#i had other starters that came first but it's the birthday goat on their birthday of course they get first starter.

[fstbmp-a]

@cflight | x

It had been a long day for Whisper, which was a touch unfortunate given that the sun was still perfectly high in the sky. There's a twitch of her ear long before the goat comes into the view, hearing the lute playing as her pace quickened just so to get a view of them. It was never something she got to indulge, truthfully, her enjoyment of music.

Not anymore, anyways. Were they some.. travelling performer? The wolf frowned, tilting her head as they hovered nearby to listen. Truthfully, something like this... well, it was what she'd wanted to do before things got so messy. Maybe that's why she's still approaching, until properly into view to enjoy it so.

Whisper was tired, after all, and so they decided to brush off the nearby fence and hop up to sit atop it with a slight wave of metallic fingers.

"...h'lo." she got out, somewhat sheepishly.

[louisepalanker]

Joe Austin

I entered high school at the age of 13 due to a November birthday and no inclination at that time to give an immature little imp like me a cushy, extra year of pre-k. We called it nursery school back then and if you could flush a toilet you were on to Kindergarten.

So, barely out of my tweens, I remember exiting the bus, walking through the doors of Williamsville South High School and  bracing for verbal attack. The kids here were intimidating. I felt so very naive and unsophisticated. I was a chubby, pimply open target. But as I navigated my way towards homeroom, I quickly noticed that nobody noticed me. Middle school had been so stocked with nasty. But refreshingly, High School kids seemed too busy getting to where they were getting and doing what they were doing to side-eye a dorky, incoming Freshman.

And so the year proceeded. I had my Mill Middle School friends and I welcomed new ones. I joined chorus and theater and the newspaper staff and made my way through the year.It was immediately clear to any incoming member of the student body that the biggest name on campus was Joe Austin. He was quarterback of our football team, The Williamsville Billies. (We are a suburb of Buffalo, home of The Bills, and our town name is Williamsville. Our mascot is a billy goat. It’s adorable.) 

Anyway, when I told Media Path Podcast producer Dina Friedman that the star quarterback’s name was Joe Austin she said, “Oh, my God. It may as well have been Johnny Football.” But honestly, that was his name. Joe Austin. I was an obedient Freshman. I went to the obligatory compliment of games and pep rallies. “Go Billies!” I was in dutiful  awe of the team, led to victory by our own Joe Austin. We all understand high school football stardust. It's like having celebrities on your campus. If we passed Joe Austin in a hallway, we’d jab each other and jerk our chins in his direction. You didn’t want to stare but, come on. It was Joe Austin, walking right past us. Carrying books, like a person.

I was so insignificant a high school ripple that the yearbook misspelled my name in the homeroom photo. As you can see, I defiantly carved an “r” IN INK over the “z” in Palankez.The year progressed. The seasons changed. From football to baseball. Joe Austin played baseball because, of course he did. We had absolutely nothing to do with one another. I never spoke to him. I never even imagined speaking to him. 

That’s the year I enrolled in an acting class at The Studio Arena Theater and got to take the Main Street bus downtown and ride home with my Dad. That’s the year I skipped that acting class one day to watch The Cowsills on The Mike Douglas Show in the TV section of AM & A’s department store. That’s the year I become obsessed with the three part vocal harmony stylings of The Lettermen and began collecting their rich catalogue of records. That’s the year O.J. Simpson came over to our house for dinner! That’s the year our theater department put on Mame starring Bob Hinshaw, my actual senior crush. He could sing and dance and by the time he graduated, he had a beard. What a man. I had auditioned for the show with Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head and It turns out that Bacharach is very rangey. So, I was on the stage crew. 

There was a lot going on during my Freshman year of High School. Joe Austin and I were in very separate orbits. The school year came to an end and that summer I decided to learn golf. I believe I was searching for acceptance. My natural interests had met with a ton of interference in our household. I wanted to play the drums, join a little league team, have a paper route, wear baseball caps, hockey skates and high tops. None of the above was “for girls.” So, OK, let’s try golf.

Every golf course has a driving range and a putting green. That’s where you take lessons and practice and both are situated fairly closely to the first tee of the course where there is a tiny building called the starter’s hut or shed. The Starter is an employee who is responsible for the orderly and timely movement of tee times, controlling the pace of play and thus ensuring that golfers are less likely to get beaned by the foursome behind them. The starter was equipped with a clipboard, a watch and a list of names organized into threesomes and foursomes. The job requires comportment, multi-tasking and grace under pressure as country club personalities can often be described as "challenging."

That summer, the starter at our country club was Joe Austin.And that summer, Joe Austin and I became best buddies. Nothing romantic. Just great pals, roaming the Westwood Country Club together, sharpening our games and talking about whatever mattered to us as dusk settled on the golf course. He was a delight. Bright, funny, kind. There was nothing mystical or magical about our friendship. We just liked each other. 

The Universe had presented me with a perfect leveling of compatible humans removed from societal sorting systems such as High School. That’s how it felt from my perspective. To me, Joe had seemed unknowable. It’s possible that to Joe, a country club kid like me was from a different world. It’s hard to know. But absent any organized hierarchy, caste or strata, we were pals.

My friendship with Joe Austin lasted only the course of that summer but the lessons it taught me are sustaining. I belong anywhere I aspire to go. I may have to work to earn entry and acceptance but I can get there and I can build meaningful friendships with kindred souls.

The summer ended. I moved on to three more years of high school. Joe headed off to college or somewhere outside my view. 

We enter each other’s lives to share lessons. I learned a lot from Joe Austin.

[xathia-89]

How to accumulate a heard

I’ve borrowed @shrimpalompa ‘s OC Erik, because we need more fluff with these two. We also can confirm it’s canon that Evelyn likes the purebloods. Very soft and fluffy as per the request of @ihavenotfallenyet thank you!

The herd seemed to be forever growing as Evelyn was hoisting a heavy feed bucket across the gardens. The grand lawns were designed to impress, but she had taken over a considerable area and fenced it off to keep her pets more than a little happy. She was dutifully followed by a beige coloured Pomeranian, who was running just to try and keep pace with the vampire, but glad to do so from the expression in his eyes. 

Erik was watching from the mansion; the woman was unusual in many ways. She loathed to be dressed up like a doll-like many of those around her would love, especially given Le Comte’s preference for her. She would do anything to evade dressing up, and it wasn’t a secret that Sebastian would frequently use a bribery system to get her into the really fancy stuff. 

She glanced over her shoulder, after feeling the weight of a gaze on her, and smiled to the pureblood before unlocking all of the gates. The small herd was like nothing he had seen before, thirteen of the goats and the most she had of any species was three. She collected the runts and the unwanted, a reflection somewhat of her work at the shelter as well as the incessant Pygmy that had attached himself with a devotion to her that was being carried in her arms. Some of the bigger ones were trying to knock the feed bucket out of her hand early before she could get them to the trough. 

He watched with a curiosity. There was no rush to her actions, even though she would likely need to come inside to change before going to the shelter unless her plans for the day had changed. 

“They won’t bite if you go over and she’s feeding them,” Sebastian spoke up, reminding the pureblood that he wasn’t the only person in the room. 

“It’s her chance to be alone without a care in the world, I don’t want to take that from her,” Erik replied. 

“She isn’t going to the shelter today, she has administration work to do from here, and they are well stocked for a few days,” the butler nodded, as though reading the man’s thoughts. 

“Huh,” Erik chuckled, resuming his gazing of the female during her chores.

***

“Good evening, raring,” a deep voice startled Evelyn from the book she was reading, one of Arthur’s latest attempts before he was sending it for publication. “Apologies, you looked too cute to resist,” the Nordic male grinned and sat next to her on the sofa in the library where she was currently taking up residence. 

“Erik,” Evelyn’s eyes flickered back to the paper in her hands, currently trying to engross herself in something that wasn’t to do with her strays.

“How did you end up with all of those goats of yours?” 

“There are many parts to that tale,” she shrugged, trying to avoid his golden gaze. She found it hard to resist on any of the three purebloods she was involved with, and all three of them loved to abuse it at times. “I’m sure there are more interesting things to talk about than my goat collection. Heidrun, for starters,” she smiled. 

“Heidrun is a wonderful goat that I am hoping will be as attracted to you as I am,” the Nordic male plucked the manuscript out of her hands, using as little force as possible. Arthur would never scream at Evelyn for tearing it, but he would definitely attempt to have Erik’s ass for the smallest rip. She couldn’t avoid his eyes now, and he rested his head on her stomach. His expression was akin to that of a small child wanting a bedtime story. 

“Fine, but no interrupting me,” she caved with a dramatic roll of her eyes, a soft smile breaking her facade. “It started with a stall trader; he was selling off all sorts. He had two half-starved Pyrenean goats, he was trying to get anyone to take them, weaving tales of how their milk would feed any human for years and that they would never dry up. But the second they started to make any sort of noise, he would beat them. He wouldn’t sell them to me, saying that I couldn’t possibly afford the cost of two magnificent beasts,” her fingers were idly stroking through Erik’s blonde locks, enjoying the simplicity of the moment. “I was dressed like a woman on her way to work; he had no reason to believe me, so I sent a message to Sebastian and asked for him to ensure that the goats would have a home as I kept track of the trader for the rest of the day. Several people made enquiries about the goats, but no one was soft enough to offer up the amounts he wanted for them. It didn’t take too long for Sebastian to come back to me with a modest coin purse from my savings; I approached the man again. I was looking to be reasonable, but even when I suggested a price that wasn’t too far below his own, then I caught sight of the terror these poor animals were in under his control. I smiled, and it seemed to agitate the man. He wasn’t going to sell me the goats if I offered him their weight in gold. I said that would be a lower price than I was already offering to pay. He had to sleep, but Sebastian then came to check I was okay. The trader tried to make an attack on me, using the fact I was turning away from him to his advantage, but he wasn’t expecting me to know what his type are like. He also expected me to be weak, for I am a woman, I caught his wrists and broke them with a swift move. He cried like a child as I was able to take the goats away from him. They were scared, terrified of any of the men of this mansion. I was lucky in that as long as I wore a skirt or a dress then they would not cower from me, and they even would eat from my hands. Arthur was talked into wearing one of my skirts when I was trying something out, and he was able to feed them after some hesitation. It took several goes for them to adjust to his scent, and then he was able to wear trousers, and they wouldn’t run away. The male began to follow him around the grounds, Arthur was known for keeping treats in his pockets too much, to the point where he would find himself attacked if he didn’t have anything on him. He declared the goat his ‘Moriarty to him as Sherlock’, so I decided that would be the goat’s name. The female Pyrenean had begun to wander around the grounds as well; the sound of music soothed her. To the point, she would begin to sing back to the window where it came from. She would headbutt the window until Mozart began to play any kind of music, and then she would sing along, so he said she said in a ‘Forte’ way, hence her name,” Evelyn’s tone was soft, it would be easy to fall asleep to her voice the pureblood considered. 

“That’s two, you have thirteen of them,” the Nordic chuckled, tugging a blanket off the back of the sofa over his back before shuffling up to her a little, so he was resting under her bosom. 

“Apple, the Peacock goat, Dazai won him in a game of cards. Sebastian was feeding Lotte one morning when he found out that there was a goat in with his lamb,” she laughed softly. “I was accused of kidnapping him during the night until Dazai came downstairs to find me. He had meant to surprise me for my birthday, only he was early by a couple of months and told Sebastian he thought the sheep pen was the goat one,” she smiled. “He would take anyone’s arm off for an apple, which Isaac tended to find in his pockets for some reason.” 

