#i was listening to my news update podcast and ran when i heard that

[amethystsoda]

wym we’re withdrawing from the World Health Organization………..

[maureen-corpse]

Okay, so, here's what I've been stressing out about. A while ago I listened to this podcast called Sold a Story (link here) about a method of teaching children to read that absolutely does not sound like it should be real because it does not make sense. Every time the podcast host describes it, I feel as if there is a massive gap and there is some key piece of information I'm missing because I cannot see how someone could see one of these fragments of a lesson or hear a description--even a more favorable version of a description--and think it makes sense as a way to teach children how to read.

Now, here's a caveat: I haven't done any further reading on this topic yet. My last search was to see if I could find any lesson plans online real fast and I could not. Real fast, you see. I have more reading to do! I need to just look at bibliographies and then the bibliographies of the items in those bibliographies and just torture some local librarians, probably. Or, I don't know, maybe JSTOR will help me.

Just for your reference, I'm going to dive into the transcripts of a couple of episodes and copy the description of this idea about teaching reading here. This is a list of "strategies" used to figure out what a new word is, from the second episode of the podcast: "Look at the first letter. Look at the picture. Think of a word that makes sense."

Now, from the first episode, here is a part where a lesson is described, and because this is a long quote I'm going to put a read more here:

Teacher: I’m gonna read a little bit of this story to you. And if I get stuck on a word, I want you to try to help me figure out what that word could be. The teacher reads the story. The kids can see the words on the screen, they’re following along as she reads. And then the teacher comes to a word that she’s covered up with a little yellow sticky note. Teacher: OK, so we’re gonna stop right here on this covered word. Adams: And the teacher says, “What could this word be? Let’s look at the picture.” Teacher: We’re gonna see if the picture helps us to figure out what that word would be. The kids can’t see the word. It’s covered with the sticky note. So there’s no way they can sound it out. They’re just trying to figure out what the word could be based on what’s going on in the story. Teacher: If we think about what’s happening so far in the story – we know Zelda and Ivy’s dad made cucumber sandwiches for lunch. And Zelda and Ivy didn’t want to eat the sandwiches, so they ran away. And now they think their mom and dad will…? Will…what? Zelda and Ivy ran away and now they think their mom and dad will…scold them? Find them? Teacher: Do you think that covered word could be the word “miss?” Ah. Miss them.  Teacher: Could it be the word “miss”? Because now that they’re gone maybe their parents will miss them? The teacher asks the kids to think about whether “miss” could be the word…using the strategies they’ve been taught. Teacher: Let’s do our triple check and see. Does it make sense? Does it sound right? How about the last part of our triple check? Does it look right? Let’s uncover the word and see if it looks right? The teacher lifts up the sticky note and indeed, the word is “miss.” Teacher: It looks right too. Good job. Very good job. Go ahead and click on the next slide so you can practice this strategy on our next part of our story.

When I first heard this I started losing my mind. If you just teach the kids to read and then show them the word maybe they'll figure it out! Why are you hiding the word from them! It's written down! They don't need to guess! It's written down! They could just read it! You can teach them to read and they can read it! It's there!

Anyway. Moving on. This is not organized. I promised you a rambling post and a rambling post this shall be.

Within the past few days the Sold a Story podcast feed was updated with additional episodes. These are in fact audio documentaries that were produced before Sold a Story was. (Additional episodes are promised, however, it seems.) And I've been listening to these documentaries and getting STRESSED OUT again because, you know, I love getting stressed. I love worrying. You know how it is. So, anyway, in one or two of these, it talks about this idea of reading in order to "comprehend the meaning of the text" (not a direct quote) rather than reading to read individual words.

One example used is a child reading, for example, story about a cowboy, and a sentence along the lines of "The cowboy rides a ____." The suggestion is that if the actual word is "horse," it's fine for a reader to guess that it might be "pony" and move along because the meaning is the same.

Now, if you are a horse girl or if you know a horse girl--I was an aspiring horse girl in my youth and am friends with several horse girls--you will know that "horse" and "pony" do not mean precisely the same thing. This assertion is bonkers. But you do not need to be or know a horse girl or a cowboy or an equestrian to know that this view of reading seems, uh, at odds with writing. With things like the idea that writers choose particular words for a reason. I found myself thinking it's asking children to behave like large language models, despite how much older it is--try to guess what word is most likely to come next; don't read to see what has been written and figure out what the writer has to say. People can't do a close reading if they're just making stuff up. And this got popular? How? I am baffled. I need to know how people were sold this. What comes between saying, "Children must learn to read," and saying, "All right, kids, take a guess at what this word might be"? Is it really just that the people were charismatic and had good vibes? Is there the slightest chance that Sold a Story is secretly evil and mega biased and just incapable of explaining this teaching approach normally? (Here's the thing: I learned to read as a kid and I only ever remember doing ordinary phonics instruction. Now, to be clear, it's really more that I don't remember anything the least little bit like the whole language/three-cuing/whatever approach the podcast describes--it's been a long time since I learned to read. But I remember sounding out words, you know? And here I am. Reading. So that's the extent of what I know so far: my personal experience learning to read and this one podcast.)

You can see why I need to do more reading on the subject (and why I want to see lesson plans. I want to see what happens during week one of a whole language reading curriculum). Now, Sold a Story assures me that a lot of schools are moving away from this and moving back toward phonics instruction, but folks. I am STRESSED. Literacy is SO good and SO important and people are just bungling it? We have free public education and we're not even teaching the children how to read? Listen, I know so many schools are underfunded and bad. I know. But what I did not know was that sometimes people just make up teaching methods that sound absolutely delusional and then still manage to make millions of dollars selling them anyway.

I just can't quite wrap my mind around it. You have to think of a word that makes sense. But these are children. They are absorbing information as quickly as they can but they don't know everything yet. Maybe they don't know about cowboys. What if they just plain don't know the word? Why does it sound like this method is meant to suggest that the written word is some kind of spell for unlocking secret knowledge contained within a person when it is actually just a way of transmitting information, including information a person does not have? My god, you can see a word you don't know, and if you see all the individual letters and spell it, you can look it up in a dictionary! You can learn a new word! Gain new information!

Also, my other question that has never been addressed--actually I have two questions. First: where, in the process of teaching children to read, does teaching children to write come up? And next, the question that has never been addressed but my asking it would be informed by the answer to my previous question: I really rather feel like this method of teaching children to read must make for very bad writers, doesn't it? If they aren't, for one thing, actually reading words, but mainly making their best guesses and scooting by, they are not absorbing the spellings of words. It does help a great deal, when writing, to be able to put a word down on paper. And if you aren't actually absorbing what words different writers select for different purposes, you can't make word choices yourself. You can't pull from the knowledge you have gained from other writers because you didn't read their work at all. You made it up based on, what, conversations you've had? Movies you've watched? But you didn't ever learn how to meaningfully engage with the text set before you.

All right. That's all I have for now. I am stressed. About literacy. I know it may be risky posting something like this--unedited and everything--on the reading comprehension web site, but, you know. I'm living dangerously.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Little Bones 1

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series); harassment, general creepiness

This is dark! (biker) Thor x chubby!reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Series Synopsis: You’re a city girl stuck in a small town, but Birch isn’t as sleepy as it seems.

Sister series to Smalltown Bringdown and When the Weight Comes Down

Note: So, I’ve made some positive changes in my life. I am working away at original work, I’m drinking more water, I’m taking my dog on big walks and being more active, and I’m doing my best. So, I was struck with an old yearning to return to Birch. I’ll be updating here and there as I feel and won’t be pushing myself like I did before because I realise how unhealthy and stressful it was on me.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Chapter 1: It gets so sticky down here

A city girl in a small town. What could be sadder than that?

In the city, life went fast. In a place like Birch, the days dragged by as if to remind you of how helpless you were beneath the unyielding and inevitable tick of the clock. The hand wound around and around as you waited for what would never happen. The dreams of your childhood eroded beneath the rolling years leaving trail of crumbs you could not follow back to the beginning.

A woman just beyond her prime trapped in an antiquated career. The empty aisles between the shelves full of books bespoke of a bygone era. The forgotten library at the far end of the main street rarely saw a new face and those familiar were fewer by the day. The staff had thinned to three of you; Melissa was older than you with a daughter nearly your age and Colin was close to retirement if not well past.

You got on well enough, as well as you could given Colin’s faulty hearing aid, and Melissa’s wandering mind. They meant well but they shared the lethargy of the old small town. 

You weren’t nostalgic for the smog or the flashing lights of the city, but there was no life to this place. Only the impending reach of death rattling closer in the roar of the motorcycles and the rumble of the old railroad that ran through the middle of town.

The air nipped at your cheeks as you approached the library. A morning of yawning had you craving a latte from the bakery and the quiet girl behind the counter cheerfully steamed the foam before handing it over. Everyone in this town was familiar, everyone knew everyone else, and yet, you still felt like an outsider.

You felt the heat of the cup through your glove and you looked up as you sensed two figures by one of the thick columns of the library façade. Melissa stood chatting with her daughter, hugging her sweater around her as she’d left her coat inside. You peeked up at the grey sky as snow threatened at any moment with the mid-November bite.

As you thought to pass them and leave their conversation uninterrupted, your name drew you back.

“I was just telling my daughter,” Mel began as she waved you over with a chatter of her teeth. “About that podcast you mentioned. She loves those old Hollywood stars.”

“Oh,” you blew the steam away from the lid of your drink as you neared, “It’s alright. The stories are worth the narrator’s schtick.”

“Yeah? I’ve been closing at the bar and I like to listen to something once it clears out.” Mel’s daughter said. “You wouldn’t mind giving me the name?”

You told her the title of the podcast and helped her find it on Spotify to follow for later. Mel shivered and stood closer to her daughter who was bundled up against the onslaught of Birch’s blustering winter. You knew about her too. 

She was friendly but you saw in her a cynicism more common to city folk. You got along but you were weary of her associations. The local club of crass bikers were neither subtle nor savoury. In the city, it was easy enough to ignore the patch and all that came along with it. The seedy figures were distilled by the broader population but not in Birch. There, the club was the town.

“Mom, you can’t stay out here.” She poked her mother’s arm. “It’s too cold.”

“Little better in the library.” You grumbled and sipped your latte. “The radiator’s broken again.”

“You mean Colin broke it trying to fix what wasn’t broken,” Melissa shook her head, “and I’m fine, dear. I’ve spent more than fifty winters in Birch and been through worse than this.”

“Yes, but you were younger then--” Her voice dwindled as she turned her head to listen to the distant roar of exhaust.

You followed her gaze and noted the way her forehead creased at the noise. She swallowed and turned to watch as a dark rider turned onto the main road from the highway. It was the man who kept her entwined with the club, the one who marked her latent authority over all others. The only one who outranked her.

She swore and looked over her shoulder at her mother. Her mother touched her arm. It was a telling and surprising moment. Her expression read of all the disgust you felt for the bikers.

At least a dozen bikes followed the first and Bucky raised his glove hand to signal the others to slow as he pulled up to the curb just before the library steps. You backed away as his breath clouded around him and he waved Mel’s daughter closer. He craned to kiss her as she bent, her fingers picking at her jeans as she did, then he nodded his greeting to Mel.

“What are you doing?” He asked tersely.

“Can’t I see my mother?” The daughter challenged and the biker scoffed.

“Of course,” he killed his engine and the others mimicked him in fine order. “I wouldn’t keep ya from her but you didn’t tell me you were going downtown.”

“You were gone.”

You listened to the conversation as you stayed close to the column, thinking of sneaking up the steps into the library before you heard too much. Your curiosity had you searching the crowd of leather jackets as their wearers tried to conceal their impatience with their boss’ impromptu halt.

Among them, a large man sat casually in his seat, his feet planted on the cold pavement as he rolled slightly back and forth. Strands of his thick blond hair were drawn back beneath his helmet into a thick braid as the rest hung around his shoulders. His patch was different from the rest, an old Norse symbol you didn’t know the meaning of. There were several others who wore the same cut, including a dark-haired woman who chatted with another golden-haired rider.

You tasted your latte again, it cooled quickly as the cold air battered the cardboard. As you sipped and sidled around the column, your eyes were caught by another pair. The very man you’d just been watching was now focused on you. You stopped, hoping like some frightened animal that your stillness would ward off his attention.

“Barnes,” the broad blonde man spoke as he finally looked away. “You’ve not even introduced me to your woman. I assume that’s why we’ve stopped.”

Bucky shifted on his bike and sighed. You hadn’t expected the man to have an accent. His voice was deep but the subtle lilt defined his tone as unforgettable. The dark-haired biker of Birch rolled his eyes before he pointed to his girl and gave her name, then to Melissa as he explained their relation.

You sidestepped around the column to the stairs of the library and turned away. You were stopped again by the same voice.

“And that one? The quiet one?”

You spun back slowly and looked at each biker, many unconcerned with conversation, as a few stared back at you or at the viking-like rider. Bucky shook his head and furrowed his brow at Melissa’s daughter. She hesitated before she gave your name coolly referred to you as just another librarian. She was trying to deflect the focus and you were thankful for it. You wondered at her own blatant spite for that breed of man.

“No one important,” Bucky grabbed his keys. “Come on, honey. I’ll give you a ride back.”

“I can walk.”

“Get on.” He said gruffly and turned the keys.

The motorcycles thrummed back to life in a cacophony. You flinched and turned back to the library doors. Your lunch was almost over as it was and the cold was starting to make your head hurt. You heard the bikes tear off as you reached the door and you turned back to watch as Melissa ran up after you.

You held the door for her and paused as you watched riders tear away. The blonde remained and watched you with a smirk. He winked as he slowly rolled after the others and pushed off. You followed Melissa inside and pulled the door shut tightly behind you.

“I’ll finish the returns,” you slipped past her, “you should try to warm up.”

“Thanks, dear,” she rubbed her hands together as she neared the curve desk you all shared, “God, that man makes my skin crawl.”

“But your daughter--”

“She handles him as well as she can,” Melissa sat and logged onto her boxy PC, “she’s stronger than me, that’s for sure.”

You sat and chewed on the thought. You just assumed her daughter leaped at the opportunity to date the most powerful man in town. What else could a girl from Birch hope for?

“She doesn’t…”

“He keeps her safe, I guess,” Melissa muttered, “I don’t say nothing against it. I won’t, for her sake as much as mine.”

You lowered your lashes and turned to the stack of unscanned books. You took the first and opened the cover.

“I didn’t mean to-- I don’t really know anything about the… bikers.”

“Hope you never do, dear,” she said listlessly. “Those men, if you can call them that, are the lowest form of humanity.”

💀

You always took the same route home. It wasn’t very far. You lived in the studio apartment above Tammy’s, the clothes shop where all the local seniors got their outdated outfits. The store itself smelled like a retirement home but you were not often disturbed by the activity below. Like everything in Birch, it wasn’t very exciting.

Your walk took you past the diner and along the stretch across the street from the town’s sentinel, The Asp. The bar was the only place in town which always seemed to be bursting with life. You had an old Chevrolet parked behind the building but you never drove to work, only on your odd trip to the city to get away from the suffocation malaise of main street.

That day as you fumbled to get your earbud back in, you heard a whistle. You got a few comments now and again about your habit of blocking out the townsfolk and the town itself with your music. In the city, you didn’t just say hi to every person you walked by and you had little inclination to change that habit.

You kept going and the whistle came louder. You heard boots hammer across the street and you stopped as the earbud once more fell out of your ear.

“Eh, kitten,” you turned to the long-haired biker. A golden hammer hung from a chain and peaked out from the open collar of his jacket. He tucked his hands in his pockets as you faced him with blatant irritation. “We didn’t get to meet properly, did we?”

You stared at him and let out a foggy breath. You leaned on your left heel and shook your head with a scoff.

“No.” You said and turned back along your path.

“No?” He repeated and his footsteps followed closely. “I’m only being friendly, kitten. I’m not from around here and I’m just tryn’ ta make a few friends.”

“I’m not interested,” you march onward and stop short. 

You realised if you went any further, you’d lead him straight to your door. You didn’t need him knowing where you lived. You veered off and crossed the street, he stayed close just like your shadow. You’d stop by the liquor store and wait him out there.

“Where are you going, kitten?”

“Can’t you take a hint?” You nearly tangled your own legs as you pivoted sharply. “I’m sorry for your luck that you’ve ended up in Birch but I don’t know you and I don’t want to know you.” You grasped the handle of the liquor store door. “Oh, and my name isn’t kitten.”

“I know your name. I remember it.” He grinned and you swung open the door. He caught it behind you and you let out a frustrated sigh as he trailed you inside. “It’s almost as gorgeous as you.”

“Do those work on the women where you’re from?”

You stared at the shelf of fruit wines and tried to ignore him. You were starting to build a real thirst for the bottles.

“I don’t meet a lot of women like you, kitten.”

“Would you stop it--” You blinked and stomped further down the aisle.

“Thor. My name’s Thor.” He offered gallantly. “But you can call me whatever you wish.”

“I could think of a few things.” You bent down to read the label of a wine from the Maritimes.

“Mmm, my thoughts run wild, kitten.” He purred and you looked up at him in confusion.

You swiped the bottle from the shelf and stood straight. His eyes clung to your ass and as you turned, they swiftly found your chest. Neither were well-hidden by your jacket, even as thick as it was. Your weight often deterred the whistles and the leers, but not this time.

“How many ways can I tell you to go away?” You hissed and move to step around him. He turned and watched you pass. He shivered as you brushed against him unwillingly in the narrow aisle.

“So, you got a man?” He questioned as again he tailed you to the counter. You grabbed a small bottle of Vodka from the rack beside it and dug out your wallet.

“Does it matter?”

He bent and leaned on the counter beside you and you ignored his attempt to look you in the face. You paid and took your change as the clerk bagged your purchase.

“To me, everything about you matters, kitten.”

You shot him a sharp look and took your paper bag. You hugged it close and glared at him as he straightened. “Stop calling me that.”

“Here,” he gripped the top of the bag, “I’ll help.”

“I’ll smash this bottle over your head,” you threatened. “Now I’ve told you to leave me alone.”

He chuckled and dipped his head. His hair slid down the leather and he scratched his thick beard.

“Don’t worry, kitten, I like to play.” 

He looked at you again, his blue eyes twinkling. You were startled as suddenly he ‘woofed’’ at you. You backed away and he kept close as is to chase you, ready to salivate like the dog he mimicked.

“Get away!” You shouted and raced for the door.

His barks turned to laughter and the bell announced your stagger out onto the street. You didn’t look back as you charged across the street and narrowly missed being mowed down by Linda Karling. You reached the other side as you heard the liquor store door clatter a second time. You sensed his shadow as you turned down a side street.

You walked until you were certain he wasn’t following. The cold blew up your jacket as you mapped out your way back. You could sneak around the back of the clothes shop and sneak up the metal escape. You peered back and forth, the old house just at the town limits nearly faded into the dimming sky and main street shrouded by brick walls.

“Hey,” a small voice surprised you as a woman neared, walking the same route as you. “Whatcha doing all the way up here?”

You stared at her dumbly. It was the woman who worked at the bakery. She hung out with the club too.

“Nothing, I…” You grabbed your earbuds and put them back in your ears. “I was listening to my music and got carried away.”

“Oh?” she chittered like a mouse. “No one comes this way. Only me to see my ma.”

You nodded at her and gave an awkward smile. “Mmhmm. Well, thanks. I probably would’ve wandered right out of town.”

“I wouldn’t blame you,” she said forlornly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“For your latte. And you always get the banana loaf when it’s on special and tomorrow’s Tuesday.”

You sniffed and rubbed your neck. You hated that. You hated that everyone knew you, that everyone knew what you did, and that they assumed they knew everything else. But she was sweet and you couldn’t hate her for never being freed from the prison of Birch.

“Oh yeah,” you squeezed the paper bag so it crinkled and pulled out your phone with your free hand, “tomorrow.”

[himbeaux-on-ice]

Who are your top five NHL teams and why?

Ooooo this is fun! Thanks anon!

Short list:

Habs ❤️🤍💙

Pens 🐧

Canucks 🌈🌊

Caps 🦅

Leafs 🟦🍁🟦 (no really! I know I don’t talk about them much but its true!)

Over-wordy explanations/backstory for my relationship to each of these teams below the cut for those interested!

