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blackswaneuroparedux · 3 years ago

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Anonymous asked: I have always appreciated your thoughtful views on the defence of the British monarchy, and as a university historian it’s reassuring to see someone using history to make invalubale insights to a controversial institution. I wonder what are your own thoughts on the passing of Prince Philip and what his legacy might be? Was he a gaffe prone racist and a liability to the Queen?

I know you kindly got in touch and identified yourself when you felt I was ignoring your question. I’m glad we cleared that up via DM. The truth is as I said and I’m saying here is that I had to let some time pass before I felt I could reasonably answer this question. Simply because - as you know as someone who teaches history at university - distance is good to make a sober appraisal rather than knee jerk in the moment judgements.

Contrary to what some might think I’m not really a fan girl when it comes to the royal family. I don’t religiously follow their every movement or utterance especially as I live in Paris and therefore I don’t really care about tabloid tittle tattle. I only get to hear of anything to do with the royal family when I speak to my parents or my great aunts and uncles for whom the subject is closer to their heart because of the services my family has rendered over past generations to the monarchy and the older (and dying) tight knit social circles they travel in.

Like Walter Bagehot, I’m more interested in the monarchy as an institution and its constitutional place within the historical, social, and political fabric of Britain and its continued delicate stabilising importance to that effect. It was Walter Bagehot, the great constitutional scholar and editor the Economist magazine, who said, “The mystic reverence, the religious allegiance, which are essential to a true monarchy, are imaginative sentiments that no legislature can manufacture in any people.” In his view, a politically-inactive monarchy served the best interests of the United Kingdom; by abstaining from direct rule, the monarch levitated above the political fray with dignity, and remained a respected personage to whom all subjects could look to as a guiding light.

Even as a staunch monarchist I freely confess that there has always been this odd nature of the relationship between hereditary monarchy and a society increasingly ambivalent about the institution. To paraphrase Bagehot again, there has been too much ‘daylight’ shone onto the ‘magic’ of the monarchy because we are obsessed with personalities as celebrities.

Having said that I did feel saddened by the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. After the Queen, he was my favourite royal. Anne, Princess Royal, would come next because she is very much like her father in temperament, humour, and character, so unlike her other brothers.

I have met the late Prince Philip when I was serving in the army in a few regimental meet-and-greet situations - which as you may know is pretty normal given that members of the royal family serve as honorary colonel-in-chiefs (patrons in effect) of all the British army regiments and corps.I also saw him at one or two social events such the annual charitable Royal Caledonian Ball (he’s an expert scottish reeler) and the Guards Polo Club where my older brothers played.

I’ll will freely confess that he was the one royal I could come close to identify with because his personal biography resonated with me a great deal.

Let’s be honest, the core Windsor family members, born to privilege, are conditioned and raised to be dull. Perhaps that’s a a tad harsh. I would prefer the term ‘anonymously self-effacing’, just another way of saying ‘for God’s sake don’t draw attention to yourself by saying or doing anything even mildly scandalous or political lest it invites public opprobrium and scrutiny’. The Queen magnificently succeeds in this but the others from Charles down just haven’t (with the exception of Princess Anne).

However, many people forget this obvious fact that it’s the incoming husbands and wives who marry into the Windsor family who are relied upon to bring colour and even liven things up a little. And long before Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle (very briefly), or Lady Diana Spencer, were the stars of ‘The Firm’- a phrase first coined by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's father who ruled from 1936 to 1952, who was thought to have wryly said, "British royals are 'not a family, we're a firm,” - it was Prince Philip who really livened things up and made the greater impact on the monarchy than any of them in the long term.

Prince Philip’s passing belied the truth of a far more complex individual: a destitute and penniless refugee Greek-Danish prince with a heart breaking backstory that could have been penned by any 19th Century novelist, and also eagle eyed reformer who tried to drag the royal family into the 20th century. At the core of the man - lost scion of a lost European royal dynasty, a courageous war veteran, and Queen’s consort - were values in which he attempted to transform and yet maintain much older inherited traditions and attitudes. Due to his great longevity, Philip’s life came to span a period of social change that is almost unprecedented, and almost no one in history viewed such a transformation from the front row.

Prince Philip would seem to represent in an acute form the best of the values of that era, which in many ways jar with today’s. He had fought with great courage in the war as a dashing young naval officer; he was regularly rude to foreigners, which was obviously a bonus to all Brits. He liked to ride and sail and shoot things. He was unsentimental almost to a comic degree, which felt reassuring at a time when a new-found emotional incontinence made many feel uncomfortable. Outrageous to some but endearing to others, he was the sort of man you’d want to go for a pint with, perhaps the ultimate compliment that an Englishman can pay to another Englishman. This has its own delicious irony as he wasn’t really an Englishman.

There are 4 takeways I would suggest in my appraisal of Prince Philip that stand out for me. So let me go through each one.

1. Prince Philip’s Internationalism

It may seem odd for me to say that Prince Philip wasn’t English but he wasn’t an Englishman in any real sense. He was a wretch of the world - stateless, homeless, and penniless. That the Prince of Nowhere became the British Monarchy’s figurehead was more than fitting for a great age of migration and transition in which the Royal Family survived and even flourished. That he was able to transform himself into the quintessential Englishman is testimony not just to his personal determination but also to the powerful cultural pull of Britishness.

He was born on a kitchen table in Corfu in June 1921. A year later in 1922, Philip, as the the great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and nephew of Constantine I of Greece, was forced to flee with his family after the abdication of Constantine. He grew up outside Paris speaking French; ethnically he was mostly German although he considered himself Danish, his family originating from the Schleswig border region. He was in effect, despite his demeanour of Royal Navy officer briskness, a citizen of nowhere in an age of movement. From a very young age he was a stateless person, nationally homeless. Indeed, Philip was an outsider in a way that even Meghan Markle could never be; at his wedding in 1947, his three surviving sisters and two brothers-in-law were not permitted to attend because they were literally Britain’s enemies, having fought for the Germans. A third brother-in-law had even been in the SS, working directly for Himmler, but had been killed in the conflict.

Even his religion was slightly exotic. He was Greek Orthodox until he converted to Anglicanism on marrying Elizabeth - what with his wife due to become supreme head of the Church and everything - but his ties with eastern Christianity remained. His great-aunts Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine and Tsarina Alexandra are both martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church, having been murdered by the Bolsheviks; Philip’s mother went on to become an Orthodox nun and a “Righteous Among the Nations” for saving a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation of Greece, spending much of her time in squalid poverty.

His parents were part of the largely German extended aristocracy who ruled almost all of Europe before it all came crashing down in 1918. When he died, aged 99, it marked a near-century in which all the great ideological struggles had been and gone; he had been born before the Soviet Union but outlived the Cold War, the War on Terror and - almost - Covid-19.

The world that Philip was born into was a far more violent and dangerous place than ours. In the year he was born, Irish rebels were still fighting Black and Tans; over the course of 12 months the Spanish and Japanese prime ministers were assassinated, there was a coup in Portugal and race riots in the United States. Germany was rocked by violence from the far-Left and far-Right, while in Italy a brutal new political movement, the Fascists, secured 30 seats in parliament, led by a trashy journalist called Benito Mussolini.

The worst violence, however, took place in Greece and Turkey. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, what remained of Turkey was marked for permanent enfeeblement by the Allies. But much to everyone’s surprise the country’s force were roused by the brilliant officer Mustafa Kemal, who led the Turks to victory. Constantinople was lost to Christendom for good and thousands of years of Hellenic culture was put to the flames in Smyrna.

The Greek royal family, north German imports shipped in during the 19th century, bore much of the popular anger for this disaster. King Constantine fled to Italy, and his brother Andrew was arrested and only escaped execution through the intervention of his relative Britain’s George V. Andrew’s wife Alice, their four daughters and infant son Philip fled to France, completely impoverished but with the one possession that ensures that aristocrats are never truly poor: connections.

Philip had a traumatic childhood. He was forged by the turmoil of his first decade and then moulded by his schooling. His early years were spent wandering, as his place of birth ejected him, his family disintegrated and he moved from country to country, none of them ever his own. When he was just a year old, he and his family were scooped up by a British destroyer from his home on the Greek island of Corfu after his father had been condemned to death. They were deposited in Italy. One of Philip's first international journeys was spent crawling around on the floor of the train from an Italian port city, "the grubby child on the desolate train pulling out of the Brindisi night," as his older sister Sophia later described it.

In Paris, he lived in a house borrowed from a relative; but it was not destined to become a home. In just one year, while he was at boarding school in Britain, the mental health of his mother, Princess Alice, deteriorated and she went into an asylum; his father, Prince Andrew, went off to Monte Carlo to live with his mistress. "I don't think anybody thinks I had a father," he once said. Andrew would die during the war. Philip went to Monte Carlo to pick up his father's possessions after the Germans had been driven from France; there was almost nothing left, just a couple of clothes brushes and some cuff-links.

Philip’s four sisters were all much older, and were soon all married to German aristocrats (the youngest would soon die in an aeroplane crash, along with her husband and children). His sisters became ever more embroiled in the German regime. In Scotland going to Gordonstoun boarding school, Philip went the opposite direction, becoming ever more British. Following the death of his sister Cecilie in a plane crash in 1937, the gulf widened. As the clouds of conflict gathered, the family simply disintegrated. With a flash of the flinty stoicism that many would later interpret, with no little justification, as self-reliance to the point of dispassion, the prince explained: “It’s simply what happened. The family broke up… I just had to get on with it. You do. One does.”

In the space of 10 years he had gone from a prince of Greece to a wandering, homeless, and virtually penniless boy with no-one to care for him. He got through it by making a joke of everything, and by being practical.

By the time he went to Gordonstoun, a private boarding school on the north coast of Scotland, Philip was tough, independent and able to fend for himself; he'd had to be. Gordonstoun would channel those traits into the school's distinct philosophy of community service, teamwork, responsibility and respect for the individual. And it sparked one of the great passions of Philip's life - his love of the sea. It was Gordonstoun that nurtured that love through the maturation of his character.

Philip adored the school as much as his son Charles would despise it. Not just because the stress it put on physical as well as mental excellence - he was a great sportsman. But because of its ethos, laid down by its founder Kurt Hahn, a Jewish exile from Nazi Germany.

Hahn first met Philip as a boy in Nazi Germany. Through a connection via one of his sister’s husbands, Philip, the poor, lonely boy was first sent off to a new school - in Nazi Germany. Which was as fun as can be imagined. Schloss Salem had been co-founded by stern educator called Kurt Hahn, a tough, discipline-obsessed conservative nationalist who saw civilisation in inexorable decline. But by this stage Hahn, persecuted for being Jewish in Nazi Germany, had fled to Britain, and Philip did not spend long at the school either, where pressure from the authorities was already making things difficult for the teachers. Philip laughed at the Nazis at first, because their salute was the same gesture the boys at his previous school had to make when they wanted to go to the toilet, but within a year he was back in England, a refugee once again.

Philip happily attended Hahn’s new school, Gordonstoun, which the strict disciplinarian had set up in the Scottish Highlands. Inspired by Ancient Sparta, the boys (and then later girls) had to run around barefoot and endure cold showers, even in winter, the whole aim of which was to drive away the inevitable civilisational decay Hahn saw all around him. To 21st century ears it sounds like hell on earth, yet Philip enjoyed it, illustrating just what a totally alien world he came from.

That ethos became a significant, perhaps the significant, part of the way that Philip believed life should be lived. It shines through the speeches he gave later in his life. "The essence of freedom," he would say in Ghana in 1958, "is discipline and self-control." The comforts of the post-war era, he told the British Schools Exploring Society a year earlier, may be important "but it is much more important that the human spirit should not be stifled by easy living". And two years before that, he spoke to the boys of Ipswich School of the moral as well as material imperatives of life, with the "importance of the individual" as the "guiding principle of our society".

It was at Gordonstoun one of the great contradictions of Philip's fascinating life was born. The importance of the individual was what in Kurt Hahn's eyes differentiated Britain and liberal democracies from the kind of totalitarian dictatorship that he had fled. Philip put that centrality of the individual, and individual agency - the ability we have as humans to make our own moral and ethical decisions - at the heart of his philosophy.

At Dartmouth Naval College in 1939, the two great passions of his life would collide. He had learned to sail at Gordonstoun; he would learn to lead at Dartmouth. And his driving desire to achieve, and to win, would shine through. Despite entering the college far later than most other cadets, he would graduate top of his class in 1940. In further training at Portsmouth, he gained the top grade in four out of five sections of the exam. He became one of the youngest first lieutenants in the Royal Navy.

The navy ran deep in his family. His maternal grandfather had been the First Sea Lord, the commander of the Royal Navy; his uncle, "Dickie" Mountbatten, had command of a destroyer while Philip was in training. In war, he showed not only bravery but guile. It was his natural milieu. "Prince Philip", wrote Gordonstoun headmaster Kurt Hahn admiringly, "will make his mark in any profession where he will have to prove himself in a trial of strength".

2. Prince Philip and the modernisation of the monarchy

In his own words, the process of defining what it meant to be a royal consort was one of “trial and error.” Speaking with BBC One’s Fiona Bruce in 2011, Philip explained, “There was no precedent. If I asked somebody, 'What do you expect me to do?' they all looked blank. They had no bloody idea, nobody had much idea.” So he forged for himself a role as a moderniser of the monarchy.

He could not have had much idea back in 1939. Back then in Dartmouth in 1939, as war became ever more certain, the navy was his destiny. He had fallen in love with the sea itself. "It is an extraordinary master or mistress," he would say later, "it has such extraordinary moods." But a rival to the sea would come.

When King George VI toured Dartmouth Naval College, accompanied by Philip's uncle, he brought with him his daughter, Princess Elizabeth. Philip was asked to look after her. He showed off to her, vaulting the nets of the tennis court in the grounds of the college. He was confident, outgoing, strikingly handsome, of royal blood if without a throne. She was beautiful, a little sheltered, a little serious, and very smitten by Philip.

Did he know then that this was a collision of two great passions? That he could not have the sea and the beautiful young woman? For a time after their wedding in 1948, he did have both. As young newlyweds in Malta, he had what he so prized - command of a ship - and they had two idyllic years together. But the illness and then early death of King George VI brought it all to an end.

He knew what it meant, the moment he was told. Up in a lodge in Kenya, touring Africa, with Princess Elizabeth in place of the King, Philip was told first of the monarch's death in February 1952. He looked, said his equerry Mike Parker, "as if a ton of bricks had fallen on him". For some time he sat, slumped in a chair, a newspaper covering his head and chest. His princess had become the Queen. His world had changed irrevocably.

While the late Princess Diana was later to famously claim that there were “three people” in her marriage - herself, Prince Charles and Camilla - there were at least 55 million in Philip and Elizabeth’s. As Elizabeth dedicated her life to her people at Westminster Abbey at the Coronation on June 2, 1953, it sparked something of an existential crisis in Philip. Many people even after his death have never really understood this pivotal moment in Philip’s life. All his dreams of being a naval officer and a life at sea as well as being the primary provider and partner in his marriage were now sacrificed on the altar of duty and love.

With his career was now over, and he was now destined to become the spare part. Philip, very reasonably, asked that his future children and indeed his family be known by his name, Mountbatten. In effect he was asking to change the royal family’s name from the House of Windsor to the House of Mountbatten. But when Prime Minister Winston Churchill got wind of it as well as the more politically agile courtiers behind the Queen, a prolonged battle of wits ensued, and it was one Philip ultimately lost. It was only in 1957 that he accepted the title of “Prince.”

Even though he had almost lost everything dear to him and his role now undefined, he didn’t throw himself a pity party. He just got on with it. Philip tried to forge his own distinct role as second fiddle to the woman who had come to represent Great Britain. He designated himself the First Officer of the Good Ship Windsor. He set about dusting off some of the cobwebs off the throne and letting some daylight unto the workings of the monarchy by advocating reasonable amount of modernisation of the monarchy.

He had ideas about modernising the royal family that might be called “improving optics” today. But in his heart of hearts he didn’t want the monarchy to become a stuffy museum piece. He envisaged a less stuffy and more popular monarchy, relevant to the lives of ordinary people. Progress was always going to be incremental as he had sturdy opposition from the old guard who wanted to keep everything as it was, but nevertheless his stubborn energy resulted in significant changes.

When a commission chaired by Prince Philip proposed broadcasting the 1953 investiture ceremony that formally named Elizabeth II as queen on live television, Prime Minister Winston Churchill reacted with outright horror, declaring, “It would be unfitting that the whole ceremony should be presented as if it were a theatrical performance.” Though the queen had initially voiced similar concerns, she eventually came around to the idea, allowing the broadcast of all but one segment of the coronation. Ultimately, according to the BBC, more than 20 million people tuned in to the televised ceremony - a credit to the foresight of Philip.