Erik recognised the glimmer in her eyes. Evelyn was a terror at times, and this had clearly been one of them. 

“He was hating the fact I had five goats at that point,” her giggle was so innocent, but Erik coughed to point out that she had skipped over acquiring two others. 

“The two Pygmy goats were the ones I had acquired before Dazai assisted,” she sulked, pushing her lips into a pout. “There was a less than savoury individual at Port de Grenelle. He was rumoured to have many exotic goods for sale, but only to those who knew his trade. Several of the women at the shelter recalled that he mentioned animals but that he had propositioned that they would be required to share his chambers on the boat before he would even show them anything. He was persistent to those he believed would be easy prey. Who would be easier to get on board your ship than an elegantly dressed albeit naive noblewoman? He tried to corner me, his crew were onshore for the nightlife, so it was only the two of us. The exotic goods he was claiming to have turned out to be nothing but a lure, and the two terrified goats he had acquired for their journey to try and keep them fed. So we had a little fight, he went over the side of the ship from the deck, and he couldn’t swim. I liberated the goats, and they were so grateful to me that neither of them would let me leave the goat pen. I dread to think how they lived until I brought them here,” she murmured, her gaze distant. “Leonardo had to come and try to rescue me, and it ended up being that we would take shifts to look after the goats so the other could rest. The only exception was when Theo would bring his pancakes out, and then the male goat would not leave him alone,” her smile lit up her face like the fourth of July celebrations in America. “Leonardo had found a love in Jocande, she would smile for him whenever she heard his voice, and my little boy loved me too much and insisted I would cuddle him and carry him like I did the first time we met.”

“I heard that the Murcia-Grenada trio were on the market in town,” Erik mumbled, his face pressed into her stomach now. He was enjoying the sound of her voice, and the feel of her fingers threading through his hair. 

“Yes, the stallholder was trying to sell the milk of them. They were underweight and underfed. I forcibly made him sell them to me; Le Comte did not appreciate that I hadn’t sought his permission, and then the others I obtained when Theo and Napoleon rescued me from an attempt at a forced marriage. They had gathered five goats as a wedding gift to me, and to keep me quiet, but they were in a pen smaller than Lotte’s, and they were so eager to get away from the treatment they’d had that they followed us all home to the mansion.” 

“Sounds a little like you all here,” Erik sighed, content with the warm feeling. 

“It does, and we are all happier for our being here,” she replied, her smile evident in her tone as she watched the pureblood slip into a contented slumber. 

[5hfanfiction]

Back in the Christmas Spirit

Mariah Carey’s song, “All I Want for Christmas is You” never failed to get me into that festive Christmas spirit, even if it was the middle of July (and I was a hardcore wait-until-December person). That is, until I endured the worst breakup of the century right before the holidays.

Brian and I met in college at our dorm’s welcoming event, and were immediately drawn to each other. We had only been dating for six and a half months, but I honestly thought we would be together forever. He wasn’t perfect, but the fact that we could work through our differences made me believe we could make it work long term. Call me cliché, but I was completely in love with the boy, and I was convinced there would be no one else like him.

“Mija, come look at this tree,” my mom gestured toward a Douglas fir.

“Coming, mami.” I sighed. Of course the Mariah Carey song was playing on a speaker at the little Christmas tree farm. I was so not in the Christmas spirit these days.

“I really like the size of the trunk, and it would fit just perfectly right in the corner of the living room, don’t you think?” my mom asked. I nodded robotically. As she continued to drone on about the tree, I pictured Brian and me shopping for our first Christmas tree. It would have to be small, because we were both practical people, and wouldn’t have too big of a starter home. We would take it home and decorate it with our dog or cat (he loves cats, I love dogs). Then we would cozy up on the couch and watch Netflix or maybe play some video games. I smiled, and then groaned.

“Are you okay, Camila?” my mom inquired, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Yeah I just….drank too much hot chocolate,” I lied.

The ride home consisted of my mom thinking out loud about where the Christmas decorations would go, and me scrolling through my camera roll for the fifth time that day. There were so many pictures of me smiling, and Brian doing that crooked half smile he did for the camera.  There were a few candid ones of him naturally smiling, and I swear his smile could light up a room. My eyes started to well up. I kept scrolling anyway, and landed on one from Halloween. I was dressed up as Batgirl, my costume consisting of an old, almost too small Batman shirt, and a mask from Goodwill. Brian was Nightwing. He was the kind of guy who actually put effort into his costumes, and referred to them as “cosplays”. He looked so good in his black leather jacket with the painted on Nightwing insignia and his black skinny jeans that I loved so much. There was someone else in the picture, Gina. Gina was dressed as Wonder Woman. She had found the cape, the boots, and the corset herself, and I had helped her find a cool skirt at a nearby thrift store. Her hair wasn’t brunette, but her large, thick mess of strawberry-blonde locks were epic enough to be for Wonder Woman. Gina was with us so often, we called her our third wheel. She also happened to be the girl Brian left me for.

***

I helped my mom bring the tree inside, and after much deliberation, she decided to put it to the left of the television. When my dad and sister got home, we put on some Michael Buble, and decorated the tree. My family sang along joyously to the music, while I grumbled and hung up the ornaments. The song “Blue Christmas” came on and I thought now that’s more like it.

Afterwards, I crawled into my bed and relived the moment in my head, as I did quite often. It was the morning after his roommate, John’s birthday party. The party wasn’t especially fun for me, because there were a lot of younger, louder kids there, but the food was good, and Brian seemed to be enjoying himself. We played one of those really strategic board games that I wasn’t very good at, but it was right up Brian’s ally. He could tell I wasn’t having that much fun, so he occasionally squeezed my hand and gave me a sympathetic smile. I responded by affectionately running my hand through his soft, almost wavy, brown hair, and burying my face in his neck. I usually hated being one of those couples that couldn’t keep their hands off each other in public, but for some reason that night I didn’t care.

The next morning out of the blue, he texted me “I need to tell you something. Meet me in the lounge?”

We sat there for a couple minutes in silence, while he looked at the table and tried to gather the words. Finally, in a small voice, he said “There’s no good way to say this, but…I have feelings for Gina.”

My breath caught in my throat.

I often use humor as a defense mechanism, so I said “Yeah you’re right, there’s no good way to put that,” with a fake chuckle.

Still looking at the table, he uttered one of those laughs that aren’t quite laughs, more like quick exhales.

“What kind of feelings are we talking about?” I asked, hoping that this was just a little crush that he would get over quickly.

“It….feels like I want to be with her. Actually it kind of feels like I’m already with her, just not officially.”

My heart sank, and my eyes started to sting. This was no silly crush.

They started dating two weeks later.

I groaned and buried my face into my pillow. Just thinking about them together made my chest constrict and the tears flow. I sobbed until I ran out of tears and drifted off to sleep.

***

It was December 23rd, and because I was wallowing in misery, I had neglected to buy any Christmas presents for my family. I drove to a local boutique that I knew would have a lot of knick-knacks for me to choose from. After browsing the shop for about ten minutes, I decided on a mug for my dad that had a Washington State logo on it, a bottle of goat’s milk lotion for my mom, and a teddy bear for Sofi. As I was standing in the long line, “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber came on. The familiar pang of sadness hit me in the chest. I wouldn’t be kissing Brian under the mistletoe like I had planned this year.

“You okay?” a voice asked.

I turned my eyes to the voice. It belonged to a girl about my age that had the prettiest , and most captivating pair of green eyes I had ever seen, and long, wavy, dark brown hair under a black beanie. She looked nice, but her stare was so intense I dropped my gaze a split second after I looked up.

“Um…I’m alright,” I stammered, still not making eye contact. “Why do you ask?”

The girl chuckled. “Well, you kind of winced just now.”

My cheeks got hot. Was I really that obvious? “Oh, yeah I don’t really like this song,” I said, shrugging.

“Why not?” the girl asked.

“I….” I trailed off. I don’t usually like telling strangers my business, unlike my mom, who could tell her entire life story to a random person on the street. But there was something about this girl that made me want to tell her everything.

“I’m just going through a tough breakup,” I admitted.

“Ah,” the girl nodded. “That makes sense.”

When I finally looked up at her eyes, they were sympathetic, and yet still curious. I was so busy staring I didn’t notice it was my turn in line.

“Oh right, I’m coming,” I said hurriedly, and quickly put my stuff on the counter in front of a frazzled looking employee.

The girl laughed quietly, and my face flushed again.

After we had both purchased our gifts, we walked outside together. The downtown street was filled with last minute shoppers, and there were tiny trees on the sidewalk that were covered in twinkling lights. I had always dreamed of walking down one of these streets in the winter with Brian.

“There you go with that sad look again,” the girl pointed out.

I sighed. “I guess I’m one of those people who wear their heart on their sleeve,” I said.

“I’m Lauren by the way,” she stopped, and held out her free hand.

“Camila,” I replied, shaking it.

She smiled, and I swear that smile could bring a puppy back to life. I found myself gawking again. Only two smiles had ever affected me this much.

Lauren gestured down the street. “Where are you parked?” she asked.

I blinked. Snap out of it, Camila I told myself. “Uhh, a ways down,” I responded. It was hard to find parking anywhere close.

“Cool, me too,” Lauren said with another smile.

“So tell me about this breakup that’s making you dislike amazing music,” she said as we walked down the street.

“Basically he left me for one of my friends,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Lauren winced. “Ooo that sucks,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, “I replied. “To make matters worse, we live in the same residence hall at school.”

“Yikes,” she said. “Where do you go to school?”

“Seattle Pacific,” I replied. “What about you?”

“I actually go to Oregon State, and I’m from Oregon, but my family just moved here,” said Lauren.

“Oh wow, why did you guys move to this tiny town of all places?” I wondered aloud.

“Well, my mom actually grew up here, and she really missed it”, she responded.

We had reached my car, but I didn’t want to stop talking to Lauren. There was something about her that made me want to get to know her. It could be because she was so easy to talk to, but her good looks didn’t hurt either.

“Um, since you’re new here, how about I give you a little tour of downtown?” I asked.

Lauren smiled one those earth-bending smiles. “I would love that,” she replied.

I think my heart fluttered a little bit.

***

We ended up not caring too much about the town, and got to know each other a little bit. We found out we both had Cuban descent, we both loved to sing, and we had practically the same taste in music and books. 

“You saw The 1975?” Lauren exclaimed. “I am so jealous!”

“Yeah they were sooo good,” I told her. “Definitely one of the best nights of my life. However, my dream is still to see Coldplay live,” I said wistfully.

Lauren stopped and looked at me with wide eyes. “Oh my gosh, me too!”

I smiled. “Wow we are so alike,” I said.

“We really are,” she said, staring at me with a grin. “You know….that guy really made a mistake.”

For probably the fifth time that night, I blushed and looked at the ground. Lauren didn’t know I liked girls. Actually, only a few people knew. Even so, I didn’t know how to like someone other than Brian. The thought just seemed wrong. But Lauren was looking at me with those eyes, and it looked like she was getting closer. I looked up, and her face was suddenly inches away from mine. Her eyes were darting from my lips to my eyes, almost silently questioning me. My heart was racing, but I slowly closed the gap between us, and our lips connected. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Her lips moved against mine ever so slightly, and for the first time since Brian and I broke up, I felt alive. I slowly pulled away, and opened by eyes. Lauren was smiling. I smiled back shyly and looked at the ground.

The kiss was amazing, but…

But what? My mind asked. An amazingly attractive, intelligent person just kissed you and you’re questioning it?

I can’t jump into a new relationship when I’m still hurting from the last one I thought back to myself.

