#if it concerns you but there aren’t any legitimate sources backing it up - put a pin in it.

[ultraqueer]

ugh I love quietly fact checking posts

[infradapt]

What Really Happens When a Ransomware Attack Strikes?

Ransomware is perhaps the nastiest threat you can encounter, and the unprepared business could potentially be crippled beyond repair if it suffers from an attack like this. We’re here to demystify the inner machinations of a ransomware attack so you know better how to respond to it.

  How Does a Ransomware Attack Work?

A ransomware attack can strike in any way that any other malware might hit your business, but the culprit is largely phishing attacks, or scams that make people react in ways that are irrational or don’t make sense. Once the hacker is in the system, deploying ransomware is simple as can be.

  Ransomware is notorious for encrypting files found on infected systems, then demanding that the victim pay a ransom in exchange for their safe return.

  Of Course, There Is an Alternative

The choice that most businesses don’t realize they have is simple: don’t pay the ransom. Unfortunately, there are other factors that need to be considered, especially where your business is concerned. Failing to pay the ransom means that you aren’t able to access your files, meaning no work can get done until access has been restored. Some hackers will try to force your hand by simultaneously stealing and threatening to release your data on the Internet, making the ransom payment even more attractive as a potential out for your organization. They feel the need to pay the ransom because they cannot risk the security of the data or the fines associated with a leak, something which puts them in an impossibly difficult scenario.

  How Do You Stop Ransomware?

Thankfully, you do have more outs than one when it comes to ransomware attacks. These tips should work well for just about all cybersecurity concerns, too.

  Train Your Staff About Phishing Schemes

Phishing is the most common way that ransomware spreads, so you’ll have to train your team to know what they are looking at and how to spot potential threats. Here are some signs you might consider sharing with them:

  Messages that ask for sensitive information.

Messages that use different domains from legitimate sources.

Messages that contain unsolicited attachments and links.

Messages that tend to have poor grammar and don’t typically have the elements of personalization that you would expect.

Messages that try to elicit panic, resulting in impulsive action.

  If a message includes the above variables, it’s worth noting that it might still be a legitimate message; so when in doubt, verify the sender through external methods, or report the message to IT to get a better idea of if your concerns are founded.

Make Sure Your Software is Patched

If you want your business to remain secure, you’ll want to ensure that all firmware, antivirus software, operating systems, applications, and so on are kept up to date. There are countless variations of new ransomware being released on a daily basis, and you’ll want to be protected from them all—or as many as possible, at any rate. The only way to do this is by making sure you patch your systems in a timely manner. Infradapt can assist you with this process as needed.

Back Up Your Data

Finally, you will want to prioritize data backups. Not only are they great for recovering from potential ransomware attacks, they are just great to have in general, as they can help you get back in action in just about all scenarios where you might lose access to your data. Of course, you’ll want to store these backups in a separate location so that they are not encrypted alongside a potential ransomware attack.

  Infradapt can help protect your business from all manner of cyberattacks. To learn more, call us at 484-546-2000.

  https://www.infradapt.com/news/66414-2/

[ootahime]

analyzing every gojohime moment in the manga >:) pt. 3

more and more paragraphs ahead.  BE PREPARED!

i’m also writing this at 3 am so please bear with the horrendous grammar and punctuation.

chapter 63

i know he’s probably like this with everyone but i love how excited he is bragging about his students to her.  he’s like a child telling his mother about an amazing adventure he had with his friends, making sure he mentions every detail.  in the anime, their conversation lasted for 3:41 :3 backwards 341 is 143 which means i love you.  

1 letter = i

4 letters = love

3 letters = you

chapter 63

i love her fit!  i also like how both of them like to wear baggy clothing that accentuates their collarbones `w` it’s like they’re matching in a way.  even if she did tell him to cut the crap, she still let him run his mouth to his content LOL i feel like if he didn’t compliment himself at the end, she would have said something different.  UGH HE LOOKS SO HAPPY CALLING HER

 ah, let me translate the conversation just in case anyone needs it.

utahime: you wanted to talk about the investigation, right?

gojo: well, got any idea who?

utahime: i have no idea.  no one seems suspicious.  what do we do now?  should we ask the students for help?

gojo: yeah, that’s fine.  i’m busy so asking the kids would be okay.  keep looking.  i’m counting on you.

I THINK THAT’S WHAT THEY’RE TRYING TO SAY.

OR it could mean that she’s asking if they should start investigating the students.  it would make sense either way because gojo says in the next panel that he doesn’t want to assume that the mole is a student, and in chapter 79, gojo sends the trio to utahime to help her.  

chapter 63

these two love their students to death.  neither of them wanted to assume that the mole was a student.  in chapter 79, when utahime is talking to the trio about the mole, nobara points out to the group that the traitor must be from kyoto because utahime is the one who’s reaching out to the tokyo side.  utahime has a dismal look on her face, almost like she’s saying, “i didn’t want it to turn out this way -- for this to be true.”  after mechamaru says his farewells to miwa on the train, mai tries to talk about what he did to which utahime says, “it doesn’t matter, he’s dead, after all,” with a similar sunken expression.  i just love how her care for the students is one of the biggest aspects of her personality that’s been showcased so far.  it’s also cool how it ties together with gojo’s belief that no child’s youth should be taken away.  i truly think these two have the capacity to understand each other to a deep level, down to the core.  seeing as utahime is also a teacher, it’s safe to assume that she also wants to raise the next generation of sorcerers to be strong.  utahime and gojo’s similarities and contrasting elements are so interwined, i really wonder if it’s intentional.  like am i looking too much into this?  are utahime and gojo really meant to be this connected?  think about it.  similar motivations, care of the kids, contrasting palettes, the bickering, long history.  IT’S JUST TOO MUCH. 

also can we mention how their phone calls and meetings must be heavily planned out?  this means they’ve talked and interacted with each other A LOT behind the scenes.  she doesn’t answer his call with “what do you want?  don’t bother me on my day off.”  she knows exactly why he’s calling her and they even speak in code.  she probably meets up with him and tells him to call her on a specific day and at a specific time.  they must know each other’s schedules very well in order to execute this investigation in complete secrecy.  when he says, “we can never be too sure who is listening in around utahime” it implies that they find calling a risk, so in order to guarantee that there is no one around, they have to meet up in person.  see where i’m getting at?  they talk A LOTTT and most likely are aware of each other’s daily lives.  

the fact that gojo is her main source of stress when he’s literally a 3 hour train ride away from her is hilarious LMAOOOO.  you know what that means, right?  he must call and text her constantly about random things to annoy her.  

chapter 65

ah yes, my favorite moment by far.  look at that smile on his face.  

chapter 65

he loves saying her name.  he probably rushed over with the sole purpose of doing something like this to her LMAOOOO like i mean, mei was in there with her so technically they both needed to be helped but judging from his words and expression, he only wanted to help utahime.  notice how mei’s not there in the debris.  could she possibly have suspected gojo’s presence or an outside force?  or was she fast enough to avoid being in the debris?  either way, her lack of presence in this scene helps highlight the fact that this is a special interaction between utahime and gojo.  he refers to her in a very familiar sense.  the most formal way to address someone is by their last name followed by the honorific, -san.  in gojo’s case, he should be calling her iori-san if they weren’t acquainted.  he doesn’t even bother to call her utahime-senpai.  granted, gojo is not the most respectful and socially competent person out there because geto points this out to him.  he isn’t even aware that she finds him annoying because he views her bad attitude toward him as her just playing along with him.  he probably thinks she’s flirting back LOLOL

since he asks her “you cryin?” that definitely means that gojo witnessed her crying on one occasion or maybe multiple.  who knows, the old utahime could have been a very emotional person.  while this is happening, mei is close to gojo, she then asks him if he would console her if she were to cry in a flirtatious manner.  gojo dismisses her attempt at flirting with him and says she won’t cry because she’s strong.  now normally, you’re supposed to face the person you’re talking to, GOJO.  he KEEPS his eyes on her even when more people come to join the conversation.  

now, we can all agree that geto, mei, and shoko are better at picking up social cues than gojo.  they probably knew the vibe of the conversation and decided to play along with gojo’s antics.  

chapter 65

WE were worried about you.

pay attention to the order of the characters that show up.  gojo makes his appearance first, then geto, followed by shoko.  based on utahime’s reaction to seeing shoko, it’s evident that these two share a close bond.  shouldn’t shoko be the one to arrive on the scene first?  she’s the closest to utahime and would therefore be more concerned about her condition, right?  i know shoko’s technique doesn’t really allow her to do anything other than treat the wounds of others, but if you heard your friend was missing, you would definitely rush to the scene.  

look at geto’s reaction when mei says, “you’re the one who’s picking on her, geto.  you don’t even know it.”  i think it’s mei who’s saying this because gojo calls geto “suguru”.  but anyway, mei is aware that they’re picking on her.  i don’t think she’s the type to legitimately bully someone for their strength.  her reaction to all of this is very playful and her “heh heh heh” is proof of that.  when geto shows up and swallows the curse before it gets to utahime, he says, “satoru.  it’s not nice to pick on the weak.”  by saying this, he pisses utahime off because he too, is joining in on gojo’s joke.  i believe he’s unaware that he’s making fun of utahime because his reaction is “gah!” with a sweatdrop.  he probably thought gojo was making fun of weak people in general.  

geto’s usually a gentleman seeing as it is canon that he is more popular with girls than gojo.  BUT WHO KNOWS...you gotta be a specific type of person to be best friends with gojo.  maybe he ain’t shit too...  okay, my point is that everyone is just playing along.  when shoko shows up, utahime is relieved to see her because shoko doesn’t tease her like this.  since utahime tells shoko to not become like those two, this implies that geto teases her as well (probably not as much as gojo).  we all know geto is really big on looking out for the weak so he probably wouldn’t have insulted her for real.  

verdict: utahime being weak is just a joke.  i’ve mentioned this so many times, sorry if it’s getting annoying and repetitive hehehehehe...

chapter 65

these three aren’t irresponsible.  geto and gojo are a troublesome duo for sure, but they’re dependable.  seems unlike them to forget something so simple and essential to pretty much every mission.   

chapter 65

here’s my headcanon.  they were hanging outside or in the car when their assistant manager got a call.  the assistant was informed that two days have elapsed since mei and utahime went on their mission (or last contacted someone).  

gojo: that’s weird.  mei’s with her so they should have finished exorcising the spirit sooner.

geto: you think something happened to them?  maybe it’s a strong special grade.

gojo: utahime probably dragged mei down with her.  poor mei-san~  

gojo gets up 

geto: where are you going?  

gojo: going to save utahime!  it’s fine i’ll put up a curtain!

manager: gojo wait!!!!!!!!!!!

geto sighs

shoko: that idiot’s always running off without us.

they pin the blame on gojo for saying that he’ll put up a curtain and leaving the assistant manager behind.  you know what this means?  he ran and the manager couldn’t catch up HEHE... why the rush, gojo?  were you actually concerned about her?  

tbh i don’t see gojo ever running to something unless it’s urgent.  the fact that he ran to save her says a lot.  

----

let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!  i forgot to add this but gojo had a more serious expression when he was explaining how they must’ve been trapped in a barrier that messes with time.  he then states, “we thought it was weird even though you’re here, mei.”  i know he was probably worried sick because if mei couldn’t be contacted then that means something must’ve happened to utahime too.  okay that’s it for now.  i’ll be bringing up this little detail i’ve noticed about utahime in the manga next :3

[rametarin]

The problem with Eat Da Buuuuuuugs.

It’s not that insects aren’t a high protein, nutritious meal. Because, objectively, they are that. The problem also isn’t “high class vs. low.”

The problem with Eat Da Booooooooogs is that it’s based on moralism and oughts. You OUGHT to brush your teeth, so we invented a state-mandatory toothbrush; it now records the number of times you’ve brushed your teeth and rates how you did it and informed your insurance provider. You OUGHT to have, but you didn’t, so now the state will punish you with higher personal fees and lower how much it will help subsidize the cost, and state subsidies make medical and dental care affordable, so the end result is you pay a literal fortune for not doing what the state thinks you OUGHT.

There are people alive, right now, that for religious reasons, pseudo-spiritualist reasons, moralist dogmatist reasons, absolutely abhor the consumption of red mead and the use of plains and grazing lands, for grazing and feeding animals for food.

