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libidomechanica · 21 days ago

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For one especially the last: all

A kimo sequence

For one especially the last: all your sight, and treated in their ocean of eternity.

The Lady Adeline, who like two bats and we failed—if we drove south. Crawls to make haste away.

Wilt thou canst not with sparkles new begun. He scent gan fail. And to all men lie; she condition.

Shell, which ever know, that lovely lisper smiled at mad pursuit? Grief makes me sick, weak, paranoid.

To blush, but once her mouth. So daring in the blessing even his favourite’s condition.

But vicious, harebrained, the other have told my wrath did grace? Pennsylvania humps on endless dole.

Chaste Cathering rose fast with gazing spells whose sweetly on his own. Breaking purple silk, or die.

As dear, and yet no sins of the night at noonday. That I propose … I am Ra … in a snare.

Steam-engines will be transfixed! Who eats fire gratis since then run out like young man, now lord of fear.

Though the vast uplandish country lass: a chart, which deemed eternal love. Row, which gaping like this.

Besides, train-oil, tallow, the hounds, it may, a bard in country’s cries! On the bed baith kirk and joy!

Him;—as also sanctify her kind. Saying what you were. By the crevice peer’d about her name.

Thought him alone at all … he took no part in a foreigners excel the poor devils or a dun.

When I a heart another pleased we were better by thy pillow. The fault in hand did detain.

I mourn no more. The wild Boreas’ harshness; thou hast read how roughly treading hair. If I were dead!

My laddie dear; till the trembling, cold, brightness? He would repay each other home and her face is run.

— Her Brow’s white like Roland’s distress and there. She then majesty, which fools may shepherds pipe began.

That seemed like prayers had power, whiff! Some hoped thing which I could recall the villain fears below!

Sukey is tumbled all her child within the difference of you. When she does wane; and the Spring.

And what great cause of war, or peace, and luminous and last, if not in a cloak, as I thinke. Dead!

I’ll never when true it is enough, Thus let them selfe into a hemline. Its puddle; hurrah!

They must, I think grief does know.—A scarlet ornament when it was undone, because she’s in her.

But she was full, and would he could I forgiven me. Happy you why. And briars and spends they fail!

Thinking about her Mind. The presents to the wall. Suppose him to the poem of my Sick Soul!

At Lord Augustus Fitz-Plantagenet. A maiden may thing to save my yet young Lochinvar.

I HATE the dreary. For ever in a dreadful blast is blown to blush, and how should fall dreaming.

Sir, the main of such a structure had been wronged love. My spark should be discharged of these counsel Juan.

Roses at my slack of us singing joy of the balm was in the bay. No object higher.

The simmer is not at first a nation. Don Juan felt—what was in danger more than counsel Juan.

But I am a giant oranges, and root up the lowe degree the crowd—but you! Behold!

I love me now! Which with green tree, able for I would stop the richest mine and now—what is she!

Long since my thoughts canst not so tickled, they drive on, postilions! And then he sawe thilke misusage.

For Babylon’s than fiction: she smiled, she was, and thin, abroad, at least my sky: but whither side.

I’m o’er young, and the skies, over and goosebumps lift, it’s your truth. The sky grew things well as Sight.

Not seem a scheme that may be, but Pallas also of the Apostles’ cure. The climate, stopp’d em.

To be it where seeing how Art can make? It is not at all. Or amber, a pavement of tin.

Were the kirk maun hae thee, and me. Come and curse onto my garden gay, to lay on the ruin’d me.

All, praises, and altitudes of virtue lies in the sun upon a ground. The bride in the bat.

Last little wood, ’ that hill where he embark’d, and owls whooped, and I’ll roses glow! May nothing shall soar.

To mar the lacing o’t. Autumn, and redder than thou dost rove these pretence to leave to rise.

Pearls to speak; and if a child; her hair. Sad case, as you to everyone else. We were waxing child!

The mountaine sayles. But stayed his lap. And, lawd, how much ye strike, if he feared ye’d spoil much grief beside.

Thorn! Thus, having in thee doth display at once before thirty, that’s in the toes, it will content.

Hath been crying Love, and swore he gazed up to our Eyes; a Cataract that, when you adjacent.

Will have no end: mine appetite with this restrained of it. They keepen all them—But you have vowed.

—She still’d? And wakened, shiver’d with fine Conceits, all we are brought her painted shell, is best right.

Sheds itself advance, hermes had the worst. The gilded girl whom he sleep as its make, that were wild.

Possible leap to kiss that was his mistresses. And sweet love is dumb. The stranger, strove to rise.

Which to me I bore the bellman of black. And thy orphan family’s once with posterity.

The canker-worm will freeze in fire! And coole. Of human miracle-tones of ice, and the cost you.

For me, I deem an anti-climax: ’Oh! As to soft music, midnight. The flood than human kind.

The mother’s pangs o’ joy. Regions full of incongruities: be her forehead with long ere the worst.

The sobs of mighty empire now at rest, whereat she can afford to those. From that a bonne.

Forget this way!—But titt’ring ivy, two rivers, in the fond parisian aspect burst, and live?

Our shutters are sweet the basement-curtain’d his eyes were affied. I askéd a thief to steal thine ear.

Than human years were made the shining the shuddering from the moonlight on any slight on me.

” Where, there, as a cane that were attachment. When your leisure! Our friendship, which my sole enemy.

I’m o’er young to my father, sister’s train to change. His anger if he fear’d; some statue of stone.

I set her own least in women dancing in her idle flight.—And there behold him for Cupid.

Looks our lives, and meek, she cried, Sweet fruit; but he’s growin’ yet. I won’t let you meant, you shalt not love.

And bounds of shaving wine, and keeps our Britain owes and pays you turn her Eye should removed. Down, down!

So, either old against the Black, the Bread. Our owne woe; for souls up in these are the world—ah me!

My grieve me, Hero, hate me, not by cares or wand’ring in my soul. Tomorrow withereth too.

In the Air, know not how; for stone, it is sad to his place. Perhaps were o’erhead a live here whites.

Love though at time it will not find a term is shown, who, after the greatest wealth, and draught of flood.

She saw her feet to the riches rancke, whose careless her breast; yet not make her lies. Terrifies me.

And sent. As could she be fasten’d thro’ the Mill lo’es dearly, and with shame o’t, but more to die.

Who on Love’s feet, and then at last she fled, which makes him quail, or his hands out o’ h—ll. She trips.

I am not there beside; further dry. In your mouth. Me, day by day did Absál tempt the flight!

And why such a rattling murmur of all the real gladness. The earth to rights; you have my bow.

Yet she had saved her lies.—I’m o’er young to market by the chance so happen— deeds, with the go-cart.

Last little captive, freely, wildly-wanton strips racing heate where cheek withal. Ask me no more.

—At last; and maidens loth? First shepheards sayd Algrind oftentime great cup of camomile tea.

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 7 #220 texts #kimo sequence

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stvpidinlove · 4 years ago

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[ OLIVIA HOLT, SHE/HER, CIS WOMAN ] — [ REGAN MORGAN ] is a child of [ MORPHEUS ] with the power of [ PRECOGNITIVE DREAMING ] . they were born in [ 1995 ] and have been in nemean lion since [ 2019 ] . with the change, they [ ARE TRAINING IN ] the [ AMBASSADOR ] role which makes sense since they’re usually [ SCROLLING HER CURSED TIKTOK FYP & CONFUSING HER FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER ] . if you’d like to meet them try the [ MOON ] building .

tl;dr she’s a deranged menace to society

BASICS

hometown: milford, pennsylvania

eye color: brown

hair color: blonde

height: 5′3

sexuality: bisexual

birthday: january 19, 1995 ( capricorn )

BIO

regan’s mother was never the type to settle down. before meeting morpheus, her longest relationship had been three months. so when the guy seemed commitment-phobic, that was perfect for her. until, of course, she found out she was pregnant. she didn’t want to get married but she was at an age where the idea of motherhood...didn’t repulse her. so she wanted to keep the baby, at which point the father of her child didn’t get down on one knee, he started to explain the kinds of responsibilities she’d face as the mother of his child.

having the child of a god in her womb inflated her ego, which was pretty impressive considering how big it already was. see, regan’s mother was a southern belle without any of the class or manners. she’d breezed through the pageant circuit as a teen, winning a number of titles with minimal effort. her talent was essentially crying on demand and looking pretty while doing it. knowing she’d slept with a god, like an honest to...god felt sort of fitting. like, duh, who else would she have her first child with?

this also led to a brief but intense fixation with shakespeare, who name dropped gods like it was his job, which led to her choosing the name regan from king lear.

she moved to pennsylvania with regan when her daughter was only four years old, because some guy practically begged her to let him take care of her, and she had nowhere better to go. until, eventually, she did, thanks to the world of avon. her mother started selling out of boredom but then it turned out she was good at it, so good that she could easily buy a place once she got bored of her rich boyfriend, and move out with regan.

thankfully, her mother got out of the pyramid scheme before she got in too deep. she was hired by an actual, reputable cosmetics company and given a desk job to work in sales, which she was still a natural at. because she had a full time job now, regan spent a lot of time with nannies...and that’s nannies plural because regan was one of those kids who drove her caretakers to quit on a regular basis.

but not because she was a handful. she was pretty self-sufficient, actually, and totally well-behaved, she was just kind of...weird. she’d leave her room for dinner with all of her clothes suddenly on backwards and say nothing as if it was normal and act confused when her nanny asked about it. she’d stare at the tv when it was off, she’d spend one day only speaking in whispers, she’d write vaguely threatening messages on the mirror with her mother’s red lipstick.

all of this was because regan knew it was scary to adults, which made it fun for her. she wasn’t, like, actually disturbed. well, aside from the dreams she had sometimes. she’d have a dream about a baby bird falling from a nest, she’d watch its chest move for minutes before it died, then she’d wake up the next day and find a dead bird outside the sliding glass doors to the backyard.

for a while she thought they were coincidences. then she thought she was making things happen in her sleep, and that it was her job to stop bad things from happening, to save every baby bird that asked for help in her dreams. it took her a few years to accept that just because she sometimes saw the future didn’t mean she had any power to change it. she was warned so she could prepare herself, which only made her feel more powerless.

but being regan, she chose to cope with this aspect of her life with avoidance and humor. she doesn’t want to pick and choose what she worries about and what she doesn’t, so she decided a long time ago not to take anything seriously.

for reasons unknown, regan’s mother actually decided to have another child after regan. but she was unconventional, too, hence regan being...the way she is, so she never actually married the father of regan’s half-brother, but they have been together for the past 15 years, so.

her brother is eleven years younger than she is, so in regan’s mind, a baby. whenever left with the task of babysitting him while the two were growing up, it would be regan who suggested ice cream for breakfast and sock sliding around the living room at dangerous speeds.

RANDOM FACTS

i want to v*mit saying this but.....she’s kind of like........the female version of stevesuptic. except for she’s cute <3

her entire twitch account is kind of satirical, like it’s very hard to gauge what her actual personality is. i don’t think her viewers bully her the way they bully steve bc she would bully them back LMAO but they ask her a lot of random ass super weird sometimes borderline disturbing questions and she answers them like it’s normal

she def has weird/creepy drawings whenever playing gartic phone tho /:

ig you could say her channel is like shit posting but make it a streamer. she has a really nice set up and she always looks made up in her streams but then the content is her playing like a cat dating sim for four hours

she’s actually pretty shit at most games that require any level of skill and her following comes entirely from her personality and her Brand ig, she’s just entertaining to watch bc she says and does the most ??? things. like she’s not a gamer girl and doesn’t say she is she just has a twitch and plays games for the attention

also she has a cat named muffintop (best part of the muffin, not the offensive term for a woman’s stomach, though she will say that’s what it means if someone asks) who she regularly posts memes of and like most of her twitch emotes are her cat. you can find examples on her pinterest board lmao

i think it’s pretty hard to get an actual vision out of regan? she mostly keeps those to herself and just lies about her dreams. she’ll just be like, “yeah actually i had a dream you were gonna choke on some oatmeal so stay safe out there.” she’s also only partially sure when a dream is actually about the future.

her like <3 symbol that represents her is butterflies, she has a ton of butterfly shit

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

idk if i am requesting a roommate for once, idk if i wanna subject anyone to that

someone naive who believes her any time she says something is Going To Happen, no matter how stupid it is and no matter how many times things simply do not happen??

a bestie because...............................i just feel like she wormed her way into someone’s inner circle and they’re just stuck with her now

#idek how to describe her so this is not helpful actually #nlintro #𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴𝙳 𝚄𝙽𝙳𝙴𝚁 ( 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐 ) * regan #this is such a fever dream

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funigami-games · 4 years ago

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A dream come true! The Prince's Heart is getting a Voice Over

When we started The Prince's Heart, we never thought we'd find so many wonderful persons willing to collaborate on our project. Here we are now, a month later, with an entire crew of professional and aspiring Voice Actors willing to help us realize our Visual Novel!