Oh my gosh, she’s waiting for you to say something and you’re standing here awkwardly having a conversation with yourself in your head!

“Look, Lauren…I really like you, but-“

“You need more time,” she finished.

I sighed. “Yes,” I said.

She smiled understandingly and asked “Can I still have your number?”

I laughed. “Yeah,” I said, and pulled out my phone. She put her number in my phone, and I put mine in hers.

“When you get over that guy, give me a call,” Lauren said as she gave me my phone back.

“I definitely will,” I promised.

She flashed me a grin, and then turned and walked to her car. I stared for a few minutes as she went, before getting into my Honda. Lauren and I had only spent about an hour together, but I got the feeling she would be an important part of my life. As I drove home, “All I Want for Christmas” came on the radio, and I smiled.

[hennessy-jacen]

Jacen Hennessy (Pre-Henneson)

Basic Facts.

What is Your Character’s Name?

Jacen with a "c", Denver like the city, Hennessy like the brandy.

How does the character feel about his or her name?

I like it well enough. It's a great conversation starter.

How did he or she get this name? Was it passed on from a family member, or did the parents read it on the side of a cereal box the day the child was born?

My parents wanted to be unique? Just swapped an "s" for a "c", an "o" for an "e"? They met in Denver and my dad is super

Irish

. Like embarrassingly Irish.

What is the meaning of the name?

It comes from a Gaelic name that sounds similar but is spelled with more vowels than I can fit in my mouth.

What culture did the name originate from?

Irish.

Super

Irish.

What regions of the world did the name come from?

Ireland. Like many Irish things.

What connotations or stereotypes does the name have?

I'm an alcoholic from Colorado named Jason?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

How old is your character?

25

When was he or she born?

October 5, 1991

What events were happening locally, nationally and globally the year your character was born?

Terminator came out. My parents got into a fight cause my mom insisted on watching it in theaters six months pregnant. So basically Arnold Schwarzenegger is to blame for everything that's wrong with me.

What is the zodiac sign?

Libra

Does his or her zodiac sign have any bearing on their personality traits?

My mom says I have great patience like all good Libras.

What Chinese Horoscope year were they born in?

The year of the great goat lol

How does this influence their personality traits?

I make b-a-a-a-a-a-ad jokes?

How does your character like to celebrate his or her birthday?

Like it was any other day. It's a treat to be busy and have consistency in my day to day life. I'm fine if no one knows or cares.

What does your character look like?

Like a pasty hobbit?

Is your character Athletic or Overweight? Tall or Short?

I'm 5'9 so reaching for things is a struggle but they made sure I could lift three times my weight if push came to shove during paramedic training so I guess I have that going for me.

Hair color and length?

I used to have blonde hair when I was a kid but it got darker real quick. It's pretty brown now and I like keeping it short-ish. Just as long as it's out of my way, I'm good.

Eye color?

Bl...ue? I think that's what my license says.

Any scars or birth marks?

A couple of scars here and there just from getting scraped up on the job. Nothing serious.

Does your character have a physical disability?

No, thankfully and luckily, considering how easy it is to get bent out of shape in my job.

What actress or actor would you have play the role of your character if it was a movie?

Haha, maybe if I was more photogenic, tall, and muscular, Ryan Gosling. Basically, if I wasn't a pasty hobbit then Ryan Gosling.

What style of clothes does your character wear?

I like being comfortable. But I also like looking good when I don't

have

to be comfortable. I own a lot of flannel plaid, a couple of leather-ish jackets, a ton of jeans, a lot of t-shirts and a lot of sweatpants. Not very inventive.

What clothes would he or she wear every day on a casual basis?

All the plaid in the world. And then some.

For a night out on the town?

I own slacks. Somewhere. And some button-downs that aren't plaid. And cologne.

To bed?

Shorts or just my boxers.

Does he or she wear any special jewelry or accessories?

Can't really wear jewelry to work at the risk of it ending up on the ambulance floor and at that point it's gone forever.

What type of shoes does your character wear?

Sneakers for days. All the Dr. Scholl's you can handle is under my feet, day in, day out.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Where does your character live?

Girard Estates, South Philly.

Is it an Apartment? House? In the backseat of his car?

It's the second floor of a house so it's pretty comfortable.

How does your character feel about the current living arrangements?

Pretty comfortable lol I've been there for a while, I like it, it's home.

Does your character live with anyone else? Who are those people?

Not anymore.

How does your character get along with his or her neighbors?

My downstairs neighbors are pretty cool. Their dog shows up on my doorstep sometimes so that's cute, I guess? Who has a dog door on their front door and not the door leading into the backyard? Anyway, they're a couple, they're cool.

What is the view outside of your character's window?

Trees, hedges, sidewalk, some cars. Most people park in their garages or driveways though.

What items do they keep next to their bed?

My phone, my Fitbit, a lamp. A chapstick when it decides not to roll off on its own accord.

What is your character's most valuable possession?

I value all of my material things with the same amount of indifference lol I don't have anything crazy valuable. I guess I'd be mad if someone stole my TV or laptop or headphones but that's just cause they were expensive, not cause they're sentimental valuable. Unless you meant monetarily valuable cause then definitely my TV. The thing cost an arm and a leg.

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What does the character do for a living?

I'm a paramedic.

Do they find this work enjoyable?

Yeah, it's rewarding even though it's like 80% organized chaos and 20% escorting highly inebriated people to the drunk tank to sleep it off.

What is your character's dream job?

I guess I'd like to properly go to medical school someday, get my degree and all...but I also feel like I procrastinated it for too long. I'm 25, by the time I go to school and get into the practice I'll be ancient...I dunno. Maybe one day. I love it where I am though and I don't know if I'd miss the energy if being a paramedic if I was confined to a building all day.

What is your character's financial situation?

I'm doing good, I'm comfortable. I can get nice things that I want without having to think too hard about it so it's a luxury I feel like I'm lucky to have.

What does your character spend most of his/her money on?

I spend a lot of money on food. It's dumb, I like to treat myself to nice meals. That and recreation, I like new experiences a lot so I don't mind paying for like scuba diving lessons and stuff.

What would your character do if he or she won the lottery?

I'd probably help some people out, like pay some medical school bills for some friends. I know some really good people who help others out a lot that are drowning in crippling debt cause they made the decision to help others out and that's not fair. And then I'd probably get myself a really good steak.

W

hat is your character's highest level of education?

I have a bachelor's in health science.

What things do they wish were different about their current profession?

I wish there was a little better support from administration sometimes. I wish equipment wasn't updated once in a century. My hospital isn't one wealthy or high enough on the radar to get trial equipment so we have to wait the years it takes for licenses, patents, and mass production to roll out things to us that could save lives today. It's frustrating to know there's knowledge and equipment out there that's reserved for the richest, the best in politics, and so forth.

...Is it too late to say don't get me started?

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Who are his or her parents?

My dad is Caden and my mom is Angie. Hennessy.

Does he or she have any siblings?

Nope, they decided I was trouble enough. Kidding, I think they tried but it just didn't pan out before or after me.

A spouse or other romantic partner or love interest?

Not at the moment.

How about children?

The only person I figured I'd have children with left me so...no.

Other family? Aunts? Uncles? Second Cousins Twice Removed?

I have like 15 cousins. My parents both have a lot of siblings and a lot of them have kids who also have kids. Family reunions are kind of nutso.

How does your character feel about family functions and events?

Speaking of... lol They're okay, really. It's a lot of people but we usually rent out big parks or places where we can all exist without getting on too many nerves and there are ample hiding spots. The kids are cute and there's always good food and my parents always spoil me a bit hoping I don't get annoyed and stop showing up one year so that's nice too.

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Who are your character's closest friends?

Mostly people I work with. I spend a lot of time with my squad so they really know me better than anyone else.

How did your character meet his or her best friend?

Work. I guess if I really had to pick someone I'm closest to on the squad it would be Jackson. I've known him since my first day on the squad, we started together.

What do they value most in friendship?

Fun, good naturedness. I like being able to relax, it's really important that I can just be myself around the people I hang out with.

Does your character make friends easily?

I guess. I don't get on people's shit list easily, I don't think.

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What was your character's first romantic encounter like?

Um embarrassing and in college? Also not totally sober? I went away for college so being away from home for the first time was an experience lol

How does your character display affection?

Uh...I like being close I guess? Like in proximity, I just like having people close and comfortable with me. I like holding hands and stuff. I dunno, just your generic stuff.

What is your character's idea of a perfect romantic date?

Something that makes us both really happy. Something meaningful. I like having a purpose when I go places, discovering things is so much more worthwhile with another person.

Has your character ever had his or her heart broken?

I mean, yeah.

What qualities does your character look for in a romantic partner?

The same stuff I look for in a good friend, I guess. I just want someone I can really be myself around. Someone that can make me smile and someone that I can make smile.

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Does your character have any pets? What type?

Nope, I'm really not home enough to have a pet.

What are your characters favorite animals?

I like cats and dogs. I think it'd be kind of neat to have a ferret or a bearded dragon but I think I'd feel bad about keeping a bearded dragon in literally a tank all day.

How many times has your character visited the zoo?

I used to go a lot as a kid. My parents would bring me or I'd go with my cousins. Once for school, that was cool. I bought my parents a stuffed monkey from that trip and they still have it so I guess that's kind of important to me or whatever :')

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What are his or her favorite foods to eat?

I like a lot of things, food is literally my favorite. I like ramen and lamb and a lot of roasted greens. This is a hard question, I like a lot of things a lot.

Does he or she enjoy to cook?

Yeah. I get really ambitious and it isn't always excellent but I like to try.

Any food allergies or sensitivities?

No, thankfully.

What foods can he or she not stand to be around or eat?

My dad's family has a pallet for some things I don't love. Irish baked goods are just not that great and I don't get the hype about black and white pudding I'm soRRY I SAID IT YOU CAN KICK ME OUT NOW.

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How does your character spend a lazy Sunday afternoon?

Lazily lol I don't get up too late cause I know it'll throw off my routine but I like to make myself breakfast at my own pace and watch whatever I've been meaning to catch up on for days. Maybe make a trip to the grocery store and peruse the aisles at my own leisure. Come home and play some video games? If I'm gonna have a lazy day I'm gonna commit to total leisure.

What are their favorite places to go when alone?

With friends?

I like going to the park alone. Walks are nicer with a podcast to think about. I can be a part of society without actually bothering myself, it's basically perfect. If I'm with friends I like to get a drink or go play board games at someone's house, that's pretty neat.

Where would your character like to travel?

Anywhere! It would be great to take a break and just have the incentive to go somewhere and enjoy something new.

How does he or she want to get there?

Driving, flying? By boat. I don't care. I haven't found a mode of transport I've hated yet.

Does your character have preferences on types of lodging?

Not gonna lie, I'm not a roughing it kind of guy, I don't love fending for myself. I like somewhere with running water and internet at least. And no bugs. Don't like bugs.

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What are your characters favorite movies and TV shows?

I guess I like hour-long shows that I can really get invested in. Like Peaky Blinders and X-Files and stuff. I like getting immersed in the stuff I watch, which is a lot more TV than movies.

What are their favorite actors and actresses?

I like a lot of people. Peter Dinklage, Gillian Anderson, Sam Neill. A lot of people have a lot of talent. I have a fucking huge crush on Emma Thompson. That's embarrassing but she's literally so fun.

How often do they watch movies and/or television?

I usually watch TV to turn my brain off after a long day so often. Almost every evening? I usually watch something over dinner.

What genre of music would you find your character most likely listening to?

My iTunes is mostly rock, I guess.

When do they listen to music? In the car? While working?