Some abhor it because they believe that private property should not exist, and they do not feel people should be able to own livestock; that ‘society’ should own all livestock and be forced to share it. Whether you’re a productive member, or you just sit on your bed playing The Sims and doing ketamine all day. Guess which of the two likes this idea more.

Some abhor it because they’re exisetnailly terrified of life and its consequences. They crave some sort of logic and reason to their existence and a life after death, and aren’t satisfied with the Christian version, so they drift back and forth between their own schizophrenia and the world’s pseudo-spiritualism/New Age Enlightenment, “I take a little bit from all the popular religions and choose what my personal bia- I mean, sixth sense, validates as reasonable to me.” So they dislike the idea of eating red meat, because they don’t want to die and come back as an animal for slaughter. They’re terrified that in a past life or in a future life, they’ll be the meat and suffer for someone elses enjoyment.

Some are spoiled, out-of-touch moralists that believe it’s based on “suffering.” They morally believe penning, owning, feeding and then consuming animals for their flesh is ethically wrong, and so have decided that shouldn’t be a thing other people are allowed to do.

Some are simply shills for Russian or Chinese or Brazilian cattle grazers and want other western countries to adopt anti-meat eating policies under the beliefs that lack of access to red blooded animal protein will reduce the size and strength of their enemies, as well as give them the market on beef, pork and chicken exports to other countries- both legitimate and contraband meat.

Some are simply uppity futurists that believe for humanity to experience a, “global, social evolution,” we have to give up the personal private means of owning and producing anything and turn it over to a central authority that manages that and distributes resources accordingly. They don’t like meat eating, because it’s messy and requires a lot of trained, knowledgeable people to make the food. If everybody just ate plants, they wager, they could grow more in bulk and not only secure where the food comes from through controlling arable land for growing food, but control everybody dependent on the food.

Some are trendy know-nothing, “environmentalists,” that will hop on whatever poorly informed bandwagon that touts itself as progressive. Just, the sort of soy sop that will scream about loving science one minute and then ignore where the cloth medical mask says, on the fucking box, “it won’t prevent viruses like COVID-19.” But still wear it and goose step around demanding you wear it to show your patriot- I mean, to show you believe in THE SETTLED SCIOOONCE. These ones believes that cow farts and burps are extremely detrimental to the atmosphere in the form of methane produced, as well as their production of CO2 from breathing and to a lesser extent, living, dying and excreting.

The problem with that is that cows, chickens and pigs are also part of the carbon cycle, and as far as CO2 production, agricultural meat is kind of.. benign. Meat eating does not affect the CO2 cycle directly. You can argue that transportation of it might affect some, but if you switch out gasoline and diesel for electric vehicles, suddenly red meat drops to virtually nothing in the CO2 department.

And then if you count the methane emissions, well, we have workarounds to virtually eliminate cow, chicken, pig, goat and all major red meat food gasses.

So CO2 outputs and methane outputs can drop to virtually nothing, we can clean up our agricultural sector into non-problematic in any way. To where any argument that growing animals for food has any effect on climate change, at all, just becomes an bogus lie from someone hellbent on using the institutions of our society to make cattle, sheep and pig farming, legally impossible.

And ultimately, why?

Because you can grow more bugs in a smaller space on shittier diets? We already have meat alternatives.

The biggest argument for bugs as food is you might be able to grow more of them in space for cheaper and take them further. That’s it. A million bug buttholes still produce noxious clouds of nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane. Leafcutter ants down in South America make bacteria filled piles that rival human wastewater treatment plants, for example. They still emit the same noxious gasses that animals do.

And when it comes to methane production, cows don’t hold a candle to the amount of negative atmospheric effects that rice farms do. Are we going to tell Asia, “no more rice,” because the global effects of climate change? It makes no fucking sense to single out cows, sheep, pigs and chickens as even relevant sources of these gasses, where even IF we can deal with every conceivable complaint or concern, people still just want you to no longer be allowed to grow them and just EAT the BOOOOOOGS.

I’m not opposed to crushed up insects as another alternative protein. I am absolutely, 100% opposed to vegetarians or vegans or fabian socialists trying to get the government to subsidize this source of protein, demand that every taxpayer put forwards money to public schools to provide the bug pattys as their source of nutrition (if only by not just the factually reduced cost but the suddenly subsidized captured market that is school lunch budgets and mandatory purchases), and either charge cattle and beef plants more as a “luxury tax” or punish them for being, “dirty, environment destroying” sources of food.

These people are not content to leave you alone to the things you enjoy, you have to be financially and economically incentivized to give them up, institutionally punished, or effectively give away your opportunity for a brighter future if you persist in consumption and traffic of them. Eat Da Boogs is about whether moralists are allowed to use the institutions and the legal system to enforce subjective, preferential things on other people for bogus reasons, and if you can be compelled to do someone elses, “right thing,” or what they think you OUGHT to do.

So. I’m not against bugs as a supplemental nutrition source. I’m against uppity vegans trying to make the government subsidize it and violently take over every single niche, both economically and through government regulated FIAT to eliminate the one held by beef, sheep, goat, chickens and pigs from our agricultural sector and culture.

Once humans are no longer allowed to grow animals for food, and they’re all effectively killed and disappear, there’s no undoing that. That culture will disappear. And that’s ultimately what they’re counting on.

After that, all they need to truly force vegetarianism on “society,” is eliminate the legal growth of insects as a food source for the same moralist precedent reasons as they deemed red blooded animals to be no good as food or agriculture. With no remaining alternative but to try and domesticate other animals.

The Bugs are about more than crushed up insects on a patty. They’re about using shitty false pretenses to eliminate choice from you and take agency away. It’s not about not wanting to eat bugs, it’s about wanting to eat pork and beef and chicken and the existence of an alternative emboldening them to try and ban those.

[a-for-alternative]

Hello, A! So I was wondering do you have any headcannons about how you and B were like at Wammy's together? PS. I thought dead men tell no tales lol (sorry about the joke if you didn't like it)

// Oh do I ever... Alternative has such potential to highlight things about B’s character that develops him into the killer of Mello’s novel. The lore surrounding the first generation (and the notion of Mello writing about a dead successor that previously filled his position - his predecessor) is more poignant than I think it was intended to come across but here are some headcanons~

Wammys House:

A & B are the first to receive their secondary alias after which it becomes a kind of right of passage for other successors, choosing their own (though often not official) - to A & B, only theirs will ever be legitimate.

A is introduced to B after only 1-2 years of being at the house

A, before becoming a letter, was taken into Wammy’s due to his intellect but only later is selected as the first attempted L-backup, probably pulled from a satellite home 

Alternative & Backup (A’s perspective):

His introduction to B is a pivotal moment for him. After so much loss, he sees this as an opportunity for redemption and a return to a clear path forward, and now it is under threat. B represents for A the physical manifestation apathetic fate, he is foreign in every sense, they cannot even communicate when they are initially introduced. His presence signifies A’s disposability - B is the backup plan for when A fails, like a vulture circling over head, it looms over him like a prophesy he is trying to outrun..  though, B can also overtake him at anytime, relegating him to a future that, from A’s perspective, is neither known nor the success story that he has put so much hope in. The world for Alternative at this point in his life is an unreasonable and precarious place. All he knows, up to this point as a seven year old, is that everything is fragile and must be hard won - and there is no guarantee that one can keep what they have fought or sacrificed to obtain. --- after all, he is in line to replace L and L is about as far from vulnerable as he believes a person can get --- Maybe, B also represents a challenge that requires a level of maturity that he does not yet possess - the inevitable dilemma, that this position is of such consequence to the world, that it needs the best person for it, — and that may not be him...

There is nothing genuine in the sweet smile.

The way he extends an open hand, how his soft, his boyish voice offering “ Hello, Alternative ” …  

A feels an unpleasant sensation snake up his spine like a fever’s chill, empathetic aptitude ringing in his ears with all the incongruence rolling off this boy.

His gentleness feels scripted, words trilling out of his mouth- practiced and angular; absolutely, wholly contrived. A has never meet anyone with such an emptiness in their words and actions…

A returns the greeting with a stony, silent stare - I know what you are. 

They slide up from the open palm to meet the foreign boy’s gaze - Blue eyes resting soft, knowing and stormy, heaven’s skies empty of angels. Alternative is standing his ground, refusing to pretend they are not here for a reason, telling himself, “I’m not afraid…”

 But,  he has never seen anyone with such deep eyes.

 They are the windows into an empty soul, a black abyss,                                                                                             absolutely apocalyptic…

Alternative is capricious in his treatment of B, vacillating between animosity and empathy- at times he’s even conspiratorial , allying himself with B and undermining their superiors- beginning to identify with B (even in spite of the language barriers). Backup is clever and naïve and careless, and unreserved in a way that A wishes he felt safe to be. B is the only one that can truly grasp what he is going through but he is also very strange... -- Alternative struggles with trials & setbacks that roll off Backup’s back with ease. B is several years into his understanding of his eyes and it shapes how he moves through the world, what he feels is worth his pain, what ultimately just doesn’t matter. A is, in some ways, what B might have become if he were a little more ignorant, spared the ever present reminder that this is all so temporary.

Alternative has many faces that none are as acutely aware of as B- it is why he doesn’t take the quips and backhanded apologies personally. Alternative’s identity has been tailored to his circumstances — so much of it he had to leave behind to become this -- to his superiors, he is mature, disciplined and motivated -- exemplary if not a bit too austere. To those that benefit him, he is considerate and trustworthy- and honest. To those that he fears will take advantage of him, he is an arrogant and harsh - conniving and spoiled. When he is caught without a persona on hand, he is awkward, reclusive, and reserved. Despite this, his cardinal traits are eloquence and persistence, he thinks deeply about his place in the world and who he should be but not enough on who he is — Only B is audience to moments when he is short sighted and immature, when he is undone or humiliated - when he is elated or truly.. afraid of what lay ahead of them. When he is sick or less than who he wants to present himself as, B has been there whether he wanted him to be or not.

Alternative is attracted to B though it is initially a disquieting realization, one even he doesn’t entirely understand. It isn’t that B is unusually good looking or charming — though perhaps A has peculiar tastes that B unintentionally satisfies (I can’t imagine him actually trying)... The level of intimacy involved in knowing someone this long, on such a personal and inescapable level has made B a source of unwavering acceptance, — because he had to be. The alternative would have been sleeping next to someone he would gradually come to despise any who really wants to live that way? Yet, B comes to represent stability and unconditional regard that feels a lot like love. There is a fraternal element to it in that B anchors who he is. B is someone that has a history with him that hasn’t been erased or eroded -- that contradicts A’s perception of the world as fragile or finite - it is comforting to have something seemingly permanent ... and terrifying that he cannot start anew, if he doesn’t like who he is and cannot be hidden in the obscurity that L enjoys.

When B begins to insinuate an interest in something more, A is not initially receptive and becomes genuinely distressed. This doesn’t translate with any logical sense to B, who believes it’s born out of A’s latent fears of realizing his own sexuality...  But, by the time they are entering late adolescence, A is more concerned with the prospect of romance and that becoming L is destined to be a lonely path. He sees their childhood in it’s twilight as a tragic loss that cannot be reclaimed or rewritten, and B’s subtle advances as destructive to the purity of their friendship -- but he can’t stay a child forever even if he feels a sense of unfinished business surrounding it and he can’t keep B there either... It takes B’s attention shifting elsewhere for A to begin softening to the idea that B isn't ruining what's between them but expanding on it.

Alternative has experienced depression -- at some point he was prescribed SSRIs, as a part of basic care for successors. While it does alleviate the depth of his lows, he begins to worry that it is dulling the sharpness of his mind, which he has come to see as central to his self-worth. It may have no foundation in reality but A develops an inconsistent relationship with any medication prescribed to him out of those fears. In the end, - there are some things medicine cannot fix...

A few other small things:

- A loves the smell of lavender and grass, it reminds him of his home though as he gets older this memory is more elusive and he begins to wonder if they memories from funeral flowers or even if they are impressions left over from a dreams.. did he even attend his parents funeral?

- A knows they aren’t allowed to take pictures of each other in Wammy’s for good reason but when Y sneaks a camera into the house one summer evening, he is can’t deny there is something precious about having pictures of B perched on the railing of the back steps - his hair sweep by the wind just as he turns his eyes to look, soft unfocused, — like the tender look he gives him just as he wakes up in the morning before he remembers who they are. A traces the lines of his face while lying beneath his bed, where he tucks it between the boards. It’s only a few years later that he will see how much his friend has matured. -- B hates photographs and will place them face down when they go into Roger’s office. Roger has never understood why.