Special thanks to our amazing Casting Director, Jacob Wilson, who directed the whole Voice Over process.

Let's meet the entire cast (in order of appearance in the game)!

Nick Chang as Edward (Protagonist)

I was born in Manhattan, but raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where I currently reside. I also proudly identify as a 2nd generation Asian American (half Hong Kong via my mother, half Taiwanese via my father) and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community (gay and demisexual). Since childhood, I have had a distinct love of music and performance. Having played violin from 4th to 12th grade and sung for even longer, I used music as a primary means to express myself growing up. As I progressed from high school to college, I discovered online voice acting, but it was not until my time in graduate school that I formally decided to become an actor. My interest initially stemmed from a desire to help out in localization projects, but over the time I have spent voice acting, I have come to not only develop a great appreciation of the craft of acting, but also further deepen my love of music and rekindle my love of performance. With my singing experience as a basis to my unique perspectives, I hope to bring sensitivity, curiosity, and innovation to every project I work on!

Jacob Wilson as Adam

I’m a voice actor, Casting and voice director based in Dallas Texas. I’ve been working in this field for almost four years Now. It’s a journey that has taken me literally around the world and I’m so thankful for all I’m able to do and have accomplished. Being a part of amazing projects like this one are what fuel me to pursue my passions. I realized I was bisexual when I was 18. It’s a group in the LGBT+ community that continues to get flak from seemingly all over. But my faith in it and myself has always been unshaken. Outside of VO I am a drag artist in the making under the name “Twilight Stunning”, who I’m going to show more properly in the coming months! I’m so thankful I’m in the position I am, and I can’t wait to see what we have in store for y’all!

Bradley Gareth as Michael (Main Character)

Bradley was raised in Western Pennsylvania, learning piano from age 5 and taking up local community theater at age 10. He pursued the performing arts throughout high school, consistently participating in high school musicals and chorus festivals during his tenure there. At the end of high school, he also took multiple classes in musical composition and began doing online voiceover work.

During his time in college, Bradley participated in numerous professional and amateur voiceover productions both online and at the University of Pittsburgh's student radio station, WPTS Radio. While at WPTS, Bradley also began writing advertisements and online content for websites.

Now out of school, Bradley continues to lend his voice to multiple productions, dabble in musical composition, and provide content writing for WrightlySo.com.

Jared Prize as David (Main Character)

Singing provides me with some of the greatest joy in life. Outside of that, I love voice acting, hiking, and hanging with friends. My day job involves working with computers, so I like to find a bit of an escape into the creative-realm during my free time. My sexuality has always been a struggle, but I find comfort in not putting a label on it (at least for now). Mostly, I am very excited to be a part of an ambition team of lovely people. Working within a project like this brings excitement during the process, and even more-so while waiting for the final piece! I hope you enjoy what's to come xo

Marisa Duran as Lady Marie

Hey there, I’m Marisa Duran. I’m an actress working and living in Dallas, Texas.

I caught the "theatre bug" at a young age. My parents will tell you that it started when I was two years-old, dancing around to the Barney theme song. I agree wholeheartedly.

I grew up in a suburb on the east side of Dallas and was fortunate to have the opportunity to explore a city known for its rich culture and artistic influence. My passion for theatre was fueled by the many musicals that toured through town and I quickly decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as a professional actor.

In 2016 I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, emphasis in Acting. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with multiple professional theatre companies in the DFW area. I’ve also expanded my career into the worlds of film and voiceover, landing roles in short films, webseries, and commercials, and lending my voice to over a dozen anime titles at FUNimation.

Art has the power to heal, to change, and to empower. As an artist, I believe that my purpose on this earth is to tell stories, and through these stories I hope to make a positive impact and leave people better than I found them. I consider it an honor to be able to use my talents in such a profound way.

Whenever I’m not rehearsing or recording, you can usually find me at my day-time marketing job, playing video-games, or drinking coffee at a local coffeeshop.

Kiba Walker as Zachariah

Born Arthur Lee Walker III in Tacoma, Washington, Kiba Walker is an American actor, musician, director, writer, and performer based out of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Kiba trained under the likes of various industry professionals such as Shane Sparks, Donyelle Jones, Tony Oliver, Betty "Waters" Kennedy, Chuck Huber, Sonny Strait, Chris Rager, Justine Reyes, Lorette Spicer, Bill Quinby, Angie Irons, Dan Lorge, Holly Clark Lorge, Spencer Christian, and many others. With 16 years of collective industry knowledge, Kiba has performed with the likes of Alice Underground, The Stereo Killers, Frankly Fictitious, CRVSH, Grant Davis, Ashley Ann Farley, Steve "Warky" Nunez, BASH!, Ryland Lynch, Ross Lynch, Will Jay, and more.

Voice over came to Kiba in his later years, around the age of 18, when he found his love doing an ask blog for Tumblr. From there, he took the craft seriously and networked profusely with various actors and companies in the voice over realm. His first roles were as Boku Temagawa in "Love Games" and Mike Connelly in "Zoolaplex".

Since 2014, he's been cast in various other projects including MY HERO ACADEMIA, HORIMIYA, GENSHIN IMPACT, FRUITS BASKET, ONE PIECE, SAINT SEIYA (2019 Sentai Dub), BLACK CLOVER, BOFURI! I DON'T WANNA GET HURT SO I'LL MAX OUT MY DEFENSE, CAUTIOUS HERO: THE HERO IS OVERPOWERED BUT OVERLY CAUTIOUS, CASE FILE NO.221 KABUKICHO, CAMP BUDDY, FULL SERVICE, TO TRUST AN INCUBUS, TO LOVE RU, O MAIDENS IN YOUR SAVAGE SEASON, EARTHLOCK, POPUP DUNGEON, SOMETHING IN THE DARK, RADIANT, and many more!

He's also directed such titles as FULL SERVICE, IDUEL: BATTLE FOR STARDOM, ISHIDA & ASAKURA, THE TITAN'S BRIDE, and CAMP BUDDY.

As a musician now, Kiba currently has one album out, titled "XO", that released in May 2016. He runs a music channel called "KibaKovers", adapting anime and video game openings into English for a broader audience, as well as regular Top 40 covers. He is also one of the champions of the hit Fort Worth Drag Competition, The 3, as Salem Moon!

Mike Young as Sir Tiphis

Hello, I’m Mike Young. A dynamic, versatile and different British VP voice actor with gravitas, who can turn on various shades of Bristol, and run the spectrum of silky smooth, to warm and friendly.

Under the brilliant tutelage of Tanya Rich, my road to a professional voice acting career begin in 2018, having produced a wide variety of stories and audiobooks.

I lend my talent to a range of different projects:

Hard sell and soft sell commercial and corporate scripts

IVR for telephone systems and mobile apps

Instructional e-learning courses

Promotional adverts and trailers

Public service announcements

Character narration for video games, film, audio dramas and books

…and more!

I love it all, I do it all! And if you like what you hear, contact me! I’ll be sure to make your project gurt lush.

#visual novel #visual novels #yaoi #voiceactor

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swanlake1998 · 4 years ago

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Article: The Radiant Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan: Why She's One to Watch at Pacific Northwest Ballet

Date: March 1, 2021

By: Marcie Sillman

Hollywood could make a movie about Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan's big break at Pacific Northwest Ballet.

It was November 2017, and the company was performing Crystal Pite's film-noir–inspired Plot Point, set to music by Bernard Hermann from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Ryan, then a first-year corps member, originally was understudying the role of another dancer. But when principal Noelani Pantastico was injured in a car accident, Ryan was tapped to take over her role.

Ryan had danced featured roles before, including Maria in Jerome Robbins' West Side Story Suite. But she had just one day to learn Pite's choreography. It was a daunting task, but she was determined not to squander her shot. After a session in the studio with Pantastico, Ryan went home and rehearsed for hours in her living room. "I learned the hell out of that role," she laughs.

Her hard work paid off. When she hurtled onto the stage, draped in a gray trench coat, she stared at the body sprawled on the floor, turned to the audience, her dark eyes opened wide in shock, and let out a horrified scream. The audience was rapt.

"The expectation was that we'd throw her onstage and she'd be tentative," says Pacific Northwest Ballet artistic director Peter Boal. "But she gave a really strong performance."

Ryan's success in Plot Point led to a string of featured roles at PNB, from the Sugarplum Fairy in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to work by David Dawson and Donald Byrd. But Ryan is no overnight sensation; her success is the result of years of training, discipline and a passion for her art form. That passion also buoyed her during an on-going struggle with body-image issues, and her decision to establish her career a continent away from her close-knit Philadelphia family.

Early Successes—and Struggles

Ryan, now 23, has been dancing since she was 3 years old, when her parents enrolled her in tap, jazz and ballet classes at a local dance studio. At age 5, her teacher recommended she pursue more rigorous ballet training at Philadelphia's acclaimed Rock School for Dance Education.

Ryan flew up the levels there, and by the age of 12, she'd advanced to the top, the youngest student in her classes. Although she held her own with high-school–aged peers, Ryan knew she was different. "Everyone was older," she says. "You were expected to look a certain way, but I was still going through puberty!"

That didn't stop Pennsylvania Ballet, which then did not have an affiliated school, from casting Ryan in its annual Nutcracker. Ryan was 10 when she danced her first role, a toy soldier. Miami City Ballet School director Arantxa Ochoa was a principal dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet at the time, but she noticed the young dancer.

"I just remember her beautiful eyes and big smile," Ochoa recalls.

Five years later, when Ryan enrolled in Pennsylvania Ballet's newly revived school, Ochoa was her teacher. "She was that ideal student," says Ochoa. "Hard worker. Very smart, very talented. To me, she had that thing, that 'It' factor."

Ochoa wasn't the only one to notice her potential. Ryan continued to win roles in Pennsylvania Ballet productions, including Balanchine's "Diamonds," videotaped for PBS. At 16, she was offered a contract with Pennsylvania Ballet's second company. From the outside, it looked like the culmination of Ryan's dream.

The reality was less idyllic. Ryan had struggled with body-image issues since her early years at the Rock School; she was particularly self-conscious about the size and shape of her thighs. She remembers one Rock School teacher asking if her Mexican-born mother made good flan. When Ryan replied in the affirmative, he told her she looked like she was enjoying too much of it. Another teacher at the school suggested she go on a liquid diet to drop some weight.

Ryan recalls other "advice," such as being told not to go out into the sun, so that her skin wouldn't get too dark. Although she took that particular comment in stride, it compounded her self-consciousness about her appearance. It also strengthened her resolve to work harder in the studio.

At PBII, Ryan was determined to show she had what it takes to succeed as a professional ballerina. But while artistic director Angel Corella told the young dancer that he liked her dancing, she says he advised her to slim down or risk fewer onstage opportunities. She valued his feedback, and her long relationship with Pennsylvania Ballet, but Ryan knew it was time to look for opportunities outside her hometown. She focused her attention on Seattle.

A New Home

Ryan had attended Pacific Northwest Ballet's summer intensive the summer after joining PBII. She was among 30 young women enrolled in Peter Boal's class that summer—all excellent dancers, he says—but Ryan stood out.

"She had this kind of go-for-broke presence," Boal says. "A gutsiness." He made a mental note. A year later, when Ryan contacted him about an audition, Boal invited her to attend class when the company toured to New York City. At the end of that class, Boal offered Ryan a contract; she joined PNB as an apprentice in the fall of 2016.

"I loved PNB's rep, I loved the idea of working for Peter," Ryan says. Although she was scared about moving across the country, she calls it "good scared."

Ryan credits Boal with helping to free her from her self-image issues, but that didn't happen overnight. During her apprentice year, Ryan attended class in "trash bag pants," concerned that if Boal saw her thighs he'd decide not to cast her. She braced herself for the all-too familiar weight talk.

It never came.

But Boal noticed Ryan's tension, how she seemed intent on proving herself every time he was teaching class or watching rehearsal. He took her aside and explained that he'd hired her for a reason—he liked her dancing—and advised Ryan simply to dance for her own love of it. By the end of her apprentice year, new contract in hand, Ryan felt she'd found a true ballet home.

Ryan also credits her new-found comfort to the camaraderie she feels at PNB. She gravitated to a small group of Latinx dancers, who reminded her of her close-knit Philadelphia family. Ryan's mother is Mexican; her father grew up in Belize. The family identifies as Latin American, speaks Spanish at home and celebrates especially their Mexican heritage. Ryan was particularly touched when one colleague, a Seattle-area native, brought her samples of Mexican dishes her own mother had prepared. Small gestures like this helped ease the young dancer's homesickness.

Ryan had another reason to embrace her new city: Not long after she joined PNB, she caught the eye of a fellow dancer, principal Kyle Davis. They've been partners onstage and off for the past three years. "She's fantastic to work with," Davis says. "She's intelligent, open to discussing how steps work and how we can better work together. I personally think that's a phenomenal quality in a partner."

Finding Her Voice

During this long pandemic year, Davis and Ryan have had ample opportunity to explore their partnership. They share a Seattle apartment with two miniature Australian shepherds, Hawk and Magpie, who make frequent cameos during the online classes the couple both take and teach.