When I'm working out. Or we play music in the ambulance sometimes when it's empty.

What artists and bands does your character enjoy listening to?

I like the Arctic Monkeys and The National and stuff like that. Stuff that I can really appreciate on noise-canceling headphones. If it can get me in my feelings I'm there.

W

ould your character go to a concert and enjoy it?

Yeah! I used to go to concerts a lot more often before but I do enjoy the experience if it's for the right band the right atmosphere.

Does your character play any musical instruments?

No. I used to play guitar when I was a kid but I lost interest ages ago.

What are his or her favorite books?

I don't read as much as I should...but I do like reading books of movies and TV shows after I watch them. When I can't get enough of the world it built it's nice to fill in the holes with the book.

What books are on his or her bookshelf at home?

A lot of my college reading material to make myself look smart to my dust bunny house guests. Plus all those movie and TV show books.

What titles does he or she borrow from the library?

I don't really go to the library. If I'm not sure enough about a book to order it online I usually don't get it at all.

What genre of books does your character enjoy reading?

Romance Fiction? Non-fiction? Thriller Crime Novels? Historical Fiction? Self-help? Poetry?

Historical fiction, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, basically any kind of fiction really. I'm here for a good, gripping story.

What is your character's favorite quote and why?

“If not us, who? If not now, when?” ― John F. Kennedy

[benjaminsblog]

Holiday week

Again, I’m reporting a week’s worth of activity in one go, but in my defence I’ve been too busy enjoying myself to blog! I’ve been spending the week at my sister’s new place, where she has kindly put me up and put up with me:

Monday

The troops headed out to Ikea, with Hannah picking out some more furnishings; this time she drove her VW Polo, as opposed to the tank from our last trip. She picked out a number of items that we took home with us, and one that we arranged for delivery the next day. And I got to sample the Ikea meatballs that every man and his dog has been telling me are the dog’s...ahem. I thought they nice enough, but nothing special. The accompanying gravy was the star of the show, and I washed it down with some cheesecake and a ‘naked apple’ Kopparberg.

Tuesday

The building commenced - Hannah and I got the majority of her bathroom cabinet done before dad joined us, and we tackled the mahoosive sofabed; roughly three hours later, it was constructed, and it was a very fine swan sofabed indeed! There was time for us to get Hannah’s side drawer done too - this was much easier, due in part to its size, and partly because I had the exact same design in my bedroom way back when. Dad left in the evening, then sis and I ploughed through a couple of films on her Now TV thingamabob, first Tarzan, then Big Hero 6, the latter being new to both of us, and most enjoyable (whilst also providing us with another brother-sister moment for the foreseeable future)!

Wednesday

We went with Dad and Linda (and Linda’s Hannah) into London for a belated/early birthday surprise. Before the big reveal, we went to Swingers, for some indoor crazy golf! Hannah had been once before, and her recommendation was spot-on as usual. We played the ‘lighthouse’ course, and everybody seemed to enjoy it. We teed off on the first hole in the scorecard order, so I got to watch everyone else attempt it before I played (the fact that I was given the role as scorer is pure coincidence). Aussie Hannah tried a different approach, bouncing off two walls and in, so I naturally tried to replicate her excellent shot, and did so successfully! We weren’t being particularly competitive, but Dad was keen to challenge the rules whenever he thought it would benefit him (or disadvantage others), so we took great pleasure in pointing out when he’d hit a shot out of bounds (and thus received a penalty stroke). And after nine holes, only four strokes separated the five of us! I finished top, to my mild surprise, as I didn’t think I’d done enough. As the scorecard shows, it was in Dad’s very consistent hands, but two nightmarish holes at the end scuppered his challenge for silverware. After a quick podium photo, there was time for a delicious burger and chips, before heading to our main destination:

Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare! It quite literally that - one member of a six-person cast is legitimately drunk off their face, as they all try to act their way through a condensed version of one of Bill’s works. We had Much Ado About Nothing, which I actually studied at school, (GCSE I believe), and even watched a film adaption starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson - none of which was even slightly useful! Proceedings quickly became hilariously farcical, with the drunken Hero causing mayhem, using strong language, and making some her co-stars very uncomfortable, whilst being encouraged to continue drinking throughout the performance.

Thursday

Back to building stuff for Hannah - we started on flipping the doors on her fridge so they’d open the other way, as a nice, gentle starter. However, a number of small hiccups later, and it was taking much longer than anticipated. Each piece was symmetrical, meaning the process was very simple to complete, until we found one piece that was not so. When placed on the other side, it stopped the fridge door opening properly, and Hannah said there were no other pieces provided, so I called up Hoover (who make fridges, go figure) to try and request one. Simon was very helpful, and stopped me almost immediately, saying he gets this call a lot, which I thought was encouraging and worrisome at the same time. He didn’t have a reference number for the required piece, so said he’d call back after further research. He did so, but had not had any luck, and explained that normally a kit is provided for this occurrence, and he would have to write to their head office in Italy to get this troublesome bit. It was at this point that Hannah looked up from the box she was searching through, suppressing a laugh, and I knew what had happened; I informed Simon that my plonker of a sister had just found said piece, and we’d wasted his time. Hannah collapsed in a fit of laughter, and both Simon and I couldn’t help laughing too. He was very helpful, and took the mix-up sportingly, so top marks in customer service there.

Hannah redeemed herself in her efforts hanging her cabinet in the bathroom, and then we ordered ourselves some Dominoes as a reward (sooo good). Dad left, and I watched ‘Secret Life of Pets’ with Hannah, which was fine (definitely a kids film).

Friday

Hannah and I had a nostalgia trip, as we went to Bucklebury Farm, to see the wee lil’ farmyard animals! We’d never been to BF before, but have fond memories of going to similar places in our childhood. We walked around with a bag of feed for them, and both got gummed to death by the residents, which included donkeys, llamas, goats, guinea pigs, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, and even a reindeer! There was a horse that must be related to Odell Beckham Jr, some very chillaxed piglets, and a unicorn in the same enclosure as the reindeer. Or maybe it was a one-horned goat, I can’t be sure. We saw out a brief rainstorm in the café with a burger apiece, which felt like baaad timing, to say the least. We came home, made a sheer mountain of cookies (Oreo, Crunchie, M&M, amd marshmallows featuring), and made some preparations for back-to-back housewarming parties this weekend - report to follow...

[countrymadefoods]

Archaeologists granted access to Japan's sacred tombs

“The opaque bureaucracy that runs the affairs of the imperial family - is unlikely to shed new light on the origins of what some believe is the world's oldest monarchy, for Japan's increasingly vocal ultra-right, even this modest concession is a step too far. They subscribe to the ancient myth that holds that Japan's emperors are the direct descendants of the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, and that the current monarch is the latest in an unbroken line of 125 emperors stretching back more than 2,600 years to Jimmu in the seventh century BC.”

“Although the wartime emperor, Hirohito, renounced his divine status after Japan's defeat in 1945, ultra-nationalists regard his son, the current emperor, Akihito, as a living god, and have issued death threats to archaeologists involved in previous attempts to gain access to the tombs.Their greatest fear is that proper inspections of the tombs will reveal compelling evidence that the Japanese imperial family originated from China and the Korean peninsula.”

“Akihito alluded to his Korean ancestry on his 68th birthday in 2001. In remarks that were ignored or played down by most of the domestic media, he said: "I for my part, feel a certain kinship with Korea, given the fact that it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan that the mother of Emperor Kammu was of the line of King Muryong of Paekche."Kammu reigned from 781 to 806 AD while Muryong ruled the Paekche kingdom in Korea from 501 to 523 AD.”

(via Archaeologists granted access to Japan's sacred tombs | The Guardian)

Giru of Paekche

“Giru of Baekje ( 기루왕 ; died 128, r. 77–128) was the third king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.”

Muryong of Paekche

“Muryeong of Baekje (462–523, r. 501–23) was the 25th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea...According to the Shoku Nihongi, Emperor Kanmu's mother, Takano no Niigasa is a descendant of Prince Junda, son of Muryeong, who died in Japan in 513 (Nihon Shoki Chapter 17).”

Emperor Kanmu

“Emperor Kanmu (桓武天皇 Kanmu-tennō, 735– 9 April 806) was the 50th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806... According to the Shoku Nihongi (続日本紀), Yamabe's mother, Yamato no Niigasa (later called Takano no Niigasa), was a 10th generation descendant of Muryeong of Baekje.”

Kanpai! Sake through the ages

“The notable event of that time was the Kenmu Restoration, a doomed attempt by Emperor Go-Daigo in Kyoto, the ancient capital, to wrest real, as opposed to merely ceremonial, power from the Shogunate — the regime of military “eastern barbarians” in Kamakura.”

“Most amazing were the aspects of these men’s parties and meetings! In offering wine, they made no distinction of degree between the high and the low. Likewise, men cast off their caps and loosened their top hair, while monks showed their persons in white undergarments without their gowns. The wine was served by more than 20 maidens of 16 or 17 years, clear-skinned and superior in face and figure, through whose unlined robes of raw silk the snowy skin gleamed fresh as lotus blossoms...The guests sported and danced and recited verses. Yet all the while they took counsel together, how they might strike down the eastern barbarians.”

”‘There came over (to Japan)…a man who knew how to distil liquor,” another eighth-century chronicle, the “Kojiki,” tells us. The man was a Korean, Susukori by name.“So this Susukori distilled some great august liquor, and presented it to the heavenly sovereign” — the Emperor Ojin, roughly datable to the fourth century A.D.

Not much is known of Emperor Ojin (he is vaguely associated with an invasion of Korea), but evidently he knew how to enjoy himself. The “Nihon Shoki” records a subject people known as the Kuzu, mountain folk of the remote Kii Peninsula, coming to Ojin’s court to present “thick sake” and singing, “We have brewed the fine great liquor:/ See how good it is — / Come, partake, down it with joy,/ Our father.”

“The earliest sake was termed kuchikami no sake — literally, “chewing-in-the-mouth sake.” “This sake...was made by chewing rice, chestnuts or millet and then spitting the wad into a large wooden tub where it was allowed to brew for several days...only young virgins were allowed to chew the rice. These virgins were considered mediums of the gods, and the sake they produced was called bijinshu, or ‘beautiful woman sake.’ ” Refinement proceeded slowly, over centuries. Thick sake grew thinner, ultimately turning liquid. Black sake grew white and finally transparent.”

”Sake-brewing was Japan’s first commercial enterprise. Associated both in Heian times and before exclusively with shrine and court, it passed into entrepreneurial hands in the early years of the Kamakura Shogunate (1192-1333). That period is known mainly for inaugurating Japan’s stern military tradition, but it has another claim to fame: Its stable currency fostered a commercial spirit.”

“Descendants of the families that had run the sake brewery of the court...now sought permission from the new government to establish themselves as independent brewers, or formed guilds associating themselves with powerful temples and shrines and going into business under their protection.”

Fortunes were made. Warriors were not supposed to be drinkers, but they proved open to temptation after all. Kyoto culture, despised in the Kamakura Shogunate’s early years as effete, gradually took hold. Battle-hardened samurai became Kyotoized in spite of themselves. By the 14th century...there were 342 sake brewers in Kyoto alone, Kamakura being a prime market.”

“The hostess and maids of the house receive you very hospitably and lead you to a room upstairs...Everything in the room makes you comfortable. A clever-looking maid comes up with a tea-set and serves tea and cakes, then asks you whether you want to take sake and some dishes, hire geisha and jesters...In another room the samisen is heard...Lots of sake and good food produce in the guest an amorous nature.