Elizabeth’s coronation marked a watershed moment for a monarchy that has, historically, been very hands off, old-fashioned and slightly invisible. Over the following years, the royals continued to embrace television as a way of connecting with the British people: In 1957, the queen delivered her annual Christmas address during a live broadcast. Again, this was Philip’s doing when he cajoled the Queen to televise her message live. He even helped her in how to use the teleprompter to get over her nerves and be herself on screen.

Four years later, in 1961, Philip became the first family member to sit for a television interview. It is hard for us to imagine now but back then it was huge. For many it was a significant step in modernising the monarchy.

Though not everything went to plan. Toward the end of the decade, the Windsors even invited cameras into their home. A 1969 BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary, instigated by Philip to show life behind the scenes, turned into an unmitigated disaster: “The Windsors” revealed the royals to be a fairly normal, if very rich, British upper-class family who liked barbecues, ice cream, watching television and bickering. The mystery of royalty took a hit below the waterline from their own torpedo, a self-inflicted wound from which they took a long time to recover. Shown once, the documentary was never aired again. But it had an irreversible effect, and not just by revealing the royals to be ordinary. By allowing the cameras in, Philip opened the lid to the prying eyes of the paparazzi who could legitimately argue that since the Royals themselves had sanctioned exposure, anything went. From then on, minor members of the House of Windsor were picked off by the press, like helpless tethered animals on a hunting safari.

Prince Philip also took steps to reorganise and renovate the royal estates in Sandringham and Balmoral such as intercoms, modern dish washers, generally sought to make the royal household and the monarchy less stuffy, not to have so much formality everywhere.

Philip helped modernised the monarchy in other ways to acknowledge that the monarchy could be responsive to changes in society. It was Prince Philip - much to the chagrin of the haughty Princess Margaret and other stuffy old courtiers - who persuaded the Queen to host informal lunches and garden parties designed to engage a broader swath of the British public. Conversely, Prince Philip heartily encouraged the Queen (she was all for it apparently but was still finding her feet as a new monarch) to end the traditional practice of presenting debutantes from aristocratic backgrounds at court in 1952. For Philip and others it felt antiquated and out of touch with society. I know in speaking to my grandmother and others in her generation the decision was received with disbelief at how this foreign penniless upstart could come and stomp on the dreams of mothers left to clutch their pearls at the prospect there would be no shop window for their daughter to attract a suitable gentleman for marriage. One of my great aunts was over the moon happy that she never would have to go through what she saw as a very silly ceremony because she preferred her muddy wellies to high heels.

A former senior member of the royal household, who spent several years working as one of Prince Philip’s aides, and an old family friend, once told us around a family dinner table that the Duke of Edinburgh was undoubtedly given a sense of permanence by his marriage into the Royal Family that was missing from earlier years. But the royal aide would hastily add that Prince Philip, of course, would never see it that way.

Prince Philip’s attitude was to never brood on things or seek excuses. And he did indeed get on with the job in his own way - there should be no doubt that when it came to building and strengthening the Royal Family it was a partnership of equals with the Queen. Indeed contrary to Netflix’s hugely popular series ‘The Crown’ and its depiction of the royal marriage with Philip’s resentment at playing second fiddle, the prince recognised that his “first duty was to serve the Queen in the best way I could,” as he told ITV in 2011. Though this role was somewhat ill-suited to his dynamic, driven, and outspoken temperament, Philip performed it with utter devotion.

3. Prince Philip’s legacy

One could argue rightly that modernising the monarchy was his lasting legacy achievement. But he also tried to modernise a spent and exhausted Britain as it emerged from a ruinous war. When peace came, and with it eventual economic recovery, Philip would throw himself into the construction of a better Britain, urging the country to adopt scientific methods, embracing the ideas of industrial design, planning, education and training. A decade before Harold Wilson talked of the "white heat of the technological revolution", Philip was urging modernity on the nation in speeches and interviews. He was on top of his reading of the latest scientific breakthroughs and well read in break out innovations.

This interest in modernisation was only matched by his love for nature. As the country and the world became richer and consumed ever more, Philip warned of the impact on the environment, well before it was even vaguely fashionable. As president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the UK for more than 20 years from 1961, he was one of the first high-profile advocates of the cause of conservation and biological diversity at a time when it was considered the preserve of an eccentric few.

For a generation of school children in Britain and the Commonwealth though, his most lasting legacy and achievement will be the Duke of Edinburgh Awards (DofE). He set up the Duke of Edinburgh award, a scheme aimed at getting young people out into nature in search of adventure or be of service to their communities. It was a scheme that could match the legacy of Baden Powell’s scouts movement.

When Prince Philip first outlined his idea of a scheme to harness the values of his education at Gordonstoun by bringing character-building outdoor pursuits to the many rather than the fee-paying few, he received short shrift from the government of the day. The then minister of education, Sir David Eccles responded to the Duke’s proposal by saying: “I hear you’re trying to invent something like the Hitler Youth.” Undeterred he pushed on until it came to fruition.

I’m so glad that he did. I remember how proud I was for getting my DofE Awards while I was at boarding school. With the support of great mentors I managed to achieve my goals: collecting second-hand English books for a literacy programme for orphaned street children in Delhi, India with a close Indian school friend and her family; and completing a 350 mile hike following St. Olav’s Pilgrimmage Trail from Selånger, on the east coast of Sweden, and ending at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, on the west coast of Norway.

It continues to be an enduring legacy. Since its launch in 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh awards have been bestowed upon some 2.5 million youngsters in Britain and some eight million worldwide. For a man who once referred to himself as a “Greek princeling of no consequence”, his pioneering tutelage of these two organisations (alongside some 778 other organisations of which he was either president or a patron) would be sufficient legacy for most.

4. Prince Philip’s character

It may surprise some but what I liked most about Prince Philip was the very thing that helped him achieve so much and leave a lasting legacy: his character.

It is unhelpful to the caricature of Prince Philip as an unwavering but pugnacious consort whose chief talent was a dizzying facility in off-colour one-liners that he was widely read and probably the cleverest member of his family.

His private library at Windsor consists of 11,000 tomes, among them 200 volumes of poetry. He was a fan of Jung, TS Eliot, Shakespeare and the cookery writer Elizabeth David. As well as a lifelong fascination with science, technology and sport, he spoke fairly fluent French, painted and wrote a well received book on birds. It’s maddening to think how many underestimated his genuine intellect and how cultured he was behind the crusty exterior.

He didn’t have an entourage to fawn around him. He was the first to own a computer at Buckingham Palace. He answered his own phone and wrote and responded to his own correspondence. By force of character he fought the old guard courtiers at every turn to modernise the monarchy against their stubborn resistance.

Prince Philip was never given to self-analysis or reflection on the past. Various television interviewers tried without success to coerce him in to commenting on his legacy.But once when his guard was down he asked on the occasion of his 90th birthday what he was more proud of, he replied with characteristic bluntness: “I couldn’t care less. Who cares what I think about it, I mean it’s ridiculous.”

All of which neatly raises the profound aversion to fuss and the proclivity for tetchiness often expressed in withering put-downs that, for better or worse, will be the reflex memory for many of the Duke of Edinburgh. If character is a two edged sword so what of his gaffes?

There is no doubt his cult status partly owed to his so-called legendary gaffes, of which there are enough to fill a book (indeed there is a book). But he was no racist. None of the Commonwealth people or foreign heads of state ever said this about him. Only leftist republicans with too much Twitter time on their hands screamed such a ridiculous accusation. They’re just overly sensitive snowflakes and being devoid of any humour they’re easily triggered.

There was the time that Philip accepted a gift from a local in Kenya, telling her she was a kind woman, and then adding: “You are a woman, aren’t you?” Or the occasion he remarked “You managed not to get eaten, then?” to a student trekking in Papua New Guinea. Then there was his World Wildlife Fund speech in 1986, when he said: “If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.” Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Philip quickly developed a reputation for what he once defined, to the General Dental Council, as “dentopedology – the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it”. Clearly he could laugh at himself as he often did as an ice breaker to put others at ease.

His remarking to the president of Nigeria, who was wearing national dress, “You look like you’re ready for bed”, or advising British students in China not to stay too long or they would end up with “slitty eyes”, is probably best written off as ill-judged humour. Telling a photographer to “just take the fucking picture” or declaring “this thing open, whatever it is”, were expressions of exasperation or weariness with which anyone might sympathise.

Above all, he was also capable of genuine if earthy wit, saying of his horse-loving daughter Princess Anne: “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay she isn’t interested.” Many people might have thought it but few dared say it. If Prince Philip’s famous gaffes provoked as much amusement as anger, it was precisely because they seem to give voice to the bewilderment and pent-up frustrations with which many people viewed the ever-changing modern world.

A former royal protection officer recounts how while on night duty guarding a visiting Queen and consort, he engaged in conversation with colleagues on a passing patrol. It was 2am and the officer had understood the royal couple to be staying elsewhere in the building until a window above his head was abruptly slammed open and an irate Prince Philip stuck his head out of the window to shout: “Would you fuck off!” Without another word, he then shut the window.

The Duke at least recognised from an early age that he was possessed of an abruptness that could all too easily cross the line from the refreshingly salty to crass effrontery.

One of his most perceptive biographers, Philip Eade, recounted how at the age of 21 the prince wrote a letter to a relation whose son had recently been killed in combat. He wrote: “I know you will never think much of me. I am rude and unmannerly and I say things out of turn which I realise afterwards must have hurt someone. Then I am filled with remorse and I try to put matters right.”

In the case of the royal protection officer, the Duke turned up in the room used by the police officers when off duty and said: “Terribly sorry about last night, wasn’t quite feeling myself.”

Aides have also ventured to explain away some of their employer’s more outlandish remarks - from asking Cayman islanders “You are descended from pirates aren’t you?” to enquiring of a female fashion writer if she was wearing mink knickers - as the price of his instinctive desire to prick the pomposity of his presence with a quip to put others at ease.

Indeed many people forget that his ‘gaffes’ were more typical of the clubbish humour of the British officer class – which of course would be less appreciated, sometimes even offensive, to other ears. It’s why he could relate so well to veterans who enjoyed his bonhomie company immensely.

But behind the irascibility, some have argued there also lay a darker nature, unpleasantly distilled in his flinty attitude to his eldest son. One anecdote tells of how, in the aftermath of the murder of the Duke’s uncle and surrogate father, Lord Mountbatten, Philip lectured his son, who was also extremely fond of his “honorary grandfather”, that he was not to succumb to self-pity. Charles left the room in tears and when his father was asked why he had spoken to his son with so little compassion, the Duke replied: “Because if there’s any crying to be done I want it to happen within this house, in front of his family, not in public. He must be toughened up, right now.”

But here I would say that Prince Philip’s intentions were almost always sincere and in no way cruel. He has always tried to protect his family - even from their own worst selves or from those outside the family ‘firm’ who may not have their best interest at heart.

In 1937, a 16-year-old Prince Philip had walked behind his elder sister Cecile’s coffin after she was killed in a plane crash while heavily pregnant. The remains of newly-born infant found in the wreckage suggested the aircraft had perished as the pilot sought to make an emergency landing in fog as the mother entered childbirth. It was an excruciating taste of tragedy which would one day manifest itself in a very princely form of kindness that was deep down that defined Philip’s character.

When about 60 years later Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spin doctors in Downing Street tried to strong arm the Queen and the royal household over the the arrangements for the late Prince Diana’s funeral, it was Philip who stepped in front to protect his family. The Prime Minister and his media savvy spin doctors wanted the two young princes, William and Harry, to walk behind the coffin.

The infamous exchange was on the phone during a conference call between London and Balmoral, and the emotional Philip was reportedly backed by the Queen. The call was witnessed by Anji Hunter, who worked for Mr Blair. She said how surprised she was to hear Prince Philip’s emotion. ‘It’s about the boys,” he cried, “They’ve lost their mother”. Hunter thought to herself, “My God, there’s a bit of suffering going on up there”.’

Sky TV political commentator Adam Boulton (Anji Hunter’s husband) would write in his book Tony’s Ten Years: ‘The Queen relished the moment when Philip bellowed over the speakerphone from Balmoral, “Fuck off. We are talking about two boys who have just lost their mother”. Boulton goes on to say that Philip: ‘…was trying to remind everyone that human feelings were involved. No 10 were trying to help the Royals present things in the best way, but may have seemed insensitive.’

In the end the politicians almost didn’t get their way. Prince Philip stepped in to counsel his grandson, Prince William, after he had expressed a reluctance to follow his mother’s coffin after her death in Paris. Philip told the grieving child: “If you don’t walk, I think you’ll regret it later. If I walk, will you walk with me?”

It’s no wonder he was sought as a counsellor by other senior royals and especially close to his grandchildren, for whom he was a firm favourite. His relationship with Harry was said to have become strained, however, following the younger Prince’s decision to reject his royal inheritance for a life away from the public eye in America with his new American wife, Meghan Markle. For Prince Philip I am quite sure it went against all the elder Prince had lived his life by - self-sacrifice for the greater cause of royalty.

This is the key to Philip’s character and in understanding the man. The ingrained habits of a lifetime of duty and service in one form or another were never far away.

In conclusion then....

After more time passes I am sure historians will make a richer reassessment of Prince Philip’s life and legacy. Because Prince Philip was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life; a life intimately connected with the sweeping changes of our turbulent 20th Century, a life of fascinating contrast and contradiction, of service and some degree of solitude. A complex, clever, eternally restless man that not even the suffocating protocols of royalty and tradition could bind him.

Although he fully accepted the limitations of public royal service, he did not see this as any reason for passive self-abnegation, but actively, if ironically, identified with his potentially undignified role. It is this bold and humorous embrace of fated restriction which many now find irksome: one is no longer supposed to mix public performance with private self-expression in quite this manner.

Yet such a mix is authentically Socratic: the proof that the doing of one’s duty can also be the way of self-fulfilment. The Duke’s sacrifice of career to romance and ceremonial office is all the more impressive for his not hiding some annoyance. The combination of his restless temperament and his deeply felt devotion to duty found fruitful expression; for instance, in the work of Saint George’s House Windsor - a centre and retreat that he created with Revd. Robin Woods - in exploring religious faith, philosophy, and contemporary issues.

Above all he developed a way to be male that was both traditional and modern. He served one woman with chivalric devotion as his main task in life while fulfilling his public engagements in a bold and active spirit. He eventually embraced the opportunity to read and contemplate more. And yet, he remained loyal to the imperatives of his mentor Kurt Hahn in seeking to combine imagination with action and religious devotion with practical involvement.

Prince Philip took more pride in the roles he had accidentally inherited than in the personal gifts which he was never able fully to develop. He put companionship before self-realisation and acceptance of a sacred symbolic destiny before the mere influencing of events. In all these respects he implicitly rebuked our prevailing meritocracy which over-values officially accredited attainment, and our prevailing narcissism which valorises the assertion of discrete identities.

Prince Philip was Britain’s longest-serving consort. He was steadfast, duty driven, and a necessary adjunct to the continuity and stability of the Queen and the monarchy. Of all the institutions that have lost the faith of the British public in this period - the Church, Parliament, the media, the police - the Monarchy itself has surprisingly done better than most at surviving, curiously well-adapted to a period of societal change and moral anarchy. The House of Hanover and later Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (changed to Windsor), since their arrival in this country in 1714, have been noted above all for their ability to adapt. And just as they survived the Victorian age by transforming themselves into the bourgeoise, domestic ideal, so they have survived the new Elizabethan era (Harry-Meghan saga is just a passing blip like the Edward-Wallis Simpson saga of the 1930s).

There was once a time when the Royal’s German blood was a punchline for crude and xenophobic satirists. Now it is the royals who are deeply British while the country itself is increasingly cosmopolitan and globalised. British society has seen a greater demographic change than the preceding four or five thousand years combined, the second Elizabethan age has been characterised more than anything by a transformational movement of people. Prince Philip, the Greek-born, Danish-German persecuted and destitute wanderer who came to become one of the Greatest Britons of the past century, perhaps epitomised that era better than anyone else. And he got through it by making a joke of everything, and by being practical.

I hope I don’t exaggerate when I say that in our troubled times over identity, and our place and purpose in the world, we need to heed his selfless example more than ever.

As Heraclitus wisely said, Ήθος ανθρώπω δαίμων (Character is destiny.)

RIP Prince Philip. You were my prince. God damn you, I miss you already.

Thanks for your question.

#question #ask #prince philip #duke of edinburgh #queen elizabeth II #the queen of spades #monarchy #britain #british #royalty #politics #history #culture #europe #crown #icon #great briton #society

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purplesurveys · 4 years ago

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1183

survey by xflirtykaosx

Alphabetti Spaghetti (1/3)

And we will fall in love with shooting stars. - A

Have you ever seen an Aardvark? I don’t think so.

Were you ever abandoned in a public place as a child? Where? Abandoned is a pretty harsh word lol. My parents did like playing pranks on me and hide whenever I’d get distracted at the grocery or department store. They’d let me get nervous or even tear up for a bit until showing up again.