Montreal Canadiens. My dearly beloved Nana, who half-raised me, is a lifelong diehard Habs fan who grew up listening to their games on the radio and then later as an adult watching them duel with the Leafs on Saturday nights on a black-and-white tv (also a BIG Carey Price stan). Needless to say she rubbed off on me immensely, and I remember saying to myself at some point “well, if that’s Nana’s team, that’s gonna be my team too” and it stuck for life. I also had a friend in middle school who was a RELIGIOUS Habs fan who also worshipped at the altar of Jesus Price in those early 2010’s, so I heard a LOT about all of that every lunch break as he argued with friends who were Pens and Bruins fans lol. We went on the Bell Centre tour during the annual 9th grade French class trip to Quebec, and while I was mostly focused on getting to the gift shop to buy Nana a souvenir, I swear my friend’s eyes were the size of quarters the whole time lmao. (Would LOVE to go back now that I care a lot). Basically the Habs are the closest thing to a local NHL team our region has bc we get their broadcasts (though people choose their own team allegiances for various random personal reasons), and I grew up absorbing through osmosis both the legends of yore and the latest updates on whatever Carey and PK and the lads were up to. (Also I’ve been quietly in love with Price myself since at least the 2014 Olympics lol. My first best fav ❤️) Bottom line the Habs are My Team, the “I’m gonna be here even when it sucks, even when players move on, this is attached to me in a way I can’t quite explain” team that every hockey fan has in their heart. GO HABS GO!

Pittsburgh Penguins. If you were an elementary school kid in Nova Scotia when Sidney Crosby was first released and up through the 2010’s, you had two options: love him, or hate him, but you better accept you’re gonna be hearing about him a LOT. I settled on “vague fondness” and followed Sid from a newspaper-scanning distance and vaguely rooted for him because when he brought the Cup home it felt like we all won. And like I said, lots of passionate Pens fans in my grade school classes to hear from (he’s also the only non-Habs player my Nana likes lol). Then I got into hockey properly last year and learned about Geno beyond just knowing his name, and my chronic affection for large loveable Russians got combined with my longstanding vague “I hope the Penguins win” feelings and my “time to get the full story on the Sidney Crosby’s Penguins narrative I only ever watched from a distance” research, in a manner not unlike the creation of the PowerPuff Girls ([chemical X] etc etc lol) to create a potent adoration for this team that rocketed them to second place in my heart. Also the fandom is just so damn fun and makes such great content, and that definitely feeds my level of engagement with the Pens!! Sometimes, when I want an emotional pick-me-up I watch one of their last 3 championship films just to remember what joy and optimism is — I would love to be present as a real-time fan for another adventure like that. With how much I know about them and how much I care, they’re my #2 for sure. I love those flightless fucks!!

Vancouver Canucks. So I started watching live NHL hockey games last summer around I think game 2 of the Habs’ first round series against the Flyers (I saw Price’s “Miracle Save” on twitter while following along bc I was intrigued by the fact that they made it through the play-ins, and was like “OKAY NOW I GOTTA SEE THIS SHIT LIVE”). That was really fun! Riiiight up until the Habs got eliminated. :/ And I was like “well, shit. I’m enjoying this hockey thing too much to stop now. who else is still around I can root for?” And the Canucks were the last Canadian team still in it, and there was buzz about their miraculous first-round win but also uncertainty I believe Markstrom had *just* got injured. So I started watching, ended up witnessing the Bubble Demko Miracle unfold live, had my heart charmed off me by “whatever the hell those two lil blonde bitches have going on” and a delightful underdog story, and here I am. Hitched to the Canuck wagon whether I enjoy it or not. Here for whatever happens! (Doesn’t hurt that I love me some Elton John too 😉)

Washington Capitals. I’m a person who is more likely to be really engaged with a team that has super interesting personalities, characters, and narratives around it — and my GOD are the Capitals good for that. I absolutely definitely started down this road with that mic’d up video from the 2018 final of Ovi telling Nicke “after me, I give it to you baby!” re: the Cup. Like I can pinpoint that there was a day I saw that for the first time in a gifset, squinted at the screen, said “you’re fucking with me...”, went to youtube, watched it be for reals, and was like “well. now I need to know more about ALL this.” After watching games and learning more about the team, I really enjoy the Caps’ “big dumb found family of stone-cold total weirdos” energy, their fun collective chemistry, their Cup story, etc. And oh BOY the fandom is fun during game lb’s! I love all the in-jokes and player nicknames, our delight with the quirks of our colourful wonderful broadcast crew (shoutout Wine Uncles & Co), the way we cheer for record-breaking milestones like they’re a first NHL goal! Being a fan of the Caps AND the Pens can be a bit awkward sometimes, and the team certainly has its blemishes, but my heart is big enough for two Metro teams for sure, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Toronto Maple Leafs. So like, as you can imagine from my previously described upbringing in Hab Land, “haha Leafs suck” is a punchline I have long been familiar with and trained to recite. I got a solid 3 days of laughter and entertainment out of the whole Zamboni Driver Saga last February, oh boy did I ever. But the thing is.... I have the Leafs to thank for the fact that I watch hockey now. See, the entire reason I started paying proper attention to the playoff bubble last summer was because one day, I happened to see the phrase “WHAT IS HAPPENING” trending at 16k tweets on twitter, and clicked on it like “huh?”. Turns out the Leafs were in the middle of their miraculous 3-minute comeback against Columbus and the country was losing its mind. And when they won, I was like “huh... the Zamboni Team is doing THIS??? I may have to start paying attention to this playoffs thing, because if they go All The Way I think that might be the only thing funnier than the Zamboni Incident”. Aaaaand when they immediately lost the next game and were eliminated I was like “lol, sounds about right” and was then immediately distracted by news of the Habs winning the play-in round. So then I spent several months watching playoffs and forgetting about the Leafs. And then one day in early October, looking on YouTube for more hockey to watch after the playoffs ended, I stumbled across something called a Hat Pick, and boy I actually enjoyed this shouty man’s sense of humour and takes on the game... and then when I ran out of Hat Picks and Dangits I watched some Trade Trees, which pulled back the curtain on the business side of the game... and then I discovered LFR’s, which were good background noise for doing tasks... and then I was recommended the episode of the Steve Dangle Podcast about Mitch Marner and The List... and next thing I knew I was listening to more of this podcast, because I found Steve and the guys to be insightful and funny and there was no hockey to watch, and I was trepidatious about accidentally stumbling into the more toxic corners of hockey fandom if I branched out for other content... and, well. If you spend enough hours listening to people passionately analyze every facet of a team, shout and cheer over a team, make fun of that team, nearly cry over that team... it’s really REALLY hard to not start to care about it. Leafs analysis was basically how I learned most of what I’ve learned about hockey this past year! And kudos to Steve and Adam and Jesse, their passionate investment in the Leafs and great content has got ME invested in the Leafs mainly because I want to see things go well for them. I want Charlie Brown to kick the football! I love a triumph over adversity story! Also, I think if the Leafs did Do The Thing it would basically be the combination of “Cubs win the World Series” and “Raptors are the champs” and I wanna watch the city of Toronto go fully apeshit from a safe distance. I don’t adore many their individual players as much as I do some other teams higher on this list, and I still laugh far too much when things go super comically impossibly badly for them, but I am actually pulling for the Leafs!! I want to see it all pay off for them. I want them to go all the way. Gimme that “LEAFS WIN!!!” (Unless it’s against someone above them on this list lol)

[waitedforgarridebs]

Radio (1994): Merrison & Williams

The 3GAR adaptation that’ll shatter your heart into a million pieces

Clive Merrison and Michael Williams were the first pair of actors to play Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson who got to dramatise every single story of the entire canon – all four novels and 56 short stories.

In 1987, Bert Coules pitched a screenplay of HOUN to the BBC, which was greenlit and produced for radio with Roger Rees and Crawford Logan as the two lead actors. As this show ended up being a great success, Coules suggested to keep the series going, and the BBC agreed – however, they insisted on recasting. Eventually, the popularity of the show led to the decision to adapt literally every single canon story, and for the first time they actually managed to successfully achieve this feat over the course of the next 9 years. The Merrison-Williams-series ran on BBC Radio 4 from 1989 until 1998.

As Williams unfortunately died way too young in 2001, he could not continue his part as Dr Watson for the series of original stories written by Coules, “The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”. This sequel still got commissioned during his lifetime, and while the production team set everything on hold to wait until Williams got better, sadly this never happened. He eventually was replaced by Andrew Sachs for the last 15 stories of this series.

While Coules remained as lead writer of the show, he was supported by various other writers for this quite massive project. The adaptations of the stories are in their core quite true to the books: The characters’ lines were updated to a more modern sounding language, and filler scenes were written to expand especially the shorter, less dense cases to the runtime of 45 minutes per episode.

For Coules and his team, the Holmes stories are not primarily detective stories. They are stories about a detective – and, more than that: They are stories about a detective and his only friend. Watson isn’t considered to be a bumbling sidekick, but an actual co-lead.

(And yes, I am basically quoting Coules himself from an interview done for the “I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere” podcast, so I do not know if Moftiss nicked that pitch from him or vice versa.)

In order to stay true to every story’s essence, the writers were “imaginatively faithful” to the original cases. They would, for example, sketch out the backstory and all the inciting incidents leading up to a client’s inquiry at 221b, and dramatise a bit of the story Doyle only mentioned in passing, but never actually wrote down. Or they would invent new scenes, sometimes even new endings, whenever they thought the original version wasn’t as effective as it could have been.

The reason I am putting all of this over the cut is to make you aware of the fact that the changes in the story were all done with a purpose – in this case, to amplify its emotional impact.

Because, without this background knowledge, their changes to 3GAR appear to be absolutely devastating. Cruel, even.

Can I just start by saying that I love Merrison’s Holmes and Williams’ Watson?

Their chemistry is incredible. They breathe so much life into these two characters! They banter, they laugh, they at times even mock a particularly annoying client when said client can’t hear them – and sometimes even when they can *coughs* Killer Evans – and I regret not having listened to their entire work as of yet. 

(But that’s a good resolution for the new year if there ever was one!)

And, one thing I can say for certain: This Holmes is 100% in love with his Watson.

It is the “desperately unspoken” dynamic of TPLoSH all over again, but maybe a little less repressed. Also, Watson – again – has his three-continent-reputation to defend. They are stupid idiot boys, they don’t fucking TALK to each other, and it’s driving me up the wall, but at least they do very much consider each other family, and that is a really great step into the right direction.

That being said, do not listen to this version of 3GAR if you don’t have the time to be emotionally compromised after finishing it.

This adaptation first aired on October 26, 1994.

As mentioned earlier, the writers – in this case David Ashton – did add a bit of backstory as well as some filler scenes to stretch the episode over the entire runtime: the introduction shows how Evans shot Prescott, featuring seemingly indifferent, almost John-Mulaney-esque barkeepers, who are so very chill about the entire murder-thing happening in front of their eyes. “Oh, what is it about Friday nights, ey?”

Ashton not only gives characters like Saunders lines, but writes whole scenes just for them, and even paces longer exposition bits quite nicely by, for example, having the American John Garrideb start the explanation about the search for the third Garrideb in Baker Street, and Nathan Garrideb finish it by excitedly rambling about his impending fortune at the exasperated Saunders.

Not only pleasant filler scenes like these were added, however.

You see, there is a running theme throughout this episode: At the beginning, Holmes is quite his usual self, and mocks the concept of love, human connection, and relationships. He and Watson see a young couple in the park, the bloke teasing the girl and playfully stealing ... her ... hat ... *muffled screaching noises* ... and Holmes compares the couple to pidgeons: “The male puffs out his chest and the female runs around in circles.” Watson, as ever, doesn’t seem too opposed to the idea of having a woman in his life, and Holmes simply ends up pointing out that the couple is having their date quite close to where the gallows used to be. Charming as ever.

Throughout the episode, Holmes is confronted with the idea of love and companionship again and again, in very different scenarios, and gradually warms up to it. Which, looking at where the episode is headed – Watson realising that there is a heart behind the cold mask – is actually a beautiful thing to do, and certainly does make sense.

However, one morning Watson has business of his own to attend to. And that’s where the heartbreak sets in: In an added scene, they show Watson ring-shopping. 

(Not for Holmes, obviously. He seems to have met someone and plans on getting engaged, again. Very rude.)

So, while Holmes keeps realising that being alone all the time is not good for him, that he actually wants someone in his life, the only person who could fill this void runs around with a little box hidden in his coat pocket.

But, it gets worse.

Remember when I teased in the post about the Hobbs-Shelley-adaptation (x) that there is yet another way to include Watson’s internal realisation after getting shot? As in, neither putting it as a summary at the beginning nor at the end of the episode?

I was talking about this one.

Merrison’s Holmes, in my opinion, has the most emotional reaction to Watson getting shot. He literally panics. 

(And the fact that there are a couple of seconds of complete and utter silence after he rushes to Watson’s side really does not help!)

HOLMES: Watson, you’re not hurt! For god’s sake, say you’re not hurt! WATSON, in pain: Ugh... oh... almost worth it.  HOLMES: ... what!? WATSON: The pain. To see that look on your face. A great heart... as well as a great mind. HOLMES: Nonsense... I was merely worried about the surgeon’s bills. WATSON, bellows out a single laugh. HOLMES, tenderly: Here. L-l-let me look. WATSON: Oh no, it’s nothing Holmes. I should know it. It’s just a scratch. EVANS, groans in the background. WATSON: Did you shoot the fellow? HOLMES: No. The second shot was his also. But I laid my revolver along the side of his head. Wild West, indeed. – Watson, you are certain? WATSON: It’s just a scratch, Holmes. Honestly.

Then, Holmes first turns into the Hulk and then towards Evans, and if I ever heard a man speak through gritted teeth, then this is it.

And that following exchange features, honestly, the best non-canonical line of dialogue in Holmesian history:

EVANS: Say, what did you hit me with? HOLMES, not missing a single beat: JUSTICE!

But... it gets worse.

Evans gets arrested, and we get to see Watson and Holmes in Baker Street after the incident, where Holmes dresses Watson’s wounds – or at least he tries to, until Watson insists on doing it on his own, because Holmes is rubbish at it. Holmes then starts pacing around in the living room like an expectant father, “But is there nothing I can do??”

Watson tells him that he’d very much like to smoke a cigar, which leads to Holmes rummaging in the pockets of Watson’s coat.

And you’ve guessed it: Of course he finds The Box.

Cue: awkward moment where Watson tells him, for the first time, about his plans to get re-married.

And Holmes starts sulking, because Watson is about to leave him alone. Again.

But, it gets worse!

Suddenly, Lestrade calls. Holmes at first thinks this is about a case mentioned in passing earlier in the episode, but it is actually news about Nathan Garrideb: As you know, he didn’t take it too well that he never found a third Garrideb in Birmingham, and Lestrade now informs Holmes that Nathan got sent to a mental asylum. 

And... Holmes and Watson visit him there!

They happen to meet Saunders in Nathan’s room, who sadly ponders about the fact that Nathan was always so lonely during his lifetime, and that this isn’t healthy, and that this certainly contributed to the fact that his mind now snapped. 

Nathan eventually has a moment of clarity and recognises Holmes. After gifting his collection of bees to Holmes (...), he hopefully asks if Holmes came to tell him that he found the third Garrideb after all. Holmes, of course, has to decline, but he promises Nathan to find the man, if he exists.

But how, Nathan then exclaims in despair, can Holmes not know this! Holmes must know! He must know everything!!

So, the episode where Watson realises that Holmes does, in fact, love him, ends with an emotionally crushed and forsaken Holmes pondering about his retirement and keeping bees.

And that, my friends, is the most heart-breaking adaptation of 3GAR I have ever listened to.

[cyclone-rachel]

some non-fiction podcast recs:

The Ringo Zone (about Steven Universe, hilarious but can also get into deep conversation, updates sporadically and has short episodes but is always worth a listen)

Cult Podcast (about cults, the first 15-ish episodes don't have the best audio. starts out with two hosts, adds one once they get better audio, currently has three hosts. absolutely hilarious, very informative, probably my favorite at the moment)

Racial Draft Podcast (doesn't have the best audio sometimes but is otherwise really good! a newer podcast focusing on creating a shared comics universe/rewriting the backstories of existing characters, and "drafting" them to different teams (examples: making Superman Latine, Wonder Woman multiracial, Batman Asian, etc.)

Always Hold On to Smallville (about Smallville, going through it chronologically (currently on season 6) featuring special episodes covering other Superman-related topics. has a spin-off podcast about Arrow.

Hatewatch With Us: A Variety Show for Sarcastic People (covering a wide variety of things, you don't have to watch what they cover to enjoy their conversations, but it helps.)

Beer With Geeks (more emphasis on geeky pop culture than beer, a really fun podcast from the same hosts as Supergirl TV Talk)

Starkville House of El Krypton (about Syfy's Krypton, from one of the hosts of Supergirl TV Talk! positive and hilarious. sadly over now since Krypton is, but the same hosts will be covering Superman and Lois)

Oh No! Lit Class (about classic literature, or really anything that's been read in schools. also hilarious, NSFW)

Fansplaining (about fandom/fans, very interesting and informative! covers a wide variety of topics in fandom)

DC Films Squadcast (covering news about DC movies and TV, informative while still being entertaining to listen to)

Geek History Lesson (each episode covers a character, construct, team, etc. from pop culture, very informative and fun)

The Thunderquack Podcast (kind of entertainment news, but also whatever the hosts want to talk about that week. Hosted by two Canadians who also did an Arrow podcast)

The Book Hoes (about current books, young adult and otherwise)

Overly Animated Podcast (about animation, especially from a queer/queer-friendly lens. big fans of SU and ATLA/Korra)

Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulsen (hosted by voice actor Rob Paulsen, each episode features him interviewing someone in the animation industry. Probably over by now, but ran for like 8 years and was very good. The episodes with Corey Burton, David Kaye, Tara Strong, Kari Wahlgren, Tara Platt/Yuri Lowenthal, and Charlotte Fullerton are my favorites)

Oh No Ross and Carrie (hosts explore lots of things (like in one episode they become Mormons, for example), haven’t gotten deep into this one but it’s very interesting.)

Romancing the Pod (about rom-coms, started recently)

Song vs Song (If you’ve heard of Todd in the Shadows, he’s one of the hosts of this podcast, and he and another guy compare different songs to see which one is better)

The Horror Virgin (one of the hosts isn’t a fan of horror movies, and hasn’t seen very many of them if any, but the other hosts make him watch them. very funny even if you haven’t seen the movies)

Read it and Weep (basically hate-reading/hate-watching things, except with stuff they like. They do a “compliment sandwich”, where they find stuff to like about the thing at the beginning and end of every episode. I’ve known about this podcast since I was in high school when they first started talking about the Hunger Games and Twilight and stuff, they’re very good)

A Hot Dog is a Sandwich (about food debates, especially worth listening to if you like Good Mythical Morning)

[anagentinwriting]

Subscribe - Part 1

Summary: (Modern AU) Peter was your college sweetheart until a certain event led to your break up. Seven years later another event brings you two back together, but this time a little girl is in the picture. Will listening to your podcasts be the reason you two get back together or be another reason to keep you apart?

Pairing: Peter Quill x Reader

Word Count: 3452

Warnings: Accident, Hospitals, Injuries

Subscribe Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Peter tapped his foot as he listened to the new group talent Walkman Records was planning to sign. Natasha discovered The Revengers after watching their videos online realizing they had a distinct refreshing sound people would love. Val, their lead singer, could tell a story through her voice while her bandmates helped bring the story to life. Thor, a tall not so handsome guy, strummed the guitar, Heimdall beat on the bass, and Bruce played the drums. They were a great group of individuals, and he couldn’t wait to see where their career would take them.

Bucky sat beside Peter, listening to Val’s voice as he adjusted a few marks on the soundboard. Once he was satisfied, he leaned back in his chair to enjoy the rest of the song. Peter mouthed along to Val’s lyrics, getting lost in her song when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Mantis, I told you not to interrupt us unless it’s an emergency. Buck and I are in the middle of a session,” Peter remarked, swinging his chair around to face her.

“Sorry, but there is someone on the phone saying it is an emergency and needs to speak with you,” Mantis replied in a soft voice, looking a little shaken.

“Is it the same boy from Queens who keeps calling coming up with random reasons to get us to sign his girlfriend?”

“No, it’s a woman. She threatened to break my arm if I don’t get you on the phone right away.”

“Okay, well that doesn’t narrow it down,” Peter sighed, running a hand down his face. “Did you get a name?”

“Gamora,” Mantis whispered in a frightened tone.