At the gate of a tea house...stood the funny but inevitable little Japanese girls, gaily bowing and smirking...asking the ‘honorable’ gentlemen to come in and rest and laugh and chaff with them and take just one cup of their ‘honorable’ tea. Tea in a modern Japanese tea house in these days of civilization means, I fear, whisky with or without water...Peach blossoms may surround it (the tea house), but the almond-eyed maidens are employed here to tempt the traveler to drink and romp.”

“For 1,000 years and more, “drinking” in Japan meant, almost exclusively, but not quite, drinking sake. The exception was shōchū...And so in the popular imagination if not quite in actual fact, “drinking” and “sake” were synonymous — until Japan’s mid-19th century opening to the West...What is indisputable is that the “soothing liquor, smiling liquor” celebrated all those misty ages ago by Emperor Ojin has been in sad popular decline ever since, though it’s said very lately to be on the cusp of a revival...businessmen were as likely to be drinking beer, wine or whisky as sake ”

Soju: the most popular booze in the world

“There's a brand of one particular spirit that sells more than twice as much as any other in the world...soju, national hooch of South Korea. Jinro Soju – available at Waitrose and Amazon – has topped Drinks International's annual list of best-selling global spirits for years.

Soju now sells in 80 countries, with a rising profile helped by Korean superstar Psy, who not only proclaimed soju his "best friend" but also lent his dark-glassed visage to various campaigns to get the rest of the world smitten too. K-Pop K-Shot" billboards sprouted across America, showing Psy clutching a bottle of Chamisul soju (available via Beers of Europe).”

“In a country with the world's highest per capita alcohol consumption...soju takes a whopping 97% of the spirits market. But this is a drink embedded in Korean culture since the 14th century, when Mongol invaders taught the locals how to distill, with fermented rice as the traditional starter.”

(via Soju: the most popular booze in the world | The Guardian)

The Story Behind Kirin Beer Labels

“The kirin depicted on Kirin Beer labels is a legendary creature derived from ancient Chinese myths and is said to be a harbinger of good luck...When Kirin Beer first came out in 1888, beers imported to Japan had labels that featured animals such as cats and goats. Japan Brewery Co., Ltd.—the forerunner of Kirin Brewery—chose also to use an animal as the central theme for its beer label.

A close-up of Kirin Beer labels from 1933 to the present day reveals that the three tiny Japanese kana letters for "ki," "ri" and "n" are embedded in the mane of the kirin depicted in these labels. We do not know exactly why this started: Some say the graphic designer who created the original 1933 label may have simply added an amusing touch to the design, while others claim it was an attempt to prevent forgery of the labels.

(via The Story Behind Kirin Beer Labels | Kirin)

Kiringul

“Kiringul (Korean: 기린굴; "Kirin's Grotto") is a cave in North Korea said to have been the home of the kirin, a mythological chimeric beast that was reputedly ridden by King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo in the 1st century BC...kirin (or qilin), a mythological chimera-like beast with "the body of a deer, the tail of a cow, hooves and a mane", as well as a single horn on its head. The creature was said to have been King Dongmyeong's favourite means of transport. The place in question is called Kiringul or "Kirin's Grotto". Despite the name, it was not literally supposed to have been a place where kirins lived, but was instead a mythical name akin to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.”

Coin from Kirin Province, Manchuria (1901)

Jilin

“Jilin (吉林; 기린;   formerly romanised as Kirin)...The name "Jilin" – which literally translates to "Auspicious Forest" – originates from girin ula ��ᡳᡵᡳᠨ ᡠᠯᠠ, a Manchu phrase meaning "along the river". This would have been transcribed into jilin wula (t 吉林烏拉, s 吉林乌拉) in Chinese, then shortened to "Jilin."

Anti-Manchuism

“In 1911 Xinhai revolutionaries proclaimed that Han and Muslims were equal, but deliberately left out the Manchus in the original proclamation, and thus "can be seen as sanctioning" the massacre of Manchus in Xi'an.[1] The Muslims, led by Ma Anliang and Ma Qi proceeded to ignore the proclamation, and continued to fight for Qing against the revolutionaries. After the Manchu men in Xi'an were all killed, the Chinese Muslims rescued attractive Manchu girls and converted them into Muslims.”

How Beijing Turned Koreans Into Chinese

“Of the approximately two million Chinese Koreans living in China, about half reside in Jilin Province, one of the country’s three northeastern provinces...Given such a strong Korean influence on the region, it may seem logical that of Jilin’s ethnic Korean population many (if not most) would identify with one or both of the Koreas...to the youngest generation. For them, the contemporary connection with South Korea is little more than functional, while that with North Korea barely exists at all.

Having grown up in the era of China’s rise, at a time when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has shown very little practical interest in the preservation of ethnic minority cultures and devoted a great deal of attention to forging some kind of “unified” Chinese identity, today’s youth of Yanbian identify as resolutely Chinese.”

“The government was in no mood to let a surfeit of independent spirit get in the way of the country’s trajectory, and this — coupled with the disintegration of the Soviet Union —  necessitated a recalibration of national policy toward ethnic minority education. The impact was readily felt. In 1990 there were 1,106 Korean elementary schools in the Yanbian autonomous region, but this was down to just 138 by 1999 and 31 another decade after that...The same pattern has been repeated — and amplified — elsewhere in Jilin. In 1991, 26 Korean middle schools were in Liuhe County, an administrative district of the industrial city of Tonghua in the west of the province, but by 2011 there remained only one.”

“The reasons for the dominance of Chinese-language education among Chinese Korean youth, a local university professor informed us during our recent visit to the region, are twofold: First, sustained economic growth and development has altered perceptions of the Chinese state and what it means to be Chinese today. While political challenges to the CCP’s right to rule exist, economic opportunity for those who more fully assimilate, reinforced by a sense of pride in being Chinese, means more people (parents prominent among them) are willing to buy in. And second, in part a response to the challenges facing the Party today, the CCP has changed its nation-building strategy. Whereas in the past it was possible to be Chinese and ethnically Korean, today one is expected to be thoroughly Chinese.

Taken together, this provides a powerful explanation for not only the decline of Korean-language education and Korean ethnic consciousness, but also the success of Chinese nation-building.”

(via How Beijing Turned Koreans Into Chinese | The Diplomat)

Ethnic Koreans in China not bound to N.Korea

“China quite possibly fears that some Korean government might one day lay claim to the area that encompasses the Yanbian Autonomous Region (YAR.) Recall that there have always been Koreans there, and the area is now home to an estimated 2 million ethnic Koreans. China has no wish to see an increased sense of nationalism among them. This is a major reason why China does not want defectors from North Korea that might ignite any latent feelings of irredentism and nationalism in the ethnic population of its northeast provinces.

The younger ethnic Koreans in the YAR are undoubtedly aware of the differences between the two countries, and they can easily see that their future is brighter in China than it would be in North Korea...The point here isn’t that ethnic Koreans in China would likely prefer to remain as Chinese citizens in China rather than return to the chaos of North Korea. Ethnic Koreans do indeed know that North Korea is a failed state, that they have far more freedom in China and that they enjoy a better standard of living in the YAR than the average citizen in North Korea.”

”Many ethnic Koreans in the YAR, in the event of a collapsing North Korea, would likely see excellent opportunities – the real draw being South Korea with its bustling cities, readily available consumer goods of high quality, astonishing personal freedoms – and ways to make money. To be sure, those former “exiles” and their descendants certainly realize that their homeland culture has transformed radically since they were last in Korea.

Nonetheless, culture and heritage are important in Asia and that, along with the shared historical ancestry, could exert a powerful pull, particularly if older generation ethnic Koreans consider returning to the peninsula. If nothing else, ethnic Koreans with their intimate knowledge of China would likely see great opportunities in which they can play significant roles as South Korea grows its trade with its larger neighbor.”

(via Ethnic Koreans in China not bound to N.Korea | NK News)

Ethnic cleansing makes a comeback — in China

“Since last year, hundreds of thousands — and perhaps millions — of innocent Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region in northwest China have been unjustly arrested and imprisoned in what the Chinese government calls “political re-education camps.” Thousands have disappeared. There are credible reports of torture and death among the prisoners. The government says it is fighting “terrorism” and “religious extremism.” Uighurs say they are resisting a campaign to crush religious and cultural freedom in China. The international community has largely reacted with silence.

Horrific as they are, the camps constitute just one part of Beijing’s effort. The government has destroyed thousands of religious buildings. It has banned long beards and many Muslim names. People are forced to eat pork against their beliefs. The Chinese government’s persecution of innocents continues even after their death. Crematoria are being built to literally extinguish the Uighur funeral tradition, which insists on burials.”

“Add to that the unprecedented security and surveillance state in Xinjiang, which includes all-encompassing monitoring based on identity cards, checkpoints, facial recognition and the collection of DNA from millions of individuals. The authorities feed all this data into an artificial-intelligence machine that rates people’s loyalty to the Communist Party in order to control every aspect of their lives.”

If that doesn’t bother you, consider that this draconian expansion of Chinese repression is being exported to the United States and around the world. Families of U.S. citizens who speak out against Beijing are targeted as part of Beijing’s effort to snuff out all international criticism.”

“Despite Beijing’s efforts, mounting evidence of the camps has managed to make its way to the outside world. Massive camp construction can be seen from satellites, and advertisements for new construction contracts are publicly available. Witnesses have told their stories. Yet the world has failed to respond...The Chinese government is attempting to “Sinocise religion” and “transform religion and ethnicity in Chinese society” in a scheme more ambitious than Mao’s Cultural Revolution...“The scope of this campaign is breathtaking.”

“The Chinese government’s obsession with its international reputation is its main vulnerability. Calling out these atrocities in public and to Beijing directly is key. The horror in Xinjiang is not a China issue, it’s a global issue. China uses its position on the U.N. Human Rights Council and the U.N. Security Council not only to stifle discussion of its actions but also to attempt to rewrite international human rights norms to allow expansion of these practices by any dictatorship with the means.”

(via Ethnic cleansing makes a comeback — in China | The Washington Post)

[juniorformulamotorsport]

Food 2020 – The Folly/The Brothers, Towcester

We have had a somewhat up and down relationship with The Folly Inn, our most local gastropub, over the years with some very good food and some that really hasn’t hit the mark, along with service that can be very hit and miss but can also be brilliantly warm and friendly.

Anyway, last year we went back for another try, and ate well enough to decide it was back on our list of places to eat. On that occassion we went with a pair of friends so we all had different starters. That meant we enjoyed plates such as a amoked cheddar cheese twice-baked souffle, with a Waldorf salad, cauliflower cheese puree and a Parmesan crisp…

Home cure salmon with lightly pickled cucumber, salmon roe, fennel, fresh radish and chive oil…

A hash of pulled pork and black pudding with a panko breaded egg, pork crackling and apple puree…

A beetroot dish of mixed beetroots, poached pear, goat’s cheese, walnuts and a shallot puree…

We also managed to make a womanful attempt on the mains, getting through a pan roasted rump of lamb, goat’s cheese croquettes, minted beans, confit potato, parsnip puree and lamb jus…

Gloucester Old Spot pork belly, white pudding bon bon, sauteed celeriac and buttered mash…

Breast of guinea flow, stuffed with chestnut mushroom duxelles, Cornish potatoes, tenderstem brocolli, babyy onions, cured bacon, beetroot puree, Port wine jus…

Finishing off with a chocolate fondant that did just what it was supposed to, oozing chocolate once you broke into the crisp outer layer.

We liked it so much we went back in February this year for Lynne’s birthday, so they’d redeemed themselves pretty much. This time we demolished a starter of goat’s cheese and figs and another of the black pudding and pork hash again.