- A drinks his coffee and tea black as tar. B thinks it is terribly bitter but will bring it to him anyway, unaltered. There is something uniquely enjoyable in knowing that B doesn’t need to be told what he likes~

- A is borderline masochistic though perhaps only B has any inkling of it. He would probably never acknowledge it openly... it is degrading to get a charge out of being hurt.

- A loses his faith around age 10 but still believes that he might as well act as though there is a purpose in being good and not just adept and ruthless. The only alternative, from A’s perspective, is to believe that everything he has been through meant nothing and he will ultimately change nothing. And, that may be too painful a philosophy for him to embrace. 

- A’s worst injury occurred when he was deliberately shoved off the roof by an irate B ( thatvhe provoked). While it was a watershed event for A coming so close to death and experiencing the consequences of pushing B beyond that point of caring about consequences... For Backup, this a was also critically informative event, an exercise proving the numbers were infallible -- he was genuinely surprised that A survived the fall and, to a greater degree, surprised that he felt regret in having done it ... left alone in their room to wonder for days, searching for the contraband pictures from that summer A had hidden that could prove if A was even still alive....

[ariyarathi]

How to Implement a DMARC Reject Policy

A reject policy is one of the most important things for managing your website. It prevents your potential customers from canceling their orders just because they aren’t happy with your product or service. Most people understand that you should tell customers why their orders are being denied, but not all websites put that information in place.

This means your potential customers could be missing out on valuable information about your product, and you could be losing potential sales. One easy way to make sure that doesn’t happen is by implementing a domain-by-domain reject policy on your website. A domain reject policy is a set of instructions that tell Google which parts of your website to reject based on their criteria.

Some browsers automatically reject certain types of links, while others allow you to manually edit the list of domains and links you want to prevent from showing up in search results. These steps will help you get past most blocks created by your browser when trying to access blocked links, but they won’t solve all problems. Some top media sites have had success with implementing a Reject policy as far back as 2004.

(NOTE: before starting, it helps to know a little about these policies. If you want to learn more about DMARC and the policies that it relies on, check out our info pages, About DMARC, About SPF, and About DKIM.)

1.Turn on DMARC reporting

You can monitor your domain's security by reporting any errors and security issues to your domain's reporting service via DMARC. You can also receive reports from a variety of third-party services, like Secure and Monitoring. The first step is to begin monitoring your domain with DMARC. Create a policy and set it to none. This allows you to receive DMARC reports without impacting your mail flow. If you discover any security issues, report them to Secure or another reporting service.

2. Monitor DMARC Reports

Once you have a DMARC policy, wait for DMARC data to come from the ISPs that process your sent email. It’s helpful to wait about a week so you will have enough data to start working on your policies. Monitoring DMARC reports is critical to preventing spammers from sending you may have received reports from someone claiming that they have sponsored your domain. It could be a scammer trying to take advantage of you or your business. There’s a big difference between monitoring your domain’s SPF and monitoring your domain’s DKIM. SPF is designed to help notify you if your domain name is previously reported as being involved with spam. DKIM, on the other hand, prevents spammers from sending emails to previously un-tagged recipients.

Monitoring DMARC reports is especially important if you are using an SMTP service, because people can retrieve information about your messages from both report systems. Failures of DMARC could result in your message not getting delivered (spamming), or the message not getting archived at all (receiving junk). On the other hand, successful reports might cause people to read more about your services or products In addition to regular monitoring of DMARC reports, you should also configure SPF records for all sending domains using Open DKIM configuration files included in the distribution. This will make it much harder for attackers who are able to spoof email addresses to spoof your SPF record and receive messages from your domain The purpose of these reports is to see if you can get discounts if you use certain information related to your domain name in sending emails and web spiders look for these selectors in your email body.

When you monitor these kinds of things, it is very important to pay attention to how many spiders are getting the alert about the changes you are making. The more spiders that notice, the more likely it is that they will act on the information and send you an email about it. Monitoring DMARC reports is an important part of SPF. It will let you know immediately if a potential forwarder- email server is spoofing (it could be an already-identified SPF structure that doesn't follow SPF activity guidelines) or masquerading as a genuine SPF report service.  Mail protocol allows SPF developers to easily integrate DMARC into SPF records.

The primary benefit of monitoring DMARC reports is that they show you whether typical patterns of identity theft are occurring. If you consistently receive emails from senders with very low domains or SPF records, it may be worthwhile to consider implementing anti-spam filters for the email accounts used for sending these kinds of emails.

3. Move to Quarantine

Email spam filters can detect when an email contains the phrase from the company or were hiring. Quarantine emails do not contain these phrases. Yet, they can nonetheless disrupt email transmission because the receiving email service has to capture and handle each message as if it came from the specified company. The risk of accidentally triggering Quarantine is low, but there is no way for a recipient to know if they have received an unauthorized email unless they view their spam folder. It turns out that Twitter has a way to monitor DMARC reports for your domain.

This can help you identify problems with sending emails, identify sent emails that might fail SPF or DKIM checks or even tell you if an attacker has gained access to your domain through an insider. In addition, Twitter has a more advanced DMARC processor that can tell you more about who is trying to access your emails. Monitoring DMARC reports is critical to sending mail from your domain (and from other domains that you own) with the best possible SPF, DKIM, and DMARC headers. Spam filters in your DMARC filter list can prevent transmission of junk emails. Forwarders that forward individual emails do not need to keep track of your SPF or DKIM. If either of these are set to false by default, then the forwarder will not recognize the email originator even if it has SPF or DKIM enabled.

4. Turn On a Reject Policy

To switch off DMARC for a moment, go to the web interface and go to Settings > Mail. The Mail section has a switch called Turn on Reject. By default, this is set to Off. You can flip it On and it will send only an email when you have unread items. To stop receiving emails completely, turn it Off. Quarantine is an anti-spam tool. It looks at email addresses to see if they are already in quarantine. If so it will reject the email.

For some email providers quarantine isn’t really an option and you need to turn on a reject policy. It will look at each email individually and base its decision on whether the email can be delivered or not. There are a lot of email services out there and each service will have its own quarantine options so you may have to trial and adjust a lot of them before hitting on one that works for you.

5. Keep Monitoring Your DMARC Reports

Keep monitoring your DMARC reports for attempted phishing attacks and to update SPF and DKIM. If you’re receiving alerts from Google but aren’t sure if the site you’re trying to visit is protected, throw up a SPF and DKIM policy one day before you visit and see if anyone notices. If they do, they will likely change their behavior next time around. It may take some time for Google to update their reporting systems but there is no harm waiting until then. Keep monitoring your DMARC reports for attempted phishing attacks and to update SPF and DKIM.  

You cannot rely on SPF alone to protect you against spammers, and you may find that bogus emails are being used to send real emails. Real live people have accounts at email services such as gmail, outlook, yahoo! and other providers, so you should be concerned if their DMARC entries show false positives. Not all SPF providers keep records of all senders. In particular, spammers often inject fake email headers into legitimate emails they create to trick recipients into revealing their private information. If you find yourself receiving emails from unknown senders with unusual characteristics, double check SPF records and other settings on your emails. monitoring your SPF and DKIM keys regularly, you can detect if an attacker has successfully spoofed your domain name. It’s also a guide for running a timely SPF check using just email no need for browser plugins or manual sending of SPF reports. If you find yourself consistently missing out on opportunities to improve your domain's visibility in search engines, consider implementing.

This post walks you through the process of how to setup DKIM keys on a domain and create SPF records for your domain. This process is required for the validation of domain ownership and account recovery after a spoof or phishing attack. You will learn how to set up DKIM and SPF in bash and  The first part of this blog post explains how to setup the necessary files for validation. You will then be able to set up SPF records in a more elegant way.

Monitoring your DMARC records is an essential step in preventing domain name theft. If you have been using shared hosting with another party, it is also important to coordinate with that party to keep a close eye on your records. By monitoring your records regularly, you can take preventative measures before any sensitive data flows into their server. Be sure to also take advantage of industry-leading domain name safety features like SPF records, computerized monitoring and additional layers of security.

It’s important to maintain security once you achieve Reject, as any slip-ups would either allow attackers to send authenticated phishing email from your domain or block your legitimate email.

Source by:-https://atozcybersecurity.blogspot.com/2021/08/how-to-implement-dmarc-reject-policy.html

[aijee]

IDOTSC BTS #5: All tied up with no strings attached

A pretty valid question to pose: Why haven’t WW and J fallen in love with each other? They seem to exhibit emotional compatibility and even greater physical chemistry. I’m sure WW has definitely wondered such a question, whether legitimately or as a passing thought. Since I couldn’t really get into it in the story, here are my thoughts regarding that.

Spoiler alert: it’s not just drama for the sake of drama. Who knew!

Here’s one thing I’ve realized in this current pandemic era, during which anxiety, stress, and concerns about the future have reached an all-time high. I find myself engaging more and more in things I objectively like��writing, watching certain Youtube channels, playing video games, other creative endeavors that may even include friends—to the point that I feel like I’m suffocating in them sometimes. I try to smother the pain with pleasure, which doesn’t exactly fix anything that’s actually inside. They simply help hide the noise. Even then, excessive pleasure can make me more tired. Why do I do it?

First, I don’t like settling, even for objectively inconsequential things. Going at 100% all the time can yield great results, but inevitably leads to burnout. Maybe that’s why I’m so tired all the time.

Second, I have a theory that is sort of analogous to gate control theory: the idea that, if you’re in pain, adding a source of non-painful input inhibits transmission of that first pain to your brain. Imagine getting a cut on your finger and then sucking on it, putting pressure on that finger to not only clean the blood but to also suppress the pain. Or you’ve accidentally stubbed your toe on the coffee table and you start rubbing the skin to dissipate the feeling. I wonder if this theory applies to psychological pain.

For WW, engaging in this seemingly inconsequential, non-painful no-strings experience helps numb the pain of his career. Vice versa goes for J; inequality in Asian entertainment, especially regarding unfair treatment of non-Koreans in Korean entertainment, has long been a historical issue in the industry (e.g. oldies will remember Super Junior M, and even EXO’s earlier eras are still pretty recent). WW’s and J’s relationship is a means to ultimately selfish ends. Deep down, I think they both know that any chance of “real romance” has been fully tarnished by this yearning for internal contentment through the guise of companionship, one founded on mutual struggle in life and work—and seeming understanding thereof. 

TL;DR: It’s a relationship where the parties involved know how to scratch each other’s itches because they have similar wounds, but wounds aren’t healed by scratching them. It just feels good.

For those with little experience in relationships, I understand that the idea of FWB can be very foreign and/or simplistic. “It’s just sex.” I myself don’t have experience in it. I see sex as intimate and requiring of great trust (I didn’t even know sex could be casual until university). But I’ve been reflecting on one particular past relationship and realized that, though not FWB, was pretty much the same. It was in high school. In what felt like a relationship where I was respected, I actually felt desirable and admired in a way that fed a young ego desperate for the validation I lacked. I gave this other person gifts, time, attention, all the bullet points for being a good partner on paper—but in my heart and soul, it was all for my emotional satiation.

In the end, I don’t think I truly liked this person, just the sugary words and reassurances they gave me, but never the body or aspirations that came with them. I liked the idea of this person, but not the person themselves. And, my god, that’s the type of shit you hear all the time in try-hard indie love songs from VSCO teens and young artists brandishing their ukuleles and unnecessary vocal trills. But it’s so damn true. The imagination is a dangerously powerful thing. (n=1, take it with a grain of salt.)

I’ve spent the last few months grappling with how fucking MESSY life and relationships really are. For so long, I’d subscribed to picture-perfect ideals of family, friends, significant others. Unconditional love doesn’t leave room for hurt—right? This grand ambition of love that I’ve written about, read about, and consumed has been challenged so many times and it’s only recently that I’m realizing it. Perhaps I wrote about unconditional love so much because I thought I felt like lacked it, or, really, what I imagined it to be. Perhaps it was inevitable that I’d eventually challenge these “fantasies” I dreamt of. Perhaps that’s why we also write so much damn fiction about it, because their reality is questionable.