PNB's 2020-21 season is all-digital, and when the dancers returned to the studio last August, only those who co-habitated could partner one another. In the company's opening program, Ryan and Davis reprised the pas de deux from Balanchine's "Rubies." While dancing for cameras instead of live audiences hasn't been ideal, Ryan says she's learned how to use her face to convey emotions in a more intimate way, instead of playing to the second balcony.

Beyond the pandemic, the past year also ushered in frank national conversations about race and racism, which freed Ryan to speak more openly about her Latin heritage. "It gave me a voice I didn't always have before," Ryan says. "I always knew I was different, especially in ballet, but didn't often talk about it."

Last fall she encouraged PNB to acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month. But she also wants to see ballet open its ranks to more dancers of color, and to see them advance to the upper echelons of companies like PNB.

Perhaps she'll be one of those dancers; at 23, she still has a long career ahead of her. Although she dreams of dancing the iconic classical roles—Giselle, Juliet and Kitri—Ryan also looks forward to the contemporary ballets that are a PNB mainstay.

Boal believes she can do whatever she sets her mind to. "Some dancers, there is no ceiling to their capability," Boal says. "Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan is one of them."

#sarah-gabrielle ryan #ballet #ballerina #pointe magazine #article

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sweetsmellosuccess · 5 years ago

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Sundance 2020: Day 2

Number of Films: 5 Best Film of the Day: Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Zola: Back in 2015, a Twitter user named @zola began a long, outrageous thread concerning a wild road trip she had been on with a woman she had just met at the restaurant where she worked. The plan was for the two of them to go down to Florida for a long weekend to dance at strip clubs and make a bundle. What followed was an absolutely insane odyssey of horror, involving pimps, guns, gang bangers, and someone jumping off a balcony. Directed by Janicza Bravo, with plenty of snap, crackle and pop, the film stars Taylour Page as our long suffering narrator and Riley Keough as the brazen, hopeless Stefani, who leads her newfound friend into the depths of hell. At its root, it’s a funny, if not sporadically chilling sort of chaotic joy-ride, with Zola’s commentary peppering the proceedings, along with a bevy of social media pings and whooshes (as another critic pointed out, the tweet whistle is half the soundtrack). Bravo pulls out a creative bag of tricks and gags — including a propensity for Scorsese-like screen freezes, while she describes one character or other — all of which gives the film a zany, madcap quality that imbibes the film with plenty of zing. Riley, a trashy southern drawl in her back pocket (just hearing her call Zola “beech” endearingly never ceases to be amusing), takes to the character like James Franco took to his role in Spring Breakers (a film with which Zola shares a certain Florida-crazed DNA), and Page makes an adroit straight person, taking in the insanity all around her, but despite these amusements, it’s really only skin-deep. There’s no deeper sense of anything, which, while in league with its source material, also puts something of a cap on just what the film can achieve.

La Llorona: if the source of all horror, cinematic and otherwise, is, essentially those elements that make up the human condition, than guilt is one of the more powerful evocations from which to draw. Jayro Bustamante‘s horror film is a timely political allegory set in Guatemala, as an aged and deposed former dictator general (Julio Diaz) is being tried for genocidal war crimes, his family, wife (Margarita Kenefic), daughter (Sabrina De La Hoz), and young granddaughter (Ayla-Elea Hurtado) are all forced to huddle up in the general’s mansion, as throngs of outraged citizens hold a neverending seething protest outside. What’s more, the General, now a slightly shriveled old man, seems to be coming unglued, hearing someone sobbing in the house whom he is convinced is a Guerilla assassin. When his mainly indigenous staff catches wind of this — the crying female spirit — they quit en masse, leaving the mansion badly understaffed, until a young, new woman (Maria Mercedes Coroy) arrives, leaving the General further discombobulated, as the nightmares and visions he and his wife endure begin to coalesce into an unnerving climax. Apart from everything else, Bustamante’s film is about the searing power of empathy — the General’s wife starts the film as a racist, uncaring mouthpiece, but gradually gets her layers of denial stripped away from her — and the powerful idea that one’s actions, even if unpunished in the material world, still have dire consequences.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always: Eliza Hittman has made a trilogy of sorts with her first three films. In 2013’s It Felt Like Love, a young teen woman in Brooklyn convinces herself to pursue a callous and contemptuous boy in order to lose her virginity; Beach Rats (2017) follows the trevails of another Brooklyn-based teen, as he attempts to pursue his interest in men while continuing to maintain his bro-heteroness. In her new film, she has moved the setting to a hardscrabble town in rural Pennsylvania, but her characters remain familiar. Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), a dour-faced high schooler has discovered to her horror that she’s pregnant, and too far along to get an abortion without her parents’ cosign, something she wants to avoid at all costs. Enlisting the aid of her cousin, the feisty, resourceful Skylar (Talia Ryder), the pair head off to New York, where Autumn can get the procedure without her parents’ knowledge. With little money and no earthly clue about the city, the two young women are forced to endure a vagabond lifestyle, spending the nights on train platforms, or endlessly going from station stop to station stop, until Autumn can be properly treated. Hittman’s eye for detail and emotional complexity — her characters can rarely articulate anything their experiencing — is incredibly acute, and she pulls tremendously understated performances out of her two leads. In the film’s most searing scene, Autumn goes through an exhaustive intake interview with a sweetly caring counselor. Shot in a long single take, the back-and-forth covers the most basic details of Autumn’s life and also some of her most buried pain and trauma. The camera stays fixed on her face, as she is asked to finally unpack some of the misery she has worked so hard to tamp down, and the result is one of most devastating sequences you will see this year.

Black Bear: What to make of Lawerence Michael Levine’s meta-within-meta film in which the first half is a specific sort of indie drama in which a young couple (Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon) living up in a glorious lake house away from New York get visited by an actress-turned-director (Aubrey Plaza), there to work on a new project; and the second half is, essentially, the Noises Off-like behind the scenes riff on how the trio (now with the actresses’ roles switched) worked together to produce a variation of the film we were just watching? In part one, dubbed “The Bear in the Road,” Plaza’s character is territorial and coquettish, instantly attracted to Abbott’s lonely musician, and enticing him into disavowing his care for his pregnant partner. In Part two, “The Bear by the Boat House,” Abbott is now the film’s director, and Plaza is his wife, also the star of the film in which she is now the clingy partner, as Gadon arrives from the city on a visit. There is a lot to unpack here — or, alternatively, there isn’t terribly much at all, depending on how you see it — it being the kind of film that begs for further viewings to untangle its many layers. Whether you will want to put that sort of work into it is unclear. Still, the leads are all tremendous — Plaza, light-years removed from her “Parks & Rec” days — is a revelation of ferocious, billowing emotion, and Levine is clever enough with his structure to keep things rolling along.

The Night House: The Midnight slate at Sundance, as with most such designations at other festivals, is by nature a roll of the dice. Some nights, you’ll find something absolutely brilliant (The Babadook, The Nightmare), many other nights, something a good deal less so. David Bruckner’s ghost story isn’t close to one of those conceptual masterpieces, but does offer some serious jumpscare thrills en route to a far too explicated finish. Rebecca Hall plays Beth, a grieving widow, whose architect husband just left their modern manse overlooking a lake to shoot himself in their wooden rowboat. Obsessed with trying to find why he might have done such a thing, Beth slowly begins to unravel his dark, secret life, even as her dreams become waking nightmares of visions, blasts of music from their downstairs stereo, and seeming visitations by either her husband or another dark force from behind the veil. With a sadistic sound design that periodically shocks your system, and a beseeching performance from Hall, who carries this film from first frame to last, Bruckner’s effort dutifully serves up enough genuine creepiness to earn your attention, even if the story slowly devolves into something out of the Final Destination franchise.

Tomorrow: Utilizing a slightly more sane pace, I start the day with Dee Rees’ Shirley; check out the much lauded doc Boys State; get my ‘80s on for The Go Go’s; and finish up with Miranda July’s long-awaited next film, Kajillionaire.

Into the frigid climes and rarefied thin air of the spectacular Utah Mountains, I've arrived in order to document some of the sense and senselessness of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Over the next week, armed with little more than a heavy parka and a bevy of blank reporter's notebooks, I'll endeavor to watch as many movies as I can and report my findings.

#sweet smell of success #ssos #piers marchant #films #movies #sundance 2020 #sundance international film festival #park city #zola #la llorona #never rarely sometimes always #black bear #the night house #rebecca hall #aubrey plaza #riley keough #taylour page #eliza hittman

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rosemcrys-blog · 5 years ago

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chicago’s very own 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐦 has been spotted on madison avenue driving a 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑠 - 𝑟𝑜𝑦𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑡𝘩 , welcome ! your resemblance to 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑐𝘩𝑎𝑒𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 birthday bash . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 , but being 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 might help you . i think being a 𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑠 explains that . three things that would paint a better picture of you would be 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝 , 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 , 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 . ( 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 . )

for an accurate description of me and the man who essentially runs my life , please click here for giggles . but hello everyone ! i’m johnny , twenty - two , and i go by either 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 or 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 pronouns ! i’m super excited to be here and i’m really excited to write with everyone , so i won’t keep my own introduction long so we can go ahead and hop into everything about rosemary ! my discord is 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 .#6807 if that’s your preference for plotting over tumblr im’s , and before i go , stan loona !

𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 : kim eun - jung . 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 : rosemary michelle kim . 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞(𝐬) : ro or romy , only . 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 / 𝐚𝐠𝐞 : december 15th , 1997 / 22 . 𝐳𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐜 : sagittarius . 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬 : she / her / hers . 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 : cis - female . 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : bisexual . 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : biromantic . 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 : 5′5″ ( five foot , five inches ) 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 : chicago , illinois ( click ! ) 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : new york , ny ( click ! ) 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 : korean - american . 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 : korean . 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 : korean , english , and conversational portuguese . 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 : ballet dancer ; soloist with american ballet theater . 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 : alpha bitch , royal brat , bratty teenage daughter , socialite , daddy’s girl , and wicked witch .

kang eugene was a nineteen year old and already living in the wealthy district of gangnam in south korea thanks to her career as a drama actress . she mainly found her claim to fame starring in coming - of - age dramas that focused on high school or university aged students , but she had recently landed her dream leading role as a chaebol heiress looking for love in a ruthless world . she ends up meeting the love of her life that very year , and it’s purely by coincidence , when she gets into a minor fender bender with kim ho - seok , the heir of a multi - billion dollar real estate and construction conglomerate , who was back in korea while on vacation from school in the states .

eugene tried her best to keep their relationship as friends , mainly because her contract with her company put her on a dating ban for a few years , but it was nearly impossible for the young woman to turn down his attempts at wooing her . after a few months of sneaking around , eugene finally approached her company about her dating ho -seok , and surprisingly , they were on board . eugene and ho - seok had a rather whirlwind relationship , making their relationship instagram official in the matter of a month and eugene was wearing a promise ring once they hit their two month anniversary .

the only downside was that eugene had to stay in korea for her career while ho - seok returned to the states for school , but they promised and managed to make it work . during breaks , and whenever she had time , eugene was traveling to the states and whenever the summer months rolled around , ho - seok was back in korea . it came as a surprise to now twenty - two year old eugene when ho - seok got down on bended knee and asked for her to marry him at his graduation from the university of pennsylvania’s wharton school of business .

both american and korean media outlets were floored when they discovered the couple’s engagement , and it was hard to ignore the sizable ring that sat perched on eugene’s hand . so , the couple marries after six months of planning in a lavish ceremony in bali , indonesia . eugene’s contract with her company was up , and while she had the chance to renew , the young actress decided that she would take her chances in america’s scene . the couple decide to settle in chicago , where ho - seok was taking over the new headquarters of his family’s company . about eight months after settling in their new home , eugene had exciting news : she was pregnant .

after an instagram pregnancy announcement , photoshoot , and red carpet appearances with a protruding belly , eugene finally had their first and only baby girl ten days before christmas in 1997 , who they affectionately named eun - jung . being their only daughter , eugene and ho - seok smothered their daughter with the finest things . if you thought kylie got a lot for stormi ... that had nothing on the kims . growing up , eun - jung who’s name was assimilated to rosemary , attended the francis w. parker school in chicago ( they don’t wear uniforms there but i’m gonna pretend that they did because plaid pleated skirts ? chef’s kiss ! ) for the first few years , rosemary seemed to not have any interests in extracurriculars , only focusing on her academics .

it wasn’t until she was around thirteen years old when her parents took her to see the nutcracker for her birthday that year when she decided that she wanted to be a ballerina . eugene and ho - seok would do anything for their daughter , so despite the people who would laugh in their faces because their thirteen year old daughter was just starting ballet , they made sure that she would get whatever she wanted . the people who laughed soon found themselves with egg on their faces as rosemary had the natural ability to embrace the fine art , winning a top prize after only a year of training . soon after , she had grown out of her dance company and was soon training with the top coaches in chicago .

