be picking him up at a conference in Abu Dhabi next week. How should the agency proceed? Dar asks him, fully aware of the grenade hes just dropped in his lap.

That new paradigm we talked about? This is it.

Saul pops in to see Carrie at her law firm. Its great to hear her voice again. Funnily enough he heard it quite recently, coming out of the President-elects mouth when she was discussing the Middle East. What a coincidence!

A vulgar man might point out that Elizabeth Keane is friendly with Otto Dring who is friendly with Carrie and draw the conclusion that Carrie is advising the soon-to-be commander-in-chief. And thats exactly what Saul does. Were it discovered to be true, he tells her, it would be embarrassing for everyone.

Carrie has never been so insulted and shes been insulted a lot. This type of baseless allegation is exactly why she left the CIA, she tells him. Chastened and believing her denials, he leaves.

It is only later that we see Carries self-righteous rage was bogus and that Saul was bang on the money. As she briefs the President-elect on the Iranian issue, it is with the practiced confidence of the trusted source.

Elizabeth Keanes dovish tendencies notwithstanding, the allegations are too serious to ignore. Carrie suggests someone absolutely trustworthy should represent US interests on the ground. Someone with unimpeachable integrity who wants to make the nuclear treaty with Iran work. If it happens to be someone with a soft spot for Carrie, even better. As it happens, she knows a guy Saul The Bear Berenson will be our man in Abu Dhabi.

If I cant say anything and hes lying how am I supposed to get out of here?

Max is called in to babysit Quinn. Photograph: 20th Century Fox/JoJo Whilden/SHOWTIME

Reda Hashem tells Sekou Bah to level with him about the smoking gun in the FBIs case against him for material support of terrorism the $5,000 under his mattress. Sekou explains it was just a loan from his filmmaking partner Saad Massoud to help pay for his familys visit to Nigeria.

Good work from Max throws up that Saad Massoud is in fact a man named Tyrone Banks Jr. Back in Pittsburgh, Tyrone ran with a rowdy crew who called themselves the Steel City Gang. Special Agent Ray Conlin recruited Tyrone in his prison cell; he promised to make a five-year prison sentence disappear if Tyrone came and worked for him and the FBI in New York.

This is a game-changer and they go before a judge to request their right to confront Massoud at trial. Ray Conlin is at the hearing and has it out with Carrie. You go anywhere near Saad Massoud, I will have you arrested, he tells her. The judge agrees; Saad is off limits. The prosecution make an offer if Sekou pleads guilty, he will get seven years. If he goes to trial and loses, hell do double that. Reda, well versed in legal realpolitik, advises him to take it but Carrie is a junkyard dog no way is she backing down.

Armed with the knowledge that Saad was secretly dating Sekous sister Simone, Carrie shows up at a clandestine meeting between the pair. The man formerly known as Tyrone Banks isnt too concerned about Sekous plight. Nonetheless, he lets Carrie know that he told Conlin that Sekou was not a terrorist but Conlin would not listen.

It started with someone throwing a coffee mug at me went downhill from there.

Its been a long day and they have a complex history but Carrie and Quinn have a quiet moment as they piece together his recent past. With his memory compromised he needs the gaps filling in. She explains what happened to him in Berlin. She cant believe he hasnt seen the video of his exposure to sarin gas. He watches it with her for the first time. You saved me, he says. Why? I was just wondering the same thing.

Notes and observations

Heres a guide to Quinns anti-seizure medication primidone. I have a feeling this may be useful in later episodes.

The extensive Claire Danes cry-face canon welcomes another entry this week from her emotional talk with Quinn.

Now we know Saad Massoud was working with the FBI, Im slightly confused about the guy he wanted Sekou Bah to meet before his trip to Nigeria. Was it just a way of testing his intentions?

Conlin assures Carrie the airline tickets were bought two months before Saad loaned Sekou the $5,000. If he is telling the truth, what was the loan for?

Simone being underage might offer Carrie some leverage against Saad even if it currently looks like national security trumps all.

Who do you trust on Homeland so far? Is Carrie having the President-elects ear on the Middle East a good thing? Exactly how real is the Iranian nuclear program? And what will become of poor Quinn? Please give your thoughts below.