But rounding back to the story, as for WW and J, I fully anticipate genuine feelings seeping in once in a while; they’re only human. But at the end of the day, as the characters that they are with the goals and lives they have, they wouldn’t have worked out romantically in the end.

Originally written on February 11, 2021

[things2mustdo]

Last year I gave up my Krav Maga self-defense training when I was in the middle of changing jobs. I never picked it back up.

While I stay quite busy splitting my time between my three main sources of income, last month I began to feel like something was missing. I was getting too comfortable with my daily routine– bored, too.

So I decided to start training in martial arts again, this time signing up for a Muay Thai gym. It’s already reinvigorated my sense of drive across other areas of my life. Here are the top 5 reasons you should start a new hobby today.

1. It breaks up your current routine

As humans we search for a sense of regularity. We often find it in our daily activities.

For example, my days typically consist of working from home in the morning, primarily on my computer, lifting weights, and then training a few clients in the late afternoon and evening. I enjoy this routine, but flying on autopilot has its dangers.

You aren’t as sharp. Everything is too calculated and expected. By training  in Muay Thai every other day I have something new to look forward to. It also has changed my lifting routine, to accommodate for the added exercise and fatigue.

2. It pushes you outside of your comfort zone

When I stepped into the Muay Thai gym for the first time I didn’t know what to expect. It was a lot different than the place I used to train Krav Maga at– more serious, less friendly even.

The seasoned fighters looked at me with a sense of superiority. And they were superior. But rather than backing down, being nervous, and quitting after one day– I took this as a challenge.

I was far from comfortable training that day. I wasn’t able to execute crisp Thai kicks or jump rope like a boss.  But being too comfortable can be a bad thing. You’ll cease to explore new opportunities and your growth with falter across the board.

By throwing yourself at something new, that you’re inexperienced at, you’ll be pushed outside of your comfort zone. This is a good thing. You must stay accustomed to living at the edge of your comfort zone to ensure steady growth and progress.

3. You’ll learn new skills

This point is obvious. By taking Muay Thai, I’ll learn a host of new fighting skills.

4. It gives you a new area to set goals for

The habit of setting and achieving goals is the most important habit a man can build. By entering into a new hobby, you now have a whole new area of your life that where you can practice setting and accomplishing goals.

For my Muay Thai experience I’ll start small. My first goal is to be able to execute a Thai kick with my left and have it feel as natural as with my right. I’ll work my way up to bigger goals as I improve.

This is the beauty of starting at something from scratch. At first you’ll set one small goal after another. This cycle will build momentum, and before you know it, you’ll no longer be a novice. More importantly, this momentum will carry over to other areas of your life and give you the confidence to crush more and bigger goals.

5. You’ll meet new people

Another obvious point. When you try something new, you’re bound to meet new people. Whether these turn out to be man friends or cute girls depends on the hobby you choose, but either way meeting new people is always a positive thing.

Potential Hobbies

I’ll leave you with a short list of potential hobbies for you to try today:

1. Martial arts/self-defense: Muay Thai, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, Krav Maga 2. Cooking 3. Salsa Dancing 4. Lifting weights (you should already be doing this) 5. Yoga 6. Writing 7. Mountain Biking

Check out my new #1 Amazon Bestseller, The Book of Alpha. It’s full of direct, actionable advice for the man who wants to better himself.

Read Next: 5 Reasons To Learn Krav Maga

Krav Maga is a self-defense system created based upon the street fighting skills of Hungarian-Israeli martial artist Imi Lichtenfeld. He used it to defend the Jewish quarter where he lived against fascist groups in the 1930s. Later, in the 40s he moved to Israel and began to offer combat training lessons to what later became the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). The IDF has used, and continued to develop the system to this day.

The basic principle of Krav Maga is inflicting maximum damage to the opponent(s) in order to end the fight as quickly as possible. Brutal counter-attacks using your most effective tool (knees, elbows, weapons, etc.) to target your opponent’s weakest area (neck, throat, eyes, knees, ribs, solar plexus, groin, etc.) are the focus. For this reason, it is not a competitive martial arts, like Brazilian Ju-Jitsu or Muay Thai, because people would die.

When I heard that Jason Bourne uses Krav Maga (which I later found out was, in fact, not true) and that it teach gun defenses (i.e. the most alpha technique ever), I immediately signed up. I just finished 6 months of training. It is indeed awesome. Here are the top 5 reasons you should sign up for classes today:

1. You will become a badass.

Nothing boosts confidence and testosterone levels like knowing you are legitimately prepared for whatever. Very few people have any formal self-defense or fight training. As a result, in tense situations where most people lose it, you will keep your cool. If something ever does go down, you’re ready.

2. It is practical and intuitive.

Most martial arts are strongly based in ritual, and as a result often incorporate different forms or strange techniques. Krav is different. Brutal efficiency is the only concern. For this reason, many of the strikes and defenses utilize the same basic motion (e.g. the straight punch and many of the defenses against punches and knives). Moreover, all of the techniques are built upon the body’s natural instincts (e.g. bringing your hands to your neck during a choke defense).

3. It is great exercise.

Between the drills themselves and the conditioning, you are guaranteed a hell of a workout. Three minutes of throwing punches or knee strikes is exhausting. So is three minutes of burpees. Side note: The level 1 Krav test was the single most intense physical event of my life. Seriously. Three hours straight of punches, kicks, choke defenses, and groundwork is no joke. I consider myself to be is great shape and I almost vomited on multiple occasions.

4. It relieves stress.

Sure, so do most workouts, but pounding a kicking shield, or throwing your partner to the floor is a whole different ball game.

5. It is the perfect hobby.

I came to my first class with no idea how to throw a proper punch. After a couple weeks I thought I was Jason Bourne. After a couple months I realized that I wasn’t. After 6 months I look back and I am amazed at the progress I made. Experiencing this progress is extremely satisfying.

Clearly taking up Krav Maga has many benefits. One word of caution – make sure you train somewhere with certified, experienced instructors. I have seen locations that turn it into a strictly cardio exercise experience, with little focus on technique – not good. So go take advantage of that free first class, now.

Check out my new #1 Amazon Bestseller, The Book of Alpha. It’s full of direct, actionable advice for the man who wants to better himself.

Read More: The Only 2 Things A Man Can Depend On

I was born alone and I will die alone. I’ve got to do what’s right for me and not live my life the way anybody else wants it.

– Curtis Jackson

If life were a board game, you’d be the game piece.

In reality, life isn’t much different from a game. There isn’t a defined end goal, however. You get to choose it. It could be power and respect. It could simply be happiness. Or it could be more specific: money or women, for example. Whatever it is, you choose.

In a board game there are strict limitations. In life, we’re encouraged to follow laws and social norms, but for the most part we’re free to do as we choose. There are infinite paths that will take you to any goal imaginable.

Along the way you’ll deal with many people. Some will help you, others won’t. You can grow to depend on the ones that help you, but that always incurs a risk. A family member can die. A close friend can betray you. Your girl can leave you. How will you react when one of these things happens?

Playing with others is a necessary part of the game. But never depend on them. Doing so will ultimately lead to failure and disappointment.

Accept that the only two things you can ever count on are your body and your mind– your game piece. You must tend to these things like a gardener tends to his plants. Focus on improving them and facilitating their health and growth and you’ll always put yourself in the best position to win.

If some tragedy befalls a dependent man, he may sink into depression. He might feel like he’s lost all hope of accomplishing his mission in life. He might give up.

A truly independant man, however, will not. He’s prepared, on some level, for each of these tragedies. He doesn’t have a specific game plan for when his best friend betrays him, per se. But he’s put himself in a good position, both physically and mentally, that he can weather the storm. Not only can he weather the storm, but he can keep his cool and make the fine adjustments needed to get the ship back on course.

Below I’ll offer the basic tasks one must do to protect his game piece, and see it thrive.

1. Your Body

If you take care of your body, it will be strong and healthy. It will also help foster a potent mind. Yes, there’s always the rare risk of contracting some form of cancer or another deadly disease, but if you follow the steps below, you all but rule these things out.

1. Eat good food

I won’t go into specifics, because everyone’s diet will, and should, be different.

But if you focus your diet around meat, fruits, and vegetables your body will flourish. Meat provides the protein and amino acids your body needs to grow. The fruits and vegetables provide the fiber and vitamins you need to function over the long run. A man with a solid diet will respond better to stress, and therefore be more self reliant.

2. Lift weights

In short, lifting weights develops a strong nervous, muscular, and skeletal system. These are the three main systems that run your body. An efficient body is like a strong ship– it will weather the storm better and be far more dependable in your journey.

The most brutally simple and effective lifting program is StrongLifts 5×5. It focuses on building strength across the five most basic movements humans are meant to do (squat, deadlift,  bench press, row, and overhead press).

2. Your Mind

You must also foster a capable mind. One that can stand on it’s own two feet. The strongest body won’t accomplish anything without an equally impressive mind.

1. Read books

Reading a book is like absorbing another man’s lifelong wisdom. The more books you read, the more you’ll know and the wiser you’ll be. Blogs are okay, but the average quality of a blog post is decidedly lower than what you find in a book. People simply put more time, effort, and value into books.

The knowledge you acquire in books also contributes to your self reliance. It offers quality wisdom and advice– that can’t be taken away from you.

2. Meditate

Meditation is the act of being comfortable being alone. When you meditate, you remove all of the outside noise. All of the thoughts, gossip, music, news, women, men, business, sex– everything. You are left with only yourself.

Many men can’t stand meditation because they’ve grown dependant on all of this external stimulation. They aren’t comfortable in their own skin. And thus they’ve lost their edge, their self reliance.

[suchalilyofthevalley]

I’m going to be blunt with you - I don’t think you genuinely work for the media or PR as you say. You keep throwing around “facts” and then when you give us ideas (such as the 3-5 album ordeal) - you instantly back away and then change it around. If you’re supposedly a Shawn fan, you would see he is being mistreated. Even if artists have a say, you can see is mistreated by his clout team. ALL PR Stunts do not go past a whole year, so it is obvious they are setting up for a single release (1)

To build on “breakup” album. Even with the pandemic, the pattern is still there. If he isn’t breaking up with his team this year, I don’t see it going past the first few months of 2021. He is unhappy. You can tell he is a puppet. Don’t come at us for being worried and figuring out how soon it will end. There are many other sources out on the media saying this is a job/stunt and it will end soon. (2)

So first off, brave of you to hide behind an anon ask. Let’sset some facts and records straight here cause I’m not here for bullshit and I’mfar too old for fandom petty nonsense.

I’ve never said I was media. I’ve always said I worked inPR. If you check back into my gettingon my PR soapbox tag, I’ve been doing these posts since May 2011. Wellbefore my foray into the Shawn fandom. So, here’s almost a decade of receiptsprior to me stepping foot into this space talking about PR, touring, ticketing,the music industry, the PR industry.

Also, want some receipts that way with am I really a PRprofessional with oodles of experience? So, I’ve known @suzteel, @andiwontforgetyou (previously @facethefall-blog) & @whenidance for ages – helloIRL friends, all these girls have been with me through ups and downs of jobsand clients, both have been with me at events when I’m working or had access tobecause of work. We’ve gone on vacations together, been at each other’s houses,there in good times and in bad. I wouldn’t have gotten through losing my Mom alittle over two years ago without these ladies. Fun fact, D (@suzteel) & N (@andiwontforgetyou) aren’t even IN this damn fandom so there’s no point in them‘vouching’ for me for clout and L (@whenidance) is one of my best friends goingon almost a decade and knows more about me than anyone aside from my childhoodbestie. It’s my fault L is actually a Shawn fan and why we went on a massivelyinsane road trip for this kid last year. L also has been with me repeated timeswhen I’ve been with one of my former clients in a social setting.

Also, I’m not in this to become fandom famous or internetimportant. Believe me, I have like 450 followers on this blog, most of which aredead blogs from when I was around with Glee. Also, notice I never throw theseposts into main Shawn tags. If I wanted all this glory, don’t you think I’d bedoing that? It’s all based on interacting with folks who follow me or find mewho actually have an interest in this piece of the business. This is me wanting tohelp folks who have a genuine interest. I give no shits about being some bigperson in the fandom. No thank you.

I’ve also saidbefore I never went into PR for the fame of it, to be some clout chaser orto make a fuckton of cash. It’s always been about the client and their work.Always. Their goals are what’s most paramount, be it from smaller brands andtalent to some of the A-listers and Fortune 500 companies I’ve worked with.