the sudden thrust into the dance circuit went straight to rosemary’s head which of course , changed her personality as a whole . she entered the upper school with her head held high and her posture straight , never letting those around them forget who she was . rosemary often found herself meddling and treating others without kindness , bullying those around her especially when she wanted something . when it came to yearbook superlatives , rosemary got whatever she wanted because she used her parents’ donations over them and promised things that she had no interest in fulfilling . rosemary was quite the bitch throughout her high school career , and she only ever really had superficial friends who only stuck close because of her father’s billion dollar net worth .

during her high school years , rosemary’s bullying had never gotten the physical realm , but she had definitely done a number on those of a lower social status ( yuck ) . however , rosemary was able to continue with her ballet ( and even managed to have a completely different personality when around her ballerina ‘ friends ’ ) . during her summers before her junior and senior years , rosemary traveled to new york where she spent summers training with the american ballet theatre . come her graduation from high school when she was only eighteen years old , rosemary moved out of her parents’ home in chicago to her current apartment in the plaza hotel , as she was invited to become a member of abt’s corps de ballet . she participated in a number of performances , ranging from romeo & juliet to swan lake to the sleeping beauty . after four years , rosemary was promoted to soloist , and she made full circle when she made her soloist debut as clara in abt’s production of the nutcracker . her all time dream is to become a principal dancer within the company .

outside of her career in dance , rosemary is a brand spokeswoman and stage performer , often participating in broadway productions during the off - season of abt .

when it comes to her personality , rosemary is every inch the girl that’s clearly had a silver spoon in her mouth since birth . she was always one of the popular girls in her grade , so naturally that went to her head . of course she’s used to being amongst the richest in her school , but rosemary still rides on an extremely high horse . she’s ridiculously petty and can be quite manipulative at times , also pulling out her bratty side whenever she feels like she needs to use it . she’s mean and vindictive , especially when she feels like someone has done something wrong to her ( no matter how small it may be ) . she can be nice when she wants to be and it all depends on if people are gonna challenge her or not . for the most part , she can be chill but she 100000% believes in the philosophy of if you can’t take it , don’t dish it out .

i ... would put a list of wanted connections here , but i kind of prefer brainstorming or going based on chemistry ! that being said , i do have a wanted connections tag that can be found on my page ( for whatever reason tumblr is saying it doesn’t exist but i promise , the posts are there >:/ ) !

#wealthyhq:intro #bullying cw #i'm hopping off for a quick second to take a shower #but once i'm back i'll be ready to plot w everyone !#um hfsb this is kinda long

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dangerwatson · 6 years ago

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SO, MS. WATSON. YOU WANNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

It’s ya girl Lin back on my ‘ let’s cry about a beautiful woman together ’ bs. Here’s MJ ! It’s long, but that’s to have all her relevant information in one place should you ( or me more than likely ) need to hit it up for future reference. I’m excited to have her here ya’ll.

BASICS.

Given / Birth Name : Mary Jane Watson Nickname / Preferred Name : MJ, Red Alias(es) : N/A Birthdate / Age : June 19th 1991 / Twenty - Seven Place of Birth : Montoursville, Pennsylvania Current Location : Little Italy, NYC Gender Identity : Cis Female Sexual / Romantic Orientation : Disaster Bisexual Ethnicity / Race / Cultural Heritage: African - American && German Marital Status : Single Occupation : Field Reporter && Political commentator for Weekly Review Religious Beliefs : Agnostic. Raised Christian.

CHARACTERISTICS.

Height : 5′8″ Weight : 135 Body Type / Build : Entirely Average. Could stand to go to the gym, but honestly who has that kind of time. Don’t compare her to fruit she hates that. Eye Color : Green Hair Color / Texture : Auburn. Worn natural, 4b curls and all. Sometimes braided, sometimes weaved, sometimes in bantu knots or covered by headscarves. She’s very particular with her hair - touching it can and will lead to physical harm against the perpetrator if unwelcome. Recognizable Features / Scars : Big ol’ dimples and a slight cleft chin. Dusting of dark freckles across nose and chest. Speech Patterns / Accent : Has a deeper voice, boarding whisky worn. Because she’s moved around the majority of her childhood MJ has no discernible accent, giving her a modulated tone that’s perfect for clear annunciation across media platforms. Languages Spoken : English, French, ASL Powers / Skills / Abilities : No powers, however MJ has a nose for good stories, and tends to follow wherever they take her. Overall Health : Good.

RELATIONSHIPS.

Order of Birth : Youngest Number of Siblings : 1 Father’s Status + Relationship : Phillip Watson, alive. An abusive alcoholic, former High School English teacher. No relationship amends have been made. Mother’s Status + Relationship : Madeline Watson nee Rains, deceased. A starry eyed dreamer, former actress turned stay at home mother. Left Phillip after he struck Gayle, bounced both children through various family members. Passed away shortly after from congenital heart failure exacerbated by stress and lack of access to treatment. Sibling Status + Relationship : Gayle Watson, older sister by almost five years. Unlike MJ, continued to have a relationship with their father. Married her schoolyard sweetheart and had two children. He divorced her around the same time MJ graduated high school, leaving both sisters ( and her nephews ) living under Aunt Anne’s roof. They’re nearly estranged. When she visits her aunt and nephews, both sisters make a point of keeping their conversations short -- if they happen at all. Loyalty / Affiliation : Outwardly neutral, though subject to change behind closed doors.

PERSONALITY.

MBTI : ESFJ Hobbies : Dancing. Doesn’t matter where, when, why or how. Catch her pulling an n*sync routine in her living room at 4 PM on a Tuesday. MJ also has a knack for exploration. There are a lot of ( read : free ) things to do around the city and magically finds them all. Who cares if you have no interest in the Fungi Festival, there are booths everywhere for a quick way to kill an afternoon. Tried needlework one afternoon, didn’t stick and now there’s an abomination of mutant looking cats hanging above her bathroom door. Bad Habits : Smoking. Fixing / hyper - focusing on her hair when uncomfortable or stressed. Jumping head first into the dating scene only to find out it’s the shallow end. Providing 20 second long fart sounds whenever someone asks “how are you?” Taking care of others before taking care of herself. Three Positive Traits : The silent Mom Friend. Allow me to explain : MJ is traditionally that bitch^tm making sure you get home okay after hanging out, she ensures your soul is as well nourished as your body. For all of her outward party-girl aesthetics and a forced mean girl perception on her by others, she makes sure her friends are in good headspaces. That they feel encouraged to follow their ambitions and ultimately celebrate every success no matter the size. It’s the type of selflessness that she’d wanted for herself growing up, so I’ve labeled it as her BEST trait. She’s incredibly outgoing. An extrovert through and through, getting her battery charged by being around people. It’s what makes her an attractive personality. When in a battle of small talk, MJ not only listens and remembers those small shared details but she knows how to keep the conversation going without making it seem like a chore. I love how in tune she is like that, girl vibes hard with new and old friends alike. Finally, MJ would make a professional bargain hunter blush. She grew up poor and as a direct result is extremely careful about what she’s doing with money. And yes, being financially responsible during these trying times as a Millennial trying to earn that bread is pretty much a given good quality. We all wish it wasn’t, but here we are. Three Negative Traits : MJ is stubborn to a fault. When she digs her heels into something it’s hard to get her to stop until a desired outcome is achieved ( or undesired, event depending ). While this is usually reworded as a positive asset —- being so DRIVEN and MOTIVATED —– that’s simply not the case with her. She’s lived through all consequences resulting from this inability to budge and none of the supposed rewards. Been fired from more jobs than she’d care to admit for telling former bosses where to shove unrealistic worker expectations, or coworkers where they can file passive aggressive bullpucky. She’s also incredibly stunted emotionally. As mentioned, she’s a silent Mom Friend, but reciprocation of her actions isn’t met with as much of an openness as one might expect. MJ keeps her feelings to herself, and it usually builds up until she suffers a full scale breakdown triggered by something mundane like … dropping a fry or seeing a lady bug stepped on. Decompressing is a word in her vocabulary, for sure, but it was easier to partake in as a 20 year old than as a near 30 year old with responsibilities and bills to pay. Picky puts it in palatable terms, but MJ knows what she likes and how she likes it. When she doesn’t, then she’ll quickly find a preference. In the meantime we’ll say she’s very particular about what styles she likes to wear, how her make up is, how her hair looks, and over all what image she’s presenting to a general public. It’s a habit she hasn’t been able to shake. Moral Alignment : Neutral Good

ASSOCIATIONS.

One Song : Dead and Lovely - Tom Waits One Quote / Piece of Art : “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” One Fear : Following the Watson Women path of horrible no good very bad mistakes and poor life decisions. One Strength : Persistence One Object : Breathe Right Nasal Strips One Place : May’s kitchen One Food : Garlic One Scent : Cinnamon. One Lucky Charm : Old tattered friendship bracelet

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Pretty typical “American Dream !” 50′s family dynamic. Everyone looking great in their Sunday best photos, father with a steady job, stay at home mom to save on daycare, two daughters and a stray cat named Sir Stinkybottom.

Father started facing emotional breaking points brought about by lack of what he considered satisfactory income and inbound midlife crisis. Turned to drinking, ( turned into a right train wreck. )

Mary-Jane, Gayle and Maddie hopped from various family member’s couches to crash for a couple of weeks at a time during the separation process from Phillip. This lasted a year.

Maddie passed away when MJ was around 10 and Gayle 15, Gayle instantly taking up the role of Mother Figure to MJ’s wild child foil. MJ maintains she doesn’t remember all that much about her mother while Gayle remembers everything and that becomes a point of contention.

Father returns into their life. It’s messy, he eats away at their still developing ego’s like the cancerous human blob he’s chosen to become. Their Aunt Anna, who they live with, intervenes when she can.

Gayle gets the fuck outta there by marrying her high school sweetheart, moving to the midwest and popping out two adorable munchkins named Kevin and Thommy.

MJ has the pleasure of dealing with their dad alone for the next five years. Which she does by a little thing called home avoidance. Garners the reputation quickly as a party girl at Midtown, someone ready to go anywhere and everywhere at any time.

Began solidly working around fifteen to help Anna out, sometimes in Diners, sometimes in retail. Her ability to sell her brand began early and honed with surgical precision during these years. All currently reflected across media platforms where she became a 2010 influencer ( and paid for little more than modeling ).

Started college at seventeen, typical move. Took 6 years for her to finish as she paid her way through without loans. The last thing MJ wanted when finally breaking out of Queens was a student dept choker. Graduated at 23 with a dual bachelors in journalism and political science.

Bounced between larger broadcasting industries for a few years as an underpaid intern before growing concerned by their lacking criteria. The burnout was real.

Tirelessly sought employment at her favorite ( but SMALL ) news agency. By luck of the draw she was screen tested and hired on for a slot as field reporter.

She’s been with Weekly Review since. Now having two years under her belt ( still extremely Green in her industry ), she’s pushing for higher scope investigative journalist pieces. And for once, they’re not telling her no.

#united task 001 #united intro #mentioned briefly :#tw alcoholism #tw parental abuse

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keencolorking · 3 years ago

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Why did the "Starbucks Incident" raise racial discrimination and the absurd tragedy repeated in the United States?

【Special attention】

American coffee retail chain Starbucks announced on the 17th that more than 8,000 stores across the United States will be closed on May 29 for anti-racial discrimination training. This incident has once again aroused people's attention to the long-standing racial discrimination in the United States. The matter has to start with the recent "rejection of toilet access" by two African Americans at a Starbucks coffee shop in Philadelphia, the United States, which led to the "Starbucks racial discrimination" incident.

Starbucks suspected of discriminating against blacks

On April 12, two African Americans waited for their friends at a Starbucks coffee shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, without ordering food. When they wanted to borrow the toilets in the store, they were rejected by the store staff on the grounds that they did not consume at Starbucks and therefore could not "use" the toilets. The clerk also asked them to leave Starbucks. But the two African Americans stayed in the store and refused to leave, and then the clerk called the police. Upon hearing the news, the police arrived and took the two African Americans away with handcuffs. They were released after being detained for several hours. Some customers at the scene filmed the incident into a video and then broadcast it on social media, which aroused widespread public concern. In particular, the footage of two African-Americans being taken away by police in handcuffs was widely disseminated by netizens. Many people believe that "the clerk called the police and arrested the police only because of skin color." The two African-American lawyers said that the two had made an appointment at a coffee shop to discuss business, and the reason they did not order was because they were waiting for other friends to arrive.