“Sounds like something she would do. I’ll take the call in my office.” He stood up, nudging Bucky to let him know he needed to take a call. Bucky nodded as Peter stepped out of the room. He hasn’t spoken to Gamora since you broke up with him years ago, so why would she be trying to contact him now? “Hey Gamora, still threatening people I hear. What’s it been like......seven years?”

“Yup. It gets things done faster, and it’s pretty handy when it comes to my job.”

“I heard you’re a big-time lawyer these days, but I can’t say I‘m not surprised.”

“Whatever, Peter. I didn’t call to make small talk with you.” Gamora paused. “I know you and YN didn’t end on the best of terms, but I promised her that if anything happened to her I would call and tell you…”

“Wait, hold on a second--” he interrupted her “--what happened to YN?”

“She was in an accident this morning.”

“Shit, is she okay?” Peter inquired, running his hand through his hair. “I mean, why would I care? We broke up years ago.”

“Okay, I'll try to believe that.” He could picture Gamora rolling her eyes through the phone. “I still haven’t heard anything, since she went into surgery. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing at this point.” She cleared her throat. “Can you swing by the hospital? I need to talk to you about something important.”

“Ahhhh….what is this about? YN and I broke up ages ago. Besides, I’m at work, and I got a lot on my plate right now.”

“I wasn’t asking Peter, I’m telling you. It’s the least you could do after breaking my sister’s heart.”

“You had to go there, didn’t you,” Peter sighed, staring down at his desk in defeat. He should know by now that Gamora never loses a fight once she starts one. “Okay fine, I’ll be there in an hour.”

“Perfect. We’ll see you then, I’ll text you the details.”

They exchanged numbers before hanging up, and he went back into the recording studio. The room was quiet, and he noticed the empty sound booth. Nat must’ve taken them into her office to discuss the contract. He groaned, plopping down in the chair next to Bucky.

“Whoa man, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Bucky commented, taking in his appearance.

“I have to go meet a friend. Are you and Nat going to be fine without me for a couple of hours?”

“Yeah, it shouldn’t be a problem. Everything’s okay, man?” Bucky narrowed his eyes, moving his long hair out of his face.

“I hope so.”

_________

Peter pulled up to the hospital not sure what he was expecting. He wasn’t dating you anymore, but he didn’t want to see you hurt. He went up to the waiting room Gamora mentioned, but no one was there besides the nurses behind the desk.

“Excuse me,” the nurse at the station looked up at him with a warm smile. “Is YN LN out of surgery?”

She flipped through some files on her desk before clicking away on her computer. “She is still in surgery, but the doctors will be with you as soon as they can. You’re welcome to take a seat and wait. Are you family?”

“Yes,” he nodded without a second thought. He took a seat in the waiting room, running his hands through his hair and down his face. You were still in surgery, which could mean two things: everything was good and they were taking their time, or it was worse than they anticipated. He glanced at the television seeing a reporter speaking about the accident you were in. He read the subtitles as they drifted across the screen.

“On this mornings commute, a dump truck flew through a red light colliding into the side of a bus forcing it to topple over onto its side. We have gotten reports saying at least 12 are injured, but their conditions remain unknown at this time. As paramedics work hard to get everyone to safety, police are still investigating the cause of the accident. I will keep you updated on this story as it unfolds. Back to you in the studio…” Peter’s eyes turned away from the screen and back to the floor.

“Hello, Peter.” He glanced up to find Gamora with a little girl clutching onto her hand and eyeing him over. “You got here quick. Can we talk for a bit?”

“Yeah. Why else would I be here?”  He shrugged, standing up from his chair.

“Hey, Bug,” Gamora crouched down in front of the little girl with a caring smile on her face. “Would you be okay with hanging out over there for a little while?” She pointed to the children's playpen.

“Okay,” she nodded, ignoring the playpen to sit on one of the double-seated chairs. She pulled out an old green iPod and slipped in her earbuds as she tried to get comfortable. There was something about the little girl that seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Someone finally snatched up the lawyer Gamora, who cared more about her career than settling down with some dude. Who’s the lucky guy?” A cocky smile spread across his face.

“She’s not mine. She’s YN’s daughter,” Gamora corrected him.

“Wait, what?” Peter’s smile faded away, leaving his mouth hanging open before he snapped it shut. “When….when did that happen?” He asked, widening his eyes at her.

“Little over 7 years ago.”

“She found a guy right after she left me. Awesome, like that doesn’t hurt my feeling a little bit.”

“Not exactly,” Gamora replied while Peter ignored her.

“It’s good though…..good for her. As long as she found someone who does right by her, and cares about her and makes her happy. I’m happy for her…..” he rambled on.

“Peter shut up.” His eyes snapped to hers as he shut his mouth. “YN’s had only one person in her life for the last 7 years, and it’s been her daughter.” He narrowed his eyes, not understanding where she was going with this. “Okay, I promised YN if anything ever happened to her I would tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“The little girl over there--” she glanced in her direction “--is your daughter,” Gamora confessed in a hushed whisper, forcing Peter’s eyebrows to shoot up his forehead.

“What? No! No, no, no, no.” He shook his head not believing this. “It can't be! I would’ve known if YN was pregnant. She...she would’ve told me.”

“Really? Because the last I remember, you were halfway across the country when she found out.”

Gamora had him there. This must’ve all happened when he was at his internship in LA. How did he not know? Why didn’t he realize something was wrong? You always seemed so happy whenever he talked to you on the phone or through video chat.  “Why didn't she tell me?”

“YN tried to tell you, but she was afraid of how you’d react. Once she started to show, she knew she needed to tell you so she went to L.A. to surprise you and we both know how that turned out,” Gamora recalled, forcing Peter to clench his jaw. “I can’t tell you why she hasn’t told you because I don’t know why.” Gamora shrugged.

His eyes flickered over to the little girl swinging her legs back and forth in her seat. Her eyes connected with his for a split second before she focused back to her feet.  “What's her name?

“Meredith,” Gamora revealed, keeping a close eye on him.

Peter’s head snapped to her. “She named her after...after my mother.” Gamora nodded. He ran his hand through his hair, letting out a deep breath. “Why...um...do you..” He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to find the right words.

“YN wanted to name her after a strong woman,” Gamora filled in the blanks, making Peter crack a small smirk. “She’s a wonderful little girl. Strong headed and soft-hearted like her mother, but her quick-witted humor and love of music comes from her father.” He breathed a smirk, shaking his head at the little girl. “Can I ask you to do me a favor?”

“What’s the favor?”

“I’m due in court tomorrow, and I have to get caught up on what I missed today. Would you mind watching her tonight? I can't take her with me, and she’s too young to be left alone.”

“Ah...is this a good idea? She doesn’t even know me. Whatever happened to the whole stranger danger phase?”

“Trust me, you’re my last option.” Peter scoffed, forcing Gamora to roll her eyes. “If I could ask Nebula, I would, but she’s out of the country. I could ask a sitter, but Meredith hates them. She says they’re only in it for the money.”

He chuckled at her response. “Wait, hold on, you need me to take her tonight? Like tonight tonight? Right now.” He let out a deep breath as he glanced between Meredith and Gamora.

“What else would I mean by tonight? Meredith is smart for her age and if she needs anything she’ll ask for it.”

“Do you trust me to take care of her? I mean I once had a goldfish, and it died. I had a dog, but it ran away. This is an actual human being,” he emphasized, biting his lip to calm the nerves tingling in his stomach.

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t trust you after what you did to my sister, but you’re all I got at this point.”

“Psh.....that’s reassuring,” Peter scoffed, taking a deep breath to think it over.  “I have to move some things around, but she’s my daughter, and I should at least get to know her. Right?”

“That's the spirit.” Gamora patted him on the shoulder.

“Does she know who I am? Does she know anything about me?”

“YN’s told her some things, but as far as I know, she doesn’t know who you are.” He nodded, pushing his lips together in a tight line. Gamora walked over to Meredith with Peter in tow.  “Hey, Bug.” Gamora leaned down, placing a hand on Meredith’s arm as she took out her earbuds. “An old friend of your mom's is going to watch you tonight and tomorrow until I’m done with work. Do you think you could take care of him for me?”

Meredith peeked up at him through her eyelashes and scrunched up her face as she observed Peter. She was the spitting image of her mother, except for her eyes; she had his eyes. “I can’t promise anything, Gam,” she mumbled, shrugging her small shoulders.

“Hi, I'm Peter.” Peter held out his hand, and she reached up shaking it.

“I’m Meredith Quill.”

_________

Peter sat in the waiting room for what felt like hours. They still haven’t heard any news about your condition, and it was making him nervous. He didn’t want to lose you all over again especially after finding out he shared a daughter with you.  He had so many questions he wanted to ask you: Why didn’t you ever tell him? Did you think he would get upset and leave? Did you not think he was ready to be a father back then? What about today?

Peter flipped through a hospital magazine, keeping a close eye on Meredith. He still couldn’t get over the fact he had a daughter. She swung her legs back and forth in her chair as she mouthed along to the lyrics flowing through her earbuds. He smirked, knowing he did this at the studio all the time. Something in front of her caught her attention as a soft smile spread across her lips. Peter glanced in the direction to find a golden retriever.

Meredith shoved her iPod in her pocket as she approached the dog. He couldn’t hear the conversation between Meredith and the owner, but he suspected it was about petting his dog. The man nodded with a smile, and she knelt down scratching the dogs head as it licked her face. He couldn’t help but enjoy seeing her smile for the first time.

“Mer is more like you than you think,” Gamora commented, highlighting and reading through some documents a seat away from him.

“How so?”

“She loves animals and won’t leave the house without her iPod. Sure YN loves music, too, but the way Mer listens to it is a lot like you. She can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, too.”

“I think she gets that from her mother though,” he chuckled, making Gamora shake her head in amusement. Mer scratched the dogs head one last time before returning to her chair and her music.

“So, what has YN been up to?” Peter asked, scratching the scruff on his chin.  

“Well--” she closed her file “--she’s been working at Potts of Honey for the past 4 years and…”

“Wow! What do they do there?”

“It’s a company helping parents and parents to be. They make all sorts of baby and toddler products, but they’re branching out to older age groups now, too. It’s a good company.” He nodded with pursed lips. “She also helps run a podcast for the company called Everyday's a Monday. It’s been a raging success and it’s helped the company’s brand grow.”

“What kind of podcast is it?”

“A parenting podcast,” Gamora informed, crossing her arms across her chest. “They talk about the latest trends in the industry and parents share their experiences hoping to help other parents. She loves her job.”

“I’m happy for her,” Peter nodded at the floor. “She always wanted to help people, and now she is. It’s great.”

“Her job keeps her busy when Mer isn’t,” she grinned at the little girl. “How’s business at Walkman Records?”

“Good. Natasha’s been finding a lot of great talent, and Bucky’s such an expert on the soundboard it’s insane. Wait, how did you even know where to find me?"

“My assistant found you,” Gamora confessed. “I learned a bit about your career, too. Like, how you and your two friends started Walkman Records six years ago after signing your first client. Somehow you became an overnight success and have been creating music with the best artists of our generation.”

“Hmm, your assistant really did her homework on me.”

“She wanted to keep her job. Excuse me for a second.” Peter nodded as Gamora got up and went to sit next to Mer. She smiled as Mer laid down using Gamora’s leg for a pillow and closed her eyes.

Peter pulled out his phone replying to a few emails while his thumb hovered over the podcast app. He wasn’t a huge podcast listener because he preferred listening to music rather than people talking. He bit his lip trying to figure out if he should download an episode to see what it was all about. He was curious. What did you talk about on there? Were you only the producer of the show or were you the host as well? Maybe he could hear your voice again or your addictive laugh. He shrugged as he started downloading the first couple episodes of Everyday’s a Monday.

_________

With still no word from the doctors, Peter could feel his stomach turning into knots, and his doubts started to set in. He didn’t want to think about it, but how could he not? He was about to assume the worst when two doctors dressed in scrubs stepped into the waiting room. Gamora noticed them and maneuvered herself out of Mer’s grasp, trying not to wake her. Peter shifted in his seat, so he could hear their conversation better.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Palmer, and this is my colleague Dr. Strange. YN is stable and out of surgery, but we wanted to tell you we did experience some complications.”

“What sort of complications?” Gamora asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

“At the scene, paramedics told us she was conscious and talking, insisting she was fine. Her only complaint was a massive headache and blurry vision. Medics brought her in right away but on the way she suffered a seizure. This forced us to run a quick CT scan, and we discovered a bleed in her brain. We believed she suffered a brain aneurysm from the accident, which led to her seizure. Once we found the bleed, we got her straight into surgery to repair it. This is when the complication during surgery set in causing her hemorrhaged and slip into a coma.”

“Is that normal? Is she going to be okay?” Gamora asked as Dr. Palmer looked to her colleague.

“It is hard to say at this time. We won’t know if she experienced any further damage mentally until she wakes up. Physically all she suffered was a couple of scrapes and bruises, but as of right now, all we can do is wait for her to wake up.”

“Thank you,” Gamora cleared her throat, earning a nod from both doctors. “Are we able to see her?”

“She is going to stay in recovery for the night and be monitored. We encourage you to go home to get some rest tonight so you will be a full 100% refreshed when you see her tomorrow,” Dr. Palmer reassured.  

“Can we at least say goodbye to her before we go,” Mer piped up, sneaking up beside Gamora and grabbing her hand.  Dr. Palmer peered over at Dr. Strange, but he shook his head no.

“I’m guessing YN is your mother?” Dr. Palmer asked, kneeling down to her level. Meredith nodded. “I bet she would love to see you, too, but she is asleep right now. Your mom needs to rest so she can build her strength to keep up with you when she wakes up. I promise you’ll get to see her tomorrow.”

“I WANNA SEE HER NOW,” she cried, stomping back to the chair. She crossed her arms, staring hard at the table with her forehead scrunched up.

“Don’t worry I’ll talk to her,” Gamora told the doctors. “Thank you again.” The doctors smiled before walking away. Gamora let out a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose before going over to Meredith.  

Gamora kneeled down in front of Mer setting her hands on each side of her. Peter could see her mouth moving, but he couldn’t make out the words she was saying. Meredith's arms loosen up around her, and she wiped her nose as Gamora pulled her into a quick hug. Gamora let go of her, and in an instant, she pulled her iPod back out of her pocket.

“What did you tell her,” Peter asked, staring at Mer who didn’t seem to be upset anymore.

“The truth.” Peter narrowed his eyes at her. “YN would want Mer to be strong and patient for her, and let the doctors do their job."

AN: Hope you enjoyed Part 1! Thanks for checking it out. This is a series I have been working on for some time. I am not much for the romantic type, but hopefully, I will be able to pull this off. I would love to hear what you all think so far and any theories on what is going to happen next! 

[endof-theline]

AU Yeah August | Day Eight: Podcast

Steve, Sam and Bucky are dating and have a popular podcast, Tony is one of their listeners, what happens when Steve meets Tony on the job... in hospital

On Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20168896

Steve, Sam and Bucky ran their own podcast where they spoke about mental health, especially after being in the armed forces as both Steve and Bucky were in the army while Sam had been air force. Since leaving the force Sam had trained and became a psychologist specialising in PTSD, Anxiety and Depression patients so he was their main advice man when it came to the people asking for help or sometimes just asking questions about mental health. Steve had trained hard to become a nurse and now worked in the ER, while Bucky, once he had been fitted with a new prosthetic arm, had become a chef.

In the beginning, it was very tricky for the trio to not take the people’s problems home with them and tried hard not to think too much about it after they had answered the questions. They stopped answering so many people telling their own horror stories per podcast and instead spread them out, they explained why they had made their decision and everyone had accepted that and thanked them for being honest with them.

One caller had a nickname between the boys as he emailed them often with updates, his name to the world was just TS while the boys had named him Tones. Tones listened to every episode of their podcast and often spoke of the abusive family situation he was in between an aggressive, drunken father, neglectful mother and his malicious uncle. He was currently at University but he was too young to be allowed to move onto campus or move out of the home, he didn’t feel safe going to see someone about his situation and every time Tones didn’t email them, the boys all worried to themselves about him and if he was okay.

“And our last email is from TS, TS’s email says ‘Hello again, I’m glad to announce that my dad and uncle are going on a business trip for a couple weeks! My mum has decided to live in two rooms of the house while they are away so that she doesn’t have to see me, she goes out every evening and usually doesn’t come back until the morning and because of my studies I’m back to being out of the house most of the day so I won’t have to see her either.

My friend is going to join the air force soon and I want to be supportive but listening to everyone here, I don’t want him to leave and get hurt. I know it’s selfish but I also don’t want him to leave because whenever my dad knows my friend ‘R’ is going to see me he doesn’t hurt me as badly because R has threatened my dad in the past to take him to the police, I stopped him from doing that due to threats on R’s life by uncle and father made later.

Should I just keep my thoughts to myself or shall I tell him that I’m afraid of what will happen when he goes away?’” Steve read out for the group and both Sam and Bucky hummed softly when he finished his reading.

“The air force takes a while to work up to so he won’t be up in the air and fighting straight away, he may decide it’s not for him and quit out. I think it’s important that you tell R that you’re worried about him going off to fight as he may be able to settle your nerves about it and please do remember TS that most people talking about their experiences here have had an accident so they won’t speak positively” Sam explained kindly as he left Steve and Bucky to think it through fully before speaking up as well “I had a good time in the air force and I probably wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t for Riley’s accident”

“I spoke up about Bucky joining the army before he left and we made an agreement for him to keep in contact with me so I wasn’t worrying about him as much as I would if he barely spoke to me” Steve explained as he looked over to Bucky who was nodding along “Was it hard to get information over to me, Buck?”

“Not too difficult most of the time, when I was out in dead spots I didn’t like to give a specific time for me to be out of them as things could slow it down and I knew it would freak Steve out if I wasn’t contacting him by the time I said I would” Bucky joined before clearing his throat away from the microphone “I do want to add that I’m glad you’re safe for a while in your home and I do hope that perhaps if R goes away you speak up about the situation since he won’t be around you to be harmed”

Both Sam and Steve made noises of agreement before they got a ping from their emails and glanced over at it, surprised to see that it was TS himself again. Opening it up and reading it through left an awkward silence in the recording but it was something that Sam could edit out later, though Steve’s frantic swearing as he bolted from the room and grabbed his uniform as Bucky and Sam yelled after him was going to harder.

“Um, well, we’ve got gotten an email from TS telling us that he has been hospitalised in the ER and will try to keep us informed, Steve has actually just run out this house and, yup, is riding his bike to work so we might be able to let you all know a bit sooner” Sam said a bit shakily as he looked over to Bucky who was frantically texting Sharron, one of Steve’s nurse friends that was meant to be working tonight to see if she’ll change shifts with Steve as he was heading in already “Keep an eye out on our social media and we’ll let you know what we can, think I’m going to leave that pause in so you guys can understand why this episode is going to be so short. Say goodbye Buck!”

“See you next time!” Bucky chirped before going back to being stone faced and letting himself fall back into his chair, Sam signed off and stopped recording “We can’t go, right? Tell me we’re not allowed”

“It’s hard Bucky, but yeah we can’t go visit him, let Stevie see him and maybe we can see him when he’s okay again. As much as we ‘talk’ to him, we don’t actually know him” Sam stood up and slid himself into Bucky’s lap, Bucky immediately putting his phone down and wrapping his arms around Sam to bring him into a hug “I know, we’ve just to trust Stevie to get to him and help him”

Steve was straight into his uniform and out on the ER floor, one of his coworkers put him to work straight away and led him over to a young man laying in a bed, bruised heavily, looking like he had broken bones and stab wounds.

"Tony, this is Steve, he's going to be taking over looking after you, okay?" They asked and Tony, the man in the bed, just nodded and peeled open his eyes to look up at him with a weak smile.

“Hey, can you tell me what happened Tony? I’m just going to read through your notes as you talk to me” Steve said softly, picking up the clipboard and moving to stand beside him, Tony swallowed thickly and nodded again.

“I was beat up and attacked, my friend called the ambulance but couldn’t come with me” He said and Steve knew that look on the man’s face, knew he wasn’t getting the full truth out of him.

“Did you know your attacker?” Steve prompted and Tony, without stopping to think, shook his head no “Alright then, let’s have a look at you”

“Your voice is really familiar” Tony croaked as his eyes roamed over Steve’s face as the man gently felt along Tony’s arm, feeling for broken bones “Do I know you?”