I’ve always said I’m going to shed light on the facts of theindustry. That’s what I did here. I’ve never interjected my opinion into itbecause facts are facts and opinions are subjective. So, I’ll call out thedifferences in here below.

The album thing? I’ve got you some receipts. I’ve never waiveredthere. I’ve never been the one to say YES HIS DEAL IS FOUR and then back away. That’swhat y’all have gravitated to due to some other folks saying that was what theythought and that was their opinion. This is the firstask I got about deals from early March and here I’ll even pull it out foryou:

Yes, the number of albums is anold industry standard, that way the label actually holds you for a bit longer -however, there have been instances where it’s based off of years. 

Each label has its ownnuances and how they like to approach business. If an artist is more likely tocrank out singles or an EP before approaching a release for an LP and they’retesting the waters, a contract based off of year length may be theirgo-to. 

There also could beclauses that wrap both up, saying you’ll need to release X number of albums ina Y year span. 

Contracting is socomplicated and so individualized, it’s really and truly hard to say in ablanket way yes THIS is how it all shakes down.

There were posts where @thotmendes mentioned some of our conversationsand said in thispost here that I had said an industry sweet spot was 3-5, and then wentonto say that SHE thought his deal was 4. 

What I said in last night’s post here for reference too:

Contract terms – you’ll see some intro deals based on years with options provided to extend based on years or albums, but we’ve got no real clue as to what the terms are with Island on this specifically. Folks keep assuming it’s 4. It could be 5, it could be 6. We don’t know what the original deal was. 3-5 is an industry sweet spot, but I’ve also seen some intro deals be 6. There could be year commitments tied into those as well aka 4 albums in 6 years, etc. Each label has its own formulaic equation as to how these things piece out and it changes per label, per artist, per genre - and how that all plays out into what the marketplace is consuming/streaming/spinning.

So please do me a favor and don’tcome at me saying I’m wavering on things without receipts. As you can see here, I haven’t.

Who said PR relationships ONLY last a year? They can be asshort or as long as people feel they need to leverage. PERSONAL OPINION ON THIS:I think PR relationships are stupid, pointless and beyond reproach. If you’re apublicist and that’s what you’re leaning on to do your job to get your clientscoverage and buzz. You aren’t worth your damn salt. Especially when you’ve gotA+ level talent you’re working with like he is. Even if you’ve got Q level talent, it’s still abullshit approach IMO. The same goes for calling/hiring out paps.

I’ve never once ‘came at fans’ for having concerns or beingconcerned. I’m concerned as well. Why I’m trying to give some color to theindustry piece of it. The only thing I said inthis post last night is that I was tired of the mistruths and conspiracytheories being spun as what’s really going on. Also – where are these “sources”out in the media saying it’s coming to an end? Blind items do not count. Ragsources are fine and dandy, but they’re also not legitimate sources. Come to mewhen you’ve got something from People, US Weekly, Billboard. Even then it’ll bewith a grain of salt until we hear it directly from their team(s) aka Dvora, theshared publicist.

MY PERSONAL OPINION: I am a Shawn fan. This kid’s music and hisshows have helped me get through some of the most difficult points in my life. Myass hiked to MEXICO CITY from NYC for his last three shows of SMTT thisDecember - the crazy road trip I referenced above with @whenidance. He gives me JOY. It’s why I care the way I do, it’s why I feel likescreaming and why I want to go legit work/help this kid out. It’s why I’mconcerned and trying to share some knowledge where I can, and what’sknowledge/facts about the industry versus what’s not true about the industry.Notice I said industry because I don’t know what this kid is wading throughright now and it’s not fair of me to say YES it’s this and assume like I haveany idea. CAUSE I DO NOT. I absolutely hate this nonsense we’re wading throughof whatever the teams have going for him/with him, I’m not a fan of this. Icame to be a fan of his, not of theirs. I don’t like what’s shaking out. Do Ifeel like this is PR? Damn right I do. Can we think this may have started outmore innocently and was positioned differently than what it’s evolved to? Yeah,for sure. BUT WE DON’T KNOW. All our thoughts are conjecture here. I don’t wantto see him unhappy, miserable, not feeling creative or supported. The wholepurpose of building a team around you that you trust is for that. I’m hoping thateven in this disasterpiece shit show, he can find that inner strength to dowhatever he needs to across the board to get back to a place where he’s feelinghimself, happy and being his own best version of the Shawn he wants to be.

Also – I’m leaving anon on for now, but if y’all can’t put on big boy/big girlpants and talk/behave like adults, it’ll go off and you’ll have to show yourface :)!

[wenevergotusedtoegypt]

I am So Tired.

I’ll be honest, my mental health has not been in the greatest place lately. We've hardly left home or seen anyone for a full 4 months now, my husband and I are trying to do a total of 3 simultaneous full time jobs between the 2 of us, and we have no idea how we're going to get by in the fall once his classes are even more full time and I may or may not be back in the office. But the biggest factor in all of this has been that I've been feeling incredibly alienated from the community here, because almost no one except us seems to remember that there's still a pandemic. Of all the people in the world, I would think that these ones would understand the gravity of the situation given the number of deaths we saw, and yet hardly anyone wears a mask, at least some people are hosting for Shabbos, they don't even change their behavior when medical professionals and rabbonim speak out. I feel almost gaslighted in a way - here we all lived through what to me is a major trauma, not actually over yet, with a very real possibility of repeating itself in full force, and yet almost everyone else seems to have forgotten both that it happened and that it could happen again. The reality that it's not just about this situation - even when the pandemic passes, these same people who refuse to listen to science or common sense, who are willing to risk my life and everyone else's for their own comfort and convenience, will still make up the community.

I've largely been quiet about this with my social circle because I was afraid that talking about it with any given person would result in finding out that that person wasn't being careful either, which would only increase my depression and alienation. But today someone in one of my whatsapp groups brought up that she's thinking about starting a playgroup in her home for families that want to take precautions but can't avoid the necessity of childcare, so I took a risk and opened up a bit about my fears of having to send my son anywhere when it feels like no one here is taking things seriously. A few of the people in the group agreed with me (although all of them are located elsewhere), and it was such a relief to finally feel like I wasn't completely alone.

And then.... We have a family we're friends with who for the most part has been as concerned and careful as us throughout the pandemic. Lately they've been a bit more lenient than us, but at least they haven't thrown everything out the window. And my friend and I spoke back when the pandemic was just starting about how concerned we were when people weren't taking it seriously enough then. So I would've fully expected that she would be at least mostly on the same page.

But instead she sent this long, honestly devastating message about how we should stop talking about this (and she's the group admin soooooo) because while she doesn't agree with the people who aren't taking it seriously, we should have ahavas yisroel, we should be dan l'kaf zchus, we may not agree but there are different opinions about wearing masks, people have been through a trauma and don't know how to deal, blablabla.

There I was finally feeling the very significant depression I've been weighed down by lifting just a little bit, and she shuts down the conversation because G-d freaking forbid we be too judgmental of people who are ignoring science, common sense, the local medical professionals, and the local rabbonim because it's too inconvenient for them to not risk killing other people. Trauma? Don't freaking talk to me about trauma. I lived through the exact same thing as they did, I am still living through it, I AM TRAUMATIZED! And weirdly I am still managing not to risk other people's lives just because it would be easier for me. None of these people are neglecting to wear masks because they have found a legitimate scientific opinion that says it's better not to. I promise you. I have literally tried talking to them, I have been told that it's "unhygienic" to wear a mask because they aren't "sterile" and then when I asked if they could send me to a source to that, been called brainwashed and not given an answer. Because they don't have one. This isn't about different people having different opinions they follow and we all need to get along. Viruses don't work like halacha, where two conflicting opinions can both be right and people can follow either one and we can all get along. They are risking my son's life, they are risking my life and my husband's, they are risking their own lives. THEY SHOULD BE JUDGED.

And to say that those of us who feel betrayed and alone and stuck in an impossible position because of this situation should just continue to suffer in silence rather than speak to others about it because ~dan l'kaf zechus u guyz, ahavas yisroel~ is disgusting and inhumane. We are part of a religion that makes it clear there is such thing as objective right and wrong. Putting lives at risk for your own comfort is wrong. The people who are trying to do the right thing in an impossible situation should not have to take on additional suffering because oh no we can't be judgmental about the people who prioritize their convenience over our lives. There is no "live and let live: when the other party has chosen to live (or actually possibly die) and potentially let die.

---

And then, there's this foolish European trip that my sister is taking, which has now had added to it that she's flying here this weekend because she needs to get her passport and some other things from her apartment. My family has cut out pressuring us overtly to see them since I spoke to them about it, but she made sure to mention that my dad thinks she should come see the baby while she's here, but that she "said no because she knows we wouldn't be comfortable with it," like it was her choice. Here's the thing! I would actually consider meeting her outdoors, with masks, maintaining distance the entire time, if she's going to be here anyway. But I know that if I relax at all on this, my dad will push, and may even be so desperate to see the baby as to hop on a plane he wouldn't have been on otherwise in order to have some similarly distanced visits. And I won’t be responsible for that. So even though I am so tired of never seeing anyone, and we could do this safely (ignoring the existing risk of my sister flying, because she's going to do it no matter what), I feel like we can't because of the likely result.

Did I mention I'm tired?

[hecohansen31]

Romance Dreaming (Teaser):

Captain Francis O’Malley/Duncan Shepherd+Reader

(A/N): Hello there, lovelies!

So, not long ago, in our Discord group we had a rather interesting conversation on put an awful moustache onto Duncan which @codyfernmorelikedaddyfern immediately complied, creating Francis O’Malley, a rather lonesome cowboy with a love for the countryside and a southern accent.

And then... I just had to put this in some kind of lousy romantic plot, because it is just how I am done, I am sorry... but I hope that it could at least steal a laugh from you!

Posted HERE!

Have a nice day!

WARNINGS: Mentions of Abusive Household, Mentions of War And Death, HIGHLY HYSTORICALLY INACCURATE (I am sorry guys I just had a lot of things to think about, tonight, so I am sorry, if this doesn’t make sense, but I just felt like the post-civil war would have been a nice setting), Slutshaming, Marriage, Oral Sex (Female Receiving), Mentions of Sexual Themes.

He was imagining all this, meanwhile he was patrolling with a few friends, when he heard a merchant screaming ‘thief! Thief!’ indicating a running boy, who was zigzagging through the crowd in an almost desperate run, almost making it…

… hadn’t it been for Francis on his horse, who was completely able to avoid the confused mob, using a shortcut, crossing his paths with his thief, just as he was a few miles from being safe and sound.

The little thief knocked himself out against the side of Francis’ horse, who neighed furiously and Francis had to give him a few good caressed to calm it down, meanwhile he reigned it to circle the thief, who was knocked on the ground, too scared by the horse to even try a movement, meanwhile the little bag with money was knocked on the ground, open.

“What do we have here, Charles?” he asked at the horse, eyeing gravely the little thief: the crime scene had increased due to the poverty of the area and the world, but this didn’t make it less excusable “… a little thief… who can’t do his job”.

“Please sir…” the thief’s voice sounded strangely high-pitched and a little hood was covering his face, meanwhile he went on his knees begging the captain “… I honestly… my family is going to starve and nobody is willing to hire me…”.

“You can stop all this silly talk, you should know better than to rob someone of their legitimate money!” he shouted back and something sparkled in the thief’s eyes, suddenly not so scared of the horse, raising on his feet.

“Oh, you think that I was stealing somebody’s ‘legitimate money’?! That merchant is profiting on poor people’s lives, he isn’t less a criminal than me! He is a thief exactly like me… but since he dresses in rich fabrics and doesn’t look starved, you won’t persecute him!”.

The thief’s angry rant made Francis almost fall back from his horse: he knew that what he spoke was true, since many merchants had started taking advantage of the poorness that the war had left, but the thief had still broken the law and he couldn’t go unpunished.

And then a little breezed blew onto them, and the thief’s hoodie fell down his shoulder… or better her shoulder, since the thief revealed to be a girl, a little younger than him, with obvious sign of starvation on her face, but there was some kind of determination that graced her features that made her… truly wonderful at Francis’ eyes.

He was dumbfounded enough and when the thief tried to escape him, due to his distraction, he almost lost her, but Charles was smarter than his owner and quickly captured her again, and this time Francis dismantled from him, so that they could have a conversation eye-to-eye .