For mains there was guinea fowl (also again) and duck.

They knew it was a birthday meal and so they whisked out a complimentary festive dish of ice cream even though none of us could manage dessert, which we thought was very sweet.

We would undoubtedly have gone again, but the universe had other ideas, and before we knew it we were in lockdown, all pubs and restaurants shut for the duration. It was back to the freezer, the kitchen and my own massive collection of cookbooks if we wanted anything special. And for 10 weeks that’s precisely what we did.

But then, an email from the folly informed my that they were doing lockdown menus, from a pair of chefs who refer to themselves as The Brothers, rather than from their usual chef, but that these could be picked up during the day on Saturday to finish and plate at home.

The first few menus didn’t appeal enough but finally, for their Lockdown Tasting Menu #5, they hit gold as far as we were concerned. I phoned up and booked for 2, at a cost of £35 each for five courses. At 12:30 I duly turned up at the side door of the pub and was handed a large carrier bag scientifically packed with plastic tubs and cardboard-lidded foil cartons.

When evening rolled around it was a case of heating the oven to 180°C and following the comprehensive instructions to create what turned inti a seriously splendid dinner. While the canapés warmed up, I cracked open a bottle of Chapel Down Classic Non-Vintage Brut which was a very good way to start an evening.

We sat in the conservatory to eat the canapés, a smoked pork belly bon bon, served with gherkin ketchup, a chicken katsu gyoza, with a pickled ginger mayonnaise, a buffalo cauliflower “wing”, with a hot sauce dip and last but not least a chickpea and red pepper fritter, with a Romesco sauce. I hadn’t got them quite hot enough; having failed to read the instructions quite as closely as I should have done, but they were tasty. They would have been even better at the correct temperature.

Anyway, nothing daunted we moved on to the amuse bouche, which they called “Edible Garden”. A portion of humus with some crisp, crunchy vegetables to dip in and some olive soil was enjoyable too and we soon demolished it, dipping the tiny cornichons and the radishes in and getting somewhat messy as a result.

We moved on to share half of each of the two starers, with pulled Korean BBQ brisket heated up and served in a steamed bao bun, with a very punchy kimchi mayonnaise, and some pickled radishese. We ended up with a spare bun somehow, but left it to another day when I ate it with some cheese! The second starter was a poached duck egg, with English aparagus, glazed walnuts, and a dollop of broad bean and wild mint pesto. Both of these were very different but equally good. By now we were drinking an interesting wine from Egypt, a Domaine de Gianaclis, Ayam Viognier, bought in the shop at the Cite du Vin in Bordeaux.

We were moving very slowly in the direction of the main course, and this was a slow roasted lamb rump cooked beautifully pink, served with a Moroccan vegetable cous cous, aubergine pickle, a sweet potato samosa each (and the only bone of contention really because one of the samosas was much biggert than the other – I solved it by cutting both in half) and a some garlic yoghurt. With it we drank an excellent 2008 Pomerol, from Chateau du Tailhas, that I had opened earlier in the day and decanted. We finished the wine. We couldn’t finish the meat, and ended up eating it with the vegetable cous cous the following day for dinner, along with the dessert, because we really couldn’t manage that either.

The dessert, which we finally consumed on Sunday, was a Peach Melba but it had suffered a bit for being kept for 24 hours in the fridge. The peaches had dried out a bit and the raspberries were starting to slump. It still tasted good, but it didn’t look quite as good as I’m sure its creator had hoped.

We thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that two weekends later we decided to do it again!

And so, last Saturday, I again drove up to the pub at 12:30 to collect the Lockdown Tasting Menu #7.

This time I got the oven temperature right from the off, and so the canapés came out as they were intended. The things that were supposed to be hot were, and the things that were supposed to be cold or room temperature also were. Go me! This time we had a chicken parfait cone, with an accompanying onion jam, a smoked ham hock bon bon with its piccalilli gel, a sag aloo bahji, with a mango chutney ketchup with a scattering of nigella seeds running through it and a Thai green arancini, which came with a BBQ pineapple relish. The only thing that was slightly off was the cone, because the biscuit had gone siggy in storage. Oh, and the fact that none of these items were labelled so we had to figure out which was which – with the sauces we did it by colour, eliminating the obvious items first, the picalilli because it was bright yellow and the onion jam bu virtue of it being brown.

This time we opened a bottle of Champagne that we bought from the Champagne house itself back in 2018, a A Bergere Brut Nature. It lasted us through to the amuse bouche, a stunningly good roasted tomato gazpacho, with a round ball of burrata, and some strawberries. Needless to say it was served cold, and it was superb.

We had changed wines and were now enjoying a 2014 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett, from Joh. Jos. Christoffel in Erben, again a wine we had bought ourselves direct from the makers on a previous holiday to the Mosel. It went well with the starters where we again ordered one of each and shared half and half. The BBQ smoked mackerel fillet was stunning too, though the mackerel hung about digestively for a lot of the evening, and the crab Scotch egg that came with it was lovely, as was the cucumber, wasabi and dill buttermilk which cut through the oiliness of the fish and gave the dish a punch. The chargrilled cauliflower, with smoked almonds, salted lemon and pepper salad, and it’s emulsion of harissa yoghurt was positively restrained by comparison.

The main was again too big for us to finish, but that was no surprise because it was a 14 oz. Cote de Boeuf, with dauphinoise potatoes, buttered asparagus and tender-stem broccoli, vine tomatoes, and a 5 peppercorn sauce. The instructions included the information needed to finish the beef at any stage from blue to well done. We opted for blue so that meant 5 minutes in the oven and 2 minutes resting time. If I have any complaints it would be that there was nowhere near enough sauce for the half portion of meat we were able to eat, never ming a whole 14 ozs. That’s my only complaint though. I have no complaints with having had enough meat and potatoes left to make another dinner, with the addition of some carrots!

There’ll also be no complaints about the wine. After all, it came from my own cellar! This time we drank a 2015 Chateau Martet Reserve du Famille. It was amazing! And once it’s gone we’re going to need more of it.

Again, we ate the dessert the following night, in the shape of a sticky, dense and rich raspberry, white chocolate and pistachio trifle.

Hopefully we are now back to something close to normal now, and we can go out to eat again soon. If not, then I hope these guys keep on doing their lockdown supper clubs because it will help keep us sane.

Food 2020 – The Folly/The Brothers, Towcester Food 2020 - The Folly/The Brothers, Towcester We have had a somewhat up and down relationship with…

[junker-town]

Patriots fans are struggling with how much they miss Jimmy Garoppolo

But most are happy for his success with the 49ers.

“It was an evil necessity.”

That’s how 42-year-old Gloucester, Massachusetts, resident Jason described the Jimmy Garoppolo trade to me while watching the Garoppolo-less Patriots struggle against the Bills early on in their Christmas Eve game.

With Garoppolo’s sudden and convincing success out west, Patriot fans (including myself) who were initially fine with the trade can’t be blamed if they are watching his rise with a tinge of “what could have been” second thoughts. Which is why I ventured out on a cold Christmas Eve afternoon and sought to find what local fans in Massachusetts thought of the entire situation.

At a packed-to-the-rafters local brewery (because the NFL isn’t second fiddle to anything ... even Christmas Eve), fans were avoiding last-minute gift wrapping and awkward holiday conversations with extended family by focusing on the game and clutching their seasonal IPAs or craft Pilsners.

To many Patriots fans, the Garoppolo trade was a shock when it happened. But looking closer at the circumstances of the deal — the Patriots’ most beloved backup quarterback of the Brady era (no disrespect to Ryan Mallett) for a 2018 second-round pick — they had no choice but to get him out of their division and the conference for some sort of return before he signed with a more direct competitor in free agency. Otherwise, they would be forced to spend upwards of $22 million on him with a franchise tag in order to keep him on the roster next fall.

That’s more than Tom Brady makes per season and, because he’s not aging out of the starting spot like they were planning on him to in an ideal transitional situation, could have meant Garoppolo would be paid that hefty sum while Brady was still on the roster. That’s a lot to pay for a backup whose job is to look good and take notes.

It’s no surprise that the Patriots weren’t exactly planning for Brady to still be breaking records after his 40th birthday, and while that’s not an unwelcome thing from a success standpoint, it certainly made the previously straightforward passing of the torch timeline obsolete. And if they repaid Brady’s longtime loyalty with the kind of Belichick Business Decision(TM) that meant Tom got traded or benched to make room for Jimmy, Gisele might’ve set fire to half of Foxborough on her way out of town with Tom.

Which is how Garoppolo (AKA Jimmy G AKA Handsome Jimmy AKA Sweet Baby James) came to be the quarterback that helped the Patriots clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs while not actually playing for the Patriots, thanks to the Niners winning for the fourth straight game with him under center. That win, against a playoff-bound Jacksonville squad, was another victory to add to what has been a magnificent start for Jimmy G on the Niners as he became the first quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 to win his first six starts (dating back to his two starts with New England last year).

He also has a 69.0 completion percentage since the trade, which is nice.

Everyone I spoke to about the trade and its aftermath acknowledged that with Brady staying healthy this long, it couldn’t have ended any other way. Jason, who was passionate on the topic, agreed and said the Pats had “No choice but to do it.” But that doesn’t mean fans are happy about how things are panning out.

Of his new situation, Garoppolo recently said,

"It's awesome. Things are going good right now. There's a buzz in the air. You can feel it as soon as you walk into the stadium. The crowd's going nuts just in pregame. It's exciting. It's a nice thing to be a part of."

That enthusiasm, coupled with his undefeated record as a starter in San Francisco, is hard to watch for the fanbase that he left behind. As I’ve watched the last month of 49ers games (which is more attention than I’ve paid to the Niners in ... [carries the one, multiples by seven, divides by two] ... an entire lifetime of NFL seasons combined), a sense of “I’m just happy he’s doing well” has washed over me, like watching someone you used to date achieve their dreams without you and having to admit they could never have done that if you’d stayed together.

When his family made a visit to the sideline in Week 15, sporting identical strong jawlines and that focused Garoppolo gaze, it was like watching that ex’s family post perfect Instagram pictures of a vacation you were meant to be on with them and instead you’re watching from home. It’s tough, but meant to be this way.

Pats fans didn’t just latch on to Garoppolo because of his looks (have I mentioned he’s good looking?), but also because after a rotating cast of serviceable backups, he was finally the one fans could get attached to as the heir apparent to Brady. He was the future, drafted out of Eastern Illinois in the second round of the 2014 draft, and once he proved his mettle by going 2-0 and throwing for 496 yards during Brady’s 2016 suspension, fan adoration only grew.

Heck, his first career passing touchdown in 2014 was to Rob Gronkowski, which is as auspicious a start as any New England backup could have. It was easy to imagine another successful decade of Patriots football with Jimmy at the helm, and the fact it won’t pan out that way is a tough pill to swallow.

Justin Tucker, flitting efficiently from one customer to another as he fit in one last bartending shift before the holiday, has a similar feeling about Jimmy G’s overnight success, but is facing the situation bluntly and without mincing words. He admits, “At the time of the trade it was fair. ... He deserved an opportunity to succeed.” Now though, with win after win stacking up with the Niners, he says “We’re f***ed. Brady’s only playing for two more years maybe.”

He went even further and offered up a guess as to why the expected transition from Brady to Jimmy didn’t go as planned: karma. Specifically, that “this is karma for the luck we had back with Brady and Bledsoe.” He says that that transition went perfectly, better than anybody could have expected, but “this time it didn’t go our way.” All the team’s luck got used up when Brady landed in the Patriots’ lap and hit the ground running all those years ago.