What accent do you have? I guess just your standard Filipino English accent that’s common among people who were able to take up English studies. I don’t really know how to describe it.

Is there someone in your family addicted to something? What is it? I don’t think so.

Have you ever been under general anaesthetic? What were you having done? I think so? When I had a tooth extraction done on me two years ago I was told I was going to be injected with anaesthesia, but I didn’t feel as if anything changed throughout the procedure. Either my dentist told me fake news lol or he’s just really good at his job for me to not notice anything.

How do you show the ones you love affection? It depends on the person. Around my friends, I know I’ve had taken a liking to them once I start getting especially talkative with them. For people I have even deeper relationships with, I like...buying them gifts, I guess. Getting them things that remind me of them. I would also bend over backwards to do nice deeds for them, like driving them to their destination even if I find it far.

Are you more passive or aggressive? I tend to be very passive aggressive in the way I deal with things.

Do you like the band Aha!? Not in particular.

Do you know anyone called Aidan? What are they like? Nope.

Ever heard of the band Ajax? No but I know that’s a brand of like cleaner or something. That’s close enough to ‘band’ haha.

Do you know anyone called Akash? I don’t either.

Do the sound of fire alarms scare you? They would obviously be scary if it rang for a real reason. Who wouldn’t freak out over a fire?

Do you live in America? If so, which state? If visited, where'd you go? No, and I’ve never visited either. I’d love to take a trip to cities like New York, New Orleans, Portland, and Chicago one of these days.

Have you ever had an ant infestation in your house? Only when there’s food left out accidentally.

Aora - did I spell that correctly? I don’t even know what you’re referring to, so I can’t tell you if you’ve spelled whatever it is right.

Do you have a preference in Apple? What type do you prefer? I don’t quite get this question - like a preference within Apple products? I mean, a phone and a laptop are essentials for me, and generally I do prefer having an iPhone and Macbook over other brands; but I can live without an iPad, an Apple Watch, iMac, Apple Pen, etc...if this is what you mean.

Are you an Aquarian? Is anyone in your family/your partner/best friend? ...You mean Aquarius? No. I don’t believe in astrology nor pay attention to zodiac signs either, so I wouldn’t be able to name Aquariuses that I know right off the bat.

Have you ever worn any type of armor? Which type? I don’t think I’ve ever had to, no.

Do you use the word ass a lot? Kinda, but it’s usually part of a longer word, i.e. asshole, asshat, deadass, etc.

Have you or your family had an attorney? What for? Not to my knowledge.

Is your car/family’s car an automatic gear or manual? Automatic.

Are you interested in aviation, piloting and aircrafts? Just the slightest bit. I would love to learn how to fly a plane, and I would be willing to pay for lessons. It’s just the type of activity that’s super hard to squeeze into an already-hectic schedule of mine.

What was the last award you recieved for? A academic distinction in college.

Axl Rose - like or dislike? Like, but I’m nowhere near a passionate fan. I just don’t have any reasons to actively dislike him.

Do you like air being spelt ayre or ayer in rap or hiphop or is it nasty? I don’t care.

Is the sky outside Azure? If not, what shade is it? No, it’s pitch black.

Belle amour (we've been here before). - B

Do you call anyone baby? Is it sweet or an overrated name for affection? Just my dogs. I find it sweet; it’s my preferred term of endearment if in a relationship.

Bby - does this shortened version bug you? No; my friends and I use this with each other.

Do you know what BC in terms of time stands for? Before Christ, but I prefer using BCE.

BDf - For or against? I don’t know what this is referring to.

Do you prefer beach breaks, city breaks or winter breaks? Why? Beach breaks. Winter break is an immediate cross-out since we don’t even have winter; and I already live and work in an urban area as it is. Beaches are my way to go if I want to escape life for a bit and completely unwind.

Do you spell out boyfriend properly or put bf in texts/online? I can use either depending on what I feel like typing out. It’s not that serious haha.

Do you know what bg is short for? Upon reading this question I immediately thought ‘background,’ but if this question had another meaning in mind I wouldn’t be aware of it.

Do you know anyone with the last name Bhays? No.

Have you ever been bird watching? What did you see? No, doesn’t sound like my kind of hobby.

Do you like Bjork? Not in particular, but just like the Axl Rose question I don’t have anything against her either.

What does this read: bk 2moz miss u lyk fk. Doesn't this text speak annoy? No one types like this anymore at least among people I know, but I imagine it would lowkey bother me a bit.

Do you like BMWs? They’re whatever. I don’t pay attention to cars much.

What is the nearest book to you called? How many times have you read it? There aren’t any books here up on the rooftop.

BnQ - gone there? What did you buy? Idk what that is.

Are you more brainy or brave? I wanna say brainy, if anything? I’m pretty jumpy lol.

Did you like the BSBs (Backstreet Boys) as a kid? How about now? No, I’m a little too young for that generation of artists and groups.

Burgers, Hot Dogs or Salads at a Barbecue? We don’t really practice ~barbecues~ here. But at Filipino parties I would usually flock to lumpia and fried chicken, hehe.

Do you have a Byro? No, because I also don’t know what that is.

Cold eyes and filthy lies all leave me petrified. - C

Do you have a Cactus (Cacti)? No, I don’t like plans.

Do you know what a CCTV is? Yes...?

How many CDs are in the room you are currently in? None where I am right now but I have all of Beyoncé’s albums save for Lemonade in my bedroom. I also have Paramore’s self-titled album and Hayley Williams’ Petals For Armor. My CD collection is about to experience a revival because of BTS, though. My plan to get all versions of all their albums is rock solid, lmao.

What's your favourite cereal brand? Cookie Crisps.

Do you like children's TV shows still? Which one(s)? I’ll revisit an episode or two of shows I watched as a kid at a given time for old times’ sake, but I don’t regularly watch children’s TV shows anymore. I haven’t for a very long time.

Cinnamon - Yum or Yuck? I’m actually kind of in the middle about it. I feel like too many desserts have been banking on cinnamon, so the taste of it can be a little tiring. It’s delicious if I haven’t had it for a while, though.

Do you know anyone with the initials and or name CJ? Quite the opposite; I know PLENTY of JCs, even my sister is one. I know one or two CJs but that’s it.

Have you ever met a self professed clairvoyant? What did they do/say? No.

Do you watch CNN News? What's your prefered news channel/show? I don’t tune into the channel but every once in a while I will encounter a CNN link on social media that I’d actually click on and read through. As for preferred news sources, I don’t have one as there are matters to criticize about 99% of them lol; but I am most likely to trust articles I from AP or Reuters. Just things you pick up as a journalism student.

How many cousins do you have? I have 9 first cousins. I lose count by the time I try to go beyond that since I don’t even know all of my dad’s cousins, which makes it hard to track who my second cousins are.

Do you still draw with crayons? When was the last time you did? Drew what? I don’t remember anymore.

Do you know what a CSS feed is? What is it? I’m familiar with the term but never bothered to learn about what it is.

Do you like cycling/biking? What type of bike do you have? ...I don’t even know how to ride a bike.

Do you really like it, is it is it wicked. - D

What is the most dangerous animal you've petted/held? I can’t decide between snake or crocodile.

Do you like Death Metal? If so, which band(s)? I wouldn’t say I do.

Did you ever keep a diary/journal? I did a million attempts to keep a diary when I was younger, but I was never able to keep up with any of them and I ended up having 4598358395 notebooks with one or two entries each at most. Having a Tumblr page for surveys has so far been my most successful streak at keeping some type of journal.

Do you prefer small, medium, large or no dogs? I prefer all dogs.

Do you know what DP stands for in porn? Yes.

Have you ever dressed up as a celebrity for a party/Halloween? I went as my favorite female wrestler once. I wouldn’t strictly call her a celebrity, but she’s a very well-known personality in the wrestling industry so she’s popular in that right.

DS or Wii? Why? Wii. I was able to make more memories with it.

Does dust make you sneeze or cough? Sneeze, usually.

How many DVDs do you have all together? Idk, I don’t buy DVDs anymore.

Do you dye your hair regularly, sometimes or never? I’ve never done it.

Every love lies sometimes . . . - E

What's something you refuse to eat? Most fruits.

Don't you think the word ebb is so pretty? I’m neutral about it. I don’t use it a lot.

Do you like Chocolate Eclairs? I love eclairs in general haha. Chocolate eclairs in particular sound delicious.

Ever tried edible paper? Yeah, with the White Rabbit candy.

Eevee - pretty name or too Pokemon-y? Definitely very Pokemon-y.

Do you sometimes mix up the spellings/meanings of affection and defection? Erm, no? They have completely different spellings and meanings, so I personally have never switched them up.

Do you have a big ego, low self esteem or somewhere in between? I think I’m somewhere in between. I’m insecure about some things about myself, but I don’t really put myself down 24/7. I feel like that would put such a strain on my mental health, which I certainly would never need.

What Element does your starsign fall under? I think earth? My co-workers were just discussing this last Friday, but I couldn’t really butt in since I can’t bring myself to care about astrology. I know they mentioned Taurus being an earth sign though.

Do you show your emotions easily and freely or hide them? Depends...I can do either depending on the situation.

What is your favourite form of entertainment? Korean reality shows are quickly becoming a favorite of mine at the moment. I also like compilation videos on YouTube.

What will they write on your epitaph? I’ve honestly hadn’t put much thought into this yet, and I don’t plan to anytime soon. It just seems like a super grave thing to think about lol.

Estimate/guess what number we are on now? Maybe 60s or 70s?

Do you know basic social etiquette? I mean etiquette will always differ per country or culture, so what is basic in other countries might not be here, and vice versa. I think it’s hard to measure.

Does your country use the Euro, Great British Pound, Dollar or other? Other.

Do you still get excited on Christmas Eve? Yes. Mostly for the free food and the opportunity to see relatives I really only ever see every December 24.

What animal/creature that is extinct do you wish wasn't? Those that went extinct from human activity.

What colour eyes do your parents have? Black/dark brown.

#survey #surveys

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softdreems · 4 years ago

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Get To Know The Writer!

REPOST DON’T REBLOG

——— BASICS! ♡

(PEN)NAME: Pup/Jacson

PRONOUNS: He/they

ZODIAC SIGN: uh............ *shrug emoji*

TAKEN OR SINGLE: sadly single

——— THREE FACTS! ♡

I’m in school to be an english as a foreign language teacher

I am generally a disaster of mental and physical health

I love listening to music and random youtube videos but often times I have to pause them when writing because I lose track of what I’m thinking when specific words are said

——— EXPERIENCE! ♡

So there was this little site called FooPets... I was eleven... I was introduced to it by one of my friends at the time Amanda and just never left. Moved to ChickenSmoothie when the FooPets forms were taken down and spent like 4+ years on that site, doing a little bit of twitter rp at the same time, and then ended up moving here when I realized 99% of the rpers on there were like.... fourteen and it became kinda uncomfortable. I’ve just never left honestly haha. Still go back to ChickenSmoothie from time to time just to do some small group rps though because I love the dynamic. So far I’ve been rping for a little over ten years total!

——— MUSE PREFERENCE! ♡

I have a very wide range of characters I adore playing. Anything from the strong quite guy that’s actually very soft to the very squealy soft boy with bad problems. Some of my favorite that I currently play are Hyung, Tae, Ah-Yeon, Fi, and Ashley! Though in cases of characters like Ashley I know that they’re to much like a stereotype so feel bad listing them as a character full time.

——— FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡

FLUFF: Love it!! Honeslty fluffy mundane things are such a great way to calm down when I’m feeling pretty shit so I will always live for them.

ANGST: Yes yes yes! Give me the angst! Give me the angst plots that develop into more! Give me the other plots that develop into angst! Give me friendship angst! Couple angst! I don’t know just all the angst!

SMUT: Fun fact this blog originally started as my smut only blog, but it ended up developing because I enjoyed the ships that were developing with the smut so I moved over to using ‘softdreems’ full time. Safe to say I love writing smut, especially with ships that have things going on outside of the smut or ships that are more than aware that they’re mostly together for smut.

PLOT / MEMES: Come to me for plots! While I am selective I am never against trying to do something, long as you’re willing to work with me to develop an idea that’ll work for both of us! I also love memes, so please feel free to send them to me! Even if you’d like to send them on anon I will use the meme/concept from the meme for an open starter!

tagged by: @kitsunewrites

tagging: @lighthousc @smalltownbeans @grinchyletters

#» ) ooc ( « pup speaks

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nostalgiaispeace · 4 years ago

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1755.

GENERAL WOMANHOOD:

1. Do you like the color pink?

yeah

2. How easily do you cry?

very easily

3. What food do you eat the most of when you’re sad?

nothing

4. How often do you experience boob sweat?

too often now

5. What time of month is your time?

the end

6. How moody are you when you are on your period?

very

7. Have you ever thought you were pregnant because your period was late? yeah 8. Have you ever been on the pill? yes 9. Have you ever thought about having children someday? What is your current opinion? yes, i want a baby 10. Have you ever given birth? If not, would you ever want to? no 11. How much do you like decorating for holidays? not really my thing 12. How good of a cook do you consider yourself? an alright one 13. What is your favorite thing to cook? pesto 14. Do you prefer cooking, baking, or both equally? baking 15. Can you sew? i think i still can 16. How feminine do you consider yourself? not very 17. Have you ever been told that you are too girly or feminine? no 18. Do you consider yourself a feminist? not really. 19. How do you define “girl power”? a woman doing what she wants 20. How much of a neat freak are you? not much of one 21. How you ever wished you were born a male? only when i have my period 22. Breastfeeding or formula? both are fine 23. What is your opinion of equal pay? no politics here please 24. What is one profession you think needs more women? - 25. Are you pro-life or pro-choice? pro life 26. Have you ever experienced any sexism? If so, please explain. not that i’m aware of 27. Have you ever been called a blabbermouth or a chatterbox? a chatterbox

28. What is one thing about women you think most men don’t know? idk 29. Is there anything you dislike about being a woman? periods

30. Complete this phrase: I’m so glad I am a woman because ______. i was born this way

LIFE EXPERIENCES:

31. Did you ever play with Barbie dolls as a child?

yes

32. Have you ever dotted lowercase Js and Is with hearts or smiley faces?

probably

33. Have you ever been a Girl Scout?

yeah

34. Have you ever been a ballerina?

35. Have you ever been a cheerleader?

36. Were you ever voted as homecoming or prom queen?

37. Have you ever hosted a sleepover?

yeah

38. Do you belong to a sorority?

39. Have you ever kept a diary or a journal?

yeah

40. At what age did you get your first period?

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:

41. What is the longest your hair has ever been? Would you ever grow it that long again?

to my butt and probably not

42. Have you had a hairstyle above the eyebrows?

43. What hairstyle do you wear the most?

a bun

44. Have you ever died your hair? If so, how often?

yes, not often anymore

45. What is the heaviest you remember ever weighing?

fml

46. How muscular are you?

not at all

47. Do you have any piercings anywhere besides your earlobes?

not anymore

48. Do you have any tattoos? If you, where are they and what are they of?

yes, i have 9 on different parts of my body

49. Do you like wearing lipstick or lip gloss? If so, how often do you wear them?

50. How often do you paint your nails?

i paint my toes when they need to be

51. Have you ever worn any fake nails?

yeah

52. Have you ever worn fake eyelashes?

53. How often do you shave or wax your legs?

whenever

54. How white are your teeth?

they’re fine

55. Have you ever been told that you look like a certain celebrity?

yeah

56. How much do you look like your mother?

idk

57. How much do you look like your father?

i’ve been told i look like him

58. What do you think is your best physical feature?

nothing

59. What do you think is your worst physical feature?

my body

60. How good are you at communicating through facial expressions?

FASHION STYLE: 61. What type of clothing do you own the most of? tshirts 62. How big is your closet? normal sized 63. Have you ever looked through your closet and though “I have nothing to wear”? well yeah 64. What is your favorite fashion brand? i don’t have one 65. Do you wear skirts and dresses at all? If so, how often? dresses and for special occasions 66. What is your dress size? large 67. What is the shortest length of skirts and dresses you are comfortable wearing? knee length 68. How expensive was your prom dress? - 69. What is the most expensive piece of clothing you currently own? my wedding dress 70. Do you wear high heels or stilettos at all? If so, how often? not really 71. Have you ever worn high heels casually? yeah 72. How often do you take an OOTD (outfit of the day) selfie? Never. 73. Have you ever worn the exact same outfit from head to toe more than once? yeah 74. How often do you wear a bra when out in public? lol never 75. How often do you wear a bra when bumming it at home? never 76. When you get home from work, how soon does your bra typically come off? - 77. Have you ever carried a spare bra with you in your purse? No 78. Which are you more likely to go without: A bra or panties? bra 79. Does it matter to you if your bra and panties match or not? no 80. What type of underwear do you typically wear? comfortable ones 81. How much of your underwear is white? a good amount 82. Have you ever carried a spare pair of underwear with you in your purse? no 83. Do you like eyeshadow? Sure 84. Do you like mascara? Yeah 85. How much makeup do you typically wear? ether none or just a little 86. Have you every gone out in public without any makeup on? yes 87. How much jewelry do you typically wear? 2 88. Is there any kind of jewelry you pretty much always wear? my wedding bands 89. Do you carry a purse at all? Yes 90. Do you like tube and halter tops? no 91. Do you like crop tops? no 92. Are you comfortable showing off a little cleavage? no 93. One-piece swimsuits or bikinis? bikinis 94. Does it matter to you if your bikini top matches the bottom? no