She was definitely young and the fact that she was a girl made Francis want to be lenient with the punishment since she was obviously not doing this because she liked it: if it was true that she had a family, she must have been truly desperate to try out this road.

He wondered what he would have felt, had his Roweena been the one that had to steal to provide for her family.

She wouldn’t do it with any sort of evilness to it, it was necessity that brought her on the bad side of the road and although Francis had to obey to the law, he could bend it a bit.

“What’s your name?” the girl refused to reply and he forced her to raise her chin to him, meeting a pair of beautiful eyes, shining of some kind of rage that seemed to keep that body up, burning into Francis’ mind “… and don’t tell me a fake one or I’ll throw you in the darkest jail cells we own, got me?”.

“…(Y/N), sir” the name came out as a soft whimper, as if it pained her to reveal an identity she had almost forgotten “… please don’t put me in jail, captain! I’ll return the money and apologize! I can’t go to jail, my mother would be heartbroken!”.

“You won’t” although he wanted to toy with her a bit more, mostly so that she would learn her lesson, he saw a deep pain in her, a scar that brought him to think of his own “… but you have to promise me you won’t do it again, (Y/N), got me?”.

Her head came free from his grip and this time you refused to look at his eyes, clearly not wanting to swear something that she felt like she would do again, and rather soon according to what her eyes spoke of.

“… you know that you can’t survive like this, don’t you?” he asked, surely concerned that such a beautiful girl could reduce herself to this.

Had the thieving also been unfruitful would she have turned to something even worse?

His heart honestly couldn’t stand it.

“My father died in the war, sir, and my mother has other five children, two of which are rather young! My older brother is a drunkard and won’t help us, so me and my other two sisters try to make some money helping mom with embroidery and cultivating our little vegetable garden… but it isn’t ever enough… the youngest are always hungry and my brother… he steals us money!”.

This was a rather common tragedy: many families lost their only source of income and many of the members turned to alcohol, letting others starve.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for her.

“I won’t hurt you or rattle you out, but if you promise that you aren’t going to steal anything, anymore, I might have a job proposal for you”.

Her nose immediately scrunched up and he realized that the way he had worded the entire thing was horrible and definitely implying something that he hadn’t wanted to, blushing and regretting his words, immediately.

“… I didn’t mean anything like that!” he put his hands up to try to make her relax and see that he didn’t mean anything dirty, behind his words “…I mean an honest job: I have recently started living here and the chaotic life and work has left my house rather… unclean…”.

“You are asking somebody who just stole money… to clean your house?”.

The absurdity of the entire situation made him laugh and she smirked, this time definitely more genuinely.

“You must be truly new in town”.

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Running Scared: The Characters

One of the interesting things about Running Scared is that, despite the number of cast members there actually are, there are only a handful of main characters.  Of the named cast members, only four of them have real personality, story relevance, and characterization: Danny, Ray, Anna, and Julio Gonzales.

Now, of course, this isn’t to say that the other characters don’t have character traits or defining characteristics, but I am saying that, for the most part, the characterization that takes place tends to be archetype based, and little else.  Snake is a double-crosser, the police chief is hard-nosed, etc.  But these four main characters have a little bit more to them, even if they aren’t all developed equally.  Let’s take a look, starting with our protagonist(s).

(Spoilers below!)

It’s kind of hard to nail down who exactly Running Scared is about.  Traditionally, most buddy-cop films are about both cops fairly equally.  The screentime is about equal, the development is roughly equivalent, and the focus is on the partnership and the relationship between the cops.  So, with that in mind, it would make sense to expect both Danny and Ray to be the protagonists of the film.  And, they are.  They are the main characters.  They share a lot of screentime, and their relationship is already developed to the point where the audience doesn’t need to see them learning to get along, they’re already there.  But just because they don’t develop as a team, doesn’t mean they don’t develop at all, and here’s where you can figure out that one is more the focus than the other.

While Ray is vital to the plot and chemistry, he is not who the story is about.  His sub-plots of picking up women are present, but they take a backseat to Danny’s sub-plots: his inheritance, and his relationship with his ex-wife.  It’s even his idea for the two to to retire from the force.  It is Danny who drives the character aspects of the story.  As a result, it is Danny who is our protagonist.

The question is, is he a good choice?

Like I’ve said before on these character pieces, every good protagonist needs a problem, preferably a problem pertaining to the plot, and while Danny has his fair share of problems (Gonzales being released, wanting to retire, wanting reconciliation with his ex-wife), it’s a little more unclear whether or not any of them drive him as a character.  And if they did, it seems like they’re contradictory.  If his only goal is to retire, why bother with one more case?  If he wants to get Gonzales, why keep entertaining the idea of retirement?  If he wants to fix his relationship with his ex, why doesn’t he talk about it or make that clearer (at least, until the last thirty minutes or so.)  

After some consideration, I came to a conclusion: it’s not one of them that drives him.  It’s a combination, and it’s that more than anything that makes Danny a realistic protagonist.

Danny clearly still has feelings for his ex-wife, but doesn’t address it, choosing to be flippant about her re-marriage instead of working on the problems Anna has told him he has: namely his immaturity and refusal to act responsible.  Rather than work on them in a way that makes narrative sense, he……doesn’t.  He deals with it in a rush towards the end, escalated when Anna is kidnapped.  As another person, Anna doesn’t really fill the category of ‘goal’ or ‘driving force’ exactly, but Danny’s relationship with her is one of the sources of his growth.

For the other two, on the other hand?

Danny has a decision to make.  He can retire, get his bar, relax and not get shot at anymore, but on the other hand, a dangerous man who he’s spent a lot of time putting away is on the loose again.  His sense of justice and anger is keeping him on the force just until they get Gonzales, he claims.  By the end of the story, he brings himself to admit that he enjoys being a cop.  He can’t have both at the same time, but like a real person, Danny is trying to decide what he wants and it affects his life accordingly.  He gets ‘careful’, up until the end, where he makes his choice for good.  Again, it’s a bit rushed, but it is there.  In this sense, he is the protagonist.  From start to finish of the film, he is the one who has driven the story and changed the most, even if it’s only a small bit.  He even gets his ‘hero’ moment, when he rescues Anna and charges back in to finish the fight, helping to get rid of Gonzales once and for all.

Is he a ‘hero’ in a traditional sense?  Not really.  His moment of ‘change’ can be boiled down to the plot escalation of Anna’s kidnapping, but again, it’s not overt.  There’s no debate about the ‘right thing to do’, morality doesn’t come up at all.  In that, Running Scared is a relatively small-scale story, which works well with the protagonist we’re given.

But there’s more to this cast than Danny.

Let’s talk about Ray.

The chief difference between Danny and Ray as far as the story is concerned is their plot relevance.  

As characters, the two are actually rather similar, especially as far as ‘buddy cops’ go.  They’re both witty, funny, and snarky, with similar outlooks on their jobs and life.  Both are Cowboy Cops, they enjoy the same vacation, heck, they don’t even argue over who drives the car (much).  But while we get a little bit of a look at Danny’s life outside of the job, we don’t get too much of the same for Ray.  

He gets a few scenes focused on him, sure, but they’re rather brief and less in-depth than scenes focusing on his partner.  We get an idea of what he’s like, and he’s likeable enough as a person, but we don’t really get an idea of what’s driving him.  His goals and motivations aren’t really expressed, as he ends up agreeing to quit the force with Danny, but not really giving his own thought processes about it.

He drives the car, he takes down the criminals just as well as Danny does, but he never develops as a character, ending the film as he started it.  In short, Ray is a deuteragonist, sharing the spotlight of the protagonist without as much growth.  

Which is more than we can say for Anna.

Unfortunately, Anna as a character has even less development than Ray does.  So much so that we don’t even get a real feel for her as a person.  She’s nice enough, and clearly still has feelings for Danny, but left him due to his immaturity and lack of responsibility.  At the beginning of the film, she is getting remarried to a dentist, and at the end, she is not, having decided to get back together with Danny after he saves her life, demonstrating a fair bit of maturity and responsibility in the process.  The most we really see of her development and character are in the conversations she has with Danny, notably the one in the police department towards the beginning of the film, and the one in his apartment towards the end.  She’s not really given much of a personality, and doesn’t have a whole lot of screentime.  On the bright side, with what personality and screentime she is given, much like Ray, she makes the best of it, managing to be a memorable and important part of the film.

But hey, there’s nothing more important in a film than its villain, right?

Yeah, about that.

Boy howdy, talk about little character.

Julio Gonzales, as a person, is a Criminal.

That’s it.

In all seriousness, while the other characters have distinctive traits (Danny’s humor, Ray’s impulsiveness and Anna’s common-sense), Julio Gonzales seems to have, chiefly, one: being the Bad Guy.

Like the other characters, he’s played well enough (the performances for all of the characters are legitimately great), but he’s not given a whole lot of personality.  Or arc.  Or connection to the main characters.

Unlike villains like Darth Vader, The Wicked Witch of the West, or even Norman Bates, Gonzales doesn’t have a whole lot of presence, specific relevance to the plot, or ties with the protagonists.  The only reason he is the Bad Guy is because he happens to be a criminal who happened to get busted by our heroes, and then happened to make bail.  He’s not given a whole lot else to work with.  He’s smart enough to disguise his cocaine as containers, but he’s not defined by intelligence.  Or brute force.  Or even force of will.  He claims to be the next Godfather of Chicago, but he doesn’t really have a whole lot of personality for the audience to feel the threat of that claim.  We register him as the villain of the piece, interchangeable with basically any crook with any kind of pull.

The chief failing of this film’s characters lies in the villain.  By being generic, he has no personal effect on the story.  If he were removed and replaced with another criminal, the movie would not change in the slightest.  He comes and goes accompanied by mild fanfare and reputation that we aren’t really allowed to see demonstrated by his character.

Once again, very real world.  Very few criminals have gimmicks or interact personally with the cops after them.  In that, Gonzales is fairly realistic.  He is simply a criminal trying not to be caught by the cops.  Makes sense.  But as a narrative villain, he does leave a viewer wanting.

These characters aren’t really all that complex.  There’s no Rick Blaine here, no Rocky Balboa (Must be those R.B. initials), no characters who go through immense growth and really draw an audience in with their interesting, multi-faceted personalities.  But then again, they don’t have to be.

Yes, the characters aren’t really that developed, but the same argument could be made for other classics like The Wizard of Oz.  The characters that exist within the film Running Scared aren’t that complex, and they don’t need to be.  They aren’t trying to tell a grand story, or even a character piece.  They’re telling a funny buddy-cop movie.

Could it use a little more work in the character department?

Absolutely.

Does that necessarily make it a bad film?

Not really.

Running Scared is perfectly serviceable for what it is.  It’s not great storytelling, or character development, but the characters do manage to do what they’re supposed to: make you care about them.

Do they grow?  Not a whole lot.  But the protagonists are likeable enough for the audience to enjoy, care about, and relate to them as people, making us want to stay and find out what happens to them.  We care about their decision in the end not because they’re complex, but because they’re human, and funny, and fun to watch, and in the end, making you care about the fate of a character is what they’re supposed to do.  In that, Running Scared succeeds.

Thank you guys so much for reading!  If you enjoyed it, stick around for more, since we’re not done talking about the elements that make up Running Scared. If you have something you’d like to add or say, don’t forget that the ask box is always open!  I hope to see you all in the next article.

[tsukiyaki]

Discipline

A couple weeks back, my life group studied the Lord’s discipline in Hebrews 12:3-11. At the end, I testified about how I came into 2020 knowing it would be a year in which God would teach me discipline, and that through that, the Spirit would bear the fruit of self control in me. In the last 3 months, I have approached work, my relationship with God, and self care with more intentionality and discipline than I ever thought I was capable of. I shared about the fruit that has come out of this grueling season. 

But shortly after, a series of events unfolded that completely destroyed my newfound lifestyle.

Growth vs. perfection

I’ve noticed that whenever I testify publicly about something great that the Lord is currently doing in my life, that very thing seems to fall apart shortly after. When that happens, my first instinct is often to question the legitimacy of the word of my testimony and wonder if I’m just a fraud. Make one mistake, and every victory from before feels invalidated. I used to think this was purely spiritual attack. But now I wonder if perhaps it’s a test of my faith. It could very well be both, knowing that what the enemy wants to use for harm, the Lord has other plans for. 