Taylor Murphy, a lifelong fan who lives in Dorchester, said, “It makes me happy to see Jimmy G excelling in a way he couldn’t [with the Patriots]. ... He deserves it, although I wish it could have been with us.” But she too questions what the plan is if Brady gets hurt or his skill takes a nosedive before anticipated.

In her eyes, and other Pats fans I spoke to agreed with her assessment, once and future backup quarterback Brian Hoyer “isn’t someone that can support the team at this point in the season if anything happens to TB12.” She asserted that she is “a HUGE Brady supporter and believe[s] 100000% he is the GOAT, but the reality is that he’s old and the right kind of injury could be devastating to him and to us.”

While a permanent replacement for Jimmy G might not appear until this year’s draft or even a season later, Taylor did bring up one solution that could fill the void Garoppolo left behind while providing a better foundation for the Patriots’ future once Brady moves on. She said she is “wondering when Kraft, or anyone for that matter, will eat humble pie and scoop up [Colin] Kaep[ernick].”

Some fans had a more practical outlook, even if they also admitted the situation in New England isn’t exactly ideal. Maynard resident Frank, in town visiting his girlfriend for the holidays, was coming at the entire situation from a different perspective thanks to some firsthand information from the Kraft family.

Frank explained that he’s different than most fans in this situation because, “the week prior to [the trade] Kraft’s son was at my company talking about what they do with the players and investments, things like that. ... They have plans for everything” and that this move, just like everything else Belichick does that might seem like a bad idea at the time, will only end well for the team. His takeaway from the trade and the aftermath is that “trading him was sweet and sour but they can make the team better.”

Jason, who made his peace with the trade when it happened, said his opinion hasn’t changed despite Garoppolo’s one-way ticket to stardom in California. He repeated his assertion that it was a necessary evil to make the move when they did, and that he “trusts Belichick” to make the right choice.

How far does that trust in Belichick and the Krafts go, though? The era of Brady and Bill is coming to an end sooner rather than later in New England, and what then? Frank insists “they have the influence to get other quarterbacks and players when they need them” in order to maintain the competition-crushing success that fans have come to expect from Gillette Stadium. To him, that influence is enough to keep them on the top of the heap and avoid the precipitous drop off that is part of each team’s life cycle and will eventually arrive for every fanbase that has been swaddled in the comforting embrace of guaranteed winning seasons.

When confronted with the fact that Brady could get hurt, or that both of the team’s architects of success might not be pulling the strings much longer, he hesitated and then balked at confronting that reality with a curt “I don’t want to think about that.”

Of course, with Garoppolo available in free agency this offseason, his return to Gillette Stadium isn’t necessarily impossible. Belichick could surprise everyone by deciding to bring him back after all, anointing him once again as the future of the team. Weirder things have happened, and at this point, fans know to underestimate Belichick’s planning at their own peril.

While that particular outcome might not be in the cards, at this stage one thing is for sure: Patriots fans will watch Jimmy G’s success in San Francisco — or whoever signs him in free agency this offseason if it’s not the Niners — with pride for as long as it lasts.

Whether it’s because of that 1,000-watt smile (you didn’t think I was making it through an entire piece without talking about the smile, did you?) or the Belichick DNA that he seems to have absorbed during his Patriot Place apprenticeship, he’ll be the one who got away for football-watching New Englanders.

[bestnewsmag-blog]

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Muhammadu Buhari vows support for freed Chibok girls

Ada Muhammadu Needs Some List Advice

  I sense clearly sorry for Mr. Adada Muhammadu. A business proprietor himself, he’s reputedly suffering a wonderful deal of tragedy in his home us of an of Nigeria and is searching out a person to guard $30 million that he holds in his bank account.

apparently, he currently inherited this amount from a wealthy relative and needs to get it out of his united states as soon as possible. Evidently, he e-e-mailed me and asked if I could assist for a 10 percent price. I am wondering it over. It’s a hard name.

I am a hectic man with plenty to do. I just do not have the time to him my bank account statistics and Social Security number, not to mention tour to Nigeria, as he asks, to finalize arrangements. I’m speculated to take my daughter to a swim meet next week and that I promised my spouse I might clean out the garage. In any other case, I might be precise to go.

I am just now not an amazing candidate for him presently. I desire he hadn’t wasted his efforts on me. I guess my call came up on the list he bought of clever, handsome guys with hot other halves. I sense awful that he’s throwing his money away on a list that he sold that isn’t running out. So next time, Mr. Muhammadu if you buy another listing, I have some penny-pinching recommendation for you that I found out from other business proprietors who use lists successfully.

For starters, I recognize lots of proper database businesses that promote marketing lists. In truth, in case you’d like some names, just I and I will be satisfied to proportion a few with you. Don’t worry Mr. Muhammadu. I do not accept as true with the ones few critics who theorize that the information those businesses have is “throw-away” and “out of date.” This could be actual in some instances. However, in all seriousness, I do know that there are many exact database companies that put money into first-rate studies and placed a variety of emphasis on the integrity of the records they sell.

On the other hand Mr. Muhammadu. You are going to need to be very cautious when you purchase your subsequent listing. You reached me, However despite the nice database businesses around, my revel in is that as a minimum 50 percentage of the names and get in touch with info on a typical list is terrible. A listing can fee about $1 in step with the call so if you’re going to drop $5,000-$10,000 (and plenty of database organizations have a minimal purchase in that variety) you can anticipate lots of e-e-mails to come back bouncing returned or lower back letters. The fee of this will considerably chew into the $30 million you are seeking to switch.

Here’s one issue you could want to keep in mind Mr. Muhammadu: The U.S. Postal Carrier offers something called the Countrywide Deliverability Index. An NDF rating suggests how as it should be the deal with information in an electronic mailing list match the modern deal with facts maintained with the aid of the Postal Provider. Mailing lists have matched the use of computerized cope with verification programs. a very good database organization, if asked, will reveal this index to you. It is a way that the Postal Carrier assist you to and all of your friends in Nigeria.

in case you need to purchase another listing of Americans who are willing to give up their personal economic records in order that will help you with your $30 million switches first strive the sector Wrestling Federation – they’ll have masses of properly possibilities for you. However, make sure to get a sample first. Many lists companies will do this for you. They will ship you 10 or 15 names in an effort to validate. Then when you, in the end, get your listing ensure It is in a format wherein you can easily import it right into a database or program. Ask for the listing to be sent to you this is like minded with Microsoft Excel. Or in text layout that may be imported. As soon as imported, you have to make sure you’re doing the right comply with ups, too.

Power To Nigerian People Through Impeachment & Recall

  A new wind of trade is upon the land called Nigeria, it truly is for certain a wind that brings A new sunrise in Nigeria! A few Nigerians see it as an amazing wind; others see it as a terrible wind. And, of the path, there are the in-betweens of various degrees; starting from people who don’t see the wind as either good or horrific; down to individuals who do not even understand what the heck the wind is all approximately. All of it came with the landmark presidential election of 2015, when, for the primary time in the records of Nigeria, an incumbent president turned into stopped from re-election. Retired Preferred Muhammadu Buhari completed this feat; beating President Goodluck Jonathan on the ballot along with his election campaign message of trade change from what he summed up as the protracted misrule of the People’s Democratic Birthday party (PDP).

Buhari’s victory means that the People of Nigeria did indeed want an exchange of government; an alternate from PDP! on the danger of sounding like a parrot, I should say, as I did in my past commentaries, that my hobby in, and assist to President Buhari is at the conflict against corruption. I do not even talk every other issue or any faults that can be attributed to Mr. President. I have continually said my reasons-Mr. Corruption is the bane of Nigeria, and that I trust that Mr. President has the remedy and the character to fight Mr. Corruption! It’s far going on already; the alternate is here certainly! Buhari Fever is on, and the hitherto untouchables in Nigeria are virtually catching the bloodless!! Heads are rolling in the maximum locations!!!

And, of the path, Buhari Fever is also making all of the companies and institutions to sit up straight and try to do the right factor. an awesome example is very clean to look that as quickly as Buhari have become president, the hitherto epileptic electricity delivery to the citizenry suddenly progressed extensively without any increase in electricity generation. Why? Buhari Fever; it’s why! Performance amongst strength workers facts jumped up, with the employees figuring out that hitherto typical laxity, acts of corruption and sabotage underneath Buhari appeal to swift penalty. Additionally, some of Nigeria’s stolen funds suddenly developed legs and walked back into the treasury as soon as Buhari turned into announced the winner of the 2015 election, even earlier than he climbed the seat. Why? Due to the fact the accused folks who had efficiently, arrogantly challenged the accusations in Jonathan’s authorities, caught the Buhari Fever; it truly is why! Additionally, judges are actually cautious approximately granting frivolous court docket injunctions that hitherto stalled the trial of big corrupt politicians and leaders. Why? Buhari Fever, it is why! Many alleged looters abused this legal mumbo jumbo loophole referred to as injunction in President Jonathan’s government. They did not hassle to strive shield the allegations in court; they without a doubt bought themselves Some courtroom injunctions to evade trial. not any further; now not with Buhari Fever within the air. Hitherto untouchable citizens are going through

Why? Due to the fact the accused folks who had efficiently, arrogantly challenged the accusations in Jonathan’s authorities, caught the Buhari Fever; it truly is why! Additionally, judges are actually cautious approximately granting frivolous court docket injunctions that hitherto stalled the trial of big corrupt politicians and leaders. Why? Buhari Fever, it is why! Many alleged looters abused this legal mumbo jumbo loophole referred to as injunction in President Jonathan’s government. They did not hassle to strive shield the allegations in court; they without a doubt bought themselves Some courtroom injunctions to evade trial. not any further; now not with Buhari Fever within the air. Hitherto untouchable citizens are going through a trial for alleged looting all of the way to the so-called range 3 citizens simply because the relaxation of Nigerians could if accused of stealing a mere goat. I handiest pray that the fever lasts!

On that observe, allow’s talk approximately us recognized in our charter as We The Humans of Nigeria-and our role inside the rebirth of the country. In step with our charter, the strength of the state belongs to us. The sad component is that an excellent number people are not enlightened to recognize precisely what that electricity is, and a way to use it. So, this treatise is to evangelise-mainly to the youths the gospel of right exploitation of our power via Buhari Fever. We can not just take a seat lower back and whinge about what Buhari is doing wrong within the ongoing corruption battle. The president is handiest human, much like the rest folks. So, he’s going to make mistakes and terrible judgments now and again; just like each single one of the relaxation of us. Hence, he should face grievance often, much like each person that has ever sat, and all people so that it will ever take a seat in that seat. However permit our criticisms to be positive and sincere, aimed to contribute to the revolution, and no longer to sabotage it-it’s my steady argument! let’s constructively critique Mr. President; now not maliciously criticize him for political expediency.

We’re all anticipated to be lively in the corruption warfare in various approaches. Buhari Fever can only achieve this lots in correcting the several anomalies in our society; We The People of Nigeria ought to get energetic and key in at the advantages of the fever to alternate matters round for higher. It’s far less complicated now for us to test the excesses of our leaders as stipulated in our charter. Buhari’s obvious 0-nepotism corruption warfare has started to redefine the attitudes of Nigerians in public positions, and It’s far not enterprise as regular for the ones which might be trying in overall performance and person. I have already stated one properly instance-Buhari Fever has recommended our judges to keep in mind approximately granting frivolous injunctions to suspects to prevent the trial. No surprise, in spite of excessive-powered intrigues, our “wide variety three guys,” the Senate President, could not cozy an injunction now; while many lesser “massive fishes” may want to gain it on the drop of a hat during Jonathan’s presidency.