WEDDING CRAZE:

95. Have you ever been a bridesmaid? If so, how often?

yes, onces

96. Do you have any desires to get married?

well i am so

97. For how long have you thought about your wedding?

i thought about it for a while

98. How much of your wedding do you have planned out already?

it’s over fam

99. Would you rather have a big or a small wedding?

i had a small one

100. Would you rather have a lot of bridesmaids or just a couple?

i have zero

101. Would you rather have an indoor or an outdoor wedding? Does the same go for the reception?

mine was outdoor

DATING & RELATIONSHIPS:

102. What is your current relationship status?

married

103. What is the longest relationship you’ve ever had?

7 years

104. Do you consider yourself a hopeless romantic at all?

yes

105. Are you a virgin? If not, which gender did you lose your virginity to?

no, male

106. What personality trait are you most attracted to?

strength

107. Have you ever been on a blind date?

108. Has anyone you know ever tried to set you up on a date?

yeah

109. Do you use any dating apps? If so, have they ever worked out for you?

110. Do you kiss on the first date?

111. How often do guys hit on you?

not often

112. Have women ever hit on you?

yeah

114. Have you ever kissed another woman while sober? If so, did you like it?

yes and no

115. Have you ever dated another woman?

116. After how long of dating do you typically consider a relationship to be serious?

idk

117. Would you rather your lover give you chocolate, flowers, both, or something else?

chocolate

118. Are you friends with any of your exes?

yes

119. Is sex before marriage wrong?

technically

ENTERTAINMENT: 120. What celebrity do you most admire and why? Lana 121. Do you like romantic comedies? Do you have any favorites? yes, the holiday 122. Do you have a favorite romantic movie? yes 123. Who is your favorite Disney princess? Belle 124. What is your favorite Disney song? don’t have one 125. Do you watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette? No 126. Have you ever watched Sex & The City? I have not 127. Have you ever watched any shows such as Project Runway or America’s Next Top Model? ANTM 128. Do you like watching any beauty pageants such as Miss America? no 129. Do you like watching the red carpet arrivals before award ceremonies? duh 130. Beyonce or Taylor Swift? neither 131. Oprah Winfrey or Ellen DeGeneres? neither

A PILE OF RANDOMNESS: 132. Are you named after anyone? No 133. How many male friends do you have? 3 134. Have you ever been considered the mother of your group of friends? no 135. Have you ever called your friend friends your ‘girlfriends’? no 136. Have you ever called a non-lover a term such as honey, babe, dear, or darling? no 137. How many items do you own that are of a floral print design? none i don’t think 138. Have you ever scoffed at something because you thought it wasn’t feminine enough? no 139. How healthy do you eat? not that healthy 140. What is your preferred way to carry a purse: Clutched in your hand, on your elbow, or on your shoulder? shoulder 141. Besides you phone, money, wallet, and keys, name five things you always have with you in your purse. chapstick, mask, fidget, pen, shopping list

142. Have you ever lost anything inside your purse? yes 143. Have you ever used your bra or your cleavage as a purse or a pocket? no 144. Do you consider shopping a sport no 145. Do you shop more in physical walk-in stores or online? online 146. What is the most amount of money you remember ever spending in one single shopping trip? a couple hundred 147. How often do you have a girls’ night out? never

148. Do you prefer coffee or tea? coffee 149. How polite do you consider yourself? i hope decently polite 150. Can you do the splits? No 151. Do you like doing any yoga? no 152. Have you ever been told that you have cute handwriting? i don’t think so 153. How well can you write in cursive? well enough 154. Have you ever successfully been on a diet? no 155. Do you currently or have you ever belonged to a book club? no 156. Have you ever talked yourself out of a driving ticked by using your looks? No. 157. Have you ever drunk a non-alcoholic beverage from a wine glass? no 158. Do you prefer showers or baths? Showers 159. Have you ever snorted while laughing? yeah 160. How strict are you about manners? a normal amount

#me #survey

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themagiciansreccenter · 6 years ago

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Author Spotlight: @hoteldestiel

Every week we are going to be interviewing a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

Yo! I’m Tor, 20s, pansexual, emotional about too many things, obsessive about characterization, and a sucker for chaotic goods and theater gays. Words are, for lack of a better way of describing it, my everything. They get me through the darkest times and help me celebrate the lightest ones. Creating worlds, and making people feel with what I create… there is no way (that I’ve found yet) to properly explain how much it all means to me.

How long have you been writing for?

My grandpa tells me I’ve been writing stories since I could form sentences. I believe him. I have a little “book” I wrote in kindergarten about a princess who refused to be “saved” when the prince showed up so clearly strong female characters have been my jam for like, ever. Honestly, it’s been my Defining Thing for as long as I can remember.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

The depth in the characters, the depth of the relationships, the real way it tackles mental illness and trauma. The emotional rawness of the show. It’s all a fanfic writer’s dream tbh.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Eliot is my bb. He’s so much more complex and deep and dark and twisty than he gets credit for, but I think what I love most is the way he’s willing to fall on the sword for those he loves a thousand times over. He doesn’t want to be the hero, necessarily, but he refuses to let those he cares about down, and I dunno, that just breaks my heart into a trillion pieces. I also really like writing Fen, again, I think she’s a lot more layered than she gets credit for a lot of the time, and I like exploring that.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

Not yet. I’m obsessed with the mosaic, but I love exploring where they are at different points in the series as well. Check back with me in like a month when I’m officially dying about season 4 and just need to write my way out of that hell hole of emotion ;)

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

I am! I’m continuing to work on my multi-chap mosaic/canon divergent fic, Peaches and Plums, and I’ve got several oneshots in the work, some POV studies of an emotional scene, a who-knows-what-it’ll-turn-into where the monster can key into Eliot’s attraction to Quentin, and of course my 39 Graves timeline.

How long is your “to do list”?

Embarrassingly long lol. There’s so much I want to do!!

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Peaches and Plums is my baby right now. It’s the first Magicians fic I wrote, and it’s the one that gave me the confidence that I could portray these characters in a true-to-them way. Plus, mosaic flashbacks and an Eliot Depression Monster I mean come on.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

Not yet! I’m still kind of new to the fandom, but I’m sure I’ll have a list before the month’s out haha.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

I write best when I have headphones in and a cup of hot tea or coffee beside me. Whenever possible, I like to write by hand for my first draft. Something about it just gets me in a better flow, and then I get a built-in editing pass when I transfer it to the computer! I don’t know if it’s a superstition or not, but I have a certain kind of pen I like to use most (anything that’s like the sharpie pen), I’m convinced it makes me just a tiny bit more creative.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

So I only started writing between season 3 and 4, but based on my other writing life decisions, I tend to be a slave to the muse. When an idea strikes, I have to at least start drafting. I actually kind of love getting inspired by a cliff hanger or a character development and using that to write my own version of what happens next. Seeing what happens in canon after is a) hilarious and sometimes b) prophetic in which case I feel like a total badass.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

My 39 Graves fic, there’s just so much to balance!

Are there any themes or tropes that you particularly like to explore in your writing?

The found family thing is so my jam, characters dealing with trauma in unexpected and nontraditional ways is another, and the many forms that love can take is another theme I like to explore. It works SO well with these characters and the ways in which they love one another, too.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I mean it’s hard not to be inspired by ohmarqueliot (sorry, had to!), and OneEyedDestroyer (again, had to!) The work they do is so fantastic. I love czarrish (vharmons on Ao3) to death. In the non-fanfiction world, Maggie Stiefvater has floored me time and time again with the way she builds worlds and tension and characters. The woman writes pure poetry.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Fanfiction: Sharing Skin and Modified Aspect Ratio.

Non-fanfiction: The Magicians (look I need as much inspo for this 39 graves fic as I can get!)

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Make people feel something. Also, using “said” 99% of the time as opposed to other speaking descriptors. When you just use “said,” you’re forced to paint their emotions in other ways, and it makes the scene so much more alive.

Cringe time:

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

Chuckling, eyebrow-arching, scoffing, and waving of hands dismissively. I’m CONSTANTLY afraid of overusing those, especially because I write so much from Eliot’s point of view. Honestly, laughter, in general, is a dangerous line I walk. It can become such a space-filler, but I’m working on it!

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

Oh god, I think it was HP fanfic, and it was in like...junior high. So alas, I do not.

Rapid Fire Round:

Self-edit or Beta? Combo, but I LIVE for a beta.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes? Comments! I love seeing what others think of what I’m creating.

Smut, Fluff or Angst? Is all of the above an option? No? Angst probably pulls at me the most.

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn? Slow. Mother. Effin. Burn.

Favourite season? Favourite episode? 3. A Life in the Day

Favourite book(The Magicians books)? I just started the series!

Three favourite words? (this is really freaking hard!) electric, fuck, home

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

#the magicians #the magicians rec center #author spotlight #author spotlight: hoteldestiel

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tannie-bell · 6 years ago

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100 Questions!

thanks to the lovely @chioo92 for sending this my way~! 💕💕💕

edit: putting this under read more bc it’s looooong 😂😂

1. What is you middle name?

Elizabeth

2. How old are you?

3. What is your birthday?

october 16

4. What is your zodiac sign?

libra

5. What is your favorite color?

in general black, but i do really like teal and deep greens

6. What’s your lucky number?

i don't really have one, but i like 13 and 16 and 3116

7. Do you have any pets?

yep! two dogs~

8. Where are you from?

a little italian town in the lower half of illinois

9. How tall are you?

technically 5' 1&¾". please feel free to round up to 5'2"

10. What shoe size are you?

depends on the brand, mostly between 8 and 9 u.s. sizes—they have to be wide though, or i have to get bigger sizes and just deal with the looseness 😅

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

i think 8?? but i only actually wear like 4

12. What was your last dream about?

in the last dream i *actually* remember, i was a character from my wip and she was with her husband in like this cozy, dim-lit room filled with furs and ancient pieces and neat stuff and she was moderately pregnant so i just remember feeling so warm and loved inside. looking back it's kind of weird bc i've never been pregnant or in love romantically, but it's still heartwarming

13. What talents do you have?

um, I bake well i think 😂 so far i haven't had any bad feedback...😅

14. Are you psychic in any way?

nope.

15. Favorite song?

gaaaaaaah why is this always so hard mikrokosmos ~ bts or lucid dream ~ monogram

16. Favorite movie?

singin' in the rain, howl's moving castle, moana, all mcu movies i've seen so far

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

someone who shares my beliefs/morals and who supports my passions/interests (and i would do the same for him). has a few quirks he needs a few to survive me lol and is musical, respectful, and romantic. also has a sense of humor i appreciate and vice versa. there are other qualities, but that's the gist 😂

18. Do you want children?

yes! not necessarily biological though, i am very open to adoption

19. Do you want a church wedding?

most likely yes

20. Are you religious?

it depends on your definition of religious. in the sense of believing in a particular faith/religion, then yes

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

yes 😫

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

nope!

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

if you count the drummer from a now-disbanded band, then yes

24. Baths or showers?

showers most times

25. What color socks are you wearing?

plain white—they're extra thick ones though! 😁

26. Have you ever been famous?

in what sense? 😂 locally or within a specific community of people, then i think so??

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

nope. i used to dream about what it would be like, but i seriously value my privacy and i would feel like i had none if i was famous

28. What type of music do you like?

pretty much anything and everything—except country 😅😂

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

nope...

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

three

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

this weird twisted position on my side. it usually ends with my shoulders hurting 😅😅

32. How big is your house?

it's decently large, but we just updated our tiny two bedroom, one bathroom house (for five people for 15+ years 😳) to a five bed, two bath with an open living area/dining room/kitchen. we made it big enough to accommodate both sides of my family around the holidays (bc we have a decently large family that's only growing 😂)

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

cereal or a fruit smoothie with either coffee or black tea (preferably earl grey) assuming i even eat breakfast

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

not yet, but i would eventually like to! thinking about a concealed carry permit as well depending on circumstances

35. Have you ever tried archery?

yess, and i love it!! it always makes me feel like some woodland elf heroine or something 😂

36. Favorite clean word?

like just regular words? pretty much any soft-sounding, flowy word with l’s, like melody or lucent

37. Favorite swear word?

i don't swear so none

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

like 36-ish hours

39. Do you have any scars?

yep

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

...not that I'm aware of??

41. Are you a good liar?

.....i do my best to be honest, but.....i can be....😅 just don't tell my mom

42. Are you a good judge of character?

i think so? i'm not going to be right 100% obviously, but most of the time i think i am

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

yeah, but they're not very good 😂

44. Do you have a strong accent?

depends on where you're from tbh

45. What is your favorite accent?

i reeeaaally like australian accents...

46. What is your personality type?

INFP-T

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

a top and skirt set someone i know bought for a wedding and never wore again. i think she paid $100+ for it?? so i got it for nothing which was amazing

48. Can you curl your tongue?

yep!

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

innie~

50. Left or right handed?

right~

51. Are you scared of spiders?

most of the time no

52. Favorite food?

i'm just gonna go with italian beef with mozzarella bc it always sounds good

53. Favorite foreign food?

ramen, bingsu, turkish delight, gulab jamun, and this one chicken rice dish that i have no idea what it's called but it's a.maz.ing.

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

in general? clean. my room? the best way to describe it is definitely-not-so-organized chaos

55. Most used phrase?

oh my goodness or oh my word

56. Most used word?

like or eyyy

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

......depends. literally anywhere from 5 to 45+ mins...

58. Do you have much of an ego?

i don't think so

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

both

60. Do you talk to yourself?

if i didn't i'd go insane

61. Do you sing to yourself?

^ see above

62. Are you a good singer?

i'm decent if my vocal chords are warmed up enough 😂

63. Biggest Fear?

failing/disappointing others. that and falling from heights

64. Are you a gossip?

no. i do my best not to be, anyway

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

i literally don't know what's considered dramatic anymore

66. Do you like long or short hair?

for my hair? long

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

give me a piece of paper and a pen and yeah 😂

68. Favorite school subject?

english and music

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

introvert~

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

nope

71. What makes you nervous?

being put on the spot

72. Are you scared of the dark?

not really, but it also depends on where i'm at and who's around

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

if it's one of my really close friends I'll jokingly correct their grammar, but that's it

74. Are you ticklish?

.......sometimes.

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

a couple times, yeah

77. Have you ever drank underage?

78. Have you ever done drugs?

79. Who was your first real crush?

this one kid when i was like four or five. his name is tyler. he actually just got married! random i know

80. How many piercings do you have?

none

81. Can you roll your Rs?”

no 😥

82. How fast can you type?

not terribly

83. How fast can you run?

slower than my 70 lb. dog

84. What color is your hair?

dark brown with some blonde and red hints

85. What color is your eyes?

dark chocolate so brown

86. What are you allergic to?

pollen 😥 i think i also have oral allergy syndrome (but that's purely self-diagnosed 😂), so there's that too

87. Do you keep a journal?

i have the past couple weeks for a class, but otherwise no

88. What do your parents do?

my mom is a nurse and my dad is a letter carrier

89. Do you like your age?

ehh, ish

90. What makes you angry?

things taken out of context of conversations, situations, etc. and twisted to portray something else entirely

91. Do you like your own name?

yes~

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

yes! these are just some of my favorites

for girls: lacie everest, elizabeth marie, roselyn chae (or chaela rose)

for boys: vincent alexandre, killian gray, quinton james

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

both~!

94. What are you strengths?

um....i'm very musical 😂

95. What are your weaknesses?

i procrastinate too much and i don't really know how to work on a project with a group

96. How did you get your name?

my mom knew someone with the name (but they shortened it). she later found out that my dad's great- or great-great-grandmother had the same name

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

like seeeeeeeeveral hundred years back, but yes

98. Do you have any scars?

some

99. Color of your bedspread?

off-white/cream and a purple-y maroon

100. Color of your room?

off-white/cream

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

not tagging anyone bc this is like super long 😂😂 if you see this and want to fill it out, go ahead! you brave soul 😂

#thank you~!!#gtkm #if you read the whole thing #i admire your tenacity

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killerqueenjoy · 6 years ago

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99 Question Tag

okay okay I know i got tagged to do this like a month ago on my main blog by @santonicababy iM SORRY LIN ILY BUT THIS WAS SO DAMN LONG

1) DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED

I sleep in the room where everybodies closets are and they all gotta be closed goddamn do you know how spooky it is to even have one open during the night

2) DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS

my parents do, but alas I don't use them in case they have silicones or sulphates in them because I got a whole lotta curls to protect

3)DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT?

if this refers to the sheet protecting the mattress, then my answer is in because how the fuck would you be able to sleep with that moving around???

4) HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE

NO SORRY IM BORING

5)DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST IT NOTES

heck yeah, but for random shit

6) DO YOU EVER CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM

nee my parents are fancy fuckers who use the coupons on their phone (our local supermarket has a damn app skskksksk)

7) WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES

a bear because its one giant son of a bitch and not millions of tiny motherfuckers and also I've never been stung by a bee and intend to keep it that way because majority of my family seem to be allergic

8) DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES

nope! I have a couple beauty spots on my hands and face but thats kinda it

9) DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES

not really but if I've been told to smile then its 200% dead inside

10) WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE

i find many things annoying

11)DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK

only when i go up and down stairs, but i also try to make sure i step with each foot equally (if that makes sense) and i step on only certain colour tiles when im bored

12) HAVE YOU EVER PEED IN THE WOODS

the real question is have i ever been in the woods? both answers are no

13) HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS

refer to question 12

14)ummmm idk what this question is meant to be curse you Lin

15)DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS

nope, the idea weirds me out

16) HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK

none, this week and in general

17) WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED

one person and a long yet smol doggo size

18) WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK

Eddie from the Rocky Horror Picture Show has been stuck in my head for the whole week so yeah i guess that

19)IS IT OKAY FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK

HeLL YEAH DUDE HAVE YOU SEEN RAMI MALEK IN PINK

SKSKSKSKS END MY LIFE

but yeah, anyone can wear anything they want to wear (although a suit made out of meat might not be wise)

20) DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS

dudeeeee scooby doo and tom and jerry are my jam I watch them on the regular (among other things)

21)WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE MOVIE

uhhm idkkkkk I tend to repress bad movies sksksk

22)WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME

idk shove it in the closet ig at least it will be hidden behind my sexuality

23)WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER

I usually only drink before or after but ig water??? cooldrink if I'm in a restaurant

24)WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN

depends on the nug

25)WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD

How dare you assume i only have one favourite

tbh it depends cos i love pizza and pasta and stuff but then i cannot live with my granny's curries ksksmks

26) WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE

borhap, sing street, rhps, the natm movies, the harry potter movies, any mcu movies

27)LAST PERSON YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU

ahhahahahahahha bold of you to assume anyone wants to do that

28) WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT

nope but I was a catrobat which is basically my preschools acrobatics team that was actually really terrible

29)WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE

nahh m8

30) WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER

this week for a transactional task at school (It was in Afrikaans and I got a C skskskks)

31)CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL IN A CAR

omg no

32)EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET

not old enough to drive!

33)EVER RAN OUT OF GAS

my parents never have for as long as i can remember

34)WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE KINDA SANDWHICH

cheese because I am actually John Deacon

35)BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST

MUFFINS!!!!

36)WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME

school nights its 11pm otherwise i dont have one lol

37)ARE YOU LAZY

YES BUT MY LAZINESS MAKES ME ANXIOUS OOF

38)WHEN YOU WERE A KID WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN

we dont celebrate that here but i rly want to it seems fun!

39)WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN

Ram, which is really cool because im an Aries, so I'm sheep squared

40)HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK

English, Afrikaans (at a basic highschool level), I could speak very vERY basic isiZulu when I was younger but I'm not sure about now, I know a bit of French and Telugu, and I'm gonna start learning Hindi soon!!

41) DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS

nee

42) WHICH ARE BETTER, LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS

i didn't play much with legos and i have no idea what the second one is rip

43)ARE YOU STUBBORN

to an extent

44)WHO IS BETTER, LENO OR LETTERMAN

I kept reading Leno as Lenin ffs

45)EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS

I watch them occasionally with my granny, but I don't keep up with them very well (Kasamh Se is my shit tho)

46)ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS

no, im afraid of falling in general tho

47) DO YOU SING IN THE CAR

My dad and I bop frequently to Never Gonna Give You Up in the car, and also classic bollywood songs (we have even learnt the choreography for some)

48)DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER

i perform

49) DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR

well theres not exactly much space

50)EVER USED A GUN

nope

51)LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER

not sure

52)DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY

most are but thats why i like them

53) IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL

we don't celebrate because we're not Christian (we still eat a lot and exchange presents tho), but it can get stressful if we have to visit extended family, mostly because my extended family loves to insult everything about me so thats great!

54)EVER EAT A PIEROGI

not i good sir

55) FAVOURITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE

never had one, it doesnt appeal to me

56) OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID

a vet

57)DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS

i am a ghost

58)EVER HAD A DEJA-VU FEELING

not that i remember

59)DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY

yes, I take a multi vitamin, a vitamin D pill because I'm vitamin D deficient, and im not sure if this is a vitamin or not but i take evening primrose oil so that im not outwardly a bitch due to pms

60)DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS

i wear slipper socks, because my doggo got jealous of my doggie slippers and murdered them in cold blood

61)DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE

i have one and rarely use it because i forget it exists

62)WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED

a random shirt and pants, though ive been known to kick pants off (ive been doing that since birth), occasionally i manage to get the matching pj set

63)WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT

ive unfortunately never been to a concert before

64)WALMART TARGET OR KMART

ive never seen any of these stores in my country

65)NIKE OR ADIDAS

i own neither

66) CHEETOS OR FRITOS

neither

67)PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS

Peanuts because thats my doggos name!

68) EVER HEARD OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN

no sorry

69)EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS

i went to a bhangra class for about a year, and we performed for our parents at the end of that year (i was in one of the few groups that didnt have to dance in lehengas thank goodness)

70)IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE

YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING

probably something creative, but I don't mind as long as they're happy with what they're doing and its not harming others!

71)CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE

yep

72)EVER WON A SPELLING BEE

never entered one, having to spell out loud makes me anxious

73)HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY

i think so

74)OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS

nope

75)OWN A RECORD PLAYER

i wish

76)DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE

my granny burns incense while I'm at school because my mom and i both get really sick when its just been lit and the smell is strong. Going to the temple is a damn nightmare because of it

77)EVER BEEN IN LOVE

no, too busy fangirling

78)WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT

oof a long list

Queen, Twenty One Pilots, Waterparks, Frank Iero and the Future Violents (ffs fronk stop changin the name), Panic! at the Disco...to name a few

79)WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW

refer to question 63

80)HOT TEA OR COLD TEA

both

81)TEA OR COFFEE

coffee

82)SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES

sugar cookies

83)CAN YOU SWIM WELL

i wouldn't drown, but im no professional either

84)CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE

im doing it right now

85)ARE YOU PATIENT

86)DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING

I've only ever been to Hindi,Tamil and Telugu weddings and lemme tell you 90% of the time bands flop at those weddings because they can't sing the classics without failing miserably, so DJs are generally better. However, in that case, if a band can perform those songs, then I'd prefer a band ig

87)EVER WON A CONTEST

yep, a couple of reading contests

88)HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY

nope, not planning on it

89)WHICH ARE BETTER, BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES

dont like olives rip

90)CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET

i can knit!

in fact, my friends and i are so cool that we're in our schools knitting club (which besides myself, @grandfunnyemopainter and @imjustabruh , only has 2 other members)

91)BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE

lounge or study/library

92)DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED

i guess, its not on my goal list tho

93)IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED

94)WHO WAS YOUR HIGHSCHOOL CRUSH

currently in highschool, and in love with the borhap cast, sebastian stan, stephanie beatriz and band members (theres more but yeah)

95)DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY

nope, i have only two ways to deal, be a total pushover or a total bitch

96)DO YOU HAVE KIDS

nope

97)DO YOU WANT KIDS

kind of undecided, but i do want more pets

98)WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR

Dark Blue

99)DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW

my dog, shes been ignoring me for about four hours now because I stayed at school for an extra hour (for knitting club!)

@softspaceboibrian @roger-taylor-owns-my-wigg @im-inlovewithmycar do it cowards

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dailytechnologynews · 6 years ago

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Is there really not a perfect 11.5-13.5" Windows tablet choice?!

Hello guys. For the past week i've been researching to find the perfect windows tablet choice for my specific application need. However it seems there isn't even one device that doesn't have some type of throwback. I'm not asking for everything, but it seems it is either hit or miss, even if you take into account overpriced products. Please hear me out and let me know your thoughts.

I am essentially looking for a WINDOWS TABLET which its primary purpose is to be fitted to my car as a secondary "dash" per say so i can use it to interact with my aftermarket motorsports ecu. It will function as a monitoring dash for the most of the time, but can be used to datalog (aka record data) or for direct tuning (so i don't have to bring my laptop everytime i need to make changes to my engine calibration). I wouldn't mind using it at home as well since i will have it, but mostly will work as a travel/trip companion since i have a PC at home. It has to be a WINDOWS tablet as the software that interfaces with the ecu is only windows based.

After thinking and revising my requirements several times after getting disappointed by what is available here is the break down:

Dimensions: Height needs to be around ~205mm +10mm max so the tablet can be secured in the glove box when not in use. Ideally height should be maximized so that the display area is maximized as well. Length larger than 300mm is not a problem but would get annoying to fit to the car since it will extend more towards the passenger side. This effectively limits me to ~11.8-13.3" tablets, so Microsoft Surface Pro can be used as a reference design (since i haven't seen bezel-less windows tablets yet) Display: This is the most important attribute of the tablet. 1080p absolute minimum resolution, 2K ideally, 3K is probably not gonna be noticeable at the usage distance. Here is a screenshot from my 1080p laptop so you can see the ECU software in datalog mode (slightly cropped but so you can get an idea: http://content.invisioncic.com/r260425/monthly_2017_09/fuel_pressure_link.png.bc827c0a96fe120632f1d7c168e66a64.png However let's not forget brightness and contrast. Brightness should be ~400nits or better for a glossy display, and contrast should be considered over color accuracy. Viewing angle in the length span should be at least 150deg but i think it is hard nowadays to find such a bad display panel. Finally a fully laminated panel is recommended. Physical interfaces: I essentially need a single full size USB port so i can connect my ECU to the tablet. After my research i decided to allow for USB-C assuming that i can get a dongle that will allow me to interface without any issues; but it's best not to allow for that route due to possible incompatibility issues (like what happened when usb3.0 was released). Extra USB ports, USB-C that allows charging and data, video output port, headphone jack, m.2 expansion slot, sd card slot are all pluses. Wireless interfaces: Min wifi and bluetooth. 802.11AC and bluetooth v4.2 or better all pluses. CPU/GPU performance: Generally something better than N3450 (tested my brother's CHUWI surbook mini) and more recent will help, GPU performance is irrelevant for the task so the majority of intergrated GPU's will do fine. RAM: 4GB absolute minimum, 8gb ideal Cooling: I prefer passive cooling, but usually the cooling solution used is sh*t. At least in some cases it can be modded (i'm experienced and willing to do) Battery: 4 hours light use with full display brightness as minimum. If charging is performed over USB-C i hope it is not the stupid kind of power->battery->device like in phones and can work like in laptops where the battery is not used when power is supplied to the laptop. This way you don't wear out the battery since the device will be connected to power most of the time it is operated. Storage: 64gb absolute min, ideal min should be 128gb, speed is relative but i think at least m.2 sata interface ssd; NVME huge + Others: Pen support and attachable keyboard are pluses, but i plan on using a good bluetooth keyboard with backlight (required) so it makes them irrelevant if the tablet is good, Thunderbolt 3 is a +, unlocked bios +, kickstand should work on a lap without cutting your pants off and stay in one place, sd card reader + Reliability: From what i read most chinese tablets are pretty bad with both hardware and software issues out of the box. Backcover should be metal to act as heatsink and be stiff enough, weight and thickness is not that important Condition: New or used. I believe some products offer better value when bought used and others because have been discontinued Pricing: My budget is flexible but depending on the features lots of them are overpriced especially bought new. I would say ~500eur for a new tablet with min features required and 1000eur for one with better hardware. Considering i'm building a 7nm PC in a couple of months the market pricing is really unacceptable for most windows tablets. Blame Apple for it, but i'm not a rich consumer neither i am a sheep. Performance to value is what i always look for.

I literally checked every windows tablet and 2-in-1 i believe. Here some potential picks and what i didn't like.

Microsoft Surface Pro (4 - 5 - 6): At first glance it is a good base candidate..but..really Microsoft? It's 2019 and no USB-C? Proprietary connector and overpriced hardware? Questionable reliability? Get the f*ck out of here. Unless you find a good used deal i don't think it would be worth it. Another Apple wannabe. Eve-tech EVE V: This is one tablet that hits all the boxes, kinda, since by now it is almost obsolete in terms of CPU performance..sadly while i'm greek-cypriot i would go with the stereotypical view for greeks because the CEO is a "malakas" and i'm really sorry to all the people that were scammed. On the other hand i believe there is some truth to the Paypal issues he had since my friend had similar issues (because of not much experience) and even I couldn't help him get them fixed as Paypal is run by assholes as well which need a punch to the face (their excuse it is the system and they can't do anything about it - like wtf). I still use it but the time a different payment system reaches similar adoption i would gladly switch. Chuwi Surbook: Slow CPU, screen is not fully laminated, mediocre specs but was good price at some time ago. Maybe the announced "surbook pro" would fair better? Voyo Vbook i5/i7 Plus: Nice screen, fair pricing? Not the most quality build, shitty battery, i7 model throttles? Teclast X6 Pro: A slightly better vbook i5? No full detailed reviews yet, and i wasn't that impressed from the previous X5 review Alldocube Knote 8: Seems good on paper, but no type-A usb ports Jumper EZpad 6: Possibly the only windows tablet in stock with a good value, however i need something with a better and larger display Acer Switch 3/5: Mediocre screens, single type-A port on the right side (since my car is RHD and the ecu is on the left side i would prefer it on the left side), shitty battery performance, a little overpriced Dell XPS 12 9290/Latitude 5290/Latitude 7285: Great displays, powerful, only 5290 has type-A port, mediocre battery life, overpriced but there are good used deals Asus Transformer 3 Pro T303UA/T304UA: Premium specs but discontinued, expensive, only 1 type-A port and it is on the right side (again), T304 is a huge step backwards even though newer (what the heck Asus, are you drunk?) Lenovo ThinkPad X1: Overpriced, no type-A ports, Gen3 is too big and has display coating issues, Gen2 is more suitable due to size and type-a interface but older and screen brightness not that good - all too tall Lenovo MIIX series: new 630 uses an ARM processor so no go (since i can't force the software developpers to re-compile), 720 rates very high in the features i need, 2 usb type-A ports, nice display, etc. 520 is a little newer with weaker hardware but still good for its price HP Pro X2/Envy X2/Elite X2 1012: HP's other offerings like the Elite X2 1013 are too tall for my needs, and while they have good displays and good build quality i am not font of their design decisions. I have a Zbook 17 G5 workstation at work we bought new and not even 6 months passed and the CPU fan now rattles like crazy..here's my 1st day rant about it: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Note-to-HP-Zbook-17-G5-design-engineers-Please-read-and/td-p/6914797 Also they are overpriced like crazy. I wouldn't ever think of buying again from them. Also the power supply is proprietary as some of the internal hardware. F*ck HP Huawei MateBook E: Aside the lack of ports it is a pretty good designed device, display is perfect but slightly smaller than the biggest i can fit - depending on price it might be a good consideration assuming i can run a USB-C dock i can charge within the car Samsung Galaxy Book 12: Similar to the Huawei above, just a little faster but with a worse display, extra usb-C port. Older and more expensive than the Huawei Toshiba Portege X30T and others: Ports are on the keyboard and not on the tablet, won't work for me.

I think i've covered 99% of the options but i may could have missed 1 or 2. To be honest i won't need this tablet for another 3-6months i would guess but at least i've done my research so i will be prepared when the time comes to buy one. What do you think? I know i went a little crazy but i'm that type of person that never regrets his purchasing choices because i don't buy blindly.

#hardware #Computer #Technology #Tech #News

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102818arcvd · 6 years ago

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PLOT BUNNIES MASTERPOST

GENERAL/MISCELLANEOUS:

You’re walking home and it’s late. I can't just let you walk home like that so I’m walking a bit behind you so I can make sure you’re safe, but that doesn’t mean I’ll admit that soft tidbit of facts.

‘I can’t avoid you. Why do you keep showing up in places where I’m at and… Are you-? You’re not-? You can’t be stalking me . . . are you? Are you sure you’re not?’

Jinsoo has a bad habit of taking dares and bets with enough coercing even if they are not in the best option for him. your muse had dared him // or you’re involved in a dare that he has been tasked with.