“Can’t say I recognise you, Tony, but I meet a lot of people here. I’m usually here working or at home working” Steve commented as he took a look over Tony’s face that was still studying his before the younger’s eyes went wide and a shaking hand went over Tony’s mouth as his eyes teared up “Tony? What’s wrong? Are you hurting, I can up your meds if-”

“You’re Steve Rogers! Yo-You do the podcasts with Bucky and Sam!” He started talking excitedly as his heartbeat faster making Steve blush as he heard Tony’s heart monitor beep faster.

“TS? Oh god, I’m so glad you’re okay” Steve sighed happily as he took the least battered hand and gave it a gentle squeeze “The boys will be so relieved, as soon as we read your last email I was on my down here and Bucky and Sam were calling me”

“You came for me?” Tony asked with a sniffle and smiled shakily when Steve nodded at him as he continued to tend to his wounds.

“Will you be honest with me now, Tony? Was it someone in your family that hurt you?” Steve asked once more and now looking into Steve’s crystal blue eyes, one of the men he had been relying on for advice for at least a year or two, he couldn’t lie to him anymore.

“They said it was to remember them by” Tony admitted nervously, Steve gave his hand another squeeze before getting on with his work, he chatted away with Tony while he helped him get sorted out.

Once Tony was finally stable and he was moved somewhere to be monitored, Steve took a brief break to call Bucky and Sam to explain that he had found Tones, he was stable and okay and if Tony accepted them, they may be able to visit him during visiting hours. He also apologised to them for running out on them and thanked Bucky profusely for talking to Sharron for him as well,  he quickly sent a text to her to say his thanks before locking his phone away again and running back into the fray, pushing TS to the back of his mind for the rest of his shift.

“Hey baby” A voice purred in his ear making Steve jump and turn on his heel to see Bucky stood behind him with a grin on his face, Steve had panicked it was a coworker as he had just finished getting out of his uniform “You’ve clocked off, thought you’d like to go see Tones if he lets us”

“I’ve clocked off have I?” Steve snorted as Sam’s arms wrapped around him with his clock out card in his hands “Oh look at that, I guess I have clocked out, hm?”

“Guess you have, let’s go find our Tones” Sam chuckled happily and Steve started to lead his boyfriends away and towards Tony’s bed.

A soft knock on the door woke Tony, but he smiled when he saw it was Steve peeking his head around the door with his own smile on his face.

“Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve got a couple people that really wanted to see you” Steve said softly before opening the door more to reveal Sam and Bucky, Tony laughed hoarsely and waved them over to him with a weak smile. The trio shut the door behind them and all sat around his bed with smiles on their faces.

“Hey Tones, how are you feeling?” Bucky asked softly and Tony nodded before opening his mouth, about to speak before letting out a yawn instead “Sleepy, by the looks of it”

“Yeah, you’re going to be sleepy for a while. How’s your side feeling now?” Steve cooed softly at him, Sam was looking between his two boys and the very young looking man laying in the hospital bed and grinning at the protective look in their eyes.

“Sore, but it’s better than when I came in. I don’t think I’m going to throw up anymore so that’s good” Tony nodded along and gave them a weak smile, Sam, Bucky and Steve all stayed talking to him until Tony fell asleep listening to their voices.

They visited Tony every chance they could, sometimes it would be just one or two of them and rarely all of them would be able to visit Tony at the same time, but Tony was thrilled every time he saw everyone at the same time. Steve managed to encourage the hospital to call Maria about picking up Tony and jumped in when they wondered what to do with the young boy, volunteering to house Tony with him and the boys which they had all agreed on.

Tony’s doctor asked if he would be comfortable with staying with Steve and Tony agreed almost immediately, luckily the hospital were more than happy for Steve to take a few hours off the end of his shift to take Tony back to the trio’s house and as Bucky and Sam knew Tony would be coming home that day, they both had taken the day off as well.

Tony recorded an episode of their podcast with them, joining in as a special guest for the episode, telling his own story and helping the boys answer people’s questions as well. Tony very quickly opened up about his life at home privately to the three men and all of them very quickly realised that they had become protective over the seventeen year old without meaning too, they offered the guest room up as a permanent place to stay if Tony wanted it.

Sam spent many nights holding Tony in his arms as he hummed a soft song Steve had taught him to help coax Tony back to sleep after waking from nightmares, Bucky and Steve usually were the first ones to wake up but Sam always took the lead of calming Tony back down while the others usually made cups of hot chocolate and warm food to help settle Tony’s nerves as they made sure he knew that Howard and Obadiah weren’t going to get him.

After persuading Tony to pursue the abuse claim, Tony had agreed to staying with the three men who had been caring for him, the court had placed guardianship of Tony in the hands of Steve as he was the one who was deemed most suitable despite all living together. One night after calming Tony down, they came to the agreement that Tony had definitely become more like a son to them than a friend they were helping out or even a younger brother, that belief had been solidified when Tony had been injured at college and had to be cared for again and none of them minded helping him dress or wash.

Special guest Tony soon became their abuse adviser and he was a permanent part of the podcast, the older listeners loved that Tony had become a part of their family and the newer ones were given hope that it will work out in the end.

Because for Tony, it couldn’t have ended better.

Notes:

[theonyxpath]

Since next week we’ll be going into full New Kickstarter mode for the Pirates of Pugmire KS, let me catch up on a few things we talked about in the Monday Meeting today, and expand on our thinking about attending conventions.

First, thanks to everyone who sent in questions for my interview with the Onyx Pathcast! We had a great recording session last week that, no surprise, ran extra long. So many things to cover, and I wanted to go into enough detail to deliver more than a corporate sound-bite.

Next, yes, I’m still all fuzzy-headed from pollen allergies. Thanks to all who asked, or provided solutions – medical or otherwise!

And, as far as I’ve been informed, all the backer rewards for the Scion Kickstarter should now be out in the trucks/planes/tricycles of the shippers our fulfillment shipper works with. USPS and Fedex mostly, but these days it is hard to pin that down as they all seem to subcontract with each other.

V5 Chicago art by Amy Wilkins

In a little over two weeks, Eddy, Mighty Matt McElroy, and myself, will be flying over to Merrie Olde Englande for UK Games Expo! This is going to be extremely cool for me, as my family pretty much all came from that part of the world, and I’ve never visited before.

Plus, we’ll be hanging out with Matthew Dawkins, and meeting Steffie de Vann, John Burke, Chris Allen, and Klara Herbol face-to-face for the first time! We are good at using other methods of talking together like Skype, and generally love the virtual office thing, but hanging out and getting to know our creators is still the best way to really understand each other.

But our kumbaya moments aren’t all we’ll be doing at the con! The gang are running all sorts of demo games, including a Chronicles of Darkness tournament where they’ll be running games for the CofD game lines and one player will advance to a special session of the Contagion Chronicle run by developer Matthew Dawkins!

This is a kind of connected con game we’ve never actually done officially before, and we’re really looking forward to how things play out! Plus, the are a lot of other demo games going on including Fetch Quest and Prince’s Gambit, for those who need a card game break from their roleplaying sessions.

I’ll be in meetings and podcasts and other interviews, but hope to get a chance to sit near, if not in, and enjoy the fun. So if you’re going, and want to chat, you can stop by the Onyx Path booth and find out where we all are if you can’t find us there.

One thing you won’t find there will be us selling games and books at the booth. We’re stepping away from making the booth a sales venue at UKGE, and we’ll be directing folks who want to buy our stuff to our friends at Leisure Games! In fact, here’s a handy map now of the exhibition floor:

Now, UK Games Expo is not the only convention we are trying out this new booth strategy with. In fact, we are going all in at Gen Con 2019, this year, and we’re not having any booth at all there.

Instead, we have pretty much doubled the number of demo games that will be run there, we’re still having our Onyx Path panels, and you’ll still be able to buy our games and books and stuff at the Studio2 and Indie Press Revolution booths.

Unsurprisingly, we have a map for that too!

But Rich, why? Why not carry on the tradition of the Gen Con booth? You guys have made a big deal out of your Gen Con planning every year since Onyx Path started (even a few years before that, actually).

The answer is in the question really. It has been a big deal. A huge deal.

One that sucked up our time, effort, planning, attention, and cash. Gen Con exerted a disproportionate gravity every year for the effect it had on our company and community. As a chance to see the same folks year after year, the booth was a great focal point – one we are going to try and move to the panels and demo tables.

I never saw the booth as a “sales venue” nor wanted us to drive it in that direction. That’s just not how I’ve thought of our presence there; it was always more of a communications opportunity. But what we’ve seen these past few years is that the need for the booth to be our big chance to talk to folks has really been left in the dust by our online presence.

For example, all last year at Gen Con, I heard from both new and long time members of our community how they love the Onyx Pathcast, or chatting with Dixie on Slack, or Matt and Ian on our Facebook pages.

And this hasn’t just affected the booth. For example, we used to get a huge reaction when we released the new Onyx Path Brochure at Gen Con – now folks have told us that they already know most of what’s in there because of our social media and these very Monday Meeting Notes blogs, so we’ll be debuting a new kind of brochure at the Mid-Winter Convention this year.

Shunned By The Moon art by Jeff (Silver Fox) Holt

Once we looked at all that; really went into the different ways that folks are getting info and a chance to connect with the company, we could see that the booth was a massive drain on our time in terms of running it, and a pretty big drain on cash that we could use in more proactive ways, and that there were better ways we could use to communicate.

Put that all together, and we’re going to try doing things sans booth this year and see what happens. Maybe it is a horrible idea. We’ll see. But if we just “do what we’ve always done” without examining those strategies to see if they are effective, we’re headed for the tar pits.

And nobody wants that. We want to evolve so that we can continue to deliver you:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Our Pirates of Pugmire Kickstarter will be starting at 2pm Eastern US time on Tuesday, May 21st!

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Illustration by Charles Bates

On this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast is a special Pirates of Pugmire Design Diary pretty much totally by Eddy Webb, who has been recording sessions all through his process of developing PoP: https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

No Onyx Path News from last week as Matthew was away, so expect a special edition this week to make up for the gap! As for actual plays, it seems to be a Scarred Lands-focused week! Please let the Gentleman Gamer on the Onyx Path Forum know if you have an actual play or review you’d like us to profile, new or old!

Onyx Path‘s YouTube channel has however gained an additional two parts of the Scarred Lands actual play Matthew is running for Red Moon Roleplaying. Check it out if heists, dragons, asaathi, and slitherin are your thing! https://youtu.be/cjbkpGHZhVM

The Story Told RPG Podcast have reached episode five of their Dragon-Blooded actual play, so if you’re interested in Exalted, please give it a listen: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-episode-5-a-dinner-to-remember

The latest episodes of Occultists Anonymous, the Mage: The Awakening actual play (with crossover elements are synopsised as follows: Episode 11: Across the Abyss. Half the cabal, twice the fun. They attempt to summon a Supernal being… Without any research! https://youtu.be/3y3ws45deyw AND Episode 12: Magical Girls’ Night. The conclusion of the summoning, and new plans are laid to develop tools to spellcasting. https://youtu.be/VgaxzDivbMc Give them a watch!

Back to Scarred Lands now, and Caffeinated Conquests‘ actual play of the Gauntlet of Spiragos continues (and they completely off-track from the published scenario): https://youtu.be/haNoWVTBjLc

Returning here to Scarn with Travis Legge’s Myths & Matchmakers, which has reached its 20th episode! If you enjoy your actual plays, please do check this channel out. Also, Travis really knows his Scarred Lands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYIfQKyR5Vs

Devil’s Luck Gaming are always worth checking out for their fantastic Scarred Lands and Chronicles of Darkness actual plays, streamed live: https://www.twitch.tv/DevilsLuckGaming

The Keeper of the Archive (a new show on YouTube) has recently made lengthy strides into covering the Traditions of Mage: The Ascension (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAmGl_jV_qwLk33I706Dfxg3RTqPd6YGz) and Tribes of Werewolf: The Apocalypse (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAmGl_jV_qwKLTkw8JkX02zkOMzbtrS8k). It’s a new channel and they’d greatly appreciate your support

One of our frequent Mage freelancers, Rachelle Udell, was recently interviewed by Mage: The Podcast on the subject of the Mage Cookbook and other subjects! It’s well worth a listen, and an excellent channel in general: https://anchor.fm/mage-the-podcast/episodes/The-Mage-Cookbook-and-the-Ahl-i-Batini-with-Rachelle-Udell-e3tr3g

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here’s an update from the App devs:

We’ve been having trouble fixing the android bug that messes up the resolution for newer phones. I think we have a fix for that.  It was also brought up that the store display is wrong on most tablet devices, so that is getting fixed too. That should all be soon!

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio 2: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can now order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, we’re putting up a ton of stickers on our RedBubble store! Symbols and logos and art and all sorts of stuff- but as stickers!

CONVENTIONS

UK Games Expo: May 31st – June 2nd From the US comes Eddy Webb, Matt McElroy, and Rich Thomas to join with Matthew Dawkins, Steffie de Vann, John Burke, Chris Allen, and Klara Herbol! Gen Con: August 1st – August 4th Save Against Fear: Oct 12-14 GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd We’ll also be back at PAX Unplugged later this year.

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Redlines

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

DR:E Threat Guide (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

DR:E Jumpstart (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Development

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Let The Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Manuscript Approval:

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Blood Sea: Crimson Abyss for 5e (Scarred Lands)

Editing:

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Indexing:

Trinity Aeon

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Ex3 Monthly Stuff  

Chicago By Night

They Came From Beneath the Sea!

EX3 Lunars

Hunter: The Vigil 2

Contagion Chronicle

VtR Spilled Blood – Contracted.

M20 Book of the Fallen – Contracted.

Dark Eras 2 – First set of sketches in.

CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel – Sending back feedback on sketches.

Pirates of Pugmire – KS art contracted, sketches and finals coming in.

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant – KS art started contracting.

Scion Ready Made Characters – Contracted.

TC Aeon: Distant Worlds – Reading through artnotes.

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – With Josh.

Shunned By the Moon

Trinity Continuum Core – Index is in.

Proofing

The Realm – At WW for approval.

Book of Oblivion – At WW for approval.

Signs of Sorcery – Dev comments back to layout.

Aeon Aexpansion – In 2nd Proof.

C20 Cup of Dreams Novel

Scion Jumpstart

At Press

Scion Hero – Shipped to backers, PoD proof ordered.

Scion Origin – Shipped to backers, PoD proof ordered.

Scion Dice – Shipped to backers.

Scion Screen – Shipped to backers.

Fetch Quest – Waiting for PoD proofs.

In Media Res – PDF out to backers, gathering errata with new sheet.

Geist 2e – PDF out to backers, gathering errata with new sheet.

Adventures for Curious Cats – PoD proof ordered.

Tales of Excellent Cats – PoD proof ordered.

Dragon-Blooded – Deluxe at printer. Signed off of Press Proofs.

Dragon-Blooded Screen – At printer.

Trinity Core and Aeon Screens – Files at printer.

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: 

Today in 1964 a great nerd was born: Stephen Colbert. The man argues Silmarillion lore facts and kept a replica of Captain America’s shield on set. He drops references to his D&D game characters. Why are we in a golden era of “nerd culture”? Well, his overt love of our stuff has certainly helped!

[sepiadice]

Tales of Genius Ch. 2: Follow the Light

(9/16/18)

And so, for possibly the first time ever, I got a session two in a campaign! New high score! Woo-hoo!

Also, got to redo an adventure I ran for the old High School crew. Updated it slightly, added a puzzle, changed the final encounter, added a pair of magic items.

Don’t think I have any sort of RPG Life updates. Working on various other projects off and on. Started watching a new Netflix original series that redoubles a plot point later in this campaign.

Added a fourth party member. Which I think I’m going to lock down on. The games I’ve been involved with always had a problem of having a large number of players, so I think I want to try for the classic four-person ensemble.

Hope they’re having fun. Doubt plagues me, but they’re not whining to me, so it’s probably fine? It’s still clear I need to continue practicing GMing, and I’ve noticed I’ve been stuttering and having difficulty pronouncing words. That will all need to be improved before we move on to the podcast phase.

Now, for the second part of Tales of Genius![1]

CAST

Eli Roberts: (Played by Lyons) Child of Clio. Doctor, travelling to write a medical text akin to Gray’s Anatomy. He’s an Intellect! Olivia Grayson: (Played by Maddie) Child of Thalia. Apprentice to Eli. Believes her Squirrel-raccoon companion is her boyfriend reincarnated. Fromthe: (Played by Jose) Child of Calliope. Military veteran and current mercenary. Also has some mercantile ambitions.

Jean De Ferrero: (Played by Anthony) Child of Terpsichore. Travelling con artist.

Quick exposition:

So, that whole “Child of…” thing is part of my world’s lore. About nineteen hundred years ago, nine sisters travelled the world and founded nine schools of philosophy and nine separate cultures that populate the world. The only solid marker for the tribes is eye color. White/Light grey for Clio. Yellow for Thalia. Orange for Calliope. Green for Terpsichore. Others for the other tribes as they’re introduced.

The sisters are named after the Greek Muses.

And, so, onto our tale.

DATE: Late Winter 1911

PLACE: THE TINES (Mountain border of Astree and Hervar)

We open back up on North Fort. Food supplies are running even lower, especially since a good chunk of it has been poisoned. The mayor has decided to send those clever adventurers to try and find an alternate path out of town,[2] plus this nice Jean fellow who speaks highly of his own conquests.[3]

After some brainstorming while I was busy making curry,[4] the mayor mentioned the town crypts, which are a small network of caves some distance from town. There’s an iron door there which no one has explored past, because there’s a bunch of warning symbols on it, so better just stick the dead in there until claimed. But, well, it’s something?

The party heads to the crypt, as I couldn’t be bothered to force any scene work in the town. Would’ve been nice to establish the mixed critters of the setting, but I’m bad at following even my own notes, and I didn’t really have any cause to delay them.

In the crypts, they discovered a small band of Saber-toothed foxes.

Olivia tried to befriend the foxes using the cheese from the rations North Fort gave her, but the foxes weren’t satisfied, and unhappy with the intrusion. So combat despite Olivia’s protests!

I still am far from getting a handle of combat narrative, but after a few rounds, they’ve killed two foxes and scared off three.[5]

Then Olivia used a magic spell to cave in the entrance. Which… I should probably take a moment to taunt the party over.

And now I have. What nerds.

The party moved towards the iron door. It’s magic proof,[6] locked, and barred. So the group needs to figure out how to get in.

Unbarring it was easy enough, but it’s still locked.

But, hey, the party has a new Scoundrel Character! Maybe he can pick the lock!

The dice say no. This is dire, as the back up plan I had is sitting in North Fort,[7] and that’s not an available path anymore.

Okay, okay. Let’s reason this out. Is the door there to keep people out, or something in? Both, but which is important?

Which is to say: this door opens out, so the door hinges are on our players’ side! Which the fair doctor thinks up, then teases the con artist for not coming up with.

Said scoundrel (Jean) uses skullduggery to get the pins out. (Because it’s heavy iron, hasn’t been moved in a while, and would require finesse. Probably some heat to remove frost). I then have them do another check to get the door open since the lock is still engaged and needs to be worked out of the wall. Which they do.

Momentary inside baseball thing that might ruin the magic: I didn’t have a firm solution. I just placed the door down and waited until I heard a solution I liked. I recommend fellow GMs do this, but also try and prepare an alternate solution if the party can’t get past it for some reason. (See footnote 7 for my release valve).

On to the next room! A massive cavern, with many tunnels shooting off, and crystalline protrusions here and there. Then there’s a wooden lean-to slash shack near the door.

In side is a desk with a chess game mid-progress, and notebook tracking the game next to it, a glass jar of mythril dust, and a mummified corpse sitting in a chair[8] holding a bullseye lantern.

Eli Roberts examines the board, makes a move, notates it in the notebook(!), pockets the mythril dust, then investigates the mummy.

(A spent story point later also says he took the notebook.)

Eli fails to find anything notable on the corpse, so he turns to figure out what path to take.

Olivia, who we are learning this session has no regard for her fellow humans, uses her magic to puppeteer the mummy.

This jostles a rolled up scrap of paper out of its beard.

Time for the puzzle! Also pop quiz for my world building lore, because screw you, at least learn the muses you picked for your character’s heritage![9]

I wrote a poem (not a great poem, because I lack rhythm) that referenced the Muses in a certain order.