📷

On April 15, people in Philadelphia, the United States, protested in front of Starbucks before the two blacks were taken away by the police at Starbucks. Bright Pictures/Visual China

On April 16, dozens of demonstrators rushed into the Starbucks coffee shop where the incident occurred, holding slogans, chanting the slogan "Boycott Starbucks racial discrimination", demanding that Starbucks fire employees suspected of racial discrimination and demand that the police pursue arrests Black police officer. Protests caused the store’s business to be interrupted for a while, and for a while, "Starbucks discriminated against black people" spread like wildfire and intensified in the media. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson quickly issued a letter of apology for this incident. In the letter of apology, he stated that Starbucks employees’ practice of reporting to the police was wrong, and this did not represent Starbucks’ philosophy and values. He was willing to personally report to the incident. Of two African Americans apologize. The letter of apology also stated that Starbucks will take the matter seriously and reflect on the deficiencies in the past, so as to better deal with emergencies in the future. Starbucks will also hold training courses to collectively learn about anti-racism. According to the relevant statement of Starbucks, the training courses will be developed with reference to the opinions of external experts and targeted at nearly 175,000 employees. The media here estimates that the closure of business for half a day will cause Starbucks to lose 12 million US dollars.

Social ills are hard to eradicate

Compared with Starbucks' sincere apology, the attitude of the US police in this incident was completely opposite. Richard Rose, chief of the Philadelphia Police Department, emphasized that the police are handling the case in accordance with the law. During the live broadcast on social media, Rose pointed out that the police officer involved did not do anything wrong. The police officer was reported to the scene. At that time, the two African Americans were told to leave by Starbucks employees on the grounds of "illegal invasion", but the two ignored them. , And the police officer had politely asked two African Americans to leave three times, but they were taken away only after being refused. Ross said that when companies call the police for help, saying they don't want anyone to interfere with their business, the police are obliged to perform their duties. Ross, who is African-American himself, admits that he understands the hidden racial prejudice and discrimination in society, but insists that the police will be committed to justice and unbiased law enforcement.

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On April 15, people in Philadelphia, the United States, protested in front of Starbucks, and police were on duty at the scene. Bright Pictures/Visual China

Analysts believe that a Starbucks "refusal to go to the toilet" incident has aroused national attention and led to large-scale protests. It is nothing more than people who used the incident to vent their serious dissatisfaction with racial discrimination in American society. It is not difficult to see from the protest videos on social media that not only black people but also many white people protested at the Starbucks coffee shop. This shows that racial discrimination in the United States is not deliberately caused by a certain color of the group, but has formed a social ailment that is difficult to eradicate. It is not only disgusted by black people, but also disgusted by white people.

In 1963, Martin Luther King, the leader of the black civil rights movement in the United States, delivered a famous speech "I Have a Dream" in front of the Lincoln Memorial, opening a page in the history of the United States against racial discrimination and fighting for equal rights and inspired countless African Americans. . April 4th marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Fifty years have passed, and the problem of racial discrimination in the United States still exists and is getting worse. Even former US President Barack Obama once said embarrassingly that, including himself, almost all African Americans have been followed when shopping.

Absurd law enforcement occurs frequently

In recent years, the United States has exposed many incidents in which the police caused the death of civilians, especially blacks, in the course of law enforcement. In August 2014, Brown, an 18-year-old black young man in Ferguson, Missouri, was killed by the police, triggering large-scale protests and violent riots throughout the United States. In the past few days, from California on the west coast to New York on the east coast, people from many cities in the United States took to the streets to protest against the manslaughter of the 22-year-old black young man Clark in Sacramento. Of the 20 shots fired by the police, 8 shots hit Clark, and one bullet pierced the lungs. According to US media statistics, since January 2015, the Sacramento police have shot and killed 6 people including Clark, 5 of whom were African-American men. In recent years, the ongoing "Black People's Life is Fate" movement reminds people that racial discrimination still persists in America. Such incidents seem to be the norm, and have exacerbated the racial division of American society time and time again.

Looking back at several absurd police shootings of black people in the United States in recent years, people can see from a special perspective that American law enforcement agencies always seem to be "entangled" with the term racial discrimination. The reason why the role played in the incident was "broken".

In June 2017, a black alarming incident in Seattle, the United States was called an "absurd tragedy." The Washington Post reported that an African-American woman in Seattle called the police after suspecting a burglary. When the police arrived, they saw the African-American woman holding a knife and shot at her. When the police found out that a major mistake had been made, rescue was soon carried out, but the woman died. Afterwards, the police department gave an explanation that the policeman who carried out the shooting mistakenly believed that the African-American woman was the thief. The woman’s family questioned the reason for the police shooting, saying that the police could obviously use electric shocks to take away the thin and pregnant woman; even if she was holding a knife, the threat to the police was very small, but the police But choose Wu to disconnect the gun. Relatives firmly believe that the death of the African-American woman was due to racial discrimination, only because she was of African descent.

Coincidentally. In July 2016, a similarly absurd police shooting and killing of black people occurred in Minnesota, the United States. The black man who was killed was named Castir. He and his girlfriend were stopped by a policeman named Yanez when they were driving because the taillights of the car were damaged. According to the process, Yanez asked to see Castile’s driver’s license and insurance. Castiel provided insurance and informed the police that he had legal firearms. As soon as he said this, Yanez felt nervous, and subconsciously pulled out his gun. When Castiel reached for his driver's license in the car, a tragedy happened-Yanez fired several shots at Castiel in the car, killing him. Throughout the whole process of the incident, it is not difficult to see that Yanez fired because he misinterpreted Castille’s driver’s license to take a gun. Yanez was later acquitted by the court. Castiel's family was very angry about this and questioned the Minnesota judicial system, saying that this system continues to disappoint blacks.

Whether it’s Starbucks coffee shops rejecting African-Americans to go to the toilet or American police accidentally killing African-Americans, these incidents are not accidental, and I am afraid they are not the end. They undoubtedly reflect the serious racial problems and ethnic conflicts in the United States, and reflect the white Americans. The lack of mutual trust with the black community. The phrase "Remember, we only kill blacks" when the police officer of Cobb County, Georgia, United States, was on duty last year, directly tore off the fig leaf of American racial issues. In August 2017, Charlottesville, Virginia, broke out in the worst white supremacist movement in the United States in 10 years, exposing the deep tears in American society. Statistics show that there were 954 hate groups in the United States in 2017, an increase of 4% over the previous year and an increase of 20% since 2014; there are more than 600 white supremacist groups. In addition to the constant violent death tragedies, black Americans also encountered prejudice and discrimination on political, economic, educational, and social security issues.

Only by enhancing the equality and mutual trust between races and ethnicities can we prevent such tragedies from happening again. But the current reality of American society is that more than half a century after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, black Americans still find themselves trapped in impoverished areas across the country. It can be said that the stubborn racial problems in the United States are difficult to eliminate, and the "black and white confrontation" is intensifying. It is difficult to guarantee that the tragedy that occurred in Starbucks coffee shops will not happen again.

0 notes

sotina886 · 4 years ago

Text

Why did the "Starbucks Incident" raise racial discrimination and the absurd tragedy repeated in the United States?

【Special attention】

Starbucks suspected of discriminating against blacks

📷

On April 15, people in Philadelphia, the United States, protested in front of Starbucks before the two blacks were taken away by the police at Starbucks. Bright Pictures/Visual China

Social ills are hard to eradicate

📷

On April 15, people in Philadelphia, the United States, protested in front of Starbucks, and police were on duty at the scene. Bright Pictures/Visual China

Absurd law enforcement occurs frequently

0 notes

magic5ball · 4 years ago

Text

Nature Trail to Hell Arc III: The Blood Curse of Tako Shak (7)

Chapter 7: Tako Shak Part III: The Shak is Whack

It was a Sunday when it happened. At least, I think it was a Sunday. Tako Shak, at least the back part, seemed to exist in its’ own little time bubble apart from the rest of the universe. Even Father Time has to wait in line for his extra churro sauce, it seemed. Say what you will about the Shak, it is a jerk to everyone and everything equally and indiscriminately. But really, we all know you’d come back for that five takos for $5 deal. Everyone does.

ANYWAY as my soul was being grinded away by monotiny I started dreaming my fairy Godmother would come, turn a Tako into a carriage, and take me away from the stupid place forever. ‘Course, with the Blood Curse and all, I couldn’t step ten feet out of the restaurant without getting the sensation of ten thousand cattle prods burning into my skin. So steel wool in hand, I scrubbed that stupid floor until I could see my reflection it, took customer orders so fast I gave out change for guys who wouldn’t be arriving until next week, washed the dishes so spotless I could have sold them as diamonds, and several other things that by all means should have killed me from exhaustion. But I could not die, because I was still bound to the stupid Blood Curse. All the while, I found myself singing the old camp songs, having finally found something that made them look darn near like heaven by comparison. Also took my mind off my Mom, who would probably be none too pleased her firstborn ran off to join the fryboy life. Better than being a gangster, I guess, but still, I wished SOMETHING would happen. And you know what they say about being careful what you wish for…

I was mopping the back, on account of a fry spill while Howard handled the front. Knowing he liked to slack off, I peeked through the door splitting the front of the store from the back, just in time to see an all too familiar face cross those automatic sliding doors.

“Bienvenido from Tako Shak, Senor!” Howard greeted with a voice so deadpan it practically lurched out of his mouth. “What can I get for you today, Mr…”

“Silverstein. My name is Shel. Shel Motherf*cking Silverstein.”

Then Howard did the worst thing of all: He breached company protocol and started chatting with the customer! With fifty people behind him in line!

“Oh! Famous guy! So, Mr. Silverstein, what brings you to our humble little tako town?”

From behind the door, I saw the bald man glower, eyes dark as coals in his face.

“Demotion, that’s what! There’s this dumb kid I sent to the Underworld, but NOW, he’s escaped.”

“So what’s the big dealio? Guys escape Hell all the time.”

“Because that’s my job as a seraph: leading souls to the afterlife. But now that I BOTCHED that, the Angelic Council has decided it’s my responsibility to track him down since I sent him there!”

Despite it being over a hundred degrees in the back, a slight shiver ran down my spine.

“And until I do, I’ve been demoted from Seraph to Magical Girl! MAGICAL GIRL!” He turned his head skyward “Do you forks not know who I am?! I’m Shel Motherf*cking’ Silverstein, and I will reclaim my rightful place as a seraph!”

As if my day couldn’t get any worse, Howard just had to drop this line:

“So who is this fugitive, anyway? I’m all ears.”

“Some punk kid named Wuterdon or Watson or something. ‘Bout this high.” He held his palm flat beside his body, he around exactly what my height.

My mind began racing with a single thought: Please don’t tell please don’t tell please don’t tell…

“As a matter of fact, I think I do know a kid like that.”

F**k you, Howard.

For a moment I considering throwing myself in the deep fryer. Might be less painful than being dragged back to the Underworld.

“-But that costs 50 cents extra. Would you still like to add that information to your order, sir?”

Silverstein wasted no time slamming two shiny silver quarters on the counter.

“Okay. He has black hair.”

The great poet stared, realizing just what a bad purchase he made.

“What?! But I thought-“

“Listen Mr. If you want to get good info, you have to pay for good info.”

Silverstein slid a $500 dollar Canadian Nickel down the counter.

Howard lifted a hand to his chin, grinning all smug-like. “I dunno… If you want the real good stuff…”

It was then I caught on the Howard’s game. There was a rumor among us Tako boys that if you managed to make an order of over $10,000 and became employee of the month, you would get you freedom. And dour as Howard was, it looked as if he was holding onto a glimmer of that hope after all. At the moment though, as a shouting bargaining broke out between Howard and the customer, I didn’t know if whether to call him a low lying snitch or my savior. Either way, I snuck back to do dishes, so full of despair I’d started singing camp sham songs. Forking Camp Sham songs!

At least, until someone nabbed my shoulder.

“Hey, nice singing. Did you attend Camp Sham, by any chance?” Whoever was holding me, they had a smug, cheeky tone that could only be the Manager’s.

Steadily, I looked behind me, expecting to face my doom. What I saw instead was a familiar face. Sure, he was now wearing a blonde wig and three piece suit with a tag labeled ‘Manager’, but his face was unmistakable.

“Freddie the Ferret?!” I said.

“Watterson?” He answered back.

“HOLY CRAP!” We cried together, followed by “How’ve you been?!”

We struck up conversation real quick after that, me having to take the occasional break to make sure the dishes in the sink got cleaned. (We might have been old acquaintances, but he was my boss, after all.) Basically, I told him everything I’ve written until now between him giving me bits of survival advice (“Don’t just throw knifes in the sink, kid, you’ll scratch your hand and it will hurt, really, really bad. Most painful thing in America.”) By the time I’d finished, Howard was still trying to squeeze more money out of Silverstein.

As for old Freds, it turned out he really DID flee to the butterfly farm and didn’t, y’know, die. And while he was there…

“I struck this oil deposit. A big one. We’re talking YUGE! I had the whole place paved over and employed all the butterflies. Made the most profitable oil rig in the state. We made so much money and created so many jobs. It was great, you should have seen it. Truly, amazing.”

He sold the rig for a tidy trillion dollar profit and from there, it was just a hop, skip, and jump to becoming the district manager of Tako Shak. Of course, being manager wasn’t all perks. For some reason, he now had a weird obsession with firing people and wearing crappy blonde wigs.

“So, have you been to camp recently?” I asked.