This time, I looked at how easily that practice of discipline shattered in the face of adversity. As I pondered my feelings of shame and disappointment, I realized that I still desire/value a perfect record and the certainty of approval that comes with it more than the heart and character God is interested in developing in me through both success and failure. 

If I were to truly establish my complete identity in Him and boast in Christ alone, I could fail a million times and get back up again, knowing that I have nothing to lose and my failures can’t define me, because God uses them to continue to refine me. But I am still afraid of failure, because I do still have something to lose, something that He can’t protect me from, because I have not fully surrendered it to Him: an idea of myself, who I’d like to be, and where I’d like to be able to say I’m at.

I think the perfection of Christ comes from who He is, not what He did. If I am to be perfect as Christ is perfect, the first thing I need to be able to do is let God define “perfection” and understand what its source and measure truly are. Since He is always looking at the heart, it must start there. And since only He can change a heart, there’s really nothing I can do but let Him in and embrace however He wants to bring that change to pass.

Breaking down

Starting last week, the coronavirus situation has been wiping the floor with me. At first, I was very angry at how this virus made me feel imprisoned against my will. Basically everything I was looking forward to leading into the summer got canceled. If you remember from a few blog posts ago, it’s very hard for me to deal with change. There has been a lot of nonstop change. On top of all that, the week was also very emotionally demanding for different reasons.

So I was terrified. With what felt like very little preparation, I would soon have to navigate a world that has restricted access to human interaction. How could I do that and come to a point where I could accept that that is part of who I am and a legitimate need, but also know that even without that, Christ is sufficient for me? I couldn’t, as far as I was concerned. So I rebelled and self-sabotaged.

I threw discipline out the window. I did whatever it took to feel like I still had some semblance of control over my life, even if that control was over how I chose to destroy it (e.g. not sleeping, shutting God out, indulging emotional whims).

Turning back to God

It took me a few days of mistreating myself before I summoned up the will to seek accountability. After I sent a few friends an update on my situation, I laid in bed and reached for my phone. I think it has been months since I’ve turned to God for a “Spotify therapy session.” I put my worship playlist on shuffle, and He speaks to me through the songs. I realized that I had stopped because I thought it was a cheap way to connect with Him, that I was cheating in some way by not sitting myself down for hours, highlighters and pen in hand, solemnly deconstructing the Bible word by word to find Him instead. I still had this impression of what “seeking God” looks like based on the standard examples provided at church, and everything else just didn’t seem legitimate. But He continues challenging me to stop looking to other people to tell me how to live my life, stop waiting for someone else’s approval and affirmation before I can believe that I know anything, and to start trusting that I know how He leads me.

We often advise people to “give it to God” or “go seek the Lord,” but what does that really mean? Just like no two people relate to others in the same way, apart from God Himself, nobody knows better than you and I how we best connect with God. And while the Word and prayer are inevitable, they aren’t confined to retreating with a paper Bible or assuming a certain prayer stance. Finding comfort in God and hearing Him speak could look different for every person, and it’s our job to figure it out for ourselves. But across the board, I think what we’re really saying is whatever your method is, go do it so you can get a fresh revelation of Him, a fresh encounter, a moment of connection in which you step into His presence, encounter His glory, and watch it eclipse everything else. And that’s what happened to me over the course of 14 songs on Spotify. 

Spotify therapy

Before I pressed play, I was a shell of myself. I had no desire to do anything. I was defeated and desperate. I thought there was no way out of the suffocating circumstances I found myself in. Within an hour of listening to the Lord speak to me, I felt like I had risen on wings like eagles.

He opened my eyes to the fact that the same thing that's causing so much division and chaos right now may be the very thing that forces us to become tighter and more connected globally and in our own communities, if we want to survive. Because anything else that anybody could usually find their security in is being stripped away right now. What's left is a really good, honest look at where our hearts really are, and what is really worth building a life on that’s capable of sustaining us. The answer will be Jesus.

In my own life, I’ve seen in the midst of a much more demanding workload that being able to regularly be with people is something that matters as much to me as breathing. And when coronavirus threatened that and took it away, I threw a fit, because I felt out of control. I felt helpless and feared the pain of having my air taken away. I also felt guilty and scared that I seemed to have learned nothing about discipline, and that people were still an idol in my life. But when I finally chose to bring this all before God, He simply reminded me that I am fully provided for, and I actually believed Him. 

His love bolstered me. I remember those 14 songs and the message He spoke to me. He is my provider. I have all I need in Him. His love is my reward and the reason I keep pressing forward. I am not alone, and He goes before me to make a way. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me so much. He has already won this war. Even as I play my part and partner with Him, I walk in and towards certain victory. He has won my heart more than any other. There is no one more beautiful, more wonderful, more glorious than He. He is so much more than what I leave behind, so much more than anything I could ever lose, so I can afford to live this life to its fullest. I can love like I am unafraid of having my heart broken, because I can afford to love like Jesus loves. I do not have to stand here second-guessing myself and calling myself an idiot for caring too much. I can stand here confidently knowing His people are worth every fallen tear, worth facing any fear, worth the effort. And that includes me.

And whether it hurts like hell or the fight is won, I will praise the Lord, because He calls me to do so and says I can. So I will.

Getting back up

Even when everything felt like it was falling apart, the moment He showed me that He knows exactly what’s going on, nothing has changed between us, and He is so close that even without me telling him, he knows where I'm at--that was enough for me to stand back up and try again, without anything changing for the better in my circumstances.

Things didn’t stop at me feeling better about my life or myself. After being strengthened again, I went out and did what the enemy tried to stop me from doing: I praised God, I declared His truth with even more boldness than I had at life group, and I saw nothing but opportunity where there was once despair. I had not only found vision and purpose again, I heard His voice again, a voice that silenced every other. I reached out to my coworkers with newfound appreciation in my heart, and I made sure they knew how much they meant to me. I reminded a coworker of how when the darkness grows, the light shines ever brighter, and that is exactly the climate the world finds itself in with this coronavirus pandemic, and he too was encouraged and caught the vision. I had a great talk with another friend later in the day and was able to encourage and comfort him through his circumstances.

I sucked it up and stopped being angry that I would have to suffer for at least the next month and not get to connect with people in the easy, convenient way I’m used to. And I realized if the world won’t hand connection and community to me on a silver platter, fine, because God built me with the gifting and vision to make a silver platter of my own, even to be that silver platter for others, and that is enough.

When the war is won but the battles keep on

Honestly, I wish the testimony could end there, but it doesn’t. Just a few hours after all of those victories, I sunk back into an emotional pit. But things had changed, ever so slightly. I went to bed on time. I kept seeking accountability. I ended the day admitting that I was even further from perfection than I thought I was, yet I was somehow more accepting of where I was than before. And I took that as proof that I had grown. 

This week has been another week of trial by fire. It has been the hardest week of 2020 so far (I honestly didn’t think it could get worse than last week, but the record amount of tears I’ve shed prove me wrong), but not for the reasons I thought it would be. In just the last couple of days, I realized I’ve made several wrong conclusions in this very blog post about where I’m at and what I need or desire. But admitting that I’m wrong opened up the door to more growth, a very challenging and painful kind of growth.

And then it hit me: this is discipline.

The Lord loves me so so much, for He is disciplining me. Hebrews 12:3-11 could not be more real to me than it is right now. I didn’t waste the first 3 months of this year. I didn’t get thrown into this situation carelessly. God has been preparing me way ahead of time by getting me to a point where I could survive my current circumstances. He trained me in discipline that I could schedule and plan for, which was a step up from having none at all. But now, He is building discipline into my character. 

Character is something no storm in life could ever take from me. Character is what’s left when my habits and willpower are stripped away like they were this past week. I’ve got a long way to go, and I’m honestly not looking forward to it because it’s going to be painful. Hebrews promised me that much. But I want that yield of peaceful fruit of righteousness in those who have been trained by discipline. I want to be a child of God who has given Him everything, so that He can work in me to will and to work for his good pleasure, with no restrictions. I know, somewhere deep down inside me, this is all going to be worth it.

Please pray for me as I continue this arduous journey. I need it.

[douxreviews]

Roswell, New Mexico - ‘Pilot' Review

Before we get started, let’s address the elephant in the room.  This is not a reboot of the 1999 WB show Roswell.

It is a show based on the same Roswell High books as the ‘99 show.  So yes, there are similarities.  And if you liked the show, you’ll probably enjoy this one too.  But if you thought a high school drama built around star-crossed lovers trying to hide the existence of aliens from the government and their parents was on the cheesy side, you may still want to give this a shot because while the themes of otherness and acceptance are still there, the characters and plots have all grown up.   And if you never saw the original but science fiction that’s heavy on alien metaphors with a side order of science is your jam,  you’re in for a treat.

I promise I will not spend every episode comparing the two versions.  Art is a product of its place and time.  The expectations viewers have for the shows they watch have changed. Therefore, each iteration must be judged on its own merits. What are they trying to say and how well do they achieve their narrative goals?  For all their similarities, these two shows are saying something very different.

In many respects, the original show’s focus on Liz and Max’s love story sucked up much of the narrative oxygen in the room.  The larger themes of alienation and acceptance,  when they occurred, were almost solely through the metaphor of the aliens on earth.  Here we address similar themes from multiple angles.  By embracing diversity, in terms of ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, immigration status, and, yes, human vs. alien, they hammer home the idea that being “other” doesn’t necessarily make us different.

The feelings of otherness are not limited to our alien friends.  Liz doesn’t fit in not only because of her father’s real, and her suspected, undocumented status but also due to the town’s residual hatred regarding her sister Rosa’s actions.  Alex is a military man from a military family in love with a man who despises authority and refuses to conform.  On paper, Kyle looks perfect.  He’s a good-looking doctor from a respected family but he’s so lonely he’s willing to have a romp with an ex in his car while knowing she’s using him.  Each of them is desperate to find a connection, and that desperation has the potential to lead down some dark paths.

Don’t get me wrong, at its heart this is still the love story of Liz and Max; two outsiders with an undeniable attraction for each other but separated by facts that would give Romeo and Juliet pause.  At least those two were both human.  Yet if not for Max’s love for Liz, we’d have no inciting incident.  Liz would have died in a random shooting and he, Isobel, and Michael would have quietly continued their existence in Roswell with no one the wiser.  Instead, Liz returns after a 10-year absence and Max refuses to lose her again.

His actions are not without repercussions.  Liz is no longer a half-smitten high school student.  She believed she was shot, her uniform had a bullet hole, there is a handprint on her chest, and no visible injury.  No self-respecting scientist would let that mystery go uninvestigated which only leads her to more questions.

Thanks to her aborted fling with Kyle, he knows something is up too.  Unfortunately, for all involved, Kyle goes to a far more dangerous source for answers.  Now the secret Max, Isobel, and Michael have been harboring for over 20 years, that they are the aliens from the 1947 crash, is in danger of coming out.

Add to this the mystery of Liz’s sister’s death.  As far as the residents of Roswell are concerned, Rosa, as her father put it, “took drugs, and she drove, and when she died, she took two innocent girls with her.”  We know that’s not true or at least not the whole truth.  Max, Isobel, and presumably Michael have something to do with Rosa’s death and whatever that truth is would spell an end to Liz and Max’s budding romance.  So, of course, she’s going to find out, right?

Regardless of whether the trio is responsible for Rosa’s death (and does anyone really believe Max and Company deliberately killed her?) their fears of exposure are both real and well-founded.  Sergeant Manes and Kyle’s dad were involved with Project Shepherd.  According to Manes, this project was created to protect humans from any threat that aliens might pose.  However, Manes has already made that determination.  And he isn’t subtle about his position on the monsters that landed in 1947 or the killers he believes they are.

What Have We Learned:  

For starters, we know that Max can heal, Michael can move objects with his mind and Isobel can affect people’s thoughts.  We also learned that Isobel used that ability ten years ago to send Liz away when she started reciprocating Max’s feelings for her.  And apparently, Max isn’t the only one who’s been carrying a torch since high school.  In Michael’s case, there was a lot more to the relationship than simply mooning over Alex from afar.

I happened to love the original show and I’ve always been skeptical of reboots.   So, I approached this with a healthy dose of curiosity and very low expectations.   However, the complexity of the characters, the adult themes, and the not-so-subtle commentary on the differing views on aliens of all stripes left me impressed.  Consider me all in.

4 out of 5 glowing handprints

Parting Thoughts:  

I loved the nods to the original, such as Crashdown’s waitress uniforms.