Now, this puzzle needs workshopping, because once the party figured out to use the mummy’s lantern[10] to shoot a beam of light into a large crystal to refract it into colored beams, and that they needed to follow the beam that corresponded with each Muse’s assigned eye colors in the order listed on the poem, there wasn’t much else to do until the final twist.

I probably could’ve done something with the crystals. Finding them, getting them in position,[11] just some complexity for the successive rooms.

Needs workshopping. But we also had a time limit, so maybe simple wasn’t bad for this rendition.

Now, this refracted light thing was an expansion on a moment that wowed the last time I did my North Fort session, which I mimicked halfway down the mine: the first obvious crystal sent the light bouncing all over the chamber, hitting other crystals, and illuminating the entire chamber, revealing a mural![12]

The mural told the mine’s story: they were mining it normally, then thought ‘hey, let’s try magic!’. Magic resonated with the mythril they were mining, heating the cave and waking up a giant snake that started gobbling people up. They got some adventurers in to deal with the snake and stopped using magic.

What I wish I added was the snake’s giant skull in this room. Instead, I had it in another room, looming over the exit tunnels. Oops.[13]

So that’s neat.

The party continued the prescribed solution and moved on, seeing the ribs of the snake were repurposed into support beams.

Another element I failed to convey is that the mining shafts were actually expanded from the snake’s tunnels throughout the mountain.

Anyways, the final room was the cool twist. Because the final mentioned Muse is Urania. Who I assigned black/dark grey eyes.

Black light’s not a thing. What could be the…

They killed their light. Eventually, mythril dust started to glow, a thick vein going down the final correct tunnel. (The poem also mentioned Urania using the stars in her line. This fit with the mythril dust but also her role as the Muse of Astronomy.)[14]

And they exit into another large chamber like the one at the top. Including wood office shack and an iron door. Inside the shack is another mummy, chessboard, and a notebook with matching move notations to the one earlier.

Including the move Eli noted and wrote down.[15] Huh.

Eli’s player spent a Genesys Story Point to say he nabbed the first notebook earlier so he wouldn’t have to hike back up.[16]

For those curious, there’s another poem on this end for going the other way. The colors don’t even have to be the same since they’d be approaching the crystals from a different angle, so the first step doesn’t have to be Urania![17]

Anyways, the spent story point ruined how I’d hoped to bring in the boss fight, so instead a Masked Snake slithers in.

Smaller than the one slain long ago, but still pretty big. Also way too young to listen to reason.

Again, three party members work to kill it as Olivia uses nonlethal magic. The snake iced the floor, making footing difficult.

I allowed the fight to drag on a while because, despite putting in my session plans to come back to make stats and having more than a month to, I never did.

Really should sit down and just make a series of notecards for easy, normal, and hard enemies. Get too distracted with narrative.

Anyways, combat rages, half the party gets upset with Olivia’s efforts not to kill the snake, when a mysterious figure in fancy robes and snake skull mask arrives and pulls a gun.

Olivia promptly magically murders this man without a word. Then steals his mask. And returns to nonlethal spells against the snake.

After realizing the snake can’t fit through the door, Eli and Jean attempt to flee, but Olivia refuses to leave, instead standing on the human corpse she created to avoid the disadvantage of the ice floors.

Eli goes in and finishes off the snake.

Grumpy after the encounter, they exit the caves, which leads out to a point on the path below the avalanche. There’s a way to connect North Fort and Soldier’s Rest.

They go to Soldier’s Rest (named such because it’s where the military men went to rest when not on duty at the mountain fort). Turn in a letter of introduction to Soldier’s Rest’s mayor, and step outside.

Where they encounter a Jackalope. They’re giant creatures ridden by the mail carriers of His Majesty’s Courier service![19]  The courier has a letter for Eli Roberts: The Queen and Heir Apparent are ill with a mysterious disease, and Dr. Roberts comes highly recommended by his peers to help.

Whether this is because his peers genuinely believe he can do it, or because not healing the royal family could have dire consequences and they’d rather gamble Eli’s career over their own is a question I intend to play with.

End session two.

Admittedly, it was a railroading session that hinged on two combats that I didn’t prepare properly and a puzzle that need a few more facets, but I set some Campaign Plot up and actually got players to the table, so I say sufficient success! Always a learning experience! And Anthony seemed to prefer the system vastly over GURPS, so I think it’s good.

Just need to cement running combat and the Advantage and Disadvantage system. It’s a new thing that takes getting used to. Plus the question of what to do when you get a nothing roll.

Also need to get firmer control over what magic can and cannot do. And also that GM trumps rulebook everytime.

I have an outline for the next session. Just need to add some meat and work in elements the players enjoy. Maybe try and have it be less of an Eli Roberts focused story.[20]

Until next time, may the dice make things interesting!

[1] Pompous sounding name? Perhaps! But it’s a grab from the Tales JRPG series, and a TED Talk I saw once. [2] Had the party asked, the Mayor was avoiding asking South Fort for help because that crosses a border and could cause a lot of diplomatic tensions. The party didn’t ask, so I’m noting it here for my own gratification. [3] Because we needed to fit a new party member in some how. [4] Which I forgot to put potatoes and apples in. I’m disappointed in myself. [5] Unless it was the other way around. There was confusion! [6] Iron is magic proof in the setting! Because I’m taking inspiration from my vague knowledge of fair folk mythology. [7] Her name is Debra. I didn’t have the exact details (improv!), but if needed, she’d have the key for the door for… reasons? [8] I keep trying a Douglas Addams thing where I save the most glaringly obvious and distressing fact for last. It’s never worked because I keep getting interrupted or the players overlook I mentioned a monster. Might be a sign to stop, but why would I? [9] I casually left a prose-y cheat sheet on the table before we started. So it’s open notes. [10] Always provide the required tools if you can’t be sure the party has the needed supplies. [11] My much coveted block puzzle! I’ll figure it out someday! [12] In the pathfinder version, it instead revealed a sleeping dragon. I should’ve worked in a similar element on top of what I put in the chamber. [13] Maybe if I ask nicely, my players will pretend this is what I did. [14] Why do the muses include two with dominion over Astronomy and History? Who knows! They just do! [15] I was hoping someone would mess with one of the notebooks for this exact reveal. They played right into my hands. [16] I’ll leave it to the players to retcon why they stole the first notebook. [17] Maybe Urania should’ve been the mural room. You light the crystal for the story, then have to darken it to move on.[18] [18] Take three on this dungeon’s going to be epic! [19] A pay off when, long, long ago, when I was very young looking through a borrowed copy of GURPS 3rd Edition, I saw a picture of cowboys riding giant rabbits with saddlebags reading ‘Bunny Express’. Finally did it. [20] He took the reigns on the session one mystery, and the letter plot hook only works with him. I’ll try to do hooks working off the other three before returning to him, if at all.

[fcklifeex]

Dean Ambrose - Request 3

Request: Hey there darling ! First off I’d like to say I love your work. Secondly I was wondering if you could a Dean Ambrose x reader where the reader is the Bella Twins’ younger sister and secretly dating Dean and Nikki and Brie and a bunch of the other women on the roster find out on Total Divas or something ? Fluff and all that good warm fuzzy stuff ? (If not I’m sorry for bugging you ❤️)

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Total Divas - Episode 1

Interview Segment: “Hi!” I gave a little wave to the camera. “I’m Y/N and I’m a WWE Diva. I’m 28 years old and as most of you know, I’m Brie and Nikki Bella’s little sister. Being in the business with my older sisters has its ups and downs. In real life, the twins usually outnumbered me so things went their way but when I came into the WWE, that wasn’t the case. I chose make a name for myself separately and so far I’d say I’ve done pretty well.

I never would’ve thought that I’d been working for WWE much less that I would’ve been a Diva’s Champion not once but twice and to top it all off, I’m dating the WWE World Heavyweight Champion - Dean Ambrose.”

My cheeks turned pink as I blushed and I couldn’t help but smile offering a shrug to the camera. “It’s great.”

---

“Dean!” I called out walking through the front door making my way towards the kitchen.

Catching my breath from my run, I walked into my bathroom to wash the sweat off my face. The Vegas heat was cruel this time of year but I saw it as a way of building endurance.

“Dean!” I yelled out again, walking into the kitchen only to see a trail of clothes leading out towards the backyard.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a bottle of water, taking a sip before I followed the trail out into the backyard where I saw him swimming in the pool.

Interview Segment: Unbeknownst to almost everyone, Dean and I have been dating for a little over 2 years now. We bought a home together about a year into our relationship and it’s our own little escape from the 300-plus days on the road.

“Hey babe.” He smiled at me as he swam to the edge. “How was the run?”

“It was alright. Mind telling me why you’re in the pool in boxers?” I laughed, approaching him.

“Well, I worked out and I was going to take a shower, but then I heard the pool calling my name. You know I can’t resist that…” I laughed and he reached for my ankle. “And now you’re going to join me.”

“Ahh!” I laughed, backing away. “Like hell I am. These leggings are brand new.”

He cocked his head to the side before a smirk crossed his face. “They make your ass look great.” He replied then he was all of a sudden out of the water. “But you’re getting in this pool one way or another.”

“Dean!” I squealed, laughing as I tried to run away around the pool.

He chased after me, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me up into the air.

“No! Don’t you dare suplex me, Dean Ambrose!” I warned but he called my bluff, throwing both of us in the pool.

---

“Drinks and Karaoke?” I asked, throwing on an ACDC tank top.

Dean laughed, tying his sneakers. I slipped into my boots and walked closer to him so he could tie them for me. “We’ll be on the road for the next three weeks, Josh and Mel wanted to hang out before then so this is what I picked.” He replied, standing up from the bed to kiss me.

“God, you’re amazing!” I smiled as he spun me around.

After meeting our friends at the bar, we all let loose with a couple of drinks while catching up with them regarding family and and work. Dean threw his arm around me, keeping me tucked into his side while we all hung out, ordering us two more shots of whiskey which we downed pretty quickly.

“Dean and Y/N? You’re up next, here’s the song book.” One of the staff said, handing us a binder full of songs.

Dean placed it in front of us flipping through the laminated pages. “What’re you feeling like this time?”

“Ooh! They got Rebel Yell.” I pointed at the song name on the list.

He laughed, nodding his head. “Billy Idol for the win.”

Once the other couple finished, we walked up, grabbing the mics. Dean cleared his throat, shaking his legs to gain some adrenaline before he looked over at me with a wink.

The music started and on que, Dean began to sing.

“Last night a little dancer, came dancin’ to my door. Last night a little angel, came pumping on the floor. She said -”

I danced around him, bobbing my head to the music before joining him on the verse. “Come on baby I’ve got a license for love, and if it expires, pray help from above.”

“Because -”

I shook out my hair before singing with him. 

“In the midnight hour, she cried more, more, more!” We sang together, laughing and bobbing along to the music. “With a rebel yell - she cried more more more!”

Interview segment: Our favorite thing is karaoke. Both of us are music junkies and we get really into it. We’re always dancing and singing oldies in the car or at home - wherever. It’s one of the things that’s always bonded us.

The song came to an end and everyone cheered as Dean pulled me into his arms giving me a gentle headbutt before kissing me and returning to our seats.

---

“Pizza’s here!” Dean said, walking out to our backyard and setting the box down on the table. Pulling two bottles of beer out of the pockets of his shorts, he sat down beside me, grabbing a slice. “You all packed for tomorrow? Flight’s at 4:40 in the morning.”

“I’m packed, just my toothbrush and dry shampoo.” I replied, grabbing a slice and putting my feet up on the table looking through my phone.

“Ugh, i hate when you use that, your hair just feels like powder.” He replied, making a face, before taking a bite out of his pizza.

“We can’t all be lucky as lucky as you, walking around all greasy headed.” I retorted.

“They don’t call me the lunatic fringe for nothing.” He laughed.

“Hey look!” I said, showing him my phone. “There’s finally a new Lore podcast.”

“Do you wanna save it for tomorrow on the plane or -“

“No way, I’ve been waiting way too long.” I shook my head. “Besides, i already filled me laptop full of Ghost Adventures and Unsolved Mysteries to keep us busy the next few weeks.”

“That’s my girl.” He smiled, grabbing another slice.

After eating, he laid down beside me on the patio sofa, both of us with one headphone in as we looked at the string-lit trees listening to the spooky stories on the podcast.

I curled into his arms, my legs resting on his lap as he traced circles on my back with his fingertips. He laid his head on mine, kissing my hair softly as he held me close.

Interview Segment: See, people have this expectation of wrestlers that they’re always eccentric and hyper like we are during shows. Well while that is the case at times, we’re also human. Dean and I might be at the height of our careers but we’re just like everyone else.

We like listening to music and scaring ourselves with horror movies. We binge on pizza on the few nights we’re home because neither of us feel like cooking. We go out and embarrass ourselves with friends. Hopefully all this gets to give you guys a peak at how we are outside of the ring.

Monday Night Raw - Backstage Screening

“Well?” Sean asked, looking at the room full of Divas but all of their eyes were on me.

Tonight we got to screen the first episode of Total Divas Season 6. The screening however was shown to us during a Monday Night Raw show, which meant any Diva and Superstar that wasn’t busy could drop in and watch if they wanted too.

“What...the...fuck, Y/N!” Nikki hit me in the arm while both her and Brie demanded answers.

Unfortunately, I was going to catch a whole lot of heat seeing as nobody knew Dean and I were dating. Until right now.

For the last 2 years we were able to keep it on the low. We had our home in Vegas. We had our own group of friends we hung out with that weren’t in the WWE. During shows we’d arrive separately, we never really ran into each other and we’d only meet back up in the hotel room. It was the only way to make it all work between super crazed fans of both of ours as well as my nosy family.

See, while I adored my friends, family, and fans - they could be overbearing at times which is why we kept it to ourselves. We were extremely private about our personal lives and aside from the company execs, nobody had known. Even the company had been kept in the dark until we had to go update our addresses when we moved into our home.  

Then WWE decided I needed to be on Total Divas. They said they wanted to add fuel to one of Dean’s upcoming storylines and since I’d appeared in background scenes of the show every so often with the Twins, they thought the show would be the perfect way to do that - despite all of our protests.

But once the decision was made, Dean and I talked and decided we would give it our all. If it had to be shown, they were going to see us on our terms and get a real glimpse at our relationship. It was only for one season and people were bound to find out anyway.

“What?” I asked, trying to play dumb but this time Brie took a turn to hit me in the arm.

“When the hell did you start dating Dean?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

I shrugged, rubbing my arms in the spots they’ve hit. “Chill - I don’t know exactly when. We just were talking all the time and then we were together all the time, and then we bought a house - it just kinda happened.”

“You BOUGHT the house?! Buying a house with someone doesn’t just ‘kinda’ happen, Y/N” Nikki said wide-eyed. “How could you keep this from us?”

“Is that why you never invite us over to visit you in Vegas?” Brie asked, just as bewildered.

“You’ve literally watched me flirt with Dean every chance I get - how could you never have said anything?!” Renee said while Naomi and Natalya laughed.

“Guys relax - it’s not that serious.” I shook my head. “Dean and I -” “How could you call that not being serious?!” Nikki interrupted.

“No - not that - it’s just -”

“Just what?” They said together, interrupting me again.

“Woah - what’s going on in here?” Dean asked, stepping into the room with Roman.

I opened my mouth to speak but Brie answered instead. “You’ve been dating Y/N this whole time?!”

He looked at me instantly then at the TV with a Total Divas screen paused.

“Oh.” Dean shrugged, eatting something then coming around to throw his arm over my shoulder, offering me some of the starburst chews he had in his hand. “Well guess the cat’s outta the bag.”

“You guys are so cute together! How could you keep this from everybody?” Nattie asked looking between the two of us. I grabbed a piece of candy, tossing it into my mouth before looking at everyone. “Guys - it’s not a big deal. We just went with the flow, this is where it led us. We just share so much of everything all the time, we wanted to keep this between us. And I mean, Brie - you’re so caught up with Brian and Nikki’s so caught up with John, all you guys do is talk about them to anyone that’ll listen. I’ve just never been like that. What Dean and I have …”

“Is pretty kickass.” Dean said, finishing my sentence as he looked down at me with a smile.

“That is adorable.” Naomi nodded. “Good for you guys.”

“I just feel like we’re so out of touch with our own sister.” Brie pouted.

“Everything just makes so much sense now.” Nikki finally gave in with a small smile. “Missing from holiday get togethers - never hanging out after work…” “We just wanted to keep it to ourselves for a little while.” I looked up at Dean, turning to wrap my arms around his waist as he hugged me into his chest. “We knew you’d have to find out eventually and we figured at least this way we could show you instead.

Dean smiled down at me, leaning his head down to kiss me for the first time in front of people. “What can I say, I wanted her to myself for a little while. I love her.”

“AWWWWH!” They all said, watching us.

I kissed him back as my cheeks flushed red in blush before everyone came around to hug us.

**GIFS not mine

I hope you enjoyed, as always - let me know if you have a request.

[letsscuttlebrain]

22nd January 2020

Aside from a quick dip into politics, the UK has mostly been searching for football updates in the last 24 hours. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - According to the Oxford Dictionary "Impeachment" is the act of calling into question the integrity or validity of something. I feel as though I've been impeaching for about the last three years. However I'm pretty sure it's not a dictionary definition that people are after, but rather some updates on how President Trump is doing. In US politics "Impeachment" is the process of a legislative body levelling charges against a government official, but you probably already knew that. The big DT has had charges levelled at him by the Democratic Party, and his trial has started with lawyers getting personal and aggro about the rules. I've listened to a LOT of podcasts about the American justice system and whilst I am certainly not an expert, I have found that these two things are generally true: 1) The American justice system is broken2) Laws governing the power that the president has were written a long time ago on the basis that those taking office were decent, reasonable and responsible So bear those two things in mind and watch with a combination of horror and fascination.This trial is even more complicated, as the senate has been voting on whether people and documents can be subpoenaed, and the Republicans have flatly said no to this. So you know - it's complicated and stuff. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 - We have arrived at matchday 24 of 38. Yesterday's wins include Bournemouth (3 - 1 against Brighton), Aston villa (2 - 1 against Watford as is only right and proper) and a 2-all draw for Chelsea and Arsenal. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 - For those people using Google for whom "Premier League" was not specific enough, we have a third place trend for "Premier League Table". It does return the results in a slightly different format, so maybe they know what they're doing. Liverpool are at the top with 64 points. Man City are in second place with 51, and then Leicester City are in the third slot with 45. I don't know how the points work for this, but I suppose it's possible that with 14 matchdays left it could all change. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞 - A 2-all draw. One man took both goals for Newcastle, and is name is Lejeune, which means "The Young". I suspect there is only a narrow window of your life where that name doesn't feel like a bit of a piss take. 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐮𝐭𝐝 𝐯𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 - Manchester City beat Sheffield United 1 nil yesterday. that is all. 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 - The football team of choice for all right thinking people (like Tom Hanks) are currently sitting in 16th place in the Premier League. Yesterday they beat Watford 2-1, and Tom Hanks and Elton John have exchanged strongly worded emails about the whole thing*. *Utter fiction. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠 - Greta Thunberg is currently attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, where President Trump has had a moan about "prophets of doom" spreading anxiety about climate change. She responded by asking world leaders whether they'd noticed that the world is currently on fire. They haven't; they're all playing golf. When their tees start to melt maybe they'll look up, but until then it's up to us to rally, which is not the way it should work, but it's where we are. 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 - Member of Parliament Lisa Nandy is one of the runners in the race for Labour leadership. Yesterday the GMB - the UKs third biggest union - endorsed her, so she is looking like a contender. 𝐎𝐳𝐳𝐲 𝐎𝐬𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞 - Ozzy Osbourne has revealed that he has Parkinson's disease. 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 - Haven't we talked about them enough already? In Love Island news: I didn't watch it. I KNOW! This is shocking behavior. Instead I did something that is apparently called "exercise". I don't know if you've heard of it, but I wouldn't completely recommend it. It was fun at the time, but now my body feels as though something heavy ran over it.I suppose some people like that sort of sensation, but I can't say I'm crazy about it.

[magzoso-tech]

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/macbook-pro-16-first-impressions-return-of-the-mack/

MacBook Pro 16” first impressions: Return of the Mack

In poker, complacency is a quiet killer. It can steal your forward momentum bit by bit, using the warm glow of a winning hand or two to cover the bets you’re not making until it’s too late and you’re out of leverage. 