Jinsoo has been coming by and feeding this stray animal for weeks, only to find out that it was your pet.

We’re both waiting for the bus and you forgot your umbrella but uh– why are you standing so close to me? . . . Are you purposefully trying to stand under my umbrella? This is embarrassing . . just take it, God.

I Tried to get the candy bar that didn’t drop out of the vending machine and now my hand is stuck. can u help me or I’m going to die here… At least send my regards to my family, they might have to cremate me aND the vending machine together. (x)

You’re so drunk that you literally got onto/into my (vehicle) thinking I was a taxi and you refuse to get off, So, I just end up driving you.

Your muse and Jinsoo both decide to deal with paranormal situations, ghost hunting ig ? i dunno i just want cute talks of all things paranormal stuff, legends, folklore, conspiracy theories-- Going to abandoned places and investigating!! Bringing a camera and equipment, Buzzfeed unsolved type antics!! Going to the haunted forest in wonseo and getting lost!! give me please

‘You fell asleep on my shoulder and I’m feeling a bit uncomfortable but you look so cute and angelic as you sleep and I don’t have the heart to wake you up. No. Wait-- we aren’t a couple, this isn’t what it looks like– Stop it.’

‘You’re a complete stranger but I can tell you have a fear of our current task whatever it may be and I’m attempting to be comforting and take your mind away from the fear by distracting you with conversation and such.’

Jinsoo has a few different things he’s afraid of Spiders,Heights, And open water due to a near-death experience when he was a child. Idea of possibly the other person finding out. Teasing him on it or possibly helping him overcome such fears. He doesn’t like to open up about things about himself unless he’s close to you though so keep this in mind, we can plot some ideas on how they find out!

Muse A is this fairly popular (online persona) and Muse B ran into them and recognized them. when Muse B offered Muse A a handshake, Muse A gave them a hug and followed their (social media) so now they dm each other and every time Muse B visits their events/live streams/ect. Muse A always excitedly greets them and they feel so special.

I meant to grab the popcorn, not your crotch, sorry.

Muse A Sits beside Muse B In a theatre and Muse B is terrified of horror-- Muse B Freaks out partway through and grabs for Muse A's hand repeatedly and Muse A doesn't complain, Because Fuck.. They're really cute ..

Muse A is working/chilling at (Location) and witnesses Muse B get stood up and Muse A goes over to make sure Muse B is okay but-- Oh Jeez . . . are you crying? Uhm, Wait , just -- ...

muse a's puppy has a major problem with behaving while on a leash. while out on a walk, the dog takes off after a squirrel or something. enter muse b, who manages to intercept the beast and now the dog likes them better.

You steal my parking spot all the time and I was just heading out to leave a strongly worded note under your windshield wiper but oh no you're hot I saw you trying to hit the 'door close' button in the elevator but I made it in and then I pushed every single button to make you later for work, but now we're stuck in this fucking elevator as it stops at every single floor and I don't know what to say other than 'you started it!'

Theres a Warning alert because of recent crimes (small to serial killer? whichever) and I'm/You're scared to walk home, so we've been walking home together since.

we're in the waiting room at the vet (groomers or whatever) and my dog keeps whimpering and tugging to go over to your cat/dog and I keep apologizing because my dog just loves everyone seriously

We both like the same person and I’m jealous, so by default, I just don’t like you at least 99% more than before.

We’ve always been partners in crime, best friends till the end, ride or die- but you’ve been spending a lot of time around this new friend and I’m getting way more jealous than I should because I don’t want to lose you.’

FAMILY/FRIENDS THREADS:

‘You and I always get mistaken for siblings and- no, we aren’t? Let’s just roll with it anyway though.’

‘you’re a family member or friend w/e that I drifted away from because you don’t really support anything I do in life and always get preachy about my opinions, actions, and beliefs and now I just try to avoid you every time you want to see me because it’s awkward’

You really like my brother and so you’re asking me to help you but uh… ? I’ve never dated . . . how would I know….

‘character b drifted from their friend (character a) but when they were reunited, one or both of them changed too much’

‘used-to-be strangers who bonded over a mutual enemy’

‘ex-enemies who are now bffs attached at the hip’

'saltmates (friends who bond over their mutual dislike of things) ’

'character b pretended to be character a’s significant other to get creeps to leave them alone and now they’re close friends’

'friends who always seem to find trouble and danger together’

'character a is always pushing character b to do/be better’

'character b is the only person who can talk character a through their panic episodes’

'We used-to-be best friends until character a left character b for new friends’

'friends who bring out the worst in each other (or the best) ’

'they met on social media as teenagers and they’re still close friends’

'We’ve been pen pals/internet friends for a bit and hey, I’m in your area, so let’s meet up?’

“I know I’m the one who suggested we watch a scary movie, but now I can’t sleep. Can I sleep in your room?” (preferably your muse !! Jinsoo is a bit fearless with these things)

CLASS/WORK THREADS:

you keep finding Jinsoo’s origami around and, finding it interesting and also being skilled in (talent) you leave (said item) where his frogs are and somehow it had become a habit regularly, you don’t know each other but tend to always leave the items and maybe words for each other that turn into letters and become friendly penpals of somesort.

you copied off of me and got mad when you got a bad score while I got a good one. you’re just so frustrated because how the hell does that even happen and damn, I seem pretty pleased with myself because I intentionally marked answers wrong and fixed them later so you would stop copying off of me but the teacher figured that I should tutor you and I’m mad that I have to waste my time on a cheater.

'We’re related / Peers in (Competitive Enviornment) and I have an attitude with you but only because I’m really just envious of you.’

'You’re someone I literally can not stand with every fiber in my body for whatever reason. Who in heaven or hell keeps pairing us together for tasks?’

bonding solely via eye contact over that annoying person in our class that we’re both slowly becoming more and more exasperated about.

you came into the store i work at looking for something and i had no idea where it was so we bonded over this impromptu scavenger hunt and now you’re always out shopping for something just to see me.

while waiting outside our classroom i asked what the homework was to which you replied "we had homework!?" and now we always wait outside the classroom together, also you always copy my homework

In (said store) and Muse A Is struggling to reach something, So Muse B comes over to help.

Muse B is a new student / Transfer / visitor to the college and is completely lost as well as horrible at directions, So when Muse A comes by to help-- they end up doing The Most(TM)

NEIGHBOR/ROOMMATE THREADS:

Hanging out and Power outage causes them to have dinner by candlelight; joking about it being romantic

Fighting over the thermostat settings.

You’re a (friend/Neighbor) and something is making noises from the closet but you’re terrified, so I go to investigate the strange noises coming from the closet only to find that a cat had climbed in through your open window and was trying to break free from its encloseted prison.

You keep getting my neighbour to let you inside because I refuse to let you in, can you go home?

‘you accidentally shipped this weird thing to my apartment and I’m returning it and uh– what the hell is that my pet inside your house…???’

‘You’ve been playing guitar in the hall right outside my apartment door for a while now and its 3AM and I’m exhausted, I have a test tomorrow at 9AM- and I’m contemplating going to beat your ass, shut the fuck up.’

'We are neighbours and you always are so loud so late– stomping around and making so much sound- loud as hell… and I used to get mad and be grumpy as fuck and always go over to yell at you but lately, its been strangely quiet and Maybe I miss it? And- Is that crying? are you crying? That’s it, I’m going over.’

i live downstairs from you and your sink pipe has burst and now it's leaking into my apartment so i go upstairs, knock on your door, and you open it soaking wet so i help you fix it while also trying not to get distracted by the fact that your shirt is now see through

ROMANTIC THREADS:

I suggested we play spin the bottle so i could kiss you, but now everyone else is kissing you except me and im highkey getting pissed off��now,, :/

I suggested we go to the beach but everyone is checking you out in your swimsuit and now i'm jealous, but i can’t say anything because we’re not even dating.

You have a crush on me for some odd reason and always come to watch me during baseball but I’m pretty dense and don’t realize it and so I genuinely think you want to play baseball with me.

You confessed to me before I went to study abroad in high school and I never replied properly– I had forgotten about it till now.

'I asked you to help me with these topics because I didn’t understand them- But honestly, I think you’re stunning and I just want your attention on me for just a minute. Look at me for now.

'we were each others wingman/wingwoman for some time but now I’m starting to realize that I might be kind of into you and I’m confused. When did that happen? Shit.’

#;pb #;wish: xav

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years ago

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Survey #473

“please don’t make any sudden moves / you don’t know the half of the abuse”

Who are the 3 people you love the most? My mom, Sara, and Girt. Last person you slept in the same bed with? Sara. When is the last time you took a picture of yourself? It's been quite a long time. When was your first kiss? March of 2012. Have you recently been sick? No. Don't jinx it, especially these days. What song are you listening to? A slowed down version of "Heathens" by twenty one pilots. I REALLY like it. Do you drink soda often? Every day. :x Would you ever move somewhere like Hawaii? NOOOOOOO. I would NEVER survive living in the tropics. Have you ever had to call 911? Why? Twice for my mom. Once we thought she was having a heart attack, and the second time she had such bad abdominal pain that she was almost entirely immobilized. It was that day we found out about the cancer. Do you get out a lot? God no. Name 3 things you really like about yourself (not physical). I have a lot of empathy, I love and care a lot about animals, and I care a lot about what other people feel and always wanna make people feel better. Name 3 things you hate about yourself (not physical). My anxiety is #1, then there's how lazy I can be, and how I jump to conclusions. Would you ever consider having an abortion? If I was raped, it was ectopic (that barely even counts as one, though...), or it greatly endangered my life, yes. In which state/country were you born? North Carolina, U.S.A. Have you ever had to be put on medicine for a mental disorder? Yeah, quite a lot... I've gone through probably around three dozen different psych meds since middle school. White chocolate or milk chocolate? Milk. I can eat white chocolate in small doses, but it's generally too sweet for me. Have you ever been to an amusement park out of state? Yeah, Disney World in Florida. Would you consider yourself a crafty person? No. I'm much better at putting stuff on paper than creating stuff with my hands. What would you say is your favorite color of all time? Baby pink! Have you ever been responsible for someone’s death? Y E E S H no. Do you ever spend the night with your significant other? Not yet. We're still iffy about sleeping in the same spot though because of my sleep apnea nightmares. My new mask seems to be working great, though; I haven't had a nightmare in like a week (and keep in mind they're usually every single night), I'm just WAY too scared to lash out at him in my sleep. I need a longer period of proof it's functioning well. Do you know a lot about serial killers? No. Have the police ever been looking for you? Yes, actually. One time when my sisters, a friend, and I were at the beach, we went walking by the shore at night, after we thought we told our parents we were going. Apparently, we didn't, or they didn't hear us, because my mom was an absolute collapsing wreck and called the police to search for us. We got back to the hotel so confused, and I'll never forget how Mom was crying. Where do you get most of your accessories from? I wanna say Hot Topic? Do you cuss more than anyone else you know? Yes, actually. Have there ever been any serial killers around your hometown? Idk. Did your parents live in a different country before you were born? No. What’s something you’ve experienced that very few others have? I'd say going to a psych hospital five or six times isn't exactly common. I am so fucking glad those days are over. Do you know anyone who’s related to a current or former world leader? Not to my knowledge, no. Do you do your own taxes, or do you hire a professional? I don't have taxes. Do you have a home security system? No, but damn do I want one. What’s something you don’t think people take seriously enough? Our environmental crises, like global warming, deforestation, fossil fuels... basically just anything that involves us murdering the environment. People just don't fucking care because it's not "personal" enough, I guess. Or a fast-acting downfall. It's slow, insidious, and because of that, people think it's no biggie because it won't affect them in their lifetime and shit like that. Have you ever gotten sick from someone else’s cooking? Yes. My stomach is very, very sensitive to food it hasn't had before, especially if it's a complex recipe with lots of ingredients. What was the last kind of cheese you ate? American, on a turkey sandwich I made the other day. Have you ever abused any substance? Just Pepto Bismol. When I was in middle school, I was absolutely convinced every single day that I was going to throw up (no, I didn't actually feel sick every day; it was anxiety and just concocted in my head), so I would go to the bathroom at some point every day in school to take a pill. The habit only stopped when we ran out one day and Mom didn't get a new bottle immediately. I had to face the school day without it and, obviously, was just fine. What was the last fun thing you did? Caught up on some Tarantula Collective videos, probs. Have you ever dated someone who had a child from a previous relationship? No. Is there any drama currently going on with your family? Nah. What was the last fruit or vegetable you chopped/sliced up? An apple. When you take a nap, do you nap in bed or on the couch? In my bed. Have you ever been called a whore? No. Pretty far from one. What kind of phone do you have? It's a Tracfone. I'm ready to get a new, better one. Do you like hot chocolate? Love itttt. Do you know anyone with an STD? Yes. Are you afraid of deep water? Not as much as most people, it seems. Do you get dizzy easily? I naturally have alarmingly low blood pressure, only made worse by medication, so trust me, I sure as hell do. Have you ever been thrown up on? LKAJSDLKFJAKLWJEKLWJERLK NO Have you ever thrown up on someone? Maybe as a baby? How many times have you thrown up from being so drunk? Zero. Does the sound of fireworks scare you? No, not if I know it's coming. Otherwise I'll probably jump a bit, fearing it being a gunshot. What’s your favorite firework? I don't know how to identify fireworks, ha ha. But generally just the really big, colorful ones. Have you ever been beat up? No. Have you ever seen a jellyfish? Only in aquariums. Do you cry when you get angry? Yes. I cry to cope with a ton of emotions. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Plan on it. What do you think people really think about you? That I'm an awkward, reclusive, leeching lowlife without goals I'll actually chase. God, that's painful to think about, what people see from the outside. What’s your favorite part about Thanksgiving? Nothing. I don't like Thanksgiving. I have to spend it every single year with horribly conservative, bigoted fucks. I hate Thanksgiving food, too. How many best friends do you have? One. What kind of car is your favorite? I don't know. Sleek, elegant ones. Do you prefer pens or pencils? Pencils. When did you go to sleep last night? Not 'til like... around 4 in the morning. Do you know anyone who’s had a stillbirth? I'm sure I do. I know MANY people who have had miscarriages. Are there any redheads in your family? I don't believe so, no. Which YouTuber do you feel like you relate to the most? Ummm maybe Morgan Adams, except I'm not funny lmao. What theme do you want for your wedding? Gothic. What theme would you choose for a baby’s nursery? Purely hypothetically, I'd probably choose pastel colors and baby animals for a daughter, and then little cute dinosaurs for a boy. Does your first crush know that he/she was your first crush? No. Do you know your first crush’s middle name? No. Who do you wish you could go on another date with? I'm happy only going on dates with my current boyfriend. Which family member did you get your height from? My mom. We're pretty much the same. Do you feel stupid regularly? ALWAYS. What style of wedding dress do you want? Most likely a ball gown one with a sweetheart top. Definitely subject to change, though; I honestly just love wedding dresses and would want to actually see how I look in varying styles, except mermaid. Mermaid gowns look AWFUL on 99% of people imo. Who was the last friend of yours to have a baby, and what’s the baby’s name? My high school band friend Marcus, his wife had their first baby just the other day. I'm blanking on her name right now. Who is the cutest baby you’ve seen on social media recently? Bindi Irwin's daughter Grace is like illegally cute. What is your opinion on Arby’s? I hate that shit. What is your favorite doughnut? Just an original glazed from Krispy Kreme fuckin does it for me man. But I just love donuts in general. Do you have a hot tub? If so, where is it located? We poor, hunny. What is your favorite party game? I don't really have one, given I don't exactly go to parties. Do you or your parents rake your yard? It doesn't need to be raked. My dad used to occasionally when my parents were still together. Have you won anything recently? No. How often do you make Excel tables? What for? Never. What was the last baby animal you saw in the wild? Umm I want to say I saw a young squirrel dash out of the road semi-recently? Do you like drag queens? If so, got any favourites? Drag queens are, well, fucking queens. I love them. Trixie Mattel is high on the list. How about drag kings? You know... somehow it never struck me that this term existed???? I'm dumb. But anyway, I think it's still awesome. I don't know any (I think?) though. Would it bother you, if your partner had cut contact with their parents? If he had good reason to, it wouldn't bother me. His father is no longer living, but I could not even imagine him cutting contact with his mother since he helps the woman so much and cares a shitload for her. As someone who relates to what I know of her and what she's gone through, I'd definitely be concerned if he cut ties with her. It'd almost feel like an insult to me, too, if that makes sense? Like I'd be scared I was next. Have you ever wondered whether you were adopted? As a kid, yes. I sometimes thought my mom didn't love me as much as my sisters, so I had an episode where I wondered. Have you ever grown a berry bush? No.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''heathens'' by twenty one pilots

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1stnewslink · 3 years ago

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Massive Houston hemp facility has its eyes on a cannabis-infused future

A distinct aroma wafts through the offices of Bayou City Hemp, where the skunky smell of cannabis mixes with the sweet smell of optimism.