Project Shepherd is a military exercise, right?  Was Kyle’s dad in the military too?

Liz’s confession to Max regarding her mother and sister’s mental issues sounded like a legitimate plea for information and not just a line to get Max’s DNA.  Please tell me that’s going to get explained at some point.

While we’re on the theme of things they better address, Michael has a chemical similar to meth coming from his trailer.  Huh?

And what’s Maria’s story?  She got the short end of the stick as far as storylines go.  I want to know what’s with the fortune-telling?

Quotes:

Liz: “Every small town has a story, but my hometown has a legend.”

Arturo: “I like it here.  I like making milkshakes for tourists dressed like little green men.”

Max: “I’m not one of the bad guys, Liz.”

Max: “So, where you been?” Liz: “Denver, working on an experimental regenerative medicine study.  We were onto something special, but of course we lost funding because someone needs money for a wall.”

Kyle: “So, we could do the awkward exes small talk thing, but I’m guessing that’s not why you’re here.”

Valentin: “For God’s sake, Evans. Shave.” Max: “I heard you ranting about patriarchal dress codes and grooming standards last week. I’m just aligning myself with your feminist agenda, Sheriff.”

Hank: “Isn’t that the Ortecho girl?  I thought she went back to her own country.” Maria: “Uh-uh, Hank.  You’re not distracting me from my money with your thinly veiled racism.”

Isobel: “The good old days.  Just three happy kids who aren’t in danger of being dragged off to the Pentagon by men in hazmat suits because someone couldn’t keep his superhuman healing hands to himself.”

Isobel: “Fall in love with someone else, Max.  Anyone else.” Max: “It’s been ten years, Iz.  If I could have, I would have.”

Kyle: “This is probably a bad idea.” Liz: “I thought we were ignoring that in favor of the whole sex thing.”

Liz: “This is probably a bad idea.” Kyle: “If only someone said that earlier.”

Kyle: “If you see the handprint go to Manes.”

Liz: "Michael outscored me on every AP exam.  I thought he would get some scholarship, change the world.” Max: “I don’t think Michael likes the world enough to bother changing it.”

Max; “She can never know what happened to Rosa.”

--

Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and anything with a cape.

[codbo3]

How to pick best surveillance cameras

Should you be wanting to purchase a surveillance camera, the options can be mind-boggling. Here are some tips to aid you. There is lots to consider as far as home security camera functions, specs and also standard tech is going. The primary difference from the web cam and a true home security camera certainly one important variation. Web cams will often be lumped underneath the surveillance camera class because a lot of them offer many safety features, but I would debate that they can be quite limited in case your main priority is going to be security. Go ahead and take Smonet Security Camera as well as Lorex Security Camera as samples. Either enable you to view a live video feed in ones smartphone when you have an connection to the internet, however Nest cam indoor won't warn you every time a possible security and safety concern arises (for instance once the built-in detectors recognize action, etc.), whilst the View offers a large number of customizability in order to obtain status updates whenever an issue occurs, if that is what you look for. This could seem to be a tiny distinction, but if you 're going the actual stand alone Do-it-yourself security camera option, some of those messages would be the very best to estimated real-time monitoring (not including checking out the live stream all the time). Do-it-yourself also often shows that, contrary to Scout and also other agencies, there isn't any qualified professional monitoring service behind your current home security camera. This means, for much better or even worse, it's going to be your responsibility to consult the police if you see someone breaking in to your residence. If you can't get the alternative to acquire a notice when a safety circumstance happens, you can without difficulty overlook the only one time frame that a thief steal that high priced piece of earrings. That does not mean that there is no room for web cams as security measures supplements, but they're actually very best reserved for looking in for a doggie in daytime to make sure your favorite jacket hasn't changed into a chew up doll.

Benefits of security camera systems

DETER Criminal offenses

This is actually biggest as well as the most noticeable benefit from putting in video cameras. When they are put, it will be possible to experience their unique effects on individuals shortly. Although they are installed discreetly, you can begin feeling a feeling of home security, which can be priceless. Do not ever make someone and anything suspicious through your eyesight with security camera systems. And while our recommendation is that anyone stay clear of getting dummy surveillance cameras, we cannot really pressure enough on the need for correcting authentic security camera systems as a reliable security measure. Thieves are sharp and dummy video security cameras give by themselves away, therefore there’s really no reason in having them. Find Proof Putting security cameras positioned in ideal places comes in handy when you'd like to check activities and also words and phrases of folks and / or throughout an event. Modern-day security camera systems aren't just backed up with superior quality film features, but audio as well. The sharp pictures along with impressive sounds makes them more practical than ever at saving a number of situations. This is particularly beneficial when handling a legitimate case, in which the eye witness often have ignored a unique important information or may perhaps be offering having an precise account of the things truly took place. Using a surveillance camera, a legalised authorities can observe any series of activities while they truly unfolded.

>How Much Should You Really Spend on a Home Security Camera?

These days, security equipment can be found in numerous choices and prices to give a feeling of safety and security to a number of property owners. The normal cost of a security system as well as installment is $1,000. As a result variances with kinds and excellence of surveillance cameras, installing the device commonly varies in between $550 and $2,000. Hard-wired products are less costly just for parts but far more for set up, with $145-$180 each security camera, in comparison to their wi-fi alternatives. The excellent news: investing in some kind of system can save expenses for house insurance. There's two main options to make: wi-fi or hard wired along with IP or CCTV. Having said that, a number of other things give rise to the final setup. Many products contain a number of cameras along with perhaps on-site or cloud storage space. In some cases they will contain actions detectors, advanced screen resolution, expert tracking, along with night vision functions. Greater alternatives result in greater sophistication, along with more price ranges. At some point, your needs and needs and wants must determine the last bill. Year after year, surveillance camera prices have plummeted, driving them to be a reasonably-priced need. A typical home security system set up will cost roughly $1500. Although the cost for professional installing could vary substantially dependent on solution model plus quantity of cameras. On the top of equipment fees, each camera equipment will probably cover anything from $75 to $220 just for expert design and installation. A device developed for Build-it-yourself installing costs nothing but time, if you have the specific tools. Regardless of whether you wind up heading all the DIY road or possibly working with a guru, an original assessment can help you fully grasp a person's accurate requires using the requirements of your home. A session is frequently zero cost. The scale and type would be determined by numerous reasons.

Hard-wired IP camera

Though the installing costs higher than wifi calculating about $160 to $220 per security camera, the components involving hard wired products are usually more low-priced. Because holes are going to be drilled, cable connections added, and conduit implemented, employing a service provider is generally required. Right after up front costs, the actual negative aspect is fixed locations. The advantages can outweigh the disadvantages. Cabled models shouldn't be broken into remotely, jammed, and still have electric power built-in ? normally with battery power back ups intended for energy blackouts. Wireless surveillance camera Wireless systems are really easy to install, driving them to be the options intended for Build it yourself projects. A DIY install can cost you $0 along with qualified work only about $80 per camera. They may be also easy to relocate and typically provide you with remote control accessibility. Negative aspects consist of simply no special source of energy and has to be installed in your house's wi-fi range to operate efficiently. They generally possess lower picture resolution compared with hard-wired counterparts and can be broken into remotely. Cord less devices can also be be subject to signal disturbance.

[getshrimped]

Choosing the ideal surveillance cameras

If you are looking to select a surveillance camera, the options can be mind-boggling. Below are great tips to aid you. There is a lot to contemplate when it comes to surveillance camera characteristics, technical specs and also common technology goes. The real difference from a web camera and a genuine home security camera is one important distinction. Web cams are sometimes lumped under the surveillance camera category simply because many give some security measures, even so I might debate that they can be pretty restricted in case your main concern is usually protection.

Go ahead and take Arlo Pro 2 as well as the Arlo Pro 2 as good examples. Each permit you to experience a streaming feed within your own cell phone any place you have an internet access, but yet Netatmo Outdoor Security Camera will likely not warn you whenever a potential secureness situation takes place (such as if the built-in detectors recognize movements, and so forth.), whereas the View provides a huge amount of customizability so you're able to obtain signals everytime an issue takes place, if that's what you look for. This might appear to be a limited difference, but if you 're going the actual stand alone Do it yourself security camera direction, those warnings are the best method to estimated real-time watching (lacking checking streamming all the time). DIY regularly means that, contrary to Protect America and other vendors, there isn't any professional monitoring services in back of an individual's wireless security camera. That implies, for much better or even worse, it can be your choice to get hold of the cops you may notice somebody breaking in to your house. If you can't even have the option to acquire a notice every time a security measure occurrence happens, you could possibly easily skip the only one time that any thief steal that highly-priced bit of gems. I am not saying there's no room for security cameras as security measures supplements, but they are actually most effective available to taking a look at in for a cat in daytime to make certain your own cosy sweater has not turned into a chew plaything.

Many benefits of video cameras

Decrease Criminal offenses This is the major as well as the most obvious good thing about getting security cameras. After they are put, you will be able to witness their very own effects on most people almost immediately. Even if they're installed privately, you certainly will start sensing feeling of safety, which is certainly priceless. Do not ever make anyone and anything suspicious through your sight with video security cameras. Although it is suggested that you prevent obtaining fake cameras, I simply cannot pressure enough on the need for preparing genuine video security cameras as a solid safety measure. Burglars are smart and dummy security camera systems show by themselves away, therefore there’s genuinely no reason of having these items.

Find Proof

Placing hidden cameras set up in focused destinations is beneficial when you want to watch behavior along with words of persons and / or in an occasion. Modern-day video cameras aren't just equipped with high quality video features, but audio as well. The clear pictures coupled with perfect audio makes them more appropriate than before at capturing a variety of happenings. This is particularly useful while confronting a legitimate situation, during which the eye witness may have ignored the specific critical details or may be delivering by having an exact account of exactly what actually took place. With a surveillance camera, your legitimate experts can easily see the particular combination of incidents as they truly unfolded. Just How Much Would You Pay for a Surveillance Camera? Nowadays, surveillance technology are available in numerous models and costs to provide a feeling of security and safety toward a massive amount of people. The typical price of an alarm system along with setting up might be $1,100. A result of variants with types and quality of security camera systems, installing the device normally can vary in between $700 and $3000. Hard wired equipment are less expensive with regard to elements however , far more for set up, at $145-$250 each cam, in comparison with their own wifi counterparts. The great news: installing almost any system can help to save fees on home insurance. There are two options to decide: wi-fi or hard-wired and IP or Closed-circuit television. Nevertheless, a great many other elements lead to the last set up. A lot of equipment now have many cams with perhaps on-site or cloud storage. Sometimes they will involve motions sensors, superior screen resolution, professional following, and also dark vision capabilities. Improved options result in enhanced difficulty, as well as higher expenses. Eventually, your needs and choices are going to shape the final fees. Through the years, home security camera costs have actually plummeted, driving them to be a highly affordable basic need. The average burglar alarm system installment will surely cost close to $2500. Though the value with regard to specialist set up will differ noticeably depending on product style along with amount of security cameras. Along with devices prices, each camera will probably cover anything from $75 to $200 for expert set up. A device developed for Do it yourself installing costs merely time, if you've got the devices. Whether you result in heading all the Do it yourself way or getting a guru, a preliminary appointment will help you fully understand your personal specific needs based on the requirements of your own home. An appointment is frequently totally free. The size and style and design would be determined by a large number of causes.

Hard-wired surveillance camera

Although setting up costs greater than wireless averaging about $100 to $300 for each surveillance camera, the elements associated with wired products will be more reasonably-priced. Considering that holes is going to be drilled, wire connections applied, and conduit integrated, having a contractor is typically necessary. Beyond the upfront expenditure, the main downside is permanent spots. The benefits might possibly overshadow the negatives. Hard wired devices will not be broken into from another location, jampacked, and have power built-in ? frequently having battery power back-ups regarding power breakdowns.

Wireless Model

Wireless systems are super easy to set up, driving them to the option designed for DIY projects. A Do It Yourself installation is going to run you free of charge together with specialist work approximately $90 every single cameras. They're also easy to transfer and almost always offer you remote access. Disadvantages consist of zero direct source of energy and should generally be hooked up with your home's wireless network reach to be effective appropriately. They generally possess reduced picture resolution when compared with hard-wired alternatives and could be broken into remotely. Cord less equipment are likewise be subject to transmission interference.