Over the past few years, Apple’s MacBook game had begun to suffer from a similar malaise. Most of the company’s product lines were booming, including newer entries like the Apple Watch, AirPods and iPad Pro. But as problems with the models started to mount — unreliable keyboards, low RAM ceilings and anemic graphics offerings — the once insurmountable advantage that the MacBook had compared to the rest of the notebook industry started to show signs of dwindling. 

The new 16” MacBook Pro Apple is announcing today is an attempt to rectify most, if not all, of the major complaints of its most loyal, and vocal, users. It’s a machine that offers a massive amount of upsides for what appears to be a handful of easily justifiable tradeoffs. It’s got better graphics, a bigger display for nearly no extra overall size, a bigger battery with longer life claims and yeah, a completely new keyboard.

I’ve only had a day to use the machine so far, but I did all of my research and writing for this first look piece on the machine, carting it around New York City, through the airport and onto a plane where I’m publishing this now. This isn’t a review, but I can take you through some of the new stuff and give you thoughts based on that chunk of time. 

This is a re-think of the larger MacBook Pro in many large ways. This is a brand new model that will completely replace the 15” MacBook Pro in Apple’s lineup, not an additional model. 

Importantly, the team working on this new MacBook started with no design constraints on weight, noise, size or battery. This is not a thinner machine, it is not a smaller machine, it is not a quieter machine. It is, however, better than the current MacBook Pro in all of the ways that actually count.

Let’s run down some of the most important new things. 

Performance and thermals

The 16” MacBook Pro comes configured with either a 2.6GHz 6-core i7 or a 2.3GHz 8-core i9 from Intel. These are the same processors as the 15” MacBook Pro came with. No advancements here is largely a function of Intel’s chip readiness. 

The i7 model of the 16” MacBook Po will run $2,399 for the base model — the same as the old 15” — and it comes with a 512GB SSD drive and 16GB of RAM. 

Both models can be ordered today and will be in stores at the end of the week.

The standard graphics configuration in the i7 is an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of memory and an integrated Intel UHD graphics 630 chip. The system continues to use the dynamic handoff system that trades power for battery life on the fly.  

The i9 model will run $2,699 and comes with a 1TB drive. That’s a nice bump in storage for both models, into the range of very comfortable for most people. It rolls with an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of memory.

You can configure both models with an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory. Both models can also now get up to 8TB of SSD storage – which Apple says is the most on a notebook ever – and 64GB of 2666 DDR4 RAM but I’d expect those upgrades to be pricey.

The new power supply delivers an additional 12w of power and there is a new thermal system to compensate for that. The heat pipe that carries air in and out has been redesigned, there are more fan blades on 35% larger fans that move 28% more air compared to the 15” model. 

The fans in the MacBook Pro, when active, put out the same decibel level of sound, but push way more air than before. So, not a reduction in sound, but not an increase either — and the trade is better cooling. Another area where the design process for this MacBook focused on performance gains rather than the obvious sticker copy. 

There’s also a new power brick which is the same physical size as the 15” MacBook Pro’s adapter, but which now supplies 96w up from 87w. The brick is still as chunky as ever and feels a tad heavier, but it’s nice to get some additional power out of it. 

Though I haven’t been able to put the MacBook Pro through any video editing or rendering tests I was able to see live demos of it handling several 8K streams concurrently. With the beefiest internal config Apple says it can usually handle as many as 4, perhaps 5 un-rendered Pro Res streams.

A bigger display, a thicker body

The new MacBook Pro has a larger 16” diagonal Retina display that has a 3072×1920 resolution at 226 ppi. The monitor features the same 500 nit maximum brightness, P3 color gamut and True Tone tech as the current 15”. The bezels of the screen are narrower, which makes it feel even larger when you’re sitting in front of it. This also contributes to the fact that the overall size of the new MacBook Pro is just 2% larger in width and height, with a .7mm increase in thickness. 

The overall increase in screen size far outstrips the increase in overall body size because of those thinner bezels. And this model is still around the same thickness as the 2015 15” MacBook Pro, an extremely popular model among the kinds of people who are the target market for this machine. It also weighs 4.3 lbs, heavier than the 4.02 lb current 15” model.

The display looks great, extremely crisp due to the increase in pixels and even more in your face because of the very thin bezels. This thing feels like it’s all screen in a way that matches the iPad Pro.

This thick boi also features a bigger battery, a full 100Whr, the most allowable under current FAA limits. Apple says this contributes an extra hour of normal operations in its testing regimen in comparison to the current 15” MacBook Pro. I have not been able to effectively test these claims in the time I’ve had with it so far. 

But it is encouraging that Apple has proven willing to make the iPhone 11 Pro and the new MacBook a bit thicker in order to deliver better performance and battery life. Most of these devices are pretty much thin enough. Performance, please.

Speakers and microphone

One other area where the 16” MacBook Pro has made a huge improvement is the speaker and microphone arrays. I’m not sure I ever honestly expected to give a crap about sound coming out of a laptop. Good enough until I put in a pair of headphones accurately describes my expectations for laptop sound over the years. Imagine my surprise when I first heard the sound coming out of this new MacBook and it was, no crap, incredibly good. 

The new array consists of six speakers arranged so that the subwoofers are positioned in pairs, antipodal to one another (back to back). This has the effect of cancelling out a lot of the vibration that normally contributes to that rattle-prone vibrato that has characterized small laptop speakers pretty much forever.

The speaker setup they have here has crisper highs and deeper bass than you’ve likely ever heard from a portable machine. Movies are really lovely to watch with the built-ins, a sentence I have never once felt comfortable writing about a laptop. 

Apple also vents the speakers through their own chambers, rather than letting sound float out through the keyboard holes. This keeps the sound nice and crisp, with a soundstage that’s wide enough to give the impression of a center channel for voice. One byproduct of this though is that blocking one or another speaker with your hand is definitely more noticeable than before.

The quality of sound here is really very, very good. The HomePod team’s work on sound fields apparently keeps paying dividends. 

That’s not the only audio bit that’s better now though, Apple has also put in a 3-mic array for sound recording that it claims has a high enough signal-to-noise ratio that it can rival standalone microphones. I did some testing here comparing it to the iPhone’s mic and it’s absolutely night and day. There is remarkably little hiss present here and artists that use the MacBook as a sketch pad for vocals and other recording are going to get a really nice little surprise here.

I haven’t been able to test it against external mics myself but I was able to listen to rigs that involved a Blue Yeti and other laptop microphones and the MacBook’s new mic array was clearly better than any of the machines and held its own against the Yeti. 

The directional nature of many podcast mics is going to keep them well in advance of the internal mic on the MacBook for the most part, but for truly mobile recording setups the MacBook mic just went from completely not an option to a very viable fallback in one swoop. It really has to be listened to in order to get it. 

I doubt anyone is going to buy a MacBook Pro for the internal mic, but having a ‘pro level’ device finally come with a pro level mic on board is super choice. 

I think that’s most of it, though I feel like I’m forgetting something…

Oh right, the Keyboard

Ah yes. I don’t really need to belabor the point on the MacBook Pro keyboards just not being up to snuff for some time. Whether you weren’t a fan of the short throw on the new butterfly keyboards or you found yourself one of the many people (yours truly included) who ran up against jammed or unresponsive keys on that design — you know that there has been a problem.

The keyboard situation has been written about extensively by Casey Johnston and Joanna Stern and complained about by every writer on Twitter over the past several years. Apple has offered a succession of updates to that keyboard to attempt to make it more reliable and has extended warranty replacements to appease customers. 

But the only real solution was to ditch the design completely and start over. And that’s what this is: a completely new keyboard.

Apple is calling it the Magic Keyboard in homage to the iMac’s Magic Keyboard (but not identically designed). The new keyboard is a scissor mechanism, not butterfly. It has 1mm of key travel (more, a lot more) and an Apple-designed rubber dome under the key that delivers resistance and springback that facilitates a satisfying key action. The new keycaps lock into the keycap at the top of travel to make them more stable when at rest, correcting the MacBook Air-era wobble. 

And yes, the keycaps can be removed individually to gain access to the mechanism underneath. And yes, there is an inverted-T arrangement for the arrow keys. And yes, there is a dedicated escape key.

Apple did extensive physiological research when building out this new keyboard. One test was measuring the effect of a keypress on a human finger. Specifically, they measured the effect of a key on the pacinian corpuscles at the tips of your fingers. These are onion-esque structures in your skin that house nerve endings and they are most sensitive to mechanical and vibratory pressure. 

Apple then created this specialized plastic dome that sends a specific vibration to this receptor making your finger send a signal to your brain that says ‘hey you pressed that key.’ This led to a design that gives off the correct vibration wavelength to return a satisfying ‘stroke completed’ message to the brain.

There is also more space between the keys, allowing for more definitive strokes. This is because the keycaps themselves are slightly smaller. The spacing does take some adjustment, but by this point in the article I am already getting pretty proficient and am having more grief from the autocorrect feature of Catalina than anything else. 

Notably, this keyboard is not in the warranty extension program that Apple is applying to its older keyboard designs. There is a standard 1 year warranty on this model, a statement by the company that they believe in the durability of this new design? Perhaps. It has to get out there and get bashed on by more violent keyboard jockeys than I for a while before we can tell whether it’s truly more resilient. 

But does this all come together to make a more usable keyboard? In short, yes. The best way to describe it in my opinion is a blend between the easy cushion of the old MacBook Air and the low profile stability of the Magic Keyboard for iMac. It’s truly one of the best feeling keyboards they’ve made in years and perhaps ever in the modern era. I reserve the right to be nostalgic about deep throw mechanical keyboards in this regard, but this is the next best thing. 

Pro, or Pro

In my brief and admittedly limited testing so far, the 16” MacBook Pro ends up looking like it really delivers on the Pro premise of this kind of machine in ways that have been lacking for a while in Apple’s laptop lineup. The increased storage caps, bigger screen, bigger battery and redesigned keyboard should make this an insta-buy for anyone upgrading from a 2015 MacBook Pro and a very tempting upgrade for even people on newer models that have just never been happy with the typing experience. 

Many of Apple’s devices with the label Pro lately have fallen into the bucket of ‘the best’ rather than ‘for professionals’. This isn’t strictly a new phenomenon for Apple, but more consumer centric devices like the AirPods Pro and the iPhone Pro get the label now than ever before. 

But the 16” MacBook Pro is going to alleviate a lot of the pressure Apple has been under to provide an unabashedly Pro product for Pro Pros. It’s a real return to form for the real Mack Daddy of the laptop category. As long as this new keyboard design proves resilient and repairable I think this is going to kick off a solid new era for Apple portables.

[certainheartrunaway]

Daily Ham News 9/7/19

  Daily Ham News

Southgate ARC – The American Radio Relay League’s round-up of the forthcoming week’s DX activity on the amateur radio bands

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Southgate ARC – This Sunday morning at 0900 GMT the Radio DARC broadcast on 6070 kHz AM will cover the role of the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) in the recent French threat to 144-146 MHz

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Southgate ARC – The ‘DXCC Most Wanted’ entities list has been updated on ClubLog as of August 30th

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Southgate ARC – Bob, GU4YOX, will be active in this year’s CQWW DX CW Contest (November 23-24th) as GJ4YOX

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Southgate ARC – WVLT TV news reports amateur radio operators are helping during Hurricane Dorian

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Southgate ARC – This year’s International Air Ambulance Week will take place between 7th and 15th September with the focus on supporting and generating donations for flying medical services around the world. The event covers two weekends, giving amateurs a great chance to get involved and support the event

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Southgate ARC – ARRL report volunteers from the Skagit Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Club (SARECC) in Anacortes, Washington, recently assisted the US Coast Guard in tracking the source of interference on VHF Marine Channel 5A (156.250 MHz)

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Southgate ARC – Last weekend polar skies lit up brightly in response to a geomagnetic storm. But not all the lights in the sky were auroras. STEVE was there, too

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Southgate ARC – The superhet or superheterodyne radio has been in use for over a hundred years and it is still one of the most popular formats for a receiver

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Southgate ARC – Our Sun and the Hurricane Create a Perfect Storm – The latest space weather forecast from Dr Tamitha Skov WX6SWW

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NEWS UPDATE — #T33T #Banaba は来年に延期となりました。 3Y0Iに全力を注ぐことになります。 10月頃に詳細が公表されるのではないかと思います — JE1CKA (@CkaJe1) September 5, 2019 JUNE 10, 2019 – Following their recent expedition to Conway Reef (3D2CR), look for the “Rebel DX Group” to be active from Banaba as T33T within the next or so.

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V3M Team will be active from Belize in CQ WW DX SSB Contest, 26 – 27 October 2019.

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Lou Lesko, who shares the following guest post:

Missing the Static

by Lou Lesko

Nineteen-ninety-one, my girlfriend Michelle and I were asked to house-sit her parent’s place in a remote part of Morgan Hill, south of San Jose, California. One had to drive for two miles on a dirt road through a running creek to get to the house deep in the woods. It was magical. The place ran on generators and a massive array of batteries.

We stayed in the master bedroom. Bob, Michelle’s step-father, had a shortwave radio on his bedside table. The radio was connected to a huge twenty foot high antenna stuck in the ground outside the bedroom window. Fumbling through the controls for the first time I found the BBC in London and a myriad of other broadcasts in different languages from cities all over the globe. It was mesmerizing.

Thanks to a book I found, Passport to World Band Radio, I learned that scanning to find broadcasts was called DXing. The book also listed frequencies and some of the known active times of stations around the world. It also explained the phenomena of shortwave: radio signals within a specific frequency range have properties that cause them to bounce between the ionosphere and the earth’s crust allowing efficient propagation around the globe. Conditions like weather, the electronic interferences of modern life, and solar flares all had an effect on the quality of the signal and how far it could travel.

The more I learned, the more I listened. Scrolling through the static to discover random broadcasts from radio Cuba or radio Moscow was blissful escapism that charged my imagination. At the time the BBC had 120 million weekly listeners. The largest audience of any broadcast medium in history.

It was a sad day when Michelle’s parents returned. Not only did Michelle and I have to go back to our tiny apartment—playing house was fun—I had to give up the shortwave radio.

A month later Michelle gave me a portable shortwave radio as a Christmas gift. It wasn’t nearly as powerful as the rig in Morgan Hill, but it worked fabulously well for receiving strong signals. I listened to it every night before falling asleep.

Three years later, during an annual trip to Yosemite, I wondered what the reception would be like if I were to take the portable radio up a few thousand feet way out of the range of street lights, televisions, toasters—all things electronic that impede reception of anything except the strongest signals.

I embarked on a solo hike up 12,000 feet to the top of Mammoth Peak in Tuolumne Meadows. Optimal listening time was just after sunset and into the night California time. Alone, wrapped in a subzero sleeping bag, a bitting breeze blowing, bathed the etherial pale glow of moonlight reflecting off the white granite, I turned on my radio. It was overwhelming. Every tiny turn of the dial yielded something new I had never heard before. I tuned in to almost every part of the globe.

Shortwave has faded. Its gradual decline started at the end of the cold war, Western governments no longer saw the need to shoulder the large costs associated with transmitting on shortwave frequencies. The demise was further hastened in 2001 when then BBC World Service Director Mark Byford stopped the broadcasts to North America citing the emerging Internet and satellite radio as the future for reaching audiences. He was of course correct.

Radio Garden, a web site that delivers a graphical version of what shortwave used to do, offers an animated picture of the globe dotted with internet radio broadcasters. Click on a dot, listen to a radio station in another part of the world in crystal clarity. Radio Garden is exceedingly clever and a wonder of modern technology. As are podcasts, streaming television, Facetime calls. All of it extraordinary and life altering. And yet, every once in awhile, I miss that unique thrill I used to get when I discovered a voice broadcasting from a far away place I’ve never been. Every once in awhile, I miss the static.

Lou Lesko is a writer, and a former editor-at-large for National Geographic.

Click here to visit Lou’s website.

Lou, thank you for sharing the static!

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7 September 2019                                          A.R.I. DX Bulletin No 1479=========================== *** 4 2 5  D X  N E W S *** *******   CALENDAR  ******* =========================== Edited by  I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore  Responsabile I2VGW