But, no matter how irritated We’re at bad leaders, our constitution has conditions on a way to deal with our grievances; whatever out of doors the one’s conditions is illegal. For example, stoning Senator Saraki on a prayer floor on a Sallah Day as stated inside the information closing September turned into barbaric and unconstitutional; indeed, it became a crime towards the senator. The law of the land does not permit all and sundry to throw stones at everybody, for any reason by any means. We do have legitimate ways of venting our anger about our erring leaders as contained in our constitution. And the legitimate ways do now not prevent at simply letting leaders recognize that We are angry; they make certain adjustments. The concept doesn’t Get Mad; Get Even.

My marketing campaign is to position the youths of Nigeria at the proper (valid) direction to get regardless of our leaders. I start right here with gadgets of ‘war’-Don’t forget of erring lawmakers and Impeachment of erring governors and presidents. the primary and closing time I ever heard of the Remember tool noted in Nigeria was with the aid of one obnoxiously impudent chief of the corrupt cabal of the united states at some stage in President Jonathan’s authorities, who definitely believed that he had the right to personally Don’t forget any federal lawmaker that disobeyed his command. He simply introduced this on country wide Tv, and appeared hell-bent to clearly try to perform the risk, until some courageous attorneys explained it to him that he did not own such electricity; that the power belongs to the People! Glaringly, his lack of knowledge become a reflection of the whole Nigerian society; the loads haven’t any iota of concept what that is all approximately Because the sport of democracy is new to them!

How To Get Freed From Tonsil Stones Naturally

  Tonsil stones are small white deposits which may be visible in the craters of the tonsils. Those deposits are fashioned with the aid of the bits of food that get caught within the craters and bacteria feeds on them, processing them into the foul smelling grime that all of us hate. This trouble of tonsillitis is quite commonplace in humans, and it could be treated with scientific treatment in addition to self-care. Right here are some interesting strategies through which you may take away Those stones.

Salt Water Gargles One of the quality domestic treatments to deal with tonsil stone is salt water gargles. In case you practice ordinary salt water gargles or gargle with a non-alcoholic mouthwash, then you can without problems do away with tonsil stones and additionally put off the foul smell. Additionally, If you are laid low with sore throat salt water gargles can assist in treating it.

Every day Drink Water Another powerful remedy to cast off this trouble is to hold your body hydrated and consume water frequently. The dependency of drinking water Daily and often in an afternoon facilitates in eliminating the debris from the craters,

Moreover, Muhammadu  Buhari freed it additionally eliminates the hollow space.

Use A Toothbrush Brush often, and with this brushing habit, you can remove the stones. While you are using a normal brush press the bristles of the brush on the tonsils so that the stones get loose. Use a mouthwash to eliminate them. If you are using an electric toothbrush, then you definitely want to use the bottom of the toothbrush due to the vibration and press at the stones to break them. Once the stones are broken, then you need to apply a mouthwash to easy your mouth and take away the final particles.

Drink Lemon Juice Lemon juice is considered to be an extremely useful remedy to take away tonsil stones because it is relatively rich in Vitamin C. Mix three tablespoons of lemon juice in warm water and As soon as it’s combined you could gargle with this aggregate it will put off the stones and cleanse your mouth.

Consume Uncooked Garlic And Onions Tonsil stones are as a result of bacterial infection and garlic includes anti-bacterial residences, which makes it quality for doing away with tonsil stones. Take the garlic clove and chew it, repeat this practice several instances an afternoon and it’s going to free you from the foul smelling stones. Raw onions also possess anti-bacterial houses and can assist in doing away with the stones; you may Eat the Uncooked onions Every day in the form of salad to get rid of the stones.

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Food 2020 – The Folly/The Brothers, Towcester

We have had a somewhat up and down relationship with The Folly Inn, our most local gastropub, over the years with some very good food and some that really hasn’t hit the mark, along with service that can be very hit and miss but can also be brilliantly warm and friendly.

Anyway, last year we went back for another try, and ate well enough to decide it was back on our list of places to eat. On that occassion we went with a pair of friends so we all had different starters. That meant we enjoyed plates such as a amoked cheddar cheese twice-baked souffle, with a Waldorf salad, cauliflower cheese puree and a Parmesan crisp…

Home cure salmon with lightly pickled cucumber, salmon roe, fennel, fresh radish and chive oil…

A hash of pulled pork and black pudding with a panko breaded egg, pork crackling and apple puree…

A beetroot dish of mixed beetroots, poached pear, goat’s cheese, walnuts and a shallot puree…

We also managed to make a womanful attempt on the mains, getting through a pan roasted rump of lamb, goat’s cheese croquettes, minted beans, confit potato, parsnip puree and lamb jus…

Gloucester Old Spot pork belly, white pudding bon bon, sauteed celeriac and buttered mash…

Breast of guinea flow, stuffed with chestnut mushroom duxelles, Cornish potatoes, tenderstem brocolli, babyy onions, cured bacon, beetroot puree, Port wine jus…

Finishing off with a chocolate fondant that did just what it was supposed to, oozing chocolate once you broke into the crisp outer layer.

We liked it so much we went back in February this year for Lynne’s birthday, so they’d redeemed themselves pretty much. This time we demolished a starter of goat’s cheese and figs and another of the black pudding and pork hash again.

For mains there was guinea fowl (also again) and duck.

They knew it was a birthday meal and so they whisked out a complimentary festive dish of ice cream even though none of us could manage dessert, which we thought was very sweet.

We would undoubtedly have gone again, but the universe had other ideas, and before we knew it we were in lockdown, all pubs and restaurants shut for the duration. It was back to the freezer, the kitchen and my own massive collection of cookbooks if we wanted anything special. And for 10 weeks that’s precisely what we did.

But then, an email from the folly informed my that they were doing lockdown menus, from a pair of chefs who refer to themselves as The Brothers, rather than from their usual chef, but that these could be picked up during the day on Saturday to finish and plate at home.

The first few menus didn’t appeal enough but finally, for their Lockdown Tasting Menu #5, they hit gold as far as we were concerned. I phoned up and booked for 2, at a cost of £35 each for five courses. At 12:30 I duly turned up at the side door of the pub and was handed a large carrier bag scientifically packed with plastic tubs and cardboard-lidded foil cartons.

When evening rolled around it was a case of heating the oven to 180°C and following the comprehensive instructions to create what turned inti a seriously splendid dinner. While the canapés warmed up, I cracked open a bottle of Chapel Down Classic Non-Vintage Brut which was a very good way to start an evening.

We sat in the conservatory to eat the canapés, a smoked pork belly bon bon, served with gherkin ketchup, a chicken katsu gyoza, with a pickled ginger mayonnaise, a buffalo cauliflower “wing”, with a hot sauce dip and last but not least a chickpea and red pepper fritter, with a Romesco sauce. I hadn’t got them quite hot enough; having failed to read the instructions quite as closely as I should have done, but they were tasty. They would have been even better at the correct temperature.

Anyway, nothing daunted we moved on to the amuse bouche, which they called “Edible Garden”. A portion of humus with some crisp, crunchy vegetables to dip in and some olive soil was enjoyable too and we soon demolished it, dipping the tiny cornichons and the radishes in and getting somewhat messy as a result.

We moved on to share half of each of the two starers, with pulled Korean BBQ brisket heated up and served in a steamed bao bun, with a very punchy kimchi mayonnaise, and some pickled radishese. We ended up with a spare bun somehow, but left it to another day when I ate it with some cheese! The second starter was a poached duck egg, with English aparagus, glazed walnuts, and a dollop of broad bean and wild mint pesto. Both of these were very different but equally good. By now we were drinking an interesting wine from Egypt, a Domaine de Gianaclis, Ayam Viognier, bought in the shop at the Cite du Vin in Bordeaux.

We were moving very slowly in the direction of the main course, and this was a slow roasted lamb rump cooked beautifully pink, served with a Moroccan vegetable cous cous, aubergine pickle, a sweet potato samosa each (and the only bone of contention really because one of the samosas was much biggert than the other – I solved it by cutting both in half) and a some garlic yoghurt. With it we drank an excellent 2008 Pomerol, from Chateau du Tailhas, that I had opened earlier in the day and decanted. We finished the wine. We couldn’t finish the meat, and ended up eating it with the vegetable cous cous the following day for dinner, along with the dessert, because we really couldn’t manage that either.

The dessert, which we finally consumed on Sunday, was a Peach Melba but it had suffered a bit for being kept for 24 hours in the fridge. The peaches had dried out a bit and the raspberries were starting to slump. It still tasted good, but it didn’t look quite as good as I’m sure its creator had hoped.

We thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that two weekends later we decided to do it again!

And so, last Saturday, I again drove up to the pub at 12:30 to collect the Lockdown Tasting Menu #7.

This time I got the oven temperature right from the off, and so the canapés came out as they were intended. The things that were supposed to be hot were, and the things that were supposed to be cold or room temperature also were. Go me! This time we had a chicken parfait cone, with an accompanying onion jam, a smoked ham hock bon bon with its piccalilli gel, a sag aloo bahji, with a mango chutney ketchup with a scattering of nigella seeds running through it and a Thai green arancini, which came with a BBQ pineapple relish. The only thing that was slightly off was the cone, because the biscuit had gone siggy in storage. Oh, and the fact that none of these items were labelled so we had to figure out which was which – with the sauces we did it by colour, eliminating the obvious items first, the picalilli because it was bright yellow and the onion jam bu virtue of it being brown.

This time we opened a bottle of Champagne that we bought from the Champagne house itself back in 2018, a A Bergere Brut Nature. It lasted us through to the amuse bouche, a stunningly good roasted tomato gazpacho, with a round ball of burrata, and some strawberries. Needless to say it was served cold, and it was superb.

We had changed wines and were now enjoying a 2014 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett, from Joh. Jos. Christoffel in Erben, again a wine we had bought ourselves direct from the makers on a previous holiday to the Mosel. It went well with the starters where we again ordered one of each and shared half and half. The BBQ smoked mackerel fillet was stunning too, though the mackerel hung about digestively for a lot of the evening, and the crab Scotch egg that came with it was lovely, as was the cucumber, wasabi and dill buttermilk which cut through the oiliness of the fish and gave the dish a punch. The chargrilled cauliflower, with smoked almonds, salted lemon and pepper salad, and it’s emulsion of harissa yoghurt was positively restrained by comparison.

The main was again too big for us to finish, but that was no surprise because it was a 14 oz. Cote de Boeuf, with dauphinoise potatoes, buttered asparagus and tender-stem broccoli, vine tomatoes, and a 5 peppercorn sauce. The instructions included the information needed to finish the beef at any stage from blue to well done. We opted for blue so that meant 5 minutes in the oven and 2 minutes resting time. If I have any complaints it would be that there was nowhere near enough sauce for the half portion of meat we were able to eat, never ming a whole 14 ozs. That’s my only complaint though. I have no complaints with having had enough meat and potatoes left to make another dinner, with the addition of some carrots!

There’ll also be no complaints about the wine. After all, it came from my own cellar! This time we drank a 2015 Chateau Martet Reserve du Famille. It was amazing! And once it’s gone we’re going to need more of it.

Again, we ate the dessert the following night, in the shape of a sticky, dense and rich raspberry, white chocolate and pistachio trifle.

Hopefully we are now back to something close to normal now, and we can go out to eat again soon. If not, then I hope these guys keep on doing their lockdown supper clubs because it will help keep us sane.

Food 2020 – The Folly/The Brothers, Towcester Food 2020 - The Folly/The Brothers, Towcester We have had a somewhat up and down relationship with…