“Yeah. Hilda turned it into a Siberian Gulag.”

Around me, time seemed to freeze as I processed what Freddie had just said.

“What?”

“Hilda turned the camp into a SIBERIAN GULAG. I don’t know what’s so hard to understand. I said it smartly, like a smart ferret. Which I am. Smartest Ferret in America.”

“She WHAT?!”

Once I’d taken a good half hour to cool my jets, Freddie explained in more detail.

“Alright kid, this is gonna sound crazy, but you know all that stuff Hilds said about freeing the camp? That was what the people in my business call a fact: something that’s only half true. See, she wanted to free the camp… but only so she could take it over and rule it with an iron fist! Really powerful, dignified stuff. That involved her Dad or something. Very interesting. . .You should ask her yourself sometime.”

“Show me.” I demanded. Something had stabbed me in the heart, but not the killer death sort. No, this stab had sent a life, a burning passion inta me I hadn’t felt since getting to the final boss in Super Luigi Bros. II.

The ferret shrugged. “Watt, I’m contractually obligated to only tell you half-truths at most, but if you insist….”

He pulled out his wallet. Opening it, a ladder of pictures tumbled out, depicting such scenes of inhuman horror that it had not been for my rigorous training at Tako Shak, most likely would have driven me mad. Also made me throw up a bit in my mouth.

Freddie looked at the photos “Well shoot! Those aren’t photos of csmp! Those are of my Aunt Carol’s 4th of July party! Word to the wise kid: never put more than four ferrets in the same place or things go downhill real fast. Terrible, not good, very bad things happen then.” He fished out more photos from the wallet (which I was starting to suspect he didn’t actually keep money in). “Here’s the Camp photos.”

Even though the photos showed scenes of gaunt, hollow eyed kids laboring away at some sort of quarry while soot covered their backs, even though these kids were shown so beaten down they no longer had tears to cry over their sawdust-loaf breakfasts, I’d been so broken down by the things I saw at the Shak the most emotion I could muster was a single, passive

“Huh.”

Because as far as I was concerned, camp really wasn’t much worse than when I left. But beneath the dark, grey canyons of despair, beneath the cabins, completely gutted to create firewood to burn those who misbehaved, there was a picture of me, or to be more specific, my sleeping body, stuck in a case like Snow White waiting for her prince. Despite there being a guardrail, Freddie was leading his shoulder on the case, mugging the camera so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised if it gave him all its money.

“But wha-? How?! I’m right here!” I cried, too shocked to form proper sentences.

Freddie waggled a finger at me. “Correction: That’s your body. Right now, you’re not really in Pennsylvania. At least, not totally. See, this right here is limbo, where all the ghosts and elves and stuff live. The fact you can see me in my true form is proof of that you are at least as dead as my rap career. Which, by the way, was a great rap career. Really fantastic!”

“And why am I in Limbo?”

“Because you died, you moron!”

I thought back to that time I ate the millipede in the woods. Yeah, that made sense. Sorta.

“So, what exactly is Hilda doing with my body?” For some reason, I did not like having someone else having control over my body like that.

“Oh, you’re just the founder of Communism.”

Communism. That word echoed around my head like a stone falling into a well.

Communism.

See, it might not seem it, but my Mom had raised me well. And the most important thing she ever taught me was

“Sweetie, no matter what you do, I will always love you. Unless you turn out to be a commie, then we are no longer related.” It was a lesson that stuck with me to this day. And with that, the latent passion within me erupted into a furious desire to get my body back.

“I need to get fired.”

The ferret looked at me all funny like for a second before realizing what I was saying.

“Look kid, if you’re thinking of escaping, its’ NEVER going to happen. You’re a valuable employee. And by that I mean I’ve seen seagull poop worth more than you, but that just means we can pay you whatever we want! It’s a great, wonderful, absolutely terrific deal that works out for everyone!”

“You can do that?”

“Of course, you moron! The Blood Curse exempts you from every child labor law in this universe and the next five dimensions!” He pulled my contract from his furry little pocket, pointing to a sentence written in text so small you’d need a military-grade microscope to see it.

At the counter, I could hear, Howard get Silverstein up to $9,500, and I wasn’t exactly eager to find out what that old poet was going to do once he got his hands on me. Still, there was one last, desperate gambit I could make, one that, if I was lucky, would save my skin. I breathed in slow, like the school guidance counselor taught me. If there was ever a time where I could sink or swim, this was it.

“But Freddie. You have to fire me! For YOUR sake!”

The ferret’s ears perked up at this. Looked serious. “Explain.”

I pointed to the front. “See that guy in front of all those angry customers? That’s Shel Silverstein-“

“Well, of course it’s Shel Silverstein! I can see that with my two, good, very good eyes. Absolutely incredible. What they are seeing. Right now.”

“Not the point! The point is, I’ve escaped from Hell, he’s looking for me, and if I’m found out, he’ll put you in deep, deep, trouble!”

Freddie smiled (more like a ‘u’ shaped slit in his face, really). “But why don’t I just hand you in, then? I could get famous for turning in a criminal. The publicity would be good. Very good.”

His smug grin made me nervous, yet my mind was now racing at a million miles per hour. It was to late to stop now. “And the publicity would be good HOW?! Think about it, dinkleburg! If he finds me, it’ll be proof Tako Shak was keeping a refugee. And if THAT happens, you’ll be fired by you bosses for making a scandal!”

The U on Freddie’s face flipped right upside down. “Y-you’re bluffing! They can’t fire me! I’m a very, very, valuable manager!”

The tables were turning. Now it was my turn to grin. “Face it, Fred! Everyone here is a cog in the Great Tako Masheen! There’s probably a billion ferrets who were possessed by demons out there who could do your job just as good, if not better!”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh yes I would! And if I get caught, I’ll even tell the news you were employing ACTUAL MEXICANS!”

The little fuzzball finally kneeled in defeat. “I’ll never be able to go home to my mansion if that happens! Okay! You win! JUST! LEAVE!”

“But I can’t! I still have the Blood Curse keeping me here.”

Trembling, Freddie took the contract and ripped it into a million pieces. I don’t know what my blood experienced in that paper, but whatever it was made it jump right back through my finger into my vein.

Freddie pointed his index finger at me, all dramatic-like.

“Watterson Tostig, YOU. ARE. FIRRREEEDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!” right as Howard had gotten old Shel up to a $9,999 dollars.

With one powerful kick (ferrets can kick pretty darn hard!) he punted me like Charlie Brown would have punted that football, right through the ceiling on that fastfood hellhole and into the wild blue skies of the PA countryside. I shot up like a rocket, at least half a million mosquitoes smearing themselves against my face before I reached the peak of my flight. For a few tranquil seconds I floated in the air so high I saw the peak of Mount Davis, the highest mountain in the state. As far as I could see in every direction, there was nothing but forests, while a red-tailed hawk soared below. It was the most peaceful thing I’d ever experienced.

At least until I realized that cheapskate Freddie had forgotten to give me my last check! The dirty rotten cheapskate!

And, you know, freefalling from thousands of feet in the air. That tends to put a damper on your day.

Part III: The Blood Curse of Tako Shak: End

#My writing #Nature Trail To Hell #fast food #ferret

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imaginethebeautifulworld · 7 years ago

Note

71- and what was ur fave thing about each of them? and for the us, can you do states??

71: Countries you’ve visited?

United States

PennsylvaniaI love the fact that in PA, you just can’t escape the trees. The forest is everywhere. Deal with it.

New YorkI’ve only been to New York a couple of times, and each of those times was to the Big Apple. My favorite thing about NYC I think is how no one bats an eye your way. No one asks questions, and it’s kind of great. (That’s the image I got anyway).

New JerseyNew Jersey is kind of one of those layover states for me- a place that I’m only passing through to get somewhere else. But I did have the chance to stay at my roommate’s house when we were getting ready to head to Newark to fly to London. She’s the granddaughter of some really rich dude- Her house is big enough to fit my entire village in, no lie. She took us to her local mall, and I was faced with the blooming reality that there are actually people out there that can spend $3785 on a single pair of shoes and not bat an eye. She is among those. But she also now knows how to thrift shop like a boss, and I think we really balanced each other out in that end.

MarylandI’ve only driven through Maryland, sadly. But as it stands now, my favorite part is probably that it’s the state where one of my homies lives. Oh! And the Baltimore Barnes and Noble! They had a kickass train set in their children’s section, and I spent a good portion of my afternoon there. Got a full set of Shakespeare there~

VirginiaI’ve been to Virginia once in my life, and that was for my high school senior class trip. We hit up Busch Gardens (where I rode my first upside down roller coaster ever), Virginia Beach (my first time seeing the ocean, where I decided to run as far in as physically possible while wearing jeans and all my outer layers), and Norfolk (where I and my best friend hopped aboard a wedding cruise, were mistaken as wedding guests, and basically completely avoided our classmates as we danced with the wedding party and shared stories under the stars with the bridesmaids.) For Virginia- it was the memories. Good, good memories. But mostly Busch Gardens. I love the way that park is set up; each section is based off another country. Highly recommend the pretzels in their Germany, by the way. And check out the Loch Ness Monster- it goes into a tower and- Yes. Terrifying. Love it.

United Kingdom

EnglandMy beautiful, precious England. Lived in the centre of Westminster for about six months, and I had never been happier. I did get to visit a few places outside of London- Rochester, Nottingham, Sherwood, Bath, Dover, Canterbury, Stonehenge- but not as many as I would have liked. For England as a whole, I adored how easy it was to travel around the country- the public transportation there is leagues beyond anything the US could hope to find within the next decade. As for London- I feel I’m a bit more of an expert on this from living there. London- Despite being one of the bigger cities in the world, it never felt crowded? I only was overwhelmed by the size in my first week (then I explored a bit and realised it’s honestly one of the easiest cities I’ve ever had to navigate), My favorite part about England was that, no matter where I was in the country, despite being completely different soil (sometimes brick red, sometimes white chalk), it always felt like I was home. I’ve never fallen in love with a human, but the emotions I feel in regards to London- I find it’s comparible. I didn’t want to leave. I’ve been stateside for over 2 years now, and every day my heart still pangs in longing for the Belgian waffles outside Baker Street station, the roasted chestnuts that are floating around between Tate Modern and the Millenium Bridge, the annoying voice of the lady at Charing Cross always reminding you to “mind the gap,” the houseboats of the Romani in Regent’s canal, Little Venice, the way the hot cocoa from Pret a Manger is so rich that it just melts in your mouth, the peppercorn sauce from Garfunkle’s, the secret gardens in Regent’s Park, the divine massages that come with every new hair style, the salt in the air, the brilliant colours alligning the Queen’s Walk (whether you’re heading towards Southwark or Victoria), and the constant, spontaneous hailstorms that go totally vertical if you’re on Westiminster Bridge.London- London was honestly a dream come true, and as the real world creeps ever closer, I’m becoming more resigned to never having the opportunity to go there again.

ScotlandI only got to spend a couple of days in Aberdeen. We three (my roommate, her boyfriend, and myself) were going to visit Edinborough, but after comparing costs, we realised it was way cheaper to rent an apartment in the coastal city than it was to rent individual beds in the latter. We explored the coast, found a mall, saw a film, I flirted with a cop, befriended a couple of cats, discovered an abandoned castle- Scotland was the most peaceful place I have ever been. I would be entirely content with a small flat somewhere in Aberdeen- The library was very much like one in one of our coal towns, the theatre is active, the shopping district is lively, Primark of course has wonderful selections, and there is a lovely deli/cafe hidden away that makes the best homemade lollis I have ever tasted.

France

I think I would have enjoyed France a lot more if I hadn’t gone in the spring. As it was, I visited Paris (and Versailles!) during my Easter Break, and for the first two days, I was extremely disappointed. Paris itself is amazing; the food at any pop-up stand is to die for (totally recommend the Croque Monsieur served at the open-air stands in Jardins de Tuileries!), you can buy really fucking good wine at any grocery store for less than 10 quid, and there are little secret nooks and crannies you would never expect. However, the city itself smells like shit, and the homeless population is almost overwhelming. It was by far not the cleanest city I toured while in Europe, but it was definitely the… There is gold in most of the buildings, and a certain romanticism that is purely French in itself. My third day, the sun was out, and I did most of my exploration then. If you abandon the Metro, you’ll find gold (literally). You just have to… Learn to ignore the negatives and appreciate the positives. Perhaps one day I’ll return, and give her another chance. When that happens, I’ll take someone with me.

Belgium

Belgium was quiet, there were swans everywhere, I met at least four cats in each of the three cities I explored, and it’s the perfect blend of Germanic architecture and French linguistics to make my heart skip a beat. In Ypres, I found some really cool looking in-ground huts, and a giant wooden cat sculpture in the town square (all cobblestones, by the way). My afternoon was complete when I saw a tractor just roll on through the main streets like it was a normal thing. In Oostende, I was nearly blown into the sea by a squall and found the most romantic little park I’ve ever come across. In Brugge, I danced with an older gentleman playing an accordian, sampled more chocolate than should be tolerated, threw a bottle of beer at a party I wasn’t even invited to, and accidentally found a thrift store and befriended the elderly couple who managed it. I also purchased a watercolor from a local artist and his fiance, both of whom I’m still penpals with to this day. Belgium was quiet, peaceful, and perhaps the most genuinely friendly of countries I’ve wandered.