PERIOD           CALL                                                   REF till  07/09      VE7ADA/1: NA-010 and NA-081                           1477 till  08/09      3D2VR: Fiji                                           1478 till  08/09      7I1TI: Tunda Island (OC-237)                          1479 till  08/09      GB4BIT: Bardsey Island (EU-124)                       1478 till  09/09      JT7A: Mongolia                                        1478 till  09/09      K7TRI: Tillamook Rock (NA-211)                        1477 till  09/09      T88PB: Koror (OC-009), Palau                          1478 till  11/09      JI3DST/0 and JR8YLY/0: Sado Island (AS-206)           1478 till  12/09      OY/DL1ZBO, OY/DL2VU, OY/DL5FF: Faroe Islands (EU-018) 1478 till  15/09      3Z1919PS, HF1919PS, SN1919PS: special callsigns       1474 till  15/09      EG1SDC-EG9SDC: special callsigns                      1476 till  15/09      EH1SDC-EH9SDC: special callsigns                      1476 till  15/09      EX0QP: Kyrgyzstan                                     1476 till  15/09      SO1919PS, SP1919PS, SQ1919PS: special callsigns       1474 till  15/09      T30L:  West Kiribati (OC-017)                         1474 till  17/09      9U3TMM: Burundi                                       1478 till  18/09      7Q7WW, 7Q6M, 7Q7JN: Malawi                            1479 till  18/09      TM44WFF and F4GTB/p: Flora & Fauna (France)           1477 till  22/09      OE15SOTA: special callsign                            1479 till  22/09      P29VIM: Papua New Guinea                              1478 till  22/09      PA75SODS: special callsign                            1476 till  22/09      TK19IOTA: Corsica                                     1475 till  24/09      H44MS: Malaita (OC-047), Solomon Islands              1468 till  24/09      LZ/R2ATP/mm: lighthouses and Flora & Fauna            1477 till  25/09      PD538RNI: special callsign                            1476 till  30/09      4U500M: special callsign (VIC, Austria)               1475 till  30/09      9M16KING: special event station (West Malaysia)       1478 till  30/09      LY30BW: special callsign                              1474 till  30/09      PA75OSB: special callsign                             1476 till  04/10      J68HZ: St Lucia (NA-108)                              1476 till  10/10      Z81D: South Sudan                                     1476 till  14/10      TT8JLH: Chad                                          1479 till  23/10      4U73B: special callsign (Italy)                       1434 till  October    VK0HZ: Davis Station, Antarctica (AN-016)             1431 till  October    ZL5A: Scott Base, Ross Island (AN-011), Antarctica    1431 till  17/11      TM500LV: special callsign (France)                    1465 till  30/11      PH100KLM: special callsign                            1476 till  02/12      IB2LV: special callsign                               1477 till  31/12      8J3ICOM and 8N3ICOM: special callsigns                1476 till  31/12      9A62AA: special callsign                              1452 till  31/12      Canadian National Parks On The Air (CNPOTA)           1443 till  31/12      DL70AFUG: special callsign                            1447 till  31/12      DL70BRD: special callsign                             1444 till  31/12      DM70GER: special callsign                             1444 till  31/12      DQ1200ASP: special callsign                           1443 till  31/12      DR50DIG: special callsign                             1446 till  31/12      EI100YXQ: special callsign                            1447 till  31/12      EI19RE: special callsign                              1447 till  31/12      EN185UNIV: special callsign                           1458 till  31/12      FK8CJ: New Caledonia (OC-032)                         1477 till  31/12      HB90 and HB30: special prefixes (Switzerland)         1443 till  31/12      SF50CG: special callsign                              1444 till  31/12      SP60DXC: special callsign                             1477 till  31/12      TC10GITRAD: special callsign (Turkey)                 1451 till  31/01/2020 EM1UA and EM1U: Galindez Island (AN-006), Antarctica  1450 till  30/06/2020 GB60ATG: special callsign                             1473 07/09            ES2TT/3: Vormsi Island (EU-034)                       1478 07/09-08/09      TM1MOON: special callsign (France)                    1461 07/09-10/09      E6AN: Niue (OC-040)                                   1478 07/09-10/09      JW/IT9SSI, JW/IT9YVO, JW/IZ7KHR: Svalbard (EU-026)    1479 07/09-13/09      EA6/IU2IBU: Minorca, Balearic Islands (EU-004)        1478 07/09-14/09      PJ4/K5SL: Bonaire (SA-006)                            1478 07/09-14/09      W6A-W6I: Route 66 On The Air special event            1478 07/09-14/09      W6K-W6U: Route 66 On The Air special event            1478 08/09-16/09      E51SFS: Rarotonga (OC-013), South Cooks               1477 08/09-20/09      V26K: Antigua (NA-100)                                1478 08/09-21/09      9G5QU: Ghana                                          1477 09/09-15/09      5W0VR: Samoa                                          1478 09/09-23/09      OZ6SYL: Sjaelland (EU-029)                            1479 10/09-28/09      GB1JB: special callsign                               1479 12/09-18/09      HB0/DJ2AX, HB0/DL4APJ, HB0/DL5ARG: Liechtenstein      1479 12/09-20/09      T88FM, T88MK, T88RR: Koror (OC-009), Palau            1479 12/09-03/03/2020 PA75LIMBURG: special callsign                         1479 13/09-16/09      EA9/DL2JRM: Ceuta & Melilla                           1475 13/09-22/09      PA75OMG: special event station                        1477 13/09-27/09      TM41CDXC: special callsign (France)                   1477 14/09-21/09      PH75MG: special callsign                              1479 14/09-28/09      6O7O: Somalia                                         1477 15/09-22/09      WH0RU: Saipan (OC-086)                                1479 16/09-21/09      A35JY: Tonga                                          1478 16/09-25/09      C21WW: Nauru (OC-031)                                 1479 16/09-28/09      IM0DAE: San Pietro Island (EU-165)                    1479 16/09-01/10      3DA0AO: eSwatini (Swaziland)                          1469 21/09-29/09      AM500SAN: special callsign                            1479 21/09-29/09      S79GJ: La Digue (AF-024), Seychelles                  1479 20/09-25/09      E51SFS: Aitutaki (OC-083), South Cooks                1477 20/09-05/10      HB0/DL5YL and HB0/DL5YM: Liechtenstein                1478 21/09-27/09      MD/OP2D: Isle of Man                                  1462 22/09-24/09      JA8COE/0: Sado Island (AS-206)                        1479 23/09-27/09      3D2VR: Fiji                                           1478 23/09-06/10      A35JT: Tongatapu (OC-049), Tonga                      1455 28/09-02/10      WW0WWV: special event station                         1477 24/09-08/10      FP/KV1J: Saint Pierre & Miquelon (NA-032)             1475 25/09-28/10      5H3MB: Tanzania                                       1479 27/09-03/10      3W9KJ: Dao Co To (AS-132)                             1479 27/09-12/10      Enigma Reloaded                                       1479 29/09-05/10      5H3CA and 5H3RRC: Mafia Island (AF-054)               1479 29/09-13/10      D44TWO: Sao Tiago (AF-005)                            1477 30/09-11/10      A82X and A82Z: Liberia                                1476 September        II4GRM: special callsign                              1444 September        JW/LB2PG: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard              1465 September        LZ304EW: special callsign                             1444 01/10-11/10      ZK3A: Tokelau Islands (OC-048)                        1478 01/10-19/10      7P8AO: Lesotho                                        1469 02/10-14/10      TO80SP: St. Pierre  et  Miquelon (NA-032)             1477 04/10-06/10      K5P: Isle au Pitre (NA-089)                           1479 04/10-06/10      N5C: Cat Island (NA-082)                              1479 05/10-06/10      F6CUK/p: Sainte-Marguerite Island (EU-058)            1477 07/10-23/10      T30GC: Western Kiribati (OC-017)                      1462 17/10-29/10      5K0K: San Andres (NA-033)                             1478 18/10-23/10      3G1DX: Pajaros Rocks (SA-100)                         1475 18/10-28/10      VK9NC: Norfolk Island (OC-005)                        1475 18/10-01/11      VP6R: Pitcairn Island (OC-044)                        1454 18/10-04/11      VK9NE: Norfolk Island (OC-005)                        1475 19/10-31/10      VU7RI: Lakshadweep Islands (AS-011)                   1459 20/10-01/11      D68CCC: Comoro Islands (AF-007)                       1462 22/10-31/10      HC5M: Ecuador                                         1479 28/10-04/11      VK9NG: Norfolk Island (OC-005)                        1475 October          II4MNU: special callsign                              1444 October          JW/LB2PG: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard              1465 October          LZ311HI: special callsign                             1444 01/11-03/11      OR75CLM: special callsign                             1479 04/11-07/11      YJ0RRC: Gaua Island (OC-104), Vanuatu                 1457 06/11-10/11      PA100PCGG: special callsign                           1479 06/11-17/11      TX7T: Marquesas Islands (OC-027)   ��                  1477 08/11-13/11      YJ0RRC: Tongoa Island (OC-111), Vanuatu               1457 12/11-29/11      VK9CZ: Cocos (Keeling) Islands (OC-003)               1459 14/11-20/11      YJ0FWA: Efate Island (OC-035), Vanuatu                1457 16/11-27/11      9G5W: Ghana                                           1469 November         II4VAL: special callsign                              1444 November         JW/LB2PG: Bear Island (EU-027), Svalbard              1465 November         LZ365BM: special callsign                             1444 December         II4TIB: special callsign                              1444 December         LZ4408SPA: special callsign                           1444 TBA         2019 3Y0I: Bouvet Island                                   1459 04/02-18/02/2020 5I5TT and 5I4ZZ: Zanzibar Island (AF-032)             1477 21/02-05/03/2020 VP8/VP8DXU: South Orkney Islands (AN-008)             1479 March       2020 9J2LA: Zambia                                         1463 05/10-12/10/2020 CY0C: Sable Island (NA-063)                           1463 October     2020 KH6VV/KH4: Midway Island (OC-030)                     1476

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425 DX NEWS HOME PAGE:  http://www.425dxn.org 425 DX NEWS MAGAZINE:   http://www.425dxn.org/monthly

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Direttore Responsabile Gabriele Villa,  I2VGW Giornalista Professionista – Tessera n. 071675 Ordine Nazionale dei Giornalisti Roma, Italia

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Daily Ham News

7 September 2019                                          A.R.I. DX Bulletin No 1479=========================== *** 4 2 5  D X  N E W S *** ****  DX  INFORMATION  **** =========================== Edited by  I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore Responsabile  I2VGW

3W     – Jacek, SP5APW  will be active  as  3W9KJ  from  Dao Co To (AS-132), Vietnam from  27 September to 3 October.  Main mode will be FT8/FT4 with some SSB if conditions allow. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, LoTW or via home call. [TNX DX World] 5H     – Maurizio, IK2GZU will be active as 5H3MB from Ikelu, Tanzania  from 25 September to 28 October,  while  doing volunteer  work  for  the local hospital. In his spare time he will operate SSB, CW and  RTTY on the HF bands.  QSL via  Club Log’s  OQRS,  LoTW and eQSL, or via IK2GZU (direct or bureau). [TNX IK2GZU] 5H     – Elena, RC5A and Yuri, RM0F will be active as 5H3CA and 5H3RRC  from Mafia Island (AF-054) from  29 September  to  5 October.  They will operate CW and SSB on 160-10 metres. QSL via RC5A. [TNX DX World] 7Q     – Bill KC4D  (7Q7WW),  Don K6ZO  (7Q6M)  and  Junior 7Q7JN  have been active from Malawi since 5 September, and will remain  there  until 18 September.  They operate  FT8, SSB and CW  from  the  Embangweni Mission Hospital as time and power allow. [TNX NG3K] C2     – The Latvian team going to Nauru  on  16-25 September  [425DXN 1474] will be signing C21WW  (instead of C21W).  On  6-15 September  they will be active as T30L from Tarawa, West Kiribati. More information can be found on http://www.lral.lv/c21ww_t30l/. EA     – URE San Fernando (EA7URF) is participating in the official celebra- tions for the 500th anniversary of  the  first circumnavigation  of the Earth [425DXN 1467].  The second of ten special event  stations representing  a  milestone  of the voyage will be  AM500SAN,  to be active  on  21-29  September  to  memorialize  the  departure  from Sanlucar de Barrameda for the  Canary Islands  (20 September 1519). QSL via EA7URF (bureau or direct), LoTW and eQSL. G      – Special callsign  GB1JB  will be activated  on  10-28 September  to Celebrate  the  110th birthday  of  Jean Batten,  the  New  Zealand aviatrix who made  a number of record-breaking  solo flights across the world in the 1930s. QSL direct to M0OGG. HB0    – Look for HB0/DJ2AX,  HB0/DL4APJ and  HB0/DL5ARG  to be active  from Liechtenstein on 12-18 September,  including participation  in  the Worked All Europe DX SSB Contest  as  HB0/DJ2AX.  They will operate CW, SSB and digital modes on 80-10 metres,  and will also give  2m, 70cm, and 23cm a try. QSL via home calls. [TNX DX Newsletter] HC     – Uwe, DL8UD will be active again as HC5M from Cuenca, Ecuador on 22- 31 October, CQ WW DX SSB Contest  included.  Outside the contest he will operate SSB and CW on 160-10 metres.  QSL via DL8UD, direct or bureau; logsearch on Club Log. [TNX NG3K] IS0    – Giuseppe, IK5WWA will be active  as  IM0DAE from  San Pietro Island (EU-165) on 16-28 September.  He will  be QRV on  the HF bands,  as well as on 6m, 2m and 70cm. QSL via IK5WWA, direct or bureau. JA     – Taka, JA8COE will be active as JA8COE/0  from  Sado Island (AS-206) on  22-24 September.  He  will operate  CW, FT8 and SSB  on the  HF bands. QSL via Club Log’s OQRS, or via JA8COE (direct or bureau). JW     – Look  for  Dario  JW/IT9SSI,  Antonello  JW/IT9YVO  and   Francesco JW/IZ7KHR to be active from the JW5E club station  in  Longyearbyen (EU-026), Svalbard  on  7-10 September  (https://io9a.it/jw-2019/). They will  operate  CW and SSB,  with some RTTY or FT8,  on  160-10 metres. QSL via home calls; all QSOs will be uploaded  to  Club Log and LoTW after the DXpedition. KH0    – Harry, JG7PSJ will be active  holiday style as  WH0RU  from  Saipan (OC-086) on 15-22 September.  He will operate CW,  SSB and RTTY  on 40-10 metres.  QSL via LoTW,  or  direct to  JG7PSJ.  Logsearch  on http://jg7psj.starfree.jp/. [TNX DX World] OE     – Special callsign OE15SOTA  will  be  active  on  6-22 September  to celebrate  the  15th anniversary of  Austria  joining  the  Summits On  the  Air  programme.   A certificate  will  be  available,  see https://www.qrz.com/db/OE15SOTA for more information. ON     – The ONZ Oost Kust Radioclub (ON6HC) will be active on all bands and modes as OR75CLM on 1-3 November.  The suffix stands  for  Canadian Liberation March, the annual event  that celebrates  the liberation of the Belgian town of  Knokke on  1 November 1944.  QSL via ON6HC. A certificate will be available, see http://www.onz.be/or75clm/ for information. [TNX ON3XI] OZ     – Rosel, DL3KWR will be active  holiday style  as  OZ6SYL  from  near Faxe, Sjaelland (EU-029) on  9-23 September.  She will operate  CW, and will participate  in the  CW leg of  the  Scandinavian Activity Contest (21-22 September). QSL via OZ7AGR. PA     – Special event station PA75LIMBURG will be active from  12 September to 3 March 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the  liberation  of the Dutch province of  Limburg during  World War II  (started on 12 September 1944 and completed on  3 March 1945).  QSL via Club Log’s OQRS (preferred), or via PC9DB. PA     – Commemorating  the  75th  anniversary  of  Operation Market Garden, special event station PH75MG will be active on 14-21 September. QSL via PI4CQ, direct or bureau. PA     – The  Vereniging van Radio Zend Amateurs  (VRZA)  will be active  as PA100PCGG on 6-10 November to celebrate “Idzerda Day” and the 100th anniversary of PCGG. QSL via the bureau. Located at  The Hague  and established by  engineer  Hanso Idzerda,  radio station  PCGG began broadcasting a regular schedule of  entertainment  programmes on  6 November 1919. It is believed to have been Europe’s first sustained broadcasting station, as well as one of the first stations  in  the world to transmit entertainment intended for a general audience. S7     – Lance, W7GJ will be active as S79GJ from  La Digue Island  (AF-024, WWL LI75vp), Seychelles on  21-29 September.  This will be a 6m EME DXpedition:  “I urge you  to gain experience with JT65A”,  he says, “and  especially  review  the  QSO   procedure  that   I  use  most effectively on these DXpeditions”. When “not aimed up at the moon”, he adds, “I very well may be on SSB or FT8 mode. For FT8, I will be using 50.313 MHz”. Plans are to tear down on  30 September,  but he might “be able to get on 20m FT8 for some activity during the first few days of October”  before  departing  for home  on the 5th.  QSL direct only to home call. See http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/ for planned operating schedules and other information. T8     – T88FM (JM1LIG),  T88MK (JO3LVG)  and  T88RR (JA6UBY) will be active from Koror (OC-009), Palau  on  12-20 September.  They will operate CW, SSB and digital modes on 160-6 metres. QSL via home calls. TT     – Jean-Louis, ZS6AAG (F5MAW) has been sporadically active  as  TT8JLH from N’Djamena, Chad since late August. He works for  Medecins Sans Frontieres, and will be QRV in his spare time until 14 October. QSL via eQSL only. [TNX The Daily DX] W      – AB5EB, AD5A, AD6D, K0AP, N5LN, W5GAI  and possibly  others  will be active as K5P from Isle au Pitre (NA-089) and  N5C from  Cat Island (NA-082)  on  4-6 October.  They  plan  to  activate  both  islands simultaneously. QSL via K0AP for both operations. [TNX DX World] YB     – ORARI Daerah Banten (http://iota.ordabanten.or.id/)  will be active as 7I1TI  from  Tunda Island  (OC-237)  on  6-8 September.  QSL via HA3JB, logsearch on Club Log.

=========================== *** 4 2 5  D X  N E W S *** ****  GOOD TO KNOW … **** =========================== Edited by  I1JQJ & IK1ADH Direttore Responsabile  I2VGW

Access to the main functions of www.425dxn.org is provided by the 425DXN App for Android. It is available on Google Play – free of charge, no ads. Enjoy!

CLUB LOG LIVE STREAMS —> Live Streams is a new feature that Michael, G7VJR has added to Club Log.  It provides a console view of a Club Log callsign in real-time,  including a map showing the location of the QSOs.  Each time new QSOs are uploaded to Club Log, the Live Stream is automatically updated  and a graphical indication of which bands are in use is presented to help DXers. Live Streams is available to any  Club Log user.  The idea is that it can be used standalone (very helpful if a  DXpedition is logging in real-time)  and can also be embedded  in other web pages or bookmarked.  Instructions can be found on https://clublog.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/3000092445

ENIGMA RELOADED —> The 6th  “Enigma Reloaded”  event will take place  from 27 September  to 12 October.  Complete  information  on  the event  and  the associated award is available at http://www.enigma-reloaded.it/.

QSL GALLERY —> The large collection of QSL cards  on  Les  Nouvelles  DX’s website has been updated.  Sixteen different galleries include  17,287 cards for the  ten Most  Wanted  DXCC  Entities  (2009-18), the  62  deleted  DXCC Entities, obsolete prefixes,  stations  from  Maghreb  from  1945  to  1962, Allied Forces stations in Germany (1945-70), special stations  commemorating ITU and IARU, stations using the United Nations prefix (4U), Antarctic bases and TAAF (Terres  Australes and Antarctiques Francaises), the various French DXCC island Entities in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Americas (from 1945 to 1969), pre-1945  countries, French Departments and CONUS, plus a gallery for cards not accepted  by DXCC. Your participation is encouraged: http://www.lesnouvellesdx.fr/galerieqsl.php. [TNX F6AJA].

VP8/VP8DXU —> The  project  planning for the 2020 DXpedition  to the South South Orkney Islands  [425DXN 1474] continues:  other companies  have joined the  corporate  sponsors  team,  the  operators  are  making  their   travel arrangements (at their own expense) to meet the  “Braveheart” in Chile,  and during  the  week  of  20 October  team members  will meet  to  consolidate, integrate, test and pack  the equipment for  its transport to  Punta Arenas. The  fundraising  campaign  continues,  as  “the inconvenient truth is  that amateur radio DXpeditions to  the  Southern Ocean,  and other  rare entities that require a  ship charter,  are expensive.  While  the team members  will shoulder much of the cost  of the project,  we depend on corporate sponsors, clubs/foundations and individuals to share the cost. Ham radio is our hobby, businesses  require  full payment  for  their services.  To date,  37 clubs/ foundations  and  over  300  individuals  have shown  their support for  the project.  With 6 months before  sailing  we are at 48%  of  our  fundraising goal”, the VP8/VP8DXU team reported on 1 September. “A subsequent DXpedition to South Orkney Island will likely  not  take place for a long time.  If you need South Orkney for an ATNO, band fills,  or plan to play  in the pileups, we would appreciate your help  before we sail”.  Visit  https://sorkney.com/ and consider making a donation. [TNX K5GS]

—————————————————————————-

QSLs received direct or through managers: 1A0C, 3B9VB,  4U1A, 5T5PA,  7X4AN, A41NN,  CE2AWW,  CN8LI,  DJ9IN (EU-047),  E44WE,  EM1U (AN-006),  FH/UA4WHX, FK8CP, HK1NA (SA-082), J48GEO (EU-049),  JG7PSJ/7 (AS-206), MI0SAI,  MJ0IKL, RU6DX/p (EU-185), S01WS, S70VB,  S9A, SK9HQ,  SV8NAJ (EU-052), T2AR,  V31DL, V84SAA, XR0ZRC (SA-005), XR1RRC (SA-069), YB0MWM, YL2BJ.

****************************************************************************

425 DX NEWS HOME PAGE:  http://www.425dxn.org 425 DX NEWS MAGAZINE:   http://www.425dxn.org/monthly

****************************************************************************

425 DX News is a free of charge weekly bulletin edited by Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ and Valeria Pregliasco, IK1ADH

Its contents may be used, reproduced and distributed in part or full provided that “425 DX News” or “425DXN” receive proper credit

Contributors are invited to send their DX information to Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ  (i1jqj…@gmail.com) The deadline is 12 UTC on Fridays

****************************************************************************

Direttore Responsabile Gabriele Villa, I2VGW Giornalista Professionista – Tessera n. 071675 Ordine Nazionale dei Giornalisti Roma, Italia

****************************************************************************

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Daily Ham News

ARRL Propagation Bulletin No. 0036 via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2N0TpGD September 06, 2019 at 05:25PM via Tumblr https://certainheartrunaway.tumblr.com/post/187540885235

Daily Ham News

ARRL –

Old Cycle 24 sunspots returned this week, but for only two days (Sunday and Monday) with a sunspot number of 12. Average daily solar flux increased from 66 reported in last week’s bulletin to 67.4 this week.

Radiation from a coronal hole increased the average planetary A index from 5.7 last week to 19.9 this week, with the level on Saturday and Sunday at 38 and 45. In Fairbanks, Alaska’s College…

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Daily Ham News

Old Cycle 24 sunspots returned this week, but for only two days (Sunday and Monday) with a sunspot number of 12. Average daily solar flux increased from 66 reported in last week’s bulletin to 67.4 this week.

Radiation from a coronal hole increased the average planetary A index from 5.7 last week to 19.9 this week, with the level on Saturday and Sunday at 38 and 45. In Fairbanks, Alaska’s College…

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Daily Ham News

ARRL –

Old Cycle 24 sunspots returned this week, but for only two days (Sunday and Monday) with a sunspot number of 12. Average daily solar flux increased from 66 reported in last week’s bulletin to 67.4 this week.