As one of the first and largest hemp processors in Texas, the two-year-old company is planting the seeds for a legal cannabis industry that the founders say will come. Until then, Bayou City will focus on clean forms of extracting cannabidiol – CBD – oils from the hemp plant and processing them into products such as edible gums, drinkable mixers and inhalable vape pens. Products it makes can help you fall asleep, relieve your pain, and even get you high.

Ben Meggs and Jeromy Sherman were friends and colleagues who worked in the oil and gas industry before founding Bayou City Hemp in 2019. The company aims to fill a void in the emerging Texan market – regulators legalized the industry in 2019 to help farmers squeezed by the U.S. trade war with China. When they started planting and harvesting, the farmers needed a place to process the raw hemp.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Hemp or marijuana? After a year in the dark, Harris County attorneys will finally know.

“We saw that the industry bottleneck would be on the processing side,” said Sherman. “We started the company that we couldn’t find.”

House Bill 1325, enacted two years ago, made it legal to manufacture, distribute, and sell consumable hemp products in Texas in an emerging industry that is now regulated by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The legislation followed the passage of the Federal Farming Act in December 2018, which redefined hemp as a low-THC cannabis product (0.3 percent or less THC) and removed it from the definition of marijuana in the Control Substances Act.

While hemp is legally different from its cousin marijuana in terms of its THC content – it’s the same type of cannabis plant – nature often doesn’t draw a clear line. If hemp has too high a THC content, federal agencies require that it be destroyed.

The legalization of hemp ushered in a new wave of production and ended a gray area in which trade had previously been active. Hemp is now used as an ingredient in everything from drink mixers to shampoos. Hemp Industry Daily magazine predicts US retail hemp sales will reach $ 3.9 billion this year, up from $ 1.6 billion last year. Retail sales are expected to reach nearly $ 6.3 billion in 2022.

But farmers have struggled to start harvesting in Texas, where the climate differs from that of the northern states from which they plant seeds.

Last summer’s harvest was the first in Texas, and since then Bayou City has processed hemp from half a dozen farmers and expected to add to that list to find better seed sourcing and growing in Texan conditions.

Bayou City hemp worker Cameron Gonzales uses the CO2 extractor to pull oil from the hemp plant in Houston on Thursday, June 24, 2021, exiting the oil and gas industry after the law passed and stepping into the growing CBD industry a.

Godofredo A. Vásquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

Lift off the ground

Self-funded and with investments from friends and family (they didn’t want to say how much), Sherman and Meggs brought in Karen Trotter, who had previously worked as the company’s chief financial officer, financing oil and gas startups to make sure they if they had the capital they had to hit the ground under their feet. Today the company employs more than two dozen people, from chemists and plant operators to marketing and accounting professionals.

Partners started equipping their Park Row lab last summer and started seeing products in September. “We’re still in start mode,” said Trotter.

To this end, Bayou City is helping Texan farmers to source more successful seeds, advising them on cultivation, and helping them with tests, as well as with any extraction and processing.

“There’s no playbook for that,” said Sherman.

“It’s an industry that didn’t exist before,” said Meggs.

Texas hemp farmers have struggled to achieve full harvests as they cite poor seed genetics and problems with insects and mold. Hemp prices also collapsed in 2019 as farmers loudly demanded to plant the newly legal market crop and overproduction prevailed.

Texas Inc .: Get the best business news delivered to your inbox

“The floor fell out when we were ready to hit the market,” said Scott Meiers, co-owner and president of Texas Premium Hemp Producers in Brenham.

Meiers, a rancher, said he almost gave up on hemp last year because it was so difficult to grow and make a profit. His mind changed when he saw how CBD gums were helping his nephew, who was autistic and up to this point non-verbal.

“He came up to me, patted my shoulder and said, ‘Good job,’ while I was barbecuing,” recalls Meiers. “I cried. It really, really changed his life. “

When Meiers decided to try again, Bayou City Hemp helped him source his seeds better and provided him with hemp products that he could sell on the farm to make ends meet until he could sell his own hemp. Meiers said he expected to have his first harvest next month.

Calvin Trostle, an agronomist at Texas A&M, said in a recent university paper that the Texas hemp industry will take time to research and perfect. And costs have to fall so that it can take off as a yielding plant.

“As an alternative crop, the hemp industry in Texas is still in its infancy,” said Trostle. “There’s a lot of education going on, but we’re still trying to figure out which strains are adaptable so we can help producers avoid headaches.”

Karen Trotter, CFO of Bayou City Hemp, opens the rotary evaporator that makes winterized hemp extract extract during a tour of its facilities in Houston on Thursday, June 24, 2021. Bayou City Hemp is one of the largest hemp manufacturing outposts since Texas legalized hemp in 2019. After the law was passed, the founders left the oil and gas industry and entered the growing CBD industry.

Godofredo A. Vásquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

The elevated road

When it came to building the lab, Sherman and Meggs said they went out of their way, equipped it to medical industry standards of good manufacturing practice, and created an internal system that scans and scans each batch of CBD oil tracked.

“We wanted to plan for FDA regulation,” said Sherman, who was recruiting an extraction specialist with 40 years experience at Dow Chemical as chief operating officer and a general manager with more than a decade of experience in cannabis extraction in other states.

Bayou City also decided to use a carbon dioxide process to make hemp oil cleaner from the plant. Less expensive ethanol-based methods used in industry result in hazardous waste, while carbon dioxide extraction leaves plant material with a high protein content that – yet to be investigated – could be used as fodder.

“Our COO uses it in his garden and he says his broccoli has never been bigger,” said Trotter.

Growing pains

The extraction of CBD oils from the hemp plant is a multi-step process. The first is to remove the stems from the hemp flower and put them through a grinder, which gives a fine powder. Then Bayou City staff heat it to activate the cannabinoids inside and prepare them for extraction.

Fats and waxes are separated in the laboratory, resulting in an oil that they then distill three times to increase potency and remove impurities, achieving a purity of around 80 percent. They prepare an isolate that is 99 percent pure in a reactor room.

For those who prefer some THC in their CBD, leave it in and refer to it as a full spectrum oil. For others, they remove it and label it as broad spectrum oil. Some want the cannabis-like effects, so they convert it into something called Delta-8-THC, an intoxicating molecule similar to the THC in marijuana, but with a different atomic structure.

On HoustonChronicle.com: The largest expansion of the medical marijuana program in Texas to date is advancing in the legislature

Kristen Nichols, editor of Hemp Industry Daily, said that Delta-8 appears to bind less easily to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, producing milder results than the type of THC that is federally illegal and only regulated by state cannabis laws.

Nichols said she initially viewed Delta-8 as “a cheap knock-off, a loophole that people are taking advantage of”.

“I’ve changed my mind since then,” she said. “There are people who want something in between.”

A full cannabis extraction would be a welcome hub for the business, Meggs said, since the product is cheaper to work with and they can sell it for about three times the amount of CBD. But first, Texas has to go its neighbors’ route and legalize it.

“We’re looking forward to this day,” said Meggs. “But at the moment we live in the CBD world.”

[email protected]

Twitter.com/amandadrane

The post Massive Houston hemp facility has its eyes on a cannabis-infused future first appeared on 1st News Link.

source https://1stnewslink.com/massive-houston-hemp-facility-has-its-eyes-on-a-cannabis-infused-future/

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finalvalor · 7 years ago

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Detailed Profile: Mika Namoi

Mika Namoi

Appearance -

Gender: Male

Race: Miqo’te, Seeker of the Sun - some passed down Keeper genes

Height: 4 fulms, 9 ilms - 5 fulms, 1 ilm - can vary even more depending on heel size

Eye Color: Ice blue/grey

Hair Color: Pale blue and white

The Facts -

Name Day: 31st Sun, 1st Umbral Moon

Occupation: Freelance potion maker/Odd-job doer

Sexual identification: Pansexual - masc pref

Romantic identification: Power 👀

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral-Neutral Evil

Criminal History: it only counts if you get caught, right?

Relationship Status: COUGHS what’s that?

Favorites –

Favorite food: Rice pudding, custard, most cream heavy dishes

Favorite drink: Fruit teas, preferably cold/with ice

Favorite artist: “What I do is practically art.”

Favorite scents: Herbs, wood burning, books, leather

Favorite person: Himself

Tagged by: I kinda stole it but I’m 99% sure someone’s tagged me in it before, sorry for my bad memory ; n; Tagging: anybody who wants to because this is like.. a few months old ahh

Most information and some other bits can be found on his RPC page [here] Extras under cut because fjsdnfjkas long post

Randoms –

Ten facts about your muse:

⚫ He enjoys his baths ridiculously hot and will happily soak in it for awhile, especially after a long day. Often he’ll dip down into the water and just have from his nose upwards showing and on occasion will add oils or tonics as a treat.

⚫ His hands are generally quite cold, with his fingers feeling like ice at times giving him a preference for long sleeves or gloves, choosing fingerless ones more often than not to retain use of his hands.

⚫ Taking pride in his potion crafting he’ll often sample what he creates, 9/10 times this leads to the expected results but there’s always the off chance he’s miscalculated something and ends up having to deal with some hopefully non-dire consequences.

⚫ In his travels he’s made quite a handful of contacts; past customers, traders, etc. A lot of them tending to be of a more questionable nature, Mika not one to bother too much with morals when it comes to business and benefiting from the situation himself.

⚫ He has quite a high pain tolerance and even stronger willpower making him able to endure quite a lot, normally resulting in his body physically giving in way before his mind would even start to falter. This normally takes quite a toll on him because of his less than great physical health/structure.

⚫ He won’t go out of his way to help someone but will quite happily when there’s the right incentive, some kind of personal gain. He finds it greatly rewarding when people seek him out for his talents/abilities and is more likely to put on a friendly face with these people, normally knowing exactly what they want to hear and using that to his advantage.

⚫ He is susceptible to getting ill more easily, especially when under sleeping/eating and generally not looking after himself. As an illness progresses it can trigger nightmares more often, forceful enough to make him wake up fighting but never able to fully remember what it was about. If they become too frequent he takes his own made formula that works as a suppressant.

⚫ Unknown to most is that his tail is technically deformed; the rest of his family having gorgeously fluffy tails. Years of abuse and mistreatment have left all but the very tip of his tail covered in short bristly fur, though since then Mika has been able to get it looking generally healthy but the coarse fur refuses to grow longer than half an inch or so. The tip remains silky and soft leading it to resemble that of a lion’s.

⚫ He normally ignores cocky and brash behaviors, fully confident in his own power and skillset. Not one to brag unless the time really calls for it, normally if someone has baited him into a challenge when he feels they’re talking down to him or are consistently getting under his skin. That can lead to times of him getting a bit carried away, especially when intoxicated.

⚫ To make up for what he lacks in physical strength and fitness, Mika has stronger senses than most with the main ones being hearing and smell. These tend to show themselves in small habits such as tapping pens or fingers (quite enjoying both the sound and feel of the vibrations) and inhaling deeply when he first enters a room or when his mind wanders. His sharp sense of smell also has it’s uses when it comes to potion making, knowing which ingredient is which, of what quality, etc. etc.

Five Things -

Things they like: - Researching - Experimenting - magic/potions - The sunset - Stars - Proving people wrong

Things they dislike: - Confidence with nothing to back it up - Most vegetables (though he’ll still eat them) - Being disturbed/interupted - Being underestimated - Trying to be controlled

Good habits: - Independant - Focused/hard worker - Organised - Strategist/forward thinker - Good listener

Bad Habits: - Self motivated - Over thinker - Self destructive - Drinks with abandon and smokes (potentially illicit) - Under sleeps/eats

Personalities they gravitate toward: - Knowledgeable/factual (more when it comes to his interests) - Strong willed - Outcasts/black sheep - Self made - Morally obscure

Personality types they avoid (generally, there can be exceptions): - All bark, no bite - Extremely friendly - Intrusive - Judgemental - Overly childish

Fears: - A vast amount of deep water - Total loss of control - His father - Never being good enough - Burning out

#Mika #character meme #it's not like this took me hours b-baka #it was fun though #see how many times I say 'often' or 'generally' SWEATS #I think I got everything #watch me in 10 minutes be all NOPE THATS WRONG #right before bed aghhhhh

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itslikethatfrenchthing · 5 years ago

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14 LIFE-CHANGING DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR YOUR WORKSPACE

Are you looking for some decluttering tips for how to organize your desk and office space?

You’re in the right place. This video marks the start of our 31 Weeks of Productivity Challenge! In this video, we dive into some of the most life-changing tips for decluttering your desk and improving your desk organization. If you love minimalism and want to improve your organization and productivity, you’ll love the decluttering tips in this video! Remember to subscribe if you want more tips on decluttering!

HIT PLAY OR READ THE POST BELOW:

subscribe to my youtube channel

There are endless decluttering tips for your workspace and I have a few of those ideas myself.

Before we get into today's video, I just want to welcome you to my 31 weeks of productivity challenge here on YouTube.

These next few weeks are going to be challenging. They are going to be motivating and they are going to be very, very productive. The purpose of this challenge is to give you one action step that you can do every single week, that’s not going to take up too much of your time that you can do to help increase your productivity and create more balance in your daily schedule as a business owner.

We are going to be covering organizational tips like the topic that we're kicking things off with today along with mindset shifts and productivity hacks to really just make sure that we're covering all bases.

And the best thing about each of these challenges is that you can come back to them again and again and again.

You don't need anything for this challenge, you just need you and a little bit of motivation. I'll be here every single week with your action step for that week and you have seven days to complete it and I'll be doing these with you as well.

So if you want to take part and follow along and make sure you tag me on your Instagram story so I can see your progress and see how you're getting on.

And then also make sure that wherever you talk about the challenge, make sure to use #ProductivityBoss because you know we are all about that boss life.

So today we are getting started with week number one snd your first challenge is to declutter your workspace.

14 LIFE-CHANGING DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR YOUR WORKSPACE

Now, unless I'm having a little bit of an off day, you can usually find working at my desk in my home office pretty 24/7.

Now, everyone's workspace is going to look slightly different, but it's really important that you have a designated place to work so you can associate that place with you being your most productive self, that version of yourself that gets things done.

But what I do know is that if your desk is a mess and you've got stuff all over the place and you can't even see the surface of your desk because there's so much on it, then we've got a problem. Because that is definitely going to affect your productivity and not in a good way.

So if it is the case that you have got a messy desk or a messy workspace and you need to sort it out, then I have 14 quick decluttering tips to share with you today that are life changing in their own way for many different reasons. These tips for decluttering your life can make a massive difference to your life in general and none of them require spending any money.

Plus they can work for you whether you've got a whole room dedicated to your home office or you've got a desk in the corner of a room at home or it's at your kitchen table, it really doesn't matter. Enjoy these tips for decluttering!

P.S. If you want to know how to make decluttering a part of your daily schedule, download your free guide below!

download the fab four!

#1 | Have A Simple System For Decluttering

I don't know about you, but when I've got a mammoth task ahead of me and I haven't got a plan for getting started, I find it so difficult to actually get started in the first place.

So when you start decluttering, you want to actually create a system that's going to allow you to get started and that's going to make the whole process so much easier. Plus your system will be filled with tidying up tips!

For example, you could have separate piles or you could grab a couple of bin bags or some boxes, grab some sticky labels and then I like to separate things into these different piles:

Trash

Recycling

Shredding

Anything that can be given away

Anything that belongs in another room

Anything you actually need to keep that lives in your office.

Then you can start collecting everything from your office, everything from the top of your desk, everything from your drawers and start putting them into these different piles.

And every time you’re looking for tips on decluttering your home, this is the system that you've got to follow.

#2 | Just Start

I know decluttering is overwhelming. There is no way around that. But I can promise you that it won't get any less overwhelming the longer that you put it off. That’s why I’m sharing these easy decluttering tips with you!

So if you're not one of those people that wants to get it done all in one day, then take a few minutes today to just get started. Clear one piece of clutter or two or 12. It really doesn't matter as long as you just get started.

Or you can set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes clear some clutter, and then when that timer goes off, you go back to your regularly scheduled day.

Bonus points if you block this out on your calendar!

If you do this every day, you will be amazed at how quickly you hack your way through your workspace clutter.

#3 | Have a Quick Win With A Dump Bin

One of my favourite hacks for decluttering your home is to have a dump bin and that gives you such a quick fun organizing win.

All you do is grab an empty box or a basket, whatever you've got in your house, and fill it with every single item that continues to keep cluttering up your desk. Then spend five to 10 minutes each day sorting through the items in the dump bin until it's empty.

If you start clearing off the top of your desk, you'll feel immediate relief from the overwhelm that the clutter causes, and you'll also know exactly where you need to find something if you end up needing it.

The only thing with this hack is that you've got to take that time to actually go through the items in your dump bin and organize them or else you've essentially just relocated your clutter and that's cheating!