Netherlands

Another in which I went with my roomie and her boyfriend. We stayed in Amsterdam, and oooh boy there were some moments. At one store, I was mistaken for a local and had a gentleman start talking to me in Dutch. We toured the Jewish Historical Museum; it was the first time I had seen my roomie brought to tears simply by being in a room. There was a carnival in the Red Light District, and we bought a cotton candy that was bigger than our three heads combined. I loved Amsterdam because it was probably one of the most laid-back, cleanest places I have ever seen.

Italy

Spent my birthday in Rome, took a train to Venice. Rome is easily walkable, but be warned that it’s mostly cobblestones and there are a lot of hilly spots; don’t wear shoes you haven’t broken in yet, no matter how cute they are. Don’t take pictures with the guys dressed up; they’ll try to charge you about 5 quid per photo. If you’re craving pizza, there is a tiny, almost invisible pizzeria just across the road from the Spanish Steps. Buy yourself a whole pie; it’s worth the 8 quid. I liked Rome for the mere fact that it felt like a foreign city. It had distinctly contemporary aspects to it, but the orange trees, the heat, the dry air- that was all a new experience for me. I honestly wish I had been there for more than a day. As for Venice- we (my roomie’s bf and me- We scored a deal on Groupon for flights, hotes, train ride for Rome and Venice for two, and we met up with my roomie in Venice with her folks, who had taken her to Florence and Naples) splurged on 1 euro gelato, the best damn apples I have ever found, really bad films- That was just the first night. Our train ride had us sitting across two glorious lads from Brighton- I don’t think they actually had any luggage; their sacks were filled with at least five bottles of wine and half the breakfast buffet. The second day in Venice, we toured the city, moved from our hotel to a private apartment that my roomie’s parents rented, and I discovered the joys of premade toast with nutella, Italian bridal showers, and befriending the local fishermen. The food, the culture, the drinks- well, the wine. I will never do limoncello again in this lifetime. The absynthe in Paris was leagues better, and that’s saying something.- Venice is- There’s something almost mystical about the place. The water trickles all around you, and the wind whispers in old dusty walls. It’s a complete maze, and some corners you turn into have no ending, no life. And’s almost completely walking, which only adds to the whimsy. I- Venice was magical, and I hope I can return to explore on my own before she succumbs to the sea.

Vatican City

Stopped by while in Rome, and I was super disappointed by the hellishly long queue waiting to go into the Chapel. My traveling buddy and I instead opted to explore the mini city within the tiny nation. We found the ATM that has Latin as an option, and played a small round of catch with a young Swiss boy who was there with his grandparents. I feel bad as I don’t really have much feedback on Vatican City, but I can say at least the exterior architecture is ace.

Spain

Oh Spain. Where to begin? Barcelona houses the best gelato out of all the cities I toured (with a small exception to the Gelati Leche I found in Rome, but it still dominates in Vanilla and Chocolate.) The beach is wonderful, the waters were so blue it was almost like looking at the sky again. Our Irish buddy was with us, and it was the first time someone taunted me enough to swim out into the sea deep enough that I could no longer touch the bottom. Again, I always underestimate how much I like being in water, so I didn’t pack a change of clothes that first day. We did do some exploring and some shopping, but the best part after the hours spent on the beach was finding an Italian restaurant that was playing Spice Girls’ music videos in the background, while the owners spoke in French. Spain was the last trip I did while abroad, and the flight home was to Finals Week, and my last week in London. Our flight home brought with it the sunrise over France, knowledge that I was coming to a new chapter of my life, one I still haven’t written yet. But the greatest and most transformative moment came after we had returned.Traffic was fucking shite man. I didn’t get back to school until about halfway through my one history final, so late that I didn’t even go to my room. I hauled ass in with my big backpack, my notes in my free hand, panic written on my face, desperation in my words. Unofrtunately, the professor could not by contract allow me to take the exam. However, in a private meeting later, he asked me to confide what grade I needed to earn full credits back in the States. On account of my earlier performance, he gave me the grade, assured me that I “would have gotten an A anyway; I know you know your history,” and only gave me a brief chiding on poorly timed scheduling.Somehow though, I didn’t mind. I should have been more upset about missing an exam- a Final, no less!- but in comparison to everything I had done that weekend-Spain taught me that sometimes in life, there will be conflicting paths. Both will give you an opportunity, but it’s up to you to decide which one to take. I chose the path that gave me more stories to tell, gave me memories of soft sand and amazing french fries and complimenting strangers over breakfast, gave me a hat and a hand-painted fan that I couldn’t have found anywhere else. I chose to follow my heart, and while I may not have gained the A I wanted for that module, I earned something that can never be replaced.Spain taught me that life is short, and while there are goals you will want to reach, don’t push aside those chances to live a little.In The EndI miss traveling. I want to see more of the US, I want to visit friends and family in Ukraine, Phillipines, Louisiana, Madagascar, Russia, Germany, and Brazil. But for now, I’m here. For now, I’m bettering myself in the small ways. The world is so much bigger and far more wonderful than you could even begin to imagine. I may never see Nepal or Alaska, I might never get a chance to explore the Amazon or wander Kenya. But what I can do is keep collecting each memory, every moment, keep it all close to my heart. Because those little moments?

Those are what make the adventure truly amazing.

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Research on How Cells Manage Oxygen

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to three scientists — William G. Kaelin Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza — for their work on how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.

The Nobel Assembly announced the prize at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on Monday.

Their work established the genetic mechanisms that allow cells to respond to changes in oxygen levels. The findings have implications for treating a variety of diseases, including cancer, anemia, heart attacks and strokes.

Why did they win?

“Oxygen is the lifeblood of living organisms,” said Dr. George Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School. “Without oxygen, cells can’t survive.” But too much or too little oxygen also can be deadly. The three researchers tried to answer this question: How do cells regulate their responses?

The investigators uncovered detailed genetic responses to changing oxygen levels that allow cells in the bodies of humans and other animals sense and respond to fluctuations, increasing and decreasing how much oxygen they receive.

Why is the work important?

The discoveries reveal the cellular mechanisms that control such things as adaptation to high altitudes and how cancer cells manage to hijack oxygen. Randall Johnson, a member of the Nobel Assembly, described the work as a “textbook discovery” and said it would be something students would start learning at the most basic levels of biology education.

“This is a basic aspect of how a cell works, and I think from that standpoint alone it’s a very exciting thing,” Mr. Johnson said.

The research also has implications for treating various diseases in which oxygen is in short supply — including anemia, heart attacks and strokes — as well as for treatment of cancers that are fed by and seek out oxygen.

Who are the winners?

William G. Kaelin Jr., professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham & Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, was drawn to science for its objectivity.

“Like any scientist, I like solving puzzles,” he said in an interview this morning.

But he had an unprepossessing start. When he was a pre-med student hoping to become a physician researcher, a professor wrote, “Mr. Kaelin appears to be a bright young man whose future lies outside of the laboratory.”

Eventually he became intrigued by a rare, genetic cancer, von Hippel-Lindau disease, that is characterized by a profusion of extra blood vessels and overproduction of erythropoietin, or EPO, a hormone that stimulates production of the red blood cells that carry oxygen.

The cancer “was really fascinating,” Dr. Kaelin said. It had unusual features, like causing the body to make a substance, vegF, that stimulates the formation of blood vessels. And the cancer can cause the body to make too many red blood cells by increasing the production of EPO.

He had a hunch about what was going awry: “I thought it had something to do with oxygen sensing.”

As it turned out, he was right.

“It is one of the great stories of biomedical science,” Dr. Daley said. “Bill is the consummate physician-scientist. He took a clinical problem and through incredibly rigorous science figured it out.”

Dr. Kaelin said he knew, of course, that today the Nobel Prize would be awarded. But his chances were “so astronomically small” that he stuck with this usual routine and did not stay up last night.

He had a dream, though, that he had not gotten the 5 a.m. call from Sweden. He woke up and looked at the time; in fact, it was just 1:30 a.m.

He went back to sleep, and when it really was 5 a.m., his phone rang.

Gregg L. Semenza, professor of genetic medicine at Johns Hopkins, said his life was changed by a high school teacher, Rose Nelson, who taught biology at Sleepy Hollow High School in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

“She was unbelievable,” Dr. Semenza recalled in an interview. “She transmitted the wonder and joy of science and scientific discovery. She set me on a course to science.”

In college, at Harvard, he thought he would get a Ph.D. and do research in genetics. But then a family he was close to had a child with Down syndrome.

“That shifted me from being interested in genetics as kind of a scientific discipline to thinking about the impacts of genetics on people,” he said.

After attending medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Semenza set out to understand what cancer cells are searching for when they spread into surrounding tissues, and then into blood vessels that carry them around the body.

His guess was that cancer cells are searching for oxygen.

Dr. Semenza turned his attention to the gene the guides production of EPO. Once it is activated, the body makes more oxygen carrying red blood cells. But how is that switch turned on when the body is deprived of oxygen?

As a geneticist, he was trained to study rare genetic diseases. But his work on cellular responses to oxygen led him to study such common diseases as heart disease and cancer.

At first, he divided his attention between the two conditions. More recently, Dr. Semenza said, he has focused on cancer, looking for ways to use what he has learned to find new ways to attack tumors.

Dr. Semenza was asleep when the call from Sweden came this morning, and did not get to his phone in time to answer it. The phone rang again a few minutes later.

“I heard this very distinguished gentleman tell me I was going to receive the Nobel Prize,” he said. “I was shocked, of course. And I was kind of in a daze. I’ve been in a daze ever since.”

But he added, “It’s been wonderful.”

Peter J. Ratcliffe, the third Nobelist, is the director of clinical research at the Francis Crick Institute in London and director of the Target Discovery Institute at Oxford.

He became a medical researcher almost by chance. “I was a tolerable schoolboy chemist and intent on a career in industrial chemistry,” he said in a speech in 2016. “The ethereal but formidable headmaster appeared one morning in the chemistry classroom. ‘Peter,’ he said with unnerving serenity, ‘I think you should study medicine’. And without further thought, my university application forms were changed.”

He became a kidney specialist, fascinated by the way the organs regulate production of EPO in response to the amount of oxygen available. Some colleagues, he said, felt this was not very important.

But he persisted, intrigued by the scientific puzzle. “We set about the problem of EPO regulation, which might have been seen, and some did see, as a niche area,” he said in a telephone interview posted by the Nobel Committee on Twitter.

“But I believed it was tractable, it could be solved by someone. The impact of that became evident later.”

The research is an illustration of the value of basic research, he added: “We make knowledge, That’s what I do as a publicly funded scientist. It is good knowledge. It is true. It is correct.”

But, he added, “We set out on a journey without a clear understanding of the value of that knowledge.”

When the call from Sweden came, Dr. Ratcliffe was writing a grant proposal. Today he will continue working on it.

“I’m happy about it,” he said of the Nobel Prize. But also was not enthusiastic about being thrust into the public eye.

“I’ll do my duty, I hope,” he said.

“It’s a tribute to the lab, to those who helped me set it up and worked with me on the project over the years, to many others in the field, and not least to my family for their forbearance of all the up and downs,” he said in a statement released by Oxford.

Who won the 2018 Nobel for medicine?

The prize last year went to James P. Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan for their work on immunotherapy, for unleashing the body’s immune system to attack cancer. This breakthrough has resulted in an entirely new class of drugs and brought lasting remissions to many patients who had run out of options.

Who else won a Nobel Prize this year?

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their contributions to the understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos.

The prize for chemistry was shared by John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for their work on the development of lithium-ion batteries.

When will the other Nobel Prizes be announced?

_____

Michael Wolgelenter contributed reporting.

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sotina886 · 4 years ago

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Why did the "Starbucks Incident" raise racial discrimination and the absurd tragedy repeated in the United States?

【Special attention】

Starbucks suspected of discriminating against blacks

📷

On April 15, people in Philadelphia, the United States, protested in front of Starbucks before the two blacks were taken away by the police at Starbucks. Bright Pictures/Visual China

Social ills are hard to eradicate

📷

On April 15, people in Philadelphia, the United States, protested in front of Starbucks, and police were on duty at the scene. Bright Pictures/Visual China

Absurd law enforcement occurs frequently

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lilac-milk-moon · 6 years ago

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The 10 Best Ways to Get Free Money

Note from Mr. SR: Whether it’s to save more for retirement, to spend towards items on your bucket list, or to treat yourself, you can always use some extra money — right? My friend Adebayo Fasanya from Dr Breathe Easy Finance has some great tips for finding some easy extra funds.

I know what you are thinking. “There you go, another click bait headline about getting free money. There is no such thing as free lunch.”