Radiation from a coronal hole increased the average planetary A index from 5.7 last week to 19.9 this week, with the level on Saturday and Sunday at 38 and 45. In Fairbanks, Alaska’s College…

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Equipment

IC-PW2 Prototypes Shown at Tokyo Hamfair 2019

August 31, 2019 No comments

IC-PW2 ICOM Icom Inc. will be unveiling new product innovations at the Tokyo Hamfair, taking place in Ariake, Tokyo on August 31st – September 1… Read more

ICOM IC-705 [New]

August 30, 2019 No comments

ICOM IC-705 IC-705 has just been unveiled by Icom at the Tokyo Ham Fair. This is a portable HF/VHF/UHF transceiver featuring SDR technology, internal… Read more

EB104 HF Power Amplifier – 2,4KW water cooling system 5″ LCD touch screen for N0JSN

August 21, 2019 No comments

HF/6m linear amplifier 2400W MRF1K50H 2 pcs water cooling system 5″ LCD touch screen for N0JSN   Read more

NEW LNA + FILTER FOR RADIO ASTRONOMY HYDROGEN LINE OBSERVATIONS RELEASED BY NOOELEC

August 09, 2019 No comments

NooElec have recently released a new LNA + filter combo called the “SAWbird+ H1 Barebones” which significantly lowers the entry bar for ne… Read more

Yaesu FT3D First look at the new Handheld

August 07, 2019 No comments

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VHF

Icom IC-SAT100 Satellite PTT Radio

September 05, 2019 No comments

“Video, presented by James Heming which provides a comprehensive introduction to the Icom IC-SAT100 Satellite PTT Radio system, how it works, fe… Read more

Retevis RT98, the mini mobile radio show

August 23, 2019 No comments

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Should a Baofeng be your First Ham Radio – Ham Radio Q&A

August 12, 2019 No comments

“The Baofeng UV5R. Some have called them the savior to ham radio and others say they are nothing but a scourge to the hobby. But one is for sure… Read more

WRC-19: request to support 50MHz

August 02, 2019 No comments

As the run-up to WRC-19 gathers pace, the UK Six Metre Group has also written to Ofcom in support of a positive approach to Agenda Item 1.1 concerning… Read more

D41CV work DK5AI – 144MHz ! 4966 KM

July 23, 2019 No comments

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App – Mobile

New APP for digital QST

March 25, 2019 No comments

Apple has released a new app for digital QST (version 5.1) readers that use that platform. A long-standing problem involved the inability of some Appl… Read more

6 Must Have Amateur Radio Apps!

December 24, 2018 No comments

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iWSPR TX – WSPR for iOS version 2.8 now available

October 16, 2018 No comments

WSPR WSPR implements a protocol designed for probing potential propagation paths with low-power transmissions.  Normal transmissions carry a station’s… Read more

RUMlogNG2Go for iOS version 3.5.2 now available

August 19, 2018 No comments

Thomas Lindner, DL2RUM, is happy to announce the availability of version 3.5.2 of his RUMlogNG2Go logger for the iPhone and iPad.  RUMlogNG2Go can be … Read more

SmartSDR for iOS v2.6.2 Now Available

August 12, 2018 No comments

FlexRadio Systems announces the release of SmartSDR for iOS v2.6.2 is now available for download or update from the Apple App Store. This App requires… Read more

Antenna

SteppIR CrankIR First Tests + News and Update

September 02, 2019 No comments

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The Legendary G5RV Antenna – ARRL The Doctor is In podcast

August 15, 2019 No comments

“The Legendary G5RV Antenna” is the topic of the new (August 15) episode of the ARRL The Doctor is In podcast. Listen…and learn!   Read more

BUILDING A DIY 2.4 GHZ HELICAL FEED FOR THE QO-100/ES’HAIL-2 SATELLITE

August 12, 2019 No comments

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3/3 (6) element 50/70MHz Yagi (1.2m)

July 26, 2019 No comments

An Excellent Dual Band Yagi for 50/70MHz with 1.2m boom Model: DB-664 A dualband balun is recommended for this antenna, details can be found HERE The… Read more

JVP Antennas back to the market!

July 24, 2019 No comments

JVP Antenas was born in 1982 by José Vasallo Paleologo LU1FJ, former LU5FHM with the idea of ​​manufacturing high performance antennas for amateur rad… Read more

The post IC-7610 VS. FTdx-101D appeared first on QRZ NOW – Ham Radio News.

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Daily Ham News

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) suspended operation temporarily at 1600 UTC today (September 6), after a 139-hour marathon activation that began last Saturday. The net may reactivate if weather conditions dictate.

“The hurricane has been moving just offshore of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina,” HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said. “This morning, Hurricane Dorian made US lan…

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Daily Ham News

SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP036

ARLP036 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP36

QST de W1AW

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 36 ARLP036

From Tad Cook, K7RA

Seattle, WA September 6, 2019

To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP036

ARLP036 Propagation de K7RA

Old Solar Cycle 24 sunspots returned this week, but for only two

days (Sunday and Monday) with a sunspot number of 12. Average daily

solar flux increased from 66 reported in last week’s Propagation

Forecast Bulletin ARLP035 to 67.4 this week.

Radiation from a coronal hole increased the average planetary A

index from 5.7 last week to 19.9 this week, with the level on

Saturday and Sunday at 38 and 45. In Fairbanks, Alaska’s College A

index reached 59 and 86, and at one point on Sunday the K index was

8!

The College K index (a component measured every 3 hours, and used to

calculate the daily A index) had not previously reached 8 since

twice in 2018, on August 26 and two weeks later on September 11.

Predicted solar flux is 68 on September 6-13, 67 on September 14-22,

68 on September 23 through October 6, then 67 on October 7-19 and 68

on October 20.

Predicted planetary A index is 10, 8 and 8 on September 6-8, 5 on

September 9-22, 8 on September 23, 5 on September 24-25, then 10,

35, 44, 24 and 8 on September 26-30, 5 on October 1-3, 8 on October

4-5, 5 on October 6-19 and 8 on October 20.

Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period September 06-October

02, 2019 from F.K. Janda, OK1HH.

“Geomagnetic field will be:

Quiet on: September 10-11, 15-16, 20 (-21)

Quiet to unsettled on: September 8, 13, 18-19, 22, (25)

Quiet to active on: September (9, 12, 14, 17,) 23-24, 30

Unsettled to active on: September (6-7, 26)

Active to disturbed: September (27-29)

“Solar wind will intensify on: September 6, 16-18, (24-27,) 28-30.

October 1-2

“- Parenthesis means lower probability of activity enhancement.

– The predictability of changes is lower at present.”

Lance Collister, W7GJ of Frenchtown, Montana wrote:

“Even though ionospheric propagation (other than Es) seems a distant

memory for most of us in northern latitudes, low solar activity

means great conditions for 6m EME.

“And activity on 6m EME has been steadily increasing due to the

increased use of the very sensitive digital mode of JT65A and the

rapidly expanding 6m arrays and amplifiers around the world!

“If you are having trouble keeping track of all the recent activity

on 6m EME, you are not alone! This has been an amazing year for 6m

EME DXpeditions! I count 14 new DXCC being activated on 6m EME this

year. In addition to new DXCC such as ZL7DX and 9K2GS home stations

coming on the air this year, there already have been 6m EME

DXpeditions to V84SAA, T77C, CP1GJ, and CY9C! But be sure to get

things ready for even more to come! In the next few months, watch

for S79GJ, HB0/S59A, A35JT, VP6R, ZK3A, A21EME, 5H3EME, VP8DBL and

others!”

Peter Greene, N2LVI of Marlton, New Jersey noted that I mistakenly

called the solar flux measurements at 10.7 GHz, when I should have

said 10.7 cm and 2.8 GHz.

Peter sent us a resource for historical solar flux values:

ftp://ftp.geolab.nrcan.gc.ca/data/solar_flux/

He noted:

“On a monthly basis, the lowest average since 1947 was in May 1954

(65.36). The most recent low was July 2008 (65.67).”

Jim, WB6BET sent similar historical data.

K3WWP also offered data. But look at his website documenting his

long devotion to CW and QRP:

http://k3wwp.com

Jeff, N8II in West Virginia sent what he called a “brief, late

report”:

“I took part in the Kansas QSO party August 24-25. Propagation on

the 24th was definitely near rock bottom. Kansas is a good distance

from here for a single F2 hop about 1400-1500 miles to the western

border. Starting 2000Z signals weakened on 20M, by 2100Z activity

was quite low and when I returned at 2220Z the band was nearly dead,

but I still managed about 6-8 more QSOs, the last with extremely

weak signals. And 40 meter signals were also weak until about 2345Z

which is 15 minutes before my sunset. Despite similar SFI, Sunday

was much better with good conditions on 20M throughout the day and

40 was good from 1400-1530Z.

“The mobiles were all easy to hear and work on 20 and they were much

busier with more callers than Saturday. 15 appeared to be completely

closed to Kansas. I heard and worked KH6LC on 15 CW around 1700Z.

“Despite the poor conditions, thanks to good Kansas activity, I

managed to work all 105 counties, the last 19 minutes before the end

at 1941Z. I also worked all 56 of the active 1×1 special KSQP calls.

So, even at the cycle bottom, it is possible to have fun and do

well.”

Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW released a new video on September 5:

https://youtu.be/_oYTHdtaCrY

I will be giving a talk about my history in ham radio (I was

licensed at age 12, many years ago), propagation, (and they said I

can talk about anything else I want) at the Western Washington DX

Club in Seattle on Tuesday, September 10. See https://www.wwdxc.org/

for details.

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,

email the author at, k7ra@arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL

Technical Information Service web page at,

http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals. For an explanation of

numbers used in this bulletin, see

http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere.

An archive of past propagation bulletins is at

http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation. More good

information and tutorials on propagation are at http://k9la.us/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve

overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL

bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins.

Sunspot numbers for August 29 through September 4, 2019 were 0, 0,

0, 12, 12, 0, and 0, with a mean of 3.4. 10.7 cm flux was 65.9,

66.5, 66.4, 67.1, 68.8, 68.6, and 68.6, with a mean of 67.4.

Estimated planetary A indices were 3, 10, 38, 45, 21, 10, and 12,

with a mean of 19.9. Middle latitude A index was 4, 10, 29, 33, 19,

11, and 11, with a mean of 16.7.

NNNN

/EX

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Daily Ham News

Chip, KB1QU will be active from Ghana as 9G5QU during September 8-21, 2019. QRV on 40, 30, 20m; CW, FT8/FT4. QSL via N4GNR (direct).

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Daily Ham News

Fred, DH5FS will be active from the South Cooks as E51SFS during September 8-25, 2019. 8th-16th — Rarotonga, OC-013. 20th-25th — Aitutaki, OC-083. QSL via H/c (buro/direct)

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ARRL –

Hisao Shono, JA1AA, died on August 19. He was 100. Shono served two terms as vice chair of the Japan Amateur Radio League. He was licensed in 1938 as J2IB. In 1952, when Amateur Radio was again permitted in Japan, he became the first to be relicensed and became JA1AA. He enjoyed DXing and QRP operation.

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Daily Ham News

Hisao Shono, JA1AA, died on August 19. He was 100. Shono served two terms as vice chair of the Japan Amateur Radio League. He was licensed in 1938 as J2IB. In 1952, when Amateur Radio was again permitted in Japan, he became the first to be relicensed and became JA1AA. He enjoyed DXing and QRP operation.

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Laurent, F8BBL plans to be active from Corsica during September 7-22, 2019 and QRV as TK19IOTA from the following IOTA groups. Corsica EU-014 Iles Cerbicale EU-100 Lavezzi Archipelago EU-164 Sanguinaires Islands EU-104 QRV on HF bands. QSL via H/c, LoTW.

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Daily Ham News

ARRL –

Eddie De Young, AE7AA, of Clearwater, Florida, has been named Awards Editor of CQ Amateur Radio magazine. His first Awards column appears in the September 2019 issue. De Young succeeds Ted Melinosky, K1BV, who served both as Awards Editor and USA-Counties Award Custodian for more than 20 years. Brian Bird, NX0X, now is USA-CA custodian.

Licensed since 1954, De Young has held more than two dozen …

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Daily Ham News

Eddie De Young, AE7AA, of Clearwater, Florida, has been named Awards Editor of CQ Amateur Radio magazine. His first Awards column appears in the September 2019 issue. De Young succeeds Ted Melinosky, K1BV, who served both as Awards Editor and USA-Counties Award Custodian for more than 20 years. Brian Bird, NX0X, now is USA-CA custodian.

Licensed since 1954, De Young has held more than two dozen …

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Daily Ham News

Hisao Shono, JA1AA, died on August 19. He was 100. Shono served two terms as vice chair of the Japan Amateur Radio League. He was licensed in 1938 as J2IB. In 1952, when Amateur Radio was again permitted in Japan, he became the first to be relicensed and became JA1AA. He enjoyed DXing and QRP operation.

Source:ARRL

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[yuan2makeababy]

Week 25

Date: 7/12/18

How Far Along: 25W+2 Sex: Boy! Weight Gain: IDK... I have an appointment on Monday which will give me an update. At my last appointment I was up 6 pounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was at the 10-12 pound point. 

Stretch Marks: Just the boobs still

Maternity Clothes: Yes, and I got super lucky on getting some cheap stuff. The Boston Store is going out of business and all of their maternity stuff was on sale for 75% off. so I got 3 dresses, 3 tops, and a nursing bra for less than $100! Sleep: Still not great, I’m waking up super hot in the middle of the night, but my husband is cold so he turns off the fan and them I’m all hot and sweaty. My dog also refuses to let me sleep in past 7am, so that’s fun...   Best Moment This Week: He kicks pretty much all of the time, which is super fun. I enjoy getting to know he is in there and doing well. Otherwise it’s been a chill week, well except for the dreaded glucose test...

Worst Moment This Week: Guys. the glucose tolerance test. No one warned me. I think people tend to go on the side of not warning since there is a reputation for it sucking. So I went in knowing that it wasn’t going to taste as bad as expected, which was true. I got to the lab around 7:45am the day I turned 25 weeks. Since I usually have a sugary breakfast I decided to not eat that morning so I wouldn’t have extra glucose in my system. I had a choice between orange and lemon-lime. I heard the orange was better, so I went with that. It was like off brand koolaid, mixed with off brand jello. I’m not a good “chugger” so getting it all done in 5 minutes wasn’t fun, but I did it. About 10 minutes later I started getting nauseous and my stomach was hurting. I drank some water and took some deep breaths. At this point I have friends on social media telling me they failed or passed out and I’m all panicking. I’m feeling terrible and know I won’t be able to do this a second time. At about the 20-40minute time frame I started feeling better. I was listening to my favorite podcast (My favorite Murder, SSDGM Murderinos!) and playing on my phone. About the 45 minute mark the nausea hit again, and it was worst. I knew if I puked before they took my blood it would count as an auto fail and that wasn’t going to happen, I couldn’t do this again! Finally the hour was up and they called me in to take my blood. My biggest fear was puking while they took my blood, but I didn’t! I was officially done and could leave. I decided I wanted a bagel and headed to Panera. Halfway there I got REAL QUEASY. I take a detour because I know I can’t make it to the restaurant. I take the first road I can find, pull over in front of some poor persons house, and puke up all the nasty orange gunk. It. Was. Miserable. I’ll leave all the gory details, but it was not fun. I drive myself home and still feel terrible. My stomach is completely a wreck and I’m dealing with it from all directions... I end up taking the day off and napping and resting the rest of the day....

On the plus side, I passed! So I don’t have to do that ever again! But, my God, when my friends get to this point in their pregnancy I’m warning them. That shit is ROUGH.  Miss Anything: We went out this weekend and not being able to order a drink is still a bummer. BUT we had brunch sunday and the place had fancy lemonaids, so it was like I got a cocktail, but not. love a good mocktail!  Movement: Yep, he likes to move around. I’m hoping on Monday they will be able to tell me which direction he is facing so I can get an idea of what parts are “kicking” me. who knows, he could just be head butting me all the time!

Symptoms: Just still tired and in pain most of the time. My legs are pretty achy all the time. It’s like I ran a couple miles every day... which clearly isn’t happening! haha

Cravings: Nothing really. I’m into suckers and ice cream still. But there is nothing that I just HAVE TO HAVE. Queasy or Sick: Neither, feeling good (except for that damn glucose test!) Have You Started To Show Yet: Had a stranger ask how far along I was, I told them 25 weeks. her response: “wow, I’m surprised you’re showing that much already!” rude. and the hubs says I’m just “carrying big”. So, yes. I’m clearly showing a lot. But it’s all belly, so I’m trying not to complain. I’ve always been small framed and never had to worry about my body, so it’s a weird feeling not fitting into clothes and feeling large for me.  Labor Signs: I think I’m getting braxton hicks now. The last two days in the evening I have had this weird tightness in my lower bellow that I haven’t felt before. I thought it was just ligament pain, but it only comes in waves and it’s not a pulling pain, it’s just a tight uncomfortable-ness. I’m going to ask the midwife about it next week to see if that’s what it is.  Belly Button In or Out? Out Wedding Rings On or Off? Still on. I haven’t had any swelling yet so fingers crossed that continues!  Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy I think. Much happier than earlier on in the pregnancy. A lot has changed in life (new job!) and I think that has to a lot to do with it too.  Looking Forward To: I have an appointment on Monday. I haven’t had one in 4 weeks which is the longest I’ve been without either an ultrasound or appointment. My next appointment is 4 weeks after that, then I move into the every 2 week appointments. How are we only a month away from having to check on him every other week?!?! I’m just soooo ready for him to be here already! 

[blackchristiannation]

LISTEN: Holy Week #8 -- Here Comes the Risen Lord (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign, Day 419 since Jan. 20, 2017 / Day 786 since Jan. 1, 2016)

https://soundcloud.com/danielwhyteiii/holy-week-8-here-comes-the-crucified-king-part-2

[caption id="attachment_40916" align="alignleft" width="156"] Daniel Whyte III[/caption] TEXT: Matthew 28:1-10

1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

-------- Billy Graham said, "The most important events in human history were the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection blasts apart the finality of death, providing an alternative to the stifling settling dust of death and opens the way to new life." Friday and Saturday of Holy Week were gloomy days for the disciples of Christ. Of course, they felt ashamed and embarrassed that they had fled and abandoned Jesus at the most crucial moment. But now it was all over. Jesus had been humiliated before the world, and they, as His followers, had been humiliated as well. Jesus was dead. Jesus was buried. Jesus was gone. During the hours of Friday and Saturday, we can imagine the disciples vacillating between the stages of grief -- denial, anger, depression. And then, as Sunday morning dawned, with it dawned acceptance. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus as was the custom of the Jews toward their dead. They were ready to accept that Jesus was gone for good. They would honor Him, remember Him, and live as He taught them to, but from that moment they had to learn to live without Jesus. Imagine their shock when they got to the tomb and found the stone rolled away. Even then, it did not occur to them that Jesus might have risen from the dead. John informs us that they ran to tell himself and Peter, "They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him." Thankfully, when they return to the tomb there is an angel sitting atop the rolled away stone who tells them, "Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." So ends the first great chapter of history and so begins the next, with death undone and Jesus alive. And that is what we celebrate this and every Easter. But Easter is not just a celebration; it is a catalyst for action. And, in this passage, we see three actions that each of us should undertake not only on this day, but every day as believers. First, the resurrection means that we should have great joy. In verse 8, we read that Mary and Mary Magdalene "departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy." The Greek word translated as "fear" means to be alarmed or to have dread; it was a common reaction for those who had encounters with angels in the Bible. Hence the common greeting, "Fear not." But the women left Jesus' tomb also with great joy because they had received the news that Jesus was not dead, but that He had risen just as He said. In fact, when the women meet Jesus, the first thing He says to them is, "All hail!" The Greek word simply means, "Rejoice!" or "Be glad!" Jesus just shows up, fresh from death, and says, "Rejoice!" Why? ‘Because I'm here, I'm alive, I'm not dead.’ That is a reason for great joy. Then, the resurrection means that we should worship Jesus. When the women met Jesus as they were leaving the tomb, "they held him by the feet, and worshipped him." The word "worship" means to reverence or adore. If anyone had any doubts about who Jesus is or whether or not He is truly God, those doubts are blasted away by the resurrection. No matter what can be said about other religious teachers or faith leaders, no one can say that they raised themself from the dead or raised others from the dead. Jesus did both -- and raised others from the dead on multiple occasions, demonstrating His complete authority over life and death. For that reason alone, He deserves our worship. Finally, the resurrection means we should go and tell the good news. That is what the angel told the women to do -- "Go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead." And that is what Jesus told the women to do as well -- "Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." The resurrection is good news; it is news worth telling to a lost and dying world. It is news that opens the door to salvation from sin and an eternity in Hell. And we ought to go "quickly" and tell this news wherever we can. For those who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior, the resurrection is the confirmation that Jesus is the Son of God, and that, through Him, you can experience fellowship with God now, resurrection in the future, and eternal life forever. That is why He came into the world, died on the Cross, and rose from the dead -- for you. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:9 & 13 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen. If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door". Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop. God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University's Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.