#4 | Only Keep Out What You Use Frequently

I like to think that there's an everything hidden away / everything in view spectrum and it's going to vary where each of us fall in that spectrum.

I only prefer to have the necessities out on my desk:

Office lamp

Laptop

Water bottle

Calendar

Pen pot

Daily planner

A few other trinkets and inspirational quote cards that I have on my window sill.

Everything else is tucked away out of sight.

You need to decide where you fall on that spectrum. You might prefer to have all of your office supplies out with your notepad and pens and other tools, or you might fall somewhere in the middle. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, for your desk in particular, only keep out the items that you use most frequently, AKA the items that you use multiple times throughout the day. This is a good rule of thumb when it comes to tips for decluttering your home too.

#5 | Assign Every Item A Home

When it comes to top tips for decluttering this is a great one and it works wonders for your workspace as well.

When every item has a home, it makes tiding up after yourself a breeze. It's so easy to put items away and clear your desk in preparation for another productive day at work.

Assigning a home for something could be as simple as putting your pen back in a pen pot or it could be a little bit complex in terms of things like filing paper.

The point is that you know exactly what items belong and you know exactly where you need to find them when you need them.

#6 | Use A Desk Tray To Catch Paper Clutter

It's highly likely that your workspace is doing double or even triple duty. So it's important to have a catch-all filter for incoming items. An office inbox or in other words, a desk tray allows you to control the flow of information and papers that are coming into your office on a daily basis.

It means you can avoid having stacks of papers on your desk and also means that you can review all of the information that's coming in.

I especially like the clear acrylic trays. These are perfect if you want to avoid those bookie looking trays and also if you want easy access to papers and notebooks as well.

#7 | Clear Your Desk At The End Of Each Day

Now I get it. It might seem like a lot of work to clear your desk at the end of each day, but it's going to be so refreshing for you to end the day and start the next day on a clear, clean slate.

I highly suggest clearing your workspace at the end of each day so you are greeted each new morning with a decluttered workspace. This is my favourite piece of decluttering advice.

It's going to help you feel so much more creative and productive when you sit down at your desk each morning.

And this is even more important if your desk space and your office space is where you do your morning routine, which for me it is.

Honestly, this is probably the most life changing habit on this list because not only has it increased my organization, but it's also allowed me to increase the energy that it takes in order to maintain that organization.

All you need to do is put all of your items away, which should be super easy now, especially if you followed the tips that we've just outlined because every item should now have a home!

File your papers and again, they should be super, super quick, especially if your filing system is within an arm's reach of your desk space. Then put anything else on your desk away and make sure it is nice and tidy and exactly as you left it first thing this morning.

By taking the time to do this each and every day when you clock off means you will never sit down to a cluttered workspace again.

Your productivity will improve and your whole office and workspace will stay way more organized.

If you want to know how to turn this into a daily habit, download your free to-do list detox exercise below!

send me the exercise!

#8 | Get A Daily Planner

If you've watched the videos on this channel for any length of time or you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I love my Google Calendar. I live my life by it. It truly is wonderful and I will admit that now it's almost impossible to function without them. I mean, where is your phone right now is probably right by you or you're even watching this video on it.

But I also think it is so important to have a daily paper planner.

Having a visual physical planner helps our mind process the tasks that we need to complete.

A daily planner is also a great way to have your notes and to do lists all in one place, which means you can throw away all those random post it notes and just have everything in your daily planner.

It also works as a great documentation system for things that have already happened. So if your memory is not 100% spot on, then your daily planner could end up being your best friend.

#9 | Eliminate Distractions In Your Environment

Our mind is constantly being bombarded with information, so it's really important that we have a system to weed out everything apart from the essentials. And the first step with this is to eliminate any auditory or visual distractions in our environment.

If your mind is full of off-target things, that is a massive productivity killer because it's essentially just mind clutter. So here are a few things I find helpful to make your environment more conducive to a more productive day.

First of all, reduce background noise

Turn off all those notifications on your phone, or at least put it on silent when you're working. And definitely listen to lyric free music as this will really, really help with your concentration.

If you are in an environment with people who are making a lot of noise, you could even get some noise canceling headphones. They might not eliminate background noise all together, but they can be a game changer when it comes to keeping you focused.

Reduce the visual distractions

So we've already talked about how to reduce distractions on your desk, but there's also some other visual elements that could be distractions as well.

Are you sitting by a window that has a lot of activity? Do a lot of different people walk by? Are you working with the TV on?

If you can take care of little factors like this, I promise you, you will feel so much more productive.

Sometimes even just shutting a door or changing the direction of your chair can solve a massive problem. This is one of the best decluttering tips out there!

#10 | Stay Off Social Media

This area doesn't really require that much explanation, does it? It is what it says on the tin!

I won’t spend too much time on this because I know that you know that spending way too much time on social media is a massive time suck.

So if you feel inclined to look at your social media accounts throughout the day, especially when you're working, then maybe save it for when you're on your lunch break or even as an afternoon treat.

There are lots of different things you can do, but the point is when you're in focused work time, unless you are using it for work, stay off it.

#11 | File Your Emails Or Delete Them After You’e Addressed Them

If you have your inbox open all the time, that is not the best relationship to have with your emails.

Address your emails only a few times a day and take action on items immediately. Block that time out throughout your day.

Turn off your email notifications, that ping constantly telling you that you've got a new email coming through.

If you don't do that, then you'll end up going off task and it will be a massive time waster because as soon as you see that notification pop up, you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else until you see what it is.

Now I realize that not every job will allow for this for even just setting certain times of the day aside to look at emails. That is definitely doable.

#12 | Keep Plants In Your Office

There has been so much research around plants and productivity.

Having plants in your workspace has been proven to make your workspace feel more calm and relaxed and anything that is going to help reduce anxiety is going to lead to better productivity.

So get a plant or five…depending on how big they are, you don't want it to be a jungle!

#13 | Use Draw Dividers

I know what one of your draws looks like in your workspace. You can't fool me. And the reason why I know this is because I have one that is exactly the same.

Drawer dividers are perfect if you have messy drawers and want to get everything in order. It means you'll be able to keep everything organized and you'll also be able to separate things by categories and everything.

Plus, it'll save you so much time when you go start looking for an item in your drawers because as soon as you open one of your drawers, you'll be able to see at a glance where everything is because of these dividers.

#14 | Make It Your Own

The most important thing to remember is that this is your workspace. It's where you work and you need to make it work for you.

It can turn into your haven, that safe space where you can go, that's just yours, your personal space. There is so much power in that, so look after it as you would yourself and even just committing to it. Just saying, I will look after my workspace. I will show the same care for my workspace that I show myself and knowing that sign that when you declutter through your desk at the end of the work day, that is when you are clocking off and you can go and enjoy the rest of your evening.

Your workspace will never work for you unless it's based on what you want it to be. Don't copy someone else's, base it on what makes you the most happy.

Have you grabbed your copy of my latest free guide, The Fab Four? This is your guide for learning the four daily non-negotiables I prioritize in order to help me create balance in my daily schedule. So This is the manual for which tasks you should be prioritizing on a daily basis and what that looks like for you. Plus there's an exercise called The To-Do List Detox which is going to give you some options for how you can add these things into your daily routine so you can have a well rounded, balanced day every day and live that boss lifestyle.

DOWNLOAD THE FAB FOUR! from Blog https://ift.tt/2QHYHXU via IFTTT

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mega-komal-zahid · 5 years ago

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How to get Good Marks in Exams

Have you got an important test coming up that you really want to ace? Do you generally want to improve your grades? There are a number of tricks and practices which can significantly improve your chances of scoring high on a test. This article will help you in studying, analysing and solving exam questions, so read on!

Absorbing Knowledge Efficiently

Pay attention in your classes and concentrate. The best thing you can do to raise your test scores is to pay attention when you're supposed to be learning the material: in class! Letting your mind wander or not showing up at all are both likely to make you miss out on key information that will later appear on tests.

Take good notes. This is important if you want to have an easier time studying later. Not only will writing the information down as you learn it help you in absorbing the information and paying attention, but you'll have a reference for when you go to study later.

Do your homework. Homework, such as assignments and at-home reading are where you will find the rest of the information that will be on tests, so doing this homework is important. Schedule time and set aside a quiet place just for homework to help beat the procrastination blues and develop awareness about How to get Good Marks in Exams.

Use mnemonics and other tricks.

Various memory tricks really can be useful for remembering certain things like numbers, categories, and lists. Just make sure that you learn them correctly and don't mix them up

Mnemonics are phrases which can help you remember the order of certain things. For example, "Katy Perry Came Over for Great Songs" is a great way to remember the biological classifications (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).

Another memory trick is if you have to remember a string of numbers. Instead of trying to remember 2537610925, for example, break it up like a phone number: 253-761-0925. You can break up dates this way too. 14 Oct 1066 (the Battle of Hastings) can become a locker combination: 14-10-66.

Do practice tests. Ask your teacher or go online and print a few practice tests. Taking a practice test will help you figure out how much information you actually know vs how much information you think you know. Knowing your weak spots before a test is crucial!

Study frequently. Studying hard for only a few hours the night before the test isn't going to help ensure perfect scores. If you really want to ace those exams, study old and new material every day, or at least several times a week. This will make test-taking a breeze. Best site for study is Talibilm.pk you can take benefit from them.

Take study breaks. When you study, make sure you take a 5-10-minute break after every 30 minutes of study. This will help keep your brain from getting overloaded and give it more time to absorb the information.

On study breaks, try not to fill your brain with more information, even if that information is more about your favourite celebrity's latest concert rather than Winston Churchill's foreign policy.

Study according to a learning style that fits the subject. Certain subjects are easier to understand when studied using a style that connects to the nature of the subject. For instance, if you're studying literature, you'll need visual reading and writing activities. If you're studying music, you'll need auditory resources. For art courses, kinaesthetic activities often help.

Learning styles, as conventionally understood, are somewhat controversial. Many academic studies suggest that learners develop subjective preferences for studying material, but these styles don't necessarily mean they learn better through these styles

Nevertheless, the idea of learning styles still persists even in academic circles. If a subjective preference for a certain learning style helps motivate you to study, you can still try it.

Take advantage of sense memory. Your brain is pretty good at associating smells or sounds with ideas or memories. You should take advantage of this! While you're studying, wear some unusual cologne or perfume (with a smell you don't usually encounter) and then expose yourself to that smell again right before or during a test

Listen to music Your teacher probably won't let you have headphones during a test, but you should at least listen to music, specifically classical music, right before taking a test. Studies have proven that exposure to certain types of music right before rigorous mental activity can really help, by waking up your brain and increasing your awareness.

Eat right. The most important thing is to eat, full stop. Being hungry during a test will distract you and make you tired. Don't eat too soon before a test though, as some foods can make you tired. Instead, make sure you get a meal filled with lean protein before you have to take a test.

Eating healthy will generally boost brain performance too, so make sure you're always eating a healthy diet to help you learn all through school.

Sleep well. If you don't sleep, you won't be able to focus when the pressure's on! Make sure to go to bed early the night before a test, rather than staying up all night to study. Your brain won't be able to hold on to all that crammed information anyway

Have all the necessary supplies. Go to your test with all of the calculators, pens, pencils, blank paper, and other supplies you might need. Not having these things could mean you'll have a much harder time!

Drink lots of water. Getting dehydrated during a test can be distracting and reduce your ability to think clearly. Stay hydrated before your test and bring a bottle of water with you to the test as well.

Don't do anything different. If you aren't used to drinking coffee, now is a bad time to start. Try not to do anything different in your basic routine the day of or the night before the test. This can really throw you off.

Write important things down first. As soon as the test starts, write down all formulas or other important information on some scratch paper before you start going through the questions. This will help keep you from blanking when you need that information later

Do the problems you know first. Always do the fast, easy problems to which you know the answer first. This will help make sure that you get as much of the test done as possible. If you get stuck, just move on to the next problem that you can answer quickly.

Cross out the wrong answers. Once you've answered the questions you know, move on to the ones you're not sure about. When you're dealing with multiple choice questions, eliminating answers that you know are impossible or silly will help you better decide between the possible options.

Look for clues in the other questions. Sometimes the answer to a question can be contained within or hinted at in another question on the test. Look at other answers or questions to help jog your memory.

Never leave questions blank. Unless you're docked for incorrect answers, never just leave a question blank. Especially if it's multiple choice; you'll at least have a 25% chance of getting the right answer.

Pace yourself. This is important! Always keep track of how much time you have and try to use your time wisely. You can always go back to check or improve your answers later!

Another Tips: How to get Good Marks in Exams

How to Score Good Marks in Board Exams in Short Time: 99% Useful Tips: These are basic and helpful tips and tricks to prepare for board exams before a month of exam commencement. What are the simplest ways to get good marks in board exams? This is a very simple and most common question which occurs mostly in every student’s mind and students who are magnetised to the books are likely to get worried about good marks in each subjects. This article is about how to score good marks in board exams, means you are covering all subjects and overall you are trying to get place in merit list or under 10 students. This is not easy to get place in merit list or get place in top 20 students. You have to sacrifices many things.

These tips and tricks are really useful and after doing research on more than 200 students, we find that if an average student will follow these tips, s/he will definitely score more than 90% in any board exam. Students who are preparing for board exam, and other examination they should know all these tips and keep these on your mind.

Before writing my view in this article, we have bunch of question and one of them which is really most important that,

Can an average students score more than 90% in board exam?

Can I? Yes, you can, because “Nothing is impossible”. If an abnormal child can become talented star like Hrithik Roshan, then everything is possible. But there are some rules which must be followed to make that impossible, possible.

Impossible is combination of “I Am Possible “. So keep working hard for your ambitions and follow all the steps given below to score good marks in your Board examinations.

Time Management – Daily Routine

Time is killer, a though came in my mind that, “if you didn’t care for time, time will never give you a chance to care for the thing you needed”. That’s simple time is one of the most dangerous thing, you should take care of. Make a chart for your daily routine and give maximum time to your study. Suppose you spend 6 hours in your bed and rest 18 hours must be used for your exam preparation.

· A student is never pressurized for earning and other family matters. You are a student’s so give maximum time to your study.

· Your daily routine must be like, wake up at 4 o’clock, take 15 min to be fresh and have a cup of tea/coffee. Then open your book. and study till 7 O’clock.

· Then go for morning walk which is important, then take your breakfast till 8 O’clock. If you are at home, then again collect your notes of other subjects and start practicing. Don’t study more than 2 hours continuously take some break in between.

· Around 1 O’clock take your lunch and then take a nap for 45 min. Then again get ready for your exam preparation.

· In the evening you must go with your friends for some entertainment or physical activities.

·Then around 7 O’clock start your study and then have your diner before 9 O’clock. After your diner you must revise all the things you read whole day.

· Go to bed before 10 O’clock and revise the chart for next day.

Having Good Food and Drinking More Water Will Help

Healthy Food, water, and juice are high of energy and protein which helps your brain to work fast and also helps in remembering what you studied.

70% of your brain is filled with water, so that you must know the importance of water. Regularly drink water and drink more than 2 letter per day.

Well food will help you to focus on your study and this will also make you physically strong. Which is really important according to the exams? Once you are suffering from fever it will less your 20 to 30 marks in each subjects and you have to face a big loss. 20 or 30 marks are really hard to get and these marks will decrease your percentages by 4 to 6.

Doing Meditation for 30 Min Per Will Increase Memory Power by 20%

Make a hobby of doing meditation. First 2 weeks you will feel it useless but once you will realize the benefits of meditation. You will become habitual of it.

We got some query from our students, one of them was – Sir, I can’t focus on study, when I sit in the desk and after few minutes of beginning my mind diverts to another thing. Every time I try to focus on study I disturbed will useless thoughts, so please help us.

For those students, we have only one solution and that is do meditation and you will be focused on your study. regularly do meditation for 30 min at a peaceful place and see the result.

Take A Nap & Sleep Well

Relaxation! Doing rest give us pleasure and one of the most enjoyable thing is sleeping while you are tired. Students study full day and worry about their exam. They should not worry about exam. Students should take a nap or break between long time study.

Don’t study for more than 2 hours regularly. Take 5 to 10 min break between your study, it will help you to remind what you learnt.

Sleeping is best experience for anyone, but our parents thing that this is exam time you should not sleep more than 4 hours.

I have heard people to scolding their children’s for not sleeping before 11 pm and waking up at 3 am. This is not good for health and you have to pay for it if you are doing so. Take full 6 hours of sleep and this relaxation will help you to score good marks.

Challenge Yourself

Challenge your self means, set target for doing things before time and doing better with the time. For suppose you got 30% in first term, then improve yourself and get 50% in second term. Then work hard and once you will get 95% in final board exam.

You will not succeed until you have not make an ambition to chase. Increase your performance day by day and this will only happen when you will regularly study and follow these steps. Read more details just visit Talibilm.pk.

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