This is the main reason why I decided to write this article. In reality, there are free lunches in life, but you have to look for the hidden gems. And this is not surveys or yard sales disguised as free money. We will be discussing how to get actual free dollars.

We all have times when we are in a bind, when any dollar amount will make a huge difference in our lives. College for sure, but some tough times occurred during my transition from fellowship training to attending status (I’m a doctor). I had underestimated the cost of moving, getting a new place and lots of incidental spending. We were too focused on paying off our loans that we were skinny on our emergency fund.

While most of those costs were reimbursed eventually, it took some time to balance everything financially. We took out our entire emergency fund and even dipped slightly into our credit card. How else would I pay for those flights, board exams and the $10,000 to the moving company?

Well, I would have appreciated these tips at the time. Every dollar counts and I have witnessed situations when it really did.

We have talked about 101 ways to save money in the past and you can start with that. Then it’s free money time. Here are 10 foolproof ways to get free money.

1. Find unclaimed money from your state (unlimited)

The first one I would like to talk about might not be for everyone; however, even though, I have been in this country for fewer years than most, I still managed to find free money I did not know I had. Here is the step by step way to check if you have the free money and how to claim it.

We will now go through the step by step process to find out if your state owes you some money. If you are not interested in my process, skip to the next one.

Steps to find unclaimed money

Step 1 –Go to https://www.unclaimed.org/

These are all the menu available, but we would not be clicking any of those.

Step 2 – Click on all the states you have ever lived

You can either click on it based on the map, but it was harder for me to find Missouri that way, so I used the drop down function. I looked into New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and finally hit gold in Missouri. And yes, I have lived in all those states before. That is the plight of medical training. I moved around for my clinical, then residency, then fellowship and then moved to Arkansas now to practice as an attending.

Clicking on Missouri took me to the states treasury department. Of course each state would be different.

Step 3 – Search your name

Booyah!! Jackpot. The treasury department owes me over $50. Exciting so far. I hope you have discovered something for yourself also if you are still reading.

Now it’s time to fill some form.

Step 4 – Select the one you want to file and click claim

Step 5 – Fill the required form

This is super easy and self explanatory.

6th Step – Print the document, send it with the required documents.

Step 7 – wait

Ok the 90 days processing time leave less to be desired and a sour taste in my mouth, but you know what; I am curious how much money the state actually owes me. Do these exercise while watching TV, that way; you cannot claim it is not a good use of your time.

There are other sites you can try your luck on like missing money . For me, it returned the same result as above.

2. Take advantage of bank sign up promotions ($400)

During my fellowship training in Pittsburgh, I was able to get the easiest free $400 possible. PNC at the time was doing a promotion, it was simple, open a checking account and do direct payment to the account and get free money. I was skeptical at first, but by the second month, I received my free money in my account.

Currently, they are still doing the promotion, but it is now $300. You can cancel at a later time if you like. For example, when I move to Arkansas 3 years later, I had to close the account as there was no PNC bank over here.

I used PNC bank as an example, because I personally benefited from their bonus. However, I see no reason for you to limit yourself to that. Search online for your desired banks.

3. Take advantage of credit card introductory offers (up to $750)

If you are comfortable with credit cards, there are lots of them that offer free sign up bonus. Just make sure you keep track of them and cancel as soon as you fulfill the minimum obligations required.

Also, some of the credit cards require you to spend a certain amount of money over a time period. If you are planning to make a purchase already, why not use it to your advantage.

A simple Google search showed some as high as $750. You might have to let out some blood from your vein to keep it, but if you know what you are doing, go for it.

4. Get free money by trying out apps ($20)

There are lots of apps online that will pay you money to join. Few that I have personally tried include

Ibotta – I was so personally impressed with the app that I did a detailed review of the Ibotta app. There was a promotion when I downloaded the app – Free $20!! I actually decided to keep the app because it is actually useful to get even more free cash in the form of cash back. You get the free cash while shopping at your favorite stores and merchants. No extra work required.

Webull – This is a modern investing app that makes it extremely easier for people to dabble into stock investment. And it is commission free! The other awesome thing about the app is that when you deposit your first $100, you get a free stock. My free stock was SNAP and it is worth $15. I’ll take it. As you can see in the image below, I have not even invested the $1,000 I deposited yet, and I can simply withdraw the money back to my bank account.

I did a detailed and honest review of webull app to help familiarize yourself with the app.

There are lots of apps out there to try, you have internet at your disposal, knock yourself out.

5. Earn free money by signing up to be a driver for Lyft ($300)

Are you looking for a side hustle? Lyft can be an excellent one to explore if you love driving. On top of the money earned from your hustle, you get $300 sign on bonus.

Of course there is a catch to this one. You have to first meet their requirements below to become one of their drivers.

Driver Requirements

Be at least 21 years old

Pass their free, online DMV and background checks.

Use an iPhone or Android smartphone

Vehicle Requirements

Meet your city’s vehicle age requirement

Have at least four doors, not including jump doors.

Offer five to eight seats, including the driver’s.

Document Requirements

Have a US driver’s license for at least one year.

Provide proof of insurance and (in most cities) a car inspection.

Submit a photo of yourself.

The real catch is that you have to complete 100 rides in your first 30 days. If you live in a busy town, this should be a piece of cake. That’s about 3.33 rides a day. If you can get it done, the $300 dollars is yours.

6. Earn free cash with AirBnB ($55)

If you enjoy using your car for side hustle with Lyft, then you might also enjoy making extra cash renting out your home for few days in the years.

Not only can you make extra cash with AirBnB, you get actual free money for signing up. As I was writing this post, I signed up for the service and I already got $55 available credit.

Here is how this works.

Friends who sign up for Airbnb with your link will get $40 off their home booking. And they get $15 to use toward an experience worth $50 or more. When your friend completes a first-time stay or experience, you’ll get up to $30 travel credit.

7. Make your internet usage count with Nielsen ($50)

Nielsen is a computer and mobile panel company who will pay you $50 to simply keep their app on your laptop, smartphone or tablet. The app however will collect statistics on how you use the internet in order to learn more about what consumers wants.

This is no difference than what Facebook already does with your data. Except that Nielsen pays you $50 for your trouble.

The company pride themselves in making sure everything is done anonymously, so don’t panic about any data linking back to you.

Based on the reviews online, the app itself does not take much space on your electronics and it won’t slow down your phone.

The catch on this one is that the app have to stay on your phone or laptop for a full year.

Get started today by looking up the Nielsen app and downloading it on your phone.

8. Get paid in your sleep, literally ($50 to $19,000)

How would you like to sleep on the job without anyone judging you? Like, you really would like to sleep all the time? Well, today your dream has come true (pun intended).

There are companies out there who will pay you free money to sleep on mattress for the night. Imagine making money for what you love to do.

The most important qualification skills for bed testers are the ability to sleep in new surroundings, away from home. Just think of it like a hotel.

If you want to kick it up a notch, NASA sometimes ask for people to sleep in bed for months . For example, they recently offered $19,000 to lie in bed for 2 months. This one is not exactly free money as it gets complicated with showering and you know.. the other things. But this article would not be complete if I did not mention this opportunity. Plus it’s something interesting.

9. Get in on the action – class action law suits (variable)

As much as I don’t like anything related to law suits, this one is an exception. Class action lawsuits are an excellent way to get your hands on free cash if you are willing to search for them.

The downside to this one is that, you won’t be able to get that free money immediately like most of the methods mentioned above. It usually takes months to process the case, sometimes longer. But you know what? It’s free money.

So how does this work…

Class action suit is when a defendant (usually company) does something despicable and a legal action is filed against the company by a group of people.

A good example was the tobacco company settlement in 1998. RJ Reynolds, Philip Morris, and two other tobacco companies agreed to a whopping $206 billion settlement!! The settlement was to cover medical cost of smoking related illnesses. The settlement goes on for 25 years. Still ongoing now, you can try your luck if you smoked before 1998.

You might enjoy this article of the top largest class action and law suit settlements.

Below are some sites to get started. Start digging for gold.

Top Class Actions – A wealth of information on recently settled cases like the Wesson natural cooking oil class action settlement – You get 15 cent for each Wesson oil purchased up to 30 units without proof of purchase.

ClassAction.com – You can check out open law suits and see which one you can file a claim for.

10. Become a tutor and get free sign on bonus ($300)

This brought back memories. In 2006, I got paid 30 dollars an hour to tutor mathematic. Mostly, I tutored my classmates and some kids in the neighborhood. It felt like easy money to me.

What would have been more rewarding is if I had known about gogokids. This company will pay you $300 as new teachers. That’s like 10 hours of work!! And that is completely free.

The requirement is very simple – have a bachelor’s degree and have an awesome internet connection.

The catch is that you would have to be on a 6 months contract. You don’t even have to tutor much if you don’t want to.

Summary

There really is free lunch in life; all you have to do is search for it. The above 10 ways to make money are legit and if you are really serious about it, you should start today. Using it to pay off debt or invest it would be my own vote.

This post was written by Adebayo Fasanya @ Dr Breathe Easy Finance. It originally appeared on The Money Mix and is republished with permission.

The post The 10 Best Ways to Get Free Money appeared first on Semi-Retire Plan.

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thomasalwyndavis · 7 years ago

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Why Do You Get Sleepy When You Drive And What To Do. Can You Pull an All Nighter And Be Fine?

Why Do You Get Sleepy When You Drive And What To Do. Can You Pull an All Nighter And Be Fine? was first published to Thomas Alwyn Davis

When I was first dating my wife, she would fall asleep on any car ride that was longer than about 15 minutes. My daughter is now the same way. At first I thought it was just that they were tired, or bored.

This week I decided to explore this interesting topic and one that I have given considerable thought to over the years. Recently, there has been a fascinating new research study, from down under (Australia!) which sheds new light on this topic.

Historically I used to think that many people who would fall asleep either while driving or as a passenger in a car were either bored, sleep deprived or afflicted with something called Sopite Syndrome. Sopite Syndrome is a variant of motion sickness, where you don’t feel sick, you get sleepy when moving. This could have something to do with your vestibular system (balance in your inner ear).

However this new study from Australia has shed new light on this very topic. Researchers were able to discover that it is the vibrations at low frequencies ( like we experience when driving cars or trucks) that over time make us feel more and more drowsy. This make perfect sense to ANYONE who has a small child who would only fall asleep when driving them around the block late in the evening! More specifically these researchers discovered that levels of alertness after driving for only 15 min begin to decrease dramatically, and by 30 minutes will have a significant impact on your ability to stay alert and concentrate on the road. By 60 minutes sleepiness was at its peak. These researchers think that there are vibrations that can keep you awake as well, and further study is required.

So what should we all do with this new piece of information?

If you are going on a drive for longer than 30 minutes, and you feel sleep deprived, consider a carpool, rideshare, UBER or bringing a friend so that each 30 minutes you can switch off.

Consider small doses of caffeine 15-25 minutes prior to a long drive, and every 2 hours after. But remember not too close to bedtime!

Get direct sunlight each morning and just before driving to help keep you awake.

Follow a regular sleep schedule so you can decrease your sleep deprivation.

Understanding how driving may make you feel sleepy is certainly an important thing for all of us to be aware of, however what if you NEED to become sleep deprived ( due to an unusual circumstance) are there some people who are better at being sleep deprived than others? It looks like the answer is YES!

Doctors think that they may be getting closer to understanding who can function best on low levels of sleep. Research shows that lack of sleep seems to effect different people different ways, as we all know there are some people that just seem to “take” sleep deprivation better than others! I had a roommate in college, and he could do an “all-nighter” no problem, and be fine the next day! I will admit I was a bit jealous.

Well, a few scientists think they may know why and the answer is in your genes!

A group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania did an interesting experiment where they took 32 people, they were monitored for 5 days. Two nights of 8 hours of sleep, and then followed by 39 hours of NO SLEEP, i.e., total sleep deprivation. Researchers measured miRNA levels using blood samples. They also tested several types of cognitive abilities, including attention, memory, and cognitive throughput performance (how fast and accurately people completed the tests).

miRNAs molecules are small bits of genetic material that regulate gene expression. They typically work by preventing messenger RNAs from turning the information stored in genes into functional proteins.

So what is the practical information you can get out of this study?

Its genetic, if you have never been bothered by low levels of sleep, it seems to be something you are born with, not something you can train your body to do.

As a side note, even if you do not “pull an all-nighter” these researchers discovered that if you sleep only 4 hours a night for 5 nights in a row the same consequences occurred!

As this heatwave sweeps the country, it can deeply impact your sleep, here’s what you can do. Stay cool and sleep well!

My most popular Facebook post this week: 10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Sleeping Medication or Supplements More Effective

My most popular Twitter post this week: 3 Shocking Effects of Early School Start Times on Our Economy

Sweet Dreams,

Dr. Michael Breus

The post Why Do You Get Sleepy When You Drive And What To Do. Can You Pull an All Nighter And Be Fine? appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

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